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Why Are Certain Dog Breeds Labeled Dangerous?
Jenna Stregowski
Jenna Stregowski is a registered veterinary technician, hospital manager, and writer with over 20 years of expertise in the field of pet medicine. She is an expert in routine wellness, preventative medicine, emergency, and specialty care. Jenna has also written for DMV 360 and DogTime.
Josh Taxson/Moment/Getty Images
Certain dog breeds are considered dangerous by the public. Some jurisdictions have even enacted breed bans (this practice is called Breed-Specific Legislation). In some cases, people have trouble getting homeowner's insurance coverage if they have one of the "blacklisted" breeds.
There are several reasons people develop opinions about certain dog breeds. In part, the media shapes the way certain dog breeds are perceived. People who have personally had frightening encounters with certain breeds will share their stories, thus spreading a breed's reputation by word-of-mouth. That being said, it is often the facts that have the most impact.
What Facts?
There are many sources that have compiled dog bite statistics, but one of the more commonly cited sources is the CDC. The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association published a CDC study on fatal dog bites lists the breeds involved in fatal attacks over 20 years. At the top of the list are "pit bull-type" dogs. However, the study does not discuss the criteria that were used to categorize those dogs as pit bull-types. These so-called "pit bull-types" could be a combination of several different dog breeds that could not be recognized at the time of the attack. It is, unfortunately, common that people want to ban "pit bulls" without determining what makes a dog a pit bull.
Why are "pit bulls" targeted? Certain dog breeds have ancestral roots in fighting, protection and other areas that would have once made breeding for aggression necessary. Historically, these traits we accepted. Undesirable traits may come from irresponsible breeding. Bad breeding practices may or may not pass on a genetic tendency towards aggression, but many irresponsible breeders looking to produce "tough" dogs will specifically breed for aggressive traits. Sadly, they are often breeding the dogs for fighting, guarding or to project a certain image.
Pit bull-type dogs are stereotypically popular with the kinds of irresponsible owners who might handle their dogs improperly, neglect them, chain them up, breed them for the wrong reasons or allow them to roam free and terrorize the neighborhood. Despite the fact that so many of these mistreated dogs resemble pit bull-type dogs, it does not mean that all of the pit bull-type dogs out there is a product of this irresponsible breeding. There are responsible breeders out there producing dogs with good temperaments. There are also mixed-breed dogs that have a certain "look" that has no bearing on personality.
Dog Breeds Labelled Dangerous
While pit-bull type dogs are the most common to be labeled as dangerous, there are many other breeds that have been labeled dangerous. Some have also been affected by Breed-Specific Legislation. The following dog breeds are sometimes labeled as dangerous:
Amy Lane Photography / Getty Images
Per Breiehagen / Getty Images
Tara Gregg / EyeEm / Getty Images
Wolf Hybrids
This list does not include all dogs with "bad" reputations. Conversely, all of the dogs on the list have supporters who disagree with the stereotypes. The truth is, any breed of dog (or mix) can be aggressive. Labeling a breed as dangerous may even give people a false sense of security around other breeds. Instead, the public should be educated about dog bite prevention and responsible dog ownership.
Individual dogs may be determined dangerous by their local jurisdiction based upon past behavior. If a dog has been reported for aggressive behavior, restrictions may be placed on that dog and owner (such as wearing a muzzle in public or not being allowed in public). This is considered by many to be a better way to manage the problem of aggressive dogs. There is little evidence that shows Breed-specific legislation to be effective.
Are Pit Bulls Dangerous?
5 Types of Pit Bull Dog Breeds
10 Common Dog Behavior Problems and Solutions
Learn About the Friendly and Confident American Staffordshire Terrier
Understanding and Caring for an American Pit Bull Terrier
Dangerous Dogs and Banned breeds: Legal Definitions You Need to Know
Learn About the Playful and Popular Boxer
9 Australian Dog Breeds for Aficionados
How to Avoid Bad Dog Breeders and Backyard Breeders
Tularemia in Dogs
Learn All About the Tiny and Feisty Pomeranian
The 7 Types of Dog Breeds
10 Worst Dog Breeds for People With Allergies
The Perky Silky Terrier
Learn How to Train Your Dog Not to Bite to Prevent Dog Bites


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Justinian's archive
Estcourt on Web 2 ... Stephen Estcourt QC, as he then was ... The foodie, blogger and social media fiend explained in July 2010 how Web 2 expanded his life and work … Now, as a judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, it seems he has extricated himself from all this social media cross-fertilisation ... The price of judicial appointment ... Read more ...
« The Clash | Main | Best of the worst »
Gagging the lawyers
Stephen Keim SC & Alex McKean • Monday, January 12, 2015
Queensland's Newman government sails into the election with its ideological agenda intact ... Community legal centres to lose funding if they speak out on government policy ... Throttling the voice of the vulnerable ... Stephen Keim and Alex McKean comment
"There are times to stand outside the courtroom door and say, 'This procedure is a farce, the legal system is corrupt, justice will never prevail in this land as long as privilege rules in the courtroom'.
There are times to stand inside the courtroom and say, 'This is a nation of laws, laws recognising fundamental values of rights, equality and personhood."
Mari Matsuda
Newman and the Conveyancer-General
WITH the calling of the surprise election, it becomes instructive to look at one of the last legislative proposals to be presented to the Queensland parliament by Campbell Newman's government.
In the wake of promises to listen and to be better, the government continues to make unprincipled decisions, designed to weaken existing institutions and deliver poorer outcomes to the most vulnerable.
This comes in the form of a proposed legislative decree that community legal centres would not be permitted to use public moneys to engage in law reform activities.
The money, the use of which the government seeks to control, is not the government's money in the sense that it is sourced from taxes.
Instead, it comes from interest earned the client's money held in lawyer's trust accounts, known as the Legal Profession Interest on Trust Account Fund.
The proposed changes are in lockstep with Tony Abbott's government, where we saw attorney general Brandis tie the gag to federal funding of community legal centres.
The Queensland proposal is the latest in a series of decisions by the Newman government, which would have the effect of stifling opposition to its policy agenda and circumventing informed public criticism.
Shortly after taking office, Newman announced that $97,000 was being cut from the budget of the Environmental Defenders Office. His government also withdrew funding from Sisters Inside, an advocacy group for women prisoners. The Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service also felt the government's knife.
Now the government is proposing to gag those parts of the community legal sector that managed to survive earlier funding cuts.
There are a number of reasons why the proposal is not a sound idea.
Community legal services are in a unique position to provide feedback to government relating to the impact of laws, or proposed laws, on vulnerable groups to whom they provide assistance.
Community legal services possess, as a result of their day-to-day work, significant expertise and experience in quite specialised areas.
Gagging lawyers who look after vulnerable and dispossessed clients will mean that government decision-making is less well informed about the effects of its legislation and the ways to improve the way the law operates.
Another consequence is that the countervailing voice against policies and legislation that benefit the privileged, and other parts of the government's constituency, will be diminished.
It is vital for the proper formulation of legislation that all informed points of view are properly before parliamentary committees in their deliberations.
Parliamentary committees form the mechanism by which raw legislative proposals, fresh from cabinet and government departments, receive input from the community in order to assist parliament's consideration.
The committee process is impoverished to the extent expert voices are excluded, with consequential diminution in the quality of legislation.
People who need to use community legal services are poorly placed, through lack of resources and lack of advocacy skills, to represent their own interests before parliamentary committees. By gagging community legal services, the government will ensure those viewpoints are removed and marginalised.
Another detrimental impact of the proposal is that it will produce the very thing the LNP government professes to abhor: red tape.
To the extent that activities of a community legal service could be considered to be outside "the provision of legal services, assistance and education", the service will need to ensure those activities are not funded by government.
Providing legal services and arguing for reform of bad laws is often an integrated activity, so legal services will have to introduce complicated systems of record keeping and accounting processes to work out exactly what funds were spent on what kind of activity.
Valuable resources of community legal organisations, already running on the smell of an oily rag, will be devoted to bureaucratic accounting processes at the expense of their core activities on behalf of their clients.
The legislative proposal may end up costing more in services and scarce resources than it purports to save.
One of the activities currently funded by government is the collection of data on a number of important subjects including law reform, legal education and the legal profession, itself.
By failing to fund these activities, government will be cutting itself off from information capable of providing valuable input into policy formulation.
Removal of access to this data appears to contradict the recommendations arising from the government's own recent review of the allocation of funds from the LPITAF, which state that the need for development or enhancement of specialist services for vulnerable or disadvantaged groups will be based on empirical research on legal need.
The changes also fly in the face of the recommendations the Productivity Commission's report on Access to Justice Arrangements. That report stated:
"Strategic advocacy and law reform that seeks to identify and remedy systemic issues, and so reduce the need for frontline services, should be a core activity of (community legal services)."
The proposal of the Newman government actually militates against productivity in the provision of legal services to the vulnerable and dispossessed.
This is perhaps the most cogent reason why funding for advocacy should be retained - to ensure bad policy does not end in bad legislation, which produces bad outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged Queenslanders, creating further need for frontline services and pressure on tight budgets.
The government appears to be pursuing this course out of a desire to avoid having its policies exposed to criticism.
The election campaign is a rare moment that allows voters an opportunity to press those seeking office to abandon proposals whose aim is to concentrate power and restrain alternative voices.
Stephen Keim SC and Alex McKean
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L'analyse factorielle des correspondances (AFC) est une méthode statistique d'analyse des données qui permet d'analyser et de hiérarchiser les informations contenues dans un tableau rectangulaire de données et qui est aujourd'hui particulièrement utilisée pour étudier le lien entre deux variables qualitatives (ou catégorielles). Elle a été mise au point à partir des années 1960 par Jean-Paul Benzécri et son équipe, d'abord à la faculté des sciences de Rennes, puis à celle de Jussieu à Paris au sein du laboratoire de statistique multidimensionnelle. Elle se rattache à la famille des analyses factorielles qui regroupe différentes méthodes d'analyses de grands tableaux rectangulaires de données, visant toutes à identifier et à hiérarchiser des facteurs corrélés aux données placées en colonnes.

Introduction
Les méthodes d'analyse factorielle des correspondances (AFC) tout comme celles d'analyse en composantes principales (ACP) s'utilisent pour décrire et hiérarchiser les relations statistiques qui peuvent exister entre des individus placés en ligne et des variables placées en colonnes dans un tableau rectangulaire de données. L'une et l'autre de ces deux méthodes considèrent le tableau de données comme un nuage de points dans un espace mathématique ayant autant de dimensions qu'il y a de colonnes dans le tableau de données ; elles cherchent à le projeter sur des axes ou des plans (appelés factoriels) de façon que l'on puisse en visualiser et étudier au mieux la forme et donc rechercher globalement des corrélations. La spécificité de l'AFC est qu'elle considère en même temps un nuage de point représentant les lignes (individus) et un autre représentant les colonnes (variables).  Les logiciels d'AFC fournissent donc en sortie une ou plusieurs figures de plans factoriels sur lesquels sont positionnés à la fois les individus et les variables. Par exemple, la participation croisée boursière : si 6 investisseurs répartissent leurs portefeuilles entre 10 entreprises, on obtient par AFC une carte comprenant 16 points, dont 6 représentent chacun des investisseurs et les 10 autres représentent chacune des 10 entreprises. L'analyse informe sur la distance entre les points, permettant d'interpréter indirectement les pourcentages de participation au capital des entreprises.

La technique de l'AFC est essentiellement utilisée pour de grands tableaux de données toutes comparables entre elles (si possible exprimées toutes dans la même unité, comme une monnaie, une dimension, une fréquence ou toute autre grandeur mesurable). Elle peut en particulier permettre d'étudier des tableaux de contingence (ou tableau croisé de cooccurrence). Ainsi, les méthodes factorielles permettent par exemple l'analyse d'un tableau « agrégé » de mesures, correspondant aux requêtes du type  en langage SQL ou aux tableaux croisés dynamiques dans un tableur (Microsoft Excel ou Google Spreadsheet par exemple).

Principe
Le principe de ces méthodes est de partir sans a priori sur les données et de les décrire en analysant la hiérarchisation de l'information présente dans les données. Pour ce faire, les analyses factorielles étudient l'inertie du nuage de points ayant pour coordonnées les valeurs présentes sur les lignes du tableau de données.

La « morphologie du nuage » et la répartition des points sur chacun de ces axes d'inertie permettent alors de rendre lisible et hiérarchiser l'information contenue dans le tableau. Mathématiquement, après avoir centré et réduit le tableau de données que l'on a affecté d'un système de masse (par exemple, les sommes marginales de chaque ligne), on calcule la matrice d'inertie associée et on la diagonalise (la répartition de l'information selon les différents axes est représentée par l'histogramme des valeurs propres). On effectue alors un changement de base selon ses vecteurs propres, c'est-à-dire selon les axes principaux d'inertie du nuage de points. On projette alors les points figurant chaque ligne sur les nouveaux axes. L'ensemble de l'information est conservée, mais celle-ci est maintenant hiérarchisée, axe d'inertie par axe d'inertie. L'histogramme des valeurs propres permet de voir le type de répartition de l'information entre les différents axes et l'étendue en dimension de celle-ci.

Le premier axe d'inertie oppose les points, c'est-à-dire les lignes du tableau ayant les plus grandes distances ou « différences ». La première valeur propre d'inertie, (associée à ce premier axe) mesure la quantité d'information présente le long de cet axe, c'est-à-dire dans cette opposition. On analyse ainsi les différents axes, en reconstituant progressivement la totalité des données.

Plusieurs méthodes d'analyse des correspondances existent, qui diffèrent par le type de représentation de l'information, c'est-à-dire de métrique, ou de système de masse qu'elles utilisent.

L'analyse factorielle des correspondances AFC développée par Jean-Paul Benzecri et ses collaborateurs emploie la métrique du chi-deux : chaque ligne est affectée d'une masse qui est sa somme marginale, le tableau étudié est le tableau des profils des lignes, ce qui permet de représenter dans le même espace à la fois les deux nuages de points associés aux lignes et aux colonnes du tableau de données ; elle est par ailleurs très agréablement complétée par des outils de classification ascendante hiérarchique (CAH) qui permettent d'apporter des visions complémentaires, en particulier en construisant des arbres de classification des lignes ou des colonnes.

Pour chaque point représentatif des lignes ou des colonnes du tableau de données, nouvel axe par nouvel axe, on s'intéresse à ses nouvelles coordonnées, au cosinus carré de l'angle avec l'axe (ce qui est équivalent à un coefficient de corrélation), ainsi qu'à sa contribution à l'inertie expliquée par l'axe (c'est-à-dire à sa contribution à la création de l'axe).

Deux contraintes particulières sur les données sont à signaler : d'une part, les tableaux ne peuvent comporter de cases vides et d'autre part, seules des valeurs positives sont permises. De plus, compte tenu de la métrique du chi-deux employée par l'AFC, cette méthode accorde une importance plus grande aux lignes de somme marginale élevée. Si nous utilisons des tableaux quantitatifs et souhaitons équilibrer la contribution de chaque ligne au calcul de l'inertie, nous devons transformer le tableau pour assurer à chaque ligne une somme marginale égale. Pour ce faire, on peut dédoubler chaque ligne, en lui adjoignant un tableau de complément. À chaque valeur , on fait correspondre une valeur dédoublée , avec .

Par l'AFC, il est tout autant possible d'analyser des tableaux contenant des mesures quantitatives que des indications qualitatives, (par exemple une donnée « couleur »), ces deux types ne pouvant être mélangés. Un cas particulier de la deuxième catégorie de tableau est constituée par les tableaux « disjonctifs » ; plusieurs variables constituent les colonnes : elles sont toutes découpées en plusieurs modalités, dont une et une seule est vraie par individu. Lors d'une analyse factorielle, on peut rajouter des données « supplémentaires », c'est-à-dire que l'on ne fait pas intervenir dans le calcul de l'inertie, mais que l'on projette sur les axes.

Exemple d'application

Par exemple, on a demandé à un ensemble d'électeurs leur département et leur vote à l'élection présidentielle. Il est commode de regrouper ces données dans un tableau de contingence. Supposons qu'il y a  candidats et  départements :

 représente le nombre de personnes ayant voté pour le candidat i dans le département j.

Fréquemment, on utilise la fréquence remplaçant le nombre de personnes.
 ,

On note
,
puis
,
la j-ème coordonnée du i-ème profil-ligne (resp. la i-ème coordonnée du j-ème profil-colonne).

Un tel tableau est constitué dans la perspective de l'étude de la liaison entre deux variables catégorielles : Quels sont les candidats « préférés » dans un département ?

La distance
Étudier la liaison entre deux variables qualitatives revient à étudier l'écart entre les données observées et une situation théorique d'indépendance. Cette situation théorique correspond au tableau :

Si le tableau des données vérifie la relation d'indépendance , alors tous les profils-lignes d'une part et tous les profils-colonnes d'autre part sont égaux au profil moyen correspondant.

L'écart à l'indépendance est pris en compte en considérant le tableau X de terme général :
,

On peut tester l'hypothèse d'indépendance par le test  (prononcé « ki carré » ou « ki deux »)

,

Cette statistique vaut 0 ou proche 0 si les données observées vérifient le modèle d'indépendance. Mais cette statistique ne répond pas aux questions suivantes :
 Par case : quelles sont, entre une modalité ligne i et une modalité colonne j, les associations les plus remarquables ?
 Par ligne : quelles sont les départements qui ont un profil de vote particulier?
 Par colonne : quels sont les candidats qui ont un électorat particulier ?

Pour répondre à ces questions, on rappelle que l'analyse en composantes principales (ACP) peut réduire la dimension des problèmes et sélectionner les effets principaux. Mais une métrique spéciale est adaptée-la métrique du . Dans ce sens, l'AFC peut être considérée comme une analyse en composantes principales particulière dotée de la métrique du  qui ne dépend que du profil des colonnes du tableau.

Considérons le tableau X, chaque ligne peut être considérée comme un point dans l'espace de dimension J, noté , dont chaque dimension est associée à une colonne du tableau X. On affecte à la ligne i un poids proportionnel à son effectif soit . Le centre de gravité est confondu avec l'origine des axes :

Extension
La technique de l'AFC peut être utilisée pour des tableaux d'un autre type que tableau de contingence. En revanche, son utilisation pour ces tableaux oblige toujours à des adaptations spécifiques au type de tableau. On peut utiliser l'AFC sur des tableaux :
 logiques
 logiques dédoublés
 de notes d'intensité
 de rang
 de mesure
 qualitatifs

Lorsque l'on utilise l'AFC sur des tableaux disjonctifs complets ou de Burt, on utilise en réalité la méthode de l'analyse des correspondantes multiples (ACM).

Bibliographie

 L'analyse des données / leçons sur l'analyse factorielle et la reconnaissance des formes et travaux, Dunod 1982,
 Linguistique et lexicologie, Dunod, réédition 2007,
 Pratique de l'analyse des données, Dunod, 1980,

 *
 Michel Volle, Analyse des données, Economica, , 1997,

 Le Roux B. et Rouanet H., Geometric Data Analysis, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht ()

Implémentations

 La bibliothèque de data-mining en Python orange contient le module d'AFC orngCA.
 L'outil statistique R contient les paquets : ade4, ca, vegan, MASS,  ExPosition, etFactoMineR qui font de l'analyse factorielle des correspondances et de l'analyse des correspondances multiples.
 Un outil MATLAB pour l'analyse factorielle des correspondances : .
 La bibliothèque Javascript CorrespondenceAnalysis, disponible sur github sous licence MIT, implémente l'analyse factorielle des correspondances à la fois pour l'inclure côté client dans des sites web ou côté serveur avec Node.js.

Références

Voir aussi
 Exploration de données
 Visualisation des données
 Analyse des correspondances multiples (ACM)
Analyse en composantes principales (ACP)
Alceste (logiciel)

Liens externes
 Cours d'Analyse factorielle des Correspondances (il s'agit d'un cours de base, pas à pas, intitulé « l'AFC pour les nuls »)
 Principe de l'analyse factorielle par le  Philippe Cibois, auteur des « Que sais-je » sur le sujet - le site contient également un logiciel libre de dépouillement d'enquête, Trideux
 Exemple d'application : le moteur cartographique Kartoo
 Autre exemple : les Atlas Sémantiques (l'ancien site des Atlas sémantiques à l'Institut des Sciences Cognitives) (application en linguistique)
 À l'occasion du  de la naissance de l'AFC à Rennes, le congrès CARME (Correspondances Analysis and Related Methods) s'est déroulé en 2011 à Agrocampus Rennes. Le site de ce congrès contient les vidéos des conférences invitées.

Analyse des données
Exploration de données
Méthode d'analyse

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The Social Centre @ Wesley, operated in partnership with Island Health, is open to anyone with mental health and/or substance use challenges. It's a place to socialize, make friends, get support, connect with the community and take part in recreational and vocational activities.
Recreation, bowling, floor hockey, badminton, softball, etc.
Wednesday 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday 10 p.m. – 4 p.m.
On your first visit, an Activity Worker will welcome you, orient you to the Centre, give you a Social Centre @ Wesley calendar of events, and you can join us for some activities. If you are interested in coming back, the Activity Worker will help you fill out an information package that can be signed by your health care provider or support worker.


text:
Posted on 26th March 2012 by Joe
Derby and Nottingham have to wake up to 'new city' threat.
Campaigners against HS2, then proposed high speed rail line have called on leaders and the general public in the East Midlands to wake up to the possibility that the location of a HS2 station between Nottingham and Derby will lead to them being joined up under Government plans for 'garden cities', due to be announced tomorrow (Tuesday 27th March 2012).
Speculation follows the assertion from HS2 Ltd Chief Engineer Professor Andrew McNaughton at a recent speech in Derby, that a new city could be built in the 'Meriden Gap' between Birmingham and Coventry, which commentators have said could include 100,000 homes and would create a 40-mile continuous conurbation from Coventry to Wolverhampton. This was followed up by David Cameron last week, who in his speech on infrastructure said he had plans for new 'garden cities'. Given that any East Midlands HS2 station would be located between Nottingham & Derby, a similar outcome should be expected there.
Stop HS2 Campaign Coordinator Joe Rukin said;
"There have been lots of articles saying that Derby and Nottingham 'need' HS2, but the engineering reality is that the plan has never been to go near either of the city centres, but somewhere in between the two. As at a recent lecture at Nottingham Trent University, David Begg said that he had seen the HS2 plans and stated categorically that the station would not be located near East Midlands Airport (see http://stophs2.org/news/4451-begg-differ-evening-david-begg ), if there is to be a station between the two cities, it would seem that the most likely location for a station would be around Draycott, as it will have to be somewhere near an existing railway line to allow interchanging to the current network."
"HS2 Ltd would not be deterred by the flood plain, as they haven't been near Meriden where Andrew McNaughton has already said a new city is planned. It is far more likely that he is relishing the design of the viaducts which would have to be built, which those at HS2 Ltd see as a wonderful challenge to mark their legacy. Picturesque areas like those between Nottingham and Derby are exactly the sort of place where developers want to build as they net greater profit than redeveloping brownfield sites, and it is clear that this is the agenda of Government."
"Now the agenda to build massive developments around out of town stations is apparent HS2, those in Nottingham and Derby who have been lobbying for HS2 may want to think again, as they will see business parks retail parks and suburban shoeboxes competing with the established cities and sucking development away."
"Cameron has shown that he has one policy for this country, blowing billions of pounds not redeveloping areas where people live and jobs are needed, but ploughing up green belts everywhere because that's what the construction companies want and now he has started talking about the 'legacy' he wants to leave behind. We have always suspected that HS2 is part of a 'developers charter' and in saying he wants these new cities, Cameron has shown he has clearly never actually been on a train, as every time I am on a train through a city I see industrial graveyards crying out for redevelopment. They already have transport links and populations willing to work, but they are simply not where developers want to build, as the green belt is a cheaper option with better profit."
Previous articles in order of publication:
Rail News – http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/2012/03/16-hs2-engineer-sets-out-new.html
Stop HS2 – http://stophs2.org/news/4891-campaigners-shocked-hs2-chief-engineer-reveals-new-city-secret-agenda
Coventry Telegraph – http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2012/03/20/fury-over-claims-hs2-will-create-new-city-between-coventry-and-birmingham-92746-30576250/
Birmingham Post – http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/other-uk-business/2012/03/23/hs2-could-see-birmingham-airport-renamed-as-london-birmingham-claims-chief-engineer-65233-30609176/
Daily Telegraph – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/hands-off-our-land/9165205/Countryside-planning-revolution-new-city-proposed-for-Midlands.html
Daily Mail – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120035/New-city-Midlands-rail-link-green-belt-land-cope-population-growth.html?
Taking HS2 to the East Midlands will be completely pointless.
Osborne boots HS2 links to Manchester, Leeds & East Midlands into long grass.
HS2 Sheffield station decision is just another cut to HS2, with more to come.
Tagged Andrew McNaughton, Birmingham, business parks retail parks, Campaign Coordinator, Chief Engineer, Cities in England, Coventry, David Begg, David Cameron, Derby, East Midlands, East Midlands Airport, East Midlands HS2 station, HS2, HS2 Ltd., Joe Rukin, Meriden Connecticut, Natural Disaster, Nottingham, nottingham trent university, Professor, stop hs2, Unitary authorities of England, Wolverhampton


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The "A Thousand Words" Interview
Kerry in Her Very Own Words
Born in the Bronx on January 31, 1977, Kerry Washington attended the Spence School and graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from George Washington University. After making an impressive film debut in Our Song in 2000, she went on to win the NAACP Image Award just five years later for playing Ray Charles' wife, Della, opposite Jamie Foxx in Ray. She will again be paired with Jamie as his spouse in Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's revenge flick about slavery in the ante bellum South.
Over the course of her meteoric rise in Hollywood, Kerry has proved to be a versatile thespian by virtue of an impressive list of credits that includes memorable performances in Mother and Child, Night Catches Us, For Colored Girls, The Last King of Scotland, The Dead Girl and Lakeview Terrace. She has also co-starred in Fantastic Four and its sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer, Miracle at St. Anna, I Think I Love My Wife, Little Man, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, She Hate Me, Against the Ropes, The Human Stain and Save the Last Dance.
On the small screen, Kerry is set to play the lead role of Olivia Pope on Scandal, a dramatic TV-series premiering on ABC in April. Here, she talks about her latest film, A Thousand Words, a comedy co-starring Eddie Murphy.
Kam Williams: Hi Kerry, thanks for the interview.
Kerry Washington: Thank you, Kam. How are you?
KW: Great! And you?
Kerry: Fine, thanks.
KW: What interested you in A Thousand Words?
Kerry: I really liked the message of the film, as well as the opportunity to work with Eddie Murphy.
KW: What was it like working with Eddie?
Kerry: It was great! It was particularly fun for me because I had worked with so many people who looked up to Eddie who had been inspired to go into the business by him, from Chris Rock to Jamie Foxx to the Wayans Brothers. So, it was like finally going to the source.
KW: Did you every have trouble keeping a straight face on the set?
Kerry: Yeah, he's very funny. But he's also incredibly focused, and takes comedy very seriously, if that makes any sense. [Chuckles]
KW: Of course it does. What message do you think people will take away from the movie?
Kerry: It's kind of about valuing your words, understanding that what you say has consequences, and that you can't just B.S. your way through life.
KW: I have a lot of questions for you from fans.
Kerry: Oh, fun!
KW: Larry Greenberg says: The name of your character in A Thousand Words seems to be double top secret. I can't find it anywhere at the usual online sources. You're just credited everywhere as "Jack McCall's wife." Will you tell us her name?
Kerry: Oh, that's weird. I have no idea why that is. Her name is Caroline. I hope the studio didn't have a reason for concealing it because I just let the cat out of the bag.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: if you could go back in time and give yourself at 18 a piece of advice, what would that be?
Kerry: It would be: Relax and enjoy the ride. It gets easier.
KW: Bernadette also asks: What is your favorite charity?
Kerry: Well, I'm on the board of V-Day, which is a global movement to end violence against women. I'm very passionate about that. We have a new campaign called one billion rising.
KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: How can our stars and idols avoid the pressure that celebrity brings in order to prevent the kind of tragedy we all witnessed recently when we mourned the passing of Whitney Houston?
Kerry: I'm reluctant to comment about preventing that specifically, since we don't yet know all the details, and because I didn't know Whitney well enough. So, I can't say how we can avoid repeating that particular tragedy. But I will say that, for me, it is important to have friends and family around that I love and trust and who love and trust me. And having a great therapist also helps.
KW: Children's book author Irene Smalls asks: What is the next challenge you're taking on in life and as an artist?
Kerry: Well, right now, I'm shooting a feature with Quentin Tarantino which is very challenging.
KW: Speaking of Django Unchained, Marcia Evans says: Continue making us proud, Sister Kerry. I can't wait to see you in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film. What can you tell us about the production at this point?
Kerry: Unfortunately, I'm not really at liberty to talk about it much. But I will say that it's great to be working with Jamie again.
KW: Marcia also says: I loved you in Mother and Child and I enjoyed the cover story about you in the March issue of Essence Magazine in which you discuss your future acting projects. Do you have an interest in playing any heroic ancestors, such as Harriet Tubman?
Kerry: I do, eventually, although I haven't settled on any specific people yet. There are so many untold stories when it comes to great women of color. Harriet Tubman's definitely a shero, for sure. And I just heard that Regina King is doing Shirley Chisholm, perfect casting, which is another story that has to be told.
KW: What would be your dream role?
Kerry: Right now my dream role would be to have another season on Scandal, which will be debuting on ABC on April 5th, because that has just been a tremendously fulfilling experience, artistically, which I'd love to be able to continue. It's been phenomenal to work with quality of writers I've been exposed to on that project.
KW: Marcia is wondering, whether you would consider organizing a legends luncheon, like Oprah did, so elders can share their life lessons with aspiring young sisters?
Kerry: I'm not sure that organizing such a function is my role in the community right now, but I'm always happy to participate when somebody else can. [Chuckles] If others weren't already doing it, I might feel the need to fill the void. But, today, for example, I'll be attending Essence Magazine's fantastic "Women in Hollywood" event. I look forward to that every year. And Alfre Woodard hosts a big dinner every year during awards season. So, there are already a number of gatherings centered around women of color who are doing inspiring work.
Kerry: Sunshine, swimming and home-cooked meals. I'm going to tell Sanaa you asked me her excellent question when I see her later today
KW: Can you come up with a good generic question I can use in future interviews? I'll call it the Kerry Washington question.
Kerry: Oh, what fun! I love that! How about: If you were an animal, what animal would you be? [Laughs]
KW: That's great. That'll be the Kerry Washington question. Now, the Melissa Harris-Perry question: How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?
Kerry: Oh, I love Mel. She's such a smart woman. I think my first big heartbreak made me more compassionate about other people's heartaches. It enabled me to feel more for others when they are in moments of pain.
Kerry: I really don't know whether there is only one, actually. There are many different types of success, so, I don't think the formula can be reduced to just one key quality.
KW: Let me finish with four questions from Pastor Alex Kendrick: When do you feel the most content?
Kerry: When I'm taking care of myself physically, emotionally and spiritually.
KW: What do you wish other people would note about you?
Kerry: Nothing. [LOL]
KW: What motivates you?
Kerry: Wanting to be of service. Not wanting to waste this life that I've been blessed to have.
KW: What defines who you are?
Kerry: Oh, that changes all the time.
KW: Well, thanks again for the time, Kerry, and best of luck with A Thousand Words and with the new TV show.
Kerry: It's been nice speaking with you again, Kam.


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University rankings raise questions about number of int'l students
Terry Xu 2015-10-02 Current Affairs
The latest university ranking exercise by London-based Times Higher Education (THE) has raised questions about the exact composition of local and international students in Singapore universities.
THE's 2015/2016 list of top universities puts the National University of Singapore (NUS) at number 26, and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at number 55.
NUS' position also makes it the top university in Asia, says THE.
Included in the rankings is the number of international students in each university.
At the NUS, the number stands at 34 per cent; while at the NTU it is 33 per cent.
These figures provide interesting insights into the controversial issue of how many places in our tertiary institutions are reserved or opened to non-Singaporean students.
When the then Minister of Education, Heng Swee Keat, was asked in Parliament in July 2013 by Non-constituency Member of Parliament, Yee Jenn Jong, to provide the numbers of international students in our universities, he replied:
"The overall proportion of international students at our local universities is 16 per cent."
Earlier in May 2013, Mr Yee had also asked for the percentage of enrolled students and admitted students in each of our local autonomous universities (AUs), Yale-NUS College, and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine respectively, who are Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners.
Mr Heng replied to Mr Yee with the following:
"The vast majority of university places have gone to Singaporeans. In AY2012, Singaporean students comprised 79 per cent, while International Students and Permanent Residents comprised 16 per cent and 5per cent of the universities' intake respectively."
The figures provided by THE are reportedly submitted to THE by the schools themselves, and represent data from the 2013 academic year, although they may vary from subsequent or earlier years.
While the numbers for Yale-NUS and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine are likely to have been considered or included in the final tally by THE, the number of international students for these two institutions are a mere 157 and 54 respectively in the year 2013. This would unlikely cause much deviation in the overall number of international students in our universities.
Also, over at Yale-NUS itself, some numbers were revealed through its announcement of student intake, and it points to a somewhat lower proportion of international students there for the 2017 intake.
According to a press release then in 2013, Yale-NUS indicated that Singaporean students would make up 62 per cent of the 2017 cohort:
The 157 students who will form the inaugural class come from 77 schools on 6 different continents. 97 members of the inaugural class will be Singaporean (62%). 13 students come from the United States and 4 from Canada. 32 of the students hail from Asia, Australia and New Zealand, while another 11 are from Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, or South America. In addition to the inaugural class, 63 Singaporeans have committed to start at Yale-NUS in the next two years after they finish their national service. Classes will begin in August 2013.
From the numbers given thus far (from both THE, and Yale-NUS itself), it would seem that the number of international students in each of the three universities highlighted above exceeds the overall 16 per cent of such students as mentioned by Mr Heng in 2013.
TOC has since written to MOE to seek further clarification on the matter.


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← Field Guides, Books, and Apps for Birding in Australia
Barking Mad →
We were on the road just after dawn, heading west. The rolling hills and tropical rainforests of the Tablelands gave way to Eucalypts as we descended the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range and into much drier habitat. Towns and settlements thinned out, and we were warned that enormous cows might try to consume our car.
We followed Highway 1, the Kennedy Highway, past Millaa Millaa and Ravenshoe. There was much discussion about whether this latter town was named for one corvid's footwear or many corvids sharing a digging tool. As that debate was winding down, I saw several enormous black shapes drifting buoyantly through the trees. Fluffy hawks? Puff eagles? Or… Red-tailed Black Cockatoos!
"Stop the car!" I hollered. Neil, now having learned that there was either a dangerous unseen obstruction ahead (cough, cough, that chain across the road in Costa Rica) or a very important avian sighting in-progress, expertly performed an Emergency Birding Maneuver (EBM) and parked the car swiftly and safely off the side of the road. I pointed to three Red-tailed Black Cockatoos perched in a tall Casuarina tree. Nearly the size of another "red-tail," the hawk known to all North American birders, these large black parrots preened in the sunlight, showing off their bouffant crests and their broad blood-red tail panels. We had excellent views in the scope before the cockatoos fluttered away in search of a mid-morning snack.
At some point, the narrow two-lane highway gave way to a single lane mostly-paved road with dirt shoulders.
The custom when driving along this Gulf Developmental Road is to drive full speed in the middle of the road. When a vehicle approaches from the other direction, you jerk the wheel to the left and drive with two tires on the dirt shoulder and two on the paved road. Hopefully the shoulder is relatively smooth in that spot, because you're usually still traveling at high speed. The other car does the same, and you pass inches from each other in a roaring cloud of dust. Then it's another jerk to the right to get yourself back on the pavement.
The exception to the rule above is when you meet a road train. I'm bummed that I didn't get any good photos of road trains, because they are something to behold. Essentially giant forms of the North American "semi" or "tractor-trailer," the road train has a motorized cab that pulls up to three (and in some cases even four!) trailers behind it. These road trains are truly massive in scale, and are used to transport goods on the long haul routes through the vast Australian outback. They can be over 150 feet long with up to 80 tires in contact with the pavement. When a road train approaches a regular car, it does not slow down or move over. So when you see a road train materialize around the bend ahead, your heart goes a bit into your throat as you wrestle the vehicle completely off the road (at speed) and try to avoid termite mounds, boulders, trees, and ditches. If your passenger is an American chemistry teacher, sometimes they grab the handhold above their left shoulder and yell, "rooooooooad traaaaaaaaain!" It's a bit of an adventure.
The other thing we noticed, especially west of Mt. Surprise, was that there were very few passenger sedans out on the road. In addition to road trains, we saw mostly other assorted trucks and SUVs. Even the smaller private vehicles had engine snorkels for river crossings, huge tires (with two of three spares on the back and/or roof), extra external fuel tanks, and "roo bars" – thick steel bars the diameter of a softball bat that wrapped around the front of a vehicle to protect from "roo strikes." We did indeed see many dead kangaroos on the side of the road, some of them quite large. And we were repeatedly warned not to drive after dark when "the roos are on the road." A direct roo strike on an passenger car was often fatal for both the roo and any humans traveling in the vehicle. We updated our travel plans to make sure we were off the roads before sunset.
Some 5 hours and 350 km after we set out, we arrived in Georgetown. The last stretch was entirely on dirt roads, so it felt weird to be back in a place with electricity and petrol stations. Georgetown is not big (348 people according to the 2016 census), but it's the one of the largest towns between the Tablelands and the Gulf of Carpentaria. We had come all the way to the Georgetown area to see birds of the dry country. There are a great number of Australian bird species that roam the vast dry interior, following transient moisture and food supplies. A special thing about Georgetown is the old Cumberland mine and dam, another 20 km west of town. This abandoned gold mining site often has permanent water, even in the dry season, and is an oasis for birds in the middle of the desert. After a quick stop at the Georgetown racetrack where we picked up two new charismatic species, Apostlebirds and Weebills, we headed out to Cumberland in the waning afternoon light.
Cumberland is the site of a 19th Century gold mine. By 1886, its annual output was more than 11,000 ounces of gold. Steam engines were used to excavate the gold ore and crush it. A dam along Cumberland Creek was built to ensure a constant supply of water. A town of 400 people sprung up – larger than present-day Georgetown. And this giant masonry chimney was built to disperse the smoke of the engines and machinery. Within a couple decades, all of the gold-rich ore was removed, the mine went bust, and people moved away. Today all that remains is part of the dam and the towering brick chimney. There's also a small RV park and a picnic table. It sure doesn't look like much in terms of "great birding habitat," and when we clambered out car in the stifling heat of the afternoon I briefly wondered if we had made a two-day, 800 km mistake. But there were birds here, and it wasn't long before we started finding them.
There were Green Pygmy-Geese and Hardheads in the swallow pond, along with some Australasian Grebes. A darter and several species of cormorants rested on a fallen tree over the water. A Pacific Heron and various egrets stalked the shallows, and a number of Comb-crested Jacanas walked across the emergent vegetation. We picked up a number of new passerines for our trip, including Yellow-throated Miner, Rufous-throated Honeyeater, Gray-crowned Babbler, and Rufous Songlark. Neil is a truly outstanding birder, and he was picking out new species left and right. Finches were feeding on grass seeds, and we had great looks at the snazzy Zebra, Masked, and Black-throated Finches. Another crowd of Apostlebirds came by, followed by a small flock of honeyeaters. A Wedge-tailed Eagle soared by. A small flock of Diamond Doves came in to drink at a muddy puddle. We checked out the local Toxic Waste Site (because, hey, no self-respecting birder is going to let a little toxic waste get between them and a lifer, right?!).
In two and a half hours we covered nearly three miles. We totally ran out of water, I ripped my shirt crawling under a barbed wire fence, and we arrived back at the car hungry, thirsty, dirty, and exhausted. But with 50 species recorded, including more than a dozen that were new for our trip, it was an extremely successful afternoon. The grand finale was waiting for us when we returned to the mammoth brick chimney where we parked our car. I noticed that there was a little extra bump on top that hadn't been there earlier. That bump turned out to be… a Brown Falcon scanning for dinner!
Brown Falcon at the top of the chimney
We spent the night at the Latara Motel, which is the nicest motel in all of Georgetown. It was also the only commercial accommodation in town, and it was mostly adequate for our modest purposes. Food was a bit hard to come by, though, but we did rustle up a beer and a snack. At first light we were back at Cumberland dam where we had a delightful morning, seeing many of the species from yesterday as well as a few new ones, but at a more relaxed pace. A singing Red-browed Pardalote led us on a merry chase, but we finally tracked it down and got great looks. We also stopped at nearby Durham dam, another watering hole in the desert. Neil hiked all the way in, and reported good numbers of water birds.
At this point, we were both starving. It had been a couple days since we'd had a real meal, and even our snack supply in the car was running low. Neil looked at me, and wondered aloud if we could possibly make it back to the Whistle Stop Cafe in Yungaburra, one of our favorite restaurants. The problem is that the Whistle Stop is only open for breakfast and lunch, and closes about 2:30pm. I looked at the map, did a little mental math, and told Neil the bad news. "There is no possible way we can make it," I said. "We'd have to average, like, 150 km/hr on those crazy one-lane roads."
I had meant this as a statement that we'd have to find someplace else to eat, but Neil instead took it as a challenge. And we were off through the Outback, driving east at high speed. "What about Emu?" Neil asked as we rounded a bend fast enough for everything in the car to slide to the right.
"No recent records of emu at all," I replied. "They're quite rare here."
"Disappointing," replied Neil. As we passed an large field surrounded by some scraggly Eucalypts, I thought I saw…
"Stop the car!" When the car skidded to a halt and the resulting dust cloud rolled by, we saw, off in the distance a whole flock (herd?) of Emu. At nearly two meters tall, they made an impressive sight as they strolled their way across the dry grass. After five minutes of studying them through his optics, Neil checked his watch, slammed the car back into gear, and we were once again hurtling towards either a very late lunch or crippling disappointment at the Whistle Stop.
At 2:26pm we parked smartly in front of the cafe, and a scant 15 minutes later we were tucking into an extra large portion of eggs, toast, fruit, juice, and coffee. Mission accomplished! We ate several lunches in one sitting, and talked about the last leg of our trip which would be kicking off early tomorrow morning with a flight to the Northern Territory (or so we thought at the time).
Filed under Australia, Birding
Tagged as cafe, danger, extreme birding, falcon, funny signs


Here are nine reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, two have appeared on the blog over the last three weeks and seven are completely new.
The competition closes tonight at 11.59pm: win an iBook of Invisible by Christine Poulson (no geographical restrictions).
and Lynn also reviews The Crack by Christopher Radmann set in 1970s South Africa.
Following her successful appearance at an Embassy Ball--where Eliza Doolittle won Professor Henry Higgins' bet that he could pass off a Cockney flower girl as a duchess--Eliza becomes an assistant to his chief rival Emil Nepommuck. After Nepommuck publicly takes credit for transforming Eliza into a lady, an enraged Higgins submits proof to a London newspaper that Nepommuck is a fraud. When Nepommuck is found with a dagger in his back, Henry Higgins becomes Scotland Yard's prime suspect. However, Eliza learns that most of Nepommuck's pupils had a reason to murder their blackmailing teacher. As another suspect turns up dead and evidence goes missing, Eliza and Higgins realize the only way to clear the Professor's name is to discover which of Nepommuck's many enemies is the real killer. When all the suspects attend a performance of" Hamlet" at Drury Lane, Eliza and Higgins don their theatre best and race to upstage a murderer.
Also from the blurb on amazon: "D.E. IRELAND is a writing team of two Michigan authors who met as undergraduates in an anthropology class and have remained friends ever since. Both are married to computer geeks, and each has one beautiful and brilliant daughter. Lifelong book lovers and history buffs, they have authored several novels on their own".
A thrilling BBC Radio full-cast spin-off from the Danish TV series, starring Tim Pigott-Smith.
Hans Gammelgaard, Private Secretary in the Danish Ministry of the Environment, is seeking approval for the controlled use of genetically modified crops by Danish farmers. However, unseen enemies seem prepared to go to any lengths in pursuit of their own agenda.
When Hans is sacked, he and his grandson Nick join forces with cynical journalist Jan Gleerup to find out who has been pushing commercial interests in the GMO debate in Borgen. A series of threatening phone calls means time is running out. Hans begins to fear not only for the political situation, but also for his family.
Adapted from the original Danish version, this radio drama is set against the backdrop of the first Borgen television series, which followed the unlikely emergence of Birgitte Nyborg as the country's new Prime Minister. At the centre of the drama is the Danish parliament, nicknamed Borgen - 'the castle'. While the TV drama focuses on the politicians, the radio drama is set in the world of the civil service.
C J Sansom's sixth book in the Matthew Shardlake series, Lamentation, is published 23 October 2014. It's been a four year wait since Heartstone.
Watch the promo video on YouTube.
I'm so glad that Mrs Peabody persuaded me to watch Happy Valley. I downloaded it via iPlayer and watched it over a week. Possibly not the best material to watch on the train - I was either shielding my screen because of the violence or holding back tears.
If you didn't watch it, it's out on DVD today.
Watch it for the fabulous performance from Sarah Lancashire.
I've received an email from Sisters in Crime Australia with the great news that a third series of the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries has been commissioned. It begins shooting in October so may be a while before it gets UK-side. Essie Davis and Nathan Page return as Phryne Fisher and Jack Robinson.
More information is on the Sisters in Crime website.
The first two series are available on R2 DVD.
Plus a new competition - win an iBook of Invisible by Christine Poulson (no geographical restrictions).
and Laura Root reviews Juli Zeh's Decompression tr. John Cullen which is set in Lanzarote.
I very much enjoyed Christine Poulson's Cassandra James series and I'm pleased to report that Christine has a new book out, a standalone, called Invisible.
Lisa has a secret lover. Once a month she escapes from caring alone for her son, who has cerebral palsy, and meets Jay, just for the weekend, free from all responsibilities. It's perfect - until the day when Jay doesn't show up, and everything she thought she knew about him turns out to be a lie.
Invisible is available a print and ebook and the publisher, Accent Press, has kindly given Euro Crime 5 copies of the iBook version to give away.
5 winners will receive a voucher code from Accent Press that they can exchange for the iBook. This does mean that I will have to send the winners' details to Accent Press, and I've included a box in the form below for entrants to agree to.
The competition will close on 29 June at 11.59pm.
All entries will be deleted once the winners' details have been forwarded to Accent Press.
The television in the Murder Squad room is tuned to the news of the King's health crisis. This is the worst of times for Spain: unprecedented economic chaos, the country close to bankruptcy and the King close to death. If he dies the country could tear itself apart. Maldonado, the squad's new chief, calls detectives Camara and Torres into his office. He introduces them to CI Laura Martin, head and sole member of the Sexual Violence squad. There is no love lost between Camara and Chief Maldonado, nor for that matter is there any love lost between the chief and the entire squad. But now, after some months with no suspicious deaths, there are two to look into. Torres will investigate what looks like the attempted suicide of a bank worker; the man is as near dead as possible so they might as well get a head start on the case. Meanwhile Camara and Martin will take the brutal killing of a young American woman, her death called in by her young husband. Maldonado calls Camara back for a private word and wastes no time giving him the message that the powers that be are looking to get rid of one of the team. Back in his old job in Valencia after several months of extended leave, Camara immediately gets Maldonado's drift. But he is also distracted by trying to work out if the Rolex on his boss's wrist is genuine or fake.
BLOOD MED is the fourth in Jason Webster's series featuring Valencia's motor-bike riding, anarchist detective Max Camara. It sees Camara back at work in Valencia's police headquarters and living with his journalist girlfriend Alicia (now out of a job) and his elderly grandfather, Hilario. The book pitches us into a Spain in political and social chaos: rising unemployment, the consequent homelessness of people failing to make mortgage repayments or pay their rents, banks blamed and hated. Corruption further divides and disillusions a society which is splitting – polarised between rich and poor, left and right, regional separatism. It is a scenario now familiar to us, not just with Spain but also with contemporary Greece. Some crime fiction readers don't want the political stuff, but I like the insight that Webster brings into the consequences of economic breakdown on the lives of ordinary people. His writing is vivid and on occasion moving. Whilst the centre of the plot is a thrilling crime story (unconvinced with the young wife's violent death that "the husband did it", Camara pursues other motives for her killing) Webster also lodges Camara firmly in the centre of his life. We have crimes to be solved but we also have Camara's relationships and life outside of his detective work, for instance his involvement with an anarchist refuge for immigrants and the homeless down in the tunnels of the new metro (another failed project, unfinished due to the financial collapse of the region). The result is punchy and rich – an absorbing crime thriller, full of suspense and excitement.
I enjoyed THE ANARCHIST DETECTIVE, his previous book in the series and BLOOD MED continues its high standard. Jason Webster has lived in Spain for many years and just as much of Nordic Noir takes note of society and social change in its crime writing so does Webster – but the flavour and the history is distinctly Spanish. I hope to backtrack to earlier books in the Camara series but meanwhile I thoroughly recommend BLOOD MED.
Read another review of BLOOD MED.
This is the nineteenth of the Charles Paris novels by Simon Brett and is published only just over a year after the last one, A DECENT INTERVAL so hopefully we will get these more regularly now – please!
Charles Paris is shockingly in reasonably long-term paid work albeit as one of the Brokers men in a performance of Cinderella in Eastbourne where he is so far down the bill he is amazed that he makes it on to the poster at all.
The big name of the show, as Baron Hardup, is a faded American sit-com star, Kenny Polizzi, who knows nothing of pantomime and is here almost entirely for the money although escaping his soon-to-be ex-wife proved an added incentive. She arrives in the country, Kenny goes off the wagon and soon he is found by Charles underneath the pier – no longer so full of life - having been shot.
As usual I read this very quickly as I do for most Simon Brett books. Personally I feel that both the murder aspect and the comedy aspect are much better handled in this one than in A DECENT INTERVAL. On the murder aspect, the killer is not that obvious although when revealed it does make total sense and in the comedy aspect, there are some great one-liners (the chapter sub-titles are also very funny if you know the traditions and running gags of Panto).
The best news for those of us who like Charles is there is a hint of sunlight in his relationship with his wife Frances. I am now just waiting to see what the next Simon Brett is to pre-order but will re-read some earlier Charles Paris stories in the meantime.


What year did Johoaiachim's reign end?
Q: What year did Johoaiachim's reign end?
Jeremiah 22:18-19 – 18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or 'Alas, my sister!' They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!' 19 He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.


Regularly engaging in memory improvement games, training exercises that help you practice specific cognitive abilities (e.g., attention or processing speed), seems to protect against memory loss better than memory strategies alone. So as we get older, it's important to keep our minds moving.
Various dementia types can be caused by medical or psychiatric conditions, among them high fever, vitamin deficiency, head trauma, or depression. These are the so-called "reversible dementias." Other dementia types are irreversible and—if you're wondering, "Is dementia hereditary?"—can be caused by family genes.


Back in autumn, 2013, I packed my entire life into four suitcases (no easy feat, Ill tell ya) and flew one way to Europe where I planned on living for one year. I didn't have a job, knew no one, nor did I speak the language.
Specifically, I ventured to the Czech Republic. Signing up for a TEFL course in what I hoped would be a means of securing both a job, as well as a way of paving the path for a social life of some sort, whilst building a life during what I anticipated being the short lived, punctuated chapter I would spend in Europe.
I ended up staying for four years. Within those initial couple of months spent living in the Czech Republic (specifically Prague), I completed the TEFL certification, began building a handful of budding, warm, joyous friendships, as well as started my own private English lesson business. Hanging signs all over the city, in bus terminals, inside the entryways of the local university, tucked in café foyers, and within one week obtained some six or seven clients. Enough to scrap together over half of a reasonable monthly salary.
I reveled in this. Meeting my clients in all manner of cozy cafes and cute eateries. Interacting with a diverse range of people, including Czech children, a young Italian woman, two Russian girls, as well as a young Chinese man. Incorporating into our lessons TED talks, various readings, conversational activities, new articles, and more. Each lesson of course, tailored to the individual.
I ended up living just a stones throw away from Old Town Square, be still my adventure loving heart. Talk about a dream address. This aligning of the stars, the result of someone I had known back in Boston, connecting me with a friend of hers who happened to be Czech and living in Prague! Her elderly father, having a room for rent in his flat.
I ended up making the leap over to Germany for what, at the time was deemed an impassioned love affair. On reflection though, realizing it was a rather one sided chasing. The object of my affections, emotionally stunted and distracted by unhealthy endeavors which robbed him the ability at being any semblance of a partner. This was a childish mismatch at best. However, my having moved to Germany was very much meant to have happened. He wasnt the reason for such. Instead, merely the catalyst for urging me in this necessary jumping. It took me some time following the conclusion of our relationship to see this.
With just 3 weeks remaining on my tourist visa on arrival in Germany, I pounded the pavement looking for a job. Handing out resumes, both in person and sending them out via the internet. Doors were shut in my face, heads shook in declining necessity of my work. Finally, a mere three or four days prior to my visa running out, I landed a job teaching English in the same classroom daily within a school in Frankfurt.
I loved this, heart surging and excitement firing through my body in the creation of lessons for the kids. Drawing pictures of faces depicting various emotions for teaching them the words "angry," "sad," "surprised," "happy," etc. Playing drawing games with the kids, teaching them the colors, running through the alphabet, charades used for learning animals. Noteworthy and sweet connections were formed with several of the children with whom I worked. And even after departing from this school for a different job, staying in touch with a handful of these same children to whom I taught English in the evenings each week after their finishing school.
During my time in Germany, I traveled as much as my meager salary would permit, which was surprisingly a decent amount. I began this very blog, which has gained significant readership- much to my shock, awe, and thrill. I owe many thanks and much gratefulness to those who have chose to read of my adventures and musings along the way. I developed several meaningful, poignant, warm and wonderful friendships.
This was, without question, a pivotal, marvelous, growth inducing, deeply happy phase of my life. I wouldn't change it for anything.
Thus, on reflection, in gazing back at the landscape of all I experienced, saw, accomplished, and did, I would absolutely urge and recommend (even respectfully, almost insist ;-)) that every American live in Europe at least once in their lifetime, and for the duration of one year, at a minimum. Prior to biting the bullet and actually embarking on doing so, its a daunting, anxiety inducing, scary imagining. However, within as well as following such a life chapter, it an incredibly powerful, thrilling, character altering, and awesome experience, to say the very least.
The vacation time. It sounds fantastical, or even as though not the biggest of deals. I can assure you though, after living in both situations and now armed with the comparison, it makes a world of difference. In the US, we receive 10 days of vacation annually, starting. Maybe slightly more if you are incredibly lucky. In Europe? The standard is 6 weeks starting, and thats entry level jobs.
Further, there isnt the shame attached to taking vacations in Europe that we often tend to have as Americans. The line of thinking crammed down our throats and the rather unhealthy and inaccurate valued mantra of "work, work, work, working harder and longer is better and best." (Interesting because actually, numerous studies have shown that people who take frequent vacations are actually happier and more productive at work, than those who do not).
On the other side of the pond, they prize their time to relax and recharge. To adventure and discover. They enjoy their work, even work hard, yet they prize life, relationships and endeavors outside of work just as highly. They talk excitedly of upcoming vacations, this a common conversation among colleagues. Having more vacation, and not just vacation but just living within the general mindset that ones life outside of work is equally as important, valued, and respected, makes for a significantly happier and emotionally healthier life.
The ease with which one can hop, skip, and jump to neighboring countries. One week in Portugal (when living somewhere in Europe), about $600. At least thats what it cost me, airfare and Airbnb included. A week in Portugal from the US? That would run you some $2,000, including airfare and sleeping arrangements.
Experiencing a different culture in full. And no, traveling somewhere on vacation for a week is no comparison. Living somewhere for a year though- talk about mind expanding, emotionally challenging, and majorly growth inducing. Learning to navigate other cultures mannerisms, ideals, and ways of life. Its an immensely character building thing. Invaluable and life changing.
In line with the above point, no one culture is ideal. And that includes America. All cultures have insightful and positive aspects, along with negative and nonsensical, even crappy ones. Some cultures have more of one type than the other. But the point is, when you live in another country/culture, you will experience ways of living that are both worse, as well as better than your own culture.
This is a priceless thing. Allowing one a patchworking combining of their own values, ideals, and preferred ways of living which one already had, along with those that were experienced and picked up along the way in living within differing cultures from ones own.
Exposure to a diverse range of friends. So many of us tend towards gravitating to people who are, more or less, like ourselves. With similar interests and jobs, often the same gender, and of similar values. When living in another culture from your own, one is thrust into the unique experience of (frequently) being the minority. Finding oneself forced to push your comfort zone and thus, offering ample opportunity for a wide range of types of people as friends. A majorly enriching experience.
Whilst living in Europe, I made friends with both men and women. Their ages spanning from 25 to 60 years old. They were English, French, Indian, American, German, Bosnian, and Czech. This was so much more interesting, I realized, than routinely choosing friends who are "more like me."
In living abroad, you are forced into learning numerous new skills. Many of which you likely wouldn't be pushed into otherwise. These can include, though are certainly not limited to: learning a new language, mastering the ins and outs of international travel, accessing your inner resourcefulness and bravery, becoming skilled at being more outgoing, strengthening your math skills (in learning another currency and then conversions of such), learning how to cook new recipes from the culture you are within, map navigation, varying cultural customs, and more.
The reason I chose Europe specifically as a place in which everyone should live is because I found it quite cheap to live there. I made the lowest salary of my life (in the range of $1600 monthly). And yet, after paying the grouping of bills I had (rent, cell phone, train pass, groceries, gym, student loans), was left with not a lot but enough to travel as long as I kept it semi cheap. And even then, I still enjoyed myself thoroughly. Meaning, yes I was on a budget, but not so constricted as to have zero wiggle room or space to treat myself.
Carefully and mindfully, you can live happily within many places throughout Europe off not especially large sums of money, while still traveling, adventuring, and having an immensely fulfilling and rich experience.
One of the best meals Ive ever eaten. In Budapest, Hungary. Their traditional stew. Mind blowing.
Traditional Czech dish of pork, gnocchi, sauerkraut, none of which I normally eat so I was hesitant but it turned out to be tasty.
A traditional bread I sampled while staying with a German family that is called something like "midnight bread." It was heavenly. Lightly sweet, moist, subtly eggy, man oh man, this was good.
One of the best breakfasts I have ever sampled, in Berlin, Germany.
Dining on the rich, bubbling cheese fondue in Switzerland, one of their traditional dishes.
Looks plain and simple, the taste though was incredible. A seafood rice dish in Portugal. Divine.
Another seafood sampling in Portugal. Absolutely mouthwatering.
The food! Sure, there are numerous fantastic foods and delightful eats over here in America. However, much of our food has gotten way unhealthy. A sweeping majority of it processed, chemical laden, overflowing with sugar, chock full of grains and wheat, an explosion of calories and fat. Even fruits and vegetables are now covered in chemicals and are often not especially nutrient dense. Stored in warehouses for long stretches of time before our receiving the foods, which by then means its mostly sapped of nutrients.
The food in Europe is largely, incredible. Fresh. Scrumptious. Healthier. More natural. Less sweet and chemical laden. The real deal. Living in Europe will afford you the opportunity for sampling so many satisfying and scrumptious dishes and foods that you wouldn't have the chance to eat otherwise. It can inform and alter your eating habits for life.
Because while sure, you can get any kind of ethnic food over here, it isnt nearly of the same quality as one can get when eating the authentic and original foods from that specific country, when actually there visiting.
Another reason I chose Europe: the mere hours from so many varied, awe inspiring, incredible places you are then close to. Providing ample opportunity and easy for exploring such. Including, though of course not even close to limited to all of the adventures I was able to embark on, showcased in the photos above.
Living in another country, Europe or otherwise (though for this article, I am touting Europe) is an invaluable experience you cannot gain elsewhere. It stretches and shifts who you are, in both countless small ways, and in significant, poignant ones. Everyone should do it once. Specifically, every American should live in Europe.


The main factors responsible for low speeds over turnouts on Indian Railways are as follows.
In order to achieve higher speeds on turnouts, it is necessary that all the limitations of the design of a turnout be overcome as far as possible. In European countries, the design of turnouts has been greatly improved and speeds of more than 100 km/ h are permitted on turnout curves. The main features of the design of these turnouts are the following.
(a) Long curved switches are provided to avoid the abrupt change in the direction of the vehicle at the entry to the switch.
(b) Switches and crossings are curved to the same radius as the lead curve or, alternatively, a transition curve is provided between the toe of the switch and the nose of the crossing. This provides a smooth passage to the trains on the turnout curve.
(c) Higher cant deficiency is permitted so that the disadvantage of not providing superelevation on the turnout curve is duly compensated.
In keeping with the trend in the railways of the world to permit higher speeds on turnouts, Indian Railways is considering standardization of high-speed turnouts for the following conditions of the track.
(a) For goods yards for a maximum permissible speed of 25 km/h and for passenger yards for maximum permissible speed of 50 km/h.
(b) In peripheries of big yards for bypass lines for a maximum permissible speed of 75 km/h.
(c) At junction joints of single-line and double-line sections for a maximum permissible speed of 100 km/h.
A design of 1 in 12 turnouts for passenger yards with thick web tongue rails and CMS crossings (RDSO Drg. no. T-2733) has already been finalized for enabling a maximum permissible speed of 50 km/h. Similarly, a new design of 1 in 24 turn outs for BG routes with curved switches and thick web tongue rails with a speed potential of 160 km/h is being finalized by Indian Railways.


text:
Blog / Mackie DL32R a Blessing for La Junta Church of the Nazarene
Mackie DL32R a Blessing for La Junta Church of the Nazarene
Located on U.S. Highway 50, about 60 miles east of Pueblo, the town of La Junta is home to about 5,000 residents. Approximately 230-almost 5 percent of the population-are members of the La Junta Church of the Nazarene, and the congregation continues to grow.
The church's contemporary-style services include a full praise band, and sound reinforcement had long been a challenge, due to a very outdated system that fell far short of their needs. "The previous system had old, mostly blown speakers that should have been replaced ten years ago, two mediocre outboard EQs, and a crossover that was not doing anything," recalls Lucas Lafferty, co-owner of systems integrator DK Audio Video of Colorado Springs. Lafferty's team specified a new system, including a 1,600 watt Mackie HD1801 subwoofer with an 18-inch speaker that delivered all of the sub-lows required.
That left the question of the mixer and processing. The church's analog mixer was of good quality-a Mackie 2404VLZ4-but it was time to go digital, eliminate the outboard gear, and get more mixer channels. Lafferty's answer: a Mackie DL32R 32-Channel Rackmount Digital Mixer.
The DL32R delivered the sound quality and feature set the church wanted. The question was how the praise team would adjust to a digital mixer. "They adapted to the DL32R very quickly," Lafferty responds. "They call me up with questions once in awhile but most of the time I can resolve it over the phone. Overall they have found the DL32R easy to learn and use."
The praise team employs 28 mixer channels onstage. "They're growing," Lafferty explains," so they needed a lot of channels, and they love the onboard processing. The old EQs and crossover are gone." The DL32R has greatly improved the monitor system, as well. "They have five in-ear monitors onstage, as well as two floor monitor mixes," observes Lafferty. "With Mackie's Master Fader™ app, the sound guy can walk around the stage with an iPad, ask each musician what they need, and give it to them. At least two of the musicians are using Master Fader to mix their monitors on their iPhones."
Another tool the La Junta Church of the Nazarene team is using quite extensively is the DL32R's matrix functionality. "We're running in mono," details Lafferty, "and we matrixed everything into a single channel output. We also send a feed to the subwoofer that uses a DL32R low-pass filter to roll off the highs. With the DL32R processing and routing, we don't need a separate room DSP system."
Switching from an aging system to state-of-the-art technology could have been difficult, Lafferty admits, but the Mackie's ease of use made the transition a smooth one. "Slowly but surely everything has come together really well," he confirms. "They have been very happy with the overall capabilities of the system and with the sound."


text:
Q: How to count the number of a nested array in django? I am new to django and I'm still figuring out how use all the functions. This is the result of the query that I want to count
{
            "id": 1,
            "user_id": 1,
            "encountersDaily": [
                {
                    "id": 1,
                    "DateTime": "2022-08-01T01:22:00Z",
                    "Longtitude": "14.536480570700000",
                    "Latitude": "121.049722723900000",
                    "EncounterExitID": 1,
                    "PromoterID": 1,
                    "GenderID": 1
                },
                {
                    "id": 10,
                    "DateTime": "2022-08-01T01:42:46Z",
                    "Longtitude": "14.536480570700000",
                    "Latitude": "121.049722723900000",
                    "EncounterExitID": 1,
                    "PromoterID": 1,
                    "GenderID": 1
                }
            ],

        },
        {
            "id": 4,
            "user_id": 4,
            "encountersDaily": [
                {
                    "id": 6,
                    "DateTime": "2022-08-01T01:42:09Z",
                    "Longtitude": "14.536480570700000",
                    "Latitude": "121.049722723900000",
                    "EncounterExitID": 2,
                    "PromoterID": 4,
                    "GenderID": 1
                },
                {
                    "id": 8,
                    "DateTime": "2022-08-01T01:42:29Z",
                    "Longtitude": "14.536480570700000",
                    "Latitude": "121.049722723900000",
                    "EncounterExitID": 1,
                    "PromoterID": 4,
                    "GenderID": 1
                },
                {
                    "id": 9,
                    "DateTime": "2022-08-01T01:42:38Z",
                    "Longtitude": "14.536480570700000",
                    "Latitude": "121.049722723900000",
                    "EncounterExitID": 1,
                    "PromoterID": 4,
                    "GenderID": 2
                }
            ],

        }

I have this data of 2 users and my goal is to loop through this array and find the sum of the encountersDaily. is it possible to just use filter function here? or loop is necessary .
views.py
class TotalEncounterPerGroupView(APIView):
    authentication_classes = [JWTAuthentication]

    def get(self, request):
        data = Promoter.objects.all().filter(
            promotersGroup__GroupID=request.data.get('groupId'))

        data_serializer = PromoterNestedSerializer(data, many=True)
        return Response({"user": str(request.user.id), "data": data_serializer.data}, status=status.HTTP_200_OK)

model.py
class PromotersGroup(models.Model):
    GroupID = models.ForeignKey(Group, on_delete=models.CASCADE)
    PromoterID = models.ForeignKey(
        Promoter, related_name='promotersGroup',  on_delete=models.CASCADE, blank=True)

serializer.py
class PromoterNestedSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
    encountersDaily = EncounterDailySerializer(read_only=True, many=True)
    promotersGroup = PromotersGroupSerializer(read_only=True, many=True)

    class Meta:
        model = Promoter
        fields = ('id', 'user_id', 'encountersDaily', 'promotersGroup')

A: From what ever I can understand from your code given. Your query should be something like this.
 from django.db.models import Count

 CountPromoter.objects.filter(
      promotersGroup__GroupID=request.data.get('groupId')
 ).values(
    "id", "user_id", "encountersDaily"
 ).annotate(
     encountersDaily_count=Subquery(Count('encountersDaily')
 )

You can have count inside a subquery.
Need more information about the other two models for me to write more accurate query.
Yes and if you have less number of fields in query response then try to fetch them in values or in value_set rather than fetching entire response.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Italy travel news
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Human Rights Alarm in Uganda
United States asked to assist Uganda to stop death and violence
eTN Managing EditorNovember 29, 2020 18:50
Ugandan police responded violently to protestors, killing at least 37, injuring more than 65 others, and incarcerating approximately 350 Ugandan protestors. TASSC respectfully asks that the United States take a leadership role in holding accountable the Ugandan officials responsible for these gross violations of fundamental international human rights laws and principles.
The arrest and detention of presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi, is a sign of the growing repression of opposition politicians ahead of Uganda's national elections scheduled for January 2021. The Ugandan authorities should release Kyagulanyi immediately and unconditionally and respect the rights of people to peacefully protest his detention.
Security forces arrested Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, on November 18, 2020, in Luuka district, Eastern Uganda, ahead of a planned campaign rally. The police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, said in a statement that Kyagulanyi, the presidential candidate of the National Unity Platform, was arrested for allegedly breaching Covid-19 regulations by mobilizing large crowds for his campaign rallies. A spokesperson for Kyagulanyi said that his lawyers have been denied access to him. The authorities responded with teargas and live bullets to the protests that followed in Kampala and elsewhere, which led to deaths, and injuries.
A Ugandan eTurboNews reader reported breaking news summarizing an alarming human rights situation in Uganda saying: "These allegations are true. I actually survived the violence because I went to the city centre."
Nicholas Opiyo, a Uganda civil rights attorney, said posted to his Facebook.
"It is business as usual on two fronts. The first disregard, in fact, the protection of the perpetrators of the 2016 state-inspired violence in Kasese. Secondly, the renewed bloodshed, extrajudicial killings by the Museveni regime in Kasese.Hundreds remain incarcerated on allegations of treason and terrorism while the killers of Kasese are promoted in what can only mean approval of their macabre actions. In the streets of Kampala, renewed killings following Bobi's arrest. Again, hundreds arrested for taking part in a demonstration while the killers of 80 unarmed citizens on the streets you bothered by the consequences of their actions."
The US based Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC), aims to end the practice of torture wherever it occurs and support survivors as they empower themselves, their families and communities wherever they are
Yesterday TASSC raised the alarm bells on Uganda.
In the streets of Kampala, renewed killings following Bobi's arrest. Again, hundreds arrested for taking part in a demonstration while the killers of 80 unarmed citizens on the streets you bothered by the consequences of their action
In a press release circulated on Friday TASSC respectfully asks that the United States take a leadership role in holding accountable the Ugandan officials responsible for these gross violations of fundamental international human rights laws and principles.
The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) was established to meet the needs of survivors of torture and persecution and to advocate for the prevention of torture and support for its survivors. TASSC provides survivors with an array of services, including social services, counseling, legal representation, workforce development, and advocacy to end torture worldwide.
The government of Uganda has come under serious and much-deserved scrutiny for its widespread human rights violations in recent years. TASSC has turned its attention to these abuses with renewed focus in recent months, having learned from survivors and activists of patterns of arbitrary arrests, torture of political opponents, illegal prisons, inhumane incarceration conditions, and other horrific practices by Ugandan authorities.
However, TASSC is increasingly alarmed at the most recent actions by Ugandan authorities. With national elections imminent and opposition to the current regime growing, the Museveni government is now exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to silence that opposition. Over the last eight months, it has used pandemic restrictions as a pretext to arrest and torture well-known Ugandan activists and to instill fear in the regular population by brutally beating and even killing its own citizens for engaging in simple street commerce to survive the Ugandan COVID-19 lockdown.
Sadly, these abuses have only grown worse. The government's use of the pandemic as a pretext for oppression has exploded in the last two weeks. On Nov. 3, authorities arrested two prospective presidential candidates, Bobi Wine and Patrick Amuriat, as they attempted to register their candidacies, purportedly because supporters who gathered to support them exceeded Uganda's pandemic crowd size limits. During his arrest, Bobi Wine was temporarily blinded by the police.
In the last week, Ugandan authorities have unleashed a new wave of political oppression and violence, again using the pandemic as a pretext for human rights violations. Although the ruling regime has held its own large campaign events, on November 18, Bobi Wine was again arrested and detained after a rally of supporters, ostensibly for breaching COVID-19 crowd size rules. In response to Wine's arrest, supporters held protests in Uganda's capital Kampala and other cities. Later, Uganda's Security Minister defended the carnage, telling the protestors that: "police have a right to shoot you and you die for nothing."
Unless the international community takes action to condemn and deter the government's brazen human rights violations, the violence will only worsen. TASSC is eager to provide further evidence of these abuses with those who share our concerns.
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Amazing 1st floor apartment; great location. All-new renovation with high-quality fixtures and fittings. Big windows and high ceilings. Two bedrooms have their own private bathrooms and there is an additional bathroom. Open-plan living room/kitchen/dining fully equipped with built-in microwave, dishwasher and lots of countertops and cabinets. Ceramic tile floors in kitchen and bathrooms. In apartment laundry. There is a great front porch with very beautiful vines providing great privacy during the summer.


text:
Stripe launches in five more European countries
DUBLIN & SAN FRANCISCO – MAY 27, 2020 – Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet, today announced its official launch in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta. Europe is home to some of the largest and fastest-growing online economies in the world. This growth is even increased […]
Stripe announces an industry-first partnership with JCB and doubles down on its Japanese operations
An industry-first partnership with JCB A new engineering office in Tokyo A further investment in the local team to support growing demand from Japanese businesses TOKYO & SAN FRANCISCO, MAY 26, 2020 — Stripe, the online payment infrastructure provider powering Amazon, Facebook, Shopify, Zoom Video Communications, Slack, and millions of businesses across 39 countries, today […]
QuadPay builds new installment model with Stripe Issuing
Press Releases Cloud, Finance, FinTech, QuadPay, Software, Stripe, Technology
QuadPay customers can select up to $500 of goods to purchase instantly, which QuadPay pays for using a virtual card issued through Stripe Issuing. Customers then repay QuadPay in installments QuadPay also integrates Stripe Connect to power enhanced seller experiences for merchants, such as Fashion Nova, Jenni Kayne, Swell and Ugg Stripe Issuing is now […]
Square Payroll Introduces Benefits Offerings for Small Businesses and their Employees
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Follows recent launch of Square Payroll App and nationwide availability of Square Payroll SAN FRANCISCO, NOV 14, 2018 – Square today launched employee benefit offerings within Square Payroll, providing small businesses who use Square Payroll access to quality, affordable benefits like health insurance and retirement savings. Benefits are flexible, easy-to-use, and seamlessly integrate with the […]
Predictive Analytics Ace Jeff Ma Joins Duetto
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New SVP of Product and Analytics joins from Twitter and sees big opportunity to help hotel industry with Duetto's Revenue Strategy Platform SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — With the increasing importance of analytics to hoteliers today, Duetto has doubled down on its commitment to innovation by hiring Jeff Ma as Senior Vice President […]
BB&T realigns executive digital and operational roles
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) today announced Senior Executive Vice President Dontá Wilson has been named chief digital and client experience officer, and Senior Executive Vice President Bennett Bradley will assume leadership of the new Operations Shared Services division. A member of BB&T's Executive Management Team since 2016, Wilson, […]
Square Enables Fast, Elegant Tableside Payments by Adding Square Terminal Integration to Square for Restaurants
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SAN FRANCISCO, NOV 01, 2018 – Today, Square announced a new way for restaurants to take tableside payments. By bringing two of its newest products together, Square aims to end the slow back-and-forth of transporting credit cards and receipts around a restaurant. Just weeks after launching Square Terminal, Square's new all-in-one card processing device, the […]
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