Marie and Paul are both in the late stages of a terminal illness. Both know that they've only a short time to live and, despite good palliative care, both find waiting for their deaths to be unbearably awful. Their caregivers are having a very tough time controlling their pain and aren't at all confident that they'll be able to do much better. Marie and Paul are as clear about the irrevocable character of death as anyone can be; they're each equally clear that they want to die as soon as possible.
Paul and Marie live in a country where euthanasia is legal and carefully monitored. Their requests have been vetted by an interdisciplinary team of professionals who certify their competence in general and their grasp of their own situations in particular. Should they be killed?
This is tough question. There are many thoughtful people of good will who think that, legal or not, it is always seriously wrong to take human life, or innocent human life, or who aren't convinced that there are no realistic options that will relieve suffering without killing. Others think that, while in principle it might not be immoral to satisfy some requests for euthanasia, no general policy can reliably sort out the justifiable cases, or that there could be no policy whose bad consequences wouldn't outweigh any good they might do.
Yet there are many equally thoughtful and well disposed people who think that, in carefully identified circumstances—for example, circumstances like those in which Marie and Paul find themselves—euthanasia is a morally acceptable option. If you're inclined to share this view, consider this: Marie just passed her 18th birthday; Paul is six months shy of his. Does that difference mean that, while killing Marie is allowable, killing Paul is wrong?
In Belgium, they tend to think not. Euthanasia has been legal there since 2002, but only available to people eighteen year of age or older. In March of this year, King Philippe signed into law a measure passed by parliament removing the age limit; euthanasia is now available to terminally ill patients who are undergoing unbearable and unrelievable suffering without an age limit. Those younger than eighteen have to request euthanasia explicitly and voluntarily, have the concurrence of both parents (or of their guardians), and be free of intellectual impairment or of mental illness. Further, a multidisciplinary panel must determine that the child requesting euthanasia has the kind of discernment necessary to understand what they are requesting.
Now, if the thoughtful critics are right, and euthanasia is as such immoral, or as such impossible or highly unlikely to turn into a legitimate medical procedure without doing more harm than good, than this legislation is ill considered. Yet if euthanasia's thoughtful champions are right—if, say, the standing Belgian law were defensible—what then? Has an irrationally arbitrary barrier been eliminated, as the story of Paul and Marie is supposed to suggest? Or have the gates been open to killing terminally ill children, highly vulnerable to manipulation, who may be more of a burden to their caregivers than to themselves?
This seems open to an immediate rejoinder: even if children are not susceptible to the affront to dignity that some last resort palliative interventions might be thought to present, even if they don't (or oughtn't to?) worry about burdening others, and even if they don't experience loss of control as humiliation, they can still suffer intense pain. The rebuttal seems equally immediate: there is no need for those kids to suffer agonizing pain, and no need to kill them to avoid it. If all other palliative resources fail, there is always terminal sedation as a possibility. While some adults might have well-considered reasons to reject that option, no child could.
The problem here is that "child" covers a lot of territory. The image that really powers the Siegal-Sisti-Caplan argument is the specter of giving lethal injections to 10 year olds. It isn't clear that their argument is at all compelling in a case like Paul's. Is it really out of the question that a 17 year old might have a sense of his own dignity, a mature interest in maintaining some measure of control over what befalls him, or a loving concern for the sufferings of his family, such that euthanasia would seem preferable to terminal sedation? If so, then we need to worry about cases like Marie's as well; there is nothing magic about a few months. If not, perhaps the lesson of Siegal, Sisti, and Caplan's paper is the need for the Belgians to be sure that their "discernment" criterion is alert to whether minors who request euthanasia can suffer in ways that opiates can't extinguish.
My own inclination at this point in the discussion is to look harder at the idea of arbitrariness. If euthanasia has a legitimate place in end-of-life care, the new Belgian law invites reflection on how serious a matter is it to deny that option it to those who might want to choose it. No one is confused about the arbitrariness of age limits in general terms: there will always be some people younger that the stipulated limit who could out-perform some of those older—who could, for example, vote more wisely or drive more safely. Still, as a matter of social policy, we are willing to withhold franchise from those bright, well-informed, and politically passionate 17 year olds who could vote much more thoughtfully that many 18 year olds (or 60 year olds, for that matter); we're quite willing to force mature and highly coordinated 14 year olds who could drive competently to wait, rather than set up less crude ways of detecting readiness. Yet if this is an injustice to the young people involved, it seems a small one; almost before they know it, they will cross the age line. At least for many gravely ill children, the same remedy is, most sadly, not to hand.
Pousset G, Bilsen J, Cohen J, Mortier F, Deliens L. Continuous deep sedation at the end of life of children in Flanders, Belgium. J Pain Symptom Manage. Feb 2011;41(2):449-455. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.04.025. Epub 2010 Dec 10.
Siegel MA, Sisti DA, Caplan AL. Pediatric Euthanasia in Belgium: Disturbing Developments. JAMA. 2014;():. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.4257. Epub Apr 17, 2014.
James Lindemann Nelson, PhD, is a Professor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University.
Join the discussion! Your comments and responses to this commentary are welcomed. The author will respond to all comments made by Monday, May 12. With your participation, we hope to create discussions rich with insights from diverse perspectives.
This entry was posted in Bioethics in the News and tagged Belgium, euthanasia, JAMA, legal euthanasia, palliative care, pediatric euthanasia, philosophy, terminal illness. Bookmark the permalink.
Professor Nelson's thoughtful response to our essay raises a host of important considerations.
His primary concern turns on a question of arbitrariness about age, competence and consent. We indicate that requests for euthanasia from adults seem more legitimate than requests from children or adolescents. He disagrees.
While it is true that there are certainly cases of competency in which children, adolescents or even toddlers are more advanced than many older adults (say in the use of an iPad!), such capacities are outside the scope of our argument. We have in mind a kind of wisdom and self-reflectiveness that only comes with age and experience. Is it true that some adults lack such wisdom? Yes. But, it is much more likely that many teens and nearly all younger children are ill equipped to make decisions of such gravity.
Professor Nelson's critique itself relies on a particular kind of arbitrary judgment. In contrast to age-arbitrariness, we are forced to wonder about all the different kinds of conditions that might 'qualify' a teen for euthanasia. Based on his example, this list would seem highly arbitrary. If we are reading his reply correctly, Professor Nelson seems to be saying that clinical conditions of merit should be left up to the teen and parents. This clinical arbitrariness seems to cover a lot of territory— probably a lot more than the definition of 'child'— and ultimately ignores society's interest in the life and health of minors in favor of subjective definitions about what counts as 'unbearable'.
His argument seems also to compel us to reexamine the legitimacy of whether mental disorders should really be disqualifying regarding euthanasia. If unbearable suffering is ethically salient, why should it matter if a teen is suffering the pain of metastatic cancer or serious treatment-resistant depression?
Professor Nelson also suggests we are invoking the Doctrine of Double Effect when arguing the ethical permissibility of terminal sedation over pediatric active euthanasia. He rightly points out that many physicians in Belgium have administered terminal sedation with the intention to shorten life. If terminal sedation carried the same inevitable risk of an immediate death as is true for active euthanasia by injection of high-dose potassium chloride, intention of the administering physician would be highly relevant to ethical practice under the Doctrine of Double Effect. On the contrary, terminal sedation generally does not directly cause death, particularly if artificial nutrition and hydration are maintained.
Finally, we should also clarify that we are not saying children are not vulnerable to unbearable, unremitting suffering. Sadly they are. What we are saying is that there are remedies that are clinically appropriate and ethically safer than euthanasia.
Thank you for this provocative article. I think you left a few areas unexplored, especially if the young adult has not received full disclosure about their treatment plan during the course of their illness. Have they always consented to the treatments they have endured? Adults (health care professionals and parents/guardians) have to reflect on their own personal and faith perspectives. How much of the treatment is due to adults not being willing to "let go." As a Christian pastor and health care chaplain, I often wondered how much of the baptismal covenant do we believe… in life and death we belong to God? Kids are fearful of disappointing their parents and doctors because they do not want to risk emotional abandonment if they say they do not want anymore treatments. Why don't we offer hospice care to more children? That is the most compassionate kind of care-giving when many treatment options are no longer available.
Also, look at recent research done that dispels the myth that children are incapable of making life and death decisions (D.H. Granello, 2010 on Suicide). Fortunately suicide is rare in early childhood (5-9 year olds). But Raimbault, Normand and Mishara have found that almost all children have a mature concept of death by the age of 10. It is the adults often who have to accept and overcome their judgments about people making informed decisions. A less sensational title would be more helpful and give the topic more justice.
What a slippery slope we trod when physicians are legally allowed, even encouraged, to end a life not worth living. Once we physicians are licensed to kill, we will have lost the implicit covenant with our patients that directs us to protect life and do whatever is in our power to heal the sick, otherwise known as the Hippocratic oath. Reliving suffering is a large part of our mission as practitioners, and we should vigorously strive to accomplish that without killing the patient. Loving and caring for our patients compels us work diligently to alleviate depression, isolation, and loss of self worth. I remain adamantly opposed to PAS.
Messrs. Seigal, Sisti, and Caplan's reply to my discussion of their JAMA essay is welcome, both for the opportunity to state my views with greater precision, as well as for added light it sheds on their position. My remarks aren't a defense of euthanasia for any age group. They are focused on what I took to be the claim of the JAMA authors that Belgium's extension of their permissive euthanasia policy to children was illegitimate because children, unlike adults, are not vulnerable to unbearable suffering that results from aggressive palliation, and that any unbearable suffering that they may suffer from terminal illness can be relieved otherwise than by euthanasia. This claim is implausible if "adult" is understood to include everyone over eighteen, and "child" everyone under eighteen; its translation into policy could not help but be arbitrary. Hence the invitation at the end of my piece to think about the moral significance of arbitrary denials of access to euthanasia, and here I renew that invitation to my colleagues.
Dr. Wittingden's concerns are worthy of the most careful consideration. I wonder whether he might think that the experience over the past several years in The Netherlands, and now more broadly in the Benelux countries, could be relevant to his worries about the loss of the "implied covenant" of which he writes. Have physicians and the publics they serve forged a new covenant in Holland? If so, is it problematic in any way that they've done so?
Certainly we all agree that unbearable suffering is evil and demands empathy and vigorous treatment. If individuals are free to demand euthanasia from their physicians, an exercise of autonomy, is death truly beneficial to them? Only a divine power can truly determine that. The experience in the Netherlands is a demonstration of the slippery slope as many patients are involuntarily killed by health care providers who have decided that their lives are not worth living, PAS is fraught with the potential for such abuse.
I do not know if a new covenant between physicians and the public has been developed in the Netherlands. I do know that I would be afraid to be seriously ill if a citizen there.


text:
Mount Pleasant es una ciudad ubicada en el condado de Henry en el estado estadounidense de Iowa. En el Censo de 2010 tenía una población de 8668 habitantes y una densidad poblacional de 392,76 personas por km².

Geografía
Mount Pleasant se encuentra ubicada en las coordenadas . Según la Oficina del Censo de los Estados Unidos, Mount Pleasant tiene una superficie total de 22.07 km², de la cual 22.03 km² corresponden a tierra firme y (0.18%) 0.04 km² es agua.

Demografía
Según el censo de 2010, había 8668 personas residiendo en Mount Pleasant. La densidad de población era de 392,76 hab./km². De los 8668 habitantes, Mount Pleasant estaba compuesto por el 85.73% blancos, el 4.3% eran afroamericanos, el 0.43% eran amerindios, el 4.41% eran asiáticos, el 0.25% eran isleños del Pacífico, el 2.37% eran de otras razas y el 2.51% pertenecían a dos o más razas. Del total de la población el 6.67% eran hispanos o latinos de cualquier raza.

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Ciudades de Iowa
Localidades del condado de Henry (Iowa)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
// Code generated by go-swagger; DO NOT EDIT.

package operations

// This file was generated by the swagger tool.
// Editing this file might prove futile when you re-run the swagger generate command

import (
	"net/http"

	"github.com/go-openapi/runtime"

	models "github.com/ceftb/engine/api/models"
)

// CommissionSiteOKCode is the HTTP code returned for type CommissionSiteOK
const CommissionSiteOKCode int = 200

/*CommissionSiteOK Site creation succeeded

swagger:response commissionSiteOK
*/
type CommissionSiteOK struct {

	/*
	  In: Body
	*/
	Payload *models.RegisterResponse `json:"body,omitempty"`
}

// NewCommissionSiteOK creates CommissionSiteOK with default headers values
func NewCommissionSiteOK() *CommissionSiteOK {

	return &CommissionSiteOK{}
}

// WithPayload adds the payload to the commission site o k response
func (o *CommissionSiteOK) WithPayload(payload *models.RegisterResponse) *CommissionSiteOK {
	o.Payload = payload
	return o
}

// SetPayload sets the payload to the commission site o k response
func (o *CommissionSiteOK) SetPayload(payload *models.RegisterResponse) {
	o.Payload = payload
}

// WriteResponse to the client
func (o *CommissionSiteOK) WriteResponse(rw http.ResponseWriter, producer runtime.Producer) {

	rw.WriteHeader(200)
	if o.Payload != nil {
		payload := o.Payload
		if err := producer.Produce(rw, payload); err != nil {
			panic(err) // let the recovery middleware deal with this
		}
	}
}

// CommissionSiteBadRequestCode is the HTTP code returned for type CommissionSiteBadRequest
const CommissionSiteBadRequestCode int = 400

/*CommissionSiteBadRequest The provided site parameters are not valid, detailed diagnostics  provided in returned error message.

swagger:response commissionSiteBadRequest
*/
type CommissionSiteBadRequest struct {

	/*
	  In: Body
	*/
	Payload *models.Error `json:"body,omitempty"`
}

// NewCommissionSiteBadRequest creates CommissionSiteBadRequest with default headers values
func NewCommissionSiteBadRequest() *CommissionSiteBadRequest {

	return &CommissionSiteBadRequest{}
}

// WithPayload adds the payload to the commission site bad request response
func (o *CommissionSiteBadRequest) WithPayload(payload *models.Error) *CommissionSiteBadRequest {
	o.Payload = payload
	return o
}

// SetPayload sets the payload to the commission site bad request response
func (o *CommissionSiteBadRequest) SetPayload(payload *models.Error) {
	o.Payload = payload
}

// WriteResponse to the client
func (o *CommissionSiteBadRequest) WriteResponse(rw http.ResponseWriter, producer runtime.Producer) {

	rw.WriteHeader(400)
	if o.Payload != nil {
		payload := o.Payload
		if err := producer.Produce(rw, payload); err != nil {
			panic(err) // let the recovery middleware deal with this
		}
	}
}

// CommissionSiteUnauthorizedCode is the HTTP code returned for type CommissionSiteUnauthorized
const CommissionSiteUnauthorizedCode int = 401

/*CommissionSiteUnauthorized Unauthorized

swagger:response commissionSiteUnauthorized
*/
type CommissionSiteUnauthorized struct {
}

// NewCommissionSiteUnauthorized creates CommissionSiteUnauthorized with default headers values
func NewCommissionSiteUnauthorized() *CommissionSiteUnauthorized {

	return &CommissionSiteUnauthorized{}
}

// WriteResponse to the client
func (o *CommissionSiteUnauthorized) WriteResponse(rw http.ResponseWriter, producer runtime.Producer) {

	rw.Header().Del(runtime.HeaderContentType) //Remove Content-Type on empty responses

	rw.WriteHeader(401)
}

// CommissionSiteForbiddenCode is the HTTP code returned for type CommissionSiteForbidden
const CommissionSiteForbiddenCode int = 403

/*CommissionSiteForbidden The requestor does not have permission to create a site

swagger:response commissionSiteForbidden
*/
type CommissionSiteForbidden struct {
}

// NewCommissionSiteForbidden creates CommissionSiteForbidden with default headers values
func NewCommissionSiteForbidden() *CommissionSiteForbidden {

	return &CommissionSiteForbidden{}
}

// WriteResponse to the client
func (o *CommissionSiteForbidden) WriteResponse(rw http.ResponseWriter, producer runtime.Producer) {

	rw.Header().Del(runtime.HeaderContentType) //Remove Content-Type on empty responses

	rw.WriteHeader(403)
}

// CommissionSiteInternalServerErrorCode is the HTTP code returned for type CommissionSiteInternalServerError
const CommissionSiteInternalServerErrorCode int = 500

/*CommissionSiteInternalServerError Internal Error

swagger:response commissionSiteInternalServerError
*/
type CommissionSiteInternalServerError struct {
}

// NewCommissionSiteInternalServerError creates CommissionSiteInternalServerError with default headers values
func NewCommissionSiteInternalServerError() *CommissionSiteInternalServerError {

	return &CommissionSiteInternalServerError{}
}

// WriteResponse to the client
func (o *CommissionSiteInternalServerError) WriteResponse(rw http.ResponseWriter, producer runtime.Producer) {

	rw.Header().Del(runtime.HeaderContentType) //Remove Content-Type on empty responses

	rw.WriteHeader(500)
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
using namespace v8;

Nan::Persistent<Function> constructor;

SocketWatcher::SocketWatcher() : poll_(NULL), fd_(0), events_(0)
{
}

void SocketWatcher::Initialize(Local<Object> exports)
{
  Nan::HandleScope scope;

  Local<FunctionTemplate> t = Nan::New<FunctionTemplate>(New);

  t->SetClassName(Nan::New("SocketWatcher").ToLocalChecked());
  t->InstanceTemplate()->SetInternalFieldCount(1);

  Nan::SetPrototypeMethod(t, "set", SocketWatcher::Set);
  Nan::SetPrototypeMethod(t, "start", SocketWatcher::Start);
  Nan::SetPrototypeMethod(t, "stop", SocketWatcher::Stop);

  constructor.Reset(t->GetFunction());
  exports->Set(Nan::New("SocketWatcher").ToLocalChecked(), t->GetFunction());
}

void SocketWatcher::Start(const Nan::FunctionCallbackInfo<Value>& info)
{
  SocketWatcher *watcher = Nan::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<SocketWatcher>(info.Holder());
  watcher->StartInternal();
}

void SocketWatcher::StartInternal()
{
  if (poll_ == NULL) {
    poll_ = new uv_poll_t;
    memset(poll_,0,sizeof(uv_poll_t));
    poll_->data = this;
    uv_poll_init_socket(uv_default_loop(), poll_, fd_);

    Ref();
  }

  if (!uv_is_active((uv_handle_t*)poll_)) {
    uv_poll_start(poll_, events_, &SocketWatcher::Callback);
  }
}

void SocketWatcher::Callback(uv_poll_t *w, int status, int revents)
{
  Nan::HandleScope scope;

  SocketWatcher *watcher = static_cast<SocketWatcher*>(w->data);
  assert(w == watcher->poll_);

  Local<String> callback_symbol = Nan::New("callback").ToLocalChecked();
  Local<Value> callback_v = Nan::Get(watcher->handle(), callback_symbol).ToLocalChecked();
  if(!callback_v->IsFunction()) {
    watcher->StopInternal();
    return;
  }

  Local<Function> callback = Local<Function>::Cast(callback_v);

  const unsigned argc = 2;
  Local<Value> argv[argc] = {
    revents & UV_READABLE ? Nan::True() : Nan::False(),
    revents & UV_WRITABLE ? Nan::True() : Nan::False(),
  };

  Nan::MakeCallback(watcher->handle(), callback, argc, argv);
}

void SocketWatcher::Stop(const Nan::FunctionCallbackInfo<Value>& info)
{
  SocketWatcher *watcher = Nan::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<SocketWatcher>(info.Holder());
  watcher->StopInternal();
}

void SocketWatcher::StopInternal() {
  if (poll_ != NULL) {
    uv_poll_stop(poll_);
    Unref();
  }
}

void SocketWatcher::New(const Nan::FunctionCallbackInfo<Value>& info)
{
  Nan::HandleScope scope;
  if (info.IsConstructCall()) {
    // Invoked as constructor: `new SocketWatcher(...)`
    SocketWatcher *s = new SocketWatcher();
    s->Wrap(info.This());
    info.GetReturnValue().Set(info.This());
  } else {
    // Invoked as plain function `SocketWatcher(...)`, turn into construct call.
    Local<Function> cons = Nan::New<Function>(constructor);
    info.GetReturnValue().Set(cons->NewInstance());
  }
}

void SocketWatcher::Set(const Nan::FunctionCallbackInfo<Value>& info)
{
  SocketWatcher *watcher = Nan::ObjectWrap::Unwrap<SocketWatcher>(info.Holder());

  if(!info[0]->IsInt32()) {
    Nan::ThrowTypeError("First arg should be a file descriptor.");
    return;
  }
  int fd = info[0]->Int32Value();

  if(!info[1]->IsBoolean()) {
    Nan::ThrowTypeError("Second arg should a boolean (readable).");
    return;
  }
  int events = 0;
  if(info[1]->IsTrue()) events |= UV_READABLE;

  if(!info[2]->IsBoolean()) {
    Nan::ThrowTypeError("Third arg should a boolean (writable).");
    return;
  }
  if (info[2]->IsTrue()) events |= UV_WRITABLE;

  assert(watcher->poll_ == NULL);

  watcher->fd_ = fd;
  watcher->events_ = events;
}

void Init(Local<Object> exports)
{
  SocketWatcher::Initialize(exports);
}

NODE_MODULE(socketwatcher, Init)


text:
Q: Unity Physics2D.Raycast having trouble with large 2D colliders I have a very simple Unity component that checks if a mouse screen position is inside a 2D collider.
var screenRay = Camera.main.ScreenPointToRay(new Vector3(eventData.position.x, eventData.position.y, 0.0f));
RaycastHit2D hit = Physics2D.Raycast(screenRay.origin, screenRay.direction);
if (hit)
{
    Debug.Log("hit something");
}

I add an Image object to a Canvas that is rendering in Screen Space: Camera, and a Box Collider 2D component to the image.
The code above logs "hit something" when the mouse pointer is inside the Box Collider 2D but not when outside, which is what I want.
However, this is only true if the box collider is less than 120 x 120 in size. If it is that size or larger, I start to get log output everywhere on the screen - Physics2D.Raycast returns something all over the screen. The Physics2D.Raycast seems to think that the collider suddenly takes up the whole screen, which it doesn't, it's not even close. Shrinking the collider to 115 x 115 solves the issue, but as you can imagine, I don't want special behaviour on some collider sizes.
The Image is size 100x100. If I make the collider size 1x1 (barely visible), the Raycaster gives a hit on the entire 100x100 image.
The size of the image has no effect. Does anyone know why this magic size suddenly is larger than specified?
EDIT: I have the same problem with CircleCollider2D - if the radius goes above somewhere around 100, suddenly I collide with it all over the screen.

A: Physics2D.Raycast is meant to be used in 2D space. As I was using UI elements in 3D space, Physics2D.Raycast didn't work as expected, GetRayIntersection should be used instead. This code worked fine:
var screenRay = Camera.main.ScreenPointToRay(new Vector3(eventData.position.x, eventData.position.y, 0.0f));
RaycastHit2D hit = Physics2D.GetRayIntersection(screenRay);
if (hit)
{
    Debug.Log("hit something");
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Science News Roundup: SpaceX capsule poised for Sunday return; NASA launches new rover to search for signs of past Martian life
Crew Dragon "Endeavor" decoupled from the orbital station at 7:35 p.m. ET carrying U.S. astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley ahead of a Sunday afternoon splashdown off the coast of Pensacola, Florida — the first procedure of its kind in a privately built space capsule.
Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 02-08-2020 18:34 IST | Created: 02-08-2020 18:27 IST
Representative image Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
NASA astronauts riding SpaceX capsule poised for Sunday return
The two NASA astronauts who rode to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's new Crew Dragon are heading home for a Sunday splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, capping a two-month voyage in space that marked NASA's first crewed mission from home soil in nine years. Crew Dragon "Endeavor" decoupled from the orbital station at 7:35 p.m. ET carrying U.S. astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley ahead of a Sunday afternoon splashdown off the coast of Pensacola, Florida — the first procedure of its kind in a privately built space capsule.
NASA launches new rover to search for signs of past Martian life
NASA's next-generation Mars rover Perseverance blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral on Thursday atop an Atlas 5 rocket on a $2.4 billion mission to search for traces of potential past life on Earth's planetary neighbor. The next-generation robotic rover - a car-sized six-wheeled vehicle carrying seven scientific instruments - also is scheduled to deploy a mini helicopter on Mars and try out equipment for future human treks to the fourth planet from the sun. Its arrival at Mars is planned for Feb. 18 at the site of an ancient river delta.
(With inputs from agencies.)
Doug Hurley
Bob Behnken
Prince Harry files court claim over UK police protection
ISL postpones match between Kerala Blasters FC and Mumbai City FC
Gavaskar wants Rishabh Pant to succeed Kohli as Test skipper

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Description: This Axel Workshop is designed for Skaters in FreeSkate 3 through FreeSkate 6. It will work on proper form and technique when entering, and landing the Axel jump. It will utilize the on-ice harness, and many off-ice jump skills. The class will often start off-ice first, to work on body positioning, before getting on the ice for the remainder of class.


text:
Teach English In Tainan
Home → Teach English In Taiwan → Teach English In Tainan
Tainan City Guide
Tainan or 台南is a city located in the south western area of Taiwan, just below Chaiyi. It has a population of 1,883,042 and covers an area of 2,191.6531 km2. The name Tainan literally translates to 'southern Taiwan'. It gained the common nickname of "the Phoenix City" due to its constant redefinitions and comebacks throughout Taiwan's history. Tainan's capital is the Anping District and is made up of 37 districts in total.
History of Tainan
Tainan was first established under Dutch rule as a ruling and trade base called Fort Zeelandia. Tainan was actually the capital of Taiwan under the Qing Dynasty rule up until 1887 where the capital was then moved to Taipei, where it is still located today. Tainan boasts being one of the oldest cities in Taiwan and one that is bursting with culture, it is well known as a cultural capital of Taiwan. The city plays host to the first Confucian school-temple which was built in 1665. Tainan grabs the title of having more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan.
Living in Tainan
You will find that by living in a small city such as Tainan you will have the advantage of a low cost of living meaning that you can save a larger chunk of your overall salary. Apartments in this area come at a very low price meaning that this doesn't eat into your pay as much as other areas.
Tainan is very well connected to other areas of Taiwan meaning that you can travel the island with ease. The High Speed Rail runs through Tainan making access to the big cities such as Taipei and Kaohsiung easy. Furthermore because of the location of Tainan traveling to nearby areas such as Kenting and Kaohsiung is easy. Taipei is a little further away but the High Speed Rail means it takes just over an hour.
Walking through the side streets and alleyways of Tainan will introduce you to a world of modern day street art mixed with traditional temples. Tainan truly captures the cultural feel of Taiwan with every turn revealing a new beautifully bustling alley filled with lanterns and traditional architecture.
One of the great benefits of living in Tainan is that you will have the chance to experience warmer climates in comparison to the north of Taiwan. Tainan has a humid subtropical climate which borders on a tropical savanna climate. What this means is that Tainan has noticeably warmer winter months and year-round high relative humidity and temperatures. The wet season is from April to September and the dry season from October to March.
Tainan isn't an extremely huge city so getting around is made easy. There are a number of transport systems in place to make getting in and round the city easy.
If you are moving to Tainan then it is a good idea to consider getting a scooter. As it isn't a huge city having a scooter will make everything extremely accessible. It is also the preferred mode of transport for most people in Taiwan in general, making navigating the small streets easy.
Taxis in Tainan are cheap and efficient. Be warned that not all taxi drivers can speak English, so a good tip is to have your destination written down in Chinese so that you can just get in and show them.
The ever faithful green mode of transport will serve you well in Tainan, apart from keeping you fit and saving the environment Tainan is a very nice place to cycle around.
Tainan as a train station which directly connects to major cities such as Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hsinchu and Keelung as well as other destinations.
The High Speed Rail (HSR) runs through Tainan making it quick and easy to get around the island., you can reach Taipei in under 90 minutes.
Anping Tree House
What was once a warehouse for Tait & Co, one of the top five trading companies in the Anping area during Japanese colonization, is now a very different sight indeed. The warehouse was abandoned for many years and a very big banyan tree literally took over the premises. Banyan roots work by seeking out moisture and then literally strangling (over many years) whatever it is that has the moisture. This particular banyan tree began attaching itself to the structure of the Tait & Co warehouse and it just didn't stop. What you see today is a whole building that is literally covered in roots. Every wall and window and rooftop is lined with roots and trunks of Banyan trees. A lot of the original structure has crumpled away leaving the banyan tree 'shell' in its place, it's a spectacular sight.
As this has become more and more of a popular attraction the government has built walkways running up over tree house so that you can now get great views of how the roots have formed.
The tree was left to take over the warehouse for so long because of old Taiwanese folk lore. Banyan trees are scene to have strong negative energies that bring misfortune; it was even know as a haunted house for many years so the tree was left to grow.
Confucius Temple
Built in 1666 and ranked among the first-degree historic spots this institute was the first official place of higher education in Taiwan following the Manchu Dynasty and worked to fuse culture and education. This has been rebuilt and reconstructed over thirty times due to war and natural disasters.
Inside the Confucius temple you can find fifteen structures which are the primary sacrifices to the palace. The grounds of the Confucius temple are a wonder to behold; simple red brick design is contrasted with large green grassy areas and trees that give a very tranquil feel to the premises.
Walking around the temple, you can find twelve horizontal boards which describe the sovereigns of all of the Dynastys since the Manchu Dynasty. You can also find remnants of instruments, inscriptions and records of the repairs and history of the place. Everything is explained in English as well as mandarin.
Guanziling Hot Spring
If you are in the Tainan area, you must not miss this experience! You can take a bus or train to get there and both typically take around 30 minutes.
Guanziling Hot Spring is one of the four major hot springs in Taiwan, but what is unique about this one is that it offers a mud hot spring. The spring was created by the earthquake at Baihe Town. The hot spring water is dark grey and bitter and is also known as 'the black hot spring'.
The properties in the sulfuric mud are said to help heal skin ailments and sooth problems with joints. Additionally the minerals in the mud act as a beauty treatment and will leave your skin extremely smooth and soft.
There are a number of hot spring hotels that you can book into and places where you can watch the unique scenery. At night be sure to look out for a unique area where the natural gas meets spring water and looks as if the water is on fire.
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text:
Grimoald (or Grimwald) (died 725) was the duke of Bavaria from about 715 to his death.

He was the youngest of the four sons of Theodo of Bavaria and his wife Folchaid and the uncle of  Swanachild, the second wife of Charles Martel. At first, he co-reigned with his brothers Theodbert, Theobald, and Tassilo II and then, from around 719, alone. His father divided the principality, after involving his two eldest sons with the reign of the duchy in 715.

Upon Theodo's death in 716, the divided duchy was plunged into civil war and all the brothers save Grimoald were dead by 719. It is not certain if the division of the duchy was territorial or a powersharing scheme, but if the former, it seems most probable that Grimoald's capital was either Freising, which he later favoured as a diocesan seat, or Salzburg, which he later treated as a capital of sorts (Vita Corbiniani).

It was Grimoald who induced Saint Corbinian to come to Bavaria in 724 to evangelise. Grimoald had married his brother's widow, Biltrude (Pilitrud), and by canon law this was incest. Corbinian promptly denounced the duke, who had already repented and relapsed. His anger was now raised and Corbinian had to flee. The next year (725), Charles Martel marched against Bavaria and carried off Biltrude and Swanachild, killing Grimoald in battle.

725 deaths
8th-century dukes of Bavaria
Agilolfings
Year of birth unknown
Baiuvarii


by Tom hmv London, 15/10/2014 Bio hmv.com Editor. Peanut butter, punk rock and pillows.
Ezra Miller, star of The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and We Need To Talk About Kevin, has signed up to play The Flash in a new big-budget Hollywood movie version of the iconic comic book.
The Flash, which recently began life as a TV show starring Grant Gustin, will be recast for a big-screen adaptation, which will come out in 2018. The film will follow the adventures of Barry Allen, a man with super speed and super-fast reflexes.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the announcement came as part of a swath of new projects from Warner Brothers chairman Kevin Tsujihara, with movies based on a series of iconic properties due for release in the coming years.
Tsujihara also confirmed that a Suicide Squad movie is expected in 2016, both Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One are due in 2017, Aquaman is set for 2018, Shazam and Justice League Part Two for 2019, and Cyborg and a new Green Lantern for 2020.


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text:
The cybersecurity landscape for small businesses in 2017
Written byCheeky Munkey
Updated 4th January 2017
Cybersecurity Trends
Small businesses operating online have never been at greater risk of attack. Last year, hacking was in the spotlight more than ever, with everyone from C-level executives to the innocent (or not-so-innocent) consumer under threat. Even the would-be leaders of the Western World weren't safe.
Without the resources of big enterprises, small businesses are particularly at risk of cyber-attacks, with Norman Guadagno, chief evangelist at Carbonite, noting that "almost one in five small business owners say their company has lost data in the past year."
With each data hack costing anything from $82,200 to $256,000, it'd be wise to swot up on the latest trends in cybersecurity and how to prepare your defences to keep your data safe.
Here are some of the key developments to look out for in 2017.
The rise of ransomware
As the name suggests, ransomware infects your computer and holds your data to ransom, demanding significant sums for its release. The crime rings that perpetrate these attacks are growing more intelligent and sophisticated by the minute and small businesses are often a soft target, with less protection and cyber awareness than larger companies. To help protect your business, ensure your software and hardware are up to date, change your passwords frequently and educate employees not to click on any suspicious emails or links.
Thumbprints to unlock smartphones will seem second-rate in comparison to what 2017 has in store. Biometric security will increasingly include more sophisticated methods, such as facial, voice or iris recognition. While fundamentally this should be very secure – afterall it's a lot harder for somebody to steal your face than your password – the technology is by no means without its issues, which various early innovators are trying to iron out. Watch this space!
Cloud-based security
Holding your data in the cloud, whether with a large company, such as Nokia Networks or a smaller, more bespoke organisation, can have its advantages and disadvantages. While it alleviates the burden of security from yourself, it also opens up the possibility of an attack from hackers targeting SaaS applications and platforms. So, to minimise the risks, ensure you choose a reputable provider, with top-notch defences and the necessary cyber and professional indemnity insurance in place.
With driverless cars, smart entertainment systems and connected cameras, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is growing bigger and more complex all the time. Yet these devices are often overlooked when it comes to cyber security, leaving them especially vulnerable to attacks, or used as a part of a botnet to attack other systems. As a result, it's vital that device-level security is in operation, using tightly controlled, multiple-factor authentication.
Increased automation
Human error is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to data breaches and cyber-attacks, which is why security is set to become increasingly automated in 2017 and beyond. It also amounts to 'fighting fire with fire', with an increasing number of cyber-attacks now themselves automated, using armies of botnets to overwhelm company systems. Automated technology could be the best weapon against this, increasing efficiency, reducing errors and able to respond more quickly as new threats occur.
This is a guest post from Cheeky Munkey, an IT service provider specialising in cyber security risks for small and medium businesses.
For further details on how you can stay safe, read our guide to cyber security here or check out our article on 'How to respond to an attack' if it does happen to you!
The worst cyber-attacks of 2016
Most common cyber security mistakes and how to avoid them
Your ultimate guide to cyber security
The 12 risks of Xmas: the full calendar
To provide you with a helpful reminder of the 12 biggest risks businesses face this season, we've gathered them into a handy calendar.
Anastasia Filatova
Business risks Trends Top lists
The 12 risks of Xmas: on the twelfth day of Xmas...
Alcohol is often referred to as a 'social lubricant' but when people lose inhibitions, it's easier than ever to text, tweet or post something one shouldn't.
The 12 risks of Xmas: on the eleventh day of Xmas...
Bullying in the workplace is unfortunately still widespread, and Christmas parties can be a big pressure point, especially given how easily and quickly they can be shared today.
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text:
'use strict'

const NOT_PX_NUMBER_PROPERTIES = ['flex', 'opacity', 'zIndex', 'fontWeight']

export function filterStyles (styles, config) {
  for (const key in styles) {
    const value = styles[key]
    const parser = this.getFilters(key, config)[typeof value]
    if (typeof parser === 'function') {
      styles[key] = parser(value)
    }
  }
}

export function getFilters (key, config) {
  if (NOT_PX_NUMBER_PROPERTIES.indexOf(key) !== -1) {
    return {}
  }
  return {
    number: function (val) {
      return val * config.scale + 'px'
    },
    string: function (val) {
      // string of a pure number or a number suffixed with a 'px' unit
      if (val.match(/^-?\d*\.?\d+(?:px)?$/)) {
        return parseFloat(val) * config.scale + 'px'
      }
      if (key.match(/transform/) && val.match(/translate/)) {
        return val.replace(/\d*\.?\d+px/g, function (match) {
          return parseInt(parseFloat(match) * config.scale) + 'px'
        })
      }
      return val
    }
  }
}


text:
ReviewsMusic
Kanye West: Yeezus
Evan Rytlewski
Artists often describe their albums as labors of love, but Kanye West's records have been labors of labor, the fruits of endless studio sessions spent tweaking each sample and fine-tuning every drum hit for maximum effect. At the height of his perfectionism in 2010, West claimed to invest more than 5,000 hours into each song he produced, and though that math is a little sketchy—even assuming West never spent any time sleeping, tweeting, or Maybach shopping, that would still account for fewer than two songs per year—the sheer level of detail in his work left no doubt the guy was clocking some serious overtime. It must have been a shock for producer Rick Rubin, then, when just weeks before its release, he was called in to put finishing touches on Yeezus, West's pipe bomb of a sixth album, only to realize how far from finished it was. "Many of the vocals hadn't been recorded yet, and many of those still didn't have lyrics," Rubin recounted to the Wall Street Journal. "From what he played me, it sounded like several months' more work had to be done."
As it turns out, Rubin hadn't been called in so much to help West complete the album as to tear it down, to reduce West's unfinished tirades into even rougher, rawer distillations. Deadline pressure can be a powerful muse, but in this case it was an absolutely integral one: Yeezus could only have been produced under the gun. Delivered entirely from the gut, it's West's loudest and most impulsive album, especially in its system-shocking opening stretch of gnarled electro and pounding industrial rap. Even by the standards of an artist who reinvents himself with each release, it's a drastic departure, so committed to its heavy new sound that it's easy to picture West hearing Pretty Hate Machine for the first time and immediately racing to the studio to tear down his John Mayer posters. Yeezus will be remembered as a lot of things—as the Kanye West album with all the screaming; as the apex of rap's unlikely fascination with Marilyn Manson; as the biggest record of 2013 with no singles—but perhaps most significantly, it's West's first willfully imperfect album, the one where he let the stitches show.
With his first albums, West distinguished himself as a master technician, gifted at fusing elaborate networks of samples, bridges, and refrains into seamless compositions. On Yeezus he unlearns all of that, speeding instead from one sound to the next in a series of smash cuts. It's an album of interruptions. Dancehall samples don't decorate these songs as much as they butt into them. Every sound is fighting for itself in a survival of the brashest. Even when the menacing "New Slaves" somersaults into a triumphantly soulful coda, complete with some freestyle falsetto from Frank Ocean, the underlying beat is staticky and blown out, its prettiness cruelly distorted.
This isn't the first time West has released an audacious, anti-commercial gambit. Before its release, 808s & Heartbreak was also hyped as an impossible sell, described in terms that painted it as unappealing as possible: It was the album where West (who cannot sing) only sings, using Auto-Tune (which you hate). Rather than killing his career, though, 808s fortified it, affirming West's relevance and sparking rap's ongoing emo-robot craze. Yeezus might not prove as influential, but like 808s, it's more pop-savvy than pre-release speculation led the Internet to believe. Despite its surface severity, it's a lean, immediate record, its brevity a sharp contrast to 2010's wandering My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. That predecessor could be overly serious at times, stalling whenever West wrestled with the non-realization that indulging his every whim and desire might not make him a good person, but Yeezus isn't weighed down by those concerns. This time out West is having an unmitigated laugh at the expense of his own image. In the most meme-ready line on "I Am A God," West uses his omnipotence to demand a croissant. The zingers and sacrilege keep flowing: In that same song he hangs with Jesus (they have a one-sided conversation about his considerable fortune), and a few tracks later, on "I'm In It," he applies Martin Luther King's hallowed "free at last" proclamation to a pair of revealed breasts, then describes himself as "a rap-lic priest, getting head by the nuns." Where Dark Twisted Fantasy played out as a Breaking Bad-esque study on the coercive influence of power, Yeezus is pure, joyous farce.
Once the initial future shock of the record subsides—and it doesn't take all that long, really—there's plenty left to explore. Flanked by his usual inner circle of singers, including Charlie Wilson, Kid Cudi, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, West peppers the record with callbacks to his past works. The Daft Punk-assisted opener "On Sight" climaxes with the "I need you right now" cries of "Stronger," West's first Daft Punk dalliance, and the brisk closer "Bound 2" is an overt homage to West's bright early production, reimagining College Dropout's cheerful chipmunk soul through the blurting, minimalist lens of his new muses. "Harder, better, faster, stronger": It was years ago that West first took to that mantra, but it's on the visceral, unrelenting Yeezus that he fully internalizes it.