text:
With Prometheus, Ridley Scott Makes Sci-Fi Horrifyingly Believable Again
Ridley Scott, who set the bar for dark sci-fi with Alien and Blade Runner, is ready to blow our minds again with Prometheus.Photo: Kerry Brown
Hugh Hart
The director of monumentally influential films Alien and Blade Runner returns to science fiction with a gripping new space epic and a well-honed knack for conveying big ideas through strong performances, stunning visuals and visceral jolts.
ANAHEIM, California -- On a recent afternoon, the man who made two sci-fi masterpieces twirled crumpled water bottles back and forth across a table to illustrate his gift for making imaginary worlds seem utterly believable.
"It's like a big miniature Lego kit that you're building into a giant house, except every part is not the same size -- it's slightly different," said Ridley Scott, cocking his head to scrutinize the plastic building blocks he used as impromptu props. "You get the parts to plumb, and you get the house complete and you turn it around and you go, 'I need a bit here, I need a bit there ... and that doesn't work so well.' It's a constant evolution."
Few filmmakers shepherd a story from page to screen with the mastery of detail that Scott demonstrates as a matter of course; fewer still match his gift for visualizing dread, fear and loathing. So it's hardly a surprise that cineastes and sci-fi geeks alike are drooling over Scott's scary new 3-D space epic Prometheus, which opens Friday in the United States. With stunning visuals, a grim, atmospheric vibe and a story that probes some of mankind's deepest questions, it's a welcome alternative to the sugary summer slate of feel-good movies -- a bracing shot of smoky Scotch in comparison to The Avengers' bubbly (although undeniably delicious) supersized soda.
Scott left his indelible dark mark on sci-fi when he grafted the austere visual stylings of 2001: A Space Odyssey with rib-splitting terror inspired by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in his landmark 1979 thriller Alien. Three years later, the British director set the standard for dystopian cinema with Blade Runner, which realized Philip K. Dick's vision of an acid-rain-soaked Los Angeles hellscape circa 2019 populated by robotic replicants that snapped Harrison Ford's fingers when they weren't posing fundamental questions about what it is that makes someone truly human.
And then, Scott quit science fiction. "I couldn't find anything of interest," he told a WonderCon audience in March.
So Scott explored other genres. He made the zeitgeist-defining feminist road movie Thelma & Louise. He painted a blood-soaked portrait of ancient Rome in the Oscar-winning Gladiator. For unnervingly realistic war movie Black Hawk Down, he captured the panic of a U.S. military intervention gone horribly awry in a dusty Somali city.
Scientists aboard the starship
Scott revisits the sci-fi realm with the R-rated Prometheus, a film vaguely tied to his Alien universe. Shot over the course of nine months in Canada, England, Spain and Iceland for an estimated $150 million, the film represents a brilliant return to form: A majestic opening sequence sets the story in motion for a crew of earthlings who embark in 2093 on a scientific mission to uncover the origins of human life on a distant planet. There, the explorers get sucked into a vortex of extraterrestrial terror animated by Scott's influential blend of brainy science fiction and brute beauty.
"Ridley has an aesthetic," said Damon Lindelof, the Lost co-creator who wrote the final version of the Prometheus screenplay. Joining Scott for a chat with Wired at the Anaheim Convention Center, Lindelof said he sees all of Scott's work as a piece: "It's easy to say that Prometheus and Blade Runner belong to the same world [as] Alien, because that's Ridley's eye. That's the way he sees things."
Lost Man Meets His Hero
When Ridley Scott rang Damon Lindelof on his cell phone asking him to rework Jon Spaith's initial Prometheus draft, the Lost scribe "practically ran into a fucking lamppost," Scott laughs. "I slammed on my brakes and pulled over my car," Lindelof recalls. "Ridley started chatting with me like we knew each other, told me he was going to send a script over and that everything was top secret, that I was to read and let him know what I thought about it. I tried to act like this was a natural thing to happen to me, as opposed to getting a call from one of the few people who made you want to do this for a living."
Once Lindelof calmed down and got to work, he found Scott to be a congenial collaborator.
"In terms of his stature, Ridley is intimidating," he says. "But in terms of who he is as a human being, as soon as I walked in and we met for the first time, he made himself very accessible. He wanted to have a conversation. He's not a guy who says, 'You will do it this way or you will do it no way.' At the same time, he has an incredible vision. I was shocked at how collaborative he was, and instantly sort of supplicated myself to do whatever he asked me to. It was one of the most rewarding collaborations of my life."
Assisted by a recurring coterie of collaborators, Scott authors his movies just as surely as a great novelist produces words on a page, according to Lindelof. "Hemingway had different characters in every novel, yet they are distinctly Hemingway," he said. "Any movie that Ridley does is going to be original, but it's also filtered through the perspective of how Ridley sees the world."
Like Ernest Hemingway, Scott favors grim stories that pit tough, taciturn heroes against hostile environments. Even when his films fizzle -- as with the old-fashioned Robin Hood or the sluggish Crusades costume drama Kingdom of Heaven -- Scott delivers heroically scaled narrative. Informed by a visual virtuosity honed through years of study at London's Royal Academy of Art, his most compelling films draw on magisterial master shots, fluid camera moves, atmospheric lighting, exceptionally cohesive production design and deeply persuasive actors to dramatize a Darwinian world view devoid of wisecracks, cute kids or anything else that might distract from the impending horror.
The Ridley Scott Imprint
Scott's shock-and-awe sensibility imprinted upon an entire generation of sci-fi storytellers, including Richard Kelly, director of sci-fi cult classic Donnie Darko, who said he became inspired to become a filmmaker at age 15 after seeing Alien and a 1992 theatrical rerelease of Blade Runner.
"If you look at the through-line in Ridley Scott's work, he creates these doomsday worlds filled with death and mutilation and violence, but he makes them beautiful and intoxicating," said Kelly, who presented his own take on a dystopian Los Angeles in 2005's * Southland Tales*. "Despite the danger and oppressive violence, Scott's films are so elegant and have such cohesive depth that you just want to enter into that world."
Christopher Nolan's Batman movies, too, owe at least some of their brooding sensibility to Blade Runner. Nolan has seen the film "hundreds of times," the director told a Hero Complex Film Festival audience. "It really spoke to me in terms of what I wanted to do as a filmmaker. [Blade Runner] has this sort of density to it visually. You come back to it and see something else in it every time. I try to do that in a different way, sort of more narratively than visually."
Moon visual effects supervisor Gavin Rothery made sure that director Duncan Jones took a fresh look at Alien before filming began in 2009 on the critically acclaimed space station drama that put the first-time helmer on the map. "When we were getting the story together, I gave Duncan a pile of recommended viewing from my DVD collection, and of course, Alien was in there," Rothery said in an email to Wired. "The tone we were going for in Moon was that of a lost film from the late '70s or early '80s."
Full-time director/part-time Ridley Scott fanboy Zack Snyder recently prepped for an opening-weekend family outing to see Prometheus by screening Alien for his three teenage kids.
"Ridley Scott makes a beautiful frame and then lets things happen inside it," Snyder told Wired by phone. "He doesn't rush it. That's why his movies are so immersive: By the time he starts to scare you, it's too late to get out because you've already bought into it. After 15 minutes, you can't get away. You're in it."
Like Scott, Snyder went to art school and shot TV commercials before making visually driven action pictures including 300, Watchmen and next year's Superman reboot, Man of Steel.
"The problem sci-fi often has is that it seems impersonal," Snyder said. "The way Ridley does it, you can imagine the gritty reality of those worlds and therefore the events that take place within the film connect with you in this personal way. Even though he creates this epic landscape, he finds a way to make it human."
The Auteur Picks a Team
Though Scott earned a reputation early in his career as a gruff director who operated his own camera and kept actors at arm's length when it came to discussions about motivation, the England-born auteur credits collaborators like Alien effects creator H.R. Giger and Blade Runner "visual futurist" Syd Mead as key contributors to his movies' success.
Not content to praise the location scouts who found exotic spots in Iceland to serve as extraterrestrial landscapes, Scott said his production team consists of "ass-kicking everything! Over the years, you go out and get them." For Prometheus, Scott teamed with longtime production designer Arthur Max, cinematographer Dariusz Wolski and costume designer Neville Page.
"The evolution for a movie like this happens out of discussions with Damon and out of that comes the next step, until it's polished and complete," Scott said. "That takes a while. And even then it goes on during principal photography, because I have to take the story into [costume designer] Janty [Yates] and go, 'OK, space suits: What the fuck are they going to look like? We've seen a trillion space suits over the past 35, 40 years, so what is this going to be?' And that's just part of the house you're building."
Ridley Scott offers guidance to Noomi Rapace on the set of
The Return of the Alpha Female
In addition to the film's bold visual aesthetic, Prometheus also rekindles Scott's early fondness for putting strong women in the thick of the action. Prior to Alien, sci-fi films usually treated female characters as eye candy. Alien busted up the boys club by casting Sigourney Weaver not as the clichéd "girl in jeopardy" but as a monster-slaying woman who outlasts everyone else on doomed mining spaceship Nostromo.
Charlize Theron, left, and Idris Elba aboard the
"It was almost the first-week discussion when somebody said, 'What would you think if Ripley were a woman?'" Scott said, recalling early Alien production meetings. "I didn't think it was an earth-shaking idea, but I just thought, 'Why not? Why should it be a guy again?' So when Sigourney walked in, like 6-foot-2 in flats, I figured, 'This is it.' Because she also had the smarts to go with the height."
For Prometheus, Scott found his alpha female in the person of Noomi Rapace, who stars as scientist Elizabeth Shaw. The Swedish actress caught Scott's eye when he saw her portrayal of antisocial hacker Lisbeth Salander in 2009's original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movie.
"I was absolutely knocked out by her and loved the movie enough to see it three times," he said. "Noomi got into my DNA, and I thought, 'Who the hell is this woman? This punk?'"
Scott arranged a meeting in Los Angeles and was surprised by his face-to-face encounter with Rapace. "In walked this rather elegant, rather beautiful woman," he said. "That's when I realized I was dealing with a real actress."
Prometheus boasts a second ballsy female actress in the form of Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, who plays a tough minion of the Weyland Corporation -- the same company that sponsored the Nostromo's doomed ore-mining expedition in Alien, set 50 years after the Prometheus' scientific mission.
"Apart from being very beautiful, Charlize has this wonderful sense of humor," Scott said. "To play someone who's a real bitch, you've got to have a sense of humor."
Michael Fassbender makes a heavy discovery aboard an alien craft in Prometheus.
Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox
Prometheus: Devilish in Details- The film's 3-D hologram star map draws from 1766 Joseph Wright painting A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery. Screenwriter Jon Spaights located the reference art through a Google search after Scott described the painting as "circles in circles with a candle-lit image." --Forbes
Early drafts named the hero ship Magellan, Icarus and Paradise before Lindelof and Scott decided on Prometheus, in honor of the Greek god that tried to steal fire from the sun. --The Hollywood Reporter
Alien creature designer H.R. Giger created murals that appear as some of the first artifacts discovered by the Prometheus crew. --Coming Soon
Spherical glass space helmets feature nine interior video screens plus an exterior cameras, transmitter and recorder. After Ridley Scott read a Steve Jobs biography that described how Apple co-founder built an office out of Gorilla Glass, he said, "If I'm in 2083 and I'm going into space ... I want is something where I have 360 [vision]." --Collider
The alien creature in Prometheus mutates organically into four different forms in a way that actress Noomi Rapace describes as "every woman's worst nightmare." --The Hollywood Reporter
Scott sketched a figure with a bright red Mohawk haircut to define the look of geologist Fifield, played by Sean Harris. --Empire
Prometheus' aliens incorporate characteristics found in earthly plant life and sea creatures. --Collider
Costume designer Janty Yates researched medical advances in skin-replacement therapy while developing the neoprene garments worn under by Prometheus crew members.
--ScreenSlam
Other Prometheus cast members Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba, who play the spacecraft's resident robot and captain respectively, spent months with Rapace and Theron in dank soundstages and icy landscapes in order to satisfy Scott's chilly vision for the film. "What I want to do is scare the living shit out of you," Scott said, outlining his intentions in a Prometheus promotional video.
Prometheus delivers plenty of nasty chills and thrills, but the manufactured dread serves a loftier intent, according to Lindelof, who steered an early version of the script into more cerebral waters after Scott discussed the "ancient astronauts" theory that extraterrestrials might have aided humankind's evolution, as described in books like Chariots of the Gods? by controversial Swiss author Erich von Däniken.
"Ridley told me he was interested in making a movie that dealt with the philosophical ramifications of man's desire to know his own origins," Lindelof said. "The idea is that 100 years from now, people will still want to know where we came from, who made us, what is our purpose here? That little carrot that he put out in front of me was so enticing that I said, 'Maybe this movie is the answer to those questions.' That was the jumping-off point."
And it sounds like Scott's ready to make a Prometheus sequel in order to get to the bottom of the cosmic conundrum. "There is another journey at the end of this movie," he said.
Should that next chapter materialize, filmmaker Gale Anne Hurd will likely be standing in line. She produced James Cameron's sequel Aliens seven years after being blown away by the original 70-millimeter release of Alien.
"That summer, everybody was talking about the Alien trailer," she told Wired in a phone interview. "I camped out with everybody else to get in line for the opening." The movie lived up to the hype. "All us geeks had been waiting for a master filmmaker to direct a sci-fi movie. They'd mostly been cheesy B movies before. Alien was a game-changer."
New Tools, Classic Craftsmanship
In Alien, Scott used pig guts and spaghetti to shock audiences and his own actors, who hadn't been warned in advance about the film's iconic chest-bursting sequence. He's got a far more sophisticated bag of tricks to use on Prometheus, including five double-camera 3-D rigs.
Scott said he embraces new technologies, like 3-D, as long as they help deliver the kind of jolts that make his movies seem believable. He cites his multicamera experiments on Black Hawk Down as a case study for how today's filmmaking technology can deliver visceral impact.
"We had 11 cameras -- 11 operators, 11 units," he said. "You walk through the dirt, you got a chopper going, you go, 'When I say action, the whole fucking thing is going to happen.' There's blanks flying everywhere, brass is flying. In essence, it's the real thing. If you don't wear earplugs, you are deaf, forever."
Scott evidently wore the plugs, surviving to tell his new Prometheus tale with more cameras, more dimensions and bigger stakes -- it doesn't get much more profound than the origins of mankind. At age 75 and still going strong, Scott regards the 21st-century digital tool kit from the classicist perspective of a slightly pugnacious Old Master.
The camera is "an extension of the pencil, if you can draw, and I can really draw," he said. "One old friend who became a lawyer said to me, 'Hey Ridley, you still pushing a pencil?' I said, 'As a matter of fact I am pushing a pencil. What are you doing, dude?'"
From Los Angeles, Hugh Hart covers movies, television and assorted pop culture oddities for Wired.com. He also writes twisted pop songs.
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Edmonton apartments for rent. Bachelor, 2, 3 bedroom West Edmonton apartments for rent. Close to Mayfield Common Shopping Center. Call 587.986.2115!
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The DFC community programme has secured some funding from the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to deliver 3 days of football activities within Ebbsfleet Garden City during the Easter holidays.
These football events will take place on Tuesday 16th, Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th April at the Castle Hill Multi Use Games Area, opposite Cherry Orchard Primary Academy between 10am – 1pm. The sessions are free to attend for local children and residents. Places will be allocated on first come first serve basis.
Dartford FC will be working very hard to develop regular activities in and around the Swanscombe, Greenhithe and Ebbsfleet Garden City area during the coming months.


'Made by Raffi' is a superb children's book about tearing down gender stereotypes and highlighting the beauty and talent of sensitive quiet children.
Raffi doesn't like the hustle and bustle of the school playground at break time and instead he seeks out a quiet place to sit. (Sound like anyone you know? This fact alone made my heart swell a little).
One day he sees his teacher knitting; she shows him how to do it and he gets hooked. He takes the rainbow scarf he is knitting for his father everywhere he goes, even on the school bus despite the taunts from other children about his 'girly' hobby.
Before long Raffi's classmates discover just how talented he is when he surprises them all for a class play……..
This story is a lovely themed story which tackles gender stereotypes head on and encourages children to follow their own heart and passions. Raffi is a fabulous role model for the creatives to let their talents guide them, and ignore others who tell them what they 'should' be interested in because of their gender.
Too often we read about gender stereotyping when it comes to girl's toys but boys also suffer from the same dismissive attitudes. And it needs to change. There is no toy or activity that should be labelled for girls, and the same applies to girls playing with 'boy's toys'.
The writer, Craig Pomranz, uses the word tomgirl in this book, a word that made me smile. I applaud any writer who knocks gender cliches on their head! And in writing 'Made by Raffi', Pomranz has done a wonderful job.
Made by Raffi is available in 11 countries in 8 different languages: English, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch.
There's also an accompanying song which composers Amanda McBroom (Bette Midler's "The Rose") and Michele Brourman (The Land Before Time) have written. You can find the song here: Different.
You can get your own copy from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com or from bol.com.
You can find out more on the Made by Raffi Facebook page or follow along on Twitter.


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First Flower is the sophomore release from singer-songwriter Molly Burch, just having come off the critical acclaim for her first album, Please Be Mine.
Burch returns now with her smoky-deep and sonorous vocals that are very PHOX and Beach House-esque. She tells us her stories of overcoming anxiety and navigating relationships, whispered to the tune of airy pop ballads.
Flirting between the lines of a bossanova or jazz sound, First Flower invites an easygoing listening experience that's suitable for singing/dancing or just chilling to.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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We believe the Bible is the God-inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God completely reliable and trustworthy for all aspects of faith and life (Isaiah 40:8; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17: 2 Peter 1:20-21).
We believe there is one God, personal, infinite, perfect, and eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22; John 14:26, 15:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
We believe Jesus Christ is truly God and truly Man, was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, provided a substitutionary sacrifice for lost man, and rose from the grave (John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:29; Hebrews 9:22, 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 Peter 1:3).
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person co-equal with the Father and the Son who works to convict people of sin, righteousness and judgment leading to the regeneration, sanctification, and preservation of the believer (Genesis 1:2; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Corinthians 12:7; Hebrews 3:7; 1 Peter 1:2; Acts 13:2; John 16:8-11; Acts 7:51; Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 14:16; Ephesians 1:13-14).
We believe God directly created the universe from no pre-existing substance. We reject both naturalistic and theistic evolution (Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:11; Deuteronomy 10:14; Mark 10:6; Romans 1:20; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11).
We believe Satan is a created, fallen personality, opposed to all that is holy and destined for eternal punishment (Isaiah 14:12; Matthew 25:41; John 8:44, 12:31; Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 4:4, 11:3, 14; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 3:8; Revelation 12:9, 20:10).
We believe mankind was made in God's own image and fell into sin in Adam and is now a sinner both by nature and by choice. People can be restored to God's favor only by God's provision in Christ as applied by the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:27, 2:16-17, 9:6; John 3:5-6; Romans 5:12, 14, 19, 8:2; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; 1 Peter 3:18).
We believe God's provision in Christ is the only ground for a person's justification, which includes forgiveness of sin, imputed righteousness and the gift of eternal life (John 5:24; Romans 4:3, 5, 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 3:9; Colossians 3:13; 1 John 1:9).
We believe salvation comes to a person only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from any human merit (John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:24, 9:16, 10:9, 17, 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5).
We believe all those who have experienced salvation are members of the "church, which is His body" and thus are eligible for baptism and membership in the local church (Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Timothy 3:15).
We believe baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper are the only ordinances of the local church (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38, 40-41, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-32).
We believe Jesus Christ is the Head of the church and every local church has the right under Christ to govern itself (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:20, 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:15; Titus 1:5; James 5:14).
We believe all persons will experience bodily resurrection, believers to a state of eternal joy and unbelievers to eternal punishment (Matthew 5:21, 16:27, 25:46; Luke 14:14; Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 2:12, 4:8; James 1:12; Revelation 20:11-15, 22:12).
We believe the Second Coming of Christ is literal, visible, personal and in power and great glory (Matthew 24:1-51; John 14:3; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 1:7).


-Acme's modern metal furniture feet and legs are available in small or large quantities.
-Material options include carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum, unless otherwise indicated.
-Custom colors are available. Standard colors include black, white, or clear.
-Every piece comes with a plastic or rubber glide to prevent scratching floors.
Download our Metal Feet and Legs Product Sheet Here as a PDF.
We craft and ship to any size order.


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Q: Poor image rendering with Google Docs PDF viewer I used Word 2007 to create a PDF file with an 1526px * 900px image filling a whole page. This is not the first time it's happened, but Google Docs PDF viewer absolutely mangles the colour rendering making it unusable.
I've taken screenshots at the same zoom level in Google Docs viewer and Foxit Reader.
Here's an image for comparison:

It's awful!  I've tried messing about with some things, but can't find anything that can correct this issue.

A: Let it be recorded here, 16 months after the present original posting by Turkeyphant and a similar posting [1] on the Docs+Drive product forum, that the problem appears to have been fixed within about the past week. Since that time, when a pdf (or Word) file is opened that resides on the Docs+Drive cloud, the file is rendered with what appears to be proper 24-bit color. The treatment whereby the color was reduced to 5 bits, which could encode 32 colors or 32 shades of gray or 16 of each, depending on the image, has been abandoned.
To the best of my knowledge the Docs+Drive staff have not announced this change, either on their Blog or on their product forum. I noticed the change a few days ago and noted it on the conversation [1].
[1] (2013-05-21) Problem in pdf-viewer with color images
https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/docs/_bdfiYgjF2s/5PDMdp9MhFQJ

A: It might have something to do with compression of the image in the PDF.
I mean, PDF supports JPEG2000-encoded images (JPXDecode Filter) and PDF Reference states that:

From a single JPEG2000 data stream, multiple versions of an image may
  be decoded. These different versions form progressions along four
  degrees of freedom: sampling resolution, color depth, band, and
  location. For example, with a resolution progression, a thumbnail
  version of the image may be decoded from the data, followed by a
  sequence of other versions of the image, each with approximately four
  times as many samples (twice the width times twice the height) as the
  previous one. The last version is the full-resolution image.

Google Docs viewer might be displaying  only first version of the image (with lower resolution or lower color depth) thus producing "awful" output.

A: In Chrome you can select "Print" and then "Save as PDF". The image quality in the saved PDF file will go up significantly, compared to the one from "Download as PDF". Google seems to be optimizing images to preserve bandwidth.

A: Perhaps the attached pair of images will help towards clarifying what is happening with color in images that are rendered through the Google Docs pdf viewer. I inserted the Wikipedia image RGB_Color_Solid_Cube (1024*1024 pixels) into an otherwise empty Google Docs text document, converted it to pdf, and viewed the resulting pdf files two ways: once through the Google Docs+Drive pdf viewer and once through the regular pdf viewer of the Chrome or Firefox browser. Then I made screenshots. Here is the RGB Color Cube via the Docs PDF Viewer and here is the RGB Color Cube via a regular browser PDF Viewer.
The color resolution in the Docs PDF Viewer version is really awful; it looks like 64 colors at most. Maybe someone else is able to recognize this kind of rendering and identify the problem better.

A: This is related to compression and it's something that you can't change in the default view of Google Docs Viewer. The simple solution is to upload the PDF and just serve it from the site in an iFrame.  Here is an example:
Problem Embedding Google Docs PDF Solution
Mike

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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President Trump will travel to California to visit wildfire sites
WASHINGTON (KABC) -- President Donald Trump will travel to California on Saturday to meet with victims of the deadly wildfires that have scorched the state.
The White House announced Thursday that it is still arranging details of his trip to California, and the president will visit people who have been impacted by the fires.
MORE: Woolsey Fire containment increases to 57 percent as fire burns 98,362 acres
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Containment of the Woolsey Fire rose Thursday as firefighters continued to make progress against the massive blaze.
It was not immediately known if Trump will visit both fire zones, but it is known that he'll land at Beale Air Force Base, north of Sacramento.
The fires in Northern and Southern California started last week and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and the destruction of thousands of homes.
At least 56 people were killed in and nearby the Northern California town of Paradise, which was leveled by the fire.
Two people were killed by the Southern California fire and a third death in that fire zone is under investigation as possibly linked to the fire.
California Wildfires: Updates, maps, coverage of SoCal, Butte County fires and impact on LA, Bay Area
The announcement comes about a week after Trump sent a critical tweet blaming the fires on forest mismanagement.
There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2018
ventura countylos angeles countynorthern californiaevacuationbrush firewildfirefirefighterspresident donald trumpwoolsey fire
Copyright © 2020 KABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Body found amid human trafficking investigation in South Philly

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Latest library news - repairs to cause disruption
Clitheroe library latest news - repairs to cause disruption
By Bill Jacobs @BillJacobsLT Politics Correspondent
ESSENTIAL repair work at a town's library starts on Monday.
The work is expected to take 12 weeks.
Clitheroe Library will remain open while the essential maintenance and repairs to the roof and the bell tower takes place.
Owners Lancashire County Council have apologised for the disruption the work will cause.
For safety reasons, when essential repair work to the roof and the bell tower is taking place, the Moot Hall meeting room, on the top floor of the library, will not be available to the public. Other areas on this floor may also not be available at varying times, depending on the work that is being carried out.
Arrangements will be made to ensure public access computers remain available throughout the duration of the work.
County Councillor Peter Buckley, Lancashire County Council's culture boss, said: "Essential repair and maintenance work needs to be carried out at this library. The safety of people using our libraries is an absolute priority, so we'll need to close certain areas at various times Although we haven't got a definite date when the work will be finished yet, we will do all we can to make sure that this happens as soon as possible."
Cllr Buckley added: "I apologise for any inconvenience that this causes and we will keep people updated about the situation."
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Gavin & Stacey: Attend Nessa and Smithy's wedding...in Burnley
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Football fan with motor neurone disease happy sports stars are raising awareness of condition


text:
Scottsdale realtor Kimberly Tocco starred in recent HGTV's 'Pool Hunters' premiere
Scottsdale realtor Kimberly Tocco recently starred in the first episode of HGTV's new series "Pool Hunters, and she helped two doctors find a new home.
Scottsdale realtor Kimberly Tocco starred in recent HGTV's 'Pool Hunters' premiere Scottsdale realtor Kimberly Tocco recently starred in the first episode of HGTV's new series "Pool Hunters, and she helped two doctors find a new home. Check out this story on azcentral.com: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2019/07/13/scottsdale-realtor-kimberly-tocco-starred-hgtvs-pool-hunters/1662111001/
Riley Murdock, Arizona Republic Published 7:00 a.m. MT July 13, 2019
Scottsdale realtor Kimberly Tocco and her dog, Blue. Tocco will star in the first episode of the HGTV series "Pool Hunters." (Photo: Damaris Duna | Photo courtesy of Kimberly Tocco.)
Scottsdale realtor Kimberly Tocco recently starred in the first episode of HGTV's new series "Pool Hunters."
The show centered on resort-style living being key for homeowners looking to move into the desert heat, Tocco said.
"They've built a whole show on 'the most important factor is the pool,'" Tocco said.
In the episode, Tocco helped a pair of Texas doctors, who were relocating for a new job, find a family home in Scottsdale with an amazing pool.
The show's premiere was July 7, but the episode is set to run again 8 a.m. July 20.
Future episodes are set to take place in Gilbert, Las Vegas and San Antonio.
HOME MAKEOVERS: HGTV enthusiasts remake Arrowhead home. See the results.
The show captures the personality and humor in the process, Tocco said, focusing more on the people involved than just the houses.
"It really is the story of the family, the excitement capturing what they're seeing," Tocco said. "It's really more authentic."
While Tocco has only filmed one episode thus far, she may return if she finds another client that fits the show's theme, she said.
For more stories that matter, subscribe to azcentral.com.
Tocco said she was nervous but excited to be on TV, and loves to be the center of attention. She hopes the show will showcase her authenticity and listening skills with clients.
But she has an ulterior motive: Tocco pursues success to help pursue her passion, which is erasing the stigma around suicide.
Tocco's 13-year-old son died by suicide in 2011, a tragedy that pushes her to give back.
"It's my main drive," Tocco said.
"If you've lost a child or a spouse and you have to get out of that residence, I'll do it for free because I know what that feels like."
Kimberly Tocco, star of new HGTV show "Pool Hunters"
While she works toward plans for her advocacy, she tries to help families in other ways. Tocco gave 25% of her commission from the episode's sale back to the doctors to help with closing costs, according to the press release.
This is common practice for Tocco, who said she's donated more than $300,000 to her clients. Whether it's through donations or volunteering her time, Tocco focuses on giving back to clients who are first-responders, military, teachers or parents and caregivers of special needs children, she said.
"If you've lost a child or a spouse and you have to get out of that residence, I'll do it for free because I know what that feels like," Tocco said.
Have something you want covered? Contact the reporter at rmurdock@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RiMurdock.
Support local journalism.Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2019/07/13/scottsdale-realtor-kimberly-tocco-starred-hgtvs-pool-hunters/1662111001/
Protest against ICE roundups spills into streets of Phoenix
Brittany Zamora's attorney shifts blame to 13-year-old student
Former ASU professor received $250K donation from Jeffrey Epstein
Brittany Zamora sentenced to 20 years in prison for molesting student
Satanists take Scottsdale to court as Surprise adds prayer to meetings
It's here! Raindrops signal start of monsoon in Phoenix area


Adventures of coal from the "DNR", or price of the Russian World	01/31/2019 17:52:07. Total views 196. Views today — 0.
Extraction and export of coal remains the main source of own income for the leadership of the so-called "DNR" and "LNR". This is because the neighbors of Ukraine continue to buy illegal coal from the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblast, not controlled by official Kyiv.
The first reports on the establishment of coal sales from CADLO to Turkey and the EU countries appeared in the media as early as 2015. This "business" was controlled by the then separatist leaders Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky, now it has partially passed to the management of representatives of group of the runaway Kharkiv oligarch Sergey Kurchenko – through the Gas-Alliance and Vneshtorgservis companies.
The incident with the Volgo-Balt 214 bulk carrier, which sank off the coast of Turkey on January 7, drew attention to this problem again. Since, as it turned out, there were 3 thousand tons of coal on board of the vessel leaving the Russian port of Azov – presumably, from the "DNR".
Volgo-Balt 214 stood towards the Turkish port of Samsun under the flag of Panama. The Turkish company Orbital Ship Management is official owner of the vessel.
Commenting on the situation with the drowned bulk carrier, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin was brief and careful in expressions, having limited himself to a few evasive phrases.
"Regarding the origin of coal – we check it. We know about Russian attempts to mix coal from the occupied territories and Russian – and export it, not only to Turkey. We work with our partners to make an appropriate investigation – and not just about that", – he said.
But 3 weeks have already passed – but the MFA and its head remain silent about the results of the audit – if it ever took place. And it looks very suspicious. If it is legal coal from the Rostov oblast, i.e. from the Russian territory of Donbass – then why not to announce for the media: your information has not been confirmed. At least, not only journalists, but also all citizens of Ukraine (from whose pocket P.Klimkin and his subordinates receive a salary) in this case will be able to make sure: the diplomats are eating their own bread not in vain, they are doing something.
If this is illegal coal from CADLO, then for a start, it would be nice for P.Klimkin to call the Turkish ambassador to the MFA and hand an official note of protest on this matter over him.
Well, if the check was not carried out, then this can only mean one thing: unwillingness to set the course of events according to the second scenario. Although P.Klimkin assured at a briefing on January 9 that this was a very fundamental question for Ukraine.
"I spoke with our European partners, because we also have information that there were Russian attempts to export such mixed coal to some European countries as well. We have reasonable suspicions with some other countries that there were attempts to export this coal not only to Turkey", – he admitted.
Please note that the MFA head chose not to name countries that buy coal from the separatists. Although, according to him, it is referred to reasonable suspicions.
Strange "tolerance" of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the "very fundamental issue" causes at least bewilderment – what for?
Later, ex-governor of Luhansk, now deputy minister for temporarily uncontrolled territories Heorhiy Tuka made an explanation on this issue.
According to him, the difficulty is that the coal basin of Donbass is not only in Ukraine, but also partially enters the Rostov oblast of the Russian Federation.
"Therefore, it is almost impossible to prove via chemical analysis that coal which is marked as mined in the territory of Rostov oblast is actually from the Ukrainian Donbass", – the official explained.
It is interesting that he had previously argued the opposite. "If, for example, this coal is sold according to the documents of the Kuznetsk coal basin, it will be very easy to explore. If they name mines in Rostov – it will be more difficult, but I do not think that it is impossible", – H.Tuka stated on the air of 5 Kanal in August 2017.
Earlier, the media reported that Turkey and Spain were the main buyers of illegal coal from CADLO, followed by Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.
It should be noted that in Italy, the buyer was Unicoal SPA, which is part of the ENI state-owned company, one of the largest energy companies in Europe.
Small volumes were delivered to Greece, Georgia, Moldova and even to Morocco. For example, in the case of them, it is really possible to confine ourselves to an informal conversation at the ministerial level.
However, supplies to Italy and especially to Turkey are systemic in nature and require a rigorous response. Why is not it followed still?
Only in June 2017, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Mining of Ukraine sent a letter to the MFA, having proposed to warn 8 countries through the Ukrainian embassies about the risk of illegal coal supplies from CADLO.
It was about Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, Moldova, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland and Romania. Ukrainian diplomats were instructed to inform local ports, customs, existing and potential buyers about this.
However, to inform is only the first step. And what to do if the received information is ignored – as, for example, in the case of Turkey? Why is there no further reaction?
Maybe there are some high political considerations, forcing to sacrifice national interests a little in order to achieve much more in future?
For example, it is known that Ukraine has been negotiating with Turkey about a free trade zone for a few years and is now in the final straight.
Therefore, the assumption that Kyiv does not want to raise the issue of Turkish procurement of coal from CADLO in order not to exacerbate relations or disrupt signing of an agreement with the important trading partner of Ukraine immediately appears.
But according to the media reports with reference to diplomatic sources, the document which is being prepared is generally unfavorable for Ukraine.
In particular, duties on import of Ukrainian agricultural and steel products remain. And these are the positions for which Ukrainian manufacturers are competitive in the Turkish market. These are the sectors due to which Ukraine could significantly improve its negative foreign trade balance.
But… according to all the same sources, it was decided at the state level to make certain concessions to Turkey for the sake of maintaining its support for the Crimean Tatar movement, non-recognition of the Crimea annexation and in gratitude for the assistance in receiving the Tomos for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In this case, it turns out that for the sake of these questions, the leadership of the country is ready to close its eyes to the indirect support of the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk by Turkish energy companies.
Such an approach can hardly be called consistent with national interests and justified in terms of diplomatic strategy.
On the other hand, the "tolerance" of the head of the Ukrainian MFA mentioned above in response to the Volgo-Balt 214 bulk carrier incident and to the problem in general is being immediately explained: the coal smuggling from CADLO was made part of a chain of unspoken political and economic agreements.
There is another delicate nuance that does not allow Ukrainian diplomats to raise their voices in talking about this issue with European partners.
As it was repeatedly noted in the materials of journalistic investigations, Ukrainian energy companies themselves bought illegal coal from the uncontrolled territories of Donbass.
It was imported under the guise of Russian and South African, mainly to the power plants that are part of the PAO Centrenergo state-owned company. There were also shipments of coal production without any accompanying documentation at all. Perhaps, it is worth recalling here that it was current Minister of Energy and Coal Ihor Nasalyk who, being a deputy from the PPB, traveled to occupied Donetsk, where he held talks with "Minister of Revenues and Duties of the DNR" "Tashkent" about the coal supplies. That is, the Ukrainian authorities had contacts and communication channels for illegal supplies for sure.
European partners are well aware of it and can always ask the same P.Klimkin on occasion: "Why, then, do you yourself support the separatists?". And the head of the Ukrainian MFA has no response.
At year-end 2018, Ukrainian consumers, according to the documents, purchased coal in Russia for $1.824 billion.
Nothing left but to assume how much of this money has remained in Donetsk and Luhansk in the pockets and on the accounts of leaders of the local "fighters for independence".
The media reported on small exposed consignments of coal from the "DNR"-"LNR". For example, in 2017, sales volume to Turkey was estimated at 340 thousand tons, to Spain – at 200 thousand tons, to Ukraine – at 75 thousand tons, to Italy – at 61 thousand tons, to Poland – at 32 thousand tons, to Romania – at 30 thousand tons and to Bulgaria – at 26 thousand tons.
These data were obtained on the basis of studying the Russian customs declarations. But, as it was already noted, deliveries are often being made without any documents at all.
The materials of one of the investigations say about the documented export of 1.3 million tons of coal from CADLO for 2015.
At the same time, the authors themselves note that the real figure, taking into account smuggling, is several times higher. Let us try to estimate its scale by the calculation method.
According to the separatists, the total for the "DNR" coal output in January-November was 7.362 million tons. In this case, 7.8-7.9 million tons can be expected by the end of the year.
Now such state-owned companies are working there: Torezantratsyt, Makiivvuhillia, Donetsk Coal Energy Company (DCEC), Komsomolets Donbassa Mine, Zasiadko Mine and Donbass mine management.
Torezantratsyt, Komsomolets Donbassa and Makiivvuhillia are leaders in terms of output.
In recent years, production at the Makiivka association has stabilized at around 1 million tons - although the pre-war volumes surely exceeded 2 million tons.
At year-end 2018, the miners of Makiivvuhillia reported on the production of 1.1 million tons, Torezantratsyt reported on 2.054 million tons for 11 months, DCEC – 800 thousand tons in 2017, Zasiadko Mine – 471 thousand tons for 8 months in 2018, Donbass mine management reported on the mining of 53.7 thousand tons during several months, Komsomolets Donbassa – 141-155 thousand tons.
In this case, we find that production of 7.8-8.0 million tons in the "DNR" is quite a correct indicator. Especially since new lavas were commissioned in separate mines last year.
Luhanskvuhillia works in CALO, renamed by the separatists as Centrugol. This association is considered to be "state republican enterprise" and is controlled by the self-proclaimed "LNR" authorities.
At year-end 2018, Luhanskvuhillia reported on the production of 1 million tons, having doubled the figure compared with 2017 due to the introduction of new lavas – mainly at the Bilorichenska Mine.
The Krasnodonvuhillia, Rovenkyantratsyt and Sverdlovantratsyt associations, which belonged to Rinat Akhmetov until 2017, are now handed over to Vneshtorgservis of S.Kurchenko.
In total, these associations produced about 7-7.3 million tons in 2018, including 1.5-1.8 million tons from Krasnodonvuhillia. Therefore in general, the indicator is about 8 million tons for the "LNR" and 15-16 million tons – for CADLO in total.
Now about the consumption. The main consumers of coking coal are Yasynovsky, Makiivka, Yenakiieve and Alchevsk coking plants. All of them are "under Kurchenko", i.e. transferred to the management of Vneshtorgservis.
This company operates specifically: for example, employees are paid wages in cash, brought to the company in bags, without any bank account entries.
It is not surprising that there is no official information about the production at these plants. Earlier it was reported that Makiivka Coking Plant produced 127 thousand tons of coke for 5 months in 2017, Yasynovsky Coking Plant – 108 thousand tons and Yenakiieve Coking Plant – 68 thousand tons.
In this case, on condition of the uninterrupted operation of these enterprises, their annual production in 2017 amounted to 305 thousand tons, 259 thousand tons, 163 thousand tons, or 727 thousand tons in aggregate.
Let us take into account the report of the "Ministry of Economic Development of the DNR" on the 2.2 times growth of coke production over 2018 in monetary terms.
Let us take into account the calculation of the rise in prices for Ukrainian coke in 2018 to $264/t against $219/t in 2017, i.e. by 20.5%, and we will get an increase in production up to 1.3 million tons in volume terms.
This figure looks close to reality, taking into account the general faint and subconscious state of industry in the "republics".
There is no information on the export of coke from CADLO, these volumes are being absorbed by the Alchevsk Iron & Steel Works and Yenakiieve Metallurgical Plant.
From December 2017 to December 2018, Alchevsk Iron & Steel Works produced 1.5 million tons of steel and rolled products. This volume requires 800-850 thousand tons of coke and 1.04-1.105 million tons of coal.
This means that the Yenakiieve Metallurgical Plant took 400-500 thousand tons of coke remaining in the "DNR" – since Alchevskkoks continues to stand idle, and deliveries of this raw material are possible only from CADO.
In total, such coke production ensures consumption of about 1.7 million tons of coking coal – i.e. all the current production of Krasnodonvuhillia and Zasiadko Mine.
The volumes of Makiivvuhillia, which also produces coal of rank K, remain unclaimed for domestic consumption in the "republics".
Of course, it is not at all necessary to send all Krasnodonvuhillia products to the separatist-controlled coking plants and to send everything for export from Makiivvuhillia – rather, a mixed supply scheme is used. Nevertheless, it turns out that approximately 1.1 million tons of coking coal are exported abroad during the year.
Now about the steam coal.
The main consumer here is Starobesheve thermal power plant, which uses steam coal of rank ASH and T.
When operating at full capacity, its power units burn 1.4 million tons of coal per year. There is also Zuyevska TPP capable of using 860 thousand tons.
The rest of steam coal goes to household consumers, but they do not need much – taking into account the fact that several million displaced people has left CADLO.
According to the self-proclaimed authorities, the "DNR" required 173 thousand tons of coal for privileged categories of the population for 2018, the "LNR" – 33 thousand tons.
We get that about 4 million tons of coal are used by CADLO for technical needs per year, and another 1-2 million tons – by domestic consumers. Total up to 6 million tons.
Thus, the annual illegal export of coal from the uncontrolled territories is approaching the mark of 10 million tons per year.
This is much more than data of the Russian analysts, who reported 1.5-2 million tons of illegal coal supplies from the Ukrainian Donbass in 2017-2018.
Apparently, they also use figures of the official customs statistics – whereas most of the coal is being smuggled without documentation.
This means pretty good revenues for those who came to power in Donetsk and Luhansk on the topic of "Donbass Independence" – taking into account the growth in world prices for thermal coal from $42 to $100/ton over the past 2 years.
However, because of the illegal origin, the local "masters of the universe" are forced to give the coal produced in CADLO to foreign traders at $22/ton, according to data of journalistic investigations.
But even in this case, the annual revenue is $220 million – quite a good incentive to cling to the ideas of the Russian World till the last breath.
The main sales channel are Russian ports on the Sea of Azov. Railway shipments to the EU via Belarus are not profitable from the point of view of logistics – shipping by sea is much preferable.
This is indirectly confirmed by the official Russian statistics.
For example, the port of Rostov provided transshipment for export of 1.21 million tons of coal in prewar 2012, and in 2018 – already 2.1 million tons. There were even more in 2017: 2.33 million tons.
810 thousand tons of coal went through the port of Azov in 2012, 1.3 million tons – in 2018, and an increase from 650 thousand to 753 thousand tons in 2017 through the Taganrog port (in 2018, the figure dropped to 625 thousand tons).
At the same time, only Ukrainian or Russian Donbass coal is exported through the Azov ports. Deliveries of Siberian and Far Eastern coal go through the Pacific ports, and of North and Siberian – through the Baltic.
Back in 2012, Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev complained about the unprofitability of the local coal industry, which in total gave about 3.6-3.8 million tons per year. And at year-end 2017, that is, after the "nationalization" in the LDNR, the oblast reported an increase in coal output by 37%, to 5.8 million tons – despite the fact that the increase in Russia as a whole was only 4%.
Where did this rapid rise come from, what happened? It is quite obvious that the increase in the indicator was obtained at the expense of coal exported from CADLO and sold under the guise of Russian.
Earlier, Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Vadym Chernysh noted in an interview with the media that there are 3 ways to stop coal smuggling from the uncontrolled territories.
These are Ukrainian and international economic sanctions, criminal prosecutions by the Ukrainian justice and practice of promulgating companies and individuals involved in smuggling.
"This is the so-called name and shame mechanism – when the names of people and the names of firms involved in schemes are announced publicly. In the international community, this builds their respective reputation and then hurts the business", - the head of the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons explained in January this year.
But so far, there is neither one nor the other, or the third. As already noted, this is due to the fact that the Ukrainian party itself is not perfect in this matter.
And the self-proclaimed authorities of the "LNR"-"DNR" continue to enrich themselves, taking advantage of the unprincipledness of the Ukrainian leadership.


text:
Islamist militant group al-Shabaab attack military base used by Kenyan and U.S. forces
Somalia's al-Shabaab militant group on Sunday attacked a military base in Kenya used by both U.S. and Kenyan forces, and a police report said the Islamists had destroyed two planes, two helicopters and multiple vehicles.
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed an attack on the Manda Bay Airfield in Lamu county, close to the Somali border and said it had repelled the militants along with Kenyan forces.
The Kenyan military said five militants had been killed in the attack. There were no immediate reports of Kenyan or U.S. casualties.
The Kenya Police report said two U.S. helicopters and a Cessna aircraft had been destroyed as well as multiple American military vehicles. A Kenyan Cessna aircraft was also destroyed, it said.
In a statement earlier on Sunday al-Shabaab claimed they had destroyed seven aircraft and three military vehicles, without providing other details. It also published pictures of masked gunmen standing next to an aircraft in flames.
Major Karl Wiest from AFRICOM said fewer than 150 U.S. personnel were at the base, where they provide training and counter-terrorism support to East African forces.
"Initial reports reflect damage to infrastructure and equipment. An accountability of personnel assessment is underway," AFRICOM said in a press release.
The assault that began before dawn lasted around four hours, witnesses and military sources said.
Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Paul Njuguna said the base had been secured.
"This morning at around 5:30 am an attempt was made to breach security at Manda Air Strip. The attempted breach was successfully repulsed," he said in a statement.
"Arising from the unsuccessful breach a fire broke out affecting some of the fuel tanks located at the airstrip. The fire has been put under control."
In the operation to repulse the attack, at least five militants were killed and weapons including four AK-47 rifles were seized, Njuguna said.
There was no indication that the militants had managed to enter the base. The airfield is separate to another on Manda Island used by commercial flights to Lamu.
Al Shabaab has been fighting for more than a decade to overthrow the Somali government and impose strict Islamic law.
Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011 after a spate of cross-border attacks and kidnappings. They were later absorbed into an African Union peacekeeping force, now 21,000-strong, which supports the shaky, Western-backed Somali government.
Independent investigator Benjamin Strick, who analyses satellite imagery for open source investigation websites such as Bellingcat, said the photos of gunmen next to a burning plane published by al-Shabaab matched satellite images of buildings and a distinctive aircraft apron adjacent to the base but outside its perimeter.
Residents on nearby Lamu Island, a haven for wealthy tourists and visiting European royalty, say a loud explosion jolted them awake before 4 a.m.
Abdalla Barghash said he later saw a large dark plume of smoke rising from the Manda Bay mainland, where the airstrip and base are located.
Lamu county, which is far more impoverished than the island, is frequently targeted by al Shabaab with roadside bombs and ambushes on travelers or attacks on isolated villages.
The insurgents killed three passengers when they attacked a bus in the county on Thursday.
January 5, 2020 247newsupdateAfrica, America, Crimeal-shabaab, al-Shabab attacks, Kenya insurgency
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The Customer Knowledge Agency
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Another Ankle Sprain Sidelines Steph Curry
Curry will sit out Wednesday night's game between the Warriors and Clippers after hurting his troublesome right ankle
By Haley O'Shaughnessy Jan 10, 2018, 4:51pm EST
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Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
The Story: Steph Curry is out for Golden State's game Wednesday against the Clippers after sustaining a right-ankle sprain. The injury appeared to occur at a morning shootaround ahead of the game.
The Importance: The Warriors will most likely survive without Curry (and Klay Thompson, who will also sit because of "rest") at home Wednesday, especially with Kevin Durant back in the lineup after missing the past three games. More worrisome is the rest of the season. This is the same ankle that Curry sprained December 4, sidelining him for an 11-game stretch. It's also the same ankle that proved problematic early in his career.
The Takeaway: Though Golden State safely escaped Curry's December absence with a 9–2 record, the team does have a challenging schedule ahead. It faces Milwaukee, Toronto, Cleveland, Chicago (the best team in December, folks!), and Houston on the road, before finally heading back home and playing New York, Minnesota, and Boston.
There is no confirmation yet on how long the two-time MVP will be out, though it's perfectly reasonable to assume that Durant, Thompson, and Draymond Green can manage January, if necessary, without him. Golden State, now an NBA-best 33–8, also has a four-game cushion in the Western Conference standings.
But Curry's second ankle injury in a little more than a month puts his health on the franchise's radar, especially ahead of what could very well be the Warriors' fourth consecutive Finals. His durability since having ankle surgery in 2012 doesn't erase what came before that: a reputation as fragile and an automatic worry for every funny landing.


Joy began her obsession with building client measurable relationships in the advertising industry where she is considered one of South Africa's top project leaders. Joy began her professionally coaching life when a colleague from her past approached her to mentor him, and she was hooked. Joy loves to see the transformation that happens from coaching a client ~ from the break through that happens when a client clicks as to what their challenge to moving forward is, through to the work that begins to happen, and finally seeing a new version of that client stepping out on the other end, a version of themselves that is stronger, and secure in who they are, what they offer, and where they are going. And a real love of Joy's is her passion to be super-organized, so she created her YouTube channel, Organized Joy, where you can learn how to create more time for your yourself to do the things you love.


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The Ray Hadley Morning Show – Full Show, January 23rd
The Ray Hadley Morning Show – Highlights, January 23rd
'It's slowly creeping in':..
'It's slowly creeping in': Pauline Hanson calls for action on rise in 'anti-white racism'
Ben Fordham
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is tabling a motion in the Senate which would see parliament acknowledge the rise of racism against white people.
Senator Hanson tried to move the motion today but the Upper House ran out of time to hear what she had to say.
Ms Hanson tells Ben Fordham we're seeing increasing evidence of "reverse racism" against people with white skin but no one is drawing attention to the issue.
But Senator Hanson intends to change that.
"We've seen a lot of atrocities that have happened in the past because of skin colour or your cultural background, and that was so wrong," she tells Ben.
"But we cannot allow… reverse racism in our country. We're seeing evidence of it now and it's slowly creeping in.
"I'm saying while I've got the opportunity – draw attention to it, let's speak about it, let's debate about it, and let's put a stop to it if we possibly can."
The One Nation leader's motion wants the Senate to acknowledge the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilisation".
Senator Hanson says our universities and schools have become part of the problem in the way they approach teaching Australian history.
"The fact is, history is history and why are we trying to change it and turn it around?"
She also points to a case where a Melbourne-based university allowed a lecturer from Texas to speak, who advocated for why you shouldn't talk to white people.
"Our universities are getting so left wing, so out of hand, out of control… it's got to stop," Senator Hanson says.
Ms Hanson expects her motion will be formally denied, but she says she intends to persevere and have her voice heard.
Click PLAY below for the full interview with Senator Pauline Hanson
With news of yet another case of fruit contamination in New South Wales, this time with a needle being found in a mango, Ms Hanson has floated a controversial punishment for the culprits.
"I'd like to line these people up, who were found to have done this, and I'm going to say, 'Now, you eat it!'"


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Q: Input not in correct format I want to read a double value and a integer value from a console application in C#.
`
            int ch = Console.Read();
            Console.WriteLine("Enter a random integer");
            int x = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());

           switch (ch)
            {
                case 1:

                    TempServiceRef.Service1Client s1 = new ConsoleTempApplication.TempServiceRef.Service1Client();
                    Console.WriteLine("Enter temperature");
                    string n = Console.ReadLine();
                    int param = int.Parse(n);
                    double result = s1.c2f(param);
                    Console.WriteLine(result);
                    Console.ReadLine();
                    break;

                case 2:

                    TempServiceRef.Service1Client s2 = new ConsoleTempApplication.TempServiceRef.Service1Client();
                    Console.WriteLine("Enter temperature");
                    int param1 = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
                    double result1 = s2.f2c(param1);
                    Console.WriteLine(result1);
                    Console.ReadLine();
                    break;

                default:
                    Environment.Exit(0);
                    break;
            }
            `

The console application closes once I try to enter my value for ch. Sometimes it closes after I give a value for temperature. I tried using tryParse and Convert.toInt. But I am not getting any results. Anyone who can help me with this? Further...I am just expecting the user to input only integer values(as an assumption). The tryparse usage in this case is not mandatory right?

A: Problem 1: You are using the Console.Read() method to read the single character from console.but here you need to press the Enter key to return the entered value/character as you are using the Console.Read() method.so when you press the Enter Console.ReadLine() method will get the value Empty string and int.Parse() throws Exception on Empty Strings.
Solution 1: you need to add Console.ReadLine() after the Console.Read() method to read the first character. and then you can proceed.
Try This:
            int ch =Console.Read();
            Console.ReadLine(); //add this statement
            Console.WriteLine("Enter a random integer");
            int x = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());

Problem 2: You are tryig to compare the Characters entered from console to numbers directly which does not work as when you read the character from console it will store its ASCII value not direct integer.for example if you enter 1 from console, it will be stored as 49 in integer variable ch(ACII code of 1 is 49) so when you compare with 1 it does not match .
Solution 2: so you need to match with its character value. so enclose the values within single quotes to match with exact value entered in console.
Try This: enclose 1 and 2 within single quotes
            switch (ch)
            {
                case '1':
                 ---
                 break;
                case '2':
                 -----
                 break;
            }

Complete Code:
        int ch = Console.Read();
        Console.ReadLine();//Add this line to complete reading of a character
        Console.WriteLine("Enter a random integer");
        int x = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());

       switch (ch)
        {
            case '1':

                TempServiceRef.Service1Client s1 = new ConsoleTempApplication.TempServiceRef.Service1Client();
                Console.WriteLine("Enter temperature");
                string n = Console.ReadLine();
                int param = int.Parse(n);
                double result = s1.c2f(param);
                Console.WriteLine(result);
                Console.ReadLine();
                break;

            case '2':

                TempServiceRef.Service1Client s2 = new ConsoleTempApplication.TempServiceRef.Service1Client();
                Console.WriteLine("Enter temperature");
                int param1 = int.Parse(Console.ReadLine());
                double result1 = s2.f2c(param1);
                Console.WriteLine(result1);
                Console.ReadLine();
                break;

            default:
                Environment.Exit(0);
                break;
        }


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Here is data that has not been reported anywhere before. It comes from a 2010 system wide survey I did as a supplement to the CPB/PRNDI Census of Journalists*.
The chart shows that despite the weak economy 58% of stations maintained their news staffing levels during FY 2010 while 27% of stations actually grew their news staffs during that time.
The following chart reports the results of a second survey question, looking ahead to FY 2011. It shows 61% of stations planning to maintain their current newsroom size, while a healthy 26% of stations plan to increase their news and public affairs staffing.
There has been strong emphasis lately on growing local station services as a response to changing patterns of public media consumption. For example, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is funding nine "Local Journalism Centers" involving more than 40 stations — which would account for roughly half the growth reflected here in 2010 (and some of the optimism for 2011).
For more theory and recommendations on the trend toward local growth, see Rethinking Public Media: More Local, More Inclusive, More Interactive by Barbara Cochran for the Knight Commission and Aspen Institute.
Helping on my research team was Steve Martin and Ken Mills.
*The CPB/PRNDI Census of Journalists in local newsrooms was conducted in July-August 2010 and filed as a complete report in September 2010. CPB has yet to release the results because it wants to add to the headcount the number of national/network journalists. The data presented here are not part of the census report.