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Tag: pinned
Deception, "greenwashing"… The "high environmental value" agricultural label pinned down by associations
Useful tool or consumer deception? Several associations are asking the Council of State to ban the "high environmental value" (HVE) agricultural label, accused of "greenwashing" and consumer deception, in a letter sent out on Monday. The request on behalf of seven associations for the defense of consumers, the defense of the environment and the promotion of organic farming "aims at the cancellation of the regulatory provisions" implementing the HVE. "It was filed on Friday," assured AFP Nadine Lauverjat, general delegate...
The principality pinned down by the Council of Europe on the issue of money laundering
The Principality of Monaco must better fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, said the Council of Europe on Monday, in a report that the Monegasque government immediately said it was "determined to implement".Intervened on the spot, at the beginning of 2022, Moneyval, the anti-money laundering body of the intergovernmental organization calls for "fundamental improvements to strengthen the effectiveness of the supervision, investigation and prosecution of money laundering and the confiscation of proceeds of crime".In terms of terrorist...
The town hall pinned for the free loan of a room to a Muslim organization
The city of Nice was pinned by the courts for having made the Lino-Ventura theater available free of charge to a Muslim association on June 15, 2018, for Eid el-Fitr, the end of Ramadan celebration. In a judgment dated December 19, which annuls the municipal decree signed at the time to authorize this loan and that 20 minutes was able to consult, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Marseille considers that the Union of Muslims of the Alpes-Maritimes (Umam) should...
Argentina pinned by FIFA for their attitude in the final against France
It is an investigation that will not change the face of the world, or rather of the last World Cup. FIFA announced on Friday to open proceedings against Argentina for events that occurred during their victory in the World Cup final in Qatar, against France (3-3 after extra time, 4 shots on goal to 2). It targets in particular "possible violations of Articles 11 [comportement offensant et violation des principes du fair-play] and 12 [incorrection de joueurs et d'officiels]. »The...
A mayor pinned for having hidden the word "equality" from his pediment
"Liberty", "fraternity". For ten days, the word "equality" has been missing on the pediment of the town hall of Grues (Vendée). The mayor, Gilles Wattiau, himself decided to cover it with a black tarpaulin in order to protest against the lack of access to healthcare on its territory. "The right to health is supposed to be egalitarian throughout the territory and it is up to the State to ensure this," he explained in the columns of West France.A symbolic action...
The use of pinned consulting firms, qualified Blues and Anisha crowned "Star Ac"
Guaranteed with spoiler. You haven't followed anything from the weekend, we'll recap it for you with our Sunday "Five retro news".1. The McKinsey InquiryOn Sundays, politicians like to go to TV and radio studios. This was the case of MP Nupes Clémentine Autain and Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire. Surprisingly, they do not have the same opinion on the use of consulting firms by Emmanuel Macron and by the government. For one, it demonstrates "a love story" between...
Deputy RN Grégoire de Fournas pinned in the Assembly for having promoted his wine on Twitter
The ethics officer of the National Assembly pinned Grégoire de Fournas on Thursday for "ethical breach", after the elected RN promoted his wine on his deputy Twitter account, we learned from a parliamentary source. The chosen one is indeed a winegrower in the Médoc, in Gironde."Many people have contacted me to order me wine," he wrote Wednesday, mentioning a site and thanking for the "support", a message since deleted. The President of the Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet had seized the ethics...
Municipal museums severely pinned by the Audit Chamber
The report is severe and the words harsh. In a report presented this Friday to the city council, the regional chamber of accounts curbs the management of Marseille's municipal museums, denouncing pell-mell museums without strategy, "insufficient" public services with low attendance and opaque costs.The report, dated December 2021, was delayed due to the long electoral reserve period in early 2022. Revealed in full ahead of Friday's council by local investigative outlet Marsactuthis damning report examines the situation of the eleven...
Return of the government, six months of war and National Day in Ukraine and Air France pinned
Did you miss the news this early morning? We've put together a recap to help you see things more clearly.It's the end of vacation for the executive. The Council of Ministers is meeting this Wednesday at the Elysee Palace, in a climate filled with uncertainty linked to the war in Ukraine, climate change and inflation, pending parliamentary hostilities which will not resume until October. After three weeks at Fort de Brégançon, Emmanuel Macron therefore meets his government, the day after...
Stade Rennais, pinned for having watered during the day, recognizes its "error"
It was hot, very hot. Very, very, very hot even at the start of the week in Rennes. Everywhere, the vegetation, like the population, suffered, suffocating by more than 40 degrees. An exceptional heat wave which reinforced an already very complicated situation on the question of water. On drought alert since the end of May, Ille-et-Vilaine even went into "enhanced alert" on July 18 on the decision of the prefect Emmanuel Berthier. Consequence: In some areas, the watering of lawns,...


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UK's Boris Johnson to increase Covid-19 restrictions in England: Experiences
Boris Johnson is anticipated to announce a delay to the following section of England's reopening of as much as 4 weeks on Monday, amid a surge within the delta variant of Covid-19 first found in India. Guidelines together with using face masks, limiting the quantity of people that can assembly indoors and out, and shutting
Boris Johnson is anticipated to announce a delay to the following section of England's reopening of as much as 4 weeks on Monday, amid a surge within the delta variant of Covid-19 first found in India.
Guidelines together with using face masks, limiting the quantity of people that can assembly indoors and out, and shutting nightclubs and comparable venues have been as a result of be lifted on June 21, however British media stories recommend this might now be pushed again as late as July 19. For the time being, gatherings are restricted to 6 folks indoors and 30 outdoor.
Individuals may even be suggested to proceed working from dwelling the place potential, in keeping with stories.
New figures from Public Well being England point out that 42,323 circumstances of the delta variant of the coronavirus have now been confirmed throughout the U.Ok., a rise of 240% from final week, whereas the nation's transmission fee is at its highest since January.
Greater than 70 million vaccine doses have been administered throughout the U.Ok., with round 80% of the nation having now obtained no less than one dose. However a PHE paper in late Might confirmed that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines have been solely 33% efficient in opposition to the delta variant after a single shot.
Johnson informed Sky Information on Saturday that he was ready to be "cautious" with a purpose to keep away from any future reintroduction of lockdown measures.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


enrolled in an AIDS cancer clinical trial.
patients participating in these trials.
patients treated on these studies.
women participating in these trials.
these women after undergoing various study treatments.
human papillomavirus (HPV) typing, and other HPV-related testing (e.g., HPV viral load).
biopsy of any visualized lesions within 30 days of collection of the swabs.
with DREs every 6 months until completion of study treatment and at the final study visit.


Should you buy Audi RS5 or Honda Jazz? Find out which car is best for you - compare the two models on the basis of their Price, Size, Space, Boot Space, Service cost, Mileage, Features, Colours and other specs. Audi RS5 and Honda Jazz ex-showroom price starts at Rs 1.11 Cr for Coupe (Petrol) and Rs 7.4 Lakh for V (Petrol). RS5 has 2894 cc (Petrol top model) engine, while Jazz has 1498 cc (Diesel top model) engine. As far as mileage is concerned, the RS5 has a mileage of 11.05 kmpl (Petrol top model)> and the Jazz has a mileage of 27.3 kmpl (Petrol top model).


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Paul McCartney Spills Beans About Masturbation Sessions With John Lennon & Sleeping With Prostitutes!
This revelation will probably prompt many of us to quip about The Beatles' song Come Together. But Paul McCartney has confessed that he enjoyed group masturbation sessions on a couple of occasions with his ex-Beatles bandmates.
"What it was was over at John's house, and it was just a group of us," Paul McCartney explains in a new interview wth GQ magazine. "And instead of just getting roaring drunk and partying - I don't even know if we were staying over or anything - we were all just in these chairs, and the lights were out, and somebody started masturbating, so we all did."
To make it even more exciting they would shout out the name of someone they fancied while pleasuring themselves. "We were just, 'Brigitte Bardot!' 'Whoo!'" McCartney reveals, "and then everyone would thrash a bit more."
But John Lennon, who was known for being a practical joker, spoiled the mood. "I think it was John sort of said, 'Winston Churchill!'" Paul McCartney says.
Looking back, Paul McCartney insists that these masturbation sessions were no big deal, even thought it was "quite raunchy".
"I think it was a one-off. Or maybe it was like a two-off. It wasn't a big thing. But, you know, it was just the kind of thing you didn't think much of. It was just a group," Paul says.
"Yeah, it's quite raunchy when you think about it. There's so many things like that from when you're a kid that you look back on and you're, 'Did we do that?' But it was good harmless fun. It didn't hurt anyone. Not even Brigitte Bardot."
Paul McCartney also revealed that, while he was never involved in an orgy, he did enjoy a threesome with two prostitutes, which was a "wonderful experience".
Paul confesses, "I don't want anyone else there, personally. It ruins it! I would think -- I've never actually done it. There was once when we were in Vegas where the tour guy, a fixer, said, 'You're going to Vegas, guys—you want a hooker?' We were all, 'Yeah!' And I requested two. And I had them, and it was a wonderful experience. But that's the closest I ever came to an orgy."
Paul also says it's a true story that the other Beatles stood outside listening while a then 17-year-old George Harrison lost his virginity, and that they then offered him a round of applause when he finished.
"I think that's true. The thing is, these stories, particularly Beatles stories, they get to be legendary, and I do have to check: Wait a minute. I know we had one bed and two sets of bunks, and if one of the guys brought a girl back, they could just be in the bed with a blanket over them, and you wouldn't really notice much except a little bit of movement," Paul says.
"I don't know whether that was George losing his virginity -- it might have been. I mean, I think in the end this was one of the strengths of the Beatles, this enforced closeness which I always liken to army buddies," added Paul. "Because you're all in the same barracks. We were always very close and on top of each other, which meant you could totally read each other."
Sex is a big topic on Paul McCartney's mind at the moment with it featuring prominently as a theme on his brilliant new album, Egypt Station with songs such as Fuh You and Come On To Me.
Happy Birthday Paul McCartney: Revisiting his 2002 interview with Hot Press
Remembering Henry McCullough: A classic interview from the Hot Press archives
On this day in 1968: The Beatles begin recording The White Album
On this day in 1970: The Beatles release their final album, Let It Be
Album Review: Maggie Rogers, Heard It In A Past Life
Peter Jackson to direct new Beatles documentary
From the Archives: Dave Fanning met with Paul McCartney in 2002
Reissue of the Year: The Beatles' White Album
Paul McCartney Is Planning Dublin Charity Gig


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Home > 2009 > 06/08 > UFA Options: Florida Panthers
UFA Options: Florida Panthers
June 8, 2009, 3:30 PM | Jonathan Willis
UFA Options is a continuing series that gives a brief run-down of the unrestricted free agent market this summer, team-by-team. Our next team for consideration is the Florida Panthers.
These are uncertain times for the Florida Panthers. Their general manager jumped ship to become head coach of the Montreal Canadiens; meaning that the Panthers will have their seventh G.M. in the past nine years. With the exception of Bryan Murray (1994-2000) no G.M. managed to occupy the position for three whole seasons.
It's unfortunate timing for the Panthers; while Martin may not have been the best G.M. in the business not only is the entry draft coming up but Florida needs to make decisions on eight unrestricted free agents, including franchise cornerstone Jay Bouwmeester, who Martin elected not to trade at the deadline this past spring.
Richard Zednik
A fine two-way player most famous for surviving a horrific incident where his neck was sliced open by a skate, Zednik has seen his offensive game disappear since the lockout. While he still has a decent shot (and 17 goals to show for it this past season) he's a limited playmaker and it's anyone's guess how his game would fare outside of the Southeast division. He hasn't hit the 50 point mark since before the lockout and at this point is probably not suited to a top-six role on a competitive team.
Radek Dvorak
Much like Zednik, Dvorak is a former 30-goal scorer who hasn't hit 50 points since the lockout. He had a 37-point season in St. Louis in 2006-07 and managed 36 points this past year, but at this stage in his career offense is not his primary contribution. Dvorak is a relatively cheap utility player; he's still a fantastic skater and he's also a very sharp positional player, so he can be used in a defensive role.
Ville Peltonen
Peltonen returned to the NHL after the lockout and has played three rather unheralded seasons with the Panthers. He's another winger similar to Dvorak and Zednik; sharp positionally with some offensive ability but not quite enough to be a legitimate top-six option. He's a rather streaky offensive player, going both hot and cold for long stretches of the season, but he isn't a liability when he's not scoring. A good, cheap option for some team's lower line; particularly since he can move up the depth chart from time to time.
Jay Bouwmeester
There are a lot of people out there who don't understand how difficult it is to start in the defensive zone. Here's a look at the Panthers' blue-line, ranked by the difference in total defensive zone faceoffs vs. offensive zone faceoffs. A positive number indicates more time in the defensive zone:
Bouwmeester: +180
Skrastins: +134
Cullimore: +56
Ballard: +33
McCabe: +13
Eminger: +4
Boynton: -4
Obviously, the Panthers started in their own zone a lot – not an uncommon occurrence among lousy teams. By way of contrast, the only Oilers' players with numbers even close were Shawn Horcoff (+156) and Kyle Brodziak (+149) and the Oilers top-ranked defenseman in this category was Steve Staios (+29).
Bouwmeester is a complete player and a franchise talent; he doesn't get nearly enough recognition for his tremendous defensive game and his offensive game isn't half-bad either. He's a great skater and a top passer, and if the workload were distributed a little more evenly he could see a rise in his offensive totals.
Nick Boynton
Given how sheltered Boynton was, he had an OK but not great season for the Panthers, and there were off-ice issues; in February he was suspended for three games by the team for "disciplinary reasons". Supposedly this was the result of a run-in over ice-time with Panthers' head coach Peter DeBoer. He's a physical player who is prone to occasional undisciplined penalties, and his skating leaves something to be desired. Working in Boynton's favour is that he is big, tough and has some offensive ability.
Karlis Skrastins
Jay Bouwmeester's regular defense partner, Karlis Skrastins will never wow the world with his offensive ability, but he's one of the better stay-at-home blueliners in the NHL. He finished 9th in the league with 171 blocked shots (the Oilers' top player in this category was Steve Staios with 157) and while he isn't a big hitter he's as sharp in his own end as just about any player in the game. He would be a very good fit on a team looking for a defensive presence in their top-four.
Jassen Cullimore
The 2008 Norris Trophy candidate is a serviceable depth defenseman who has never used his imposing frame (6'5", 220lbs) as effectively as he could. He bounced around for a bit before finding a home in Florida and the 36-year old may be near the end of the line at this point. Then again, there's no reason why he couldn't be considered for a #5-#7 role given his performance over the last two seasons.
Anderson has been one of the best backup goaltenders in the NHL since coming to Florida in 2006-07, and this year he finally managed to get into a significant number of games (31) and posted a comparable save percentage (.924) to his partner, one of the league's best goaltenders (Tomas Vokoun, .926). It would be a bit of a risk to just hand over a starting job to him, but he would be a fine choice at this point to be a 1A goaltender in a tandem situation, and he might take over the starting role entirely.
Would James Reimer be a fit as Flames backup?
Many Flames free agents have already found new homes
FGD 57: Trying to tame the Fancy Cats (5pm MT, SN West)
RCN 10 years ago
Title- UFA Options: Edmonton Oilers= fail.
@ Mowzie:
Clearly I was drinking when I put it up.
The 2008 Norris Trophy candidate
What?!?!?!
Always thought Boyton would be a decent addition, if we were willing to put up with the attitude.
So looking at how good Bowmeester has been, i wonder what would make our team better?
Bowmeester and nilsson
Hossa and Cullimore
assuming of course that we would lose at least one of our dmen in either scenario for cap reasons (assume i guess it is Gilbert).
DBO wrote:
Bows age has to make him the far more desirable pick up.
By Jonathan Willis
@JonathanWillis More Articles


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Growing up I never encountered racism. I use to think everyone had the privilege to do anything they like such as going to the same restaurant or going to the movies. What I know now is that is wasn't like that. Our history has shown that we have segregated people based their color of skin. Yes, it has gotten better but we can still improve. We can do this by if you see someone being racist or being mean tell them stop and tell why it is so bad to be racist.
Many people have died through racism in our world.
Race is a fake thing. It is not real. People just made you think that is is real. There is one race and it is human. According to the Gilder Lehram Institute of American History, "10.5 million slaves die in the world. From about 1526 to 1867, 12.5 million slaves had been shipped from Africa, and 10.7 million had arrived in American. The decade 1821 to 1830 still saw over 80,000 people a year leaving Africa in slave ships.The average cost of a slave in America in 1850 was about $400,about $12,000 in today's money. Although slavery is no longer legal anywhere in the world, human trafficking remains an international problem and an estimated 25-40 million people are living in illegal slavery today." Race was a man-made idea to separate blacks and whites and throughout history, so many people have died through racism in our world. Race is a fake thing that is not real.


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From the moon to Mars, Mason company helps mankind shoot for the stars
By Craig McKee, WCPO
MASON — When the Artemis 1 mission blasted off in November, a Warren County company was key to making it happen.
"We designed and developed and built and tested over 30 different avionics units," said Mark Dapore at L3 Harris.
He is the technical director for Space Products at L3 Harris, which is playing a major role for the missions to the moon and Mars. The technology designed by their team controls everything from lighting the solid rocket boosters for the launch to each of the separation stages and even the great video streams as the rocket and its payload leave earth, among many other responsibilities, Dapore said.
Even prior to the most recent Artemis launch L3 Harris helped keep the lights on, so to speak, at the International Space Station when it came to resupply missions and rotating out astronauts.
"We do have components on the ISS, and we have radios that actually help capsules dock with the International Space Station. So, we are in that in that business of providing safe passage for astronauts to both the ISS and eventually back to the moon," Dapore said.
Speaking of that mission to the moon — this first mission, launched Nov. 16, sent the Orion capsule into an orbit to the moon and back. The second mission will do the same thing but will carry astronauts around the moon and the third will allow humans to touch the lunar surface again.
"It's very, very exciting to see that we are now branching out. Humans have been constrained to low Earth orbit now the International Space Station for the last 50 years," Dapore said. "So, we're now branching out going out beyond Earth orbit and to the moon and eventually to Mars."
The company's handiwork is already on Mars; without their technology the Mars rovers would have had a lot to report, but no way to send the information.
"Our radios are actually embedded within the rover body itself, the only thing you can see is the antenna is actually on the deck on top. And the antenna is actually pointed up so that it can talk to the satellite overhead," he said.
Each of these missions a stepping stone for future missions the company's engineers are already working on.
"So, all of the information, and all of the lessons learned that we've had from this mission here is going to be utilized for the Mars sample return mission where we will actually send spacecraft out to Mars, land on the surface, gather the samples, and then it will come back to Earth," said Dapore
It's a mission he said they're already providing the hardware for so that NASA can bring those Martian soil samples back for analysis to better understand our solar system.
Ohio's roots to space exploration run deep and Dapore is quick to point out that there are plenty of opportunities still today.
"A lot of people don't realize that we have a space, a really, really large space group right here in in Cincinnati, so you don't have to leave and go to the coast to work in the space industry," he said. "You can work right here in Mason, Ohio, and we have plenty of high-tech engineering jobs. Right here, Mason."
WCPO is a content partner of Cox First Media.
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Craig McKee, WCPO


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Q: Exclude single source file from python bdist_egg or bdist_wheel Background: I have one source file which is responsible for security. In there are magic keys and specific algorithms.
Is it possible to remove a this single source file from a python egg or wheel package?
I already accomplished to ship only binarys with the the egg command.
python setup.py bdist_egg --exclude-source-files

Edit Project structure:
├── setup.py
├── src
|   ├── __init__.py
|   ├── file1.py
|   ├── file2.py
|   ├── file_to_exclude.py

Thanks for your help!

A: Unfortunately, neither distutils nor setuptools provide a possibility to exclude single modules, so you have to work around it.
Update:
I have described a better solution here that mimics the package exclusion setuptools does in find_packages(). You will have to override the build_py command in the setup script that can accept a list of exclude patterns, same as exclude list in find_packages. In your case, it would be:
import fnmatch
from setuptools import find_packages, setup
from setuptools.command.build_py import build_py as build_py_orig

exclude = ['src.file_to_exclude']

class build_py(build_py_orig):

    def find_package_modules(self, package, package_dir):
        modules = super().find_package_modules(package, package_dir)
        return [(pkg, mod, file, ) for (pkg, mod, file, ) in modules
                if not any(fnmatch.fnmatchcase(pkg + '.' + mod, pat=pattern)
                for pattern in exclude)]

setup(
    ...,
    packages=find_packages(),
    cmdclass={'build_py': build_py},
)

I find this to be a much more powerful and distutils-conform solution than the ones below. It also enables one to exclude multiple modules via wildcard matching, for example
exclude = ['src.file*']

will exclude all modules starting with file in src package, or
exclude = ['*.file1']

will exclude file1.py in all packages.
Original answer
put modules to be excluded in a separate package
You can use the fact that setuptools can exclude packages (dirs containing the __init__.py files), but it will require some refactoring. Create a package_to_exclude, put file_to_exclude.py in there and fix all the eventual import errors:
project
├── setup.py
└── src
     ├── __init__.py
     ├── file1.py
     ├── file2.py
     └── package_to_exclude
          ├── __init__.py
          └── file_to_exclude.py

Now you can exclude package_to_exclude in the setup script:
from setuptools import find_packages, setup

setup(
    ...,
    packages=find_packages(exclude=['src.package_to_exclude'])
)

exclude package, add modules to be included via py_modules
If you can't or don't want to move the module in a separate package, you can exclude the src package and add all the modules in src except file_to_exclude in py_modules. Example:
import os
from setuptools import find_packages, setup

excluded_files = ['file_to_exclude.py']
included_modules = ['src.' + os.path.splitext(f)[0]
                    for f in os.listdir('src')
                    if f not in excluded_files]

setup(
    ...,
    packages=find_packages(exclude=['src']),
    py_modules=included_modules,
)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
China ZhengTong Auto Services Holdings Ltd.
Credit Opinion: China ZhengTong Auto Services Holdings Ltd.: Update following downgrade to B1 stable
Rating Action: Moody's withdraws ZhengTong's B1 corporate family rating for business reasons
Announcement: Moody's: Credit trends are stable for most Chinese rated non-financial corporates
Announcement: Moody's & CCXI's China conferences analyze the challenges that the country faces in managing risks, preserving growth, advancing reform
Peer Snapshot: China ZhengTong Auto Services Holdings Ltd. - December 2016 (LTM): Peer Snapshot
Moody's changes the outlook on China ZhengTong Auto Services' Ba3 rating to negative
Hong Kong, April 01, 2016 -- Moody's Investors Service has changed to negative from stable the outlook for China ZhengTong Auto Services Holdings Limited's (ZhengTong) Ba3 corporate family rating.
Moody's has also affirmed ZhengTong's Ba3 corporate family rating.
"The negative rating outlook reflects ZhengTong's weakened credit metrics and the increase in execution and financial risks from its new auto finance business," says Gerwin Ho, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst.
ZhengTong's results for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2015 were weaker when compared with its results for fiscal year 2014. Its sales fell by 5% year-on-year to RMB29.4 billion and inventory days on hand increased to 51 days from 45 days in 2014.
In addition, its total adjusted debt rose to about RMB9.3 billion, which represented a RMB1.8 billion increase versus the level seen at end-2014. Moody's estimates that about RMB1.4 billion of the increase in debt was related to the funding of its new auto finance business.
Excluding its auto finance business, the company's car dealership business showed an adjusted debt/EBITDA of around 3.9x and EBITDA/interest of around 3.6x in 2015; results which were worse than the 3.4x and 3.8x seen in 2014.
Moody's expects ZhengTong to see a nominal revenue growth in its car dealership business in 2016.
Moody's notes that ZhengTong's credit metrics in 2015 were weak for its Ba3 corporate family rating. Moody's does not expect this situation to improve substantially in the near term.
Moody's is also concerned over ZhengTong's new auto finance business because such operations are associated with increased execution and financial risks.
Moody's understands that the company's 95%-owned subsidiary, Shanghai Dongzheng Automotive Finance Co., Ltd. (SDAFC, unrated), is an auto financing joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corporation (unrated). The joint venture began operations in April 2015. SDAFC's principal businesses include lending to both vehicle buyers and auto dealers.
ZhengTong does not have an established track record of managing an auto finance business.
SDAFC is currently the only auto finance company in China (Aa3 negative) that is primarily owned and operated by an auto dealer. SDAFC's ability to manage credit underwriting, monitoring, collection, repossession, charge-offs and recovery is yet to be proven. Any material bad debt or charge-offs in the auto finance business will impact directly ZhengTong's income statement, representing a new risk to ZhengTong.
ZhengTong has borrowed to fund SDAFC's business. Such funding reached RMB1.4 billion, representing 17% of ZhengTong's reported debt at end-2015. If SDAFC's business grows further, ZhengTong will be pressured to use its available bank credit facilities to support such growth. This situation will raise ZhengTong's overall debt levels, and the company's liquidity position will weaken.
ZhengTong's adjusted debt/EBITDA—including borrowings for financial services—rose to about 4.5x in 2015 from 3.4x in 2014. Such a situation leaves little buffer against its rating downgrade trigger of an adjusted debt/EBITDA in excess of 4.0x--4.5x.
ZhengTong's Ba3 rating reflects its: 1) strong position in China's fast-growing luxury car dealership market; 2) large network; 3) strong geographic coverage; and 4) diverse brand offerings.
The rating is also supported by its continued focus on luxury brands. This approach has led to solid growth in sales and stronger margins than those of low-end and middle-market brands.
However, ZhengTong's rating is constrained by the funding and execution risks arising from its rapid expansion and auto finance business, the intense competition in the car dealership industry in China, and the increasing but small contribution of its after-sales services business.
ZhengTong's liquidity profile is characterized by high refinancing risk, due to its small cash holdings when compared with its substantial amount of short-term debt. At end-2015, it held unrestricted cash totaling RMB1.6 billion versus short term debt of RMB5.7 billion.
Nonetheless, Moody's expects that the company will retain its ability to roll over its debt with domestic banks, given its profitable operations, strong market position, and inventory of globally branded luxury cars.
Rating upgrade pressure is limited, given the negative outlook. Nevertheless, the rating outlook could return to stable if ZhengTong can demonstrate an ability to: (1) lower its debt leverage such that its debt/EBITDA stays below 4.0x--4.5x; and (2) reduce the financial burden from its auto finance business.
Rating downgrade pressure could emerge if ZhengTong: (1) takes on further material debt-funded expansions or acquisitions; (2) faces revenue and/or margin declines due to lower operating efficiency, or deteriorating market conditions; or (3) fails to improve its debt maturity profile.
Credit metrics indicative of downgrade pressure would include debt/EBITDA in excess of 4.0x-4.5x and EBITDA/interest below 3.0x on a consistent basis.
The principal methodology used in this rating was Retail Industry published in October 2015. Please see the Ratings Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
China ZhengTong Auto Services Holdings Limited is a top auto dealership group in China. The company focuses primarily on the luxury and ultra-luxury car market. It operated 112 dealership stores in China at end-2015, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2010.
The first name below is the lead rating analyst for this Credit Rating and the last name below is the person primarily responsible for approving this Credit Rating.
Gerwin Ho
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: (852) 3758 -1350
SUBSCRIBERS: (852) 3551-3077
Gary Lau
MD - Corporate Finance


text:
← Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for Feburary 2015
Cora does a podcast interview and other mixed updates →
Meet My Character, Richard Blakemore
Posted on March 1, 2015 by Cora
"Meet my Character" is a new blog hop similar to the speculative fiction blog hop, only that it allows a writer to introduce a particular character.
I already took part in this blog hop, introducing Holly di Marco from the Shattered Empire books, back in October, but since there were no takers for this weekend, I decided to do it again.
Some previous entries may be found in this round-up post at the Speculative Fiction Showcase. But today, I'm taking over the baton from Kyra Halland who introduced her character Lainie Banfrey last week.
So who is Kyra Halland? She is the writer of the Daughter of the Wildings weird western series and she lives in southern Arizona. Complicated, honorable heroes; heroines who are strong, smart, and all woman; magic, romance, and adventure; and excursions into the dark corners of life and human nature mixed with a dash of offbeat humor – all of these make up her worlds. She has a very patient husband, two less-patient cats, and two young adult sons. Besides writing, she enjoys scrapbooking and anime, and she wants to be a crazy cat lady when she grows up.
Visit Kyra's website, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to find out more about her and her work. You can also buy her books at Amazon and other major e-book stores.
And now it's time to meet my character:
1) What is the name of your character? Is he fictional or a historic person?
His name is Richard Blakemore and he is entirely fictional.
2) When and where is the story set?
The story is set in New York City in the 1930s.
3) What should we know about him?
Richard Blakemore is a pulp fiction writer in Depression era New York. Just why he chose this particular profession is unknown. It's certainly not for the money, because Richard is independently wealthy. No one is quite sure where that wealth comes from. He certainly didn't earn it by writing pulp novels, because half a cent per word doesn't make anybody wealthy.
Like most pulp writers, Richard can write pretty much every genre (though he does feel a bit awkward about writing romance), but his main work is a series about the adventures of the Silencer, a masked crimefighter who takes on the underworld and protects the downtrodden, motivated by the urge to make up for a criminal past.
However, Richard doesn't just write about the Silencer, he actually dons the Silencer's cloak, steel mask, fedora and silver-plated twin .45 automatics and goes out to fight crime.
4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?
The main source of conflict are obviously Richard's nocturnal activities, because normal and well adjusted people don't become costumed crimefighters. Plus, there is the pressure of living a double life and keeping it hidden from everybody except for those closest to him.
What is more, his nocturnal activities bring Richard to the attention of both the criminals the Silencer busts and the police who don't take too kindly to a guy with a mask infringing upon their territory. Even worse, in his pulp writer persona Richard is close friends with Captain Justin O'Grady of the NYPD, who suspects that Richard might be the Silencer and is only too eager to prove it.
But Richard's activities don't just put himself at risk, but also those who are near and dear to him such as his butler/chauffeur/friend and occasional helper Neal Cassidy and his fiancé, socialite Constance Allen. Constance and Richard fell in love, after the Silencer saved her from a villain known as the Scarlet Executioner, and she is one of the very few people who know the Silencer's true identity.
Finally, Richard is a pulp writer and trust me, deadlines in the pulp era were brutal.
At one point, Richard actually finds himself unmasked and accused of a murder he did not commit (for once, because the Silencer has few scruples about killing, if it cannot be prevented). He is even found guilty and finds himself facing the electric chair, but is saved at the last minute by… – well, you'll have to read the book to find out.
5) What is the personal goal of the character?
Richard wants to fight crime and injustice and protect the poor and the downtrodden whom the police cannot or will not protect.
Living in Depression era New York, Richard sees poverty and desperation around him every day. And he sees criminals preying on hardworking people who only want to make a living and provide for themselves and their families. Many people see what Richard sees, but unlike most he doesn't want to look away.
At first, he thought that writing about what he saw and writing about it in the pulp magazines that people are actually reading instead of leatherbound tomes that few can afford would be enough. But it wasn't, so he donned the mask and costume of the Silencer to go out and do something about it.
Richard always operates out of a sense of guilt to atone for sins of his past, which he won't talk about, not even to Constance. There are hints that he wasn't always fighting on the side of the angels and that he was once a criminal very much like those he is fighting now.
6) What is the title of the novel, and where can we find out more?
It's not a novel, but a series of novelettes, the Silencer series. The first story, in which Richard faces the electric chair for a crime he did not commit and has to clear his name is called Countdown to Death. Further stories in the series are Flying Bombs, The Spiked Death, Elevator of Doom, The Great Fraud and Mean Streets and Dead Alleys with more stories forthcoming. The next one has the working title Crossroads of the World. The books are available at all major e-book stores and there's also a handy bundle available exclusively at DriveThruFiction.
7) When was the book published?
The first Silencer novelettes were electronically published in 2011, the last one to date came out in the summer of 2014. Some of the stories are reprints of stories published in various magazines in the early 2000s.
And next week? Actually, there is no next week at the moment, because we have no takers. If you'd like to take part in the "Meet My Character" blog hop, please contact me.
ETA: We skipped a week, but on Sunday, March 15, I will hand over the baton to Genevieve McKay.
Genevieve Mckay is a freelance writer, short story author, and first time novelist. She lives on the West coast with her two and four-legged family in the wilderness. When she isn't busy creating new worlds she enjoys playing outside, riding horses and preparing for the zombie apocalypse.
This entry was posted in Books, Writing and tagged blog hop, characterisation, my books, other people's books, pulp, pulp fiction, Silencer, thriller, writing. Bookmark the permalink.
Nude bodies behind,
in front a steamer at sea -
silence is beauty


Patients seek physical therapy for a variety of reasons.
Many get referrals from their primary physicians following surgery or after experiencing an injury from a specific event such as a twisted ankle in a pickup basketball game. Lingering dull or debilitating pain in the back, shoulder, or other body part also sends many people to their local PT. And still others have found the wellness programs at physical therapy clinics to be a better fit for them than joining a health club.
Regardless of the reason patients come through the door, the large majority of physical therapy clinics realize the value of each and every patient not only from a care perspective but how their attendance affects the bottom lines especially in the current era of dwindling reimbursements and other insurance issues.
Across all businesses, it's generally accepted that it costs more to acquire new customers than it does to retain existing ones. Opinions and studies vary on this. Some estimate acquiring new customers costs 4 to 10 times more than retaining existing ones. Others say the cost is even higher.
How does this relate to physical therapy? Missed appointments are not only damaging to a patient's progress but they are also costly to the clinic's financial health.
A study conducted by the University of West Florida examined the impact of patient non-attendance at 11 physical therapy clinics in the Pensacola, FL, area.
The researchers tracked data from 54,678 scheduled appointments and recorded 9,790 missed appointments (or approximately 18%). Assuming a $200 appointment fee, that was a combined $1,958,900 in potential lost income to these clinics. And if it is assumed each missed appointment slows progress by two days, the patients lost a concerning 19,580 recovery days.
Patients miss physical therapy appointments for a variety of reasons of course. Some have conflicts at work, transportation issues, illnesses and other reasons that are beyond their control. Others may stop attending for financial reasons; some simply stop going to physical therapy once they start to feel better.
We know many clinics have established a "missed appointment fee" to cover the clinic financially in case of absences. But what about the harm to a patient's progress from non-attendance or non-compliance with their exercise program?
At In Hand Health, we included features in our telehealth solution that connect physical therapists and patients inside or outside clinic walls such as secure instant messaging, real-time compliance monitoring, and progress meters (our CaRe Index). We believe tools such as these enable physical therapists to extend their expertise beyond office visits while also encouraging the patient to assume ownership of their part in the rehabilitation process. What's more, your clinic generates additional revenue when your patients use it.
We know many of you have developed your own methods for keeping patients engaged in physical therapy for the long term. Care to share some of your ideas? Let us know in the comments section below.


WASHINGTON (1010 WINS/AP) -- Freed after more than a year in prison, three Americans flew homeward from North Korea late Tuesday toward a big middle-of-the-night celebration featuring President Donald Trump — the latest sign of improving relations between longtime adversaries in the buildup to a historic summit between Trump and North Korea's King Jong Un.
Trump promised "quite a scene" at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington for the detainees, who were released as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea on Wednesday to finalize plans for the summit.
Singapore was the likely site, late this month or in early June, for Trump's most ambitious foreign police effort yet.
Trump made a point of publicly thanking North Korea's leader for the prisoners' release — "I appreciate Kim Jong Un doing this" — and hailed it as a sign of cooling tensions and growing opportunity on the Korean peninsula.
During his visit, Pompeo discussed the agenda for a potential Trump-Kim Jong Un summit in a meeting with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the central committee of North Korea's ruling party. Pompeo said the summit is scheduled to last one day but could be extended by a day depending on how talks progress.
"This is not a result of sanctions that have been imposed from outside," he said, contradicting Trump.


text:
The Agenda: What next for Sunderland after Paolo Di Canio's sacking?
by MarkDouglas
Questions have to be asked about the Sunderland's structure after the sacking of Paolo Di Canio, and Ellis Short is the man to answer them
Bethany Clarke/Getty Images
Chairman of Sunderland AFC, Ellis Short
You have probably never heard of Ryan Sachs.
Sachs is the Boston College graduate right at the heart of Ellis Short's Sunderland.
A legal whizzkid who played a key role in the club's 2011 recruitment drive, he is officially listed as the assistant to the Director of Football Roberto De Fanti.
He is also, increasingly, the first port of call for agents looking to put players to the club.
Yet Sunderland supporters still dazed by the pace of Paolo Di Canio's downfall won't know too much about one of the most important people at the Stadium of Light – much like they know little about De Fanti, the club's kingmaker and the architect of their remarkable summer "revolution."
De Fanti has given one interview, to the official club website.
Among all the usual platitudes about the club being a sleeping giant he delivered the following pearl: "Paolo explains to us how he wants to play and, on the basis of this and the guidelines given, this information is given to the scouts who will travel around the world."
So if the players have been picked to play a certain way, what happens when Di Canio goes?
Why the silence of so many key man at the club (Valentino Angeloni has also rarely been seen or heard)?
This is the club Short built: the new-look Black Cats which has constructed the cosmopolitan squad currently sitting bottom of the Premier League.
Di Canio and his failed philosophy might have beaten an unlamented retreat but the focus now needs to be trained on the individuals left behind.
Individuals, it should be noted, who have had much more influence than Di Canio – in spite of his attempt to construct a personality cult.
At the start of the season the manager was asked about De Fanti's role and tellingly failed to address the question before launching into a rant about the way Italian clubs work.
It felt like friction might have been building then.
Di Canio has paid the price but now the gaze must fall on Short's men – and the owner himself.
Collectively they have taken big decisions over recent months, ruthless calls which have laid waste to the entire scouting department.
This included good men with knowledge of the area and the people involved with the club like Bryan 'Pop' Robson.
Another club stalwart, Dr Glen Rae, Sunderland's head of medicine, left over the summer.
Goodness knows how much longer it would have gone on if Di Canio had stayed.
Apparently he had been unhappy with the way the club's Academy was playing, raising questions about the excellent work of director Ged McNamee.
Had either he or Kevin Ball, tonight's caretaker boss, departed it might have raised the alarm bells sooner.
Even with them in charge, Short has questions to answer about the way the club is going. Under Short's guidance, the club has developed into a world-class venue for summer concerts and developed links in Africa and Asia - but they are bottom of the Premier League, slightly worse off than when he completed his takeover in 2009.
Since then they have finished tenth, 13th, tenth, 13th and 17th. The last two seasons relegation has been on the agenda, as it was during his first.
Four managers have come and gone in four years and this year the net spend – after the sales of their two best players Simon Mignolet and Stephane Sessegnon – has been minimal.
Short has done a lot for Sunderland but he is not beyond question. His decision to pick Di Canio has never been fully explained, nor the justification for bringing in De Fanti.
He is the chairman as well as the owner, so the whole thing stands and falls on his shoulders.
Di Canio leaves behind a mess but for all that his style had turned the dressing room toxic, there are things his successor might be able to learn from his five-month reign.
It is quite right to pin-point the magnificent derby win as the moment he awoke the long-dormant enthusiasm of Sunderland's suffering supporters but it was not solely the 3-0 defeat of Newcastle which won them around.
Di Canio talked big, he spoke of Sunderland as a club which should dream of real success, not just the relative achievement of simply surviving in the Premier League.
He cajoled, prompted, provoked and polemicised, pushing the Black Cats out of the comfort zone Martin O'Neill had sleep-walked them into.
It was refreshing to hear a Sunderland manager embrace the hopes of his supporters rather than chiding them for phantom unrealistic expectations (Steve Bruce, step forward) or sabotaging players by having the temerity to expect more than negative tactics and a disinterested squad.
He set the tone superbly, only to be let down by a lack of experience of working with Premier League players and his own monstrous ego.
Having grown used to being bigger than Swindon Town, he arrogantly assumed the same at Sunderland.
Short forcibly removed that conceit from him on Sunday lunchtime after his players suffered one public indignity too many.
It was particularly foolish not to pay more attention to cultivating human relationships.
His revolution needed hearts and minds to succeed but his dictatorial style attempted to steamroller his squad (and staff) into submission. For an intelligent man, it was a mind-boggling lack of perception.
His tactics were not half as impressive as he made out either. Shuffling the line-up every week and ostracising players like Cabral and Lee Cattermole left them weaker than they should have been and has contributed to the paltry one-point haul.
However, let us not mock Sunderland supporters for the way they assembled behind Di Canio.
He presented them with a vision and encouraged them to dream. If the next man can get close to that – while avoiding the Italian's ego-trap – they might get the time to deliver it.
Gustavo Poyet set to be named as next SAFC manager
Former Brighton and Hove Albion manager Gustavo Poyet is set to succeed Paolo Di Canio as Sunderland manager
Ball wants new Sunderland manager appointed during international break
Ellis Short in no hurry to appoint new Sunderland boss
The Agenda: Why does North East football lurch from crisis to crisis?
There's never a dull moment with North East football teams but why do they always seem to be in crisis?
Sunderland may need to persuade Roberto Di Matteo to take job
Steven Fletcher poised to return against Crystal Palace
Ellis Short
Paolo Di Canio
Most Recent in Sport
The Agenda: It is time Newcastle United treated the League Cup with the seriousness it deserves
Sunderland 1 Manchester United 1: Stuart Rayner's match analysis
Aston Villa 0 Newcastle United 0: Neil Cameron's match analysis
Newcastle Falcons 21 Rotherham Titans 22: Mark Smith's match analysis
Durham CCC
Chris Rushworth: Gutted but proud after an incredible day for Durham at Old Trafford


My dear young gentleman or young lady, —for many are the Cecil Dreemes of literature who superscribe their offered manuscripts with very masculine names in very feminine handwriting, —it seems wrong not to meet your accumulated and urgent epistles with one comprehensive reply, thus condensing many private letters into a printed one. And so large a proportion of "Atlantic" readers either might, would, could, or should be "Atlantic" contributors also, that this epistle will be sure of perusal, though Mrs. Stowe remain uncut and the Autocrat go for an hour without readers.
Nor is there the slightest foundation for the supposed editorial prejudice against new or obscure contributors On the contrary, every editor is always hungering and thirsting after novelties. To take the lead in bringing forward a new genius is as fascinating a privilege as that of the physician who boasted to Sir Henry Halford of having been the first man to discover the Asiatic cholera and to communicate it to the public. It is only stern necessity which compels the magazine to fall back so constantly on the regular old staff of contributors, whose average product has been gauged already; just as every country-lyceum attempts annually to arrange an entirely new list of lecturers, and ends with no bolder experiment than to substitute Chapin and Beecher in place of last year's Beecher and Chapin.
Of course no editor is infallible, and the best magazine contains an occasional poor article. Do not blame the unfortunate conductor. He knows it as well as you do, - after the deed is done. The newspapers kindly pass it over, still preparing their accustomed opiate of sweet praises, so much for each contributor, so much for the magazine collectively, — like a hostess with her tea-making, a spoonful for each person and one for the pot. But I can tell you that there is an official person who meditates and groans, meanwhile, in the night-watches, to think that in some atrocious moment of good-nature or sleepiness he left the door open and let that ungainly intruder in. Do you expect him to acknowledge the blunder, when you tax him with it? Never, - he feels it too keenly. He rather stands up stoutly for the surpassing merits of the misshapen thing, as a mother for her deformed child; and as the mother is nevertheless inwardly imploring that there may never be such another born to her, so be sure that it is not by reminding the editor of this calamity that you can allure him into risking a repetition of it.
An editor thus shows himself to be but human; and it is well enough to remember this fact, when you approach him. He is not a gloomy despot, no Nemesis, or Rhadamanthus, but a bland and virtuous man, exceedingly anxious to secure plenty of good subscribers and contributors, and very ready to perform any acts of kindness not inconsistent with this grand design. Draw near him, therefore, with soft approaches and mild persuasions. Do not treat him like an enemy, and insist on reading your whole manuscript aloud to him, with appropriate gestures. His time has some value, if yours has not; and he has therefore educated his eye till it has become microscopic, like a naturalist's, and can classify nine out of ten specimens by one glance at a scale or a feather. Fancy an ambitious echinoderm claiming a private interview with Agassiz, to demonstrate by verbal arguments that he is a mollusk! Besides, do you expect to administer the thing orally to each of the two hundred thousand, more or less, who turn the leaves of the "Atlantic"? You are writing for the average eye, and must submit to its verdict. "Do not trouble yourself about the light on your statue; it is the light of the public square which must test its value."
Do not despise any honest propitiation, however small, in dealing with your editor. Look to the physical aspect of your manuscript, and prepare your page so neatly that it shall allure instead of repelling. Use good pens, black ink, nice white paper and plenty of it. Do not emulate "paper-sparing Pope," whose chaotic manuscript of the "Iliad," written chiefly on the backs of old letters, still remains in the British Museum. If your document be slovenly, the presumption is that its literary execution is the same, Pope to the contrary notwithstanding. An editor's eye becomes carnal, and is easily attracted by a comely outside. If you really wish to obtain his goodwill for your production, do not first tax his time for deciphering it, any more than in visiting a millionnaire to solicit a loan you would begin by asking him to pay for the hire of the carriage which takes you to his door.
"The piece, you think, is incorrect; why, take it; I 'm all submission; what you 'd have it, make it."
Such being the majesty of the art you seek to practise, you can at least take time and deliberation before dishonoring it. Disabuse yourself especially of the belief that any grace or flow of style can come from writing rapidly. Haste can make you slipshod, but it can never make you graceful. With what dismay one reads of the wonderful fellows in fashionable novels, who can easily dash off a brilliant essay in a single night! When I think how slowly my poor thoughts come in, how tardily they connect themselves, what a delicious prolonged perplexity it is to cut and contrive a decent clothing of words for them, as a little girl does for her doll, — nay, how many new outfits a single sentence sometimes costs before it is presentable, till it seems at last, like our army on the Potomac, as if it never could be thoroughly clothed, — I certainly should never dare to venture into print, but for the confirmed suspicion that the greatest writers have done even so. I can hardly believe that there is any autograph in the world so precious or instructive as that scrap of paper, still preserved at Ferrara, on which Ariosto wrote in sixteen different revisions one of his most famous stanzas. Do you know, my dear neophyte, how Balzac used to compose? As a specimen of the labor that sometimes goes to make an effective style, the process is worth recording. When Balzac had a new work in view, he first spent weeks in studying from real life for it, haunting the streets of Paris by day and night, note-book in hand. His materials gained, he shut himself up till the book was written, perhaps two months, absolutely excluding everybody but his publisher. He emerged pale and thin, with the complete manuscript in his hand, not only written, but almost rewritten, so thoroughly was the original copy altered, interlined, and rearranged. This strange production, almost illegible, was sent to the unfortunate printers; with infinite difficulty a proof-sheet was obtained, which, being sent to the author, was presently returned in almost as hopeless a chaos of corrections as the manuscript first submitted. Whole sentences were erased, others transposed, everything modified. A second and a third followed, alike torn to pieces by the ravenous pen of Balzac. The despairing printers labored by turns, only the picked men of the office being equal to the task, and they relieving each other at hourly intervals, as beyond that time no one could endure the fatigue. At last, by the fourth proof-sheet, the author too was wearied out, though not contented. "I work ten hours out of the twenty-four," said he, "over the elaboration of my unhappy style, and I am never satisfied, myself, when all is done."
Do not complain that this scrupulousness is probably wasted, after all, and that nobody knows. The public knows. People criticize higher than they attain. When the Athenian audience hissed a public speaker for a mispronunciation, it did not follow that any one of the malcontents could pronounce as well as the orator. In our own lyceum-audiences there may not be a man who does not yield to his own private eccentricities of dialect, but see if they do not appreciate elegant English from Phillips or Everett! Men talk of writing down to the public taste who have never yet written up to that standard. "There never yet was a good tongue," said old Fuller, "that wanted ears to hear it." If one were expecting to be judged by a few scholars only, one might hope somehow to cajole them; but it is this vast, unimpassioned, unconscious tribunal, this average judgment of intelligent minds, which is truly formidable, — something more undying than senates and more omnipotent than courts, something which rapidly cancels all transitory reputations, and at last becomes the organ of eternal justice and infallibly awards posthumous fame.
Have faith enough in your own individuality to keep it resolutely down for a year or two. A man has not much intellectual capital who cannot treat himself to a brief interval of modesty. Premature individualism commonly ends either in a reaction against the original whims, or in a mannerism which perpetuates them. For mannerism no one is great enough, because, though in the hands of a strong man it imprisons us in novel fascination, yet we soon grow weary, and then hate our prison forever. How sparkling was Reade's crisp brilliancy in "Peg Woffington "! — but into what disagreeable affectations it has since degenerated! Carlyle was a boon to the human race, amid the tameness into which English style was declining; but who is not tired of him and his catchwords now? He was the Jenner of our modern style, inoculating and saving us all by his quaint frank Germanism, then dying of his own disease. Now the age has outgrown him, and is approaching a mode of writing which unites the smoothness of the eighteenth century with the vital vigor of the seventeenth, so that Sir Thomas Browne and Andrew Marvell seem quite as near to us as Pope or Addison, — a style penetrated with the best spirit of Carlyle, without a trace of Carlylism.
Especially do not indulge any fantastic preference for either Latin or Anglo-Saxon, the two great wings on which our magnificent English soars and sings; we can spare neither. The combination gives us an affluence of synonymes and a delicacy of discrimination such as no unmixed idiom can show.
While you utterly shun slang, whether native— or foreign-born, — (at present, by the way, our popular writers use far less slang than the English,) —yet do not shrink from Americanisms, so they be good ones. American literature is now thoroughly out of leading-strings; and the nation which supplied the first appreciative audience for Carlyle, Tennyson, and the Brownings, can certainly trust its own literary instincts to create the new words it needs. To be sure, the inelegancies with which we are chiefly reproached are not distinctively American: Burke uses "pretty considerable"; Miss Burney says, "I trembled a few"; the English Bible says "reckon," Locke has "guess," and Southey "realize," in the exact senses in which one sometimes hears them used colloquially here. Nevertheless such improprieties are of course to be avoided; but whatever good Americanisms exist, let us hold to them by all means. The diction of Emerson alone is a sufficient proof, by its unequalled range and precision, that no people in the world ever had access to a vocabulary so rich and copious as we are acquiring. To the previous traditions and associations of the English tongue we add resources of contemporary life such as England cannot rival. Political freedom makes every man an individual; a vast industrial activity makes every man an inventor, not merely of labor-saving machines, but of labor-saving words; universal schooling popularizes all thought and sharpens the edge of all language. We unconsciously demand of our writers the same dash and the same accuracy which we demand in railroading or dry-goods-jobbing. The mixture of nationalities is constantly coining and exchanging new felicities of dialect: Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Africa are present everywhere with their various contributions of wit and shrewdness, thought and geniality; in New York and elsewhere one finds whole thoroughfares of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal; on our Western railways there are placards printed in Swedish; even China is creeping in. The colonies of England are too far and too provincial to have had much reflex influence on her literature, but how our phraseology is already amplified by our relations with Spanish America! The life-blood of Mexico flowed into our newspapers while the war was in progress; and the gold of California glitters in our primers. Many foreign cities may show a greater variety of mere national costumes, but the representative value of our immigrant tribes is far greater from the very fact that they merge their mental costume in ours. Thus the American writer finds himself among his phrases like an American sea-captain amid his crew: a medley of all nations, waiting for the strong organizing New England mind to mould them into a unit of force.
There are certain minor matters, subsidiary to elegance, if not elegancies, and therefore worth attention. Do not habitually prop your sentences on crutches, such as Italics and exclamation points, but make them stand without aid; if they cannot emphasize themselves, these devices are commonly but a confession of helplessness. Do not leave loose ends as you go on, straggling things, to be caught up and dragged along uneasily in footnotes, but work them all in neatly, as Biddy at her bread-pan gradually kneads in all the outlying bits of dough, till she has one round and comely mass. Reduce yourself to short allowance of parentheses and dashes; if you employ them merely from clumsiness, they will lose all their proper power in your sands. Economize quotation-marks also, clear that dust from your pages, assume your readers to be acquainted with the current jokes and the stock epithets: all persons like the compliment of having it presumed that they know something, and prefer to discover the wit or beauty of your allusion without a guideboard.
Do not waste a minute, not a second, in trying to demonstrate to others the merit of your own performance. If your work does not vindicate itself, you cannot vindicate it, but you can labor steadily on to something which needs no advocate but itself. It was said of Haydon, the English artist, that, if he had taken half the pains to paint great pictures that he took to persuade the public he had painted them, his fame would have been secure. Similar was the career of poor Home, who wrote the farthing epic of" Orion" with one grand line in it, and a prose work without any, on "The False Medium excluding Men of Genius from the Public." He spent years in ineffectually frying to repeal the exclusion in his own case, and has since manfully gone to the grazing regions in Australia, hoping there at least to find the sheep and the goats better discriminated. Do not emulate these tragedies. Remember how many great writers have created the taste by which they were enjoyed, and do not be in a hurry. Toughen yourself a little, and perform something better. Inscribe above your desk the words of Rivarol, "Genius is only great patience." It takes less time to build an avenue of shingle palaces than to hide away unseen, block by block, the vast foundation-stones of an observatory. Most bygone literary fames have been very short-lived in America, because they have lasted no longer than they deserved. Happening the other day to recur to a list of Cambridge lyceum-lecturers in my boyish days, I find with dismay that the only name now popularly remembered is that of Emerson: death, oblivion, or a professorship has closed over all the rest, while the whole standard of American literature has been vastly raised meanwhile, and no doubt partly through their labors. To this day, some of our most gifted writers are being dwarfed by the unkind friendliness of too early praise. It was Keats, the most precocious of all great poets, the stock victim of critical assassination, —though the charge does him utter injustice, —who declared that "nothing is finer for purposes of production than a very gradual ripening of the intellectual powers."
Do not complacently imagine, because your first literary attempt proved good and successful, that your second will doubtless improve upon it. The very contrary sometimes happens. A man dreams for years over one projected composition, all his reading converges to it, all his experience stands related to it, it is the net result of his existence up to a certain time, it is the cistern into which he pours his accumulated life. Emboldened by success, he mistakes the cistern for a fountain, and instantly taps his brain again. The second production, as compared with the first, costs but half the pains and attains but a quarter part of the merit; a little more of fluency and facility perhaps, —but the vigor, the wealth, the originality, the head of water, in short, are wanting. One would think that almost any intelligent man might write one good thing in a lifetime, by reserving himself long enough: it is the effort after quantity which proves destructive. The greatest man has passed his zenith, when he once begins to cheapen his style of work and sink into a bookmaker: after that, though the newspapers may never hint at it, nor his admirers own it, the decline of his career is begun.
Yet it is unjust and unworthy in Marsh to disfigure his fine work on the English language by traducing all who now write that tongue. "None seek the audience, fit, though few, which contented the ambition of Milton, and all writers for the press now measure their glory by their gains," and so indefinitely onward,—which is simply cant. Does Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., who honestly earns his annual five thousand dollars from the "New York Ledger," take rank as head of American literature by virtue of his salary? Because the profits of true literature are rising, trivial as they still are beside those of commerce or the professions, its merits do not necessarily decrease, but the contrary is more likely to happen; for in this pursuit, as in all others, cheap work is usually poor work. None but gentlemen of fortune can enjoy the bliss of writing for nothing and paying their own printer. Nor does the practice of compensation by the page work the injury that has often been ignorantly predicted. No contributor need hope to cover two pages of a periodical with what might be adequately said in one, unless he assumes his editor to be as foolish as himself. The Spartans exiled Ctesiphon for bragging that he could speak the whole day on any subject selected; and a modern magazine is of little value, unless it has a Spartan at its head.
Strive always to remember — though it does not seem intended that we should quite bring it home to ourselves — that "To-Day is a king in disguise," and that this American literature of ours will be just as classic a thing, if we do our part, as any which the past has treasured. There is a mirage over all literary associations. Keats and Lamb seem to our young people to be existences as remote and legendary as Homer, yet it is not an old man's life since Keats was an awkward boy at the door of Hazlitt's lecture room, and Lamb was introducing Talfourd to Wordsworth as his own only admirer. In reading Spence's "Anecdotes," Pope and Addison appear no farther off; and wherever 1 open Bacon's "Essays," I am sure to end at last with that one magical sentence, annihilating centuries, "When I was a child, and Queen Elizabeth was in the flower of her years."
And this imperceptible transformation of the commonplace present into the storied past applies equally to the pursuits of war and to the serenest works of peace. Be not misled by the excitements of the moment into overrating the charms of military life. In this chaos of uniforms, we seem to be approaching times such as existed in England after Waterloo, when the splenetic Byron declared that the only distinction was to be a little undistinguished. No doubt, war brings out grand and unexpected qualities, and there is a perennial fascination in the Elizabethan Raleighs and Sidneys, alike heroes of pen and sword. But the fact is patent, that there is scarcely any art whose rudiments are so easy to acquire as the military; the manuals of tactics have no difficulties comparable to those of the ordinary professional text-books; and any one who can drill a boat's crew or a ball-club can learn in a very few weeks to drill a company or even a regiment. Given in addition the power to command, to organize, and to execute, — high qualities, though not rare in this community, and you have a man needing but time and experience to make a general. More than this can be acquired only by a exclusive absorption in this one art; as Napoleon said, that, to have good soldiers, a nation must be always at war.
If, therefore, duty and opportunity call, count it a privilege to obtain your share in the new career; throw yourself into it as resolutely and joyously as if it were a summer-campaign in the Adirondack, but never fancy for a moment that you have discovered any grander or manlier life than you might be leading every day at home. It is not needful here to decide which is intrinsically the better thing, a column of a newspaper or a column of attack, Wordsworth's "Lines on Immortality" or Wellington's Lines of Torres Vedras; each is noble, if nobly done, though posterity seems to remember literature the longest.
Once the poets and the sages were held to be pleasing triflers, fit for hours of relaxation in the lulls of war. Now the pursuits of peace are recognized as the real, and war as the accidental. It interrupts all higher avocations, as does the cry of fire: when the fire is extinguished, the important affairs of life are resumed. Six years ago the London "Times" was bewailing that all thought and culture in England were suspended by the Crimean War. "We want no more books. Give us good recruits, at least five feet seven, a good model for a floating-battery, and a gun to take effect at five thousand yards, — and Whigs and Tories, High and Low Church, the poets, astronomers, and critics, may settle it among themselves." How remote seems that epoch now! and how remote will the present soon appear! while art and science will resume their sway serene, beneath skies eternal. Yesterday I turned from treatises on gunnery and fortification to open Milton's Latin Poems, which I had never read, and there, in the "Sylvarum Liber," I came upon a passage as grand as anything in "Paradise Lost," — his description of Plato's archetypal man, the vast ideal of the human race, eternal, incorrupt, coeval with the stars, dwelling either in the sidereal spaces, or among the Lethean mansions of souls unborn, or pacing the unexplored confines of the habitable globe. There stood the majestic image, veiled in a dead language, yet stilt visible; and it was as if one of the poet's own sylvan groves had been suddenly cut down, and opened a view of Olympus. Then all these present fascinating trivialities of war and diplomacy ebbed away, like Greece and Rome before them, and there seemed nothing real in the universe but Plato's archetypal man.
Indeed, it is the same with all contemporary notorieties. In all free governments, especially, it is the habit to overrate the dramatis personae of the hour. How empty to us are now the names of the great politicians of the last generation, as Crawford and Lowndes! — yet it is but a few years since these men filled in the public ear as large a space as Clay or Calhoun afterwards, and when they died, the race of the giants was thought ended. The path to oblivion of these later idols is just as sure; even Webster will be to the next age but a mighty tradition, and all that he has left will seem no more commensurate with his fame than will his statue by Powers. If anything preserves the statesmen of to-day, it will be only because we are coming to a contest of more vital principles, which may better embalm the men. Of all gifts, eloquence is the most short-lived. The most accomplished orator fades forgotten, and his laurels pass to some hoarse, inaudible Burke, accounted rather a bore during his lifetime, and possessed of a faculty of scattering, not convincing, the members of the House. "After all," said the brilliant Choate, with melancholy foreboding. "a book is the only immortality."
So few men in any age are born with a marked gift for literary expression, so few of this number have access to high culture, so few even of these have the personal nobleness to use their powers well, and this small band is finally so decimated by disease and manifold disaster, that it makes one shudder to observe how little of the embodied intellect of any age is left behind. Literature is attar of roses, one distilled drop from a million blossoms. Think how Spain and Portugal once divided the globe between them in a treaty, when England was a petty kingdom of illiterate tribes! — and now all Spain is condensed for us into Cervantes, and all Portugal into the fading fame of the unread Camoens. The long magnificence of Italian culture has left us only Quattro Poeti, the Four Poets. The difference between Shakspeare and his contemporaries is not that he is read twice, ten times, a hundred times as much as they: it is an absolute difference; he is read, and they are only printed.
Yet, if our life be immortal, this temporary distinction is of little moment, and we may learn humility, without learning despair, from earth's evanescent glories. Who cannot bear a few disappointments, if the vista be so wide that the mute inglorious Miltons of this sphere may in some other sing their Paradise as Found? War or peace, fame or forgetfulness, can bring no real injury to one who has formed the fixed purpose to live nobly day by day. I fancy that in some other realm of existence we may look back with some kind interest on this scene of our earlier life, and say to one another, "Do you remember yonder planet, where once we went to school?" And whether our elective study here lay chiefly in the fields of action or of thought will matter little to us then, when other schools shall have led us through other disciplines.


After yet another series of tragic floods in Iowa, citizens and local and state governments are evaluating how to mitigate them in the future. Experts are proposing higher, stronger levees, restrictions on construction in flood plains, buyouts of properties that flood regularly and more.
The menu of remedies should include two land-use changes – restoration of wetlands and, when cellulosic biofuel production becomes feasible, conversion of corn and soybean fields to deep-rooted perennials.
This year, with strong bipartisan support, the Iowa Legislature took the first step toward passing a constitutional amendment to create a fund for water quality, parks and outdoor recreation, part of which could be used to assist farmers in converting some of their land into wetlands. The process requires that the General Assembly pass the legislation again, and then the citizens of Iowa would get to vote on this fund in November 2010.
Farmers have lined up to enter land into voluntary wetland-creation programs, but most are turned away for lack of funding. These wetlands benefit society by providing wildlife habitat and cleaning the water in addition to flood control. One acre of wetland can prevent 1 million to 1.5 million gallons of water from entering a flooded waterway. Wetlands act like a sponge – absorbing and then slowly releasing water. In some areas, wetlands are the most economical way to reduce flooding. Depending on landscape conditions, one acre of wetland placed at the outlet of a farmer's tile lines can also filter out most of the nitrogen and sediment from up to 100 acres of adjacent cropland.
The flood-control benefits of new wetlands must be balanced against needs for food, feed and fuel, but they can be one component of Iowa's effort to reduce flooding.
Another component: new cropping patterns enabled by cellulosic biofuel production. Organisms that create biofuels by devouring cellulose, or plant fibers, are equal-opportunity feeders. For the most part, they do not care what species of plant they consume, so farmers can choose among a wide variety of energy crops. Some energy crops, such as switchgrass, will soak up more water and hold more soil in place than corn or soybeans do. Even better: a perennial mix of native prairie species.
Prairie covers the soil surface year-round and anchors the soil with an extensive root system, enabling it to soak up tremendous amounts of water and release it slowly. Since prairie requires no annual tillage, farmers should be able to break or seal tile lines, even further reducing rapid flows into streams.
With prairie holding the soil in place, stream flow would not be impaired by tons of new sediment. The water would carry far less nitrogen and phosphorus, which kills aquatic life from Iowa's Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico's Dead Zone.
Cleaner, more stable streams benefit society in other ways as well. With more prairie, streams that now dry up and die in the dry season are more likely to continue flowing. More game fish would repopulate Iowa's streams, and migratory waterfowl could head north out of Iowa healthy rather than malnourished. Our waterways would be more pleasant and safer for swimming, canoeing and water skiing. Prairie would also provide habitat for species of plants, birds, butterflies and other animals that are now rare or endangered.
Flooding is a problem of small impacts spread over many acres; therefore, flood-control solutions can be small changes spread over many acres. Shifting significant acreage of corn and beans to prairie energy crops would dramatically reduce the amount of floodwater flowing off our farmlands.
In pursuing flood control, Iowa's leaders should support options for agriculture that will help both the farmer and the city dweller. Iowa needs to finish the path the Legislature has begun and pass this new environmental fund. In addition, Iowa needs to promote policies that drive the source of cellulose-based biofuels toward prairie as opposed to crops that don't significantly help control and clean our waters.


I've slightly changed Foodie Friday – I still love food as much as ever but I'd also like to celebrate my love of all things craft. In fact, I love just making stuff and being nosy about what other people are making. I've renamed our new linky, #WeekendCreations – If you've blogged about something you have made or are making, it can be included.
The linky will open on a Friday and remain open until the next Monday – This will give me time to visit and share the entries and choose my featured posts.
For my first post, I'm sharing my Balsamic & Honey Chicken Salad – I'm not the biggest salad lover so for me to shout about a salad means it must taste pretty amazing. And this does! I'm trying to use up our freezer food – Its no small task, we have a huge freezer inside and a chest freezer outside. The chicken was the easiest to lay my hands on and we always have supplies of Balsamic & Honey. The chicken on its own is just great but mixed with the peppery greens (which incidentally was reduced to a bargain price) and nuts, this is such an interesting dish.
I've been quite busy this week on the crafting front. Tuesday saw our WI Sewing Club which I absolutely love – I even ended up on the sewing machine. I had bought some fabric before Tuesday in a charm pack but wasn't too bothered what I was doing with them. I decided to go with a cushion which will go in our bedroom when I finally get round to painting the furniture. Our pine furniture is looking so dated in colour but is still in really good condition – Mr C keeps avoiding the subject (I think he thinks I'll never get round to it) so I'll just have to start it on my own!
I need to give a big thank you to everyone who contributed to the last Foodie Friday – I'm still making my way around all the entries and continuing to share. I would love it if you continued to join in with #weekendcreations.
My featured foodie post is from The Not So Creative Cook with Kung Pao Beef – This is the meal I always order from the Chinese so I am delighted to be able to make our own. I love that the ingredients are simple and can be bought anywhere – even St Helens!
Joining in with Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews – She's encouraging us to use up our food stock including the chicken in the freezer!
That looks so lovely Helen. I've been crazy for salad this week, I guess it's a healthier craving than many!
That balsamic salad looks lovely! I will be giving it a try soon.. perfect for this weather!
Thanks for hosting another party, Salad is nice, but I am vegetarian.
That looks lovely Helen. Just in time for summer.
Thanks for hosting Helen – I love a good salad!!