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Tag Archives: Law of Sin
Reflections on Romans 7
August 28, 2014 James Pyles	16 Comments
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
–Romans 6:20-23 (NASB)
That's the last set of verses from my previous reflection on Romans. Paul is addressing his Gentile readership in the synagogues in Rome that when they were still pagans, they were slaves to sin but "free" from righteousness, however, as they were deriving benefit from shameful things, the outcome they were facing was death. Coming to righteousness through faith in Jesus (Yeshua), they became freed from sin but enslaved to God resulting in sanctification with the ultimate outcome of eternal life.
Paul states the wages of sin is death. Then he continues:
Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.
–Romans 7:1-3 (NASB)
He's speaking to those who know the law. Does he mean he's shifted the focus from Gentiles to Jews? What law? The Torah or the Law of Sin? Let's look at Paul's metaphor of the married woman. Let's say the woman is "married" to a pagan life of sin. She is bound to her "husband" while he lives, but when he dies she's free to "marry" another. Turn the statement around and you have a person dying to sin and living to righteousness. Turn it around again and if you are married to righteousness and continue to consort with your former "spouse," to sin, then the "wife" is an adulteress.
The word of the Lord which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord." So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, "Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel."
–Hosea 1:1-5 (NASB)
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away.
–Matthew 16:4 (NASB)
When the ancient Israelites were disobedient to the commands of God and particularly when they sought after other "gods," the Almighty referred to them as "adulterous." In a very real way, the covenant ceremony at Sinai was a "marriage" between God and Israel in which Israel swore an oath of fealty much like a wedding oath. Any time Israel pursued pagan "gods", they were likened to a harlot or an adulterous wife.
Paul seems to be saying something similar about Gentile believers (assuming he hasn't shifted audiences in his letter as I suggested above) who have come to faith in Messiah but who continue to go after their former pagan lifestyle…or at least Paul is warning them against such a return. In any event, they should have no reason to return to idolatry.
Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
Paul says his readers have died "to the Law through the body of Christ," but given the current context, he can't be talking about the Torah for two reasons. The first is that he's (most likely) writing to Gentiles so they were never obligated to the mitzvot before coming to faith in Messiah. Pagans don't observe the Torah of Moses. The second reason is that he is still talking about the "Law of Sin," not the Torah, so it makes more sense that he is saying these former pagans have "died to the Law (of sin) through the body of Christ," since as believers, they have shared in Messiah's death to their former lives even as they share in the promise of eternal life. Now he urges them to "bear fruit for God," which could be interpreted as performing good works in His Name. Paul keeps toggling back and forth between their former lives under the Law of Sin and Death and their current lives in the "newness of the Spirit."
"…we serve in the newness of the Spirit and not the oldness of the letter."
This suggests to most Christians that the Spirit (and grace) are new and the letter (of the Law/Torah) is old, meaning the Spirit has replaced the Torah. But again, given the context and the main object of Paul's commentary, it is the oldness of their former lives, the letter of the Law of Sin that is done away with and replaced by the newness of their lives in Christ through the Spirit.
What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be!
–Romans 7:7 (NASB)
Paul seems to have made a quick shift in which Law he's discussing.
What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "You shall not covet." But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
–Romans 7:7-12 (NASB)
I don't think we know enough about Paul's relationship with his audience to understand how they would have followed the shifts of topic in his letter, moving from the Law of Sin to the Law of Moses, but this section seems to clearly be talking about the Torah since it quotes the Torah ("You shall not covet"). Paul actually seems to be talking (still) about both "laws" since one law took the "opportunity through the commandment" to produce coveting "of every kind." While the commandments of the Torah are designed to produce life, the law of sin produced death. Paul says "the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good," but when we choose to sin and disobey the commandment, the Law of Sin produces death.
It would seem that once we have a definition of right and wrong, which the Torah provides, we have a clearer choice and as we are brought closer to righteousness by obedience, we must be ever more mindful of the temptation to disobey, to sin, which leads to death. By accepting God's righteous standards upon our lives, we are more accountable for our behavior (not that pagans won't be judged in the end) and the higher we climb in our life of faith, the farther we have to fall should be let ourselves be tempted and sin.
Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
–Romans 7:13 (NASB)
But make no mistake, that accountability has been increased does not mean the Torah is bad. "May it never be!" Sin is bad and the Law of Moses shows us clearly the terrible consequences for sin, which we did not know when we are still slaves to sin. Through the commandment, we see sin for what it really is. Then we have no excuse if we return to sin. We know what we're doing. Our eyes have been opened.
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
Paul is describing the struggles of every person of faith, the struggle between a Heavenly ideal and human fallibility and frailty.
"See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?
–Deuteronomy 4:5-8 (NASB)
God obviously expected the Israelites to keep his statutes and judgments and didn't consider them to be too difficult to observe. More than that, He wanted Israel and their obedience to Him to be an example to the nations around them, to be a light to attract other people groups to Hashem, God of Israel, that they too might believe and obey, for the statutes and judgments are righteous.
But if Paul is writing to a bunch of Gentiles in Roman synagogues who are mixing with Jesus-believing and unbelieving Jews (and maybe getting a little arrogant that they can have equal co-participation in Jewish communal life without undergoing the proselyte rite and converting to Judaism), why is Paul leaning so much on the Torah as the counterpoint to the former pagans' lives of idol worship and sin?
Of course, as I mention above, the one thing all people of faith have in common is the struggle between our human natures which draw us into sin and our values and ideals which come from God. Even Paul experienced this struggle and it obviously pained him greatly.
But as a man of faith, he could differentiate between the sin in him, that is, his human nature being the cause of his misbehavior, and his will and desire, which was for God.
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
We all do what we don't want to do because sin dwells within us. It always will until the resurrection when we will be perfected in Messiah's Name by the Holy Spirit.
I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Here Paul makes it even clearer that he is talking about two different laws, the Law of Moses, which is holy, spiritual, good, and a delight, and the law of sin and death which is waging war within Paul, making him a prisoner of the law of sin. He saw himself as a "wretched man" who could only be set free through "Jesus Christ our Lord," yet like all of us, he was still standing between serving the law of God with his mind and the law of sin with his flesh.
Remember, Paul didn't write this epistle with chapters and verses in mind, so even though the chapter ends, Paul's probably still in the middle of a thought, and if you peek ahead to chapter 8, you'll see this is correct…
…but that will have to wait until next week. I'm still looking for a way to understand Paul comparing the Torah to the Law of Sin in a letter to a non-Jewish audience. What could he be telling them about their lives in relationship to the Torah?
"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."
BibleChristianityEpistle to the RomansHoly Epistle to the RomansJudaismlawLaw of SinRomanssinTorah


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September 17, 2009 - The Senate Finance Committee reduced the imaging utilization assumption rate from 90 percent to 65 percent, in essence cutting the originally proposed utilization increase by nearly two-thirds.
The Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) released his plan to address healthcare reform on September 16, 2009. The Committee had originally proposed raising the imaging utilization rate, used to help determine the technical component reimbursement for imaging services performed in an office setting, from 50 percent to 90 percent, which would have significantly cut reimbursement for the technical component.
The proposed bill also increased the technical component payment reduction for sequential imaging services on contiguous body parts during the same visit from 25 percent to 50 percent.
Also notable, the Finance Committee added an "Imaging Self-Referral Sunshine" provision that will require referring physicians who own imaging equipment to disclose to their patients the physician's ownership interest, and provide the patient with a list of alternative facilities from which they can receive imaging services.
The Finance Committee is scheduled to begin formal consideration of the HR3200 America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 on Tuesday, September 22 when amendments to the Chairman's "Mark" will be offered.


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PKR strengthens by 11 paisa against greenback
January 20, 2021 (MLN): Pakistani rupee (PKR) appreciated by 11 paisa against US Dollar (USD) in today's interbank session as the currency closed the day's trade at PKR 160.5 per USD, against yesterday's closing of PKR 160.61 per USD.
The rupee traded within a very narrow range of 9 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 160.48 and an intraday Low offer of 160.42.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 160.20/160.80 per USD.
Alternatively, the currency lost 1 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 219.37 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 218.34 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 17 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 194.75 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 7.10/7.20 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 7.05/7.10 percent.
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K-Electric's flagship 900 MW power plant BQPS-III progressing on...
January 20, 2021: K-Electric's flagship 900 MW power plant, BQPS-III is progressing on fast track and the Gas Turbine, Generator and Heat Recovery Boiler for the first unit of 450 MW have arrived at the power utility's Bin Qasim Power Complex. Steam Turbine and Transformers for the first unit are on the way to the site.
All relevant civil works are progressing swiftly for the installation with the target of ensuring that the first unit is ready to be commissioned by the summer of 2021, and the second unit of 450 MW by the end of the year.
The RLNG-based power plant will go a long way in meeting Karachi's power demand and ensuring the city and its industries stay energized to play their due role in the national economy.
The addition of the 900 MW RLNG Power Plant will increase the power utility's generation capacity, efficiency, and reliability. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has also recently approved the modification in the generation license of K-Electric, with the addition of the 900 MW RLNG powered BQPS-III to the power utility's generation capacity. The power plant is being built as per the power utility's business plan, approved under the Multi Year Tariff for the control period 2017-2023.
Moonis Alvi, CEO K-Electric said the project is a major private sector investment in the country's power sector. "In addition to bridging the demand for electricity, this plant will also enable us to gradually phase out some units of the aging and less efficient BQPS I plant, which have been in service for more than 30 years. The BQPS-III would result in lower import costs for the government, affordable power for consumers and a much smaller carbon footprint as compared to furnace oil power plants, and K-Electric is committed to commissioning the project as per planned timelines. I am confident that we will continue to have the support of the government and other stakeholders since there is no doubt that the upcoming 900MW RLNG power plant is very crucial for Karachi."
While the approval of the 900 MW plant is a vital element towards meeting Karachi's growing power demands, other commitments also need to be fulfilled in a timely manner for this reality to be realized. Heads of Agreement with Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) for supply of 150 mmcfd of gas for BQPS-III has already been signed, subsequently negotiations on the Gas Sale Agreement (GSA) have reached to the advance stage and any potential hurdles need to be resolved as per past commitments by the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE).
The power utility appreciates the decision of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to approve K-Electric's application for a license to construct and operate a gas pipeline, that will supply Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) for the upcoming RLNG-based 900 MW BQPS-III power plant and supplementing fuel requirement of the power plants located at its Bin Qasim Power Complex. This is a very positive development for KE as the grant of the license by OGRA is a key step in ensuring that the upcoming BQPS III power plant receives the right amount of gas, at the right pressure. This milestone will go a long way in helping bridge the supply-demand gap in Karachi in the years to come.
The 900 MW RLNG based plant and its timely completion is just one step towards keeping Karachi energized. Further, keeping in view surplus of power in national grid, KE would off-take additional supply of 1,400 MW from National Grid to mitigate demand supply gap in future. In this regard, subsequent to CCOE decision in June 2020 for Approval of Supply of Additional Power to KE from National Grid, KE is engaged in negotiations with the CPPA for procurement of this additional 1,400 MW from the National Grid under a long-term Power Purchase Agency Agreement (PPAA). This will be in addition to the existing supply 650 MW from the National Grid. Additional Supply of 1,400 MW will be procured in phases and the first phase will include 450 MW starting from April 2021 after the completion of rehabilitation works on Jamshoro-KDA transmission lines and NKI cross tripping tests. Subsequently in the next phases (2022-2023), completion of Dhabeji and KKI Grid along with transmission lines (Interconnection Facilities) would also be required for complete evacuation of 1,400 MW from the National Grid. NTDC's support for timely completion of Interconnection Facilities will be of immense importance.
While, K-Electric is fully committed to its future planned investments, sustainable resolution of the government receivables issue which have reached to an unsustainable position and timely approvals by NEPRA for quarterly tariff adjustments and mid-term petition, remain critical to the execution of these planned investments to ensure smooth supply of power to Karachi. K-Electric is confident that all concerned stakeholders will continue to lend support so that KE achieves its vision of bringing Karachi to a power surplus situation by the year 2022.
Pakistan receives $5.69 billion foreign aid during 1HFY21
January 20, 2020 (MLN): Pakistan has received $5.69 billion total external inflows during 1HFY21 from bilateral and multilateral development partners, foreign commercial borrowing, and time deposits to restructure its economy and finance its development projects.
This foreign aid provides a wide range of support in the areas of capital formation, employment, health, education, public transport, water reservoir, and more, driving economic growth and helping to promote socio-economic and human development in Pakistan.
According to the data released by the Policy Analysis & Development Wing of EAD, these external inflows from multiple sources is around 46% of the annual budget estimates of $12.23 billion for the entire fiscal year FY21. In the corresponding period of FY20, the external inflows were $5.92 billion i.e. around 46% of the annual budgeted amount of $12.96 billion.
Going into details made available by the Policy Analysis & Development Wing of EAD, out of $5.69 billion, the government received $1.63 billion or 29% in the form of program/budgetary support assistance to restructure Pakistan's economy, $2.05 billion (36%) as foreign commercial borrowing to repay maturing foreign commercial loans, $754 million (13%) as project assistance to finance its development projects for improving the socio-economic development of the country and for asset creation and $246 million (13%) as commodity financing while $1 billion (18%) received as safe deposits from China.
The disbursement from bilateral and multilateral development partners also maintained a strong trend and is $2.63 billion of foreign economic assistance during 1HFY21 against the budgetary allocation of $5.811 billion for FY21 on concessional terms with a longer maturity. These healthy inflows also helped to improve foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate stability, the monthly bulletin of Foreign Economic Assistance by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) reported.
Foreign assistance obtained by Pakistan through multilateral sources during July-Dec FY21 totaled $2.37 billion. Amongst the multilateral development partners, Asian Development Bank provided $1.12 billion and World Bank $744 million against the budgetary allocation of $2.257 billion.
The monthly bulletin revealed that the collective disbursement from bilateral donors amounted to $260 million during 1HFY21 wherein Pakistan received $95.4 million from China, followed by the United States with $70.5 million and France with $34.3 million.
Increased level of external inflows from multilateral and bilateral development partners is indicative of their confidence in development priorities and policies of the government including implementation of reforms in the priority areas of fiscal and debt management, energy sector, and ease of doing business.
The strong official inflows during the first six months of the current fiscal year helped the government to discharge its external public debt obligation of $2.924 billion against the annual repayment estimates of $10.36 billion for the entire Fiscal Year. Of which, $2.45 billion (84% of total external public debt servicing) was repaid as principal and $470 million (16%) as interest on the outstanding stock of external public debt.
During July-Nov FY21, the monthly bulletin disclosed that the government settled $1.54 billion worth of foreign commercial loans. Pakistan settled $1.15 billion to multilateral and $102 million worth of external loans to bilateral development partners. Considering foreign exchange constraints, financing of development projects and repayments of these huge external public debts compel the incumbent government to further borrow from multiple sources.
For the period Jul- Nov FY21, net transfers to the government were $1.95 billion. Positive net transfers came mainly due to higher inflows from multilateral Development Partners & due to $1 billion in respect of time safe deposit from China.
Interestingly, the stock of external loans which was obtained on market-based instruments has increased merely by $187 million and the share of concessional external loans with longer maturity increased by $760 million.
Federal Govt grants tax exemption on Panda Bonds
January 20, 2021 (MLN): In a bid to attract investments in Panda Bonds, the Federal Government has exempted the payment of principal and profits on such bonds from all kinds of tax.
The same incentive was given for Eurobonds and International Sukuk by the Government, during a meeting of the Federal Cabinet on Tuesday i.e. January 19, 2020.
As per media reports, the reasoning behind this decision was to raise around $2 billion in debt through Pakistan's first Chinese currency-denominated bonds and Eurobonds by making borrowing relatively cheaper.
Moreover, the exemption given on such bonds appears to be justified as without it, the transaction costs would have been much higher, which in turn would have made them less attractive in the international markets. It is interesting to note that similar bonds issued in the past had also been granted the same tax exemption.
While the target is to raise up to $2 billion, including around $250 to $300 million from Chinese capital markets, the exact pricing of debt will depend on investors' appetite, but authorities believe that the cost may be around 5.5% to 6.5%, depending on the instrument and maturity.
To recall, the Government during its meeting held on December 27, 2018, and July 16, 2019, had approved the issuance of sovereign Panda Bonds in the Chinese market as part of a long-term strategy. In the Long Term Plan of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (2017-30), both countries had decided to use renminbi as the second international currency to lessen Pakistan's reliance on dollar, Express Tribune said in its report.
'The finance ministry has also selected a consortium of China Development Bank, China International Capital Corporation, Citibank and Habib Bank Limited for floating Eurobonds and Sukuk, according to the ministry. It said that the selection of Multi-term Note programme financial advisers was expected to be formalised soon', the report added.
Oil rise on hopes of U.S. stimulus and crude...
January 20, 2021: Oil prices rose on Wednesday, adding to solid gains overnight, on expectations the incoming U.S. administration will go ahead with massive stimulus spending that would boost fuel demand and draw down crude stocks.
Brent crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $56.25 a barrel, adding to a 2.1% gain on Tuesday.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen urged lawmakers on Tuesday to "act big" on pandemic relief spending, reinforcing hopes of massive spending to boost growth.
"Certainly the expectation is that will support better growth and better demand in the U.S.," said National Australia Bank's head of commodity research, Lachlan Shaw.
However, the market remains concerned about near-term oil demand as the International Energy Agency cut its outlook for first-quarter oil demand by 580,000 barrels per day, due to tight lockdowns and border closures to stop soaring COVID-19 infections.
China's capital Beijing on Wednesday announced stricter COVID-19 control measures and will shut down a subway station after the city reported its biggest daily jump in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks.
The country is experiencing its most severe COVID-19 outbreak since March 2020 ahead of the key Lunar New Year holiday season. More than 20 provincial-level regions have asked people to stay put during the holiday.
Germany on Tuesday extended a lockdown for most shops and schools for another two weeks, to Feb. 14.
Traders will be watching out for U.S. crude and products inventory data due from the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday and from the Energy Information Administration on Friday.
Six analysts polled by Reuters estimated, on average, that crude stocks fell by 300,000 barrels in the week to Jan. 15, but expect gasoline stockpiles rose by 3.0 million barrels. Distillate inventories, which include diesel, heating oil and jet fuel, were seen up by 800,000 bbl.
Pakistan to dispatch 19 fighter aircraft to China for joint air force exercise
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Former Giants top prospect Angel Villalona is expected to report to Spring Training after missing the entirety of the past two seasons while dealing with legal issues in his native Dominican Republic, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Villalona, a first baseman, has been on the Giants' 40-man roster since last fall. He's 21 now, so he's hardly beyond old, but he'll have plenty of catching up to do.
The Rangers have a plan in place to ease Yu Darvish's transition from NPB to MLB, writes Tom Verducci of SI.com. Essential to their strategy is to ween Darvish off the high-pitch-count outings he frequently posted in Japan in favor of more efficient pitch counts. As well, the Rangers will limit Darvish's exposure to AL West opponents during Spring Training, and they could skip a couple of his starts in the second half.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times has a look at how the Rangers and Angels positioned themselves shrewdly for their recent TV contracts, and cautions that it won't necessarily play out the same way for the Mariners — or other teams, for that matter.
Someone tell Brandon Morrow that high pitch count outings are not efficient. Please.
When will Geoff Baker stop publishing stuff just for the sake of getting reactions? He has zero interest in the Mariners and how well they may potentially do in the future.
Great, now they allow murderer in the mlb.
Of course they were dropped, he paid the family for them to drop the charges, but he actually kill the other guy.
The cases of Burgos and Villalona couldn't really be more different. Villalona has this single case in his history while Burgos has undeniably killed two people in an automobile accident, was charged with attempting to kill his wife with rat poison(which you mistakenly labeled a murder), and was convicted(and jailed for nine months) for beating his girlfriend in NY.
He paid the victim's family $140,000 to drop the charges IIRC.
Personally, even if I knew that I was innocent, I don't know that I'd trust my future in the hands of the legal system in the Dominican Republic either – especially if I have $2M in the bank. Look at the Juan Uribe case in 2006 – two guys get shot and everybody points at him because everyone knows he's a professional player with several millions in the bank. Again, both could be cases of players behaving badly, but this seems to be a theme in the DR.
Whether he is a murderer or not, we'll likely never know but as far as the legality of the case is concerned, he's a free man.
To be accurate, he paid the family to drop the civil case they were taking. Criminal charges were dropped by the police.
LOL, Villalona's "Legal Issues" = Paid money to make murder charge go away. I'm a Giants fan so I would love to give him the benefit of the doubt, but being accused for murder is as heavy as it gets.


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Deze lijst van spelers van het Gibraltarees voetbalelftal geeft een overzicht van alle voetballers die minstens één officiële interland achter hun naam hebben staan voor Gibraltar. Vetgezette spelers zijn in 2014 nog voor de nationale ploeg uitgekomen.

Overzicht
Bijgewerkt tot en met de oefeninterland tegen  (0–0) op 26 maart 2022

Gibraltarees voetbalelftal
Gibraltar
Spelers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Vancouver, British Columbia: FIREWEED ZINC LTD. ("Fireweed" or the "Company") (TSXV: FWZ) is pleased to provide a year-end review of its 2019 results and work program on the large Macmillan Pass Zinc Project in Yukon, Canada.
Highlights for 2019
Drilling at Boundary Zone intersected wide zones of potential open pit mineralization. Highlights are 100 metres of 7.94% zinc from surface including 6.4 metres of 42.88% zinc within 230 metres of 4.14% zinc.
Initial ore sorting test results indicate Boundary mineralization may be amenable to low cost upgrading prior to processing. Commercial-scale ore sorting and metallurgical test work is planned for 2020.
Drilling at Tom North intersected potential open pit grades on the north extension of the large Tom West Zone. Highlights included 22.5 metres of 6.13% zinc and 0.95% lead from near surface.
Geophysical ground gravity and passive seismic surveys, geological mapping and geochemical sampling were carried out to identify additional targets for exploration.
After reviewing these year-end results, Fireweed CEO Brandon Macdonald stated "It has been another great year for Fireweed at Macmillan Pass highlighted by excellent results on several targets.
"Building on the 2018 Mineral Resource study which established Tom and Jason as one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world and results of our PEA study which show the project to have robust economics, 2019 successfully continued to advance the project and expand the upside potential in areas beyond the known resources.
"The prime 2019 highlight was drilling of our first holes at Boundary Zone and we were rewarded with very wide intersections of excellent open pit grades, and geological indications this may be a large feeder zone to yet undiscovered stratiform mineralization. Successful initial tests also indicate strong potential to upgrade Boundary mineralization through low cost ore sorting technology and significantly impact overall project economics. In 2020 we also plan to drill at Boundary toward an initial NI43-101 compliant mineral resource. Other 2019 drilling outlined potential open pit mineralization at Tom North and we continued to intersect high grades at Tom East. We plan another active season in 2020 and will provide details when plans and budgets are finalized.
"I want to personally thank our talented and hard-working team for all their great work in 2019 and thank our First Nations partners for their support, guidance and valuable contributions. We all look forward to another year of major accomplishments in 2020."
2019 Drilling Highlights
In 2019 a total of 16 diamond drill holes were drilled for a total of 2,357 metres at the Macmillan Pass Project. Background and drill results from the 2019 program were as follows (see Figure 1 for locations):
Boundary Zone Background and 2019 Drilling
Historic drilling of 24 holes at Boundary Zone indicates the presence of a large bulk tonnage zone of zinc (-lead-silver) mineralization potentially amenable to open pit mining. The 2019 Boundary drill program was designed to infill a gap in historic drilling (see Figure 2) and obtain a bulk sample for commercial-scale ore sorting and metallurgical test work (see below). No mineral resource has been estimated for Boundary Zone yet and the zone is not included in the current mineral resource estimate for the property (described in Fireweed news release dated January 10, 2018). The objectives of recent and continuing work at Boundary Zone is toward estimation of an initial mineral resource followed by an economic study as well as continued exploration for new discoveries in the area.
Known mineralization is spread over an area almost two kilometres long and 200 to 800 metres wide. Mineralization drilled in a central area is 350 metres long and has a true thickness of up to 250 metres with historic drilling grades averaging 2.0 ? 2.5% zinc1 that include multiple higher grade intervals closer to surface similar to the holes reported below from 2019 (see Figures 2 & 3 and Fireweed news release dated November 6, 2018). Higher grades near surface are favourable for potential open pit mining economics. The zone has been drilled up to 285 metres down dip and remains open to depth and along trend for further exploration.
Boundary Zone mineralization consists of sphalerite-siderite-pyrite and minor galena in veins, stockworks, disseminations, and as replacement of matrix and clasts within coarse clastic rocks that are interpreted to represent subsurface "feeder" mineralization to potential, as yet undiscovered, stratiform mineralization similar in style to Tom or Jason.
Boundary Zone Ore Sorting Tests
Initial ore sorting test results for Boundary Zone reported in 2019 indicate Boundary Zone mineralization is potentially amendable to low cost, state-of-the-art X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF") ore sorting processing technology (see Fireweed news release dated July 31, 2019 for details). These test results rejected 50-70% of the waste material (30-50% mass pull), while recovering 80-85% of the zinc. In practical terms, these results show potential to upgrade mill feed from the test feed grade of 2.5% zinc to approximately 5% zinc with recovery of 80-85% of the zinc at low cost. Two tonnes of core samples from the two 2019 Boundary drill holes have been collected to carry out planned commercial-scale ore sorting and metallurgical tests in 2020. If these tests confirm the initial ore sorting results, they have the potential to significantly improve economics of the Macmillan Pass Project.
Tom North Drilling
Historic trenching and very shallow, low-recovery drilling in 1952 indicated the presence of near-surface mineralization at Tom North. The 2019 drilling at Tom North confirmed that mineralization extends to depth, and the results define a near-surface zone of zinc-lead mineralization that is potentially amenable to open?pit mining. The Tom North target has mineralization demonstrated over a strike length of at least 500 metres, and a true thickness between 6 and 23 metres (average of 12 metres). The down-dip extent has been tested to 190 metres and remains open to depth (see Figure 4). The mineralization is stratiform and comprises laminated fine-grained sphalerite-galena-pyrite-barite. Tom North is a distinct zone separated from the Tom West zone by faulting (see Figure 4).
No mineral resource has been estimated for Tom North yet and the zone is not included in the current mineral resource estimate for the property (described in Fireweed news release dated January 10, 2018). Tom North represents potential for a significant expansion to Tom mineral resources, for extension of open-pit and underground mine life, and improvement of project economics described in the current Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") (see Fireweed news release dated May 23, 2018). The current PEA includes an initial three-year open-pit mine life at Tom West over the course of an overall 18-year mine life.
Tom East Drilling
Tom East is the highest grade zone discovered on the property to date. In 2018, drilling extended the zone to depth with the deepest hole intersecting 16.4 m grading 21.14% Zinc, 13.55% Lead and 243 g/t Silver (Figure 5; see Fireweed news release dated September 20, 2018 for details). 2019 drill hole TS19-007 was planned to test the potential extension of the zone but the hole deviated from its planned course and drilled multiple down-dip intersections passing in and out of mineralization at very low angles to the zone. These high-grade infill results provide geological information that will inform geological modelling for resource expansion and exploration in the structurally complex Tom East zone (see Figure 5). The potential extension of the high-grade mineralization discovered in 2018 remains untested and Tom East is open at depth.
Field work in 2019 consisted of continued geological mapping, geophysical surveying accompanied by passive seismics, and geochemical sampling mainly in the Tom, Jason, Boundary and MC claims areas to understand the geology and controls on mineralization, and identify additional exploration targets. Geophysics crews continued work west along the Fertile Corridor between End Zone and Boundary Zone (see Figure 1) and identified additional gravity anomalies for future follow up. Geological mapping and geochemical sampling were carried out over many parts of the property. An airborne LiDAR topographic survey of the entire property was also completed. Receipt of final LiDAR maps, which will aid in geological interpretation, accurate location of work sites, engineering and wildlife studies, are expected this month. Currently, interpretation of the results of the mapping, geochemistry and geophysics work from the 2019 field season are being carried out toward identifying high priority areas for exploration toward future new discoveries.
Access Road Update
Access to the project site is via Yukon Highway 6 (aka the North Canol Road) and an airstrip on the property. As described in the PEA study (see Fireweed news release May 23, 2018 and PEA report filed on www.sedar.com), any future mining operation will require upgrading of the road to accommodate more traffic. Fireweed is pleased to report that during the past summer the Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works carried out additional work on the road which included replacement of three more bridges and various road repairs. Three additional new prefabricated bridges have also been delivered to the start of the road and are available for installation next year. The continuing active support of the Yukon government on the Macmillan Pass Project is but one indication of why Yukon is a top 10 mining investment jurisdiction in the world as designated by the Fraser Institute.
Permitting Update
In November the Company received a new Class 4 permit valid until 2028 that allows for larger exploration programs including a 150?person camp as well as expanded drilling and exploration activities in the Tom, Jason and End Zone areas. Other parts of the property will continue to be explored under a Class 1 permit in 2020.
Plans for an active 2020 exploration program will include drilling in the Boundary Zone to define NI43?101 compliant mineral resources and exploration in the general Boundary Zone area for additional mineralization including potential undiscovered stratiform zone(s) that may have been generated by the currently known extensive Boundary Zone "feeder" mineralization. Other plans may include drilling of further step out holes, drilling of new exploration targets and field work toward development of additional exploration targets on the large property. Details of 2020 work plans will be announced when the interpretation of 2019 field work is completed and budgets are approved.
Qualified Person Statement
Technical information in this news release has been approved by Gilles Dessureau, P.Geo, Vice President Exploration and a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43?101.
About Fireweed Zinc Ltd. (TSXV: FWZ): Fireweed Zinc is a public mineral exploration company focused on zinc and managed by a veteran team of mining industry professionals. The Company is advancing its district-scale 544 km2 Macmillan Pass Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to the 100% owned Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits with current Mineral Resources and a PEA economic study (see Fireweed news releases dated January 10, 2018, and May 23, 2018, respectively, and reports filed on www.sedar.com for details) as well as the Boundary Zone, Tom North Zone and End Zone which have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes option agreements on large blocks of adjacent claims (MAC, MC, MP, Jerry, BR and NS) which cover exploration targets in the district where previous and recent work identified zinc, lead and silver prospects, and geophysical and geochemical anomalies in prospective host geology.
Additional information about Fireweed Zinc and its Macmillan Pass Zinc Project including maps and drill sections can be found on the Company's website at www.FireweedZinc.com and at www.sedar.com.
This news release may contain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to the Company and the Macmillan Pass Project that are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management. Such statements reflect the current risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including but not limited to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Company's operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Additional risks are set out in the Company's prospectus dated May 9, 2017, and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update forward?looking statements or forward?looking information, except as required by law.
Historic results for the Boundary Zone reported in this news release are taken from historic reports prepared by previous operators. Neither the Company or the Qualified Person has done sufficient work to verify these results and therefore these results should not be relied upon. The Company is including them for information purposes to explain the basis for the exploration target and reasons for exploring and drilling.
Estimation of true widths of intervals in the drill results tables is based on preliminary geological interpretation of historic and new drilling data.
Drill hole TS19-007 at Tom East deviated from its planned course and drilled down dip in the Tom East Zone resulting in multiple intersections as the drill bit cut in and out of the zone. Estimated true widths in Table 1 are based on the projection of the zone contacts, oriented core bedding measurements, and other nearby drill intersections that intersect the zone at higher angles.
Additional details on these drill intersections, and sampling and assay methods are noted in the 2019 Fireweed news releases.


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The Most Vital Ingredient in Wall Street Reform Goes Missing
Posted by k under Democracy , Finance
Senator Dodd, Put Back That Wall!
Pam Martens Counterpunch 3/26/10
Last Fall, it was all about the wall: financial bigwigs like former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, former Citigroup co-CEO John Reed, Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, all espoused reestablishing the legal barrier between the derivatives casino that masquerades today as Wall Street and commercial banks holding insured deposits.
It made good sense: the wall goes up in 1933, America becomes the premier financial center for 66 years. The wall comes down in 1999, the financial system collapses exactly 9 years later with the precise characteristics of the massive Wall Street swindles that occurred in the late 1920s when there was also no wall.
But the wall has now gone missing in the current financial reform bill advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee by its Chairman, Senator Christopher Dodd. Equally noteworthy, the historic 1933 legislation that built the essential wall between flim-flam securities salesmen and Aunt Tilly's insured bank account, commonly known as the Glass-Steagall Act, has gone missing itself from the internet. To underscore how extraordinary this is, if you put "Glass-Steagall Act" in the Google search box, it brings up 220,000 hits. And, yet, it is next to impossible to find the actual text of the legislation on the internet.
The Glass-Steagall Act (officially known as the Banking Act of 1933, Public Law 66-73, or H.R. 5661) is one of the most important pieces of financial legislation ever passed in this country. In addition to walling off the predators of Wall Street, it is less commonly known that Glass-Steagall created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to implement the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, and dramatically revised the Federal Reserve Act to prevent Wall Street perversions rooted out in the investigations conducted by the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency from 1932 to 1934. Given its landmark status and current attention, one would expect it to be available in a flick of a keystroke on any search engine.
The for-profit on-line law repositories offer only what's left of the Act in the U.S. Code after its bones were picked clean by the Gramm- Leach- Bliley Act (also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999). Case law offers a few sentences dealing with the separation of securities firms and national banks.  Wikipedia has no link to the text of the legislation, clearly because its editors couldn't find one. The FDIC, created under the Act, says on its web site you can drop in to its Library in Washington, D.C. if you'd like to look at the legislation. Cornell Law's massive on-line library has this to say when you click on the Law:
Unfortunately, public sources of the Statutes at Large leave a lot out. The Library of Congress has mounted volumes 1-18 (to 1874) as part of its American Memory collection. The Government Printing Office took responsibility for the Statutes in 1875, but has only made electronic versions available from 1995 onward (volumes 109 and up).
The National Archives offers a digital copy of the first and last page of the document. (I sensed a tad of condescension in the suggestion that Americans can be placated with a title page and a signature page while the guts of our legislation are reserved for the lobbyists.) I sent an email to the National Archives asking for the full legislation. The following response arrived a few days later from an archivist , Jane Fitzgerald:
"We have just received your email inquiry regarding digital images of
the rest of the Banking Act of 1933. Unfortunately, the Banking Act of 1933 (Public Law 73-66 of June 16, 1933) consists of a total of 45 pages in length and we currently only have existing images of the first and signature pages.Â
"Black and white scans of the remaining pages may be ordered for $35.00 a page…"
To get a copy of public legislation from a publicly funded institution would cost $35.00 x 43 pages or $1505.00. Welcome to the new reality of wealth, privilege and access in America. I responded with another email requesting that the full document be made immediately available to the public at no charge, noting that:
"The text of the Banking Act of 1933…will help shine the light forward for our current Congress. That's what historical documents are for: to guide us toward a future devoid of the horrific mistakes of the past. Locking away this document and charging $35 a page insults the mandate of the National Archives. In fact, it is abhorrent to a participatory democracy."
Thus far, I have not heard back from the National Archives. After four days of web searching, phone calls, and emails with no results, I had an epiphany. I remembered where I had once accessed rare documents from the 1930s. I located the full legislation on line with no charge involved for printing the document or downloading it. I copied it from the site and will be happy to email the Act to anyone who sends me an email with the subject line, "Save Glass-Steagall From Extinction." (I hesitate to give out the web location for fear the repository that has given the legislation a home will suffer a buyout by Wall Street shortly upon the news leaking out. I say this only half jokingly.)
What's in this legislation that's worthy of vanquishing it from the annals of history?  Each section reveals how Congress had to police with new laws a Wall Street functioning as organized crime on steroids. And it leads a direct path of inquiry to the 12,000 pages holed up in the National Archives where the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency took two years of testimony under oath from 1932 to 1934 from the captains of illicit finance, received 1375 completed questionnaires from stock exchange members, subpoenaed cancelled checks from members of the financial press who had been bribed by Wall Street players, and obtained "preferred lists" where public office holders were routinely bribed with hot stock offerings.
In other words, it highlights the type of in-depth investigation our current Congress has not done as it stumbles around in the dark writing reform legislation with no evidentiary support for what it needs to reform.
Wall Street honchos who want the Federal Reserve to remain as their coddling regulator particularly fear public attention to Section 20 of the Glass-Steagall Act.  This is a verbatim quote from that hard-to-locate original legislation:
"After one year from the date of the enactment of this Act, no member bank shall be affiliated in any manner described in section 2(b) hereof with any corporation, association, business trust, or other similar organization engaged principally in the issue, flotation, underwriting, public sale, or distribution at wholesale or retail or through syndicate participation of stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities." [Italic emphasis added.]
This pesky passage might now renew questions as to whether the Federal Reserve Board broke the law in 1998 when it approved the merger of a massive securities firm (Travelers/Salomon Smith Barney) with a member bank holding insured deposits (Citibank). That institution is now a welfare ward of the taxpayer. Salomon was an investment bank engaged in underwriting all the kinds of securities forbidden by Glass-Steagall to become affiliated with a member bank; Smith Barney was a brokerage firm engaged in the public sale of the securities not allowed under Glass-Steagall to be affiliated with a member bank. The Fed blew off these serious matters with the following statement in its letter approving the merger:
"…Travelers controls several domestic subsidiaries that cannot be affiliated with a Bank under Section 20 of the Glass-Steagall Act (12 U.S.C. 377). These companies engage in securities underwriting and dealing activities, distributing shares of open-end mutual funds, and controlling open-end mutual funds. Travelers has committed to conform the activities of these companies to the requirements of the Glass-Steagall Act and the Board's orders and interpretations there under, including the limitations on the amount of revenue derived from securities underwriting and dealing activities, on consummation of the proposed transaction in accordance with the requirements of this order."
The Federal Reserve approved the merger on September 23, 1998. Glass-Steagall was not repealed until November 12, 1999. In between, Smith Barney's army of stockbrokers did not stop selling securities to the public and the firm's proprietary mutual funds continued to be distributed to the public.
If the Federal Reserve brazenly and knowingly ignored the law in acquiescence to a serial misfeasor, why should Americans trust it to have any role whatsoever in bank regulation and, especially not appropriate, a Consumer Financial Protection Agency housed under the Fed as envisioned by Senator Dodd's proposed legislation.
Last November, Senator Dodd called the Fed an "abysmal failure" in terms of its regulation of banks and consumer protection. His draft bill at that time correctly stripped the Fed of banking and consumer oversight. Today, Senator Dodd's bill elevates the "abysmal failure" Fed to trusted guardian of the largest and most dangerous banks in the country alongside oversight of a consumer protection agency. Senator Dodd had his facts impeccably correct in November. Who or what changed Senator Dodd's mind in the ensuing four months?
Once the Travelers/Citicorp merger created Citigroup, other Wall Street firms had to buy insured depositor banks in order to compete against the massive pools of money housed under the Citi umbrella as it was allowed to gobble up bank after bank. The Fed set this doomsday machine in motion and the taxpayers are now footing the crushing bill to shore up zombie securities firms on top of staggering investment losses, job losses, foreclosures and growing homelessness. Consumers were promised one-stop shopping at these behemoths; they ended up in the role of busboys at the predator's ball.
In 1998 when the barbarians were charging the wall, 425 individuals testified in person or in writing to the Federal Reserve on the application by Travelers and Citicorp to merge to create Citigroup. A small number correctly predicted this financial calamity would result. That same small number wasn't getting cash from Citicorp or Travelers. The majority of politicians and nonprofits who testified in favor of the proposal were recipients of largesse from one or the other of the corporations.
Why was the Federal Reserve Board conducting hearings on a proposal that was patently illegal under existing law? To mute public outrage over the brazenness of that detail alone, the press was fed the following story line: don't focus on the bold violations of law under the Glass-Steagall Act, focus instead on the Bank Holding Company Act which allows a two-year window for Travelers to divest its insurance subsidiaries; an eventuality that Citigroup correctly bet would be moot if it could get its Washington insiders like Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to muscle through repeal of Glass-Steagall before the two-year deadline arrived.)
The Federal Reserve may have also felt empowered by the stunning editorial in the New York Times on April 8, 1998, putting white hats on the pirates and dubbing financial concentration and repeal of investor protection law a good thing that "could actually protect naïve investors." The New York Times had not only sipped the Citigroup Kool Aid and found it pleasing, it was adding new flavors of its own to the packaging:
"Congress dithers, so John Reed of Citicorp and Sanford Weill of Travelers Group grandly propose to modernize financial markets on their own. They have announced a $70 billion merger — the biggest in history — that would create the largest financial services company in the world, worth more than $140 billion… In one stroke, Mr. Reed and Mr. Weill will have temporarily demolished the increasingly unnecessary walls built during the Depression to separate commercial banks from investment banks and insurance companies."
"Increasingly unnecessary walls?" Citibank had a history of money laundering for dictators. Salomon Smith Barney was the successor firm responsible for rigging the two-year Treasury note auction and "yield burning," another illegal maneuver involving Treasury securities and municipal bonds.  Those walls were all that stood between one criminal culture with insured deposits merging with more creative criminals. Fused together, they took their widow and orphans' passbooks and conjured up rigged research, subprime mortgage securitizations, credit default swaps, auction rate securities, Dr. Evil trades, and Enron off-balance-sheet debt bombs.
The New York Times continues:
"Some consumer advocates oppose the merger because, they fear, financial behemoths inevitably threaten ordinary consumers. But one-stop financial shopping could actually protect naive investors. Under current laws such investors can be pulled in contradictory directions by bankers offering retirement accounts, insurance agents offering annuities and securities dealers offering mutual funds. An institution that sells all these products can steer customers toward the product that best serves their needs…A collapse in the company's securities and insurance operations could drag down its commercial bank. But that will happen only if Federal regulators fall sound asleep."
Did the Federal Reserve fall sound asleep? Or was it compromised to begin with? As for steering customers toward the product that best serves their needs, for the last eight decades Wall Street has incentivized through its broker commission structure its goal of selling what it needs to dump on the public irrespective of what best serves the public's needs. The only hope of changing that reality is a regulator with teeth and a mighty wall that separates speculation and risk taking from savings earmarked for safety.
The similarity of the dynamics of the 1929 crash and the 2008 crash is reflected in this passage from the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency in 1934, Report No. 1455:
"The Banking Act of 1933, enacted on June 16, 1933, was promulgated to effect a complete severance of the commercial and investment banking functions and to eradicate many of the abuses disclosed at the hearings before the Senate subcommittee…The hearings disclosed, on the part of many bankers, a woeful lack of regard for the public interest and a proper conception of fiduciary responsibility. Personages upon whom the public relied for the guardianship of funds did not regard their position as impregnated with trust, but rather as a means for personal gain. These custodians of funds gambled and speculated for their own account in the stock of the banking institutions which they dominated; participated in speculative transactions in the capital stock of their banking institutions that directly conflicted with the interest of these institutions which they were paid to serve; participated in and were the beneficiaries of pool operations;… availed themselves, as directors of private corporations, of inside information to aid them in transactions in the securities of these corporations; caused to be paid by the banking institutions to themselves excessive compensation; had voted to themselves participations in management funds and substantial pensions; and resorted to devious means to avoid the payment of their just Government taxes…Far from having a detrimental, subservice effect upon the banking institutions of the country, the investigation performed the wholesome function of exposing the ills and evils of banking conditions and the perpetrators of these wrongs, with a view to the elimination of both the undesirable practices and personalities."
Senator Dodd, members of Congress, you know what you have to do. Put back the wall, then on to real Senate investigations under oath.
Pam Martens worked on Wall Street for 21 years; she has no security position, long or short, in any company mentioned in this article. She writes on public interest issues from New Hampshire. She can be reached at pamk741@aol.com
Friday, Mar 26th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Democracy and Finance


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Following the approval by the National University commission on December 21, 2006, Osun State University (UNIOSUN) became the 30th State University and 80th in the Nigerian University system. Osun State University is a conventional University envisioned to be a centre of excellence through the provision of highly qualitative teaching and learning experiences which will engender the production of well-rounded entrepreneurial graduate capable of impacting positively on their environments while also being globally competitive.
Hence, our mission at UNIOSUN is to create a unique institution commited to the pursuit of academic innovation,skill-based training and a tradition of excellence in Teaching,Research and Community service.
UNIOSUN is a multi-campus institution operating collegiate system. There are seven colleges in six campuses located in six geographical zones of the state .


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text:
© 2020 SPA Publishing
The Art of War Sun Tzu
Summary : The Art of War
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise. The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu is composed of 13 chapters. Each one is devoted to an aspect of warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. For almost 1,500 years it was the lead text in an anthology that would be formalised as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080. The Art of War remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare and has influenced both Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy, lifestyles and beyond.
(Tags : The Art of War Sun Tzu Audiobook, Sun Tzu Audio CD )
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The Communist Manifesto and The Art of War Bundle, 2 in 1 Bundle
Friedrich Engels & Sun Tzu


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Q: What file level function is used to read/write SQLite database file I am working on some sort of implementation for SQLite file encryption in Android devices. I would like to get some info about the low level function inside the SQLite source code (Amalgamation version) that is responsible for writing the database file to disk/storage (or reading from it)?
Based on my research inside SQLite source code (Android version), I found different functions that might be related to disk read/write operations. These functions are: winWrite(), unixWrite(), seekAndWrite(), unixRead().
So my question is that which one of these functions (or other lower functions) is responsible for the final writing to storage, right after/before the database file is closed and need to be saved?
Knowing that specific function can help us embed our encryption test module in the proper place of SQLite so that the encryption will occur exactly before saving database file to disk.
Thank you for any help.
P. S.  I am not interested in current SQLite encryption products (Sqlcipher, SEE, etc) and prefer to test my own encryption algorithm.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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« Historic homes and density: crafting the right plan | Main | City Council's Memorial Coliseum study includes demolition option »
Design Calendar: October 1-15
Michael Graves and Pietro Belluschi (image courtesy Saul Zaik)
How to Research the History of Your House
Historians Tibby O'Brien and Morgen Young take attendees through the steps to uncover the history of one's vintage house (as well as any other building). Using the latest online sources, local archives, and libraries, they will show that the process is not so mysterious when one knows what steps to follow and where to look. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, October 4. $12 ($8 for AHC members).
Celebrate Modernism: Tour Day 2014
Architectural historian Libby Dawson Farr will be joined by architects from Portland firms BOORA and Holst to talk about the work of Paul Thiry, a pioneering Seattle modernist architect) as well as others on the campus of Lewis & Clark College. This event will highlight examples of recent renovations and additions to architectural masterworks of the mid 20th century and offer an introduction to the history of this beautiful campus. A self-guided walking tour (with a specially created map) will follow the program, and among other treasures visitors will be able to visit the usually closed South Chapel by John Maloney, which features unique glass art from
the period. Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, Gregg Pavilion. 10:30AM Saturday, October 4. $15 ($10 for DoCoMoMo members).
Design Week Portland Opening Party
Stitching together a variety of design and arts disciplines from architecture to graphic design, illustration and crafts to landscape architecture, Design Week Portland kicks off with this party featuring music from DJ Rev Shines of Lifesavas and food from locals Olympic Provisions, The Whole Bowl, and Salt and Straw. Staver Locamotive, 2537 NW 29th Avenue. 7PM Saturday, October 4. $10.
Restorative Design: Confluence Project's Bird Blind
Best known for the iconic Vietnam veterans' memorial in Washington, DC, architect and artist Maya Lin left an indelible imprint on a variety of sites in Oregon and Washington to commemorate the intersection of Lewis & Clark's journey and its ultimate impact on Native American communities throughout the region. As part of Design Week Portland, this interpretive walk to Lin's Bird Blind at the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia Rivers is a 2.5-mile journey that will also speak to current environmental restoration work happening at the Sandy River Delta. 10AM Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, October 5, 7, 8 and 11. $10.
UO Architecture Thesis Studio Exhibition
Every year students at architecture schools such as the University of Oregon present their final thesis projects, and this public exhibition by students of the University of Oregon's Department of Architecture in Portland to show the idealism and fresh thinking that makes viewing student work nearly always worthwhile. University of Oregon, 70 NW Couch Street. 8AM-5PM Sunday-Saturday, October 5-11. Free.
The Inevitable City - Film Series
Our planet will be home to over nine billion people by 2050, with 70 percent of us in urban centers. How will humanity adapt? The American Institute of Architects' annual film series revolves around this broad question, which is both exciting in possibility and daunting in its sheer scale. The films span utopian futures, frightening visions, and everything in between—including the documentation of evolving urban life right before our very eyes. Included are Urbanized, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers; Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio, which profiles the late Auburn University architecture professor and MacArthur "genius grant" and his efforts to marry architectural education and public-interest design; and The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream, a 2004 documentary concerning peak oil and its implications for the suburban lifestyle. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 6PM Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, October 6, 8 and 9. $5 suggested.
Design + Biomimicry: Applying Whole-(eco)Systems Thinking
Biomimicry, the practice of creating solutions inspired by nature, has proven its potential when developing products that radically disrupt markets as we know them. As part of Design Week Portland, unnamed representatives from the organization Biomimicry for Creative Innovation will share their perspective on where biomimicry thinking fits into the innovation process, why it matters, and how we might get there. Hatch, 2420 NW Sandy Boulevard. 6:30PM Monday, October 6. Free.
Older, Smaller, Better: How Character-Rich Buildings and Blocks Support Great Neighborhoods
New research from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation Green Lab shows that neighborhoods with a mix of small, old and new buildings outperform districts of large, new buildings on a wide variety of social, economic, and cultural metrics. Michael Powe, who manages research for the Seattle-based Preservation Green Lab, will connect new ideas drawn from Big Data to the writings of Jane Jacobs and discuss how blocks of modestly-sized older buildings are quietly contributing to robust local economies and distinctive, livable communities. St. James Lutheran Church, 1315 SW Park Avenue. 7PM Tuesday, October 7. $8.
Portland Writers on Design: Urban Movement
Join five Portland writers as they tell their stories of moving through the city, observing the overlooked but intentionally designed details that make each journey unique. Presenters for this Design Week Portland event include Sarah Mirk of Bitch Media, Joseph Mains of Atelier Ace, John Vieira of Nemo Design, former Museum of Contemporary Craft director Namita Wiggers, and Carl Alviani of Ziba Design. Each will speak for approximately 10 minutes, on a designed artifact or system of their choosing, related to urban movement. Ziba Auditorium, 810 NW Marshall Street. 6:30PM Tuesday, October 7. Free.
Portland Past Present Future: Our Architectural Narrative
What do the buildings we choose to construct, demolish, restore, and inhabit tell the world about us? What's Portland's story? Where's it headed? This Design Week Portland panel discussion includes Joe Zehnder, chief planner for the City of Portland; Tyler Robinson, art director for TV's Portlandia; David Staczek, a principal with ZGF Architects; Reiko Hillyer of Lewis & Clark College; Peggy Moretti, executive director of Restore Oregon; Courtenay Hameister, head writer for Live Wire Radio; and Dave Weich, founder of Sheepscot Creative. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Avenue. 7PM Tuesday, October 7. $14.
SukkahPDX
An annual juried outdoor design competition held at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education and this year in partnership with Mittleman Jewish Community Center as well as Design Week Portland. Artists and design teams submitted proposals to build temporary livable outdoor structures, called sukkahs, which are constructed worldwide every year in observance of the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot. Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, 1953 NW Kearney. 8AM-5PM Wednesday-Saturday, October 8-11. Free.
HQ Conversation: Susan Szenasy
Susan S. Szenasy is publisher and editor in chief of Metropolis, the award-winning New York City–based magazine of architecture, design and culture. Since 1986, she has led the magazine in landmark design journalism, achieving international recognition. Szenasy will speak as part of Design Week Portland's ongoing "HQ" conversations at Pioneer Courthouse Square, inside a Buckminster Fuller-inspired dome. Pioneer Courthouse Square. 4PM Wednesday, October 8. $15.
The New Structure: Carrie Strickland, Sam Adams, Rick Potestio
The New Structure is a series that invites the community to share experiences relating to historical, urban, and design topics. For this special Design Week Portland edition, architect Carrie Strickland of Works Partnership, former Portland mayor Sam Adams, and architect Rick Potestio will engage in a multimedia, storytelling session, sharing their personal journeys into and around fields of design and influence. Rontoms, 600 East Burnside Street. 7PM Wednesday, October 8. Free.
Michael Graves Live: A Conversation About Recent Designs, Change, and the Future of the Portland Building
Journalist and Yeon Center director Randy Gragg will interview legendary architect and Portland Building designer Michael Graves about two topics: his career's evolution since the Portland Building, and, in particular, since an infection rendered him a paraplegic in 2003 inspiring a turn to designing everything from wheelchairs to housing for disabled veterans; and what of the Portland Building should be preserved and what might change during its upcoming renovation. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Avenue. 7PM Thursday, October 9. $10.
AIA/Portland Homes Tour
This year's AIA Portland Homes Tour features unexpected urban infill solutions that were custom designed in harmony with their quintessential inner Portland neighborhoods. The self-guided tour provides an excellent opportunity to see how great design impacts our quality of life through creativity, sustainability, and craft. Attendees will be able to explore these unique homes firsthand and become inspired by the possibilities. Architects and firms with homes on this tour include Rick Potestio, Emerick Architects, Works Partnership, and Hennebery Eddy. 10AM Saturday, October 11. $40.
Buildings and Places: A Walking Tour of Portland's Architecture
Sample more than a 100 years of classical beauty, modern marvels, pioneering firsts and the newest in contemporary and sustainable design. This AIA/Portland-produced downtown walking tour highlights the most significant styles, architects and stories of the 20th & 21st centuries. Featuring individual works by Whidden & Lewis, AE Doyle, Pietro Belluschi, and Michael Graves, the tour also spotlights the modernist contributions of SOM, the contemporary designs of ZGF, TVA and SERA as well as special, less well-known gems. This two-hour tour starts at 10 AM at the Center For Architecture (NW 11th Avenue and Flanders Street) in the Pearl and ends near the Portland Building at SW Fifth Avenue and Main Street. 10AM Sunday, October 12. $20.
Posted by Brian Libby on October 01, 2014 | Permalink