text:
DDOS Attack on Swedish MSM
Some might say it's about time.
BONNIER HOUSE (Rixstep) — Sweden's MSM were hit by a DDOS attack last night. Their four major publications - Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, and Svenska Dagbladet - were all hit, along with a few other minor sites.
The attack was prefaced by an announcement on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/_notJ/status/711258143901270016
This is what happends [sic] when you spread false propaganda. Aftonbladet.se #offline @Aftonbladet
The following days attacks against the Swedish goverment [sic] and media spreading false propaganda will be targetted.
News site Breakit, not hit by the attack, reported on it here.
http://www.breakit.se/artikel/3103/stora-svenska-mediesajter-utsatta-for-en-samordnad-it-attack
As did Sweden's Voldemort news site Fria Tider.
http://www.friatider.se/aftonbladets-hemsida-nere-efter-it-attack
Dagens Nyheter got up for a bit and referred visitors to an alternative site.
http://blogg.dn.se/redaktionsbloggen/
By early morning, the sites were back up again, all decrying that the attack had been an attack on 'freedom of speech'.
Oh the irony.
Some people might say 'it's about time', as the character of Sweden's 'Big Brother' media long ago passed the boiling point. Almost all major outlets are controlled by two corporations, of which the infamous Bonnier empire is the most influential.
The editor-in-chief of Bonnier's Expressen was arraigned in court this week on charges of aggravated libel for a 'campaign' conducted last August where he used the 'services' of exposed security police spy Martin Fredriksson, the very same one who co-engineered the Swedish Amnesty coup against head office for their support of Julian Assange.
But of course that wasn't covered at all in the MSM.
The machinations - the underhanded dealings - of the Bonniers have often been reported at this site. Their latest scandal involved how they deliberately hid away the massive attacks on young girls in downtown Stockholm by immigrant gangs 'for fear of playing into the hands of xenophobic political elements'. That girls would return to the same park the next year (with parental permission) to get molested and raped was evidently not as great a concern as holding the Bonnier party line.
Dagens Nyheter assistant editor-in-chief Caspar Opitz dismissed the story without letting his reporter look into it, on the grounds that it had to be 'right-wing propaganda'.
The Swedish police also covered up the story. But the chief of police is not a policeman - he's a politician who takes his orders from his government. This only exacerbated the situation. People were getting hurt and the Bonniers didn't care - their political agenda was at stake - and the government didn't care either.
The Bonniers, when confronted with the scandal, refused to own up, instead going after those who dared publish the truth, and trying every trick in the book to discredit them (but fortunately failing this time).
The government had to have been in the loop.
Duckpond Media Format
Swedish media are at a dangerous low ebb. Over half of all that's published is advertisements; a small portion is devoted to seriously filtered news; and the rest is reserved for the 'preachers' - an inner city 'clique' who stick together at all costs. Starting from the crumbs of news the Swedish people are given, the 'preachers' must thereafter make sure the people also think correctly about the news they're fed - a tactic similar to the Swedish foreign office 'language usage rulebook'.
And all too often, major world news items are simply not carried. They're blacked out, put simply. As far as Swedish readers are concerned, those things don't happen.
For example, the Bonnier flagship Dagens Nyheter still hold to a 100% blackout on the tragedy of Donbass, and perhaps more importantly: the considerable humanitarian aid sent by Russia, and perhaps even more importantly: the massive flow of Donbass refugees into Russia. The United Nations now estimate that close to 1,000,000 refugees have crossed the border into Russia, yet all that the Bonnier's Peter Wolodarski will print is the mysterious rhetorical question 'one wonders how Kiev could handle that tremendous influx of refugees'.
Sweden doesn't have a serious problem with right-wing extremists, and never has had. Of course they exist - there are fanatics of all shapes and sizes in Sweden, just as in almost every country (albeit fewer in number and less fanatic in Sweden). But they are not and never have been a tangible national threat in any way shape or form (any more than exotic 'Russian' pedal-powered one-man subs have been a threat in the Swedish archipelago). They're used instead as a kind of Emmanuel Goldstein in negative form to pave the way for clampdowns on freedom of speech. No one, and no publication, can stray from the official narrative without being branded a 'nazi' or 'racist', and thereby an outcast.
Nazis in Sweden are a serious threat, but there are no Nazis in the Ukraine. None. It's that simple.
Sweden's alternative media continue to grow. Some new sites concentrate on immigration issues, as immigration is today the country's foremost concern. And these alternative sites, sometimes with extremely limited resources, continue to print what they feel is important to print. Acceptance is growing, albeit at a snail's pace. Some sites, such as Nyheter Idag, have joined publisher associations and consent to be chastised if they're found 'out of line', and this helps in gaining credence and acceptance.
But overall at the end of the day, these sites exist and are visited and supported because the mainstream Swedish news sites are so obviously skewed by a blatant 'agenda', an agenda to which the Bonniers even openly admit today.
Accuracy in reporting is no longer required by Swedish law, 'fair play' is no longer required either, and strictly marking the line between news reporting and outright propaganda is now off the law books as well. Thanks to the Bonniers.
And you can't get more 'Big Brother' than that.
Once was a time, before entry into the EU, when Swedes could care less about what happened in the world beyond the Duckpond. And who could blame them? Swedes were isolated, and gratefully so. But now, for better or for worse, Sweden is in the EU, and by extension, it's in the world beyond as well.
Yet reading habits haven't changed. Great news tidbits are available in English, French, German, to name but three languages. Coverage in global media is often more detailed and more accurate. Yet Swedes prefer their own sources, no matter how shitty they are. They probably think they're getting an accurate picture of what's going on anyway. But when one factors in the filtering, the blackouts, the skew, the unbelievable lengths their media go to in order to force-feed their official narrative and silence those that dare speak out against it - put that all together and it's not a brave new world but a very sorry world, a world that effortlessly outperforms George Orwell's dystopian nightmare '1984'.
Lennart's Hotel
A recent story about a Bonnier TV4 personality serves as a perfect example. Not only in the methods used, but - in a fashion akin to the 'Amnesty coup' - in how it puts on a show for the 'peanut gallery', with one arm of the empire faking a fight with another.
'Lennart' was a counseling coach on a new Bonnier TV4 sleaze show called 'Divorce Hotel'. The idea is to bring in couples contemplating a breakup and let 'Lennart' take them through the paces.
Lennart's been a relationship coach for over thirty years and is highly respected. (That's why he got the job.) But Lennart is also an admin of a closed Facebook group called 'People in Focus'.
'People in Focus' have, this past autumn, and just like everyone in the country, discussed the immigration crisis, and noted, as state television noted, how the planning for this immigration hasn't worked and how assimilation isn't any better.
The murder of Alexandra Mezher brought matters to a boiling point. She was supposedly murdered by a 'child', someone under 15 years of age. Readers of Swedish media wouldn't have been the wiser, but the Daily Mail published pictures of the 'boy'.
The Swedish MSM - and possibly the Swedish government - had a hissy fit, and got the Mail to block access from IP ranges in Sweden. Alexandra's killer wasn't 15 - he's more like twice that age.
But age controls for those claiming to be 15 or younger have never been used in Sweden, so the system's been 'gamed' for years. (Sweden will now implement age controls as a result of the Mezher murder.)
All of which brings us back to 'Lennart' and his closed Facebook group, where in a discussion on the immigration scandal at one point, he facetiously referred to those supposed 'unaccompanied minors' as 'bearded babies'.
Someone allowed in the group evidently took offence and reported him to the Bonnier media.
http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/film-tv/tv4-profil-kranker-pa-facebook/
Feminists to the South Pole
Following is a translation of a Bonnier reporter at Dagens Nyheter interviewing both 'Lennart' and his boss at Bonnier's TV4.
(To 'Lennart' first)
Isn't it offensive to call unaccompanied minors 'bearded babies'?
That's a facetious expression. Sure, I can be provocative in my discourse, but this doesn't mean that I dislike people. What I don't like is being branded a racist when I challenge your dogmas!
Can you understand Facebook users who think you're xenophobic?
Absolutely! But that's not an accurate description of me. I've been to 34 countries, I have friends in Africa. I'm very direct and can be sarcastic, intentionally provocative at times, to shake people up.
Why are Swedish feminists to be deported to the South Pole?
Try to see the sarcasm! Feminists are very quiet about honour killings. I think they should chill a bit. The South Pole is a symbol: get into the cold a while and realise we have to support these victims of honour killings, no matter their ethnicity!
(Now the reporter goes to Lennart's boss - a Bonnier employee)
Is it acceptable that a TV4 presenter describes unaccompanied minors as 'bearded babies'?
That expression doesn't sound so nice, and that sounds like a tedious Facebook discussion. We at TV4 are consistent in our zero tolerance for racism, but I can't tell Lennart what he's to think! This sounds like something you should talk to him about.
Are you going to talk to Lennart?
About what he does on social media? It certainly wouldn't be an emergency conversation. We know he's an individual who likes to debate, and he has to be allowed to continue to do that!
Isn't it odd that you have a relationship coach who thinks feminists should be deported to the South Pole?
I've no idea where you got that! That doesn't match anything I know of Lennart from the times we've been together. What I've seen of Lennart, he's been superlative, and I cannot do an about-face - we think he's doing a great job with our programme!
Shortly afterward, Bonnier announced that 'Lennart' would no longer be used in their TV extravaganza.
Back to a recurring topic: Julian Assange. As this is a software site, it's unlikely anything would have been written outside that sphere, were it not first for Dan Wood and later the plight of Julian Assange, which in turn led to an awareness of what Sweden's Big Brother media were up to.
The details of the Assange preliminary investigation - the documents submitted to the courts both in Sweden and abroad - have been available since January 2011. That's over five years ago. Sweden's MSM have yet to publish them, using only bits and pieces when it suited them to bolster their narrative (in this case an anti-Assange one). The crucial lab report in those documents, which turns the entire case on its head, has never been mentioned, yet anyone viewing it knows at a glance the entire case is a joke.
The landmark FOIA documents obtained by Stefania Maurizi are still blacked out in Swedish media since October last year; those documents show unequivocally that Sweden's prosecutor Marianne Ny conspired with a 'Paul Close' of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service to avoid giving Assange the possibility of interview, explicitly out of pure fear the case would fall apart.
The Swedish media could have reported on this at any time. No one does. Others not in direct control by the Bonniers don't dare either, aware that such a move can be tantamount to career suicide. Such a procession of Swedish journos contacted by people at Flashback who all admit there are very important stories there, that the entire affair stinks to high heaven... but who know they'll never get published. Big Brother in Sweden won't allow it.
And as an example of what gets printed instead, one need look no further than the 'grassroots' campaign #talkaboutit, coordinated to coincide with Assange's bail hearing, run by Bonnier employees, and later given an award by - you guessed it - the Bonniers.
Even the spy Martin Fredriksson won a Bonnier award - for breaking into web sites and breaching ethical codes left and right.
Expressen's star reporter Niklas Svensson was convicted of data intrusion, moved temporarily to the Bonnier's TV4 until things calmed down, then moved back again in time for the assault on Julian Assange.
That silly book by the Leberkäse Kid was published in Germany by a company owned by the Bonniers. The Bonniers sent a football reporter to Frontline to heckle a WikiLeaks press conference; together with Carl Bildt, they concocted a wild story about WikiLeaks 'operatives' tracking Bonnier staff in Stockholm.
Declaring, as Assange did, that the Bonniers are a 'political kindergarten': it's actually a rather reserved statement, given what's known today about that empire.
Perhaps the best summary of Sweden and the truth is by Lena Sundström. Lena works for the Bonniers, and when asked on Bonnier television what she thought about the strange case of Julian Assange, she replied, right on cue, that she thought nothing at all, that she tried her best to not think about it at all, and in addition encouraged the good Swedish people to do the same.
You can't get more 'Big Brother' than that.
The Bonniers are Sweden's version of Big Brother, and they're every bit as effective as the version written by George Orwell. They're often more subtle and sophisticated. They don't yet own up to a 'Room 101', but just wait. Give them time.


text:
Air NZ sitting on millions of dollars from cancelled flights
Just six percent of Air New Zealand customers in our survey had been given refunds for cancelled flights.
A Consumer NZ survey found 80% of passengers on cancelled Air New Zealand flights have been stuck with credits, leaving the airline sitting on millions of dollars of customers' money.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said only six percent of the more than 2000 Air New Zealand customers who participated in its survey had been given refunds after flights were cancelled due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
"The majority of customers have only been given credits and many didn't know if or when they'd be able to use them," he said.
More than $3.8 million had been paid for flights by the 1700 people in the survey who had been given credits.
Fifty-four percent had paid more than $1000 for their tickets. Mr Duffy said this money was locked up in Air New Zealand's bank account. The average amount held by the airline per passenger was $2234.
Consumer NZ is calling on the airline to do the right thing and offer refunds to those who want them.
"We've heard from a lot of people who really need their money because they've lost jobs or income as a result of the fallout from Covid-19. While it's a tough time to be an airline, it's also a pretty tough time for many consumers," Mr Duffy said.
Mr Duffy said passengers were being short-changed by the airline and outdated consumer protection laws.
Some customers had only been able to get refunds by relying on laws in other countries. Last week, as a result of a Consumer NZ complaint to the Commerce Commission, Air New Zealand backed down and agreed to provide refunds to all passengers on cancelled US flights. The US requires airlines flying in or out of the country to refund passengers when flights are cancelled, regardless of the reason.
"Air New Zealand is operating two different refund policies. It's prepared to provide refunds for cancelled US flights but many other loyal customers are out of luck and only get a credit."
Consumer NZ has written to Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran, asking the airline to change its stance but is yet to receive a response to its request.
Our survey
A total of 2138 people took part in Consumer NZ's survey on cancelled Air NZ flights:
80% had been given credits
6% had been given refunds
14% were still waiting to hear what they would receive.
The survey was carried out online on Consumer NZ's website.
Read our latest articles on the Covid-19 pandemic. Got a consumer-related question about coronavirus? Email us at info@consumer.org.nz and we'll do our best to help.
Keep up-to-date with Consumer's latest news, investigations and product and service reviews, plus join the Consumer panel with invitations to take part in surveys.
Thanks, you're now signed up. It's great to have you!
Help us keep the pressure on
Consumer NZ is non-profit. To help us get a fairer deal for all New Zealand consumers you can make a donation. We'll use your contribution to investigate consumer issues and work for positive change.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A stabbing left a man dead and an 18-year-old woman hospitalized in critical condition in Hempstead on Sunday morning, Nassau County police said.
Hempstead village police officers responded to a stabbing on Lawson Street, where they found the man dead of an apparent stab wound at 7 a.m., police said.
A woman who was found suffering from stab wounds on the same street was taken to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries, police said.


***Please Note: The left cam gear is broken - happened in shipping. Please swap the one out of your old motor along with the timing cover.
This is an imported JDM Engine Directly from Japan. It is interchangeable with quite few vehicles here in U.S. Please consult with your mechanic prior to purchasing this engine to make sure this engine will work for you. At times, you may have to use this engine as long block only (Block and Head) and transfer all external accessories from original motor onto this JDM motor in order to make it function correctly. You will have to transfer over and use your original intake manifold. This engine is equipped with AVCS (Active Valve Control System). While we will do our best to assist you, further research may be needed to check compatibility with your vehicle.


UPS aims to guarantee the delivery throughout Europe within 24/48 hours from the date of any order.
In some cases the delivery time may vary for reasons of force majeure, such as weather conditions and strikes.
Preparation time: orders received from Monday to Thursday, excluding holydays, will be shipped the same day if before 11:00 a.m. or the next working day if after 11:00 a.m.. Orders received on Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday are not shipped until the following working day. To ensure the highest quality, orders containing fresh products (cold cuts, cheese, fish, fresh sauces, mushrooms and truffles) from Thursday onwards, are not shipped until the following working day.
The goods ordered are delivered to the address specified by the user in the order form. Sign in and access the reserved section, hence click "Address Book" to deliver your own orders. The order status can be always consulted in the section "My orders".
Deliveries are guaranteed from Monday to Friday, during the normal working timetable, excluding National Days.
When the order is delivered to the Courier you can track your shipment by using the tracking number link found in your email confirmation.
The delivery is considered completed once the Customer is in the possession of the goods.
That the number of delivered pieces matches the same indicated in the transport document.
Any damage to packaging and products or the mismatch in the number of parts/items or information must be immediately contested by the costumer, who may contact UFOODY through the Customer Service at customer@ufoody.com, specifying the problems of the order.
In case of failed delivery due to the absence of the consignee at the address indicated, the Courier will reattempt the delivery for a maximum of three times, after the third unsuccessful attempt the package goes back to the sender UFOODY s.r.l.s.. The Customer may contact the Courier Customer Service at (+39) 02 30 30 30 30 from 9:00 to 18:00 to agree upon the shipment.
In case of impossible delivery on the arranged day the ordered products will be returned to UFOODY.
After 30 days from the date in which the ordered products have been shipped to UFOODY due to the impossible delivery, the contract is considered concluded and the order canceled in accordance with the intent of the art. 1456 of the Consumption Code. UFOODY will refund the Costumer of the amount net of the products return and caretaking cost at the branch office of the delivery Courier of reference.
The conclusion of the contract and the refund amount will be communicated via e-mail. The refund amount will be credited to the means of payment used by the user for the purchase.
Where, before the expiration of thirty days, ask the user to resend the product purchased, UFOODY proceeds prior to the new delivery charge, in addition to the expenditure of the same the cost of retuning the product to UFOODY and the expenditure custody.


text:
Veterans Health Care:
Veterans Health Administration Processes for Responding to Reported Adverse Events
GAO-12-827R: Published: Aug 24, 2012. Publicly Released: Aug 24, 2012.
Accessible Text:
(HTML text file)
Debra A. Draper
draperd@gao.gov
What GAO Found
Through its policy and guidance, VHA has outlined processes that enable VAMCs to respond to reported adverse events that occur. VHA generally grants individual VAMCs discretion on choosing which process to use. Specifically, VAMCs conduct an initial review to determine how best to respond to an adverse event. According to VHA officials, if the circumstances that led to an adverse event are clear, based on a VAMC's initial review, VAMCs can take immediate corrective action. If the circumstances that led to an adverse event need to be examined further, VAMCs are given discretion to use one or more of the following four processes: (1) root cause analysis, (2) peer review, (3) clinical care review, and (4) administrative investigation board. Because VAMCs generally have discretion in which of these processes they use, different VAMCs that experience similar adverse events may not use the same processes to respond to them. Nonetheless, each process has certain purposes and limitations. For example, some of these processes may be used to examine a clinician's actions as they relate to an adverse event, while others may be used to examine whether a systems or process issue exists. Furthermore, information collected through two of these processes--clinical care reviews and administrative investigation boards--can be used to inform actions against clinicians; information collected using root cause analyses and peer reviews cannot be used to support such actions, because information collected under those processes is protected and confidential, under federal law. Based on the nature of an adverse event and the information gleaned through a particular review process, a VAMC may decide to conduct multiple types of reviews, as appropriate.
Why GAO Did This Study
The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) operates one of the largest health care delivery systems in the United States, providing care to more than 6 million veterans annually. Organized into 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks, VHA's health care system includes 152 Veterans Affairs medical centers (VAMC) nationwide that offer a variety of outpatient, residential, and inpatient services. These health care services are delivered by physicians, dentists, and other providers and range from routine examinations to complex surgical procedures.
During the course of providing health care services, adverse events--clinical incidents that may pose the risk of injury to a patient as the result of a medical intervention or lack of an appropriate intervention, such as a missed or delayed diagnosis, rather than that patient's underlying medical condition--may occur, resulting in potential harm to veterans. They are required to be reported to appropriate VAMC staff through each facility's incident reporting system, or through other channels, such as anonymous phone calls or e-mails to VAMC staff, such as the patient safety manager or risk manager, according to officials. VHA policy requires that appropriate action be taken to evaluate reported adverse events. Once an adverse event has been evaluated, the VAMC may take actions that include correcting system or process issues and taking actions against individual clinicians when warranted. Specifically, actions taken against individual clinicians following adverse events may include adverse actions--ranging from admonishments to termination of employment; as well as actions taken to limit a clinician's clinical privileges, such as the reduction or revocation of privileges. Staff remediation activities, such as refresher training and proctoring, can be employed when adverse actions or limiting a clinician's privileges are not deemed necessary. Recent adverse events have raised questions about the quality of care provided to veterans by VAMCs, and whether lessons learned at one VAMC are being translated into systemwide improvements. In response, members of Congress have raised questions as to the processes VHA has in place to respond to adverse events at VAMCs and take appropriate action, when needed, to address problems found within the VHA health care system. Congress asked us to describe how VHA responds to reported adverse events within its health care system. In this report, we describe VHA's processes for responding to reported adverse events within its health care system. In future work, we will examine the implementation of these processes at VAMCs.
For information, contact Debra A. Draper at (202) 512-7114 or draperd@gao.gov.


Emergencies and disasters can strike without warning. One minute, everything can be going along fine. The next minute, your entire life can be in chaos. Severe weather events are on the rise. Every year, more and more major storms occur. The severity of these storms is also increasing. Regardless of what type of emergency situation you are facing, it is important to be as prepared as possible.
Every family should have an emergency kit set up that they can use during disasters. This kit should contain a number of different items that can help keep family members and pets safe and secure until the threat has faded. Along with water and medical supplies, and emergency kit needs to include a large enough supply of nonperishable food, such as Eversafe Civilian MREs, to feed all of the family members until the disaster has abated.
In the past, this meant stockpiling row after row of canned food and other types of nonperishable items. The problem with canned food is that it takes up a lot of space.
Additionally, it is hard to create nutritionally-balanced meals using food from cans. Although it is possible, you have to open a lot of different cans of food to ensure that you are getting enough vitamins and nutrients during each meal.
Without refrigeration or other safe food storage methods available, it can be wasteful to open more cans of food than you can eat in a single setting. Trying to find a balance between making sure that your nutritional needs are being met and avoiding wasting food can be challenging.
Heating up food is also difficult when you don't have access to electricity. If the power at your house has been knocked out, you may have to eat all of your food cold. Although canned food is usually safe to eat without being heated, it isn't very appetizing when it is cold.
Fortunately, there is a solution to all of these problems. Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs) are prepackaged meals that are used by the US military to provide nutrition to soldiers in the field. These self-contained meals come in a small bag that can be stored flat.
When you are ready to eat it, all that you have to do is open the bag and take out all of the included items. What makes these meals unique is that they are capable of heating up on their own without the need for an external heat source.
All that you have to do is add water to the flameless heater that is included in the kit. This starts a chemical reaction that generates heat, helping to heat up your meal. Within just a few minutes, the meal will be hot and ready to eat without the need to start a fire or to use electricity. This makes these meals perfect for use after a disaster or in emergency situations.
Being able to enjoy a hot meal when you are in a stressful situation can provide comfort and relief. Additionally, food usually tastes much better when it is heated, making these meals a more palatable option than eating cold food out of the can.
Again, the actual side dishes and snacks included in each meal can vary. However, they always provide a balanced meal that has approximately 1250 calories. The nutrient-rich food contained in the meal can give your body the energy that it needs to get through a stressful time after a disaster.
Additionally, the included snacks, beverages, and other extras can go a long way toward boosting your morale when you are in a tough situation. Sometimes, being able to enjoy a bag of candy or sip a cup of coffee can be the perfect way to relax and regroup when you are feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. It is amazing what small creature comforts can do for your attitude and your morale.
Fortunately, these meals are not only available to the military. You can also purchase them online or at camping stores. Although they are somewhat expensive, they last for an extremely long time. Their shelf life usually exceeds five years. That means that you can stockpile them in your basement or in another out-of-the-way area for years, knowing that they are there if you need them.
Investing in enough of these meals to provide food for your family for at least a few days after a disaster is a smart way to prepare. The peace of mind that comes from knowing that you won't have to go hungry is absolutely priceless, making these meals a worthwhile investment.
From a storage standpoint, MREs also have a lot to offer. Because of their compact packaging, you can store a lot of meals in a very small space. That means that you don't need to worry about finding a place to house shelf after shelf of canned food. Instead, you can keep a large supply of MREs tucked neatly away in a box in the corner. You still have access to the food that you need – you just don't have to sacrifice all of your storage space to keep it.
Most people are surprised by how delicious these meals actually are. There is a common misconception that they are bland and flavorless. In fact, however, if you talk to any soldiers who have eaten them in the field, they will usually tell you otherwise.
They are packed with flavor and are quite tasty to eat, meaning that you don't have to worry about suffering through with unappetizing food. Instead, you can enjoy tasty meals that lift your spirits and support your health even when you are in the midst of a disaster.
When it comes to the food itself, there are a ton of different entrées available. Some of the most popular include beef stew, chili, chicken burrito bowls, lemon pepper tuna, hash brown potatoes with bacon, chicken pesto pasta, Southwest beef and black beans, beef brisket, and spaghetti with meat sauce.
There are also vegetarian options available. For instance, meals like the vegetarian taco pasta, the cheese tortellini, and the spinach, mushroom, and cream sauce fettuccine are all meat-free options.
With so many choices available, you shouldn't have any trouble finding meals that everyone in your family will love. You can put together a diverse menu that includes all of your favorites, helping to ensure that you not only get proper nutrition during a disaster but that you also enjoy the meals.
As of right now, the Red Cross recommends storing three days worth of food and water for emergencies. Technically, however, more is better. If you can store enough for a week or two, you should be more than prepared for any disasters that may come your way. It is always better to have too much food rather than too little.
It is extremely difficult to predict how a disaster may affect your area. Depending on how large of an area was impacted, it could take days or weeks for help to arrive. You may not be able to leave your house to go to the store to stock up on supplies. That is why it is absolutely essential to have plenty of items stockpiled that you can use to survive until it is safe again.
There are a couple of different options when it comes to buying MREs for civilians. Purchasing them online is the most obvious choice. There are a lot of different online retailers that sell these meals, meaning that you should be able to find whatever entrées you are looking for without a lot of hassle.
Of course, not all retailers are created equal. You should buy from a reputable store that offers a generous return policy. That way, if anything goes wrong with your order, you can always send it back and get a refund.
Although buying these meals through auction can be an affordable way to stock up, you need to be careful to make sure that you are not buying outdated meals. No matter where you buy the meals, you should always check the expiration date to make sure that they will last long enough.
When you are comparing prices on these meals, don't forget to take shipping costs into account. Even if a store has extremely low prices, the money that you save may be negated by high shipping costs. Always add up the total cost of purchasing the meals to figure out which store offers the best deal.
In some cases, you may also be able to buy these meals in person. Many camping supply stores carry them for backpackers and other outdoor adventurers. You can usually find them in the section where the freeze-dried food is stored. Unlike freeze-dried food, however, MREs have real food that is far more flavorful and delicious. There is no point in forcing yourself to eat Styrofoam-like freeze-dried food when there are tastier and more nutritious options available.
Keep in mind, these MREs are usually not the same ones that are used by the military. Instead, they are made by private manufacturers specifically for civilian use. However, they operate exactly the same way and usually contain the same types of food. Before purchasing civilian MREs, however, you should be sure to research the manufacturer to determine whether or not they create high-quality meals.
MREs are safe to eat cold if you don't have time to activate the flameless heater. You can just tear open the bag and start eating. Although this is a viable option, most people prefer the way that they taste when they are heated. It is usually worth taking the time to wait for the flameless heater to activate.
Speaking of the flameless heater, it is surprisingly easy to use. The heater itself is a flat bag that is contained in the package with your meal. Unfold the bag and tear off the top to prepare it for use. Next, slide your meal inside the bag next to the heater.
At the bottom of the bag, you will see a line that is printed with the words "do not overfill". You should add water to the bag up to this line. Typically, it takes about an ounce of water to begin heating the meal.
Once the water is inside the heater, fold the top over to keep it from spilling out. Then, slide the heater with your meal inside of it into the cardboard box that your meal came in. Lean the cardboard box against a small rock or another item so that it is at a slight incline. Make sure that the top of the bag is pointing up so that the water doesn't leak out.
After about 10 minutes, your meal should be fully heated. Then, it is simply a matter of removing it from the heater bag, opening it up, and eating it.
The benefit of using the flameless heater is that you don't have to worry about starting a fire or having an external heat source. In an emergency situation, that is extremely important. Without access to electricity, heating up food can be extremely difficult. These meals make the process easy thanks to their flameless heaters.
As long as you have access to a small amount of water, you can heat up the meal in a matter of minutes. Even if you don't have water, however, you can still eat the meal cold, making it just as versatile as canned food.
MREs first started being used by the military during the early 1980s. Over the years, they have undergone a number of different changes. Today, the meals are not only nutritionally balanced but also delicious to eat. They have come a long way from when they were first introduced. In fact, most soldiers love the way they taste, making mealtime in the military far more enjoyable.
From a survival standpoint, they are an incredibly good investment. They are compact and easy to store. Additionally, they have an exceptionally long shelf life. That means that you can keep them stored away in a safe place for a number of years before they need to be replaced.
If and when disaster strikes, knowing that you have access to good food that is safe to eat can make a world of difference. Instead of having to struggle to find things to eat or to leave your house when it is dangerous outside, you can stay safely tucked inside while still getting the nutrition that you need.
When your body is under extreme stress, it is more important than ever to make sure that you are giving it the vitamins and minerals that it needs. These meals are a great way to do just that.
As an added bonus, they have extras like candy and chewing gum included that can help lift your spirits. Sometimes, the hardest part about surviving after a disaster is keeping your morale up. It is easy to get overwhelmed and to start feeling dispirited. A little pick-me-up from a bag of candy or a tasty cup of coffee can go a long way toward reviving your spirit.
The only real downside to MREs for civilians is that they are a bit pricey. It may be cheaper for you to stock your survival kit with canned food. At the same time, however, when you consider all of the ingredients that you would have to buy to make a similar meal from scratch, the price of these meals is justifiable. In most cases, it is worth spending a little bit more to get these meals – especially since they have the added bonus of the included flameless heater. Instead of having to eat cold, bland food out of a can, you can enjoy a warm, delicious meal in a matter of minutes. When you look at it that way, it is pretty easy to see which option is preferable.
These meals aren't just good for survival – they can also be used in a variety of other situations. For instance, they are popular with campers and outdoor adventurers, simply because they are so easy to prepare. Instead of having to start a fire when you are out camping, you can enjoy a hot meal in minutes with just a little bit of water.
If you are planning on doing hiking, however, you may want to opt for freeze-dried meals instead since they are a lot lighter weight. MREs contain water, which adds significantly to their weight. For regular camping, however, they are a great option.
One interesting thing about these meals is that they are extremely durable. In fact, they are designed to withstand parachute drops from a height of 1,250 feet. Even more impressive, they can be dropped without a parachute from a height of 98 feet without sustaining any damage.
Although you most likely won't be dropping them out of a plane or off of a tall building anytime soon, it is good to know that the packaging is durable enough to withstand pretty much anything that comes its way. After all, the last thing that you want to do is to go to access your emergency food supply only to find that the bags have been damaged or punctured.
As you can see, there are a lot of really compelling reasons to consider stocking your emergency supply kit with civilian MREs. These meals not only taste good but they also last an extremely long time. That means that you can keep them on hand for a number of years so that you are always ready, no matter what types of severe weather events come your way. Instead of having to rush around at the last minute trying to stockpile food when a storm is headed your way, you can relax, knowing that you already have a supply of healthy, delicious food waiting for you in your emergency kit.
As an added bonus, you can use the flameless heaters to heat up these meals, eliminating the need for a stove or fire. That means that you can cook them indoors without having to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning. As long as you have just a little bit of water to activate the heater, you can enjoy a warm, tasty meal in practically no time at all.
Their compact size, durable packaging, long shelf life, and nutritional value all make these meals a worthwhile investment. If you are looking for a way to keep your family safe after a disaster, stocking in plenty of food is a good starting point.
Although canned food and other nonperishable items are always an option, most people find MREs for civilians far more convenient. They are a great way to ensure that you get the nutrition that you need even if you can't get to the store to buy food.
If you are planning on buying these meals, make sure to stock in enough food for every member of your family to eat for at least three days. Ideally, you should stock in even more food than that in case it takes longer for emergency help to arrive. There is no such thing as being too prepared. It is always better to err on the side of caution and stock in more food than you think you will actually need so that you don't wind up running out too soon.


Hine, Noon recreation, Danville [Va.] cigarette factory, June 1911 (Shorpy).
Arthur Collins and Byron Harlan, Alexander's Ragtime Band.
Stella Mayhew, That Devilin' Tune.
Arthur Pryor's Band, Canhanibalmo Rag.
Claude Debussy, Preludes: La Fille aux Cheveux du Lin.
i Went down town with my daddy yesterday to see that terrible fire where all the littel girls jumped out of high windows My littel cousin Beatrice and i are sending you five dollars a piece from our savings bank to help them out of trubble plese give it to the right one to use it for somebody whose littel girl jumped out of a window i wouldent like to jump out of a high window myself.
Letter of 26 March 1911 to the New York Times by Morris Butler, in reference to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which killed 148 workers, the majority of which were teenage girls. Sixty-two of them died after they jumped out of the factory windows, having no other means of escape.
Modern popular music is in great part a confidence game, in which the best songs sell themselves to their audience, singing their listeners into acquiescence: the songs proffer themselves as dreams, dreams of a higher caliber, of a grander embodiment of fantasy, than the dun and dry material we typically dream up, discarded in an eyeblink upon waking.
As Alex wrote recently, many of the early Beatles songs are meant for a particular ideal listener: a 14-year-old girl, the kind the band saw swooning for them at the Cavern. The words on the record sleeves--"Please Please Me," "From Me to You," "Hold Me Tight," "I''ll Get You," "Thank You Girl," "Do You Want to Know a Secret"--are also instructions, communiques, sales pitches.
Irving Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" has the same intentions, if more universal in its aims. Sexless, tireless, it aims solely for you to listen to it, to fall under its spell, to obey its orders.
So "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is the first true 20th Century pop song, and it isn't ragtime at all, of course: it's a standard verse/chorus/verse, as Kurt Cobain would groan many decades later. The "ragtime" that the song promises occurs off stage. We only get the warm up, the come-on. And it's just as compelling as the actual product. Maybe even more compelling. No ragtime composition of 1911 is as good as Berlin's piece, which made him immortal; none remains as fresh as his song, which still sounds as though it's looking for a new angle.
Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead opens with "There is an art to the building up of suspense," which could be the precis of "Alexander's Ragtime Band." The song works best as a duet, as found in the classic Collins and Harlan recording of 1911. Picture two sharps, parked on a street corner in their spats and suits, talking to each other as though they've never met.
Ain't ya goin'? one begins.
Where ya goin'? the other lobs back.
They want you out of your house, they want to shuttle you down the street, down to the carnival, into the pool hall, so you can hear the band, so you can buy some booze, so you can buy a lottery ticket that won't pay off, so you can get your pocket picked, blow some money on the girls, or on the boys, get drunk, buy drinks, get sold on some elixirs, some religion. And all the song wants is for you to remember it, to hum it, to buy it and go and play it and plug it yourself--it only wants to perpetuate.
John Lennon once described the essence of the Beatles' music as "be here now," which is the universal pop credo, which is the con man's credo, and that of "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and the century of fakers to come. What's this? You haven't heard? Who's that? Wake up! Come out! Join us! Listen to this! This way! Move! It's so natural, the pitchmen say, that you'll want to go to war.
Recorded in Camden, NJ, on 23 May 1911 and released as Victor 16908; find here.
Stella Mayhew's "That Devilin' Tune," obscure where "Alexander's Ragtime Band" is eternal, is an answer to Berlin's song, a buyer's testimonial. The job's done, the marks have left town, the carnival's moved on to the next city, but there's a woman left behind who is no longer the same: she's hooked, bewitched, her life turned upside down. "That Devilin' Tune" is her testimony.
Recorded ca. April 1911 and released ca. August as Edison Amberol 744 (identified as "De Develin' Tune"); in this archive. (It also bequeathed the title to Allen Lowe's four-part, 36-CD box set and book).
Bela Bartók's Allegro Barbaro for Solo Piano (Sz. 49) is something of his own devilin' tune--it's likely his most famous piano composition, one Bartok often played to close out a recital, or as an encore. In it he took cues from the Hungarian and Romanian folk musics he had been excavating (such as his leaps from Phrygian to Dorian to Lydian modes) and drummed out his interpretations over 200 bars of relentless rhythms. ("Were it not for Bartók's compositional checks and balances, the piece might have degenerated into a machine-like percussion," Halsey Stevens once wrote.) A sister to what Igor Stravinsky would do a few years later in Rite of Spring, Allegro Barbaro is a celebration of the "primitive" as only a post-Romantic European composer could conceive.
"Difficulties include wide octave and chordal leaps, balancing octave melodies over offbeat accompaniments, and endurance." (David Yeomans--my emphasis). Performers often sacrifice the allegro for the barbaro, Yeomans adds, with the result that a sub-par performance of this piece becomes "an avalanche of relentless noise."
This performance, which I believe manages to avoid such a fate, is by György Sándor; find here.
"Canhanibalmo Rag" finds Arthur Pryor's Band out on the tiles, the work of a decade's worth of pushing away from the exacting temporal standards of Pryor's old employer, John Philip Sousa. As Pryor said, "The regulation bands never got over being a little bit embarrassed at syncopating. The stiff-backed old fellows felt it was beneath their dignity." Not so here--the band easily slides between the drive of a field march and the slinkier playing of a dance hall.
This was as far upcountry as Pryor would go: while he seemed to have assembled all the elements of early jazz by the time he cut this track, he never recorded any jazz, although he lived until World War II.
"Canhanibalmo" is likely a play on "cannibal," or, as an artlessly racist 1921 edition of Jacob's Band Monthly put it, in reference to the song's title: "Chow time in Darkest Africa. Wow!"
Recorded in Camden, NJ, on 8 May 1911 and released as Victor 16883; on Real Ragtime.
Grupo Bahianinho, which recorded at least three tracks around 1911, is only mentioned in a few scattered footnotes. They most likely were, as their name suggests, a band based in the Brazilian state of Bahian: two of their extant recordings, "Bambino" and "Destimino" are guitar-mandolin duets, while "El Cavito" is a full-band performance (which makes me wonder if the latter's perhaps been misidentified).
All are on Vol. 1 of That Devilin' Tune.
Claude Debussy's first book of Preludes for piano were written between 1909 and mid-1910. Debussy didn't intend them to be performed as a whole, and gave each piece a distinct, at times gnomic title. They remain some of the most beautiful, entrancing things crafted in the past century; unknowable, precise, becalmed, eccentric, ghost-music.
"Voiles" ("Veils" or "Sails") is built on the whole-tone scale; "La Fille aux Cheveux du Lin" ("The Girl With the Flaxen Hair") "has a melody of the sort that begs to be whistled in the street" (Alex Ross); "Des Pas Sur La Neige" ("Footprints in the Snow") marks the somber progress of a four-note pattern, assembling and drifting apart--the progress of a cloud, or a coagulating thought (see score below).
These recordings are by the late Paul Jacobs, one of Debussy's finest interpreters. Jacobs was one of the first artists to die of AIDS-related causes in 1983; his version of the complete Preludes is here.


text:
Live From Silver City
Avelino Maestas
Photographer/Writer/Editor
Madrid throws in the towl
by Avelino Maestas
in Elections
Heath Haussamen has the goods:
Democrat Patricia Madrid conceded the 1st Congressional District race to Republican Heather Wilson this morning.
However, according to the Albuquerque Journal, the state Democratic Party might ask for a partial recount.
Madrid, according to the newspaper, decided against a recount because she did not believe it would change the outcome. Party Chair John Wertheim said he may ask for a hand tally of 2 percent of ballots to test the accuracy of the machines that count votes under the new paper ballot system.
Madrid, 60, leaves office as the state's attorney general at the end of the year, but there is speculation that she could make a run for U.S. Senate in 2008 or governor in 2010.
DC-01 Heather Wilson New Mexico Elections Patricia Madrid
Afternoon Update
It looks like there are still several thousand (3,700?) votes remaining to be counted in the CD-1 race between Heather Wilson and Patricia Madrid. As I write this, Wilson maintains a 1,000-vote lead over Madrid. We may be waiting until the end of the week for a final canvas.
Nationally, it looks like Jim Webb will eek out a 7,000 lead in Virginia, which is a huge number of votes to overcome should Allen seek a recount. Some conservatives are now calling on George Allen to call it quits.
Off to a community-relations meeting at Western New Mexico University, but I'll have the latest in a few hours.
2006 Election Heather Wilson New Mexico Elections Patricia Madrid
Wednesday morning update
So, none of the races here in Grant County were affected by anything overnight (for more on those races, check here).
Regionally, it looks like Al Kissling pulled in 40 percent of the vote against Steve Pearce, a remarkable number considering Kissling's lack of funding and political experience. He performed better than Gary King did in 2004, and that's saying something.
Up north, it looks like we'll be waiting until at least this afternoon to see the outcome of the CD-1 race between Heather Wilson and Patricia Madrid. Right now, with more than 99 percent of precincts reporting, Wilson holds a .4 percent lead over Madrid. Several thousand absentee ballots likely won't be counted until later today.
Overall, however, it was an incredible election for Democrats. As I type this, the NY Times is reporting 27 pickups in the U.S. House and four in the Senate — Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. There are still 14 undecided house races, some of which will see a recount and others that will require a runoff. For the Senate, all eyes are on Virginia and Montana. It's likely that Jim Webb and Jon Tester will pick up those seats for Democrats. If that happens, both houses of Congress would see a switch from Republican control.
Also, looks like Democrats were able to make additional gains in governor's mansions, and in state legislatures as well:
The wave of voter discontent that put Democrats in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives also hit state legislatures, where the party won control of more chambers than Republicans.
Democrats picked up control of at least nine chambers in Tuesday's election, winning the House and Senate in Iowa and New Hampshire, the House in Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, and Indiana, and the Wisconsin Senate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"The Democrats have won pretty much across the board," said Tim Storey, an elections analyst at the nonpartisan group.
More later!
2006 Election Al Kissling Heather Wilson New Mexico Elections Patricia Madrid Steve Pearce
Tune in to CATS
We're on CATS — channels 17 and 19 on Grant County cable — starting at 7:15. We'll bring you the latest on election results in the county, state and nationwide.
2006 Election New Mexico Elections Silver City
4:30 turnout update
Well, so far it looks like Grant County will see an incredible turnout, at least by recent standards, in today's election.
I visited 7 precincts this afternoon to check on turnout and see if there had been any problems. Uniformly, poll workers told me the day had been a smooth one and there had been no problems with equipment.
In addition, turnout has been strong. In addition to early voting (which was at 22 percent countywide), the seven precincts reported total turnout of 1,210 out of 7,664 registered voters. The precincts I visited, Nos. 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22 and 30, represent about one-third of the registered voters in Grant County. Combined, they came out to about 15.8 percent turnout. If that holds true throughout the County, and throughout the evening, we'll be doing great for voter turnout:
Here's the data:
A few more observations: I saw Mary Ann Sedillo, candidate for District 1 County Commission, at Diane's for lunch. She's one of the few candidates today that doesn't face an opponent, so I guess we shouldn't begrudge her a good meal while the rest of the candidates are scrambling all over the county.
Also, I'm blogging from the Grant County Clerk's office. The clerk, Howie Morales tells me that there have been a few incidents of candidates' signs being placed too close to precinct location, but nothing worse than that as far as campaign issues.
2006 Election New Mexico Elections
(Almost) Final Early Voting Figures
There was a huge influx of early voters on Friday and Saturday, if you compare the numbers from Thursday to the numbers released by Grant County clerk Howie Morales yesterday:
So, it looks like the party breakdown of the early voters remained unchanged, with 66 percent of early voters calling themselves Democrats. Registered Republicans made up 24.6 percent of early voters, while 9.4 percent where registered as independents, greens or something else.
The same pattern holds true for in-person voters, who made up the overwhelming majority of those voting early:
The only big change in party breakdown comes from absentee ballots:
These numbers do not reflect the final figures for absentee ballots, which can be turned in until 7 p.m. tonight, though the in-person figures are solid. It will be interesting to watch some of the close races, and see if the absentee ballots make much of an impact. They can't be counted until after 7.
Clerk's office just told me that early returns should be available shortly. Stay tuned.
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I was born and raised in Silver City, New Mexico, where I developed a passion for photography among the mountains of the Gila Wilderness. I currently live in Baltimore, where I'm exploring the city on my bike.
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Live from Silver City is copyright 2005-2014 by Avelino Maestas.


Through it all, Collège Boréal Vipères badminton head coach Mike Dionne could not have asked for much more from his crew as the six-person team competed last weekend at OCAA Regionals in Toronto.
While not all results may have gone their way, the Vipères did manage to secure one silver medal performance courtesy of the women's doubles team of Lynn Michel and Emilie Roy, their podium placement not at all a surprise to the coach who combined their talents.
"What an exciting year we've had," stated Michel, a 56 year-old rookie with the team after serving for many, many years as the Boréal head badminton coach, before opting to pursue her post-nursing retirement by enrolling in the Carpentry for Women program in Sudbury.
In Emilie Roy, she has found a partner with three years of OCAA badminton experience already under her belt, and a legacy of success that has included two previous trips to provincials, including two years ago as a member of the Vipères women's doubles entry.
In that sense, Roy can attest to the similarities, in the area of style of play, with her current partnership compared to the tandem which also enjoyed a great deal of success in 2016-2017 (Emilie Roy/Michelle Kozlowskyj). "My partner two years ago was better with the delicate play at the net, and I'm better at the back," said Roy.
While the men's doubles team of Jonathan Boucher and Zackary Brunet would not secure a 3rd place or better finish to advance, their record of 2-3 marked two more victories than the Boréal men enjoyed 12 months ago. "I think we did well, but I know we could have done better," said Brunet, a 20 year-old native of Ottawa.
Garnering experience was exactly the name of the game for the mixed doubles team of Danika Mayer and Luc Demers. Completing her first year in Social Work at Boréal, Mayer brings a wealth of club background with the Midland Mavericks badminton crew, near her hometown of Tiny (Ontario), as well as a high-school badminton resumé that included two trips to OFSAA as part of a women's doubles team.
Despite this wealth of knowledge, there remained an adjustment to be endured as the 18 year old freshman kicked off her post-secondary career. "The training is more intense here, and improved my badminton a lot more," said Mayer.
As for his women's doubles pairing that leaves for the OCAA Championships on February 15th and 16th at the University of Toronto – Mississauga, Dionne believes they've got a shot at a medal.
That said, given a badminton cycle that included Michel coaching at Boréal while Dionne competed for Cambrian, moving on to the duo co-coaching with the Vipères more recently, and now to accompanying one of his mentors as her coach, Dionne is sure the experience will be memorable, regardless of the results.


David M. Hernandez, Vedder Price Shareholder and member of the firm's Global Transportation Finance team will present at Corporate Jet Investor's Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance conference in Hong Kong on June 25-26.
Mr. Hernandez's segment, "Transactional and Operator Risks: What can really go wrong when things go wrong?," will discuss the enforcement of financier's rights and managing-operator failure with a case study involving the CAMAC/Kase Lawal incident in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For more information on the 2013 Corporate Jet & Helicopter Finance conference, please click here.


Protein power without the powder! Ditch the proceeded chemical laden protein bars and JUST EAT REAL FOOD. Our ShareBars and ProteinKrunch Bars pack a whopping 11-16 grams of protein per serving and taste homemade with no added preservatives, artificial sweeteners, refined sugar or processed protein powders. ShareBars and ProteinKrunch Bars are a great way to start the day with a cup of coffee or the perfect protein-packed snack for your backpack.


Integrated marketing means a single strategy that works in all your marketing channels.
A multi-year vision for your company or product.
Our approach is defined by our ability to deliver an integrated marketing plan, not a fragmented checklist. This single strategy is reinforced by multi-faceted marketing components which are tailored to meet your growth objectives.
The primary goal of any public relations campaign, no matter how large or small, is to build relationships.
We deliver strategic public relations, proactive responsive service and exceptional value. Our reputation is built on our ability to produce real, positive business results for our clients.
A strong brand identity helps create competitive differentiation and impacts profitability.
A company's brand identity represents the DNA of the entire organization, and is not limited to colors and fonts. Our approach to brand identity incorporates differentiated visual design, but more importantly, it focuses on how the brand acts.
Brand management from concept, to launch, to growth.
Product marketing includes building a new product or enhancing a flailing brand. This marketing expertise requires constant nurturing, listening, adjustments, and focus. We launch new products with creative go-to-market campaigns, and we revive struggling products by racing toward understanding customer needs.
We become your champion. We embrace your business, your people and your culture. Together, we'll create the best and brightest ideas that resonate most with your target audience, thereby making the largest impact.
Developing a digital strategy that will generate "buzz" and ultimately move the needle for a business or organization requires creativity and true expertise that only comes from past experiences. Our approach to digital strategy is one that is grounded in research and purposefully focused on integration at every turn.


CRC PROJECT: 2.5.1 - "TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE POPULATIONS OF BENEFICIALS IN VINEYARDS: IDENTIFYING AND TESTING INDICATORS"
Does mass rearing of field collected Trichogramma brassicae wasps influence acceptance of European corn borer eggs?
Ecologically Sustainable Chemical Recommendations for Agricultural Pest Control?
Effects of cold storage on field and laboratory performance of Trichogramma carverae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and the response of three Trichogramma spp. (T. carverae, T. nr. brassicae and T. funiculatum) to cold.
Field and laboratory evidence for acclimation without costs in an egg parasitoid.
Field validation of laboratory derived IOBC toxicity ratings for natural enemies in commercial vineyards.
Identification and characterization of Trichogramma carverae species from south-eastern Australia using the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) region of the ribosomal gene complex.
Individual level trade offs and artefacts in the egg parasitoid Trichogramma carverae) (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).
Influence of reduced irrigation on beneficial invertebrates in vineyards.
Is there genetic structure in populations of Helicoverpa armigera from Australia?
Laboratory fecundity as predictor of field success in Trichogramma carverae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).
Shelterbelts in agricultural landscapes suppress invertebrates.
The effects of sulphur on Trichogramma egg parasitoids in vineyards: measuring toxic effects and establishing release windows.
The flood bug, Australiodillo bifrons (Isopoda: Armadillidae): A potential pest of cereals in Australia?
Grape production in Australia: Integrated strategies and bioindicators for sustainability.
Developing Trichogramma as a pest management tool.Pp 65-85 in Predators and Parasitoids. Ed O.Koul and G.S.Dhaliwal. Taylor and Francis London.


India, July 17, 2018 – McAfee, the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company, today announced McAfee MVISION, a first-of-its-kind portfolio featuring new McAfee innovations designed to give customers a comprehensive, flexible defense system that manages their security products based on their needs today and in the future as they continue to move to modern device operating systems and to the cloud. MVISION strengthens the device as a control point in security architectures by delivering simplified management, stronger Windows security, behavior analytics, and threat defense for Android and iOS devices. Plus, with its single integrated management workspace, MVISION empowers enterprise security professionals to proactively and seamlessly manage, optimize, and integrate security controls across any combination of McAfee advanced protection and Windows 10 native capabilities.
"McAfee ePO is one of the forefathers of integrated security automation and orchestration. Given that security talent is a scarce asset, today's security professionals require the power of traditional ePO, but delivered as a simplified experience, making them both efficient AND effective. McAfee MVISION addresses the needs for security automation and simplification across both McAfee and third-party tools, even including tools such as Microsoft Defender. Provided as a SaaS-delivered workspace, MVISION combines analytics, policy management and events in a manner that enterprise and midmarket can appropriate," according to Frank Dickson, Research Vice President, Security Products with IDC.
New task-oriented security workspace: Designed with optimization and situational awareness in mind – allowing administrators to clearly see their security posture, and complete tasks with 50 percent fewer clicks. The new security workspace integrates defenses across devices, operating systems, McAfee products, and third-party technologies to visualize threats and immediately pivot into action.
Private ePO deployed in Amazon Web Services (AWS): Eliminates the need for a separate database and physical assets, while providing customized control of the management infrastructure and configuration data. An ePO AWS Quick Start enables organizations to be up and running in less than 1 hour.
McAfee MVISION Endpoint manages and extends the native security built into Windows 10 to deliver a broader collective defense with less effort than other approaches in the market today. Utilizing a lightweight agent, McAfee MVISION Endpoint complements the Windows 10 built-in security with specifically tuned signatureless advanced threat protection. This cooperative approach is managed through McAfee MVISION ePO to defend against both sophisticated file-less and file-based attacks without the complexity of multiple management systems.
McAfee MVISION Mobile provides visibility and threat defense for iOS and Android devices to ensure they are safeguarded just like any other device. McAfee MVISION Mobile provides always-on protection no matter how a device is connected. By analyzing deviations to device behavior, McAfee MVISION Mobile makes determinations about indicators of compromise to accurately identify the advanced device, application, and network-based attacks. Visibility and control of mobile assets are now unified through McAfee MVISION ePO to provide a single console to manage security across devices.
McAfee MVISION will begin releasing in August 2018.


The Macalope Weekly: WWDC, week two!
WWDC itself may be over, but it ain't over for the shouting. People are still hot about AT&T being so sucky and all, and who doesn't like price cuts? Silly pundits who keep trying to manufacture bad news about Apple, that's who!
After last week's upgrade pricing brouhaha (kerfuffle? imbroglio?), people still aren't very happy with AT&T. While some have come around to the Macalope's sensible terminological suggestion, there are still people loosely throwing words around.
Writing for Wired, Brian X. Chen actually calls it a "tax". That's even worse than "subsidy." It is most assuredly not a tax.
Well, fear not, valued AT&T customer. AT&T has heard your plaintive wailing in the wilderness and has taken action. Yes, AT&T, your cellular phone network friend, has announced that it is extending so-called "subsidized" pricing to more customers.
Cool! What about on tethering?
Writing for Datamation, Kingsley-Hughes asks Can Apple Survive its Move Toward Mass Market?
Psst. Adrian. Have you looked at the iPod and iPhone sales figures? It already has.
By branding what are essentially bog standard PC and portable media player parts inside a box with the Apple logo on it, Apple has amassed a $25 billion dollar pile of cash.
Adrian, Adrian, Adrian, Adrian, Adrian, Adrian, Adrian, Adrian.
You're not really saying that Apple just slaps a logo on something and somehow manages to sell it for more, are you? No, you couldn't be. Let's move on.
That's somewhat true. But the great thing about a 35 percent profit margin is you can cut your prices a lot more than your competitors and still make a profit.
But times are tough and people are now far more reluctant to part with their dollars for a logo.
Okay, now you're just doing it on purpose.
Then there was the $29 "Snow Leopard" upgrade for existing "Leopard" users. This is, without a doubt, Apple's way of sticking it to Microsoft for all those "Laptop Hunter" ads that portrayed Apple as the expensive option.
If by "without a doubt" you mean "what razor and who's this guy named Occam?" Sure, pricing Snow Leopard at $29 is a great way to do something unspeakable in Microsoft's punch bowl with the festive "Windows 7" label on it. But much more than that, Snow Leopard is mostly a performance and stability release. There are some great things about it under the hood, but people generally pay for features, and Snow Leopard isn't about delivering end-user feature enhancements. The low price is more about Apple customers than it is about Microsoft.
So, according to Kingsley-Hughes, price cuts are supposedly bad because they say something about Apple struggling in a tough economy (apparently no one else is?). But worse, they let the riffraff in.
Your brand new, super shiny $399 iPhone 3G S 32GB doesn't give you much in the way of bragging rights when the other guy has bought what amounts to the same thing for a third of what you did.
OK, "$399" is probably just a typo, but the Macalope's pretty sure any math professor worth his salt would give you at best a D for coming up with the right answer based on the wrong inputs.
You could try explaining to folks how your CPU is faster, how you have more RAM, and how your camera can record video in spectacular VGA. I doubt you would get very far.
This from a guy who writes a blog entitled Hardware 2.0. That's right, Adrian, no one gets any of that. For the entire history of the computer industry, people have been buying machines based solely on which had the shinier enclosure.
So what is it you ostensibly cover, anyway?
If you hold Apple stock, be careful. Keep a close eye on Apple's sales and profit margins over the next few quarters.
YES. You should totally take that money out of Apple and put it into one of the other technology companies reaping high margins in this environment.
Face it, Adrian. Apple may not run as fast in the mud, but it's still the best pony in the race.


JERUSALEM — It came as no surprise when Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said that if Israelis wanted their two captured soldiers returned, they'd have to release Samir Kuntar.
Kuntar's release was first demanded during the 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro. Since then, Palestinian and Lebanese groups have repeated the demand whenever a prisoner exchange has been discussed.
On Saturday evening, several Arabic stations reported about him, and the Hezbollah television station al Manar ran a feature about him that asked, "Isn't he worth a war?
Kuntar is the longest serving Lebanese and the fourth longest serving prisoner of all in Israel today, and his name is always at the top of the list of prisoners wanted released.


1) The first annual Brewer's Bash at Eleven Madison Park is being billed as the beer version of the restaurant's insanely fun Kentucky Derby party. "The goal is to recreate the Derby party for beer," says Schaffner. "Eleven Madison Park came to us to collaborate, and they are really serious about the beer at their restaurant." The draw: Six brewers and their craft beers, two live bands, a cask tasting with Brooklyn Brewery's Garrett Oliver and six beer cocktails paired with chef Daniel Humm's beer pretzels and beer cheese, foie gras terrine, pickled vegetables and other beer-friendly foods.
2) As awesome as the Brewer's Bash sounds, Schaffner's pick for the must-hit event of the week is the beer-pairing dinner at Mas Farmhouse on September 29. Roving chef-brewer Sean Z. Paxton is teaming up with Mas chef Galen Zamarra for a six-course meal that will pair beers from six different breweries with dishes such as orange-glazed escargot.
3) Must-try beer: Pretty Things will be debuting a brew from Edwardian times at Swift Hibernian Lounge.
4) New brewery to seek out: Schaffner is excited about the beers being made by Barrier, a tiny new brewery in Oceanside, New York. Try them all week at Dive Bar.


text:
Q: How do I center a div in another div?

I want div 2 to be in the center of div1 no matter what, no matther how much the div2 width changes. Atm the div2 only get centered of the containers width.
How can I do this? Is JS the last way to go?

A: CSS flexbox does this with the justify-content and align-items attributes.
Style a class named something like bullseye as:
.bullseye {
   display: flex;
   justify-content: center;
   align-items: center;
   }

Then add the class to your div1 element:

         This box is centered

         horizontally and vertically.

Fiddle with it:
https://jsfiddle.net/1rd6tcra/
Documentation:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_Flexible_Box_Layout/Using_CSS_flexible_boxes

A: You give the outer div a width and the inner one you give margin 0 auto.
#container{
width: 100px;
}

#div1{
margin: 0 auto;
}

A: check this code below

        here is my div2

make sure that your inner div has a certain width and it doesn't matter whatever the width of parent.
the css code is below
#div2{
  margin:auto;
}

you can check this fiddle

A: The modern way to do this is:
#div1 {
  position: relative:
}
#div2 {
  position: relative;
  transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
  top: 50%;
  left: 50%;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This is a placeholder page for Porscha Bolden, which means this person is not currently on this site. We do suggest using the tools below to find Porscha Bolden.
You are visiting the placeholder page for Porscha Bolden. This page is here because someone used our placeholder utility to look for Porscha Bolden. We created this page automatically in hopes Porscha Bolden would find it. If you are not Porscha Bolden, but are an alumni of Springfield High School Springfield, IL, register on this site for free now.


text:
Q: How to get retrofit response in kotlin I'm trying to parse json using retrofit, but this is the first time i'm using retrofit
this is the json looks like
    {
    "results": [
        {
            "idEvent": "576561",
            "idSoccerXML": "389946",
            "strEvent": "Liverpool vs Cardiff",
            "strFilename": "English Premier League 2018-10-27 Liverpool vs Cardiff",
            "strSport": "Soccer",
            "idLeague": "4328",
            "strLeague": "English Premier League",
            "strSeason": "1819",
            "strDescriptionEN": null,
            "strHomeTeam": "Liverpool",
            "strAwayTeam": "Cardiff",
            "intHomeScore": "4",
            "intRound": "10",
            "intAwayScore": "1",
        },
     {.
      .
      .
}]

i'm using retrofit to get the data.
this is my interface
interface INetworkAPI {

@GET("api/v1/json/1/eventslast.php?id=133602")
fun getAllPosts(): Call<Team>

}
and this is where i trying to callback but i don't really understand
rv__list_posts?.layoutManager = LinearLayoutManager(this.requireContext())

    val retrofit = Retrofit.Builder().addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create(GsonBuilder().create()))
            .addCallAdapterFactory(RxJava2CallAdapterFactory.create())
            .baseUrl("https://www.thesportsdb.com/").build()

    val postsApi = retrofit.create(INetworkAPI::class.java)

    var response = postsApi.getAllPosts()

    response.observeOn(AndroidSchedulers.mainThread()).subscribeOn(IoScheduler()).subscribe {
        rv__list_posts.adapter = MainAdapter(it, this.requireContext())
    }

i don't know how to callback it in the good way and it still error becaouse it still using observeOn.
please help me if you know

A: Example on Java:
JSON
{
        "employeeList": [
        {
            "name": "Gretchen Rodriquez",
            "email": "gretchenrodriquez@trasola.com",
            "phone": "6204732096"
        },
        {
            "name": "Sharon Harris",
            "email": "sharonharris@trasola.com",
            "phone": "2184582386"
        },
        {
            "name": "Serrano Haynes",
            "email": "serranohaynes@trasola.com",
            "phone": "1434162816"
        },
        {
            "name": "Wagner Thornton",
            "email": "wagnerthornton@trasola.com",
            "phone": "5494622467"
        },
        {
            "name": "Mooney Dawson",
            "email": "mooneydawson@trasola.com",
            "phone": "3894433413"
        }
        ]
}

MODEL
public class Employee {
        @SerializedName("name")
        private String name;
        @SerializedName("email")
        private String email;
        @SerializedName("phone")
        private String phone;

        public Employee(String name, String email, String phone) {
            this.name = name;
            this.email = email;
            this.phone = phone;
        }

        public String getName() {
            return name;
        }

        public void setName(String name) {
            this.name = name;
        }

        public String getEmail() {
            return email;
        }

        public void setEmail(String email) {
            this.email = email;
        }

        public String getPhone() {
            return phone;
        }

        public void setPhone(String phone) {
            this.phone = phone;
        }
}

LIST
public class EmployeeList {
        @SerializedName("employeeList")
        private ArrayList<Employee> employeeList;

        public ArrayList<Employee> getEmployeeArrayList() {
            return employeeList;
        }

        public void setEmployeeArrayList(ArrayList<Employee> employeeArrayList) {
            this.employeeList = employeeArrayList;
        }
}

More: https://medium.com/@jacinth9/android-retrofit-2-0-tutorial-89de3c714c63


Meet our Talon stool, with a matte black finish and rustic bamboo adjustable seat. Simply spin seat up or down for desired height.
What is the size of the base of the talon rustic wood stool and the lowest to highest seat height adjustment?
The lowest is 16.5" and highest is 22.4"


text:
Capitol View®
Groups sue over cut to disability jobs program
Briana Bierschbach
June 12, 2018 11:10 a.m.
The messy end of the 2018 legislative session has triggered a lawsuit.
Two groups representing Minnesotans living with disabilities filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper. The lawsuit seeks an emergency injunction to stop a 7 percent cut to programs that help placed disabled individuals in jobs. The cut will go into effect on July 1.
"This cut will cause irreparable harm to our members and the people with disabilities they support as we are already in the midst of a workforce crisis due in large part to lack of wage competition," Sue Schettle, CEO of The Association of Residential Resources of Minnesota, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "Since the complete breakdown of the legislative process failed to produce a sustainable fix to the regulatory dispute driving DHS to enact the cut, we are forced to seek injunctive relief from federal court to address this critical issue."
It's a complex funding issue that was first triggered back in February after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services withdrew its match of a 3 percent rate adjustment for the programs. The state, in turn, didn't meet its match of the funding, leading to a total cut of 7 percent, according to the groups. The issue was addressed in a 990-page budget bill that the Legislature sent to Gov. Mark Dayton, but he vetoed the proposal after session ended over objections to numerous other provisions.
Piper said the agency will "carefully review the lawsuit" filed today.
"DHS has initiated and supported numerous efforts focused on the needs and wants of people with disabilities and to create a more transparent, consistent and fair system statewide," she said.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs say an injunction is needed immediately because people living with disabilities could lose their jobs. If it's granted, the groups want to work with lawmakers to pass a permanent fix early next session.


In this article, you will find many examples where "in silico" methods and computing can change biology. In drug discovery, it's really interesting to see that it allows us to make multiple virtual assays and only synthesize and test only promising compounds.
It's a new era of modeling and simulation, which is accelerating discovery for drugs, vaccines, medical devices, materials, and many other products. For years, simulations have been used for physical systems, to cheaply and rapidly test hundreds of prototype designs. And now they are spreading. When it comes to biomedicine, simulations are often the only viable option to test thousands of drug formulations — both from ethical and practical standpoints.


After long Absence, Barry Finegold Returns Swinging!
Now the Real Healing Begins!
The Time For Talk is Over, Now it's Time to Vote!
The City of Lawrence's Line in the Sand!
Revolving Door: Will Lawrence's Politics Ever Change?
Searching for the Next Mayor of the "Great" City of Lawrence!
So, What's Good In The "Great" City of Lawrence?
Note to Lawrence Citizens, Beware of False Prophets!


Jan and Jason train for a kick box event when suddenly Chesko and Kuno enter the space. Chesko and his mate want to watch them, however, they start making fun of their exercises. Jason feels irritated and Chesko wants a wrestling match with them both. This do not let themselves say Jan and Jason twice and they catch themselves Chesko. However, he counters fantastically and brings both to ground. As a result everybody decides to start man against man. Jan against Kuno and Chesko against Jason and it has the latter Fight particularly in itself. At the end has to do itself Chesko (which means, he is the best in the space) then again against both opponents in a 2on1 match put through.


text:
<?php

namespace Harmony\Component\ModularRouting\Metadata;

use Symfony\Component\Routing\RouteCollection;

/**
 * Interface for objects that hold the metadata configuration of modules.
 *
 * @author Tim Goudriaan <tim@harmony-project.io>
 */
interface ModuleMetadataInterface
{
    /**
     * Returns the name of the metadata
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getName();

    /**
     * Returns the type value of the metadata
     *
     * @return string
     */
    public function getType();

    /**
     * Returns a collection of routes
     *
     * @return RouteCollection
     */
    public function getRoutes();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Easy DIY Hair Conditioner for Natural Hair – Oh, The Things We'll Make!
We hope you can find what you need here. We always effort to show a picture with HD resolution or at least with perfect images. Easy DIY Hair Conditioner for Natural Hair – Oh, The Things We'll Make! – how to make leave in conditioner for natural hair can be beneficial inspiration for those who seek an image according specific categories; you can find it in this site. Finally all pictures we have been displayed in this site will inspire you all..


text:
10th October 2021: John McCusker- "30th Anniversary Tour"Postponed
Posted: June 2, 2014 in Postponed concerts
John McCusker- "30th Anniversary Tour"
Sunday 10th October 2021
The Queens Hall Edinburgh
Tickets from The Queens Hall Box Office & Tickets Scotland 0131 220 3234
Bar open 7pm, venue open 7.30pm
8pm start
In celebration of his 30th Anniversary as a professional musician, John McCusker will release 'A Best Of' album in 2021 featuring tracks from his solo records and TV and film soundtracks over the last 30 years.
John will also publish a book of his tunes 'The Collection' featuring 100 original compositions. There will also be a brand new solo album released to coincide with the UK Tour. The John McCusker Band, featuring some of the finest traditional musicians that John has worked with over the last 30 years, will embark on an extensive UK tour in September/October 2021.
In celebration of his 25th Anniversary John McCusker released 'Hello, Goodbye' on April 29th 2016 and embarked on a UK and European tour. A wonderfully evocative set of compositions, 'Hello, Goodbye' was composed while John was on a world tour with Mark Knopfler and featured an all-star cast of handpicked musicians with whom John has been fortunate to work with over the past 25 years and was John's first solo album in thirteen years, the first on his new record label Under One Sky Records and the first recorded in his state of the art studio, built over two years in a bothy dating from 1779. Designed by legendary record producer and studio designer Calum Malcolm, the new studio is a winning combination of the traditional and the new, much like John's music itself!
Born in Bellshill, near Glasgow, John began playing whistle and fiddle as a child and joined the legendary folk outfit Battlefield Band aged 17. During his 11 years with the band, he also released his first two solo recordings, 1995's self-titled debut and 2000's 'Yella Hoose'. His most recent albums include 'Under One Sky' and the reissues of 'Yella Hoose' and 'Goodnight Ginger' remastered deluxe.
John has long been renowned for his skill at transcending musical boundaries: striving to keep his music fresh and exciting, never leaving the past behind but always embracing new sonic adventures. As a live and studio guest he has shared stages with David Gilmour, Paul Weller, Paolo Nutini, Teenage Fanclub, The Proclaimers, Graham Coxon, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, Eddi Reader, Julie Fowlis, Vicente Amigo, Nolwenn Leroy, Jerry Douglas… Since 2008, he has been a member of Mark Knopfler's band, playing arenas around the world including a double bill with Bob Dylan at The Hollywood Bowl & 20 nights at the Royal Albert Hall.
An expanding portfolio as a producer features debut albums by Kris Drever and Idlewild's Roddy Woomble. He's also manned the controls for top folk chanteuses Eddi Reader, Kate Rusby, Heidi Talbot, Eliza Carthy and Linda Thompson. Film and TV work includes soundtracks for the movie 'Heartlands' (2002) and '16 Years of Alcohol' (2003), Billy Connolly's 'World Tour of New Zealand' (2004), Jennifer Saunders BBC sitcom 'Jam and Jerusalem' (2008) and 'Starlings' sitcom for Sky TV (2012).
John was awarded the coveted BBC Radio 2 Musician of the Year in 2003 and also The Spirit of Scotland Award for music in 1999 and again in 2009. 2016 saw John receive the Good Tradition Award and perform with his band at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at The Royal Albert Hall. In 2019 John received the Outstanding Music Performance at The Scottish Culture Awards.
The John McCusker Band will feature Ian Carr, Sam Kelly, Helen McCabe & Toby Shaer.
"One of the UK's most gifted and versatile musicians in any genre, John McCusker is equally in demand as a multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer."
(THE GUARDIAN)
30th October 2021: Heidi Talbot & Boo Hewerdine
15th June 2018: Heidi Talbot & John McCusker-special guest Adam Holmes


text:
A long-term disease crisis threatens the UK economy
A queue of ambulances outside the emergency department of the Royal London Hospital in November. 24, 2022, in London. In the UK, the number of 'economically inactive' people – those not working or looking for work – aged 16-64 has increased by more than 630,000 since 2019.
LONDON – Along with skyrocketing inflation and energy costs, a Brexit-related trade slump and a looming recession, the UK economy is being hit by a record number of workers claiming long-term illness.
The Office for National Statistics reported that between June and August 2022, around 2.5 million people cited long-term illness as the main reason for economic inactivity, an increase of around half million from 2019.
The number of 'economically inactive' people – those who are neither working nor looking for work – aged 16-64 has risen by more than 630,000 since 2019. Unlike other major economies, recent UK figures show no no sign that these lost workers are returning to the labor market, although inflation and energy costs are putting a lot of pressure on household finances.
The UK avoided massive job losses during the Covid-19 pandemic as the government's furlough program subsidized businesses to retain workers. But since the lockdown measures were lifted, the country has seen a labor market exodus of proportions unique among advanced economies.
In its report last month, the ONS said a number of factors could be behind the recent uptick, including NHS waiting lists at record highs, the aging of the population and the effects of the long Covid.
"Younger people have also seen some of the biggest relative increases, with some industries, such as wholesale and retail, being hit harder than others," the ONS said.
Although the effects of the above-mentioned problems have not been quantified, the report suggests that the increase has been driven by "other health problems or disabilities", "mental illnesses and nervous disorders" and "problems related to [the] back or neck".
Legacy of austerity
Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King's College London, told CNBC that the scale of the job market drain is likely a combination of long Covid; other pandemic-related health issues such as mental illness; and the current SNS crisis.
He also noted that factors that harm public health directly, such as increased waiting times for treatment, could have a knock-on effect: people may have to leave the workforce to care for family members sick
"It's worth remembering that the UK has been here before, possibly at least twice. In the early 1990s, the UK saw a strong recovery, with unemployment falling, after 'Black Wednesday' , but also saw a significant and sustained increase in the number of people claiming disability benefits," Portes said, adding that not working in general is bad for both health and employability.
"Clearly the government is not doing much about it. Apart from solving the crisis in the NHS, the other key policy area is support for sick and disabled people to return to work, and there is no enough of that, instead. the government is harassing Universal Credit people with penalties and fines that we know don't help much."
In his recent Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt announced that the government will ask more than 600,000 people on Universal Credit, a social security payment to households on low incomes or out of work, to meet with a "job coach" to set plans. to increase hours and income.
Hunt also announced a review of problems preventing re-entry into the labor market and pledged £280 million ($340.3 million) to "crack down on benefit fraud and errors" over the next two years.
Although the pandemic has greatly worsened the health crisis by leaving a hole in the UK economy, the rise in long-term illness claims really started in 2019 and economists see several possible reasons why the country has been uniquely vulnerable.
Portes suggested that the government's austerity policies – a decade of deep public spending cuts implemented after former prime minister David Cameron took office in 2010 and aimed at reining in the national debt – had a important role in leaving the UK exposed.
"The UK was particularly vulnerable because of austerity: NHS waiting lists were rising sharply and performance/satisfaction was falling well before the pandemic," Portes said.
"And support for those on incapacity and disability benefits was removed in the early 2010s. More generally, austerity has led to a steeper gradient in health outcomes by income/class."
Inequality and increasing waiting lists
This is borne out in national data: the ONS estimates that between 2018 and 2020, men living in the most deprived areas of England live on average 9.7 years less than those in the least deprived areas, with a gap of 7.9 years for women.
The ONS noted that both sexes saw "statistically significant increases in inequality in life expectancy at birth from 2015 to 2017".
Following the pandemic, NHS waiting lists grew at their fastest pace since records began in August 2007, a recent House of Commons report highlighted, with more than 7 million patients on the waiting list for consultant-led hospital treatment in England from September. . .
However, the report notes that this is not a recent phenomenon and that the waiting list has been growing rapidly since 2012.
"Before the pandemic, in December 2019, the waiting list was over 4.5 million, almost two million more than in December 2012, a 74% increase," he said.
"In other words, while the increase in waiting lists has been accelerated by the pandemic, it was also occurring for several years before the pandemic."
Former Bank of England policy chief Michael Saunders, now senior policy adviser at Oxford Economics, also told CNBC that the UK has been particularly hard hit by Covid in terms of severity, and that part of 'this may have been a result of the higher rates in the country. . of pre-existing health conditions, such as obesity, which may have been exacerbated by Covid.
"The UK is a relatively unequal country, so that may be part of the reason why, even if we've had the same wave of Covid as other countries, we could have a greater effect on public health, because if you like it, you have a greater effect on public health. queue of people who would be more affected by it," he added.
Saunders suggested that any government growth strategy should include measures to address these health challenges, which are now inextricable from the labor force participation rate and the wider economy.
"It's not just a health issue, it's an economic issue. It's important on both counts. I think it's important enough as a health issue, but it deserves additional importance because of the effects on potential production that then feed into 'these other economic problems . . .'
Kate 'absolutely determined' to change attitudes towards early years development


the following are trips that Jarod's journeys is currently featuring. join us for a great group trip/adventure!
Join us for a fun filled cruise up the Pacific Coast. Click this link for more information!
Join us for an exciting escape through the Caribbean. Click this link for more information about the cruise on the beautiful Carnival Magic!
not sure if you are a group traveler?


"I wanted to wait until I got home today to tell you how grateful I am for you. Last night, I was in no pain at all. I have had a (literal) pain in my neck for a very long time. That is completely gone now. I went to sleep at 8:30 and slept for 10 hours straight. This is pretty miraculous, considering I have not slept an entire night through for over a month." ~Client after a first visit, Coal Creek Canyon, CO.
"I am grateful to have found such a well organized, professional energy healing course. I am in awe of the content of the instructional books, the presentation by the well-prepared instructor and the amazing effectiveness of the work." ~Erin Reetz, Fox Island, WA.