"… Opportunity hoarding does not result from the workings of a large machine but from the cumulative effect of individual choices and preferences. Taken in isolation, they may feel trivial: nudging your daughter into a better college with a legacy preference [giving applicants places on the basis of being related to alumni of the college]; helping the son of a professional contact to an internship; a single vote on a municipal council to retain low-density zoning restrictions. But, like many "micro-preferences", to borrow a term from economist Thomas Schelling, they can have strong effects on overall culture and collective outcomes.
Side note: The author takes the important (and rare) step of separating out the American "middle class". Nine out of 10 US adults describe themselves as middle class. That's evidently not backed up by any serious analysis. An important chunk of Americans have less than US$1000 in savings (the same is true in Australia and the UK). Not making things any better is the matter of debt. Time reports the average US home has 16k in credit card debt. Those things don't quite fit in with the British definition of middle class or the French definition of bourgeoisie.
When I think back to my childhood, I realize how lucky is was to grow up when I did. There was a will create a more egalitarian society back then to ensure my own family's relative poverty wasn't generational. I see no such will today even as a Canadian.
My Dad's father was a metal worker. My Dad was a mechanical engineer. He was also very well read and played the violin. When we arrived in Australia we had zip. Literally. But by the time I was old enough to go to school we had a house and my parents could afford to send me to the local Catholic schools BUT we never owned a car, all my clothes and toys came from opportunity shops and our furniture was second hand. We never ever took a holiday or wasted money on non-essentials.
I've always considered myself middle class, but in a lot of ways I think that was always more aspirational than real.
Location and period of time also complicate the calculation. In French it's much easier because bourgeoisie implies ownership of assets, then petite, moyenne or haute qualifies the term further.
A petit bourgeois would be a small business owner. A member of the moyenne bourgeoisie would probably be an educated professional (engineer, doctor, lawyer), and an haute bourgeois would be like the wool industrialists of Mazamet. The thing is those terms are outdated because society functions in a very different way now. Education can cost a fortune, and in the post war debt starts playing a major role in everyday life. That means ownership of assets lives alongside the *appearance of* ownership of assets. Because of the levels of debt in society today, I think the most reasonable measure of middle class-hood is proposed by Professor Edward Wolff (NYU). He defines it as "the middle three-fifths of the wealth spectrum". That translates to: if your assets are liquidated you end up from the low end of simply owing nothing, up to having 400k. It's a wide margin, but it's the most reasonable way of measuring.
400k ? That's a strangely arbitrary figure, and I'm not too sure of the 'middle three fifths of the wealth spectrum' either. I mean, isn't the top '1%' bandied around ad nauseum these days? 1% is a lot less than 1/5th. At least I assume he means that the lowest 1/5th is for the poor and the top 1/5th is for the super wealthy?
It's a complicated calculation. What measure do you think works best?
Meh…you're asking someone who is number phobic. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. I have no idea how to quantify the middle class, but I know it's more than just owning property or having money in the bank. I think it's also a state of mind. We have the leisure to ask the big questions – such as, what is life all about? We can also turn our discontent with the status quo into a new invention or a piece of art.
Not saying all artists were, or have to be, middle class, but it helps when you don't have to worry about your next meal all the time.
Interestingly I think your view is sort of in sync with the professor. He uses the 0 to 400 measure fifth, I have the impression, as the measure where there's considerably less stress than the proletariat, but not as little stress as the wealthy.
Okay, stress makes so much more sense to me than economics! I've long thought that the good life occurs when there's a balance between stress and relief [for want of a better word]. We all need to strive for something, but not to the point of fearing for our lives. In that sense, being middle class really is the healthiest position to occupy.
There no longer is a Middle Class in America. It's been dying since Ronny Reagan's 'trickle down economics'.
The guy went to the States looking for a nation with no class?
This entry was posted on July 16, 2017 by The Pink Agendist in activism and tagged class, finance, inequality, money, politics.


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The Florida Keys Are The Canary In A Coal Mine Or Something
16 Sep, 2017 by	William Teach
One can always depend on the UK Guardian to provide the crazy Leftist point of view. Here we have them providing a platform to climate scientist poet and writer Joanna Guthrie
The Florida Keys are the canaries in the climate-change coalmine
The Florida Keys are still closed until further notice. On the far side of the blockade that inhabitants of the lower Keys negotiate to return to their homes, the US One highway, a tarmac spine over the limestone vertebrae of the islands, makes its way 127 miles down to Key West, battered and torn. Key West, final south-easterly outpost of mainland North America and the self-styled "last resort", is, still, four days after Hurricane Irma hit, almost completely out of contact with the outside world.
Images have been surfacing all week. In Marathon, the sea draining away from an entire bay like dishwater off a dirty plate, leaving the ocean floor exposed to the daylight, while a woman films it from her balcony and screams: "My God! My God! The sea is gone!" In Key Largo, a stretch limousine banked crosswise across the highway. Big fridges stranded on plinths of trashed seagrass and mangrove leaves, their doors open, still full of food. Cars blown the short distance from road to shoreline, sideways in the shallows in a rusty puddle of their own fluids. Boats that have cracked the road with the force with which they've landed; in Islamorada, someone's house being thrown along a lagoon and landing crooked in a new spot. (snip)
As the search-and-rescue operation moves further into the devastated Keys, I'm watching from England to see how this first-world humanitarian disaster unfolds. It's an extraordinary corner of America: sub-tropical, subaqueous, and not especially suited for habitation. I'm wondering if its 70,000 inhabitants may be the canaries in the coalmine for the realities of climate change as it hits the developed world.
Canaries! Hey, I wonder if they are also canaries for the almost 12 years when no major hurricane hit the United States, the longest stretch on record?
Hurricane season lasts from May to November, during which time everyone is on evacuation alert. Inhabitants are below or only just above sea level. It's scorching nearly all the time. Humidity is high. Reliance on air-conditioning is total. Machines roam the streets misting inhabited areas with mosquito repellent. The sewage infrastructure is questionable.
Wait, wait, so there is something called "hurricane season", denoting that hurricanes happen during that time period? Weird.
Living there is a kind of conjuring trick, a process of mind over matter. It demands a hefty measure of denial in your margarita – eyes half-shut as another perfect sunset commences and the steel band strikes up beside the cruise liner.
Denial is also there in the recent news that the US Department of Agriculture is censoring the term "climate change". Call the weather what you want, the past few days have shown that the Americans in these outposts may find themselves living in a whole new kind of frontier: involuntary pioneers in the face of these new "weather extremes" and their unprecedented storms.
And they may not. Because weather happens. Or, as the past 12 years show, doesn't happen. In the meantime, members of the Cult of Climastrology will continue to find ways to work everything that happens into their cult talking points.
Crossed at Pirate's Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.
William Teach
More articles by William Teach

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Epique Events is a full service Event Management Company. We understand that each client has a unique and specialized goal for their event. From start to finish we will create a strategy to help organize every detail of your event. We work with companies of all sizes from non-profit organizations and entrepreneurs on a minimal budget to large festivals, concerts, conventions, and more. We produce it all, and make each event EPIC! With our knowledgeable team and excellence in production, coordination, and imagination, you're event is sure to be a success!


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The Future of the TV Experience
Multitasking, once predicted as the last nail in the coffin of the TV industry, could now be the thing that reconnects TV with its most important asset: the audience.
This article has been published in Blink Magazine by Mediacom. The whole edition of the publication is concerned with the future of TV and is a recommended read. Find it here...
Some highlights from the article:
Future TV at the DLD Conference
…As our hectic lifestyles have fragmented the experience of watching television from what was once a social and societal event in to an individual and contained occurrence. TV became something that happened between eight and eleven in the evening, not the social glue that sparked conversations and enthusiasm far outside the TV channels peak hours. In Sullivan's own words: The Internet is bringing TV back to the water cooler…
…Where most discussion in regards to this topic often fall on its face as it stops with top of the mind thinking like getting people to chat and share. Kevin Slavin of Starling comments that the issue is not to get people to meet and talk, they are already doing that. The challenge is how to make this activity kinetic…
Peter Hirshberg, a colleague of Slavin and CEO of RE:imagine Group argues on the same panel as Sullivan that a Twitter stream doesn't really feel like media. It needs to be connected and weaved in with the content in order to become a part of the shows storyline and offering…
…But this is not just an area for explorative small start-ups. Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO at the Endemol Group, the worlds largest independent TV production company is challenging all his creatives to think outside the TV screen, to view TV as just a center of gravity, not only bringing people to the screen, but offering them a much broader experience…
…just free riding on the wave of engagement that is happening on Facebook and Twitter does not create a larger experience, it creates an additional one. The challenge is to figure out how to tap into it…
…Whoever figures out how people can be connected to their friends and family, and interact with them through the content on the TV – without having a four to five meter long arm stretching across the living room will be the next Steve Jobs…
..Where it seemed that storytellers and producers steered clear of audience involvement early on as it was thought that involving them would mean an abandonment of the professional and razor sharp set up of the TV content – giving masses of lay people the same power over the story and production as the seasoned experts. It now seems that the interaction does not affect the storyline directly, but plays of it, in parallel…
..It all comes down to the wonders of multitasking. The solution is making laptop and mobile augmentations to the big screen. We see stories merge across platforms and activities, which can take many forms – at the same time…
…Online is not a storage facility for additional surplus content, it is an activity. And what we need to do is embrace multitasking and design stories that activate people, not just entertain them…
…People multitasking is an opportunity, not a problem. The laptop is a multiplier, not a distraction and TV as a tightly directed and broadcasted event is just the center of gravity for all the stuff that is gaining centrifugal momentum around it.
…Brian Sullivan, CEO of SKY Deutschland, suggested on his panel in January this year that social media is reconnecting us to the original TV experience…
Please read the whole article and the entire Blink 2 magazine here.
Original Post: http://www.180360720.no/index.php/archive/the-future-of-the-tv-experience-2/
Helge Tennø, TV, digital media, media consumption
HelgeTennø
Occupation: Founder & Principal
Organisation: Dinamo AS, Oslo


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Ebenezer Theophilus Odartei Ayeh is a Ghanaian politician and was a member of the first parliament of the second Republic of Ghana. He represented  Nsawam-Aburi  constituency under the membership of the Progress Party.

Early life and education
Ebenezer was born on 18 December 1920 in the Eastern region of Ghana. He attended  Achimota School formerly Prince of Wales College and School, Achimota, currently known as Achimota College, with the nickname "Motown". He then moved to Accra to advance his education at the University of Ghana , Legon where he obtained his bachelor's degree in law. He worked as a Barrister and Solicitor before going into parliament.

Politics
Ebenezer began his political career in 1969 when he became the parliamentary candidate for the Progress Party (PP)  to represent   Nsawam-Aburi constituency prior to the commencement of the 1969 Ghanaian parliamentary election. He assumed office as a member of the first parliament of the second Republic of Ghana on 1 October 1969 after being pronounced winner at the 1969 Ghanaian parliamentary election. His tenure ended on 13 January 1972.

Personal life
He is a Christian.

References

1920 births
Ghanaian MPs 1969–1972
People from Eastern Region (Ghana)
Alumni of Achimota School
University of Ghana alumni
Possibly living people

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


As it's been well over a year and you're still here, it's become apparent that you're going to be staying awhile.
So, I thought I'd better submit my requests to you in a timely manner in order for them to be incorporated into your schedule, routine, psyche or whatever.
Please discontinue dangling off the chair in order to swat at my back or pull my hair while I'm watching T.V. I know you think it's funny. It's not.
Cease with the pouncing on me especially after getting a good running start.
Quit throwing balls at my face -- you know I can't throw as well as you and frankly you're making me look bad.
When you make me cry, please don't laugh. Again, not funny.
Do you even know the meaning of 'gentle'?
You hit like a boxer, slap like a pissed off teenage girl (I think), kick soccer balls harder and run faster than me.
And what's up with riding my old tricycle? You know I never liked that stupid thing and now mommy and daddy are all jazzed at YOU because it's 'finally getting some use out of it'.
By the way, mommy isn't happy you got her kicked out of the gym again just when she desperately needed a workout. (Whatever that is). Why did you nosh on that 11 month old's back anyway?
Maybe try being less of a picky eater so you won't feel the need to chow on body parts when sudden hunger hits. K?
Also, try picking on someone your own size. Better yet, pick on someone significantly older and bigger than you as you're kinda rough for a girl.
On a positive note, please continue to pitch or even accidentally drop food morsels on the floor as I will predictably pick them up for immediate consumption.
If you could kindly implement the above stated requests at your earliest convenience, I'd appreciate it.
Wow, she sure sounds way different than Alec. Do you finally have a picky eater? Julia sounds so fun and adorable. I miss you not living here anymore so I can be a part of your kids growing up.
Heh heh...you with a Girl Bully. It's a little bit funny, actually.
That reminds me of the time my two year old son was "loving" on my new born baby girl who had only been home from the hospital a couple of days. It started out with a loving caress, then became harder and harder,until he finally toppled her baby seat over. All the while saying, " ub u Manna." (love you Amanda) Sibling rivelry never goes away!
Wow, I can't wait to see that little ankle biter, (or any exposed body part, apparently). Sounds like she has really come a long way from that cute little baby I remember. My visit in May should be a hoot. Tell Alec that Auntie Wendi is on her way to help hom out. I was going to bring him some cool new brainiac toy but sounds as if he needs some boxing gloves instead.


text:
Q: Removing Item from List My code is supposed to remove item from list but its not removing item.
My Code:
dim myRoom as Room = New Room()
Dim myRoomList as List( of Room ) = new List( of Room )

...
myRoomList.add(myRoom)
msgbox(myRoomList.count)

...
myRoomList.remove(myRoom)
msgbox(myRoomList.count)

A: Are you sure that there is no item being added before the removal, so that the count is not increased again. Try using this for a test...
dim myRoom as Room = New Room()
Dim myRoomList as List( of Room ) = new List( of Room )

...
myRoomList.add(myRoom)
msgbox(myRoomList.count)

...
msgbox(myRoomList.count)
myRoomList.remove(myRoom)
msgbox(myRoomList.count)

A: The only possible reason for this not to remove the item is when you have overriden the Equals method of the Room class with errors. For example, the following code would exhibit such a behaviour:
Class Room
    Public Overrides Function Equals(ByVal obj As Object) As Boolean
        Return False
    End Function
End Class

If that's not the case, then the error is elsewhere and the code you have shown us does in fact work.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Graceful Doves has been a member of the White Dove Release Professionals since 2005.
To release only well trained, well cared for white racing pigeon stock which are banded with bands from either the American Racing Pigeon Union, International Federation, Canadian Union, or a permanent personalized band with address and phone number of the breeder... Each member of our group has been asked to join because they have demonstrated high professional standards in the operation of their business and knowledge of animal husbandry as it relates to their birds.
Question: "Where do the doves go when they are released?"
Answer: Our doves are trained to fly home to the safety of their loft.
Question: "How long does it take for the doves to fly home?"
Answer: It depends on the distance from their loft but they will arrive home on the same day as the release.
Question: "If I have paid for my release and weather prevents the release, can I get a refund?"
Question: "Can I order an evening release?"
Answer: Yes, we can schedule a release, but it can be no later than 2 to 3 hours before sunset. Time of day allowed changes per season.
Question: "How many doves can be released?"
Answer: You can have a 1 to 2 dove release or up to 6 doves released at one time.
Question: "Could I release the doves myself?"
Answer: For a 1 to 2 dove release.
Question: "Can I have a dove release during the winter?"
Answer: Amazingly enough, doves prefer to fly in colder weather, so yes they can fly during the winter, except for when conditions make visibility poor, or in extremely cold weather.
Question: "Can I have a dove release anywhere?"
Answer: Yes, anywhere except indoors or high predator risk areas.
Question: "How do the doves know where home is?"
Answer: Doves have a homing instinct that somehow tells them where to fly home to and where it is located.
Question: "What if it rains slightly on the day of our release?"
Answer: The doves can be released in rainy weather, but if a thunderstorm is happening during the day then the release is cancelled.
Question: "Will you coordinate the dove release with our wedding photographer?"
Answer: Yes we will coordinate the dove release with your wedding photographer and videographer to create breathtaking wedding pictures.


CanmetENERGY's oil sands and heavy oil extraction and tailings research initiatives are based on fundamental science while having strong industry and real-world relevance. A significant proportion of our research is focussed on minimizing the environmental impacts of the oil sands industry while at the same time optimizing the extraction process.
Researchers and scientists work to understand and predict tailings behaviour, as well as process emulsion characterization. The recycle and reuse of water in the oil sands industry is important to the tailings and extraction portions of the process. Reduction of the conventional pollutant (as well as greenhouse gas) output of these industries is also an important part of the program. Research in this area encompasses not only energy intensity reduction (and therefore a reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent) but also direct sequestration and carbon dioxide utilization options.
To find out more about our work in extraction and tailings see our Success Stories.


I was thrilled—I love making costumes!
"When's the play?" I asked.
I cut a large box in half and connected the two pieces with shoulder straps for a front and back. I taped together six sheets of yellow poster board for each side, then realized that I should first make a newspaper pattern—measure twice, cut once is most important the later after closing hours you get.
So I measured again and drew new lines exactly three inches inside The Great Big Sun and in an hour it was smaller. I glued The Sun to the cardboard. A sleepy girl showed up in the doorway. "Are you done yet?" she asked.
"I'm just about done," I said and held up The Sun.
Seriously? This was just poster board glued to mere cardboard—there was plenty of work left to do!
"I bought yellow glitter paint…" I began.
"No." She glared and took The Sun away from me. The sun has set on this endeavor.
I went to her play later that morning. The play was Thornton Wilder's Pullman Car Hiawatha. My daughter was The Sun and had no lines. But she was also a passenger on the train and had lots of lines. Her 'costume' as a passenger was the everyday jeans and T shirt she wore to school.
If you know the play, you know it is about passengers traveling overnight in a Pullman car; the sun makes an appearance for about a minute and a half, along with the other planets in the solar system.
Nonetheless, my daughter radiated stage presence as The Sun. I beamed with pride. Every single one of those hours of work I put into The Sun was worthwhile—after all, it was for the star of the show!


text:
Video: Racing a Dodge Challenger through the night looks like all kinds of fun
How the McRae Enduro took on the Dakar and survived
Video: Proof of just how mental rallying was in the 1970s
Laura Thomson
It's pitch-black. Thundering engines converge around you as brake lights fade in the distance. You chase the snaking tarmac, flat out – despite the limited visibility.
You don't feel in control of your car, but that's okay, for the scene is unfolding in a video on your screen, an 18-minute onboard from the Le Mans Classic.
The car in question is a 1974 Dodge Charger, the driver Christophe Schwartz. He's competing in the 2014 event, in Grid 6, which features the youngest cars allowed to take part. I say youngest, but these machines date from 1972 to 1981, with this particular Charger celebrating its 40th birthday that year.
There's a good story to the car, too. In 2003, Schwartz discovered a photograph of the 'Helpless Hulk' – Doug and Herschel McGriff's Olympia Beer-liveried '72 Dodge Charger in the 1976 Le Mans pits. Determined to recreate the unlikely Le Mans challenger as authentically as possible, he sourced a 1974 Charger in Oregon and started a little project.
Built on a custom Petty 115-inch Grand National chassis, it had actually won the 1977 USAC Championship. With assistance from original team mechanic, Dick Pierson, Schwartz's team added a four-speed manual transmission, Hurst/Airheart disc brakes, and the period gold and silver livery. The car debuted at the 2006 Le Mans Classic, and has competed, with varying results, ever since.
This video shows a lap from each of Grid 6's three races, starting with the night time event, so if racing in the dark isn't for you then skip forward to 6m 14s, when the second race picks up the baton and you to see the Dodge's magnificent opponents in daylight.
Welcome to Goodwood Elevenses, a mid-morning helping of motoring-related amusement to help break up your day.
The latest additions to our Motorsport collection
Dodge Challenger Hellcat power figure released. Sit down: it's over 700hp (with video)
Video: Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat doubles your burnout pleasure
Fancy over 700hp for under £45k? We know we do
Video: How to go from 25th position to 1st place in just 12 laps
Most popular from Historic
Ecurie Ecosse is building new Jaguar C-types
Video: One corner on the Tour Auto 2020
Video: A wild F1 ride at Zandvoort
The six best motorsport books


A look at the process without actually seeing the mask.
The voice Alice In Chains' frontman lives through this dude.
I guess you should never accept an invitation from KISS to the Bahamas.
Plus ex-Trap Them and Hatebreed dudes.


THAT the State must make available a complete, adequate and integrated system of education is not debated.
That everyone who desires to should be admitted to universities or colleges of their choice is not only debatable, it is false! More perverse yet is the proposition that when the State grants students the benefits of free tertiary education, the beneficiaries owe the State no service at all!
Access is an issue especially for state universities and colleges because that is their raison d'être: to make available the benefit of higher education to as many as qualify for it. True, every Filipino enjoys the right to education but that does not fling the doors of higher education institutions wide open to every bum who loiters in, takes a leisurely stroll through different subjects on the curriculum until he decides he has had enough, and then wanders out, as senselessly and as cluelessly as when he came in.
Teachers with PhDs after their names are not necessarily effective or even competent teachers. After all, there are many graduate schools in the Philippines that churn out PhDs each year in whom there is not the least philosophical thought nor any genuine doctoral stature. Just the title, nothing more. But experts in their disciplines who can teach effectively — that is a rare breed, and it costs a lot to engage their services. And books are expensive, no matter that the Philippines will soon be the copyright infringement capital of the world. A motley collection of disparate volumes will not meet the requirements of regulatory, much less accrediting agencies. And so a well-stocked library with recently published volumes by acknowledged authorities is a treasure trove, and only institutions with well-packed treasure chests can establish such libraries. Laboratories are another matter, for while one has only admiration for the ingenuity by which teachers in far-flung barangays make do with whatever they have for contraptions in place of proper laboratory equipment, this cannot be for the laboratories of higher education institutions of which very high levels of research are demanded.
Given the scarcity of resources for tertiary education, right reason dictates that the slots available be distributed to those with the best chance of making optimal use of them. Access to university then cannot be access for all — but access for those best able to benefit themselves and their communities from university or collegiate education. This is not being unfair. This is simply the acceptance of a fundamental human phenomenon: capacities and the possibilities they offer are never the same for different individuals, and the formation of the human spirit does not take place only within universities under the tutelage of professors. Artists of the highest caliber are trained, their artistry honed, in conservatories, in art galleries and even the homes of masters of the arts and of the crafts. And they have gifted the world with many of its inestimable treasures, compared to the trash that many term papers or supposed researches turned in to despairing and despondent professors indeed are!
No, it is not a universal right to be admitted to university. If it were so, then every applicant could bind the university to accept her — a position as impracticable as it is legally bereft of warrant. If anything at all, it is every higher education institution that enjoys the right to determine, on academic grounds, who it will accept — and this includes the right to choose the more capable students through stringent admission requirements and screening tests. Sadly, of course, those who come from secondary schools with better prepared teachers and more helpful facilities have the better chance at garnering the available slots. But well-conceived and fairly implemented affirmative action should be able to address this systemic bias in some significant way. Quality schools do not only produce quality graduates. They also need quality students — where quality is not necessarily defined by economic indices.
What should be demanded is that the selection mechanisms be fair — that they project capacity for university education rather than the effectiveness or insouciance of learning in basic education. If it is possible to do this with children before school age, I do not see why this should be any problem at all for high school graduates.
And that is why universities and colleges that routinely reject letters of recommendation in behalf of students who do not meet the mark are correct. This snobbishness is healthy and helpful. It turns its back on the habitual importuning of politicians for whom quality is not necessarily the priority, but patronage. It is as bad to deny access to those to whom it should be granted as it is to grant it to the undeserving only because of the bellowing of well-placed patrons!


Last week was Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.'s Centennial Convention. The sorority celebrated 100 years of sisterhood, scholarship and service by welcoming over 47,000 women to Washington DC for a week of celebrations. This was the 51st National Convention for the sorority, which was founded on January 13th, 1913. Traditionally select women who have notably served and impacted their community are extended an invitation to become an honorary member of DST, and are inducted during a national convention. This year, six women of great stature where inducted. I unfortunately missed the opening ceremony where it's a surprise to all who will become honorary members until they walk on to the floor, but I heard that it was a great celebration when actress Angela Bassett and former Editor of Essence Magazine, Susan Taylor were presented.
Tererai Trent, a Zimbabwean women who has fought her way to earn an education and with the support of Oprah Winfrey is opening a school in Zimbabwe in her home village.
Lisa P. Jackson, the first African American to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Appointed by President Obama, Jackson helped communities deal with environmental challenges.
Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, appointed by President Obama as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Dean and professor of communication at Howard University.
Paula Madison, a TV executive who runs her own media management firms; owner of WNBA LA Sparks.
Technically speaking Angela Bassett is now a deuce, I'm sure there's a sea of women who are ecstatic to not only call her Soror, but heeeey numba!


text:
When We Lost Our Heads
By Heather O'Neill
Review by Thane Tierney
Heather O'Neill's perversely fascinating characters are filled with guile and bile and many things vile, and it's impossible to tear one's gaze away.
Whoever said that nonsense about girls being full of sugar and spice and everything nice couldn't have imagined Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, the binary star at the center of Heather O'Neill's When We Lost Our Heads. These perversely fascinating characters are filled with guile and bile and many things vile, and even though it's virtually a certainty that they are star-crossed, it's impossible to tear one's gaze away.
Marie is the beautiful daughter of a Victorian-era sugar baron; her childhood friend, Sadie, was born the odd one out into a political family of social climbers. If anything, Sadie's ambition is to be, in Lawrence Ferlinghetti's words, "a social climber / climbing downwards." The two girls form a peculiarly strong bond in the opening of the book, just before the act that will separate them for years: They accidentally murder one of Marie's household maids.
Rich sugar barons' daughters don't go to jail, not in Montreal, not back then, so the equally culpable Sadie gets pegged for the crime and is sent off to England to a school for "difficult" girls. Over the next few years, the temporarily separated pair evolve into the bewitching sociopaths who will ignite the fuse for the book's latter-half powder keg.
Bound inextricably by murder and money, the Antoine and Arnett families navigate an unsteady truce that ultimately leads Sadie's brother, Philip, to become a suitor for Marie's hand. Circumstances change rapidly, though, and it dawns on Marie that—for her, at least—marriage would be tantamount to slavery. "Freedom and power," she realizes, "were one and the same and were interchangeable." The interfamily schism seems irreparable, and scandal ensues. Rather than retreating from the gossip, Marie leans into it, while on the other side of town, the recently returned Sadie stokes the flames with an incendiary novel whose protagonists are loosely (and transparently) based on herself and Marie.
All this personal drama plays out against the background of women's suffrage, workers' rights and the economic inequality that characterized the Gilded Age. It comes as no surprise that society and the sociopaths are on a collision course, but O'Neill is sufficiently deft to keep the reader in suspense as to where and how that inevitable impact will occur.
With explicit echoes of Marquis de Sade and the French Revolution, this is not a book for the faint of heart or Victorian sensibility, but it does encompass a fair amount of sugar . . . and spice.
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Matthew Cordell
By Julie Danielson
Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell packs entertaining textual and visual details into Evergreen, an epic home-and-back-again adventure about facing your fears.
Amazon Books-A-Million Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org Find on WorldCat


Shipping containers are specially designed to withstand the harsh weather conditions that seasons can bring. That's why you have to ensure that it's sturdy enough to endure constant exposure to the elements at all times.
But where to do you start? Here are a few questions you might need to know about a shipping container shed and why you need to choose a fabric structure.
What is a shipping container shed?
A shipping container shed is a great outdoor solution for people looking for ways to fulfil their outdoor and backyard storage needs.
Most shipping containers comprise weathering steel, which is resistant to outdoor corrosion and is strong and durable. A typical shipping container can endure weight equal to six containers stacked on top of each other.
What are the benefits of using a fabric structure?
Using shipping container sheds made of fabric structures has more benefits than you would expect. It's easy to install and to dismantle if you need to relocate it.
There are even a few shipping container sheds made with specially designed UV-blocking fabric that helps reflect the sun's heat. Additionally, there are a few fabric structures that have noise control features and comprise environment-friendly materials as well.
Can I attach it to an existing shed?
Depending on the shed design and its strength, you can attach a shipping container shed to a one you might already have. However, it's highly recommended to have an engineer thoroughly inspect its structure to ensure that it will be able to carry the weight of the additional shed.
These are just a few facts that you need to know about purchasing a shipping container shed for your outdoor storage needs. It's always best to check reviews of the supplier first before purchasing one. It will ensure the quality of the product.


text:
"Punk Rock 101" is a song by American rock band Bowling for Soup. It appeared on the 2003 edition of their 2002 album Drunk Enough to Dance. "Punk Rock 101" was released to radio on May 20, 2003. The single peaked at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song appeared on the video games NHL 2004 and Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home. It also appeared on the film Zoom.

Allusions
 The line "But Fat Mike's his hero" references Fat Mike, the bassist and vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX.
 The lyric "Like Tommy and Gina/They're living on a prayer" is an allusion to lyrics from Bon Jovi's song "Livin' on a Prayer".* Bon Jovi themselves are also mentioned in the lyric "She left him for staring at girls and not caring when she cried cause she thought Bon Jovi broke up."

Charts

Release history

References

2003 singles
Bowling for Soup songs
Jive Records singles
Songs written by Jaret Reddick
Songs written by Butch Walker
Song recordings produced by Butch Walker
Zomba Group of Companies singles


Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz spent the offseason working on his shooting stroke, and while he appeared to have made some progress early on this season, he went viral for all of the wrong reasons Monday night.
Afterward, the 2017 No. 1 overall pick downplayed the mishap.
"The ball slipped out of my hand, so I had to do what I had to do," Fultz (five points, 1-of-3 from the line) said, according to The Athletic's Rich Hofmann. "But I'm not really worried about it. I work on my game. The ball just happened to slip, so that's what happened."
He is shooting 57.6 percent from the line this season, an improvement from his rookie season (47.6 percent on just 21 attempts). His free-throw percentage, field-goal percentage (41.2) and three-point percentage (30.8) are all up.
"With Markelle, obviously he has one of the most documented cases of kind of the yips of basketball in recent years, where he completely forgot how to shoot and had multiple hitches in his shot. So for me, it was, 'Hey, listen, how can I get this kid that was No. 1 in last year's draft back rolling and get him to the point where he was before, if not better?'"
HoopsHype's Alex Kennedy reported Monday that Fultz is no longer working with Hanlen, nor are the two on speaking terms. Last week, Hanlen tweeted that the Sixers guard is playing hurt.
Fultz appeared in just 14 regular-season games a season ago as he dealt with a shoulder injury. Fair or not, this latest gaffe will follow him throughout the season until he proves he can make shots consistently.


ROBERT G. SHARRAR, M.D.; HARVEY M. FRIEDMAN, M.D.; WALLACE T. MILLER, M.D.; MITCHELL J. YANAK, B.A.; ELIAS ABRUTYN, M.D.
Summertime pneumonias in Philadelphia during 1976 were studied epidemiologically, and the epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory features of pneumonia cases serologically positive for Legionnaires' disease were compared with features of serologically negative cases. Both groups were similar in many respects, but in patients with Legionnaires' disease diarrhea and neurologic findings were significantly more frequent (P = 0.01 and P = 0.05 respectively). A diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease was also suggested by an elevated serum creatinine phosphokinase level (P = 0.02) and the presence of occult blood in the urine with fewer than six erythrocytes per high-power field. Abnormalities in renal function tests or liver function tests were commoner in patients with Legionnaires' disease (P = 0.05). Radiographic features, however, could not be used to separate pneumonia cases. The high frequency of extrapulmonary manifestations involving the gastrointestinal tract, the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver suggests that Legionnaires' disease is a multisystemic disorder possibly caused by a toxin-producing organism.
Published: Ann Intern Med. 1979;90(4):577-580.


Trust Me with Your Referrals. Increase Your Chances of Making a Sale.
You can trust me with your important referrals. I have a great track record of success as a top producer. I have the experience you are looking for. Plus I am a very web-savvy Realtor, which is important to the majority of homeowners today. Why send a referral to anyone other than the best? This only reflects positively on you.
As you well know, top real estate agents also have a higher closing ratio. You'll have a better chance of making a sale when you send your referrals to me.


In this paper we present an optic disc (OD) detection approach based on evolution strategy (ES). The approach has two main steps: coarse detection and contour edge refinement. Coarse detection estimates an approximate position using an ES in which each individual has a fitness function based on the amount of bright pixels and the number of vasculature structure edge pixels inside a circle. The contour edge refinement uses a geometric approach to circle deformation in order to adjust the circle's edge to the OD edges. To do so, the pixel with the greatest intensity value variation along a normal line is considered. The proposed approach was evaluated using the STARED and DIAREDB public repositories to process images of normal patients and those with retinal variations. The results show that the proposed method identifies the optic disc position in retinal images with an accuracy of nearly 96%.
Evolution strategies; Optic disc; Retinal images; Retinopathy.


text:
Sears Point
YFOWEB_AZ@blm.gov
Bureau of Land Management Yuma Field Office Yuma, AZ
Latitude/Longitude:
Take Interstate 8 east from Yuma for about 75 miles to Spot Road. On the north frontage road head east for about 1 mile to Avenue 76ЅE, then go north along the dirt road for about 7 miles. Park in the cleared area in front of the ridge, without passing the carsonite posts. The dirt road is not maintained by BLM, and is very rough. It can be muddy and dangerous after rain.
Fee Description:
Hundreds of petroglyphs can be seen on the volcanic basalt outcrops that lie next to the Gila River. The area is believed to have been utilized for thousands of years, more so from A.D. 500 until the 1800s. Many archaeological remains left by prehistoric peoples are visible, but the most predominant are the petroglyphs. Petroglyphs are difficult to date, so archaeologists have no way of knowing their age. Other features at the site include sleeping circles, geoglyphs, trails, rock alignments, and a historic canal. Due to its proximity to the Gila River, the area has a long history of use as a major traveling route by Spanish explorers (Juan Bautista De Anza National Historic Trail alignment), missionaries, and people heading for California (including the Butterfield Overland Mail route). In addition to cultural resources, the area contains a sizeable mesquite bosque with significant wildlife habitat. The site is monitored regularly by volunteer Site Stewards.
Accessibility Description (ABA/ADA):
Limited, some petroglyphs can be seen from the parking lot.


N&C Glass supply domestic and commercial solutions from float glass to safety glass, mirrors, conservatory glass, stained glass, through to large shop fronts, oversized mirrors and fire rated safety glass. The glass and sealed unit options are endless and are available as stock, cut sizes or double glazed units.
Furthermore, with our reliable next day delivery service and huge stock glass availability, we are recognised for our unrivalled service as well as product quality and availability.


text:
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
March 4, 2016 • 4:00 am • ATEST
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)
CIW is a community-based farm worker organization headquartered in Immokalee, Florida, and has aided in the liberation of more than 1,000 workers from modern-day slavery.
Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) CIW is a community-based farm worker...
End Child Prostitution and Trafficking
End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA) ECPAT-USA is a leading...
National Domestic Workers Alliance
National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) The National Domestic Workers...
Vital Voices Global Partnership
Vital Voices Global Partnership Vital Voices Global Partnership identifies,...
Verité
Verité Verité is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization that works...
Solidarity Center The Solidarity Center strengthens workers' economic and...
Safe Horizon
Safe Horizon Safe Horizon, based in New York City, is the nation's leading...
Polaris Polaris is a leading nonprofit organization committed to combating...
National Network for Youth
National Network for Youth (NN4Y) The National Network for Youth (NN4Y) is the...
International Justice Mission (IJM) Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area...


text:
"I'm just trying to figure out the level of Elvis impersonator we can afford. I think a white one's out of reach."
-Nick
I really thoroughly enjoyed the latest episode of "New Girl." It had that uniquely "New Girl" mix of humor and heart. The episode dealt with an emotionally heavy subject, but the heaviest moments were cut with the quirky brand of "New Girl" humor. It reminds me of the also Nick-centered more serious episode in season 1, "Injured" in that it really did have that good mix of quirky humor and heart. We also got a bit of a look at how Winston and Schmidt fit into Nick's life pre-Jess and how Jess can fit in his life going forward. Oh, and there were Elvis impersonations. Which really isn't a good thing, usually, but Zooey as Elvis was kind of fun. Overall, I just appreciated this examination of Nick as the guy who always took care of his family but can't seem to take care of himself. Nick discovers that Jess can be the one to take care of him, and I think this is an important step in their relationship.
The roommates are having some goofy fun with balloons (chipmunk voice and such) when Nick gets the bad news. His father the conman has passed away. The rest of the roommates want to be serious and supportive, but it's difficult when their voices are still in chipmunk mode from the helium, and that is the bit of comedy that cuts the serious of the moment. To keep it from getting too campy, they do all move in to give Nick a big hug. That balance, as I said in the introduction, is pretty well maintained throughout the episode. It's always a challenge when sitcoms try to handle a serious, emotionally charged subject. HIMYM attempted it last season with the death of Marshall's dad, trying to find the humor in absurd funeral moments while still acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. HIMYM did fairly well with it, but I think I liked "New Girl's" take on it even better. It hit a mix of humor and seriousness that was a little more comfortable for me.
So the gang heads out to Chicago to support Nick as he tries to pick up the pieces in his family. His mother, played by the great Margo Martindale (most recently seen as a KGB spy handler on "The Americans"), says that his dad always wanted an Elvis-themed funeral, but she hasn't really made any of the arrangements to make that happen just yet. Everything is in disarray. To make it even worse, she asks Nick to give the eulogy. Nick has seriously conflicted feelings about his late father, so this was an incredibly big ask. Nick's first instinct is to get rid of the responsibility, so he tries to get Jess to write the eulogy for him. Jess points out that she only knew Nick's dad for a few hours, but Nick doesn't really care. He wants her to write the eulogy anyway. Jess makes a bit of an effort by interviewing some of Nick's family members (who mostly want to know if she and Nick have had sex yet) before realizing how ridiculous the situation is and demanding that Nick write the eulogy himself.
Meanwhile, Winston and Schmidt are just trying to stay out of the way of the actual mourners. Schmidt is just generally skeeved out by the idea of funerals. Mostly he's afraid of his own mortality. Winston tries to convince Schmidt that it's really not so bad. There's a kind of funny sequence where Winston is pretending to be a dead body so that Schmidt can get acclimated, and it just ends up freaking Schmidt out even more. Schmidt begs Winston not to move at all when pretending to be a dead body, but Winston can't keep that promise. Before the freak-out, though, Schmidt at least began a decent attempt at eulogizing Winston. That was kind of sweet in a very Schmidt sort of way. He called Winston a "black butterfly." As you do. By the end of the episode, though, the tables have turned. Winston needs to stall the funeral because Nick and Jess are missing (more about that in a bit), and he ends up having a screaming break-down over the fact that there's a dead body behind him. Yeah, the funeral was open casket.
Writing the eulogy was just too much responsibility for Nick, so he ends up running off to a bar and getting smashed. In addition to being seriously drunk, he also brings the worst Elvis impersonator ever back to the house for the funeral. Oh, and to top things off, the entirety of his eulogy is "Walt Miller…amirite?" Jess realizes she has to save this situation by truly being there for Nick. She does that by becoming the Elvis impersonator. She puts on the outfit and serenades the church with "In the Ghetto." While silly, this gives Nick the boost of confidence he needs to get up in front of the church and actually give the eulogy. And the eulogy was pretty great, complete with a comment about how his dad scared cabbies in a cool way. Even Nick's mom, who definitely didn't love Jess at first, warms up to her by the end of the service.
The next morning, the roomies are gathered outside Nick's family home, getting ready to head back to Los Angeles. Nick's mom gives Jess a bag of cheese puffs for the road, and it appears that Jess has now been accepted into the Miller family. Nick's mom tells Jess that while Nick has always taken care of them, she's very happy to see that Nick finally has someone to take care of him. Nick just looks on at his mom and Jess and smiles. I really appreciate how this episode moved Nick and Jess forward in a more concrete way. They're starting to see how they could potentially fit together emotionally and in life, and that wasn't something they could really see before.
Labels: New Girl


text:
import datetime
from south.db import db
from south.v2 import SchemaMigration
from django.db import models

class Migration(SchemaMigration):

    def forwards(self, orm):

        # Adding model 'Dataset'
        db.create_table('wmr_dataset', (
            ('id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.AutoField')(primary_key=True)),
            ('name', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=150, blank=True)),
            ('path', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=150)),
            ('owner', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey')(to=orm['auth.User'])),
            ('public', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField')(default=False)),
            ('upload_time', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField')(default=datetime.datetime.now, null=True)),
        ))
        db.send_create_signal('wmr', ['Dataset'])

        # Adding model 'Configuration'
        db.create_table('wmr_configuration', (
            ('id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.AutoField')(primary_key=True)),
            ('name', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=50, blank=True)),
            ('language', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=25)),
            ('input', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey')(to=orm['wmr.Dataset'])),
            ('mapper', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.TextField')()),
            ('reducer', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.TextField')()),
            ('map_tasks', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField')(null=True, blank=True)),
            ('reduce_tasks', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField')(null=True, blank=True)),
            ('sort', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(default='a', max_length=1)),
            ('owner', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey')(to=orm['auth.User'])),
            ('creation_time', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField')(default=datetime.datetime.now)),
        ))
        db.send_create_signal('wmr', ['Configuration'])

        # Adding model 'SavedConfiguration'
        db.create_table('wmr_savedconfiguration', (
            ('configuration_ptr', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.related.OneToOneField')(to=orm['wmr.Configuration'], unique=True, primary_key=True)),
            ('public', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField')(default=False)),
            ('update_time', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField')(default=datetime.datetime.now)),
        ))
        db.send_create_signal('wmr', ['SavedConfiguration'])

        # Adding model 'Job'
        db.create_table('wmr_job', (
            ('id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.AutoField')(primary_key=True)),
            ('config', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey')(to=orm['wmr.Configuration'])),
            ('test', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField')(default=False)),
            ('backend_id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField')()),
            ('hadoop_id', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.CharField')(max_length=50, blank=True)),
            ('completion_state', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField')(default=0)),
            ('owner', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey')(to=orm['auth.User'])),
            ('submit_time', self.gf('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField')(default=datetime.datetime.now)),
        ))
        db.send_create_signal('wmr', ['Job'])

    def backwards(self, orm):

        # Deleting model 'Dataset'
        db.delete_table('wmr_dataset')

        # Deleting model 'Configuration'
        db.delete_table('wmr_configuration')

        # Deleting model 'SavedConfiguration'
        db.delete_table('wmr_savedconfiguration')

        # Deleting model 'Job'
        db.delete_table('wmr_job')

    models = {
        'auth.group': {
            'Meta': {'object_name': 'Group'},
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'unique': 'True', 'max_length': '80'}),
            'permissions': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'to': "orm['auth.Permission']", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'blank': 'True'})
        },
        'auth.permission': {
            'Meta': {'ordering': "('content_type__app_label', 'content_type__model', 'codename')", 'unique_together': "(('content_type', 'codename'),)", 'object_name': 'Permission'},
            'codename': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '100'}),
            'content_type': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey', [], {'to': "orm['contenttypes.ContentType']"}),
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '50'})
        },
        'auth.user': {
            'Meta': {'object_name': 'User'},
            'date_joined': ('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField', [], {'default': 'datetime.datetime.now'}),
            'email': ('django.db.models.fields.EmailField', [], {'max_length': '75', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'first_name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '30', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'groups': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'to': "orm['auth.Group']", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'is_active': ('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField', [], {'default': 'True'}),
            'is_staff': ('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField', [], {'default': 'False'}),
            'is_superuser': ('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField', [], {'default': 'False'}),
            'last_login': ('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField', [], {'default': 'datetime.datetime.now'}),
            'last_name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '30', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'password': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '128'}),
            'user_permissions': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ManyToManyField', [], {'to': "orm['auth.Permission']", 'symmetrical': 'False', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'username': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'unique': 'True', 'max_length': '30'})
        },
        'contenttypes.contenttype': {
            'Meta': {'ordering': "('name',)", 'unique_together': "(('app_label', 'model'),)", 'object_name': 'ContentType', 'db_table': "'django_content_type'"},
            'app_label': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '100'}),
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'model': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '100'}),
            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '100'})
        },
        'wmr.configuration': {
            'Meta': {'ordering': "['-creation_time']", 'object_name': 'Configuration'},
            'creation_time': ('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField', [], {'default': 'datetime.datetime.now'}),
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'input': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey', [], {'to': "orm['wmr.Dataset']"}),
            'language': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '25'}),
            'map_tasks': ('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField', [], {'null': 'True', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'mapper': ('django.db.models.fields.TextField', [], {}),
            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '50', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'owner': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey', [], {'to': "orm['auth.User']"}),
            'reduce_tasks': ('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField', [], {'null': 'True', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'reducer': ('django.db.models.fields.TextField', [], {}),
            'sort': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'default': "'a'", 'max_length': '1'})
        },
        'wmr.dataset': {
            'Meta': {'ordering': "['-upload_time']", 'object_name': 'Dataset'},
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'name': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '150', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'owner': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey', [], {'to': "orm['auth.User']"}),
            'path': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '150'}),
            'public': ('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField', [], {'default': 'False'}),
            'upload_time': ('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField', [], {'default': 'datetime.datetime.now', 'null': 'True'})
        },
        'wmr.job': {
            'Meta': {'ordering': "['-submit_time']", 'object_name': 'Job'},
            'backend_id': ('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField', [], {}),
            'completion_state': ('django.db.models.fields.IntegerField', [], {'default': '0'}),
            'config': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey', [], {'to': "orm['wmr.Configuration']"}),
            'hadoop_id': ('django.db.models.fields.CharField', [], {'max_length': '50', 'blank': 'True'}),
            'id': ('django.db.models.fields.AutoField', [], {'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'owner': ('django.db.models.fields.related.ForeignKey', [], {'to': "orm['auth.User']"}),
            'submit_time': ('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField', [], {'default': 'datetime.datetime.now'}),
            'test': ('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField', [], {'default': 'False'})
        },
        'wmr.savedconfiguration': {
            'Meta': {'ordering': "['-update_time']", 'object_name': 'SavedConfiguration', '_ormbases': ['wmr.Configuration']},
            'configuration_ptr': ('django.db.models.fields.related.OneToOneField', [], {'to': "orm['wmr.Configuration']", 'unique': 'True', 'primary_key': 'True'}),
            'public': ('django.db.models.fields.BooleanField', [], {'default': 'False'}),
            'update_time': ('django.db.models.fields.DateTimeField', [], {'default': 'datetime.datetime.now'})
        }
    }

    complete_apps = ['wmr']

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home > Pakistan > Faculty of Health Sciences > Medical College > Medicine > Medicine Documents > 326
Sustained virological response to pegylated interferon and ribavirin in patients with genotype 3 HCV cirrhosis.
Amna Subhan Butt, Agha Khan University
Mumtaz Khan, Aga Khan University
Aqeel I,, Aga Khan University
Syed H Shah, Agha Khan University
Saeed Hamid, Aga Khan University
Wasim Jafri, Aga Khan University
BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus infection in patients with cirrhosis is difficult to treat. There is limited data on the outcome of treatment for genotype 3 HCV infection with cirrhosis.
AIMS: To determine sustained virological response (SVR) and its predictive factors in patients with cirrhosis due to genotype 3 HCV infection treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin (RBV).
METHODS: Consecutive patients with compensated cirrhosis due to HCV genotype 3 with positive HCV RNA treated with peg-IFN and RBV in our Gastroenterology Clinics during November 2005 to December 2006 were included in this study. Cirrhosis was diagnosed on the basis of liver biopsy and/or biochemical testing and ultrasound of abdomen. Primary end point of treatment was SVR.
RESULTS: Of 66 patients, 32 (48.5%) were male. The mean age was 46.2 +/- 10.1 years; there were 61 (92.4%) patients with Child's A cirrhosis followed by 5 (7.6%) with Child's B type. 33 (50%) patients received pegylated interferon alfa-2a (180 microg/wk) with ribavirin and 33 (50%) received pegylated interferon alfa 2b (1 microg/kg/week) with ribavirin. EVR was achieved in 44 (66.7%), and ETR in 46 (69.7%); overall SVR was achieved in 38 (57.6%) patients. Factors predictive of SVR were age (p value = 0.03), treatment naïve status (p value = 0.04) and EVR (p value < 0.001). Five patients were unable to complete the treatment due to side effects or cytopenias.
CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of patients with HCV genotype 3, compensated cirrhosis, with pegylated interferon and ribavirin is effective and well tolerated.


A chronic cough is a cough that lasts for eight weeks or longer. It physically drains the affected individual and may have major repercussions.
A patient undergoes a thorough medical history and physical exam to determine the cause of the condition. Doctors may prescribe an antihistamine-decongestant medication. If it fails, the patient may undergo tests such as allergy and sinus tests, chest X-ray, lung function tests, endoscopy, bronchoscopy, and pH probe.
A chronic cough with a determined cause is easier to treat than with the unknown cause. The condition is treated depending on the cause. Doctors may prescribe medications such as antihistamines and decongestants or inhaled corticosteroids. Affected individuals may also need to change their lifestyle such as maintaining a healthy weight or stop smoking. For a chronic cough with an unknown reason, doctors prescribe a cough suppressant or possibly ipratropium bromide.
Individuals suffering from a chronic cough have runny or stuffy noses, or sense a liquid running down the back of the throat. They may also experience wheezing and shortness of breath, heartburn or a sour taste in the mouth, or coughing up blood in rare cases.
The cause of a chronic cough is not always clear. However, majority of diagnosed chronic cough were due to postnasal drip, asthma, and acid reflux. Sometimes infections or medications also cause the condition. Chronic coughing in all ages are usually cause by environmental pollutants such as diesel exhaust, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide.


text:
Introducing OnMed: The First Interactive Telemedicine Station to Diagnose Patients and Dispense Prescription Meds in Real Time
Health technology company providing affordable access to quality care announces the international launch of its remote consultation technology
OnMed®, an innovative health technology company whose OnMed Station allows patients a virtual life-sized consultation with a physician and automated pharmaceutical services, is today announcing the official launch of the station after six years of development. This is also the result of OnMed's private equity funding, enabling the company to scale worldwide.
An OnMed Station can be set up almost anywhere, bringing health care via high definition video and audio to patients at large workplaces or public spaces. This makes a real-time, virtual consultation with a doctor very convenient for a busy patient. OnMed uses advanced technology, including thermal imaging, ultraviolet sanitization and facial recognition, to create a safe and secure experience.
The OnMed station even allows doctors to prescribe and dispense hundreds of common medications through a secure, automated vault, saving patients a trip to the pharmacy.
Seven out of 10 emergency room visits are unnecessary as Americans visit the ER for basic health needs, resulting in billions of wasted dollars and thousands of wasted hours in wait times. With an OnMed station, health care systems can direct patients to receive immediate care for non-emergency health care needs, bypassing the ER altogether and freeing up resources.
The OnMed Station design is patented domestically and internationally. In addition to hospitals, OnMed is prepared to deploy stations in colleges, airports, hotels, large private employers and other locations in the U.S. and globally. These units will be placed in 2019.
Features of the OnMed Station:
Height, weight and BMI measurement
Dispensing hundreds of common medications
Thermal imaging to provide body temperature and diagnose infection
Readings of blood pressure, respiration and blood oxygen saturation
Audio and visual inspection of vitals in HD video and audio
Positive patient identification using 3D facial recognition
High-output ultraviolet surface and air sanitization to eliminate pathogens after every patient visit
Exam room protected by privacy glass
Live and life-size physician encounter
Option to securely transmit results to your primary care physician
Ability to provide paper prescriptions, e-prescriptions to preferred pharmacies, referrals and self-service lab kits for diagnostic testing
"We have been in stealth mode for more than six years, creating the most comprehensive and beneficial telemedicine solution in the world," said Austin White, founding partner and CEO of OnMed. "When it comes to delivering a comprehensive doctor/patient encounter via telemedicine, sometimes our phone just isn't the answer. We need the accuracy provided by a live face-to-face visit using the latest diagnostic tools, and the ability to receive medication all in one sitting. This is what we're doing with OnMed. Our disruptive healthcare technology is turning telemedicine into something that can actually bridge the gaps in our current healthcare system and improve access, cost and quality of care."
For more information about OnMed and its technology, visit OnMed.com.
About OnMed - OnMed is a health technology company based in Clearwater, Florida, with more than a decade of experience delivering health care services in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico. OnMed believes in using the power of innovation to connect patients with doctors. However, the founding partners are also keenly aware of the complex legislative and regulatory challenges facing telemedicine providers and have come to understand the limitations of the current consumer-focused telemedicine industry. Simply put, experience taught them that many times the phone is not the answer. That revelation is the driving force behind OnMed's creation and gave birth to the OnMed Station.
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26 April 2022 | Articles, Articles 2022, Book Reviews, Book Reviews 2022 | By Christophe Lachnitt
The Book You Need To Read To Properly Understand The Nature Of Vladimir Putin's Regime
Dictatorship and kleptocracy.
Bill Browder is an American venture capitalist who specialized in shareholder rights activism on the Russian market and made a fortune there. He took on large local companies, most notably Gazprom. For this reason, he was deported to the UK in 2005 and declared a threat to Russian national security. Then, the Moscow offices of his investment company and his law firm were raided by the authorities. The documents seized there were falsified to commit a $230 million fraud for the benefit of some of Putin regime figures.
Sergei Magnitsky, one of his firm's lawyers, was charged with defending both companies. He uncovered the falsification of their documents and was arrested by Russian security forces. In prison, he was tortured, and his health worsened without any medical treatment. Finally, he was tied to his bed and beaten to death only a few days before his release date. He was 37 years old.
After Sergei Magnitsky's murder, Bill Browder pushed for the passage of an eponymous law to punish Russians who violated human rights by freezing their foreign assets. The Magnitsky Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2012 and then by 32 other states (although most of them did not put it into practice until the invasion of Ukraine).
In retaliation, Vladimir Putin's regime launched legal proceedings for imaginary financial crimes against Bill Browder, activating international warrants against him and placing him on Interpol's list of wanted fugitives worldwide six times. Fortunately, the international criminal police organization rejected those international arrest warrants each time, but that did not stop Bill Browder from fearing the worst, especially when he was arrested in 2018 by the Spanish police on the grounds of the sixth Russian warrant.
Another terrifying episode for Bill Browder concerns the infamous Helsinki summit, also in 2018, between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, a summit during which, more than ever, the American President appeared to be on the payroll of his Russian counterpart and not in the service of the American national interest. Putin proposed to Trump to exchange Bill Browder for Russian intelligence agents. At the summit's press conference, the American President called this proposal "an incredible offer." Bill Browder then imagined himself arrested by the American police and sent to certain death in Russia. Fortunately, in this case, Trump's Putinophile instincts were kept in check by his administration.
Since the beginning of this journey, Bill Browder has also lived in constant fear of being poisoned, kidnapped, or killed by Russian agents, but that has not deterred him from continuing his fight to reveal the regime's immense corruption to the world. This is the story of his struggle, as told in his recently published book "Freezing Order: A True Story Of Russian Money Laundering, State-Sponsored Murder, And Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath." This breathtaking book is a mixture of John Le Carré for the secret international activities and John Grisham for the legal dimension, as well as the clarity and rhythm of the storytelling. It's a safe bet that it will soon be the subject of a movie or a TV mini-series.
The interest of "Freezing Order" is not only in the description of Vladimir Putin's Russia. The book is also fascinating for the complicity of the democracies towards this criminal regime that it highlights. It is a good part of the Western elites – political leaders, businessmen, lawyers and financial advisors of all kinds – who have accepted, by cowardice, greed or anti-Western ideology, to work directly or indirectly to preserve the interests of the Russian ruling class. One must read this book to become aware of the level of corruption of Putin's acolytes and of the deaths, each more sudden and suspicious than the other, of people who have held information about it.
Like Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, both of whom were poisoned abroad and imprisoned by Vladimir Putin, Bill Browder is a true hero in the fight against the Russian tyrant. His book represents a unique testimony, in form and substance, to understand the criminal essence of his regime.
RATING: A.
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FRANKFORT — The Frankfort village board listened to a proposal for billing software and approved a finance plan for the village's sanitary sewer project during a meeting Thursday.
Joe Castellano, of Custymize Computers, and his son, Ron, were on hand to present a proposal for and a demonstration of software that would allow residents to pay their village bills online.
Trustee Michael Entwistle asked if the software would make it possible for the village to stop sending paper bills to customers who make their utility bill payments online.
Joe Castellano said this could be done; those residents could receive email notifications.
Entwistle commented if enough people choose to pay online, the village could save money because it would not have to mail out as many statements.
The board made no decision on the proposal and plans to seek other quotes before making a decision.
Budget Officer Starr Mizerak told the board a decision would have to be made on a finance plan for the village sewer project. She recommended the board approve short-term, rather than long-term, financing and the board agreed. This will require a $77,000 payment in March, she said, but will save the village that same amount in the long run.
Mizerak also reported she has started work on the budget for 2019-20 and has distributed budget worksheets to department heads. They are due Feb. 15.
The process that led to the sewer rehabilitation project began with a 2015 initial study of the village's sanitary sewer system. The village then received a grant to conduct a comprehensive study of the entire village's sanitary sewer system, which showed infiltration and inflow due to leaks, collapsed pipes and gaps where the pipe no longer existed. The village was awarded a $6.2 million low-interest loan from the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation for a village-wide sewer rehabilitation project.


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Published December 25, 2016 2:05am EST
Obama to Discuss Keystone XL Pipeline in Energy Summit with Mexico and Canada
In this Aug. 10, 2009, photo, President Barack Obama, right, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, center, and Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper walk towards a stand for an official photo in Guadalajara, Mexico, for a North American summit. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) (AP2009)
Washington – President Barack Obama will meet with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts on Monday to discuss thorny energy issues, including the Keystone XL pipeline, as American consumers fret over painfully high gas prices.
The session at the White House is a make-good for a planned meeting last November in Hawaii on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific summit. Obama ended up meeting just with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper when Mexican President Felipe Calderon's top deputy was killed in a helicopter crash.
Sure to feature prominently in Monday's Oval Office session: Mexico's role as a major oil exporter and the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada that Obama has shelved pending further review.
Republicans denounced Obama's move as a blow to job-creation and U.S. energy needs. But he maintains GOP leaders in Congress forced his hand by insisting on a decision before an acceptable pipeline route was found.
The pipeline would link Alberta's oil sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast, but environmentalists fear both its local impact and a major uptick in greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
Harper has voiced disappointment with Obama's decision. He also visited China in February to explore alternatives. Canada has the world's third-largest oil reserves — more than 170 billion barrels — after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, and daily production of 1.5 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to rise to 3.7 million by 2025.
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Trade also topped the North American summit agenda, with Obama hoping that booming exports will help drive the U.S. recovery. The White House also listed growth and competitiveness, citizen security and climate change as key issues, along with the agenda for the next summit on the docket, the hemisphere-wide Summit of the Americas later this month in Cartagena, Colombia.
Obama, Harper and Calderon are well-known to each other from international gatherings — but are headed in different electoral directions.
While Obama faces a tough re-election battle for the next seven months, Calderon is term-limited. The battle to succeed him formally kicked off last week and will culminate with Mexican elections July 1. The main issue is the deadly war his government has waged with drug cartels, which has claimed an estimated 47,000 lives.
By contrast, Harper, who has led Canada since 2006, appears secure in his job, having led his Conservatives from minority status to a majority in Parliament in elections last May. He doesn't have to face voters again for four years.
Another reason Obama might envy Harper: thanks to that majority, the budget Harper's government introduced last week should pass easily, including its budget cuts designed to eliminate Canada's deficit by 2015.
Based on reporting by the Associated Press.
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