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Q: Moodle fatal error call to undefined method get_header I am using moodle for the first time today. I am to look at a site that was built with it. I was getting a blank white screen after login. Then I googled and put a debug line and now it says an error
Fatal error: Call to undefined method core_renderer_maintenance::get_header() in /.../../public_html/theme/genesis/layout/header.php on line 7

New to php too. What is the steps i need to take? ANy help is appreciated. Thanks. If you have questions, please ask.

A: Be sure to have code that calls the core of moodle:
require_once (dirname ( dirname ( dirname ( __FILE__ ) ) ) . '/config.php');

(the amount of dirname depends on where you are)
then you can use the the global variables like $OUTPUT, $PAGE without problem.
echo $OUTPUT->header ();
(your code)
echo $OUTPUT->footer ();


Crohn's disease is a sub-category of inflammatory bowel disease or IBD. The condition causes inflammation of the digestive tract, which in turn can cause abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and, in some cases, malnutrition. Crohn's disease is painful and debilitating and can become life-threatening.
The inflammation caused by Crohn's disease often spreads deep into the layers of bowel tissue. This inflammation can involve different areas of the digestive tract in different people. The most common areas where people are affected are the last segment of the small intestine and the colon. Signs and symptoms of Crohn's disease range from mild to severe with the symptoms developing gradually.
Doctors are still uncertain about why people develop Crohn's disease. It was first suspected stress and diet caused the condition, but most doctors now believe these factors only aggravate symptoms. Recent research shows genetics and a less-efficient immune system may be the source of the disease. When the immune system does not function properly, it may have an abnormal response to microorganisms that assault the digestive tract. The immune system can over-react, attacking both these microorganisms and the good cells in the digestive tract. While there's no known cure for Crohn's disease, certain therapies can greatly reduce the signs and symptoms and even bring about long-term remission.


It was a beautiful Friday evening. And what did Delhi have in store for me this time? Rain. And on this day when Delhi decided to be as whimsical as it could, I happened to be at the right place at the right time – in the posh, upmarket area of Defence Colony, waiting for the Diva herself, Chef Ritu Dalmia!
Held in her very own restaurant Diva Kitsch, which is predominantly modern Asian, Chef Ritu's Summer MasterClass was one fabulous event! While the guests came in expecting to learn some easy-to-cook dishes by watching the Super Chef in action, the Diva had some other plans in mind – "I want to get their hands dirty as well!" Where we thought we could vicariously enjoy the pleasures of cooking, she placed the ladles in our hands, giving us all a good time. With her simple techniques and unique takes on authentic Asian cuisines, the Chef made it clear that food is to be enjoyed along with guests, not alone in the kitchen making sophisticated dishes that took up the whole of your time!
Saying "God bless you all!" she began the evening by cooking select dishes from the restaurant's menu, the first being cold Vietnamese Rolls. She then proceeded to make the Avocado soup with Crab salad. Simple yet titillating to the taste buds, these dishes were easy and quick to make. Busy relishing the taste of her classy dishes, we forgot to address the compliments directly to her. And what did Ritu Dalmia say? "My ego is fragile. Make some noises you guys! Say 'mmmm'." Without the pleasantly optimistic aura that she carried around, the event would have been but another cookery class. The last dish of the session was the Burnt Garlic Soya Prawns. This time around, she invited the guests to make a little something for the rest of us, while she stood aside, watching over like a silent guardian.
The session then ended with guests enjoying dishes from the Liquid Hour Menu and cocktails at Diva Kitsch!
With a pleasantly soothing ambience and calm, unpretentious music playing in the background, Diva Kitsch is a great place to go to, provided you are carrying a wad of cash in your wallet. Do try their Peanut tarts with Tomato Salsa and the Chicken dumplings!
Holi is not just the festival of colours but also the time to indulge in some gastronomical delights. To savour in on the moment, Amira Pure Foods, one of the top global food companies, organized a live kitchen at AAHAR International Fair 2014. The event was hosted by celebrity chef Ripudaman Handa, the winner of Masterchef India Season 3, who displayed how Amira products can be used to add flavor to Holi delicacies.
Ripu Daman Handa is a gym instructor from Delhi who won the season 3 of MasterChef India. He won the kitchen battle by defeating Doyel Sarangi, a homemaker from Kolkata and Varanasi-based Navneet Rastogi, who comes from a family of caterers.
"Holi is a festival associated with some of the best food and sweets like gujiya, puran poli, sweet rice, kesar pulao and kheer. And the brand Amira epitomizes authentic basmati rice and other healthy, specialty foods. Therefore we wanted to further enhance the festive spirit and organized this Live Kitchen, to make Holi even more exclusive and scrumptious for people." said an Amira Foods official.
Masterchef Ripudaman could not agree more. The 24-year-old former trainer, a Punjabi at heart, has come a long way since his win in the top food programme across the world. He has prepared some crackling and delicious Holi dishes at the Amira Live Kitchen. As a formal instructor, he takes special interest in healthy food, and for the Amira Live Kitchen, lined up extraordinary recipes for the audience.
As part of the main course, the Masterchef cooked Amira Vegetable Fried Rice and Amira Peas Pulao and for the dessert he prepared a lip-smacking Amira Kesari Kheer, garnished with saffron.
Amira strives to achieve 'passion for purity' by ensuring that the customers get pure, unadulterated and authentic food. Amira provides not just the best basmati rice to customers but also the best Indian snacks, ready-to-eat dishes and a range of organic products including legumes, lentils, spices and herbs.
To showcase the same, the chef cooked Amira Canapé Indiano, a starter made from sautéed Amira Rice fusing with Amira Namkeen and made yummier with a dash of Amira Organic Spices. This was followed by cooking Amira Chatapati Bhel, a unique and light all-time snack made from Amira Namkeens.
Hungry at night and too busy and lazy to venture out at that hour, a cute 'crazy' pup named Bruno has the answer. Crazy Bruno is a food manufacturing unit with an elaborate home delivery network which prepares exotic food and arranges home delivery from 7pm to 4am anywhere in South Delhi. Currently based near New Friends Colony, they are the new DONs of home delivery in town, with zomato rating them 3.5 in just one and a half months of their inception. Owners Abhishek, Hemant, Ashish, Akhil and Omaid have achieved a miniscule part of their dream of developing an elaborate food preparation station and providing an efficient, fast and effective delivery mechanism, mixing their love for food with business.
The most popular items looks to be their mouth-watering chicken manchurian combo and tandoori momos. Their noodles have a very homely taste which is a very pleasant and welcome change from the types one would see in restaurants and food joints. The manchurian, though a little tangy, tastes pretty good. The chilli paneer is definitely a winner! The paneer is soft and tender, with a slightly spicy gravy which is delicious. Imagine getting hot steamy chicken momos with spicy chutney delivered right at your doorsteps! What more could a momo fan ask for? The tandoori momos are indeed, a treat to savour and a delight to the taste buds, with the Tibetan momos given a interesting Punjabi twist. Their Indian menu is quite a killer too. The paneer tikka salad has good flavour, but the butter chicken is simply a bomb! Succulent chicken with thick creamy tomato gravy is, in one word, heaven! However, their star is definitely their burgers! Soft buns with a tasty proportion of patty and a generous helping of cheese and mayonnaise are a fabulous combination. These burgers are prepared with an exciting new recipe.
Crazy Bruno has also started a little experiment called Deal of the Night (DON), where they give special offers, discounts, a variety of items, and a whole lot of other exciting features. They also cater to Birthdays and House Parties. For good quality food without having to burn a hole in the pocket, Crazy Bruno is just a call away. In this tech-savvy world, they even take orders on WhatsApp. With Crazy Bruno in town, happiness is good, exciting, exotic and mouth-watering food delivered at your doorstep!


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'American Horror Story: Hotel': And then Rudolph Valentino got involved
November 20, 2015 October 13, 2018 by Therese Odell, posted in american horror story, american horror story: hotel
Oh, look. We've found a secret room full of backstory. Great.
Back in 1925, Lady Gaga was a young flapper working as an extra on a film with one Rudolph Valentino, who just happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Dead Tristan. Lady Gaga and her friend Lady Exposition discuss Valentino's impending divorce from his wife Natacha Rambova (who was actually Winifred Shaughnessy from Salt Lake City) and how Rambova is busily ruining Valentino's career. And that's when some assistant director passes Lady Gaga a note from Valentino with his address on it. They cut the part where the assistant director shouts at Valentino that this is not his job, dammit.
Lady Gaga arrives on Valentino's doorstep that evening for a private dinner. Over Italian wine, Lady Gaga reveals that her parents are Italian, like Valentino, not that you would know that based on whatever the hell accent this is supposed to be. German? Ukrainian? Mandarin? Because whatever it is, it's most certainly not Italian, Finn Wittrock. They discuss art and film and immortality, and then start dancing which is when Mrs. Valentino interrupts and is like, "OH HAI, STRANGER DANCING WITH MY HUSBAND." But she's not (very) jealous, it's not like that and the next thing you know we're in the middle of a naked Rudolph Valentino sandwich.
Sometime later (August 23, 1926 to be precise) Lady Gaga and Lady Exposition attend a party being hosted by Mr. March at his hotel, which is where the news is announced that Valentino has died. Lady Gaga, despondent, thinks about hurling herself out a window, but is stopped by a smitten Mr. March.
Lady Gaga goes on to marry March, obviously. The two have crazy, censor-defyingly violent sex. At some point in their marriage she catches him in the midst of practicing his homicidal hobbies. But instead of disapproving, she encourages him to stop hunting hobos, and instead focus on wealthier victims.
But though she's married, she never stops loving Valentino (and to a lesser degree Natacha) and Lady Gaga becomes the Lady in Black who leaves roses at Valentino's tomb. It's on one of her visits to the tomb that Natacha appears, and reveals that Valentino is very much not dead, and, in fact — LOL, SURPRISE! — with her right now.
And right there at his tomb, Valentino is like, "Hey, I've got an idea, let's all stand around my tomb where my fans routinely gather to pay tribute to me and talk about how not only am I not dead, but I am actually a vampire because the guy who directed Nosferatu thought that my career would suffer once sound is introduced to motion pictures so he granted me immortality and a hankering for A positive. All of this just makes sense."
And then Lady Gaga agrees to become a vampire with them. Yay, vampire buddies!
Except before the trio can run off together, Mr. March has his goons abduct Valentino and Natacha, has them thrown them into one of his hotel rooms, and seals off the entire hallway with a wall made of reinforced steel and bricks. Hospitality at its finest!
As it turns out, Mr. March's trap was quite effective, and it is only when Will Drake is renovating the hotel to make room for his atelier some 90 years later is it revealed that there is this secret wall. Drake has his construction workers cut it open, thereby releasing a very dusty and very hungry pair of Valentinos who immediately feast on their liberators. NOM NOM NOM.
The Valentinos then eat that awful realtor lady from "Murder House," Marcy. The couple takes a little break to quarrel about Lady Gaga, with Natacha blaming her for all their problems, before turning their attentions to a trio of Australians who appear to have come directly from a cartoon about the Outback. NOM NOM NOM. (And R.I.P. Marcy.)
And that's how Rudolph Valentino and Natacha got their groove back.
As to where they got their wardrobe, that's a whole other question.
Iris alerts Lady Gaga to the hole in the wall, and they are both like, "Uhhhhhh…."
Then Lady Gaga joins her Ghost Husband for dinner where she informs March that she's marrying Will Drake. March toasts her choice before instructing her to murder him off the property, as it would be uncomfortable for him to keep running into him here in the hotel. Lady Gaga huffs that she might have finally found true love for the first time, and March is like, "OH COME ON. I KNOW ABOUT VALENTINO," before revealing the whole walling him in out of jealousy business. Lady Gaga is not amused, and she is even less amused when she learns that Rudy has been released.
Meanwhile, on a completely unrelated show, Former Detective John has himself institutionalized after he showed up at his former job to rant about the Ten Commandments Killer and attack his partner. As he visits with his psychiatrist, he explains that his family is scared of him so he's pretty sure he's where he belongs, safely locked away.
Which is why it is confusing when later he attacks a security guard and breaks into another room where he finds one of Lady Gaga's Children of the Damned, Wren. Wren is in a psych hold because she was at the televangelist murder scene? And she killed a security guard? And she wouldn't talk to the cops? And she explains to John that she was at the other Ten Commandment Killer's murder scenes, too?
HOW. WHY. WHAT IS HAPPENING.
But this is the story we're going with, apparently. Wren assures John that whatever "he" did, it's not John's fault, which reminds John of his daughter? She tells John that he's nothing like her father, before launching into a flashback:
1986, and her father was making gross comments about how he couldn't wait for her to grow up and be his little lady. This one time, her father left her in a hot car, which is where Lady Gaga found her and "saved" her by turning her into a tiny little fauxpire.
Anyway, the point of all this is that Wren can take John to the Ten Commandments Killer because she knows where he lives. "Let's go!" says John, and they break out of the hospital. However, once outside, John is like, "Alright, take me to him so I can kill him!" And Wren becomes all sad, telling him, "I like you, I hate to see it end." With that, she tells John goodbye before running out in front of a speeding truck.
And dumb dumb, terrible John is all, "Wait, what?" because he is an idiot and a terrible detective and this show is making no sense.
This episode, you guys. It made me so tired. Was it the 40 minutes we spent on the Valentino story? Was it Finn Wittrock's abysmal Italian accent (SRSLY, THO)? Was it the introduction of yet more new characters we don't care about? Was it the whole "by the way here's this vampire girl who is part of the whole serial killer plot line, don't worry about why or how, oh and now she's dead" pile of terrible writing? Was it the lack of Liz Taylor (yes, always)? Or was it all of these things together that made this one of the worst episodes of American Horror Story not just of this season, but of the series?
Don't get me wrong: for the most part I am enjoying this hit or miss season. I don't love it as much as "Murder House" or "Coven," but it is leaps and bounds better than "Freak Show" and "Asylum," certainly. It's stylish and sexy and has legitimate moments of pure creepiness. And I have to admit that Lady Gaga basically playing herself fits right in to the American Horror Story universe.
But I worry that we have come to the place in the season where the writers start spinning their wheels until the inevitable conclusion wherein everybody dies — with maybe Liz Taylor being the last one standing. (Fingers crossed.) I didn't hate the writers' inclusion of historical figures (it was no Anne Frank debacle, that's for sure), but the entire Valentino storyline felt like 45 minutes of story that could have been told in 10. It was entirely too much stretching, too much filler. In contrast, John's story was so disjointed as to be incomprehensible. I understand that the writers are trying to tell the story of John's mental disintegration through his perspective, but the result is dreary repetitive tedium and glowering. So much glowering. He's the Ten Commandments Killer, we get it, move along, there's really not that much to see here.
Let's hope when AHS returns from its Thanksgiving break in two weeks, they've righted the ship — and included more Liz Taylor.
American Horror Story: Hotel aired on FX.
This post originally appeared on the Hearst site Tubular.
Tagged ahs, ahs: hotel, american horror story, american horror story: hotel, flicker, rudolph valentino, the countess
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Plan B for raising debt ceiling: Obama should invoke the Constitution
President Obama wisely wants to resolve the looming crises with the debt ceiling and the 'fiscal cliff ' now. If he can't strike a debt-ceiling deal, he has another option: Bring out the Constitution, whose 14th Amendment states that the 'validity' of US debt 'shall not be questioned.'
Charles Dharapak/AP
President Obama pauses as he speaks about the 'fiscal cliff' and debt ceiling at the Business Roundtable in Washington, Dec. 5. Op-ed contributor L. Michael Hager writes: The president 'could declare as unconstitutional the current debt-ceiling law – which requires congressional approval to raise the limit – or at least use such a threat as leverage.'
By L. Michael Hager
President Obama has reopened the issue of the debt ceiling – and not a minute too soon. Heated debate over the looming fiscal cliff has obscured the fact that the US government will run out of money as early as next February, unless Congress approves an increase of the debt limit, now fixed at $16.4 trillion.
Failure to raise the borrowing limit would trigger a widespread government shutdown and default on debt payments to creditors, because the US government would no longer be able to finance day-to-day operations or service its debt.
Even a protracted debate on the debt ceiling, such as took place in the summer of 2011, could have dire consequences. The financial markets would react negatively to the threat of default and to the uncertainty posed by indecision. As last year, the credit agencies would likely regard political gridlock as a reason to further degrade America's credit rating.
That's why Mr. Obama was right to tell corporate executives this week: "I will not play that game."
He also wisely suggests a grand bargain that resolves both the debt ceiling and the fiscal cliff (automatic tax increases and drastic spending cuts due to take effect Jan. 1). Resolving these two issues now is the best solution for the country.
How political tribalism is leading to more political hypocrisy
The president's debt-ceiling proposal would have him notify Congress when the debt ceiling needs to be raised, and also request an increase in the borrowing limit – but lawmakers' approval is not required. Should Congress pass a resolution to deny a request, the president could veto it.
Such an approach would avoid another political crisis in the new year and return the debt ceiling to its previous role as a matter of bookkeeping, as opposed to political brinkmanship.
Although such a mechanism was previously proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republicans are resisting now. They fear a loss of leverage over spending cuts if congressional approval is no longer required to increase the borrowing limit.
If Obama should fail to secure a long-term solution to the debt ceiling in the context of the current fiscal-cliff negotiations, there is another way out – invoking the US Constitution.
In the wake of the Civil War, the government wanted to make clear that loans to the US government were still good (while Confederate debt would not be honored). Accordingly, the 14th Amendment includes the following provision: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law... shall not be questioned."
In a 1935 case (Perry v. US) the Supreme Court determined that Congress does not have the authority to renege on its obligations to its lenders. The president, then, could declare as unconstitutional the current debt-ceiling law – which requires congressional approval to raise the limit – or at least use such a threat as leverage.
The law goes back to the amended Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917. Its intent was to facilitate the financing of WWI through the issuance of long-term bonds. Until last year, when it became a political issue, Congress routinely raised the statutory debt limit as needed – always with bipartisan support.
What is different now is the willingness of House conservatives to use the debt ceiling as an instrument to force spending cuts by threats of government shutdown and credit downgrades if their demands are not met. Such political gamesmanship is beyond the intent of the law. It poses a current and serious danger to our democracy.
It is one thing to put a legal limit on spending or to try to control spending through talks such as the fiscal-cliff negotiations. But it is quite another to establish a retroactive process for refusing to pay debts already owed. Such a process was relatively harmless when both parties treated debt-ceiling increases as simply necessary when the limits were approached. Not so in today's acerbic climate of congressional gridlock and winner-take-all mentality.
It is the well honored tradition that the US government pays its debts. Why else are so many nations around the world continuing to buy America's bonds, even at historically low interest rates? The security of lending to the US government is what motivates both public and private investors. It is not in the national interest to put that tradition and US credibility to the test.
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If President Obama should fail to solve the debt-ceiling limit as part of the fiscal-cliff talks, he has another means of leverage: the Constitution. He should use it.
L. Michael Hager is a co-founder and former director general of the International Development Law Organization in Rome.
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I am a freelance photographer working in the Philadelphia area since 1990. I have an extensive list of commercial clients but I'm always looking for interesting new projects. I specialize in catalogs, web and event photography.
What's the best way to consistently deal with the gamma shift (darkening) when publishing to You Tube?


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Akshay Taking All The Credit For 'Tip Tip...' Shows That B'Town Never Learns
Anannya Chatterjee
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Who doesn't remember the iconic song 'Tip Tip Barsa Pani' starring Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon from the movie Mohra? The song every 90s kid grew up with, and still doesn't mind watching on loop even today, will go down in history as a classic.
Now before you start wondering why are we even talking about that song, let's enlighten you. Joining the bandwagon of remakes the song will be recreated in Rohit Shetty's upcoming movie Sooryavanshi which stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif.
Akshay confirmed the news on Twitter
Akshay confirmed the news on Twitter and expressed his joy on being a part of the remake. His tweet read: "I would've definitely been disappointed if any other actor would've recreated Tip Tip Barsa Paani, a song which has been synonymous with me & my career & I can't thank Ratan Jain ji enough. At times like these you realize, we may have come a long way but we also go back a long way (sic)." Take a look:
I would've definitely been disappointed if any other actor would've recreated Tip Tip Barsa Paani,a song which has been synonymous with me & my career & I can't thank Ratan Jain ji enough. At times like these you realize,we may have come a long way but we also go back a long way pic.twitter.com/UtH5iDS0i9
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) June 20, 2019
However, it didn't really go down well with die-hard Raveena fans. The fact that Akshay missed out on giving Raveena a credit for the popularity of the song seems to have miffed the audience and we ain't disagreeing. The rage is absolutely justified.
Here are some of the Twitter reactions
I had to go back and watch #TipTipBarsaPaani again to remember that Akshay Kumar was in it but I still couldn't notice him in it though...
— Straight Talk (@Direct_Shooter) June 23, 2019
Sir with due respect, no one remembers that you were also there in that song. https://t.co/ipmSNTAfLe
— Amit (@Goddamittt) June 23, 2019
Akki we love you but for once don't forget to give the due credit to Raveena. The song was a hit not just because of you. Also I was not a huge fan of Raveena but Katrina can never recreate what she did.
— Shivoham (@30going13) June 23, 2019
oh, you were the male lead in that song? thanks for letting me know that.. all I can remember about #TipTipBarsaPaani is Raveena, Yellow Saree and the rain.. which movie it was bdw?? 🤔🤔 https://t.co/N5cO8X7nzf
— 𝕹𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖆𝖓 𝕻𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖆 (@fcukeera) June 23, 2019
The song defined Raveena's career
The song made an entire generation fall in love with rain and Raveena. The Mohra actress shot to fame after the song, and till date, you can't separate one from the other. Honestly, nobody remembers Akshay from the song, NOBODY! Everybody noticed Raveena who looked sensual and flawless draped in a yellow chiffon sari and killed it with her outstanding dance moves, drenched in the rain.
Oh! Also, do you remember how that yellow sari became a thing back then? Not to mention, NOBODY can ever recreate her magic. It's not even debatable, so let's just leave it at that. Not even Katrina Kaif. Sorry, but not sorry! Akshay not mentioning Raveena in his post made it all the more evident that the remake will see Katrina aping Raveena.
Will Bollywood ever credit woman for their success?
We can't deny that the real star of the song was Raveena and not just men, even women are in complete awe of how beautiful she looks on TV screens every time the song airs. But Bollywood being Bollywood, carried the legacy forward of not rewarding women for the success of a movie or a song, and Akshay's recent post is proof. It's sad!
Unfortunately, Bollywood doesn't learn
All said and done, here's something you can't deny--the song reeks of objectification. Back then, we all might have ignored that, but now we can't. A lot has been said and discussed about objectifying women in Bollywood songs and it's a never-ending debate. The fact that the song needs to exist twice clearly means Bollywood doesn't learn. The subtle art of objectifying women and relentlessly undermining their roles is not something new that we are being introduced to.


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Home » News » Middle East - Africa
Catholic priest in Nigeria kidnapped, murdered
Credit: Sarah Marchant / Shutterstock.
Orlu, Nigeria, Sep 5, 2017 / 03:32 pm MT (CNA).- A Catholic priest was kidnapped and found murdered in Nigeria, local sources have confirmed.
According to local news source Vanguard, Fr. Cyriacus Onunkwo was kidnapped from his car by gunmen on Sept. 1 in the village of Orlu in the state of Imo in southern Nigeria. Police report that earlier that day, another priest - Fr. Jude Udokwu - was also attacked by kidnappers in the same village, but managed to escape.
Within 24 hours, the body of Fr. Onunkwo was found in the bush close to a nearby village, according to police. Priests of the local Orlu Catholic Diocese were called to scene immediately to help identify the body.
Fr. Onunkwo's body reportedly did not show any outward wounds, and so local authorities suspect that he may have been strangled to death.
No arrests have been made in connection with the death thus far, though local police have said the investigation is ongoing.
The news comes just a few weeks after Vanguard reported that three men were arrested in connection with the death of Fr. Raphael Pankyes, who was found murdered in Plateau State in the center of the country in July.
Jesuit priest Fr. Sam Okwuidegbe also recently shared his story of being kidnapped by armed Fulani herdsmen in April. The Fulani herdsmen are a notoriously violent group whose clashes with farmers have killed thousands of people in Nigeria over the past two decades. They are considered one of the most violent groups in the world, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
Violence against Christians in general has significantly increased in the country in recent years, with the Islamist terror group Boko Haram threatening safety in the north, and smaller violent gangs threatening security in the south. In 2016, one Nigerian bishop lamented that Christians had essentially become "target practice."
Tags: Catholic News, Nigeria, Violence against priests
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Kidnapped priest in Nigeria released, doing well
Fr. Maurizio Pallù, an Italian missionary who was kidnapped in southern Nigeria last week, was...


In recent decades, the science of studying complex systems has started to evolve and mature. It has become clear that a new, more integrated way of thinking is essential for understanding many of the complex challenges that humanity faces. The aim is to derive rules on how the dynamical behaviour of a complex system depends on the combined properties of individual elements, the nature of the interactions between elements, as well as the topology of interactions between elements, in order to understand and predict these systems and control them to have desirable properties. As an example, insight into which features of complex systems generate resilience against perturbations versus which properties enhance the sensitivity of the system and allow it to transition to a different equilibrium state is important for a broad range of questions on, for instance, climate change, social-political change, disruptive innovations, infectious disease emergence and ecosystem collapse.
We focus on the four key aspects of complex systems: emergence, resilience, transitions and predictability and control. We demonstrate how they are recurring concepts in a broad range of areas ranging from the life sciences, social sciences, economics, as well as humanities; and thereby unify them at a deep level. We will stimulate the students to think in terms of these abstract unifying concepts across the diverse disciplines; illustrate the need for mathematical models to study and quantify these properties; and teach the students basic mathematical tools to study the behaviour of the constructed models.
This course is offered by the Centre for Complex Systems Studies (CCSS), and you can have a look at the programme of the 2018 edition.
1. Briefly describe your background/training in mathematics and/or physics.
2. Briefly describe your experience with computer programming languages, e.g. Matlab, python, C/C++, R, ect.
3. Briefly describe your purpose and expectation of following this course, e.g. why you choose "Introduction to Complex Systems" and what you expect to gain from this course.
iv) to get hands-on experience in studying complex systems.


$251 per person will buy you the Nick Faldo Golf Package from Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa, Siem Reap. It includes 2 nights accommodation in a superior room, airport transfers, and a round of golf (caddy included) on the new Nick Faldo golf course close to Angkor Wat. This leaves you with ample remaining time to visit a temple or two in this UNESCO World Heritage site. And if one of you couldn't care less about golf, you can substitute your round for a half-day spa package – just to ensure everyone's happy! The offer runs until the end of September 2008.
I'm very interested to read that Cambodia has started to create golfing packages for tourists. Thailand has successfully been doing it for years.
Cambodia is a wonderful country with wonderful people so I would urge people to go there and help their economy. My only concern is that too many tourists can change the focus of a place and encourage greed in some of the locals, thus spoiling a place.
Many would-be tourists to Cambodia are worried about land mines. And that's certainly an important issue. The main rule is not to stray off the well-beaten tracks. There's an interesting(ish) land mine museum about half an hour's moto drive to it from Siem Reap.


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The war on the producer classes
My personal discovery that "liberals' were grossly intolerant of working people came as quite a shock. One of the characteristics of a rural Corn Belt upbringing was knowing men who took great pride in being good with tools. Even people who could afford to hire out such work (construction, machinery repair, etc.) usually had gone through a period when they had actually worked with their own hands. My grandfather could fix almost anything and firmly believed that there was only one truly virtuous occupation—farming. He made allowances for clergy so as to to include my father but I am pretty certain that exception was only made because my father had grown up on a working farm. I can honestly say that I never heard anyone disparage productive work until I went off to the University where I discovered there were plenty of people who treated working people with utter contempt.
My favorite story came one bitterly cold winter night when I took a shortcut across a parking lot where I discovered two guys trying to jump-start a car. They were doing it all wrong to the point where they were about to blow up a lead-acid battery. I straightened out their jump and a few minutes later, the dead car had returned to life. They seemed quite appreciative until one recognized me as one his students. How could I possibly be a serious student if I was so damn working-class? He literally stared at me. I should have let those two wreck their cars and blow sulfuric acid all over their contemptuous mugs.
No long after, I discovered a neighbor in the dorm who was extolling the virtue of the SDS. These geniuses taught the working people were no longer the vanguard of the revolution but that "youth" was now a class. I thought he was crazy / joking but nooooo, I would so discover that the Democratic Party was about to abandon its labor roots. 45 years later, and my party still hasn't enacted a decent health-care system but we have beaten every social issue into advanced boredom.
But listening to the Yuppie Scum "liberals" who are trying to sell us a women with severe right-wing tendencies as a "progressive" has brought out that old anti-worker animus. Kilpatrick does a good job below of describing the class warfare that has raged within the Democratic Party for over a generation.
Labels: Abject stupidity, Follies of the Predator Classes, Institutional Analysis, Predator Class Economics
More on diesel emissions cheating
When Volkswagen got caught using cheating software for their TDI line of diesels, I suspected that they were a LONG way from being alone. Part of the reason stems from a lecture I got in 1973 from a transportation-technology instructor I had as part of my city planning sequence. The professor was from the mechanical engineering department over at the Institute of Technology. Keep in mind this was the University of Minnesota and not some car-state school like U Michigan or Perdue. Even so, I am pretty sure he had his facts straight. And the point he was making that day was it was going to be impossible to make diesel engines both clean and super energy-efficient. He wrote "Nitrous Oxide" in big letters across the top of the chalk board to ensure we understood the important problem area. He argued that regulators—especially at the California Air Resources Board—were about to enact regulations that were physically impossible to meet.
I did not want to believe him. I wanted to believe that predicting something was impossible was not an especially valid tactic in any area dominated by professional inventors. Proving skeptics wrong was pretty much the major thrust of the 20th century. But now that I have passed my 66th birthday, I have discovered that there are indeed many things that ARE physically impossible, and that there are valid ways of knowing what they are. And no, George Jetson's flying car that folded up into a briefcase light enough to be carried by an obvious wimp was never going to be built no matter how much development money was thrown at the project.
So I have come to agree with my old prof. It looks like there really was no way to make a decent diesel engine that met those flight-of-fancy regulations that left him sputtering. Below, we have a list of the strategies employed by various automakers in the pursuit of something that really WAS physically impossible.
Labels: Environmental awareness, regulation
TTIP necessary to protect megabanks from prosecution
Oh, those lovely trade agreements. Those of us who are veterans of the 1992-93 fight against NAFTA find it hard to believe that someone has designed a trade deal even more odious. Someone has been working overtime because the TTIP makes NAFTA look like an act of charity.
The problem with these trade deals is that they operate from the assumption that anything that might possibly impede unfettered trade is by definition, evil. And so social necessities like environmental laws, consumer protection, fair labor standards, etc. are all targeted as impediments to trade. Worse, these local laws and regulations can be sued out existence if it can be proven that they materially harm the interests of those who would pollute, run sweatshops, and otherwise accelerate the race to the bottom.
It requires a lot of coordinated political action to get most such laws and regulations in place. Watching them be eliminated naturally upsets those whose efforts these trade deals negate. Not surprisingly, these trade deals face enormous political opposition. That's not a problem for those who would profit from them. For them, democracy is merely a messy detail. The only hope is that the opposition to the mega-Predators who want these new NAFTA-on-steroids deals is substantially larger and vastly more organized than in 1993. It also helps to have the NAFTA disaster to point to.
Labels: banksters, Follies of the Predator Classes, Political economy, Predator Class Economics
The environmental costs of militarism
The last time I made the mistake of attending a conference / seminar on the subject of climate change, we were treated to a keynote address by a long-time and very successful local weatherman / entrepreneur who after a couple of decades of climate change denial, had embarked on a new career explaining why he finally had become convinced that the science predicting a climate catastrophe was correct. The guy's commercial success over the years was hardly an accident—he is witty and charming. So charming, in fact, it was easy to overlook the fact that he has also been associated with some of the more crackpot versions of Christianity, is a lifetime Republican who still looks at the Reagan presidency as one of the high-water marks of USA history, and carries himself with the kind of swagger associated with those who have made a large pile of money in life. But these attributes were essential to his new persona. He was saying, "Look at me! Even someone who had the prime characteristics of a climate change denier has now seen the light. So believe the light!"
Tales of such a major conversion are central to the teachings of Christianity. In fact, the majority of the New Testament revolves around the story of how Saul, who once actively participated in the persecution and murder of early Christians had seen the light and become Paul, the missionary who spread the new faith throughout the Roman Empire, had written the most popular lessons of the new doctrine, and in the end, had become a martyr of the cause. Our newly enlightened weatherman was even named Paul in case any of us were to miss the lesson for the day.
As someone who was exposed to regular readings from the letters of Saint Paul throughout childhood, I understood and could appreciate what our keynote speaker was up to. Even so, I started to wince when he began to quote Reagan or assured us that there was nothing about the practices of "free enterprise" that would lead to climate change denial. But then he began to discuss how the US Navy, whose most important installations are at sea level and hence especially vulnerable to changes in those sea levels, were among those who took the science of climate change most seriously of all. At one point he said, "When it comes to climate change, the Navy really gets it." Because I know the enormous contributions made by the USA military to the carbon loading of the atmosphere, I almost threw up in my mouth. No Paul, the Navy does NOT "get it."
Because he is a public figure, our weatherman Paul is now targeted by the climate change denying trolls. This persecution probably assures him that he also "gets it." Well, Paul, you don't get it but thanks for trying.
Michael Lewis: The Book That Will Save Banking From Itself
During my visit with Jon last month, we both agreed that Michael Lewis is one of the best USA writers living. A partial list of some of Lewis's books:
Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage of Wall Street (1989)
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003)
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (2006)
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (2010)
The Big Short was the basis of the movie Jon reviewed here a couple months ago; I reviewed the book back in June 2011.
Since the article below was written by Lewis, I overcame some grave misgivings, and decided to post it here. It is a rather detailed review of a recent book by the former governor of the Bank of England (2003-2013) Mervyn King. The book is entitled The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy, and it presents King's argument that nothing has fundamentally altered the financial system's stupidity, greed, and appetite for high-payoff risks, followed by King's detailed proposal for what governments and financial regulators should do before the next crisis inevitably hits. Normally, I do not believe that highly technocratic financial discussions conduce to furthering an enlightened public discourse. Frankly, such discussions are usually a steaming pile of bovine manure. But now that it appears our sole choice for USA President is Trumpillary, it seems very likely that the best we can hope for in terms of forcing the banksters to behave civilly is exactly the sort of proposal King is putting forward.
I also am usually reluctant to hold anything British in a favorable light. But, some of the most startlingly truthful pronouncements by financial officials during and after the Crash of 2007-2009 were from King, and from Adair Turner, who became chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority in September, 2008, five days after Lehman Brothers collapsed.
In my opinion, King's proposal to have central banks determine beforehand how much capital they would lend against big banks' riskier assets in a crisis is fundamentally flawed on three counts. First - which Lewis discusses briefly - is that the big banks have achieved "regulatory capture." It is very likely that in a severe enough crisis, what a central bank had previously said would be the upper limit it would lend to a troubled bank in a crisis, will simply be ignored. Or, some other part of government will be prevailed upon to give the bankers the money they say they need to prevent the collapse of Western civilization.
Second, King's proposal accepts as valid the current business model of Wall Street and the City of London. He is not proposing to outright prohibit the riskiest behavior of the big banks. Rather, he explicitly argues that with the role of a central bank in a crisis firmly fixed beforehand, "the market" can be relied on to do the right thing, and leaving free the "incentives to innovate." This is, therefore, no repudiation of the reigning neo-liberal economic paradigm of the past half century.
Third is an extension of the second: I do not believe that we can build a sustainable economic future for humankind if we continue to treat present financial elites as legitimate. The past half century of financial legerdemain and shenanigans have, in a financial echo of Grehsam's Law, turned most of the financial system into a vast criminal enterprise. I agree with Ian Welsh, who a few days ago wrote Seven Rules for Running a Real Left-Wing Government:
The banking sector creates money. Money determines what people can and cannot do. This is the control mechanism for the economy in any state which runs on markets. You must control it. If you control it, you can use it to strangle your domestic enemies. If you do not, your enemies will use it to strangle you.
Welsh goes on to provide a stark example of how Obama, had he been a real leftist, could have used the crimes of the banksters to seize their money under RICO.
Far better to simply tax all financial market transactions. You don't even have to ban the most odious transactions outright. A simple tax of less than one full percent would be enough to render much of the speculative trading in financial markets unprofitable.
Labels: banksters, Follies of the Predator Classes, Money and the economics of the Predators, Political economy
Ellen Brown on Trump's monetary musings
It is really hard to know what part of Donald Trump's message he means or even understands. I was a designated driver the night Obama won the election of 2008 and watched as deliriously happy and very drunken supporters celebrate what they thought was a new day. He had talked for months about hope and by god, they were projecting all their hopes on him. I am pretty sure that Trump's supporters are making the same mistake. After all, he promises to bring about a brighter day but has already selected a Goldman Sachs man as an economic advisor.
That said, his latest dustup with the lords of high finance over monetary theory has been very interesting. Not surprisingly, they are aghast at his willingness to point out that the ghouls of austerity do NOT have a monopoly on good economic ideas. In fact, they have been a global disaster and Trump has much enjoyed talking about this. So along comes our hero Ellen Brown to inform us how Trump's monetary ideas have much in common with folks like Lincoln and Franklin—two guys who actually appear on the currency itself. Whether Trump actually understands this little piece of history is an open question. And to be perfectly honest, it doesn't matter a whole lot that he understands who may have had similar thoughts about money in the past because once someone understands that money is merely a convenience, the idea that money is scarce becomes ridiculous. And such a thought does not go away no matter who is shouting that the idea is crazy.
It is ideas like these that make the Republican establishment panic at the thought that Trump is their presumptive nominee. We can be pretty sure they are not worried that he is a walking insult to political correctness—in fact, they probably approve of that. But if Trump is willing to expose the big lies that banksters use to enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of us, then he MUST be stopped. We will see. After all, real estate dvelopers are essentially the only people who understand that their interests and the interests of the banksters do not align and have the expertise and clout to do something about it. So even though Trump seems to have a short attention span, this might not be an idea that goes away so easily.
Labels: banksters, Debtor's revolt, Institutional Analysis, Money and the economics of the Predators, Political economy
CO2 passes 400 ppm
Not surprisingly, the global CO2 atmospheric concentration continues to rise. It's getting into scary territory. 400 ppm hasn't been observed for a very long time. What will happen next is still an open question but none of the guesses are encouraging.
They do not give a shit
On April 8, 2016, I composed a post about the possible final demise of the British Steel industry inspired by a suggestion from reader Mike. In the ensuing comments, Mike made a further suggestion that is part of today's post. There are many reasons why this article is so pointedly accurate—not least of which is the tale of how neoliberal thinking makes it virtually impossible for a country like UK to properly value its last remaining steel mill.
Foremost, the title says it all—"they do not give shit." The "they" are the Leisure Class moneychangers who hold steelmaking in utter disregard. It is something the "proles" do and no matter how technologically advanced the process may be, it is something as worthy of disposal as a used Tampax. They do not care because in order to care, they would have to understand what they are throwing away. And in order to understand, they would have to do the hard work of actually studying the struggles necessary to turn steel from this extremely rare material that was usually fashioned into swords into a mass-produced commodity that could criss-cross a continent with railroad tracks and create the frames for skyscrapers.
When I attempt to explain the physical origins of climate change, I am often met with a similar form of intellectual laziness. Most people have zero interest in understanding, for example, the role fossil fuels play in feeding a hungry planet. And even if they do listen to the figures for the fuels consumed, their usual response is to suggest that folks just stop doing things that way. The idea that they should even be bothered with the tale of how all the decisions to embed fossil fuels in the food system came to be made, is utterly abhorrent. So naturally, they gravitate towards simplistic solutions like carbon taxes—make fuel more expensive and folks will just figure out a way to get along with less fuel. Don't bother us with the details—just do it. So nothing gets done about climate change because those who rule our lives do NOT give a shit about how the community's necessary work is organized.
We will start making progress on the problems of climate change when our Leisure Class overlords start to actually give a shit about important matters—and not before.
Labels: Abject stupidity, Follies of the Predator Classes, History, Institutional Analysis, Predator Class Economics
American producer class hero Peter Cooper
I have just spent an entire (and entirely delightful) week visiting Jon at his home. I wanted to learn how to create and post a video to Youtube, and Jon gracefully obliged me by sharing as much as he could of what he has learned in the past two decades of shooting and editing video. I once had a college professor who told me he spends one hour preparing for each minute he actually lectures.
Making video is much more time intensive. In three solid days of collaboration, Jon and I produced and posted a four minute video on American producer class hero Peter Cooper, builder of the first American steam locomotive, inventor of Jell-O, and founder of Cooper Union. There are plenty of other producer class heroes we could have chosen, but what sets Cooper apart is that he had also elaborated a full, producer class version of American School economics, and, as a result, was nominated by the new Greenback Party as its candidate for US President in 1876. Creating a video on Cooper therefore allowed us to present the policies of the Greenbackers--and there is precious little accurate information on the Greenback Party available, either in print, or on the internet. If there was anything we could change in the video, it would be the last sentence, which would become: "And, all these Greenbacker policies formed the basis for progressive economic policies over the next century, including seeding the ideas for Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal."
The full transcript is below the video. You will note there are a few, small cuts we made from the full transcript in order to meet our target of four minutes.
We were delighted to find a YouTube video of Eastman Kodak's film of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's 1927 "Fair of the Iron Horse... History of Transportation." This film includes footage of actual operation of nineteenth-century locomotives, including a complete reproduction of Cooper's 1830 locomotive Tom Thumb. We included only the few seconds showing the Tom Thumb; if you want to watch the entire 1927 file, here is the link.
We were also delighted to find and use in the video scans of the actual Civil War greenbacks, the fiat paper money issued by the U.S. Treasury.
Labels: History, Producer Class Economics, Producer royalty
Carl Icahn says start spending
Predator Class / greenmailer extraordinaire Carl Icahn seems to think the country / world needs a huge dose of fiscal stimulus. Well, he's right. And there is no shortage of jobs needing doing.
So does anyone think this will happen—even if a really rich guy thinks it's a really good idea?
In the Age of Austerity? Are you kidding.
Labels: Follies of the Predator Classes, Money and the economics of the Predators
Michael Lewis: The Book That Will Save Banking Fro...


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Is It Better to Build or Buy Loyalty Tech?
Guidance on how to determine which route QSRs should go
The Vibes Team
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Editor's Note: It's a very valid question, and the answer isn't the same for every restaurant. As you read on, keep in mind that no matter the benefits of a loyalty program, if it's inaccessible and cumbersome for members they will participate less, ultimately making your program less effective. Mobile channels like SMS and Mobile Wallet can help overcome these barriers and are easy to execute, once you've determined where your data will be housed and how it will be accessed.
Whether consumers are in the mood for a burger, pizza, coffee or ice cream, they have endless choices when it comes to quick service restaurants (QSRs). In fact, there are around 200,000 QSRs currently operating in the U.S., according to most estimates. And while traffic to these restaurants may be lower compared to previous years, it seems consumers are spending more when they make a pitstop. In fact, Revenue Management Solutions' analysis of U.S. QSRs in 2021 indicated that quantity per transaction was up 14.3% when compared to two years prior.
With consumers seemingly spending more, now is the perfect time for QSRs that aren't already in the game to consider the new age of loyalty — that is, reward programs that are largely driven by a streamlined, flexible and mobile-first experience. All of these attributes increase the likelihood of long-term customer satisfaction, brand advocacy and positive word-of-mouth.
When you think about loyalty programs in this industry, big chains tend to come to mind, including dominant players like Starbucks. But what is it that makes the Starbucks Stars program stand out? Some argue that it's all about technology. This program in particular ties point of sale (POS) to the customer's account allowing a quick phone scan to manage the redemption.
For QSRs that are considering revamping or launching a loyalty program, they should also consider the technological aspects that drive these programs. With this consideration comes the critical decision to build or buy loyalty technology.
To build or to buy?
The build-versus-buy concept certainly isn't new. It's been widely debated across multiple industries for years. For QSRs, making this decision comes down to a few key considerations: core competencies and expertise, having the ability to scale, maintaining control and overall cost, to name a few.
Third-party loyalty technology integrations provide QSRs with access to a dedicated team of professionals who strictly focus on loyalty solutions. This means internal resources won't be caught up in loyalty tech management; they can focus instead on their regular day-to-day duties. Technology partners also offer QSRs opportunities to scale their loyalty solutions along with the growth of their business. This includes expanding alternative redemption options, increasing engagement and opportunities for partnerships, and also allowing more access to customer information and insights through analytics tools.
And because the program will be built upon loyalty technology that already exists, the startup costs will be lower. In short, choosing to "buy" can offer more flexibility and convenience while keeping costs down. On the other hand, drawbacks can include potential disruptions if supplier changes occur, challenges arise around establishing exclusivity, and competition increases from other QSRs that are also taking advantage of this new wave of loyalty.
Building a technology solution in-house allows QSRs full control over their loyalty platform and offerings, as well as their approach to information gathering and analysis. Maintaining control is typically the main driver behind making the decision to build, along with having the ability to test different loyalty program approaches. And, if the QSR is large enough, they may have an internal team dedicated to loyalty technology. In this instance, costs can be lower than outsourcing.
The challenges with the build option largely depend on whether the QSR is part of a franchise model, which can offer its own layer of complexity with narrow margins and need for high volume. Other challenges can include pulling staff away from their traditional responsibilities to manage the technology and knowledge gaps if those managers leave the business. This can disrupt the entire loyalty program that was built, creating a poor customer experience and leaving customers feeling frustrated.
The keys to success
Previously, cost and lack of corporate control have held QSRs back from loyalty programs. But competitive pressure over the past couple of years has pushed them toward making the decision to launch.
Since every QSR has a unique set of business goals and objectives, any decision around loyalty programs and technologies really comes down to what the restaurant is looking to accomplish long term. Whether building loyalty technology in-house or outsourcing, the key to program success lies within offers and promotions. And while such offers may add costs beyond discounts, they also offer options like the ability to test new menu options, particularly with the most loyal customers. This keeps QSRs competitive and helps them to create deeper relationships with their customers.
For QSRs that are looking to keep customers coming back time and time again while rewarding them for increasing their spend, choosing the direction to take with technology is no small decision. Regardless of buying or building in-house, the solutions that tend to stand out are those that are personalized, mobile-first, encourage ease of use, create a seamless experience at check-out, and are mutually beneficial for both the brand and the consumer.
This article was written by Len Covello from QSR Web. News Features and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive Content Marketplace. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.


Wow. What a project. What great stories. What a great accomplishment!
Yes, the big revision pass is done! The story went to just above 100k, which is where I estimated it would come out after revision (first draft was about 94k).
I finished the pass early enough in the day that I was then able to start going through the revision notes to make sure I included everything. Well, everything I still agreed with.
That's an important note, and one that illustrates the choices every writer must make when it comes to the revision process.
When I finished the first draft, and the weeks after, I made all sort of notes on things to change and rearrange. For some parts of the story, I figured it was going to be hard to revise it. Some of it I wasn't looking forward to.
While in the process of the actual revision, I decided I didn't agree with a bunch of those suggestions. I liked the first draft version. It went with the story, it progressed logically, it made sense for the characters. So, some of those revision notes were crossed out without any of it going in the story.
Meanwhile, I did find a few notes that I didn't take care of in the first pass. Little things. Nothing that meant I needed to make big changes. I zipped through those changes, and they added a little over 1000 words to the story.
By the end, the book ended up as a nice tidy story. Not only in itself, but bringing together the threads through the other books. Answering those last few questions.
I have one more checklist to go through for the entire series. Once that is finished, though, the entire series will be done!
So, onwards to that final checklist! Then need to put this book through the final technical check (spelling, grammar, a few pet problems). Oh yeah, we're getting close here!


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Category: Star Wars
Club Game Updates
Time to share a random selection of pictures from the last couple of club meetings – April 28th by Andy King, May 12th by Tony Francis and Stephen Tucker. Highlights include Pete's 'Charlie Don't Surf' Vietnam game, two naval games (Napoleonic and 50's modern), Celtos Fantasy and a Star Wars fleet battle.
Charlie Don't Surf
Lion Rampant
Sword & Spear
Celtos
Author Brigadier TonyPosted on 15th May 2018 15th May 2018 Categories Club Meeting Game Reports, Fantasy, Napoleonic, Naval Wargaming, Science Fiction, Star WarsLeave a comment on Club Game Updates
Eliminate the Emperor
A Star Wars X-Wing Scenario
The rescue team put down at the Rebel outpost for much needed repairs following the rescue of the Imperial defector, Danor Jax. Whilst their ships were being seen to they downloaded and decoded Danor's data. He immediately pointed his rescuers to some critical and time sensitive information. It concerned a secret meeting later that day, being attended by the Emperor himself. The co-ordinates and time of the meeting were accompanied by the intended flight plan of the Emperor's personal shuttle and details of his small escort.
With only a small window available Wedge Antilles gathered the team together to discuss an audacious plan – to intercept and destroy the Emperor's shuttle. Cut off the head and the body dies. Unfortunately, Roark Garnet's HWK-290 had been too badly damaged and could not be made serviceable in time but both Wedge and Biggs Darklighter's X-Wings and the Y-Wing could. The team knew the risks, their ships would not be fully repaired and the Emperor would be guarded by two of this elite Royal Guard pilots flying upgraded TIE Interceptors but this was an opportunity too good to miss. Wedge sent out a last minute message and the three ships made the jump to light speed.
Arriving at the co-ordinates the Rebels spotted the shuttle and its escort flying past an asteroid field. Biggs peered at his sensors, the readings didn't make sense, their was something else registering moving through the asteroids – but he couldn't get a lock on it.
The TIE Phantom moved out from its position with its cloaking device in operation and sped towards the approaching rebel ships. The Rebels opened fire but without a sensor lock the TIE was just too hard to hit! The Phantom decloaked, fired and recloaked. Biggs' shields evaporated and his X-Wing shuddered under the barrage. The TIE flew past, perfectly executed a Koiogran turn and moved onto Bigg's tail. He couldn't shake it. The TIE decloaked, fired and recloaked again. Biggs' was hit bad, another barrage would finish him. He told his astromech to programme the nav computer and span up the hyperdrive.
Meanwhile the Royal Guard pilots had moved ahead of the Imperial shuttle to intercept the rebels. Wedge engaged the first but the earlier damage had made his ship sluggish and he caught a burst from the TIE Interceptor which took down his shields. The two craft began a series of tight manoeuvres but the TIE was simply more agile than the damaged X-Wing and unleashed another burst which forced Wedge to withdraw.
The Y-Wing had managed to slip past the second Royal Guard TIE and engaged the shuttle. But the TIE swung around and the Y-Wing too came under heavy fire.
But just then, another X-Wing dropped out of hyperspace. Luke Skywalker had received Wedge's message and come to help his old friend. His arrival couldn't have been better timed, with the two Royal Guard TIEs already engaged the shuttle was on its own. Luke swung into action fired burst after burst at the larger ship as they flew towards one another. He slipped past the shuttle and brought his X-Wing around to move onto its tail and just as the Royal Guard TIEs started to engage him, he fired again into the rear of the shuttle. The resulting explosion was enormous.
With a huge cheer the Rebel ships made the jump to light speed.
Back at the output the rebel pilots were celebrating when the devastating news came in. The Emperor was still alive – the shuttle had only been one of his decoys! "It was a set up", said Wedge, "that would explain the TIE Phantom which was already hidden in the asteroid field".
"At least were all here to tell the tale", said Luke.
Author Brigadier TonyPosted on 15th February 2018 Categories Club Meeting Game Reports, Science Fiction, Star WarsLeave a comment on Eliminate the Emperor
Rebel Rescue
Danor Jax had only ever wanted a quiet life. He had reluctantly joined the Imperial Information Office largely because it was steady work and they let him do what he loved, working with data streams. His had been a quiet life monitoring the equipment at the communications relay station and operating the cryptographic decoders when the need arose. That all ended when Darth Vader made a surprise visit to the station. Watching his senior officer being choked and then thrown into a bulkhead using the force should have made Danor cower out of fear. But that day something in Danor snapped, the Empire and all it stood for came into sharp focus and he knew he had to do something about it. As soon as the dark lord had departed Danor downloaded and decoded as much Imperial data from the streams as his AJ^6 headgear would accept and ran away to find the rebels.
The trip to Tatooine had been long and arduous but when Danor finally made contact with a Rebel agent he was elated. The agent had slipped away to arrange for Danor to be picked up and his data downloaded. Danor sat quietly in a cantina in Mos Eisley trying to avoid being noticed when a rough looking Rodian approached him. It turned out that his absence had been noted and with his access to sensitive data streams the Empire had started a manhunt. The Rodian promptly marched Danor at blaster point out of the cantina and along to his ship.
Having made contact, indicated the enormous value of Danor's information and arranged for him to be collected, the Rebel agent was returning to the cantina and spotted the Rodian and Danor leaving. With too many Sandtroopers around to allow him to intervene, the agent contacted the approaching Rebel ships and told them the situation as the Rodian's ship blasted off.
Wedge Antilles easily spotted the bounty hunter's Firespray-31 on his X-Wing's scopes but he also saw the orbiting Gozanti-class cruiser and its four TIE fighters. Forming up with his accompanying Y-Wing Wedge sent Biggs Darklighter and his X-Wing with Roark Garnet's HWK-290 on a different course, avoiding the Gozanti but coming around to cut off the other routes of escape.
When Gozanti's captain was informed of the appearance of the X-Wings he ordered it out of orbit on a course to intercept the bounty hunter and for the TIE pilots to scramble their ships.
Wedge and his wingman swung around to intercept the TIE fighters whilst Biggs and Roark moved to intercept the bounty hunter.
The Rodian spotted the HWK-290 and X-Wing approaching and veered to the right. Meanwhile two TIE fighters had detached from the cruiser and were speeding toward the rear of Biggs and Roark. Fortunately Roark had equipped the HWK-290 with an ion cannon turret which was a surprise to the pilot of one of the TIEs when all his systems shutdown and he began to drift.
The remaining two TIE fighters had also detached and made straight for Wedge and the Y-Wing with the laser turrets on the Gozanti also blasting away at them for good measure.
So two dogfights ensued with TIE fighters trying to outmanoeuvre the rebel craft. Unfortunately the less agile HWK-290 came under some heavy fire and with his shields down and having taken some heavy damage Roark had to withdraw. The loss of the ion cannon was a serious blow to the rebels but with a barrage of fire they dispatched two of the TIE fighters and gained the upper hand.
Unfortunately, the wily bounty hunter had slipped through both dogfights and with the rebel ships too busy to intervene, managed to dock with the Gozanti to transfer his rebel captive.
With this dire turn of events, there was only one option for the rebels, to attack the cruiser itself!
The three rebel ships made multiple runs as the cruiser and despite the heavy laser fire from its turrets managed to land several good hits.
With the prisoner transfer complete and sensing the increasing panic of the Imperials the bounty hunter cut his negotiations short, rushed back to his ship and released the docking clamps.
The remaining TIE fighters were desperately trying to protect their mothership but Biggs downed one of them and the other was damaged by Wedge. With Gozanti's shields down, the Y-Wing making another run at the aft section with its proton torpedoes and did some serious damage.
Whilst the rebel ships focussed on the cruiser the Rodian made the jump to light speed and his next assignment.
His ship rapidly coming apart at the seams the cruiser's Captain offered to trade his prisoner for safe passage and the rebels accepted.
Danor was saved and the battered X-Wings and Y-Wing jumped away to safety.
Author Brigadier TonyPosted on 30th January 2018 30th January 2018 Categories Club Meeting Game Reports, Science Fiction, Star WarsLeave a comment on Rebel Rescue


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One of India's most recognised playback singers, SP Balasubrahmanyam (SPB) recently celebrated his 69th birthday. Oneindia.in's AVINASH GOPINATH takes a look at some amazing facts about the man.
He has the rare distinction of rendering the most number of songs in a single day by any singer. He recorded 21 songs in Kannada for the composer Upendra Kumar in Bangalore from 9am to 9pm on February 8, 1981. He also recorded 19 songs in Tamil, all in a day, and also 16 songs in Hindi, a record.
He holds the Guinness World Record for recording the highest number of songs, for any playback singer, with over 40 000 numbers in various Indian languages. He also has six National Film Awards across four languages to his name.
He was once rejected by a Hindi music composer, saying that South Indians cannot pronounce Hindi properly. He went on to win a National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for his first Hindi movie, Ek Duje Ke Liye. His association with singer and occasional composer Lata Mangeshkar for the song Didi Tera Devar Deewana is remembered even today.
SPB has acted in 72 films in three different languages, namely Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. He is probably the only Indian singer to have acted in so many films. He can also speak these three languages fluently, though his mother tongue is Telugu.
He has worked as a music director in 46 films in four different languages which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. Some of his notable works as a music composer in Tamil include Sigaram and Unnai Charanadaindhen.
He is a noted professional dubbing artist and also a film producer. He has lent his voice for popular actors like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Girish Karnad, Gemini Ganesan, Arjun Sarja and many more.
He is a famous TV personality as well. Having acted in two Tamil serials and a Telugu one, SPB has also hosted number of music reality shows and accepted the honour of being a judge in many famous shows in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
SPB was the leader of a light music troupe which had Ilaiyaraaja on guitar and later on harmonium, Baskar on percussion and Gangai Amaran on guitar. His association with Ilaiyaraaja started even before the two had made their respective movie debuts.
After he was selected to sing Aayiram Nilavae Vaa starring MGR and Jayalalitha, SPB suffered from typhoid just before the recording and couldnt lend his voice to the then superstar, which disappointed him.
When SPB was recovering from typhoid, MGR once went to the extent of delaying the shoot of his film and waited patiently for the singer to recover completely. Once SPB was able to sing, the song was recorded and then shot at a famous palace in Jaipur.


text:
Q: Создание и использованием массива внутри цикла Если создать простой массив, то все работает нормально:
<?php
$data = array();
foreach ($some_array as $page) {
    $data[] = $page;
}

foreach ($data as $page) {
    echo $page;
}

?>

Если создать двумерный массив, то начинается проблема вывода - данные массива не выводятся на экран (или я что-то делаю не так или не так понимаю принцип вывода):
<?php
$data = array();
foreach ($some_array as $page) {
    $data[] = array(
        name => $page->name,
        url  => $page->url,
    );
}

foreach ($data as $page) {
    //print_r($page);
    echo $page->name;
    echo $page->url;
}

?>

PS: Массив принтуется нормально.

A: Для начала, то, что у вас используется такой вариант обращения к данным как $page->name намекает на то, что это не массив, а объект типа stdClass. Далее, вы неверно пытаетесь создать двумерный массив и потом обратиться к его свойствам (видимо, решили обращаться по аналогии с тем, как обращаетесь к свойствам stdClass, но это неверно). Верный будет такой код:
<?php
$data = array();
foreach ($some_array as $page) {
    $data[] = array(
        `name` => $page->name,
        `url`  => $page->url,
    );
}

foreach ($data as $page) {
    //print_r($page);
    echo $page['name'];
    echo $page['url'];
}

?>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Immigrants At The Border Should Be Welcomed
Marielos Monterroza 4 months ago
We all have heard about the border crisis. The news constantly mentions it as well as state and federal governments. Let me tell you that many would blame this so-called crisis on immigrants waiting at the border to seek asylum. Immigrants in any country have the legal right to claim asylum. Many Democratic and Republican presidents are guilty of deportations and their rhetoric on immigration has gotten worse. The Biden administration is continuing the anti-immigrant rhetoric by continuing to tell immigrants, "Don't come." Migrants don't want to leave their countries but they do in order to survive. The reality is the immigration system in the U.S. is racist. The immigration system was designed to make it really difficult for black and brown immigrants to obtain legal status.
The only time the border is discussed is when a number of immigrants arrive at the border and they call it a "crisis." Who created this crisis? Who is responsible for making sure that refugee's asylum claims are heard? Who is responsible for making sure refugees are not living at the border? This is not talked about. The federal government doesn't have a system in place that properly allows migrants to seek asylum once they reach the border. Basically, they're left waiting at the border waiting to enter to make their asylum claims. Currently, the Biden administration is responsible for continuing the use of title 42 and expelling immigrants.
The previous administration enacted Title 42 last year in order to close the U.S.-Mexico border to refugees. Title 42 is a public health order issued by the CDC that limits refugees from seeking asylum except for children. Recently, a judge has ordered the Biden administration to stop deporting families who are seeking asylum at the border. The administration has been given two weeks to stop expelling families. However, the Biden administration says they will appeal the decision. This administration said they would treat immigrants in a more humane way. Nonetheless, they continue to deport them and continue to jail refugees in detention centers.
Recently, thousands of Haitian refugees were living in a camp underneath the Del Rio International Bridge. Haitians wanted to seek asylum in the U.S. but many were not allowed to enter. Instead, Haitian refugees were met with violence by border patrol riding horses who were whipping them. As a result, the Biden administration said those agents would face consequences. Despite this, the Biden administration has rushed the deportation of many Haitian refugees. They have already carried out three flights with about 145 Haitians on board. There are more deportations scheduled to Haiti in which include women and children. It is really cruel and dehumanizing to deport Haitians and other immigrants. Many Haitians have no future in Haiti. Even though a number of Haitians were allowed to enter the U.S., many were deported and many had to stay in Mexico.
Immigrants and the U.S.-Mexico Border
I mentioned the use of the phrase "border crisis" earlier because the way that we speak matters. Borders do not make the world safer; borders create fear. Those walls are built to separate people and to keep people out. Another phrase that is often used is when immigrants come into a country "legally" or "illegally." The land is not legal nor illegal. When people say this, they make it sound like if they owned the planet. First of all, no one owns the planet and no one has the right to tell people where they can move to. People have the right to freely move throughout the land.
With that being said, refugees and immigrants should be welcomed wherever they decide to move to. We shouldn't turn people away because of what they look like nor where they come from. Congress, the Senate, and the Biden administration all have the power to change the immigration system. Deportations and expulsions are not going to solve anything and are placing people in dangerous situations. Refugees at the U.S.- Mexico border should not be met with violence on either side of the border. Mexican officials were also violently attacking Haitian refugees. Both governments need to do better. Refugees, migrants are humans who are in need of help and who just want to provide for their families.
Why Immigrant Children Should Be Released
Trump Puts Trans Lives At Risk
Women Come Forward On Unwanted Sterilization
Tags : HaitiHaitiansimmigrantsmigrantsrefugeesus-mexico border
Marielos Monterroza September 30, 2021
Life With PCOS: Stories By Maldivian Women
Marielos Monterroza
Marielos graduated from UC Davis with a BA in Cinema and Digital Media and a double minor in Chicanx Studies and Native American Studies. She believes in equity and equality for all. She believes in female empowerment and motivating women to be leaders.
Marielos Monterroza January 7, 2022
'Bride-nappings?' Did I Read That Correctly?
Amelia Bonjour January 5, 2022
Lower Your Gaze
Hira Farooqui December 11, 2021


text:
News Local/State
IDOC Director On Book Removal: Lack Of Policy, Oversight At State Prisons
By Lee V. Gaines
Incarcerated men working inside the Education Justice Project library at the Danville Correctional Center. Courtesy of the Education Justice Project
Listen (Duration: 0:50)
Update at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 9: the more than 200 titles removed from the Education Justice Project library inside the Danville Correctional Center have been returned, according to EJP staff.
The new director of the Illinois Department of Corrections said during a legislative hearing in Chicago on Monday that the agency plans to revise its policy regarding what books can and cannot enter the prison.
State lawmakers hosted the hearing after Illinois Newsroom reported that Danville Correctional Center officials had removed more than 200 books from a college in prison program's library inside the facility earlier this year. The books were part of the Education Justice Project's library — that's a program that offers University of Illinois classes to men inside the Danville prison.
Many of the removed books deal with race, specifically the history and experiences of African-Americans. Other titles, including "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave," were denied entry to the prison.
The EJP program was founded more than a decade ago. The director of EJP, Rebecca Ginsburg, told lawmakers that this level of censorship is unprecedented in the program's history. She said EJP staff and volunteers received no notification from prison officials about the book removal before or after it occurred. She discovered the books were removed after EJP students told program staff.
Ginsburg also told lawmakers that she was informed by staff at the prison and an IDOC administrator that books on race were removed because they were "divisive."
She said a Danville prison official told an EJP staff member that "the problem is the racial stuff."
When asked by Illinois Newsroom in May, the former director of IDOC, John Baldwin, said the books were removed because they weren't properly reviewed. Emails obtained by Illinois Newsroom, however, indicate that at least some of the books were reviewed and approved to enter the prison.
State Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, a Democrat who represents Chicago's south suburbs, asked Ginsburg during the hearing whether staff at the prison provided any documentation or incidents that would lead them to believe these books should be censored.
"No," Ginsburg responded. "In response to queries, they were not able to provide any evidence or an example of what was meant by divisive, or in what way there had ever been a history of these books proving divisive."
Rob Jeffreys was recently appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as the new acting director of the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The new acting director of IDOC, Rob Jeffreys, did not confirm or deny Ginsburg's statements.
"I know we're probably interested in knowing how and why it happened, but I'm more interested in moving forward," Jeffreys said.
He added that the hearing was being held because, "there was a lack of communication, there's a lack of expectation. There wasn't a sound process. And there's much-needed policy oversight." Jeffreys was the only IDOC official to testify Monday.
State Rep. Carol Ammons, an Urbana Democrat, who organized the hearing, said lawmakers "need to know what actually happened in this incident."
But she stopped short of directly asking Jeffreys to address the issue during the hearing, instead saying she hoped he could send her the answer.
Jeffreys said the department would revise its publication review policy, which he said hadn't changed since 2003.
"That has been my number one thing: to revitalize our current policy creation, review and application," he said.
Jeffreys also told lawmakers that all but 14 of the removed books were returned to the prison library's shelves; the outstanding 14 titles would be reviewed further, he said.
I fail to see how there can be a constitutional justification for banning Frederick Douglass' autobiography. State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz
'It just makes me think about slavery'
Alan Mills, executive director of the Chicago-based Uptown People's Law Center, told state lawmakers during the hearing that "this situation in Danville could easily have been avoided."
The department's publication review process applies to books sent directly to inmates inside Illinois prisons, Mills said. It's unclear whether the policy also applies to programs like EJP.
Regardless, Mills said the policy on the books isn't being followed.
Mills represents publishers and an author who are suing the department over censorship of reading material in state prisons. The lawsuits were filed last year.
While Mills argued that some books should be banned from prisons, "there needs to be a stated rationale for anybody who decides a book should be censored laying out in specific what in the book is objectionable."
He said the department should also provide evidence that a book or type of book has caused a problem in the past, and the department should keep reviews of publications in a central location.
"To say we ought to be able to censor things we think are 'divisive' because it tells the actual history of African-Americans in this country, that is not only bad policy but it's also illegal," Mills said. "The Supreme Court has made it very clear you have to have a legitimate neutral reason to censor something."
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz agreed. Gong-Gershowitz is a Democrat who represents Chicago's northern suburbs.
"Regardless of whether it's associated with an education program, I fail to see how there can be a constitutional justification for banning Frederick Douglass' autobiography," she said.
State Rep. LaShawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat, compared the issue to slavery. He said the freedom to read and write allowed slaves to communicate and maintain relationships with family members.
"It just makes me think about slavery… it seems like that's what's happening in our state prisons today if we do this type of nonsense," Ford said.
State Rep. Terri Bryant, a Republican from southern Illinois and a former corrections officer whose district includes seven prisons, said the department also needs to think about security.
She cited a 2009 incident in which a prison librarian was held hostage by an inmate at Pinckneyville Correctional Center. Prison libraries, she said, can be places for incarcerated people to expand their minds, but they're also "a very dangerous place dependent on who is allowed to be in there on any given day and what the mood of that incarcerated person is."
Without making that process clear and consistent and transparent we have a real problem in understanding what's going on in why some materials come in and others don't, which is also a recipe for discord. Jennifer Vollen-Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association
'A recipe for discord'
Jennifer Vollen-Katz, the executive director of the John Howard Association, a non-profit prison watchdog group, said there are two issues at play. First, she said the state lacks a review process that is "accountable, consistent, based on reasonable guidelines that are publicly defined, reviewed by a committee that represents multiple perspectives… and transparent."
The second issue she said is the censorship of publications.
"When you are in prison you still have First Amendment rights, and it is important we guard those rights," Vollen-Katz said. "The expansion of the mind and availing oneself of new info might lead to new opportunities and betterment and rehabilitation — all things we seek for people in prison to get from the Illinois Department of Corrections."
She said the department uses its sweeping authority to determine what can and cannot come in.
"Without making that process clear and consistent and transparent we have a real problem in understanding what's going on in why some materials come in and others don't, which is also a recipe for discord," Vollen-Katz said.
The censorship problem, she said, is best solved with a clear and consistently applied review process that is publicly available.
But several lawmakers appeared averse to passing legislation to mandate change.
State Rep. Norine Hammond, a Republican who represents west-central Illinois, said she believes Jeffreys, the new director of IDOC, brings a "wealth of knowledge" to the position.
"My hope is that we can be your partners," she said. "We can work together with you and your staff, that you can set up policies that are appropriate and that are followed and at the end of the day we don't have to legislate this."
Ammons told Jeffreys she expects to see progress on the censorship issue between now and the start of the fall legislative session.
"I have to bridge the gap, and I'm looking forward to it, between security and programming," Jeffreys said.
Follow Lee Gaines on Twitter: @LeeVGaines
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prison censorship
prison books
illinois department of corrections
rob jeffreys
john howard association