text:
To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence.
Red flag to a pig
"As we look for cases of swine flu, we are seeing more cases of swine flu. We expect to see more cases of swine flu," Richard Besser, the acting head of the Centres for Disease Control (CDC)"
"In fact there's no evidence at the moment these outbreaks were started from pigs," Professor Kelso said."
Handy dandy tip, for those swooning over all things swine: despite the tag, it has not been confirmed that the flu has come from pigs.
Yes, seriously.
But let's not let a catchy tag go to waste.
I guess "Mexican flu" doesn't have a scary enough ring to it; neither did "Spanish flu".
Red flag up on swine flu
Labels: Epidemic, Flu, Health and Medicine, Pandemic
What do you get when Mel Gibson and twelve Catholic bishops gather together?
Err, much conviviality and a very nice dinner had by all, apparently.
On a wing and a pray
Labels: Celebrity News
Happy birthday Kathy!!
Nicholas Bolton - Gen-Whiner Genius?
Nicholas Bolton, 27 years old, and now quite rich, all without breaking a sweat or putting in long years of work.
Pariah, prat or a Gen-Y prototype (as in: want big money; no want work)?
I'm stuck believing that Bolton pulled off a magnificent stunt, a moment deserving of a hearty "bravo".
I'm not stuck believing that he is representative of a generation though. He's a young guy with serious chutzpah, and he screwed with the big end of town with significant finesse.
Backfill: Bolton proposed a series of resolutions to replace the managers of BrisConnections, and more than a third of the vote supported him. What those unit holders did not know was that he had struck a secret deal and was paid $4.5 million to vote down his own resolutions at the meeting.
Random commentary picked out from around the MSM:
"The 27-year-old self-styled entrepreneur [last week] pulled off a coup of a kind by selling the voting rights of his company Australian Style Investment's 19.5 per cent stake to the Brisbane road project's builder, Leighton, on the eve of a meeting called (by him) to wind the company up.
But other BrisConnections mum-and dad investors have been left high and dry, facing paying instalments to underwriters, Macquarie and Deutsche, that could bankrupt some.
In a piece mauling Bolton, his choice of hats and tarring Gen Ys at the same time, Sydney Morning Herald journalist Erik Jensen wrote that ''Nicholas Bolton may be Australia's foremost prat''.
''Now 27, he was among the youngest ever to make the front page of the Australian Financial Review, and one of the few to have appeared topless in The Age's business pages. He is the best proof that karma does not exist.''
But not everyone was so unkind. News Limited business columnist Terry McCrann wrote that: ''In a moral sense Bolton clearly stiffed his fellow small holders. He gets the $4.5 million; they get stuck with the $1 a unit to pay, all the way up to personal bankruptcy. In a practical sense though, he hasn't cost them. Indeed, he nearly got them off.''
Others were positively admiring. ''Nick Bolton, take a bow. Outwitting the "masters of the universe" is quite a feat,'' wrote Ray Farley of Wentworth Falls, in a letter to a Sydney newspaper.
''Those overpaid suits are usually the ones making millions for doing nought but having a clever idea. They needed an upstart to let them know their extortionate schemes aren't as smart as they used to be.''
A.King of Sydney had similar sentiments. ''Nick Bolton rocks. Well played son. It was an awesome outcome.''
"So why did you take the money, Nick?"
He paused for a long time.
"I took a commercial approach to this before buying in," he said.
"I saw an opportunity to improve the position of unit holders through our entry in the company and the actions we were planning to undertake. It was a commercial transaction, intended for commercial gain, for unit holders and for myself."
By his own admission, he was "playing a game" from the start, and the result was to extract a benefit from the carcass of BrisConnections.
"To the extent there was an altruistic outcome it was unintended, in that my interests were aligned with the interests of all other unit holders," he said. "But there was always a commercial intention on our part. We didn't seek the tag of white knight, and it doesn't fit."
Does he now fear his name, and his reputation, have taken a battering?
"To the mass market, yes. One needs to take an informed or educated decision as to whether or not that's right or wrong. To those at home it has definitely affected my credibility, but in other circles I am fine."
'"To take money for something that would be of prejudice to others I think might raise questions," he said. "This wasn't one of those cases. I consider commercial prudency to be the number one motivator here. My personal ethics go to operating a business by the rules. If there are opportunities out there and they require exploitation of the rules, I don't think that's unethical. It comes down to interpretation, I guess, but I certainly think I have conducted things very ethically."
That's exactly what industry and finance and the share markets have been telling themselves for a couple of decades - politicians too, for that matter - in other words, the entire edifice of our democratic-capitalist lives functions on the same flimsy, yet peculiarly effective defense: rules were not broken and we made money. Phew. Ethics unscathed.
Nicholas Bolton is a smidgen past the zeitgeist. His generation gave us the derivative models and hedge funds that have helped bring down the global economy. (Ably overseen by remnants of the Boomers and Gen-X managers with both hands on it.) Not so much a Gen-Y poster boy as one of the establishment really. And what does karma have to do with any of it?
For Bolton, it was all about the money
Labels: Australian News
Columbine - the lessons
Ten years down the track, the murders at Columbine high school are worth revisiting, not because mass killing - by gun - in the US continues to be an awful and common occurrence, but because Columbine triggered the first and last serious study to enlighten and learn, in the hope of the past not being repeated.
There have been no subsequent mass murders at US high schools; some have been thwarted.
My only quibble is that so much weight has been given to the location - a high school - deemed, apparently, to be more heinous that a mass shooting on a university campus, at a shopping mall or a nursing home. This genuinely ground breaking - objective - work could and should have continued over the years to encompass this unique and uniquely destructive phenomena no matter the age of the killer and no matter the location of the murders. It's unfortunate to offer clarity around a single incident, a single demographic, and to leave it there, as if the job is done.
One - profile
The first lesson is really one that we have unlearned, which is that there actually isn't a distinct psychological profile of the school killer.
Oddballs did not fit the profile, because there was no profile.
They had a few things in common. All were male. Ninety-eight percent had suffered a recent loss or failure.
Two - leakage
Gunfire in the classroom is the final stage of a long-simmering attack. The Secret Service found that 81 percent of shooters had explicitly revealed their intentions. Most told two people. Some told more. Kids are bad at secrets. The grander the plot, the more likely to sprout leaks.
We have taken the principle of leakage to excess. The belief that any unkind word may signal mortal danger caused school districts to impose zero-tolerance policies.
The taking seriously part is fine. We do need to investigate every "joke," just in case. But we also need to respond reasonably. We should not execute a search warrant every time a little kid points his finger and goes, "Bang."
Three - emergency preparation
We need to prepare students and teachers better for an emergency. Harris and Klebold caught their high school unprepared. We're less naive now. Most kids and their teachers are now drilled on lockdowns and evacuations. Police departments have up-to-date floor plans and alarm codes.
Four - don't contain, get in there and kill the shooter
Cops followed the old book at Columbine: surround the building, set up a perimeter, contain the damage. That approach has been replaced by the "active shooter protocol." Optimally, it calls for a four-person team to advance in a diamond-shaped wedge. (If there isn't time to gather four officers, a single officer should charge in alone.) They're trained to move toward the sound of gunfire and neutralize the shooter. Their goal is to stop him at all costs. They will walk past a dying child if they have to, just to prevent the shooter from killing more.
The four most important lessons of Columbine
On older essay about Columbine - The depressive and the psychopath - also worth a read for anyone overly eager to cling to cliched, pop-psyc, homily ridden media generated analysis of seemingly incomprehensible or seemingly random mass murders.
Labels: United States of America, Violence
Labels: Duck Friday
No strings trillions
Mr. Barofsky was particularly critical of the Treasury Department's refusal to demand detailed information from banks and other financial institutions about what they are doing with the money they receive.
But Treasury officials have argued that it is almost impossible to get meaningful information about how banks are using money under the troubled-asset program, in part because the money came with few conditions.
Three trillion in U.S government money (so far) and no idea what the banks are doing with it.
Bloody brilliant.
We're not getting out of this any time soon folks.
Bank aid programs are seen as open to fraud
Labels: American Politics, Economics, GFC
Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.
Howard Aiken
Life's conflict of interest
Carbon is essential to all known living systems, without it life as we understand it would not exist - including us.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most common carbon compounds.
Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A) -
"formally declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, setting in motion a process that will lead to the regulation of the gases for the first time in the United States."
While we know - or should by now - that labeling something "natural" doesn't equate with "good", it would appear that labeling one of the building blocks of all life a "pollutant" is a tad unhinged and perhaps a sign of how far along we have traveled in becoming self-loathing.
Naming carbon as an enemy is just the latest anti-anthropogenic act.
There's no ambiguity about this as a political statement: carbon is a pollution = life is a pollution.
Further, carbon is harmful to health = life is harmful to health.
Are you noticing any conflict of interest here? Any at all? It's a dilemma for the dim-witted, non?
Interestingly, the American E.P.A has been very specific in naming "heat trapping gases" and the need to reduce them.
"According to the E.P.A. announcement, the finding was based on rigorous scientific analysis of six gases — carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride."
Note that the E.P.A is targeting global warming - "heat-trapping gases"- despite the greenhouse effect having been tossed over a cliff like so many superfluous Marxists.
Some of the six gases have long been known to be nasty, and getting them out of manufacturing is good itself. The problem jumping out, however, is that "heat-trapping gases" were last century's boogey man, back in the days when Earth was deemed to be suffering from warming - remember that old fashioned scary threat of a "greenhouse effect"?
The greenhouse concept gave birth to the "global warming" catch-cry, which had to morph into "climate change" when the greenhouse notion was discredited, and now, since none of the preceding turned out to be descriptively correct of the next man made Armageddon, the latest incarnation of our doom is "extreme weather events".
As each euphemism fails to fit the real world, and as science fails to retain independence from politics and social movements such as eco-fundamentalism, the adopted lexicon keeps shifting.
"Extreme weather events" is more forgiving of facts that fail to fit the computer model, accommodating, as it does, heat, cold, wet, dry, wind, drought, famine, fire, flood and broken toe nails. It's the description that "climate change" was supposed to encompass, but couldn't.
As MIT's Prof. Richard Lindzen recently reiterated:
"The earth's climate (in contrast to the climate in current climate GCMs) is dominated by a strong net negative feedback. Climate sensitivity is on the order of 0.3°C, and such warming as may arise from increasing greenhouse gases will be indistinguishable from the fluctuations in climate that occur naturally from processes internal to the climate system itself."
EPA clears way for greenhouse gas rules
Labels: Al Gore, Carbon Emissions, Climate Change, EPA, Global Warming, Life and Death
Duh News
Australian masters of the universe, in their genius, have declared that Australia is in recession.
Irrational exuberance has been laid off.
What next, economic transparency?
RBA confirms recession
Labels: Australian News, GFC, Global Catastrophe, Global Recession
Irrefutable "consensus" in doubt
"Last week, federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said experts predicted sea level rises of up to 6m from Antarctic melting by 2100, but the worst case scenario foreshadowed by the SCAR report was a 1.25m rise.
Mr Garrett insisted global warming was causing ice losses throughout Antarctica. "I don't think there's any doubt it is contributing to what we've seen both on the Wilkins shelf and more generally in Antarctica," he said."
Or not so much.
According to real scientists, the Antarctic is hunky-dory, gaining ice, has experienced a couple of decades of cooling climate, and the recent collapse of the Wilkins shelf was a perfectly normal event.
"Consensus science" is a bitch.
Revealed: Antarctic ice growing, not shrinking
Labels: Antarctic, Climate Change, Global Warming, Sea Levels
Talented ugly person baffles world
From the Borowitz Report:
Networks Lift Restrictions on Unsightly
"The success of singer Susan Boyle on the reality show "Britain's Got Talent" has caused both television networks and their viewers to reconsider the intrinsic value of ugly people, media experts say."
In living rooms around the world as well as in the executive suites of media giants, those exposed to the Susan Boyle phenomenon are grappling with the paradox - thought impossible up until now - that an ugly person could be talented.
In New York, NBC chief Jeff Zucker confirmed that his network was "seriously considering" lifting its official ban against featuring unattractive people on the air.
"For years, the letters NBC have stood for 'No Butt-ugly Characters,'" Mr. Zucker said. "We're beginning to re-think that."
Jenifer Genterson, a news anchor from Abilene, Texas, is just one of a chorus of beautiful TV talking heads who have been startled and inspired by the surprising presence of talent in an ugly person.
"In the TV business, we're told that beauty is everything," Ms. Genterson said. "But Susan Boyle has shown us that ugly people have the right to live, too."
But Professor Logsdon, who studies the rare occurrences of ugly people in the media at the University of Minnesota's School of Communications, warns that the isolated example of Ms. Boyle may give ugly people around the world too much hope.
"The fact is, only one in a million ugly people will ever get on TV," said Professor Logsdon. "Most of them will wind up in academia."
Elsewhere, one day after lifting travel restrictions on Cuba, President Obama said he would send Vice President Joe Biden there for the next four years.
Labels: Borowitz Report, Television
Somewhere over the horizon
A year ago, His Kevness, newly minted as PM, basked in the warm glow of St Cate, newly birthed of her third child, and generally snuggled into the the squishy intellects of 1000 of Australia's clever and anointed.
Yes, it was the 2020 gathering, and the nation's eyes turned to Canberra for inspiration - something that had never happened in the history of the ACT.
The outcome of 2020 continues to reverberate, with visions and plans that would smack any but the most cynical of gobs.
"Of the 170 ideas put up by the productivity group, 111 are being taken forward, while 43 are being considered further.
The economy group produced 111 ideas: 68 are being taken forward, 39 considered further. Of 82 ideas on sustainability, 57 are going forward, 22 are under consideration.
The figures for the other groups are: rural, 158 ideas, 106 going forward, 22 considered further; health, 171 ideas, 81 taken forward, 55 considered further; community and families, 242 ideas, 86 taken forward, 107 considered further; indigenous, 81 ideas, 38 taken forward, 35 considered further; creative, 160 ideas, 32 taken forward, 82 considered further; governance, 184 ideas, 90 taken forward, 43 considered further; and Australia's future security, 54 ideas, 40 taken forward, nine considered further."
And to think so many of us considered the 2020 conference to be a wasted love-fest, a scandalous use of taxpayers money. Shame on us!
Lots of 2020 action, but no republic
Labels: Australian Politics, Kevin Rudd
Begin by standing on a comfortable surface where you have plenty of room at each side.
With a 5-lb. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides, and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax. Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.
After a couple weeks, move up to 10-lb. potato sacks. Then try 50-lb. potato sacks. Then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb. potato sack in each hand, and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)
Once you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each sack.
Labels: Health and Fitness Interlude
Python loses dinner to technology
Epic struggle between man and nature?
Once was a time that a python didn't have to wrestle with technology.
Once was a time that man didn't come equipped with a mobile phone.
"The python dragged him up a tree, but when it eased its grip, Nyaumbe said he was able to take a mobile phone out of his pocket and phone for help."
As you do.
Epic struggle between man and snake
Labels: Nature Studies
Mother load
Looking old? Come on, own up. You don't look as young as Miley Cyrus anymore. Miley is only a few years away from playing someone's mother, like, probably paring with Zac Efron in a rom-com with a whacky mother-son relationship at the core.
Actor Hope Davis was recently offered a role opposite Johnny Depp. For us common folk, that would be a dream come true. Davis was to play Depp's mother. Depp is 46 this year, while Davis is 45. For those slow in taking off their shoes to do subtraction, Davis was born one year after Depp.
Glenn Close appeared as Mel Gibson's mother in Hamlet, which would have meant - in human years, not Westen-Capitalist-Democratic-Hollywood years - that she had given birth at age nine.
Playing the seductress mother opposite Dustin Hoffman in the The Graduate, Anne Bancroft was only five years older than her on screen toyboy.
In Giant Elizabeth Taylor was Mum to Dennis Hopper, despite being only four years his senior.
Clocking in at one year older than Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie was still deemed amply old enough to be Farrell's mother in the woebegotten Alexander.
Actress Lea Thomposn was the same age as Micheal J. Fox in Back to the Future - both were 24. Apparently everyone thought this was quite normal, reflecting current and future realities.
There's an irreducible logic to casting women who are younger, ever younger, for the role of Mum to older, ever older men.
Davis should have jumped at the chance to play Depp's mother. Give it another two years and she'll be lucky to be offered a role as his great-grandmother.
Old enough to be his mum? Must be the movies
Labels: Celebrity News, Stupid People
Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts.
Celebrity round up
One rich, famous and fatuous misogynist not getting away with murder: it has taken six years for Phil Spector to be found guilty of murder.
One rich, famous and fatuous all-round bigot getting away, but not without a big-whopper drainage of his bank account: it has taken 28 years and seven children for Mel Gibson's wife to file for divorce.
One famous and fatuous faux-lesbian has one new tattoo: Lindsay Lohan had a Marilyn Monroe quote about toilet etiquette inked on her wrist: "Everyone's a star and deserves the right to twinkle."
Labels: Celebrity News, Crime
Proof in search of a ghost
This is footage of an alleged ghost.
The Liverpool council is so excited by moving lights that they're paying a ghost expert to examine the footage, find out the ghost's name, social security number and date of expiration, and ask how Elvis is getting on.
Labels: Ghosts, Pharanormal Phenomena, Skepticism
Really stupid woman not eaten by bear
A 32 year old woman jumped into a polar bear enclosure during feeding time at Berlin Zoo.
She suffered bites to her arms and legs.
The MSM is reporting that "it's not known why she jumped into the enclosure". She's a freeking idoit, that's why! Not difficult to join the dots!
Pilaging the writers grave
"Ms. Nesbit said that Mr. Crichton left "many, many electronic files," and that there could well be other novels or unfinished material. "We haven't begun to really go through it all," she said.
Mr. Burnham said, though, that HarperCollins had no plans to take Mr. Crichton's name and create a franchise in the way that ghostwriters have continued to publish books under Robert Ludlum's name long after his death. "We're not taking a name brand and spinning books out of it," Mr. Burnham said."
Or maybe just a little bit.
Micheal Crichton left behind one completed novel and one third of a novel in progress, with notes.
Can't quibble with the posthumous publication of a completed novel, even if it might not have been his final draft, but bringing in another writer to complete two thirds of the unfinished work is unnecessarily greedy and shows a monumental disrespect to a dead author.
The note of optimism that other scraps and bits might be tucked away in his files, with the potential for more books written by other people under Crichton's name is disheartening.
Authors die. New authors await. Such facts used to contain a self-evident finality about them.
Posthumous Crichton novels on the way
Labels: Literature
Real world economy: opacity and pseudo-objectivity
Are you still pursing your lips, blaming Fred & Mae, debating the culpability of Clinton versus Bush, quite sure you've got a handle on all things sub-prime, but aren't entirely sure whose hedge fund was ugliest or which braniac built the most abused derivatives programs?
Time to take it up a notch and get a grip on the real world of business, not only the financial markets, but all organisations run by the captains of industry, before all that lip pursing creates an unerasable set of cat's bum lines.
"What we have is not so much the crisis of some underlying commodity that gets reflected in the financial system, as a crisis caused within the financial system itself. The most important bubble of the last decade or so was not of the housing sector, but of the financial sector, a bubble reflected by the 20 percent of S & P 500 profits that were made in the financial sector.
These factors have received a good deal of attention. But they are not the whole story, and certainly not the most original part of the predicament. What seems most novel is the role of opacity and pseudo-objectivity. This may be our first epistemologically-driven depression. (Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and limits of knowledge, with how we know what we think we know.) That is, a large role was played by the failure of the private and corporate actors to understand what they were doing. Most heads of ailing or deceased financial institutions did not comprehend the degree of risk and exposure entailed by the dealings of their underlings—and many investors, including municipalities and pension funds, bought financial instruments without understanding the risks involved. We should keep this in mind when we chastise government agencies such as the SEC for failing to monitor what was going on. If the leading executives of financial firms failed to understand what was taking place, how could we expect government regulators to do so? The financial system created a fog so thick that even its captains could not navigate it.
There was also the fallacy of diversification of activities within the firm. This was predicated on the belief that the more areas you are financially involved in, the more protected you are from loss in any one area. But the unintended consequence of this is that the more areas you are involved in, the less you know about them, and the more subject you are to unexpected and unanticipated shocks, especially when the assets decline in tandem.
The diversification of financial firms, which was supposed to create efficiencies and synergies, ended up spreading contagion, as investment banks and other financial institutions such as AIG (once a successful insurance company) were brought down by divisions specializing in real estate or in derivatives.
The complexity of newly created financial instruments, which were supposed to use mathematical sophistication to diminish risk, ended up creating opacity—an inability of any but a few analysts to get a clear sense of what was happening. And the creation of arcane financial instruments made effective supervision virtually impossible, both by superiors in the firm, and by outside regulators.
The cult of "accountability" was linked to key innovations that turned out to have unanticipated undersides. One was the shibboleth of linking pay to performance, which put a premium on schemes that purported to measure performance. This tended to produce "hard" numbers that seemed reliable but were not. It created tremendous incentives for CEOs, executives, and traders to devote their creative energies to gaming the metrics, i.e. into coming up with schemes that purported to demonstrate productivity or profit by massaging the data, or by underinvesting in maintenance and human capital formation to boost quarterly earnings or their equivalents.
Some recent policies seem likely to exacerbate the problems I've outlined. Take the Treasury's encouragement of institutional consolidation through amalgamation. Bank of America was encouraged to take over Merrill Lynch; and JPMorgan Chase took over Bear Stearns, and then bought the assets of Washington Mutual. Whatever the purported advantages of these takeovers, the creation of ever larger and more diversified companies makes it more likely that these firms will be plagued by the epistemological problems noted above. The Treasury has created more firms that can't really be understood (or whose riskiness can't be assessed)—not by their managers, not by government regulators, and not by investors."
It's a dense piece, by Prof Jerry Z. Muller, but well worth your time to read the whole thing.
If you've ever worked in a large organization, and if you have a clue, this will resonate, and that overwhelming queasiness you feel when you read the "accountabilities" section of job descriptions will finally be explained.
Our epistemological depression
Labels: Economics, GFC, Global Economy
Back to the cave ladies
Contemporary commentary from that well known thought-leader and Cardinal about town, Cardinal Pell:
"In terms of adultery, in terms of divorce, in terms of grandchildren, yes we are in big trouble as a society because of the sexual revolution," he said.
"It came out of Virginia Woolf and that crowd (in England in the early 20th century).
"It's a century-long movement that has happened.
"In my view, it's a disaster. It has ruined lives. It is ruining our society."
Arh, "feminism" - was that the word you were groping for Cardinal?
As it began, so it continues: women are the cause of all that is morally wrong with the world, including, grandchildren, apparently, although I'd swear that Virginia had none.
As always, thanks for playing Cardinal Pell. Looking forward to your next public intellectual paroxysm.
Here ....
Labels: Feminism, Religion
Then what's the point?!
Gosh-golly (see, I'm trying not to blaspheme on Good Friday), what's the point of a global financial crisis if church attendance doesn't go up-dee-dup?
"People are not flocking to the church in despair over tough economic times ...
"In each of our congregations there are people who have lost their jobs," Dr Jensen said.
"I haven't seen them coming here because of that yet.
In his Good Friday sermon, Dr Jensen said the world financial crisis showed that materialism was "hopeless".
"You can have hope if you have God," he said.
"Whereas if you only have materialism, well, the house of cards has fallen and collapsed.
"So what else is left? Where are you going? We live for more than just this material world. We believe God answers our prayers."
All prayers, except for those out of a job, which are promptly returned to sender.
Makes a person contemplate long and hard on what type of global catastrophe is needed to get the unwashed, unemployed, lazy no good, white trash, heathen masses into churches to seek consolation, fire breathing sermons and redemption.
Job losses not filling churches
Labels: GFC, Religion
News mash up
The MSM is so good at mashing up the news - in the way that one mashes baby food, so that it doesn't resemble food, nor the constituent parts from whence the mash started life.
Grabbing the headlines by a crown of thorns is the story of a major Sydney hospital "banning" crosses and bibles.
Ensuing outrage across the land.
Really, as a society we should learn to save our outrage for the outrageous least outrage be threadbare when truly needed.
The hospital's chapel has long been used by many denominations. It's a "multi-faith" chapel, as they say in the trade.
If you believed the headlines and the telly news, you'd think the stained glass windows had been boarded up and the pews replaced with a few upside down empty milk crates. One chap goes so far as to describe the chapel, denuded of crucifixes, as looking like a backyard shed. Yeah, well, a pretty fancy-dancy shed by most suburban standards.
The decision made by the hospital was simply to remove symbols specific to any faith, unless in use for a particular gathering, eg, a ceremony. When the chapel is open for walk-ins of the any-faith variety Christian symbols, including the alter cross, are safely stored away, so are readily at hand when needed.
Contrary to the hysterical headlines, the hospital hasn't banned anything, they've adapted to the times, just as religion adapts to whatever times happen along. Hey, remember witch burnings? That was those times. These times have a whole menu of religions and persecutions from which to choose and the Royal North Shore Hospital's management has acknowledge that in a low key, non-offensive, all-embracing manner.
Hospital bans bibles, crosses
Labels: Australian News, Religion
Broken Ice
The Wilkins ice shelf become unstuck earlier in the week. It was all over the news!
This is the ice bridge in Antarctica, "hanging on by a thread" - here.
This is the ice bridge after it stopped hanging on - here.
Steve Irwin: but not as we knew him
Sculptor Mitch Mitchell is gobsmacked that no one wants to buy his over-sized Steve Irwin piece.
Dude: find a photo of Irwin, hold it up against your work. Spot the difference?
Labels: Australian Culture
Continuing the fine tradtion bringing news to you for free
"We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work under misguided legal theories."
So says the Associated Press, who collectively still haven't got the hang - or the profits - of the interwebs. Now they're all huffy about the whole thing.
I walked off with the work of The New York Times in order to bring this important matter to your attention.
A.P seeks to reign in sites using its content
Labels: MSM, Newspapers, The Internet
Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made.
A drunk Muscovite, Alexander Kirilov, age 44, thought it would be a bit of a luff to have sex with a raccoon.
The raccoon disagreed, parting ways with his suitor by biting off the man's penis.
Moscow surgeons are doing their best to repair the little that is left of Kirilov's mangled member.
Labels: Penis Chronicles
Being publicly female "immodest"
There is a long legacy of illuminating and depressing feminist writing documenting the practice of women being airbrushed from history.
Well, howdy doody, in 2009, accomplished women in Israel are still being airbrushed away.
"Two female ministers within a 30-strong cabinet may not sound like such a big deal to most. However, it was two women too many for Israeli ultra-orthodox newspapers, so they simply airbrushed the offending female figures out of photographs of Binyamin Netanyahu's new cabinet, on the grounds that printing pictures of women is "immodest".
Limor Livnat and Sofa Landver, the two apparently inappropriate ministers, simply "disappeared" from a photograph of the new cabinet in the weekly newspaper Shaa Tova, with black holes visible in the spaces where they had been standing. Meanwhile, in the newspaper Yated Neeman, male cabinet members were blown up and superimposed on to the images of the two female ministers in the frame.
"This sector simply does not believe that women should have a public life, or even vote," says Galia Golan-Gild, professor of government at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre."
Israeli papers brush women out of cabinet
Labels: Feminism, Israel
KRudd has carelessly managed to lose one staff each month since becoming our PM. For those of you who have trouble counting, or remembering life before His Kevness arrived, that's 16 personal staff in 16 months.
An anonymous former senior staffer, quoted in a local tabloid, described Rudd as:
"intolerant and socially dysfunctional".
A round up of numbers as at December last year revealed that Rudd had lost about 40 per cent of new appointments to his private office since the previous year December and Gillard had lost nearly 50 per cent.
Finance Department figures revealed that about a quarter of ministerial staffers (270 in all) appointed between December 2007 and October 2008 had fled their covetted jobs (65 in all).
Seems that His Kevness isn't a "people person", and while he gets the all the publicity for being iron deficient (and therefore a little testy), deputy PM Gillard with an even higher staff churn isn't given the same public drubbing.
If His Kevness needs a lamb chop to improve his temperament, perhaps Gillard needs a bit of fruit in her bowl.
Meanwhile: Confirming what we'd already figured out for ourselves, seems that in the exhilaration of unpacking their Blackberrys, manila folders and new security cards, Obama's team of geniuses failed to notice that the US Federal Government has a State Department and within said State Department sits an entire team of people dedicated to administering and orchestrating foreign visits.
Hence the DVD gift gaff to the British PM.
Seems that Obama has also forgotten to appoint a chief of protocol.
Labels: Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd
Labels: Funny things
Like it or not, we'll drink to that
Thirteen different taxes on alcohol.
A big, big, big, big, big deficit.
Looks like Kev and Wayne will be hoping that Australia binge-drinks its way through recessionary times. (Try saying that three times when you've had a few!)
Drinkers to help boost budget
Labels: Australian Economy, Wayne Swan
Ruddles not superhero
Up until now I thought Kev Rudd was Superman.
Apparently - by his own admission- Kev is only human.
This was bought to our attention follow a couple of temper tantrums over food on his $28K per hour RAAF plane.
First tantrum was over a lack of hot meal service. Gourmet sandwiches are not a meal fit for a PM on an airplane.
Second tantrum was over the appearance of a hot meal, inclusive of red meat. The PM forgot to inform anyone that he was on a non-red meat and all fruit desert diet. The young steward who coped a spray of fury from the wonky-one should have been able to anticipate Kev's dietary requirements from one flight to the next.
Ruddle's response and apology to this public exposure is equivocal, insincere, at best.
Rudd loses temper over meal
Labels: Kevin Rudd
Net loss
Some days I think that, in academia, there's four born every minute. You know, if there's one utterly gullible civilian born every minute, then surely the academic ratio is four, or maybe 4.3.
Latest work related research to come out of our very own Melbourne University claims that recreational web surfing on the job boosts productivity. The premise being that we all lose concentration during the day and a little diversion goes a long way to refocusing the mind and getting back to the job refreshed.
I happen to agree that performing an alternative activity when concentration is waning is a constructive thing to do and I agree that purposefully changing focus can lead to higher productivity. As always, I take issue with the lack of comparative data and the weaselly conclusions.
"Melbourne University's Dr Brent Coker says workers who surf the internet for leisure, known as 'Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing' (WILB), are more productive than those who don't.
"People who do surf the internet for fun at work - within a reasonable limit of less than 20 per cent of their total time in the office - are more productive by about nine per cent than those who don't," said Dr Coker, from the university's Department of Management and Marketing.
"Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a day's work, and as a result, increased productivity."
From the reporting, only WILB was considered as a means by which to reactiviate concentration, and, therefore, productivity. So the study was flawed and biased before it got started, and the conclusions pretty much foregone.
There are a myriad of dreary tasks to perform in an office when motivation sags, such as returning phone calls, reading and responding to emails, gossiping, photocopying, or even searching the web for text worthy of plagarizing for that all important business case. We haven't been presented with any information to suggest that WILB is a better temporary diversion than carrying out less taxing, and work related, activities before returning refreshed to a task requiring more oomph.
Lets do some sums here: 40 hour paid working week, 20% of 40 equals eight hours, eight hours is an entire working day. However, Dr Coker is careful to note that productivity only increases if the leisure web browsing constitutes less than 20% of total time in the office. Handily vague. So, let's go with 18%. That's still a day's worth of work, more or less, indulging and being paid for WILB. Nice work if you can get it.
If, as claimed, the productivity of these diligent WILB workers is increased by 9%, that would add up to a productive working week of, say, 43.6 hours.
Yet, assuming *only* 18% of office hours spent on WILB, time spent working - productivly or otherwise - is reduced by 7.2 hours, then we add back the 9% booster shot, and it still only comes to 36.4 hours of work. I'll stick my scrawny neck out here and assume that productivity was not measured per se, or at least not objectively, therefore, productivity was likely "self assessed".
Sure, the Internet is great, the Internet is grand, a miracle of modern life, but this academic is yanking a very long and well worn chain if he thinks that "less than 20%" of time spent on WILB constitutes "short and unobtrusive" breaks.
Dr Coker does come to one appropriate conclusion:
"Approximately 14 per cent of internet users in Australia show signs of internet addiction - they don't take breaks at appropriate times, they spend more than a 'normal' amount of time online, and can get irritable if they are interrupted while surfing.
"WILB is not as helpful for this group of people - those who behave with internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without."
No shit Sherlock.
Meanwhile, to file under really stupid fluff stuff: the former yellow "Wiggle" Greg Page, who parted company with his wife Michelle last year, is expecting a baby with his girlfriend.
"Sources report that Michelle is stunned that Page and a girlfriend, known only as Vanessa, are expecting a child".
Yes, the former wife is stunned that other people have babies, out of wedlock, following sexual relations. Stunned!
Labels: The Internet, Workers, Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing (WILB), World of Work
Irrelevent wives
Someone at The Australian Associated Press went overboard in exercising misbegotten feminist sentiment, insisting that Rein has been "relegated" to mere "first wives" status in London, despite - yes despite! - being a smart, successful, self-made squillionaire.
Honestly, what twaddle.
Rein is not an elected member of Australia's parliament. She has never run for office. She has nothing to contribute to the G20. She's in London because she is married to Rudd. Being relegated to hang out with the other wives is the only appropriate protocol.
There are quite a few other capable and wealthy wives of G20 attendees, Rein isn't an extraordinary exception. She's not over there out-classing and out-thinking a bunch of bimbos.
The Age is hereby formally reprimanded for printing this indulgent piece of fluff and nonsense.
Rein relegated to G20 'first wives' club
Labels: G20, Therese Rein
Mark Latham regurgitated
Still scratching your eyeballs puzzling over Australia's biggest ever political dummy-spit?
Yeah, sure you are.
In an academic journal, Dr Richards, Mark Latham's former chief of staff, points the narcissism stick. By happy coinky-dink, Richards wrote his doctorate on narcissism.
In the 13,000-word article published in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies Dr Richards presents Latham as being a:
"narcissistic loner" whose political brilliance was drowned by paranoia, persecutory anxiety and destructive rage."
Richards also believes that Latham would have been a loose cannon PM and success would not necessarily have staved off his tendency to meltdown.
Latham a 'narcisstic' loner primed to implode
Labels: ALP, Australian Politics, Mark Latham
Kevin who?
"According to the Bishop of London, the election of Mr Rudd as prime minister in November 2007 was something of "an Obama moment'' for Australia."
Or, not so much.
"He has a reputation as a politician who takes ethics very, very seriously.''
Along with symbolic forums and inquiries that lead to nowhere, not to mention an abiding commitment to grocery prices.
The bishop was not the only one full of praise for Mr Rudd.
"And Kevin is a man of great vision and courage, and I think you can see why he is a very successful prime minister of Australia,'' Mr Brown said.
"Thank you very much for coming to speak today, we are very grateful."
Meh, we've heard his speeches. After the speeches: not so grateful.
If they like him so much, maybe they can keep him.
Gushy, gushy coverage ... here
Labels: British News, G20, Kevin Rudd
I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe, and someone said I was a snake, I'd think, no, actually I'm a giraffe.
Real world economy: opacity and pseudo-objectivity...
Continuing the fine tradtion bringing news to you ...


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First of all, Artful Chefs professionals have over 75 years of combined experience to draw from. Furthermore, personal chefs at Artful Chefs are trained in French classical technique and prepare Italian, Mediterranean, German,Irish and Spanish cuisine.
Since menus are customized for each event, you have choices. The most noteworthy artistic part of our meal presentation is our plating. The chefs work to achieve flawless and creative platting and our flavors receive 5 star reviews. Your personal chef will shop for the best ingredients purchased from carefully selected local markets. Because you are working with private chefs, we can customize your menu. Special diet needs are not a challenge for Artful Chefs. Therefore, if you have a vegetarian in a group of carnivores, we will make sure that guest is happy.
Because you want the best for your guests.
Especially relevant to this Del Mar dinner party is that the client called less than 24 hours in advance. Our client wanted to have a dinner party for 18 guests to help celebrate his 50th birthday. Therefore, the menu was customized over the phone immediately for his dinner party. I contacted my favorite butcher at Fraizer Farms and the grass fed filets and free range chicken were ordered within an hour of the initial call.
The next day, Cheffing staff arrived at noon the following day and began preparations. Because dinner was scheduled after the beautiful sunset, we immediately got to work.
In conclusion, the guests of the birthday party were amazed with the flavors and presentation. Because Chef Pharrell and the staff of Artful Chefs all love what they do, it shows in our work.


Are you working on a research project or business idea related to waste or sustainable materials? Whether you're dealing with solid waste, wastewater, waste-to-energy, recycling, sustainable material/product design, or anything in between, we're interested!
Sign up by April 4 to present a pitch to promote your start-up idea or present a poster to share your work/research! Cash prizes will be awarded for the best pitch and poster! Register for a presenter ticket on our Eventbrite, and we'll follow up with details. Pitches will be under 5 minutes and posters should be no more than 36"x48".
Not working on waste but interested in learning more? Register as an audience member!


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En sciences des religions, une religion autochtone se définit comme le système de croyances d'un peuple autochtone. Cette catégorie est parfois connexe à celle de « nouveau mouvement religieux », notamment dans le cas des pratiques religieuses préchrétiennes pour lesquelles il y a des tentatives de réactivation comme le néopaganisme. Le terme est appliqué à différents systèmes de croyances à travers le monde en particulier dans les pays où les communautés indigènes ont été impactées par le colonialisme.

Les termes religion autochtone ou (religion indigène) sont généralement appliqués aux systèmes de croyances de sociétés localisées. Ces systèmes de croyance ne s'engagent généralement pas dans le prosélytisme, ce qui les distingue de mouvements comme le christianisme, l'islam ou le bouddhisme qui cherchent à convertir de nouveaux membres et qui sont généralement classés comme religions mondiales en raison de leur rayonnement au delà de leur pays de naissance. Elles se distinguent aussi de ces grandes religions par leur transmission généralement orale, la variabilité des pratiques au sein d'une même religion et leur association à des modes de vie traditionnels. Numériquement, la majorité des religions du monde pourraient être classées comme "indigènes", bien que le nombre de pratiquants de ces religions soient nettement inférieur au nombre d'individus pratiquant une des religions mondiales.

Dans le cadre de l'étude des religions, il y a eu de nombreux débats sur la portée de cette catégorie, notamment au sujet de ce que devait englober le terme «autochtone». Certaines religion ne remplissent pas tous les critères. Par exemple, le shintoïsme, religion traditionnelle japonaise, est souvent qualifiée de religion autochtone,[1] cependant, les Japonais n'ont pas été colonisés mais ont  été colonisateurs de sociétés voisines comme celle des Ainus. Le shintoïsme peut-il donc être qualifié de "religion autochtone" ? Les néopaganismes aussi posent problème dans la mesure où ils sont souvent hypothétiquement reconstruits et agrègent parfois des éléments issus du New âge sans lien avec les pratiques des peuples de l'antiquité.

Définition
Les sciences des religions ont utilisé trois concepts pour catégoriser les différents groupes religieux : " religions mondiales ", " nouveaux mouvements religieux " et " religions indigènes". L'historienne des religions, Carole M. Cusack, a noté que les « religions autochtones » ont été exclues de la catégorie des « religions mondiales » parce qu'elles « sont généralement à buts concrets, transmises oralement, non prosélytes, axées sur le peuple, exprimées dans des mythes et dans le droit coutumier et pluralistes.

Au XIXe siècle, ces religions étaient souvent qualifiée de «religion primitive» ou «religion sans écriture» et elles étaient considérées comme offrant un aperçu de la façon dont la religion était pratiquée par les premiers humains.  Un autre terme, « religion primale », a été inventé par Andrew Walls à l'Université d'Aberdeen dans les années 1970 pour mettre l'accent sur les formes de religion non occidentales que l'on trouve en Afrique, en Asie et en Océanie. Cependant, selon le spécialiste de la religion Graham Harvey, de telles approches privilégient les peuples occidentaux industrialisés et la culture des Lumières. De même, James Cox, l'étudiant de Walls, soutient que des termes tels que « religion primale », « religion primitive » et « religion tribale » suggèrent une religion non développée qui peut être considérée comme une préparation à la conversion au christianisme.

Exemples

La religion japonaise shintoïste est souvent décrite comme une "religion indigène", mais le spécialiste des études asiatiques John K. Nelson affirme que cette qualification est discutable.  En effet, il note que les débats ne sont pas clos quant à savoir si quand les ancêtres des Japonais sont arrivés dans l'archipel s'il y avait d'autres communautés, comme les Ainu, qui y vivaient déjà.

De nombreux adeptes du néopaganisme aiment considérer leur système de croyance comme une "religion autochtone". [11] En revendiquant une appartenance indigène, certains païens, en particulier aux États-Unis, tentent de se présenter comme les successeurs des systèmes de croyances préchrétiennes des antiques peuples d'Europe. Ils se définissent ainsi comme victimes du colonialisme et de l'impérialisme des chrétiens médiévaux. Cependant, comme le font remarquer les érudits Jenifer Snook, Thad Horrell et Kirsten Horton, ce faisant, ces païens ignorent le fait que la plupart d'entre eux sont blancs, et donc membres de la même communauté ethnique à l'origine des politiques coloniales et impériales contre les peuples autochtones des Amériques et d'ailleurs.

Voir également

 Religion ethnique
 Groupe ethnoreligieux

Sources

Notes de bas de page

Bibliographie

Culture autochtone
Science des religions

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Q: Excluding multiple items from Get-ChildItem using Powershell version 4 I'm iterating through a directory tree but trying to filter out a number of things.
This is my cobbled together code;
Get-ChildItem -Path $pathName -recurse -Filter index.aspx* -Exclude */stocklist/* | ? {$_.fullname -NotMatch "\\\s*_"} | Where {$_.FullName -notlike "*\assets\*" -or $_.FullName -notlike ".bk"}

*

*Remove the name index.aspx from the returned item.

*I want to filter out any file that starts with and underscore.

*Exclude anything that contains /stocklist/ in its path.

*Exclude anything that contains /assets/ in its path.

*And exclude anything that contains .bk in its path.

This is working for everything but for the .bk in it's path. I'm pretty sure it's a syntax error on my part.
Thanks in advance.

A: You can create a regex string and use -notmatch on the file's .DirectoryName property in a Where-Object clause to exclude the files you don't need:
$excludes = '/stocklist/', '/assets/', '.bk'
# create a regex of the folders to exclude
# each folder will be Regex Escaped and joined together with the OR symbol '|'
$notThese = ($excludes | ForEach-Object { [Regex]::Escape($_) }) -join '|'

Get-ChildItem -Path $pathName -Filter 'index.aspx*' -File -Recurse |
Where-Object{ $_.DirectoryName -notmatch $notThese -and $_.Name -notmatch '^\s*_' }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Free iPad Giveaway at wonderbaby.org!
Heads up: Want an iPad for your special needs child? Visit wonderbaby.org for further information on entering the drawing. Deadline is May 15th.
This is the perfect package for a child with special needs who wants to get started with the iPad!
This is one of my favorite blogs to visit since it's about a very cute little boy named Thomas who is blind and his mom, Jessica, has shared so much information that is out there for parents of children who are blind. Many tips I gained were through her blog. Now she's having a 'blogiversary' giveaway! If your child is blind, go over and leave your email address and a blurb about your child in the comments section to be eligible for a drawing (May 3rd) for a free braille book. She's giving away two books. Even if you don't come away with the goodies, you have a whole blog of hers to enjoy and learn from like I always have.
"Wow, I think there's a parallel here between blindness and deafness! It is hard to deal with losing something, for sure. A drawn out process crossing the threshold. For those of us born deaf or blind or both... we don't really know what we're missing. The way we are, that's it. That's how things are and will always be. Vision loss or hearing loss doesn't apply to those of us who were born already blind or deaf... we didn't lose anything! What I think is beautiful and inspirational are people who are happy and comfortable in their own skin despite constant struggles whether deaf, blind or deafblind. Also, the thinking that hard of hearing people is "better" than Deaf people... the thinking happens vice-versa, too, as people in denial. That seems like 2 'camps' here but there's so many different opinions, philosophies, beliefs. People even move between 'camps' through their life! In the end... the degree of sight or hearing needs to be tossed out the window and instead we should appreciate their communication ability/options and personalities. Celebrate and support the whole person. Amen."
Orion rode in a little shopping cart at Rite Aid just off 197 after his PT session this afternoon. I pushed him around carefully and didn't have to right him at all. Yay!
His PT at RSI commented once again that Orion's constantly improving. LIttle improvements, still precious and important. He's been crying much less at his visits, some visits there were no cries at all. Last week and today during parts of the session, he sat alone unassisted while his PT guarded with her arms ready to catch him if he topples over. It's looking a lot more like when I take him in for his 2nd birthday photos, he'll sit by himself. I'm hoping by that time he can get himself in the sitting position and safely back down.
One day last month Orion lifted his head over and over, seemingly amused with it. I got it on video! He has always been able to get up on his knees, hands and forehead but twice in perhaps the last 2 weeks I saw him lift his head while in that position. Go go go!
His PT at Kendall School got a full time job elsewhere, we'll miss her! Tomorrow is her last day. (There will be a replacement at Kendall, of course, to continue Orion's IFSP goals.) She and other PTs have helped Orion make progress physically.
I leave you with a couple pictures from one of Tasia's most recent unexplained destructions. I love that she wrote a sentence and tried to spell 'accident' and taped it onto her pajamas along with the swatch of she 'accidentally' cut out. I tried not to laugh when she solemnly brought it to my attention.


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This site, like many others, uses small files called cookies to help us customize your experience. Find out more about cookies and how you can control them.
This page contains information on what 'cookies' are, the cookies used by the LOAD5 website, how to switch cookies off in your browser and some useful links for further reading on the subject. If it does not provide the information you were looking for, or you have any further questions about the use of cookies on the LOAD5 website, please email email@load5.com.
What are 'cookies'?
'Cookies' are small text files that are stored by the browser (for example, Internet Explorer or Safari) on your computer or mobile phone. They allow websites to store things like user preferences. You can think of cookies as providing a 'memory' for the website, so that it can recognize you when you come back and respond appropriately.
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A visit to a page on the LOAD5 website may generate the following types of cookie:
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Every time someone visits our website, software provided by another organization generates an 'anonymous analytics cookie'.
These cookies can tell us whether or not you have visited the site before.
Your browser will tell us if you have these cookies and, if you don't, we generate new ones.
This allows us to track how many individual users we have, and how often they visit the site.
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All modern browsers allow you to change your cookie settings. You can usually find these settings in the 'options' or 'preferences' menu of your browser. To understand these settings, the following links may be helpful, or you can use the 'Help' option in your browser for more details.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Stalemate over farm laws continues, next meeting on Jan 19
Delhi HC bench recuses hearing plea against WhatsApp's new privacy policy
Tamil Maanila Congress leader Gnanadesikan passes away
Population growth in Canada's large urban regions slows
COVID-19 in Ontario: Premier on stay-at-home order, Hillier on vaccine rollout
City of Brampton COVID-19 update: Officials discuss provincial stay-at-home order
PM Trudeau gives COVID-19 update, discusses cabinet shuffle & election speculation
Rishi Kapoor's last film 'Sharmaji Namkeen' to release on his b'day:…
Akshay Kumar celebrates Army Day playing volleyball with jawans
Kangana Ranaut to star in 'Manikarnika Returns: The Legend Of Didda'
Bollywood wishes happiness and prosperity on Makar Sankranti and Pongal
India all set for world's largest vaccination drive
Airlines transport Bharat Biotech's Covaxin to 11 cities
Home Sports Cricket BCCI undecided on boycotting Pakistan at ICC World Cup
BCCI undecided on boycotting Pakistan at ICC World Cup
Kolkata: BCCI Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai addresses during a session on 'Reforming Indian Sport' organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata Jan 27, 2018. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)
New Delhi The crucial BCCI CoA meeting on Friday failed to decide whether India should play against Pakistan in the upcoming ICC cricket World Cup in the United Kingdom in May-July in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack.
After a four-hour-long meeting, the three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) was undecided on the issue and appeared to be waiting for an indication from the government before it can take a call.
"The June 16 (India vs Pakistan) match is very far away. We will take a call on that much later. We will take a decision only after consultations with the government," CoA Chairman Vinod Rai told reporters after the meeting.
Asked about the views of some former players and officials who have demanded a boycott of the match against Pakistan, he said he would not like to go into the comments being made by others.
In reply to another question, he said the BCCI would write to ICC about the need to boycott countries from where terror emanates.
"We'll write to the ICC expressing our concerns about Pakistan and that security of players, officials and everybody else must be taken care of," Rai said about the first decision taken at the meeting.
In this Feb. 10, 2019, photo, Pakistani staff fix the name of Gadaffi stadium in preparation for the upcoming Pakistan Super League in Lahore, Pakistan. The Pakistan Super League is not like any other domestic Twenty20 cricket league around the world. It can't compete financially with the lucrative Indian Premier League in terms of player payments, yet it's a dream for Pakistani cricketer to be part of it. For the Pakistan Cricket Board, the PSL is a pathway to ultimately bring foreign teams back to Pakistan and resume fully-fledged international cricket on home soil. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
"We're telling the cricket community that in future we must sever ties with nations from where terror emanates," he said adding the copy of the letter to the ICC will be made public.
Rai also said that there will not be any Indian Premier League (IPL) opening ceremony and the amount of the budget allotted for the ceremony will be given to families of the victims of the Pulwama terror attack.
"There will be no IPL opening ceremony. Instead the money will be donated to families of Pulwama martyrs," Rai said about the incident in which Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed carried out a suicide attack in which 40 Central Reservce Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed.
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India protests to WHO over map showing J&K as separate
Rishi Kapoor's last film 'Sharmaji Namkeen' to release on his b'day: Reports
IPL 2020: MI play CSK in opener, 6 double headers in...
Pakistan beats Australia by 45 runs in T20 tri series


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Memberships & Communities
Concert Guide
Stars on Ice Brings Together Best of the Best
Stars on Ice has been a beloved holiday tradition in Lake Placid for years, bringing some of the world's best professional and amateur skaters to the Olympic Center's Herb Brooks Arena.
This year's show was headlined by Olympic gold medalists in ice dancing Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and also featured three of the top US ladies' competitors: U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist and three-time national champion Ashley Wagner, U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist and reigning U.S. national champion Bradie Tennell, and U.S. Olympic team bronze medalist and seven-time national championship medalist Mirai Nagasu.
Other dancers included 2018 World Championship silver medalists and 2018 U.S. national champions Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, who in a Saturday Night Ice Show this summer, and 2014 Junior World and Junior U.S. Champions in ice dancing Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. Read the full article.
The Story Of BubbleUp: From A Small Project To An Award-Winning Agency
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5 Best SEO Practices to Drive Traffic to your Site
BubbleUp's Virtual Streaming Platform Makes the News with Singer Laine Hardy
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Trump rallies, coffee, and other events on his way to Florida
admin July 4, 2021
Trump rallies in Florida are taking shape, as the presidential candidate heads to the state to campaign for the Republican nomination.
Interested in ?
Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
Trump, who is campaigning in the state ahead of a state vote on May 8, is expected to meet with voters before and after the rally at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, according to a Trump campaign official.
Trump has been making his presence known in Florida and surrounding areas as he prepares for a likely victory.
Trump is scheduled to hold several rallies across the state before the vote on the state's April 27 ballot.
The two rallies, scheduled for May 7 and 8, will be held at Trump International in West Palm Beach and at the West Palm Coliseum in West Bradenton.
The West Palm rally will be his third since January, when he held a rally at Florida International University, a public institution.
Trump has been touring Florida as part of his effort to rally voters behind his candidacy.
At least two rallies in recent weeks have been attended by tens of thousands of people.
Trump's rallies in the past two weeks have included the endorsement of GOP Gov.
Rick Scott, as well as the announcement of his new hotel in Palm Beach County, which he has said will be a boon to the county.
The rally schedule, as of now, includes three rallies in Jacksonville, three in St. Petersburg, and two in Jacksonville and the airport in Jacksonville.
The rally schedule includes rallies in Tampa, Fort Myers, West Palm, and St. Lucie.
There is no scheduled time for a rally in West Florida, according the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Trump and his campaign have not announced where they will hold their next rally.
Trump told supporters in Florida on Saturday night that he has been traveling extensively during the week and that he plans to take his campaign to every corner of the state.
"This is a rally," Trump told the crowd in West Hillsborough.
"I want you to come out and be with me.
I want you all to come with me, because I have to take this nation and the country.
We're going to take it to the other side."
The rally in Palm Bay, Florida, will mark the third time the Trump campaign has held a Florida rally.
The first, held in Palm Springs in January, was attended by more than 20,000 people.
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[Movie] Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
May 20, 2015 May 16, 2015 / ownersinc
The Avengers return for the summer's first major blockbuster but there's little new here – if you liked the first, you'll like this one as well (7.5/10)
There are a great many difficulties when it comes to adapting any sort of story between mediums. In the case of comic books, the adaptation must take special care in retaining the original's sense of wonder and excitement while adjusting the more archaic elements like the catch-phrases and dialogue. In the more specific case of the Avengers, director Joss Whedon's take on the franchise has been light-hearted and spirited, a sleek, cool re-telling of a comic book series that began when editors realized that each of the individual heroes was far too boring to warrant a series of their own. The trouble is, sometimes, the source material's soul comes into conflict with the director's vision for the adaptation – for instance, it would be simply uncomfortable if this modern interpretation of the Avengers began using the same catch-phrases and dialogue that they did when their story first began – and yet, remove too many of these signature moments and in the end, your adaptation will feel hollow and plain. Whedon's most valuable asset as director for an adaptation like this one is that he is particularly well-versed in reshaping a work into something that is palatable for everyone without removing its essence. When The Avengers opened all the way back in the summer of 2012, it was the ultimate summer bonanza. Aliens, superheroes, explosions, Samuel L. Jackson – it was a total romp and it did all that while still capturing the core of the various characters. What more could you ask for from a summer blockbuster? That's the intimidating question that Whedon has had to both ask and answer. Intuitively, there are only two real routes available to him: switch things up or return with more of the same. Of course, the two can and have been mixed together but watching Avengers: Age of Ultron, it's clear that Whedon opted for the latter more than the former. While there is certainly some wisdom in notion of not fixing something that isn't broken, the result is that Age of Ultron ends up feeling a little flat and muddled compared to its predecessor though on the whole, it could still be the summer's preeminent blockbuster.
Whedon's approach with this sequel feels a lot like a paint job; for all intents and purposes, it's the same story but with a shiny new coat of characters and plot. Fundamentally, however, the film still suffers from the same deficiencies as its predecessor and while that conversely means that it retains most, if not all, of the elements that made The Avengers so incredibly successful, human nature is such that the exacerbated weaknesses in this sequel seem more readily apparent than any of its strengths. The biggest problem with Age of Ultron is that the movie's titular villain, Ultron, never really feels like a credible threat. The story does generate some degree of tension, centred around the various characters' internal conflicts, but one never gets the sense that these intra-team disagreements ever justify the epic scale of the external conflict. In fact, to the contrary, the moment the team's internal issues are resolved, all tension vanishes from the story and you know exactly how the film will end. Whedon tries his best to prove the audience wrong but his measures are too little, too late and far too transparent. Yet, what the story lacks in entertainment value, the characters and cast more than make up for. Whedon had already demonstrated a strong understanding of various characters' voices in The Avengers and he wastes no time leveraging that understanding in this film; some of the most entertaining scenes feature the heroes not doing anything at all. Whether it's lounging in a bar or idly chatting away between missions, those moments carry with them hours' worth of character development and often, it feels like the action detracts from the development. This is not to marginalize or look down upon the importance of the film's action sequences, indeed, they are some of the film's finest segments, but rather to question the way Whedon chooses to deploy the vast resources at his disposal. It often feels like the film would jump into an action sequence just to keep the audience's attention rather than when the story really calls for it.
The film's character driven moments are undoubtedly among its best and that is partially because Whedon once again opts to distribute screen time somewhat equitably amongst his star-studded cast. Of course, not all characters benefit equally from the screen time they receive, but it avoided the larger problem of ignoring a character entirely. One of the characters that benefits the most from the attention is Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, who spent most of the first movie under Loki's influence. Renner's dry, world-weary sense of humour is perfectly suited to the similarly jaded-but-not-quite Hawkeye, who often must serve as the grounding force on a team filled with living legends, troubled geniuses and a god. On the other hand, some of the cast excel at doing more with less – neither Chris Hemsworth's Thor nor Chris Evans' Captain America are really the central characters of the movie, but both actors are able to get great mileage from their time on screen. Hemsworth especially has really grown into his character since the first Thor movie half a decade ago and has some hilarious moments that play around his character's status as a god and his divine forbearance. On the other end of the spectrum however, we see the Black Widow get shafted somewhat in terms of character development. A particularly telling quote comes from Scarlet Johansson herself, in relation to the first movie: "She's not in the cast simply to be a romantic foil or eye candy. She's there to fight, so I never felt like I was the only girl." Well, you have to wonder how she felt about every bit of that statement being reversed this time around.
As fun as Avengers: Age of Ultron is, sooner or later, these movies are going to begin running into the same trouble that their comic-book counterparts did: at some point, this whole idea of bigger, better, faster is going to run out; at some point, there is not going to be a threat credibly large enough that it makes sense for small group of maybe five people, no matter how strong, to handle it. Sure, this time it was a near indestructible robot but what about next time? Will it be some sort of other worldly alien? No, we've already seen that. Will it be a demonic being of some kind? No, we've seen that too. What about an indestructible robot teamed up with a demonic being and otherworldly alien? That sounds amazing – until, you wonder what comes after that. The trouble here is that this type of plot is inherently unsustainable, there is no being backwards; you can't fight Loki in one movie and then go back to handling something like an international mafia the next. Luckily, with the advent of the Civil War story line, it seems like Marvel has answered the next most pressing question of what next.
Chris Evans – Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. – Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth – Thor
Mark Ruffalo – The Hulk
Scarlett Johansson – Black Widow
Jeremy Renner – Hawkeye
Elizabeth Olsen – Scarlet Witch
James Spader – Ultron
marvel, movies, review
← [TV] Game of Thrones – Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken (S5E6)
[TV] House of Cards – Chapter 18 (S2E5) →


Our 2019 season features many events throughout Windsor and around Essex County. Our events are family friendly with something for everyone: walkers, runners and wheelers of every age.
Volunteers are essential to our organization, assisting with registration, water stations, providing refreshments at the end of the race, and more. Without their help, we would not exist. Our volunteer executive committee works hard at organizing our events.
In 1988, Jerry Slavik and Dave Orshinsky, two local (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) athletes began raising money for local charities through running and walking events.
WRACE is a nonprofit organization for walkers, runners and wheelers of all ages and abilities.
WRACE relies on our volunteer board members and the many community volunteers.
For more information about WRACE, please e-mail us at admin@wrace.org or call us at 519-979-5852.


Blast off on a journey into your deepest imaginations with our Outer Space Collection! Defeat all of alien kind and save humanity with this out of the world collection based on creativity. Hand painted and hand carved with rocket ships, stars from our galaxy, and space creatures, this collection is sure to marvel your children and inspire their imagination.


I started Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy with his second book - The Day of Battle - but that was such an informative and well written account of the Italian campaign that when I came across a copy of An Army at Dawn in a local used bookstore, I picked it up immediately.
Despite the occasionally overwrought prose (which I don't remember so much from The Day of Battle), Atkinson manages to relate the invasion of North Africa and the subsequent campaign to take Tunis with bracing clarity and drama. The careless reader might get lost in the forest of names and fast-breaking events but that's why God invented indices and cartography – both resources with which this book are amply equipped.
Atkinson is not a historian and the chief theme underlying his story is that North Africa was the crucible that forged an effective Allied army and made or broke the careers of the men who would lead it, particularly Eisenhower. Somehow Eisenhower's superiors saw something in the relatively young, untried officer and promoted him over a number of senior officers. These qualities were well hidden, however, in the initial stages of the African campaign. Ike didn't have any experience commanding an army and he was a tyro in dealing with the delicate egos of politicians and generals. As a consequence, the battles were ill planned and stalled with the coming of winter in 1942. It also meant that incompetent commanders were left in command for far too long, with disastrous results for the men they led. The "poster boy" of this contingent was the general of the II Corps, Lloyd Fredendall, whose cowardice and incompetence finally forced Eisenhower to cashier him but only after thousands had paid the price.
From my readings in WW2 history (admittedly not as extensive as they could be), I would tend to agree with Atkinson's point. If the Allies had invaded northern Europe in 1943 as Roosevelt and Churchill contemplated, it would have been an unmitigated disaster. We may still have won eventually but it would have taken a measure of political will that probably would have been absent without victories to bolster morale; and it would have been devastating to military confidence.
(1) It's a little advertised fact that the first troops we engaged in battle were Vichy French. I suppose this sticks in my mind only as in illustration of the complexities of reality. The Allies were never of one mind about the course of the war and its aftermath, and the French were not just waiting for their Allied friends to arrive so that they could through in with them.
Another illustration of this was Roosevelt's assertion of "unconditional surrender" at the Casablanca conference. A move that surprised and chagrined Churchill, who had discussed the idea with the Americans but certainly hadn't committed himself.
(2) On the whole, the Germans were simply better at fighting a war. This doesn't mean their commands weren't riven by political and personal animosities or that incompetence didn't rear its ugly head – they were and it did - but the commanders were more professional, the men better trained, the commands better integrated (the Germans tended to ignore their Vichy and Italian allies in planning campaigns, and not without cause), and German logistics better coordinated (the Germans did more with far less than the Allies). It's a frightening prospect to imagine an Axis that had access to the materiel wealth that the Allies eventually enjoyed.
(3) Which brings us to my third point: the overwhelming materiel superiority of the Allies. They could afford to make mistakes. Several, in fact. Atkinson quotes an unnamed general as saying, "The American Army does not solve its problems, it overwhelms them." (p. 145) From February to March 1943, 130 ships sailed to Africa with 84,000 troops, 24,000 vehicles and a million tons of cargo. The Germans were fortunate to slip a handful of ships across the straits from Sicily against Allied bombing.
(4) For me, the most interesting part of the book was finding out about the Allied commanders – who they were, their personalities and how they coped with the realities of battle (a new experience even for the WW1 vets as technology had made the Second World War and entirely new way of fighting). I've already mentioned Eisenhower and Fredendall but we meet any number of lower ranking officers of varying qualities and competencies, including George Patton, the icon of the can-do, hard-charging American soldier. My feelings of loathing for this borderline psychopath were only reinforced despite Atkinson's generally admiring treatment. One of Atkinson's strengths, though, is his evenhanded treatment of the subject – no commander is perfect and all made some truly egregious errors that cost tens of thousands of lives. The better learned from their mistakes; the best also realized the human cost of their folly.
Atkinson's breakdown of the problems of command is a salutary antidote against the armchair generals who look back at Kasserine Pass and other battles and say, "Well, if only they had done this," or ask, "Why didn't he throw X brigade into the line at this point?" It's surprising how little information planners had on hand, who yet confidently drew up ambitious battle plans. What's even more surprising is how often the Army managed to pull them off, regardless.
I would definitely recommend this book as well as The Day of Battle to anyone interested in military and/or WW2 history, and I look forward to the third installment, which promises to deal with the D-Day invasion and its aftermath.


I grew up in New England. There's nothing that can compare to the fall in the East. Maple leaves, maple syrup, pumpkin patches and apple trees, they all have a special place in my heart. Now, living in the land of arid climates and high alpine forest, I sometimes lament about what I used to have. And then, I remember, where I live.
After Labor Day, Lake Tahoe takes on a whole new vibe. As the crisp, fall air drifts in each morning and the warmth of the sun is felt later and later in the day, a peacefulness arrives. The hundreds of boats cris-crossing the lake are gone. The average driving speed has slowed, once again. All of us, who live here, take a deep breath and sit down to relax.
This is Yoga, my friends. This is honoring what we have and enjoying the present. As we sit back and review all the hard work of the summer, this is Yoga. Our lives in this community are cyclical, just like the flow of life. As yogis, it is our duty to recognize our habits, patterns and hurdles. Living in Tahoe offers a unique perspective on this practice. Every Summer, we work, we play, we sell. We rest, in the fall. Every Winter, we burn the midnight oil and rise with the dawn to hit the slopes. In the spring, we pause, again.
During these pauses, these moments of rest, there is an opportunity to learn. Yoga is the practice of understanding who you are. Of understanding our habits and changing them. As Autumn arrives and settles in upon us, enjoy the peace and quiet. Sit back and look upon yourself. As the seasons change, maybe you will, too.


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Vojka () is a village in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the municipality of Stara Pazova.

Population

According to the 2011 census, the village had 4752 residents. 3837 people were adults, and the average age was 37.8 years (38.9 for women and 37.8 for men). The town consisted of 1425 households, and the average number of people per household was 3.52.

Origins
In ancient times, the city of Idiminium (IDIMINIVM) served as a Roman city and military base. First mentioned in 1416 but some say that it was founded before Stara Pazova. The name probably originates from the word for army (in Serbian: vojska), because an army was passing through the village, or the word for girl (in Serbian: devojka). Also there is legend of blind and beautiful girl who lived next to the lake. Her name was Vojka and she worked in the tavern. One day she went to clean her face next to the lake and when her eyes got wet she suddenly saw light.

See also
List of places in Serbia
List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina

References

Slobodan Ćurčić, Broj stanovnika Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 1996.

Populated places in Syrmia


Every six seconds somebody in need contacts Samaritans either by phone, text, email or by popping into a local branch to chat face-to-face.
The charity Samaritans provides free and confidential support to anyone who contacts them wanting to talk.
Over 20,000 fantastic volunteers working across 201 branches in the UK and Republic of Ireland respond to millions of calls for help year-on-year with the correspondence always kept anonymous.
In 2016 Samaritans responded to 5.7 million calls from people contacting the charity for numerous reasons with volunteers being unafraid to discuss difficult issues.
Those who donate their time to volunteer at Samaritans can often save people's lives by answering their cries for help.
But many of these volunteers remain to be forgotten heroes so we must recognise their dedication.
Last Christmas UNILAD met one such hero, a Samaritan called Rachel who had, at the time, been volunteering at her local Samaritans branch for the past 18 months.
As a listening volunteer Rachel is there for anybody who needs her working a regular shift once a week and an overnight shift every six weeks.
What's special about Samaritans is we're confidential and so anyone can call us and know whatever they talk about stays between them and the Samaritans.
The shifts vary between two-and-a-half and four hours during the day and the overnight shift is from 11pm to 3am but it can also vary.
Every shift is completely different so you never quite know what you're going to get – sometimes you could have a call lasting for the entirety of the shift while other calls can last for a couple of minutes.
We also get silent calls where we just sit with people and be there for them when they may not have the words just yet.
While volunteering Rachel will also reply to texts and emails as well as meet the people who drop into the branch for a face-to-face meeting.
While Rachel before volunteering only had a vague understanding of what Samaritans does, when she found out more about the amazing service they provide she decided to apply.
I've been really lucky in my life that I've had friends, family and sometimes even strangers who've been there for me when I've gone through tough times.
Becoming a Samaritan was about giving back and being there for people who might not have anyone to turn to.
I was pleasantly surprised by the training which was something special – it takes around eight weeks depending upon the schedule of each branch.
You get the opportunity to learn real listening skills and practice them while meeting experienced volunteers who are willing to share their experiences with you.
Working alongside 180 other volunteers at her local branch, Rachel enjoys being a 'part of the community there' even calling it 'a privilege' to be a member of the team.
Because Samaritans ensures all correspondence is kept confidential, Rachel was unable to discuss calls she has answered.
And because every call is different during the training process Samaritans volunteers learn to not use scripts, opting instead for empathy, pauses and open-ended questions.
We get a lot of people calling us because they're feeling suicidal – they could be in the process of ending their life, they may have plans to end their life or they may have suicidal feelings.
We have calls from people who are experiencing struggles and challenges with everyday situations e.g. financial pressures, bereavement, drugs and alcohol.
We also support prisoners and we find a lot of our callers are calling us because they're lonely – they may have friends and family but feel lonely or they may not have anyone at all.
All these people need someone to talk to, no matter what reason it is we'll be there to pick up the phone and we'll do it with compassion and without judgement.
It doesn't matter why you are ringing, a Samaritan will respond and listen.
It also doesn't matter when you ring either as the charity operates 365 days a year. Samaritans volunteers take calls all over the festive period, including Christmas Day.
When people think about Christmas they think of happy times and family and presents, but for a lot of our callers, this isn't what Christmas is like.
We often find people can feel a little bit more lonely over Christmas, they may be grieving the loss of a loved one and it can be particularly painful or they may be remembering sad times they've had around this period.
We'll always be there for people no matter what time of year it is.
With many calls being about sensitive and difficult issues, Rachel admitted how at first she was nervous about the idea of answering them but soon realised why it is important to do so.
Once the call is over or the correspondence has ended, volunteers have no idea what happens next to the people they have just spoken to due to Samaritans' commitment to confidentiality.
We learn to almost let go at the end of a call. We do build a human connection at the end of the phone but we don't know who that caller is and will never know.
We have to be able to let go of that at the end of a call. We have the support there for us if we ever feel we need to talk about that.
Rachel added Samaritans provides plenty of support to the volunteers as well as the callers.
It's only human some of us feel a little nervous when we come to shift but as soon as we're in the duty room, have had a cup of tea and said hello to the fellow volunteers, those feelings disappear.
You know you're there and ready to make it about that caller.
Becoming a Samaritan has helped me personally by teaching me how to listen, to be there and use all your energy on hearing what that person has to say without making any assumptions or judgements.
With the charity providing help and support every step of the way, including a website just for volunteers, Rachel encourages those who are thinking of applying to 'just go for it'.
Rachel certainly feels she made the right decision by becoming a Samaritans volunteer describing it as one 'of the most rewarding' experiences of her 'life'.
I've learnt a huge amount about myself and what it means to really listen and be there for somebody – I've been extremely fortunate to meet some amazing volunteers who've given up their time to be there for others.
I've also made friends through Samaritans with people who otherwise I wouldn't have met through day-to-day life which I'm grateful for.
We should take a moment this Christmas to be grateful for Rachel and all the Samaritans volunteers.
If you want to find out more about how you can apply to be a volunteer, you can visit the Samaritans website.
Whatever you're going through, you can call Samaritans free any time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from any phone on 116 123. Don't suffer in silence.


Because your canvas awnings are constantly exposed to rain and other elements, they are more susceptible to moss invasions than many of the other materials you could choose between. If you have been neglecting your awnings of late, you might be relieved to find that it is possible to remove any moss growths that have developed and restore the canvas as much as possible.
Step 1: Sweep the outside of the awning to remove dust, twigs and any other debris that has accumulated. You may need to use a ladder to access those hard to reach areas up high.
Step 2: Apply some oxygen bleach to the surface of the awning, focusing on the spots where moss has taken hold. You can spread the bleach using either a chemical sprayer or a simple spray bottle.
Step 3: Take a scrubbing brush and use it to gently scrub the covering until all of the moss has been removed from the canvas. Rinse the area with the garden hose, starting at the top and working down.
Step 4: Apply some fabric sealant to the top of the newly cleaned canvas awning to help prevent further moss growth. You will also find that this will protect the area from further water damage and stains.
Step 5: Repeat each of the above steps on the inside of the awning to remove any moss growth that has developed there. Whilst it is not necessary to remove the covering, it may be helpful if it's in a difficult spot.
Note: If you are working on a large covering, you might find it easier to conduct the cleaning and scrubbing in stages. If you let the oxygen bleach sit for too long on the canvas, it can have an unpleasant drying effect.
Once you have completely removed the moss that has decided to call your canvas awning home, it is important that you stay on top of cleaning and maintenance tasks to ensure that this problem does not arise again. You should also make sure that you regularly re-apply the fabric sealant to the canvas to ensure that the surface is protected from this damage.


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MNL62
Bench Performance Test Methods for Lubricated Engine Materials
Published: Nov 2012
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Internal combustion engines are made from a wide variety of materials. These materials must contain the fuel and combustion pressures, transmit forces to the drivetrain, deliver electrical power, and give form and structure to the engine. In the context of this chapter, some of those materials must withstand bearing pressures and rub smoothly and reliably, without seizing or excessive wear, for thousands of hours. Although bronzes and other nonferrous alloys are used, by far, iron-based metals and alloys, particularly gray cast iron, have comprised the major bearing materials. Cast iron remains available in bulk quantities, is relative inexpensive, and is familiar to engine makers. However, with a density of 7.1–7.7 g/cm3, cast iron parts are more than 1.6 times heavier than titanium, 2.5 times heavier than aluminum, and 4.2 times heavier than magnesium parts of equal size. With a drive toward reducing the weight of engines to improve fuel economy, vehicle designers are motivated to find cost-competitive, lighter weight materials for engines and drivetrains that function well in advanced engines and drivetrains. Engine designers have historically been interested in finding workable alternatives to cast iron for more than three quarters of a century. As early as 1923, Audi announced an aluminum alloy engine and became an early leader in applying lightweight alloys to engines [1]. By 2006, the average aluminum content in U.S. automobiles was 319 lb (149 kg), a nearly 24 % increase over the preceding 5 years [2]. Most of this substitution was in the area of structural materials, but lightweight alloys are not ideally suited for tribocomponents such as engine castings, valvetrains, fuel injector plungers, roller followers, and disc brakes. This is mainly because of high contact pressures for the valvetrain components.
Author Information:
Blau, Peter
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge, TN
Tung, Simon C.
RT Vanderbilt Company, Norwalk, CT
Committee/Subcommittee: D02.0B
DOI: 10.1520/MNL6220121209213


U.S. President Donald Trump has directed aides to proceed with tariffs on about another $200 billion of Chinese goods, despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's attempts to restart trade talks with China, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The timing for activating the additional tariffs was unclear.
The green light for the tariffs, first reported by Bloomberg, initially dragged U.S. stocks lower, fueled drops in the Chinese yuan in offshore trading and gains in the dollar index.
The Trump administration has demanded that China cut its $375 billion trade surplus with the United States, end policies aimed at acquiring U.S. technologies and intellectual property and roll back high-tech industrial subsidies.
The White House said in a statement that Trump had been clear that he and his administration would continue to take action to address China's trade practices and encouraged Beijing to address U.S. concerns.
A public comment period ended last week for the $200 billion tariff list, which included various internet technology products and other electronics, printed circuit boards, and consumer goods ranging from handbags to bicycles and furniture.
The U.S. Trade Representative's office has said it was working to revise the list based on issues raised in public hearings and written submissions. In previous rounds of anti-China tariffs, it has taken one to two weeks to make list revisions and another two to three weeks to begin collecting tariffs.
The decision comes despite a Treasury invitation earlier this week to senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He, for more talks to try to resolve trade differences between the world's two largest economies.
A Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to a query on the status of the China talks invitation. A USTR spokesman did not respond to queries about the tariffs.
The duties already levied on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods followed a study on China's intellectual property practices released earlier this year.
Adding in the $200 billion list and another $267 billion of Chinese goods, total imports from China facing tariffs would exceed the $505 billion in goods that the United States imported from China last year. But 2018 imports from China through July were up nearly 9 percent over the same period of 2017, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.


KringleCon is the only North Pole conference to feature speakers from around the world. Apply now!
KringleCon is the only conference I'll be presenting at but won't physically be at this year! I didn't even realize I signed up for the CFP, but here I am!
KringleCon is the one event where I can share all the tips I've learned throughout the year with an audience who will apply it to the challenges set before them.


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Home >> Bands >> Archiv >> Cauldron
Dissonance Productions / Soulfood
Release date: 7. Sept. 2018
Canadian Metallers CAULDRON are set to release their 5th album "New Gods" in Europe via Dissonance Productions! For the new album the trio returned to work with producer Chris Stringer at Union Sound in Toronto. The record once again promises a strong emphasis on songwriting and melody, complete with high-end organic production to match! Born from the ashes of genre-defining, critically-lauded GOAT HORN, the band known for being heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, Venom, and Judas Priest called it a day in 2006, and front man Jason Decay wasted no time in putting together CAULDRON to continue with his Heavy Metal vision.
1. Prisoner of the Past
3. No Longer
4. Save the truth - Syracuse
5. Never be found
6. Drown
7. Together as None
9. Last Request
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