text:
China Is Making a Major Play for American Farms and Farmland
Posted on February 25, 2016 Authoradmin
Companies backed by the Chinese government are making Big Ag acquisitions in the U.S.
The American farmer is revered in our culture. He—the mythical American farmer is invariably a man—is in many ways a professional embodiment of values, such as individualism and hard work, that are considered part of the national identity. With their backbreaking work, farmers settled the growing West through the 1862 Homestead Act. It's not a stretch to say that farmers, riding the wave of manifest destiny, built the United States. Today, they continue to feed it.
But the days when anyone could pick up a pitchfork and become a farmer are long gone. Farmland can cost an average of $4,000 per acre in the United States, and most farms have roughly 1,100 acres. Some of the biggest crops, such as corn and alfalfa,aren't even grown to feed people. Thanks to globalization, food grown in the Midwest might end up feeding someone half a world away.
In an effort to cut out the middleman, foreign buyers are trying to circumvent the American farmer. Instead of buying food from farmers who work their own land, some foreign buyers want to own and operate these American farms themselves—as well as the livestock barns and slaughterhouses. Between the 2013 purchase of pork processor Smithfield by a Chinese holding company and ChemChina's pending $43 billion offer for the agrochemical company Syngenta, the world's most populous country is making a major play to buy the proverbial American farm—and U.S. politicians are lending a helping hand.
On Feb. 11, Nebraska's Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts signed L.B. 176 into law, reversing a 1999 law that prevented meatpackers from owning livestock for more than five days prior to slaughter. Pork processors like Smithfield, which owns a plant employing more than 2,000 in Crete, Nebraska, will soon be able to vertically integrate their operations. Instead of buying hogs from numerous independent farmers, farmers will contract with processors like Smithfield for the privilege of selling their pork.
It's a big concern for farmers who worry the pork industry will be swallowed up by contract farming, like the chicken industry. This is one area where pork producers don't want to be "the other white meat." Chicken "growers" are paid to raise the birds on their land as well as pay for expensive poultry houses, labor, and maintenance. But it's the major poultry companies who own the chickens—as well as the hatcheries, slaughterhouses, and feed.
That the Nebraska pork industry is poised for takeover by contract farming isn't that big of a deal in itself. Most other Midwestern states long ago repealed their own packer bans and have seen pork production climb as Nebraska's slipped. Nebraska was the last holdout. Though China can benefit from making the state an extension of its food supply, Nebraska legislators are courting China as an important trading partner too. As the executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association noted, the state has the competitive advantage of being the Midwest hog producer closest geographically not just to West Coast markets but to the Pacific Rim as well. But while playing with China could be an economic boon to some in the state, the benefits may not translate to individual farmers. It could also damage U.S. agriculture, food security, and the environment as well.
China is in dire need of both food and farms. While the country looks huge on a map, only 11 percent of Chinese land can be farmed. Add that to the huge population, and you have a recipe for food-security disaster. "Food security, the ability to ensure ample and affordable supplies of food for all, is a political headache for leaders in Beijing, who are all too aware that staying in power means keeping rice bowls filled," Keith Johnson wrote recently in Foreign Policy.
More than 40 percent of China's existing arable land has been degraded by pollution, acidification, and reduced fertility, China's official news agency, Xinhua, reported in 2014. Chinese researchers have estimated a need for a 30-percent increase in rice-harvest productivity to feed the population. China's Number One Central Document, an annual policy blueprint of sorts, has focused on agriculture, rural development, and farmers 13 times since 2000, according to Xinhua.
As a result, China is investing in the best agricultural technology and best farmland—regardless of where it lies—to keep its people fed. The United States, with six times more arable land per capita, is the perfect contract farmer.
"An acquisition like Syngenta by ChemChina really allows them [China] to have this major foothold in feed production as well," said Ted Genoways, author of The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food. "Suddenly you're looking at the Chinese government being one of the largest players in American agriculture."
The passage of L.B. 176 was not just a happenstance blessing for Smithfield. The company spent $46,222 lobbying Nebraska legislators in the first three quarters of 2015, according to Fortune. Reporter Leah Douglas wrote that in 2015, Smithfield gave more than $12,000 to 19 state senators who were voting on L.B. 176. All but one voted in favor of the bill.
Shaunghui, a private Chinese meat-processing company, purchased Smithfield for 30 percent over its market value. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who was on the committee that reviewed the deal, noted during the hearings, "I firmly believe that economic security is part of our national security and that it should be considered when our government reviews foreign investment into the United States." Stabenow called the Smithfield purchase "precedent-setting," as it was the largest purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm. Furthermore, it was the first acquisition of a major American food company by a Chinese business.
During the hearing, both lawmakers and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission presented concerns that the Chinese government was backing the deal. But Smithfield CEO Larry Pope offered assurances that there was no connection between Shaunghui and the Chinese government. The U.S. Treasury Department allowed the purchase to go forward. Yet, just a year later, the Center for Investigative Reporting discovered that the Chinese government did have a connection to Shaunghui. The Communist Party supported the Smithfield purchase with "preferential policy, as well as investment," Zhang Taixi, the government-appointed president of WH Group (the corporate name Shaunghui adopted in 2014), told CIR.
But the Syngenta deal is not Smithfield 2.0—not exactly. Syngenta is a Swiss company, and in many ways, the merger may not seem all that different from DuPont and Dow's recently announced coupling. "The big question around Syngenta and ChemChina is that ChemChina isn't just a Chinese company—it's a Chinese-government-owned company," said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union. This is not the merger of two companies but the second-most-powerful nation in the world seeking to put its might behind one corporation. Johnson added that it was unclear whether China could be expected to behave in an "economically predictable fashion." In other words, any effect a corporate monopoly might have on an industry could be multiplied to unforeseen levels should the Chinese government decide to interfere with the market—which it has a track record of doing.
Multinational companies that have collaborated with Chinese state-owned enterprises have found themselves in enviable business positions in the past, international strategy consultant Thomas Hout wrote in 2014 in the Harvard Business Review. For example, a U.S. corporation that partners with the government may be able "to develop products in China faster than it otherwise could have," and those businesses on the other side may find themselves similarly held back.
Based on past behavior, allowing the deal with Syngenta to go through raises the possibility that China could use its new acquisition to gain an unfair advantage over the global seed market, Johnson said. If more seed companies consolidate (or are pushed out of business), the consequences could be dire for the genetic diversity of seeds sold on the commercial market.
Past mergers between seed companies have allowed them to simplify their total catalog of offerings. Focusing on corn, soybeans, and cotton, the USDA's Economic Research Service found that new research and development stopped or slowed as the seed industry began to consolidate in the 1990s. "Those companies that survived seed industry consolidation appear to be sponsoring less research relative to the size of their individual markets than when more companies were involved," agricultural economists Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo and David Schimmelpfennig wrote in a 2004 USDA publication. They added, "Fewer companies developing crops and marketing seeds may translate into fewer varieties offered."
Consolidation of seed varieties is not a new trend. Throughout the history of agriculture, farmers have selected and saved seed varieties that were best adapted to their specific soil and climate conditions, resulting in thousands of variations of the same plant. But the largest seed companies prefer to sell a lot of just a few varieties of seeds to maximize profits. Over time, this one-size-fits-all approach to food has cut down on the types of commercially grown apples, oranges, and many other foods.
Some less popular varieties are lost for good, and seed varieties that were once perfectly adapted for a location may no longer exist. Those who are worried about seed diversity, especially in the face of climate change, worry that the shrinking choice of genetics could have disastrous consequences.
Johnson noted that mergers also reduce competition, causing the prices of seeds to rise. Consolidation was the highest during the 1990s and—after a brief slowdown—continued again into the late aughts, Philip Howard wrote in Sustainability in 2009. Between 2001 and 2010, according to the USDA, the price of genetically engineered corn and soybean seeds rose by 50 percent.
Another possibility is that the Chinese government could fast-track the approval of new genetic traits developed by Syngenta for use in China while allowing those from other countries and companies to languish, Johnson said. The Chinese market is, in some years, an important importer of corn—enough so that U.S. farmers take note of the type of corn China is buying. (In other years, its corn production is high enough that it has been the source of the second-largest corn exports.)
Those farmers who grow corn for the export market could find themselves shut out of the Chinese market unless they grow approved varieties of corn. If Syngenta owned the only approved corn for import to China, it would give the company an effective monopoly over any farmer who hoped to export to that market.
Though WB Group is technically an independent company, many members of its board of directors were appointed by the Chinese government. The company also received preferential treatment and financial backing when proceeding with the Smithfield deal. As a result, there are unanswered questions about just how much distance there is between a corporation like WB Group and the Chinese government. If China decided to grant preferential treatment to Smithfield imports, it would be a huge economic coup, as China is the world's largest consumer of pork. Thanks to L.B. 176, the WB Group–owned Smithfield could now take steps to own the entire production chain for pork production with the least geographic distance between U.S. pork production and the Chinese market.
There are those who dislike the intrusion of agribusiness into the U.S. food system and figure that any problems facing conventional farmers or agrichemical companies as a result are a win. But there are environmental and public health factors to consider as well.
One of the benefits to owning every aspect of production from feed through packaging is that "you can increase production essentially at will," said Genoways. That production will lead to more barns being built and, in turn, waste coming out of those barns. "You need more feed for those pigs, so you're raising more row crops and putting more of that waste onto the fields," he explained. "It becomes a feedback loop."
He pointed out that "this isn't theoretical," offering Iowa's pork industry as an example. In early 2006, Hormel sued the government, asserting that Iowa's packer ban—which, like Nebraska's law, prevented pork processors from owning pork themselves—violated the U.S. Constitution. The company successfully received an injunction preventing the state from enforcing the existing law, allowing Hormel to begin contract farming in Iowa.
Between 2007 and 2012, Iowa had the largest increase in hog and pig sales of any state in the country—a jump of $1.9 billion. The runner-up, Minnesota, saw increases of only $600 million during the same period.
Based on the events in Iowa, Genoways predicts Nebraska will soon experience increases in surface water pollution. The number of polluted Iowan waterways increased 15 percent between 2012 and 2014, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources. That's not all. Not only do the waste pits used to capture manure from large hog operations produce antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but new research is beginning to show that the pathogens can travel miles away.
Despite economic, environmental, and public health concerns, it looks like there is little political inclination to stop mergers like Syngenta's or Smithfield's from happening.
As Genoways said, "We haven't just allowed vertical integration to come in—we've handed over a vertically integrated system to a foreign government." All we can do now is wait and see what the consequences will be.
Unbanked Households under Fire from new Obama Administration Initiative
It's Too Late to Save Over 400 U.S. Cities From Rising Seas, Scientists Say
The Strange Case of the Enfield Horror
Is the Internet Making Us Less Religious?
Obama Commutes Non-Violent Drug Sentences To Reduce Mass Incarceration
Exploring American Monsters: Iowa
Property claims loom as issue in U.S.-Cuba normalization
READ The Only Way To Stop The Empire
Posted in CorporationsTagged China, farmland, American Farms, United States Secretary of the Treasury
A Brief History of Social Engineering and Psychological Warfare in the United States
Mind Control, Subliminal Messages and the Brainwashing of America


Does it float? Yes, but be reasonable.
The Henry AR-7 is a survival rifle, not a personal flotation device. While the original ArmaLite models had foamed-filled stocks of Cycolac, the latest Henry U.S. Survival Rifle uses a hollow stock made of a more modern and durable plastic. In either case, the stock cap is not designed to provide an indefinite waterproof seal, so the stocks' cavities eventually take on water, causing the gun to sink. How long will it stay afloat? With the rifle stored inside, the Henry lasted about two minutes—or six minutes with the gun assembled. Realistically, either amount would allow the survivor to recover the gun and get back to the critical task of securing meat for the pot.
Watch the video above by contributor Jeremiah Knupp, which supplements his American Rifleman feature story on the history of the AR-7 survival rifle.


DNV GL 2014 Annual Food Safety Symposium: "Taking a Broader View on Food Safety"
Food safety and quality professionals who are seeking additional information involving the food safety processes, Emerging Markets, HACCP, Supply Chain Management, Supplier Management, Sustainability, and standard owner guidelines as well as Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) updates.
FSSC 22000 will be represented by our US Liaison, Jacqueline Southee. Who will deliver a keynote on the FSSC Schema and Update.


Creating business proposals that contain valuable and personalized content requires people to work together to exchange ideas – to collaborate. Successful collaboration – interfacing productively with colleagues and customers – requires a cooperative spirit and mutual respect to achieve goals in an efficient and timely manner. Online workplace collaboration tools provide a secure, modern, and cost-effective way to make working as a team easier. Don't waste your clients' time by sending them business proposals that contain irrelevant or incorrect information. And don't waste your time by taking too long to personalize the content you send. Ensure that your documents have streamlined messaging through logic-based rules for including or excluding content during the creation process with Conga Collaborate. Build professional, uniform business proposals, make collaboration easy, impress your customers, and experience the huge efficiency gains that other Conga Collaborate customers are experiencing.
Nelbud Services Group, a growing company that specializes in exhaust cleaning, fire protection, and mechanical services, is an innovator within its industry, choosing modern ways to communicate with clients, employing a mobile workforce, and equipping outside sales representatives and service technicians with iPads or tablets to create business proposals, submit orders and get contracts signed anytime, anywhere. But Nelbud's method of assembling proposals wasn't always this innovative. Due to its inefficient system, the company occasionally presented inaccurate proposals to prospects, couldn't track when business proposals were actually opened and read, and sometimes even lost track of leads entirely. Additionally, Nelbud's process did not work in mobile situations at all. A sales rep would begin the process onsite with a customer, but would have to drive back to the office in order to type up their notes and prepare the proposal, which could take around 45 minutes to complete. Signed agreements would also have to be faxed or scanned back to the office. Enter Conga Collaborate. After deciding to move forward with the solution, Nelbud implemented Conga Collaborate in the morning and the company's sales reps started sending out branded business proposals using the solution that same afternoon. After three months of using Collaborate, the Nelbud sales team cut the proposal creation process down to just 15 minutes or less, a 69 percent decrease from previous document turnaround time. This huge savings in time allows sales representatives to focus on growing Nelbud's innovative brand by servicing more clients and closing more sales. Collaborate also provides increased visibility for sales leadership. At any time, sales leaders at Nelbud can check on the number and status of proposals sent to prospects from any of their global locations. Sales leadership and reps can stay informed through the visibility provided by Collaborate's tracking tool, with the knowledge that it is always working, even when teams are not.
Creation. With Conga Collaborate, you can empower sales reps to create personalized documents using pre-built templates, content from marketing/legal and data from key systems of record (CRM, CPQ, etc). Better yet, you can take advantage of the best of what the web offers by including videos, GIFs, dynamic forms and more.
Distribution. Share your interactive sales proposal with a professionally-branded and personalized email. When your prospect opens the proposal, you receive instant notification via text message so you can follow up at the appropriate time.
Automation. Save hours spent on menial tasks and manual data entry using Collaborate. Automate many of the business processes associated with managing sales proposals such as sending an email, creating a task, updating fields in your CRM or subscribing to key deal alerts. You can also house your signed proposals and agreements in Collaborate's secure, central repository.
Collaborate gives you the opportunity to use pre-built templates to create proposals from any CRM system in an online format to create polished content that is representative of your brand that prospects review in real time, on any device, anywhere. With Collaborate, sales process automation has never been simpler. Collaborate allows you to easily create, share, sign, store and track sales proposals on any device. To learn more about how you can deliver professionally-branded, interactive sales proposals that will help you stand out from the competition and close deals faster, get a demo of our solution today.


text:
patrick.net
Freedom to Offend
835,247 comments by 11,584 users Ceffer, E-man, Okigan and 17 lurkers online now
« prev random next »
Why we are so lucky to have Trump as President
follow Patrick
following x
2019 Feb 10, 11:49am 2,189 views 71 comments watch nsfw quote share
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/01/28/dennis_prager_i_was_wrong_donald_trump_is_a_great_president.html
"My opposition to Donald Trump was wrong," said Dennis Prager, describing Donald Trump as a "great president" whose political successes are connected to a disregard for the left-wing and partisan Democrat news media narratives.
Prager's comments came during Thursday's episode of his eponymous radio show. While Prager has said that Trump was his last choice during the Republican primaries, he supported him vigorously in the general election against Hillary Clinton.
"The only way to govern [while advancing] the principles of conservatism," said Prager, was to disregard left-wing and partisan Democrat agitation pushed across the news media landscape. Prager said:
I was wrong. My opposition to Donald Trump was wrong, in retrospect. I was wrong. I had friends who supported him, and I didn't understand them. I said, "Are you not aware of what he said about John McCain? Isn't that enough to disqualify the guy?" They perceived in him what I did not perceive in him, that these over-the-top statements – as objectionable as the statements themselves may be, and none of them defended the statements – nevertheless, what they perceived was accurate: a man who doesn't give a damn about what the press says about him. That is the only way to govern. It is the only way to advance the principles of conservatism in the United States is to not give a damn.
"[Donald Trump] is so much better a president than Mitt Romney would've made," said Prager, describing Romney as "tepid" and concerned with appealing to news media outlets such as The New York Times.
A president's actions are a more important metric of presidential success than a president's demeanor, said Prager:
Would I like Donald Trump to have Mitt Romney's temperament, or for that matter Barack Obama's temperament? Yeah. So what? I would like a whole host of things. People are packages. What a president does is more important to me than a president's demeanor. He is so much better a president than Mitt Romney would've made. Mitt Romney would've awakened every day to read The New York Times editorial page to see how he's covered. Mitt Romney gave us Romneycare in Massachusetts. I campaigned for Mitt Romney, he would've been a better president [than Barack Obama]. Any Republican is better than any Democrat, that's just the way it is. Having said that, Romney would've been a tepid president. Nothing comparably conservative compared to Donald Trump.
Concerns with a president's demeanor should be secondary to broader analyses of a president's impact, said Prager.
"He has turned out to be a great president with big communication flaws, in the way he tweets and some of the things he says and his temperament," said Prager. "My temperament is the opposite. I love dignity. I love understatement. Okay, so be it. So what? I'm not sure I'd be as good a president as he. How do you like that? That's how good he's been."
Comments 1 - 40 of 71 Next » Last »
1 willywonka ignore (3) 2019 Feb 10, 12:00pm ↑ like (3) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
I listen to Prager when driving around. Pretty sensible dude.
2 Patrick ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 12:05pm ↑ like (3) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
I never heard of Prager before.
But I think he's spot-on. Trump gets instantly rejected by a lot of people just because of his style, but he's actually accomplished a great deal and we are all safer and more prosperous because of Trump.
3 Booger ignore (3) 2019 Feb 10, 12:25pm ↑ like (4) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
4 marcus ignore (8) 2019 Feb 10, 12:28pm ↑ like (1) ↓ dislike (0) quote
5 marcus ignore (8) 2019 Feb 10, 12:37pm ↑ like (0) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
It is the only way to advance the principles of conservatism in the United States is to not give a damn.
Really ? Conservatism ?
6 Patrick ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 12:44pm ↑ like (10) ↓ dislike (1) quote flag
I don't care much about conservatism per se, but I do think traditional values became traditional exactly because they helped us survive into the next generation. Pretty much everything the current identity-politics left promotes is fatal to humanity in the long run: feminism, homosexuality, Islam, relentless division by race, promotion of grievance studies, open borders.
Trump's presidency is a massive win for freedom from an ever-more-oppressive thought police. It gives me hope that the left will not actually succeed in killing off humanity "for the sake of the planet".
7 Quigley ignore (0) 2019 Feb 10, 12:52pm ↑ like (13) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
This is what I've been saying about Trump. His personal style can be pretty abrasive, and his motives might be self-aggrandizing or shallow, but his ability and purpose is to do those things which cause the greatest benefit for the citizens of the USA. We haven't had a POTUS with that goal in my lifetime. He's the first, and he's been able to get a surprising amount done with a hostile government and media arrayed against him. His headwinds were incredible, but he keeps tacking back and forth and keeps making progress against the Leftist Storm.
8 Patrick ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 1:05pm ↑ like (5) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
9 HEYYOU ignore (27) 2019 Feb 10, 1:11pm ↑ like (0) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
Not very good trolling but it's funny.
10 Patrick ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 1:24pm ↑ like (2) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
No trolling intended. I mean it all.
11 CovfefeButDeadly ignore (5) 2019 Feb 10, 2:23pm ↑ like (2) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
This is very true. I still have no idea how the left continues to hang the Nazi/facist tag on President Trump. There is literally not one single thing that President Trump has advocated or enacted that indicate President Trump is a Nazi or Facist.
https://860amtheanswer.com/radioshow/171
Don't know what time though in SF.
He's on 9am-noon in LA.
I really think you'd also like Larry Elder.
13 curious2 ignore (0) 2019 Feb 10, 2:34pm ↑ like (0) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
I mean it all.
fatal to humanity in the long run: feminism, homosexuality, Islam, relentless division by race, promotion of grievance studies, open borders.
@Patrick, you've suddenly claimed 6 different things are "fatal to humanity in the long run." I'll grant you #3, Islam, is potentially fatal to humanity. In contrast, your new comment about 1&2 seems to contradict your prior "theory" about women and men and what they are "wired" to want: if all men are "wired" to want t&a, and all women are wired to want bearded alpha men, then how could feminism and homosexuality even exist, let alone prove "fatal to humanity in the long run?" Can you see that different people want different things, and that some sort of natural balance evolved? Similarly, regarding #6, national borders did not exist for most of human history, so it is difficult to see how open borders would suddenly prove "fatal to humanity." Are you perhaps asserting a Malthusian argument? As for #4 & #5, which are closely related, your prior comments that such divisions hinder cooperation and promote mistrust had evidence to support them, but how do you make the leap to your new conclusion?
You commented previously that you had rejected the core premise of Vatican doctrine, but you seem now to be advocating many of its conclusions with no foundation. (Some exceptions: the Vatican supports open borders and the Pope demands that Europeans must support the spread of Islam.) That comes from somewhere, and depends on maintaining a level of ignorance. I took a break from PatNet after your comment about wanting "traditional education," whatever that means. Did you mean Spartan education, for example? Sparta prospered for longer than all of American history. You might find Spartan traditions very interesting. Those would be facts, though. I can see that marcus prefers ignorance for emotional reasons, but I don't see why you seem now to want to create a "safe space" away from facts that you might not like or understand. If AF runs for POTUS on a platform of returning to Spartan traditional education, it would probably make border control unnecessary, especially in the context of cannibal anarchy. Otherwise I see people coughing up unfounded 'truthiness' from some pervasive institute of ignorance, which would be an unfortunate direction for PatNet.
14 HonkpilledMaster ignore (5) 2019 Feb 10, 2:43pm ↑ like (3) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
Traditional Education: What is The Good, The True, and the Beautiful? Learning how to think. Reading the time proven classics, by which I mean thousands of years, like Aristotle and Homer and Plato - yes, even under 17 as was true for the educated in most of the past. Phonics and Rote Memorization of basic math, rather than sight reading (which comes anyway) and Whole Math (Most under 8 years old don't have mathematical abstract reasoning, so it's pointless child torture). Shakespeare and the Bible, Basic Mechanics, etc. No Akabe Fufumo "How Whites Oppress us in the Congo 60 years after Independence". Actual building of windmills/turbines, bridges, etc.
Classic Education would definitely include Sappho and Ovid and Horace, which is nice and inclusive. Sappho was recognized as the greatest Poet by the Ancients.
That's how I see Classical Education.
As for Feminism, women want both Alpha and Beta Traits. However, with the Welfare State, Beta Traits (Building Shelter, Material Provision, Security) among men have been utterly devalued.
Since women can be supported via taxes on all, they don't appreciate or reward Beta Behaviors, which disincentivizes heterosexual males from building and maintaining production and society.
That's extremely bad for society.
I don't think Homosexuality is bad for society, they've always been with us, and even when it was naked and permitted, Humans flourished. Indeed some of the greatest men in Western Civ were Gay. Feminism combined with a Welfare State, however, is extremely dangerous.
@curious2 I don't want to argue with you. I wish you happiness and a long life and freedom to live how you want to.
I just don't think homosexuality is a good thing for humanity in the long run. It's just one more vice like many others.
MisterLearnToCode says
I would agree with all of that except Shakespeare and the Bible. I like Shakespeare, but this being America, I'd favor American authors who wrote in American English, including especially the founders; Ben Franklin should be read more widely than he is. Similarly, having read the entire KJV, it's mostly a snooze. Reading Numbers is like reading a phone book. Also, if a public school requires reading the bible, then it would need to set that in a context of multiple religious texts, e.g. Koran and Bhagavad Gita, so it would mean devoting more time to religion at the expense of other topics. I think it's better to promote a shared American heritage.
curious2 says
Agreed with most of this, what makes the Bible important is a Cipher for pre-modern art and literature. References and so forth. It would be less important than in previous eras, but still of utility. It's also inseparable from American Heritage (Puritans, Anti-Slavery, so-called Temperance)
Greco-Roman Mythology is equally important not just for the Ancient Writers/Artists, but once kids start getting into the Renaissance.
I don't want to argue with you.
It's difficult to reconcile that comment with your previous comment.
I just don't think homosexuality is a good thing for humanity in the long run.
That sentence contains two independent clauses. The first, about thinking, is consistent with your previous comment. As for the second, about homosexuality, consider the evidence: Sparta prospered mightily for longer than all of American history. The only way to maintain the combined sentence is to insist on the first clause, while ignoring the second.
Insisting on a falsehood, and wanting not to see it disproved, is the sort of trolling I would expect from marcus, not you.
It's also inseparable from American Heritage (Puritans, Anti-Slavery, so-called Temperance)
Those are good points. The founders had read Greco-Roman tradition, and the KJV, so it would make sense to combine those as part of understanding American heritage. Likewise they are part of western art and literature, including the Renaissance. So, it wouldn't be about telling people to believe in Zeus and Mars or Jehovah and the saints, it would be about providing a grounding to understand the political and artistic heritage of western culture.
Exactly. There are wayyy too many competing theologies to teach the Bible as Religion, but as Literature and Quasi-History - the same as the battle of Troy which was based on a real place and possibly actual war but was distorted over time/for storytelling purposes. Same with the Bible which does the same with Real Events.
22 marcus ignore (8) 2019 Feb 10, 3:44pm ↑ like (0) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
I don't care much about conservatism per se, but I do think traditional values became traditional exactly because they helped us survive into the next generation
I'm relatively conservative which is why TRump and TRumpism is repugnant to me. Todays right wing is not conservative.
MAGA should mean these things. IT doesn't not even close.
the current identity-politics left promotes is fatal to humanity in the long run: feminism, homosexuality, Islam, relentless division by race, promotion of grievance studies, open borders.
None of that fits me all that much. I hate identity politics, including the racist identity politics that captured such a significant fraction of the Trump voters.. I'm somewhat on the same page as you regarding homosexuality being a bad choice, the times that it is a choice, but it often isn't a choice.At the same time I also believe in freedom and tolerance. I don't care for the SJW far left, but they are going to probably be needed in the future, more than the right wing nuts that worry too much about their guns being taken away, or about estate taxes and taxes on billionaires being too high.
The biggest thing you got is right wing scotus picks and lower taxes on the rich and corporations.
THe massive decrease in world standing, royally messed up institutions, extreme political polarization (far more than with Obama), and racial tensions, were all just icing on the cake for the Trumpeters.
The first two comments below are false, but the last two reveal the truth:
marcus says
I'm relatively conservative which is why TRump and TRumpism is [sic] repugnant to me.
I'm a liberal.
I'm trolling the Trump defenders....
Can't you let me troll them for a minute ?
Thus, in the final comments, we see the motivation: trolls just want to keep on trolling. It generates attention, in the form of page views. It can sometimes be funny, but other times the lack of self-awareness or memory results in obvious contradictions.
Great Conversation:
Adler sponsored the next two volumes, "The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon", as a way of emphasizing the unity of the set and, by extension, of Western thought in general. A team of indexers spent months compiling references to such topics as "Man's freedom in relation to the will of God" (Predestination vs. Free Grace; Nature vs. Nurture) and "The denial of void or vacuum in favor of a plenum" ("There is no Nothing")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World
For those who don't think a classical education in K-12 is useful:
Similarly, in China, the fulcrum of a classical education was the study and understanding of a core canon, the Four Books and Five Classics.
In Taiwan, Classical Chinese takes up 35% of Chinese education in junior high school (7-9th grade, compulsory), and 65% in senior high school (10-12th grade).
Taiwanese students are significantly better in Science and Math than American Students.
The Greatest Defender of the Western Tradition in the 20th Century, a Secular Jew who very late converted to Catholicism:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_J._Adler
Through the Vehicle of Encyclopaedia Brittanica:
26 WineHorror1 ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 5:20pm ↑ like (0) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
Trump is not good on the 2nd and 4th amendments.
He is a big proponent of civil asset forfeiture and he said "Take the guns first then go to court"
28 Tenpoundbass ignore (15) 2019 Feb 10, 5:23pm ↑ like (2) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
If a Red Hat defends you. Then there are thousands of Parents out there that needs to defend their Children from you.
Care to post anymore figments of your imagination?
I swear its hilarious how much the left projects.
If this red hat triggers you. Then you are the danger to society. Society owes you nothing but our safety from you. The unhinged Lunatics.
31 clambo ignore (4) 2019 Feb 10, 6:13pm ↑ like (2) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
Trump is a good president, and he is as "insensitive and crude" as the idiots who attack him. Trump is only fighting fire with fire.
We can't have a guy like Romney in there because Romney would not fight back when Harry Reid lied about him not paying tax. We don't want a punching bag as a leader.
We can't have a guy like George Bush for this reason and others; he didn't recognize the value of money. Why in the fuck did the USA spend so much money in Iraq, including an embassy for a gazillion bucks?
I liked Reagan's style and demeanor but the press and the Democrats were not all foaming at the mouth then, and Carter didn't sic the spies on to him before the election.
Trump's "crude" demeanor is a direct reaction to the abuse of the FISA wiretap warrants set up to fight foreign terrorists; Obama and others abused the system to stop Trump.
If Donald Trump were half as mean as he is supposed to be, he would begin to have Hillary, Comey, McCabe, Brennan and their ilk investigated then prosecuted. Maybe someday he will.
Nobody who has a job can argue against limiting foreign workers coming into the USA illegally.
32 TrumpingTits ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 6:18pm ↑ like (1) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
CovfefeButDeadly says
99% of Libtards engage in psychological projection, I swear.
You can swear whatever you want to. But there are literally many tens of millions of literate, intelligent, politically moderate, and objective observers of reality, that see it more or less this way. And yes, another 10 million or whatever on the far left that see it this way too.
34 HeadSet ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 6:25pm ↑ like (0) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
Every item on this list has been accomplished. The problem is the overshoot. For example, "Asylum for Refugees" does not mean unfettered illegal immigration where caravans of people fleeing poverty should be let in.
>marcus says
HeadSet says
"Asylum for Refugees" does not mean unfettered illegal immigration....
It also did not mean Islamic migration. In 1956, the small number of refugees arriving here were mostly fleeing communism and were deeply pro-American. In 2016, the much larger number of "refugees" were Muslims bombed out of their home countries by Hillary's War, which she extended into Syria, and they were committed to Islam, which hates us. She campaigned on spreading Islam at American expense, on behalf of her Saudi and corporate clients. President Trump campaigned on pausing Muslim immigration; once inaugurated, he reduced Muslim "refugees" by more than 90%, and total Muslim immigration by a quarter, and he would have done even better if he had more cooperation. The left betrayed liberalism and embraced Islam. Some "elite" DC menshaviks colluded with KSA to make that seem the 'responsible' policy, but it was was only responsible from KSA's POV. To understand any policy, you must look at it in context: Hillary's War drove Muslims into Europe, and Hillary's campaign promised to bring more to the USA; that combination was not a coincidence, and was not in the interests of the USA.
There was much discussion of "refugee" terrorists. Many on the left denied the existence of such terrorists, despite multiple examples including convictions and fatalities. By denying the existence of "refugee" terrorists, leftists avoided seeing a fact that would have made them feel uncomfortable: literally every "refugee" terrorist was Muslim. 100%, every time, no exceptions ever in the whole history of America's many refugee programs. Leftists did not want to see that fact, and so chose to ignore it by denying the obvious.
I thought Alex Jones wasn't on anymore. Does he still have his program on a website or something ?
39 d6rB ignore (1) 2019 Feb 10, 7:43pm ↑ like (2) ↓ dislike (0) quote flag
I think homosexuality is completely irrelevant to humans in long run. It was fine in Ancient Greece, and they in many ways formed the basis of our civilization.
It wasn't the same thing at all in Greece. Mostly pederasty, not that I'm a fan of that either:
The most widespread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece was between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys, known as pederasty.
And it was generally not exclusive. That is, even men who liked to fuck boys were not exclusively homosexual in ancient Greece. They generally got married and had kids.
The idea that homosexuality is somehow innate and exclusive is a modern invention.
about best comments contact one year ago suggestions
top bottom home

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Spring is in full swing and we are so busy! The month is almost over but wanted to let you know about some upcoming events this month and some other news to put on your calendar!
The Annual Spring Dance & Concert for the Mannerchor is this Saturday April 22nd, at the German Cultural Hall at 3652 Jefferson. The doors open at 6:00pm and a $10 donation is asked for. Food is available for purchase.
The St. Louis German Cultural Society's Annual Wurstmarkt is this Sunday, April 23rd from Noon-3pm at the German Cultural Hall at 3652 Jefferson.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW! Missouri Germans Consortium and the St. Charles County German Heritage Club will be hosting a BUS TOUR once again, to Missouri's German Heritage in St. Charles County. The date will be Sunday, September 17th and more details will be out in the May News!


text:
Ostrogrúnska kotlina je geomorfologickou částí Nízkého Vtáčnika. Leží v její západní části, přibližně 8 km severně od města Žarnovica v Žarnovickém okrese.

Polohopis
Kotlina se nachází v centrální části pohoří Vtáčnik, v západní polovině jeho podcelku Nízký Vtáčnik. Leží v okolí obcí Ostrý Grúň a Kľak, na obou březích říčky Kľak. Ostrogrúnska kotlina sousedí na západě s geomorfologickou částí Vígľaš, východním směrem pokračuje podcelek Nízký Vtáčnik a jižně navazuje Župkovská vrchovina, coby část podcelku Župkovská brázda.

Ze severu na jihovýchod protéká územím kotliny říčka Kľak, která zde přibírá několik menších vodních toků, mezi nimi Vicianov, Mackov a Megov potok. Údolím Kľaku vede i jediná přístupová komunikace do kotliny, silnice III/2523, odbočující u Župkova ze silnice II/512 (Žarnovica - Oslany).

Chráněná území
Celé území Ostrogrúnské kotliny patří do Chráněné krajinné oblasti Ponitrie. Zvláště chráněnou je přírodní památka Ostrovica, zabírající část skalnatých masivů stejnojmenného vrchu, ležícího na západním okraji území, nad obcí Kľak. Kotlinu obepíná věnec hor a přímo v její blízkosti jsou na západě ještě Klenový vrch (766 m n. m.), Trvalcov báň (685 m n. m.), na jihu ležící Ostrý grúň (584 m n. m.) a na východě Jasenov vrch (583 m n. m.), Hlavatá (703 m n. m.) a Glesggove tále.

Turismus
Tato část Vtáčnika je specifickou lokalitou, za což vděčí své minulosti. Během SNP byla místem jednoho z nejbrutálnějších masakrů civilního obyvatelstva na území Slovenska, který provedla nacistická jednotka Edelweiss. Tragickou událost dnes připomínají památníky, věnované zavražděným v obou obcích a pamětní místnost SNP v Kľaku. V blízkosti obou obcí jsou lyžařské vleky a u Ostrého Grúně i ranč.

Obce slouží jako východisko pro turistické výstupy na hřeben pohoří Vtáčnik:

 po  žluté značce z obce Ostrý Grúň Klenovou dolinou na Rúbaný vrch (1097 m n. m. Napojení na  červeně značenou Ponitranskou magistrálu
 po  zelené trase z Kľaku Partizánskou dolinou na vrch Vtáčnik (1346 m n. m). Napojení na  červeně značenou Ponitranskou magistrálu.

Reference

Související články
 Nízký Vtáčnik
 Seznam kotlin na Slovensku
 Geomorfologické členění Slovenska
 Masakr v Kľakovskej doline

Kotliny na Slovensku
Vtáčnik
Údržba:Články s nekontrolovanými překlady

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Items From your Valentine.
From your Valentine.
International Art Publishing Co.
Original Scan
International Art Publishing Co. (Publisher)
Shelf locator: PC POC - Valentine
Hearts (Symbols)
Extent: 1 postcard : col., embossed ; 14 x 8.9 cm.
Barcode: 33333201009350
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 7f07b6f0-c5c4-012f-1345-58d385a7bc34
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "From your Valentine." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-649f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. "From your Valentine." New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-649f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. From your Valentine. Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-649f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99
<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-649f-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 | title= (still image) From your Valentine.|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=January 16, 2021 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>


We have selected the best purim parties in Tel aviv for you.
Purim starts on March 23 and ends on the 24 but there will be plenty of parties the weeks before and after!
Dress up and party on!
► Private Rooftop Purim Party.
From 23 to 26, 3 days of party at Kuli Alma!
New hot spot! Tickets cost 120 Nis with Open Bar and live music! Don't miss out!
Starts at 12.00, Monochrome party will be one of the best parties for purim! Amazing crowd and best DJs playing.
Starting the 24 at 23:30 and finishes the 26 at 13:00, 2 Days of madness at The Block Tel Aviv.
► Aria Purim Circoloco Rave at Aria Tripping.
Starts at 22:00, Costume is a must!!! 50 Shekel ENTRANCE. DJs all night long. Unlimited Alcohol.
Start at 08:00 in the morning. Sick DJ line up all day , Djs from NYC and Berlin , Full day of party!


text:
Tag: Robyn Carr
Virgin River Cast
On 18/09/2019 18/09/2019 By Sonya HeaneyIn Books, Romance, Women's FictionLeave a comment
Here are Mel and Jack from the TV adaptation of Robyn Carr's Virgin River series! The premiere is in November.
Having read these books for years and years, I'd say Mel is pretty spot on (I hope I like her, because I actually hate book Mel!). Jack is all wrong for the image in my head, but I think he'll be great for newbies to the series.
The Week: 8th – 14th October
On 14/10/2018 13/10/2018 By Sonya HeaneyIn Australia, Books, Canberra, The WeekLeave a comment
Sunny spring days in Canberra.
This week started out gorgeous, had some weird weather in the middle, and involved a trip to the city to pick up my passport for my next trip!
Plus, there was a gorgeous (and very sweet) royal wedding to watch on Friday night (our time). I'm not into the royals usually, but this one…
How is October already half over? It's nearly time to start thinking about Christmas!
Most of my posts this week were about sexual assault, and how the topic is handled (or dismissed in some quarters) in romance publishing. I'm utterly disgusted by recent events in the United States, and by how these things have an effect on women the world over.
Romance authors, misogyny, and conservative conversations about men.
Russian Orthodoxy – GONE!
Books to Counter Kavanaugh – Easy by Tammara Webber
Books to Counter Kavanaugh – Breaking the Silence by Katie Allen
Books to Counter Kavanaugh – the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
Books to Counter Kavanaugh – Breakable by Tammara Webber
Books to Counter Kavanaugh – Whispering Rock by Robyn Carr
On 13/10/2018 09/10/2018 By Sonya HeaneyIn Books, Romance, Women's Fiction1 Comment
No, I'm not American, but the sexual harassment scandal surrounding Brett Kavanaugh – and the subsequent misogynistic victim-blaming movement emerging out of it – is reverberating around the world.
So, I've moved all my scheduled posts for the week, and instead will be recommending some books that deal with the reality of what women are up against when it comes to sexual harassment and assault.
Whispering Rock by Robyn Carr
A decorated U.S. Marine reservist, LAPD officer Mike Valenzuela was badly wounded in the line of duty, but has found hope and healing in Virgin River. When he agrees to become the town's first cop, he does so knowing it's time he settled down. Twice divorced and the lover of too many women, he secretly longs for the kind of commitment and happiness his marine buddies have found—a woman who can tie up his heart forever.
He finds that woman in Brie Sheridan, a Sacramento prosecutor who understands his drive to protect and serve. Virgin River becomes a safe haven for Brie after nearly losing her life at the hands of a crazed criminal. Though tough and courageous, she's got some fears she can't escape—but now she has someone who will show her just what it means to trust again. Mike will do anything to help Brie free herself from painful memories. Passionate, strong and gentle, he vows to give back to her what she's so selflessly given him—her heart, and with it, a new beginning.
The Week: 1st – 7th October
On 07/10/2018 07/10/2018 By Sonya HeaneyIn Australia, Books, Canberra, Romance, The Week, Travel, Women's FictionLeave a comment
^^ The Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes flying over Old and New Parliament Houses in Canberra on Saturday afternoon (I took the picture from the car, so it's not perfect!). New Parliament House turned thirty this year, and the celebrations were held this weekend.
What a week. For me it began in Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula, trying to stay awake through a 9.5 hour layover in Doha (note to self: flights from Manchester to Canberra have no good connection times!).
I arrived home on Tuesday morning, after two days of travelling, to the most gorgeous day. However, it was a real shock to see just HOW dry it is in Canberra. There was dead, yellow grass before; now it's basically just dirt. It's a huge contrast to green, green Ireland, and northern England, where there was a drought this summer, but nothing like this.
I didn't get a chance for jetlag because it's spring here, our local birds have had babies, and the desperate, overworked mother magpie has figured out which one is my bedroom window, and knocks on it with her beak at dawn until I get out of bed and give her some food for her kids!
Our recently deposed Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had his penthouse by the lake up for sale this weekend. We actually parked outside the entrance to the building when we went out for lunch, and it was SO tempting to go in and have a look at it!
Yay for daylight saving beginning, and boo to all the countries losing their minds and getting rid of it. How could you possibly hate having an extra hour of daylight in the evening in summer??
My week finished with my passport sitting at the Chinese embassy, waiting for a visa – it's not long before I'm off again.
Virgin River on Netflix
Yet Another Netflix Adaptation
More Trademark Issues
Harlequin Manga
On 02/10/2018 02/10/2018 By Sonya HeaneyIn Books, Romance, Women's Fiction2 Comments
Continuing Netflix's obsession with raiding the romance genre for ideas for productions, now Robyn Carr's super-popular Virgin River series is being adapted for the screen.
Set in small town America, in Humboldt County, California, the book series follows a large cast of couples and side characters – but then I guess most people reading this post have heard of it! It looks like the initial run might just be for the first book.
Will I watch this show? Maybe… I don't usually enjoy seeing characters I'm this familiar with (nor locations I've had in my mind for years) being presented in a way I don't recognise.
Book Feature: The Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr
On 11/09/2018 11/09/2018 By Sonya HeaneyIn Books, Women's FictionLeave a comment
Note: I am featuring some of the review books I've had for a while, but run out of time to review. That's not to say I'm not going to read them; it's just that I've fallen behind, and think the authors deserve an appearance here!
The Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr
Mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins–they lived for summers at the lake house until a tragic accident changed everything. The Summer That Made Us is an unforgettable story about a family learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each other again.
That was then… For the Hempsteads, two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, summers were idyllic. The women would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything.
This is now… After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at best to hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth.
Robyn Carr has crafted a beautifully woven story about the complexities of family dynamics and the value of strong female relationships.
On 30/11/2017 02/07/2017 By Sonya HeaneyIn Books, History, Romance, Women's Fiction1 Comment
As well as being "put up the Christmas tree" day, tomorrow is also the start of summer here. A few reads for the season:
Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1) by Lisa Kleypas
Willow Springs (Destiny Series #5) by Toni Blake
The Summer Bride (Chance Sisters #4) by Anne Gracie
A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr
Whisper Falls (Destiny Series #3) by Toni Blake
Melbourne Cup Day
On 07/11/2017 07/11/2017 By Sonya HeaneyIn Australia, Books, History, Nonfiction, Romance, Sport1 Comment
Today is Melbourne Cup day in Australia (one of the world's most prestigious horse races). I have zero interest in the race, and couldn't name a single horse, so instead here are a few horse-themed books I would recommend:
Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13) by Robyn Carr
Promises by Cathryn Hein
Heartland by Cathryn Hein
There is also Life as I know it by Michelle Payne – the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup (in 2015), if you DO have an interest in the race. However, her reputation has been a little tainted as she recently failed a drug test…
Robyn Carr's The Summer That Made Us is due out now. I have an ARC, and will be posting a review when I return from Spain.
For the Hempsteads, summers were idyllic. Two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, the women would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything.
After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at best, hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth.
The Week: 29th May – 4th June
On 04/06/2017 04/06/2017 By Sonya HeaneyIn Australia, Bad Book Covers, Books, Canberra, General Stuff, History, Romance, The Week, UkraineLeave a comment
Driving past Australian Parliament on Saturday afternoon (taken from the back seat of the car). Canberra's winter has a lot of sunshine!
First day of winter in Canberra.
A colourful last day of autumn on Wednesday.
Above is our neighbour's ancient, blind, deaf cat this week. For some reason she has just now (at nearly nineteen years of age – in her nineties as a human) decided to move into our house. The problem is, her blindness means she often misses our back door and instead sits there and stares at the brick wall! We had to put a mat out for her because she sits there for hours…
In five days I went from frightening her at every turn, to patting her for the first time, to – on Friday – having her walk into the house, climb on top of me, and settle in for the evening. I felt a bit triumphant to gain the trust of such an unlikely cat.
We began winter with some gorgeous weather, but I'm terrified it's already June!
So much – not all of it good, some of it hilarious – happened this week.
UPDATE: Yet another terror attack in Britain. 😦 😦
Yesterday Russia deployed 60 000 MORE troops to Crimea. Something else for everyone to ignore. People talk about how bad it was people ignored Hitler, but when Hitler started wars, the world started reacting. Putin has been invading countries for a decade now.
My cousin's house burnt down – I kid you not. It made the news, and because it's in the country and he was in Sydney it makes it all so much more difficult to deal with.
The ridiculous thing is that he was renting it out, and the renters basically blew it up by putting embers in a bin near the gas and electricity. However, there aren't many laws protecting landlords from their tenants' idiotic behaviour, so this is going to be costly for the innocent party in this mess.
Olivia Newton-John announced she has cancer again. My mother did costume work for one of her tours a few years ago, and apparently she is one of the most genuine, normal, nice celebrities behind the scenes.
covfefe!
Winter Reads
Thought for the end of the week.
My review of When to Engage an Earl (Spinster House #3) by Sally MacKenzie
My review of The Cornish Escape by Lily Graham
My review of What We Find (Sullivan's Crossing #1) by Robyn Carr
Nice Hat!


text:
This page describes the qualification procedure for EuroBasket Women 2009.

Qualification format
The Qualifying Round was held from August 13 to September 13, 2008.

The top 2 teams in each group and the best team in 3rd place qualified to EuroBasket Women 2009.

The best 6 of the remaining teams will go to the Additional Qualifying Round, from which 2 additional teams will qualify to EuroBasket Women 2009.

The last 4 teams will play in the Relegation Round, from which 2 teams will relegate to Division B in 2010–2011.

The Additional Qualifying Round and the Relegation Round will be held from January 4 to January 19, 2009.

Qualifying round
The draw for the Qualifying Round was held on February 16, 2008. The remaining 19 teams in Division A were divided into 3 groups of 5 teams and one group of 4 teams.
Group A: , , , ,
Group B: , , , ,
Group C: , , , ,
Group D: , , ,
(teams in bold qualified to EuroBasket Women 2009)

 Qualified for EuroBasket Women 2009
 Go to Additional Qualifying Round
 Go to Relegation Round

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Additional Qualifying Round

Group A

Group B

External links
 Eurobasket qualification at FIBA-Europe.com

EuroBasket Women qualification
EuroBasket Women 2009
2008–09 in European women's basketball


A little over six weeks ago I was on the phone with Jes Baker. She has been doing some incredible graphic design work for me in exchange for distance Reiki treatments and she had a question we needed to ask my friend Bridget about. Bridget is a strategic coach and has been helping me get a handle on pursuing my goals for Fat Kid Dance Party Aerobics and building my dream company.
Bridget patched the three of us into a conference call and I had an epiphany. Listening to these brilliant women talk about creating a Fat Kid Dance Party style guide I realized that I was no longer just teaching an aerobics class. I was now, for real, running a start-up.


text:
Friedrich Wilhelm Nottebohm (* 10. April 1808 in Wattenscheid; † 18. Oktober 1875 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Architekt, Ingenieur und Gewerbepolitiker.

Leben
Friedrich Wilhelm Nottebohm war der Sohn des Mechanikers George Wilhelm Nottebohm (1778–1852). Er besuchte bis 1821 die Elementarschule in Wattenscheid und machte eine Ausbildung in der Werkstatt seines Vaters. 1821 ging er an die Höhere Bürgerschule in Bochum und begann 1823 als Baueleve beim Bochumer Wegebaumeister Wilhelm Dieckhof. Ab 1829 machte er eine Feldmesserlehre und legte 1834 das Examen ab. Es folgte ein Studium an der Allgemeinen Bauschule in Berlin, das er mit dem Vorexamen zum Land- und Wegebaumeister abschloss. Anschließend besuchte er das Berliner Gewerbeinstitut, wo er Schüler von Peter Beuth war. 1837 reiste im Auftrag Beuths durch die Rheinprovinz und Westfalen, um Fabrik- und Hüttenanlagen sowie die Dampfmaschinentechnik zu studieren. 1840 bestand er die Prüfung zum Land- und Wasserbauinspektor mit Auszeichnung. Er spezialisierte sich im Eisenbahnwesen, der Telegraphie und der Gewerbepolitik und unternahm Reisen in die preußischen Westprovinzen, nach England und nach Frankreich. 1842 wurde er Assessor bei der Deputation für das Gewerbe und Mitglied der Direktion der Berlin-Anhaltischen Eisenbahn. 1848 erhielt er seine erste etatmäßige Anstellung als Regierungs- und Baurat bei der preußischen Eisenbahn. 1849 wurde er technisches Mitglied der Königlichen Telegraphendirektion -wo gleichzeitig Werner von Siemens wirkte- und von 1850 bis 1856 deren Vorsteher. In dieser Funktion baute er das erste leistungsfähige ober- und unterirdische Telegraphennetz und führte den Morsetelegraphen in Preußen ein. Maßgeblichen Anteil hatte er an der Gründung des deutsch-österreichischen Telegraphen-Vereins, dem ersten wirksamen Schritt zur Internationalisierung des Telegraphenverkehrs.

Persönliche Rivalitäten Nottebohms zu Werner von Siemens führten zu einem Boykott der Firma Siemens und Halske durch die preußische Telegraphenverwaltung, worauf das Unternehmen schließlich in einem Schreiben vom 15. November 1856 an das preußische Handelsministerium die Entfernung Nottebohms aus seiner Position beantragte.

1856 wechselte er mit der Ernennung zum Geheimen Oberbaurat und Vortragenden Rat in das Ministerium für Handel, Gewerbe und Bauwesen und war gleichzeitig von 1856 bis 1867 Direktor des Gewerbeinstituts (ab 1866 Gewerbeakademie). Ab 1868 war er Leiter des gewerblichen Unterrichtswesens im Handelsministerium.

Werke
 Sammlung von Zeichnungen einiger ausgeführten Dampfkessel und Dampfmaschinen nebst Beschreibung derselben, J. Petsch, Berlin, 1841  Google-Book
 Chronik der Königlichen Gewerbe-Akademie zu Berlin, Festschrift zur Feier des fünfzigjährigen Bestehens der Anstalt, R. v. Decker, Berlin, 1871 Google-Book

Literatur

 Zabel, Hans-Henning: Nottebohm, Friedrich in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 19 (1999), S. 364 f. Online-Version
 Conrad Wandrey: Werner Siemens. Geschichte seines Lebens und Wirkens. Erster Band, Langen, München 1942.

Architekt (Deutschland)
Ingenieur
Deutscher
Geheimer Oberbaurat
Geboren 1808
Gestorben 1875
Mann


text:
Third Game Studio Acquired by Netflix
By William Sheldon on March 25, 2022
Another indie game studio has been acquired by Netflix: Boss Fight Entertainment, a Texas-based mobile game company, has been bought by the streamer. The deal's financial specifics were not disclosed. Former Zynga Dallas and Ensemble Studios employees launched Boss Fight in 2013. CEO David Rippy, CCO Bill Jackson, and COO Scott Winsett lead the company.
In announcing the deal, Netflix VP of game studios, Amir Rahimi, said, "This studio's extensive expertise producing popular games across genres will help speed our ability to give members with amazing games wherever they want to play them." Night School Studio, best known for its supernatural mystery adventure title "Oxenfree," and Next Games, a mobile games developer based in Finland, whose titles include story-driven puzzle game "Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales" and two based on hit zombie series "The Walking Dead," are among Netflix other game studio acquisitions.
Boss Fight will maintain its present studio locations in Allen, Texas (near Dallas), Austin, and Seattle. This will also allow to "tap into excellent creative talent outside of California," according to Rahimi. Dungeon Boss (shown above), a mobile role-playing game in which players struggle "to be the Boss," is the only game mentioned on Boss Fight's website. Netflix has released 16 games in its app for iOS and Android so far, two of which are tied to "Stranger Things."
The firm will release "Into the Dead 2: Unleashed" later this month, its first first-person shooter, which places players in the thick of a zombie apocalypse. Netflix believes that the games, which are available at no additional cost, will add value to its core streaming-video business and help it recruit and maintain users in a crowded industry.
Published in News and Technology
core streaming-video business
present studio locations
Puzzle Tales
More from TechnologyMore posts in Technology »
Google Updates Google Messages
Apple Introduces Periocular Biometrics Mask Detection for Face ID
Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro Have Huge 50 Megapixel Cameras
Facebook's Professional Mode Lets Creators Monetize their Profile Page
AMD Outsells Intel in Both Units Sold and Revenue


We'll protect what we fall in love with, that's the premise behind this video on the stunning beauty of pollination.
And from anthropomorphizing endangered species to fostering a visceral, emotional response to mountaintop removal, we've seen plenty of ways that activists are harnessing that principle.
But this isn't just about encouraging love or making us feel all gooey about the earth. As anyone who has ever loved and lost knows, the almost inevitable flip-side of love is grief. Until we start to truly grieve for the devastating losses we see all around us, I find it hard to imagine how we'll create the kind of cultural shifts we need.
We are in the midst of an unparalleled mass extinction of species that directly correlates with ongoing cultural assimilation and genocide. Awareness of this great dying is on the rise, yet even those of us well aware now for decades have yet to fully grieve and accept our losses.
We have been protecting our hearts from the greatest loss we have ever known and, in doing so, we keep enacting the same behavior that brought on the loss. The perpetuation of a known harm is called madness. Madness protects us from heartbreak by keeping us invulnerable to love. Madness is basically fear. Love is feeling. Love is sorrow, anger, and joy.
Extinction Witness' inaugural project, Virgin, is highlighting the role of "big trees and whole women in the interest of restoring both to Earth." Through two short films, Wildfire: A Love Story (posted below), and Virgin: Passionate Women Restoring Forests, Megan intends to both engage people more directly with the process of grieving, and also channel that grief into specific actions. Wildfire: A Love Story is being used to drum up support for a memorial grove at Calaveras Big Trees State Park in California. Meanwhile Virgin, which looks set to be released later this year, is drumming up support for TreeSisters, a global network of female activists who are aiming to reforest the tropics in the next ten years.
I confess as a pragmatist and atheist, I've always found myself gravitating to the rational, utilitarian arguments around environmentalism. Pollution from fossil fuels is economically ruinous in the long term. The oil industry is destroying our health. The rapid growth of renewables is an economic opportunity almost beyond compare.
Yet I am painfully aware that we are emotional creatures. And we form emotional relationships not just with each other, but with the world around us. (We even form emotional connections to our bloody iPhones!) So it's incumbent upon all of us who give a damn about sustainability to get to grips with what this crisis we are facing really means - and that means opening ourselves up to a whole world of hurt.
Wildfire a love story from Megan Hollingsworth on Vimeo.
We protect what we love. And when we love something, it hurts like hell to lose it.