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Ethnic MVNO Lebara puts itself up for sale
by Paul Rasmussen |
Jul 8, 2011 12:43pm
Lebara, one of Europe's most successful MVNOs, is putting itself up for sale. The company, which targets ethnic communities in Europe and Australia, appointed the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to explore new strategic opportunities.
A document being circulated to interested parties by RBS says that Lebara will consider a number of options, including its sale, share market listing or a strategic partnership. However, it would seem that the preference is for Lebara to be sold, with two Asian operators rumoured to have already looked closely at the opportunity before walking away.
While the company reported significant revenue growth for 2010 of €564.6 million, up over 50 per cent from a year earlier, the ethnic MVNO market is said to be becoming hugely competitive on price. Despite this, Lebara posted pre-tax profits of €21.1 million for 2010, up from €8.8 million in 2009.
An unnamed insider quoted by Mobile Today said that MVNO margins are increasingly coming under pressure, particularly in the UK where Lebara has recently added a postpaid proposition to stop it from competing simply on price. However, the company is less exposed to this cut-throat competition than some given the large number of countries in which it operates.
Separately, China Telecom is preparing to launch as a UK MVNO early next year, according to European Communications. The managing of China Telecom Europe, Yan Ou, says that the company will aim to attract users from the UK's indigenous Chinese community and Chinese tourists visiting the country. "Launching in the UK is just the first step. Next we want to get into France, which has the biggest Chinese community in Europe, and Germany," Yan said.
- see this Mobile Today article
- see this Telecompaper article (sub. req.)
- see this European Communications article
MVNOs beat network partners in customer satisfaction
Italian MVNO plans to become 4th largest operator
Tesco Mobile tops J.D. Power customer satisfaction study
Orange dumped as SFR scoops French MVNO deal
Paul Rasmussen


Gerta does much to eradicate mosquitoes and other pests from my garden. She and the rest of her clan are non-venomous and harmless to humans. Her biggest enemies are humans, hawks, cats and dogs. I can tell you that Lily the Beagle goes berserk when she encounters any garter snake, for here is a prey she can grab and shake to death, like one of her toys. Consequently, I keep Lily close at hand when Gerta is in view.
I found Gerta in one of my fountains this morning, swimming with the grace of Esther Williams amongst a chorus of tadpoles. The tadpoles do not fear her, and neither do I.
But if you want to rid a garden snake from your property, here's how you do it. Slip a rake-handle under the reptile, and gently lower it into a deep bucket. Then take the bucket to a local forest, and let the poor creature loose. Snakes do not have easy lives, and really, we ought not to harm them.
Why are snakes more obvious on warm autumn days? It's because they are about to go into hibernation. They are merely trying to soak up a little sun — just as we do — before making their long winter retreat.
Are you among the snake-squeamish? Let me know in the comments field below. And don't forget to click the Facebook "Like" button if you found this post of interest.
Last of the "Love Apples"
Why Do You Plant Bulbs?
Gerta is very cute. Of course I can say that because I've yet to encounter any snake in my garden!
Oh, We have such a snake "issue" (I call it a problem) at our house. They love to live in all rock walls my hubby put around the property. They scare the hell out of me when I'm weeding and instead of a weed I grab Gerta's cousin. So instead of killing them… I just stopped weeding. Hmmm guess it's not really a problem!
Brenda – do you have cats on your property? They might be killing the snakes.
Erin – I have stone walls here, too, and yes, they are snake-magnets. That's because of the warmth the stones afford. Your weeding issue made me laugh out loud!
Kevin, I found a garter snake today on my shed's concrete patio. I was lifting some leaf bags and trying to tidy up and a snake slithered out toward me. It was about 14 inches long and I screamed bloody murder. I screamed and screamed and nobody came to save me. I hate snakes. You say they are good for the garden. My other friend just told me they are some kind of a "blessing" but I don't like them. I won't hurt it but I won't clean my shed patio either. The snake wasn't sunning itself, and I fear it was laying eggs or making a nest. It was in a dark spot. I didn't know it was a garter snake until I looked it up on the internet. Is a ribbon snake the same as a garter? Mine looked just like Gerta. Oh no, I called it "mine." I don't want it to be mine! I want it to be yours! I would sooner stick a rake in my eye as pick up a snake with a rake. Not happening.
I would freak, scream, and probably keel over from a heart attack!
I don't mind snakes…but I think their food makes better pets. (I have pet rats and love mice.) I think Gerta has a very pretty face and wouldn't mind a snake in my garden, but while snakes are find worms creep me out. My mom wonders what kind of gardener I am when worms give me heebee jeebees, but, there you go!
Brigid – I just spit coffee through my nose! George was probably hiding — momentarily — from a predator. It certainly wasn't making a nest — garters don't lay eggs, but give birth to live young in August-September. In winter they seek places which do not freeze, typically deep below a pile of rocks or logs. Anyway, if you screamed a lot, your snake has probably already left. Believe me, they can hear!!!
Anonymous – welcome to A Garden for the House!
Katreader – Worms?! Your mother is right…that IS an unusual phobia for a gardener!
Kevin, do you mean to tell me that the garter snake deliver babies and don't have eggs? Bats also deliver babies, and one at a time, like one per pregnancy. I can't handle it. This makes me hate them more for some reason. Sorry you spit your coffee through your nose. Hahaha. Oh no, but wait. You said they deliver babies in August or Sept. It's only Oct and I bet there are baby snakes around. I have a small pond with froggies in it. Is this attracting them or are they just attracted to me for the same reason other snakes are?
Brigid, I don't know why other snakes might be attracted to you (!)…but the garter is merely looking for insects. He (or she) does like water, and the mosquitos that fly around it.
If you have stones around your pond, you probably have a few snakes that hide beneath them. I'm sure this is a comfort to you.
Brigid, my mother is also terrified of snakes.So……..we live in Ireland, there are no snakes! St Patrick banished them all into the sea. Her neighbour had two pet corn snakes – they escaped, she moved house! You have an Irish sounding name, perhaps St Patrick would do the same for your garden????????????
Hi Mary Frances, I've heard that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Is it true? You know, that fact combined with the weather in the 50s could get me to move there. My grandmother's house is still in the family in Donoughmore, Cork. But wait, what about the corn snakes?
Kevin, I have a lot of stones around the pond and I normally move them around and fuss with them even though they are heavy. I will never touch them again EVER. I die a little even when I open this page and see that photo of the snake head. I'll take spiders any day. The only thing that makes me scream as loud as a snake is a bat………but to be honest, I hate snakes more.
Ohhh I am so glad Gerta lives in your garden and not mine.
I am most certainly NOT fond of snakes, and I have (too) many in my garden. BUT!! I have 'good' snakes in my garden. California King, garter, and several other smaller, less identified ones. The ONLY reason I say good is that I live in rattlesnake territory, and I believe that the CA kings keep the rattlers away. If it comes to a choice, I'll take the CA king everytime over a rattler!! I still avoid them and don't like them, but don't try to get rid of them!
Kevin, My friend Pam who lives near Cape Cod, told me that she admires snakes because they are deaf and nearly blind, have no arms and legs, yet manage to scare everyone. I told her you said they can hear and have ears. Now who is right!? By the way, I made my daughter put the hose away on the shed patio and she said George is not there. I think he is there or near the pond. I'll never lift another stone. Some handyman is going to make a good living on me.
I think snakes are beautiful creatures, but they can appear so quickly and quietly out of no where that it is very unnerving! I know they are as frightened of us as we are them, but still, I am glad I have frogs and praying mantises in my garden to conquer pests instead of snakes!
sksweeps – Rattlers…yikes! Guess its best to make friends with the California kings!
Brigid – Garters do have ears — they are under the skin.
Renee – Welcome to A Garden for the House. I'm lucky to have frogs, toads and praying mantises here, too.
Anne, When you say "upstate," do you mean upstate NY like where Kevin and I live? I didn't know we had rattlesnakes here. I'm choking back sobs.
Brigid, I know you will never go to http://www.pet-snake.com, where there is an excellent description of a snakes " hearing". In short, they feel vibration through their lower jaw muscles and bones, which goes to a bone. The auditory neurons create a topographical map which allows the snake to pinpoint prey.
Tree snakes can see the best, burrowing snakes the worst, but can track movements. When you take off as though you were shot out of a cannon, they know you are moving away.
No ears, arms, legs, iffy eyesight, so why are they the most feared animals? I say they've had legendary press.
They have been associated with healing for thousands of years. i.e., the Staff of Aesclepius. The ancient Irish pagan goddess Corchen was an earth goddess. A visit from the earth goddess should be considered good luck for gardeners.
Anne – Wow! Putting myself in your shoes, I'd have a snake phobia, too.
Pam – First, welcome to A Garden for the House; next, thanks for the great lesson on how, exactly, snakes can "hear." Hope to see you here again.
Brigid – Maybe a few small statues of St. Patrick strategically placed around your yard would be helpful? Just a thought, inspired by Mary-Frances's earlier comment!
Kevin–I think Gerta is beautiful. We had a garter snake for a few years that roamed our potted tomatoes, keeping them bug-free (he'd wrap himself around the stalks and branches and wait for prey). Talk about effective organic gardening! He disappeared 5 years ago–Wish he'd come back.
I'm not troubled by Gerta. We try to co-exist with whatever finds its way into our quite small (but Urban Habitat-Rated Garden) The colony of bats which like the space between my roof joists and the structure of an attic wall much more than the bat house we gave them for Christmas one year don't bother me either.
Kelly & Ted – Effective organic gardening, indeed! Build a stone wall somewhere on your property, and believe me, you'll start seeing more garter snakes. The wall provides both shelter and warmth.
Nancy Shelly – I'm with you on bats. They nest here, too, probably between roof and wall. I enjoy watching them swoop and dart on summer evenings.
She is adorable! My brother recently found a King Snake in his garden and we have a large black racer we allow to run rampant. Of course, where we live, we also have rattlesnakes and water moccasins, too, but they tend to leave us alone, and we let them do their thing. I'm hoping, in the spring, we'll see some native Glass Snakes, too, because they, like Gerta, are advantageous and harmless.
Do not blame the baby snakes for your subsequent fear of snakes—-it was your Mother's screams that implanted that lifelong scar into your psyche. If you do live in the upstate area of NY, or anywhere in eastern USA, they were probably Not rattlesnakes.
We have a large variety of colours and patterns of snakes here on Vancouver Island,some of which seem to have diamond patterns resembling rattlesnakes.
My son and a friend, when 7-8 yrs old, would gather whole gallon ice cream buckets full from the empty field next door. James arrived at the door, seeking son John and reached into the pail and hauled out a ball of snakes–about 6 inches diameter, to show me. Mothers of Boys cannot afford to be sensitive about odd pets.
I love the little snakes, they eat the nasty black slugs that got imported into our area on potted plants brought in from off Island.
I also love the little and larger brown bats that are native here.
I loaded a large clump of iris rhizomes that desperately needed separating and were still holding onto a bunch of dirt into a clear plastic garbage bag. I carried this bad on my forearms, loaded it into my truck and drove to work. At work I unloaded the bad, carried on my forearms to a co-workers office, sat it on the floor and opened the bag top so the plants could breath. After sitting in her office all day, the bag was loaded into her husbands car on the back seat. On his drive home he heard a rustling. Glancing at the bag, he saw that there was a snake in it. He didn't get a good look at it, but said that it was small and brownish. Once home, he quickly threw the bag out of his car and onto the porch. The bag sat there open for several days before he or his wife dared to empty it out. The snake seemed to have left by then.
I would have felt bad, but strange things always happen to that friend. Also, I'm the one who was up closest to the snake; I just didn't see it. Mainly, I'm glad it didn't get loose in the office, and no one got hurt, including the snake.
Hello Kevin, enjoy reading your articles and all these comments. A friend of mine sent me a link to your African Violet article and I've wandered around in your website and have read a bunch of your articles. Like yours, my garden has a resident garter snake. I don't have a pond nor rock piles but I have piled up branches when I am out cleaning up my yard at a corner where I also have a small compost bin for my resident snake and also a few box turtles I have found wander around in my garden. Last year, I even found a baby turtle while weeding. I have not any idea how these turtles found my garden. Like Katreader, I don't mind snake but I do not like worms (nor caterpillars) at all. During summertime, if I am out working in my garden and if my husband hears my loud yeps, screams, he would guess either I just happen to grab a caterpillar by mistake or see worms pop up nearby.
We too, have a Gerta although we haven't named her yet. She lives in the small garden by the pool and has doubled in length since we first saw her. She loves to linger between the honeysuckle vine, sago palm and the banana plant in the pool area. Recently I saw 2 baby snakes that I initially thought were lizards until I took a better look. We also have cotton tail rabbits, frogs, 3 types of lizards, butterflies, robins, cardinals, wrens and sparrows, and squirrels. rather not have the menacing squirrels though.


The IRS's Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division ("TE/GE") recently issued its Compliance Program Letter for 2019, which lists TE/GE's compliance priorities for the 2019 calendar year. Those priorities include issuing additional guidance under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Act"), which was enacted in December 2017, and expanding its use of Pay.gov and secure messaging with taxpayers and practitioners in the TE/GE's employee plans program. The letter does not list any specific guidance topics to be addressed under the Act or provide that guidance is forthcoming on Internal Revenue Code changes enacted by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, such as changes to the hardship distribution rules. The letter does, however, state that if additional issues are identified in the future, TE/GE will modify its list of priority items to ensure that TE/GE remains focused on the highest priority items.
View the 2019 Compliance Program Letter.


Mobility Works maintains a fleet of wheelchair accessible rental vans at most of its locations, many offering Weekend Special rates. A wheelchair van rental can be made for just a day or for weeks at a time. Our rentals vans are typically lowered floor minivans with automatic fold-out ramps. Some Mobility Works locations may also have full-size Ford E-150 handicap accessible vans with a wheelchair lift, subject to availability. Nearby LA and Anaheim, Van Nuys, California has many options for people with mobility needs. Take a bus to Anaheim or LA for shopping, nightlife, sporting events, and museums. Or, visit an array or restaurants and museums right in Van Nuys.


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Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Jan. 1, 2023
January 1, 2023 adminComments Off on Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – Jan. 1, 2023
Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.
Türkiye's foreign minister said his country's second meeting with the Syrian regime could come in mid-January
Anadolu Agency complied a list of important developments and turning points concerning Syria in 2022 that includes Türkiye's anti-terror Operation Claw-Sword, the PKK/YPG terror group's attacks on civilian settlements, the economic crisis areas under the control of the Assad regime and the meeting between defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Türkiye, Russia and the regime in Moscow.
Türkiye's president said his country contributed to establishing global peace, tranquility and security in 2022, with its roles in the Black Sea grain initiative and mediation in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia and Ukraine released more than 200 prisoners of war on New Year's Eve.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved guidelines on the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the Kremlin.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at his Vatican residence at age 95.
Sweden will take over the rotating EU Council presidency from the Czech Republic on Jan. 1.
Croatia will join Europe's passport-free Schengen area Jan. 1, becoming the 27th member of the continent's borderless travel area.
North Korea fired three suspected short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the South Korean military claimed.
Canada said it will ask passengers coming from China, Hong Kong and Macao to submit temporary negative coronavirus tests ahead of their flights to the country.
Israel detained 130 Palestinian journalists in 2022, with 20 reporters still in custody, according to a local NGO.
2 Rockets Launched on Kilis, Killing 2 People in Mosque
Click to read the article in Turkish/Kurdish
Two rockers were launched on Kilis yesterday (January 24). Two people lost their lives in mosque where a rocket hit. The other rocket hit a house, wounding five people.
According to a report by Doğan News Agency (DHA), citizen of Syria Tarık Tabak and citizen of Turkey Muzaffer Aydemir lost their lives in Çalık Mosque, 11 people were injured. Later, another rocket was launched on Kazım Karabekir Neighborhood located 100 meters away from the mosque.
In its statement, Kilis Governorship stated that the first rocket was launched at around 6:10 p.m. by "PKK/KCK/PYD/YPG from Afrin, Syria".
Rockets had caused death of two people
In the wake of Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) launching a military operation together with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) into Afrin, 11 rockets to Reyhanlı and five rockets to Kilis were launched from the Syrian side on January 21. One person lost his life in the rocket attack launched on Reyhanlı. On January 22, TEDAŞ worker Şahin Elitaş lost his life in the rocket attack launched on Kırıkhan, Hatay.
Agencies and authorities in Turkey announced that the attacks were carried out by the "PYD/PKK/YPG/KCK". According to Mezopotamya Agency citing Hawar News Agency, YPG General commander Sîpan Hemo said, "Our units have targeted neither Kilis nor any other city in any way".
In his statement to Cumhuriyet daily newspaper on January 22, Republican People's Party (CHP) Party Assembly member and Hatay MP Mevlüt Dudu said, "We received the information that the attack was planned earlier and launched from somewhere in territory of Turkey. So, there is no doubt that the attack was launched by the terrorist organization but it was launched from rural of Reyhanlı, not Syria". (BK/TK)
Footage of Armored Vehicle Crashing in Case File
Click to read the article in Turkish
Footage of the armored vehicle, which was driven by sergeant major S.K. and caused death of Pakiza Hazar (85) by hitting her in Turkey's southeastern district of Lice, Diyarbakır, has entered the case fil…
FROM THE UNEMPLOYED JOURNALISTS / TRANS PEOPLE -2-: Ece Devrim: I Strongly Resisted Against Compelled Sex Work
Click to read the article in Turkish and Kurdish
Ece became paraplegia when a taxi crashed her on the pavement she was standing to get acharcoal grilled seasoned mutton intestines on Şişli Halaskargazi Street in İstanbul in 2014.
She earns her life by selling lighter, pencil and handkerchief on streets in Şişli in her wheelchair, which was brought from Germany with the support of Laborist Movement Party (EHP) and We Will Stop Femicides Platform.
In the recent days, donation was collected to meet her rent for one year in a campaign launched by proactive voluntarism platform Erktolia, which combats sexist discourse and contents.
We talked about many things including her life, struggle, Ülker Street, rape, politics and LGBTI activism since she came from Munich to İstanbul at the age of 14.
From Munich to İstanbul
I am a 50-year-old trans woman. I am the child of a family who went to Germany in immigration status. I felt that I was different from everybody else when I started to learn my body aged 14.
My father was like an absolute dictator in the family. I think that is why an urge has developed inside me to struggle against the dictators.
I discovered my sexual orientation in time and I left home because of my family and father's pressure. My father took me to a psychiatrist to change me. The doctors told him this situation wouldn't change. He resolved it by sending me to my relatives in Turkey.
I have a street life that lasted 2-3 years, they raped me too. Men see raping a right for themselves if you are a trans or a street walker.
My father was a dictator
First, I came to İzmir and stayed at my aunt. We were wandering around with my cousin day after day. He was taking me to certain places with the hope that I could change. His intention was to make me a man, so, he was taking me to honky tonks.
There was the Rita Club in İzmir. It was mostly visited by homosexuals. He took me there and that day he said to me "ah, now I've understood your style". It was 1982-84. My cousin sent me to İstanbul by bus to have me go to Germany. In those times, there were flights to Germany only from İstanbul.
I called my father from İstanbul, I said I arrived and waiting to get on the plane. He responded again like a dictator and we fought on the phone. "I am not coming", I said and hanged up.
I haven't met him since that day. It has been 35 years now. I called him from time to time as a decent person but he didn't want to meet me. He lastly called me when he had an accident, "Hello, this is your father", he said. I said "which father" though recognizing him.
I said "What happened" and he started to talk. "I am going to the Umrah, would you give me your blessing", he said. I said, "I can give you my blessing if you see it as your right in your conscience". Then he said, "I've heard you had an accident, hope you get better soon" and hanged up the phone.
I lived-in with my rapist
I was 15 when I was raped for the first time. I was living on the streets in İstanbul. It was the time when İstiklal Street was open to traffic. I started to live one of the three men who raped me because he saved me from living on the streets.
Turkey had just seen a coup at that time, you imagine how difficult those times were. Now I laugh at that because I had to live with my rapist. My rapist's name was psychopath Bülent. He was earning his life by selling books on the streets. He found me a dish washing job at a restaurant. I've developed myself in time and started DJing.
At police stations…
One day I met with some trans women at the Fish Market. A trans woman named Canan took me to Pürtelaş street. I had to start sex work. Then Vice Squad director Doğan Karakaplan came, raided our homes; we were subjected to all sorts of torture at the police stations.
They were taking us to Belgrad Forest, raping and beating us, and stealing our belongings and leaving us naked. And we were again being raped until we got home. After people were dispersed from Pürtelaş and Ülker streets, I started DJing again. Along the line I enrolled in the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) and started politics.
Who wants to commercialize his/her own body?
The only point that trans women are accused of is sex work but among trans women, we have many educated friends who don't want to commercialize their bodies.
No one wants to commercialize his/her body. One can be accustomed to this body exploitation. No trans woman dreams of sex work.
The system doesn't give any chance to trans women other than prostitution. I never accept sex work because this is a thing that the society tries to impose on us.
I call gigolos, street walkers, and trans women who became "prostitutes who are forced to do sex work in exchange for money". Since most fundamental rights of these people are prevented by the society and the system, what they are left with is the sex work.
The biggest supporter of the capitalist system is the patriarchy. For this reason, prostitution operations are usually carried out against women and trans women. It is never launched against male sex workers because this is the system's own order.
I strongly resisted against compelled sex work
I strongly resisted again not to sell my body. I did many jobs from dish washing to DJing. I even continued the courses of İŞ-KUR to find a job, and I became a sanitarian.
We Will Stop Femicides Platform Spokesperson Dr. Gülsüm Kav had helped me in my studies. I had served my internship on children with dawn syndrome at a private hospital in Beykoz. The hospital management had appreciated my works a lot and they'd increased my working hours to five days a week.
But I couldn't continue after my internship was over. I applied for a job to everywhere but I was rejected by all of the hospitals in İstanbul due to my trans identity.
Afterwards, I compulsorily started sex work again. After the accident, I've begun to earn my life by selling lighter on the street in a wheelchair, which was bought by the Laborist Movement Party.
The greatest system of exploitation is in the family
Society's greatest system of exploitation is in the family. I believe family bonds are nonsense. The system supports this family structure to be able to exploit it.
For instance, why do they keep calling on to make three children? Is it because they care? No, it's not. Wars have begun in our day and capitalism is collapsing, and new slaves are needed to send to war.
They wage wars for the reconstruction of the capitalist order to make the system function.
Unfortunately, those who died in wars are children of common people.
I am a politician, not an LGBTI activist
We, especially Demet Demir, have paid heavy prices but Demet was sent to prison just because she defended LGBTI rights.
Violence changing color and form still continues. I am a politician, not an LGBTI activist because I think I have to struggle for the rights of all oppressed peoples.
The system has undermined the associations working for LGBTI rights. The associations as well as the opposition media that cross with the system are being closed.
There is no difference between 1980 and 2017. In those times, journalists couldn't cover trans murders due to political pressure. Trasn women cannot be organized as women movement do because they are apolitical and their associations are undermined by the system.
We have to say no against this dicta regime on behalf of all the oppressed peoples. Furthermore, a large portion of the governing party's grassroots will even say no. They are undertaking referendum campaign by declared the people who say no as terrorists. They've built fear in people. Gezi spirit will live in the referendum. This is the last exit before the bridge. May the oppressed unite and say no against war and yes for peace right now. Let me repeat, let us say no for a free world. (MD-EU/NU/HK)
Next- Şahika:You don't get to choose to be a trans woman
UNEMPLOYED JOURNALISTS CHASING NEWS
1- Even Though They Speak Through Their New "Occupations," They Are Journalists
2- Journalism is Banned under theState of Emergency
3- Germany: New Generation Diaspora/Kopuntu
4- Germany: Immigration of the Suffocated
5- The Organization that Made "The Arab Girl Looks from the Window"
6- How They Work/Cannot Work, Breaking Down the Stereotypes
7– They Marry White People to Avoid Discrimination
8- Private Rehabilitation Centers and Problems: The Example of Bingöl
9- Two Directors Discuss the "Educational Support for People with Disabilities" Practices
10- Students and Parents from Bingöl Tell of Their Experiences
11- 'Solution is Inclusion System in Education for People with Disabilities'
12- The Neighborhood of "Giaour" Doesn't Exist Anymore
13- Mıgırdıç Margosyan Couldn't Recognize His Street Amidst Ruins
* The "Unemployed Journalists Chasing News" project is being realized with the financial support of Matra-Human Rights Program of Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
FRSH FINAL DEADLINE NOTICE: ROSEN, SKILLED INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages Freshworks Inc. Investors with Losses Exceeding $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important January 3 Deadline in Securities Class Action – FRSH
CGTN: China will continue to contribute to global peace and development in connected world

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


As long as you aren't an artistic perfectionist, many drawing applications on the iTunes App Store can be a lot of fun. While drawing with a finger isn't the most accurate or a comfortable way of getting your ideas into visual form, for a quick doodle, it can be fun. For some, it might even bring you back to your kindergarten days when your parents think that a drawing of your dog is a rocket ship.
One of the newest drawing applications to hit the App Store is Flickbook, an old-school animation app from the developers of Bokeh and Misu, Ollie Wagner and Geof Pado. This is the way it was done before the days of computer-generated animations and 12 hand-drawn frames per second of animation. The results will give you something more reminiscent of Dr. Katz or The Simpsons circa the Tracey Ullman Show than today's Saturday morning cartoons.
The aim of Flickbook, not to be confused with FlipBook, is simplicity. The goal, the devs tell us, is for a user to be able to pick up the iPhone and go. To begin, you simply point and draw—a line follows your finger as you drag it across the screen. To create a new page, you simply touch the + sign that appears underneath the curled page once you begin drawing. After making a new page, the drawing on the last page is shown as an onion skin so the user can easily trace or judge where to make the next image in order to simulate movement. You can do this over and over again with no performance hit; the duo of programmers has used a different means of rendering the animations that involves very little memory footprint.
Drawing options are scarce; this was a conscious effort to keep things simple. While there aren't multiple brush sizes, an eraser, or even a plethora of colors, the developers do allow unlimited undo (just shake the iPhone) as well as color overlay, which allows for the creation of new colors through mixing and the darkening of present colors. Saving is somewhat unintuitively done by going to the "add document" icon in the upper right hand corner. Deleting a movie is done just like deleting an e-mail: by swiping a finger over the name from left to right.
There are three methods of playback: you can single-click the play button, which will lead to a steady playback of 12fps; double-click the play button, which will lock the movie in a loop; or you can scrub through the animations manually by dragging the slider through at the desired speed.
While the ability to save your creations and revisit them later is nice, the app's biggest downfall is the inability to export your animations. Since they are made up of multiple frames of still images, the movie can't simply be exported to the iPhone's camera roll. While this isn't a huge issue for everyone, for those who want to share their creations with people across the world, it may be a reason to wait for the next version of the software (according to the developers, the next version will include a means to share your creations). However, since it will be a free update, you could start playing now if this appeals to you.
Since simplicity was the name of the game in the development of this application, Wagner and Pado have certainly succeeded. For casual users, Flickbook will be more than enough to entertain. People who are really into this sort of thing will enjoy the app's performance, although they might miss some of the options present in more robust applications.


On behalf of Whelan Law Office posted in blog on Monday, June 5, 2017.
Identity theft is a problem that the government is taking very seriously. There are several actions that can lead to a person being accused of identity fraud, so it is important to find out how identity theft laws apply to your case if you are dealing with these accusations.
In Nebraska, there are several things that can impact the type of charge and the consequences if you are facing identity theft charges. Understanding some of the factors that can impact your case might help you as you work to create a defense plan.
There are some identity theft charges that are misdemeanors. There are two primary factors that determine if a charge is a felony or a misdemeanor. One of these is the value of the goods, services or credit that are obtained. Typically, cases that involve $1,500 or less are misdemeanors. Cases that don't involve any monetary amount are a lower misdemeanor than those that involve monetary amounts. Cases involving more than $1,500 are felonies. Cases that involve more than $5,000 are a higher level felony than cases that involve $1,500 up to $5,000.
Even if the monetary amount in an identity theft case is within a misdemeanor range, it is still possible to face a felony charge. This is usually the case if you were convicted a charge for identity theft in the past. In fact, any charge for a subsequent case can face enhanced charges. This means that a felony charge might be charged as a more serious felony if there is already a previous conviction.
Identity theft comes in a variety of forms. Financial identity theft, which can include obtaining credit cards, loans and undue financial compensation, is the most common form of identity theft. In some cases, the efforts aren't fruitful. It is also possible for identity theft to occur to get medical care or to try to gain credentials. For example, using someone else's name and education degrees to try to get a job is illegal.
When you are working on a defense plan for identity theft, you have to think about the specifics of your case. Your defense would be much different if you are accused of identity theft, but you were actually given permission to use the other person's identity. Credit card fraud, for example, might have a defense of "he let me use his card to buy the items" if that is what happened. This isn't a plausible defense if you didn't know the alleged victim or didn't have that permission.


Amy Schumer Net Worth 2019 - How Much is Amy Schumer Worth?
Amy Schumer Net Worth 2019 – Amy Beth Schumer is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series Last Comic Standing in 2007.
According To Forbes, Amy Schumer Net Worth 2019 is $16 Million. She attended Towson University . After moving to New York she studied at the William Esper Studio for two years and worked as a bartender and a waitress. She was in a relationship with Anthony Jeselnik and appeared on his talk show after they had broken up. In 2015, she began dating Ben Hanisch; they split up two years later in May 2017.
Comedienne who first became known on Last Comic Standing and whose sketch series, Inside Amy Schumer, premiered on Comedy Central in 2013. She also appeared as a guest star on HBO's Girls and in 2015, she starred in the feature Trainwreck .
She once dated Dolph Ziggler . She has appeared on both The Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen and The Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne Barr , who she cites as a personal hero of hers.


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Саївська сільська рада — адміністративно-територіальна одиниця в Україні.

 Саївська сільська рада — Дніпропетровська область, П'ятихатський район
 Саївська сільська рада — Сумська область, Липоводолинський район

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Module music
All of the modules below are ZIPped. File name and size refers to the unpacked file.
Latest modules
brute.xm Brute force 26K 01:09 5th of September, 2005 Shortish chiptune.
anto.xm Anto 718K 04:32 14th of December, 2002
My first attempt at a goa trance track. Some good themes, but at its 4 and a half minutes, it's slightly shortish.
By the way, Anto is Quenya for "mouth". Not that this module has anything Elvish or Tolkienian about it, it's just a word that I drew out of thin air when I named the file at the first save, and that name, as they say, stuck.
Pay special attention to instrument 09. It's the only instrument I've spent more than 30 minutes tweaking, and I'm very happy with the result.
desirabl.xm Ta ikke alt så tungt 78K 01:28 21st of December, 2001 The bass pattern and rhythm of this tune suddenly came to me one evening in late November while I was studying for an exam in statistics. My computer was on, so I opened FastTracker II and jotted it down in case I forgot it. The following few evenings I was still cramming for the same exam, so of course I just had to fill in a melody line. This is the result. Hope you like it.
chipsuck.xm Chipsucker 10K 01:26 23rd of February, 2001 A short chipmod which almost exclusively uses looped waveforms that I've drawn by hand.
barne-tv.xm En enkel melodi 222K 00:42 2nd of July, 2000 Childish or childlike? Judge for yourself, but it's corny, at least.
pumamix.xm The Pumaleif Rave 472K 02:37 2nd of July, 2000 A remix of The Pumaleif Jam (original by Kim Freddy Mørk). My entry in the music compo at Midsummerlink 2000. Didn't win.
shopping.xm Shopping 11K 00:46 31st of October, 1999 A very short chipmod, trying to convey the mood of walking aimlessly through shops.
fredtore.xm Ode til Fred Tore 500K 02:46 24th of September, 1999 An ode to Fred Tore "Børre" Fagereng. Not really much "musical quality", it's more of an experiment, in which I try to make a song with my mouth only.
valley.xm Life in the valley 157K 02:29 10th of September, 1999 Not sure what style this is, maybe somewhere in between film music, progressive rock, and pop. (Or maybe not.)
fly-pigs.xm Flying pigs 395K 02:33 21st of August, 1999 Feeble attempt at techno-pop. (But less feeble than Ove har en liten mop .)
Earlier modules (pre-1998)
Until July 1999, I didn't have a sound card, and consequently, all of my modules were made on other people's computers. Some of them may have started out on my own box, using only the PC speaker (yes, it did sound disgusting). Anyway, here are some of the masterpieces of my past, that I've managed to dig out of hard disks, old 5,25 inch floppies, BBSes, etc.:
1.xm One 16K 02:22 Strange and minimalistic. With an experimental drumbeat and some electronic noises.
ove.xm Ove har en liten mop 195K 01:09 Parody of the folk song "Ole har en liten bil". Feeble attempt at techno-pop. The melody line was punched in by me & Sigurd Hansen. Drumbeat by Sigurd. Synth bass, grunting and other animal sounds by me (except the sheep, which are ripped from the Polish module "Party Sux"). Vocals by Ove Andersen.
pl-madns.xm Pipelined Madnesssss 43K 01:28 This tune is beyond description.
raane.xm Rånesangen 91K 01:28 The Tune of the Boar. Mostly samples from my Casio SA-1, supplemented by vocals by my uncle, Arne Johan Jacobsen (used without permission).
sludge.xm Sludge 91K 02:09 The first module I ever released. Sad, dissonant rockish tune. Made in the last week of my summer holiday. All of the instruments are ripped.
woop.xm Woop 116K 01:35 Happy-hardcore inspired tune made for fun. Most of the samples are from my Casio synth.
MP3 music
mcBagpipe 972K 02:03 July? 1995 This is a small tune played on my Casio SA-1, complete with rhythmic accompaniment. Recorded on a cassette recorder ca. July/August 1995 (when I was thirteen years old). Notice the quotation from the Norwegian national anthem!
Telehiv 580K 01:13 July? 1995 This one is also made on my trusty old Casio, and recorded on a cassette recorder. I've used only instrument nr. 76 (Telephone), which divides the keyboard into two parts: one with a line engaged tone, and the other with a dialing tone.
MIDI music
In 1999 and 2000, I had a school subject called Musikk og data (Music and computers), where we were taught how to use sequencer software like Cubase Score and Musicator, and also some elementary music theory. In my spare time, I've also had a go at a program called Musinum, which generates self-similar music from integer numbers.
..kk. 00:19 My MIDI rendering of the unofficial anthem of Akademisk Radioklubb, LA1K. The song is meant to be sung in unison, so there is only one voice. Here are the lyrics.
arj3.mid 03:06 A lively Musinum piece based mainly on the number 13.
Arjprime.mid 02:17 A slow, dark Musinum composition which reminds of those chilly days in March when the roads are covered with slowly melting ice.
Duh! 01:07 A silly tune I made in Roland Doremix during one of my first classes in M&D.
Hepp 00:17 This one could have become a decent fugue if I had worked a lot more on it. Made in Musicator during class.
Laus 00:22 This is the result of an assignment in M&D where we were to compose a short melody line in A minor and harmonize it.
Tråkk 00:47 A tune I sequenced in Cubase during class.
arj at nvg.org