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Client Name: Ministry of Justice
The Supreme Court case management system delivered using open source software
The UK's highest court decides to use Alfresco above commercial alternatives to deliver case management and document management – Ministry of Justice
This case demonstrates 1Tech's expertise in customising and delivering open source Enterprise Content Management solutions.
Alfresco is a leading open source alternative for enterprise content management. It couples the innovation of open source with the stability of a true enterprise-class platform. Alfresco offers true open source enterprise content management (ECM) - document management, collaboration, records management, knowledge management, web content management, and imaging.
Our client; Ministry of Justice is one of the largest government departments in the UK. Every year around 9 million people use its services in 900 locations across the United Kingdom, including 650 courts and tribunals and 139 prisons in England and Wales. 1Tech already providing consulting services to the Ministry of Justice were approached to deliver an enterprise case management system built on Alfresco to the Supreme Court; an independent institution, presided over by independently appointed law lords.
The Supreme Court commenced operations in October 2009 and will be the final court of appeal for UK judicial proceedings. It will be an organisation independent from all of the territorial court services (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). It will sit at the pinnacle of the judicial system within the United Kingdom.
Ministry of Justice asked 1Tech to provide support for analysing various options for an Enterprise case management system. With a fixed end to end delivery of budget, the Supreme Court soon realised that a credible commercial solution was not an option. Upon selection of an open source direction based on Alfresco, 1Tech were required to architect, design and deliver a solution based on Open Source Software addressing the following key requirements:
The UK Supreme Court required a system that will enhance the current ways of working and will augment the capabilities of the Court to manage cases, thereby enhancing its national and international reputation. The essence is to deliver a modern strategic case management system (CMS) for the court that will enhance its administrative processes and assist the judiciary, by providing:
A case progression system (CPS) to record and manage the progression of cases including managing the progression (not calculation) of taxation (assessment of bill of costs) cases;
A diary management system (DMS) to maximise effective use of judicial and courtroom resources;
A Document Repository System (DRS) that stores the full appeal bundle, when filed by the parties in electronic format and stores electronic communications relating to the case.
To provide case management services to support the business processes of initiating, preparing, scheduling, deciding and concluding a case
Integrate with existing user directories
Provide integration with existing case management systems. Some systems are over 25 years old
Ensure the system is secure as to promote public confidence
Provide a simple user interface to allow any judge to be able to manage a case file
Act as a centre of excellence for future court developments
Highly sensitive enterprise scale solution using Alfresco open source enterprise content management software
Perform a detailed options analysis of open source solutions to determine the most appropriate components. Solution included an assembly of the following key open source components:
Alfresco (Enterprise Content Management System)
PostgreSQL (Database)
Integration (Web Services)
JBoss (Application Server)
Eclipse Software (Development Environment)
Provide expert consultancy to architect, design, manage and implement the solution
Integration with the Royal Court of Justice and Crown Court case management systems. Integration with other internal corporate systems including HR and Finance
The Alfresco ECM system handles access permissions, collaboration, version control, and other key functions for managing critical documents in a large organisation. Content is extremely sensitive, including all the case notes, judgements, and other legal documents shared among judges and their staff. Authorised users are allowed access to the system, but only for material they have permission to view or use
In this enterprise-wide ECM solution, high availability was essential. As lead contributor, 1Tech designed and set up the load balancing and failover architecture, based on the Supreme Court high availability requirements.
A bespoke diary management system built using Alfresco libraries to provide court space bookings
Alfresco's ECM platform has been extended to meet the Court's requirements for high availability and enterprise-wide security, customising standard capabilities and adding new functionality where needed. Experience helped: 1Tech have performed many implementations of Alfresco
1Tech were able to deliver a solution to meet all core requirements within 3 months using 1Tech's assured open source integration methodology (1TechOSIM) based on RUP
The open source model allows Alfresco to use best-ofbreed open source technologies and contributions from the open source community to get higher-quality software produced more quickly at much lower cost
No licensing or core software fees. The assembly was based on proven open source software using well established components
If Supreme Court had used a commercial vendor stack for the ECM, it is estimated that the project would have faced licensing fees in excess of £300K ($500K)
Expert led implementation ensuring quality within the delivered solution. 1Tech are able to integrate commercial integration software with open source software
The new platform provides the Ministry of Justice with a template
Open source software is moving up in the world from small start-ups to major, established institutions, and from deep within the software infrastructure to the key applications that drive a business. Showing how much open source software has matured, the UK Supreme Court is now using the Alfresco content management system to control and protect its repository of legal case documents.
The solution is one a highly visible implementation of an open source enterprise content management (ECM) solution, with 1Tech handling the customisation, design, delivery, deployment, and support. The Alfresco ECM provides secure document management for Judges and Users. 1Tech are able to leverage experience of many previous Alfresco implementations. The Supreme Court stated that they would not have been able to deliver a working system in the short time frame available and within budget without 1Tech's involvement. 1Tech's unequivocal industrial strength ECM and Alfresco design and implementation knowledge ensured that the final solution was delivered on time and within the client's budget.
For further information on our Enterprise Content Management solutions please visit: www.1tech.eu/solutions/suites/ecm
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Switching to darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg once-daily containing regimen maintains virological control in fully suppressed pre-treated patients infected with HIV-1
Linking the DNA strand asymmetry to the spatio-temporal replication program. I. About the role of the replication fork polarity in genome evolution
Publication	: PLoS genetics
The non-flagellar type III secretion system evolved from the bacterial flagellum and diversified into host-cell adapted systems
Team: Microbial Evolutionary Genomics
Published in PLoS genetics - 27 Sep 2012
Abby SS, Rocha EP
PLoS Genet. 2012 Sep;8(9):e1002983
Type 3 secretion systems (T3SSs) are essential components of two complex bacterial machineries: the flagellum, which drives cell motility, and the non-flagellar T3SS (NF-T3SS), which delivers effectors into eukaryotic cells. Yet the origin, specialization, and diversification of these machineries remained unclear. We developed computational tools to identify homologous components of the two systems and to discriminate between them. Our analysis of >1,000 genomes identified 921 T3SSs, including 222 NF-T3SSs. Phylogenomic and comparative analyses of these systems argue that the NF-T3SS arose from an exaptation of the flagellum, i.e. the recruitment of part of the flagellum structure for the evolution of the new protein delivery function. This reconstructed chronology of the exaptation process proceeded in at least two steps. An intermediate ancestral form of NF-T3SS, whose descendants still exist in Myxococcales, lacked elements that are essential for motility and included a subset of NF-T3SS features. We argue that this ancestral version was involved in protein translocation. A second major step in the evolution of NF-T3SSs occurred via recruitment of secretins to the NF-T3SS, an event that occurred at least three times from different systems. In rhizobiales, a partial homologous gene replacement of the secretin resulted in two genes of complementary function. Acquisition of a secretin was followed by the rapid adaptation of the resulting NF-T3SSs to multiple, distinct eukaryotic cell envelopes where they became key in parasitic and mutualistic associations between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Our work elucidates major steps of the evolutionary scenario leading to extant NF-T3SSs. It demonstrates how molecular evolution can convert one complex molecular machine into a second, equally complex machine by successive deletions, innovations, and recruitment from other molecular systems.
Published on: 27 Sep 2012 • Modified on: 15 Jun 2015

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Common Cold or Economic Anemia?
Voodoo Economics, A Trojan Horse, and Trickle Down: Is it time to give the supply-side a try?
AS policy is defined as any government policy designed to largely impact the AS sector. This means that the target of any AS policy is to impact costs and/or productivity. The upshot is a policy designed to raise productivity of the business sector relative to its costs. The goal of such a policy is to increase real GDP and to reduce the price level. AS policy is always one-sided – there is no situation where the AS policy would attempt to raise costs relative to productivity.
if a wage shock causes business costs to rise relative to productivity Suppose the country is in a stagflation situation—with very high prices and low real GDP AD policy would help to increase output, but as mentioned above, has the negative side effect of raising prices. This will be discussed more below.
a fitting antidote would be a policy designed to reduce costs relative to productivity An expansionary AD policy would be able to increase output but it would make inflation worse. A contractionary AD policy would reduce inflation but it would make output worse. *See note Combining an expansionary AD policy with an AS policy would have a double whammy on increasing output while the AS policy offset any increases in prices.
* In such a situation, AD policy has tough policy tradeoffs, but AS policy has none. Why? Because AS policy has the effect of reducing prices and raising output. There is no tradeoff since AS policy makes progress against both the problems of stagflation.
These four situations require both short- and long-run AS tools. We turn to a discussion of supply-side policy tools below.
In the first three situations above, AS policy was an appropriate remedy for short-term macroeconomic ills. In each of these cases, a policy designed to raise business productivity relative to business costs would have the desired impact of increasing AS, AD, and real GDP while simultaneously lowering prices.
Until the 1980 presidential election in the U.S., the idea of AS policy was not in the forefront of most people's minds. While many elements of AS policy had clearly been used many times before then, the genre of AS policies had hardly been explicated and, therefore, AS policy was not well known or understood. With the election of Ronald Reagan in the U.S. and the conversion of Margaret Thatcher around the same time in the United Kingdom, AS policy became very well known and enunciated. Reagan and Thatcher inherited a recessionary world with very high inflation. Therefore the setting was just right to try this novel approach. Because AS was not well known – it was very controversial. When George Bush was competing against Reagan for the Republican presidential nomination in 1979, he called AS policy Voodoo economics. Others called AS policy a Trojan Horse. Others simply saw it as a way for Reagan to reward his rich friends. Trickle-down were words suggesting that the rich would get most of the rewards and the rest of the population would get some of the crumbs.
Despite the criticisms, both Reagan and Thatcher were able to push through programs that resembled AS policies. We have continued to see bits and pieces of AS policies since them in the presidencies of George H. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. Below we describe some examples of AS policies recalling that the unifying concept is any policy whose intention is to cause productivity to increase relative to labor costs. It is a way to reduce unit costs of output.
By deregulating such major industries as transportation, communications, or banking the government hopes to create more competition that would lead to more entrepreneurship, higher innovation, and reductions in costs and prices.
While lower income taxes appears on the surface to be an AD policy, Reagan explained that the emphasis on tax RATES illustrated that households have choices about how much they want to work. Entrepreneurs make choices about how much risk to take. Lowering tax rates raises the reward to work and effort and risk relative to taking leisure. In 1979 the highest tax rates in the U.S. were at about 70%. Reagan believed that by lowering them to less than 30% would greatly enhance the reward for risk and work.
In most countries the majority of national savings come either from businesses or from high income individuals. Lowering tax rates on the people with the highest incomes (keep in mind that many proprietorships pay personal income taxes rather than business taxes) was expected to reduce the penalty on saving and thereby create incentive for more saving. Why is this an AS policy?
It is considered an AS policy because increased saving should lead to lower interest rates and more investment spending. If spent wisely that investment spending by firms could lead to gains in business productivity.
By reducing the penalty on capital gains, more investors would be willing to take more risk. This might also induce more saving.
By allowing firms to accelerate their capital depreciation they could gain faster benefits from new capital. By giving subsidies for direct purchases of capital, firms would be rewarded for buying more capital. The new and better capital should translate into higher business productivity.
Were meant to reduce any governmental impediments that raised the cost of labor. Subsidies for worker training were meant to raise productivity.
Was used by Reagan to try to diminish the upward push on wages and labor costs. Reagan used air traffic controllers as his first case. In 1979 coal miners were asking coal companies for three-year contracts with increased wages of approximately 40%. A long strike ensued. Miners were not necessarily being greedy. They had lost purchasing power during the decade of the 1970s. Inflation was high and it seemed to be rising. Nevertheless, high and rising wages would be counterproductive to the AS policy. If unions would ask for more modest wage increases, that would reinforce the goals of the rest of the AS program.
The U.S. makes it very easy to start a business – it can take as little as four days and $210. In contrast, it takes 31 days and $3,500 in Japan . Whereas there is no stipulation that the U.S. entrepreneur have any capital, Belgium requires a minimum of 75% of per capita income. In Germany and Greece the amount of capital necessary exceeds each nation's average per capita income.
The World Bank believes that U.S. firms have great flexibility in hiring and firing workers. They face fewer regulations that relate to conditions of employment. In contrast, the article singles out several country practices that promote inflexibility: Belgium for prohibiting fixed-term employment contracts, France for the 35 hour work week regulation, Germany for mandatory closing times for shops, and various European countries for constraining allowable grounds for employee dismissal, third-party approval for layoffs, and high mandated severance pay.
Despite the much higher incidence of entrepreneurship in the U.S. the authors believe the U.S. could do more. They site several suggestions to crease an improved supply response and economic dynamism including reducing the burden of some environmental regulations, reductions in health care expenses, and tort reform.
If you are so smart, then why aren't you rich?
That's what my mother always said to my father. In this context the question is, if AS policy is so good, then why doesn't it have a better reputation? There are several parts to this answer.
For one thing, Reagan's AS policy was watered down. For another, only a partial program was legislated. In Reagan's case, within a year or two some of the key provisions were changed. Like all history, this record is subject to several interpretations and differences of opinions. Since Reagan, we have seen piecemeal aspects of AS policy incorporated into larger more diverse fiscal programs. In short, it is hard to find clear evidence of the effects of any AS policies and even harder to find unambiguous opinions about their effectiveness.
And one thing will always haunt any politician who tries to be a forceful advocate of AS policy—the politics are terrible. As the terms Trojan Horse and trickle down attest to, the most salient aspect of AS policy is its direct impact on wealthy individuals and companies. Of course, any policy designed to raise productivity relative to business costs will have to be aimed at these groups. The unhappy political fact is that any populist will make mincemeat out of AS policies. One must have an economics course under their belt to understand or explain why AS policy is best for the country. But all it takes is the shortest sound bite to show quite vividly that some very tiny percent of the direct benefits will go to poor people. It is a tough row to hoe.


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Gunnar Wennerberg, švedski pesnik, skladatelj, akademik in politik, * 2. oktober 1817, † 24. avgust 1901.

Zunanje povezave

Švedski pesniki
Švedski skladatelji
Švedski politiki
Švedski akademiki
Člani Švedske akademije
Diplomiranci Univerze v Uppsali

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period
AS Bickerton, R Roberts, BA Fielding, L Hodson, EE Blaak, Anton Wagenmakers
Despite consistent evidence that abnormalities of fatty acid delivery and storage underlie the metabolic defects of insulin resistance, physiological pathways by which fat is stored in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle are not clear. We used a combination of stable isotope labeling and arteriovenous difference measurements to elucidate pathways of postprandial fat deposition in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in healthy humans. A test meal containing [U-(13)C]palmitate was combined with intravenous infusion of [(2)H(2)]palmitate to label plasma fatty acids and VLDL-triglyceride. Both dietary (chylomicron) and VLDL-triglyceride were cleared across adipose tissue and muscle, though with greater fractional extraction of the chylomicron-triglyceride. In adipose tissue there was significant uptake of plasma nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) in the postprandial but not the fasting state. However, this was minor in comparison with chylomicron-triglyceride fatty acids. We modeled the fate of fatty acids released by lipoprotein lipase (LPL). There was clear preferential uptake of these fatty acids compared with plasma NEFAs. In muscle, there was unexpected evidence for release of LPL-derived fatty acids into the plasma. With this integrative physiological approach, we have revealed hidden complexities in pathways of fatty acid uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.
https://doi.org/10.2337/db06-0822
10.2337/db06-0822
Dive into the research topics of 'Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Postprandial Period Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Fatty Acids Medicine & Life Sciences 55%
Muscles Medicine & Life Sciences 39%
Chylomicrons Medicine & Life Sciences 37%
very low density lipoprotein triglyceride Medicine & Life Sciences 24%
Palmitates Medicine & Life Sciences 23%
Lipoprotein Lipase Medicine & Life Sciences 22%
Bickerton, AS., Roberts, R., Fielding, BA., Hodson, L., Blaak, EE., & Wagenmakers, A. (2007). Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period. Diabetes, 56, 168-176. https://doi.org/10.2337/db06-0822
Bickerton, AS ; Roberts, R ; Fielding, BA et al. / Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period. In: Diabetes. 2007 ; Vol. 56. pp. 168-176.
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title = "Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period",
abstract = "Despite consistent evidence that abnormalities of fatty acid delivery and storage underlie the metabolic defects of insulin resistance, physiological pathways by which fat is stored in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle are not clear. We used a combination of stable isotope labeling and arteriovenous difference measurements to elucidate pathways of postprandial fat deposition in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in healthy humans. A test meal containing [U-(13)C]palmitate was combined with intravenous infusion of [(2)H(2)]palmitate to label plasma fatty acids and VLDL-triglyceride. Both dietary (chylomicron) and VLDL-triglyceride were cleared across adipose tissue and muscle, though with greater fractional extraction of the chylomicron-triglyceride. In adipose tissue there was significant uptake of plasma nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) in the postprandial but not the fasting state. However, this was minor in comparison with chylomicron-triglyceride fatty acids. We modeled the fate of fatty acids released by lipoprotein lipase (LPL). There was clear preferential uptake of these fatty acids compared with plasma NEFAs. In muscle, there was unexpected evidence for release of LPL-derived fatty acids into the plasma. With this integrative physiological approach, we have revealed hidden complexities in pathways of fatty acid uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.",
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Bickerton, AS, Roberts, R, Fielding, BA, Hodson, L, Blaak, EE & Wagenmakers, A 2007, 'Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period', Diabetes, vol. 56, pp. 168-176. https://doi.org/10.2337/db06-0822
Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period. / Bickerton, AS; Roberts, R; Fielding, BA et al.
In: Diabetes, Vol. 56, 01.01.2007, p. 168-176.
T1 - Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period
AU - Bickerton, AS
AU - Roberts, R
AU - Fielding, BA
AU - Hodson, L
AU - Blaak, EE
AU - Wagenmakers, Anton
N2 - Despite consistent evidence that abnormalities of fatty acid delivery and storage underlie the metabolic defects of insulin resistance, physiological pathways by which fat is stored in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle are not clear. We used a combination of stable isotope labeling and arteriovenous difference measurements to elucidate pathways of postprandial fat deposition in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in healthy humans. A test meal containing [U-(13)C]palmitate was combined with intravenous infusion of [(2)H(2)]palmitate to label plasma fatty acids and VLDL-triglyceride. Both dietary (chylomicron) and VLDL-triglyceride were cleared across adipose tissue and muscle, though with greater fractional extraction of the chylomicron-triglyceride. In adipose tissue there was significant uptake of plasma nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) in the postprandial but not the fasting state. However, this was minor in comparison with chylomicron-triglyceride fatty acids. We modeled the fate of fatty acids released by lipoprotein lipase (LPL). There was clear preferential uptake of these fatty acids compared with plasma NEFAs. In muscle, there was unexpected evidence for release of LPL-derived fatty acids into the plasma. With this integrative physiological approach, we have revealed hidden complexities in pathways of fatty acid uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.
AB - Despite consistent evidence that abnormalities of fatty acid delivery and storage underlie the metabolic defects of insulin resistance, physiological pathways by which fat is stored in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle are not clear. We used a combination of stable isotope labeling and arteriovenous difference measurements to elucidate pathways of postprandial fat deposition in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle in healthy humans. A test meal containing [U-(13)C]palmitate was combined with intravenous infusion of [(2)H(2)]palmitate to label plasma fatty acids and VLDL-triglyceride. Both dietary (chylomicron) and VLDL-triglyceride were cleared across adipose tissue and muscle, though with greater fractional extraction of the chylomicron-triglyceride. In adipose tissue there was significant uptake of plasma nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) in the postprandial but not the fasting state. However, this was minor in comparison with chylomicron-triglyceride fatty acids. We modeled the fate of fatty acids released by lipoprotein lipase (LPL). There was clear preferential uptake of these fatty acids compared with plasma NEFAs. In muscle, there was unexpected evidence for release of LPL-derived fatty acids into the plasma. With this integrative physiological approach, we have revealed hidden complexities in pathways of fatty acid uptake in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.
U2 - 10.2337/db06-0822
DO - 10.2337/db06-0822
JO - Diabetes
JF - Diabetes
Bickerton AS, Roberts R, Fielding BA, Hodson L, Blaak EE, Wagenmakers A. Preferential uptake of dietary fatty acids in adipose tissue and muscle in the postprandial period. Diabetes. 2007 Jan 1;56:168-176. doi: 10.2337/db06-0822


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Tag: Broni Lisle
Broni – A Night At Java Joe's
By Elyce Phillips
The phrase "open mic night" is one that tends to strike fear into my heart. You never know who you're going to be watching, and often those with the confidence to leap up on stage are the ones who should firmly remain seated. But at Java Joe's open mic night, you're in safe hands, as every act is performed by the very talented Broni.
In A Night At Java Joe's, Broni displays his character acting chops, playing six very distinct performers, as well as the evening's host, Jimmie Lunsford. A quick, small costume change demarcates each character swap, but the difference is really found in Broni's physical interpretations. Small touches like a slight tremble in the hands, or a slyly confident "yeah" added after every song lyric make these characters feel like genuine people.
Although all the characters were well-realised, there were some particular stand-outs. Tumbleweed Tilly, an ingénue with a passion for travel, was perfectly breathy and clueless. Beat poet Peter Raymond read some hilariously pithy lines about birds, and gave Broni a chance to interact with the audience as he sought some constructive feedback. Elderly farmer George Thomas McTavish delivered sweet ramblings about his wife and a song or two, striking a good balance between the sappy and the silly.
The music in A Night At Java Joe's is lovely, infused with a gentle humour and adding a further layer of characterisation to each of the performers. As described in the guide, the show is "music and comedy" rather than "musical comedy". The songs aren't loaded with jokes, but become funny when performed by Broni's characters.
A Night At Java Joe's is a delightful exploration of character. Broni has created a likeable, amusing cast with enough variety to keep you laughing. You're unlikely to find a better open mic night at the festival.
Broni – A Night At Java Joe's is on at The Improv Conspiracy Office Space until April 3
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/a-night-at-java-joe-s-broni
Author adminPosted on March 25, 2016 March 26, 2016 Categories Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2016, ReviewsTags Broni Lisle, Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Improv Conspiracy – 3 Mad Rituals
For the past few years, The Improv Conspiracy has been establishing itself as the company to see for longform improv. In 3 Mad Rituals, a team of fabulous performers take on a marathon of longform formats, displaying both incredible stamina and a talent for pulling comedy gold from seemingly thin air.
3 Mad Rituals is a 90 minute behemoth of improvised comedy. The players take part in three "rituals" designed by Del Close (a legendary performer and director at Second City) – Deconstruction, The Movie, and The Harold – all working from the one suggestion. In the Improv Conspiracy's version, the suggestion is taken from a line of poetry called out from the audience. On the night I attended, it was Emily Dickinson's "Hope is a thing with feathers".
First up is the Deconstruction – a series of short scenes playing off an initial opener. Performers Andrew Strano and Andrew Watt showed that they also had drama chops, starting things with a brutally emotional scene about a father caring for his drug-addicted son while he gets clean. The rest of the crew then skilfully created comedic scenes based on this relationship.
Following this was The Movie, in which the team created a half-hour "film", complete with suggested camera and lighting instructions. From the embers of the preceding half-hour, they created 'Noah and the Mecha-Angel', an anime-style take on the biblical story, featuring Hayley Tantau and Mario Hannah as a pair of extremely unproductive water demons, intent on destroying the world but failing to do much about it.
Finally was The Harold, a long-form staple of The Improv Conspiracy. Here, things got a little hit and miss. A series of scenes about a murderous husband strayed into uncomfortable territory, with the dark subject matter not getting enough laughs to feel justifiable. However, there were also bright spots. Broni Lisle's performance as a magician facing discrimination from his community was hilarious, as was Dan Pavatich as the nation of Chad, who inexplicably spoke fluent Japanese.
3 Mad Rituals is a wonderful opportunity to check out some of Improv Conspiracy's strongest performers testing their skills in a gruelling format. Keeping a captive audience with a 90 minutes show that starts at 10:15pm is a tall order, but the team well and truly accomplished it, keeping the room in stitches for the duration.
3 Mad Rituals is on at The Improv Conspiracy – Theatre until October 3
https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/9f975071-6f4f-43e6-9ca5-c468c76da19f
Author adminPosted on September 26, 2015 Categories Melbourne Fringe 2015, ReviewsTags Andrew Strano, Andrew Watt, Broni Lisle, Dan Pavatich, Hayley Tantau, Mario Hannah, Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Improv Conspiracy


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Inverclyde council
Clyde Square
PA15 1LY
Website: Inverclyde Council
Visit Inverclyde Council for State Primary School admission information for pupils starting at either:
A Primary or First school at the beginning of the reception year
A Junior school at the beginning of Year 3
Or Secondary State School admissions for pupils starting at either:
a Secondary school at the beginning of Year 7
an Upper school at the beginning of Year 9
State school admissions in England are regulated by the Schools Admissions Code, and schools must play fair, ensuring their admissions policy is not only fair but also transparent. Parents must play fair too: schools and local authorities are wising up on parental attempts to circumvent the code, and hundreds of school places are withdrawn every year, sometimes after the child has started school. read more
The Good Schools Guide Education Consultants now offers a specific service for parents who want advice on state school places: visit State School Service.
Schools in Inverclyde Council
Primary State Schools
Aileymill Primary School, Norfolk Road, GREENOCK, PA16 0JG. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
All Saints Primary School, Blairmore Road, GREENOCK, PA15 3JS. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Ardgowan Primary School, Newton Street, Greenock, PA16 8SN. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Gourock Primary School, Davidson Drive, Gourock, PA19 1QD. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Highlanders Academy Primary School, 24 Mount Pleasant Street, Greenock, Greenock, PA15 4DP. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 11.
Inverkip Primary School, Station Road, Inverkip, PA16 0AY. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Kilmacolm Primary School, Churchill Road, Kilmacolm, PA13 4LH. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
King's Oak Primary School, 35 East Crawford Street, Greenock, PA15 2DX. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Lady Alice Primary School, Inverkip Road, Greenock, PA16 9EH. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Moorfoot Primary School, Moorfoot Drive, Gourock, PA19 1ES. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Newark Primary School, Bridgend Avenue, Port Glasgow, PA14 5SU. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Overton Primary School, Peat Road, Greenock, Greenock, PA15 4JW. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Andrew's Primary School, Chester Road, Greenock, PA16 0TT. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Francis' Primary School, East Barmoss Avenue, Port Glasgow, PA14 6HX. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St John's Primary School, Mary Street, Port Glasgow, PA14 5AL. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Joseph's Primary School, Wren Road, Greenock, PA16 7NH. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Mary's Primary School, Patrick Street, Greenock, PA16 8PH. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Michael's Primary School, Bridgend Avenue, Port Glasgow, PA14 5SU. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Ninian's Primary School, Staffa Street, Gourock, PA19 1SL. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
St Patrick's Primary School, Broomhill Street, Greenock, PA15 4HL. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Wemyss Bay Primary School, Ardgowan Road, Wemyss Bay, PA18 6AT. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Whinhill Primary School, Drumfrochar Road, Greenock, PA15 4EQ. A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 12.
Secondary State Schools
Clydeview Academy, Burnside Road, Gourock, PA19 1UX. A state school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
Inverclyde Academy, Cumberland Road, Greenock, PA16 0FB. A state school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
Notre Dame High School, Dunlop Street, Greenock, PA15 4NW. A state school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
Port Glasgow High School, Port Glasgow Comunity Campus, Kilmacolm Road, PORT GLASGOW, PA14 6PP. A state school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
St Columba's High School, Fletcher Avenue, Gourock, PA19 1TN. A state school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
St Stephen's High School, Port Glasgow Community Campus, Kilmacolm Road, PORT GLASGOW, PA14 6PP. A state school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
Special State Schools
Craigmarloch School, Port Glasgow Community Campus, Kilmacolm Road, PORT GLASGOW, PA14 6PP. A state special school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 18.
Garvel Deaf Centre, Chester Road, Larkfield, Greenock, Greenock, PA16 0TT. A state special school for boys and girls aged from 2 to 16.
Lilybank School, Birkmyre Avenue, Port Glasgow, Port Glasgow, PA14 5AN. A state special school for boys and girls aged from 5 to 18. Type of SEN provision: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
Lomond View Academy, Ingleston Street, Greenock, PA15 4UQ. A state special school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 18.
Mearns Centre, 32 Crichton Road, Greenock, PA15 4QD. A state special school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.
Cedars School of Excellence, 31 Ardgowan Square, Greenock, PA16 8NJ. An independent school for boys and girls aged from 12 to 18.
St Columba's School, Duchal Road, Kilmacolm, Inverclyde, PA13 4AU. An independent school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 18.


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#cartel
Without the Distance of Metaphor or Time
by Ramanan Sivaranjan on April 08, 2018
Tagged: pbta cartel velvetglove nightwitches apocalypseworld
One thing that falls outside the usual discussions of gaming style is the amount of distance any given group or player has towards the game in question—which I think is a shame because I think a giant part of the fun is the distance and, one way or another, I feel like the design of, say, Vampire, D&D-as-marketed-to-adults, D&D-as-marketed-to-kids, Rifts, and Dogs In the Vineyard all imply different levels of distance. Or, perhaps more accurately, the way they're talked about implies different levels of distance.
I suspect that when a lot of people say they don't purposefully want to inject heavy "relevant" themes into their games it's not necessarily because they play to escape reality, but because—like me—when they play they never escape reality, and so any "theme" always remains at a distance. Injecting a theme which one was genuinely conflicted about into this style of play would be, in some way—for this kind of player—trivializing it. — Zak Smith—from a 7 year old blog post1
As I mentioned in my post about Cartel, "These Apocalypse World games are at their best when they help the players navigate what might be unfamiliar territory for them." These games also seem at their most challenging when they push into areas you don't expect games to go. To my surprise, I found Night Witches—a game about sexism, death, hopelessness and sometimes hope during WWII—really compelling. It's not the sort of game I normally play. More so, when I first picked it up it struck me as an odd subject to turn into a game. Acting out the lives of women in this hopeless situation seemed like it could be disrespectful.
Playing Night Witches made me rethink some of my thoughts around these "serious" games. Night Witches seems engineered to push the stories it tells in a particular direction.2 This can help keep serious matters serious. As I mentioned in my review, it's quite likely your campaign of Night Witches will feel unrelenting and nihilistic, punctuated by brief moments of joy when you shoot down some Nazis. The gears of the game turn a certain way. The game feels respectful of the story it is helping you tell.
Velvet Glove is an Apocalypse World hack where you and your friends play a group of racialized teenage girls living in 1970s segregated small-city America—phew. (I picked it up because it sounded interesting and had a cool cover. I have fast become a fan of these overly specific Apocalypse World hacks.3) I'd say it has some thematic overlap with Night Witches. When I first saw Velvet Glove I had the same sort of knee-jerk reaction I did to Night Witches: should I be playing this game? I've played plenty of women in my D&D games4, but in the sorts of games I end up playing in the fact you are a playing man or a women is often immaterial. Or, at the very least, I usually play the same sort of genderless adventure person. Not that i'm adverse to playing a game where I'm asked to take on the role of a racialized women, but can I do that experience justice.
Night Witches feels like the safer game to play because we are so far removed from the experiences of a WWII Russian fighter pilot. You can invest a lot into the people you play in that game and feel safe knowing you probably won't be called out for "doing it wrong". There is a distance between you and the women you're playing. Velvet Glove hits a lot closer to home. The racism and sexism it's talking about are very much alive today. It's likely you know people who deal with the problems Velvet Glove touches upon. As such, playing the characters in Velvet Glove feels like it could be more fraught or difficult. The challenge for game designers making these sorts of games is trying to introduce enough structure to the game that you gently nudge the emergent story in a particular direction. (It's one way to try and understand and criticize these games.)
This subject and these games are all on my mind again because the kickstarter for Cartel is happening right now.
Velvet Glove and Cartel feel like they come from a similar headspace. They both seem to be a way to talk about how people make hard choices when put in positions where they have limited options. (And perhaps more obviously they both feature protagonists that aren't White.) Of course, the games diverge in some obvious ways as well. The crimes and delinquency of your teenage girl gang will pale in comparison to the crimes of the cartels. It's a totally different world. It's easier to sympathize and empathize with the characters in Velvet Glove. Mark Diaz Truman likely wants us to feel the same way about the characters of Cartel, but for most people that will be a much bigger leap. Mark could have chosen many different topics to tell his story about Mexicans, but he settled on the drug war. (It's interesting, complex, and exciting, after all.) He outlines both the struggle and ambition of the game he wants to make in an interview he did recently with Brie Sheldon:
Cartel issues a fundamental challenge to the gaming industry through its mere existence: it forces a mostly white audience to consider what it means to be Mexican, without the distance of metaphor or time. In many ways, my game design has been an effort to live up to that challenge, to take seriously the idea that white folks who might not have close relationships with Mexican people might sit down and play through a few days in their lives, not as a joke or a farce… but as a compelling drama.
When I saw this interview with Mark this passage caught my eye. (It's what prompted this post.) Games can lean on the distance of time or the distance of metaphor to help make players feel comfortable playing roles that they might otherwise be uncomfortable playing. (For example, Night Witches uses time, and Monster Hearts uses metaphor.) It feels like Mark is touching on something similar to Zak's comment above. Half the D&D games I play are filled with amoral murder machines straight out of a Jack Vance novel. These games don't often feel edgy or complicated because you are so far removed from the characters you are playing.
You can't mention Cartel without someone else jumping in to tell you glamourizing the Mexican cartels is despicable.5 This looks to be the most common complaint about the game. The archetypes the playbooks of the game represent aren't distant or fantastic: they are grounded in reality.6 Mark could tell his story about the Mexican drug trade using allegory (the cartel are the dark elves or some such nonsense), or he could push his story backwards or forwards in time (Cartel: 2120). As players you might be able to avoid dwelling too much on the reality of what you're playing. But this seems contrary to everything Mark wants to do with his game. His goal—as he notes often—is to push people to play roles that might be uncomfortable for them. He wants people playing Mexicans.
When talking about his game Mark often talks about the Wire. One of my favourite characters on that show is Bodie, a real fan favourite. The thing is, that dude shot Wallace in the first season! It's one of the most heart breaking scenes in the show. The Wire isn't glamourizing anything about the drug trade. I'm not sure Mark can produce the Wire of Powered by the Apocalypse World hacks—that's a high bar to reach!—but it's not inconceivable that you can produce something very good about violence and drugs and all that bad stuff. There is value in understanding the systems that produce the situation in Mexico today. To pretend it's all bad people being bad is stupid and simple. There are all sorts of ways to tell that story. Mark chose to make a game.
A fellow gamer had the following to say in a discussion about this game:
"You play members of the cartel" may actually be sufficient to make some folks sick to their stomach, no matter what Mark has done to make it clear these characters aren't good guys. That's a legit critique.
So … I don't think that's a legit critique.
The fact anyone is making a game about the cartels is going to offend some people on principle. If you don't want to play that game that seems like a totally reasonable response. I can imagine a lot of games I wouldn't want to play. You probably can too. While I am sure Mark can convince people their understanding of his game is incorrect, no one obligated to engage with Mark to understand where he's coming from. It's perfectly fine to think a game is gross and leave it at that. Games aren't for everyone and this game is likely no exception. But your distaste for a game isn't a critique: that's just a personal preference.
All of the games I've mentioned in this post could be offensive to people. Sometimes you might agree with what the person finds offensive. Other times not so much. (Some people are moaning about sex fluid elves right now when talking about 5e, after all.)
An argument can be made that no game can do this particular subject justice. And an argument can be made that this particular game isn't doing its subject justice. But someone needs to make those arguments. My random thoughts above are one way to talk about games like these. There are probably other, better ways, as well. (I mean, what do I know? I play D&D!)
All of these games exist because people didn't pick up and go home for fear of offending someone. This is likely true of most compelling art.
If I wrote this article now I probably wouldn't have started with a quote from Zak. But here we are. I still think it is a good quote. Buyer beware, anyway. ↩
I do think as players we are ultimately responsible for whether we are trivializing someones experience or not when playing a game. Jason Morningstar isn't there to tell us off. He can only do so much. ↩
The scene around Apocalypse World is interesting in that it seems to produce these games that can only be described as "very specific." Not to take away from Apocalypse World—which is god damn fun—but its premise is reasonably pedestrian: it's the end of the world, we're all fucked! (And fucking each other.) But from that game you end up with "it's like D&D, but everyone is a Russian fighter pilot from the all women 588th Night Bomber Regiment" or "it's like D&D, but everyone is a confused queer teenage monster" or "it's like D&D, but everyone is a teenage girls battling white male hegemony". That seems like such a leap! The brain trust on Google+ had a lot of good thoughts about why this might be the case. ↩
My random character generator generates women 50% of the time. It also spits out disabled characters 25% of the time. Don't say I'm not doing anything for representation in the OSR. ↩
Which is true: you shouldn't glamourize gang violence. ↩
In a Reddit Ask Me Anything someone showed up to ask (with much sarcasm) whether the game would include moves for disposing of bodies in acid, something the cartels do. Mark replied the game already does. Ha! ↩
Review: Cartel
by Ramanan Sivaranjan on March 05, 2018
Tagged: storygames apocalypseworld cartel pbta
You've got your hands on the ashcan of the full game, a preview of Cartel that's got everything you need to sample the game before it's released next year. — Mark Diaz Truman, Cartel "Ashcan Edition", 2015.
Well, it took him a bit more than a year. The kickstarter for Cartel is today, so it seems like as good a time as any to write about the game.1 I picked up an early "ashcan" version of the game a couple years ago from 401 Games here in Toronto. Since then the author Mark Diaz Truman released an updated set of quick start rules with some nice art and much better graphic design. This game has been a long time coming.
Cartel is like D&D, but everyone is a drug trafficking Mexican gangster. The game is an engine to produce the sorts of stories you see in Breaking Bad and Narcos. Like other Apocalypse World games the mechanics look to push you towards eventual calamity. I suspect like Breaking Bad you would play a game where your hijinks are funny till they're not.
The game doesn't drift too far from the general the core of Apocalypse World's rules, so for most players familiar with the rule set it should be easy to jump into. The genre the game emulates is a lot more accessible than some of the other (particularly niche) Powered by the Apocalypse games I've picked up. I think it'll be an easy game to get into. You'll recognize the archetypes the playbooks describe: the dirty cop, the naive spouse, the "cook", etc. The most notable changes to the rules (that I picked up on, and really, what do I know?) is around how you gain experience and advance your character. I am a fan of the change: each playbook has thematic options for how you advance that encourage you to play your role. (And, when you get bored of your experience objective you can move in the opposite direction to cancel it out and pick a new one.)
When I first picked up the game my friend Gus brought up something that's always on my mind with these Powered by the Apocalypse games: are they making light of a serious topics?
I'm not sure how I feel about a game that romanticizes the Mexican Drug War. Though I want to be a cleric of Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte when we play. … I find Latin American and American pulp narco-fiction to be pretty damn creepy and exploitative (El Marginal and Sicaro both, and also yeah Netflix's Narcos) already, and I wonder how beer and pretzels tabletop can do better. This is sort of why I like my fantasy games and moral play to be a bit more removed - give me Carcossan cannibals, not Los Zetas. — Gus, 2016.
Moments after Gus asked the question fellow Torontonian and BreakoutCon organize Rob chimed in with a link to an old Gaunlet podcast episode where Mark discusses this very topic with Jason Cordova. Jason is a lawyer and had previously worked with people affected by Mexican drug trade. His initial feelings about this game were pretty strong (and negative). (This interview takes place a year after he first encountered the game, so his views had cooled a fair bit.) Their conversation on this podcast is really fantastic. It's probably one of the best episodes. (So rare!) I've been looking forward to the game since listening to this interview.
These Apocalypse World games are at their best when they help the players navigate what might be unfamiliar territory for them. You can see in the playbooks and the writing and everything that orbits the game thus far that Mark's really put a lot (of himself!) into this game: exactly what I want from my games that are "like D&D, but …".2
I have so many half written blog posts I should finish. What's the point of a blog if you don't write anything, right? At least this post is more topical, now. ↩
My initial interest in the game was specifically because Mark was the author. He wrote a really thoughtful blog post about the short comings of the indie game scene that was such a good read i've been following him and the work his team does ever since. ↩


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Now reading: Tom Pidcock: "I don't really practice on a 'cross bike"
Tom Pidcock: "I don't really practice on a 'cross bike"
The morning of January 28, 2017, in Bieles, Luxembourg.
The sky was leaden, and the colourful ribbons of the cyclo-cross World Championships looked meagre against piles of rock, disused industrial machinery and an incongruously modern shopping centre. As soon as the juniors were told to stop their warm-up laps, rain began to fall, and because the temperature was sub-zero, the rain froze when it hit the ground.
Tom Pidcock appeared from the British Cycling camper, wearing a black down jacket over his skinsuit and, as he began his warm-up, flicked the hood up, staring down at his front wheel. No picture for the gathered photographers, no facial clues as to how he was feeling for us journalists.
Did he feel pressure coming into the race as favourite?
"Yeah," he says, with the benefit of seven months' hindsight. "But you just acknowledge the pressure and get on with it. It was difficult getting to the Worlds though, because I over-trained that winter and had to have a week off before the race, which was difficult to handle."
That race will live long in the memories of British cyclo-cross fans. After achieving his initial objective of getting a quick start to keep him out of trouble on the first icy corner, where a big crash took out most of the field, Pidcock bided his time, getting the feel for the newly slippery course. He'd made a last minute decision to switch to file tread tubulars, which seemed wise – the icy adverse cambers began to steadily claim their victims, but Pidcock stayed on his bike.
As the threat from French rider Maxime Bonsergent fell away, Pidcock took the lead, with fellow Brits Dan Tulett and Ben Turner later climbing into second and third. Pidcock punctured and slid out on a couple of bends but was always in control. Behind him, Turner and Tulett had a nerve-jangling last lap in which both crashed as they fought out the remaining medals. All three wore black armbands to commemorate Charlie Craig, the talented young rider who'd passed away a week before. As the national anthem blared through the podium speakers and three Union Jacks were winched skyward, the British crowd, including Tom's parents, sang and cried.
The rainbow jersey Tom received on the podium is now framed in the hallway of his house. The red, white and blue skinsuit he wore in the race, unwashed and liberally flecked with Luxembourg mud, hangs in his bedroom.
A few hours after the race, Stefan Wyman, husband of British star Helen and well versed in the lore of 'cross, tweeted: 'I need a canti CX frame. I want to ride like a British Junior. Canti brakes, please let me back in your club.'
Rainbows in the mud: Britain's first cyclo-cross world champion
It was an insightful soundbite, because not only did it announce the arrival of a new generation, it seemed to signify a different way of approaching 'cross. Less serious, more playful, more instinctive. Never mind data analysis and periodisation, just let your back wheel slide, ride on instinct, pull a wheelie over the finishing line. Suddenly the earnest and, at times, obsessive way the Dutch and Belgians have tackled cyclo-cross looked redundant.
Yet Pidcock's playful style of riding, and the audacity to attempt whips while leading the World Championships on an icy course, belies the seriousness with which he approaches the sport and his career.
By the time the World Championships came around, Pidcock had already agreed to join the Telenet Fidea Lions team run by 'cross legend Sven Nys. Pidcock's contract is for two years, and during that time he will focus on 'cross whilst maintaining a presence in road racing. The jump from junior to under-23 will be challenging, but Tom doesn't seem fazed. His lap times from last season's big 'cross races were only marginally slower than those of the winning under-23 riders.
Contrary to many people's expectations, he is moving not to Belgium but to Monaco, where he will share a house with two friends. There will be a lot of travel to and from the Low Countries during the winter, but Tom thinks the warmer weather and the terrain near the Italian border will be better for him than the low skies and cobbles of Flanders. But won't he be expected to join Sven's famously hard Wednesday training sessions, deep in the sandy forests near Antwerp?
"I'll do a few," he says, "but I don't really practice on a 'cross bike."
Hang on. What?
The world cyclo-cross champion doesn't train on a 'cross bike. He lives 200 metres from Roundhay Park, where Roger Hammond was the last British rider to win that same rainbow jersey 25 years ago, and he doesn't take his cross bike over there to train.
"Nah. I'm quite relaxed about cross, I don't really know that much about it, or the other riders."
So the famous bike handling skills that have drawn comparisons to Peter Sagan, where do they come from?
He shrugs and smiles. When you've a gift, don't interrogate it, just enjoy it. From a childhood spent on two wheels, is the likely answer. He began racing at seven. He always rode to school, whatever the weather.
The champion doesn't train on a cross bike – I bet that blew the minds of his new team-mates. His mother Sonia, only half-jokingly, says, "Just wait till he does start practicing…"
British cyclo-cross champion Grant Ferguson: "I was the youngster once"
"Yes, we only found that out quite recently at a training camp, that he only really trains on his road bike," Pidcock's new boss Sven Nys tells me. "And it makes it even more special, what he can do on a bike. I first saw how special he is at Zonhoven, which is a really technical and challenging track.
"He did something incredible in that race. He was riding like a Belgian guy, riding sections that others were struggling on. He's a good cyclo-cross rider, not just a good athlete, but a good cyclo-cross rider, and that makes me want to work with him."
Extract from issue 17.7 of Rouleur magazine
The post Tom Pidcock: "I don't really practice on a 'cross bike" appeared first on The world's finest cycling magazine.
Joop Zoetemelk, a poster-geezer for old blokes everywhere


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If you have thin, chipped or discoloured teeth we can provide veneers to protect the weak portion of the tooth. It would be fitted over the whole of the front of the tooth and also repairing the chipped or thin portion of the tooth. Teeth which have permanent discolouration can also be masked with veneers by choosing a lighter shade.
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Ninety-two constructing cooling methods in Melbourne's CBD have been disinfected after a Legionnaires' disease outbreak, Victorian health authorities say, because the variety of infected people rises to 6. Adelaide's Lyell McEwin Hospital emergency division might need a significant expansion, South Australian Health Minister Jack Snelling say, as extra persons are presenting to the northern suburbs hospital at times than the Royal Adelaide within the CBD.
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Rotary vs Foil Shaver | Which Is Better For You And Why?
→Rotary vs Foil Shaver | Which Is Better For You And Why?
Rotary vs foil shaver? That's the question that every man has to consider when it's time to replace that old clogged up cartridge based razor. Say you have finally decided to purchase an electric shaver but once you do the research, you are more confused than ever.
Granted that electric shaver can last up to 20 years, setting on the best electric hair clipper can be quite overwhelming. How do you know when it's time to invest in an electric shaver and forgo buying cartridges?
Well, here, we have compiled a detailed guide to help you understand more about electric shavers and hopefully help you make the right decision.
And let's not even get started with what people with sensitive skin have to consider. One of the main determinants is, of course, price. How much are you willing to cough up for a new device? What sort of features matters most to you? Are you willing to spend your hard earned cash on a second-rate shaver that isn't durable or do you prefer purchasing something that will cater for your needs for about a year as long as it's within your price range?
Just a few years back, electric shavers were not as trustworthy as they are today. They used to be expensive and never quite gave you that close shave you expected. It is hard and near impossible to find a shaver that caters for all requirements for everyone all packed into one little package.
That was until electric shavers came along with many models of incredibly innovative groomers that changed how men cut their facial hair.
Rotary Shavers vs Foil Shavers: What's really the Difference?
Foil operates in a linear motion thus a user has to use back and forth motions to trim their beards. Rotary operates in a clockwise circular motion, mimicking the rotating disks movements. For maximum effect, follow your trimmer's motion. If you make a mistake of using linear motion with a rotary trimmer, it might pull and tug on your facial hair which can lead to in-growths, itching, redness, and soreness.
Here you find the complete idea of Rotary vs Foil Shaver.
The first shaver ever invented was a foil type. Invented back in 1923 by Canadian Jacob Schick, this type was quite popular and remains so till date. Best foil shaver type shavers use electricity for operation. Our top pick would be Braun series 7 790cc-4 electric foil shaver due to its ease of use and performance.
Foil type shaver are coated with a foil exterior that covers its blades. This layer provides a protection for users. Foil shaver for head has oscillating blades that move back and forth or linearly. However, they might not be able to tackle those hard-to-reach contours of your face.
A rotary trimmer was invented back in 1939 by Philips. It uses three circular disks that spin fast to trim facial hair. Rotary trimmers are used in a clockwise motion. Some more expensive models offer pivoting in all directions for maximum traction.
NOTE: Rotary heads are best suited for individuals with stronger hair or for men who don't shave on a daily basis as it can tackle long beards with ease. Additionally, foil offers you daily shaving for your sensitive skin.
Electric shavers have heads that fixes and adapts to contours of an individual face and neck. You will rarely need to repeat the same area twice- like you are probably used to with other shavers. Simply pass by once and let your handy little device take it from there. There is no easier and faster way to achieve a smooth finish than with an electric groomer. Plus, you do not need to ever purchase razor blades ever again.
These best hair clippers are great investments because they provide an incredibly close shave each time, at shorter duration's of time. Plus, they are water-proof meaning you can simply run them under running water and all hair and shaving cream will be discarded – or you can always opt to cough up a few extra bucks and buy a unit that self-cleans or best cordless hair clippers. All in all, electric trimmers are definitely worth the investment.
Anyone who enjoys grooming while showering will enjoy using these trimmers. From perusing through online reviews, it is clear that most people prefer purchasing electric trimmer once off as opposed to always having to deal with cartridge based razors that seem to dull out within a week's time.
Furthermore, these units use very little electricity to charge up – your utility bill will not be dented whatsoever. Imagine paying little to no extra costs for a close and more comfortable shaving experience. Whether you wish to get rid of that 5 o'clock stubble or your 3-day long beard, electric-shavers will be able to get you that fresh, clean look in mere minutes.
If you are someone who values and prefers simple products that get the job done without too many complications, then you should definitely buy an electric shaver. We all have different types of skins and hair, which is why we all need options for something that works for one person might not work for us.
If you are tired of spending tons of money on disposable razors that leave you with razor burns and other skin irritations, then you should definitely opt for an electric trimmer. Have you ever used an electric shaver before? What was your experience? We would love to hear from you so do leave us a comment below and let us know of your experience and preferred choice - foil or rotary?
I think this informative article on foil vs rotary shaver will helpful for you.


Eldon Furniture Company is a 3rd generation family-owned home furnishing business serving the entire Central Missouri and Lake of the Ozarks area since 1948. We offer major brands of furniture, all types of flooring, Serta & Restonic bedding, and Hunter Douglas blinds. During your shopping experience, you will find a knowledgeable sales staff, competitive pricing, and a well-trained service staff.
Shop local and come in to Eldon Furniture. You're going to love working with us!
Our team works with you to create a space that expresses your taste and lifestyle. On everything from furniture and flooring recommendations to window treatments and colors, our goal is to help make your house a uniquely beautiful home.
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Ben Napier and his team worked closely with the craftsmen and craftswomen of Vaughan-Bassett to create ageless furniture. This collection highlights the very best of solid, American hardwood design. The turned posts for the bed and chests are modeled after handmade pieces created in Ben's Mississippi woodshop as seen on HGTV's Home Town. In addition to the usual side storage option, the Elder's Bench footboard with deep-set drawers, offers a practical solution to expand bed storage. Ben and Erin use seagrass panels to soften the brawny exterior of the solid maple creating a versatile bedroom complimentary to any home. Each suite is completed by antique-inspired, step-back chests that Erin uses throughout her own home.
The Scotsman Collection pays homage to the American craftmanship that originally built Laurel, Mississippi, and that is currently revitalizing it as America's hometown. Built on lumber, Laurel residents know the value of solid wood responsibly harvested from America's forests. Ben and Erin thoughtfully designed this collection with classic lines, an arched headboard and solid wood construction. The turned foot, posts and finials, along with the optional antique side rails, ensure that this bedroom will be treasured and passed down as a family heirloom.
Ben Napier and his team appreciate timeless furniture over temporary trends. He worked closely with the craftsmen and craftswomen of Vaughan-Bassett to create quality furniture that highlights the very best of American veneer design. This collection's classic lines are modeled after homemade pieces created in Ben's Mississippi woodshop as seen on HGTV Home Town. Each bed is a statement piece worthy of becoming your family's next heirloom. With deep-set drawers, the Elder's Bench footboard offers a practical solution to expand bed storage. The Laurel Home collection is a strong foundation to build the curated and collected home.
Laurel Home Collection embodies American ingenuity that built Laurel, Mississippi, and that is currently revitalizing it as America's hometown. As an artist and designer for HGTV Home Town, discovering the perfect color palette that highlights the best feature of every room is Erin's passion. That's why Erin chose warm finishes that complement the furniture design and can standalone as showcase pieces. This versatile collection is the beginning for growing families and building homes.
Copyright 2019. Eldon Furniture. All rights reserved.


Accent Decor is donating to the hurricane relief funds set up by the AIFD Foundation. Working with the Texas State Florists' Association, they have established the Hurricane Harvey Florist Fund and with the Florida State Florists' Association, they have established the Hurricane Irma Florist Fund. 100% of donations will help rebuild the floral industry in Texas and Florida.Click here to see how you can donate.


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Revolution Midfielder/Defender Donnie Smith Out 4-6 Weeks
The New England Revolution will be without Donnie Smith for 4-6 weeks as the midfielder/defender recovers from a left groin injury.
Share All sharing options for: Revolution Midfielder/Defender Donnie Smith Out 4-6 Weeks
New England Revolution midfielder/defender Donnie Smith will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing a procedure meant to repair a left groin injury that occurred during practice.
Smith, who was re-signed at the start of preseason, looked set to continue his transition to the back line. The left-footed player saw minutes at both right and left back before suffering this injury.
This upcoming season will mark Smith's third with the club after being drafted 21st overall by the Revs at the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. Smith has only made two regular season appearances since leaving the University of North Carolina, his first coming in the 2013 season opener against the Chicago Fire and the second being played against the Philadelphia Union in 2014.
While Smith recovers, the Revolution will have one less defensive option. Chris Tierney is the incumbent at left back with Kevin Alston and Darrius Barnes providing cover. Draftee Marco Fenulus, who is currently unsigned, also appears to be a candidate as the third-round pick played there this preseason.


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Q: Write text on textarea at mouse coordinates I am trying to create something similiar like MS paint and I need a feature where I can click on the scene and  immediately being able to write where I clicked. I took the the entire code example from this Anwser to solve how to switch between canvas and textarea. In other word how to switch between "drawing" and "writing" mode. So currently I can draw and write Current progress , but my problem is  I want to write text where ever I click on the textarea and not at the beginning of the row.
This is how I imagine it (Goal).
So I wanted to add a handler, which can give the mouse coordinates and set the Caret to that positon:
textarea.setOnMouseClicked(event->{
        textarea.positionCaret();
    });

To only realise that positionCaret() only takes 1 parameter.
So I am not able to position my "Caret" to the x,y position of my mouse click.
So the question is how do I move the "Caret"/cursor to any given positon within my textarea?

A: Explaining Caret positioning and why it is irrelevant for your purposes
You are misunderstanding the concept of the caret position-related APIs for JavaFX text input.  The APIs have nothing to do with screen coordinates.  They are referring to the position of the caret with respect to the text in the text input field.
Let's say you have the following word:
happy

*

*Caret position 0 positions the caret before the h.

*Caret position 3 positions the caret in-between the two ps.

Once the caret is positioned.  If somebody starts typing, the new text will be inserted at the caret.
So if you do:
setCaretPositon(3)

Then you type haphap, then the text will become:
haphaphappy

If somebody clicks in an editable text field, the JavaFX system is smart enough to handle the click by default to position the caret next to the closest letter to the click (and also handle selection and other tasks).  You don't need to write any code to get the functionality.
So the caret API has nothing to do with the task you want to accomplish.
Absolute positioning for Text (or any other Node)
If you want to define an absolute position for a text input field on mouse click, then you do it in the exact same way you position any node in JavaFX, i.e. you use the node layout functions.  Specifically, you set the x and y coordinates of the node.  The co-ordinate system and relevant APIs are explained in the Node javadoc.  To set both the x and y values at once, you call the relocate method.
Example for positioning editable text in a pane on mouse click
Here is an example, which generates a new text area and positions the top left corner of the new text area at the position a mouse was clicked.
Pane pane = new Pane();

pane.setOnMouseClicked(event -> {
    if (event.getTarget() == pane) {
        TextArea newTextArea = new TextArea();
        newTextArea.relocate(
                event.getX(),
                event.getY()
        );
        pane.getChildren().add(
                newTextArea
        );
    }
});

The example uses a Pane because that is a parent node which does not apply layout positioning to its children (unlike a StackPane which will overwrite any layout values you set and apply its own layout algorithm, which, by default, will center a node in its parent node).
You can see a more comprehensive example in context in the answer to:

*

*How do I create an editable Label in javafx 2.2
That example will convert the text between a Label and TextField on click to allow the label value to be edited.  You could choose to use such functionality in your paint program, or you could do it the way MS Paint does it.
How to emulate MS Paint
What MS Paint does is allow you to initially edit the text, but once you hit return to commit the edit, it snapshots the text and paints it as an image on the canvas, converting it from a node-type object to a bit on the canvas.  Thereafter you can't edit the text directly anymore.  If you want to do things that way you can use a combination of the node snapshot function and the graphics context drawImage function.  If you do a snapshot, make sure you set the background correctly in the SnapshotParameters, so that it is transparent, that way the text background won't overwrite your drawing (or do set a background to the appropriate color, if you wanted an overwrite).
I won't provide full code for such functionality here at this time.
Styling text input
You probably want to style (using CSS) the text input field to get the look you want.  The editable label example gives some hints on how to do this, but you probably want a different style for your app.  Specifically, the default style for text input will have a box and background, which you may or may not want.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Avrilly kan syfta på:

 Avrilly, Allier, fransk kommun i departementet Allier
 Avrilly, Eure, fransk kommun i departementet Eure
 Avrilly, Orne, fransk kommun i departementet Orne


當然,老謀深算者如普京,不可能不考慮到這個因素。他這次幹擾美國大選,本來的目的也許就是給美國找點麻煩上點眼藥,以報當年希拉裏暗中支持俄國民變的一箭之仇。隻不過,他的行動太成功了,the victim of his own sucess!
I think you have been brainwashed.
The Democrats have done much more for the country -- they saved the economy -- which was ruined under the Republican president's watch.
I don't agree that the neoconservatives led to the intervention in Kosovo, or the war on Afghanistan. I think these two wars/conflicts would likely happen no matter who the president was.
On the other hand, I would agree that the neocons led to the war on Iraq.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on a determination that Russia violated international law by poisoning the former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in March, officials said, a decision that was announced Wednesday afternoon by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.


Commuters experienced traffic chaos this afternoon after a car overturned on the M5.
One lane was closed between junctions 7 (for the A44 Whittington Road) and 8 (for the M50).
It was reported there were delays of 20 minutes.
Meanwhile motorists heading in the other direction were causing traffic problems because some were slowing down to take a look at the wreckage.
It was reported that a fire engine was called to the scene to and creating a shield to oncoming traffic.
It is not known how many other vehicles were involved in the crash nor the severity of any injuries.
The restrictions were lifted about 45 minutes after the incident.
People on the northbound carriageway are slowing down to look at the crash on the opposite side.


text:
9/11, A1 Top Story
author: Dan Christensen
News groups ask appeals court to protect Americans' Freedom of Information Act rights
By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org
Accusing the FBI of years of dishonesty in handling Freedom of Information Act requests, a legion of news organizations and support groups asked a federal appeals court Monday to protect Americans' rights under the law.
The media's vigorous arguments were made in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in Florida Bulldog's recent appeal of a Miami judge's June 29 ruling that would allow the FBI to keep secret thousands of pages of records about an apparent Saudi support network for the 9/11 hijackers in Sarasota and other information about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"The FBI's conduct of FOIA litigation, in this case and numerous others, denies the public its right to inspect agency records, in violation of Congress' statutory mandate of disclosure," says the 48-page brief written by attorneys Charles D. Tobin and Steven D. Zansberg of the Washington, D.C. law firm Ballard Spahr.
"Left undisturbed, the judgment below will deprive the appellants, and the American people, of FOIA's promise and purpose 'to open agency action to the light of public scrutiny.' It will also leave unanswered disturbing questions about the events of 9/11, perhaps the most traumatic shared experience in our nation's history."
The news organizations that signed on to the amicus brief filed in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta represent many of the nation's reporters, editors and photographers, as well as tens of millions of readers, viewers and listeners. The organizations are the American Society of News Editors, Associated Press, Association of Alternative Newsmedia, Dow Jones, Fox Television Stations, Gannett, Gatehouse Media, Gray Television Group, The National Press Club, The National Press Photographers Association, The New York Times, The News Media Alliance, The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Radio Television Digital News Organization, Society of Professional Journalists, Tegna and WP Company (The Washington Post).
"This brief shows the national and international importance of the Bulldog's groundbreaking 9/11 work," said Miami attorney Thomas Julin, who represents Florida Bulldog.
Sen. Graham's brief
Also filing a brief yesterday was former Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee served as co-chair Congress's Joint Inquiry into 9/11. Graham's brief asked the appeals judges to reverse Miami U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga's ruling, citing "pervasive" FBI over-classification of records that "is inappropriate and contrary to consistent findings that over-classification contributed to the U.S.'s inability to detect or disrupt the 9/11 attacks."
Atlanta attorney David A. Terry of the Cozen O'Connor law firm filed Graham's brief.
Florida Bulldog, working with Irish author Anthony Summers, reported in September 2011 about a previously unknown FBI investigation of Abdulaziz and Anoud al-Hijji, a Saudi couple with ties to the Saudi royal family, who moved abruptly out of their Sarasota area home in an upscale gated community about two weeks before 9/11 – leaving behind their cars, clothes, furniture and other personal belongings. The story reported the FBI ultimately linked terrorist figures, including 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta, to the al-Hijji residence via gatehouse security records and the analysis of phone records.
Sen. Graham has said the FBI never disclosed its Sarasota investigation to congressional investigators.
After the story was published, the FBI confirmed it had investigated but said it found no connections to 9/11. The FBI also disputed Graham, saying it had disclosed its investigation to Congress.
After a year of fruitless Freedom of Information Act requests, Florida Bulldog's parent company, Broward Bulldog Inc., sued seeking the FBI's file on the matter. Six months later, the FBI released 31 redacted pages about Sarasota, including an April 16, 2002 report written by Agent Gregory Sheffield that flatly contradicted the FBI's public account.
"Many connections"
"Further investigation" of the Sarasota Saudis "revealed many connections" between them and "individuals associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001," said the report, which went on to recount how a family relative was a student at Huffman Aviation, the flight school at nearby Venice Municipal Airport attended by Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, who flew the two planes that slammed into the Twin Towers.
Other parts of the 2002 report were censored on grounds of national security.
FBI Director James Comey, second from right, is flanked by 9/11 Review Commissioners Tim Roemer, right, Ed Meese and Bruce Hoffman, far left, on March 23, 2015. Photo: FBI
The FBI's 9/11 Review Commission was authorized by Congress to, among other things, evaluate new evidence. Its three members were chosen, paid and briefed by the FBI. Also known as the Meese Commission, after its most prominent member, Reagan-era Attorney General Edwin Meese, the group began work in early 2014, but held no public meetings. It issued a report in March 2015.
A three-page section titled "The Sarasota Family" quoted the FBI as discounting its own April 2002 report, calling it 'poorly written' and wholly unsubstantiated." The commission called no witnesses to what happened, however, and did not address any other aspect of the investigation.
Florida Bulldog soon filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI for the Meese Commission's files. After no response was forthcoming, Broward Bulldog Inc. sued in June 2016.
In dribs and drabs over the following year, the FBI disclosed hundreds of pages of records – most completely blanked out, others often heavily censored. Judge Altonaga's order allowed the FBI to withhold most of its records, but also required it to release some small, but potentially significant, sections. The FBI, however, has yet to do so.
The Bulldog filed its 75-page appeal brief last week, asking the judges to order Altonaga to hold a Freedom of Information Act trial to determine whether the FBI properly searched and censored records about Meese Commission.
"Paramount public interest"
Monday's amicus brief by the news organizations called the FBI records at issue, and the bureau's "subsequent, unexplained about-face on what that investigation found," matters of "paramount public interest."
It specifically criticized Altonaga for accepting "at face value the inherently self-contradictory declarations of FBI Records Section Chief David Hardy."
"As he has done in FOIA cases filed against the FBI across the nation, Mr. Hardy once again attested that his agency had diligently conducted an adequate search, even though his declarations failed to describe with any specificity precisely which records repositories were searched or which search terms were utilized," the brief says. The brief goes on to say that such "standard" FBI litigation practices prevent those seeking documents the ability "to challenge through cross examination or countervailing evidence."
"The FBI's clear strategy in litigating this FOIA case has been to hide the ball from records requesters by providing vague explanations for its withholding decisions, lacking any detail that would permit meaningful rebuttal or challenge," the brief says. "The FBI also routinely files ex parte declarations with the trial court to justify its withholding decisions, obscuring the key component of the adjudicatory process from public view."
The brief likens that process to "relegating FOIA requesters to shadow boxing while blindfolded."
"Were this court to affirm the FBI's hide-the-ball strategy, future FOIA plaintiffs will be severely hampered in pursuing government records that, as here, are of the utmost public concern."
Miami federal judge denies FBI motion to postpone trial on secret 9-11 records
U.S. judge cites 'shameful' FBI delays in making 9/11 records public
The nation's state supreme court judges reveal scant financial information
The other crucial civil rights case the Supreme Court will be ruling on
Democrat Butterworth, state appeals court judge testify for embattled GOP fundraiser Zachariah
9/11American Society of News EditorsAssociated PressAssociation of Alternative NewsmediaBallard SpahrCharles D. TobinDow JonesFox Television StationsFreedom of Information ActGannettGatehouse MediaGray Television GroupNational Press ClubNational Press Photographers AssociationNew York TimesNews Media AllianceRadio Television Digital News OrganizationReporters Committee for Freedom of the PressSaudiSociety of Professional JournalistsSteven D. ZansbergTegnaWashington Post
Appeal: How much information about 9/11 must FBI share with public?
Before deaths, Gov. Rick Scott and Hollywood nursing home owner were chummy
Stephen Herbits / October 24, 2017
If possible, can you provide a link to the new appeals so we can read them? Thanks.
bill warner / October 24, 2017
FBI Amassed 80,000 Pages of Secret Files Before Shutting Down April 2002 Investigation of 9/11 Hijackers Support Network in Sarasota Contain Some of My Reports. I know for a fact as I was part of the 2002 Sarasota investigation. http://www.pibillwarner.com/2016/07/fbi-amassed-80000-pages-of-secret-files.html
Jackson Rip Holmes / October 24, 2017
Thank you for sharing with us the AWESOME AND DESERVED support the Broward Bulldog is getting from the most impressive mainstream news media organizations in existence!!!
Jackson Rip Holmes
Dear Revered ALL, specifically fellow Florida Bulldog Readers:
I continue to be IN AWE of the work of The Florida Bulldog and Sacred Senator Graham in this litigation.
If I may?
1) I have come to the personal conclusion that SAUDI ARABIA is the primary ARAB source of Arab terrorism. No major terrorist undertaking takes place without Saudi Arabia's active backing, ergo — "stop Saudi Arabia and one stops Arab terrorism". E g, look at Saudi funding of ISIS. This litigation seeks to expose and (in other litigation ala JASTA) punish and possibly thereby ultimately end Arab terrorism. HOW BRILLIANT!
2) Although this litigation is only Freedom of Information Act, it is against the most powerful, and therefore the scariest, organization in the United States — the F B I. HOW INCREDIBLY COURAGEOUS, HEROIC, AND PATRIOTIC !!!
3) I have come to believe A) many so-called terrorist attacks in te past 55 years, while both political parties have been in power, not only in the US, but also Britain, France, Spain, and RUSSIA, are — per Alex Jones Info Wars, Roger Stone, and likely President Trump — inside jobs. Wherefore B) since humans are not evil enough to do inside jobs, (nor organized enough to do so throughout the world for so long with such effective coverup), EXTRATERRESTRIALS are behind it all.
4) The Florida Bulldog, and Senator Graham, by limiting their pursuits/investigations to concrete, provable, mundane and earthly facts, largely acceptable to all, are able to gain widespread popular and media support — no doubt including possibly the majority of rank and file FBI employees, giving them the "power of the people" to protect their ABSOLUTELY BEYOND COURAGEOUS pursuits trying to stop the "endless war" terrorism syndrome.
Are we not, as Florida Bulldog readers, not INCREDIBLY LUCKY to be witnesses to The Florida Bulldog's, and Senator Graham's, HISTORIC STRUGGLE TO END TERRORISM AND PROTECT HUMANITY???
Jacksoon Rip Holmes?
Pingback: The Best Nonprofit Journalism of 2017 | Institute for Nonprofit News / December 22, 2017
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Though more than 100 countries have adopted gender quotas, the impacts of these reforms on women's political leadership remain largely unknown. We exploit a quasi-experiment – a zipper quota imposed by the Swedish Social Democratic national party on municipal party groups – to examine quotas' effect on women's selection and survival as leaders within their parties. We find that those municipalities where the quota had a larger impact became more likely to appoint female leaders, but not more likely to support the reelection of women to the post.
Extending this analysis, we show that the quota increased the number of qualified female candidates without increasing the diversity among women within the group. These results lend support to the notion that quotas may have an acceleration effect on women's representation in leadership posts and help dispel the myth that quotas trade short-term gains in women's descriptive representation for long-term exclusion from political power.


OpTic Gaming announced the addition of jungler Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett to the organization for the upcoming 2019 NA LCS season.
OpTic Gaming announced Dardoch as another jungler on its League of Legends roster for the 2019 NA LCS season. The moves comes as a perplexing one considering OpTic already announced William "Meteos" Hartman as its starting jungler for next year.
It remains to be see if Dardoch and Meteos will split time, but OpTic Gaming now has two junglers on its roster ahead of an important year for the organization. It bolstered its lineup by adding former world champion Lee "Crown" Min-ho in the mid lane on Nov. 25.