text:
Landmark study shows treatment prevents HIV transmission in gay couples
Article by Roberto Igual | May 3, 2019 | In HEADLINES, HEALTH, Mambagirl News
A major eight-year study has confirmed that HIV-positive gay and other men who have sex with men who are on effective HIV treatment cannot transmit the virus through sex.
The research, published in The Lancet, involved nearly 1,000 gay couples in Europe in which one partner was HIV positive and on treatment that suppressed the virus.
Over the eight years and 77,000 times the couples had sex, there were zero instances of infections between the HIV positive and the HIV negative partners.
The PARTNER2 study, led by University College London (UCL) and the University of Copenhagen, has been described as "conclusive" in showing that effective treatment could end the HIV epidemic.
The researchers estimated that, based on the type and frequency of sexual contact, treatment prevented around 472 HIV transmissions in the couples who took part.
The results showed that antiretroviral treatment (ART) is just as effective for gay couples as it is for heterosexual couples, which was proved in an earlier phase of the study. The proviso to all this is that the treatment must be consistent and working, resulting in a viral load of less than 200 copies/mL. in HIV positive individuals.
"Our findings provide conclusive evidence for gay men that the risk of HIV transmission with suppressive ART is zero," said lead author, Prof Alison Rodger (UCL Institute for Global Health).
Impossible to overstate the importance of these findings
"Our findings support the message of the international U=U campaign, that a suppressed viral load makes HIV untransmittable. This message has been endorsed by more than 780 HIV organisations in 96 countries and can help end the HIV pandemic by preventing HIV transmission, and tackling the stigma and discrimination that many people with HIV face," said Rodger.
"Increased efforts must now focus on wider dissemination of this powerful message and ensuring that all HIV-positive people have access to testing, effective treatment, adherence support and linkage to care to help maintain an undetectable viral load."
Professor Jens Lundgren, professor of Infectious Diseases at Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, agreed: "We have now provided the conclusive scientific evidence for how treatment effectively prevents further sexual transmission of HIV."
Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, commented: "It is impossible to overstate the importance of these findings. The PARTNER study has given us the confidence to say, without doubt, that people living with HIV who are on effective treatment cannot pass the virus on to their sexual partners.
"This has incredible impact on the lives of people living with HIV and is a powerful message to address HIV-related stigma," added Brady.
The study also reaffirmed the importance of individuals knowing their HIV status as by doing so they would be able to get treatment if needed and no longer risk unknowingly infecting their partners. As of 2017, there were an estimated 40 million people worldwide living with HIV, of whom only 21.7 million were on antiretroviral treatment.
Free HIV testing and treatment is available at no cost at government clinics across South Africa as well as clinics that specifically serve gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. These include Engage Men's Health in Melville, Johannesburg (010 500 0934), OUT's TEN81 Centre in Pretoria (012 430 3272 / 066 190 5812) and the Ivan Toms Clinic in Greenpoint, Cape Town (021 447 2844).


text:
The 5 Biggest Problems With This 'Diablo Immortal' Fiasco
Erik Kain Contributor
Diablo Immortal has been a bad joke since it was announced.
Credit: Blizzard
Blizzard announced a new mobile game during BlizzCon this year. Diablo Immortal was the big reveal during the publisher's keystone event and gamers were not happy.
The reveal was not met with applause or excitement. Rather, a collective sigh filled the room, followed by stunned disbelief and then, later, roiling anger.
Gamers were so unhappy that one even asked the studio if this was a delayed April Fool's joke, a question many deemed inappropriate but which I find not only fitting but quite funny. After all, Blizzard is either joking or completely out of touch to announce this game in this fashion in front of this audience.
It's not that a mobile Diablo game is a bad idea in and of itself. It's the combination of many factors conspiring to upset Blizzard's most ardent fan base. Let's look at the biggest missteps, overreactions and other assorted problems with this whole fiasco.
1. The announcement itself.
Diablo Immortal should not have been the big BlizzCon announcement.
Honestly, what the hell was Blizzard thinking announcing a mobile game as the capstone reveal of the BlizzCon keynote event in front of its most passionate fans---all of whom are PC and console players first and foremost?
The company has said, in post-announcement interviews, that they were taken off guard by the overwhelmingly negative reaction. But that's only possible if you're this out-of-touch with your fanbase to begin with. It doesn't take much forethought to anticipate how negatively fans are going to react. After all, it's been six years since Diablo 3 released and we've heard virtually nothing about a proper sequel. Blizzard knows full well how much hype surrounds that news, and while they did publicly note that a new mainline Diablo wouldn't be announced this year, many gamers didn't see the blog post in question and expected at least a remaster of Diablo 2 to be announced.
Instead, fans at BlizzCon were introduced to a mobile game. Simply tossing in a brief teaser with the words 'Diablo 4' at the end would have changed the story from negative to positive at the outset. Everyone would be excited for the new PC title and rightly view the mobile title as a placeholder akin to Fallout Shelter or Fallout 76.
When everything else is said and done, if gamers were simply given a taste of Diablo 4 to tide them over, this whole fiasco would have been a much smaller controversy.
If we knew even the tiniest details, had even a sliver of a glimpse at the game or a cinematic from it, this firestorm would have been almost entirely avoided.
Diablo 3 was mired in a great deal of controversy at launch but went on not only to great success, but to become a truly great game in its own right. Of course gamers are eager to find out more---to find out anything, really. Anything at all about Diablo 4.
It doesn't help that early reports from players of the Diablo Immortal demo are largely tepid at best. It doesn't help that we PC and console players are not only aware of the mobile game industry's bad monetization practices, but also of the limits of mobile gaming's inputs and controls. We know for a fact that Immortal won't be as good as a PC Diablo title. It's not possible.
So we're left clueless as ever, still wondering when and what the next real Diablo game will be.
With a bungled announcement, one might expect that fingers would be pointed at Blizzard and its surprising incompetence on this front, but sadly that was largely brushed under the table as everyone began focusing their ire on the usual suspects: Gamers.
2. The reaction to the reaction.
Stop it with the "entitled gamer" routine.
Here's something I've noticed over and over again as the years shuffle on: When there's a controversy in the gaming industry, the impulse seems to be to point fingers at gamers and how wicked and entitled they are rather than think of them as consumers. Consumers have every right to be upset when corporations do a poor job at offering them products they actually want, and yet in gaming (for whatever reason almost entirely unique in this regard) the biggest fans are often the ones who get the most blame.
Is it really gamers' fault for being upset by the Diablo Immortal announcement? Are they just "entitled gamers" once again, as they were decried during the Mass Effect 3 controversy and countless others? Or are they actually entitled to a little upset when they're let down by the very companies whose games they buy and support? After all, without consumers a company is dead in the water. Game publishers and the press forget this at their peril.
Let's conjure a metaphor. Imagine going to a restaurant that's been hyping this amazing steak dinner. Everyone is excited for this dinner but when they get there, the waiter tells them sorry we don't have steak but it's still going to be a great dinner, just wait and see. Then they bring out steamed veggies.
The customers are upset. They were expecting steak, and if not steak they were expecting a meal still and yet all they're given is steamed veggies. "Is this a joke?" one asks.
Now imagine that these customers are told they're exhibiting signs of "toxic masculinity" and that they're just "entitled" crybabies who need to shut up and go home. The restaurant has every right to make steamed veggies and if they're just patient, down the road they'll also have steak. Headlines make much ado over these entitled restaurant goers who can't just shut up and eat their broccoli.
I'm sorry but if this sounds crazy to you, welcome to the gaming industry where we're routinely given broccoli and told to chew, promises of steak be damned.
Articles that decry gamers as "asses" hardly help. They just make game writers feel superior while fanning the flames and accomplishing absolutely nothing productive. Blizzard developers asking their biggest fans "Do you guys not have phones?" when they see how disappointed they are that this game isn't coming to PC is likewise incredibly unhelpful. How is this the customers' fault?
No, it is not entitled to expect the company you've supported for years to announce something geared toward you at their biggest event of the year. That's not entitlement or toxic or anything else, and anyone saying so is missing the point very badly indeed.
Another important note: BlizzCon attendees spend money to be there and even pay for virtual access. To then be given a capstone announcement directed not at the core fanbase in attendance, but to millions of casual gamers who aren't longtime fans is an obvious, if unintentional, slap in the face.
3. We know next to nothing about the game.
So how will MTX work in Diablo Immortal?
Adding injury to insult, we know virtually nothing about Diablo Immortal. Some people were able to demo it at BlizzCon, but they came away with no knowledge of the most important systems like how gear and loot works.
We also have no clue what kind of monetization Blizzard plans to use, but given the dismal state of the mobile industry and the way it plays to whales and the Asian market where microtransaction, pay-to-win schemes and other dubious revenue practices are much more widely accepted, we can be forgiven for our skepticism.
Blizzard's silence on this issue is worrisome.
4. It sure looks like a reskin, and even if it isn't the concept is horribly dated.
Another issue with the game is that Blizzard isn't even developing it on its own. Mobile studio NetEase has that honor. And that not only justifiably worries many gamers, it prompted some cyber-sleuths to start digging. They discovered that Diablo Immortal looks an awful lot like NetEase's Endless of God, another hack-and-slash mobile loot game that's essentially a Diablo knock-off.
While Blizzard has denied that this is a reskin, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a mobile developer has essentially taken assets, systems, UI and other design elements from one of their other games and then just changed a few things (art, story, some mechanics) and called it a new title.
I can't say one way or another, but just the bad smell associated with this practice, and the early incriminations surrounding the game, will be enough to make it stick.
Worse, I'm confused why Blizzard thinks another mobile action-RPG in this vein is even necessary. Mobile gamers have been playing this type of clone for ages, and simply stamping Diablo on it strikes me as not enough.
Blizzard should have taken a page from Epic Games and Fortnite---not by releasing a Diablo Battle Royale, but by releasing a cross-platform Diablo experience. Imagine if Diablo 4 released not only on PC and consoles, but on Mac, iOS, Android, etc. and allowed full-blown crossplay on all these platforms. You could play the game with gamers on PC, PS4 and mobile all at the same time. If any game is suited to this type of play, it's Diablo.
If nothing else, this feels like a huge missed opportunity.
5. Blizzard made its own bed.
Diablo Immortal is a disappointment to fans not just because it's a mobile game but because this is Blizzard. This isn't EA or any number of other companies we expect this kind of thing from. Blizzard has spent decades cultivating a fierce following based on the quality of its games. Blizzard doesn't put out games constantly, but when it does we get titles like Overwatch, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. Pillars of gaming.
Having a mobile developer like NetEase take the lead on this game is galling enough on its own, announcement foibles aside, press overreaction aside, and lack of Diablo 4 news aside.
Blizzard is supposed to give fans a taste of the great things it has coming down the pipeline at BlizzCon. Instead, they served up a mobile game announcement as the big news and then scoffed at their fans when they reacted with anger and disappointment. This is not the Blizzard fans have come to know and love.
It reminds me of so many other beloved developers who inexplicably changed, the spirit of the company and their games left in tatters, only a brand remaining. I'm not saying that's what will happen with Blizzard here, but this is the kind of bad move that leads down that dark path. It's troublesome to say the least.
Will Blizzard respond by giving fans what they're asking for? Will the company show us that we're wrong and that they have quality games in the pipeline that can excite the hardcore fans? Or will they set all that aside and chase profits at the expense of what has made this company so beloved to begin with? These are the questions that need to be asked. Not whether gamers are "entitled" or "asses" or "toxic" or whatever other ludicrous scapegoat has been thrown their way.
But hey, welcome to the vicious cycle.
Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website.
I write about video games, TV and movies.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Loren The Amazon Princess is a Fantasy RPG visual novel by Italian independent studio Winter Wolves. The game was released on April 30, 2012. The game works for the Android, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows platforms. The expansion The Castle Of N'mar was released on September 28, 2012. A spin-off titled Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf was released on November 15, 2014

Gameplay
The game offers a mix of classic visual novel gameplay, with RPG elements. The player reads through the story and occasionally has to fight against fantasy monsters. At the beginning the player can choose between a male human protagonist and a female elven protagonist. Furthermore, it offers a variety of romance options with the party members, including homosexual relationships, and has different endings, based on the choices of the player and the relationships.

Battles can take place between the player's party and a party of enemies, with a maximum of six characters on each side. Each party consists of a front row, that is typically occupied by warrior type characters and can be attacked by anyone, and a back row, which typically holds weaker ranged and magical characters, that melee characters can only attack if the front row is unoccupied, in which case all on the back row will be forced to the front. Characters are able to swap places with others, or can move into unoccupied spaces on their turn, and warriors can gain the ability to force a character to swap with the one behind them.

Characters take it in turns to attack, with their speed, as well as the moves they use, determining how long they must wait. When a character's turn comes up, they have the choice of either attacking an enemy with their equipped weapon or abilities, using an ability to support the party, using an item for either healing or offense, or switching places. Should everyone in the player's party be killed, the player can reload a previous save. The player does not have the option of fleeing a battle, but should they win, the health and MP of all characters will be completely refilled, except at certain points of the story. As the player gains more followers, exceeding the maximum number of people they can have in a battle, they can reorganise the battle group outside of battles.

Characters are divided into three classes, the first two of which can be selected for the player character: Warriors, who possess powerful melee moves and can wear heavy armor, but are largely limited to attacking enemies in the front row, Thieves, who can wield bows to shoot at any enemy, and have skillsets focused on taking advantage of enemies being put into weakened states, and Mages, who have access to magic attacks that can hit multiple enemies wherever they are, but have less endurance than the other classes. In addition, each character has a specialization giving them a further variety of abilities, e.g. both Loren and Amukiki are warriors, however Loren's specialization gives her abilities based around dual-wielding weapons, while Amukiki's gives him ones that focus on supporting the player's party. Whatever class the player character has, their specialization will always focus on healing abilities.

Plot
The game begins with Loren, the princess of the Amazons, who has to find her mother, Karen, the queen of the Amazons, who has gone missing. She starts her journey with the protagonist, a slave of the Amazons with healing magic. Since Amazon law forbids a princess from leaving their home, the Citadel, Loren is forced to renounce her princesshood, and with it her access to the Amazons assets.

On their journey they are joined by a variety of companions, including the dwarves Ramas and Dora, the half-elf Draco, the Elder Druid Myrth and the elf assassin Rei. Ultimately they find Karen, discovering that she had attempted to run away with her slave, who she had fallen in love with, and was killed by lizardmen. While on the journey, Loren takes possession of the Hawk Blade, a sword that Myrth explains is a weapon granted by the Gods, and that for Loren to have it means that she will have a huge impact on the world.

Grob, a servant of the Death Knight Fost, tricks the Human Empire and the Elves of GrandTree into going to war with one another, supposedly to keep them distracted from his plans. Archwizard Apolimesho and Myrth, representing the humans and elves respectively, discover the treachery and ask Loren and her comrades to end the war. They proceed to find proof that Fost has returned and that the demons of Everburn are a more important threat than either side in the war, and an alliance is agreed on between the two races and the Amazons.

After disagreements between the elves and humans threaten to fracture the alliance, it is decided that Loren should be in command of the combined forces. To convince the elven and human leaders of this, the party kill Krul, a nomad who has been harassing the human city of Horus with his orc army, as well as the succubus Jul, a servant of Fost who has bewitched the dark elves. Upon returning to the Citadel, they discover the Amazons have been afflicted with a magical plague, forcing them to work with the dark witch Chambara to develop a cure.
Once this is concluded, the party learn that both sides have been forced to give control of their armies to Loren.

The alliance invades Everburn, forcing their way to Fost's castle. During the invasion, Loren, Karen and the protagonist learn from Apolimesho that in order to destroy Fost for good, one of them must sacrifice themselves to do so. As the party storms the castle, a ceiling collapses, sending the party into the Under-Realm, a plane of existence between the mortal world and the afterlife. The protagonist makes their way through the Under-Realm, before encountering Fost, and facing him along with Loren, Karen and whatever members of their party they had managed to recover. After defeating Fost, the protagonist must choose whether to stop Loren or Karen from sacrificing themselves, or to do so themself.

Whatever choice is made, an epilogue shows the fates of all the party members and those who helped them. If the protagonist did not sacrifice themself, they are revealed to be the writer of the story mentioned at the start of the game, whereas if they did, the writer is Loren.

Characters
 Saren (voiced by Steven Kelley): The male protagonist of Loren The Amazon Princess.
 Elenor (voiced by Apphia Yu): The female protagonist of Loren The Amazon Princess.
 Loren (voiced by Kimlinh Tran): The eponymous princess of the Amazons. She can be romanced by both Saren and Elenor.
 Amukiki (voiced by Sean Chiplock): A warrior and the Champion of the Arena. He's a gladiator of Grimoire. He can be romanced by both Saren and Elenor.
 Apolimesho (voiced by Kevin M. Connolly): An old magician and the Archwizard of Grimoire.
 Dora (voiced by Sarah Anne Williams): She's a dwarf and a thief.
 Draco (voiced by Micah Solusod): An Mage Elementalist. His specialty is fire. He can be romanced by Saren.
 Karen (voiced by Karen Kahler): The Amazon Queen, who disappeared from the Amazon Citadel. She can be romanced by Elenor.
 Myrth (voiced by Jill Harris): One of the Elder Druids of GrandTree. She is one with nature. She can be romanced by Saren.
 Ramas (voiced by Chris Niosi): A dwarf merchant-warrior.
 Rei (voiced by Patrick M. Seymour): He is an Assassin and one of the best elven marksmen. He can be romanced by Elenor.
 Chambara (voiced by Michelle Rojas): She is a dark witch. She is only available in the expansion. She can be romanced by both Saren and Elenor.
 Mesphit (voiced by Edward Bosco): A dark elf who mixed his blood with demons. He is only available in the expansion. He can be romanced by both Saren and Elenor.
 Sauzer (voiced by Peter Gerkman): The leader of the Disciples Of Truth. He is only available in the expansion.

Development
The game was created with Ren'Py. It features a theme song by Cristina Vee, composed by Matthew Myers: Until I'm Broken. The original idea and the storyboard was invented by Celso Riva, while the writing was done by Aleema. The art was done by Shiver M., Teodoro Gonzalez, Goran Kostadinoski, and Peter Petkov. Battle voice director was Ayu Sakata. An official trailer for the game was released on May 22, 2012.

Expansion and sequel
The expansion of the game The Castle Of N'mar was released on September 28, 2012. The expansion offers four new party members (Mesphit, Sauzer, Chambara, and Trouble), new romance options for Meshpit and Chambara, new locations, including the Castle of N'mar, and new story events. A direct sequel to Loren the Amazon Princess is in development and was expected for a release in 2016 or 2017, only to be pushed to a 2018 or 2019 release.

Spin-off

A spin-off titled Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf was released on November 15, 2014. The game is set in the same universe as Loren the Amazon Princess and features new characters and locations. The story is centered around the siblings Althea and Shea who live in the northern regions of Aravorn.

Reception
The game received a score of 83/100 on TechnologyTell, with reviewer Jenni Lada writing: "While I'll admit I bristled a bit at the fan-service in Loren: Amazon Princess, even with the censor option turned on, it's worth overlooking as the battle system is well arranged and challenging and the overall story of a young man or woman rising from slavery to become second in command of an army that will help save the world is very well done. I especially liked how the decisions, mostly those made in the fourth chapter, did influence the ending and epilogue. While it may be a bit expensive and is definitely only for mature audiences, it's well made, tells an interesting tale and I could honestly see playing through it a second time to see what effect different choices would have on the story." Capsule Computers review gave 8.5 of 10 points to the game and wrote: "Loren: The Amazon Princess is a solidly built game and it has a lot of different options and choices for players to work through. The game totes how a player can't do it all in one playthrough and even the romance aside, it can't be.  Featuring a heck of a lot of replay value, this game provides plenty of hours of enjoyment and what is actually about two novels of game text."

References

External links
 Official website for Loren The Amazon Princess
 Loren The Amazon Princess in the Visual Novel Database

2012 video games
Adventure games
Android (operating system) games
Fantasy video games
Indie video games
IOS games
LGBT-related video games
Linux games
MacOS games
Ren'Py games
Video games featuring female protagonists
Windows games
Video games developed in Italy
Video games with alternate endings
Video games with expansion packs

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I received a notice of copyright infringement from Comcast for the first time.
I received the notice after torrenting Justice League from pirate bay.
First time. I feel asleep while downloading during the night. Woke up in the morning and it was seeding. Deleted the seeding file, but when I checked my email (as I do every morning), the notice was there. Even had the time I started the download, along with the exact file name.
The whole thing freaked me out. Always knew my online activity can be tracked but seeing that for the first time shocked me. So I got VPN from IPVanish. No more browsing online naked again.
Yep, I go there to make sure my DNS is not leaking. In fact I would say because of this incident, I now understand how IP & ISP work. Never knew those sh*t until yesterday.
Nope! No mail. Got the notice in an email, almost exactly after I started downloading--if I compare the time I received the email and when I started. 10 minutes after about.
They have people (not comcast, but folks associated with the movie) also lurking on torrent sites. They download the movie just like you, and just like you, can see what IP's are seeding them. It's not the download that you got in trouble for, its the upload since you are now sharing a copyright material.
I suspected that. I never seed. Always download and then delete the seed, but since I feel asleep and woke up with the file seeding for a couple hours, I think that's what got me in trouble.
while you are downloading, you are seeding what you have currently downloaded... that is just the nature of torrents.
yep, been there done that... and the torrent client is smart enough to know if you limit your uploads, so it limits your download to prevent leechers. You are better off getting your download as fast as possible, and get offline before you are noticed.
Too bad you wasted that download on such a bad movie.
That was the worst part. The movie was sh*t.
Happens all the time. It's like an unoccupied police car on the road. Scare tactic to keep you in line. It's been 18 years and I've received like 5.
I just received one from Comcast for downloading Fallout 4 like a week ago, which doesn't even work. So nothing will happen if I continue downloading games, but games that I know would work like GTA San Andreas or something?
This was years ago, but after a certain number, they would disable your internet service entirely. Not sure if that's how it is now, but if you're going to be torrenting, be smart about it.


We custom-tailor your hunt to fit your specific needs.
No more than 3 hunters in a group. Each group is welcome to use their own dogs or Foxwood Plantation can provide well-trained dogs at an additional fee.
All hunters must wear hunters orange.
Foxwood Plantation can provide services for 6-9 hunters for the morning as well as for the afternoon hunt.
The club house at Foxwood Plantation offers comfortable sitting area, hot showers, and an inviting stone fireplace where you can relax and warm yourself. Lodging near by and numerous restaurants.


the Catalina Express which runs from (north to south) San Pedro, Queen Mary, Long Beach and Dana Point to Avalon as well as Two Harbors (only from San Pedro), up to 8 times a day. Currently between $73 and $75 per person, round trip.
We decided to go with Catalina Express since Dana Point is farthest south (we live in San Diego) and it gives us more options for times.
Hotels are pretty expensive on the island, which is predictable. There are other options, though, which make it more affordable if you have a group or want to camp. A group of 5 girlfriends did a trip and we investigated home rentals on VRBO before settling on a great place in Hamilton Cove.
It's more than walking distance from town, but a golf cart was included in our rental. I did camp at Hermit Gulch, near Avalon, once which was good. But for an anniversary trip we wanted to get a place with some creature comforts. We settled on the Catalina Island Inn mostly by doing research on TripAdvisor. Pretty much every hotel is just blocks from the beach, so location is not really a consideration, except for Catalina Canyon which is inland a little ways out of town, which was a bit inconvenient after a night out. And the Inn on Mt Ada, which is a spectacular old Wrigley mansion on the bluff above the town.
There is lots to do on the island. And there is nothing to do. You can pretty much cover all the self-catered activities in a few hours as the town is small, so a day is fine. But to really relax into Catalina style you should stay overnight and let the island isolation sink in. The place really clears out by about 7pm when most of the ferries have taken day trippers back to the mainland.
Snorkeling in Lover's Cove - a few minute's walk east past the dock on Pebbly Beach Road. You can bring snorkel gear, or rent it nearby. There are tours, but that's really not necessary as there are lots of fish, especially bright garabaldi, and the cove is protected. You just have to watch out for the glass bottom boats that come by periodically!
Kayaking - rent one at Wet Spot close to the dock: half day $45 for single, $60 for double (currently they have a $5 off coupon on the website). The waters near Avalon are generally very calm so you can take off from Avalon and head west along the shore, stopping for snorkeling at secluded beaches.
Tours - there are tons of them, on boats, in the water, walking around town, hiking, up to the airport, driving through the backcountry, etc. I've done a few, but none really pop as must-do's.
We are vegetarians, and there seem to be some options at most places (default=veggie burger), but the focus is more on meat-based cuisine. So Mexican and Italian places are usually the best options for us.
Lunch at the Inn on Mt Ada - if staying there is too pricey, check out breakfast ($25) or lunch ($33). Best view on the island. Need reservations.
El Galleon is right on the beach, so plenty of people watching. Good margaritas, interesting decor and near the pier so it's convenient if you are waiting for a tour.
Mi Casita is a good Mexican place with the traditional fun decor. Also has good margaritas!


text:
Q: DB2 error on TSQL using SELECT AS alias and an inner join I am writing a T-SQL program over a DB2 database on a LINUX box (DB2/LINUXX8664) using a linked server. I think the DB2 is Version 9.5.3 but not certain. I am receiving an error that I feel is likely a DB2 issue as the syntax checks out okay in T-SQL. This is the code:
IF(SELECT(OBJECT_ID('TEMPDB..#TempFile))) IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #TempFile

SELECT        *

INTO  #TempFile
FROM  OPENQUERY(LinkedServer, '

SELECT  F.LOAN_NUMBER,

   (SELECT
    SUM(EXP_CHILD_CARE_AMOUNT) + SUM(EXP_FOOD_AMOUNT) +
    SUM(EXP_LIFE_INSURANCE_AMOUNT) + SUM(EXP_TRANSPORTATION_AMOUNT) + SUM(EXP_TUITION_AMOUNT)+
    SUM(EXP_USER_1_AMOUNT) + SUM(EXP_USER_2_AMOUNT) + SUM(EXP_USER_3_AMOUNT) +
    SUM(EXP_UTILITIES_AMOUNT)
    FROM FINANCIAL F)
       AS ExpenseTotal,

    (SELECT
     SUM(MORTGAGOR_NET_PAY_AMOUNT) + SUM(MORTGAGOR_OTHER_INCOME_AMOUNT) AS IncomeTotal
     FROM FINANCIAL F
      INNER JOIN BDE.LOAN_V a ON F.LOAN_NUMBER = A.LOAN_NUMBER)
     WHERE A.FIRST_PRINCIPAL_BALANCE> 0
        GROUP BY F.LOAN_NUMBER
        ORDER BY F.LOAN_NUMBER,

FETCH ONLY WITH UR ')

Here is the error:

OLE DB provider "MSDASQL" for linked server "LINKEDSERVER" returned message "[IBM][CLI Driver][DB2/LINUXX8664] SQL0104N  An unexpected token "A" was found following "BER)           WHERE".  Expected tokens may include:  "FROM".  SQLSTATE=42601
  ".
  Msg 7350, Level 16, State 2, Line 4
  Cannot get the column information from OLE DB provider "MSDASQL" for linked server "LINKEDSERVER".

A: = A.LOAN_NUMBER)
     WHERE A.FIRST_PRINCIPAL_BALANCE> 0 - that bracket looks out of place.

A: The first thing I notice is that you have a naked query, which is not uncommon in Microsoft SQL Server.  A simplified version of your linked query looks like this:
SELECT (subquery), (subquery) WHERE ...conditions...

In DB2, you must have a FROM clause in any query.  Microsoft and some other SQL vendors permit a SELECT with no FROM clause, but this isn't standard SQL. In this case, DB2 conforms to the standard.

Second thing I notice:
IF(SELECT(OBJECT_ID('TEMPDB..#TempFile))) IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #TempFile

Do you need to close that quoted string?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Donacia malinovskyi is een keversoort uit de familie bladkevers (Chrysomelidae). De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort werd in 1810 gepubliceerd door Ahrens.

malinovskyi


Lat Phrao MRT Station is 3.2 km from the property, while CentralFestival EastVille is a 4 km drive away. Suvarnabhumi Airport is approximately a 40-minute drive away.
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200 F. 2d 537 - Associates Discount Corp v. United States
200 F2d 537 Associates Discount Corp v. United States
ASSOCIATES DISCOUNT CORP.
No. 14058.
United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.
Dec. 22, 1952.
Lee B. Agnew and Russell D. Moore, III, Jackson, Miss., for appellant.
Edwin R. Holmes, Jr., Jesse W. Shanks, Asst. U.S. Atty., and Joseph E. Brown, U.S. Atty., Jackson, Miss., for appellee.
Before HUTCHESON, Chief Judge, and BORAH and RIVES, Circuit Judges.
HUTCHESON, Chief Judge.
Intervening in a proceeding to condemn and forfeit an automobile for use in violation of the Internal Revenue laws, appellant, invoking Sec. 3617(b), Title 18 U.S.C.A., sought remission of the forfeiture and the delivery of the car to it.
Its claim to remission was: that it was the owner of a conditional sales contract which it had acquired in good faith and without knowledge or reason to believe that the car was being, or would be, used in violation of the laws; and that, under the invoked section and the facts, it was entitled thereto.
The United States joining issue, there was a hearing1 and, at its end, a judgment for plaintiff.
Appealing from that judgment, the intervenor is here insisting that the court erred in rejecting its claim on the ground stated because of the condition prescribed in subdivision 3 of the section, that there be proof of inquiry, is not presented until 'it appears' that the purchaser has a record as a violator. In support, it points out: that the appeal record contains no proof that this was so; and, that therefore, subdivision 3 did not apply in the case, and it was error to refuse the remission because there was failure to show compliance therewith.
In reply to this contention, the appellee advises us that, while this does not appear in the appeal record, there was a pretrial conference in which it was agreed, that the purchaser had a record, and in effect that the only question to be submitted on the trial would be whether the intervenor was in compliance with subdivision 3.
Conceding that, in the absence of an agreement or proof that the purchaser had a record, the decision of the district judge would be without support in law, it insists that we should accept its statement as to the pretrial and affirm the judgment. It grounds this insistence not on the fact that in the ordinary case it would be permissible to go out of the appeal record, but on the fact that it is quite evident, upon the appeal record as a whole, t,at the parties and the judge tried the case upon the tacit assumption that the only matter at issue was whether there had or had not been compliance with subdivision 3.
Appellant insists: that we cannot take cognizance of any matter not of record; that the appeal must be determined on the appeal papers; and that on them it should have had judgment. It urges upon us that the judgment must be reversed and here rendered for it.
Appellee, counter attacking in its turn, calls our attention to the fact that just as there is in the record no proof that the purchaser had a record as a violator, so neither is there proof of the fundamental fact required to be proved as a basis for remission, that there was a good faith purchase. It urges upon us, therefore, that the burden being upon the plaintiff to establish that fact as a prerequisite to remission, the judgment should on that ground be affirmed.
We can agree neither with appellant nor with appellee, for an examination of the appeal record, in the light of its undoubted omissions and the quite evident assumptions with which court and counsel approached the trial of the case, as well as the plainly evident theory upon which the case was tried and decided below, convinces us that the appeal record does not truly reflect the facts. It convinces us, too, that instead of affirming the judgment in favor of the appellee, or reversing and rendering it in favor of appellant, the proper course for us to pursue is to reverse the judgement and remand the cause for a new trial and a new record in which all the facts shall be made to appear.
Reversed and remanded.
1 In essence, as revealed by the record, this is what occurred:
The district judge opened the hearing by stating:
' * * * it is agreed * * * that the automobile * * * was engaged in violation of the Internal Revenue laws * * * . The question before the court is whether or not a forfeiture should be permitted to the extent of the claim of Associates Discount Corporation, and that is the issue to be heard by the court * * * . On this issue I believe the burden of proof is upon the plaintiff to make the proof * * * '.
Thereupon a witness for claimant, testifying to inquiry made by claimant before taking the contract, swore in substance that the inquiry he made was whether the purchaser or her husband 'had any record of violation of the alcohol tax law or any statutes and was advised that they had no record and he approved the credit.'
Asked on cross examination if he had inquiry whether they had a 'reputation', he answered, 'I don't recall that I did. The majority of the time I said 'record".
Asked, 'You stood on the custom of what they would give out and did not ask them if they had any reputation in dealing in non tax paid whiskey', he answered, 'That is right.'
Intervenor then introduced another witness but this witness did not testify as to having made inquiry as to 'reputation'.
Whereupon the court stating, 'This is one of the cases where I would like to make a remission if I could, but I don't because the statute has not been complied with', denied the claim for remission on the ground that there was no proof that the claimant had, as required by subdivision 3 of 3617(b), made inquiry as to the reputation of the purchaser.


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Home Lifeline
How wrong diagnosis sends patients to early graves
in Lifeline
Job Osazuwa
For about five minutes, Mrs. Odechukwu Magdalene was consistently staring at a piece of paper handed to her by the laboratory unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). Then she looked into space and shook her head repeatedly.
"I have been wasting my money and time all these months. Where do I start from now? What kind of life is this?" she said as tears welled up in her eyes.
She had just been diagnosed with kidney disease at the hospital. This came after she was told at a private hospital that she had stomach infection. At another private hospital, she was also told that she might have been suffering from food poisoning. It took six months for her true health status to be unravelled. At that point, unquantifiable damage had been done.
Many patients' ailments have been further complicated by medical workers who are supposed to be solution providers. There have been diverse sad tales from victims who were barely lucky to remain alive to share their ugly experiences. But some of the affected people were not lucky enough, as they have been sent to their early grave as a result of wrong diagnosis. Some hospitals have made costly errors but simply refused to own up even when they later realised the mistakes.
Merely looking at a patient, it is common seeing the doctor telling the patient that he or she is suffering from malaria or fever. In most hospitals, any patient with a high temperature is hastily said to have been struck by malaria. Then tablets or injections are administered by the doctor.
Over the years, patients and their relatives have drawn the battle line with health care managers, summoning them to explain why they misled them or their relatives. There have been accusations and counter-accusations. The plaintiffs won some of the litigation, while the defendants also won some.
Across the country, victims of wrong diagnosis are seen being transferred from one hospital to another, with doctors giving different verdicts on the cause of their situation. Unarguably, many people would have perhaps survived their ailments, if not for the wrong diagnosis at the beginning of their health challenges.
Experts have repeatedly said that early detection was important in the successful management of most ailments. And when this is punctured, the end result is better imagined than experienced. There have been instances where cancer was mistaken and treated as pneumonia for months.
During the 2019 World Cancer Day, the executive director of Care Organisation Public Enlightenment (COPE), Mrs. Ebun Anozie, stated that, in terms of cancer diagnosis, Nigeria still has a long way to go, as 70 per cent of cancer patients are misdiagnosed.
"My late father, for example, was misdiagnosed and badly treated in his cancer journey. Sadly, I have witnessed numerous cases. We have many cases of a false positive and false negative. This leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, we take our health issues for granted in Nigeria and use the term 'na something go kill man.' Being penny wise and pound foolish regarding any health issue is deadly," she said.
One of those affected by wrong diagnosis is the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole. He has lamented how doctors wrongly diagnosed the breast cancer that eventually claimed his wife, Clara, on December 7, 2010.
Speaking at a function at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State, Oshiomhole called for a review of Nigeria's medical system so that doctors treat patients only in that aspect in which they have competence. He added that the menace of wrong diagnoses could be prevented by government, if it provided robust regulation on the health system. The former labour leader said that he would have sued the doctors involved in his wife's case had it happened in another clime.
Oshiomhole said: "You visit a hospital, one doctor is a gynaecologist, psychologist, paediatric, and the doctor treats everything. My wife was unfortunate to have been diagnosed as having something different while the cancer in her breast was growing. This generalised system of medical system is what we must review."
It has also been discovered that wrong diagnosis could come about when people's treatment-seeking behaviour is poor, especially when they are looking for cheap service. In some instances, people are not able to pay for all the tests they are meant to do, thus a doctor's conclusion, based on the few tests conducted, might not be sufficient to make the right and exact diagnosis.
For this to be corrected, many have advocated the need for modern laboratory equipment to be made available in all health centres. But there are worries that many hospitals in Nigeria today do not have the necessary diagnostic machines, which should provide confirmatory evidence.
The list of such misdiagnoses is almost endless, even as experts and other stakeholders have described most of the deaths as avoidable. Aside from causing avoidable deaths, misdiagnoses have also left many victims with new and strange ailments and could condemn them to a lifetime of permanent disability. Legs and arms have been amputated as a result of wrong diagnosis.
Laboratory scientists, technologists, physicians and other health workers have identified poorly trained medical personnel, quackery and lack of adequate modern equipment in Nigeria to aid practitioners in arriving at informed decisions as among major factors fuelling misdiagnosis. There is also the issue of poor ability to analyse and interpret even correct observations, facts and results of tests done.
Some concerned Nigerians have called for doctors to make themselves available for continuous training and recertification in order to minimise wrong diagnosis.
While there are no available statistics on the number of deaths or complications resulting from misdiagnosis annually, in 2017, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that about 80,000 of the 100,000 diagnosed cancer cases in Nigeria annually die partly due to misdiagnosis.
Also, the case of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), one of Nigeria's foremost human rights activists, is instructive.
Gani was diagnosed with pneumonia and was undergoing treatment for that in Nigeria, but by the time his case got critical and he was flown abroad, correct diagnosis showed that he had cancer. At that point, it was too late to cry as the cancer had reached an advanced stage. The ailment later killed him.
Aware of the inherent dangers associated with Nigeria's health facilities, most top government officials, the rich and those who can scrape together the funds to afford it travel abroad for treatment.
Another perspective to human error is the shortage of medical personnel, which usually leads to fatigue. Against the standard set by WHO, Nigeria is in gross deficit of one physician to 3,500 patients, instead of one physician to 600 patients.
Medical workers at government-owned hospitals have lamented the pressure they face daily while attending to thousands of patients, which could make them commit costly errors.
The registrar of West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science (WAPCMLS), Dr. Godswill C. Okara, said quackery and wrong health-seeking behaviour of some Nigerians were responsible for most of the reported cases of misdiagnosis. He pointed out that most people would not visit accredited facilities for diagnosis in the name of looking for cheap service.
Said he: "I agree that there are false results everywhere. Ten people will go to the laboratory; nine of them will come out with malaria or typhoid. But what is happening is that many people who are not medical scientists are operating as one. Because of the increasing unemployment and mere exposure to the hospital environment, these people set up a laboratory and begin to diagnose people. These are not medical laboratory scientists.
"Our porous environment is a fertile ground for such practices to thrive. When the medical laboratory council visited these clinics for inspection, the owners started calling those in high offices in Abuja; and the next thing, the inspection team was recalled. Some hospitals, in order to hire cheap labour, will go as far as hiring people that are not trained and licensed to operate as medical laboratory scientist. It is the public that will be at the receiving end.
"I remember, in 2016, our association was on statutory inspection of some laboratories in Lagos; there was so much pandemonium. Some owners of private hospitals prevented the inspection team from visiting their clinics. This is because some of them didn't meet the requirements. When misdiagnosis happens, they give a dog a bad name.
"We saw a policeman who arrested someone who converted his bedroom to a blood bank, where he was busy bleeding donors for as much as three times within a short period. Because he was not trained, he didn't know the limit or spacing when donating blood. One of the victims came down with an illness that led to the man's arrest.
"When the quack was interviewed, it was discovered that he didn't study medical laboratory science. He was just an impostor."
Also stressing the need to eradicate quackery from the industry, the registrar and CEO of Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Dr. Tosan Erhabor, told Daily Sun that the council would not relent in checking quackery across the country. He said that the body was working towards achieving zero tolerance for unwholesome practices.
"We have visited 14 states to see the quality of laboratories in place. At the moment, we have quacks being tried in the high court. We will continue to try erring persons, whether medical laboratory scientists or charlatans. This is to sanitise the system.
"The state of the laboratory is not where it is supposed to be, but we as regulators are working round the clock to see that there is a tremendous improvement.
"On June 1, the MLSCN will roll out a policy on quality management system, which will be the minimum requirement for any laboratory to practise in Nigeria, both public and private. With this policy, it is either you get it or you don't practise. Every laboratory must be accredited because this is the right way to go. We want to have more facilities accredited so that there would be better result from diagnosis. It is beyond mounting equipment; we are also looking at putting it to use to see whether it is in line with manufacturer's specifications," Erhabor said.
Another victim of wrong diagnosis, Arthur Uchegbu, said: "I was a bit lucky that I was able to detect my own on time. The first hospital I went to told me that I had malaria, which l treated for about two weeks but there was no improvement.
"I was surprised when l went to another hospital and I was told that I had chronic infection. The doctor particularly told me that l was lucky to have discovered the error on time. The previous hospital was simply wasting my time and money."
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an image and description of each of your probes— my probes were 1. Draw your childhood home, 2. A survey of how many sibling you have, and what their birth order was, and how they would be represented in shape from with playdoh, and 3. asked if they could buy anything, what it would be.
an image and description of each of the responses to your probe— the responses were 1. a picture of a house, 2. the participant had 4 siblings and was the 3rd child, with a smiley face in play doh, and 3. A farm with lots of animals.
an image and description of your design sketch— my design sketch was an adult tampoline this would invite a creative element into the users adult life.
Was the response to your probe what you expected? if yes, why do you think that is? if no, what was different?— yes, they responded to all of the questions. I was interested to learn that they wanted to own a farm, with lots of dogs.
Which of your three probes would you say was the best at revealing something about that person who completed it that you may not have otherwise learned through conversation? Why do you think so?— I think the picture of the house was the best because I was able to get good imagery of how they previewed their childhood which would have been difficult through language.
descriptions of your material sensors and/or actuators— I had a plastic bag, and hence I was thinking some sensors which would work well could include weight, volume, wind/water speed etc. a potential actuator could be having the bag inflate, or empty its contents.
while experimenting with the materials and designing your sensor and actuator, would you say the "life" or "flow" of the material ever became perceptible to you. If so, in what ways? If not, why not?—I think I realized that the "flow" and "life" of a plastic bag were much broader than I believed coming into the study. For example I viewed plastic as a disposable material, but the possibilities (ie. melting it down into something new, reusing it, adding features, etc..) made themselves pretty clear. Also because plastic originates from oil/fossil fuel, its strange to think of the life time of a plastic bag on a grand scale, where the oil used to make it once was a dinosaur/plant. weird to think about!
what would you say are the benefits and limitations of starting design by working with particular materials?— Benefits include being able to shape the design based on the properties of the material to make a harmonious design which works well with the material. Limitations might be creative in the sense that when starting with particular materials, every idea you have will fall into the limitations of those materials, and you may miss something clever, new, ground breaking, etc… because you are thinking within a box of perceived possibilities and not being as creative as possible.
your walking algorithm (the one you wrote)— Take 20 steps forward, if you don't run into a building or person turn around and take 15 steps, if not turn left and repeat.
your photos and notes form your walk—I didn't take photos from the walk but noted that from the environmental design building the instructions to walk until obstruction and turning right worked well for our campus as I was able to navigate to the engineering center, and eventually end up inside the business school from the environmental design building.
your photos or description of your design sketch— my design sketch was a medical grade(comfortable/ plastic) neck brace to prevent people from using their phone while they walk.
what "script" does your object suggest?— Peter-Paul Verbeek states that"According to Ihde, the transformation of perception always has a structure of amplification and reduction. Mediating technologies amplify specific aspects of reality while reducing other aspects." My anti-phone neck brace design amplifies the wearers surroundings in that they are no longer capable of being distracted by their phone and are forced to look upright at what is happening around them. Depending on your view about phones, a pro or con is the reduction my design creates of not being connected to your phone and what is happening in the digital space around you. By looking like a medical neck brace my object design suggests that cell phone addiction could be viewed as a "disease" in society which needs medical/scientific evaluation to be addressed.
Your list of what the "near future" innovations in the domain of your catalog— Near future innovations for clothing include the use of new, light weight materials, discrete, woven in electronic components (including biometric data sensors for heart rate, body temperature etc.), and GPS built into zippers to aid with rescue missions for lost adventurers.
what issues for the future did this exercise help you think about that you hadn't thought about previously? If none, reflect on why you think it didn't bring those issues up.— Clothing is a pretty safe area considering that it serves a singular purpose and is limited in what it can accomplish in terms of utility. Because I designed for a utopian future I didn't run into any issues besides trying to convey the clothing functionality without explicitly explaining what it was in my catalog redesign.
if you had more time, what would you do to improve your design fiction and what outcome would you desire from those improvements?— I would basically keep my design fiction as I was able to implement all my near future research.
which design do you think does a better job at creating a space for contestation and why? —The Amazon Echo esque speaker which plays a song anytime your network activity is being monitored is better at creating a space for contestation because it brings the idea of security to light when It would otherwise be behind the scenes.
who is involved in the contestation? —People Who value privacy and internet service providers.
what kind of conversations/outcomes do you think could emerge from this design as opposed to the other? —The speaker design would result in people realizing how little privacy they actually have and them taking precautions to protect it. The first design was essentially private servers to host a personalized smaller version of the internet with no third parties involved, taking out a need for contestation.
do you think your designs would be an effective way of provoking contestation about the issues of surveillance or do you think other types of political action would be more effective? —I think our speaker design would be effective at provoking contestation because It would literally alert the user whenever they're privacy was in jeopardy, making it obvious what was happening regardless of the users lever of computer proficiency. In the case of internet security political action would just lead to a more regulated internet which may be counter productive.
– describe how the politics of your photographed thing is authoritarian or democratic.
Traffic lights represent aspects of both authoritarian and democratic politics. Authoritarian in that you go when they tell you to go and you stop when they tell you to stop, and If you fail to do so, law enforcement will intervene. Democratic in the sense that people appreciate that a lot of people have to go a lot of places and the traffic light system ensures that if you follow the rules and wait for other people, others will do the same for you, allowing everyone to safely reach their destination.
I believe that the politics in the design of traffic lights was intentional to add order and safety to the road system. That being said I know there are other countries with virtually no traffic laws, or other systems such as roundabouts which accomplish a similar outcome to traffic lights, hence I believe that traffic lights in the United States are part of a deeply entrenched norm as well.
My design sketch holds a lot of ideas/bullets, but my original sketch showed two roads intersecting. Pedestrians have a cross bridge and are out of the traffic equation. One direction of cars has no traffic lights, and the opposing cars in the intersection have a stop sign, meaning that if they want to cross they have to wait for traffic to die down, or make risky maneuvers. This design reveals the authoritarian politics of order via law enforcement and democratic politics of safety via the willingness of people to share the roads through their absence. This showcases how a system without traffic lights wouldn't distribute an equal driving experience to everyone but rather favor more aggressive or risky drivers.
State the original goal and the inverted goal.—– The original goal behind changing the UX of youtube was to make watching more videos easier for the average user, hence generating more ad revenue and making Youtube as a company more profitable. The inverted goal would hence be to make watching videos so complicated that it would be easier to not watch videos than waste your effort trying to find something you want to watch.
Describe your imagined technology (including pictures preferably).—– My technology would be a Youtube kiosk, where you pay to watch one random video at a time. The lack of the ability to select a video you want in combination with having a price, and having to search for a kiosk would make Youtube hugely unappealing to the average person.
Write a paragraph about what assumptions this "opposite" goal makes about people and what values it places as central to the design. What experiences could you imagine this technology supporting? Did this exercise make you aware of any unconscious biases in design? Did if give you new ideas for what technology could do in daily life? Which of Sengers et al's "Reflective Design Principles" does your technology support (if any)?—–The assumption that the opposite goal makes about people is that they value ease of use and will not use a service which requires more than a basic level of effort if a more efficient alternative exists. Hence the design behind the opposite goal is to make the service as energy extensive as possible. By making Youtube into a kiosk format the user is forced to travel to a specific location, and the random video feature and monetary charge mean that there is a high probability that you won't watch a video you want and in turn you will have to spend an unnecessary amount of money to see something worth wile. This technology could actually create a unique public interactive video watching experience for city squares and other areas of high traffic. This exercise made me aware that a huge unconscious bias in design is ease of use and minimizing energy expenditure and mental effort from the user. My technology would support reflective design in "giving users a license to participate" and creating a more interactive and demanding Youtube experience.


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Annual July 4th event hosted by Klein, Diaz
By Steven Goodstein
Event flyer for the 'New York Salutes America' boardwalk festival and fireworks extravaganza.
Photo courtesy of Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.'s office
The annual 4th of July tradition in the Bronx will continue this year as the country celebrates its 240th birthday.
On Thursday, June 30, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and Senator Jeff Klein will host the borough's official kickoff to the July 4th Independence Day celebrations, titled the annual 'New York Salutes America' boardwalk festival and fireworks extravaganza, which will take place at Orchard Beach.
The free event, which is expected to be attended by over 10,000 people, is open to the public and includes family activities, including balloon artists, magicians and music performances.
The event will feature music made popular by Bronx artists, many of whom have been inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame.
Songs by Dion, Steven Tyler, Bobby Darin, Nitty, The Chiffons, Anthrax, Irene Cara, Grand Master Flash, Ace Frehley, Kurtis Blow, Prince Royce and Jennifer Lopez will fill the air.
Additionally, the event's line-up will include the second annual 'Bronx Empanada Eating Contest'. The empanadas are being supplied by Havana Cafe.
Contestants will be selected at the beach prior to the contest and the winners will win a Bronx Prize Package from Diaz's office.
The fireworks and performances were made possible by fireworks company Fireworks by Grucci.
The Grucci Performance App, which broadcasts music in perfect synchronization with the live performance, will be available for the event's attendees, who can simply go to the App Store or Google Play on an Android or iPhone, download the app for free and search 'Fireworks by Grucci' to tune in during the show.
"This is a great, fun-filled evening that one can spend with their friends and family," said Diaz. "This is one of our jewel events, which this year showcases the addition of our second annual eating contest, where people from across the city can experience the best that the Bronx has to offer."
"The Fourth of July is a celebratory time for all Americans," said Klein. "Every year, I look forward to our fireworks extravaganza, which has become a cherished tradition for our Bronx families."
"As we reflect upon the extraordinary history of our nation, we must remember the sacrifices of our country's brave servicemen and servicewomen, whose courageous acts contributed to our nation's freedom," the senator added.
This year's 'New York Salutes America' boardwalk festival and fireworks extravaganza will begin at 6 p.m.
The event's eating contest will start at 7:45 p.m., with the fireworks show beginning at 9:20 p.m.
Orchard Beach is also home to the annual 'Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk' in October.
Reach Reporter Steven Goodstein at (718) 260-4599. E-mail him at sgoodstein@cnglocal.com.
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Morsi sentenced to life in 'Qatar espionage' case - Daily News Egypt
Egypt Morsi sentenced to life in 'Qatar espionage' case
Morsi sentenced to life in 'Qatar espionage' case
Sentence comes one day after the former president was supposed to complete his first term as president
Adham Youssef June 18, 2016 4 Comments
Former president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to life in prison and an additional 15 years by the Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday.
The verdict came after 99 trial sessions in what is known in the media as the "Qatar espionage" case. The defendants in the case, which include Morsi's head of office Ahmed Abdel Ati and his presidential secretary Amin El-Sherafy, were accused of leaking national security documents and information related to national security to Qatar.
Another six defendants received death sentences after the Grand Mufti argued that the "crimes of the defendants are similar to that of treason" in which punishment should be death.
The six included five men, Alaa Siblan, Mohamed Kilany, Ahmed Afify, Ahmed Ismail, and Ibrahim Helal, and one woman, Asmaa El-Khatib.
The presiding judge, Mohamed Shereen Fahmy, read out the decision of the Grand Mutfi, who said that the six defendants endangered national security which is "worse than killing a person or opposing God's laws". The Grand Mufti's report added that the defendants deserve to be "killed" for their crime.
"They are more dangerous than spies. Spies are usually foreigners, but unfortunately the defendants are Egyptian," the report continued, while asserting that they should be "made an example of".
The Mufti also cited classic clerics who agreed to "kill spies to be made examples of and to keep society safe from the dangers they impose".
Fahmy said that Dar Al-Ifta views leaking documents containing secrets related to the army, military intelligence, and domestic policies as endangering the country.
Afterwards, Fahmy read out the court's decision which included nationalistic rhetoric relating to the concept of nations and honour.
"All things end and the homeland remains," he added.
Fahmy explained that the court's hearing was "fair", adding that the court listened to the testimonies of 48 eyewitnesses, allowed the defense to present its argument, and reviewed the case papers, which exceeded 1,000 pages.
The court also sentenced Morsi and four other defendants to another 15 years in prison on charges of leaking documents with the aim of endangering the stability of the country.
However, the court acquitted Morsi of physically handing over the leaked documents to a foreign entity.
Abdel Monem Abdel Maqsoud, Morsi's lawyer, said after the verdict that he will appeal his client's sentences.
There was a heavy presence of security forces at the session, which was held at the fortified Police Academy in downtown Cairo.
Saturday's verdict comes one day after the former president was supposed to complete his unfinished presidency term, which was cut short on 3 July 2013 by the military.
In September 2014, late prosecutor general Hisham Barakat had referred the defendants to criminal court on charges of illegally obtaining copies of intelligence reports and confidential reports on the Armed Forces' plans. They were also accused of intending to deliver the documents to the Qatari satellite network Al Jazeera.
The court described the documents as "top secret", discussing the positions and weaponry of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
Other than Saturday's verdict, Morsi has faced three other sentences and is still standing trial in a case where he and others are charged of insulting the judiciary.
Morsi received his first prison sentence in the "presidential palace clashes" case. He was also sentenced to 20 years for inciting violence.
He received both a death sentence and a life imprisonment sentence in the "Hamas espionage" trial and the "prison break trial" respectively.
According to local human rights organisations, since July 2013 around 700 death sentences have been handed to defendents; however, only seven people have been executed so far.
Morsi joined the Muslim Brotherhood during his youth and advanced his position in the political arm of the Freedom and Justice Party in 2012. He ran for presidency and became the first democratically elected president in Egypt.
After being supported by the army, Morsi's dominating policies showed a tendency to include Brotherhood-affiliated members in state institutions and civil society. Although he supported military leaders, who allegedly participated in severe violations against civilians and protesters in the revolution, he attempted to reduce the role of the army and the police in decision making.
However, peace between the army, who made way for political Islam to have a place in post-revolutionary Egypt, and the Brotherhood didn't last long, as the army stepped in to overthrow Morsi in July 2013.
While supporters of the Brotherhood call the ouster of Morsi a military coup, current officials in the Egyptian state, including President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, call it the "30 June Revolution".
After the ouster of Morsi, the Brotherhood faced a tough legal and physical crackdown, with thousands of the group's members either standing trial for violence related charges or spending time in jail, while hundreds of others have been killed in violent dispersals.
Two years after the political blow to the then organised and united Brotherhood, the group is currently facing major divisions in its lines.
Topics: 3 July 30 june Al-sisi Brotherhood Egypt Islamism Morsi Muslim Brotherhood Political Islam Qatar Qatar espionage case
Adham Youssef
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Mohamed Abdel-Mawgoud appointed as Commander of Air Defence Forces
Egyptian director Khairy Beshara to give masterclass at Red Sea Film Festival
CIFF wraps up challenging 42nd edition
B Investments selects 4 sectors to invest EGP 200m each
International Cooperation Ministry makes strides in structural reforms, project monitoring in 2020: Minister
https://dailyfeed.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/06/18/morsi-sentenced-to-life-in-qatar-espionage-case/
Morsi to hear new verdict in Hamas espionage case on 22 November
Morsi's defense team appeals verdict in 'Qatar espionage' case
Trial of 25 public figures over 'insulting judiciary' adjourned to 22 September
Current Brotherhood leadership unable, unwilling to make theoretical revisions: El-Sherif
Egypt condemns Qatari foreign ministry statement on Morsi's verdict
Mohammed Morsi faces another death sentence
June 18, 2016 Breaking News


At any rate, Shaun Sperling is a Chicago attorney who found sudden and instant fame recently after he uploaded a home video of his 13-year-old self dancing to Madonna's hit song "Vogue" at his bar mitzvah. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then click here and see for yourself before reading any further.
The video went viral almost instantly -- ABC News, Perez Hilton, Gawker, Huffington Post and so on and so on. Sperling was interviewed on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! a couple of weeks ago. Next up will be the Ellen DeGeneres Show, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 10.
Where will this all lead? That's hard to say. But Sperling hopes to use his celebrity to make a difference and to speak out on homophobia and HIV stigma. A former AFC Junior Board member, as well as a longtime participant of the TEAM TO END AIDS, Sperling has deep roots in HIV advocacy.
He recently took some time to share his thoughts on his sudden fame and what he hopes to accomplish. Check out the short video above from that interview.