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Gustavo Enrique Garrido
Gustavo Garrido is Senior Partner, co-founder of Estudio Garrido Abogados, and its current Managing Partner. Previously he was partner and member of the Executive Committee of a traditional Buenos Aires law firm. He worked as a foreign associate at the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell. In 1993 he also worked for several months at Studio Chiomenti in Rome.
He specializes in commercial law and particularly in mergers and acquisitions, having obtained an LL.M. from Duke University School of Law.
He is an invited professor of Entrepreneurship at Universidad de San Andrés and member of the Evaluating Committee of the Naves Program at IAE Business School and of Endeavor. Garrido is also a successful entrepreneur, and participates as a venture capital investor in companies such as Otro Mundo (brewery), Biosima (biotech), Centaurus (geothermal), Salix (forestry), Invertir On Line (online trading), Jardines de Roosevelt (real estate) among others.
He has been a Member of the Board of Directors of the local companies of several private equity funds such as Advent International Corporation, Eton Park and HM Capital.
He has been a board member of the Toronto Stock Exchange company Estrella Energy Services, and he currently is Director of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange company Celulosa Argentina and of other closely held companies or argentine subsidiaries of foreign multinationals in the internet, real estate, forestry, pharmaceutical and biodiesel sectors.
He was the President of the Geothermal Committee at the Argentine Renewable Energy Chamber, and in such capacity he was drafting the argentine geothermal law.
In the last years, he was recognized by the specialized media as a mergers & acquisitions expert, and as such has been cited and interviewed in many press articles.
He is also a well known art collector, with particular focus in argentine figurative art. Because of his know how in this field he was retained by the Government of the City of Buenos Aires to draft the bill for the Art District.
Download full CV
Email: geg@garridolawfirm.com
Languages: Spanish, English and Italian
Diego Martín Garrido
Enrique Garrido
Raúl Granillo Ocampo (h)
Patricia Claudia Maccaferri
Lucas Granillo Ocampo
María Marta Cancio
Jorge Daniel Caputo
Justo Lynch


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AGSM Scholar, Professor & ARC Future Fellow
Why RBA's forward guidance on interest rate policy is a dangerous game
Vital Signs | 13 July 2021
The Reserve Bank Governor's 'forward guidance' approach runs the risk of being unable to adapt to changing circumstances, says UNSW Business School's Richard Holden
There's an idea in economics that policymakers need at least one tool for each target at which they are aiming. Fewer tools than targets will mean not achieving all goals.
This is known as the Tinbergen Rule (named for the famed Dutch economist Jan Tinbergen, who shared the first Nobel prize of economics in 1969). It has particular resonance when considering the plight of Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Lowe and the RBA are implicitly or explicitly responsible for an array of economic policy targets. I count at least five: inflation; unemployment; GDP growth; residential property prices; and the global value of the Australian dollar.
Some of these targets overlap (such as unemployment and GDP growth), some are instrumental in serving the others (such as the level of the dollar), and some are self-imposed (such as residential property prices). But it's clear all of these things factor into RBA thinking about monetary policy.
Historically the RBA has only had one available policy tool – short-term interest rates (the "cash rate") – to deal with all these policy targets. That makes the central bank governor's job hard and frustrating at times. For example, before the "Frydenberg pivot" at this year's budget, Lowe had been pleading with and pushing the federal government to use fiscal policy more aggressively – that is, by spending more on important areas.
This led to tensions between the central bank and the government – significant enough to warrant a kind of summit in May 2019 to project an image of cooperation. Even if it did have the feeling of a North Korean hostage video.
The RBA is trying to artificially create higher inflation in line with its target range of 2-3 per cent. Image: Shutterstock
It's not just what they do, but what they say
Central banks have gained another policy tool with the advent of so-called "quantitative easing" – whereby they can influence longer-term interest rates through buying longer-dated bonds. It has also long been appreciated that what central bankers say is also important. Their statements inform the public and move markets. So credibly conveying information provides another policy instrument.
But there's a wrinkle here. It's hard for central bankers to communicate what they know credibly. Why? Suppose a central banker says something that is both credible and precise. Markets will believe it and know what it means for future policies.
But this very fact gives the central bank a reason to lie, to move markets in ways consistent with its goals. Identifying this "time-consistency problem" helped Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott win the 2004 Nobel prize for economics. The tension often leads to central bankers being almost comically vague. Alan Greenspan, the US Federal Reserve chair from 1987 to 2006, made this into an art.
Read more: In the battle over interest rates, it is unwise to bet against the RBA
An exercise in 'forward guidance'
Yet in the past year, Lowe has tried to be anything but vague. In a number of statements, he has said clearly the RBA won't raise the cash rate until 2024.
Why has he done this? Because he wants to affect "inflation expectations" and hence actual inflation. Keeping rates low increases the likelihood of inflation. If folks think higher inflation is coming, that will affect how they act now. It could lead, for example, to demands for higher wage rises, which in turn would lead to higher inflation.
So Lowe is trying to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. He wants higher inflation, in line with the bank's target range of 2-3 per cent. Imagine there are two equilibria: one where everyone thinks inflation will be 1 per cent, act like it, and inflation turns out to be about 1 per cent; and another where everyone thinks inflation will be about 2.5 per cent, act like it, and it turns out to be so.
What Lowe is doing is known as "forward guidance" – telling the market what he plans to do for the next few years to shift from the lower equilibrium to the higher one.
Forward guidance creates a self-fulfilling prophecy – if people believe higher inflation is coming, they will act in a way that results in higher inflation. Image: Shutterstock
A dangerous game
In one sense, that's very clever. In another, it's pretty dangerous.
For one thing, it could lead to inflation higher than the bank's target. This happened all too often in the 1970s and 1980s.
But perhaps the greatest danger facing Lowe is that by telling markets definitively what he plans to do until 2024, he risks the RBA not adapting to changing circumstances or undermining his credibility. We saw that tension at play this week in the aftermath of the RBA's Tuesday board meeting.
The direct outcome of the meeting itself was uneventful. The cash rate remained unchanged, and the RBA's bond-buying program was ever so slightly wound back.
Read more: Why any talk of raising interest rates is a huge mistake
But then Lowe took the highly unusual step of holding a press conference. At it he was a lot less definitive, noting the economy's recovery had "widened the range of plausible scenarios for the cash rate": This means that probabilities have shifted and the decision to adjust the approach to the yield target reflects this shift in probabilities.
This underlines the difficulty with forward guidance. Can a central banker really tie themselves to the mast and set the tiller to a fixed course? As famous US baseball manager Casey Stengel once said: "I always heard it couldn't be done, but sometimes it don't always work."
Clear enough?
Richard Holden is a Professor of Economics at UNSW Business School, director of the Economics of Education Knowledge Hub @UNSWBusiness, co-director of the New Economic Policy Initiative, and President-elect of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. His research expertise includes contract theory, law and economics, and political economy. A version of this post first appeared on The Conversation.
COVID-19 Regulation Government Economy Markets Banking Policy
RBA governor Philip Lowe's dangerous game on interest rates

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Drageman Dey is een evenement in Suriname dat recht doet aan de kistdragers tijdens een begrafenis, 'dragemans' genaamd. De dag wordt op de eerste zondag vanaf 20 september gehouden.

Achtergrond
Het evenement wordt vooral in stand gehouden door creolen op de plantages en gaat gepaard met een showdag. Dansende dragemans zijn geen verplicht element tijdens een begrafenis, maar zijn er alleen op verzoek van de nabestaanden.

De dansen tijdens het dragen van de kist zijn volgens het ritueel schijnbewegingen om te voorkomen dat de geest van de overledene de dragers zou kunnen volgen. Het maakt deel uit van meerdere Surinaamse begrafenisrituelen met uiteindelijk het doel om de ziel van de overledene vrij te maken. De dansen en de muziek ook ervaren als een soort rouwverwerking voor de nabestaanden.

Geschiedenis
Het evenement werd in 2003 voor het eerst gehouden in Coronie. Het was toen een initiatief van Stanley Faria en Eduard Summerville. Er werd alleen een Dinari Dey voor vrouwen gehouden. Om ook met een dag voor mannen te komen, is toen Drageman Dey ontwikkeld. Tijdens het evenement worden shows gegeven door draaggroepen die gesteund worden door een achterban die meegekomen is naar het evenement. Er zijn meer  dan tien dansgroepen die elk vijf minuten lang optreden. Er is muzikale begeleiding bij van een bazuinkoor.

Sinds de organisatie in 2015 in handen lag van Hodi Mihi Cras Tibi (heden ik, morgen gij) is het evenement in populariteit toegenomen. In dat jaar werd een wedstrijdelement aan het evenement toegevoegd. In 2019 werden de jurering met prijzen weer afgeschaft.

Galerij

Zie ook
 Lijst van evenementen in Suriname

Evenement in Suriname
Cultuur in Suriname
Religie in Suriname
Uitvaart

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Auckland Indian association is an Indian society association, which offers information and briefs the public regarding the Indian society. The organization hosts a number of public functions for the people. The function ranges from concerts, expos, dance contests and lots more. For the sake of children, Sunday schools are offered by the association, in which the Indian language Gujarathi is taught to the kids. Adult lessons are also educated by the organization.
New Zealand Indian Central Association Inc.


When you go for a hunting ranch rather than the nearby woods, the experience will be vastly improved with your companions. You will find that these exceptional hunting places are overseen by experts that have special information about nature and appreciate hunting too. When you access such services, you can choose between being guided through the whole hunting process or going into it by yourself. Just recall that while a ranch is intended for hunting fun, remember that each ranch is distinctive so you have to settle on a savvy decision. You are going to find different arrangements in the sleeping areas, food, hunting gear and many other things; so, ensure that you start by understanding what you are looking for in a hunting ranch. After you know your preferences, you are going to comprehend how to get the perfect match. You have to investigate different choices as you seek to make the best decision.
Considering hunting involves weapons, the security status of the ranch that you are interested in is of crucial importance. A simple method to find out about this is to connect with the wildlife branch of the state you are going to. Since it is the administrative expert in charge of issuing hunting licenses, they will have nitty-gritty data on the security status of the hunting ranch that you are keen on. Don't forget to look for a ranch that you are certain is going to address all your matters appropriately. A decent illustration is a point at which you are going on a hunting trip with your better half or sweetheart, getting an area that offers extra administrations is ideal. The farm ought to be efficient and set up to give you and everybody in your gathering everything they require. The ranch ought to likewise give the sort and level of administrations you find generally essential. A good example is those people that like hunting with a horse; they would desire a ranch that have horses for hunting for their clients as well as a guide. For those interested in staying at the cabin that is near to where they are going to hunt, choosing a hunting ranch that also fulfills this desire is imperative; they also have to be able to give them the transport and nourishment that they need.
Before procuring the services of a hunting ranch, you have to comprehend whether you can manage the costs associated considering the tough state of the economy. It is better to compare various potential outcomes to ascertain that you get various services according to the money that you possess. The little effort you apply in doing your research using the above idea is going to assist you to settle in the best. With that, the whole chasing hunting experience would be a more charming encounter.


Mattress Mattress carries a wide variety of mattress types that can accommodate any budget or sleep need. Buying a new mattress involves much more than just laying on one. Their materials, as well as the unique benefits each kind of mattress provides, play a large role in improving the quality of your sleep and well-being.
A terrific mattress is one that provides good circulation and proper support to the muscles and spine, allowing for a "restful" sleep. It should alleviate work and stress to the discs and muscles in your back, which can help with back pain as well as numerous other health issues.
As today's #1 choice in coil innerspring systems, pocket coils are individually wrapped coils that are joined in the centre. This unique construction provides less motion transfer between partners and superior contouring to the shape of your body. The result is better circulation and support with reduced tossing and turning, pressure point contact, and sleep interruptions.
Latex foam produced from the sap of the rubber tree is an eco-friendly and biodegradable product. This type of foam provides pressure relief as well as superior support for your body. Its temperature-neutral and resilient nature provides a unique sleeping experience. Mattresses constructed entirely of latex are very durable, and do not require rotating like other traditional mattresses.
Memory foam is a synthetic-based foam invented in the late 1960s by NASA to reduce the effects of G-Force suffered by astronauts during take-off and re-entry. Today, it can be found in a variety of products. Memory foam mattresses provide exceptional pressure point relief, and its ability to cradle the body makes it a favourite for some individuals.
Quality sleep shouldn't be limited to your bedroom at home. If you like to journey out in the RV and get a great sleep while on vacation, we can help.
Mattress Mattress offers a variety of mattresses in standard or custom RV sizes. Queen size mattresses often found in recreational vehicles such as 5th wheels, travel trailers, and motor homes are shorter than conventional queens. Standard queen-size RV mattresses measure 60" x 74 ½". Short king, cut-corners and other specialty sizes are also available for order.
Some people love the pressure relief and cradling effect of memory foam, but are worried about it being too hot for sleep due to its tendency to retain heat. These memory foam mattresses have cooling gel additives that alleviate the heat retention of standard memory foam.
Whether you prefer a firm or a soft mattress, a pillowtop is an excellent choice. When it comes to the ultimate in comfort, nothing beats a soft or a firm pillowtop or Euro pillowtop style mattress.
Mattress Mattress offers a variety of pillowtop models from virtually every brand we work with.
Bonnell coil inner-springs have been used in mattresses since the mid 1800's, and many of us likely grew up sleeping on one. Despite advances in mattress technology and fibres, Bonnell Coil mattresses are still a budget-conscious choice for bunk beds, spare rooms, short-term use, and motels.
Continuous coil innersprings are constructed from one continuous piece of wire, providing significant weight support and durability. These coils are a budget-conscious choice for bunk beds, spare rooms, short-term use, and motels.
We have purchased three mattresses in our thirty-five year marriage. After trying Grange and Sealy Perfect Sleeper which broke down in three months, we decided to do better research and decided that Mattress Mattress and thier Kingsdown line was our best bet. After developing a problem with the mattress in the first couple of weeks we contacted Mattress Mattress and were immediately looked after. The manufacture's rep visited our home in short order and the mattress was replaced at no cost to us which we really appreciated as we are both disabled and on fixed incomes. We would highly recommended dealing with Mattress Mattress and the Kingsdown line of mattresses. We really appreciate the integrity of both companies.
Kevin was wonderful! He was real and gave me my space. He taught me lots about mattress's that I would've never thought about before. This was my first time buying a mattress and Kevin made my experience really great! I had been to other places, but I felt uncomfortable and that the associate wasn't knowledgeable. I was also not knowledgeable so we weren't a good match. I left those places feeling disappointed; I wanted to give up and just buy one online without first trying it. I'm so happy I decided to check out one more place and I was pleasantly surprised with the staffs knowledge and friendly atmosphere.


Makes: About 6-7 dozen cookies.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer.
Beat in egg, coconut, vanilla and pineapple extract.
Mix flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture. Mix just until combined.
Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets on rack. Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on rack.


It isn't easy to combat online piracy of your valuable digital art, and it has been even harder to trace it back to the offending pirate. Chroma Shift introduces a server side Digital Rights Management system that allows content providers to embed user identification into all their JPEG images using steganography.
Steganography provides for a cutting edge Digital Rights Management (DRM) system suitable for every type of artist, and content provider, who displays graphics on the web. Chroma Shift embeds a user defined message, like the member's ID or other identifying information, into all digital images that are downloaded from a website. Unlike a watermark, steganography is virtually imperceptible to the naked eye.
Chroma Shift CEO, Alexander Fotios explains why this is ground breaking for all types of graphic artists and content producers in both the mainstream and adult industry.
"While Chroma Shift doesn't stop theft it will let you know who is leaking your content so you can immediately terminate their user account and slow the bleeding. You have the user ID of the member who leaked the content to file sharing sites or bit-torrent, embedded in the actual photo or other graphic that they downloaded from your site.
SexyFur.com and TailHeat.com have embraced Chroma Shift's PHP plug-in as their new DRM system for their member sites. Both sites have implemented the Chroma Shift plug-in, allowing their furry niche anime artists an extra layer of protection in managing their copyrighted images.
The Chroma Shift steganographic module is developed in C, for the Linux platform, and compiles into a PHP loadable module. It can therefore be accessed by a site's internal PHP scripts while providing the speed of a natively compiled program. This allows for embedded steg information to be created dynamically, directly through the website. Additionally, there are options to embed a traditional watermark to all images passed through the Chroma Shift plug-in, making the system even more customizable to the content owner.
For more information on the Chroma Shift stenography plug-in, and to try out a demonstration of how the steg embedding works, please visit the official website, www.chroma-shift.com.


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Violent and dangerous places? How do prisons come to be the way they are, and how can that change?
By RGS-IBG Managing Editor: Academic Publications September 5, 2016 September 5, 2016
Leave a Comment on Violent and dangerous places? How do prisons come to be the way they are, and how can that change?
By Dominique Moran, University of Birmingham; Jennifer Turner, University of Brighton and University of Birmingham; and Yvonne Jewkes, University of Brighton
John M Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0
The first annual report from Peter Clarke, the new Chief Inspector of Prisons warned of a 'grim situation' in England and Wales, with prisons 'unacceptably violent and dangerous places'. Nick Hardwick, the outgoing inspector had previously described the prison system as being in its worse state for a decade.
Beyond these 'violent and dangerous' prisons, these are turbulent times. New Prime Minister Theresa May removed Michael Gove as Justice Secretary, appointing Liz Truss in his place. The departure of Gove, following his prominent and controversial role in Brexit, has drawn additional attention to the criminal justice system, and its challenges in light of this new leadership. Truss says she is under 'no illusions' about the scale of the challenge.
Before the EU Referendum in the UK Gove, and the then-Chancellor George Osborne, unveiled a major prison reform programme. It included plans for 9 new prisons 'fit for purpose' in the 21st century, and closure old Victorian city centre prisons, selling sites for housing. This was a high-profile policy, championed by then-Prime Minister David Cameron, in the first speech on prison reform by a PM for twenty years, and in the Queen's Speech, as he announced the 'biggest shakeup of Britain's prison system in more than 100 years'. In the post-referendum turmoil, we wait to see how policy will shift, and how much of this momentum will be maintained.
Closely tracking the prison reform programme as it unfolded in parallel with our ESRC-funded project on prison design, we have explored the significance of prison building in relation to geographies of architecture in our recent Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers paper. The paper draws attention to non-iconic, non-utopian, banal buildings – new prisons. It argues that by attending to 'signature' buildings, architectural geographies has overlooked the critical and under-explored circumstances and contingencies of more quotidian constructions, neglecting the mundane processes of procurement, commissioning, tendering, project management and bureaucratisation. Advancing scholarship in carceral geography by considering the processes and assemblages that shape (what will become) carceral spaces, it focuses on what happens before a building takes physical form. The paper seeks to move architectural geographies more meaningfully towards a consideration of the bureaucratisation of architectural practice, as underexplored aspects of building 'events'. It calls for geographers to pay greater attention to the banal geographies of architectural assembly, and to the banalities of production more widely.
There was much to be hopeful about in Michael Gove's prison reform programme. There was a sense in which Britain had a once-in-150-years opportunity to design a new prison estate with environments that are safe and secure but also sensual and stimulating, for both inmates and staff. In detailing how prisons have been built up to now, our paper pointed out the opportunities that could be presented by working closely with architects to achieve these aims. There is policy flux around Brexit, and economic uncertainty is anticipated, and with our prisons 'in crisis', the resolve of government to follow through on prison reform will be tested.
About the authors: Dominique Moran is Reader in Carceral Geography at the University of Birmingham. Jennifer Turner is a Post Doctoral Research Associate in the School of Applied Social Science at the University of Brighton. Jennifer is also an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham. Yvonne Jewkes is Research Professor in Criminology in the School of Applied Social Science at the University of Brighton.
BBC Prisons 'in worst state for a decade', inspector warns 14 July 2015
Carceral geography: a geographical perspective on spaces and practices of incarceration
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2015-16
HM Treasury, Ministry of Justice, The Rt hon Michael Gove MP and The Rt Hon George Osborne MP Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary 9 November 2015
Moran D, Turner J and Jewkes Y 2016 Becoming big things: Building events and the architectural geographies of incarceration in England and Wales Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers doi:10.1111/tran.12140 (open access)
Wright O 2016 Queen's Speech: David Cameron to announce biggest UK prisons shakeup in more than 100 years 17 May 2016
Prison Spaces: Fear-suffused environments or potential to rehabilitate?
Tags: Architecture building events carceral geography England and Wales Prison regulation
Published by RGS-IBG Managing Editor: Academic Publications
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'First lockdown's effect on air pollution was overstated, our study reveals', by Zongbo Shi & William Bloss (… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 9 hours ago
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Last week, Apple announced two notable changes to the iMac line, available now. First, all iMacs now use Intel's new 64-bit Core 2 Duo processor, which Apple claims can deliver up to 50 percent faster performance than previous Core Duo processors. However, in testing done by PC World on PC laptops, the Core 2 Duo chip improved performance by only 5 to 10 percent over identically configured laptops with the older Core Duo chip; Macworld's benchmarks rated a 10 percent improvement. My guess is that the new iMacs with the Core 2 Duo will be faster, perhaps noticeably so in some tasks, but not so much that it would make sense to upgrade from an existing Core Duo-based iMac to a new Core 2 Duo-based model.
However, the second notable change in the iMac line may be sufficiently compelling to cause even a recent iMac purchaser to consider trading up to a new model. That's because the top-of-the-line iMac now comes with a built-in 24-inch widescreen display running at 1920 by 1200 pixels (compare that with 1440 by 900 for the 17-inch display and 1680 by 1050 for the 20-inch model). The 24-inch display also offers a wider viewing angle than the smaller displays, is brighter, and provides a higher contrast ratio than the 17-inch display (though slightly lower than the 20-inch display).
Interestingly, there are a number of other differences between the 24-inch iMac and the smaller models besides some added size and weight. The 24-inch iMac uses a faster Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics processor (or an optional Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT) in favor of the Intel GMA 950 (in the 1.83 GHz 17-inch iMac) or the ATI Radeon X1600 (in the 2.0 GHz 17-inch iMac and the 20-inch iMac). Instead of a pair of FireWire 400 ports, the 24-inch iMac features one FireWire 400 port and one FireWire 800 port. It also doubles the power of its internal digital amplifier from 12 watts in the 17- and 20-inch iMacs to 24 watts.
A Plethora of Possibilities -- Configuring an iMac is a bit more confusing than in the past, since the low-end 1.83 GHz 17-inch iMac, priced at only $1,000, can be configured only with more RAM (512 MB standard, up to 2 GB), with an Apple Remote, and with a modem. It comes standard with a Combo drive, a 160 GB hard drive, Intel GMA 950 graphics processor, and AirPort Extreme, but not Bluetooth. This basic configuration was introduced in July 2006 for education buyers (see "New iMac Replaces eMac for Education", 10-Jul-06); it's now available to anyone (and it still costs $900 for educational customers).
The 2.0 GHz 17-inch iMac ($1,200) can be upgraded to a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and comes with a 160 GB hard drive, upgradable to 500 GB. In contrast, the 20-inch ($1,500) and 24-inch ($2,000) iMacs both come with a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, upgradable to 2.33 GHz, and they both have 250 GB hard drives, with 500 GB options. All three of these models come with an 8x double-layer SuperDrive, 1 GB of RAM (upgradable to 3 GB), and built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0.
Standard equipment for all iMac models includes a built-in iSight camera, three USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire ports, Gigabit Ethernet, mini-DVI out, built-in stereo speakers, a built-in microphone, optical digital audio in/out jacks, Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and iLife '06.
Mac mini Speed Bumped -- Although the also-updated Mac mini doesn't share the iMac's switch to the Core 2 Duo chip, Apple has speed-bumped the low-end Mac, dropping the Intel Core Solo processor entirely while keeping prices at their previous level. The $800 Mac mini moves from a 1.66 GHz Core Duo processor to a 1.83 GHz Core Duo processor, and the $600 model drops its 1.5 GHz Core Solo processor in favor of a dual-core 1.66 GHz Core Duo processor. All other specs remain the same.


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1935 Janice 2022
Janice Lorraine Mullins
June 30, 1935 — February 11, 2022
Janice Lorraine Mullins, 86, of Blair, WV passed away Friday, February 11, 2022.
She was born June 30, 1935 and was a daughter of the late Julian and Elizabeth Browning. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband Carl T. Mullins; son Michael Mullins; brother David Browning; sister Shelva Browning; and one nephew Eddie Browning.
She was a retired bus driver from Logan County Board of Education.
She is survived by three children: Sherri (Brian) Basta of Aurora, OH, Carl Thomas Mullins (Laura) of Maple Heights, OH and Jim (Vickie) Mullins of Danville; six grandchildren; four great grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; two nephews; and a host of friends.
Service will be 11 a.m. Monday, February 14 at Handley Funeral Home in Danville, WV with Scotty Elswick and Ivan Puckett officiating. Burial will follow in Mullins Cemetery, Blair, WV.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Janice Lorraine Mullins, please visit our flower store.


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Crony Capitalism, Explained
July 8, 2012 July 8, 2012 Mark Noonan
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
A tiny amendment buried in the federal transportation bill to be signed today by President Barack Obama will put operators of roll-your-own cigarette operations in Las Vegas and nationwide out of business at midnight…
I had only heard of these types of operations about two months ago – a friend of mine pointed out that you can get a carton of cigarettes a lot cheaper at these places where you buy loose tobacco and cigarette papers and then "rent" the rolling machine to turn out the finished cigarettes. As a smoker, I was thinking about trying it out. Now I won't be able to – something slipped in to a bill (and what does a highway bill have to do with tobacco) has killed it off. Businesses will be shut down, people lose their jobs…why? Well the linked article notes that Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) got the item inserted in to the bill and that Senator Baucus is a major recipient of tobacco-industry donations.
But don't any of you out there get all "darn Democrats" about this – while Democrats do this sort of skullduggery more often than GOPers, Republicans do engage in it. What Baucus did was a two-fold item in favor of both Big Government and Big Corporation. Part of the reason for the cheaper price is that loose tobacco is taxed at a lower rate than tobacco in cigarettes. The other part of the reason is that the major cigarette makers were starting to feel a pinch from the competition (and that, of course also jeopardizes the government revenues from the ill-famed tobacco lawsuit settlement). Essentially, Big Government and Big Corporation go together and legislated out of existence the people and their small businesses because Big Government needs revenues and Big Corporation doesn't like competition.
And this is what is wrong with America: it is no longer governed in any way, shape or form in the interests of the people. It is actions just like this which ensured that instead of having 50 different car makers, we only had three miserably incompetent car makers, two of which needed a taxpayer bailout. It is actions like this which ensure that only a few behemoth banks run our financial system (and run it in to the ground, and then demand taxpayer bailouts). It is actions like this which shut down things like the Keystone pipeline but shovel taxpayer money at Solyndra. This is why our economy doesn't grow; why our factories are in China, our mines are in Chile and our farms are in Mexico…because Big Government and Big Corporation like it that way; it works out best for them…they see it as maximizing government revenues and Big Corporation profits.
The reason our economy doesn't work is because of nonsense like this – the people are hamstrung and essentially forbidden to do anything which might lessen government revenues or harm the profits of the corporations which currently rule the market (and donate to the office holders – Baucus has been in the Senate since 1978; and he's just dancing to his master's tune). Do we want jobs in this country? Do we want to restore the middle class? Do we want an America which makes, mines and grows most of its own things? Then we need an America where the government is prohibited from legislating out of existence legal businesses and where corporations can't buy legislation to restrict competition. An end to Crony Capitalism is necessary for the revival of America – and that means an end to Big Government, as well.
Economycrony capitalism
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44 thoughts on "Crony Capitalism, Explained"
Amazona July 8, 2012 / 1:51 am
I suggest that another problem is that of omnibus bills.
Imagine what our legal system would look like now if, for the past 100 years, every bill had to be no longer than 100 pages, had to actually be written by its sponsor(s), be accompanied by a brief explaining how and why it complied with the U.S. Constitution, and was about only one thing.
When we have a system where completely unrelated things can be lumped in together in one bill, we end up with pork barrel projects and special interest legislation because they are included in worthwhile bills that can count on a lot of support.
Mark Noonan July 9, 2012 / 12:04 am
Each bill should be no longer than 10 standard, type written pages. You really have to do that – you have to nag the government to get it to work. Winston Churchill – a man who had headed up just about every British department of government except the Foreign Office – knew how they worked. "Yes, Prime Minister" and then nothing gets done…so, simply wouldn't let them off the hook for a moment. He'd tell them – "action this day" and demand a report the next day on what happened; he'd demand the facts of a case "on a single sheet of paper". That sort of thing. You let the government do it the way it prefers and you'll get 18 million words of regulations (the Federal register) and thousand page bills which no one reads before being signed in to law.
dbschmidt July 10, 2012 / 10:58 pm
Late reply, but this is one of the goals of President Wilson when he helped Harvard law change the entire legal system of these United States.
Cluster July 8, 2012 / 8:24 am
Just the other day Bozo was claiming that the Boston Tea Party was actually a rebellion against big corporations, ie; The East India Tea Company, and not the government. So here again, we have liberals who are incapable of seeing the connection between the two. Liberals love to bash big corporate, but somehow in their small minds, big government is just great.
The other obvious problem is the length of time in government. After 34 years in Washington, do you really think Baucus is representing "the people"? There are many despots who haven't ruled that long, so this is another huge issue we need to deal with. I have been opposed to term limits before but I think it's time we implement them.
Our Lefties love wikipedia, so I went there to see what they had to say about the Boston Tea Party. They tried to claim it was about the East India Tea Company but even in wiki's own account it later admitted that the company was having some problems but the issue was taxation, which came from the British Parliament.
The Boston Tea Party (referred to in its time simply as "the destruction of the tea" or by other informal names and not celebrated until half a century later, was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it.
The Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Colonists objected to the Tea Act for a variety of reasons, especially because they believed that it violated their right to be taxed only by their own elected representatives. Protesters had successfully prevented the unloading of taxed tea in three other colonies, but in Boston, embattled Royal Governor Thomas Hutchinson refused to allow the tea to be returned to Britain. He apparently did not expect that the protestors would choose to destroy the tea rather than concede the authority of a legislature in which they were not directly represented.
The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the growth of the American Revolution. Parliament responded in 1774 with the Coercive Acts, or Intolerable Acts, which, among other provisions, closed Boston's commerce until the British East India Company had been repaid for the destroyed tea. Colonists in turn responded to the Coercive Acts with additional acts of protest, and by convening the First Continental Congress, which petitioned the British monarch for repeal of the acts and coordinated colonial resistance to them. The crisis escalated, and the American Revolutionary War began near Boston in 1775
The theme of the protest was "No taxation without representation".
The East India Tea Company did not have the power to levy taxes.
If the protest had been against the tea company the slogan might have been more like "Your tea costs too damned much" but as it was, the slogan referred to taxes.
The East India Tea Company was a monopoly and fully endorsed by the British Parliament. In fact the main crime of the rebels was that they were destroying "British Property". There was zero difference between the British Parliament and the East India Tea Company, much like there is zero difference between the Obama administration and the Green Industry.
Amazona July 8, 2012 / 12:51 pm
Yes, the company was endorsed by Parliament and the relationship was a good example of crony capitalism.
But the claim by the clown was that the Boston Tea Party was a protest against the company, when in fact it was about the taxes levied on the tea by Parliament.
Therefore the slogan, "No Taxation Without Representation" and the revolt against the Crown, not just a boycott of the East India Tea Company.
casper July 8, 2012 / 6:48 pm
"There was zero difference between the British Parliament and the East India Tea Company, much like there is zero difference between the Obama administration and the Green Industry."
Couldn't you also say there is zero difference between the Republican party and the Banking Industry, or the Republican party and the Petroleum Industry?
People like you can say anything so why not this kind of nonsense.
tiredoflibbs July 9, 2012 / 5:50 am
Ama, what drones like casper don't realize when they regurgitate such nonsense is that for the banking and petroleum industries, Democrats and Republicans almost receive equal contributions 45% and 55%.
However, that changed during the 2008 election cycle where the obAMATEUR and the Democrats received more than the Republicans – and look who received huge bailouts.
Now before you drones start chanting and regurgitating, "Bush started it", let me remind you that the program, while started under Bush, was implemented and funds distributed under OBAMATEUR.
"Green Energy" does not have that close distribution. Plus, under the bailouts for the automakers, the unions (for pensions and benefits) received plenty of bailout cash before stockholders and creditors – something without precedence!
So, casper, before you spout out nonsense – check the BIG PICTURE and the DETAILS.
neocon1 July 9, 2012 / 8:25 am
catspuke
weighs in again with his circular BS "argument" for fifth graders.
stick with teeny boppers catspuke they are sooo your level.
Cluster July 8, 2012 / 10:18 am
Off Topic: but not only is the "mandate" a tax in our wonderful new health care bill, the following is a list of all the other taxes we will have the pleasure of paying to enrich the ever growing federal bureaucracy of progressives who insist that they know how to run our lives better than we do:
Note the hike in capital gains taxes, which will really help create jobs – overseas. However, those who long for a strong mother figure in their lives; ie: liberals, don't have the gray matter to figure that one out. Also the list of these taxes is being conveniently ignored by the Obama regimes reelection team, ie; the media, which reminds of this fact:
The worst enemy to a large federal bureaucracy is an educated populace.
tiredoflibbs July 8, 2012 / 4:51 pm
I am sure you already have noted the taxes that we have already been paying on this syste and those were taxes imposed on everyone including the middle class – the class on which that obAMATEUR promised not to impose taxes to pay for his program.
The taxes the drones never acknowledged before.
Oh and just an observational fact:
Black people ARE the most racist people on the planet.
Still waiting comment from the white congressional caucus, and the Caucasians for Romney committee.
http://www.africanamericansforobama.org/
neocon1 July 8, 2012 / 11:46 am
Bonga Bonga
'Expanding Freedom': perversion 72-Year-Old Barney Frank Marries 42-Year-Old Partner Jim Ready
"Nancy Pelosi said at the reception that it was appropriate that a landmark same-sex wedding took place around the Fourth of July…"
can our government sink any lower into the slimy pit of hell?
West for VP
'You Can Call it Communism, Progressivism, Socialism, Marxism, or Statism': Rep. West Defends His '80 Communists in the House' Claim
"And you can't tell me that you're not seeing that in the United States of America right now."
neocon1 July 8, 2012 / 12:04 pm
70 avowed socialists in U.S. Congress
DSA lists members of the 111th session
http://www.wnd.com/2010/08/191605/
Ricorun July 8, 2012 / 6:09 pm
Cluster: Oh and just an observational fact:
Good thing this is just a backwater blog, 'cuz if it wasn't, and if anything like the mainstream media caught wind of a blogger like you, who is allowed to post articles on this site also posting comments like this, it really wouldn't do your cause any favors. And frankly, I don't believe you really believe what you said, and certainly not as a blanket statement — however you chose to define "black people". Watch yourself, okay?
Cluster July 8, 2012 / 6:17 pm
Thank you Rico. That was a test to gauge the reaction of some of the liberals here, but I didn't expect it coming from you. It was a provocative to be sure, but it still pales in comparison to the racist rhetoric coming from the left in the last few months including but not limited to Rep. Andre Carson's (D) Claim that tea partners want blacks to hang from trees. Funny I don't recall even a hint of outrage from you or any one else on the left re: any of that rhetoric, but this? This what fires you up?
And what's with the "Watch yourself" comment? You disgust me.
Cluster, your post also pales in comparison to the leftist blogosphere attacking Justice Thomas for his dissenting vote on obAMATEUR-care.
I can't post what the tolerant lefties said here for it would be removed.
Tired,
I couldn't agree more. The left has gone off the rails with their racial extremism and seemingly with impunity as no one calls them to task. Just the other day Joan Walsh with Salon.com said that "Romney is obviously more comforable with white people" and not a peep from anyone. Yet the questioning of a black attorney general into his knowledge of a federal program under his jurisdiction that resulted in the death of a US Border Guard is seen as "racially motivated".
Rico's response is sad but par for course – unfortunately.
GMB July 9, 2012 / 6:04 am
"Watch yourself" LOL LOL LOL! Watch yourself for expressing an opinion? I'll remember that little bit of advice when one of you you "new toners" launch into a tirade of hate.
HEIL RICO!!!
Ricorun July 10, 2012 / 8:07 pm
Cluster: And what's with the "Watch yourself" comment? You disgust me.
I'm sorry Cluster, I didn't realize I disgusted you. In fact, I thought it was quite the contrary. My bad. Anyway, the sort of rhetoric in which you engaged IS inflammatory, and DOES influence votes. And it makes "black people", however defined — by you or themselves — that much less inclined to vote for your preferred candidates. And that is what I meant by "watch yourself". I thought I made myself clear on that point. Also as I said, "I don't believe you really believe what you said, and certainly not as a blanket statement." I've read voluminous statements you've made in the past, and I STILL can't believe it. I also thought you were better than that — i.e., someone who refrained from making blanket (black and white) statements, especially of this character.
I recall a time not very long ago where you said you wanted people like me (in fact, you mentioned me specifically) would post more often here. Now you say I disgust you.
Answer that question, please. Do I really disgust you, or do you think I offer thoughtful, reasonable commentary, however it aligns with your own POV? Said in another way, do you want to continue to just preach to the choir, or do you want something else — even when and if I suggest you "preach to the choir" too vociferously? Answer it in black and white if you like. Answer it in more gray-scale if you like. But of course I would like you to answer it in technicolor. :-).
GMB July 8, 2012 / 12:09 pm
"Do we want an America which makes, mines and grows most of its own things?"
Yes, I do want an America that does these thins. Maybe we should ask the republicans in the HoR why they helped pass this bill, don't you think? Maybe we should ask the opposition party why they didn't oppose this clause that took away another small slice of our liberty.
Mark Noonan July 8, 2012 / 10:03 pm
As I said, GOPers are part of the problem, too. The only thing the GOP has really going for it right now is that it isn't Obama and his Democrats…but if the GOP does win this November (and I expect a huge GOP win) then the fat will be in the fire: either restore American liberty or face a wave of TEA Party challengers in 2014 and 2016 (including, especially, in the GOP Presidential primaries). We'll see what comes of it – but revolution must come if America is to be restored.
Raging Bull July 8, 2012 / 2:02 pm
In case you haven't seen this yet:
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/07/07/Unemployment-Rate-Dropped-In-Every-State-That-Elected-A-Republican-Gov-In-2010
js July 8, 2012 / 10:44 pm
Ive said it many times.
If you cut election funding, restricting it to the constituency base where a congerss/senate person is elected, this would all end.
The big corporations are what did this. The greed for ever increasing profit undermined our electoral system with money. Some guy in Provo Utah gets campaign funding frm the US subsidiary of a foreign corporation. The Senator from my district gets funding from the DNC who is getting money from huge insurance corporations incorporated in Hew Hamshire. The Senate Minority leader gets funding from corporations resident across the nation, who have nothing to do with what the local constituents want from thier Senator.
Cut the funding. If Candidates could only accept money from people/corporations who maintained thier home/headquarters in the district that that Candidate is running in, the corruption would melt away. Its about money, control the cash flow, kill the corruption.
casper July 8, 2012 / 10:52 pm
you agree?
you better quit the union and the donk/cpusa then, you would be considered a traitor comrade and we know how they treat them.
You're only tackling half the problem – the other half is NGO's of various types which also funnel huge sums of money in to politics. But, essentially, you can't keep money out. Some how or another, it will get in (for instance, a neat, little trick which allows a politician to take a bribe perfectly legally is to hire the spouse as a campaign consultant at 100k per year…even pols who are running unopposed do this. Now the swag isn't a bribe but a "donation" which is used to pay a salary…of a person who is married to the office holder). Even if you passed a law to say a candidate can only take funding from within his electoral boundaries this still doesn't end it – you're an outside interest which wants to influence so you merely cut a deal with a local money man…he takes your money and funnels it to the candidate (and puts it down in his own books as a consulting contract or some such BS).
Since we can't keep it out our best bet is to reduce the size of government – the less power government has the less incentive there is to bribe it and the less power a bribe can bring. Of course, the flip side of this is to also break up the large corporations while reducing government. And that is why I'm a Distributist.
js03 July 9, 2012 / 6:56 am
This is the part that would make it interesting Mark. Yes, the corrupt politicians that currently exist would carry on as corrupt as they can, but without the huge $$ they dredge in from 3rd parties that are not resident in their districts. NGO or not, corporations with headquarters in that district could contribute to that Campaign. Now, I'd like to see "big pharma" establish viable entities in every electoral district in the nation. The red flags would pop so hard when they create tens of thousands of corporations and fund the political cronyisms to circumvent the law.
But face it, no matter what we do; the corrupt will seek ways to circumvent the intent. This however, would force them to spend so much cash that the majority would bail. The local competition for office would become accessible to everyone. The push for honest, moral representatives would actually become an issue again.
dont forget unions are HUGE corporations them selves….
you are 100% correct on ten sheets of paper, there is NOTHING good in 2500 pages of rules and laws by the government.
REFUTE what cluster stated..or is it true?
@neocon: I refute what Cluster said. Certainly some black people are racist, but not all of them.
neocon1 July 12, 2012 / 4:42 pm
as a PERCENTAGE I have schooled, worked, lived,served with many many more black racists than white, Hispanic, Asian one's.
In fact 99% of Hispanics and Asians I know (and I know a bunch) prefer not to associate with blacks…….and feel they are racist and dangerous.
tiredoflibbs July 9, 2012 / 12:41 pm
Before we get into who gets how much from whom "Edward", I failed to include the Environmental Lobby in those numbers as part of the "Green Industry" not just Green Energy.
However, Green Energy received more in DIRECT TAX PAYER CASH from the DEMOCRATS than "big oil" ever received in DIRECT CASH appropriations..
Now, don't go regurgitating the "subsidy" talking point. Legal deductions for depreciation of capital equipment is not a DIRECT TAX PAYER subsidy. You cannot compare the tax deductions that big oil legally takes as to the cash payments that Solyndra and the like get from the tax payers under the plan from the obAMATEUR. Where do you think "crony capitalism" came from? – hence the topic of the thread.
Nice try though – but again you need to look at the big picture and the details.
tiredoflibbs
The big picture is that the Republican party receives far more money from big oil than Obama and the Democrats receive from the Greens. Maybe that's why big oil has so many "legal deductons".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/business/04bptax.html?pagewanted=all
Amazona July 9, 2012 / 7:45 pm
Cappy, were you able to deconstruct this hit piece or did you just not care that it is so slanted and biased and inherently dishonest?
(As you used to post here a lot, and I am familiar with your work, I feel comfortable in guessing the latter.)
And just what does this "big picture" mean to you, cappy?
What, exactly, do you mean by implying that the petroleum industry has an unusual number of what you call "legal deductions"?
As a teacher, you must understand that by putting this phrase in quotes you imply that it is not really what it says, so what DO you mean?
That the deductions for the petroleum industry are not legal?
That they are not deductions?
What bothers you about them?
The article claims that the petroleum industry is taxed on its capital investments at a much lower rate than are other businesses, at 9%. What is the rate for capital improvement taxes for other businesses?
And the article tries to make it sound as if Transocean was trying to pull a fast one by moving its corporate offices out of the country to avoid our high taxes.
Well, YEAH, of course companies move out of the country when our corporate tax rate is one of the highest in the world. Duh. So why shouldn't they? Do they have some obligation to spend more than they have to?
And why should we fret about this when so little of their business is done here anyway?
"The owner, Transocean, moved its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Cayman Islands in 1999 and then to Switzerland in 2008, maneuvers that also helped it avoid taxes.
Transocean said it had paid more than $300 million in taxes so far for 2009, and that its move reflected its global scope, with only 15 of its 139 rigs located in the United States. "Transocean is truly a global company," it said in a statement."
The hit piece goes on:
"Many rigs, like Deepwater Horizon, are registered in Panama or in the Marshall Islands, where they are subject to lower taxes and less stringent safety and staff regulations."
Oh yeah? Well, when they drill in the US they are subject to US safety and staff regulations. Do you seriously believe that when a foreign country's rigs drill here they are only required to follow the regs of their country of origin? Really???????
As someone who lives in the middle of Wyoming oil country, you should be ashamed to be so ignorant.
"The American Petroleum Institute, an industry advocacy group, argues that even with subsidies, oil producers paid or incurred $280 billion in American income taxes from 2006 to 2008, and pay a higher percentage of their earnings in taxes than most other American corporations."
This inconvenient nugget of truth was buried near the end of the hit piece, after paragraphs of misleading "information" geared to appeal to the ignorant Left, sorry for the redundancy.
Mark Noonan July 9, 2012 / 7:52 pm
Seriously? The New York TImes? Might as well bring us an article from the Daily Kos….
No casper, the point I was making was not who received the most but who benefitted the most from "crony capitalism".
BTW, those "legal deductions" as you put it are not exclusive to big oil but any to business who can claim "depreciation on capital equipment" deduction. A deduction as most people know is a reduction in income that is claimed on tax returns. There is no transfer of cash from the government to the business/individual as in the case of GREEN ENERGY, UNIONS and BANKING.
Again, that TAX DEDUCTION is not DIRECT CASH from the government to a corporation/individual, as in the case of GREEN ENERGY, UNIONS and BANKING (all of which by the way were huge contributors to OBAMATEUR). They really benefitted from those "contributions".
Again, casper THE BIG PICTURE AND THE DETAILS bite you on your rear. You should really pay attention rather than be one who is only interested in scoring a "gotcha".
Casper,
Who is the real thief?
Federal taxes, State taxes, etc. amount to …
"which range from a low of 26.4 cents per gallon in Alaska to a high of of 66.1 cents per gallon in California, averaging 48.1 cents per gallon across all states."
Compared to $0.06 per gallon in refined petroleum for the big, bad gasoline companies..
Carlo Vicenzo Paparazzi July 9, 2012 / 5:14 pm
NEWTON, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.has tied the knot with his longtime partner in a ceremony officiated by Massachusetts Gov Patrick.
Frank, the 72-year-old congressman married 42-year-old Jim Ready in a Saturday evening wedding at the Boston Marriott hotel. 300 friends, family and colleagues attended.
Frank, a Democrat who is retiring after more than three decades in office, represents the 4th Congressional District in southeastern Massachusetts.
Ready, of Ogunquit, Maine, has a small business doing custom awnings, carpentry, painting, welding and other general handyman services. He's also a photographer.
(OMG, the handyman has pictures!)
Bwany and the goat are doing fine.
Jeremiah July 9, 2012 / 11:48 pm
Let's keep it simple…because our young people really don't have a grasp of even what capitalism is, much less what crony capitalism entails…Crony capitalism is where people take advantage of the system to get ahead, resulting in only a handful of people who control capitalism's influence on the economy, such as unions, certain corporations, telemarketers, etc, etc. And these few's aim is for a socialist end, they have socialist ideas and goals, and therefore, want to destroy capitalism, and the free market system. Much of their income is distributed to liberals causes, and to liberal/socialist oriented candidates running for office, like Barack Obama….and to liberal/socialist causes such as homosexual and lesbian groups.


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Home › International Stocks & Other › This Week in Cryptocurrency – 20th August, 2018 – Tough Week for Ethereum
This Week in Cryptocurrency – 20th August, 2018 – Tough Week for Ethereum
By CoinCentral on August 20, 2018
This article was originally published at CoinCentral.com
Last week, the total cryptocurrency market cap plunged 14.33%, largely as a result of the SEC postponing its decision on a Bitcoin-ETF proposed by CBOE, VanEck, and SolidX.
This week, the cryptocurrency market slid another 5.7%, which isn't as bad when you factor in the steep drop Wednesday, hitting around $189,666,000,000, its lowest market cap since early November 2017.
Bitcoin is actually up 1.35% and its overall market dominance is up to 52.31%, its highest before sliding December 18th, 2017.
Vitalik Buterin's brainchild Ethereum is down 16.90%, its lowest since early November 2017.
Ripple is down 5.12%, and a total of 91.46% down from its all-time high on January 4th, 2018.
Bitcoin Cash and EOS are down 8.42% and 11.46% respectively.
United States Cryptocurrency News
Bitangels Co-Founder Slaps AT&T with $224 Million Lawsuit:
Michael Terpin, cryptocurrency investor and co-founder of the first angel investor group focused on Crypto BitAngels, issuing telecom giant AT&T due to hacks that were enabled by AT&T's SIM swap fraud. Terpin claims to have lost $24 million in cryptocurrencies to hackers and believes that his phones were exposed by an AT&T employee(s) collaborating with hackers. Terpin is also seeking $200 million in punitive damages. The complaint notes, "What AT&T did was like a hotel giving a thief with a fake ID a room key and a key to the room safe to steal jewelry in the safe from the rightful owner."
SEC Fines and Bans 76 Year Old Fraudulent Oil ICO Founder:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has taken action against a David Thompson Laurence and his oil and gas exploration company Tomahawk Exploration LLC. David Thompson Laurence, a 76-year-old California resident, is the sole managing member of the company.
Although the ICO failed to raise money, the SEC found issue with the tokens issued as part of the token sale's bounty program and considers them securities. Laurence consented to a cease and desist order, an officer and director bar, a penny stock bar, and a $30,000 penalty.
Thompson allegedly inflated oil production projections that were contradicted by his own company's internal analysis in his promotional materials, and misleadingly suggested his company has leases for drilling sites when it didn't. Tomahawk also claimed that token owners would be able to convert the tomahawkcoins into equity and potentially profit from the anticipated oil production and secondary trading of the tokens," the SEC claimed.
US Senate to Look Into Blockchain's Energy Efficiency:
The US Senate's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is set to meet on August 21 to discuss the impact that increased blockchain demand will have on electricity prices. It won't be all negative rumblings, though. They'll also be examining how blockchain can benefit the energy industry. This hearing will be the first of its kind in having a specific focus on blockchain and the energy sector.
Cleveland Becomes First City Partner of Blockchain Research Institute:
Cleveland may be last in the NFL, but the city is one of the top spots for blockchain adoption. Thursday morning, the Blockchain Research Institute announced a partnership with the Rock and Roll capital at a Greater Cleveland Partnership meeting. The two came together largely due to car mogul Bernie Moreno. Moreno hopes to make Cleveland a center of blockchain innovation through an effort dubbed "Blockland."
SEC Starts Investigation into Riot Blockchain:
The first NASDAQ-listed company that focuses exclusively on blockchain and Bitcoin-based companies, Riot Blockchain Inc. ($RIOT), revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation that could prevent the owners and stockholders from selling shares under particular registration statements.
Riot Blockchain started attracting eyeballs in October 2017, when it rebranded from Bioptix and announced its pivot into the blockchain and cryptocurrency world. Following the announcement, Riot Blockchain's stock price nearly doubled. Riot Blockchain also launched a series of acquisitions and purchases most including an 11% stake in Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare and a mining operation in the American midwest with 3000 Antminer S9s and 12 MWs of power capacity
Playboy Sues Global Blockchain Technologies:
Looks like bunnies aren't as soft and cuddly as they'd have you believe. Playboy Enterprises is suing investment company Global Blockchain Technologies for breach of contract. Apparently, Global Blockchain fell short on their promise to produce a digital wallet that would integrate with Playboy's media site, Playboy.tv. Heff's enterprise also claims that the investment firm failed to hand over $4 million, a significant part of the deal.
Ohio Legally Recognizes Blockchain Data:
After being orphaned for years, blockchain data is now being adopted into Ohio's legal framework. The bill, signed into law last Friday, recognizes data stored on the blockchain and through smart contracts as electronic records. Ohio now joins Arizona in the cool kids club of states legally recognizing blockchain-stored data while California is still in the works.
Global Cryptocurrency News
Saudi Arabia Bans Bitcoin:
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, declared that cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin are illegal in Saudi Arabia with the aim of "protecting subjects from themselves" from the "negative consequences" and "high risk" associated with digital currencies. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority is the kingdom's central bank and is responsible for regulating and issuing the Riyal, overseeing banks and foreign exchanges, and monitoring and protecting the domestic financial system.
SAMA commented, "The committee assured that virtual currency including, for example, but not limited to, the Bitcoins are illegal in the kingdom and no parties or individuals are licensed for such practices. The committee warns all citizens and residents about drifting after such illusion and get-rich scheme due to the high regulatory, security and market risks involved, not to mention the signing of fictitious contracts and the transfer of funds to unknown recipients/entities/parties."
UEFA Distributes Super Cup Tickets via Blockchain:
Rejoice, sports fans. Blockchain-based tickets may become the new norm soon. The UEFA has been testing a blockchain system for mobile ticketing since the beginning of the year. And, so far, everything has been going swimmingly. So much so that the organization felt comfortable expanding the blockchain system distribution to the Super Cup this week. Tickets on the blockchain reduce the risk of fraudulent tickets and help to reduce the markup of secondary market sales. The UEFA stated that they will continue to use blockchain moving forward.
South Korea Bets Big on Blockchain:
South Korea is doubling-down on their technology. The Ministry of Economy and Finance revealed this week that the government has budgeted 1 trillion won (~$880 million) toward technological innovation in 2019. The technological spending will be in areas surrounding Big Data, AI, and, of course, blockchain. The 1 trillion won allocation is an 80 percent increase from 2018's spending.
Iran Gives U.S. the Runaround, Developing Own Crypto:
In a move to circumvent U.S. sanctions, Iran announced plans to develop its own national cryptocurrency. The announcement is seemingly in response to President Trump's declaration that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal. The Iranian economy has been shaky at best over the last few years, causing many Iranians to look towards outside assets such as Bitcoin to keep value. It seems as if the Iranian government hopes to retain capital within the country through the cryptocurrency launch.
U.K. Government Warms up to Smart Contracts in Law:
The UK Government is doing its part to stay with the times and keep British law in lockstep with modern technology. The UK Law Commission revealed in their annual report that a legal framework for smart contracts is in the works.
‹ Stock Market Movers – Episode 1
G Medical Innovations (ASX: GMV) – Separate listing for Chinese JV ›
Categories: International Stocks & Other
Tags: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Crypto, Cryptocurrency, Ethereum, Ripple


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posted 11 Apr 2016, 09:18 by Rights in Russia [ updated 11 Apr 2016, 09:24 ]
Outside Moscow the penalties for any form of dissent are even more arbitrary and harsh than in the capital itself. Regional authorities seem to be competing to prove how many "traitors", "extremists" and "fifth columnists" they can convict. It is only necessary to have expressed support for Ukraine on a personal social media page that only a few friends view to fall into the net. Funnily enough, after being prosecuted, people sometimes become more politically active rather than less.
Darya Polyudova
Darya Polyudova, 27, from Krasnodar, was added to Memorial's list of political prisoners in October 2014. She was detained after calling on social media for people to join an unauthorised "March for the Federalisation of Kuban" that was planned for August 17, 2014. A judge found an excuse to jail her for two weeks for "minor hooliganism" after an alleged dispute with a passer-by on the street. But instead of releasing her after the two weeks had passed, Polyudova was taken into custody on extremism charges. At the time she only had 38 followers on social media.
On February 25, 2015 Polyudova was released from detention with an agreement not to leave the area before trial. In May she was sentenced to 10 days in prison for handing out leaflets that said "Russia and Ukraine without Putin". In June she was sentenced to another 10 days in prison without any real reason being given. In July she was sentenced to five days in prison for two posts on her VKontakte social media page. In October she was sentenced to 15 days in prison for reposting an anti-Nazi video clip made by two Russian satirists, who spoke out in her defence.
In December Polyudova was convicted on the extremism charge for encouraging people to go on the march in 2014 and sentenced to two years in a prison colony. She was allowed to remain free pending her appeal. In her final statement in court Polyudova said: "A guilty verdict by this court is intended to frighten people with repressions, but the government is turning more and more people against it. You can't put everyone in prison. You put one person behind bars today and tomorrow thousands of people will come out on the streets. The regime will collapse anyway and everyone will be free."
Svetlana Davydova
Svetlana Davydova, a mother of seven young children in Smolensk Region, became famous after being charged with treason and taken to Moscow's Lefortovo prison in January 2015. Her "crime" was to have called the Ukrainian embassy and warned them that a military base near her home was empty and that the troops had probably deployed to Ukraine. In early February Davydova was released and the treason charge, for which she could have received up to 20 years in prison, was eventually dropped. Most likely because finding her guilty would have proved that Russian troops really were in Ukraine.
After the treason charge was dropped in March, Davydova gave a press conference with her lawyer, Ivan Pavlov. She said that she wouldn't be asking for compensation, because taxpayers' money could go to better causes, but added that Nadiya Savchenko should be released.
On April 6, an assistant to Russia's prosecutor-general wrote a letter to Davydova in which he said: "On behalf of the government I offer you an official apology for the harm you suffered as a result of the criminal prosecution... which was closed on 13.03.2015 by the Investigations Department of the FSB... in connection with the absence of evidence of a crime."
Since her prosecution Davydova has continued to express her views on Facebook, where she has also published electronic messages she has sent to Putin and the responses she has received from civil servants. In one of the letters in October 2015 she wrote: "Now it is as if everyone had forgotten that a certain Vladimir Putin took the investigation of the brutal murder of Boris Yefimovich Nemtsov under his personal control, and it seems that Vladimir Putin himself has forgotten this too. And in all the time that the investigation has been going on, nothing has been heard from this controller. They said on TV that V.V. Putin was taking it under his personal control! This really turns out to be quite rotten control by Vladimir Putin. You work badly, Vladimir Putin! My personal assessment."
In March 2016 Davydova wrote to Putin: "How many Russian soldiers did Ramzan Kadyrov kill, carrying out the orders of Akhmad Kadyrov (his father) to kill as many Russians as possible? How many mothers in Russia never got to see their sons, who were carrying out the orders of the Russian government in Chechnya, and were killed at the hands of Ramzan Kadyrov and others like him by the will of Akhmad Kadyrov? Answer the specific questions in this message, Commander-in-Chief President Putin, for your foot soldier Ramzan Kadyrov, as he calls himself."
Yekaterina Vologzheninova
The last woman in this series, although almost certainly not the last who will fall victim to Putin's repressions, is Yekaterina Vologzheninova from Yekaterinburg. Vologzheninova is a single mother and supermarket cashier who has a large collection of framed pictures of Boris Nemtsov on the wall of her flat. Her Facebook profile picture has a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag tint over it. Vologzheninova was convicted of extremism in February 2016 for her reposts of pro-Ukrainian images to a small number of friends on VKontakte. She has been added to Russia's list of extremists and terrorists. A judge sentenced her to 320 hours of compulsory work and ordered her laptop and mouse to be destroyed. Supporters of Vologzheninova immediately started a campaign to save the innocent computer mouse.
"I'm not a member of the opposition. I'm not a white ribbon or a civic activist," Vologzheninova told Grani.ru. "It's just that when all this lunacy started after the Olympics... First Crimea. It was impulsive, but I got interested: it was supposed to be a referendum, but why the military, then?... Before that I watched the Maidan, transfixed," she continued.
"But the events in Donbass were the detonator," Vologzheninova said. "It got interesting. Firstly, all the TV channels were saying that there was a junta and Banderites there. It was selective and didn't add up in my head. I started looking at various websites. I wanted to find out what was really happening... I wanted to understand Ukrainians' thoughts about what was happening, to hear the victims' side of the story. I wanted to understand their pain and distress."
The destruction of Vologzheninova's laptop (or "execution", as her fans call it) has not stopped her from writing about politics on Facebook. She has a picture of Savchenko as her cover photograph with a quote in Ukrainian about not giving up. It seems that no matter how many women Putin tries to crush, there will always be more ready to resist.
Originally published on X Soviet on 7 March 2016 and reprinted by kind permission


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Tag Archives: Malak So
action, drama, entertainment, Philippines, television
Cignal Steps In for Incapable TV5
July 14, 2017 ralphierceAcey Aguilar, Albie Casino, Archi Adamos, Bob Jbeili, Born Beautiful, Born Beautiful Cignal Entertainment, Butch Francisco, Cedrick Juan, Christian Bables, Cignal, Cignal Entertainment, Cignal entertainment division, Cignal Entertainment new programs, Cignal Entertainment new series, Cignal Entertainment new shows, Cignal Entertainment upcoming programs, Cignal Entertainment upcoming series, Cignal Entertainment upcoming shows, Cignal TV, Colours, Colours Cignal TV, Die Beautiful, Die Beautiful movie, Dominic Lim, Feels Like Forever, Feels Like Forever Cignal Entertainment, Ivan Payawal, Jake Macapagal, James Blanco, Janna Victoria, Jerould Aceron, Karel Marquez, Malak So, Manny V. Pangilinan, Mara Lopez, Martin Escudero, Miko Livelo, Mon Confiado, MVP Group, Paolo Ballesteros, Perci Intalan, Prime Cruz, Sari-Sari Channel, Sari-Sari Channel Cignal TV, Shaira Mae, Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo, Sleepless, Sleepless Cignal Entertainment, The IdeaFirst Company, The Orbiters, The Orbiters Cignal Entertainment, Trina Legaspi, Tukhang, Tukhang Cignal Entertainment, TV5, TV5 concerns, TV5 criticisms, TV5 entertainment, TV5 entertainment department, TV5 issues, TV5 problems, Victor Anastacio, Yul Servo, Zandra Summer 2 Comments
The lack of an entertainment division on TV5 has forced its affiliates to pick up the slack.
Satellite subscription service Cignal recently launched its entertainment division, with the intent towards distributing content to its online and satellite television platforms. The newly-launched Cignal Entertainment will kick things off with the mini-series 'Tukhang'.
The two-episode pilot will air July 22 on Colours and Sari-Sari Channel. It will star James Blanco, Karel Marquez, Mon Confiado, Jake Macapagal, Janna Victoria, Butch Francisco, Yul Servo, Archi Adamos, Jerould Aceron and Zandra Summer.
Cignal Entertainment will also have a few other offerings in store for its subscribers. They are:
Born Beautiful – The sequel to the critically-acclaimed movie 'Die Beautiful', it will star Christian Bables as Barbs. The story will pick up from the time Trisha (Paolo Ballesteros) died.
The Orbiters – This original series will star Cedrick Juan, Malak So, Bob Jbeili and Victor Anastacio. It will be directed by Miko Livelo and Dominic Lim.
Sleepless – Another independent film that is being transformed into a television series, it will star Albie Casino, Mara Lopez, Trina Legaspi, Acey Aguilar, Shaira Mae and Martin Escudero. Directed by Prime Cruz.
Feels Like Forever – An original series that focuses on love and other things that can happen in 24 hours. It will be directed by Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo and Ivan Payawal.
With the exception of 'Tukhang', all of Cignal Entertainment's upcoming series will be produced by The IdeaFirst Company. The company's president, Perci Intalan, is a former entertainment head at TV5.
The only way to go is up, and as TV5 focuses more on sports, news and imported entertainment shows, Cignal makes sure that the entertainment aspect within the MVP Group will not go down quietly. The division is still young, but with the help of independent producers such as IdeaFirst, all the hard work should be worth it.
Now let's just hope that the new Cignal Entertainment will not fall from grace the same way TV5's entertainment division did. This is a prime opportunity for Manny V. Pangilinan to bounce back, so make it count.
drama, entertainment, Korea, Philippines, reality show, talent show, television
TV5/VIVA Partnership Updates
January 26, 2016 ralphierceABS-CBN, Aiza Seguerra, AJ Muhlach, Alonzo Muhlach, Andrew E, Ang Panday, Ang Panday ABS-CBN, Ang Panday film, Ang Panday movies, Ang Panday TV5, Ara Mina, Arvic Romero, Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?, Bakit Manipis ang Ulap? film, Bakit Manipis ang Ulap? movie, Bakit Manipis ang Ulap? TV5, Bangs Garcia, Bernard Palanca, Bong Revilla, Born to Be a Star, Born to Be a Star TV5, Bret Jackson, Candy Pangilinan, Carlo J. Caparas, Cesar Montano, Chanda Romero, Christian Bautista, Christopher de Leon, Cignal, Cignal TV, Claudine Barretto, Diether Ocampo, Dindi Gallardo, Donnalyn Bartolome, Fernando Poe Jr., Giselle Sanchez, Issa Pressman, Jack Reid, Janelle Jamer, Janice de Belen, Janno Gibbs, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Jasmine Hollingworth, Jericho Rosales, John Lapus, Kim Molina, Kris Aquino, Malak So, Mariel de Leon, Mark Bautista, Mark Neumann, Meg Imperial, Nathalie Colipano, Ogie Alcasid, Pops Fernandez, Regine Tolentino, Richard Gutierrez, Roxanne Barcelo, Samantha Lopez, Sari-Sari Network, Shy Carlos, Tasya Fantasya, Tasya Fantasya film, Tasya Fantasya GMA, Tasya Fantasya movie, Tasya Fantasya TV5, Tommy Abuel, TV5, TV5 new programs, TV5 new shows, TV5 upcoming programs, TV5 upcoming shows, TV5 Viva, Vic del Rosario, Viva Entertainment, Viva Television, Yasmien Kurdi, Yassi Pressman 54 Comments
'Tasya Fantasya' is one of several TV5 and VIVA-produced programs lined up this year. (Photo credit: TV5)
The partnership between TV5 and VIVA Entertainment is off to a flying start.
Four programs will highlight the first few months of the TV5/VIVA collaboration. They are: 'Born to Be a Star', 'Ang Panday', 'Tasya Fantasya', and 'Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?'.
'Born to Be a Star' is VIVA's latest attempt in discovering future talents. Premiering February 6, the talent search show will be hosted by Ogie Alcasid, alongside Yassi Pressman and Mark Bautista.
Judges for 'Born to Be a Star' are Pops Fernandez, Aiza Seguerra, Andrew E and Christian Bautista. The show held auditions recently, with the hope of finding the most promising voices in the country.
'Ang Panday', starring Richard Gutierrez, is the latest made-for-TV adaptation of the Carlo J. Caparas classic. It will also star Bangs Garcia, Alonzo Muhlach, Regine Tolentino, Jack Reid, Christopher de Leon and Jasmine Curtis-Smith, with its premiere date still to be determined.
'Ang Panday' is no stranger to both film and television. Fernando Poe, Jr., Bong Revilla and Janno Gibbs have starred in the film adaptations, while Jericho Rosales starred in the TV adaptation that ABS-CBN once aired.
'Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?' marks the return of Claudine Barretto to teleserye genre in nearly a decade. The upcoming series is a made-for-TV remake of the 1985 film starring Chanda Romero, Tommy Abuel and Janice de Belen.
Also included in 'Bakit Manipis ang Ulap?' are Cesar Montano, Meg Imperial, Diether Ocampo, Dindi Gallardo, Roxanne Barcelo, Samantha Lopez, Bernard Palanca, Janelle Jamer, Bret Jackson, Issa Pressman, Mariel de Leon and Nathalie Colipano. The series is scheduled to premiere February 15.
And finally, 'Tasya Fantasya' will introduce viewers to budding VIVA star Shy Carlos. Like 'Panday', it was created by Carlo J. Caparas, and has also been made into a film and TV series, starring Kris Aquino and Yasmien Kurdi respectively.
'Tasya Fantasya' will also star Mark Neumann in his latest project for the network. Also included in the series, which premieres February 6, are AJ Muhlach, Ara Mina, John Lapus, Candy Pangilinan, Donnalyn Bartolome, Giselle Sanchez, Malak So, Arvic Romero, Jasmine Hollingworth, and Kim Molina.
Aside from the programs, VIVA and TV5's satellite TV affiliate Cignal also joined forces in the launch of the Sari-Sari Network. The said channel features purely entertainment content, and also handles production responsibilities for TV5's entertainment group.
It will be a very busy period for Vic del Rosario and company as far as content is concerned. That said, it's up to TV5 to try and make an impact this year.


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Articles by Priya Srinivasan
Dr. Priya Srinivasan is a dancer, choreographer and writer originally from Melbourne and has lived and performed around the globe. Her award winning book "sweating Saris: Indian Dance As Transnational Labor" connecting modern and postmodern dance with Indian dance, migration and labor forms the basis of her research and practice. Her research and performance work reveals its own labor framed by postmodern sensibilities while grounded in Indian "classical" performance practices. Her work has been presented in diverse settings in many theatre houses, galleries, universities, museums, parks, historic buildings, and in public spaces such as the Showroom Gallery in London, Gangviertel in Hamburg, Berlin Wall Memorial, Treasury Building Melbourne, Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai (China), The Korzo Theatre and The Allard Pierson Museum (Netherlands), typografia galleria in Bucharest (Romania), Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai (India)Unknown Theatre, Barclay, Irvine Civic Center and Bill Barber Park, in Los Angeles (USA), Harvard University (USA), Stanford University (USA), Oxford University (UK).
Performing Labour


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Q: Where are the error messages for Devise located? I want to change the message "You need to sign in or sign up before continuing." but I am having trouble finding the file that has this message.
I've looked through all the view files relating to Devise but could not find the message so was wondering where it could be...

A: The answer is to modify config/locales/devise.en.yml but you must add the settings, they are not there by default.
en:
  devise:
    failure:
      unauthenticated: "change this -> You need to sign in or sign up before continuing."

for other custom error message for devise you can find https://github.com/plataformatec/devise/blob/master/config/locales/en.yml

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange