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Obama In India. A Little More Finesse Please.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't the move of the century to ditch our wounded republic for a far flung developing nation that's trying to put us away. And maybe the idea of going to India to jinny up jobs for America seems a bit of an "uhh?" to use a technical term, considering they're outsource central, but this apparently dry-as-a-bone trade visit could have been made just a little more exciting with just a tad more thought.
India has long regarded the US as it's natural trading (and not just outsourcing ally). After all, we speak the same language, well most of the people who we'd want to do business with anyway, and we're both democracies, even if India has a far larger 'demos' to deal with.
Now of course, India would say all that wouldn't they. They want our business and they really hate the Chinese our go-to cheap labor source, with whom there's been a simmering cold war for a very long time.
But even with their self-serving instincts aside, India maybe they have a point. Because China really is a pure economic adversary, and an increased trading alliance with India would definitely help to push that point home. In short, if we want to show China who's boss, and we really should, cuddling up with New Delhi wouldn't be a bad way to go. It might make the Chinese just a little more honest when it comes to their currency manipulation, and their foot-dragging on doing the dirty work of building a consumer economy to rebalance world trade. Perhaps they'd even stop choking the plane with their one-a-week diet of new coal fired power plants. At the same time, they could hardly accuse us of attacking 'them' directly, and instead would be forced to respond to our overtures for a stronger trading partnership with India, by making things easier for US companies in China. Of course, we could start to leverage that triangulation by demanding better working practices from the Indians and Chinese as well as a better deal for US goods in both countries, and other diplomatic goodies too. We are still a superpower, you know.
One of the reasons we're skittish about building up India is because of its neighbor Pakistan. We're worried that Pakistan might be less forthright about battling the local Taliban. But we needn't worry. Their attempts to put the kibosh on militants have not been stellar and they need money. Who trades with Pakistan? For Washington, better trading relations between Islamabad and New Delhi should of course be part of the deal. After all, there's nothing like a healthily profitable partnership to soothe a nuclear standoff. And more bilateral trade between the two sub-continental rivals could also boost Pakistan's economy too, with the possible pleasing side-effects of making people a little richer, a little happier, and perhaps a little less likely to support the militants.
Perhaps all this is going on in the background during the President's trip to India.
But I sincerely doubt it.
Posted in Business BS, China and India, India, Islamabad, Mumbai, Obama, Pakistan, Washington
The Truth About The Boston Tea Party
Cheaper Tea! How Dare You!!
Americans are "mythmakers". There's nothing they love better than discarding the inconvenient bits of a story to fit their purpose, whether that purpose is to sell mattresses or glorify the nation's founding.
A classic example of this is The Boston Tea Party of 1773. Indeed, so central a story is it in American Folklore that it's the inspiration for the 'party' of the same name, currently running amok in American political life. The Tea Party believes in lower taxes, and cutting the deficit (go figure), and one of its favorite banner quotations is "No Taxation Without Representation", which just happened to be a big favorite around the time of the orginal Boston Tea Party.
What today's three-cornered hat wearing nutters don't realize is that the use of the term "No Taxation Without Representation" was a rather convenient cover for what the Boston Tea Party of 1773 was really about. To explain why requires a brief overview of something which people pay little attention to these days. History.
It kind of goes like this. The British government in the early 1770s were more than a little upset about the parlous state of the East India Company which was losing market share worldwide. So it came up with an ingenious idea. It would dump EIC tea on its colonies, the richest of which were the American Colonies. The way it would do this was via the Tea Act, which lowered the tea duties colonies would have to pay on EIC tea. Yes, that's right, lowered.
Needless to say, American Tea Smugglers were not at all happy having the price of their smuggled Dutch tea undercut by the nasty old English tea, so they raised a rumpus about it when the Tea ships arrived in various American harbors along the Eastern Seaboard. The Massachusetts governor was the most intransigent on the subject, so the smugglers took it upon themselves to right the ship, so to speak, and dumped the EIC tea in Boston harbor, thereby insuring that the average American consumer would continue to pay more for their tea.
To cover for this blatant act of price fixing, the smugglers wrapped themselves in the "No taxation without representation" moniker, conveniently noting that the phrase made no reference to raising or lowering taxes, just the right to raise them at all. But not all the Founding Fathers were quite so delirious about this brainstorm. Among them, Ben Franklin, offered to have the colonies repay the British for the lost tea (a considerable sum). He was turned down, and the dispute continued to fester.
So next time, you hear a Tea Party supporter complaining that his taxes are way too high, remember that his brave namesakes back in 1773, were actually complaining that the taxes were too, ahem, low.
Ah, those "mythmakers". You gotta love 'em.
Posted in Boston Tea Party, Elections, GOP, History, Midterms, Tea Party, US politics, Washington
The Tea Party is a Time Bomb That Will Destroy the GOP.
The fuse was lit on Tuesday night, when the Tea Party prevented the GOP from taking the Senate even though Rubio, Paul, and Johnson are now in one way or another Tea Party Senators who trashed some pretty stiff Democratic (or in the case of Florida, Independent, opposition). Regardless of that. the Republican Senate leadership was more than a little unhappy about not getting all those juicy chairmanships, and they began to grumble. It's small comfort to them that the co-opting of Tea Party energy by GOP leaders was a critical part of the independent switch from Democrat to Republican that led to the hurt on Obama on November 2.
Sure, their House counterparts can claim what looks like a pretty profound short-term victory out of it, But the writing is on the wall. Underpinning this 'success' is a sacrifice that will ultimately doom the GOP. I predict that by 2016, the Tea Party will begin to field its own candidates fighting Republicans and Democrats, splitting the right wing vote and consigning the GOP to the dustbin of history.
What makes me so confident? Here are a few reasons.
1. The Tea Party is a movement built on rage. It's not logical, it's not reasonable, and it harbors expectations which are utterly unrealistic. Replacing social security, rationalizing medicare, repealing "Obamacare" abandoning the minimum wage, and most importantly wiping out our trillion dollar debts in a year or a few at the most, are all pipedreams that are together a tailor-made recipe for frustration. The Tea Party will blame the 'system' and its lack of constitutional purity for the failure to achieve those expectations, and the GOP is part of that system.
2. The rise of the "Conservative" movement as distinct from the GOP (a movement driven, ironically, by the GOP itself from Reagan onwards) means that decoupling 'Conservatism' from party affiliation has become that much easier. The Tea Party can without too much trouble assume the mantle of 'true conservatism' from the corrupt estbalishment GOP, that will be seen by the base as part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.
3. The Tea Party is not a social movement, it's a proletarian response to economic powerlessness. Deep down, what Tea Partiers hate most is Wall Street and outsourcing of US jobs to China, both of which are part of the fabric of the pro-business GOP. The old Rove trick of using social conservatism as the come-on to the white working class will no longer work, and because the GOP will never be able to deliver on overreaching economic promises that absorbed the unreality of Tea Party demands, the fissure will break into open warfare very soon. The Tea Party will have no problem at all turning its ire on the GOP to whom it has no loyalty whatsoever, especially as it regards the GOP as manipulators who used Tea Party energy to drive its gains in the recent mid-terms.
4. The Tea Party is demographically doomed (by the rise of minority voting power, a long-term leftward swing in under thirty voting patterns), but will always see its failure as a conspiracy rather than a numbers game. As the white middle and working classes have been squeezed economically and demographically, they've lashed out, but their profoundly conservative approach will soon be a tough sell to independents. Even though Tea Party rage rippled out to the Independents in these mid-terms, even in the first flush of the Tea Party's forays into politics its weaknesses were on clear display in Delaware, Nevada, Colorado, and indirectly California. It won't take long for Independents to get the message that the Tea Party is beyond the pale politically. That will have two clear effects. It will further build the siege mentality of the Tea Party, and push Independents back to the reasonable Democrats, because the GOP will have no choice but to pay homage to the beast that they created.
5. The role of primaries in choosing candidates puts the GOP is in a terrible position. The Republican Base has essentially been hijacked by the Tea Party, and without co-opting it the GOP is now powerless to control candidates in key races. In short, they're damned if they work with the Tea Party and damned if they don't. Even in the run-up to this election, establishment GOP candidates were steam-rollered by the Tea Party, and in three critical cases the Tea Party cost the GOP power in the Senate. That lack of leverage is only going to become more evident, as gridlock sets in and the GOP is blamed for not getting the Tea Party agenda even remotely addressed. After two to three cycles, the Tea Party will have had enough. In its rage and frustration it will begin to seriously field its own candidates in key Midwestern and Southern Congressional primaries and the GOP will be doomed.
6. The Tea Party is proud of being a grass-roots movement, but lacks organization and coherent message. That's why it's ready for the plucking by a powerful and charismatic leader. Palin, Rubio, and DeMint come to mind as candidates who can provide the top-down structure that could turn the movement into a party. Palin is hedging her bets. She hasn't ditched the GOP yet, but she's sending out feelers to see if Tea Party leadership would be a viable gateway to power that would otherwise be blocked by a GOP establishment that loathes her. Rubio is the last hope for the GOP to hold off the Tea Party threat, but his positions are so far to the right that Independents would be hard pressed to take them on in a national contest. If he softened his positions he'd anger the easily enraged Tea Party base, and if he didn't, he could easily lose the general election. But if he's rejected by the GOP during the primary run for whatever reason, he could easily ditch them to lead the Tea Party as a very powerful third-party candidate. Next up, and if he's not presidential material, is Jim DeMint, who clearly sees himself as the Tea Party's George Wallace. If he senses the Tea Party has had enough of GOP failures, he clearly has the organizational chops and could easily jump ship and take the reins of the Tea Party into a general election. And finally, there may be others we don't even know about yet.
7. The good news for the Tea Party is that there isn't going to be an economic recovery of any note. The Tea Party is a recessionary phenomenon, like many other far-right parties before it. If the economy improves it's going to lose traction fast. But between the utter devastation of the housing markets and the foreclosure crisis, persistently high and endemic unemployment, the continued pillage of our financially overloaded economic system by untrammelled banks, the endless drive to outsource US jobs to Asia, and the spiralling national debt, it's hard to see how the US economy could be on a steady footing any time soon. That is also bad news for the GOP. The last time they oversaw a boom, under Bush, it was based on unrepeatable phenomena, like rampant and irresponsible lending, and a debt-driven consumer binge. But you can bet the Tea Party want another one of those booms all the same. And when they don't get it, they'll dump the GOP real fast.
8. Finally, the Tea Party is reckless. It's a party of zealots, and zealots are very often self-destructive. If the Tea Party did threaten to leave the GOP fold, the Republican's would make any promise they'd have to do to stay, but the Tea Party would simply say, you lied to us before, you'll lie to us again. We don't want to be used anymore. The GOP would tell them they're committing political suicide, and dooming the nation to decades of "socialism", but the Tea Party are true believers andsimply wouldn't believe that their brand of politics could possibly fail.
Even though Obama's profound leadership failures may have led us to impending gridlock at the worst possible time for the country, the 2010 midterms are the harbingers of doom for the enemies of the left.
So cheer up, grab a beer, sit back on the sofa and watch the soap opera unfold.
If the nation can survive another ten years, there's hope for it yet.
Posted in DeMint, GOP, Midterms, Palin, Politics, Republican, Rubio, Tea Party, Washington
Mid-Term Disaster. Obama Fails The Leadership Test.
President Obama is a really smart guy, so he probably hasn't failed many tests. But when it comes to understanding the American People, he flunked big time, precisely because he's such a pointy head.
America is a nation in the midst of a historical watershed. For the first time since its rise as a world power just under a century ago, it's beginning to doubt its manifest destiny. So it's not surprising that the quiet hand-holding the studious Obama was offering the angst-ridden patient wasn't quite enough. America desperately needed leadership from its Commander-in-Chief, but instead got studied neutrality, and appeals for calm from its policy wonk-in-chief.
Take the "Tea Party", for example. It's an inchoate movement coalesced from the inchoate anger of a big swathe of an inchoate electorate. In exit polls in the mid-terms, 4 of ten voters expressed an affinity for this fuzzy, angry movement. But if it isn't a classic cry for help I don't know what is, a lurching, restive filling of the void left by a lack of Presidential leadership. Of course, 90% of Tea Party supporters hate Obama for a whole litany of bizarre reasons, but it did its work, exporting ripples of that anger to a receptive and unsettled center that didn't have a President to look up to and say. No, these Tea Party guys are crazy, The President's got us covered.
President Obama tried to appease the right, with his feeble talk of bi-partisanship, and in the process built himself a nice lose-lose-lose situation. The right were never going to embrace him, so he looked spurned and weak. The Center didn't want weakness, they wanted leadership, and the left were disappointed by his constant attempts to appeal to the reason of the right, when all along it was patently obvious they were utterly reptilian in their motivations.
To make matters worse, by rising above the partisan "fray" (whatever that is), Obama decoupled himself from the Democratic Party in Congress and on the streets. He seemed distant from the base, and lost his cache. When he finally began to stump for some candidates a few weeks ago, he was already damaged goods, rather than being the campaigning powerhouse that won a historic victory in '08. Bad leadership. Bad politics.
As for the signature reforms that Obama points to, all three bore the hallmarks of spinelessness. A kid trading Pokemon cards is a better negotiator than the President. He rightly knew full well that he only had a small window to get stuff done, but instead of committing his huge political capital from the get go, he dealt it away in small bids, and watched it evaporate.
Political capital has a sell-by date. If you don't use it, you lose it.
Obama let the deficit hawks define our stimulus needs and came in with a low-ball figure rather than forcing the last Republican Moderates to negotiate him down from a higher position. On health care, he made a deal with the insurers BEFORE making his initial position clear only, and only doing that after the meltdown in Massachusetts, and once Baucus and the mini-state Blue Dogs had ground the core thrust of the reform into dust. It always smelled like a deal. And in the case of Wall Street reform, he was deeply influenced by an economic team in thrall to Wall Street. Instead of declaring open warfare on the Street and publicly ditching the Wall Street Cash in his campaign coffers, he said that Lloyd Blankfein was a 'good businessman'. The people felt cheated and got angry. The GOP took advantage of that, and the Democrats in Congress got blamed for Obama's weakness. Not surprisingly, Wall Street got the toothless reform it was after.
The American People wanted Wall Street's collective head on a plate for causing the hardhship they faced. And they wanted its good friend China, new home of millions of American jobs, to get it too. But Obama instead doffed his cap and paid Hoover-like fealty to his supposed masters and let Chinese leaders obfuscate their clear-cut currency manipulation, thinking that he could finesse a result out of it. Everyone instinctively knows you can't out-finesse Beijing. Obama got played, and the American people got stiffed yet again.
Then there's the issue of Obama's deliberate approach. Taking stock is a crock. Leadership is about being decisive. And the defining moment in Obama displaying the diametrical opposite was his pathetic approach to the War in Afghanistan. He took months to state a position which was so ill-defined and poorly thought-out in every respect as to be laughable. It was clearly a product of hesitation and fear, adding to the building sense about the President that he lacked guts at just about every turn. A true leader would have stood up and said in a matter of days, this is what we're going to do, and I don't give a rats ass what you think. Americans are funny. Even people who hated his decision would have respected the man, and over time would have given him the benefit of the doubt. He simply didn't understand what leadership means.
In his press conference today, Obama glumly pondered that perhaps he was too often holed up in the White House. Damn straight he was. The guy was great on the road in '08, he should have been out there, talking to the American people about their economic problems for weeks on end. I wrote a year ago that he should have dumped the White House entirely, avoided Washington, lived out of Air Force One and visited city after city touring the country and listening to the people. The people would have loved him for it. He's the President. He has a Blackberry. He can do business anywhere. But he didn't. No imagination. No leadership.
And so here we are, looking at two years of gridlock, and a badly weakened administration that began with such hope and could be destined for absolute failure. The only consolation is that the Republican Party's success foreshadows its demise. It's utterly bankrupt, and can only win with the help of the worst economy since the Depression, wads of cash from anonymous sources, the apathy of the new electorate, and by co-opting a Tea Party movement that spells its own doom, once it gets frustrated and splits into a third party.


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Freedom Centers Science and Public Policy Florida's Parental Rights Law Has Turned Leftist ...
Florida's Parental Rights Law Has Turned Leftists Into a Sad, Frustrated Mess
Florida's parental rights law has leftists up against a wall, and their methods for coping are getting stranger every day.
By Eddie Scarry • The Federalist
The perpetually miserable left has apparently reached the "acceptance" stage of grieving over Florida's new parental rights law, but their funny hysteria is still the same.
Within the last week, The Washington Post ran two articles offering the same idea for "queer" and transgender leftists who hate the legislation: sue teachers who acknowledge biological reality!
That's a serious proposal from the Post's Kate Cohen, who wrote on April 15, "What if we took these laws at their word and treated every lesson that endorsed any sexual orientation or gender schema as an actionable offense?"
"What if we filed a complaint every time a teacher instructed our children to use certain bathrooms solely on the basis of their gender identity?" she continued. "What if we called a lawyer when we discovered our children were learning that the 'mommies on the bus' said 'shush, shush, shush'"?
Similarly, Cohen's colleague Greg Sargent wrote Monday that "the law's vagueness might end up handing opponents a hidden weapon against it." That weapon, he said, is that the law allows parents to bring lawsuits "against references to heterosexuality or cisgenderism."
Gay and transgender activist groups are already taking legal action against the law, claiming it's discriminatory and in violation of the First Amendment. I have no idea how that will turn out, but I do know that Cohen and Sargent are either mentally slow or willfully ignorant.
The law in no way bans references by school personnel or students to gender, sex, or even sexual orientation. The children are, in fact, not regulated at all. What the law says — at least the part that has frustrated so many leftists — is that classroom "instruction" in grades kindergarten through three should exclude "sexual orientation or gender identity."
A person would have to either be dumb or pretend to be dumb in order to not know what that means. And, contrary to what the left insists, biological differences between males and females exist, regardless of how anyone feels.
Instructing children to use the restroom corresponding with their biology isn't a matter of orientation or identity. It's a matter of science.
Likewise, acknowledging that women have babies or that mothers and fathers exist isn't some type of weird theory. It's reality.
True, some children are raised by two men or two women. A male teacher might be married to another man. Recognizing those truths is not under duress.
So, while a lawsuit brought against a teacher who says the word "mother" is possible — anyone can be sued for anything — the left should be prepared for a sane judge to laugh them out of court for bothering.
I get it. A lot of Floridian teachers are mad that they can no longer giddily talk with seven-year-olds about what it means to be "trans fem" or instill in children that "boy parts" and "girl parts" are irrelevant. (There's a word for people who fancy chatting with kids about such things… I'll think of it later.) But that's not the same thing as identifying a pregnant woman, or recognizing aloud that Jane has two dads.
The law has them up against a wall, and their methods for coping are getting stranger every day.
Posted in Science and Public Policy |
Tags: education, Florida, parental rights, schoolchildren

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Saurida, Taxa Only, Exact Match: 28 Treatments
[more] [link]
Saurida lessepsianus Bariche, Michel & Fricke, Ronald, 2020, The marine ichthyofauna of Lebanon: an annotated checklist, history, biogeography, and conservation status, Zootaxa 4775 (1), pp. 1-157: 117 117
Saurida sinaitica new species Gruvel, A., 1936, Contribution à l'étude de la bionomie générale et de l'exploration de la faune du canal de Suez, Mémoires Institut d'Egypt 29, pp. 1-255: 174 174
Saurida parri new species Norman, J. R., 1935, A revision of the Lizard-fishes of the genera Synodus, Trachinocephalus, and Saurida, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, B 1935, No. 1, pp. 99-135: 126 126
Saurida ferox new species Ramsay, E. P., 1883, Description of some new Australian fishes, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 8, No. 1, pp. 177-179: 177 177
Saurida flamma new species Waples, Robin S., 1982, A biochemical and morphological review of the lizardfish genus Saurida in Hawaii, with the description of a new species, Pacific Science 35, No. 3, pp. 217-235: 225 225
Saurida micropectoralis new species Shindo, S. & Yamada, U., 1972, Descriptions of three new species of the lizardfish genus Saurida, with a key to its Indo-Pacific species, Uo [Japanese Society of Ichthyology] 11, pp. 1-13: -1 -1
Saurida isarankurai new species Shindo, S. & Yamada, U., 1972, Descriptions of three new species of the lizardfish genus Saurida, with a key to its Indo-Pacific species, Uo [Japanese Society of Ichthyology] 11, pp. 1-13: -1 -1
Saurida occidentalis new species Poey, F. & Manday, D. Guitart, 2000, Ictiologia Cubana, Biblioteca de Clasicos Cubanos: 738 738
Saurida longimanus new species Norman, J. R., 1939, Fishes. The John Murray Expedition 1933 - 34, Sci. Reports, John Murray Exped. 7, No. 1, pp. 1-116: 23 23
Saurida rubrotaeniata new species Sauvage, H. E., 1891, Histoire naturelle des poissons, l'Impremerie Nationale: 482 482
Saurida wanieso new species Shindo, S. & Yamada, U., 1972, Descriptions of three new species of the lizardfish genus Saurida, with a key to its Indo-Pacific species, Uo [Japanese Society of Ichthyology] 11, pp. 1-13: -1 -1
Saurida brasiliensis new species Norman, J. R., 1935, A revision of the Lizard-fishes of the genera Synodus, Trachinocephalus, and Saurida, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, B 1935, No. 1, pp. 99-135: 125 125
Paraplerurus sauridae new species Fischthal, Jacob H. & Kuntz, Robert E, 1963, Trematode parasites of fishes from Egypt. Part III. Six new Hemiuridae., Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 30, pp. 78-91: 86 86
Saurida tweddlei n.sp. Russell, Barry C., 2015, A new species of Saurida (Pisces: Synodontidae) from the Mascarene Plateau, Western Indian Ocean, Zootaxa 3947 (3), pp. 440-446: 441-445 441-445
Saurida lessepsianus n. sp. Russell, Barry C., Golani, Daniel & Tikochinski, Yaron, 2015, Saurida lessepsianus a new species of lizardfish (Pisces: Synodontidae) from the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, with a key to Saurida species in the Red Sea, Zootaxa 3956 (4), pp. 559-568: 560-565 560-565
Saurida key Russell, Barry C., Golani, Daniel & Tikochinski, Yaron, 2015, Saurida lessepsianus a new species of lizardfish (Pisces: Synodontidae) from the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea, with a key to Saurida species in the Red Sea, Zootaxa 3956 (4), pp. 559-568: 565 565
Saurida key Russell, Barry C., 2015, A new species of Saurida (Pisces: Synodontidae) from the Mascarene Plateau, Western Indian Ocean, Zootaxa 3947 (3), pp. 440-446: 445 445
Saurida golanii sp. nov. Russell, Barry C, 2011, Saurida golanii, a new deep water lizardfish (Pisces: Synodontidae) from the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, Zootaxa 3098, pp. 21-25: 22-24 22-24
Saurida longimanus Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Alpermann, Tilman J., Mal, Ahmad O. & Gabr, Mohamed H., 2014, Survey of demersal fishes from southern Saudi Arabia, with five new records for the Red Sea, Zootaxa 3852 (4), pp. 401-437: 412-413 412-413
Saurida Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Alpermann, Tilman J., Mal, Ahmad O. & Gabr, Mohamed H., 2014, Survey of demersal fishes from southern Saudi Arabia, with five new records for the Red Sea, Zootaxa 3852 (4), pp. 401-437: 414 414
Saurida tumbil Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Alpermann, Tilman J., Mal, Ahmad O. & Gabr, Mohamed H., 2014, Survey of demersal fishes from southern Saudi Arabia, with five new records for the Red Sea, Zootaxa 3852 (4), pp. 401-437: 414 414
Saurida undosquamis Kuchta, Roman, Scholz, Tomáš, Vlčková, Romana, Říha, Milan, Walter, Thorsten, Yuniar, Asri T. & Palm, Harry W., 2009, Revision of tapeworms (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidea) from lizardfish (Saurida: Synodontidae) from the Indo-Pacific region, Zootaxa 1977, pp. 55-67: 57 57
Saurida tumbil Kuchta, Roman, Scholz, Tomáš, Vlčková, Romana, Říha, Milan, Walter, Thorsten, Yuniar, Asri T. & Palm, Harry W., 2009, Revision of tapeworms (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidea) from lizardfish (Saurida: Synodontidae) from the Indo-Pacific region, Zootaxa 1977, pp. 55-67: 57 57
Saurida undosquamis Nurettin Meriç, Lütfiye Eryilmaz & Müfit Özulug, 2007, A catalogue of the fishes held in the Istanbul University, Science Faculty, Hydrobiology Museum., Zootaxa 1472, pp. 29-54: 38 38
Saurida normani Carvalho-Filho, Alfredo, Marcovaldi, Guy, Sampaio, Cláudio L. S., Paiva, Isabel G. & Duarte, Luiz A. G., 2010, First report of Aulopus (Teleostei: Aulopidae) from Southwestern Atlantic, with a review of records and a key to Western Atlantic Aulopoidei species, Zootaxa 2628, pp. 27-42: 31-33 31-33
Saurida gracilis Andréfouët, Serge, Chen, Wei-Jen, Kinch, Jeff, Mana, Ralph, Russell, Barry C., Tully, Dean & White, William T., 2019, Checklist of the marine and estuarine fishes of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, western Pacific Ocean, with 810 new records, Zootaxa 4588 (1), pp. 1-360: 63 63
Oncodiscus sauridae Kuchta, Roman, Scholz, Tomáš, Vlčková, Romana, Říha, Milan, Walter, Thorsten, Yuniar, Asri T. & Palm, Harry W., 2009, Revision of tapeworms (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidea) from lizardfish (Saurida: Synodontidae) from the Indo-Pacific region, Zootaxa 1977, pp. 55-67: 57 57
Oncodiscus sauridae Kuchta, Roman, Scholz, Tomáš, Vlčková, Romana, Říha, Milan, Walter, Thorsten, Yuniar, Asri T. & Palm, Harry W., 2009, Revision of tapeworms (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidea) from lizardfish (Saurida: Synodontidae) from the Indo-Pacific region, Zootaxa 1977, pp. 55-67: 58-61 58-61


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LATEST PRINT ISSUE FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: This is Our Destiny
Chemistry and continuity could lead Georgia's offense to new heights
Davis Baker
Sports UGA Football No Comments
When Todd Monken was named Georgia's offensive coordinator in January of 2020 he inherited a group that was in need of some stylistic changes. Quarterback Jake Fromm was headed to the NFL draft after being a three-year starter. Georgia's offense never really took off in 2019, contributing to the change from former offensive coordinator James Coley to Monken, who had been successful at the NFL level.
There was a bit of an adjustment period for Georgia last season. The quarterback fiasco was a situation that almost nobody saw coming. Jamie Newman opted out of the season, D'wan Mathis struggled in his time at the position and Stetson Bennett was a fun story until Georgia lost to Florida for the first time in four seasons.
But when JT Daniels took over at quarterback against Mississippi State it seemed like he and Monken were a match made in heaven.
"We see the game the same way, which is hugely important between your offensive coordinator and your quarterback," said Daniels on Tuesday at SEC Media Days. "It's a relationship building, that's arguably one of the most important. I think he's a really good guy, he genuinely cares about the kids. It's hard to knock Monken on anything really. We've always had a good connection."
That connection was on display from the jump as Daniels threw for over 400 yards in his first start. Now with a full offseason together, including the weapons that Georgia has stockpiled at wideout, tight end and running back, sky-high expectations are reasonable for the Bulldogs this fall.
"It's the biggest relationship there is because it's not a set of positions," said head coach Kirby Smart on the relationship between Daniels and Monken. "Every other position has multiple starters, different guys that play. At quarterback, it's not typically that way. Whoever your starting quarterback is, he has to have direct communication."
Now it is up to Daniels to perform on the field at a high level again. Defenses will by no means underestimate him this year. They will have film on him and there are not any injury questions heading into the season. Daniels has gone out of his way though to build a connection with his teammates that Georgia fans hope will translate to more success.
A few weeks ago, Daniels and some of his receivers went to California together for 10 days. Daniels said the group got together to throw and work out some, but the trip was mainly inspired by a lot of guys that had never been to California. With that being Daniels' home state, he wanted to show them around.
Daniels was named to both the Maxwell Award watchlist as well as the Davey O'Brien Award watchlist. However, he's shown a humble approach heading to this season, often crediting his teammates first when talking about expectations and hopes for the upcoming season.
"I'd say my biggest strength is understanding my role of being the primary distributor, like that is my job," said Daniels. "I'm okay with the ball in my hands, but like James Cook is really good with the ball in his hands, George Pickens is really good with the ball in his hands. We have a lot of players that, when they have the ball in the right situation, do a lot of really good things."
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One-off courses, tailored to specific sites, groups or interests.
Introduction events (from short talks to 2-day courses): These are aimed at anyone who wants to find out a bit more about permaculture.
Full Permaculture Design Course (PDC): This runs for 12 days / 72 hours, either over 2 weeks or a series of weekends. The PDC is aimed at anyone who wants to go on to use permaculture in a more serious way – as a practitioner, consultant or permaculture teacher. Completing a full PDC allows you to go on and study for your Diploma. All Permaculture Design Courses are accredited through the Permaculture Association of Britain.
Fees: All NonStuff courses have a sliding scale. We ask each individual to pay what they can afford, based on their household income and savings. Subsidised places can often be offered on request.
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Apparently there is a tax out there called "woman tax", and its been showing up on things like dry cleaning, deodorant, and goods that are imported because they are sold to women. But more importantly it has also been showing up in health care costs.
The recession is still in full swing and the interest rates are as low as they can go, so it is no surprise that employer provided health care costs will increase. With the new Obamacare plan if you are not receiving coverage from your employer you can purchase your own coverage, which may be a booming trend in the future.
Tips on staying healthy by Olympic wrestling medalist and UFC fighter Matt "The Law" Lindland. Set goals. Start small and work your way up to bigger goals. Every small victory is another notch in the belt that will help you eventually reach your ultimate goal. That goal might be to get faster, get stronger, lose weight, lower cholesterol or just look good in a swimsuit for the upcoming vacation on the beach.
The biggest question facing someone without health insurance currently is how much is health insurance. Hopefully, this article will provide a better understanding of the different types of health insurance options that are available to you and will make that decision easier when the time comes to actually purchase the insurance.
The new health care reform is fast approaching and the implementations are already starting in January 2013. This is before the final and mandatory implementation that all Americans must have health insurance in place before January 2014 or pay a tax penalty if you decide not to.


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Q: usage of "it all" From a tutorial (Transcript)

Although we hadn't planned everything perfectly, it all went
as smoothly as anyone could expect.

I understand the meaning of the whole sentence: speaker is making a comparison to emphasize everything is okay.
I don't understand the usage of "it all". "It" might refer to a party, meeting or other event in question, what does "all" do there?

A: "It all" just refers to "everything". The types of "things," though, depend on context. Here are some examples.

Friend 1: How was your trip to France?
Friend 2: It was awesome! The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre; I saw it all! (every tourist attraction)

Police officer 1: He keeps saying he didn't do it.
Police officer 2: Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. (every story about innocence)

In terms your sentence, I would say the meaning of it all is

Although we hadn't planned everything perfectly, every event that was supposed to happen went as smoothly as anyone could expect.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The fine, powdery material that makes up the lunar surface is most commonly called "regolith" in the scientific and engineering literature, so that tradition will be followed here.
The earliest studies had conventional equipment strip mine the moon's surface, e.g., "front loader" vehicles to scoop up the regolith and drop it into "haulers" which would bring it back to the materials processing site.
In these scenarios, the vehicles would be launched from Earth and need to be assembled after landing on the lunar surface. The haulers would not be as structurally massive as Earth haulers due to the Moon's one-sixth gravity. However, the loaders would be nearly the same, since they need a counterweight when scooping up regolith. Simple counterweights would be produced from lunar materials, not launched from Earth.
Application of terrestrial mining experience and technology to the lunar environment, with emphasis on teleoperated and automated systems, is covered in a U.S. government (public domain) paper presented at the 1993 AIAA/SSI conference by E.R. Podnieks (Senior Staff Scientist) and J.A. Siekmeier (Civil Engineer, Twin Cities Research Center) of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, entitled Terrestrial Mining Technology Applied to Lunar Mining (paper reference).
A significantly improvement may be to replace the front end loaders with a simple bucket-and-reel system, called a "flail" or "slusher", as shown below, as put forward by mining engineer Robert Gertsch (ref. 3). It pulls the dirt up a ramp and into the hauler.
NASA artwork by L. Ortiz showing Richard Gertsch's slusher mining system.
Since the surface material is powdery, a flail may handle the job of collecting bulk lunar material.
The above are methods used on Earth and adapted to the Moon. Other methods have been proposed which have no precedent on Earth, but they may be considered too new and unproven to be considered by a private venture in the near term.
For most of the Moon, the top few meters of the lunar surface consists of a mix of minerals, whereas lower depths probably offer more uniform minerology from the old magma oceans. The mix on the surface is due to all the splashes of asteroid impacts which has mixed materials from distances. Also, the surface is glassier due to the superheated nature of the asteroid ejecta and the subsequent quick cooling.
Many proposed methods for materials processing call for processing just one particular mineral, e.g., ilmenite. This would require either separating the desired mineral from the regolith mix, or mining underneath the surface where the mineral may be found in a fairly uniform state.
Which mining method is used, and which mining site exploited, depends upon which products are desired, the processing methods employed, and the amount of investment that financiers are willing to put forth.
The Apollo missions were surprised by the difficulty of extracting subsurface samples. While the top was powdery and soft, attempts to drill into the surface and extract subsurface material resulted in seizing of drill tubes which could not be removed and had to be abandoned.
Contact Richard E. Gertsch (see paper references 1, 3), Levent Ozdemir (see paper reference 1), or R. J. Miller (see paper reference 2).


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LOCAL : NEWS
Dundas Centurion development appeals parkland dedication fee
Property owner argues $836,416 fee should have been $190,000
Set Dundas as My Local news
By Craig CampbellReporter
Mon., Jan. 16, 2023timer2 min. read
A Dundas development is appealing the amount of money charged by the city for parkland dedication.
Centurion (Dundas) Holdings Ltd., now building a nine-storey, 64-unit residential building at 71 Main St., appealed the City of Hamilton's $836,416 cash-in-lieu of parkland fee, arguing the fee should only be $190,000.
"This appeal involves a residential development in the old town of Dundas, now the city of Hamilton, comprised of 64 residential condominium units and specifically the amount of parkland cash-in-lieu fee payable by the Appellant," states the appeal, filed with the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) on Dec. 22, 2022.
It has previously been suggested units might be rental apartments rather than condominiums.
According to the appeal, Centurion paid the full amount "under protest on Dec. 5, 2022."
Bill 23 — known as the "More Homes Built Faster Act" — amended section 42 of the Planning Act with respect to parkland requirements.
The change might establish maximums for parkland dedication — apparently in an effort to support affordable housing — and can cap the parkland dedication rate at 10 per cent of a property's value where the property is five hectares or less. It's not clear what other criteria, if any, might have to be met for that rate to apply.
The 71 Main appeal argues the cash-in-lieu of parkland should have been calculated at 10 per cent of an appraised property value, which it argues would result in a total fee of $190,000.
University of Toronto assistant professor of sociology, and faculty adviser in U of T's School of Cities, Prentiss Dantzler reviewed the appeal filed with the OLT and said it seems the issue is tied to the shoring permit issued by the City of Hamilton, prior to the final building permit.
"The City issued a shoring permit for the purposes of excavation for the purposes of building construction," Dantzler said. "The Appellant is arguing that this permit is not an actual building permit since a subsequent building permit was still needed for construction."
He said there are two issues raised in the appeal — the first that it's not clear how "other permits needed for building construction, such as shoring or demolition permits, fit into the calculation of cash-in-lieu fees."
In addition, according to Dantzler, the timing of Bill 23 has caused several construction projects already underway to revisit their land use plans to find savings from changes in the law.
"From a policy perspective, finer details are needed to understand if this only affects developments with a building permit in hand or other phases of a development project already underway," Dantzler said.
He said the details are a bit confusing, "especially given the convoluted regulatory environment for property owners to navigate."
Dantzler said he was under the impression the reduction in parkland dedication, using the 10 per cent of property value calculation, was primarily intended to reduce costs for affordable housing development.
"I can see why it would apply to all rental housing," he said. "Condos should not be included in this space unless there are income requirements for occupancy."
As of Jan. 12, a case management conference had not yet been scheduled. The appeal's filing fee was $1,100.
LOCAL : ENTERTAINMENT
Westover Women's Institute celebrates 120 years of service with open house
Proposed towers by Stoney Creek's Battlefield park headed to Ontario Land Tribunal
LOCAL : ANCASTER NEWSOpinion
Try as you might, you can't control everything


The Latino romance with social media has been a passionate one. We've embraced this frontier for the betterment of our careers and our businesses. We tweet, post, update, like and comment as we validate ourselves or denigrate stories and events. Along the way, often incidentally, we build communities and networks.
I spend a lot of time keeping up with the ever-changing Hispanic market. Over the past 10 years, the Hispanic market has grown exponentially, inspired the creation of numerous companies and careers, and played an important role in shaping the social and mobile industries in addition to political elections.
User experience (UX) design is a rapidly growing and integral discipline in the maturing world of Web communications. UX is a broad term, very much in vogue these days, with as many definitions as practitioners. At its core, UX relates to how a person feels about using a product, system or service. It was born in the world of software and industrial design - and revolutionized how both types of products were designed with the introduction of user-centered design.


Under the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Act, RSA 273-A, et seq., groups of public employees, i.e. bargaining units, are entitled to elect an exclusive representative, i.e. union, to collectively bargain with their public employer on their behalf. Pursuant to the statute, however, "[p]ersons exercising supervisory authority involving the significant exercise of discretion may not belong to the same bargaining unit as the employees they supervise."
The New Hampshire Retirement System ("NHRS") is a public employer within the meaning of the Act. In 2011, the State Employees' Association ("SEA") was the exclusive representative for NHRS' employees, including NHRS' Team Lead positions, its Public Information Officer ("PIO"), and its Controller. Although the job description for all of these positions included explicit supervisory responsibilities over other members of the bargaining unit, the employees in these positions were not in fact carrying out those responsibilities.
In 2012, NHRS' hired new a management team and charged them with reinvigorating NHRS' supervisors. Accordingly, the new management team implemented management trainings, amended job descriptions, and performed training sessions related to performance appraisals and supervisor accountability. As a result of these efforts, by the Spring of 2013, the NHRS' Team Leads, PIO, and Controller were in fact exercising the supervisory responsibilities as stated in their job descriptions by "assigning work, imposing discipline, and conducting performance evaluations of other employees who are members of the bargaining unit." Therefore, NHRS filed a petition with the PELRB seeking to exclude the positions on the basis of the statutory exemption for supervisors. The SEA objected and the PELRB agreed holding that the "'hiring of new management and the implementation of new managerial strategic plan are not material changes in circumstances warranting modification of existing bargaining unit.'" NHRS appealed the PELRB's decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
On appeal, NHRS argued that the change in the contested positions from "supervisory-in-name-only" to "supervisory-in-fact" constituted a material change in circumstances sufficient to warrant a modification of the bargaining unit. Furthermore, NHRS argued that the change was, by necessity, "material" because to deny the modification would result in a statutory violation by permitting supervisory employees to remain in a bargaining unit with the employees they supervise. The Court agreed.
First, the Court agreed with NHRS and held that a "change that would result in a bargaining unit violating RSA 273-A:8 constitutes a material change in circumstances warranting modification." Therefore, the Court turned to whether the PELRB erred as a matter of law when it held that the evidence was insufficient to show that the Team Leads, PIO, and Controller positions did not exercise supervisory responsibility involving the significant exercise of discretion. In order to make that determination, the Court considered the following factors: "their authority to evaluate other employees; the nature of their supervisory role; and their disciplinary authority."
Based on these facts, the Court held that the Team Lead, PIO, and Controller positions had authority to evaluate other employees, which indicated that the positions exercised supervisory authority involving the significant exercise of discretion.
Additionally, of note, the Court held that NHRS had sufficiently demonstrated that the Team Lead, PIO, and Controller positions had authority to evaluate other employees in the bargaining unit despite the fact that NHRS had not submitted any completed performance evaluations to the PELRB. In so holding, the Court reiterated its position that "the fact that an employee 'has such [supervisory] authority, regardless of whether he presently exercises it, is sufficient to vest him with supervisory authority under the statute,'" and, furthermore, that it was not obligated to "allow events to unfold" prior to taking remedial action.
Accordingly, based on the facts as found by the hearing officer,the Court held that the nature of the supervisory role for the Team Lead, PIO, and Controller "positions was substantial vis-à-vis other bargaining unit members, and, thus, shows that these positions exercise supervisory authority involving the significant exercise of discretion."
[E]ach position has the authority to issue disciplinary letters and written warnings, which are placed in the employee's personnel file.
This finding was supported by NHRS' submission of three written warnings and two letters summarizing attire and behavioral concerns. Accordingly, based on the facts found by the hearing officer, the Court held that the Team Lead, PIO, and Controller positions had sufficient disciplinary authority over other bargaining unit members, which indicated that the positions exercised supervisory authority involving the significant exercise of discretion.
In summary, therefore, "in light of all the facts found by the PELRB, [the Court] held that the Team Leads, [PIO], and Controller are supervisors under RSA 273-A:8, II," and, furthermore, held that "the hiring of new management and the implementation of a new managerial plan, in which the contested positions became supervisors-in-fact, constituted a material change in circumstances that mandated the modification of the bargaining unit in order to prevent a violation of the statute." Accordingly, the Court reversed the PELRB's decision denying NHRS' petition for modification of the bargaining unit and remanded the matter for further proceedings before the PELRB consistent with its opinion.
As indicated by the PELRB's initial ruling in the New Hampshire Retirement System matter, the PELRB is generally reluctant to exclude positions from bargaining units and even more reluctant to modify bargaining units where the parties have a demonstrated history of successful bargaining. With the New Hampshire Retirement System decision, however, the Court reinvigorates the Act's "supervisory" exclusion and signals to the PELRB that, where an employer can demonstrate that a position wields actual supervisory authority over other members of the unit, the PELRB must exclude those positions from the unit or face reversal.
From a practical stand-point, the decision also provides a roadmap for employers who want to demonstrate that their supervisors should be excluded from an existing bargaining unit or should be removed from an existing unit due to bona fide workplace restructuring. In essence, the Court and the PELRB need evidence, whether through documentation or testimony, showing that (a) the supervisory positions in question have been delegated substantial supervisory authority – i.e. the authority to evaluate and discipline co-workers in a way that could impact that co-worker's employment or conditions of employment – by the employer and (b) the supervisory positions in question in fact exercise that supervisory authority over other members of the bargaining unit.
 Appeal of N.H. Retirement Sys., No. 2014-312, slip op. at 1 (N.H. May 22, 2015), available at http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/2015/2015041nhrs.pdf.


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Afghanistan: Suspense and Shock
Guest Writer September 7, 2021 September 21st, 2021
From a worker in Europe
Last Thursday, my colleagues and I offered an afternoon of help for those Afghans living here who wanted to notify the European government about their endangered relatives back home in Afghanistan.
The room was full of Afghans, more than 70 of them, mostly men from 30 to 50-years-old. They had come to this European country for refuge between 5 and 20 years ago, and are now, for the most part, citizens, workers, and homeowners. All are anxious for family members in the home country.
The best we could do for them is to help them notify their Member of Parliament about their concerns with the hope that it will influence how those men vote on the refugee question. It took hours for several of us to speak with each person, and many had tragic stories to tell.
One man told me his daughter, who has a passport from this country, had been outside the Kabul airport for several days, trying to get in. Then suddenly, a ripple went around the room – the news had just come of the airport bombing!
The man I was with at that moment took a deep breath, steadied himself, and carried on with what he could do – pursuing the power of the democratic process by communicating with his MP.
That's what all of us can do – to communicate with our government officials about our concerns and to encourage them to act compassionately for the sake of those who are in danger.
But more than that, we can communicate with our Heavenly Father, and join in His battle against the forces of evil that justify hate and revenge.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Eph 6:12
Copy and paste the link to this blog and share it to your social media with an answer to this question.
Write out a heart-felt prayer for the people still in Afghanistan and for efforts of the organizations and people trying to help them.
Afghanistan Blogs:
How to Befriend Refugees
Escape From The Taliban
Afghanistan: Bad Dreams
Afghanistan Prayer Guide
Jacob's Story
Recommended Reading From Many of Our Colleagues:
Why God Calls Us to Dangerous Places
In the Land of The Blue Burqas
Farewell, Four Waters: One Aid Workers Sudden Escape From Afghanistan
When Helping Hurts by Corbett and Fikkert
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
Seeking Refuge by Bauman, Sorens and Smeir
Outcasts United by Warren St. John
Newsletters on Our Work With Afghan Refugees:
9-21-2021 – You helped raise $30,000 to help us help Afghan refugees!
As the world grapples with how to help the Afghan people, WorldVenture is ready and engaging the world for gospel impact right now. We invite you to join us in loving our Afghan neighbors by responding to this crisis with courage, compassion, generosity and solidarity. Click here.
Header Image by David Mark from Pixabay


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Volunteer your time and talents to help your community by serving as a member of a City Advisory Board or Development Corporation. Details on each advisory board can be obtained from the City Secretary. If you are interested in serving on one of the boards, complete and return the Board Membership Application to the City Secretary's Office. You can complete the application Online or by hand. Membership qualifications can be viewed here Boards and Commissions Membership Policy please call 972-382-2682 with any questions.
City Boards
7 members, three year staggered terms
Meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 112 N. Colorado Street
Advises council about City Planning to include public improvements, civic improvements, zoning of property, widening and changing of streets, routing of public utilities, controlling and regulating traffic, approving plats.
Staff Contact: Development Services 972-382-2682, ext. 1025
Members: Ben Hangartner Chairman, Shelby Barley Vice-Chair, Eric Becker, Jace Ousley, KJ Clark, Shawn Bain, and Brian Poche
5 members, 2 alternates, two-year staggered terms
Meets the 1st Monday of every month at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 112 N. Colorado Street
Serves as an appeal body for individuals seeking variances to the Zoning Ordinance, or to a decision made by an administrative official enforcing the ordinance
7 members, two year staggered terms
Meets the 3rd Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Library, 142 N Ohio Street
Develops and implements policies, plans and sets goals, and acts as advocates for the library
Staff Contact: Director of Library Services Linda Shaw 972-382-2682, ext. 1101
Comprised of 5 members of the Celina Community Board, three year staggered terms
Meets the 1st Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 112 N. Colorado Street.
Advises council on park-related matters
Staff Contact: Director of Parks and Recreation Cody Webb 972-382-2682, ext. 600
Special Events Advisory Committee
Provides feedback to Special Events staff on improvement opportunities, budget priorities for events, and other event related discussions
Long-term goal of maintaining and improving the strong relationship between Celina's government and citizens through special events
Development Corporations
5 members, two years staggered terms
Meets the first Tuesday of every month in the Celina Economic Development Corporation Building, 302 W. Walnut Street.
Coordinates the use of sales and use tax funds primarily aimed at promoting economic development
Staff Contact: Executive Director Alexis Jackson 972-382-2682, ext. 802
Meets on an as-needed basis
Coordinates the use of sales and use tax funds primarily aimed at promoting parks, and 5 members serve as the Parks & Recreation Board.
Staff Contact: Executive Director of Public Services, Kim Brawner 972-382-2682 Ext 1081


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ZTE showcases its cutting-edge solutions at Digital Bangladesh Mela 2023
'Does media not have the right to speak the truth that goes against BNP?' — Sajeeb Wazed asks
Awami League
Jatiya Party
Today's news list
Bhasan Char
Japan, UNFPA join hands to provide $3.7 million assistance to Rihingyas in Bhasan Char, host communities in Noakhali
The government of Japan and UNFPA have on Tuesday signed an exchange of notes for the assistance to Rohingyas in Bhasan Char and host communities in Noakhali district. The contribution of USD 3.7 million will be used for improving access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, protecting the dignity and safety of women and girls from gender-based violence (GBV) and empowering adolescents and youth. "With the generous support of the government of Japan, UNFPA is able to work with the Government of Bangladesh to scale up lifesaving SRH, and GBV services and strengthen linkages between key health facilities in Noakhali district. UNFPA wishes to thank the Government of Japan for the confidence expressed and most notably their encouraging engagement to improve health and protection outcomes for women and girls and across Noakhali district and Bhasan Char," said Kristine Blokhus, UNFPA Representative. Read more: UN adopts resolution on human rights of Rohingya, other minorities in Myanmar Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said Japan can provide additional assistance to Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char, and to the host communities through UNFPA. "While many women and girls are suffering from reproductive health problems and GBV due to the protracted Rohingya crisis, assistance to those areas has been relatively scarce," he said. The Ambassador hoped that this assistance will contribute to the protection of women and girls, their dignity, and improvement of their quality of life. As the Rohingya crisis has turned into the sixth year, it is imperative to continue funding for better and dignified lives of refugees, while making every effort for the early repatriation to Myanmar, Naoki said. "Durable solutions of this crisis will be conducive to realizing the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Japan will stand by the Government and the people of Bangladesh in supporting the Rohingya response," said Naoki. Read more: Relations with Bangladesh now deeper, more extensive: JICA Since the beginning of the emergency in August 2017, Japan has been a steadfast supporter of the Rohingya refugee response in Bangladesh, contributing over USD $175 million to UNFPA and other UN agencies and NGOs in Bangladesh, including through this new funding.
EU announces € 3m for Rohingyas in Bhasan Char
The European Union (EU) has announced additional Euro 3 million support for the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs YIva Johansson announced the assistance at an event at the EU Embassy in the city's Gulshan on Thursday. Ylva Johansson arrived in Dhaka this morning on a two-day official visit to discuss the issues of mutual interest with special focus on security matters. Read more: Dhaka seeks proactive role from Thailand, ASEAN to repatriate Rohingya At the event, State Minister for Disaster Management Enamur Rahman said, "We are happy to hear that the EU will provide € 3m as humanitarian aid for the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char. They also helped the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar. The Government of Bangladesh expressed gratitude to the European Union for the support." Enamur said the Bangladesh government is trying to ensure all kinds of humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas. The nutrition situation among the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char has improved a lot, the state minister said adding violence among the Rohingyas has already been brought under control. Read more: Elaborate scheme to provide Rohingya with NIDs at Tk 1 lakh each busted Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them have come to this country since August 25, 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the Muslim ethnic minorities.
Seven Rohingyas detained while trying to escape Bhasan Char
Locals detained seven Rohingyas trying to escape from Bhasan Char Ashrayan Kendra in Subarna Char upazila of the district early Wednesday. The detainees were identified as Mohammad Ismail, 19, Parveen Akter, 28, Morjina Akter, 18, Ayas, 10, Morjina Khatun, 8, Bechhana Parvez, 6 and Nur Begum, 39. All the detainees were residents of the shelter centre purpose-built for the Rohingya refugees on Bhasan Char island, in Hatiya upazila of Noakhali. Read: 18 Rohingyas fleeing from Bhasanchar arrested in Mirsarai Deb Priyo Dash, officer-in-charge of Char Jabbar Police Station under the Subarna Char upazila, said locals detained the Rohingyas following their suspicious movement from Eshak Munshirhat under the upazila area around 1:00am. Later, the detainees were handed over to the police, he said, adding that legal action will be taken against them
Chinese ambassador Li visits Bhasan Char
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has recently visited Bhasan Char to meet the Rohingyas staying there temporarily and see the facilities there for them. Ambassador Li also inspected two projects on the island undertaken by Chinese companies, said the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka on Monday. Also read:Chinese ambassador greets Bangladeshis, wishes for global peace
Three Rohingyas who fled Bhasan Char detained, sent back
Three Rohingya refugees who fled Bhasan Char have been detained and sent back, police said Friday. Locals nabbed the three in Mohammadpur union of the district's Subarnachar upazila on Wednesday evening and handed them over to the Char Jabbar police. Also Read: Ukhia camp: 6 Rohingyas burnt in gas cylinder fire The three Rohingyas have been identified as Khairul Amin, 21, son of Syedul Amin, Abdullah, 12, son of Md. Rafique, and Saiful Islam, 18, son of Abdul Khaleque. Ziaul Haque, officer-in-charge of Char Jabbar police station, said the detainees were handed over to Bhasan Char police on Thursday itself.
USAID: Some structural issues to be fixed in Bhasan Char
USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman has said there are some "structural issues" that need to be addressed in Bhasan Char before more people move to the Island. Those already there need help to meet their basic needs with more livelihood opportunities, she said. "We did talk about more livelihood opportunities for the people who are living in Bhasan Char. Housing (in Bhasan Char) is certainly an improvement over Cox's Bazar (camps)," she said during an interaction with a small group of journalists at American Centre on Wednesday. Also read:USAID launches $20mn project to protect critical forests, wetland areas in Bangladesh Coleman who visited Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char said it is "more expensive" to support refugees in a "more isolated and remote area" while they will continue to work with their Bangladesh counterparts on the "issues of concerns." Talking about environmental impacts, she said it is not yet known. She noted the government's efforts to protect it from flooding through embankments as it is a "fragile and vulnerable" area. The efficacy and strength of the infrastructure of Bhasan Char and its disaster protection measures have been tested during the deadly cyclone AMPHAN, says the government of Bangladesh. To address any extreme situation, it said, there are arrangements for evacuation in a timely manner as per disaster response management framework. Coleman, who is not optimistic about any immediate repatriation, said every single Rohingya that she met wants to go home but they want to make sure that a safe environment is in place for a "dignified, voluntary and peaceful" return. "We must all remain hopeful that there will be a day when they will voluntarily return," she said before wrapping up her five-day Bangladesh tour which she says impressed her due to "incredible progress" that Bangladesh has made on socioeconomic front. Coleman who will also visit Thailand and Laos as part of her tri-nation tour laid emphasis on giving access to education to all Rohingya children and noted the progress that has been made so far. Earlier, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, during a meeting with Coleman, stressed that the US may influence ASEAN members to persuade the Myanmar government to stop atrocities on its own nationals and take the Rohingyas back to their own land. Momen appreciated the announcement of the US government to contribute US$ 152 million under JRP 2022 for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis. Also read:USAID Deputy Administrator Coleman in Bangladesh Coleman deeply appreciated Bangladesh for hosting such a big number of Rohingyas from Myanmar stressing on improving provision of basic education, livelihood, communication, and transportation facilities in Bhasan Char. Responding to a question, she said the ongoing crisis in Ukraine has put an enormous strain on global humanitarian assistance. "We'll always stand by Bangladesh and the Rohingya people" However, she said they also have to be cognizant of the strain on the global humanitarian assistance right now in an unprecedented way. "It's truly unprecedented," Coleman said, noting that the food crisis around the world with increased food prices is a very big global issue that is affecting humanitarian issues around the world. Coleman said they are committed to continuing their support for the Rohingya response making sure that the refugees who are here receive what they need and their basic needs are met. "It's a priority for us."
Over 1,500 more Rohingyas reach Bhasan Char
Another batch of 1,535 Rohingya refugees reached Bhasan Char in the 13th phase on Thursday. This took the total population of Rohingya refugees at Ashrayan Kendra in Bhasan Char to 29,116. The Rohingya men, women and children reached Bhasan Char by five naval ships in the noon, said Md Rafiqul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Bhasan Char police station. The Rohingyas were taken to their respective clusters on arrival, he said. Read: PM vows to uplift Bangladesh to a developed nation Earlier on Wednesday the 27 buses left Ukhia Degree College campus with the Rohingya citizens and reached Patenga in Chattogram around 10 pm. Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them fled to this country since August 25, 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the Muslim ethnic minorities.
1,096 more Rohingyas leave for Bhasan Char
As many as 1,096 Rohingyas left Ukhiya camps in Cox's Bazar on Tuesday in the 13th phase of relocation to Bhasan Char island in Noakhali. The Rohingya men, women and children left for Chattogram from the Ukhiya Degree College field at 12pm. Read: 10 diplomats visit Bhasan Char Shamsuddauja, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, said these Rohingyas are being relocated in the 13th phase and process is on to send others who will agree to go to Bhasan Char. "They are scheduled to reach Bhasan Char Wednesday afternoon," he added. Read: UNHCR sees clear improvement of conditions, services in Bhasan Char In 12 phases, around 24,578 Rohingyas were shifted to Bhasan Char in December 2020. Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them came since August 25, 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the Muslim ethnic minorities.
UNHCR sees clear improvement of conditions, services in Bhasan Char
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly T. Clements on Friday said Bhasan Char has the potential to become a temporary stay for the Rohingya refugees. She said there has been clear improvement in the conditions and availability of services since UNHCR and UN partners began supporting the government in October. However, its sustainability will depend on scaling up health and education services, improving access to livelihoods and income generating activities, and above all, continuing to ensure the voluntariness of relocations to the island and regular family visits to and from the mainland, Clements said. With return to Myanmar unlikely in the immediate future, UNHCR has underscored the need for a more comprehensive approach to humanitarian support. This includes alternative solutions for Rohingya refugees such as resettlement to third countries for the most vulnerable with specific protection needs, and complementary pathways overseas which could include employment and educational opportunities, said the UN refugee agency. Read: 15,000 people in Cox's Bazar receive UNHCR's aid1
1,287 more Rohingyas reach Bhasan Char
Another batch of 1,287 Rohingya refugees reached Bhasan Char in the tenth phase on Monday. Of them 65 came as visitors from Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps and 81 are residents of Bhasan Char returning after visiting their relatives, according to the media wing of Chattogram Navy. The Rohingya men, women and children left Patenga for Bhasan Char by two naval ships in the morning and reached Bhasan Char at 1:30 pm, said Moazzem Hossain, additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner (deputy secretary) in Bhasan Char. READ: 718 more Rohingyas leave for Bhasan Char The Rohingyas were taken to their respective clusters on arrival, he said. With this, the total number of Rohingya population at the Bhasan Char reached 20,949, he said Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them have come to this country since August 25, 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the Muslim ethnic minorities. READ: Bangladesh, Myanmar agree to accelerate citizenship verification of Rohingya refugees
Don't believe rumors about new textbooks: Dipu Moni
Momen inaugurates two new units of M.A.G. Osmani Medical College and Hospital
'Fascist' regime trying to foil united movement for democracy: Fakhrul
UK Treasury chief: Tax cuts must wait for inflation to fall
Two cousins die after falling off rooftop in Dhaka
446 school, high school students ended their lives in 2022: Study
United News of Bangladesh (UNB)
Cosmos Centre 69/1 New Circular Road, Malibagh, Dhaka-1217,Bangladesh.
2022 | © Copyright United News of Bangladesh.


text:
Haunted fort of Bhangarh : Nothing spooky about it!
10:17 pm	| January 12, 2017	| Comments 21
SO much has been written and told about Bhangarh fort in recent times as the most haunted place of India (some claim to be in Asia) that if you just blindfold somebody and take him or her to a place and whisper in ear that- you are in 'BHANGARH' and that person will just get spooked and run out of horror. We did something similar. We didn't blindfold but kept telling all the way that we are going to some other place (fort) and kept all hints of Bhangarh out of the view of that person. Once we entered the fort and the person came to know about the truth that we were in Bhangarh, we could see the horror written on the face. But with no scope of running for anybody, we continued. Rest all is history and we came out laughing on all the spooky stories of Bhangarh.
The main fortress
With extent of writings on Bhangrah in past many years, ironically when you go on searching for Princess Ratnavati on Google, all initial results take you to 'haunted' story of Bhangarh fort, whereas in our childhood, the only Ratnavati we had heard about was the Princess of Jaisalmer who fought bravely against the forces of Alauddin Khilji. But then, we never read about Bhangarh even!
The gate just before the fortress
In times of Harry Potters and Vampire Academies, there is always a good market (perhaps it always had been) for spooky stories on haunted places and paranormal activities. Hence the Bhangarh story got a perfect scoop. Mass media has made it more and more spicy, dramatised and indeed thrilling.
What we all are sure about is the documented part of the Bhangarh's history. That, this was founded by Raja Bhagwant Das of Amber in 16th century. During that time this whole area came under the Amber rule. Bhagwant Das was the close lieutenant of Mughal emperor Akbar and also the elder brother of Akbar's Rajput queen Jodha Bai. Perhaps from Bhagwant Das came the name Bhangarh. His eldest son Man Singh was the one of the nine jewels of Akbar. Madho Singh was his younger brother and father Bhagwant Das handed over Bhangarh to Madho Singh.
Bhangarh was not just a palace but a fort city. Whatever is left now is just the ruins of what would have been a sprawling city at one point of time. What is now left of the city part is just few temples, old havelis and the main market Johari Bazar, whose name will remind you of its namesake in pink city Jaipur. This city would have been magnificent at its peak with big havelis, palaces, temples, houses, markets. Even the shops in the Johari Bazar were all identical and double storied. The pathway to the palace now passes through this Johari Bazar.
Monkeys rule the roost!
View of market from the palace
Double stories shops
Top view of Johari Bazar
At some point of time the fort city was abandoned and hence got ruined, may be because of some local power struggle leading to a war with nearby rulers. There are some stories about a war between Bhangarh and nearby Ajabgarh. Amidst the ruins emerges a story which everybody would like to tell with a lots of juice.
Hotspots for some spine-chilling stories are trees like this in Hindu mythology.
Ruins like this are always hotbeds for folklores and some paranormal stories. The sad part is that there isn't much of documented history of Raja Madho Singh (if it is, then not known too much). When there is no proper documentation, then there is every possibility of additions and subtractions in the orals history that passes from generations to generations. History of ruining of Bhangarh has gone through that. Stories of haunt refer to Ratnavati but whereas some people say that she was Madho Singh's daughter while other say she was Madho SIngh's wife. In any case, there are two different stories of ruining of Bhangarh and only one can be true and in that race the juicer story of Princess Ratnavati holds the fort. That says that fort ruined due to curse of a black magician (tantrik) who was in love with Ratnavati. I don't want to detail any of the stories as they are everywhere on the net.
This Canatoph on the hilltop adjacent to ruins is said to be in memory of the black magician who cursed Bhangarh.
The Bhangarh story is more of abandonment and neglect. The palace was said to be seven storied, whose three stories are completely lost. Rest of it is in ruins and in danger of further irreparable damage due to influx of tourists and bad handling of the property. ASI is probably doing nothing than opening and closing the gates at schedule times. Whole property is left to hundreds of selfie-crazy and haunt-fancied tourists with no sight of any guards anywhere. Inside the palace, there are no signages, boards or information boards. This is further ruining the property which at some point of time in history would have been a glorious one. See the images below-
Entrance to the palace building
Stairs to upper floors
Haunted alleys!
Selfie crazy tourists further ruining history
Everything in shambles
said to be temple of the queen
Abandoned rooms gain garbage
Two rooms said to have long tunnels, which are now closed.
This tunnel was said to be going to Amber fort!
One of the more intact structures in Bhangarh complex is the Gopinath Temple but ironically it has lost its main idol to the thieves. This is a Krishna temple (hence the name Gopinath). Perhaps the theft of the main statue prompted authorities to be more stringent.
Gopinath Temple
There are some stories about Princess Ratnavati being a devotee of Lord Krishna. But the main temple courtyard had something to do with dance & music, I presume; as the roof of the hall just outside the sanctorum is decorated with some beautiful statues of musicians. You can see it for yourself-
There are some other carvings too, resembling to other temple structures of north India, just like this one-
Another intriguing structure is right behind this Gopinath temple which local people say was place for cremation or burial (different stories!). Any such place inside the palace and that too so close to a temple is a rarity.
Cremation place!
Another interesting fact about this place (palace) is a large number of aromatic Pandanus fascicularis (commonly Kewra or केवड़ा) plants which fill the air with a natural fragrance.
Pandanus fascicularis (Kewra)
This place is still worth a visit for all those interested in history, architecture, forts, palaces… and in those things, this palace is known for. Not bad even, just to travel and see a new place, but always travel responsibly.
Internet is also strewn with many accounts of people who suffered when they tried to stay in the palace in night. All of them are mere hearsay, with no real account from anybody with a personal experience. As a proof of paranormal activities in this fort, people foolishly also indicate the ASI board which says that nobody should stay here after sunset. But as far as I know, most the ASI controlled forts and other properties in country open only from sunrise to sunset or within fixed timings. Nowhere one is allowed to stay in night. It also is meant to deter all those who want to extract something more out of it- some stories, some weird experiences and some pieces of history, et.al.
How, when and where:
Bhangarh is located in Alwar District of Rajasthan. You can go here from either Jaipur, Dausa or Alwar. It is close to Sariska National Park and Tiger Reserve. Tehla gate of the Sariska reserve is just 20 kms from here. But normally tourists use main Sariska gate for the tiger reserve which is almost 50 kms from Bhangarh. People coming to Sariska will always like to go to Bhangarh for a half day trip. (Please write to us for detailed road instructions.) Jaipur is roughly 80 kms and Alwar on the other side is also the same around 80 kms from here.
Avoid going there in summers as it will be too hot. Since this place is witnessing steady increase in influx of tourists, small level hotels and restaurants are coming up at Bhangarh village and other nearby villages on the route. But they are still to develop good value. You can always try some local food in the region.
(Any queries? Please write to us.)
Lovely account of bhangarh with good details.
I wanted to go when I visited Alwar but couldn't. I have heard soooo many stories and the place looks so intriguing. Apart from the stories, the alleys appear to be great photo ops! Thanks so much for sharing
Certainly worth a visit , Divsi.
Hadn't heard about Bhangarh before. Looks interesting. I agree with you on both the points that you make. First, it is unfortunate that agencies like the ASI are short of staff and budget. Second, if more visitors were mindful of our heritage, then maybe things would last longer.
Thanks a lot. You are absolutely right.
Sapna Kapoor says:
I agree….. there is nothing spooky about this place.
Thanks a lot Sapna for dropping by. You are absolutely correct.
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Nice blog.. Good job.. Thank you so much for the information. It's a great post…I love travelling and want to travel all over the world. Explore new places, adventurous things and many more. And photographs are just amazing. Keep writing !!!
Thanks a lot Sophia for stopping by and nice comments.
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Want to say thank you for this wonderful post and would like to read it again…its for the first time I read a very different perspective about haunted bhanvarh
Hi, thanks a lot for wonderful comments.Hope it inspires to travel!!
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Thanks a ton for the write up!we missed bhangarh on our last visit to bhangarh and we're wondering if it was worth the visit.instead drove down to the Chandigarh baori close by!have heard so many stories of this place….so many spooky versions but glad that u think other wise.hoping we can still visit the ruins in the near future tho!great job on the description!!!
Thanks a lot Anju. Haunted or not, Bhangarh ruins are always worth a visit!
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text:
package demo.components
package materialui

import chandu0101.macros.tojs.GhPagesMacros
import chandu0101.scalajs.react.components.materialui._
import japgolly.scalajs.react._
import japgolly.scalajs.react.vdom.Attr.Ref
import japgolly.scalajs.react.vdom.TopNode
import japgolly.scalajs.react.vdom.html_<^._

import scala.scalajs.js

object MuiPopoverDemo {
  val code = GhPagesMacros.exampleSource

  // EXAMPLE:START

  private case class OriginChoice[T](ts: Seq[T], label: String)(set: T => Callback,
                                                                fromState: State => T,
                                                                str: T => String) {
    val action: (TouchTapEvent, Int, VdomNode) => Callback =
      (e, idx, _) => set(ts(idx))

    val items: VdomNode =
      ts.map(
          t => MuiMenuItem(value = str(t), primaryText = str(t))()
        )
        .toVdomArray

    def menu(S: State): VdomElement =
      <.div(
        ^.key := label,
        <.label(
          label,
          ^.width := "400px"
        ),
        MuiDropDownMenu(
          onChange = action,
          value = str(fromState(S))
        )(items)
      )
  }

  case class State(open: Boolean, target: Origin, anchor: Origin)

  private case class Backend($ : BackendScope[Unit, State]) {

    private var ref: TopNode = _

    val toggle: Callback =
      $.modState(s => s.copy(open = !s.open))

    val anchorH = OriginChoice(Horizontal.values, "Change anchor horizontal")(
      t => $.modState(s => s.copy(anchor = s.anchor.copy(horizontal = t))),
      _.anchor.horizontal,
      _.value
    )
    val anchorV = OriginChoice(Vertical.values, "Change anchor vertical")(
      t => $.modState(s => s.copy(anchor = s.anchor.copy(vertical = t))),
      _.anchor.vertical,
      _.value
    )
    val targetH = OriginChoice(Horizontal.values, "Change target horizontal")(
      t => $.modState(s => s.copy(target = s.target.copy(horizontal = t))),
      _.target.horizontal,
      _.value
    )
    val targetV = OriginChoice(Vertical.values, "Change target vertical")(
      t => $.modState(s => s.copy(target = s.target.copy(vertical = t))),
      _.target.vertical,
      _.value
    )

    val originChoices = Seq(anchorV, anchorH, targetV, targetH)

    def render(S: State) = {
      <.div(
        CodeExample(code, "MuiPopoverDemo")(
          <.div(
            <.div.ref(ref = _)(
              MuiRaisedButton(
                onTouchTap = (e: TouchTapEvent) => toggle,
                label = "Click on me to show a popover"
              )()
            ),
            originChoices.map(_.menu(S)).toTagMod,
            MuiPopover(
              open = S.open,
              anchorEl = ref,
              anchorOrigin = S.anchor,
              targetOrigin = S.target,
              onRequestClose = (s: String) => toggle
            )(
              <.div(
                ^.padding := "20px",
                <.h2("here is an arbitrary popover"),
                <.p("Hi - here is some content"),
                MuiRaisedButton(
                  primary = true,
                  label = "here is a button",
                  onTouchTap = (e: TouchTapEvent) => toggle
                )()
              )
            )
          )
        )
      )
    }
  }

  private val component = ScalaComponent
    .builder[Unit]("MuiPopoverDemo")
    .initialState(
      State(
        open = false,
        target = Origin(Vertical.top, Horizontal.left),
        anchor = Origin(Vertical.bottom, Horizontal.left)
      ))
    .renderBackend[Backend]
    .build

  // EXAMPLE:END

  def apply(): VdomElement =
    component()
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


(KPL) The Japanese government has provided grant assistance worth USD 22,195 to Vientiane Rescue 1623, through its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP).
The assistance was in the form of donation of a refurbished ambulance and a fire engine.
The signing ceremony for the project's grant contract was held at the Japanese Embassy in Vientiane on Mar 19, 2019 between Mr. Kazuhiro Kuno, Minister of Japan to the Lao PDR, and Ms. Sisaliao Thammathewa, President of the Foundation for Assisting the Poor People of the Lao PDR (Vientiane Rescue 1623), and was witnessed by other officials concerned.
Through this project, entitled "the Project for Provision of an Ambulance and a Fire Engine to Vientiane Rescue 1623 in Vientiane", the Japanese government aims to assist Vientiane Rescue 1623 in improving their capacity to respond to life threatening situations, through the donation of a refurbished ambulance and fire engine which had been used by Japan's local government.
Recently, the need to improve the local emergency services is becoming apparent due to the increasing numbers of road accidents and incidents of fires in Vientiane.
Established in 2010, Vientiane Rescue 1623 is a volunteer-run, charitable, non-profit, humanitarian organisation, comprising 370 volunteers, in four locations in Vientiane Capital.
Its services started with a free 24 hour, 7 day a week, ambulance service and it has responded to over 8,000 emergency calls, including vehicle accidents, incidents of fire, and many other life threatening situations.


text:
La taille de pierre regroupe un ensemble de techniques pour former dans un bloc de pierre une forme géométrique préconçue qui s'intègre généralement dans un appareil de pierres taillées.

À ne pas confondre avec la gravure sur pierre, l'ornementation sur pierre ou la sculpture sur pierre qui orne le bâtiment d'éléments figuratifs. Ainsi, le tailleur de pierre construit l'édifice tandis que le sculpteur le décore.

Les pierres de taille
Les pierres de taille sont extraites de carrières.

Il y a trois familles de pierre :

-  Roches sédimentaires :
Ce sont surtout des pierres calcaires généralement de couleur blanche allant vers le jaune. Elles sont très utilisées dans la taille de pierre pour leurs propriétés généralement tendre ou mi-dure les rendant plus simples à extraire, tailler et moulurer. Malgré le fait qu'elles soient très souvent tendres il y a aussi des pierres froides qui font partie des roches sédimentaires.
Par exemple la Pierre de Saint-Leu est tendre alors que le grès de Fontainebleau est une pierre dure. La dureté d'une pierre peut parfois changer selon les bancs d'une même carrière :
Le liais de Saint Maximin est une pierre dure alors que le Banc Royal de Saint-Maximin est plutôt tendre.

- Roches volcaniques :
Ce sont des pierres qui se sont formées à la suite d'une éruption volcanique.

- Roches métamorphiques :
Ce sont des roches sédimentaires ou des roches volcaniques ayant subi de fortes compressions ou de fortes chaleurs.
Le marbre est par exemple une pierre calcaire qui avec le temps a reçu une importante transformation.

La nature de la pierre à tailler varie selon les régions, cela peut être du calcaire, du granit, du grès, de l'ardoise, du marbre...
En règle générale, les pierres sont nommées d'après l'endroit où elles sont extraites, et dans le cas contraire, c'est souvent une ruse du carrier pour que le client n'aille pas se servir directement en carrière. Les marbres ont souvent des noms qui ne sont pas liés à leurs lieux d'extraction mais qui remontent à « la nuit des temps ». Actuellement les gros chantiers sont réalisés avec des pierres qui viennent de Chine, celles-ci portent des numéros tels que « g105 »
Voici des exemples de noms de pierres calcaires : le tuffeau, le comblanchien, la pierre de Caen, la Saint-Maximin, la pierre de Bonneuil, et plus au sud, la pierre des Estaillades et la roche d'Espeil.

Pour les pierres calcaires, il existe une échelle de dureté qui va de 1 à 13 :
 de 1 à 4 : pierres tendres ;
 de 4 à 8 : pierres fermes ;
 de 8 à 10 : pierres dures ;
 de 10 à 13 : pierres froides.
On peut aussi appeler les pierres de dureté 6 ferme-demi-dure, les pierres de dureté 1 très tendre

On classifie aussi en sous-groupe selon l'aspect des pierres, le grain, (grain fin, grain grossier, pâte fine, très gros grain (poudingue)) selon leur veinage (bayaders…) et le sens de coupe dans le lit de la pierre (passe ou contre-passe). En règle générale il faut faire attention au sens des lits dans l'étude du calepin pour ne pas avoir de problèmes de délit
Il existe des pierres, des granits et des marbres de presque toutes les couleurs.

Les étapes de la taille d'une pierre

Jusqu'à la deuxième guerre mondiale, le travail de la pierre restait majoritairement manuel, de l'extraction jusqu'à la pose.
Avec la mécanisation et notamment l'apparition des ciseaux pneumatiques pour pierre ou des disqueuse, le travail devient moins pénible et moins long.

Le débitage

Lorsqu'un bloc est extrait, on repère la partie à garder ou à diviser en veillant à faire le moins de chute possible. Les parties non voulues sont détachés au têtu, ou aux coins.
Le bloc est mesuré et divisé selon les pierres voulues. Pour la diviser, on utilise selon la densité de la pierre ou la dureté plusieurs outils; les coins éclateurs, la scie crocodille et, plus couramment, la débiteuse numérique.

L'équarrissage

La pierre doit ensuite être mise d'équerre sur les 6 faces. Pour faire une face plane, on procède par des ciselures sur les bords de la face avec un ciseau et une massette. Les grosses aspérités de matière peuvent être enlevées à la pointerolle ou à la chasse. Les deux premières ciselures doivent être parallèles. On contrôle les ciselures en dégauchissant à l'aide d'une règle.
Pour enlever la matière au milieu de la face, on utilise le taillant ou le grain d'orge.
La deuxième face sera taillée d'équerre à la première face. La troisième face sera taillée d'équerre à la première et la deuxième face, etc.

Aujourd'hui l'équarrissage est fait simultanément lors débitage, grâce aux débiteuses numériques.

Le trait

Lorsque le gabarit de la pierre est découpé, on le trace sur la pierre en tenant compte des lits. On procède aux renvois des traits sur toutes les faces.
Si la pierre est débitée à la débiteuse, il faut contrôler l'équerrage des faces. On peut rattraper le faux équerrage avec une disqueuse ou un chemin de fer.

La taille

On commence par tailler par équarrissage. Les parties profondes seront dégagées en premier. Il faut veiller à exécuter le maximum de travail sur une face avant de travailler une autre face, évitant ainsi une perte de temps.

Le transport des pierres de taille
Les techniques de déplacement des pierres de taille s'appelle le bardage.
En  carrière, les pierres brutes de sciage, sont posées sur des palettes avant d'être chargées sur des camions. Afin de protéger les arêtes des blocs, une feuille de polystyrène, est placée entre les blocs. Autrefois, on utilisait des « mèches » faites avec de la paille. Dans la manutention des blocs, il faut éviter les épaufrures (blessures des arêtes) et les rayures sur les faces.

La pose des pierres de taille
La pose des pierres de taille se fait selon deux méthodes :
 la pose sur bain de mortier ;
 la pose sur cales de bois.
La pose d'appareils constituant des baies nécessite un étaiement.

Les métiers de la taille de pierre
 Le carrier extrait la pierre de la carrière.
 Le scieur / débiteur coupe les gros blocs de carrière en tranches puis en petits blocs selon la commande.
 Les tailleurs de grès, de granit, de pierre tendre et de pierre dure sont des métiers assez différents. Le marbrier est un métier à part (le tailleur de pierre travaille des volumes, le marbrier lui, travaille la pierre en tranches fines et les assemble ensuite, un peu comme un menuisier avec des planches). Le tailleur d'ardoise est un ouvrier spécialisé dans la taille des feuilles d'ardoise pour le bâtiment. Le lauzier fait des lauzes (en schiste) pour les toitures. Il ne faut pas confondre non plus avec le maçon limousinant qui, lui, monte les pierres tout venant, hourdées à la chaux.
 L'ornemaniste taille des ornements dans la pierre, du denticule et métopes en passant par les palmettes jusqu'aux feuilles d'acanthe, les têtes de lion des fontaines
 L'imagier fait des sculptures en ronde-bosse en copie, voire des têtes de lion, d'angelots
 Le sculpteur crée des formes selon son imagination, figuratives ou non.
 L'appareilleur prépare les panneaux et les gabarits pour le tailleur. Il dessine en grandeur nature les profils pour les découper, autrefois sur des planches ou des plaques de zinc, maintenant dans des feuilles de « Gabarex » plastique.
 Le calepineur fait les plans à une échelle X et prépare tous les détails, ainsi que les fiches de débits avec les cotes et les détails, pierre par pierre. Il prépare tout dans un calepin d'appareil. On l'appelle aussi le releveur calpineur.
 Le poseur est responsable de la pose de la pierre dans l'édifice. Il utilise un niveau, un fil à plomb et une règle. Il est souvent un maçon poseur.
 Autrefois, il y avait des métiers spécialisés dans le transport des pierres :
le pinceur dirigeait les bardeurs et manipulait les pierres à l'aide d'une pince pour les charger sur les chariots de transport ;
le bardeur était responsable du bardage des pierres jusqu'à l'endroit où elles étaient posées.

Utilisations de la taille de pierre
En France, d'après le SNROC (Syndicat National des Industries de Roches Ornementales et de Construction Pierre Naturelle), la taille de pierre s'utilise d'abord dans le secteur du funéraire (47,4%), viennent ensuite le bâtiment (43,1%) et la voirie (9,5%).

Les qualités requises
Sûreté de l'œil et de la main, patience, précision et habileté, goût de la géométrie et du dessin. Protections contre les éclats de pierre.

Histoire de la taille de pierre
L'étude de l'histoire de la taille de pierre est primordiale pour déterminer la datation d'un bâtiment. En effet, la distribution géographique des techniques de taille des différentes pierres permet non seulement d'esquisser l'évolution des techniques de taille sur tout le territoire étudié, mais aussi de définir des zones d'innovations, de migrations, d'interactions, de transferts technologiques.

Vulgarisation
Des ateliers pour faire connaître la taille de pierre au grand public sont organisés dans certains chantiers du patrimoine, comme à Guédelon ou sur le chantier de reconstruction de la flèche de la Basilique-Cathédrale Saint-Denis.

Bibliographie
 Pierre Noël : Technologie de la Pierre de taille : Dictionnaire des termes couramment employés dans l'extraction, l'emploi et la conservation de la pierre de taille, Édition de la Fédération Française du Bâtiment
 Encyclopédie des Métiers

Voir aussi
 Marque de tâcheron
 Lit (taille de pierre) de la pierre de taille
 Stéréotomie, l'ancêtre du dessin technique
 Liste des carrières de pierre en France

Références

Outil de tailleur de pierre
Pierre à bâtir
Technique de transformation de la pierre
Artisanat
Matériau de sculpture

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