text:
Vatican and Palestine May Raise UN Flags Before Francis' Visit
In a move likely to upset Israel's government, Palestinians and the Vatican are seeking to raise their flags at UN headquarters -- just in time for Pope Francis' visit, next month.
According to Al Ray/AP, supporters of the idea hope that the UN General Assembly will adopt a resolution on the flag-raising shortly before the pope arrives.
They're betting that the United States or other allies of Israel will not block the plan and risk offending the Vatican on Francis' first US visit. The Palestinian proposal has been tabled, and a draft of the resolution set to be made public was seen by the Associated Press, on We3dnesday. The draft would allow non-member observer states -- there are only two -- to display their flags with the 193 member states.
The United States and Israel oppose recognizing the Palestinian state, arguing that it undermines efforts to negotiate a peace agreement. This process, however, has largely been at a standstill since the deadly conflict in Gaza a year ago.
Many states have shown support for the Palestinians' pursuit of statehood, including the Vatican. In May, the Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in their first formal, bilateral treaty. Israel's foreign ministry said it was "disappointed".
During Francis' 2014 visit to the Holy Land, the Vatican's official program referred to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as the president of the "state of Palestine."
In 2012, the Vatican welcomed an overwhelming vote in the General Assembly to upgrade the Palestinians' status to a UN non-member observer state. Their delegation promptly unfurled the flag in the chamber.
Pope Francis has not been shy about ambitious diplomacy.
He helped bring the United States and Cuba together for their historic reestablishment of diplomatic ties. Last year, he invited the Israeli and Palestinian presidents for a day of peace prayers at the Vatican.
Most countries in Western Europe have held off on recognizing a Palestinian state, but some have hinted that their position could change, if peace efforts remain deadlocked. Most countries in Africa, Asia and South America have recognized Palestine.
Francis is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 25, just before world leaders meet to launch a set of development goals aimed at ending both poverty and hunger over the next 15 years.
Vatican Not to Participate in UN Palestinian Flag Initiative
The Vatican, on Tuesday, asked the Palestinian UN mission to remove all references to it from a draft resolution the Palestinians have prepared for the General Assembly calling for the flags of Palestine and the Holy See to fly at the UN.
The Palestinian draft resolution, which was seen by Reuters, says that the flags of non-member observer states "shall be raised at the United Nations Headquarters and Offices following the flags of the member states of the United Nations."
The draft resolution specifically refers to both the Vatican and the State of Palestine, both of which are non-member observer states at the United Nations.
The initiative comes one month before the scheduled appearance of Pope Francis for a major speech before a high-level gathering of the 193-nation UN General Assembly on September 25th.
Currently, according to the PNN, only member states' flags fly at UN headquarters. UN diplomats say the United States and Israel, which do not recognize Palestinian statehood, would likely be irked by any move to fly the Palestinian flag at UN headquarters in New York City.
The flag-flying resolution, which diplomats said the Palestinians were expected to circulate to the full assembly as early as on Wednesday, had apparently been prepared without the explicit consent of the Vatican's mission to the United Nations.
In a note circulated to some UN members and seen by Reuters, the Vatican made clear that while it did not object to the Palestinians proposing a resolution to fly their own flag, the Holy See had no plans to join the initiative – even though the Vatican formally recognized the State of Palestinian earlier this year.
"The Holy See does not intend to co-sponsor a draft resolution that the State of Palestine may eventually present on the matter," the note said.
"The Holy See asks the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations kindly to remove in its draft resolution any reference to the 'Holy See' and any generic reference 'on behalf of the Observer States'," it added.
A diplomat at the Palestinian mission did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
In 2012 the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine. That de facto recognition came after a failed bid by the Palestinians to secure full membership in the United Nations.
Rivlin: Israel has 'right' to settle in West Bank
President makes remarks in meeting with settler leaders in the wake of harsh criticism leveled at him during the aftermath of the Duma attack.
President Reuven Rivlin said during talks with settler leaders on Monday that Israel had a "right" to build settlements in the West Bank, his office said in a statement.
"I love the land of Israel with all my heart. I have never and will never give up on this land. For me, our right to this land is not a matter of political debate. It is a basic fact of modern Zionism," Rivlin said,
For Rivlin the "land of Israel" includes the West Bank, where Jewish settlements are considered illegal under international law.
"We must not give anyone the sense that we are in any doubt about our right to our land. For me, the settlement of the land of Israel is an expression of that right, our historical right, our national right," Rivlin said.
"I have no doubt that it is clear to all of us, that in order to realize the ultimate goal of building the land of Israel, we must be sure to do so only with the use of the legal tools available to us. Our sovereignty in this land, means responsibility for all those who live here, and obliges all of us to uphold the strictest of moral codes, which is inherent in each and every one of us," the president continued.
His comments come at a time of heightened tension between Israel and the Palestinians following the death in July of a Palestinian toddler and his father in an arson attack on their home.
In the wake of the firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma, three alleged Jewish extremists were placed in administrative detention.
On Sunday, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said the deadly attack had "emanated" from a wildcat Jewish settlement outpost near Duma.
The agency said "restraining orders" restricting the movement of 10 activists had been issued as a result.
Rivlin condemned "Jewish terrorism" after the July arson attack in a post on Facebook, which was later followed by death threats against him.
PLC calls for Palestinian-Egyptian investigatory committee
First Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Dr. Ahmed Baher called Tuesday for forming a Palestinian-Egyptian investigatory committee to reveal the destiny of the four Palestinians abducted in Sinai.
During a protest vigil organized Tuesday in solidarity with the abducted youths' families, Dr. Baher considered the kidnapping of four Palestinians in Sinai as a political and moral crime par excellence.
It was a serious attempt to drag Gaza Strip and Palestinian resistance into a mysterious trap, he said.
Such serious operation aims to drive a wedge between the Palestinians and Egyptians brothers, and to prevent any efforts made to restore Palestinian-Egyptian official relations, Dr. Baher continued.
He called on Egyptian authorities to work for the release of the four abducted young men, saying that Egypt is completely responsible for their safety.
On the other hand, he slammed the continued silence of the Palestinian Authority and its Embassy in Egypt over the kidnapping of four Palestinians outside the Palestinian territories.
The PA continued silence raises strong doubt and suspicion, he said.
For its part, the Palestinian Scholars Association condemned the abduction of four Palestinians in Egyptian territories and called for their immediate release and return to their families.
During the vigil, the abducted youths' families launched an appeal for their release especially that they entered Egypt with a legal permit.
The families also called on PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and human right institutions to immediately intervene for their sons' release.
On Wednesday evening, armed men stopped a bus that was transferring passengers from Rafah crossing to Cairo Airport, just a short distance of the border crossing, and abducted four Palestinians.
Zahhar: Hamas refused Blair's invitation to visit London
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahhar has revealed that his Movement turned down an invitation from Tony Blair, the former envoy of the international Quartet on the Middle East, to visit London.
In remarks televised by al-Aqsa satellite channel on Monday, Zahhar stated that the steadfastness and strength which the Palestinian resistance had showed during its wars with the Israeli occupation army in Gaza compelled international parties to seek to meet with it.
The Hamas official highlighted the issue of the blockade on Gaza and accused the Palestinian Authority and Fatah faction of being involved in the siege on the Strip and obstructing international efforts to reconstruct it.
He noted that the PA leadership does not want the establishment of a seaport in Gaza for personal and financial reasons.
Zahhar also reiterated his Movement's position on the truce with the Israeli occupation and stressed the need for ending the blockade before talking about solidifying the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Haneyya: we exert all efforts to save lives of abducted in Sinai
Deputy Head of Hamas's Political Bureau Ismail Haneyya asserted his Movement's keenness to exert all possible efforts to save the lives of the abducted Palestinians in Sinai.
This came during Haneyya's meeting on Monday with the families of the four Palestinian young men who were abducted in Sinai while travelling to Cairo via Rafah border crossing last Wednesday.
The four were identified as Yaser Zanoun, Hussein al-Zebdeh, Abdullah Abu Al-Jebin and Abduldayim Abu Lebdeh.
Haneyya listened to the families' demands in the meeting, which was attended by member of Hamas political bureau Imad al-Alami, and two leaders of Islamic Jihad, Fathi Hammad and Tawfiq Abu Naeim. Haneyya, in return, expressed his solidarity with the families.
He asked the Egyptian authorities to work immediately on releasing the abducted young men as being in charge of security affairs in the region.
Hamas released a press statement on Monday in which it held the Egyptian authorities completely responsible for the safety of the abducted men. Hamas urged the authorities to release the four Palestinians immediately in order to maintain the Palestinian-Egyptian relations.
MP Ghoul: Abbas's PLO resignation a "debunked show"
Palestinian lawmaker Mohamed al-Ghoul has criticized the resignation of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas and others from the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and described it as a "debunked show."
In press remarks on Sunday, Ghoul said that their resignation was aimed at convening the illegitimate National Council for an emergency session attended by a select group of people, pointing out that the National Council had been on the shelf for about 16 years.
"Such step taken by Abbas would deepen the split, eliminate any last chance for reconciliation and provide free concessions and services for the Zionist occupation, which seeks to keep Abbas in power without being held accountable by any institution or person opposing him," the lawmaker underscored.
He appealed to all patriotic political forces not to deal with any suspicious step by Abbas that would lead to undermining the national liberation project.
Most Palestinians won't be sorry for Abbas's departure
By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Palestine
Palestinian Authority (PA) sources have been disseminating rumors indicating that Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has submitted his resignation as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee.
It is uncertain whether these leaks contain any modicum of truth or are just balloon tests meant to gauge Palestinian public reactions to the possible resignation of the PA leader.
Abbas did on several occasions "threaten" to resign. According to sources close to him, Abbas, now 82 years of age, probably thought that the overall Palestinian scene would fall into shambles should he quit his post.
A disaster
I believe that the Palestinian people are entitled to know the truth about Abbas in case they don't already know it. And the truth is that Abbas has been a colossal failure in every conceivable respect.
A nominal leader of a nominal entity that is bereft of sovereignty and authority, Abbas has failed to carry out the most basic duties toward his people.
Instead, he continued to indulge in futile rhetoric about Palestinian statehood and a political process that has been in a state of clinical death for many years.
In this sense, one can safely accuse Abbas and the hangers-on around him of knowingly deceiving the people. This is a grave matter bordering on treason.
After all, a true leader ought to be first and foremost honest with his people who trusted him to lead them to the safety shore, not plunge them into uncertainty and precariousness.
No one expect Abbas to be another Salahuddin. But we do expect him to be honest at the very least.
But Abbas has not been honest. He clung to a sham "peace process" that was totally and manifestly void not only of peace but also of honestly as well from the very inception.
This is alone a clarion and indicting proof that the man has utterly failed to perform the tasks the Palestinian people entrusted him to perform.
Abbas should have declared the death of the so-called peace process a long time ago. However, instead of telling the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth, he opted to chase a mirage in the desert, thinking that water would eventually show up. But water never showed up and probably never will.
In a nut-shell, one can claim, with little exaggeration, that Abbas has sacrificed whatever prospects for the creation of a viable Palestinian state for the sake of maintaining his hapless and disingenuous Palestinian "authority", an authority without authority, save the authority to arrest, torment and persecute honorable Palestinians deemed hostile toward the "Israeli partner."
Israel has always wanted the PA to be a police state without a state, an entity that would repress the Palestinian people on Israel's behalf.
In light of the PA record, is hard to say that Israel has failed to accomplish its desires in this regard.
In fact, it is hard to pinpoint any field where the PA has scored a real success. Not only, the prospects of establishing Palestinian statehood have been dashed irreversibly, but our collective steadfastness as a people has been considerably eroded due to the disastrous political management of the Palestinian cause by the PA and the PLO.
The rift with Hamas
While Hamas cannot really be completely vindicated of blame for the persistence of the rift with Fatah, one can honestly claim that Chairman Abbas bears the bulk of the blame for the failed reconciliation efforts between two chief political camps in occupied Palestine.
Abbas invoked ad nauseam the mantra that that the PLO was the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, ignoring the fact that the PLO belongs to a bygone era and no longer envoys acceptance by the bulk of Palestinians.
Abbas also repeatedly called for organizing elections to allow Palestinians to elect a new national leadership. However, he has always proven unable or unwilling to secure the right environment for holding free, transparent and honest elections.
For example, he gave his undisciplined security agencies a free rein to suppress human rights and civil liberties, a condition without which no true elections can be held.
Likewise, Abbas doggedly maintained the ignominious "security coordination regime" with Israel whereby Israel and the PA cracked down harshly not only on Palestinian activists demanding freedom and liberation but also on activists voicing banal grievances pertaining to living conditions and economic rights.
I really don't know how true elections can be held in an atmosphere of fear. This is a serious matter that Abbas and his regime have utterly failed to address as they continued to shamelessly demand that elections be held while the Israeli occupation army remains in tight control of every corner and street and refugee camp in the West Bank.
None the less, the biggest scandal surrounding the PA and its chairman is related to their conspiratorial stance on Gaza and the hermetic Israeli-Egyptian siege on the coastal enclave.
We all know that numerous elements within the PA had prayed hard for the success of Israeli wars on Gaza (2008-2014) in the hope that Israel would crush Hamas and consequently enable the PLO to return to the Strip, reach a lasting peace with Israel and enjoy a lasting victory over the forces of resistance.
But the PA audacity actually went far beyond indulgence in morbid dreaming. The PA leadership effectively incited the Egyptian regime to tighten the noose on Gaza so that Hamas would beg the Ramallah regime to come to its rescue.
For years now, the PA has been waging a relentless war of words against Hamas, accusing the resilient Islamic movement of conceivable harm done to the Palestinian cause.
But the real PA goal has remained unchanged, namely the destruction or dismantlement of the resistance forces in Gaza, the very people who put up the severest resistance ever to the Zio-Nazi onslaught that murdered and maimed thousands of Palestinians and reduced the Gaza Strip to rubble.
What is more scandalous still is that this criminal goal would be carried out under the rubric of national reconciliation as if Palestinian national unity could only be achieved if only Palestinians succumbed to Zionist depravity, arrogance and supremacy.
In light, no Palestinian would or should shed tears for Abbas and his failed leadership. On the contrary, Palestinians ought to entertain the hope that the post-Abbas era will be auspicious and promising for our people and their enduring just cause.
Khalid Amayreh is a Palestinian journalist and political commentator living in Occupied Palestine.
Hamas: PLO's call for re-formation of executive committee breaches reconciliation
Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, said the Palestine Liberation Organization's call for the convening of its National Council for the re-formation of the PLO executive committee proves the continuation of the process of unilateral decision-making.
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zhuri, said the National Council's meeting is a preemptive step to halt any real effort to re-structure the PLO. It represents a withdrawal from the reconciliation agreement as well as an obvious call for maintaining internal division in consistence with Netanyahu's policy.
Abu Zuhri said his Movement "is studying its options vis-a-vis the PLO's unilateral decision-making and violation of national agreements.
Gazan families appeal to Egypt to help find abducted relatives
The families of the four Gazan passengers who were recently kidnapped in the Sinai have appealed to the Egyptian foreign ministry to help them know the fate of their relatives.
This came in a letter sent on Saturday by the families of the four abductees, Yaser Zanoun, Hussein al-Zabda, Abdullah Abul-Jabin and Abdul-Dayem Abu Labda, to the Palestinian affairs office at the Egyptian foreign ministry.
Their letter stated that the abductees were en route to their workplaces and universities in other countries through Cairo airport after the Egyptian authorities officially gave them entry visas, pointing out that the bus they were aboard was under the protection of the security authorities in Rafah.
The families appealed to director of the office Yaser Othman to help them know the whereabouts and fate of their relatives and to find out if they were kidnapped by an Egyptian security apparatus.
Gunmen on Wednesday night kidnapped four Palestinian passengers from a deportation bus heading for Cairo airport within walking distance of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Resheq warns Israel of holding wine festival in Mamanullah cemetery
Member of Hamas's political bureau Ezzat al-Resheq has warned the Israeli occupation authority of dire consequences if it allowed the holding of a wine festival in the historic Islamic cemetery of Mamanullah in Occupied Jerusalem.
In press remarks on Saturday, Resheq condemned Israel's intention to allow a wine festival to take place in Mamanullah cemetery as "a violation of the Islamic sanctity of the site and a provocative act against the Muslims."
He emphasized that Israel's persistence in defiling and destroying the Palestinian waqf sites would never change their Islamic identity.
The Hamas official urged the Palestinian people in the occupied territories to stand up against such blasphemous festivals and prevent the Israelis from holding them by all means possible.
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Eminem's new single "Just Lost It"
By Guest Shade,
Guest Shade
I heard a snippet of his new single and it looks like it's gonna suck....badly...there was nothing vaguely interesting about it.
Eminem Encore site
Edited September 21, 2004 by Shade
This would be the first single for his new album, right? I've always hated the first single he's put out for the past few years.
existence02
I'll agree that his first single is generally the worst track from the album, but from that preview that sounds like the worst Em song ever recorded.
Instagram: @glasgowfooddude
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
His first single is always a wee bit more amusing than his others basically to pull in the casual people. My Name Is..., The Real Slim Shady, Without Me etc.
Eminem has become a parody of himself. I mean, he used to be so badass, but now mainstream and obscure acts are taking shots at him. He's become so ingrained into pop culture that he is what he originally made fun of. I mean, Boy Bands are dead, Christina and Britney now actively admit that they are huge sluts, what's left for him to make fun of? Triumph the Insult Comic Dog? Smigel already made Eminem his bitch (pun intended) in every media appearance he was in following the VMAs and his album.
Edited September 21, 2004 by Zero
lafunky xxvii
On a slightly related note, what's D12's new single called?
The site won't work for me...damn.
LaFunk: I think it's 'Git Up' - well that's what's playing on The Box.
Edited September 21, 2004 by Xand
In his new video he dresses up as a woman for the 99th time. I'm sick of him doing that it's so cliched now.
Lord Nibbler
Location: Northampton
I'll wait until I hear something from the rest of the album before I decide whether to buy it or not.
Guest fultie
Site wont work for me...
Guest BacknBlackHoez
i said the entire album didnt look good. He still hasnt recorded some ish, hopefully they will turn out pretty good.
Interests: http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/9807/tpmfap7pl.jpg
A-Dub
Location: THE Green Bay OF Wisconsin
Ah, you forget young grasshopper, it's cool to like the Beasties. As for the single, I think it's catchy, he's done better. But there are worse out there.
*Insert Virginity Joke Here*
Lowerdeck
Location: North Quahog
What would be the point of a v-joke?
Oh, and also - I'm also one who doesn't like the mainstream turn which Em's had. His lyrics aren't that good or funny. He's not hardcore as he first portrayed himself to be - which is what I liked about him.
Kaney
PSN Username: Kaneanite
XBL Gamer Tag: Kaneyanite
Interests: Changing Benji's sig.
The name of the song is called 'Just Lost It'. Go figure what he just lost.
Thats the joke. Aren't you glad I'm around?
Eh. I got it now. I'm slow.
Just Lose It.
paidelr
You can now download the leaked version of the song at:
http://www.dashadyspot.com
Honestly, aside from some of the kiddie raps, I like the song. It's kind of wacky and crazy, makes me wanna dance. I can see the BEAT of the song being played at clubs and being remixed all over.
SlickNick187
Location: Philly
Interests: Nothing
I didn't really like it. I just see it as all his other first singles though and hope the rest of his album is good.
I can see the BEAT of the song being played at clubs and being remixed all over.
Great, that's about the last thing I want to happen. I'm sober at clubs too, which would make this worse for me.
I've now listened to it, and I like it. Took a few listens to get into it. But I generally like it.
Though he won't beat Stan or Sing For The Moment.
Gurgh, it isn't even worthy of a single full stop let alone an album premier... scratch that... it isn't even worthy of an album.
He ALWAYS puts out shitty first singles. This one, IMO, is the worst yet but that doesn't actually say anything about the rest of the album.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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NET ZERO
A Idealouge in Chennai Has Been Fighting For Over 40 Years To Make Indians Adopt Rainwater Harvesting
Chennai is one of the largest coastal cities in India. Rapid economic growth of the city transformed it into the 4th most populous city in India and 36th most populous in the world.
Though Chennai has 140cm average annual rainfall (higher than the national average), that's hardly enough to avoid acute water scarcity in the summer. At the same time, wetlands in the city have decreased from 650 to only 27.
Dr Sekhar Raghvan took up the challenge to make a difference all alone in the city he lived and loved. He went on knocking every door in the city, educating & demonstrating to people about the benefit of Rainwater Harvesting and its techniques.
Dr Raghvan was born in Chennai on 17 October 1947 and got his degree MSc in Physics in 1967 when he was just 20 years old and went to achieve a PhD in the same in 1976 from Madras University. His love for the city is so much that many luring career opportunities from distant places could not distract him from his noble motive.
What is Rainwater Harvesting and what are the process involved?
Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) is all about harvesting rainwater to augment the municipal supply as well as to sustain the surface water bodies and the groundwater source.
Within cities and particularly at the micro level, it has only two aspects: to collect rainwater in plastic/masonry tanks for immediate use and to inject rainwater into the soil to sustain the groundwater source, which is also called recharging the groundwater source. This must have happened naturally when large tracts of land were open and unpaved enabling rainwater to percolate into the soil. This is no longer the case so we have to resort to artificial recharge by using wells.
Constructing Recharge wells are also being used. In urban and fast developing peri-urban areas and not so much in rural villages. In urban areas, these wells will certainly help prevent against drought if they are designed and constructed in the right way. It requires a fairly deep hole to discharge rainwater into the soil. They can be narrow (wells) or wide (pits) depending on the quantity of rainwater likely to be harvested. We insert a PVC pipe into the pits and cement rings into the wells in order to prevent the holes from caving in. Depth is determined by the nature of the subsoil. Sandy soil is preferable, clay and rocky soil is not suitable for recharge wells.
How successful has it been so far? How did it affect people's life in Chennai?
The Chennai experience itself is a success story in more than one way. It was in Chennai that grassroots level work to promote RWH began as early as 1995, which grew into a mass movement in the next decade. It was in Chennai that RWH was made mandatory in 1994 itself for all new buildings and in 2002 for both new and old buildings. It was in Chennai that the country's first Rain Centre was inaugurated, which is a joint effort of individuals, NGOs and the government. It is this joint effort, which has made RWH so popular and is very important for the success of any social or environmental issue.
The success of the project in Chennai can be explained in two ways:
First by the increase in awareness levels about the need, relevance and importance of RWH among various sections of the society. Rainwater Harvesting is no longer an unknown thing for the people of not only Chennai but the entire state of Tamil Nadu;
Second, by the benefits, those residents have got by implementing RWH in their respective premises. The benefits will not come overnight but only after a few years and this is precisely what has happened in Chennai.
People had implemented RWH in 2003 and they reaped the benefits in 2005. In a survey carried out by our centre, it was found that the groundwater level in the entire city had gone up by 6 to 8 metres a clear indication of the success of RWH. The wells, which had remained dry for a couple of decades, came back alive. This was true about the quality of groundwater as well. One will be surprised to note that we are using the well-water even for potable uses and that we do not have a municipal supply of water in our own complex.
What/who motivated you when it comes to rainwater harvesting?
I have been living for the past 47 years in an area called Besant Nagar in Chennai, located within one k.m. from the sea. Its soil is very sandy and the groundwater in this area used to be very good till about 25 years back. Due to an increase in the number of multi-storeyed complexes, subsequent over-exploitation of groundwater and failure to put in large quantities of rainwater into the soil during monsoon, the groundwater started becoming saline. This motivated me to get into RWH. Secondly, my observation that immediately after a heavy shower, all the rainwater percolates down into the soil and the water level in the wells rising subsequently, made me realise that RWH is very important in urban areas in general and in coastal cities in particular, where there is a heavy dependence on groundwater.
Who came forward to help you in your project?
The Akash Ganga Chennai group felt the need for a house in a central residential locality of Chennai, where the residents can see for themselves, the RWH systems in action and also get the necessary information. Hence it was decided to set up a model house called RAIN CENTRE. As a first step, in order to mobilise funds for creating the rain center, a trust called Akash Ganga Trust was formed in January 2002 with myself and Mr.N.R.Sudarshan as the first trustees and Mr V Varadarajan as a trustee. The trust was registered both with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of the Tamilnadu Government as well as with the Income Tax department of the government of India under Sec. 12A of the IT Act. The trust had also obtained an exemption under Sec. 80G of the It Act.
What were the challenges you faced?
When I started my campaign in 1995, residents did not understand what I was talking about and some of them felt that I was a crazy person trying to talk about an issue which was non-existent and irrelevant. They felt that there was enough groundwater to last for decades and felt there was no need to get into RWH. Some of them failed to understand that groundwater was only rainwater percolated over the last few years, last few centuries and so on. Only after campaigning for a couple of years in my area of Besant Nagar, I realised how difficult it is to educate the urban resident,
In fact, in some complexes, the watchmen were clearly told not to allow me inside. It was a hard struggle for the first three years. In 1998, when the print media, the neighbourhood newspapers, in particular, started writing about RWH and my campaign that it gathered momentum among the residents and people started implementing RWH in their respective premises with my advice and help. I had in the meantime developed a group of plumbers who could execute RWH.
In 1998, when the print media, the neighbourhood newspapers, in particular, started writing about RWH and my campaign that it gathered momentum among the residents and people started implementing RWH in their respective premises with my advice and help. I had in the meantime developed a group of plumbers who could execute RWH.
Govt. did not show any interest in RWH nor in my activities, except for a couple of senior officials, who helped me in promoting RWH in a small way. It was only in 2001, by which time RWH had become somewhat popular, the govt. decided to create awareness about RWH and formed a high-level committee of senior govt. officials headed by the Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Mrs.Shantha Sheela Nair, I.A.S. as its head. She was an extremely committed person and was interested in promoting RWH at the govt. level and included me, the only non-governmental person in the committee. After one year of intense campaigning in the entire state of Tamil Nadu, RWH was made mandatory by the govt. in every building, old and new, and the residents were asked to comply with it within a period of one year failing which they were threatened with disconnection of municipal water supply. Tamil Nadu was the first state in the entire country to do this and is now being adopted by other states like Maharashtra, Kerala, New Delhi, though only for new buildings.
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/ As Israelis Await Netanyahu's Fate, Palestinians Seize a Moment of Unity
As Israelis Await Netanyahu's Fate, Palestinians Seize a Moment of Unity
Among younger Palestinians, the discourse has changed from discussion of possible borders of a putative Palestinian ministate bordering Israel, which few now believe will come about, to a broad and loose agenda for the pursuit of rights, freedom and justice inside both the occupied territories and Israel itself.
"I think the key to what has changed is Palestinian agency," said Fadi Quran, campaigns director at Avaaz, a nonprofit that promotes people-powered change, and a West Bank-based community organizer.
"In the past, when Palestinians were interviewed on television, the key line was 'When is the international community coming in to save us, when will Israel be held accountable, or when will the Arab countries come and rescue us?'" Mr. Quran said. "Now the discourse of the young is, 'We've got this, basically. We can do it together.'"
The generational shift is partly a response to the failures of the Palestinian old guard to make good on the promise of the 1990s, when the signing of diplomatic agreements known as the Oslo Accords appeared to put a Palestinian state within reach. But Palestinian and Israeli negotiators failed to seal a final deal, and Israel's occupation of the West Bank, once considered temporary, is now more than a half-century old.
In recent years, Palestinian gloom deepened because of the policies of the Trump administration, which favored Israel and helped entrench its hold.
Mr. Trump's administration helped broker a series of historic normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, which bypassed the Palestinians and ruptured decades of professed Arab unity around the Palestinian cause.
Inside Israel, Arab citizens, who make up a fifth of the population, have suffered decades of neglect and discrimination in state budgets and housing and land policies. They were further humiliated by the passage of an incendiary Nation State Law in 2018 that enshrined the right of national self-determination as being "unique to the Jewish people," rather than to all Israeli citizens, and downgrading Arabic from an official language to one with a special status.


A far-right politician opposed to compulsory vaccination of children has contracted chicken pox.
Massimiliano Fedriga, a member of Italy's League party, has been placed under observation, La Repubblica reports.
In his role as president of the north-eastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the politician opposed the 'Lorenzin law', which made vaccination of schoolchildren against a number of diseases, including chicken pox, polio and measles mandatory.
Under the legislation, parents can be fined up to €500 if they send unvaccinated children to school.
Fedriga told Euronews he had "always been a supporter of vaccines".
"I am not against vaccines, on the contrary, I am in favour of a stronger alliance with the families," he said.
Italian microbiologist Roberto Burioni warned against not vaccinating children.
"Unfortunately, chicken pox is not only very contagious (and dangerous) but is even transmitted by patients before the onset of symptoms," he said on Facebook.
The number of measles cases in Italy has surged, according to the World Health Organisation.


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Q: Writing a DVD demuxer using ffmpeg I am trying to write a demuxer for DVD under FFmpeg.I understand that I need to accomplish something like:
./ffmpeg -i foo.iso foo.mkv

I was told to use libdvdread to extract the things from the ripped file.How exactly should I start with the demuxer? I am clueless and I can't find any documentation on using libdvdread. It'd be great if someone could explain how to accomplish sending stream of audio,video and subtitles to their respective decoders.

A: With regards to the demuxer, you don't need to worry about sending packets to their respective decoders themselves, ffmpeg takes care of that for you. What you do need to do is correctly declare the codecs/formats of each stream on the dvd in your read_header function (which will no doubt require calling some initialization in libdvdread to find the main feature on the dvd or have your demuxer take some arguments as to which feature/chapter to start reading from) and then each time read_packet is called you can provide a single packet of data (eg some subtitle, some audio, some video read using libdvdread) along with which stream it corresponds to and ffmpeg handles it from there.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Mariners incredible value playing in Kansas City paid off, but not so with Cleveland Friday. The Indians were priced higher at -154 but lost.
Rodriguez was acquired from Washington in November in the trade that sent catcher Yan Gomes to the Nationals. He made eight starts as a rookie with Washington last year and went 2-2 with a 6.75 ERA in that role. The 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic, who has never faced the Royals, gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings in one start for Triple-A Columbus last weekend.
Bailey had a solid team debut on April 3 but took a step back Monday against the red-hot Seattle Mariners, giving up seven runs and eight hits -- three home runs -- in five innings. He did manage seven strikeouts and has 15 through 10 innings this season. The former first-round pick has a 5.79 ERA in nine career starts versus Cleveland.


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Starting a Business Start Your Own Business Course Browse Business Tools Finance Side Hustle Accelerator
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Richie Santosdiaz is an economic development expert with a focus on internationalization in the management consulting context. He is currently the Head of Strategy for Dubai-based Rise Group ME.
Follow Richie Santosdiaz on Social
Can India's Startup and Tech Economy Survive the Effects of COVID-19?
Until COVID-19 came along, India's startup and tech economy and its potential was proving to be promising.
This Country Has the Potential to Be a Global Powerhouse in International Trade and Investment
The Philippines, (or Filipinas), is undergoing an economic transformation that is slowly changing its image abroad, whereby now even Filipino companies are increasingly exporting goods and services and investing abroad. Has the Philippines finally seen an economic turning point in the Asia Pacific ecosystem?
startup ecosystem
Inspiring Entrepreneurship In Oman To Achieve Economic Diversification
Oman and the wider Gulf have achieved greater economic development and diversification than any other country in such a short amount of time.
Entrepreneurial ecosystems
Road To 2030: The Economic Impact Of Women Driving In Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's decision to allow female drivers to drive has been hailed as a step forward for women's rights in the ultra-conservative kingdom, but it could also have a major economic impact.
Green Entrepreneur® and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media Inc.
The information contained on this website ("Content") represents the views and opinions of the persons or entities expressing them. The Content does not represent an endorsement by, or the views and opinions of, Entrepreneur Media, Inc. ("EMI"), is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and should in no way be interpreted as medical, legal, or any other advice concerning the cultivation, sale, or any other use of marijuana, which, although legal in some states and local jurisdictions throughout the United States, is currently illegal under federal law, as well as in other states and local jurisdictions. Because of the variety of laws, regulations, and ordinances concerning marijuana, the Content may not be suitable for your situation. Consequently, EMI makes no expressed or implied warranties nor assumes any liability whatsoever, concerning the accuracy or reliability of the information contained herein, including warranties about the legality of, or likelihood of success in, conducting a cannabis business. EMI does not advocate violating applicable law, and therefore strongly recommends that you carefully research applicable laws, and consult with appropriate licensed professionals and other experts, before taking any action in connection with, or based on, such Content.


Your BERG go kart is well made and something that you should expect to keep for many years. Why not help keep the go kart looking as good as you possible can for as long as you own it... This BERG cover will help you to keep your go kart looking as new.


How to share the beauty and wonder of Small World with your family and friends. Each year, the Small World Exhibit travels throughout North America at selected museums and centers for science. For exhibit hours and directions, please visit the website of each institution.
Incroyable photo de larve d'atherix ibis grossie 25 fois !
Small World is regarded as the leading forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope. For over 30 years, Nikon has rewarded the world's best photomicrographers who make critically important scientific contributions to life sciences, bio-research and materials science.
Based in Toronto, Canada, and in the Silicon Valley, California, is a leading supplier of photonic products and services for a broad spectrum of applications including optical microscopy, LED illumination, machine vision, life & health sciences, and industrial test & measurement etc.
The Microscope Imaging Station produces high-resolution images and movies using research-grade microscopes. This gallery contains a range of images and movies that illustrate the diversity of what can be seen with light microscopes.
Groupe Flickr dédié aux images composites (stacking) crées avec des logiciels CombineZM,Helicon, etc. A mentionner la dernière version de CombineZM GRATUIT qui donne d'excellents résultats.
Images stacking, images composites, Helicon,Combinez etc...Images d'une qualité exceptionnelle.
Mic-UK [site A]: Microscopy-UK home page.
Microscopies: Le Site des Microscopistes Amateurs Francophones.


Ever since the revelation of Hogwartz's existence came to the muggle world through a series of books, we've all been waiting for our post-dated and owl-toted envelopes, revealing us to be a wizard and inviting us to join the magical school. We've given some pretty serious thought about where the Sorting Hat would place us and taken no small number of online tests to help us prepare. Shall we be wearing red and gold, green and silver, blue and bronze, or yellow and black over our wizarding smock? Will we need to get a ticket to London to transport ourselves or are there additional portals of access… or even more schools than have been mentioned in the texts!? Just how big might the wizarding world be!?
Any invitation to join the wand-wielders and potion-brewers is likely a splendid enough one, though the media so far has given us such a limelight view of some pretty major names. We'd certainly not say no to an invitation to join a small wizarding college in the middle of nowhere that not even the wizarding world has heard of, but it would leave any of us admittedly a bit saddened not to be part of the illustrious Hogwartz… despite the many and frequent troubles that they've been through.
Either way, you need not wait any longer for the owl to arrive with your letter because you can step into the role of the very Boy Who Survived, himself, with this officially licensed Adult Deluxe Harry Potter costume. The hooded black fleece robe has luxurious maroon facings and hood linings as well as the courageous Gryffindor emblem embroidered on the left breast. No wizard would be complete without their marking scarf and the perfect wand, so be sure to acquire those from Ollivander (or our own accessories department for your convenience).


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Bangel, Cohen & Falconetti, LLP
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At the law firm of Bangel, Cohen & Falconetti, LLP, we are proud to provide the residents of the New York metropolitan area consisting of the 5 boroughs, Westchester and all of Long Island with comprehensive legal services for issues of workers' compensation and personal injury. If you have a work-related injury and are not sure how to secure a stable financial future, we are here...
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Our full-service Manhattan law firm, Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP, was founded in 1930, and our lawyers in 11 offices continue representing and assisting New York state residents with workers' compensation claims, personal injury cases and Social Security Disability claims. We have reached more than $1 billion in settlements for New York-area residents since we opened....
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New York Law Firm Protecting The Injured Injury victims throughout the New York area can turn to the law firm of Saban + Solomon for zealous protection of their rights and interests. Our extensive record of success in personal injury cases and our attention to client needs is why people throughout the area continue to turn to our law firm in their times of need. Our law firm handles cases related...
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Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP, Attorneys at Law, is a law firm representing injured workers in workers' compensation claims and Social Security disability claims throughout New York City and Long Island, New York. We were founded in 1989 by current Senior Partner William (Bill) Turley and we are currently celebrating our 25th successful year in legal practice. ...
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Whether filing a lawsuit or claim because of the devastating Hurricane Sandy or because of a car accident, at the Bronx office of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP, our law firm has the attorneys equipped to handle any case from any catastrophe or injury in the New York area. At Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP, we manage workers' compensation...
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How do you think Charles Darwin, George Bernard Shaw and Isaac Newton, would have fared as students in today's world? From what we know about their lives, they all got less than stellar grades in school and would likely not have qualified for any school district's gifted program. Despite that, they all made lasting and valuable contributions in their fields. These examples, among others, have been a subject of many debates about what intelligence is and what the role of education should be. If IQ, which correlates well with grades, is not enough for great accomplishments, then what is?
Psychologist, Joseph Renzulli, has spent decades on understanding "giftedness". He identified two forms of giftedness, which are both important and usually interact with each other. The first, schoolhouse giftedness, is the kind that is measured with IQ tests (cognitive ability) and correlates well with school grades. The other, creative-productive giftedness, is the kind where the creative ideas and work have an impact on others and cause change. Or, in other words, the domain-transforming, culture-changing kind of giftedness that results in an Einstein or a Mozart. Interestingly, it turns out that you do not need to have an off-the-charts IQ to be a creative genius of that caliber.
Renzulli identified three clusters of traits, summed up in his Three-Ring Conception of Giftedness, that are required to be creative-productive. It is the interaction between the three clusters that creates creative-productive accomplishment. Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard, also arrived at a similar set of components in her Componential Theory of Creativity.
Above-Average Ability: Creative geniuses have above average ability in both general abilities (like general intelligence) and specific abilities (like in specific areas like mathematics and ballet). However, above average ability doesn't imply superior ability. In fact, Renzulli believes that performance in the top 15-20% is usually sufficient for high accomplishments.
Task Commitment: Creative geniuses have a focused form of motivation that Renzulli and Amabile call task commitment. This includes factors like grit, intrinsic motivation, perseverance, hard-work that help the creative genius stick with the task long enough to overcome challenges and achieve success.
Creativity: Creative geniuses also possess the ability to envision original and fresh approaches to problems, the ability to set aside established conventions. Amabile highlights some cognitive styles and heuristics – like suspending judgment, trying something counter-intuitive or choosing wide categories – that can help build creativity and generate novel ideas. The challenges we design at MindAntix are built around these (and more) heuristics to help people learn to think in more diverse ways.
Our culture emphasizes schoolhouse giftedness – leaning too heavily on building analytical skills – sometimes at the expense of building other traits. However, as Renzulli discovered, creative geniuses are well-rounded – they have high levels of creativity and perseverance that help them achieve bigger goals. Nurturing creativity and building grit can have a bigger impact on building geniuses than focusing entirely on academic skills. Recent studies point to some clues on building grit – pursuit of engagement and meaning, as opposed to pleasure, help build the right kind of motivation that enables grit. Creative thinking skills can be developed by practice – the SCAMPER technique is a useful brainstorming tool to use with your child in solving open-ended challenges. But more importantly, the next time your child spends hours absorbed in a task or uses a little creativity in solving her problem, take comfort in the fact that she is building crucial skills for success.
Pronita, another excellent blog ! Really appreciated the insights you provided and the new ways of thinking about creativity and intelligence. Extremely helpful for me as a parent, and I can hopefully imbibe these into a life time of learning for myself and our children. Some of the links you provided (especially to the SCAMPER technique) are new and invaluable. Thank you so much, and can't wait for your next blog ! And really looking forward to getting access to some of the tools and challenges you are developing for MindAntix !
Thank you Ibaadat! Yes, SCAMPER has been useful for me in pointing out fresh directions to think in. We'll be expanding our Beta soon and will keep you posted.
Thank you. I am a parent of a GATE adolescent who is creative-productive. Though she is academically strong, she is increasingly resentful of overly-rigorous academics. She is going through an "identity crisis" (her words) being in such an environment. We are now working on transferring her out of her rigorous academic high school to a regular public high school. She feels that she will be more free to pursue her artistic disciplines. I am very interested in knowing more about school-house vs. creative productive concept and how to best support my child.
Diana, I am sorry to hear that your daughter is having a hard time. Gifted students are often times high on creativity as well, which makes it harder for them to adjust in a highly academic focused environment. Let me send you a few resources offline that might help you understand and plan better.
Previous PostPrevious Want to be more creative? Start small.


There are as many variations of quesadillas on this website as there are grains of sand in all the beaches of the world.
Not really. There are seven.
The point is, quesadillas are one of my favorite things to eat on earth, and I never get tired of them! Lately, even though flour tortillas are the usual choice, I happen to be a sucker for quesadillas made with corn tortillas because you get that lovely texture and flavor of a corn tortilla and it just puts a nice little crazy spin on things.
I made these babies yesterday. We gobbled 'em down!
Cook it and crumble it until it's totally browned.
Then, because you want to get on your cardiologist's good side, drain off a good amount of the fat.
Once the fat is drained, add some chili powder, cumin, cayenne, oregano, tomato paste, and salt.
And stir it until it's all combined. Simmer it on low for a few minutes while you get everything else ready.
And by everything else, I mean cheese! Lots of it! Monterey Jack!
Or any ol' cheese you want.
Stir it all together with a little salt…and you've got the best condiment known to man.
Now it's quesadilla time! Heat a separate skillet over medium heat and smear butter around the bottom.
Throw in a tortilla. This is a corn tortilla because as I stated above, I'm obsessed with corn tortilla quesadillas.
Okay, so that's a bit of an overstatement.
Cover the tortilla with cheese, because I'm obsessed with cheese.
And that isn't even close to being an overstatement.
Top it with another tortilla, then carefully flip it over with a spatula.
Let it sit until the cheese is totally melted/sizzly and the tortilla has soaked up all the wonderfulness of the cheese. Note that the corn tortillas won't get crisp during this process as they would if you were to fry them in oil. But they get nice and soft and slightly crisp around the edges…and oh, that corn tortilla flavor. Love it!
And sprinkling it on top with a little pico de gallo.
These are actually three halves of a quesadilla arranged together on the plate.
Either way you eat 'em, this is a nice variation of a regular quesadilla.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and drain the excess fat. Add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne, tomato paste, water, and salt and stir to combine. Allow it to simmer for a few minutes and keep warm.
Remove it from the heat and repeat with the other tortillas and other ingredients. Slice the quesadillas in half and top with lettuce and pico de gallo and serve.


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Fèlix, Fortunat i Aquileu (Valença, Droma, s. II - 212) són tres figures possiblement llegendàries, creades a partir dels sants reals Fèlix i Fortunat d'Aquileia. Segons la tradició, foren màrtirs cristians durant les persecucions de Caracal·la.

Fèlix hauria sigut prevere, i Fortunat i Aquileu, els seus diaques; tots tres haurien nascut a Valença (Droma) i s'havien format a Lió. Des d'allí, el bisbe Ireneu de Lió els hauria enviat a Valença per evangelitzar la regió. Van convertir molta gent i dugueren a terme miracles, per la qual cosa foren detinguts per les autoritats romanes. Empresonats, uns àngels els haurien alliberats i els haurien ordenat de destruir les estàtues dels déus pagans dels temples. Així, Fèlix, Fortunat i Aquileu destorçaren les escultures de Mercuri, Saturn i Júpiter. Els tres tornaren a ésser capturats i torturats: els trencaren les cames, foren lligats a rodes i, finalment, decapitats, l'any 212.

La tradició apareix ja al  a les addicions gal·licanes del martirologi de Sant Jeroni. Per l'aparició tardana, i la coincidència amb l'arribada a la ciutat de Valença d'unes relíquies dels sants d'Aquileia Fèlix i Fortunat, s'ha pensat que els sants Fèlix, Fortunat i Aquileu són el fruit d'un desdoblament hagiogràfic que volia explicar la presència de les relíquies en atribuir-les a uns fills de la ciutat, i fruit de la confusió del gentilici Achillei («d'Aquileia») amb un nom propi de persona. Es tractaria, doncs, de figures llegendàries i no van existir en la realitat, fora dels sants d'Aquileia.

G. de Manteyer pensa que hauria estat el bisbe Just de Lió qui, en tornar del concili d'Aquileia de 381, podria haver portat a Valença algunes relíquies dels dos sants. Les relíquies passaren al  al monestir de Saint-Chaffre i després al de Charlieu.

A la biblioteca diocesana de Vic es conserva un fragment en molt mal estat de l'inici de la Passió dels sants Fèlix, Fortunat i Aquil·leu de Valença que data del .

Referències

Bibliografia

Persones de Valença
Grups de sants màrtirs
Sants de l'anglicanisme
Sants de l'Església Catòlica
Sants de l'Església Ortodoxa
Sants d'Alvèrnia - Roine-Alps
Sants diaques
Sants llegendaris creats per desdoblament

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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While some pedalboard brands like Pedaltrain supply their boards with either soft or hard cases, there are some that do not. That's why you should invest in a pedalboard case, to shield your pedal's controls and fragile features from potential damage when on the road.
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Tourtech, Mooer and Stagg manufacture affordable pedalboard cases that include tray-like platforms for your pedals. Featuring strong metal exteriors and ergonomic handles for easy transportation, these fantastic options are well worth the money!


text:
New York Congressman Pleads Not Guilty To Insider Trading Charges
Rep. Chris Collins delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in 2016 in Cleveland. Collins was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump's presidential bid.
Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was arrested Wednesday on charges related to insider trading.
A federal grand jury accused the Buffalo-area lawmaker of passing nonpublic information about a biotech company to his son, who traded on the information and passed it along to others.
"Congressman Collins cheated our markets and our justice system," said Geoff Berman, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "He placed his family and friends above the public good."
Collins was indicted along with his son, Cameron, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancée.
According to the newly-unsealed indictment, timely sales based on inside information allowed Cameron Collins, Zarsky and others to avoid losses totaling more than $768,000 when the biotech company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, failed a key clinical trial.
Rep. Collins was a director of the company and also a major investor.
According to the indictment, Collins was attending the congressional picnic at the White House on June 22, 2017, when he received an email from Innate's CEO, notifying him that a promising drug had failed a clinical trial. Within minutes, Collins telephoned his son, who then passed the information along to others.
"The crime that he committed was to tip his son Cameron so that Cameron and a few select others could trade on the news while the investing public remained in the dark," Berman said.
Collins and the other defendants are charged with securities and wire fraud, conspiracy and lying to investigators. The congressman pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.
"I believe I acted properly and within the law at all times with regard to my affiliation with Innate," Collins told reporters Wednesday night. "The charges that have been levied against me are meritless, and I will mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name."
Collins stressed that he had not sold any of his own shares in the company. His stock lost 92 percent of its value after the adverse results of the clinical trial were made public.
According to the indictment, the elder Collins was not able to sell his stock because it was held in Australia, where trading had been halted in advance of the company's announcement. Over-the-counter trading continued, however, in the U.S., where Cameron Collins' and Zarky's shares were held.
Collins' dealings with Innate Immunotherapeutics are also the subject of an ongoing congressional ethics probe. He had promoted the stock to former Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. Price's own holdings in the company became an issue when he was nominated to be President Trump's first secretary of health and human services.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called on the House Ethics Committee to conduct its own review of the new allegations against Collins.
"While his guilt or innocence is a question for the courts to settle, the allegations against Rep. Collins demand a prompt and thorough investigation by the House Ethics Committee," Ryan said in a statement. "Insider trading is a clear violation of the public trust. Until this matter is settled, Rep. Collins will no longer be serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee."
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil complaint that seeks to bar Collins from serving as an officer or director of any public company in the future.
Collins, who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, was the first member to publicly endorse Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. He also served on Trump's transition team.
Berman said prosecutors were mindful of the upcoming midterm election but added that did not color the timing of the indictment. Collins' Democratic challenger, Nate McMurray, called the charges "shocking and sad, but not surprising."
"Anyone who's been paying attention knows what's going on," McMurray said in a statement. "And now the jig is up, because no matter how this is spun, it's clear that the swamp is alive and well in Washington, DC."
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the district as likely to remain in GOP hands.
Collins is believed to be the first member of Congress to face charges related to insider trading, even though lawmakers are privy to all kinds of inside information and some are active stock traders.
A study of stock trades by U.S. Senators in the 1990s found they outperformed the market by an average of 12 percent per year.
"They're either geniuses at the stock market, or they know something that we don't know," said Craig Holman, a lobbyist with Public Citizen's Congress Watch division.
In 2012, after a "60 Minutes" expose, Congress passed a law requiring members to disclose their stock trades within 45 days. Since that new transparency standard took effect, Holman said, the volume of trading on the Senate side has declined by more than two-thirds.


There's something mysterious and compelling about abandoned places. Since our abandoned fish farm adventure together, Liang Hao and Cindy brought us on another adventure – this time to an abandoned warehouse. We felt like we were part of the Secret Seven, the book series by Enid Blyton we indulged in as kids; investigating mysteries and finding clues! The adrenaline pumping moments as we step into the unknown, watching the light creep in ever so gently, and listening to our footsteps echoing in the emptiness, felt really surreal.
Void of distractions, it was all about the connections between them, instilled with the sense of exploration and adventure they always have. It was a really good adventure pre wedding session with them, exploring around, letting the evening light work its magic, and guiding us along. We just can't get enough of exploring abandoned places like this!
Hello! Great photos!! was really curious as to where this abandoned warehouse is?? Thanks a lot!
Hey Synchronal! This looks like a great place! Do you mind sharing the location?


text:
Daniel Đokic, född 11 september 1979 i München i dåvarande Västtyskland, är en serbisk-tysk popsångare och skådespelare.

Đokic började sin karriär som skådespelare i den tyska såpoperan Marienhof (1998-2002), där han spelade karaktären Mario Losa. 2005-2006 medverkade han i den serbiska telenovelan Jelena.

Han släppte sitt första studioalbum, Zagrli me ti, 2001. Han har till dags dato (2014) släppt totalt 5 studioalbum.

Diskografi
 Zagrli me ti (2001)
 Iza Ponoci (2002)
 Laz Nedelje (2003)
 Zivot Moj (2007)
 Best Of: Supreme Collection (2012)

Referenser

Serbiska popsångare
Serbiska skådespelare
Tyska skådespelare under 1900-talet
Tyska skådespelare under 2000-talet
Personer i Serbien under 2000-talet
Personer från München
Födda 1979
Levande personer
Män


Download a copy of our custom LEGO 8-Bit style Hulk Ragnarok mosaic files. These files allow you to easily order the parts you need and build the mosiac. Design by Joshua Hesselgroove.
Easy to understand PDF diagram to use in building the mosaic.
Stud.io file for easy uploading the parts list into Bricklink.


A few weeks ago we discovered an ancestor we didn't know we had. I say 'we' – Mum and Dad knew all about her, but our generation, my sister my brother and I, had no idea! And this really brought home to me the the importance of getting these extraordinary accounts of family history written down for future generations, and well, also just because they are brilliant and inspirational. So this is where I will begin, on International Women's Day, with a truly inspirational and exceptional women who also happens to be an ancestor of ours. Her name is Anna Atkins and she was a mighty girl the likes of whom you may find in Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, Little People – Big Dreams or some other totally inspiring book aimed at showing the little girls of today that anything is possible.
Anna Atkins was born on 16th March 1799 in Tonbridge. She was a botanist and photographer who created detailed botanical illustrations using the cyanotype photographic process, producing strikingly beautiful blue and white images. She was elected as a member of the London Botanical Society in 1839. Her book, British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions first published in 1843 was the first book ever to be illustrated using photography!! Yes that's right – our amazing ancestor was the first person… EVER … to create and publish a book using photography… AND I had never even heard of her! She is also thought to be the first women ever to create a photograph – also pretty brilliant! She went on to publish even more books, produce more and more beautiful cyanotype images and do more important work in the field of botany.
She was an artist and a scientist! She has a blue plaque, wikipedia entry and books written about her! Her work is all over pinterest and has been the subject of a number of exhibitions and articles! It has even been made into wallpaper! Copies of her photograms can be found in The Science Museum! Google her, she's awesome! Our very own super women for International Women's Day – Anna Atkins.


text:
Андре́а Паро́ди (; 18 июля 1955, Порто-Торрес — 17 октября 2006, Куарту-Сант-Элена) — итало-сардинский певец, исполнявший народную и популярную музыку в стиле этно-рок, поп, рок, этника, этно-джаз; режиссёр, продюсер.

Биография

До начала карьеры
Андреа Пароди родился в городе Порто-Торрес на Сардинии. Отец — лигуриец, мать родом с Сардинии. Окончил Мореходный Институт Порто-Торреса, получив профессию капитана дальнего плавания, впоследствии стал преподавателем в этом заведении. В это же время Андреа увлекается подводной рыбалкой, много времени проводит в погружениях в море.

1977—1988. Il Coro Degli Angeli
В 1977 году Андреа Пароди начинает свою музыкальную карьеру в сардинской группе Il Coro Degli Angeli, исполнявшей легкую и народную музыку. Группу активно поддерживает Джанни Моранди, вовлекая её в свои концерты и гастрольные поездки по всему миру в 1979—1983. Под именем Sole Nero группа выигрывает конкурс итальянской RCA Cento Città, впервые добившись признания публики. В этот период Андреа начинает выходить на передний план как главное действующее лицо группы.

1988—1997. Tazenda
В 1988 году Андреа и два других солиста Il Coro Degli Angeli (Джино Мариелли и Джиджи Камедда) создают собственную группу Tazenda. Новая группа исполняет песни в стиле этно-поп-рок, преимущественно на сардинском языке. В составе этого коллектива Андреа в 1991 году побеждает в конкурсе Кантажиро, а также принимает участие в фестивале «Сан-Ремо»: в 1991 году вместе с Пьеранджело Бертолли они исполняют песню "Spunta la Luna dal Monte" и занимают пятое место. В !992 уже самостоятельно они участвуют с песней "Pitzinnos in sa gherra" ("Дети на войне") и занимают восьмое место.  В том же году участвует в конкурса Festivalbar  с песней "Preghiera Semplice" ("Простая Молитва"), сделавшую их по-настоящему популярными. Tazenda награждается премией «Telegatto» как лучшая группа года на национальном уровне. В этот период выходят пять альбомов группы и один сборник (Il sole di Tazenda). Андреа сотрудничает и с другими исполнителями в разных направлениях музыки, например с Джанни Ноченци (песня «Mintoi», альбом «Soft Songs». Пароди добивается нескольких серьезных наград, таких как Премия Тенко, Реканати, премия международного поэтического фестиваля Nosside. Несмотря на успех творчества группы, в 1997 году Андреа решает покинуть коллектив и заняться сольным творчеством.

1997—2006. Сольная карьера
С 1997 по 2006 годы Пароди реализует собственную карьеру. В своем сольном творчестве он делает акцент на народной средиземноморской музыке и этно-стиле, экспериментирует с элементами сардинского языка и культуры, исполняет композиции в стиле этно-джаз. Первые сольные альбомы не добились значительных успехов, однако вскоре Пароди завоевывает новые награды: Premio Lunezia (2005), Премия Maria Carta (2006), премия города Отока (2006), Премия Тенко за диск «Rosa Resolza», записанный в сотрудничестве с Еленой Ледда (2007). Кроме музыки Андреа занимается продюсерской и режиссёрской деятельностью, снимает документальные фильмы и арт-проекты о Сардинии. Он сотрудничает со многими исполнителями из разных стран, такими как Рино Дзуруло, Сильвио Родригеc, Каэтано Велосо, израильская певица Ноа (дуэтом исполнены три композиции). Вместе с Эл ди Меола записывают альбом «Midsummer Night in Sardinia», получивший несколько премий Телегатто, проводят совместный гастрольный тур по Европе. Пароди участвует в нескольких престижных международных джаз-фестивалях: North Sea Jazz Festival (Кейптаун, ЮАР), Fiara della Manresa (Испания), Festival delle Percussioni di Louga (Сенегал). В оперном театре города Кальяри Пароди принимает участие в спектакле «Terracuza To» вместе с группой из Прованса Troubaires de Coumboscuro (сейчас группа называется Marleval), также выступает с квартетом Faraualla.

13 альбомов и несколько совместных с другими исполнителями композиций Андреа («Nuvole» — Фабрицио де Андре, «Soft songs» — Джанни Ноченци, «Amorgos», «Terra Maris» — Индако, «Nun e Acqua» — Массимо Раньери, «Creuza de ma» — Мауро Пагани) вошли в большой сборник мировой музыки «World Music — Il giro del mondo in musica» под лейблом Amiata Records.

Последний год жизни. Reunion
В 2005 году Андреа возвращается в группу Tazenda. Вместе они успевают записать концертный альбом «Reunion» (Воссоединение). Возвращение Пароди в группу вызвало новую волну успеха коллектива, однако проработать вместе им удалось лишь около года. 17 октября 2006 года Андреа Пароди скончался от рака. Последний концерт артиста, состоявшийся 22 сентября 2006 года в Римском амфитеатре города Кальяри (Сардиния), был записан в виде CD-альбома «Intimi Raccolti» и впервые вышел в продажу вместе с ежедневной газетой L'Unione Sarda. В альбом вошли 12 композиций.

Семья
Старший сын Лука и дочь Алессия от первого брака.

Вторая жена — Валентина Касалена, две дочери, Антеа и Лара.

Дискография

Сольные альбомы
 Abacada (2002)
 Andrea Parodi (2004)
 Intimi Raccolti (2006)
 Intimi Raccolti — IL CONCERTO (DVD/CD, 2007) Live in Cagliari, 22.09.2006

В составе групп

Il Coro Degli Angeli (Sole Nero)
 Canzoni di Mogol-Battisti (1982)
 Songs at Forty (1985)
 Miserios (1986)

Tazenda
 Tazenda (1988)
 Murales (1991)
 Limba (1992)
 Il Popolo Rock (Live, 1993)
 Forza Paris (1995)
 Il Sole di Tazenda (1997, сборник)

Совместные
 Midsummer Night in Sardinia (2005, совместно с Эл ди Меола)
 Rosa Resolza (2007,совместно с Елена Ледда)

В альбомах других исполнителей
 «Soft Songs» — Джанни Ноченци

Продюсерская деятельность
 Марино де Розас, «Meridies», 1998
 «Cantos a Kiterra», сардинские песни, гитара

Режиссёрские работы
Андреа Пароди снял несколько документальных фильмов о Сардинии и несколько клипов для Tazenda, в последние годы снимал видеоарт на Сардинии

Память

Премия и фонд Андреа Пароди
В память об Андреа семья основала в 2009 году фонд Андреа Пароди. В настоящий момент президентом фонда является Валентина Касалена, а вице-президентом — Лука Пароди. Основные задачи фонда: поддержка и продвижение культуры и языка Сардинии, а также других этнических групп Италии и Средиземноморья. От имени фонда ежегодно вручается Премия Андреа Пароди. Премию вручают по результатам международного конкурса, проходящего в ноябре каждого года. Получать её могут артисты и деятели искусства, связанные с этнической средиземноморской культурой. Фонд также уделяет внимание социальным проблемам малых народов Средиземноморья. Основной капитал фонда поддерживается добровольными пожертвованиями.

Музей Андреа Пароди
По инициативе фонда организован мультимедийный Музей Андреа Пароди, посвященный творчеству артиста.

Парк Андреа Пароди в Кальяри
Парк имени Андреа Пароди расположен в провинции Кальяри в Куарту-Сан-Элена, на площади Сан-Андреа. На территории парка также находится церковь Сан-Андреа.

Примечания

Ссылки
 сайт фонда Андреа Пароди

 Валентины Касалена

Певцы и певицы Италии
Персоналии:Сардиния
Этническая музыка
Фестиваль Сан-Ремо
Певцы и певицы по алфавиту


Watch Bands are an important part of every watch. Without the bands, watches will not be as comfortable and portable. It will defeat the purpose of having a watch. They are essential for proper usage of the watches.
To use the watch regularly, it should have a durable and tough band. This band should also be stylish in order to make the watch look good at hand.
Casio has many such durable bands. These can be sued on any type of watches. See below to find out various types of watch bands.
This black colored band is very sleek and rich in texture. It is best to be used on black colored watches. Any other dark shade will also go well with this band.
This shiny band has nice and beautiful surface. It gives a good look to the wristwatch. The wrist of the person wearing it also looks nice. It is easy to fold and very comfortable.
This stylish band has an impressive color. It has big and broad holes on its surface. This makes it possible to tighten the grip and wear the watch more comfortably.
This band has a nice shape. It is broader at the end, which makes it look bigger and better. It also adds beauty to the wrist of the person. It has a nice design on its surface.


text:
require 'rails_helper'

describe TextsController do
  request_json
  login_user

  let(:body) { JSON.parse(response.body) }

  describe '#index' do
    let(:unique_word) { 'StrangWordiness' }
    let!(:first_text) { create(:text, user: user, title: unique_word) }
    let!(:second_text) { create(:text, user: user) }

    it 'shows all the texts of a user' do
      get :index
      expect(body['data'].length).to eq(user.texts.count)
    end

    it 'allows to filter a users texts' do
      get :index, params: { filters: { query: unique_word } }
      expect(body['data'].length).to eq(1)
      expect(body['data'][0]['title']).to eq(unique_word)
    end
  end

  describe '#delete' do
    let!(:my_text) { create(:text, user: user) }
    let!(:other_text) { create(:text) }

    it 'allows deleting your own texts' do
      delete :destroy, params: { id: my_text.to_param }
      expect(response).to be_success
      expect(Text.find_by(id: my_text.id)).to be_nil
    end

    it 'does not allow deleting other texts' do
      delete :destroy, params: { id: other_text.to_param }
      expect(response).to_not be_success
      expect(Text.find_by(id: other_text.id)).to eq(other_text)
    end
  end

  describe '#create' do
    let(:text) { build(:text) }
    let(:payload) { text.as_json(only: %w(title content category language_id)) }

    it 'is possible to create a new text' do
      post :create, params: { text: payload }
      expect(response).to be_success
      expect(Text.last.title).to eq(text.title)
    end

    it 'associates the user correctly' do
      post :create, params: { text: payload }
      expect(response).to be_success
      expect(Text.last.user).to eq(user)
    end

    it 'returns an error if it is missing parameters' do
      text.title = ''
      post :create, params: { text: payload }
      expect(response).to_not be_success
      expect(response.status).to eq(422)
    end
  end

  describe '#get' do
    let!(:my_text) { create(:text, user: user) }
    let!(:other_text) { create(:text) }

    it 'should allow me to see my onw text' do
      get :show, params: { id: my_text.to_param }
      expect(response).to be_success
      expect(body['title']).to eq(my_text.title)
    end

    it 'should not allow me to see the texts of others' do
      get :show, params: { id: other_text.to_param }
      expect(response).to_not be_success
      expect(body['title']).to_not eq(other_text.title)
    end

    describe 'last_opened_at' do
      before(:each) do
        my_text.update_attributes(last_opened_at: 10.minutes.ago)
        my_text.reload
      end

      let!(:second_text) { create(:text, user: user) }

      it 'should be set when looking at a text' do
        old_date = my_text.last_opened_at
        get :show, params: { id: my_text.to_param }
        my_text.reload
        expect(my_text.last_opened_at).to be > old_date
      end

      it 'should show the last opened text first in the listing' do
        get :show, params: { id: my_text.to_param }
        get :index
        expect(body['data'].length).to eq(2)
        expect(body['data'][0]['to_param']).to eq(my_text.to_param)
      end

      describe 'public text' do
        before(:each) do
          my_text.update_attributes(public: true, created_at: 10.minutes.ago)
          second_text.update_attributes(public: true, created_at: 1.minute.ago)
          Text.reindex
        end

        it 'should not list texts which are public' do
          get :index
          expect(body['data'].length).to eq(0)
        end

        it 'should list texts in creation order for public texts' do
          get :index, params: { filters: { public: true } }
          expect(body['data'].length).to eq(2)
          expect(body['data'][0]['to_param']).to eq(second_text.to_param)
          expect(body['data'][1]['to_param']).to eq(my_text.to_param)
        end
      end
    end

    describe 'admin' do
      it 'allows seeing all texts, including those of others' do
        user.update_attribute(:role, User::ROLE_ADMIN)
        get :show, params: { id: other_text.uuid }
        expect(response).to be_success
        expect(body['title']).to eq(other_text.title)
      end
    end

    describe 'moderator' do
      it 'allows seeing all texts, including those of others' do
        user.update_attribute(:role, User::ROLE_MODERATOR)
        get :show, params: { id: other_text.uuid }
        expect(response).to be_success
        expect(body['title']).to eq(other_text.title)
      end
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
He did what?
ERIC 'DEBBO' DEBENHAM
ERIC 'DEBBO' DEBENHAM | He did what?
A congenial giant in the pits, a terror on the track
Whenever Debbo's name crops up the first recollection is of his tremendous laugh and, in an era when short circuit racers enjoyed regular meetings at Vineyard, Taree, Goulburn, Bungarribee, Salty Creek and Nepean, Debbo had good reason to laugh. Invariably his 190cm tall frame would dominate the podium and, if not, there was always something to laugh about for the larrikin from Sydney's Chipping Norton.
Debbo contested the inaugural Australian Short Circuit Championships on a property near Junee, where seasoned campaigner Ray Curtis recalls Debbo was disappointed with his third placing, such was his determination to win. Which is exactly what he did 12 months later on the same circuit, becoming the 1958 Australian champion.
Running his own haulage business while travelling to races from one end of the state to the other proved too demanding, and Debbo switched to powerboat racing on Georges River – just over his back fence. Debbo proved just as adept behind the helm of his Jaguar-powered hydroplane as he had behind the 'bars of his BSA, winning back-to-back championships in 1963 and '64. Later, when he suffered the misfortune of sinking the hydroplane after hitting a marker buoy, he gave the boats away.
Folklore has it that Keith Corish conceived the Corish-Vincent when watching Tony McAlpine's Vincent Black Lightning clash with Harry Hinton's Manx Norton around Mount Panorama in the 1950s. Though it wasn't until a decade later that Corish stuffed a race-prepared Vincent C Series powerplant into a Norton International frame suspended on an amalgam of Norton and BSA brake and wheel components. This, or something like it, was what Corish presented to his old mate Debbo with the proposition that he was just the man to tame the beast.
Debenham and the Corish-Vincent were a fearsome combination
The first real test came at the 1967 Bathurst TT meeting on Mount Panorama. In an unimaginably large field of over 200 riders contesting the Unlimited 'C' Grade race, Debbo started 27th and, setting fastest lap along the way, blasted through the field to finish third. Despite fading brakes, the Corish-Vincent was almost a winner.
Back at Mount Panorama the following year, the Corish-Vincent, now with securely routed front brake lines, was a proven winner. Taking two full seconds off the outright lap record Debbo enjoyed a comfortable win in the unlimited 'B' Grade race but reported the bike had lost its edge.
Sure enough the timing was retarded and, with that rectified, Debbo took on the Unlimited Grand Prix. A little slow to begin, Debbo soon shot to the lead with another new lap record, helped by a top speed of 265km/h down Conrod Straight. Unfortunately after adjusting the timing, the float bowl had not been secured correctly and while Debbo could ride around that problem, excessive clutch free-play meant the best he could do was limp home to second place in a race marred by attrition.
Frustrated by continuing problems, Keith sold the bike to concentrate on his printing business and enjoy club outings on his Ariel. Debbo was left without a ride but with a wealth of knowledge on how to build a race winner. Using components imported from as far as Eastern Europe and Argentina, and with a little help from fellow Bankstown-Wiley Park MCC member Tony Gill, Debbo constructed a much improved replica of the Corish-Vincent, though the only thing retained from the original was the now famous racing number 87.
At 190cm Debbo towered over the opposition
Now an 'A' Grade rider, Debbo continued to campaign the bike at open meetings but found it uncompetitive against machines such as the Yamaha TZ 700 two-strokes.
This didn't unduly concern Debbo, who, now well into his 50s was happy to race in club events where clad in his old-school one piece leathers, he was always welcome for his good humour and the distinctive sounds of his laughter, which often exceeded the open exhaust of the big black #87. The Debenham-Vincent helped make Debbo the most universally popular competitor of the era.
Debbo was never anything less than full gas and, when the Vincent jumped out of gear at an Amaroo Historic meet in the early 1980s, throwing him into the fence at the start of pit straight, Debbo's laugh wasn't as heartfelt as usual. Another fall at Lakeside and he parted ways with the #87 Vincent, this time permanently.
Many years later, Debbo took a guest ride on the Ken Lucas-built Norton Vincent, but he couldn't quite come to grips with it around the Mount Gambier Circuit. Though at 78 years old most would have been happy with a podium, he was disappointed and donated his racing leathers to the National Motor Racing Museum at Bathurst.
He may have ceased racing but he continued to rally his 1956 ES2 Norton until his final chequered flag fell in May, 2015.
Words & photography Peter Whitaker


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CA Gov. Newsom Issues State-Wide Stay-At-Home-Order
Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, said experts were projecting that roughly 56 per cent of Californians, or about 25.5 million people, were expected to contract the coronavirus over the next eight weeks. Newsom's claim comes in contrast to worldwide coronavirus cases at just over 256K.
Shorty after, the Governor issued a state-wide mandatory stay-at-home executive order. The order went into effect the same day and lasts until further notice. Before Newsom's state-wide shutdown, California had reported nearly 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon, according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. San Francisco issued a similar city-wide order days earlier.
Newsom's orders allows essential services such as gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants, banks, and laundromats to remain open. Dine-in restaurants, bars, nightclubs, "entertainment venues," gyms, public events, and convention centers will be ordered to close.
"Essential state and local government functions will also remain open, including law enforcement and offices that provide government programs and services," the state said.
Meanwhile, China and the epicenter of its coronavirus outbreak, Wuhan city, have reported no new domestic transmissions for the first time.
As the American economy is signaling several signs of distress, California's shutdown may hamstring the world's fifth largest economy. In addition, 2018 data shows the economy of California employs 17.7M people. The largest industry in California is Restaurants & Food Services which have shown to been some of the hardest hit from other citywide shutdowns measures.
At a press briefing at the White House on Friday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States and Mexico have agreed to restrict all non-essential travel across southern border in response to the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump also invoked the Defense Production Act to speed medical supply production.
When asked if he'll invoke a nationwide shutdown, Trump stated "I don't think we'll ever find that necessary."
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