text:
GTU Voices - Knitting Back Our Community
Friday, November 13th 2020, 12:00am
By GTU Communications
Gideon M. M'Imwonyo Mbui is a 2nd year doctoral student in the department of Theology and Ethics. His research interests and passions center around spearheading sustained theo-ethical engagements geared towards Ufanisi kwa wote (Swahili: A thriving/flourishing for all), through a constructive theological regime that deliberately takes into account the unique challenges and opportunities of the Kenyan/African context, and their attendant ramifications for the myriad issues of critical concern, on the global arena. Just as the GTU seeks to foster an atmosphere of healthy and respectful interreligious/faith dialogue/s through radical border-crossing and inclusion, Mbui envisions his overall project as both a catalyst and a model for positive, sustainable change by way of enhanced collaboration, than competition.
A foremost sphere of change-via-collaboration is in the harnessing and execution of our individual gifts and talents for the enhancing of the collective wellbeing of all—both near and a far off—including our non-human co-inhabitants of the Earthly home. For Mbui, through the selfless sharing of our stories and resources, each one's unique gifts and talents included, we are then more likely to discover that the commonalities we share on account of our humanity far outweigh the perceived differences that every so often threaten to disintegrate socio-cultural, religio-political and economic fabric.
This project draws inspiration from the story and stellar work of Professor Wangari Maathai, the late Kenyan environmentalist, feminist and social justice activist; she was the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner. As an Experiential Learning Fellowship '20 recipient, my podcast series focuses on urging us each be an agent of positive change—a "hummingbird"—wherever we are; with whatever resources we've got.
Through the selfless sharing of our stories and resources, each one's unique gifts and talents included, we are then more likely to discover that the commonalities we share on account of our humanity far outweigh the perceived differences that every so often threaten to disintegrate socio-cultural, religio-political and economic fabric.
Discover the Spiritual Care and Ethical Leadership Series
GTU Communications
Back to GTU Voices
Facebook - Main GTU


Marriage-Counsel.Com :: Brides, Grooms, Wedding, Matrimonial Services, Marriage Proposals.
We welcome you at our web site.
Marriage-Counsel.com is a premiere online Matrimonial, marriage matchmaking services with a focus of providing the Pakistani community with the widest selection of potential partners available on the Internet. We also provide a platform for bride and bride-grooms from all over the world to find their suitable life partners. This marriage site helps in finding a potential life partner for you and builds fulfilling relationships. So, what are you waiting for? Register yourself at our Matrimonial site (Marriage-Counsel.Com) and find your dream life partner. Good Luck for your partner search!
Marriage-Counsel.com understands that you are serious about finding a life partner. Fortunately, we are too. Our quality team ensures that every profile put up at Marriage-Counsel.com is screened for irrelevant and / or appropriate content.
Marriage-Counsel.Com is a virtual marriage bureau, providing service to bride and bride-grooms world-wide.
It is owned and managed by BlueAppleSystems.Com, which provide almost all the requirements for a web-based business, ranging from web hosting solutions, domain registrations, website designing, and software development to strategic web promotions.
Though we attempt to make all the information on this site as accurate as possible yet it does not guarantee the accuracy of the same. Any information or assertion which is a part of the matrimonial listings, or any other content on the website has not been vetted, screened, endorsed, or investigated, by Marriage-Counsel.com nor does it in any manner whatsoever certify, guarantee or attest the same to be authentic or correct. It does not recommend matches and profiles in any manner.
We are continuously improve our service to help our members meet their ideal life partner. If you have any suggestions please feel free to send us your feedback.


text:
Bombay high court rejects teen rape survivor's abortion plea
The Bombay high court has refused a minor rape survivor the permission to medically terminate her 27-week-long pregnancy because of a threat to her life due to the procedure.
By KAY Dodhiya
The state submitted that after delivery, if the mother did not want the child, it would be handed over to the child welfare committee (CWC) for giving it up for adoption. (AFP/Picture for representation)
The Bombay high court has refused a minor rape survivor the permission to medically terminate her 27-week-long pregnancy because of a threat to her life due to the procedure. The court, however, kept her petition pending to ensure that she was compensated under the Manodhairya scheme and allowed to give up the child for adoption.
The bench of justice Abhay Oka and MS Sonak rejected the abortion plea under provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act after it was informed by a panel of six doctors of BJ Medical (Sassoon) College, Pune, that abortion poses a threat to her life.
The panel's report stated that the foetus did not suffer from any anomaly and hence there was no problem in completing the term of the pregnancy.
Advocate Kuldeep Nikam, however, in his petition stated that the girl would face mental trauma for life if she was forced to complete the full term of the pregnancy. He said that even after informing the petitioner and her parents of the suggestions made by the bench during the hearing held in the chamber to complete the pregnancy, they had declined.
The state, through government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani, submitted that the dean of the medical college had assured of providing the survivor proper care till the baby was delivered. He said that after the delivery, if the mother did not want the child, it would be handed over to the child welfare committee (CWC) for giving it up for adoption.
The HC said that in light of the panel's report, it could not permit the termination even though the petitioner insisted on the same. The court also directed the local authorities of Satara district to extend all help to the rape survivor to apply and get the benefit of the Manodhairya scheme as per the new slabs adopted by the state in December 2017.
After passing the order, the bench said that it was keeping the petition pending in the best interest of the petitioner.
The victim, a resident of a village in Satara district, was 17 when a common acquaintance raped her at her grandmother's house in March. He threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed about the rape.
However, her pregnancy came to light when she missed her menstrual cycle and was already five months pregnant. A case of rape under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act was registered against the rapist.
As the pregnancy had advanced beyond the stipulated period of 20 weeks, according to section 5 of the Act, the survivor had to approach the Bombay high court to seek permission for termination of the pregnancy.
Rape survivor
Termination of pregnancy
abortion plea
more from mumbai

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Time Is Running Out! The Earth Lease Is About To Expire! Could this be the end of the world as we know it? In the midst of cataclysmic natural disasters and great moral decay, God is unveiling new revelation from the Scriptures to prepare this generation for the most traumatic change on the earth in six thousand years! In this revealing and prophetic look at God's Word, bestselling author Charles Capps opens the Scriptures surrounding the end of the age. Pinpointing God's plan for the events that will end this world as we know it, this exciting book brings to light types and scriptural composites which God has hidden in the Bible for this generation!
* And many others! Don't be left in the dark concerning the twenty-first century and the events that will close out this age, thrusting the inhabitants of planet earth into the last millennium before eternity!


text:
Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman | the inspiration of Devil May Cry?
♪ Once upon a time a blue eyed boy from the west
Learned one of life's cruelest lessons
That evil was bigger than his gun
So he followed the footsteps of a mysterious master to the far east
Where he learned the secrets of the sword
And came back home with the heart of a gunman
And the soul of a samurai ♪
– intro themesong of Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman –
Fans, meet the source of all you love. Intentional or not Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman, a Playstation 1 exclusive, has inspired action-hack&slash games since its launch in 1999. Developed by UEP Systems (ウエップシステム), a company that mostly focused on action sports games like Cool Boarders 2; Rising Zan was a bit of a creative departure for the team. Starting off with the above quoted song the game prepares the player for what is to come: a flawed but unique experience. This begins with the game's name which is miss-pronounced at the title screen. While being sung as Rising Zan, the Samurai Gun Man, rhyming 'Zan' and 'Man' the title announcer says Rising Zan, The Samurai Gunmen; ignoring the rhyme. A theme of things to come.
But Zan isn't important because of its story, which mostly serves to get a bunch of ninjas and samurai to appear in a western town, but because of its gameplay. Protagonist Johnny, who want to be called Zan, wields a gun and a katana each with their own dedicated button. He uses both at the same time giving combat a mixture of ranged attacks and close-combat options. Movement is done using the directional-pad, as the Playstation 1 lacked the analogue stick re-introduced by the Nintendo 64, making control a bit stiff in a 3d environment. Targeting is done using a lock-on which only works if an enemy is on screen making targeting off-screen enemies painfully difficult.
Our hero can perform a normal attack combo, a dive kick, a combo with his gun, a parry and four special moves that require energy from a spirit bar to perform while also making him invincible throughout the animation: a forward lounge, a spin-kick, a 360 degree spin and two side swipes. If the player performs good enough he can activate Hustle Time in which Johnny-sorry, Zan's sword increases in length, gains a speed boost and has infinite spirit to spend. At the end of a mission a scoreboard shows up and players are ranked on their time, how much they blocked, how stylish they were and how much health they had remaining; the highest ranking being titled "Super Ultra Sexy Hero". Nice.
Because special moves give invincibility-frames and the scoring system penalizes blocking harshly, players will quickly focus on using their special moves constantly during enemy attacks to stay safe and deal damage. Paired with the fact that Zan's spirit constantly regenerates this slowly turns the game into a game of memorization and on-point punishing. One has to make sure he has enough spirit to do the moves required at certain times, giving the game a 覚えゲー(pronounced OH boe GHe) feeling; meaning "remember the game". This process is further emphasized in the boss-fights who all have hard hitting attacks, which require you to time your own moves carefully and keep your spirit in check: it strives for you to be efficient.
While satisfying, once the patterns are figured out a player can steamroll through the game on every setting without getting hit. This isn't helped by the enemies only having one or two moves and rarely attacking. The levels you fight in are a mixture of western and Japanese architecture. You'll fight through a western town, goldmines and eventually a futuristic pagoda sporting giant cannons. They definitely steal the spotlight and keep the game interesting throughout urging players to continue on their journey. But it would be unfair to compare this game to ones of a current era. Action titles in the 3d space were rare at the time, especially ones done right. The most famous example of competition that Rising Zan had in its combat at the time was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64. After its release in 1998 the combat in 3d-games took a step forward with the introduction of Z-targeting; allowing players to focus on one target with one press of a button. Rising Zan, as mentioned before, lacks a working lock-on feature, while also having to work with a d-pad setup instead of the analogue stick on offer with Zelda; even compared to other games of its time Rising Zan could still be called clunky.
But while clunky it should still be played by every enthusiast of the action-hack&slash genre at least once. When playing the game there's a weird sense of discovery, like you've stumbled upon a original design-document of the first Devil May Cry and all action games that came after it. Rising Zan included combat that allowed players to mix both ranged and melee combat, featured combo-attacks, had an ability that could easily be confused with Devil Trigger and even has some boss-designs and animations which would later see reuse in other games in the genre. Certain moves, like "Charge", would later (though unconfirmed) form the inspiration for the iconic "Stinger" move of Devil May Cry. While the western setting and its enemy designs, while already referencing the manga Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳 ), could easily have influenced the Playstation 2 cult classic God Hand. The visuals seen above and below are also some examples but like all others must be taken with a grain of salt. However this isn't the first time UEP Systems might have been at the forefront of the genre with their action sports games possibly having laid the groundwork for the later mainstream success of the genre with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which also took debatable inspiration from their UEP's titles. All of this is conjecture though but it's an interesting game to play just because it's unknown and to speculate just how far the influences might go. The designers of Rising Zan never went to big studios afterwards or worked on other games in the genre. When asked in interviews about inspirations while developing games designers often name movies or pieces of literature, and rarely mention an arcade title they grew up playing; Rising Zan never gets a mention. Are these people too proud to admit they took inspiration from an unknown title? Did they play it once and have it unknowingly influence their design process of games like Devil May Cry? Did Capcom throw a copy of this game on the desk of the producer behind Devil May Cry with a note reading "the current game won't work, turn it into this"? Or is it all one big coincidence? We'll probably never know.
With its merits as an inspiration unconfirmed, paired with the closure of the UEP systems in 2001 after poor sales, Rising Zan: the Samurai Gunman was quickly forgotten. And for good reason; it is not a sophisticated game. Its systems are wonky and unreliable forcing the player to abuse certain abilities to survive while offering little content in return. While it does have decent replay value with unlockables, like a secondary character, and it is fun to master it remains hard to recommend in this day and age. But as a piece of action-hack&slash history it is well worth considering especially since its release on the Japanese PSN-store on the Playstation 3. If you ever wanted to know where the Stinger came from, you might find it here!
Personally I really like the game as a piece of history; playing it really feels like discovering the genre's long forgotten origin. But this also gives me annoyance. Designers have never commented on the game and when asked, ignore it. I fear that they want to keep the honor of pioneering the genre to themselves while others were possibly actually at the forefront.
To try and get some answers I tried reaching out to both Shinji Mikami, whose credits included Devil May Cry, Resident Evil 4 and Vanquish, and Hideki Kamiya, most famous for Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101. While perhaps too direct in my questioning, asking Kamiya got me blocked from his twitter account in seconds. Looking a bit further back one can find a string of blocked users who asked the same question: "did Rising Zan inspire you when making Devil May Cry"? Denial? Or tired of hearing the same question over and over again? Mikami sadly didn't respond. As a game itself though it's undeniably unpolished. If played back to back with the original Devil May Cry the difference is extremely noticeable when it comes down to how responsive the controls are or how well the game runs. That being said, I am still grateful to have a copy of the game on my shelve; a piece of gaming history.
I tried to reach out to numerous people in the development team for their take on Rising Zan and its probable inspiration for later titles in the genre, but found none. I did spark a conversation with one person who shared the lead designers name, sorry about that!
After having tried the game on an emulator, I decided to buy the game to give it a proper review. Making it a Stinger Magazine first in which I buy a game to review it.
The game is available for download on the Japanese PS3 PSN-store, but nowhere else sadly. Used copies of the game can go to up to 20 dollars at the time of writing.
Kamiya is known for being tough and troll'ish online and kind in real life, like most people you meet on the web. Here's hoping one day someone asks him in the face: have you played Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman?
The game features some stellar voice-acting, probably inspired by Metal Gear Solid which really pushed the boundaries of video-game presentation after its release in 1998.
Shout-outs to Youtuber MikeKob for his extensive research on the game from which I took some images and notes. If I ever get payed for doing this I owe you a beer.
Ninja Gaiden: past to present
P.N.03 | Mastery through Memorization
Pingback: Weapon-switching | quality or quantity? - Stinger Magazine


Your Voyage Includes: Flight from Stanley to Punta Arenas OR Santiago - no reduced fare for finishing in Punta Arenas.
Step aboard Polar Pioneer in the late afternoon to a warm welcome, introductory briefing and an evening departure along the Beagle Channel with your shipmates.
Polar Pioneer was built in Finland in 1985 as an ice-strengthened research ship, and for many years she plied the treacherous waters of the USSR's northern coast. In 2000 she was refurbished in St Petersburg to provide comfortable accommodation for 54 passengers.
Arctic autumn conditions offer you the opportunity to explore rarely visited northern isles of Svalbard. Pack ice opens up to allow us to attempt landings in some of the farthest ......click here to read more.
This combination of our popular Arctic itineraries (Spitsbergen Odyssey and Jewels of the Arctic) will allow you to experience the best of the European Arctic over 24-days. Starting on Spitsbergen, ......click here to read more.
Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. It is located on the shores of the Beagle Channel, at the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego Island, the small city enjoys a dramatic setting at the foot of the Martial Mounts. Its superlative location allows you to enjoy an array of scenery including ice capped mountains, lush forests and sea at the same time. Prices from and per person.
In 2016 it is the 100 year anniversary of Shackleton's South Georgia crossing! On this voyage a small band of adventurous souls will attempt to repeat the epic crossing of Ernest Shackleton and trek for up to three days from King Haakon Bay to Stromness. The crossing distance is 35 to 50 kilometres depending on the route, and involves crossing large, heavily crevassed glaciers and alpine passes. Experience in crevassed alpine terrain is essential. Price per person.


text:
Home / SCORPIONS - SAVAG...
SCORPIONS - SAVAGE AMUSEMENT: 50TH ANNIVERSARY Vinyl LP
Limited vinyl LP pressing including bonus CD. To celebrate their 50th band anniversary, the Scorpions are releasing the Deluxe Edition of this classic album. The vinyl LP comes in an original replica of the album sleeve with the CD in paper sleeve. The vinyl LP includes the original track list while the CD includes six exciting bonus tracks. The band carefully selected the six pieces which have never been released before. Of the bonus tracks, "Taste Of Love", "Edge Of Time", "Don't Wait Too Long", "Dancing In The Moonlight" and "Fast And Furious" are thrilling demo takes, while "Living For Tomorrow" is a song that was first recorded live in Leningrad on 26 April 1988.
1.1 Don't Stop at the Top
1.2 Rhythm of Love
1.3 Passion Rules the Game
1.4 Media Overkill
1.5 Walking on the Edge
1.6 We Let It Rock... You Let It Roll
1.7 Every Minute Every Day
1.8 Love on the Run
1.9 Believe in Love
2.10 Taste of Love
2.11 Edge of Time
2.12 Don't Wait Too Long
2.13 Fast and Furious
2.14 Living for Tomorrow
2.15 I Can't Explain
Label: SPV


Win one of the 10 licenses for Ashampoo Video Stabilization! Footage taken with action cams, cell phones or drones tend to be shaky, which greatly ruins the viewing experience. Ashampoo Video Stabilization provides highly efficient video stabilization - fully automatically. Reexperience your videos without annoying camera shakes! Ashampoo Video Stabilization turns your camera footage into realistic and vibrant videos with support for all common formats and codecs at any resolution (including HD, 2K and 4K).


text:
Q: Is it possible to call method within method? Is it possible to reach method within method? For example:
class HardWorker < WebsocketRails::BaseController
  def perform
    self.main_method
  end

  def main_method
    puts "main method"

    def simple_method  # how to call this from outisde?
      puts "simple method"
    end

    def another_method
      puts "another_method"
      # do stuff
    end
    another_method     #start running "another method in background"
  end
end

And i need to reach the "simple_method" inside "main method".
WebsocketRails::EventMap.describe do  # now it works like that:
  subscribe :event_name, :to => HardWorker, :with_method => :main_method
end

After triggering :event_name, on my console says "main method". But i need to write there "simple method", without restarting the main_method. I need to reach this simple_method inside main_method. Becouse main_method is already running in background, i need to reach inside of it a method and do many calculations. Im using sidekiq, so i cant use global variables outside the main_method scope. I think i need it to work something like:
WebsocketRails::EventMap.describe do  # i wish it works, but it doesn't
  subscribe :event_name, :to => HardWorker, :with_method => :main_method[:simple_method]
end

Updated: I need to update this @global_object. If i recall "main_method", i will loose locally incremented @global_object. I need it to increment locally, but i cant recall main_method.
  def main_method

    @global_object = 0

    def simple_method
      @global_object += 100
    end

    def another_method
      (1..(2**(0.size * 8 -2) -1)).each do |number|
        # every second updating my data and sending to Redis DB
        @global_object++
        sleep 1
      end
    end
    another_method
  end

A: It's not quite clear what you are asking, but if you want to define class methods, why don't you just define class methods?
class HardWorker < WebsocketRails::BaseController
  def perform
    self.main_method
  end

  def self.main_method
    puts "main method"
    self.simple_method
    self.another_method     #start running "another method in background"
  end

  def self.simple_method  # how to call this from outisde?
    puts "simple method"
  end

  def self.another_method
    puts "another_method"
    # do stuff
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The UFC's middleweight division is an ageing one, with most of the top ranked competitors in their 30s. Youth has the advantages of fearlessness and virility but with age comes experience, composure and wisdom. This adage has often been used to describe Australia's Daniel Kelly. After almost 40 years on this planet, Kelly's martial arts prowess is well documented; representing Australia multiple times in the Olympics and fighting on the biggest stage in Mixed Martial Arts: the UFC.
Kelly's most recent fight was contested in March against a veteran known by all MMA fans; former UFC light heavyweight champion, Rashad Evans. In the lead up to UFC 209, this fight was poised as a gimmie for Evans, almost as though the story arc had been written well in advance. However, as with all great tales, this one included a twist; one that would make M Night Shyamalan proud.
Kelly went to Vegas and took Evans to the judges scorecards, putting on a dominant performance over 15-minutes. He utilised great footwork and distance management while possessing an almost endless gas tank. Using his Judo pedigree, Kelly disrupted Rashad's rhythm with crafty foot sweeps and trips, stopping his opponent from mounting any threatening offence.
This 'upset' win for Kelly also took the American fans by surprise, generating a plethora of Tweets supporting Kelly, his 'dad bod'*, and the Dad's Army. We caught up with Kelly post-UFC 209 to talk about the fight. Having started his professional MMA career back in 2006, we also got Kelly's perspective on the state of MMA in general and in Australia, and found out about some promising prospects from the Australian MMA scene.
The Neversphere: In your fight against Rashad Evans, you silenced the critics who gave you no chance. Why do you think it is that so many doubted you, despite your 12-1 (now 13-1) record and looking great in your last outings?
Dan: I mean, I had a bad loss against Sam Alvey, I looked slow, I'm older; I haven't got the most chiselled physique. It looked like an easy fight, that's why.
Dan: Yeah exactly, especially in the middleweight division. A lot of the guys who are doing well are a little bit older, the only one who's under 30 at the moment who's ranked, or close to ranked is Rob [Whittaker]…it's an old man's division.
Kelvin Gastellum, he's another young one as well. I think they're the only two.
The Neversphere: What do you think of this recent trend of star power based match making we're seeing, the most recent example being GSP going up against Bisping for the title after a three year layoff. Shouldn't merit count as well?
Dan: Yeah, maybe…I'm a massive fan. I'm excited to see Bisping fight GSP, that's an exciting matchup. They're giving the fans what they want. It's not just straight sport, it's a business as well.
The Neversphere: Some guys are quite frustrated at it. Recently, Jacare said he's going to retire if he doesn't get his title shot.
Dan: Well, he's gotta beat Whittaker first [laughs].
The Neversphere: In a recent podcast I heard you say you want to fight three times in 2017, and against ranked opponents. Looking at the top 10, top 15 in the middleweight division, it's a dangerous looking list. Who do you think you match up with best in that top 10, top 15?
Dan: That's a big question. I think with Whittaker up there, in contention for a title…I think anyone down from that…Seven, eight, nine, ten I think's ok. That's uh, gee…That's Anderson Silva, Kelvin Gastellum, Derek Brunson and Vitor Belfort, any of those guys I think I match up well with.
I know that sounds kind of weird now but I think I match up well with any of them. Anyone from 10 to 15 as well.
The Neversphere: You've been involved in MMA for a long time, and martial arts even longer. What changes have you seen from the Australian public from when you were getting involved in MMA to today?
Dan: I've seen better education. It is a hard sport but it's very, very well policed. Because of the good rule set they have now, it seems to be a lot safer than it was. I think it's just people are becoming more educated with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and things like that, so they have much more appreciation for what goes into it.
It is a hard sport, so we'll always have people complaining about it, but I think it's getting better and better. I think seeing and getting to know some of the higher level athletes helps, and seeing that they're not meatheads, they're just providing for their families. They're high-level athletes. That has helped a lot.
The Neversphere: The Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts were updated at the start of 2017, what do you make of those rule changes?
Dan: I like the new rules, they actually don't come in effect in Las Vegas until July 1, so I still fought under the old rules when I fought Rashad. I like them, there's less game playing and more opportunities in those clinch exchanges.
The Neversphere: Coinciding with those rule changes were updates to the weight cutting procedures. We're still seeing a lot of people miss weight, the rawest memory being Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov…and the alleged tiramisu incident. Do you think these new procedures are helping or making the sport more dangerous?
Dan: I'm not sure. I mean, you see people getting smarter about it but you have to be professional the whole time – about making weight. Khabib's made weight a whole heap of times before and then he can't make it. If he's missed weight, then it's his fault.
I think there's always going to be those issues in weight class based sports, but I think it's fine. I mean, I had heaps of recovery for Vegas, 36 hours or something; it was great.
The Neversphere: Over the past few years, we've been seeing more Aussie's doing well in MMA domestically, internationally and in the UFC. Robert Whittaker is obviously doing extremely well for himself in your division, other names like Jake Mathews, Bec Rawlings, Richard Walsh also come to mind. As someone embedded deep within Australian MMA, are there any up and coming prospects that your excited to see step onto the international stage?
Dan: Oh, absolutely, especially down here in Melbourne. There's my BJJ coach Gustavo Falciroli, Callan Potter, Jimmy Crute…and then there's a heap of others as well. There's a Judo friend of mine, Duke Didier, who's fighting for the Brace title at Brace 49.
There's heaps and heaps of high level guys and the level keeps getting better and better. So it's an exciting time to be in MMA in Australia and particularly Melbourne.
The Neversphere: Last question for you Dan, I've seen that your gym is hosting a BJJ event, what's going on there?
Dan: Yeah, Hybrid Grappling, which is probably the closest thing you'll get to MMA without striking in Australia. It's the third competition we're going to run. If you jump on the Hybrid Grappling Facebook page you can see the rules. It's a little bit different from BJJ, it's as close to MMA without striking in my and Gustavo's opinion.
*We hope to look half as good as Daniel at age 39, hell even at 29.


text:
Q: VB.NET Text From Specific HTML Class I am working on a dictionary app in vb.net and need help finding the definitions. I know how to look up the HTML code of the website through HttpWebRequest and HttpWebResponse and ReadtoEnd(), but I want just the definition text from Dictionary.com. The class where the text is in in
<div class="body">

but I just dont know how to access all the displayed text from it.
CODE:
Private Sub Search()
    Label3.Text = TextBox1.Text
    searchurl = String.Format("http://www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/{0}?s=t", TextBox1.Text)
    request = HttpWebRequest.Create(searchurl)
    response = request.GetResponse
    sr = New StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream())

    htmltext = sr.ReadToEnd.ToString

    RichTextBox1.Text = htmltext

End Sub


Coalinga is the 299th largest city in California, comprising of over 16 foreclosure properties listed in the past month. Coalinga is located approximately 50 miles from the next largest city, Fresno, CA. The current population of Coalinga, CA is 18,557 people living in _ properties. Coalinga's average home value is $186,500. Below is a list of the key real estate information when considering on buying a foreclosure property in Coalinga, CA.
RealQuest Express is the leading provider of foreclosure property information in Coalinga, California. Whether you are interested in buying a property at auction, foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, bank-owned property or a standard for sale listing in Coalinga, California, RealQuest Express is the source relied on by real estate professionals seeking high quality real estate information necessary for your next real estate purchase. There has never been a better time to buy a foreclosure in Coalinga, California — and there has never been a property information service that makes it as RealQuest Express.


text:
L'Espagne participe aux Jeux olympiques d'hiver de 1998, organisés à Nagano au Japon. Ce pays prend part à ses quinzièmes Jeux olympiques d'hiver. Douze athlètes espagnols, sept hommes et cinq femmes, prennent part à la manifestation. La délégation espagnole ne remporte pas de médaille.

Athlètes engagés

Patinage artistique

Ski alpin

Femmes

Ski de fond

Hommes

1 Retard basé sur les résultats du 10 kilomètres.
C = Style classique, L = Style libre

Relais hommes 4 × 10 kilomètres

Snowboard

Halfpipe hommes

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Articles connexes
 Jeux olympiques d'hiver de 1998
 Espagne aux Jeux olympiques

1998, Hiver
Espagne
Jeux olympiques

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Begin by opening the image of the park and add a picture of a sky. Make sure the horizon is clear and set the new sky to Overlay. Create a new layer and with a big, soft, white brush, add more shine to the left of the sky.
Add as many of the landmarks as you wish. Reduce the opacity of them all to around 30% by hitting 3, and reorder the layers so the furthest forward landmark is towards the top of the stack.
Let's start to cut out each of the landmarks and icons in the image. Grab the Quick Selection Tool (W) for icons that stand out clearly against their background, such as the Himalayas. Drag to select and then click Mask.
Colour Range is great for selecting landmarks against clear blue skies. Simply Ctrl/right-click and choose Colour Range; use the Eyedropper to pick the blue in the sky, and click the Eyedropper with the plus to extend the range of colour. Click OK, Mask, then Invert (Cmd/Ctrl+I).
If you're looking for a more precise selection still, try the Pen Tool. Click around the outside of your landmark, and rejoin the first point when you're done. Click on the Paths tab, then Cmd/Ctrl-click the path to select. Hit Mask.
Once you've cut out each of the buildings, create adjustments such as Curves, Brightness/Contrast and Hue/Saturation to unify the tone and colour of each landmark. Alt/Opt-click on each adjustment to clip it to the layer, and then zoom out (Cmd/Ctrl+0) in order to view the image at full screen.
There will still be blank spaces between the landmarks, so use tree images to populate the image a little more. Cut them out and blend them with the same techniques as you used on the buildings.
Objects in the distance should have less contrast and colour than objects in the foreground. For the mountain range, for example, reduce the contrast using Brightness/Contrast and add two Fill Layers of #537ea6, one set to Overlay, 40% opacity, one to Screen, 60% opacity.
Grab a soft brush. Create a new Colour layer and brush over in blue, before touching over in grey and green over the lake. Create a new Soft Light layer and brush over again to unify the colour of the water.
Place images of beaches and sand, and add them to the water's edge by the tree. Use the soft brush to blur the line between the grass and the sand. Alt/Opt-click to select colours, and brush them on the image to unify colour.
Find an iceberg and penguin images and add them to the scene. Cut out the images using the Pen Tool and place them above the water wherever they would look best. Adjust sizes so that they don't look too big.
Select black and white in your swatches (D), create a new layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Set to Screen, hit Mask, invert the image (Cmd/Ctrl+I) and brush in with a soft white brush to add smoke to the image. Add these smoke layers further back in the composition.
Load some cloud brushes into Photoshop. Use these brushes over the tops of the mountains, and across the back of the image to tie the composition with the sky a little more.
Save your project (Cmd/Ctrl+S). Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/ Opt+Shift+E to merge everything into a new layer. Select around the lake with the Marquee (M), Flip Vertical (Cmd/Ctrl+T) and then go to Filter>Distort>Displace, using the above settings. Choose your saved file as the map, then reduce opacity to 25%. Mask the reflection over the water.
With the entire composition pretty much assembled, let's make a few adjustments to blend the image as a whole. Experiment with Curves, Gradient Maps and Vibrance until you find something you like.
Merge everything into a layer at the top of the layer stack twice (Cmd/Ctrl+Alt/Opt+Shift+E). Set one layer to Screen, one to Multiply, and then hit Mask on both and invert (Cmd/Ctrl+I). With a white brush, draw over each mask to accentuate the highlights and shadows of the entire image.
By blurring the image, we can further blend all the disparate elements into one composition. Merge everything into another new layer, then clip a Hue/Saturation layer; tweak the Saturation to -50, Lightness to -25 and then reduce the layer's opacity to 30%, before changing it to Overlay.
Merge everything into another new layer and go to Filter>Noise>Reduce Noise. Set Strength to 10 with all other values at 0, then click OK. Merge everything to another new layer and go to Filter> Other>High Pass. Set the Radius to 2px and click OK. Set to Overlay.
Create another High Pass layer with the same settings. This time, hit Mask, Invert (Cmd/Ctrl+I) and with a soft, white brush, draw over the landmarks further in the foreground to shift the focus and add depth. Add the supplied lens flare and set to Screen, 60% opacity.


This special collector's edition vinyl offering from Vee-Tone Records, comes in two stunning coloured vinyl options (500 x green vinyl and 500 x orange vinyl). Elvis Presley – The 50s In Stereo features 12 specially selected mono recordings given the NEOPHONIC Stereo makeover. Individually numbered 001 – 500 of each vinyl colour, this limited edition album will not be re-pressed.
This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2018 at 1:46 pm	and is filed under Essential Elvis News, General Elvis News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


text:
Search Results for queen
Art History (104)
Critical Ethnic Studies (5)
Affect Theory (4)
Gender and Sexuality (10)
Feminism and Women's Studies (2)
European History (31)
Native and Indigenous Studies (3)
Postcolonial and Colonial Studies (10)
Pre-Modern Studies (224)
Medieval and Early Modern Studies (224)
Theater and Performance (5)
Theory and Philosophy (12)
Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (224)
Books Received (14)
Shakespeare's Katherine of Aragon: Last Medieval Queen, First Recusant Martyr
Amy Appleford
... historical and confessional recuperation of the past, recuperation marked by the new entombment of another Catholic queen, Mary Stuart. Duke University Press 2010 a Shakespeare's Katherine of Aragon: Last Medieval...
Ane Detectioun of Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, and the Languages of Royal Imprisonment in Medieval and Early Modern England and Scotland
Danila Sokolov
... University Press 2014 a Ane Detectioun of Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, and the Languages of Royal Imprisonment in Medieval and Early Modern...
Constructing Evil Foreign Queens
Katherine Crawford
...Katherine Crawford Duke University Press 2007 a Constructing Evil Foreign Queens Katherine Crawford Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee The...
Elizabeth, Mercilla, and the Rhetoric of Propaganda in Spenser's Faerie Queene
John D. Staines
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/10829636-31-2-283
... Spenser's Faerie Queene John D. Staines Yale University New Haven, Connecticut Even in this era of literary historicism, Spenser's Legend of Justice remains the...
King Arthur in America: Making Space in History for The Faerie Queene and John Dee's Brytanici Imperii Limites
Charlotte Artese
...Charlotte Artese © by Duke University Press 2003 King Arthur in America: Making Space in History for The Faerie Queene and John Dee's Brytanici...
The "Scriene" and the Channel: England and Spain in Book V of The Faerie Queene
...Roland Greene This essay analyzes the figures of language and of landscape that allow Edmund Spenser to consider in an international context the virtue at the center of Book V of The Faerie Queene , justice. How, he asks, is justice projected from one society into another in an act of empire...
"A Language All Nations Understand": Portraiture and the Politics of Anglo-Spanish Identity in Aphra Behn's The Rover
Brian C. Lockey
...Brian C. Lockey Aphra Behns' The Rover harks back to an earlier period of intense Anglo-Spanish rivalry in which the iconography surrounding Queen Elizabeth played a central role. But the play also moves past nostalgia for late-sixteenth-century narratives of English national identity to a...
The Compounded Body: Bodily Knowledge Production in the Works of Andreas Vesalius and Edmund Spenser
...Amanda Taylor The sixteenth century witnessed the publication of landmark texts on anatomy and allegory: De humani corporis fabrica or On the Fabric of the Human Body by Andreas Vesalius in 1543 and The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, published first in 1590. Each of these texts has received...
The Art of Changes: Bell-Ringing, Anagrams, and the Culture of Combination in Seventeenth-Century England
... Katherine Hunt The Queen's College, University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom "Suppose we a number of things exposed, di erent from each other, as a, b, c, d, e, &c proposed the mathematician and cryptographer John Wallis in "The Question is...
Artisan Drama, Patronage, and Fellowship Reconfigured:: The Chester Shepherds in 1578
Nicole R. Rice
Medieval and Early Modern Artisan Culture
Margaret A. Pappano, Nicole R. Rice
... Medieval and Early Modern Artisan Culture Margaret A. Pappano Queen's University Kingston, Ontario Nicole R. Rice St. John's...
Toward a New Cultural History of the Geneva Bible
Thomas Fulton
...Thomas Fulton The most widely circulated bible in the English Renaissance was produced by exiled English Protestants living in Geneva during the reign of Queen Mary I. With over 140 editions and half a million copies in circulation, the Geneva Bible and its complex marginal devices played a major...
The Effects of Exile on English Monastic Spirituality: William Peryn's Spirituall Exercyses
Mary C. Erler
... exposure to Continental writing and thought. Peryn's book, intended to provide spiritual direction for exiled English nuns, then subsequently published at home in England under Queen Mary, continued to be read in the seventeenth century, as the institution of female religious life moved permanently out of...
Utopia, Ireland, and the Tudor Shock Doctrine: Spenser's Vision of Capitalist Imperialism
Sarah Hogan
... economic motive. This essay considers how A View redeploys utopian literary forms in the colonial setting so as to envision unimpeded, accelerated "primitive accumulation," that violent process of dispossession that defines the agrarian and imperial origins of capitalism. While The Faerie Queene adopts a...
Reading Queenship in Cynewulf's Elene
Stacy S. Klein
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/10829636-33-1-47
... New Brunswick, New Jersey Just a few years after sending Augustine to convert the English in 596, Gre- gory followed up his missionary efforts with a letter to Bertha, queen of Kent. Gently scolding the Christian queen for failing to convert her hus- band, Æthelberht, Gregory urged Bertha to...
The Invisible Spouse: Henry VI, Arthur, and the Fifteenth-Century Subject
Thomas A. Prendergast
... excellence, the body of the queen. Yet where the historical texts focus on the disquieting visibility of Margaret's body, the Arthurian text details the way in which the gaze upon the queen remains unfocused as Guenevere slips in and out of view. Where Margaret's body is represented as so public as to...
Making History: The Rhetorical and Historical Occasion of Elizabeth Tudor's Coronation Entry
Sandra Logan
... gradually throughout the Tudor period, growing increasingly complex and interactive over time. In this instance the new queen is reported to have stopped repeat- edly along the route to hear and respond to speeches and poetic recitations, and to receive gifts, advice...
Volume 44 Index
... Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, and the Languages of Royal Imprisonment in Medieval and Early Modern England and Scotland 321 – 343 Tylus, Jane Geographies of Charity: Women and the Vita mista in Renaissance Italy 345 – 371 Walsham, Alexandra Migrations of the Holy: Explaining Religious...
Spenser's Phantastic History, The Ruines of Time , and the Invention of Medievalism
... antiquarians. Scholars point to the representation of Arthur in The Faerie Queene, arguing either that the historicity of Arthur was not what was at stake in the epic, or that Spenser clearly separated his role as a maker of fictions (even if "historical") from the more factual work of the...
... without. The texts of the N-Town Mary plays and Gorboduc represent the wombs of some undoubtedly imposing and what we might call "macro" female figures: the biblical Mary, the fictional Queen Videna, and the historical monarch Elizabeth I. What connects them to one other and to the female...


fall is here and it makes me crave all sorts of soups. baked potato soup is my all time favorite fall recipe. it reminds me of comfort, of good times with college roomies....and it once even played a *tiny* role in a successful matchmaking/blind date of two of my friends that resulted in a 9 year marriage and 4 kids. truth.
you can even make this recipe gluten free easily by using gluten free flour. easy peasy.
(add more or less bacon, cheese or sour cream to your liking).
in a large soup kettle or pot, melt butter. stir in flour and heat and stir until smooth and blended. gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a wire whisk until thickened. add potatoes. bring to a boil, stirring constantly. reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. add remaining ingredients and stir until cheese is melted. top with extra crumbled bacon, cheese and green onions, if you want to get all fancy!


Healing herbs on wooden table, herbal medicine.
Mortar of dried healing herbs, homeopathic globules and bunch of chamomile plant. Healing herbs on wooden palette and tea kettle, top view. Mortar of healing herbs, herbal tincture, healthy infusion and medicinal plants. Homeopathic globules, mortar and healing herbs Various healing herbs in wooden box, herbal medicine. Mug of healing herbs, tea kettle and bottles of tincture. Bottles of infusion of healthy herbs, mortar and healing plants. Healthy herbal tea in enameled mug and bunches of healing herbs. Bunches of healing herbs, mortar and sachet. Herbal medicine.


The companies are offering the AI Appliance, which is designed for customers building on-premise, hybrid and edge-based AI and IoT applications.
Video: Cryptocurrency-mining malware is targeting IoT devices: Is it worth it?
C3 IoT and Intel announced on Wednesday they're partnering to offer customers software and hardware optimized for AI.
The new AI Appliance is a full-stack turnkey system for developing and training deep learning and other machine learning models. It comes with the C3 IoT Platform pre-installed, as well as Microsoft Azure Stack.
While the C3 IoT Platform can run on premise or in the cloud, the AI Appliance is optimized for customers that cannot use public cloud applications for privacy, security, or regulatory reasons. It's also optimized for applications that do not require elastic cloud compute.
C3 IoT and Intel say it should serve multiple industries, including financial services, mining, oil and gas, healthcare, manufacturing, aerospace and defense and the public sector.
C3 IoT has expanded rapidly into a variety of sectors after starting by targeting utilities.
Intel, meanwhile, has invested in a range of AI technologies, stressing the notion that there is no "one-size-fits-all" architecture for intelligence.
"With Intel's powerful engine and the C3 IoT Platform's capabilities to support enterprise AI and IoT applications, we will dramatically accelerate the digital transformation of the world's leading organizations," Thomas M. Siebel, C3 IoT CEO, said in a statement. "C3 IoT and Intel are enabling our joint customers to attain unprecedented levels of operational efficiency, productivity, and competitive advantage."
The new partnership also includes joint marketing, sales, training and rapid prototyping initiatives.


Where does your school community go to learn about what's happening in the classrooms?
In Fresno County, residents can turn on their local NBC-TV affiliate during the Monday night news to view a professionally produced story about subjects ranging from arts education to bullying prevention to school funding.
Called "Education Matters," the four- to five-minute segments air every week on KSEE-24.
Yovino said he reached out to KSEE-TV Vice President/General Manager Matt Rosenfeld in 2014 with the idea of starting a weekly series telling "good stories" about education.
Yovino said he then found three sponsors to donate $50,000 each per year for Education Matters, which covers the costs of production as well as the services provided by the contracted reporter and cameraman. Education Matters has produced almost 100 segments and will soon complete its second year.
At first the segments were two minutes long, but as they gained a following they grew to four to five minutes, and their time slot was upgraded to the Monday night news. The segments also air on Tuesday morning during the 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. news show.
The news station doesn't charge the Fresno County Office of Education (FCOE) to air the show. A retired news anchor and reporter with decades of experience in the Fresno market and her Emmy-award-winning cameraman report and produce the shows. "We just give them a little background information and they run with it," Yovino said. The resulting stories are high-quality journalism – newsworthy pieces that include outstanding storytelling and video.
The show has even helped FCOE get business sponsors to support school programs. "Businesses have approached us after seeing a story about a program and said, 'We want to be a part of this,'" Yovino said.
FCOE also shows potential donors clips of the shows to spark their interest.
Many of the Education Matters segments feature school or district programs, such as a program in Fresno Unified School District with a goal of removing all barriers to students doing their best on the SAT.
"Schools and districts have received such positive comments about the shows in which they're featured that they're approaching us with ideas for more shows," Yovino said.
Sometimes, an Education Matters segment will inspire administrators from other schools or districts to reach out and find out how they can start a similar a program.
For example, Yovino said when they aired a show about the Men's Alliance and Women's League mentor program at Fowler High School, the principal received calls from other schools wanting more information.
Some Education Matters stories focus on issues that directly impact schools, including the rural schools and districts in Fresno County. For example, one segment showed how the drought brought layoffs and evictions to migrant families, who then had to leave Westside Elementary School. The school had been a hub of connection for the community.
Two recent shows on the Local Control Funding Formula explained the positive impact the initiative was having on both the tiny Washington Colony School District and on Fresno Unified School District, the fourth largest district in the state.
• Find the entire playlist of Education Matters stories on YouTube.
• KSEE-TV posts of Education Matters stories include written transcripts of each show.
• This Education Matters story describes Fresno USD's efforts to remove barriers to students doing their best on the SAT.
• The "We are FCOE" video describes the services provided by the county office and is produced by the team that creates Education Matters.


text:
Two snakes found on Guisborough country lane 'getting on fine' while they wait to be rehomed
The eight-foot Burmese Python and a six-foot boa constrictor were both found by members of the public on Wilton Lane, Guisborough
James CainLocal Democracy Reporter
Two snakes found on a country lane are getting on fine while they wait to be rehomed.
The new slithering pals - an eight-foot Burmese Python and a six-foot boa constrictor - were both found on Wilton Lane, Guisborough, within the space of two days last week.
Both are now guests at the Kirkleatham Owl Centre, near Redcar.
Centre manager Craig Wesson said: "They're still with us and we've hopefully got a home lined up for them, we're just waiting to get that confirmed.
Beth Johnson, 17 a volunteer at the Kirkleatham Owl Centre with the snake
"They've been warmed up and offered some food. They're actually both in very good condition.
"It was a repeat of the day before. We received a call from Cleveland Police asking if we could assist with a large snake on Wilton Lane.
"This time it was a python. It was taken back to Wilton House Vets for a quick check over before heading back with us to the owl centre to spend the night."
On Thursday, the boa constrictor was discovered on Wilton Lane at about 3.30pm followed by the Burmese Python at around 6.20pm on Friday. Both were discovered by members of the public.
Amy Laking was travelling along the road and was among those who caught a glimpse of the boa in the road.
"I was coming down Wilton Lane and a car flashed its lights at me," said the 29-year-old who lives in New Marske.
Boa found on Wilton Lane, Wilton Village today. It is now in the care of Kirkleatham Own Centre. pic: The snake with volunteer Penny Curtis, 38, from Great Ayton. Kirkleatham Owl Centre
"I thought there must have been an accident but then I saw this massive snake in the middle of the road.
"There were three teenagers stood outside their car staring at it.
"I think we could only see about a third of it and then it went back into the grass.
"I thought no one is going to believe me so I took a photo of it to show my dad."
"It was a shock to see it," she added. "I don't like snakes."
Cleveland Police said on both occasions, officers were called and the snakes were collected by Wilton Vets in Guisborough before being sent to Kirkleatham Owl Centre. Officers believe that they could have been abandoned.
A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said: "While there is no information to suggest there are any more snakes loose in the area, if any are found, they should not be disturbed and people and other animals should keep a safe distance."
Kirkleatham


text:
New Branch Manager for Waitrose & Partners, Guernsey
in Appointments, Business, Guernsey
Paula Protheroe joins Waitrose & Partners Admiral Park as branch manager and a director on the Guernsey board.
Having moved to the island in September from Waitrose's Warminster branch, Paula replaces Ian Burdekin who has led the Admiral Park branch for the past four years and has moved back to manage the Waitrose Marlborough branch.
Paula has worked for the Partnership for over 30 years having begun her career as a John Lewis weekend sales assistant at the age of 17, while still at school. Since then she has developed a breadth of experience across a number of disciplines including personnel, management development and operational roles in the Partnership's head office, its department stores and distribution centres.
Paula said: "Ian is handing over the baton to a great team of Partners. As I am responsible for everyone's welfare I hope to continue to encourage everyone to grow and reach their best potential. Job satisfaction and career development is an essential element of this."
Other than the day-to-day management of Admiral Park and brand ambassador, Paula is also a director on the Guernsey board. Here she is the local link between the two branches and head office ensuring Waitrose continues to trade profitably and ethically. Helping her board colleagues understand local trading conditions, the impact of any relevant local legislation, logistics and how these things influence trading conditions will also be important elements of her role.
A chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) Paula is also a qualified Neuro Linguistic Practitioner and holds a post graduate City & Guilds degree in Learning Design & Facilitation. She is currently training for an Association for Coaching Accredited Diploma in Coach Training (ADCT).
"I am incredibly excited about taking up this opportunity and in particular talking to customers to understand their shopping experiences and help identify how we can deliver even better services," she said.
"Guernsey is a beautiful island that took my breath away when I first arrived. Everybody I have met has been really welcoming and helpful and I am looking forward to building strong relationships from both a business and personal point of view."
Tags: Waitrose
Urgent jobs to fill? Hire hospitality staff
Channel Islands recognised as the No.1 foodie hotspot in 2020 Good Food Guide
Channel Islands named as Gastronomic number one by the Good Food Guide
Mourant lawyer named in 'Top 35 Under 35'


text:
FA right to finish 2019-20 campaign even if we lose next season - Rooney
Wayne Rooney backed Liverpool as deserving Premier League winners and said the season must be completed – even at the expense of 2020-21.
By The42 Team Sunday 22 Mar 2020, 6:42 PM
Mar 22nd 2020, 6:42 PM 7,800 Views 31 Comments
Derby County striker Wayne Rooney backed Liverpool to become deserving Premier League winners
WAYNE ROONEY SAYS he believes the coronavirus pandemic might mean the loss of the 2020-21 season in English football but insisted the Football Association is right to prioritise completing the current season whenever that becomes possible.
The former England captain commended the FA's decision to extend the length of the current season indefinitely, describing it as "the fair thing" for promotion, relegation and title races to be settled.
Rooney, who plays for Derby County in the Championship, indicated he is opposed to matches being played behind closed doors given the strain emergency services are already under across the UK.
"It wouldn't surprise me if finishing the season takes until the end of 2020," Rooney said in The Times.
"Football, like every other industry, is in unknown territory and, just like every other industry, has to listen to the advice and take all necessary precautions. For me, that rules out finishing the season behind closed doors.
"When you play behind closed doors it still means bringing together a fairly large group of people. You need ambulances, doctors, paramedics. They're mandatory. Police may be needed too. Why bring them all to a football match when in this crisis they will be needed elsewhere for things that are far more important?
"I wouldn't be comfortable playing a game knowing there were people dying or very sick because of coronavirus and we're taking those workers away from the front line."
Despite enjoying two spells at Everton and spending 13 years at Manchester United, Rooney hailed his former clubs' rivals Liverpool as deserving winners of the Premier League and tipped them to finish the job when the season resumes.
Derby are 12th in the Championship but only five points outside the play-off positions, and Rooney underlined the importance of avoiding the legal ramifications that abandonment of the current season would trigger.
"The FA helped to clarify that the league season will finish and that is fair," said the 34-year-old striker.
"Liverpool will win the Premier League. [They] have been fantastic. They have put so much work in. They deserve this title. Can you imagine waiting 30 years and then having it taken away like this? The right decision has been made.
"It's also right in terms of promotion and relegation and places. These issues are so big for the clubs involved that I imagine there would be a lot of legal fights if the season was just abandoned. The fair thing is to finish 2019-20 — even if we have to lose next season in the process."
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Follow us: the42.ie
The42 Team
See more articles by The42 Team
<iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.the42.ie/https://www.the42.ie/wayne-rooney-2020-season-5054363-Mar2020/?embedpost=5054363&width=600&height=460" ></iframe>
Email "FA right to finish 2019-20 campaign even if we lose next season - Rooney".
Feedback on "FA right to finish 2019-20 campaign even if we lose next season - Rooney".
FA right to finish 2019-20 campaign even if we lose next season - Rooney Comments


text:
If a Draft Happens Without Coverage… Everyone Loses.
The WNBA Draft happened this week, but just like everything else surrounding the women's game, it wasn't given its shine. This has to change.
/ 11 months ago
This Brittney Griner Situation is Awful and Entirely US Sports Fans' Fault
An American athlete has been detained in a foreign country for nearly a month, and we are just now finding out...
Becky Hammon Is A Head Coach and It's About Damn Time
After years of being "courted" by NBA teams Becky Hammon finally lands a head coaching job and it's about time. But...
The Time for WNBA Expansion is Now
As the WNBA enters its 25th season, the time for expansion is now.
Candace Parker's Departure from Los Angeles Deserves Far More Attention
Candace Parker's decision to leave Los Angeles and head home to Chicago deserves more attention. This shift is seismic for both...
The WNBA has helped change the course of our democracy
In the charge to support racial justice, the WNBA stood and helped to change the course of our democracy as we've...
By Kevin Morin
Why Doesn't Becky Hammon Have An NBA Head Coaching Job?
Becky Hammon has been looked at for NBA Head Coaching positions, but hasn't inked a deal yet. Why?
WNBA: The Seattle Storm are the 2020 WNBA Champions
The Seattle Storm have swept the Las Vegas Aces in 3 games to win their 4th WNBA title with their 11th...
Fielder's Choice
You Need Watch the WNBA Finals. Sincerely, A New Convert
The WNBA is vintage basketball being played at it's best by players who take the court and give everything they have...
WNBA Finals Preview: Aces Are Wild
The WNBA Finals Matchup is finally set and the Las Vegas Aces are headed there for the first time. They face...


Welcome to the Taigalamp website!
Taigalamp is a safe and clean way to create the warm ambiance of a live flame. The flame is odourless, smokeless and soot free. It´s created by a pure mineral oil, that comes in an oilcell which burns up to 40 hours. The flame can be lit over and over again just like a traditional candle. After the oilcell is empty, you just switch it to a new one and so the lamp and environment remain clean.
The most important feature of the Taigalamp is it´s safety. If the lamp tips over, the safety- (decorative) sleeve immediately extinguishes the flame and prevents any dangerous situations.
The Taigalamp is recommended by The Finnish National Rescue Association (SPEK).
The pure mineral oil doesn´t smudge or stain in case of a spill, it evaporates from all surfaces such as table cloths and doesn´t leave a trace. Thanks to the changeable oilcell, tha lamp and the environment also remains clean. You can forget about the typical candlewax stains.
If the lamp tips over, the safety- (decorative) sleeve immediately extinguishes the flame and prevents any dangerous situations. Therefor Taigalamp is recommended by The Finnish National Rescue Association (SPEK).
There are numerous glasstypes and decorative sleeves in different colors, that can be easily used to change the look of a Taigalamp.
When considering the savings in cleaning costs and the safety features compared to traditional candle, the Taigalamp is an ideal solution when you want to create the warm ambiance of a live flame.
An error occurred in subscription.


text:
Publication - Progress report
British Sign Language - national plan: progress report
Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights Directorate
Arts, culture and sport, Children and families, Economy, +3 more … Education, Equality and rights, Work and skills
A progress report on the British Sign Language (BSL) national plan.
13. Democracy
Scottish Government British Sign Language (BSL): Progress Report 2021
1. Ministerial foreword
3. Key successes
4. Public services
5. Family support, early learning, childcare
6. School education
7. Post-school education
8. Training, work and social security
9. Health, mental health and wellbeing
10. Transport
11. Culture and the Arts
12. Justice
13.1 Progress in Democracy
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Scotland who wants to take part in politics is able to do so, to whichever level they wish. BSL users must have the same level of access as everyone else in the electoral process, our institutions, and our political parties.
The National Plan defined a number of actions around politics and democracy, including evaluating the needs of BSL signers, improving access to information, and providing support.
The Scottish Parliament election of 2021 was a key point within the timeframe of the BSL National Plan, and an opportunity to assess progress made in the field of democracy and politics.
The Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) (AEOFS) is administered by Inclusion Scotland, with funding from the Scottish Government. It works to remove barriers in pursuit of elected office, including meeting the needs of BSL users.
A series of BSL videos was produced by the Electoral Commission in the run-up to the 2021 election, covering topics like registering to vote, completing ballot papers and COVID-19 safety measures at polling stations.
In 2021, Returning Officers used social media and other platforms to provide information on voting to BSL users.
The Electoral Commission provided guidance to Returning Officers and other Polling Station staff, including an accessibility checklist.
The Scottish Government has worked with partner organisations to promote awareness of the challenges faced by BSL users at elections.
13.2 Actions and outcomes
Action No. 65
Evaluate the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) used in the Local Government elections in 2017 to ensure that it meets the needs of BSL users* who wish to stand for selection and election, and make any necessary changes in time for the next Scottish Parliament election in 2021.
Update June 2021
The Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland) is administered by Inclusion Scotland with funding provided by the Scottish Government. Inclusion Scotland produced an evaluation report for the operation of the fund in 2017, and have drafted a report (as yet unpublished) for the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election.
In the 2017 Scottish Local Government elections, there were 39 disabled candidates supported by the Access to Elected Office Fund (Scotland). Of these candidates, 15 were elected in 12 different councils. One BSL user received an award in 2017.
While no recipients of the AEOFS awards were elected to the Scottish Parliament in the 2021 election, it is promising that 14 recipients became regional list candidates and 5 recipients were constituency candidates in the election. In this round of awards, there were four BSL user recipients, of which two withdrew and didn't use any funding, and two ran for selection to be constituency candidates along with being on their party list. One award recipient for a Local Government by-election went on to be elected as the first BSL user councillor in Scotland. He is Cllr Grant Ferguson, East Kilbride Central North.
It is notable that the AEOFS as a model has drawn international interest, and that colleagues in the Welsh Government used it as a guide for developing their own Fund.
There has also been extensive work by Inclusion Scotland with political parties to remove barriers to participation for members with disabilities, including their Access to Politics Charter.
Links to the Access for Elected Office Fund, as well as similar information on accessibility and inclusion in public life, are included by Returning Officers in nomination packs for candidates.
The removal of barriers to pursuit of elected office remains an important workstream for the Scottish Government, including meeting the needs of BSL users.
Work with election organisations, political parties and BSL users* to ensure that the needs of BSL users*are being met, enabling them to participate fully in politics.
The Scottish Government works with the Scottish Parliament Political Parties Panel, Inclusion Scotland, the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Management Board (EMB) to promote awareness of the challenges faced by BSL users at elections. Inclusion Scotland attended meetings of the SPPPP to discuss these issues, and encourage attendees to sign up to their Access to Politics Charter.
We have also engaged through the EMB on the work undertaken by electoral professionals in this regard. In addition to the information campaigns by the Electoral Commission outlined in Action 67 below, Returning Officers used social media and other platforms to communicate information on voting to BSL users. Electoral Registration Officers provided information on postal voting through a TV advert which provided information of particular relevance during the pandemic, a subtitled version of which was made available on social media.
Work with the Electoral Commission in ensuring improved information about voting for BSL users* is made available in time for the next Scottish Parliament election in 2021 and review whether it has been effective.
The Electoral Commission worked extensively to ensure BSL users were provided with the information they needed ahead of the election.
This included a series of BSL videos based on the information booklet sent to all households. The videos cover registering to vote, how to complete the ballot papers, what to expect when voting in terms of COVID-19 safety measures and other important information. They are available on the Electoral Commission's YouTube channel here. Links to these videos were shared extensively across social media platforms and with partners in the stakeholder community.
The Commission also provides extensive guidance to electoral professionals, and the Polling Station Handbook included specific information to help Returning Officers support voters with disabilities, including an accessibility checklist for setup at polling stations.
As a result of provisions in the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020, the Commission must include an evaluation of the accessibility arrangements and outcomes in their reports on Scottish elections. The evaluation process will include contributions from the stakeholder community and people with disabilities, as well as continuing engagement with the Scottish Government on best practice and lessons learned.
Work with the political parties, encouraging them to produce election information in BSL in time for the next Scottish Parliament election in 2021.
As noted in Action 66 above, the Scottish Government has worked with the SPPPP to promote consideration of these important issues. The Electoral Commission report on accessibility at the recent Scottish Parliament election will also provide useful detail on actions taken to support disabled candidates and voters in 2021.
Promote public appointments as a way of participating in public life by producing information about public appointments in BSL, and promoting public appointments specifically to BSL users*.
In 2019 we commissioned Deaf Action to produce a video on public appointments specifically for Deaf and Deafblind BSL users which is hosted on the public appointments website (Appointed for Scotland).
Ensure that the Scottish Government guidance about board appointments includes specific reference to BSL users*.
The public appointments website (Appointed for Scotland) signposts Deaf and Deafblind BSL users to the contactSCOTLAND-BSL, the on-line British Sign Language interpreting service.
Email: Max.Barber@gov.scot


text:
Searching heterogeneous and distributed databases: a case study from the maritime archaeology community
Hardy, Dianna Lynn (2008) Searching heterogeneous and distributed databases: a case study from the maritime archaeology community. Masters (Research) thesis, James Cook University.
PDF (Thesis front)
PDF (Thesis whole)
Much of the data from archaeological investigations currently reside in databases with dissimilar file formats and structures. In addition, data from individual excavations and other research are frequently placed in separate databases that are maintained and accessed solely by the group responsible for the project. Due to the differing file formats, lack of access via a cohesive network and issues regarding ownership and use of data, maritime archaeologists have found it difficult to query such databases in order to perform cross-site analyses. This thesis seeks to provide a framework for federating maritime archaeological databases in order to make such queries and cross-site analyses possible. During this research two important question emerged, 1. Are there tools available to federate these databases?, and 2. how can the search results be appropriately targeted when searching across such a variety of data sources?
This research began by developing a case study centred on databases provided by three maritime heritage organizations in Australia. An informal analysis of feedback from these contributors and others in the maritime archaeological community informed the preliminary design of a prototype system. One of the key issues identified by the community was a lack of funding for new tools. Therefore, the decision was made to use only "open-source" software which is available at no cost. The initial prototype system developed here employed the application 'Storage Resource Broker' (SRB). This software acts as a broker by providing access to distributed sources of data via a search engine that queries the combined resources. The holders of the individual data can set access permissions so that users only see the data to which they have been granted access.
As the research progressed another key issue was identified; although there are currently open source tools available which are capable of integrating distributed data sets, the tools are difficult to use, and require a significant level of time, technical ability and planning in order to fully implement. A related issue is the difficulty of combining data sets which may have with little data in common. To overcome these issues it was necessary to develop a separate application that works in concert with SRB and requires little technical ability to deposit databases. The prototype system allows a data depositor to provide a schema or description of the data itself, and to use the functionality built into the system to create a mapping between columns of data which contain similar information. Integral to the prototype is an embedded metadata catalogue (MCAT) that lists semantic metadata for each resource which allows the system to return better search results.
The final results of the research show that while it is possible to integrate maritime archaeological datasets, in order to implement a data sharing strategy, data standards for archaeological resources must be established. In addition, tools geared toward the average user must be established for creating ontologies and handling other semantic issues.
Thesis (Masters (Research))
semantic web, archaeology, maritime archaeology, access, ownership, cross-site analyses, federated databases, heterogeneous databases, heritage, open-source databases, search engines, data sets, embedded metadata, semantics, ontologies, datasets, digital libraries, e-research, middleware, metadata harvesting, multimedia, web architecture, world wide web, Internet, data sharing, ArcheoView, search results, Australia, metadatabases, semantic integration, semantic networks, information retrieval
For other works for this author, see also Dianna Madden.
08 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES > 0806 Information Systems > 080608 Information Systems Development Methodologies @ 34%
08 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES > 0806 Information Systems > 080610 Information Systems Organisation @ 33%
21 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 2101 Archaeology > 210110 Maritime Archaeology @ 33%
89 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES > 8903 Information Services > 890301 Electronic Information Storage and Retrieval Services @ 33%
95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9503 Heritage > 950304 Conserving Intangible Cultural Heritage @ 33%
97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970121 Expanding Knowledge in History and Archaeology @ 34%


Address.AddressOptions A class that encapsulates options for the Address APIs.
Api.ApiOptions.HasAccountOptions An interface for Api.ApiOptions that include an account.
Api.ApiOptions.HasOptions Base interface for Api.ApiOptions in Apis that have options.
Api.ApiOptions.NoOptions Api.ApiOptions implementation for Apis that do not take any options.
Api.ApiOptions.NotRequiredOptions Base interface for Api.ApiOptions that are not required, don't exist.
Api.ApiOptions.Optional Base interface for Api.ApiOptions that are optional.
Cast.CastOptions API configuration parameters for Cast.
CastRemoteDisplay.CastRemoteDisplayOptions This class was deprecated. Use the CastRemoteDisplayClient via getClient(Context) instead.
Wallet.WalletOptions Options for using the Wallet API.
Base interface for API options. These are used to configure specific parameters for individual API surfaces. The default implementation has no parameters.
interface Api.ApiOptions.HasAccountOptions An interface for Api.ApiOptions that include an account.
interface Api.ApiOptions.HasOptions Base interface for Api.ApiOptions in Apis that have options.
class Api.ApiOptions.NoOptions Api.ApiOptions implementation for Apis that do not take any options.
interface Api.ApiOptions.NotRequiredOptions Base interface for Api.ApiOptions that are not required, don't exist.
interface Api.ApiOptions.Optional Base interface for Api.ApiOptions that are optional.


text:
Author: markandrewpreston
Demonstrating his exceptional skills in engineering and design, alongside evident drive and business acumen, Mark Preston went from a degree in Mechanical Engineering and working for GM and Spectrum Racing Cars, to obtaining key roles in both the Arrows and McLaren F1 teams, and then creating the Super Aguri F1 team in just 100 days. Now the Team Principal of Team Aguri Formula E racing in the second season of the FIA Formula E championship. Completing his MBA at Oxford in 2006, Mark has also worked with Oxford University researchers who've benefited from his expertise in composites and high-tech design: he has consulted in commercializing spin outs from their research in marine energy and electric motor technology. Such developments of his management skills in and beyond the realm of motorsports shows Mark to be an exceptional team player and innovator, ideally placed to manage and motivate workforces. Together, his skills and experience combine to ensure that Mark delivers first-class business planning and start-up advice covering technical due diligence, operations management, and more – offering as he does a unique balance of commercial and technical understanding, achievement and ability.
Letter from ZOCs
Published on March 29, 2020 by markandrewprestonLeave a comment
Dear Jenny and John,
Greetings from ZOCS!
On behalf of ZOCS Management, I would like to thank you sincerely for your timely response to our call for support for antiseptic aids for our communities. It is great to know there are always people out there looking out for the needs of others. I can assure you that, this donation will make a difference in the lives of many families in Zambia.
We have been praying for the COVID 19 situation to get better amid the raising number of people contracting the disease. Currently, there are 16 confirmed cases, but we are delighted that Government has put in place mechanisms for support and information sharing.
We will confirm receipt of funds as soon as it reflects in our accounts.
Once again, thank you for your unwavering support to ZOCS.
May God bless you always.
ZOCs
Categories coronavirus, ZOCS
10 positive aspects of Zambia
Published on March 24, 2020 May 21, 2020 by markandrewpreston1 Comment
1. Zambia is a country at peace – 41 years of independence without serious conflicts. Seventy-two tribes; seven major tribes; living in harmony; without ethnic clashes. Zambia is the envy of other African states!
2. Zambia is noted for hospitality – people who are friendly and welcoming, people who have received several hundred thousand refugees in recent years. It is the poor hosting the poor.
3. Zambia has rich resources – great assets of minerals, land, water, agriculture, tourist sites, etc. It is true that these have not always been wisely utilised – but they are there for the future.
4. Zambians are known for hard work, for resilience – dedicated to feeding families and building a strong nation. (This is particularly true of women!)
5. Zambians have talent – given a good education, they can match anyone. We know this from the wonderful staff of young Zambians who work with ZOCS and many other NGO's with whom we have contact.
6. Zambia is committed to democracy – a nation struggling, faltering, but persevering in efforts to build democratic structures and attitudes. Zambia has an anti-corruption fight that has even put the former president on trial for "plunder of the national economy"!
7. Zambia has wonderful women – increasingly socially active (two top-rate presidential candidates in the last national elections) and the backbone of domestic and agricultural efforts.
8. Zambian civil society is very strong – coalitions of NGO's, trade unions, professional associations, church groups, etc., that are articulate and intelligent in shaping development policies.
9. Zambian churches are dynamic and spiritually vital, with plenty of ecumenical cooperation at many levels. This involves service of the needy and a prophetic voice in pursuing social justice.
10. Zambian youth are a powerful force – 45% to 50% of the population often million is below the age of 15! They experience plenty of difficulties but also are committed to work for a better future.
Coronavirus in Zambia
Published on March 22, 2020 May 25, 2020 by markandrewprestonLeave a comment
ZOCS today addressed members of the press on the closure of schools following the corona virus pandemic that has caused panic world over. ZOCS welcomes the move by Government to close schools in an effort to prevent any spread of the Corona virus. However, we are concerned about the safety of our children given their vulnerability status. Water and Sanitation remain a huge concern in some communities where our children live. Our worry is their lack of purchasing power to get disinfectants needed for preventive measure. Therefore, we are calling on the Ministry of Health, other line ministries and other well-wishers to look into this issue as a matter of urgency. Support could come in form of purchasing or donating disinfectants, soap, etc.
Help the current requirement to protect the children and vulnerable households in Zambian communities by donating a small amount towards the provision of hand sanitiser
Chipo for Life
Published on December 6, 2018 May 21, 2020 by markandrewprestonLeave a comment
Buying a Chipo for Life gift is simple and easy: this is how it all started…
When Jenny & John Preston first visited the village of Kalalasaka in southern Zambia, the village headmen conferred Tonga names in them: John's name is Milimo – meaning Worker, and Jenny's name is Chipo – meaning Gift. Friend Nell who designed the newsletter livery suggested we use the name Chipo to highlight that all the giving opportunities are intended to have ongoing effect on the lives of recipients.
For example the gift of goats is linked to a community management project whereby every 3rd progeny then goes to the next poorest household in a particular village.
Gifts of door or window frames will accelerate the building of a 3x 1 classroom for Kaanga Community School.
Each gift thus adds an extra dimension towards the opportunity for village children to flourish in life skills – including mathematics, reading & writing, history, health – food groups, hivaids, prevention of abuse, and local herbs and fruits.
If you are interested, please download this link and fill it in and send back to Kondanani Zambia.
The order form below can be printed out and sent to the email address shown.
NEW INITIATIVE: Kaanga Community School
Mark Preston's description of Kondanani Zambia's first visit to Kaanga: "My wife Isabel and I had travelled to Gamela and Kalalusaka to monitor improvements at the villages with the ZOCS team and Mayor of Choma and he asked if we would mind diverting on the way back to Choma to visit a small village of Kaanga where he, the Mayor, was very impressed by the effort and enthusiasm of the village, and he hoped ZOCS and Kondanani would consider supporting the school.
We travelled for what seemed like a long distance, but was actually quite short according to my GPS because the roads were so bad and the 4WD's that we were travelling in had to travel so slowly to traverse the dry route (I can't imagine what it would be like in the wet season).
What we saw when we arrived I can only describe as impressive: the effort that the village had gone to build schools houses, toilets and to begin to create the bricks required to build more school buildings. I was impressed by the effort that has already been put into the school and think it is a great project to support.'
Isabel alerted us to the fact that Kaanga is always cut off from the rest of the country when the rivers flood. You'll notice Isabel standing by the piles of bricks ready for the building of a 1 x 3 classroom block.
Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS) reports to us that already the community has a full Parent Community School committee in place, which demonstrates their willingness to be active in the school development plan. ZOCS suggests that income generation activities of chicken and goat raising will be of assistance to this community. (as supporters will recall the goat scheme has been of great value in numerous communities.)
Presently at Kaanga there are 96 male students, 128 female students, with two male volunteer teachers. The Parent Community School Committee has 5 female and 5 male members.
Kalasaka dressmaker Professor Mudenda given a 3 year bursary to Masuka High School
Published on April 5, 2018 August 7, 2022 by markandrewprestonLeave a comment
Kalasaka dressmaker Professor Mudenda given a 3 year bursary to Masuka High School, southern Zambia, to become a qualified community school teacher for Kalalasaka Community School
Since Professor Mudenda graduated from UCZ CHODORT TRAINING COLLEGE 4 years ago, not only does he have a thriving business at Kalalasaka Village, he has also been teaching young people the rudiments of pattern making and machine sewing, and helping Grade 2 pupils at the Community School. His commitment to fulfilling the trust placed in him in his 1 year training in Choma, has led the Preston family charity – Kondanani Zambia Inc – to find an avenue to give Professor the opportunity to further increase his education.
He has been awarded a 3-year bursary to study to Masuka Secondary College, which is close enough to Kalalasaka village for Professor to attend school, to study, and continue his dressmaking business.
Kondanani Zambia Inc has been committed for 20 years to working alongside ZOCS – Zambia Open Community Schools, Lusaka, Zambia, and its CEO Mrs Harriet Sianjibu Miyato. Mrs Miyato states:" I have monitored his performance since his CHODORT training, his commitment to his work is obvious, and he has been ready to do additional work of teaching Grade 2 learners, an indication that he is really determined to become a teacher, in his village of Kalalasaka."
Cleopatra Chona-Muna, Research & Advocacy Manager at ZOCS says: "not only will he become a more skilful teacher, but the whole Kalalasaka community and learners will benefit; he is a determined person, and we have no doubt he will excel in his studies".
Village Chickens to create sustainable entreprenurial activities for rural Zambian villages
Published on April 5, 2018 May 21, 2020 by markandrewprestonLeave a comment
Vulnerable Zambian women given opportunity to raise healthy village chickens, following guide by AusAID Prof Robyn Alders; project funded through ZOCS by Kondanani Zambia Inc
Kondanani Zambia (KZ) is funding a new project in Zambia, working with Zambia Open Community Schools Agricultural Consultant Simon Chiputa to introduce 5 women-led households to sustainable village chicken raising practices in the Mungule chiefdom. Simon will be assisting in enlarging the women's understanding of chicken rearing, of health and disease management, of mating and breeding of chickens.
Improving poultry health improves production efficiency which contributes to food security and poverty alleviation, The egg provides a range of nutrients apart from protein that can make a substantial contribution to the nutrition of children and pregnant and nursing women.
Additionally, the women will learn the benefits of a 3-monthly vaccine to prevent the poultry from succumbing to Newcastle Disease. The vaccine, which does not need refrigeration, is the product of research carried out in Zambia by Assoc Prof Robyn Alders of Sydney University, Australia, in conjunction with veterinarians in Lusaka.
KZ hopes that, with effective monitoring, the project will be cost-effective and will be replicated in rural villages. The monitoring will be exploring ways that the vaccine can be administered for a reasonable fee, which in turn will provide a small living allowance for the vaccinator.
You can support the work of poultry health and production by donations to Kondanani Zambia on the Donate page of this website.
Categories ZOCS
Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Action – Fifty Goats
Published on January 1, 2017 February 6, 2020 by markandrewprestonLeave a comment
Have you ever seen true sustainable social entrepreneurship in action? I mean uncontrolled growth in the most difficult environment with the most minimal resources imaginable?
I have, and I have called it fifty goats.
Why fifty goats?
Eight years ago, I joined a phone call with my parents and the executive director of ZOCs in Zambia and we brainstormed about ways to further affect the rural community schools that Zambia Open Community Schools supports with entrepreneurial concepts that would bring IGAs – income generating activities – to grow self-reliance to support teachers & provide requisites for the community schools to continue to flourish.
The criteria would only require a small amount of seed capital, no organisational structure, no working capital, just the pure entrepreneurial spirit of those who joined the entrepreneurial experiment.
A small spark was the target, no long-winded, difficult to manage project to build, just a spark of an idea and the small amount of seed capital to get it going and perhaps some encouragement along the way.
So we started, 27 goats, 14 female and 13 male. We organised donations from some churches in Australia and away it went.
ZOCS began by simply explaining an idea. Distribute the goats between the most vulnerable families (female-headed households, often the grandmothers) in the most rural village. Each family would get 3 goats: 2 females and one male. As each individual family's herd grew, they donated the next 2 goats to another vulnerable family and one to the community schools herd.
The thing about goats is, they are tough, they eat anything, they don't require land rights, they don't get many diseases and they produce protein-rich milk and meat and the ownership rights of women were covered.
And so it began.
So 7 years later, this spark of an idea, self-sustaining, self-growing at a rate without any external input is one of the most amazing things I have experienced in entrepreneurship: one of the best examples I have ever seen. I use this story in many of my discussions on the subject of innovation and entrepreneurship because when you say those words many people think driverless cars at Google or CERN in Switzerland!
The program has affected over 1,023 families in Zambian communities in the most profound ways. Children that can grow up to be healthy adults, families able to pay for the children's education which is at the centre of any growth scenario of ANY country on earth.
So why did I call this an entrepreneurial bonfire? Because from the smallest spark of an idea a whole world opened up and grew at a rate that can't be slowed down: the dream of many a multinational organisation! True innovation at its best operating in the most difficult conditions imaginable to most people.
Join us at Kondanani Zambia and Zambia Open Community Schools as we continue on a journey through innovation and entrepreneurship in Zambia with projects that we hope will grown across Africa and the world.


text:
Mormons, rabbis among those taking to Baltimore's streets
Cara Modisett
People of many faiths have responded with faith to the crisis in Baltimore.
Jana Riess blogged for Religion News on Baltimore Mormons' dedication of a fast for peace and safety in their city, following some criticism that the LDS had not responded enough to recent events:
Particularly encouraging: The Facebook post about the stake fast was shared over 3,000 times. People from all over the world, both Mormon and those of other faiths, pledged to fast for Baltimore. Reading those comments about people's prayers and eagerness to help restored some of my faith in the goodness of the Mormon people – a faith that had taken a ding from reading some of the comments on this blog.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld wrote in the Washington Post, "Why a bunch of rabbis went to Baltimore to protest – and pray":
We arrived not knowing what to expect and, truthfully, had concerns about whether our presence would be welcomed.
On the contrary, though, we were welcomed, literally, with open arms. Our experience that day — six Jewish clergy in a predominantly African-American neighborhood — was one of warmth and welcoming.
The Baltimore we found was vastly different from the one we, and most Americans, have seen portrayed over the last few days in the national media. As we walked the streets with our prayer shawls on our shoulders and kippot on our heads, we were stopped and embraced by total strangers. Together, we prayed for solidarity and unity in a way that made me feel more alive than my prayers that same morning in my own synagogue.
They came away with newly formed friendships, a sense of common humanity – and common purpose:
It should be obvious, but the more we got to know people in West Baltimore, the more we realized how much we have in common with them. One man I met had once lived two blocks from my old address in Brooklyn, New York. I met another man who grew up in West Baltimore, but now lives less than a half mile from me in Washington, D.C.
And while my colleagues and I have no illusions that spending one day in West Baltimore will bring about dramatic change, we hope, and believe, that it's a positive step. Now that charges have been brought and the city's curfew has been lifted, there's more work to be done.
Photo from Baltimore Stakes Facebook page.
Posted by Cara Ellen Modisett
Jean Lall
God bless these folks. We need all the help and love and prayers we can get. Having people visit, hug, and even fast for us is deeply consoling and heartening.
Not to be outdone: "Buddhist leader of millions visits West Baltimore"!
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-buddhist-leader-visits-20150507-story.html


Your quest. Your skill. Learn with Sunsail.
We have sailing schools across the world. Take your pick a huge range of courses at our flagship school in Portsmouth, which will take you all the way from Start Yachting to Yachtmaster. Alternatively, you can head overseas to combine a holiday in the sun with the next step on your sailing adventure.
The BVI Sailing School will not be operational until December 2019.
around the world to use. It includes information on Rules of the Road, Navigation Lights, Day Shapes, Sounds & Lights. To download, search for Sunsail in your App Store, or click on the button below.


On the verge of going broke after 4 years of commercial crop failure, Gabe Brown and family could no longer afford chemical inputs on their 5,400-acre ranch near Bismarck, North Dakota. They began searching for a non-chemical farming model and soon began implementing non-conventional approaches using patterns from nature, which began to rapidly improve their soil, resulting in high yields and strong net profits.
For over 20 years, they have said NO to unsustainable farming and ranching practices. Gabe will teach us how to farm and ranch profitably and sustainably, even in drought years.
A very popular speaker, Brown will show us how his family holistically integrates mob grazing of grass-fed beef, sheep and poultry with a no-till cropping system, including a wide variety of cash crops along with over 25 multi-species cover crops. This diversity and integration has regenerated the natural resources on the ranch without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Over 2,000 people visit the Brown's ranch annually to see this award winning sustainable operation for themselves, and adopt the Brown family's practices on their own farms and ranches.
Gabe is presenting at the 2016 Sustainable Food & Farm Conference on January 9th.Read more about Brown's Ranch here.