text:
Rene's Ramblings
New to soccer (or as the rest of the world calls it - football)? So am I! This is my place to share thoughts about the sport and news and commentary about the clubs I'm following. Who am I following? LA Galaxy, IF Elfsborg, Falkenbergs FF, Liverpool FC, Queens Park Rangers, and LAFC. Also random ramblings about Star Trek, LA area sports, politics, faith, and life. Send comments to rrblog[at]yahoo[dot]com.
LA Galaxy & Seattle Sounders - A tale of two clubs
On Sunday, LA plays Seattle up at Seattle.
It has been a rough season for Seattle. This item highlights what has been going wrong this year.
The club has been losing matches and the coach has been fired and there are rumors of discord in the locker room.
LA has won its last 6 matches (4 MLS and 2 Open Cup) and climbing up the table in the West and in the Supporter's Shield. They have been playing good defense and the offense is been efficient. 34 goals puts them in the top 6 in the MLS but 207 shots is last in the league!
Can the Galaxy make a run to the MLS Cup with this group?
Certainly, the players seem to be playing well as a team both on offense and defense. The additions of the three aging Eurostars off season has made a difference. However, they have picked up some red cards and injuries which could cost them. In the end, a run to a championship needs both talent, chemistry among players, and some luck in avoiding the injuries. But in addition to the older talent on the clu…
Kaine-Pence 2016 Pence-Kaine
What is a #nevertrump #neverhillary voter to do? The respective VP are both "no drama" and some say even "boring" but they have worked with people as governors to generally good reviews. Prefer that to the traveling road show of Clinton or Trump!
Don't know if California allows write-ins but it is a temptation. May also consider Johnson-Weld, two former governors running on the Libertarian ticket. What else can a dis-enchanted voter do?
The write-in option would be a somewhat "wasted" protest vote as it may or may not count (see items below). Voting Libertarian will "count" but unless they garner much more votes their impact on the two major parties will remain on the margins but perhaps that is worth something.
If you are curious, here are a few articles about write-in candidates. Suffice to say, it will either not be counted or lumped together with generic "other."
From https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_presidential_cand…
Problem Solved: Can't retrieve Pubmed results on Endnote when off-campus
Many people use Endnote to generate reference lists for publications and other documents. I use it when I am on-campus without any problems. The other day I was off-campus trying to use it and couldn't retrieve any literature searches from Pubmed. I could visit Pubmed directly and search. However, if I wanted to retrieve items for my Endnote reference database, it came up empty.
I called Endnote technical support and they explained it was probably due to my PROXY settings.
When I am on-campus, I can visit Pubmed and when I find an article of interest I can click through to view the item. Many journal articles now can be seen by anyone with a computer anywhere but some items can only be seen if the webpage recognizes your institution. When I am on-campus, those webpages know I'm at UCLA and that our library has a license to view the article. When I am off-campus, those websites don't see my UCLA credentials and I can't see the item unless I configure my proxy settings. …
No Party Preference Voter
In California, one can update your registration information online.
A handful of days ago, I went in and re-registered as a "No Party Preference." Part of my #NeverTrump sentiment.
Of course, I'm also #NeverHillary so I don't know what I am going to do on the POTUS vote in November. I could skip that item. I am also looking at the Johnson-Weld ticket.
Elfsborg: Can they make a run to the Europa League?
It isn't looking too good for IF Elfsborg this season as they are sitting mid-table in 6th place with 21 points at 14/30 or 7/15 or just about half-way through the season.
Currently, the league champion goes to the Champions League of course. Finishers two and three get invites to the Europa League. Since 2008 when the Allsvenskan expanded to 16 teams, the third place team has gathered 52 to 61 points. Thus, Elfsborg needs something in that range to have a decent shot at finishing in third place.
Let's say 55 points is a target to get to 3rd place. Currently Goteborg is at 25 points after 14 matches. They are on track to about 54 points.
In the table below is a scenario that gets Elfsborg to 55 points. They need 10 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses. Not an easy task ahead!
Ranking the Star Trek Movies
Everybody is making lists so why can't this pajama wearing blogger who watched every film at least once! Also have seen all the TV shows though some via Netflix after the fact. At the time, I didn't quite get hooked into DS9, Voyager, or Enterprise during their live run on TV. But upon viewing on Netflix, have found each has its own strengths.
Onto the list of films .....
From best to worst FWIW IMHO .....
Star Trek II - the Wrath of Khan
Star Trek IV - the Voyage Home
Star Trek - First Contact
UPDATE: Star Trek Beyond
Star Trek VI - the Undiscovered Country
Star Trek III - the Search for Spock
Star Trek - the Motion Picture
Star Trek - Generations
Star Trek - Nemesis
Star Trek - Insurrection
Star Trek V - the Final Frontier
UPDATE: Here is the opinion the IGN people ....
Triple your pleasure - LA Galaxy update
LA Galaxy playing at home defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0.
That is their third win in a row.
They have moved up to third in the West conference.
The team sits at third in the Supporter's Shield.
Saw parts of the game. The forward movement and play between dos Santos/Zardes/Keane is looking better. By stats, it looked like an even match up. By eyeball, in the parts that I saw, the Galaxy seemed to be having their way with Houston though they didn't put it into the net except for the Gerrard goal at the 66 minute mark. Seems to me they should have won by a wider margin as they weren't "clinical" on the final part of the play.
Went over to LAGConfidential to see how their guy saw the WHOLE game.
Here are some excerpts from their report in italics with my comments in regular text.
Giovani dos Santos: For my money, the enigmatic little Mexican midfielder was LA's man of the match. He didn't show up on the scoreboard, but he played with a level of intensity and …
#Never Trump - end of the line .......
There was an attempt to allow GOP delegates to vote unbound to their state results; however, the #NeverTrump side lost those votes by a wide margin. It appears the last actions could take place at the convention with gestures of dissent.
As a #NeverTrump voter, am looking at a protest vote with the Libertarian Johnson-Weld ticket...
Here Gov. Johnson makes his pitch to the #NeverTrump voters ....
And here Johnson makes his pitch to #FeelTheBern voters ....
Harsanyi - How Obama Divides America
Hard hitting stuff over at Reason.com posting an op-ed from David Harsanyi.
Seemingly every political battle waged by the modern Democratic Party—gay rights, immigration, climate change, inequality—is imbued with a kind of spiritual certitude that justifies circumventing debate. If a person who opposes the Obama administration's transgender bathroom policy is just like a Klansman, why even discuss the matter? In this context, the histrionics of Democrats in Congress over guns or the media's melodramas make all the sense in the world. [.......]
If you continually claim that every problem in America is driven by hate, people may start believing you. According to a new Pew Research Center poll, Americans' perception of race relations is more negative today than it has been in 20 years. About 48 percent of those polled claim that "race relations are generally bad." And 36 percent of adults say that "too much attention" is paid to race and racial iss…
Falkenberg FF and the Allsvenskan
Can Falkenberg (FFF) stay in the Swedish top-level league, the Allsvenskan?
It is going to be a uphill battle for them but I think it is still possible.
To finish 14th and thus qualify for the relegation playoffs, they need somewhere between 24-32 points. That is the number of points the #14 place team has gotten since the current 16-team table has been in place (since 2008).
If they can beat bottom of the table clubs (11-16), draw mid-table (6-10), and lose to top-table (1-5), they can finish with 30 points which should put them in 14th or even better.
Can they do it? Go FFF! Laget vid Havet!
UPDATE: Ooooffff ..... 3-0 up on Hammarby only to surrender 3 goals and only getting a draw out of that match. Not good.
Sigi Schmid and Bruce Arena the Godfathers of American Soccer
Interesting profile of current MLS Galaxy (Arena) and Sounders (Schmid) coaches.
Seattle and Los Angeles face off on Saturday.
Allsvenskan is back in action this weekend .....
The international break is coming to an end and Swedish soccer returns.
The situation is pretty grim for Falkenberg with only 1 win 1 draw and 10 losses for a paltry 4 points. They are in 16th in a league of 16 teams. Positions 15 and 16 are automatically relegated. Position 14 leads to a one-game playoff.
There are 18 matches left in the season and to jump over two clubs isn't going to be easy given how much they have struggled so far. On the positive side, 5 of their 10 losses have been 1 goal defeats. Thus, the team isn't constantly being blown out by opponents. If they can pick up a few wins against other bottom half clubs and snatch a few draws from the mid-table teams, FFF could be back in the hunt for that #14 relegation playoff spot.
As for Elfsborg, they are sitting at #7. Defensively, they have only given up 15 goals (only two clubs have allowed fewer goals) and all five losses were by only 1 goal so they are in competitive in most matches. Hopefully, a stronger perf…
Liverpool Summer Update
So far LFC has not been very active in the summer transfer window. As of this writing, they have signed four players (Grujic, Matip, Karius, and Mane). I've only been following Liverpool the two years prior and LFC had rather frantic summer transfer activity compared to this summer. Hopefully, Klopp will be able to make judicious signings unlike the rather chaotic mix-and-match the previous two summers.
The management is looking to lock down Klopp to a longer term deal.
Usher describes it this way:
Back in October, when Rodgers departed, any suggestion that Liverpool would reach the Europa League final having knocked out Manchester United, Dortmund and Villarreal along the way would have been laughed out of town. Yet that's what they did, and although the 3-1 defeat to Sevilla in the final showed just how far they have to go, the journey that took them there at least suggests that Klopp gives them a chance of getting back to the top. There is no guarantee he will bring success…
Dodgers 2016 as of July
On one hand, things haven't gone according to plan:
The hope was that Pederson, Puig, and Grandal would show the hitting form they exhibited in early 2015. There are hints of it but still their numbers aren't great.
The hope was Turner and Gonzalez would continue to defy father time and be the core of the offense. There are hints of it but still their numbers aren't great.
The hope was that collecting a bunch of starting pitchers would be better than spending huge money on one pitcher. Unfortunately, there is almost an entire roster of starting pitchers on the DL right now. But things maybe turning a corner with the return of McCarthy and soon return of Ryu.
The front office probably didn't plan on having to use Stripling, Urias, and Bolsinger as pitchers as much as they had to. They weren't always effective but they did show promise, in particular Urias.
However, there have been some positives:
Seager looks to be the star the front office thought he might be.
Previous Description 2002-2017
Small Bowel Obstruction hospitalizations
Summary of Jay Smith talk about Islam and Christianity
LA Galaxy & Seattle Sounders - A tale of two clubs...
Problem Solved: Can't retrieve Pubmed results on E...
Elfsborg: Can they make a run to the Europa League...
Sigi Schmid and Bruce Arena the Godfathers of Amer...
California State Parks
devotional thoughts
ehrman
Falkenberg FF
LA Kings
LA Law
LA Scene
non-profit of the month
Petrine Pneumatology
POTUS 2012
POTUS2020
QPRFC
rule of benedict
UCI Anteaters


text:
Home / Latest News Headlines Bedminster
Latest News Headlines Bedminster
Close Adv
0 Comment 32
President is not yet rid of 'Baby-Trump'
london July 16, 2018 16:39 Hot Recent News
A huge balloon that Trump depicts as an angry baby will soon be seen in the United States. An activist has collected thousands of dollars via the website GoFundMe to order a copy of the flying monster. He wants to leave the 'Baby-Trump' in Bedminster, where the wave-loving president regularly plays a ball.
Trump: military intervention Venezuela an option
bedminster August 12, 2017 05:03 Hot Recent News
US President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was taking military action as one of the options to address the political crisis in Venezuela.
Trump hopes that North Korea will seriously realize
Donald Trump hopes that North Korea has made the impression of the nature of its message and its scope profound. The US president warned Pyongyang for the consequences of a military action against the United States or their allies.
Trump: close decision on Afghanistan
US President Donald Trump says 'very close' to be a decision on US military effort in Afghanistan. It is currently undergoing a review and could see a possible increase in troop strength.
Russians fly over the Pentagon and Trump golf club
washington August 10, 2017 09:03 Hot Recent News
An unarmed Russian military device was flown over some vital places in the United States on Wednesday. This was done in the context of an agreement between NATO and countries of the former Warsaw Pact, which was a longstanding, CNN news channel reported Thursday.
Trump threatens North Korea with 'fire and anger'
washington August 8, 2017 21:21 Hot Recent News
US President Donald Trump has warned North Korea to stop threatening his country in fierce words. The president said the regime in Pyongyang can count on 'fire and anger as the world has never seen' if it does not bind.
Trump 'crashes' wedding
June 12, 2017 21:45 Hot Recent News
If you marry, the president of the United States appears to be at your wedding suddenly. That happened last Saturday when Kristen Piatkowski and Tucker Gladhill married the New Jersey. Suddenly Donald Trump stood at their wedding.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Tony Elumelu : Leveraging Resources of Africa for Africa's Development
By Joshua Praise on January 18,2019
TONY O. Elumelu, CON, the Africapitalist, is the Vanguard Personality of the Year 2018.
He has championed the African emergent entrepreneurship and private sector-led economic development for the continent of Africa. This has given hope to intra-African trade and economic integration which had been lacking before now and which had been the bane of the region's economy and the clog in its wheel of progress. Elumelu has built and is still building more institutions that are driving these developments from Nigerian headquarters. The institutions cut across financial sector, healthcare and the real sector as well as infrastructure development. He has also instituted human capital and entrepreneurship development platforms for the continent, pointing the way to go for Africa that would survive globalism. At Vanguard Newspapers, we see the emergence of a modern corporate Africa, led by Elumelu and a few other continental business leaders to redefine and give vent to the ideals espoused by pan-Africanist movements of the mid-20th Century. They are set to actualise the aspirations and visions of the continent's early leaders sooner than could have been possible with the present political structures and leadership across the 54-nation continent. The nature of the emergent corporate Africa is already ventilated in the principles of Africapitalism, created by Elumelu.
Africapitalism The future we all want for ourselves is one of our own making – Tony O. Elumelu, CON.
Africapitalism is the economic philosophy of Tony Elumelu predicated on the belief that Africa's private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent's development. The foundational principles include: Entrepreneurship: Unlock the power of individuals to create and grow their business ideas into successful companies Long-term Investments: Deploy patient capital that creates greater and broader economic value as opposed to merely the extraction of resources, which Africa has been known for and which has kept it impoverished amidst abundance. Strategic Sectors: Invest in sectors delivering a financial return as well as broader economic and social value – agriculture, power, healthcare, and finance. Tony Elumelu Development Dividend: Conduct investments and business activity in a manner that delivers financial returns to shareholders as well as economic and social benefit to stakeholders.
Value-Added Growth: Leverage locally available human and financial capital, raw material and other inputs that create longer, more integrated and higher value regional supply chains. Regional Connectivity: Facilitate intra-regional commerce and trade through the development of national and cross-border physical infrastructure, and the harmonisation of policies and practices Multi-Generational Development: Focus on investments and economic growth strategies that build value for future generations.
Shared Purpose: Foster collaboration between businesses, investors, governments, academia, civil society, philanthropists and development institutions to create conditions that will empower the African private sector to thrive. Africapitalism is a call-to-action for businesses to make decisions that will increase economic and social wealth, and promote development in the communities and nations in which they operate. Such a decision will ultimately help businesses become more profitable as the communities they serve become well-off consumers, healthy and better-educated employees, and even entrepreneurs who go on to become suppliers and service providers. Elumelu says: "Africapitalism means we cannot leave the business of development up to our governments, donor countries and philanthropic organisations alone. The private sector must be involved in the business of development." We dare say there is no better way to actualise African Union, AU, than the Elumelu example and there is no structure more effective than the Elumelu corporate structure.
The Elumelu structure: Tony Elumelu had honed his business and entrepreneurial skills in Nigeria over the past three decades rising through the ranks in corporate Nigeria before ascending the global stage to now building Afro-centric entrepreneurial platforms. The corporate Africa landscape is now dotted with the United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA, and the Heirs Holding brands. They are now complemented in the Africapitalism with The Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF. These are the Elumelu Africa network with global reach in world's leading economic centers such as New York, Paris and London, and many others.
United Bank for Africa, UBA: Tony Elumelu is the Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA, which is a leading pan-African financial services group, with presence in 20 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France. UBA was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company after taking over the assets of the British and French Bank Limited who had been operating in Nigeria since 1949. The United Bank for Africa merged with Standard Trust Bank in 2005 and from a single country operation, UBA has become one of the leading providers of banking and other financial services on the African continent. The bank provides services to over 15 million customers globally, through one of the most diverse service channels in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 1,000 branches and customer touch points and robust online and mobile banking platforms. The assets is in excess of $19billion. Heirs Holdings, HH: Tony Elumelu is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, HH, an African investment company committed to the economic transformation of Africa through investments that generate both economic prosperity and social wealth. The goal is to catalyse the economic growth of Africa while generating exceptional value for the shareholders and partners. HH invests proprietary capital for the long-term in the most promising sectors of the continent: financial services, health care, infrastructure, real estate and hospitality, agriculture, oil and gas. Its operations are rooted in the economic philosophy of Africapitalism which proposes private sector-led long-term investment in Africa by Africans.
Transcorp Plc: Transcorp is a diversified strategic investor with core interests in three sectors: agribusiness, hospitality, real estate/facilities management, and energy. Transcorp is committed to being actively engaged in these sectors of the national economy to stimulate growth and build a viable business enterprise that will be the pride of its shareholders. Transcorp serves as the vehicle that will mobilise capital on a large scale while investing locally on major projects. The vision is To be the most dominant conglomerate in Africa over the next five to seven years. Transcorp shares are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF: Tony Elumelu is the Founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF, an Africa-based and funded not-for-profit institution, dedicated to the promotion and celebration of excellence in business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa. As a 21st Century catalytic philanthropy, the Foundation is committed to driving the continent's economic growth from within by proving the African private sector can itself be the primary generator of economic development. The Foundation identifies and addresses systemic challenges that inhibit African entrepreneurs. TEF is also a pioneer in the adoption of impact investing as a means of catalysing economic change. Unlike most philanthropies, the Foundation sees grants as only one of a set of effective philanthropic tools and believes that for the start-up and small and growing business segments, impact investing can be a more sustainable means of capitalisation because of the entrepreneurial rigor that comes with requiring a financial return. The Foundation, established in 2010, has received thousands of applications for business proposals across 54 countries in Africa. About 2,000 entrepreneurs have gone through the seven pillars of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme. They have all benefitted directly, and those who were not selected continue to benefit indirectly from the wide range of resources that the Foundation places across its online platforms. Elumelu stated: "My message is clear to the other high net worth individuals in Africa.
The measure of your success is not based on how much you have in your account but how much you are investing in developing Africa. We at the Tony Elumelu Foundation have created a programme which is long-term, sustainable, scalable and replicable. "We invite other high net worth individuals in Africa to join forces with us as we have the format; they can join forces with us to scale this programme or they can adapt our programme and implement it themselves. To develop the format, we have invested millions of dollars in the meet ups, the forums, the technology platforms and building local networks across the 54 African countries. This needs ongoing support. "Our selected entrepreneurs will require ongoing investments. We are saying look through these businesses, amongst which I can assure that you'll find investable businesses you can identify with. When it comes to investments, entrepreneurs do not only need money, they need networks, mentoring and for corporations and government to buy their services. They are not looking for handouts but hand ups!"
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/tony-elumelu-leveraging-resources-of-africa-for-africas-development/
← NewerWorld Economic Forum: Globalization and the African Entrepreneur
Older →Meet Yolanda Shields, The Veteran Coach


Wow Im cranking out Freebies that I made using yet another beautiful kit from Laurrie of CheyOkota Digital Scraps.You can purchase her kits from HERE , This kit is called Vintage Elegance and is not available until around January 19th, and again the kit is FREAKING FANTASTIC!!!!Hopefully someone can use it. I hope you all can find a use for it in your creations. Please stop by Laurries Store and grab this kit and some of the older ones as well. Her talent is amazing and I love how things just come together each and every time when using her kits!!!
you go girl! LOVE IT - I actually put it into the store already :) THANKS for a great job yet again!


Bored cleaning doing laundry n what not.
Relation Type: Is There Any Real Women Out There? .
I am lonely and bored and could use a sympathetic ear if one is out there.
Waking up to had caressing your lokking, breasts and inner thigh. Even talking on the phone sounds great to me. Seeking for NSA or fwb m4w seeking for a fwb we can chill tonight and see what happens.


text:
May Day 2020: Stocks Down, Developing Currencies Weaken, and Trump Makes a Fresh Tariff Threat
Markets are observing labor day holidays in most of Continental Europe and in a slew of Asian countries. What should have been a very quiet day was disturbed by a new tariff threat from President Trump against China, whom he blames for the Covid-19 global pandemic which has hit America particularly harshly. People didn't have enough to worry about, so the possibility of a reescalation of the tariff war has been added to the pile. If one accepts the epithet "China flu", then perhaps the even more devastating Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 ought to be renamed America's flu because it surfaced initially in Kansas and was exported to Europe by U.S. GIs fighting in WWI. The blame game is bad for world peace, world health and world prosperity.
Share prices fell 5% in Australia and are down 2% in Great Britain. Futures point to a likely drop in the U.S. market as well.
The dollar rose sharply over night against a number of developing economy currencies such as the South African rand, Turkish lira, Mexican peso, Russian ruble and Chinese yuan, whose offshore value weakened through 7.13 per dollar. The dollar is also up 1.1% and 1.0% against the Aussie dollar and kiwi, 0.7% relative to the Canadian dollar, and 0.5% vis-a-vis sterling. Dollar losses of 0.4%, 0.3%, and 0.2% occurred overnight versus the yen, Swiss franc and euro.
The prices of oil and gold each dipped 0.2%, and while the 10-year British gilt yield climbed 2 basis points, its U.S. and Japanese counterparts are down 3 basis points and unchanged.
The usual flood of manufacturing purchasing manager surveys that typically happens on the first business day of the month was curtailed by May Day observances, but there have been a couple of such reports.
Japan's April manufacturing PMI was revised from 43.8 reported initially to a 133-month low of 41.9.
The British factory PMI also got revised downward to an even more contractionary reading of 32.6, which is a record low in this 28-year data series.
Ireland's manufacturing PMI score was 36.0, a record 133-month low and down from and above-50 reading of 51.2 just two months earlier.
Denmark's 38.6 PMI score in April represents a 131-month low and is 7.9 points below the prior month's reading.
Two Australian manufacturing PMIs got reported. The AIG-compiled reading, 35.8, is the lowest since April 2009 and 13.6 points below the March result. The CBA-compiled PMI for Australia got revised down from 45.6 to 44.1, which is a record low and down from 49.7 in March.
Other economic news this first day of May has been light.
Britain's Nationwide house price index for April showed a 3.7% on-year increase, the most in 38 months. However, that data doesn't reflect the impact of Covid-19 on construction, and a big deceleration is likely in coming months.
Indeed, British mortgage applications shrunk to a 7-year low in March, and consumer credit contracted GBP 3.841 billion, which was by the most since at least 1993.
Core CPI inflation during April in Tokyo, which reports consumer prices one month ahead of the national figures, swung into the red by 0.1% versus 12-month increases of 0.4% in March and 0.7% in January.
South Korea posted its first trade deficit last month since the start of 2012. The shortfall totaled $950 million and trimmed the first quarter surplus to $8.53 billion, 32.2% less than a year earlier.
Australian producer price inflation slowed last quarter to 1.3%, a 13-quarter low. Such had crested at 2.1% in the third quarter of 2018.
Yesterday, the Central Bank of Colombia announced its second consecutive 50-basis point interest rate reduction. The new rate level, 3.25%, is its lowest since 2014. The rate had been 4.25% from April 2018 until March 2020 and earlier was at a peak of 7.75% from July 2016 to December 2016. Officials said the latest rate cut is consistent with the prior measures taken to increase liquidity and ensure proper financial market functionality.
Copyright 2020, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: Australia PPI, British manufacturing purchasing managers survey, Central Bank of Colombia, Trump tariff threat
This entry was posted on Friday, May 1st, 2020 at 6:48 am	and is filed under New Overnight Developments Abroad - Daily Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


text:
The Cray SV1 is a vector processor supercomputer from the Cray Research division of Silicon Graphics introduced in 1998. The SV1 has since been succeeded by the Cray X1 and X1E vector supercomputers. Like its predecessor, the Cray J90, the SV1 used CMOS processors, which lowered the cost of the system, and allowed the computer to be air-cooled. The SV1 was backwards compatible with J90 and Y-MP software, and ran the same UNIX-derived UNICOS operating system. The SV1 used Cray floating point representation, not the IEEE 754 floating point format used on the Cray T3E and some Cray T90 systems.

Unlike earlier Cray designs, the SV1 included a vector cache. It also introduced a feature called multi-streaming, in which one processor from each of four processor boards work together to form a virtual processor with four times the performance. The SV1 processor was clocked at 300 MHz. Later variants of the SV1, the SV1e and SV1ex, ran at 500 MHz, the latter also having faster memory and support for the SSD-I Solid-State Storage Device. Systems could include up to 32 processors with up to 512 shared memory buses.

Multiple SV1 cabinets could be clustered together using the GigaRing I/O channel, which also provided connection to HIPPI, FDDI, ATM, Ethernet and SCSI devices for network, disk, and tape services. In theory, up to 32 nodes could be clustered together, offering up to one teraflops in theoretical peak performance.

References

Computer-related introductions in 1998
Sv1
Vector supercomputers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's nearly autumn, but the aural 'imagery' does take me back as it evokes the sounds and simple pleasures of the height of an idyllic summer. Maybe lying back with my head in her lap as she playfully plops a strawberry robed in dark chocolate into my mouth. I sit back up, gently twine my fingers through her hair as I get lost in the depths of her bright eyes reflecting the light of the setting sun, until she pulls me in for a kiss that takes our breaths away.
 Well that beautiful image deserves a comment trophy!
I love this Miss Eve, also the idea of a human stress ball that's not a bad idea, that would definitely work for me.
oh my....any particular couple? I confess a certain couple came to mind - but then, I created them.


LOS ANGELES -- In the span of a little over two weeks, David Price somehow managed to go from hapless in October to all-but-unhittable. The same pitcher who couldn't seem to win in the postseason became the guy who couldn't lose.
Maybe we should have seen this coming, what with the law of averages and all of that. Or maybe it was in the cards after Price was the starting and winning pitcher in the Red Sox first win of the regular season, the 100th win of the season and, then, the pennant clincher in Houston earlier this month.
Still, Price's transformation from October zero to hero was almost breathtaking. He started Game 2 of the World Series and allowed two runs on three hits over six innings. And Sunday night, he completed his transformation with a stunning performance that saw him go seven innings plus a batter, allowing just one run on three hits.
The same guy -- give or take -- who had a career postseason ERA of 5.42 as recently as the middle of this month, then made four appearances, beginning with Game 5 of the ALCS, in which he went 3-0 (with a relief appearance tossed in) for an ERA of 1.37.
Put another way: Price won half of the Red Sox four World Series victories.
Raise your hand if you expected that kind of reversal.


Sunnyville Stories #9 Available Now!
Ladies and gentlemen, Sunnyville Stories episode 9 is now available! It's for sale over on Indy Planet! Be sure you get your copy today!
This entry was posted in Episode 9 and tagged Sunnyville Stories episode 9. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Return to Bad Software: What To Do When Software Fails.
06/07/96 OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORP v. ELLIOTT TURBOMACHINERY C
BLUE BOOK CITATION FORM: 1996.C05.238 (http://www.versuslaw.com)
[Editor's note: footnotes (if any) trail the opinion]
[1] United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
[2] No. 95-30662.
[3] OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL CORPORATION, and Travelers Insurance Company,
[4] Plaintiffs-Appellees,
[5] ELLIOTT TURBOMACHINERY COMPANY, INC.,
[6] Defendant-Appellant,
[7] Liberty Mutual Insurance Company,
[8] Defendant.
[9] June 3, 1996.
[10] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
[11] Before REYNALDO G. GARZA, WIENER and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
[12] STEWART, Circuit Judge:
[13] This interlocutory appeal raises issues of first impression involving Louisiana contract law. Elliott Turbomachinery Company appeals the district court's decision denying its second motion for summary judgment regarding the plaintiffs' claim for gross fault.*fn1 The district court held that the warranty provision in Elliott's commercial contract, which limits the duration of its liability for gross fault to only one year, is violative of Louisiana public policy and therefore invalid. After reviewing and analyzing applicable Louisiana law, we are convinced that the district court correctly interpreted the provision. Therefore, we affirm the district court's judgment.
[14] FACTS
[15] Occidental Chemical Corporation executed an agreement with a general contractor, Braun, for an engineering construction project at Occidental's St. Charles plant.*fn2 The agreement authorized Braun to issue purchase orders and execute subcontracts (subject to Occidental's approval) to obtain goods and services for Occidental.
[16] Pursuant to this agreement, Braun subcontracted Elliott to rerate*fn3 certain turbines and compressors owned by Occidental. Elliott had manufactured the turbines and compressors for the previous owner of the St. Charles plant. The subcontract between Braun and Elliott contained warranty and liability provisions limiting the duration of Elliott's warranty for its rerates.*fn4 Specifically, Elliott's warranty ended twenty-four months from the date of shipment or twelve months from the date of first use, whichever period was shorter. Further, the provisions limited Elliott's responsibility to repair or replacement and made Elliott completely immune from liability for damages.
[17] Braun also executed a second subcontract with Elliott which required Elliott to install the equipment after it was rerated. This contract also contained warranty and liability provisions.*fn5 The provisions limited Elliott's installation services warranty to ninety days from the date Elliott completed the installation. Further, the provisions restricted Braun and Occidental's remedy to repair or replacement and excluded all other warranties as well as Elliott's liability for special or consequential damages.
[18] Elliott rerated Occidental's J802R2 compressor, which had been manufactured by Elliott in 1966, and shipped it to the St. Charles plant in July of 1989. Elliott completed installation of the compressor in August of 1989. On December 24, 1990 during a harsh freeze, the compressor failed. The compressor suffered extensive damage, which forced Occidental to cease operation of the plant until the compressor was repaired. The compressor failure and shutdown cost Occidental millions of dollars in damages. Traveler's Insurance paid Occidental $7 million in repair costs and consequential damages.
[19] Occidental believed that the compressor failed because Elliott replaced one of the compressor's components (guide vanes) with inferior parts, which damaged the compressor.*fn6 Occidental and Travelers sued Elliott and its insurer alleging several contractual causes of action. The district court applied the contractual provisions limiting Elliott's warranties and Occidental's recovery. The district court found that the contract expressly excluded most of Occidental's claims, which were filed sixteen months after the date of first use. However, the court held that article 2004 of the Louisiana Civil Code invalidated the contractual provision limiting Elliott's warranty for gross fault. Accordingly, the court denied Elliott's motion for summary judgment on the issue of gross fault. The district court granted Elliott leave to appeal the interlocutory judgment to this court.
[20] DISCUSSION
[21] A. STANDARD OF REVIEW.
[22] It is well-established that this court reviews de novo questions of law raised in summary judgment appeals. See Eugene v. Alief Indep. Sch. Dist., 65 F.3d 1299, 1303 (5th Cir.1995). More specifically, we review a district court's interpretation of a state statute de novo. See Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. v. Transportation Ins. Co., 953 F.2d 985, 987 (5th Cir.1992). The district court's interpretation of article 2004 clearly qualifies for de novo review. In reviewing the issue, we must use the same criteria as the district court, see General Elec. Capital Corp. v. Southeastern Health Care, Inc., 950 F.2d 944, 947-48 (5th Cir.1991), which in this case involve the principles applicable to granting summary judgment, see id.; and Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 56(c). Nevertheless, our standard of review discussion cannot end here because a state statute is involved.
[23] Our interpretation of a state statute is not accomplished with unfettered discretion. The federal court is bound to answer the question the way the state's highest court would resolve the issue. See Transcontinental Gas, 953 F.2d at 988. In addressing an insurance issue, this Court in Graham v. Milky Way Barge, Inc., 824 F.2d 376, 381 (5th Cir.1987) explained as follows:
[24] When the state courts have not yet decided a particular question, the duty of the federal court is to decide what the state courts would hold if faced with that issue.... In making this determination it is our duty ... to view ourselves ... as an inferior state court and to reach the decision that we think a state court would reach.... As a federal court, it is not for us to adopt innovative theories of state law, but simply to apply the law as it currently exists.... If the law of Louisiana is to be changed, it is up to the Supreme Court of Louisiana and not this court to change the substantive law of that state.
[25] (citations, brackets, and quotations omitted). Accordingly, we must interpret a state statute the way the Louisiana Supreme Court would interpret the statute based upon prior precedent, legislation, and relevant commentary.
[26] B. INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLE 2004.
[27] Both parties agree that no Louisiana court has ever applied article 2004 to a warranty duration provision. Both parties also assert that article 2004 is clear and unambiguous, though both present very different interpretations of the article.
[28] Elliott argues that article 2004 does not apply to a warranty duration provision. It asserts that Louisiana courts routinely enforce warranty duration provisions in commercial contracts. Elliott also contends that article 2004 literally applies to liability provisions, not warranty provisions. As warranties regulate obligations rather than liabilities, article 2004 does not affect warranty provisions. Additionally, Elliott asserts that the law review article written by Professor Saul Litvinoff,*fn7 which prompted the enactment of article 2004, supports the validity of the warranty provision at issue. Finally, Elliott maintains that invalidating the warranty provision will destroy the parties' freedom to contract, which is valued by the Louisiana Civil Code.
[29] In response, Occidental and Travelers argue that Elliott's warranty provision does not expressly apply to gross negligence.*fn8 They also assert that article 2004 applies to "any" clause limiting liability for intentional and gross fault. Because the present provision directly limits Elliott's liability for gross negligence, it violates article 2004. Further, the appellees contend that Professor Litvinoff's law review article actually supports the district court's interpretation. Finally, they argue that Louisiana's statutory construction principles mandate the district court's interpretation.
[30] In determining which interpretation of article 2004 would likely be adopted by the Louisiana Supreme Court, we will begin with the language of the article and the rules of construction provided in the Civil Code. Article 2004, entitled "Clause that excludes or limits liability," provides as follows:
[31] Any clause is null that, in advance, excludes or limits the liability of one party for intentional or gross fault that causes damage to the other party. Any clause is null that, in advance, excludes or limits the liability of one party for causing physical injury to the party.
[32] The statutory construction articles in the Louisiana Civil Code provide that "Persons may not by their juridical acts derogate from laws enacted for the protection of the public interest. Any act in derogation of such laws is an absolute nullity." La.Civ.Code art. 7. "When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature." La.Civ.Code art. 9. "When the language of the law is susceptible of different meanings, it must be interpreted as having the meaning that best conforms to the purpose of the law." La.Civ.Code art. 10. "Words of law must be given their generally prevailing meaning." La.Civ.Code art. 11.
[33] Reading the construction articles together, we find that article 2004 is not clear and unambiguous. The article is susceptible of two reasonable interpretations regarding warranty provisions, as presented by the parties.*fn9 We therefore must interpret article 2004 in a manner that best conforms to the purpose of the law and Louisiana public policy. See La.Civ.Code arts. 7, 10.
[34] Though the comments do not carry the force of law, we may glean from the comments the legislature's intent when enacting the article. The comments to article 2004 indicate that the article does not change the law; it merely "expresses the consequence of the principle of contractual freedom stated in C.C. Art. 1901." Citing the Louisiana Supreme Court in Freeman v. Dep't of Highways, 253 La. 105, 217 So.2d 166 (1968), the comments provide a reasoning behind the statute: the clauses "are against public policy because the overriding principle of good faith would be destroyed if it were possible to contract away for liability for fraud." Further, the comments explain that the article does not invalidate clauses which are governed by federal legislation, which relieve liability for delay damage, which relieve liability for slight fault, and which allocate between the parties the risk of potential liability towards third parties (i.e., indemnity or "hold harmless" clauses). Instead, the article prohibits only clauses that exclude or limit liability for intentional or gross fault.
[35] Likewise, insights regarding article 2004 surface in the writings of Professor Litvinoff, who was the inspiration for the provision and also the reporter for the Louisiana Law Institute Committee which revised Louisiana contract law. In particular, we may suppose the purpose of article 2004 from the law review article in which Professor Litvinoff introduces a proposed version of article 2004 amid a thorough discussion of Louisiana public policy and legal history. See Saul Litvinoff, Stipulations As To Liability And As To Damages, 52 Tul.L.Rev. 258 (1978). Professor Litvinoff explains inter alia that contractual clauses limiting the duration of a party's obligation of warranty are valid under the Louisiana Civil Code, except in those situations where public policy would be violated. 52 Tul.L.Rev. at 295, Professor Litvinoff comments: "Agreed delays for discovery of defects in workmanship, materials, or redhibitory defects, or even delays for eviction to occur must be regarded as valid, without limitations other than those required by the public order[.]" 52 Tul.L.Rev. at 295-96. Moreover, on the issue of "public order," Professor Litvinoff clarified that because "gross fault" involves a certain degree of fraudulent intent, "a clause relieving a party of the consequences of his gross fault is ... as greatly opposed to the public order as a clause relieving him of the consequences of his intentional nonperformance or fraud." 52 Tul.L.Rev. at 279. Reading Professor Litvinoff's restriction on warranty limitations with his explanation of gross fault, we are convinced that although limitations regarding warranties are permissible in most circumstances, such limitations are prohibited when the obligor is guilty of gross fault.
[36] We find that article 2004 stands as a legislative pronouncement of public policy which parties to a contract cannot ignore. Gross fault or gross negligence is so closely akin to intentional fault and fraud that it would disrupt the social order to allow parties to contract in advance to limit liability for gross fault.
[37] The Louisiana statutes and cases generally define gross negligence as conduct which falls below that which is expected of a reasonably careful person under like circumstances, or which is less than that diligence which even careless men are accustomed to exercise. Gross negligence is also "reckless disregard" or "careless indifference," and may involve a gross or substantial deviation from an expected or defined standard of care.
[38] Rosenblath's v. Baker Indus., 634 So.2d 969, 973 (La.App.2d Cir.1994). Thus, any contractual clause which operates to limit a plaintiff's right to redress a violation for gross fault violates Louisiana public policy. Contractual provisions excluding gross fault may therefore convert an otherwise valid contractual provision into an invalid one.
[39] Elliott attempts to persuade this Court that the contract remains valid in this case because Occidental and Travelers allege gross negligence rather than gross fault, suggesting that gross fault does not encompass gross negligence. Elliott maintains that gross fault necessarily implicates more than negligence because Professor Litvinoff places gross fault in the same category as intentional fault and fraud. Accordingly, Elliott interprets gross fault as adding another form of "fraud" or "intentional fault." We find this interpretation unnecessarily restrictive and inconsistent with the Louisiana cases applying article 2004. We previously have determined that article 2004 encompasses gross negligence. See Orthopedic & Sports Injury Clinic v. Wang, 922 F.2d 220, 224 (5th Cir.1991). Louisiana opinions rendered after our decision in Wang have reached the same conclusion. See, e.g., Broom v. Leebron & Robinson Rent-A-Car, 626 So.2d 1212, 1216 (La.App.2d Cir.1993).
[40] Further, the Louisiana Civil Code drives a stake through the heart of Elliott's interpretation of gross fault. Article 3506 of the Code expressly refers to negligence when defining gross fault. The article provides: "The gross fault is that which proceeds from inexcusable negligence or ignorance; it is considered as nearly equal to fraud." La.Civ.Code art. 3506, Section(s) 13 (emphasis added). The legislature obviously intended gross fault to encompass gross negligence. We therefore find no merit to Elliott's characterization of gross fault.
[41] The warranty clause in Elliott's contract has the effect of limiting its liability for gross fault because without the clause Occidental would have over eight more years to bring an action for Elliott's breach.*fn10 We are convinced that the legislature intended article 2004 to reach warranty clauses effecting gross negligence actions. We, therefore, hold that while Louisiana law permits parties to limit, by contract, the duration of a warranty, article 2004 prohibits provisions limiting the duration of a warranty when gross fault is involved.*fn11 Consequently, Elliott's warranty provision is void because it impermissibly operates in a manner that limits actions for gross negligence.
[42] CONCLUSION
[43] Louisiana public policy precludes the agreement that Elliott attempts to enforce through its motion for summary judgment. Article 2004 establishes that Elliott cannot contract in advance to limit its liability for gross negligence. Therefore, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court denying Elliott's motion for summary judgment.
***** BEGIN FOOTNOTE(S) HERE *****
[44] *fn1 The district court granted Elliott's first motion for summary judgment as to the plaintiffs' claims for negligence, breach of contract, breach of express and implied warranties, and redhibition.
[45] *fn2 Occidental purchased the St. Charles plant in 1982.
[46] *fn3 "Rerate" is a procedure to create a modification in a turbine or compressor in order to change the performance characteristics of the turbine or compressor.
[47] *fn4 The rerate agreement provided as follows:
[48] 27. WARRANTY REMEDIES If within 24 months from date of shipment, or within 12 months from date first used as intended, whichever occurs first, Buyer discovers defects, errors, omissions, performance deficiencies, or breach of any warranty as to the items, materials, or work supplied by Seller, then Seller shall promptly repair or replace without cost to Buyer, the items or materials in question and reperform any defective work, and Buyer will provide at no cost to Seller, all necessary cranes and rigging as required for such work. If Seller fails after reasonable written notice to proceed promptly with the repair or replacement of the defective items or materials, Buyer may repair or replace such items or materials and charge all reasonable direct costs associated with such work, except for any crane or rigging expenses, to the Seller without voiding the warranties herein.
[49] The warranties in Clauses 25, 26, and 27 and the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness of purpose shall be Seller's sole warranty responsibilities to Buyer or Buyer's Customer and are given in lieu of all other warranties, express or implied. The remedies provided in this Clause 27 are the sole remedies provided to Buyer and its Customers for any failure of Seller to comply with its warranty obligations.
[50] 50. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY Notwithstanding any other provision in the Purchase Order or elsewhere to the contrary, in no event shall Seller or its suppliers be liable, whether arising under contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or otherwise, for loss of anticipated profits, loss by reason of plant shutdown, nonoperation or increased expense of operation, service interruption, cost of purchased or replacement power, claims of buyer's customers, subcontractors of [sic] suppliers, cost of money, loss of use of capital or revenue, or for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any nature arising at any time or from any cause whatsoever.
[51] *fn5 The Installation agreement provided as follows:
[52] 9. WARRANTY REMEDY Should subcontractor be notified of any failure to conform to the warranty in ARTICLE 8 (MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP WARRANTY) above within a period of ninety (90) days after completion of Subcontractor's work or delivery of goods and materials, Subcontractor, without cost to Braun or Owner, shall promptly correct, repair, or replace the materials or workmanship in whatever manner necessary so that all the requirements of this subcontract and the obligations of Subcontractor under Article 8 are satisfactorily fulfilled and Braun will provide at no cost to Subcontractor, all necessary cranes and rigging for such work. If subcontractor fails after reasonable notice to proceed promptly with the correction, repair, or replacement of any defective items, materials, or workmanship, Braun may replace or repair such items or materials, correct such workmanship, and charge all reasonable direct costs, except for any crane or rigging expenses to Subcontractor.
[53] The warranties in Articles 8 and 9 shall be Subcontractor's sole warranty to Braun or Braun's Customer and are given in lieu of all other warranties, express or implied. The remedies provided in this Article 9 are the sole remedies provided to Braun and its Customers for any failure of Subcontractor to comply with its warranty obligations.
[54] 71. MAXIMUM LIABILITY Notwithstanding any provision in this subcontract or elsewhere to the contrary [sic], Subcontractor's maximum liability arising at any time from any cause whatsoever, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) strict liability or otherwise, shall not exceed $1,000,000.00 dollars.
[55] 72. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY Notwithstanding any other provision in the subcontract or elsewhere to the contrary, in no event shall Subcontractor or its suppliers be liable, whether arising under contract, tor [sic] (including negligence), strict liability, or otherwise, for loss of anticipated profits, los [sic] by reason of plant shutdown, nonoperation or increased expense of operation, service interruption, cost of purchased or replacement power, claims of Braun's customers, subcontractors or suppliers, cost of money, loss of use of capital or revenue, or for any special, incidental [sic], indirect or consequential los [sic] or damage of any nature arisning [sic] at any time or from any cause whatsoever.
[56] *fn6 Elliott concedes that the manner in which it attached the component to the diaphragm of the compressor changed over the years. In fact, it had applied three different methods to the compressor at issue. One method was used during the original manufacture in 1966, another method was employed during a previous rerate job in the late 1980s, and a third method was used during the rerate which prompted this litigation.
[57] *fn7 See Saul Litvinoff, Stipulations As To Liability And As To Damages, 52 Tul.L.Rev. 258 (1978). In the article, Professor Litvinoff discusses the validity of various contractual stipulations through which parties attempt to limit their liability in the event of a breach. To some extent, both parties rely on Professor Litvinoff's article to support their respective positions.
[58] *fn8 The record suggests that the parties co-drafted the contract. Accordingly, we will not construe the contract against Elliott, and the rules regarding strict construction do not apply to the present case.
[59] *fn9 It is undisputed that general contractual provisions seeking to limit liability for gross fault are invalid and unenforceable. See, e.g., Orthopedic & Sports Injury Clinic v. Wang, 922 F.2d 220, 224 (5th Cir.1991); Robin Towing Corp. v. Honeywell, Inc., 859 F.2d 1218, 1221 (5th Cir.1988); Rosenblath's Inc. v. Baker Indus., 634 So.2d 969, 973 (La.App.2d Cir.), writ. denied, 640 So.2d 1348 (La.1994); Tony's Auto Parts, Inc. v. Honeywell, Inc., 522 So.2d 680, 681 (La.App. 5th Cir.1988); Banner Chevrolet v. Wells Fargo Guard Serv., 508 So.2d 966, 967 (La.App. 4th Cir.1987); and Carriage Meat Co. v. Honeywell, Inc., 442 So.2d 796, 798 (La.App. 4th Cir.1983).
[60] *fn10 Louisiana law provides that a contractor is liable for non-compliance with a construction contract. La.Civ.Code art. 2769; see also Wetmore v. Blueridge, Inc. 391 So.2d 951, 953 (La.App. 4th Cir.1980) ("A contractor is bound to warrant his work and is responsible for damages occasioned by defective workmanship or installation"). The statutes provide a warranty period of ten years. La.Civ.Code art. 2762. In the absence of Elliott's warranty provision, the rerate work and installation would be covered by the ten year period provided in article 2762. See Gulf States Util. Co. v. Ecodyne Corp., 635 F.2d 517, 521 (5th Cir.1981) (applying article 2762 to a cooling tower); and Murphy Corp. v. Petrochem Maintenance, Inc., 180 So.2d 716, 721 (La.App. 1st Cir.1965) (applying article 2762 to an underground storage tank).
[61] *fn11 We find it unnecessary to discuss cases not involving or discussing gross fault which have upheld provisions limiting the duration of a warranty. It is conceded that Louisiana permits limitations on warranties as long as public policy is not violated. See, e.g., Datamatic v. Int'l Business Machines Corp., 795 F.2d 458 (5th Cir.1986) (affirming summary judgment for a manufacturer because the contract limited its warranties to one year from installation); and California Union Ins. Co. v. Bechtel Corp., 473 So.2d 861 (La.App. 4th Cir.), writ. denied, 477 So.2d 1128 (La.1985) (affirming the granting of a motion for involuntary dismissal because the contract limited the warranty to defects appearing within eighteen months of the shipment date or one year from installation, whichever occurred first). We find these cases distinguishable and therefore give them no weight in determining whether article 2004 reaches warranty provisions that ultimately limit liability for gross fault.
***** END FOOTNOTE(S) HERE *****
(c) 1996 VersusLaw, Inc., (206) 250-0142 http://www.versuslaw.com
1996.C05.238


Directions: For adults, take two (2) softgels two times daily, 30-60 minutes before your workout or with meals. Limit your use to no more than two (2) softgels in a 4-hour period and (4) softgels in a 24 hour period. Begin with one (1) softgel to assess individual tolerance.


text:
Two years of covering ISIS, and I got it right
November 19, 2015 · by Seth Frantzman	· in Uncategorized.	·
For more than two years I've been following the development of Islamic State. Here is a look back at the central arguments, interviews, reports and predictions, many of which proved to be prescient.
In September of 2013 I argued it was time to "define Islamist terror as a crime against humanity". The article references sectarian massacres in Syria. Now the world is waking up again and again to the threats of Islamic State, but despite the massacres of Yezidis and others, the powers refuse to call this genocide or war crimes or a crime against humanity.
In December of 2013 I wrote ('Syria's Rattlesnakes commit suicide') that it was the "natural tendency of radical movements to be outflanked by radicalism." The article references Islamic State (ISIL at the time) in comparison to its then still seemingly more potent competitors, Al-Qaida's Nusra Front and and the "Islamic Front." The article noted that "This fracturing of the opposition has resulted in western governments withdrawing aid from the FSA….When we look at the Syrian rebel experience what is clear is that the increasing Islamisization has put the focus on Islamic purity as opposed to actually fighting the government."
The article was correct, the "rattlesnakes were committing suicide," as Syrian rebel groups were outflanked by more extreme groups, eventually ISIS would emerge as a major force, the Syrian rebels would be harmed by this distraction, the West would withdraw aid, and the most radical group would win out.
In August 2014 two articles examined the predicament of Qatar and Hezbollah. As the Syrian Civil War became a playground for external actors, Hezbollah launched a major offensive and Qatar was accused of funding the rise of ISIS. Hezbollah's actions (Nasrallah's Dangerous Gamble) were ostensibly in response to an ISIS "invasion" of the town of Arsal. The local Sunni Jihadists "swore allegiance to ISIS and this prompted a crackdown by the Lebanese Army, which arrested and sought to detain 43 other members of his organization." A companion article looking at Qatar's increasing power ('Filling Nasser's Shoes') play in the region argued it had "overplayed its hand." Indeed, it hard, those it supported have mostly failed, while ISIS has morphed into a threat and Qatar has had to forswear ever having had any contact with it.
In February, as ISIS continued its trade in sex-slaves and mass murder in Syria and Iraq, I compared it to a new form of Nazism (From Auschwitz to ISIS). "As Islamic State (IS, ISIS or ISIL) continues its campaign of mass murder, begging the world to take notice through broadcasting its crimes, we are left with a clear conclusion: Even if IS opened a death camp and showed people being massacred live on the Internet, no one would do anything."
A Christian village in Iraq in the Nineveh plains, captured by ISIS in 2014, it was re-captured by Kurdish peshmerga (Seth J. Frantzman)
In late June with Laura Kelly I travelled to Kurdistan to see for myself what was happening with ISIS. What we learned was the Kurds has checked ISIS advanced and pushed them back, in fact ISIS had run out of steam. The Kurds were fighting ISIS but were not getting the support from the Western states they deserved. Several articles covered this experience, one about the need for weapons ('Just send us weapons'), a radio interview, an article at The Forward about Jewish history and the evils of ISIS and a long-form article at Mida about the war between the Kurds and ISIS.
Returning from the frontlines opposite the Nineveh plain, in July I profiled the foreign fighters who had gone to join the YPG and fight ISIS in Syria. More than a dozen had died, and the world didn't even know some of their names. "The heroes of our generation," I termed them, a kind of modern day International Brigade, standing the line when the world had turned its back on the Middle East.
In August another issue raised its head. There are many complex theories about the rise of ISIS. Some claim it is part of a conspiracy ("the US and Israel created ISIS"), others claim it works with Assad to "undermine" the Syrian rebellion. Others seek to understand its "grievances" and its "Islamic theology", or deny it is even Islamic, claiming it is just a bunch of men who "hijacked" Islamism. One theory claims that its rise is due to America's role in dismantling Iraq and the West undermining Syria, if only Saddam was still alive it wouldn't exist. A more persistent theory is that it is part of the "former regime elements" of Ba'athist Iraq.
In an August article I examined the dialectic that posits "Saddam era officers" are behind ISIS. "The 'Saddam-era officers' story is compelling because it provides a simple answer to and viable excuse for the failure of the Iraqi army; Saddam Hussein bogeyman are the 'hidden hand' behind the rise of IS. What could be more palatable to excuse the brutal crackdown of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias that America is now collaborating with in Iraq than to pretend everyone is on the same side against the evil 'regime remnants.'" The fact is that Saddam era officers are not responsible for the rise of ISIS, European volunteers are probably far more responsible, or just ordinary Sunnis.
Recently I found a new source of the "Saddam officers" story. Jeff White, a former intelligence analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency claimed in June, 2014 that "Were hearing a lot about former Ba'athists coming out of the woodwork and working with [ISIS], and that could give them a lot more capability." More capability, sure, but they are not a hidden hand.
Kurdish men pose with a foreign fighter from ISIS who was killed assaulting their lines in June, 2014 (Seth J. Frantzman)
In September I concluded that we are witnessing the "End of Syria" as the country is totally destroyed, it's cities lie in ruins, some 10 million of its people are displaced, many millions in refugee camps and hundreds of thousands have now sought to re-settle in Europe (research which resulted in a short documentary). "The destruction wrought on Syria is unprecedented and in its scope it is fair to conclude, we have seen the end of Syria."
In October my column focused on the story that 65 countries claimed to the "fighting" ISIS, but in fact were not really serious about defeating it. I concluded "everyone is fighting Islamic state, and they're all lying." Never had so many countries with such a high level of technology allied against a common enemy, an enemy that consists of an "army" of 30,000 men with only light armored vehicles and a thirst for killing. ISIS used a tank in one video to murder a man, which lead to the question, how had the coalition missed that tank?
A Humvee that Peshmerga captured from ISIS, which ISIS had captured from the Iraqi army in the summer of 2014, and which the US had provided Iraq. (Seth J. Frantzman)
After the Paris attacks, the veracity of this critique became clear. Now suddenly there was bombing of Raqqa, the ISIS capital. How about before? The fact is that ISIS in Raqqa was not the major problem, but the inability of EU countries to police homegrown terrorists who join ISIS, which I revealed in a column on November 12. ISIS was not sneaking into Europe with refugees, it was already in Europe. The attacks in Paris were part of a new strategy for the group, transforming into a traditional style terror group as it suffered reverses on the battlefield, an argument I was one of the first to publish. The Peshmerga advance in Shingal proved what has happened to ISIS (see the cover story in the Jerusalem Post Magazine Friday, November 20). It is digging in at Raqqa for a siege. It's time may be fading as a geographical force, but its legacy will be great.
Tags: Columns, Covering ISIS, Daesh, History of ISIS, Iraq, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Jerusalem Post, Kurds, Nineveh plain, Peshmerga, Saddam officers, Seth J Frantzman, Syria, The end of syria
← The face of the Syrian refugees you fear?
Why are ignorant people afraid of "Syrian refugees" →


This residential building is located in a quiet residential area and comprises a total of 20 properties, 6 villas and 14 semi-detached houses.
All units are sold with 3 bedrooms, a roof terrace, 2 underground parking spaces and storage room.
The living areas of the villas are distributed on one level and have a central courtyard made of glass, which provides the house with plenty of natural light. Possibility of a private pool. Price from 910,000 € to 1,220,000 €.
The living areas of the duplex houses are spread over 2 levels with a fantastic floor distribution and sea views. Price from 770,000 € to 1,035,000 €.
Very good construction materials, large windows, fully equipped kitchen with Cocinart and Siemens appliances, air conditioning and heating with the latest technology, wood / stone floors with underfloor heating in the kitchen and bathroom, Mediterranean gardens with 2 pools.
Only 500 meters from the beach of Cala Vinyes. There are several golf clubs in this area, f.e. Golf de Poniente and Golf Santa Ponsa. The exclusive marina of Port Adriano is 10 minutes away. Cala Vinyes is located in the southwest of the island, just 16km from the city of Palma.


The state government's Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System has taken its first public submissions in Ballarat, as it seeks to discover and address major issues affecting communities across the state. Established in February, the commission has been given broad terms of reference including how to best to support the prevention of suicide and mental illness; how to provide the best outcomes for those who are affected by mental health issues, both patients and families as well as support and emergency workers; and any other findings that strengthen and improve Victoria's mental health system. Chair of the commission Ms Penny Armytage has a long history working in Victoria's public service. She was previously the secretary of the Department of Justice, a commissioner of Corrections Victoria and an executive director of operations for the Department of Human Services. She has also been a partner a KPMG and a president of the Institute of Public Administration. Ms Armytage told The Courier the commission is just starting to take public submissions, and its work will be defined by what the commissioners hear over the coming weeks. "At this stage what we are doing in our royal commission is listening to people who have either had a lived experience of a mental illness, and are living with that mental illness; or they have a family member, or friend or colleague who may be impacted; or they work in the field or related fields," Ms Armytage said. Ballarat's high suicide rate is something that has been brought to the commission as an issue to be dealt with, and Ms Armytage acknowledged the depth of concern which exists in the city about its continuing impact. "It has been raised as an issue, and obviously as the ultimate human tragedy, people taking their own lives, it's a clear area of focus for us as the royal commission. At this stage, we are spending our time listening to people; we are not at solutions yet," she says. Ms Armytage says the commission frames its approach with three basic questions: what is good about the mental health system; where there are gaps and what needs to be improved; and finally what are the key opportunities and priorities for reform. The state government has committed already to accepting the RC's findings, and written submissions are being sought. More information can be found at rcvmhs.vic.gov.au Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) says one-quarter of its clients who present in criminal or family law cases have a disability or mental health issue - a statistic it hopes the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System will address. Last year VLA's Ballarat office assisted over 450 people who identified as experiencing a mental health issue and needed legal assistance; 20 per cent of their clients with criminal law representations in Ballarat last year also said they had mental health problems. Rowan McRae, executive director of Civil Justice, Access and Equity at Victoria Legal Aid says there is no question that mental health has an impact on justice outcomes in Victoria, and changes need to be made coming out of this new commission. "We need a legal system that supports the choices people with mental health issues want to make, and offers them the chance of recovery," Ms McRae told The Courier. She says the existence of therapeutic programs needs to be widely extended across the state, rather than being the province of city dwellers exclusively. "Things such as the Assessment and Referral Court, the Drug Court, the Neighbourhood Justice Centre - these opportunities should be made available to all Victorians," Ms McRae said. "Currently they are not, and these benefits should be shared, regardless of where people are based." Ms McRae said the VLA had full confidence that he commissioners would listen to the consumers of mental health services, and the government would be held top account by the community if they didn't deliver on the RC's recommendations. "We need to look at intersections: emergency services and crisis centres as well. Theses are currently under enormous pressure from overuse, and it has direct impacts on people's lives."
The state government's Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System has taken its first public submissions in Ballarat, as it seeks to discover and address major issues affecting communities across the state.
Established in February, the commission has been given broad terms of reference including how to best to support the prevention of suicide and mental illness; how to provide the best outcomes for those who are affected by mental health issues, both patients and families as well as support and emergency workers; and any other findings that strengthen and improve Victoria's mental health system.
History of public service: Ms Penny Armytage is the chair of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System. She is working with three other commissioners delivering an interim report by November. Picture: Kate Healy.
Chair of the commission Ms Penny Armytage has a long history working in Victoria's public service. She was previously the secretary of the Department of Justice, a commissioner of Corrections Victoria and an executive director of operations for the Department of Human Services.
She has also been a partner a KPMG and a president of the Institute of Public Administration.
Ms Armytage told The Courier the commission is just starting to take public submissions, and its work will be defined by what the commissioners hear over the coming weeks.
Penny Armytage, chair of the Royal Commission.
"At this stage what we are doing in our royal commission is listening to people who have either had a lived experience of a mental illness, and are living with that mental illness; or they have a family member, or friend or colleague who may be impacted; or they work in the field or related fields," Ms Armytage said.
Ballarat's high suicide rate is something that has been brought to the commission as an issue to be dealt with, and Ms Armytage acknowledged the depth of concern which exists in the city about its continuing impact.
"It has been raised as an issue, and obviously as the ultimate human tragedy, people taking their own lives, it's a clear area of focus for us as the royal commission. At this stage, we are spending our time listening to people; we are not at solutions yet," she says.
Ms Armytage says the commission frames its approach with three basic questions: what is good about the mental health system; where there are gaps and what needs to be improved; and finally what are the key opportunities and priorities for reform.
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) says one-quarter of its clients who present in criminal or family law cases have a disability or mental health issue - a statistic it hopes the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System will address.
Last year VLA's Ballarat office assisted over 450 people who identified as experiencing a mental health issue and needed legal assistance; 20 per cent of their clients with criminal law representations in Ballarat last year also said they had mental health problems.
Rowan McRae, executive director of Civil Justice, Access and Equity at Victoria Legal Aid says there is no question that mental health has an impact on justice outcomes in Victoria, and changes need to be made coming out of this new commission.
"We need a legal system that supports the choices people with mental health issues want to make, and offers them the chance of recovery," Ms McRae told The Courier.
She says the existence of therapeutic programs needs to be widely extended across the state, rather than being the province of city dwellers exclusively.
"Things such as the Assessment and Referral Court, the Drug Court, the Neighbourhood Justice Centre - these opportunities should be made available to all Victorians," Ms McRae said.
"Currently they are not, and these benefits should be shared, regardless of where people are based."
Ms McRae said the VLA had full confidence that he commissioners would listen to the consumers of mental health services, and the government would be held top account by the community if they didn't deliver on the RC's recommendations.
"We need to look at intersections: emergency services and crisis centres as well. Theses are currently under enormous pressure from overuse, and it has direct impacts on people's lives."


As of last week my son Nick is a student at Mississippi State and my wife and I, and our entire family for that matter, could not be more proud of him. It is a time that we have experienced before with my daughter, Amy, in 2012, and so maybe we have some perspective on this transition. The family dynamic has changed, of course, as our last child is now "living on his own".
The family finances have, also, changed; what with another rent payment, new utility bills and the other costs that come with a child "living on his own". Factor in the books, extra fuel associated with travel, food, lab fees, parking fees, fraternity or sorority dues, etc. etc. All of this and I haven't even mentioned the most important cost factor: TUITION. Suffice it to say that the tuition and all of the other expenses related to attendance at a four-year university is quite high.
This type of transition can be a very stressful and expensive time for all families. For parents of children whose families are divided by divorce or other circumstances, this new chapter in your life and, more importantly, the life of your child, will be exciting, stressful, and expensive, of course. And so the "million-dollar question is: Who pays for all of this? (It's not quite a million dollars – it just feels that way).
Whether the parents are no longer married or were never married it should be obvious that a Court Order is best source for guidance on this issue. However, absent specific language in the judgment, this remains an unanswered question. This is not a simple "child-support" matter. Many divorces are settled out of court with the parties agreeing to matters of child custody and child support being contained in a Marital Dissolution Agreement a Property Settlement Agreement. Unfortunately, many of these Agreements do not speak to this issue within the "four corners" of the document. Still others include a generic mention that "non-custodial parent will pay for college" or some equally vanilla and non-descript language.
Perhaps the Agreement was prepared when the child was very young and college was not being contemplated yet. Or maybe it was simply assumed that the parents would "share" these costs and therefore no language about college was included. Whatever the case may be, a child's decision to go to college may be considered "a material change in circumstances justifying child support modification." See Lawrence v. Lawrence, 574 So2d 1376 (Miss. 1991). Another interesting and more recent case is Harris v. Porter decided by the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 2016. In Harris, a modification of child support was granted after a showing that the child "clearly showed aptitude for and the potential to benefit from college according to her high-school record" and the father was financially able to help with college expenses.
If you don't yet know who has to pay, for whatever reason, you should do everything you can to completely identify how much and then try to reduce that amount.One very helpful organization is Get2college.org. There you will find useful information and specifics about the school that you are planning for and the availability of ACT prep courses and study materials. You will also find help with completing your FASFA (Free Application for Federal Aid). You will also want to visit studentaid.ed.gov. It is worth your time and effort to visit these sites in an effort to get any and all the help that is out there for your child.
Your student has some accountability in this also. The higher the GPA, the more scholarships and grants that you may qualify for. Also, a higher ACT score will not surprisingly increase these awards for your student. Remember that the Court in Harris v. Porter used the child's high school record to determine her aptitude for college. Can we, therefore, assume that if the child had poor grades and a low ACT score that they would not have ordered the father to pay for the costs associated with college? Hard to say, but the Court's decision was made easier by the high marks earned by the student.
Be happy for and proud of your child for wanting to go to college in spite of the financial burden. Educate yourself about the costs associated with this next step in your child's life. And seek the guidance and assistance with aid, grants, and scholarships available. In this instance, knowledge truly is power.
Michael Louvier is a graduate of Mississippi College School of Law (1994). He has been married for 28 years (Tammy) and they have 2 children (Amy, 25 and Nick 20).
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2019 at 12:51 pm	and is filed under OUR CHILD IS GOING TO COLLEGE! WAIT…WHO'S GOING TO PAY FOR THIS?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


text:
Watch Dos Anjos-Lee on UFC Fight Night May 18 in the USA
Both fighters are looking to right their careers after several recent losses.
UFC Fight Night keeps the MMA action rolling after the big pay per view last week. Saturday's edition features a main event with two former-lightweights turned welterweights who hope to one day fight for a title again. This weekend, you can watch dos Anjos vs Lee on UFC FIght Night for free with a seven day trial of ESPN+.
UFC Fight Night Dos Anjos vs. Lee will be streaming live from the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y. on Saturday, May 18. This Fight Night is an ESPN+ exclusive broadcast, starting with Prelims at 5 p.m. Eastern time, then rolling into the Main Card at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The main event of the night is a welterweight battle featuring the third ranked contender "RDA" Rafael dos Anjos (28-11). He is a long time UFC competitor who joined the promotion back in November of 2008 at UFC 91. Dos Anjos has had quite the successful career mostly as a lightweight, and he held the UFC lightweight championship for over a year. However, things have been difficult for him recently, beginning when he lost that title to Eddie Alvarez. Rafael is 3-4 in his last 7 fights, including a match for the interim UFC welterweight title one year ago. He'll need a win here if he hopes to get back to a title shot.
Kevin "Motown Phenom" Lee (17-4) is following dos Anjos path by moving up from lightweight to welterweight. While he has had a shorter career than his opponent, Lee has his own share of success, including a pair of Performance of the Night awards, and a fight for the interim lightweight title himself. Kevin Lee is 6-2 in his last 8 fights, but his last bout was his second career loss to Al Iaquinta. Lee mostly has been a wrestler, mixing takedowns and ground strikes to score points and win bouts which could be a challenge for him to repeat at the heavier weight. Richard Mann of ESPN breaks down the chances of Lee's tactics working at welterweight.
See Rafael dos Anjos defeat Benson Henderson from back in 2014 in a fight that won Performance of the Night honors.
Here's the schedule for this UFC Fight Night:
Prelims 5 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+
Main Card 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+
Post Show: immediately after Main Event on ESPN+
The rest of the card, as always subject to change, is as follows:
Main Card
Vicente Luque (15-6-1) vs. Derrick Krantz (24-10)
Antônio Carlos Júnior (10-2) vs. Ian Heinisch (12-1)
Megan Anderson (8-3) vs. Felicia Spencer (6-0)
Charles Oliveira (26-8) vs. Nik Lentz (30-9-2)
Davi Ramos (9-2) vs. Austin Hubbard (10-2)
Aspen Ladd (7-0) vs. Sijara Eubanks (4-2)
Des Green (22-8) vs. Charles Jourdain (9-1)
Danny Roberts (16-4) vs. Michel Pereira (22-9)
Mike Trizano (8-0) vs. Grant Dawson (13-1)
Patrick Cummins (10-6) vs. Ed Herman (22-14)
Zak Cummings (22-6) vs. Trevin Giles (11-0)
Julio Arce (15-3) vs. Julian Erosa (22-7)
ESPN+ is a much have for major fans of UFC. ESPN+ is the new exclusive home of UFC pay per view events. ESPN+ goes beyond UFC with Top Rank boxing, pro team sports including MLB, NHL and FC Cup, and major college sports, including basketball, baseball, football and more.
The ESPN app is the key to watching ESPN+. The app is available for the most popular devices, including major streaming platforms and game consoles such as Roku, Xbox, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV. Otherwise, control ESPN+ on your TV using your phone running either AirPlay or Chromecast.
ESPN+ costs $5 a month, which would set you up for plenty of MMA action coming up, including the UFC 237 pay-per-view next week. Try ESPN+ now, and you'll get a 7 day free trial that includes UFC Fight Night on May 4 with Iaquinta vs. Cowboy at no cost.
Get a free trial of ESPN+
from TechnoBuffalo – Technology News, How-Tos, & Reviews http://bit.ly/30owfgB


text:
NCVA Goes to Washington
Author: Michelle R. Davis
Working Capital Moving the Annual Meeting to Washington, D.C., brought the event to home base: NVCA's headquarters city.
The new administration in the White House has sent many organizations in various industries back to the drawing board — including the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Wanting to leverage its ability to help clarify U.S. and international policies around venture capital, emerging markets, and innovation, NVCA revamped this year's Annual Meeting, which traditionally had focused on investing and entrepreneurship, to more explicitly address politics.
NVCA wasn't fooling around. While the Annual Meeting typically had been held in California, this year NVCA moved it to the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on May 10–11 — right on Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and the U.S. Capitol. The conference agenda made the most of NVCA's access to lawmakers and political insiders who could explain what the new administration's policies mean for investors and startups, according to Ben Veghte, NVCA's vice president of communications and marketing.
Sen. Je Flake was NVCA's keynote presenter.
The speaker lineup included Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who highlighted legislation he's introduced that would create special visas for immigrant startup founders, and Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban A airs. The expert list also featured policy insiders who discussed tax reform, entrepreneurship, and innovation under the Trump administration. "It was a complete focus on core policy issues, which was a departure from our previous programs," Veghte said. "There's a renewed interest and intrigue about what is going on in Washington for the country as a whole, as well as for our members."
On the second day of NVCA 2017, the 300 or so attendees fanned out across the Capitol complex to lobby lawmakers. The morning began with a briefing, after which attendees were split into groups for meetings with senators and staff. (The U.S. House of Representatives was out of session at the time.)
The goal of the changes in both venue and agenda was simple: With so many events and conferences aimed at venture capitalists, NVCA needed to distinguish itself in the space. "Time is our members' most precious commodity," Veghte said. "Rather than trying to compete with all the other events and deliver the same kind of content, we want to play to our strengths and deliver on our policy information, which is unique to our organization."
Overhauling the Annual Meeting also meant changing up marketing strategies. In the past, NVCA had paired the conference with a gala held the evening before the meeting program began. This year, the organization split up the events, holding the gala in Menlo Park, California, in March. NVCA spent a lot of time thinking about how to distinguish the two events. One of the simplest and most effective strategies was an early mailing of a paper yer that asked members to "save the date" for the two programs — highlighting their separate locations and dates. "Shockingly, this is what people cited to me as a way they kept both events on the radar," Veghte said. "It was another data point, and people appreciated receiving it."
In addition, NVCA created separate marketing campaigns for the gala and the Washington conference, using email and social media. Staff took the additional step of micro-targeting members' known interests in various policies. "If we knew someone was interested in immigration," Veghte said, "we would highlight our panel on immigration reform."
Attendees seemed to appreciate it. Indeed, this year's events were so successful that NVCA has committed to keeping the same breakdown — annual meeting in Washington, gala in California — for at least five years. "We're thinking in a broader way," Veghte said, "about how to deliver value to our members."


> Things I understand: IPv6 is the long term solution to IPv4 exhaustion. For IPv6 to work correctly, most of the IPv4 content has to be on IPv6. That's not there yet. IPv6 deployment to end users is not trivial (end user support, CPE support, etc...). Translation techniques are generally evil. IPv6->IPv4 still requires 1 IPv4 IP per end user or else you're doing NAT. IPv4->IPv6 (1-1) doesn't solve our main problem of giving users access to the IPv4 Internet.
> I expect like most companies we're faced with having to extend the life of IPv4 since our users will continue to want access to the IPv4 content. Doing that by giving them an IPv6 address is not very feasible yet for many reasons. NAT444 seems like the only solution available while we slowly transition over to IPv6 over the next 20 years. Based on the this RFC, NAT444 breaks a lot of applications!
> Has anyone deployed NAT444? Can folks share their experiences? Does it really break this many apps? What other options do we have?


text:
IN-spired Q&A (cont.) – but what does it mean???
By Victoria Farr Brown|2017-02-07T02:20:45-08:00February 5th, 2016|
Is there a story? Are there characters? What is communicated?
Curiosity and a palpable tension fill the air when some form of the question "What was that about?" is asked at Whim W'Him after-show discussions. On one end of the spectrum is the certainty that a definite theme or narrative underlies all the work of choreographers, who should therefore be able, in theory at least, to articulate, in a clear-cut abstract or synopsis, what a work is about. Significance in this view resides firmly in the mind of the author/choreographer.
At the spectrum's other end is a belief in what a writing instructor of mine used to call "multiplicity of meaning." It is the conviction that every aspect of significance is up for grabs. In other words, not just choreographers but dancers, and not merely artists but the audience (as well as other contributors to the production, like musicians, lighting designers and costumers, or interpreter/translators, like photographers and bloggers)
all forge together the meaning of a piece. In this view, then, what a work of dance art signifies really is determined by a group or social process, of which the choreographer's intention is merely a part.
In earlier eras, and in more traditional ballet contexts, the former attitude is prevalent, whereas among devotees of contemporary dance, it's the latter. These tendencies still seem to hold true, despite the blurring nowadays of old classical/modern distinctions.
Wherever you place yourself along this continuum, there really is no absolute answer; both approaches contain truth about the art of dance. Good choreographers do have something in mind, whether they can—or will—verbalize it or use dance as their only medium. Even if a piece is created from dancer-generated movement, the choreographer combines the elements and shapes the final form.
At some point in one of the after-discussions, I said something about dance being a language in itself—we're so used to words, books, texting, we don't think about how much is conveyed by body language even when we aren't dancing. (Or, to use George Balanchine's more succinct words, "Much can be said in movement that cannot be expressed by words."}
The act of communicating via dance is multi-layered, involving several sorts and stages of communication. The ideas of the choreographer only come to fruition via work in the studio with dancers. "It's blurry and foggy at the beginning," Olivier said. "I have an end goal, but it develops with the dancers because of who they are."
Part of the meaning of "whim" in the company's name surely refers in a light-hearted way to this complex process. No matter how clear of concept, particular about steps and exacting in execution a choreographer may be, it is the fluid interaction of individual quirks, impulses and understandings that defines the ultimate form of a work.
In contemporary groups, dancer input at all levels looms larger than in companies of classical bent. A lot of what makes Whim W'Him its special and particular self is, according to Olivier, "finding the dancers that will inspire." He paused, smiling, and said, of the company's 7 unique personalities and diverse body types, "You wouldn't put them in a corps of Swan Lake." And Justin noted, "That's the beauty of contemporary dance—our work is not just to learn and repeat steps. What's important is what you [the viewers] take away."
As the Q&A sessions showed, the dancers have their own ways of taking in and processing what a choreographer is after. One questioner wondered if the dancers "took on some character?" Mark replied, "The dancers are figuring out what they're saying underneath. Each dancer finds his/her own way. They're very intuitive people."
Referring to Mark's piece, Patrick commented, "Relationships emerge, it's a constant community." A particular duet might become a best friend or a brother/sister relationship, true to life in that moment, as in Patrick and Tory's playful interaction toward the end of Mark's piece.
The deeply related issue of story is a fascinating one. Balanchine, the great neo-classicist who delighted in making plotless ballets that were physical embodiments of the music, deplored the use of the word "abstract" to describe his creations. "Two dancers on the stage are enough material for a story," he said. "For me, they are already a story in themselves." But a story that is set down in program notes is only one kind of narrative.
Several of the dancers talked about the stories they tell themselves to bring coherence and continuity and aid memory in the dancing of a piece. "We often get little direction [about a story line or theme]," Justin said, "and we don't discuss our individual narratives with each other. We each have very unique journeys. Every piece we share, but we rarely talk about what we feel or go through." Added Tory, to the questioner in the audience, "I don't think we can tell each other, so we can't tell you." Yet when someone asked her about the brief topless moment in Dominic's piece, though, she did say that to her it feels "maternal," and added, "We wear very little clothing all day in rehearsal and we're touching each other all day, it's very natural." A fine case in point of there being a host of possible interpretations of a given scene or piece.
"With 3 choreographers, there are 3 languages," Tory continued. "They're different humans with different languages, who Olivier brings in." And the dancers use those languages to express what they themselves , as well as the choreographers, have to say.
One of the after-discussions concluded with an interesting exchange about the universality of dance. Dominic mentioned how he had 500 ideas, and that they continued to evolve, "even yesterday afternoon," but that still, "we could take the program anywhere in the world."
"No, not necessarily,' Mark interjected. "In Korea or other developing nations, our work would be seen as Western—it would be understood as Western privilege."
Olivier countered, "But we could dance to one another instead of speaking with words. We'd all dance differently, but we'd understand something."
And Mark replied, enigmatically, "Yeah…"


text:
Home▹
Our Grants▹
Map of churches, chapels and meeting houses we have helped▹
In 1897 St Peter's Mission Church opened in the Heeley area of Sheffield. It is said that during its heyday over 1000 people attended Church Services and Sunday school at St Peter's every week! However, by 1979 St Peter's Mission Church had been forced to close due to diminishing congregations, local housing demolition and population changes. The building stood alone on wasteland that had once been terraced housing, and soon became vandalised and derelict. The Church of the Nazarene approached St Peter's Mission Church and it was agreed that the building would be sold for £1. The first service was held at Christmas in 1981 and was attended by 12 people. The church is now located in the heart of a busy residential area: new housing has been built on the wasteland and there are thriving local shops, transport links and amenities within 50 metres of the building.
Top tips from feedback:
- Keep evaluating who you need on your committee, as the skills needed change as the project evolves.
View more churches or chapels we have helped in this county
Church or chapel details
City, town or village:
S2 3BB
Denomination:
Wesleyan-Holiness Church
Year funded:
Grant amount:
Type of grant:
You can help us safeguard the future of more churches and chapels by becoming a Friend of the National Churches Trust or by making a donation.
Help us now


Skype is catching up to what their users have wanted for years, especially newscasters. The introduction of cloud based video recording across all platforms Long wanted. Very much needed, Skype's decision to introduce this across the board is all part of Microsoft's reimaging what was once the most popular online communications service. Previously video recording was only available on desktop.
Ironically, Windows 10 is not yet ready.
We had video recording with SightSpeed and it was one of the most popular features. That was over 12 years ago and despite Skype following with video after SightSpeed's running start, it eclipsed it and every other play. So while video call recording may not be new, Skype adding it brings a needed feature to their community without any third party services.
The one catch is a thirty day window of keeping the video recording in the chat session. During that time you can download it and save it to local device storage. Perhaps over time Microsoft will offer a subscription to allow for longer storage on the cloud or easy sideloading to OneDrive.