text:
// Copyright (C) 2005, 2006 Douglas Gregor.

// Use, modification and distribution is subject to the Boost Software
// License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at
// http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)

// A test of the all_reduce() collective.
#include <boost/mpi/collectives/all_reduce.hpp>
#include <boost/mpi/communicator.hpp>
#include <boost/mpi/environment.hpp>
#include <boost/test/minimal.hpp>
#include <vector>
#include <algorithm>
#include <boost/serialization/string.hpp>
#include <boost/iterator/counting_iterator.hpp>
#include <boost/lexical_cast.hpp>
#include <numeric>

using boost::mpi::communicator;

// A simple point class that we can build, add, compare, and
// serialize.
struct point
{
  point() : x(0), y(0), z(0) { }
  point(int x, int y, int z) : x(x), y(y), z(z) { }

  int x;
  int y;
  int z;

 private:
  template<typename Archiver>
  void serialize(Archiver& ar, unsigned int /*version*/)
  {
    ar & x & y & z;
  }

  friend class boost::serialization::access;
};

std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& out, const point& p)
{
  return out << p.x << ' ' << p.y << ' ' << p.z;
}

bool operator==(const point& p1, const point& p2)
{
  return p1.x == p2.x && p1.y == p2.y && p1.z == p2.z;
}

bool operator!=(const point& p1, const point& p2)
{
  return !(p1 == p2);
}

point operator+(const point& p1, const point& p2)
{
  return point(p1.x + p2.x, p1.y + p2.y, p1.z + p2.z);
}

// test lexical order
bool operator<(const point& p1, const point& p2)
{
  return (p1.x < p2.x
          ? true
          : (p1.x > p2.x
             ? false
             : p1.y < p2.y ));
}

namespace boost { namespace mpi {

  template <>
  struct is_mpi_datatype<point> : public mpl::true_ { };

} } // end namespace boost::mpi

template<typename Generator, typename Op>
void
all_reduce_one_test(const communicator& comm, Generator generator,
                    const char* type_kind, Op op, const char* op_kind,
                    typename Generator::result_type init, bool in_place)
{
  typedef typename Generator::result_type value_type;
  value_type value = generator(comm.rank());

  using boost::mpi::all_reduce;
  using boost::mpi::inplace;

  if (comm.rank() == 0) {
    std::cout << "Reducing to " << op_kind << " of " << type_kind << "...";
    std::cout.flush();
  }

  value_type result_value;
  if (in_place) {
    all_reduce(comm, inplace(value), op);
    result_value = value;
  } else {
    result_value = all_reduce(comm, value, op);
  }

  // Compute expected result
  std::vector<value_type> generated_values;
  for (int p = 0; p < comm.size(); ++p)
    generated_values.push_back(generator(p));
  value_type expected_result = std::accumulate(generated_values.begin(),
                                               generated_values.end(),
                                               init, op);
  BOOST_CHECK(result_value == expected_result);
  if (result_value == expected_result && comm.rank() == 0)
    std::cout << "OK." << std::endl;

  (comm.barrier)();
}

template<typename Generator, typename Op>
void
all_reduce_array_test(const communicator& comm, Generator generator,
                      const char* type_kind, Op op, const char* op_kind,
                      typename Generator::result_type init, bool in_place)
{
  typedef typename Generator::result_type value_type;
  value_type value = generator(comm.rank());
  std::vector<value_type> send(10, value);

  using boost::mpi::all_reduce;
  using boost::mpi::inplace;

  if (comm.rank() == 0) {
      char const* place = in_place ? "in place" : "out of place";
      std::cout << "Reducing (" << place << ") array to " << op_kind << " of " << type_kind << "...";
      std::cout.flush();
  }
  std::vector<value_type> result;
  if (in_place) {
    all_reduce(comm, inplace(&(send[0])), send.size(), op);
    result.swap(send);
  } else {
    std::vector<value_type> recv(10, value_type());
    all_reduce(comm, &(send[0]), send.size(), &(recv[0]), op);
    result.swap(recv);
  }

  // Compute expected result
  std::vector<value_type> generated_values;
  for (int p = 0; p < comm.size(); ++p)
    generated_values.push_back(generator(p));
  value_type expected_result = std::accumulate(generated_values.begin(),
                                               generated_values.end(),
                                               init, op);

  bool got_expected_result = (std::equal_range(result.begin(), result.end(),
                                               expected_result)
                              == std::make_pair(result.begin(), result.end()));
  BOOST_CHECK(got_expected_result);
  if (got_expected_result && comm.rank() == 0)
      std::cout << "OK." << std::endl;

  (comm.barrier)();
}

// Test the 4 families of all reduce: (value, array) X (in place, out of place)
template<typename Generator, typename Op>
void
all_reduce_test(const communicator& comm, Generator generator,
                const char* type_kind, Op op, const char* op_kind,
                typename Generator::result_type init)
{
  const bool in_place = true;
  const bool out_of_place = false;
  all_reduce_one_test(comm, generator, type_kind, op, op_kind,  init, in_place);
  all_reduce_one_test(comm, generator, type_kind, op, op_kind,  init, out_of_place);
  all_reduce_array_test(comm, generator, type_kind, op, op_kind,
                        init, in_place);
  all_reduce_array_test(comm, generator, type_kind, op, op_kind,
                        init, out_of_place);
}

// Generates integers to test with all_reduce()
struct int_generator
{
  typedef int result_type;

  int_generator(int base = 1) : base(base) { }

  int operator()(int p) const { return base + p; }

 private:
  int base;
};

// Generate points to test with all_reduce()
struct point_generator
{
  typedef point result_type;

  point_generator(point origin) : origin(origin) { }

  point operator()(int p) const
  {
    return point(origin.x + 1, origin.y + 1, origin.z + 1);
  }

 private:
  point origin;
};

struct string_generator
{
  typedef std::string result_type;

  std::string operator()(int p) const
  {
    std::string result = boost::lexical_cast<std::string>(p);
    result += " rosebud";
    if (p != 1) result += 's';
    return result;
  }
};

struct secret_int_bit_and
{
  int operator()(int x, int y) const { return x & y; }
};

struct wrapped_int
{
  wrapped_int() : value(0) { }
  explicit wrapped_int(int value) : value(value) { }

  template<typename Archive>
  void serialize(Archive& ar, unsigned int /* version */)
  {
    ar & value;
  }

  int value;
};

wrapped_int operator+(const wrapped_int& x, const wrapped_int& y)
{
  return wrapped_int(x.value + y.value);
}

bool operator==(const wrapped_int& x, const wrapped_int& y)
{
  return x.value == y.value;
}

bool operator<(const wrapped_int& x, const wrapped_int& y)
{
  return x.value < y.value;
}

// Generates wrapped_its to test with all_reduce()
struct wrapped_int_generator
{
  typedef wrapped_int result_type;

  wrapped_int_generator(int base = 1) : base(base) { }

  wrapped_int operator()(int p) const { return wrapped_int(base + p); }

 private:
  int base;
};

namespace boost { namespace mpi {

// Make std::plus<wrapped_int> commutative.
template<>
struct is_commutative<std::plus<wrapped_int>, wrapped_int>
  : mpl::true_ { };

} } // end namespace boost::mpi

int test_main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
  using namespace boost::mpi;
  environment env(argc, argv);

  communicator comm;
  const bool in_place = true;
  const bool out_of_place = false;

  // Built-in MPI datatypes with built-in MPI operations
  all_reduce_test(comm, int_generator(), "integers", std::plus<int>(), "sum",
                  0);
  all_reduce_test(comm, int_generator(), "integers", std::multiplies<int>(),
                  "product", 1);
  all_reduce_test(comm, int_generator(), "integers", maximum<int>(),
                  "maximum", 0);
  all_reduce_test(comm, int_generator(), "integers", minimum<int>(),
                  "minimum", 2);

  // User-defined MPI datatypes with operations that have the
  // same name as built-in operations.
  all_reduce_test(comm, point_generator(point(0,0,0)), "points",
                  std::plus<point>(), "sum", point());

  // Built-in MPI datatypes with user-defined operations
  all_reduce_test(comm, int_generator(17), "integers", secret_int_bit_and(),
                  "bitwise and", -1);

  // Arbitrary types with user-defined, commutative operations.
  all_reduce_test(comm, wrapped_int_generator(17), "wrapped integers",
                  std::plus<wrapped_int>(), "sum", wrapped_int(0));

  // Arbitrary types with (non-commutative) user-defined operations
  all_reduce_test(comm, string_generator(), "strings",
                  std::plus<std::string>(), "concatenation", std::string());

  return 0;
}


The Underwater Dome can only be accessed with a Scorpscuba.
Teaches you about Scorpscuba and how to get to Underwater Dome.
Nobody here seems to ever understand what Joveboze is saying. You have a feeling that it's a local dialect of the Frishers, or even a language which Joveboze has created himself.
You must speak with the Atlantean Guard before he will appear.
Lets you fight the Old Scorpscuba to get the Scorpscuba Caller.


text:
Jančí (deutsch Jantsch) ist ein Ortsteil der Minderstadt Březová in Tschechien. Er liegt sieben Kilometer östlich von Vítkov und gehört zum Okres Opava.

Geographie
Jančí befindet sich rechtsseitig über dem Tal des Baches Červenka in der Vítkovská vrchovina (Wigstadtler Berge). Im Norden erhebt sich der Tršlovec (531 m n.m.), südöstlich die Vrchy (540 m n.m.). Östlich des Dorfes verläuft die Staatsstraße I/57 zwischen Hradec nad Moravicí und Fulnek. Gegen Norden erstreckt sich der Naturpark Moravice, südlich der Naturpark Oderské vrchy.

Nachbarorte sind Dršlovec, Jelenice und Březová im Norden, Leskovec und Gručovice im Nordosten, Horní Nový Dvůr und Dolní Nový Dvůr im Osten, Lukavec und Vrchy im Südosten, Moravské Vlkovice im Süden, Dolejší Kunčice im Südwesten, Nové Vrbno im Westen sowie Větřkovice im Nordwesten.

Geschichte
Jančí ist eine Gründung der Benediktinerpropstei Březová (Briesau). Die erste urkundliche Erwähnung des Dorfes erfolgte im Jahre 1386. Seit 1412 ist in Gencz ein Vogt nachweislich. Nach der Zerstörung der Propstei durch die Hussiten im Jahre 1427 wurden die Güter der Propstei zwischen den Herrschaften Grätz und Fulnek aufgeteilt, wobei Jančí zu Grätz kam und das südlichste Dorf der Herrschaft wurde. Um 1720 bestand das Dorf aus einem Erbvogt, zwölf Bauern, zwei Halbbauern und drei Chalupnern. Besitzer der Erbvogtei war um 1700 David Schenk, danach die Familie Banhayer bzw. Beinhauer.

Im Jahre 1834 bestand das Dorf Jantsch bzw. Jancy aus 32 Häusern, in denen 224 mährischsprachige Personen lebten. Haupterwerbsquellen bildeten der Ackerbau und die Viehzucht. Im Ort gab es eine Erbrichterei. Pfarr- und Schulotz war Briesau. Bis zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts blieb Jantsch der Minderherrschaft Grätz untertänig.

Nach der Aufhebung der Patrimonialherrschaften bildete Jančí / Jantsch ab 1849 eine Gemeinde im Gerichtsbezirk Wigstadtl. Ab 1869 gehörte Jantsch zum Bezirk Troppau. Zu dieser Zeit hatte das Dorf 240 Einwohner und bestand aus 38 Häusern. Im Jahre 1900 lebten in Jantsch 246 Personen, 1910 waren es 245. Im Jahre 1930 bestand Jantsch aus 48 Häusern und hatte 221 Einwohner; 1939 waren es 220. Nach dem Münchner Abkommen wurde die mehrheitlich lachischsprachige Gemeinde 1938 dem Deutschen Reich zugesprochen und gehörte bis 1945 zum Landkreis Troppau. Nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges kam die Gemeinde zur Tschechoslowakei zurück, die deutschsprachige Minderheit wurde vertrieben. 1949 wurde Jančí dem neu gebildeten Okres Vítkov zugeordnet, der bei der Gebietsreform von 1960 wieder aufgehoben wurde. Im Jahre 1950 hatte das Dorf 163 Einwohner. Am 1. Januar 1977 wurde Jančí nach Březová eingemeindet. Beim Zensus von 2001 lebten in den 51 Häusern von Jančí 143 Personen.

Ortsgliederung
Der Ortsteil Jančí bildet einen Katastralbezirk.

Sehenswürdigkeiten
 Kapelle Mariä Himmelfahrt, sie wurde 2016 rekonstruiert und anlässlich der 630-Jahr-Feier des Dorfes feierlich gesegnet
 Steinernes Kreuz vor der Kapelle
 Steinernes Kreuz am nördlichen Ortsausgang

Literatur
 Historický lexikon obcí České republiky 1869–2005, Teil 1, S. 728

Weblinks
 Geschichte von Březová

Einzelnachweise

Ortsteil in Tschechien
Březová u Vítkova

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
No Sympathy For A Devil Part II: A Further Look at Ruby
Written by Naismith
Category: The Family
Supernatural Season 4
Before diving back into this, I again would like to issue a reminder. Please, please, please! I beg, plead, ask and request, no attacks on the actresses. This is a sensitive subject to the fandom in general, I realize that. But this is a look at the demon Ruby, not at the women who worked on a film set. Also, please keep in mind that this is entirely opinion.
Blond Part Deux
Hot diggity! Things were going well for Hell. Dean Winchester was on Alistair's rack. Lilith was gathering her power on earth. And Ruby, well Ruby was being taught her lesson before renewing the hunt for Sam. She was scolded well and good. "You are not up top for your own pleasure Ruby girl. Don't forget again."
I wonder, did she peek in on Alistair and Dean? What a temptation! To see Dean, hated Dean, pain wracked on the rack. I bet the bitch did. And I bet she smiled.
But she didn't linger long, she couldn't. There was a lot of work to do with Sam. So up she went, with 'orders' from Lilith to kill him. Ruby didn't change her tactics much. She jumped another blonde, kept the kick ass, smart mouthed, manipulative, sensuous, intelligent, condescending and bossy attitude. Not Ruby's best move.
It almost looked, in their first meeting after Dean's death, that Ruby expected Sam to beg for his life. Beg for the chance to kill Lilith. But Ruby miscalculated, Sam's headspace was far from where she wanted him to be. So she killed the demon with her and piled Sam into the Impala. Now she expected him to be grateful. She was still trying to ride herd on him. And Sam had had enough. He was hurting and in no mood for bossiness or condensation. She demanded his sympathy but he only had room to think about his own pain.
"I took all of this risk to get back to you, so yeah, I deserve a damn thank you."
"Who asked you to save me?"
"I'm just trying to help."
"Can you help me save Dean?"
"No. Nothing I know of is powerful enough to do that."
"Then I have no use for you."
"Get out."
"Whose body are you riding Ruby?"
"What do you care? You've never asked me that before."
"I'm asking now."
"Some secretary."
"Let her go."
"Or I send you right back to hell."
Hell and damnation! That must have pissed Ruby off. Her old approach had hit a brick wall. Sam was done with her. She didn't even have a chance to bring up revenge on Lilith. Almost everything she had built in the past year had just gotten leveled. She had to start again. Really start again.
And not only did she have to find a new tactic, but Sam had set an absolute boundary about her possessing people. This must have been a particular aggravation. I'm going to take a quick detour to talk about demon possession and the joy it must bring them. Even in the most boring of moments, they still have their meat suit's soul to toy with. So when they are being 'good' and following orders and acting human to blend in, as Azazel's gang did, they at least still had a soul to needle and persecute. My heart breaks and breaks again when I think about Brady. The real Brady, not demonBrady.
The man was a friend of Sam's. I think about young college Sam sometimes. It must have been scary and daunting to truly enter the world of 'normal' all by himself. He was without his brother, without his father, without the confidence that he'd been trained to hunt a normal life. It must have felt empowering and liberating to finally be independent, but also very lonely. So he made friends, and one was a young man named Brady. Not Dean, not even close to Dean, but a good friend none the less.
Then Brady goes home for Thanksgiving and is jumped by a demon. How often was Brady forced to watch his friend Sam struggle to bring him back from "The drugs. The bitches"? Was Brady compelled to watch Jessica suffer? How often was he screaming at Sam to not listen to the demon wearing his face? Using his voice? Did the demon prod him awake so Brady could bear witness as Sam learned the truth about his introduction to Jessica? Was he begging Sam to kill him, just so it would all stop? If this has crossed my mind, it certainly crossed Sam's.
Sorry for the side bar, but thinking about the delight demons must get from those human souls, underscores Ruby's dedication, and (as much as I hate to put the word to it) her sacrifice. She had to be careful about how much chaos and suffering she caused. If she wasn't, and Sam heard about it, there'd be no chance of him trusting her. He'd probably try to hunt her down. Her one avenue of release was the person inside the meat. There at least she could torture to her black heart's content. Now Sam was even going to take that from her?
Ruby was stripped of this last channel dedicated to her own pleasure. The only thing left in front of her, was Sam. She had nothing to call her own but the hope that she could lure him to her Master. As sick as it was, Sam Winchester became the sun that Ruby orbited. It's odd, but this demon had no recourse to selfishness. What the hell? No, seriously, what the hell? That's weird, right?
I'm not saying she didn't take satisfaction in twisting and tempting Sam down his road. But any real reward could only be hoped for at the end. There was no immediate pleasure to be found, except the pleasure of Sam himself. That is simply not common demon behavior. It's freaky, it's creepy, it's something I kind of respect. And that makes me feel dirty! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Ruby went looking for a fresh cadaver to inhabit. But it couldn't be just any cadaver, it had to fill certain specifications; female, young, attractive, preferably one without any pesky family members. Lastly, it couldn't be blonde. Ruby was changing her game, and she didn't want a lot of reminders around of her old methods.
So she showed up on Sam's doorstep, all alone inside the body, proof in hand and a new persona. Not entirely new, she didn't want it to be blatantly obvious that her manipulation was taking on a new tone. But she threw in a little more empathy, backed off the bossiness and condescension and, perhaps most importantly, made herself seem vulnerable. She had finally realized that Sam didn't respond well to being herded, (only Dean has ever really gotten away with bossing Sam around) but perhaps she could coax him in the right direction. And what had he been doing most of his life? Saving people, hunting things. So she gave him something to hunt, Lilith, and someone who might need potential saving, herself. "Lilith is one scary bitch." And recall the look on her face when Sam said he was ready to go? I read it as fear and a little panic. By putting on a dollop of damsel in distress, she wasn't nearly as threatening.
At the same time, she made herself out to be a valuable and trustworthy ally. She got pissed when things weren't going his way. She saved his life. She argued with him. She was soft, resistant, bolstering, sympathetic, competent, fought back to back with him, validated his grief, encouraged him…in short she offered herself up as a friend that I would like to have! Ruby no longer indulged herself in what she wanted. There were no more temper tantrums, no more "I know more than you, so do what I say" flounces. Sam was her sun and that must have felt so good to that grief stricken young man.
Then there was the blood.
I doubt my curiosity will ever be satisfied about that conversation between Sam and Ruby. "Yes Sam, to kill Lilith, you will have to drink demon blood. It's what feeds your powers." Knowing Sam, no matter how drunk and grieving, he would have been disgusted and more than a little reluctant. He'd hunted vampires and other blood hungry monsters. It would be revolting! Plus, demon blood is the very thing that had made him feel like a freak! He hadn't even been able to tell Dean about it.
My guess, there was no way he drank it from a vein that first time. Or even the second time or 20th time. So Ruby probably drained some into a cup. It wasn't enough, not nearly enough, for what he needed. But Ruby still felt she had time. The first seal hadn't even been broken and it wasn't like Dean was going to awkwardly appear and interfere.
So she let him struggle along without enough juice. The practice, the headaches, his frustration; Sam had to learn in his own way that he would need more. But how could she get him to be physically comfortable enough around her to drink from her veins? To have him want to drink enough? Well sex is a fun and easy solution. So she waited until a particularly vulnerable moment and turned on the seduction.
Quick break. Sorry everyone, but as much as I hate Ruby, as much as she annoys me, as much as I can't stand her, well, that scene with Sam was hawt! It shouldn't be! I object! Um, dead chick possessed by an evil demon? Gross! It's revolting! And sordid and nauseating and I think I'm going to go watch that episode again. Ahem. Anyway, if any of you really do feel appropriately (i.e.: repelled) watching that scene, please let me in on the secret.
From bed play it would be a quick jump to blood play. "Don't use the glass Sam! It'll be cold and congealed by the time you get it all down. Here, take it straight from me." Smart of her in many ways to integrate pleasure into blood drinking.
Oh, I'm going to jump ahead for a minute. I've wondered why Sam would go into such detail about screwing Ruby to his brother. My theory, Sam was actually, in that moment, going to tell Dean about drinking the blood. He said he wanted to come clean. But he needed to give Dean the context. It would be an incredibly difficult offense to confess. And Dean was being so wonderful, understanding and he was listening, Sam must have seen reason to hope for acceptance. But still, it wouldn't be easy to say, so off he goes on a tangent of nudity. (Fun for me as a fan girl, not so much for Dean.) So he interrupts and Sam talks about Ruby saving him. And I do think that Sam STILL would have 'fessed up if Ruby, in the guise of the maid, hadn't interrupted! Ok, digression done.
Now maybe it's just me, but I've never understood the sexiness of vampires and blood drinking. I'm sorry, but have any of you all tasted blood? Gag me. Suck on a penny, it's just as delicious. It kind of reminds me of that taste in the back of my throat when I puke. So there would be the baseline gross factor, plus Sam's ingrained disgust of blood drinking creatures.
Ruby married the physical pleasure of sex directly to the initially unwanted act of drinking her blood. As his tolerance and desire for the blood grew, sex wouldn't be as important, but simply a part of the ritual.
I work with people who have addictions. On a daily basis I am witness to the horrors that addiction can wreak on a human. People do nutty stuff, monstrous things, when the demon of addiction drives them. Did you know it isn't just the drug itself that effects people? It is the surrounding stimuli, the ritual they perform before and while using. The sound of a soda can popping open can cause an alcoholic to yearn for a beer. After a meal, that cigarette sounds especially good. Music means that it's time to bring out the bong. Anticipation of the drug of choice is also a trigger. It only takes the thought, the hope, or even the mention of paraphernalia surrounding a drug, and a person who is an addict lights up like a Christmas tree. Anticipation actually causes the body to react as if it's already on the drug. The physical body is preparing itself for ecstasy.
Ruby was many things, but not a fool. She was handing Sam a means to exorcize and kill her. Once he really started down the blood road, he would become more powerful than she could hope to control. What if she happened to piss him off one day? What if he began to mistrust her? She needed to leash him to her specifically, not just any demon he ran across. So she made herself more than his dealer, but a part of his dependence. When the cravings began, she wanted him to obsess over her, not just the blood. The sight of her, the smell, the sound of her name, the feel of a knife in his hand; all would become a reminder of his need for her.
It really was a rotten but intelligent move on her part. I've often heard people with addictions refer to their drug of choice as "the love of my life." And the yearning, heartsick desire that transforms their face is tragic to see. They were talking about a glass, or a needle, Ruby offered Sam a warm, attractive woman. That bitch! (Please note, I am NOT calling Ruby the love of Sam's life, but drawing a picture of the effects of addiction.)
Guess who's back? Back again?
Three months with Sam and I bet Ruby somehow got the word. Alistair had done his job and the first seal was broken. Bet she had a fit of damn giggles over that news. With the first seal broken, it meant that the timetable had really started. Lilith would begin breaking the others and soon it would be Sam's time to shine.
It was probably the most secure Ruby had felt since starting her mission. She and Sam were on the same page, kill Lilith. They were sharing a bed, sharing a purpose, fighting together and spending a whole lot of time together. Sure, Sam wasn't fully hooked on the blood yet, but he liked it, even if he wouldn't admit it. Ruby must have felt like she had a comparatively smooth road ahead of her.
Then a month later, a quick turn of events. The demons they were tracking suddenly headed for Illinois. Ten to one, Ruby found a way to slip away for a minute and ferret out the latest gossip. Or maybe she checked on the gravesite herself. Or perhaps opening the motel room door really was the first she knew of Dean's return. No matter the circumstances, I bet it came as an ice cold, infuriating shock to find Dean Winchester standing on her doorstep. (And note, she made a last ditch effort to chuck him before Sam saw him. She was closing the door in the moment before Sam appeared.)
All of her work, all of her planning, all of her time and access to Sam, was in danger of ruin. A cloud passed between her ability to bask in her Sam sun. And that cloud was Dean. (Hugs Dean.)
Betcha she was screaming in frustration inside that poor dead girl's body. Not only had Dean, somehow, made it out of hell alive, but he had already tracked Sam down. Not fair! Not fair!
So Ruby played the only card she had, she set the example of lying to Dean. Get Sam to lie, cover up their relationship, and her claws would still be deeply embedded.
"So are you two like, together?"
Ha ha, you think you're sooooo clever don't you?
An obedient little bitch
Ruby was exiled to the perimeter again, out in the cold, the dark, and back to the sneak attacks. For months, it had been she and Sam who had walked together in lockstep! Now she was alone again.
Since Dean was back, would Sam even be as driven for revenge? That was their connection. Revenge on Lilith. Would he, out of relief and shame and a desire to cover up his activities, dump her? Everything depended on Sam's next move. Then he gave her the call to meet him at the diner. She was being invited back into Sam's orbit.
But she still needed to move carefully. Dean would have no forgiveness toward her. Not after spending decades in hell. She needed Sam to lead the deception against Dean. And he did. He took her subtle prodding and made that decision. "Look, I just need time. That's all." But she didn't give him the opportunity to ask her to stay away. She volunteered.
Ruby wouldn't have wanted their relationship to morph back into what it had been before Dean's death. Then she had been a sort of beggar, acting in control but really just looking for a way to spend time with him. Now she wanted it to be a mutual clandestine pursuit. If she started off as the reluctant one, it put him in the seat of courting her and calming her anxieties. She batted her eyes, flirted her tail, left her scent. "Chase me Sam." Not that she gave up the tactic letting him see and feel her presence. But now she was welcome and anticipated.
Other annoying complications, Dean's voice was back in the mix. So she had to be very careful that her words and actions weren't overly discordant with the moral certainty of Sam's older brother. And, just to make things more difficult, there were now angels mucking things up.
Not only had the winged bastards brought Dean back from where she had believed him stashed (painfully) for eternity, but they had the nerve to cue him in on her and Sam's relationship. That was a power card that she had wanted to control. And now that they were poking their halos around, I don't think that Ruby and Lilith dared communicate anymore. Things were just too hot to risk having the angels stumble across their conniving. The upside of the angels? Ruby could really work the fearful damsel act. "I'm scared of them Sam. Can't you see they'll hurt me?"
But having Dean around was pretty much all downside. Sure, there were some beautiful stressors and cracks in their relationship, but it was still Dean. Hated, interfering Dean. So she became his advocate. Well, not exactly his advocate, but she certainly played up the brother's relationship. "I see how important he is to you Sam. And whatever is important to you is important to me." She put Sam in the role of finding fault with Dean. I believe there only one time that she came close to again indulging her hatred and frustration with Dean, and that is when he tried to kill her with the knife in "Metamorphosis."
Actually, when looking at it from her point of view, she exercised some major control. Her enemy had reappeared from the dead, trampled over her hard earned place by Sam's side, and then had the impudence to walk in on her and Sam during one of their training sessions. And then to top it all off, he tried to kill her! With her knife! The nerve! But she stopped herself. Think of the difference between that scene and the barn scene in "No Rest for the Wicked". Then, Dean punched her and she tackled him. Sam tried to physically stop her and she smacked him around. This time, Dean took the knife to her and she ceased at one word from Sam.
Anyway, supporting the brothers' relationship must have been a hard plan of action as Sam began to slip further away from her control and began making choices that would not lead him to that chapel. He quit drinking the blood, he quit (mostly quit) yanking the demons. She finally had to take a dangerous initiative and dangle the job of Anna Milton in front of him.
Here I feel torn. One the one hand, I think that Lilith and Ruby were keeping their distance, but on the other hand the ripeness of the Milton case, the demons knowing what Anna was, the perfect but insanely dangerous nature of the job all speaks of collusion with Lilith. Maybe I'm just completely off in assuming that the two of them were no longer communicating. Ruby having the dumb luck to stumble across the info just doesn't seem likely. But then the suicidality of willingly and knowingly putting herself in the path of an angel's wrath seems risky beyond reason. It's not important except for keeping my mind unsettled on what to believe. Hm, or maybe Lilith did know what Anna was and simply didn't inform Ruby. This bugs me more than it should. Moving on.
Anyway, during that job, she went all chips in. Ruby did everything in her power to prove her loyalty, yet again, to Sam, and to Dean. While she did tempt him with the blood, she backed off when he said no. Ruby put Sam in danger, Dean in danger, herself in incredible danger, even to giving herself over to Alistair and exposing herself to the presence of angels.
And her risk paid off again! Dean, DEAN, of all people, looked at her without revulsion and thanked her, twice. She was a part of the crew, blessed by Dean, invited to Bobby's house, asked to guard their charge, ride in the Impala, welcomed on a job, saved from certain death by Dean and given his hand for help up. And Sam was eating it up. Ruby must have known it couldn't last, but while it did, it was good, because Sam got to see how willing Ruby was to work with Dean. She obviously wasn't the one who would keep their little unit apart. She was a team player. And she believed in Sam's strength and ability to stop Lilith.
But that didn't change the fact that seals were breaking and Sam wasn't getting ready. He needed to start drinking blood again, and fast. So she approached him while he was off on some random job chasing down a magician. It was a shot in the dark, but she had to try. Ruby once more gave him her scent, reminded him of all the fun involved with opening her veins, stroked his ego, teased him with Lilith, and rebuked him for not trying harder to stave off Lucifer's coming. Sam wasn't difficult to push over the edge. He wanted it, she just had to remind him.
So he finally gave her another call. He left his brother in a bar and joined her. The collar was around his neck, the leash was snapped on and this time she wasn't going to let him wander off.
I feel certain that upon Sam's return he was rewarded in rather lavish ways. Ruby had to get him seriously hooked, and fast. That meant a lot of play to get him to drink a lot of blood. Plus, now that he was using with Dean so present, she could put the pressure of time on him. "Hurry, drink more, faster so you can get back to Dean without him missing you. Don't sip, gulp, who knows when the next time is that we'll see each other?"
The clock for the Apocalypse was ticking, she could no longer afford to coddle Sam, and he was brought to heel. That must have felt so damn good, to feel her power over him. Nothing was set in stone, not yet, but he trusted her, he was lying to Dean, and he didn't really have a problem with it. Sure, there was some hand wringing, but overall Sam believed he was in the right. Laugh it up Ruby, I know you are.
The best of those sons of bitches
It didn't take long to get Sam hooked now that he'd decided to go all in. And once he was addicted, Ruby was calling the shots. Sam had chained himself to her and the blinders were on. Sure, she still acted the sympathetic girl friend, but now she could leave him to rot, beg for her attention, let him suffer a little for all the crap he'd put her through. Her sun was orbiting her and everything was candy.
Now, I do think that in her own limited way, Ruby came to love Sam. He was her every hope, the center of her every action and thought, the only possible path to fulfill her dreams, he was the living embodiment of her belief system. Sam was her Messiah, the savior of her people, he was the lost and misguided son of hell. She believed in him, trusted in his abilities and felt conviction for his Hellish purpose. In the beginning, she may have only seen him as a tool, by the end, she saw him as her darling. Surely, surely Lucifer would allow them each other? After everything she had sacrificed and done, Sam could be her reward. Of course that was in the future. It didn't mean that she couldn't take some pleasure in Sam's suffering, not after all he'd put her through.
Ruby now needed to separate the brothers. Dean was still the weak spot in her strategy. Threaten Dean, and Sam still might be lost. (I'm reminded of Lucifer's words. "No one dicks with Michael, but me.") But she needed Sam to make that break. It had to be under his own initiative. And putting Sam through the pain of withdrawal was a good method to get him to make that break. It was a perfect way to get him to expose himself and cause a rift between them.
Addiction really is ugly. When a person is far gone and completely owned by a chemical, they no longer seek that drug for pleasure. They seek it to avoid pain. Using becomes the only moments in life that are free of suffering. Everything else becomes secondary. Even the pure source of their drug is no longer important. Anything that might dull the anguish is consumed. Life becomes about using, seeking the next source of use, worrying about where the next hit will come from…every thought, action and effort is about the drug of choice.
I am not excusing Sam's actions. Just as I don't excuse anyone who is chemically dependent from the ugly things they may have done. What I see is Sam's actions as being, well, normal. Every blind, stupid decision he made is reflective of all the blind, stupid decisions that thousands of other souls have made. Nothing Sam did was new except for his drug of choice.
Ruby. Even her name reflects the color of blood.
She had become his life, his love, his existence. Anything that threatened her and his access to her became a threat. Even Dean. His need suborned his intellect and moral compass. She was the living, breathing, thinking embodiment of his drug, his monster.
Yes, still thinking. Dean tried to kill her. Again! Hated Dean tried to take the knife to her. Every ounce of her self-preservation must have screamed to try to take him out. But she didn't, she only defended. If she had, Sam's blinders would crack. Instead she ran, obeying Sam as he had become accustomed to her doing. After all, Sam had tasted the blood of another demon and it had satisfied the craving. Sure, she was still number one, his dealer and his confidant. She did more than satisfy, she satiated, but she could now, perhaps, be thought of as disposable. And Lilith wasn't dead yet.
So she left Sam and Dean alone in that room together. She had enough faith in Sam that he wouldn't leave her. And she had enough knowledge of Dean that he wouldn't back down. She was right.
Soon after, Sam joined her, sad and heartbroken, but hers all the same. Nothing was completely secure, Sam's sweet and gentle nature, his love for his brother and the heavy hopelessness that lay on him were all dangers to Ruby. But when things got really dicey, a miracle somehow happened and a voicemail from Dean brought Sam back to her heel.
Ruby did the dirty work. She did everything she could to keep things easy for him. She slit the nurse's throat. She let Sam keep the blood off of his physical hands, and she kept the role as his dealer. Besides, Ruby would have enjoyed the kill.
Next it was to the chapel where Sam mowed through Lilith's guard and where Lilith awaited him, the last seal, the last obstacle between Ruby and her unknown father. And then, just because it was a good and beautiful night, Dean somehow showed up and she got to see the look of horror and panic on his loathed face at the moment of her triumph. She was winning and she got to have witnesses.
And it was still a close call. Despite all her suffering and hard work, Sam merely hearing the voice of Dean just about derailed everything. Luckily, Lilith was a genius at pushing the right buttons. Sam rededicated, refocused, aimed and fired.
She won. Ruby won.
For a second time we got to see Ruby being purely herself. The first time she was angry. This time she was ecstatic. It was her moment of glory. She really was "the best of those sons of bitches". And I mean that. No other demon sacrificed as she had. Not even Lilith had had to give up her pleasures. And Lilith had wavered. Lilith had sincerely, though briefly, looked for an out to save her own hide. But Ruby had stayed true.
Ruby completed her mission. Have Sam use his 'psychic whatever' to kill Lilith and free Lucifer. Sure, she didn't act alone, but she won. Yes, the boys ganked her, but dying for this cause was something she had always been willing to do.
"You're too late."
Ruby was so confident, so certain in her success that her guard was down. She turned her back on Sam, she faced Dean, not with a wary fighters stance, but as a conquering and confidant hero. It was perhaps the only time she really let her guard down and a moment later, she was dead.
When I think about the story of Ruby, subtract my love of the Winchesters, the fact of good and evil, and how much I dislike her, it's a tragic story. I doubt her human life had held much happiness. Then she spent who knows how long enduring the horrors and agonies of hell. After that came the mission and all the sacrifices and constant fear it entailed. That moment in the chapel after Sam killed Lilith was probably the only time in her entire existence that she was genuinely happy. And it was such a short moment! She rejoiced, turned to Sam, her messiah, her student, her lover, to share the joy and he tried to kill her with the weapon she had taught him to use! In Ruby's moment of jubilation, she dropped to her knees, begging Sam to join her in celebration. It almost, almost, makes me feel a little bit of pity for her.
Ruby lived a razor edge of danger for two years. She was threatened, tortured several times, beaten, risked death on countless occasions, hated by her own kind, chased by those she served, suppressed her own desires and willingly sacrificed everything to bring that moment to pass. Perhaps what is so despicable about Ruby is how she really did have some damn fine qualities, but all those qualities she perverted for evil. Ruby was intelligent, courageous, loyal, dedicated, obedient, self-sacrificing, she even had a sense of humor.
The horror of Ruby was that she had so much potential, and it was all employed toward something horrible. She rejoiced in evil by using qualities I recognize as good.
As much as I hate her, as happy as I am that Dean rammed the knife in and killed her for good, there is a piece of me that is curious as to what would have happened if she had lived. Her faith in her lord was so absolute, so pure and unadulterated that it was almost innocent. If she had lived, would she have come to recognize his distaste for demons? Would she have been distressed over Lucifer's true plans for Sam? If she had lived, would her dreams have shattered against reality?
In some ways I wish she had lived to feel the disappointment that Lucifer would have brought her. All of her suffering had been to free a being that hated her? Or maybe not, maybe she would have kept her own blinders in place and fallen into Meg's category of blind worship. Who knows? It's best that she died. I cheered her death and still do every time I see it.
Now I must make a confession. While Ruby lived, all I wanted was for her to die. But now, in looking back and recognizing her talents, I can't help but ponder the possibilities. What if she actually had thrown in with the boys? The danger to herself wouldn't have changed. Everyone else would have still been after her, but she would have been fighting with the Winchesters for real. Had the thought ever crossed her mind? Can you imagine the ally she would have made? Really would have made if she had cast aside her loyalty to an ideal and entrenched herself beside Sam and Dean?
But I doubt she ever thought of it. I doubt it was ever the smallest of temptations. See, I think I finally figured out why I hated Ruby so much. Her certainty, her loyalty, obstinacy, courage and all those other traits, are prominently featured in Dean. Out of all the monsters and horrors this show has given us, Ruby is the closest resemblance to a dark Dean we've seen. Now I'm not talking about the role she played to tempt Sam down his road, I'm talking about the person behind the act.
Now don't go running for the pitch forks and torches yet. I'm not, NOT, calling Ruby Dean's opposite equal. She wasn't even close, not on her best day. Dean does things by being true, while Ruby had to struggle along with manipulation. Dean doesn't know how not to be Dean, while Ruby constantly had to pretend to be someone else. Dean is solidly Dean, while Ruby…well getting a handle on her is like trying to eat jello with a slinky.
I guess in the end, my point is that even hell's best only meant a twisting and perversion of good. The very best that hell had to offer was only the palest of reflections, a wanna-be facsimile, of 'a righteous man'. Out of all the enemies that the Winchester's have faced (so far) only Ruby is the one who actually beat them in the end. (I simply will not include Castiel on that enemy list! Besides, Cas returned to Team Free Will, the boys won him back over. Win in the Winchester column.) She didn't beat them by herself. No, she had millennia of planning backing her, Lilith's aid, and Azazel's ground work. But she was the point of the spear.
And she won using qualities of goodness. Maybe this is the reason I've bothered to write about Ruby. Evil doesn't stand a chance without trying to copy that which is good. Evil can't attempt victory without begging after the crumbs dropped from the tables of the virtuous.
Maybe I'm reading too much into a freaking TV show. Yeah, I know am. But so what? It's hella fun to do.
# Luminosity 2011-12-23 01:04
I love your deconstruction. Ruby was one of my favorite characters in Season 4. I loved to hate her. I did my own little deconstruction in mid-season, and it feels really good to have those feelings confirmed by the show and then echoed here (much more articulately, to be sure).
# Naismith 2011-12-26 12:19
Thank you Luminosity. Love your handle by the way. I'm acutually curious to know what your deconstruction was. Was it, by chance, scribed down? Inquiring minds want to know!
Thanks for asking! :) I used to post a lot more than I do now, and my New Year's Resolution is to pick it back up again. Ruby: Femme Fatale?
(I hope this comment utilizes html!LOL)
annnndd... it didn't!
http://sockkpuppett.livejournal.com/545056.html#cutid1
What are you talking about? I thought what you had to say was incredibly articulate! Femme fatale indeed. Reading this makes me wish I'd been in fandom for Season 4. Fun speculation!
Off to look for a time machine
# NoLieFe 2011-12-23 05:12
You know what : It's always a great pleasure to be on this site and read so many interesting reviews. Thanks a lot for all the reviewers and their amazing and intense thinking work : watching a character in all its facets is fascinating. Every day, I come here and I have a new article to read ! I am addicted to SPN and "The Winchester Family Business". You have to compile all the articles into a book !
Hope you'll understand my poor english langage...
Your english is good! And yes, the site it full of so many amazing articles.
# Eli 2011-12-23 09:34
What an interesting and well-argued article! Your analysis of Ruby really rings true.
# Bevie 2011-12-23 11:16
That is a great analysis of Ruby.
You know, this article will make my re-watching of season four much more enjoyable, and since it is my least favourite season (hated the schism between the boys), that is all to the good!
I hated her and actually yelled in delight when Dean jammed the knife into her. My favourite moment of season four!
By the way, I think all actresses did a great job portraying her in all her complications.
Thanks for a great article.
Glad to help with the enjoyment factor. Though I must admit that 4 is my favorite so far. And I yelled in delight as well! Definately a Huzzah moment.
And we agree, all the actresses did so well. My one regret? That 'maidRuby' didn't get a little more screen time. She was awesome.
# rmoats8621 2011-12-26 02:08
A great conclusion. Thank you so much for this article. It was articulated with such finesse. I loved to hate the character Ruby and all that she stood for, but the actresses that brought her to life need to be commended for a job well done. After all, that's what they needed to do...make me want to hate her!!
You are welcome. And thank you for your kind comments.
And yes, the actresses definately deserve our thanks for bringing so much life to such a hated character. Is there such a thing as a "Thanks for being so good at being so bad" award?
# Sylvie 2011-12-26 09:24
Thanks for this great essay. I was one of those who actually liked Ruby. Don't get me wrong, I'm oh so very glad that she's dead, but part of me also wishes she were still around in some capacity. There can be no light without darkness after all. And I do get the analogy to Dean. Maybe it was all a game on her part to get Sam to trust her even more, but she did have Dean like "qualities" or should I say "proximities". It would have been pretty great to see her actually become the Winchester's ally. But I guess demons are what they are, pure evil.
Hugs to you for walking against the crowd! Can't say I liked her, but I appriciated the role she played, and (apparently) respected her. Sigh.
I like that, Dean like proximities. Nicely put.
It would have been something else if she had decided to ally with the Winchesters. What an interesting journey that would have been to watch, to see someone tempted on the road to being good. The mind boggles.
# Pragmatic Dreamer 2011-12-27 16:35
Hi Naismith,
Great part two! Lots of thinkie thoughts to consider.
I'm glad you brought up the issue of sex between Ruby & Sam. I think it was crucial she successfully get him in bed with her. Sex makes you naked - emotionally and physically - and creates a vulnerability and intimacy that almost nothing else does, assuming it's not a one-night stand. And we're lead to believe that Sam & Ruby spent many, many nights together.
We know that Sam is an... ahem... ardent lover (drool, drool.. that scene.. you know the one!) I think it was probably during a frisky afternoon romp that Sam took his first sip, direct from the veins. (Oh dear lord. I am discussing Winchester sex as a storytelling device. We lead bizarre lives!) He could convince himself it was all just foreplay, nothing wrong with it. And as long as he linked it with sex he could convince himself it was just something they did in bed. He was probably pretty comfortable with it. But pretty soon he was hooked, and it didn't matter how he got the blood, he just needed it.
It's interesting that every time Sam is shown drinking from Ruby's veins, there is a sort of sexual ecstasy about it.
I agree with you about Dean & Ruby sharing some of the same proximities. (Great word Sylvie. Using qualities makes it sound like a compliment!) I think it was very intentional and all part of her master manipulation plan. If she really wanted Sam to trust her, she had to remind him of the one person he trusted most, but was no longer available to him, and that was Dean.
In fact, in IKWYDLS, Dean asks Sam why he trusts Ruby so much, and eventually Sam answers "Whatever you have to say, she saved me. More than that, she got through to me. What she said to me... It's what you would've said. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here."
There's the whole truth of Ruby's success right there. She was a form of Dean-lite (actually, as you more properly say, Dean-dark!) when Sam so desperately needed him.
It is neat to ponder the storytelling possibilities had Ruby turned good, and helped out the boys. But that would be kind of like having a girlfriend (she is female after all) or a Lisa-equivalent and that doesn't seem to go over well.
On the subject of important Demons, I think it would be cool to meet Ruby and Alistair again. I think there is just so much storytelling still to be done with those two. Perhaps some flashbacks, or maybe they're just incapacitated not really dead? (I think Dean is still haunted by Big Al, and I think Ruby lingers in Sam's mind too, for many reasons.)
Oops. I've been lengthy again. See, your article gave me lots of thinkie thoughts too!
Happy holidays! & check out the Holiday Bonanza. They're all delicious!
Pragmatic Dreamer
Yes thinking about Sam and Ruby 'relations' is such a chore, but someone has to do it.
I've sometimes wondered if sex with Ruby, which became a part of his using, has caused sex to be a trigger for Sam. RoboSam obviously had no problem with it, but the real Sam...well. If it did, it's just another reason to think bad things toward Ruby.
Yes, to wriggle through Sam's armor, Ruby did have to remind Sam of Dean in some ways. Similarity breeds familiarity and all that. Here though, my opinion was to actually acknowledge that Ruby herself held some of those proximities (thanks Sylvie!). I think that Ruby acted Dean-like sometimes to lure Sam, but hid her true Dean-like proximities since those were the ones that kept her so loyal to Hell. Am I making myself clear as mud?
I'm not certain how happy I would be to again see Ruby...though Alistair gave me pleasant creepy, heebee jeebees. Maybe if it helped enlighten some of the mystery around the myth arc, but overall, I really didn't like Ruby. I appreciated the importance of her role, but appreciate even more her death.
Yes, it is fun to ponder Ruby going good. While I know fandom would have exploded (Sam with a girl friend?! Burn Kripke burn! *insert eye roll*) I like to sometimes ignore what fandom (myself included) would feel and just consider the possibilities as if the Winchester world were real. And frankly, I'd like to see them happy. For themselves. Which would make the show much more boring or course.
# Margena 2012-01-02 13:32
I concur.

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* Award
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Snell & Wilmer Chair Matthew P. Feeney Recognized as a Most Admired Leader by Phoenix Business Jo
By: Snell & Wilmer
PHOENIX - Dec. 2, 2020 - PRLog -- Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that Matthew P. Feeney (https://www.swlaw.com/people/matt_feeney), chair of the firm, was recognized in the Phoenix Business Journal's 2020 Most Admired Leaders (https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2020/11/05/announcing-the-2020-most-admired-leaders.html) awards. Due to COVID-19, the event took a virtual form on Tuesday, December 1.
The 2020 Most Admired Leaders honorees move the community forward with their leadership and come from a variety of industries and backgrounds. They champion innovation through corporate-giving programs, board service and volunteerism as well. The winners are chosen by a panel of former Most Admired Leader award recipients.
At Snell & Wilmer, Feeney's practice is concentrated in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, SEC reporting and compliance, and corporate governance matters, including advising corporate boards and board committees. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree, magna cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School.
Throughout the course of his career, Feeney has been recognized for professional and community service excellence. Among his many professional awards, Feeney has consistently been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America© (including Lawyer of the Year, Securities Law/Capital Markets Law (2015), Lawyer of the Year, Corporate Governance Law (2018) and Lawyer of the Year, Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2012); Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2004-2020); and Southwest Super Lawyers (2007-2020).
Feeney has also been involved in numerous civic and charitable organizations. In addition to helping develop a formal pro bono policy for Snell & Wilmer in the late 1980s under which attorneys receive billable hour credit for legal services to the poor, Feeney is a founding board member and former chair of St. Joseph the Worker, an organization that provides job development services to assist homeless, low-income and other disadvantaged individuals. He also served as a board member and president of the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education, which was created by the State Bar of Arizona to promote access to justice for all Arizonans. Feeney was also honored in 2014 by the American Jewish Committee with the Judge Learned Hand Community Service Award. He was recognized for demonstrating sustained contributions to the advancement of equality and democratic principles. Feeney also serves as the Chair of the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute for American Democracy and the Arizona Equal Justice Foundation and serves on the Board of Directors of Greater Phoenix Leadership and the Board of Directors of the Musical Instrument Museum, the world's only global musical instrument museum. He also serves on the Notre Dame Law School Advisory Council.
https://www.swlaw.com/assets/pdf/news/2020/12/02/2020%20F...
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Snell & Wilmer LLP News
Three Snell & Wilmer Attorneys Named in AzBusiness Magazine's Top 100 Lawyers Publication
Snell & Wilmer Partner J. Damon Ashcraft Becomes President of Arizona Bar Foundation
Corporate Attorney Sarah Hibbard Joins Snell & Wilmer's San Diego Office
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text:
Happy 55th Anniversary
Published Friday, April 22, 2011 @ 7:56 AM EDT
The Ten Commandments Ultimate Blu-ray Boxset includes several behind the scenes books and boasts a miniature set of stone tablets which holds three Blu-ray and three regular DVD disks.
It's that time again...
The Ten Commandments (1956)
ABC: Saturday, April 23 7:00 PM EDT
1956, G, ***1/2, 03:40, Color, HD, English, United States
Moses (Charlton Heston) leads an exodus of those wacky Children of Abraham from Egypt to the Promised Land, complete with a pre-cgi -yet still unequalled- parting of the Red Sea, matte lines and all. Hilarity ensues as The Lord leads Moe and the gang on a 40-year meander through the desert, climaxing in Moses' demise just before their arrival in the only country in the Mideast without significant petroleum reserves. And some claim God doesn't have a sense of humor.
Cast: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Edward G. Robinson, Anne Baxter, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Martha Scott, Judith Anderson, Vincent Price, John Carradine, Eduard Franz, Olive Deering, Donald Curtis, Douglas Dumbrille, Lawrence Dobkin, Frank DeKova. Watch for the cameo by Alfalfa of "The Little Rasacals."
Director(s): Cecil B. DeMille
Producer(s): Cecil B. DeMille
(I kid, but this is one of my favorites and still the highest-grossing film, adjusted for inflation, in its original release. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of airings I've missed since I've been a kid, even though I have it on laserdisc. For lots of interesting background and trivia on the making of this landmark film, go here, here, and here.
Great quotes:
Memnet: What have you found?
Bithiah: The answer to my prayers!
Memnet: You prayed for a basket?
Sethi: Harden yourself against subordinates. Have no friend. Trust no woman.
Moses: The city is made of bricks. The strong make many, the starving make few, the dead make none. So much for accusations.
Nefretiri: You will be king of Egypt and I will be your footstool!
Moses: The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool isn't wise enough to rule Egypt.
Moses: Love cannot drown truth, Nefretiri.
Nefretiri: Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!
Rameses: You have a rat's ears and a ferret's nose.
Dathan: To use in your service, son of Pharaoh.
Rameses: You will be mine, like my dog, or my horse, or my falcon, except that I shall love you more-and trust you less.
Nefretiri: You need have no fear of me.
Sephora: I feared only his memory of you.
Nefretiri: You have been able to erase it?
Sephora: He has forgotten both of us. You lost him when he went to seek his god. I lost him when he found his god.
The original extended theatrical trailer:


A pretty mind-blowing feat of genetic engineering, when you consider it's been around for quite a few thousands of years. See, remember that maize is not a natural grain and can't be. There are no fields of wild maize growing out there; the plant cannot grow wild. It makes lots of seeds (kernels) on its cob, where they are held very tightly. It has no way to scatter its seeds! That's a death sentence for a plant species in the wild: it would choke under its offspring. The only way it could have evolved into such a state is if it was done by conscious intervention, presumably by human farmers trying to increase their yield and its quality. And it's also the only way it kept going. And we must have done it to ol' Zea Mays a very long time ago. Wow.
core10k: There certainly are plants that use birds to scatter their seeds. They make seeds that stick to their feathers or beaks, or pass undigested through their bodies. But maize kernels have no such advantages. They are held quite firmly in the cob, so a bird has to peck them out. Any that are knocked free and not eaten have no way of going any further; they're easily digested or rotted, are too heavy to get blown by the wind (the cob holds them too tightly for that most of the time anyway) and not round enough to roll far. They wouldn't get very far, and you'd be in the same boat.
Maize (?), n. [Sp. maiz. fr. mahiz or mahis, i the language of the Island of Hayti.] Bot.
A large species of American grass of the genus Zea (Z. Mays), widely cultivated as a forage and food plant; Indian corn. Also, its seed, growing on cobs, and used as food for men and animals.
Maize eater Zool., a South American bird of the genus Pseudoleistes, allied to the troupials. -- Maize yellow, a delicate pale yellow.


text:
declare var require
import { notLoggedInRequired } from '../routeUtils'
/* istanbul ignore next */
/* tslint:disable */
export default {
  path: 'login',
  getComponent(nextState, cb) {
    require.ensure([], (require) => {
      cb(null, require('./login.page').default)
    })
  },
  onEnter: notLoggedInRequired('/')
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bright paradise Parisian home belonging to the designer Signe Nordli Becker. How gorgeous. Mixture of pure whites and rustic touches. Could you imaging waking up in that bed and having your own little outdoor area? So beyond.


text:
Kouri
Battle at The Border: The War Few Discuss in Washington
Illegal Alien Killers, Rapists and Robbers
IRS TO USE PRIVATE "BOUNTY HUNTERS" TO CELLECT TAXES
Jim Kouri, CPP
In 2005, taxes owed with collection potential had grown to $132 billion. That number may climb in 2006, with perhaps $150 billion owed by taxpayers in default.
The Internal Revenue Service has not pursued some tax debt due to limited resources, manpower constraints and higher priorities. As a result, the US Congress has authorized the IRS to contract with private collection agencies (PCA) to help collect tax debts.
The IRS developed a Private Debt Collection (PDC) program to start with a limited implementation in September 2006 and fuller implementation expected in January 2008.
Unfortunately, according to the Center for American Progress, the structure of the IRS program encourages abuse. Under the program, collectors are awarded as much as 25 cents of every dollar they collect, in addition to a $100 bonus for every account they close.
This provides incentives for collectors to push the limits of legality to extract a little more revenue from their targets. As part of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Congress, fearing overly aggressive collection practices, explicitly prohibited the IRS from compensating its own collectors based on the amount of money they collect. If Congress believes that incentive-based pay will cause official IRS collectors to cross the line, why would they think private collectors would behave any differently?
Taken together, IRS's actions were intended to ensure that the PCAs will be able to do the job and work the range of cases assigned, IRS will have the necessary resources and caseload ready, and taxpayer rights and data will be protected.
As a result, the IRS risks not providing complete information that decision makers would find useful. Finishing work on the factors could help achieve but cannot guarantee program success, which also depends, in part, on how IRS addresses the factors and identifies and resolves any problems in the limited implementation phase.
Although IRS officials indicated that the purpose of the limited implementation phase is to assure readiness for full implementation using up to 12 private collection agencies, the IRS has not yet documented how it will identify and use the lessons learned to ensure that each critical success factor is addressed before expanding the program starting in January 2008.
Because program success will be affected by how well IRS makes adjustments, assessing the lessons learned in limited implementation is critical. Also, IRS has not documented criteria that it will use to determine whether the limited implementation performance warrants program expansion.
IRS officials indicated that they are considering criteria that could trigger a go/no go decision, such as the amount of taxes collected and indications of PCAs abusing taxpayers or misusing taxpayer data.
The Internal Revenue Service proposal of paying private debt collectors a 25 percent commission to collect unpaid tax debt is meeting with bipartisan resistance from Congress. They claim the proposal will jeopardize the rights and privacy of American taxpayers. Several organizations voiced their objections to the IRS proposal and have expressed their strong support for this important consumer protection legislation Rep. Chris Van Hollen introduced: Citizens for Tax Justice, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Consumer Law Center, National Consumers League.
Paying private debt collectors on a commission basis will be costly and will threaten the rights and privacy of the American taxpayers. We must ensure, as this resolution seeks to do, that federal tax collection functions will not be handed over to private sector bounty hunters.
Critics of the private collection agency program say that, compared with private debt collectors, whose bad apples star in countless horror stories of debtor abuse and intimidation, the IRS's customer-service-based approach may start looking pretty good to taxpayers.
A recent Center for American Progress report noted that "19% of all complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2005 were related to debt collectors, up from 10.5% in 1999. The FTC received more complaints about debt collection in 2005 than about any other industry -- 66,627, a 560% increase over the last six years." The report's writers claim this will likely occur with private agencies working on behalf of the IRS.
IRS officials say they will have a little more than a half year to identify the lessons learned before incorporating them into the next contract solicitation, which IRS intends to release in March 2007.
Related to such decisions on expansion is IRS's planned comparative study of using PCAs. That study is to compare using PCAs to investing IRS's operating costs into having IRS staff work IRS's "next best" collection cases. Under the documented study design, IRS would exclude the fees paid to PCAs from the costs and subtract those fees from the tax debts collected by PCAs.
While such a study might produce useful information, it will not compare the results of using PCAs with the results IRS could get if given the same amount of resources, including the fees to be paid to PCAs, to use in what IRS officials would judge to be the best way to meet tax collection goals.
Adequately designing and implementing the study is important to ensure policymakers are aware of the true costs of contracting with PCAs and know whether PCAs offer the best use of federal funds, while using the least abusive and intrusive tactics to collect tax money owed.
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But taxpayer advocate Nina Olsen says that collecting tax revenue is the core job of the IRS, and it should continue to bear that responsibility while protecting taxpayer rights. IRS employees cost only 3 cents for every dollar they collect, making them many times more cost-effective than private collectors.
� 2006 Jim Kouri- All Rights Reserved
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.
He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores.
E-Mail: COPmagazine@aol.com
We must ensure, as this resolution seeks to do, that federal tax collection functions will not be handed over to private sector bounty hunters.


text:
African innovators dominate zayed sustainability prize's 2019 awards ceremony
ABU DHABI, African innovators excelled at this year's Zayed Sustainability Prize annual awards ceremony, winning in three out of five categories including Energy, Food and Global High Schools.
The 2019 Zayed Sustainability Prize, which is the UAE's pioneering global award in sustainability, honoured leaders whose work and spirit of enterprise has resulted in working solutions across communities around the world.
With over 2,000 submissions from 130 countries, the highest number of applications came from Africa, which is a testament to the growing role African innovators are playing in global innovation.
Their technologies addressed real-life social, environmental, health and economic challenges, as well as reflected the aspirations of a new generation of innovators within a continent that has one of the world's biggest youth populations.
In congratulating the winners, Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said: "In a world of changing climate, and a rapidly growing population, developing sustainable solutions to meet rising food demand and provide energy access to people in remote areas is a global priority. These worthy winners among many strong candidates, are perfect examples of how to meet the Prize's criteria of being innovative, inspirational and offering tangible impact within communities."
Picking up the Prize in the Food category was Tanzania's Sanku, for its flour fortification machines that equip and incentivise small-scale, local millers to fortify their flour with life-saving nutrients. Sanku has currently installed 150 fortification machines in flour mills across five East African countries, impacting the lives of almost one million people daily by providing them safer and healthier food sources. Commenting on the win, Felix Brooks-Church, co-founder and CEO of Sanku, said: "16,000 children die every day from illnesses that are absolutely preventable. We have a solution, and so we have the duty to keep fighting in order to reduce that number to zero."
The winner in the Energy category was BBOXX, which has developed a plug-and-play solar device offering users an on-grid experience in an off-grid setting – a truly transformative solution that is changing hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa.
The company has so far installed over 150,000 solar systems across 35 countries many of which are in Africa and has connected over 675,000 people globally with clean, affordable energy solutions. Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of BBOXX, commented on winning the Prize saying: "We are passionate about harnessing pioneering data and technology to power economic growth and transform the lives of underserved communities living off-grid. Winning this award is an important milestone along our journey."
Winning this award is an important milestone along our journey
Within the Global High Schools category, the African Leadership Academy in South Africa won for its proposed creation of a water treatment machine called 'The Living Machine'; a device they designed to treat greywater for use in greenhouses. Their proposal also included the implementation of solar power to reduce electricity costs; savings that will be used to fund additional renewable energy projects, waste management and best agriculture practices. Commenting on the win, Jesse Forrester, Project Lead of African Leadership Academy's Living Machine Project, said: "I am immensely pleased with the announcement. It is quite humbling for us as a team and even more so as an institution. Being recognised as the winners of the Global High Schools Category, for Sub-Saharan Africa, is a testament to the belief that we are stronger together."
In the other categories, ECOSOFTT was awarded in the Water category for its decentralised community water management standard, which outlines a set of solutions for source management, water use, water recycling and discharge. In the Health category, 'We Care Solar' received the award for its Solar Suitcase, a portable maternity device to assist with childbirth and related medical services in off-grid rural areas.
The other five recipients of the 2019 Global High Schools category were: The Impact School (Guatemala), representing The Americas; Gymnasium Goethe (Tajikistan), representing Europe & Central Asia; American School of Dubai (UAE), representing the Middle East and North Africa region; SECMOL (India), representing South Asia; and Muntinlupa National High School (The Philippines), representing East Asia Pacific.
Winners of each category receive Shs 2217660000 in prize funds to enhance and develop their existing solution. In the Global High Schools category, six schools from six world regions receive up to Shs 369610000 each, to create or enhance a school or local community project.
To date, the Prizes' 66 winners have directly and indirectly impacted the lives of over 318 million people.
Related Items:African Leadership Academy, American School of Dubai, BBOXX, ECOSOFTT, Felix Brooks-Church, Global High Schools, r. Lamya Fawwaz, top, Zayed Sustainability Prize
Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020 open for submissions from African Innovators


I used to worry a lot about what people think of me. I felt that I could be damaged or even destroyed by someone's words, or my failure to achieve an arbitrary level of success.
I tried to present the right image in each encounter. When something went wrong, I would run and hide.
I still worry a lot, of course. But now for the most part I worry about different things. If there's anything good about getting older, it's that I care much less about people seeing my faults.
Now—at least sometimes—when I encounter a situation that might bring me down, I tend to think who cares? Get a life, man. I have one.
Still, why do we put these scenes in our lives?
Image courtesy of Donald Tong.


text:
HANK KHAN
ACTOR DIRECTOR PRODUCER
Hank Khan has completed his BS in Mechanical Engineering, and completed One year MS of Mechanical Engineering and enrolled in solar research programs in Kuwait and USA related to Mechanical engineering.
He has worked in his spare time on Hindi, Tamil and English film sets before starting his own production group. After which he has slated four Hollywood/Bollywood films to be produced over the next four years.
AMERICAN BRIDE and MY AMERICAN DREAM are the first to be completed.
Sean Kahn served several years in the film industry. During which time, he developed the ideas for AMERICAN BRIDE and MY AMERICAN DREAM .
SEAN KAHN
WRITER DIRECTOR
www.AmericanBride.ca


Wiz Khalifa recently announced that his new album Rolling Papers 2 will finally release on July 13th.
Following the same, he drops a new single today called 'Real Rich' with a guest appearance from his fellow Atlantic Records artist Gucci Mane. Both emcees drop a verse each over the hypnotic beat. It's surprisingly short but catchy enough for you to play it a few times. Stream it below.


text:
Portrait of Herbert Butros Khaury aka Tiny Tim as told by the people who knew and loved him. It is a trippy film with a strong sense of melancholy. This is a film that finally reveals who Tim was and will make you wonder at his ability to survive through decades of up and downs (a lot of downs)
I am old enough to remember seeing Tiny Tim on the original run of Laugh-In as a small kid. There was something about him that seemed kind of off. His performance walked the fine line of being a joke and being seriously good. Even as I kid I could tell there was a talent there but that sometimes it was misdirected- I mean some of his covers were just weird. He never became something I really was interested in thinking of him more as something kitchy.
But while some people considered him a joke or something that could only have happened in the 1960's, Tiny Tim survived and continued to play concerts until his death in 1996. Few, his family and friends excluded, gave him a second thought, and that's a shame.
Viewing KING FOR A DAY is a hypnotic experience. I am going to guess most people will be like me and go in for the freak factor, but will come out with a basket full of sadness and huge package of respect for a guy who did his own thing and never gave up. About half way into the film I was not only floored by the fact that I was still watching the film, but that I was completely engaged. I was hooked by the twists and turns or Tim's life and totally amazed he was not totally crushed by it all.
That the film works as well as it does is due to the love and respect not only of all the talking heads who sing Tim's praises but also director Johan von Sydow who has crafted a film that genuinely moves you. von Sydow brings us into Tim's life and makes us realize that even though Tim was one of a kind, he was no different than us.
The film is a stunner. I know that may sound weird, but it's true.
If you ever had any remote interest in Tiny Tim this film is a must
Highly recommended..
Labels: biography, documentary, fantasia 2020, music
bruce button August 24, 2020 at 10:13 AM
An astute, bang-on review. Steve Kopian has hit the 'nail on the head' with this review. An absolute must-see!


The Open refining machine is a two-roller machine, the use of different rotational speed relative movement of two rollers to produce shear force to plastic. During the operation, the rubber material should be continuously punched into the triangle bag or curl. Mixer is the use of the internal design of the blade relative movement of the space generated by the regular contraction to produce shear force, without manual operation, save labor. The simple structure of the machine is low cost, but the labor intensity is big, the pollution is big, the injury to the worker's body is big. The mixer is more expensive, but it can be heated, and a pressurized mixer can be used to handle refractory materials. Labor intensity is low adaptability. The mixer is a kind of high strength gap mixing equipment developed on the basis of the open refining machine. Therefore, the emergence of the mixer is an important result of rubber machinery, and still is the typical important equipment of the plastic refining and mixing plant, which is still being developed and perfected.


text:
Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death
A Good Death
Episode 3 of 3
Helen Castor reveals how being remembered shaped not only the worship of the people of the Middle Ages but the very buildings and funding of the medieval Church itself.
Most of the time we try not to think about death, but the people of the Middle Ages didn't have that luxury. Death was always close at hand, for young and old, rich and poor - even before the horrors of the Black Death, which killed millions in a few short months.
However, for the people of the Middle Ages death wasn't an end but a doorway to everlasting life. The Church taught that an eternity spent in heaven or hell was much more important than this life's fleeting achievements and there was much you could do to prepare for the next life in this one.
As historian Helen Castor reveals, how to be remembered - and remembering your loved ones - shaped not only the worship of the people of the Middle Ages but the very buildings and funding of the medieval Church itself.
Tue 28 Aug 2018 02:00
A Good Marriage
You are at the last episode
See all episodes from Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death
The Bone Crypt
Presenter Helen Castor
Series Producer Lucy Swingler
Director Lucy Swingler
Wed 23 Oct 2013 21:00
Thu 24 Oct 2013 03:00
Sun 27 Oct 2013 23:00
Wed 11 Jun 2014 20:00
Thu 12 Jun 2014 01:40
Mon 11 May 2015 20:00
Tue 12 May 2015 00:00
Wed 19 Jul 2017 01:00
Show more / Show less
Factual > History


text:
Q: When can we have $(A+B)\cap C=A\cap C+B\cap C$? With $A+B=\{a+b:a\in A, b\in B\}$ and any non-empty sets A,B,C. When can we have $(A+B)\cap C=A\cap C+B\cap C$? I am looking for the most general conditions (if any) such that the equality stands.
Thanks
Let's start by finding out what happens when $A,B,C\subset \mathbb{R}$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Committee Publications > All Select Committee Publications > Commons Select Committees > Culture, Media and Sport > Culture, Media and Sport
Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport Appendices to the Minutes of Evidence
APPENDIX 51
Supplementary memorandum submitted by Personal Domain Names Limited
THE UKDA—A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE
In just under two decades the UK domain name system (DNS) has established itself as a national resource of the utmost importance to the British economy. PDN, a non-profit company, is spearheading a campaign to create a new self-regulatory body to lay the foundation for the imminent growth of the UK's domain name system. This new body would be more efficient, pro-consumer and pro-choice than current arrangements.
THE PRESENT POSITION
The .uk domain is one of about 200 country code top level domains (ccTLDs). The ccTLD .UK was issued to the United Kingdom on the 24 April 1985. Since then six commercially available second level domains (SLDs) have been created. They are co.uk; org.uk; plc.uk; ltd.uk; net.uk; and sch.uk. Through an historical accident in 1996, the management of the UK's domain name system was assumed by a private monopoly called Nominet. Its members predominately consist of Internet service providers and other interested parties. There are presently no other SLD operators in the UK, other than Nominet.
Not only does Nominet maintain the database of all commercially available SLDs in the UK but it also sets the policy on whether to establish any new SLDs. In short, it is in charge of both the commercial running of the dot UK infrastructure and the regulation of policy—Nominet sets the rules and acts as judge.
In 1999 an application procedure was developed to provide third party organisations with the opportunity to apply for the creation and management of a new SLD. In order to encourage the participation of the private individual and to improve the diversity of the dot UK namespace, PDN sought to establish a new SLD called me.uk.
In a procedure that saw Nominet acting as co-bidder, regulator and bid adjudicator, Nominet despite being faced with a superior application awarded the contract to itself.
As the potentially largest SLD [.me.uk] to have been created within the UK, Nominet has assumed total dominance over the dot UK namespace and has successfully established itself as the UK's sole "national operator".
This application procedure is under preliminary investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.
It is believed that there should be a clear separation between the formation and regulation of policy and the running of a commercial operation.
Following examples set by the Australian Government, the UK should look towards the establishment of a body capable of laying the foundation for the successful and imminent growth of the .uk namespace.
Australia has established a new regime in which a self-funded and self-regulated body has assumed regulatory control over the ccTLD .au and everything below. This body is called the Australian Domain Administration (auDA). In order to introduce full and open competition into what was considered to be a closed market, this new body has put all existing SLDs out to public tender. Beyond the increased security a decentralised network brings, it is believed that this regulatory model provides the greatest value for every pound spent on domain name registration services.
This paper proposes a similar transparent self-regulatory regime in the UK—a ukDA. Under the approval of the UK Government, the ukDA would assume responsibility for the ccTLD .UK and be nationally responsible for the formation and regulation of all policies concerning the UK's domain name system and its day to day operation.
The UKDA would not be responsible for the running of an SLD, since this would compromise its ability to remain impartial. Furthermore, to ensure that the ukDA remained truly representative of and responsive to the UK Internet community, membership would be granted to every single domain name registrant whom would be actively encouraged to participate in the regulatory regime.
In short, the ukDA would:
— Ensure a clear separation between policy and commercial operations.
— Introduce competition into an environment, which is presently controlled by one "network operator".
— Be subject to legislative and Judicial Review.
— Derive income on a per domain name registered basis.
— Periodically review the self regulatory system.
— Improve industry confidence through the establishment of a national dispute resolution policy, consumer protection program and the introduction of a service level agreement.
At present there is no formal agreement between the UK Government and Nominet governing the management of the UK's domain name system. In view of its national importance, the UK Government should attain reserve powers that would allow it to assume and re-delegate control of the ccTLD, in the event that self regulation proved ineffective. For example, the UKDA would be subject to powers held by the Secretary of State or Oftel or later OFCOM if it failed to:
— Promote an adequate level of competition.
— Provide an acceptable balance between innovation and efficiency.
— Operate in the Interests of all concerned.
It is believed that the forthcoming OFCOM bill provides a timely opportunity for the Government to make way for formal powers to be introduced that will allow it to ensure that this national resource is run in the interests of the United Kingdom.
The ukDA could also take the lead in forming a European wide body which, in co-operation with other continental bodies [eg Australasia] could merge to form a global authority, which unlike current arrangements would have no ties to any specific nation.
At present ICANN, a US-based organisation, is responsible for the making of decisions that affect the global running of the Internet. ICANN is being consistently criticised by Civil Liberty Groups over its inability to act democratically. A body similar to the United Nations would be better placed to represent the interests of each nation on an equal and totally accountable basis.
Prepared 1 May 2002


The Waterfront Bremen is a shopping and leisure center located directly on the Weser. Browsing, dining, cinema and events ensure good spirits the whole year round here. In addition to more than 90 shops, as well as some brand shops such as Germany's first Primark, the center also offers a spacious food court with 15 different gastronomic options. The modern Cinespace multiplex cinema is also located here, and promises cinema fun for the whole family. There are also 4,000 free parking spaces.


text:
Q: Exporting CSV file to VCF I got a CSV file on Excel/Open Office and would like to import them on my iPhone but is proving an almost impossible task.
Some people suggested to send the file to myself via e.mail but, when choosing the software to open it, there is no "contacts" application that I choose from.
I think it may be easier if I converted the file to a VCF (vCards) list and then sent that to myself via e.mail.. would this trigger the right import program on my iPhone?
Any help/suggestion?

A: Actually the easiest way I found was to:

*

*export excel file as CSV

*import CSV file in Mac OS contacts (it allows to separate the
various fields and assign them to a  traditional vCard field)

*create a group within contacts (optional step)

*sync my iPhone with the group via iTunes

A: to be frank when i switch from Samsung S5 to apple iPhone 5S than i was facing same problem as i am able to get excel file in which i am able to get all the contact detail and my backup was in google.... as mostly people get this option in another android option as well... and i think my life is almost finished. thus one of my friend told me that vCard is a contact file which is compatible with samsung, Apple iPhone and also in windows system as well. so i start working on this and i get two options...

*

*first method
(i) sync all your contacts from your android phone to google
(ii) now take your backup all your contacts in your phone by choosing vCard option.
(iii) now copy all contacts file in your system
(iv) now sync all these vCard file in your iPhone with the help of Itunes tool

To be frank its very much confusing and even today i am not able to rectify how these can be done but some of my tech friends know that and done it easily but still its very much confusing with me. they done it twice or thrice time but after that even me also feel embrace and this is the reason i find out another way and done all easily with the help of a thir party tool... http://exceltovcard.onlinetechaid.com which is free to download and below are the complete steps
2. second step
(i) take backup of all your contacts from you google account by opening your account -> seetings -> backup - > contacts and store in excel file in your desirable location
(ii) download the free tool from the above given link and you will able to find out complete working detail of this tool in following link http://www.exceltovcard.onlinetechaid.com/how-it-works.html
(iii) after that simply download your Itunes and sync all your contacts in your contacts folder of iPhone and get all your contacts in your phone.
the best thing of vCard formatted contacts is user can use them as per need in any of device as well. Thus at that point of time this tool is very much useful and i feel blessed that i got this ultimate tool and there is no point of joy when i want to create distribution list and there is no option in some of my device but still i am able to make it with the help of this tool.... :) this is my personal experience and i hope that you will learn from my experience and able to solve all your problem... till than.. enjoy your life and spread happiness all over world.... :)