text:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="configuration.xsl"?>
<configuration>
    <!-- Brain: -->
    <property>
        <name>brain.host</name>
        <value>lucy.local</value>
        <description>
            Where the Brain is.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>brain.port</name>
        <value>14998</value>
        <description>
            Port that the Brain will listen on.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>brain.handlers</name>
        <value>10</value>
        <description>
            How many handlers. Each handler handles a proxy request.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>brain.queuesizeperhandler</name>
        <value>10</value>
        <description>
            The size of the internal processing queue each handler has.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>brain.readers</name>
        <value>10</value>
        <description>
            How many readers. (?)
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>brain.connection.maxretries</name>
        <value>4</value>
        <description>
            How many times Hadoop's RPC class will try to reconnect with a given proxy.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>brain.connection.sleeptime</name>
        <value>5</value>
        <description>
            How long will it Hadoop's RPC will wait before retries.
        </description>
    </property>

    <!-- Reactor -->
    <property>
        <name>reactor.port</name>
        <value>14999</value>
        <description>
            Port that the Reactor will listen on.
        </description>
    </property>

    <!-- Node: -->
    <property>
        <name>node.handlers</name>
        <value>10</value>
        <description>
            How many handlers. Each handler handles a proxy request.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>node.queuesizeperhandler</name>
        <value>10</value>
        <description>
            The size of the internal processing queue each handler has.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>node.readers</name>
        <value>10</value>
        <description>
            How many readers. (?)
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>node.connection.maxretries</name>
        <value>4</value>
        <description>
            How many times Hadoop's RPC class will try to reconnect with a given proxy.
        </description>
    </property>
    <property>
        <name>node.connection.sleeptime</name>
        <value>5</value>
        <description>
            How long will it Hadoop's RPC will wait before retries.
        </description>
    </property>
</configuration>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, Eric Porter and Claire Bloom star in Shakespeare's tragedy about Hamlet, a prince distraught by the hasty marriage of his Uncle Claudius to his newly widowed mother. The ghost of Hamlet's father visits his son, reveals that he was murdered by Claudius and entreats Hamlet to set things right. Shaken, Hamlet devises a complex plan to prove Claudius's guilt, but the choices he makes result in multiple tragedies.


Cambodia has a critical shortage of blood. If you want to help, donate here. It's perfectly safe and you get a T-shirt, although only 18 to 60 year olds can donate.
Located on the riverfront near the Chatomuk Theatre. While it doesn't carry a whole lot of information, it does offer free wi-fi, air-con and clean public toilets.
Has ATMs around town, with a US$4 charge. At its flagship branch you can also get cash advances on MasterCard and Visa. Also represents MoneyGram.
The best of the local hospitals, with the most comprehensive services and an intensive-care unit, but it really helps to go with a Khmer speaker.
ANZ has ATMs galore all over town, including at supermarkets and petrol stations, but there is a US$5 charge per transaction.
This organisation has a handy list of all NGOs, both Cambodian and international, and is an extremely helpful resource.
Convenient hours and location, there's also a Western Union office here (one of several in the city).
International hospital affiliated with Bangkok Hospital. Boasts top facilities. Expensive.


It took a while to get started on this review for a few reasons. LEAR graciously supplied me with the standard cable AND the upgrade cable (NSC-03) for the NS-U1, which have Natrosound on and off switches so in a way I had several reviews and comparisons to do. Not that I am complaining mind.
The LEAR NS-U1 is a concept piece in itself which a quick browse of their website will reveal in detail about the ideas and design behind the seed to fruition of this IEM.
They describe it best so to save you a link click I have copied the relevant information over for you, its a good introduction to the concept before we get into the review.
"LEAR's NS technology makes earphones simulate the loudspeakers' natural hearing experience. With NS, users can experience a natural front audio image with current audio files, without any additional plug-ins or external power! A lot of users feel uncomfortable, some to an extent that they get a headache because of traditional earphones' stereo sound.
The sound on both loudspeakers are received by both our ears, and our ears determine the distance from the sound source with this effect.
The sound on a pair of headphones come with separate channels like loudspeakers. As the sound of headphones direct to one ear at a time, the ear would not receive the sound from the opposite channel. This results in an unnatural sound, which some might feel uncomfortable with this 'inside the head' sound effect that is different from the real world.
The NS simulates a sound closer to the natural and actual sound from the real world.
The NS technology sends the sound from opposite channel to the opposite earphone, in which NS acoustically simulates the natural sound delay and level. Consequently, user can experience the normal loudspeakers sound with NS.The NS technology sends the sound from opposite channel to the opposite earphone, in which NS acoustically simulates the natural sound delay and level. Consequently, user can experience the normal loudspeakers sound with NS.
No external software/hardware, electronics, or external power needed: plug the NS earphones into any mobile/player and that's it!"
The build of the NS-U1 is mysterious as the shells are bulbous and quite different to what I am usually accustomed to seeing in an IEM.
Nonetheless the shells and housing are solid, the cable is very robust.
Two dynamic drivers are in each ear piece.
The nozzle is long and therefore will easily access most ear canals.
Natrosound on/off switch and bass and Natrosound +/- adjustment dials.
Two cables seen here: on the left the after market cable LEAR NSC-03 (kindly included by LEAR for review) and on the right the usual bundled cable that you would get with the NS-U1.
NOTE: the four pin design which is a key to how these IEMs work by turning on or off the extra driver.
as opposed to the usually two pin or MMCX connectors.
A simple no fuss nub for connecting the tips.
Tips and connectors fit without effort.
The packaging is of an appropriate size. Not too big, nor too small.
Two thirds contain the round case and IEMs, the cardboard square box the added tips and manual etc.
It comes with a sturdy case that has a black hard exterior and a green rubber interior for extra protection.
The fit on the LEAR NS-U1 can be comfortable even though the shells are quite large and bulbous.
A stronger memory wire would have helped with the fit and keeping them fixed in place. I suspect the longer connector housing has something to do with that, as it prevents a nice form fitting curve around the top front of the ear.
They would tend to go from a good fit to sometimes popping out at first, one has to get the right angle and cable tension to achieve no movement then they seem to be ok.
Good isolation and balance between both ends as far as sound is concerned.
The sound for this review is mainly separated into several parts due to the two cables and also the different settings on the two cables.
NOTE: There is a difference between the first impressions straight from the ipod touch to my later experiments with the Centrance Hifi-Skyn.
*The stock cable has a on/off switch for the Natrosound, a microphone for taking phone calls.
*The upgrade cable has the Natrosound on/switch and also bass and dials to increase/decrease the bass or the Natrosound.
Note the bass and Natrosound gradual adjuster dials on the left side.
Ipod Touch 6G 128GB, Flacplayer by Dan leehr app.
Stock cable. More light and airy without the Natrosound on, seems recessed, with the Natrosound on more bass and low end..fuller sound overall, smoother. Mids are too forward.
Natrosound off, thin sound, although improved with bass set at near full.
Natrosound on. Fuller sound, like an extra speaker underneath it all, bass off, I turned down the Natrosound a tad and better clarity was achieved.
Summary: With either cable there is sometimes slight distortion with the Natrosound on at high volumes, also can sound a bit airy/empty without it turned on with some tracks.
With Natrosound turned on at moderate volumes it is an enjoyable experience. Very nice to listen to and largely smooth overall, non fatiguing.
Either setting it has a fast response.
Centrance Hifi-Skyn (Gain 3), ipod touch 6G 128GB with Flacplayer app.
Improved fidelity and smoothness overall.
The NS-U1 seems to enjoy the extra gain and power.
Listening with the stock cable has turned into a more pleasurable experience, even with the Natrosound turned off. Smooth, full, even.
With the Natrosound turned on it seems at first like a slight improvement, a small jump, more fuller, rounded bass, but when I switch back and forth I am able to appreciate more what the Natrosound actually does and it is quite wonderful. Some detail is lost. Soundstage is fuller and wider.
But of course the limitation is within the on/off of the Natrosound itself with the stock cable.
Back to the upgrade cable LEAR NSC-03.
Nice and clear, nothing exciting, fairly flat and reference. Clear. A sound signature that I could enjoy at low volumes. too much volume can give peaky treble.
Congested at first until I adjusted the Natrosound dial a bit by turning it down a tad.
Clear and nice with good details, ok soundstage. More height than width.
Adding a bit more bass by way of the detail gives it an nice warmth and intimacy which balances out the highs somewhat.
The concept is basically a type of crossfeed in some ways, although not exactly that, the sound from the main driver is fed into the smaller driver on the opposite side to give a more balanced result from the music.
Not a TOTL IEM price, but just above budget prices.
The LEAR NS-U1 fits into its price point well, good packaging and extras.
It is a concept piece in a way so it depends on whether that floats your boat.
If you are into crossfeed or non fatigue then this would be for you.
The LEAR Natrosound NS-U1 is a certain IEM for a certain someone.
At US$217 at the time of writing is a lower to mid fi price, either for someone nervously shopping around for the best of what their money can offer, or for some daddy more bucks who just wants to try it out for fun.
The build is solid and sturdy, perhaps too sturdy in places as the cable is a bit hard to fit snugly around the ears, and the connector is quite long, but aside from that I could still get a satisfactory fit and seal with minimal pop outs from the ear canal.
The sound differs from the stock to the better upgrade cable and is a matter of taste.
I preferred the upgrade cable LEAR NSC-03 the Natrosound turned on (with dial adjustments), the added options to adjust the sound and fine tune the experience improves it overall.
Experience differs with the music playing also, the LEAR NS-U1 seems to favor more quiet and laid back music, heavy rock at times can be hard for them to handle and gets congested.
Sound reproduction is generally realistic and accurate.
With the stock cable I prefer the Natrosound off, with the upgrade cable I prefer the Natrosound on (with adjustments to the dials).
In short it does take some adjusting to get used to the Natrosound but once I did i quite enjoyed it and it grew on me over time.


text:
Appeasement and its repercussions
mmasim50 in life
There are many proponents and opponents of the policy of appeasement but personally, I am somewhere in the middle of the two extreme views with a more tilt towards aggressiveness. I think it depends upon the situation whether you want to adopt appeasement or not and the history shows that it works well in some cases and doesn't work at all in others. I will take you back into the history just to make you understand and give you an overview of how the appeasement strategy has led to the solution of conflicts in many regions and has to lead to a massive bloodshed in others.
Image Source:https://pixabay.com/
This article in no means conveys that I am favoring a certain ideology rather it puts forward food for thinking keeping in view the historical facts and figures. The Umayyad Caliphate is considered one of the most brutal caliphates in the Islamic history with the exception of one person, Umar Bin Abdul Aziz. Umar Bin Abdul Aziz changed the traditions of the Caliphate by adopting much more softer policy towards the subjects and his opponents. He even invited his erstwhile enemies, Shias, and Kharijis, to the dialogue table and addressed their grievances. His reign is not only considered the peak of the Umayyad Caliphate but is also considered a role model for all the rulers. His appeasement policy worked well and led to peace, harmony and economic prosperity to such a level that there was no poor in the kingdom. Similarly, the appeasement policy of the British Government towards the Irish Republican Army paid well in the form of peace and tranquility.
The above examples show how the appeasement policy worked well for Umar Bin Abdul Aziz and British but it does in no way mean that it has worked well in all situations.
One of the classical examples in which the appeasement policy has not worked at all is the scenario before the Second World War. The then British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, tried a lot to appease Adolf Hitler and even gave in to his demand of giving German-majority areas of Czech Republic to Germany against the rules of Treaty of Versailles but it did not work at all. The appeasement policy resulted in the emergence of Hitler as an even stronger leader and he began to subdue his other neighbors. The confrontation finally resulted in a full-scale war and the killings of millions and millions of innocent people.
Another example I would like to quote is the local militancy in our area before 5 years ago. As a fallout of the American war in Afghanistan, a militant movement gained momentum and within a few years, it became quite influential due to the lack of active aggressive policy from the government. The bloody war between militants and the state of Pakistan resulted in the killing of more than 100,000 citizens and 10,000 Armymen. The wave of militancy came to an end when security forces launched pre-emptive airstrikes and ground operation against their sanctuaries.
The appeasement policy can have positive or negative effects depending on the situation, both on political and personal fronts but one thing is for sure we should try to create amicable scenarios for peace, prosperity, development and economic uplift of the common citizens because these are common citizens which are affected the most in such cases.
life blog story politics busy
3년 전 by mmasim50
+ hr1
+ galenkp
+ sbi4
+ sallybeth23
+ morphewq
+ fastresteem
sallybeth2372 · 3년 전
Good article. I agree we should definitely try to create amicable scenarios for peace.. 🦋🌈🌴💛

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
4 Days in Greece: Classical Greece Tour from Athens
Last updated on March 12, 2019 in Greece, Tours Leave a Comment
This four-day tour of classical Greece is a great way to make history come alive. You'll visit sites such as Mycenae, Corinth Canal, Olympia, Delphi and mountain-top monasteries, with time to explore on your own after a guided introduction. The tour begins in Athens and includes coach transportation, accommodations, and breakfast and lunch daily.
See Epidaurus, Mycenae, Olympia and Delphi with an expert guide
Visit the rock towers of Meteora
Stay in centrally located 3- or 4-star hotels
Transport by air-conditioned coach
Check Prices & Availability
© OpenStreetMap contributors © Esri — National Geographic
Day 1: Athens – Corinth Canal – Mycenae – Epidaurus – Olympia
The first stop will be Corinth Canal, a man-made canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponneese. This canal was a long-time in the making: It was first proposed in the 1st century, but construction didn't start until 1881. Though it was completed in two years, the 6.4-km (4-mile) long canal never generated the anticipated commercial traffic, and is now mainly used by tourists.
Up next is Mycenae, a major Greek civilization in the second millennium BC. At its peak, the citadel and tower town had about 30,000 residents; today, it has ruins. It is one of the major archaeological sites, dating back to prehistoric times, in Greece After a guided tour, you'll have time to explore the ruins on your own, following in the footsteps of the Romans who were early tourists there. Mycenae had been abandoned by the time they arrived.
In the afternoon, you'll travel to Epidaurus, said to be the birthplace of Asclepus, the god of medicine. As a result people flocked to this ancient Greek town in hopes of being cured, since it was the most famous healing center in the classical world. It also was known as a sanctuary and for its famous theatre, which is being used again in the 21st century. At its peak, Epidaurus was a wealthy city with many great buildings but today, it is an important archeological site. After your visit to Epidarus you'll continue to Olympia (or to the seaport of Nauplia depending on the travel dates) to spend the night in a hotel.
Overnight: Amalia (4-star hotel) in Nauplia or Olympia (Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 2: Olympia – Antirion – Delphi
The second day of the tour begins at Olympia where the first Olympics were held, beginning in the eighth century BC Ancient Olympia also was a sanctuary town with temples to Zeus, the father of Greek gods, and Hera, his wife. Olympia was a Greek national shrine back then, because of its many treasures, including a huge statue, made of ivory and gold, of Zeus; it was named one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
In the afternoon, you'll skip ahead a few millennia for a tour of Antirion (Antirrio). The scenic drive involves crossing over the Rion-Antirion Bridge on the Gulf of Corinth. This Greek landmark, which opened to traffic in 2014, is 1.8 miles long, making it one of the world's longest fully suspended cable bridge. After spending free time exploring in Antirion and the nearby town of Nalpaklos, you'll end the day with dinner at your hotel in Delphi.
Overnight: Parnassos or Hermes (3-star), or Amalia (4-star) in Delphi (Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 3: Delphi – Kalambakka
The third day begins early because there's so much to see in Delphi, a town that ancient Greeks thought was the center of the world. Today, Delphi is considered one of the most important archeological treasures in Europe. At the Delphi Archeological Museum, you'll view artifacts dating back to 13th century BC. Top treasures include the Charioteer of Delphi and Sphinx of Naxos. In the late afternoon, you'll travel through picturesque towns enroute to Kalambakka where you'll overnight.
Overnight: 4-star or 3-star hotel in central Kalambakka (Breakfast and Dinner included)
Day 4: Kalambakka – Meteora – Athens
Awesome aptly describes what you'll see today: mountaintop monasteries at Meteora, which translates as "suspended in the sky." These 11th century Eastern Orthodox monasteries, built on natural pillars, are a good place to recharge your spiritual batteries, regardless of your religious preference. Your guide will walk you up a path to the six monasteries. Stunning views await those who make the climb. The tour returns to Athens, with stops Thermopylae and Kamena Voural hot springs along the way.
10-Day Private Tour of Athens, Mykonos and Santorini
8 Best Day Trips from Athens
11 Most Amazing Hotels in Greece
5 Best Day Trips in Greece
Where to Stay in Athens: Best Neighborhoods & Hotels
10 Best Beach Resorts in Greece
15 Best Cities to Visit in Greece
10 Top Tourist Attractions in Greece
10 Best Beaches in Greece
14 Most Gorgeous Small Towns in Greece
How to Spend One Week in Greece Sample Itinerary
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text:
Q: How do I keep this sidebar stationary yet still responsive? I am currently practicing creating responsive websites.
I have a problem with the side bar on this website,
I don't believe I know how to correctly position this,
and I also don't know how to keep it from moving down when the screen width size decreases.
How can I fix this?
I have such a hard time posting code, I can't seem to get it to work past the first line or two.
I added a jsFiddle with all of the code. I made a comment where the sidebar,
.other, in my css code.
http://jsfiddle.net/jwn69/
css :
/*

A: Well, first, i woudnt rely on properties like 'float'. They're tricky and can get a lot of repaints in some cases, which slows down your application.
To make what you wanted, i had to change de .focus and the .other classes
.focus {
    width:66.00625%;
    display: inline-block;
    /*    844.8px / 1280 */
    background-color: #3d3c3c;
}
.other {
    width: 30.99375%;
    display: inline-block;
    vertical-align: top;
    /*    1.5% allowed on each side*/
    background-color: #3d3c3c;
}

I must also warn you that responsive design isn't about doing a couple of css rules that works under every condition/screen-size. With a little more CSSing, you'll get this page looks better and eventually it will be useable on any device. But, for example, mobile apps doens't have a menu like the one you're building. It uses drawer menus and other things to show links, because their space is limited.
While you can achieve to show these contents on a very a huge screen or a very tiny, it isn't enought because every device has it's own better way to show your UI components.
So, i'd suggest you read about media-queries. They're usefull to make specific CSS rules for devices that fit a certain condition.
Then, i'd suggest you learn how to positions work in CSS
Heres your fiddle

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Archive Home article
A.R.O. Annual Report and Survey
27th October 1944, Page 21
Page 21, 27th October 1944 — A.R.O. Annual Report and Survey
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?
Please select an option... Headline has errors Article text has errors Article is incomplete
Keywords : Sugar, Sweeteners, Sugar Beet, Milk
AT the a g.m. of A.R.O., held on Wednesday last, the chairman, Mr. D Richardson, said that the National Council, Committees and Sectional Boards had met from time to time, and but for the fly-bomb more meetings would have been held. The national director, Mr. R. W. Sewill, and his staff had given of their best throughout the year. He, the chairman, had driven them hard, but he was confident that even with a younger and more virile chairman setting the pace, the director would have had no difficulty in keeping up.
The president, Major Crawfurd, has had under his care and guidance the matter of national publicity for the industry. Thanks to him, they now had an entree to the National Press, and the public are more knowledgeable than before of the importance of road transport.
He had hoped that Major Eric Long, now Lord Long of Wraxall, would have been able to have represented the industry in the Lower House; this was now impossible, but surely such a large industry as theirs could put up several candidates?
Appeal to Operators to Enlist Members Many operators are not members of any association, and the chairman trusted that each of those present would, during the next six months, persuade at least one such operator to join up.
The view that one sometimes beard expressed that London does this and that, irrespective of opinions in the Areas, is ill-founded and ill-advised. London is only the address; the authority and control are vested in the representatives who come from all parts of the country. They had been called the " Old Gang," but the members have quite recently held their elections, and it appears that there are not many changes. He could therefore only conclude that they were satisfied with the efforts made on their behalf.
In his report, the director, Mr. R. W. Sewill, commenced by saying that the ordinary member is sometimes prone to question the amount of his subscription allocated to " head office." and to wonder whether he was obtaining value for money. He, therefore, gave a few examples of the detail work carried out hy,head office on behalf of individual members. Approximately 60 inquiries connected with income-tax matters and accountancy problems have been dealt with. Assistance had also been given in debt collection and status inquiries. New-vehicle and spare-part applications to the number of 123 and 27 respectively have been taken up with the M.O.W.T., whilst 857 deferment cases have been dealt with. Every application for release of the 133 submitted to the Ministry of Labour and the M.O.W.T. had been successful.
The report a:so referred to many hours spent on amalgamation negotiations.
There seemed to be a danger at one time of a wedge.being driven between so-called large and small operators. Happily there now appears to be emerging a better understanding.
Personally, the director does not fear in haulage the suppression of the small man by private monopoly controlled by big business. He performs far too valuable a service to his customers. particularly in rural areas, for them lightly to acquiesce in his suppression. Traders in general also dislike intensely the idea of a transport monopoly, whether State or privately controlled.
Tribute has rightly been paid to the part played by road transport in the movements leading up to D-Day. It is not so generally recognized how vital a part road transport plays in the everyday life of the community. Take three essential commodities—milk, meat and sugar. On an average, 3,000,000 gallons of milk a day are collected from farms in England and Wales, and another 1,000.000 in Scotland by road transport; 1,460,000,000 . gallons of milk per year are dependent upon road transport for their first move to the consumer; about half of this is. carried by hauliers.
' Big Sugar-beet Tonnage by Road Motors All but an insignificant amount of the 4,000,000 tons of sugar beet grown here is liffed from the farms by road transport and delivered direct to the factories or to railheads. The livestock section of A.R.O. handles a weekly average of 75,000 head of stock from collecting centre to slaughter-house, whilst at least an equivalent number is brought to centres from farms by livestock carriers. The number of store cattle moved weekly is probably not less, although the organization does not cover Scotland. Therefore, at least, 150,000 head of stock are moved weekly by road.
The new R.H.A. is pledged to support the small operator, but he must not adopt a selfish attitude towards the so-called " big " man. If differences did arise, let them agree to settle them amongst themselves, and present a united front to the outside world
Organisations: Lower House, Ministry of Labour, National Council
People: Eric Long, R. W. Sewill
Locations: London


text:
Q: Java - HTTP Post, Website login with cookies, java equivalent to this PHP cURL Code? I am working on creating an application that is capable of logging into myspace accounts in order to automate things on myspace and inside of applications hosted on myspace.
I use this code in my php scripts to login to a myspace account
curl_setopt($ch = curl_init(), CURLOPT_URL, "https://www.myspace.com/auth/login");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.9.1.2) Gecko/20090729 Firefox/3.5.2 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729)');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, "formLocation=popupForm&hash=MIGcBgkrBgEEAYI3WAOggY4wgYsGCisGAQQBgjdYAwGgfTB7AgMCAAECAmYDAgIAwAQIzvUlf32XiZkEEEdO4p%252f8EKHJN%252fdOXnKVVcIEUKWnrWfUbv6Jk9HLwI9PjqtfMX%252fCWQApDLaJsH2ntEdJIcsEonDrhad4JCpLBfbLcDb7uo7p1XYlqJNIHme%252fw8m6%252fYfsjQr3k36C4Z8U1IEY&SMSVerifiedCookieToken=&NextPage=&js=-1&fbtoken=&Email=".urlencode($Email)."&Password=".urlencode($Password)."&Remember=true");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_REFERER,'http://www.myspace.com/');
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEFILE, "cookie.txt");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_COOKIEJAR, "cookie.txt");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST,0);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, 0);
$Result = curl_exec($ch);

What would be the equivalent to this but in java?

A: May be the java.net.HttpURLConnection


text:
Archive for the 'health care' Category
It's Not the Stimulus It's the Regulation
Marco economics is an observational science. It is difficult to construct controlled experiments. There always seems to be enough differences from situation to situation to introduce doubt. Nonetheless, sometimes unfair, or at least unsupported, conclusions can enter the conventional wisdom. The concept of a Keynesian stimulus may suffer this fate.
The Keynesian approach suggests that during a recession the government can stimulate the economy via spending to replace economic demand from private markets. An alternative approach championed by Milton Friedman suggests that monetary policy is more important than fiscal policy.
Democrats have traditionally favored a Keynesian approach, in no small part because it provides an additional excuse for the government to initiate spending programs to address Democratic priorities.
When President Barack Obama came into office, it was natural for the progressive to institute a massive, nearly trillion-dollar stimulus. So confident were Democrats in the efficacy of the stimulus that they promised that unemployment would not exceed 8%. We were warned that if no stimulus were instituted, unemployment would reach 9%. We now know that following the stimulus, unemployment blasted past 10%. Moreover, growth remains anemic and unemployment two-and-half years after the stimulus still exceeds 9%. More disappointing is that the officialunemployment value would be far higher if so many people had not given up hope of finding a job. The lack of growth and employment has reduced revenues exacerbating the deficit.
It is rhetorically convenient to declare in the face of these facts that Keynesism is dead, believe by only those immune to the evidence. I lend far more weight to the Friedman approach and would love to offer our current situation as definitive proof.
However, let me offer a slightly heretical view. While the current situation lends no support to the Keynesian idea of stimulus, the regulatory anchor on growth makes it impossible to tell whether the stimulus has indeed failed. Perhaps It is economic uncertainty that is restraining the economy irrespective of the stimulus.
Companies are uncertain because of a massive influx of regulations. Obamacare has passed, and mountains of rules based on the legislation are still being written. Companies, particularly small ones, are reluctant to hire uncertain of what Obamacare would require of them. The Dodd-Frank bill to regulate financial markets has introduced new banking regulations. Until these are finalized and better understood, there will be a backward tug restraining lending. This is not to mention the new regulatory aggressiveness of the the EPA anxious to implement policies bureaucratically that could never be passed legislatively. The EPA has more regulatory actions pending that the Department of Human Services which is responsible for implementing Obamacare.
Imagine the metaphor of the stimulus package being a foot on the accelerator of the economic car, with a chain of regulations strapped to the bumper. The stimulus accelerator may or may not work, but the regulatory chains make it impossible to diagnose whether the accelerator is functioning properly. The Keynesian approach may deserve death, but the current situation cannot be said to have inflicted the true final blow.
Posted in Economics, health care, healthcare, Social Commentary | 3 Comments »
A Unique Economic Situation
Economic analysis is complicated by the fact that controlled experiments are generally not possible. One cannot test different policy prescriptions on exact same economy and evaluate the different results. Arguments are made by analogy to previous circumstances. For this reason, it is difficult to conjure up a consensus among economists as to the best way to help the American economy recover from its current high unemployment and sluggishness.
There are two basic schools of thought: one that emphasizes monetary policy and one fiscal policy. Is the economy more or less responsive to controlling the money supply or federal taxation and spending, or some combination.
Milton Friedman won the Nobel prize in economics in 1976, for his explication of monetary policy and in part on his analysis of monetary policy during the Great Depression. Friedman argued that that collapse of the economy in the 1930s after its initial signs of trouble was caused the exact wrong policy followed by the central bank. The central back tightened rather than loosenes the money supply cause radical deflation and a lack of money available for investment.
The economist John Maynard Keynes is the champion of fiscal policy. Keynes has argued that federal deficits make up for demand in the private sector during recessions and provide a means for recovery. It should be noted deficits can be increased either by increased spending on reducing taxes
Since the banking crisis in 2008, the Federal Reserve has loosened the money supply about as much as it could. Perhap by this more than any other policy, the Federal Research helped avert a 1930s-like collapse in economic activity. At this point, however, the Federal Research has exhausted much of its ammunition. Interests rates are at historic lows. Monetary policy has helped, but all the Federal Reserve can do now is maintain a loose monetary policy until a strong recovery commenses.
In February 2009, after the immediate banking crisis had abated, the Obama Administration passed its stimulus package with nearly a trillion dollars of deficit spending. Results have been at best mixed. Growth remains anemic and unemployment and under employment remain much higher than the Obama Administration promised. Nobel-prize winning economist and NY Times columnist, Paul Krugman, recently argued that given the lack of economic response, we need to re-double fiscal stimulus. We note in passing that Krugman always argues from more governement spending and not reduced taxes. Either would increase the fiscal stimulus.
We submit the thesis here, that additional fiscal stimulus now would be ineffective because of collective physcology. Given the massive deficits we have already incurred, people will become more apprehensive about the future and hoard cash if the deficit increases much more. The problem was that the Obama stimulus was accompanied with health care changes and progressive agenda that promised not a one-time fiscal punch, but a fiscal trajectory that would incur even greater deficits or significant tax increases. In the face of this uncertainity, people are saving more. in anticipation of future bad times. Ironically, this fear is suppressing consumer demand. Business, also faced with uncertainty, sits greater than average cash reserves.
By creating what seemed to be a permanent and expontenially expanding deficit, rather than a short-term stimulus, the Obama Administration undermined the effectiveness of its signature economic policy. At this point, the best that can done is to reduce uncertainity by maintaining the current tax code and creating an economic plan that restrains federal spending. In any case, it will take a long time to dig out of the current situation, but if certainty returns, businesses will be more willing to invest their acccumulations of cash and consumers wil be more willing to spend some of their savings.
Posted in Economics, health care, Politics, Social Commentary | No Comments »
Public Sentiment is Everything
"In this and like communities, public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed." – Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged a series of debates in pursuit of the Senate seat from Illinois in 1858. The campaign was indirect in that state legislatures appointed Senators at the time. Hence, Lincoln and Douglas were entrusted with the banners of their respective parties (Republican and Democrat) to wrestle control of the Illinois legislature.
The key Lincoln argument was that the Federal Government can and ought to control whether or not slavery was permitted in the territories as they became states. That had been the conventional wisdom since the adoption of the US Constitution. Moreover, Lincoln was concerned that the logical extension of the infamous Dred Scott decision — a radical departure from Constitutional precedent asserting that local state law against slavery was superseded by Constitutional protections of property — was that states would be prohibited from banning slavery. Douglas argued for local popular sovereignty as to the question of the extension of slavery. Douglas refused to concede that the logic of the Court in Dred Scott would be used to compel slavery to by recognized in all states.
Lincoln was subject to the criticism of hypocrisy. He personally objected to slavery, but it was not his position to abolish slavery in those states in which it had already been established. The key [1] he used to free himself cage of hypocrisy was the observation that "Public sentiment is everything." In the South, public sentiment would make the abolition of slavery impossible. Perhaps with time, public sentiment would change, but it was imprudent to impose a policy against which there was strong public antipathy. Lincoln was right. Ultimately, it would take a bloody Civil War to eliminate slavery.
We do not argue here that opposition to the particular health care reform offered by the Democrats is morally equivalent to the abolition of slavery in 1858, or opposition to the current bill is as blind to the real moral issues as Stephen Douglas was. Indeed, there is a strong argument that individual freedom and liberty, at the very core of the anti-slavery position, animates opposition to the current health care bill. However, independent of the correctness of one policy or another, it is clear that a majority of Americans oppose the health care reform as the Democrats have cobbled it together. Most people want to start over with a clean slate to construct a more reasonable, less radical, and more transparent approach to change. Public sentiment is strongly against the President and Congress.
President Barack Obama fancies himself in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, a tall well-spoken person from Illinois, elected President despite modest beginnings. If the comparison is to be more than superficial, Obama ought to adopt the profound wisdom of his erstwhile political model. Leadership in this case requires making a successful public case for Obama's brand of health care reform before compelling its implementation against the clear public sentiment. Obama has the opportunity to be one who is "deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions."
[1] David Zarefsky, "'Public Sentiment Is Everything': Lincoln's View of Political Persuasion," Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Summer 1994.
Posted in health care, healthcare, Politics, Social Commentary, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Edward Kennedy's Gifts
All politicians make political calculations, weighing different options in the messy process of legislation and forming political arrangements. Political compromise and adjustment is a necessary and important skill for free societies governed by a combination of chief executives and legislatures, often of different political parties. However, is it wrong to admit a guilty pleasure – schadenfreude – when Machiavellian manipulations, outside the scope of political good faith and respect for free institutions, backfire? For at least a couple of these pleasures, we can turn to the late Senator Edward Kennedy.
Perhaps Edward Kennedy's greatest unintentional gift to Conservatives came during the 1980 presidential campaign. High inflation, high unemployment, and high interest rates had severely eroded the political popularity of President Jimmy Carter. The political positions of Kennedy and Carter did not differ much substantively, but a weak incumbent gave Kennedy an opportunity for a primary challenge and ti serve personal ambition. Although Kennedy won only ten primaries to Carter's twenty-four, Kennedy ate away at Carter's support by continuing his challenge to the convention, hoping for rules changes there that might give Kennedy the nomination. The number of Carter delegates was too overwhelming and they defeated Kennedy's procedural challenges at the convention. Out of respect, Kennedy was given the opportunity to address the convention. In a rousing conclusion, Kennedy acknowledged defeat but despite his loss "the work goes on, the cause continues, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." The speech made Carter's later performance seem mediocre. Although Carter survived the Kennedy challenge, he emerged from the Democratic National Convention weaker, leading a demoralized and divided Democratic Party, helping in part to usher the Reagan era. Thank you.
In 2004, the other Senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry, was running against President George W. Bush. If Kerry managed to defeat the incumbent president, under state law, Republican Governor Mitt Romney would appoint a Senator to fill out the term. A Republican Senator from Massachusetts was too much for Democrats to stomach. With the encouragement of Kennedy, the Democratically-dominated state legislature gamed the system. They changed the law to establish a special election to fill vacancies. Reasonable and well-intentioned people can disagree about the appropriate procedure for filling a senatorial vacancy. However, this change was not based on principle, but was intentionally designed to gane the system for immediate political advantage. This decision would ultimately come back to haunt Kennedy and Democrats in Massachusetts.
Kennedy's signature issue was health care. He has always advocated a government managed and financed health care system. When he unfortunately took ill in 2009 with what proved to be terminal cancer he knew that he might not survive to usher through health care reform. His last votes in the Senate were in early April 2009. If Kennedy had resigned under these circumstances, he could have provided ample opportunity for a hand-picked successor to win election as Senator with his direct endorsement. However, political vanity was more important and Kennedy hung on to his office until his death in August, 2009. The cause of health care reform would have been better served if he resigned, but a personal desire to keep his office-for-life overwhelmed this calculation. Kennedy did not know with certainty that clinging to office would undermine the cause of his life, but he did know that he was no longer capable of leading or even participating in the fight in the Senate. Kennedy clutched to his office until the end. Is it too mean-spirited to exploit the metaphor that while health care legislation was drowning, Kennedy was swimming to the shore of personal political indulgence?
If the Massachusetts senatorial succession procedure had not been altered in unashamedly political manipulation in 2004, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick would have appointed a Democrat to fill out Edward Kennedy's term. There would have been no opportunity for Republican Scott Brown to ride a wave a political dissatisfaction with conspicuous manipulations and payoffs to arrive at medicare legislation, and to upset the Democratic candidate Martha Coakley. Scott's election killed health care legislation in its current form and wounded the Democratic Party. For this we, we can in no small measure thank Edward Kennedy and recognize the justice that self-aggrandizement and political corruption was not in this case rewarded.
Posted in health care, healthcare, Politics, Social Commentary | No Comments »
Cool and Sedate Reflection
There are two traditional models for political representation: that of a "delegate" or a "trustee."
A delegate is sent to a representative body to vote the way he believes his constituents would want him to. Such a delegate aligns his views directly with the collective views of the people he represents. He embodies his constituency. The delegate theory of representation is favored by populists and some early founders. In the extreme limit, the delegate theory reduces to a more efficient way to implement a plebiscite democracy — the kind of democracy that through referenda has made California almost ungovernable.
The trustee model of representation holds that a constituency votes for a representative whose judgment they trust and rely upon. A trustee has the time to consider legislation in detail, and pursues legislation that would balance the benefits of the whole polity and the local constituency – even if the constituency disagrees with a particular position. In the extreme limit, a trustee model of the representation can degenerate to rule by the elite.
Some Congressional and Senatorial representatives subscribe to a hybrid of the above models. They believe they are sent to Washington to vote a certain way on one or two conspicuous issues (e.g., gun control, abortion, farm legislation), while they are free to exercise their judgment in most other areas.
Conservatives, at least those who have not surrendered to populist temptations, subscribe to the trustee theory of representation, as advocated by William Burke and articulated by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 71:
"The republican principle demands that the deliberate sense of the community should govern the conduct of those to whom they entrust the management of their affairs; but it does not require an unqualified complaisance to every sudden breeze of passion, or to every transient impulse… When occasions present themselves, in which the interests of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons whom they have appointed to be the guardians of those interests, to withstand the temporary delusion, in order to give them time and opportunity for more cool and sedate reflection."
How should the trustee model of representation apply to the current debate about health care "reform?" A clear majority of Americans are doubtful of and opposed to the current version(s) of health care reform as they understand it (them) . Nonetheless, if in its best deliberative judgment, Congress believes the reform is in the best interests of the country, then the trustee model of representation would suggest that they vote in accordance with their best judgment.
There remain, however, several mitigating factors. The current health care reform proposal represents very radical adjustments of present arrangements, and prudence suggests that we can expect comparably large unintended consequences. The results of truly "cool and sedate" deliberation rarely result in abrupt or radical changes. Moreover, the ultimate success of such a complicated enterprise depends in part on its acceptance by the polity. Even if one believes that health care reform could theoretically produce better results, if the country does not subscribe to the same conclusion, it may reduce the probability of success. Strong public animosity to legislation is not an irrelevant consideration to someone entrusted as a representative.
It would be disingenuous for Democrats to argue that they are modulating the passing whims of the people with "cool and sedate reflection," while negotiating behind closed doors and buying off special interests with targeted deals for Louisiana, Nebraska, and the unions. Rather than reducing volatility, Congress seems to be rushing headlong to pass a bill before popular sentiment makes it more difficult for representatives concerned about re-election to support the bill.
Liberal Democrats would be understandably disappointed if they cannot manage health care reform. However, the compromises being agreed to (and supported by large pharmaceutical and insurance companies) will likely create a system far different from the one they originally envisioned. Indeed, if presented with the current proposal a year ago, they would likely be embarrassed by it. The drive to get something — anything — rather than calm consideration is the driving ethos. Part of the discipline of a democracy is to maintain the good judgment not to push the polity too far from the direction they can be persuaded to travel. This political discipline and respect for the governed has been trampled in the stampede to health care. It is time for Congress to step back, pause, and reflect coolly and sedately about appropriate changes to current health insurance arrangements.
Health Care and the Consent of the Governed
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
It is easy to fall into the conceit that we face greater political challenges than our predecessors; that politics now is meaner and more divisive than it used to be. One virtue of studying American history is to remind us that the many of the same challenges we face now were faced before, albeit on a different political terrain and by almost certainly greater minds.
Modern students should also be suitably chastened to recall that political positions have shifted over time in unanticipated ways. Contemporary Democrats, who worship at foot of their political patron saint Thomas Jefferson, should remember his visceral antipathy to a strong national government. Republicans, who trace their political heritage to the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, may be disconcerted as his willingness to use strong national power when necessary.
In their eagerness to pass heath care reform, Democrats should perhaps consider the counsel of the first chief justice, John Marshall. In 1823, many were focused on legislation to limit the power of the national judiciary. Ultimately, the effort failed in no small part because the passions of the moment created bills that were so single-minded that legislators failed to provide due deliberation on the full impact of what they were considering. It seems that the perceived necessity of passing something is overwhelming the true necessity of passing something well considered.
With the current health care bill widely unpopular and that structure of the bill complex to accommodate the necessity of cobbling together a narrow majority, Democrats would do well to consider the words on Marshall in a letter to Henry Clay.
"One of the most dangerous things in legislation is to enact a general law of great and extensive influence to effect a particular object; or to legislate for a nation under a strong excitement which must be suspected to influence the judgment. If the mental eye be directed to a single object it is not easy for the legislator intent on that object to look all around him and to perceive and guard against the mischief with which his measure may burn."
If we are to embark changes of wide consequence in a society ruled by the consent of the governed, it is undoubted wise to do so only buttressed with wide public acceptance and support.
Posted in health care, Politics, Social Commentary | No Comments »
High Front End Costs, Back End Benefits
"The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience." Albert Camus.
While individual and private collective charity is noble and common, welfare payments viewed as charity financed by taxes have never been particularly popular. This is the reason why social welfare programs like Social Security and Medicare, despite of the fact that they largely represent transfer payments with clear winners and losers, are depicted as social insurance not welfare. People are persuaded that they are participating in a large pension program, where they contribute now and receive benefits at retirement as if money were stored is some specific account for them. Moreover, at the start of these programs, there were few beneficiaries so the costs and pain were low. Long-term sustainability was not an issue.Correctly or incorrectly, there is a sense of underlying justice to the transaction. That is why seniors remain so defensive about these programs. They feel entitled on the basis of their previous payments, even if those payments are in no way actually related to the benefits. This is the political genius underpinning the social welfare state — and why Democrats may have overstepped on the current"health care reform."
It is impossible to predict the final state of the health care bill once it leaves conference committee. However, in order to make the bill financially palatable, the goal was to have a program that is deficit neutral. One can argue about whether the economic assumptions provided the Congressional Budget Office for the forecasts were realistic. However, here is no question that in order to maintain plan deficit neutrality over the first decade, the taxes start for the first few year before the benefits commence in earnest. The pain is front loaded while the benefits come along the back end, the exact opposite of traditional strategies for extending social welfare programs. In the longer term, no one seriously believes that the program is financially balanced.
The strategy of the Left should be to get as many people dependent upon the benefits, to feel a sense of entitlement, before the costs come tumbling in. There is a precedent for a social program that did not work out because the costs were too obvious and the benefits less so. In 1987, Congress passed a catastrophic health care program for seniors. The idea was to limit the out-of-pocket expenses for seniors will chronic long-term health expenses. The goal may have been laudable, but it was largely paid for by middle class seniors, many of whom had difficulty affording the additional premiums (really taxes). Seniors largely did not feel that they were benefiting from the new social contract. Two years later, the program was ended as frustrated seniors marshaled their ample political power against Congress. We shall see whether the health care changes suffer the same fate.
Posted in health care, Politics | No Comments »
Obama Undermines His Own Credibility
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
Scott Rasmussen is at the peak of the polling industry having been one of, if not the most, accurate predictor of the last presidential election. It is pretty straightforward for anyone to conduct a poll, but to adjust polls properly for how many Democrats and Republicans or how many likely voters there are in the sample, is either a very sophisticated science or an art. Rasmussen has been tracking the standing of President Barack Obama with likely voters since the inauguration.
Obama came into office with a 65% approval rating among likely voters, with 44% percent strongly approving. Rasmussen has been trying to estimate the passion behind approval or disapproval by also tracking the difference between those who "strongly approve" and those who "strongly disapprove." When Obama became president, this index was at +28%. Clearly Obama came into office as a very popular figure, even for a freshly minted president.
Since then, his approval rating has steadily dwindled. Among likely voters, the total approval or disapproval rating is about 50-50, just as many people approve of Obama's job performance as disapprove. However, the passion has definitely shifted toward those who disapprove. The difference between those who strongly approve shifted negative somewhere in June 2009, now hovers at about -10% though it fluctuates daily in the Rasmussen poll.
A general decline is to be expected. Some of this has been due to a worsening unemployment rate, now far higher than Obama promised when arguing for his stimulus package. As always, to govern is to decide. To decide is to make some people angry with your policies. Obama has been able to pass or at least propose very consequential legislation, from the stimulus package, to cap-and-trade, to medical care (now insurance) reform. There will be winners and losers as a result. This would explain a drop in Obama's approval rating and an increase in those who strongly disapprove. However, there has been no parallel increase in those who strongly approve.
Allow me to respectfully suggest that this may be due in part to the fact Obama's early mountain of credibility has been continuously eroded by the flow of his own words. A case a point is his argument that there is no intention for the "public option" for health insureance to be used as a wedge to create a single-payer system for health care. In this prime-time speech on health insurance reform, he said: "Now, my health care proposal has also been attacked by some who oppose reform as a `government takeover' of the entire health care system… So let me set the record straight here. My guiding principle is, and always has been, that consumers do better when there is choice and competition. That's how the market works."
However, neither supporters of the President or others believe this. Congressman Barney Frank and others have spoken candidly about using the public option as a wedge for a single-payer system. The only thing that seems to unite those who support the President's health insurance reform and those who oppose it, is the conviction that a public option will inevitably lead to a single-payer system roughly analogous to Canada's or England's. Most realize that if the President was focused solely on more competition, he could simply urge the removal of cross-state barriers to health insurance competition. The government could mandate the publication of doctors and hospital prices and institute health care savings accounts to increase competition in the health care and health insurance market. Very few people believe the public option is really about competition.
Obama supporters are forced to quickly glide by the president's words and rationalize them as a way to get the health insurance reform bills passed in the current political environment. Supporters are left with a disappointment that Obama does not make the open case for the type of reform they want. Others are provided further evidence of duplicity. The president cannot maintain his credibility if neither his supporters or opponents believe his words. If Obama and the Democrats cannot make the open case for the reform they want — a single payer system —by being honest about it then in a society ruled by the assent of the governed, it should not pass.
Radical Past
Sunday, August 9th, 2009
One of the advantages enjoyed by President Barack Obama when running last year for president was his deliberately opaque past. The electorate wanted "change," and Obama's pleasant and moderate demeanor allowed people to project whatever qualities they wanted on the young senator. Senator McCain had a long political record that was right-of-center, but often (too often for Conservatives) crossed the aisle and voted with Democrats. Obama's political associations in Chicago, by contrast, had been far Left, but neither the polity or the media much cared. Indeed, to ask the question seemed mean-spirited.
Now that the country is considering an overhaul — perhaps radical overhaul — of the US health care delivery system, some of Obama's radical past may be coming back to haunt him. One key issue in the present health care (now the Administration has decide to call it "health insurance") debate surrounds the "public option."
The public option is the provision of a separate, government-run health insurance. The theory is that the government will provide competition to private insurance companies, driving down costs. The fear among Conservatives is that a subsidized pubic option will drive out private insurance options and create a Canadian-style, "single-payer" system. Ultimately, choice will be effectively eliminated. Liberal House member Barney Frank produced evidence supporting this fear view by publicly promising exactly that outcome as an outgrowth of a public option.
New suspicions are growing about Obama's intentions in this regard. A 2003 video of Barack Obama as an Illinois State Senator saying, to cheers, that he supported a single payer option has emerged. A later video has Obama explaining that it make take many years, but he want to move toward elimination of employer-provided insurance. It does, therefore, seem reasonable to question the intentions of Liberals supporting a public option as a Trojan Horse.
It is possible the Obama has changed his mind on the health-care system since he claimed support for a single-payer system, or that he was carried away while speaking to labor groups. Changing one's mind is not a failing, and can indicate intellectual growth.
If Obama wants a single-payer system, like he publicly claimed in 2003, he should admit as much and explain to us his reasons for such a plan. If he doesn't he should explain why he changed his mind. What has he learned in the interim? However, the Administration is not owning up to Obama's previous positions. If the Administration does not recognize and explain the change, if there has been one, in Obama's position, it will serve to undermine public trust.
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Disney Cruise Line Annuounce The Launch of 2 New Ships!
According to Zap2it, Disney CEO Bob Iger disclosed that Disney Cruise Line will add two new cruise ships to its existing fleet over the next several years.
The announcement was made during the company's annual meeting of shareholders. Iger said the new ships will launch in 2021 and 2023.
The cruise line currently has four ships, the Magic, Wonder, Dream, and Fantasy. The most recent addition to the fleet, the Fantasy, entered service in 2012. Which one is your favorite? Vote Here!
"We pride ourselves on the unforgettable vacation experiences we deliver to our guests each and every day, and the expansion of our Disney fleet will allow us to create even more magical memories for families at sea and in incredible cruise destinations around the world," said Iger.
The Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany will build the ships.
The new ships will be approximately 135,000 gross tons. The Dream and Fantasy are both listed at just under 130,000 gross tons. The new ships will have 1,250 guest staterooms, the same number as the Dream and Fantasy.
The company's first ship, the Disney Magic, entered service in 1998. The company has introduced several firsts for the cruising industry including fireworks at sea, virtual portholes, and water coasters at sea.
via Zap2it
Ok now, what would you name the 2 new ships?
Disney Cruise Line announces two new ships: https://t.co/L54hGg0wry pic.twitter.com/O1HNEXG8vW
— Disney (@Disney) March 3, 2016
Thursday January 5, 2023
Devante Mathews
Disney Cruise Line walt disney world
Potential New Names for Disney's Hollywood Studios Revealedhttps://www.orlando-florida.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Disney_Hollywood_Studios_Icon_IlUz6i-600x488.jpg
Avatar World of Pandora coming to Disney Animal Kingdom in 2017!https://www.orlando-florida.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Avatar_Poster_KyDsGX-600x346.jpg


Who Says Motherhood Slows You Down?
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LOL! My kids play in the boxes too!
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Selmo Cikotić, bosansko-hercegovski brigadir in politik, * 25. januar 1964.

Cikotić je doktor obrambnih in varnostnih študij in bivši minister za obrambo Bosne in Hercegovine.

Glej tudi

 seznam generalov Oboroženih sil Bosne in Hercegovine

Zunanje povezave
 Spletna stran MO BiH

Bosansko-hercegovski generali
Generali Oboroženih sil Bosne in Hercegovine
Veterani vojn v bivši Jugoslaviji
Častniki Jugoslovanske ljudske armade
Častniki Armade Republike Bosne in Hercegovine
Častniki Vojske Federacije Bosne in Hercegovine
Bosansko-hercegovski politiki
Bosansko-hercegovski vojaški atašeji
Vojaški atašeji Bosne in Hercegovine
Ministri za obrambo Bosne in Hercegovine
Diplomiranci Poveljniškega in generalštabnega kolidža Kopenske vojske ZDA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
require 'spec_helper'

describe "Admin browsing" do
  context "on project page" do

    before(:each) do
      @user = User.create!(name: "Bob Swinsong", email: "bob@gmail.com", password: "12345", password_confirmation: "12345")
      @project = Project.create!(title: "Testing with RSpec", description: "Testing with the latest and greatest. I want to learn with friends", category: "Testing", location: "Chicago", remote: false, time_estimation: 5, creator_id: @user.id)
      @comment = Comment.create!(content: "This is so cool!", user_id: @user.id)
      @project.comments << @comment
      @vote1 = Vote.create!(user_id: @user.id, voteable_id: @project.id, voteable_type: @project.class.to_s)
      @project.votes << @vote1
      @vote2 = Vote.create!(user_id: @user.id, voteable_id: @comment.id, voteable_type: @comment.class.to_s)
      @comment.votes << @vote2

      visit login_form_path
      fill_in "email", with: @user.email
      fill_in "password", with: @user.password
      click_button 'Login'

      visit user_path(@user)
    end

    it "sees a project title" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_content(@project.title)
    end

    it "sees a project description" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_content(@project.description)
    end

    it "sees a voting link" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_content("Thumbs UP")
    end

    it "sees number of votes for the project" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_content(@project.votes.length)
    end

    it "sees the comments" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_content(@comment.content)
    end

    it "sees the comment's user" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_content(@comment.user.name)
    end

    it "can create a comment" do
      pending
      visit admins_project_path(@project)
    end

    it "can vote on a comment" do
      pending
    end

    it "can vote on a project" do
      pending
    end

    it "sees a link to home" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)
      expect(page).to have_link("Home", root_path)
    end

    it "sees a link to logout" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_link("Logout", logout_path)
    end

    it "can link to 'create project'" do
      visit admins_project_path(@project)

      expect(page).to have_link("Create a Project", logout_path)
    end
  end
end


text:
(function() {
  'use strict';

  angular.module('hr2AngularUi').service('localeService', localeService);

  /** @ngInject */
  function localeService($q, tmhDynamicLocale, $translate, i18nService, moment, $log) {
    this.use = function(localeToUse) {
      var languageToUse = localeToUse.substring(0, 2);
      $log.debug('Set tmhDynamicLocale to use language ' + languageToUse);
      $log.debug('Set $translate to use locale ' + localeToUse);
      $log.debug('Set i18nService to use language ' + languageToUse);
      $log.debug('Set moment to use language ' + languageToUse);
      tmhDynamicLocale.set(languageToUse);
      var translateUsePromise = $translate.use(localeToUse);
      var i18nServiceSetCurrentLangPromise = i18nService.setCurrentLang(languageToUse);
      moment.locale(languageToUse);
      return $q.all([translateUsePromise, i18nServiceSetCurrentLangPromise]);
    };

  }
})();


text:
Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Fight. Thiago is also a member of Polícia Militar do Distrito Federal and works for BOPE, a special forces unit in his hometown of Brasília, Brazil.

Background
Thiago is from Brasília, Distrito Federal, and began training in judo when he was five years old.

Mixed martial arts

Early career
Thiago made his professional debut at Storm Samurai 8 in 2005. He fought Ricardo Petrucio and won the fight via submission in round three. His next three fights came on the same night almost a year after his debut. Thiago competed in the Grand Prix Planaltina, winning all three of his fights and became the tournament winner. Thiago finished all three of the fights by submission. After two more victories, Thiago was signed by Jungle Fights MMA. Thiago won four fights for the promotion before being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championships.

He currently trains with the Constrictor Team, an affiliate of Team Black House; the famed gym of Anderson Silva and the Nogueira brothers.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Thiago never signed a contract before his fight against Koscheck, he was only able to acquire a tryout. Thiago made his UFC debut on February 21, 2009, scoring an upset victory over top contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 95. During the fight, commentator Joe Rogan commented that Thiago's striking looked inferior to Koscheck's. However, Thiago won the fight by KO, with a flush right uppercut and a left hook. The referee stopped the fight before Thiago could pounce on him. Koscheck immediately rose and argued that he was still alert and able to defend himself. Further review of the replay shows Koscheck's eyes roll back as he falls down, giving merit to the stoppage. At the post-fight conference, Dana White confirmed that Thiago had earned Knockout of the Night honors.

Thiago had his second fight in the UFC, fighting against former title challenger and Koscheck teammate Jon Fitch at UFC 100. This was Thiago's first fight in the United States and he lost via unanimous decision.

Thiago rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over UFC newcomer Jacob Volkmann at UFC 106.

In Thiago's fourth outing in the UFC octagon, he was set to have a rematch against Josh Koscheck at UFC 109. However, Koscheck pulled out of the bout after an undisclosed injury and was replaced by AKA teammate Mike Swick. Thiago won via submission (D'arce Choke) in the second round and earned his second UFC fight bonus with the win.

Thiago faced Martin Kampmann on June 12, 2010, at UFC 115 where he lost via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Thiago lost his second straight fight via unanimous decision to Diego Sanchez on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121. Though Thiago started the fight off strong by winning the first round, he began to tire and eventually succumbed to the cardio and wrestling skills of Sanchez in the second and third rounds. The bout earned Fight of the Night, awarding both fighters an extra paycheck.

In November 2010, Thiago signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC. Thiago was expected to face Johny Hendricks on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann.  However, Thiago was forced out of the bout with an elbow injury.

Thiago defeated David Mitchell via unanimous decision on August 27, 2011, at UFC 134, completely dominating Mitchell throughout all three rounds.

Thiago was expected to face Mike Pyle on January 14, 2012, at UFC 142.  However, Thiago was forced out of the bout with an elbow injury and replaced by Ricardo Funch.

Thiago faced Siyar Bahadurzada on April 14, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva. He was knocked out less than a minute into the first round after Siyar landed a right hook to the jaw that followed a left jab as Thiago was moving forward. This marked the first time Thiago had been finished in his career.

Thiago next faced Dong Hyun Kim on November 10, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 6. He lost the bout via unanimous decision

Thiago was expected to face Lance Benoist on May 18, 2013, at UFC on FX 8. However, on April 20, it was announced that Benoist had to pull out of the bout due to an injury.  He was replaced by UFC newcomer Michel Prazeres. Thiago won the fight via unanimous decision.

Thiago was expected to face Kelvin Gastelum on August 28, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 27.  However, Thiago pulled out of the bout citing a knee injury.

Thiago faced Brandon Thatch at UFC Fight Night 32 on November 9, 2013. He tapped to strikes in the first round after absorbing a knee to the liver.

Thiago faced Gasan Umalatov on May 31, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Despite being 2–6 in his last eight fights inside the octagon, Thiago signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC in June 2014. He was expected to face Mike Rhodes at UFC Fight Night 51 on September 13, 2014. However, Rhodes was forced out of the bout due to injury and was briefly replaced by returning veteran Joe Riggs.  Subsequently, Riggs was forced to pull out of the fight after accidentally shooting himself in the leg while cleaning a pistol at his home.  Thiago instead faced Sean Spencer. Thiago lost the fight via unanimous decision and was subsequently released by the UFC.

Post-UFC career
After the release, Thiago was scheduled to face Joe Ray at Rebel FC 3 on June 26, 2015. However, Thiago withdrew from the bout due to an injury.

Then he was scheduled to face Abubakar Vagaev at Akhmat Fight Show 18 on April 9, 2016. Thiago was again forced to withdraw from the bout.

Thiago faced Markus Perez for the vacant Thunder Fight Middleweight Championship at Thunder Fight 7 on June 25, 2016. He lost the fight via split decision.

Thiago then faced Paulistenio Rocha for the interim TWC Welterweight Championship at The Warriors Combat 3 on August 13, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision and claimed the championship.

Thiago then faced Cheick Kone at Fight2Night 1 on November 4, 2016. He won the fight via third-round submission.

In the sophomore event of the promotion, Thiago faced Faycal Hucin at Fight2Night 2 on April 28, 2017. He won the fight via first-round submission.

Thiago faced Michał Materla at KSW 40: Dublin on October 22, 2017. He lost the fight via second-round knockout.

Thiago faced Ailton Barbosa at Global Legion FC 13 on December 13, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Six days removed from his previous bout, Thiago faced Sam Liera at SMASH Global 9 on December 19, 2019. He lost the fight via first-round knockout.

Personal life
Thiago is married and has twins.

Championships and accomplishments
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Josh Koscheck
Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Mike Swick
Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Diego Sanchez

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Loss
| align=center| 19–11
| Sam Liera
| TKO (punches)
| SMASH Global 9
|
| align=center|1
| align=center|4:58
| Hollywood, California, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 19–10
| Alton Barbosa
| Decision (unanimous)
| Global Legion FC 13
|
| align=center|3
| align=center|5:00
| Miramar, Florida, United States
|Catchweight (175 lbs) bout.
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 18–10
| Michał Materla
| TKO (punches)
| KSW 40: Dublin
|
| align=center|2
| align=center|0:50
| Dublin, Ireland
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 18–9
| Faycal Hucin
| Submission (armbar)
| Fight2Night 2
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 3:11
| Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 17–9
| Cheick Kone
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| Fight2Night 1
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 4:16
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 16–9
| Paulistenio Rocha
| Decision (unanimous)
| The Warriors Combat 3
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 15–9
| Markus Perez Echeimberg
| Decision (split)
| Thunder Fight 7
|
| align=center| 5
| align=center| 5:00
| São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 15–8
| Sean Spencer
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 15–7
| Gasan Umalatov
| Decision (unanimous)
| The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 15–6
| Brandon Thatch
| TKO (submission to knee to the body)
| UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 2
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:10
| Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 15–5
| Michel Prazeres
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 14–5
| Dong Hyun Kim
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC on Fuel TV: Franklin vs. Le
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Macau, SAR, China
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 14–4
| Siyar Bahadurzada
| KO (punch)
| UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 0:42
| Stockholm, Sweden
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 14–3
| David Mitchell
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 134
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 13–3
| Diego Sanchez
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 121
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Anaheim, California, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 13–2
| Martin Kampmann
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 115
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 13–1
| Mike Swick
| Technical Submission (D'arce choke)
| UFC 109
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 1:54
| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 12–1
| Jacob Volkmann
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 106
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Loss
| align=center| 11–1
| Jon Fitch
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 100
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 11–0
| Josh Koscheck
| KO (punches)
| UFC 95
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 3:29
| London, England
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 10–0
| Luiz Dutra Jr.
| TKO (knee injury)
| Jungle Fight 11
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 0:40
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 9–0
| Ferrid Kheder
| Decision (unanimous)
| Jungle Fight 10
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 8–0
| Paulo Cavera
| Submission (arm-triangle choke)
| Jungle Fight 9: Warriors
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| N/A
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 7–0
| Leonardo Pecanha
| Decision (unanimous)
| Jungle Fight 8
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 6–0
| Fernando Bettega
| Submission (arm-triangle choke)
| Capital Fight 1
|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:02
| Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 5–0
| Franklin Careli
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| Conquista Fight 3
|
| align=center| 2
| align=center| 0:37
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 4–0
| Igor Maux
| Submission (anaconda choke)
| rowspan=3|Grand Prix Planaltina
| rowspan=3|
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 1:06
| rowspan=3|Planaltina, Distrito Federal, Brazil
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 3–0
| Diogo Almeida
| Submission (guillotine choke)
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 1:21
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 2–0
| Marcone Bezerra
| Submission (arm-triangle choke)
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 1:31
|
|-
| Win
| align=center| 1–0
| Ricardo Petrucio
| Submission (triangle choke)
| Storm Samurai 8
|
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 1:36
| Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|

References

External links
Official UFC Profile

Living people
Brazilian male mixed martial artists
Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian male judoka
Welterweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Mixed martial artists utilizing judo
Sportspeople from Brasília
1981 births
Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters


When George Cables sat at a bright red Steinway at the Society for Ethical Culture during the 2008 JVC Jazz Festival this past June and played his first notes of the evening, it was immediately clear that his recent illnesses, surgeries and convalescence had not blunted his enviable skills. He played an excellent set that night, selecting most of the tunes from his solo double-CD You Don't Know Me, an ambitious and impressive mix of spirituals, originals and standards.
Cables can play with feathery lightness or deft, full-bodied chops. His fingers glide effortlessly along the keys, intoning and improvising within the melody like a vocalist. No matter what the material, Cables plays with a spryness that is impatient with sadness or despair; he's too exuberant to let those emotions rule. Cables turned "My Foolish Heart" and "You Don't Know What Love Is," two timelessly despairing ballads, into playful romps, rejoicing at the wonder of love instead of cowering in the darkness.
A number of Cables originals are loving tributes. The beautiful "EVC," composed for his mother; "Helen's Song"—a growing standard in the contemporary jazz canon—and "Lullaby" were written for his wife. ("Helen's Mother's Song," another tune on the CD, cleverly shares melodic similarities with "Helen's Song" in the way that a mother and daughter share genetic traits.) When he played these songs live both his concentration and wordless vocalizing increased as his emotions kicked in exponentially.
Even among the echoes of Bill Evans on "Waltz for Debby" or ironclad standards like "Stella by Starlight," Cables asserts his own deep-voiced confidence and facility. The sentimental "The Way We Were" is merely a starting point for his harmonic expositions, transforming the misty watercolor memories into sharp, boldfaced recollections of the good old days. He can play poignant single-note lines or whirlwind flurries without a misstep and nothing escapes the gravitational pull of his ideas.
The last tune of Cables' set was a tune not on You Don't Know Me, a rollicking version of "'Round Midnight" where he replaced the languid tempo recalling the end of a long day with the anticipation of a party waiting to happen. Cables' boogie-woogie and stride-laced tour de force suggested a group of men primed to raise hell from the first bar on the right and straight on till morning.
Track Listing: Disc One: My Foolish Heart; You Don't Know Me; EVC; Up Jumped Spring; You Don't Know What Love Is; Lullaby; Helen's Song; Helen's Mother's Song' Spookarella; Honey Lulu; Disc Two: Here's One; Go Down Moses; Going Home; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Senorita de Aranjuez; Looking for the Light; Waltz for Debby; Stella by Starlight; Morning Song; Ana Marie; The Way We Were.


text:
Statement of Dena Parker
Childress, Texas
My name is Dena Parker and I live in Childress, Texas. On the morning of August 29, 2001, my life took a devastating turn when I received the call that my husband Patrick had been in an automobile accident. I learned later that his neck was broken when his Superduty Ford F250 Supercab pickup truck rolled over and crashed. Patrick was still hanging upside down, strapped in by his seatbelt, as rescuers attempted to cut him out of the crushed truck cab with the jaws of life. Patrick has been living as a quadriplegic since that morning.
My husband worked for a utility company for 15 years. In 2001, he was assigned a new company vehicle, a 2001 Superduty F250 Supercab pickup truck. This "super heavy duty" work truck was dangerous, although its danger was hidden to us. My husband left for work early that morning while it was still dark, on his way to Wichita Falls, traveling on highway 287. About 30 minutes after he left our house, I received a phone call. The caller told me my husband had been in an accident, and when I began to panic, she told me that he had hit his head, but that he seemed fine. She said that my husband was talking to the people on the scene of the accident, and that he had given them my name and number and told them to call me. I drove to the emergency room in Quanah, Texas, where Patrick was taken. When I saw him lying there, I asked him if he was okay. I'll never forget that moment, although at the time, I could not accept it, and still to this day am in disbelief that this happened to us. He said, "No, Dena. I can't feel my legs." I started to cry, and told him it would be okay.
I asked Patrick what happened. He told me he had hit a deer. Patrick avoided the first deer, but as he was correcting, he struck a second deer and lost control. The truck rolled. The rollover itself didn't hurt my husband. He was injured when the roof of the Ford pickup crushed in on him. His spinal cord was nearly severed when his neck was broken, rendering him a quadriplegic at the age of 37. Our lives are forever changed.
Each morning now, it takes three hours to help him get up, eat breakfast, take a shower and get dressed. He has chronic nerve pain in his legs and has described the pain as "feeling like skin is being ripped off, like he's in a microwave oven." There are no words to describe what it's like to watch the one you love suffer and be unable to help him. To understand the nightmare of this injury you must live it, though no one should have to. Every day you wake up hoping for something, anything, to get better.
Patrick has fought so hard trying to regain whatever function possible doing aggressive forced-use therapies, laser puncture, functional electrical stimulation, and other therapies, but with little result other than to maintain his body as best he can, attempting to keep his muscles from atrophying, his bones from becoming brittle and breaking, trying to keep from getting pressure sores, or injuring himself unknowingly as he has lost all normal "feeling" just below shoulder level. It's an ongoing battle that never ends, but we fight it every day, hoping and praying for a breakthrough in stem cell research for spinal cord injury (SCI) within our lifetime.
As time passed, I began to hear other stories about other people involved in rollover accidents, some walking away, some, like my husband, not. I started researching and began to understand fully how my husband never had a chance. I learned about how the auto industry has refused to act on the knowledge and facts that they have long had, and failed to improve the "roof crush" standard, which tests the strength on only one side of a vehicle with the windshield intact to a maximum of only 1 ½ times the vehicle's weight. I also learned that if a vehicle's gross weight is more than 6,000 pounds, it doesn't have to meet any roof crush standard, although the auto maker claimed my husband's work truck did. I am not an engineer or an expert, but common sense tells me that glass will hold a great deal of pressure. Common sense also tells me it will break and then be unable to hold anything. Such a test does nothing to protect anyone involved in a real rollover accident. I know now that there are foreign automakers that have testing that better simulates the circumstances involving a real rollover, thereby enabling people to walk away from rollover accidents. A rollover standard should simulate actual rollover conditions, regardless if it is a dynamic or static test. I read that Ford owns Volvo, and later found out about the Volvo XC90, which has a roof that can hold well over three times the vehicle's weight and beats our roof crush standard by more than 100 percent. If my husband had been in a vehicle such as that, he would have walked away, but my husband was driving a super heavy-duty work truck. We were shocked to find out that there are vehicles that weigh less, even passenger cars, that have thicker materials in the roof structure than that super heavy-duty F250 did. We learned that the A pillars had been downgauged (thickness of the metal for that part decreased) on two occasions, and that it also had an "open section header" connecting the A pillars, whereas even the F150 had a "closed section header." This vehicle was unreasonably dangerous and my husband never had a chance.
The auto industry has been blaming drivers for these unnecessary injuries. People hear propaganda from automakers as they watch the commercials on TV about how strong and safe their trucks and cars are built. But, the auto industry has used excuses all these years NOT to do the right thing. There is a simple solution to avoid debilitating injuries like Patrick's: Our government must protect consumers by forcing automakers to follow a tougher standard on roof strength. We have side impact tests and front bumper tests but a joke of a roof crush test.
Due to medical complications related to Patrick's injury, we are unable to travel at this time to Washington, D.C., or we would be there to ask lawmakers face-to-face to step in and protect Americans. For now, the signatures I am gathering on a petition will be my plea to Congress to improve roof safety in vehicles.


As Chicago Public Schools' teachers and administrators spend the week preparing for the start of the new school year, WBEZ's Melba Lara asked Troy LaRaviere to describe what the transition in CPS leadership and budget shortfalls look like from his vantage point as a principal. LaRaviere is principal of Blaine Elementary School in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.
LaRaviere has been vocal with his concerns about CPS budget cuts and was issued a "warning resolution" at a recent Chicago Board of Education meeting. In response to a request for comment from WBEZ, a CPS representative said the warning resolution was warranted.
WBEZ: What are principals dealing with this school year that they really haven't faced in past years?
Troy LaRaviere: I don't know if it's something we haven't faced in past years. It's the same talking points we get from CPS: budget cuts, trying to piece together a staff with fewer resources.
Are you able to tell us what cuts you've had to make since last year?
We've lost about $200,000 in terms of personnel.
And when we're talking $200,000 in personnel cuts as an impact, how does this affect students? Are they directly impacted by cuts like that?
Of course they are. Whenever you think layoffs, you have to think that person was providing a specific service to a student. And that is a service that student will no longer be getting.
I wanted to ask you about the reprimand that has raised your profile as a principal, even though it was already a pretty high profile. Last week, the school board reprimanded you for being too outspoken against Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS. Do you have colleagues who agree with your concerns but who are too afraid to talk about it?
Oh, absolutely. I remember last summer, we were in a principals' meeting at a North Side high school. A bunch of principals were there. And [CPS] unveiled the testing schedule, and there was almost a rebellion right there in the auditorium at the sheer volume of testing that was on the calendar that they presented to us.
And in terms of the reprimand itself, it was....about not my position, but my support of parent positions. That's very critical to understand. They didn't reprimand me for being against [the PARCC exam]. They reprimanded me for supporting my parents when a parent gave me a note that said, "I don't want my child taking the PARCC." I respected that.
There are critics of you that say your support of mayoral candidate Chuy Garcia, and your role as an educational advisor for him, and your very vocal and direct criticism of the mayor and CPS leadership has lead you astray on what is best for the students of Blaine. Some would ask, is this really helping the students of Blaine? What's your response?
I mean, just think about each one of the policies that I'm advocating for. Every single one of them is geared toward students.
One of the things I was vocal about at the meeting was the $17 million loan that [CPS] took from three of Rahm Emanuel's campaign contributors, and promised to pay an additional $17 million in interest if the program worked. If the kids in Pre-K scored better than the kids who didn't get Pre-K. Well, that's a foregone conclusion. Of course they're gonna do better. That's like you going to your plumber and he says 'It's gonna be $10,000' and you say 'Well, I'll give you $20,000 if it doesn't leak.' Who is that irresponsible with their own money? But this administration will be that irresponsible with money that's supposed to be dedicated to our children.
Everything I've ever done is directed toward increasing the educational opportunities and quality of the education that students in CPS get, and opposing every policy that CPS brings down that does the opposite.


THE NEWS INDIA 27/7 NATIONAL NEWS NETWORK…..The formation of the federal front is more likely as Telangana CM KCR has speeded up working on it. TRS Chief has reportedly summoned his son and minister KTR to meet YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and invite him the Federal Front. Tomorrow, KTR and MP B Vinod Kumar and another party senior leader Palla Rajeswar Reddy will be meeting Jagan in Hyderabad and formally invite him to the Federal Front. Telangana CM KCR's Federal Front invitation to YS Jagan could be the first return gift to his arch rival and Andhra Pradesh CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu, it is learned.