Until recently, impacts by extraterrestrial bodies were regarded as an interesting but, perhaps, not an important phenomenon in the spectrum of geological process affecting the Earth. Our concept of the importance of impact processes, however, has been changed radically through planetary exploration, which has shown that virtually all planetary surfaces are cratered from the impact of interplanetary bodies. It is now clear from planetary bodies that have retained portions of their earliest surfaces that impact was a dominant geologic process throughout the early solar system. For example, the oldest lunar surfaces are literally saturated with impact craters, produced by an intense bombardment which lasted from 4.6 to approximately 3.9 billion years ago, at least a 100 times higher than the present impact flux. The Earth, as part of the solar system, experienced the same bombardment as the other planetary bodies.
On the Earth, a variety of possible effects have been ascribed to impacts. Currently, the best working hypothesis for the origin of the Earth's moon is the impact of a Mars-sized object with the proto-Earth. This resulted in the insertion into Earth orbit of vaporized material from the impactor and the Earth, which condensed and accreted to form the moon. Heat generated by early impacts may have led to outgassing of Earth's initial crust, thus, contributing to the primordial atmosphere and hydrosphere. Additionally, the impacting bodies themselves may have contributed to the Earth's budget of volatiles. This early bombardment would also have frustrated the development and evolution of early life, with the largest impacts having the capacity to effectively sterilize the surface of the globe. In more recent geologic time, there is evidence that at least one mass extinction event, notably that of the dinosaurs and many other species 65 million years ago, is linked to global effects caused by a major impact event. Impacts also have some economic significance. For example, the vast copper-nickel deposits at Sudbury, Canada are likely a related result of a large-scale impact 1850 million years ago and several impact structures in sedimentary rocks have provided suitable reservoirs for economic oil and gas deposits.
Most of the terrestrial impact craters that ever formed, however, have been obliterated by other terrestrial geological processes. Some examples however remain. To-date, over 160 impact craters have been identified on Earth. Almost all known craters have been recognized since 1950 and several new structures are found each year.
The morphology of impact craters changes with crater diameter. This size-morphology relation is well illustrated with fresh-appearing craters from the moon. Only the smallest impact craters have a bowl-shaped form. As crater diameter increases, slumping of the inner walls and rebounding of the depressed crater floor create progressively larger rim terracing and central peaks. At larger diameters, the single central peak is replaced by one or more peak rings, resulting in what are generally termed impact basins. This same progression in crater morphology is observed throughout the solar system, including on the Earth; although, terrestrial craters are less well-preserved and, hence, more challenging to classify. One notable difference between lunar and terrestrial impact craters is the lower diameter range for each morphological type on Earth. This difference is due to the higher gravity on Earth.
(1) simple structures, up to 4 km in diameter, with uplifted and overturned rim rocks, surrounding a bowl-shaped depression, partially filled by breccia.
Alfrancus C - 10 km diameter simple impact crater on the moon (Apollo 16 Panoramic Camera Photograph 4616).
(2) complex impact structures and basins, generally 4 km or more in diameter, with a distinct central uplift in the form of a peak and/or ring, an annular trough, and a slumped rim. The interiors of these structures are partially filled with breccia and rocks melted by the impact.
Tycho - 85 km diameter complex impact crater on the moon (Lunar Orbiter IV photograph 125M).
Schrödinger - 320 km diameter peak ring impact basin on the moon (Lunar Orbiter IV photograph 9M).
Orientale - 900 km diameter multi-ring basin on the moon (Lunar Orbiter IV photograph 194M).
Meteorite fragments are typically found at the smallest craters and they are quickly destroyed in the terrestrial environment. For impact events on Earth that form craters larger than approximately 1 km across, the pressures and temperatures produced upon impact are sufficient to completely melt and even vaporize the impacting body and some of the target rocks, though a small fraction of the impactor can locally be preserved for even the largest impacts. The peak pressure produced by the impact of a stony (chondritic) body into a common terrestrial rock, such as granite, at 25 km per second (a reasonable impact velocity for an asteroidal impact on the Earth) is 900 GPa or 9 million times atmospheric pressure. In such cases, the recognition of a characteristic suite of rock and mineral deformations, termed "shock metamorphism", which are uniquely produced by extreme shock pressures, is indicative of an impact origin. Examples of shock effects include conical fractures known as shatter cones, microscopic deformation features in minerals, particularly the development of so-called planar deformation features in silicate minerals such as quartz, the occurrence of various glasses and high pressure minerals, and rocks melted by the intense heat of impact.
Piece of shatter cone from the Carswell impact structure, Canada.
Shock metamorphic effects of meteorite impact: (a) Shatter cones at the Sudbury structure Canada; (b) Photomicrograph of planar deformation features in the mineral quartz; (c) Photomicrograph of formation of solid-state glass (black) in the mineral feldspar; (d) 80 m thick remnant of the impact melt sheet at the Mistastin structure, Canada.
Although the number of known impact craters on Earth is relatively small, the preserved sample is an extremely important resource for understanding impact phenomena. They provide the only ground-truth data currently available and are amenable to extensive geological, geophysical and geochemical study. Earth's impact craters also provide important data on the structure of such landforms in all three dimensions. In some cases, the large size of terrestrial impact craters, up to approximately 300 km in diameter, requires orbital imagery and observation to provide an overall view of their structure and large-scale context.
The tendency to discount impact processes as a factor in the Earth's more recent geologic history was severely challenged by the interpretation in 1980 that Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary sediments world-wide were due to a major impact event and that impact was the causal agent for a mass extinction event. The acceptance of the K-T impact hypothesis by the more general terrestrial geoscience community was not instantaneous and considerable controversy and debate was generated. Today, there are few workers who would deny that there is abundant diagnostic evidence that a major impact event occurred at the K-T boundary. It is fair to say however, that there is less of a consensus on the role of impact in the associated mass extinction event, with some workers still having difficulty in accepting impact-related processes as the cause.
From estimates of the terrestrial cratering rate, the frequency of K-T-sized events on Earth is of the order of one every 50-100 million years. Smaller, but still significant impact events occur on shorter time scales and will affect the terrestrial climate and biosphere to varying degrees. Even the formation of impact craters as small as 20 km could produce light reductions and temperature disruptions similar to those of a nuclear winter. Such impacts occur on Earth with a frequency of two or three every million years. The most recent known structure in this size range is Zhamanshin in Kazaksthan, with a diameter of 15 km and an age of 1 million years. Impacts of this scale are not likely to have a serious affect upon the biosphere and cause mass extinctions. The most fragile component of the present environment however, is modern human civilization, which is highly dependent on an organized and technologically complex infrastructure for its survival. While we seldom think of civilization in terms of millions of years, there is little doubt that if civilization lasts long enough, it will suffer severely or may even be destroyed by an impact event.
In marine impacts there is also another consideration; namely, the generation of a tsunami. For example, an impact anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean by a body 400 m in diameter would devastate the coasts on both sides of the ocean with wave runups of over 60 m. The 1960 tsunami, generated by a magnitude 8.6 Chilean earthquake, is thought to have been the largest this century. An impact-generated tsunami 10 times more powerful will occur with a typical recurrence time of a few 1000 years. Small impacting bodies release their energy in the atmosphere, as an air burst. The threshold size at which this is exceeded depends on the strength of the impacting body. For example, iron impacting bodies up to 20 m will deposit their energy in the atmosphere and not reach the surface; whereas, comets as large as 200 m will deposit their energy in the atmosphere. Such air burst explosions, fortunately, are not efficient at delivering their energy to the ground, because some of initial energy is blown into space. The Tunguska event in 1908 was due to the atmospheric explosion of a relatively small, approximately few tens of metres, body at an altitude of 10 km. The energy released, has been estimated to be 10-100 megatons TNT equivalent. Although the air blast resulted in the devastation of 2000 sq. km of Siberian forest (see below), there was no loss of human life due to the very sparse population. Events such as Tunguska occur on a time-scale of 100's of years.
Devastation 8km from ground zero of the 1908 Tunguska event, which was the result of a small asteroid exploding in the atmosphere. Such events occur on time-scales of hundreds of years.
It must be remembered that impact is a random process not only in space but also in time. The next large impact with the Earth could be an "impact-winter"-producing event or even a K-T-sized event. To emphasize this point, in March 1989 an asteroidal body named 1989 FC passed within 700,000 km of the Earth. This Earth-crossing body was not discovered until it had passed the Earth. It is estimated to be in the 0.5 km size-range, capable of producing a Zhamanshin-sized crater or a devastating tsunami. Although 700,000 km is a considerable distance, it translates to a miss of the Earth by only a few hours, when orbital velocities are considered. At present, no systems or procedures are in place, specifically for mitigating the effects of an impact.
C.R. Chapman and D. Morrison, 1989, Cosmic Catastrophes, Plenum Press, New York, 302 p.
T. Gehrels (ed.), 1994, Hazards due to Comets and Asteroids. Univ. Arizon Press, Tucson, 1300 p.
R.A.F. Grieve, 1990, Impact cratering on the Earth, Scientific American, v. 262, 66-73.


O2 Complaints Number 0843 455 0083.
O2, also known as Telefonica Europe plc, is a private company that offers broadband and telecommunications services. The company serves a lot of industries namely telecommunications, pay television, financial services, and Broadband internet access. It has its headquarters in Slough, which is a town located in Berkshire, UK. The company serves different countries like UK, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany.
As far as its telephony operations are concerned, it offers both fixed lines and mobile connections. Just like any other company, this one receives O2 Complaints Number as well from dissatisfied or aggrieved customers despite of the services it provides, which are regarded as impressive by a majority of customers and industry experts.
Since o2 is present in twenty-five different countries around the world and having close to two hundred and ninety million customers, therefore it is quite obvious that it receives a lot of calls from customers and prospective customers, either for o2 complaints or for enquiries. The company always strives to make things run smoothly and in a fuss-free manner for its customers.
The quickest and most effective solution that one can avail when experiencing some problems with the company's services is to visit the Support section wherein one can get information regarding phones/devices, upgrades, bills/payments, SIM help, network coverage, Pay & Go services, Broadband services and so on. This section is the FAQ section wherein answers to the most common problems are already listed out. If you want then you can get help from the community too by posting a question in o2's community forum.
If you still cannot get help or if you are still unhappy about o2's service or product even after visiting the Support section then it is time to contact the company and deliver them the complaint first hand. O2 has dedicated customer service or grievance handling teams that deal with the O2 Complaints Number coming from the consumer. The team can be contacted via post, phone or web chat. Of course, the slowest amongst these methods would be to send a written complaint to them via post.
The company's complaints-handling department is extremely organized when it comes to receiving O2 Complaints. The website has a table that lists the different numbers that one can call up along with the timings of the complaint numbers. The company has separate complaint numbers for o2 mobile users and landline users, and while a majority of them are toll-free numbers, there are some that are chargeable as per the standard telephone rates or standard international calling rates.
Some search terms use 02 complaints contact number. O2 complaints contact number is using numerals and not an '0' . By adding this line into the text of this page, I am expecting you will find this page even if you search 02 Complaints.
You can visit the O2 website here.
If you have an o2 account click here to login.


text:
Commentary: CDC Director Claims the 'Science Evolved' 2 Weeks After Deciding To Not Allow Vaccinated To Go Maskless
By Grant Atkinson, The Western Journal May 18, 2021 at 7:04pm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has made a complete mess of her response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After reversing course on the issue of whether vaccinated Americans should continue to wear masks, she is now making some dubious excuses for the flip-flop.
For months, the CDC was ignoring science by encouraging people to wear masks in settings where they were unnecessary. It wasn't until April 27 that the agency conceded that fully vaccinated people did not need to wear masks outside, according to NBC News.
In the same guidance, the CDC recommended that unvaccinated people still needed to wear a mask outside when with other unvaccinated people. In addition, vaccinated people were told to wear a mask in almost all indoor public settings.
These recommendations were anti-scientific, as many conservatives pointed out at the time. Outdoor transmission of the virus has been extremely low, as has transmission of the virus to and from fully vaccinated people.
On April 28, The Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro argued that vaccinated people should be allowed to unmask in all settings.
"I was pro-masking throughout the pandemic," he tweeted. "Once you're vaccinated, you should get back to your regular life. The mask has now become, for far too many people, a religious icon. Which is their prerogative. But stop pretending this is allegiance to data. It isn't."
I was pro-masking throughout the pandemic. Once you're vaccinated, you should get back to your regular life. The mask has now become, for far too many people, a religious icon. Which is their prerogative. But stop pretending this is allegiance to data. It isn't.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 28, 2021
On Thursday, Walensky and the CDC released updated guidelines that said vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks or practice social distancing in "most settings, whether outdoors or indoors."
The abrupt reversal left many wondering what, if anything, had changed in the interim.
CNN reported on April 15 that just 5,800 out of 77 million fully vaccinated Americans had caught the virus after vaccination. That means only 0.0075 percent of vaccinated people even got the virus.
Of those people, just 396 required hospitalizations, and 74 died. Those numbers represent 0.00051 percent and 0.000096 percent, respectively, of the 77 million vaccinated Americans.
In other words, we knew at least a full month ago that the risk from COVID-19 for vaccinated people was extremely minor.
However, when Walensky was asked about the issue on Sunday, she claimed that the science had "evolved" since the CDC's April 27 recommendations.
Commentary: Facebook Reverses Course, Will No Longer Remove Posts Saying COVID Was Manmade
She appeared on ABC's "This Week," where co-host Martha Raddatz pressed her on the rapid reversal.
"It was just Tuesday when you sat before a Senate committee, and you were adamant then that masking and social distancing should remain in place," Raddatz said.
"But The Washington Post is reporting you had already approved the decision to change the guidance," she said. "When it was finally announced on Thursday, it came as a huge surprise and left some administration officials, doctors, businesses off-guard.
"So, why so suddenly, and why did you not tell the Senate panel what you had decided?"
"I am — you know, the guide — first of all, let's celebrate this moment," Walensky responded. "We're at a place in this pandemic, cases have been coming down more than a third just in the last two weeks. We have vaccine now across this country widely available for anyone who wants it."
She then claimed changes had taken place to warrant the move.
"And we now have science that has really just evolved even in the last two weeks that demonstrates that these vaccines are safe, they are effective, they are working in the population, just as they did in the clinical trials, that they are working against our variants that we have here circulating in the United States, and that if you were to develop an infection, while — even if you got vaccinated, that you can't transmit that infection to other people," the CDC director said.
"Some of that science was really evolving as late as last Thursday. And one of the published — one of the papers, the largest paper, was published from the CDC just the day before yesterday.
"So we were actively reviewing that science during the past week. We were making decisions and moving — moving, and our subject matter experts while working just as I was testifying in front of Congress. And those — that what was happening."
This is a stretch. The CDC surely knew how effective the vaccines were on April 15, and that has not changed. The only change was a sudden 180-degree turn in the agency's recommendations on masking.
The suggestion that the science somehow drastically changed in those 16 days is absurd. It could not be more obvious that the mask-wearing recommendations are politically motivated.
Some have suggested that mask mandates maintain a sense of panic that allows the Biden administration to continue to push its radical spending plans. Others have argued it is simply a power trip for the CDC.
At any rate, the CDC's reversal on mask requirements came after two weeks that saw inflation surge and unemployment remain high. President Joe Biden needed a win, and the CDC gave it to him.
That's how you get a man who just two weeks ago suggested that mask-wearing for vaccinated people is "patriotic" suddenly changing his tune.
"I think it's a great milestone, a great day," Biden said of the new recommendations. "It's been made possible by the extraordinary success we've had in vaccinating so many Americans so quickly."
Biden praised the U.S. #Covid19 vaccine rollout of "250 million shots in 114 days," calling the CDC's announcement that fully-vaccinated people could forgo masks a "great milestone."
More on the new mask guidance: https://t.co/AG9GR87m0v pic.twitter.com/kwg02hmqts
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) May 13, 2021
Biden inherited a vaccine, a rollout plan and an economy on the verge of a huge comeback. He has largely failed in his role as president so far, and he is now pretending that facts we knew months ago are a result of his leadership.
The Biden administration has been a disaster, and Americans should not be fooled by the claim that the lifting of mask mandates is somehow a triumph for the current president.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus Outbreak, Rochelle Walensky
Grant Atkinson, The Western Journal

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Smiltene es una villa letona, capital del municipio homónimo en el noreste del país.

A fecha de 1 de enero de 2016 tiene 5488 habitantes.

Se conoce la existencia del castillo de Smiltene desde el siglo XIV. La localidad fue creada como un núcleo de comerciantes y artesanos en torno a este castillo en los siglos XV-XVI. Adquirió estatus urbano en 1920.

Se ubica unos 30 km al sureste de Valmiera.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Localidades de Letonia
Municipio de Smiltene

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Haute 100 Update: Daniel Boulud to Open Two New Restaurants in Canada
by Pauline Sung
World-renowned chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud is going international with two new Canadian eateries. Boulud's company with partner Lili Lynton, The Dinex Group, is planning on opening one restaurant in Montreal and another in the Four Seasons Toronto.
While Chef Boulud previously had a restaurant in Vancouver, it was short-lived. With news of the accolade-laden chef coming to town and establishing himself additionally in one of the hotel industry's most prestigious chains, citizens are buzzing with anticipation.
The culinary master has already captivated the U.S. and beyond with renowned restaurants like New York City's Daniel, DB Bistro, and more, as well as additional spots spanning from Palm Beach to Singapore.
The unveiling of Boulud's new role at the Four Seasons next week also coincides with the chef's participation in the Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival in Toronto to benefit hospital research.
Our Haute 100 list details the accomplishments of the most influential people in each of our markets. To see the entire Haute 100 New York list, click here.
Clinton Foundation Concert With Lady Gaga, Bono and More
Haute 100 Update: Michelle Obama, Tracy Mourning, Debbie Wasserman


text:
Ternavka may refer to the following places in Ukraine:

Ternavka, Chernivtsi Oblast, village in Hertsa Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast
Ternavka, Iziaslav Raion, village in Iziaslav Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Ternavka, Kamianets-Podilskyi Raion, village in Kamianets-Podilskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast
Ternavka, Skole Raion, village in Skole Raion, Lviv Oblast
Ternavka, Zhydachiv Raion, village in Zhydachiv Raion, Lviv Oblast


text:
require 'test_helper'

module Keel::GCloud::Kubernetes
  class ReplicationControllerTest < Minitest::Test
    def setup
      @env = 'foo'
      @app = 'bar'
      @empty_kubectl_response = <<-EOS
apiVersion: v1
items: []
kind: List
metadata: {}
      EOS
    end

    def test_that_it_calls_the_get_namespaces_api_for_k8s
      cli = Minitest::Mock.new
      cli.expect :execute, @empty_kubectl_response, ["kubectl get rc --namespace=#{@env} -l app=#{@app} -o yaml"]

      Keel::GCloud::Cli.stub :new, cli do
        ReplicationController.fetch_all @env, @app
      end

      assert cli.verify
    end

    def test_that_it_returns_empty_if_no_namespaces_are_returned
      cli = Minitest::Mock.new
      cli.expect :execute, @empty_kubectl_response, ["kubectl get rc --namespace=#{@env} -l app=#{@app} -o yaml"]

      Keel::GCloud::Cli.stub :new, cli do
        assert ReplicationController.fetch_all(@env, @app) == []
      end

      assert cli.verify
    end

    def test_that_it_returns_an_array_of_namespaces
      mock_yaml = <<-EOS
apiVersion: v1
items:
- apiVersion: v1
  kind: ReplicationController
  metadata:
    creationTimestamp: 2015-12-30T15:46:07Z
    generation: 225
    labels:
      app: #{@app}
    name: #{@env}-#{@app}-controller
    namespace: #{@env}
    resourceVersion: "2845016"
    selfLink: /api/v1/namespaces/#{@env}/ReplicationControllers/#{@env}-#{@app}-controller-123
    uid: 123
  spec:
    replicas: 6
    selector:
      app: #{@app}
    template:
      metadata:
        creationTimestamp: null
        labels:
          app: #{@app}
        name: #{@app}
      spec:
        containers:
EOS
      cli = Minitest::Mock.new
      cli.expect :execute, mock_yaml, ["kubectl get rc --namespace=#{@env} -l app=#{@app} -o yaml"]
      cli.expect :execute, @empty_kubectl_response, ["kubectl get deployment --namespace=#{@env} -l run=#{@app} -o yaml"]

      Keel::GCloud::Cli.stub :new, cli do
        result = ReplicationController.fetch_all(@env, @app)
        assert_kind_of Array, result

        first = result[0]
        assert_instance_of ReplicationController, first
      end
    end

    def test_that_it_replaces_a_controller
      cli = Minitest::Mock.new
      cli.expect :system_call, nil, ["kubectl replace -f foo"]

      Keel::GCloud::Cli.stub :new, cli do
        ReplicationController.replace 'foo'
      end

      assert cli.verify
    end

    def test_that_it_increments_the_replica_count
      controller = ReplicationController.new(
        containers:   @app,
        name:         'a_controller',
        namespace:    @env,
        original:    {
          'metadata' => {
            'creationTimestamp' => 'foo'
          },
          'spec' => {
            'replicas' => 1
          }
        }
      )
      original = controller.original['spec']['replicas']

      controller.increment_replica_count

      assert_equal original + 1, controller.original['spec']['replicas']
    end

    def test_that_it_decrements_the_replica_count
      controller = ReplicationController.new(
        containers:   @app,
        name:         'a_controller',
        namespace:    @env,
        original:    {
          'metadata' => {
            'creationTimestamp' => 'foo'
          },
          'spec' => {
            'replicas' => 1
          }
        }
      )
      original = controller.original['spec']['replicas']

      controller.decrement_replica_count

      assert_equal original - 1, controller.original['spec']['replicas']
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


www.flintshirewarmemorials.com is a community website which documents the stories of all those named on Flintshire's World War 1 memorials, (Flintshire being defined as the County was defined in World War 1). The stories are researched and written by volunteers, all of whom are amateur historians. Once stories are written up on the website, then members of the public are encouraged to make contact via the 'Contact page' on the site. They very often provide further information about their family member including photographs and images of other memorabilia, (letters, cards, medals). These are added to the serviceman's page.
Members of the research team regularly deliver talks to Community groups – W.I., Rotary, Civic Societies and schools etc. These generally consist of telling stories from the website.


New Price: Motivated Seller. Home sits on corner lot with large patio, wooden privacy fence, rear access, mature fruit trees, boat port, detached shed (12.2 x 16.2 ft.) and attached 9x25 ft workshop. This clean, well-maintained home did not flood and is move-in ready. Home comes with a new powerful generator system to run the whole house during any storm that comes your way. Seller installed new Air Condition/Heating System in 2017. A quaint, screened-in front porch allows one to relax or enjoy evenings. The kitchen comes with all appliances, lots of cabinets for storage, and a breakfast area which is opened to the living room. The formal dining room can accommodate a large table, hutch, and serving bar or could be a large family/game/media room.


text:
St Austin's RC Primary
RE 'Come and See' and links with St Austin's RC Church
Friends of St Austin's
Gallery of our Children's Work
Policies - External Reports and Performance Data
Policies - Essential School Policies
Policies - Other Documents and Information
Policies - DfE, Ofsted and LA Guidance
Performance Data/Results
The school was inspected in July 2018.
The inspectors reported that:
'Leaders have created a caring and nurturing environment, founded in the Roman Catholic ethos of the school, where pupils feel safe and enjoy their learning'
https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/104806
St Austin's RC Primary School, Heath Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA9 5NJ
Tel: 01744 678 000 | Email: staustinrc@sthelens.org.uk
© St Austin's RC Primary School. All Rights Reserved. Website and VLE by School Spider


text:
Body-in-blue is a term used in the automotive industry for the set of body parts of a car, comprising the windows and the sheet metal components that are welded or glued together before other areas of the car (such as the trim, the engine, the drivetrain, etc.) are joined to it on the production line. A body-in-blue completely encloses the interior car cavity.

References

 Wave based modelling methods for steady-state vibro-acoustics, 2006, Pluymers, B.,KU Leuven

Automotive industry


text:
Board index Arxiv paper discussion arXiv papers
[1004.5602] Large angle anomalies in the CMB
Authors: Craig J. Copi (CWRU), Dragan Huterer (Michigan), Dominik J. Schwarz (Bielefeld), Glenn D. Starkman (CWRU)
Abstract: We review the recently found large-scale anomalies in the maps of temperature anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. These include alignments of the largest modes of CMB anisotropy with each other and with geometry and direction of motion of the Solar System, and the unusually low power at these largest scales. We discuss these findings in relation to expectation from standard inflationary cosmology, their statistical significance, the tools to study them, and the various attempts to explain them.
[PDF] [PS] [BibTex] [Bookmark]
Discussion related to specific recent arXiv papers
Syksy Rasanen
Affiliation: University of Helsinki
Post by Syksy Rasanen » May 04 2010
This is a very clear review of the CMB large angle anomalies. In particular, the authors reply to the WMAP7 paper 1001.4758 claiming that there are no anomalies. The WMAP7 paper quoted the work 0909.2495 by Francis and Peacock arguing that the low quadrupole power and quadrupole-octopole alignment is due to the ISW effect of local structures and the paper 0911.5399 by Efstathiou, Ma and Hanson arguing that the large-angle correlation function is not anomalous.
The authors argue that if the local ISW explanation of Francis and Peacock is correct, this implies two new anomalies, namely an unusually low amplitude for the Sachs-Wolfe effect so that the ISW effect can dominate, and accidental cancellation between the SW and ISW anisotropy patterns.
Efstathiou, Ma and Hanson claimed to determine the large-angle correlationsfrom the cut sky without assuming statistical isotropy. The present authors argue that the method implicitly assumes statistical isotropy by way of independence of low and high multipoles, and note that their method which works directly in angular (as opposed to multipole) space does not involve such an assumption and is therefore more robust. (In fact, I cannot understand how one could possibly reconstruct large-angle statistics from a sky where 25% has been cut without making assumptions about about what is missing.)
Duncan Hanson
Affiliation: Cambridge IoA
Post by Duncan Hanson » May 04 2010
Yup, I think that I basically agree with that. Using QML estimates for the CMB power spectrum on the cut-sky at low-l can be viewed as a sort of statement about the independence of low and high multipoles-- though it's probably better to think of it as a statement that the CMB power spectrum at low-L is sufficiently red that the reconstruction error induced by the 'noise' generated by higher multipoles is negligible. This is what the comparison of several QML Cl estimates with different lmax is testing (0911.5399). Of course, if the signal inside the cut were completely different from that outside this would be wrong to some extent. Suppose that inside the cut you had an imprint of Stephen Colbert's face, for example, then you would want to use a less conservative mask. But there is no imprint of Colbert's face-- the original motivation for using a cut sky rather than e.g. the ILC map was that the level of residual foreground contamination inside the cut was not well understood (1001.4758). Now it is, so you have a problem-- why does the cut-sky pseudo-Cl based correlation function seem anomalous, while the ILC reconstruction does not? Is there something funny (some might argue that a Colbert image would not be funny) in the galactic plane which restores the large angle correlations? No-- the ILC map looks exactly as you would expect from the cut-sky and the redness of the CMB (keep in mind, if this weren't the case it would represent another puzzle of the type which you've mentioned potentially troubles the Francis & Peacock arguments -- if you want to say that the data outside the cut is anomalous, but that inside is not, why are they correlated such that the pair looks perfectly reasonable?). I agree that the pseudo-Cl estimate of the correlation function would be the more robust choice if you had a model in which the data inside the sky cut could contain something arbitrary, but if foregrounds have been accurately treated then we don't have such a model, and so the only reason you would use a pseudo-Cl correlation estimator is if you used it once and it gave you something 'interesting'-- i.e. a priori reasons.
Andrew Pontzen
Affiliation: IoA, Cambridge
Contact Andrew Pontzen
Post by Andrew Pontzen » May 05 2010
Hiranya Peiris and I had a paper on this a couple of weeks ago, 1004.2706. Although it's a side issue for us, our paper does explain exactly why standard QML reconstructs the full sky Cl's with smaller errors than PCL, even for arbitrarily anisotropic theories (see Sec II and Appendix A, in particular figs 5 & 6). The significance of PCL here is that it is precisely equivalent to the pixel-based estimators that the Copi group use (see our Appendix B).
If you have something arbitrary in the cut which is not band-limited in harmonic space, then obviously no method will reconstruct it, neither PCL nor QML. (That's the whole aim of masking, to destroy unwanted, localized contamination.) The signature of that kind of contamination would be for QML and PCL reconstructions to both disagree with the full-sky analysis (see top left panel of our Figure 3). This is not what we see in the WMAP data for sensible sky-cuts.
All in all there is no doubt that QML is a more robust way than PCL or pixel techniques to estimate the full-sky Cl's or C(theta) from the cut sky.
However, one might still worry 'why' PCL techniques give such an unlikely result, regarding them not as an estimator for the full sky, but as a distinct quantity in their own right. You can trace that to (a) the low quadrupole and (b) the alignment of power on the full sky with the mask -- the power gets hidden behind the mask (our Section III). Incidentally the recent letter 1004.3784 does not see this, apparently because they only align the quadrupole and octupole; it's further necessary to constrain C_2 to be low, and to make the octupole power planar before aligning it approximately with the galactic plane. There are then further, more subtle alignments at l=5, 7 which give the effect its strong frequentist significance (see our Section III.B and Figure 1, left panels).
In terms of the ISW argument, the point is that any physical explanation of the low multipole anomalies must correlate the primary and ISW contributions to the final signal. That's very hard to realize in a physical theory. It doesn't make the signal 'more anomalous'; rather it makes the prior on any theory purporting to explain it very small -- i.e. it increases the barrier to claiming there is physical significance in the low-multipole anomalies. Combined with the very small likelihood gains available (our Section IV) this kind of argument shows the cut-sky angular correlation function does not constitute strong evidence against vanilla-\Lambda CDM.
Re: [1004.5602] Large angle anomalies in the CMB
Andrew Pontzen wrote: In terms of the ISW argument, the point is that any physical explanation of the low multipole anomalies must correlate the primary and ISW contributions to the final signal.
I don't follow you. Why does any possible explanation have to correlate the primary and ISW anisotropies?
Syksy Rasanen wrote: I don't follow you. Why does any possible explanation have to correlate the primary and ISW anisotropies?
If there is missing power in some part of the sky on large angular scales, either the ISW isn't there at all or it is acting to cancel out the primary signal. If power comes from both primary and ISW anisotropies, the expected power on the summed sky is larger than that from the primary contribution alone -- unless the fields are correlated.
You can see this just by adding two Gaussian random variables [tex]a[/tex] and b.
[tex]\langle (a+b)^2 \rangle = \langle a^2 \rangle +\langle b^2 \rangle + 2\langle a b \rangle > \langle a^2 \rangle[/tex] if [tex]\langle ab\rangle = 0[/tex].
See also 0711.2321.
I understand. But how does this establish that any possible explanation would have to correlate the primary and ISW anisotropies?
Syksy Rasanen wrote: I understand. But how does this establish that any possible explanation would have to correlate the primary and ISW anisotropies?
As you note in your top post, Francis and Peacock's results imply that the ISW and SW need to "accidentally" cancel in order for our z=0 CMB to have the observed alignments. George Efstathiou is saying a physical explanation needs to turn "accidentally" into a causal mechanism for this cancellation.
Having said that, if the ISW signal is somehow absent or much smaller amplitude than expected in the concordance model, then you don't need to correlate the signals, because in this case the signal with the alignments is coming from just the primary CMB. Or you can reverse this situation and have only ISW, and no SW on the large scales.
It doesn't really matter too much what one's view on these three possibilities are; the real point is that you can understand the cut sky C(theta) frequentist anomaly as arising from low l=2,3,5,7 alignments on the full sky, coupled with the low quadrupole.
Whatever the priors the ISW argument gives you, we've confirmed in 1004.2706 that no anisotropic Gaussian theories can give you a significantly better likelihood than Lambda-CDM does for the observed frequentist anomaly in the cut sky C(theta).
Andrew Pontzen wrote: Having said that, if the ISW signal is somehow absent or much smaller amplitude than expected in the concordance model, then you don't need to correlate the signals, because in this case the signal with the alignments is coming from just the primary CMB. Or you can reverse this situation and have only ISW, and no SW on the large scales.
OK, we agree that it is not the case that any possible physicsl explanation would require correlating the primary anisotropy and the ISW signal.
Boud Roukema
Joined: February 24 2005
Affiliation: Institute of Astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus University
Contact Boud Roukema
Post by Boud Roukema » May 11 2010
I agree that 1004.5602 is a very clear review of the issue, and
gives clear responses to several recent papers.
Andrew Pontzen wrote: ...we've confirmed in 1004.2706 that no
anisotropic Gaussian theories can give you a significantly better
likelihood than Lambda-CDM does for the observed frequentist anomaly
in the cut sky C(theta).
It seems to me that 1004.2706 makes the assumption that the [tex]a_{lm}[/tex]'s
are drawn from (statistically) independent Gaussian distributions. Is
this correct? If yes, then 1004.2706 does not deal with one of the
main cosmological properties of exact-FLRW models discussed in
1004.5602 (and 1004.5602 also considers going beyond exact-FLRW).
A physical model of the Universe in the sense of exact-FLRW models has
a constant-curvature 3-manifold as its comoving spatial section.
Friedmann, Lemaitre and Robertson (among others) pointed this out,
although the mathematics of constant-curvature 3-manifolds was still
poorly known at the time (see e.g. gr-qc/9605010,
astro-ph/9901364). Copi et al. 1004.5602 refer to this quite clearly
in their 4th and 5th paragraphs, and elsewhere in the text. In the
3rd paragraph of Section V.E, Copi et al. point out that in an
exact-FLRW model, the distributions of the [tex]a_{lm}[/tex]'s are not, in
general, statistically independent distributions on the largest
scales. This is not just an issue of global versus local isotropy or
global versus local homogeneity. If you're looking at the same point
in comoving space when you're observing widely separated sky
positions, then those widely separated sky positions should be correlated
according to the correlation expected for closely separated points in
comoving space. One of Copi et al's major points is to consider the
possibility that the [tex]a_{lm}'s[/tex] may not be drawn from statistically
independent distributions, as well as to avoid other assumptions about
the fluctuation statistics if possible, since otherwise, circular
reasoning is used (Section 1.2.1 (b), astro-ph/9910272).
It is quite possible (but not necessary) for exact-FLRW models plus
density perturbations to be modelled as "anisotropic Gaussian",
i.e. the space is locally isotropic and globally anisotropic, and the
distributions of the amplitudes of the eigenmodes of the comoving
space can be drawn from Gaussian distributions. However, this
does not lead to full Gaussianity of the [tex]a_{lm}[/tex]'s for the lowest
l's. Independently, it is also not obvious that the amplitude
distributions of the comoving space eigenmodes should all be Gaussian
at the largest scales.
In any case, if by "anisotropic Gaussian theories" you only include
models in which the [tex]a_{lm}[/tex]'s are drawn from (statistically)
independent Gaussian distributions, then you have dealt with a
different question than one of the main questions raised by Copi et
al. in 1004.5602. [tex]C_{\theta}[/tex] can be calculated without requiring
the assumption that space is simply-connected. (Incidentally, "simply"
refers only to a topological property, not to the space itself. An
infinite flat 3D space as a physical model is not simple.)
Boud Roukema wrote:
No, that's incorrect. The 'designer' theory in 1004.2706 allows complete freedom in the covariance matrix, meaning the a_lm's can be correlated in any way whatsoever. The restrictions are just that the theory is Gaussian and has zero mean.
Hiranya Peiris
Joined: September 28 2004
Affiliation: University College London
Post by Hiranya Peiris » May 11 2010
Andrew Pontzen wrote:
And the obvious requirement that the covariance matrix of the theory is positive definite.
Boud Roukema wrote: I agree that 1004.5602 is a very clear review of the issue, and gives clear responses to several recent papers.
I didn't see that it had responded to any of the points made in 1004.2706. We would obviously welcome a discussion of these points here, if the authors are watching.
Dragan Huterer
Joined: July 18 2005
Affiliation: University of Michigan
Contact Dragan Huterer
Post by Dragan Huterer » May 12 2010
The point is that the angular correlation is unusually low on the only part of the sky that can be reliably observed. All of the talk about theory expectation muddles this simple fact I think.
For example, Andrew P writes that "you can understand the cut sky C(theta) frequentist anomaly as arising from low l=2,3,5,7 alignments on the full sky, coupled with the low quadrupole". That sounds awfully complicated. While this bizarre set of alignments might indeed the true reason behind the low cut-sky C(theta), I don't see how it, by itself, alleviates the anomaly.
The reason for low cut-sky C(theta) also does not appear to be fortuitous alignment of the cut and the large-scale power, as found in Sarkar et al 1004.3784 that was mentioned above. The 'aligned' Monte Carlo sky realizations in this paper, in addition to the Q-O alignment, did not enforce the low C_2 (as Pontzen noticed), but did effectively enforce the planar octopole via the statistics S^(3,3) in that paper. (A fair comparison would look for the covariance between all-alignment vs. all-power constrained realizations, which is what Sarkar et al did, and not some mix). So it doesn't appear that the alignments-imply-missing-correlations type of explanation is at work.
As for the ISW, I don't follow. In our review paper, we basically agree with Andrew's comments how low large-angle power would imply fortuitous cancellation between SW and ISW signals, and therefore "mak[ing] the prior on any theory purporting to explain it very small". But how is this an argument against the observed low correlations?
Dragan Huterer wrote: The point is that the angular correlation is unusually low on the only part of the sky that can be reliably observed. All of the talk about theory expectation muddles this simple fact I think.
We obviously start from very different perspectives. As far as I can tell, in the absence of theory, it's impossible to quantify unambiguously the significance of any anomaly. This follows from basic Bayesian considerations. If we can't agree on even that, I don't think there's any hope.
Dragan Huterer wrote: For example, Andrew P writes that "you can understand the cut sky C(theta) frequentist anomaly as arising from low l=2,3,5,7 alignments on the full sky, coupled with the low quadrupole". That sounds awfully complicated. While this bizarre set of alignments might indeed the true reason behind the low cut-sky C(theta), I don't see how it, by itself, alleviates the anomaly.
No-one ever claimed it did -- as we say explicitly in our paper: "[this] does not by itself determine whether the anomaly might point to theories beyond the concordance model". It's a tool to allow us to construct simple theories which mimic the C(theta)^cut behaviour.
Dragan Huterer wrote: The reason for low cut-sky C(theta) also does not appear to be fortuitous alignment of the cut and the large-scale power, as found in Sarkar et al 1004.3784 that was mentioned above. The 'aligned' Monte Carlo sky realizations in this paper, in addition to the Q-O alignment, did not enforce the low C_2 (as Pontzen noticed), but did effectively enforce the planar octopole via the statistics S^(3,3) in that paper. (A fair comparison would look for the covariance between all-alignment vs. all-power constrained realizations, which is what Sarkar et al did, and not some mix). So it doesn't appear that the alignments-imply-missing-correlations type of explanation is at work.
The low quadrupole is an essential ingredient to see the effect of the higher-l correlations. Otherwise the shalf value is dominated by the quadrupole.
Dragan Huterer wrote: As for the ISW, I don't follow. In our review paper, we basically agree with Andrew's comments how low large-angle power would imply fortuitous cancellation between SW and ISW signals, and therefore "mak[ing] the prior on any theory purporting to explain it very small". But how is this an argument against the observed low correlations?
The likelihood isn't affected. The prior is. As I said at the top of this post: if you don't believe priors are important in model selection, I'm honestly not sure where to start.
glenn starkman
Joined: November 15 2006
Affiliation: case western reserve university
Post by glenn starkman » May 13 2010
Andrew Pontzen writes:
As far as I can tell, in the absence of theory, it's impossible to quantify unambiguously the significance of any anomaly.
Okay, we can go back and forth about frequentist vs. Bayesian approaches to statistics until we're blue in the face, but when you're data has features that are incredibly unlikely in your best fit theory at some point you have to wake up to the fact that either your theory or your data is in serious trouble. Certainly we are much happier when we find a theory that accommodates the anomalous data, but that doesn't entitle us to say that until we have a theory the data isn't anomalous.
In this particular case, the chance of (the cut sky) Shalf being this small is a few in 10,000 in the best fit LCDM. (And to be specific, I mean the p-value.) But actually the situation is much worse. As far as we can tell (and we're double checking this.), in the vast majority of the cases where (the cut sky) Shalf manages to be this low, it is because all the low l Cl's are very low -- not at all how our (cut) sky achieves this low an Shalf. Our sky achieves it by a careful cancellation between the contributions of l=2,3,4,5 against l>=6. In other words, apparently the vast majority of simulated (cut) skies with low Shalf have pseudo-Cls that are inconsistent with the pseudo-Cls of our sky. Thus the true p-value of the lack of large angle corrleations
is << 10^{-4}.
glenn starkman wrote: Andrew Pontzen writes:
I certainly agree that frequentist statistics can be a useful guide to 'what might be expected from a Bayesian analysis if only we had a good model'. In fact, many frequentist statistics can be interpreted in exactly this way. But then why not do the actual analysis over an entire class of models to check?
Our actual Bayesian analysis suggests that physical theories won't ever 'explain' the shalf_cut value. That makes its small value much less interesting. So, by all means, call it an anomaly (otherwise we will just be disagreeing on semantics); but don't expect a theory to come along which is physically motivated, provides a better fit to the CMB as a whole, and predicts low shalf_cut.
(Of course, a theory which is non-Gaussian on large scales but highly Gaussian on small scales might come along and evade our limits. I'll eat my hat...)
I can well believe this is true. If you keep staring at the data forever, you can distill the anomaly down to more and more specific aspects of our sky. The p-values should get smaller and smaller.
The trouble is, you can do that whether or not the anomaly has physical significance; you are simply making more and more specific a posteriori choices.
If you couple this sort of distillation with some sort of physical explanation of why the new statistic is more meaningful, then we are talking from the same page. If, on the other hand, you simply publish the p-values of these even-more-a-posteriori statistics, then I don't see the point.
Return to "arXiv papers"


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Lil Mosey Admits To Sexual Relationship w/ Rape Accuser
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text:
Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography
Each State Party shall take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences referred to in article 3, paragraph 1, when the offences are commited in its territory or on board a ship or aircraft registered in that State.
Each State Party may take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences referred to in article 3, paragraph 1, in the following cases:
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Each State Party shall also take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the aforementioned offences when the alleged offender is present in its territory and it does not extradite him or her to another State Party on the ground that the offence has been committed by one of its nationals.
The present Protocol does not exclude any criminal jurisdiction exercised in accordance with internal law.


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Emmanuel will stand at 7 Muay Thai Gym & Beach Resort for a period of about two weeks to prepare for his next big meeting March 12, 2015 at the Max Muay Thai Weekly at Pattaya famous city which is only an hour or so from the camp.
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text:
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You can't get a brown pen these days.
These days we're in a place technologically where we should be able to get a handle on the Black Plague pretty easily.
It's not why we got into business, but we're fast at changing photos on websites.
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May 6 - August 8, 2016
We're not sure how you'll feel about this show, but that's exactly what it's all about.
"Not Really" explores the equal impact that non-objective abstract art has on the artist and the viewer. The artist studies physical and psychic energy by using the canvas as a playground for material exploration through invention of colors and textures, practically demanding the viewer to dissect how the piece makes them feel and relate to the intangible world around them.
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text:
By Yosola Olorunshola
Women Are Treated Like Children, Thanks to This Saudi Arabia Practice
The biggest barrier to women's empowerment in Saudi Arabia.
©UNICEF flickr/2013/Ayene
Saudi Arabia's entrenched system of "male guardianship" dictates that every woman must have a male guardian, whether this be her husband, her father, her brother, or even her own son.
From deciding whether she can work or marry, to whether she should travel abroad or access healthcare, a male guardian wields an enormous power over a woman's life. With Boxed In, a new report on the impact of male guardianship on women's lives, Human Rights Watch has released a series of powerful animations to reveal just how restrictive the system of male guardianship really is.
Illustrating a range of scenarios where a woman would need to seek permission from a male guardian, the videos highlight the oppressive impact of a system that treats women as "legal minors," whilst doing little to protect them from abuse.
The report reveals that Saudi women often find themselves in a catch-22 situation — during divorce proceedings, the husband still remains his wife's guardian. And if a woman flees an abusive guardian and seeks refuge in a shelter, he can force her to return home by signing for her release on her behalf.
"You don't have power over your body … It makes you nervous every step of your life," said Reema* one of the women interviewed for the report. "Everything that you put so much effort and time into could just end in a second if your guardian decides."
"My son is my guardian, believe it or not, and this is really humiliating ... My own son, the one I delivered, the one I raised, he is my guardian," a 62-year-old Saudi woman told Human Rights Watch.
Saudi women have campaigned to end this repressive code, but the country has been slow to abandon the practice. In the last decade, the government has taken steps to limit the level of control a guardian can exert, introducing a law to criminalize domestic violence and decreeing that a woman no longer needed a man's permission to work — although there is still no penalty for companies that continue to require this. In some ways, 2015 marked a high point for women's rights in the country, as women were allowed to vote in municipal elections for the first time. However, Human Rights Watch argues that progress has been far to slow.
"Saudi women have been told for decades achieiving their rights will just take time," said Sarah Whitson, Middle East Director for Human Rights Watch. "Saudi women shouldn't have to wait a moment longer to be treated as equal members of Saudi society."
"We all have to live in the borders of the boxes our dads or husbands draw for us," one 25-year old Saudi woman said.
Denying a woman the right to move freely, shape her own choices, control her own body, and simply be herself, male guardianship legitimizes the notion that a woman should not have a mind of her own. In a country where women are even banned from driving cars, the report concludes that the male guardianship system remains the most significant barrier to women's rights in Saudi Arabia.
*Names have been changed for confidentiality.
TopicsGender Equality#LevelTheLawSaudi ArabiaWomen and GirlsMale Guardianship


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  if (req.user && req.user.screenname) {
    // Render the movies profile view
    res.render('movies', {member: req.user.screenname, username: req.user.username, password: req.user.password, favorites: req.user.favorites, watchList: req.user.watchList});
  } else {
    // Render an error if, for some reason, req.user.screenname was undefined
    res.render('error', { 'message': 'Application error...' });
  }
}

// This route checks that the user has the required credentials to log in
function checkAuthentication(req, res, next){
    // Passport will set req.isAuthenticated
    if(req.isAuthenticated()){
        // call the next bit of middleware
        //    (as defined above this means doGame)
        next();
    } else{
        // The user is not logged in. Redirect to the login page.
        res.redirect("/index.html");
    }
}

// This route logs the user out back to the login/signup screen
function doLogout(req, res){
  // Passport puts a logout method on req to use.
  req.logout();
  // Redirect the user to the welcome page which does not require
  // being authenticated.
  res.redirect('/');
}

//  This route is used when users sign up to add a user to the database
putUser = function(request, response){
	if (Object.keys(request.body).length == 0){
		response.render('message',{title:'Movie Finder', obj:"No create message body found"});
		return;
	}
	userModel.create(request.body,function(result){
		var success = (result ? "Create successful" : "Create Unsuccessful");
		response.render('message',{title:'Movie Finder', obj:success});
	});
}


Last season, Jenn and I met as co-workers at Left Field Farm in Bowdoinham, ME. We got to know each other and developed a strong working relationship while weeding carrots, harvesting sungold tomatoes, and packing CSA shares. We worked side by side with farmer & owner Sean Hagan, who moved to Maine after farming for many seasons in California. It was really special to be a part of Left Field Farm's first season, and although we are no longer weeding the carrots, we are thrilled to collaborate in new ways.
We appreciate Left Field Farm for many reasons. The land is located on the shore of Merrymeeting Bay, and the soil is rich from years of organic cultivation. Farmer Sean's attention to detail, organizational skills and artful nature all combine with the sea side land to help produce absolutely gorgeous vegetables.
Today I visited the farm to pick up one of Jenn's favorite spring crops, sprouting broccoli, which we are going to use to make a seasonal spin on kimchi. It was a great visit and inspiring to see all of the progress that a second season brings. I got to meet the new crew, who were hard at work in the wash station, check on the seedlings in the greenhouse, and feel the freshness and potential of a new growing season in the air. Thanks Left Field for being an important part of our food community!
This recipe is not fermented like a traditional cabbage kimchi. Instead we use a balance of lemon juice and anchovy to achieve the sour pickle flavor of kimchi.
Cut scallions into 2" strips.
In a large bowl combine broccoli, radishes and scallions.
Make a brine by dissolving 1/4 cup of salt into 8 cups of room temperature water.
Pour the brine over the vegetables to just cover them, then put a plate on top of the vegetables, and weigh down the plate to keep them submerged in the brine.
Cover with a clean heavy towel and let sit for 8 hours, or overnight.
Drain the vegetables, reserving the brine.
Add spice paste and lemon juice to vegetable mixture, and toss to coat thoroughly.
Pack into ball jars and cover with reserved brine.
Cap and store in refrigerator for up to a month. Flavor will continue to evolve with time.


A pillows thickness is also some thing to keep in mind, you should choose depth based on the position you sleep in. If you sleep generally on your side you will want a heavier pillow to get the neck support you need. If you sleep in your back than a thin pillow would be your best choice, a thin cushion will give you enough neck support but won't cause guitar neck strain. A feather pillow case can also be made flat thus would also be a good choice should you sleep on your back. Purchasing a new pillow will be a less complicated decision if you are prepared by the actual size you want and what material you prefer that to be made out of. I prefer down pillows because they are very delicate, and I don't wake up with any neck pain. It is crucial to choose the right pillow to get a good nights sleep and wake up refreshed and ready to face every day.
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Mobile phone operator Robi hauled a huge profit in 2013, the year of elections filled with political trivia especially in the last quarter.
A report released by the third largest mobile operator of the country on Thursday said its profit was over Tk365 crore in 2013, what was only Tk91 crore in 2012.
However, their profit in the last quarter, from October to December, was negatively impacted due to political unrest, the report said.
The telecom operator managed to sustain a 16% growth with over Tk4,500 crore raised in revenue during 2013, what was nearly Tk3,900 crore in 2012.
The revenue in the fourth quarter (October-December) of 2013 amounted to Tk1,013 crore, what was Tk1,173 crore in the third (July-September), the report said.
Robi apprehended the affect of political turmoil on the earnings of the country's telecommunication industry according to one of its senior executive officer.
The average per subscriber usage of the institution dropped drastically to 155 minutes per month compared to what was 1,631 minutes per month previously.


You might have noticed that the name of my blog has changed. It's a change that's been a long time coming, as I've not been comfortable with the name, "The Third Way" for quite a while. But the change represents more than a mere marketing decision.
I began this blog when I was the co-director of Jewish Voice for Peace, nearly 15 years ago. At that time, I liked the name of the blog. I didn't see it as reflecting a "middle path," or a "compromise position" on the Israeli occupation. But I felt that it represented what I was trying to present: an analysis of the Israel-Palestine conflict born out of an understanding of and a sympathy for both Palestinian dispossession and lack of rights and Jewish history and realpolitik.
When I left JVP, I took the blog with me. The name still seemed to suit me for a time, but my discomfort with it soon emerged. That was in part due to my work for B'Tselem, which required me to rein in a lot of my political writing, a result of the misguided notion they held at the time that human rights work was somehow separate from political activism.
In more recent years, I've been sure that the name was wrong. That's not because my views have shifted that much. They have inevitably evolved over 15 years, of course, but I still approach the issue with empathy for the shared history I have with other Jews as I work to make Americans recognize that the occupation is a horrific, ongoing crime that would have ended long ago were it not for the policies of the United States.
The name no longer fit for several reasons. First, I was writing about a lot more than the Israel-Palestine conflict. Second, the politics of the conflict had changed with the long-term split in Palestinian politics, the utter dominance of the Israeli right over Israeli policy, and the twin effects on discourse in the United States: while both parties in Washington had been pulled much farther to the right, liberal disconnect, both Jewish and non-Jewish, from Israel had grown and with it, so had more open criticism of Israeli policies.
I finally settled on the name "Rethinking Foreign Policy." The fact that the US is the key enabler of the occupation is not given nearly enough attention. The discourse in the US sort of recognizes the huge role we play, as well as the unique position this foreign policy item occupies in US domestic politics. But it's still discussed as an "over there" issue. No, friends, it's a here and now issue. If the dark days of the Trump administration prove nothing else about Palestine-Israel, they prove that.
The word "rethink" has become popular lately, especially in progressive circles. ReThink Media, a very important organization working on the same issues I write about is one example. There's a number of other really great organizations rethinking education, how to raise boys to resist the indoctrination toward sexual violence, behavioral health care and other issues. I'm not much for following trends, but this one seems like a good one.
The way Americans discuss foreign policy is rotten at the core. Our racism, belief in American exceptionalism, and apathy regarding our history, legacy, and ongoing policies that impoverish and dispossess people all around the world, as well a s here at home, underpin a lot of foreign policy thinking, including quite a bit of mainstream progressive thought. Even when intentions can go beyond those limitations, the often stodgy thinking dominated, as this field is, by excessively privileged white men is very slow to change.
Perhaps I am overly and unjustifiably flattering myself, but I choose to believe that I offer an analysis that is relatively independent. Anyone who claims to be unbiased is either lying or simply has no knowledge of the subject under discussion, as that is the only way to escape bias. But, as many of you know, I have spent much of the past decade unemployed, so I have been able to develop my thinking, writing, and analysis without any organizational constraints. and I'd like to think that makes me a little less biased than many others.
So I am trying to inspire a basic "rethinking" of our foreign policy. That's the approach I have pursued and will continue to do so.
I plan to do more short blog posts that will appear here in their entirety, so this site won't just be a collection of links to my articles and appearances at LobeLog and elsewhere. While I will still write a great deal on Palestine and Israel, I will also continue to expand my writing to include other major US foreign policy issues, as I have been doing with Iran, Syria, North Korea, and the Persian Gulf. I expect to also write more about China, Latin America, Trump's slashing of our relationships with allies like Canada and the EU, and even some domestic issues.
That's my plan, anyway, We'll see if I can actually pull it off. Thanks for sticking with me through all of these years, and for continuing to follow my work.


text:
Q: How can I read certificate to verify signature with openssl? I have generated a private key and corresponding certificate with openssl on linux, with these commands:
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out certificate.pem -days 730 -nodes

This has generated to me two files: key.pem and certificate.pem
Using key.pem, with C++ (PEM_read_PrivateKey, RSA_sign) I have signed some data.
Now using the certificate I want to verify the signature.
However, while reading the certificate, I got an error, ie, the function PEM_read_PUBKEY returns me NULL:
FILE * certificate_fd = NULL;

std::string cert_file = "certificate.pem";
certificate_fd = fopen(cert_file.toLatin1().data(), "rt");

if (NULL == certificate_fd) return;

EVP_PKEY * certificate = NULL;
certificate = PEM_read_PUBKEY(certificate_fd, NULL, NULL, NULL);

What do I do wrong with PEM_read_PUBKEY?
The content of certificate.pem is this:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Edit:
I have seen that the problem is with -------BEGIN CERTIFICATE------ / ------END CERTIFICATE---------.
But it is generated by openssl. So what is wrong?

A: You are getting confused between a RSA Public Key and a x509 certificate.  The x509 certificate can contain a RSA Public Key, but the "public key" by itself (formatted in PEM format) is what PEM_read_PUBKEY reads in.  You have a x509 certificate so you want to use something like PEM_read_X509 to read in the x509 certificate and then use X509_get_pubkey to extract the public key from the X509 certificate.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Using separate mutexs for pop and push operatin of std::queue instead of one Suppose there are one producer and multiple consumer and they use a std::queue, in order to protect the data in std::queue, a mutex must be used when accessing this std::queue.
But what about using two separate locks? One for pop and one for push? I think it might be faster using two separate locks.
I looked at the STL source code. The std::queue is implemented by std::deque by default. pop_front() and push_back() use two separate iterators to access the data, one for the first element, and one for the last element.
void push_front(const value_type& __x){
    if (this->_M_impl._M_start._M_cur != this->_M_impl._M_start._M_first){
        this->_M_impl.construct(this->_M_impl._M_start._M_ur - 1, __x);
    } else {
        _M_push_front_aux(__x);
    }
}

void push_back(){
    if (this->_M_impl._M_finish._M_cur != this->_M_impl._M_finish._M_first){
        this->_M_impl.construct(this->_M_impl._M_finish._M_ur - 1, __x);
    } else {
        _M_pop_back_aux();
    }
}

So, when one thread is poping the queue, another thread cuts in and tries to push_back. Because these two operations use different iterators which points to the two different end point of deque, so it seems that these two operations will all be ok?

A: pop_front and push_back may be accessing different iterators internally, but that's the whole sense of abstraction: You cannot be sure of that, and moreover aren't allowed to rely on it.
And, as already pointed out in the comments, there's also size, which is since C++11 required to perform in O(1). To hold that requirement, both push_back and pop_front need to mutate some internal storage if the size, which is where you have a race condition for sure.
Then think of what happens when your queue gets empty ...
In short: Don't do that. To use a std::queue in a concurrent setting, you need one mutex to protect it.
As an alternative you should look into lock-free data structures.


text:
Ossining Daily Voice serves Ossining, NY
Sunday, jan 22 36°
Breaking News: Midweek Storm Will Be Second To Sweep Though Region This Week: Here's Latest On Both
Eye On The Storm: Complex System Will Bring Mix Of Rain, Sleet, Snow
In this region, mainly rainfall is expected (shown in green). Photo Credit: AccuWeather.com
A widespread storm system moving from west to east could dump from 6 to 12 inches of snowfall in the areas shown in royal blue, 3 to 6 inches in the areas shown in Columbia blue, and 1 to 3 inches in areas shown in sky blue. Photo Credit: AccuWeather.com
A look at icy spots through Thursday night. Photo Credit: AccuWeather.com
Midweek Storm Will Be Second To Sweep Though Region This Week: …
Fast-Moving Storm Will Bring Mix Of Rain, Sleet, Snow: Here's W…
New Storm Could Bring Up To Foot Of Snow To Parts Of Northeast:…
A complex storm will bring a mix of rain and sleet in much of the region, with up to a foot of snow in some spots in northern New York and New England.
The system is due to arrive on Thursday, Jan. 19 before exiting during the morning on Friday, Jan. 20.
Most of this region will see mainly rain. (See the first image above from AccuWeather.com.)
About an inch of rainfall is expected in most spots from the system.
For projected snowfall totals, click on the second image:
6 to 12 inches of snowfall in the areas shown in royal blue,
3 to 6 inches in the areas shown in Columbia blue,
1 to 3 inches in areas shown in sky blue.
For a look at icy spots through Thursday night, click on the third image above.
The storm system is due to arrive from west to east Thursday morning, mainly later in the morning, before winding down Friday morning.
Thursday's high temperature will range from the mid 30s to low 40s, with lower temperatures farther north and inland.
Friday will be mostly cloudy throughout the day with a high temperature in the mid 40s.
The current outlook for Saturday, Jan. 21 calls for partly sunny skies with a high temperature in the low 40s.
Sunday, Jan. 22 will be mainly cloudy with scattered afternoon rain and showers followed by rain becoming likely in the evening. The high temperature will be in the mid 40s.
Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Ossining and receive free news updates.
Police Officer Revived By Narcan After Possible Fentanyl Exposu…
Recall Issued For 64,300 Vacuum Cleaners That Could Overheat, C…
Man Admits Strangling 25-Year-Old Woman To Death Nearly 20 Year…
Not in Ossining?


© Jill Croteau/ Global News Health-care workers outside Calgary's Foothills Hospital gather for a gun control rally.
A handful of people gathered outside Calgary's Foothills Hospital over the noon hour on Wednesday to rally for tougher gun laws.
The rally happened on the same day two people were shot to death in a parking lot in the northeast part of the city. The men died after a vehicle was sprayed by bullets early Wednesday morning.
Front-line health-care workers said that's timely evidence to call for stricter laws on guns.
Dr. John Kortbeek, a trauma surgeon and critical care physician with Alberta Health Services, said it's time to speak out.
"The cure for this disease is prevention," Kortbeek said.
"We understand shotguns are part of Canadian landscape and culture, and tools used by farmers and ranchers and hunters. But we are troubled by the increasing use of handgun violence and increasing rates of homicides."
Dr. Josh Ng-Kamstra, a critical care fellow, joined the protesters in hopes of convincing federal politicians to impose stricter regulations.
"I've been witness to countless nights in the ER where a victim rolls through the doors with bullet injuries to his chest and abdomen, and sometimes we are able to save them," he said. "I've also been involved in resuscitations where unfortunately, we are not.
"That is the motivation for standing up to [push for] public policy that protects Canadians from having similar outcomes."
Other health-care workers joined the gathering to support their colleagues. Dr. Kirsten Fiest. an epidemiologist with AHS, said she didn't want to stand idly by and wanted her voice to be heard.
"Women and girls are disproportionately affected by gun violence in our country and one-third of killings of women and girls in Canada in 2018 were the result of a firearm, and it's those types of impactful facts that move me to want to see a change," she said.
Calgary's physicians and nurses joined health-care employees in 13 other cities across the country on Wednesday for a "national day of action."
They said being first-hand witnesses to the emotional and physical trauma caused by guns compelled them to join the protest.
Wednesday's event was organized by the group Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns. The grassroots group is urging the federal government to pass Bill C-71, which would initiate a handgun and assault weapons ban, increase background checks for gun owners and provide enhanced restrictions on transporting a gun.
Members of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFC)said the organized rallies are misguided and don't address the root causes of crime. The CCFC's Tracey Wilson said she felt these health-care workers aren't focusing on the issues.
"If they were out there demanding the government do real credible work on violence and crime, we would be right there beside them," she said.
"I know there's a desperate need to feel like you've done something, but all you're doing is targeting the very people who are not committing the crimes that you're worried about."


RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond's new mayor lived up to his name and a campaign promise Thursday when he introduced the Monument Avenue Commission and outlined its tasks to re-write the "false narratives" of Richmond's world-famous Confederate monuments and find some new statues to add some diversity.
It was perhaps Levar Stoney's most stony and passionate speech of his young career, delivered as other cities across the nation wrestle with the images and icons of the Civil War and what they say to us today.
"It was written in stone and bronze more than 100 years ago," Stoney said of our monuments during the press conference. "Not only does it distort history by lionizing the architects of and defenders of slavery, but also to perpetuate the tyranny and terror of Jim Crow that ushered a new era of white supremacy."
The monuments are all "part of the false narrative - the alternative facts, if you will - that we will begin to fact-check starting today," he said.
The commission, largely made up of esteemed historians and educators along with some city leaders and legal experts, is expected to come up with plans for plaques and other ways to explain the context of the monuments and those who created them, all by Nov. 1. (Really? Four months for 100-plus years of history?) There are two public hearings (really, that's all?) that will be announced soon that will occur some time in the next 90 days.
The mayor stated that he's not asking to tear any monuments down. But after the press conference - when asked about doing just that- he left the door open for demolition, saying what he wants done now is a "first step."
While the co-chair of the commission, Christy Coleman (CEO of the American Civil War Museum), struck a conciliatory tone and urged those present to work together to get this right, the mayor's comments indicated he felt certain that white supremacy and terror were the motives for the creation of the monuments. And he basically said he found all but one of them unworthy, if not detestable.
Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general whose statue sparked development of the now-famous Monument Avenue, had been dead nearly 20 years when his statue was unveiled May 29, 1890.
And there's certainly room on this avenue for some grand new monuments.
"I think we should consider Monument Avenue have a little more diversity on that stretch of road," Stoney said. "Right now, Arthur Ashe stands alone as the only true champion on that street."
Wait a minute - the only true champion on Monument Avenue? What about Matthew Fontaine Maury?
But this Spotsylvania County native was mainly known as the "pathfinder of the seas," the man who charted ocean currents and winds, a tireless researcher and author whose work in several fields before and after the war profoundly changed the world. He's buried here at Hollywood Cemetery, right beside presidents John Tyler and James Monroe.
And the person behind a monument for "the first and foremost oceanographer" wasn't some Jim Crow mafia, but Mrs. Elvira Evelina Moffitt, a 78-year-old woman and historical activist from North Carolina (please read her bio online) who tirelessly raised the money for one of the world's rare monuments to a heroic scientist. She lived just long enough to see it unveiled.
But it wasn't her idea. According to old newspaper reports, the monument to Maury was originally suggested by a letter-writer to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It took 40 years to get it done.
My cursory review of the idealization of Richmond's monuments through the eyes of newspaper accounts at the time shows lengthy and complicated negotiations and fund-raising efforts, with some of the same concerns about racism and intimidation voiced then as the mayor shared on Thursday.
I am confident the commission will find and share the truth. It will cool to see what they come up with in terms of new monuments and "contextualizing" the old ones.
I just wish the mayor had introduced this complex and controversial effort with a little more grace and not so much stony condemnation.


Avignon is about 70 km northwestern away from Aix-en-Provence and requires approximately 1 hour of driving.
The sceneries were very pleasant to the eyes on the way to Avignon. Green fields and trees were everywhere around the road.
Avignon is a very unique city that became known as "Palais des Papes"–meaning "Palace of Popes"–since early 14th century. A palace was built for settling the first pope–Pope Clamente V and later on another 6 popes had made Avignon his residency. The city is still kept with its ancient look, with majestic city walls surrounding it and the gothic style palace standing in the center.
The shops are everywhere in the city. Even these buildings and passages are full of ancient atmosphere.
Outdoor restaurants in the plaza, they start to get crowded at around 7pm.
My hotel–Kyriad, is just right besides the plaza. Kyriad is a chain hotel franchise in France. It offers nicely renovated rooms and reasonable price.
One thing to take heed in Avignon is that the hotels do not offer parking spaces because it's too crowded in the city. However, there's a parking structure in one side of the city that you can park your car overnight for a reasonable over-12-hour price. The downside is, you have to walk all the way with your luggage to the hotel. However, the manager in my hotel told me that the parking structure is guarded the whole day and night with surveillance cameras, so it is safe enough that you just take out the valuable things and the belongings you need, and leave the rest in the car with the doors locked.
This is another chain hotel franchise in France called "Mercure."
The famous bridge, Pont D'Avignon (also known as Pont Saint-Benezet), connects to part of the city wall and spans a river. It originally reached out to the forest on the other side of the river, but has been broken in the middle now. It looks exceptionally beautiful at night.
Pont D'Avignon during daytime, still very beautiful.
The interesting-looking dessert is fruit slice or vegetable coated with suger. There are pineapples, kiwis, cherries, pears, lemons, oranges, papayas, celeries, etc.
It got some very colorful and cute candy that imitates fruit.
This entry was posted in France 法國, Provence 普羅旺斯, Travel 旅遊. Bookmark the permalink.


I kid I kid. I've been busy today, as my school requires you to withdraw in person, and I had to pack the rest of my dorm anyway. So it was close to a three hour drive with the weather in the single digits. I got up at 7 am, and didn't get a break until 7 pm. I have another blog post I want to finish, but uh, I'll have a double dose of Shameless Shipping tomorrow, promise.