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EastEnders and I May Destroy You help spark record use of BBC Action Line
Sherna Noah, PA Senior Entertainment Correspondent
EastEnders and I May Destroy You helped spark record use of the BBC's Action Line.
The line contains supporting information for viewers and listeners affected by issues addressed in BBC programmes.
It received over one million visits online and on the phone this year.
The figure is an increase of 21,000 from last year.
EastEnders (Andrew Stuart)
EastEnders: Secrets from the Square, where the cast discussed storylines relating to bereavement, domestic abuse and child sexual abuse, generated 14,313 visits to the support page
Watch: EastEnders Soap Scoop! Martin and Ruby's dramas continue
Michaela Coel's hit drama I May Destroy You prompted 24,031 visits.
Nick Mason, head of BBC's audience services, said: "This has been an exceptionally tough year for many people – and one in which the BBC's role as a public service broadcaster has been more important than ever.
"The rise in visits to our support pages shows just how important our Action Line service is".
The Mental Health Action line received 121,161 online visits and calls in 2020, which the BBC said was a 45.8% increase from last year.
Watch: Ross Kemp reveals emotional final conversation with Barbara Windsor
Emirates chief blasts 'delinquent and utterly irresponsible' Biden admin over 5G rollout
Emirates suspended flights to nine US destinations on Wednesday
Crocodile found under classroom becomes local celebrity
'Just pack it in': Brother of British hostage-taker pleads with him to surrender
Fire alarm rules will not be delayed again – minister
All homes will be required to have linked alarms from February 1.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers file for a re-trial
Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell have filed a motion for a re-trial, just weeks after she was found guilty of recruiting underage girls to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein. The court had heard her described as "dangerous" and Epstein's "partner in crime" before she was found guilty of five out of six counts she faced. It is not clear whether this forms the basis for Maxwell's lawyers seeking a new trial, but they have previously claimed the revelation warrants this.
Wednesday evening UK news briefing: Boris Johnson told 'in the name of God, go!' by David Davis
Inflation soars | Surging food bills helped drive inflation to its highest rate since the early 1990s, in a major blow for Boris Johnson as he battles to save his premiership. The annual rate of inflation climbed to 5.4pc from 5.1pc in November, according to the Office for National Statistics. Read what is behind the rise and how it is affecting salaries in real terms. This is the pay staff will need to demand to keep pace with the cost of living. Head down to Business for how to maximise your e
Trigger Point trailer


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Trump and DeSantis Will Hold Rally on Halloween
On Halloween night, President Donald Trump will be joining Congressman Ron DeSantis in a rally in the Fort Myers area as the Republican ticket looks to defeat Tallahasse Mayor Andrew Gillum and his running-mate Chris King.
The President's campaign team made the announcement this week, saying that the President will be appearing at a Make America Great Rally at the Hertz Arena in Estero on Halloween night.
The team notified that "President Trump is expected to discuss the success of his America First agenda which is delivering new jobs and bigger paychecks to the hardworking men and women of Florida, as well as the critical need for Floridians to get out and vote for the GOP in the midterm elections."
In addition, Michael Glassner, the COO of the President's campaign team, commented that "We are pleased to announce the next stop on our national midterm campaign tour with a Make America Great Again rally on Wednesday, October 31st in Fort Myers, Florida, featuring President Donald Trump."
Glassner also added that "President Trump looks forward to celebrating the success of his America first agenda that's delivering more jobs and bigger paychecks to families all across the Sunshine State. The president will also remind Floridians of the critical need to get out and vote between now and Election Day on November 6th to help protect and expand the Republican majorities in the House and Senate."
Leading up to election day in less than two weeks, Mayor Gillum has a slight lead.
And, this week also saw former Vice President Joe Biden campaigning with both Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson as they try to ensure the "blue wave" that they've been trying to rally support for.
With DeSantis and Gillum completing their final debate, President Donald Trump will try to continue firing up the sunshine state that he carried in the 2016 Presidential election.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A test that can identify potential cases of meningitis within an hour is to be trialled in hospitals. The new diagnostic tool for meningococcal disease, which can lead to meningitis and blood poisoning, takes a fraction of the 48-hour wait for results from standard tests.
Scientists at Queen's University Belfast and the Belfast Trust, who created the test, said it could prevent children with meningococcal disease being wrongly sent home — potentially saving dozens of lives every year.
It could also prevent children being admitted for treatment unnecessarily. If doctors suspect a child has meningococcal septicaemia, they administer antibiotic treatment straight away, but a study found that of 105 babies and children treated, only a third had the disease.
The new diagnostic test — known as Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (Lamp) — has been assessed in a two-year study alongside the standard NHS tests and has been found to be equally efficient at returning accurate diagnosis.
Dr James McKenna, clinical scientist and lead researcher in developing the test said: "The Lamp test enables doctors to efficiently diagnose meningococcal septicaemia within an hour.
Dr Tom Waterfield, is leading a new study at Queen's University with the Paediatric Emergency Research UK and Ireland to assess how practical the test is to use in hospitals.
The findings come as health officials have urged students to get vaccinated to protect themselves against meningitis before starting university. Last week Public Health England (PHE) warned that cases of meningitis and septicaemia caused by the aggressive meningococcal W strain were rising.
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE, said: "Young people are particularly at risk from the MenW strain. Being in confined environments with close contact, such as university halls, pubs and clubs increases the chances of infection if unprotected.


i am split apart, opened wide like the Nile and equally as filled with memories of life and death and history flowing through ancient cities. i am the woman in the dunes, waiting. always waiting for the sand to give birth to life outside of a random oasis.


News broke this week that Monsanto accepted a $66 billion takeover bid from Bayer. The new company would control more than 25 per cent of the global supply of commercial seeds and pesticides. Bayer's crop chemicals business is the world's second largest after Syngenta, and Monsanto is the leading commercial seeds business.
Monsanto held a 26 per cent market share of all seeds sold in 2011. Bayer (mainly a pharmaceuticals company) sells 17 per cent of the world's total agrochemicals and also has a comparatively small seeds sector. If competition authorities pass the deal, the combined company would be the globe's largest seller of both seeds and agrochemicals.
The deal marks a trend towards consolidation in the industry with Dow and DuPont having agreed to merge and Swiss seed/pesticide giant Syngenta merging with ChemChina, a Chinese government concern.
Alarm bells are ringing with the European Commission putting its approval of the Dow-DuPont deal temporarily on hold, and the US Senate Judiciary Committee is about to hold hearings on the deal due to concerns about consolidation in the industry, which has resulted in increased seed and pesticide prices.
Consolidation and monopoly in any sector should be of concern to everyone. But the fact that the large agribusiness conglomerates specialise in a globalised, industrial-scale, chemical-intensive model of farming that is adversely affecting what we eat should have us very concerned. Do we want this system to be intensified even further just because their business models depend on it?
Farmers are increasingly reliant on patented corporate seeds, whether non-GM hybrid seeds or GM, and the chemical inputs designed to be used with them. Monsanto seed traits are now in 80 per cent of corn and more than 90 per cent of soybeans grown in the US. It comes as little surprise then that people in the US now consume a largely corn-based diet: a less diverse diet than in the past, which is high in calorific value, but low in health-promoting, nutrient dense food. This health-damaging 'American obesity diet' and the agricultural practices underpinning is now a global phenomenon.
By its very nature, the capitalist economic model that corporate agriculture is attached to demands expansion, market capture and profit growth. And, it must be accepted that it does bring certain benefits to those farmers who have remained in agriculture (if not for the 330 farmers who leave their land every week, according to data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service).
But in the US, 'success' in agriculture depends on over $51 billion of taxpayer handouts to over a 10-year period to keep the gravy train on track for a particular system of agriculture designed to maintain corporate agribusiness profit margins. And such 'success' fails to factor in all of the external social, health and environmental costs that mean this type of model is ultimately unsustainable. It is easy to spin failure as success when the parameters are narrowly defined.
Moreover, the exporting of the Green Revolution paradigm throughout the globe has been a boon to transnational seed and agrochemical manufacturers, which have benefited from undermining a healthy, sustainable indigenous agriculture and transforming it into a profitable enterprise for global capital.
And not just profitable for global capital – but its company managers too. For example, a few months ago, according to Reuters, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant could receive more than $70 million if Monsanto were to be taken over by Bayer. At the time, Monsanto said it was open to engaging in further negotiations with Bayer after turning down its $62 billion bid. The report shows how Grant's exposure to shares and options meant he had an incentive to hold out for the highest possible sale price, which would not only be in the interests of shareholders but also increase the value of his holdings. Other senior figures within Monsanto would also walk away with massive financial gains.
These corporate managers belong to a global agribusiness sector whose major companies rank among the Fortune 500 corporations. These companies are high-rollers in a geo-politicised, globalised system of food production whereby huge company profits are directly linked to the worldwide eradication of the small farm – the bedrock of global food production, bad food and poor health, inequitable, rigged trade, environmental devastation, mono-cropping and diminished food and diet diversity, the destruction of rural communities, ecocide, degraded soil, water scarcity and drought, destructive and inappropriate models of development and farmers who live a knife-edge existence and for whom debt has become a fact of life.
A handful of powerful and politically connected corporations are determining what is grown, how it is to be grown, what needs to be done to grow it, who grows it and what ends up on the plate. And despite PR platitudes about the GMO/chemical-intensive model just being part of a wider mix of farming practices designed to feed humanity, from India to Africa indigenous models of agriculture are being squeezed out (through false argument and deception) as corporate imperialism puts pay to notions of food sovereignty.
We should be highly concerned about a food system increasingly dominated by companies that have a history (see this on Monsanto and this on Bayer) of releasing health-damaging, environmentally polluting products onto the market and engaging in bribery, cover-ups, monopolistic practices and what should be considered as crimes against humanity?
Despite the likes of Hugh Grant saying the Monsanto-Bayer merger will be good for farmers and "broader society", most of all it will be good for shareholders and taxpayer-subsidised, state-assisted company profit. That's the type of hegemonic rhetoric that's been used down the ages to disguise the true nature of power and its beneficiaries.
It's not so much the Monsanto-Bayer deal is a move in the wrong direction (which it is), but increasing consolidation is to be expected given the trend in many key sectors toward monopoly capitalism or just plain cartelism, whichever way you choose to look at it. It's the system of industrialised, capital-intensive agriculture wedded to powerful players whose interests lie in perpetuating and extending their neoliberal economic model that is the real problem.
So what is the solution? We could start here.


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Metasequoia, een geslacht van bomen, waarvan nog maar één soort bestaat, de watercipres
 de boom die tot dat geslacht hoort: Watercipres (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)
 Metasequoia (software), een 3D-programma

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A panoramic x-ray in Portland, Texas, is an advanced dental technology that takes detailed, wraparound images of your oral cavity. With this equipment, our dentist, Dr. Duncan, is able to understand exactly what is going on in your oral cavity, even if it is not visible to the naked eye. To find out what additional dental equipment we proudly use at Duncan Dental Studio, call our office now!


This is a very interesting piece in the development of the Glasslite Power of the Force figure line. This piece is a Kenner US Droids C-3PO painted as a mock-up for what would become the Power of the Force Glasslite C-3PO. We know that Kenner had extensive contact with Glasslite and sent them both reference material and production toys. The image above shows what was once a Droids C-3PO. It has been painted to look like the Glasslite Power of the Force figure.
Several areas exist on the back where the paint has rubbed away revealing the underlying yellow plastic.
This mock-up exhibits a different coloration compared to the production figure and also features additional paint detail around the waist. Shown above is a comparison of the mock up (left) and a production figure (right).


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How can women get better at networking?
By Jo Faragher on 6 Mar 2012 in Career paths, Careers in HR, HR practice, Jobseeking, The HR profession
Any discussion about the differences between male and female business styles will invariably descend into stereotypes and generalisations. However, recent figures from headhunting firm Norman Broadbent that show we are far from reaching Lord Davies' target of having 25% women on FTSE 100 boards by 2015 may raise some questions as to whether or not women at senior level are selling themselves as well as they might.
As Angela O'Connor, CEO of consultancy The HR Lounge, pointed out in Personnel Today's recent analysis of boardroom diversity, one year on from the Davies report, the fact that senior males have so much access to informal networking opportunities makes a huge differences when it comes to their being considered for executive roles. Those old stereotypes of deals sealed on the golf course may be dying out, but much relationship building still goes on outside the formal business environment.
Devising a networking plan
Lisa Gerhardt, global HR practice leader at Boyden Global Executive Search, offers the following tips for anyone who wants to improve their networking skills:
Set yourself a clear networking strategy. Do not blindly go to events simply because they are being held. This is unfocused and untargeted. Choose events to attend that are of interest and value to you.
Take a marketing perspective. Ask yourself who is going to be there and what are they seeking to get from the event? What do they need? What can I do that allows me to satisfy their needs?
This is about marketing you, so target those who match with you and go to those events and no others. You need to look at your current networking, dissect it, drill down to an individual level, rebuild the audiences in "clusters" that make sense. Focus on those with whom you have something in common and restructure your contacts into meaningful and relevant groups.
Focus on your personal value proposition. What are the benefits and value you can offer to others? Offer a helping hand, not a grabbing fist. Focus on the positives that you can offer, rather than allowing to be dragged down by your weaknesses.
By focusing on solving others' problems, you will start to become known as an expert. Fine-tune your expertise towards your audience and build a communications plan to broadcast this.
By making a difference, being visible and relevant you will form your own network and watch people want to join up with you.
Working the room
Without a doubt, networking is a key element in how both men and women further their careers. If you've long been considered a functional expert in your field, getting out there, leading discussions and promoting yourself is one way in which you convince your peers and potential future employers that you have the confidence to take on leadership roles. However, men and women tend to adopt slightly different approaches when it comes to "working the room".
"Being forced to make conversation, introduce oneself and then compete in a prefabricated atmosphere at a networking event can often feel false," says Lisa Gerhardt, global HR practice leader at Boyden Global Executive Search. "Bravado and bluff are great male traits, in as much as they help to break the ice, but they are not behaviours that rest easily in women."
Personalise the networking relationship
An article in US business magazine Forbes echoes these sentiments, suggesting that women try to personalise the networking relationship by making connections with the person they are speaking with, whereas men tend to think "What do I need to get out of this?" and ask for it.
John Lees, career strategist and author of The Interview Expert, agrees: "Women tend to be better at building non-transactional relationships," he explains. "When men see each other they have a tendency to refer to their skills and knowledge, while women will say something more personal. There's a different kind of relationship building."
In the long term, this more nuanced approach to networking can reap benefits. "These relationships tend to last a bit longer and are more valuable when things get difficult," Lee says. Further, women are better at asking for support when they feel vulnerable or need help, he adds, while men tend to find this difficult.
Male-dominated environments
Ines Wichert, a senior psychologist at Kenexa, recently published a book called "Where have all the senior women gone?", for which she spoke to 49 senior business women at FTSE 100 companies. She found that all of these women had been forced to learn to network in male-dominated environments. "A lot of them talked about experiences they'd had of being the only woman in the room. It was intimidating, but they had to learn to do it," she says. "It's all about visibility, getting your name out there should a position become available." Wichert adds that recruiting a mentor or a sponsor who can increase your visibility and get your name into discussions can help to make your networking efforts more effective, whatever your gender.
So should women adopt a stereotypically male approach to networking: decide what they want to get out of an opportunity and ask for it? Not completely, says John Lees. "Sometimes that outcome-driven networking can be viewed as manipulative if a woman is doing it, but not a man. Unfortunately, it's not a level playing field."
Different types of networks
That's not to say that women should approach potential networking opportunities without a plan. "Make the most of different types of networks," advises Wichert. "You have your more focused, in-depth networks for emotional support, but when you need career advice or are looking for a new role, you need to spread yourself wider."
Wichert adds that, while women-only networking groups, which have gained in popularity as women fight for greater representation at senior level, have their place, they can become something of a networking cul-de-sac. "The danger with these groups is that you only network with other women. If you want to get ahead, you need to network where the senior decision-makers are, and most of these are men," she says.
And, while the route to board-level roles may still be a challenging one for ambitious women, that is not to say that both styles of networking cannot co-exist. Building relationships and the ability to listen provide a great foundation for maintaining business partnerships in the long term; securing the deal is only the start.


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Q: Use string items from the list as a variable I have a several lists with items inside:
a = [1,2,3,4]
b = [5,6,7,8]
c = [9,10,11,12]

Also I have another list with names of lists saved as strings:
names = ['a', 'b', 'c']

I want to print items from those lists (a,b,c) using name from list names in a loop (smt. like this):
for i in names:
    print(i)

And the output will be:
'a'
'b'
'c'

But I want to get:
[1,2,3,4]
[5,6,7,8]
[9,10,11,12]

I need to convert strings to variables in a loop somehow.

A: You can create dict of list with 'a','b','c' as keys as follows
d = {}
d['a'] = [1,2,3,4]
d['b'] = [5,6,7,8]
d['c'] = [9,10,11,12]

names = ['a', 'b', 'c']
for i in names:
    print(d[i])

A: try below code:
a = [1,2,3,4]
b = [5,6,7,8]
c = [9,10,11,12]
names = ['a', 'b', 'c']
for i in names:
    locals()[i]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Look at me.. saying I wasn't going to bring out any of my spring clothes until the first official day of spring.. but I just had to! We've been having the most gorgeous last few days! It's seriously so heart-lifting to walk out in the warmth! It has been high fifties - low sixties and sunny. It's perfect. It feels like spring is here, finally. There is talk of snow/rain mix on Saturday (the actual first day of spring) so I was like.. I just have to wear something now while it's so nice out!
Today was so lovely. I didn't have the majority of my classes today because my professor attended the digital illustration career day. So I took a much needed day off. I know we just had spring break, but I worked full-time so it didn't feel like much of a break. So I slept in.. made myself some pancakes.. and caught up on some emails! I also ran to the post office to finally mail out some Delightful Dozen/giveaway stuff, to pick up my photo order and to come home and work on the studio a little bit more! I'll post pictures this weekend for sure!
I had this dress from ModCloth on my wishlist for the longest time.. and finally decided to buy it. I love it. I'm obsessed with sleeved dresses right now. I have a few more on my list. I have a really hard time with spaghetti strap dresses. I can't quite pull them off, so this is the perfect fix. And as soon as I saw this scarf, I bought it immediately. I can't find it anywhere on their website now, so I'm wondering if they sold out. But I love this scarf. Perfect for spring because it's so light and has such pretty detail! This vintage watch is my Grandma's. She gave it to me a few years ago. It was a gift from my Grandpa for one of their anniversaries. She passed away about a year ago, so it's really special to me. I love the mix of silver and gold in it.
Gawsh, I don't want this weather to end! Brett and I took the scenic road to Grand Rapids today and looked all along Lake Michigan avenue for spots. He pulled into a cemetery.. and I was like, "Brett! I can't have my first spring outfit pictures taken in a cemetery!" Hahah, boys. They don't understand. ;) I was like.. I need a field. Haha! Afterwards, we stuffed our faces at Big Boy and split a delicious banana split afterwards. I'm still stuffed.. and it's 12:18 AM. Oh boy. I better head to bed! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Ps; I used to be obsessed with River City High back in high school. I love that we're getting more into the "punk" side of my compilation! It brings back such great memories. I honestly don't know where I'd be without some of this music. I know I listen to a lot of weird indie music now, but my roots are all pop punk bands. I'm so thankful I grew up in the music community here.. I've had some of the best memories (and met Brett through it!) It's such a huge part of my life.. and definitely always will be.


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Extreme Markets
Why Dogs Deserve Better
Resources (English)
Resources (Bahasa Indonesia)
Media Information Pack
Media Pack for Extreme Markets
Media Pack for Peter Egan Visit
Media Pack for Rabies and Dog Theft
Media Pack for International Rabies Day
Global Celebrity Support
Media Pack for Tomohon Markets Defying Indonesia's Pledge
Media Pack for Solo Campaign
Media Pack for 1 Million Petition Signatures
Armed thieves, rabies-infected dog meat highlight dangers of Indonesia's dog and cat meat trade as campaigners fear tourists could be at risk
Added on Wednesday, 25 July 2018
The Dog Meat-Free Indonesia coalition warns that millions of global tourists could be at risk of exposure to the deadly rabies virus spread by the county's illegal dog and cat meat trade. There is also increasing concern among Indonesian citizens at the lack of action by law enforcement officials to deter or punish gangs of thieves who terrorise neighbourhoods and steal dogs and cats from back yards and houses.
JAKARTA (30th July) – Campaigners from the Dog Meat-Free Indonesia coalition warn that millions of global tourists could be at risk of exposure to the deadly rabies virus spread by the county's illegal dog and cat meat trade. Their warning comes as Indonesia prepares to host the 18th Asian Games next month, with the government hoping 3 million tourists will descend on the capital city Jakarta. However, latest evidence concerning rabies risk comes in the form of a rabies-positive dog carcass found being sold for human consumption in a North Sulawesi market. The DMFI says Indonesia's central and provincial governments have failed to act despite mounting evidence of the dangers the trade poses to public health and safety.
Earlier this year, DMFI exposés of shocking animal cruelty at North Sulawesi's markets, and dogs being inhumanely bound, gagged and thrown onto trucks for journeys lasting days, sparked a global outcry. The scenes of animal suffering led to the submission of a DMFI letter to President Joko Widodo signed by over 90 global and Indonesian celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Chelsea Islan, Dame Jane Goodall, Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres, calling for urgent action to protect animals.
There is also increasing concern among Indonesian citizens at the lack of action by law enforcement officials to deter or punish gangs of thieves who terrorise neighbourhoods and steal dogs and cats from back yards and houses. Jakarta Animal Aid Network says it receives countless reports each week from devastated pet owners who have had their dogs stolen by armed dog thieves.
Merry, a resident of Tomohon City describes her ordeal: "I saw it happen through the upstairs window. The dog was eating cyanide, while the thief was waiting for the dog. We couldn't go outside. The thief was armed and ready, with rocks, arrows, a machete inside the car. While I was opening my door, the thief tried to fire an arrow at me."
Febri Verawati from Jakarta, says: "I had my dog Neiro from a one month old puppy and we lived together for seven years. When he was stolen, I was so devastated and heartbroken. I just can't stop thinking about it. After it happened, the vegetable vendors who had witnessed it told me there were two men on a bike very early in the morning. They actually jumped over the fence, grabbed Neiro, put him in a sack and drove off. They said the dog thieves had been asking around about which houses had dogs."
The dog meat trade in Indonesia operates in breach of disease control regulations put in place to curb the spread of fatal zoonotic diseases such as rabies, despite the government's pledge to eliminate the disease by 2020. Rabies is endemic in 25 out of 34 of Indonesia's provinces, and dogs of unknown disease status are routinely transported across provincial borders and islands, in clear breach of the law. With little sign of law enforcement action, the thieves and traders appear immune to punishment.
A DMFI investigation in May this year revealed the presence of a rabies-positive dog carcass at the infamous Tomohon Market. The carcass was tested at the provincial government's diagnostic laboratory, following the random sampling of just nine slaughtered dogs from markets in Minahasa regency, Manado and Tomohon. The DMFI believes that such a high hit rate is consistent with earlier published studies in Indonesia and throughout Asia documenting the prevalence of rabies-positive dogs for sale in markets. For example, in 2007, research conducted in markets in North Sulawesi (Manado, Airmadidi and Langowan) demonstrated that between 7.8 percent and 10.6 percent of dogs being sold for human consumption were infected with rabies.
"With over 200 markets selling dogs and cats for meat in North Sulawesi alone, the scale of the problem is potentially catastrophic for Indonesia's attempts to eliminate rabies, and gravely jeopardises the health and safety of its citizens and animals. This latest finding should serve as a very loud wake-up call that action is needed to tackle this illegal, cruel and dangerous trade,." explains Lola Webber, co-founder of Change For Animals Foundation.
The DMFI has released video evidence of dogs being stolen from the streets and rice fields in rural West Java, where rabies is endemic, and driven to slaughterhouses in Jakarta, despite the capital city's strict dog and cat importation regulations to safeguard its rabies-free status. Campaigners are concerned that Indonesia has not learned the lessons of the past, when the popular holiday destination of Bali experienced a rabies outbreak in 2008 following the introduction of a single rabies-infected dog on a fishing boat.
"This should be of grave concern to the government given that Jakarta worked hard and invested significantly for many years to secure the city's rabies-free status, and given that this trade is totally illegal. We know that it only takes one dog to create an outbreak, with devastating consequences. In Jakarta it is estimated that just one percent of the population partakes in dog meat consumption, but this one percent jeopardises the safety of the whole city and its population of 10 million residents." warns Karin Franken, director at Jakarta Animal Aid Network.
Professor Louis Nel of Global Alliance for Rabies Control agrees, saying: "We may not be able to easily change culture or habit, but we should ensure compliance with proven animal disease prevention measures and stop the smuggling of dogs, to limit the spread of rabies, an endemic disease across Asia. These traders are driven solely by profit and are disregarding the risks to human and animal health."
These warnings reflect those from the World Health Organisation that has explicitly highlighted the trade in dogs for human consumption as a contributing factor to the spread of rabies in Indonesia. In a letter to the DMFI coalition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States says: "There are reports that dog-meat markets have a higher rate of rabies than the general dog population, as people often sell dogs to the markets when they act sick; some of these sick dogs have rabies.… Furthermore, there are at least three published reports of humans acquiring rabies from activities associated with the dog meat market, emphasizing that the risk is very real."
The risk to tourists is unknown, but campaigners believe that travelers may unwittingly expose themselves to rabies and other diseases by visiting the animal markets where dogs and cats are slaughtered and butchered in the streets in unsanitary conditions. With Indonesia set to host the 18th Asian Games next month in Jakarta and Palembang, urgent action is needed to safeguard the safety of participants and spectators.
In December 2017 the travel site TripAdvisor removed its promotion of North Sulawesi's live animal markets following DMFI's investigations. TripAdvisor had previously listed the markets as "#7 out of 12 things to do in Tomohon" but later stated "We have investigated the TripAdvisor listing page for Tomohon Extreme Market and concluded that it does not meet the standards set by our listings policy. As a result, we have permanently removed the listing from both our site and our app."
An estimated 12 million tourists visit Indonesia each year – including over 1 million Australians, and an estimated 360,000 from the United Kingdom, 330,000 from the United States, and between 200,000 and 260,000 each from the Netherlands, Germany and France. "Traditional markets" selling live cats, dogs and other animals for slaughter, as well as the consumption of dog and cat meat, are often promoted by local tour guides. Unbeknown to most tourists, such meat has not undergone any safety or hygiene checks and is essentially unregulated, and both the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation warn that "consuming meat from rabies-suspect animals is not advised".
"Governments around the world should be issuing warnings to their nationals who are visiting Indonesia of the dangers of the dog and cat meat trade and the live markets, despite some local tour operators promoting them as "must see" places and experiences," states Dr. Katherine Polak of FOUR PAWS.
"Indonesia is a country of world-renowned natural beauty, but its international reputation is marred by the ugly brutality of its dog and cat meat trade. With the volume of dogs being smuggled for the trade, and the unsanitary slaughter at markets, it's a genuine concern that innocent travelers could be exposing themselves to dangerous and even deadly diseases. The lack of government action to crack down on this trade is certainly calling into question Indonesia's position as a prime tourist destination," states Kitty Block, president of Humane Society International.
"This is not a debate about culture or 'custom', this is an issue of animal cruelty and human health. The trade we are seeing in Indonesia is profit-driven and is not motivated by any desire to maintain a culture. The cruelty is unforgiveable and the global community is united in our calls for the central and provincial governments to take action to tackle the dog and cat meat trade as it poses grave threat to human and animal health, encourages illegal activity, and tarnishes Indonesia's reputation."– Bobby Fernando of Animal Friends Jogja.
It is estimated that just 7 percent of Indonesia's population consume dog meat, but in a country with the fourth largest population in the world at 261 million people, this amounts to a significant trade and a booming business in some parts of the country.
Indonesia also has the world's 5th largest number of human rabies deaths in Asia each year, a fatal disease with devastating societal and economic impacts. It is no coincidence that the provinces and regencies with the greatest demand for dog meat are also those with the highest prevalence of rabies.
The trade in dogs for human consumption is in direct contravention of rabies control and elimination recommendations by key health advisory bodies, (including the World Health Organisation, the Pan American Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), and in breach of national disease control and prevention regulations.
There is an ever-growing animal protection movement in Indonesia and the Dog Meat Free-Indonesia coalition supports these groups by coordinating days of action where thousands of animal lovers take to the streets calling for an end to the dog meat trade.
Over 900,000 people from around the world have already signed the DMFI petition (www.dogmeatfreeindonesia.org/take-action)
Download broadcast quality video footage and photos: www.dogmeatfreeindonesia.org/resources/rabies-and-dog-theft
"Every month, tens of thousands of dogs are stolen from the streets and from people's homes in Indonesia to supply the dog meat trade… their stories are heartbreaking, the suffering unimaginable..
In Bobby's Honour
We found Bobby sitting in a wire cage in a busy dog meat market in North Sulawesi whilst we were conducting investigations in December 2017. He was surrounded by scenes from a horror movie, and the terror in his eyes was haunting. We knew we couldn't leave him.
It breaks our heart that he left this world too soon, but he left having known love and with a name. And in his name, we will never give up until the dog and cat meat trades end throughout Indonesia.
Hero's Story
The Dog Meat Free-Indonesia coalition spent many long and heartbreaking months investigating the inner-workings of the dog meat trade throughout Indonesia. As people who do what we do because we care so passionately about animals, doing investigations never gets any easier. It is soul-destroying and heart-breaking, but essential in documenting the reality of the trade so that we are best-positioned to fight it, and to ultimately realise our goal of ending the dog meat trade.
But we always save those we can…
On one particular day, we had the chance to save a dog who we named 'Hero'.
Change is coming in Indonesia and throughout Asia… Never before has the dog meat trade or the consumption of dog meat been questioned the way it is now. People are turning their backs on a trade and a practice that can no longer hide behind a defense of 'culture' or 'tradition'.
Dog Meat Free Indonesia


Online slots are one of the most fun and exciting activities that gaming enthusiasts can enjoy. Whether you are interested in an engaging hand of free slots or instead your preference revolves around hitting the jackpot, these games certainly will not disappoint. Indeed, even the notion of hitting a multi-million dollar payout can keep you entertained for hours. However, what are the odds of retiring at an early age due to such luck? Perhaps a better question can be as to whether online slot machines are based on "luck" alone or if there is a certain amount of strategy involved that can help maximize your chances of winning. As you may have guessed, luck will certainly play a significant part of your chances. Nevertheless, understanding what are known as paylines and bankrolls will have a definite impact on your success. Let us take a look at how these two are related to one another.
In the game of slots, a payline is a certain configuration of symbols that need to align in order for you to collect a reward. For instance, you may match three gold bars horizontally and win a bonus spin. Understanding this concept is not as simple as it may appear. Just as the game of Texas Hold 'Em can be won with handy electronic tools, you can also increase your chances of winning at slots by capitalizing on paylines.
You might have noticed that online slot machines will usually have more than one payline. There may be similar lines which run vertical and diagonal. What is the significance of these? To put it simply, these lines will provide you with more chances to win. The more lines that are made available, the higher the probability that the individual reels will match these lines and offer you a valuable reward. With the advent of newer and more advanced electronic machines, the number of these lines has likewise increased.
One of the biggest mistakes that novices tend to make is to erroneously believe that they should not choose to play the maximum number of paylines. They are under the false impression that they will burn through a bankroll quicker by this strategy. In fact, you should instead maximize the amount of paylines that you choose but place a smaller wager on each round. The result is obvious: you will be increasing the odds of the reels aligning and hitting one (or more) paylines. Whether you play 3D slots or a more traditional game, this thinking should be the same.
While this may be obvious, you may also be confused as to which strategy you should employ when dealing with a limited bankroll. It is first important to remember that as with any casino game, the odds will be naturally stacked against you. So, be conservative in your approach.
First and foremost, only bring a certain amount of money and never withdraw more than you originally set aside. After you have exhausted approximately one-third of your original cash, take a step back and see how well you performed. Did you lose nearly all of your funds, did you break even or are you significantly ahead? If you find that you have lost the majority of the initial third, you can either choose to stop playing or lessen the amount that you will bet in the future. If you have broken even, continue on. If you are ahead, immediately set aside this money for future play and continue in the same method as before. Similar advice can be found on various social media groups dedicated to slots.
Take a look at slot review sites to find the most respected portals. In fact, the best place to begin is by taking a look at an example of a slot review of this popular casino game at slots.com. The winning combination may be closer than you think!
Finally, never forget that no two gaming sites are alike. Some may offer higher payouts and more interesting games than others. While some players may choose to utilize a number of rather advanced methods to increase their winnings in other games, the best tool that you possess is your own mind and how you approach the game.


text:
Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley DCSMV)
A Registration and Voting Guide
"No Party Preference" voter information for California 2020 Primary election
COVID-19 Information Resources
Do you know your Representatives?
FINAL CERTIFIED ELECTION RESULTS
Click Here for CA Statewide Propositions descriptions
Letter from DCSMV President, Beth Schneider/Jan 6, 2021
Local Newspaper Editor links
New Times, San Luis Obispo
Noozhawk
Santa Barbara News Press Editor
Santa Maria Times Editor
The Sun Editor, North Santa Barbara County
The Tribune, San Luis Obispo
Mixteco/Indigena (MICOP)
Other Local Organizations
PAGE SEARCH/LOCATOR
1 – About Us/Join DCSMV
1 Welcome to our DCSMV multilingual website.
About Us, Hours & location, JOIN OUR CLUB, Meeting calendar, Election results
2. Join DCSMV Membership Form
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Follow Congressman Salud Carbajal.
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Current News DCCC, Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, Local Democratic Clubs, Facebook, and Information Websites
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Is Climate Change real?
Oil Proposals in Santa Barbara County
RESIST!! BE INVOLVED!
1 GUN CONTROL NOW!
27 National Monuments to protect
5calls.org
750 new Oil Wells proposed in Cat Canyon!!!
BOYCOTT BUSINESSES
CA Ban Fracking on California Central Coast
Climate Change is a Survival Issue
Climate change isn't just political
Corporations are NOT People
Credoaction.com
Dailyaction.org
DARK MONEY DONORS LISTS
faxzero.com
nextgenclimate.org
Update – AB 398 Passed July 2017. NO on AB 398 Cap & Trade
The Trump-Ukraine Inquiry Impeachment Report (PDF)
Democrat's "Better Deal" for ALL Americans
REPORT A SUSPICIOUS OIL LEAK OR SPILL
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4 – 2020 News and Election Updates
1 – November 3, 2020 local Democratic Endorsed Candidates
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6 – March 3, 2020 Primary
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Return to CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
The U.S. SENATE
One of two chambers (the other is the U. S. House of Representatives) of the U. S. Congress, the U. S. Senate is made up of 100 elected Senators, two from each of the 50 states regardless of population. Each Senator is elected to serve a six-year term. Every two years one third of the Senate is up for reelection. To be able to run in an election for the Senate one must be 30 years old by the time one takes the oath of office, a citizen of the U.S. for at least nine years, and a resident of the state from which one is elected. These qualifications were established in Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution. California is represented in the U. S. Senate by Alex Padilla (appointed through 2022 to replace Kamala Harris) and Dianne Feinstein.
All U.S. CONGRESS: Senate and the House of Representatives
Two year terms. Directory of 435 by state/district U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
Six year terms. Directory of U.S. Senate – 2 for each state: https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Congratulations to California U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, now Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris! Inauguration of President-Elect Joseph Biden will take place January 20, 2021.
Congratulations to Alex Padilla, CA Secretary of State, who has been appointed by Governor Newsom to fill the vacancy of California U.S. Senator through 2022.
December 2020 Statement by Alex Padilla: https://santamariademocrats.info/page-locator/page-search-menu/your-reps-and-maps/federal-representatives-u-s/alex-padilla-u-s-senate/
Biography of Alex Padilla: https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/about-alex-padilla
U.S. Senator, CA, Kamala Harris (Democrat) (6 Year Term 2016-2022)
http://www.harris.senate.gov
https://www.facebook.com/KamalaHarris/
Washington, DC Office: B40B Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 1-202-224-3553, FAX: 202-224 0454
Research Bills for Kamala Harris:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse#sponsor=412678&sort=-current_status_date
U.S. Senator, CA, Dianne Feinstein (Democrat) (6 Year Term 2012 -2018 – Re-elected until 2024)
http://feinstein.senate.gov
Washington DC Office: 331 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 1-202-224-3841, FAX: 202-228-3954, TTY/TDD: 202-224-2501
Los Angeles Office: 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 915 , Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 914-7300; Fax: (310) 914-7318
Research Bills for Dianne Feinstein:
As per the Constitution, the U. S. House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws. The House is one of Congress's two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate), and part of the federal government's legislative branch. The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states.
California is the most populous U. S. state and as a result has the most representation in the United States House of Representatives, with 53 Representatives. Congressman Salud Carbajal represents the Santa Maria Valley, which is part of the 24th District in California, that includes Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties as well as western Ventura County.
CA District 24, U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Salud Carbajal (Democrat) (2 Year Term 2020 – 2022)
http://www.carbajal.house.gov
https://www.facebook.com/repsaludcarbajal/
Santa Maria, CA Office:
Open Monday – Thursday 9 am – 5 pm.
1619 S. Thornburg Street, Santa Maria, CA 93458 ( Take S. Broadway to W. Battles, left)
Phone: 1(805) 730-1710
Washington DC Office: 212 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 1-202-225-3601; Fax: 1-202- 225-5632
1411 Marsh St., Suite 205, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone: 1-888-202-8934 SLO
District 24 Map: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/CA/24
Research Bills for Salud Carbajal:
https://www.congress.gov/member/salud-carbajal/C001112?q={%22search%22:[%22Salud+Carbajal%22]}
OTHER UNITED STATES ELECTED OFFICES:
Office for a President (Term 2016-2020) Outgoing Republican President.
Democrat Joseph Biden is the President-Elect to be sworn into office on January 20, 2021 for a four year term 2020-2024.
The People's House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20500
Phone Comments: 1-202-456-1111; Switchboard: 1-202-456-1414; FAX 1-202-456-2461
Permanent link to this article: https://santamariademocrats.info/page-locator/page-search-menu/your-reps-and-maps/federal-representatives-u-s/
Alex Padilla, U.S. Senate I am honored to be appointed by Governor Newsom to serve as California's next United States Senator. I'm the proud son of immigrants. My parents met as immigrants from Mexico — they fell in love, got married, and applied for green cards, ready to embrace a country that valued hard work …
Nancy Pelosi (D), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative 1236 Longworth H.O.B. Washington, DC 20515 phone: (202) 225-4965 hours: M-F 9-5:30pm https://pelosi.house.gov/contact-me Chuck Schumer (D), 2021 Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate 322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6542 Fax: (202) 228-3027 https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck All 115th U.S. CONGRESS: U.S. Senate …
SEARCH FOR ALL U.S. SENATE AND HOUSE BILLS: https://www.congress.gov
September 13, 2019: https://www.edhat.com/news/carbajal-and-community-leaders-celebrate-offshore-oil-ban
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES 2018 local Election Results CITY OF GUADALUPE REPRESENTATIVES CITY OF SANTA MARIA REPRESENTATIVES Congress Members – All States Our STATE OF CALIFORNIA ELECTED REPS- Senate, Assembly, Governor and Executive Branch Our U. S. CONGRESS REPS-Senate and House SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SUPERVISORS WHITE HOUSE OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Written language Translator:
Click here: Update/Register to vote
46th President of the United States of America,Joseph Biden and Vice-President, Kamala Harris (2020-2024)
JOIN, PAY DUES OR DONATE TO DCSMV
Join or Pay Dues: CLICK HERE
Donate to DCSMV: CLICK HERE
Many new items!! Shop all year long on our online store for merchandise with free shipping. 30-50% of your purchase will be received by our Democratic Club by using our unique link:
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We've WON THE U.S.SENATE!
Congratulations to the two Georgia U.S. Senators who won the runoff contests January 5, 2021!
Jon Ossoff: https://electjon.com/
Rev. Raphael Warnock: https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
Nancy Pelosi (D), Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative: 1236 Longworth H.O.B.,Washington, DC 20515, phone: (202) 225-4965, hours: M-F 9-5:30pm
https://pelosi.house.gov/contact-me
Chuck Schumer (D), 2021 Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, 322 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6542, Fax: (202) 228-3027
https://www.schumer.senate.gov/contact/email-chuck
Welcome to our DCSMV Website
https://santamariademocrats.info/2019/09/09/welcome-to-the-dcsmv-website/
Update/Register to Vote
Notice: Due to the COVID-19 virus, meetings held at the IHOP are temporarily suspended until further notice. Meetings will continue online for members every third Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm. We will be checking our 805-349-2708 phone daily for messages. Renewal check payments can be mailed or dropped in the door slot at the headquarters, or use our ActBlue link with a credit card https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/dcsmvjoin.
Donations on our ActBlue link to help with campaigns and organizational expenses are also always appreciated. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dcsmvdonate
In person meetings temporarily cancelled. Meetings online for members on the third Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm.
(Previously held at IHOP Restaurant, 202 S. Nicholson Ave. Santa Maria, 93454 (Freeway 101 and East Main Street))
GUESTS ARE WELCOME.
6:00 p.m. Social time and dinner (IHOP menu)
7:00 – 7:35 p.m. scheduled speakers.
DEMOCRATS: 7:40 p.m. General business meeting.
Call for office hours 1-805- 349-2708.
Headquarters at 327 E. Plaza Drive, #2, Santa Maria, CA 93454. Email us at Mailto:dcsmv@dcsmv.net
2017-2018 Club Officers and Committee Chairpersons, see Home page tab "Page Locator" tab for About Us, Club Officers. Leave name, phone number and messages on office phone.
JOIN OUR CLUB, MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
2020 CALIFORNIA CALENDAR FOR GENERAL ELECTION:
GENERAL ELECTION, Tuesday, November 3, 2020:
– First Day Vote-By-Mail Ballots will be mailed Monday, October 5, 2020
– Close of Registration Monday, October 19, 2020
Verify and update your registration information on our home page link. Request a Vote By Mail ballot and vote early. VOTE BLUE!
Events with links to details.
7:00 pm Democratic Club SMV meetings are... @ Zoom
Democratic Club SMV meetings are... @ Zoom
Our in person meetings are temporarily cancelled. Members call 805-349-2708 for virtual meeting invitations. https://santamariademocrats.info
Post Locator
INAUGURATION OF JOSEPH R. BIDEN, 46TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! January 19, 2021
Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 18, 2021 January 17, 2021
Second time Donald J. Trump Impeached. January 15, 2021
Vandals and Terrorists overran the U.S. Capital on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to overturn the 2020 Presidential election. Seven CA Republican U.S. House Representatives sided with other conspiracy members not to certify the election. January 11, 2021
REGISTER AND VOTE FOR OUR COASTAL AD 35 DISTRICT DELEGATES January 2, 2021
Page Locator
"Individually we are one drop. Together we are an ocean. " – Ryunosuke Satoro
Unity is Strength
1 Quick contact reference MOC's
2 Assemblyman contact
3 Complete Directory of U.S. Congress
AB-14/& SB 651 Fight Dark Money
AB-165 Gov. search devices
AB-424 Close loophole on firearms
H.R. 356 Examine Russian interference
H.R. 496 Protect immigrants
H.R. 676 Single Payer Health Care Bill
S 1460 Vote NO
SB-30 Contracts for the Wall
SB562 Health Care For All
UPDATE – BILL PASSED AND SIGNED INTO LAW. NO on AB 398
UPDATE-PASSED Sept 2017. SB54 CA Values Act, Sanctuary state
YES ON HR 3671. Federal.
1 – Click Here: Elect Joe Biden
2 – Click here: Re-Elect Salud Carbajal
3 – Click here: Elect Monique Limon
Click Here: Democratic Endorsed Candidates S.B. County-wide Nov. 3, 2020
2) YES ON HR 3671
750 New Oil Wells proposed in Santa Barbara County. STOP!!
CA A.G. Becerra and Exxon
CA Stop Water Aquifer Exemptions. Protect California's Water.
CARRIZO PLAIN Central Coast PROTECT
Elizabeth Warren, Condemn Trump Paris Agreement Withdrawal
Greenpeace Petition EPA cuts
No to U.S. Banks funding Keystone XL
Protect 27 National Monuments
Protect the Clean Power Plan to Fight Climate Change
Renewable Energy 100%
S 1460 REJECT the Trump-McConnell Dirty Energy Bill
Save the EPA
Stop Trump attacks on EPA
2017 January-July political events
Congressman Salud Carbajal opened new office in Santa Maria August 8, 2017.
Joan Hartmann, SB County Supervisor, opens office in Santa Maria, August 29, 2017
May 2, 2018 Carbajal and Ostrander Announce Legislation to Disclose Corporate Election Spending
800,000 Dreamers at risk!
SOJOURNERS/Faith in Action
TELL TRUMP NO WALL.
TELL TRUMP TO PROTECT DREAMERS
Big Lies about CA Single Payer Healthcare begins.
STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Take back the House in 2018. Donate $1.
VOTE OUT 7 CA (R) REPS IN 2018
CA HEALTH CARE FOR ALL SB562
Negotiate prescription drug prices.
Share your ACA story
CALL ON BILLS TODAY!
SIGN Environment
SIGN Get Money out of Politics
SIGN HEALTHCARE
SIGN IMMIGRATION AND DACA
SIGN Protect Funding
SIGN RESIST and DESIST
Discussion on November 2018 Propositions
Don't mess with Social Security
Protect Meals on Wheels
Protect Planned Parenthood
Save SMCTV! Urge the Board of Supervisors to support the local public access station!
SAVE the Arts and Humanities
Stand with Planned Parenthood.
Elect by Popular Vote
GOP TAX PLAN
Resist the NRA in all 50 states
Revoke Jared Kushners Interim-Security Clearance.
Stop false claims of voter fraud.
GREEN POWER. BE AN ACTIVIST IN SANTA MARIA/SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
Support 28th Amendment. Overturn Citizens United.
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Facebook Messenger hits the 1 billion monthly users mark
The growth makes it the second most-popular iOS app of all-time
Facebook announced today that its Messenger app is now used by more than one billion people each month.
Five months ago, Facebook said it had 800 million users on the platform meaning it has added another 25 per cent in mere months. Facebook, of course, also owns WhatsApp, which announced it passed the billion user mark in February this year.
The growth makes it the second most-popular iOS app of all-time and more than 17 billion photos are sent between friends each month. The company also noted that it's closing ground on communication-dedicated rivals (think Skype) with 10 per cent of all VoIP calls now being made through the platform.
Clearly, the recent popularity of bots is starting to hit the platform too - with 18,000 now available on Messenger.
Facebook Messenger infographicFacebook
"People use Messenger to connect with the people and businesses they care most about," said Facebook in a blog post. "They make plans, share dreams, send payments, tell jokes, play games, let their loved ones know they're thinking of them and much, much more.
"We're grateful for all the people who are sending billions of messages every day and we hope to send 1 billion thank yous in the form of a new floating balloon gift that everyone can use to celebrate.
"Just send a balloon emoji to your friends to add a touch of whimsy and delight to any conversation. Thank you for using Messenger and being part of our one-billion-strong community."
TopicsFacebook


The Tribe returns. Burning Man meets TED takes it to the next level!
TRÓIA, PORTUGAL – 12 July, 2016: Unique creative event Trojan Horse was a Unicorn returns to the sun-kissed shores of Tróia, Portugal on 19-24 September 2016 with a host of Academy Award-winning speakers announced.
THU has also grown beyond the event. This year, THU launches a new platform that takes this generation of the tribe beyond the golden beaches of Portugal and right across the globe.
A raft of new speakers have been announced for THU 2016. This growing lists comprises the world's top artistic minds, including Academy Award-winning artists.
The artists below will deliver informal, insightful, and candid talks unlike any other event. Thinking creativity, not corporate – at THU, you get inside the minds of the artists you love.
Companies hiring at THU 2016 include Industrial Light & Magic, Riot Games and CD Projekt RED.
THU 2016 launches the Co-labs. Over five days, six teams of 10 artists will build a creative project from scratch. It's all about the principles that define THU – collaboration, teamwork, and creativity – along with the added excitement of making decisions under pressure!
Returning activities to THU 2016 include inspirational talks, masterclasses, mentorship sessions, life drawing and portfolio reviews.
THU is more than just an event – it's spreading from Tróia to embrace a truly global community with THU TV.
THU TV offers inspirational talks from the THU main event, exclusive talk shows and interviews, new show formats and concepts, and insight into the best creative minds in the world, including Academy Award-winning artists.
Aside from a huge diversification of video content, new to 2016 comes the ability to interact with these Oscar-winning artists and the Tribe during the event, all from the comfort of their own home via livestream technology.
Watch an example of THU TV content here – a candid talk with Alberto Mielgo.
Trojan Horse was a Unicorn is dedicated to being the central organization that psychologically, spiritually, technically, educationally and legally supports the global digital artist and ensures that the world understands and celebrates their artistry and craft. The main event takes place in Tróia, Portugal every September.
Owner of WikiFX -- VFX Artist based in Vancouver, BC and currently working at DNEG as a Lead Environment Generalist TD.


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Health and Wellbeing Board - Tuesday, 2 July 2019 4.00pm
Venue: Meeting Room 9 - Level 3, Gun Wharf
Contact: Jade Milnes, Democratic Services Officer
Election of Chairman
To elect a Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board for the forthcoming year.
Councillor David Brake was elected as Chairman for the forthcoming year.
Election of Vice-Chairman
To elect a Vice-Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board for the forthcoming year.
Dr Peter Green was elected as Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.
Chairman's Announcements
The Chairman informed the Board that a notice of resignation had been received from Sally Allum, the named substitute for NHS England on the Board. He also informed the Board that Dr Mike Parks, Medical Secretary for the Kent Local Medical Committee (LMC) had retired and confirmed that Dr Caroline Rickard would now represent the LMC as invited attendee to the Board. The Board wished Dr Mike Parks a very happy retirement and thanked him for his longstanding efforts on the Board.
Apologies for absence were received from Board Members, Councillors Doe, Maple and Potter and the NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group representatives Ian Ayres, Dr Peter Green (Vice-Chairman) and Dr Antonia Moore.
Apologies for absence were also received from invited attendees James Devine (Chief Executive, Medway NHS Foundation Trust), Helen Greatorex (Chief Executive, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust) and Dr Caroline Rickard (Medical Secretary, Kent Local Medical Committee).
Record of meeting PDF 114 KB
To approve the record of the meeting held on 16 April 2019.
The record of the meeting held on 16 April 2019 was agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct.
The Chairman will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report.
In relation to agenda item 8 (Suicide Prevention Update) Ian Sutherland, the Director of People – Children's and Adults Services explained that he had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in relation to the national charity Samaritans as his wife was the Chief Executive of this organisation. He explained that having taken advice, it was considered that although the Samaritans was referenced within the report, the DPI was not closely aligned to the business within the agenda item and therefore on this occasion it did not give rise to the need to take any further action.
Medway, North and West Kent CCGs Operating Plan 2019/2020 PDF 300 KB
As a Medway, North and West Kent footprint system, we have developed a single operating plan for 2019/20. This has helped deliver the consistency in planning aspired to in the Medway, North and West Kent (MNWK) Planning Approach (submitted to February 2019 Governing Body at Medway CCG).
The attached document has been adjusted to reflect local feedback from across Kent and Medway and national feedback from regulatory partners. Formal feedback is still to be received following 4 April 2019 submission and thus in-year amendment may be required.
The plan documents the key developments for 2019/20: Local Care, Outpatient Transformation and the development of Primary Care Networks, Integrated Care Partnerships and Integrated Care Systems.
The Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the operating plan on 18 June 2019. The comments of this Committee are set out in section 3 of the report.
Appendix 1 , item 121. PDF 2 MB
Appendix 2 , item 121. PDF 446 KB
The Deputy Managing Director, NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) acknowledged that there were a significant number of acronyms and technical terms included within the Operating Plan 'the Plan' and undertook to consider this when producing future Plans.
It was explained that as well as Medway, the Plan also covered the areas of Dartford, Swale and West Kent. There were three core areas within the Plan which were particularly relevant to Medway, including:
1. System changes: The Plan provided information on the introduction of Primary Care Networks (PCNs). There were 7 PCNs emerging in Medway which covered populations of between 30,000 to 50,000 people. These PCNs were similar to Local Care Hubs established under the Local Care Model except Strood had been split to reflect probable developments on the Peninsula. The PCNs were aligned to existing Healthy Living Centres.
With respect to the Healthy Living Centres, it was explained that 4 had already been established and another 3 were needed. The Plan also reflected the work being undertaken with partners and providers across Medway and Swale to develop the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) which covered this footprint.
2. Outpatient transformation: In line with the Medway Model, the Plan anticipated that some services would be relocated to enable them to be provided at community level, closer to the home of patients. The Plan aimed to improve care pathways and increase the number of ways patients could access clinical advice and clinicians.
3. Progressing Local Care: The Plan also set out proposals to: embed extended access to GPs, increasing the number of appointments available to patients; embed care home support; and complete integrated local reviews.
Other areas detailed within the Plan included: developing the 111 Service to ensure clinicians such as GPs and mental health nurses were available to consult with patients calling the service; reducing waiting times for planned care; and strengthening mental health provision which included increasing physical health checks for patients with serious mental illness and loearning disabilities.
A Board Member commented that as this was an annual plan, it was out of context with other NHS Plans such as the Long Term Plan, the Five Year Plan and the Sustainability and Transformation Plan. It was suggested that the Operating Plan should include narrative on how it interacts with the priorities of other NHS Plans and include timescales for implementation, budget, workforce requirements etc. Without this context it was difficult for Members to fully understand the Operating Plan.
In response to this and questions regarding the complexity of the Plan, it was explained that the Long Term Plan was published in January 2019 and was the basis for the Operating Plan. The Plan was constructed to meet the requirements and priorities mandated by NHS England, which was the target audience. A shorter, more user friendly, public facing version was being created. A Member asked that going forward the Health and Wellbeing Board and relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive an informative presentation on the Plan ... view the full minutes text for item 121.
Suicide Prevention Update PDF 315 KB
This report updates Members of Health and Wellbeing Board on the suicide prevention programme. In Medway, the Public Health team provide strategic leadership for suicide prevention, including the Suicide Prevention Strategy and Steering Group.
In 2018, new funding of £667,978 was secured from NHS England for suicide prevention work across the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) area in 2018/19. STPs bring together a range of stakeholders including the NHS and local government. Kent and Medway was one of eight areas nationally to receive funding.
This report provides an overview of suicide prevention work that has taken place during 2018/19 and plans for 2019/20. The programme was agreed by the multi-agency Suicide Prevention Steering Group that supports this work in Kent and Medway. The proposed interventions are based on the best evidence available to inform suicide prevention.
This report was considered by the Health and Adult and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 18 June 2019 and the comments of this Committee are set out in section 5 of the report.
It was recognised that suicide was a tragic event that could have a devastating impact for family and friends of the person and on the community as whole. In Medway, as nationally, men, particularly middle aged men, were at a greater risk of suicide than women. In the year before a suicide, a third of people had contact with secondary mental health services, a third had contact with their GP and a third had no contact with health services. This suggested that there was a need to look at community interventions as well interventions relating directly to health services. In 2018, new funding was secured from the NHS for the suicide prevention across the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP). Kent and Medway was one of eight areas nationally to have been awarded additional funding for the programme.
This was an evidenced based programme which through the Suicide Prevention Steering Group engaged with a wide range of partners, including transport and education providers, the voluntary sector and had representation from families who had been bereaved by suicide. The programme delivered over the last year had consisted of nine strands of work set out in detail in Table 2 of the report. Four areas were highlighted in particular, as follows:
1. The 'Release the Pressure' social media campaign. This campaign had been extended significantly over the last year to reach more men and encourage them to seek help. The campaign signposted them to a 24 hour / 7 day a week helpline staffed by trained counsellors. 4,500 calls from Medway residents had been made to the helpline during the previous year.
2. The 'Saving Lives Innovation Fund' was launched which provided grants to community organisations to undertake innovative projects to prevent suicides. 29 such projects had been undertaken in the year, with over 1,000 people benefitting from these. An example project was a mentoring programme to support men going through family breakdown.
3. Suicide prevention training for professionals and the public. One programme had trained over 100 adults. E-learning had also been launched.
4. The Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) had also developed a Zero Suicide Plan.
Each suicide prevention workstream was assessed for impact, for example data on the number of calls to the helpline had been collected. The programme had also been externally evaluated, although this data was not yet available. Qualitative data was set out at paragraph 3.6 of the report. Feedback from the national team responsible for funding the programme suggested that work in Medway was well advanced compared to the other seven areas awarded funding.
Funding had also been secured for 2019/20 to further develop the programme. Table 3 of the report outlined the plans for the forthcoming year. This included a new workstream on system leadership which would focus on reviewing care pathways. The Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention Strategy would also be refreshed for 2020.
A Board Member said tackling suicide had to be holistic and ... view the full minutes text for item 122.
Health and Wellbeing Board Approach to Communications and Engagement PDF 500 KB
This discussion paper outlines a summary of the Health and Wellbeing Board's existing communications and engagement activities, and identifies opportunities for the Board to further develop its approach to communications and engagement.
The summary of existing communication and engagement activities of the Board, includes communications relating to the Board's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS).
Following interviews with communications leads from both the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group (as key organisations represented on the Board), the paper also makes a number of recommendations about opportunities for further developing the Board's approach to communications and engagement in future, for consideration by the Board.
This report provided a summary of the existing communications and engagement activities relating to the Health and Wellbeing Board, including those relating to the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS). These were set out in detail at paragraphs 3.6 to 3.10 of the report. Having evaluated existing arrangements and following liaison with communications representatives from Medway Council and Medway NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (as two of the key partners on the Health and Wellbeing Board), the Consultant in Public Health proposed areas of further action as set out in paragraphs 3.12 to 3.18 of the report. The proposed recommendations would increase awareness of the Board and further develop the Board's understanding of and engagement with local people on health and wellbeing topics.
Board Members expressed support for the proposals set out within the report and welcomed this as a starting point. A number of further suggestions were made, including:
· publishing information on the Health and Wellbeing Board, including contact points and its work programme within the 'Medway Matters' magazine at least twice a year. It was noted that this could be shared with local schools and universities to include within their own publications.
· seeking information on health and wellbeing topics from key target groups by for example consulting with organisations such as the Medway Parents and Carers Forum who represent the views of parents of children with disabilities and Medway's Children and Young People Council who represent the views of young people in care and care leavers; and
· with respect to the upcoming formation of Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs), developing a single engagement plan across providers to work in parallel with the proposals within the report.
In response to the latter point, the Director of Communications, Medway NHS Foundation Trust explained that there were already good communication networks among providers and these would be built in to the ICP going forward.
The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed to:
a) nominate a named communications lead for the Health and Wellbeing Board and request the lead to explore ways of promoting the role of the Board to the public, e.g. using partners' websites and e-bulletins;
b) add an update on the "Involving Medway" programme to the Board's Work Programme;
c) add an update on the work of the Patient Experience and Public and Patient Engagement (PEPPE) group to the Board's Work Programme;
d) consider if there are any health and wellbeing topics which the Board would like to ask the PEPPE group to consider engaging with the public about;
e) delegate authority to the Director of Public Health in consultation with the Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board to review patient experience case studies developed by the PEPPE and include them in the JSNA as appropriate;
f) request that the citizens' panel is used to gather information about health and wellbeing topics, and receive an update on this and the results of the health and wellbeing survey when it is complete in ... view the full minutes text for item 123.
Work Programme PDF 227 KB
The report advises the Health and Wellbeing Board of the forward work programme for discussion in the light of latest priorities, issues and circumstances. It gives the Board an opportunity to shape and direct the Board's activities.
The Democratic Services Officer introduced the work programme report and drew the Board's attention to the recommended amendments to the work programme set out at paragraphs 2.2 to 2.5.1 of the report. These amendments had been reflected in the work programme set out at Appendix 1 of the report.
It was explained that following the pre-agenda meeting, officers had proposed a scope for the research in relation to food justice, set out at paragraph 2.5.2 of the report and had recommended that the report be presented to the Board at their meeting on 10 September 2019.
Having reviewed the items listed on the work programme with dates to be determined, a Member expressed a view that the reports regarding the evaluation of the Suicide Prevention Programme and the update on the outcome of the section 136 'deep dive' should be prioritised. The Democratic Services Officer undertook to review with officers how soon these reports could be brought forward and schedule them accordingly.
The Board considered the start time of their meetings and it was proposed that start time be brought forward to 3pm.
The Health and Wellbeing Board:
a) noted the comments and actions regarding prioritisation set out within the minute and agreed the work programme attached at Appendix 1 to the report, subject to adding the Reference from Full Council – Food Justice report to the agenda for 10 September 2019.
b) agreed the scope of the Reference from Full Council – Food Justice report set out paragraphs 2.5.2 of the report; and
c) agreed to bring forward the start time for Health and Wellbeing Board meetings to 3pm, subject to the clinical representatives of NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) being able to attend.


text:
Leadership Practices of a Principal in a High School with a High Teacher Retention Rate
Ronald A. Branch II, West Virginia University
College of Education and Human Services
Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies
Paul Chapman.
As political and societal expectations for our nation's public school system continue to increase, leaders of local school systems are ever mindful of the demands for continual improvement. The cornerstone for this improvement is the classroom teacher. Research has supported the idea that teacher experience is influential in the effectiveness of the teacher. The statistics on teacher attrition, though, are disheartening.;The purpose for this research is to uncover emerging themes regarding the leadership practices and cultural elements that are in place in a school that has a high retention rate of teachers. This case study includes a school in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. This school has been identified as having the highest teacher retention rate in its programmatic level in Berkeley County, West Virginia, and has one of the highest retention rates among all programmatic levels in the county. Through the use of the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) designed by Kouzes and Posner (2003), open-ended interviews, and a review of school documents, the researcher provides data relevant to the creation of a school culture that fosters teacher retention.;This study describes the elements found in this high school that have led to the retentive culture which exists. The familial culture of this school has been affected by the leadership practices of the principal, the collegiality and friendships among the staff, and the attitudes and behavior of the students. These leadership practices and cultural elements are described in detail in order to provide an understanding of components of a school culture that leads to teacher retention.
Branch, Ronald A. II, "Leadership Practices of a Principal in a High School with a High Teacher Retention Rate" (2013). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 3631.


text:
Pittsburgh's first Open Streets of 2017: The route, street closures and more
Four miles of city streets become a pedestrian paradise this Sunday.
Open Streets July 2016
Open Streets / Facebook
Sarah Anne Hughes
May. 26, 2017, 3:08 p.m.
This Sunday is Pittsburgh's first Open Streets of 2017, which means miles of city roads will be off-limits to cars to create a pedestrian paradise.
Walkers, runners, cyclists (both bi- and uni-), rollerbladers, families and pups are welcome at the event, coordinated by Bike Pittsburgh. That organization has a number of tips for how to have the best time possible (like bring sunscreen and water). Below are the very basics of what you need to know for Sunday's Open Streets, which kicks off at 9 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.
The four-mile route stretches from Downtown to Uptown to the South Side. Click on the below image to check out an interactive route map, or download a copy here.
Open Streets PGH
The following streets, bridges and tunnels (yes, the Tenth Street bridge and Armstrong Tunnel) will be closed starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. Drivers shouldn't park cars on the route after 3 a.m. Sunday. Don't expect to drive on:
Forbes Avenue from Market Square to the Birmingham Bridge
East Carson Street between the Birmingham Bridge and 10th Street
The northbound lanes on the Birmingham Bridge will be open to drivers going in both directions.
Drivers who really need to cross through the event area can at the following intersections:
Forbes Avenue at Wood Street, Smithfield Street, Grant Street, Sixth Street, McAnulty Drive, Stevenson Street, Pride Street and Jumonville Street
E. Carson at 21st Street, 18th Street, 13th Street and S. 10th Street
10th and Bingham streets
There will be free fitness events in locations Downtown, Uptown and in the South Side. That includes free massages, yoga and Zumba. Check out the schedule here.
Out of town for Memorial Day? Not a problem. The year's other Open Streets are scheduled for June 25 and July 30.
Open Streets, Bike Pittsburgh, Health & Fitness, South Side, Downtown, Bluff


LONDON / BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – A Brexit deal is close due to differences at the Irish border but has not been finalized yet. Britain and the European Union said on Tuesday that the Sterling saw conflicting ideas about how difficult it was for Prime Minister Theresa to comply with an agreement.
"We still are not 100 percent," said European Union negotiator Michel Barnier at a press conference. "What's missing is a solution to the Irish question."
The UK and the EU both wish to keep the border between the EU Member Ireland and Northern Ireland in the UK after Brexit open, as this is considered crucial for the Good Friday of 1998, which ended the decades of sectarian bloodshed in Northern Ireland.
While subsequent agreements at the border have to be agreed in subsequent trade talks, a backstop arrangement is difficult in the event that such talks fail. Britain's desire to leave the Customs Union is not easily reconciled with maintaining the integrity of the EU single market.
Barnier said the EU is working to improve its backstop offer, or a stopgap to keep the Irish border open, despite the Brexit implications. However, this must be practicable.
London wants the rate of retention to be provisional rather than permanent, while the EU rejects any proposal that it could expire. Barnier said the backstop can not have an end date.
He points out that without an agreement that prevents a hard border in Ireland, the UK will leave the EU in less than five months without a transitional period.
May told her high-level Cabinet of Ministers that more work was needed at the Irish bases, and that although the 95-percent withdrawal agreement was completed, Northern Ireland was by far the main problem.
It is unclear whether an agreement can be reached in good time to hold an emergency summit in November to sign the agreement. May told her ministers that "the goal of making a deal would not be at any price".
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he was open to creative language and creative solutions to the issue, but reiterated Ireland's view that the backstop clause in a Brexit deal must have neither an expiration date nor a one-sided exit clause.
The dispute over whether there would be a deal to leave the EU on March 29 until Brexit Day came as a poll, as if the British would rather stay.
Voters would now lag behind by 54 to 46 percent, the largest independent poll conducted since the Brexit vote.
May has repeatedly ruled out a referendum rally and said it was her job to cast the 2016 poll to leave the bloc, even though her plan attracts critics on both sides of the Brexit divide.
It must unite its government, its party, and its domestic allies with a Brexit plan that is acceptable to the EU as well.
The British pound fell to a high-ranking member of the Northern Ireland party that supported the May administration, saying that the UK would likely leave the EU without an agreement.
"Looks like we're not going to seek a deal," said Jeffrey Donaldson, one of ten Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) legislators, whose support May needs to reach an agreement in the British Parliament, on Twitter.
But the pound rebounded after a BBC reporter asked Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab after a cabinet meeting if he was thumbs up or thumbs down and he replied, "Thumbs up."
The pound has risen 0.3 percent against the dollar and Raab has brought the euro to a 5-month low against the pound.


text:
Q: classify a large collection of image files I have a large collection of image files for a book, andthe publisher wants a list where files are classified by "type" (greyscale graph, b/w halftone image, color image, line drawing, etc.).  This is a hard problem in general, but perhaps I can do some of this automatically using image processing tools, e.g., ImageMagick with the R magick package.
I think ImageMagick is the right tool, but I don't really know how to use it for this purpose.
What I have is just a list of fig numbers & file names:
1.1 ch01-intro/fig/alcohol-risk.jpg
1.2 ch01-intro/fig/measels.png
1.3 ch01-intro/fig/numbers.png
1.4 ch01-intro/fig/Lascaux-bull-chamber.jpg
...

Can someone help get me started?
Edit: This was probably an ill-framed or overly-arching question as initially stated. I thought that ImageMagick identify or the R magick::image_info() function could help, so the initial question perhaps should have been: "How to extract image information from a list of files [in R]". I can pose this separately, if not already asked.
An initial attempt at this gave me the following for my first images,
library(magick)

# initialize an empty array to hold the results of `image_info`
figinfo <- data.frame(
  format=character(),
  width=numeric(),
  height=numeric(),
  colorspace=character(),
  matte=logical(),
  filesize=numeric(),
  density=character(), stringsAsFactors = FALSE
)

for (i in seq_along(files)) {
  img <- image_read(files[i])
  info <- image_info(img)
  figinfo[i,] <- info
}

I get:
> figinfo
  format width height colorspace matte filesize density
1   JPEG   661    733       sRGB FALSE    41884   72x72
2    PNG   838    591       sRGB  TRUE    98276   38x38
3    PNG   990    721       sRGB  TRUE   427253   38x38
4   JPEG   798    219       sRGB FALSE    99845 300x300

I conclude that this doesn't help much in answering the question I posed, of how to classify these images.
Edit2 Before closing this question, the advice to look into direct use of ImageMagick identify was helpful. https://imagemagick.org/script/escape.php
In particular, the %[type] is closer to
what I need. This is not exposed in magick::image_info(), so I may have to write a shell script or call system() in a loop.
For the record, here is how I can extract relevant attributes of these image files using identify directly.
# Get image characteristics via ImageMagick identify
# from: https://imagemagick.org/script/escape.php
#
# -format elements:
# %m image file format
# %f filename
# %[type] image type
# %k number of unique colors
# %h image height in pixels
# %r image class and colorspace

identify -format "%m,%f,%[type],%r,%k,%hx%w" imagefile

>identify -format "%m,%f,%[type],%r,%k,%hx%w" Quipu.png
PNG,Quipu.png,GrayscaleAlpha,DirectClass Gray Matte,16,449x299

The %[type] attribute takes me towards what I want.

A: To close this question:
In an R context, I was successful in using system(, intern=TRUE) for this task, as follows, with some manual fixups
# Use identify directly via system()

# function to run identify for one file
get_info <- function(file) {
  cmd <- 'identify -quiet -format "%f,%m,%[type],%r,%h,%w,%x,%y"'
  info <- system(paste(cmd, file), intern=TRUE)
  unlist(strsplit(info, ","))
}

# This doesn't cause coercion to numeric
figinfo <- data.frame(
  filename=character(),
  format=character(),
  type=character(),
  class=character(),
  height=numeric(),
  width=numeric(),
  xres=numeric(),
  yres=numeric(),
  stringsAsFactors = FALSE
)

for (i in seq_along(files)) {
  info <- get_info(files[i])
  info[4] <- sub("DirectClass ", "", info[4])
 figinfo[i,] <- info
}

figinfo$height <- as.numeric(figinfo$height)
figinfo$width <- as.numeric(figinfo$width)
figinfo$xres=round(as.numeric(figinfo$xres))
figinfo$yres=round(as.numeric(figinfo$yres))

Then I have more or less what I want:
> str(figinfo)
'data.frame':   161 obs. of  8 variables:
 $ filename: chr  "mileyears4.png" "alcohol-risk.jpg" "measels.png" "numbers.png" ...
 $ format  : chr  "PNG" "JPEG" "PNG" "PNG" ...
 $ type    : chr  "Palette" "TrueColor" "TrueColorAlpha" "TrueColorAlpha" ...
 $ class   : chr  "PseudoClass sRGB " "sRGB " "sRGB Matte" "sRGB Matte" ...
 $ height  : num  500 733 591 721 219 ...
 $ width   : num  720 661 838 990 798 ...
 $ xres    : num  72 72 38 38 300 38 300 38 28 38 ...
 $ yres    : num  72 72 38 38 300 38 300 38 28 38 ...
>


text:
Q: Can two electron moving in opposite direction move faster than light? Suppose we are moving two electrons in opposite direction both having a speed of 1.6e8 meter per sec.When they will cross each other then their relative velocity will be 3.2e8 ms_1.Isn't it faster than speed of light?

A: The problem is that although your frame of reference(the electron) is moving at speeds close to light, you are using GALILEAN TRANSFORMATION. You should use LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION to get the right relative speed.
Below is the Relativistic Velocity Transformation :
$$ u=\frac{\acute{u}+v}{1+\acute{u}v/c^2 }\ $$
Where,
u=velocity of particle as measured from frame S
$\acute{u} $=velocity of particle as measured from frame $\acute{S}$
v=velocity of frame $\acute{S}$

A: Just to add to the previous answer:
Lorentz transformations were constructed with the idea that no matter which frame you're in, the speed of light is always mapped to the same number. This is relatively non trivial to imagine. So in all frames, the speed of light is preserved, whereas other speeds (less than the speed of light of course) get mapped to some other value. It turns out that this is a correct way to switch between frames as per STR, and using the velocity addition formula, derived from the Lorentz transformation, tells us that relative speed between two photons will always be the 'speed of light'.


text:
Q: FB IDB usage in test automation I could set up to run fb-idb cli commands with iOS simulator, also build was succeeded for idb_companion tool. Proper documentations are found for invoking commands for device.
Now I am looking how these commands can be implemented using python. Any wrapper or lib for acheiving this ? Can we use these idb commands from python program, any thoughts ? Also Appium lists idb as an optional dependency. Any documentation or guide to explore idb using Appium ?

A: We can use idb command from python by taking ssh to Mac in which the iOS device is connected. you can use the path /usr/local/bin/ to execute idb commands.


text:
using JustLogic.Core;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;

[UnitMenu("Physics/Settings/Set Bounce Threshold")]
[UnitFriendlyName("Physics.Set Bounce Threshold")]
[UnitUsage(typeof(System.Single))]
public class JLPhysicsSetBounceThreshold : JLExpression
{
    [Parameter(ExpressionType = typeof(System.Single))]
    public JLExpression Value;

    public override object GetAnyResult(IExecutionContext context)
    {
        return Physics.bounceThreshold = Value.GetResult<System.Single>(context);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Tag Archives: philosophy
Poetry News Digest: April 2014
2014, 3 Sections, A Poet's Glossary, actor, album, American, April, award, BBC, book, Border, Boy Meets World, British, Ceausescu, centenary, Claudia Rankine, death, Desert Island Discs, dramatist, Economic Times, Edward Hirsch, English, exile, First World War, folk, GoodReads, Imelda Staunton, Indian, interview, Jackson Poetry Prize, Jim Carter, John Drury, music, Music at Midnight: The Life and Poetry of George Herbert, New York Times, news, Nina Cassian, NPR, NY Daily News, Overdrive, performance poetry, Peter Bennet, philosophy, photo, poetry, Polish, prize, Publishers Weekly, Pulitzer Prize, Radio Times, reference, review, Rolling Stone, Romanian, Samuel L Jackson, satire, secret police, Show of Hands, Sitcom, slam poem, Tadeusz Różewicz, The Belfast Telegraph, The Courier, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, The LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Write Web, The Yorkshire Post, TheNews.pl, Time, Tonight Show, TV, video, Vijay Seshadri, war, Warsaw Business Journal, witty, YouTube
The main stories about poetry from the month of April – a fairly quiet month by recent standards.
The actor Samuel L. Jackson performed a slam poem about the 1990s sitcom Boy Meets World on the Tonight Show. Read more at Time, Rolling Stone and The Daily Mail. Watch this video of the performance:
The USA celebrated its annual National Poetry Month, first introduced in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets. Read more at Poets.org, Chicago Now and ReadWriteThink.
The British actors Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton teamed up with folk band Show of Hands to record a musical album of war poetry, that will be released later this year to mark the centenary of the First World War. Read more at Radio Times, The Yorkshire Post and The Belfast Telegraph.
Show of Hands in Performance
[Flickr Creative Commons © Martin Gibson]
The exiled Romanian poet Nina Cassian, who sought refuge in the US after her poems satirising Ceausescu fell into the hands of secret police, died aged 89. Read more at The New York Times, The Guardian and The LA Times. Listen to Cassian appearing on the BBC's Desert Island Discs.
The Polish poet, dramatist and writer Tadeusz Różewicz, who belonged to the first generation of poets born after Poland regained independence in 1918, died aged 92. Read more at The Guardian, TheNews.pl and Warsaw Business Journal.
Vijay Seshadri won the 2014 Pultizer Prize for Poetry for his witty and philosophical collection of poems 3 Sections. Read more at NY Daily News, Economic Times and The Wall Street Journal. Read an interview with Seshadri at NPR. Watch Seshadri reading one of his poems:
Claudia Rankine won the $50,000 2014 Jackson Poetry Prize for her body of work that "pushes the boundaries of the contemporary lyric." Read more at Publishers Weekly and The New York Times.
Border, a selection of poems by Peter Bennet (not yet rated at GoodReads). Read reviews at The Guardian and The Courier.
A Poet's Glossary, an exhaustive resource on the tools of poetry by Edward Hirsch (rated 5/5 based on 5 ratings at GoodReads). Read reviews at Washington Post, Overdrive and The Write Web.
All ratings are from GoodReads as at 13/05/2014.
Poetry News Round Up: December 2012
127 Hours, American, archaeology, arts centre, Auden, auditorium, award, Bannockburn, book, British, Byron Johnson, Carol Ann Duffy, education, film, French, Gerard Woodward, Guyanese, Hadrian, Idaho, James Dyson, James Franco, John Agard, Josephine Hart, Kathleen Jamie, lesbian, Life Saving: Why We Need Poetry, monument, news, Penelope Shuttle, philosophy, poetry, Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, Romans, Rome, San Francisco, Sandy Hook, school, Supreme Court, Sylvia Plath, The Seacunny, Yeats
Poetry News from the month of December, all shipshape and ready for action.
Probably the story that attracted the most attention this month was the news that a San Francisco high school senior was suspended after writing a poem which appeared to sympathise with the gunman of the Sandy Hook School massacre. The case raises questions about literal interpretations of poetry and authorial voice.
In the UK, a new schools competition is being introduced to encourage teenagers to learn poetry by heart. Students will be asked to memorise and perform a poem. Some saw this as a deliberate riposte to James Dyson's criticism of literature education and "French lesbian poetry," which we reported on in November.
In Rome, there was an exciting archaeological find. An ancient 900-seat arts centre, built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, has been excavated. The auditorium was built in 123 AD so people could listen to readings of poetry and philosophy.
James Franco, famous for the film 127 Hours, attracted plenty of coverage this month by announcing he is to publish a book of poems, though it's not likely to come out until 2014.
Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie's poem was chosen to be inscribed on woodwork and displayed at the newly restored Battle of Bannockburn monument.
The Guyana-born poet John Agard won the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. He is only the second black poet to win the award.
In December we bade farewell to the poet and former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Byron Johnson.
Finally, here is a quick look at some of the poetry books that were published in December. The Seacunny by Gerard Woodward is considered to be eloquent, witty and beautiful. Carol Ann Duffy has published a new selection of work by Sylvia Plath. In Life Saving: Why We Need Poetry, Josephine Hart provides a beginner's guide to the big guns that comprise the English canon, from Auden to Yeats. There is also a New and Selected Poems of Penelope Shuttle.