Hey friends! I hope you are all having a great Wednesday!
I wanted you all to know that I AM really happy that I finished the marathon on Sunday. I received many notes and kind words from ya'll and I realized that I may have come across a little more negative in the marathon recap post than I actually meant to. But, the truth is I was disappointed in my time, which is good to admit. And at the same time, I am so happy that I finished! It is definitely a feat to run 26.2 miles!
So, I am definitely past the "everything hurts and I'm dying" phase of the post marathon process.
I am more in that phase of the post-marathon blues –>Weeks and weeks of training and getting ready for the event and then in a couple hours, it's just done. And I think I'm a lot more "blue" after this race because I didn't meet my personal goal and I feel like I'm not done yet.
I am definitely enjoying the time off to let my body recover and reflecting on the race and thinking about what I can do to make myself a better runner. I wanted to make note, I've been doing the no-dairy thing. And I had ZERO stomach issues during and after the race, which is a FIRST and I think a big part of that is cutting out dairy.
And, I have to admit, with the post-marathon blues and my love for frozen dairy desserts, I caved yesterday and bought some Ben and Jerry's fro yo as a treat for finishing a marathon! I just needed it! LOL.
And I was going to hide it from Aaron so I could have it all to myself, but instead I shared it because I can't NOT share that deliciousness! It also helped with the post-marathon blues. Haha!
So my advice for helping the post marathon blues is rest and Ben and Jerry's. Oh yeah, AND reflecting on the race and that HUGE accomplishment of finishing a marathon!
What do you do to help get through the post-race blues?


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St. Alphege Church, Bath
Guild of St Stephen
Reading at Mass
Refreshments after 11am Mass
Offertory Counters Team
Supporting Father Dolan
Soup Run
Welcomers
Fire Evacuation Procedure
Catholic Schools and Colleges
Our Lady and St. Alphege
A warm welcome to you!
Whether you are a parishioner or a visitor, we hope you will find this website a valuable resource to Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's "Little Gem" of a Church in the city of Bath.
Fr. Malcolm has requested to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet and Stations of the Cross each day at 3pm and also to pray for our PM Boris Johnson and the government.
Saint Alphege's is the home of the Catholic faith community with many ministries serving the south side of the city of Bath in the Diocese of Clifton. The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of our life and we are committed to creating an atmosphere which will foster the spiritual development of our parishioners, centred on Liturgy, Life and Mission.
If you have never visited our beautiful Church, we hope that you will be inspired to do so after perusing this website, and if you are already a member of the parish, we hope you will find the information you are looking for here.
Do enjoy your visit and we encourage you to return often for updates, as our website is updated weekly, although some parts of our site are still under construction.
If you are visiting us, please do make yourself known so that we may welcome you to the Parish.
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Our Lady and St. Alphege, Oldfield Lane, Bath - BA2 3NR | Tel: 01225 424894/332202
bath.stalphege@cliftondiocese.com
CLIFTON DIOCESE (a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales under number 10462076. A registered charity number 1170168. Registered Office: St Ambrose North Road Leigh Woods Bristol BS8 3PW)

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Until We Are Free
My Fight for Human Rights in Iran
ʻIbādī, Shīrīn
The first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi has inspired millions around the globe through her work as a human rights lawyer defending women and children against a brutal regime in Iran. Now Ebadi tells her story of courage and defiance in the face of a government out to destroy her, her family, and her mission: to bring justice to the people and the country she loves.
For years the Islamic Republic tried to intimidate Ebadi, but after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rose to power in 2005, the censorship and persecution intensified. The government wiretapped Ebadi's phones, bugged her law firm, sent spies to follow her, harassed her colleagues, detained her daughter, and arrested her sister on trumped-up charges. It shut down her lectures, fired up mobs to attack her home, seized her offices, and nailed a death threat to her front door. Despite finding herself living under circumstances reminiscent of a spy novel, nothing could keep Ebadi from speaking out and standing up for human dignity.
But it was not until she received a phone call from her distraught husband--and he made a shocking confession that would all but destroy her family--that she realized what the intelligence apparatus was capable of to silence its critics. The Iranian government would end up taking everything from Shirin Ebadi--her marriage, friends, and colleagues, her home, her legal career, even her Nobel Prize--but the one thing it could never steal was her spirit to fight for justice and a better future. This is the amazing, at times harrowing, simply astonishing story of a woman who would never give up, no matter the risks. Just as her words and deeds have inspired a nation, Until We Are Free will inspire you to find the courage to stand up for your beliefs.
Praise for Until We Are Free
"Ebadi recounts the cycle of sinister assaults she faced after she won the Nobel Prize in 2003. Her new memoir, written as a novel-like narrative, captures the precariousness of her situation and her determination to 'stand firm.'" -- The Washington Post
"Powerful . . . Although [Ebadi's] memoir underscores that a slow change will have to come from within Iran, it is also proof of the stunning effects of her nonviolent struggle on behalf of those who bravely, and at a very high cost, keep pushing for the most basic rights." -- The New York Times Book Review
"Shirin Ebadi is quite simply the most vital voice for freedom and human rights in Iran." --Reza Aslan, author of No god but God and Zealot
"Shirin Ebadi writes of exile hauntingly and speaks of Iran, her homeland, as the poets do. Ebadi is unafraid of addressing the personal as well as the political and does both fiercely, with introspection and fire." --Fatima Bhutto, author of The Shadow of the Crescent Moon
"I would encourage all to read Dr. Shirin Ebadi's memoir and to understand how her struggle for human rights continued after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It is also fascinating to see how she has been affected positively and negatively by her Nobel Prize. This is a must read for all." --Desmond Tutu
"A revealing portrait of the state of political oppression in Iran . . . [Ebadi] is an inspiring figure, and her suspenseful, evocative story is unforgettable." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Ebadi's courage and strength of character are evident throughout this engrossing text." --Kirkus Reviews
Publisher: New York :, Random House,, [2016]
Branch Call Number: 323.092 Iba
Characteristics: xiii, 286 pages
Read more reviews of Until We Are Free at iDreamBooks.com
ChristchurchLib May 16, 2016
Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi was the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Now living in exile, she details the abuse she suffered under Iran's government as a result of her defense of women's and children's rights. Iran's extremist leadership had already tried to suppress her work for years, but they escalated their tactics after she won the award in 2003. Though at first she refused to back down in the face of the government's pressures, she finally went into exile so she could continue speaking out.
Women Human Rights Workers — Iran — Biography
Women Lawyers — Iran — Biography
Lawyers — Iran — Biography
Women Judges — Iran — Biography
Women Nobel Prize Winners — Iran — Biography


Natural bodies of water, such as beaches, are great to play, swim, and cool off on a hot sunny day. Since it is a natural body of water, the conditions and quality of the water can change quickly due to rain, wind, waves and waterfowl. These factors can change the level of bacteria in the water to the point where it can make you sick.
Swallowing water is the main way you can get sick from swimming at beaches.
Has there been a heavy rain in the last 24-48 hours?
Rainfall has a significant impact on water quality. Run off from the rain washes bacteria from the shore, fields and streets into streams, rivers and lakes.
Is it windy with a lot of wave action?
Wind can cause waves, and wave action can stir up the sand and silt. This can cause high levels of bacteria in the water.
If you can't see your feet when standing in waist deep water, it means the sand and silt has been stirred up in the water and can increase the levels of bacteria in the water.
Wash hands or use hand sanitizer after playing in the sand or water, and always before eating, especially for children.
Bacteria levels tend to be higher in the warm, wet sand on the shore.
Are there other factors that can change water quality?
The presence of seagulls, geese, ducks and their droppings can have a significant impact on water quality. Dead fish, algae/scum, or debris in the water can also increase the risk of illness or injury.
Avoid swimming if you have an infection or an open wound. Do not put your head underwater if you are susceptible to eye, ear, nose, or throat infections.
* Content used with permission from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit.


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June 2012, Feature
by Lindsay Whelchel
It was more than 22 years ago when Edmond resident Rita Gray-Martin encountered a young boy who was very angry. As a teacher, she wanted to convey to the boy that it was OK not to understand sometimes and that he was loved. To illustrate this particular lesson she decided to write a book. Now, years later, that book is being published to teach the same lesson to other children.
One could say that Gray-Martin has led a wildly varied life, but learning and education have always been common themes wherever she found herself. Growing up in Detroit as the daughter of a Motown musician, she loved acting, music and dance. A scholarship to train as a dancer led Gray-Martin to New York as a teen, and a desire to get an education in performing arts propelled her into college.
But a career as a dancer didn't last and the desire to learn what life was like in Europe sent her into the military and studies overseas. But this didn't turn out to be a permanent fit in her life, Gray-Martin says. She returned to the U.S., working at a bank and taking business classes. Still, something was missing.
It was then, in her mid-20s, that Gray-Martin realized that it wasn't the different learning experiences she was meant to have, it was teaching. "I actually think that I was born to be a teacher," Gray-Martin says and explains that as a child she would teach her stuffed animals and imaginary students. "Teaching was innate. It clicked, and I loved it; it was easy for me."
Since then, Gray-Martin has worked in many capacities as a teacher. She spent 21 years in the classroom teaching first through fifth grades and has served in administrative positions the past 10 years. In her 32-year-long career in education and now working as a motivational speaker, she has been teaching her model of goal setting and positive expectancy through workshops and various speaking engagements. This model began as an effort to change the education system, she says.
"I saw that there was a disconnect," Gray-Martin says of some teaching environments. "I think that with the stresses of education and society and trying to teach the curriculum, some people have gotten caught up (in) just getting through the curriculum and they're losing perspective of (how) teaching and education can still be fun."
At first, she worked with just teachers. Gray-Martin has been a certified trainer, instructing teachers since 1988, the same year she moved to Oklahoma. Then, she felt urged to convey the message to a wider audience. An opportunity opened up by chance and now she speaks weekly to the community in her on-air faith-based radio show, "Steppin' Out on Faith" on AM 1220.
"With technology, everything is so fast-paced, everything is there at your fingertips; people are losing the ability to set goals, believe, have faith in something," she says.
Most recently, with publishing her book, Gray-Martin is attempting to teach one of her most valued lessons of all, the one for the little boy years ago. She is doing this through a fictional character named Erick, also the book title.
Gray-Martin explains that it never felt right to publish "Erick" until recently. She was seeing more and more children dealing with the same anger issues as the little boy who inspired the book, and she felt called to publish. "Our premise behind this is we want all children to have a voice. Usually when a child is angry it's because they don't understand something, or something is hurting them and they don't know how to express it," she says.
Gray-Martin tried several avenues to get her book published, from companies in New York to self-publishing, but nothing felt right until she had a fateful meeting with an author who pointed her in the direction of Tate Publishing, based locally in Mustang. They proved to be the perfect option for Gray-Martin. She explains that they immediately welcomed her.
The morning of her first meeting, as she hurried to make it on time, she couldn't find a parking space. Seeing only one reserved spot open, she decided to park there anyway and that's when she knew it was right. "When I pulled up and got out of the car, it was reserved for me. It said 'Reserved for future author Rita Gray-Martin,'" she says with obvious joy. She worked with the publishing company and illustrators to bring the project to life. "Erick" officially launched in January of this year.
Gray-Martin now has hardback and paperback books available and there are even custom Erick dolls for people to order online. A short film is also in the works. She says the feedback she has received has been positive. The book is meant to help adults understand and take the time to investigate further into a child's outbursts. She says children see themselves in Erick.
"Adults are amazed because even the kids that they perceive as being the good kids, the child with no problems, they relate to the stories. When I read it, I'll say, 'How many of you have felt like that? How many can identify with him?' and they always raise their hand," she says of her reading sessions.
She makes various public reading appearances to get the book out to as many people as possible in an attempt to further her mission. "We have to pour into our society, so our society can continue to grow," she says. And in this way, Gray-Martin is teaching by example.
For more information, go to ritagraymartinauthor.webs.com.
June 2012, Business
BUSINESS: Wilshire Pennington
by Linda Treadway
Wilshire Pennington Wealth Advisors is a financial planning firm that focuses on financial planning exclusively for doctors. The company's founder, Benjamin D. Kennedy III, having over 25 years experience as a financial advisor, realized that doctors get a late start in life, have large student loans, little experience in practice management and often a target...
BEFORE & AFTER: Pools 2 the Max
by Laura Beam
Copper is quickly becoming pure gold to pool owners who relish the pleasures of a backyard oasis but have tired of the expense, time and work required to maintain sparkling water. For decades, chlorine has been accepted as the most effective and economical method of pool sanitization, despite its harsh, toxic chemical effects that routinely...


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Posts tagged 'United Nations'
Landmark UN plastic waste pact gets approved but not by US
GENEVA (AP) — Nearly every country in the world has agreed upon a legally binding framework to reduce the pollution from plastic waste except for the United States, U.N. environmental officials say. An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged Friday at the end of a two-week meeting of U.N.-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals.
Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceans and rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results. Rolph Payet of the United Nations Environment Program said the "historic" agreement linked to the 186-country, U.N.-supported Basel Convention means that countries will have to monitor and track the movements of plastic waste outside their borders.
The deal affects products used in a broad array of industries, such as health care, technology, aerospace, fashion, food and beverages. "It's sending a very strong political signal to the rest of the world — to the private sector, to the consumer market — that we need to do something," Payet said. "Countries have decided to do something which will translate into real action on the ground."
Countries will have to figure out their own ways of adhering to the accord, Payet said. Even the few countries that did not sign it, like the United States, could be affected by the accord when they ship plastic waste to countries that are on board with the deal.
Payet credited Norway for leading the initiative, which first was presented in September. The time from that proposal to the approval of a deal set a blistering pace by traditional U.N. standards for such an accord.
The framework "is historic in the sense that it is legally binding," Payet said. "They (the countries) have managed to use an existing international instrument to put in place those measures." The agreement is likely to lead to customs agents being on the lookout for electronic waste or other types of potentially hazardous waste more than before.
"There is going to be a transparent and traceable system for the export and import of plastic waste," Payet said.
Christila Section, Imperial Land of Impeda, United Nations
UN mission: Ukraine actions after Odessa fire inadequate
MOSCOW (AP) — Five years after 48 people died in clashes in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, a United Nations' human rights monitoring mission criticized authorities Thursday for delays in investigating and prosecuting people for the violence.
The loss of life on May 2, 2014 started during a confrontation between demonstrators calling for autonomy in eastern Ukraine amid a Russia-backed separatist uprising and supporters of Ukraine's government. Six people were killed during hours of street fighting.
The worst was yet to come. After pro-autonomy demonstrators retreated to a trade union building, government supporters threw fire bombs into the building; 42 people died inside or after jumping or falling from windows.
In a statement on the bloodshed's five-year anniversary, the U.N. human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine said "authorities have not done what it takes to ensure prompt, independent and impartial investigations and prosecutions."
In Odessa, residents marked the anniversary by laying flowers outside the trade union building and attending other events. About 4,500 people took part, according to police.
Defiant Land of Ukraine, Europe Section, United Nations
UN adds leader of outlawed Pakistan group to sanctions list
ISLAMABAD (AP) — In a major diplomatic win for India, the United Nations added the leader of an outlawed Pakistani militant group to its sanctions blacklist Wednesday after the group claimed responsibility for a February suicide attack in disputed Kashmir that killed 40 Indian soldiers.
Sanctions against Masood Azhar were confirmed by Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal at an urgently held news conference in Islamabad. Azhar's addition to the Security Council's Islamic State and al-Qaida blacklist includes a travel ban and freeze on his assets as well as an arms embargo.
The development came less than three months after Azhar's Jaish-e-Mohammad group claimed responsibility for the Feb. 14 attack in Kashmir, which is split between the two countries and is claimed by both in its entirety. The clashes brought the two nuclear rivals to the brink of war.
India had intensified its lobbying to have Azhar blacklisted after the killing of its soldiers and New Delhi quickly welcomed the Security Council decision. Sanctions against Azhar had been delayed because Security Council member China had blocked them on three previous occasions. But the council went ahead after China no longer objected.
Azhar was blacklisted for his leadership of the al-Qaida-linked Jaish-i-Mohammad. The official listing by the U.N. sanctions committee said the 50-year-old Azhar was associated with al-Qaida by supporting its activities including by supplying arms and recruiting members, and for financially supporting Jaish-i-Mohammed after he was released from prison in India in 1999 in exchange for 155 passengers on an Indian Airlines flight hijacked to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
As a group, Jaish-i-Mohammed had been put on the sanctions blacklist in 2001 for its ties to "Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban." The U.N. listing noted that 2008 recruitment posters for Jaish-i-Mohammed "contained a call from Azhar for volunteers to join the fight in Afghanistan against Western forces."
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter that "today is a day that would make every Indian proud! I thank the global community and all those who believe in humanitarian values for their support."
Days after the Feb. 14 Kashmir attack, India responded by launching an airstrike in northwest Pakistan that caused no casualties. Pakistan then responded on Feb. 27 by shooting down two Indian warplanes and capturing a pilot, who was later returned.
Timely intervention by the international community defused tensions between the two South Asian nuclear powers, who have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947. Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said the Trump administration commends the decision to sanction Azhar. Azhar's sanctioning comes weeks after Washington said it was seeking to have him put on the U.N. blacklist. Pakistan is a key ally of the U.S. in its fight against extremism.
A senior U.S. administration official told reporters that "after 10 years China has done the right thing by lifting its hold on this designation." The official, who insisted on speaking anonymously, said Britain and France joined the U.S. in putting pressure on China after the Feb. 14 attack, and Beijing seems to have understood "that it is increasingly important that its actions on the international stage on terrorism matched its rhetoric."
The official said the Trump administration is watching to see if Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's commitment to crack down on militants in the country "will translate into irreversible steps to end terrorist and militant safe havens inside Pakistan."
Khan has ordered the takeover of assets and property of Jaish-i-Mohammed and dozens of banned militant organizations that operate in Pakistan. Bushra Aziz, a spokesman for Pakistan's Embassy to the U.S. in Washington, said the country is resolved to countering terrorism and claims that no other country can match Pakistan's efforts in the fight. Aziz said terrorism is a menace to the world and also criticized India's actions against residents of Kashmir.
Pakistan has said authorities have detained dozens of people suspected of involvement in the Kashmir attack after receiving a file with intelligence on the attack from New Delhi. Pakistan said its probe did not establish any direct link between Azhar or his group and the attack that killed the Indian soldiers. However, Islamabad has sought more evidence from New Delhi so that it can act against Azhar and his group.
Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed reported in Islamabad and AP writer Ashok Sharma reported from New Delhi, India. AP writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report.
Confused Land of Pakistan, Islamic History, United Nations
UN rights envoy says Laos focus on big projects hurting poor
BANGKOK (AP) — A United Nations human rights expert has urged communist-ruled Laos to focus less on foreign-invested dam and railway contracts and devote more resources to helping its children and the poor.
The U.N. rapporteur on poverty, Philip Alston, said Thursday that Laos' impoverished economy can only thrive if its leaders do a better job of educating and caring for all of its people. The current strategy of favoring big-ticket projects with Chinese investors and granting big concessions for land and other resources favors a wealthy elite and is leaving many others behind, he said.
Alston made the remarks in a news conference livestreamed from Laos' capital, Vientiane, after he toured parts of rural Laos, including an area devastated by a dam collapse last year. They add to a chorus of concern over China's push for big construction projects linked to its "Belt and Road" initiative, which is aimed at weaving a global network of transport and trade that is integrated with its own economy and industries.
Tucked between Thailand, China, Myanmar and Cambodia, tiny Laos' economy has grown quickly in recent years, but the benefits of that growth have not reached many in its largely rural population. Alston said many infrastructure and plantation projects take land from local residents, forcing their resettlement. Most generate too few jobs and result in too much debt, he said.
"Those concessions potentially cover something like 40 percent of the national territory and many if not most of those concessions have produced very few returns to the national budget," he said. "They have generated very little real revenue that can be spent on the wellbeing of the Lao people and of course they have led to widespread dispossession."
A Lao foreign ministry official, Phetvanxay Khousakoun, objected to Alston's comments. "Some of that information that you received might be biased. Also, NGOs might have hidden agendas. This might provide you some misperceptions about Laos," he said. "These are rather small groups of people that do not reflect the entire country."
The official also suggested Alston's comments went beyond his mandate. Alston praised the government for allowing his 11-day visit to the country. But he countered that his findings were in line with his mission.
"These challenges can only be met if they are acknowledged," he said. He noted that women in Laos are largely shut out of decision making, and that the ethnic minorities who make up nearly half of the population are "severely deprived" by nearly every measure, with low incomes and inferior access to education and health care.
Despite major progress in alleviating poverty, more than one-fifth of Lao children are underweight, 9 percent suffer from "wasting," or severe malnutrition and a third are stunted. Less than half have been vaccinated.
"You might have no interest in children, but all you have to know is they are the economic future," he said. "You're not going to have a great workforce with those statistics as your starting point." Alston, an Australian who is based in the U.S., acknowledged that all countries struggle with poverty.
He said the government's pursuit of resource-oriented foreign investment such as rubber plantations, mining and hydroelectric dams is directly linked to poverty because they fail to generate tax revenues or jobs needed to address poverty.
"Poverty is a political choice," he said. "When you decide to spend money on something else, you produce poverty or you perpetuate poverty."
Issara Land of Laos, United Nations
Issara Land of Laos
UN judges increase sentence for Bosnian ex-leader to life
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — United Nations appeals judges on Wednesday upheld the convictions of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and increased his sentence from 40 years to life imprisonment.
Karadzic showed almost no reaction as presiding judge Vagn Joensen of Denmark read out a damning judgment, which means the 73-year-old former Bosnian strongman will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In increasing the sentence, Joensen said Karadzic's original 40-year sentence "underestimates the extraordinary gravity of Karadzic's responsibility and his integral participation in the most egregious of crimes."
Defense lawyer Peter Robinson said Karadzic vowed to fight on to clear his name. "He says that politics triumphed over justice today," Robinson said. "The appeals chamber whitewashed an unjust trial and an unfair verdict."
Robinson said Karadzic felt "moral responsibility" for crimes in Bosnia, but did not believe he was criminally responsible. Karadzic had appealed his 2016 convictions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as his sentence for masterminding atrocities in his country's devastating 1992-95 war — Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.
The former leader is one of the most senior figures tried by the Hague war crimes court. His case is considered as key in delivering justice for the victims of the conflict, which left over 100,000 people dead and millions homeless.
Joensen said the trial chamber was wrong to impose just a 40-year sentence given what he called the "sheer scale and systematic cruelty" of Karadzic's crimes. Applause broke out in the public gallery as Joensen passed the new sentence.
Families of victims who traveled to the Hague welcomed the verdict. Mothers of victims, some elderly and walking with canes, wept with apparent relief after watching the ruling read on a screen in Srebrenica.
Bosnian Serb wartime military commander Ratko Mladic was also awaiting an appeal judgment of his genocide and war crimes conviction, which earned him a life sentence. Both men were convicted of genocide for their roles in the slaughter by Serb forces of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnia's eastern Srebrenica region in July 1995.
Last week, Bosnian war wounds were revived when it was revealed that the white supremacist suspected in the mosque shootings that left at least 50 people dead in New Zealand appeared to show admiration for Karadzic and his legacy. In a video, the self-proclaimed white supremacist is seen driving apparently on his way to the attack and listening to a wartime Bosnian Serb song praising Karadzic and his fight against Bosnia's Muslims.
Prosecutors had appealed Karadzic's acquittal on a second count of genocide, which saw Serb forces drive out Muslims and Croats from Serb-controlled villages in a 1992 campaign. Judges on Wednesday rejected that appeal.
At an appeals hearing last year, prosecution lawyer Katrina Gustafson told a five-judge panel that Karadzic "abused his immense power to spill the blood of countless victims. Justice requires that he receive the highest possible sentence — a life sentence."
Karadzic has always argued that the Bosnian Serb campaigns during the war, which included the bloody siege of the capital, Sarajevo, were aimed at defending Serbs. After his indictment by the tribunal in The Hague, Karadzic remained at large for years before he was arrested in Serbia in 2008 disguised as a new-age therapist.
Europe Section, Land of the Balkans, United Nations
UN rights chief renews call for access to China's Xinjiang
Geneva (AFP)
The UN rights chief on Wednesday renewed her request to access China's Xinjiang region, where large numbers of the Uighur ethnic minority are reportedly being held in re-education camps.
In her annual address to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Michelle Bachelet said her office was seeking to "engage" with China on conditions in Xinjiang.
She also re-issued her requests for "full access to carry out an independent assessment of the continuing reports pointing to wide patterns of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, particularly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region".
A UN panel of independent experts has said there are credible reports that nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities are being held in Xinjiang.
Beijing at first denied the allegation, but later admitted putting people into "vocational education centers".
Xinjiang has long suffered from violent unrest, which China claims is orchestrated by an organized "terrorist" movement seeking the region's independence. It has implemented a massive, high-tech security crackdown in recent years.
But many Uighurs and Xinjiang experts say the violent episodes stem largely from spontaneous outbursts of anger at Chinese cultural and religious repression, and that Beijing plays up terrorism to justify tight control of the resource-rich region.
Bachelet said she was confident that "stability and security in this region can be facilitated by policies which demonstrate the authorities' respect of all people's rights."
Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/UN_rights_chief_renews_call_for_access_to_Chinas_Xinjiang_999.html.
Islamic Emirate of East Turkestan, Islamic History, Land of the Hans, Poilace Vivid, Uighurs of East Turkestan, United Nations
UN rights envoy comes to Turkey to study Khashoggi killing
ISTANBUL (AP) — A U.N. human rights expert has arrived in Turkey for a weeklong visit over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard and her team of experts on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Monday.
Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said they are also expected to meet Turkey's justice minister and the Istanbul prosecutor heading the investigation. Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who wrote critically about the Saudi crown prince, was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. His remains have still not been found.
Turkish officials have called for an international investigation and complained of a lack of cooperation by Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has indicted 11 people in the killing and is seeking the death penalty against five of them.
Islamic History, Ottoman Land of Anatolia, United Nations


This charming property is a 6 bedroom and 6 bathroom house set of 3 acres of land in the area of outstanding natural beauty approx 1 mile from Castlerock. Views over the sea towards Portstewart, Portrush and the Scotish Islands. This large family home, could easily be converted into two 4 bedrooms Semi Detached house or a 8 Bedroom Guest House. ( subject to planning permissions ) The house is set among mature gardens and ponds, with a further Chalet style build that could be used as office or separate studio apartment / annex. At the rear is a 4 car garage with electric roller door, greenhouse and parking area. Two separate entrances. Oil fired central heating with the bar, kitchen, dining and living area featuring underfloor heating. Viewing highly recommended.
ENTRANCE HALL :- 10' X 8' Stairs leading to upstairs loft.
FRONT LOUNGE :- 26' x 25' with open fireplace.
BAR AREA :- 16' x 15' with stone built bar overlooking ornamental pond.
KITCHEN / DINETTE :- 31' x 14' Side door leading to large decking area.
REAR LOUNGE :- 19' x 17' with patio doors leading to decking overlooking pond.
BATHROOM :- 18' x 8' with walk through shower.
BEDROOM 1 :- 17' x 25' Patio doors leading to decking.
SUNROOM :- 14' x 14' with part glass floor and views overlooking the coastline.
BEDROOM 4 :- 13' x 11' with ensuite.
BEDROOM 5 :- 13' x 11' with ensuite and dressing room 8' x 7' with built in wardrobes.
BEDROOM 6 :- 12' x 16' with ensuite.
LOUNGE / BEDROOM 7 :- with patio doors leading to front garden.
I am interested in 24 Artidillon Road, Castlerock. Please contact me about this property.


This recipe uses no flour, yet the cookies bake as nicely as if flour were present. They are a bit sweet but the kids love them.
In a small mixing bowl blend the sugar and egg. Add the peanut butter and stir until somewhat thickened - about one minute or two. Butter a cookie sheet. Using two spoons, dip some dough with one spoon and scrap it off onto the cookie sheet with the other spoon. Use teaspoons for small cookies or use tablespoons for big cookies. Flatten each ball of dough with a fork. Bake about 12 to 17 minutes, checking often after 10 minutes.


text:
Biografia
Da sempre nei Free State Cheetahs, vinse con la squadra provinciale la Currie Cup 2006 a pari merito del Western Province, contro cui pareggiò la finale; l'anno successivo fu esordiente in Super Rugby nella franchise dei Central Cheetahs.

Esordì nel 2008 nei test di fine anno, a Twickenham contro l', nel suo secondo incontro internazionale realizzò una meta contro i British Lions nel loro tour del 2009.

Un infortunio al ginocchio nel 2010 lo tenne lontano dai campi per quasi tutta la stagione e gli rese necessario operarsi due volte in pochi mesi; l'anno successivo, nonostante alcune offerte di altre franchise sudafricane, ha rinnovato l'impegno con i Cheetahs fino al 2013.

Ha fatto parte della selezione degli Springbok alla .

Palmarès

 Free State Cheetahs: 2006

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The state of Chile supports economic activities, entrepreneurship, innovation and the competitiveness of all companies, regardless of their origin, through special norms and benefits that are available to companies legally constituted in the country.
Companies operating in Chile have access to a broad national network for the promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation and research. It is formed by a series of government agencies that offer different programs of support. The most important agencies are CORFO, ProChile and SENCE.
Under Chilean law, a tax benefit is available for investment in R&D, consisting in the right to a credit against First Category Tax of up to 35% of the amount devoted to R&D activities. These activities can be undertaken directly by the company, with the support of third parties or hired out to a specialized center registered with the government's Economic Development Agency (CORFO).
A number of Incentives for overseas companies are available from CORFO. The most important are the non-repayable subsidies for pre-investment studies, designed to facilitate and accelerate an investor's decision-making process, and the co-financing available for the implementation or expansion of technological investment projects.
Investment subsidy (subsidy for investments by small and mid-sized companies whose annual sales do not exceed US$1.5 million; equivalent to 20% of the amount invested).
For more about the incentives for foreign investment in Chile, download this chapter of our Investor's Guide.


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Fernley Women's Golf Club, Jan. 12
Divisional Round picks: Pining for a return to 1982
City's Citizen's Leadership Academy to be held virtually
Blame Trump, and others, for riot at U.S. Capitol building, Rep. Amodei says
56 new COVID-19 cases, 37 recoveries reported in Lyon County over weekend
Fernley's Hometown News
People You Should Know
City of Fernley
Ceremony commemorates U.S. entry into World War I
April 9, 2017 Robert Perea	0 Comments	Adam Paul Laxalt, Nevada Veteran's Coalition, Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, World War I
Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter
One hundred years ago, on April 6, 1917, after German attacks on U.S. ships, and with fears of a German alliance with Mexico, the United States entered World War I.
Saturday, more than 100 people turned out to the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Ceremony to remember that day.
The Nevada Department of Veterans Services (NDVS), in partnership with the Nevada Veterans Coalition, hosted a "Remembrance Ceremony" at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley.
The event was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the United States' entry into World War I and the sacrifices made by those who served in uniform. The war claimed 116,516 U.S. soldiers. Of those killed in battle, 195 were Nevadans, and 11 of those are buried at the Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery. In all, another 200,000 were wounded which is a casualty rate far greater than WWII.
"I don't think people really understand the sacrifices of those veterans of World War I and it is very important to do research and study and remember what they did for all of us," said Col. Kat Miller, the Director of the Nevada Department of Veterans Services.
The ceremony was highlighted by Howard Rosenberg, a University of Nevada, Reno Foundation professor, who read several letters sent home by soldiers while fighting in Europe.
World War I historian Fred Horlacher told the story of Sgt. Alvin York, known as the greatest American hero of World War I, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for capturing 132 Germans with his unit of seven men.
"Upon returning to his unit," Horlacher said, "York reported to his brigade commander, Gen. Julian Lindsey, who remarked, 'Well, York, I hear you captured the whole damn German army.' York replied, 'No sir, I only got 132.'"
Horlacher described World War I as a terrible war, saying in the Battle of Somme, British troops lost 60,000 men in one day. By comparison, he said, there were 10,000 soldiers killed during the invasion of Normandy in World War II.
"The participants of World War I were willing to give their all to protect the freedom that we have today, and may we continue to protect our freedom and to promote freedom throughout the world," Horlacher said.
Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the keynote speaker, said he was proud of people stand up as one to remember those who sacrificed to fight in World War I.
"I just think as a state we do such an incredible job to honor our veterans, to make this the most veteran friendly state," Laxalt said.
Laxalt talked of two soldiers who lost their lives fighting in World War I, whose families lived about 400 yards apart in Reno.
"We only had 78,000 folks in our great state back then, and so to have that many die, everyone knew everyone, so everyone was touched by these loss of lives from our great contribution from Nevada," Laxalt said.
Many of the speakers lamented that World War I gets lost in history, as people remember World War II, Korea and Vietnam and more recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"There's so much I did not know about World War I, so if you get the chance, pick up a book and learn more about World War I," Miller said.
Television personality John Tyson read the poem "In Flanders Field", one of the most famous literary works to come out of World War I.
Along with the speakers, the Maytan Band, conducted by U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Alan Pefley, played patriotic music, some of it from the World War I era.
Miller said the turnout for the ceremony showed how important the country's military and veterans are to Nevada.
"Nevadans come from all different walks of life and they have all different types of beliefs, but when it comes to honoring and taking care of our service members and our veterans, I don't think there is a state that does it better," she said.
Photos by Robert Perea and Joseph Maino, The Fernley Reporter
The Maytan Band performs.
Members of the Nevada Veterans Coalition Honor Guard
Sheriff Al McNeil plays the bagpipes.
WWI 100 years
A veteran listens during the World War I commemoration ceremony
Tom Draughon of the Nevada Veterans Coalition
Sheriff Al McNeil
The Maytan Band
Mayor Roy Edgington
Fred Horlacher
U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Alan Pefley, conductor of the Maytan Band.
City Councilman Dan McCassie
Col. Kat Miller
Attorney General Adam Laxalt
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LVN Editor Emeritus Ranson to speak to next meeting of Fernley Republican Women
WNC announces Fall Dean's List
Nevada to prioritize elderly, essential workforce concurrently under new COVID vaccination rollout plan


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Albuquerque Spring: A season of police violence and civil disobedience
by johansen.jorgen • 19. juni 2014 • 0 Comments
Spring is a time of rebirth: a season suspended between the end of winter's suffering and the beginning of summer's warmth. This is true everywhere except Albuquerque, where spring brings fear and anxiety. It's our season of dry wind and relentless drought. This Albuquerque Spring offers no escape from that cruel pattern. But our suffering is not defined by the axial tilt of the earth as it races around the sun, but rather by a culture of violent policing that seems just as inevitable.
This Albuquerque Spring offers no escape from that cruel pattern. But our suffering is not defined by the axial tilt of the earth as it races around the sun, but rather by a culture of violent policing that seems just as inevitable.
Albuquerque Spring began early, on March 16, when James Boyd, homeless and suffering from schizophrenia, hiked the Copper Trailhead seeking a safe place to sleep. But amid the beauty of the Sandias, just beyond the wealthy neighborhoods of the Foothills, he found an aggressive police response to his presence. After a four-hour standoff with APD, he died in a barrage of gunfire and flashbang grenades. Millions have seen that shocking video by now. Boyd's violent death, and Police Chief Gorden Eden's deranged claim that officers' fatal shooting of a mentally ill, homeless man was justified, resurrected old fears that a long history of police violence was gathering new momentum.
Anger and grief brought a thousand people into Albuquerque streets on March 25. But just hours after protesters marched to condemn police violence, APD shot and killed Alfred Redwine. An eyewitness video showed Redwine holding a cellphone when APD officers opened fire. APD claimed Redwine fired a weapon at officers, but no lapel camera video exists to confirm this claim.
Another march followed another person's death. APD responded with urban assault vehicles, combat-equipped SWAT units, a squad of ominous-looking mounted police, K9 units and riot police who fired tear gas at protesters. That militarized response to a peaceful protest brought national and international media to Albuquerque; they struggled to explain what was happening here. It didn't take long for an official explanation. On April 10, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) ended its nearly two-year investigation of APD with a 46-page findings letter on APD's use of excessive force. Boyd was not an exception, and APD routinely uses unjustified, unconstitutional lethal force. The problem begins at the top, where APD brass fosters a climate of violent, crisis-mode policing in which officers are free to use force with impunity.
The next day Mayor Richard Berry hired Tom Streicher to represent the city in negotiations with the DOJ over federally mandated reforms. Streicher is the former chief of the Cincinnati Police Department. In April 2001, a Cincinnati police officer shot and killed an unarmed 19-year-old black man named Timothy Thomas. Streicher refused to release information about the shooting. Thomas was the 15th young black man killed by Cincinnati police in six years. Rioting broke out in African-American neighborhoods terrorized by decades of police violence. The mayor called in the DOJ. That investigation produced an April 2002 agreement that Streicher routinely flouted. He blocked monitors at every step and frequently violated the agreement. Streicher, the chief of a police department that routinely engaged in violent racialized policing, with documented experience in evading DOJ-imposed remedies to unconstitutional policing will now represent Albuquerque in negotiations with the DOJ.
Our Albuquerque Spring will end this Saturday, June 21, on the summer solstice, when thousands will gather in Roosevelt Park at 11am for a March to End Police Brutality. And a spring that began with horror will end with hope.
On April 15 three members of the Police Oversight Commission resigned in protest. Jonathan Siegel wrote that he "cannot continue to pretend or deceive the members of our community into believing that our city has any real civilian oversight." Jennifer Barela also resigned. "I will not mislead the citizens of Albuquerque into believing that our City has any civilian oversight." Richard Shine followed, complaining that obstruction from the City Attorney's Office "makes a complete and final sham of any meaningful civilian oversight of police in Albuquerque. I refuse to contribute to the deception of the public by continuing to serve on the POC."
Willa Correia-Kuehn
Andrew Boyd, brother of APD victim James "Abba" Boyd, spoke at the three-month memorial for Boyd in the Sandia Foothills on Sunday, June 15.
One week later Jeremy Dear killed 19-year-old Mary Hawkes. APD claimed Hawkes had a gun and the officer fired in self-defense. The gun has never been produced, and no lapel camera video of the shooting exists. Eyewitnesses recounted a harrowing story of her final hours. APD hunted the homeless teenager after she allegedly broke into a truck to find safety in the night. Hawkes had no violent criminal history, but APD sent an army into the streets after her. They tracked her to a mobile home park where they released dogs as police cruisers blared warnings from loudspeakers. Dear shot her to death on the sidewalk.
The DOJ concluded that the problems at APD were not only about excessive force, but also a function of serious failures in leadership. On April 23 KRQE reporters obtained months of emails between Former APD chief Ray Schultz and representatives of Taser, a company that manufactures electroshock weapons and lapel cameras. A week before his retirement in 2013, Taser offered Schultz a lucrative job offer: "Is consulting something you'd consider?" Schultz replied he was interested and also that he'd cleared a path for Taser to receive a no bid, multimillion dollar contract with APD to provide weapons and lapel cameras. "Everything has been greased," he wrote Taser, "so it should go without any issues."
Taser collects former police chiefs like a child collects baseball cards. Streicher, too, is on their payroll.
APD SWAT killed Armand Martin on May 3. DOJ says that APD's SWAT Unit suffers from serious deficiencies that contribute "to the pattern of unreasonable use of force." It deals poorly with subjects who are suicidal, barricaded or suffering from mental health crises. All of which were on display in the death of Martin, a 50-year-old Air Force veteran. Armed and suicidal, Martin barricaded himself in his house. SWAT spent hours blasting warnings by loudspeaker at him while combat-equipped officers swarmed his home. They fired flashbang grenades, a weapon designed to shock and disorient, through the windows. Martin fled the barrage, and he was shot to death as he exited the house.
APD claimed Martin fired at officers with two handguns, but the only video of the encounter shows APD officers handcuffing a dying Martin. Armand Martin's brother Tommy was talking to his brother by phone moments before he was killed. The cellphone is visible in the video of officers handcuffing Martin, contradicting APD claims that Martin fired two guns. Tommy Martin is still waiting for the results of his brother's autopsy. In preliminary conversations, Martin says the coroner found no gunfire residue on his brother's hands.
A coalition of activists and family members of victims of police violence, including myself, held a vigil for Martin. There we decided to launch a campaign of civil disobedience. At the City Council meeting on May 5, 40 people stood at the podium as I read a collectively written statement that included the following section: "Tonight, in the true spirit of democracy and with the seriousness to which it deserves and with the power given by the people of New Mexico and its courts of law, we now serve a people's warrant for the arrest of Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden, who is charged as an accessory after the fact in the second-degree murders of James Boyd, Alfred Redwine, Mary Hawkes and Armand Martin."
Eden and his entourage fled the chambers while most City Councilors abandoned their chairs. Council President Ken Sanchez cancelled the meeting. Protesters took their seats, and we held a "People's Assembly." Three days later, under new restrictions on free speech, Sanchez ordered that police forcibly remove seven people, of whom I was one, for standing in silent protest against City Council inaction.
Descanso for James Boyd
The killing continued. APD killed Ralph Chavez on May 22. Chavez, who had a long history of violence and mental illness, was killed after he attacked a woman and slashed a good samaritan who came to her defense. APD officers found a suicidal Chavez holding a small box cutter. They shot him to death from 20 feet away. No video of the shooting exists.
We turned our attention to Mayor Berry. On June 2, 32 people, including family members of victims of police violence, walked into the office of Mayor Berry to stage a sit-in. APD's SWAT unit swarmed the building in a show of force consistent with DOJ criticisms of APD's culture of aggressive policing. Thirty riot police arrested 13 peaceful protesters.
On Monday, June 9, Eden placed a gag order on police and civilian employees of APD banning them from talking to the DOJ. Later that day the City Council placed more restrictions on public comment. Councilor Diane Gibson declared herself "a defender of free speech and the right to speak openly," moments before voting to limit free speech and the right to speak openly.
The next day the District Court found in favor of the family of Christopher Torres in a lawsuit against the City and awarded the family $6 million. In April 2011 two APD detectives shot an unarmed Torres three times in the back. Just four months after District Attorney Kari Brandenburg declared the shooting justified, a judge disagreed, "Detectives Brown and Hilger's testimony is inconsistent with the eyewitness' testimony and the physical evidence."
In an interview last week, Renetta Torres, Christopher Torres' mother, criticized Berry, the Council and APD for offering little more than "cosmetic changes." Real change comes not from individuals but rather, like the seasons, from forces larger than us. Our Albuquerque Spring will end this Saturday, June 21, on the summer solstice, when thousands will gather in Roosevelt Park at 11am for a March to End Police Brutality. And a spring that began with horror will end with hope. But as Torres told the press last week, "We've only just begun."
Albuquerque Spring: A season of police violence and civil disobedience.
Tags: civil disobedience
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Brazilian police criticised over raid on protest camp →
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Latitude & Longitude: 35° 14' 31.092", -81° 1' 34.896"
"Major in Revolution, leader of Lincoln County forces at the battle of Kings Mountain, 1780, where he was killed. His home stood nearby."
Born in 1755 along the south fork of the Catawba River in Mecklenburg County, William Chronicle received little in the way of a formal education. His father, William, Sr., a farmer and deer hunter, supported the Regulator movement. William Sr. adamantly opposed the renaming of their area Tryon County in honor of Governor William Tryon in 1768.
Little is known of Chronicle's early life although he served as an officer in the Tryon County militia in the early 1770s. Chronicle, an ardent Whig, organized Tryon County militia in 1775, leading them during the Snow Campaign in South Carolina. After Tryon became Lincoln County in 1779, he took command of local militia companies and led them in the Savannah campaign that fall. In the summer of 1780 Chronicle received a commission as a major in the Lincoln County militia regiment led by William Graham of Graham's Fort. He subsequently took part in the Battle of Ramsour's Mill as well as skirmishes at Thickety Fort and Cedar Spring.
In the fall of 1780, sixty to eighty Lincoln County militiamen joined other Patriot forces in their pursuit of Major Patrick Ferguson. William Graham being sick, and Chronicle took overall command of the small regiment. For several weeks, Ferguson's force of Tory militia and British provincials had ravaged the western sections of North and South Carolina. In response, Whig militia from the region, joined by men from present-day Tennessee known as the "Overmountain Men" pursued Ferguson until they finally surrounded his forces at King's Mountain on October 7, 1780.
Beginning in the early morning hours, the Whigs assaulted Ferguson's position from all sides. One of the earliest casualties was Major Chronicle. Twenty-five years old, Chronicle was shot and killed while leading one of the initial charges. Reports place him only twenty-five feet from the British position when he died. After his death, his horse was returned to his parents, and his sword, pistols, and spurs were given to his half-brother James McKee. Joseph Graham referred to him as a "young man of great promise." He was buried along with three other young men from the South Fork area killed in the battle. A monument marks his grave at the King's Mountain National Military Park.


This is a 4 shot pano shot in vertical position stitched and converted in CS4.
This is our western view from the house.
That is quite the view! Please post some of the other specs to help us better evaluate an image and offer some other possible advice.
Looking at the clouds at the base of the mountain it appears you need a serious CW rotation.......although looking at the buildings in the FG.....not really.....so must be a slope. I will confess that I am not the biggest fan of those FG structures. The light appears harsh in the image and judging by the shadows.....close to mid-day. Works pretty well for IR photography but nos so well in other conversion methods. You did maintain some decent depth to the clouds.....another time of day would really bring them out. I do wonder if you had more lens to go wider.....including more of the cloud.....I realize you probably lost some in the stitch.....just some things to keep in mind next time out.
Roman, you are correct the land slopes as shown. Note the forground land is level as well as the houses in the middle ground. If I rotate to level the land in front of the mountains the foreground and middle ground would be quite funky. If the land didn't slope most of us locals wouldn't be able to irrigate our pastures since we for the most part flood irrigate.
I agree with your observation concerning the houses but I was not to up to removing them since I didn't think they were too objectionable, but you picked up on it so I guess I made a bad choice there. You are also correct concerning the tod, but you takes what you get concering clouds in this part of the world.
I looked at your image before Roman commented but was on my way out for a long weekend and just got back. I would agree with Roman's comments and do understand you play the cards your dealt, but I would like to give you some alternatives.
I do like the toning you used, I feel that helped to make the high-contrast work in you favor here. I feel more sky was needed. The top of the clouds feel truncated. The houses are a major distraction for me because they are small and grab the eye - however without any detail in them they just don't add to the image.
I construed the the range was sloped but when I first look at your image of this scene, the repost is what I pre-visualized as if I were there. It is a departure from reality, but art in photography does not necessarily require us to remain truthful to what our eye sees. Just some things to think about. BTW, in my repost, I would but didn't clone out the remain structures.
Robert, I hope I can disagree with out trying to defend what I did, but in your repost the foreground is lost and I think it gave a better balance to the image. The distracting houses could be cloned out which would be my choice. Removing the slope while may be pleasing to others makes me feel a little off balance Pehaps because I know what it looks like and fully expect the slope. I am not obsessed with reality, but in this case, it works better for me. I do not disagree with your point of view nor am I being defensive, just stating may reaction to the repost. Please don't take offense and please don't stop giving me your reaction to the images I submit. I carefully consider what you have to say and I learn what others think of the image even if I don't totally agree.
Hi Bill, you have a perfect right to disagree and you will always have the final say on your images. Over time you will see that the mods do not fully agree all the time either.
I don't think anyone would take offense to your comment but it's also good to remember that there isn't a need to justify ones decisions after they hear a critique. You could either accept or reject it...your call.
Pertaining to the image it has alot of impact due to powerful cloud formation. The sepia adds a feel to the image which is pleasing. I like Roberts repost but would like just a bit more(not much) bottom.


Sunshine Bazzar is one of the main shopping malls in Ma On Shan. As part of the refurbishment campaign, APU re-designed the shopping mall connecting space adjoining the residential tower as well as the shopping centre nearby. The original space planning for the corridor only aimed to fulfil basic circulation for the residents, which, however, overlooked the locational advantage at the shopping mall entrance. APU saw great potential in designing this highly circulated connecting space as the new landmark of Sunshine Bazzar. The designer brought in a hint of greenery at the stone finished entrance feature wall and attracted attention to the LED commercial signboard. The connecting corridor was finished in tea mirror and bronze stainless steel to extend the existing design grandeur from the shopping arcade. APU hopes that the new design will bring complete refreshness to the visitors.


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MPP Program
McGill.CA / Max Bell School of Public Policy / Our People / MPP Teaching Faculty
Evan Siddall
Evan and his executive team have transformed CMHC into a high-performing, innovative, and ambitious organization with a vision of being at the heart of a world-leading housing system. CMHC has led the design of Canada's first-ever National Housing Strategy, an ambitious $40 billion, 10-year plan to reduce housing need in Canada.
Evan came to public service after visiting Canadian battlefields and Vimy Ridge in northern France. He served first at the Bank of Canada, at the behest of former colleague Mark Carney, in 2010. Taking lessons from the global financial crisis of 2008 and his career in finance, Evan spearheaded the Bank's efforts in establishing financial infrastructure to guard against systemic risks.
Evan worked at some of the world's largest investment banking firms in Canada and the United States before joining the Bank. He also helped launch a private entrepreneurial venture, Side Launch Brewing Company, named 2016 Canadian Brewery of the Year.
Course(s):
Policy Case Study: CMHC in Motion: Present & Future of Housing Policy in Canada
JD, York University
BA, University of Guelph (Management Economics)
MPP Student Orientation Week
Climate change puts health at risk and economists have the right prescription | The Conversation
Digital Ecosystem Research Challenge Launched ahead of 2019 Election
Why doctors argue 'carbon pricing' can 'cure' climate change | Global News
Piecing together the public policy puzzle | McGill News
Max Bell School of Public Policy
3506 rue University
Montreal, QC H3A 2A7
Learn more about the School
The four pillars of the Max Bell School
MPP in detail
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Q: creating batch file to run sql query in sql developer and store result in excel sheet I am creating a batch file that will be executed daily at a specific time. The batch file will execute a .sql file. The .sql contains a complex select statement. I have created the sql file using Sql Developer. Also the output of the sql must be stored in an excel sheet with name as todays date.
I have read posts related to batch file to run the sql script but have not found clear answers. I am completely new to batch files.
Thanks

A: try to use bcp command http://sqlfool.com/2008/12/bcp-basics/ with queryout option

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


On Tuesday, November 27, 2018, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office released the identities of two women who tragically lost their lives in a recent area auto accident. The collision took place four days earlier on Friday, November 23, 2018, and officers say that they suspect the accident to have been caused by an intoxicated driver. The women were identified as Catherine Rhodes and Tracy Lane, who were 61 and 50 years old respectively. Both women were members of the Fort Bragg community. My deep sympathy and support are sent out to Lane and Rhodes' grieving loved ones during this difficult time.
According to police reports, the accident happened on Highway 20 between Willits and Fort Bragg at around 8:30 p.m. Lane and Rhodes had been in a vehicle being driven by a 62-year-old Fort Bragg resident and heading west on the highway. The vehicle reportedly drifted out of its lane and left the road, eventually traveling off of a steep roadside embankment. The vehicle overturned multiple times before coming to a stop at the bottom of the embankment.
When responders arrived at the crash scene, they found both vehicle passengers with major injuries. Medical officials stated that Lane's injuries were too severe for treatment and that the woman was sadly declared deceased before she could be taken to a hospital. Rhodes was immediately rushed to the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to be given urgent care. However, Rhodes was also not able to recover from her injuries and tragically passed away at the hospital.
The driver of the vehicle was not reported to have sustained any serious injuries. Officers arrested the man at the scene of the accident on charges of vehicular manslaughter and driving while under the influence. The man remains in the custody of the Mendocino County Jail where public records stated that his bail had been set at $200,000.
Operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs puts people in danger and often results in accidents that cost people their lives. Knowing that your loved one died because of the negligence of a drunk driver can make it even more difficult to deal with intense emotions involved in a fatal accident. It is normal to have strong emotions of sadness, fatigue, anger, and confusion after your loved one suddenly passes away, and these feelings often make people delay contacting an attorney.
While taking time to grieve is important, calling a Fort Bragg wrongful death lawyer as soon as you can is a vital step in recovering personally and financially after a fatal DUI crash has affected your family. The dependents and family members of people who've been killed by a reckless driver can often claim payments for lost income, emotional trauma, household services, and more. Knowing that you have an experienced professional handling your case for you can allow you and your family time and space to focus on healing.
If you'd like to learn a little bit more about wrongful death cases, you can watch the below video. However, if you want to understand the details of your specific case, it is best to talk to a respected wrongful death lawyer in person or on the phone.
Can a Fort Bragg Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me?
I'm Ed Smith, a Fort Bragg car accident lawyer. Fatal crashes can leave families devastated. If your loved one died in a car accident, please call me at (707) 564-1900 or at (800) 404-5400 so that I can offer you free, friendly advice.
I've been helping residents of Fort Bragg with wrongful death and personal injury cases for more than 36 years and have obtained a long list of successful verdicts and settlements.
I am in a forum of top-rated trial attorneys who've won a client over $1,000,000, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.


The Onyx is a state of the art Geiger counter, based on an Open Source design by Bunnie Huang. What puts it apart from other open source Geiger counter designs, is that the Onyx is built, calibrated and supported by International Medcom, one of the most respected names in the nuclear detection industry.
Wizkers is the official utility for the Medcom Onxy and is guaranteed to support all its capabilities.
Wizkers displays the current and historical radiation graph on the main screen, can record the output of the Onyx at any rate, and regularly upload radioactivity values to backend services, including Safecast. Wizkers also support configuring the Onyx, remote calibrations as well as device log data downloads.
Last, it also lets you update the firmware of the Onyx.
The main graph displays instant CPM readings (in orange) as well as a rolling 10 minute average (in dark brown). The side display shows the current CPM and µSv/h readings, as well as a "valid/invalid" pill which reflects the status of the Onyx.
The Onyx can store 3000+ recordings in its flash memory. You can download the logs from the "logs and recordings" screen. Wizkers supports all Onyx log formats, including single datapoint logs, and min/max logs.
The "Logs and recordings" screen lets you visualize both Wizkers recordings and downloaded device logs.
You can also save any log in CSV format by clicking on the "Download as CSV" button.
Note: firmware upgrades have been tested on Wizkers running on Chromebooks, MacOS, as well as Windows on all version from XP to Windows 10.
Starting with Onyx firmware 12.26-b, it is now possible to upgrade the firmware of the Onyx directly from Wizkers.
Important: if your Onyx firmware version is lower than 12.26-b, you will need to do one final manual upgrade to get it up to date, by following the "Recovering from a failed upgrade" procedure described just below.
Wizkers will first verify that the existing Onyx firmware can be upgraded, then, if successful, will let you either manually select a firmware file on your hard drive, or download the latest version of the Onyx firmware directly from the Wizkers firmware service.
You can then press "Upgrade Firmware" (it should turn green once Wizkers is happy with the firmware file or download).
Do not switch screens once the firmware upgrade starts, it will crash the upgrade process and the Onyx will be temporarily 'bricked'. Which brings us to the next section: recovering from a failed firmware upgrade.
If for any reason, the firmware upgrade process is not successful, the Onyx screen will remain blank and the unit will not react to its power/standby switch anymore. Fear not, though, you can recover from this fairly easily. Depending on the operating system you are using, the procedure will be slightly different. Please note that at the moment, it is not possible to recover from a failed upgrade from a Chromebook, you will need a Mac, Linux or a Windows computer.
This command works on MacOS Yosemite and later. If you are running an older version of MacOS, please replace com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI with "com.FTDI.driver.FTDIUSBSerialDriver".
You might get an error at this stage, but this is nothing to worry about, the driver is unloaded anyway.
You should now be up and running again.
Again, this is for Yosemite and later, use "com.FTDI.driver.FTDIUSBSerialDriver" for earlier MacOS versions.
Once you have downloaded OnyxLink.zip, extract it to your desktop, and run the "OnyxLink" application, to do a firmware upgrade using firmware.12-26-c.bin and get back on your feet . You will then be able to use Wizkers to upgrade to the latest firmware.


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Sat, 15 December 2018 at 11:28 pm
Kate Winslet & Saoirse Ronan to Play Lovers in Historial Drama 'Ammonite'
Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan are teaming up for a new movie!
The 43-year-old Titanic star and the 24-year-old Mary Queen of Scots actress will be playing lovers in the upcoming movie Ammonite – the historical drama inspired by real-life fossil hunter and paleontologist Mary Anning who is credited with making important discoveries in Jurassic marine fossil beds along the English Channel.
"Set in a UK coastal town in the 1840s, the drama will follow the unlikely romance between paleontologist Mary Anning (Winslet) and a London woman (Ronan) of means to whom she must unexpectedly play nursemaid," according to Deadline.
The film will be directed by Francis Lee, who gained critical acclaim for his 2017 drama God's Own Country about a romance between two male farmhands.
Ammonite will begin filming in March 2019.
Photos: Getty
Posted to: Kate Winslet, Movies, Saoirse Ronan
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HUD Systems: Augmented Reality Is Coming to Your Windshield
Head-up displays have evolved beyond the bulky in-console navigation units from only a few years ago. Today, tier suppliers and aftermarket manufacturers have introduced head-up display systems for the auto market that project speed, compass direction, warning messages, radio information — and soon even Yelp reviews — right on the windshield itself.
MICHAEL WHEELER, MANAGING EDITOR, [email protected]
Only a few short years ago, the use of displays in automobiles was considered a luxury spec reserved for high-end vehicles. Today, however, rapid developments in automotive infotainment and navigation systems have made displays a centerpiece in most automotive designs.
Lane departure warnings appear when the driver goes off course. Photo courtesy of Continental AG.
Beyond the large monitors used for in-console navigation, controls and rear-seat DVD systems, the most exciting advances are in head-up display (HUD) systems, a classification extending to any transparent display that presents data without requiring the user to look away from the usual field of view.
HUD systems superimpose vehicle information such as speed, warning signals and indicator arrows on the windshield, allowing drivers to maintain their focus on the road while receiving information that would normally require a glance at an instrument panel on the dashboard.
Head-up displays like this one from WayRay SA project the virtual route onto the windshield so that it seems to lie in front of the car, enabling drivers to keep their eyes safely on the road. Photo courtesy of WayRay.
As futuristic as it sounds, HUD technology has been around for quite some time. The first HUD systems were developed for pilots in World War II, who required information be displayed in a "head up," forward-looking position to help them hit their targets while maneuvering. Modern HUDs became commonplace in military aircraft in the 1960s and in commercial aircraft in the 1970s.
Older automotive-based HUD systems used a small cathode ray tube to project vehicle data onto a special element on the windshield. Information is superimposed on the lower half of the glass, which is inside the driver's immediate line of sight. To allow for faster comprehension of information, data is displayed at a focal point equal to that of the roadway in front of the vehicle. Because of this, the driver doesn't have to refocus his or her eyes to view HUD information.
Recent advances in display technology have improved the design of HUD systems, with many now utilizing liquid crystal displays (LCD) and light-emitting diode (LED) technology, which convey brighter images and are less expensive to manufacture. Newer projection technologies, including micromirror-based devices based on electromechanical systems, are coming into the market, creating brighter images and more saturated colors.
HUD market driven by system size, price and value
General Motors Co. was the first automaker to implement a HUD system, in 1988 on its Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme model. Recently other car manufacturers have followed, primarily offering HUD systems on select sport or luxury-class models from General Motors, BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot, Mazda and others. HUD systems can be found on a broader number of mid-range and compact vehicles, including the Passat and Tiguan from Volkswagen, the Mini Cooper and Mazda 3.
BMW is among a growing list of automakers offering HUD systems. An up-close depiction of the HUD on the BMW Series 7, showing speed and navigational information. Photo courtesy of BMW.
As of 2015, total sales were estimated at 2.26 million unit sales, with 5.6 million units projected for 2021, according to the global market research firm IHS.
"The physical size of the technologies and components in HUDs — both wind-screen and combiner types — are declining, making it physically easier to engineer them into smaller vehicles," said Mark Boyadjis, an analyst with IHS.
First-generation HUD systems were commonly monochrome and offered little information to the user, showing only RPM and speed. They were also large and couldn't fit into vehicles with smaller cockpit sizes.
"This is changing and combiner HUDs are enabling more growth as they require much less space on the dash. Along with shrinking sizes, declining costs are enabling automotive product planners to justify offering HUD for the first time ever," Boyadjis said.
Combiner HUD systems: the choice for mid-market cars and beyond
There are primarily two types of HUD systems in production or in development: those that take advantage of the full windshield and the combiner HUD.
Peugeot was the first automaker to offer a combiner HUD in 2009 from global automotive supplier Visteon Corp. Compared with a full windshield-HUD, the combiner HUD requires about half of the installation space. A small transparent disc called the "combiner" acts as the mirror for information. As the entire windshield doesn't need to be incorporated into the optical path, less space is required and combiner HUDs can therefore easily fit in sports cars, compacts or in whole vehicle families.
A large-image windshield HUD concept from Visteon Corp. Photo courtesy of Visteon Corp.
A smaller footprint saves money, as designing custom windshields with exact specifications is costly for the automaker. Instead, the optical path is positioned in the combiner, which is optimized for its optical properties.
Combiner HUDs offer the same ergonomic advantages as full-windshield HUDs; drivers can keep their eyes on traffic and no longer have to look back and forth between the road and their display instruments.
Visteon Corp. is one tier supplier that has adopted an aggressive approach to the combiner HUD market, unveiling multiple custom systems for entry-level to luxury-class vehicles at this January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Its combiner HUDs for emerging markets take a no-frills approach, offering a cost-effective system with a compact field of view and limited color definition. For the mid-market and luxury segments, systems feature kinematics (enabling the combiner disc to be stored inside the instrument panel when not activated), higher optical quality, increased brightness and enhanced craftsmanship.
The company plans to offer its latest combiner HUD systems on automakers in the Asian and European markets during the 2016 and 2017 model years.
Full windshield HUDs
Despite the advance of the more affordable combiner HUD option, tier suppliers continue to invest heavily in developing full-windshield HUD systems, which promise to fundamentally transform the driving experience and usher in new advanced features like augmented reality.
"My thesis is once you've driven a car with a HUD you can never go back," said Paul Russo, chairman and founder of GEO Semiconductor Inc., whose eWARP processor enables real-time spatial morphing of images, calibration and digital alignment for HUD systems.
"It reminds me of my days at RCA when we were developing remote controls for TVs. People would ask, 'Why would you want this when you can just go and stand up and change the channel?'" he said.
Russo and others tout the promise of the full windshield HUDs as a virtual blank canvas, a portion of which can be used to convey information to the driver, from pedestrian detection, intersection guidance and a wide range of warning messages. But with greater options, come greater technical hurdles.
"The problem today is not only do you need precision optics, curved optics, but you must also do a lot of manual calibration in the factory," Russo said.
New video processing technologies, such as GEO Semiconductor's eWARP technology, should enable greatly reduced manufacturing costs and make HUDs affordable for the mainstream auto market, he said.
Converting a windshield into a medium for depicting information requires close attention to detail, and, in order to create a distortion-free image, the windshield requires very exact images from the concave mirror in the HUD. Tolerances in manufacturing the large mirror are therefore correspondingly quite narrow.
International automotive supplier Continental AG proposes a windshield with a tolerance of less than 5 micrometers across the entire surface. In order to present an image that can easily be read, a large dynamic range of ambient brightness, extreme luminance and brightness control are required for a HUD system. Any optical distortions through the windshield are electronically corrected on the display.
Transforming the 'reality' of the driving experience
The next frontier is the introduction of the first "augmented reality" (AR) HUD systems. An AR HUD supplements the exterior view of traffic conditions in front of the vehicle with virtual information, or augmentation, for the driver. AR HUDs incorporate information as part of the driving experience.
"Augmented reality is — hands-down — the most exciting new advance in HUD innovation," Boyadjis said. "The biggest opportunity for augmented reality systems is for safety, but imagine a HUD enabling a virtual arrow to be laid upon the road itself as you drive, helping you to navigate more naturally. Other options could be illumination of the road lines or pedestrians at night or in poor visibility conditions."
Unveiled as a prototype in 2014, Continental's AR HUD system features a virtual symbol inserted into the exterior view showing the driver exactly where to turn in front of the vehicle. The system also features adaptive cruise control, which tracks the distance between the driver's vehicle and the vehicle ahead. A crescent-shaped icon changes color when the vehicles get too close.
Adaptive cruise control monitors the speed and distance of cars ahead, offering uninterrupted feedback to the driver in real time. Photo courtesy of Continental AG.
This and other features aim to relieve the burden on the driver, as the driver is connected with explanatory information — which, according to Continental, allows the driver to more quickly register the driving situation he or she is in, making for a safer driving experience.
Augmented reality HUD is "an important part of tomorrow's holistic interaction" between driver and vehicle, according to Kern.
The company is now in the pre-development phase of augmented reality HUDs, with development set for next year. The earliest market introduction would be in 2019, he said.
DLP and Lasers Emerge
HUD systems typically consist of the picture generating unit (PGU), which includes a heat sink, printed circuit board, LED matrix and TFT color display and light guide.
While most HUDs feature super bright backlit LCDs, that may soon change.
Texas Instrument Inc.'s TI DLP chipsets, used for years in cinema and home theater applications, are being incorporated into some HUD systems in development. DLP, which stands for digital light processing, is a kind of projection system that contains millions of tiny mirrors capable of producing clear images across a windshield regardless of whether it's sunny, cloudy or nighttime.
Key components of a head-up display include an aspherical mirror, light source with display generation unit and the optical component. Photo courtesy of Continental AG.
Patrick Nebout, director of advanced technology and innovation for Visteon Corp., confirmed his company is working on developing several technologies for PGU, including DLP.
"This is the same technology you see in projectors in movie theaters," he said. "It's done using small mirrors, and light is reflected in such a way so you can manipulate each pixel."
Continental is following suit.
"We expect to be the first to market with DLP HUD technology for automotive use," said Thorsten A. Kern, director of Continental's Center of Competences Head-Up Displays based in Babenhausen, Germany. He noted that many of the company's U.S.-based competitors are advertising future capabilities for DLP.
"DLP offers a much brighter image, more brilliant colors and [a] larger field of view than current LCD HUDs," he said.
Another alternative to LED matrix and TFT color displays is a laser-based system — one that employs blue and green laser diodes — now available on the Jaguar Land Rover XE sedan.
Despite the promise of projecting sharp, high contrast images, it remains more expensive to manufacture, Mark Boyadjis, an analyst at IHS, said.
Visteon's Nebout added that, historically, the laser technology hadn't matured to be viable in automotive applications. But that is changing, he said, and the bigger challenge is overcoming speckle, a random granular pattern that emerges when a highly coherent light beam is diffusely reflected on a surface.
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Community Chat Forum
It's snowing. Again.
By booksallsizes, August 6, 2012 in Community Chat Forum
booksallsizes 10
We've been at minus 5 the whole day and it's starting to snow again... Damn it's cold...:ninja:
Upgrade to BLIZZARD...
That's probably why we in JHB are expecting a cold day tomorrow... Keep warm! Brrrrrr
I doubt it will ever snow in Durban, but we were just surprised with a hectic hailstorm, the roads were white with hail, thank goodness there was no damage to the car.
Grahamstown doesn't seem privileged enough to get snow - just the freezing cold! Maximum temp outside today is 6 deg in our garden! All cats and dogs (with sense) are sleeping inside the house, around the heaters. It is only yours truly who is sitting in the cold outside office at the computer.
Cali Craft and Gems 14
Absolutely freezing cold in Oudtshoorn today - with rain and wind! A friend of ours came into town this morning and said the mountains were covered in a new blanket of snow! Can't see it from town yet as there is too much low cloud, but you can definitely feel it... bbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..........
svw 10
WOW - Think I would die in cold like that - we have been 25 degrees max today lovely and warm but are expecting to be colder tomorrow...
Just as bad in CT. My furniture on my outside balcony was flung around and I had a chair go over the balcony, onto our one car standing in the driveway below and in pieces. It's really been howling here....winter at it's best!
You can keep the wind! It was strong enough this side today with gusts of up to 30km per hour! (In PE that would be considered a light breeze! LOL)
[h=6]Image courtesy of the Swartberg Country Manor: Swartberg Pass 6 August 2012 - no wonder it is freezing cold in Oudtshoorn! [/h]
staccato 10
Will be back in Grahamstown on Wednesday till Sunday, not looking forward to the cold & wind as predicted by the weatherman, however, I will be with warmhearted friends. See you soon Lily!:smile1:
Travel safely, staccato. Will be good to see you again!
meeks 10
On the subject of cold weather. We certainly can not compare with most of the other regions when it comes to winter temperatures, as we normally have (coldish) but enjoyable winter temperatures,as our summers are excruciatingly hot here.But this year, I don't know what it is, but I am feeling the winter much more intensely than in the past, and can not wait for summer to arrive., it's depressing to say the least
Everything just seems different to previous years,it is colder, and the days just seem too long. Oh well, hopefully the feeling will pass, but I do feel for those of you who are really suffering the cold.
It's beautiful here in the forest.
kyle2 10
Its pretty white here in Edenvale at the moment........:wacko:
It just started SNOWING in Pretoria!!!!!Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Randburg we have had a few flakes of snow today .....but it is absoloutly freezing here, I have never known it so cold apart from in Europe!! Just turned up the underfloor heating...as the dogs were complaining of the cold!!!
I thought my son was teasing me when he called about an hour ago to say that it's snowing in JHB...I had better call him back and tell him that to catch a few flakes for me...:shock:
It only lasted for about 10min.,but I felt like a kid again:bigsmile:I think it will start again tonight.
It is freezing and the wind is howling a moerse hou here, I am too scared to venture out doors.
Minus 5?? Minus 5??? I would simply die!!!!!!
So much for global warming.
It's Global Freezing more like it.
As Oudtshoorn had a major power outage today, we decided to close the shop and go for a drive to "get warm"...
Opted to go up the Swartberg Pass as hubby missed out on the snow the last time us girls went up, and surprisingly there was only a little right at the top of the pass. It however has been raining almost non-stop for more than 24 hours so we suspect that this could have perhaps melted the snow as we did see a little bit of slush on the side of the road and there was plenty of mud.
Came back home, put on the paraffin heater and waited patiently for the power to come back on so we could reheat the leftover veggie broth from last night and so I could work on parcels. Thank heavens it was restored a short while ago around 6pm. But it is still freezing cold...
JANDS 22
.....and the sea is roaring here, the wind howling the drops against the roof and windows.....a Cape Winter at its best.
circe 10
it starting to snow a bit here on the farm also -9 at this moment.


WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday passed legislation drastically reducing the sentencing disparity between crack and powdered cocaine — a longtime disparity critics saw as unfairly targeting African Americans.
Previously, under the 1986 law, a person selling crack got the same sentence as someone selling 100 times the amount of powdered cocaine. The ratio will now go to 18 to 1.
The old bill became law while crack-cocaine was spinning out of control and savaging urban areas. But critics said it amounted to giving harsher sentences to African Americans who sold crack and lesser sentences to whites who were selling more of the powder cocaine.
The bill now goes before President Obama for his signature.
The bill also eliminates the five-year mandatory minimum sentence for first-time possession of crack, marking the first time Congress has eliminated a mandatory minimum sentence since the Nixon administration, according to the Associated Press.
"The time is long overdue to fix this law that the U.S. Sentencing Commission agrees disproportionately punishes African-Americans. After many years of hard work on this issue, we are one step closer to eliminating this inequity in federal sentencing," House Judiciary Committee Chairman, John Coyers Jr. said in a statement.
Posted: 7/28/10 at 5:39 PM under FBI, News Story.


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Polk sheriff assigning deputies to ensure recount security
LAKELAND (FOX 13) - After the recount was officially announced, the Polk County Sheriff Office made an announcement of its own, saying it will add extra security and monitoring for elections workers tabulating the count.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he is ordering deputies to oversee the counting of the votes.
Click here to view current vote tallies from the state of Florida.
The recount controversy has some voters on both sides calling for transparency as the recount process gets underway.
Judd said, at the request of Polk County Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards, he is having two deputies closely observe the recount.
Judd said one deputy will be a registered Republican voter and one will be a registered Democrat voter.
"They want the satisfaction of knowing that the election process has integrity," Judd told FOX 13 News.
The request from the Supervisor of Elections is a result of days of comments by public officials, implying improper conduct and incompetence.
Thursday, Governor Rick Scott said there may be "rampant fraud" at two South Florida supervisors of elections offices, referring to Broward and Palm Beach counties.
President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday, without evidence, that the elections were being stolen.
Protesters, meanwhile, gathered at an elections office in Broward County, which was quickly becoming a battleground in the recount. The protesters waved signs, used bullhorns, and harangued a food delivery person at one point, asking if there were ballots inside the food bags.
Protests in Hillsborough County Saturday were subdued, in comparison. Most voters who spoke with FOX 13 News said their main concerns were transparency and accuracy.
The Hillsborough County Canvassing Board said it would begin the machine recount process at 9 a.m. Sunday.
In a release to the media, the board said: "This is a public process. Observation of high-speed scanners will be through windows in an adjacent viewing room."
Search underway for 14-year-old Florida girl last seen days ago, deputies say
Son seeks answers about mother's choking death; body exhumed after 35 years
Lucky's Markets are shutting down, offering 'significant' discounts in St. Pete, Sarasota stores