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Trust. It's a funny thing. Trust is fragile. It takes a long time to build, a ton of effort to maintain, and can be destroyed in seconds. Once it's gone, trust can be next to impossible to rebuild, and jades us against others trying to help. Just ask a spouse that was cheated on how long it took them to trust again.
The past two weeks have seen the destruction of that trust for a lot of people in this country when it comes to the police. There have been hundreds of cases of police brutality documented for the world to see. Police dressed in military gear firing tear gas into crowds of unarmed black people, police firing at journalists, police destroying medic tents. And those just the war crimes. That doesn't include the normal levels of brutality that black people see every day. White people are seeing this for the first time, and it's not just from one or two cops but from nearly every city around the country. How can there be that many one-offs on bad cops? They keep telling us it's just a few bad apples. Keep in mind that the whole phrase goes "A few bad apples spoil the bunch." If there are bad apples in every bunch, what does that say about the bunch?
People are losing trust with cops. Well, some people. Black people didn't trust the cops at all, and for good reason. Police are one of the leading causes of death for black men in this country. But now even white people are losing trust in the police.
We're sick and tired of the triple standard of American Justice. We're sick and tired of seeing rich people treated one way for a crime, white people another, and black people a completely different way. We're sick and tired of watching shitty people with badges literally get away with murder because they came up with a good enough story to cover their asses. We're sick and tired of reading headlines like "Young unarmed man on knees shot 55 times by police" or "Black woman shot in bed by police executing no-knock raid at wrong address."
The law enforcement community has broken the trust of the American people. From letting rich people get away with stealing millions of dollars to firing on unarmed black protesters while letting heavily armed white people storm state capitol buildings, to their continued actions of evading justice for their crimes, law enforcement hasn't exactly given the citizens much to cheer about.
As I said, trust is a funny thing. If one person, party, or member of a group breaks that trust, it becomes damn near impossible for the offended party to trust anyone even tangentially related. So if one cop shoots a journalist with a rubber bullet causing them to go blind, all members of the department look bad. That lack of trust hurts everyone.
Trust can be rebuilt, but it's not easy. The offending party has to go above and beyond to rebuild the trust they destroyed. The worse the act, the more they have to do to get even a shred of that trust back.
Considering how the law enforcement community has failed the citizens of this country, the onus of rebuilding trust lies solely on their shoulders. Changes have to be made in how police work in America happens, from the top officers to the lowest officers, and from Maine to Hawaii, from the NYPD all the way down to the local township that only has one part time officer. I'm not naive enough to think that these changes will come without some outside intervention from lawmakers, but some concessions have to be made.
Here's some changes that I've thought of over the last bit of time. Some I've thought about for a few minutes, a few days, or a few decades. This isn't comprehensive by any stretch, but it's a start.
RESTRICT OR ELIMINATE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY
Qualified Immunity is a legal practice that gives police the ability to excuse even the worst actions. It's ugly. It allows for the police to challenge any complaints against them on constitutional grounds, stating that it is their right to do whatever the hell they deem necessary to do their jobs. The way it works is that unless a case involving bad police behavior happened in the same jurisdiction and had similar facts and that the police behavior was challenged on constitutional grounds, they can do whatever they want.
Qualified Immunity literally puts police above the law they are sworn to uphold. This needs to be severely restricted, if not eliminated completely. While there is an argument for some cases of keeping QI in a limited capacity, for the general police force it needs to be eliminated. The argument for keeping it rests on whether or not a police officer is allowed to break the law while upholding the law. For example, an undercover cop needs to have some leeway with the law so that they can do their job without raising suspicion and blowing their cover. Or, a police officer that sees a baby trapped in a car needs to be able to break out the window to save the baby. But QI should not be used to cover up claims of abuse, using excessive force, or stealing from suspects.
ENACT UNIVERSAL RULES OF ENGAGEMENT THAT ARE STRICTER THAN THE U.S. MILITARY
The United States Military, like every other military in the world, operates under a code of what to do, when to do it, and how to escalate when things go wrong. There are steps they have to go through before they can exercise lethal force. These are codified as Rules of Engagement.
It'll shock most people to learn that many police officers don't have ROE's. This is determined by the department or maybe by the state, but many places do not have codified ROE's.
The Law Enforcement Community (LEC) needs to standardize and adopt Rules of Engagement for every police officer, and make these rules known to citizens as well. We need to know our rights and whether or not a police officer is violating them. The use of deadly force MUST only be used as a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted.
REMOVE WEAPONS AND TACTICS FROM THE POLICE THAT ARE CONSIDERED WAR CRIMES
According to international treaty, the use of chemical weapons is banned. Attacking medics and targeting their supplies is a war crime. Yet police around the country in the past week attacked protestors with tear gas, pepper spray, and destroyed medical supplies and targeted protester medics.
These tactics and weapons need to be outlawed. There is no reason why weapons considered too dangerous for military use should be used on unarmed and untrained citizens.
GET RID OF MILITARY EQUIPMENT
While we're on the subject of military stuff, the policy of giving the police surplus military gear needs to stop. Giving police officers the Army's hand-me-downs has proven to be dangerous, and has led to escalations in violence.
INCREASE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ALL OFFICERS AND SUPERVISORS
The year is 2020. We have cameras in phones, computers, toys, drones, hats, glasses, doorbells, pet collars, and glitter bombs. Cameras are everywhere. Police have body cams and dash cams. But they're only effective when they're working. There were too many instances of cameras being turned off during the riots. This doesn't include the body cams that would "accidentally" shut off during an incident when a police officer allegedly abused someone. It's almost like that footage would have proven that the officer was a piece of shit.
Going forward, all uniformed police officers must have their body cams on and recording at all times. If at all possible, similar standards should apply to plainclothes cops, though there are some exceptions to be considered. All police vehicles must have cameras that catch the perimeter of the vehicle. If the camera goes down, the officer is to do everything they can to reactivate it immediately or replace it with a backup they have available. Failure to do so will result in a 30 day suspension without pay.
Any police officer that covers their badge number should be suspended pending an investigation.
To make sure that the officers hold each other accountable, if a supervisor has multiple instances of officers concealing their identity or turning off their cameras, they will be punished as well. Each time one member of the precinct or division fails to activate their camera or covers up their badge, EVERYONE will have to go through training. Everyone.
All police departments must have independent review boards composed mostly of civilians, and have unfettered access to all police activity. There will be restrictions for active investigations, but these review boards must be able to see what the police are doing. These boards must be automatically included in any and all complaints of police abuse.
EXPAND TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL PEACE OFFICERS
Did you know that the requirements to become a police office in Pennsylvania are less strict than that of a hairdresser? A police officer needs 859 hours of training to become certified while a hairdresser needs 1250. There are many other states where it is easier to become a cop than to braid hair.
The requirements to become a police officer need to expand, and should focus on weeding out the bullies and racists. Police officers should also be required to recertify every 3-5 years, and that process needs to include keeping up to date on process changes. Recertifications need to take into account their service record and focus on improving those skills. If their record shows multiple instances of violence, then their recertification should not be granted.
WEED OUT THE RACISTS AND BULLIES FROM THE POLICE FORCES
This cannot be said loud enough, but there are too many racists in police departments across the country. I've reported on this before but there are many white nationalist groups that have infiltrated local and even state police departments across the country. On top of that, there's a lot of psychopaths that get a hard-on being all tough.
Going forward, reviews must be made of casework of individual officers and that work needs to be compared to similar cases. When the data is analyzed, in situations where there was a disproportionate response based on race, class, or amount of force used, those officers will be investigated. Also, tip lines must be in place to allow citizens to report when a police officer is found to have connections to hate groups like the KKK, 3 Percenters, Evropa, or Neo-Nazis.
REQUIRE OFFICERS, DEPARTMENTS, AND PRECINCTS TO CARRY INSURANCE AGAINST IMPROPER BEHAVIOR
Without qualified immunity, police officers could be liable for their actions. If a police officer, say, tases a pregnant woman causing her to lose her baby, that officer could be sued and be responsible for a very large payout in court. That's kind of hard given their pay.
This should be treated just like doctors. Doctors and hospitals have malpractice insurance. This prevents the doctor from losing everything they've worked for because of one mistake.
Police officers, their precincts, and departments should be required to carry their version of malpractice insurance. Not only would this punish bad cops who keep getting complaints against them, but would reward good cops and precincts as they would have more money to spend. If a bad driver has to pay more to drive on the road, a bad cop should pay more to wear a badge.
CREATE DATABASES THAT CONTAIN POLICE COMPLAINTS, RECORDS, AND ACTIONS THAT ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Right now, we don't know who are the bad cops and good cops. Even other cops don't know. We as citizens only find out about a cop having a dozen abuse complaints against them after a tragedy occurs. That has to change.
Going forward, each state has to have it's own database that includes basic non-privileged information on the police officer such as badge number, department, how long they've been on the force, how long they've been a cop in total, why they moved, have they had disciplinary actions taken against them, who accused them, what happened, and what was the final result. These databases have to be accessible to the public, most likely through a website that returns some info for free but explicit details might require payment. I'm thinking of the deeds office as an example.
KEEP BAD COPS OUT OF WORK, STOP THE CYCLE OF HIRING IN THE NEXT TOWN OVER
It's bad enough that it's next to impossible to fire a bad cop, but when they do get fired or quit before they get fired, they'll pop up in another department. There was an incident around Pittsburgh within the past year or so where a cop was fired, hired at another department, and on his first day on the job shot and killed an unarmed young black man. It came out that this officer was fired for abusive behavior. Had there been an open database to search, it's not likely he would have been hired again.
If a police officer is fired with cause, their certification should be suspended for 90 days pending review. That review will determine whether or not they should have their certification permanently revoked, temporarily suspended, further training is needed on problem areas, or their certification is restored. This information has to be available in the database listed above.
ELIMINATE THE CODE OF SILENCE FOR BAD BEHAVIOR
Cops are a different breed of people. Most of them are kind, caring people deep down who spend all day seeing people at their worst. Unfortunately, we're not in this mess because of them, but their co-workers who are wastes of oxygen. But we don't hear anything about how bad these cops truly are until a tragedy occurs.
Going forward, whistleblower protections need to be expanded and strengthened for police officers to encourage them to get rid of the bad apples. If an officer receives multiple complaints, their previous associates like supervisors and partners will also be investigated to see if this behavior was new, or if these other cops were covering up for them.
PENSIONS AND PROMOTIONS DEPEND ON PERFORMANCE
Very few jobs have a pension anymore, and those that do are a small percentage of their salary that is only available after the employee reaches retirement age. Cops on the other hand get a pretty nice pension. Their reward for eating a shit sandwich every day for 20 years is half their salary, and full salary after 30. This depends on the department, but a cop could retire from the force in their 40's and receive half of their yearly base wages for the rest of their lives.
One of the factors going into the math for pensions and promotions will be the information that is publicly available. If a cop has multiple complaints of violence, that should affect how long they have to work to get and keep those benefits. Those complaints could add years on to how long they have to work to collect their full pension.
FORCE POLICE UNIONS TO ADHERE TO THESE CHANGES
These changes need to be enforced in all collective bargaining agreements going forward. If the union continues to underperform, they run the risk of losing their ability to organize.
These aren't the only things that need to change, but this is what I came up with right now. I hope that we can get to work on changing things right away, but this is going to take a while. A large portion of Americans have never trusted the LEC, and a lot of people have seen that trust broken.
To be honest, I'm torn. I genuinely hate bad cops, I'm not torn about that. I'm torn about what this means for our country going forward, and my friends and family in the LEC. I'm torn because I see how much my fellow citizens are hurting on all sides. I'm finally understanding exactly how screwed black people have been all these years. I thought I knew, I had a pretty good idea, but I was off by quite a bit. It's like climbing up a mountain and getting to what you thought was the summit, but was just the first base camp. At the same time, I see how hard this is on the LEC friends and family. They're exhausted from constantly working and are now getting shit from people they never had problems with before. I'm torn because I don't want to see any more people get hurt, but I know that we've got too far to go without people getting hurt.
You know what I'd love to see? Good cops calling out the bad cops. Don't give us this bullshit about how good cops hate bad cops and then they don't do shit about it. Publicly name and shame the assholes. Until then, those words about good cops ring hollow. It's hard to think that good cops care about their community when they're busy protecting the bad cops. If the answer comes back "it's complicated", I'd like to point over to the Catholic Priests. They used the same argument when they shuffled around pedophiles to avoid prosecution, and because of that trust in them fell like a rock.
I'd also love to see a change in how the police respond to events. Maybe, they should respond with considerable force for the situation. Out of the myriad of violent events over the past week or so, they all operated under a similar pattern. Something happened to provoke an over the top response from the police, and they responded with an over the top action. We have police officers in full body armor, riot shields, fully armed with lethal and less-lethal weapons, lining up against a group of young adults wearing t-shirts and jeans. One of the cops will claim that the protesters threw a rock or a water bottle at them, and they use that as an excuse to unleash hell on the crowd. Seriously. That's their reaction to a water bottle. I've been hit with water bottles before, I never tried to blind anyone for it. It's unsettling to know that trained police officers in riot gear have less control of their reactions than the average middle aged white guy.
We have a long way to go, and need everyone at the table. We can't move forward as people until we recognize that black people matter, and that the police need to be better. I'm hopeful that we'll see some change come out of this, but it's going to be a long road. Trust has been broken, and it will take a lot of work to regain that trust. For many Americans, that trust was never there to begin with.
noneofthisisnormal	Crime Time	Leave a comment June 7, 2020 June 7, 2020
The George Floyd Riots
Sunday, May 31st, 2020.
My last post was back in early March, in the days before The Rona. God, that feels like a lifetime ago. I've really wanted to write about COVID and all the craziness with that, but even that can wait. To say that the fecal matter hit the mechanical air circulation device in the past week is a major fucking understatement. But to cover that, I need to touch briefly on COVID-19, or the Coronavirus.
I talked about it a little in my last post Super Tuesday Preview about how we were on the verge of a pandemic, and that it would be a good idea to study the Spanish Flu to see what was going on. What happened after that can best be described as either a monkey paw wish for clean air and no more school shootings, or some mother fucker out there is playing Jumanji. Yes, I'm like 4 sentences in and I'm already dropping a few f-bombs, that's how fucked things are.
Here's the short, short version of the last 3 months, more or less. A virus named COVID-19, short for Coronavirus Disease 2019 spreads, well, the fucker goes viral. It's an airborne disease that can be spread through droplets in the air and while it has a 95-99% recovery rate, that 1-5% is a literal fucking killer. As of this writing, at least 106,187 Americans have died from this disease. That number only counts the confirmed cases, those people that died in hospitals or nursing homes and tested positive while alive. It doesn't include the tens of thousands of people that died at home or before they got tested. It doesn't include the people that died from other diseases or trauma but couldn't get treatment because the hospitals were overwhelmed, and it doesn't include the suicides and homicides from stress. We also don't have a clue how many people died at home alone during quarantine.
Oh yeah, quarantine. In the days after my last post, the world went into quarantine to flaten the curve. That sentence had no meaning 3 months ago. Now, everyone knows what it means. Everything shut down. Schools, parks, offices, restaurants, movie theaters, sports, even Disney shut their parks down. The states led the charge because Trump is a fucking waste of space on a good day and actively fucking things up on a bad one. Everyone had to shelter in place. What does that mean? STAY THE FUCK HOME! And this wasn't just a few cities, this was EVERYWHERE. Some states, all of them Red, chose not to, but for the most part the entire world has been on pause for the last few months. This also fucked up the economy, too.
Ever wonder what 40 million unemployed and nearly 25% unemployment looks like with damn near no help from the federal government? Welcome to the United States 2020. When everything shut down, a fuckton of people lost their jobs. The stock market crashed, unemployment surged and keeps going up. Another new term popped up: essential workers. These are the people that do the real fucking work in our society but are shunned or looked down on by the Karens of the world. Think grocery workers, garbage men, janitors, and first responders. By the way, Karen has become a meme. It represents the middle aged white lady, often with a short femullet hair cut that makes a stink about every tiny issue and demands to speak to the manager. Their white privilege knows no bounds. It's not socially acceptable to call them a cunt to their face, but Karen works in its place. Not that you can see what they could say through the masks.
One cool thing that came out of this is wearing masks. Since the disease is airborne, it spreads easily. The best way to prevent the spread of a deadly airborne disease is for everyone to wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth. This can be a surgical mask, respirator, bandanna, or some improvised or homemade masks.
The first couple weeks of quarantine weren't bad. It was rough, but people genuinely tried to pull together and be better. That was until a bunch Russian bots and insurrectionists funded by the DeVos family astroturfed a bunch of Conservatives into thinking that wearing a facemask in public is tyranny and a plot by the "libtards" so they put on their best ill-fitting tactical cosplay, grabbed their AR-15's, and marched on state capitols. It got so bad in Michigan that the government closed their session. Not a single one of those terrorists was charged. Meanwhile, not a week went by where a black person was killed by the police for being black and a bullshit excuse being given to justify it. Through all of this, medical staff still can't get proper PPE, personal protective equipment.
Fast forward to this past week. Tensions were already running high with people at each other's throats on social media, Conservatives going completely nuts over their "freedoms" being infringed all the while the death toll keeps climbing, and Trump attacks everyone from reporters to women and Twitter for fact checking him. He even retweeted a video that said "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat." Enter Minneapolis and George Floyd.
George was a black man who had the cops called on him for allegedly writing a bad check. The cops arrested him, then Officer Derrick Chauvin violated every rule of engagement and handling prisoners and kneeled on George's neck for 9 minutes, all while three other officers stopped onlookers from offering assistance or even stopping their fellow officer from trying to kill this man. George was pronounced dead by the time he arrived at the hospital following his injuries.
Since this is 2020 and cameras are everywhere, this went viral in a heartbeat. The officers tried to say that George resisted arrest. Security cameras showed that the claim was bullshit. They said he was violent. He wasn't. It didn't take long for the anger to rise, but it took too long for the Minneapolis Police Department to do anything. It took a day to fire the four officers involved and a few days to charge Chauvin with 3rd degree murder and manslaughter. The other three officers are still free.
That did it. Thursday night members of George's community marched peacefully to the police station where those assholes worked. The police fired teargas and rubber bullets at the protesters. The protesters tried to run, but were fired upon. Eventually, some accelerationists started smashing windows and while the black people tried to find things to defend themselves, white people looted the stores. Within a couple days all hell breaks loose and it turns out that White Nationalists, aka Trump Supporters were out trying to cause violence to blame it on black people. The police then attacked the black protesters, and full blown riots break loose.
This scene was repeated all over the country. Peaceful protests turned violent by agent provocateurs looking to start a race war. In Detroit, Trump Supporters opened fire into a crowd from inside a van. In Salt Lake City a Trump Supporter fired into a crowd of protesters with a bow and arrow. In Pittsburgh, a group of Anarchist Cosplayers smashed out the windows of a police van and set it on fire. In New York City, cops ran over people with their police cruisers. Louisville Police fired at a news crew. Minneapolis PD fired paint canisters at people standing on their own porches.
So, let's do the math, shall we? We have a pandemic that has killed over 100,000 Americans, quarantines that put more than 40 million of them out of work, a piss poor government response to rampant unemployment, a complete lack of PPE for the first responders facing diseased patients, a Federal government led by a narcissist who only cares about people who like him, a generation of people who have shit upon their whole lives because of their skin color, a bunch of Conservatives who think they're being bullied by libtards and want to hurt anyone they can, a bunch of Neo-Nazis looking to start a race war, and every police department in the country with access to military equipment but no proper training on their use, and what do you get?
The definition of a clusterfuck.
I don't know what happens next, but it's not pretty. Real change is never pretty. As I've said before, I live in Pittsburgh. I could see the police helicopters over the riot from my porch. I loaded the magazines in my guns for the first time. As if I didn't already have anxiety issues before, this puts the cherry on the turd sundae.
Here's what I do know. I no longer will maintain respect for anyone who pushes the Blue Lives Matter or All Lives Matter hashtags, or tries to act like #BlackLivesMatter is bullshit. I have no problem with cutting people out as friends over "political differences" because those differences mean that they are a racist dick. I will do what I can when I can to support people of color, as that is literally the least I can do as a crakity-ass cracka. If I were any whiter, bitches be callin' me Casper.
I'm here to help, as much as I can. I may look like I'm a fat middle-aged white guy whose never seen shit, but I've seen some shit. I've worked in places where white people fear to tread. I've lived in places where white people wouldn't dare set foot. You know the old joke "if you can count how many black people have been in your house you're racist?" Well, back in the day, I was the white guy on the block. I've been in the car when the driver was pulled over for DWB, Driving While Black. I've seen how the cops acted when a white guy answers the door and how they react when a black guy does the same thing. I'm here to help us get to a world where we are both treated equally. And I hope you're along for the ride, or at least not getting in the way.
Thank you and have a good one.
noneofthisisnormal	Politics	Leave a comment June 1, 2020


Jonah, I imagine I was one of the first commentators to posit the argument that "collusion with Russia" (without further defining what 'collusion' means) isn't a crime. There are two reasons why the argument remains relevant. Although it could be argued that one is moot, I don't think it is, for reasons I'll get to.
It's interesting that we are seeing the argument pop up more often now. When I first advanced it, there was a very specific purpose. The federal regulations governing when (a) a "special counsel" should be appointed, and (b) a Justice Department lawyer (including the attorney general) is disqualified from participation in a matter, do not apply unless conduct occurs that warrants a criminal investigation — i.e., there needs to be a crime. Because special counsels (or their precursors, special prosecutors and independent counsels) can so undermine an administration's capacity to govern, I was arguing that, in the absence of some solid evidence that a crime had been committed, there was no basis in law to appoint one.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein identified the counterintelligence investigation of Russia's interference with the election (the "Russia investigation") as the trigger for the special counsel appointment. But a counterintelligence probe is not a criminal investigation. It is an inquiry into the actions and intentions of a foreign power, and is not premised on a crime's having been committed.
Similarly, the Russia investigation was not a basis for Jeff Sessions to recuse himself. Here, I note that Sessions's premature decision to recuse, in the absence of a criminal investigation, has had momentous consequences — e.g., the Justice Department permitting then-Director Jim Comey's March 20 testimony that announced an investigation into Trump collusion with Russia without clarifying that Trump was not a suspect; and Rosenstein's appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel despite the absence of basis for a criminal investigation.
Now that Mueller has been appointed and Sessions has recused himself, it could be argued that it is pointless to keep repeating the argument about the lack of an underlying crime. But I disagree. One of the reasons the regs call for a criminal investigation before a special counsel is appointed is to impose some parameters on what the special counsel is permitted to investigate. If Mueller's jurisdiction is not tied to specific transactions in which it is reasonably suspected that an identifiable criminal offense was committed, then there are no limits on him. Practically speaking, a counterintelligence investigation does not impose any limits on an investigator — it is an information-gathering exercise, not the collection of evidence with an eye toward prosecuting a particular offense. Without limits, Mueller's investigation is a fishing expedition in the nature of a general warrant: a prosecutor with an unlimited budget, significant autonomy from DOJ and no judicial oversight, sicced on one target to keep looking for something incriminating.
So, I think it is important to keep pointing out that collusion with Russia is not a crime because (a) Rosenstein should supersede his current directive and specify what transactions and suspected crimes Mueller is permitted to investigate; (b) if that does not happen, it may become necessary at a certain point to question the legitimacy of Mueller's investigation and the need for it to continue. It is one thing to tolerate the damage an investigation necessarily does to an administration if there are real crimes involved; it would be ludicrous to abide it if there are not.
It is very true that if campaign collusion with Russia happened, it would be very damaging for Trump. I've been arguing that if there was collusion with Russia, it would be beside the point whether a prosecutable crime occurred; collusion would probably be an impeachable offense. But I have to say "probably" because it would depend on the nature of the collusion.
Impeachment-and-removal is a political remedy (not a legal one) premised on the unfitness of the official for the responsibilities of the office. With that in mind, I agree that if Trump were found to have colluded in Russia's interference with our election process in a meaningful way, impeachment would be automatic — I would certainly support it under those circumstances. On the other hand, some of the asinine things that have been suggested as collusion (e.g., Trump joking that he hoped Russia had and would release the thousands of emails Hillary Clinton withheld from the State Department) are too trifling to be regarded as meaningful or impeachable.
The term "collusion" has been bandied about in a fast-and-loose way. I continue to think there is merit in pressing people on exactly what they mean when they make a "collusion with Russia" claim. And for the legal reasons that apply to the scopes of Mueller's jurisdiction and Sessions's recusal, I still think it's worth pointing out that "collusion with Russia" is not a crime unless the collusion rises to the level of prosecutable conspiracy — i.e., an agreement by two or more people to commit a specified violation of the criminal law.


small block over 4 floors.
Balcony seats 8 people in comfort.
within easy walking distance to the main Larnaca beach/ Finicoudes.
Just rewired all electrics last year.
Used for AirBnB and tourist summer letting before.
very good returns possible in the right managed portfolio.
Cheap price reflects age and condition.
Could be used for offices.
House in pervolia,duplex,plot 500m,house 150m.3 bedrooms,3 bathrooms.


Use our premium made in the USA Golden Teak Cleaner on all of your Bare Decor product and other teak and fine woods. It is simply the finest quality teak cleaner that is available and will make your Bare Decor product even more beautiful and last for years to come. DIRECTIONS: For lightly weathered or dried-out teak, wet wood with fresh water. Apply Bare Decor Premium Teak Cleaner & Brightener and spread with a brush. Scrub lightly to remove dirt and stains. Rinse thoroughly with fresh water. For badly weathered, grey or black teak, apply Bare Decor Premium Teak Cleaner & Brightener directly to dry wood. Use a stiff bristle cleaning brush to spread product evenly. Allow product to remain on surface for approximately two to three minutes before lightly scrubbing in the direction of wood grain. Rinse thoroughly with fresh water. Extremely dirty wood may require a second application and more vigorous scrubbing. After cleaning the wood and allowing it to dry completely, apply Bare Decor Premium Teak Oil to preserve and protect the restored wood.


The Evil Tongue cocktail is a beautiful translucent green, and it tastes like citrus and melon. What more could you want in a drink?
This is not as sweet as your typical Midori drink. The citrus notes are also a bit stronger than the melon, so it's one of those few drink recipes where the Midori doesn't dominate everything. The tartness in this drink matches the sweetness, giving it a great balance.
Fill a shaker with ice. Pour in everything and shake well. Strain the mixture into a martini glass.


NAVER Academic > Pancreas Transplantation: An Alarming Crisis in Confidence.
Pancreas Transplantation: An Alarming Crisis in Confidence.
In the past decade, the annual number of pancreas transplantations performed in the United States has steadily declined. From 2004 to 2011, the overall number of simultaneous pancreas–kidney (SPK) transplantations in the United States declined by 10%, whereas the decreases in pancreas after kidney (PAK) and pancreas transplant alone (PTA) procedures were 55% and 34%, respectively. Paradoxically, this has occurred in the setting of improvements in graft and patient survival outcomes and transplanting higher‐risk patients. Only 11 centers in the United States currently perform ≥20 pancreas transplantations per year, and most centers perform <5 pancreas transplantations annually; many do not perform PAKs or PTAs. This national trend in decreasing numbers of pancreas transplantations is related to a number of factors including lack of a primary referral source, improvements in diabetes care and management, changing donor and recipient considerations, inadequate training opportunities, and increasing risk aversion because of regulatory scrutiny. A national initiative is needed to "reinvigorate" SPK and PAK procedures as preferred transplantation options for appropriately selected uremic patients taking insulin regardless of C‐peptide levels or "type" of diabetes. Moreover, many patients may benefit from PTAs because all categories of pancreas transplantation are not only life enhancing but also life extending procedures.
Pancreas transplant alone: a procedure coming of age.
Life after pancreas transplantation: reversal of diabetic lesions.
(2015) R Kandaswamy et al.
(1999) AC Gruessner et al.
(2014) JA Fridell et al.
Reversal of diabetes with insulin-producing cells derived in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells (2014) Alireza Rezania et al.
The clinical utility of C‐peptide measurement in the care of patients with diabetes (2013) A. G. Jones et al.
Controlled induction of human pancreatic progenitors produces functional beta‐like cells in vitro (2015) Holger A Russ et al.
Vasculogenic bio-synthetic hydrogel for enhancement of pancreatic islet engraftment and function in type 1 diabetes (2013) Phelps Edward A et al.
Stem cell therapy. Use of differentiated pluripotent stem cells as replacement therapy for treating disease. (2014) Ira J Fox et al.
The current state of pancreas transplantation (2013) Rainer W. G. Gruessner et al.
Long-term outcome after pancreas transplantation (2012) Angelika C. Gruessner et al.
Clinical application of regulatory T cells in type 1 diabetes (2013) Natalia Marek‐Trzonkowska et al.
Autologous pancreatic islet transplantation in human bone marrow. (2013) Paola Maffi et al.
Concise review: Clinical programs of stem cell therapies for liver and pancreas (2013) Giacomo Lanzoni et al.
Donor risk factors, retrieval technique, preservation and ischemia/reperfusion injury in pancreas transplantation (2013) Manuel Maglione et al.
Phases of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents (2014) Jennifer J Couper et al.
Microneedles Integrated with Pancreatic Cells and Synthetic Glucose‐Signal Amplifiers for Smart Insulin Delivery (2016) Yanqi Ye et al.
Combination immunotherapies for type 1 diabetes mellitus (2015) Paolo Pozzilli et al.
Glycemic Control in Simultaneous Islet-Kidney Versus Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation in Type 1 Diabetes: A Prospective 13-Year Follow-up. (2015) Roger Lehmann et al.
Current status of encapsulated islet transplantation (2015) Yang Hae Kyung et al.
Engineered VEGF-releasing PEG-MAL hydrogel for pancreatic islet vascularization. (2015) Edward A Phelps et al.
Transient B-cell depletion combined with apoptotic donor splenocytes induces xeno-specific T- and B-cell tolerance to islet xenografts. (2013) Shusen Wang et al.
Islet cell xenotransplantation: a serious look toward the clinic (2014) Kannan P. Samy et al.
A Comparative Analysis of the Safety, Efficacy, and Cost of Islet Versus Pancreas Transplantation in Nonuremic Patients With Type 1 Diabetes. (2016) S Moassesfar et al.


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Q: nanopb - what is Person_PhoneNumber_FIELDLIST macro? Docs:
#define Person_PhoneNumber_FIELDLIST(X, a) \
X(a, STATIC,   REQUIRED, STRING,   number,            1) \
X(a, STATIC,   OPTIONAL, UENUM,    type,              2)

I do not see this macro being used.
Is there a use for this for a user of the API?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Sales staff working in these places are trained to ask the question of any customer not ordering fries with their meal, and while it might seem odd to have to remind anyone buying a fast food take-out that fries are an option, it does actually highlight something all businesses could learn from – including us.
As consumers, in our personal as well as our business lives, we have a tendency to put suppliers into 'boxes', only thinking of them in relation to the product or service they've provided to us before. We might have had a great customer experience at the time, but later, when we need a different solution, we may not even consider them, because what we're looking for isn't in the 'box' we've created in our mind.
No, this isn't a convoluted way of telling you that DRC have moved into fast food, but it is an excuse for reminding you of the breadth of services we can provide.
It's nearly 30 years since DRC was founded. Early on, our focus was on installing in-car phone systems, and we soon evolved into a mobile phone supplier, managing accounts for a wide range of SME's and corporate clients. While today, mobile phones remain an important part of our offering, as communication technology has developed, the range of services we provide has expanded significantly.
But still, many clients only think of us for mobile phones.
Can We Help You with Your Fixed Line Services?
If you're a DRC client, we're only supporting you with your mobiles, and you enjoy the level of service and customer support we deliver, why not let us take a look at your fixed line services too?
Hosted & traditional business phone systems.
Via DSL broadband for a high bandwidth internet connection. Or if you need something even faster, we can provide your business with dedicated internet connectivity.
Cloud-based enterprise-grade email, applications & storage, enabling your team to work far more flexibly.
Using DRC for all your services – not only mobiles – has many benefits. Because we work with you more closely, getting to understand your business and your requirements in depth, we're able to deliver a fully joined-up solution, taking the efficiency and effectiveness of your communications technology to a whole new level.
Switching your fixed lines, and transferring your existing services to DRC is a smooth and easy process. We'll do all the work, leaving you to benefit from greater efficiencies and more cost-effective working!
Talk to one of our advisors to find out more about the benefits of using DRC for all your communication requirements. Call us today on 01256 895895 for a chat!
Posted March 29th, 2018 by Amy Bennett & filed under Business Communications, Communications, Fixed Lines, Phone Systems.


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Q: issue with UIButton background borders iOS I have a UIButton in my app with a background image, this one

I want to make it longer, and added the following to my code:
UIImage *backgroundButton = [UIImage imageNamed:@"Button.png"];
        [backgroundButton resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];
        [backgroundButton imageWithAlignmentRectInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];

        [self.loginButton setBackgroundImage:[backgroundButton imageWithAlignmentRectInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)] forState:UIControlStateNormal];

I tried to put some kind of margins for avoiding this

How can I get the same result of the first button but with this size?
Thanks in advance for the support

**EDIT*****
I'm going to put both methods provided for our developers
Jesus:
[self.loginButton setBackgroundImage:[[UIImage imageNamed:@"Button.png"] resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 8, 10, 8)] forState:UIControlStateNormal];

gameCon:
UIImage *modifiedBackgroundButton = [backgroundButton resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];
        [self.loginButton setBackgroundImage:[modifiedBackgroundButton imageWithAlignmentRectInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)] forState:UIControlStateNormal];

        [backgroundButton resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];
        [backgroundButton imageWithAlignmentRectInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];

I like both answers Jesus is very precise and gameCon used my own code for helping me thank you all for your help!!!
Result:

A: As we can see your stretched background image actually does not have cap insets set.
You have to store and work on results of this methods (this code actually does nothing):
[backgroundButton resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];
[backgroundButton imageWithAlignmentRectInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];

So the proper approach would be:
UIImage *modifiedBackgroundButton = [backgroundButton resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)];
[self.loginButton setBackgroundImage:[modifiedBackgroundButton imageWithAlignmentRectInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)] forState:UIControlStateNormal];

A: Try this:
[self.loginButton setBackgroundImage:[[UIImage imageNamed:@"Button.png"] resizableImageWithCapInsets:UIEdgeInsetsMake(10, 10, 10, 10)] forState:UIControlStateNormal];


text:
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 11 (subtitled Texas) is a compilation album in the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, featuring recordings that were released in Texas.  This is one of five volumes in the series that collects songs by Texas bands; the others are Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 12, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 13, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 17, and Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 23.

Release data
This album was released in 1984 as an LP by AIP Records (as #AIP-10019).

Notes on the tracks
The unique "Good Times" might be the garage rock song that is least inspired by the British Invasion; the song was written by Allen and Ray Schram about an apartment they were renting in Irving, Texas. It was just a joke, but a friend, who was a dancer on the Ron Chapman TV show Sump'N Else, arranged a meeting with Chapman at his house. He played the lacquer demo down to the line "go out for entertainment, I park behind the Twin" (a drive-in movie that played edited X-rated films in Grand Prairie, and stopped it. He called GPC records and they pressed 100 copies. The night it was to be played on the Jimmy Rabbit radio show, (a popular KLIF 1190 DJ show), Robert Kennedy was shot and killed in California and KLIF started playing somber classical music; "Good Times" missed its release date.

Track listing

Side 1

 Larry and the Blue Notes: "In and Out" (L. Slater/L. Roquemore)
 The Buccaneers: "You Got What I Want" (M. Dallon) — rel. 1965
 Kit and the Outlaws: "Don't Tread on Me" (Kit Massengill)
 The Chants: "Hypnotized" (David Korfleet)
 The Visions: "Route 66" (Bobby Troup)
 The Esquires: "Judgment Day" (Horne/Snellings)
 The Four More: "Problem Child" — rel. 1966

Side 2
 Chaz & the Classics: "Girl of the 13th Hour" (C. Shian) — rel. 1966
 Terry & Tommy: "It Ain't No Good to Love Anybody"
 The By Fives: "I Saw You Walking"  (Williams/Stevens)
 The Staffs: "Another Love" (Raul Altamirano)
 Five of a Kind: "Never Again" (Wayne/Taylor)
 Nobody's Children: "Good Times" (Allen Schram)
 The Bourbons: "Of Old Approximately" (Lee) — rel. 1967

Pebbles (series) albums
1984 compilation albums
Music of Texas

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


On the published pictures you can see the key characters of the series "Game of thrones". We will remind, the first episode of the latest season will be released on April 14.
Fans of the series can't wait to again see favorite characters on the screens. It is assumed that the last season will be the most exciting.
British actress Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) has published in Instagram photo of her character. Many fans said that she looks flawless.
Clark also asked the fans whether they are ready for the new season.


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Report: Google's Daydream VR headset will cost $79
Google's Daydream virtual-reality platform will debut alongside new Pixel smartphones on Tuesday.
By Jason Cipriani | October 3, 2016 -- 20:59 GMT (13:59 PDT) | Topic: Google
Google's Daydream VR headset will cost $79.
Google on Tuesday is expected to announce a healthy list of hardware products at an event in San Francisco, Calif.
From two Pixel (not Nexus) smartphones to a Google Wi-Fi router, Google Home personal assistant, and 4K Chromecast devices, Google is also expected to announce its first Daydream virtual-reality headset.
According to a report from Variety, Google's Daydream VR headset will cost $79. Also worth noting is the headset will reportedly be manufactured by HTC, the same company rumored as the manufacturer of the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones.
Now, before you get too excited, keep in mind that price is in addition to the cost of the Pixel or Pixel XL smartphone required to use the headset. They'll presumably be the first two devices available with support for Google's Daydream VR platform.
Still, Google's Daydream platform will lower the barrier for those who want to experience virtual reality without purchasing a powerful gaming PC often required to run the HTC Vive or Oculus' VR dedicated headset.
Google first unveiled Daydream during Google I/O, its developer conference, in May 2016. The Daydream platform is built directly into Android 7.0 Nougat and will allow Android developers to build immersive apps and games.
Google's approach to VR with Daydream is similar to Samsung's Gear VR line, wherein a user places a compatible smartphone into a headset. The phone provides the display and computing power to drive the virtual-reality experience. Google is also requiring a handheld controller to move and interact within a virtual-reality app or experience, unlike Samsung's Gear VR headset, which relies on a trackpad on the side of the headset for interaction.
Google created a set of requirements, including specifications such as processor speed and display quality, which a device manufacturer must meet in order for a phone to be certified "Daydream-ready". ZTE's Axon 7, for example, is Daydream-ready and priced at just $399.
We will have a full report of everything announced during Google's hardware event, which kicks off Oct. 4 at 12 pm ET.
Mobile OS Cloud Mobility Enterprise Software Artificial Intelligence Hardware
Smartphone manufacturers have settled into a pretty regular rhythm of new phone releases, so we can look ahead and anticipate what will be launched in 2021. We have some strong rumors ...
Google removes Parler app from Play Store
Google cites the lack of content moderation on the platform and "ongoing and urgent public safety threat."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Film/TV Jun 29, 2000 at 4:00 am
Stretched Thin
Snakes, Funerals, and False Promises
Bruce Reid
ASKED IF THERE WAS any technical innovation he'd just as soon have missed out on, Alfred Hitchcock thought back over a career that spanned the introductions of sound, Technicolor, and 3-D, and answered, "So far, I never liked what is commonly referred to as the letterbox screen." This complaint has been lodged by other directors too, most famously and memorably Fritz Lang's sly remark in Contempt that the format is only appropriate for filming "snakes and funerals" (Contempt, needless to say, is a widescreen film); but artistic considerations never had a thing to do with expanding the screen.
It was about outshining television. In the silent-film era, a number of differently sized screens were employed, often by simply masking off part of the existing footage to highlight the scene's focus. A justly celebrated example comes from D. W. Griffith's Intolerance, where giant war towers attacking Babylon are isolated in a dazzlingly vertical image. But any act sufficiently repeated inevitably becomes formalized, and eventually such experiments were abandoned for a screen with the aspect ratio (that is, the ratio of the image's height to its width) of 1:1.33, which was soon declared standard by the Motion Picture Academy.
When television was invented, it was modeled on the same ratio; and when TV emerged as an economic challenge to film, studio executives strove to offer in a movie theater what the box in your living room couldn't. The simplest solution was to stretch out the image.
The irrelevance of screen size to artistic merit is proven by the Egyptian's week-long widescreen series: That distended rectangle is as capable of being filled by the dull pomposities of Dr. Zhivago and Ben-Hur or the rousing professionalism of The Great Escape as it is by the feverish, private dreamscapes of Solaris or The Thin Red Line (or anything by Nick Ray--a salute to widescreen that omits Ray is like a Cubist retrospective skipping Braque and Picasso). Hitchcock and Lang had cause for their reservations; but then bad directors can ruin any format, and a great director could probably make a riveting feature out of nothing but snakes and funerals.
Tags: Film/TV
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Farrah Abraham showed off her shape during a PrettyLittleThing photo shoot this week.
The Teen Mom OG vet was in a skimpy swimsuit that made the most of her shape after training hard in 2018 for a boxing match that never happened.
But California environmentalists may not be too happy with the single mother's shoot as she picked a poppy and also walked on the blossoms when in Lake Elsinore, which has been overrun with tourists after unusually high rainfall this year.
The star was clearly deep in the poppy field, leaving her footprint.
The area has been forced to close its public viewing of a super bloom of poppies after being overrun by tens of thousands of flower-crazed tourists trying to get the best Instagram photos.
Authorities in the city of Lake Elsinore closed access to Walker Canyon in early March after 'Disneyland size crowds' flocked to the area and caused huge traffic jams on nearby highways.
The super bloom of wild flowers, which is a result of extremely heavy winter rainfall, has resulted in the hillside being completely covered in bright orange poppies over the last two weeks.
Tens of thousands of tourists have been spotted posing and lying among the scores of flowers for their photos.
Lake Elsinore, California, has been overrun by poppies and people. And now Pretty Little Thing.
The blossoms, a rare occurrence caused by high rainfall, has been attracting hordes of selfie-seekers. So it's not surprising that an enterprising fashion company would soon follow suit to capitalize on the beautiful scene.
Pretty Little Thing pounced on the opportunity and put Farrah Abraham in a leopard print one-piece for a campaign. Unfortunately, you can't get this exact piece quite yet, but keep an eagle eye out for it because we're sure that it will drop soon.
In the meantime, check out our roundup of leopard-print one-pieces below. We found bargains by Ardene, & Other Stories, Boohoo and & Other Stories.
The color of the poppies is so vivid it can be seen from mountain tops hundreds of feet above.
But when Farrah did her shoot among the poppies, there seemed to be no people around.
The reality TV sensation had on a leopard print one piece that rode high on her hips and showed off her bottom.
Her highlighted hair was worn down and she had on layers of dramatic makeup including red lipstick.


text:
Who Gets to Define Identity: An Open Letter
July 28, 2017 by Subvrtmag
The irony in seeking identity is that there will always be people who try to define it for you, when it's something that can be practically indefinable. Identity can be synonymous with the word label, except the word label suggests only one facet of someone's truth, and identity suggests a multi-faceted, multi-layered, and interchangeable truth. My hope is that one day, people will recognise that a lot of the time, trying to justify your existence is futile, and that existing is all that needs to be done.
Marsha P. Johnson. Source: Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival
Being born and raised in the United States, I've come to understand that there's something powerful about identity, which is why people will try to claim it from you. I think the idea of knowing and living your truth is admirable to those who respect it, but intimidating to those who don't understand it. For those who respect it, this is why we band together to create holidays and celebrations, such as June being Pride month in the United States, and celebrating the month of your astrological sign. But when people don't understand your truth or even fear your truth, the first thing that they'll do is question why you should have that truth. My advice to the world is not to fall for that! That's the first step others take to claim your identity. Any response that you give, whether it's a big 'Screw You', or a passionate statement as to why you're a human being, is giving them the power to take that from you. Now, if people are genuinely interested or do want to understand, then go for it, give them insight. But if you can tell that people are questioning your truth out of wilful ignorance, being unbothered is a way to reclaim that power.
An example of someone who lived her truth by claiming her identity from naysayers is Marsha P. Johnson, an activist from the 60's, and one of the most important icons of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. She was an African American transgender artist, and one of the co-founders of the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries activist organisation. The 'P' in her name was claimed to stand for 'Pay it no mind', as that was often her answer for when people questioned either what it stood for, or what her sexuality and gender were. She was also a performer who participated in drag balls and other performances. In the book Gender Outlaws The Next Generation by Kate Bornstein, a few friends described her as a transformer. She would get on her train from home dressed as a man, and would fully transform into a woman when she got off at her destination, and no one would bother her about it. She was admired and loved by those who knew and respected her truth. The Stonewall Riots of 1969, located at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village New York, were multiple protests against the brutality of the queer community by police officers. Johnson is known as the first person to physically rebel against police forces, stating, "I got my civil rights!" Since then, she was active in the Stonewall demonstrations, as well as the organisation of queer activist groups. Johnson passed on July 6, 1992 at the age of 46 in what has been ruled as a suicide, despite the extremely suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
Marsha P. Johnson. Source: http://caravantooz.com
I say all of this because the fact is, whether people like it or not, communities will always continue to exist. While it is true that the attack on certain identities can socially and economically affect them, ultimately, it doesn't matter what the next person says, because these identities have existed since the dawn of human existence, and will continue to exist. And when people recognise that, that's when they expand in numbers. So in a sense, it doesn't matter if people think your lifestyle is ethically wrong, because that lifestyle will continue to exist. It doesn't matter what stereotypes people try to tack on you, because if they don't align up with your identity, then they don't exist. Yes, people will think your cultural practices are some form of default on your part, but some things aren't for them to understand. And all of this is referring to the obvious candidates, which includes, but aren't limited to, anyone who is subjected to the very real effects of a white heteronormative society.
Gay rights activists Sylvia Ray Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, Jane Vercaine, Barbara Deming, Kady Vandeurs, and Carol Grosberg at City Hall rally for gay rights. Image by Diana Davies.
The last thing I want to mention is that what I'm explaining isn't always black and white. There are nuances. I want to remind everyone that despite this very destructive reality of questioning an individual's identity, it is in human nature for people to question each other's truth, because it is human nature to want to understand their place in their society amongst others. The point is to take another's power to harmfully question your truth, and to define it for yourself. That's how communities thrive and remain strong.
Written by Zo V. Fielder
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Subvrtmag
1 thought on "Who Gets to Define Identity: An Open Letter"
Life4eva says:
This article points to the fact that the only truth one can truly wish or hope to observe is one's own. We can never think to know another's truth, but we can respect and simply allow slows to listen and follow their inner truth. Thanks for sharing this great Truth Subvrtmag.
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John Legend to headline Greek Theatre LA with supporting act Gallant
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Sandra Burciaga Olinger |
Pixies announce two LA dates at Theatre at Ace and Fox Theater
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U2 Announce Joshua Tree Tour with Los Angele date at Rose Bowl
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Father John Misty set to Headline the El Rey as Part of FYF's Pre Festival Gigs
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Flume adds second Los Angeles date at Shrine Expo Hall
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Visiting Palawan is a dream vacation and most probably on top of every Filipino's bucket list to experience this grand paradise dwelling in the Last Frontier of the Philippines.
This world class tourist destination is no longer new to me as I have been in the island for several times. In fact I made some noted works in the southern part of the island during the height of my course in Environmental Science and Ecosystem Management.
But during those days, I spent little time for leisure and wandering to enjoy the beauty of the place and it did not even cross my mind to look around as I was 100% focused on my job documenting the soil profile of the mountains of Espanola. Living in the area was just like any ordinary "probinsya" days way back in 2007 until I saw the pictures of my friends who'd been in the beautiful spots of Palawan that made me feel a little bit jealous.
Recently, while scrolling down on my emails I found a notification from a local flight carrier reminding me of my scheduled flight bound for Puerto Princesa. I almost forgot the reservation I made almost a year ago. It was timely that it coincides with my 2nd quarter home leave from work in Mindanao ,so I took the chance to have some bit of good vacation and splurge a little.I decided to chase El Nido since I have never been there for recreation purposes.
From Butuan I took a connecting flight bound for Manila then to Puerto Princesa. At the airport, I was picked up by Fort Wally servicing van for Php 700.00 that sent me off to El Nido. The ride lasted for about an approximately four hours before we reach the talked about town. It was good to see that the road to El Nido is almost 90% finished which made the long trip a little bit comfortable.
Reaching the terminal I took a tricycle and requested for a quick round in the town. I asked the driver's suggestion for a good and cheap accommodation. I requested that it should be away from the crowded center of the town.
We drove a kilometer towards the small barangay of Curong Curong and inquired on some available resorts. At the end of the haggling with managers and attendants I decided to settle with Telesfora BeachResort (click).
I took a little rest and hit back the town proper or poblacion and had my dinner at Sea Slugs Bar and Resto along the "aplaya". Curious about the night life of El Nido, I searched for the famous Art Café and hangout a little with some tourists with a bottle of beer while listening to the jazz music played by a band. The place is a hit among travelers and serves as a common spot for you to meet other travelers either foreigners or locals. When the clock hit 11pm, I decided to retire back to Telesfora Resort. Thank God, tricycle service in town operates 24 hours.
It was June 13 and I don't know if the accident that happened the night before has something to do with the number. A ferry boat MV Josille 2 by Atienza Shipping Lines sunk when one of the engines died and battered by big waves and crushed into one of the rocky island of Pagawanin in Bacuit Bay, El Nido. The incident left 5 passenger and crew dead and 65 carabaos on board perished and dozens of passengers injured took refuge in Tent Island. All island tours scheduled that day were cancelled as boatmen assisted the PPA and Philippine coastguard in rescuing the victims.
Our tour facilitator, to which I made an arrangement, kept on negotiating with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for us to have an island tour even on the nearest spot.But with no luck, the PCG disapproved all requests made by all Island Tour Facilitators. With this unfortunate event, Kuya Ramil of CAERA Travel and Tours suggested of having an inland tour instead.
Accompanied by other 5 guests, we hit the rode bound for Nacpan Beach. With the Habagat hitting the west coast of the Philippines, we experienced a heavy scattered rain . Reaching Nacpan, we take a temporary shelter on a nearby house that happened to be a close relative of our tour guide.
With no other option, we cooked our food in the temporary shelter and had a delicious marinara lunch. The food prepared by our tour guides was superb. I finished at least 5 crabs and it think I consume more than the other guests as I lost count of sumptuous food I put into my mouth .Hahaha. It could have been better it we had it on the beach.
After the rain stopped, we stroll along the beach of Nacpan. The whole coast have a pale milky white coral sand. The cove was simply beautiful and very serene with no other visitors wandering on the beach other than us. We took the opportunity to enjoy the beach and had some picture taking for the next 30 minutes.
Coming from Nacpan Beach, it took us only less than a few minutes to reach the jump-off point going to Nagkalit kalit waterfalls. According to our guide we have to trek going up to reach the falls. I made a little stretching as this off the book activity caught me off guard for a long distance walking tour. We started walking at almost 3:00 PM.
Though unprepared, I enjoyed the trekking part as we encounter farm animals along the trail . We even have to cross countless springs and rivers.
After an hour of endless walking, we reached the falls. For some who have not seen falls before would be amazed with this discovery but for me who have been to dozens of gargantum waterfalls in Mindanao like Tinuy-an and Tinago, the almost 15 feet Nagkalit kalit falls would be just a regular spring falls compared to the falls mentioned.
Nevertheless, I joined the group taking a dip into the cool water of Nagkalit kalit to freshen up from the tiring hike we did. After a few minutes, we decided to descend back to the jump-off point as the day started to darken.
We arrived back to El Nido aplaya just in time for dinner. I had a full blast meal at Sea Slug for less than Php200.00.
Visiting the beautiful limestone islands and white beaches of El Nido was my primary goal for my 2nd quarter vacation away from Mindanao for the year 2012. It was a blessed day as the Philippine Coast Guard lifted the ban of pumpboats from taking guests to the island due to the recent accident/tragedy happened in Bacuit Bay.
Together with all foreigner guests and travelers, we set sail to our most anticipated island tour. We were all in the Package A Island Tour which costs Php 700.00 per head.
Travel time from the town proper is 20 mins by tricycle or air con van. A local guide is needed and it takes an hour hike/trek to Nagkalit-kalit waterfalls through under forest area and cool off with a dip in the refreshing, cascading waters.
Makinit Hot Spring 20 km. north of El Nido, 45 mins drive away from the town. You can feel the therapeutic warm water with smoke oozing out from the water.
Beautiful beach, clear water best for snorkelling, swimming, sun bathing, peaceful place, panoramic view, long beach.
Traveling to El Nido is now easier compare to previous years. There are now atleast 3 entry points to reach El Nido.
Direct flight from Manila to El Nido.
There are a couple of airline company that have a direct flight to El Nido like ITI and SEA Air so it won't be too hassle in your part traveling by land.Though this option is a little expesive.
There are direct scheduled flights daily from several airline to Puerto Princesa, Palawan . From the airport you have options to get to El Nido.
1. Van For Hire- There are several van for hire company in PP. One is Fort Wally that has a shuttle service terminal in the city. The fare per head is Php 700.00 that includes airport pick up.
2. Commute from PP to El Nido- If you are traveling alone or by two and would like to venture on traveling by public, you can take a tricycle from the airport and head to city proper ( Rizal St.), -fare is Php15-30. From Rizal St. take a multicab type jeepney bound for San Jose Terminal Bus Station, fare is Php15.00. At San Jose, there are several buses bound for El Nido, but I suggest to take the RORO airconditioned bus, fare is Php 380.00. Interval is every two hours.
If you happen to be in Coron, Palawan, there are scheduled ferry boat trips everyday directly bound for El Nido to Coron and vice versa. This is managed by Montenegro Shipping Lines.
El Nido is one of the best tourist destination in the Philippines. Thanks for the info's, I think I should run through out the post to have an idea about the place.


I've always dreamt of being an "industrialist". Unlimited capital, applied to projects of my choosing, transforming the world as we know it for the betterment of mankind… and then life intervened. But, thank goodness for KickStarter. Since I discovered KickStarter a couple years back, I've had the pleasure of investing in a few projects.
I've backed simple things that I like, such as the domekit.cc because they improved on a couple of designs that I pioneered. Then I invested in the InkShield, because I'm pretty sure this will help make 3D powder printing cheaper/easier some day.
I like this form of investing. It allows me to lay out small amounts of money, less than $1,000 and get something in return, and possibly fund a new startup.
My latest funding effort is going to be the Teensy 3.0. Then Teensy is a tiny little dev board that contains a 32 bit ARM Cortex-M4 CPU. You can look at the kickstarter to get all the fabulous details. What's so special about this device? Well, first of all, the Teensy can run 'Arduino' code, which is good for all those Arduino hackers out there in the world. It can act as a USB client device, which means if you want to do automated testing, you could program this thing to be a mouse or keyboard, plug it into your machine, and have at it. But wait, there's more. It's got IO pins up the wazoo! It's got A/D and D/A, with at least 13-bit usable resolution. You can overclock the thing to 96Mhz, which will make it useful for some things, like generating audio if you like. It's got timers, SPI, I2C, I2S, IR modulator, touch sensor inputs. What more could you ask for in a $22 package!! Forget the 8-bit Arduino at $35. This is a much better starting point for many projects.
One of the cool things is you can program it in straight C, which is one of my platform choices.
I can imagine teaming this little thing with a Raspberry Pi for some awesome real world interaction.
One odd curiosity that's in the device is a real authentic ethernet hardware address. what's the big deal? Well, having an ethernet MAC address is necessary to do any sort of IP based networking. Although this is not a cryptographically secure means of having an identity, it's certainly a start. Assuming the user has not changed the MAC address, you can use this little bit of information to identify the device, which might come in handy for some applications.
It might be very interesting to have some nice simple crypto routines readily available for this thing, possibly written in some nice tight assembly?
There are tons of other little boards that I've purchased and played with over the years. These are a few of my most recent favorites. It strikes me that with the capability and low price points that we're seeing these days, my software efforts are going to increasingly be about connecting these small specialized modules together in interesting ways, rather than trying to build giant monolithic systems.


14K Yellow Gold or Sterling Silver - pictured - medical ID ankle bracelet anklet.
Displays a medical alert symbol on an oval shaped plaque.
9 inch (22.86 cm) anklet includes choice of cable, figure 8, curb, figaro or mariner chain.


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British Athletics Championships 2019 Review
Aug 28, 2019 Nov 18, 2020 ~ Grounded Runner
The 2019 Müller British Athletics Championships was set for explosive action. Many athletes were racing not only for their country's highest accolades. A place on the Great Britain team for the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha in a months' time was also up for grabs. The surprisingly hot and windy conditions at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham made qualifying times and positions even harder.
Butchart Regains his 5K Title
After injury ruled Andrew Butchart out of the 2018 British Athletics Championships, he wanted to show his class in the 5,000m. Despite not running hard from the start, Butchart made a decisive (possibly pre-planned) long kick for the finish line with two and a half laps to go. Butchart's impressive 2:28 last kilometre meant he finished in 13:54.29. He was the only man to run under fourteen minutes. Knowing that he had booked himself a spot at the World Championships, the Scot even showed off to the camera before officially claiming the title.
McColgan Claims First British Title
The race was even more emphatically won in the women's 5,000m. Eilish McColgan dominated the race from the start, forging a sizable lead within the first lap. Perhaps, knowing that competitors such as Laura Weightman and Melissa Courtney were not at their best, McColgan ran a superb race alone. She never looked behind her shoulder. It was a gutsy performance and gave the 28-year-old her first British 5k title in a time of 15:21.38. It was more than fourteen seconds ahead of Jessica Judd in second place.
Lively Sprinters Show Remarkable Quality
Expectations were high for Dina Asher-Smith, who has run so consistently well throughout the Diamond League season. She comfortably won her semi-final in 11.03 then broke her own Championship record from the previous year to record 10.96 and retain her 100m British title. Her dominant performance reminds her competitors to watch out in Doha.
After relative disappointment for Adam Gemili at narrowly missing out on the gold medal in the 100m men's final, he came blasting out of the blocks for the 200m final. After the bend, Gemili maintained a strong arm drive, quick leg turnover and relaxed posture to comfortably win the title in a new championship record of 20.08. His huge grin showed how ecstatic (and most likely relieved) he was with such an outstanding performance, one that he so richly deserves.
Matthew Hudson-Smith also shone in his home city by clocking a season's best of 45.15 and winning the 400m title comfortably. Despite recent injuries he is peaking at the right time for an opportunity to excel in Qatar's capital.
There were so many outstanding performances over the sunny Bank Holiday weekend. But with the World Championships so close, athletes will either have to finish their last training or find another race to attempt to qualify for the event. There is still a lot more running to do before Britain can feel confident they can podium on one of the biggest stages of all.
Posted in Race Reviews athleticsBritishChampionshiprunnerssprintersUK
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