A Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating today!
To those of you who are not, Happy Thursday!!!
I am always more mindful of all the "things" I am thank full for.
I am full of thanks for every aspect of my life.
A dear friend of mine recently sent me a lovely box of goodies.
Among the treasures she sent was this necklace.
"I do have a thousand wishes in my heart!"
for feeling inner joy that has no bounds!
Thank you so much Sharon for this exquisitely made by you piece of art!, I feel your love!
Gratitude brings a joyful heart and therefore good to practice daily!
Such a beautiful necklace from Sharon.
Her work and her heart are both so beautiful!
What a wonderful gift!!! I love Sharon's work and you are so lucky!!!
Thank you so much for sharing such beauty.
What a beautiful, special gift! Happy Thanksgiving indeed!!
Such a beautiful gift! Happt Thanksgiving.
what a beautiful and special gift from Sharon.I love Sharon's work too.Have a wonderful weekend.
Oh, how beautiful! That is truly a treasure.
Wow..so gorgeous..stunning gift..she is wonderfully talented! And such a beautiful post and beautiful heartfelt words..wishing you the same..and Many Blessings to you and your loved ones this Thanksgiving!
hugs friend! Thanks for all the sparkles you shine always to everyone!
What a lovely necklace! And a generous gift!
I had immense pleasure making your gift Terri....it warms my heart to do that!
Thank you so much for the beautiful post! I am very thankful for friends like you!
forever ahhh, nevermind! I miss read what you said. My fault, youre wanting those status messages synced up with your phones contacts so it displays it. Gotcha, yeah that would be cool, but I dont mind much to not have that (yet).
Your gift is wonderful. Sharon did a wonderful job, I'll have to go and visit her!
What a generous gift! I too love Sharon's work. You are so lucky!
Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope it was wonderful.
Beautiful gift – the very best kind.
I'm catching up tonight, Terri! I'm just so tired lately. Happy belated Thanksgiving. Hope you spent a wonderful day and did not work too hard. The necklace is so precious. Your friend is very talented! Thank you for all the lovely wishes and may all your wishes be granted.
This is a most beautiful gift, and so gorgeous.
I have purchased,- and been wonderfully giftet from dear Sharon, as well, and love her works of art.
Your necklace of wisches is to treasure for alwayes, for its beauty and the message it is bringing.
Thanks for the link to Sharon...I love her blog.
And what a beautiful necklace!
What a wonderful necklace. I love how she took all the different elements and wove them together so beautifully. Lucky you!


text:
La  è una fermata ferroviaria situata nella città di Narita, nella prefettura di Chiba, in Giappone. La stazione è servita dalla linea Narita della JR East.

Linee e servizi
 East Japan Railway Company
 Linea Narita

Struttura
La stazione è dotata di due marciapiedi laterali che supportano treni con una lunghezza di 8 elementi, con due binari passanti in superficie, collegati al fabbricato da una passerella.

Stazioni adiacenti

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Kuzumi
Kuzumi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Parsa, M., Zargan, J., Honari, H., Haji Noor Mohammadi, A., Mousavi, M., Keshavarz Alikhani, H. (2017). In Vitro Study of the Toxicity Effects of Bacillus anthracis Protective Antigen. Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports, 4(4), 681-686.
Mohsen Parsa; Jamil Zargan; Hossain Honari; Ashkan Haji Noor Mohammadi; Mohsen Mousavi; Hani Keshavarz Alikhani. "In Vitro Study of the Toxicity Effects of Bacillus anthracis Protective Antigen". Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports, 4, 4, 2017, 681-686.
Parsa, M., Zargan, J., Honari, H., Haji Noor Mohammadi, A., Mousavi, M., Keshavarz Alikhani, H. (2017). 'In Vitro Study of the Toxicity Effects of Bacillus anthracis Protective Antigen', Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports, 4(4), pp. 681-686.
Parsa, M., Zargan, J., Honari, H., Haji Noor Mohammadi, A., Mousavi, M., Keshavarz Alikhani, H. In Vitro Study of the Toxicity Effects of Bacillus anthracis Protective Antigen. Journal of Applied Biotechnology Reports, 2017; 4(4): 681-686.
Anthrax, a common disease of human and cattle, is caused by Bacillus anthracis infection. Protective antigen (PA) from Bacillus anthracis is a potent immunogen, which has been of interest in the development of new candidate vaccines against the disease. In this study, the toxicity effects of this antigen on prokaryotic (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and eukaryotic (MCF-7) cells were investigated. Antibacterial effects of the recombinant PA were analyzed using MTT and MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) assays. Cytotoxicity effect of the recombinant protein (in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2 µg/ml) on MCF-7 cell line was analyzed using MTT, Neutral red uptake, and comet assays. MCF-7 cells' oxidative stress following the treatment with PA (0.5-2 μg/ml) was analyzed by NO assay, reduced glutathione assay (GSH), and catalase activity assay. MTT and MIC assays showed that PA has a low inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli and no inhibitory effect on Staphylococcus aureus. Cell cytotoxicity assays indicated that the antigen significantly inhibits the growth of MCF-7 cells. Comet assay also showed that the antigen induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. According to nitrite oxide, reduced glutathione, and catalase activity assays, PA has not a significant effect on MCF-7 cells in comparison to the control (P<0.001). Protective antigen has no significant inhibitory effect on the growth of bacterial cells. However, it significantly inhibits the growth of the breast cancer cells (P<0.001). The effect of PA on breast cancer cells is pharmacologically important so that the antigen can be considered as a candidate anticancer molecule.


In the Winter 2016 issue of XXL magazine, which is available on newsstands now, Travis Scott graced the front cover and took part in an interview for the cover story.
During the interview, Travis mentioned that one of his goals is to work with Nicki Minaj, as well as called her "a very good rapper".
Click here to read Travis Scott's full cover story! Would you like to see a collaboration from Scott and Nicki?
Baby E has the opportunity to be the 10th person on the 2016 XXL Freshman cover, but he needs our help!
XXL will pick 10 artists who have the most votes from their list of 151 rappers to make their 2016 Freshman cover.
Be sure to click here and vote for E to make this year's cover! You can vote once every 4 hours.
Future graces the front cover of XXL magazine's 2015 Fall issue and in his cover story, he spoke a little bit about his relationship with Drake, which you can read below.
The Astronaut Kid discussed him and Drizzy building their relationship over time, gaining each other's trust even after some things that they have said in interviews have been took out of context, and more.
Click here to read more excerpts from Future Hendrix's interview with XXL. The magazine issue is available on newsstands now!
Meek Mill recently opened up about his relationship with Nicki Minaj in his cover story for XXL magazine's latest issue.
As well as talking about their relationship, Meek also discussed about feeling creative competition with Nicki because they both rap.
You can read what Meek Mill said after the jump below!
During a private listening party at Quad Recording Studios in New York on Monday evening, Birdman chatted with XXL for an interview mostly about Rich Gang, Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan.
One of the questions that Baby got asked was what is going on with Tyga right now. The #1 Stunna answered that he does not know for sure what is going on with T-Raww, but he has respect for him and he thinks the situation will work itself out.
You can read Birdman's thoughts on the Tyga situation after the jump below!
In a recent interview with XXL, music video director Colin Tilley spoke on directing Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" visual and her "The Boys" visual featuring Cassie.
During the conversation, Tilley discussed coming up with the concept for the "Anaconda" video, breaking the VEVO 24-hour record with it, leaving out some crazy shots from the video shoot, and more.
Hit the jump to read what Colin said about the two Nicki music videos and click here to read what he said about shooting Young Money's "Senile" visual!


– FROM ANCIENT GREEK ἀρχαῖος ARKHAIOS: PERTAINING TO THE ORIGIN, PRIMEVAL, PRIMITIVE, ANCESTRAL.
LIGHT PROJECTION THROUGH CUBIC ETHEREAL BODIES, FLOATING IN THE SPACE. AN ILLUSION OF SUSPENDED BASALTIC CRYSTAL ROCKS. VOLATILITY, EVANESCENCE, PARALLEL DIMENSION.
LIGHT GOES THROUGH VOLUMES AND TEXTURE GENERATED BY EPOXY RESIN AND FIBERGLASS, SCATTERING IN ALL DIRECTIONS, CREATING AN EMOTIVE ILLUSION OF GRADIENT LIGHT, SHADOWS AND COLOR, EMPHASIZING THE FEELING OF UNREALITY AND DREAMINESS.
THE LIGHTING IS WARM, FULL OF MATCHES, UNIQUE AND PERSONAL.
DIMENSIONS: 395 x 395 x 540 mm (LxWxH).
CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS: USE A CLEAN CLOTH OF DRY COTTON OR DUST. DO NOT USE DETERGENTS OR SOLVENTS. DO NOT WET THE SURFACE.
THIS PRODUCT HAS BEEN FULLY ASSEMBLED BY THE STUDIO ANTOÑITO Y MANOLÍN. THEREFORE AND FOR THE CRAFT PROCESSES ENVELOPED IN ITS REALIZATION, THERE ARE NOT TWO IDENTICALLY EQUAL PRODUCTS. ANY DIFFERENCE OR PARTICULARITY OF THE TEXTURE AND COLOR OF THE PRODUCT SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS A DEFECT OR IMPERFECTION, BUT AS A DIFFERENTIATING AND CHARACTERISTIC ELEMENT OF EACH PIECE. ALL DESIGNS ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT.
P.V.P. (PRICE SALE TO THE PUBLIC): 1,100 EUROS. BUY HERE. POSSIBILITY OF COLOR CUSTOMIZATION.
SHIPPING COSTS AND VAT INCLUDED (EXCEPT INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING, CANARY ISLANDS, CEUTA AND MELILLA).
DESIGN AND EXECUTION: TRINI SALAMANCA + PABLO PÁRRAGA.
PHOTOS: ANTOÑITO Y MANOLÍN, ESTHER SOLER OLIVER, MENGYI, ALEXANDRA GORN.


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Apr 16, 2014 By Matthew R. Olson in Jesus, Leadership
Is it wrong to be contemporary? I don't think so. Being in touch with people and in touch with your times is a good thing—Jesus was. Paul was. For some, being contemporary in our service for Christ means being contaminated—or "worldly." I think Charles Spurgeon was another good example of a man who was current with his times but not contaminated by them.
"When 19-year-old Charles Spurgeon was called to the New Park Street Pulpit in 1854, London newspapers derided him as a brash upstart. Critics complained that his plainspoken, direct speaking style was too edgy—and dangerously innovative. A secular magazine referred to his colloquial speech as "slang." A newspaper editorial categorized his preaching as "ginger-pop sermonizing." One particularly harsh critic wrote:
'He is nothing unless he is an actor—unless exhibiting that matchless impudence which is his great characteristic, indulging in coarse familiarity with holy things, declaiming in a ranting and colloquial style, strutting up and down the platform as though he were at the Surrey Theatre, and boasting of his own intimacy with Heaven with nauseating frequency. His fluency, self-possession, oratorical tricks, and daring utterances, seem to fascinate his less-thoughtful hearers, who love excitement more than devotion.'
During that first year, pundits regularly predicted an early end to Spurgeon's ministry in London: "He is a nine days' wonder—a comet that has suddenly shot across the religious atmosphere. He has gone up like a rocket, and ere long will come down like a stick.
Spurgeon's critics were wrong, but they weren't silent. They attacked him, slandered him, and fiercely opposed his ministry. They called his successes flukes and his failures proof of his character. What did Spurgeon do? He just kept preaching. He kept writing. He kept sharing the truth of Scripture as plainly and directly as he could for 40 years of faithful ministry." -Faithlife
Winning?
Mar 28, 2013 By Matthew R. Olson in Jesus
"Winning takes care of everything". Nike's new Tiger Woods add.
A lot of us have been watching Tiger Wood's gradual return to the number one golf ranking in the world. Time has gone on and it appears that Tiger has his "A game" back. This seems good for golf, good for TV, and of course good for Nike. Just the other day I was thinking—as he once again gains his international platform, he could have the opportunity to say some very helpful things to a watching world.
It would be hard to imagine anything worse than Tiger's fall in 2009. As a result of choices he made and his inability to control the consequences of those choices, his whole life seemed to come crashing down. He lost his wife, his family, his world golf ranking, much of his wealth, and to a great degree his popularity among the masses. While these things didn't just happen overnight, those of us looking from the outside marveled at how quickly a man could go from the top of the world to the bottom of the pit. Surveys among fans put his respect level on par with Mike Tyson's. Personally, I felt a great deal of sadness for Tiger Woods and his family.
Nike has recently marketed a rendition of Tiger's past responses to the media, "Winning takes care of everything." To a degree that is true. To a much larger degree it is not. If we create a small enough world, we can be at the top of it. We can be successful. Because we draw our box and create our rules and define our success, we can be winners. But we are only deceiving ourselves. Life is not a small box, and we do not define it, nor will we ultimately assess it. Even we as Christians can live like this.
God is creator, sustainer, and ultimate judge of all the earth. There is no success apart from what He declares success to be. "For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36.
Winning may take care of a few things, but it does not take care of everything. Really, it does not take care of the most important and eternal things. "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36.
Thank God for the grace He has showered upon us in the person and work of His dear Son. Thank God for the offer of eternal life and for the opportunity that we all have to receive it. I like to play golf. I like to watch Tiger Woods compete. But I also pray that God helps me keep what really matters in perspective.
Winning is not everything. Jesus Christ is everything. And that will always prove to be true.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home > Notable New Releases in Christian Books for June 2010
Published June 14th, 2010 by Keiki Hendrix
Notable New Releases in Christian Books for June 2010
365 Things Every Successful Leader Should Know
by John Edmund Haggai
Genre: Christian Living
Renowned leader John Haggai has instructed many on the enduring characteristics and principles at the core of successful leadership. Now his leadership wisdom has been distilled in this collection of 365 pithy sayings sure to inspire and motivate readers.
A Dream for Hannah (Hannah's Heart)
by Jerry S. Eicher
Hannah Miller's Amish faith is solid. Her devotion to her family and Indiana community is unquestionable. Yet her young spirit longs for adventure and romance. As troubling circumstances give her good reason to spend the summer at her aunt's Montana horse ranch, Hannah soon discovers she has much to learn about life and love.
A Hope for Hannah (Hannah's Heart)
Hannah Byler is now married. She and Jake live in a small Amish community near Montana's Cabinet Mountains, and the rough log cabin is far from everything Hannah holds dear. Anxious about her new role as wife and soon-to-be mother, Hannah understands she must learn to control her anxious heart if her marriage is to survive.
All of Grace (Moody Classics)
by Charles H. Spurgeon
In an age of limited travel and isolated nations, C.H. Spurgeon preached to over 10,000,000 people in person—sometimes up to 10 times per week. It is in this classic work that Spurgeon most clearly presents the message of salvation—man's ultimate need and God's unique provision—both simply and sincerely, for honest seekers and zealous witnesses alike.
Demon: A Memoir
by Tosca Lee
Recently divorced and mired in a meaningless existence, Clay drifts from his drab apartment to his equally lusterless job as an editor for a small Boston press — until the night Lucian finds him and everything changes with the simple words, "I'm going to tell you my story, and you're going to write it down and publish it."
Dying to Live: Abandoning Yourself to God's Bold Box
by Clayton King
Clayton King has spoken to 2,000,000-plus people in 30 countries, including hundreds of thousands in the teen-to-30s age group. Inspiring, humorous, energetic, he presents Christianity's unchanging core message with new vividness and passion.
Hello, I Love You: Adventures in Adoptive Fatherhood
by Ted Kluck
Genre: Parenting
For the young Christian couple, perhaps the only feeling more paralyzing and lonely than the one I've described is that of infertility. There are pregnancy announcements nearly every week in the church bulletin, and not wanting to "rain on your friends' parade," you suffer and grieve together in silence.
Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load
by Jen Hatmaker
Genre: Devotions
In Out of the Spin Cycle, author and speaker Jen Hatmaker takes the words and deeds of Jesus, adds the humor of a young mom's life, and offers messages of grace and encouragement. Covering areas such as worry, marriage, priorities, money, and the comparison trap, this dynamic Bible teacher brings Jesus's message alive in short, to-the-point devotionals for your busy life. This is a devotional for you–the woman inside the mom–the Bible student, the learner, the world-changer.
Ransome's Crossing: The Ransome Trilogy
by Kaye Dacus
Charlotte Ransome, desperate to reach Jamaica to see her secret fiancé, disguises herself as a midshipman for a convoy led by her brother, Captain William Ransome. Meanwhile, William and his new bride, Julia, face the rough swells of the sea and of marriage as they try to adjust to life together.
Seductive Delusions: Exposing the Lies About Sex
by Gerard Henry
Genre: Non Fiction-Misc
In Seductive Delusions, Gerard Henry addresses one of the most important topics of this millennium — sexuality and the new sexual ethic.
Henry emphasizes how the bombardment of sexual images on TV, billboards, the Internet and other forms of media continually assaults the message of abstinence.)
Take Four (Above the Line Series)
by Karen Kingsbury
In Take Four, the final book in the Above the Line Series by New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, filmmakers Keith Ellison and Dayne Matthews have finally inked a deal to have the nation's top young actor star in their current film. But the actor takes a public fall that threatens his reputation. Now the producers must act as missionaries to save the film, their families, and the young movie star.
The Breath of Life: A Christian Exploration of Personhood
by Bob Smietana
Many of our day's controversial issues (abortion, fertility treatment, stem cell research, torture, euthanasia) are grounded in the same two questions: (1) What constitutes personhood? and (2) What rights does a person have?
The Overcoming Life
by D. L. Moody
D. L. Moody writes, "It is like this. When a man enters the army, he is a member of the army the moment he enlists; he is just as much a member as a man who has been in the army ten or twenty years.
The Overton Window
by Glenn Beck
A plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed . . . can it be stopped? There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws, and our future.
The Portable Patriot
by Joel J. Miller
An accessible and unique collection of foundational American documents, speeches, and sermons that shed light on where we came from and where we might go. America is an ideal and a philosophy as much as a place.
The Secret of Guidance
by F. B. Meyer
F. B. Meyer writes, "The grace of purity and self-control, of fervent prayer and understanding in the Scriptures, of love for men and zeal for God, of lowliness and meekness, of gentleness and goodness"
The Unshakable Truth
by Josh McDowell
The name Josh McDowell promises real-life, on-the-street Christian apologetics. McDowell, along with his son, Sean, draws on a lifetime of work to create this comprehensive handbook on what Christians believe, why they believe it, how it is relevant.
Walker's Wedding
by Lori Copeland
Bestselling author Lori Copeland (Outlaw's Bride and A Kiss for Cade) weaves together elements of another classic Western romance with themes of redemption, forgiveness, and second chances.
What God Really Thinks About Women
by Sharon Jaynes
Genre: Womens Interest
Popular speaker, teacher, and author Sharon Jaynes (more than 235,000 copies sold) reveals the stories of women in the Bible who had meaningful encounters with Jesus.
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Keiki Hendrix is best described as "a garden variety blood bought daughter of the living, loving most high God." Beyond that she is a wife, a mom, a ladies Bible study teacher, freelance writer and Christian book reviewer.
Blogs Entertainment
Gina Burgess said:
Kiki, Demon by Tosca Lee was actually published in 2007. Frankly, I did not like the theology espoused in it, but I did review it. sincerely, Gina Burgess


text:
Alex Press
Tag: women's rights
July 23, 2016 July 23, 2016 ~ alexnpress	~ Leave a comment
In an interview published today in Jacobin, David Harvey, a theorist of neoliberalism and one of my favorite vulgar Marxists, asks a controversial question:
"Here's a proposition to think over. What if every dominant mode of production, with its particular political configuration, creates a mode of opposition as a mirror image to itself?
During the era of Fordist organization of the production process, the mirror image was a large centralized trade union movement and democratically centralist political parties.
The reorganization of the production process and turn to flexible accumulation during neoliberal times has produced a Left that is also, in many ways, its mirror: networking, decentralized, non-hierarchical."
Harvey poses this as a provocation, one based on his analysis of the neoliberal organization of production but not explored at length in the interview. But what would such an exploration look like?
Rather than critique the horizontalist mode of organizing Harvey's referring to, I think there's another, related, sense in which the substance of politics on the broadly defined Left today mirrors neoliberalism. While Harvey's focus is on the material organization of the political project of neoliberalism, the ideological current that follows from the organization of what Harvey calls the "new capitalist class" – the tech capitalists of Silicon Valley – also shapes this "mirror image." After all, if the ruling ideas of every age are those of the ruling class, we should expect these ideas to influence the Left in a powerful way.
Driven by a decentralized entrepreneurialism that fetishizes the individual and the bootstrapping do-it-yourselfism of lean-in feminism, these ideas emphasize an assumed chain of individuals, identity, and language, with the latter two elements part of the self-expressive empowerment so central to project-based start-up culture.
How does this trickle-down to progressive politics? While some call the political current that constitutes the mirror image of these ideas "identity politics," I prefer Carl Beijer's phrase "liberal identitarianism." A clunky mouthful to be sure, "liberal identitarianism" is helpful in its ability to differentiate this current from a left identitarianism.
As Beijer distinguishes the two, left identitarians have "maintained their commitment understanding power and oppression thoroughly by including class identity in their analysis, as all of the great identitarian scholars have always done – whereas liberals, by definition, neglect it." In other words, while liberal identitarians may acknowledge class in the sense of individual wealth, they refuse the left analysis of oppressions as present to reinforce class exploitation. By taking class as one static element among many axes of oppression, rather than a relational process reinforced and perpetuated by oppression, liberal identitarians come to a fundamentally different definition of liberation. For liberal identitarians, gaining equal representation and voice within a class society is the – often unspoken – goal.
Now, there's nothing wrong with this in theory: it does make for a less hostile environment for oppressed groups, offering breathing room at the symbolic level of society. While it's true that these aims can't achieve liberation as understood by the Left – the end of oppression and with it, exploitation – and instead, fit snugly into neoliberal ideologies of self-expression, that's no reason for us to pay more than passing attention to these politics. But what follows from these ideas is a focus on who you are and what you say rather than what you do combined with a claiming of the mantle of progressivism, and this is where the problem lies for Left critics.
By placing language and identity as primary determinants of political standing, liberal identitarians open the door to cynical cooptation of our movements by elites. If identity and language are the central markers of one's legitimacy, rather than organizational ties or policy positions, a person with the 'right' identity – say, a person of color and/or woman – can learn the magic words needed to gain entrance into the charmed circle of progressive politics and use her elevated position to further oppression.
And that's exactly what we see. It's why the RNC featured black men leading the crowd in "all lives matter" chants, emphasizing their Blackness throughout their speeches despite supporting policies that further the oppression of their fellow African-Americans. Their identities serve as a shield, enabling them to go further in their racism than their white counterparts.
It's why Donald Trump, in his acceptance speech as the Republican Presidential nominee, claimed he'd look out for "the people of Ferguson," even if his policy positions assure the opposite. As Beijer points out, Trump added a "Q" to his invocation of the LGBTQ community, one that wasn't even in the draft remarks, going a step further than even Clinton in his incorporation of progressive political terminology to support reactionary policy, as in this case, where he insisted his Islamophobic policies are enacted "to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful ideology."
If language is a key element of political practice, Trump at the moment of his enunciation of that "LGBTQ" is good. Which is patently absurd – one only needs to read the rest of the sentence to see this terminology is being mobilized to legitimize Islamophobia.
This is the basis of the left critique of a liberal identitarianism that implicitly imbues a homogeneity to identity groups. It's a criticism of the "shut up and listen" approach to multi-racial or all-gender organizing. Left unspecified in this approach is which oppressed leadership 'allies' are to listen to, as the internal class division within oppressed groups is ignored in favor of a liberal essentialism that assumes everyone of X identity shares political views. In the case of black leadership in the anti-police brutality movement, should white people listen to David Clarke, the black sheriff who insists that the movement is "the enemy?" Or in my city, to the black clergy who organize pro-police rallies? If not, on what basis can we deny their standing?
The obvious answer is that what Clarke does – and what these clergy are doing – furthers the oppression of working class black people, whether or not they themselves happen to be black. This is the basis for rejecting their political legitimacy. Truthfully, only the most hardcore liberal identitarians would disagree with this, but it requires breaking with the logic of their analysis to condemn Clarke or these clergy. Similarly, a concern with what she does is our basis for rejecting Hillary Clinton as a feminist: she may be a woman, but what she does is oppress other, poorer, women, both at home and abroad. We can only reject Clarke, the clergy, or Clinton's right to speak as members of the oppressed if we admit a primacy to what they do, not who they are or what they say.
We live in a world where, as R.L. Stephens puts it in a recent essay, "a Latino and an Asian-American crafted the Bush torture memos, which were then carried forward by the nation's first Black president." Diversity at the top doesn't mean progress for us at the bottom – far from it. Trump mentioning Ferguson doesn't make him any less of a white supremacist. Clinton claiming the mantle of feminism doesn't make it true. When anyone claims political legitimacy, we should always respond with the question Stephens raises in his essay: What exactly is it that you do?
June 15, 2016 June 15, 2016 ~ alexnpress	~ Leave a comment
By the time Carol Hanisch's essay "The Personal is Political" appeared in the 1970 anthology Notes from the Second Year: Women's Liberation, that slogan had become a feminist rallying cry. A response to the era's view of politics as concerned with a narrowly defined set of issues differentiated from the private domestic world, it challenged this divide.
That was the context and in it, 'the personal is political' was revolutionary. It resituated women's experiences – of domestic and sexual violence, of relegation to the home, etcetera – as political problems rather than personal failings. Consciousness-raising groups provided space for women to measure their experiences against those of others, with analytical rigor transforming these stories into a collective understanding of the issues facing women. This overlapped with street work – marches, demonstrations, politicking, and strikes. In short, praxis: the feminist movement, a power bloc forcing change in the country's institutions and social relations. That era was far from perfect – its racial, class, and sexual biases are familiar territory – but it had a movement, one that came up with theories of change through collective political practice.
Conditions are different today. "The personal is political" is mainstream. Entire publications run on a hot take profit model where think pieces proliferate over the latest 'problematic' celebrity, the ethical qualms of cultural appropriation, and the morality of interracial dating (I wish I was kidding about that last one).
Which isn't to say we erred – after all, who could have seen this coming? But the congruity of these politics and neoliberalism should alert us to the stakes. If we understand neoliberalism as a class project of upward redistribution, a withdrawal of the welfare state alongside an expansion of the state's repressive functions, our turn to the personal starts to look like a means of coping with rather than reversing the damage.
Take the discourse around "self-care" as an example. It takes an existing reality – we can hardly make it through each day – and offers it back to us wrapped in a language that insists we celebrate the actions we need to undertake to survive. Responsibility for social reproduction falls on our shoulders once again. Whereas we once sought collective solutions to our personal problems, we now live the outcome of the neoliberal counter-revolution which, in Margaret Thatcher's words, may have taken economics as the method, but its object was our souls. That self-care is more therapy than politics should then come as no surprise. Which is not to minimize the need for therapy! But so long as we conflate politics with what we do to get by, we'll forever be keeping ourselves healthy enough to hold a shit underpaid job and calling that politics.
The stick has shifted too far in the opposite direction of where it was when feminists came up with "the personal is political." Or maybe it's more accurate to say that the thinking behind the slogan has been forgotten in this undoubtedly improved world. Today we need an off switch, a limit beyond which we understand ourselves to be living as individuals. What if we recognise that, to paraphrase a refrain of Freddie DeBoer's, the culture you prefer is not your politics, that while the personal is surely political, it is not politics? A politics that emphasizes winning collective gains over manipulating symbols and language as if material progress flows from better ideas rather than the reverse. If we can't agree on this, we doom ourselves to a navel-gazing that walls us off from those not yet part of our movements.
In a recent post, I wrote about the people immersed in the political culture I'm describing. As I put it,
"These are people who want progress but are being sucked into the morass of conflations of identity and politics. This is concerning not only because of its lack of strategic efficacy but also because it burns people out. To be always on, to have your identity, your cultural preferences, your social circle and your dating life all bound up with and signifying your politics is a recipe for exhaustion."
I received a lot of feedback on this. People told me they knew exactly what I meant about the exhaustion. And I'm not surprised: I lived these politics too, where cultural preferences, relationships, language choice, and social circles were scrutinized for political imperfections, which then reflected back my worth or failings as a political actor. It was gutting.
But as I pulled away from this understanding of politics, I breathed easier. While identitarians, social justice activists, radicals, Woke Olympians, or whatever else you want to call them may not incorporate class analysis as often as socialists do – a relic of the what Carl Beijer calls "liberal identitarianism" – most of them are radicals. They can be won over and if some of us don't engage them, we cede further ground to the Democrats, the neoliberals, the non-profits, to anyone but the left.
June 7, 2016 June 7, 2016 ~ alexnpress	~ Leave a comment
In a review for The Baffler, Amber A'Lee Frost takes a recent anthology on college sexual assault as a jumping off point to touch upon some concerning weaknesses in "the conversation" about sexual assault. Frost's piece addresses a few issues I want to emphasize.
First, focusing on campus sexual assault without mentioning, as Frost puts it, the existence of "an outside world that's even less safe" than campus is a problem. It's one that stems from the class bias that comes with a focus on college campuses, particularly elite university campuses. Life at these institutions is far from representative of the average college student's experience, much less the average sexual assault survivor's. And there's nothing wrong with that! But if we want to improve women's conditions in society at large – and I believe we do – feminist movements on campus need to perpetually push back against this distorted focus, as the media, courts, police, etc will always privilege certain voices over others – this much we know.
I say 'we' because I'm part of these movements – on my campus as both a mentor to undergraduates and someone dealing with a university that's inadequately addressing sexual harassment and assault (boy could I tell you some horror stories). While we have the most power to force change in our own institutions, we need a more effective strategy of leveraging the spotlight on campuses to agitate for more resources in society at large for addressing sexual assault. That means increasing the options available to those who have been raped or assaulted other than going to the police (who are a source of violence against women in a number of ways), arguing for universal health care, rolling back the attack on women's reproductive rights, and fighting for affordable housing so people can more easily leave those abusing them.
Second, the packaging and delivery of survivors' stories deserves criticism. I don't mean criticism of survivors but of the publications profiting off their pain. Frost writes expertly on this and its connection to the economics of the online publishing industry, and her piece made me think of this one from last year. It's about how some women can only get published by writing about their trauma. As a young woman toying around with writing myself, it's clear I could get published writing about being sexually assaulted. But that would entail committing myself to a future where anyone can learn intimate details of my life with a quick Google search rather than when I'm ready to tell them. I admire anyone who writes such stories but I can't help wanting to burn down the outlets that greedily churn that shit out for clicks without concern for the women offering up their trauma.
Which brings up a related point: that the debate around sexual assault is overwhelmingly about stories from survivors can be both a) an improvement from when we ignored this problem completely as a society and b) a serious issue when it comes to my dude's eternal question: what is to be done? As Frost writes "while these acts of public testimony are crucial, and therapeutic, for survivors, readers of We Believe You are curiously left asking much the same question that one of the victims here raises: 'What am I supposed to do?'" She describes the anthology as leaving its reader directionless, and my years as a feminist in Boston – a college campus-centric city if there ever was one – feel similar. A lot of smart people write about why it is that a focus on the individual rises to the fore in the age of neoliberalism, which can accommodate – and sell! – individuals' stories but not structural change, so I won't try my hand at it. Instead, I'll point out that this focus on the individual is pervasive when it comes to just about any feminist issue: abortion? Shout it! Sex work? Tell us whether you feel empowered!
I don't want to disparage the people who support these strategies – fighting stigmas is good and I support them as people – but I am concerned with the strategic power of a focus on stories. I think it's a shaky foundation for a movement. If all is predicated on what survivors want, what do we do when survivors disagree? It's a bizarre parallel to the essentialized view of oppressed groups I wrote about the other day, where differential claims within "the black community" or "the trans community" become impossible to parse. I agree that it's unproductive to judge the way any particular individual handles their assault; where I disagree is with the idea that this means we can't discuss the efficacy of movements against sexual assault and the solutions they propose. It's exactly this sort of critical analysis that Frost is doing in her review. People interpret their experiences differently, be these experiences as a woman, a person of color, a rape survivor, any combination of these identities, or anything else. What we as a movement must do is analyze the problems we're facing and work out the best way forward.
A good friend of mine, one of the hardest working feminist organizers I know, has lately taken to saying that it's wrong to say there is a feminist movement today, because there isn't. I think she's referring to the absence of collective feminist struggle – we have feminists, but not a feminist movement. I don't think she's entirely wrong. I don't know what we do about that – I'm thinking out loud here – but we need to take her provocation, and Frost's, seriously.
The Abortion Debate
September 20, 2015 September 20, 2015 ~ alexnpress	~ 1 Comment
"Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, 'We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.' "
GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina stated on national television during the most recent GOP debate that the above scene was from the controversial (and highly edited) videos of Planned Parenthood offices filmed by the conservative Center for Medical Progress.
The scene Fiorina described never appears in the videos.
But as anyone who watched Fiorina deliver this lie during the debate might have noticed, the description of the scene and the assertion of facts work on two different registers. By vividly describing a gruesome scene, Fiorina kept our focus on the morality of abortion. While leading feminist organizations put the bulk of their efforts into building the Democratic Party instead of a movement, the Christian right has spent decades building a veritable ecology of movement actors. This is why the right now controls the terms of debate, posing the question of abortion as one of morality and thereby allowing anti-choice activists to present themselves as morally-enlightened even as they stalk, threaten, harass, and assault abortion providers and the women seeking their services. These leaders claim to be 'defenders of (fetal) life' while endangering real women's lives with anti-choice restrictions, of which there were 205 from 2011-2013, more than in the entire decade prior.
The greatest evidence of the right's dominance over the abortion debate comes from Planned Parenthood's Democratic Party defenders. While Hillary Clinton continues to position herself as a supporter of women's reproductive rights, her description of abortion as a "sad, often tragic choice" cedes ground to the anti-choice frame, qualifying women's demands for equality with a moralizing that can only strengthen the right. Meanwhile, Martin O'Malley minimized Planned Parenthood's role as an abortion provider, emphasizing that 97% of its services have nothing to do with abortion. Even Bernie Sanders minced words, rightly stating that federal funds don't go toward abortions but failing to defend abortion as such from conservatives' ruthless attacks. By hedging their defenses of Planned Parenthood, Democrats have accepted the right's terms of debate. In doing so, Democrats are gambling that anti-choice forces support women's access to less controversial reproductive health services. In this, they are mistaken.
That the funds currently being held hostage as a mark of allegiance to anti-choice fervor by conservatives have nothing to do with abortion is unfortunate proof of the wrongheadedness of Democrats' wager. These are Title X funds, which go toward family planning centers, many of which are administered by Planned Parenthood. The federal funds, as Sanders noted, cannot go toward abortions. To tie them up in political posturing is to knowingly deny poor and working class women the right to basic health services, including cancer screenings, STD tests, and annual check ups.
The numbers on what happens when poor women lack access to health services are definitive. According to the Guttmacher Institute, without family planning services, poor women have higher rates of unintended pregnancy, which in 2008, occurred at five times the rate as among higher-income women.* What follows from here is predictable: higher rates of abortion and higher rates of unplanned birth, with poor women enduring the latter at six times the rate of higher-income women.
These numbers suggest that if abortion was actually what conservative leaders opposed, they would increase funding for reproductive health services and family planning. Add to this that 48% of women who underwent late-term abortions explained the delay as stemming from difficulty in making travel, work, and childcare arrangements for the time spent traveling to a provider, and it's clear that the continued rollback of providers and flood of state mandated waiting periods for women seeking abortions guarantees that more women will get late-term abortions in the future.
Anti-choice activists and their leaders in Congress aren't stupid: they have think tanks and journalists crunching these numbers. They know these laws will result in more abortions. We cannot simply 'speak truth to power,' repeat this data, and expect people like Fiorina to change their minds. We similarly cannot wait on Democrats to admit that in 2015, Roe v. Wade is almost non-existent for working-class, rural, and disportionately black and brown women across this country.
For those of us who would take up the unapologetic call for 'free abortion on demand,' we must refuse the right's framing. We should instead argue for the right to abortion as central to the broader fight for women's equality, which cannot be achieved without control over our reproductive choices, but also without free child care, a living wage, and paid maternity leave. The demand for control over our bodies was a cornerstone in the broader feminist struggle for full equality. To deny women this right is to attempt to reverse the gains won by feminists and call for a return to conditions of even greater inequality.
It's important to note that when we argue for free abortion, this is based on a recognition of the race and class determinants behind a woman's ability to choose. In 1970, before abortion was legalized in New York, over three-quarters of the women who died from illegal abortions were black and Puerto Rican. Today, poverty continues to be the most common reason women cite for getting abortion. And with women on average paying nearly $500 out-of-pocket for abortions, along with forfeiting hundreds of dollars in wages thanks to the obscene distance they must travel to access an abortion provider, we must emphasize the ways anti-choice restrictions disproportionately impact working class women of color, and strategize accordingly.
When the anti-choice movement's actions ensure higher rates of abortion, we cannot respond effectively if we take them at their word that what they oppose is abortion, not the threat of women's equality that comes with bodily autonomy. Instead, we should recognize their embrace of women's oppression in every cynical invocation of 'family values,' an ideology where women are never queer, never trans, never lesbian, and always in the home. We should hear it when they condemn single mothers for using government assistance to raise their children while simultaneously criticizing working mothers for neglecting their kids. We should hear it in their continued denials that rape is 'real' rape if the woman was friends with, dating, or married to the man who raped her.
For the anti-choice movement, women, and women's bodies, belong to men, and are of value to the extent that we perform the unpaid domestic labor this economy relies upon. Free abortion on demand is a threat to that control, providing a route for women to make their own choices in the meaningful sense of the word.
This is why we must recast the fight for abortion access as a fight for women's full equality. If those morally opposed to abortion want to reduce its frequency, they should join the fight for a living wage, free child care, and paid maternity leave. The majority of Americans continue to support the legality of abortions, but with Democrats and Republicans eroding the conditions necessary for women to access this right, we cannot look to these political leaders for help. We must instead build a movement that shifts the terms of debate to focus on women's right to reproductive justice, unapologetically affirming women's right to choose to have or not have children, to give birth unshackled, to access good schools and livable housing, along with securing access to reproductive health services, including, yes, abortion.
*Higher-income was defined in the data as women making 200% the federal poverty rate
Women's Rights, from Boston to Gaza
August 3, 2014 August 4, 2014 ~ alexnpress	~ 3 Comments
Gaza and Women's Self-Determination
This was my favorite of the photos I took at a clinic defense action last week in Boston, MA. It was directed at the anti-abortion protestors whom we were at the clinic to counter, though more broadly addressed the entire Boston community, drawing the connections between these conflicts. For analyses of this connection, I recommend this Electronic Intifada article, as well as this piece by INCITE!
The action was a response to the effects of the US Supreme Court striking down the buffer zone law, which had required that protesters (specifically, it was enacted with respect to anti-abortion protesters outside of abortion clinics) remain thirty-five feet away from the clinic being targeted.
Since its nullification, anti-abortion protestors have returned to hovering around the front of the Planned Parenthood building. As long as they are not physically blocking entry, they are considered to be exercising their right to free speech. However, the very real effects of their presence is an end to freedom of movement, as a patient must suffer their entreaties and company as she enters the building, and then wonder about how non-violent these anti-abortionists truly are as she passes through Planned Parenthood's heavy security precautions.
At the action, I watched one of these anti-abortionists pace back and forth in front of the building, anti-woman literature in his hand, scanning passers by so as not to miss an opportunity to harass any who might have been entering the clinic.
The history of violence associated with these anti-abortion protestors is very recent. The following is from the National Abortion Federation's website:
"This foundation of harassment [outside of clinics] led to violence with the first reported clinic arson in 1976 and a series of bombings in 1978. Arsons and bombings have continued until this day. Anti-abortion extremists have also used chemicals to block women's access to abortion employing butyric acid to vandalize clinics and sending anthrax threat letters to frighten clinic staff.
In the early 1990s, anti-abortion extremists concluded that murdering providers was the only way to stop abortion. The first provider was murdered in 1993. Since then, there have been seven subsequent murders and numerous attempted murders of clinic staff and physicians, several of which occurred in their own homes. In 2009, NAF member Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed in his church in Wichita, Kansas."
This history was viscerally present as I watched the anti-abortion protester pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. While this event was a controversial action in the feminist community here in Boston, it ultimately allowed women and Planned Parenthood patients, including those who attended the event but most importantly those who didn't and instead happened upon it, to see that there are others willing to push back against the monopoly on space that has long been held by the anti-abortionists. Two of those involved in planning the action argued for it here. They are members of Boston Feminists for Liberation, the independent feminist organization that organized the event.
The action went as I imagined it would: it was low-key, with twenty-five or so (mostly) women holding signs and speaking out on the edge of the sidewalk nearest the street. Dozens of the neighborhood's residents joined in on the action upon seeing it, and we succeeded in causing a few of the anti-abortionists to pack up their signs and head home early. We also became the focus of their video camera, allowing a brief reprieve for Planned Parenthood's patients, who would otherwise have been the focus of their filming.
And, as my second favorite sign, also directed at the anti-abortionists, read:
"Life begins when you stand up to right-wing fascists."
Who can argue with that?


But I digress . . . it was the spring of 2003 and I was meeting with Gordon and his partners as they were raising Emergence's first fund. As the meeting was wrapping up, Gordon slid a piece of paper across the conference table: "our reference list," he said. I had been in the LP biz for a couple of years at that point and was feeling pretty clever. "Well, I like to do off-list references," I quipped. Looking serious, Gordon started to rummage around in his bag. After a few moments, he said, "I've got an off-list list in here somewhere . . . " I must have looked completely bewildered as I stammered, "but then the 'off-list' would be 'on list' and I'd have to go off-off-list . . ." At that point, Gordon couldn't bear it anymore and broke into a wide grin that gave us all permission to crack up in hysterics at the absurdity of what I'd said . . .
I thought of this story the other day while hanging out with my buddy David Katzman. Over dinner, we mused that it's possible to do too much due diligence. David reminded me that Fred Wilson wrote a great blog post on this subject a couple of years back. Fred is famous for his gut and has an amazing hit rate on his intuition. Kaztman and I observed that, in contrast, it seems that some outsource their thinking to others by doing endless research. Indeed, having sat in front of a thick diligence binder, I've often thought that there are a lot of heuristics that are the enemy of good decisions. Confirmation bias is probably the most insidious of these, but overgeneralization is also pretty sinister, too. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that data is not the plural of anecdote.
I've learned by watching some of the best investors around that having a well-formed thesis simplifies investing: if you don't have a good sense for what you're seeking, how will you ever find it without boiling the ocean? Pasteur famously said, "in fields of observation, chance favors the prepared mind." And very practice of developing a thesis helps you figure out what questions to ask and where the data sources, especially the orthogonal ones, lie. Classically practiced diligence mainly helps one manage conventional risks as seen through the prism of other people's biases.
In having a prepared mind, investors should strive to develop opinions, a scarce resource in a hurried, reactive business. Oftentimes, the more diligence you do under the guise of "getting smart," the more your mosaic of facts will resemble everyone else's. But I guess that's ok when for people who think it's better to fail conventionally than it is to succeed unconventionally.
Of course, some people are ok with being copycats and there are folks that distill diligence to one call: to their favorite bell cow. At Old Ivy, we had a few folks who simply tried to index our portfolio. The problem with that approach is that they often couldn't access the things we were most excited about, not to mention the fact that we were pursuing a strategy specifically tailored to our needs. Specifically, we were exploiting some unfair advantages that we had, especially low liquidity needs and long, long, long time horizon. Confounding matters further, when people called me to find out what we at Princeton were doing, I only shared my second-best ideas. Should I feel guilty?
Probably not. Too many people are intoxicated by opiate-like embrace of the crowd. Indeed, taking the time to develop an opinion and resist FOMO takes courage and an investigators eye while the easy path relies on unfocused and reactive probing that captures more noise than signal because of poorly tuned antennae. Robust non-conformists with the courage of their convictions tread through the thickets of embarrassment and career risk that come from being wrong and alone in search of fortune and glory. We make the road by walking it. Which path will you take?


text:
Employee ownership the way forward for Espace
by espaceeurope | Monday, 12 March, 2018 | Awards | 0 comments
Last year we finalised the transfer of ownership of Espace to our employees
An Employee Ownership Trust was created with all current employees qualifying as beneficiaries of the Trust and its annual distributable profits.
"As good as the people we employ"
Tony Shally, Espace's MD commented that "employee ownership just seemed the right thing to do at this stage of Espace's development. We are as good as the people we employ. We need to retain and attract the highest calibre of people. Establishing a Trust which distributes fairly the profits of the business to the people that make the business successful shows our employees how much we value them and clearly differentiates us from our competitors. When people now speak to any member of the Espace team, they are now speaking to an part owner of the business not just an employee."
The first employee owned freight forwarding company in the UK
John Lewis lead the field in employee ownership in the UK with its 90,000 strong workforce. With only 300 employee owned businesses currently registered in the UK, Espace is the first UK freight forwarding / 3PL company to adopt this new ownership structure.
In the decision making process to move to Employee ownership, we joined the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) in May and sought its advice. Deb Oxley, CEO of the EOA, said: "We congratulate Espace Europe on its transition to employee ownership. The move to employee ownership will secure the future of the business, its employees and its contribution in the local economy, while retaining the brand, ethos, values it holds dear, for many years to come."


Discussion in 'Trend Spotting' started by Couture_Tribe, Sep 20, 2009.
How do you know when a trend is out or no more avant-garde?
Commnet on any ideas you wish to express.
It is out before it even enters the big scene. I mean, it is Fall now and the S/S10 is out - everyone is getting excited about that so the trends of the winter are slightly altering already... It isn't avant-garde if all the big but cheaper chains have produced it in low quality... Hardly anything is avant-garde anymore unless you are really unique and avoid trends.
exactly and i hate this so so much.
...somebody like Jessica Simpson or Kim Kardashian wears it.
when you see more than 5 people wearing them in a single day.
the girl holding the hand of the guy in the ed hardy shirt is wearing it.
in all honesty, as soon as it hits mass market stores (ala h&m etc) the trend is seriously tarnished. Its been commercialized. Those are often the looks from the last ready to wear season, kim kardashian is hawking them in the stores ads to the five people that just bought the same pair of heels. That all being said, i still like/love H&M, you can find and do very versatile things with a lot of their items, but when something unique enough to start a trend unto itself finds its way onto a shelf in said stores, the trend has passed. just my thoughts. good thread topic!
when bloggers are doing it.
when people under 15 wear it.. with their school uniforms.
when forever21 is carrying it.
but isn't that what makes it 'a trend'?
... when your mother is aware that the trend exists.
HOw can something truly be a trend if it isn't widespread.
If only models wear it, if only billionaires wear is it really a "trend"?
Commercialization is necessary for something to be considered a trend IMO.
A trend can be a trend within a certain group of people or geographic location before it goes global. I would, personally, equate the globalization and mass production of a trend with the loss of it's 'avant garde' status and therefore the demise of the trend itself. yikes.. that's sounds a little too academic..
I agree with the people saying that it is actually more of a trend when it hits the mass markets.
All that usually happens crazy fast, like how people are saying once ss10 is seen no one thinks of fw09/10 anymore. But then sometimes it takes a really long time for it to fall down from the peak and maybe we call that a new classic? Like skinny jeans were very "different" and not widely seen in only like 2004 and now they are ubiquitous and I don't even think they are trendy anymore but I wear them half the time. They are just like straight or boot or trouser leg to me now.
*Disclaimer: I don't remember the exact trend life cycle and what you call the groups of people throughout the cycle. I just remember a lecture about it years ago but I am not going to throw my room apart searching for old notes and textbooks.
eta: ok, I get what the other people are saying but I would put it diferently. When you see it too much and picks up speed and popularity, then it becomes undesirable but it is still a trend and only just picking up speed.
the worst has to be when the first and the second points combine... sooooo over!
When certain type of stores start carrying them. I'm from NYC and when I see stores like Forever 21, Pretty Girl , Rainbow and etc carrying the trend. NO WAY. There are some items from designers I can look at that has Forever 21, Rainbow, Steve Madden written in it's future.
You've seen a hundred different girls wearing the same dress.
^right. I agree with a lot of this. I think this topic is maybe more about when a trend is no longer desirable than when it is "over", b/c it's technically still a trend when everyone's little sister and mass retailer are doing it.
I'm wondering, can't a trend exist without being "trendy" and massive?


text:
2272 Dunnigan Avenue, Grand Rapids Twp, MI, 49525
Listing Agent: Kyle Visser
Courtesy of: Keller Williams GR East
Address: 2272 Dunnigan Avenue
City: Grand Rapids Twp
Proposed build by Indie Homes. This lot offers over an acre of land and is situated at the end of a cul de sac with beautiful wooded views. Enjoy a quiet and secluded feel while also being just minutes from Knapps Corner shops, restaurants and more. No HOA or covenants. With a combined 40 years of building experience, Indie Homes will deliver the home of your dreams. Build completely custom or choose an existing plan. Final price of the home may vary based on the plan and finished selections.
Listing Agent: Kyle Visser Courtesy of: Keller Williams GR East IDX provided courtesy of Realcomp II Ltd. via site owner and the originating MLS listed above, ©2022 Realcomp II Ltd. Shareholders. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, noncommercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. The accuracy of all information, regardless of source, is not guaranteed or warranted. All information should be independently verified. Updated: 31st January, 2023 10:54 AM (UTC)


text:
require 'rails'
require 'rails/test_help'
require 'rails/generators/test_case'
require 'pry'
require 'mocha/test_unit'
#require 'rails/generators/active_record'
$: << 'lib'
require 'event_sourced_record'
require 'generators/event_sourced_record'
#require 'generators/event_sourced_record/event_sourced_record_generator'
#require 'generators/event_sourced_record/calculator_generator'
#require 'generators/event_sourced_record/event_generator'
#require 'generators/event_sourced_record/observer_generator'
#require 'generators/event_sourced_record/projection_generator'
require 'active_record'

def test_db_dir
  './tmp'
end

Dir.mkdir test_db_dir unless Dir.exists? test_db_dir

ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection(
  :adapter => 'sqlite3', :database => "#{test_db_dir}/test.sqlite3"
)

silence_stream(STDOUT) do
  ActiveRecord::Schema.define do
    create_table "shipments", force: true do |t|
      t.integer  "subscription_id"
      t.integer  "num_bottles"
      t.datetime "created_at"
      t.datetime "updated_at"
    end

    create_table 'subscription_events', :force => true do |t|
      t.string   "subscription_uuid"
      t.string   "event_type"
      t.text     "data"
      t.datetime "created_at"
      t.datetime "occurred_at"
    end

    create_table "subscriptions", force: true do |t|
      t.integer "user_id"
      t.integer "bottles_per_shipment"
      t.integer "bottles_left"
      t.string  "uuid"
    end

    create_table "bottle_events", force: true do |t|
      t.string   "bottle_uuid"
      t.string   "event_type"
      t.text     "data"
      t.datetime "created_at"
    end

    create_table "bottles", force: true do |t|
      t.integer "volume"
      t.decimal "cost_price"
      t.string  "uuid"
    end
  end
end

class Shipment < ActiveRecord::Base
end

class SubscriptionEvent < ActiveRecord::Base
  include EventSourcedRecord::Event

  serialize :data

  event_type :creation do
    attributes :bottles_per_shipment, :bottles_purchased, :user_id

    validates :bottles_per_shipment, presence: true, numericality: true
    validates :bottles_purchased, presence: true, numericality: true
    validates :user_id, presence: true
  end

  event_type :change_settings do
    attributes :bottles_per_shipment

    validates :bottles_per_shipment, numericality: true
  end

  event_type :blank do
  end
end

class Subscription < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_many :subscription_events

  validates :uuid, uniqueness: true
end

class SubscriptionCalculator < EventSourcedRecord::Calculator
  events :subscription_events, :shipments

  def advance_creation(event)
    @subscription.bottles_per_shipment = event.bottles_per_shipment
    @subscription.bottles_left = event.bottles_purchased
  end

  def advance_shipment(shipment)
    @subscription.bottles_left -= shipment.num_bottles
  end
end

class BottleEvent < ActiveRecord::Base
  include EventSourcedRecord::Event

  serialize :data

  event_type :purchase do
    attributes :volume, :cost_price
  end
end

class Bottle < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_many :bottle_events

  validates :uuid, uniqueness: true
end

class BottleCalculator < EventSourcedRecord::Calculator
  events :bottle_events, :shipments

  def advance_purchase(event)
    @bottle.volume = event.volume
    @bottle.cost_price = event.cost_price
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Lanoh, also known by the alternative name Jengjeng, is an endangered aboriginal Aslian language spoken in Perak, a state of western Malaysia.

It belongs to the Senoic subfamily of languages, which also includes Sabüm (its closest language but now extinct), Semnam, Temiar and Semai, all spoken in the same state.

See also
 Lanoh people

References

External links
 RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
 Lanoh in RWAAI Digital Archive

Languages of Malaysia
Aslian languages


A significant glacier located in district of Uttarkashi, Dokriani Glacier is also called Dokriani Bamak by the locals. Originating at the northern slope of Draupadi-Ka-Danda (5600m) and Jaonli peak (6000m), it is a medium sized glacier formed by two cirques. Dokriani Glacier spanning around 5km terminates at an elevation of 3,800 m above sea level. This majestic natural wonder melts and gives birth to a stream known as Dingad. The stream further meets numerous rivulets on its way, and finally merges into the very pious, River Bhagirathi near Bukki Village.
The trek to Dokriani Glacier is an enchanting one as it takes one through serene meadows and pro-glacial lakes situated 2km below the snout of the glacier. Dokriani Glacier is easily accessible, Bukki Village being the starting point of the trek. The trail to Dokriani Glacier features a mix of small and big streams, several ridges and a combination of rhododendron, pine, oak and deodar forests. The sight of the Gujjar huts is also worth witnessing on the way to the glacier.
Seasons like summer and autumn serve as the perfect time to explore the enigmatic beauty of this glacier. The most popular haunt for mountain lovers and enthusiastic trekkers, Dokriani Glacier offers the most ecstatic views of the snow covered peaks and an experience of a lifetime to ardent roamers.


CONSTANT was contracted in 2018 to create a unique, customized 8-hour training for new City Emergency Managers in the Los Angeles County Operational Area. This training was developed at the behest of the Disaster Management Area Coordinators of Areas C, D, and E in Los Angeles County. The training outlines key roles and responsibilities in the phases of response, recovery, preparedness, and mitigation. The training materials developed include a "Toolbox" resource compilation to help new city emergency managers identify key resources and training goals for their first year. The course content covers topics such as grant funding, local requirements and regulations, resource request processes, communication systems, and existing partner networks.
In addition to creating the course content, CONSTANT also conducted a pilot delivery of the course with new and existing city emergency managers from throughout the County, to collect feedback and improve the course overall before implementation. The course will continue to be made available through the DMACs and will continue to assist new city emergency managers in Los Angeles County as they navigate the complex world of emergency management.


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LA Fire Department shutting down rescue units
August 4, 2009 at 12:00 a.m.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has begun shutting down rescue units and eliminating paramedic field supervisors as part a cost- cutting plan expected to increase emergency response time, it was reported today.
The plan goes into full effect Wednesday, when 15 fire trucks and six ambulances are pulled out of service daily on a rotating basis citywide, according to an article on the Los Angeles Times' Web site.
Firefighters assigned to those units will be used to staff vacancies, which for years have been filled by calling in other employees on overtime.
As part of the effort to close a $56.5 million budget shortfall, three additional ambulances in Sylmar, Hollywood and East Hollywood were indefinitely taken out of service on Sunday, The Times reported. Staffed by firefighters for 12-hour periods, those ambulances were used to free up busy paramedic ambulances by responding to lower-level emergencies.
Also eliminated indefinitely were three slots for captains who supervise paramedics in the field and serve as emergency room liaisons, according to The Times.
"You're going to compromise care for a lot of people and you're potentially going to kill some people," Bill Ramsey, a 30-year department paramedic, told the newspaper.
The Fire Department must still come up with an estimated $13 million in budget cuts to cover its shortfall.
City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, chairman of the budget and finance committee, said in remarks reported by The Times that the city's financial situation is so dire that there's no guarantee Los Angeles will have $13 million in reserves to avoid the cuts. But he dismissed comments about people dying as "scare tactics."


Security Council Open Debate on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security, July 2015.
Seychelles, Haiti, Bahamas, Dominican Rep., Jamaica, Barbados, Maldives, Bermuda, Tonga, Solomon Is., Samoa, Palau, Marshall Is.
Samoa does not have a recent history of conflict.


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Home / Doctors / Dr. Kosygan K P
Dr. Kosygan K P
Consultant Trauma & Orthopedic Surgeon, Apollo
Dr. Kosygan K P has more than 25 years of experience in the field of Orthopedics. He is proficient in a wide range of orthopedic procedures. He completed his MBBS, MSc in Orthopedics, and MCh in Orthopedics from Madras Medical College, Chennai, and achieved university rank in Orthopedic Surgery. He has acquired FRCS in Trauma and Orthopedics from Glasgow, UK. He has done training and consultancy in orthopedic surgery from the UK. He is a member of the British Orthopedic Association, British Association of Computer and Surgery, American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, and Tamil Nadu Medical Council. He has published more than 11 papers in various medical journals.
Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at South West London Orthopedic Centre, Epsom, London, UK (1998 - 2010)
Consultant at Apollo Spectra, Alwarpet, Chennai
Consultant at Synapse Pain and Spine Clinic, Besant Nagar, Chennai
MBBS from Madras Medical College, Chennai (1992)
MSc (Orthopedics) from Madras Medical College, Chennai (1995)
MCh (Orthopedics) from Madras Medical College, Chennai (1998)
FRCS (Trauma & Orthopedics) from Royal College of Surgeons, Glasgow (2005)
Senior clinical fellow at South west London Elective Orthopedic Centre, Epsom, UK
Research fellow at Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland
University Topper in Orthopedic Surgery
Primary total knee replacements
Primary total hip replacements
Revision total hip replacements
Infected total hip and knee replacements
Revision total knee replacements
Developmental dysplasia of the hip
Complex tumor reconstruction of the hip and knee
Unicompartmental (partial) knee replacements
Direct anterior approach to total hip replacements


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Sources: Taba Attacks Planned Outside of Egypt a Year Ago
By Al Hayat
Al Hayat newspaper reports according to "informed Egyptian sources" that the Egyptian authorities received information confirming that the Taba attacks were planned a year ago outside the country. The sources said intelligence indicated that a number of fundamentalists living abroad were in contact with Egyptians in the country through methods that included the internet to plan for the attack. Bedouins in Sinai admitted they had sold explosives to an Egyptian, who reportedly waited for the non-Egyptian attackers to arrive and carry out the attacks using stolen cars.
Sharon Agrees to Establish Likud Team to Consider Referendum
By Ha'aretz & Israel Faxx News Services
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected a fresh call by Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to hold a referendum, Israel Radio reported Monday, but the prime minister agreed to establish a Likud faction committee to examine all possible aspects surrounding a disengagement referendum, in the event one is held. Sharon stressed his continued opposition to such a referendum and said he would present the Knesset with a disengagement bill next Monday, devoid of any references to a referendum. A vote on the bill is expected next Tuesday.
The idea to assemble such a committee was presented by Knesset member Gideon Sa'ar, a staunch supporter of a referendum. According to Sa'ar's proposal, the Chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Michael Eitan will head the team. Other proposed committee members are Likud MKs Gilad Erdan and Roni Bar-On. Sharon requested that Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin also be included in the committee.
The committee will examine all aspects surrounding a disengagement referendum; whether the results of such a ballot would be binding or not; whether a referendum would require a 51-percent majority, or a greater majority. Upon completing its work, the committee will present its finding to Sharon. A decision on the establishment of such a committee was not reached at Monday's Likud faction meeting and the faction will continue to discuss the issue in the future.
Sharon met with members of his Likud faction Monday afternoon, for talks on that possible referendum. Finance Minister Netanyahu said, "We are under threat of a schism in the party." "There are elements [working for a split] within the party and in the public that should not be underestimated."
Sharon has argued that a referendum on the disengagement could undermine and delay the planned pullout from Gaza, but a majority of Likud members, including seven other members of Sharon's coalition, are expected to back the referendum.
Sharon's government survived three no confidence proposals in the Knesset plenum on Monday. Two proposals, presented by Labor and Shas, were tied, with 54 MKs voting for the proposals, and 54 MKs opposing them. No-confidence proposals require a 51-vote majority to topple a government. A third no-confidence proposal presented by Arab parties over the IDF's raid in Gaza was defeated by the coalition.
In a related story, the Justice Ministry announced that settlers evacuated from their homes in the West Bank or Gaza Strip would not have to pay tax on their compensation money, THE MARKER reported. The average compensation package for a family is $200,000, and those who agree to move to the Galilee or the Negev desert would receive an extra payment of approximately $10,000.
According to the bill, anyone who owns property by the cut-off date of June 6, 2004 would be eligible for compensation, and would have up to three years to claim the money from the time that they were evacuated. The bill also includes a clause stating that settlers who oppose the disengagement would not be eligible for supplementary compensation
Karine-A Munitions Ship Commander Sentenced to 25 Years
The Erez military court on Monday sentenced to 25 years in jail Omar Acawi, a colonel in the Palestinian Authority naval police who commanded the Karine-A, a munitions ship seized by Israeli commandos in January 2002 while on its way into PA territory.
Two other crewmen caught onboard, Riad Abdallah and Ahmed Kharis, were sentenced to 17 years in jail. The men were arrested on Jan. 3 2002 when Israeli navy commandos stormed the munitions ship in the Red Sea on its way from Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was loaded with tons of weapons, including 50-mile range rockets, 122mm mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles and explosives, all manufactured in Iran.
The three were also accused of involvement in other attempts to smuggle weapons into the PA, including in the smuggling of weapons onboard the Santorini, a ship seized by IDF froces in May 2001. A fourth man arrested onboard the Karine-A was released earlier this year in a prisoner exchange with Hizbullah. The IDF distributed the arms confiscated onboard the Karine-A to its units, which use them for special training.
UN, Rights Group: Israel Violates International Law by Destroying Palestinian Homes
By VOA News
The United Nations and a leading human rights group said Monday that Israel has violated international law by destroying Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip. In the report, Human Rights Watch said the evidence strongly suggests that Israel has exaggerated threats to justify demolitions in southern Gaza.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch says Israel's army has demolished the homes of 16,000 Palestinians in the Gaza town of Rafah over the past four years. The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said much of the recent destruction in northern Gaza is a "gross violation" of international humanitarian law. Israel said demolitions in southern Gaza disrupt arms smuggling and operations in northern Gaza stop rocket fire into Israel.
The Gaza offensive that ended Friday led to the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians and three Israelis. Monday, Israeli troops shot and killed four Palestinian men in separate incidents in and around the northern Gaza Strip. Israel Radio reported Israeli troops shot and killed two men who managed to slip across the fenced and heavily guarded border from the Gaza Strip.
95,000 Identity Cards Lost Last Year
According to Knesset Interior Committee officials, 95,000 identity cards were lost last year in addition to the 30,000 cards reported stolen. The numbers have police concerned - realizing in many cases, the cards make their way to PA residents seeking entry into pre-1967 Green Line Israel. There is also a sizable market for the identity cards among the many illegal foreign workers in Israel.
For a number of years, the country has been speaking about moving over to a computerized smart identity card that would contain a chip storing personal data. The tender for producing the card was awarded to HP which began manufacture of the first million, but was cut short after an appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the tender which awarded the contract.
Security agencies are particularly anxious to move over to smart cards which would be significantly more difficult to forge, seeking to abandon the outdated laminated photo identity which can be reproduced easily using a PC and a color printer.


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MuseumsKidsBattery Park CityDowntownFinancial District
The Skyscraper Museum. Photo by Julienne Schaer for NYCgo
The Skyscraper Museum: Where Kids Build on Their Love for NYC
5/11/18 - By Eti Bonn-Muller
Nestled in an intimate gallery space in Battery Park City, amid the soaring structures that comprise Lower Manhattan, the little-known Skyscraper Museum offers insight into the ever-evolving New York cityscape. While the technical information that accompanies its exhibits is geared toward adults, even the littlest urbanites can appreciate the engaging oversize photographs, historic maps, and detailed models of buildings in their world-famous backyard and beyond.
There are also STEM-inspired lessons and workshops for NYC kids as they learn what it takes to create one of those wow-worthy skyscrapers.
One might expect a museum in New York dedicated solely to skyscrapers to be as colossal as its namesake. However, the Skyscraper Museum's entire exhibition space fits on the ground floor of a 38-story condo tower that also houses the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The space is divided into two galleries that total 5,000 square feet. The main one is devoted to objects in the museum's permanent collection, while a smaller one rotates special exhibitions.
Although the museum focuses on the celebrities of the New York skyline, such as the Empire State Building, it also highlights notable A-listers from around the world, like Dubai's dazzling Burj Khalifa. In addition, the museum displays information on the history of high-rise construction in general, including the debate over which city can claim the world's first skyscraper (Chicago or New York?). Here, visitors can peruse a list of buildings worldwide that stand 100 stories or higher, learn how One World Trade Center won the title of "Tallest Building in North America," and view statistics for skyscraper size in terms of floor area ("super jumbos" take up a whopping 4 million square feet). The facts and figures can be dizzying. Yet the museum's cozy size and welcoming staff make a family visit both manageable and fun.
RELATED: New Spyscape Museum Opens in Midtown Manhattan
Children create their own architectural wonder inspired by the museum's exhibits and the real-life towers beyond.
The best time to drop by with little ones is on a Saturday morning when every two weeks the museum offers hands-on family programming based on the principles of urbanism, architecture, and engineering. The day I visited with my 4- and 6-year-old girls, the theme was "Trash Towers," through which we explored the topic of recycling.
After reviewing the importance of recycling and learning that even skyscrapers can be made of recycled materials, the kids were provided with flattened cardboard boxes, empty plastic water bottles, bubble wrap, and the like, all repurposed from the museum's office bins. The children then constructed their own eco-friendly architectural masterpieces with brightly colored tape, Elmer's glue, and structural support from their eagerly hovering grown-ups. Afterward, everyone delighted in spotting familiar buildings in the galleries on their own.
RELATED: Top Things to Do in the Financial District for Kids and Families
The family programs begin before the museum opens to the public.
One special aspect of these programs is that participants have the entire space to themselves. The museum opens to the public at noon, but the family program starts at 10:30am. So instead of being cordoned off in a separate room, as is the norm at other museums, the kids are invited to sit at tables erected just for the event, right in the middle of the sleek main SOM-designed gallery, which itself features high, mirrored ceilings and a shimmery silver floor. With no other visitors to disturb, the little ones can engage in happy chatter as they focus on the subject at hand, all the while surrounded by inspiring images of steel-and-concrete wonders. Activities can range from gallery scavenger hunts to bridge-building challenges, to blueprint-style sidewalk art.
Get ready to build your own skyscrapers! Photo by Matthew Pinto for The Skyscraper Museum
Each family program is tailored to a specific age group, which varies with each biweekly offering, so be sure to check online or call in advance of your visit. Tickets for these programs are $5 per child and free for their accompanying grown-ups. Families may stay and enjoy the exhibits afterward. The programs are listed as starting at 10:30am, but a small window of time pads the beginning when kids can color while waiting for the group to assemble.
The Skyscraper Museum is located at 39 Battery Place in Battery Park City and is open Wednesday-Sunday, 12-6pm. General admission is $5, students and seniors are $2.50, and children under 12 are free. The museum also offers gallery tours during the week. While there are no age restrictions for the tours, the material is advanced, so kids may not be engaged in the same way as on a Saturday.
Little New Yorkers often take their ginormous surroundings for granted. A visit to this museum may just remind them to look up and appreciate the urban marvels that scrape our skies. Find more great NYC museums for children in our Museums, Art, and Gallery Guide.
Photos by the author unless otherwise noted
Skyscraper Museum
39 Battery Place
Battery Park City with Kids: Best Things to Do in this Manhattan Nabe New NYC Spyscape Museum Offers Global Spy Action for Kids NYC's Financial District with Kids: 30 Fun Things To Do Best Kid-Friendly Museums in Northern New Jersey


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Guaidó's run at risk as Venezuela's opposition pulls support
Andreina Itriago Acosta
Bloomberg • December 20, 2022
Juan Guaido, president of the National Assembly, who swore himself as the leader of Venezuela, speaks during a session of the National Assembly commemorating the sixty-fourth anniversary ending a military dictatorship, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 23, 2022. (Carolina Cabral/Bloomberg)
Venezuelan opposition political parties are moving to ditch Juan Guaidó as head of their so-called interim government, which would mark the end of a U.S.-backed strategy that has failed to force out President Nicolás Maduro.
At least two of the four main opposition parties plan to propose replacing Guaidó with a committee of lawmakers, according to a joint proposal seen by Bloomberg and five people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Leaders from those parties are set to make the proposal Thursday during a session of the opposition's National Assembly, according to two of the people. Guaidó convened the session to make his own pitch to extend his term for another year. It is set to expire on Jan. 5.
If lawmakers withdraw their support, it will bring to a close a futile attempt at fostering regime change that began four years ago when the opposition and an international coalition - led by the Trump administration - coalesced around Guaidó as the interim president. Guaidó's shadow government had the backing of dozens of western governments, which reasoned he was the rightful leader because Maduro rigged the vote to win re-election in 2018.
But Guaidó, 39, never wielded any real power in Venezuela and he has lost the backing of all but a few foreign governments, with European countries dropping their recognition and newly elected leftist leaders in Latin America moving to re-establish ties with Maduro. At home, his support among the opposition has dwindled to smaller groups and the Popular Will party, of which he was formerly a member.
Popular Will lawmaker Ismael Garcia said the National Assembly would be breaking Venezuelan law if it assumes the interim government's responsibilities. He also warned that they would be giving Guaidó's head to Maduro "on a silver platter," and that the international community wouldn't recognize such a decision.
The Biden administration has made clear that it will continue to support the interim government in Venezuela regardless of what form it takes, according to a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified without permission to speak publicly.
In an email response to questions, a State Department spokesperson said, "the United States recognizes Interim President Guaidó. We cannot speculate on future events."
It's unclear whether a fourth major Venezuelan party, Democratic Action, will support Guaidó or the proposal to end his tenure. Unlike the other parties, which will vote in a bloc, Democratic Action lawmakers will decide individually, according to one of the people. A spokesperson for the party didn't respond to questions seeking comment.
Guaidó didn't respond to messages seeking comment. In a tweet Monday, he said the continuity of the National Assembly and the interim government were "essential" to implement a humanitarian agreement that was agreed to by the opposition and the government in November.
Spokespeople for Justice First and New Era - which are backing the proposal to ditch Guaidó - didn't respond to messages seeking comment.
Henrique Capriles, a former presidential candidate for the Justice First party, on Monday urged the opposition to withdraw their support for Guaidó. "Do not allow yourselves to be blackmailed," Capriles said at a press conference in Caracas.
Under the proposal, a committee of opposition lawmakers would continue to push for democratic change and be granted the power to oversee foreign assets currently under Guaidó's control, "thus eliminating the interim government and all its entities," the seven-page document says.
Among the assets that still remain under the interim government's control are U.S. oil refiner Citgo Holding Inc. and at least $1 billion worth of gold stored in the Bank of England. Under a separate proposal, the National Assembly would be authorized to use funds held in foreign bank accounts to pay some opposition costs, such as for the ad-hoc corporate boards that manage the assets. A five-member council would be established to manage the funds, according to a draft of the document seen by Bloomberg.
President Joe Biden's administration has quietly moved to open channels directly with Maduro, sending envoys to Caracas twice this year, carrying out a prisoner exchange in October and lifting some sanctions. It granted a license to allow Chevron Corp. to pump more oil in the country.
Washington has backed talks between the opposition and the government, which restarted last month with an agreement to unlock billions of dollars in frozen funds for the humanitarian plan, which would rebuild schools, repair the electricity grid and buy vaccines and medications. The opposition and State Department aim to eventually use the talks to win concessions from Maduro, including guarantees for future elections.
Opposition parties are holding primaries next year to choose a single nominee to run against the government's candidate, likely Maduro. Guaidó is widely expected to run in the primaries but has yet to announce his candidacy.
Bloomberg's Nicolle Yapur and Eric Martin contributed to this report.
previous coverage
After political blowback, US pauses talks with Venezuela to replace oil from Russia


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The quaint coastal town of Cape Isle, South Carolina, is the perfect spot for Summer Foster when she escapes her abusive husband.
Finally able to live her dream of owning a bakery, Summer begins the task of rebuilding her life, making sure there is no room for romance or relationships, because in her experience they only lead to trouble. However, when Grant Hamilton, who has served as a Marine for the last ten years, crosses her path, the chance encounter has them both rethinking their futures, as there is no denying the magnetic pull they feel towards each other.
When Summer's past returns to haunt her, will Grant help Summer pick up the scattered pieces of her life, or will they all fall apart?
When I was left to raise my daughter alone, I decided dating just wasn't worth it. I never wanted my daughter to experience the kind of heartbreak only a man can give you and I didn't have the time, until Nicholas Sinclaire came walking into my life with his charming smile and his mischievous eyes. I just wish I would have known how it was going to end.
I knew she was it for me the moment I met her, but I had to leave. I had one more tour to do overseas and then I could come home to her for good. Little did we know, I wouldn't come back the same man. I was damaged beyond repair, so I pushed I them away and hurt them. It didn't take me long to realize the mistake I had made. Now, I will stop at nothing to get them back in my life, but will Katie want my Damaged Pieces?
"Allie Able is a romance writer, who tries to juggle her time between being a mother, a wife and an author. Allie was raised in a small town in Mississippi and now resides in Georgia. Reading and writing romance has always been her first love. She decided to pursue her dreams of becoming a writer full-time, when the characters dancing around in her head wouldn't stop demanding her attention. Now she can be found sitting at her desk, feeding her coffee addiction, as she creates her love stories, that are sweet with a touch of spice"


18 MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY • DECEMBER 2013 that assessed the ability to count, to tell which of two numbers is larger and to do basic calculations.
They found a correlation between the infants' scores for early number sense and later mathematical abilities (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online Oct. 21).
n Personality is a key factor in health-care use, according to a study led by University of Rochester scientists. Researchers surveyed 1,074 older adults about their thoughts, feelings and behaviors, such as whether they laugh easily, are courteous to others, get into arguments easily, feel inferior or like to be around people. They then looked at which costly health-care services participants used over two years, including emergency room visits, hospital stays, home-based skilled nursing and therapist care. The researchers found correlations between several personality traits and health-care service use. For example, people who scored high in neuroticism were 24 percent more likely to visit the ER and more than twice as likely to spend time in a nursing home for long-term care as individuals low in neuroticism ( The Milbank Quarterly, September).
In the study, 48 children ages 9 to 10 memorized names and locations on a map, either only by studying the information or by being tested on the material as they studied. Half of the children scored in the top 30 percent of their age group on a test measuring aerobic fitness, while the other half scored in the lowest 30 percent. When asked to recollect the information, children who were fitter performed better than those who were not as fit.
The difference between the high-fitness and low-fitness groups was also stronger when the initial learning was performed by studying alone than when testing and study were interspersed (PLOS ONE, Sept. 11).
Children who were fitter performed better on memory tests than those who were not as fit.


Tottenham played without its storscorer Harry Kane, but it meant nothing when they got the visit of Borussia Dortmund on Wembley. Players like Son, Vertonghen and Eriksen were playing at times with poor Dortmund in tonight's åttendedelsfinale in the Champions League.
- Two good teams before the break. A very good team after the break, said Viasports expert commentator Lars Tjernås about what he saw at Wembley.
Tottenham struggled through the group stage in the Champions League, where they took on with the distress and hardly after a draw in the last game against Barcelona. But in the playoffs they're given the best possible start.
- They never did let dortmund get a second of peace, and fully deserved the victory, of course, said Viasports football-expert Rune Brathset after the match.
the Match started somewhat gently, but Tottenham was probably the best team from the starting blocks. Lucas Moura had a great chance when he got a good hit on the volley. Keeper Bürki so pretty played out, but the ball landed a half meter outside.
But Tottenham played with high risk through the fight, and Pulisic picked up the ball in the field to Tottenham. The american got a little obliquely hold against the keeper Lloris, and thus ended up in the shot right at the keeper.
The break had both teams had their chances. Periodically, it was relatively quiet, but both teams glimpse for with great attack.
A fantastic post from Vertonghen hit perfectly on the Son of her foot. South Koreaneren do as he has done many times this season - he scores goals.
- Fantastic player. He put down a tremendously good effort. Simply super-important when he takes the role, while Harry Kane is hurt, " said football expert Morten Langli about the Son in Viasports studio.
And it is far from the first time the Son will score against Dortmund in their karrière. He has in fact scored nine times against the germans in the past. Eight of these goals came and the stones for his former employers Bayer Leverkusen.


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Registration for spring is open at most locations NOW!
***Registration for classes offered through the city of Newport Beach (CYC, Marina Park, Cliff Drive Park, Carroll Beek) opens March 7th.
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