text:
Vertebral deformity in men
Thomas Mann, Shelia K. Oviatt, David Wilson, David Nelson, Eric S. Orwoll
Vertebral fracture is the most prevalent manifestation of osteoporosis in women, but there is very little information concerning vertebral fracture in men. These studies begin to determine the prevalence, radiographic character, and relationship to bone mineral density of vertebral deformity in men. A group of 144 white men aged 34–94 years (83% between 50 and 80 years) were studied. Thoracic and lumbar spine radiographs were obtained using standardized techniques, and morphometric measures of vertebrae (T6–L5) were obtained using a computerized digitization pad. Vertebral deformities (wedge, midbody, and crush) were identified using several criteria. In addition, a skeletal radiologist independently identified vertebral deformities, as well as vertebrae affected by epiphysitis (Scheuermann's disease), using classic radiographic criteria. Bone mineral density was measured at lumbar spine and proximal femoral sites using dual‐photon absorptiometry. The prevalence of vertebral deformity was related to the criteria used for their identification. Utilizing vertebral‐specific criteria (anterior/posterior or midbody/posterior vertebral height more than 3 SD below vertebral specific mean), 10% of subjects had vertebral deformity. Wedge deformity occurred primarily in thoracic vertebrae and were more common than midbody deformity, which occurred more commonly in lumbar vertebrae. Crush deformities were not observed. Evidence of vertebral epiphysitis was present in 9% of subjects but was not responsible for vertebral deformity sufficient to be falsely identified using the more than −3 SD criterion. Bone mineral density in subjects with vertebral deformity was clearly reduced at both vertebral (p = 0.003) and proximal femoral (p = 0.002) measurements sites. The number of vertebral deformities was negatively correlated with vertebral bone mineral density. In summary, vertebral deformity in men is associated with generalized osteopenia.
Journal of Bone and Mineral Research
https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.5650071120
10.1002/jbmr.5650071120
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Vertebral deformity in men'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Bone Density Medicine & Life Sciences
Spine Medicine & Life Sciences
Scheuermann Disease Medicine & Life Sciences
Thigh Medicine & Life Sciences
Thoracic Vertebrae Medicine & Life Sciences
Lumbar Vertebrae Medicine & Life Sciences
Metabolic Bone Diseases Medicine & Life Sciences
Radiologists Medicine & Life Sciences
Mann, T., Oviatt, S. K., Wilson, D., Nelson, D., & Orwoll, E. S. (1992). Vertebral deformity in men. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 7(11), 1259-1265. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.5650071120
Vertebral deformity in men. / Mann, Thomas; Oviatt, Shelia K.; Wilson, David; Nelson, David; Orwoll, Eric S.
In: Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Vol. 7, No. 11, 11.1992, p. 1259-1265.
Mann, T, Oviatt, SK, Wilson, D, Nelson, D & Orwoll, ES 1992, 'Vertebral deformity in men', Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, vol. 7, no. 11, pp. 1259-1265. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.5650071120
Mann T, Oviatt SK, Wilson D, Nelson D, Orwoll ES. Vertebral deformity in men. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 1992 Nov;7(11):1259-1265. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.5650071120
Mann, Thomas ; Oviatt, Shelia K. ; Wilson, David ; Nelson, David ; Orwoll, Eric S. / Vertebral deformity in men. In: Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 1992 ; Vol. 7, No. 11. pp. 1259-1265.
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title = "Vertebral deformity in men",
abstract = "Vertebral fracture is the most prevalent manifestation of osteoporosis in women, but there is very little information concerning vertebral fracture in men. These studies begin to determine the prevalence, radiographic character, and relationship to bone mineral density of vertebral deformity in men. A group of 144 white men aged 34–94 years (83% between 50 and 80 years) were studied. Thoracic and lumbar spine radiographs were obtained using standardized techniques, and morphometric measures of vertebrae (T6–L5) were obtained using a computerized digitization pad. Vertebral deformities (wedge, midbody, and crush) were identified using several criteria. In addition, a skeletal radiologist independently identified vertebral deformities, as well as vertebrae affected by epiphysitis (Scheuermann's disease), using classic radiographic criteria. Bone mineral density was measured at lumbar spine and proximal femoral sites using dual‐photon absorptiometry. The prevalence of vertebral deformity was related to the criteria used for their identification. Utilizing vertebral‐specific criteria (anterior/posterior or midbody/posterior vertebral height more than 3 SD below vertebral specific mean), 10% of subjects had vertebral deformity. Wedge deformity occurred primarily in thoracic vertebrae and were more common than midbody deformity, which occurred more commonly in lumbar vertebrae. Crush deformities were not observed. Evidence of vertebral epiphysitis was present in 9% of subjects but was not responsible for vertebral deformity sufficient to be falsely identified using the more than −3 SD criterion. Bone mineral density in subjects with vertebral deformity was clearly reduced at both vertebral (p = 0.003) and proximal femoral (p = 0.002) measurements sites. The number of vertebral deformities was negatively correlated with vertebral bone mineral density. In summary, vertebral deformity in men is associated with generalized osteopenia.",
author = "Thomas Mann and Oviatt, {Shelia K.} and David Wilson and David Nelson and Orwoll, {Eric S.}",
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T1 - Vertebral deformity in men
AU - Mann, Thomas
AU - Oviatt, Shelia K.
AU - Wilson, David
AU - Nelson, David
AU - Orwoll, Eric S.
N2 - Vertebral fracture is the most prevalent manifestation of osteoporosis in women, but there is very little information concerning vertebral fracture in men. These studies begin to determine the prevalence, radiographic character, and relationship to bone mineral density of vertebral deformity in men. A group of 144 white men aged 34–94 years (83% between 50 and 80 years) were studied. Thoracic and lumbar spine radiographs were obtained using standardized techniques, and morphometric measures of vertebrae (T6–L5) were obtained using a computerized digitization pad. Vertebral deformities (wedge, midbody, and crush) were identified using several criteria. In addition, a skeletal radiologist independently identified vertebral deformities, as well as vertebrae affected by epiphysitis (Scheuermann's disease), using classic radiographic criteria. Bone mineral density was measured at lumbar spine and proximal femoral sites using dual‐photon absorptiometry. The prevalence of vertebral deformity was related to the criteria used for their identification. Utilizing vertebral‐specific criteria (anterior/posterior or midbody/posterior vertebral height more than 3 SD below vertebral specific mean), 10% of subjects had vertebral deformity. Wedge deformity occurred primarily in thoracic vertebrae and were more common than midbody deformity, which occurred more commonly in lumbar vertebrae. Crush deformities were not observed. Evidence of vertebral epiphysitis was present in 9% of subjects but was not responsible for vertebral deformity sufficient to be falsely identified using the more than −3 SD criterion. Bone mineral density in subjects with vertebral deformity was clearly reduced at both vertebral (p = 0.003) and proximal femoral (p = 0.002) measurements sites. The number of vertebral deformities was negatively correlated with vertebral bone mineral density. In summary, vertebral deformity in men is associated with generalized osteopenia.
AB - Vertebral fracture is the most prevalent manifestation of osteoporosis in women, but there is very little information concerning vertebral fracture in men. These studies begin to determine the prevalence, radiographic character, and relationship to bone mineral density of vertebral deformity in men. A group of 144 white men aged 34–94 years (83% between 50 and 80 years) were studied. Thoracic and lumbar spine radiographs were obtained using standardized techniques, and morphometric measures of vertebrae (T6–L5) were obtained using a computerized digitization pad. Vertebral deformities (wedge, midbody, and crush) were identified using several criteria. In addition, a skeletal radiologist independently identified vertebral deformities, as well as vertebrae affected by epiphysitis (Scheuermann's disease), using classic radiographic criteria. Bone mineral density was measured at lumbar spine and proximal femoral sites using dual‐photon absorptiometry. The prevalence of vertebral deformity was related to the criteria used for their identification. Utilizing vertebral‐specific criteria (anterior/posterior or midbody/posterior vertebral height more than 3 SD below vertebral specific mean), 10% of subjects had vertebral deformity. Wedge deformity occurred primarily in thoracic vertebrae and were more common than midbody deformity, which occurred more commonly in lumbar vertebrae. Crush deformities were not observed. Evidence of vertebral epiphysitis was present in 9% of subjects but was not responsible for vertebral deformity sufficient to be falsely identified using the more than −3 SD criterion. Bone mineral density in subjects with vertebral deformity was clearly reduced at both vertebral (p = 0.003) and proximal femoral (p = 0.002) measurements sites. The number of vertebral deformities was negatively correlated with vertebral bone mineral density. In summary, vertebral deformity in men is associated with generalized osteopenia.
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text:
ACCEPTED

#### According to
The Catalogue of Life, 3rd January 2011

#### Published in
Phytologia 28: 487 (1974)

#### Original name
Parmelia cordillerana Gyeln.

### Remarks
null

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Videos/
Photo Gallery /
Lessons/
Theatre /
B i o g r a p h y
Like many of the new 'breed' of fiddlers I studied the Suzuki violin method at an early age until I attended a Fiddle Contest and heard the passion and fun in Old-Time and Bluegrass music. I was hooked and over the next decade learned what I could from the many great fiddlers and musicians I met along my while way winning many fiddle contests across the U.S.
I attended the Crane School of Music for a year as a music major on trombone, left, got involved in theatre at my next college and realized I could perform onstage in shows. After a stint in a Renaissance Festival as a minstrel and court dancer, I played in a country cover band for a year in New England and then wound up in New York City. I studied on/off for many years with Improvising Violinist Julie Lyonn Lieberman and made my way into the field of music and theatre. Eventually while living in Los Angeles I studied with legendary bluegrass fiddler Richard Greene.
David has played beside artists as diverse as Alan Cumming, Serj Tankian, Tony Bennett, Kylie Minogue, Amanda Palmer, Justin Vivian Bond, and Dee Snider from Lincoln Center in NYC to the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Most recently he can be seen/heard in the PBS special Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs
I got a chance to play solo chromatic harmonica as the Mock Turtle in the opera Alice In Wonderland with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and also with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London. I was in the cast of the Tony award-winning revival of Cabaret at Studio 54 on Broadway playing trombone and violin/viola. In 2011 I made my West End debut in London with Best Musical nominee Woody Sez in which I played fiddle, guitar, banjo, harmonica and another half-dozen instruments and in 2013 I even played Spoons on ex-Democratic Presidential nominee Dennis Kucinich's lap!
Off- Broadway credits include Allegro with John Doyle, Fame on 42nd Street and the New York premiere of Tennessee Williams' 60-year-old play, Spring Storm. He also spent several years touring Europe, the U.S. and Canada with Fame the Musical, after that he spent a year on the Cabaret National tour ending in Tokyo, Japan. Regionally he has performed in most of the U.S.
Mr. Finch is proud to have been an Associate Producer at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in NYC from 2004–2006. His CD -the fiddle made me do it- is on iTunes. He is also the co-creator and musical supervisor of Careless Love: A Down Home Musical.
© 2013 by TripleFret Productions. All rights reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
It's bigger than football, The roster
Gordon's second chance with Hawks is here: 'Hopefully it's better than last time'
John Schneider has never been shy about betting on veteran talent – whether they're big trades or no-risk deals.
Josh Gordon might be the first guy Schneider has taken a cheap flyer on twice. The troubled but talented receiver is back, conditionally reinstated by the NFL and eligible to play for the Hawks in Week 16 against the Rams (if he's ready that fast).
Seattle got five games out of him in 2019 before the league suspended him for the fifth time. Schneider re-signed him just before this season started, and plenty of media and fans have been wondering when he would be pardoned by the NFL.
Gordon didn't see much action in those five games last season, but he made the most of his seven catches: He caught key third-down passes that led to scores in close wins over the 49ers, Eagles and Vikings. And he made a 58-yard catch that set up a TD in a 30-24 win over Carolina – his last game before he was banned yet again.
The question is not whether he can be effective for Seattle. The question is whether he has overcome his addictions and is focused on living a healthy, productive, happy life. It takes effort for an addict to live well on a daily basis, and hopefully he has found the inner strength to finally commit to that.
As Russell Wilson said, "I'm rooting for him to be able to overcome. Hopefully this time it's better than the last time."
If Gordon stays sober, he should be able to offer a few key plays again as this season winds down. He could play as many as six games for the Hawks, if he steps in immediately against the Rams and the Hawks don't get the bye and reach the Super Bowl.
Beyond that, if he stays out of trouble, Gordon should be a great No. 3 option in 2021. The Hawks have stuck by him for over a year, so it seems a no-brainer that he will choose to come back again.
The Seahawks tried all year to add a third playmaker at receiver. They signed former first-round pick Phillip Dorsett, who has been injured all year, and flirted with the stupid idea of adding Antonio Brown. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have been a star duo, and David Moore has stepped up at times. But Gordon could be a big upgrade over Moore at the No. 3 spot; at the least, Gordon should supplant rookie Freddie Swain as No. 4.
Brian Schottenheimer said Gordon "gives Russ another fun toy to play with."
Gordon is Schneider's latest cheap flyer on a former high pick who had busted out for one reason or another. Most of the GM's low-cost reclamation projects have not worked out or lasted long in Seattle: Braylon Edwards, Barrett Ruud, Deuce Lutui, Alex Barron, Kellen Winslow, Terrell Owens, Eddie Lacy, Dion Jordan, Marcus Smith, Brandon Marshall, Jamar Taylor, Dorsett, et al.
Gordon didn't last long the first time either. As Wilson said, we'll see whether this time is different.
John SchneiderJosh GordonRussell Wilson
Previous PostOffense needs to snap out of its funkNext PostIt's December: time to get healthy
One thought on "Gordon's second chance with Hawks is here: 'Hopefully it's better than last time'"
Antonio Brown isn't exactly a difference-maker in Tampa: The Bucs are 1-3 since signing him. His YPC is 5 yards under his career average.


Bedroom : Wine Bottle Centerpieces For Weddings Glass Vase Large Decorative Bottles Jugs Cute With Flowers Wedding Table Decorations Recycle Painting Of And ~ Dowdydoodles Inc.
Published at Sunday, February 17th, 2019 - 20:30:37 PM. Bedroom. By Elsie Schumacher.


text:
Brave Predictions for Athletics in 2023: Retirement for Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Erriyon Knighton to come unstuck at the World Championships, and Salwa Eid Naser to return with a bang
byDeji Ogeyingbo
Seb Coe and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, photo by World Athletics
Well, Deji Ogeyingbo sure knows how to stir it up! These are his Brave Predictions for 2023! Read them, and tell us what you think!
With the 2023 season starting soon in track and field, there is so much to look forward to. From the Cross-Country Championships in Australia, World Championships in Budapest, and the Diamond League, there are so many predictions to make for the year ahead, including one of the greats of our sports retiring, the most precocious sprinter in the last two years not making a mark and the return of a world champion.
Surely, making predictions isn't so easy, but we've taken the bull by the horn to come up with these stories that could potentially make headlines this year.
Will The Pocket-Rocket, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, retire at the end of the season?
Allyson Felix called it quits in 2022. Who would be next in 2023? Smart money is on Jamaican sprint-queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The 36-year-old had arguably her best year in 2022 when she won her fifth title over the 100m.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, photo by Weltklasse Zurich
More important was her impeccable feat of clocking 10.62s during the Monaco Diamond League meet, the fifth fastest time in history. She also owns the third fastest time in history from the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, clocking a 10.60 performance. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner and Elaine Thompson-Herah have run faster at 10.49 and 10.54, respectively.
Also, seven of the performances run during 2022 are in the top 15 all-time by Fraser-Pryce. Eleven of the top-20 performances were run by the Jamaican, all-time. This is what we have been serenaded by this "Pocket-Rocket." But time is not friendly to anyone. The body ages, it doesn't recover from injury quicker, and younger sprinters are popping up at an astronomical level. Fifteen years at the top level is incredible, and at the end of the year, she would be 37.
2. …And Kenenisa Bekele might join her?
The debate about who is the greatest distance runner of all time would most likely continue to rage on in 2023, but there is no denying the fact that Kenenisa Bekele has conquered the sport and is the most versatile of every distance runner of all time.
Since switching to the road in 2017, the Ethiopian great has had a topsy-turvy result in the last five years. With his best marathon result coming in 2019 when he ran the second-fastest-ever marathon in 2:01:41, Bekele has struggled to match up with the big boys.
Kenenisa Bekele, 2022 London Marathon by London Marathon
In the fall of 2022, he set the masters record (40 years and above) for the Half marathon when he finished third at the Great North Run. Over the past few years, Bekele has had to deal with so many injuries and personal issues that it has affected his performances. Maybe this year is the last we would get to witness this great runner of our time call it quits.
3. Erriyon Knighton won't win a world title (this time around)
No doubt, Erriyon Knighton is the future of sprinting, and the boy is only just nineteen. The American has been smashing all sorts of records since high school, cumulating in picking bronze at the world championships in Oregon last year.
Erriyon Knighton took the bronze at the WC in the 200 meters, photo by Kevin Morris
Last year, while 17, Knighton clocked 19.84 at the U.S. Olympic Trials to break the world junior record previously held by a certain Usain Bolt. Also, at April's LSU Invitational, he ran 19.49 to become the fourth fastest man in history, and he picked up the Rising male athlete of the year award for the second time.
As expected, all eyes will be on him to win his first world title in Budapest in August, but there is a feeling he might come short. Defending champion Noah Lyles will be much stronger, and Olympic Champion Andre De Grasse will be back in full force.
There is little doubt that Knighton will become a world champion eventually in his career. But in 2023?
4. Salwa Edi Naser will return with a bang in 2023
Most times, when athletes return from a doping violation, they take time to get into full gear. Christian Coleman, Justin Gatlin, and Tyson Gay, just to mention a few. The 2019 world champion over the 400m was charged by the Athletics Integrity Unit in 2020 for at least three "whereabouts failures" within a year, which can lead to a two-year ban.
Salwa Eid Naser, photo by Diamond League AG
Naser is expected to return in early 2023, and there are many indications she will continue from where she left off. When she won the world title with a stunning 48.14 in 2019, it became the third fastest time in history. Since then, only Dominican Republic's Marileidy Paulino has run inside 49s. Even that was 48.99s.
There are rumors that world record holder in the 400mH, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, might dabble into the 400m flat this year. Still, adjusting to a new terrain might be a step too far.
Deji Ogeyingbo
Deji Ogeyingbo is one of Nigeria's leading Track and Field Journalists as he has worked in various capacities as a writer, content creator, and reporter for radio and TV stations in the country and Africa. Deji has covered varying degrees of Sporting competitions within and outside Nigeria which includes, African Championships and World Junior Championships. Also, he founded one of Nigeria's leading Sports PR and Branding company in Nikau Sports in 2020, a company that aims to change the narrative of how athletes are perceived in Nigeria while looking to grow their image to the highest possible level.
2023 RunBlogRun Winter Training, Week One, Day 1, and we begin the new year…
2022 RunBlogRun Winter Training, Week One, Day 2…just the beginnings
2022 RunBlogRun Winter Training, Week One, Day 2...just the beginnings


text:
Mordechai Silverstein
Don't Forget to Call Home
Dec 7, 2021, 11:51 AM
Every year around this time, Yosef's ascension to power in Egypt raises the same question at our Shabbat table: "Why didn't he call home?" Why didn't Yosef let his father know he was alive? Of course, to change the plot might have interfered with the divine plan, but this question torments any and every Jewish parent. Yaakov was left tormented and bereft all of those years and when the plot of the story finally calls for Yaakov to receive news from his son, Yosef, he is left cold, not knowing how to respond:
"And they went up from Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, 'Jacob is still alive,' and that he was ruler in all the land of Egypt. And his heart stopped, for he did not believe them. And they spoke to him all the words of Yosef that he had spoken to them, and he saw the wagons (agalot) that Yosef had sent to convey him, and the spirit of Yaakov was revived. And Israel said: 'Enough! Yosef my son is still alive. Let me go see him before I die.' (45:25-28)
What made Yaakov change his mind? The story, as told by the Torah, does not answer that question but a fabulous rabbinic story comes to fill in the gap: "When Yosef's brothers came and said to Yaakov that Yosef was still alive, his heart stopped and he did not believe them. But then Yaakov remembered the last subject in Jewish law that he had learned together with Yosef before Yosef's disappearance, and said to himself: 'I remember that the last thing Yosef and I studied was about the rite of the beheaded heifer – eglah arufa (a ceremony performed over an unsolved murder). And Yaakov said to them: 'When Yosef sent for me, he gave you a sign when he sent wagons (agalot) to remind me of the last thing that I studied together with him. Now I believe you!'" (adapted from Tanhuma Vayegash 11)
This anecdote comes to explain what caused the quick change in Yaakov's disposition from shock to acceptance of the fact that his long-lost son was still alive. It assumes a familiar rabbinic presumption that the patriarchs and matriarchs shared the practices and concerns of rabbinic Jews. And so, while it is anachronistic, they presume that Yaakov, being a good Jewish father, studied Torah with his son Yosef and it just so happens that the last thing they studied together were the laws governing the ritual practiced upon finding the victim of an unsolved murder. The rite involved the ritual killing of heifer (an egel). In our story, when Yosef sends his father wagons (agalot) to take him to Egypt, Yaakov "poetically" links "egel" to "agalah" and sees in it a message from his long-lost son.
This storyline is not without a message. My teacher, Rabbi Simon Greenberg z"l, used to remind us that one studies Jewish stories and amasses Jewish knowledge, in part, not only because these associations shape who we are as people both also because they serve to connect us to each other through shared memories. In this story, Yaakov and Yosef shared such a link. Can we say the same?
Mordechai Silverstein is a teacher of Torah who has lived in Jerusalem for over 30 years. He specializes in helping people build personalized Torah study programs.
PARSHA POSTS: VAYIGASH
The Eternal Jew's Tale, #23, Party time
Stephen Berer


New York, NY – HG Contemporary is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work by Franz Klainsek. CHAINS will run from Tuesday April 9th through April 30th, 2019.
of simplicity, while revealing a continuous transformation. A massive installation composed of hundreds of feet of chains commands the exhibition space.


Put yourself in the driver's seat of these incredible dream cars! Groundbreaking designs, impactful styling and progressive concepts make you realize that the best dreams can happen when you're awake! This year, 12-month wall calendar measures 12" x 12" and includes twelve, full-color images combined with the monthly calendar grids and a thirteenth spread featuring a 4-month view of January - April for next year and a lined contact and notes page. Printed on premium gloss paper.


text:
Letters to the Editor: 11-14-2013
SANE WILDLIFE POLICIES
I want to set the record straight on Congressman Peter DeFazio's efforts with regards to wildlife management. DeFazio has been a staunch supporter for sane wildlife policies for decades. In the early 1990s he fought against aerial gunning of wolves in Alaska.
Just this September DeFazio sent a letter to Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell opposing the delisting of wolves — for all the right reasons as well.
Even more importantly, DeFazio has shown leadership for decades in his continuous efforts to rein in the outlaw federal agency known as Wildlife Services. The euphemistically named Wildlife Services spends taxpayer dollars killing wildlife, including wolves, coyotes, bears and other top carnivores.
When it comes to wolves and other wildlife, we can be thankful DeFazio is in Congress giving voice to those beings who do not have a voice.
George Wuerthner, Eugene
DEFAZIO'S INTENT
Andy Kerr [Viewpoint, 11/7] provides a sharp-eyed political analysis of the O&C lands situation. Perhaps his most penetrating insight is that Rep. Peter DeFazio's position functions to keep timber barons off his back. If Kerr backs his claim with empirical evidence it will devastate DeFazio's political vocation.
It's equally possible that Catholic social teaching motivates DeFazio, who has a Catholic background, to care about people in small rural forest communities — not power. But intent is difficult to establish.
Thinking harder about providing viable, alternative ways of making a living for those in ecologically untenable industries may better serve the environment.
We have a social responsibility to our fellow human beings as well as an environmental responsibility to the environment on which we depend. The challenge is a democratic, egalitarian and just integration of the natural and social ecologies.
Still, I fear if DeFazio's plan is carried out as Kerr construes it, O&C forestlands, already heavily logged, will become deserts. The world history of forestry shows forests have only so much resilience. We need to consent to limits. We must give those lands the Sabbath they deserve.
DeFazio should respond to Kerr. As the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles said, it is through conflict — and sometimes only through conflict — that we learn what our ends and purposes are.
Sam Porter, Eugene
AVOID THE CHARIOT RACE
According to your staff pick "Best street to get run over on your bike" [Nov. 7], 18th Avenue looked like a very bad place to ride. A couple of pages away was "Best way to improve South Willamette Street" (throw in some bike lanes and a center turn lane). I hope you realize that what you are advocating for South Willamette is exactly what is now configured on 18th.
The push for bike lanes on Willamette is a recipe for disaster, especially when it's dark and raining and too many cyclists refuse to wear reflective clothing and/or proper lighting on their bikes. In a collision, regardless of who has the right of way, the cyclist loses. The inordinate number of approaches on Willamette only exacerbates the potential danger. Getting rid of the redundant driveways will not cut down on the number of vehicles trying to get into and out of the parking lots (and possibly cutting off the cyclist as a result). My guess is that it would, instead, create a myriad of choke points for cars, and as a result, up the ante on frustrated drivers in a hurry to get on their way. Not a good environment for cyclists.
Take to the side streets, wear reflective clothing, attach lots of flashing lights on your bike, ride defensively and stay away from that chariot race down on Willamette.
Bob Silfies, Eugene
A TASTE FOR VEGGIES
In Karl Stout's letters [10/13 and 10/31] he raises an important point about food waste in cafeterias. He rightfully points out that "wishing and dealing with reality are two very different things." Our Farm to School Program, the School Garden Project and forward-thinking school district food service departments are dealing with reality by working with children from a young age to increase preference for fruits and vegetables. And we've found that these programs work! Students who have been through our programs are more likely to eat fruits and veggies when offered to them at lunch! And we're working with their families so it continues at home.
Because of limited funding we aren't reaching all students in all schools; however, we do believe we are making a difference to address exactly the problem that Stout is concerned about.
Megan Kemple, Farm to School Program Director, Willamette Farm and Food Coalition
BASIC CIVILITY
In 1938, the mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia, proposed an amendment to New York State's Constitution to help those in need, and LaGuardia got the voters to adopt it.
It reads, Section 1: "The aid, care and support of the needy are public concerns and shall be provided by the state and by such of its subdivisions, and in such manner and by such means, as the legislature may, from time to time, determine."
Subsequent litigation (Callahan v. Carey 1979) established the right to shelter under the amendment.
In 1972, the Supreme Court decriminalized vagrancy. In the '60s and '70s, throughout the U.S., mentally ill people were released from mental institutions on the promise of local treatment — treatment which has never materialized to meet the need. In Oregon, the untreated and simply homeless numbers have grown.
The myths advanced today in Oregon to demonize the homeless are without foundation. Should they just "get a job"? As of today, there are 11.3 million unemployed and 3.8 million available jobs [Bureau of Labor Statistics 11/10/12]. Only one job available for each three unemployed!
"Get a job!" is a sick response.
It is basic human decency for the government to provide shelter for the homeless.
Tom Giesen, Eugene
DEFENDING WILDLIFE
I want to call into question the Viewpoint "DeFazio's Devolution" by Andy Kerr that appeared in the Nov. 7 issue. Kerr was wrong when he insinuated that Peter DeFazio's involvement in trying to stop the gray wolf delisting is simply for political purposes to appease environmentalists. Nothing could be further from the truth.
My history of working with DeFazio on these issues began around the wolf in the early 1990s. He was involved in the boycott campaign to stop the aerial gunning of wolves in Alaska, and succeeded in restricting the aerial gunning of wolves during that time. He also introduced a bill to provide protection for wolves and other wildlife on public lands. Since then he has been consistent in his efforts to stop the delisting of the gray wolf.
More than any other member of Congress, DeFazio has taken on the USDA's Wildlife Services (WS) lethal predator control program. This widely criticized program has trapped, snared, aerial gunned, poisoned and otherwise killed over 3,430 wolves in the last 10 years, with annual kill numbers tripling by 2012. Of the millions of animals killed annually by WS, more than 100,000 are coyotes, bobcats, wolves, foxes, otters and other wildlife.
DeFazio has taken serious hits from the ranching community within his district for opposing WS, while not receiving much support from mainstream conservation organizations for these efforts. DeFazio has taken on unpopular causes without any political upside. His ongoing support of wolves and other wildlife is irrefutable and, sadly, largely unappreciated or acknowledged.
Brooks Fahy, Executive Director, Predator Defense
A HEAVY BURDEN
I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Mariah Leung for her steadfast courage and willingness to research and report unpopular truths about the state of Israel. Sometimes knowing too much can be a heavy burden to carry, particularly if one's conscience does not permit one to remain silent.
It's one of current history's funniest paradoxes that opposition to Israeli policies is more freely expressed within the boundaries of Israel than here in "the land of the free." Unfortunately, the joke is on us.
Fergus Mclean, Dexter
WOMEN ON STAGE
I appreciate the covering of such a taboo topic, especially on the front page ["Where are the GRRRLZ?" 10/31]. But I found this article to be self-deprecating ("It's difficult for women to work with all women," "I avoid naming a female act in fear of not being taken seriously"); and contradicting ("No artist interviewed said that she's experienced sexism from bookers" vs. "I had a few different experiences of older men in positions of power, whether they were booking guys or venue owners").
The graph at the bottom seems to be misleading. I don't believe the gender of an act should be determined by the lead singer. Artie Shaw is the leader of his all-male big band, not Billie Holiday (not to discredit her amazing talent and what she brings). What about bands that girls play instruments in, but don't sing? Instrumental groups with no vocals whatsoever? Tia Fuller? Terri Lyne Carrington? The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, the first integrated all-women's band of the 1940s, would've been a "male act" if a male vocalist ever sang with them, which I'm sure happened on multiple occasions. What about Scarlet Fever? Ceelo Green's all-female backing band. The Dirty Projectors? Polyphonic Spree?
Lead singers do a lot for us, but assuming that a woman has to be the singer in order to gain the respect of leading a band is an association I dislike. To this girl, I get excited and hopeful just seeing a woman on stage with a bunch of men, especially if it's for her mad music chops and not strictly because her voice is a nice contrast to the men's. As a professional bass player who's experienced the sexism of the music world, I know for a fact the "side members" contribute just as much, if not more, to the success of a group and cannot be discredited. One final note! The three all-girl bands I've played in have always had beers during rehearsal.
Hannah Rose Dexter, Valencia, Calif.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Hannah Rose Dexter was in Eugene recently, performing in a house concert.
TO WHAT DEGREE?
UO to offer a program for "Sporting Goods Product-Management" to better prepare our students to advance in what Oregon does best. "If the Shoe Fits" degrees will soon be available. Students pursuing "Professional Football Performance" accreditation will have this option as a minor, as opposed to specializing in "Insurance Sales."
Vince Loving, Eugene
SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
The situation is that institutions and enterprises are increasingly deleterious on the ecosystems; systems, worth noting, upon which those institutions and enterprises are founded. Embedded in the Anthropocene, the human campgrounds will collapse as the ground falls out from under them. And the icecaps melt.
Two equally critical steps could forestall such a consequence: 1) illegalize fossil fuels, 2) decentralize production.
But of course our institutions and enterprises and culture of consumption are incarcerated in a gulag of weltanschauungs for which such survival strategies are taboo.
David Hugh Tyson, Eugene
VETS WHEELING HOME
Few remember when Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day. I do, and I remember a jaunty song that went with it: "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again."
Not all Johnnys came marching home. Some were wheeled home, sightless and limbless, others in caskets. Such a song had to seem calloused for mothers who had a gold star hanging in a window for a son killed in action in World War II.
It is no different today as we prepare to greet returnees from Afghanistan and Iraq. We will hear that song whose last line is: "And we'll all be glad when Johnny comes marching home." But awareness of the price paid should cause us to say instead: "And we'll all be sad when Johnny comes wheeling home."
Reality of war and unreality of our patriotic songs should strike us, finally, as we see its victims — our sons and daughters — wheeled before us without eyes to see and limbs to walk. They will remain among us as terrible reminders of how easily we patriotic singers forget the price others pay in unnecessary war.
George Beres, Korean War vet, Eugene
BUYING THE HEADWATERS
Simple solution for the purchase of the Amazon Headwaters: 10,000 people agree to a charge of $5 a week to a major credit card to raise the $2.5 million. Or 5,000 people at $10 a week, or? The money could go directly to the owner of the property, with the title of the property held in escrow until paid for. When paid for, the title would be transferred automatically to an entity agreed to in advance.
Frank Skipton, Springfield


text:
Home / Tag Archives: Holland
Tag Archives: Holland
Totalitarianism and the Great Depression 1861 - 1938
AS THE 1930's drew to a close, only eight countries in Europe, besides Great Britain and France, were still democracies. They were Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Three of Europe's most important nations were dictatorships. The Soviet Union was communist; Germany and Italy were fascist. There had been dictatorships before, but these went further; they were totalitarian. The word "totalitarian" comes from the word "total," and total control is what these dictatorships were after — total control of their people, total control of their actions and thought. There were differences between the totalitarian countries. While Stalin exterminated his opponents as ruthlessly as the fascists, he sought to spread his power less by war than by internal revolt. Nor did the Soviets openly preach racial war and genocide. In Germany, however, the Nazis loudly boasted that the Germans were the master race, destined to conquer all other, inferior, peoples. "Today Germany," they said, "tomorrow the world." Furthermore, the fascists claimed to be the only ones who could stop Communism and the communists considered the fascists their worst enemies. As a result, the communists in some countries found themselves lined up with the defenders of democracy against fascism. In France they were part of the Popular Front. In the United States they supported Roosevelt and the New Deal. In Spain they fought against Franco side by side with men who believed in democracy, although the communists later betrayed the Spanish democrats. Three ideologies competed for control of the world and as events turned out, one totalitarian nation — the Soviet Union — would finally be forced to stand with the democracies against the totalitarians of Germany, Italy and Japan in the most terrible war in the history of the world.
IN THE closing weeks of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire came apart. Its subject peoples proclaimed their independence, through "national councils" set up in Paris and London. On November 12, 1918, the last of the Hapsburg emperors, Charles I, abdicated and the next day Austria became a republic. Hungary became a republic a week later. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia also came into existence and Rumania helped itself to the slice of Hapsburg territory called Transylvania. Before any peace conference could meet, the empire's former subjects had redrawn the map to suit themselves and the Allies formally recognized the new nations. THE KAISER ABDICATES Unlike its ally, the German Empire held firm almost to the end. Earlier in the war, the liberals, democrats and socialists in the Reichstag, Germany's legislative body, had put off their demands for the sake of national unity. Power had become concentrated in the hands of the generals, led by General Ludendorff. On September 29, 1918, Ludendorff told the Kaiser that Germany must sue for peace. Furthermore, he urged the immediate formation of a new government along democratic lines, based on the important parties in the Reichstag. The kaiser was astonished, but he soon realized that the army must be in a desperate situation for Ludendorff to suggest such a step. He knew, too, that the proud military aristocrats who commanded the army could not bring themselves to surrender; the task must be left to civilians. Sadly the kaiser gave his consent and Prince Max of Baden, a liberal nobleman, agreed to head a cabinet that included the socialists. By October it had put through a number of reforms, but the socialists were not satisfied. They threatened to quit the government unless the kaiser abdicated. Meanwhile, as word spread of the disastrous military situation, the German people began …
AS THE year 1899 drew to a close, Europeans and Americans began to wonder when, exactly, the nineteenth century would end and the twentieth century begin. Most people thought that this would take place at midnight of December 31, 1899, but historians disagreed. They pointed out that the first hundred years after the birth of Christ had ended with the final seconds of the year 100. Therefore, they said, the twentieth century would not begin until January 1, 1901. As they toasted the new century that New Year's Day most people in Europe and America were satisfied and hopeful. Life was better for them than it had been for their fathers and grandfathers, they were certain that it would be better still for their sons and grandsons. They believed in human progress and looking back over the century just past, they could find good reasons for this belief. There had been no widespread fighting in Europe since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. The last war between European powers, the Franco-Prussian War, had taken place in 1870. Since then, thirty years of peace had brought tremendous benefits to the advanced countries of Europe. The growth of industry and trade had steadily enriched these countries and raised their living standards. With the spread of education, millions of people had learned to read and write. Democratic ideas were advancing everywhere; by now, most European countries had law-making assemblies with elected members and more people had the right to vote than ever before. As the powers had acquired territories on other continents, European ideas, beliefs and methods had come to dominate the entire world. Europeans were proud of their civilization and confident of the future. True, they had problems at home and abroad, but they were sure that their parliaments and …
In 1856, Great Britain was at war with Russia in the Black Sea area and with the Chinese emperor in south China. Many British troops had been withdrawn from India to fight on these battlefronts. As a result, nine-tenths of the 200,000-man army guarding Great Britain's largest and richest possession, the subcontinent of India in south-central Asia, consisted of native soldiers called sepoys. At the time, the British were putting a new type of rifle into service in the Indian Army. To load it, a rifleman had to insert each cartridge separately and the cartridges were covered with grease. In January of 1857, rumours began to circulate among the sepoys in the Ganges Valley. The cartridge grease, it was whispered, came from animals. Moslems believed that it came from pigs, which their religion taught them to shun in any form, while Hindus believed it came from cows, which they held sacred. So sepoys of both religions refused to handle the new rifles. THE SEPOY REVOLT This refusal to bear arms was an act of mutiny which the British felt they could not leave unpunished, but punishment only made the sepoys desperate. On May 10, troops at the key post of Meerut massacred the British officers and their families. Other garrisons rebelled and hordes of peasants, villagers, Moslem and Hindu, joined them. The uprising was supported by native princes, who were either fretting under British rule or feared that the British would soon take over their lands. By June, most of northeast India was in rebellion. The Sepoy Revolt, as the rebellion was called, was the bloodiest event of Great Britain's long history in India. Hundreds of Englishmen were slain, some with their families and countless thousands of Indians slaughtered in revenge by British troops and loyal sepoys. Cities were burned, …
ON NOVEMBER 16, 1869, the sun rose over the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea and shone on the blue water. The squat buildings of Port Said, on the shore of Egypt, glowed against the clear sky. A new town, Port Said had begun to rise only ten years before from the barren plain that joins Africa to Asia. In the man-made harbour were crowded eighty ships. Some were warships, others merchantmen, but all were strung with brightly-coloured pennants. On board were distinguished visitors, among them the emperor of Austria-Hungary, the crown prince of Prussia, the prince of Holland and ambassadors, generals, admirals from many lands. As the sun climbed higher, passengers began to appear on the decks and hundreds of other people gathered on the piers and the seawall. At eight o'clock' the warships' big guns boomed out salutes to the European monarchs' to the khedive's of Egypt and to the khedive's overlord, the sultan of Turkey. When the smoke cleared, a trim, graceful vessel came steaming toward the harbour — the French imperial yacht Aigle. Again the cannon thundered, to welcome Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III. She was the guest of honour and as her yacht glided past, the sailors on the other ships stood at attention, cheering, while music blared from several bands. The black-haired empress, standing on the Aigle's bridge, smiled to left and right. She looked happy, proud and by the time her yacht had docked, everyone agreed she was as beautiful as she was said to be. In the afternoon, the visitors, in uniforms, frock coats and formal gowns and Egyptians' who wore flowing robes, all trooped out onto the desert. There, perhaps for the first time, Christians and Moslems worshiped side by side. The Moslems were led in prayer by the …
Industrial Revolution and Nationalism 1702 - 1906
DEMOCRACY IN the Scandinavian countries, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland followed the pattern of the three large democracies. Everywhere during this period there was a trend toward constitutional government, elected law-making bodies, cabinet ministers with responsibility to the people, liberty, personal rights and voting rights for all men in the lower classes. In Canada, the most difficult problem was nationalism. At the time of the Civil War in the United States, Canada consisted of a number of British provinces, most of which were independent of each other. The oldest of these was the province of Quebec in the Saint Lawrence valley. As it was originally a French colony' its people still spoke French, obeyed laws similar to those of France and worshipped in the Catholic Church. Although they had lived under the British flag for many years, they were afraid that the great flood of immigrants from England would destroy their way of life and felt that as Frenchmen they should form a nation of their own. At the same time, British subjects in other parts of Canada felt that all the provinces should join together in one large nation. The problem was finally solved by uniting all the provinces in one nation, but allowing each province to retain control of local affairs. The Canadians wrote a constitution for the new nation, which was approved by the British Parliament in 1867 when it passed the British North America Act. The constitution provided that the Dominion of Canada should have a parliament with a cabinet responsible to the political party in power. At that time, the Dominion consisted of four provinces — Quebec' Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Manitoba became a province in 1870 and British Columbia in 1871. The Canadian Pacific Railroad was built to connect these western provinces with …
Age of Revolution 1765 - 1815
In March of 1796, a new commander named Napoleon Bonaparte was placed in charge of the French army on the Italian front. The soldiers and officers were amazed when they first saw him. He was short, thin, pale, only twenty-seven years old and spoke French with an Italian accent. Napoleon was not an unknown. He had first come to public attention as the young artillery officer who drove the British fleet from the harbour at Toulon. Later, as a brigadier general, he had successfully defended the Convention from an uprising in Paris. What most people did not know was that he had been a rebel most of his life. He had been born on the island of Corsica, a rebel stronghold, where fighting for independence from French rule was considered the duty of patriots. His father had been a rebel leader and the boy Napoleon had dreamed of the day when he, too, would lead a Corsican rebellion against the French. He had kept that dream alive during his years in French military school and even after he had become an officer in the French army. During one of his visits to the island, while on leave, he had actually tried to stir up a rebellion in Corsica. The attempt failed and that put an end to his boyhood dream, but he still remained a rebel at heart. Napoleon's new army was a small one of only 30,000 troops and most of them were suffering for want of food and clothing. This was the army with which he was expected to fight the Austrian troops in Northern Italy. According to French war plans against Austria, the Italian campaign was supposed to keep enemy troops busy on the southern front while the main attacks were launched by two large French armies …
The big English setter did not look like a stray dag. When it came wandering into Washington's camp one day in the fall of 1777, a soldier brought it to his officer. The officer took it directly to Washington's headquarters and pointed out the name on the dog's collar–"General Howe." Washington had the dog fed while he wrote a polite note to General Howe. Half an hour later, the dog and the note were sent to the British camp under a flag of truce. The incident was not important, but it gave the Americans something to laugh and joke about for several days. There had not been much cause for laughter in recent weeks. General Howe had taken Philadelphia, America's capital and its largest city, after defeating Washington at Brandywine and at Germantown. Washington's losses had been heavy. He was now camped in the hills of Valley Forge, some twenty miles from Philadelphia, in desperate need of supplies of all kinds. In the North, moving down from Montreal, General Burgoyne had captured the fort at Ticonderoga and had continued on to Fort Edwards on the Hudson. Burgoyne, however, was having his troubles, too. He was almost out of food and his supply base at Montreal lay 185 miles north, through almost trackless wilderness. Burgoyne knew that east of him there were large stores of food and many cattle at Bennington, in what is now Vermont. He sent out a detachment of 1,300 men to raid the place and to bring back all the cattle and horses they could find. The detachment marched into a trap which had been set for it by John Stark and his New England militia and when the short battle was over, the British had lost. American losses were thirty killed and forty wounded. The Indians …
Due to the taxes on tea, many of the colonists began drinking coffee or cocoa, or bought tea smuggled in from Holland. Within a few years, the British tea trade with the colonists dropped from 900,000 pounds to 237,000 pounds and in England the warehouses of the East India Company were filled to overflowing. The East India Company was Britain's largest and most important trading company and to save it, Parliament passed the Tea Act. The East India Company was given a monopoly on tea trade with the colonies — that is, it was the only company allowed to sell tea to the Americans. It was also permitted to sell its tea through its agents directly to retail stores. This plan would cut out the profit made by British and American shippers and importers. Even after the tax had been paid, the British tea could be sold in the colonies at a price far below that of smuggled tea. The British believed they had hit upon the perfect way to solve the troublesome tea problem. The colonists would rush to buy tea at a low price, the East India Company would be saved, the government would collect its tax and everyone would be happy. To the surprise of the British, nothing of the sort happened. The Americans were angrier than ever. The merchants feared that if the direct-selling plan of the Tea Act was successful, England would decide to sell other goods in the same way, and many businessmen would be ruined. It was clear, too, that England had deliberately kept the tax on tea to show that Parliament had the right to tax colonial imports for the purpose of raising money. Leading American lawyers denied that Parliament had such a right. An import tax on low-priced tea was just …
Another unpopular step England took after the war was to reorganize her defense system in the colonies. The French and Indian War had proved to the British that the colonies could not be depended upon to defend themselves. Some new system had to be worked out in North America, to defend not only the colonies, but also Canada, Florida and the wilderness east of the Mississippi. England decided to leave this task to a standing army of ten thousand British redcoats. Such an army would cost a great deal of money. Taxpayers in England were already paying very high taxes and could not be asked to pay more. Their taxes supported the powerful British navy, which protected the colonies as well as the mother country. It seemed no more than fair that the colonies should pay at least part of the expenses of the standing army in North America. The soldiers were there, after all, for their own protection. Accordingly, the colonies were given a year to raise the money themselves. They were warned that England would have to tax them if they failed to do so. For a year the colonists did nothing. They saw no need of supporting an army they had not asked for and did not want. Since the French forces had been driven from American soil, a large standing army seemed unnecessary. The colonists suspected that the real purpose of the army was to strengthen British control over all the colonial governments. England's law-making body in London, the British Parliament, finally passed the Stamp Act in 1765. It required the colonists to buy stamps from British tax collectors. These stamps were to be placed on all newspapers, playing cards, dice and almanacs sold in the colonies and also on certain papers having to do with …
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Hellenes – Ancient Greece
Who were the Hellenes?
Theseus and the Minotaur
The Palace of Minos
The Wooden Horse
Was there a Trojan War?
City-States and Colonies
The Delphic Oracle
A Spartan grows Up
A Tyrant Who Was Not Tyrannical
The Ionian Greeks
The Rivals
The Second Persian Invasion
Thermopylae
"Wooden Walls" and Salamis
Theseus Comes Home
The Confederacy of Delos
The Athenian Empire
Herodotus, The Father of History
The Parthenon
Why Did Athens Fight Sparta
The Peloponnesian War Begins
Athenian Death
Hippocrates and Disease
Pericles Dies
Cleon the Tanner
Hecuba, Queen of Troy
Decelea, a Thorn in the Flesh
Oligarchy and Athens in Defeat
Socrates' Death
Damocles' Sword – The Fourth Century
Alexander of Macedon
Hellenistic Age – Alexandria and Byzantium
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text:
' Copyright (c) Microsoft.  All Rights Reserved.  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.  See License.txt in the project root for license information.

Imports System.Collections.Immutable
Imports System.Composition
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Threading.Tasks
Imports Microsoft.CodeAnalysis
Imports Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.Text
Imports Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.VisualBasic.Symbols
Imports Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.VisualBasic.Syntax

Namespace Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CodeCleanup.Providers

    <ExportCodeCleanupProvider(PredefinedCodeCleanupProviderNames.FixIncorrectTokens, LanguageNames.VisualBasic), [Shared]>
    <ExtensionOrder(After:=PredefinedCodeCleanupProviderNames.AddMissingTokens, Before:=PredefinedCodeCleanupProviderNames.Format)>
    Friend Class FixIncorrectTokensCodeCleanupProvider
        Inherits AbstractTokensCodeCleanupProvider

        Private Const s_ASCII_LSMART_Q As Char = ChrW(&H91S)          '// ASCII left single smart quote
        Private Const s_ASCII_RSMART_Q As Char = ChrW(&H92S)          '// ASCII right single smart quote
        Private Const s_UNICODE_LSMART_Q As Char = ChrW(&H2018S)      '// UNICODE left single smart quote
        Private Const s_UNICODE_RSMART_Q As Char = ChrW(&H2019S)      '// UNICODE right single smart quote
        Private Const s_CH_STRGHT_Q As Char = ChrW(&H27S)             '// UNICODE straight quote
        Private Shared ReadOnly s_smartSingleQuotes As Char() = New Char() {s_ASCII_LSMART_Q, s_ASCII_RSMART_Q, s_UNICODE_LSMART_Q, s_UNICODE_RSMART_Q}

        <ImportingConstructor>
        Public Sub New()
        End Sub

        Public Overrides ReadOnly Property Name As String
            Get
                Return PredefinedCodeCleanupProviderNames.FixIncorrectTokens
            End Get
        End Property

        Protected Overrides Function GetRewriterAsync(document As Document, root As SyntaxNode, spans As ImmutableArray(Of TextSpan), workspace As Workspace, cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of Rewriter)
            Return FixIncorrectTokensRewriter.CreateAsync(document, spans, cancellationToken)
        End Function

        Private Class FixIncorrectTokensRewriter
            Inherits AbstractTokensCodeCleanupProvider.Rewriter

            Private ReadOnly _document As Document
            Private ReadOnly _modifiedSpan As TextSpan
            Private ReadOnly _semanticModel As SemanticModel

            Private Sub New(document As Document,
                            semanticModel As SemanticModel,
                            spans As ImmutableArray(Of TextSpan),
                            modifiedSpan As TextSpan,
                            cancellationToken As CancellationToken)
                MyBase.New(spans, cancellationToken)

                _document = document
                _semanticModel = semanticModel
                _modifiedSpan = modifiedSpan
            End Sub

            Public Shared Async Function CreateAsync(document As Document, spans As ImmutableArray(Of TextSpan), cancellationToken As CancellationToken) As Task(Of Rewriter)
                Dim modifiedSpan = spans.Collapse()
                Dim semanticModel = If(document Is Nothing,
                    Nothing,
                    Await document.GetSemanticModelForSpanAsync(modifiedSpan, cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(False))

                Return New FixIncorrectTokensRewriter(document, semanticModel, spans, modifiedSpan, cancellationToken)
            End Function

            Public Overrides Function VisitTrivia(trivia As SyntaxTrivia) As SyntaxTrivia
                Dim newTrivia = MyBase.VisitTrivia(trivia)

                ' convert fullwidth single quotes into halfwidth single quotes.
                If newTrivia.Kind = SyntaxKind.CommentTrivia Then
                    Dim triviaText = newTrivia.ToString()
                    If triviaText.Length > 0 AndAlso s_smartSingleQuotes.Contains(triviaText(0)) Then
                        triviaText = s_CH_STRGHT_Q + triviaText.Substring(1)
                        Return SyntaxFactory.CommentTrivia(triviaText)
                    End If
                End If

                Return newTrivia
            End Function

            Public Overrides Function VisitIdentifierName(node As IdentifierNameSyntax) As SyntaxNode
                Dim newIdentifierName = DirectCast(MyBase.VisitIdentifierName(node), IdentifierNameSyntax)

                ' VB Language specification Section 7.3 for Primitive Types states:
                '       The primitive types are identified through keywords, which are aliases for predefined types in the System namespace.
                '       A primitive type is completely indistinguishable from the type it aliases: writing the reserved word Byte is exactly
                '       the same as writing System.Byte.
                '
                ' Language specification defines the following primitive type mappings:
                ' -------------------------------------------------------------------
                '       Keyword     -->     Predefined type in the System namespace
                ' -------------------------------------------------------------------
                '       Byte        -->     Byte
                '       SByte       -->     SByte
                '   *   UShort      -->     UInt16
                '   *   Short       -->     Int16
                '   *   UInteger    -->     UInt32
                '   *   Integer     -->     Int32
                '   *   ULong       -->     UInt64
                '   *   Long        -->     Int64
                '       Single      -->     Single
                '       Double      -->     Double
                '       Decimal     -->     Decimal
                '       Boolean     -->     Boolean
                '   *   Date        -->     DateTime
                '       Char        -->     Char
                '       String      -->     String
                '
                '   * - Keyword string differs from the predefined type name
                '
                ' Here we rewrite the above * marked Keyword identifier tokens to their corresponding predefined type names when following conditions are met:
                ' (a) It occurs as the RIGHT child of a qualified name "LEFT.RIGHT"
                ' (b) LEFT child of the qualified name binds to the "System" namespace symbol or an alias to it.

                If Not _underStructuredTrivia Then
                    Dim parent = TryCast(node.Parent, QualifiedNameSyntax)
                    If parent IsNot Nothing AndAlso _semanticModel IsNot Nothing Then
                        Dim symbol = _semanticModel.GetSymbolInfo(parent.Left, _cancellationToken).Symbol
                        If symbol IsNot Nothing AndAlso symbol.IsNamespace AndAlso String.Equals(DirectCast(symbol, INamespaceSymbol).MetadataName, "System", StringComparison.Ordinal) Then
                            Dim id = newIdentifierName.Identifier
                            Dim newValueText As String
                            Select Case id.ValueText.ToUpperInvariant()
                                Case "USHORT"
                                    newValueText = "UInt16"
                                Case "SHORT"
                                    newValueText = "Int16"
                                Case "UINTEGER"
                                    newValueText = "UInt32"
                                Case "INTEGER"
                                    newValueText = "Int32"
                                Case "ULONG"
                                    newValueText = "UInt64"
                                Case "LONG"
                                    newValueText = "Int64"
                                Case "DATE"
                                    newValueText = "DateTime"
                                Case Else
                                    Return newIdentifierName
                            End Select

                            Return newIdentifierName.ReplaceToken(id, CreateIdentifierToken(id, newValueText))
                        End If
                    End If
                End If

                Return newIdentifierName
            End Function

#Region "EndIf Rewriting"
            Public Overrides Function VisitEndBlockStatement(node As EndBlockStatementSyntax) As SyntaxNode
                Dim newStatement = DirectCast(MyBase.VisitEndBlockStatement(node), EndBlockStatementSyntax)

                Return If(newStatement.BlockKeyword.Kind = SyntaxKind.IfKeyword,
                           RewriteEndIfStatementOrDirectiveSyntax(newStatement, newStatement.EndKeyword, newStatement.BlockKeyword),
                           newStatement)
            End Function

            Public Overrides Function VisitEndIfDirectiveTrivia(node As EndIfDirectiveTriviaSyntax) As SyntaxNode
                Dim newDirective = DirectCast(MyBase.VisitEndIfDirectiveTrivia(node), EndIfDirectiveTriviaSyntax)
                Return RewriteEndIfStatementOrDirectiveSyntax(newDirective, newDirective.EndKeyword, newDirective.IfKeyword)
            End Function

            ''' <summary>
            ''' Rewrite "EndIf" to "End If" for an EndIfStatementSyntax/EndIfDirectiveSyntax node.
            ''' </summary>
            ''' <param name="curNode">Syntax node for the EndIfStatementSyntax or EndIfDirectiveSyntax to be rewritten.</param>
            ''' <param name="curEndKeyword">"End" keyword token for <paramref name="curNode"/>.</param>
            ''' <param name="curIfKeyword">"If" keyword token for <paramref name="curNode"/>.</param>
            ''' <returns>Rewritten EndIfStatementSyntax/EndIfDirectiveSyntax node.</returns>
            ''' <remarks>
            ''' This method checks for the following:
            ''' (a) Both the End keyword and If keyword, <paramref name="curEndKeyword"/> and <paramref name="curIfKeyword"/> respectively, are Missing tokens AND
            ''' (b) Descendant Trivia under the given <paramref name="curEndKeyword"/> token or <paramref name="curIfKeyword"/> token has an "EndIf" keyword token.
            '''
            ''' If the above conditions are met, it does the following node rewrites:
            ''' (a) Replace the missing <paramref name="curEndKeyword"/> and <paramref name="curIfKeyword"/> tokens with new "End" and "If" keywords tokens respectively.
            ''' (b) Remove the first "EndIf" keyword token from the descendant trivia and adjust the leading and trailing trivia appropriately.
            ''' </remarks>
            Private Shared Function RewriteEndIfStatementOrDirectiveSyntax(curNode As SyntaxNode, curEndKeyword As SyntaxToken, curIfKeyword As SyntaxToken) As SyntaxNode
                ' (a) Are both the curEndKeyword and curIfKeyword Missing tokens?
                If curEndKeyword.IsMissing AndAlso curIfKeyword.IsMissing Then
                    Dim endKeywordTrivia = curEndKeyword.GetAllTrivia()
                    Dim ifKeywordTrivia = curIfKeyword.GetAllTrivia()

                    If endKeywordTrivia.Any() OrElse ifKeywordTrivia.Any() Then
                        Dim endIfKeywordFound As Boolean = False
                        Dim leadingTriviaBuilder As Queue(Of SyntaxTrivia) = Nothing
                        Dim trailingTriviaBuilder As Queue(Of SyntaxTrivia) = Nothing

                        ' (b) Descendant Trivia under the given curEndKeyword token or curIfKeyword token has an "EndIf" keyword token?
                        ProcessTrivia(endKeywordTrivia, endIfKeywordFound, leadingTriviaBuilder, trailingTriviaBuilder)
                        ProcessTrivia(ifKeywordTrivia, endIfKeywordFound, leadingTriviaBuilder, trailingTriviaBuilder)

                        If endIfKeywordFound Then

                            ' Rewrites:
                            ' (a) Replace the missing curEndKeyword and curIfKeyword tokens with new "End" and "If" keywords tokens respectively.
                            ' (b) Remove the first "EndIf" keyword token from the descendant trivia and adjust the leading and trailing trivia appropriately.

                            Dim newEndKeyword = SyntaxFactory.Token(SyntaxKind.EndKeyword).WithTrailingTrivia(SyntaxFactory.WhitespaceTrivia(" "))
                            If leadingTriviaBuilder IsNot Nothing Then
                                newEndKeyword = newEndKeyword.WithLeadingTrivia(leadingTriviaBuilder)
                            End If

                            Dim newIfKeyword = SyntaxFactory.Token(SyntaxKind.IfKeyword)
                            If trailingTriviaBuilder IsNot Nothing Then
                                newIfKeyword = newIfKeyword.WithTrailingTrivia(trailingTriviaBuilder)
                            End If

                            Return curNode.ReplaceTokens(SpecializedCollections.SingletonEnumerable(curEndKeyword).Concat(curIfKeyword),
                                                      Function(o, m)
                                                          If o = curEndKeyword Then
                                                              Return newEndKeyword
                                                          ElseIf o = curIfKeyword Then
                                                              Return newIfKeyword
                                                          Else
                                                              Return o
                                                          End If
                                                      End Function)
                        End If
                    End If
                End If

                Return curNode
            End Function

            ' Process trivia looking for an "EndIf" keyword token.
            Private Shared Sub ProcessTrivia(triviaList As IEnumerable(Of SyntaxTrivia),
                                             ByRef endIfKeywordFound As Boolean,
                                             ByRef leadingTriviaBuilder As Queue(Of SyntaxTrivia),
                                             ByRef trailingTriviaBuilder As Queue(Of SyntaxTrivia))
                For Each trivia In triviaList
                    If Not endIfKeywordFound Then
                        If trivia.HasStructure Then
                            Dim structuredTrivia = DirectCast(trivia.GetStructure(), StructuredTriviaSyntax)
                            If structuredTrivia.Kind = SyntaxKind.SkippedTokensTrivia Then
                                Dim skippedTokens = DirectCast(structuredTrivia, SkippedTokensTriviaSyntax).Tokens
                                If skippedTokens.Count = 1 AndAlso skippedTokens.First.Kind = SyntaxKind.EndIfKeyword Then
                                    endIfKeywordFound = True
                                    Continue For
                                End If
                            End If
                        End If

                        ' Append the trivia to leading trivia and continue processing remaining trivia for EndIf keyword.
                        If leadingTriviaBuilder Is Nothing Then
                            leadingTriviaBuilder = New Queue(Of SyntaxTrivia)
                        End If

                        leadingTriviaBuilder.Enqueue(trivia)
                    Else
                        ' EndIf keyword was already found in a prior trivia, so just append this trivia to trailing trivia.
                        If trailingTriviaBuilder Is Nothing Then
                            trailingTriviaBuilder = New Queue(Of SyntaxTrivia)

                            ' This is the first trivia encountered after the EndIf keyword.
                            ' If this trivia is neither a WhitespaceTrivia nor an EndOfLineTrivia, then we must insert an extra WhitespaceTrivia here.
                            Select Case trivia.Kind
                                Case SyntaxKind.WhitespaceTrivia, SyntaxKind.EndOfLineTrivia
                                    Exit Select
                                Case Else
                                    trailingTriviaBuilder.Enqueue(SyntaxFactory.WhitespaceTrivia(" "))
                            End Select
                        End If

                        trailingTriviaBuilder.Enqueue(trivia)
                    End If
                Next
            End Sub
#End Region

        End Class
    End Class
End Namespace


Macro-economic and political developments play critical roles in shaping the business environment and in determining capital allocation decisions within and across countries, be it for real economy businesses or for portfolio fund managers. Whether they are changes in external conditions, political leadership, domestic imbalances, currency valuation, or a major shift in exchange rate policy, such macro factors could make or break an investment in a particular country or its medium to long term prospects.
The Centennial Group's economic research practice aims to help multilateral institutions, governments, multi-national enterprises, and portfolio managers understand how the trends in the political and economic landscape in emerging economies affect them. We look forward, trying to anticipate the turning points, which could make a major difference to the business and investment environment. These turning points could be political changes, policy moves, the peak or trough of economic cycles, changes in direction of currency valuations or shifts in other economic variables.
Authoritative assessment of political and economic risks in Asia and Latin America, at individual country as well as regional level. Deep dive studies of the long-term prospects of an individual country or region.
Analysis of cyclical changes in emerging economies including medium term forecasts for key economic variables.
Forecasts of how monetary, fiscal, macro-prudential and other cyclical policy tools will be used, based on our internally developed indicators.
Assessment of long-term regional trends in the emerging economies of Asia (including Central Asia), Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
Assessment of efforts and policy proposals toward regional economic and financial integration.
Analysis of a country's economic resilience employing our internally developed resilience framework.
A monthly report on Asian political and economic trends.
A monthly assessment of political and economic risks for the global risk committee of a large European bank.
Periodic reports on the major political and economic developments and issues in a major Latin American country.
A weekly report assessing the implications of macro-economic and political developments in Asia.
Annual advice to a European institutional investor on political and economic risks in major Latin-American economies and relations with the IMF.
Assessment of macroeconomic policies in various countries in Latin America for a Multilateral Financial Organization.
Study of how fiscal policy is used to contain demand for activities with high social costs such as tobacco, alcohol, gaming and road use for a global corporation.
Study of mega trends in Asia affecting an individual country in Asia for a multilateral institution.
Study of economic integration in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from a bottom-up company perspective, for the aid agency of a donor nation.
Study of the economic impact of cloud computing and implications for financial regulation, for a global technology corporation.
A detailed assessment of the multi-decade political and economic outlook for selected countries in Asia.
An in-depth study of the prospects for economic growth of a large Asian economy, including policy recommendations, for an Asian conglomerate.
Advise to the chief executive of a large financial group in Japan on its strategy to invest in a large country in South Asia.
Advice to a group of over 30 hedge funds on its proposed support to a North American economy and thereby help resolve a serious debt crisis.


As part of our weekly "Meet the Staff" series we'll be introducing you to a new staff member each Monday who helps create learning through the power of play at KidsQuest Children's Museum. This week we introduce you to the Visitor Experience Supervisor, William Ekstrom. He just celebrated his one year anniversary at KidsQuest!
Why do you work at KidsQuest? Because I am passionate about everything this non-profit organization does for the community!
What school did you go to/are you going to? I graduated in 2017 from Western Washington University with my BA in Cultural Anthropology.
Favorite KQ Exhibit or Activity: Dinner and Dancing!
Kids & Pets: Someday, I will have my own shih tzu puppy!
Fun Fact about you: Born and raised in Washington.


text:
Deterrence/Disarmament
Geostrategy/Crises and conflicts
Missiles/Missile defense
Proliferation/Non-proliferation
European security/EU/NATO
Mediterranean region/Middle East
Russia/Eurasia
United States/Transatlantic relations
Defence Economics and Arms Industry
Defense policies
Military and operational issues
Energy and Primary Goods
Environment, health and security
Technology policies
Homeland security/Radicalization and terrorism
Publications / EU
Strategic imagery
Observatoire of Arab-Muslim World and Sahel
Korea Program on Security and Diplomacy
The NPT and the P5 Process
European programs
Policy advice to the European Parliament
EU-Russia relations and the crisis in Belarus: toward a more "geopolitical" Europe?
Dr. Zachary Paikin, November 10, 2020
Although "business as usual" has not resumed between Brussels and Moscow since the conflict over Ukraine erupted into war in 2014, some have suggested that EU-Russia relations have gradually settled into a new normalAndrey Devyatkov, "An EU-Russia Modus Vivendi in the East?", Carnegie Moscow Center, 17 January 2018.. While EU unity continues to be maintained with respect to sanctions, Brussels appears at the same time to have adopted a more restrained approach to relations with countries in Russia's so-called near abroad, having negotiated a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Armenia compatible with Yerevan's obligations as a member of the Moscow-backed Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
Nonetheless, the current situation in Belarus has highlighted the fragile state in which the European security order still finds itself, with Russia continuing to prioritize the dynamic of its rivalry with the West over a genuinely collective approach to problem-solving. Although Brussels and Moscow share an interest in a managed transition away from Alexander Lukashenko, clashing visions of the regional order continue to militate against substantive EU-Russia cooperation aimed at buttressing regional security and advancing the interests of the Belarusian people. Opponents of the Lukashenko regime and EU leaders alike may insist that the current crisis is not about geopolitics, but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that geopolitics remains an inevitable and central consideration overshadowing EU-Russia relations in the shared neighbourhood. In the context of a shifting global order, this leaves EU members – and France in particular – with difficult decisions to make regarding how to balance resolve and dialogue in their relationship with Russia.
Great power status and Russia's place in Europe
Russian foreign policy in recent years has increasingly been seen through the lens of Moscow's declared "pivot to the east" and its deepening strategic partnership with Beijing. That said, Russia's bicontinental geography remains key to its claim to great power status. Russia is intent on remaining a leading security actor in Europe not only because that is where the bulk of its population and core interests lie, but also because it is a national identity-related imperative.
Russia's pretention to great power status is more than an instrumental means to various foreign policy ends. Nor can it be attributed exclusively to an inability to cope with its relative decline on the world stage. Rather, it is fundamentally related to the country's engrained sense of possessing a special historical and political mission. Unlike the British and French empires, Russia's imperial expansion took place overland, which helped to break down psychological barriers between the "self" and the "other". While Britain had an empire, Russia was an empire. As such, Russia's sense of nationhood was created – and was therefore only considered meaningful – in a multi-ethnic context. The very formation of the Russian state in the 15th century, paired with the fall of Constantinople, fostered a feeling of having a special status – a feeling that later became linked to Russia's place in Europe as that status was recognized by other great powers in the 18th century.
It is easy to understand why many contend that the current crisis in Belarus remains less prone to geopolitical considerations than the 2013-14 Ukrainian revolution. Belarus has a weak national identity when compared with Ukraine and is more linguistically Russified. Moreover, unlike Ukraine, Belarus is firmly entrenched within the EAEU and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military bloc. Nor are anti-regime protestors in Belarus clamouring to join Western institutions such as NATO or the EU. However, today's events are not occurring in a vacuum – they are taking place in the wake of a conflict over Ukraine that has dramatically affected the level of trust between Moscow and Western capitals and has left Belarus as Russia's last remaining buffer state.
Moscow's ability to remain a leading and credible security player in Europe would take a significant hit if it were to lose its last remaining regional ally, as would the notion – not unrelated to its great power identity – that the cultural boundaries of the "Russian world" extend beyond the borders of the contemporary Russian Federation. Russia would also be faced with the prospect of having to defend the entirety of its front in a theoretical war against NATO, rather than being able to use a Russian-aligned Belarus to seal off the Baltics by way of neighbouring Kaliningrad. As Michael Kofman has noted, such considerations are crucial for Moscow's military planning given that any NATO-Russia war is more likely to be fought across the entire European theatre than be limited to a specific regionMichael Kofman, "Putting the Russia Problem in Perspective", Frivärld Briefing, n° 6, 2020..
Drivers of Russian Interests in Belarus
In short, Moscow cannot allow even the possibility that Minsk will be lost to the West. In "poaching" Ukraine away from Russia's geopolitical and regulatory orbit, Brussels not only produced a rupture in its relations with Moscow but also helped to render the European security order more fragile. This is the inevitable by-product of a post-Cold War Europe beset by rival visions of order, with Brussels' insistence on the right of small states to choose their (effectively geopolitical) orientation clashing with Moscow's calls for an "equal relationship" with the West – which would presumably be accompanied by a veto over the orientation of these states.
While some see the Kremlin's failure to intervene in the 2018 Armenian revolution as an indication that it might remain passive so long as protestors do not openly align themselves with Western institutions, Belarus is situated directly in the European theatre and is a fellow Eastern Slavic state. This raises the geopolitical and psychological stakes significantly for Moscow. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that – with the exception of the annexation of Crimea, which was perceived to have reversed a historical injustice – public approval ratings of the Russian government have actually decreased following international military interventionsPolina Beliakova, "How does the Kremlin Kick when it's Down", War on the Rocks, 13 August 2019.. This held true for the 2008 Russo-Georgian war as well as the 2015 intervention in the Syrian civil war, according to research conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM)Quoted in Ibid.. There is every reason to believe that the Russian public would not look favourably upon yet another instance in which the Kremlin appears to prioritize geopolitical concerns over domestic socioeconomic challenges, particularly given the role already played by Russia in subsidizing the heavily dependent Belarusian economy.
Despite relations between Lukashenko and the Kremlin having soured in recent years as Minsk has gradually sought to assert its independence from Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has largely failed to place himself above the dispute between the protestors and the Belarusian regime, not least due to the highly personalized nature of Russia-Belarus relations throughout Lukashenko's tenure. This only renders the situation more acute for Moscow, enhancing the risk that Russia's image will deteriorate in the eyes of the Belarusian population if the current standoff drags on.
Fears that a revolution in Belarus may set a precedent for what could happen in Russia when Putin comes up for re-election in 2024 are ultimately secondary dynamics when compared with the geopolitical and identity-related questions surrounding Russia's place in Europe. This should give pause to those who contend that ideological rivalry between a liberal West and an illiberal Russia is the primary driver of the current contest over the shape of the Euro-Atlantic security system. Rather, the gradual shift of Russia's political regime in an illiberal direction is the partial result of the consolidation of Euro-Atlantic institutions that largely exclude Russia, which has encouraged the Kremlin to securitize its relationship with the West both internationally and domestically, with perceived threats to the Putin regime viewed as existential threats to Russia's strength, standing and even survival.
The Russian elite is eager to avoid a repeat of the Ukraine debacle – where Kyiv remains on a Western path of integration despite the military campaign in the Donbass – and an intervention in Belarus would likely come with domestic political costs for the Kremlin. Even so, while a post-Lukashenko Belarus that moves to deepen ties with the West would drastically increase Russia's sense of insecurity, a Russian-backed clampdown on protestors would also cause EU-Russia relations to deteriorate further. That either outcome would exacerbate tensions serves to underline the fragile nature of the security situation in Europe. Western capitals cannot countenance the notion that the future of Belarus will be decided by (or through) Moscow irrespective of the desires of the Belarusian people, while the Kremlin views with consternation any perception of Western interference in the domestic affairs of Belarus.
The challenge for the EU – and for France
The years since the Ukraine crisis have witnessed the conflict between Russia and the West over the shape of Europe's security architecture become engulfed in a more general great power rivalry of global scope – a trend that has now solidified given China's increasing assertiveness in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This situation has only encouraged Moscow to look past Brussels and prioritize its rivalry with Washington, effectively considering the EU to be a mere outgrowth of American power. The poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the situation in Belarus have further strained EU-Russia relations, with Germany appearing increasingly unable to balance the imperative of preserving EU unity with its erstwhile desire to maintain a special relationship with Russia – both core pillars of Berlin's post-Cold War foreign policy.
In this context, French President Emmanuel Macron's push for a European rapprochement with Russia has failed to garner much momentum. Macron's initiative, paired with his controversial comments on the "brain death" of NATO, is clearly aimed at advancing his vision of a "geopolitical" and strategically autonomous Europe. However, Paris alone does not control the EU's foreign policy, leaving Moscow with little reason to tone down its broader confrontation with the West in exchange for the (unrealistic) prospect of better relations with Brussels.
Macron's pursuit of this rapprochement has matured since its inception. Initial hopes that Russia could be pried away from China were unrealistic, given that Moscow's entente with Beijing serves as a key power multiplier for the Kremlin in the context of continued – and likely abiding – hostile relations with Washington. Instead, the Elysée has gradually begun to demonstrate greater concern for the policy priorities of eastern EU member states, while framing dialogue with Moscow in more realistic terms – as a means to regulate the often-conflicting interests that are inherently constitutive of a multipolar Europe in which the EU is but one actor among manyBenjamin Haddad, "Dans un monde sans leader, une diplomatie française agile", Institut Montaigne (blog), 14 October 2020.. To an extent, Paris is attempting to position itself at the heart of the European security system by taking up the role played by London in the 19th century – not without defined interests of its own, but interacting flexibly with all camps in the pursuit of a stable equilibrium.
In the context of fraught relations with Russia and Turkey and a growing systemic rivalry with China, the EU will have – at the very least – an instrumental interest in partnering with the United States to balance against potential threats and challenges to its east. A Gaullist approach to dealing with Washington – viewing deeper ties with Russia as a means of buttressing Europe's independence from the US – cannot provide a full solution to the EU's 21st-century problems. At the same time, excessive European reliance on the US could lead the world toward a rigid and unstable bipolar contest between the transatlantic alliance and the Sino-Russian compact.
With global politics increasingly framed by the US-China rivalry, Brussels and Moscow have a shared interest in a multipolar world order that provides them with the ability to be independent decision-makers and term-setters. Moreover, the EU's emphasis on rules-based interaction overlaps somewhat with Russia's desire for strong multilateral institutions and mechanisms such as the UN, where Moscow's power is enshrined as a permanent member of the Security Council. In this context, the US pivot toward China represents both an opportunity and a challenge for the EU – a chance to shape a more sustainable and less antagonizing American presence in Europe, but also a possibility that it will be co-opted into Washington's cold war with Beijing and have its core interests disregarded by a United States whose primary concern has shifted to managing order in the Asia-Pacific.
As Mark Leonard has astutely noted, the European and global orders are no longer mutually reinforcingMark Leonard, "Geopolitical Europe in Times of Covid-19", Europe's Futures, 21 September 2020.. Current global dynamics do not favour an EU-Russia rapprochement, while the fragility of the European security order renders any modus vivendi decidedly tentative. The challenge for Brussels – and for Paris – is to find a way to craft a delineated role for Washington on the European continent while simultaneously developing new mechanisms for regulating and nurturing its relationship with Moscow. The latter could include cooperation between Russia and the EU on issues relating to the global order and the wider European space (including the Middle East), serving as a basis for dialogue in the absence of agreement on the norms that should govern security relations within Europe proper.
Recent "Notes de la FRS":
The evolution of Italian space policy
The new age of armed groups in the Middle East
Natural Gas Issues in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Case of the Israeli-Lebanese Conflict
Is there a need to think differently about strategic risk reduction?
The road to a moratorium on kinetic ASAT testing is paved with good intentions, but is it feasible?
Two months on in the Ukraine war: what role for the kadyrovtsy?
Back to the list of "Notes de la FRS"


Prerequisites: Nine hours of CRJU courses and permission of instructor.
Note(s): Students must obtain approval of department on proposed program in semester preceding that in which Independent Study is anticipated. Course may carry one to three hours credit a semester and may be taken for up to six semester hours credit. Offered as needed.


text:
Heather Locklear Wishes She Had Ava's Confidence
"I always say I want to come back as Ava Sambora," Locklear, 50, jokes to PEOPLE. "She has such confidence."
Heather Locklear and daughter Ava Elizabeth wear the same clothes, enjoy the same shows and share an equal admiration for each other.
"I always say I want to come back as Ava Sambora," Locklear, 50, jokes to PEOPLE. "She has such confidence."
The sentiment is reciprocated by Sambora, 14, who says she admires her mom's humor and likeability.
"She is really, really funny. And even if she doesn't know someone, she can click with them like that," says the budding actress, whose father is Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora.
Sambora's admiration has her following in her mother's footsteps, and she recently landed a role in an upcoming Judd Apatow comedy.
Locklear says her daughter, who has already tried her hand at modeling, nailed the part.
"She's amazing. I was like, 'Ava, did you do the thing where you have to get on your mark?' And she was like, 'Oh yeah Mom, it was fine,'" explains the actress, who's engaged to Jack Wagner.
"Like she has done it forever. It's not like we do this in our house! We don't go, 'Let's play movie making — get on your mark.'"
When not working, the mother-daughter duo love going shopping, where Locklear says Sambora takes over the motherly role.
"Ava always says to me, 'You already have that!'" she laughs.
The pair have also been known to indulge in a little reality TV.
"We watch Toddlers and Tiaras together," admits Locklear.
"I can't believe she TiVo'd it — it's unbelievable!"
See more celebrity moms and daughters in PEOPLE's Gorgeous At Any Age special, on newsstands now.
— Mia McNiece


text:
« What else is new?
Full list of upcoming Canon announcements for the CP+ show »
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art lens rumors are back again
By PR admin | Published: February 13, 2017
It appears that the rumors about a new Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art lens are back again (they have been going on since 2013). A new fast 135mm prime would make sense as this focal length will complete the current line of Sigma Art lenses:
The other rumored Sigma Art lens is a new 24-70mm f/2.8 that could be announced for the CP+ show later this month.
As CanonRumors already suggested, if there will also be a third new Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art lens, it will most likely be APS-C based, a full frame 14mm f/1.8 is just going to be too big - the Zeiss 15mm f/2.8 lens for example is almost 2 lb (over 800 g):
Picture credit: 3d-kraft
Three new Sigma Art lenses and one Contemporary lens are going to be announced soon
Pictures leaked of the three new Sigma Art and one Contemporary lenses
List of new Sigma DSLR lenses rumored to be announced in 2014
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens pre-order links
Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens additional coverage (sample photos, AF test, price)
This entry was posted in Sigma and tagged Sigma 135mm f/1.8 Art lens, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art lens. Bookmark the permalink. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.


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Ruta 8 o Carretera 8 es la denominación de varias carreteras:

Argentina
 Ruta Nacional 8.
 Ruta Nacional A008, en la Provincia de Santa Fe.
 Ruta Provincial 8 de la Provincia de Buenos Aires.
 Ruta Provincial 8 de la Provincia de La Pampa.
 Ruta Provincial 8, en la Provincia de Santa Cruz.

Bolivia
 Ruta 8 de la Red Vial Fundamental.

Colombia
 Ruta Nacional 8.

Estados Unidos
 Interestatal 8.
 Ruta de Illinois 8.
 Ruta de Alaska 8.
 Ruta Estatal de California 8.
 Carretera de Nebraska 8.
 Carretera Estatal de Idaho 8.

México
 Carretera Federal 8.

Paraguay
 Ruta 8.

Uruguay
 Ruta 8.

Ruta 008

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Savu, V. ; Frunzio, L. ; Prober, D. E.
Diffusion engineering has been proposed as an approach to increase the collected charge and energy resolution of a single-photon superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) spectrometer. We present new experimental results confirming this approach. When a photon of energy E is absorbed in a superconductor with energy gap Delta, it creates N initial quasiparticles, with N approximate to 0.6 (E/Delta). Their charge, upon tunneling, is equal to Q = peN, with p = 1 for single tunneling across the voltage biased STJ. The output charge can be amplified by backtunneling, with p > 1, if the quasiparticles are confined around the junction. This charge multiplication is proportional to the confinement time. Previous work used higher gap superconductors for confinement. In this work, the counterelectrode is terminated by a long, narrow wire made of the same material. We find p > 1 due to the slow out-diffusion of the quasiparticles down the wire. The wire dimensions and diffusion constant were chosen to engineer the backtunneling multiplication. For large backtunneling, the signal-to-noise of our spectrometer is increased.