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Home > Vol 11, No 4 (2017) >	Milton
Perspectives_on_Terrorism_XI_4_-_Daniel_Milton
Special Correspondence
Does the Cure Address the Problem? Examining the Trump Administration's Executive Order on Immigration from Muslim-majority Countries Using Publicly Available Data on Terrorism[1]
by Daniel Milton
This Research Note offers an empirical examination of the threat from terrorism abroad in the context of the Trump Administration's executive order restricting entry into the United States from certain Muslim countries. More specifically, it compares the number of foreign fighters coming from and the number of terrorist attacks in the countries listed in the executive order to the next highest producers of fighters and locations for terrorist attacks. The result is that, while some of the countries listed in the order have shown that they produce foreign fighters and experience terrorist activity, they are certainly not the only or most egregious targets under this standard.
Keywords: Trump, Terrorism, Travel Restrictions, Foreign Fighters, United States, Muslim countries
On January 27th, 2017, just seven days after being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States." Among other effects, this executive order limited the ability of individuals from seven different countries to travel to the United States. After both public criticism and judicial proceedings, the executive order was revised and issued anew on March 6, 2017, this time with only six countries named. Following additional legal challenges, the order has remained frozen in judicial proceedings, with part of the order allowed to proceed while the U.S. Supreme Court decides the issue.
Despite the controversy surrounding the Trump Administration's executive order, there has not been an attempt to use data on terrorist activity to examine whether or not the underlying rationale for limiting travel for the seven countries on the Administration's list holds up to empirical scrutiny. Is there empirical evidence supporting the inclusion of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen on a list of countries from which terrorists are likely to come?[2] And, perhaps most contentiously, does the evidence support including those countries while excluding others? This Research Note attempts to examine those questions.
One reason such an evaluation has not been conducted previously in the open-source literature is the lack of available data that specifically focuses on issues of terrorist travel and credible plots against the U.S. homeland. Another is the simple fact that it is difficult to predict terrorist activity. While this Research Note cannot remedy the problem of prediction, it does analyze data in an effort to examine the threat emanating from abroad as it relates to the Administration's recent executive order. It does this by comparing two sources of publicly available data on terrorist operatives and terrorist activity in the seven countries originally listed in the Administration's executive order with countries that were not listed in the order.
This text proceeds as follows. It first briefly examines both sides of the debate on the issue of the Administration's executive order. The article then turns to the analysis, which starts with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the data and then examines the data on foreign fighters and terrorist attacks. It finds that, while some of the countries on the Administration's list have produced foreign fighters and suffer from terrorist violence, others do not. In addition, some countries that experience large outflows of foreign fighters and terrorist attacks are not on the Administration's list. In short, the examination of publicly available data provides only mixed support for the executive order. This Research Note then concludes with brief comments about protecting the U.S. homeland from the threat of terrorist attacks.
The Travel Restrictions Debate
As is the case with most complicated issues, there are various rationales on each side of the debate in relation to the travel-related restrictions imposed by the executive order.[3] Three particular arguments help set the stage for the analytic approach taken in this Research Note.
The first is that curtailing entry into the U.S. by individuals from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen is necessary to protect the U.S. from terrorists and terrorist groups that would come to the U.S. from abroad and do us harm. This argument assumes that the mere presence of terrorist groups and operatives in these locations makes them potentially threatening to the U.S. specifically and to the global community more broadly. Note that, under this rationale, it is the underlying instability and presence of terrorist groups in these countries that forms the rationale for preventing travel by individuals from these countries.
The second is that the order omits countries whose nationals have historically played a role in perpetrating terrorist attacks against the U.S. This point tends to revolve around the most emotionally charged and tragic terrorist event in American history: the September 11th 2001 attacks. In making this point, some reference the fact that none of the 9/11 hijackers came from the aforementioned countries, implying that the executive order is flawed. In countering this argument, one Administration official noted in an interview with CNN that the world has changed since 9/11 and that the executive order was meant to deal with current threats, not what happened in 2001.[4] The fact that the 9/11 hijackers came from particular countries, the counter-argument goes, is not sufficient evidence to target those countries in the here and now. The issue is whether or not the executive order appropriately strikes the balance between the past and the present when it comes to evaluating the threat posed by terrorist actors today. More recent data that expands beyond one incident may be useful in helping achieve this purpose.
The third argument is that outward facing travel restrictions ignore the homegrown aspect of the terrorist threat. Several reports and studies have pointed to a recent increase in such incidents on the part of a wide variety of groups, from violent jihadists to violent racists.[5] However, some research has also suggested that the domestic threat, particularly that which stems from Muslim Americans, is not as likely as some may posit.[6]
Although the homegrown argument is important to evaluate, there are two reasons it is not discussed in detail here. First, there is a more robust amount of discussion and research on this topic. Based on this research, it seems clear that, although there is debate about the size of the homegrown terrorist threat, the threat is something that exists and should be a focus for the intelligence community and law enforcement professionals. Second, the existence of a homegrown threat does not mean there is no external threat. However, comparatively less discussion has been devoted to evaluating the foreign threat rationale outlined in support of the travel restrictions. This Research Note remedies that and examines publicly available, empirical evidence to help evaluate the claim that the countries on the Administration's list pose the greatest foreign terrorist danger to the U.S.
Using Publicly Available Data to Assess the Terrorist Threat to the United States
Although the ideal data to evaluate the rationale underlying the Administration's executive order is not publicly available, there are some data sources that can offer insight into this question. The use of publicly available data is not without its limitations. For example, the data often has a certain time lag, meaning it is a bit dated by the time it is used for analysis. Additionally, academics have noted the many challenges of collecting terrorism data from news reporting.[7] Another limitation of the data used here is that it is based on attacks and fighter profiles, but it obviously cannot tell us specifically from whom and where attacks will actually come.[8] Terrorism, after all, is a dynamic phenomenon.
In short, while not identifying with exactness the most prominent threat of terrorism faced in real time, publicly available data does provide the opportunity for a more informed discussion about whether limiting the entry of individuals from the seven countries is consistent with the threat as illustrated by recent experience with terrorism. Using this data is not a substitute for more recent or detailed intelligence reporting, but can serve to stimulate public debate by providing a greater level of clarity on where threats may come from and what some challenges are in trying to deal with those threats.
Given the focus in the Administration's executive order regarding Syria, the ongoing Syrian civil war seems like a good place to begin an assessment of the threat posed by terrorists to the U.S. When it comes to threats emanating from Syria that have the potential to impact the U.S. homeland, one prominent topic of concern is that of foreign fighters.
According to the U.S. State Department, more than 40,000 individuals from over 120 countries have come to Syria to fight for one of the many opposition groups.[9] Part of the Administration's concern about Syria is the fact that many individuals have gone there to fight with groups that view the U.S. as an enemy. Those who make it to groups such as the Islamic State likely receive a religious indoctrination in the group's worldview, as well as practical experience using weapons and fighting.
Looking at detailed information on foreign fighters could provide an interesting assessment of at least two components of the terrorist threat. The most obvious is that such data could speak to the scope of the threat posed by the eventual return of these foreign fighters. One of the most prominent concerns is that returning fighters, having been further radicalized and trained by groups like the Islamic State, will be able carry out more effective attacks in their homelands or in other countries to which they may travel.[10]
The second issue to which this data speaks is a bit more obscure, but equally important. The data, by identifying which countries have challenges with radicalized individuals leaving to become foreign fighters, also provides a proxy for understanding where the Islamic State's narrative appears to have gained significant traction. Countries with a large foreign fighter problem are more likely to have a domestic radicalization problem. When it comes to the threat posed to the U.S., it will ultimately matter little to the public if the terrorist carrying out the attack came from Iraq and Syria or was radicalized in Germany and came directly to the United States.[11]
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point conducted an analysis of the foreign fighter threat using data from the Islamic State's own foreign fighter entry forms. This data, which was obtained from NBC News, gives an inside look into the organization's recruitment profile, and, by extension, where the threat comes from. To help answer the question at hand, I took the CTC's public report and identified what percentage of the foreign fighters came from the seven countries identified in the executive order. This information appears in Table 1.
It should be noted that Iraq and Syria are not represented in Table 1 because the data likely did not contain a representative amount of fighters from those countries. This is due to the fact that the data focused mainly on foreign fighters, whereas most Iraqis and Syrians would be considered local fighters.
Given that caveat, a couple of interesting findings emerge. First, the countries listed in the executive order contribute a relatively small number of overall number of fighters. More precisely, the five countries for which we have data contribute about 4% of the foreign fighters. Second, of those five countries, only Libya seems to provide a substantial number when their population is taken into consideration. This should not come as a surprise, given that Libya was also a key provider of fighters to the Iraqi insurgency that peaked in 2006 - 2007.[12]
For comparison, the same procedure was repeated for the top seven producers of foreign fighters in the CTC report (in terms of the absolute number of records), provided they were not on the Administration's list of countries. It is interesting to note that, in terms of the absolute number of fighters, not a single one of the five countries listed by the Administration is in the top seven foreign fighter producing countries, which are shown in Table 2.
These seven countries account for 63% of the records in the CTC dataset. That represents a far greater amount of foreign fighters than do the countries on the Administration list. Even if one limited the comparison five countries, such a procedure still captures 27% of all fighters at the lower end (if the calculation uses the bottom five countries in Table 2) and 54% on the high end (if the top five countries are included). In short, if the worry is that those who have traveled to fight on behalf of the Islamic State may eventually return or otherwise threaten the U.S., the five countries listed in the executive order would not seem to be of highest priority based on these numbers.
While each of these countries and their respective security challenges when it comes to terrorism deserves a much more in depth treatment than can be undertaken in this Research Note, just a few brief observations are offered here. Saudi Arabia tops the list. Taken together with the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came from Saudi Arabia in 2001, the sizable number of foreign fighters leaving the country and going to fight in Syria speaks to the continuing radicalization challenge faced by the Saudi Arabian government and to their difficulty in preventing travel. Tunisia, which experienced the highest per capita outflow of foreign fighters in the database, has been challenged by political and economic issues at home. Turkey, an aspirant to the Visa Waiver Program, stands out as a uniquely challenging case. It has been an at times frustrating partner in the fight against the Islamic State, even as it continues to arrest large numbers of "radicals" within its borders.[13] Russia and China's place on the list is primarily due to the flow of individuals from their respective restive regions that are home to violent jihadist groups (Chechnya and Xinjiang).
Also worth mentioning and potentially of equal concern, but not present in Table 2, is the sizable number of foreign fighters who have traveled from Europe to join the Islamic State. If we take the top five European countries in the CTC dataset (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark), the total number of foreign fighters is 304, or about 7.6% of the total dataset. This is a greater proportion than that obtained by grouping together the five countries covered by the executive order. This raises the question about whether the attempt to limit travel from certain countries actually makes the country that much safer, given that the threat appears to be spread among a wider range of countries. Indeed, some of the countries that have produced large numbers of foreign fighters receive no scrutiny in the executive order.
Of course, this is just data related to foreign fighters. What can be said about the problem of terrorism more holistically? An assessment of which countries are currently the "hot zones" as far as terrorism goes may be more in line with the seven countries with which the Administration has expressed the most concern. Fortunately, data on terrorist activity around the world is available through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), which is maintained by the University of Maryland's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). Using this dataset, data was collated on terrorist activity in every country around the world for the two most recent years in the database (2014-2015). The data for the countries listed in the Administration's executive order can be seen in Table 3.
The second column shows the number of attacks that occurred in each country from 2014 to 2015. The third column shows the proportion of a country's attacks as a percentage of all terrorist attacks worldwide in the GTD during that two year span. The results of this simple comparison are telling. Iraq pops as being the location in which 21 percent of all terrorist attacks around the world took place, the largest single number for any other country.[14] After accounting for Iraq, however, the percentage covered by the remaining six countries listed in the Administration's executive order drops quite a bit. In absolute numbers, however, there is no denying that just about every single one of these countries has some form of a terrorism problem. This may lead some to conclude that preventing travel from these countries in which terrorism occurs so frequently makes good policy sense.
An important caveat needs to be made here. It is entirely probable that the number of terrorist attacks that occurred in 2016 in these countries is even higher than it was for the 2014 - 2015 time period. Each of these countries, with the exception of Iran, remains locked in intense internal armed conflict.
But what of the rest of the countries that were not included in the executive order? Table 4 lists the next seven largest countries in terms of the number of attacks that took place in their borders, as well as how much each country's number of attacks represents as a proportion of the number of all terrorist attacks in the GTD database.
A look at the countries in Table 4 certainly raises questions. Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the United States continues to conduct counterterrorism strikes to limit the ability of al-Qa'ida to carry out attacks around the world and to protect the U.S. troops stationed in theater, are places of prominent concern. The 2010 Times Square bombing attempt had its roots in Pakistan. Nigeria is home to one of the most violent terrorist groups in the world, Boko Haram.[15] Egypt is the home to a very potent affiliate of the Islamic State, known as the Islamic State - Sinai. This group has reportedly carried out attacks against U.N. peacekeeping forces and claimed responsibility for downing an airliner.[16] Finally, the Philippines has recently been the scene for dramatic developments, particular in the southern city of Marawi.[17] In short, there seem to be plenty of areas of concern beyond the countries listed in the executive order when it comes to potential terrorist threats facing the homeland.
This Research Note utilized publicly available data in an effort to evaluate part of the rationale underlying the Trump Administration's executive order limiting travel by individuals from certain countries into the U.S. The simple data analysis used here provided only mixed support for the Administration's executive order. Some of the countries in the Administration's list of travel restrictions indeed have a terrorist problem. In others, the threat posed by terrorism is less clear. The same is true for countries not on the list; some have severe terrorism challenges, others do not.
To be clear, the argument here is not that travel restrictions need to be implemented in relation to a wider array of countries. Nor is it that such policies are failed from the start. Instead, the main takeaway from this examination of publicly available data is that if policymakers mistake the seven countries listed in the Administration's order as the sole or primary source of our terrorism problems, then the risk of being blindsided by terrorist threats coming from other locations and through other avenues is increased. Beyond that point, simply restricting or cutting off travel completely (particularly once the broader nature of the threat is correctly diagnosed) is not likely the most feasible or effective solution, practically or politically. Limiting the threat posed by terrorists from abroad will require an array of policy solutions that address each stage of the process whereby an individual radicalizes, trains, travels, obtains materials, and ultimately carries out an attack against the U.S.
Of course, many of these solutions focus on the possibility of terrorism coming from the outside into the U.S. As noted earlier, however, the terrorism threat the U.S. faces has a significant domestic manifestation that is not limited to a particular ideology. While assessing the domestic threat of terrorism is beyond the scope of this Research Note, addressing it will almost certainly require different counterterrorism tools than those applied to prevent the transnational component. To make matters even more complicated, often the domestic and transnational components intersect, creating additional challenges for U.S. counterterrorism efforts that may not work seamlessly across these gaps.
In short, while it may be appealing to think that the threat is limited by geography, combating terrorism is challenging precisely because terrorism simply cannot be contained through one policy instrument or dealing with a small number of countries. Designing policies that effectively combine multiple facets of the U.S. government's counterterrorism capabilities towards this global threat is the key to achieving the desired measure of security.
N.B.: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or any other agency of the U.S. Government.
About the Author: Daniel J. Milton earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Florida State University. He is the author or co-author of several recent monographs on the Islamic State's propaganda efforts, the foreign fighter threat, and the hostage taking of Westerners by jihadist groups. His work has appeared in various national and international media outlets. He is currently the Director of Research at the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy. Prior to West Point, he taught at Arkansas State University and Brigham Young University.
[1] The author would like to thank Brian Dodwell, Bryan Price, and Dakota Foster for their comments and critiques on earlier versions of this note. It is much improved because of their feedback.
[2] Iraq was removed in the Administration's revision of the original executive order. However, for purposes of this article, it was considered together with the remaining six countries in the executive order.
[3] For a look at the legal debate of the order's constitutionality, see Rivkin, D.B., Tumlin, K., & Downie, J. (2017). "Is President Trump's Executive Order Constitutional?" Washington Post, 6 February. URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-president-trumps-executive-order-constitutional/2017/02/06/26ee9762-ecc1-11e6-9973-c5efb7ccfb0d_story.html. For an overview of other impacts of the order, see Calamur, K. (2017). "What Trump's Executive Order on Immigration Does – and Doesn't Do." Atlantic, 30 January. URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/trump-immigration-order-muslims/514844/.
[4]For one example of a debate over the 9/11 hijackers and the Administration's rebuttal on this point, see http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/02/06/cuomo-gorka-spar-over-ban-newday.cnn.
[5] Perliger, A. (2013). Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America's Violent Far-Right. West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center; Crone, M. & Harrow, M. (2011). "Homegrown Terrorism in the West." Terrorism and Political Violence 23(4), 521 - 536.
[6] Bergen, P. (2017). "Trump's Travel Ban is Useless. Terrorists Mostly Come from Our Own Backyard." Washington Post, June 5, 2017. URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/06/05/trumps-travel-ban-is-useless-terrorists-mostly-come-from-our-own-back-yard/.; Mueller, J. & Stewart, M.G. (2012). "The Terrorism Delusion: America's Overwrought Response to September 11." International Security 37(1), 81 - 110; Brooks, R.A. (2011). "Muslim 'Homegrown' Terrorism in the United States: How Series is the Threat?" International Security 36(2), 7 - 47.
[7] Drakos, K. & Gofas, A. (2006). "The Devil You Know but Are Afraid to Face: Underreporting Bias and its Distorting Effects on the Study of Terrorism." Journal of Conflict Resolution 50(5), 714 - 735.
[8] To be fair, classified data cannot tell us which individuals are likely to pose a threat either. This has more to do with the fact that terrorism has proven to be an attractive tactic for a wide range of individuals across different demographic groups, nationalities, and ideologies. In other words, research to this point has not found the profile of a terrorist, if it exists. Horgan, J. (2003). The Psychology of Terrorism. London: Taylor and Francis.
[9] The number of fighters and the diverse nature of their origins is staggering. These numbers come from a 2016 State Department press conference, which is available at URL: https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/06/258013.htm.
[10] That foreign fighters pose a threat is clear. What is less clear is how much of a threat they pose and whether or not that threat is changing over time. See: Byman, D. and Shapiro, J. (2014). Be Afraid, Be A Little Afraid: The Threat of Terrorism from Western Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraqi. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.; Byman, D. (2015). "What Do The Paris Attacks Tell Us About Foreign Fighters?" Washington Post, 16 November. URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/11/16/what-do-the-paris-attacks-tell-us-about-foreign-fighters/.
[11] That said, from a practical standpoint, research has suggested that returnees are more effective at carrying out operations than those who are not veterans of foreign campaigns. Hegghammer, T. (2013). "Should I Start or Should I Go? Explaining Variation in Western Jihadists' Choice between Domestic and Foreign Fighting." American Political Science Review 107(1), 1 - 15.
[12] A recent report from the CTC compared the flow of foreign fighters during 2006-2007 timeframe to the flow that came more recently into Syria to support the Islamic State. Dodwell, B., Milton, D., & Rassler, D. (2016). Then and Now: Comparing the Flow of Foreign Fighters to AQI and the Islamic State. West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center. URL: https://www.ctc.usma.edu/v2/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Then-and-Now.pdf.
[13] Kingsley, P. (2017). Turkey Arrests Hundreds in Sweeping Raids Against ISIS." New York Times, 5 February. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/world/middleeast/turkey-arrests-isis.html.; No Author. (2016). "Istanbul Attacks: Turkish Police Arrest 235 of 'militant links.'" BBC, 12 December. URL: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38288429. Moore, J. (2016). "Turkey's President Erdogan Accuses U.S. Coalition of Supporting ISIS." Newsweek, 28 December. URL: http://www.newsweek.com/turkey-erdogan-accuses-us-coalition-supporting-isis-536566.
[14] And, as it turns out, Iraq was removed from the Administration's revised order.
[15] Deman, E. (2015). "The World's Deadliest Terrorist Organization: It's Not ISIS." Atlantic, 18 November. URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/11/isis-boko-haram-terrorism/416673/.
[16] Tilghman, A. (2015). "IEDs Injure U.S. Troops Deployed on New ISIS Front in Egypt." Military Times, 4 September. URL: http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/09/04/isis--egypt/71711638/; Starr, B. and Shoichet, C.E. (2015). "Russian Plane Crash: U.S. Intel Suggests ISIS Bomb Brought Down Jet." CNN, 4 November. URL: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/04/africa/russian-plane-crash-egypt-sinai/.
[17] Paddock, R. and Villamor, F. (2017). "Destroying a Philippine City to Save It From ISIS Allies." New York Times, 13 June. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/world/asia/marawi-philippines-islamic-state.html.


sort out XSECT - I'm sure I meant there to be 1 and 2 byte forms, not 2 and 4 - 4 byte is only useful if a passage dimension is > 327.67m!
store legs by end stations rather than repeating coordinates over and over?
Compare HPGL export with what printhpgl used to give.
loading a .3d file with no survey data (or which has a valid header but is broken later) with a survey already loaded doesn't work well.
After keyboard controlled movement, the measuring line/circle doesn't reappear until the mouse is moved (e.g. plan/elevation transition with P/L).
Does anyone use Controls->"Reverse Sense"? It made some sense with caverot but now seeing the mouse pointer makes people expect the default motions (for right button drag particularly).
Draw the measuring line directly onto the front buffer, so we can remove it with a copy from the back buffer and redraw it in the new position without a re-render.
Round the measuring line coords so the ring is a nice shape? Or just antialias the ring, "there" blob and line?
Process all pending input before rerendering to improve responsiveness.
Check timing code - we need to glFinish to ensure it's all drawn, and that may be needed to get meaningful timing info.
File->Extended Elevation - provide a way to specify a spec file? Or better a UI to control the extending.
print to an image file?
grid crosses option (only draw cross at intersections, not a full grid).
by default put crosses on those points with no legs attached (unused fixed points)?
clipping - want to select a clip sphere (or maybe cube) centred on centre on rotation I think.
Some way to display all the names of an equated station (e.g. in pop-up window or the info panel).
Feed back redraw time to key based movement as in caverot? Or perhaps best not to? It depends on whether we expect people to hold down keys or not... Perhaps something smart where the first press is a fixed size, then after that it depends on the redraw?
improve .plt export to include less crude survey structure.
If multiple methods for drawing crosses and/or blobs pass the visual fidelity check, check which is fastest.
Lots of aven things need documenting.
Platform specific versions of docs?
Finish off manual loose ends.
length units in .err file?
improve 3d torture test and try to automate its use if possible.
Compass .mak and .plt and CMAP .xyz in test suite?
img.c: explicitly test routines in test suite?
diffpos: compare connectivity (i.e legs as well as stations) - e.g.
Rather than forming a linked list of components, solve each as it is identified? Beware of issues like those that revcomplist test checks.
Don't split other traverses at articulating traverses when reporting error stats.
consider disabling the more expensive asserts - turning them all off speeds up cavern by about 10%.
For warnings such as "Negative adjusted tape reading" report the value of the adjusted tape reading (currently we just highlight the reading as it appears in the Survex file).
Maybe station lists should know how long they are?
Articulation point code: ideally the articulation point code should allow further network reductions to happen after splitting at articulation points?
Add support for bearings of form N20E (ie [NS][0-9]+[EW])?
should % after a clino reading work?
Fixing a point by triangulation?
Implement as extension to number format so any suitable numeric value to be repeated?
Infinite sds so we can fix in x and y only (or z only)?
cope with any combination of readings which gives enough info ???
1 1.0 - 50+ 0.5 "large cairn"
comment can be omitted "-" or not present if at end of line...? commentall?
Allow covariances to be specified in cartesian style?
?outlaw prefixes on stations in data legs (as Todd has lobbied for) and then the prefix of a leg == prefix of each end...?
comma separated dates in *date?
Find a solution to Thilo's "." problem.
eliminate duplicate img_LABELs when reading .PLT files.
img should return img_XSECT from Compass PLT files.
resolve documentation/examples mismatch for station based XYZ files and implement reading of legs from them.


text:
Hurricanes2012-2013
Brent, Tim 37 6'0" 188 lbs Mar 10, 1984
Ruutu, Tuomo 15 6'0" 200 lbs Feb 16, 1983
Staal, Eric 12 6'4" 207 lbs Oct 29, 1984
Staal, Jordan 11 6'4" 220 lbs Sep 10, 1988
Tlusty, Jiri 19 6'0" 205 lbs Mar 16, 1988
Dwyer, Patrick 39 5'11" 175 lbs Jun 22, 1983
Larose, Chad 59 5'10" 181 lbs Mar 27, 1982
Semin, Alexander 28 6'2" 209 lbs Mar 3, 1984
Westgarth, Kevin 8 6'4" 234 lbs Feb 7, 1984
Bowman, Drayson 21 6'1" 195 lbs Mar 8, 1989
Skinner, Jeff 53 5'11" 187 lbs May 16, 1992
Bergeron, Marc-Andre 47 5'9" 190 lbs Oct 13, 1980
Corvo, Joe 77 6'0" 204 lbs Jun 20, 1977
Faulk, Justin 27 6'0" 217 lbs Mar 20, 1992
Gleason, Tim 6 6'0" 217 lbs Jan 29, 1983
Harrison, Jay 44 6'4" 220 lbs Nov 3, 1982
McBain, Jamie 4 6'1" 180 lbs Feb 25, 1988
Pitkanen, Joni 25 6'3" 220 lbs Sep 19, 1983
Sanguinetti, Bobby 24 6'3" 190 lbs Feb 29, 1988
Goaltender
Ellis, Dan 31 6'1" 195 lbs Jun 19, 1980
Peters, Justin 35 6'1" 210 lbs Aug 30, 1986
Ward, Cam 30 6'1" 194 lbs Feb 29, 1984
NHL Players By Team

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Nonresident Archery Deer Permits
By: Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois archery deer hunting permits for nonresidents of the state for the 2003-2004 season will go on sale on Saturday, July 12 at 8 a.m. The permits for nonresidents will only be available by telephone using a credit card to complete the transaction.
Beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 12, nonresident archery deer permits will be available via toll-free telephone using a credit card at 1-888-6-PERMIT (1-888-673-7648).
The 2003 nonresident archery deer permit fee is $226 plus a processing fee. This permit includes an either-sex and an antlerless-only permit. In addition to their permit, nonresident deer hunters must also purchase a nonresident hunting license and a habitat stamp. Nonresident hunters may purchase either the annual license ($50.75) or a five-day license ($28.75) depending on the amount of time they will be hunting.
Nonresident archery deer hunters are limited to one archery deer permit for the 2003 hunting season. The sale of these permits is capped at 12,843 (the cap represents the number of nonresident permits that have been sold annually since the 2000-2001 archery deer season). Nonresident archery deer permits are not available over-the-counter at hunting license vendors.
During the 2002 permit sales period, these permits were completely sold out within four weeks. More than 2,000 hunters inquired about nonresident permits after they were sold out. Permits will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis until the quota is reached. Habitat stamps and hunting licenses will also be available to callers, who should have their hunter safety certificate number on hand if born after January 1, 1980. Applicants must also provide their social security and driver's license numbers.
A processing fee of $13 will be charged in addition to the normal issuing fees. If any permits remain unsold as of September 2, 2003, they will also be available from seven Illinois Department of Natural Resources offices until sold out. The offices are located in Sterling, Bartlett, Champaign, Alton, Benton, Springfield and Chicago. Addresses and phone numbers can be found at the IDNR web site (http://dnr.state.il.us), by consulting an Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations, or by calling 217/782-2965. Also, please visit our web site (http://dnr.state.il.us) for updates.
Hunting Cartoons
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Hunting Tip: Shed Hunt Your Hunting Area
One of the best ways to scout your hunting area is to look for signs that mature animals leave behind. Wallows, scrapes, rubs and areas littered with tracks are great evidence that game are using your area. But why not look for the single piece of evidence that you are hunting for when fall rolls around anyway... antlers. Game animals in the family cervidae shed their antlers annually. Why not use these unique souvenirs as a way of helping you fill your tag next fall? Looking for sheds in your...


Hey everyone! Today's free SVG is an adorable Easter Basket Placecard Holder, perfect for your Spring and Easter gathering! Add joy to your breakfast or bring one for everyone to a dinner party or luncheon and be the talk of the holiday! This is a one of a kind element that is only available on our blog! Visit the Easter section of our store for more Easter related cuts!
Fill each basket with a real dyed egg or with candies or a plastic egg filled with treats or a handmade gift.
Print names using your printer and cut apart into rectangles or cut rectangles with your cutting machine and write the names by hand. We sized our SVGs to 11.3" wide and the baskets are about 3.5" tall, perfect for a 2.75" x 1.75" name card.
We used Easter paper from a K&Company Seasonal Paper Pad which is double-sided, so we flipped the optional basket trim over for some contrast. We poked slits with an Xacto knife and inserted a brad to attach the handle to the basket.
All downloads are in Zip format and include the .svg files for use with your Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) software. If you like this file, please leave some feedback below!
Oh I love these! I can't wait to make them for my family's Easter breakfast! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Great for my Easter table!!! You guys are wonderful….
These are amazing. Thank you so much.
I just love these free files! This Easter name tags are so adorable!
Thanks guys! I like the idea of the slot over the handle for the name cards – good idea!
I love it! I am going to use it to make mini easter baskets. Too cute! Thanks again for all your great files.
I love this. Would be so cute on the Easter Table.
Just made 12 of the easter nametag baskets for the Bunco girl's Easter Bunco at my house! THANKS so much for the free treat!
With 13 grand children and 9 great children I know i am going to get a lot of use out of this one, thank you so much.
Guess I had better get started or easter will be over before I get them done. thanks again.
Thank you! Very clever with many possible variations.
These will be so cute for my easter egg hunt for my neices!
The Easter basket is adorable! I am making them to give to the folks who work in my husband's office and mine. Just a little something to spread the joy of Easter. Thank you so much for sharing your talent!
Very cute, and it looks like they would be quick to make in multiples. Thanks.
Oh my gosh! I just made these and they turned out so cute!! The cuts are exactly where they need to be, no trimming. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
I love having little gift boxes and baskets. Thanks heaps. Good to know (Amber) that they turned out really well.
Is the handle file missing?


Perched high up on a ledge overlooking the Savuti landscape, lies the eco-friendly Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge. Savuti is part of the Chobe National Park and is renowned for being a prime game viewing destination in Botswana. Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge has been designed and built to blend into the natural surrounding environment and to take full advantage of the spectacular 180 degree views.
Each luxury tented room sleeps two people, offers en-suite facilities and breathtaking views of the African plains (Which can even be enjoyed from the shower). The luxury tented rooms have private viewing decks which can be used to enjoy the untouched wilderness. The lodge also has 2 luxury family-size tented rooms that sleep four and are suitable for two adults and two children.
The luxury tented rooms are well appointed with no expense spared in the décor and wonderful linen ensuring a good night's rest every night.
Rates are per person in a twin/double room sharing.
Includes all meals, local drinks, game activities and daily park fees, Flight transfer Kasane to Ghoha, road transfer Ghoha – Nogatsaa, road transfer Nogatsaa - Kasane.
Excludes vehicle park fees on entry to the park for self-drive guests, Premium branded beverages, visa, insurance, flights, spa treatments, laundry.
No rebates for guests who opt to do their own game drives in their own vehicle.
Package available in reverse order.
Quoted per person per night sharing and are in USD$ in standard luxury suites and luxury family suites.
Rates are subject to change without notice e.g. increase in park fees, government tax increases etc.
Green & Shoulder Season: for bookings with 1 or 2 single rooms the per person rate applies. From the 3rd single room onwards a 30% supplement will be added to the per person rate.
Children from the age of 5 years permitted.
Children aged 5 – 11 years will pay 50% of the adult per person rate sharing with 2 adults.
Families travelling with children 5-9 years must hire a private vehicle at an additional rate.
12+ years considered adults and accommodated in their own rooms.
Botswana immigration requires certified copies of unabridged birth certificates for all minors under the age of 18years travelling through its ports of entry.
Accommodation, all meals, teas/coffees, snacks, local drinks (soft drinks, water, local beers, selected wines and spirits), laundry, game activities, government taxes and park fees as currently legislated.
Road and air transfers, flights, travel insurance and visa costs, premium brand beverages (imported beers, wines and spirits), curios and items of a personal nature, vehicle entrance fees for self-drive guests, spa treatments.
Guide room: Green & Shoulder season USD $200 per night. High season USD $240 per night. Accommodation is in the guide room and subject to availability.
Self-drive: Guest arriving in their own vehicle must pay park vehicle entrance fees of $5 per vehicle direct. The above rates apply to self-drive guests. Subject to change.
Charter company baggage allowance applies.
Notes: Special dietary requirements are to be sent through to reservations at least 30 days prior to arrival.
Ghoha Hills is in a Malaria area & precautions are the responsibility of the guest.
Provisional bookings are held for 2 weeks, thereafter a 20% non refundable deposit is required to confirm the rooms. The balance of payment is due not later than 60 days prior to arrival. Cancellation fees will be calculated on the total cost of the stay.
Each luxury tented room sleeps two people, offers en-suite facilities and breathtaking views of the African plains (Which can even be enjoyed from the shower). The luxury tented rooms have private viewing decks which can be used to enjoy the untouched wilderness. Flasks of hot water with coffee/tea are also avalaible in the rooms. The lodge also has 2 luxury family-size tented rooms that sleep four and are suitable for two adults and two children.
Helicopter takes 3 pax with 7kg luggage each (this depends on guest's individual weight) or 2 pax with 20kg luggage in sof bags.
ON ARRIVAL: Guests usually arrive at Ghoha around midday or later in the afternoon, they can join us for high tea in the main area. Here you will be introduced to your guide and he will take you on a sunset drive along the private road network around the lodge. This will end at the scenic Baobab site with breathtaking sunset views and sun-downers served. Photographers as well as nature lovers will experience a very unique landscape during sunset, which is usually filled with Elephants, Giraffes and Roan Antelope to name a few. If an afternoon drive is not what you are after, you can relax in our private thatched viewing deck overlooking the water hole. From this private elevated setting you can view the arrival and movement of a wide variety of game, quenching their thirst in the pan. Some of the sightings may include Kudu, Impala, huge numbers of Elephant, Giraffes, Roan Antelope, Steenbuck and Buffalo. You might also spot the Ghoha pride of Lions that roam mainly between the lodge and this waterhole, as well as Spotted and Brown Hyena.
Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge aims to provide discerning travelers to Botswana with a unique, first class safari experience in an eco-friendly and eco-sensitive environment. Ghoha Hills Savuti Lodge lies on the ledges of Ghoha Hills in the Savuti area of the Chobe National Park.
Main area comprising of dining, lounge, bar, curio shop and a traditional fire Boma.
Private 4 x 4 safari vehicles available on request at time of reservation, an additional charge is applicable.
En-suite bathroom, shower with a view.
Ceiling fan, pedestal fan and Mosquito nets.
Viewing deck with chairs and table.
Children 5 years and older are welcome at the lodge.
5 to 11 years pay 50% of the adult sharing rate.
12 years and older are considered as adults and pay full rate.


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Aitiip joins the Aragon Agricultural Machinery Cluster
After approval by the General Assembly of the association, Aitiip technology centre joins the Aragon Agricultural Machinery Cluster (CAMPAG).
With this integration Aitiip aims to consolidate its participation in the automotive sector by offering advanced technological services and R&D also for large vehicles such as those used in the agricultural sector (tractors, harvesters).
This sector, which is in the process of digital modernization, makes a high demand for advanced polymers for different elements of the machinery in order to improve resistance, reduce weights and use sustainable materials. The experience of the center in these materials is fundamental to offer an excellent and close response.
In the same way, the sector is known for the large size of its machines, having said that it is important to highlight the different number of plastic injectors available at Aitiip, among which is the Krauss Maffei 4000MX, with a clamping force of 4000 tonnes and capable of injecting parts up to 2.3m x 2.2m with an injection volume of 21,651m3.
This large part manufacturing capability will also be available in 3D printing. The centre is equipped with the latest technology for additive manufacturing with certified plastic materials even for the aeronautical sector (such as ULTEM 9085 and ULTEM 1010), being able to produce parts up to almost one metre long.
In addition to the plastic Aitiip has the Kraken manufacturing system, which prints on metal and resin parts of several meters. The system, which has been developed by the centre and the Kraken project partners and presented publicly in September, was tested in two cases in the automotive sector in both resin and metal manufacturing, offering totally satisfactory results.
"This system, the result of a European R&D project and which has Aragonese DNA, now has to start offering results to Aragonese companies and we are sure that this cluster will be able to benefit from it"
Berta Gonzalvo, research director at Aitiip
These technologies make it possible to manufacture custom-made parts, reducing waiting times, which in the agricultural sector are decisive between being able to carry out a harvest at its optimum moment or not being able to, for example, due to an unexpected storm.
In addition to custom manufacturing, the system is also available for the repair high added-value parts whose replacement involves high investments and high manufacturing times, as the system is able to work directly on damaged areas and rebuild them without the need for infrastructure or additional elements.
This cluster represents 1.21% of Aragon's GDP and its partners account for 41.86% of the sector's turnover with more than 15% of the sector's companies. The Aragon Agricultural Machinery Cluster is made up of 50 partners, of which 41 are companies from the three Aragonese provinces with a turnover of more than €200 million and 1,000 workers, and 9 are R&D centres.
Aitiip Technology Center has been recognized by the Government of Aragon as a digital facilitator to provide solutions and technological applications with the aim of advancing the industry in the implementation of digital processes industry 4.0. In addition, the Aragonese centre is a leader in circular economy and bio-economy, coordinating several strategic projects such as the Barbara project or the Mandala project.
3D printing	Circular economy	Agriculture


Sharepoint Notebook is a digital notebook for capturing, storing and sharing all information. Notebook automatically saves and syncs your notes while you work. Use Instant Search to recall anything you've ever created or saved in OneNote. We can export notes in variety of files and formats.
1. Open your Sharepoint 2013 Site.
3. Use Untitled Page or click on Plus icon to create new notes.
4. Give title for the notes and then click on below to write Notes content.
5. Immediately after typing your notes saves automatically. Click on Plus Symbol to create another note.
6. We can Increase Indent and Decrease Indent of the notes to highlight.
7. We can open notes of Notebook in OneNote by clicking on Open in OneNote.
8. We can insert Image in Notebook.
9. Double click on the text area to have another float note.
10. Notebook has a Quick Search box to search the content on the page.


Textures only; requires SL188.ZIP. Original model by Mike Stone. Repaint by Alex Colka.
Screenshot of TAME Ecuador Lockheed L-188 Electra in flight.
This aircraft is built for FS2004. The aircraft should work in FS2002, but I long longer directly support it. I know that the GPS gauge used in the panel will not work in FS2002.
The base textures folder in this zip file contains base (unpainted) texture files for use in repainting.
Note that the aircraft supplied in this package is supplied as is. If there are problems, I'll fix them or not at my discretion. I will not make modifications, alternate versions, or any other changes to suit anyone's personal wishes. If you like this aircraft, use it with my blessings. If not, feel free to delete it and go elsewhere.
Simply copy the entire "L188" folder contained in this zip file to the "/Flight Simulator 9/aircraft" folder on your PC. Then copy the contents of the "gauges" folder to the "/Flight Simulator 9/gauges" folder.
The archive l-188_eq.zip has 7 files and directories contained within it.


Hand-weaving is a traditional craft practiced by every part of Ethiopia. In each region's language, the art of story-telling woven into patterns and colour is used to create collections that we can enjoy and love.
Ethiopian fashion designer Mahlet Afework (Mafi), introduces us to her 2014 collection the "Last Resort" featuring hand-woven fabrics made by these extraordinary female weavers.
This season's motif Dinguza, the name of the pattern on many of Afework's pieces for her 2014 collection is the product of the Dorze people in the Chencha region of southern Ethiopia.
Afework's exceptional eye to detail is coupled with the richness and diversity of Ethiopian culture. Her modern interpretations of traditional fabrics and engagement with the communities that produce them classifies this fashion label as one to watch.
From time to time we all have an extreme need for a fresh perspective – a light bulb to be switched on.
In 2012, after discovering Mahlet Afework, the founder and designer for Mafi, in Ethiopia during Adiree 's partner's Source Africa / Hub of Africa Fashion Week event, we realized that Mafi was the antidote- the light to be added to the New York 's darkening fashion scene- thus our Director's need to immediately bring her into New York to showcase.
Mafi out of several African fashion labels from the continent, was selected to showcase in New York, being the second Ethiopian designer to showcase in New York- hand selected by Ms. Adiat Disu, the director of Adiree, producers of Africa Fashion Week in New York.
Thanks to partners at the USAID / Compete Africa, we were able to ensure that New York's introduction to Mafi would be a success.
Her 2012 showcase provided New York's fashionistas and international visitors with light-weight cottons and story-telling through colour- with patterns and motifs from Southern and Northern regions of Ethiopia.
Her collections has always been about her interpretation of Ethiopian culture, a fusion of traditional Ethiopian fabrics married with modern perspective.
What makes the bond between traditional fabrics and her modern perspective stronger is her interaction with communities that produce each fabric. The fibers that hold her collection together are made from sustainable efforts.


text:
Where is the international community?
2011-09-08 Communities, Return to the Roots, Site newsMerri
One of the things that I think is surprisingly missing is the international community for the classic Settlers games, meaning the first two games in the series. These were very different from the games that followed, The Settlers III abandoning the core road feature and everything going pretty much in the way I didn't want things to go based on the first two games (and in my case especially the second game).
What I think is causing this is the small gap in the early years of 2000 that there was only Widelands. There was no S2 modding community, there was no open source project like Return to the Roots that would have kept things alive for it in the international scene. Transport Tycoon Deluxe, released around the same time, did have it's community following since the late 90's thanks to TTDPatch constantly providing new features and improvements to the game, later OpenTTD taking over and now we have a fully open source clone of TTD. And I think the same should happen with The Settlers II.
So here I am, finally adding a community support on this site. It has actually been there for a few days now, but I first wanted to get familiar with how it works and if it brings the useful features. It didn't bring everything first, so I fixed things a bit, adding support for forum uploads for an example. As a design change was also forced I ended up again sorting the pages into new locations and now the menu should be quite nice and easy to follow.
I also included Return to the Roots content on this site. RttR is a bit interesting beast, technically it is very nice, but my personal feelings about their site are not strongly on the positive side. It looks too old school, it is based on custom page engine and it still prioritizes German language over English on many parts of the site. There have been some improvements but things such as appearance in Google aren't things that are going to get fixed anytime soon (you can see the link, but no title, description etc.). This site instead appears on Google in it's full glory and is ranked quite well.
← Settlers I remake now open source	Return to the Roots has a new domain! →


text:
Mark Hollis' December column
Mark Hollis
Published: 11:17 AM December 8, 2011
Here we go again then, entering the second half of the season on an unbeaten run that we hope can take us through to a play-off place at the end of the season.
The current run spans nine games across league and FA Cup, and has seen us keep seven clean sheets and concede only twice.
It will be a tough ask to maintain this until the end of the season considering we have just three home matches before the end of January but, as we have seen for the past two years, we're more than capable of continuing to prove our critics wrong and achieve more than even we as fans think possible.
Since my last blog we've won five and drawn three with arguably the most impressive result being the defeat of Sheffield United with Scott Laird sealing the victory with a late penalty. But even that was on the back of impressive victories in two tricky away games at Bury and Brentford.
This run has seen us up into ninth position just three points off the play-off spots with plenty of time to drag ourselves into those places before the season is out. I certainly wouldn't bet against us doing so at the moment!
On to the FA Cup and two more victories, one at Hartlepool and most recently at Stourbridge, ensured we were in the hat for the third round. Stourbridge was an odd day for me. It was nice to visit a non-league ground again as there is a part of me that misses those days, but it was also a weird feeling going there as overwhelming favourites and being seen as a potential giant-killing.
Luckily we're far too professional for all that and the boys made relatively light work of a spirited Stourbridge.
The draw itself isn't too bad, in my opinion. It gives us a chance to get revenge over Reading after they knocked us out last year, and also it's not too far away so we should take a decent sized crowd with us. Add to that the fact that they're not as good as they were last year and we're better than we were and it should be a cracking match.
In terms of the Supporters' Association, as is usual the FA Cup has seen an increase to SA numbers taking us past the point that triggered a prize giveaway, so two lucky members will be winning a Behind The Scenes trip around the club before the Tranmere game.
We'd also like to welcome Carl Rutherford onto the committee in his role of social secretary taking over from the recently departed Paul Lyme.
To wrap things up, 2011 has been a fantastic year to be a Stevenage fan and long may it continue!
All that remains is for me to say thanks for all of the kind comments I've received about this blog, and on behalf of everybody on the SA Committee, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year!


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"But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away…"
How did art become irrelevant? Michael J. Lewis's answer to that question in Commentary magazine made the rounds of social media last week. It's an exhaustive overview, and a political one, edged with fine anger, a reminder that the arts used to be merely elitist, not ruthlessly hermetic.
So I was startled to open the latest issue of the literary magazine The Dark Horse and find "Poetry as Enchantment," an essay by former NEA chairman Dana Gioia that makes many of the same points Lewis makes, but solely about poetry, and with a far more subdued tone. Defending poetry as a universal human art with roots in music, charms, and incantations, Gioia recalls that not long ago, it was ubiquitous and widely enjoyed. I remember that too: my grandfather was a machinist with a grade-school education, but he could rattle off snippets of verse that I now know were the work of Longfellow, Joyce Kilmer, and the (utterly forgotten) Sam Walter Foss.
What happened? Gioia argues that poetry was too well taught. The New Critics imposed reason, objectivity, and coherence on it. "Learning" poetry was reduced to dissection and analysis, then demonstrating your fluency in each new school of critical theory:
For most students, writing a critical paper does not inspire the same lifelong affection for poetry that memorization and recitation foster. When analytical instruction replaces the physicality, subjectivity, and emotionality of performance, most students fail to make a meaningful connection with poetry. So abstracted and intellectualized, poetry becomes disembodied into poetics—a noble subject but never a popular one. As the audience for poetry continues to contract, there will come a tipping point—perhaps it has already arrived—when the majority of adult readers are academic professionals or graduate students training for those professions. What is the future of an art when the majority of its audience must be paid to participate?
No one intended the decimation of poetry's audience or the alienation of the common reader. Like most environmental messes, those things happened as accidental by-products of an otherwise positive project.
Gioia literally marketed Kool-Aid as an executive at General Foods—who can ever forget his award-winning "fear in a handful of dust" campaign?—so when he became NEA chairman in 2003, he wanted measurable results:
We decided to start with a program that could be executed quickly on a large scale without a huge investment. What we conceived was a national poetry recitation contest for high school students that would begin at class level, and then move on to school, local, state, and national competitions. We successfully tested the idea in Chicago and Washington, D.C., but when the agency tried to expand it, the arts education officials in the 50 states initially refused to adopt it.
The state arts education experts had four major objections to the program. First, they believed that students hated poetry. (Am I wrong to suspect that this assumption suggests that the experts themselves disliked poetry?) Second, they maintained that memorization was repressive and stifled creativity. Some of them added that memorization victimized minority students since standard English was not spoken in their homes. Third, they unanimously felt that competition had no place in the arts. There should be no winners or losers. In arts education, everyone should win. Finally, there was a general feeling among the educators that poetry was too intellectual for the average student. It was not an accessible art.
Just how wrong were those "state arts education experts"? Gioia found that kids raised with hip-hop took to poetry when it became about hearing and reciting rather than reading and analyzing; they loved competing; "problem kids" turned out to be great at it; and immigrant kids have turned out to be around half of all winners each year.
Gioia is too gracious to gloat. About his detractors, he says only this: "The administrators and arts consultants were openly astonished by the program's popularity." I wonder why they doubted him: His longtime championing of old-fashioned formalism? His corporate background? His presumed political affiliation? It's a dreary state of affairs when ignorance is the most charitable explanation.
Someone recently quipped on Facebook that it's actually a great time to be a poet, because when an art has zero social cachet, the people who do it out of sheer love don't have to wonder if others are into it for the wrong reasons. That may not be forever true: Gioia's Poetry Out Loud program has already engaged 2.5 million high-school kids, and books like the Disney Channel poetry anthology are bracing their younger siblings. What if channeling rap fandom into national recitation contests actually entices the corpse of poetry to sprout and bloom some year? Relevance would uproot academia; it wouldn't be kind; it would set poets slogging through swamps of conflict and commerce, not noticing how many more people had finally learned that they're meant to talk about what Gioia calls "mysteries that lie beyond paraphrase," their inheritance as human beings.
Posted on July 4, 2015 August 25, 2020 by JeffPosted in academic ax-grinding, literature, politics, teaching
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12 thoughts on ""But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away…""
This feels like a struggle for control over a community which I do not know and am not part of, and I try to keep out of those. I trust that you are familiar with Neal Stephenson's model of the Dante writer and the Beowulf writer? http://slashdot.org/story/04/10/20/1518217/neal-stephenson-responds-with-wit-and-humor (that thread is worth reading in general) Thanks for the links to help foreigners get their bearings in this Kulturkampf.
Thanks for this, Sean. I think Stephenson's Dante/Beowulf model (which was new to me until just now) is a useful generalization, but I'd hate for people to see the creation of art as a matter of either one or the other. (Interestingly, in the U.S., the patronage model helped fund several influential artists and poets at least as recently as the Harlem Renaissance, so it's not as distant a phenomenon as many might think.)
For my part, I've never been a culture warrior; I'd like to see all forms of art and poetry in wider circulation so that these small, closed communities alienate fewer people and come to matter far less than they do.
Indeed, I am sure that there were people reciting bits of Dante in taverns, and that the Beowulf poet would have happily written a poem of praise for a generous ring-giver. But Stephenson is a novelist with a gonzo style, not an academic, so I don't expect him to make sure that all the details are right before he takes a shiny idea and runs with it.
It is just … some people like to talk about a battle between 'the literary establishment' and 'commercial fiction' or 'genre fiction,' but what I see is a cluster of communities which like what they like, organize awards to give thanks for especially clever examples, and mostly ignore what other communities are doing. If some people in 'the literary establishment' turn up their noses at romance novels or mysteries, plenty of mystery fans don't read 'literary fiction' written in the past fifty years. If anyone in academic circles is bothered that I sometimes write about history in venues which sell more than a thousand copies and don't allow footnotes, I am blissfully innocent of it.
Oh, I don't think Stephenson quite gets all the details right at all, but his model is still a useful way to start explaining the economics of art to people who've never thought about it before.
Okay, I now better understand your point. I agree that those preference-communities often seem less at odds with each other than people with political agendas would have us believe. In any case, as a reader, I like writers who are just as "blissfully innocent" as you are about genre and community boundaries; it's why I still read blogs.
…and I think what you're saying also applies to rants about "modern art." When writers (like the author of that Commentary piece) lament postmodernist performance pieces and art that refers only to itself, they're not wrong about the severely limited appeal of such work and the social consequences, but the world is still full of more traditionally trained artists doing their thing. The time that guy spent writing that screed could have been used to bring all sorts of hard-working, little-known artists to public attention. (That's a big part of why I appreciated Gioia's poetry article: it wasn't a lament, but the story of his own successful efforts to do something productive.)
Yes, I think that the dichotomy of Dante authors and Beowulf authors is useful as long as one treats it as a metaphor not mathematics, and Neal Stephenson has such fun describing it that its hard to be indifferent to it. (He also spends a few lines warning readers that any way of dividing people into two distinct groups has its dangers). I can't say what happens among people who control curricula in American highschools, or the contents of book-review sections in American magazines, but it seems to me that that sort of conflict is often hard to understand unless you are part of the community, and coming in as an outsider and telling people how to run things rarely goes well. If some modern art and poetry is a bit baffling to me, there are still plenty of things to see and hear which I do enjoy.
I have been trying to spend less energy criticizing things which I do not like, or people who work on projects which do not seem interesting or urgent to me, and more on talking about things which I do like, and doing those interesting urgent projects myself even if I am not as qualified as some people who could do them. I am really an Epicurean at heart, but sometimes the Stoa has something to teach me too.
I wonder what the late Frederick Pohl would have made of Dana Gioia. About ten years ago he revised "The Space Merchants" with its speech about poets learning to write ad copy.
When it comes to being "not as qualified as some people" who could do "those interesting urgent projects," I can only say that plenty of people have been more qualified to write nearly everything I've ever written, but somehow, they never got around to it, and I did, or I soon will. Follow-through counts for a great deal!
Gioia has been inspired to write about poets' day jobs, but I don't know if he's ever discussed how his former career helped him prosper as a poet. Your comment gives me good reason to dive into his prose again. I like his poetry and I admire his work as an arts advocate; his tenure with the National Endowment for the Arts was just about the only time I wished I'd had a government job. (And God help me, I've written more than my share of marketing copy for money…)
This makes me feel a little better about how I'm approaching poetry with my (homeschooled) kids. We just read and note phrases or images that stand out to us, memorize, recite, repeat. We read a different poem every day and you tube has been amazing for finding poems read by the authors themselves, including some very old recordings of interwar poets. I'm not a scholar, I just like poetry. I think if I can raise kids who as adults can say the same thing, I'm declaring a victory.
Thanks for stopping by, Elise!
"I'm not a scholar, I just like poetry." That's the mindset that will help keep the arts alive, and if you raise kids who can say the same thing, then it'll be more than just a personal victory, but a cultural one. By and large, schools, museums, and artists have done a terrible job of cultivating new audiences for poetry and the arts, and the larger culture openly hates the fine arts. Inculcating this appreciation in your kids is (as I think we discussed in person a while back!) literally countercultural.
Elise, I agree. Poetry should be fun, and most poets and songwriters are not academics. And someone who reads a lot is more likely to read something which I enjoy than someone who does not read for pleasure at all because they were taught that what they enjoyed reading was bad.
One poet who I am glad to support, even if she likes less structured forms of poetry and more abstract ways of talking about it than I do, is Suzanne Steele http://www.warpoet.ca/
Did you read William Logan's piece arguing that poetry has long been a major art with a minor audience? http://www.nytimes.com/…/poetry-who-needs-it.html He starts from that viewpoint and declares that it's not so bad and why…
Elise's children are far more likely to have a genuine experience when they read a poem than most. And that's what it should be, a good experience with magical sound, color, beauty, truth…
I've been rather surprised that such a weird long poem as Thaliad continues to find readers–maybe the situation is less grim than I had thought a few years ago. Though certainly the audience is small enough! And certainly there's a lot more sound play in new songs than a few years back, not just rhyme but pleasure in using the same word repeatedly to mean different things, etc.
I don't know. Randall Jarrell's essay, "The Obscurity of the Poet", was written in the 1950s, when the New Criticism was going strong, but still fairly new; a generation of readers hadn't been raised with it. Yet he complained of the lack interest in poetry in the English-speaking world, mentioning in passing that it still had a large audience in Latin America. I remember students in sophomore-level survey class, forty years ago, groaning when the professor announced that there would be another week of reading poetry. Now, this was the postwar American lineup of Lowell, Jarrell, Shapiro, Wilbur, maybe reaching to the Beats or at least Alan Ginsburg, and I can get enough of them fairly quickly.
On the other hand, five or six years ago I saw a young acquaintance, a recent high school graduate, on the bus, dressed to the nines and headed for a poetry slam, one that I think she had helped to organize. My impression was that there would be a healthy number of people there It seemed to me that she could have converted the most Philistine of young men to an interest in poetry slams if not poetry. I wished, as soon as I got off the bus, that I had asked her to describe the protocols of poetry slams.
Marly: Thanks for stopping by! I missed that Logan piece when it ran last year, so I appreciate the pointer to it.
George: I think the cultural shift pre-dates your college experience and Jarrell's essay. I suspect that my grandparents' generation, consisting of folks born in the first two decades of the twentieth century, were the last ones for whom poetry was central. The slam poetry you're talking about certainly is poetry, but it strikes me as a narrow sub-genre of a much larger, little-understood art.


This Summer Fresh White bouquet of gorgeously enchanting 10 hand-picked Gerberas says it all with grace, sophistication and elegance they deserve. Send these handpicked 10 Gerberas Bouquet to bestow your best wishes and blessings to them and deliver smiles over smiles.
Summer Fresh White This Summer Fresh White bouquet of gorgeously enchanting 10 hand-picked Gerberas says it all with grace, sophistication and elegance they deserve. Send these handpicked 10 Gerberas Bouquet to bestow your best wishes and blessings to them and deliver smiles over smiles.


They say a good man is hard to find. So when Sondra found Larry Salley some 42 years ago, she married him because Larry Sally was truly a good man. I am told that a good man is a good son, a good father, a good brother and a good friend. Larry Salley was all of these, plus he was a devoted civic leader, giving his all to the many causes he cherished. His untimely passing was sad news for all of us at ArtsWestchester. I first met Larry some 15 years ago, when he served as Commissioner of Transportation for the County. Trained as an urban planner (with a Master's degree from Hunter College), he knew the value of making art accessible to the public – in parks, on streets, in housing and in transportation hubs. He became the County's representative on ArtsWestchester's Board, making his voice heard on executive, grants and policy committees. He had a long and illustrious career in the Westchester County government starting in 1973. Following his retirement, he was elected to the Board, becoming its Vice President shortly thereafter. Retirement didn't seem to stop Larry. His roster of assignments continued as Chairman of the White Plains Housing Authority, Chairman of the White Plains Housing Company, Inc., Secretary of the African American Men of Westchester and of course, Vice President of ArtsWestchester. Larry had an extraordinary passion for travel and photography, and during his many trips abroad, he was able to capture moments of significance in various corners of the world. An exhibition of his photography is planned. He is survived by his wife Sondra and his daughter Nyle. It's painful for everyone at ArtsWestchester to say goodbye to Larry. He was a good man and a great advocate for the arts. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, July 16, starting at 11am at the Little Theater of the Westchester County Center.
Tags: African American Men of Westchester, ArtsWestchester, board member, civic leader, Commissioner of Transportation, Hunter college, Janet Lang, Larry Salley, Little Theater of the Westchester County Center, memorial, photography, Tribute, urban planner, WP Housing Company Inc.


Great books need great readers; great readers need great books. But how to get the two together? This panel of authors and professional publicists and book promoters talk about strategies they use to get books into the hands of gatekeepers (teachers, librarians, reviewers, booksellers, and family), and strategies that the gatekeepers can use to make the process of discovering the right books for their kids more effective.
4:15-6:00pm – Author meet and mingle. Books will be available for purchase & signing and speed critiques.
at Hotel Providence in downtown Providence.
The theme is Reaching Readers.
KidLitCon is an annual gathering of people who care about, and/or blog (or Tweet or Instagram or Facebook or make Videos) about children's and young adult books, including librarians, teachers, authors & illustrators (both published and aspiring), parents, guardians, and book reviewers. KidLitCon is a small, friendly conference, perfect for (often) introverted book lovers.
Attending is a great way to turn virtual blogging friends into real world friends. Past conference topics have ranged from conquering the blogging blahs to learning to podcast to ways to support diverse books.


text:
Davy Brennan Memorial Park is the home ground of the Naomh Conaill GAA club, which is located in the townland of Carraigbrac, near the town of Glenties, County Donegal, Ireland. It has also been used to host trials for possible county players.

A brawl among dozens of people after a 2011 Donegal Senior Football Championship game between Naomh Conaill and Glenswilly at Davy Brennan Memorial Park led to Leo McLoone breaking several bones in his face (requiring surgery) and an investigation by the Donegal Competition's Controls Committee.

References

Donegal GAA venues
Glenties

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My favourite speech: Declan Ganley
Continuing a summer series on TheJournal.ie of public figures' favourite speeches, Declan Ganley picks a stirring speech made by Winston Churchill in 1940.
By Hugh O'Connell Saturday 21 Jul 2012, 5:00 PM
Jul 21st 2012, 5:00 PM 6,910 Views 47 Comments
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Declan Ganley
Image: Niall Carson/PA Archive/Press Association Images
THE AUTHOR AND former presidential speechwriter Peggy Noonan once said: "A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart."
One can not underestimate the power of a good speech or the effectiveness of a speech's key line.
With that in mind, over the course of the summer TheJournal.ie is asking some of the most prominent figures in Irish society from politicians to sports stars to nominate their favourite speech of all time and tell us why they like it so much.
Today: The entrepreneur, businessman and chairman of Libertas Declan Ganley. You can read the full text outlining the reasons for his choice here. In an edited version, he writes:
Selecting one speech as my all time favourite was a hard call, choosing from amongst the many great contenders that echo through history. But in finding a favourite, I did so on the criterion of the core metric in the art of speech making – the effectiveness of a specific speech in turning the tide of history for the better, and evaluating it by dent of the speech itself, the immediacy of its need, the circumstances surrounding it and encapsulated within it, and the resolve it instilled amongst key policy makers, legislators and a great mass of the people.
On this scale, there is one that stands above all others.
It is one of history's better examples of the case for 'cometh the hour, cometh the man". And come he did, despite all his many previous flaws and errors, to the floor of The House of Commons. As he rose to speak, his worst fears, which – as is often forgotten – he had long predicted and warned against, had come to pass. His enemy was rampant and seemed invincible, his army defeated in the field, all of its modern equipment abandoned or destroyed.
Central and Eastern Europe had been carved up and defeated, France was on the verge of surrender, the American Ambassador to London was briefing Washington on Britain's imminent defeat and surrender, imperial Japan loomed over Britain's Eastern possessions, members of his cabinet were wavering, his people were full of fear, and his country was almost defenceless, lying cut off and isolated.
Winston Churchill was alone.
And alone, he rose to the despatch box and spoke on 4 June 1940 He explained the dire peril honestly. He made an almost unreasonable, even irrational request of his people to face it down alone and to fight to the last man, and in doing so, stepped into the breach of democratic civilisation's collapsing edifice.
He knew as he spoke that very shortly after his speech's delivery, all that would stand between what he called 'Christian civilisation' and barbarity would be those he labelled 'The Few' of RAF Fighter Command. With this speech, he rallied not just those young men but also free people everywhere for what was to come.
To the extent that a single speech can, in and of itself, have measurable impact, this speech, perhaps more than any other, was itself a turning point in the salvation of Europe and civilisation. For that reason, it is my favourite.
As a great speech loses something when only seen in the written form, we are fortunate when we can get to hear it in its original raw delivery.
Try to place yourself at that moment, in front of a wireless, or in the House of Commons itself that day. Imagine yourself under those circumstances and listen to the power of oratory at work.
One man, alone, changing the course of history.
Winston Churchill in London in 1939 (Wikimedia Commons)
The full text of the speech can be found here. Listen to the speech:
YouTube: sixarea
Read more from our 'Favourite Speeches' summer series
Hugh O'Connell
@oconnellhugh
hugh@thejournal.ie
See more articles by Hugh O'Connell
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Agreement Opens 1.5 Million Gulf Acres to Drilling
The agreement "establishes a clear process by which both governments can provide the necessary oversight to ensure exploration and development activities are conducted safely," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Feb. 20.
A major agreement between the U.S. and Mexican governments will open 1.5 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas development upon agreed-upon safety protocols, and top U.S. and Mexican officials were present in Los Cabos, Mexico, for the signing.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Mexican Minister of Foreign Relations Patricia Espinosa, and Mexican Minister of Energy Jordy Herrera to sign the Transboundary Agreement, which removes uncertainties regarding development of transboundary resources in the resource-rich Gulf of Mexico," according to DOI, which said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management estimates the area contains as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
U.S. offshore oil and gas companies and Mexico's Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) will develop the resources together. "The Obama administration is committed to the responsible expansion of domestic energy production," Salazar said. "This agreement makes available promising areas in the resource-rich Gulf of Mexico and establishes a clear process by which both governments can provide the necessary oversight to ensure exploration and development activities are conducted safely."
Calderon and President Obama agreed in May 2010 to reach an agreement on jointly developing reservoirs that were determined to be transboundary. Since then, representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Interior, and Mexico's Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Energy have been negotiating an agreement.
Vermont Launches Logger Safety and Insurance Program
ISO Publishes First International Standard for Passenger Lifts
MSHA Extends Deadline for Grant Applications to June 28
Faulty Materials Caused Two Launch Failures: NASA
Maryland's Governor Signs Two Firefighters Benefits Bills
Safety Precautions Issued for Lake Berryessa Visitors


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Foreigners among those targeted in New Zealand mosque attack
Published: March 16, 2019 8:38 am
Police block the road near the shooting at a mosque in Linwood, Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019. Multiple people were killed during shootings at two mosques full of people attending Friday prayers. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Tech companies scramble to remove New Zealand shooting video
49 killed at mosques in 'one of New Zealand's darkest days'
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Several of those killed or wounded in the shooting rampage at two New Zealand mosques on Friday were from the Middle East or South Asia, according to initial reports from several governments.
The live-streamed attack by an immigrant-hating white nationalist killed at least 49 people as they gathered for weekly prayers in Christchurch. Another 48 people suffered gunshot wounds in the attacks.
Bangladesh's honorary consul in Auckland, Shafiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, told The Associated Press that "so far" three Bangladeshis were among those killed and four or five others were wounded, including two left in critical condition.
"One leg of an injured needed to be amputated while another suffered bullet injuries in his chest," Rahman Bhuiyan said. He declined to identify the dead or wounded.
Two Jordanians were among those killed, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Petra news service. Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufian Qudah had earlier said that a Jordanian man was killed and eight others were wounded.
Christchurch Hospital chief Greg Robertson said Saturday that seven of the 48 gunshot victims admitted after the shootings in had been discharged.
Robertson said a 4-year-old girl who had been transferred to an Auckland hospital was in critical condition and 11 patients who remained in Christchurch were also critically wounded.
"We have had patients with injuries to most parts of the body that range from relatively superficial soft tissue injuries to more complex injuries involving the chest, the abdomen, the pelvis, the long bones and the head," he said.
Many patients will require multiple operations to deal with their complex series of injuries, Robertson said.
He said a 2-year-old boy was in stable condition, as was a 13-year-old boy.
Mohammed Elyan, a Jordanian in his 60s who co-founded one of the mosques in 1993, was among those wounded, as was his son, Atta, who is in his 30s. That's according to Muath Elyan, Mohammed's brother, who said he spoke to Mohammed's wife after the shooting.
Muath said his brother helped establish the mosque a year after arriving in New Zealand, where he teaches engineering at a university and runs a consultancy. He said his brother last visited Jordan two years ago.
"He used to tell us life was good in New Zealand and its people are good and welcoming. He enjoyed freedom there and never complained about anything," Muath told The Associated Press. "I'm sure this bloody crime doesn't represent the New Zealanders."
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said four Pakistanis were wounded, and Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal tweeted that five other Pakistani citizens are missing after Friday's attacks. Malaysia said two of its citizens were hospitalized, and the Saudi Embassy in Wellington said two Saudis were wounded.
India's high commissioner to New Zealand, Sanjiv Kohli, tweeted Saturday that nine Indians were missing and called the attack a "huge crime against humanity." Indian officials have not said whether the nine were believed to be living in Christchurch.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at least three Turkish citizens were wounded in the attacks in New Zealand and that he has spoken to one of them.
Afghanistan's ambassador to Australia and New Zealand said two Afghans are missing and a third person of Afghan origin was treated and released from the hospital.
Two Indonesians, a father and son, were also among those shot and wounded, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said.
Nasir said the father is being treated at an intensive care unit and his son is in another ward at the same hospital. He declined to identify them.
The man's wife, Alta Marie, posted on Facebook that her husband and their son are both alive, but wounded.
Marie said that both were shot in the attack Friday at Christchurch's Linwood Islamic center.
"My husband was shot in multiple places and has a drain in his lung," she wrote on Facebook. She said she was with her son, who is "traumatized" after being shot in his back and leg.
July 8, 2019 QUIZ: How much do you know about the shelf life of food?
U.S. & World yesterday India aborts moon mission launch citing technical glitch
U.S. & World 5 hours ago 'Many people agree with me': Trump digs in on racist tweets
U.S. & World yesterday These dead birds fell out of the sky like a 'horror movie' scene. Experts explain why


Today most of us turn to internet search engines to scavenge for the product we are specifically seeking, as the internet has exponentially broadened our horizons and made our shopping experience a lot more immersive. With technology's rapid growth new ways are constantly concocted to further ease how we purchase.
Currently, the most common way to shop on the internet is through e-commerce websites, the buying process is done in just a few steps; scrolling through products, adding to your cart and paying with your card or cash on delivery (COD).
Live streaming today has become a successful social media platform used primarily for viewer engagement on a large scale. What was once just used for communication purposes has now become a potential money-making machine for retail businesses across the world.
Making its way to the online retail scene in huge strides is the concept of "live shopping", this way of selling products takes our shopping experience to the next level as we, the viewers, can interact and purchase in real time.
To get a better grasp on the idea of "live shopping", it can be compared to QVC (Quality, Value, Convenience), a televised retail channel where products are promoted during the TV broadcast and can be easily bought through a phone call.
With live streaming as a platform, convenience and speed are enhanced as we the customers are given the ability to interact with the influencer as well as instantaneously purchase what we see on the live broadcast in just a simple swipe or click.
When watching a live stream, we are immediately sucked into a space that almost feels personal and exclusive; the live host promotes items like a friend sharing and reviewing items that they've recently purchased.
A form of trust can be built as we, the customers, are able to see the products in movement as the streamer presents and describes in detail how the product fits and feels. As it is, live viewers are reassured that these products aren't edited in any shape or form as you would in a photograph, the platform's transparency will be a key element to its success in the near future.
The marriage of e-commerce and live streaming will be a major game changer in the retail industry as these real-time product reviews and level of interactivity can play as great advertising tools.
The future of the retail industry is already seen on live streaming platforms booming in China. Ahead of the game, live streaming has become a shopping craze amongst the Chinese population establishing it as a billion dollar industry.
Due to its popularity in the Chinese market, brands and retailers have quickly understood that live streaming has the potential to be an effective marketing medium. E-commerce is now actively invading live videos, whether it is via a fashion show or online influencers reviewing the latest cosmetic products via videos; enabling Internet users to buy what they see on the screen in real time.
Two of China's biggest online retail apps Taobao and its competitor JD.com have both launched live streaming platforms: Taobao Live and JD live. Both have done extremely well on monetizing their platforms.
According to Alibaba, their conversion rate on Taobao Live is 32%, meaning that for every one million views, 320,000 items are added to the cart. Such a success was only made possible by the platform's extensive customer engagement. One of the major ways that boost interaction is due to the fact that numerous retail store owners and brands on both JD.com and Taobao hire influencers with a huge following to help promote their products. As the live streamer presents each product, links will pop up on the screen allowing the viewer to purchase.
Back in 2009, Alibaba Group formed the connection between Singles Day and online shopping when trying to generate sales for its Tmall unit by offering special pricing and promotions within a 24 hour period. According to CNBC, since the last Singles Day sale (2018), Alibaba's Tmall and Taobao e-commerce properties amounted to 30.8 billion U.S. dollars.
With its large presence within the retail industry in China, other western companies have caught on and are slowly making its way to mainstream platforms.
In recent years, western platforms have made strides towards this new e-commerce phenomenon. According to commercial property firm Cushman & Wakefield, the US retail sector has been in a decline with more than thousands of stores are closing down and more are on the chopping block. In contrast, online retailing are in an upward momentum surpassing traditional brick-and-mortar retail businesses.
Big online platforms such as Facebook and Amazon are in the works on making a transition to live streaming that will ultimately change the way we shop in the near future.
Facebook has been developing and testing out a shopping mode feature enabling merchants to efficiently sell items on a live stream. While watching the live broadcast, customers will be presented a screenshot button that will allow them to take photos of the items they want to purchase. The transaction involves the Messenger app as the mode of communication with the merchant and payment process.
This Facebook feature is being tested in Thailand, where a community of resellers are utilising Facebook Live to sell a wide range of different products, from beauty products to garments and other merchandise. As of now, Facebook has not made any moves to stop its live feature in Thailand giving an indication that the performance is going well.
A recent report from TechCrunch, Amazon has recently launched Amazon Live enabling live stream videos to showcase products from a variety of different retail brands. When customers watch a live video, a series of product links will then appear below the screen. With just a click on any product, link consumers are able to either purchase or learn more about the product.
Amazon brings on QVC with the launch of Amazon Live, giving viewers a familiar taste of the known and loved QVC onto a live stream setting; making for a smart and well-calculated move.
Despite its launch, Amazon does not appear to be promoting its live stream feature nor does it feature it in the main site's navigation bar. Seemingly, Amazon Live is still dipping its toes to the large e-commerce pool and will take the plunge at a later date.
From the looks of it, the notion of using video content to drive sales is on an upswing and may eventually be the common way we purchase products in the near future.
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Bendus wins Kazmaier in bittersweet fashion
Vicki BendusShe had them all in tears.
As Mercyhurst junior Vicki Bendus stood at a podium Saturday morning on the University of Minnesota's campus to accept the top honor for a Division I female college hockey player, she looked toward her teammates.
"I know the season didn't end up the way we wanted," Bendus said, her voice breaking, "but be proud. Be proud of everything we accomplished. It was a great year. I'm sorry."
Bendus, who became the first Mercyhurst player in the program's history to win the Patty Kazmaier Award this weekend, had nothing about which to be sorry.
Though her team made an early exit from the Frozen Four on Friday night with a 3-2 overtime loss to Cornell, Bendus did have plenty of reason to be proud.
With 65 points in 36 games, she tied teammate Jesse Scanzano and Division I champion Minnesota Duluth's Emmanuelle Blais, a senior, for the nation's scoring lead.
With 65 points in 36 games, she tied teammate Jesse Scanzano and Division Ichampion Minnesota Duluth's Emmanuelle Blais, a senior, for the nation's scoring lead.
Not bad for a 5-feet-1-inch, 117-pound player who was once passed over by some college coaches because of her size.
"During the college recruiting process, not every team was willing to take a chance on me," Bendus said at the podium. "But coach (Michael) Sisti thought that my head and my heart would make up for what I lack in size, which is quite a bit."
She beat out the nation's seventh-leading scorer, New Hampshire senior Kelly Patton, and Noora Rty, a Minnesota freshman goaltender who missed parts of the season while competing at the Winter Olympics.
"I think she would trade this honor for winning the national championship," Sisti said. "That's just the kind of person she is.".
"(The Cornell loss) still hurts a ton," Bendus said after the award ceremony. "I'd give anything to be able to go back and win that game."


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Q: django ckeditor takes whole site with saving buttons I'm trying to set django-suit-ckeditor for TextField in django admin but it takes whole content-title div with 'saving' buttons instead of a single field. It works for every other field.
Just like here http://django-suit.readthedocs.org/en/latest/wysiwyg.html
Any one knows the reason?
Here's screenshot:
http://i.imgur.com/FUqMu7i.png
and here's my code:
class PostForm(ModelForm):
    class Meta:
        widgets = {
            'content': CKEditorWidget(editor_options={'startupFocus': True})
        }

class PostAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    form = PostForm
    fieldsets = [
        ('Content', {'fields': ('content',)})
    ]

admin.site.register(Post, PostAdmin)

I would be grateful for any help.
EDIT:
I've solved problem by using django-ckeditor not django-suit-ckeditor.

A: If anyone is still interested - there are some name clashing causes this. Just rename your field from content to anything else.

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