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Rural Housing Preservation Grants The Rural Housing Service (RHS)
The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces that it is soliciting applications under its Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. The HPG program is a grant program which provides qualified public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, which may include but not be limited to Faith-Based and Community Organizations, and other eligible entities grant funds to assist very low- and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. In addition, the HPG program assists rental property owners and cooperative housing complexes in repairing and rehabilitating their units if they agree to make such units available to low- and very low-income persons.
Community Development, Housing, Infrastructure Up to $50,000 Rural Link
Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program – Organic Transitions U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Most recent deadline: 3/15/2021. The overall goal of the Organic Transitions Program (ORG) is to support the development and implementation of research, extension and higher education programs to improve the competitiveness of organic livestock and crop producers, as well as those who are adopting organic practices. NIFA administers the ORG program by determining priorities in U.S. agriculture through Agency stakeholder input processes in consultation with the NAREEEAB. ORG will continue to prioritize environmental services provided by organic farming systems in the area of soil conservation, pollinator health, and climate change mitigation, including greenhouse gases (GHG), as well as the development of educational tools for Cooperative Extension personnel and other agricultural professionals who advise producers on organic practices, and development of cultural practices and other allowable alternatives to substances recommended for removal from the National Organic Program's National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. It is expected that all projects will integrate research, education and extension activities, as appropriate to project goals, although some projects may be weighted more heavily than others in one or more of these areas. However, all proposals should have activities and impact in research and at least one of the other areas: education and extension.
Agriculture, Organic $0 - $500,000 National. Link
START Renewable Energy Project Development Assistance U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Indian Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Offi ce of Indian Energy is now accepting applications for the third round of
its Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) Renewable Energy Project Development Assistance
Program. Through START, Tribes can get customized technical assistance for furthering the development of
community- and commercial-scale renewable energy projects. Applications are due May 1, 2015; up to fi ve
projects will be selected in June 2015.
Renewable energy, Development Unknown National, Tribes, Alaska Link
Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife
Recognizing that more than half of all species listed as endangered or threatened spend at least part of their life cycle on private land, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began working with private landowners to foster stewardship on private lands. To encourage this cooperation, the service has four grant programs available through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. These programs include Traditional Conservation Grants, Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants, Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants, and Recovery Land Acquisition Grants.
Endangered Species, Biodiversity, Habitat Conservation, Land Acquisition & Recovery. Up to $2,000,000. National Link
Region 9: Water Pollution Control Program U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Recent Deadline: 2/01/2021. The Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 106 – Water Pollution Control Program assists federally-recognized Indian tribes with achieving environmental results by developing institutional capacity for administering water quality programs to protect, improve and enhance natural resources.
Water Pollution, Clean Water $40,000-$200,000. First-time eligible applicants may receive grants for $40,000. Pacific Southwest Link
Tribal Wetland Program Development U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Most recent deadline: 01/15/2021. Tribal Wetland Program Development Grants (WPDGs) assist tribal governments and intertribal consortia to develop or refine tribal programs which protect, manage, and restore wetlands. The primary focus of these grants is to develop/refine tribal wetland programs. The goals of EPA's wetland program include increasing the quantity and quality of wetlands in the U.S. by conserving and restoring wetland acreage and improving wetland condition. In pursuing these goals, EPA seeks to develop the capacity of all levels of government to develop and refine effective, comprehensive programs for wetland protection and management.
wetlands, conservation, clean water act $25,000-$250,000 National Link
Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside Program U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The purpose of the Clean Water Act Indian Set-Aside (CWISA) Program is to provide funding for wastewater infrastructure to federally recognized tribal governments and Alaska Native Villages. Funds may be used for planning, design and construction
of wastewater collection and treatment systems. The CWISA Program is adminis- tered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in cooperation with the Indian Health Service (IHS). The program was established by the 1987 Amendments to the Clean Water Act, in Section 518(c).The CWISA program is administered in cooperation with the Indian Health Service (IHS). To be considered for CWISA program funding, tribes must identify their wastewater needs to the IHS Sanitation Deficiency System. EPA uses the IHS Sanitation Deficiency System priority lists to identify and select projects for CWISA program funding.
clean water, wastewater, sanitation, Indian Health Service The average award amount for individual projects is $300,000. Pacific Southwest Link
Zoonotic Disease Grant Program U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Deadline passed. Most recent deadline: June 11, 2022. The Zoonotic Disease Initiative is a grant program focused on wildlife disease prevention and preparedness. Authorized under the American Rescue Plan (2021, H.R. 1319, Section 6003.3), the Initiative will provide $9 million in available funding to states, Tribes and territories to strengthen early detection, rapid response and science-based management research to address wildlife disease outbreaks before they cross the barrier from animals to humans and become pandemics. The highest priority for the funding is to increase organizational readiness and ensure a network of state, Tribal and territorial wildlife managers across the nation are prepared for zoonotic disease outbreaks. Strengthening partner capacity for wildlife health monitoring will allow for the early detection of diseases. Learn more and apply here. Grants for Tribes are open through NOFO F22AS00308. For more information, please contact Anna-Marie York at anna-marie_york@fws.gov.
Wildlife disease prevention, wildlife health, science-based management, monitoring $75,000 - $775,000 National Link
Coastal Program U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Deadline Passed 09/30/2019. Deadline Unkown for 2020. The Coastal Program is a voluntary, community-based program that provides technical and financial assistance through cooperative agreements to coastal communities, conservation partners, and landowners to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat on public and private lands. Coastal Program staff coordinates with project partners, stakeholders and other Service programs to identify geographic focus areas and develop habitat conservation priorities within these focus areas. Geographic focus areas are where the Coastal Program directs resources to conserve habitat for Federal trust species. Regional staff develop five-year strategic work plans based on the conservation priorities and the geographic focus areas that guides the work of the program. Projects are developed in collaboration with partners, and with substantial involvement from Service field staff. Projects must advance the missions of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and the Coastal Program, and be based on sound scientific biological principles. Projects must also support the financial assistance priorities of Department of the Interior, specifically Priorities 1, 3, 8. See website for more details.
coasts, coastal communities, conservation, restoration, stewardship, fish health up to $500,000 Pacific Region, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, Northeast, Alaska, Pacific Southwest Link
Community Wood Grant Program U.S. Forest Service 03/23/2023
Deadline: March 23, 2023. The Community Wood Grant Program, launched in 2020, provides funding for grants to install thermally led community wood energy systems or to build innovative wood product manufacturing facilities. The Forest Service expects renewable wood energy systems installed under this program to use the most stringent control technologies. The program places extra emphasis on assisting sawmills in economically challenged areas to retool or add advanced technology. Read the funding announcement here.
thermal energy, wood energy, forest health, economy, alternative fuels Up to $1.5 million National Link
Community Forest Program U.S. Forest Service
Deadline passed as of January 13, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. The Forest Service is authorized to provide financial assistance grants to local governments, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations (including land trusts) to establish community forests that provide defined benefits...Project will focus on private forest lands that are threatened by conversion to nonforest uses, are not lands held in trust by the United States, and can provide defined community benefits and allow public access and/or Forest Lands that are at least five acres in size, suitable to sustain natural vegetation, and at least 75 percent forested. Forests are determined by both the presence of trees and the absence of non-forest uses.
Forest Conservation, Forestry, management Individual awards for projects have reached up to $400,000. National Link
Community-Based Collaborative Action Grants UDOE
Deadline passed as of June 9, 2017. Deadline for 2018 unknown. By design, Collaborative Actions allow conversations to emerge that shape the community and social context, and catalyze positive dynamics. These actions may be permanent or temporary, tangible or intangible, and may include creative placemaking, mapping, art installations or community events. They are typically small-scale, low-cost, and short in duration, but often fit into a larger community effort.
social justice, community building, human health, peace courts, community organizing, relationship building $5,000. National Link
Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative United States Department of Agriculture
Most recent deadline: 1/14/2021. The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research, education and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives.
Agriculture, social sciences, economics, biology, organic land $50,000 - $3,000,000 National Link
Water Management, Planning and Pre-Development (N34) (Water Management) and the Water Rights Negotiation/Litigation (R31) (Water Rights) Programs United States Department of the Interior, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, Northwest Regional Office
Deadline passed as of September 2, 2016. Deadline for 2017 unknown. Programs support the litigation and negotiation of Indian water rights, studies to determine the quantity of surface and groundwater supplies, identify arable lands, determine historical water use, water requirements for resources such as fish and wildlife, and the amounts of water required for irrigates agriculture, and relates engineering and economic studies for water delivery.
water rights, irrigation, watershed, water health, water, Award amount varies. National Link
University of Arizona Haury Tribal Resilience Initiative Recruitment Grants. University of Arizona
Deadline passed. Deadline for 2022 unknown. The Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice in 2020 announced its new Tribal Resilience Initiative (TRI). Special consideration will be given to applications to support hiring of scholars (1) whose work addresses the severe water access challenges that face Native American and Indigenous communities, especially those facing Native American communities within Arizona; and (2) to scholars who have significant expertise or experience that relates to tribal customs and governance, and to traditional knowledge, and ways of approaching resilience challenges of Native American and Indigenous communities that respect both. The Haury Program will award up to ten one-time grants in Spring of 2021 to support the recruitment of scholars whose teaching, scholarship, or outreach centers on matters relevant to Native American and Indigenous resilience. Each one-time award will be for $18,000 to be used to support the position, or to support a research assistant for the awardee.
Scholars, water, tribal governance, traditional knowledge $18,000 National Link
FY2016 NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Hawaii Program US Department of Commerce, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration),
The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Hawaii Program is a federal funding opportunity which meets NOAA's mission of science, service and stewardship. This B-WET program supports the vision of a future where societies and their ecosystems are healthy and resilient in the face of sudden or prolonged change. The purpose for this financial assistance is to support our communities by developing a well-informed citizenry involved in decision-making that positively impacts our coastal, marine and watershed ecosystems in the State of Hawaii. This opportunity is a competitively-based grant that provides funding to assist in the development of new programs, encourage innovative partnerships among environmental education programs and support geographically targeted programs to advance environmental education efforts that complement national and state school requirements.
Environmental Education, Coastal, Marine, Watershed, Hawaii. $25,000-$150,000. Hawaii. Link
Every Place Counts Design Challenge US Department of Transportation
Deadline unknown for 2017. As a result of the Interstate Highway program that began in the 1950s, the U.S. had a well-developed network of routes —air, rail, and road— that linked every state and connected the country as never before. However, we see today that the infrastructure that brought massive expansion also divided neighborhoods. Residents were often cut off from newly formed social and economic centers and left with limited mobility and transportation options. The Ladders of Opportunity EVERY PLACE COUNTS DESIGN CHALLENGE seeks to raise awareness about bifurcated neighborhoods, identify innovative practices to reconnect communities, and inform the transportation life cycle. Community Teams led by local and tribal government officials will compete to receive on-site technical assistance in a 2-day design session with DOT and experts in the field . - See more at: https://www.transportation.gov/opportunity/challenge#sthash.KqzUUEEW.WIQ....
Transportation, Infrastructure, Development see application National Link
Sun Grant Program US Dept of Agriculture
Deadline Passed 06/27/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. The purpose of the Sun Grant Program (SGP) is to enhance national energy security through the development, distribution, and implementation of biobased energy technologies; to promote diversification in, and the environmental sustainability of, agricultural production in the United States through biobased energy and product technologies; to promote economic diversification in rural areas of the United States through biobased energy and product technologies; and to enhance the efficiency of bioenergy and biomass research and development programs through improved coordination and collaboration among the Department of Agriculture; other appropriate Federal agencies (as determined by the Secretary); and Land Grant Institutions.
energy security, biobased energy, technologies, biomass 2.7 million distributed between awardees United States Link
Innovative Public Transportation Workforce Development Program (US Dept of Transportation) US DOT
DOT is making available funding to develop innovative programs and activities in public transportation that address the human resources needs of public transportation operators, as well as build pathways to long-term careers in the public transportation industry. DOT is giving additional consideration to proposals that advance training related to maintenance of alternative energy, energy efficiency, or zero emission vehicles and facilities used in public transportation, as well as submissions that are geographically diverse, target areas with high rates of unemployment, and address current or projected workforce shortages in areas that require technical expertise.
Infrastructure, Planning, career building, Research Program awards generally range between $200,000 to $1,000,000 National Link
Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program Overview US Forest Service
Deadline Passed 11/27/2019. Deadline Unknown for 2020. Congress established the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP) with Title IV of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (PDF, 40 KB) and reauthorized it in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Section 8629 (the Farm Bill). The purpose of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program is to encourage the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration of priority forest landscapes and:
encourage ecological, economic, and social sustainability;
leverage local resources with national and private resources;
facilitate the reduction of wildfire management costs, including through re-establishing natural fire regimes and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire;
demonstrate the degree to which various ecological restoration techniques achieve ecological and watershed health objectives; and,
encourage utilization of forest restoration by-products to offset treatment costs, to benefit local rural economies, to and improve forest health.
collaborative, forest restoration, old growth stands, fire adaptation, watershed health, ecological restoration up to $4 million National Link
Planning Proposals to Catalyze Innovative and Inclusive Wildland Fire Science through Diverse Collaborations US National Science Foundation (NSF) 05/31/2023
Deadline: May 31, 2023. The NSF is calling for planning proposals for advancing inclusive wildland fire science via diverse knowledge systems. Proposals that aim to develop a deeper understanding of wildland fire as integrated social-cultural-ecological-technological systems and improve education across multiple levels, in informal settings and/or formal settings spanning pre-college through post-secondary levels, are also encouraged. Budget requests may not exceed $100,000 per year, with a duration of up to two years. Prospective investigators must submit a two-page description of the proposal concept to wildlandfire@nsf.gov.
fire, knowledge systems, education Up to $100,000 per year National Link
Building Synthetic Microbial Communities for Biology, Mitigating Climate Change, Sustainability and Biotechnology US National Science Foundation (NSF) 08/01/2024
Deadline: August 1, 2024. Microbes and communities of microbes have remarkable genetic, physiological and biochemical diversity, allowing them to flourish in environments all over the planet and in a variety of substrates and hosts. The goal of this solicitation is to support research that addresses one or more of the three themes: 1) define the underlying mechanisms or rules that drive the formation, maintenance or evolution of synthetic microbial communities, 2) use synthetic microbial communities to address fundamental biological questions, including questions in molecular biology, cellular/organismal biology, ecology and evolution and/or 3) build synthetic communities with biotechnology, bioeconomy or environmental engineering applications, including but not limited to the production of novel biorenewable chemicals, biodegradation of recalcitrant or "forever chemicals," enabling a circular bioeconomy, fostering sustainable agriculture and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Scientific research, microbiology, forever chemicals, molecular biology, climate mitigation Total program funding: $9,500,000 National Link
White House Champions of Change Award Nominations US White House
Funding unknown for 2017. President Obama has challenged us all to help win the future by out-educating, out-innovating, and out-building our competitors in the 21st century. Know someone who is doing extraordinary things to make a difference in your community? Nominate them to be a Champion of Change. We'll consider your nominations as we feature people who are bringing about change in their communities on the White House website to share their ideas on how to win the future.
Leadership, Award, Climate Initiatives See Description National Link
Estuary Habitat Restoration Program Project Solicitation USACE
On behalf of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Council, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is soliciting proposals for estuary habitat restoration projects. Congress has appropriated limited funds to USACE for implementation of the Estuary Habitat Restoration Program. Eligible projects must provide ecosystem benefits, have scientific merit, be technically feasible, be able to adapt to the impacts associated with climate change, and be cost-effective.
Coastal, Conservation, Research, Land, Wildlife, Water Individual awards between $200,000 and $1,000,000 Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, National, Coastal, Alaska Link
USDA Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants USDA
The USDA Rural Business Cooperative-Service Agency is accepting applications for Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance grants to establish programs to assist agricultural producers and rural small businesses with evaluating energy efficiency and the potential to incorporate renewable energy technologies into their operations.
Renewable energy, Agriculture, small businesses Unspecified National Link

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
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interface Filter
{
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home » Lifestyle » Here Are The Funniest Twitter Reactions To Kim Kardashian Spoiling Spider-Man: No Way Home
Here Are The Funniest Twitter Reactions To Kim Kardashian Spoiling Spider-Man: No Way Home
12/28/2021 Lifestyle Comments Off on Here Are The Funniest Twitter Reactions To Kim Kardashian Spoiling Spider-Man: No Way Home
"Wow @KimKardashian spoiling Spider-Man for her 273mil followers lol."
Warning! This story contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," so read at your own risk! Seriously, it's a story about spoilers, so what were you expecting?
Kim Kardashian was dragged over Twitter this holiday weekend after accidentally spoiling the new Spider-Man flick's most heavily guarded spoilers — the ones that had two key cast members not even making press appearances.
Annual Kardashian Christmas Card Missing Most of the Kardashians — Plus, Kris Drops 'Jingle Bells' Single?!
In her private movie theater in her Hidden Hills home, the SKIMS mogul watched the latest installment of the Marvel franchise, "Spider-Man: No Way Home," and then went on social media to share her excitement … and more!
The reality star shared with her 273 million Instagram followers pictures of different scenes that spoiled the ending of Sony's biggest film of all time, which reached $1 billion at the global box office (the only film to come out during the pandemic to achieve this feat).
And yet, apparently many people had still not seen the film, and had been doing their best to avoid spoilers, only to find them in the most unlikely place. Fans shared their shock and outrage on Twitter at Kardashian for revealing the surprise return of previous Spider-Man stars, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, linking all of Sony's Spidey films together in the larger Marvel multiverse.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Smashes Box Office Records
Kim quickly realized her mistake and deleted the photos of the secret twist, but the internet remembers! Twitter blew up and created some pretty funny reaction tweets to the self-made billionaire's faux pas.
Here are some of the funniest Twitter reactions to Kardashian's spoilers:
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Next Post:Kanye West Just Bought the House Directly Across the Street From Kim Kardashian


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Q: Error when trying to use aws cli and buckets with periods I'm using the aws cli (aws-cli/1.3.23 Python/2.7.5 Darwin/13.2.0) to access my s3 buckets and it is failing with the following error if the bucket name as a period in it.
$ aws s3 ls s3://my.bucket
HTTPSConnectionPool(host='s3-us-east-1a.amazonaws.com', port=443): Max retries exceeded with url: /my.bucket?delimiter=/&prefix= (Caused by <class 'socket.gaierror'>: [Errno 8] nodename nor servname provided, or not known)

Everything works fine if the bucket doesn't have periods:
$ aws s3 ls s3://mybucket

According to aws docs, periods are fine and I have no issues access the buckets via the website.

A: Had this same problem today. The solution is specifying your region.
What wasn't working:
aws s3 sync --acl public-read dist/ s3://some.bucket.name/

What works now:
aws s3 --region us-east-1 sync --acl public-read dist/ s3://some.bucket.name/

EDIT:
If all your buckets are going to exist in the same regions, go to command line (in OSX):
aws configure

If you haven't supplied your AWS keys, do so then. Question #3 should be Default region. in my case I entered:
us-east-1

Now I no longer have to specify region unless the bucket is outside my default region.

A: ...I encountered a similar problem with my account.
I found (through trial and error) that when I used the wrong region identifier, I was getting the Errno 8.
Here's what worked:

*

*us-west-2

Here's what didn't work:

*

*us-west

*us-west-2a

I couldn't find any definitive help about what would work (or not work) when specifying a region identifier, so this answer is completely empirical and may not help in all cases.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


My faithful readers. New & Old and My Unborn Readers.
I want to Thank Each and Everyone of you! For taking time to stop what your doing.
Reading with Comments and Leaving me Notes through out the Year. From the bottom of my Heart.....It is so heartwarming.
I'm truly Blessed and Honored to be able to present to you my Ancestors as you take this Sankofa Journey patiently with me as I grow yearly into a Geneablogger.
In this LINK you can reminisce with me on my 1st Blog Piece.
Labels: African American Research. Slavery. My True Roots. Alabama. Notes to Myself.
It was about Traveling to your Ancestral Roots. I have blogged about this many times. So I wanted to contribute my Story when she asked for Guest Bloggers.
It was a wonderful opportunity to be amongst other Researchers who went to their Ancestral Towns and got a feel for their Ancestors Roots.
Here is a LINK to my Work I submitted on behalf of myself and my Family about My Journey to Sweet Home Alabama! and others Journey's to their Ancestral Roots.
Labels: Alabama, American Research Tips. Slavery. My True Roots, Genealogy, Midway, Notes to Myself.
She was BORN July 10th, 1909.
which is also her place of death.
She DIED August 30th, 1910.
I ran across this on my Family tree and I kept seeing this sweet little chubby cheeked baby.
My Cousin Pam had submitted her picture. Elmer is Pam's Grandfather and my Great Grandma Cora are Siblings.
I hadn't paid much attention to the details. I was astonished this was over a coffee cup. She died, Due to inhalation from a coffee cup of steam.
It also mentions Peritonitis, if my eyes are doing right by me. So I wonder if something else was going on that this steam aggravated the situation?
As a tea connoisseur. I was taken aback.
I love tea. I'm obsessed with tea cups. I love all the babies and want to remember them on my Blog. I have done this before. She also has a brother named Mark who died tragically.
This is his Remembrance link.
These are moments when I realize how short our Lives can be and how they have meaning to someone with so much love.
They have a Life that was Unsung.
Just for that. I'll try to keep them in our Remembrance even tho' we didn't get to know her.
You are Remembered, Ivy Mae!
Labels: Elmer W. Watson, Genealogy, My True Roots, Newville Pennsylvania, Notes to Myself.


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"I would encourage all the women in this room to step up and pursue your passion. Be someone who contributes or lives their dreams or breaks glass ceilings." Gillon McLachlan, May 6, 2016.
This was a line from a speech given by AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan at the AFL Women's Industry lunch back in May 2016. It was on the eve of the inaugural AFL Women's season and the feeling in the room was that we were indeed at the beginning of a revolution.
The call to 'step up' was intended and taken as a rallying cry for women to get involved. If women were willing to put their hand up, then the AFL would provide the opportunity. It spoke to the sense of excitement that we were about to witness a dramatic shift in women's sport in Australia.
This shift turned out to be seismic and as a result we have seen more women in sports media, more women in administration roles, more women in coaching roles and most importantly, more women being recognised as sporting role models.
Despite all this positivity though, the call to 'step up' has been gnawing at me. You see, when it comes to football, especially women's football, women have been 'stepping up' for decades. After being turned away by men's clubs, many women's football clubs came into existence because groups of women with a passion to play the game decided to band together and start their own.
To say they faced obstacles in an understatement. From finding grounds to play on to finding uniforms to fit them, they persisted. They stepped up. They pursued their passion. Leagues were established, cultures were cultivated and rivalries were born. Through good old-fashioned female ingenuity, they survived and then thrived.
Last Friday, the state football body, AFL Victoria, confirmed that three foundation clubs, Diamond Creek, the Eastern Devils and the St Kilda Sharks would no longer compete in the VFL Women's competition. Yes, the increasing professionalisation of women's football can be seen as progress, but in my mind, the erosion of a culture cannot. Yes, these clubs will still exist in community leagues but players and administrators who have – in some cases literally – poured blood, sweat and tears into their clubs now have to find new homes if they want to continue to participate at the highest level in the state.
In the rush to further professionalise, have we perhaps overlooked the women who got us to this point? In the process of squeezing out the foundation clubs, have we unwittingly endangered a culture and competition that could have been celebrated for its uniqueness? Are we pigeonholing women's clubs as nurturers of talent at grassroots level, by robbing them of the opportunity to show what they can do at the highest level?
For now these questions remain unanswered, but the onus is on the new teams to respect the clubs and cultures that came before them. For this new direction to be the right one, they must honour and provide opportunity to the women who 'stepped up' and made women's football what it is today.
*PHOTO: She Scores


text:
Dannemarie kan syfta på:
 Dannemarie, Doubs
 Dannemarie, Haut-Rhin
 Dannemarie, Yvelines

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Camden County Freeholder Board's parks department is making improvements to the multi-purpose trail at the county's Challenge Grove Park in Cherry Hill.
Construction began today on the $1,197,730 project that includes the refurbishment of the asphalt walking and biking trail from Grove Street to Caldwell Road, new landscape plantings, and the installation of decorative fencing and trail signage. The project also features the construction of curbing and rain water infiltration bed from Kings Highway to Caldwell Road, along with landscape improvements at the entrance to Challenge Grove Park along Caldwell Road.
Camden County's Challenge Grove Park is an award-winning fully accessible park at the corner of Borton's Mill and Caldwell Roads in Cherry Hill. It is also home to Jake's Place Playground for children with physical limitations.


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Home International News Former President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has ended his legal battle
Former President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has ended his legal battle
Sara Malik
Brazil's most popular politician, imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva has ended his legal battle to run for the top office in next month's election.
A letter from Lula announcing he would step aside to allow his running mate Fernando Haddad to stand for the presidency was read out to supporters who have been keeping vigil outside the federal police headquarters where Lula – who maintains his innocence – is being held.
Lula, serving a 12-year sentence for a graft conviction, was president from 2003-2010. He is ineligible for office under Brazil's "clean slate" law, which prohibits candidates from running if they have convictions that have been upheld on appeal.
According to opinion polls support for Haddad, a 55-year-old former mayor of Sao Paulo, is rising. But he does not have the national name recognition of Lula and still lags his rivals.
Haddad will need all the political power that Lula's backing can offer to make it into a likely runoff vote, which would take place between the top two finishers in the Oct. 7 first round ballot if none wins a majority.
Haddad's running mate is Manuela D'avila, 37, a member of the communist party of Brazil.
Polls have shown that about half of Lula's legion of followers are likely to vote for whomever he names as his successor atop the pt ticket.
Previous articleThe death toll from a suicide attack on Afghan protesters has soared to 68
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kazmi - December 6, 2016


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The Active Set - 11 (2011, Chisel Pixel) - A brief overview
Right out of 11's starting gate, "Let the Games Begin" exudes the type of warm syncopation and dexterous, instrumental reciprocity that goes a long way in defining the overarching tenor of The Active Set's seemingly auspicious debut album. Oh yeah, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that these gentlemen know a thing or two about fusing such agile playing with rock solid hooks, the kind that yield a startling, visceral response as evidenced on "Gas Wars" and "Famous for Dying." From a purely musical standpoint, the Active Set originate from the same savvy terrain as Brendan Benson, Rogue Wave, and to a lesser extent Phantom Planet and Creeper Lagoon. Putting aside their plush, arpeggio-happy arrangements for a moment, what helps usher them into a field of their own is frontman/songsmith Matthew Stolarz, a budding popmeister whose wry takes on romance, sex, ambition, and even the open road are relatable, if not amusing. In fact, I have to wonder how Stolarz would employ the Occupy Movement as songwriting fodder, but I digress. "Counting Out Your Life" and "Best Summer Ever" are as lyrically considered as they are sonically intoxicating, and so goes much of the remainder of the album, enabling it to stimulate as consistently as it does. Not exactly one louder, 11 is still pretty golden, but don't be surprised if the Active Set surpass it in years to come. Buy 11 in it's entirety here.
Posted by spavid at 9:15 AM
Various - 'Oly Cow! - the letter "O" folder mix
Ruggedy Annes - Jagged Thoughts ep (1985, Tabb)
I-Rails - Valentino Says tape (1986)
Creeper Lagoon - live and rare, 1998 and beyond
Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade - demos, outtakes, rehearsa...
Five Gears in Reverse - Merry X-mas Distant Planet...
Tall Tales & True - "Hold On" 12" (1989, rooArt) &...
Singles Going Single #193 - Bring Back Dad 7" (Sci...
Half String - A Fascination With Heights (1996, In...
Big Troubles - Romantic Comedy & Sea Lions Everyth...
100 Flowers - 21st Guessing (1989, DTK)
Sprinkler - "Marble" 7" (1992, Tim Kerr) & "Peerle...
Breaking Circus - The Ice Machine (1986) & Smokers...
The Active Set - 11 (2011, Chisel Pixel) - A brief...
Singles Going Single #192 - The Marnies 7" (1989)
Attachments - s/t ep (1983, Art & Economix)
Billy James - Sixes and Sevens (1988, Twilight)
Breaking Circus - The Very Long Fuse + 1 (1985, Ho...
The Remedy Session - s/t (2002, Redemption)


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Q: Keras and Python 3.6: Error when checking input for Sequential model Somehow I found a very strange bug in the Keras library.
My learning method includes a three-layer neural network: an input layer with 130,517 units (input size), a hidden layer of 10,000, and an output layer of 2 units.
During the code, I ran a batch learning (I used partial_fit function) but the code repeatedly threw the same Error:

{ValueError} Error when checking input: expected dense_1_input to have
  shape (130517,) but got array with shape (1,)

I checked the input dimension again, and found that it was indeed as I thought, having 130,517 dimensions.
Here is a picture of variables at debugging, and as you can see, the shape of np.array(X[0]) is 130,517:

For any case, I attached the code of initialization of the Neural Network, and the code of the call to partial_fit:
    def initClassifier(self):
       self.classifier.add(Dense(100000, input_dim=130517, activation='relu'))
       self.classifier.add(Dense(2, activation='softmax'))
       self.classifier.compile(loss='categorical_crossentropy', optimizer='adam', metrics=['accuracy'])

    def partial_fit(self, X, y, classes):
        self.classifier.train_on_batch(np.array(X[0]), np.array(y))

Does anyone have a solution?
Could it be a bug in the Keras code?

A: On training, Keras expects your data to include a dimension for the batch size. In your case, this means the data should be of shape (batch_size, 130517). However, you are passing a np array of shape (130517), which is causing your error. You can reshape your data to include a batch shape as follows:
X_reshaped = X[0].reshape(1, -1)


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Migrating data to neutral standards based formats like STEP, JT or IGES will make the data easier to access, share and in time archive as these formats are non-proprietary so will stop the issue of legacy CAD data arising again. .
Every migration project is different though, which means that every solution is different. It's the 'process' that is the important factor, not just the resulting format. To accurately move data into a new design environment requires a tailored solution.
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Mathieu Chedid
-M- was the alias of French pop enigma Mathieu Chédid, an uncommonly idiosyncratic and far-ranging talent best known on North American shores for his contributions to the animated cult favorite Les Triplettes de Belleville. Born December 21, 1971, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Chédid was the son of French pop icon Louis Chédid (on whose 1978 hit "T'a Beau Pas Être Beau" the six-year-old made his recorded debut) and the grandson of renowned poet and novelist Andrée Chédid. As a teen Chédid collaborated with fellow pop scions Pierre Souchon and Julien Voulzy (children of the legendary songwriting duo Alain Souchon and Laurent Voulzy) in a series of short-lived groups like Les Bébés Fous and Les Poissons Rouges. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, he also emerged as an in-demand session player, contributing to recordings headlined by Philippe Chatel, NTM, and Billy Ze Kick. Upon completing his debut solo LP, 1997's Le Baptême, Chédid adopted the alias "-M-," abbreviating his first name while also playing on the pronunciation of "aime," the French word for "love." Developing a vividly theatrical stage show complementing his playful melodies and operatic vocals, -M- completed his transformation with both a guitar and a coiffure in the shape of his one-letter persona (to picture the latter, imagine a younger, space-age Grandpa Munster). After winning the prestigious Prix Félix Leclerc for his songwriting prowe
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Lots of mooring bouys and when they are full there is plenty of space to drop anchor by the beach. Lots of space SE of the bouy field too. But, don't anchor too close to the quay. The port authority will ask you to move. Holding can be difficult away from the beach as it's a flat rock bottom.
Last updated by Jonathan Sutton on 31/07/2018 05:49:37.


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Dichomeris balioella is a moth in the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Ponomarenko and Ueda in 2004. It is found in Thailand.

The wingspan is about . The forewings are yellowish grey with irregular short dark brown transverse streaks, formed by scattered scales. The costal margin is dark brown in the basal one-seventh and with nine to ten dark brown short costal marks and small spots. There are six dark brown dots along the apex and termen. The hindwings are brownish grey, but darker distally.

Etymology
The species name is derived from Greek bali- (meaning the spotted).

References

Moths described in 2004
balioella


text:
The Health Design Podcast
Science Health Design Moyez Jiwa
The Health Design Podcast and Moyez Jiwa tarafından hazırlanmış olup, Player FM ve topluluğumuz tarafından keşfedilmiştir. Telif hakkı Player FM'e değil, yayıncıya ait olup; yayın direkt olarak onların sunucularından gelmektedir. Abone Ol'a basarak Player FM'den takip edebilir ya da URL'yi diğer podcast uygulamalarına kopyalarak devam edebilirsiniz.
The Health Design Podcast « »
Sneha Dave, creator of the Health Advocacy Summit (HAS)
Sneha graduated from Indiana University in May 2020 where she majored in chronic illness advocacy as well as journalism. She created the Health Advocacy Summit (HAS) and its program the Crohn's and Colitis Young Adults Network (CCYAN) with support from foundations such as the Helmsley Charitable Trust to create support systems for adolescents and young adults with chronic medical disabilities across the U.S. and internationally. She is proud to work with a team composed entirely of young adults with chronic medical disabilities and also to keep the HAS and CCYAN and independent from the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. Sneha has completed an undergraduate research fellowship in health policy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She has also interned at numerous places such as Pfizer Global Headquarters in health economics and outcomes research for Inflammation and Immunology. Sneha has spoken on Capitol Hill, featured nationally on C-SPAN, and is a past contributor for U.S. News and World Report. She has served on the Democratic National Committee Disability Policy Subcommittee and recently joined the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council, an independent appraisal committee of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. Sneha was awarded two academic fellowships with the Association of Health Care Journalists. She was previously a national policy fellow at RespectAbility and now serves as the youngest director on the board for the national nonprofit. Sneha has spoken at the Democratic National Convention, Stanford Medicine X, the National Academies of Medicine, and other major avenues. For her work, Sneha was selected as one of the most influential teenagers in 2018 by the We Are Family Foundation and was recognized as an American Association of People with Disabilities Emerging Leader in 2020.


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Q: Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 3 I'm trying to write a program that prints out the amount of words that have more than 5 characters. I think my code is right, however, I'm running into an index out of bounds error.
I have no clue where I'm going wrong. If anyone can help, that'd be appreciated.

I tried changing the string array size in the main method by removing "Hello" and by removing both "Hello" and "Python".
I've also tried changing the for loop from i < s[i].length() to i < s[i].length()-1.
I still received the error message with these changes.


>> Thank you, everybody.>> Donald Trump says he has the business acumen to make America great again. I'm Tom Bergin, Reuters Specialist Correspondent. Over the past ten years, golf has been one of Donald Trump's most high-profile areas of investment. We've been crunching the numbers on his golf courses to asses just how much business acumen he's displayed in these investments.
Based on our analysis of it's disclosures, the accounts, and discussions with various property agents and indeed with a review of Donald Trump's own statements, what we've found is the Trump organization has invested over a billion dollars. They say, in golf. The assets that they've accumulated are probably worth about 5 and 600 million so on the basis of that information, it looks like Donald Trump is in the red on his golf.
Donald Trump rejects our analysis. He was very clear. But more importantly, he says that thinking about his golf investments, as golf investments is actually to miss the point. Trump's argument is these are not about golf. These are about property development. He says that over time, he and his companies plan to build many, many thousands of houses on this land.
Therefore, he says that these should be seen and valued as property plays in the future. At the end of the day they will depend upon a lot of zoning and planning decisions over the year. And of course it will also depend upon whether there is a commercial market for this properties.
Some of the places where Donald Trump owns land that could be developed conceivably is quite remote in Ireland and Scotland. And state agents and others in the area are doubtful as to whether there is a market for thousands of new homes on those properties. Donald Trump has put great store in his abilities as a businessman saying that his track record gives him the qualities that America needs.
However his golf investments, based on the assessment that we've made, probably are not the best example of Trump's business acumen over the years.


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Greater Baltimore Center v. Mayor and City Council (Wilkinson 1/5/2018): The Fourth Circuit held that ordinances requiring pregnancy centers that do not offer abortion services or referrals to post a conspicuous notice of this fact in waiting rooms violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court reasoned that one such ordinance, as applied to a pregnancy services center that provided only free services and did not advertise deceptively, failed to satisfy heightened First Amendment scrutiny because the city did not prove the inefficacy of less restrictive alternatives, provide concrete evidence of deception, or more precisely target its regulation. Thus, the court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, Inc. Full Opinion U.S. EEOC v. Maryland Insurance Admin (Keenan 1/5/2018): The Fourth Circuit held that a company using a facially gender-neutral compensation system to place Equal Pay Act claimants and comparators on different steps of the pay scale at different starting salaries must still present evidence that the job-related distinctions underlying the salary plan, including prior state employment, in fact motivated the company to pay the different salaries. The court also held a jury would not be compelled to find that male comparator's credentials and prior work experience were, in fact, the reasons for the disparity in pay awarded to the female claimants, as that was an issue of fact to be weighed by the jury against the other evidence in the case. The court thus vacated the district court's order granting summary judgment to the Maryland Insurance Administration and remanded the case for further proceedings. Full Opinion Russell Moody v. Huntington Ingalls Inc. (Gregory 1/3/2018): The Fourth Circuit held that a retired employee who experienced a workplace injury prior to retirement may continue to draw disability benefits after retirement. The court reasoned that voluntary retirement before the onset of a workplace injury's debilitating effects does not preclude the existence of a "disability" under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. §§901, 902(10), 908. The court thus reversed the decision of the Benefits Review Board that denied the plaintiff's benefits and remanded for further proceedings. Full Opinion
Highlight Case
Greater Baltimore Center v. Mayor and City Council, No. 16-2325 Decided: January 5, 2018 The Fourth Circuit held that ordinances requiring pregnancy centers that do not offer abortion services or referrals to post a conspicuous notice of this fact in waiting rooms violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court reasoned that one such ordinance, as applied to a pregnancy services center that provided only free services and did not advertise deceptively, failed to satisfy heightened First Amendment scrutiny because the city did not prove the inefficacy of less restrictive alternatives, provide concrete evidence of deception, or more precisely target its regulation. Thus, the court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, Inc. The Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns (the "Center") is a non-profit Christian organization committed to providing abortion alternatives to women with unplanned pregnancies. It provides pregnant women with many free pregnancy-related services, but does not provide or refer for abortions. This fact is clearly stated in a Commitment of Care pamphlet available in the Center's waiting room. The Center puts out ads such as "free abortion alternatives." The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore enacted Ordinance 09-252 on December 4, 2009 due to concerns that women seeking abortions might be misled into visiting pregnancy centers and delaying the abortion. The ordinance requires any "limited-service pregnancy center" to post a disclaimer in its waiting room notifying clients that it does not provide or make referrals for abortions or birth-control services. A violation of the ordinance allows Baltimore City's Health commissioner to issue a notice directing the pregnancy center to comply. Failure to do so results in the issuance of a $150 citation. The Center falls into the definition of limited-service pregnancy center and was cited for violation of the ordinance. The Center filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking to enjoin enforcement of the ordinance for violating the Center's First Amendment rights to free speech, assembly, and free religious exercise; the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection; and Maryland law's "conscience clause," Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. §20-214. The district court granted summary judgment for the Center, holding the ordinance violated the Free Speech Clause because it was not narrowly tailored to accomplish a compelling government interest. A panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed on appeal. Rehearing the case en banc, the court vacated the district court's judgment and remanded for further proceedings, concluding further discovery was needed. After extensive discovery, the district court held that the ordinance, as applied to the Center, violated the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. This appeal followed. First, the Fourth Circuit held that the Baltimore ordinance's compulsion "to utter or distribute speech bearing a particular message" should receive heightened scrutiny. The City argued that a relaxed level of scrutiny applied because the regulation is a routine exercise of the state's police power that targets commercial speech, or alternatively that targets professional speech. The court held that the ordinance, as applied to the Center, does not regulate commercial speech because nothing in the record suggests that the Center proposes any commercial transactions in the waiting room where the disclaimer would appear, and the Center collects no remuneration of any kind. Furthermore, it is not clear that the ordinance directly regulates the Center's advertisement as the ordinance applies to pregnancy centers regardless of whether they advertise at all, and the record gives no indication that the Center harbors an economic motivation. The Fourth Circuit further held that the ordinance, as applied to the Center, does not regulate professional speech. The Center fits none of the characteristics of a professional speaker: Maryland pregnancy centers are not required to be licensed or otherwise subject to a state regulatory scheme; there is no medical or professional board that certifies the Center's employees; there is no disciplinary panel that regulates their conduct; the volunteer "medical director," a licensed physician, is very rarely on site and does not meet directly with clients; and none of the clients pay for the services. Importantly, the court recognized that the ordinance forced the Center "to utter in its own waiting room words at odds with its foundational beliefs and with the principles of those who have given their working lives to it." Second, the Fourth Circuit held that the Baltimore ordinance did not satisfy heightened scrutiny. The court first considered whether there was a weighty government interest involved. Baltimore's stated goals in enacting the ordinance were to address allegedly deceptive advertising and to prevent health risks that can accompany delays in seeking to end a pregnancy. The court recognized the importance of a state's ability to regulate deceptions and health risks. However, the court held that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that deception actually takes place and that health harms are in fact being caused by delays resulting from deceptive advertising. The court held the record only showed affirmative advocacy of abortion alternatives by a lawful non-profit group, and that none of the public advocacy of alternatives suggested that the Center would provide help or assistance in obtaining an abortion. The court held that truthful affirmative assertions are not, without more, misleading. The court found troubling that the ordinance applied solely to speakers who talk about pregnancy-related services but not to speakers on any other topic, and that the ordinance compelled speech from pro-life pregnancy centers, but not other pregnancy clinics that offer or refer for abortion. The court held that a speech edict aimed directly at those pregnancy clinics that do not provide or refer for abortions is neither viewport nor content neutral. The court then held that the ordinance was not narrowly-tailored because the City could pursue its goals through less restrictive means and because there was only a loose fit between the compelled disclosure at issue and the purported ills identified by the government. The ordinance was over inclusive because the city sought to combat deceptive advertising and consequently delays in abortion services by requiring a notice instead of directly applying laws that prohibit misleading advertising. The court held that, without proving the inefficacy of less restrictive alternatives, providing concrete evidence of deception, or more precisely targeting its regulation, the City could not prevail and the Baltimore ordinance, as applied to the Center, failed to satisfy heightened First Amendment scrutiny. Accordingly, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to the Center and dismissed the case. Full Opinion Jennifer M. Greene
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Electro-sense cost platypus teeth, according to Science Advances 2016;2: e1601329, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1601329, published online 12 October 2016.
A team of scientists from Japan, USA and Australia have compared the skull of the present day platypus with that of a fossil platypus named Obdurodon. The fossil platypus is larger than the present day platypus, and it has teeth, whereas living platypuses do not. Living platypuses forage for food on river bottoms using electric senses in the "duckbill" and chew their food with horny plates.
The research team used x-ray images of the fossil and present day platypus skulls to estimate the size of the canal that contains the nerves and blood vessels supplying the e-sensing duckbill. They found the canal in the present day skull is relatively large compared with the overall size of canal in the fossil. The researchers concluded the large canal does not leave any room for tooth roots. They suggest that the fossil platypus hunted for food under water or on the water surface, and was more dependent on using its eyes than the electro-sense, but as platypuses evolved they became bottom feeders, which would have stirred up the mud, making the water cloudy, so they became more dependent on the electro-sense. Living platypuses are known to forage for food with their eyes closed.
The research team concluded, "loss of functional teeth in Ornithorhynchus may possibly have resulted from a shift in foraging behaviour and coordinated elaboration of the electroreceptive sensory system".
Editorial Comment: Interesting story, but let's consider the actual evidence. We have a fossil platypus with a large skull and teeth, and living platypuses have small skulls without teeth.
The evolutionists' "just so" story doesn't make sense. Why would a creature that could find lots of different kinds of food from the top to the bottom of the water in a pond or river decide it only wanted to forage soft food on the bottom? Even if some demented platypus decided to do that, it would not make its skull shrink nor make its teeth fail to grow. Changes in skull and teeth require changes to the genes that control the growth of the skull and teeth.
It is more likely that the loss of teeth is part of the overall shrinkage of the platypus skull, probably due to degenerate loss or damage to growth promoting genes. We know from the platypus genome that they do have genes for tooth enamel, but it takes more than enamel to make teeth.
Whatever the cause, loss of teeth and restriction to foraging for soft food on river bottoms is the opposite of evolution. Devolution is a more suitable word for this change. The platypus has changed from complex to simple, and not the other way around. The relatively large nerve canal would be preserved because without it, the platypus would not have survived at all. This change is consistent with the overall degeneration of the environment that has been going on ever since God cursed the ground and later sent Noah's flood as judgement on human sin.


"When Lamphere begins singing, everyone becomes very aware that this is not some non-chalant thing. It's an event!"
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text:
English fraudster gets 20 years for US church scam
Mark Oliver
Fri 13 Jul 2007 20.00 EDT
British con artist Howard Welsh toured US cities like a modern-day snake oil salesman, targeting Christians with bogus investment plans and scamming his way to some £16m.
But his face ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted website and despite crisscrossing continents while on the run, he was today starting a 20-year stretch in a US jail.
Most of the 900-odd victims of Liverpool-born Welsh, 63, had one thing in common: they fell victim to his callous manipulation of their religious faith.
Welsh and his American girlfriend, Lee Hope Thrasher, 53, were based in the resort city of Virginia Beach, in the east coast state of Virginia, but from 1999 took the con on the road, targeting church networks.
They hosted euphoric, deeply religious three-day seminars in hotels while selling "divinely inspired" investments that promised huge returns while helping poor and disabled children abroad. "Do you have enough faith to see this through for a year?" one of Welsh's fliers asked.
Welsh, who styled himself as an "international businessman" and who had earlier tried less successfully to sell a "magical elixir", took inspiration from the infamous 1920s Chicago conman, Charles Ponzi.
Ponzi's signature scam was devastatingly simple. You attract a few investors and then quickly pay out high returns. This creates a buzz, and attracts more investors. Then you disappear.
Welsh and Thrasher - who was today jailed for 15-years alongside him at the district court in Norfolk, Virginia - disappeared from the Virginia area in the summer of 2002. A year later, prosecutors brought the first charges against them.
At some stage, the pair left the US, having wired millions of dollars to 13 destinations, mainly foreign banks in places including Lebanon, Switzerland, Nigeria, China and France. Investigators believe they spent time in Latin America and Africa, as well as Belgium and other continental European countries.
However, the end of the FBI hunt was not quite the stuff of Hollywood thrillers. Welsh and Thrasher were arrested by the Metropolitan police in November 2004 at a train station in the Shropshire market town of Whitchurch, near his elderly mother Doris's retirement home.
The pair appeared to have hidden or lost the money. US investigators have only recovered around £1.25m. Both were ordered today to pay $33, 543,153 (£16,486,990) in restitution.
It emerged this week that Welsh had told lawyers that he gave $31m to a Nigerian man called Femi Coker, who had claimed to work for the Nigerian Central Bank. Welsh said he met the Nigerian in Accra, Ghana, and that the money is still in a government warehouse and he will be able to get it back if he pays a "release tax", the Virginia Pilot newspaper reported.
Investigators soon established nobody of that name worked at the Nigerian Central Bank. The name Femi Coker features in a number of websites warning about Nigerian advance fee cons, the so-called 419 scams. Letters written by a Mr Coker variously describe him as a "director of the ministry of agriculture" or an official at a Nigerian oil firm.
If Welsh did have the tables turned on him by another con artist his many victims might be forgiven for enjoying the irony.
Less than 5% of investors to Welsh's scams - some of whom were Britons - saw returns and a number were left in financial ruins. One elderly woman from Illinois, who has since died, lost around £4m, thinking she was investing in a new bank called Zialogic, which in reality was no more than a UK post office box.
"This was a massive fraud, stunning in both its length and breadth," said US attorney Chuck Rosenburg. "We are very pleased with their convictions."
After their arrest, the pair spent almost two years in UK prisons while fighting extradition but were finally sent to the US in July last year. The same month, in their first court appearance in the US, they insisted they were innocent and wanted to "get the truth out".
But three months into the trial they changed their pleas. Welsh admitted four counts, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Thrasher pleaded guilty to three similar counts.
Before they changed their pleas, Paul Chandler, a Met officer, told the trial that the couple had rented a flat in Birmingham, for which Welsh had signed the lease with the name "Holmes Golden". There was evidence of other false identities at the flat, including a "James Bond".
The US Internal Revenue Service told the trial that Welsh had been looking at exploring "something with diamonds" in Ghana.
Thrasher, who previously worked as a victim-witness coordinator, met Welsh in 1997 and her father Harold told the Virginia Pilot that she was under the Briton's control and the family had failed to convince her it was all a scam. But perhaps the best illustration of Welsh's dangerous talent as a conman is the length of time that some of the victims retained faith in him. One investor of £60,000, Greg del Ferro, told the local newspaper, even as the trial was underway last July, that he still did not believe it was a con.
"It was about helping other people. That's what Lee Hope and Howard were stressing. By all means they made mistakes, but they are not the types to deceive or take advantage," he said. Mr Del Ferro wondered whether the pair may have had problems after inviting the "wrong people" to invest.


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onfocus
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Posts tagged highered
Using social media for news: the latest Pew update
"More than one third of Americans turn to Facebook for news, which is a big chunk of the population. Around one fourth fire up YouTube for this purpose. Following those is Twitter, then smaller and smaller numbers for the rest."
A look at social media preferences through the lens of higher ed.
Recommended · Jan 16th, 2:01 pm
Paul Bausch
gazettetimes.com
Benton County virus spike tied to OSU move-in
"Our students in general have been extremely mindful of health issues and I hope that continues, not only for students but for community members throughout the county."
No, the university made the decision to open campus in a pandemic with full knowledge that outbreaks are happening at campuses across the country. They are risking the health of the community and they shouldn't frame it as up to the students.
Recommended · Sep 19th, 2020, 9:39 pm
Trump White House Warns Colleges: Don't Send Your COVID-Infected Students Home!
"The comments represent one of the most explicit acknowledgments to date that the White House's aggressive push to bring students back to campus this fall has created serious risks for increased COVID transmission. It also underscores just how fragile the current situation is at college campuses across the country."
Seems like something they could have predicted. It's almost like the push to open campuses was motivated by something other than public health concerns.
Recommended · Sep 1st, 2020, 8:25 pm
UNC-Chapel Hill converts to remote learning after reporting 135 new COVID-19 cases
"As of this morning, we have tested 954 students and have 177 in isolation and 349 in quarantine, both on and off campus" university officials wrote in a statement. "So far, we have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms."
Another danger of opening campuses and then abruptly closing them is creating a spreading event. Here's more from The Chronicle of Higher Education: UNC Pulls the Plug on In-Person Fall. Will Other Campuses Follow?
"Students now must pack up and go home. Once there, Joseph Eron, chief of the infectious-diseases division at the UNC School of Medicine, recommended that they quarantine themselves for a time, away from their family members. They should stay in a separate room, wash their hands frequently, and wear a mask around the house. "They should not expose themselves to their parents or their grandparents," he said. "That's the way to be completely safe." After all, they would be returning from something of a coronavirus hotspot."
Cluster, indeed.
Recommended · Aug 18th, 2020, 7:32 am
College Campuses and Towns Have No Good Choices
"Just as premature reopenings of bars, stores and restaurants ended up causing big Covid outbreaks and hurting business activity in many Sun Belt states, virus outbreaks on campuses could cause a stampede away from universities eroding trust in universities as responsible stewards of young people's health and safety."
In the face of no good choices, I think colleges should prioritize the health of their communities.
Recommended · Jul 31st, 2020, 7:42 am
Colleges Are Getting Ready to Blame Their Students
"Relying on the self-control of young adults, rather than deploying the public-health infrastructure needed to control a disease that spreads easily among people who live, eat, study, and socialize together, is not a safe reopening strategy—and yelling at students for their dangerous behavior won't help either."
We shouldn't blame students when campuses start closing. The Oregon Health Authority just warned that test results are taking up to two weeks to come back. We know before opening that we don't have the testing infrastructure in place to have an accurate, timely picture of spread.
ctbergstrom.com
The CDC Is Wrong: Testing is essential for colleges to reopen safely
"While college students may be less likely to suffer severe outcomes from Covid-19, college outbreaks do not stay on campus. They incubate disease and amplify transmission chains that reach and kill members of more vulnerable populations. To allow universities to open without testing is to replicate the error at the root of the feckless and incoherent federal response: ignoring the available evidence, hoping for the best, and planning accordingly."
This is a PDF of an article from the Chronicle of Higher Education shared by the author. It seems like a solid plan for virus surveillance should be a big part of reopening in the current environment, but I haven't seen much about that. Our testing capabilities (at least here in Oregon: Oregon's COVID-19 struggles: Concerns over testing capacity and week-long waits for results) might not be up to the task.
Recommended · Jul 14th, 2020, 9:02 pm
papers.ssrn.com
Unsafe at Any Campus
"We believe rushing to reopen campuses involves wishful thinking and magical thinking, reflecting the comforts from path dependence and status quo bias. While optimism is admirable, so are honesty and realism. Sometimes, defensive pessimism is more adaptive, appropriate, functional, helpful, and useful than unbridled positivity. We are only in the second inning of COVID-19, with testing extremely confusing and statistically unreliable. Rushing to reopen campuses offers only the illusion of safety. In contrast, offering an effective online alternative provides the reality of safety."
An essay from two law professors critical of plans to open college campuses. I really agree with the point I quoted here about the weakness of the positive thinking that seems to be the driving force behind all covid-19 planning.
Recommended · Jul 12th, 2020, 10:03 am
ICE says international students must take in-person classes to remain in the US
"New students matriculating at schools offering fully online programs will not receive visas, per ICE. Students who are already enrolled at such schools will be required to transfer or leave the country."
The cruelty is the point.
Recommended · Jul 7th, 2020, 5:28 pm
University of Oregon, Oregon State University canceling in-person classes, big gatherings amid coronavirus concerns
"The Oregon Health Authority had recommended against closing campuses where cases of COVID-19 are not present. But Oregon has conducted limited testing for the virus, creating a misleading picture of the virus's community spread. Not everyone who has wanted to be tested has been."
The right call.
Recommended · Mar 11th, 2020, 8:44 pm
First U.S. Colleges Close Classrooms as Virus Spreads. More Could Follow.
"The University of Washington said it would move to online classes for its 50,000 students. With colleges nationwide about to empty for spring break, students fear they might not be coming back."
They're planning to open their campus again March 30th.
Recommended · Mar 6th, 2020, 5:27 pm
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text:
Манхэттен-центр — здание, построенное в 1906 году и расположенное на 34-й улице в Мидтауне (или Среднем Манхэттене) и вмещает в себя Manhattan Center Studios (звукозаписывающие студии), большой бальный зал, бальный зал Гаммерштейна (одно и самых известных мест проведения музыкальных представлений и телепрограмм). В 1976 году здание было приобретено нынешним владельцем, Церковью объединения, за 3 млн $.

Бальный зал Гаммерштейна — это двухъярусный, площадью 1115 м² бальный зал, известный своим изящным внешним видом и хорошей акустикой. Вместимость зала зависит от её конфигурации: 2500 человек для театральных постановок и музыкальных представлений, и несколько тысяч для мероприятий в пределах центрального ринга. Две основных ложи — необычно приземленные и слегка накренившиеся — имеют вместимость в 1200 посадочных мест. Имеется также шесть малых лож, используемых обычно знаменитостями.

История
Изначально был возведён в качестве Манхэттенского оперного театра Оскаром Хаммерстайном I. Коренной причиной строительства здания было жёсткое соперничество с основанным недавно музыкальным театром Метрополитен-опера, предоставляя среднему жители Нью-Йорка более дешёвые места.

Вскоре здание стало альтернативным местом проведения многих больших опер и дебютов певцов, впоследствии становящихся знаменитыми.
В 1910 году, после того как конкурент не смог выдержать конкуренцию, Метрополитен-опера заплатила Хаммерстайну 1,2 млн $ за приостановку оперных постановок на десятилетний срок. Он принял предложение и экспериментировал с другими музыкальными жанрами, прежде чем принять решение продать здание. В марте 1911 года здание открылось как «комбинированный» театр братьями Шубертами, ставящее водевили по будням и концерты по воскресным вечерам по более доступным ценам.

В 1922 году Манхэттенский оперный театр был куплен масонами, пристроившими новый фасад здания большого бального здания на седьмом этаже. В 1926 году в большом бальном зале компания Warner Brothers установила систему Vitaphone для записи Нью-йоркским филармоническим оркестром саундтрека к фильму «Дон Жуан».

В 1940 году название здания было переименовано в Манхэттен-центр для привлечения широкого спектра проведения мероприятий.

В 1986 году был сформирован Manhattan Center Studios для развития здания как места проведения мультимедийных мероприятий. Ещё более возможности были расширены после того, как в 1993 году была открыта «Студия 4». «Студия 7» была перестроена в 1996 году как диспетчерская, соответствующая последнему слову техники, с возможностями предоставления всех видов звукозаписи и прямой трансляции из большого бального зала.

В марте 1990 года компания начала инвестировать в видеооборудование и студийную технику. Оборудование компании для создания телепрограмм в «Студии 9» было установлено в 1993 году и в последующие году были построены две полностью оснащённые телестудии. «Студия 1» была завершена в 1994 году; «Студия 6» — в 1995 году. Связанность студий с бальными залами делает их привлекательными местами проведения прямых Интернет- и телетрансляций. Компания имеет контракт с вашингтонской телекомпанией Atlantic Video.

В 1997 году бальный зал Гаммерштейна подвергся значительному косметическому ремонту для удовлетворения требований заказчиков Среднего Манхэттена.

События
Манхэттен-Центр стал местом проведения для больших джазовых выступлений и танцев, показов фильмов кинокритикам, профсоюзных собраний и выполняющим прочие социальные функции.

Среди разнообразных мероприятий за прошедшие десятилетия были радиовещания, записи и выступления таких исполнителей, как Paul Robeson, Judy Garland, Harry Belafonte, Perry Como, Leonard Bernstein, David Bowie, Grateful Dead, Bob Marley и Evanescence. Nicki Minaj выступал на Дне Благодарения 2010 года в присутствии почётных гостей Drake, Рианна, Канье Уест, Keyshia Cole, and Баста Раймс.

В ранние 1990-е, шоу WWE RAW снимали в Манхэттен-центре. Также здание используется для проведения выставок, званых обедов и собраний.

В 2010 году в здании выступали Маленькие ангелы (балет), известная южнокорейская балетная труппа.

Примечания

Ссылки
 Сайт Манхэттен-центра

Здания и сооружения Манхэттена
Здания и сооружения, заложенные в 1906 году
Церковь объединения
Мидтаун


Regulates upward tension on free floating target barrels for improved accuracy. Blued hardened steel, .810" long with .500" and .575" OD. Manufactured by Remington for the 40X Target Rifle. Set includes (1) adjuster and (1) screw.


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Home / News / Scotland promises ambitious investment in broadband
GT News: 10/01/2020 - 11:26
The Scottish Government will go beyond its commitment to provide superfast broadband to all premises across Scotland, delivering the most ambitious investment in broadband in the UK.
The roll-out of future-proofed full fibre broadband means many of the premises which will benefit from the Scottish Government's Reaching 100 per cent Broadband (R100) programme will now be able to access speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second instead of the 30 megabits originally proposed.
Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Connectivity, said: "This roll-out means Scotland will have enhanced digital connectivity years ahead of the rest of the UK. R100 will ensure that Scotland is ahead of the curve, not just in the UK, but internationally. Through our investment, we will extend full-fibre broadband to much of rural Scotland, going beyond our original commitment, and helping to deliver future-proofed economic, social and environmental benefits for the whole country.
"This is one of the most challenging broadband infrastructure builds anywhere in the world, and this, combined with the decision to future-proof our technology, means the work will take time to complete. We are also setting up a voucher scheme which will launch later this year. This will provide grants to broadband customers, ahead of the delivery of the R100 contracts, to support access to a range of technologies and suppliers.
"It is disappointing not to be able to announce details of the contract for the North Lot due to a dispute over the awarding of the contract, but the Scottish Government is doing its utmost to ensure that people in the north of Scotland can access superfast broadband through the R100 programme as soon as possible, including through our voucher scheme."
Latest news....
The government will provide £40 million to transform slow login times, one of the main technology frustrations facing NHS staff.
Esther McVey is announcing governmental plans to release data held by local bodies to enable the UK PropTech sector to thrive.
Junior doctors at NNUH will be helped to hone their skills with the introduction of an innovative new teaching technology.
British businesses and the public are set to be better protected from hostile cyber attacks and online threats.
Third of councils using algorithms to make welfare decisions
One in three councils are using computer algorithms to help make decisions about benefit claims and other welfare issues.
Automation and the rebirth of local government services


This post is to share some information about the field of sport psychology. Accordingly, if you want to hire a professional to help you improve your mental game, you will know how to choose the best professionals.
Sport Consultants, Mental Performance Consultants, or Mental Trainers are the professionals with a Master's degree or Ph.D. with an emphasis in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. Those professionals teach specific skills to enhance athletic performance. Some of them have a background in Physical Education or Kinesiology, and those folks can help you to improve the quality of your training. The professionals who have a background in counseling can help you to deal with other issues that also affect athletic performance such as relationship problems with coaches, teammates, sports organization, and family members. Some athletes have trouble adapting from high school sports to college sports, and the professionals who are also counselors are the best option.
The Sport Psychologist is a licensed psychologist who has specialization in sport, exercise, and performance psychology. The sport psychologist can help the athlete in the same areas as the professionals with a background in counseling, but they also can help athletes who are facing other issues such as an extreme low mood, low self-esteem, and lack of energy to practice the sport once loved; or too much anxiety and fear.
Here is a link to find more information about the professionals' specialization.
After the bodyboarding competitions in Europe last year, I visited Rome-Italy. I love history, and I traveled to historic cities in Europe before, but Rome and the lives of gladiators are today telling us how the past influenced modern sport.
Rome ruins and human history were underground for centuries and most of what we know today was discovered in less than 100 years. The Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) and the Stadium of Domitian (today museum) are must-see places if you love the history of sport.
The lives of gladiators make the link from the past to today. Some gladiators were volunteers; others were war slaves who could regain their freedom after fighting for five years. The school of gladiators bought the fighters as soccer teams buy players today. The games were paid for a sponsor seeking popularity. And there were some famous gladiators from different schools. Gladiators did not die in combat as seen on the Hollywood movie "Gladiator"; they were too expensive to train and replace.
The gladiators' chance of survival was around 90%, and if they were injured, they had the best medical care in Rome. The doctors who worked with gladiators were pioneers in the development of fractures treatment, and they also had an opium-based anesthetics for operations. If a gladiator died, the family received compensation. Also, they had a type of union to pay for the funeral.
In a single battle, the gladiators' prize money was equivalent to the annual salary of a Roman soldier. After two victories, a gladiator could afford to live in a better place inside the gladiator school.
Even more interesting was the political aspect of using entertainments (the fights in the Colosseum) to manipulate the people and gain popularity, but I think it still happens in South America and the sport now is soccer.
In summary, as the excavations continue in Rome, more about our history (the Latin or Romance people) is discovered. If you speak some of the languages historically Latin such as Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and French, maybe some of your ancestors were part of the Roman Empire.


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Home » Arts » The death of the literary critic
The death of the literary critic
I've just finished Rónán McDonald's little book, The Death of the Critic (London: Continuum, 2007), the broad point of which is to decry the diminution of the literary critical role in society that was formerly occupied by well trained readers like Calvin Trilling, Matthew Arnold, F.R. Leavis, and writers who also produced criticism, like T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf and Susan Sontag. Criticism has been democratized by the blogosphere, mostly in ways McDonald sees as insidious; as he puts it, We Are All Critics Now (4). And academic attention to literature, he argues, has been dominated by cultural studies perspectives that mostly insist on reading novels as symptoms of capitalism or patriarchy or racism, and in ways that have made criticism less linguistically accessible to a wider readership. To those who might counter that criticism is more ubiquitous than ever, and who might immediately think of the New York and London book review publications and others, McDonald replies, but "how many books of literary criticism have made a substantial public impression in the last twenty years?" "Academics in other subjects with a gift for popularizing their subject, like Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking, Simon Schama and A.C. Grayling, command large non-academic audiences and enjoy high media profiles. However, there are very few literary critics who take on this role for English" (3).
McDonald sidesteps a lot of the traps characterizing other work critiquing academic literary studies. He is not defending a return to a Great Books Canon or to the pure celebration of high culture. His review of the historical debates over the value of criticism make clear that he grasps the complexities in the longer tradition. He is not hostile to Theory, but rather sees it as having made important contributions that now can be superceded not because theory should be rejected but because its central insights have been mainly and rightly accepted. McDonald sees the value in the proliferation of critical methods (genre, psychoanalytic, Marxist, formalist, semiotic, New Historicist) even as he argues that this expansion was mainly driven by the demands of 20th-century university culture to devise rigorous quasi-scientific perspectives. He does not by and large (a notable exception is at pgs. 127-129) disparage cultural studies either substantively or by painting with too broad a brush (in fact, he spends some time defending Raymond Williams as doing the very kind of theoretically informed but also interesting work he would like to see more of). And he is not finally a doomsayer about the culture; in fact the book closes with a sense of optimism that the attention to literary aesthetics he desires is making a sort of comeback.
Having said all this, McDonald still takes a pretty hard line, especially with respect to the culture war debates of the last half century, which in his view too readily dispatched even the merits of a long tradition of debate over the rightful role of criticism. He thinks Matthew Arnold has been cartooned, at the expense of his insights about the way an intelligent culture of criticism can produce more interesting art. Arnold's defense of critical "disinterestedness," he notes, has been almost absurdly distorted. The quote most often used to beat Arnold over the head (that criticism's role is "to make the best that has been thought and known in the world everywhere," a sentiment that reads like pure colonialism) is usually cited without its introduction, which says that true culture "does not try to reach down to the level of inferior classes but rather seeks to do away with classes; to make the best…"). The correction obviously doesn't let Arnold off the hook, but read as against the grain of the broader prejudices of his time, his perspective elaborates a more compelling vision for criticism and the capacity of art to undo elitism than a reading that sees him as simply advocating snobbery.
The case against the blogs and the kind of "thumbs up" criticism that characterize so much newspaper book reviewing and the Oprah Book Club is for McDonald situated in his recognition that the institutional practice of criticism arose under peculiar circumstances that are now being transformed. As capitalism developed (and here he is following Habermas' claims about the short-lived emergence of a bourgeois public sphere) and industrialization created new middle classes with leisure time and an interest in cultural elevation, a demand was created for sophisticated taste makers. There is a tendency today to forget how radically democratic these impulses were: "this early development was an intellectual movement from below, a way of appropriating and redistributing cultural authority from the aristocracy and land-owning classes" (54).
What is today at risk, in McDonald's perspective, is the essential role critics can play in challenging popular preconceptions and making the world safe for difficult artworks as they defend or enact idiosyncratic perspectives and nudge or argue audiences toward controversial but potentially essential ways of seeing. This role requires critics who are educated to the possibilities of literary and artistic generation and who are willing to make and defend evaluative judgments about what art is worthwhile or worthless. His attack on the bloggers and academic critics is that they either insist on reading new work through existing prejudices or refuse to make evaluative claims at all, not wanting to seem elitist or read as disparaging popular culture. Critical practice has thus been transformed from offering acts of thoughtful judgment into offering acts of clever insight, where the question implicitly answered is not so much what makes this work aesthetically rich and worth your time? and more did you notice such-and-such about this novel/TV show/film? Skills of observation are thus elevated over skills of interpretation, and the outcomes of critical engagement are more likely to center on how interesting (or not) a text is, at the expense of how engagement with it might better educate its audience. Taste has trumped judgment, and the demand for books is more than ever driven by the marketing of a dwindling number of books and the ever-tightening circle of I saw Ann Coulter on Fox and she was nasty and funny and so I think I'll buy her nasty and funny new book.
McDonald does not do enough to specify exactly what sort of criticism he seeks. He argues for criticism that makes aesthetic judgments and dismisses those who simply connect novels to the broader culture, but he seems to celebrate Virginia Woolf for doing the very thing he dislikes (in fairness to McDonald, he tries to defend Woolf as striking a sensitive balance between these tendencies). He argues that criticism that takes an evaluative stand will attract readers, but the argument slides around a bit: at pg. 130, where this claim is articulated, he starts by noting that boring academic writing turns readers off. Then he says "those critics who examined popular culture alert to its pleasures found the wider public more ready to listen to what they had to say," though that seems to imply that audiences are best found when one cheerleads (a position I take as antithetical to his larger purposes). And then he shifts into a case for critics who write "about the value and delights of art" (note how evaluative judgment, which so far did not play in his perspective on attracting readers, is now slipped back in). But it isn't clear how critics who defend judgments are supposed to attract audiences in a world where enthusiastic reviews are likely to be more contagious than briefs for the defense.
But even if the cure is underspecified, I found it hard not to be persuaded by McDonald's broader diagnosis, and the case for more fully reconnecting academic and popular cultures.
By cheshier in Arts, Books, Theory on 11/22/2010 .
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