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1.8 C Swap Function
C++ For C Programmers, Part A
This course is for experienced C programmers who want to program in C++. The examples and exercises require a basic understanding of algorithms and object-oriented software.
Graph Theory, C++11, C++, Graph Algorithms
I like Prof. Ira a lot and wish to see more courses from him! I wish I was his student at SC. Best Regards to him and the Coursera team for the great work.
I really loved this course. It is really helpul for my programming aspect. I have managed to develop my logical abilty and this course really helped me.
How to convert an existing C program to C++. Use of type safe Input/Output. Avoiding the preprocessor.
1.1 Overview and Course Organization18:27
1.2 Getting Started5:59
1.3 Converting a C Program to C++7:11
1.4 Using C++ Code7:26
1.5 C++ Improvements6:58
1.6 C++ Advantages12:12
1.7 C++ is Better Than C16:36
1.8 C Swap Function10:50
1.9 Swap Function in C++15:21
1.10	Generics20:29
Ira Pohl
So, our next topic is to show an example in C.
We're going to show an important example.
It's going to be trivial but still it will it's
one of these helper functions that everybody learns to write.
And you are going to want to swap two things, the
function want's to swap two things, and typically there might be
two answers two doubles or two choice. And everybody learns a C program.
So again this is revealed to you. How to do that in C?
The critical thing is to remember c is a call by value language.
Call by value means that arguments pass in to a function.
While they may be
altered internally in the function when they come out and the function
passes control back to wherever it was called, are not, are not changed.
So as arguments are handled locally, but
the actual parameter itself would have been unchanged.
So when we're doing a swap of an i and a j, and
we want the values to change, In a call by value language, we have to use
what's called indirection, since we don't have what,
and we'll turn out to have this in C++.
We'll have a more, an easier way to do in C++, what we need.
Add value here as well.
So the classic way you will have learned this and we'll see
it in the code, is to use pointers.
And this is always a big stumbling block for beginners because
it's a sort of metal level and you have to get
used to knowing what a address is And distinguishing the address
of the variable from the variable, and from the variable's contents.
And that does slip people up. But this is something you should all be
familiar with.
And if you had trouble with it in the past,
I think you'll appreciate that C plus plus makes it easier.
But you also need to go back, experiment, make sure you fully understand this.
So, we'll first do this as a C program, and then we'll show you how to convert it.
So here's a classic swap, and we look at these declarations.
And the way you read those declarations is star.
Is a pointer.
So this really gets read as pointer
to int. It's part of it's data type.
So j is a pointer to int.
As is i.
So, we are really passing in two addresses.
Pointers are variables which can take addresses.
The addresses also have to be an address of something.
Like an nt.
Why do they have to be an address of something?
Knowing an address still doesn't let us
interpret the content stored at the address.
We have to understand what the bits that are stored there mean,
and the bits will mean different things if they're from different domains.
So doubles have a different way of being read from ints and chars.
So again, this is the classic C idiom for passing parameters that need modification.
What happens is internally you create a temporary variable.
And then you, in this case, the
stars here.
Star means dereference.
So that's saying Look at the address represented
by j. Go and steal its contents,
whatever is stored there. Think of it as a letterbox, whatever is
sitting in the letterbox, and shove that contents in the address that i represents.
So contents is being moved between two addresses.
And then finally, in the standard swap, you have
to keep track of, you need a third variable.
That's what temp's for.
So there's an address of an item, which we might call the address
that I points at. And address of an item that j points at.
We've created a temp.
And if initially 5 was here and 6 was there.
The temp is going to get 5. And
then 6 is going to end up here and then the
temp values is going to be shoved into and so we're going to end up with.
I pointing at something containing six, and j pointing at something containing 5.
something again that should be reviewed.
So, this is an assumption that you've already been programming in this language.
For a while and you have facility with this concept.
Now what if I want to change the domain of swapping?
In the sea language, if I now want a set
of swapping images, swapping double, I have almost the same prescription.
But there are a couple of things that change.
One of things that I need to make sure of is I have to give the swap of the double a
new name. So I can't have it named swab.
Of course have different arguments.
Appropriate to the domain.
And then the code looks almost the same, except again,
we have a type that's different. So what gets changed is the function name,
because in C Within scope, all function names have to be unique.
Otherwise it would be ambiguous in the C language.
And we have to write the code specific to the type.
Now, we're going to see later on, in C++,
that we have very powerful mechanisms for code reuse.
That allows us to even just write one swap function.
Keep that one swap function with the name
swap, and have it apply to arbitrary types.
That's going to be very powerful, and won't involve any
more programming difficulty, and in some cases may be easier.
Then what you would
have to do in C. So here's the
use of those swap functions in a C program and again this is review.
So this should be an idiom you fully understand.
Here's how we print out stuff. So here we print out m and n.
We need to know formats
for it. So, this is going to print 5 and 10.
Then we're going to perform the swap. And in the swap we
use ampersand, which everybody should know is the address operator.
So this is going to say M is a variable, but I need,
because I want, in effect values to be changed.
Under the rigorous call by values Samanthix
of c after passing the actrices there.
The actrices won't be changed, but the contents
of what the actrices point at can changed.
And that was the whole business of using pointers.
The underline pointers, so. This lets, this gets
us the type we want. It's a pointer to int.
It's an address of an object int being stored at the location representing m.
Similarly for n. And then a swap occurs.
And then if everything worked right The resulting output would
be 5 and 10, and then the same thing would happen with double.
And so, double would have 5.3, 10.6 and again
with double, you're seeing that we're using long, floating point.
These formats.
In order to do our IO.
Again, it's something you have to learn when you're doing the C language,
because the C language is not necessarily type safe.
Now you can see what happened, just repeating what I just told you about.
M started with 5 and 10.
Swap was called with addresses of M and N, using the address operator.
And then at the end, using temp as the intermediary
in the function call, you get 10 and 5 occuring.
You get to switch or the swap with 10 and 5.
So summarizing, C, when you want what we
might call in general programming methodology, call-by-reference,
rather than call-by-value, has to be, uses,
simulation with pointers. We have call by value of course, but
because we're using pointers in direction, we get the effect of what would be
called in other languages, call by reference.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"SNMFCA: Supervised NMF-based image classification and annotation" by Liping Jing, Chao Zhang et al.
In this paper, we propose a novel supervised nonnegative matrix factorization-based framework for both image classification and annotation. The framework consists of two phases: training and prediction. In the training phase, two supervised nonnegative matrix factorizations for image descriptors and annotation terms are combined to identify the latent image bases, and to represent the training images in the bases space. These latent bases can capture the representation of the images in terms of both descriptors and annotation terms. Based on the new representation of training images, classifiers can be learnt and built. In the prediction phase, a test image is first represented by the latent bases via solving a linear least squares problem, and then its class label and annotation can be predicted via the trained classifiers and the proposed annotation mapping model. In the algorithm, we develop a three-block proximal alternating nonnegative least squares algorithm to determine the latent image bases, and show its convergent property. Extensive experiments on real-world image data sets suggest that the proposed framework is able to predict the label and annotation for testing images successfully. Experimental results have also shown that our algorithm is computationally efficient and effective for image classification and annotation. © 2012 IEEE.


Let's take a closer look at some of the major pros and cons of nuclear energy. Pros. After the meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1978 and the Chernobyl explosion in …... Biomass Energy Pros and Cons. Biomass energy is the energy that is derived from organic matter of plants and animals. Biomass in the form of dead plants, trees, grass, leaves, crops, manure, garbage animals waste can be a great source of alternative fuels that can be used to replace fossil fuels.
Among the pros and cons of non renewable energy, this is a substantial negative. Dangerous to Life on Earth. There are valid arguments for nuclear power as a renewable resource. This classification means that the source—e.g. hydro, solar, biomass, wind and geothermal—is regenerated in perpetuity. Yet the fact that uranium is an essential prerequisite for the synthesis of nuclear energy sharepoint interview questions and answers pdf There are various biomass pros and cons and it is a good idea to look through them before buying a biomass energy resource. Biomass Energy Advantages If you want to find out about the biomass energy advantages, our team can help you.
Biomass energy has been around since long before anyone spoke of renewables or alternative energy sources. There was a time when wood was the primary fuel for heating and cooking, and it is still durkheim education and sociology pdf Biomass energy cannot be compared with solar, wind, geothermal and tidal energy, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions produced to generate this energy. However, biomass energy has more pros than cons, which makes it an alternative energy source that can successfully replace the dirty fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas for a cleaner environment.
The results were split, showing biomass advantages and disadvantages in different lights. Today we try to shine the light on some of the many pros that biomass presents over the use of fossil fuels, as well as some of the cons that make people weary of investing in them.
The Cons of Biomass Energy. A number of scientists, environmentalists, and concerned individuals are against the idea of biomass energy. These reasons range from the damage it can cause to a more refined look at the overall cost.


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Stranded Oil Leverages Intermedia's Communications and Collaboration Tools to Help Deploy a "Pajama Work Model," and Save $100K Annually Along the Way
Introducing the Intermedia Business Innovators series – where Intermedia honors business and civic leaders who are improving customer care, employee engagement, and operations through innovative thinking and decisive action.
Hear the stories from the innovators first-hand.
When you think of companies as distributed as those in the oil and gas industry, with remote fields, multiple offices, and employees always on the go, most would agree that a cohesive and seamless IT infrastructure to support them is likely a pipe dream. . Then you add a pandemic into the mix, and companies like these have likely been feeling, well, stranded.
For Stranded Oil Resources Corporation (SORC), which recovers oil from mature oil fields, this luckily wasn't the case. SORC's IT Manager, Dustin Osburn, recently chatted with us to share his story about how cloud communications has helped his company to stay connected and collaborative during the pandemic, and has prepared it to be remote ready for the long run. .
SORC Was Well-Equipped to Work from Wherever
Because they have diverse work locations, with everything from urban offices to very remote active wells, the company already operated under a work from wherever mentality. Their cloud communications suite, which included business phone, email, and file sharing all on the Intermedia platform, helped to get them there, and put them in the position to quickly pivot to a fully remote work model when COVID-19 hit.
"The pandemic was a catalyst for change, which we'd already been moving toward. We bundled all our communication services with Intermedia about four years ago. I'd already deployed laptops for most employees, so they grabbed what they needed from the office, even their phones, and went home to work," Mr. Osburn said.
With all workers moving to remote, Mr. Osburn said the transition was rather easy. "I didn't have to do much as the IT manager. Everything we've built with infrastructure and the Intermedia platform was ready to go. Really, it was just another day at the office," he commented.
The Power of File Sharing: SORC Enjoys the Storage and Shareability of SecuriSync
Of all the tools from the Intermedia bundle, Mr. Osburn noted that SecuriSync, Intermedia's file sharing and backup solution, was one of the most valuable. Stranded has a massive amount of large files and documents, including historical data on wells, which they need to keep for reference and regulatory reasons. SecuriSync serves as Stranded's central document repository which allows employees to easily access, share, and collaborate on files, securely, from wherever they may be working.
Mr. Osburn noted, "Right now, we have two full terabytes of space, and 300 to 500-megabyte files are common. SecuriSync has made the ease of managing this so easy, which isn't possible in on-prem. And in remote areas, you can't create a clean, temperature-controlled space for servers."
Choosing Intermedia: Reducing Complexity and Saving $100,000
Mr. Osburn was a key decision-maker when the company decided to rethink their technology tools. He said the main goal was to cut IT spend. Before Intermedia, the company used multiple vendors for email, backup, server hosting, file sharing, and business phone. "We experienced a lot of issues with this model, including service outages. It was also very expensive," he added.
In comparing options, Mr. Osburn found the ideal platform in Intermedia, and the cost savings were enormous. "Bundling through Intermedia, we immediately saved $100,000 a year," he commented.
The migration over from many to one was also seamless. "In the first year, we had no downtime. We had a few growing pains, figuring out how to use everything. We had a few quick support calls and tickets with resolution within 24 hours. And we've had no problems since, no downtime at all," Mr. Osburn said.
Another bonus of moving to a central platform is that users can log in with one password and one control panel. "It's a lifesaver," Mr. Osburn shared.
The Future of Work for SORC
Many companies are beginning to make decisions about the future of work. For some, a work from wherever model is a good fit. "We've discussed going back to the office, and management is happy with the pajama (remote work) model. We can do everything we need to do from wherever. The administrative team has always been mobile, so it's working for us," Mr. Osburn noted.
The company is centralizing operations and realizing savings by reducing its physical footprint, which they plan to invest back into their core business to fuel future growth. In addition, the ability to work from wherever allows Stranded to expand their recruitment pool and find great candidates from all over the country instead of being confined to certain geographies.
Watch the full interview with Mr. Osburn and learn more about how Intermedia has helped Stranded Oil to stay connected and collaborate with ease.
About Kirsten Barta
Kirsten Barta is Sr Marketing Communications Manager at Intermedia
Backup & File Sharing, Compliance, Describing our services, Other providers, SecuriSync Backup and File Sharing, Security, Security and Compliance
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Exchange Email, SecuriSync Backup and File Sharing
Georgia's Eighth Judicial District Uses Technology to Keep Courts in (Virtual) Session
Case studies, Intermedia Unite, Mobility, On-premises environments, Voice and Unified Communications
Case studies, The Business Cloud
Stranded Oil powers core IT services with Intermedia, saving $100k per year
As the IT Sustainment Manager for Stranded Oil Resources Corporation, an oil and gas exploration firm based in Golden, Colorado, Kevin Finnegan is responsible for the productivity of 100 […]
Intermedia Affords ENC Technologies a Work Hard, Play Hard Lifestyle
Intermedia's second-to-none reliability and J.D. Power-certified support allow for Michael Stevenson, Owner & Operator of ENC Technologies, to spend more time enjoying life.


To correctly answer a question a child must first determine what kind of question was asked. For some questions, they must also understand the underlying inference that the question is making. Many children can identify and answer the direct "Wh" questions such as "Who teaches a class?" but cannot answer, "How will he know what kind of robot to build?" To assist the child in developing the inference skills necessary to answer the question, we provide a picture, Main Idea (MI button), and Topic Sentence (TS button).
Listen to the Main Idea (usually just a word) and the Topic Sentence. Discuss how they relate to the picture. This gets the child focused on the details of the picture so that they can more accurately answer the question. Then listen to the Question (Q button). We provide an answer to the question, but our answer is just one of many possible answers. Other answers that the child gives can still be scored as correct. Disagreeing with the answer is also encouraged to demonstrate that different people see the same question and may answer it differently.
The purpose of the exercise is to pay attention to what kind of question is being asked, think about the situation, then answer the question.
The record and playback feature allows the child to record their answer and see if it makes sense to them when they hear it played back. Can they determine if they answered the right kind of question? Was their answer correct?
Target Audience: This game is recommended for children with language ages from 6-12. Individuals with language disorders, central auditory processing dysfunction, short term auditory memory dysfunction and those with autism may benefit from learning multiple ways to ask and answer questions.
This Intermediate Level app explores traditional "Wh" questions along with 17 additional question categories. The twenty-three categories of questions are: Who, Whose, What, When, Where, Why, How, How Many, Which, Do/Does, Did, Have/Has/Had, Was/Were, Is, Are, May I, Can, Will, Would, Should, Could, If, and Negation. It requires moderate level inference skill.
This game is also appropriate for hearing impaired individuals involved in an auditory habilitation or auditory rehabilitation program. The pictures may also be used to stimulate conversational speech, check auditory comprehension, and for novel sentence generation when presented with a picture.
This app uses the content from the Word Practice game from LocuTour's Artic Games & More CD and requires moderate level inference skill.
Rationale: Responding to a direct question helps the client understand the concept of question/answer and turn taking in conversations. There are multiple opportunities to answer the many different kinds of questions. This helps to reduce perseveration and echolalia if different question types and answers are practiced correctly. Allowing the child to listen to their own answers and score their responses with the adult's feedback, encourages self-monitoring and self-correcting.


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Lucasfilm Reportedly Eyeing Dwayne Johnson For Star Wars Role
Scott Campbell Oct 14, 2020 11:45 am 2020-10-14T12:09:11-05:00
Dwayne Johnson is no stranger to sci-fi, having tackled a number of different roles in almost every imaginable twist on the genre, and the results have been unsurprisingly inconsistent. After first dipping his toes into the water when he was still a full-time professional wrestler in a 2000 episode of Star Trek: Voyager, his next foray into sci-fi couldn't have gone much worse.
Richard Kelly's Southland Tales was a bizarre abomination that reeked of intentionally abstract self-indulgence and rode a wave of critical apathy to a box office total of less than $375,000. From there, Johnson has revisited the genre in the form of tedious video game adaptation Doom, the bland and forgettable Race to Witch Mountain remake, completely ignored animation Planet 51 and the surprisingly entertaining Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Behind The Scenes Gallery
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If anything, the 48 year-old's best sci-fi works barely even count as sci-fi at all, if you take Rampage at face value as a ludicrous monster movie and embrace G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Hobbs & Shaw as the preposterous and yet undeniably enjoyable heightened reality actioners that they are. Now, however, insider Daniel Richtman is claiming that the world's highest-paid actor is being eyed for a role in the genre's single biggest franchise.
According to the tipster, Johnson is under consideration for an unnamed Star Wars project, which certainly creates mixed emotions. After all, there would be something incredibly distracting about seeing an established screen persona like him show up in a galaxy far, far away, one that would make suspension of disbelief almost impossible. On the other hand, though, if the Star Wars movie in question is the one that's going to be directed by Taika Waititi, then that's an altogether more interesting and exciting prospect.
Source: Patreon


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6 Initiative Petitions — Including Raising Mass. Min. Wage — Could Reach Nov. Ballot
Six initiative petitions have been officially cleared to go before Massachusetts lawmakers and perhaps the state's voters.
Secretary of State William Galvin certified Thursday that sponsors of the proposals collected more than the 64,750 signatures of registered voters required to advance to the next stage.
The six petitions include two versions of a proposal calling for strict nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals.
Also advancing are proposals to gradually raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour; require paid family leave for workers; lower the state's sales tax and create a permanent sales tax holiday; and establish a commission to explore a constitutional amendment on corporate campaign financing.
If the measures are not approved in the Legislature by May, they could go on the November state ballot.
11/15/17: Analysis: WBUR Poll Finds Strong Support For Potential 2018 Ballot Questions


Technology is a huge part of what we do, and technology has made what we do possible- both in the hardware and software we provide. The SATATRACK team is not bound by one single piece of technology and we do not provide just one solution. Remember... Our motto is 'One Team-Infinite Solutions'! The technological variability we have is a key component in providing 'Infinite Solutions' and THE custom solution that is the perfect fit for you.


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Inglethorp," said the Coroner, "you have heard your wife's dying words repeated here.
According to a Rhondda Cynon Taf council report, dated September 24, 2015, it was agreed to pursue amalgamating Powys, Bridgend, Glamorgan Valleys, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan coroner areas on February 26, 2014.
However, a statement from the Coroners Service said the force's disclosure unit was "not aware" of this so did not routinely search the database when compiling disclosure of material for the coroner.
com @reporterlou A FORMER senior West Yorkshire detective turned Huddersfield University researcher has discovered inconsistencies in the way coroners record how people died.
The merger was proposed by the Lord Chancellor as part of a modernisation programme following the retirement of former Teesside coroner Michael Sheffield in 2014 at the age of 83.
Historically there has been no provision other than really the coroners officers to give any support.
Now Wirral council's ruling cabinet is being asked to approve a perm-anent merger with Liverpool coroner Andre Rebello taking over full-time responsibility for Wirral's coroner services, too.
Zafar Siddique is taking over over from the current long-standing Black Country coroner Robin Balmain, who is retiring in September.
Just under half, around 220,000, are reported to the coroner each year.
Judge Thornton, who is the first person to take up the chief coroner role, said there has been a "variable" service as coroners have been appointed and funded locally.


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Mary Peveto: Turning Accidental Activism into Successful Advocacy
Category: 2018 Event, News, Speaker Announcements
Mary Peveto called herself an accidental activist, when she began the work to reduce toxic air pollution in her NW Portland neighborhood. When the mother of three discovered the poisonous emissions around her children's school that a national report had ranked among the worst 2% in the nation, she also uncovered Portland's dirty secret: that a city touted as one of the greenest in the nation and a leader in 21st century sustainability, had failed to clean up the toxic air pollution from the previous century of industrialization. This omission left a legacy of air-borne poisons like heavy metals, benzene, acrolein and the ultra-fine particulates emitted from dirty diesel engines, that actually made the Portland Metro Region's air some of the deadliest in the country.
There was nothing obvious in Peveto's history as a former athletic marketing exec turned stay-at-home mom, that would have prepared her to emerge as a leader of an environmental campaign or to successfully run a non-profit organization with the capacity to address this complex problem. But Peveto also acknowledges there is nothing accidental about a mother fighting to protect her children. This drive to protect her children became linked with protecting all children. Nearly ten years later, and after the initial success in securing a $5Million clean up at her neighborhood polluter, Peveto has finally seen the beginnings of the systemic change she believed was necessary to begin to really clean up Portland's air: Governor Brown's Cleaner Air Oregon initiative that establishes health based standards for all air permits in the state, and the state legislature passing a funding bill in 2018 that represented the biggest increased investment in Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in over two decades.
We have all seen what makes an activist: a compelling why, and that moment when the political gets deeply personal. We have witnessed this time and time again, and no more than in today's craziness that is our current state of politics and governance. Across the country, from the Women's Marchers, to #MeToo, to Parkland, Florida, to hundreds of campaigns for elected office in towns across America, individuals – many women – are rising up and grabbing this opportunity to turn their personal experiences into a force for public good.
But, what makes them successful? Compelling motivation and why can be the fuel, but not necessarily the engine of efficacy. At the risk of defying all current best practices for activism, politics and business, this is why Peveto insists that the Why has to be accompanied by a strong What. And it's the latter that can make or break a successful advocacy campaign.
Peveto is thrilled to have been chosen as a 2018 TEDxMtHood speaker. She sees it as a reflection of the unique time in history of women rising to meet the most vexing challenges of our time. Knowing this is an opportunity to reflect beyond her individual experience, to what have been the key components that made her work for clean air successful, the current President of Neighbors for Clean Air is excited to share the practical advice that she believes has made a difference in her work, with the hope of both inspiring and empowering the next "accidental activist."
Mary Peveto
Action Breaks
Event Themes
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Speaker Announcements
WHAT IS TEDx
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxMtHood, where x=independently organized TED event.
At our TEDxMtHood event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized. Visit TED.com to learn more.
This independent TEDx event is operated under license from TED. © 2010 – 2019 TEDxMtHood. A Pop Art® Production. Website built by Forix. Maintained by Goat.


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Have you ever tried to over feed a baby? You can't…..without forcing them to eat. When a baby is full they let you know by turning their head or sticking out their tongue, anything to communicate that they are full!
Did you know that overeating is a learned habit? So stop. Re-teach yourself to know when you are full. Better yet, follow your Diet Center plan and IT will retrain you to stop at the correct level of "full". Then you can stay thin for life!!!


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Taming Syria's Rogue Man
Karam Shaar
*This article was originally published in Sada-The Carnegie Middle East Center
Western powers have come to realize that dislodging Syria's Bashar al-Assad from his throne is costlier than had been assumed when the peaceful uprising began in 2011. After half a million deaths, the vast majority of which came at the hands of forces loyal to the Assad regime, tens of thousands of authentic photos evidencing industrial-scale torture in Assad's dungeons, and the displacement of half of the country's population, an about-face seems to be taking hold in Western policy circles.
Assad's intransigence throughout the conflict is bearing fruit and Western countries are lowering their expectations—perhaps a change in behavior is good enough for now. Conversation has recently focused on a more-for-more approach, a strategy in which small concessions, incrementally offered on the condition of reciprocity, are intended to lead to a mutually beneficial relationship that bridges the gap between Western objectives in Syria and those pursued by the leadership in Damascus. In December 2021, the U.N.'s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said that he had meetings in several Arab countries as well as with the Americans and Europeans and he thinks that "there is a serious opportunity to discuss the possibility of implementing a step-by-step approach."
Currently, most countries opposing Assad want him to accept U.N. Resolution 2254, which, among other things, calls for fair elections, a new constitution, and credible, inclusive, and non-sectarian governance. However, Assad has refused to budge as the level of pressure applied on him falls considerably short of what is needed to force him into accepting the terms of Resolution 2254, which will ultimately push him out of power and potentially in prison. Given the agonizing political deadlock, a new approach to resolving the Syrian conflict is indeed warranted. But could a more-for-more policy work with Assad?
Taming A Master Of Deception
While Assad's allies have significant leverage over him, he's not a mere puppet as often portrayed by those who despise him. He is a master of deception. After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, for example, Assad's intelligence agencies facilitated the passage of jihadists into the country's western borderlands. In an attempt to limit U.S. regional ambitions, Assad helped turn the situation into a quagmire for the U.S. and its allies while deceitfully attributing the transit of foreign fighters to the impossibility of controlling such porous borders and drawing an analogy to the difficulty the U.S. faces when attempting to control the flow of migrants from Mexico.
Additionally, during the first year of the civil unrest against his rule, Assad met two of the key demands of protesters: lifting the emergency laws that have been in place since 1963 and abolishing article eight of the constitution, which stipulates that "the leading party in the society and the state is the Baath Party." In the years that followed, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings of dissidents grew exponentially with the share of parliamentary seats held by the Ba'ath Party increasing ever since.
In 2013, after two years of extreme repression, the Assad regime, according to all reliable sources, began using chemical weapons to kill its own people. After allegedly handing over his entire stockpile of nerve agents under the auspices of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, his regime launched chemical attacks repeatedly, crossing the Obama Administration's "red line" against the use of chemical weapons.
Assad would be hard to tame as his history attests. Therefore, Western policymakers should proceed cautiously with him. And while a more-for-more approach is worth trying, four principles need to be applied while attempting its implementation.
To ensure that policy objectives are met sustainably, and given Assad's record for deception, his concessions must be verifiable and counter concessions must be easily reversible. For example, lifting the Caesar Act, which is part of U.S. law, in exchange for Assad's promise of releasing all living detainees is neither verifiable nor easily reversible. A more ideal scenario would involve, as a starting point, being given access to Assad's prisons. Once the names of all living prisoners are verified, granting them amnesty can be done in exchange for lifting sanctions on financial transactions. These sanctions can be reimposed if Assad chooses to rearrest the released detainees.
No Free Lunches
In November 2021, a group of companies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced an investment of a ten-year loan to build a solar power station near Damascus following the visit of the UAE's foreign minister to Syria – the first of its kind since the conflict started. Similar steps have been taken that benefit Assad without any discernible concessions in exchange. For example, his regime has also been allowed to host the Arab Energy Conference in 2024. Giving concessions without receiving returns makes the more-for-more approach look like unconditional normalization.
Adopt An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach
Western countries don't view Syria as important enough to warrant giving meaningful concessions to Assad's allies in exchange for ending the conflict. However, there exists some low cost, yet effective, policy changes that can increase Western leverage over Damascus. These changes include adopting an internally consistent, active, and coordinated policy. Another policy improvement lies in using existing toolkits, such as sanctions, more efficiently.
Do It With A Grand Strategy In Mind
The key risk in taking the more-for-more approach when dealing with Assad is using it as a steppingstone for a face-saving end to the conflict. A resolution that does not address the root causes – authoritarianism, brutality, sectarianism, inequality, and corruption – is a recipe for perpetual instability.
In neighboring Lebanon, for example, much of today's sociopolitical fragility is rooted in the country's Taif Agreement. Though the agreement ended the Civil War in 1990, it did so simply by tweaking the confessionally based power-sharing system and satisfying most of the country's warlords while doing very little to address more substantive issues. A lasting agreement that improves regional stability and ends human suffering is an agreement between the people or for the people, not the rival warlords who repress them.
The more-for-more can be used for jumpstarting the deadlocked political process. It cannot, however, on its own deliver a lasting and fair solution to the conflict. Assad must go. He must ultimately accept UNSC resolution 2254 and be brought to justice. Any political action that does not keep this in mind in the long term is not only unfair to Syrians and humanity as a whole, but will plant the seeds for the next conflict in the region – once again leaving Syrians and the rest of the world to grapple with the consequences.


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producer of complete compressed natural gas fueling stations meant for the fueling of transport means on compressed natural gas (methane).
producer of equipment for the conversion of transport means on gas fuel.
proficiency in the implementation and operation of machines that use compressed natural gas as engine fuel.
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text:
April 11, 2001 2 min read
Child-Care Quality: A new study offers strong evidence that raising the wages of teachers in child-care centers can improve the quality of the care children receive.
"For every age group, classroom quality was most strongly associated with teacher wages," according to the study, which looked at infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms in 104, mostly nonsubsidized centers in Atlanta, Boston, and the central area of Virginia.
"These findings indicate that centers in which teachers are supported with higher wages also provide higher-quality environments for the young children in their care," the study concludes.
"Within and Beyond the Classroom Door: Assessing Quality in Child Care Centers" was conducted by researchers from five universities and appears in the March 28 issue of the Early Childhood Research Quarterly, which is published by the Washington-based National Association for the Education of Young Children.
The quality of the programs was determined by using three different rating instruments, which measure such features as curriculum, play materials, indoor and outdoor play spaces, and caregiver-child interactions.
The researchers found that wages were the highest predictor of quality in the preschool classrooms.
It is unclear, however, why teacher wages appear to play such a significant role, the authors say. They suggest the reasons may include that higher pay contributes to the stability of a center's staff, and that centers that pay more can be more selective when hiring teachers.
While wages were linked as well to the quality of the infant and toddler classrooms, the researchers found that teacher training, parents' monthly fees, teacher-child ratios, and group size were also important factors.
"This may be interpreted as encouraging news for those who seek to improve quality of care for infants and toddlers: Apparently, there are many avenues to quality for these youngest age groups," the authors write. But that finding, they add, might also suggest that all of those factors require attention in order to provide high-quality care for young children.
While most studies of child-care quality focus on characteristics of the classrooms themselves, this research suggests that factors outside the classroom can also be "potentially powerful influences" on child-care quality.
"Child-care research that blends developmental and economic considerations is in its infancy," the authors write, "but promises to be an exciting interdisciplinary direction for future research."
—Linda Jacobson
A version of this article appeared in the April 11, 2001 edition of Education Week
Early Childhood How Two Child-Care Centers Put Competition Aside and Created a Partnership During COVID-19
Charles Dinofrio, November 1, 2020
Early Childhood New Players Fill Child-Care Gap as Schools Go Remote
As school districts move to remote instruction for the fall, day-care providers, dance studios, and after-school programs step in to fill school-day child-care gaps.
Christina A. Samuels
A student works on schoolwork earlier this month at the Wharton Dobson Club in Wharton, Texas, part of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston. For a small fee, the organization is offering a full-day program that provides students a safe place to complete their remote learning classwork and socialize with friends.
Courtesy of Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston
Early Childhood Will Kindergartens Be Empty This Fall?
As cases of COVID-19 continue to grow, parents around the country are struggling with whether to send their child to kindergarten this fall. Some say they won't.
Satiria Clayton was looking forward to her 5-year-old son Cassius starting kindergarten this year in Tempe, Ariz., but the recent spike in coronavirus cases has left her, like many other parents, worried about what to expect. "In an ideal would I would love to stay at home and teach him," she said. "The reality is I have to send him to school."
Courtesy of Satiria Clayton
Early Childhood Letter to the Editor A Eulogy for Ken Goodman
Several weeks ago, I spoke with an Education Week reporter about Ken Goodman in anticipation of an obituary about Ken's passing and legacy ("Kenneth S. Goodman, 'Founding Father' of Whole Language, Dead at 92," May 21, 2020). Great conversation. I looked forward to the tribute. I knew it would be complicated and controversial; Ken was complicated and controversial. But I was sure the controversy would be treated as part of the tribute.
Early Childhood Letter to the Editor A Debate Over Phonics Instruction
In her opinion essay, Heidi Anne E. Mesmer proclaims that explicit instruction in phonics is not enough: Children must be taught print concepts, phonemic awareness, morphology, and fluency ("Phonics Is Just One Part of a Whole," Feb. 12, 2020).


text:
Home / Appointments & Resigns / Ms. Padmaja Appointed High Commissioner to Republic of Nauru
Ms. Padmaja Appointed High Commissioner to Republic of Nauru
Neha Verma May 19, 2019 Appointments & Resigns
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, announced the appointment of Ms. Padmaja as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Nauru with residence in Suva.
She is currently serving as the High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Fiji.
She is set to take up her responsibility soon.
About Nauru:
There is no official capital of Nauru, but the Government offices are located at the Yaren District.
Its currency is the Australian Dollar.
Its President is Baron Waqa.
Q. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, announced the appointment of whom as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Nauru with residence in Suva?
a. Ms. Padmini
b. Ms. Priyadarshini
c. Ms. Padmaja
d. Ms. Priya
Ms. Padmaja Appointed High Commissioner to Republic of Nauru Reviewed by Neha Verma on May 19, 2019 Rating: 5


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Electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces has been a versatile area of contemporary electrochemistry for almost 40 years, with research mainly focusing on the aqueous-organic solution interface. The Galvani potential difference across such an interface, controlling the distribution of ions between the phases, can be generated either chemically or with an external voltage source. An aqueous-organic solvent interface shares similarities with the cell membrane, where several important biological reactions such as photosynthesis or cell respiration take place. Hence electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces is an excellent means to study biomimetic oxygen reduction. In this reaction, proton transfer across the interface controlled by the Galvani potential difference is coupled with electron transfer. Therefore oxygen reduction in the oil phase mediated by an electron donor occurs only at potentials where proton transfer becomes feasible.
In this thesis oxygen and hydrogen peroxide reduction by 1,2-diferrocenylethane was investigated. The results show that the reduction of hydrogen peroxide is faster than oxygen reduction, but both reactions were slow due to the low thermodynamic driving force. The reaction rate can be increased by the addition of molecular catalysts, and electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces provides an excellent means to compare the activity and selectivity of the catalysts. Cofacial biscobalt porphyrins, biomimetic analogues of the active centre of cytochrome c oxidase responsible of oxygen reduction in nature, were investigated. Surprisingly, significant amounts of hydrogen peroxide were produced, contradicting previous results. The reaction was shown to proceed to hydrogen peroxide when oxygen was bound to the exo side (dock-on) of the catalyst, while four-electron reduction took place with oxygen bound to the endo side (dock-in) of the molecule.
A proof of concept of a novel type of a fuel cell utilising the liquid-liquid interface is presented. In this fuel cell hydrogen is oxidized on the anode as in a conventional fuel cell, but oxygen reduction takes place at the liquid-liquid interface. The redox mediator in the oil phase is regenerated at the cathode, completing the electric circuit.
Proton transfer across the interface was also utilised for performing acid catalysed SN1 substitutions on ferrocene methanol. This is a novel method to perform synthesis of organic chemicals, as the presence of protons is controlled by the applied Galvani potential difference. In situ biphasic electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy was demonstrated to be a very efficient way to follow this kind of reactions.
Neste-nesterajapintojen sähkökemia on ollut yksi modernin sähkökemian osa-alueista jo lähes 40 vuoden ajan. Tutkimus on pääasiassa keskittynyt varauksensiirtoon veden ja orgaa-nisen liuoksen välisellä rajapinnalla. Faasien välinen galvaanipotentiaaliero, joka kontrolloi ionien jakautumista niiden välillä, saadaan aikaan joko kemiallisesti tai ulkoisella jännite-lähteellä. Monet luonnossa tapahtuvat tärkeät reaktiot, kuten fotosynteesi tai soluhengitys, tapahtuvat solukalvossa, joka muistuttaa veden ja orgaanisen liottimen rajapintaa. Siksi neste-nesterajapintojen sähkökemia on erinomainen tapa tutkia bio- mimeettistä hapen pelkistystä. Hapen pelkistyksessä galvaanipotentiaalieron kontrolloima protonin siirto kytkeytyy yhteen elektroninsiirron kanssa. Happi pelkistyy orgaanisessa faasissa vain, kun faasien välinen galvaanipotentiaaliero on niin suuri, että protoni voi siirtyä rajapinnan yli.
Tässä työssä tutkittiin hapen ja vetyperoksidin pelkistämistä 1,2-diferrosenyylietaanilla. Tulokset osoittivat, että vetyperoksidin pelkistys on hapen pelkistystä nopeampaa, mutta molemmat reaktiot ovat hitaita heikon termodynaamisen ajavan voiman takia. Reaktiota voidaan nopeuttaa käyttämällä molekulaarisia katalyyttejä, ja neste-nesterajapintojen sähkökemia on erinomainen tapa vertailla eri katalyyttien selektiivisyyttä ja aktiivisuutta. Työssä tutkittiin sytokromi-c-oksidaasin aktiivista keskusta muistuttavia biskoboltti- porfyriinejä, sillä sytokromi-c-oksidaasi on ainoa luonnollinen happea pelkistävä entsyymi. Yllätykseksemme nämä katalyytit tuottivat merkittäviä määriä vetyperoksidia edellisten tulosten vastaisesti. Tulokset osoittivat, että vetyperoksidia syntyy hapen sitoutuessa katalyytin ulkopuolelle, ja pelkistys vedeksi tapahtuu hapen sitoutuessa bisporfyriinin sisälle, joten hapen pelkistys biskobolttiporfyriineillä tapahtuu "dock-on/dock-in" mekanismin mukaisesti. Hapen pelkistystä neste-nesterajapinnalla voidaan myös käyttää uudenlaisessa polttokennossa. Kennossa vety hapettuu anodilla kuten tyypillisessäkin polttokennossa, mutta happi pelkistyy neste-nesterajapinnalla. Redoxmediaattori regeneroidaan katodilla, mikä sulkee sähköisen virtapiirin.
Protonin siirtoa neste-nesterajapinnan yli voidaan käyttää myös katalysoimaan ferroseenimetanolin SN1-substituutiota. Tässä uudenlaisessa orgaanisten kemikaalien synteesimenetelmässä reaktio voidaan aloittaa tai lopettaa kontrolloimalla galvaanipotentiaalieron avulla katalyytin eli protonin konsentraatiota orgaanisessa faasissa. Kaksifaasinen elektronisuihkuionisaatiomassaspektroskopia osoittautui erinomaiseksi tekniikaksi tämänkaltaisten reaktioiden seurantaan ja reaktiotuotteiden analysointiin.
[Publication 1]: H. Deng, P. Peljo, F. Cortés-Salazar, P. Ge, K. Kontturi and H. H. Girault, Oxygen and hydrogen peroxide reduction by 1,2-diferrocenylethane at a liquid/liquid interface, J. Electroanal. Chem., 681 (2012) 16-23.
[Publication 2]: P. Peljo, L. Murtomäki, T. Kallio, X.-J. Xu, M. Meyer, C. P. Gros, J. M. Barbe, H. H. Girault, K. Laasonen and K. Kontturi, Biomimetic oxygen reduction by cofacial porphyrins at a liquid-liquid interface, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 134 (2012) 5974-5984.
[Publication 3]: P. Peljo, L. Qiao, L. Murtomäki, C. Johans, H. H. Girault and K. Kontturi, Electrochemically Controlled Proton-Transfer-Catalyzed Reactions at Liquid–Liquid Interfaces: Nucleophilic Substitution on Ferrocene Methanol, ChemPhysChem, 14 (2013) 311-314.
[Publication 4]: P. Peljo, T. Rauhala, L. Murtomäki, T. Kallio and K. Kontturi, Oxygen reduction at a water-1,2-dichlorobenzene interface catalyzed by cobalt tetraphenyl porphyrine - A fuel cell approach, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 36 (2011) 10033-10043.
[Publication 5]: P. Peljo and H. H. Girault, Liquid/Liquid Interfaces: Electrochemistry at, in: R. A. Meyers (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Chichester, 2012.


Do you personally do the cremation or is it contracted to a third party? If contracted to a third party, how are you affiliated with that company?
It is important to find out who is actually taking care of your pet. Get the name, location and phone number of the provider. At Paws Memorial Service, your pet is cremated at our facility and under our supervision, at one location.
A crematory provider should fully identify and define for you their cremation options and associated definitions (private, individual, communal, disposal). Be aware that "individual" cremation does not always mean private; "private" does not always mean one at a time.
Do you have a brochure explaining the services as well as a price list?
A reputable provider should be able to give information regarding their services and prices in writing.
Can I visit the facility?
If you are not permitted to inspect the operation of a potential provider, at your convenience, you probably should not trust them to take care of your pet. For your ultimate peace of mind, Paws Memorial Service highly recommends and invites you to tour our facility, understand the process and get to know who will be taking care of your special family member. We maintain a full disclosure, open door policy. There are no secrets in what we do.
Can I witness the cremation of my pet?
At Paws Memorial Service, arrangments can be made for you to witness your pet's private cremation. Your ultimate peace of mind is important to us.
How long does it take before I will receive my pet's cremains?
We recognize the need for closure. Private cremations are available for pickup at our facility within 24-48 hours.
If communal cremations are offered and being considered, what is the final disposition of the pet's cremains? Is it a location where you can visit?
Final disposition of cremains not returned to the owner should be specified in writing and provide for a dignified location were the owner can visit at will to pay their respects. Unfortunately, in the State of Texas, pet's cremains are considered waste and, unless returned to the owner, must be disposed of by crematory providers in compliance with Title 30 TAC Chapter 330 covering Municipal Solid Waste.
In conclusion, when making final arrangements for your beloved pet, Paws Memorial Service recommends that owners research their options, know the differences and make informed choices. Because it is difficult to ask the tough questions when your needs are immediate and you are overwhelmed with emotion, it is best to do this in advance whenever possible. Whether you use us or not, we are here to help answer any questions you might have. Feel free to give us a call at 281.342.PAWS (7297).


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text:
Fri Feb 16, 2018 / 12:50 PM EST
Facebook loses Belgian privacy case, faces fine of up to $125 million
FILE PHOTO: A man is silhouetted against a video screen with an Facebook logo as he poses with an Samsung S4 smartphone in this photo illustration August 14, 2013.
Reuters/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian court threatened Facebook (FB.O) on Friday with a fine of up to 100 million euros ($125 million) if it continued to break privacy laws by tracking people on third-party websites.
In a case brought by Belgium's privacy watchdog, the court also ruled that Facebook had to delete all data it had gathered illegally on Belgian citizens, including people who were not Facebook users themselves.
Facebook, which will be fined 250,000 euros a day or up to 100 million euros if it does not comply with the court's judgment, said in a statement it would appeal the ruling.
"Facebook informs us insufficiently about gathering information about us, the kind of data it collects, what it does with that data and how long it stores it," the court said.
"It also does not gain our consent to collect and store all this information," it added in a statement.
The social media group uses different methods to track the online behavior of people if they are not on the company's web site by placing cookies and invisible pixels on third-party web sites, the court said.
Facebook said the technologies it uses were in line with industry standards and it gives users the right to opt out of data collection on websites and applications off its platform being used for advertisements.
"We'll comply with this new law, just as we've complied with existing data protection law in Europe," said Richard Allan, Facebook's vice president of public policy for Europe, Middle East Africa.
Belgium's privacy watchdog welcomed the ruling. "Facebook has just launched a large campaign where they stress the importance of privacy. We hope they will now make this a reality," it said.
(Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by Alexander Smith and David Holmes)


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The island's trade unions are being told that the time has come for them to abandon the practice of strict demands for pay rises and focus instead on reform.
In taking a shot at the unions' tactics in wage negotiations, former trade unionist Robert Bobby Morris introduced the concept of "interest-based bargaining", which he said is more productive than the current method that labour leaders employ where they demand a certain percentage increase and stick to their position.
It is a concept he learned at Harvard University, Morris said, and one which moves negotiations away from the "me versus you, let's fight and tear up" approach to a focus on reform.
"The issue is not so much about laying off people. It is about how do you restructure. It is how you restructure the public sector to make it more competitive and how do you do the same thing with the private sector. It is critical, it is fundamental that our minds must be on measuring, evaluating and reporting," he told a Ministry of Finance-organized panel discussion today on the topic, Development: Does it Build a Society?
He told those gathered at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hastings, Christ Church for the event, which formed part of the ministry's annual lecture series, he had put the concept into practice and it proved successful.
"That interest based bargaining started out by saying we are not fighting about position – ten per cent versus two per cent or no percentage increases at all versus whatever – we weren't interested in positions, we were interested in issues. What were the important issues before us and what were the answers needed within the particular context, not positions with somebody saying, 'I want ten per cent and I must get ten per cent. If I don't get ten per cent nothing is going on,'" Morris explained.
His comments came as the island's largest public sector trade union, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and Government resumed protracted and sometimes bitter wage negotiations today.
The NUPW has been pressuring the Freundel Stuart administration for over a year, for a 23 per cent wage hike, while its sister union, the Barbados Workers' Union, said it would be pushing for a 15 per cent increase for its members.
NUPW President Akanni McDowall has insisted that public sector workers deserve an increase since they have not had one in nearly a decade.
However, Government has repeatedly said it could not afford an increase, although a "coping subsidy" was offered to the workers when the two sides met today.
Morris did not make any reference to the ongoing negotiations, but he warned that when employers "give what they really can't give because they call it a compromise", it could sometimes turn out to be "just as damaging as the extreme they are asking you for because you are looking at positions, positional bargaining".
Meanwhile, the former teacher complained that Barbadians depend too heavily on Government to take the lead on developmental issues, resulting in the island being "far behind time" on some of those practices.
He described this as a "hierarchical and horizontal static model" which places too much emphasis on political will and politican leaders.
"That is why they say start with the Government, the political will, and sometimes you say even the Prime Minister and then the other 20 things will follow. You are wrong. That is what I call the hierarchical and horizontal static model." Morris said, adding that his preference was for the concentric circular model, which focuses on social structures, "and that is why I believe in the Social Partnership".
The former trade unionist argued that in order to further develop the country Barbadians must change their mindset and stop being motivated by negativity.
He also weighed in on the controversial topic of the removal of the Nelson statue, saying Barbadians should engage instead in discussions about what political direction the country should take.
"Nelson is passé. He will be removed, not because of a reaction of one or two [people] but because of a positive move in another direction in terms of where our nation should be going, and that is in terms of a republic status basically," Morris argued.
The only reform the public sector needs is for the money hungry politicians to be separated from it.
there was once a time when i respected and homnoured this man. after a llies led campaign under his management as campaign manager of the party in power i doubt anything he says. his credibility is further damaged when the old lady star of that advertisement still has to hang around parliament and party headquarters to be given a meal. there can be no negotians between unequal partnerships.


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The Church of Santa Maria dei Martiri di Otranto rises in a suburban area on the coast road that leads to Santa Cesarea Terme; it was erected on a hill that is called Colle della Minerva because probably in the time of the pagans there was a temple dedicated to the Goddess Minerva. The building was rebuilt in 1614 to replace a pre-existent wanted by Alfonso of Aragon, in memory of the massacre that took place here. On August 14th, 1480, three days after the occupation of the city, Gedik Ahmet Pasha, commander of the Turkish fleet, ordered that the male inhabitants of the age of fifteen should be brought to the hill. To the prisoners Ahmet proposed to deny the Christian faith and get life in return. Nineteenth men opposed each other by being beheaded, one by one, on a large boulder. Tradition has it that the first to be executed, Antonio Primaldo, miraculously remained standing, headless, until the end of the macabre execution.


You are here : Home > About ENDURE > All the news > A worldwide problem: whiteflies .
A major problem: Bemisia tabaci . Copyright: W. Billen, Pflanzenbeschaustelle, Weil am Rhein, Germany, Bugwood.org.
The little creature (pictured left) might not look much of a threat, but appearances can be deceptive, very deceptive. What looks like an innocent bug is, in fact, Bemisia tabaci (tobacco whitefly) ranked as one of the world's worst 100 invasive species* and a real problem for European tomato and cucumber growers.
Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) has been recorded all around the Mediterranean Basin. Copyright: Henri Laterrot, INRA Avignon, France.
Tomatoes are an essential part of the European diet. Copyright: Florence Carreras, IASP, Tours, France.
The team note that several biotypes of B. tabaci are found in Europe, with biotype Q the most widespread, followed by biotype B. Understanding the different biotypes is important because previous research work has discovered, for example, that the Q biotype is more resistant to insecticides known as neonicotinoids (they act on the central nervous system of insects) than the B type. Follow an intensive chemical control programme and you may trigger biotype selection, and produce more survivors of B. tabaci biotype Q. B. tabaci have been reported as far north as the Netherlands but have not, for example, established themselves in the UK or Denmark, where you are more likely to find Trialeurodes vaporariorum, also known as the glasshouse or greenhouse whitefly.
This follows the first outbreak of B. tabaci in the UK in 1987 when it was discovered on cuttings from the popular Christmas plant poinsettia. Poinsettia have continued to be the major source of outbreaks, says DEFRA, but it has also intercepted B. tabaci on Ajuga , Ficus and Hibiscus plants, on cut flowers and on herbs such as thyme and rosemary. The pest has been found on plant material coming from other European countries, North and South America, Asia and Africa, adds DEFRA.


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Book Review: The Lady from the Black Lagoon
May 15, 2019 PLOS Blogs Early Career natural history
In 1953, ichthyologist Kay Lawrence joined a research expedition searching for fossils in the Amazon Basin. This was the same year that Rosalind Franklin left King's College in London, after she created the X-ray diffraction image of DNA that was shown to Watson and Crick without her approval or knowledge. Lawrence was the only woman in a team of five scientists, and the only one without a PhD, or at least the only one who was not referred to as "Dr." in the publicity materials for the expedition. Her fieldwork hit some snags — not the least of which was a foreboding black lagoon and an amphibious monster that fell in love with her and her extremely scientific white bathing suit.
Yes — Kay is actress Julia Adams and the amphibious monster is the Creature from the Black Lagoon. But there's also a Rosalind Franklin figure in Creature from the Black Lagoon, and like Franklin, her contributions were obscured, overshadowed, and openly questioned for decades. Mallory O'Meara brings the story of Milicent Patrick, the makeup artist and special effects designer behind the Creature, to life in a fun and funny new biography, The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick.
Creature movie poster: flickr, Creative Commons
O'Meara grew up loving horror films and she was over the moon when she learned that her favorite movie monster, the Creature, was designed by a woman named Milicent Patrick. The world of horror is dominated by men, and so even though O'Meara only knew the barest details, she clung to Patrick as a patron saint of representation. In her introduction, O'Meara writes:
"Milicent was holding a door open for me that I never realized I had considered closed. Come on, she said. We belong here, too.
I accepted her invitation. I make monster movies for a living. I produce them, I write them. Over the years, I searched for information, for anything that could tell me more about her. For all of my adult life and film career, Milicent Patrick has been a guiding light, a silent friend, a beacon reminding me that I belonged."
O'Meara's book is wonderful and engaging. She pieces together the lost legacy of her horror icon and takes the reader along on the research journey. I listened to the audiobook and fell in love with O'Meara's voice which is somehow both welcoming and acerbic, irreverent and admiring. And, from the beginning, I was struck by how well the world of science mapped onto The Lady from the Black Lagoon's world of science fiction. The story of why Milicent Patrick's legacy was lost turns out to be completely banal, standard issue sexism and O'Meara deftly places this history in the context of the #MeToo movement.
"So many women share this experience, women in every profession. We're ignored, sexually harassed, talked down to, plagiarized and insulted in and out of the workplace. It's worse if you're a woman of color, a queer woman, a disable woman, a transwoman and worse still if you're a combination of any of these. I don't know a single woman working in my field, or any creative field, or any field at all, who cannot relate to Milicent Patrick. It's not just her story. It's mine, too."
I love O'Meara's description of Patrick's process during the design of the Creature: "for inspiration, Milicent researched prehistoric animals: reptiles, amphibians, fish. She specifically looked for illustrations of animals from the Devonian period, which is when the Creature claw fossil in the film is from. The Devonian period, about four hundred million years ago, was the time period when life began to adapt to dry land from the sea. She spent weeks sketching out designs." I had no idea The Creature from the Black Lagoon built a myth from this core kernel of scientific truth. Aside from this deep dive into a specific monster origin story, O'Meara's book is not a science story*. But, I spent much of the book's treatment of women in the film industry thinking about women in STEM.
The Book! Cover illustration by tattoo artist Matt Buck
When O'Meara compares Patrick's Hollywood to her own experiences in film in the 21st century, the resemblance of these narratives to the past and present in STEM fields is eerie. O'Meara began her project because the idea of Milicent Patrick — a woman working behind the scenes in horror films — embodied such an important possibility to her in a field where otherwise she did not see herself represented. But, as she uncovered uncomfortable truths about Patrick as a person, she had to grapple with how to portray an imperfect personal hero. "The problem with being the only woman to ever do something is that you have to be perfect," she laments. "When I found out about her as a teenager, I thought that for Milicent to be the first and only woman to ever design a famous monster, to be one of the first female animators, she had to be superhuman. She had to have been better than any other woman who ever wanted to design a monster. She had to have been the only one worthy enough to enter that boys' club. This way of thinking is a mal-adaptation women have developed over the years to be able to deal with the fact that we're getting passed on for jobs because we're female. You force yourself to believe that there just haven't been any women good enough for the job, rather than accept the fact that the entire system just doesn't want you in it." This is the hip, feminist-forward biographer's way of saying that the water is not responsible for fixing the leaky pipeline.
I have my own Milicent Patrick, only her name is Annie Sawyer Downs. She left behind just enough of a scientific legacy that I'm awed by her botanical prowess and totally frustrated by the blanks in her life story. Like O'Meara, I've considered this woman to be "a guiding light, a silent friend, a beacon reminding me that I belonged." O'Meara opens her book with the story of her Milicent Patrick tattoo — and, even before you read Chapter 1, you see the beautiful cover art for the book, which was created by her tattoo artist. On the Literary Disco podcast in March O'Meara explained: "When you get a tattoo of someone, you become a sort of information kiosk." O'Meara later describes an exchange with a librarian at USC's Cinematic Arts Library: "I even sheepishly rolled up my left sleeve to show him the tattoo of Milicent and the Creature. I'm so deeply invested in this project that asking me about it is like asking a new parent to show you pictures of their baby."
Me and my Milicent, Annie Sawyer Downs, photo by Kate & Keith photography
I don't have a tattoo of Annie Sawyer Downs, but I did name my kid after her. Asking me to show you pictures of my baby is literally asking me to dive into the story of my Milicent Patrick. I loved following O'Meara's journey as she tracked down the pieces of Patrick's life because I've done that too — I finagled an invitation to the Maine summer house that Annie Sawyer Downs' built, I found her herbarium specimens at Harvard, I read through her collaborator's field notes and could not help but notice that after she mentored him for the better part of a decade he went on to found a botanical club that did not admit women as members. I'm so happy that O'Meara got to write the book on Patrick — and I really did love this book — but I found the whole experience of listening to it to be bittersweet, and not just because the misogyny that ended Patrick's career still hangs over Hollywood — and everywhere else. It was bittersweet for me to watch someone else find their Annie Sawyer Downs, tie up the loose ends, and bring a full story to light because I don't think I'll ever be able to do that for Annie. Annie died almost a century before Milicent Patrick, her trail is colder, her work is less renowned, there is no cult following of Rhododendron canadense forma albiflora like there is for the Creature**. And, as much as I feel Annie deserves a book like The Lady from the Black Lagoon, I know there are countless fully erased BIWOC in my field who didn't even get to leave behind a name, let alone a trail of breadcrumbs, for future historians to follow. And so, once again Milicent Patrick is a kind of singular woman — a stand in for a whole suite of women who have given the faintest glimmer of representation to my generation, a small hope that we could see ourselves in them, even if we couldn't read their full story in a book or Wikipedia page. Maybe I can't have that for Annie, but I'd love to read the story of another ecologist's Milicent Patrick figure next — write that book and/or send me your recommendation!
Banner image: Mike Souza, Creative Commons
*Still, some science creeps in to the science fiction, for example in O'Meara's footnote on page 19: "Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Directory in 2010, the first and only. Sixty women have been to space. It's harder for women to get into Hollywood than it is for us to get to space."
**There definitely should be more botanical cult classics.


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El brasil (Caesalpinia echinata Lam.; echinata significa "espinós") és un arbre lleguminós natiu de la Mata Atlàntica al Brasil (Pau-brasil). El seu nom en llengua tupí és «ibira pitanga» (fusta vermella). Quan els exploradors portuguesos van trobar aquests arbres al litoral d'Amèrica del Sud en van dir pau-brasil per designar-los. Pau vol dir "pal" (o, per metonímia, "fusta" en general), i brasil es diu que prové de la paraula portuguesa brasa que vol dir el mateix que en català. La fusta del brasil té un fort to vermell com les brases. Pau-brasil també descriu altres espècies d'arbres que donen un tint vermell. La fusta d'aquests arbres s'exportava en grans quantitats i van acabar donant el nom del país, Brasil. Per a fer arcs d'instruments musicals també es diuen "Brazilwood" altres espècies com Tabebuia impetiginosa, Manilkara bidentata i Haematoxylum brasiletto. La de Caesalpinia echinata és la més apreciada i més cara entre aquestes espècies i en anglès se'n diu "Pernambuco wood" per als instruments musicals.

Morfologia
El brasil fa fins a 15 m d'alt, l'escorça és de color marró fosc i a trossos que deixen veure el seu interior de color vermell-sang. Les fulles són pinnades i tenen de 9 a 19 folíols de forma oblonga. Les inflorescències tenen de 15 a 25 flors que són perfumades, i poden ser pol·linitzades per abelles. Els fruits són tavelles de forma oval d'uns 7 cm de llargada. Les branques, fulles i fruits tenen petites espines.

El duramen del brasil és de color roig-taronja que es fa brillant i és la fusta escollida per fer els arcs dels instruments musicals de corda. A més la seva fusta també proporciona un tint vermell (brazilina) que s'oxida a brazileïna.

Referències

Vegeu també

 Manifest Pau-Brasil

Caesalpinieae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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The Chancellor of Norway (modern Norwegian: Norges rikes kansler, "Chancellor of Norway's Realm") was the most important aide of the King of Norway during the Middle Ages, and during the Union with Denmark. He issued laws and regulations, and was responsible for day-to-day administration of the kingdom. From 1270, the Chancellor resided in Bergen. Haakon V of Norway moved the Chancellor's residence to Oslo; on 31 August 1314 the provost of St Mary's Church became Chancellor on a permanent basis. He was given the Great Seal of the Realm "for eternity." The Chancellors were originally chosen from the clergy but after 1542 the position was given to people from the nobility. The position lost its importance after Jens Bjelke's tenure, and was abolished in 1679.

Chancellors of Norway

Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)
Askatin, 1266–??
Torer Håkonsson, until 1276
Orm Merkesmann, 1276–1280
Bjarne Lodinsson, 1280–99?
Bård Bartholomoeus Serksson, 1299?–1305?
Ivar Olavsson, 1314–19
Arne Aslaksson, 1344–??
Pål Bårdsson
Pål Eriksson, 1318–
Henrik Vinaldsson, late 14th century

Kalmar Union
Arne Sigurdsson
Jens Jakobsson (Jon, Johannes) 1422–39
Gunnar Holk 1439?–48
Ivar Vikingsson, 1448–90
Erik Walkendorf, 1507–??
Mattis Hvørf, 1520–21
Hans Olsson, 1522–23
Mattis Hvørf, 1524–32

Denmark-Norway
Morten Krabbe (Nilsson), 1532–42
Per Herlogssenn
Niels Stub, 1546–47
Peder Huitfeldt, 1547–64
Niels Stub, 1564–65
Oluf Kalips (Pedersson), 1565–67
Johan Venstermand, 1567–72
Hans Pederssøn Litle (Basse), 23 June 1592 – 1603?
Henning Valstrup, 27 August 1603–04
Anders Lauritsson Green (Anders Lauritsson of Sundsby), 24 July 1604 – 1614
Jens Bjelke, 1614–48
Hannibal Sehested, 1648–60
Ove Bjelke, 8 December 1660–74
Johan Frederik von Marschalck, 1674–1679

References

Norwegian monarchy


Danielle Ber singled up the middle; Whitney Okvi advanced to third.
Sarah Montei singled to left field.
Whitney Okvi reached first on a fielding error by 2b; Lacey Najafi advanced to third.
Taylor Campb singled to shortstop, RBI; Whitney Okvi advanced to second; Lacey Najafi scored, unearned.
Magan Thrower singled through the left side.
Madison Labrador doubled to left center; Magan Thrower advanced to third.
Shannon Traylor pinch ran for Magan Thrower.
Brielle Jungblut singled, bunt, RBI; Madison Labrador advanced to third, scored on a throwing error by ss, unearned; Shannon Traylor scored.
Kaitlyn White tripled down the lf line, RBI; Brittney Williamson scored, unearned.
Magan Thrower to 1b for Shannon Traylor.
Kristen Hump struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b.
Savannah Cha pinch hit for Faith Flande.
Kristen Broo doubled to left field.
Kristen Broo advanced to third on a passed ball.
Magan Thrower struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b.
Brielle Jungblut singled to right field.
Brittney Williamson reached first on a throwing error by 3b, advanced to second; Brielle Jungblut scored, unearned.
Danielle Ber singled to left field.
Andrea Daring pinch hit for Ashley Metts.
Ashley Metts to ss for Andrea Daring.
Frankie Wall pinch hit for Mikayla Spar.
Whitney Hort pinch hit for Lacey Najafi.
Lacey Najafi to c for Whitney Hort.


text:
Investors increasingly attracted to third-party funding, law firm's research finds
Elliott: Funders moving into under-served parts of the market
The top 20 UK independent litigation funders now hold assets of just over £1bn, a 42% increase in just 12 months, according to research by City law firm RPC.
It attributed the rise to continued investment from private equity firms and hedge funds in "this increasingly popular alternative asset class".
That the returns are uncorrelated to the performance of mainstream assets such as shares, helping to diversify portfolio returns, has long been seen as a selling point for third-party funding, and the RPC research indicates that this is now being appreciated.
The firm said that while assets held on balance sheets were just one measurable component of litigation funders' finances, "they are a good indicator of the growing impact litigation funding is having on the legal sector and the investment arena".
RPC suggested that undrawn funding lines from these sources were actually "many times" the value of assets held on balance sheets.
For example, it said that Burford Capital, the world's biggest funder, has stated that it in addition to direct investments that it holds on its balance sheet, it has also committed $1bn towards investments in litigation funding through investment funds that it manages over the last five years.
The result of this backing was that litigation funders "are stepping up their search for potential cases to back", the research continued, with group actions a major area of focus, along with portfolio funding across specific practice areas; last month, London firm Memery Crystal agreed a deal with Woodsford Litigation Funding for its energy and mining litigation.
Geraldine Elliott, RPC's head of commercial litigation, said: "Litigation funders want to deliver good risk-weighted returns and a meaningful deployment of funds. That means a balancing off between the pressure to invest funds and the need to do proper due diligence on cases.
"As the more obviously strong legal cases are getting multiple finance offers, the litigation funders are spreading their search into under-served parts of the market.
"They are also seeking more innovative origination strategies, such as securing a first look at cases from individual law firms."
The research said other trends in the market were funding for major arbitration cases, particularly involving investment treaties – with Therium Capital and Calunius Capital among those identifying arbitration as a key activity – and including asset tracing within their remit.
It said: "Litigation funders appear to be increasingly prepared to fund the costs involved in enforcing court decisions, for instance to track down and recover money from overseas. For example, Burford Capital has a global asset tracing team."


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Donald Trump's forthcoming foreign policy challenges
by Sam Faddis Nov 15, 2016
You may love him. You may hate him. Either way, Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. The tasks ahead of him are enormous. Most of the early focus has been on what he will do in regard to domestic policy. Abroad, however, he will find the challenges no less daunting.
President Bush made his share of foreign policy and national security mistakes. Nothing he did came close to matching the scale of the disasters presided over by President Obama. Worldwide, on an unprecedented scale, the United States finds itself facing truly strategic threats that, if not confronted and successfully mastered, will fundamentally reshape the balance of power on the planet.
The South China Sea
Eight years ago the South China Sea was a body of water outside of the territorial boundaries of any nation state. The free passage of all merchant vessels was guaranteed not only by international law but also by the firepower of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet, as it had been since at least 1945.
Today, the South China Sea is claimed in its entirety by the People's Republic of China. That claim is not simply a paper one. It is supported by the presence of an impressive string of man-made fortified islands built by Chinese engineers and manned by Chinese troops.
Weak American diplomatic protests, the ruling of the International Court of Justice against Chinese actions, and periodic freedom of navigation transits of the area by U.S. warships have made no difference. The reality is that the Chinese now control a very large portion of the Pacific Ocean and can act anytime they please to put a stranglehold on one of the world's most important shipping lanes.
Russia and the Middle East
In the wake of the crushing defeat of Soviet-backed Arab forces in the Yom Kippur War of 1974, Russian influence in the Middle East virtually vanished. For decades thereafter the Russians lost one after another of their traditional allies and became largely strategically irrelevant across the region. No more.
Emboldened by the lack of American response to the invasions of Georgia and Ukraine and by the sheer incompetence of American efforts in Iraq and Syria, Russia has reemerged as a major player in the Middle East. Russian troops and aircraft are on the ground in Syria in large numbers. A massive Russian fleet is hovering in the eastern Mediterranean, preparing to level what is left of Aleppo. The United States is on the defensive and boxed out, and traditional American allies are wrestling with what appears to be a new regional balance of power.
For decades following the fall of the Shah, American foreign policy in the Middle East was predicated on support for Israel and the containment of the radical Islamic Republic of Iran. Based on a naïve belief that the Iranians could be constructive players on the world stage and an irrational obsession with concluding a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration abandoned this policy completely, walked away from traditional allies, and granted massive concessions to Tehran.
The result has been disastrous. Lebanon is now a client state of Tehran, as is Syria. Yemen is being torn apart by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Baghdad is teetering on the edge of falling completely under the control of Iranian-backed Shia militias, and we may yet see, once Mosul has fallen, American forces there being attacked and driven from the country.
Sunni Islamic extremism
We are in a global war with Sunni Islamic extremism. We are not winning. Eight years ago, ISIS did not exist in its present form. It is now a worldwide organization, and its impending loss of Mosul will not change that. Al-Qaeda is not defeated, and in fact has more members now by far than it did on 9/11. Dozens of other groups with shifting forms and allegiances are active across the globe and pose serious threats to nations in North and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular.
Our efforts to combat this threat over the last eight years have been hesitant and halfhearted. Locked in what is fundamentally an ideological struggle, we have been afraid to deal with it as such. We have acted slowly and have consistently attempted to respond to strategic threats with limited tactical efforts. Faced with the fundamental truth in Iraq, for instance, that any final defeat of ISIS will require addressing the Sunni-Shia divide and crafting a viable political way forward, we have instead simply focused on training Iraqi forces and flying air cover for what looks increasingly like a Shia conquest of the Sunni heartland.
Most discussion of the Mexican-American border focuses on illegal immigration and the fate of undocumented persons already inside the United States. What gets lost in this discussion are the massive national security implications of the Obama administration's open-border policies.
President Obama has, over the last eight years, systemically shut down very large portions of American border-control efforts. The Border Patrol has in a very real sense been converted from a border control force to a "welcome wagon" for tens of thousands of individuals illegally entering the United States. Many of these persons are from Central America. Many others are from East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Without question, the overwhelming majority of such individuals coming to the United States are seeking nothing more than a new life. It is impossible to believe, however, that we can shut down our border defenses and invite illegal immigrants from all over the globe to walk in and not also find that groups bent on our destruction have taken advantage of this opportunity.
We have seen in Europe what unbridled illegal immigration has meant. In case after case we have seen conclusive proof of the exploitation of this wave of migrants by groups such as ISIS, which has allowed them to move operatives into position for attacks. If we do not regain control of our borders, we will see the same thing here.
There are no simple, easy solutions to any of the problems outlined above. It has taken us eight years to get to where we are today. It will take years to regain our strategic footing and gain the upper hand. It is imperative, however, as Trump and his new national security team settle in, that they quickly survey the damage done abroad by eight years of failed policies and act decisively to move us in a new direction.
About Sam Faddis View All Posts
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