You and your fellow revolutionaries have been captured by the evil archduke, and now you're all waiting for execution in the archduke's dungeons. Fortunately, a thousand year old tradition states that all prisoners must be given a last chance to go free if they can solve a logic puzzle.
Every prisoner will receive a red or blue hat. The prisoners will be seated so that they can see everyone else's hat, but not their own hat. The prisoners must stay completely silent.
When the warden shouts "Now!", all prisoners must immediately and simultaneously choose whether to raise their hand or not. Everyone will see everyone else, but they must still stay silent.
The warden will (privately) ask every prisoner what is the color of their own hat. If all prisoners answer correctly, the archduke has to let them go. If anyone makes a mistake, they will all be executed.
In both subproblems, there are N = 13 prisoners. In the easy subproblem H1, the hats are of C = 2 different colors (red and blue). In the hard subproblem H2, there are C = 4000 available hat colors.
Write a program that describes the prisoners' strategy.
We will run N copies of your program and allow them to communicate according to the rules. If all N programs answer correctly, you win.
N: the number of prisoners.
C: the number of different colors.
myself: your own ID – a number between 1 and N, inclusive.
colors: an array of visible hat colors. For every i between 1 and N, colors[i] will be a number between 1 and C, inclusive, except for colors[myself] which will be nil.
raise: a function which takes a single boolean argument (whether you raise your hand or not), and returns an array of N booleans (for each prisoner, whether they raised their hand). You must call raise exactly once.
answer: initially unset. You must set it to a number between 1 and C, inclusive – the number you want to announce as the color of your hat.
These functions won't exist: debug.debug, io.*, loadfile, math.random, math.randomseed, os.*, package.*, print, require.
We will run 300 test cases. (In total, your program will run 300 × N times.) The memory limit is 256 MB (for the sum of your N programs). The time limit is 10 seconds (for the sum of your 300 × N runs).
If you'd like, you can test your solution with our testing program: lua h-test.lua solution.lua .


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Dwight Silverman's TechBlog
AT&T settles with the FCC over unauthorized switching of data plans
By Dwight Silverman on November 7, 2012 at 5:43 AM
Are you an AT&T customer with a grandfathered unlimited data plan? If so, you may want to check your bill to make sure that's still the plan you're paying for.
In 2009, AT&T adopted new, tiered data plans for smartphone users, dropping its traditional unlimited data plans for new customers. Those who already had the plans could keep them, AT&T said, even if they got a new device or signed a new contract.
But the FCC said Tuesday that some existing AT&T unlimited users were switched to monthly plans without their knowledge or consent. As part of a settlement with the commission, AT&T will pay the government $700,000 and offer refunds to those who were switched without notice, according to CNet.
The forced change from unlimited to tiered plans only happened to customers in certain circumstances, the FCC said:
Previously, AT&T had allowed its smartphone customers who had pay-as-you-go data plans or customers who had disabled their network data to keep their old pay-as-you-go data plans when the company made monthly plans mandatory in 2009. But the FCC said that its investigation showed that some consumers who replaced these phones under warranty or insurance, or who moved to a new residence were switched to the monthly plans, even though AT&T had said they could keep their old plans.
The FCC started investigating AT&T over these practices last year as a result of consumer complaints. And the agency reached an agreement with AT&T that it announced Tuesday in a consent decree.
AT&T will make a "voluntary payment" of $700,000 under the decree and issue refunds in those instances where they have not already been made. And, the company will institute an education plan for its employees so more surprise switches don't occur.
For its part, AT&T says it had already discovered and rectified the situation, which affected a very small number of its customers:
Marty Richter, a spokesman for AT&T, downplayed the significance of this agreement. He said that the consent decree involved less than 0.03 percent of its wireless customers, who inadvertently had a monthly data plan added to their account after getting a new smartphone through a warranty or insurance exchange or after relocating. He added that AT&T had already discovered and corrected the issue by Nov. 2010, and had given refunds to customers who contacted AT&T.
To be fair, AT&T has been kinder lately to its unlimited customers than competitor Verizon. AT&T still allows those who buy new smartphones that use its faster LTE data network to keep their grandfathered plans. At Verizon, those who upgrade to an LTE phone must drop a grandfathered unlimited plan to get a subsidized price. They can still keep their plan if they pay full-price for the phone, which is usually hundreds of dollars more than the contract price.
Still, if you're an AT&T unlimited customer who replaced a smartphone under warranty or insurance, or who moved and changed your address with AT&T, you may want to give your bill a once-over, just to make sure Ma Bell 2.0 hasn't put one over on you.
Dwight Silverman's TechBlog Search

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Christmas was wonderful, every aspect of it. The program at church was so good. The choir sang like I never heard it before, and we really had a crowd. It brought back so many memories of the Christmases of the past at Ocran. After all, I've been there all my life, 73 years.
All the family gathered at our home on Trench Road to have breakfast and to open packages. Those grandchildren were filled of Christmas spirit and there was enough wrapping paper in one pile to start a barn fire. They were opening packages so fast I don't see how anyone knew who got what. I didn't know I was so good. I got so many nice things. Santa Claus was good to us all.
It was a beautiful day, too, yet so cold. It sure made it feel like Christmas felt long ago when we lived in back of the store when I was but a young lad.
I got new shoes, beautiful shoes, new shirts, underwear, undershirts, handkerchiefs, candy, cookies, three different kinds of peanuts and six pairs of socks. I will be the best dressed man in Sutherland. The spirit of Christmas was thoroughly in our home, and everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves to the fullest.
At 1 o'clock we had the big Christmas dinner. It was fantastic and did folks eat: A huge turkey cooked to perfection, a beautiful smoked ham that was awesome, and so many side dishes I can't remember them all. I think the key lime pie was good, and the homemade pumpkin pie with ice cream for dessert. If anyone went hungry, it was their own fault because the food was on the table. We had special guests and everyone went back for second helpings. It was quite an enjoyable Christmas. Everyone when home around 4 p.m.
Christmas 2013 will long be remembered here in Sutherland at the Olgers home on Trench Road. The countdown is on for 2014; yes 365 more days, but as fast as time goes, we all will be there, God willing, to celebrate again. No, we didn't forget Jesus was the reason for the season. After all, it's his birthday that we celebrate.
Happy birthday to my granddaughters, Sara and Samantha, Sara is 4 years old and Samantha is 14 years old. May they both have many more birthdays.
I can't help but think of it. My friend, Eddie Roe has been gone five years on Jan. 14. I still miss him. He was like a younger brother to me. Long will I remember his laugh and his smile, and how he loved to hunt and fish. He loved to come to Olgers store and chat with my dad and me. Thank you, Lord, for memories. We will never forget Eddie.
Prayers for Virginia Smith, who had surgery but is home now and doing fine. Prayers for Red Compton, who had surgery recently and is home and on the mend. Prayers for my friend Nancy Watson, wife of Beecher Watson. Nancy had knee surgery and is staying with her daughter until she is well enough to get around. We wish her the best.
Happy birthday to my Sutherland angel, Carol Ellis, who had a birthday last week. How old? Well, she married an old man. According to my agents, Carol is 35 or 36. She is one pretty girl and we wish her many more birthdays. She is so good to me. She has one great husband, George, and they are one fine couple.
Thanks to my good friend Jean Mosconi for the lovely picture of Marilyn Monroe she brought to the museum. For me, she brought the most beautiful pink shirt I ever saw. I will certainly wear it to church. Jean is doing great. She lost her husband Joe seven years ago and we still miss him. He and Jean came to Olgers store many a time and came to many of our yard sales over the years.
Happy birthday to Paul Smith. Yes, the old boy is getting ... old. Paul is 76. How about that. None of us are getting any younger, that's for certain. Paul, we all wish you one great birthday.
A special visitor came to the museum last week, the older brother of Robbie McEwen. Robbie left us about three months ago. Robbie's brother looks so much like Robbie, they could have passed for twins. He enjoyed the museum and our talking about how Robbie and his daughter would visit the museum and stay for hours. We are going to miss Robbie. Robbie's brother promises he will be back soon for me to meet his wife and children. I enjoyed his visit.
Thanks to my friend Lois Sullivan for the delicious fruitcake she brought me. It was good. Lois' daughter Donna brought me china dolls for the museum some months ago and everyone has enjoyed looking at them. They are beautiful. I added those dolls to the dolls Sister Vaughan brought about a month ago to add to my collection. They really look great.
My friend Brenda Berry is home from her surgery. She is doing great, but she had some real surgery on her leg and it's going to take time. Keep her in your prayers.
Thanks to George and Carol Ellis for the delicious Claxton fruitcake they for my birthday. I know we are going to enjoy it until not a crumb is left. I'm the fruit cake monster and I guarantee you we all will enjoy that cake.
I had special company at home this week. Jesse Roberts came by to bring me a box of fruit for Christmas. I know we will enjoy it. Jesse is one great guy. He will be 90 years old on Feb. 8. He is one of those people who is eternally young; 90 years old, but thinks 29. How about that? Thanks, Jesse, for being so good to me. It is a pleasure to be around him. He's one of those kind of folks my mama would call "the icing on the cake."
My grandson Gunner Cameron Olgers got his first deer. That boy got a big doe with his .20-gauge gun and was he one happy boy. I know he didn't sleep a bit that night. He's a good hunter, and can he shoot! Three cheers for Gunner, the hero of the week. We will be eating plenty of venison this week. This is one Christmas that Gunner will never forget. He's truly addicted to deer hunting.
Thanks to Grace and Ronnie Dunford for the big jar of homemade pickles. We enjoyed those pickles so much. I believe it was about as good a pickle as I ever ate. I've got so many friends who give me pickles and I enjoy them all. Grace and Ronnie are two of our dearest friends. They just don't come any better.
Please keep Jennifer Pagani in your prayers. She is the daughter of our good friends Howard and Jan Burnette in North Carolina. Jennifer needs our prayers. She has been battling cancer for some time. May God lay his healing hands upon her and make her whole again. She has two boys and a wonderful husband. We wish Jennifer the best in the days ahead. Jennifer, we love you . Remember, God is on your side.
I lost a good friend last week, Joseph Brown. He was around 85, and came to Olgers store all his life. He was a dedicated church member at Rocky Branch, and from a wonderful family. Joe's dad Nolan was a customer of ours and a dear friend. Joe bought many a fresh fish from us, and many a bag of flour and meal. His mom, Macy Scott Brown, and dad passed many years ago. His baby brother, Nolan Jr., passed three or four years ago. My sympathy goes out to the family. It's one good man gone. Joe has won his crown. Joe has gone home. Thank you, Lord, for his life and what he meant to so many.
The new restaurant has opened in Sutherland. Its open Wednesday through Sunday. It's a grand buffet and the salad bar is wonderful. The owners are Dee Wells and Tiffany Cox. Ride out and try it out. Sandwiches are available too. It's in the old Wagon Wheel Restaurant. The food is great and there's plenty of it.
The next big event will be my son Jonathan's birthday on Valentine's Day. He will be 32, born in 1982.
Don't forget my son Darrell is still at the antique shop, and has worlds of new items.
Call me if you need me, 265-5530.Call my son Darrell if you need him, 943-2283. He needs pocket watches, silver, gold and Civil War items.
I almost forgot, George Archer, the governor, brought a cheeseburger to the museum last week that was as big as a hub cap on a '39 Ford. It was delicious, too. George is so good to us all. Where on earth will you find another man like George Archer? On a scale of 1 to 10, he is a 10�. It think that says it all.


You have probably heard of the importance of building a solid email list of subscribers. Social media is a great way to reach your customers, but with email, you always own your subscriber list, and no algorithm change is going to make it more difficult to reach them, as it can be with Facebook or other social media platforms.
But for your email campaigns to be successful, they need to reach your customers. Under current laws, this means that you need to have permission to email your list.
Permission based email marketing is important because companies which spam people can be fined under current laws. But there's a bigger reason to make sure you have permission to email. Permission based email means that you will see significantly higher open and action rates as your recipients have given you the permission, and are probably expecting your emails. This means, your email marketing campaign will be more successful in general.
When people want to hear from you, they're going to be more interested in hearing what you have to say.
So how do you get permission to email current and potential customers? There are two types of permission: implied and express.
Implied permission means that customers have an established business relationship with you. They are current clients or customers, do regular business with you, or have frequent contact with you. This implies that they want to hear company news and deals.
Express permission is the most valuable type of permission for businesses. Express permission means that customers deliberately opt-in to receiving your emails. This is the best kind of permission to have; customers specifically say that they're ready and waiting for your communication.
So how do you get express permission?
Right now, one of the most common ways to get express permission is to offer something in exchange. For e-commerce sites, this could be a special discount or coupon code good for this purchase. For other sites, it could be a white paper or ebook detailing something important about the industry or product you're selling.
Understanding your audience is key here. If you sell clothing, a coupon might entice customers to make a purchase, but an ebook about how to combine colors and patterns might be even more useful.
A simple website sign-up form is a classic way to get permission to email your customers. If you use this method, make sure to have solid landing pages that are action based, enticing customers to learn more about your services. That said, this method of capturing email addresses needs to be carefully placed in order to catch customer attention. We're all used to sign-up boxes, and they may blend into the background.
Instead of relying on just a box field, use a call to action at the end of your landing page text to urge customers to sign up for your newsletter. Make sure to remind them of the benefits of doing so.
For a long time, when you placed an order with any company, you would automatically be signed up for email newsletters. Now, that box tends to be available, but left empty. Companies need to opt-in. While this is a classic method of gathering emails, businesses should look on it as an add-on, not a primary method of gathering email addresses.
Customers are frustrated by the growing number of unsolicited emails they receive, commonly referred to as spam. The situation has gotten bad enough that some governments have begun to tighten regulations on how emails and website cookies are maintained. Many businesses find that abiding by the tightest set of restrictions is simpler than trying to organize information by customer location. Here is a guide to ensure your marketing is compliant with the GDPR regulations of the EU.
If your customers don't find what they want on your newsletter, it's important that they be able to unsubscribe simply and quickly. This may sound counterintuitive, but remember that your goal is to increase open rates and actionability. If customers don't open your emails, you're not getting what you want. Worse, customers may begin to mark your emails as spam.
What may not be obvious is that every time someone marks an email as spam, their email provider takes note. If enough emails are marked as spam, your emails may start going directly to the spam folder – even for your legitimate and interested customers.
Helping customers opt out just as easily as they opt in is good business.
Also, your email marketing campaigns should be in sync with the rest of your marketing efforts. In this regard, setting up a good lead generation funnel would be a good idea.
Email automation is widely used in the digital marketing world, and an often touted best practice for email marketing. While automation is a standard in the industry, it's important to make sure that your campaigns are properly segmented. Segmenting your campaigns will ensure that your customers aren't receiving too many emails. Make sure your segments don't overlap, causing several customers to get the messages at the same time. This is the easiest way to end up in a customer's spam folder.
So double check all of your automation workflows. Make sure there's enough delay in between emails, and go through your own automation workflow yourself before you add customers to it.
Permission based marketing helps companies build an audience of engaged, excited consumers who are likely to see and enjoy their newsletters and emails. Targeting email to a tight, focused audience group is much more effective than sending an email to everyone in the world and hoping that a few hundred decide to act.


At Royds we take data protection and information security very seriously. From the 25th May 2018, the rules around data protection are changing. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) governs how we can use your personal data, what we collect and how we keep it safe. It also gives you stronger rights over your data.
Information on what the school collects and how we use your data can be found in the documents on this page. The main privacy notices for staff and students are below however most privacy notices are on the relevant pages of the website.
An important part of GDPR is ensuring the information we hold is accurate. We appreciate your support in informing us when your information changes.
The school's Data Protection Officer is Kate Davison and if there are any further queries, they should be emailed for her attention to info@roydsschool.org.


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Bayfront Park Amphitheater
26 & 27-Jun-2016
Setlist 26-Jun: Open, Kyoto Song, A Night Like This, Push, Inbetween Days, Pictures of You, Closedown, High, The Walk, Sleep When I'm Dead, If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, This Twilight Garden, Lovesong, Just Like Heaven, Trust, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, alt.end, End
Encore 1: Cold, A Strange Day, The Hanging Garden, One Hundred Years
Encore 2: Piggy in the Mirror, Never Enough, Fascination Street, Burn
Encore 3: Lullaby, The Perfect Girl, Hot Hot Hot!!!, Wrong Number
Encore 4: Let's Go to Bed, Close to Me, Why Can't I Be You?, Boys Don't Cry
(2 hours and 54 minutes)
Setlist 27-Jun: Out of This World, Pictures of You, Closedown, The Hungry Ghost, A Night Like This, All I Want, Push, Inbetween Days, Jupiter Crash, Want, Fascination Street, The End of the World, Lovesong, Just Like Heaven, The Last Day of Summer, 39, Bloodflowers
Encore 1: At Night, M, Play For Today, A Forest
Encore 2: Dressing Up, Shake Dog Shake, Bananafishbones, Give Me It
Encore 3: Lullaby, The Caterpillar, The Walk, Primary
Encore 4: The Lovecats, Hot Hot Hot!!!, Close to Me, Why Can't I Be You?, Boys Don't Cry
25-125 + fees
Pre-sale for 26-Jun on 12-Nov-2015 at 10:00 (sold out)
Pre-sale for 27-Jun on 18-Nov-2015 at 09:00
General sale for 27-Jun on 20-Nov-2015 at 10:00
Location: Bayfront Park Amphitheater
301 North Biscayne Boulevard
Metromover: Bayfront Park
Weather: AccuWeather
Capacity: ~5,000
18:00 EDT Gates Open
19:00 EDT The Twilight Sad
20:00 EDT The Cure
Aftershow Parties: The Kitchen Club on 26 & 27-Jun
Pictures: 26-Jun: 27-Jun:
Videos: 26-Jun: 27-Jun:
Last update on 30-Jun-2016 at 17:49 CDT


In the last round of state elections in Florida, millions of Floridians voted to expand the availability of slot machines at parimuteul facilities. Though the state legislature is currently evaluating the role of gambling in Florida, previous legislation expanding casinos in Dade and Broward county has led to an increase in Las Vegas style casinos and casino resorts sprouting up next to once flourishing, and now languishing horse tracks.
One of the largest of these casinos is the Isle of Capri Casino and Harness Track in Pompano Beach, FL. A recent visit to the property revealed that although the inside of the casino is very nice, the outside of the building looks as though it needs some more TLC. The racetrack, which not too long ago was the heart of the operation, seems to have suffered, as parts of the fence are falling down, the timing and scoring towers look shabby, and the suites facing the track look even worse from the parking lot side.
The outlawing of Internet Cafes throughout the state have definately caused increased business at this and other gambling houses. The money keeps rolling in, and it seems as though some of these casino/resort operators are grasping at straws to show that they are running a legitimate parimuteul in order to expand their slot machine revenue.
In a strongly-worded news release issued on June 24, 2013, "No Casinos," a prominent anti-gambling advocacy group, noted that the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering has essentially "thumbed its nose" at the judge who recently ruled that pari-mutuel wagering on phony horse racing cannot be sanctioned or conducted under current law.
"Shockingly, the State of Florida has responded to the court's ruling on illegal activities—not by protecting thousands of jobs created by our multi-billion dollar international horse racing and breeding industry, but by granting a license to an offender to hold more of these phony events," Stirling added.
Just days after the court sternly ruled that "pari-mutuel barrel racing" and similarly contrived events run afoul of Florida law, the Division issued yet another such license to Gretna Racing, LLC, after its representatives—the very same attorneys who intervened in the administrative case attempting to defend the Division's unlawful actions —had sent threatening letters to Florida regulators objecting to enforcement of the judge's ruling. Within hours, Florida's regulators caved.
Initially, it seemed as though the State would honor the judge's scathing 85-page rebuke of Gretna's activities by allowing only legitimate quarter horse racing. But now, the State appears committed to giving Gretna yet another free pass.
"What's worse," Sowinski continued, "it's clear that operators at Gretna don't care if anybody even watches the races. They just want them to take place in order to try to meet the technical requirements of hosting more lucrative forms of gambling, including simulcast, cardrooms, and they hope one day, slot machines.
Normally, the market introduction of any new gambling product would be enabled with the passage of legislation, followed by subsequent regulatory hearings in which public input would be provided and considered. With "pari-mutuel barrel racing" and its offspring, such as the bootleg racing Gretna conducted this past weekend with the State's full blessing, none of that process has occurred.
As part of the phony racing scheme, regulators have allowed the offending permitholders to eliminate independent horsemen, who, under normal circumstances would address the dilapidated conditions with facility owners.
The fact is, Florida voters agreed to allow slots into the state to support Florida's $2.2 billion dollar horse racing industry, not the other way around. Let's hope that in the coming year, they are not blinded by the free drinks and shiny slots.


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InterviewsLaw and Justice
Venezuela's Oldest Human Rights Organization: "Here There is a State That Respects Human Rights"
As "reports" of alleged "human rights violations" in Venezuela are unscrupulously circulated by transnational corporate media and rightwing governments, VA speaks to long time human rights activist Sister Eugenia Russian, President of the Latin American Foundation of Human Rights and Social Development (Fundalatin), concerning a range of issues, including "political prisoners", "torture" allegations, the "crackdown" on journalists, Liberation Theology, and more.
By Lucas Koerner and Sister Eugenia Russia
Jun 25th 2015 at 12.02pm
Sister Eugenia Russian is a longtime member of Venezuela's oldest human rights organisation, Fundalatin (Fundalatin)
Street BarricadesDestabilizationHuman RightsLeopoldo LopezMedia Coverage
As "reports" of alleged "human rights violations" in Venezuela are unscrupulously circulated by transnational corporate media and rightwing governments, VA speaks to long time human rights activist Sister Eugenia Russian, president of Latin American Foundation of Human Rights and Social Development (Fundalatin), concerning a range of issues, including "political prisoners", "torture" allegations, the "crackdown" on journalists, Liberation Theology and more.
Q: Fundalatin has a long and distinguished history as a defender of human rights. Could you talk a little about the origin and role of your organization?
A: Celebrating its 37th anniversary on June 9th, Fundalatin is the first human rights organization in Venezuela, founded in 1968 with the aim of supporting [political refugees] expelled and displaced by the Southern Cone dictatorships, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay, who came looking for refuge in Venezuela.
Fundalatin was founded by the Spanish priest Father Juan Vives Suria, who left his post as President of Caritas due to a conflict with the Church hierarchy [Conferencia Episcopal], together with mostly secular Chilean exiles fleeing the [Pinochet] dictatorship.The goal was first to create a space [for the refugees] where their dignity would be respected and second to educate people in human rights from the perspective of liberation theology.
[Fundalatin] was created really as an ecumenical [organization] with various [Christian religious] tendencies, including Lutheran, Evangelical, Presbyterian, and Catholic. Fundalatin has always been guided by liberation theology and as such is forever open to everything that creates life and promotes a culture of justice and peace. If you want peace, work for justice. Without justice, there can be no peace. Otherwise, there's the peace of the cemetery, of the tomb, or the peace of silence. Building peace through justice is the continuous work we have after 37 years because after 1999, we stopped attending to specific cases [of political refugees] and dedicated ourselves exclusively to human rights education in organizations, state institutions, schools, and above all in base communities.
Q: It's no secret that Liberation Theology is a very subversive, revolutionary tradition, being declared a principal enemy of the US government in the 70s and 80s during its terrorist wars in Central America. Can you elaborate on how Fundalatin's commitment to Liberation Theology and the Bolivarian process distinguish it from other human rights NGOs emerging in Venezuela?
A: Throughout our history, we have differentiated ourselves from both other human rights organizations as well as the Catholic Church. The Church leadership has long been our enemy, frequently attacking us in defense of its doctrines and dogma. Let's be clear that in the majority of Latin America with the exception of Brazil and Central America where we find bishops like [Oscar] Romero, Castor Galica, and countless others across the continent who gave their lives for the people, the Church hierarchy in Venezuela functions as a political party always advancing the interests of the Right. The Church hierarchy, instead of being rooted among the base communities, among the people, the poor, the most vulnerable, is always going to take the side of the bourgeoisie, the side of power.
But Liberation Theology is totally the opposite, actually present within grassroots communities, in favor of the poor and in constant struggle against poverty, which is a sign of capitalism that harms the human being. All of this serves to distance us from the hierarchy of the official religion, as we are always on the side of the people, accompanying them through their anguish, sorrow, hope, and happiness.
Among the NGOs that have been around during this process Venezuela is experiencing, we encounter CONFAVIT, which was trying to seek redress for [the massive human rights violations that occurred during] the Caracazo [1989], only to later take on a rightwing party posture, abandoning precisely the mission for which it was created.
We also encounter other [human rights] NGOs who are very clearly paid by transnationals and the US, who want to destabilize all other models of society different from theirs. The US, which is the number one violator of human rights that has never ratified any of the international [human rights] conventions, wants everyone else to uphold human rights. The US is the principal financier of NGOs to destabilize other countries, above all countries that are seeking to build another world, one not defined by the commodification of life, of the mother Earth. These NGOs have been created to constantly attack Venezuela and the other Latin American countries with leftwing tendencies that have sought to radically transform democratic structures and visibilize the poor, accusing them of human rights violations and appropriating spaces such as the OAS [Organization of American States] and the UN, where principal human rights violators like the US have weight.
NGOs like PROVEA and others go constantly to the meetings of the OAS general assembly to denounce Venezuela, demanding "freedom of expression", "freedom for 'political prisoners'", etc. What they fail to see are all of the rights that are guaranteed in Venezuela, such as the right to healthcare, in which Cuban and Venezuelan doctors attend to our poor people who never before had access to medical attention in their own neighborhoods. They [the NGOs] don't see that now poor people are included in the university system, that elderly people have learned to read and write within their communities that were always invisibilized. They don't see the advances at the level of housing, nor do they see all the advances in nutrition, where the poor now have the possibility of eating three times a day, an achievement which was recognized by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.
So all you have to do is walk around the city and see the gains in order to see that here there is a state that respects human rights, a Constitution that guarantees human rights, a Plan of the Motherland that visibilizes the poor, those with the least. These are aspects that must be emphasized, though there are indeed many things that need to be improved, which we are working towards insofar as the people are becoming more conscious and self-educated. It's not only the responsibility of the state, but of society together with its state powers that must work in synchrony with the people.
Q: Let's address some of these accusations against Venezuela. In the case of Leopoldo Lopez, who made headlines with his video announcing an alleged hunger strike in May, can you comment on his self-declared status of "political prisoner" and the UN allegations of torture in the cases of Lopez, Ceballos, and one other?
A: These three citizens are jailed under laws and parameters of the Constitution of our republic. According to the Attorney General and the chief ombudsman, they have family visits, they are separated from other inmates, they have all of the rights of a jailed person.
Leopoldo Lopez is a Venezuelan politician who has refused to recognize the Constitution, calling for acts of terror together with Maria Corina Machado, Miranda Governor Henrique Capriles Radonsky, and others who plan an "exit" from the Venezuelan democracy currently governing the country.
The best way to suspend the Constitution is to issue calls for violence. In any other country throughout the world, that is called terrorism, which is the intent to cause terror in the population. Leopoldo Lopez is a person who on behalf of my organization I would call a terrorist , because he calls constantly for the suspension of the Venezuelan Constitution and for people not to recognise the Venezuelan government and its institutions. This is penalized everywhere in the world. In Venezuela, there is a legal procedure underway in which they are investigating [Lopez and others] in accordance with all of their rights under the Constitution. This of course has been taken up by the media who constantly claim that there is torture, but according to all of the declarations by the ombudsman's office following periodic visits, these men are in a normal state of health and have their lawyer, their spouses visit whenever they like. So, we must ask, where is the human rights violation?
Q: And there is also the case of the jailed "students", including the far right "youth leader" Lorent Saleh held in what has been described as a torture chamber in Plaza Venezuela known as the "tomb". Can you comment on this?
A: Effectively we have to correct many things in the detention centers inherited [arrastrandose] from over 40 years ago, and little by little detention and rehabilitation centers have been created where those jailed have access to music, education, etc.
Now, in the case of these young people, Venezuela does not have a state policy to torture anyone. If a police officer gives a student a beating, and the latter says he was tortured, then an investigation is opened into that officer who committed the abuse. In fact, there are various jailed police officers, because the Venezuelan state must respond to these situations, and the officers who took people's lives during protests are now in jail. And we mustn't forget that there were also many police officers who died as a result of the [2014 violent opposition protests known as] barricades, as a result of this terrorism unleashed in Venezuela in non-acceptance of the government.
Q: Another controversial issue at stake is Resolution 8610 of the Defense Ministry which governs the role of the Armed Forces in protests. The Venezuelan Right has claimed that this Resolution authorizes the use of force against demonstrators, pointing to the case of [insert name] the 14 year-old youth killed by a police officer in February.
A: Look, [that incident] was taken up by the Right in order to claim that in Venezuela peaceful demonstrations are repressed. In fact, many workshops have been held in universities, schools, and communities o explain to people the meaning of this resolution. On the basis of these meetings, a manual is being created which will serve to operationally determine when a protest is peaceful and when it becomes violent, causing destruction and impeding the free movement of other people. This doesn't mean that the National Guard is going to come out shooting at and killing people. The operations manual, which is being developed by the ombudsman's office, the public prosecutor, and the Defense Ministry, will give precise instructions [concerning the role of police and the National Guard in protests], and various NGOs are also involved in this process.
This has been manipulated a lot, because in the death of this youth from San Cristobal, a Venezuelan brother, as with any human being, we all lose. There is no Right nor Left; it's a human being who lost his life. Now, we also have to recognize that this happened in a pressured situation: there's also the other youth who pulled the trigger and no concious human being is going to shoot someone openly. There are pressures, everything that he perceives, and perhaps he [the police officer] was not adequately trained to handle a firearm.
So what's our job then? To work for a culture of peace, a culture of non-violence, and to have manuals that will help our officers. I can testify to the fact that many police officers and soldiers receive training in human rights from the National Security University and the Armed Forces, including workshops and accredited courses. This is another great challenge, namely that [these personnel] can receive all of the training from the manual in order to successfully guide protests.
This comes to the fore in light of the fact that during the February 2014 protests, hidden in buildings were paramilitaries with more powerful firearms than the police and National Guard, who assassinated many law enforcement officials. In response to this, I think that we have to continue training our police officers on the basis of the manual. The young officer who killed the other youth from San Cristobal is in jail; the parameters of Venezuelan law prohibiting the taking of life were upheld.
Q: National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello has been recently accused by the Wall Street Journal of drug trafficking. What is Fundalatin's stance on these allegations of "narco-socialism"?
A: Understand that from the moment of political change in 1999, they have been attacking our political leaders accusing them of being drug traffickers. They accused Chavez of plotting to cut off the heads of all of the Democratic Action party members and fry them in oil. They established a policy of constantly attacking different Venezuelan politicians. I think that you can't make any kind of accusation without actually having sufficient proof. You as a newspaper can't say, "the Fundalatin nun is a prostitute" because you feel like it. You have to reveal where you got that information that I'm a prostitute. So this is the dynamic of the international rightwing medic to constantly attack [Venezuela].
Now, why are they attacking the President of the National Assembly? Because elections are coming. Who am I going to attack? The head of that instiution. That way, I go about weakening [the National Assembly] and creating caos among the population, via the social media. It actually appears quite interesting that the National Assembly President has pressed lawsuits against the newspapers responsible for spreading misinformation.
Q: On this very point, the NGOs and the media are accusing the government of violating freedom of expression on the grounds that the journalists sued by Diosdado Cabelllo are prohibited from leaving the country.
A: Because they have been accused of a criminal act, in which case, the first thing the public prosecutor says is, "you are under investigation and you can't leave the country," but that's all stated in the law. In any investigation by the public prosecutor's office, they prohibit you from leaving the country because that can lead to you escaping and the investigation cannot continue.
Here there is no human rights violation. Here there is an issue that falls totally within the parameters of Venezuelan law. Now we know that behind the media and the specific journalists who wrote the story are the large transnationals. Behind this are many interests of the Venezuelan and Latin American bourgeoisie as well as those of the US and Europe. I think that Diosdado Cabello is totally within his rights to bring legal claims against those making allegations without proof.
Q: What is the relationship between Liberation Theology and the Bolivarian socialist ideology guiding the Bolivarian Revolution?
A: Fundalatin is born from Liberation Theology but also from Bolivarian theology, namely that liberatory essence displayed by our heroes as a reference for humanity. But we are also guided by other theologies, like those of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi that created cultures of peace.
In terms of our relationship with the Venezuelan state and with the revolutionary process Venezuela is living through, we offer workshops and courses in Liberation Theology to different ministries and state institutions as well as communities in order to continue building a society every day more integrated. We try to offer all of this knowledge of Liberation Theology so that it takes root within this humanistic system that Venezuela is building in its path towards socialism, equality, and equity.
We find ourselves within the project of Jesus, the Christian project, not Christianity, which is something else that is preached by the hiearchies. The Christian project, the project of Jesus is totally socialist, as was the case with the first apostelic communities that lived in communism. The Church fears communism, because they always stand in defense of bourgeois power, but real communism is the coexistence of equality, justice, and equity for all the members of a community. Liberation Theology entails the transformation of the human being towards unity and harmony with mother Earth and all other human beings.
Leopoldo Lopez Ends Hunger Strike in Venezuela
Jailed far right Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez ended a thirty day hunger strike today, claiming that the country's National Electoral...
Hunger Strike Confirmed as Opposition Fragments
Venezuela's chief ombudsman Tarek William Saab confirmed yesterday that jailed far right politicians Leopoldo Lopez and Daniel Ceballos have refused to eat...
Venezuelan Committee for the Victims of the Barricades Rallies against Exclusion from OAS Forum
Victims of last year's barricades and their family members have poured scorn on what they describe as a "premeditated" decision to exclude them from the OAS...
Amnesty International Whitewashes Venezuelan Opposition Abuses
Amnesty International's latest report on Venezuela calls for justice for the dozens of people killed during the unrest that shook the country a year ago, while...
Venezuelan Guarimbas: 11 Things the Media Didn't Tell You
teleSur journalists Tamara Pearson and Ryan Mallett-Outtrim debunk the myriad of lies and fabrications disseminated by the mainstream corporate media...


It has been 3 weeks since our last update and here we are again with a new set of improvements. We've added new features as well as major performance and usability improvements. Let's take a look.
You can now reorder multiple features in the feature list at once. Simply left-click each feature that you want to move, and drag them to their new position in the tree. In the past, this was limited to moving one feature at a time.
You can now select a mate connector as a reference for an axis. This can be particularly useful in commands like Transform, where you may want to rotate with respect to a mate connector, or a command like Circular Pattern in situations where there is no easily selectable circular reference. When selecting a mate connector as an axis, the Z-axis of the mate connector is used.
Performance improvements are something we are always working on and rarely highlight. But the performance improvements to sheet metal parts in this update are especially noteworthy. In more complex multi-part sheet metal Part Studios, we are seeing significant rebuild time improvements. Below is a simple 15 feature sheet metal Part Studio that saw over a 25% decrease in rebuild time.
Major improvements have been made to the Onshape Learning Center. The most noticeable improvement is the new, more intuitive interface with better search features. This also includes a new Learning Pathway dashboard that makes it easier to track your progress. New videos have also been added to Onshape Assemblies and Document Management courses. Finally, two new Learning Center courses are being added: Part Configurations and Advanced Configurations.
Improvements have been made to the Help homepage. These improvements include a new tiled interface that makes it easier to navigate.
You can now change existing parts or assemblies to a revision in both the assembly and drawing. This means you can now change to all stages of the workflow, from the active workspace, to a version, and finally to a release.


For students with no previous knowledge of Chinese. Practice in understanding, speaking, reading and writing, including work with pronunciation, grammar and culture. The language lab is used to reinforce classroom instruction. Liberal Education Goal Area 8.
For students with no previous knowledge of Chinese. Practice in understanding, speaking, reading and writing, including work with pronunciation, grammar and culture. The language lab is used to reinforce classroom instruction. Prerequisite: CHIN 1111. Liberal Education Goal Area 8.


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Nagorno Karabakh: Conscientious objector Armen Mirzoyan sentenced to one year imprisonment
Call for letters of protest
(08.07.2010) On 30 June 2010, conscientious objector Armen Mirzoyan was sentenced to one year imprisonment for "refusal to perform military duties", Forum 18 News reported on 1 July. He was sentenced at Hadrut District Court in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally unrecognised entity in the south Caucasus.
Canada: Federal Court of Appeal rules in favour of Iraq War resister Jeremy Hinzman and family
Immigration Minister must act as directed by Parliament and let US resisters stay in Canada
(06.07.2010) Toronto—This afternoon the Federal Court of Appeal issued its unanimous judgment that an immigration officer's decision rejecting Jeremy Hinzman's application for permanent residence in Canada was "significantly flawed" and "unreasonable." The Federal Court of Appeal decided that the Federal Court erred in a June 2, 2009 ruling by dismissing the application by U.S. Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman for judicial review of a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) Officer's humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds decision.
Turkey: Peaceful protesters convicted for 'Alienating the public from military service'
(21.06.2010) On 17 June 2010 human rights defender Halil Savda and three other activists were convicted under Article 318 of the Turkish Penal Code which criminalises 'alienating the public from military service'. The case was opened against them following their attendance at a public demonstration on 6 January 2010 in support of conscientious objector and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, Enver Aydemir, who had been in military detention since 24 December 2009 for refusing to perform military service.
United Kingdom: Nine Months Sentence Confirmed on Appeal
Comprehensive Report about the Hearing
(02.05.2010) On 21 April about 30 women and men took part in a picket (called by the Stop the War Coalition) in front of the Royal Courts in London to support Joe Glenton who was appealing his nine-month sentence. Payday distributed a leaflet. Covering the event were: BBC Arabic & Persian services and Iranian TV which interviewed the demonstrators.


Uremia-associated premature T-cell ageing contributes to a defective T cell-mediated immune system in End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. A comprehensive more in depth evaluation of defective T cell-mediated immune system, taking functional aspects into account, in ESRD patients is crucial to identify patients at risk for infections, virus-related cancers, and decreased vaccination efficacy and allograft rejection.
In this thesis, a more detailed assessment of the defective T-cell mediated immune system, studying both phenotypic as well as functional aspects, in ESRD patients is described. Special emphasis is put on the increasing population of elderly ESRD patients.


Ela is a person of service and offers a personalized approach in her practice. She receives each person with intention of bringing a person's health into balance be it physical or mental-emotional concerns. In treating patients she applies a variety of tools: acupuncture, tuina, cupping, lifestyle and nutrition coaching and more. Her sessions are gentle, safe, and supportive.
Ela has completed trainings in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nutrition, Reiki, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program and Meditation. She is in good standing with the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturist of Ontario. Ela looks forward to working together with you to improve your health and quality of life.


¨ 3. Feline Leukemia - for all kittens that have been tested negative for FeLV then repeat vaccine one year later. Kittens are most vulnerable to infection and may have exposure if goes outdoors. Continue testing and vaccinating annually if continues to be at risk (see questions below).
kitten is 6 months of age.
decrease exposure to other infections.
currently recommended until better screening tests or a different FIV vaccine is available.


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Stem cells today: new ventures in science and potential for medical treatments
Friday 30 June 2017, 6.00pm, Presbyterian Church Hall, 91 Tenby St, Wanaka.
Dr Jim Faed, Senior Lecturer, Department of Pathology (DSM), University of Otago.
Stem cells are present in all living tissues. They are small populations of cells, specific to each tissue, that continue to provide replacements throughout life for injured or senescent cells. Identification of these cells and characterising their behaviour has been a major challenge. They are not always easy to identify or collect, and in some cases, it is still not possible to prepare purified stem cell populations.
Apart from the fundamental challenge of understanding the biology of tissues, the interest in stem cells has also been driven by the potential for novel treatments of disease and failed or failing organs. Even a drive to satisfy the vanity of those losing their once youthful appearance is not far from the surface. The biology of stem cells is now becoming clearer but there are still giant steps needed before most medical interventions will reach our hospitals.
Historically, the development of embryonic stem cells in the closing years of last century is still providing powerful insights into basic biology and early human development. But the entirely unexpected report in 2006 of a method to convert mature adult cells into a near-embryonic state – called 'induced pluripotent stem cells' (iPSCs), has provided the major thrust needed to permit rapid development of stem cell research. It has fuelled most of the current scientific energy in stem cell biology and has largely replaced the use of embryonic stem cells. iPSC's have now been introduced into testing of new candidate drugs and they are providing a leading approach for developing replacement tissues and organs. The third type of cell in this group is the adult stem cell. It has largely been forgotten by the public but still provides scope for developments, particularly the mesenchymal stromal cell which has unique properties for modulating inflammation and autoimmune responses. Currently, adult stem cells are the only cells used regularly in medical treatment – as bone marrow transplantation and limbus cell grafting for stem cell deficiency in the eye
An outline of some of the exciting developments in these areas will be provided, together with an indication of some of the challenges and difficulties that still confront scientists in this field.
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Urban ecological restoration: the new frontier?Past Talks
How should society prepare for advances in Artificial Intelligence?Past Talks


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Francis Joseph "Frank" D'Agostino (April 8, 1934 – September 28, 1997) was an American football player.  D'Agostino attended Auburn University and played college football at the tackle position for the Auburn Tigers football team. He was selected by the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association as a first-team player on their respective 1955 College Football All-America Teams.  He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (16th overall pick) of the 1956 NFL Draft.  He appeared in 12 games for the Eagles during the 1956 NFL season.  In 1960, D'Agostino played in the new American Football League, appearing in two games for the New York Titans (later renamed the New York Jets) during the 1960 AFL season.

References

1934 births
1997 deaths
American football tackles
American football guards
Auburn Tigers football players
Players of American football from Philadelphia
Philadelphia Eagles players
New York Titans (AFL) players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A key legal issue in asset development and transfer projects is the establishment of new organisations. If a new organisation is required, advice will be needed on its legal structure.
There is no other organisation that can acquire a suitable interest or stake in the ownership of the land and buildings involved. For example, some projects have the objective that any housing they develop should be kept affordable in perpetuity. To do this requires the organisation to have ownership of the land and buildings involved.
There is no other organisation that can enable the degree of community control of the project - through formal membership or share ownership of the organisation - that is required.
There is no other organisation that is willing or able to take on the implementation of the project due to their legal structure and powers, their lack of track record or financial strength. Charities for example may have to set up trading subsidiaries in order to undertake a project.
If a new organisation is required, deciding what kind of organisation is needed will often focus on capturing and protecting any value from the development and acquisition of the assets in question for the benefit of stakeholders into the future - this may mean considering a specific kind of legal structure to achieve this. Similarly if an asset is in need of refurbishment or development in order to be viable and sustainable, only specific kinds of legal structure can accommodate this.
There a number of legal structures that can be looked at depending on the specific circumstances of an asset project. The most important thing before the options can be evaluated is to be clear about what the asset is to be used for and what your organisation will be doing with it, both in the present and into the foreseeable future.
There are several different legal forms that can be considered and there are now a large number of resources developed from experience by other Development Trusts and Social Enterprises that can be used to explore the issues before formal legal advice is taken. Sometimes projects can involve the creation of a linked set of organisations working in partnership to achieve project objectives and fulfil the requirements of investors and funders.
Note that a SCIO must be stated to be so in any documents issued and signed on behalf of the SCIO - details in the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations Regulations 2011. Equivalent provisions apply to Community Benefit Societies who must state their charitable status if such is not part of their name (Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014).
Members - who are they and what do they get to decide?
Will membership be open to organisations as well as individuals?
Will the organisation employ staff who will also be members?
Will the services provided by the organisation only be available to members?
Whether to take advantage (given other project objectives) of the tax and fundraising benefits of being a charity?
Having a view on these issues will provide the basis of a much more informed discussion with a legal advisor.


Of Jacob's family; eight children more we find registered in this chapter; Dan and Naphtali by Bilhah, Rachel's maid, ver. 1 - 8.
Gad and Asher by Zilpah, Leah's maid, ver. 9 - 13.
Issachar, Zebulon, and Dinah, by Leah, ver. 14 - 21.
And last of all Joseph by Rachel, ver. 22 - 24.
Of Jacob's estate. He comes upon a new bargain with Laban, ver. 25 - 34.
And herein was fulfilled the blessing which Isaac dismissed him with, chap. xxviii. 3.
God make thee fruitful and multiply thee.
30:1 Rachel envied her sister - Envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more injurious both to God, our neighbour, and ourselves. But this was not all, she said to Jacob, give me children or else I die - A child would not content her; but because Leah has more than one, she must have more too; Give me children: her heart is set upon it. Give them me, else I die, That is, I shall fret myself to death. The want of this satisfaction will shorten my days. Observe a difference between Rachel's asking for this mercy, and Hannah's, 1:10 , &c.Rachel envied, Hannah wept: Rachel must have children, and she died of the second; Hannah prayed for this child, and she had four more: Rachel is importunate and peremptory, Hannah is submissive and devout, If thou wilt give me a child, I will give him to the Lord. Let Hannah be imitated, and not Rachel; and let our desires be always under the conduct and check of reason and religion.
30:2 And Jacob's anger was kindled - He was angry, not at the person, but at the sin: he expressed himself so as to shew his displeasure.It was a grave and pious reply which Jacob gave to Rachel, Am I in God's stead? - Can I give thee that which God denies thee? He acknowledges the hand of God in the affliction: He hath withheld the fruit of the womb. Whatever we want, it is God that with - holds it, as sovereign Lord, most wise, holy, and just, that may do what he will with his own, and is debtor to no man: that never did, nor ever can do, any wrong to any of his creatures. The key of the clouds, of the heart, of the grave, and of the womb, are four keys which God has in his hand, and which (the Rabbins say) he intrusts neither with angel nor seraphin. He also acknowledges his own inability to alter what God appointed, Am I in God's stead? What, dost thou make a God of me? There is no creature that is, or can be, to us in God's stead. God may be to us, instead of any creature, as the sun instead of the moon and stars; but the moon and all the stars will not be to us instead of the sun. No creature's wisdom, power, and love will be to us instead of God's. It is therefore our sin and folly to place that confidence in any creature, which is to be placed in God only.
At law, she calls the flrst son of her handmaid, Dan, Judgment,saying, God hath Judged me - That is, given sentence in my favour.
In battle, she calls the next Naphtali, Wrestlings, saying, Ihave wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed - See what roots of bitterness envy and strife are, and what mischief they make among relations!
30:9 Rachel had done that absurd and preposterous thing of putting her maid into her husband's bed, and now Leah (because she missed one year in bearing children) doth the same, to be even with her. See the power of rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the divine appointment, which joins together one man and one woman only. Two sons Zilpah bare to Jacob, whom Leah looked upon herself as intitled to, in token of which she called one Gad, promising herself a little troop of children. The other she called Asher, Happy, thinking herself happy in him, and promising herself that her neighbours would think so too.
30:14 Reuben, a little lad of five or six years old, playing in the field, found mandrakes. It is uncertain what they were; the critics are not agreed about them: we are sure they were some rarities, either fruits or flowers that were very pleasant to the smell, Solomon 7:13 . Some think these mandrakes were Jessamin flowers. Whatever they were, Rachel, could not see them in Leah's hands, but she must covet them.
30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah - Perhaps the reason of this contest between Jacob's wives for his company, and their giving him their maids to be his wives, was the earnest desire they had to fulfil the promise made to Abraham (and now lately renewed to Jacob) that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and that, in one seed of his, the Messiah, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Two sons Leah was now blessed with; the flrst she called Issachar, a hire, reckoning herself well repaid for her mandrakes; nay, (which is a strange construction of the providence) rewarded for giving her maid to her husband. The other she called Zebulun, dwelling, owning God's bounty to her, God has endowed me with a good dowry. Jacob had not endowed her when he married her; but she reckons a family of children, a good dowry.
30:21 Mention is made, of Dinah, because of the following story concerning her, Genesis 34:1 - 16, &c.Perhaps Jacob had other daughters, though not registered.
30:22 God remembered Rachel, whom he seemed to have forgotten, and hearkened to her, whose prayers had been long denied, and then she bare a son. Rachael called her son Joseph, which, in Hebrew, is a - kin to two words of a contrary signification: Asaph, abstulit, he has taken away my reproach, as if the greatest mercy she had in this son were, that she had saved her credit: and Joseph, addidit, the Lord shall add to me another son: which may be looked upon as the language of her faith; she takes this mercy as an earnest of further mercy: hath God given me this grace? I may call it Joseph, and say, he shall add more grace.
30:34 Laban was willing to consent to this bargain, because he thought if those few he had that were now speckled and spotted were separated from the rest, which was to be done immediately, the body of the flock which Jacob was to tend, being of one colour, either all black or all white, would produce few or none of mixt colours, and so he should have Jacob's service for nothing, or next to nothing. According to this bargain, those few that were party - coloured were separated, and put into the hands of Laban's sons, and sent three days journey off: so great was Laban's jealouly lest any of those should mix with the rest of the flock to the advantage of Jacob.
30:37 Here is Jacob's policy to make his bargain more advantageous to himself than it was likely to be: and if he had not taken some course to help himself, it would have been an ill bargain indeed; which he knew Laban would never have considered, who did not consult any one's interest but his own.
Now Jacob's contrivances were, He set pilled sticks before the cattlewhere they were watered, that looking much at those unusual party - coloured sticks, by the power of imagination, they might bring forth young ones in like manner party - coloured. Probably this custom was commonly used by the shepherds of Canaan, who coveted to have their cattle of this motly colour.
When he began to have a flock of ring - straked and brown, hecontrived to set them first, and to put the faces of the rest towards them, with the same design as he did the former. Whether this was honest policy, or no, may admit of a question. Read Genesis 31:7 - 16, and the question is resolved.


Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party's (SP) alliance with the BSP and the RLD was "final" and there would be no issues as regards seat-sharing in the coming Lok Sabha polls, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Friday, while ruling out any understanding with the Congress.
"Uttar Pradesh has always acted as a catalyst for change. This time, the people of the state will change the prime minister. Our fight is with the BJP and the people are supporting us," Yadav said in an interview at the SP headquarters here.
He, however, ducked the question as to who would be his choice as the next prime minister. Maintaining that the SP will only "concentrate" in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav ruled out any understanding with the Congress in the state in the Lok Sabha polls.
"How can we have an understanding with it (Congress)? It is a national party. We have given them two seats (Amethi and Raebareli), which the SP had been leaving for them. Presently, my focus is on Uttar Pradesh. In Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand also, the SP will field one or two candidates who are strong and we will explore (the possibility of an) alliance with others," he said.
Asked about Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's charge that his uncle and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party chief Shivpal Yadav was being financed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Yadav preferred not to speak.
"I will not say anything on this," he said. Announcing the SP-BSP tie-up at a press conference last week, Mayawati had claimed that the BJP had funded Shivpal's party and said the entire money would go down the drain as there would be no split in the SP-BSP votes.
On the BJP, Yadav said, "It had promised many things, but those were never met. The common people are fed up with it and are looking at an alternative. They have only hope, which is the SP-BSP alliance." Attacking the saffron party, he said it had changed its Uttar Pradesh in-charge only to save one seat (of Prime Minister Narendra Modi).
"The BJP MPs did not work on the ground. They never visited their areas. Now it is being said that they are going to change 60 per cent of their candidates. But such tricks will not work now," Yadav said. In a lighter vein, he added, "If only they can manage to control the stray cattle, they can get some votes of the farmers."
On the claim of JP Nadda, the BJP's poll in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, that the saffron party would win 74 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Yadav said, "They can claim of winning even 82 seats, despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has only 80 seats." Nadda, the Union health minister, during his visit here this week had asserted that the BJP and its allies would bag at least 74 Lok Sabha seats -- one more than the NDA tally in 2014 -- in Uttar Pradesh.
On reports of a slew of poll sops the Centre was planning to announce in its Budget, Yadav said, "All the major steps of the Centre like demonetisation, GST and claims of good governance have failed. They cannot be trusted. I want to alert my party workers that the BJP cannot be trusted. They can resort to any conspiracy or gimmick for political gains." On the ongoing Kumbh at Allahabad, the SP chief said, "They (BJP) have renamed the Ardh-Kumbh as Kumbh. At Kumbh, people are not invited. People themselves come to attend it to attain 'Moksha' (salvation). Are they calling people for Moksha?" Asked about state Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh's claim that the crime rate was witnessing a downward trend in Uttar Pradesh, Yadav questioned the data. "The Centre's data claims to have given jobs to the youth. Did they get those jobs? The law-and-order situation of the state is known to all. The lie will not work any longer," he said.
On reports that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) might quiz him in connection with a mining scam, Yadav said, "I will answer them. These are the BJP's tactics ahead of the polls." On the possibility of his wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav contesting the Lok Sabha polls, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, "I do not want her to contest this time.
However, the decision is hers. We have to bring up three children. The house is now far from the children's school. How to manage their tuitions etc. needs to be seen." "They (the BJP government) have not approved the map for our house construction. They do not understand the responsibilities of a family as they do not have one," Yadav said.


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The Rudenica Monastery is a monastery located near the village of Rudenica, Serbia, that belongs to the Eparchy of Kruševac of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

History
The monastery was built by the local lord Vukašin and his wife Vukosava at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. Its painting was created between 1402 and 1405 at the expense of the Despot of Serbia Stefan Lazarević. The monastery church, dedicated to St. Elijah, has a compact trikonchos base and is in the Morava architectural style.

In 1881, Rudenica was mentioned as "a small church in which there is no western influence". During the following centuries, the church was demolished and abandoned. Securing the monastery church against landslides from the surrounding hills was carried out during 1929–1931. The monastery was rebuilt in 1936, and on the initiative of Bishop Nikolaj, it was consecrated on Elijah day of that year.

In 1940, the monk Kalist Milunović settled there in a half-ruined residence. Nun Aquilina from Ljubostinje monastery (cousin of Bishop Nikolaj of Žica) arrived with him, along with a novice, who became nun Evgenia.

Varvara Pantelić was the abbess of this monastery from 1950 to 2016. Works on the protection of her paintings were done in 1971, while her architecture was preserved in 1996. Today it is under the protection of the Republic of Serbia, as a cultural monument of great importance.

Architecture
The church in Rudenica has a compact triconchos base, with apses that are pentagonal on the outside and semicircular on the inside. On the west side, there is a narthex above which rises a low dome, while above the church itself there is an eight-sided dome. Its exterior is plastered and is divided into two unequal parts by a cordon wreath. Stone rosettes are located above, while in the area below there are windows (bifores). Although there is no, for Morava architectural style, the usual decorative masonry with a combination of brick and brick, the plastered facade itself is decorated with a painterly imitation of the cellular method of masonry.

Painting
The painting in the church has been preserved only partially, in its lower part, since it was destroyed a long time ago. Its author was the painter Teodor, whose painting is of finely divided forms with a lyrical sensibility, executed with the refinement of an icon painter. The portraits of the founders have been preserved, alongside with the rulers of Serbia of that time, the brothers Stefan (prince 1389–1402, despot 1402–1427) and Vuk Lazarević. The figure of landlady Vukosava has also been preserved because she is considered to be the founder of that church. The frescoes of the saints are painted in a standing position in the lower zone, while in the space above there are only busts, which are not represented in the medallions. In the interior of the church, you can still see scenes from the Passion of Christ and the Great Feasts.

See also
Cultural Monuments of Rasina District

References

Serbian Orthodox monasteries in Serbia
Medieval sites in Serbia
Medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries
Christian monasteries established in the 15th century


I have written a dozen intros to this and don't like any of my explanations. Let's just say that a Friday during the official buying holiday season is not a good time to watch what passes for conversation online. Every other photo on my twitter timeline is a free thing someone was given (without disclosing the free part) and there's a constant stream of giveaways and gift guides that consist of things the blogger got gratis to review.
Then someone said they missed Oprah's favorite things and my inner cynic grabbed the keyboard from my better angels and started typing furiously...when you sing along in your head (and you will) pick a blogger or two to imagine singing it. I know I do.
Then I don't whine so bad.
disclaimer: This isn't about anyone in particular. Really. If you think it's about a blogger you love, discuss their bad behavior with them, not me. If you think it's about you, trust me, it's not.
Apparently, Padma has a new gig as the Stepford Vampire on True Blood.
You sure? This photo has that scary undead-dead-eye thing going on.
The truly sad thing is that this is a barely adapted real ad from the Top Chef / Bravo on crack PR people. The only changes were cropping, and a swap of text and the color of the chocloate/blood on her arm.
It's a "For Your Consideration" (Please, We Beg of You, PLEASE Give Us An Emmy) ad designed to sell the Emmy people on Padma as a...host, I guess...since that's the category.
Bravo, I do NOT want to lick that spoon. The majority of your viewers are probably also disinclined to lick that spoon. Hell, even Padma does not want to lick that spoon, although, according to Urban Dictionary, that expression may indicate that she has, in fact, licked that spoon well and good.
Since it's 2012 and we are all equal and stuff, where's Tom Colicchio's money shot? Yeah, that's what I thought. It's also why food is still a feminst issue.
It's like printing...with water...in midair.
In either case, this is one of the best things I have seen in a while. Relaxing. Great use of technology. Enjoy!
You will be informed (via mobile phone) where my next meal will be. You will arrive in uniform an hour ahead of my own entrance and await me in the foyer or by the hostess' stand. You will accompany my party and I to our seats and you will stand beside my table and stir my soup once it has arrived. Using subtle hand signals, I will direct you to stir the soup along the side of the table. When I am ready to eat it, a signal will inform you to place the soup in front of me. While I am eating my soup, you will stand where you were stirring, making sure that the utensil you were using does not touch the table, or any other object. If I stop eating soup, you will stir the remainder. If I am done with my soup you will remain at attention in case I order more. When the meal is over, you will leave and await your next contact.
You and I will not speak for the duration of the meal, yet my guests may at times wish to engage you in conversation. You may converse with them, but you will only speak when spoken to. Eye contact with me is unadvised.
The saga of the missing cuisinart goes on, with fresh sightings and more strange messages. Today brings two frightening images, each with its own brief note.
The first of these showed up early today.
So disoriented...not sure where I am but the people - if that's what they truly are - are scary. Wait! Don't put me there...I'll behave!
The accompanying photo, as well as another (more dire) delivery later in the day, after the jump.
Have You Seen This Cuisinart?
A small piece of plastic flew off my food processor as I made oat flour one January night leaving me with half-ground oats and plastic shards as well as a huge hole in my necessary kitchen appliances. I would rant about that more but my trusty Cuisinart was a quarter of a century old and that's a darned good investment in basic kitchen gear.
During those 25 years, my Cuis' went from labor-saving device to necessity after repetitive stress injuries and a horribly broken arm. A dead food processor called for a replacement; no questions asked.
After a wee bit of research, it was obvious that, if I wanted my investment in blades to be useful, I had but one choice. Like a good denizen of the web, I one-clicked my way to a shiny new toy, no questions asked.
Happy New Year from Lunch Lady Land!
I debated posting this, sure that Farley's portrayal of the lunch lady would offend someone. My trepidation was assuaged by the number of schools that posted video of their lunch ladies performing in a cover skit of the song.


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Purple & Black Mandarin Chairs by Ettore Sottsass, 1986, Set of 6
Price per set
No shipping price available Insured Delivery from Spain to: Australia Austria Bahrain Belgium Canada Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Japan Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Qatar Singapore Slovakia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States
Only 1 set available
This set of 6 Mandarin chairs with original black wool upholstery was designed by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll International in 1986. The metal armrests are lacquered in a vivid blue.
Knoll Inc. / Knoll International
Vintage, Italian Modern, Memphis
Light wear consistent with age and use, Paint on the armrests has faded slightly
QVY-377117
Metal, Wool
Black, medium blue
Standard — Between 40kg and 80kg
Born in Innsbruck, Austria in 1917, architect-designer Ettore Sottsass grew up in Milan. He studied architecture at the Polytechnic of Turin, graduating in 1939. As a member of the Italian army, Sottsass spent most of World War II in a Yugoslavian concentration camp. After the war, he returned to Milan and opened his first studio in 1947. Like most Italian designers in these years, he focused on activities to help the postwar reconstruction efforts, including exhibition design.
In 1958, he began working with Olivetti, for whom he designed multiple landmark objects—including Valentine, the brand's iconic 1969 red plastic typewriter—and transformed the large, cold electronics and office machinery of the day into playful, accessible objects of desire.
During the 1960s, Sottsass spent time in both India, where he was deeply affected by the country's vibrant colors and mythologies, and the U.S., where he embraced pop art culture. These influences can be seen in Sottsass's ceramic designs through the rest of his life.
In 1973, he cofounded Global Tools, an experimental design collective, alongside Gaetano Pesce, Alessandro Mendini, and others. During the '70s, he collaborated with Alessi, Baccarat, and Knoll, designing everyday items like condiment sets and decanters. Other manufacturers that Sottsass designed for include Artemide, Bitossi, O-Luce, Poltronova, Skipper, Stilnovo, and Zanotta.
In 1980, he formed the architecture/design firm Sottsass Associati. In 1981, he founded the Memphis Group, an influential, flamboyant design firm known for its brightly colored post-modern furniture, ceramics, and lighting. He remained with the Group until 1985, at which point he turned his attentions again to architecture. He died at the age of 90.
Hans Knoll was born in 1914 in Stuttgart, Germany, into the successful manufacturing family behind Walter Knoll & Co. Early-20th-century Germany was an epicenter of modernist design theory—most notably expressed in the products and practices of the Deutscher Werkbund association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists, as well as the influential Bauhaus school—which advocated for design rooted in the principles of rationality, functionalism, and mass production. This milieu had a profound influence on Hans and inspired him to produce furniture for the new age. In 1937, after a stint in London, he moved to the United States and brought his modernist vision with him.
Florence Knoll (neé Schust) was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1917 and from an early age exhibited a strong interest in architecture. After graduating from the Kingswood School for Girls in 1934, she moved across campus to the newly formed, Bauhaus-inspired Cranbrook Academy of Art to study architecture under recent émigré, Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. There she befriended future design luminaries Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. She went on to Columbia University's School of Architecture to study town planning. In 1937, she apprenticed under former-Bauhaus professors Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a few years later, enrolled at the Illinois Institute of Technology, where German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became a life-long mentor to her.
In 1938, Hans Knoll established The Hans G. Knoll Furniture Company as a furniture exporter in a small space on East 72nd Street in New York City. As the company quickly grew, it evolved into a manufacturing business. In 1941, he opened his first plant in a former dance hall in East Greenville, Pennsylvania and hired Danish designer Jens Risom, who eventually helped him develop the first, original Knoll furniture designs. That same year, Hans met Florence on an interior design project and, recognizing her exceptional taste and eye, hired her to bring in business with architects and interior designers and, later, to provide in-house planning and interior design expertise for a growing corporate clientele. In 1946, Hans and Florence married and renamed the company Knoll Associates. That same year, the Knolls formally established the Planning Unit, solidifying the company's role in the design of interior spaces. In 1951, Knoll International was launched as the German and French arms of Knoll, producing Knoll designs for the European market. Sadly, Hans died in a tragic car crash in 1955, but Florence remained actively involved until she retired in 1965.
Knoll's signature pieces include Breuer's Wassily Chair (1925), Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair (1929/1948), Harry Bertoia's Diamond Chair (1952), Eero Saarinen's Tulip Armchair (1957), as well as Florence's own furniture collection developed through the 1950s. Knoll's impressive catalogue includes a who's-who list of midcentury modern and contemporary design figures, including Jens Risom, Alexander Girard, George Nakashima, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Schultz, Warren Platner, Charles Pollock, Andrew Morrison & Bruce Hannah, Vignelli Associates, Richard Sapper, Maya Lin, Frank Gehry, and Rem Koolhaas. As of this writing, Knoll's most recent collaboration is with David Adjaye, who designed the Washington Collection for Knoll and the Adjaye Collection for KnollTextiles. Today, the company is particularly focused on meeting the evolving needs of the 21st-century workplace.
In 2011, Knoll received the National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. The award recognized Knoll's legacy in American modern design and the company's commitment to promoting the relationship between good design and quality of life. Knoll designs can be found in the permanent design collections of institutions around the world, including more than 30 acquired by New York's Museum of Modern Art.
* All images courtesy Knoll, Inc. The David Adjaye Skeleton Chair was photographed by Joshua McHugh.
Westside Armchairs by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll International, 1983, Set of 2
Sofa & Armchair by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll International, 1980s
Eastside Lounge Chairs by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll, 1980s, Set of 2
Mandarin Chair by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll, 1987
Spyder Dining Table by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll, 1984
Vintage Eastside Armchair by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll
Vintage Eastside Two-Seater Sofa by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll
Vintage Eastside Three-Seater Sofa by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll
Model East Side Armchairs by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll, 1980s, Set of 2
East Side Lounge Chair by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll International, 1983
Vintage Eastside Sofa by Ettore Sottsass for Knoll
Price: €2,690.00 Regular Price: €2,950.00
Vintage Mandarin Chairs by Ettore Sottsass, Set of 8
Vintage Pausania Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Artemide
Vintage Icarus Wardrobe by Michele De Lucchi & Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti Synthesis, 1980s
Icarus Series Wardrobe by Michele De Lucchi & Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti Synthesis, 1980s
Mirror by Ettore Sottsass, 1983
Tahiti Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Group, 1981
Icarus Desk by Michele de Lucchi & Ettore Sottsass for Olivetti Synthesis, 1980s
Icarus Cabinet by Ettore Sottsass & Michele de Lucchi for Olivetti Synthesis, 1980s
Danish Metal Pendant, 1960s
Mid-Century Danish Metal Pendant
Italian Modernist Rosewood Credenza by Luigi Saccardo for Gasparello, 1980
Large Brutalist Pendant by Svend Aage Holm Sørensen for Holm Sørensen & Co, 1960s
Large Teak & Oak Coffee Table by Aksel Bender Madsen for Bovenkamp, 1960s
Mid-Century Danish Brass and Metal Pendant by Werner Schou for Coronell
Bubble Glass Pendant by Helena Tynell & Heinrich Gantenbrink for Glashütte Limburg, 1960s
Rosewood & Leather Dining Chairs by Severin Hansen for Bovenkamp, 1960s, Set of 6
Vintage Round Glass Coffee Table by Knut Hesterberg for Ronald Schmitt, 1970s
Mid-Century Danish Armchair with Cognac Leather Cushions, 1960s
IL Poltrone Lounge Chair by T. Ammannati & G.P. Vitelli for Comfort Italy, 1973
Large Vintage Space Age Table Lamp
Rebel Table by Wim Rietveld for Ahrend De Cirkel, 1960s
Free Standing Teak Shelving Rack by A.D. Dekker for Tomado, 1950s
Vintage BA1171 Chairs by Helmut Bätzner for Bofinger, Set of 4
Space Age Silver Table or Wall Lights from Philips, 1960s, Set of 4
Cobra Chairs by Giotto Stoppino for Kartell, 1970s, Set of 6
Italian Chrome & Milk Glass Chandelier by Gaetano Sciolari, 1960s
Blue Modus Chairs by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno, 1970s, Set of 4
FM61 Cubic Chair by Radboud van Beekum for Pastoe, 1980s
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Dynamic Dutch duo Hella Jongerius and Louise Schouwenberg show us the difference between objects and things
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Fragile Milano takes the (daringly-hued) road less traveled.
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Field Notes: Designed by Architects
Pamono Editors spotlight fabulous finds by multi-talents from yesterday and today
How furniture went synthetic in the 20th century
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Ettore Sottsass Seating
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Critical Condition Investigation
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Castlegar Vacation Guide 2017
Route 3 Summer
Olympic medalist Justin Kripps signs autographs. Mark Brett/Western News
Okanagan Olympian chosen as honourary Team B.C. captain
Justin Kripps has been chosen as the Team B.C. honorary captain for the 2019 Canada Winter Games
Penticton News Staff
Nov. 26, 2018 1:22 p.m.
Olympian and Team B.C. alum, Justin Kripps, has been chosen as the Team B.C. honorary captain for the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
Kripps, from Summerland, is the reigning Olympic co-champion in two man bobsleigh following his gold medal win at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. He is also a Canada Games alum, having competed in the 2005 Summer Games in the sport of athletics.
Related: Kripps wins gold in bobsleigh
"Competing for Team B.C. at the Canada Games was the biggest event I had been to at that point in my career. All of a sudden you are at a national multi-sport Games and you are representing not just yourself and your hometown but your entire province," said Kripps in a news release. "Canada Games is the experience of a lifetime. It will probably be the biggest event you have been to at this point. Enjoy the experience and go out there and do your best."
After the 2005 Canada Summer Games, Kripps went on to compete at Simon Fraser University where he led the four by 100-metre team to All-American honours and a school record at the 2005 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. Kripps then entered bobsleigh as he saw it as a mix of track and field and race car driving.
Related: B.C. superfans soak in PyeongChang Olympics
The 2019 Canada Winter Games will kick off in Red Deer in under 100 days, and Team B.C. athletes are training hard to be ready for top performances. Kripps, who also has won a silver medal in the two-man bobsleigh event at the 2017 World Championship, a bronze in the mixed team event at the 2012 World Championship and the 2017-18 Crystal Globe after finishing the season in first in the two-man and overall, will share his experiences and advice with Team B.C. athletes to help inspire and motivate them to have their best performances at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
Related: Olympic gold medallist returns to Summerland
"Justin's success in bobsleigh is such an inspiration to so many of our athletes. He has shown that competing for Team B.C. propels you to the top of the podium internationally and he allows us to see that success in one sport crosses over to podium finishes in another," said Jennifer Scott, Chef de Mission, Team B.C.
The Canada Games are a national multi-sport competition with participation from every province and territory in Canada. The Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer. The 2019 Canada Winter Games will be held Feb. 15 to March 3 in Red Deer, bringing together approximately 3,600 athletes, coaches and managers from every province and territory to compete in 19 sports.
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Castlegar fire chief asking residents to clear hydrants buried in snow
A visible fire hydrant will save precious time in case of an emergency.
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Posted inCommunity
Densho Removes Video Narrated by Takei
SEATTLE — Densho, a nonprofit that uses digital technology to share the stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, announced Nov. 17 that it is taking down a video narrated by actor/activist George Takei.
"After careful consideration and internal dialogue, we at Densho have made the decision to remove a short video narrated by George Takei that was previously featured on our website and YouTube channel," the organization said in a statement. "In light of the very serious allegations of sexual assault brought forth by Scott Brunton last week — as well as a troubling interview with Howard Stern where George jokes about groping men against their will — we feel we cannot remain silent on this issue.
"We wish to be clear that this is not a judgment of guilt or innocence. For his part, George has denied the allegations, stating: 'I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them.' So we are not here to drag George through the mud.
"But neither will we contribute to the institutional silence that protects abusers by ignoring the statement of an alleged victim. As Jenn Fang wrote for Reappropriate earlier this week, each of us has a moral imperative to listen to survivors of sexual assault and treat their stories 'as though they are at least credible — no matter how much we might admire those who stand accused.'
"Our mission at Densho is to tell untold stories, to shed light on dark and ugly truths so that our country might one day live up to its promise of justice for all. If we turn the lights off on George's accuser, we send a message to countless others that their own stories of harassment and assault will not be believed.
"To create real, lasting change we must be willing to talk openly and honestly about sexual abuse in our communities. We must speak out so that victims and survivors have the support to speak up."
The decision has elicited both praise and criticism on Facebook, including the following.
"Thank you, Densho. Tough and very necessary conversation and stance to take."
"Sad this had to happen, but completely behind the decision and thoughtful yet important explanation."
"Hold your ground. Good call."
"This is absolutely the right thing to do. Survivors of sexual abuse should be believed."
"Well said, Densho! We all need to take each story seriously until proven wrong."
"I think that based on the Stern interview, the very least is to remove the video while the situation can be considered and evaluated. In that interview, George Takei brushes off and laughs at the idea of obtaining consent. Whether he 'meant it' or not, it was in extreme poor taste during a discussion of [Harvey] Weinstein and his position of power and the apparent agreement with that behavior. It saddens me to think that George may actually think this way. It also saddens me that many men in our community are quick to jump in and defend such actions wherein a person in a position of power has the implicit right to perpetrate abuses without thought to the victims. Removing the video until more information is revealed is prudent and shows sensitivity and leadership by Densho. Thank you for being brave and showing that our community is willing to investigate serious claims against one of our entertainment icons rather than turn a blind eye to such serious allegations."
"This must have been a difficult decision to make. Especially with our collective history as Japanese Americans. I support and thank you for taking action."
"So what now? Wait for proof? I agree it is wrong to meet such a serious claim with silence or disrespect, but the truth will never be known. Do we erase Mr. Takei's body of work over one alleged incident? Not a rhetorical question. I really don't know. In other cases, there is a pattern or history of both abusive behavior and publicly disrespectful attitudes about sex and power. In this case, the opposite."
"He is not convicted. If you take action based on someone accusing someone, you will have nothing left."
"I cannot help but note the sad irony in seeing a great organization dedicated to memory of those who were falsely accused and condemned without trial or due process do essentially the same to one of its biggest supporters and champions."
"Sorry, but I think this is an overreaction by Densho. Statement says it isn't a judgment, but this move is exactly that."
"How is removing an unrelated video narration helping the alleged victims? How is the unrelated video contributing to 'institutional silence' or ignoring the victim's statement? How is removing your association with George Takei show you're willing to 'talk openly and honestly about sexual abuse in our communities'? I don't want to believe that such a respected part of the community would want to distance themselves from someone before any actual judgment has been made, but that is the message I'm getting."
"George Takei has been an unwavering friend of the Japanese American community forever. The least he deserves from the community is a unwavering demand that he be treated with fairness. Unless the video is offensive in itself, Densho's decision to suppress it from view is most decidedly an action designed to appease George's accusers and the others who want to drag his good name through the mud. He has apologized for his comments on the Howard Stern program. Densho has declined to say what more is needed from George Takei regarding that incident. Densho is completely blind if it does not see that its decision causes injury to George Takei's reputation in the absence of proof from Scott Brunton. Densho, let's face it, you can't make this decision and still credibly criticize the internment of Japanese Americans, which was also based on hysteria and fear and not evidence and facts."
Rebuttal
Densho posted the following statement on Nov. 28:
"In the spirit of openness and honesty, we'd like to respond to criticism that this is an overreaction or personal attack.
"First, our statement is not an intractable, irreversible legal action. We agree that George should be treated with fairness, which is why we did not and will not indict his character or assign guilt. But his accuser also deserves to be treated with fairness. As Mari Ko said in an earlier comment, 'In a climate where the perpetrators of sexual assault are vastly privileged over the victims, it is wise not to discount the allegations because of our respect for George.'
"This was a decision based not on hysteria but on facts: The fact that women and LGBTQ folks are sexually assaulted and harassed with heartbreaking regularity. The fact that victims do not believe they will be taken seriously because too many men see rape as fodder for a joke. Rather than turning a blind eye, we should use this moment to open a dialogue about the pervasiveness of sexual assault in our society and about the ways all of us are (willingly nor not) complicit in the silencing of victims.
"Finally, we feel we need to address the troubling comparison being made between our decision and the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. 75 years ago, Japanese Americans were targeted by the federal government and condemned for their ancestry en masse. George has been accused as an individual by an individual, and the removal of one video is a far cry from being imprisoned in a concentration camp. Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were evicted from their homes by armed soldiers and subjected to race-based mass incarceration because they lacked the political power to stop it and those who did have that power chose to remain silent.
"And so we repeat: we must speak out so that victims and survivors have the support to speak up."