I just signed on. What did I miss?
Nothing. When I saw his schedule today I knew half the country wouldn't benefit from these "talks". The perpetual campaign continues…….
As a member of Toastmasters, I can tell you that when this guy speaks off-prompter, he should have ah-counters and Timers giving him a slap.
One thing I know he is not going to address is IRS abuse. So, there is a nice three part video of Cleta Mitchell representing the conservative groups over at Powerline blog. Below ivis the link to the one that charges Congress, especially Republicans, for failure to hold the federal government accountable for its actions. Parts1 and 2 are also notable for recapping Justice's response to her testimony. She will meet with DOJ but refuses to meet with the Civil Rights division. Good call.
Obama speaking online… what a waste of the internet.


Send flowers to Bulgaria with E-cvete - Florist in Silistra and the surroundings. Flowers delivery by local florist in Silistra.
Florist in Silistra and the surroundings. Flowers delivery by local florist in Silistra.
using the services of our flowers shop in Silistra you can make a friend or relative of yours happy by sending them bouquet or floral arrangement, prepared by local florist in Silistra.
All available products in our online catalogue can be prepared and delivered in Silistra.
The standard flowers delivery fee to Silistra is 20.00BGN and the express delivery ( same day delivery ) costs 25.00BGN.


text:
Calhoun, Georgia, honors the memory of Dana Patterson with annual memorial concert
November 29, 2021 | by Kelcey Caulder | Copyright © 2022
Contributed photo from Faye Bentley / Dana Patterson was tragically killed in 2013. Every year since, a Christmas concert has been held in her memory.
The GEM Theatre in downtown Calhoun, Georgia, will host performances from White Water Junction, Faye and Jessie Bentley, Trey and Andrew Bentley, Jule Medders and Steven Pearson on Dec. 18 during its eighth annual Dana Patterson Merry Christmas Concert.
The annual show, set to start at 7 p.m., began as a way of honoring the memory of the late Dana Patterson, a 1989 graduate of Gordon Central High School who was killed in a murder-for-hire plot in July 2013. The concert returns this year after a hiatus last holiday season.
Faye Bentley, the event's organizer, told the Times Free Press that COVID-19 made it impossible to host the show last year but that she was "thrilled" to see it back again with a brand new name, just in time for the holidays.
(READ MORE: North Georgia media company sues Google and Facebook)
"COVID was so bad last year that we couldn't put it on. I'm thrilled we're returning," she said by phone on Monday. "Dana Patterson was an amazingly kind person, and we are so glad we are able to honor her through this every year and to do so much good in her name. It is only because of her and the passion that she had for music and for Christmas that we do this at all. That's something we want to keep in mind. This concert is not a sad time. We are celebrating all the wonderful things Dana brought to her life, and we're doing a lot of good because of her. That's why we decided to call this the 'Dana Patterson Merry Christmas Concert' this year, instead of calling it a memorial concert. It still is, but it's happy. It's a celebration."
Patterson was 42 when she died. Her husband, John Mackay, a Fort Eustis staff sergeant, allegedly had an affair with Nicole Houchin, and the two were charged in her killing. Houchin's husband, Nace Houchin, and another man, Gregory Crawford, were also charged.
John Mackay, Nicole Houchin, Nace Houchin and Gregory Crawford were all sentenced in January 2016. Mackay was sentenced to 28 years and two months, Nicole Houchin was sentenced to 23 years and 11 months, Nate Houchin was sentenced to 40 years and Crawford was sentenced to 20 years with 17 to serve, with the additional years as probation for his role in the crime.
Before her death, Trey and Andrew Bentley were close friends with Patterson and they attended church together at Meadowdale Baptist Church. They remembered that Patterson's favorite time of the year was Christmas and decided they wanted to do something special for the children in Gordon County in her honor during the holiday season. Faye Bentley, their mother, had a long history in the local music scene and with the GEM Theatre and decided to help. Together they organized the first-ever celebration in Patterson's honor. Proceeds from that initial show went to support local domestic violence outreach efforts.
(READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccine rates for children vary around Southeast Tennessee)
"She loved Christmas," Faye Bentley said. "Dana was a friend of my family's and so were her parents. What we wanted to do with that first show is make Christmas a happier time for them. That's still something we strive for, and I can't speak for them, but I know it means a lot even just for me to see all the good things we've been able to accomplish because of her."
Since that first holiday concert, the Dana Patterson Merry Christmas Concert has collected more than 7,500 toys for local children, supported the Voluntary Action Center's hunger and homeless prevention programs with thousands of dollars in canned food donations and donated to the Cooper Brazell Foundation, which provided funds for the medical care of Cooper Brazell, a 6-year-old who died last year after a lifelong battle with a rare form of mitochondrial disease.
"One year people donated so many toys that we provided what we'd said we would give to the shelter and then we took the rest to the local dollar store and stood outside. Whenever parents came up to the door and asked what we were doing, we gave them a free toy if they had kids," Faye Bentley said on Monday. "This year we have decided we want to give our proceeds back to the GEM. COVID hit them really hard because they weren't able to host shows. This is our way of thanking them for their support as a venue over the last several years."
Bentley said she wanted to keep the specifics of this year's show, such as the songs that might be sung, a secret ahead of the event but did say that Steven Pearson, Dana Patterson's step-father, would be performing a few Christmas songs and reading the Christmas story toward the end of the evening. He has participated with the event in some way each year.
(READ MORE: Children abandoned at Calhoun truck stop reunited with their grandmother)
According to a news release, tickets for the show are $20 and are on sale now at calhoungemtheatre.org, at the box office or by calling 706-625-3132.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.
Tennessee contract crews to close portion of Tucker Road in Collegedale on Tuesday morning
Hullander says he won't use own money in run for Hamilton County mayor

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Well done to our U15 team who put in an excellent performance to beat Mackie at a windy Redcloak.
A contrast in styles, Dunfermline attacking out wide while Mackie used their big pack to attack down the middle. We were short of a few injured players, but our re-jigged back line performed well, while our forwards secured good ball and stifled the Mackie attack, restricting them to three tries to our 8.
We look forward to our final with Perthshire at the end of April, and while there are a few areas to improve on (and we'll work hard over the next month), we'll enjoy this win.
Thanks to Mackie an excellent game, a good bunch of lads who challenged us right to the final whistle.


My work is grounded equally in the history of representative painting and in contemporary concerns with materiality and surface. I sift through the history of western art to mine imagery that speaks to me in the present moment - and reinterpret its language to discover an enduring resonance.
My current paintings expose the urgent and all-encompassing twin experiences of motherhood and of loss – each a vast and varied landscape of connection, isolation, ambivalence, joy, rage, and grief. I am investigating the odd sense of time rushing by and simultaneously slowing to a standstill, creating subjects that hover between relic and living, both iconic and familiar. The sources for this work are quiet and tender Madonna and child sculptures and reliefs from the later Italian Renaissance, largely made of glazed terra cotta.
These pictures break from the tranquility of the traditional Madonna and child, instead presenting images in which multiple mothers and children cascade through the compositions, their idealized embraces interrupted by abstraction, replication, and incompletion. The work harnesses the power of pictorial space and surface presence, testing the line between representation and abstraction. My large works in watercolor and oil are physically active, corresponding with the span of my arm and the movement of my body. In counterpoint, smaller works I make with vinyl paint on panel are more hushed and contained, emphasizing drawing and mimesis. Color takes center stage, pushing in surprising ways throughout the spectrum and the limits of pigment. The mark making ranges from truly spontaneous to painstakingly careful, alluding to the slippery quality of time itself and the search for that fleeting moment of true connection; that charged moment when paint is at once a smear and a set of eyes looking into yours.


text:
Local leaders pleased by Jordan's cabinet position
Published: Jan 29 at 3:04 p.m.
South Shore-St. Margarets MP Bernadette Jordan was named minister of rural economic development during the most recent cabinet shuffle.
MP named minister of rural economic development
South Shore-St. Margarets MP Bernadette Jordan is Nova Scotia's newest federal minister.
The appointment is one that has been met by enthusiasm amongst municipal leaders across the South Shore; Jordan was named minister of rural economic development during the most recent cabinet shuffle.
David Dagley, mayor for the Region of Queens Municipality, said he is pleased by the results of the federal shuffle.
"It should be much to the benefit of the South Shore," he said. "Bernadette has been very supportive of our activities in the Region of Queens and has done, in cooperation with her staff, all that we could ask in our area."
Dagley added that Jordan will have a greater accessibility to other ministers and as a minister herself, will be able to help tackle issues like rural internet for her constituents.
"Rural internet is a major concern," he said, noting that the municipality is working on improving connectivity throughout the region.
Penny Smith, warden for the Municipality of the District of Shelburne, said Jordan brings a wealth of experience to her new department.
"She has a deep appreciation and understanding of the challenges faced by rural municipalities and we are confident she will continue to be a strong voice for the development and growth of rural Nova Scotia and rural Canada," said Smith.
Smith also noted that Jordan has been a trailblazer in politics, having been the first woman federally elected in her riding and the first minister of her new department.
Moving forward, Smith said she hopes to work with Jordan on improving internet and negotiating funds for a new municipal building.
"In her new role, Minister Jordan can support our efforts, remove and eliminate the red tape and make funds available so that we can move forward with our broadband internet projects," she said.
Lastly, Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell also expressed his excitement at the announcement.
The move, he said, would benefit both Jordan's riding and rural communities across the country.
"Bernadette understands rural communities and the challenges they face," explained Mitchell.
"I believe her community involvement, including her time at the local paper and the health services foundation over many years is a huge asset in her new role."
Mitchell noted that the challenges in Jordan's riding are the same challenges she will attempt to address as minister of rural economic development.
"I believe it's good to have a minister in your riding be it at the provincial or federal level," he said.
Funding for beautification program in Shelburne helping to make a difference
Published Jul 09, 2019 at 12:48 p.m.
The apple wave: new cidery opening in Lunenburg


The Psalms are a beautiful, poetic expression of the wide range of human emotions and experiences. They include hymns of praise; hymns of thanksgiving, both individual and communal; hymns of trust; psalms of complaint, both individual and communal; prayers for help, both individual and communal; cursing psalms; royal psalms; festival psalms; historic psalms; wisdom or instructional psalms; and acrostic poems.
Psalm 100 is a hymn of praise springing forth from the depths of a joyful soul. It expresses the sheer joy of being in communion with God, of recognizing God's goodness, and appreciating all that God has done. It is a response to God's magnificence. It bursts from its host, not because God needs the praise, but because the host needs to express it.
What results from this unadulterated joy is worship (v. 2), knowledge of the Lord (this is more than knowing – it is living fully in God's ways) (v. 3), and again worship ("Enter his gates…") (v. 4). This gives us a clear image of the life cycle of a joyful child of God. It begins with worship, goes out into the world to live and thrive, and then returns to worship, much like the ebb and flow of an ocean's tide. One can almost taste the bliss of a life driven by this rhythm of worship and praise!
The beginning of summer can be a wonderful time to encourage people to be mindful of God's creation – of what goes on around them, to appreciate the things God has done, to slow down and see with eyes and spirits the goodness of a loving God, and to worship and praise in those moments when the greatness of God touches their souls. Remember this is not a commandment – it's an invitation.
Some may not be feeling joyful. That's ok. This text is a hope-filled reminder that there is joy to be found, that despair will not have the final say. Rejoice! Worship! Praise!
Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.


This week I flew back home to Rome for the weekend to walk around the centre and absorb all of the sunlight. The city is currently hosting a series of big-ticket exhibitions, such as Turner at Chiostro del Bramante and Monet at the Vittoriano, but I decided to spend my two days in the company of contemporary artists and made my way to Gagosian and MAXXI.
Gagosian Rome, architecturally speaking, is perhaps my favourite of Larry's outposts. Placed at the ground and first floor of a classic Roman palace, the space opens up to reveal curved walls, reminiscent of Bernini's baroque architecture – whose curves were designed to embrace visitors. This feature, coupled with the incredible amount of natural light that seeps through makes it a wonderfully quiet and delicate gallery – one in which Shio Kusaka's new ceramic works feel at home. Kusaka works often combine elements of figurative representation with more abstract features, yet in her new solo show – her first in Italy – she opted to present ceramics which purely geometric, and thus abstract, patterns. These line, or rather guides, that run through the different vases recall Bridget Riley's works, or Rosemarie Trockel's grid-patterns. By hand drawing each of the lines, Kusaka retains a tactile quality about them, more akin to drawing than sculpture. The understated soft, pastel hues – pink, yellow and green – chosen to envelop the works emerge beautifully when placed on the curvature in the middle of the gallery, enhanced by the natural warm light and the white backdrop that surrounds them – appearing to visitors as if floating. However, the vases I spent time sketching were the smaller ones in the first room. Smaller in scale, these white pots also display the same geometric patterns, yet this time akin to pencil drawings. In their minimalist simplicity they feel more immediate, more personal and intimate than the larger works. Kusako's choice of material adds to this, as they are made of porcelain – we are immediately drawn to their fragility, becoming protective of them.
From via Francesco Crispi I turned left and walked up towards Villa Medici, home to Katharina Grosse and Tatiana Trouvé's new show – Le numerose irregolarità (numerous irregularities). The two artists, whose practice appears to diverge, have created works intended to converse with and complement each other. Grosse's typical digital silks on screen are placed in the same room as Trouvé's bronzes. We open with this exact confrontation, as Grosse's green corner – her first in situ painting made at the Kunsthalle Bern – comes into contact with Somewhere in the Solar System and The Great Atlas of Disorientation. In the latter two we see Trouvé's incredible ability to deceive us into thinking the different elements comprising, for instance, the atlas, are made out of discarded carton. These constructions appear ephemeral – a gust of wind could blow them away – and Grosse's silk draping adds to this, creating what appears to be an unmade room. As we venture further we find Grosse's Ingres Wood.
As she was not able to intervene directly in the gardens of Villa Medici, Grosse used trunks from felled trees planted by Ingres in the garden. She uses bold colours to give these a new coating, placing them at the bottom – in a tank-like formation – their bodies pointing towards the chaotically chromatic draping which covers the entirety of the staircase. As we reach the top I could not help but notice the abrupt change from what in my mind was a loud room – as I sensed each of the colours screaming in their own voice – to a delicate, poetic gallery in which Trouvé's Wander Lines was waiting for us.
Here Trouvé creates branch like bronze structures, barren trees, on which tiny pink tags are hung – each offering a different line, or thought. The tags in particular echo Alice in Wonderland and as we navigate through the final gallery we see Trouvé as a story teller, narrating through her cast bronze objects and plexiglas structures.
My final stop, prior to the airport, was Zaha Hadid's MAXXI. The futuristic building is home to an incredible permanent collection, with a Sol LeWitt, Zorio, Calzolari and Lawrence Wiener all of which I could write about for ages. I was there to see Home Beirut – Sounding the Neighbours, namely the new chapter in the series Interactions across the Mediterranean, which had previously focused on Iran and Istanbul's and now turned its eyes to Beirut. With over 100 works by 36 different artists, the show was an incredible survey of contemporary art in the Lebanese capital.
It also allowed visitors to experience, or at least understand, the intricacies and complex layers of the city. The exhibition has been divided into four sections – home for memory, home for everyone, home for remapping and home for joy. I have been obsessed with Etel Adnan ever since her show at the Serpentine Gallery so seeing her works, and in particular her Leporello pieces – was an incredible start to the show. I then moved through Marwan Rechmaoui's Pillar: Duchamp's Bride – seven cement pillars whose pastiche-like features recall Frankenstein's monster, and speak to the city's bombardments and resilience. Video installations are heavily featured – amongst these we find Roy Dib's A Spectacle of Privacy, in which a provocative solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is offered as a couple draws parallels between that and their sexual relation. We find Akram Zaatari's Beirut Exploded Views and see young men in half constructed homes, suspended in time, looking up at the fireworks and then experiencing a shift in perspective as aerial shots of Beirut are shown – capturing its beauty and incongruity. One of the works I enjoyed most was Mounira al Solh's Rawane's Song. She films herself walking around, her thoughts appearing on the screen, discussing unfinished projects. In particular, she had decided to make a mixtape after asking several Lebanese women for their favourite songs. Her tone is witty, as she recounts that none of the women chose songs whose lyrics discussed the war, but rather preferred typical pop love songs, in her words "they weren't even that romantic".
Moving across the different rooms we are also invited to see how the city's architecture has changed in recent years, with models of upcoming projects for museums and social housing.
This entry was posted in ART, Art Reviews., EXHIBITIONS, My week in the art world and tagged Akram Zaatari, Etel Adnan, Gagosian, Katharina Grosse, Marwan Rechmaoui, maxxi, maxxi rome, Mounira al Solh, roy dib, shio kusaka, Tatiana Trouvé, villa medici. Bookmark the permalink.


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text:
Champions League: Boakye Yiadom and Rashid Sumaila in Red Star Belgrade squad for Liverpool clash
By: Daraja Mutari
Ghana duo Richmond Boakye Yiadom and Rashid Sumaila have been included in Red Star Belgrade squad to face Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday evening in the Champions League.
Boakye returns to the side after missing the 6-1 defeat to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in the last fixture due to injury.
He has been one of the key players for Red Star Belgrade since rejoining the Serbian giants on transfer deadline day.
Liverpool will be hoping to bounce back from Champions League defeat in Naples last time out, having suffered a 1-0 loss against Carlo Ancelotti's side without registering a single shot on target.
The Reds had begun their European journey in fine fashion with their famous 3-2 victory against PSG in the opening match, but an uncharacteristically weak performance at the Stadio San Paolo has since blown Group C wide open.
Napoli sit atop on four points, while Jurgen Klopp's men sit level with the Parisians on three points apiece, and Red Star Belgrade linger at the foot of the table.
By Daraja Mutari


his second son, the oldest son to live to maturity, Yang Pan-hou (楊班侯, 1837–1890), who was also retained as a martial arts instructor by the Chinese Imperial family. Yang Pan-hou became the formal teacher of Wu Ch'uan-yu (Wu Quanyou), a Manchu Banner cavalry officer of the Palace Battalion, even though Yang Luchan was Wu Ch'uan-yu's first t'ai chi ch'uan teacher. Wu Ch'uan-yu became Yang Pan-hou's first disciple. Wu Ch'uan-yu's son, Wu Chien-ch'üan (Wu Jianquan), also a Banner officer, became known as the co-founder (along with his father) of the Wu-style.
his third son Yang Chien-hou (Jianhou) (1839–1917), who passed it to his sons, Yang Shao-hou (楊少侯, 1862–1930) and Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫, 1883–1936) and Niu Chunming (1881–1961).
Wu Yu-hsiang (Wu Yuxiang, 武禹襄, 1813–1880), who also developed his own Wu/Hao-style, which eventually, after three generations, led to the development of Sun-style t'ai chi ch'uan.
Master Ip Tai Tak (Yip Tai Tak, 1929–2004) in Hong Kong, who died during the spring of 2004.
Master Chu Gin Soon, in Boston, US.
Master Chu King Hung (朱景雄, pinyin: zhū jǐng xióng, born 1945) in the United Kingdom. Master Chu is head of the International Tai Chi Chuan Association (ITCCA).
Grandmaster Yang Zhen Duo is from the fourth generation of the Yang family and is officially the Fourth Lineage Holder of the Traditional Yang-style T'ai chi ch'uan. He was born in Beijing in 1926 and is the third son of Yang Chengfu. He started studying with his father when very young and continued studying with his older brothers and Zhao Bin after his father died. In 1960, Yang Zhen Duo moved to Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. Since then, Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan has gradually spread within Taiyuan and to other cities, provinces, and countries.Since 1980, he has served as vice-president of the Shanxi Wushu Association. In 1982 Yang Zhen Duo founded the Shanxi Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association, and has served as president since. The association has now grown to over 30,000 members throughout the Province and is the largest martial arts organization of its kind in China. In October 1998, Yang Zhen Duo founded the International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association, serving as chairman of the board. Under his leadership, the International Association has grown to 28 centers in 12 countries with over 2,000 members. The Chinese Wushu Academy recognized Master Yang Zhen Duo in 1996 as one of the top 100 Wushu Masters in China. He has also been honored by proclamations from the mayors of San Antonio, Texas and Troy, Michigan.In July 2009, at the First International Tai Chi Chuan Symposium, held at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN, Grandmaster Yang Zhen Duo officially named his grandson Yang Jun as the Fifth Lineage Holder of the Traditional Yang-style T'ai chi ch'uan.
Traditional Chinese Cultural Academy, International Governing Board for Traditional Yang Tai Chi Chuan. Death of the Sifu, An Investigation of Rank and Lineage Claims''. American Health Source Publications (2008).


Officials captured 2 cubs and held them for a day to try to find the mother, but she had left the area. They were raised in captivity over the winter.
BILLINGS — Two young Montana bears separated from their mother by eager photographers are back in the wild.
Game wardens and a wildlife biologist released the yearling cubs in southcentral Montana earlier this month. They were last spotted climbing into a big pine tree.
In September, the cubs and their mother were near the town of Harlowton when people stopped to take photos. At some point, people chased the bears and got between the mother and her still-nursing cubs. The cubs ran east but the mother ran west to avoid the people.
Wildlife officials captured the two cubs and held them for a day to try to find the mother, but she had left the area. They were raised in captivity over the winter.


text:
Parliament sinks May's Brexit deal again, EU braces for no-deal exit
Lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a third time on Friday, sounding its probable death knell and leaving Britain's withdrawal from the European Union in turmoil on the very day it was supposed to leave the bloc.
The decision to reject a stripped-down version of May's divorce deal has left it totally unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU, and plunges the three-year Brexit crisis to a deeper level of uncertainty.
After a special sitting of parliament, lawmakers voted 344-286 against May's 585-page EU Withdrawal Agreement, agreed after two years of tortuous negotiations with the bloc.
Within minutes of the vote, European Council President and summit chair Donald Tusk said EU leaders would meet on April 10 to discuss Britain's departure from the bloc.
The EU executive, the Commission, said that "a 'no-deal' scenario on 12 April is now a likely scenario",
May had told parliament the vote was the last opportunity to ensure Brexit would take place. She cautioned that if the deal failed, then any further delay to Brexit would probably be a long one beyond April 12.
"I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House," May told parliament after the defeat. "The implications of the House's decision are grave."
"The legal default now is that the United Kingdom is due to leave the European Union on 12th April," she said.
The British pound, which has been buoyed in recent weeks by hopes that the likelihood of an abrupt 'no-deal' Brexit is receding, fell half a percent after May lost, to as low as $1.2977.
THIRD FAILURE
It was a third failure for May, who had offered on Wednesday to resign if the deal passed, in a bid to win over eurosceptic rebels in her Conservative Party who support a more decisive break with the EU than the divorce her deal offers.
It leaves May's Brexit strategy in tatters. With no majority in parliament for any Brexit option so far, it is unclear what May will now do. Options include asking the EU for a long delay, parliament forcing an election, or a "no-deal" exit.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking as parliament voted, said the EU needed to accelerate no-deal planning.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters: "One of the two routes to an orderly Brexit seems now to be closed. This leaves only the other route, which is for the British to make clear what they want before April 12."
"The risk of a no-deal Brexit is very real," he said.
May's deal had twice been rejected by huge margins this year and, although she was able to win over many Conservative rebels, a hard core of eurosceptics and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which props up her minority government, refused to back it.
Next Monday, lawmakers who have tried to grab control of the process will attempt to agree on an alternative Brexit plan that could command majority cross-party support in parliament, something largely unheard-of in Britain's political system.
NEXT DEADLINE LOOMS
The defeat means Britain now has under two weeks to convince the 27 capitals of the EU that it has an alternative path out of the impasse, or see itself cast out of the bloc from that date with no deal on post-Brexit ties with its largest trading ally.
Many eurosceptics see this as their preferred option but businesses say it would cause huge damage not only to the world's fifth-biggest economy, but also to that of neighbouring Ireland.
However, any further extension would not only require Britain to take part in European Parliament elections in May, but also bring months of fresh uncertainty.
A second referendum could then be in play, although many lawmakers believe the most likely outcome and only way to solve the crisis will be a snap election.
The 2016 referendum vote to leave the EU revealed a United Kingdom divided over many more issues, and has provoked impassioned debate about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and what it means to be British.
Meanwhile the uncertainty around Brexit, the United Kingdom's most significant political and economic move since World War Two, has left allies and investors aghast.
Opponents fear Brexit will make Britain poorer and divide the West as it grapples with both the unconventional U.S. presidency of Donald Trump and growing assertiveness from Russia and China.
Supporters say that, while the divorce might bring some short-term instability, in the longer term it will allow the United Kingdom to thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed attempt to forge European unity.
Author: Prakash Poojary
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Author Prakash PoojaryPosted on March 30, 2019 Categories World News
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Home » Comic Profiles » ANTHEM: The G..
Mankind has entered a new Dark Age in this dystopian future imagined by Ayn Rand. The stark horror of a civilization destroyed by envy remains as relevant and arresting today is it did eight decades ago, when ANTHEM as first published.
In this adaptation, award-winning artist DAN PARSONS teams up with Jennifer Grossman of The Atlas Society to introduce the story to a new generation with a provocative, graphic representation that captures the imagination and invites readers on a journey of self-discovery.


text:
PERSPECTIVE FOR TRADE UNION MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA
Rashy
Perspective is not an oracular statement, and nobody has a crystal ball to predict exactly the direction of event. However, perspectives give an idea of the way events are likely to move in the future. In Drawing up perspectives for the Nigerian Trade Union Movement, it is highly imperative to critically look at the present state of the Trade Unions and also study the objective conditions that led to this present state. Trotsky said seventy three years ago, "there is one common feature in the degeneration of modern trade union organizations in the entire world: it is their drawing together closely to and growing together with the state power". This assertion is much more correct today than seventy three years ago when it was written. The situation in the ex-colonial countries like Nigeria is even much more terrible. This is because the ex-colonial countries are under the sway not only of native capitalism but of foreign imperialism.
Present State of Trade Unions and Labour Party in Nigeria
The present state of trade union in Nigeria is no doubt lamentable. The leadership is highly corrupt and completely disconnected from the workers they claim to be representing. Their role in the anti fuel price increment general strike in 2012 readily comes to mind. In fact, their action was what saved the corrupt Jonathan regime and allowed the fuel price increase to stay. The labour leadership for years has been consistently disappointing the populace. The way and manner they chickened out on the pension protest this year was also highly disappointing. Their position on the recent state of emergency in three states in north is also very unfortunate. Instead of labour leadership to maintain a class position that the government cannot be trusted to put an end to Boko Haram insurgency because of the most important fact that they were the one that created this gangsters. And that it is only the government of the workers and the poor people that can put an end to this menace, but they went ahead to support the government.
There is complete ideological collapse within the trade union movement. Most of the trade union leaders do not even understand the ideological essence of trade unionism. There is absence of internal democracy within the trade union. Ordinary workers have no influence on who become their leaders. In most instances, the state imposed their stooge on the union. The example of the last NLC election in Lagos state is a striking confirmation of how state manipulates and imposes their stooge on the union.
This present state of the union also has direct effect on the party that was set up by the labour leadership. i.e the Labour Party. The party has been completely taken away from its primary constituency, which is the working class and has been hijacked by failed bourgeois politicians that have nothing to do with labour.
This present lamentable state of the trade union has made many left elements in Nigeria to draw different conclusions.
Some argued that because the trade union leadership has been consistently disappointing the Nigerian people, they conclude that they will always disappoint the people. Therefore, they completely turn their back on the whole apparatus of the working class and look elsewhere for another class that can lead the people.
Some said that since the trade union leadership is corrupt and degenerate, the best thing to do is to go directly and penetrate the rank and file of the workers over the head of the leadership. What this people failed to understand is the fact that there was an objective basis for this degeneration. What need to be done is to carefully study this objective condition in order to draw up the correct future perspective for the movement.
The present trade union degeneration has its root from prolonged global capitalist upswing. For a whole historical period, capitalism was growing. This period coincided with when the Stalinist degenerate regime, which was a caricature of socialism in USSR stagnated and eventually collapsed. Marxists throughout the world were on defensive. There was complete ideological collapsed. Many left leaning individuals who were looking up to Soviet Union could not give explanations for what had happened. Bourgeois apologists came up with many assertions. Notably among them was Francis Fukuyama who proclaimed "the end of history", "Socialism had ended, history had ended". Trotsky had long time ago predicted the collapse Stalinism in the Soviet Union, but unfortunately when it collapsed, the Soviet workers could not take power because the weakness of forces genuine Marxism within the workers' movement. Rather power fall into the hands of the pro-capitalist wing of the same degenerate Stalinist bureaucracy who took the country via capitalist restoration. This coupled with the fact that global capitalist upswing was on still rise then gave rise to labour leaders globally moving more to the right or reformist. Reformist ideology and reformist labour leadership who believe that the contradiction between labour and capital can still be resolved within the confine of capitalism. Trotsky called this period "period of counter revolution in democratic forms"
This objective condition created the present crops of Trade union reformist leadership throughout the world.
Is this the first time in the history of Nigeria that the Trade Union Movement will be in this state?
This question became highly imperative because of the way and manner this present state of trade unions in Nigeria is being exaggerated as if this is the first time the union will be passing through this state. The history of the Trade Union Movement in Nigeria point to the fact that the movement in Nigeria has passed through similar terrible conditions. Examples abound in history to proof this. Before the 1945 general strike that paralyzed the colonial administration in Nigeria for 45 days, which was the first general in Nigeria, the state of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN) headed by T.A Bankole, which was the first labour center in the country, then was very terrible. The leadership was extremely corrupt and was part and parcel of the colonial administration. When the then commissioner of labour told the TUCN leaders that the strike ultimatum had not followed laid down procedures, which requires a formal report to the colonial governor who has 21-days within which to act. The leaders agreed with him and went about convincing the unions to shelve the strike action. If not for the intervention of Imoudu, the 1945 general strike would not have taken place. On the eve of the strike ultimatum's expiration, the national labour leaders issued a statement that the proposed strike, which should have come into effect from midnight of June 21 1945, has been postponed. This was when Imoudu intervened and said the negotiation has failed, so the strike must go on as scheduled. This statement coincided with the mood of the rank-file workers and Imoudu put himself at the head of the movement. This particular act was what earned him the title "Labour Leader number one".
Also in 1976, the Muritala/Obasanjo regime banned NLC, and banned labour leaders that were perceived as being radical i.e Imoudu, Wahab Goodluck, etc, from partaking in trade union activities. The regime also promulgated a decree name as "disqualification of certain persons act 15" to back this act up. This was done successfully only because the collaboration with elements within the leadership of the trade unions. Five months later, this regime also imposed a wage freeze on workers and there was no resistance from the workers. General Babangida administration also banned NLC in 1988 and imposed an employer, Micheal Ogunkoya as Sole administrator. General Abacha administration also banned NUPENG and PENGASSAN and imposed sole administrators on them.
The above assertions are striking confirmation of the fact that the trade union movement in Nigeria has gone through several terrible periods in the past. One thing that stands out is the fact that despite all these vicious attack on the Trade union organizations, the unions always come out of it due to workers fight back. This confirms the fact that no power on earth can destroy the revolutionary will of the working class. We saw this in the 1981 general strike over the minimum wage and pension led by Comrade Hassan Adebayo Sunmonu. This strike took the Shagari administration by surprise. As far as the government and many in the society were concerned, the labour movement was finished since they have banned all the perceived radicals within the labour movement. After the ban was lifted in 1978, nobody paid attention to the election of Adabayo Sunmonu who was from the senior cadre of the civil service. What better way to bury the unions than to hand them over to a government employee from the traditionally conservative civil service but events and general strike put an end to this notion.
The history of the trade union movement in Nigeria also confirms the fact that when workers want to move, i.e. struggle, they always move through their traditional organizations. Despite the nature of its leadership, Trade unions have always led or been part of all the major mass movement in Nigeria. For example, the 1945 general strike that laid the basis for Nigerian independence, 1981 general strike, about nine general strikes under Oshiomole against fuel price increment and the 9-days general strike in 2012 against subsidy removal on fuel.
With all these magnificent movement of Nigerian working class, one would have expected that by now at least they ought to have a political party that they can call their own, not in the name but in contents. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Nigerian workers and the poor have been left for decades with no alternative party to turn to during election aside from choosing between various bourgeois parties, which practically stands for the same programme and interest. There have been various attempts in the past by the Trade Union Leadership to form a political party for the workers and the poor, but this has not been successful because of two reasons. One is the class collaborationist method of the labour leadership and two is the problem of the national question, which has always been playing a role in Nigerian politics. During the colonial rule in Nigeria, the main agitation was for independence and self-rule. The trade union leadership did not feel the need for workers to have their own separate political party. The main political party then, which was NNDP, also have labour leaders as their members. In fact, after the 1945 general strike, instead of leadership of that movement to use the achievement and the mood after the strike to launch a workers party, Imoudu that led the strike was incorporated into the executive of NCNC, which was a bourgeois political party. Also in 1989, Labour Leader formed the NLC, but the party was not registered by the then Babangida regime this was due to collaborative role the labour leaders played in watering down the programs of the party and choosing not to fight IBB for the registration of the party. They chose to play what they then called "politics of registration". This 'politics' weakened the based of the party and when IBB banned all the parties then and formed two government parties, instead of the leaders of the party to continue building and maintaining their independent programme and action, they advised their members to move into SDP, which was a bourgeois party.
The first attempt to form a workers party in Nigeria was made by Wahab Goodluck in 1963. The Socialist Workers and Farmers Party, SWAFP, was formed. This party was formed by Nigerian Trade Union Congress (NTUC). Goodluck also contested in 1964/65 elections as a SWAFP candidate in the Lagos constituency. But unfortunately, the party did not have a national spread; it was restricted to the south-west. Workers in various regions belonged to their various regional political parties. This is the reason why the 1964 general strike called by trade union leadership, which was purely political strike, failed because workers belonged to different political parties. Most of them do not see SWAFP as their own political party. They rather joined their regional party.
The present Labour Party formed by the Labour leadership has not for one day took off as a genuine party of workers. Rather, it was formed by the Labour leadership, not willingly but because of the pressure from below and later abandoned to various careerists who are now using the party for their own selfish interest.
The present state of the Trade union is not something new and is not going to be permanent. There was an objective basis for this present state and that objective situation is now presently changing. Capitalism throughout the world is in crisis. The economic crises in Greece, Cyprus, Spain, UK, etc are striking confirmation of this fact. Capitalism has reached a stage where it can no longer grant concessions like it had done in the past. There cannot be reformism without reform. But this does not mean that the leadership of the trade union will now turn to revolutionary leadership overnight.
What it means is that they are now going to be under enormous pressure from their ranks to lead. Like Trotsky said in "Trade Unionism in the epoch of imperialist decay" that in this present epoch that is in the epoch of monopoly capitalism, trade unions cannot be neutral. It is either they are incorporated into the state or they are struggling to overthrow the state. The present reformist labour leadership are already incorporated into the state. Unfortunately, this reformist labour leadership at the head a movement of millions of workers. Marxists within this movement have the responsibility to win these millions of workers away from this corrupt leadership.
The way to do this is not by shrill denunciation of the leadership or by turning our back to the whole apparatus of the working class but by concretely placing demands before them. When we place demand on the reformist labour leadership, we are doing this not because we have any iota of believe that they are not going to betray because we know that the role of reformism whether left or right is to betray but because we want to expose them before the ranks and file of the workers and win them away from this corrupt leadership.
The decrease in the number of the organized Trade union cannot be a hindrance because this numbers are still the one creating the wealth of the society. In the 1945 first general strike that grounded Nigeria for 45-days, 42,000 workers participated out of a total population of 23 million, eight hundred populace. We also saw their power in 2012, during the anti subsidy removal general strike. Immediately the labour leadership chicken out of the strike that was the end. Even those that were boasting that even if Labour called off the strike, they were going to continue, were not able to do anything after the strike was called off. This confirms the fact that the working class is the most powerful class in the capitalist society that can successfully challenge the rule of capital. This is not accidental; it is basically because of the role they play in capitalist production. No wheel turns and no bulb shines without their permission.
No power on earth can stop the revolutionary will of the working class to change society. At an appropriate time, the workers will definitely hold their leadership accountable. Genuine Marxist can quicken this process by not turning their back to the whole organization or by setting up another organization for workers because their leaders are corrupt but by participating in the day to day struggle of the working class, shoulder to shoulder with them as they learn through the experience of their day to day struggle.


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Bloodstained May Have Transformations?
緋月エリ
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hitsukieri
Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Jun 19, 2015 0:02:27 GMT -6 via mobile Administrator likes this
Post by 緋月エリ on Jun 19, 2015 0:02:27 GMT -6
Gaming website Siliconera had the pleasure of interviewing Igarashi-sama and Inti Creates during E3 and the team indicated that they played around with the idea.
If they do add this feature in the game, what eould you like to see Miriam transform into?
www.siliconera.com/2015/06/18/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night-may-feature-transformations-like-castlevania/
Last Edit: Jun 19, 2015 0:03:02 GMT -6 by 緋月エリ
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Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Jun 19, 2015 3:23:14 GMT -6 緋月エリ likes this
Post by Cale on Jun 19, 2015 3:23:14 GMT -6
Well I am still not sure about the plot or history of the game entirely, so this is all speculation. Traditional transformations include Wolf, Bat, Fog. BUT Bloodstained will be the spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, Igarashi did not want to incorporate the public domain character of Dracula into it, feeling it would make the game too close to previous Castlevania titles and did not want to make his new game feel like a "half-baked copy". So I doubt we will see a single vampire.
What we are more likely to get are demonic transformations, à la The Lesser Key of Solomon. But we have an equal chance of homunculus, and/or golem transformations, because of the tie-in of alchemy.
It could even be something divine. "the real aim of all the preparation and cumbersome apparatus, was to unite their earthly, mortal soul with that of the Creator, to participate in the divine, to reawaken their spiritual consciousness, and to grasp the secret forces at work behind the natural world."
Or something nightmarish. "the transformation had more to do with the alchemists themselves than with a lump of metal. Turning lead into gold was a symbolic way of describing the true aim of alchemy: the spiritual transformation of the alchemist. If one takes the time to read the alchemical literature, it's easy to come away feeling absolutely muddled. Strange creatures, impossible landscapes, paradoxes, and downright illogic seem to dominate; the closest thing to any modern is the writings and art of the surrealists, who, ironically, looked to the alchemists for inspiration or interpretation of dreams."
A little off topic but the more I read on alchemy I believe that Bloodstained's plot will revolve around Miriam searching for a way to recreate herself, and become human again.
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Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Jun 19, 2015 4:51:56 GMT -6
Post by jim on Jun 19, 2015 4:51:56 GMT -6
Jun 19, 2015 3:23:14 GMT -6 Cale said:
Just because he doesn't want it to seem like a Castlevania rip-off doesn't mean that there won't be vampires. I mean we are dealing with demons, hellspawn, and the like. Who's to say vampires won't show up as a lesser enemy in the game? I would be highly skeptical of one being a boss or even a mini-boss but I could totally see "Lesser" and "Greater" vampires as (semi-)regular/reoccurring enemies in the castle.
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Jun 19, 2015 4:51:56 GMT -6 jim said:
It is possible. I personally would love to see some Succubi or Incubi. But as for the vampire dressed in all black, or donning a tuxedo, I find it unlikely.
Although, to stay away from Dracula-esque vampires, we could still have traditional vampires from folklore. If so, I am hoping for wholly traditional ones. Maybe even Ambrogio himself could make an appearance. But there is no transformations I know of from Vampires/Dhampirs/Wampirs. The only original folk tale I know of vampire transformation is the Azerbaijanese Xortdan transforming into animals.
But back onto the topic of "what would you like to see Miriam transform into?". I like werewolves!
Or what about an owl? (Could replace flying bat) Water. (Mist)
Last Edit: Jun 19, 2015 5:31:36 GMT -6 by Cale
Again, as far as non-dracula vampires, how about Bloody Carmilla? She's a character/lore source in her own right. And she would definitely fall into that era AND geography!
I like it! Carmilla is far enough away from Dracula, but almost equally as infamous. Plus I get my hot female enemy fix! The only problem I have is that most of my preferences seem to try and make a Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust game. But I would prefer that Carmilla to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2's Carmilla.
The only problem I have is that most of my preferences seem to try and make a Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust game. But I would prefer that Carmilla to Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2's Carmilla.
Agreed!!
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Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Jun 19, 2015 10:13:30 GMT -6 Cale likes this
Post by H on Jun 19, 2015 10:13:30 GMT -6
Since Igarashi is the Hidden Swordwhip boss in the game, I wonder if he'll substitute the "Dracula fight", "Belmont fight", or be a different type of boss altogether.
Since Miriam has the stained glass curse, maybe she could have glass wings or make temporary armor with it. Or maybe borrow certain demon's abilities/forms. Lots of possibilities. Excited to see what they come up with.
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Post by JeffCross on Jun 19, 2015 14:28:54 GMT -6
Wererwolf Miriam lol nice XD I like the Owl thing but I think a crow or raven would be more likely
H said:
I love that thought of stained glass integrated in the transformation... I want the transformations to be more like SotN and less like... all the other ones where they just transform into a demon and dash across the screen.
So I was thinking
wolf (speed): a puma (or some big cat... white tiger?)
bat (flight): a crow (or raven) (or she can just grow stained glass wings)
mist (intangibility): dust (the next stage should be shards of stained glass that cut up enemies)
Last Edit: Jun 19, 2015 14:29:42 GMT -6 by JeffCross
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Post by 緋月エリ on Jun 22, 2015 13:34:36 GMT -6
I think the homunculus transformations would be very interesting, as there is limitless potential with that. Seeing as Miriam is cursed by Alchemy, it would make it possible for her to gain chimera-like features. Maybe she would adopt Soma's soul collecting system and the different enemies she consumes would allow the player to choose how she would be able to transform (<-- That's probably too out of the ballpark).
Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Jun 22, 2015 21:01:30 GMT -6
Post by Cale on Jun 22, 2015 21:01:30 GMT -6
Jun 22, 2015 13:34:36 GMT -6 緋月エリ said:
Soul collecting was fun, but I think I remember something about Iga not wanting that type of system in this game. (If I recall correctly, don't quote me on it, I can't find the link to what my mind might be imagining)
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Post by Arcueid Brunestud on Jun 22, 2015 21:40:55 GMT -6
You're right. Iga said that souls was Soma's shtick, and would prefer to keep it that way. He wants his games to have a unique mechanic. Soma was souls, Shanoa is glyphs, and now Miriam is magic crystals.
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Post by ghaleon on Jun 22, 2015 21:47:24 GMT -6
Normally I have a pretty good grasp on work/reward when it comes to gaming features. But during that interview with Iga, and he mentioned how transformations are a lot of work, only then did it really occur to me that a transformation is pretty much as much work as making a whole new character. I mean a transformed character will need whole new sprites, idle poses, attack animations, hitbox mechanics, stat mechanics, mobility mechanics, combos if applicable, etc, etc... unless the transformation is of extremely limited function like fog or whatever, I can't help but wonder if it's worth having a transformation on the MC instead of another new character completely.
That being said the extra work involved may not be an issue if the animation/character assets are completed before some other portion of the game like level design or difficulty balancing and whatnot...Then those character animators and whatnot may as well start working on a transformation I guess..But even in that situation, then they probably can't make the transformation to have any exploration utility, because then they'd have to redeisgn the castle to allow for new paths and such for that utility, so it would have to be a combat-only transformation or something.
That and brand new characters likely have story elements to go with it. If they aren't willing to add that in, but the rest of a whole new character isn't a big deal, transformation sounds viable again. I honestly have no idea how storytelling is developed in games though, so I don't know if that's a likely or ridiculous scenario.
Jun 22, 2015 21:40:55 GMT -6 Arcueid Brunestud said:
Yay! Thank you, I am not crazy.
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Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Jun 22, 2015 22:09:07 GMT -6 緋月エリ likes this
Post by Ciel on Jun 22, 2015 22:09:07 GMT -6
Jun 22, 2015 21:01:30 GMT -6 Cale said:
It is on one of the Ask IGA, #4 or #3, don't remember.
I wonder what they are planning to do with the magic crystals, maybe some kind of "rage" mechanic? Like, you can use everything, but if you use too much your body will start to get consumed by the curse?
I think Iga mentioned that Miriam will level up by using the Magi-crystal curse. I would love a rage mechanic. I'd purposely lose control to see the non-standard gameover, like MP3's corruption ending...
It could be even possible to do a specific gameover on certain bosses, if the boss in question has some kind of connection to the story.
Or better yet: every time you get nearer of the threshold, your skills get more powerful and they gain new abilities.
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Post by gunlord500 on Jun 23, 2015 0:42:33 GMT -6
I do think her magi-crystal curse might have negative effects on her:
/posts/1252469
It says in this update that " When the crystals overtake Miriam, she glows red and her magic powers spike to dangerously high levels. The crystallization on her back grows to maximum size and radiates a cross, at which point the curse becomes unstoppable. Could Miriam end up suffering the same fate as Gebel?"
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Jun 23, 2015 0:42:33 GMT -6 gunlord500 said:
It will be very interesting to see Miriam transform into Alchemized creatures made of stained glass!
Bloodstained May Have Transformations? Aug 1, 2015 22:45:39 GMT -6
Post by JeffCross on Aug 1, 2015 22:45:39 GMT -6
What about going in a completely different direction and have equippable transformations, that level up with use. maybe they are gained by finding certain stained glass portrait... and when they grow the portrait becomes fuller (or more complete looking)
what if one of her forms are mice... she turns into a bunch or mice? to get through bars or to break through cracks in walls
Last Edit: Aug 1, 2015 22:46:54 GMT -6 by JeffCross
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The Duckhorn Portfolio Announces First Quarter 2022 Financial Results
8 December 2021, 4:15 pm ·24-min read
Net Sales Increase 13.7%
Gross Margins Expand Nearly 200 Basis Points
Net Income of $21.3 million; Adjusted Net Income of $23.5 million
Adjusted EBITDA of $38.1 million
ST. HELENA, Calif., December 08, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. (NYSE: NAPA) (the "Company"), today reported its financial results for the three months ended October 31, 2021.
First Quarter 2022 Highlights
Net sales were $104.2 million, an increase of $12.6 million, or 13.7%, versus the prior year period.
Gross profit was $52.4 million, an increase of $8.1 million, or 18.3%, versus the prior year period. Adjusted gross profit was $52.8 million, an increase of $7.8 million, or 17.3%, versus the prior year period.
Net income was $21.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, versus $17.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the prior year period; adjusted net income was $23.5 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, versus $18.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Adjusted net income increased $5.7 million, or 32.0%, when compared against the prior year period, and adjusted earnings per share would have been $0.15 per diluted share for the prior year period if similarly burdened by public company costs and using the Fiscal 2022 share count.
Adjusted EBITDA was $38.1 million, an increase of $4.4 million, or 13.0%, versus the prior year, which includes public company costs in the most recent quarter that did not exist in the prior year period when the Company was private. Adjusted EBITDA increased $5.5 million, or 16.9%, versus the prior year when comparing adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter against the prior year period if similarly burdened by public company costs.
Cash was $5.2 million as of October 31, 2021, with a leverage ratio of 1.9x net debt (net of deferred financing costs) to trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.
"At a time of unpredictability in the macro environment, we delivered record quarterly results, both on sales and profitability, reflecting strong top line momentum across our portfolio and impressive gross margin expansion," commented Alex Ryan, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. "Our ability to successfully lap the nearly 40% organic volume growth we saw in the prior year quarter, well in excess of pre-pandemic levels, is a testament to our phenomenal brand strength and sound execution on growing distribution."
Ryan continued, "The blend of our high-quality product, differentiated go-to-market strategy and reputation we've earned with our trade partners as a reliable supplier of luxury wine is helping to deliver consistent share gains. Given the considerable runway for distribution growth still in front of us and the resiliency we have in our supply chain to profitably pursue it, we remain confident we are positioned to keep growing well in excess of the high growth, luxury wine segment while also maintaining industry-leading margins over the long-term."
First Quarter 2022 Results
Three months ended October 31,
Net sales growth
Volume contribution
Price / mix contribution
Wholesale – distributors
Wholesale – California direct to retail
Net sales were $104.2 million, an increase of $12.6 million, or 13.7%, versus $91.6 million in the prior year period. The increase in net sales was a result of 7.5% volume growth (which compares to 39.8% in the prior year period) and 6.2% price/mix contribution. The positive price/mix contribution was primarily attributable to the sales growth out-performance of the wholesale California direct-to-retail and overall DTC channels relative to growth in the wholesale-to-distributor channel, as well as greater sales contribution from our Other Winery Brands, outside of Duckhorn Vineyards and Decoy, versus the prior year period. The primary growth driver across sales channels was a continued recovery of on-premise activity as compared to the prior year quarter. On a like-for-like basis, pricing changes were immaterial to our results.
Gross profit was $52.4 million, an increase of $8.1 million, or 18.3%, versus the prior year period. Gross profit margin was 50.3%, up 199 basis points versus the prior year period as a result of favorable brand and channel mix shifts largely fueled by higher margin DTC channel growth, and greater on-premise activity providing outsized benefit to wholesale California direct-to-retail. Adjusted gross profit was $52.8 million, an increase of $7.8 million, or 17.3%, versus the prior year period.
Total selling, general and administrative expenses were $23.2 million, an increase of $6.4 million, or 38.1% versus $16.8 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily attributed to $1.7 million in expenses primarily related to an equity follow-on offering and other transaction costs, an additional $1.8 million related to public company costs, namely professional fees and D&O insurance, which were not present in the prior year quarter when the Company was private and higher work force-related expenses, including $1.2 million in higher equity-based compensation.
Net income was $21.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, versus $17.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Adjusted net income was $23.5 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, versus $18.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the prior year period. The increases to adjusted net income and adjusted EPS were due to higher net sales, robust gross profit margin expansion and lower interest expense, partially offset by increases in direct selling expenses generally in line with net sales growth during the period including public company costs. Adjusted net income for the three months ended October 31, 2020 would have been $17.8 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, if that earlier period reflected similar public company costs and share count consistent with the first quarter of Fiscal 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA was $38.1 million, an increase of $4.4 million, or 13.0%, versus $33.7 million in the prior year period. The increase was largely driven by higher net sales volume plus gross profit margin improvement, partially offset by the aforementioned increases in selling, general and administrative expenses due to higher work force-related and ongoing public company costs. Adjusted EBITDA increased $5.5 million, or 16.9%, versus the prior year when comparing adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter against the prior year period if similarly burdened by public company costs. On a comparative basis, if burdening Fiscal 2021 first quarter results with a similar level of public company costs, last year's first quarter adjusted EBITDA margin would have been 118-basis points lower. This apples-to-apples comparison would imply a 94-basis point improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin for the first quarter of Fiscal 2022.
Fiscal Year 2022 Guidance
The Company is reaffirming its previously provided fiscal 2022 guidance. For the year, we expect to deliver adjusted EPS between $0.54 and $0.57 per diluted share versus fiscal 2021 adjusted EPS of $0.58 per diluted share. Note, the provided annual range is negatively impacted by an increase in weighted average share count of approximately nine million shares or 8% on a year-over-year basis, a function of timing related to the Company's third quarter fiscal 2021 IPO. On a comparative basis, fiscal 2022 also includes a full year of public company costs, whereas fiscal 2021 results only include a partial year of public company costs.
Accordingly, the Company views it as useful to consider these factors in evaluating our operating performance year-over-year. On a like-for-like basis, the guidance range provided for fiscal 2022 adjusted EPS of $0.54 to $0.57 per diluted share is comparable to what would be an adjusted EPS of $0.52 per diluted share in fiscal 2021 if that year had been burdened by a full year of public company costs and assuming a diluted share count consistent with our guidance for fiscal 2022.
The Company reaffirms the guidance ranges below for fiscal year 2022:
(amounts in millions, except per share data and percentages)
Fiscal year ended July 31, 2022
Adjusted EPS
Diluted share count
Conference Call and Webcast
The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.) Investors interested in participating in the live call can dial 833-329-1692 from the U.S. and 639-380-0038 internationally. A telephone replay will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes through Wednesday, December 22, 2021, by dialing 416-621-4642 from the U.S., or 800-585-8367 from international locations, and entering confirmation code 8537157.
There will also be a simultaneous, live webcast available on the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.duckhorn.com. The webcast will be archived for 30 days.
About The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.
The Duckhorn Portfolio is North America's premier luxury wine company, with ten wineries, eight state-of-the-art winemaking facilities, seven tasting rooms and more than 800 coveted acres of vineyards spanning 22 Estate properties. Established in 1976, when vintners Dan and Margaret Duckhorn founded Napa Valley's Duckhorn Vineyards, today, our portfolio features some of North America's most revered wineries, including Decoy, Paraduxx, Goldeneye, Migration, Canvasback, Calera, Kosta Browne, Greenwing and Postmark. Sourcing grapes from our own Estate vineyards and fine growers in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, California's North and Central coasts, and Washington State, we offer a curated and comprehensive portfolio of acclaimed luxury wines with price points ranging from $20 to $200 across more than 15 varietals and 25 appellations. Our wines are available throughout the United States, on five continents, and in more than 50 countries around the world. To learn more, visit us at: https://www.duckhornportfolio.com. Investors can access information on our investor relations website at: https://ir.duckhorn.com.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
In addition to the Company's results which are determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), the Company believes the following non-GAAP measures presented in this press release and discussed on the related teleconference call are useful in evaluating its operating performance: adjusted gross profit, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted EPS. Certain of these non-GAAP measures exclude depreciation and amortization, non-cash equity-based compensation expense, purchase accounting adjustments, casualty losses or gains, impairment losses, changes in the fair value of derivatives, net of taxes, and certain other items which are not related to the Company's core operating performance. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance the reader's understanding of our past financial performance and our prospects for the future. The Company's management team uses these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate business performance in comparison to budgets, forecasts and prior period financial results. The non-GAAP financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from similarly titled non-GAAP measures used by other companies. A reconciliation is provided herein for each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with GAAP. Readers are encouraged to review the related GAAP financial measures and the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.
This press release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "expect," "plan," "could," "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "goal," "project," and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements address various matters including statements regarding the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. Each forward-looking statement contained in this press release is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statement. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, among others, the Company's ability to manage the growth of its business; the Company's reliance on its brand name, reputation and product quality; the effectiveness of the Company's marketing and advertising programs; general competitive conditions, including actions the Company's competitors may take to grow their businesses; overall decline in the health of the economy and consumer discretionary spending; the occurrence of severe weather events (including fires, floods and earthquakes), catastrophic health events, natural or man-made disasters, social and political conditions or civil unrest; risks associated with disruptions in the Company's supply chain for grapes and raw and processed materials, including corks, glass bottles, barrels, winemaking additives and agents, water and other supplies; risks associated with the disruption of the delivery of the Company's wine to customers; the impact of COVID-19 and its variants on the Company's customers, suppliers, business operations and financial results; disrupted or delayed service by the distributors and government agencies the Company relies on for the distribution of its wines outside of California; the Company's ability to successfully execute its growth strategy; decreases in the Company's wine score ratings by wine rating organizations; quarterly and seasonal fluctuations in the Company's operating results; the Company's success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, its officers, key employees or directors; the Company's ability to protect its trademarks and other intellectual property rights, including its brand and reputation; the Company's ability to comply with laws and regulations affecting its business, including those relating to the manufacture, sale and distribution of wine; the risks associated with the legislative, judicial, accounting, regulatory, political and economic risks and conditions specific to both domestic and to international markets; claims, demands and lawsuits to which the Company is, and may in the future, be subject and the risk that its insurance or indemnities coverage may not be sufficient; the Company's ability to operate, update or implement its IT systems; the Company's ability to successfully pursue strategic acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; the Company's potential ability to obtain additional financing when and if needed; the Company's substantial indebtedness and its ability to maintain compliance with restrictive covenants in the documents governing such indebtedness; the Company's sponsor's significant influence over the Company, and the Company's status as a "controlled company" under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange; the potential liquidity and trading of the Company's securities; the future trading prices of the Company's common stock and the impact of securities analysts' reports on these prices; and the risks identified in the Company's other filings with the SEC. The Company cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. You are encouraged to read the Company's filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. The Company's business is subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, including those referenced above. Investors, potential investors, and others should give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
THE DUCKHORN PORTFOLIO, INC.
(Amounts in thousands, except shares and per share data)
Accounts receivable trade, net
Revolving line of credit, net
Long-term debt, net of current maturities and debt issuance costs
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized, 115,046,793 issued and outstanding at both October 31, 2021 and July 31, 2021
Total The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc. equity
Non-controlling interests
(Unaudited, amounts in thousands, except shares and per share data)
Net sales (net of excise taxes of $1,476 and $1,265 respectively)
Casualty loss, net
Income from operations
Other (income) expense, net
Total other expenses
Income before income taxes
Less: Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interest
Net income attributable to The Duckhorn Portfolio, Inc.
Net income per share of common stock:
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding:
(Unaudited, amounts in thousands)
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
Loss on disposal of assets
Change in fair value of derivatives
Amortization of debt issuance costs
Loss on debt extinguishment
Equity-based compensation
Other current and long-term liabilities
Purchases of property and equipment
Proceeds from sales of property and equipment
Payments under line of credit
Borrowings under line of credit
Extinguishment of long-term debt
Issuance of long-term debt
Payments of long-term debt
Repayment of capital leases
Debt issuance costs
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities
Net increase (decrease) in cash
Cash - Beginning of year
Cash - End of year
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
Adjusted gross profit, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS, collectively referred to as "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," are commonly used in the Company's industry and should not be construed as an alternative to net income or earnings per share as indicators of operating performance (as determined in accordance with GAAP). These Non-GAAP Financial Measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The Company has included these Non-GAAP Financial Measures because it believes the measures provide management and investors with additional information to evaluate business performance in comparison to budgets, forecasts and prior year financial results.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures are adjusted to exclude certain items that affect comparability. The adjustments are itemized in the tables below. You are encouraged to evaluate these adjustments and the reason the Company considers them appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating adjustments, you should be aware that in the future the Company may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments set forth below. The presentation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures should not be construed as an inference that future results will be unaffected by unusual or recurring items.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company calculates as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash equity-based compensation expense, purchase accounting adjustments, casualty losses or gains, impairment losses, changes in the fair value of derivatives and certain other items which are not related to our core operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA is a key performance measure the Company uses in evaluating its operational results. The Company believes adjusted EBITDA is a helpful measure to provide investors an understanding of how management regularly monitors the Company's core operating performance, as well as how management makes operational and strategic decisions in allocating resources. The Company believes adjusted EBITDA also provides management and investors consistency and comparability with the Company's past financial performance and facilitates period to period comparisons of operations, as it eliminates the effects of certain variations unrelated to its overall performance.
Adjusted EBITDA has certain limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations include:
although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;
adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, the Company's working capital needs;
adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on the Company's debt;
adjusted EBITDA does not reflect income tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to the Company; and
other companies, including companies in the Company's industry, may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently, which reduce their usefulness as comparative measures.
Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA alongside other financial performance measures, including net income and the Company's other GAAP results. In evaluating adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future the Company may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in this presentation. The Company's presentation of adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that the Company's future results will be unaffected by the types of items excluded from the calculation of adjusted EBITDA.
Adjusted Gross Profit
Adjusted gross profit is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company calculates as gross profit excluding the impact of purchase accounting adjustments (including depreciation and amortization related to purchase accounting) and bulk wine losses. We believe adjusted gross profit is a useful measure to us and our investors to assist in evaluating our operating performance because it provides consistency and direct comparability with our past financial performance between fiscal periods, as the metric eliminates the effects of non-cash or other expenses unrelated to our core operating performance that would result in fluctuations in a given metric for reasons unrelated to overall continuing operating performance. Adjusted gross profit should not be considered a substitute for gross profit or any other measure of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted Net Income
Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company calculates as net income excluding the impact of non-cash equity-based compensation expense, purchase accounting adjustments, casualty losses or gains, impairment losses, changes in the fair value of derivatives and certain other items unrelated to core operating performance, as well as the estimated income tax impacts of all such adjustments included in this non-GAAP performance measure. We believe adjusted net income assists us and our investors in evaluating our performance period-over-period. In calculating adjusted net income, we also calculate the following non-GAAP financial measures which adjust each GAAP-based financial measure for the relevant portion of each adjustment to reach adjusted net income:
Adjusted net sales – calculated as net sales excluding the impact of purchase accounting and bulk wine losses;
Adjusted SG&A – calculated as selling, general, and administrative expenses excluding the impacts of purchase accounting, transaction expenses, equity-based compensation, and COVID-19 costs;
Adjusted income tax – calculated as the tax effect of all adjustments to reach adjusted net income based on the applicable blended statutory tax rate for the period.
Adjusted net income should not be considered a substitute for net income or any other measure of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.
Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP financial measure that the Company calculates as adjusted net income divided by diluted share count for the applicable period. We believe adjusted EPS is useful to us and our investors because it improves comparability of results of operations from period to period. Adjusted EPS should not be considered a substitute for net income per share or any other measure of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP.
(Unaudited, amounts in millions, except shares and per share data)
Three months ended October 31, 2021
SG&A
GAAP results
Depreciation and amortization expense
Purchase accounting adjustments
Transaction expenses
Non-GAAP results
Financial statement uplift costs
Wildfire costs
Note: Sum of individual amounts may not recalculate due to rounding.
Chris Mandeville, ICR
ir@duckhorn.com
Jessica Liddell, ICR
DuckhornPR@icrinc.com


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text:
Layan Al-Khaled, News Editor
The Earth is a constantly changing place…or is it? No matter how many cities are built, civilizations coming and going, people growing and aging, the earth remains the sole, stagnant rock as it has always been. So when the concept of ecological conservation comes into play, in its glorious, yet overshadowed light, one must take into consideration a singular question: how everlasting is the earth?
The rock, itself, perhaps remains the only part of the earth that is "everlasting," but what lies on it, growing with time, is subject to the maliciousness of humanity. And though the extent of the malice is out of our hands, we can all strive to better our impact on the earth. Hinsdale South's very own ECO Club implores everyone to help.
"When it comes to how people can help the environment, eliminating the 'I'm just one person, I can't make a difference' mindset is a must," senior, and ECO club member, Anthony Denizard said, "although it may not seem like it, if every single person who thinks that way actually made an effort to help the environment, they'd make more of a difference than they think."
Corporations are responsible for a significant amount of environmental damage. Backlash has been harsh but not always sincere. Poorly worded justifications and HR stunts appear just as staged as the phony smiles on brand representatives' faces.
"I wish more people would realize that their actions also have consequences." senior, and president of the club, Keira Hagen said. "Most people tend to think that climate change is solely a corporate or systemic issue and fail to accept their own responsibility. If someone thinks that the climate is a crisis–which it is–they have to treat it like a crisis. People don't have to be perfect but they can be better, or try to understand what is better."
ECO Club strives to reinforce the notions of sustainability and seeks to make South a more sustainable and eco-friendly place. As more students become involved in ECO Club, awareness will increase about the many simple ways to decrease one's environmental footprint.
Layan Al-Khaled is a Junior at South, and is the News Editor for Stinger. With her love for writing, reading, and research, she was inspired to join Stinger. Layan...


text:
Lawer Winemakers
Our winemaking team consists of Cary Gott and Kelly DeIanni who possess a rare blend of winemaking passion, bold creativity and exacting standards of excellence. They are as finely balanced as the Lawer Estates wines they make.
Cary Gott is the lead winemaker at Lawer Estates. Representing the fourth generation of his family in the California wine business, Cary has lifelong experience making ultra-premium wines and creating successful brands for over 40 years. Cary is also the founding principal of Vineyard & Winery Estates, where he assists wine brands in establishing operations and developing wineries. He has worked with dozens of wineries including Round Pond, Ram's Gate, Sterling Vineyards and Mumm Napa Valley.
Winemaker, Kelly DeIanni, works closely with Cary to craft the Lawer Estates wines. Kelly has more than two decades of vineyard and winemaking experience and has made wine for more than a dozen leading wine brands. She applies her winemaking skills, passion and drive for excellence to each vintage. She and her family share the Lawer Estates values in sustainable farming, whether working in their family vineyard or maintaining their edible gardens, beehives and fruit trees.
From our vineyards to your table, our winemaking team's talent and experience is your assurance that every bottle of Lawer Estates wine is bold, distinctive and memorable.
The Winemakers
"If there were a recipe for making a high-profile Napa Valley winery and vineyard, Cary Gott would likely be among the key ingredients. He has been involved in the creation of more than 20 wineries, and he has a history that gives him unique expertise." – Napa Valley Register
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6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,* 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
14 So the Word became human* and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.* And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.
16 From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.* 17 For the law was given through Moses, but God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,* is near to the Father's heart. He has revealed God to us.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means "Christ"* ).
42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, "Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas" (which means "Peter"* ).