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2021 Chevy Reaper, Pictures, Price, Release Date, Colors, & Models
October 17, 2020 by Janet J. Humphreys
2021 Chevy Reaper, Pictures, Price, Release Date, Colors, & Models – There are considerable changes in the 2021 Chevy Reaper, but many of them happen to be manufactured to produce the model even closer to the competitors. We are eventually in a position to see how this strong and important machine turned into a really appealing large truck so even the Colorado, made in the very same factory, need to be hesitant for its long term surviving on the market. Thankfully, some particulars will make an outstanding difference from the other models in class, making him appealing and modern refreshment for the truck class.
2021 Chevy Reaper Review
As 2021 Chevy Reaper aspires to take on trucks in the light truck class, we are not able to skip the clear parallels with Ford F-150 as its major opponent. Nonetheless, there are a couple of particulars worth of referencing which will provide this vehicle to the totally new kinds of purchasers. There is a substantial squared top end with practically squared front side lamps and wide bottom of the fender which will old Chevrolet customers identify.
The details that followers have accepted at first glance are extremely large wheels, 20-inch, or even 21-inch for incredibly hard surfaces traveling fans. There are no substantial changes in the sizes of the truck which we know for. Though 2021 Chevy Reaper is created to be competitive with heavy-duty trucks which were not the cause to just forget about the luxury and comfort in the cabin. Chevrolet has always been large when cabin comfort is about, and this time we have now leather-based on the seating and extremely appealing and modern dash panel.
On the other hand, there is the most luxury technology in the cabin and excellent helpers in driving a vehicle. Some of them are the navigation system, cruise control, and air conditioning. Together with the large touchscreen, there is an application store connection. Of course, there will probably be easy to order only in greater trim models.
It is extremely envisioned that the 2021 Chevy Reaper can have the best engine this class could offer you. It is not the magic formula that engines needs to be more powerful than 500 horsepower like Ram 1500 has, for case in point. The explanation is not only to be competitive but in addition to attain a greater level of application and functionality. Nonetheless, the most intriguing in this version is a choice that allows the truck to be pushed in actually every single no matter if conditions, like on mud streets wetted by rainfall.
2021 Chevy Reaper Redesign
On the other hand, you may wish to utilize this truck on off-road drivings, so even the activities can use the truck quickly. Whatever of these choices are presented, the producer has not notably proved any of them, so that we could only visualize what of these will be discovered in the new model.
2021 Chevy Reaper Release Date
A couple of years back, a graphic of the upgraded package sprang out and it did actually be it. Chevrolet Silverado was served with the Reaper badge on it. Nonetheless, until recently, the company did not go following the manufacturing. But, the final year we discovered a truck under large camo which could be an off-road-oriented model. Properly, the new technology of Silverado is continues to fresh and the absent piece in the selection is the performance version. The 2021 Chevy Reaper is simply being analyzed, but it could get there as a ZR2 package for the present pickup, or it may use another name. The existing circumstance with the COVID-19 pandemic slows the improvement. Nonetheless, the strain may force the company to place extra hard work and provide Reaper the following year.
We are going,, to begin with Ford's offer you. Raptor is supplying 450 hp and 510 lb-ft from a twin-turbo V6 engine. Chevrolet can react with a bit lighter in weight production from its 6.2-liter V8. Continue to, the enormous system is lacking in 30 ponies and 60 pound-feet. Plus, a V8 will make the 2021 Chevy Reaper heavier than its competitor, which will unquestionably lead to the distinction in performance.
2021 Chevy Reaper Exterior
Another choice is GM's 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8. In this example, the so-referred to as Blackwing engine is competent to break up to 550 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. The increase is ample to produce the Reaper muscle and capable of struggle Raptor. Absolutely, as a result the truck the most potent model in the sector, at the very least until finally,, Ram Rebel TRX originates out with 707 horsepower.
There are no as well many performance-oriented trucks in the market at this second. Ford F-150 Raptor survives thanks to the adaptability of the base model. FCA hinted at Ram Rebel TRX and this version induced a lot of fascination. Continue to, the truckmaker is not giving this pickup. Trucks are making it through thanks to their energy when SUVs are ruling in all other sectors. Yet another model we could acquire as a competitor is the Toyota Tundra TRD Pro package. It is one of the most challenging off-roaders in the market. Nonetheless, the Japanese company music with just 380 ponies. Reaper will belong to the increased class.
2021 Chevy Reaper is not only a completely functional and potent pickup truck in the market, it works outstandingly effectively as an off-road vehicle. The exterior of the vehicle holders facts to this particular reality. The vehicle has a hard and tough visual appeal. Although on-road, its appearance beastly and potent and has a strong feeling of hostility. When compared to the old model, this new model will see some improvements. The front side end style will be rejuvenated and various other sorts of modifications could also be observed. Some of these changes involve new grille handling, up-to-date front lights, and altered entrance fender, squared-off fender flares,, etc. other ruling elements in the exteriors of the pickup vehicle involve muscle hood lines, huge all-surfaces auto tires, high suspension travel,, etc. The most recent model will be accessible in a handful of colors black, white, red, blue,, and much more.
The 2021 Chevy Reaper has an appealing cabin. The total format and appealing design of the interior are worth referencing. The cockpit is huge and cozy and effectively prepared at the same time. The front side seating is intensely bolstered. The navigation system and infotainment system will even have a revise. Cell phone incorporation will likely be there.
It is very intriguing to keep in mind that the 2021 Chevy Reaper may have safety up-gradation from the past models. The enhanced braking system and underbody safety require a special to talk about in this reverence. The safety features in the pickup truck are not only focused on the driver but for the travelers likewise.
2021 Chevy Reaper Images
There are two engine variations that are offered in the 2021 Chevy Reaper. The first engine that is existing in the 2021 Chevy Reaper is a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine. This engine has the capacity of churning out 550 HP of energy and 575 pound-feet of torque. This is the well-liked engine solution in the pickup version. The second engine version is a 5.3 liter, V-8 model. This engine will include the result of 475 HP of energy and 460 pound-feet of torque. It could have 6-speed or 8-speed transmission choices. The fuel economy of this truck will be also better than prior.
2021 Chevy Reaper Price, & Release Date
The specific rates of the 2021 Chevy Reaper is nevertheless a mystery. It is envisioned that its version will be somewhat better costed when compared to the more aged model. The price of the model from some places will be close to $40,000 – $50,000.The most recent model 2021 Chevy Reaper will very first in the marketplaces by the end of 2021, as for every gossip.
Categories Reaper Tags 2021 chevrolet silverado reaper, 2021 chevy reaper, 2021 chevy reaper for sale, 2021 chevy reaper hp, 2021 chevy reaper price, 2021 chevy reaper specs, 2021 chevy silverado reaper Post navigation
2021 Chevrolet Traverse, Pictures, Price, Release Date, Colors, & Specs
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The farm is located approximately 21 miles North of Springfield, MO on Highway 13 or 5 miles South of Bolivar, MO on Highway 13, then 3 miles East on 490th RD. The entrance to the farm is located on the North side of the road at the yellow farm house. Here is the sign at the gate entrance.
Providing affordable country fun at the farm located at 1663 E 490th Road, Bolivar, MO.


MARACAIBO, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has met obstacles at nearly every turn since he declared presidential powers in a bid to end socialist President Nicolas Maduro's rule, and his visit to this once-thriving oil center was no different.
The power has returned for most of Venezuela after a massive electrical grid failure that blanketed most of the country's 30 million residents for days starting March 7. But Maracaibo hasn't bounced back.
The city is a crumbling version of its former self. Gushing oil wells that helped make a nation with the world's largest oil reserves flush with cash have given way to broken-down oil platforms that sit idle as nearby shores are black with oozing crude.
The visit came as pressure on Guaidó is only tightening. The National Constituent Assembly, stacked with Maduro loyalists, withdrew Guaidó's parliamentary immunity earlier this month, opening the path to prosecute and arrest him for allegedly violating the constitution. Days earlier Guaidó's chief of staff was jailed as an accused terrorist.
Given the fading anti-government protests and the opposition's refusal to open a dialogue with Maduro, the option of some sort of U.S. military deployment — starting with efforts to bolster humanitarian aid deliveries to Venezuela — has been gaining strength, especially among some figures in Washington.
"We're not going to bend our knees — if that's what they tell us to do," Guaidó said, as the mass of people cheered in support. "Yes we can!" they shouted.


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Christians Caution Against Intervention Ahead Of Kurdistan Election
Source: NRT
Iraqi Parliament
Kurdistan Parliament
Fateh Coalition
In an open letter addressed to the Iraqi Parliament, the Chaldean-Assyrian Syriac community said that their constituency has been exploited as election tools by various groups. The letter also expresses the community's concern over the current electoral quota for the Kurdish parliament ahead of the Kurdistan elections.
The Chaldean-Assyrian Syriac community released an open letter to the Iraqi Parliament on Monday (July 30), saying that they have been "exploited" as an election tool by the ruling Kurdish political parties.
The community expressed concern that the current electoral quota law in the Kurdistan Parliament will contribute to the erosion of their right to elect "real and legitimate" representatives.
"The Chaldean-Assyrian Syriac constituency was critically exploited in previous…elections held in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and our rights were violated by the ruling blocs, especially by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Shia's Fatih parliamentary factions," the statement read.
Christians will have their reserved seats in the Kurdistan Parliament cut to five under the current electoral quota law, the group's statement continued.
The Chaldean-Assyrian Syriac community put most of the blame on the KDP and the Change Movement (Gorran) for their role in the "acquisition of Christian seats."
They want to guarantee that the voting for Christian candidates is exclusively limited to the Chaldean-Assyrian voters, a move it claimed to have been rejected by the KDP.
"Sadly, the Kurdistan Democratic Party responded negatively towards that demand and prevented the adoption of such a proposal in parliament."
Farhad Hassan Abdullah, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Sulaimania, told NRT that the issue has concerned minority groups in past election cycles as well.
"I think the demands of minorities at this time has to do with the candidates who were nominated for the reserved seats, but are not considered by their communities to be true representatives. In the past, the appointees have been influenced by the dominant parties."
"So, they are asking for a real quota system, in a way that would not be subject to interference from the main political parties."
Christians held a rally in Erbil on Monday (July 30) against attempts to reduce the number of seats reserved for minorities in the Kurdistan Parliament ahead of the September election.
Image: NRT
Article: NRT

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (Jas 5:16, NI V).
Pray for WAAST, its students and various programs, and the nations it serves. The WAAST Prayer Guide presents one topic and attendant prayer requests each week. Click on Pray for WAAST to view or download the 2017 WAAST Prayer Guide.
Join the WAAST students in prayer every Friday for unreached peoples around the world. A one-page prayer bulletin is posted every Thursday for use in individual or group prayer. The prayer bulletin lists requests from WAAST students and alumni, from missionaries in the area WAAST serves, and from various other sources to help us pray for the unreached "in Africa and beyond." To access the prayer bulletins, click on Pray for the Unreached.


As if reflecting the comparable divisive events now afflicting the U.S. labor movement, Hugo Moyano was officially installed on July 14 as the Secretary General of Argentina's largest trade union conglomerate, the General Confederation of Workers (CGT). This broke the leadership troika agreed upon when the CGT was reunited in 2004. The crowning of Moyano as the de facto leader of Argentina's labor movement marked the culmination of a power struggle with fellow CGT titan Susana Rueda. In retaliation, Rueda has threatened to pull the eight unions loyal to her leadership out of the CGT. Moyano must also deal with a liberalized labor market in which high unemployment is a volatile component.
Moyano insists he will fight for increased labor protections, but his close relationship with President Nestor Kirchner indicates that he will most likely follow the same corporatist path that characterized union leadership in the 1990s when the movement acquiesced to former President Carlos Menem's damaging reforms. In order for unions to remain influential, Moyano must take bold steps to unite the CGT under his firm leadership, without the seemingly intrusive help from the nation's president.
Recently, the percentage of workers in the formal sector affiliated with a union has dropped steeply from the Peronist period's high of approximately fifty percent, to the present 35 percent. The decline is primarily due to Menem's neoliberal reforms, which ended up causing widespread layoffs and instability in the labor market. Menem privatized large, state-owned industries, such as the utilities, telephone and steel companies, and in the transition from the public to the private sector, many jobs were lost. He also initiated trade liberalization, which, as Columbia professor Maria Murillo explains in her book, Labor Unions, Partisan Coalitions, and Market Reforms in Latin America, "increases differences among workers across and within sectors, making it harder to organize labor unions based on horizontal solidarity." In addition, Menem opened up the country to increased foreign direct investment, which was intended to increase Argentina's productivity and foster job creation.
However, much of the new money coming into the country was speculative and would be at risk at the first sign of inflation. The traditional union structure could not handle Menem's reforms because policy customarily had been created in the presence of a relatively stable working populace, which was no longer a fact. The labor market's structural changes, combined with Argentina's 2001 economic crisis, caused a sharp rise in unemployment and a decline in worker solidarity.
In the following 2003 presidential elections, unions broke from their tradition of voting as a bloc, splitting their votes between various Peronist Party factions. A little-known governor Nestor Kirchner, won that election, but essentially without the support of the labor lobby.
Kirchner's election incited worried speculation within labor circles, which questioned whether he would work constructively with a movement that recently had failed to exercise meaningful clout. However, as Murillo explained in an interview with COHA, Kirchner realizes that, "labor unions are essential for industrial relations." The administration is now nurturing close ties to union elites such as Moyano and maintains labor laws allowing one officially-sanctioned union to monopolize an entire business sector.
Argentina's close, if not co-opted labor-government relations may seem ideal, especially to neighboring countries that experience frequent union-initiated work stoppages. However, the Argentine government historically has taken advantage of its labor partners. For example, in the 1990s, then President Menem warned the unions of an impending economic crisis should they ignore the need for labor reform, causing them to acquiesce to damaging labor give-backs. Regardless, the economy crashed later in the decade, and the labor market was hit particularly hard. Since then, workers have been suspicious of the central government's labor agenda. Therefore, although the partnership between Kirchner and Moyano appears to be mutually beneficial so far, Moyano has to approach government intervention in the labor sector with skepticism, as his close ties to Kirchner could still backfire among CGT members.
"Superunions" have experienced problems with renegade factions under their ostensible jurisdiction in the past; Moyano himself rose to prominence in 2000 when he led the truckers in a protest against a state labor measure, negatively affecting the CGT's leverage. However, the disagreements between the Moyano and Rueda factions run deeper than small-scale politicking. Los Gordos was the dominant union faction of the 1990s and many workers still blame its leaders for Menem's being able to institutionalize his destructive anti-labor reforms. Moyano and his allies are relatively new to leadership; they rose to power after the dissident and main factions of the CGT merged in 2004. The struggle between Rueda and Moyano is a battle between the old and the new. Without some measure of reconciliation, the CGT could break up, or worse, remain in a constant state of gridlock.
Moyano now faces a double challenge in trying to internally unite the beleaguered CGT and to externally deal with a radically different labor market than his forebearers have known. On June 20th, Moyano refuted the claim that he is too close to Kirchner, saying, "I only say the things I like of the Kirchner administration, but that does not make me a staunch Kirchner supporter." However, it will take more than Moyano's rhetoric to convince CGT members–especially Rueda's coalition–that he is more than merely Kirchner's choice to lead the powerful labor lobby. Moyano attacks his enemies behind the shield of a governmental mandate. He must step out of Kirchner's shadow and engage Rueda and her rebellious constituents on their own turf if the CGT is to remain a force worth respecting in the Casa Rosada.


Unboxing Gamestop Funko Pop Black Friday Mystery Boxes and haul!!
Finally, back to Funko Pop hunting after an amazing vacation in Hawaii!! But, I missed sharing with you all my Funko Fanatic hauls and finds. In this video I review the new Chrome Thanos Pop Figures, I complete my set of The Lost Boys Funko Pop Set and I Unbox the Glow in The Dark Venomized Anti Venom!!


Meet staff from ACU's Thomas More Law School. Browse academic leaders by campus, read profiles of notable staff, or search all School staff members via our directory.
Professor Reynolds is a leading authority on administrative law, intellectual property and regulatory theory. Her textbooks in these fields are used throughout Australia. She specialises in regulatory design for food, food security, and agriculture and intellectual property law.
A practising lawyer, Dr Renshaw's research focuses on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia, which included fieldwork in Myanmar and Thailand. She has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters, and edited the Journal of South Asian Law.
David Spencer joined the Thomas More Law School on 11 February 2019. He has been at ACU since 2012.
Dr Alexander lectures and teaches Criminal Law and Public Law. Her research interests include the history of international humanitarian law – and change, theory and practice in international law. She also does research in legal theory and sports law.
Kunle is a Lawyer with an academic, legal, regulatory, enforcement and administrative background. He started off his formal legal experience at the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria and then joined a private law firm as a partner.
Philip is Discipline Leader in the Graduate Diploma in Migration Law and Practice. He is an experienced migration professional and educator. He has been a migration agent since 2004, and currently consults to Newland Chase, one of the largest global specialist migration firms.
Browse our list of staff at the Thomas More Law School.


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LISBON , PORTUGAL - 6 November 2019; Sophia The Female Robot during a press conference in the Media Village during day two of Web Summit 2019 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images)
Photo by: Stephen McCarthy
Stephen McCarthy
Robot Army: Caring Technology Enters Mass Production to Fight Pandemic
By: Robin Fearon
Social robots have often been promoted as a way to give the sick and the elderly the support they lack. Now a Hong Kong robotics company wants to create an army of caring robots to provide comfort, solace, and healthcare to people isolated during the coronavirus pandemic.
Meet Sophia
Hanson Robotics, led by founder and CEO David Hanson, says it plans to mass-produce its social humanoid robot Sophia in the first half of 2021. Three other robots will be manufactured to help people cope with the pandemic's effects, said Hanson, and to inspire a future "where machines might become our friends."
Sophia is being purposed for caregiver and customer service duties, but first achieved international recognition at the South by Southwest Festival in 2016, going on to be awarded a role as the United Nations' first non-human innovation champion.
"Many of my previous robots were hand-built," said Hanson. "However, now we have begun scaling the manufacturing of Sophia so we can make hundreds and thousands of units, and use this as the foundation for many other kinds of characters."
The firm will develop a dedicated healthcare robot called Grace, but is also targeting industries including retail and air travel. "Sophia and Hanson [an artificial intelligence (AI) program] are unique by being so human-like," added Hanson. "That can be so useful during these times where people are so terribly lonely and socially isolated."
Saying 'Thank You' to AI
The humanoid robot Sophia, developed by Hong Kong based company Hanson Robotics, appears on stage in front of students and other professionals during a meeting session organized about artificial intelligence.
Photo by: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR
DIBYANGSHU SARKAR
Robots with AI abilities can engage in and understand conversation through natural language processing. Humanoid robots, or androids, also use technology that enables them to mimic human facial expressions and take part in everyday interactions, meaning they could become readily accepted in people's homes and workplaces.
Engineers are busy adding functionality that will allow robots to take temperature or measure pulse. Sophia also has the ability to lead an exercise program, which is likely to give the unit mass appeal.
Technologists and roboticists also say that robots are perfectly positioned to take up duties that are either dull or where there are risks for humans, such as disinfecting hospitals or public spaces, food and medication delivery, screening for disease, and conducting lab tests.
Combining robots with AI and other agents–like chatbots or avatars–is seen as a way to manage situations like the coronavirus public health emergency in a safer and more efficient way–from distributing information to advanced molecular biology and drug development.
As automation is taken up more widely in healthcare then some of the roles most likely to be replaced robotically include one-to-one care and administrative jobs. Care workers, nursing assistants and pharmaceutical technician jobs appear most at risk.
Robots on the Rise
One of the upward trends during the pandemic is automation, with accelerated robotics programs in many industries. Executives' attitudes look to have shifted from reducing costs through automation to gaining a competitive advantage.
Use of robots was in fact on the rise before the impact of coronavirus, with a jump of 32% in sales of professional service robots, totaling over $15 billion worldwide, between 2018 and 2019. Almost half (47%) were sales of medical robots.
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: the Rise of the Digital Doctors
As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, we can expect them to be used more often in the world of human medicine and healthcare. But it is possible to create medical AIs that rapidly outperform doctors in certain tasks? Find out all the ways AI is helping the healthcare world.
But despite the outward appearance of robots like Sophia there are many, including leading AI scientists, who are not impressed with the level of technology on display. It is still too soon to start mass production, said social robotics expert Johan Hoorn, describing the current level of innovation as "feeble".
CPUs that overheat, video display problems and other machine glitches make it unlikely that androids like Sophia will achieve world domination. The pandemic may make it easier to market robots, agrees Hoorn, but "It's still too young in a sense."
These Scientists Created Robots Covered in Living Skin
Japanese scientists created a self-healing skin for robots. This breakthrough study brings Westworld-like robots one step closer to reality.Is a dystopian future closer than we think?
Robots Imitate Life to Create Better Versions of Themselves
Robots have always imitated life. Social androids powered by artificial intelligence have now reached a level where they may be ready to work in shops, airports, and care homes. But an entirely new class of robots is being developed that can grow, evolve, and even reproduce.
Soft Robots Ape Nature to Operate in the Harshest Conditions
You could be forgiven for assuming that soft robotics is simply about making robots without rough edges – a kind of warm, fuzzy android experience. If machines that hug humans are the aim, then that's probably true, but soft robots are often designed to operate in harsh or dangerous environments where others would struggle.
Wild Climate Ride Expected as Cryptocurrency Popularity Fuels Power Consumption
Bitcoin's wild speculation and surging popularity has caused scientists and economic analysts to rate the digital cryptocurrency as a danger to the environment. More than 60% of Bitcoin's mining cost is in the electricity it uses. And as its value rises, so does the entire currency's energy consumption and its potential impact on climate change.
Solar-Powered Robots are the Sustainable Answer to a Cleaner, Connected Planet
Solar energy is virtually unlimited and one of the cleanest forms of renewable power. So building machines driven by the sun makes perfect environmental sense.
Getting the Benefits of Green Spaces through Virtual Nature
Forests and other natural spaces have proven benefits for our health and mental wellbeing, but getting to the great outdoors isn't always easy.
Nanodiamond Sparkles as Miracle Material of Future Technology
Invisible to the naked eye and made from one of Earth's most abundant elements, carbon, the wonder-material nanodiamond is an impressive creation. These tiny particles of diamond measure billionths of a meter in size, but their impact on future science is likely to be colossal.
Building with 3D printing technology is sparking widespread interest in the construction industry. Besides reducing waste and our impact on the environment, it can speed up construction from weeks, or months, to days. Projects that use simple raw materials like soil, straw, and even salt, can be built in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional construction.
Laser Cooked 3D-Printed Meals are the Future of Food
Whatever your tastes are it is highly unlikely that many of you are using 3D printers to create your favorite meals. Still, anyone interested in the future of food can find technologists printing out snacks, from steaks to cakes, at the push of a button. Now laser cooking has arrived and it is adding an entirely new layer of gourmet taste.
Neuroprosthetic Sensory Devices are Reconnecting People to the World
Sensory loss has a profound effect on millions of people's everyday lives. Sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste can all be affected, diminishing their experience of the world. But now, thanks to neuroprosthetic technology we can tap into nerve and brain function, and rewire these lost connections.


We expect the community to have a number of ideas about what they'd like to see in the Joomla! Shop. The list here will be a summary of the those suggestions. When the opportunity to add products to the shop arises, the items in this thread may be considered. Price, availability, vendor concerns, shipping, funds available, current shop profitability and many other concerns affect the decision to add new products.
Please discuss merchandise requests/suggestions in this thread.
Last edited by Toni Marie on Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.


Dow has your building covered with high-performance, energy-efficient solutions.
We make insulation, air sealing and weatherization products that work for your whole building. From foundation to roof, our integrated solutions can help you acheive high-performace, energy-efficient buildings and structures.
We're ready to help you build. Learn more about our portfolio of products or browse our document library.


With over 50,000 CountEasy units in daily use, you can depend on its tried and tested technology to provide 100% accurate counts first time, every time; eliminating count errors.
With CountEasy you can accurately count the entire contents of a till in less than 1 minute, saving you time and money.
The CountEasy can be carried effortlessly in one hand and operated from mains or rechargeable battery for up to 12 hours. So wherever your cash needs counting, you can record it on the spot.
Ideal for speeding up spot checks, lifts, banking, shift changes and end of day, the CountEasy is extremely versatile, and is available with or without an integrated printer.
Adding a printer (by ordering the CountEasy IP), which also runs off the rechargeable battery, allows the cashier to sign a hard copy print out of every count, giving better accountability.
The CountEasy can be enhanced with Connect driver software which enables the transfer of count data from your CountEasy directly into a windows PC via a USB cable. This allows you to automatically populate a spreadsheet or back office application, saving significant time and removing the opportunity for manual errors.


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NPR and the Latinx Public
In recent months, there has been a spate of journalists of color leaving their posts at NPR, including Audie Cornish, Lourdes "Lulu" Garcia-Navarro, and Noel King. This has raised questions about race at NPR, not only regarding staff but the broad American public they are supposed to be serving.
Since its inception in 1970, NPR has gone from "conceiving of listeners as a public to listeners as an audience to listeners as a market," says media studies professor Christopher Chávez. He chronicles this change in his new book, The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public.
Today on the show, he joins guest host Karma Chávez to talk about his book, the history of NPR, and the way public radio has standardized particular accents, voices, and stories at the exclusion of Latinx and other listeners.
Christopher Chávez is a professor of media studies and director of the Center for Latina/o and Latin American Studies at the University of Oregon. His research lies at the intersection of globalization, media, and culture. He is the co-editor of Identity: Beyond Tradition and McWorld Neoliberalism (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013) and author of Reinventing the Latino Television Viewer: Language Ideology and Practice (Lexington Books, 2015) and The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public (University of Arizona Press, 2021).
America's Dark and Not-So-Distant History of Forced…
"Culture Really, Really Matters"
The Ideological Crusade Against Public Schools
The Life of a Rural Public Defender in Wisconsin
A Public Affair, Breaking News broadcasting, Christopher Chavez, Karma Chavez, National Public Radio, NPR, public radio, radio, Wisconsin Public Radio


JAWAI is located in the wilderness of the ancient Aravalli Hills. Within these hills lies a semi-pastoral agrarian settlement with wild leopards and an untouched historic culture. Nature is a part of us and we are at one with nature, we are not separate identities. This is what makes JAWAI special. For centuries humans and animals have shared these hills in harmony. Spirituality and culture have been associated with this harmony. People who live with wildlife, shape the future of conservation in the country. At JAWAI, we look into this traditional model of animal-human coexistence. We aim at sharing this relationship as a model for other such wildernesses across the world and with those who visit us.


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First unerwater restaurant to be built in Norway (photos)
Author: Thema Newsroom	| Published: October 23, 2017
It will be partly submerged in the sea
Architecture firm Snøhetta has revealed plans to build a restaurant in southern Norway that will be partly submerged in the sea to give diners a glimpse below the waves.
Described by the Oslo- and New York-based firm as "Europe's first underwater restaurant", the building will comprise a rugged concrete box with half of its body on the coastline, and the other half sunken underwater.
Its primary use will be as a restaurant for up to 100 people, but it will also function as an marine research centre and as an artificial mussel reef.
Once inside, visitors will be able to look through a huge panoramic window to observe sea life at first hand.
"More than an aquarium, the structure will become a part of its marine environment, coming to rest directly on the sea bed five meters below the water's surface" said Snøhetta.
"Like a sunken periscope, the restaurant's massive acrylic windows offer a view of the seabed as it changes throughout the seasons and varying weather conditions."
source: dezeen.com
Tags With: Norwayrestaurantunderwater
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Jan, 15 2021 UK closes all its borders to contain new Covid-19 strain
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Jan, 15 2021 The Largest Militaries in the World (infographic)


How Legal is Memorabilia Containing The Pope's Image?
How Legal is Memorabilia Containing The Pope's Image?
There seems to have been a recent increase in tourist souvenirs and other memorabilia containing the representation of The Pope. Some reasons for this include the great popularity of Pope Francis (the 266th and current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church) among Catholic people and the easy access to the Pope's photographs online. The use of unauthorised images, symbols and official coats of arms fall within the legal scope of trade mark as well as competition law for prosecution in Italy.
The Secretariat of State has also reportedly hired a law firm to monitor and repress any unauthorised third-party uses of the image of The Pope, sending cease-and-desist letters on behalf of the Vatican.
So it would seem that any memorabilia containing The Pope's image or other holy symbols without prior authorisation from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome are illegal and should therefore be avoided.


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Coal Tattoo
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The real story of the Hobet project and how lax mountaintop removal regulation has held back coalfield development
The Don Blankenship Senate campaign: Asking the wrong question about the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster
This Charleston Gazette blog attempts to build on the newspaper's longtime coverage of all things coal — with a focus on mountaintop removal, coal-mine safety and climate change.
Staff writer Ken Ward Jr., a native of Piedmont in Mineral County, W.Va., has covered the Appalachian coal industry for nearly 20 years.
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Wind vs. Coal I
March 27, 2009 by Ken Ward Jr.
A pretty smart guy I know in the coal industry took me to task a while back for a story I did about the report showing that the Coal River Wind Project would provide more jobs and tax revenues than the mountaintop removal operations proposed by Massey Energy.
I wanted to pass along his criticisms of the study (well, he was also criticizing my story for not pointing these things out), as well as a response from the author of the study, Evan Hansen of Downstream Strategies.
For everyone's understanding, this is the story:
A wind-power production facility along the ridges of Coal River Mountain would provide more jobs and tax revenue than a mountaintop removal operation planned by Massey Energy, according to a new economic impact report released Tuesday.
Strip-mining the area will do more harm than good for local communities, if environmental damage and health effects are taken into account, according to the report prepared for the group Coal River Mountain Watch.
Mining the area could produce nearly 200 direct jobs and several hundred more spinoff positions. But those jobs would disappear when the coal is mined out in about 17 years, according to the report prepared by Downstream Strategies, a Morgantown-based environmental consulting firm.
Construction of a windmill operation would generate more than 275 temporary construction jobs, but then create 40 direct and more than 30 indirect jobs that could essentially last indefinitely, according to the report.
And, the report I reference is posted here.
And here's what my coal industry friend had to say (about my story, and then about the report):
You're staying true to form in accepting and reporting without question anything generated by coal's opponents, even when those reports are full of ridiculous assumptions and outright misrepresentations. For example, the report compares the severance taxes returned to Raleigh County by the surface mine to the property taxes paid by a wind farm. What about the personal property taxes paid on the mining equipment? What about the loss of unmined mineral taxes on the seams that would be "sterilized" should a wind turbine be located above those reserves? That alone would come close to negating the property taxes paid by a wind farm.
I understand Massey is one of the Gazette's favorite targets and also that Massey often sets itself up for attacks. However, the Gazette at some point has to consider integrity and fairness in its reporting. It is failing miserably by not even looking at the details of the Downstream Strategies "report."
And here is Evan's response:
First off, I'm glad that someone in the coal industry has read our report! I think it's healthy to have this kind of dialog.
As your contact pointed out, we performed calculations of severance taxes returned to Raleigh County versus property taxes paid by a wind farm. There are certainly other kinds of taxes that would be paid.
Your contact brings up the personal property taxes paid on mining equipment. We did not include these in our analysis. Neither Coal Facts (the industry
publication) nor a University of Kentucky study that examines the economic impacts of the coal industry specifically mention property taxes on mining equipment in their calculations of industry impacts. Keep in mind that mining equipment is often old. We believe that these taxes are relatively small compared with the property taxes that would be paid on the wind turbines. If your contact has hard numbers to refute this, I'd be interested in hearing them.
Also, he brings up the mineral taxes on the seams that would not be mined should turbines be located above the coal. This value is likely to be very small. One major reason is that coal seams less than 30 inches thick are considered unmineable and property taxes are not assessed on these seams. Most of the highest coal seams on Coal River Mountain are less than 30 inches thick and are therefore considered unmineable for property tax purposes. Therefore, it doesn't matter whether or not these seams are mined.
I told the industry guy he could have the last word, and here's what he said about Evan's response:
Hansen evidently doesn't read the Gazette or else he just missed the article about the state tax department raising taxes by changing the surface mine ratio criteria based on recent coal prices. The Gazette did a couple of articles around March 8-9 on the tax increases and the impact on small land owners.
I took a look, and found this story:
 Hundreds of West Virginia property owners with no intention of mining the coal underneath their feet can breathe temporary sighs of relief.
The state has rolled back 2009 tax assessments on some coal reserves to last year's levels after unsuspecting landowners suffered sticker shock in January, said state Tax Department consultant Jeffrey Kern.
The recent reclassification from unmineable to mineable would have added nearly 3.7 million acres to the 4.9 million acres of mineable land last year.
More coal reserves in West Virginia were deemed mineable after the price of coal jumped from about $20 a ton in the early 1990s to about $50 a ton today, Kern said.
And, the State Journal had this take on that same subject:
In January, some West Virginians got an unpleasant surprise in their mailboxes.
The tax assessment of their coal reserves had gone up by more than 10 percent, according to letters from their county assessors. Some assessments actually went up by a lot more.
There were a lot of letters.
"We had pushing 800 mineral tracts that increased in our county," said Preston County Assessor Terri Funk.
The appraised value of reserve coal in Preston County rose from $23 million in 2008 to $109 million in 2009.
In one example Funk pulled at random from her desk, the owner's 225 acres of coal was appraised at $340 last year, with a tax bill of $5.10. This year, the owner was told it was worth $101,150 — likely resulting in a tax bill this summer of more than $1,500.
Preston is one of six or seven counties hit hard by high coal property tax valuations from the West Virginia State Tax Department this year.
Many hundreds of small coal owners in Preston, Harrison, Lincoln, Monongalia and other counties called their county offices and the state to complain.
Bob Kincaid March 27, 2009
If you read all the way to the bottom you get a real picture of the 3-Card Monty game Big Coal's been playing with us all these years.
A worst case scenario of $1500 tax on $100,000 worth of coal? 1.5% Heaven forfend! As a West Virginian with no direct ties to King Coal's influence in Charleston, I pay more than a third of that on a surface parcel 1/225 the size, with no mineral rights.
As the line from the movie goes: "It's good to be the King!"
Bill Howley March 28, 2009
I will throw another twist into the discussion of alternative energy in WV.
In my study of the national electrical situation, I have learned that within WV's borders, there is far more capacity to generate electricity than West Virginian's need. Most statements I have read on the subject indicate that WV only uses 30% of the energy that our power plants can produce.
WV does not need any new electrical generation – wind, solar or coal.
The real problem we are facing is that export markets for our huge overcapacity of power generation are drying up. WV ratepayers will be paying higher and higher rates to cover this stranded investment.
Our future struggle in the state, which no politicians are talking about, is how we are going to downsize WV generating capacity in an orderly fashion.
The national trend is toward adding new generating capacity in or near urban centers where energy demand is highest. Those new generators must be non-coal based, because there is no room for any more pollution in the already highly polluted air over urban centers.
Environmentalists in WV should not be pushing wind farms in WV. West Virginians who care about our state's future should be embracing the trend toward east coast power generation by developing a plan for the rejuvenation of WV's steel industry to meet the huge new demand for off shore wind generating equipment and structural steel. One thing WV's political leaders and the WV PSC should not be doing is supporting the construction of huge new power lines in WV.
I love Coal River Mountain Watch and everything they do to stop MTR, but I would argue that WV doesn't need more wind farms, because that just increases our power generation overcapacity problem.
WV needs a plan for decommissioning our unneeded power plant capacity and for becoming the technological back bone of the development of new generation elsewhere. Gov. Manchin should be cranking up the WV steel industry to be a leader in off shore wind development. He should also be advocating for WV's natural gas industry as the source of fuel for a massive new effort to build sulfur emission free combined cycle power plants in and near major urban areas. Both of these programs are about what West Virginians do best — building things and helping our neighbors.
Bo Webb March 28, 2009
Thin seams only become mineable by increases in market price. Increases in market prices are dictated by demand. Any, and all forms of renewable energy such as wind and solar produce negative demand for coal. It seems to me that the coal industry should get into the business of wind energy if they are to remain a viable investment attraction.
The problem with ramping up the steel industry is, once again, market demand. Manufacturing jobs have been lost to foreign markets. One steel plant can produce enough metals per year to build thousands of wind mills so West Virginia's future is not going to be making steel for the production of wind turbines.
Preserving our mountains and water is a viable asset to protect and a viable asset to promote. Clean water is becoming harder to come by these days. The bottled water industry has become a huge success because of demand. That is one industry we can capitalize on for a long time. Our hardwoods are being knocked down and burned by strip mining coal companies. That is a waste of millions and millions of dollars and jobs that could be created from having our own furniture manufacturing plants in WV. There is so much more we can do, but the political will has to be there.
Casey March 28, 2009
Title 110 sec.3.35 "Mineable coal bed" means coal which is situated so that it may be mined using generally accepted mining practices and suitable equipment. Coal beds which are of a thickness of less than thirty inches (30″) shall not be classified as mineable coal unless there is evidence to the contrary". Once it's permited there's evidence to the contrary. And once it's permited it's taxed at a higher rate than the "reserve" category. Most surface mines in WV mine mostly seams below 30 inches. Property taxes on mining equipment include all associated facilities such as loadouts. New equipment is typically purchased every year and again, this is not dollars that should be ignored (see Fola impact on Clay County). I'd recommend that you include all taxes, monies etc rather than attempting to be accurate at an incremental analysis.
Ken Ward Jr. March 28, 2009
Thanks especially to Casey and Bill f or very interesting comments.
Matthew Cook March 29, 2009
Mr. Ward
I am not sure that anyone else cares at this point, but since you have access to the report's author, perhaps you can clear up an issue that has been bothering me. On page 29 of the report, it states that the total severance tax returned to Raleigh County would be about $600,000 over 17 years or $36,000 per year. According to the other information in the report, a total of 47 million tons is planned to be mined at an average sales price of about $52 dollars per ton for total revenue of $2.4 Billion dollars. The total severance tax on this amount is about $120 million dollars. According to my WV Coal Facts, the state keeps 93% of the severance tax, 5.25% goes to coal producing counties and the remaining 1.75% gets split among the state. Raleigh County's 5.25% of this severance tax should be $6.3 million over 17 years or about $370,000 per year. With the review that this report has received, I would assume I have made a mistake, but I can't find it. If possible could you clear this up for me? Thank you.
My guess is that the report's author, Evan Hansen, takes a peek at Coal Tattoo every once in a while — or at least at these particular posts.
So, Evan — could you answer this question?
Evan Hansen March 29, 2009
Okay, I'll bite.
Matthew Cook had a very reasonable question that I'm happy to respond to. In our report, we calculate that for every severance tax dollar collected, about 0.5% is returned to Raleigh County. See page 3 of our report, the first paragraph in the Background chapter. Using the round numbers in your post, a severance tax of $120 million would return about $600,000 to Raleigh County. Dividing by 17 years, about $35,000/year would go to Raleigh County. This is similar to what we used in the report (we didn't round in the same way). I think the main discrepancy with Matthew's calculation is that the severance taxes returned to counties are split among many counties, and not just sent back to the county in which the mine is located.
Also, while the tax question is interesting and important, please keep in mind that this is not the fundamental conclusion of the report. The report uses standard models to calculate jobs, earnings, and output for three scenarios: (1) mountaintop removal, (2) wind and underground mining, and (3) wind, underground mining, and a local wind turbine manufacturing facility. These are some of the key conclusions:
When combining local externality costs with local earnings, the mountaintop removal mines actually cost the citizens of Raleigh County more than the income they provide. In other words, the increased deaths and illnesses due to increased coal mining—combined with the environmental impacts— are costlier than the earnings provided by the mining.
In comparison, when combining local externalities with local benefits, the wind scenarios are considerably more attractive. Developing the wind resources on Coal River Mountain provides net positive local economic benefits to the region. When combined with a local wind turbine manufacturing industry, even more significant additional local economic benefits are achieved.
Even without considering externalities, the local industry wind scenario would provide more cumulative jobs than the mountaintop removal scenario after 2033—only eight years after the mountaintop removal mines would close.
Mr. Hansen,
Thank you for responding, I appreciate you taking the time. I have re-read page 3 but still have some questions. As I mentioned it is my understanding that 5.25% of all severance funds are allocated back to the producing county on a produced ton basis. Therefore the more coal a county produces the more severance tax they get back. Can you give me a reference to support the 0.5% number? Also, I understand that this is a minor point, but it is one of the more concrete numbers as some of the externalities get rather abstract, and as I mentioned I have seen the $36,000/year quoted in several places. Thank you for your time and response.
Rory McIlmoil March 30, 2009
In response to our coal industry friend's criticisms, I have to say that I feel that he made an error of omission in his critique that calls into question the integrity of his own claims. Here is an excerpt from his letter which Ken shared above:
"What about the loss of unmined mineral taxes on the seams that would be "sterilized" should a wind turbine be located above those reserves? That alone would come close to negating the property taxes paid by a wind farm."
First of all, making the claim that the property taxes that would be paid on the unmined minerals would 'alone come close to negating the property taxes paid by the wind farm,' without offering any data or analysis to back up that claim, renders the claim suspect. So,I challenge you to produce calculations (and the methods you used) showing that the mineral property taxes alone would negate the property taxes paid by the wind farm. After all, you made the claim.
I'll even give you some initial data to help you get started.
The study conducted by Downstream Strategies (DS) notes that the mining permits themselves estimate that 47,093,938 tons of coal are expected to be produced over a 17 year period. According to DS, 8,650,264 tons of that would still be mineable through underground mining methods, meaning that a maximum of 38,443,674 tons of coal could potentially be rendered "sterile" (interesting choice of words…..)
Further, we can assume that if those 38.4 million tons are not mineable by underground coal mining methods, then they would be sold as steam coal. This is because surface mining is generally employed to extract the thinner seams, which are composed of coal that is not of a sufficient grade (thicker seams = more, higher grade coal) to be sold as metallurgical coal. The State Tax Department, as noted in the DS study, taxes steam coal revenues, through a complex method of tax assessment, at a fair market value of $46.98 per ton (which falls in line with the 'about $50 a ton' value that, as noted by the article you referenced above, led to the recent upgrading of the coal reserve base. So we can assume that all of the recoverable coal reserves are included in this analysis).
That is just the starting value for the calculations I expect you would want to conduct in order to back up your claim.
You now have to figure out the appraised value (which from what I hear has something to do with the royalties the coal company is willing to pay the landowner), then multiply that by 60% to get the assessed value, then apply a discount rate, and then multiply that by the county tax rate, which for Raleigh County is 2.3952%.
THAT will allow you to figure out the maximum annual property tax revenues that would be lost should the wind farm be constructed. So, please let me know when you figure that out, and if you can still stand by your claim that the mineral property taxes would 'alone negate the ($1.74 million annual) property taxes that would be paid by the wind farm,' then, upon checking your calculations, I will concede.
I'd also like to address, or add to, Evan Hansen's response to your criticism. He said:
"One major reason (the coal property tax value is likely to be small) is that coal seams less than 30 inches thick are considered unmineable and property taxes are not assessed on these seams. Most of the highest coal seams on Coal River Mountain are less than 30 inches thick and are therefore considered unmineable for property tax purposes."
One response I've heard to that is that at some point after the permit has been approved for a surface mine, even those less-than-30-inch coal seams become "active" and therefore taxable.
So lets assume this is right. And lets assume that Evan Hansen's analysis is correct when he notes that 'most of the highest coal seams on Coal River Mountain are less than 30 inches thick.' I assume he is because the WV Geologic Survey has data and maps showing the thickness and extent of all mapped coal seams in the state, and I am sure Mr. Hansen would know this as well.
If it is, then according to the permits that have been approved for the Bee Tree and Eagle II surface mines on Coal River Mountain, the Bee Tree would operate for 7 years and the Eagle II would operate for 13 years. So lets say that the coal under the Bee Tree permit, which was approved in 2006, if it began operation today, would provide property taxes on the minerals until 2016. The Eagle II, if it began operating in 2010, and was approved in June 2008, would provide property taxes until June of 2023. So 14 more years and a few months from today, and the maximum amount of time that the coal under either of those permitted areas would provide county property tax revenue would be 15 years.
The less than 30 inch seam coal lying under the Eagle III permit will remain inactive and 'unmineable' (given its thickness) at least until the Eagle III permit is approved.
With this information, we can now make the claim that the mineral property taxes on the Bee Tree and Eagle II permitted coal will benefit Raleigh County only through the year 2023 (or 2025 if the Eagle III permit is approved and begins operation in 2012). By comparison, the $1.74 million in property taxes that the wind farm would generate would last forever…..
So, not only do I challenge you to show how the property taxes on the minerals under the ridges of Coal River Mtn would exceed those from the wind farm, I further challenge you to show how those taxes are so great as to – over a span of only 17 years – negate the cumulative tax revenues that would be generated by the wind farm over say a 40 year period (to put a fair limit on it — theoretically those revenues could last for hundreds of years).
And dont forget to take into account depreciation. In my understanding, Downstream Strategies accounted for depreciation in their calculations for the wind farm (and it STILL comes out to an average of $1.74 million per year).
The fact remains, and as reported in the Downstream Strategies study, when you take into account the social and environmental costs of mountaintop removal, blowing up the mountain for 17 years of coal results in a net negative benefit to the local region, indeed resulting in a cumulative economic cost of nearly $600 million. I dont think you can beat that with property taxes.
Rory McIlmoil
Campaign Coordinator
Coal River Mountain Wind campaign
The burden of proof is on the wind advocates if you desire to do central planning for the economy rather than let the free market decide. You need to correct mistakes and republish. All costs and benefits for each option need accurately reflected including property taxes, unmined mineral taxes, severance taxes, payroll taxes, fuel taxes, black lung taxes, Fed reclamation taxes, state reclamation taxes, income taxes, etc.
Met coal properties are unrelated to coal thickness. A lot of met coal is produced from <30″ seams.
Rory McIlmoil April 6, 2009
First of all, I dont write as a representative of Downstream Strategies. They did conduct their economic analysis for the organization I work for, but I took no part in their study and cannot speak for them in responding to your comments. However, I have read the study multiple times and as an advocate for wind instead of MTR for Coal River Mtn, I feel I am qualified to respond.
I disagree, the burden of proof showing that Mountaintop Removal is more economically beneficial than less harmful land uses such as wind development is NOT on wind advocates, but rather on those who protect and employ destructive forms of energy production such as MTR.
Omissions are not necessarily mistakes, they are merely omissions. Peer and public review of research is and should always be used as a check on incomplete or incorrect research. In the case of the DS study, the research that was presented was incomplete, but not incorrect. In fact, when costs and benefits are taken into account, it is justifiable at least to consider only those costs and benefits that make up the greater proportion of the economic comparison. For example, if the taxes on capital used in the MTR process (such as on the bulldozers) are negligible when compared to property or severance taxes, then why would you put time and effort into calculating the negligible taxes when the greater measures for comparison tell the story anyway?
In my personal opinion, the wind property taxes vs. the coal severance taxes offers a substantive and sufficient comparison for looking at local economic costs and benefits. If anything, the property taxes on the unmined minerals probably should have been included in the DS study, and we have been trying to address that here. I am not one of the authors of the study so I can't speak for the research team, but from what it seems, even if you add those property taxes in, the most the county would get from the MTR scenario is about $250K.
But lets address your other taxes. We've covered property and unmined mineral taxes. And severance taxes. Payroll taxes do need to be considered, so if you can help direct those calculations that would be helpful. Perhaps we could assume an individual salary of $65K?
Fuel taxes seem to be something that would cancel out more or less, no matter whether the mountain was developed with wind or MTR. Most of the coal coming out of Coal River Mtn from existing underground mines is transported by conveyor belt to a on-site processing plant (thats a fact).
Black lung taxes – again, if you could help direct, that'd be appreciated. However, i doubt it will be long before we begin seeing silica-lung taxes. Silica is a dangerous lung pollutant in itself, as it slowly turns the walls of the lungs into concrete, and it is produced when you blast silica-based rock such as sandstone and shale into dust particles. So guess who'll be getting those taxes?? Then again, if only surface mines were unionized…..
However, I cant tell if you're advocating for black lung taxes or not?? And is surface mined coal subject to black lung taxes??
Fed and state reclamation taxes — why would they be needed from Coal River Mountain if the mountain was left intact?? The only justification I see here is that they should strip-mine Coal River Mtn in order to pay for reclamation on another site….seems counter-intuitive though, because then ANOTHER mountain would have to be blown up in order to pay for the reclamation on Coal River Mtn…..??
How about we follow Obama's plan, take the AML funding from states who dont need it anymore and put it into reclaiming the 400,000 acres of destroyed, unreclaimed land that already exists in West Virginia. OR, we could increase the bonding amount on surface mine permits so that the heavily underfunded AML fund can breathe a little. You know, make the coal companies pay for properly reclaiming the land and underground mines that they worked on…..which I believe was part of the deal in the first place.
And, as far as I've been told, by both coal company executives, coal association members and land company CEO's, you cant find met coal under 30 inches. If you have a source that shows otherwise, please share it.
Ken, could you edit my previous post so that the second paragraph starts with "So, to respond to your post, I disagree…"?? Otherwise, it sound like I'm disagreeing with my qualifications. Thx.
Matthew Cook April 6, 2009
Mr. McIlmoil,
A few comments: One of the biggest problems I see with the wind project is that according to my analysis of the numbers it makes no sense in the first place. Based on the numbers in the report, one turbine cost 3.2 million up front. After deducting op. expenses, landowner payments and tax payments, one turbine earns a little less than $250,000/year. Over a 20 year cycle, it earns a rate of return of 4.4 %. That is assuming the operator had the free cash to make the investment up front. If you had to borrow the money and pay 6% interest, it is a money loser.
Point two – while the DS report does a good job of concentrating on local benefits, we are citizens of West Virginia. As mentioned in my previous post, DS incorrectly(in my opinion) calculated the local portion of the severance tax which is over $6 million over the mines lives not $600k as in the report. Additionally the state of West Virginia would earn well over $100 million in severance taxes from these mines. As the wind project does not appear profitable, I would assume the state at large would make no additional revenue.
The report touts the benefits to landowners of the wind plan, with each turbine generating about $11,000/year. Although I have no way of knowing what royalty rates are owed on this property, they are typically about 5%. This would mean the landowner stands to make about $120 Million over 17 years.
In response to some of your other questions: some surface mines are union, surface mines do pay black lung tax, reclamation taxes are paid to take care of abandoned sites, the company is responsible for the current mine. Met quality is determined by the chemical properties of the coal, not seam height. I have personal knowledge of seams as thin as 18″ being shipped met including some from within 10 miles of this site.
Jonathan April 9, 2009
I am new to West Virginia, so I may not fully understand all of the numbers in this report, but I do have a background in the wind industry and I am an engineer with a practical mindset.
I am quite skeptical of the touted numbers for wind generation in West Virginia for a number of reasons, ranging from the actual usable amount of wind power to the availability of transmissions lines to get the power to places that need it (see here for a Department of Energy map showing how little wind resources West Virginia actually has and how far they are from major transmission lines: http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/images/windmaps/wv_50m_800.jpg), to the financial hurdles of wind power and the considerable misconceptions as to the longevity and employment prospects of wind farms.
What the present discussion hinges on is the actual local economic benefit of a wind farm versus a coal mine; as is often the case, the Devil is in the details
For example, of the "more than 275 temporary construction jobs" provided by building the wind farm, how many would go to local citizens? Many of these jobs will require special skills and experience not likely to be found locally, and the company who wins the contract to build the installation most likely already has a crew they will bring in for the duration of the project. As for the "40 direct and more than 30 indirect jobs that could essentially last indefinitely", these are also specialized operations and maintenance jobs that are not likely to go to local citizens unless the local government mandates it as part of the permitting process and works with the operator to create a training program for locals to learn the necessary skills. With the high levels of automation and low levels of maintenance required by some types of wind turbines, operators sometimes find it more cost effective to have a single maintenance team that travels between multiple sites than to have a local team at each site. Oh, and the typical life of a wind turbine is about 20 years, unless the project goes bankrupt before that (which has happened, for example in Techapi Pass, the oldest active wind area in the country, which is now plagued with rusting, dangerous eyesores that used to be wind turbines), so the expectation for jobs to be there longer than coal would provide are not necessarily realistic.
While I am all for development of renewable energy solutions, I know they are being advertised as a far more mature solution than they are; while wind power, solar panels, biomass, and other trendy technologies receive considerable press, despite considerable investment over the past decade they are still less than 0.5% of US energy production, and large utilities don't like to deal with them due to the irregularity of their energy production. Most people don't realize the effort that goes into making sure US consumers get reliable energy – or the federal regulations that penalize power producers for not meeting reliability requirements.
At the opposite end of the scale, I do support coal mining, and I think that we should allow Mountaintop Removal if done responsibly – as a new resident, I find it incredible that the mining companies are not required to put the overburden removed from mountains back on the mountain. My suggestion is that the Coal River project should be carefully and responsibly mined, then the mountain should be reclaimed to close to its original shape. Massey's reclamation personnel could then work closely with an end user – wind farm developer, home builder, etc to build the mountain to a useful shape for post coal utilization (for example, wind turbine components are big and heavy, so certain roads are needed and could be planned into the reclamation design).


text:
=pod

=head1 NAME

    Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::AnalysisJob

=head1 DESCRIPTION

    An AnalysisJob is the link between the input_id control data, the analysis and
    the rule system.  It also tracks the state of the job as it is processed

=head1 LICENSE

    Copyright [1999-2015] Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute
    Copyright [2016-2022] EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute

    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
    You may obtain a copy of the License at

         http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License
    is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

=head1 CONTACT

    Please subscribe to the Hive mailing list:  http://listserver.ebi.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/ehive-users  to discuss Hive-related questions or to be notified of our updates

=head1 APPENDIX

    The rest of the documentation details each of the object methods.
    Internal methods are usually preceded with a _

=cut

package Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::AnalysisJob;

use strict;
use warnings;

use Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::Utils ('stringify', 'destringify', 'throw');
use Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::DBSQL::DataflowRuleAdaptor;
use Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::TheApiary;

use base (  'Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::Storable', # inherit dbID(), adaptor() and new() methods, but also hive_pipeline()
            'Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::Params',   # inherit param management functionality
         );

=head1 AUTOLOADED

    prev_job_id / prev_job

    analysis_id / analysis

    controlled_semaphore_id / controlled_semaphore

=cut

sub input_id {
    my $self = shift;
    if(@_) {
        my $input_id = shift @_;
        $self->{'_input_id'} = ref($input_id) ? stringify($input_id) : $input_id;
    }

    return $self->{'_input_id'};
}

sub param_id_stack {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_param_id_stack'} = shift if(@_);
    $self->{'_param_id_stack'} = '' unless(defined($self->{'_param_id_stack'}));
    return $self->{'_param_id_stack'};
}

sub accu_id_stack {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_accu_id_stack'} = shift if(@_);
    $self->{'_accu_id_stack'} = '' unless(defined($self->{'_accu_id_stack'}));
    return $self->{'_accu_id_stack'};
}

sub role_id {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_role_id'} = shift if(@_);
    return $self->{'_role_id'};
}

sub status {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_status'} = shift if(@_);
    return $self->{'_status'} || 'READY';
}

sub retry_count {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_retry_count'} = shift if(@_);
    $self->{'_retry_count'} = 0 unless(defined($self->{'_retry_count'}));
    return $self->{'_retry_count'};
}

sub when_completed {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_when_completed'} = shift if(@_);
    return $self->{'_when_completed'};
}

sub runtime_msec {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_runtime_msec'} = shift if(@_);
    $self->{'_runtime_msec'} = 0 unless(defined($self->{'_runtime_msec'}));
    return $self->{'_runtime_msec'};
}

sub query_count {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_query_count'} = shift if(@_);
    $self->{'_query_count'} = 0 unless(defined($self->{'_query_count'}));
    return $self->{'_query_count'};
}

sub set_and_update_status {
    my ($self, $status ) = @_;

    $self->status($status);

    if(my $adaptor = $self->adaptor) {
        $adaptor->check_in_job($self);
    }
}

sub stdout_file {
  my $self = shift;
  $self->{'_stdout_file'} = shift if(@_);
  return $self->{'_stdout_file'};
}

sub stderr_file {
  my $self = shift;
  $self->{'_stderr_file'} = shift if(@_);
  return $self->{'_stderr_file'};
}

sub accu_hash {
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_accu_hash'} = shift if(@_);
    $self->{'_accu_hash'} = {} unless(defined($self->{'_accu_hash'}));
    return $self->{'_accu_hash'};
}

=head2 autoflow

    Title   :  autoflow
    Function:  Gets/sets flag for whether the job should
               be automatically dataflowed on branch 1 when the job completes.
               If the subclass manually sends a job along branch 1 with dataflow_output_id,
               the autoflow will turn itself off.
    Returns :  boolean (1=default|0)

=cut

sub autoflow {
  my $self = shift;

  $self->{'_autoflow'} = shift if(@_);
  $self->{'_autoflow'} = 1 unless(defined($self->{'_autoflow'}));

  return $self->{'_autoflow'};
}

##-----------------[indicators to the Worker]--------------------------------

sub lethal_for_worker {     # Job should set this to 1 prior to dying (or before running code that might cause death - such as RunnableDB's compilation)
                            # if it believes that the state of things will not allow the Worker to continue normally.
                            # The Worker will check the flag and commit suicide if it is set to true.
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_lethal_for_worker'} = shift if(@_);
    return $self->{'_lethal_for_worker'};
}

sub transient_error {       # Job should set this to 1 prior to dying (or before running code that might cause death)
                            # if it believes that it makes sense to retry the same job without any changes.
                            # It may also set it to 0 prior to dying (or before running code that might cause death)
                            # if it believes that there is no point in re-trying (say, if the parameters are wrong).
                            # The Worker will check the flag and make necessary adjustments to the database state.
                            # Errors are considered transient by default
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_transient_error'} = shift if(@_);
    return ($self->{'_transient_error'} // 1);
}

sub incomplete {            # Job should set this to 0 prior to throwing if the job is done,
                            # but it wants the thrown message to be recorded with is_error=0.
    my $self = shift;
    $self->{'_incomplete'} = shift if(@_);
    return $self->{'_incomplete'};
}

sub died_somewhere {
    my $self = shift;

    $self->{'_died_somewhere'} ||= shift if(@_);    # NB: the '||=' only applies in this case - do not copy around!
    return $self->{'_died_somewhere'} ||=0;
}

##-----------------[/indicators to the Worker]-------------------------------

sub load_stack_and_accu {
    my ( $self ) = @_;

    if(my $job_adaptor = $self->adaptor) {
        my $job_id          = $self->dbID;
        my $accu_adaptor    = $job_adaptor->db->get_AccumulatorAdaptor;

        if($self->param_id_stack or $self->accu_id_stack) {
            my $input_ids_hash      = $job_adaptor->fetch_input_ids_for_job_ids( $self->param_id_stack, 2, 0 );     # input_ids have lower precedence (FOR EACH ID)
            my $accu_hash           = $accu_adaptor->fetch_structures_for_job_ids( $self->accu_id_stack, 2, 1 );     # accus have higher precedence (FOR EACH ID)
            my %input_id_accu_hash  = ( %$input_ids_hash, %$accu_hash );
            $self->{'_unsubstituted_stack_items'} = [ @input_id_accu_hash{ sort { $a <=> $b } keys %input_id_accu_hash } ];   # take a slice. Mmm...
        }

        $self->accu_hash( $accu_adaptor->fetch_structures_for_job_ids( $job_id )->{ $job_id } );
    }
}

sub load_parameters {
    my ($self, $runnable_object) = @_;

    $self->load_stack_and_accu();

    my @params_precedence = (
        $runnable_object ?                      $runnable_object->param_defaults : (),
                                                $self->hive_pipeline->params_as_hash,
        $self->analysis ?                       $self->analysis->parameters : (),
        $self->{'_unsubstituted_stack_items'} ? @{ $self->{'_unsubstituted_stack_items'}} : (),
                                                $self->input_id,
                                                $self->accu_hash,
    );

    my $prev_transient_error = $self->transient_error(); # make a note of previously set transience status
    $self->transient_error(0);
    $self->param_init( @params_precedence );
    $self->transient_error($prev_transient_error);
}

sub flattened_stack_and_accu {      # here we assume $self->load_stack_and_accu() has already been called by $self->load_parameters()
    my ( $self, $overriding_hash, $extend_param_stack ) = @_;

    return $self->fuse_param_hashes( $extend_param_stack ? (@{$self->{'_unsubstituted_stack_items'}}, $self->input_id) : (),
                                $self->accu_hash,
                                $overriding_hash );
}

sub fan_cache {     # a self-initializing getter (no setting)
                    # Returns a hash-of-lists { 2 => [list of jobs waiting to be funneled into 2], 3 => [list of jobs waiting to be funneled into 3], etc}
    my $self = shift;

    return $self->{'_fan_cache'} ||= {};
}

=head2 dataflow_output_id

    Title        :  dataflow_output_id
    Arg[1](req)  :  <string> $output_id
    Arg[2](opt)  :  <int> $branch_name_or_code (optional, defaults to 1)
    Usage        :  $self->dataflow_output_id($output_id, $branch_name_or_code);
    Function:
      If a RunnableDB(Process) needs to create jobs, this allows it to have jobs
      created and flowed through the dataflow rules of the workflow graph.
      This 'output_id' becomes the 'input_id' of the newly created job at
      the ends of the dataflow pipes.  The optional 'branch_name_or_code' determines
      which dataflow pipe(s) to flow the job through.

=cut

sub dataflow_output_id {
    my ($self, $output_ids, $branch_name_or_code) = @_;

    my $input_id                = $self->input_id();
    my $hive_use_param_stack    = $self->hive_pipeline->hive_use_param_stack;

    $output_ids    =  destringify($output_ids) unless ref($output_ids);     # destringify the string
    $output_ids    = [ $output_ids ] unless(ref($output_ids) eq 'ARRAY');   # force previously used single values into an arrayref

    my @destringified_output_ids;
    foreach my $output_id (@$output_ids) {
        $output_id = destringify($output_id) unless ref($output_id);        # destringify the string
        if ((defined $output_id) and (ref($output_id) ne 'HASH')) {         # Only undefs and hashrefs work as input_ids
            die stringify($output_id)." is not a hashref ! Cannot dataflow";
        }
        push @destringified_output_ids, $output_id;
    }

        # map branch names to numbers:
    my $branch_code = Bio::EnsEMBL::Hive::DBSQL::DataflowRuleAdaptor::branch_name_2_code($branch_name_or_code);

        # if branch_code is set to 1 (explicitly or implicitly), turn off automatic dataflow:
    $self->autoflow(0) if($branch_code == 1);

    my @output_job_ids = ();

        # fan rules come sorted before funnel rules for the same branch_code:
    foreach my $df_rule ( @{ $self->analysis->dataflow_rules_by_branch->{$branch_code} || [] } ) {

        my $targets_grouped_by_condition    = $df_rule->get_my_targets_grouped_by_condition;    # the pairs are deliberately ordered to put the DEFAULT branch last
        my @conditions                      = map { $_->[0] } @$targets_grouped_by_condition;

        my $total_output_ids_for_the_rule = 0;

        foreach my $output_id (@destringified_output_ids) {  # filter the output_ids and place them into the [2] part of $targets_grouped_by_condition
            my $condition_match_count = 0;
            foreach my $condition_idx (0..@conditions-1) {
                my $unsubstituted_condition = $conditions[$condition_idx];

                if(defined($unsubstituted_condition)) {
                    if(my $substituted_condition = $self->param_substitute('#expr('.$unsubstituted_condition.')expr#', $output_id)) {
                        $condition_match_count++;
                    } else {
                        next;   # non-DEFAULT condition branch failed
                    }
                } elsif($condition_match_count) {
                    next;   # DEFAULT condition branch failed, because one of the conditions fired
                } else {
                    # DEFAULT condition branch succeeded => follow to the push
                }

                push @{$targets_grouped_by_condition->[$condition_idx][2]}, $output_id;
                $total_output_ids_for_the_rule += scalar( @{ $targets_grouped_by_condition->[$condition_idx][1] } );
            }
        }

        my $fan_cache_for_this_rule = exists($self->fan_cache->{"$df_rule"}) && $self->fan_cache->{"$df_rule"};
        if($fan_cache_for_this_rule && @$fan_cache_for_this_rule && $total_output_ids_for_the_rule!=1) {
            die "The total number of funnel output_ids (considering ".scalar(@conditions)." conditions) was $total_output_ids_for_the_rule, but expected to be 1. Please investigate";
        }

        foreach my $triple (@$targets_grouped_by_condition) {
            my ($unsubstituted_condition, $df_targets, $filtered_output_ids) = @$triple;

            if($filtered_output_ids && @$filtered_output_ids) {

                foreach my $df_target (@$df_targets) {

                    my $extend_param_stack  = $hive_use_param_stack || $df_target->extend_param_stack;                      # this boolean is df_target-specific
                    my $default_param_hash  = $extend_param_stack ? {} : $input_id;                                         # this is what undefs will turn into

                    my @pre_substituted_output_ids = map { $_ // $default_param_hash } @$filtered_output_ids;

                        # parameter substitution into input_id_template is also df_target-specific:
                    my $output_ids_for_this_rule;
                    if(my $template_string = $df_target->input_id_template()) {
                        my $template_hash = destringify($template_string);
                        $output_ids_for_this_rule = [ map { $self->param_substitute($template_hash, $_) } @pre_substituted_output_ids ];
                    } else {
                        $output_ids_for_this_rule = \@pre_substituted_output_ids;
                    }

                    my $target_object       = $df_target->to_analysis;
                    my $same_db_dataflow    = $self->analysis->hive_pipeline == $target_object->hive_pipeline;

                    unless($same_db_dataflow) {
                        my $prev_transient_error = $self->transient_error(); # make a note of previously set transience status
                        $self->transient_error(0);
                        @$output_ids_for_this_rule = map { $self->flattened_stack_and_accu( $_, $extend_param_stack ); } @$output_ids_for_this_rule;
                        $self->transient_error($prev_transient_error);
                    }

                    my ($stored_listref) = $target_object->dataflow( $output_ids_for_this_rule, $self, $same_db_dataflow, $extend_param_stack, $df_rule );

                    push @output_job_ids, @$stored_listref;

                } # /foreach my $df_target
            } # /if(filtered_output_ids are workable)
        } # /foreach my $unsubstituted_condition
    } # /foreach my $df_rule

    return \@output_job_ids;
}

sub url_query_params {
     my ($self) = @_;

     return {
        'job_id'                => $self->dbID,
     };
}

sub toString {
    my $self = shift @_;

    my $analysis_label = $self->analysis
        ? ( $self->analysis->logic_name.'('.$self->analysis_id.')' )
        : '(NULL)';

    return 'Job dbID='.($self->dbID || '(NULL)')." analysis=$analysis_label, input_id='".$self->input_id."', status=".$self->status.", retry_count=".$self->retry_count;
}

sub fetch_local_blocking_semaphore {    # ToDo: we may want to perform smart caching in future
    my $self = shift @_;

    return $self->adaptor->db->get_SemaphoreAdaptor->fetch_by_dependent_job_id( $self->dbID );
}

1;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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