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Global Deadbeat Donor Pledge Watch
Major donors failing Afghanistan due to $10bn aid shortfall
Forty per cent of aid spending returns to rich countries in corporate profits and consultant costs
The prospects for peace in Afghanistan are being undermined because Western countries are failing to deliver on their promises of aid to the tune of $10bn and because aid going to the country is used ineffectively, according to a new report written by ACBAR, an alliance international aid agencies working in Afghanistan.
Read the report - Falling short: Aid effectiveness in Afghanistan
The international community has pledged $25bn to Afghanistan since 2001 but has only delivered $15bn. The US is the biggest donor to Afghanistan but also has one of the biggest shortfalls - according to the Afghan government between 2002 and 2008 the US only delivered half of its $10.4bn commitment.
Press release from Oxfam GB March 25, 2008
Yesterday's Oxfam/ACBAR report gives us a precisely focused look at a phenomenon that I have long suspected: just like TV viewers who are caught up in the enthusiasm of a telethon and pledge $50 to a worthy cause, but then renege on their promises when the donation envelope arrives, I have often wondered who keeps track of all those billions announced at summits, colloquiums, concerts, etc. In the case of Afghanistan, we have our answer.
I heard former USAID Director Andrew Natsios comment on the Oxfam/ACBAR report, explaining that much of the gap is due to Afghanistan's limited absorptive capacity, which is admittedly a problem. Natsios also rightly points out that aid workers have been targeted by the Taliban, inhibiting operations. Also true. But both have been a problem dating back to 2001, when the US-led international effort started in Afghanistan. Time to come up with new excuses?
So while there may be particular excuses in the Afghanistan situation, surely the billions pledged at the annual G8 summits (check the list going back to 1975 thanks to the University of Toronto's "G8 Information Centre") don't all falter because "the Taliban ate my homework." It's worth paging through this list and clicking randomly on the venue of choice ("Tokyo III" in 1993, "Gleneagles" Scotland in 2005) and check the archived speeches and communiques. Reacquaint yourself with the grandiose initiatives relegated to the political graveyard, along with their late authors.
"If I had a penny for every..." If the cause of international development had received an actual dollar (maybe a Euro, just for safety's sake) for every dollar pledged in all the summits since 1975, I daresay that many problems would long ago have been solved. But then how could our leaders justify their annual "retreats" if all the problems were settled? I understand the weather is lovely in July on Hokkaido.
Posted at 11:27 in Diplomacy, Ethics, Political Economy | Permalink


That NRA honcho, Wayne La Pierre, sure is scary. Perhaps the most dangerous French-named person since Marie Antoinette.
In a compromise, La Pierre gets to keep his gun but he loses his discount on Delta Airlines.
Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are on top of the recent school shooting. Ryan does the thoughts and McConnell does the prayers. Sometimes they switch.
I claim not only my 2nd Amendment right but also my 3rd Amendment right to refuse to allow a British soldier to sleep in my house.


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Grease: The Director's Notebook
Author: Kleiser, Randal
Qty Avail: 100+
Created in conjunction with Paramount Pictures and authorized by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey (via his Estate), the creators of the original musical stage play, Grease: The Director's Notebook features rare and never-before-seen imagery from the studio's archives, as well as Kleiser's production notes, dialogue changes, and more. The book's heart is Kleiser's own heavily annotated shooting script, along with his storyboards and sketches - including lines from the play that were added to the film's script.
Grease: The Director's Notebook is a fitting tribute to this revered international phenomenon and the one book the movie's adoring fans will want.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In this match in South Korea's Second League I think the home team will win at the end . Bucheon is really good team , they are on 4 place on the table right now with 6 wins , 6 draw and 2 lost matches and they have the best defence until now . Goyang is on the last place on the table with only one win , 6 draw and 8 lost matches and they have the worst attack until now . Bucheon has 6 wins against Goyang until now , 4 matches finished draw between them and GOyang has 4 wins . But , Bucheon is playing at home , they have better form and I think they will win .


And im getting anything between 3 and 7 FPS with all setting either set to off or as far down as possible will this ever change?
Have you tried turning off shadows, especially tree shadows?
all setting either set to off or as far down as possible will this ever change?
How can i check what is my FPSec ?
the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 could very well not be fast enough to play this game. For one it is an Integrated Graphics Processor.
I use my old and faithful HD3870, which is not integrated on the motherboard, with 512 MB RAM and it runs good in windowed mode at 1024x768. Settings are the default ones (with shadows and all).
Windowed is important to me so I can multitask (movies, web, e-mails and stuff). I never use fullscreen but in raids or similar intense activities. That's a choice, not because the hardware wouldn't support higher resolutions (in fact it runs a bit slow at 1680x1050).
Maybe you have anti-aliasing or other effects switched on in the driver? You should try and set all settings to "application level" in the drivers.


The Montecarlo bedroom series is made in Italy – the birthplace of style and sophistication. Read on to find out how you can transform your ordinary bedroom into a chic and elegant boudoir with these key pieces, featuring the one and only Montecarlo series.
Aside from the obvious purpose of sleeping, another function of the bedroom is to dress and prepare yourself here before going out in public. What better way to do so than with the glamorous Montecarlo vanity unit? This piece is ideal for those who want the functionality of the storage space, with the added benefit of having a station dedicated to beautifying oneself. The internal mirror, discreet side doors and convenient lighting provide all the features you need to get ready. From everyday use to big nights out where you need to impress, the Montecarlo vanity unit will provide all you need and more.
If you have a spacious bedroom, then make the most of it. When it comes to larger rooms and spaces, it's important to create a balanced feel. A bright and airy room calls for a minimalist design, where the natural light does most of the talking. But for those who seek a more intimate or cosy atmosphere, why not use a corner of the room as a relaxation area? Depending on the amount of space available, you could incorporate a leather lounge chair or sofa into your bedroom. A small lounge area will add purpose and interest to your room – you can use it as a reading corner, or it could be the perfect place for a nightcap before retiring to bed. A brown or cream shade of leather is perfect for complementing the Montecarlo bedroom series, as the neutral tones will blend in with the rest of the room.
The bed will be the statement piece of your room if you opt for the Montecarlo design. The high gloss Koto of the Montecarlo bedframe reflects light and adds depth to any bedroom. The stunning chrome profiles complement a number of fabrics and designs. From elegant glassware to warm winter fur throws, the Montecarlo bedframe will bring out the beauty in everything that surrounds it, without being too overpowering.
Having a statement piece such as the Montecarlo bed means you need to decorate the rest of the room in a way that complements it. A few white lilies in a slender vase will portray elegance and style, in accordance with the Montecarlo ethos, whereas a large bunch of colourful mixed flowers could detract from the sophisticated ambience. Always opt for minimalist touches and focus on textures rather than colours. Think silk drapery, faux-fur throws and sheepskin rugs, as opposed to a colour pop scheme, which is more suited to beach houses, bright bathrooms and youthful designs.


Axion-like particles (ALPs) are very light, neutral, pseudo-scalar bosons which are supposed to interact with two photons. They can give rise to very interesting astrophysical effects taking place in the very-high energy band and above (10 GeV – 1000 TeV) when an external magnetic field is present. We analyze the propagation of the photon-ALP beam generated as pure photons at the jet base of a BL Lac, we study the photon-ALP oscillations during its path up to us while crossing the BL Lac magnetic field, the intergalactic magnetic field which we describe by means of an improved model and the Milky Way magnetic field. Our results are of great importance for the new generation of gamma-ray observatories like CTA, HAWC, GAMMA-400, LHAASO and TAIGA-HiSCORE.


Sweater with fur lining (not lined in sleeves). There is a zip closure down the front of the jacket, which is made from warm, soft, thick knit fabric. There are pockets on the sides, and elements of contrasting color, such as the pocket openings.


The FDA approval of Latuda for bipolar depression treatment is a big deal!
Why? Because until now, the only FDA approved bipolar depression medications were lithium and Seroquel (quetiapine), both of which are associated with significant complications.
So is Latuda any better?
There is no definitive answer as to whether or not Latuda is really a "better" bipolar depression medication. Latuda for bipolar treatment is very welcome simply because most people with bipolar disorder spend far more time being depressed than manic, yet effective bipolar depression treatments are so few.
Until Latuda burst on the scene in 2013, the only options were the mood stabilizers lithium, Depakote and Lamictal, and the antipsychotic Seroquel. Tragically, many people were (and still are!!) treated with antidepressants such as SSRI style meds like Prozac and Zoloft. The SSRIs are NOT effective for bipolar depression and can trigger mania, making someone with bipolar even sicker.
Bipolar medications almost without exception cause weight gain. Any drug that effectively treats bipolar disorder WITHOUT causing weight gain is going to create a lot of excitement. The notion that Latuda is weight neutral was a big factor in Latuda's successful debut.
But do the claims about Latuda and weight gain hold up?
Latuda has NOT been found to be weight neutral. The reality is that weight gain is clearly listed, even by the manufacturer, as a Latuda side effect.
On the other hand, the studies have shown that Latuda tends to lead to LESS weight gain that the other atypical antipsychotics.
The biggest problem with using antipsychotics to treat bipolar disorder is that this entire class of drugs is associated with SUBSTANTIAL weight gain and associated problems, such as elevating cholesterol and blood sugar.
People with bipolar disorder are ALREADY at a dramatically increased risk of premature death from heart disease and diabetes.
This creates a terrible paradox where physical health is sacrificed for mental health. It is not, as some insensitive medical practitioners suggest, simply a case of choosing to be "fat but happy" or "fat but sane" as the weight gain too often leads to premature death and/or severely compromised quality of life.
However, using Latuda for bipolar is definitely associated with LESS weight gain. Most people in trials did not gain weight, and those that did gained only around 7% of body weight. So a woman weighing around 130 lbs may go up to around 140 lbs. This is A LOT better than the 30, 40 or eevn 50 lb weight gain that can happen with Seroquel or Zyprexa!
In its clinical drug trials, 6% of people discontinued Latuda. In other words, one person in every 16-17 stopped taking the medication. At first glance, this sounds like a high number. It is easy to deduce these people quit Latuda because of unpleasant side effects.
However, in these same trials, 5% of the people taking the placebo (a sugar pill participants thought was Latuda but was really a completely inactive control) also quit. This means that only 1% more discontinued Latuda. This is actually a low rate.
Combined with the other drug trial results, researchers have been able to say with consistency and certainty that Latuda is a well tolerated drug with milder side effects than usual for an atypical antipsychotic.
Remember, Latuda can be used on its own to treat bipolar depression as what is know as MONOtherapy, or it can be taken along with another medication such as lithium or Depakote as an add-on (adjunctive) therapy.
Because lithium use involves constant monitoring and can be difficult to tolerate long term, switching from lithium to Latuda alone may be appealing to some patients.
Just keep in mind that the FDA has NOT approved Latuda as a treatment for bipolar mania or as a bipolar maintenance treatment. Approving Latuda for bipolar depression was as far as the FDA would go. Some countries such as the UK, Australia and most of Europe have yet to give ANY approvals for Latuda.
In summary, switching from lithium to Latuda would be an experiment that should only be carried out with a doctor's approval and only under that doctor's close supervision. It would be particularly important to monitor for mania and anyone witha history of serious manic episodes would probably only want to use Latuda as an add-on to a mood stabilizer, not as a substitute.
Should YOU try Latuda for bipolar?
Anxiety is one of the most common side effects of Latuda and as I have panic disorder I am very reluctant to to use any medication that promotes anxiety.
I have had to work very hard to manage my weight and bring down my cholesterol and blood sugar. I am genetically predisposed to diabetes and heart disease and do not want to add to this risk with a medication with these known side effects.
My existing medications are currently working very well for me.
My previous trials of atypical antipsychotics have NOT gone well.
BUT EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT! For example, if you do not have anxiety problems or a high risk of heart disease, or if you have not yet found a good fit with another medication, your calculations will be very different from my own.
The point is that there is no definitive answer as to whether or not Latuda could be your best bet as a bipolar medication.
You can learn more about Latuda as a bipolar medication here.
I have a panic disorder, combined with bipolar II, and was recently prescribed Latuda after failed SSRI attempts over the years. I have only been on it a few days, and I do know that anxiety is a common side effect, BUT my psychiatrist said that in the long term, Latuda will actually HELP with the anxiety and panic. I'll let you know if that's how it works out!
I'd love to know what your out come was. I hope you recieve this msg ?
Looking for any updates from you, please!?
I just started taking Latuda and have only taken half of a 20mg tablet twice. I have GAD and woke up today with high anxiety – even after taking my regular dose of buspar the night before. Would love to know if (and hope) the anxiety will decrease!
Latuda has been quite effective for me however even with Medicare insurance it cost me over $400.00 per month. 30 40mg tablets ! Truly an outrage that this country allows pharmaceutical co.s to gouge us this way. Canada pharmacies have it available for under $250.00 without insurance. Still way too high!
I received some discount cards from my doc that were provided by the manufacturer. My first month supply did not cost anything (I have some obamacare drug coverage, also). I expect that the next two months will also be free of out-of-pocket, but the next months may require me to pay a little more than $100 each month. If your doc can not provide these cards to you, I suggest you contact the manufacturer through their web site.
I shop at Walgreens, have TriCare Young Adult, and pay ~$30/month for 40 mg. Previously, I was uninsured, taking Abilify, which cost $600, so I quit medication until I was insured again.
I am on Latuda and it works for my depression. However, I am shocked to learn that it does not treat mania, as I specifically asked my doctor about that during my last visit. I informed him that I needed something to treat mania since my understanding was that Latuda does not. He assured me it treated mania as well. I get a symptom that I call 'brain itch". It feels as though my head were tingling. And my manic episodes have been not-so-great for my wallet and well-being. My doctor either lied to me or does not know the medication he has prescribed for me.
Have your doctor request a tier exception. They will deny the first time, so appeal the decision. More than likely you'll get the tier exception. My doctor did this I pay $31 a month.
I cant believe the health care system you guys have. We have medicare in Australia where everyone pays an extra 1.5% on their income tax and our hospitals and doctors and medicines are pretty much covered. i have been on Lamactil for many years as well as Pristiq but the Doctor thought Latuda might be worth a try for anxiety cost $37. So I have been researching it. I think I will give it a try – Sorry you guys have to pay so much for help!
Hey Roger, I'm in Australia and had to pay $75 for one box. Where abouts can you get them for $35??
Also, I took 1/2 tablet last night and experienced six hours of anxiety before only falling to sleep because I took an Amiltryptaline.
I wonder if anyone else knows if this anxiety will go away?
Gabapentin is a highly habit forming drug with horrible side effects. Withdrawl from gabapentin can be a lot worse than withdrawl from benzodiazapine. I strongly recommend doing research on gabapenton withdrawl before using it. I know of many people that have been hospitalized with suicidal ideation as a result of gabapentin withdrawal.
That is 100% false. Gabapentin creates both physical and mental dependency. Because Doctors are just figuring out that it has such a high potential for abuse it will soon be a scheduled drug. It was meant for nerve pain so while it may work for some of the physical side effects of anxiety it isn't a good fit and there are way more suitable things out there. I am familiar with off label prescribing but taking gabapentin aka "johnnys" for anxiety would be like taking some Percocet for anxiety because it makes you feel relaxed.
Hi I am diagnosed as Bi-Polar II, but I'm really Borderline personality disorder, regardless, I'm switching back from Rexulti to Latuda. Although Latuda, did nothing for my depression and my psychosis is under better control with Rexulti also, the weight gain is not tolerated well by myself. Latuda caused no significant weight gain but with only 1 mg of Rexulti, I'm unable to maintain, my weight just stays.
They have a $15/MONTH card.
OMG, Latuda was awful. I was itchy all over. I don't understand why it's not listed as a side effect. I also could not sleep. It made me more manic.
I am currently only on day 2 of Latuda and was also feeling itchy all over and well.. Here I am wanting to sleep but can't.. I am going into mania… I can just feel it.. So now what? Any updates?
They have many medications for the akathisia which is clearly listed as a side effect, completely does away with it and is dirt cheap. Should've asked your doc.
I gained thirty lbs and it won't come off. It also triggers my panic attacks. It has helped my mood significantly.
Just started Latuda last night at 9pm. Since about 1030am today, I am experiencing a severe headache, slight confusion, and nausea. I have bp depression along with severe anxiety. I feel panicky. I'm waiting on Dr to call me back. So far, I do NOT like this drug.
I have been on Latuda and for me it feels like a wonder drug. I was on Tegretol for the last five years, which kept me stable but did nothing for depression. I do have psychotic features with my manic episodes, so that part of Latuda makes me feel safer, in that the most disturbing part of this illness for me is the psychosis. I have shed the 5 lbs that I put on over the winter and I have minimal side effects, if any, so far. No anxiety and I did experience anxiety and bad panic attacks while taking Abilify. So once again, I see that each person responds differently to different medications. The only complaint I have is the outrageous cost of this medication.
I agree. My cost is 1200.00!!!!!
did you take the abilify at the same time as latuda ? or did you wein off the abilify?
I've been taking 20 mg of Latuda for 8 days. I'm also on 60 mg of Prozac ( was taking 40 mg for years. )Have been taking Wellbutrin for a few months. Started out at 100 mg and now I'm taking 150 mg. I can honestly say that I feel less depressed and not anxious. I think they finally have me on the right combination of meds. So far I am happy with how I am feeling and in general feel more active. I am bipolar and experience panic attacks. Those have been under control with Prozac for years now. I suggest some of you tell your Psychiatrist about these 3 meds together. I feel confident that I am going to get better. Bless and good vibes to all that have these debilitating symptoms.
i have been on latuda for about a year I have maniac bipolar and do not sleep, have gained 20 pounds and it won't come off, however i am calmer and not so prone to go off the deep end and stupid stuff. The only time i had anxiety was when my father died, who wouldn't? BEING ABLE TO SLEEP IS UNBELIEVABLE. I am liking this drug. don't like the weight thing but ill figure something out.
I have been on Latuda for bipolar II for around 8 months now. It has seemingly worked well and let me come off the Risperidone I was on, plus gotten rid of Zoloft. But, I have just moved back to the UK after a long time in Canada, and the doctors have said they are not allowed to prescribe it for bipolar. I have no idea what is going to happen now as I run out of the medication very soon.
I wanted to update my experience with Latuda after 7 months. My depression is mostly gone . In fact I think my mood is basically normal. I take 40 mg at each night . Side effects have been acceptable with perhaps a little extra anxiety but not really a problem. Also I don't sleep as much as I would like but again not really a big problem. I found a pharmacy in Canada where I buy my Latuda for $150.00 for 30 tablets 40 mg no shipping charges. Also my psychiatrist has provided a 2 month supply so my expense has been quite low. No weight gain. Overall this meditation has been a life changer.
I have been on Latuda for 2 years. It has helped my bipolar depression immensely. I still have days I am depressed but I have had no major depressive episodes. This medicine has been a game changer. I tried Seroquel and Lamictal before Latuda and didn't have any luck there. I have gained some weight but having my sanity is totally worth it.
Bipolar I. I started Latuda (20mg) about 2 weeks ago. I upped the dosage to 40mg a few days ago per my pdoc's recommendation.
So far, it seems like it helps with my general mood (although I still have "episodes", usually mixed state). Unfortunately, it also makes me very drowsy and restless. I could live with the drowsiness (I often have trouble getting to sleep anyway), but the restlessness is untenable. I literally can't keep my eyes open, yet can't sit or lie still long enough to go to sleep, so I end up pacing around for a couple hours until I finally just collapse.
I had a similar experience with Abilify (restlessness, not drowsiness). I'm hoping this is a temporary adjustment period, but if it doesn't improve I'll likely have to ditch this med too.
Just as a datapoint, my copay was only $80 for a month's supply of the 20mg pills.
Latuda is the BEST medication I have ever tried and has done wonders for my bipolar depression. I take 30 mg (using a pill cutter on a 40 mg tablet). The 40 mg was too much and started to cause an internal agitation/restlessness an hour after taking my nightly dose. This side effect started to become too much to deal with on the 40 mg. The 30 mg dose seems ideal and avoids the internal restlessness/agitation feeling while still maintaining all its benefits. This has been a miracle pill for me and has not resulted in any weight gain whatsoever. I did initially have some nausea when I first started it but it quickly went away after about a week. I also want everyone to know that I would occasionally use CBD to deal with irritability before I was on Latuda. I had tried the CBD with the Latuda and found that it INCREASED the internal agitated/restlessness feeling. This is because CBD effectively increases the blood levels of Latuda by inhibiting the liver enzymes which metabolize Latuda. Taking CBD EFFECTIVELY INCREASES THE DOSE OF LATUDA THAT YOU ARE TAKING AND HENCE THE SIDE EFFECTS AS WELL via this mechanism, something everyone should know about. If you use CBD, YOU MUST adjust the dose of Latuda accordingly.
Akathisia(inner sense of restlessness) can be taken care of with an incredibly cheap med, ask your doc about adding one of several different types of medicines to eliminate that. I use Cogentin myself as it wears off quickly and my akathisia is only after I take 80mg latuda at night. In the morning it's gone for the rest of the day. Nausea should you have it can be resolved with zofran. Yes latuda is worth needing the coping meds which to be honest you'd need more for Vraylar or risperidone anyways so latuda is better imho as the motor and cognitive side effects are less.
I am taking Latuda 20mg for over 2 weeks and so far my results have been amazing! I was diagnosed Bipolar II and i am not taking anything else along side Latuda. I know 20 mg is the low dose but i am very sensitive to substances so i wanted to keep it low even when my doctor suggested boosting it to 40mg. Anyway, my depression is ALMOST non existent already, i still experience hypomania but it doesnt last as long as it used to. I've been getting a better sleep because i am able to sleep and for the most part stay asleep. My anxiety has reduced a lot. I feel like i can think more clearly and my emotions aren't so all over the place, everything seems stable enough to function like a normal person! The down sides of course is i get fidgety and restless and my muscles are tense.
I have been on Latuda, 20mg, for Bipolar II for almost a year. I also have anxiety and panic attacks. First couple of months were rough figuring out the dosage that worked best. At one point I was on 60mg. The worst side effect I noticed was extreme, uncontrollable irritability. Not like me at all. At 20mg I can maintain stability without the irritability. I did complain after about 5 months that I felt very flat-i was missing true joy and excitement. My doc put me on 20mg of Vyvanse and that with the Latuda works well for me.
My doctor gave me 40mg of latuda & I haven't taken it yet. I've been taking serequel for about 8 months & at first it worked but made me super drowsy. Now that it's in my system it doesn't work as great. I've gained a lot of weight from serequel as well. I have severe anxiety & I have awful panic attacks. I wonder if Latuda could maybe stop all that? Or atleast calm me down. I haven't taken it yet because I hate taking medicine & I'm always afraid of allergic reactions & dying from it. I worry way to much. If anyone could give me an honest opinion on the medicine that would be great.
Bipolar depression my whole life. I am 63. With age, my condition got worse. Different drugs came and went some were successful, for awhile. Then 2 years ago my doctor put me on 40 MG a day. My life has changed.i am so grateful for Latuda. Not 1 depressive episode since.
I have been on 120mg of Latuda for at least 3 years (? not exactly sure). I'm Bipolar II. I love it, compared to Geodon, which I was on for about 7 years (since diagnosis). Geodon worked on my psychosis, except I had horrible insomnia on it, and when I did sleep, I had a hard time waking up. So my pdoc switched me to Latuda (which I guess was new at the time). Now I sleep great. Neither med worked very well on depression, so I take 150mg bupropion XL with the Latuda. I have gained a significant amount of weight in the years since diagnosis, while taking both meds. I never made the connection, I really blamed it on overeating because of depression? I just recently switched to a plant-based diet and have already lost some weight.
I don't really have a lot of noticeable side effects from Latuda: I get nauseous if I don't take it with enough carbs, or take it with too much sugar. I have leg restlessness, mostly at night. Sometimes when I take it it knocks me out (but Geodon did that, too). Overall I like Latuda a lot and don't have many complaints.
I used to pay $50 a month with insurance, but now I have a coupon (Google "latuda manufacturer's coupon") and I pay about $15. If you don't have insurance at all, google "latuda patient assistance" and go to the Sunovion site and download and fill out the form, attach your tax returns if you have income, and give it to your pdoc. They'll send it in. I did this with Geodon before it was generic and I did this with Latuda when I got laid off earlier this year.
I have been taking Latuda 20 mg for almost 1 month. I see no improvement. I actually feel more depressed. I am bipolar without mania. How much longer should I keep trying?
I loved latuda. I felt truly the best I ever have while taking it. I did not feel like it weighed me down like the other medications I had taken. I had been on any and all of the common medications for bipolar disorder oh, and none worked as well as Latuda. But unfortunately I had to stop taking it. Even with my insurance oh, after the initial discounts ran out, I was paying almost $600 a month. I just physically could not afford to pay for the medication. I keep waiting for a generic version to hit the market so it is less expensive, and I I will absolutely be switching back.
Latuda immediately 'cured' my sense of doom and despair that goes with my bi-polar depression. I'd been on so many other anti-depressants which didn't do anything, I was blown away by the immediacy of the effect. I've had some recurrence of symptoms but the intensity of them is reduced. I did one day become so fatigued mid-day I didn't think I could safely drive my car home from shopping. I may have taken my dose without food so I am careful now not to do that. That only happened once. I discontinued for several weeks because of the fatigue and I thought I was getting too anxious, but went back on when the doom and despair returned. Again, instant relief from those symptoms. I plan to stay on the drug for awhile and see if it continues to work. Nothing else has.
I have been on Latuda for 3 years. I have taken a 80 mg dose each night. I have gained 80 lbs and experience nausea. When I first started taking it I was told to take it in the morning. In which I would fall asleep all day or be a zombie. Taking it at night has been awesome. Only nausea if I don't fall asleep fast enough. My mania and depression were great. No suicidal depression since 2015 which is a huge deal since I had been suicidal since 5th grade when I wasn't manic. Lately my happy mania is back which I am not crazy about but I can handle. Only problem is that I have doubts about my marriage more now but that comes with my mania. The grass is always greener. Overall I have been really happy on Latuda but I'm questioning if my dose is too high. My first doctor kept increasing the dosage when I started out. Now I'm debating asking my new doctor to lower the dosage. Has anyone experienced high pregnancy levels while on Latuda? I was told multiple times that I may be pregnant by my psychiatrist but I never was.


Professional networking site LinkedIn has redesigned its 'Company Pages'. With the redesigned pages, companies will now be able to add an image (that best represents their company and brand) to their LinkedIn page to better establish their identity on LinkedIn (see pic below).
Companies can now share status updates and job opportunities directly from the update stream and they can also showcase their products, services and insights to members visiting their page.
A few companies that are getting early access to the redesigned Company Pages include Philips, Citi, HP and Dell. LinkedIn is also offering select companies (like American Express, Unilever and Expedia) a more visual way (complete with pictures, videos etc.) to showcase their employer brand through the 'Career Pages' section of Company Pages.
For members, this means that it will now be easier to find, follow and engage with companies that they are interested in.
"We believe this new look and feel makes it easier for companies to tell their employer story and make the job hunt process more personalised for job seekers," wrote Mike Grishaver, leader of product management and monetization, Company Pages at LinkedIn, in an official blog post.
In addition to redesigning its Company Pages, LinkedIn has also launched a new notifications feature, which will keep members notified real-time when someone likes what they have shared on LinkedIn, views their profile or accepts their invitation, among other things.
For this purpose, the company has added a notification 'flag' at the top of the member's homepage along with a new inbox 'envelope' icon (see pic below).
A red circle will appear when you have something new like comments or likes on your shares, an accepted connection request, new inMails, etc. However, since the feature has only recently started rolling out, it may take a few weeks for all members to see the flag appear at the top of their homepage.
The Company Pages and Notifications features have also been made available to LinkedIn's iPhone, Android and iPad apps (read here for more).


At Clearlight Shows, we pride ourselves in having a high standard of lighting equipment available for hire. Safety is a main concern, so our equipment is tested prior to hire and upon return. Our staff are available for technical assistance if required.
Click a Hire Category below or view hire terms and conditions.


"I say, play your own way. Don't play what the public wants. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you're doing–even if it does take them fifteen, twenty years".
"It's a pity that if someone who has a really profoundly potent art to share chooses not to or doesn't fit into this very thin slice of what's desirable and marketable, chances are the public will never get a chance to hear what they're doing".
Happy Saturday Soulsters! Now this is a fabulous blast from the past. Groove Theory consisted of singer, producer, Bryce Wilson and singer/songwriter, Amel Larrieux. This album changed the game as far as hearing something different from the "new jack swing" sound that was slowing moving out at that time. So much soul and melody, this album was a welcome breath of fresh air in R&B music.
"Tell Me" was their first single and introduced us to their smooth sound and Larrieux's lovely and soulful vocals. Larrieux went on to a successful solo career and has released five independent projects. She is considered Neo Soul royalty among her fans that have been following her since her Groove Theory days. Reminisce on this classic and check out the video below. Enjoy!


text:
+32 2 551 18 10 info@europeanbreweryconvention.eu
About EBC
EBC Newsletter
EBC Standard Malt
Issue 12 - March 2021
Foreword By LENE MØLSKOV BECH
I'm Lene Mølskov Bech, Senior Laboratory & Regulatory Manager at the Liquid Analysis and Regulatory Department at Carlsberg Breweries A/S in Copenhagen. I have been engaged with Brewing analysis since 1993 and with Regulatory since 2010 I have worked closely with both EBC and The Brewers of Europe via various working groups such as the Beer Safety IMT, the Product IMT, the Consumer Information Expert Group and the EBC Brewing Science Group. I have also been the chairperson of the EBC Analysis Group since 2017.
Having this EBC Newsletter means always being kept informed about the outputs of EBC and that includes progress made in the Analysis Group. To you, as the reader, we aim to keep everyone abreast of the analytical projects we are currently undertaking; we also list the new methods that were published in the Analytica-EBC on-line (via the knowledge portal BrewUp, see www.brewup.eu). What is perhaps less well known is our continuing commitment for improved contact with our brewing scientific colleagues and analytical personnel at our 'sister' organisations such as the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and the Brewery Convention of Japan (BCOJ). This communication is a two-way street; we inform the others of our work-plans and requests for participation and they, in turn, do the same. This results in better ways of working, and a further step towards better methods (often with an improved statistical base) for our users. It also fills me with satisfaction that our relationship with our Central European colleagues via the MEBAK has taken a good turn for a more collaborative approach.
The new chairman, Dr. Martin Zarnkow, is enthusiastic about sharing information with us and gathering support for ring tests involving potentially a greater number of participating labs. Across three continents we all share the same goals: to provide state of the art analytical methods to secure the quality, consistency and safety of our products.
Should you have any specific questions regarding the EBC Analysis Group, please contact the EBC secretariat. I know that they are always happy to help.
Enjoy the newsletter,
Lene Bech
EBC at work
EBC Executive Team
The EBC Executive Team met for its first meeting of the year in February, albeit in digital format only. Three main items were on the agenda: the fate of the EBC Symposium 2021 (see below), the publication of the Beer Brewing Guide – EBC Quality Handbook for Small Breweries (see below) as well as the preparation for the Brewers Forum/EBC Congress 2022. The scope of the submissions for the EBC Symposium 2021 was discussed and options were put on the table. After another round of consultation, it was decided to cancel the 2021 edition of the Symposium (also see section below). Members of the EBC Executive Team also finalised the calendar for publication of the Beer Brewing Guide – EBC Quality Handbook for Small Breweries as well as the pricing policy, whose aim is to ensure this comprehensive guide that will help all small brewers across the continent (and beyond) remains affordable to any small brewer whilst still reflecting the high-end value of its content. The EBC Executive Team will next meet in May 2021.
EBC Analysis Group
The EBC Analysis Group met virtually on the 11th of March to discuss progress about upcoming method publication, ongoing and upcoming (international) collaborative trials as well as the reignition of the Sub-Committee Sensory (see below).
Two microbiological International Methods (Dekkera (formerly Brettanomyces) Detection with FastOrange® BRETT Medium and Live Yeast Detection with FastOrange® Yeast Medium) should soon be published together with the ASBC (date to be determined) and four other International Methods are currently entering the last phase before printing and publication.
On the front of collaborative trials, the ring test on gluten will soon be finalised (results and statistics are being processed). The collaborative trial on gushing potential of malt has been started with samples being shipped to participants. The first results are expected for early Summer 2021. The collaborative trial on L,a,b has been postponed due to Covid-19 and collection and shipment of samples should start in April/May 2021. Participants will be contacted soon.
The Analysis Group would also like to inform you that the sensory sub-group is in the process of being revived! The person to lead the group will be Julia Bär, who is known to many in the industry. A Weihenstephan food-technology engineering graduate, Julia is in charge of tasting programmes for students and at breweries organised by the Doemens Academy in Munich. Should you wish to join the group, or nominate a suitable candidate, please inform the EBC secretariat. We will make sure that all applicants are considered.
Call for Information – SO2 measurement by DTNB
The EBC and the ASBC are currently working on developing new methods for SO2 measurement by DTNB, with both a manual and automated procedures (flow analysis Skalar like and automated spectrophotometer Gallery like).
To ensure the upcoming method embraces current industry practices, every interested brewery or laboratory is invited to share a description of the method as well as the instruments used for the purpose of SO2 measurement. The EBC and the ASBC will process this information to draft the most accurate and workable method that would then be tested through an International Collaborative Trial. Information on method and equipment can be sent to info@brewersofeurope.eu before the end of April.
EBC NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS
The Beer Brewing Guide – EBC Quality Handbook for Small Breweries
The long-expected and much needed Beer Brewing Guide – EBC Quality Handbook for Small Breweries will be available on exclusive sales as of the 1st of June via www.brewup.eu! The Guide, authored by Chris and Nancy McGreger, two Bavaria-based American brewing experts advising small breweries across the globe, sums up in 400 pages the much need quality assurance and control procedured brewers need to apply throughout the brewing process to upgrade and assure the quality of their beer. This thorough guide has been developed keeping in mind the needs of medium-sized and small breweries, shedding light and offering practical advice on every possible blind spot master brewer may encounter in their day-to-day activities.
Whilst this book will benefit every small to medium-sized brewery – whether they just started or are already active for several years, it also is essential reading for anyone contemplating getting into the world of professional brewing to perfect their skills and start their business on a right footing. We are currently negotiating a very attractive price for this "must-have" technical book on brewing.
Brewing Events
EBC Symposium 2021 – Cancelled
Due to a lack of relevance of the submitted abstracts to the topic, the EBC has taken the decision to cancel the EBC Symposium 2021. The EBC was essentially looking for contributions around technical/technological measures to address delays in production and supply chain hold-ups in the brewing industry but, unfortunately, not enough submissions addressing this topic had been submitted.
However, the EBC will come back in 2022 for the joint Brewers Forum/ EBC Congress to take place on the 30th of May to 2nd of June 2022, at the IFEMA in Madrid, Spain. The call for abstracts with fewer topical constraints when it comes to submitting contributions (in this case for both, papers and posters) will open around the middle of June and remain open until the end of September 2021.
Communication with EBC is easy via the newsletter, so please also encourage your colleagues to subscriber to it (https://europeanbreweryconvention.eu/ebc-newsletter/). For any up-to-date information also consult the EBC website.
The Brewers of Europe Forum 2021
The Brewers Forum is coming back for a third edition, this year fully digital and for free! The four-day event (1-4 June 2021) will gather more than 40 speakers and lead its audience through showcasing best-practices, highlighting upcoming trends, offering practical advice to perfect the brewing art, improve the marketing and storytelling and reaching out to customers in this hard time. Over four days and over 20 sessions, the following issues will be dealt with care, passion and expertise:
The general state of the brewing industry on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and what challenges lie ahead for the next few years.
How sustainability will drive industry's future, what policymakers are cooking and what brewers are doing to lead the way towards a green future for beer, consumers and our planet.
Practical advice and do's and don'ts to market products through the right channel, be it the off-trade or by making the most of the digital solutions and to tell the brewery's story to consumers.
Technical advice by brew masters and lead experts to brew the perfect lager, investing in hard seltzer, mastering the arts of barrel-ageing and developing their own range of non-alcoholic beers.
The latest trends in beer styles innovation, mixing tradition and modernity, as well as on packaging with a focus on cans.
Please consult the Brewers Forum for the latest information, as well as for the registration (free): https://brewersforum.eu
Beer and Health Publication Award – Nearing submission deadline
The deadline for applying to the Beer and Health Publication Award is nearing (31st of March)! The Beer and Health Initiative (www.beerandhealth.eu) offers an Award of €1,000 to the lead author of the best, most remarkable study published in 2020 focusing on moderate beer (or alcohol) consumption. Apart from the monetary prize, the winner may present his/her research findings during the next Beer and Health symposium. Application deadline 31 March 2021. For more information on the Award and the application procedure, please go on this page: https://beerandhealth.eu/the-beer-and-health-publication-award-2020/
EBC Congress 2019
www.ebc-symposium.org
Analytica-EBC
www.brewersofeurope.org
www.facesofbrewing.eu
www.beerserveseurope.eu
C/O The Brewers of Europe
Rue Caroly 23 - 25
Phone: +32 2 551 18 10
info@brewersofeurope.org
© European Brewery Convention
A website crafted with <3 by Woomera, communication agency in Brussels


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You can also make a donation by check through the mail. Checks should be made out to Madison Park Development Corporation.


I wasn't able to attend this week's Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference because of a last minute change to my work-related commitments. And that's too bad. I love Washington D.C., where WPC is being held this year. But more important, of course, WPC has offered up a ton of news from a variety of Microsoft product groups. In fact, WPC has become such a hotbed for announcements in recent years that it's largely replaced PDC (Professional Developers Conference) and WINHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) as the most important stealth Microsoft event.
Service Pack for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. If you've been waiting to check out SP1, it's available now in Beta form. Remember, however, that SP1 doesn't offer much for Windows 7. It is, however, a major update for R2, with new features like Dynamic Memory for Hyper-V and RemoteFX.
Windows Small Business Server 7 and "Aurora." I've been getting increasingly frantic emails about the future of Windows Small Business Server, since the current version is based on Windows Server 2008 and shipped years ago. I've been biting my tongue for months, but can now discuss the fact that Microsoft is updating the SBS product line with not one but two new products based on the Server 2008 R2 codebase. The first, called Windows SBS 7, is a traditional SBS product with on-premise solutions that offers a logical upgrade path for current SBS customers. The other, currently codenamed Aurora, takes SBS where I believe it needs to go: To the cloud. Microsoft calls it is a "cross-premise" solution because it offers the on-premise services that make sense--storage, ID management through Active Directory, security, and so on--but lets customers mix and match with the cloud services--read: hosted Exchange and SharePoint--that they need.
I am particularly excited about SBS "Aurora" and will reviewing this product as soon as possible. For now, if you want to learn a bit more about either SBS update, check out my preview.
Windows InTune Beta 2 comes with some new functionality, but the big news this time around is that Microsoft will provide a multi-account management console so that partners that sell and service this product will be able to manage multiple accounts through a single location. It was a big feature request, I bet.
As for pricing, Microsoft will make InTune available to paying customers in early 2011 for $11 per PC per month. This cost includes the InTune cloud management service with integrated functionality, as expected, but it also includes Windows 7 Enterprise upgrade rights for each covered PC. Additionally, customers that license InTune can also license the excellent and diverse Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for an additional $1 per PC. MDOP provides a number of on-premise client management tools that, in Microsoft's words, "complete" what InTune offers from the cloud.
Slate PCs. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pledged at WPC this week that Microsoft's partners--including heavyweight, tier-1 PC maker partners like Dell, Samsung, and Toshiba--would ship Slate PCs (and a variety of other Tablet PC types) by the end of the year. These PCs will run Windows 7 and, unlike the Apple iPad market leader, will provide business solutions as well as consumer offerings.
Of course, Ballmer previously pledged--at CES 2010 in January--that these Slate PCs would appear this year. The difference is that in January, Ballmer was showing off an HP Slate PC that is now in limbo, either because of the unexpected success of the iPad or, more likely, because HP is going to forego Windows 7 and go with Palm's WebOS instead. (HP purchased Palm a few months back.) I think it's safe to assume that HP's Slate won't ship in a Windows 7 version.
Windows Phone. Microsoft is gearing up to deliver Windows Phone 7 by the end of the year--in October, according to one particularly loose-lipped executive--and this week, the software giant delivered the first beta version of its Windows Phone developers tools. (The previous versions were categorized as CTP, for Community Technical Preview.) This includes a completely integrated version of Expression Blend (allowing you to graphically design Windows Phone apps) and a near-final version of the Windows Phone SDK, among other tools.
As exciting, perhaps, Microsoft will begin shipping prototype Windows Phone devices to developers next week, allowing them to test their new applications on actual (not production quality) hardware. Check out the Windows Phone Developer blog if you want to be included, though understand that only a limited number of devices are available.


Morgan, who originally came from Llan Newidel, Glamorganshire, was a brewer and innkeeper in Putney.
Sir Richard assumed the name Cromwell in honour of his cousin the Earl of Essex. According to BE1883 (supported by TCP), upon the dissolution of the monasteries "he obtained all the lands, in Huntingdonshire, belonging to any religious house in that county".


New world-changing technology is unveiled at CES each year and this year was no different.
I've been at Consumer Electronics Show, aka CES, last week and I was in tech heaven.
For those who aren't as tech obsessed as I am, CES is one of the largest technology events in the world. It's held annually in Las Vegas and I was lucky enough be there walking the floors and soaking in all the gadget goodness that Sin City had to offer.
Here are five tech innovations which really put a spring in my step.
There were plenty of household devices on show which will make our homes smarter. I heard time after time that "the future is here" and it really is - there are stacks of home automation gadgets on the market now, ranging from connected appliances like the 'internet fridge' to home security devices. I'm personally a fan of Samsung SmartThings which can do cool stuff like automatically play your favourite song when you get home, but there are loads of other great competitive products in the works. There is still quite a lot of fragmentation when it comes to the smart home due to closed platforms (meaning systems that are only compatible with the same brand) but other platforms like Samsung's for example, are open. Phones as the controller for the connected home is a given, however Amazon echo is also starting to get some traction as the voice controller for smart homes.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) TVs which give greater brightness and 10 times more colour were everywhere. Everyone is trying to improve on their products before they launch later this year. That said in my opinion, they all look great but one doesn't look any better than the other. In addition to HDR TVs there were plenty of Smart TVs and 3D TVs - for all those out there who hate wearing those glasses, I've got good news for you - 3D without glasses looks to be coming in a couple of years.
There was a lot of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets from the big guys like Oculus and Samsung but this year there was plenty from the small guys too. From what I can see, VR is moving to gaming as its number one application. There also seems to be a push to build a Star Trekholodeck type application using VR but I believe it will still be some time before we see a working version - some that I saw still had cables and others needed hand controllers. There was also lots of headsets for viewing content with inbuilt audio on display.
If you've set yourself fitness related new years' resolution for 2016 you're in luck –next generation fitness wearables were everywhere. In fact, there was a large focus on health technology in general at CES this year - sensors and wearables for sleep, heart monitoring and every other body check you could imagine. Pardon the pun but I see wearables becoming invisible – many are being built into training gear including socks and shirts and they're even being built into household items like mattresses for sleep monitoring. There is also a move to make the wearables (that can be seen) more fashionable, so expect the trend of wearables partnering with fashion companies to make them more attractive will continue.
There was also audio kit aplenty - too much to even really explore it but I can safely say the cat ear headphones are popular seller. There was also loads of accessories with a big focus on battery and recharge for phones including solar recharging stations.
I'd love to know what from the event you're most excited about so let us know what floats your gadget boat in the comments below.
Lee - amaysim's IT Director.


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BREAKING: Authenticated Transcripts Show Trump Praised Genocidal Dictator For Mass Murder
Justin Gardner May 23, 2017
President Donald Trump has explicitly endorsed the mass murder of innocent civilians who've done nothing more than use a substance deemed illegal by the state.
In April, Trump reportedly had a "very friendly conversation" with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has repeatedly bragged about his ongoing campaign of summarily executing people who use and sell drugs in the Philippines. Following that conversation, Trump invited Duterte to the Oval Office.
Now, thanks to an official transcript of the phone call, obtained by The Intercept, we know Trump went much farther than a simple conversation between two heads of state. The American president actually heaped praise on Duterte for his systematic extermination of civilians.
According to The Intercept:
"You are a good man," Trump told Duterte, according to an official transcript of the April 29 call produced by the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs and obtained by The Intercept. "Keep up the good work," Trump told Duterte. "You are doing an amazing job."
Trump began the call by telling Duterte, "You don't sleep much, you're just like me," before quickly pivoting to the strongman's drug war.
"I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem," Trump told Duterte at the beginning of their call, according to the document. "Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that."
"Thank you Mr. President," replied Duterte. "This is the scourge of my nation now and I have to do something to preserve the Filipino nation."
The Intercept notes that the transcript has been authenticated by "well-placed sources in the Palace and the Department of Foreign Affairs by reporters at the Manila-based news outlet Rappler."
Duterte has been rightly condemned by several countries around the world and the UN for human rights abuses, by directing national police and vigilante death squads to roam the Philippines and execute drug users and dealers on the spot. So far, 7,000 people have been murdered by police death squads, who have also used Duterte's directive to murder government officials and community leaders who don't fall in line.
Duterte has promised pardons and immunity for the killers, and continues to call for even more slaughter. The Filipino president has also proudly admitted to killing people himself.
"Hitler massacred three million Jews, now, there's three million drug addicts. I'd be happy to slaughter them," Duterte proclaimed in September.
The shocking transcript revelations comes as Duterte has just declared martial law on the island of Mindanao for the stated purpose of fighting Islamic extremism. Davao, Mindano is where Duterte first began ordering death squads, according to former member and police officer Arturo Lascanas. The long campaign of State-sponsored murder has led to its normalization in the psyche of many Filipinos.
President Trump called Duterte a "good man" doing an "amazing job" in the April phone call, and said former President Obama "did not understand that."
It almost defies belief that in this day and age, the supposed 'leader of the free world' would explicitly praise a modern-day extermination campaign by the State against its citizens.
Trump is ramping up his own war on drugs back in the U.S., by appointing rabid prohibitionist Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Sessions has already sent a directive to prosecutors to seek the maximum prison penalty for drug charges. Apparently, Trump thinks summary executions of drug users is even better punishment.
When Trump was elected, this writer posited that Donald Trump will use anti-establishment sentiment to form a new authoritarianism. He has already displayed many signs of doing so, but the call to President Duterte praising his murderous drug war may be the biggest yet.
About Justin Gardner
Justin Gardner is a peaceful free-thinker with a background in the biological sciences. He is interested in bringing rationality back into the national discourse, and independent journalism as a challenge to the status quo.


text:
Q: String to date in spark SQL (not dataframe) I am trying to use spark SQL to query a table where user-filled dates didn't follow any kind of strict formatting, so you see entries such as "10/4/21" and "10/04/21", for example.   My query attempt was
select CAST(unix_timestamp(thedate,"mm/d/yy") AS TIMESTAMP) from table

and this works for dates like "10/4/21", but not for "10/04/21" (and vice versa, the "mm/dd/yy" works for "10/04/21" but not for "10/4/21").  Is there any way to format the query so that it works for either date format?

A: You can try converting thedate using both formats and then apply a COALESCE such that the result from converting using valid format is returned.

sql = """
SELECT thedate,
       Cast(COALESCE(unix_timestamp(thedate, "MM/d/yy"),
            unix_timestamp(thedate, "MM/dd/yy")
            ) AS TIMESTAMP) AS thedate_astimestamp
FROM   (SELECT Explode(Array('10/4/21', '10/04/21', '10/11/21')) AS thedate)
"""
spark.sql(sql).show()

Output
+--------+-------------------+
| thedate|thedate_astimestamp|
+--------+-------------------+
| 10/4/21|2021-10-04 00:00:00|
|10/04/21|2021-10-04 00:00:00|
|10/11/21|2021-10-11 00:00:00|
+--------+-------------------+

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
SuperGen to acquire Montigen for $18 M
DUBLIN, Calif.—SuperGen Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Montigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held oncology-focused drug discovery and development company based in Salt Lake City. Montigen's assets include its research and development team, a proprietary drug discovery technology platform and optimization process called CLIMB, and late-stage preclinical compounds targeting aurora-A kinase and members of the tyrosine kinase receptor family.
Under the agreement, SuperGen will pay Montigen stockholders a total of $18 million upon the closing, consisting of $9 million in cash and $9 million in shares of SuperGen common stock. SuperGen will pay the Montigen stockholders an additional $22 million in shares of SuperGen common stock, contingent upon achievement of specific regulatory milestones. The transaction is expected to close in March 2006.
The acquisition of Montigen is an important part of SuperGen's plans to expand its position in the oncology and hematology markets, according to Dr. James S. Manuso, SuperGen's president and CEO.
"Montigen's capabilities in rapid targeted drug discovery and optimization are expected to generate multiple preclinical development candidates for selection into clinical testing," he says. "We believe this acquisition will add force to our internal preclinical development efforts and will complement our ongoing in-licensing efforts focused on later-stage compounds. "
Montigen's CLIMB drug discovery and optimization process blends computational chemistry with bioassays, bioinformatics and in-vivo model systems to streamline preclinical drug development. Starting with a virtual library consisting of tens of millions of compounds, CLIMB has already yielded a number of sets of preclinical compound classes addressing validated cancer targets. Montigen's virtual modeling and medicinal chemistry expertise reportedly allows researchers to rapidly generate novel drugs against a variety of disease targets and to identify and validate appropriate leads in less time than traditional processes.
Montigen has late-stage compounds in its preclinical portfolio. These include inhibitors of aurora-A kinase and products which target the tyrosine kinase receptor family. These compounds have shown preclinical activity in solid tumors of several cancer types including breast, colorectal, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate.
"Our common goal is to rapidly discover and develop novel, targeted products for cancer patients." states Dr. David J. Bearss, founder and CSO. This transaction provides Montigen with access to the resources and infrastructure that will enable us to accelerate our research productivity and maximize the value of our existing and future drugs in development."
At the close of the transaction, Dr. Bearss will join SuperGen as vice president and chief scientist, along with his 12-person research and development team. Montigen's facilities in Salt Lake City will be taken over by SuperGen. Montigen was founded in 2003 by Dr. Bearss and Dallin M. Anderson, to further develop and commercialize research conducted by Dr. Bearss at the University of Arizona in collaboration with Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, M.D., a scientific advisor to SuperGen and a member of Montigen's scientific advisory board.


text:
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DLC Review
Review – SolSeraph
Posted on July 10, 2019 by Leo Faria	Leave a comment
Before I start this review, I'd like to talk about ActRaiser. Released in 1991 for the Super Nintendo, this game was an odd mix between an action platformer and a city-building simulator. It was basically Castlevania meets Sim City, in very broad terms. ActRaiser allowed you to control a god that would indirectly help out the population of an island, either via his angel emissary or by briefly bringing a warrior's statute to life in order to destroy enemies. It wasn't exactly a financial hit, selling very poorly in fact, but the few people who actually played it all love it. It's one of the greatest gems of the Super Nintendo's library.
You may be asking the reason behind this paragraph, since I'm here to talk about SolSeraph. Well, it tries to be the same thing as ActRaiser, but unfortunately ends up being far inferior.
It's not as epic as this picture of a holy knight against a gigantic forest troll might suggest.
SolSeraph doesn't even try to hide that it's trying to be this century's ActRaiser. It starts off with a very similar with its story, setting, and protagonist. Once again, you're a god who has to lead a civilization towards its evolution by "hinting" them on what to do next, all while defending them from monster attacks, either by teaching them how to create barracks and archery towers, or by actually tackling the monsters yourself in side-scrolling levels.
The "city-building" bit is where SolSeraph differs itself from ActRaiser, even if it doesn't end up producing equally decent results. It may look like a city builder, it may even give out small hints of a real-time strategy game as you're constantly seeking out materials in order to build houses, but this is just a tower defense game. You need to build houses in order to increase your population and then create the aforementioned barracks and towers in order to slow down the constant barrage of enemies trying to destroy the bonfire at the center of your village. It's not a deep tower defense game and the fact ActRaiser, a game from nearly thirty years ago, had deeper building mechanics than this game definitely disappointed me. However, it was still much better than the platforming sections.
Those ain't White Walkers.
Don't get me wrong, the platforming levels aren't bad, but given that the game's main source of inspiration had fantastic level design, being simply "serviceable" just doesn't satiate me. The combos are scarce, the enemy AI is predictable, and the amount of weapons at your disposal, once again, is just "serviceable". The levels are also very short, lacking the epic factor that was present all over ActRaiser.
SolSeraph isn't all that bad, though. If there's one thing that really pleased me in this game, it's the soundtrack. Being composed by none other than Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Wonder Boy, Shenmue, ActRaiser), the soundtrack knows when to be somber, when to be calm, and most importantly, when to be grandiose. The main menu tune is one of the best I've heard so far this year. I may consider a good chunk of SolSeraph quite forgettable: its visuals, its gameplay, its plot. Its soundtrack on the other hand, is something I'll remember fondly.
If that was supposed to be a city simulator, then this is the ugliest city in the history of ugly cities.
SolSeraph is not a bad game, but I was expecting more than just an okay reminder of how great ActRaiser used to be. I didn't care much about its platforming gameplay nor its tower defense sections. Nothing in it was flawed nor broken, it was just "passable". I wanted more than "passable".
If anything, SolSeraph made me want to play ActRaiser once more. Oh wait, I can't, because nearly nobody bought the damn SNES cartridge back in the day. Well, I guess I'll have to stick with you, SolSeraph. I doubt Square Enix is planning to re-release ActRaiser in any given form anyway…
Graphics: 5.5
SolSeraph features the particle effects, textural quality, and framerate you would expect from an Unreal Engine game running on the Switch. The problem is, I played it on a PS4…
Gameplay: 6.0
The platforming segments feature serviceable controls, but uninventive levels and combat. The tower defense segments feature very intuitive controls, but ended up being as shallow as a puddle.
Sound: 9.0
Yuzo Koshiro's fantastic soundtrack knows when to be somber, when to be serene, and when to be epic. The title track is one of the best pieces of music in any game released in 2019.
Fun Factor: 6.0
Nothing in SolSeraph is inherently bad. Nothing in it is broken nor glitchy, but I can't say anything in it impressed me. It's just a very okay platformer and a very mediocre tower defense game glued together.
Final Verdict: 6.0
SolSeraph is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch.
Reviewed on PS4.
A copy of SolSeraph was provided by the publisher.
tagged with ACE Team, City Simulator, Platformer, PS4, Sega, SolSeraph
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Way Too Many Games is an up and coming gaming site run by gamers for gamers. Established in January 2017 Way Too Many Games began with the goal to provide objective reviews and better represent independent developers and niche titles, eventually expanding into board games as well. Since its launch, WTMG has been a presence at E3, Brasil Game Show, and Play NYC, with more events on the way.
Our Review Method
At Way Too Many Games we feature a transparent review method divided into four segments: Graphics (25% of the final score), Gameplay (25%), Sound (10%), and Fun Factor (40%). Scores are always rounded to the nearest multiple of 0.5.


Antonov Airlines works with DAHER to support joint Japan and Europe international research and development project.
Antonov Airlines transported two Toroidal Field (TF) coils earlier in the year from Vatry, France to Nagoya, Japan on board one of its seven AN-124-100 aircraft.
The coils, which measured 9.3 metres long, 5.6 metres wide, and 2.7 metres high, and weighed 21 tonnes each, were transported on the behalf of DAHER. Antonov Airlines was chartered to deliver the final two coils for JT60-SA, a joint international research and development project involving Japan and Europe, the first sixteen having been delivered by sea.
"A physical loading inspection of the cargo was arranged a couple of months before the loading", said Paul Bingley, Commercial Manager, Antonov Airlines.
"Since the original frames were designed for sea freight transportation, alteration to the frames was required, to enable a safe loading and transportation of the cargo.
Antonov Airlines operates a fleet of seven AN-124–100 aircraft, including two modernised -150M variants, with a payload of up to 150 tonnes, in addition to the AN-22, the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft, with a payload of 60 tonnes, and the unique AN-225, the world's largest aircraft, with a payload of 250 tonnes.


I've been extremely fortunate. Over the past 35 years I have had the opportunity to work as an OD consultant, leadership trainer and/or program manager in 17 countries and with 10 US Government organizations, 7 academic institutions, 3 non-profits and 2 trade associations.
Currently I facilitate leadership development workshops for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, occasionally design and facilitate courses for John's Hopkins School of Education, train law enforcement officials for the Department of State at the West African Regional Training Center in Ghana, and co-facilitate workshops in "Designing and Facilitating Transformational Workshops" at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health.
I got very interested in neuroscience and the emotional sides of life after a heart attack in Singapore which altered my world view significantly.
Since then, I've been exploring ways to bring the more subtle side of life into my work as a practitioner. To that end, I have had the honor to study with Rick Hanson and Angeles Arrien and closely follow the work of neuroscientists Dan Siegel, and Kelly McGonagall.
I love the material we are going to be discussing here at the CBODN Baltimore Washington SIG. I believe it has enormous implications for us as OD practitioners and offers many opportunities for us to positively move organizational life forward.
I am excited by the current breakthroughs in neuroscience, the upsurge of interest in contemplative practices and the growing validation by western science of some profound truths found in many wisdom traditions.
In this session we will discuss current findings in neuroscience, share our experiences with the growing "mindfulness movement" and explore successful "brain savvy" practices we employ.
The discussion will be based on the work of neuroscientists Dan Seigel and Rick Hanson.
1. What are the current discoveries in neuroscience that might inform our practices?
2. How might the "language of neuroscience" broaden our consultation options, strengthen our contact with clients, and deepen our organizational impact?
4. How can we use the phenomenon of the brains inherent "negativity bias" to facilitate more effective problem solving initiatives, improve strategic thinking in organizations and manage our own mindsets?
5. How does the understanding of "practice" as the heart of embodied learning impact our instructional design, workshop facilitation and follow on reinforcement initiatives.
6. How do we intentionally account for the phenomenon of "emotional contagion" in groups and teams?
7. What is our role in fostering compassion for ourselves and our clients?
8. How might we make positivity a contagious virtue?
9. How might we build a brain safe "learning field" for work with our clients?
10. How might we help our client system take in the good to foster long-term learning?
I look forward to our conversations and the opportunity to share our insights and experiences and to mutually discover new ways to help our clients.


Sequential copolymers of glycine and nylons 6,10 and 12,10 have been prepared by incorporating single glycine units at both ends of the diamine. These polymers have been obtained by interfacial polymerization and subsequently characterized by infrared and n.m.r. spectroscopies together with thermal analysis. The structure and morphology of lamellar crystals have also been investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, both imaging and diffraction. Additional data have been obtained from uniaxially oriented fibres. Results described in this paper complete previous studies on the incorporation of glycine units in nylons derived either from q-amino acids or from diamines and diacids.
Incorporation of glycine residues in even–even polyamides. Part II: Nylons 6,10 and 12,10 / L. Franco, J.A. Subirana, J. Puiggalı́ // Polymer. – 1999. – N 40. – P. 2429–2438.
Incorporation of glycine residues in even–even polyamides. Part II: Nylons 6,10 and 12,10 - Завантажити.


The Jake Turner Salon is dedicated to treating you to the finest services and products available. Whether you seek a precision cut, custom color, or nourishing hair moisturizing treatment, our staff has been thoroughly trained by Vidal Sassoon and Aveda Coloring. Our team will take care of you with careful attention to detail.
For over thirty years, Aveda has worked to expand the boundaries of beauty, developing extraordinary products made from plants and flower essences, while creating a company with a conscience. Aveda aims to create a more positive lifestyle by combining nature and science to create premium, quality, plant-based products for hair, skin, lifestyle and color cosmetics.
Come and enjoy a friendly, knowledgeable and sensitive approach from our team. Allow us to take care of you, helping to ensure that you have the information and the Aveda products that you need to be able to maintain your style and look.


TIANJIN, China – China's green-building objectives may provide opportunities to showcase Canadian softwood lumber, energy efficiency standards and clean technologies.
Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Jim Carr, recently visited the Sino-Canadian Low-Carbon Eco-District in Tianjin, China, which uses Canadian lumber, technology and know-how to help China address climate challenges. Minister Carr participated in the official launch of the eco-district site and presented certificates recognizing the district's first Super E® townhome built using Canadian lumber and clean technologies.
Earlier this week, Minister Carr and Yi Jun, China's Vice Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, renewed a memorandum of understanding to support the development of eco-cities, which will promote the use of wood in construction and Canadian energy efficiency technologies to further green building in China.
The $2.5-billion eco-district project showcases Canada's unique expertise in wood-frame construction and energy-efficient technologies, which contribute to carbon sequestration, reducing emissions and enhancing energy efficiency.
About 100 townhomes will be built in the Sino-Canadian Low-Carbon Eco-District in Tianjin to the Super E®energy efficiency standard, which was developed by Natural Resources Canada. Already used successfully in homes in Canada, Europe and Asia, the Tianjin eco-district project will be the first large-scale deployment of this standard worldwide. Canadian wood will be used in innovative ways (e.g., in-fill wood walls) in commercial mid-rise buildings that will be constructed at the Tianjin site.


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'The Misfit Economy'
Business-Advice from Pirates and Gangsters
Do you know what a drug dealer could teach you about distribution network development? Or what you could learn about sustainable profit margins from Somalian pirates? Surprisingly a lot. Read More
Misfit Economy
Alexa ClayWatch the profile
Kyra Maya PhillipsWatch the profile
Johannes C. ZellerWatch the profile
by Alexa ClayKyra PhillipsJohannes Zeller
Today's startup age is all about people who believe in a particular idea — an idea they pursue, improve, try to convince others of, adjust if necessary, and which they hustle to make real. Whether the idea eventually succeeds depends on many factors, and only some can be directly controlled. The most basic core value of an idea, however, lies in its innovative potential.
And for innovative potential it doesn't really matter whether the idea operates inside or outside the legal framework of a particular jurisdiction. A crook with a creative streak may have an idea slumbering in him worth tenfold the innovative potential of the annual output of a large corporation's marketing department. Hence, if you are interested in the mechanics of innovation, it can pay off to take a sidestep and objectively look at the ideas and projects of underground innovators. If you prefer to do so from the safety of your home, Alexa Clay and Kyra Maya Phillips have written just the book for you. We talked to them about the idea behind it.
The Misfit Economy takes its readers into the world of pirates, hackers, gangsters and other 'informal entrepreneurs', and breaks their stories down into lessons on economics and creativity. For their systematic investigation of the principles of underground innovation, the authors sourced more than five thousand individual case stories from all kind of crooks and gangsters far from Wall Street. They then selected some thirty especially intriguing examples which they explored in more depth and turned into a handbook for social entrepreneurship and other economic ventures.
HUSTE, COPY, HACK, PROVOKE…
For most of The Misfit Economy's protagonists, resourcefulness is the name of the game. What connects them is a do-it-yourself mentality, high creative potential, and a determination to pursue their dreams. Whether they are raiding ships or building a Ponzi scheme (a fraudulent investment scam that promises high rates of return with little risk for investors)— in their commitment and endurance they are not much different from anyone else who is enthusiastic about their startup. This is what makes them misfits, and the underlying similarity shared by criminals and business geeks alike.
From anecdotes illustrating the entrepreneurial spirit inside and outside common moral frameworks, Clay & Phillips identify five key principles unique to the misfit economy (hustle, copy, hack, provoke, pivot), and address each in five main chapters. In between they recount countless valuable anecdotes that provide lessons on organization, sales, management, and on other aspects of business life.
"Working for a Mexican drug cartel can be a lot like working for Exxon: You are subjected to a hierarchical command-and-control system."
THE MISFIT POTENTIAL
The Misfit Economy started as a not entirely serious idea Alexa Clay presented at a public talk where she tried to convince her audience that the latest trends in innovation were coming out of the black market economy. "But after we started doing more research," Alexa told Tea After Twelve, "we realized how many incredible examples of creativity and ingenuity were in the black market and informal economies. So what started as a joke then got a whole lot more serious as we were inspired by the conversations we were having with people in the field. "
One of the most amazing things about The Misfit Economy is that it never fails to recognize an opportunity for turning a handicap into an advantage. People with attention deficit disorder, the book states, may be jumpy, lack focus and are easily bored, but they can also be fontains of new ideas. Similarly, many drug dealers are natural salespeople. Look past the criminal labell, and you will see potential.
Mind you, the book in no way attempts to promote or downplay criminal or immoral behavior. It is essentially a collection of stories about outsiders who seek cultural transformation, who aspire to leave a mark on the world. "We really only focused on stories of misfits who were trying to transform the cultures they were in," Kyra told us in an interview. "We didn't end up including people we thought didn't elicit empathy, or were part of old command and control systems. You can be a cog in the machine and work for the mafia, for example. Or sometimes the hierarchy of a drug cartel can be worse than Exxon Mobile."
The first story in the book, for example, is not about a gun-slinging pirate or drug dealer, but about a humble Amish farmer named Sam Hostetler who became part of an international camel-milk distribution network.
An avid alternative livestock farmer who has bred ostriches, hippos and rhinos in Central Missouri, Hostetler easily qualifies as a misfit. And just like any other misfit, he has a passion and talent for overcoming obstacles. When founding his camel milking business — to his knowledge the first in the United States at the time — Hostetler was confronted with a whole series of hindrances, mostly bureaucratic in nature. Due to his farming experience, he had a flock of healthy camels providing high-grade milk, but it took a lot of creative effort to find a way around the red tape preventing him from selling it. For one thing, camel milk loses many of the beneficial effects attributed to it once it is heated. Unpasteurized milk is prohibited in many states and regardless of respective state laws, it is illegal to distribute raw milk across state lines.
The one thing authorities couldn't prevent Hostetler from doing was drinking the unpasteurized milk of his own animals. In a sophisticated move, he founded the "Humpback Dairies Association" which allowed others to buy shares in his livestock, thus enabling them to consume unpasteurized camel milk legally.
One might imagine the camel milk market in the United States rather modest, but misfits never fail to see hidden potential. Recognizing an investment opportunity, Walid Abdul-Wahab, a native of Saudi Arabia, teamed up with Hostetler. They were determined to join forces and establish a nation-wide camel milk retail business, no matter how much arguing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) it took. Abdul-Wahab founded Desert Farms.
Several FDA raids and an inconceivable amount of red tape later, they succeeded in winning more and more people over. Today, seventy Whole Foods stores across the U.S. stock their camel milk.
One might imagine the camel milk market in the United States rather modest, but misfits never fail to see hidden potential.
A misfit: screenshot of the camel milk distributor Desert Farms.
VISIONARY CON ARTISTS
Quite a few of the lessons readers might take from The Misfit Economy stem from the realm of social engineering. Like the story of Lance Wailer, who made the first digital motion picture for $900 in 1996. When he first tried to pitch his movie to major production companies and received not even one reply, he turned to an old trick from the con man's handbook: He wrote the production companies again, but this time intentionally misaddressed them, so that Sony, for example, would receive the letter apparently intended for Barco. Within days, the phone was running hot, and Wailer's picture The Last Broadcast ended up grossing almost $5 million.
In her talks, Alexa likes to draw on examples from famous con men. She dwells on a Scottish con artist who tricked investors and over 200 settlers into boarding ships to an entirely fake colony, as well as a French con man who successfully convinced a buyer that he was selling the Eiffel tower as scrap metal.
"I think there is a lot we can learn from con men about how to sell people on alternative visions," Alexa says. "It isn't about swindling or deceiving people, but using techniques of persuasion to lay out compelling visions. The Scottish con artist was successful, for example, because he created an entire world of artifacts to support the idea that there was a real colony called Poyais — he developed a currency, made up ballads, commissioned a fake natural history of the land, etc.
Whenever I have to make a pitch, I often take confidence in the fact that con artists can hook people on total falsities and if they can do that successfully, then surely I can make people excited and interested in my legal ventures. Con artists have a lot to teach us about how to pitch and make distant or alternative realities feel compelling.
Whose idea is it anyway?
One aspect of The Misfit Economy that will particularity appeal to sympathizers with the open-source movement is the clear stance the book takes against copyright policies and software patents. Innovation does not always require absolute originality, so why reinvent the wheel? For instance, taking an already existing concept and applying it to a different purpose can be highly innovative. But even blatant copying itself can turn out to be a sustainable business concept.
The book illustrates this concept by telling the story of the German Samwer brothers, who made a business out of reverse-engineering U.S.-based .com-sensations and selling them to back to the originators. This business concept, however, was born out of necessity. When eBay began growing big in the U.S., the Samwer brothers aspired to open a branch of the auction house in Germany. But eBay didn't show much interest of bringing the three young entrepreneurs on board. With no other options left, the brothers built an eBay clone they baptized Alando. In 1999, Alando was sold to eBay for $43 million, and Oliver Samwer became director of eBay Europe.
Later on, the Samwer brothers struck a similar deal with Groupon, and at the moment they are running an Airbnb clone called Wimdu. They didn't create anything new, but turned copying itself into an original business concept.
You might call it stealing, but they essentially worked out a creative way around restrictions that initially kept them from doing what they wanted to do.
Misfits aren't Scumbags
As The Misfit Economy repeatedly emphasizes, there is a distinct difference between justice and law. Immoral doesn't equal illegal, and vice versa. Take the recent actions of Martin Shkreli for example. 'The most hated man in America', as Shkreli was infamously nicknamed, became CEO of a pharmaceutical company and in an outrageous scumbag move, raised the price of an AIDS drug many patients depend on by 5,000%. This ploy may seem disproportionately more evil than most of the ventures The Misfit Economy's protagonists engage in, yet it was entirely legal. Justice of a sort prevailed when Shkreli was arrested last December, though for a completely unrelated case of securities fraud.
Yes, immoral doesn't always equal illegal. The interwebs are actually full of 'vice entrepreneurial' businesses that are entirely legal but operate in an ethical twilight zone. The ACAD WRITE custom writing service, for example, specialize in selling essays and academic papers to college students. They advertise customized dissertations-on-demand, written by academic experts and ready-made from abstract to appendix. And while we've all had someone help us with our homework at one point or another, can it really be legal to purchase an academic thesis from a ghostwriter and hand it in in one's own name? We asked the company's CEO, Dr. Thomas Nemet: "Our General Terms and Conditions make it clear that customers are purchasing an academic template created on a subject of their choosing, according to their demands. We deliver exactly that. How they use the template is not my responsibility."
The possibility of buying an academic paper from a ghostwriter gives affluent students an unfair advantage over their peers, which unquestionably places academic ghostwriting on the unethical end of the moral scale. And who wants to be represented by a lawyer who bought his L.L.M. thesis? Yet Dr. Nemet insists that his ghostwriters mostly help people in grim situations, like unlucky hard-working students who cannot miss an important deadline while family- or health-related issues require their full attention. From an entrepreneurial viewpoint, it doesn't matter whether you see academic ghostwriting as an alarming symptom of an educational system that requires an overhaul, or as a harmless service for students in emergency situations. Dr. Nemet founded ACAD WRITE on €500 some 10 years ago, and since he has watched his company grow into an international multimillion dollar business, he has surely been laughing all the way to the bank.
The autors Alexa Clay and Kyra Philips
JUST GANGSTERS, UNJUST LAWS
The Misfit Economy's definition of misfit transcends law and legal practice. Just like Dr. Nemet, many of the book's protagonists are not operating outside the legal framework (although the title somewhat provocatively suggests they might be). Many are, in fact, activists, artists, startup founders, community project leaders or other out-of-the-box thinkers. Even Alexa Clay's father, who grew up on a farm under poor conditions, was accepted to Harvard and later became a pioneer of fair trade, is featured as a prominent case study.
Herein lies the true virtue of The Misfit Economy: It almost exclusively features positive examples. "We really focused on innovators with compelling ways of re-thinking culture," Alexa told us. Readers will soon find out that the real question posed by the book is not "What can a corporation learn from a drug cartel to optimize their own distribution networks?", but "How can a drug dealer apply his skills in a constructive, positive way that enriches society?"
THE MISFIT REVOLUTION
To the critical reader, The Misfit Economy may appear a little repetitive and sometimes not distance itself clearly enough from the pseudoscientific rhetoric that certain case studies involve (DO NOT treat autism with camel milk!). However, overall it is an intriguing read for anyone who enjoys indulging in the anecdotes and adventures of creative minds that have been largely overlooked by the mainstream.
The book's final chapter envisions a world in which the misfit revolution has occurred, where copying is fine, where hacks are appreciated, where no question is too absurd. It depicts an awkward but strangely conceivable utopia, where every predisposition is a positive one, and where every mishap is turned into an opportunity for improvement. So how can down-to-earth social entrepreneurs or even pragmatic capitalists benefit from this read? For Alexa, that's the premise of the book: "To do good, sometimes you need to look at techniques from the dark side. I also don't think you have any better display of pragmatism than in the informal economy, where resourcefulness and frugality are key drivers behind innovation."
Alexa Clay
Storyteller & Founder
Johannes C. Zeller
Journalist & Copywriter
Kyra Maya Phillips
Innovation strategist
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Disneyland allows park worker to wear religious scarf at work [Updated]
Disneyland has agreed to allow a company intern to wear her religious headscarf at work, according to a Muslim rights group that intervened after the woman was told she would have to work in the stockroom.
The Chicago woman was hired as a vacation planner after a phone interview. When she arrived in California for her internship orientation, she was asked by Disney representatives why she had not mentioned her hijab, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The woman was told she would have to take a position with less guest interaction, working in the stockroom until a "customized uniform" could be made, according to the group.
She was told that making the customized uniform would take about five months, approximately the length of her entire internship, according to CAIR.
The group intervened, and after a week Disney agreed to accommodate the woman in her original position as a vacation planner, it said.
Disney representatives could not be reached for comment Monday morning. CAIR is urging the company to implement a corporate-wide policy that protects its employees' right to wear religious attire.
[Updated at 11:13 a.m.: Suzi Brown, a spokeswoman for Disneyland Resort, said the employee would be allowed to wear a fitted blue head scarf with a beret-style hat worn over it.
Vacation planners are costumed employees, whose outfits include an optional baseball-style cap. Unlike other employees, the worker in question will not have the option to take off her hat while wearing her head scarf, Brown said. Vacation planners sell tickets in a box office.
"Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has a long history of accommodating a variety of religious requests from cast members of all faiths with more than 200 accommodations made over the last three years," Brown said. "And this instance was no different."]
The organization has received other complaints over the years from Muslim women who said they have been denied "front-stage jobs" with Disney because of their hijabs.
A Muslim woman who works as a hostess at a Disney-owned restaurant filed a discrimination complaint earlier this year, saying she has repeatedly been sent home without pay for refusing to remove her headscarf at work.
Imane Boudlal, a hostess at Storyteller's Cafe in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, said she was told she would have to remove her hijab or take a job working out of public view.
That case is ongoing, according to CAIR.
[Updated at 7:32 p.m. Disney officials said they in the process of accomodating the intern's religious requirement and had already come up with a design when CAIR became involved in the case.]
Illustration: Rendering of costume accommodation for Disney worker. Credit: Disneyland Resort