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Home Breaking News All B.C. public schools to provide free menstrual products in washrooms by...
All B.C. public schools to provide free menstrual products in washrooms by end of 2019
Rob Flemming
UNDER a ministerial order issued Friday (April 5), all B.C. public schools will be required to provide free menstrual products for students in school washrooms by the end of 2019.
In issuing the order, Education Minister Rob Fleming said it's time to normalize and equalize access to menstrual products in schools, helping to create a better learning environment for students.
"Students should never have to miss school, extracurricular, sports or social activities because they can't afford or don't have access to menstrual products," said Fleming, adding that current research indicates that one in seven students has missed school due to their periods because they cannot afford products.
"This is a common-sense step forward that is, frankly, long overdue. We look forward to working with school districts and communities to make sure students get the access they need with no stigma and no barriers."
The ministerial order – which takes effect immediately but allows districts until the end of 2019 to comply – comes with $300,000 in provincial startup funding. Over the coming months, the ministry will continue to work with school districts, community and education partners to look at the needs of each district, identify gaps and ensure they have the funding needed to meet this new requirement.
In addition, government is also providing a one-time grant of $95,000 to support the United Way Period Promise Research Project, to fund menstrual products for up to 10 non-profit agencies and research into how best to provide services and products for people who menstruate.
"The cost and availability of menstrual products is a real concern for those who are poor and often face the choice of purchasing those products or buying other essentials, like food," said Shane Simpson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. "I encourage other organizations to join our government in supporting the Period Promise campaign, to help end the stigma that causes social isolation, and begin to address that larger issue around affordability."
"Having your period is a part of life, and easy and affordable access to menstrual products should be simple," said Mitzi Dean, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity. "Menstrual products should be available to people when and where they need them, which is why we're improving access in schools and in communities. These actions are going to make a big difference in the lives of people who menstruate, and I'm proud that our government is taking leadership on this issue."
The United Way funding builds on the work government is doing to reduce poverty in British Columbia. In March 2019, the B.C. government released TogetherBC, the Province's first Poverty Reduction Strategy. TogetherBC brings together investments from across government that will help reduce overall poverty in the province by 25%, and cut child poverty in half, over the next five years.
Glen Hansman, President, B.C. Teachers' Federation, said: "By ensuring school districts make menstrual products free and accessible to all students who need them, the government is taking an important action towards improving equity in our schools. There are many reasons why students need access to menstrual products at school. Many of our members can share stories of students who have felt shame or embarrassment, or have even gone home, because they did not have access to a tampon or pad or could not afford one. Today's announcement will also help deal with what the United Way's Period Promise campaign calls 'period poverty.' I want to thank the Minister of Education and this government, as well as those working on the United Way campaign, for making this announcement today."
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Matilda confirms date for 2016 relaxed performance
Matilda the Musical. Photo: Manuel Harlan
by Georgia Snow - Feb 8, 2016
West End show Matilda the Musical is to host a third relaxed performance, aimed at people with autism and learning difficulties.
Following on from relaxed performances in 2014 and 2015, the Royal Shakespeare Company – which produces Matilda – is working with the National Autistic Society and Mousetrap Theatre Projects to produce a third event, which will take place on June 12.
Designed to reduce elements of the production that could cause anxiety or stress, the relaxed performance will have adjusted lighting and sound levels and audience members will be able to move around the auditorium.
The performance will also be audio described.
Relaxed performances have been in place at the RSC's home in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013.
RSC executive director Catherine Mallyon said: "We hope that everyone feels welcome at our theatres and our productions. Following the success of our first two relaxed performances of Matilda the Musical, we are so pleased to offer a third to people with autism and learning disabilities and their families, recognising that it isn't always easy to all come out together."
Matilda, which is running at the Cambridge Theatre, is written by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly and directed by Matthew Warchus.
It is produced in the West End by the RSC with Andre Ptaszynski and Denise Wood as executive producers.
Poll: Are women better at running theatres than men?
Scott Ellis: 'It doesn't matter if the actor is male or female'
Georgia Snow
Georgia is chief reporter at The Stage, having joined the company in 2014.
Lyn Gardner: We should really define success by the well-being of...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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You are at:Home»Technopark 2»Infosys sign MoU with Israel to drive Industrial Research & Development
Infosys sign MoU with Israel to drive Industrial Research & Development
By Archives on	 June 14, 2012 Technopark 2
Trivandrum: Infosys, a global leader in consulting and technology services, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State of Israel, to establish and enhance cooperation in industrial research and development. This MoU is a part of the 'Global Enterprise Collaboration Program' developed by the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel to accelerate innovation through a global ecosystem.
The MoU creates a framework for industrial cooperation between Infosys and Israeli corporations in the emerging technology areas of cloud, information security, sensors, analytics, and sustainability. With a strong global client base across industry segments and proven expertise in driving innovation led growth for businesses, Infosys will bring valuable insights in defining pertinent challenges and solutions across various industries.
Infosys Labs, the research and innovation arm of Infosys drives research across the 'Building Tomorrow's Enterprise' mega trends that have the potential to transform client business. Committed to the principle of 'Innovation Co-creation', Infosys Labs strengthens its existing innovation ecosystem of clients, partners and industry consortia through this MoU.
Speaking on the occasion, Subu Goparaju, Sr. VP & Head, Infosys Labs said, "This collaboration aligns with our vision to bring together different innovation networks from around the world and make them relevant to our clients. At Infosys, we are looking at leveraging the innovation ecosystem in Israel, as part of evaluating early stage technologies that are relevant for clients to build tomorrow's enterprises."
Shalom Simhon, Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Government of Israel said, "Our ministry provides the Israeli exporter an array of government-backed tools designated to assist in offering Indian counterparts the best that Israel has to offer in the technology sector. The agreement signed today with Infosys is a prime example of another such tool. The immense potential of the Indian market has not gone unnoticed by Israeli companies and industrialists, and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour works tirelessly in order to realize the trade potential between the two countries for the benefit of both nations."
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Hong Kong's Fubon Bank selects Finacle for core banking
Infosys to create 250 new technology jobs in Ireland
Fidelity Bank of Nigeria selects Infosys Finacle version 10
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Rain or shine – Battle of Atlanta events this weekend
Dan Whisenhunt Jul 17, 2014
Photo provided via Emory University
Photo provided by Emory University
Organizers are getting ready for a weekend full of activities capping a week of events commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Atlanta.
The battle began in Kirkwood in July of 1864, and there are several events planned in and around east Atlanta communities. The official anniversary is July 22.
B*ATL Chairman Henry Bryant said the battle helped to propel President Abraham Lincoln to a second term in office. He said turnout for the gala and author events these last two weeks has been solid. There are a plethora of events on the calendar for Saturday and Sunday, including:
– The Doublequick 5k
– Living History Encampment
– A wreath laying ceremony
– Van tours and bike tours
For the complete schedule, click here.
There's also a free event this evening, July 17, at 6:30 pm at Emory University's Woodruff Library marking the launch of the Battle of Atlanta mobile tour website. To learn more about that event, click here.
Bryant said the bike tours are sold out, or nearly-sold out. He said if more tickets become available, there will be an update on the B*ATL website. He said the van tours are filling up quickly, too.
He said the event will go on this weekend, even though there's rain in the forecast. He said the only thing that'll be a show stopper is lightning.
"The soldiers will be out there in the rain no matter what, not carrying umbrellas," Bryant said.


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Home » Blog » Unnamed sources
Unnamed sources
Journalism is based on truth and accuracy. Using unnamed sources risks both of those standards. For that reason, students should seek sources willing to speak on the record. Unnamed sources should be used sparingly and only after students evaluate how the need for the information balances with the problems such sources create.
Occasionally, a source's physical or mental health may be jeopardized by information on the record. In this instance, journalists should take every precaution to minimize harm to the source.
Editors should train staff members on how to conduct proper interviews on the record. Poor interview techniques could lead to confusion between potential sources and reporters. Staff members should always identify themselves when working on behalf of student media. Reporters should be advised to use anonymous sources rarely.
Before agreeing to do so, they should ask the following questions:
• Why does the source want to remain unnamed? Is it possible he/she would be in danger if his/her name is revealed? What other problems could occur?
• How important is the story? How important is the information provided, and is there an alternative means for gathering it? Using an unnamed source hurts credibility and could risk legal action.
• Students should consider what might happen if a court demands to know the source's name. Most professional journalists would not reveal the name, and many have gone to jail instead of doing so. Would student reporters be willing to go that far? What legal protections exist in your state for protection of sources?
• What might the source have to gain from getting this information published? Some sources who want to be off the record have ulterior motives that could harm someone else.
• If students decide the information is vital and the source has a solid reason for remaining unnamed, who, besides the reporter, should know the identity? Many staffs decide the editor should know to assess the credibility of the source, but not the adviser in order to protect the adviser's professional position at the school.
Legal Protections For Journalists' Sources And Information, Student Press Law Center
Position Paper on Anonymity of Sources, Society of Professional Journalists
Use of Unnamed Sources, National Public Radio
Lesson: Exploring the Issues with Anonymous Sources, Journalism Education Association
Unnamed Sources, JEA Scholastic Press Rights Committee, Press Rights Minute


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Big Inning Minutiae
In the now 60 years that my dad has lived (effective July 12), he has seen a lot. But during our celebration of his birthday this past Saturday, he saw 2 things he never had before.
The first was a 90-year-old woman, falling out of her motorized scooter, and onto the curb at the corner of 75th street and Park Avenue. Good samaritans that we were, we helped rescue Judith and escorted her to the ER at Lenox Hill Hospital where she was treated for a rather nasty gash on the arm.
The next was having the couple sitting next to him at dinner, a couple of strangers maybe separated from us by 3 feet, agree to get married. The happy bride-to-be spent the next half hour calling friends and showing her engagement ring to anyone who would look- except us.
It seems that things like these tend to come in threes, so there was the expectation that something else unique might happen before the night was out. As it turned out, we had to wait for 24 hours or so, although in my dad's case, he's still waiting.
In all his years of watching baseball, he'd never seen the Mets score more than 10 runs in an inning, and since, on Sunday night he ended up attending a Paul Simon concert with my sister, he still hasn't.
So in an effort to update him beyond what he'll read when he checks out the AP gamer online upon arriving home, we offer up the following.
On July 16, 2006, the Mets set a club record for runs in an inning by scoring 11 runs in the 6th inning against the Chicago. Just in case you were wondering, with the help of the 2006 Mets Media Guide and some other resources, we can tell you that...
* I don't have an official tally, but the approximate number of innings it took for the Mets to score more than 10 runs in an inning is going to top out at about 63,000.
* The 1st time the Mets scored at least 10 runs in an inning was June 12, 1979 against the Reds. As in the game of July 16, the Mets entered their half of the 6th inning trailing, 5-2 (the Reds had scored 5 in the top of the 6th). The damage consisted of 10 runs, 5 hits, and 2 errors, and included an inside-the park 3-run home run by Doug Flynn The Mets ended up winning, 12-5.
* The 2nd time the Mets scored at least 10 runs in an inning was on June 30, 2000 against the Braves. The Mets entered their half of the 8th inning trailing 8-1. The damage consisted of 10 runs, 6 hits, 4 walks and an error, and included a very memorable 3-run HR by Mike Piazza.
* 2 grand slams in an inning (Msrs. Beltran and Floyd) is a rather rare feat, accomplished only six times previously in major-league history, most recently on April 23, 1999 (Fernando Tatis hit both for the Cardinals against the Dodgers). Prior to that, the last occurrence was by the Orioles on August 6, 1986 (Larry Sheets and Jim Dwyer). Amazingly, the Orioles lost that game to Texas, 13-11.
* The last NL occurrence prior to Tatis happened against the Mets, on July 30, 1969, in the 9th inning of Game 1 of a doubleheader against Houston, in which Dennis Menke and Jimmy Wynn each hit grand slams. In the 2nd game of this double drubbing by the Astros, Gil Hodges walked out to left field and removed Cleon Jones, in mid-game, as punishment for not hustling. Many regard this as a key point in the 1969 championship run. It was one of 4 times in Mets history that they allowed a club-record 11 runs in an inning.
* The Mets have had 11 seasons in which they have failed to hit 2 grand slams, including most recently, 2004, in which they only had 1. They had never before had a game in which they hit 2 grand slams.
* If the Mets hit another grand slam in their next game, they'll be only the 7th team ever to hit 3 grand slams within a 2-game span
* The Mets hadn't scored as many as 11 runs in a game at Wrigley Field in nearly 10 years, since scoring 11 on August 7, 1996.
* Wrigley Field is now the site of the Mets biggest output for an inning and their biggest total for a game. They scored 23 runs against the Cubs in a 23-10 win on August 16, 1987.
* The most runs scored in an inning by the Mets, in a game that they won in walk-off fashion is 6 (to tie in the 9th inning, September 13, 1997 vs Montreal). That's the famous "Brand New Shiny One" game.
* The most runs ever scored in a walk-off inning by the Mets is 5, done twice ( May 23, 1999 vs Phillies and June 14, 1980 vs Giants) and both have been documented on this site several times.


Today's poetry topic idea is deadly beauty. Dragonflies are deadly – they eat other insects (among possibly other things). Dragonflies are also beautiful – they have bright colors. This idea of something being deadly, but looking beautiful, is the poetry topic idea for today.
A poet writing about deadly beauty, could decide to write about various forms of temptation. They could write about anything that seems to be nice and look good, but in fact has negative consequences. For example, a poet could write about someone with an alcohol problem, seeing a brightly colored bottle of wine.
Another idea, might be to write about things in nature, that look beautiful, but are poisonous. Various brightly colored berries would fit this idea.
A poet might also write about the cliché of the attractive person who is a murderer. A poet might choose this idea and have a poem that reads like a story.
As a last idea, a poet might twist the idea a bit, and instead of having the beautiful thing being deadly to something else, the beautiful thing, might be deadly to itself. For example, a poet could write about a brightly colored animal that is spotted by a predator.
This entry was posted in Poetry topic ideas, Post Series and tagged Beauty, Deadly, Dragonflies, Idea, Poetry, Post Series, The Dragonfly Series, Topic. Bookmark the permalink.
← Post Series: The Dragonfly Series: Bilingual Poem: Contento o Triste?


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Iraq Update: Air Force Runs Out Of Missiles, ISIS Controls The Border; Shiite Clerics Threaten US Troops
Now that the Iraq proxy war scene is set, and as we reported on Friday, Prime Minister Maliki has become a pawn in yet another middle-east war between the west and the petrodollar (with both Saudi Arabia and the US making it clear Maliki has to go) and Russia (with Putin expressing his full support for the prime minister), events will likely unfold at an even faster pace. Sure enough, even this otherwise quiet weekend, in which the world is supposed to put wars on the backburner and focus on the world cup, is chock-full of Iraq news upates.
Perhaps the leading update out of the civil war-torn country is that ISIS militants, whose ultimate goal is to create a caliphate that encompasses Syria, Jordan and Iraq are well on their way to achieving what in Europe would be called a "customs union", after they captured two border crossings, one with Jordan and another with Syria, as they press on with their offensive -largely unobstructed - in one of Iraq's most restive regions.
The officials said the militants on Sunday captured the Turaibil crossing with Jordan and the al-Walid crossing with Syria after government forces there pulled out.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The capture of the two follows the fall since Friday of the towns of Qaim, Rawah, Anah and Rutba, all of which are in the Sunni Anbar province where militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have since January controlled the city of Fallujah and parts of the provincial capital Ramadi.
As AP notes, with the capture of another town in Iraq's western Anbar province, the fourth to fall in two days, it appears that the ISIS Baghdad offensive has for now been put on hold, and instead the jihadists are focusing their efforts on a major offensive in the western provinces to cement their control and seamless crossing to and from Syria and Jordan.
The following latest maps from the Institute for the Study of War map out the most recent clashes.
This follows the deployment on Friday of volunteer fighters, a mix of new recruits and Shi'a militias, to multiple locations including Tal Afar and Taji. Asa reminder the cities of Tal Afar and Muqdadiyah, as well as the Baiji refinery town, remain the key front lines against the advance of ISIS from the north. As of late Friday, the ISF had not launched a counter-offensive against ISIS.
But why is Iraq not taking advantage of the slowdown in the ISIS offensive and seeking halt the military momentum? Simple: its army is running out of supplies!
As ABC reports, the Iraqi military ran out of Hellfire missiles six days ago, and though the U.S. is rushing more missiles into the country, Iraq has only two modified Cessna aircraft to launch them in their battle against the radical Islamic militia ISIS.
ISIS has damaged 28 tanks and shot down three helicopters, a significant percentage of the government force, and the militia killed an entire Iraqi Security Force brigade in the last couple of days at the border with Syria, which ISIS now controls.
The losses have left the Iraqi military with no offensive capability, and no real air force.
Perhaps this is why, in order to avoid a loss of confidence in the country's offensive (and defensive) weaponry, the Iraq government released the following video footage on Sunday, which reportedly shows the bombing of suspected ISIS miitant hideouts. In a world in which YouTube has become the biggest propaganda tool, we wouldn't be too surprised if this footage was doctored by the NSA or merely taken from the archives.
Meanwhile, ISIS is taking advantage of its involuntary restocking by the US army, after its plunder of an unknown number of US Black Hawk helicopters and Humvees (the topic of choice in ISIS' trolling of Michelle Obama as reported yesterday) during its Mosul offensive several weeks ago.
That wraps up the military deployments (or lack thereof) in the past 48 hours.
Parallel with the fighting, perhaps an even more important development were the statements by the regional religious leaders, those of both Iran and Iraq.
First, it was in Iraq where a Shiite Muslim cleric threatened to attack U.S. military advisers when they arrive in the country to help Iraq's government fight Sunni extremists.
As The Hill reported, in a sermon on Friday, Nassir al-Saedi, a loyalist to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, warned of an attack against the U.S., whom he called "the occupier," Sky News reported.
"We will be ready for you if you are back," said al-Saedi.
The warning comes days after President Obama announced he was sending 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq to bolster government security forces and help combat Sunni militant members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The British Telegraph also reported that tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters from al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi army, paraded through the streets of Baghdad Saturday.
The Shiite militia said it does not need or want help from the U.S.
So much for a friendly third welcome of the US "liberators."
"If the Americans are thinking about coming back here, all of we Iraqis will become time bombs - we will eat them alive," said Adel Jabr Albawi, who marched in Saturday's parade, according to the Telegraph. "We can deal with Isis ourselves."
The threats from al-Sadr supporters could potentially open a second front for U.S. forces heading to Iraq.
But it was not just Iraq clerics who raged against a return of the US. Also joining the anti-US chorus was - perhaps surprisingy all things considered- Iran's own top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has vocally come out against US intervention in neighboring Iraq, where Islamic extremists and Sunni militants opposed to Tehran have seized a number of towns and cities.
Iraqis can overcome this conflict on their own.We're totally agnst US& others to interfere in #Iraq's internal affairs& don't approve of it.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 22, 2014
"We strongly oppose the intervention of the U.S. and others in the domestic affairs of Iraq," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the IRNA state news agency on Sunday, in his first reaction to the crisis.
"The main dispute in Iraq is between those who want Iraq to join the U.S. camp and those who seek an independent Iraq," said Khamenei, who has the final say over government policies. "The U.S. aims to bring its own blind followers to power."
Well, he is right after all.
As a reminder, Shiite Iran supports the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, and has said it would consider any request for military aid.
Which covers the religious influence of both Iran and Iraq. But what about that other staple in everything "middle-east"- Israel? Well, they too made an appearance this weekend when it was revealed that the surprise winner from the ISIS surge, the Kurdish Regional Government, which suddenly finds itself as a major oil producer and exporter, has found its first buyer of oil. None other than Israel.
According to the WSJ, oil piped from Iraqi Kurdistan has been successfully delivered directly by the region's semiautonomous government for the first time, despite opposition from the U.S. and the Iraqi central government. The oil comes from a new pipeline built to bypass Baghdad's pipeline, which will help maintain Iraqi Kurdistan's financial independence.
The Kurdish Regional Government said late Friday that one million barrels of its oil piped through the Turkish port of Ceyhan "was safely delivered to the buyers." The KRG declined to say who the buyers were.
It didn't take long to discover just who the buyers were thought: "The oil is currently being unloaded at an Israeli port, according to officials at the terminal."
The U.S. State Department confirmed the delivery, criticizing the semiautonomous region's unilateral sale without Baghdad's approval and warning buyers of its oil. "The export or sale of oil absent the appropriate approval of the federal Iraqi government exposes those involved to potentially serious legal risks," a State Department official told The Wall Street Journal.
But while the US boycotted the Kurdish sale of oil, it had surprisinglylittle to say about the Israel purchase of said product.
Iraq already boycotts Israel, and won't sell oil to the Jewish state, so Israel is not overly concerned with Iraqi threats of sanctions, unlike other countries who have oil contracts with Iraq.
Finally, president Obama, in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" airing Sunday, warned that the al-Qaida-inspired militants in Iraq could grow in power and destabilize the region. He said Washington must remain "vigilant" but would not "play whack-a-mole and send US troops occupying various countries wherever these organizations pop up." Why not, one wonders? What has changed from US' "whack-a-mole" policies, all "beyond successful" to date?
And that concludes the weekend Iraq event roundup.


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IGSTK 5.2 Now Available
Kitware
On behalf of the Image-Guided Surgery Toolkit (IGSTK) team, Kitware is pleased to announce the release of IGSTK 5.2. IGSTK is a high-level, component-based framework that provides a common functionality for image-guided surgery applications. The framework is a set of high-level components integrated with low-level open-source software libraries and application programming interfaces (API) from hardware vendors.
This release was lead by Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Medical Center with major contributions by the 4D Visualization Laboratory at Innsbruck Medical University. In this release, the ITK version used by IGSTK is updated to v4.2. The reslicing component was significantly improved, and a new git repository for IGSTK applications was set up. Currently, this repository contains an educational tutorial focused on the basic principles of image guided intervention (IGI). In addition, this release contains miscellaneous bug fixes.
To download the IGSTK 5.2 release, please visit the download page. You can access the build instructions on the IGSTK wiki. If you are interested in further information about IGSTK or in services around IGSTK, such as support, consulting or training courses, please contact us at kitware@kitware.com or (518) 371-3971.
Company NewsIGSTKMedical ImagingPress Releases
2023 Employee Promotions Represent Commitment to…
January 9, 2023 • By Samantha Schmitt
How to raise the quality of scientific Jupyter…
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Non-coders also welcome! If you've got design skills, I'd be excited to discuss ideas on a new logo. Some issues are also related to writing docs, i.e. explaining how to test an async web app.
I'll be glad to discuss ideas with new contributors and help them get started. Drop a message on our chat if you need anything!
Bocadillo is a Python web framework that provides a sane toolkit for quickly building performant web applications and services, while encouraging best practices and keeping developer experience in mind.
Under the hood, it uses the Starlette ASGI toolkit and the lightning-fast uvicorn ASGI server.


The daily WTvia I structure shows the Chikou (blue) and tenkan (orange) the initial range, impulse needed to get through support didnt happen. The question iis of degree in the 5 of the C.
WTI on the weekly spat the previous break retest from a year ago and back through the 50wma (green) and Kijun Sen (pink) to bring chikou back in balance (blue) tenkan remains support - watch Murrey confluence with cloud above.
US consumers spent $1,032 million dollars per day for gasoline last week. That is -$11.60 mil YoY.
US avg retail price for gasoline was $2.691 last week. That is -0.009 cents YoY.
Weekly imports up +223KBD but lower by over 1MMBD y-o-y. 3rd week of ZERO Venezuelan imports in the US.


New York City College of Technology (City Tech) is the largest public college of technology in New York State and a national model for technological education. Visiting the campus is a great way to learn about the college and all that we have to offer. Our campus tour and information session will provide you with information about our admissions requirements, academic programs, support services, and facilities. Our tours are typically 90 — 120 minutes long and begin with a brief information session. Reservations are required and can be made by clicking on one of the registration buttons below.
Group tours are provided for school groups and/or organizations with 10 (minimum) - 25 (maximum) students who would like to tour the campus. Please be aware, submitting a group tour request for a specific date does not guarantee a reservation.
All group tours, unless otherwise specified, will begin with a short information session. In this session, students will learn about the basic admissions requirements, an overview of our academic programs, and have a chance to ask questions about the admissions process.
Note: We have a 48-hour notice cancellation policy. Failure to comply may impact future tour requests.
Each year, the Hospitality Management Department hosts a limited number of group tours for schools and organizations. These tours cater to students who are interested in pursuing degrees and careers in Hospitality Management and Travel Tourism.


While technically not peer to peer lending, BondMason is an interesting addition to a field of platforms vying for investor's money and could be the future of peer to peer lending. The company offers a virtually hands-off investment option for people investors who don't want to navigate the intricacies of choosing peer to peer lending platforms and loans. There is a £5,000 minimum investment requirement with higher annual fee structure up to 1.5%.
* This opinion risk factors in loan types, interest returns, platform history, default numbers and my own investing experience.
Could be the future of peer to peer investing?
BondMason Review: My experiences so far….
On paper, BondMason fills all the wants of a hands-off peer to peer lending investment vehicle. When I first invested, I liked the attractive returns, deposit and forget auto investments and an experienced financial team analysing loans. After researching further, I decided to give BondMason a try. It took a couple of weeks for my original deposit to be invested but after that, so far so good. Payments have been made on time and my account value is growing monthly.
When BondMason announced a raise in fee structure and minimum investments, I decided to exit the platform. For those investing £5,000 – £25,000, the annual fee will be raised to 1.5%. After tax, I calculated I could be earning between 3-5% and when factoring the risk involved, this doesn't appeal to me. I was sad to exit BondMason as I still believe they are a reputable lender. Read on for more of my thoughts if BondMason.
BondMason is a UK based investment company that invests in receivables, invoices, peer to peer loans and debt. This is where things get a bit confusing but bear with me as I try to explain BondMason's set up. Remember it is very important to understand what you are investing in.
BondMason has an outside / sister company named BondMason Client Ltd (aka BCL) which on paper, is a client of BondMason the platform. BondMason's team analyses loans on peer to peer platforms and buys loans that passes their quality criteria. BondMason's platform then facilitates the sales and purchase of these loans to lenders in the form of receivables. BCL collects loan payments and distributes them to BondMason the platform, which then distributes payments to lenders. BondMason also invests in each loan alongside lenders to keep interests aligned.
This set up means BondMason could be considered more like an investment fund than a true peer to peer company.
BondMason in association with Chiltern, will soon be offering a property backed bond.
BondMason, in Association with Chiltern Bonds, issued The Absolute Return Bonds I & II on October 2018. These are ISA eligible investments. Minimum investment amount £1,000.
How Can I Contact BondMason?
Not yet but BondMason's FCA regulation is pending. Since BondMason offers a unique product, FCA regulation has been a slower process. BondMason has applied for regulation through the Financial Conduct Authority and is working closely with them to comply. No timeline for approval has been given.
BondMason was one of the first companies accepted onto the FCA Innovation Hub program in April 2015. Their model was considered (i) innovative (ii) a positive contribution to financial services and (iii) current regulations didn't fit their operating model. An FCA application for certain activities was submitted in December 2015, and is awaiting a final response. The senior team are FCA approved persons.
BondMason hasn't published their profit and loss information. You can view Bondmason's company accounts here.
Anyone 18 years or older who lives in the UK, has a UK bank account and can pass the identity checks.
The signup process is simple. Click the signup button, fill out the information, pass the identity verification and you are in.
Does BondMason Offer An Innovative Finance ISA?
Not yet but it is possible to use a SIPP provider to invest in BondMason. Click here to learn more. Chiltern Bonds – Fixed Term Bonds (1 year and 3 year) are ISA eligible investments.
How Much Interest Does BondMason Pay Investors?
BondMason Core clients have achieved an average yearly net return of 6% since 2015.
Is Interest Paid Immediately Upon Investment?
interest is paid starting from the time your money is deployed into investments but interest is not while your money sits in the invesment queue.
Interest payments are staggered throughout the month.
Am I Lending To The Platform Or To Borrowers?
This is a grey area. Technically you are purchasing receivables from BondMason Client Ltd (BCL) which are then linked to the peer to peer loans. BondMason and client positions are separated. BondMason is investing on lenders behalves through its sister company BCL. BCL then passes the cash flow to lenders through BondMason's platform. BCL is bankruptcy remote from the platform.
No simple answer here as BondMason's legal structure is complicated. In my opinion, because investors aren't lending directly to peer to peer borrowers, investors are lending to the platform.
Selling: Selling investments is normally free but BondMason reserves the right to charge a 2% fee. This fee appears to be to deter frequent buying and selling. Sellers will be contacted by staff if a fee is to be charged upon sale.
The loans range from one month to five years. When you have auto investing enabled, you cannot select loan term lengths or the investments.
What Securities Are Used Against Loans?
BondMason doesn't list specific loan details on their website. Most loans are listed as being asset secured. Only one of my 50 loans was unsecured but this can vary.
BondMason invests in private loans as well as loans on other peer to peer platforms, so security varies but it is usually property related.
Typically between 75-80% of underlying loans are secured by UK property via a first or second ranking charge. The remainder of loans are secured by other assets such as debentures, floating charges and personal guarantees.
According to BondMason's website, as of January 2019, 87% of their loan book is performing as expected while 5.23% of loans are on a watchlist which means these loans require monitoring. BondMason has written off 0.1% of its total loan book and expects a total loss ratio of 0.5 – 2%.
When I invested through BondMason, only two of my loans defaulted out of 68 loans I held.
BondMason mixes its investments in loans offered by other peer to peer lending companies, and loans it originates itself. Regarding outside companies, BondMason monitors the default collection process. Regarding internal loans, I don't have information about how the collection process works but after my conversation with CEO Steve Findlay, my confidence in their process is high and so far I'm impressed.
Click here for the latest liquidity and exit information as this can change daily.
I recently hit the withdraw button and liquidated all my investments. I'm happy to report all loans were sold within one day except for two that are in default. Any accrued interest owed is paid at the end of the month.
Company failure: BondMason is a newer peer to peer platform so its lack of history adds to the lender investment risk. As with any peer to peer company, should BondMason cease trading, lenders could face capital losses. Platform failure is the single biggest risk to peer to peer investors. Another concern is that its sister company BCL purchases the peer to peer loans. As I understand, BCL is also listed as the third party set up to handle the loan book in case of platform failure. BondMason states that this legal structure is designed to protect lenders. Whilst this maybe true, there could be some conflict of interest here so I would much rather see BondMason hire an independent third party for loan administration. If BondMason fails, BCL could fail also even though it is legally separated from the platform.
Defaults: BondMason's experienced team analyses the quality of each peer to peer loan it places investors money into. For this reason I expect defaults to be low. However due to the volatile nature of peer to peer lending, defaults happen. Higher default rates could severely damage investor confidence leading investors to the exit doors. If investors exit all at once, it would be hard to sell existing investments as liquidity could dry up.
Lowering of standards: If BondMason lowers its investment criteria standards, defaults could increase and returns could fall. I fully expect BondMason's quality standards to remain high.
Hand-off investing: Passive investing has its downsides. Investment companies make frequent changes, some for the better and others for the worse. When you passively invest, it's so easy to become complacent and forget to keep an eye on the company you are invested through.
Overall risk: BondMason could be the future of investing in peer to peer lending. Before you invest, you should understand that this type of investing could be riskier than standard peer to peer lending because you are placing heavy reliance on BondMason's decision making and operation rather than choosing your own peer to peer loans. Given the experience of the team, I see this as a positive. I would rather have an experienced finance team vetting peer to peer loans than relying on my own knowledge.
BondMason has a living will in place which would place a third party (Bond Mason Client Ltd. aka BCL) in charge of managing investors' funds. The issue as discussed early is that BCL is the third party. As much as I like BondMason, as I always warn, if it were to go under, there are too many unknown variables to know whether investors would see return of their capital.
Peer to peer lending can be very time consuming. To overcome this problem, BondMason created a true set-and-forget platform. Many lenders yearn for investment platforms where they can passively invest money and receive interest payments while they eat Monster Munch and watch Emmerdale Farm. Of course there are downsides to passive investing convenience, one of these being lower return rates.
Many peer to peer lenders overlook the importance of Director experience when considering investment risk. BondMason has experienced Board Members and Directors who have many years of financial services and investment analysis experience. The financial team analyses each loan opportunity and invests alongside lenders. It's good to know the loans are being analysed over by experienced people.
After my lengthy conversation with CEO Stephen Findlay, I have a high regard for BondMason's team and its values. Stephen expressed how they realise people have entrusted their money to BondMason and the team doesn't take this responsibility lightly.
Without a doubt, BondMason is one of the most transparent peer to peer lending companies. Their statistics page outlines all the activity including loan types, defaults, returns and cash drag effects. Some peer to peer companies aren't good at communicating with their lenders so I certainly tip my hat to them for their refreshing approach. Should you need help, the communication is excellent.
BondMason states that lenders can exit investments depending on the amount, website liquidity and demand. Remember you can never completely rely on being able to exit investments. If the economic climate changes and investors mass exit, liquidity could dry up.
BondMason states than in 2016, they were able to fully liquidate and return clients funds within 24 hours in 95% of cases. I was able to liquidate all investments but two defaults and receive the money in my account within 24 hours.
Peer to peer loan options can be limited to regular lenders. Since BondMason uses an institutional business approach, it has access to loans we don't. For example, one of their loan partners has a minimum investment of £250,000.
BondMason's high level of loan due diligence means loans default have been almost nonexistent. The financial team brings an institutional level of due diligence and only invests in loan borrowers and platforms they have personally met and interviewed.
BondMason invests in each loan it offers to its lenders, but their website doesn't specify how much they invest. It certainly inspires confidence knowing that company interests are aligned with investors and that they to stand by the loans they buy.
The Future Of Peer To Peer Lending?
There are three peer to peer lending drawbacks that BondMason attempts to solve.
Firstly, the large amount of time it takes to wade through the hundreds of loan choices and various platform options. BondMason's hand-off investing could be the answer many people are looking for.
Secondly, certain peer to peer platforms have lofty minimum investment amounts that are too high for us regular folk. For example Thincats has a £1,000 minimum investment per loan. A company like BondMason can use the power of collective investing to purchase loans through these high minimum loan platforms.
Thirdly, in order to achieve 100% diversification in an ideal world, every lender would have a small piece of every viable loan on every platform. This way defaults or platform failures won't affect lenders too badly. Both time, demand and financial limitations prevent lenders from being fully diversified.
An ideal diversification level would be to have no more than 2% of platform money in each loan. For example, in order to be fully diversified on Thincats, a lender should invest in 50 loans. This would require a platform investment of £50,000, an amount that is probably out of most people's financial reach. BondMason lenders can set whether they wish to have no more than 1% or 2% of their balance in each loan investment (I use 1%). If BondMason expands and buys loans from more platforms, it could be the most diverse option for peer to peer lenders.
A profitable and efficiently operated BondMason could be the future in the peer to peer lending world. The issue for me is the high annual fee amount and possible cash drag make the returns too low.
BondMason has some pretty significant annual fees of up to 1.5% that can drag down your returns (see above in the Fees section).
If you know anything about me, you'll know I dislike investments with high fee structures. Low fees are the reason why I invest in index trackers and not managed unit trusts.
With £20,000 invested, the 0.5% extra fee costs you over £6,924 or £346 per year.
While I understand the reasons for the fee hikes, I still dislike them. If the target net return rate of 6% is met, some higher paying tax people may only net 4-5% post-tax which could be too low for the risk.
BondMason increased its required minimum account balance from £1,000 to £5,000. This was a shame because many early adopter investors didn't want a higher exposure in the platform and had to liquidate or run off their accounts. BondMason made this change so the team could focus on finding quality investment loans while continuing to offer a high level of customer service.
While I was disappointed about the minimum rise, I commend BondMason on making the necessary changes to grow and be profitable.
Since lenders are buying receivables from BondMason Client Ltd., lenders have no security rights over loans. I quote from their website, "Lenders have no recourse against either the seller or the borrower under the loan related to the receivables in the event that the receivables are not paid to the BondMason Customer Funds Account." This adds another layer of lending risk.
BondMason is designed to be a hands-off platform so I can understand the limited level of investment detail. It would still be nice for lenders to know what platforms and loan receivables their money was lent to; for diversification purposes if nothing else.
Since peer to peer lender demand tends to outweigh loan supply, it can take several days or weeks for your money to start earning interest. This goes for reinvestment of interest payments also.
BondMason has a target of 28 days for monies to be invested but everything depends on loan supply.
This issue is also known as cash drag (see below).
Cash drag refers to money sitting idly in your account uninvested. BondMason's unique investing model makes cash drag inevitable as there is probably no way for them to have 100% of every lenders account fully invested. I expected 10% of my funds to be uninvested although some Financial Thing readers have claimed their cash drag to be as high as 40% at times.
As explained above, BCL was the third party company created to buy loans. BCL is also the company that is assigned to process the loan book in the event of company failure. There could be some conflict of interest here so I would much rather see use of an independent third party for loan administration. If BondMason the company does fail, there is a chance BCL could also fail.
While I don't put too much weight on FCA regulation, it would be comforting to know BondMason was under the watchful eye of the FCA. BondMason is working closely with the FCA so hopefully their regulation permissions will be granted soon.
For me, BondMason was a set and forget platform so my strategy was simple. Once the money was deposited, there wasn't much else to do other than watch and wait. I used the 1% maximum per loan to be as diverse as possible. This selection is under the settings menu in the dashboard.
Once I deposited money, it took two weeks to become fully invested and after that, everything was smooth sailing and monthly payments were received promptly. Most of my reinvestment money was re-deployed quickly but there were times where small amounts of cash sat idle.
I'm still a fan of BondMason's transparency, team experience and business model. I love how the team carefully analyses each peer to peer company and loan they invest in. CEO Stephen Findlay spoke to me about how he takes the morale responsibility of investing peoples money extremely seriously.
Unfortunately, the increase in annual fees and minimum account balances made me decide to exit the platform. If you are a high net worth investor looking to place £100,000 at the 1% fee level, BondMason's could still be an option, especially since little time is required managing the investment. Just make sure you calculate your post-tax expected to decide if the risk is worth the reward.
There are risks involved since lenders have no direct claims over loan security due to the legal structure.
If you enjoyed this review and want to learn more about peer to peer lending, click here and receive my complimentary Top 5 Peer to Peer Lending Sites Report.
This unbiased BondMason review is for information purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Opinions expressed in this review are based upon my investing experiences. All information was deemed to be correct at the time of writing. Peer to peer lending contains risks so never invest more than you can afford to lose.
I'm still a fan of BondMason's transparency, team experience and business model. I love how the team carefully analyses each peer to peer company and loan they invest in. CEO Stephen Findlay spoke to me about how he takes the morale responsibility of investing peoples money extremely seriously. Unfortunately, the increase in annual fees and minimum account balances made me decide to exit the platform. If you are a high net worth investor looking to place £100,000 at the 1% fee level, BondMason's could still be an option, especially since little time is required managing the investment. Just make sure you calculate your post-tax expected to decide if the risk is worth the reward. There are risks involved since lenders have no direct claims over loan security due to the legal structure.
Previous articlePeer To Peer Platforms: Who Are You Lending To?


Hello, I'm new to networking, and I have a question on broadcasts.
Let's say, there are 4 hosts A, B, C, D, connected to a switch, which is connected to a router then to the Internet. If a broadcast is sent from host a, where does it go?
I would think that the broadcasting message would be sent to the switch then down to other 3 hosts: B, C, and D, but some reading materials suggest that it goes to the router. Can anyone help me clear up this idea please?
The broadcast would go to every device on the network except for the one that it was sent from.
So a broadcast from A would go to B, C, D, and the router. However, the router would look at the packet and unless it's an ARP and it needs to reply back via Proxy ARP, it would just discard the packet. Routers do not forward broadcasts.
1. While Routers do not forward broadcasts, does it forward ARP broadcasts?
a. ARP is trying to resolve MAC address of a host within the network?
b. ARP is trying to resolve MAC address of a host outside the network?
Routers do not forward any broadcasts (as far as what you need to know for CCNA Knowledge).
A. If the ARP is specifically looking for the MAC address of the router, the router will reply. If it's looking for anyone else on the network, the router will discard the frame.
B. If ARP is trying to resolve the MAC outside of the network, the router then performs Proxy ARP. This means that it will reply back to the source with the router's interface MAC address and from then on the source will then map that destination IP to that router's MAC address. After that, the packet will travel where it needs to go based on IP/MAC mapping from the other routers and their respective networks.
Thank you so much for clearing up this.


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(3134) Kostinsky es un asteroide perteneciente al cinturón exterior de asteroides descubierto el 5 de noviembre de 1921 por Serguéi Ivánovich Beliavski desde el observatorio de Simeiz en Crimea.
Está nombrado por Serguéi Konstantínovich Kostinski (1867-1936), fundador de la astrofotografía en Rusia.

Véase también
 Lista de asteroides del (3101) al (3200)

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Asteroides del cinturón exterior de asteroides
Objetos astronómicos descubiertos por Serguéi Beliavski
Objetos astronómicos descubiertos desde el Observatorio de Simeiz
Objetos astronómicos descubiertos en 1921
Wikiproyecto:Asteroides/Artículos de asteroides

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Food is needed all year long. Without the basic ingredients we would be unable to cook and serve hot meals. While we are grateful to many businesses for their contributions, the reality is that it is not enough to satisfy the increasing demand. This is why we must rely on the generous contributions of members in our community.
A good rule of thumb when considering making a food donation is to ask yourself if you would eat it, feed it to your children or serve it to your mom.


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Peasantophobia in Beijing
Chinese cities should stop expelling Chinese migrants
Officials in Beijing are using brutal tactics to limit the city's population. They are wrong even to try
LeadersNov 30th 2017 edition
IN ALL countries, a big influx of migrants tends to provoke grumbles among the natives. In China, however, the migrants most frequently grumbled about, and treated with the greatest hostility, are not foreigners but other Chinese: rural folk who move to the cities in search of a better life. This has been on show in the past few days in the capital, Beijing. On November 18th a blaze in a ramshackle warehouse-cum-apartment-block killed 19 people believed to be migrants from elsewhere in China. The authorities are now using "fire safety" as a pretext to drive thousands of other migrants out of the basements, air-raid shelters and shanties where they live (see article)—often by cutting off their electricity and water. It has amounted to a mass expulsion from the capital.
It is clear that officials are not simply aiming to prevent future fires. A few volunteers who have tried to set up shelters for people who have found themselves suddenly homeless in sub-zero temperatures have been ordered by police to close them. The capital has a long record of trying to limit the population of migrants from the countryside by making it harder for them to rent crummy accommodation, the only kind that most of them can afford. They cannot buy a home without being formally employed (which most are not) and having residency papers (which are almost impossible for them to obtain).
The government wants to restrict the growth of megacities such as Beijing. It says their large populations put too much strain on water supplies, roads, hospitals and so on. Efforts to ease such pressures on the capital have been dramatic. They have included spending tens of billions of dollars on piping and channelling more water into the city from hundreds of miles away—a project touted as the biggest of its kind in the world. Even more dramatically, in April the government announced plans to build a whole new city from scratch, about 100km (60 miles) from Beijing, where some businesses and universities will be relocated. That will cost another few hundred billion dollars. Beijing aims to have no more than 23m residents by 2020, compared with nearly 22m today—an implausible goal, without yet more abuse of migrants.
A better Beijing
Officials have an extra reason to curb the population in Beijing—one that is especially important to the ruling Communist Party: as the capital, the city must look its best and avoid any hint of instability. The leadership views any unrest in Beijing, however minor, as a potential threat to the party's grip on power. Hence the thuggish treatment of shanty-dwellers and the routine shakedowns by police of any shabbily dressed person heading towards Tiananmen Square. Who knows what chaos might be unleashed by a protest there about unpaid wages, abusive bosses or other migrant grievances?
There are ways of easing the capital's growth pains that would be both more humane and more efficient. Water is scarce largely because it is too cheap. Pricing it properly—so that it reflects supply and demand—would spur households and businesses to use less of it. This would no doubt upset Beijingers, who have grown used to cheap water. But it would be less disruptive than building an entire new city down the road.
Above all, Beijing and other megacities should stop treating settlers from elsewhere in the country as second-class citizens. Refreshingly, some public intellectuals in Beijing signed a petition deploring the recent evictions as a violation of human rights. But all too often residents of the capital ignore the mistreatment of migrants. Many share the government's worries about overcrowded schools and hospitals. But if the migrants were allowed to have proper jobs, they would pay more taxes and support more public services. Discriminating against them can be deadly. When they are, in effect, barred from formal, regulated housing, they end up in firetraps.
It would be better to give all Chinese citizens the same rights to live where they please and obtain public services where they live. Ideally that would mean abolishing the hukou system, which ties Chinese to the place their family came from. Failing that, the government should at least stop putting arbitrary caps on the populations of megacities. Such caps make no economic sense. The more people a city attracts, the more productive it becomes, as people forge millions of valuable connections with each other. Also, Beijing's and Shanghai's non-migrant populations are set to age and shrink as a result of declining birth rates. They will soon need migrants even more urgently than they do today. Out of self-interest, if nothing else, they should treat them decently.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Expelling Chinese people from Chinese cities"


Gooding & Company has revealed the full list of 18 cars that comedian and avid Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld has consigned for the Amelia Island Auction in March.
Gooding & Company has revealed the full list of 18 cars that comedian and avid Porsche collector Jerry Seinfeld has consigned for the Amelia Island Auction in March. The cars – 16 Porsches and two Volkswagens – are scheduled to cross the block March 11 when Gooding holds its annual auction during the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance weekend in Florida.
Gooding had announced earlier this month that Seinfeld would offer part of his monumental collection to auction at Amelia, and displayed threes examples at the company's recent Arizona auction in Scottsdale. Those three – a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, a 1958 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster and a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC RSR, all valued well into seven figures – will be part of the 18 Seinfeld cars at auction.
Seinfeld said that each of his cars is in pristine condition.
"I've loved being entrusted with their care, and I'm proud of the level to which we have brought each and every one of these wonderful machines," Seinfeld was quoted. "Honestly, if I had unlimited time, space and attention span I would never sell one of them.
The Seinfeld connection is expected to lift the bidding of these cars even more than their intrinsic value, as special celebrity cars have being doing in the recent past. Cars with close associations with such iconic stars as Steve McQueen, Janis Joplin and Burt Reynolds have soared to unheard of levels at auction, and the Seinfeld ownership could have the same effect on these.


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Q: Finding the original matrix A from a given set of Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors Say you're given a set of eigenvalues and eigenvectors, is it always possible to determine the original matrix A?
I recognize that if a matrix A is diagonalizable, the geometric multiplicity equals the algebraic multiplicity and you can form you matrix of Eigenvectors, call it Q, and then your diagonal matrix D (which consists of the eigenvalues that correspond to the correct eigenvector column in Q) gives you the result
$A = QDQ^-1$
but assuming we aren't given the original matrix A, is it possible to "reverse" this process and find A? Thanks

A: Assuming $A$ is $n\times n$, if you are given $n$ linear independent eigenvectors and the corresponding eigenvalues, then the $QDQ^{-1}$ formulation works.
If the matrix does not have this spanning set of eigenvectors, then you need the generalized eigenvectors, c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalized_eigenvector, to construct a matrix $P$ and the almost diagonal Jordan normal form $J$ such that $A=PJP^{-1}$.
Jordan normal forms, c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_normal_form, exist for all $n\times n$ matrices over the field $\mathbb{C}$, so the answer is "yes" if you are also given generalized eigenvectors and "no" if you are only given the eigenvectors of a non-diagonalizable matrix.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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March 2016 Monthly Meeting / AGM
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & ELECTIONS
Guest speaker:
Art Journalling with Cathy McMillan
Cathy McMillan studied Art & Design at Grant MacEwan University, and studied fine art and painting with American artist Eileen Racher Sutton. Her art studio in Parkallen, "The Quirky Art Cafe" was inspired by extensive travels, and after a brief spell as a cafe has now returned to being her studio space.
Cathy has been writing, drawing and painting in her journals since she was a teenager, filling more than 80 books with her creative ideas. To quote Cathy: " I can honestly say that for me, art journaling has allowed me to rediscover the kind of creative freedom we all feel as a child and has led me to understand and trust my authentic creative voice." Come be inspired, learn tips and techniques. We hope you will leave inspired to do your own personal version of Art Journalling!


From left, Sussy, Dennis, Keagan, Rosa, Bruce, Ylva and Sofia.
Sofia cleans the cages, brushes the dogs.
Ylva didn't "just" make the lunch for everybody, she even cleaned out the cages.
Keagan and Bruce cleaned the doghouse(s).


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Home > Betting Big
Betting Big
/en/news/betting-big
{A8089AD3-949B-4C39-AE99-6F7BDE46FDFC}
by John W. Kennedy on September 23, 2021
Even the casual sports fan has noticed a proliferation of commercials and advertisements attempting to entice them to gamble on the outcome of the contest they are watching. The onslaught — on network television, Twitter, and sports-affiliated websites — will only intensify with the pending Major League baseball playoffs and the progression of the National Football League fall season.
For the first time, the NFL this year is permitting seven league-sanctioned gambling companies to show commercials during televised games. Six such commercial slots are available during each contest. DraftKings, FanDuel Group, and Caesars Entertainment are now official sportsbook partners of the NFL, with the authorization to present game clips and league logos on their betting apps. Increasingly, all-sports networks such as ESPN are airing entire shows such as "Daily Wager" that focus on gambling odds.
The door opened for such activity in 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can operate, sponsor, and promote commercial sports gambling ventures. Since then, sports betting — hitherto confined to gambling houses in Nevada — has been legalized in 32 states and another 10 have such legislation in the works.
"This is part of the relentless march by state governments and powerful gambling corporations to introduce extreme forms of gambling into as many homes as possible," says Les Bernal, national director for the Washington, D.C.-based Stop Predatory Gambling. "There are massive campaigns to normalize commercial gambling on TV, social media, radio, and streaming platforms." Repeated invitations to participate in a sports fantasy league began springing up six years ago.
David R. Just, science and business professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, says that Americans being able to bet on NFL, MLB, and college football games from the comfort of their home around the clock is a recent development — one encouraged at times by the seemingly incestuous relationship between gambling companies and teams. For instance, this year various regional telecasts of major league baseball games are carried on Bally Sports. The affiliated Bally Corp. operates casinos in 14 states, plus online sports betting operations across the country.
Historically, Just notes, there has been a strict separation between gambling and sporting contests to ensure fair play because of the potential for cheating. Yet in the past four years, Las Vegas has become home to the Golden Knights professional hockey team and the NFL Raiders.
RECRUITING ADDICTS
Bernal, 52, says the advertising blitz is an attempt by gambling companies to lure youth into lifelong habits of betting on the outcome of games. He says there is an epidemic of children involved in betting in the United Kingdom as a result of legalized online sports gambling initiated in Great Britain and Northern Ireland two years ago.
"Kids are growing up there thinking betting on games is a perfectly normal way to make money," Bernal says. "But kids are the most prone to get sucked into gambling addiction."
According to Bernal, the profit margins of commercialized sports betting aren't as high as slot machines or table games at casinos. But if companies can lure young people into placing wagers on sports, it can lead to other types of gambling.
"The goal is not getting people to bet on a game once a week for 17 weeks of the football season," Bernal says. "The real profit margin is getting people to wager 365 days a year in their home."
Thus, those who sign up for a sports gambling app on a smartphone will be bombarded with Las Vegas-type online casino pitches anywhere they have an internet connection.
Gary W. Blackard, president and CEO of Adult & Teen Challenge, the Assemblies of God U.S. Missions ministry to those with addictions and other life-controlling issues, agrees that misery will be the outcome of the plethora of promotions for betting on athletic events.
"The incessant marketing opens up more opportunities for people to become addicted to sports betting," says Blackard, 53. "With easier accessibility, more people will 'play' which will result in more people falling into the traps of addiction."
Blackard, who is based in Ozark, Missouri, predicts that more people will be seeking help from Adult & Teen Challenge in the next couple of years because of the increased presence of gambling via social media, television, and other electronic media.
Bernal is concerned that the betting opportunities have moved beyond simply which team will win the game. It's about over/under point spreads. And, he notes, DraftKings is in partnership with media companies to unveil a remote control device that connects to a television screen to place a bet by pressing a button before every pitch.
"In-play wagering is like a slot machine experience when it comes to sports," Bernal warns. "It's not just predicting whether the Cards will beat the Cubs by a run, but rather whether the next pitch will be a ball or a strike."
Likewise, in football, the player chooses whether the next down will be a run or a pass, or how many touchdown passes Tom Brady will throw in the first quarter.
"There are limitless wagering options while the game is happening," Bernal says. " This is the most extreme and dangerous form of gambling ever invented."
Consequently, a bettor could lose hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on a single game.
"Now kids are rooting not just for their team to win, but whether the team will cover the point spread," Bernal says. "It changes the way kids watch sports." He cites a UK study that showed 80% of youth view sports and gambling as synonymous.
MARKETING JUGGERNAUT
Bernal is aggravated that the aggressive gambling come-ons are marketed with terms such as "risk free" or "free bets."
"It's totally predatory, preying upon fans, especially kids," Bernal says. "No other product can be advertised this way."
Blackard says such enticements can tempt Christians to look elsewhere for help rather than relying on the Lord.
"Saying it's easy to get rich by playing 'games' sends the wrong message," Blackard says. "The odds are simply not in favor of those looking for an opportunity to make money."
Blackard thinks the sports gambling push is an attempt by Satan to distract Christians from experiencing a deeper walk with Christ. The devil will use any wedge — gambling, alcohol, pornography, food, even shopping — to prevent Christians from a closer relationship with the Lord, Blackard says.
"This is dangerous," Blackard warns. "We will see the economic downfall of families trying to replace money lost in bets."
Bernal is lobbying for marketing and advertising for commercialized gambling operators to be banned from the airwaves, as the Federal Communications Commission did with tobacco products 40 years ago. But he realizes he faces an uphill fight. With the vast majority of states sponsoring gambling ventures such as lotteries, no state attorney general has initiated litigation against gambling companies over predatory practices. Last year, when state government shut down restaurants, movie theaters, and even hiking trails due to COVID-19, lotteries continued selling tickets unabated.
Just, 46, believes sports betting commercials and advertisements will saturate the market for the foreseeable future. Sports gambling is projected to generate around $4 billion in revenue this year.
"This is a growth market," Just says. "As long as no regulator steps in, this will grow stronger in prominence, visibility, and acceptance."
Tags: Sports Gambling Les Bernal Gary Blackard David Just NFL MLB DraftKings FanDuel Group ESPN Gambling Addiction Stop Predatory Gambling Adult & Teen Challenge U.S. Missions Bally Sports Cornell University


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John Butler:
An Address to the Cocoa-Tree from a Whig. and a Consultation on the Subject of a Standing-Army, Held at the King s-Arms Tavern, on the Twenty-Eighth Day of February, 1763. [The Fifth Edition]. (Paperback) - Paperback
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, [PU: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, United States], Brand New Book ***** Print on Demand *****. The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT020414A Whig = John Butler. With an additional titlepage reading: A consultation on the subject of a standing army, held at the King s-Arms Tavern, on the twenty-eighth day of February, 1763. The second edition. - Edition statement from half-title.London: printed by Dryden Leach, for G. Kearsly, 1763. vii, [3],56p.; 8
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An address to the Cocoa-Tree from a Whig. And a consultation on the subject of a standing-army, held at the Kings-Arms Tavern, on the twenty-eighth day of February, 1763. The fifth edition. - Paperback
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, JOHN BUTLER,SOCIAL SCIENCES, This item is printed on demand. Paperback. The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary. The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: British LibraryT020414A Whig John Butler. With an additional titlepage reading: A consultation on the subject of a standing army, held at the Kings-Arms Tavern, on the twenty-eighth day of February, 1763. The second edition. - Edition statement from half-title. London : printed by Dryden Leach, for G. Kearsly, 1763. vii, 3, 56p. ; 8 This item ships from La Vergne,TN.
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An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms - new book
An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms Tavern, On The Twenty-eighth Day Of February, 1763. [the Fifth Edition]. John Butler, Books, Social and Cultural Studies, An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms Books>Social and Cultural Studies, BiblioLife
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Butler, John:
An Address to the Cocoa-Tree from a Whig. and a Consultation on the Subject of a Standing-Army, Held at the King's-Arms Tavern, on the Twenty-Eighth - Paperback
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, [PU: GALE ECCO PRINT ED 01/01/2014], New Book. This item is printed on demand. Shipped from UK. This item is printed on demand.
Books2Anywhere, Fairford, GLO, United Kingdom [190245] [Rating: 5 (von 5)]
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, [PU: GALE ECCO PRINT ED 01/02/2014], New Book. This item is printed on demand. Shipped from US This item is printed on demand.
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[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, [PU: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, United States], Brand New Book ***** Print on Demand *****. The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapi… More...
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, [PU: Gale Ecco, Print Editions, United States], Brand New Book ***** Print on Demand *****. The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++British LibraryT020414A Whig = John Butler. With an additional titlepage reading: A consultation on the subject of a standing army, held at the King s-Arms Tavern, on the twenty-eighth day of February, 1763. The second edition. - Edition statement from half-title.London: printed by Dryden Leach, for G. Kearsly, 1763. vii, [3],56p.; 8<
- The Book Depository US, Gloucester, ., United Kingdom [58762574] [Rating: 5 (von 5)]
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, JOHN BUTLER,SOCIAL SCIENCES, This item is printed on demand. Paperback. The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technolo… More...
[EAN: 9781170620151], Neubuch, JOHN BUTLER,SOCIAL SCIENCES, This item is printed on demand. Paperback. The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. Delve into what it was like to live during the eighteenth century by reading the first-hand accounts of everyday people, including city dwellers and farmers, businessmen and bankers, artisans and merchants, artists and their patrons, politicians and their constituents. Original texts make the American, French, and Industrial revolutions vividly contemporary. The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: British LibraryT020414A Whig John Butler. With an additional titlepage reading: A consultation on the subject of a standing army, held at the Kings-Arms Tavern, on the twenty-eighth day of February, 1763. The second edition. - Edition statement from half-title. London : printed by Dryden Leach, for G. Kearsly, 1763. vii, 3, 56p. ; 8 This item ships from La Vergne,TN.<
- BuySomeBooks, Las Vegas, NV, U.S.A. [52360437] [Rating: 5 (von 5)]
An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms Tavern, On The Twenty-eighth Day Of February, 1763. [the Fifth… More...
An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms Tavern, On The Twenty-eighth Day Of February, 1763. [the Fifth Edition]. John Butler, Books, Social and Cultural Studies, An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms Books>Social and Cultural Studies, BiblioLife<
- Books2Anywhere, Fairford, GLO, United Kingdom [190245] [Rating: 5 (von 5)]
- Paperbackshop-US, Secaucus, NJ, U.S.A. [8408184] [Rating: 5 (von 5)]
John Butler
An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms
Details of the book - An Address To The Cocoa-tree From A Whig. And A Consultation On The Subject Of A Standing-army, Held At The King's-arms
Publisher: BiblioLife


Virginia State Police are looking for a tractor-trailer driver after a deadly motorcycle accident on I-95 in Fairfax—as well as anyone who witnessed the early-morning crash.
According to local news sources, 68-year-old Timothy Halpin, of Dumfries, was riding his BMW motorcycle northbound on Interstate 95 on Tuesday morning when he lost control of his bike in the left lane. His vehicle flew into the left shoulder of the road, while the man slid into the center lane and was struck by an oncoming tractor-trailer. The commercial truck continued driving and did not stop to offer the man medical assistance or to speak with authorities.
Halpin died at the scene of the Virginia motorcycle accident. The crash took place at around 4:30 a.m. near mile marker 165 on I-95. The crash closed all lanes of the interstate during the morning commute. The road was closed for two hours while police investigated the accident and cleared debris. Traffic was backed up for ten miles. Some drivers got out of their stopped cars during the traffic jam, which was not cleared until seven in the morning. Police did not raise restrictions on driving in the HOV lane.
The crash remains under investigation, though police have stated that alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the motorcycle crash and that it was raining at the time of the accident. Witnesses to the crash were not able to supply authorities with a description of the truck, and police are seeking anyone who knows about the crash or the trucker.
Our deepest condolences go out to Mr. Halpin's family during this difficult time, and we wish the authorities the best of luck in finding the unidentified trucker.


The AIG bonuses are a magnitude ten on the political Richter scale. And that has some folks worried. Some public officials, newspapers and Sunday talk shows are telling Americans it's time to move on – that the uproar over the bonuses is a "distraction" that might interfere with the economic recovery itself.
They're right, but for the wrong reason. They're worried about Wall Street's reaction to tight controls on how banks, hedge funds and insurance firms spend the bailout money. Better not offend Wall Street or they might stop lending our money to us.
What the commentariat really should be worried about is Main Street.
Every once in awhile, a moment arrives in our country where all those Founding Principles about Democracy rise beyond platitudes. This is one of those moments. Our government operates by the consent of those it governs. At any given time, there will always be people complaining – with some degree of truth – that the government is operating outside its authority. Some people who've lost faith just don't vote. But most people maintain sufficient confidence in the system that they obey the laws, pay their taxes, etc.
The confidence of the average American has been badly shaken lately. The destruction of our economy by those who called the shots on Wall Street and in Washington has delivered pain and hardship to Americans, who, on top of that, are being told that trillions of their taxpayer dollars have to be given to the greed-driven money-worshippers who did this to us. That the Treasury, the Congress and the White House did nothing to stop AIG from handing our taxpayer money over to those who don't deserve it (or even need it) is a profound betrayal of the People of the United States. True, the bonuses are symbolic. But so's the American flag.
The gravest threat to our country today is not an economic depression. It's the possibility that Americans will lose their trust in the institutions of our Democracy.


Co-founder & Marketing Director Grace Dunbar is also a health care professional with 10 years of experience. Please don't take chances with your health. A wellness plan that's easy to understand and follow through on is key to good health all through your life. Make chiropractic a cornerstone of that plan, and you're well on your way to living a life that's active and free from pain.
CaringLegends, LLC founder & Executive Director Patricia McKay is a Licensed Practical Nurse with over 15 years of health care experience. A certified medicaid In-home care provider, MDS coordinator and has managed an Acute Rehab nursing facilty.
Ms McKay has significant insight into the needs fragile patients face, when at home with disabilities/illness. She has undergone numerous specialty training in the areas of Wound care, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's and Diabetic care. She has experience as a professional development coach, mediator and trainer.
CaringLegends, LLC is an In-Home Care Services and Community-based Social Support Agency located in the St. Louis City area. It is a limited liability company locally owned and operated.
CaringLegends, LLC is established to provide health care and social support services to clients in the St. Louis city, St Louis County, & the St. Charles regions. The program provides specialized services to disabled, injured and elderly individuals who are deemed by their physicians as having a "chronic and stable" condition and is home-bound. The programs may also be requested by individuals needing care/services.
We believe that by providing exceptional, compassionate , & holistic health care services to our "home-bound" clients, they will continue to live independent healthy livestyles.


Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer and, for many, the start of summer travel season. Before you head off to some place else, Commentator Rex Buchanan recommends you take a hike, right here in Kansas.
Commentator Rex Buchanan is director of the Kansas Geological Survey and a regular contributor to Kansas Public Radio. The book he reviewed is called Kansas Trail Guide, by Jonathan and Kristin Conard (CON-erd). It's published by University Press of Kansas.


On a full road show through Australia from early next month to the third week of April, the Alliance Francaise (French Film Festival) will kick off this outstanding event on the 3rd of March. No worries if you're not visiting Sydney at the starting point as it'll be running through to the 22nd. If you're a huge French movie fan and want to follow the tour, it'll be hitting Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Byron Bay and ending in Hobart.
This is an incredibly popular event for Aussies and the national numbers have rapidly from over 133,000 attendees, over the past 2 years including 40,000+ in Sydney. It's not only the biggest foreign film festival in Australia; it's actually the largest celebration of their national movies outside of France.
2015 will be the 25th anniversary so expect to see some additional big screen wows from over 40 new features and documentaries. The tickets are available online and also at the host cinemas, namely Palace Verona, Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema and the Hayden Orpheum Cremorne.
Opening with the Gala (naturally) with cocktails at 6pm and the screening at Palace Verona at 8pm of Gemma Bovery, tickets range from $60 (members) to $80 (non members). The price includes canapés, drinks, a cocktail and post movie live entertainment. On the 22nd, Paris Je T'aime will be the closing film featuring the incredible Juliette Binoche, alongside Gerard Depardieu, Natalie Portman, Bob Hoskins and Steve Buscemi. Surprisingly, this wow of a movie including a glass of bubbly and post film live entertainment only costs $27 (members) and $33 (non members).
Some of the other highlighted movies during the festival include a red carpet experience, casino prize events, cheese tasting and featured talks. If you're on a super tight budget, we suggest you opt to see Le Rendez-Vous running from the 4th to 21st March, simply because tickets are free!
For anyone who is craving to learn French first hand, click this link to enter for the French Film Festival prize – a trip to France. It's all inclusive with a Club Med holiday in the stunning French Alps and you can try your nouvelle cuisine at a cooking workshop.
Since the Hayden Orpheum is just a 7 minute car drive or 30 minute walk from an affordable boutique Sydney hotel, after watching the Festival movies, just mosey on back to Cremorne Point Manor overlooking the Harbour and downtown skyline. It's not a film up for an award but if you check our website home page, our tour video is enough to give you creative inspiration. Where's that popcorn?