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Q: Generic error when trying to save data we have just experienced a weird error on our applications connecting to a clustered Sql Server 2000: both our .NET applications (ADO.NET) and C++ (ADO) application get an error which we cannot explain.
All the applications can connect to the database, can read data from it but cannot write data on it, receiving a "Generic network error" (I've translated from the Italian message). After several trials, we tried to switch the services from one node to the other, and this seems to have solved the problem.
Still no one is able to figure out what happened and why; is there anybody who is able to explain to me?
Thanks in advance
Marco

EDIT:
Just in case it happens to someone else: we found out that the computer didn't have the last version of MDAC (2.8 SP1). It's very likely that the customer reinstalled the computer and didn't update Windows: when we ran Windows Update, the problem magically (from the customer point of view...) was fixed.
We don't know exactly which version of MDAC was installed, but could have been 2.6 or less, since I know our applications have problems with older versions of MDAC.

A: Applied any updates recently?
I have seen something similar on later versions of SQLServer so I would have a look at the security access to the server etc as I don't think they all replicate from system to system.


Get a rain gauge to measure how much rain has fallen. You don't need anything fancy, even a small metal can will do the job.
Determine the proper irrigation schedule based on your particular lawn. For established lawns, it's better if the irrigation system is programmed for one or two long, slow waterings a week. This encourages deep root growth, producing more drought tolerant turf. Newly seeded or sodded lawns need more frequent and shorter waterings until the blades of grass develop.
Water at the right time. Program your irrigation system to go off overnight when the evaporation rate is lowest, the winds are lightest and the water pressure is the greatest. If you do this just once or twice a week you won't have any problems with brown patch, a lawn fungus that thrives in moist conditions and can kill grass.
Watch the forecast. If rain is in the forecast turn your system off. You can always turn it back on in a day or two if needed.
Don't over-water! Too much of a good thing is bad in this case. When you over-water you waste water and money. Plus the excess water creates runoff that carries lawn chemicals; clippings and sediment into nearby storm drains polluting our drinking water supply.
It's not difficult to Do Your Part while letting the irrigation system care for your lawn. With a few small changes you'll reduce your eco-footprint when you start wasting less water.


The Allentown Rescue Mission would like to invite you to a wonderful Christmas Gift wrapping Party! We will be wrapping gifts for the men here at the Allentown Rescue Mission! So if you're good at wrapping gifts and you want to share your joy for it, please sign up! Also a great way to get into the Holiday spirit! Come join in our fun as we wrap the day away!!
As we get ready for our annual Christmas Wrapping Party on December 15th and we will be using a TON of wrapping paper. So we are looking for rolls of wrapping paper, rolls of tape, even if you have a tape dispensers you do not use anymore that would be helpful for volunteers to wrap away.


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What is a provisional patent application (PPA)?
/Patent Applications /What is a provisional patent application (PPA)?
What is a provisional patent application?
A utility patent, and not a design patent, is the end goal of a provisional patent application. As implied by its name, filing a "provisional" application alone will not get you a utility patent. It is a temporary placeholder that requires you to follow up with a timely non-provisional application.
What do you get by filing a provisional?
You get a filing date and, thus, patent-pending status. The public will not know exactly what is covered in your filing during patent-pending status because provisional applications are not published. Provisional applications are made accessible to the public only if the applicant follows up with a non-provisional application which becomes published around 18 months from the priority date.
The filing date of your provisional serves as a priority date which will benefit your subsequently-filed patent applications that include a priority claim.
A provisional gives you patent-pending status for one year. If file a non-provisional application within 12 months of your provisional filing date, your non-provisional application will get the benefit of your earlier provisional filing date.
One major caveat is that the non-provisional application gets the benefit of the earlier priority date only to the extent of the subject matter that was included in the provisional application. Any new subject matter added to the non-provisional application will get the later non-provisional filing date.
Why file a provisional patent application?
Two of the most compelling reasons for filing provisional applications are speed and costs.
Filing a provisional application quickly
In the race to the Patent Office, speed matters. You want to get the earliest possible filing date so that other patent applications will not be used against you as prior art.
If you're contemplating international patent protection, you must secure a patent filing date prior to any public disclosures. So if you're thinking of disclosing your concept at an upcoming trade show or product launch, promptly filing a provisional application gives you a filing date before your invention is disclosed to the public.
Filing a provisional application inexpensively
Costs for provisional applications vary widely, depending upon how much drafting is required from a patent attorney/agent. "You get what you pay for" is generally true of provisional applications – don't expect to get the full write-up of a non-provisional for the price of a provisional.
When would it be appropriate to file provisional patent applications?
It may make sense to file provisional patent applications under the following circumstances:
cannot yet afford a non-provisional application
product development will undergo multiple iterations with new features being continually added
upcoming trade show
upcoming product launch
upcoming meeting with potential buyers, investors, customers, vendors, partners, hires
concern over competitors applying for similar patents
potential prior art accumulating each day you postpone filing a patent application (e.g., competitors launching similar products)
Will the Patent Office review my provisional application?
No, provisional applications are not reviewed by the USPTO. Non-provisional applications are reviewed. After a non-provisional application is filed, a patent examiner may review your provisional to see if certain claimed subject matter was disclosed in the provisional in order to give the claim an earlier effective date (so that potential prior art with a later date can't be used against you).
How to write a provisional patent application
There are no strict formats or rules regarding the content of a provisional application. You can include a combination of written text and visuals (e.g., sketches, photos, drawings, diagrams, etc.). Unlike a non-provisional application, a provisional patent application does not have to adhere to any requirements. The most important objective of the provisional application is to disclose your invention thoroughly by providing sufficient details to support your subsequent non-provisional application.
What are key deadlines to calendar after filing a provisional?
A provisional patent application expires in 12 months. Therefore, provisional patent applicants must remember to file a non-provisional application within one year of the provisional filing date. This 12-month deadline also applies to any desired international patent applications. A provisional patent application cannot be extended or renewed.
Here's a helpful USPTO guide on provisional patent applications.
What are risks of filing provisional patent applications?
If you're writing a provisional patent application, one big risk is that you might leave out certain details that will need to be added later in a subsequent provisional or non-provisional application. This omission of details will affect your priority date since new matter added to a subsequent filing will not the benefit of the earlier filing date of the provisional application.
If a provisional application is scant on details, the value of the filing may be marginal. So keep in mind that the value of a provisional application will depend on the content included in the filing.
Why not file a non-provisional patent application in the first place?
A non-provisional application is expensive. Non-provisional applications must follow a strict format and include claims that are proper not only in form, but also in substance. The way claims are drafted differs drastically from the way your invention is described through the rest of the written specification. If your claims are too narrow, you may end up with a worthless patent. If your written specification is deficient, you won't be able to claim features which were omitted from your description.
Tagged:nonprovisionalPPAprovisional patent applicationutility patent

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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← Will they rid themselves of this meddlesome manager?
The Alameda Two →
The best disinfectant
Want to know what decisions Council made at its lengthy closed-session meeting Monday about the future employment of City Manager Jill Keimach and the prospect of litigation arising from Ms. Keimach's allegations of illegal interference by Council members Jim Oddie and Malia Vella in her selection of a new fire chief?
Want to know who voted which way on what issues?
Well, good luck.
The Merry-Go-Round obtained the formal written announcement about the closed session and followed up with City Clerk Lara Weisiger and City Attorney Janet Kern. As a result, we can report two facts: Council voted, 5-0 (i.e., with Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella participating) to "release on Wednesday 5/2 the investigative report compiled by Michael Jenkins," and it voted, again 5-0, to "instruct the City Attorney to refer the audio recordings [presumably, those made by Ms. Keimach of her conversation(s) with Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella] to the Alameda County District Attorney."
Beyond that the situation gets murky.
According to the written announcement and our follow-up emails with Ms. Weisiger and Ms. Kern:
Council voted, 5-0, to "g[i]ve direction to staff on one item";
With Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella marked as "absent" – the written announcement states that the two "left the meeting at 10:32 p.m. and returned at 10:43 p.m." – Council voted, 3-0, "to give direction to staff" on a second item;
With Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella this time participating and voting in favor, Council voted, 3-2, to give "direction to staff" on a third item. (Mayor Trish Spencer supplied the third affirmative vote).
The first two decisions were listed under the "anticipated litigation" agenda item; the last, under the "public employee performance evaluation; public employee release/dismissal" agenda item.
But what "direction" did Council vote to give to staff in any of these three instances?
And what was the proposed action debated and voted on after Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella went on their break?
Your guess, as they say, is as good as ours.
But that shouldn't be the case.
Begin with the basics. Article 1, section 3 of the state constitution declares: "The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny."
Likewise, the Brown Act sets forth the basic rule: "All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter."
State law thus makes open meetings the norm. The Brown Act recognizes exceptional circumstances in which a closed session may be held, but they are just that – exceptions, and, as the League of California Cities has stated, "Courts and the California Attorney General usually broadly construe the Brown Act in favor of greater public access and narrowly construe exemptions to its general rules."
Moreover, the Act requires that, when a closed session is held, the legislative body "shall publicly report any action taken in closed session and the vote or abstention on that action of every member present." For certain decisions, the Act prescribes the minimum information that must be disclosed – e.g., for employment actions, the public report "shall identify the title of the position" – but it does not address what, if any, additional facts should be provided.
The City's Sunshine Ordinance mirrors the Brown Act, but it goes further in the direction of disclosure in several ways. Of particular note, the ordinance provides that, "After every closed session, a policy body may in its discretion and in the public interest, disclose to the public any portion of its discussion that is not confidential under federal or state law, the Charter, or non-waivable privilege."
In practice, the written announcements made after a closed-session Council meeting in Alameda frequently state only, as the April 16 one did, that Council "gave direction" to staff. In response to our inquiry, Ms. Kern elaborated this way:
The City's practice has been to report out votes that are taken, even though the substance of the matter cannot be publicly announced due to such things as employee confidentiality requirements or inappropriate disclosure of litigation strategy. In such instances, the report out typically and accurately is "Direction to Staff".
To which we say: Okay, fine. That kind of reporting may be "typical" and "accurate." It may even be sufficient to meet the requirements of state and local law. But the Brown Act does not prohibit divulging more information than the Act specifically mandates, and the Sunshine Ordinance explicitly authorizes disclosure "in the public interest." And there may be cases where good reasons exist for exceeding the minimum set by the statute and exercising the discretion conferred by the ordinance.
This is one of them.
Absent a substantive official report, those who attended the closed session on April 16 will be free to leak to their favorite bloggers or reporters their own version of what decisions Council made. (Or have their allies leak it for them.) Even where no leaks occur, partisans on both sides will be able to make up any story that fits their preconceived narrative without fear of being contradicted by the public record. And in this age of social media, these "alternate facts" can be spread, embroidered, and repeated so extensively that a goodly chunk of the populace – at least those on Twitter or Facebook – may come to believe they're true. Even Mark Zuckerberg now appears willing to admit as much.
We've already seen this phenomenon in the spate of posts and comments about Ms. Keimach's recording of her conversation with Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella: As far as we know, none of the bloggers or commenters actually has heard the tape, but that hasn't stopped a slew of them from asserting with certainty what its contents are and whose position it favors. And speculation quickly devolves into sophistry. Just yesterday, for example, readers of the Alameda Patch were told that it was the recording made by Ms. Keimach, rather than the alleged illegal interference by Mr. Oddie and Ms. Vella, that was the subject of the investigative report by Mr. Jenkins.
Moreover, both Ms. Keimach and Ms. Vella already have spoken or posted publicly about the allegations of illegal interference, the former to reiterate them, the latter to deny them and to disparage the citizens who came to the podium during the public-comment portion of the April 16 meeting. (By comparison, Mr. Oddie has kept relatively mum – as, at least recently, has Alameda firefighters' union president Jeff DelBono.) Neither of these interested parties would seem to have any legitimate expectation that information about Council decisions relating to the charges will (or should) remain confidential.
In short, veiling the disclosure about the April 16 closed-session meeting in vagueness serves no one's interest, on either side, and certainly not the public interest. If we want Alamedans to be able to hold their elected representatives accountable for their actions, those officials ought to reveal the substance of the decisions they make outside the public eye. And if those decisions consist of "giving direction" to staff, they ought to divulge exactly what they told staff to do.
It's time to rip away the curtain and let the sun shine in.
April 16, 2018 closed session: 2018-04-16 CC closed session agenda; 2018-04-16 CS Announcement
Brown Act: Open-Public-2016
Sunshine Ordinance: Alameda Municipal Code, Article VIII (Sunshine Ordinance)
This entry was posted in City Hall, Firefighters and tagged Brown Act, Janet Kern, Jeff DelBono, Jill Keimach, Jim Oddie, Lara Weisiger, Malia Vella, Sunshine Ordinance, Trish Spencer. Bookmark the permalink.
32 Responses to The best disinfectant
Bierwith Catherine says:
Forces are trying to shift the story from wrongdoing by Vella and Oddie to wrongdoing by Keimach. In order to do that, Keimach needs to be painted as a dishonest and unstable person. The story is also being shifted from the firefighter lobby to the landlord lobby. This is a struggle over who gets to create the truth. It is a battle over honor and that makes it especially dangerous. City Hall is so consumed with its own internal problems that it has little left over for the problems of the community. It is an out of control mess that will hurt all of us, and, in the end, yield no winners.
Given Jill Keimach's overwhelming and unqualified support so far from our own city department heads, our police chief, and municipalities outside Alameda; impugning her integrity will be difficult. Frankly, there is no other way to expose back room shady dealing [or sexual harassment for that matter] other than making such recordings. City manager discussing city business with elected city officials on city time in a city office–all of which is funded by city taxpayers: The city taxpayers should be understood to be legitimate parties to such conversations, whether we are present or not!
Paul Foreman says:
Although I have no direct knowledge, I have reason to believe that his has already been referred to the County Grand Jury. Since they operate in secret, it is not knowable unless and until they actually file a report. A filing may be initiated by any citizen of Alameda.
The speaker who impressed me most at Monday's meeting was the former City Manager. (I think his name was Norton, but not sure). What he said was that whatever Oddie and Vella did with regard to trying to influence the selection of a fire chief, should be considered a "rookie mistake". Ms. Keimach should be reinstated and the parties put this behind them.
I put that together with the remarks of the two union folks complaining that Mis Keimach should have dealt with her complaint internally. While in general I thought these two gentlemen's remarks were mean spirited and inappropriate, I do think that there is a kernel of truth in this one point.
Ms. Keimach"s Oct. 2 letter was addressed to City Council does not demand the removal of Oddie and Vella from Council. On the contrary, in the last paragraph, it seeks to, "…put these past several months behind us and move together as a team…" Thus, I must ask why Ms. Keimach chose to go public with this matter?
She could have called for a closed meeting of Council under several different exceptions to the Brown Act and presented this letter internally. If she was not happy with the response, she could still have gone public with her complaint.
By going public she created the very scenario that the last paragraph of her letter seeks to avoid. Had she followed the internal course she would still be our working City Manager. Oddie and Vella would have been put on notice and rebuked in front of their peers and the City Attorney.
I admit to Monday morning quarterbacking and argues against transparency as being paramount in every case, but maybe there is a lesson to be learned here.
I worked hard to defeat Ms. Vella in 2016 and will not be supporting Mr. Oddie in 2018, but, I still wonder whether all of this could not have been handled without all the drama and vindictiveness. Just, a thought. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am.
OK. Paul, I think you need to go to the beginning to understand why the CM would go public.I am not privy to any special info, but back in Oct 2017, it seemed our new CM had never received even her first performance evaluation. As was mentioned by several knowledgeable speakers, this is not human resources best practices. That evaluation appeared to be waiting on who she selected as fire chief. The CM, a 30+ year veteran of public service, probably heard the train coming down the tracks and did not want to be railroaded. According to Keimach, she did follow the "internal course" by informing the city attorney about her concerns, before and after the recorded meeting. Now the veracity of the city attorney has been called into question. Under the relevant code section, Keimach had the right to convert that closed session into an open hearing, and requested it. If you read the correspondence from the city attorney attached to the closed session agenda, our city attorney appears to deny her that right and comes off quite defensive.
in other related news, https://www.pe.com/2018/04/17/riverside-city-manager-john-russo-fired-by-city-council/
Carol, I have no idea whether the taped meeting was before or after the Oct 2 letter. My point is that the letter addressed to City Council was entirely appropriate, but I question the wisdom and appropriateness of going public with it without giving Council the opportunity to respond to it in a closed session.
Obviously I was not in Ms Keimach's shoes and operating under the stres she must been feeling. However, I think my question as to why she did not initially pursue this internally is a legitimate one. I am sure she had a reason, but we have not heard it.
Karen Miller says:
Who is Michael Jenkins and how is he qualified to have done the investigation?
It's not clear that they forwarded the interference claim. It sounds to me that they forwarded the tape recording to the DA.Two VERY different things!
Seems as if there is a new development. John Russo(our former CM) was fired last night from his CM job in Riverside. He is the one responsible for giving the AFD the big pension packages prior to his leaving Alameda. Rumor has it that he has been courting certain Alameda officials for a job here for weeks. Maybe there is even more to this story than we know!!
Denise Lai says:
Why isn't our city referring the actions by elected council members Oddie and Vella, wherein they interfered (attempted to influence) city management decisions, to the DA or a Grand Jury? Grand Jury would be more useful as DA O'Malley is known to avoid investigating municipal crimes (probably bc it means indicting her downline political support system, but I wouldn't know for sure why she doesn't, but she. does not.).
barbara thomas says:
I have yet to be positively impressed with City Attorney Kern, she certainly has no concept of litigation and its purposes and bends over backwards to make payouts to avoid it. I think it is time that we do that which the City of Oakland did: establish an elected City Attorney (first was Russo), and a strong Mayor government (Jerry Brown). Any investigation by the DA should include whether or not Vella and Oddie were merely harping the discordant fire fighters when they referenced "hiring the union choice would avoid another Raymond Zack incident" or whether they made that comment up themselves. (Not quoting verbatim as only have read the leaked versions.) If they were merely "harping," the identify of these firefighters should be made known to management, and the firefighters disciplined.
Barbara, A strong mayor and strong councilmembers who would actually be responsible for a city department might work better, but an elected City Attorney is not a good idea. That position requires as much distance from politics as possible.
As an Alameda citizen who has had personal experience with a past Alameda city attorney [Highsmith] who violated my fourth amendment rights by invading my property without due process, seizing it and never reimbursing me for the loss–and then leaving town for employment with another jurisdiction, I think an elected City Attorney is a great idea. It would increase accountability in city government. Frankly, I am surprised at Mr. Foreman's positions–aren't you a Sunshine Commission representative? Your comments here seem to advocate more secrecy in government, not less.
i am on the Open Government Comission and certainly support transparency in most instances. I supported release of the Jenkins Report and also wrote to Council maintaining that their noticing of the closed meeting was inadequate. However I believe that there are instances where the transparency required by the Brown Act actually leads to disfunctional government.
My major issue with the Act is the prohibition of any informal communication between council members in excess of two. It is interesting to me that neither the Governor nor the legislature are subject to this restriction. Why should a municipal legisllature be more restricted? Good government is the art of compromise and consensus building. The Brown Act forbids it and establishes rules that treat each councilmember as an island who can only discuss his thoughts with one of his peers, except at a public meeting immediately before a vote. As a result we get bad government and a lack of any working relationship between councilmembers with divergent views.
Notwithstanding my issues with parts of the Brown Act I will fully enforce it so long as I sit on the Commision.
Catherine Bierwith says:
Agreed! However, with an elected City Attorney, we could very well end up with someone financed by the Unions and be worse off! With an honest City Council, they could appoint an HONEST City Attorney.
Paul, why would Jill Keimach walk into a closed meeting with the mayor and council after being told that they had the votes to fire her for not complying with the union's choice of fire chief? Without seeing the investigative report, it is hard to comment as to why Jill Keimach acted the way that she did. But look at it this way. She is a very successful local administrator. She went to UCB as both an undergraduate and graduate. She spent her entire professional career in the East Bay and lives in Berkeley. She obviously has deep roots here. There is no indication that she acted the way that she did in an illogical manner. The letter of support that she received from the former mayor of Moraga is exceptional. So, assuming that she is not a madwoman or a thief, why would she behave the way that she did unless she felt immediately threatened? Should the position of city manager declare that whoever takes the position have experience with baseball bat like city politics? That Alameda's genteel image does not extend beyond real estate ads? The stress of having to deal with this situation and deal with it in the public spotlight is hard to imagine.
Steve, you make a very cogent point that answers my question as to why she went public. If Jill's job security was only threatened by Oddie and Vella she could use the internal process. However she knew that there was a third vote against her totally unrelated to the hiring of the fire chief and that an alliance could be formed to oust her. As they say, politics makes strange bedfellows.
The CC WILL fire her! It will now be our job to take them on misusing Public Funds as it will cost MILLIONS and years to settle. We can't afford this. Jill has been available for MEDIATION–why are they NOT going that route!??
Maybe this will indeed bankrupt Alameda and we can once and for all get rid of this FF Union and its enormous unfunded vested liability.
The CC should not be able to fire her as council members Oddie and Vella should not be allowed to vote on this issue.
When it comes to motive, no one is mentioning the primary one which Jill herself stated. She did it for the good of the City. Think about it. She is old enough to retire, she's at the top of her profession, she has a flawless track record. She doesn't strike me as power-hungry or greedy. Who better to expose corruption, even if she has to fall on her sword to do it? Except for Rob Wonder and Bill Norton, Alameda has had a history of CMs with questionable behavior. The best was B Ray Fritz, who actually went to San Quentin–but only after Alameda High School went on strike over him. Reading the Riverside case about Russo was very instructive. Some people said their mayor was crazy to sue the city over his insane salary–but…it worked.
Call me crazy, but I believe there are still some public servants who actually serve the public.
And Jill Keimach's firing is again on the agenda for May 1st.
https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3482254&GUID=19A8B509-39D2-4A41-99EF-DE2DC214491D
Wonder who will run for Mayor with the ability to manage the crazy team.
Sent from my iPhone. Pardon typos and errors.
While the Council as a whole can make decisions about the report and what to disclose out of its closed sessions, in practical terms, the Councilmembers who were recorded, alone, hold some important keys to the recording. There may be a status quo or non-disclosure agreement currently in place covering the recording for now. If not, the risk of litigation from a Councilmember (or perhaps a third person) over the recording, would likely have the same effect. (According to the East Bay Express, in fact, Assemblyman Bonta has threatened litigation concerning a recording that he suspects was made of a phone call he made to Keimach). It is in that sense that the Councilmembers hold the keys to the recording. Were they to call for its release, the most obvious risks would dissipate.
If the recording stays under wraps – by agreement or operation of risk aversion – until a court can determine finally the applicability of PC 632 & 633.5, that could be quite a long time. And it may be forever if Ms. Keimach sees it in her personal interest to trade non-disclosure of the recording for consideration – either from the recorded Councilmembers or the City (i.e. a majority of the Council). Resistance to disclosure, however, is not the only approach.
The Councilmembers may come out of this looking better in the long run if they publicly call for release of the recording. At a minimum, one hopes that the Councilmembers have enough trust in Alameda voters not to fear release of the recording because it may contain a slip of the tongue or two. Most people are forgiving of that type of thing and slips of the tongue are not always as harmful as feared. Sometimes just the opposite! Voters may greatly appreciate the way in which the Councilmembers handled themselves with a City Manager that some have deeply criticized.
The recent East Bay Express story quoting others (Assemblyman Bonta, Local 689) who suspect Keimach of other recordings makes her look like a real recording fiend (almost anthropological in scope, perhaps destined for the field recording section at the Smithsonian). Maybe that is true (and it would seem that the public's interest in those other alleged recordings is not quite the same). However, were the Councilmembers to call for release of the recording in question that would hardly create an incentive for others to go down Keimach's path. Deserved or not, her current position, including having the matter referred to the D.A., hardly seems enviable.
There may be third parties whose rights are implicated by the recording, which would weigh against calling for its release. But, so far, no such claim has been made.
Not sure how we get accountability without an elected City Attorney. In 1989 we had one City Attorney who has serious litigation experience. Our City Attorney has a staff of 5, and still comes up with "legal" opinions that, at least according to columns in this blog, are way off the law. Perhaps someone can explain to me why the City would pay out millions in a lawsuit, for example, a physician who drowned after driving off the boat launch (that I swam from many times as a kid) without conducting any discovery? (legalese for finding out the facts and legal theories that the other side would be relying upon) What kind of attorney does that? One with a blank checkbook and no controls, from the 4 "lawyers" on the council? Don't recall how they voted, but neither you nor I Paul, nor Mr. Sullwold, would have authorized this.
Levy v. City of Santa Monica (2004) 114 Cal.App.4th 1252, describes rules pertinent to Keimach's claim that certain Councilmembers violated the Charter (in any actionable sense) under the First Amendment. Applied here (in essentially a factual vacuum), Levy's interpretation of the First Amendment would protect advocacy for a fire chief candidate (even though it is an "attempt to influence" the City Manager's selection), so long as it did not cross a line between advocacy and, say, an order (constructive or express, e.g. "I will vote to fire you unless you choose X to be fire chief").
But Levy does not just leave it there. It continues, "There are better ways to discourage improper conduct. "Under our system of government, counterargument and education are the weapons available to expose these matters, not abridgment of the rights of free speech."
It would be ironic if the original legal questions concerning Charter section 7-3 were resolved with an invocation of Councilmembers' right to free speech on public matters, but the public ended up with less than full disclosure of what that free speech actually was. That may be a perfectly legal result in this case. But "counterargument and education" in the upcoming election based on fully disclosed facts would be far, far preferable to "counterargument and education" focused on the who's, how's and why's of facts being suppressed.
NONE of this matters. Our council WILL fire her in 9 days. In my humble opinion, IT WILL BE A MASSIVE MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS!
Keeping her, no matter the situation, would amount to about $575k to let her finish her contract. Compare that to the INEVITABLE LAWSUIT to come! $3mm in lost earnings+ litigation fees+ 3 years. $6-7mm is a MASSIVE MISUSE of taxpayer dollars.
You may be right that Ms. Keimach's contract will be terminated in 9 days and that it will cost us what you predict. Saying we should keep her "no matter the situation", however, seems to go too far. The best way to avoid poor decisionmaking in the remainder of this case, and (more importantly perhaps) in our city's future, is to communicate an expectation of full disclosure of all the facts to the public and that there will be political consequences if that expectation is not met. Otherwise, it might as well not matter.
One of the chief lessons of this fiasco, is that Oddie and Vella have very poor judgment in personnel decisions. They should not allowed to participate in hiring or firing council employees. Add Oddie's resort to the Bankruptcy Court for salvation from his lack of financial acuity in his own private life. What kind of people have we entrusted with representing the citizens of Alameda? This puts in issue Rob Bonta's judgment as well, as these are two of his "Babies". We have to do better.
Donald Sterling, former owner of the LA Clippers, spewed racism (in his home), but was tape recorded by his (former) friend, V. Stiviano. TMZ broadcast it leading to the NBA banishing Sterling. Many, if not most, in the public agreed with the NBA's decision, believing that racism has no place in the NBA. Sterling then sued Stiviano for the taping and TMZ for publishing it in Los Angeles County Superior Court (Case No. BC590575).
The Superior Court quickly dismissed Sterlings claims against TMZ (on an Anti-SLAPP motion). Substantively, the First Amendment protected TMZ's publication of the tape and, in addition, TMZ did not violate Penal Code section 632: "TMZ did not 'eavesdrop' or 'record' his conversation; rather, Stiviano made the recording. 'Penal Code section 632 does not prohibit the disclosure of information gathered in violation of its terms' [citation omitted]".
According to press accounts, Assemblyman Bonta, if not others, have threatened litigation over the recording(s). Calling that a Donald Sterling strategy might be unfair, as this is surely a different case. Publication might avoid that perception and, at the same time, reduce the settlement leverage, if any, created by the tape.


text:
Q: want to store images to gridfs from a given URL Is it possible to store images to mongo GridFS directly form URL, which I get from API? or I have to store it locally and then insert it into mongo?
I tried to insert directly from URL, but C# driver gave me an error that URI is not supported..

A: The MongoGridFS class implements .NET's stream API so you should be able to use a MemoryStream to save the web response and insert into GridFS.
try
{
    var server = MongoServer.Create("mongodb://192.168.1.8:27017/imgdb?safe=true");
    var db = server.GetDatabase("imgdb");

    string fileName = "logo-mongodb.png";

    // Get image from URL or API
    WebRequest req = WebRequest.Create("http://media.mongodb.org/" + fileName);
    WebResponse response = req.GetResponse();
    Console.WriteLine("Response length is " + response.ContentLength + " bytes");

    // Copy from WebResponse to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream memStream;
    using (Stream responseStream = response.GetResponseStream())
    {
        memStream = new MemoryStream();

        byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
        int byteCount;
        do
        {
            byteCount = responseStream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
            memStream.Write(buffer, 0, byteCount);
        } while (byteCount > 0);
        responseStream.Close();
    }

    // Reset to beginning of stream
    memStream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);

    // Save to GridFS
    var gridFsInfo = db.GridFS.Upload(memStream, fileName);

    // Success!
    Console.WriteLine("Success!");
}
catch (Exception err)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: "+err.Message);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Choose which iframe to display using javascript if-else Ive been trying to write a webpage that chooses which iframe to display using javascript if-else statements, but cannot seem to get it working... Any help appreciated!
<!DOCTYPE html>

.;

.;


Welcome to Koe Wetzel's first-ever festival.
Koe Wetzel is a Pittsburg, Texas, native who has spent the last several years selling out show after show as his Texas Rock and Roll message has spread throughout and beyond the Lone Star State. In just a short amount of time he has launched himself to the forefront of the iconic Texas/Red Dirt Music Scene, and even beyond that.
Now he's throwing his own music festival just down the road from his hometown. join koe and his friends saturday, march 23, at darden harvest park (next to the cannery) in lindale for a day you'll never forget.
In conjunction with Radio Texas, LIVE! with Buddy Logan, Koe Wetzel's Incredible Music Festival promises to be everything Koe Wetzel fans would expect out of a Koe Wetzel event — full of loud, killer tunes, lots to eat, drink and do, and of course, a good ole East Texas time.
For the first year Koe is bringing three fellow acts with him to take the stage — Parker McCollum, JB and the Moonshine Band (of Tyler) and Lindale native Chris Colston.
we'll see you march 23.
TICKETS: $25 General Admission, VIP tickets are sold out. Price increases by $10 at the gate (if not sold out).
AGE RESTRICTION: This is an all-ages show.
Yes, there will be GA tickets for sale at the gate, but the price will increase $10 (to $35) for day of the show. Online sales will end at 6:00 PM Friday, March 22.
If you have VIP tickets, you can park on-site next to the festival. When you arrive show your tickets to the parking attendant and you will be directed where to park. If you have GA tickets you can park at Lindale High School (920 E Hubbard St, Lindale, TX 75771) and take the free shuttle to the festival. There is also parking throughout downtown Lindale and it's a short walk to the event. The address for the event is Darden Harvest Park - 202 Cannery Row, Lindale TX 75771.
CAN YOU BRING CHAIRS & BLANKETS?
Yes. Keep in mind that we will have a designated area in general admission where chairs will not be allowed to offer more people the opportunity to stand and be close to the stage. This will be in addition to chairs not being allowed in front area of VIP. There will be plenty of room for VIP and non-VIPs to have chairs with great views of the stage, however.
WHAT CAN YOU NOT BRING?
Outside food or drinks, weapons, drugs, coolers and bad attitudes. There will be food and drink options for sale at the festival.
CAN YOU COME AND GO FROM THE FESTIVAL?
This is a rain or shine event. In the case of severe weather public officials, festival promoters and the bands will decide what is the safest option.


The working group of the German Association for Operations Research on logistics and transportation meets on May16th & 17th 2019 in Aachen, Germany. The host of this year's meeting is INFORM Institut für Operations Research and Management GmbH located in Aachen. For registration please fill out the registration form. Hope to meet you in Aachen soon.
Ph.D. Course on Choice-Based Optimization at Hamburg University 22nd to 25th of July 2019. The course is organized by the German Academic Association for Business Research within the ProDok PhD course program.
Starting from March, 1st. 2019, I am a tenured University Professor for Business Analytics in the Information and Operations Management Department at European University Viadrina. Truly looking forward to starting this new endeavor. I am excited about meeting new students and new colleagues in a vibrant teaching and research environment.


text:
Q: (Shiny) "ERROR: [on_request_read] parse error" Goal: I would like for the user to upload their own data frame, specify the columns in their data frame that provide "Name", "Longitude", and "Latitude" data, then create a table using DataTable (DT package).
Issue: The data frame appears on the render table after the user makes the selections, but when they attempt to sort each column or interact with the data, or even change a selection for "Name", "Longitude", or "Latitude", the following error message appears on the console:
ERROR: [on_request_read] parse error

Here's my code for the ui and server pages I have (note: I am using dashboardPage for layout):
Reproducible Example
ui <- dashboardPage(

  dashboardHeader(title = "Test") ,

  dashboardSidebar(
    sidebarMenu(
      menuItem("Selections", tabName = "selections"),
      menuItem("Data Table", tabName = "dataTable")
    )
  ),

  dashboardBody(
    tabItems(
      tabItem(
        tabName = "selections",
        selectInput("mapChoice",
                    label = "Choose a map:",
                    choices = c("",
                                "New Map from Data Table"),
                    selected = ""),

        conditionalPanel("input.mapChoice == 'New Map from Data Table'",
          fileInput("userData",
                    label = "Choose CSV File",
                    accept=c('text/csv',
                             'text/comma-separated-values,text/plain',
                             '.csv')),

          uiOutput("newMapUI")
        ),
        ###############################################
        # Bookmark widget
        shinyURL.ui(width = "400px")
        ###############################################
      ),

      tabItem(
        tabName = "dataTable",
        DT::dataTableOutput("table")
      )
    )
  )

  )

server <- function(input, output, session) {
  ############################################################
  # Add in function for saving and recording urls as bookmarks
  shinyURL.server(session)
  ############################################################

  userData <- reactive({

    path <- input$userData

    if (is.null(path))
      return (NULL)

    results <- read.csv(file = path$datapath,
                        header = TRUE,
                        stringsAsFactors = FALSE)
    results

  })

  output$newMapUI <- renderUI({

    list(

      # Specify the column for labeling
      if (!is.null(userData())) {
        selectizeInput("nameCol",
                       label = "Choose the column to be used for
                       point labels: ",
                       choices = c(names(userData())),
                       multiple = TRUE,
                       options = list(placeholder = 'Name',
                                      maxItems = 1))
      },

      # Specify longitude column
      if (!is.null(userData())) {
        selectizeInput("lonCol",
                       label = "Choose the column containing longitude
                       values: ",
                       choices = c(names(userData())),
                       multiple = TRUE,
                       options = list(placeholder = 'Longitude',
                                      maxItems = 1))
      },
      # Specify latitude column
      if (!is.null(userData())) {
        selectizeInput("latCol",
                       label = "Choose the column conatining latitude
                       values: ",
                       choices = c(names(userData())),
                       multiple = TRUE,
                       options = list(placeholder = 'Latitude',
                                      maxItems = 1))
      }

    )

  })

  nameCol <- reactive({
    as.character(input$nameCol)
  })

  lonCol <- reactive({
    as.character(input$lonCol)
  })

  latCol <- reactive({
    as.character(input$latCol)
  })

  newUserData <- reactive({

    if (is.null(userData()))
      return (NULL)

    # Create the new data frame:
    if (length(nameCol()) != 0 &&
        length(lonCol()) != 0 &&
        length(latCol()) != 0) {

      userData <- userData()

      name <- nameCol()
      lonCol <- lonCol()
      latCol <- latCol()

      results <- data.frame(Name = userData[, name],
                            Longitude = userData[, lonCol],
                            Latitude = userData[, latCol])

      results$Name <- as.character(results$Name)
      results$Longitude <- as.numeric(results$Longitude)
      results$Latitude <- as.numeric(results$Latitude)

    }

    results

  })

  mapData <- reactive({

    data <- data.frame()

    if (input$mapChoice == "New Map from Data Table") {

      if (length(nameCol()) != 0 &&
          length(lonCol()) != 0 &&
          length(latCol() != 0)) {
        data <- newUserData()
      }
    }
      data
    })

  output$table <- DT::renderDataTable({

    datatable(mapData(),
              extensions = c('Buttons', 'FixedHeader', 'Scroller'),
              options = list(dom = 'Bfrtip',
                             buttons = list('copy', 'print',
                                            list(extend = 'csv',
                                                 filename = 'map data',
                                                 text = 'Download')
                             ),
                             scrollX = TRUE,
                             pageLength = nrow(mapData()),
                             fixedHeader = TRUE,
                             deferRender = FALSE,
                             scrollY = 400,
                             scroller = FALSE,
                             autowidth = TRUE
              )
    )

  }
  ) # End of table render

  }

shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)

Note: If I attempted to use this data for a plot, that will also not work. (Plotting the points on a map is my end goal).
Update1: For some dumb reason, this snippet app runs perfectly fine as expected, yet these lines of code are directly from my application. I will continue to update as more things occur.
Update2: After heavy searching and debugging, I finally caught the source of the error message via help of the js provided by the browser while running the app. The error is trying to use shinyURL in combination with DT and fileInput. My guess is that shinyURL is attempting to save a url, which is entirely too long for the browser, and which provides info that the user gave. In other words, it might be trying to save the fileInput data with the url info..? I'm adding the shinyURL function to the example above, so that it will provide the exact same error message I was stuck on. I don't need a solution immediately, but I am curious about what's really happening. (Lines that produce error are highlighted with ### above and below.

A: Solution
The issue was expected in my latest update, the combination of the user uploaded file and the interaction of the data frame in DT caused the URL generate by shinyURL to be entirely too long.
To find a work around that allows shinyURL to still be in the application, I did some investigating and discovered that DT output creates its own input objects such as input$tableId_rows_current, which tried to save all of the indices of the table every time the user interacted with. So, as soon as the data frame was too large, any interaction with it would pass a url query error, which showed up on the console in R Studio as ERROR [on_request_read] parse error.
Luckily, shinyURL also has an inherent way of ignoring user selected inputs. How? Just simply place a "." at the beginning of the input ID when creating new widgets. Or, in the case of DT table output, place a period at the beginning of your data table output ID, so that all of the inherent DT inputs are ignored.
Code Solution:
ui <- dashboardPage(

  dashboardHeader(title = "Test") ,

  dashboardSidebar(
    sidebarMenu(
      menuItem("Selections", tabName = "selections"),
      menuItem("Data Table", tabName = "dataTable")
    )
  ),

  dashboardBody(
    tabItems(
      tabItem(
        tabName = "selections",
        selectInput("mapChoice",
                    label = "Choose a map:",
                    choices = c("",
                                "New Map from Data Table"),
                    selected = ""),

        conditionalPanel("input.mapChoice == 'New Map from Data Table'",
#########################################################
# Add in a period before file input ID
#########################################################
          fileInput(".userData",
                    label = "Choose CSV File",
                    accept=c('text/csv',
                             'text/comma-separated-values,text/plain',
                             '.csv')),

          uiOutput("newMapUI")
        ),
        # # Bookmark widget
        shinyURL.ui(width = "400px")
      ),

      tabItem(
        tabName = "dataTable",
########################################################
# Add in a period before data table output ID
########################################################
        DT::dataTableOutput(".table")
      )
    )
  )

  )

server <- function(input, output, session) {

  # # Add in function for saving and recording urls as bookmarks
  shinyURL.server(session)

  userData <- reactive({

    path <- input$.userData

    if (is.null(path))
      return (NULL)

    results <- read.csv(file = path$datapath,
                        header = TRUE,
                        stringsAsFactors = FALSE)
    results

  })

  output$newMapUI <- renderUI({

    list(

      # Specify the column for labeling
      if (!is.null(userData())) {
        selectizeInput("nameCol",
                       label = "Choose the column to be used for
                       point labels: ",
                       choices = c(names(userData())),
                       multiple = TRUE,
                       options = list(placeholder = 'Name',
                                      maxItems = 1))
      },

      # Specify longitude column
      if (!is.null(userData())) {
        selectizeInput("lonCol",
                       label = "Choose the column containing longitude
                       values: ",
                       choices = c(names(userData())),
                       multiple = TRUE,
                       options = list(placeholder = 'Longitude',
                                      maxItems = 1))
      },
      # Specify latitude column
      if (!is.null(userData())) {
        selectizeInput("latCol",
                       label = "Choose the column conatining latitude
                       values: ",
                       choices = c(names(userData())),
                       multiple = TRUE,
                       options = list(placeholder = 'Latitude',
                                      maxItems = 1))
      }

    )

  })

  nameCol <- reactive({
    as.character(input$nameCol)
  })

  lonCol <- reactive({
    as.character(input$lonCol)
  })

  latCol <- reactive({
    as.character(input$latCol)
  })

  newUserData <- reactive({

    if (is.null(userData()))
      return (NULL)

    # Create the new data frame:
    if (length(nameCol()) != 0 &&
        length(lonCol()) != 0 &&
        length(latCol()) != 0) {

      userData <- userData()

      name <- nameCol()
      lonCol <- lonCol()
      latCol <- latCol()

      results <- data.frame(Name = userData[, name],
                            Longitude = userData[, lonCol],
                            Latitude = userData[, latCol])

      results$Name <- as.character(results$Name)
      results$Longitude <- as.numeric(results$Longitude)
      results$Latitude <- as.numeric(results$Latitude)

    }

    results

  })

  mapData <- reactive({

    data <- data.frame()

    if (input$mapChoice == "New Map from Data Table") {

      if (length(nameCol()) != 0 &&
          length(lonCol()) != 0 &&
          length(latCol() != 0)) {
        data <- newUserData()
      }
    }
      data
    })

  output$.table <- DT::renderDataTable({

    datatable(mapData(),
              extensions = c('Buttons', 'FixedHeader', 'Scroller'),
              options = list(dom = 'Bfrtip',
                             buttons = list('copy', 'print',
                                            list(extend = 'csv',
                                                 filename = 'map data',
                                                 text = 'Download')
                             ),
                             scrollX = TRUE,
                             pageLength = nrow(mapData()),
                             fixedHeader = TRUE,
                             deferRender = FALSE,
                             scrollY = 400,
                             scroller = FALSE,
                             autowidth = TRUE
              )
    )

  }
  ) # End of table render

  }

shinyApp(ui = ui, server = server)


Connor Fitzsimmons 24.05.1997 - 11.02.2016 We have been 3 years without you our beautiful boy - God has you in his arms and we have you forever in our hearts. Loved beyond words and missed beyond measure. Mum, Dad, Fostar, Callum and Maggie.
What will you miss most about Connor FITZSIMMONS?


text:
Immigration update: Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules
Home Insights News Immigration update: Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules
On 7 December 2017 the government announced changes to the Immigration Rules. Below is a summary of the main changes:
Changes to the points based system categories which will come into effect from 11 January 2018
Tier 2 (General)
Flexibility is being introduced to enable students to apply to switch to Tier 2 after their studies as soon as they have completed their courses. Currently non-PhD students cannot apply to switch within the UK until they have received their final results.
Exemptions from the Resident Labour Market Test are being added for posts to be held by researcher applicants who are recipients of supernumerary research Awards and Fellowships, and for established research team members sponsored by either a Higher Education Institution or a Research Council.
The start date for employment cannot be put back by more than 28 days after entry clearance or leave to remain has been granted, or the start date as stated on the Certificate of Sponsorship, if later. This provision clears up some ambiguity which existed when the provision was first introduced in the Tier 2 sponsor guidance.
Pay rates for health sector workers are being brought into line with pay scales in England and each of the devolved administrations, and consolidated in a new table.
Provision is being made to allow nurses to be sponsored under Tier 2 if they are undertaking an approved programme with a view to returning to practice.
A provision that is currently set out in the Sponsor Guidance is being incorporated, which restricts how far a migrant's start date may be put back before it becomes a prohibited change. The restriction now applies only to Tier 2 (General) Migrants, and only to any changes to start date which occur after leave has been granted.
Changes to indefinite leave to remain
The requirement to have had absences from the UK of no more than 180 days per year in order to qualify for settlement, which currently applies to main applicants, is being extended to partners of Points-Based System Migrants. This will not have retrospective effect and therefore will only apply to absences from the UK during periods of leave granted under the rules in place from 11 January 2018. In practice this means that dependants will need to maintain schedules of absences from the UK from 11 January 2018.
A change has been made to provide flexibility relating to how the end date of the continuous period for settlement is ascertained. This will be one of the following, whichever is most beneficial to the applicant:
The date of application;
The date of decision; or
Any date up to 28 days after the date of application
The job creation rules currently require jobs to have existed for at least 12 months during the applicant's most recent period of leave. A change is being made to enable applicants to apply even if their current leave was granted less than 12 months ago; in such cases the jobs must have existed for at least 12 months before the date of the current application.
Applicants will be asked to confirm the paid hours of the employees in jobs they created as well as the hourly rate, to reduce the possibility of calculation errors.
An amendment is being made to the requirement relating to Real Time Full Payment Submissions, to reflect the fact that these documents do not state the employment start date.
An amendment is being made to the requirements relating to job creation, so that the required evidence relates to the period before the applicant joined the business, rather than the period before jobs were created. This provides a clearer demonstration of the applicant's impact on the business.
Clarifications are being made to make clear that, where funds are currently held by another business, which is not the business the applicant is using to score points, that business is considered to be a third party providing funding.
Applicants relying on investment from a venture capital firm will now be required to also provide a letter from the firm confirming the date(s) the funds were transferred to the applicant or invested in their business and that the firm was registered with the Financial Conduct Authority at the time. This requirement is added to counter ongoing abuse relating to venture capital funding.
To prevent recycling of funds between applicants, a change is being made so that applicants cannot rely on funds or investment that have been provided by another Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant, or that migrant's business or close family member. Who is considered to be a close family member will depend on the facts in an individual application.
On 19 November 2015, Statement of Changes HC 535 introduced a requirement that investments made in the form of directors' loans must be evidenced through readily identifiable transactions in applicants' business bank statements. A change is being made so that this requirement only applies to investments made after 19 November 2015.
A provision is being removed because it contradicts the rule requiring applicants to be registered with Companies House within 6 months of the date the applicant entered the category. The removed provision requires that such registration has to be effected within 8 months of the same date.
A clarification is being made to the rule which excludes buying the business from its previous owner from being considered as a qualifying investment, to clarify that this means buying any business from its previous owner.
Minor amendments are being made to the requirements concerning format and contents of letters (used as evidence) for consistency.
Tier 1 (Investor)
Investors who entered the category before 6 November 2014 may rely on the un-mortgaged portion of their main home. Changes are being made to this provision to clarify that the property must be the applicant's main home, and also to provide, where the property is co-owned in a tenancy in common, that the investor's share, and only the investor's share, may count.
Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent)
The number of spaces available under this route will double from 1,000 to 2,000 per year.
the 1,000 extra spaces will be allocated according to need.
Those endorsed under the exceptional talent criteria will be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain after three years.
Simpler application process for applicants who hold specific peer reviewed fellowships or who have been appointed to senior academic or research posts.
Visitors cannot study at an academy or a school maintained by a Local Authority.
Criminal record certificates
Changes have been made to the wording relating to the obtaining of criminal record certificates, to say the certificates must be obtained from each country where the applicant has been present for 12 months or more in the last 10 years. The wording in the rules has changed from 'resident' to 'present' and therefore a person who has been present in a country for 12 months or more cumulatively over a 10 year period will need to apply for a criminal record certificate from that country.
Miscellaneous changes
Changes relating to electronic entry clearance
The Government proposes to commence issuing entry clearance in electronic form. This will initially be trialled with specified groups with a view to general introduction of entry clearance in electronic form at a subsequent date.
Applicants who hold an entry clearance issued in electronic form will not be required to present such an entry clearance to an Immigration Officer on arrival in the UK. The issue of such an entry clearance will be checked electronically.
Nicolas Rollason
Partner and Head of Department
nrollason@kingsleynapley.co.uk
News Alert - Katie Newbury
Brexit - Phase 1 citizens' rights alert
KN Global immigration update - November 2017
Benjamin Sookia
Brexit: Latest proposals for EU citizens living in the UK
Kim Vowden


text:
Michael Lerner, PhD
Death and Dying: Lessons from the Commonweal Cancer Help Program
~Co-presented with the Coastal Health Alliance~
Over the past 26 years, Commonweal has offered more than 150 week-long retreats for people with cancer though the Commonweal Cancer Help Program. Many participants find the experience transformative. Conversations about death and dying are a core part of the retreats. The basic premise is that talking about death and dying in circles of trust can bring more vitality to living—and improve the likelihood of a better death for all concerned.
Michael has found these conversations and stories to be central to his work and life as the co-leader of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program for the past 26 years. Join Michael, and special musical guests Tim Weed and Debbie Daly, as he shares his insights from the program—an interactive dialogue with him as well as some of the friends, staff and alumni of the program.
End-of-Life Conversations, Healing Circles
Cancer, Dying, Healing, Health, Inner Life
Michael is the president and co-founder of Commonweal and of Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, D.C. His principle work at Commonweal is with the Cancer Help Program, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment, and The New School at Commonweal. He is author of Choices in Healing: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Therapies (MIT Press). His core interest is in the ways of being and doing that make us whole and preserve this beautiful earth that is our inheritance.
1 James Morris
Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man 0
Sunita Puri
That Good Night: On Dignity, Suffering, and the Role of Medicine in Life's Eleventh Hour
BJ Miller and Michael Lerner
Dying and Living in A Plague Year
The Trip Treatment: New Research on the Healing Properties of Psychedelics
Betsy MacGregor, MD
In Awe of Being Human
Angeles Arrien, PhD
Nothing Special: The Mystery of Everyday Life
Lynn Willeford
Small Is Beautiful: Building Volunteer Circles of Mutual Support on South Whidbey
Steve Heilig
The Modern Evolution of Death
Shodo Harada Roshi
The Calligraphy of Emptiness, The Zen of Dying


text:
Israel: Palestinian Rights Committee Hears Call for Israel to Be Held to Account for Violations against Children during Gaza Conflict
Committe on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,
369th Meeting (PM)
General Assembly | Meetings Coverage
The top Palestinian diplomat at the United Nations this afternoon called on the Organization to include Israel's army among the parties that committed grave violations against children during armed conflict, and to hold it accountable for attacks last year on United Nations-run schools sheltering civilians in Gaza.
"We appeal to all those involved including [Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict] Leila Zerrougui to include Israel on the list and to not cave to pressure to exclude Israel," Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, told a meeting of the Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. He also appealed to the Committee's Chairman to speak to the Secretary-General's senior aides on the matter.
Mr. Mansour was referring to the Secretary-General's next annual report on children and armed conflict, due in June, which would include an annex listing parties that recruit or use children, kill or maim children, commit rape and other forms of sexual violence against children or engage in attacks on schools and/or hospitals in situations of armed conflict on the Council's agenda.
Israel, Mr. Mansour said, qualified to be on the list as deliberate attacks on more than 270 schools and 75 health centres in Gaza last July and August had left at least 540 Palestinian children dead and 3,000 injured. Adding that more than 400,000 Palestinian children still suffered from the traumatic effects of the war, he called it a clear example of the occupying Power's collective punishment against Gaza's 1.8 million residents — of which half were children.
"Those are human beings; they deserve justice and therefore accountability should be addressed by the Secretary-General, the Security Council and all those that respect the lives of human beings," Mr. Mansour said. Many of those killed were civilians sheltering in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
"The United Nations has to make sure that when they raise the flag over their facilities, then people should be granted protection," he said. He thanked Jordan's Permanent Representative for facilitating talks on the matter during her country's term as Council President in April and said he would continue to work with her on the matter.
Mr. Mansour also expressed frustration over the slow pace of international aid for Gaza's reconstruction. He said that, during the Council's 21 April debate on the Palestinian question and other Middle East issues, the situation in Gaza was scrutinized extensively. Frank statements were made on the challenges on the ground in Gaza, and the need for Israel to lift its blockade on the enclave and permit the entry of promised funds for rebuilding, which remained in "the realm of promises not in the realm of implementation".
Similarly, on the West Bank, Mr. Mansour said: "We do not see significant or noticeable improvement in East Jerusalem, or the so-called Area C or of the miserable situation in the Gaza Strip."
He also voiced dismay over the Council's failure to adopt a resolution setting a timeframe to end the occupation and create a Palestinian State within pre-1967 borders. Such a text must also set the basis for a political settlement and just resolution for Palestinian refugees, as well as create a new mechanism for "serious negotiations between us and the Israelis" involving all relevant Arab countries that could influence the talks in a positive way, he said.
If "one superpower holding a veto" in the Council failed to accept such a text, then he proposed the holding of an international conference to implement the Arab Peace Initiative, he said, stressing that "this one country is holding things close to their chest, saying they are reassessing and re-evaluating, but they are not telling us much more".
Nevertheless, he welcomed the French Foreign Minister's announcement that his delegation would take the lead and New Zealand's role in that regard.
The Director of the UNRWA New York Office, Richard Wright, also took the floor, noting that today marked the sixty-fifth anniversary of the commencement of its operations.
Since its inception, UNRWA had made huge efforts to build the human capital of Palestine refugee population, he said. But, huge challenges remained, notably the growing gap between needed and available resources, particularly for confronting emergencies in Syria and Gaza. On 2 June, he announced, the Agency would hold a high-level conference entitled "UNRWA@65".
"The tone we wish to convey is that, if UNRWA is to continue to act as a stabilizing factor, then it has to be backed and supported to continue the work it has done over the last 65 years until a just and lasting solution is found to the Palestine refugee issue in accordance with United Nations resolutions," Mr. Wright said. He expressed hope for a simple and short outcome document of agreed conclusions.
The conference would feature a morning plenary session and two panel afternoon discussions, including one on protection challenges for vulnerable groups, such as children, people with disabilities, youth and women, and another on Palestine refugees in armed conflict. Six Palestinian refugees from Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria would participate.
Also addressing the Conference would be the Secretary-General and General Assembly President, Jordan's Foreign Minister, European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Assistance, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden and Turkey's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, among other senior officials, Mr. Wright said. The top three UNRWA donors — the United States, Saudi Arabia and the European Union — and key hosts Jordan and Palestine had been invited to speak, as had all United Nations Member States and Observers, as well as non-governmental organizations.
Briefing on recent developments, Fodé Seck (Senegal) Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, said that 1 April was a historic day, as the State of Palestine had become a State party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The same day, Nikolay Mladenov replaced Robert Serry as the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority.
A subsidiary body of the General Assembly, the Committee is mandated to support Palestinian rights, the peace process towards a two-State solution based on pre-1967 borders and a just resolution of all final status issues. Established in 1975, it also mobilizes aid for Palestinians.
Mr. Seck said he delivered a statement during the Council's 21 April open debate, as well as during the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People, held in Vienna from 31 March to 1 April.
Wilfried Emvula (Namibia), Committee Vice-Chair, provided a summary of the Vienna seminar, saying its theme of "speeding up relief, recovery and reconstruction in post-war Gaza" was timely, given the slow pace of reconstruction and the mounting frustration of the Gaza population. The structural problems of the blockade, Gaza's housing and environmental crisis and its energy and water deficit, which were threatening the very viability of the enclave, were also discussed.
The seminar generated considerable interest, he said, with officials of 49 Governments, the European Union, League of Arab States, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), 12 United Nations agencies and 27 non-governmental organizations in attendance.
The Committee also approved the provisional programme for the United Nations Round Table on the Legal Aspects of the Question of Palestine, scheduled for 20 to 22 May in The Hague. The event, to be held in a closed, invitation-only format, would aim to explore legal ways and means to support achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, as well as efforts to build the State of Palestine's capacity in the context of its recent accession to the International Criminal Court.
The Committee, in addition, welcomed the arrival of the new Permanent Representatives of Pakistan, Malaysia and Sri Lanka to the United Nations. Noting that Sri Lanka headed the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, and that Malaysia was a member, Mr. Mansour said the new ambassadors would be an important addition to the Committee's work and the search for justice for the Palestinian people.
Also today, the Committee, on the recommendation of its Working Group, approved the applications of three non-governmental organizations seeking accreditation for participation in its activities: Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center of Ramallah; the Youth Vision Society of Gaza; and UFree Network of Norway, as an observer.
For information media. Not an official record.
Labels: Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Middle East Conflict, OPT, War Crimes


It's rare for an angler to finish 19th in the first round of a major tournament and end up totally setting the buzz for the event.
It's rarer still for that angler to seem totally satisfied with his performance.
But after catching 21 pounds, 4 ounces of smallmouth bass and placing 19th Thursday, Brandon Palaniuk seemed to sense he was closing in on the goal he set before this week's Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship — and that was to win his first career AOY title.
His 19th-place finish on Mille Lacs Lake — combined with a 26th-place finish by his closest AOY competitor Jason Christie (20-8) and a ninth-place showing by Tennessee pro Jacob Wheeler (22-10) — kept Palaniuk in the AOY lead by a margin of 22 points.
The three-time B.A.S.S. winner from Hayden, Idaho, is now just two more solid days away from the biggest accomplishment of his pro-fishing career.
Palaniuk started near the launch site at Eddy's Resort, but he rarely stayed in one spot long as he culled his way up to 21-4.
Though there was some talk during practice that the fishing at Mille Lacs had slowed down a little since it burst onto the national scene during last year's AOY Championship, the lake showed out again Thursday. It was ranked No. 1 in the nation on Bassmaster Magazine's 100 Best Bass Lakes list this year.
The Top 29 anglers — more than half of the 50-man field — caught at least 20-4, and only four anglers failed to break 15-0.
Christie, who came into the day trailing Palaniuk by 15 points in the AOY Standings (811-796) caught 20-8 and finished 26th in the daily standings. He actually lost ground in the AOY race and is now trailing Palaniuk by 22 points, 903-881.
Christie said he weighed in five fish that were in the 4 1/2-pound range — and he was glad to have them.
Wheeler's ninth-place finish left him 23 points back of Palaniuk, but it moved him to within one point of Christie (881-880) in the race for second place.
"This is exactly what I needed," Wheeler said. "A lot of people have been saying this is a two-man race between Brandon and Jason. But realistically, if you have one bad day on this lake, you're in 40th place.
Alabama angler Dustin Connell finished 24th Thursday with 20-9 and took the lead in the Toyota Bassmaster Rookie of the Year standings with 765 total points. New York pro Jamie Hartman fell to second, and despite finishing in 48th place on the first day of competition is only one point behind with 764 for ROY.
Unlike the last two years, there will be prize money and a trophy awarded to the angler who has the best three-day weight during the AOY Championship.
Texas angler Keith Combs grabbed the early lead in that race Thursday with a bag of 24-15. Michigan angler Jonathon VanDam was second with 24-2, and Pennsylvania angler Dave Lefebre was third with 23-7.
The full field will fish again Friday and Sunday to determine the AOY Championship and the event winner. Daily takeoffs will be held each day at 6:50 a.m. CT from Eddy's Resort, and daily weigh-ins will be held at 3:45 p.m. at Grand Casino Mille Lacs.
The field will take a break Saturday for Bassmaster University. Anglers will be conducting seminars and greeting fans near the weigh-in stand at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in conjunction with the Bassmaster Elite Series Outdoors Expo. Companies such as Toyota, Huk, Power-Pole and Berkley will be onsite featuring their latest products. Fans will be able to enjoy free boat and motor demo rides from Skeeter, Yamaha, Nitro, Triton and Mercury. There will also be arts and crafts and food vendors and activities for kids.
All venues are free and open to the public. The expo will begin at 11 a.m. CT. For more information and a full list of activities, visit Bassmaster.com/news/attend-toyota-bassmaster-angler-year-championship.
The championship is hosted by Grand Casino Mille Lacs.


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Q: alert when script loaded I can load external scripts with this code:
newScript = document.createElement('script');
newScript.type = 'text/javascript';
newScript.src = 'http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.js';
document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(newScript);

But I looked this page: http://www.w3schools.com/jsref/event_onload.asp
And I tried my new code:
<script type="text/javascript">
newScript = document.createElement('script');
newScript.type = 'text/javascript';
newScript.onload = 'loaded();';
newScript.src = 'http://code.jquery.com/jquery-latest.js';
document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(newScript);

function loaded()
{
alert('The script is loaded');
}
</script>

But it dont worked. I want to get an alert when script is loaded

A: Change the line:
newScript.onload = 'loaded();';
To:
newScript.onload = loaded;


text:
FREEZING REIN Frigid temps can't stop hot Freestyle Reining at NWSS
Story & Photos by Lincoln Rogers | Parker, Colo.
Devin Warren and All About Stark took the spotlight and ran with iit on their way to a 224.5-point score and a tie for second place in the RAM Invitational Freestyle Reining competition at the 2013 NWSS.
Lincoln Rogers |
Judging by sell out crowds every year, the $15,000 RAM Invitational Freestyle Reining competition is one of the most popular events at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS). Despite outdoor thermometers complaining of near zero temps on January 12, five thousand people showed up to watch hotter-than-a-pistol action inside the NWSS Coors Events Center.
Eighteen reiners from Colorado and the surrounding region — including top-notch names like Aaron Ralston, Shane Brown, Drake Johnson, Devin Warren and the Schwartzenberger family — heated up the stock show arena, and the freestyle format allowed them to have fun with their routines by using popular music and high energy riding to wow the crowd. With one of the prizes being a People's Choice Award, earned by receiving the loudest cheers at the conclusion of the event, participants worked hard to make their rides memorable. As a result, routines were performed to popular music like Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Psy's "Gangnam Style," Keith Urban's "For You," Blake Shelton's "God Gave Me You," and even the timeless hymns "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art."
It wasn't just music that made the venue sizzle. Themes and costumes played a pivotal role as the riders warmed the cheering crowd with appearances by Shrek and Donkey, Lindsay Lohan on her way to another celebrity rehab, Steve McQueen from his movie Bullitt, pop star Psy and his crazy dance, the big, bad wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, a soldier wearing camo, a rider in fireman's gear and even Payton Manning leaving the Colts to become a Bronco.
Despite all the costumes, spotlights, fog machines and popular music, the major reason for the jam-packed stands and high decibel excitement was some of the best riding in the industry. When a final score of 220 plus is said to be good enough to win most freestyle competitions (210 points is considered average), it was notable to watch the scoreboard light up with eight scores of 220 plus. Those tallies are why riders call this contest one of the best in the U.S.
"We don't get to act this way in public and be rewarded for it," he revealed with a smile. "This event allows you to take the seriousness out of the daily grind when it comes to riding horses. To break free and have fun and express yourself, it's a great opportunity."
~ Aaron Ralston
"I don't know if our crowd really understands, (but) this is the best freestyle in the country," began popular Wray, Colo., contestant Drake Johnson, who came in fourth aboard Sonic Chic Dream with a routine set to "Amazing Grace." Johnson has won major freestyle contests throughout the country and is a perennial contender for the top spot in Denver. "There are eight to 10 horses every time that can compete at that high level," Johnson continued. "It's a lot deeper (field of riders) than you would get anywhere else."
"I would agree with that," said Guy Vernon, a trainer from Kiowa, Colo., who won the competition aboard Starlight N Peppy with 228.5 points to the music of "How Great Thou Art." "This is probably, if not the toughest one, one of the very toughest (freestyle competitions). You can pretty much win a lot of (competitions) with 219 points. I think 10th place here tonight was a 219 (note: ninth was 219).
Asked for his thoughts on riding Starlight N Peppy for the win, Vernon was happy to recall the ride.
"It just felt really good," he stated with his victory grin intact. "Everything I asked him to do, he just did and I don't think he's capable of doing it any better. I think that was 100 percent. He's very easy to ride and he's very physical and talented," added Vernon about the 6-year-old sorrel. "I was a little worried about changing leads on him, that was kind of the one thing that was hard for me. But it all worked out. Being out there was really fun."
The fun wasn't contained to the veteran competitors. Younger riders like Emily Emerson, a second year contestant who is a trainer with Shane Brown Performance Horses, also loved the high energy Stock Show atmosphere.
"All the screaming from all of the people … it was a blast," said Emerson after placing eighth in the contest with a solid 220 points aboard 10-year-old Shepherd Star. The duo did a Steve McQueen themed routine that showed off the horse's athleticism. "I just had the greatest time. This is the first freestyle (Shepherd Star) has ever done and he just took care of me," she added. "It was just exactly what I wanted."
The fans got exactly what they wanted, as well, when Aaron Ralston hit the arena. Ralston is a diverse horseman, winning everything from gold medals in reining to competitions in colt starting. When he made his entrance to the music of Psy's "Gangnam Style," the crowd cheered. They cheered louder the longer he rode, until the ovations threatened the tolerance of normal hearing. Although Ralston scored a zero due to not completing every required maneuver, the crowd rewarded his entertaining performance with the coveted People's Choice Award. Despite the zero, Ralston was happy to talk about the contest.
"It's probably more rewarding to be the People's Choice Award winner, however, it doesn't pay very good," responded Ralston with a laugh when congratulated afterward.
Asked about his score of zero, he readily responded.
"I only spun three and half turns instead of the regular four," he said with a modest grin. "I show in Reined Cow Horse a lot and it's always three and half or two and half, there. I just kind of got caught up in the moment," he explained about getting into his faux Psy character. "I was in the moment a little bit too much."
When discussing the environment of freestyle events, Ralston added a take about getting in costume and character.
Having a ticket to next year's $15,000 RAM Invitational Freestyle Reining competition would also be a great opportunity. And don't worry about the weather. The hottest reining action in the country will always out duel anything mother nature can throw its way. ❖


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Don't worry: Grant Morrison's Dinosaurs vs. Aliens won't be a silent movie
We're beyond excited for Grant Morrison and Barry Sonnenfeld's prehistoric battle royale movie Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens. We got a few new details on the project while chatting with Sonnenfeld about his latest movie MIB3. Find out where this project is in Hollywood right now, and exactly how the audience is going to connect to with an extinct species of reptiles... who didn't talk.
We're so excited about Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens. How are you and Grant Morrison going to make non-human creatures relatable to the audience?
Barry Sonnenfeld: First, we have to sell the project. We're going out to LA in about 6 weeks with a pre-vis and our script, to see who wants to buy into it. We've already had lots of ideas. The aliens speak in a way [that] you can understand them. And the dinosaurs — they actually have a certain amount of culture, through grunts and doing stuff with their bodies and sticks. We believe that the Dinosaurs had culture. They didn't speak, but they did have other ways of communicating. It won't be a problem, and it will be pretty fantastic.
What kind of weapons do the dinosaurs have?
They actually a few weapons, they learn from the aliens. They're very smart — that's one of the things about the dinosaurs. That makes them possibly the way they really were. They have rudimentary things, but they learn as they go along from the aliens. You now know more than anyone else about this [movie].
aak7268
"They actually a few weapons, they learn from the aliens. They're very smart — that's one of the things about the dinosaurs. That makes them possibly the way they really were."
I...but...


Joan London came rather later to writing novels, but what she did she certainly packed a punch. She wrote two prize-winning collections of stories, Sister Ships, which won The Age Book of the Year in 1986, and Letter To Constantine, which won the Steele Rudd Award in 1994 and the Premier's Award for Fiction.
Then her first novel, Gilgamesh, was published in 2001 and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, as well as a host of other awards, and chosen as The Age Book of the Year for Fiction in 2002. It was also long-listed for the Orange Prize and the Dublin Impac. Gilgamesh has been published in Europe, the UK and the US, where it was a New York Times Notable Book in 2003, and an Editor's Choice Book.
So her second novel is The Good Parents, in which we meet 18 year Maya De Jong a country girl from Western Australia who arrives in Melbourne and starts an affair with her boss - a married man with a son and a dying wife. Her parents Toni and Jacob come to stay, and Maya has left her share house leaving no word.
Joan London joins Ramona Koval from the ABC studios in Perth.
Ramona Koval: Joan London came rather late to writing novels, but when she did she certainly packed a punch. She first wrote two prize-winning collections of stories, Sister Ships which won the Age Book of the Year in 1986, and then Letter to Constantine which won the Steele Rudd Award in 1994, and the Premier's Award for Fiction. So those are her short story credentials. Then her first novel Gilgamesh was published in 2001, short listed for the Miles Franklin as well as lots of other awards, chosen as Age Book of the Year for Fiction in 2002, long-listed for the Orange Prize and the Dublin IMPAC Award. It's been published all over the place, and it was a New York Times Notable Book in 2003 and an Editor's Choice book, so that's pretty damn good for your first novel.
Her second novel is The Good Parents in which we meed 18-year-old Maya, a country girl form Western Australia who arrives in Melbourne and starts an affair with her boss who is a married man, he's got a son and a dying wife. Her parents, Toni and Jacob, come to stay, and Maya has left her share house, leaving no word for them.
Joan London joins us from our ABC studio in Perth. Welcome to The Book Show, Joan.
Ramona Koval: Let's beginning by you reading to us from the very first part of The Good Parents. This is from a section called 'The Office'. This is how it begins. Read to us first.
Ramona Koval: What a noticer you are, Joan. We can all imagine ourselves right into that bathroom, we've been there before. You take notes when you go to the bathroom, clearly.
Joan London: No, but I did track down a building and go to the bathroom there and noticed what it was like and somehow transposed it to the story of Maya.
Ramona Koval: So when do you stop being haunted by your parents?
Joan London: I don't think you ever stop being haunted by your parents, but I think the haunting becomes a different sort of haunting from when you're 18 years old and you've just left home. I think they can return to you quite late in life. But I think also you see your parents in different ways over the years.
Ramona Koval: This is a story of a runaway girl. It's almost a folk tale, isn't it, the story of the runaway girl. Tell me some of the resonances of that story.
Joan London: It sort of occurred to me as I was well into the book that there's two runaway girls; there's Maya's mother Toni who years before also runs away from home, and I started to feel that there was a resonance of fairy tales about it, and I started to read Marina Warner's wonderful book From the Beast to the Blonde, and also Marie-Luise von Franz's book Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, and I found that actually it did have a lot of resonance for the story I was writing, quite unwittingly. Runaway girls, they're running away from a situation where their capacity for love and action cannot fully find expression, and also their journey is one towards finding their true love. Perhaps they're running to a false love, but in the end, as the story of Beauty and the Beast, they will recognise who is the true love or the true love within their lover. Or it could be that they will be recognised by their true love. I found that pretty interesting for the book.
Ramona Koval: In many ways, young girls running away is fraught with danger, our hearts are in our mouths as they makes these steps, they step into the car or they step out...sometimes it all comes to nothing, sometimes it's fine and sometimes it's terribly dangerous, you can never really know, can you.
Joan London: No, and in fact Maya's father when he has arrived in Melbourne and his daughter isn't there, he talks to Maya's housemate who is a filmmaker and he says something about how young women are always in danger. If you see a beautiful young woman in a film you can start to be afraid for her. Because of, I suppose, their beauty and desirability, young women are often very, very vulnerable to being preyed upon and used.
Ramona Koval: And in a way this young woman is in the crappy bathroom really, but it's a sort of magic place for her; she's looking at herself in the mirror and she feels as if she's got some sort of agency, even though she's being kind of used by this old bloke.
Ramona Koval: Or simply by his interest.
Joan London: Yes, his interest, and he's her first lover. So it's all very, very new to her, and she also is a noticer. She is someone who seems to get satisfaction from the very essence and nature of things around her. When she's feeling at peace and happy and that's when she starts to feel that she wants to write a letter to someone, she wants to communicate this.
Ramona Koval: When we discover she's run away with him and then her parents come to stay...they're staying in her share house, in her room, they're inhabiting, they're fitting into a space marked 'Maya' in her house, in a sense learning about her. It is strange when you're a parent and you can occupy the room that your child lives in, isn't it.
Joan London: Yes, it is. And I think gradually, especially for the father who...well, he hurts his foot and the mother goes off to a Buddhist retreat after a while, she can't stand the strain of waiting around. The father becomes very interested in her housemate, and in some ways I think it increases his sense of intrigue and respect for his daughter, that she has found this house and that she is friends with this quite remarkable young filmmaker.
Joan London: It is a question of a choice, and you could go one way or the other, and it's very much the case for Toni who is a schoolgirl waiting by a highway who accepts a lift, and she could have so easily have said no, and she spends many years wondering why she didn't and what it was, why it was almost like she felt like an animal trapped by headlights that went forward when it should have gone back. It's just chance, choice, will, something that makes you take that step or not.
Ramona Koval: There's a strand of Buddhism running in this book because Toni goes to a Buddhist retreat. Toni's husband, while he's hurt his foot and he's thinking about his life and how he got to be there, Asia is important to him too. What are you trying to say through these strands of Buddhism? Our lives, are they determined? Is fate a part of them? Is it all an accident or is it not all an accident?
Joan London: I think the generation that Maya's parents, Toni and Jacob, belong to was one where Asia really started to come into their consciousness. They would have grown up in an Australia that was very Anglo-centric, and theirs was the baby-boomer generation, the rebel generation, and there was in that movement of political anger, anti-Vietnam, then there started to be something new, which was some...its gurus started to appear and they had been influenced by Asia. For instance, the Beatles suddenly appeared with Maharishi, and perhaps it was also the ugly western soldier trampling into Vietnam that was also an influence. It started to become almost a rite of passage that young Australian would go overland, across Asia to Europe. Although such things as Buddhism and gurus have always been around, they were formally confined to small groups, like the Krishnamurti and the Theosophical Society and things. At that time it became a much larger sort of influence, even the way people started to dress; the long hair, the loose Asian clothes. It was a sort of entry of Asia into a formerly very Anglo-centric population and culture here.
Ramona Koval: This other thing that comes through in this novel The Good Parents is that Melbourne is seen as this backdrop of sophistication and beauty and the emerald city, in a way, that not only young Maya but her parents come to think of it like that too. Can you talk a little bit about writing Melbourne as this fantastic point of seduction, really?
Joan London: Of course they are coming from a country town in the wheat belt in Western Australia, so they're very open to be impressed by the urbanity of Melbourne, but I think there's a lot to be impressed by with Melbourne. It is a wonderfully civilised city. Somebody who has gone to live there told me recently it's the great city of the southern hemisphere.
Joan London: Because of its urbanity, because of the way people seem to be able to live together, the trams, the small cafes, the respect for culture in Melbourne lives, the wonderful architecture, the respect for contemporary architecture, and art, great bookshops. It's a wonderful place. It's had a long history of European immigration in the 19th century. This respect is kind of deeply embedded in its culture, or so it seems to me as an outsider anyway.
Ramona Koval: There are many merry-go-rounds of connections and pairings and uncouplings and new couplings in this book. It's very musical in a way, Joan.
Joan London: I don't know quite what to say. Yes, I suppose I'm interested in finding patterns really in lives and how things come around again, how things are seen again in a different way, how children very often live out unfinished business of their parents. So I suppose in a sense that is a musical kind of...dance to the music of time.
Ramona Koval: Joan London, thanks so much for being on The Book Show today.
Joan London: Thank you, Ramona.
Ramona Koval: Joan London's book is called The Good Parents and it's published by Vintage.