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Conquest for Dummies
Stan Persky|2006 May 23|Books
George Packer, The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 467 pages, $36.50, 2005)
More than three years ago now, in March 2003, I was marching in the streets of downtown Vancouver, in the company of about 100,000-or-so like-minded people, to protest the impending American invasion of Iraq. Maybe "marching" puts it too strongly: it was more of a duty trudge, since the war was by then inevitable and most of us understood that our protestations were unlikely to have significant impact. In cities around the world, similar protest marches were taking place that Saturday morning. Even for those of us who "understood" — whether or not we approved of — the retaliatory American attack on the Taliban regime of Afghanistan in late 2001, in response to al-Qaeda's slaughter of 3,000 civilians in the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, the upcoming war in Iraq, a year and a half later, was puzzling.
For one glaring thing, the proposed assault appeared to be out-and-out illegal. Rather than being a response to acts of aggression, the punitive expedition against Saddam Hussein's Iraq was clearly a "pre-emptive" war, in defiance of international law and institutions. If the United States had been part of the International Court of Justice system (which it isn't), the American architects of the war would be prospective defendents in the dock at the war crimes tribunals in The Hague. (By the way, the extended case on the illegality of the war is made, most recently and cogently, in Philippe Sands' Lawless World: Making and Breaking Global Rules, Penguin, 2006.)
Second, the claim that the anticipated war was justified by the possession of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that the Iraqi regime intended to use within the forseeable future was without substance, as was soon conclusively demonstrated. Iraq under Saddam was undoubtedly a totalitarian dictatorship, but hardly an imminent danger to its immediate neighbours, the U.S., or "world peace," such as it is. It was a danger primarily to its own inhabitants, and even that threat had been somewhat curtailed. The country had, for a decade, ever since what is now known as the First Gulf War, been under United Nations' economic sanctions, and was effectively hedged in militarily by "no-fly-zones" which covered large portions of Iraq, including the Kurdish north and the Shia Muslim south. Finally, and crucially, there was no evidence whatsoever that Iraq had connections with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda or with the "9/11" attack on the U.S., notwithstanding American propaganda to the contrary. What's more, with the occupation of Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and the Taliban both appeared to be on the run. Why not nail down the situation there rather than embarking on a dubious new venture?
Misnomer for a Mirage
Currently, as the U.S. and President George W. Bush wallow in the fourth year of America's war in/on Iraq (I notice nobody's pooh-poohing the word "quagmire" any longer), the predictable day-to-day media focus gives us a combination of blood and spin. The bloodshed is caused by U.S. troops, an Iraqi "insurgency," and Sunni and Shia factions engaged in a near civil war. Most of the spin is provided by an earnest George Bush who, on the recent anniversary of "Three Years… and Counting" (as one U.S. network headlined its coverage), crisscrossed the U.S. offering impassioned defences of his increasingly unpopular war policy before friendly, select audiences. Counterspin was provided by a half dozen former U.S. generals calling for the firing of failed American defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and as of the moment, attention is directed to a cobbled-together Iraqi government (which is still missing ministers for crucial posts, even after five months of squabbling and sectarian horse-trading).
But perhaps more germane than the day's latest, solemnly-reported and always horrific, body count, suicide bombing, or occasional hostage rescue, is a deeper account of what in fact happened in Iraq since March-April 2003 when, in the first flush of military success, Bush triumphantly declared from the photo-op-staged deck of an American warship, "Mission Accomplished." Understanding the neoconservative roots and incompetent course of the war is a better guide to what's likely to happen next than the nightly, one-minute-forty-five-second, standard dispatch by a TV journalist cooped up in the occupation's fortified "Green Zone," unable these days to even directly "cover" the events in the deadly streets of Baghdad. That's where New Yorker magazine writer George Packer comes in.
Packer's Assassins' Gate is his loosely-connected, but quite coherent, collection of reportage from Iraq and America. The "gate" of the title is a high sandstone ceremonial arch that provides a "main point of entry into the vast and heavily fortified Green Zone along the west bank of the Tigris River, from which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) governs occupied Iraq." When Packer first arrived in Baghdad in summer 2003, he mistook the arch for one of the city's antique gates, built in medieval times to keep out would-be Persian invaders.
Later on, he learned that he'd been wrong about the Assassins' Gate. Far from being an ancient civic landmark, the gate had been constructed in recent years by Saddam in "grandiose imitation of Baghdad's classical entrances. It wasn't even the Assassins' Gate — not to the Iraqis." It had only acquired the nickname of "Assassins' Gate" from occupying American troops. "It was an American invention for an ersatz Iraqi monument, a misnomer for a mirage." And the point of Packer's little introductory anecdote about the Iraqi supplicants he met there, who gathered at the gate each morning seeking admission to the CPA-controlled Green Zone with a variety of requests and petitions for the occupiers, is that so much of the American presence in Iraq is also a misnomer for a mirage.
American Neo-Cons, Iraqi Liberals
Packer's opening chapters offer a thoughtful portrait of the neo-conservative administrators and ideologues who arrived in Washington, thanks to the disputed election of George W. Bush in 2000. The leading neo-conservative figures — Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, vice-president Dick Cheney, defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and sundry others, many of them dating back to the Reagan administration of the 1980s — were particularly contemptuous of Bill Clinton's tentative "humanitarian interventions" in Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Middle East in the 1990s, and "saw Iraq as the test case for their ideas about American power and world leadership. Iraq represented the worst failure of the nineties and the first opportunity of the new American century." A mish-mosh of motives, from control of oil to exercise of imperial power to some boy scout musings about democracy, made Iraq a focal point of neo-conservative foreign policy ambitions as early as the mid-1990s, well before the younger Bush's presidency.
As we subsequently learned from former U.S. counterterrorism official Richard Clarke in his scathing book, Against All Enemies (2004), although the Bush administration was ill-prepared for the "9/11" attack, as soon as it occurred, it was made the fortuitous excuse to roll out the plans for the already-contemplated war on Iraq. As early as Sept. 12, 2001, a day after the World Trade Towers attack and a full year-and-a-half before the Iraq invasion, Bush asked his astonished counterterrorism adviser to check for links between "9/11" and Saddam. Clarke's negative finding did nothing to deter the Iraq-hungry hawks from their war preparations, and Clarke broke with a White House that he had served for 30 years under five presidents in spring 2003, as the troops rolled across the desert toward Baghdad.
The most poignant figure in Assassins' Gate, who periodically pops up throughout Packer's chronicle, is an Iraqi exile named Kanan Makiya. Packer first met him in Boston, where Makiya, an architect and an archivist, worked at Brandeis and Harvard universities. In 1989, under a pseudonym, Makiya had published a book about Iraq under Saddam Hussein called Republic of Fear. When the First Gulf War came along, Makiya's book, which had languished in obscurity, became a minor bestseller among readers who wanted to know something about Iraq. In the aftermath of the war, as it became clear that Saddam's regime would not be toppled by the Americans, Makiya went public, and became one of a group of exiled spokesmen for forcible regime change in his homeland, writing two more books, The Monument, and Cruelty and Silence, about the fate of Iraq.
Makiya is that all-too-rare bird, an Iraqi secular humanist. It's Makiya's brand of liberalism that leads a writer like Packer to his own initial, if ambivalent, support for the war. It was similar appeals to appreciate the internal horror of the Saddam regime that drew so many strange left-of-centre intellectual bedfellows to this quixotic cause: Christopher Hitchens, Paul Berman, the New Republic's Leon Wieseltier, and Canada's Michael Ignatieff, among them. While the developing ideas of the 1990s about "humanitarian intervention" go some way to explaining how some liberals became hawkish enough to sign on to a neo-con-inspired war (one that bore some anti-totalitarian promise), it's still puzzling to me how they came to accept an override on international legal norms, one of the grounds of liberalism. In each of the previous interventionist cases — Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, even the horrific failures in Somalia and Rwanda — there was a plausible and legal justificatory argument to support the incursion. Packer, at least, is more conscientious than most in reassessing his position in light of the actual subsequent events on the ground.
When Makiya and Packer meet up again in Iraq in mid-2003, Makiya is engrossed in an effort to transform one of Saddam's more obscene public monuments, two forearms (modelled on the dictator's at 40-1 scale) brandishing crossed swords –a triumphant memorial to the Iraq-Iran War of the 1980s — into a sort of "memory foundation" to ensure that the regime's horrors will not be forgotten. "Ultimately and in the very long run," Makiya tells Packer, "it's about reshaping Iraqis' perceptions of themselves in such a way as to create the basis for a tolerant civil society that is capable of adjusting to liberal democratic culture." Although Makiya believes and says all the right words, Packers sees his friend as drifting out of touch. "Makiya was consumed with thoughts about the past and the future," Packer explains. "I wanted him to acknowledge that the present was a disaster. Phrases like 'tolerant civil society' and 'liberal democratic culture' did not inspire me in Baghdad in the summer of 2003. They sounded abstract and glib amid the daily grinding chaos of the city, and they made me angry at him and myself — for I had had my own illusions."
Indeed, as Packer points out, Makiya and his counterparts pursued their own mirage. "The returned exiles in Baghdad lived in a world apart. They went to one another's dinner parties, they traveled easily in and out of the Green Zone… they hatched plans and business schemes and visionary ideas for transforming Iraqi society. The event that had crashed like a bomb in the lives of other Iraqis, shattering the state and leaving them stunned in the smoke and debris, was to the exiles the opportunity of a lifetime." Increasingly, Makiya's arguments seem unconvincing to Packer, and his schemes sound more "like an excuse for all that he'd gotten wrong. Iraqis, it turned out, were not who he had thought they were" from the perspective of his long exile. "They were not Kanan Makiya."
Makiya makes later reappearances in Packer's chronicle. There's even a charming romance with a woman friend he'd known as a teenager who he re-encounters in Iraq, and with whom he ends up living back in Boston. But the relevant story line is Makiya's ultimate irrelevance as a legitimate liberal as events unfold in Iraq. At the end, over a pot of Turkish coffee in Boston, Packer is still trying to sort out his feelings. "He was my friend and I loved him," Packer declares. "He had devoted his life to an idea of Iraq that I embraced. He had attached that idea to the machinery of war, and a lot of people had gotten killed. No idea remains intact once it's been bloodied by history, and history had not followed Makiya's blueprint. At times, his vision of Iraq had been so at odds with what I saw and heard there that dreaming began to seem irresponsible and dangerous." In the end, Makiya is a guy who can be described, in his own words, as someone who "embodies the triumph of hope over experience."
Bumbling Bremercrats
Meanwhile, back on the ground, history had not followed the blueprint of the Bushites, either. The "blueprint," such as it was, was the product of the fantastical thinking of Donald Rumsfeld and his Defense Department, the dominant secretariat in the American government. Plan A called for the invasion of Iraq with minimal numbers of troops, joyous expressions of liberated gratefulness on the part of the Iraqis, troops out within three months or so, reconstruction of the country by American contractors paid for by Iraqi oil money, followed by democratic elections and a changed world. There was, as it turned out, no Plan B.
I remember my own first "aw-oh" about the Iraqi invasion, as I followed it on TV. American troops had secured Baghdad, but within a couple of days of the military triumph there was an ominous small report that the National Museum in Baghdad, which houses one of the world's great collections of the artifacts of the birth of civilization, had been systematically looted by unidentified Iraqis. The story remains muddy to this day. What became clear, however, was that U.S. troops had made it a priority to guard the Iraqi oil industry and its ministry, but had somehow overlooked the museum and its historic Babylonian treasures.. It seemed to hint at something about the limited perspective of the occupiers, to say nothing of the ambitious perspective of the Iraqi criminal class.
The central and most important chapters of Assassins' Gate provide a useful and chilling account of the bumbling bureaucrats led by the U.S. civilian administrator of the occupation, Paul Bremer, and his entourage of youthful, inexperienced subordinates, who took over for an overwhelmed Jay Garner, Bush's first envoy to Iraq. Many of the young Bremer-crats rapidly became aware of the morass in which they found themselves.
As one investment banker who'd been sent to work on economic development told Packer, "First there was the arrogance phase, and then there was the hubris phase. The arrogance phase was going in undermanned, underplanned, underresourced, skim off the top layer of leadership, take control of a functioning state, and be out by six weeks and get the oil funds to pay for it. We all know for a variety of reasons that didn't work. So then you switch over to the hubris phase: we've been slapped in the face, this is really much more serious than we thought, much more long-term, much more dangerous, much more costly. Therefore we'll attack it with everything we have, we'll throw the many billion dollars at it, and to make Iraq safe for the future we have to do a root-and-branch transformation of the country in our own image." The one thing the two disparate approaches had in common, the investment banker added, is that "they're very conceptual, very ideological. They're not pragmatic responses to a detailed understanding of facts on the ground."
The in-country chief ideologue was Paul Bremer, of whom Packer offers a less than flattering profile. His "provisional authority" was housed in one of Saddam's main palaces, now safely barricaded within the Green Zone. "On the first floor of the palace, off the rotunda, past the metal detector and the bodyguards, Paul Bremer's long, high-ceilinged office was lined with bookshelves that were nearly bare when I visited. Rudolph Giuliani's Leadership stood on one shelf, and a book about the management of financial crises on another, near a box of raisin bran." As it turned out, Bremer's reading habits and breakfast food preferences provided suggestive clues to a man who arrived in Iraq in May 2003 knowing little about the country. When he left a year later, not much had improved. The occupation, as Packer says, "was launched with a hodgepodge of improvised moves that reflected no one agency's strategy, no considered strategy at all other than a belated assertion of American control." It soon gave way to a virulent insurgency and a descent toward possible civil war.
Though Packer's chronicle only takes us up to the beginning of 2005, the spectre of civil war was already apparent to observers on the ground in 2004, even though it didn't become a TV item for home consumption until just a few months ago. As Packer says in a late chapter titled "Civil War?", "Iraq without the lid of totalitarianism clamped down became a place of roiling and contending ethnic claims… It sometimes felt as if a civil war had already started." As long as a year-and-a-half ago, some analysts had "looked at the mess and decided that only a separation of Iraq into three autonomous regions could prevent civil war." Though Packer considers that possibility only cursorily, and rejects it as "too remote," even if it becomes a political necessity, its implementation would face geopolitical obstacles as great as those presented by the American policy of maintaining a unified Iraq.
Toward the end of his book, Packer offers a fanciful alternative, a what-should-have-been version of a regime change policy. But even he admits that "what prevented any of this from happening was, above all, the character of the president. Bush's war, like his administration, like his political campaigns, was run with his own absence of curiosity and self-criticism…"
On Moderate Political Despair
I suppose there's bound to be a certain sense of helplessless attendant on having watched the Iraq War from a (safe) distance for more than three years. What one can do is fairly limited. One can, if it's appropriate, march in protest, though that seems rather futile at this remove. And the insistence of the anti-war march organizers of rolling all engagements — Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Darfur, god-knows-where-else — into one anti-war-everywhere mirage makes the prospect of marching less appetizing to those unwilling to endorse blanket policy. Alternatively, one could decide to "critically support" the occupation and try to figure out better ways to make it work than the present administrators. However, most of those who have taken that course find themselves as befuddled and lost as those who possess the roadmaps. A few intrepid souls have attempted to interpose themselves physically, but it's often not clear between whom and whom they are volunteering to put their frail bodies. In several cases, they've been scooped up as hostages and required rescue by the very forces they'd gone to Iraq to slow down. Other cases turned out more tragically.
One can, minimally, "keep up" with the situation by reading books like Packer's, which is, I think, the most informative of the crop of volumes that have appeared in the last year. I guess that's my own almost instinctive response. And one can, I suppose, hope that history will take another turn. I'm still amazed at the awful accidentalness (and/or illegality) that brought George Bush to office, and will allow him to remain there until the end of 2008. But for a jiggle or a hanging chad or a whatever here and there (in Florida in 2000, in Ohio in 2004), Gore or Kerry might have become the American president and, just possibly, there might not have a been a war in Iraq (although leaving Saddam in place would have been grim, too). I'm equally amazed, and strangely reassured, by the sheer incompetence of those who so confidently, just yesterday it seems, declared how the world would go under their exercise of power. Well, it hasn't, and I suspect that history will continue to be astonished that an empire invaded a hapless nation without an even slightly realistic plan for how to administer its conquest.
So, I find myself with a mild case of political despair, which is not relieved by George Packer's intelligent reportage. I've marched, I've read, I've continued to hope against hope, and I've argued with friends of different dispositions over the past couple of years. The arguments have been surprisingly unvituperative. Maybe it's just that we've gotten older and don't think lost friendships are adequate compensation for the satisfaction of being right, or more likely, we recognize that the problems of history are harder to crack than a "Da Vinci Code."
Berlin, May 23, 2006
Stan Persky
Stan Persky taught philosophy at Capilano University in N. Vancouver, B.C. He received the 2010 B.C. Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. His most recent books are Reading the 21st Century: Books of the Decade, 2000-2009 (McGill-Queen's, 2011), Post-Communist Stories: About Cities, Politics, Desires (Cormorant, 2014), and Letter from Berlin: Essays 2015-2016 (Dooney's, 2017).
More from Stan Persky:
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If it quacks like a Duck, it might not be a Duck, it might be just a Quack. If it sounds like Donald Trump… well, he probably said it, or maybe it was Fox News, or QAnon, or whatever.
Did Trump say it? Did he deny saying it? Who knows? Read more… →
Apropos of Woody Allen: The Anxiety of Being… and don't forget Nothingness
Woody Allen's autobiography is not-so-great, but the films are more than good. Stan Persky reviews the book, the scandals, and the stuff on the silver screen. Read more… →
Paul Krugman vs. the Policy Proposals of the Living Dead
Paul Krugman's Arguing With Zombies drives a stake through the heart of "zombie ideas." The premier U.S. op-ed columnist who writes honestly about dishonesty. Read more… →
Once in Europa: What do the 2019 EU election results mean?
The rightwing populist tsunami didn't happen; Greens blossom; Europe fragments, pro-EU majority maintained. Read more… →
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I know there's been a lot of interest in Toy Story 4 Lego sets – I've been curious myself! And although we've had a vague list of set titles for a while now, as of today we have our first official look at one of them!
This is the same set that was shown on Good Morning America this morning, but too small on that broadcast to really make anything out. It's great to have a clearer image of it! We know the "Star Adventurer" booth is where Ducky and Bunny are encountered, but I'm really curious to see what this Terrorantulus ride is. It would also be fun to see that bumper cars play a role in the story, but those and the ice cream stand could just be part of the general carnival theming.
We now know that RC will be returning at least in the form of a flashback, so that set makes more sense in that context. I've also heard that Jessie will be one of the minifigs, so I'm expecting to see her with either the Caravan or Playground.
The rest of the sets might be too spoilery to see anytime soon, but if they do get shared at Toy Fair this weekend, I'll be sure to pass that info along! And in the meantime, if you'd like to take a peek at past Toy Story Lego kits, there's a great post by Brick Pals that details them all. Stay tuned for updates as Toy Fair continues – the Toy Story 4 news in just one day alone has been a little overwhelming! I think things are finally kicking into gear!
Image © Lego and Disney/Pixar.


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Lost è un singolo del gruppo musicale statunitense Maroon 5, pubblicato l'11 giugno 2021 come quarto estratto dal settimo album in studio Jordi.

Descrizione
Nell'edizione deluxe delle descrizioni track-by-track dell'album su Apple Music, il cantante Adam Levine ha fornito informazioni sulla scrittura del brano, raccontando:

Dal punto di vista musicale, Lost attinge dal genere house e pop.

Accoglienza
Jon Dolan di Rolling Stone descrive il brano come perfettamente inserito nel tema del primo singolo estratto, Memories, affermando che si tratta di «un'ode spoglia e a cuore aperto alla ricerca dell'amore in un mondo solitario».

Meno entusiasta la critica musicale Kate Solomon, la quale ha descritto sia Lost che un'altra traccia dell'album, Echo, come una canzone già sentita, «perfettamente realizzata per compiacere le folle, per scivolare nella tua coscienza senza che tu te ne renda davvero conto». NME ha insinuato un tentativo da parte della band di emulare Billie Eilish, con un pessimo risultato.

Tracce

Classifiche

Note

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Kids to the parks – Rwanda is a program brought to life by Intore Expeditions. Several years ago we were approached by a Rwandan organization to take their students to Akagera National Park. We were happy to do so and agreed with the organization that we would share the cost of the safari. This sparked our energy to find a way to take other youth groups to Akagera. We knew then what we know now, by giving Rwandan youth an opportunity to see the beauty of their own country, it might inspire one or more of them to engage in conservation or work with the parks. We believe our program can change lives by allowing the kids to see nature in a way that they may never have had access too. Our hope, ultimately, is that some of the youth through our Kids to the Parks – Rwanda program will see a future path for themselves in tourism, conservation, or guiding. Pride in the beautiful place they are entrusted with.
Like many programs, we started with a bang, which quickly slowed. We were disheartened but not surprised. Like many other programs in Rwanda, the work can be hard to maintain without a full time person to keep the momentum going. Regardless, each year we have continued to produce our beautiful calendar while keeping our fingers crossed that we would be found. It is a labor of love and one we keep working on to keep our dream for the kids alive.
This year took a more realistic look at our program and realized that the cost of printing, shipping, and marketing was just not paying off and finding groups that would commit to sending their students on our park expeditions was also a challenge. We were heart broken, but decided to suspend our program.
Of course, then things miraculously did a 180-degree turn, like magic, out of the blue, within 48 hours of making the decision to no longer print the calendars and stop searching for groups, two interested and unrelated inquiries came asking us to take their students to Akagera. One group is a school outside of Kigali (in Nyamata) being engaged by a middle school in Seattle. The other was a request from, Mindleaps, a program that teaches street boys to dance and how to use computers. The total number of Rwanda youth that would take part annually would be near 70. How could we say no?
Paul and I were brought to tears by their interest and enthusiasm, in part because Intore believes that Rwanda's youth is a transformative generation, and deserves such access to learn and become inspired by what their county has to offer. We had to move fast and create a new means of fundraising. Realizing we could no longer just hope that people would find out about the program and purchase one or two calendars, we got proactive and FAST.
The revitalization of Kids to the Parks – Rwanda would not have been possible without cash commitments and pre-sales of the calendar. Our two-week campaign asked organizations and individuals to commitment to help sell the calendars or give cash donations, with a minimum goal of $7500 and or 300 calendars. Through the campaign we were able to get 88% of the calendars pre-sold and cash donations that will cover the basic costs of printing, shipping and three field trips for about 20 kids each.
Though the two-week crunch campaign is over, contributions and orders for calendars to further our program are welcome. We wish to increase the number of youth that we are able to take to the park. In keeping with the theme of the Akagera National park, there are six donation tiers honouring the Akagera and the return of the lions. We are printing a small number of additional calendars for individual sale, once they are gone they are gone until next year. We hope that you will consider being a part of the Intore team to get Kids to the Parks – Rwanda.
Park Guide – Individuals, schools or organizations that commit to a minimum $715 donation.
Lion Pride – Individuals, schools or organizations that commit a minimum $500 donation.
Zebra Zeal – Individuals, schools or organizations that commit to a $250 – $499 donation.
Elephant Parade – Individuals, schools or organizations that commit to a $100 – $249 donation.
Giraffe Tower – Individuals, schools or organizations that commit to a $50 – $99 donation.
Vervet Troop – Individuals, schools or organizations that commit to a donation of up to $49.
2016 is shaping up to be a transformative year for Intore Expeditions and one that will really make a difference for our Kids to the Parks – Rwanda program. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for you for thoughtful your support.
** Intore expeditions is a for profit business. At this point we cannot give you back the gift of a tax deduction. Thank you for your donation it does make a difference.


We traveled all the way to Valenzuela City Hall up north to find Charee Pineda. She's a recent addition to GMA's stable last year as she came from the other channel. What we didn't know was how busy she is these past few years, not just with shooting shows but also serving the people of the 2nd District of Valenzuela. She's a Councilor, and she's well loved by her peers, the Mayor and her constituents. So when they planned to do a surprise party, they did it in style! They had a workshop and leadership training seminar that morning for the scholars under her office. It was also facilitated by World Youth Alliance which is an NGO that she also helps. She thought that she was going to be interviewed about it only with one camera crew but was shocked when she came inside the venue. Surprised as she was, she cried because she didn't know it was going to be her birthday celebration that was going to happen that afternoon. GMA Artist Center, prepared everything including some goodies that they gave away to the youth of Valenzuela City.
Charee here with the representative from World Youth Alliance, wishing her happy birthday.
Mayor Rex Gatchalian of Valenzuela City and Charee's co councilors were also there to celebrate with her.
She was so happy because she didn't expect anything on this day but a simple dinner with family. Celebrating it with the people who care for her meant a lot to Charee and she says "I'm a crybaby even if I'm watching TV I cry a lot. I didn't expect this and I was really touched by this gesture. My staff didn't give me any clues. My scholars, the Mayor, it just feels so good to belong with the best people just to surprise me. I was supposed to go to Manaoag but I begged off because of the traffic and only planned to be with family later. I miss showbiz and miss shooting. Hopefully soon I would be able to work in a soap, time management, I hope GMA Artist Center takes care of that even if I'm still in school and with Valenzuela. My love life is so good and it's nice because he's not from showbiz. He's from Valenzuela and he also grew up here so he understands what I do. I want to be a councilor again, it's my first term but I want to learn a lot so that once I get to be in a higher position I would be well equipped. It's the same reason why I'm taking up Political Science. I wish that I could take time and get to appreciate everything that I have right now".
Charrie added "We tried to also help the victims of the recent flood in Valenzuela even if I was also a victim of the flood, we distributed packs and cooked food because they needed it in my district. About working on a film again, I want to work in an indie film because I miss it a lot. Especially because I worked with Mark Gil during the last one where I won an award. It's different but you'll learn a lot, it's challenging and I wanted to do it but there are no offers yet. They must have perceived that I'm busy because I'm still working with the council, but I think I can squeeze it in. Artist Center told me that I'll have a possible show this October, I still don't have that meeting done but I hope it pushes through. I was with Mark Gil for 10 days in Agno Pangasinan in a remote area and we really bonded a lot. When I'm in Manila he really went to me when we met in a mall, and I felt so sad about what happened to him. There are no words to console the family but I'm so thankful to have worked with him."
Charee Pineda gave away gifts to Valenzuela's youth leaders with the help of her sponsors GMA Artist Center, Erase Placenta, Sundance and Monreo Biscuits!
About getting married, she says "I'm not afraid to get married because I trust my own prayers, I'm so ready for a lifetime commitment because I see my parents have been very successful even if they got hitched at an early age."
She's already 24 years old and now wishes that she appreciates all her blessings, get her family, her district and friends blessed as well. Happy birthday Charee! Hope to see you in a new show in GMA soon!


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Субантарктический пингвин, или папуанский пингвин () — вид из рода антарктических пингвинов (Pygoscelis) семейства пингвиновых, родственный пингвинам Адели и антарктическим пингвинам.

Таксономия
Согласно последним исследованиям, вид должен быть разделен на комплекс видов, состоящий из четырёх морфологически подобных друг другу, но при этом отдельных таксонов: P. papua sensu stricto, P. ellsworthi, P. taeniata, и впервые описанный вид Pygoscelis poncetii.

Внешний вид
После императорских и королевских пингвинов, субантарктический — самый крупный пингвин. Самцы достигают веса 9 кг, а самки — 7,5 кг, рост взрослых особей — 75—90 см. Под водой папуанские пингвины достигают скорости 36 км/ч, что делает их быстрейшими из всех пингвинов. Глубина погружения может достигать двухсот метров. Питаются субантарктические пингвины крилем, реже — мелкой рыбой.

Верхняя (задняя) часть пингвинов — чёрная, тёмно-серая, спереди белая. Клюв — оранжево-красный или красный с чёрным концом, лапы — оранжевые или тёмно-оранжевые.

Ареал
Гнездовая область ограничена Антарктикой и субантарктическими островами (Фолклендские, Южная Георгия, Кергелен, Херд, Южные Оркнейские, Принца Эдуарда и Южные Сандвичевы). Численность мировой популяции составляет 320 тыс. пар. Гнездится колониями, насчитывающими, как правило, несколько сотен пар. Колонии каждый год перемещаются на несколько метров от предыдущего положения, но иногда по непонятным причинам могут переместиться на многие километры.

В культуре
 В честь представителей этого вида назван один из дистрибутивов GNU/Linux из-за того, что они являются самыми быстрыми водоплавающими пингвинами — в воде их скорость может достигать 36 км/ч.
 В американской комедии 2011 года «Пингвины мистера Поппера» наряду с Джимом Керри главную роль исполняют 6 субантарктических пингвинов.

Галерея

Ссылки

 Информация о папуанском пингвине
 70South. Папуанский пингвин
 Вокруг Света. Рождённые не летать.
 http://www.prima-tv.ru/news/28826-samykh_bystrykh_v_mire_papuanskikh_pingvinov_segodnya_privezli_v_roev_ruchejj/ — папуанские пингвины в красноярском зоопарке (видео).

Примечания

Антарктические пингвины
Животные, описанные в 1781 году
Птицы Антарктики


Science Fiction is a varied genre that has been around for longer than you might imagine. Its origin is a subject for debate with camps claiming that it started as early as 2150 BCE or between the 17th and 19th centuries. Some scholars claim science fiction formed in the ancient Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh. Ancient Indian poetry such as the Hindu epic Ramayana has science fiction elements as does the works of the ancient Greek playwright, Aristophanes. Regardless of where and when science fiction began, we are just glad it did.
Science fiction began to be widely popularized in the 1960s and 1970s with pulp publishers like Ace Books and Avon Publications. These houses reprinted titles and combined them with futuristic cover art for a new look and a larger audience. Not all of those stories were new. Bold and imaginative titles were written in the early 1900s. For example, The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life by Homer Eon Flint was written in 1919. Who can resist that title? And the author's name is stellar! In Flint's tale, four pioneers travel to Mercury and Venus where they are then given a riddle, the answer to which will determine the fate of all humanity.
Children of the Atom by Wilmar H. Shiras was first released in 1948. This tale follows mutant creatures born in the wake of an atomic explosion. They look just like us but have special powers. A more modern take on the space age can be found in Ray Cummings' Beyond the Stars. Cummings poses the question, "Is the entire universe just one of the atoms of some even greater cosmos?" It wouldn't be science fiction without titles like Thinking Machines by Groff Conklin, End of the World by Dean Owen and The Second Atlantis by Robert Moore Williams.
The enjoyment readers get from these vintage works is endless and the cover art is imaginative. Modern science fiction readers would do well to read these classic titles. Following what current day writers have done with the genre is fascinating and we can't fully appreciate their work until we experience what came before.
If you are already a fan of classic science fiction, check out our upcycled blank notebooks on Shopify. Pulp books weren't made to last forever and we find that unfortunate considering all the thought that went into creating them. We've taken these old books that can't be enjoyed any longer due to lost pages and extensive damage and given them new life. We use archival materials so that you can use them as journals or scrapbooks to keep your memories vibrant for many years to come. To sweeten the pot, we don't charge shipping on this item.
* Bookmans is the place to browse for new to you books, but you will do well to call ahead for specific titles. Bookmans does not guarantee stock.


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What small business owners can learn from the Mark Latham Twitter scandal
Mark Latham has been forced to give up his column at the Australian Financial Review amid speculation he used a fake Twitter account to "troll" women online. The former Labor party member turned shock-jock columnist had recently come under fire for his comments about women and feminism, including insensitive remarks regarding transgender military officer Cate McGregor and Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty.
Both McGregor and Batty were also targeted by the "parody" Twitter account, @RealMarkLatham. Latham was linked to the account after Buzzfeed pointed out several similarities between @RealMarkLatham's Tweets and Latham's column.
Whether or not Latham wrote the Tweets, the scandal once again highlights the influence that social media can have on a brand. Careless or negative interactions can see things quickly spiral out of control. Whatever you do on social media, make sure it's not the below.
Get aggressive
As online business reviews become ever more common, so too do bad responses to these reviews. One of the more notable responses was that of chef Claude Bosi, who took issue with an amateur restaurant reviewer after he awarded the chef's restaurant only three stars out of five on TripAdvisor.
Rather than thank the reviewer for their feedback and wish them a good day, Bosi unleashed a tirade of abuse on Twitter, and his reputation will likely never recover.
Engage autopilot
Automated Tweets can be helpful, but during a crisis, they're best switched off. Bank of America found this out the hard way, after repeatedly responding to negative feedback and serious allegations over Twitter with "We'd be happy to review your account with you to discuss any concerns."
Get defensive
In possibly the most spectacular social media meltdown ever documented, Samy and Amy Bouzaglo took to Facebook to defend their reputation after being featured on Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. What followed was a string of increasingly puerile and unhinged posts, in which the couple repeatedly called other Facebook users "punks", "trash" and "stupid".
Far from intimidating users, this behaviour only ensured that the couple and their restaurant became an internet laughing stock.
Try to bury the issue
In response to the negative feedback regarding a fired staff member, American restaurant chain Applebee's attempted to defend their actions via a Facebook post. This sparked thousands of negative comments, some of which Applebee's deleted – which only enraged users further. To make matters worse, Applebee's then decided to hide the Facebook post. Nevertheless, within 24 hours, the post had attracted nearly 20, 000 comments.
Applebee's mistake of getting defensive was only compounded by its attempt to sweep the backlash under the rug. Transparency and contrition – two things that might earned the company some respite – were nowhere to be found.
Joel Svensson is a Melbourne-based freelance writer specialising in politics and business.
Image: Jeff Turner, Flickr CC license
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Decline in cannabis dealers brought to justice
By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent
12:01AM GMT 23 Mar 2008
Conservatives lambast 'lax approach' by ministers after big drop in prosecutions since drug was downgraded, writes Ben Leapman
The number of cannabis dealers brought to justice has slumped since the Government relaxed the law on possession of the drug.
Justice Ministry figures show a 29 per cent decline in the number of suspects brought to court on dealing charges and a 60 per cent fall in the number jailed.
The Conservatives said that the figures, which were released in response to parliamentary questions, clearly demonstrated that ministers were taking a "lax approach" to the issue.
Gordon Brown has ordered a review of the decision to relax the law on cannabis and a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is expected to be submitted to the Government soon.
Crime gangs 'exploit change in cannabis law'
Use of extra strong 'skunk' cannabis has soared five-fold
Kurt Cobain smoked oregano with his mum
When cannabis was downgraded from class B to class C in January 2004, police stopped routinely arresting users of the drug but insisted that they would continue to take a tough approach towards dealers.
The maximum prison sentence for those convicted of supplying cannabis has remained at 14 years. Yet the number of suspects brought to court on dealing charges has fallen from 2,790 in 2003 to 1,994 in 2006, the latest available figure.
The number given a prison sentence fell from 697 to only 279.
The figure for prosecutions is tiny compared with the scale of cannabis use. More than a million people use the drug each year in the 16-to-24 age group alone, according to British Crime Survey findings, although it is thought the number of users has fallen by about 20 per cent since the law was relaxed.
David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "The decision to de-classify cannabis has sent mixed messages. The decline in drugs offenders being jailed can only weaken efforts to deter its sale and use.
"We need a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, from our shores to our streets. That means establishing a dedicated border police force, re-classifying cannabis, prosecuting drug dealers, as well as rolling out abstinence-based rehabilitation and proper drug programmes in our prisons."
A spokesman for the Home Office said: "The Government's message on cannabis is consistent and clear - cannabis is an illegal and harmful drug.
"The Government takes the dealing of illegal drugs very seriously and has toughened the penalties for drug dealers. Since 2006, longer sentences have been imposed on those caught dealing in the vicinity of schools or using children as couriers.
"The Government creates the legislative framework but decisions on whether or not to prosecute are a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, and decisions on sentencing are a matter for the courts."
There has been a long-term decline in prosecutions of alleged cannabis dealers over the past decade.
In 1997, the year Labour came to power, a total of 5,063 were brought to court and 1,779 were sentenced to prison.


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Q: ZeroMQ On Android Java ( Android Studio ) I'm trying to program ZeroMQ on my android device and I know how to use ZeroMQ (From C++, Php, .Net , I'm all the time using it.) If I list what I've done until now :

*

*From Dependencies in Android Studio, I added org.zeromq:jeromq:0.3.5 from maven central search.

*After that, I put a code like the following :

try
{
    ZMQ.Context context = ZMQ.context(1);

    //  Socket to talk to server
    System.out.println("Connecting to hello world server...");

    ZMQ.Socket requester = context.socket(ZMQ.REQ);
    requester.connect("tcp://192.168.2.127:5555");

    for (int requestNbr = 0; requestNbr != 10; requestNbr++) {
        String request = "Hello";
        System.out.println("Sending Hello " + requestNbr);
        requester.send(request.getBytes(), 0);

        byte[] reply = requester.recv(0);
        System.out.println("Received " + new String(reply) + " " + requestNbr);
    }
    requester.close();
    context.term();

}
catch (Exception e)
{
   Log.e("Error", "Exception : " + e.getMessage());
}

When I run this, I got an exception like the following :
01-03 02:20:55.200 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.os.PersistableBundle', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.200 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.os.PersistableBundle', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.200 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.media.session.MediaController', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.210 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.widget.Toolbar', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.220 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.app.ActivityManager$TaskDescription', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.230 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.app.SharedElementCallback', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.230 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.os.PersistableBundle', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.240 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.app.SharedElementCallback', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.250 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.app.assist.AssistContent', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.260 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.view.SearchEvent', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:20:55.270 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/dalvikvm: Could not find class 'android.os.PersistableBundle', referenced from method mia.face.id.zeromq.MainActivity.access$super
01-03 02:21:08.080 12562-12562/mia.face.id.zeromq E/Error: Exception : null

I'm actually not new in programming but in Android/Java stuffs. I cannot figure it out how to solve this problem. I searched on the internet however couldnt find something.
If you can help me, I'll be very pleased.
Thanks in advance.
(Addtion, I forget to include this one : )
01-03 03:12:58.430 1374-1374/mia.face.id.zmqtestest E/Error: Exception
                                                         android.os.NetworkOnMainThreadException
                                                             at android.os.StrictMode$AndroidBlockGuardPolicy.onNetwork(StrictMode.java:1145)
                                                             at libcore.io.BlockGuardOs.sendto(BlockGuardOs.java:168)
                                                             at libcore.io.IoBridge.sendto(IoBridge.java:490)
                                                             at java.nio.SocketChannelImpl.writeImpl(SocketChannelImpl.java:391)
                                                             at java.nio.SocketChannelImpl.write(SocketChannelImpl.java:349)
                                                             at java.nio.PipeImpl$PipeSinkChannel.write(PipeImpl.java:114)
                                                             at zmq.Signaler.send(Signaler.java:121)
                                                             at zmq.Mailbox.send(Mailbox.java:85)
                                                             at zmq.Ctx.sendCommand(Ctx.java:388)
                                                             at zmq.ZObject.sendCommand(ZObject.java:362)
                                                             at zmq.ZObject.sendPlug(ZObject.java:171)
                                                             at zmq.ZObject.sendPlug(ZObject.java:161)
                                                             at zmq.Own.launchChild(Own.java:126)
                                                             at zmq.SocketBase.addEndpoint(SocketBase.java:550)
                                                             at zmq.SocketBase.connect(SocketBase.java:542)
                                                             at org.zeromq.ZMQ$Socket.connect(ZMQ.java:1246)
                                                             at mia.face.id.zmqtestest.MainActivity$1.onClick(MainActivity.java:34)
                                                             at android.view.View.performClick(View.java:4438)
                                                             at android.view.View$PerformClick.run(View.java:18422)
                                                             at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:733)
                                                             at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:95)
                                                             at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:136)
                                                             at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5017)
                                                             at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
                                                             at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:515)
                                                             at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:813)
                                                             at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:629)
                                                             at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

A: Android HttpGet android.os.NetworkOnMainThreadException
From here, I found the answer, actually the methodology which is about network operation should be in background task.
Maybe this will help for others to shorten the time they are spending for research.
Regards.

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Impressive Detached, Two Storey Dwelling Situated In Popular Residential Location, Very Well Presented By Current Owner.
Living Room With Feature Cast Iron Fireplace And Oak Flooring.Three Bedrooms To First Floor.Bathroom Comprising 'White' Four Piece Suite With Good Quality Tiling To Walls And Floor. Kitchen / Dining Area With Excellent Range Of Maple Shaker Units Incorporating Fridge , Hob And Oven .Utility Room With Base Units, Worktops And Sink Unit. Reception Hall With Ground Floor Toilet.Oil Fired Central Heating System, Double Glazed Windows And Doors In Upvc Frames, Tarmac Driveway, Attached Garage , South Facing Rear Garden With Feature Paved Patio Area.
Please contact me about 7 Rossmara.
Upvc front door with double glazed centre light. Slate tiled hearth. Ornate half turn staircase.
White two piece suite comprising low flush w.c and pedestal wash hand basin part tiled walls. Slate tiled floor.
15'6 x 11'10 Feature cast iron horseshoe fireplace with gas fire, slate tiled hearth and ornate rosewood surround. Oak flooring. Wall light points.
15'2 x 10'8 Excellent range of Maple shaker units with matching worktops. Stainless steel one and a quarter bowl sink unit and drainer with chrome mixer taps. Part tiled walls. Slate tiled floor. Recessed lights to ceiling . Display units, corner shelving and window pelmet. Integral fridge.
8'10 x 4'8 Base units with matching worktops. Stainless steel single drainer sink unit with chrome mixer taps. Part tiled walls. Slate tiled floor. Plumbed for washing machine.
8'8 x 6'10 White four piece suite comprising bath with feature mixer taps and bath panel Vanity unit with wash hand basin. Low flush w.c. Good quality tiling to walls and floor. Feature wall mirror.
Front garden laid out in lawns, shrubs and trees enclosed by timber fencing. Tarmac driveway with parking space leading to attached garage. South facing rear garden laid out in lawns , shrubs and trees enclosed by timber fence and gates. Paved patio area with raised shrub beds / herb garden. Outside lights and water tap. Pvc oil tank. Garden shed.
18'2 x 10'10 Remote controlled roller door oil fired boiler. Light and power points. Loft storage area. Upvc pedestrian door with centre light.


text:
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49 001 BEAVER UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
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49 017 GARFIELD UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 019 GRAND UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 021 IRON UT 16260 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 023 JUAB UT 39340 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 025 KANE UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 027 MILLARD UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 029 MORGAN UT 36260 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 031 PIUTE UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 033 RICH UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 035 SALT LAKE UT 41620 $600,300 $768,500 $928,950 $1,154,450
49 037 SAN JUAN UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 039 SANPETE UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 041 SEVIER UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 043 SUMMIT UT 44920 $679,650 $870,225 $1,051,875 $1,307,175
49 045 TOOELE UT 41620 $600,300 $768,500 $928,950 $1,154,450
49 047 UINTAH UT 46860 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 049 UTAH UT 39340 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 051 WASATCH UT 25720 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 053 WASHINGTON UT 41100 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 055 WAYNE UT $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
49 057 WEBER UT 36260 $453,100 $580,150 $701,250 $871,450
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Millions of people all around the world suffer from nervous system disorders and other behavior problems, which prevent them from living a normal life. Although there are some risks involved with all medications, some are safer than others. This is where Vyvanse enters the picture. This stimulant is commonly used for the treatment of various disorders, including ADHD in children and adults. It can also be used to rectify certain eating disorders. Within this comprehensive guide, you'll learn about this specific medication and why it may be a good idea to use a Vyvanse coupon when making your purchase.
Vyvanse is classified as a stimulant, which basically means that it is capable of affecting the chemicals in the central nervous system. Medical professionals have been prescribing Vyvanse to patients that suffer with impulsive and hyperactive behavior. It has proven to be very effective in blocking the norepinephrine and dopamine neurotransmitters, which is responsible for increasing the blood pressure and heart rate. However, an imbalance in the chemicals will cause a person to exhibit an array of symptoms that can only be controlled with medications such as Vyvanse, combined with psychotherapy.
If you are pregnant of trying to get pregnant, you should not take Vyvanse without the advice of your OB/GYN.
If you begin to exhibit seizure activity, diaphoresis (excessive sweating), body tremors, and severe panic, you should immediately stop taking Vyvanse and seek emergency treatments. These are signs of a potential overdose and can lead to a life threatening situation.
You should avoid alcohol, when you are taking Vyvanse, because the combination can compromise your health. Even though alcohol is classified as a depressant, it can have sedative and stimulant effects on the body. By combining alcoholic beverages with Vyvanse, the cardiovascular side effects can be increased significantly. This will not only put you at risk of a heart attack, but could potentially put you in a life threatening situation that could lead to death, if untreated immediately.
The market is oversaturated with medications and a lot of them can be habit forming. Vyvanse fits into this classification. If you're going to begin using this drug, it is absolutely pertinent to make sure you only do so in moderation. It is best to try and avoid using the medication for the long-term, as this will increase the risks of developing a physical or mental addiction for the drug. If you've had drug abuse problems in the past, it may be a good idea to avoid using the medication all together.
When used moderately and as instructed by a medical professional, Vyvanse will be entirely safe and the risks of addiction will be severely limited. However, there are some precautions to take into consideration. Certain stimulants can be dangerous for those suffering from specific ailments and heart problems. If you suffer from a problem listed below, it is essential to speak with your medical professional, before using this medication.
Simply having these problems does not mean you cannot use Vyvanse, but it is pertinent to proceed carefully. Consult with your doctor and they'll be able to determine whether or not the medication will be safe for your specific situation.
Using any type of medication improperly can increase the risks involved and could lead to serious problems or even addiction. With Vyvanse, it is pertinent to follow your doctor's instructions. Do not consume a larger dosage than recommended by your doctor and follow the schedule set forth by the professional. Since the medication is known to be habit-forming, you'll put yourself at risk for developing an addiction, if you misuse the drug and do not follow your doctor's order. Generally, it is best to consume Vyvanse when you awake in the morning. The drug can be taken with or without food.
Avoid using Vyvanse in the middle of the day or at night, because it could result in insomnia. Never change the consistency of the medication, by crushing, breaking or chewing the capsule. The Vyvanse capsule should be swallowed at once. If you have a difficult time getting the pill down, you may want to open the capsule and sprinkle the ingredients into yogurt or water.
Although your insurance may pay for a portion of the medication, Vyvanse is still an expensive drug. In fact, a lot of consumers will have great difficulty attempting to afford their prescriptions. The price of Vyvanse depends on an array of factors, including the dosage, your insurance, and your residential location. However, it is estimated that one hundred capsules could cost as much as a thousand dollars, if not more. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to take full advantage of your insurance, while also utilizing coupons. It may also be possible to enlist in Patient Assistance Programs to acquire the medication at a lower cost. Be sure to consider all of your options, before paying full price for this medication.
At the end of the day, Vyvanse is not a perfect drug, but it can be beneficial for a large portion of consumers. Whether you suffer from ADHD or have trouble with an eating disorder, you could very well find relief with this specific medication. Just remember that it does come with a handful of risks. So, make sure you follow your doctor's orders and never use the drug inappropriately. Doing so could elevate the risks and potentially lead to addiction.


text:
· Posted on 14 May 2020
Kristen Bell Revealed The Double Standard She And Dax Shepard Experience As Working Parents
"When I get interviewed, people say, 'How do you balance it all?'"
by Ellie Bate
I think we can all agree that Kristen Bell is no stranger to speaking her mind. She's super honest about everything from the realities of working in showbiz to being a parent.
Jesse Grant / Getty Images
Just last month, she opened up about having to homeschool her two daughters during the coronavirus pandemic, calling the situation "absolutely miserable".
EllenTube / youtube.com
Speaking to new mom Ashley Graham, Kristen said: "When we started the quarantine, the first math sheet I gave my daughter, in all the answer lines she wrote 'No, no, no, no, no.'"
"There are a few people that have come out victorious in this situation," she went on. "Germaphobes, stay-at-home moms. They're all like, 'I told you how fucking hard this is!'"
And she's also always been brutally honest about her relationship with husband Dax Shepard, including their experiences co-parenting their two daughters, 7-year-old Lincoln and 5-year-old Delta.
Nathan Congleton / Getty Images
During a recent podcast appearance, Kristen revealed that the couple had made the decision to "role-play" apologising after they argue in front of their daughters, so their kids can learn by example.
"We'll snap at each other in the kitchen — not realising they're witnessing it," Kristen explained. "We put them to bed, we go into the bedroom, and just privately we'll say, 'God, I'm sorry I snapped at you, I've had a really tough day.'"
She went on: "Every time we're testy with each other, the next morning I'll say, "Good morning, Daddy — I just wanted to say, last night, I had a really long day and I'm sorry that I snapped at you."
Well, now Kristen has opened up about another aspect of co-parenting with Dax — the double standards they experience as parents who both work in showbiz.
Valerie Macon / Getty Images
During an episode of Momsplaining focusing on the difference between moms and dads, Kristen said there's one question she often gets asked that Dax never does.
"When I get interviewed, people say, 'How do you balance it all?'" she said. "I don't think anyone has ever asked my husband that question. 'How do you balance it all, working and being a dad?'"
She went on: "Everything's geared towards moms, that's the thing."
This past weekend, Kristen celebrated Mother's Day with an Instagram tribute to her two daughters, where she also thanked Dax for being "the magic ingredient to their recipe".
"I am raising women who are not afraid to disagree," Kristen wrote. "Not for disagreements sake, but rather to use their voice when they need to."
She went on:
A few weeks ago I bought them RBG dissent collars. (Mainly so I could know when they are feeling particularly disagreeable, they'd put it on in the morning so I'd have a heads up). Now they wear them with pride, like strong females who know when they can add their point of view, with confidence.
"I'm very proud to be a mother to these two," she concluded the post. "Thank you @daxshepard for being the magic ingredient to their recipe. I'm forever grateful."
Kristen Bell Revealed She's Been "Absolutely Miserable" Homeschooling Her Kids During Quarantine After Her Daughter Dragged Her In A Personal Essay Ellie Woodward · April 30, 2020
Kristen Bell Said She And Dax Shepard Made A Deal To "Role-Play" Apologising After They Fight In Front Of Their Kids Ellie Bate · March 5, 2020
Kristen Bell Told Ellen The Story Of Dax Shepard Crushing "All The Bones In His Hand" In A Quarantine Accident And Being "Too Scared" To Tell Her Ellie Woodward · May 13, 2020
Ellie Bate
Contact Ellie Bate at eleanor.bate@buzzfeed.com.


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Panthers set for the big stage
By James Strebinos nfnl.org.au
It has been 16 years since a senior flag has been brought home to Panther Place but a win this weekend can finally end the club's premiership drought.
Eltham will take on Lower Plenty in the A Plus Solutions Division 2 Grand Final at Preston City Oval on Saturday.
In their first season back in second division, the Panthers have won 17 of their 19 matches, including three wins over Lower Plenty.
Eltham coach Paul King says his group is raring to go in a clash that could see them promoted straight back into Meadows Greyhounds Division 1.
"I think everyone is excited about the weekend and we all want to get stuck into it so it's a pretty exciting feel around the club at the moment," King told NFNL.org.au.
"The boys were pretty disappointed being relegated to Division 2 last season and we just want to get back to the first division where we feel pretty competitive."
Despite winning all three outings against Lower Plenty this year, the past two outings have been decided by a combined margin of only 22 points.
The Panthers trailed for the opening three quarters of the second semi final a fortnight ago, before storming home in tough conditions at Epping Recreation Reserve to win by 14 points.
Despite the close call a fortnight ago, King said his side is going into this week's decider with great confidence that it can continue its winning run against the Bears.
"We're confident that if we play our best footy then we can get the job done," King said.
"We are certainly not underestimating Lower Plenty because our last two games have only been decided by 22 points in total.
"They played very well in the prelim where their tall blokes came into the game in the good weather and were very strong in the air.
"We are confident but need to be right on our game to get the job done on the weekend."
With the club's reserves also playing off in a grand final this weekend, along with its under-19s competing in a preliminary final, Eltham's depth remains extensive.
While impressed with the club's success across all three grades, King said it also provided a few headaches amongst the selectors.
"There will be a couple of selection headaches for sure as we had two players who didn't play on the weekend that are both senior players," he said.
"In the end, it'll be a manner of if they get through training this week and are fit enough for selection but there will definitely be some headaches for sure."
King has enforced the "play your role" approach during the finals series and will continue to use the motto on the weekend.
"We just need 22 blokes playing their role and us as a team playing our best footy and all contributing, which should hopefully win us the game," he said.
"We trained pretty strongly last week and we hope to train strongly again this week so we can come out firing and hope to secure a premiership flag and a return to Div 1 footy."


Build either Elcometer.Demo.iOS or Elcometer.Demo.Xamarin.Forms.iOS project.
MONO_PATH=/Users/davidd/Downloads/crossplatformsdk/Xamarin.Native/Elcometer.Demo.iOS/obj/iPhone/Release/mtouch-cache/64/3-Build /Library/Frameworks/Xamarin.iOS.framework/Versions/12.6.0.25/bin/arm64-darwin-mono-sgen --debug -O=gsharedvt -O=-float32  --aot=mtriple=arm64-ios,data-outfile=/Users/davidd/Downloads/crossplatformsdk/Xamarin.Native/Elcometer.Demo.iOS/obj/iPhone/Release/mtouch-cache/arm64/Elcometer.Core.aotdata.arm64,static,asmonly,direct-icalls,full,nodebug,dwarfdebug,msym-dir=/Users/davidd/Downloads/crossplatformsdk/Xamarin.Native/Elcometer.Demo.iOS/obj/iPhone/Release/mtouch-cache/64/3-Build/Msym,outfile=/Users/davidd/Downloads/crossplatformsdk/Xamarin.Native/Elcometer.Demo.iOS/obj/iPhone/Release/mtouch-cache/arm64/Elcometer.Core.dll.s "/Users/davidd/Downloads/crossplatformsdk/Xamarin.Native/Elcometer.Demo.iOS/obj/iPhone/Release/mtouch-cache/64/3-Build/Elcometer.Core.dll"
Thanks for the steps to reproduce. I've been able to reproduce your issue.


text:
Free Consultation Call 1.888.567.5557
Fr. Matthias A. Berumen
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1987-1990: St. Didacus Church, Sylmar, CA
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Notes: A 25-year-old man alleged that he was sexually abused by Fr. Matthias A. Berumen from 1985 to 1988 while Fr. Berumen worked at St. Martha Church in Valinda. A disclosure by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles states that one individual sued Fr. Berumen for sexually abusing him or her in 1990. Fr. Berumen was included in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors. Fr. Berumen's current whereabouts, his status as a priest and whether he has access to children are unknown.
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In recent years when the St. James Tigers and Owensville Dutchmen have gotten together a scoring onslaught had ensued. The best example was back in 2011 when Owensville won a wild one in St. James 80-75. The script was flipped on Friday, Oct. 26, however, in first-round action of the Missouri Class 3 District 5 Tournament.


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COVID-19 Response - read more
Trenchless Methodologies
Sliplining
Invert Rehabilitation
CIPP (Cured In Place Pipe)
Swagelining
Design – Build
Pipe Replacement & Rehabilitation
Culvert Rehabilitation
Point Repairs
Pipe Upsizing/Bursting
Primus Lining
Carbon Protocol
200th Street Dec 2021 Langley
This was a 120 metre burst and was the longest of the three burst in this project for the Township of Langley. Working on 200th Street has it's challenges but the work went smoothly and traffic control was important to the completion of the job. The pulling rig has the capabilities of pulling up to 430,000 lbs or 215 tons. The pressures for this pull were never very high. The rig only came with 123 m of pulling rods so the entrance pit had to be elongated to allow the pulling head to be inserted close enough to the pulling rods.
In the late part of 2018 and the first part of 2019, PW Trenchless lined a 100 year old brick sewer along Cook Street in Victoria B.C.
PW Trenchless again went into the hand built and hand formed sewers of Victoria. Similarly to the sliplining of the Ross Bay Cemetery of 2016, PW Trenchless installed Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP), supplied by Channeline International. This time there were a number of runs to complete and the depth was not as deep as the Ross bay job. All efforts were taken to not impact the local businesses too much.
City of Langley
200th and 50th
Sewer upgrade from 8″ 200mm to 16″ 450mm
Numerous runs and a few open cut section to replace over 300 m of pipe and manholes. The section are over 4 m deep and 200th is an extremely bust thoroughfare.
The city of White Rock had a sewer main that needed replacement just up from the west end of the beach with the exit pit was just west of the intersection of West Beach Avenue and Anderson Street. The run was west on West Beach Avenue and many house were located along the street making for a tight situation for the lay down area for the fuse sections of HDPE pipe. The best situation was to fuse the sections into two runs with a final fuse of the section done just prior to the burst.
8:50 a.m. The rods were inserted into the host pipe and sent up to the exit pit.
10:14 a.m. the rods entered the entrance pit. While the rods were being installed, the steel plates that had been securing each of the service laterals were removed. The two sections of the HDPE pipe were moved into place and the pulling head was installed onto the East end of the HDPE pipe. The pipe was then staged at the entrance pit waiting to be attached to the pulling rods.
10:21 a.m. the Pulling head was attached to the rods.
10:24 a.m. The new HDPE pipe enters the host pipe
10:33 a.m. The pulling head enters the first of the Service lateral connection pits
10:35 a.m. The pulling head enters the first of the gas service connection inspection pits. No problems with excess soil. No contact was made with the gas service line.
10:40 a.m. The pulling head enters the second of the gas service connection inspection pits. No problems with excess soil. No contact was made with the gas service line.
10:49 a.m. The two sections of HDPE pipe are fused together without interrupting the pipeburst in progress. The fusion machine is one wheels and can easily roll with the pipe being inserted.
11:20 a.m. a gas service had been previously excavated for observation while the pulling head was going past the gas service. A large amount of the material had to be dug by hand to clear the soil that had been pushed into the excavation by the pulling head. The Gas service was left intact.
11:31 a.m. A Steel Robar type repair couple had to be cut away from the bursting head. This was only done to ensure clearance for upcoming gas and water service connections.
1:07 p.m. Another Steel Robar type repair couple had to be cut away from the bursting head as it came into and service lateral connection pit.
1:40 p.m. The pulling head reached the Exit pit (Pulling pit) Approximately 140m of pipe installed in 3 hours and twenty minutes.
10 city blocks of sewer were replaced on a steep street in the City of West Vancouver in late spring of 2019. Starting at the Clive Avenue and going up the hill to Mathers, the complete sewer was replaced.
Special challenges on this project were the numerous schools and parks within the project's area. Traffic was managed but many residents learned quickly to drive over to either 12th or 14th Street. Road plates were used over the excavations when school was letting in and out for the safety of the children walking to school.
Although the host pipe was not deep it was on a severe grade and bursting downhill is easier on the equipment. To minimise the amount of exit pits, a few times two burst were completed using the same exit pit by sending the pulling rods straight through an existing manhole and doubling up the length of the run for the rods. The pipe was pulled through the higher Host pipe and then another section of pipe was attached at the manhole midway and inserted into a second entrance pit.
This was the final part of the contract that was started in 2017 with 5? of 8? Sections completed by PW Trenchless starting in 2015. This project was also the first time PW Trenchless had tried to replace a ?mm pipe with ?mm pipe, an upsize of 6? Times the flow for the pipe. This was certainly in the experimental stages for this type of upsizing and the pipe was fairly new PVC which although still having many serviceable years left, the increase of population density was overwhelming the pipe.
A special cutter was used to split the PVC pipe to aid the burst. A bentonite lubricant was also used to lessen the friction of the ground surrounding the pipe and was pumped into the interior of the new HDPE pipe and inserted into the void right behind the bursting head. The head was also comprised of three piece including two various sizes to compress the surrounding material as well as the cutter.
The first sections were burst through Kanaka Creek park and PW Trenchless was very concerned with environmental conditions including high water levels and the presence of the public visiting the park. The park was not closed at any time due to the work performed by PW Trenchless.
Maple Ridge Alley
In the early part of 2019 PW Trenchless replaced a sewer for the city of Maple Ridge in a narrow laneway parallel to Lougheed highway. The project was complicated by the tight setback of buildings that in some case were right up to the property line.
The depth of the existing sewer ruled out open cut construction as an option and the entrance exit pit in the center of the project was extremely complicated to excavate. A soils Engineer was brought in to document and access the ground conditions to ensure the safety of the crew and the success of the pit.
Liberal use of trench shoring cages by Direct Equipment West Limited allowed for the pits to maintain open for the duration of the project even if heavy rains came. Staging of the pipe was done within the footprint of the job as no driveways or entrances were on the south perimeter of the job.
The fall and winter of 2019/2020 was again a time for PW Trenchless to completely measure and prepare 2 sections of pipe within the Radium Hot Springs park area for the installation of Glass Reinforced Plastic pipes inside two Culverts in Radium Hot Springs just North of the Hot Pools. Both had roadways on top of them and the crew had to install the pipe sections in the winter when the flows of the Sinclair Creek are at the lowest.
The longer of the two sections was just North of the Radium Hot Springs pools and the other section was a few kilometres up the Banff-Windermere Highway. The project uses Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP), supplied by Chaneline International. GRP is a precast segmental liner which allows for, after a meticulous measuring process, each section of GRP to be hand formed and specifically designed for a particular location in the host pipe before being shipped to site.
This meticulous measuring was accomplished by a team of PW Trenchless technicians who spent many days inside of the host pipe made of deteriorated Corrugated Steel. When the pipe was delivered to the site, PW Trenchless Construction had already set up the By-pass pump systems and cleaned out the host pipe to make way for the new sections of pipe.
The pipes were installed on steel channels welded to the bottom sides of the Host pipe and once all the pipes were installed, concrete was pumped into the void between the host pipe and the outside of the new Glass Reinforced Plastic. The outside of the Glass Reinforced Plastic is coated with a rough material to further enhance the bond between the new concrete filling the void for further strength of the completed pipe structure.
The scope of work encompassed the rehabilitation of approximately 380m of 36″ (914mm) diameter steel water pipeline for the Douglas Rd. Main No. 1 section, from Delta Ave. to Beta Ave. in Burnaby BC. The selected method of rehabilitation was Slip Lining with 30″ (762mm) diameter High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) DR9 pipe with grouting of the annular space between host and carrier pipe. A thick walled pipe (DR9) was necessary to handle the high operating pressure of the GVWD watermain. Residents were afforded the ability to utilize the front entrances to their properties at all times during construction and retain the use of street parking where deemed necessary, highlighting one of the major benefits of trenchless construction – A Less Invasive Process Compared to Traditional Methods.
Eagle Creek Culvert in West Vancouver was experiencing severe failure along culvert invert which could potentially cause above ground failure. The project was determined to be high priority due to close proximity residential properties that had been constructed on the slop directly above ground. PW was able to complete structural rehabilitation works safely, efficiently and cost effectively (at a fraction of the budget anticipated for a traditional open cut method).
Design - Build
Pipe Replacement & Rehabilitiation
Pipe Upsizing
An alternate tendering process where the contract is awarded to one entity which comprises both engineering and contracting.
Because PW Trenchless Construction offers such innovative solutions for underground utilities, it is often beneficial for the owner to request solutions based on a performance specification. This allows PW Trenchess to offer unique solutions while working with equally innovative engineering companies.
New installation methodologies include HDD & traditional open cut
In this day & age of pipe systems reaching the end of their projected lifespan, pipe replacement and pipe rehabilitation have become major fields of engineering.
PW Trenchless Construction provides viable options such as pipe bursting, loose fit lining and internal pipe re-construction whether partial & fully circumferential.
The aging culverts under roads and highways in many case have reached the end of their engineered life-span. We consider the rehabilitation or replacement of these culverts to be vital to our built environment.
PW Trenchless has been a pioneer in working with MOTH, railway companies and municipalities in developing rehabilitation methodologies for the hundreds of thousands of culverts that currently exist in BC. We have offered solutions in both procurement and construction from design-build to sliplining, invert rehabilitation and full circumferential relining.
Often pipe failure can be concentrated to one section, for various reason, leaving the rest of the pipe in good condition. The repair of these localized failures are know as external point repairs (EPR's).
EPR's demonstrate PW's ability to work as both a trenchless and civil contractor, completing EPR contracts using our civil contracting skills and assisting other pure trenchless contractors who only have the capacity to work in an existing pipe.
Pipe upsizing is the fundamental concept of pipe bursting.
The vast majority of pipes are less than or equal to 200mm in diameter, but with today's densification practices of urban design, there is a major demand to increase current capacity to handle extra flow. Pipe bursting provides the ideal solution to this issue, particularly in an urban setting .
Horizontal Directional Drilling is a low impact Trenchless construction service where pipe is installed in a shallow arc along a bore path which has been created by a drilling rig. Often the terms Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and Directional Boring are used interchangeably, but in our industry we use the word "boring" when we utilize smaller sized drilling rigs with small diameters for short crossings in the hundreds of feet, and we use the word "drilling" when we utilize larger rigs with large diameters for long crossings in the thousands of feet.
When you join PWT, you become part of a community of people who are engaged in the most innovative practices in the Trenchless Industry. We have been instrumental in setting up a scientific method for cities to gain carbon offsets/credits from their use of trenchless construction. This system has been reviewed by the BC Government and has been approved as of December 2018. We expect to see it in common use shortly.
Why Join P W T? View Current Openings
Executive & Management
Culvert Rehabilitiation
Pipe Upsizing / Bursting
Horizonatal Directional Drilling
Microtunnneling
Web Design by UNIQUE


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Home / Huff and Jurgensen | Brothers of the Redskins Legacy
Huff and Jurgensen | Brothers of the Redskins Legacy
Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff represent the very thing it means to be 'Brothers of the Redskins Legacy.'
Here's the four-part feature (FULL video below).
Part one, featuring an introduction, a look back at Sam Huff's early days in West Virginia, and Sonny Jurgensen's youth in North Carolina through his days with Philadelphia.
The second segment of Brothers Of The Redskins Legacy, a documentary about the friendship between Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff. In this installment, Jurgensen and Huff establish themselves in the NFL, then suddenly find themselves traded. Should you ever have the occasion to talk to Huff for a bit, you're all but guaranteed to hear about him doing one or both of the following things:
1) Hitting Jim Brown
2) Abjectly loathing Allie Sherman
In the third installment of the Brothers Of The Legacy documentary, Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff continue to play at a Hall of Fame level, and their peers offer up testimonials to their awesomeness. Plus, an entertaining retelling of Huff (and the Redskins) humiliating the Giants for trading him; Huff's visible glee — even all these years later — at the firing of Giants coach Allie Sherman cracks me up every time. "He talks about it every day," Jurgensen says, and he's not lying.
I think the high point for me, though, is the play-by-play guy calling Jurgensen's first game against the Eagles. Not only does he repeatedly refer to the quarterback as "Jurgy," but he unleashes this SportsCenter-esque description of a pass: "Sonny hurls a honey to Bobby Mitchell, and it's touchdown, Washington!"
Vince Lombardi's tenure with the Redskins was too short by any measure, but especially so if you ask Sonny Jurgensen. He says as much in this installment of Brothers Of The Redskins Legacy, he says it when asked about the Broadway show Lombardi … it's something Jurgensen clearly feels. Lombardi, he always says, made the game simple for him — and the statistics show it. Under Lombardi, Jurgensen had one of his best seasons as a pro, completing 62 percent of his passes for 3,102 yards in just 14 games — the last time in his career that he would break the 3,000 yard plateau.
And that's what this fourth installment of the documentary covers: not just Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff, but the coach who reignited both their careers: Vince Lombardi.
For me, this is the best part of the entire Brothers Of The Redskins Legacy documentary. Yes, I know that Sonny Jurgensen was one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. I understand that Sam Huff was similarly one of best, most violent linebackers in league history. But I never got to see it, and watching it now is about learning or trying to understand a past fact.
All my life, though, Sonny and Sam have been part of the Redskins radio broadcasts. THAT I recognize. So seeing the early snippets of their separate media work, watching Frank Herzog and Larry Michael explain what it's like being in the booth with them, getting a look at them while the game is going on in … that's something that hits me on the visceral level.


Should I have Penetration Testing conducted on my business?
Penetration testing describes the activity we conduct using ethical hacking tools. It refers to testing the ability of a hacker to penetrate a computer, server, website or network and retrieve sensitive information, change settings or install a virus to corrupt the system.
Penetration testing should be conducted on your systems on a regular basis as things like software updates and changes in internet service providers can introduce new vulnerabilities into your system.
The methods used by hackers to penetrate systems also grow increasingly sophisticated and security safeguards that worked in the past may no longer be effective.
Businesses that are in any doubt about the security of their IT systems and networks should take professional advice as soon as possible. ITWiser will give you free advice.
This answer was last updated on 24-Apr-2014 12:45 PM.


PARK RIDGE, N.J., Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Hertz Corporation (NYSE: HTZ) and Liberty Tire Recycling today launched the first nationwide tire recycling program in the U.S. car rental industry. Liberty Tire Recycling is the largest tire recycling company in North America. It converts used tires into rubber feedstock and other materials. Those materials can be used for a wide variety of eco-friendly products and services. Hertz will leverage Liberty's nationwide service to collect its used tires. So that's more than 160,000 annually. This will be transformed into a range of products for playgrounds, public parks, highways and other applications.
Landscaping & Home Garden: Liberty converts tires into unique rubber mulch. Mulch that is non-allergenic and harmless to plants, pets and children. Rubber mulch resists washing away during heavy rains. More interesting it will not sustain mold, fungus growth or insect infestation. Plus, consumers save money because colorfast rubber mulch lasts much longer than wood mulch.
Flooring & Playground Markets: Kid-friendly mats and playground safety surfacing made from recycled tire rubber keep little falls fun and flexible, not hard and hurtful.
Faster Trains Speeds on Greener Rails: The finely powdered crumb rubber is the key ingredient in new composite crossties, the greenest solution for railroad tracks. Composite ties replace toxic preservative-filled hardwood ties with a solution that lasts longer and allows for heavier loads, faster train speeds and more safety.
Rubberized Asphalt: Highways modified with recycled tire rubber are now being constructed that ride quieter, last longer, and use significantly less paving material than traditional asphalt. Up to 8,000 tires are used in each lane mile of pavement. Because some applications of rubber asphalt are thinner than traditional conventional asphalt methods, less paving material is used.
In conclusion, this partnership adds to Hertz's award-winning commitment to sustainability, which is demonstrated by a wide variety of its practices and services. Hertz offers a collection of alternative fuel and high MPG vehicles – from electric vehicles (EVs) to clean diesel – in its Green Traveler Collection lineup. Additionally, Hertz's car sharing service, Hertz On Demand, offers exciting EV options, including the Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt and Mitsubishi iMiev. Recently, Hertz also expanded its electric car rental program through a pilot initiative with Plugless Power, which allows EVs to charge without being plugged into an outlet.
Finally, For more information, visit www.Hertz.com or follow Hertz on Facebook or Twitter. To learn more about Hertz's sustainability efforts, visit www.hertzlivingjourney.com.


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Q: Cross derivatives using finite differences I am numerically calculating the derivatives of a scalar function u(x,y) in a domain defined in a 2D-Cartesian grid (x,y) implementing finite differences. I have been using a centred scheme so far, but would now like to account for the possibility that my domain may have holes. For example, u(x+1,y) may not be assigned a value and thus cannot be used to compute u(x,y) or u(x+2,y).
For the first derivatives, I replace the centered scheme for a one-sided scheme as needed (and set it to 0 if both relevant neighbours are missing). For the second derivative, I can rewrite:
dudx2 = (u[x - 1][y] + u[x + 1][y] - 2 * u[x][y]) / (dx*dx);
as
dudx2 = (isdomain[x-1][y]*(u[x-1][y]-u[x][y]) + isdomain[x+1][y]*(u[x+1][y]-u[x][y])) / (dx*dx);
I am struggling to write the cross-derivative in an appropriate format. Before, I had:
dudxdy = (u[x + 1][y + 1] + u[x - 1][y - 1] - u[x + 1][y - 1] - u[x - 1][y + 1])/(4*dx*dx);
By expanding u[x+1][y+1] and u[x-1][y-1] as a Taylor series, it seems to be I should be able to write:
dudxdy = (isdomain[x-1][y-1]*(u[x-1][y-1]-u[x][y]) + isdomain[x+1][y+1]*(u[x+1][y+1]-u[x][y])) / (2*dx2) - 0.5*(dudx2+dudy2);
But some quick numerical tests tell me this is not right. (Why not?)
Do you have any suggestions on how I can get round this problem? The context is the numerical solution of an anisotropic reaction-diffusion equation in this perforated domain.
Many thanks!
Marta

A: For the first derivative, you are right. You can either use
$$\frac{\partial u(x)}{\partial x} = \frac{1}{2dx}(u[x+1] - u[x-1]) + O(dx^2)$$
or
$$\frac{\partial u(x)}{\partial x} = \frac{1}{dx}(u[x+1] - u[x]) + O(dx)$$
(The first version is generally preferred due to the smaller error term). Note that in both cases you need to evaluate $u$ at exactly two points (though more could be used to improve accuracy, but thats not the point here).
Now for the second derivative, you will always need do evalue (at least) three points. The best numerical accuracy will be achieved with the symmetric formula
$$ \frac{\partial^2u(x)}{\partial x^2} = \frac{1}{dx^2}(u[x+1]-2u[x]+u[x-1]) + O(dx^2)$$
But in principle any three points can be used (if they are too far away from $x$, the accuracy will be very bad). For example at a border you might use
$$ \frac{\partial^2u(x)}{\partial x^2} = \frac{1}{dx^2}(u[x+2]-2u[x+1]+u[x]) + O(dx)$$
This means that you formula for the second derivative is wrong (even in the 1-dimensional case). It is impossible to estimate the second derivative using only two points.
EDIT 1 (cross-derivative):
Your cross-derivative formula is incorrect even without any holes. The commenly used symmetric one is
$$\frac{\partial^2 u(x,y)}{\partial x\partial y} = \frac{\partial}{\partial y}\frac{\partial u(x,y)}{\partial x}\\=\frac{\partial}{\partial y}\left(\frac{1}{2dx}(u[x+1][y] - u[x-1][y])\right) = \frac{1}{4dx dy}\left(u[x+1][y+1] - u[x+1][y-1] - u[x-1][y+1] + u[x-1][y-1]\right) + \text{error-terms}$$
(You might note that these are four terms. Theoretically, a version with three terms is possible, but on a rectangular grid this would always be asymmetric and thus have bad accuracy)
EDIT 2 (your intuition about Neumann-Boundary):
There is another basic approach to dealing with holes: removing them by giving them a value and then use the nice symmetric formulas for derivatives. There are multiple approaches of doing so, for example:

*

*just set $u[x] = 0$ (Dirichlet boundary)

*set it equal to a neighbour $u[x] = u[x+1]$ (Neumann boundary, which you effectively did)

*interpolation (if you have values on both sides of the hole): $u[x] = \frac{1}{2} (u[x+1]+u[x-1])$
If you know which one of these is sensible for your problem, go ahead and use it. But this depends very much on the physical problem you are trying to model. I.e. what does a hole in your system mean? Should the physical sytem actually have a hole there, or is just the simulation missing a point? (I dont know your problem well enough to answer this)


text:
"""
https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-palindromic-substring/

https://leetcode.com/submissions/detail/112032180/
"""

class Solution(object):
    def longestPalindrome(self, s):
        """
        :type s: str
        :rtype: str
        """
        longest = ''
        for i in range(0, len(s) * 2 - 1):
            if i % 2 == 0:
                # on number
                index = int(i / 2)
                string = s[index]
                diff = 1
                while index - diff >= 0 and index + diff < len(s) and s[index - diff] == s[index + diff]:
                    string = s[index - diff] + string + s[index - diff]
                    diff += 1
                if len(string) > len(longest):
                    longest = string
            else:
                leftIndex = int(i / 2)
                rightIndex = leftIndex + 1
                diff = 0
                string = ''
                while leftIndex - diff >= 0 and rightIndex + diff < len(s) and s[leftIndex - diff] == s[rightIndex + diff]:
                    string = s[leftIndex - diff] + string + s[leftIndex - diff]
                    diff += 1
                if len(string) > len(longest):
                    longest = string
        return longest

import unittest

class Test(unittest.TestCase):
    def test(self):
        solution = Solution()
        self.assertEqual(solution.longestPalindrome('babad'), 'bab')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub