text:
Politics UNVEILING THE UNSEEN
Papa Doug's #MeToo Moment: 5 Takeaways from the U-T's Misconduct Imbroglio
Hotel magnate Doug Manchester's ambassador bid is in jeopardy over accusations he presided over a 'toxic,' sexist workplace as the Union-Tribune's owner
Randy Dotinga
U-T chief executive John Lynch and publisher Doug Manchester / Photos by Paul Body
Seven years ago, a hotel magnate who insists on being called "Papa Doug" bought the San Diego Union-Tribune. He launched a brash and bumbling bid to transform the newly rebranded U-T San Diego into a right-wing mouthpiece devoted to his interests. The newsroom gasped, subscribers walked, and Doug Manchester eventually bailed out.
Now, Manchester's peculiar turn as a newspaper publisher is coming back to haunt him. Manchester's time at the U-T has become a #MeToo moment, and it's threatening to pull the plug on his nomination from President Donald Trump to become ambassador to the Bahamas.
Manchester's weekend from hell began with a startling U-T article published late Friday that said he'd apologized via a statement to The Washington Post "to any employee who felt uncomfortable or demeaned while employed at the UT San Diego during my tenure."
The paper reported that questions had arisen about Manchester's U-T tenure. Then, on Saturday, the Post published its own story titled "Trump ambassador nominee had unsettling management style, women say."
Current and former U-T workers told the Post that "the atmosphere was retrograde and often disrespectful toward women." There are reports of leering, overly enthusiastic hugging, a short-dress mandate and a private bedroom in the U-T's Mission Valley building that Manchester defended — not entirely convincingly — as being merely an "executive suite" for visitors.
In the midst of the #MeToo movement, the article says, these revelations raise a question: "What is the level of tolerance for boorish or chauvinistic behavior?"
Here are five takeaways from this mess.
Things at the U-T Were Worse Than We Thought
It hasn't been clear until now how hostile the Mancheter-led U-T's work environment was to women. Creepy behavior, sexism and touchy-feely nonsense seem to have permeated the paper.
We did know things were not good, however. Critics, including many U-T newsroom employees, were deeply appalled by the Manchester era for a variety of reasons. They despised the newspaper's sharp turn to the right, its in-your-face advocacy for Manchester's pet projects, and his snuffing of the daily North County Times.
There was also plenty of gossip about the private life of the "peacockish" Manchester, who admitted committing adultery in his first marriage. As the Post article notes, he "has at times surrounded himself with attractive young women." Indeed, in 2012 he brought a former Playboy Playmate of the Month to a children's charity event and, amazingly, a photo of them appeared in the U-T's society section. ("Older men liking younger women is not a new story," a former U-T HR executive explained helpfully to the Post.)
The company under Manchester embraced boorish behavior publicly via U-T TV, a local cable TV channel which was intended to be the center of a national TV network. It offered a frothy, amateurish and sometimes-head-splitingly-bizarre mix of news and lifestyle programming hosted by older men and younger women, including one described in a print U-T ad as bringing "sizzle" and "heat."
The station forced viewers to "wade through a sea of blonde stereotypes and penis innuendo," wrote Sara Libby, VOSD's managing editor, in a blistering 2013 column.
Behind the scenes at U-T TV, "there was a lot of breaking out and crying, and yelling," one employee recalled to the U-T. In general, the U-T "was a boys club, and the boys picked which women they wanted," an unnamed former executive told the Post. A former editor added that "'toxic' is almost a pleasant way of thinking of those days."
In a tweet, former U-T news editor Laura Wingard links to the U-T story and says it's "pretty much how I remember life during Doug Manchester/John Lynch ownership of @sdut and U-T TV." After purchasing the paper, Manchester installed Lynch as its CEO, until he was moved to a new role in 2014.
This Is Terrible Timing for U-T's Head Honcho
Veteran journalist Jeff Light, the editor and publisher of the U-T, has survived multiple newspaper owners over the last several years. Now, yet another one is on the way.
Light, who recently ordered his newspaper to cover the Manchester imbroglio, is boldly bashing his ex-boss. He told reporters for his own paper that Manchester "hired some people of low competence, and in some cases low character, I think, who damaged the U-T and damaged Manchester's reputation and squandered the business opportunity."
As for U-T TV, the Post quotes him as saying "the news staff was… repulsed by the sexist vibe of the programming," and the U-T says he called it "distasteful." However, Light allowed newsroom staffers to work closely with their colleagues at the TV channel, and an anonymous complaint accused him of ignoring reports of sexual harassment.
An investigation by Tronc, the current owner of the U-T "concluded that there was no case of misconduct by the current leadership of the Union-Tribune," the U-T reported. Note the word "current."
This is now Light's first impression on the paper's new owner, Los Angeles billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who's buying both the U-T and its sister paper, the L.A. Times.
Meanwhile, others who feel they were deeply mistreated at the paper, and there are at least a few, may be emboldened to sue.
U-T's Ex-CEO Is Still a Piece of Work
Lynch, a radio executive whose namesake son is the San Francisco 49ers general manager, has always been a colorful figure, to say the least. In 2014, we compiled his most explosive quotes, including crude political jibes, threats to politicians, and his three-word statement to me ("Get a life") when I reported on the paper's failure to bother getting permits for an antique car museum it built in the U-T building.
The Post quotes Lynch as saying the paper paid a settlement to a laid-off U-T TV employee who alleged "through a lawyer that Lynch sent her inappropriate texts inviting her to a St. Patrick's Day celebration and that Manchester offered unwanted hugs." Lynch is quoted as saying there was an "effort to get some money and take advantage," and he says the claims about a hostile environment were "completely fallacious," the product of newspaper types who longed for the "good old days."
U-T reporter Greg Moran responded via Twitter: "The notion that the disgust at his vandalizing the newsroom and attempts to pollute the news columns with his drool-stained 'thoughts' was bc 'everybody wanted it like the good old days' is offensive."
Rule-Breaking Is a Manchester Tradition
The duo of Manchester and Lynch weaponized the U-T, bulldozing through the sacred-yet-often-permeable separation between the publisher's office and the newsroom. And, if the allegations are true, they turned it into their own personal frathouse. This should not be surprising. They have a wider tradition of ignoring the rules, written or unwritten, in other ways, making the allegations against them even more plausible.
The unpermitted car museum was one example. There are others. Reporters have chronicled Manchester's fight with FCC enforcers over unlicensed cell-phone-signal boosters erected to improve his Verizon reception, the massive code violations at his Carmel Valley hotel, and a helicopter pad built without permission.
'Papa Doug' May Not Be Bahamas-Bound
Manchester is an ally of Donald Trump, who accidentally called him "Papa John" at a San Diego rally before the 2016 election, and the president nominated him to be ambassador to the Bahamas last May. Manchester was grilled about his anti-gay advocacy at a Senate hearing; he says he's sorry and now supports same-sex marriage. Congress never got around to confirming him to the ambassador post to the nation of fewer than 400,000 people.
While Manchester has been renominated, he'll now seek confirmation despite, among other things, this quote from the Post story, via a female employee: "it was just, like, you don't want to get caught alone in the elevator with him."
Still, Coronado native Manchester loves a brawl — this is the same guy who put editorials on the front page and tried to intimidate politicians — and so does the president. This may not be over.
Correction: This story initially said the Post reported that the paper paid a settlement to an employee who claimed sexual harassment by Lynch. In fact, the Post reported Lynch said the woman alleged that he "sent her inappropriate texts inviting her to a St. Patrick's Day celebration and that Manchester offered unwanted hugs."
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego. He is also immediate past president of the 1,200-member American Society of Journalists and Authors (asja.org). Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.
Get our weekly insiders guide to political and policy news (Saturdays)
#MeToo Donald Trump Doug Manchester John Lynch U-t San Diego
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @rdotinga.
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My first post here, and I'm already asking for help. Hope someone can provide some helpful insight and possible solution(s).
Would you even bother trying to fix this or is the base of the speaker totally separate from the main body?
I don't mind the cosmetic problem, I'm just concerned in terms of sonic performance.
There's 3 photos attached, which I hope you can all see.
Should not effect sonic performance st all from what I can see from the pictures. Welcome to the forum.
That base is a separate piece from the speaker. Did they arrive like that, under warranty? If not, a little wood putty, and stain could hide about 90% of that.
I will most likely pick these up tomorrow morning, second hand. Have only seen them in pictures.
Wanted to be sure it wouldn't affect sonic performance, otherwise wouldn't even go there in person to check them out.
Any other thing I should keep an eye for on this model?
The seller says they sound great and have nothing else bad about them besides that broken corner at the base.
If you're buying them for well under $300 you're good. If not, check eBay for pairs at $299 shipped.
Unfortunately on this side of the Atlantic (Europe) those prices are not a reality.
New they are $600 and I could be getting these for $275.
...a little wood putty, and stain could hide about 90% of that.
That was my initial thought. I'd say buy 'em and make those simple repairs. They'll look great.
Report back on how you like them, I have a pair sitting in my closet waiting to be auditioned.
Glue, Glue, Glue using some clamps. Most of it will go away and with a little touch up, should look ok. As long as no drivers are messed up since it looks like it got pushed off a stand.
That base is attached with 4 screws and can be removed easily.
I did that with mine before putting them on a pedestal.
I bought them this morning after testing them at the seller's house. Sounded very nice.
Going to connect them to a vintage Marantz 2230 from the 70s in a bit and will report back.
I'll probably remove the base and have them sideways on a bookshelf in the living room.
Glad they will work out for you, cracked base (or lack of) and all.
So, I got them connected to my old Marantz 2230, and even though it has seen better days, the speakers are playing flawlessly and I'm really enjoying them.
Now I just need to get the 2230 fully restored to its former glory. Since I last moved it (it has been cabin luggage twice in the last 2 years) the FM stopped working and it definitely shows some signs of being tired and a slight hiss on all channels when no music is being played.
The speakers themselves look great in the living room and provide all the sound I might ever need. Even connected to the 30W per channel of the 2230 they just scream and I cannot see myself ever going past half on the volume knob. Pretty sure the 2230 isn't outputting 30W any longer either, after almost 50 years.
Thank you all for the help and replies. The base actually looks better in real life than on the photos I showed here.
If I were to get a modern amp to use while the 2230 gets restored, would the Onkyo A-9110 be a good option? Seems to rank high as an affordable amp.
I'm guessing Onkyo is a forbidden work on these forums?
What amp would you recommend to replace my old Marantz 2230? I'm a fan of buying second hand, whenever possible.
If I were to get a modern amp to use while the 2230 gets restored, would the Onkyo A-9110 be a good option?
That could be a good sounding amp for your system, but it does not have any digital inputs, so consider all your options.
There's also the previous version 9010 that has them. There's several reports regarding a problem with the volume knob though.


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Q: can i use the swiftdata framework for an existing sqlite database? i am developing an IOS application. i am using swift data framework for sqlite database. can i use the same swift data framework for an existing database?
I have been looking for the solution but couldn't find it. can anyone help me with it?

A: If you are talking about Ryan Fowler's SwiftData.swift on GitHub, then it looks like there is some info about half-way down his documentation page: http://ryanfowler.github.io/SwiftData/
Perhaps info on this method is what you are looking for (regarding connecting to an existing db).
public static func databasePath() -> String

And keep in mind, SQLite databases are transactional. So, the framework probably just maintains a path pointer and then opens and closes the db as needed to make transactions:
public static func transaction(transactionClosure: ()->Bool) -> Int?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea is clothed in stunning fuchsia round flowers held atop the branches from late spring to mid fall. Its attractive glossy pointy leaves emerge buttery yellow in spring, turning dark green in color with distinctive creamy white edges and tinges of grayish green the rest of the year. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea is a multi-stemmed annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.
Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.
Raspberry Ice Bougainvillea is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.


Sitting on the couch watching the buds on the tree outside open into foliage in the middle of a quirky march weekend that could easily be mid-July.
Spent some time this weekend checking our path across NA and planning some activities to do with our parents. Float the river near Jackson, WY... check. Shoot-out at sundown in Cody... check. Storybook Island and dinosaur park in Rapid City... huh?
Had a fun and funny experience today walking back from shooting hoops with Bek and Luke. Walking towards a house where a big ol' brown dog is watching and waiting and slobbering while sitting on the stairs. Get next to him and wham! up comes his paw for high-fives all round. Now that I didn't see coming. Sure beat the little green men running all over the city yesterday yessiree [St. Pat's day]. New experiences abound in this city.
Got a compass and maps course to do this week at REI and decided that we'd better re-check our kit for the overnights we want to do this summer. Still short a few items... what's of more value... bear spray or wicking underwear?


text:
[Reference](https://hc.apache.org/httpcomponents-client-4.5.x/examples.html)

## Response handling
This example demonstrates how to process HTTP responses using a response handler. This is the recommended way of executing HTTP requests and processing HTTP responses. This approach enables the caller to concentrate on the process of digesting HTTP responses and to delegate the task of system resource deallocation to HttpClient. The use of an HTTP response handler guarantees that the underlying HTTP connection will be released back to the connection manager automatically in all cases.

## Manual connection release
This example demonstrates how to ensure the release of the underlying HTTP connection back to the connection manager in case of a manual processing of HTTP responses.

## HttpClient configuration
This example demonstrates how to customize and configure the most common aspects of HTTP request execution and connection management.

## Abort method
This example demonstrates how to abort an HTTP request before its normal completion.

## Client authentication
This example uses HttpClient to execute an HTTP request against a target site that requires user authentication.

## Request via a proxy
This example demonstrates how to send an HTTP request via a proxy.

## Proxy authentication
A simple example showing execution of an HTTP request over a secure connection tunneled through an authenticating proxy.

## Chunk encoded POST
This example shows how to stream out a request entity using chunk encoding.

## Custom execution context
This example demonstrates the use of a local HTTP context populated custom attributes.

## Form based logon
This example demonstrates how HttpClient can be used to perform form-based logon.

## Threaded request execution
An example that executes HTTP requests from multiple worker threads.

## Custom SSL context
This example demonstrates how to create secure connections with a custom SSL context.

Preemptive BASIC authentication
This example shows how HttpClient can be customized to authenticate preemptively using BASIC scheme. Generally, preemptive authentication can be considered less secure than a response to an authentication challenge and therefore discouraged.

## Preemptive DIGEST authentication
This example shows how HttpClient can be customized to authenticate preemptively using DIGEST scheme. Generally, preemptive authentication can be considered less secure than a response to an authentication challenge and therefore discouraged.

## Proxy tunnel
This example shows how to use ProxyClient in order to establish a tunnel through an HTTP proxy for an arbitrary protocol.

## Multipart encoded request entity
This example shows how to execute requests enclosing a multipart encoded entity.

## Native Windows Negotiate/NTLM
This example shows how to make use of Native Windows Negotiate/NTLM authentication when running on Windows OS.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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With WhatsApp off the market, who's the next big OTT acquisition target?
Kevin Fitchard Feb 19, 2014 - 4:19 PM CST
There's been a run on the big over-the-top communications apps lately. Last week, we saw Asian e-commerce giant Rakuten scoop up Viber for $900 million, but on Wednesday Facebook(s fb) announced it is buying the biggest OTT enchilada in the oven, WhatsApp, in a deal that could eventually be worth $19 billion.
So now that the WhatsApp is joining Facebook, does that mean we're going to see a massive rush in the tech industry to buy its dozens of smaller competitors? Not necessarily. We are sure to see some more consolidation in the OTT space, but not all of these peer-to-peer messaging, voice and video apps are going to find homes.
WhatsApp is the granddaddy of OTT with 450 million monthly active users. It has the largest global footprint and messaging traffic that's set to surpass the total volume of SMS sent over every carrier network in the world. What surely attracted Facebook to WhatsApp — and it may even have participated in a bidding war with Google(s goog) for the prize — is its enormous scale. The only other OTT players with that kind of scale and reach are Skype, which is already owned by Microsoft(s msft), and Facebook Messenger itself.
Viber isn't the second-largest independent OTT player — that distinction likely goes to China's WeChat — but it is definitely one of the heavyweights in the space with 300 million registered users (though keep in mind a registered user is different from an active user). Yet Facebook is paying more than twenty times for WhatsApp than Rakuten paid for Viber. The difference in market value between the OTT king and mere OTT nobility is huge, to say the least.
Rebtel Andreas Bernstrom (center) at Gigaom's Mobilize conference (c) 2013 Pinar Ozger [email protected]
Last year, I had a conversation with Andreas Bernström, CEO of OTT voice pioneer Rebtel, regarding his thoughts about consolidation in his industry. He predicted either Google or Facebook would buy WhatsApp, and the other would pick up Viber. He turned out to be half right, but I think his basic argument was sound. Internet companies are interested in these OTT players not because of their technology or their business models — most of which are non-existent — but because of the way they've been able to attract incredible volumes of mobile users in relatively short periods of time.
That said, Bernström feels that there are really only a few big global players of any value to the internet companies, and two of them are now accounted for. So who's left?
There's Tango, which specializes in video chat and its 150 million users, and rising stars like Kik Interactive. The Asian messaging apps — WeChat, Line and KakaoTalk — would all seem like good candidates, each with their hundreds of millions of users on their rosters (though WeChat is already owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent). But Bernström pointed out that the Asian OTT companies all tended to focus on their home regions, which would make them less attractive to a big global internet company like Google.
Tango's video app
That, however, is starting to change. A recent study by On Device of OTT usage in four different countries found that Line and WeChat were starting to spread beyond their home countries, taking root in the U.S. and Australia. Surprisingly, On Device also found that BlackBerry Messenger was starting making big gains globally, now that BBM is decoupled from the BlackBerry OS. If BlackBerry decides to sell off its valuable assets, BBM might get some takers.
So is Google still in the market for an OTT app? It's hard to say. There's no single purchase it could make that would give it the sheer customer volumes or global reach that Facebook just achieved by acquiring WhatsApp. Buying Line or KakaoTalk would bring in a large volume of users, but they would still be concentrated in Asia (though if it's Google's goal to expand its services rapidly into Asia then these companies are the perfect targets). Buying a smaller player like Kik would give it users closer to home, but not the scale of WhatsApp of Viber.
But Google, Yahoo, and every other internet communications company and mobile carrier is probably taking pause at this transaction. Combined, Facebook and WhatsApp will control a plurality if the not the majority of the world's mobile messaging transactions. Compared to that, Hangouts looks like an also-ran app buried in Google Play.
Andreas Bernstrom
12 Responses to "With WhatsApp off the market, who's the next big OTT acquisition target?"
Bill Richards February 20, 2014
Om, this merger should be blocked on antitrust grounds on Feb 20, 9:06 AM said:
@euro: Whatsapp is the strongest competitor Facebook has experienced. Whatsapp is a social network. It is now sharing more photos daily than Facebook.
Facebook is paying this money to protect what it already owns. The photo sharing social market. That why they are paying it. It may not make sense from a dollars and sense PE ratio but it protects Facebook from being eclipsed by Whatsapp.
The government and DOJ and SEC should block this merger.
It hurts consumers. Consumer choice is being hurt because while Facebook might not put ads on whatsapp they will surely mine your data. I dont want Facebook in my life. Whatsapp was a great alternative to Facebook. Now by this merger that consumer choice is being KILLED.
By the way… isnt it funny how the Whatsapp guys swore they wouldnt become Facebook and wouldnt sell out and blah blah blah and along comes a big check and they sell out. horrible but I guess expected.
Anti-trust law protects consumers in the United States.
All the other messaging apps in China, Japan, and Korea do not have the marketshare in America as does Whatsapp. It is Whatsapp that is the strong competitor in America for Facebook not the other countries apps.
I disagree with anyone who says the kids will just switch to another app. Nobody wants to recreate their social network. Those "costs" are why Facebook is still Facebook today. Despite all the talk about Facebook losing people they have more people than ever… including more teens. And they own Instagram.
Mike Wheatley February 19, 2014
You failed to mention SnapChat…
John Sun February 20, 2014
SnapChat got tiny userbase…
Kevin Fitchard February 20, 2014
I didn't mention SnapChat, but it was a purposeful omission, not an oversight. I don't really consider Snapchat an OTT company in the sense of WeChat or Viber because its not really cannibalizing the carriers traditional communications service. I know I'm on slippery ground trying to define what is and isn't an OTT company, but I think most people would put it in a separate category because if provides a unique service. If you were judge SnapChat by the metrics of other OTT companies — registered users — it would be a non-factor. Sure Snapchat is likely a big acquisition target, but not for the same reason as WeChat or Viber.
UC February 19, 2014
I think the next company to be bought in the OTT space is Counterpath. Counterpath is a little different than the likes of Whatsapp, Viber, RebTel etc as they do not have a service but they are the leading provider to Telcom and Cable Service Providers and Enterprises. They have been around for 10 years and have an extensive patent portfolio as well as early stage deployments with some of the largest companies in the world.
This company is controlled by Sir Terry Matthews who the Telecom Billionaire who sold Newbridge to Alcatel for $7B but happens to be a very tightly held Nasdaq company (CPAH:NASD) that rarely trades and few know exist.
Counterpath customers are going to be under huge pressure to complete against the likes of Facebook, Apple and Microsoft and someone will but this company for all the reasons above.
My prediction Oracle who bought Counterpath partner Acme Packets last year for $2.8B.
realjjj February 19, 2014
M$ needs one even more, not so sure how many mobile users Skype has, Guess M$ could try to push GroupMe harder since they already own it.
But someone less wasteful than FB might want to wait for the next for factor transition.
You also got to wonder if Apple should stay as dumb as always or maybe open it's app to other platforms.If you look at email.social networks, IM apps as just ways to communicate, it makes no sense to stay out of this fight. Email is dead and they can't do a social network but maybe they could survive here, if their app would actually work.
Marat February 19, 2014
Facebook is buying up every possible emerging threat to its domination.
BB February 19, 2014
WeChat is part of Tencent, third largest internet company by marketcap. so likely not for sale :)
Good point, BB, WeChat is hardly an independent company. I'm adding that to the post.
Terence Pua February 19, 2014
It should be "So now that WhatsApp is joining 'the' Facebook…" :)
Gregory Bem February 19, 2014
This article has quite a few typos, Gigaom guys. I know this is big news, but you should do a little proofreading before you hit "publish."
Thanks Gregory, we were in a hurry to get this one out considering the news urgency. But I gave it another scan and corrected the typos (hopefully all of them) you noticed.
VDI in the Age of Covid-19: Remote Work and the Challenge of the Virtualized Client
Be realistic on costs and benefits
Jon Collins Apr 8, 2020 - 4:47 AM CDT
The Future of Software Innovation? Hardware-Enabled AI & ML Innovation
Greg Fisher Apr 1, 2019 - 10:12 AM CDT
Five questions for… Keri Gilder, Chief Commercial Officer, Colt Technology Services. Can Connectivity be linked to Customer Experience?
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Digital Risk, Compliance, and Data Centricity
The Value of Centralization in a Distributed World
Jon Collins Oct 2, 2020 - 12:57 PM CDT
Data Governance: Striking the Right Balance for Insights, Privacy, and Compliance
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CIO Speaks – Episode 10: A Conversation with David Chou of Constellation Research
Steve Ginsberg

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.Schema;

namespace DefaultReverseEngineering
{
    [Table("SalesTaxRate", Schema = "Sales")]
    public partial class SalesTaxRate
    {
        public int SalesTaxRateID { get; set; }
        public DateTime ModifiedDate { get; set; }
        public Guid rowguid { get; set; }
        public int StateProvinceID { get; set; }
        public decimal TaxRate { get; set; }
        public byte TaxType { get; set; }

        [ForeignKey("StateProvinceID")]
        [InverseProperty("SalesTaxRate")]
        public virtual StateProvince StateProvince { get; set; }
    }
}


I am converting numbers between different bases with JS interop. Is there a better way to do this in Reason? I would like to get rid of the bs.raw chunk.
@ollran I was able to come up with something but with a caveat, you have to pass the number type through with the string.
Convert the given string to an integer.
or in binary (if it begins with 0b or 0B).
| exception _ => ""
| (_, false) => ""


text:
Coronavirus Threat Forces Indian Women's Team To Withdraw From Badminton Asian Championship
IndiatimesUpdated on Feb 08, 2020, 15:10 IST
India has withdrawn its women badminton team from the upcoming Badminton Asia Championships in the wake of the threat posed by coronovirus. The men's team, though, is slated to take part in the event in Manila.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) had named a second-string women team for the tournament to be held from February 11 to 16 but a full-strength men's side which features World Championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth.
"Unforeseen health hazard apprehension due to the Corona Virus outbreak has resulted in withdrawal of the women's team for the upcoming Badminton Asian Championships, which is starting from Feb 11-16, 2020 in Manila, Philippines," the BAI said in a statement.
"Badminton Association of India (BAI) had reached out to the concerned authorities in Badminton Asia (BA) for assurances regarding the current situation and necessary health advisory and precautionary measures taken.
"After receiving complete assurances from BA, BAI had discussed the same with the Indian squad, the men's team agreed to travel and confirmed their participation, however, the women's team was withdrawn owing to concerns showed by parents and players," BAI secretary general Ajay Kumar Singhania said.
The women's team was supposed to be led by upcoming young shuttlers Ashmita Chaliha and Malvika Bansod after Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu decided to give the event a miss.
Saina and Sindhu decided to skip the event to focus on Olympic qualification.
The men's team will leave for Manila on February 9.
India had fielded a full-strength men's team while the upcoming group of shuttlers have been given a chance to showcase their prowess in the women's section of the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
The Indian men's team, which won the bronze medal in Hyderabad in 2016, will be spearheaded by Sai Praneeth with former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Subhankar Dey and Lakshya Sen in the squad.


This sparkling arrangement of an East of England folk-song has been a popular concert item for many years. With its cheeky and slightly suggestive good humour, and its variable performance options, it makes a perfect recital encore!
Performable just with piano accompaniment, this publication also includes an additional optional instrumental part: this was originally for clarinet, and parts are also included for flute or treble recorder, violin, and viola.


text:
75 Million Bribes and Counting: How to Tackle Corruption in Africa
Chantal Uwimana
On 12/4/15 at 11:30 AM EST
A civil society member reacts during a protest, dubbed KnockOutCorruption, against what organizers say is corruption in government, in Nairobi, December 1. A report by Transparency International found that, over the past year, some 75 million people in sub-Saharan Africa paid bribes. Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Opinion Nigeria Kenya Liberia Sierra Leone
In some parts of the world, you can bribe a police officer to do almost anything. In Zimbabwe, a nine-year old girl was infected with the HIV virus after being raped by an acquaintance. But the man convicted of this terrible crime was secretly released after bribing the police.
At Transparency International, we speak with victims of corruption like this every day.
Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have struggled with deep corruption problems. Recent examples include violent attacks in Kenya and Nigeria that were said to be facilitated by corruption. There are almost daily media reports on major corruption scandals or on political leaders expressing their frustrations about the lack of progress against corruption. In international league tables, most African countries occupy ranks in the lower ranks of these indices, such as our own Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. But what do Africans think about the state of corruption in their own country?
To find out, we partnered with Afrobarometer who asked more than 43,000 Africans in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa about their views on, and experiences of, corruption. In our People and Corruption: Africa Survey 2015 report , the answers we got defy an easy story. To start with, we found that an estimated 75 million Africans paid a bribe in the past year, a massive number when you consider that the sub-Saharan region is just shy of 1 billion people.
In fact, 22 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa that have come into contact with a public service in the past 12 months have paid a bribe. In Liberia, nearly seven in ten people had paid a bribe. To make matters worse, across the continent poor people are twice as likely as rich people to have paid a bribe, and in urban areas they are even more likely to pay bribes.
The state of corruption is not seen as bleak everywhere on the continent; nor do most Africans think that corruption is on its way out in their countries. As we know, but as global public opinion often forgets, Africa is extremely diverse and, some would argue, in a process of diverging even further in a number of key areas. Our survey finds that the issue of corruption is not an exception.
Among other things, we asked Africans about their views on the degree of corruption in the public sector and how that's changed change since 2014, their approval of their government's handling of the issue, their own sense of empowerment to do something about corruption, and their own experience in having to pay bribes. Apart from two countries—Sierra Leone and Nigeria, which are given negative ratings by their citizens on all five areas—all other 26 countries have a mixed picture of positive, medium and negative ratings.
Out of six key public services, people who come into contact with the police and the courts are most likely to have paid a bribe. This is consistent with previous Transparency International surveys, highlighting the lack of progress made in addressing bribery in these two institutions, which are crucial for citizen security and the rule of law.
Some interesting examples: while most Malawians and Madagascans perceive corruption to be rocketing and their government to be totally ineffective, they still feel that they can do something to change it. South Africans are also very negative about corruption and particularly its perceived increase over the last year—83 percent see it as on the rise—but they rarely encounter situations when they are being asked for a bribe: only 7 percent did in the last year, while the regional average is 22 percent. The list could go on.
What to make of this picture? Geographically small or states with smaller populations—such as Lesotho, Cape Verde, Namibia and Mauritius—seem to be doing relatively well in their fight against corruption. This is a pattern we have seen elsewhere—consider the positive rankings for Hong Kong, Singapore, Barbados or Estonia in global corruption indices. But geography and population are two factors no policymaker can really influence. The degree of democracy, economic development or internal conflict don't seem to have a clear influence on how people feel about corruption: citizens of the relatively rich, democratic and non-violent countries of South Africa and Ghana provide a rather negative scorecard, while citizens of poorer and less stable places such as Burkina Faso and Lesotho are rather positive about the state of corruption in their country.
What becomes clear is that each country faces its own sets of corruption challenges—from tackling high levels of street-level bribery in Liberia, to ensuring that government makes more progress in the fight against corruption in Madagascar, where 90 percent of people consider the government ineffective, to giving its people a sense of agency against corruption in places like Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Most countries, however, also have some positive aspects to build on. While this is certainly good news, the challenge will be to sustain these advances, as corruption has a tendency to fight back.
Africans can report corruption and seek redress at storefront legal advice and advocacy centers run by Transparency International chapters around Africa. The mother of the 9-year old girl with HIV reported the crime to us after the police did nothing. Now, the perpetrator is serving a 21-year prison sentence for his crime, and for trying to bribe the judge who sentenced him.
For high-level corruption, we have launched a campaign focused on grand corruption: the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few and causes serious and widespread harm to society. We want those who commit the worst acts of corruption to see that the public cares and wants to see them punished. On December 9, we will ask the public to go to unmaskthecorrupt.org to vote for the most symbolic, high-profile cases of corruption in the world based on more than 380 nominations from the public. When the voting is over, we will publicise the two most potent symbols of corruption chosen by the public and look into the best and most effective sanctions against them.
Chantal Uwimana is the regional director for Africa at Transparency International.
75 Million Bribes and Counting: How to Tackle Corruption in Africa | Opinion
Pope in Africa: Corruption and Poverty Top Agenda as Francis Arrives in Kenya
Nigerian Ex-Security Chief Arrested for Alleged Theft of $2bn From Boko Haram Fund


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1956 Michael 2021
Michael L. Jutras
June 8, 1956 — May 28, 2021
SHELDON – Michael "Mike" L. Jutras, age 64, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, May 28, 2021. Mike was doing what he loved – working with his tractor to prepare this year's food plot for deer hunting.
He was born June 8, 1956 in St. Albans to the late Roland & Elaine (Kittell) Jutras.
Mike was a hard-working farmer, outdoorsmen, and barbeque pit master. He loved working with animals and in the field; for 32 years he worked for the Howrigan Brothers at their Swanton farm, and later he worked for Mark & Kelly Stone in Fairfield. As an outdoorsmen, when it wasn't hunting season, Mike was either preparing for hunting season, or talking about hunting season. It was a passion he was happy to share with others throughout his time with the Franklin County Sportsmen Club. Mike's reputation precedes him as a pit master. He loved to barbeque, especially with his grandson Thomas, and he turned that love into a business – BBQ Roasters.
He is survived by his wife, Donna (Miles) Jutras of Sheldon; their children, Jason Jutras of Berkshire, and Jessica Jutras and her significant other Travis Rushford of Sheldon; a special grandson, Thomas Jutras of Sheldon; his four sisters, Michele Jutras of Enosburg, Dawn Paquin of New Hampshire, Ann Jutras of Sheldon, and Allyson Jutras of Fairfield; brother-in-law, Junior Miles of Enosburg; the brother he never had, Kevin Parah of Swanton; his beloved dogs, Midnite & Remi; and several nieces & nephews. Mike was predeceased by his parents, Roland & Elaine Jutras; mother and father in-law, Alvin Sr. & Evelyn Miles; siblings-in-law, Carol Miles, Bonnie Miles, and Richard & Shelba Prive; a nephew, Scott Prive; a great-great niece, Ryleigh St. Pierre; and his faithful companion, Moonlite.
Friends and family are invited to attend Mike's Life Celebration to include a memorial service at 5:00 PM followed by a pot-luck barbeque on Thursday, June 3, 2021 at the Goss-Spears Life Celebration Home, 96 Dickinson Ave., Enosburg Falls, VT. Please come dressed for comfort, or in your favorite camo.
For those who wish, contributions in Mike's memory may be made to a charity of your choice.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Michael L. Jutras, please visit our flower store.
Goss-Spears Life Celebration Home
96 Dickenson Ave, Enosburg, VT 05450


BAGHDAD (AP) - The Iraqi government demanded for the first time that Turkey immediately withdraw from northern Iraq, warning today it feared the ongoing incursion could lead to clashes with the official forces of the semiautonomous Kurdish region.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation would only end "once its goal has been reached."
"The international community has understood well Turkey's need to fight terrorist elements," Erdogan said in a weekly address to ruling party lawmakers. "Everyone has begun to understand well Turkey's rightful cause."
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq in about a decade was a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. "The Iraqi Cabinet has denounced the Turkish army's incursion," al-Dabbagh said after the government met to discuss the issue. "The Cabinet calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops immediately and stop the military intervention."
Al-Dabbagh warned that tensions could escalate if Kurdish military forces were drawn into the fight.


I don't know where the last 20 years have gone either! I am quite a bit older than you and my younger daughter was 6 months old when the first Potter book was published. My older daughter, who was nearly 12 years old 20 years ago, enjoyed reading them as they came out and I believe her grandmother took her to see a couple of the earlier films. I didn't start reading them until The Half-blood Prince was published but I really enjoy them and watch the films too.
Thanks Clare 🙂 it's lovely to see people growing up with the books and movies and then they'll pass them on I'm sure!
I WISH I was a teenagers just a mere 20 years ago! My daughter was 10 when the first HP books came out so she was old enough to enjoy all of them and the movies. I never read any of the books because I like seeing movies first. I don't want to know what it going to happen in them. I have a great memory which can be a good thing but can also be a curse. I would know everything they changed and left out so it would totally ruin the movie. Anyhoo.. Have you seen the newest movie or read the book? "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them"?


Henry Duncan Grants are Corra's general grant-making programme which supports grassroots charities operating in Scotland. The programme is named after the Rev. Henry Duncan who had a driving concern for the under-privileged and whose vision and compassion led to the founding of the worldwide savings bank movement. As the organisation was originally formed by the Trustee Savings Bank, it was fitting that we named our grant programme after this great man.
This year, as part of our strategy to be the best grantmaker we can be, Corra Foundation is undertaking a review of Henry Duncan Grants criteria and processes. To allow us the time to focus on the review, we will complete our 2019 Henry Duncan Grants programme by June this year, so the final closing date for applications was 4th March, for Trustee consideration in June 2019.
This means that we are unable to accept any further applications to our Henry Duncan Grants programme until we have completed the review. We anticipate completing the review by the end of 2019 and being open again for applications in 2020.
We will be consulting with organisations and individuals over the coming months, and if you would like to be part of the consultation process, please register your interest by sending an email to hello@corra.scot This means that we may invite you to be included in surveys and/or focus groups.
Our Trustees are always interested to know what difference our funding has made, and we like to follow up all our grants, regardless of size.
As a condition of your grant, we ask for a progress report 12 months after your grant was made letting us know what you did with the money and what difference it made to the people you work with. We will automatically write to you two months before the anniversary of your grant asking for you to complete a short online progress report.
If you have already produced a report for another funder that covers the work we have funded, we are happy to accept that. Even if it doesn't cover everything you want to report to us, some of the information may be relevant so it is well worth checking to see what you could use so you minimise any extra work. Please email the completed document to us at hello@corra.scot.
If you need any guidance or support to complete your progress report, please feel free to contact us.
For information on outcomes or monitoring and evaluation, we also encourage charities to contact Evaluation Support Scotland and you can visit their website here where you will find lots of resources.


Brilliantly coloured flowers are held close to grey-green, semi-succulent trailing foliage. Constant show of colour all summer until the first hard frost. Ice plant thrives in sunny and dry locations. Does well as ground cover, in baskets, or containers. Fantastic with other low growing plants.
Constant show of bright orange coloured blooms all summer long on semi-succulent foliage. Ice Plant thrives in sunny and dry locations. Does well as a ground cover, in baskets or containers.
Constant show of rose coloured blooms all summer long on semi-succulent foliage. Ice Plant thrives in sunny and dry locations. Does well as a ground cover, in baskets or containers.


Thanks to Ike, I'm inspired to talk about Lighting – It's really as simple as 1…2…3!
I really never anticipated that Hurricane Ike would affect us here in Ohio. Who knew that on a perfectly muggy, yet brilliantly sunny Sunday, ole Ike would rear his ugly head and bring us up to 74 mph winds propelling us into blackness. Never having been even close to hurricane like winds, it really took a while for it to sink in as to what was happening. Of course the combination of downed trees, a blackout, lost shutters, flying shingles, and a broken window at my home alone, finally got my attenction.
Today is Friday, and still there are over 100,000 people here without electric. In fact I read that across 7 states, 3,000,0000 people lost power. We were pretty lucky actually compared to the devastation that has been wrought in Texas, more less New Orleans a few years ago; they are all in my thoughts and prayers today as I write.
My aunt finally got her power back on Wednesday night and she could finally see the world around her. She said It reminded her of the famous World War II song, When the Lights go on around the World Again,. As the street lamps came on and she could see her neighborhood once again at night she was intune to the emotions that light can bring.
This brings me to the topic here, that I think so often that lighting is taken for granted – even when you do have power. Our homes are lit to provide adequate light for living. But why settle for that? Light can be so much more. There are three levels of lighting that you can incorporate into every single room in your house – this is what will help to make it a home.
General lighting is always important and most of us have that in the form of sunshine during the day and overhead lighting in the ceiling at night. It's the most basic level of lighting and is meant for daily living. I need to add that you shouldn't discount the importance of sunshine – my father-in-law and agree to disagree on this topic. Imagine that! I walk into his home and the blinds are pulled with very little sunshine ever making way inside his home. I appreciate that he saving energy. I am all for that, but there is also nothing more energizing and uplifting that being in my home when it's illuminated by the sun. To me, there's no better prescription for the blues than opening the blinds on a beautiful sunny day. That's why I like blinds that can control the angle that the sun comes in, but that still allow it enter my home – but that's another blog!
Task lighting is just as important. In a nutshell, it's lighting that provides direct light for a specific task. You'll find it over a food preparation area in your kitchen or next to a chair for reading. If you've ever tried to read a book in a dimly lit room or to see if the chicken is still pink when cooking dinner, than you can appreciate the need for task lighting. Take a few minutes when planning a room to consider what activities will take place. Are you a family who loves to play games? Do you like to watch TV and knit or relax and read a book? Providing the appropriate task lighting will make the time spent within that room even more enjoyable!
Accent lighting, the third level of light is often an afterthought or really isn't given much thought at all. This is where you can dramatically change the ambiance of your room. Accent lighting can make a room feel welcoming, intimate, and truly a place you love to be. It can be found in the form of an interesting lamp (try a 20 watt bulb if it's not for reading), a hidden uplight on plants (less than $12.00 at Lowes), or a spot light on artwork. If I had my choice, I'd have dimmers on every switch in the house – even my bathroom. A dimmer switch is inexpensive, fairly easy to install and can turn general lighting into accent lighting with a flip of your wrist.
Take a few minutes to evaluate the rooms in you home. Lighting is as simple as 1,2,3 and incorporating the 3 levels of lighting in each room is big step towards making your house feel more like a home!
Introducing Dish on Design Workshops and Decorate Fabulously!
Whew!!!! If your're wondering why I've been so quiet, it's because we've been working really hard – like night and day crazy hard, to nationally launch our newest brand – Dish on Design Workshops. We are sooooo happy to introduce the first Dish on Design Workshop – Decorate Fabulously! It's been 3 years in the making, but we think it has definately been worth the wait!
Jayne are I created Decorate Fabulously! to bring together our two favorite groups of customers – homeowners and design professionals. If you have a passion for decorating or even a fear of decorating, this workshop was written just for you! In the spirit of a "Girls Day Out" you can spend a day with a design professional in your area who will walk you through the world of decorating with lots of designer tips, inspiration and hands on projects! You'll explore everything from inspiration to completing a project; including how to draw a floor plan and furniture arranging. As a bonus, you'll even take home a Decorating Assistant.
So far we have instructors (Design Professionals) in Idaho, Washington, Atlanta, Oregon, Florida and New Hampshire and we are adding more every week. Check out our website weekly for more information and updates at www.dishondesign.com We think you are going to LOVE it!


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#Elections2019: Alliance partners, ANC elders enter lists debate
Calls are growing within the ANC-led tripartite alliance for members implicated in state capture and corruption to withdraw from lists for Parliament and provincial legislatures.
On Monday, the SACP endorsed the latest call by veteran ANC members – known as "elders" in party circles – for tainted leaders to withdraw their names from the list of candidates for the May 8 elections.
SACP first deputy secretary Solly Mapaila said the elders' call was in line with the resolution of the ANC's 54th national congress resolution, which asked all those implicated in corrupt acts not to stand for leadership positions.
"The ANC took a resolution on the matter. It is a principle and the ANC must ensure that its resolutions are implemented. The SACP unflinchingly supports the call," Mapaila said.
His comments come after elders, who include Sheila Sisulu, Professor Mary Metcalfe and Murphy Morobe, appealed in their letter to the implicated leaders, saying withdrawing their candidature would be in the interest of those who continue to vote for the ANC.
"Our strong belief is that candidates on the ANC list should be above ethical reproach, for that is what South Africans expect of the party that played a pivotal role in ushering in democracy in South Africa," the letter reads.
The elders did not single out any names, but said the country heard through the Gupta Leaks how members of the Gupta family befriended certain ANC leaders to obtain lucrative government tenders in state-owned entities such as Eskom, Denel and Transnet.
They also praised President Cyril Ramaphosa for his decision to set up various commissions to probe corruption.
"It is against this background that we, long-serving members of the ANC, request comrades who have been implicated in corruption reported in the commissions of inquiry and elsewhere, or who were during the past five years adjudged to have behaved unethically by, for instance, lying under oath, to reconsider their present nomination for Parliament or the provincial legislatures.
"By withdrawing their names from the electoral list they will be saying to the public at large that although perception is not always reality, they would rather await the opportunity to have their names cleared than serve under a cloud of suspicion."
Controversial leaders who made the cut include Environmental Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, who is facing allegations of receiving a bribe from controversial facilities management company Bosasa, while the Constitutional Court has ruled that the National Prosecuting Authority should determine if the Minister for Women, Bathabile Dlamini, should be charged with perjury in connection with Sassa matters. Both, together with ANC leaders including Mosebenzi Zwane and Malusi Gigaba, are high on the ANC list.
The ANC has been at pains to explain the inclusion of the accused leaders.
Speaking on the sidelines of a "door-to-door" campaign in Orlando East, Soweto, last week, Ramaphosa said the governing party's leadership had no powers to exclude its tainted leaders from the list, as they were chosen by the lower structures.
ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete could not be reached for comment.
Political Bureau
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Q: Bounding minimal numbers of generators of a product of homogeneous ideals Let $R$ be a standard graded ring over an infinite field $k$. Suppose $I,J\subset R$ are two homogeneous ideals with $I$ equigenerated in degree $d$ (that is, $I$ is generated by homogeneous elements all of degree $d$), and assume $J\subseteq I$ is generated by $l$ $k$-linearly independent forms of degree $d$.
How to prove that $\mu(IJ)\leq l\mu(I)-\binom{l}{2}$? (Here $\mu(K)$ stands for the minimal number of generators of the ideal $K$.)
I would like to know if it really depends upon the equigenerated and LI hypotheses. Further, is it also true if we are over a local ring instead?


Discover is proud to be a leader in the financial services industry. We're also proud to offer development opportunities, work/life balance and attractive compensation & benefits that help our employees bring value to life. It's all part of Discover's unique culture based on leadership, innovation and rewards.
Discover Shanghai Center of Excellence demonstrates strong capability in cutting edge analytics. There's never been a better time to join a company that cares for and develops its employees.


Is The Blog for Your API Up to Date?
As a building block, a blog is a very valuable tool for building awareness of your API, keeping your developers informed and give a personality to the team beyond an API.
My recommendation to API owners is to always have a blog, however one the most damaging things you can do is stop posting to your blog. A blog is a key variable in my API Stack algorithm, of whether or not an API is worth integrating with, and if you haven't updated your blog anytime in the last year, I immediately step away.
If you want people to find your API, have a blog. If you want your existing developers to be educated about what can be done with your API, have blog. If you want developers who find your API, to feel confident enough to integrate it into their app, keep you blog updated!


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New look Hatch Magazine launches today
Bigger, bolder photography is just part of the new package.
by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Apr 20th, 2015
Bigger, bolder photography -- like this capture of a Belizean bonefish from Turneffe Flats -- is one of the best parts of our new look and feel (photo: Chad Shmukler).
For the last few months, we've been working on an all-new version of Hatch Magazine, with a completely revamped look and feel. The goal from the outset has been to provide a more pleasant, immersive reading experience complete with bigger, bolder photography. It's not that the existing incarnation of Hatch Magazine is all that bad, its just a bit dated and we knew we could do better. And we have. The new Hatch Magazine is better in every way, and it's almost ready for prime time.
Almost, you say? But it's launching today? Yes. Almost.
Originally, the new Hatch Magazine was slated to launch on May 15. But, an announcement from Google last week -- one which has much of the internet clamoring to take action and gravely worried about potential impacts to their business -- has fast tracked our plans.
Bringing you a reading experience that is more immersive and pleasant means bringing you one that works well on all your devices: your desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, smartphone and so on. Doing just that has been the driving force of our redesign but it also happens to be one of Google's front-burner issues. In fact, Google considers mobile-friendly, multi-device support so important that it recently announced that web sites that lack it will start reaching fewer readers in its search results beginning tomorrow.
The good news is that we've been rebuilding hatchmag.com with that goal foremost amongst all. The bad news, as mentioned above, is that we weren't quite done.
But, so be it. We'd rather keep reaching all of you with a beta version of the new Hatch Magazine than reach fewer of you with the existing site. Plus, you'll be getting a better reading experience right out of the gate. Sure, there will be a few bugs to work through as we go, but we hope you won't mind working through them with us.
Florida Bonefish, Tarpon to Become Catch and Release Only
Patagonia's first-ever TV commercial is in defense of public lands
Lethal Virus Found for First Time in Pacfic Northwest Salmon
We look forward to hearing everyone's opinions and comments on the new site once it launches later today.
Chad Shmukler's blog
DJ replied on Wed, 04/29/2015 - 13:54 Permalink
This Hatch online magazine is great!! Awesome content guys!1
The Littering Fisherman
Memorial Day: Count on snow
Discovering Kamchatka
Winter Steelhead: Worth the Wait
Idaho in Winter - Part I
Fly Fishing New Zealand: A DIY Primer - Part I
Liquid Gold Needs Your Support
Book Review: Top of the Flood - Halfway Through a Fly Fishing Life
Prospecting 101
Streamer tenkara
Orvis to expand Recon lineup with 9 new models


A loudspeaker that will reach into the room and holographically create the most complex of music performances in a particularly compelling fashion.
We have been running these with PS Audio BHK mono amplifiers and are able to produce a world class high end performance for a very reasonable price.
At Carlton Audio Visual we are more than a tad highly invested with High End Loudspeakers, because we love them.
The Platinum PL500s are of a physical nature superficially similiar to other grand tower loudspeaker designs like the Dynaudio Evidence and the Usher Grands that we have also dealt with. Unlike those other products these are actaully a single piece rather than a triple pack, and that raw massive physicality needs to be taken into account when delivering.
For me one of the standout engineering features of the Platinum loudspeakers is the tweeter. This is an advanced derivative of the Dr Oskar Heile Air Motion Transformer (AMT) design called MPD by Monitor Audio.
The Micro Pleated Diaphragm offers perhaps the best mass to magnetic feild strength ratio of perhaps any high frequency transducer and is wonderfully capable at expressing air and space in a recording without suffering the endemic harshness and fatigue of other tweeter designs that attempt to iterate this level of detail. This is ruler flat to 100KHz and has cured some of the phasing anomalies and frequency dips that were common to the Heile AMT pleated transducer while offering an even stronger and more linear magnetic field design.


This Notice of Privacy Practices how we may use and disclose your protected health information (PHI) to carry out treatment, payment or healthcare operations (TPO) and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. "Protected health information" is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related healthcare services.
Your protected heath information may be used and disclosed by your physician, our office staff and others outside our office that are involved in your care and treatment for the purpose of providing health care services to you, to pay your health care bills, to support the operation of the physician's practice, and any other use required by law.
Treatment: We will use and disclose your protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your healthcare and any related services. This includes the coordination or management of your healthcare with a third party. For example, we would disclose your protected health information, as necessary, to a home health agency that provides care to you. For example, your protected health information may be provided to a physician to whom you have been referred to ensure that the physician has the necessary information to diagnose or treat you.
Payment: Your protected health information will be used, as needed, to obtain payment for your health care services. For example, obtaining approval for a hospital stay may require that your relevant protected health information be disclosed to the health plan to obtain approval for the hospital admission.
Healthcare Operations: We may use or disclose, as-needed, your protected health information in order to support the business activities of your physician's practice. These activities include, but are not limited to , quality assessment activities, employee review activities, training of medical students, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. For example, we may disclose your protected heath information to medical school students that see patients at our office. In addition, we may use a sign-in sheet at the registration desk where you will be asked to sign your name and indicate your physician. We may also call you by name in the waiting room where your physician is ready to see you. We may use or disclose your protected health information, as necessary, to contact you to remind you of your appointment.
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You may revoke this authorization at any time, in writing, except to the extent that your physician or the physician's practice has taken an action in reliance on the use or disclosure indicated in the authorization.
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Your physician is not required to agree to a restriction that you may request. If the physician believes it is in your best interest to permit use and disclosure of your protected health information, your protected health information will not be restricted. You then have the right to use another Healthcare Professional.
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We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice and will inform you by mail of any changes. You then have the right to object or withdraw as provided in this notice.
You may complain to us or to the Secretary of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated by us. You may file a complaint with us by notifying our privacy contact of your complaint. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
This notice was published and becomes effective on/or before April 15, 2003.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of, and provide individuals with, this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information. If you have any objections to this form, please ask to speak with our HIPAA Compliance Officer in person or by phone at our Main Phone Number.
Akstein Eye Center iPad Giveaway!


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Brexit and financial services
Published Tuesday, 16 February, 2021
Federico Mor
What does Brexit mean for financial services? This briefing reviews progress and possibilities – from the 2018 Political Declaration to preparations for Brexit with no deal.
Brexit and financial services (694 KB , PDF)
Download full report Download 'Brexit and financial services' report (694 KB , PDF)
This briefing was last updated on 13 December 2019 and is no longer being updated – for information on the UK financial services sector see our briefing Financial services: contribution to the UK economy.
Financial services made up 6.9% of the UK's total output in 2018 and contributed £29 billion in tax in 2017/18. London (and the UK more generally) has benefited from close commercial and regulatory integration with the EU.
Single Market rules allow financial businesses authorised in any Member State to operate freely across the European Economic Area (EEA). This system is known as passporting.
Once the UK had confirmed its intention to leave the Single Market, the EU explicitly ruled out sector-specific arrangements – such as passporting – that might have maintained existing benefits.
The quest for equivalence
That exclusion has led to a focus on "equivalence". This allows market access in specified activities if both parties agree that underlying regulatory approaches will achieve comparable outcomes. It assumes current and continued regulatory alignment.
The UK's original ambitions for Brexit negotiations recognised the interconnected nature of financial services, while aspiring to more autonomous decision-making. But equivalence decisions depend on continued compatibility between regulatory outcomes. They are subject to review and unilateral cancellation. The process of agreeing frameworks can also be slow and subject to wider political considerations. The EU recently withdrew equivalence from Switzerland. They referred to both Swiss "delays" on agreeing wider arrangements and the challenges of Brexit.
The 2018 Political Declaration aimed to build a more robust and transparent "equivalence plus" regime. New institutional arrangements would have supported the approach. But the details would only have been identified and negotiated after the Withdrawal Agreement was ratified. The October 2019 Political Declaration gave less emphasis overall to close alignment, although the financial services text was identical.
The UK has continued to incorporate EU financial legislation into UK law and regulation. In the event of no deal, the Financial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill 2017-19 would have enabled this to continue for two years after Brexit, but the Bill fell at the end of the parliamentary session. So maintaining alignment with the EU after Brexit will require new primary legislation.
A no-deal Brexit would make the quest for equivalence more difficult. The UK would revert to third-country status. Both parties have made some provision for such a scenario to help ensure some continuity. The UK has developed a temporary permissions regime to allow EEA-based businesses to continue to operate in the UK and to seek more permanent authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. The EU has agreed and extended a temporary recognition regime for the derivatives market.
This version incorporates the implications of the first Johnson Government's position.
Which areas have benefited from the Levelling Up Fund?
How much has been awarded from the Levelling Up Fund, and where was it allocated?
This page features Commons Library publications relevant to the current conflict in Ukraine.
Regulation of cryptocurrency
A Westminster Hall debate on the regulation of cryptocurrencies is scheduled for Wednesday 25 January 2023 at 11 am. Dr Lisa Cameron will lead the debate.


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Home > The Hostway Blog > Social Media Marketing > The Real Reason to Twitter
The Real Reason to Twitter
Hostway Tech Team - April 06, 2010
By Janet Attard
Launch a Web site with unlimited traffic, numerous email accounts, generous storage, and over $100 in free advertising credits.
If you ever go to a conference at which Guy Kawasaki is speaking, make sure you get to his talk early enough to get a good seat. Entertaining, informative, and as he admits, sometimes a bit controversial, a Kawasaki's keynote can make attending the conference a good investment for any size business.
For example, when Kawasaki spoke about Twitter at an SES conference in New York City, he said that at first, like so many other business owners and professionals, he just didn't "get" Twitter. But after looking more closely at it, he not only "got" it, but now sees it as one of the most important tools a business can use to spread the word of mouth about their business.
He sees Twitter, in fact, as version 3.0 of the online world – a way to reach potentially hundreds of thousands of people, for free. In recent years a lot of businesses, Web site owners and bloggers have used the Internet for "Trickle Down" marketing. They aim at getting mentioned by an A-list blogger or a top site, because such a mention can drive a lot of traffic to a Web site. But that spike in traffic, Kawasaki pointed out, is a fleeting thing. It happens once and then goes away after a few days.
What business should be looking for – and what he sees Twitter as a force for accomplishing, Kawasaki explained, is "Bubble Up" marketing.
His bubble up philosophy of marketing is based on the premise that "You don't know who the best evangelist will be for your product or service." Instead of "sucking up" to A-listers (in the blogosphere or elsewhere), you need to let those true evangelists find you and get the word out about your products or services. Twitter helps makes that possible. In fact, Kawasaki says, Twitter has been extremely valuable in helping him build his site, Alltop.com into a popular site very quickly.
Kawasaki presented a number of very specific tips for using Twitter to help those potential evangelists find you and spread the word about your business. Among his tips:
De-focus. Don't ignore the A-listers, but don't focus all your attention on getting them to pay attention to you, either. The important thing is "who loves your site" and becomes an evangelist.
Twitter is a numbers game and you need to have lots of followers. You want as many people as possible to find and follow you so they can "send the message up."
Automatically follow everyone who follows you on Twitter. "I think it's arrogant," Kawasaki said, "if you think you are worth following but don't think the people following you are worth following."
Have a goal for using Twitter and a way to measure how you're doing at achieving that goal. He suggested one good tool for doing that is Retweetist, which shows how many times you've been retweeted. (A retweet is when someone repeats what you said so people they know will see it.)
Make interesting tweets. Like most other things on the Web, one way to get people to love you is to post information they want to know about.
Monitor what people are saying about you. You can monitor the tweets about you by searching for your ID, company name, industry segment and by watching @ replies.
Save time with various social marketing productivity tools. One such tool Kawasaki mentioned is Adjix, which is a Firefox plug in that makes it easy to post to Twitter from any place on the Web and also shows how many times people clicked on your links. Others included Tweetdeck and Twhirl, which both provide ways for individuals to monitor Twitter, and CoTweet, which is a tool for companies that need to coordinate multiple people using twitter (for instance a support team).
Copy best practices. On Twitter that means looking at how other companies are effectively using Twitter to engage with their customers and build buzz. JetBlueAirways and Amazondeals were two of the good examples of Twitter use he mentioned.
Be willing to "squeeze the trigger" on Twitter. One way of doing that – one that is somewhat controversial, he suggested — is to set up searches for things you'd like to get known for, and then automatically tweet a response when that search term comes up in a tweet. The tool he likes for doing that is TwitHawk, which not only generates the automatic response, it also remembers who the response was sent to so you don't keep spamming them with the same response whenever they mention the topic again.
Make it easy to share. Add a Share on Twitter button to your Web site.
Be willing to take the heat if you use Twitter as a tool. People will say you are a spammer, that you aren't using it right. And for that, Kawasaki has invented a new acronym: UFM. It stands for UnFollow Me. If you don't like what he is tweeting, he says, just UFM.
Janet Attard is the founder and CEO of www.BusinessKnowHow.com, a popular small business Web site that provides ideas and strategies for growing a business and making it profitable. The site attracts 3 million visitors a year, contains thousands of free articles about sales, marketing, internet marketing, business finance, ecommerce and all phases of starting and growing small and home businesses. Janet is a small and home business expert and has authored several books for business owners and startups. Visit Business Know-How and sign up for their free newsletter at www.BusinessKnowHow.com.
CISO Chris Riley's CloudEXPO Presentation: The Great Migration: Retreat from the Cloud Sacrificing Security?
CEO Emil Sayegh's CloudEXPO Keynote Presentation: The Great Correction: Why Are Some Enterprises Fleeing the Public Cloud?
CloudEXPO Silicon Valley Final Recap
CloudEXPO Day Three – Wednesday 6/26
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No other tech trend affects business like #ITsecurity. Register to discuss the forecast for security and your business at our #Houston event on 7/25: https://t.co/TTY7rD4LF3
RT @EnterpriseAI_: Overcoming the AI Trust Gap: A Strategy for Business Leaders https://t.co/njnh59V2kA @KPMG @NvidiaAI #AI #machinelearning https://t.co/K6fRbMHdWj
How well do you know your #cloudcomputing news? Take a quick quiz from @TTintheCloud to see how up-to-date your knowledge is: https://t.co/TfAcjDIHzi
Social Media Marketing, The Hostway Blog
Guy Kawasaki, marketing, Twitter


WHAT? What is criticism and self-criticism? What are the forms for doing it?
HOW? How is criticism and self-criticism done?
WHEN? When does one do criticism and elf-criticism? When do you use one concept, when use another? When do you expect results? When do you criticize this, when that?
WHO? Who does criticism and self criticism? Who should be criticized? Who can judge what is right or wrong criticism?
WHERE? Where can criticism and self-criticism be done? In China? In the USA? In everyday life? In personal and/or political relations? Individually? In groups? In task oriented groups? In a class of strangers? In the home of friends?


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The 2016 Biosphere Expeditions Maldives Report is out and the results are shocking, with severe bleaching, crown-of-thorns starfush infestation, and overfishing threatening the reefs.
The 2016 Biosphere Expeditions Maldives Report is out and the results are shocking, with severe bleaching, crown-of-thorns starfush infestation, and overfishing threatening the reefs. Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, our Marine Protected Area Principal Specialist, was the Reef Check trainer and coordinator on this expedition and he says: "Having learned marine ecology at a pristine northern Great Barrier Reef in 1992, I'm personally devastated by the effect of climate on coral reefs the world over. The Caribbean has almost no coral left; reefs of the wider Indo-Pacific and remote parts of paradise islands once visited by ancient mariners, Captain Cook (late 1700s), Darwin (1830s) and Cousteau (1950s) are in decline - they simply wouldn't recognise them. It's the saddest thing that's occurred in my lifetime. The Maldives were é'good' when I visited back in 2005, but now it's wrecked. What will our children inherit from us?" Read the report here: http://bit.ly/2oapgDS Last year's survey report tracked the bleaching impacts in different types of Maldives coral reefs. Read that report here.