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2008.02.09: Pretty Much My Take on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Calls For Islamic Law in the United Kingdom, From a Recent Exchange
For some reason, this issue, which was rather explosive in the UK, seemed not to be covered at all by the American media. In very short form: Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and (thus) head of the Church of England, gave a speech in which he predicted that the adoption of some parts of sharia (Islamic religious law) within the UK were "inevitable", and suggested exploring a "constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law as we already do with aspects of other kinds of religious law."
Two excellent pieces on why this is an atrocious idea can be found in the Independent. One is by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: What He Wishes on Us is an Abomination, in which she writes, "Many women, gay men and dissidents came to Britain to escape Islamic tyrants and their laws. Dr Williams supports those laws and, by default, makes the refugees victims again." Another is a leading article which has to point out the blindingly obvious: "In a liberal and open society all citizens must be equal before the laws of the nation."
Here was my intemperate response, on the day – when a friend wrote, excited about Williams' ideas.
■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■ wrote:
> I am agog to know what you think about what
> I consider to be one of the braver, though
> politically fraught, interventions of a
> Christian cleric into national life that I
> can remember.
Two words: For shame.
> I suppose that if all religious tradition is merely
> heteronomy, i.e., the wholesale and unambiguous
> abdication of responsible humanity, then any space made
> for religious tradition (in fact, any human tradition at
> all) will seem akin to some kind of demonic "theocracy".
That's bullshit, though. Theocracy is a word with a
definition, which I suggest you reference. It needn't
have a scary modifier to be scary. And, much more to the
point, there's an enormous space made for religion -
it's called the private sphere. Hugely ironically,
this space is protected (for religion) by a tradition
which you egregiously assault by trying to inject
religion into the public sphere. Reference that, too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism
Then again, this is your country, and I can always
retreat to what may end up being the last refuge of
liberalism and Enlightenment values. And, speaking of
values, it sadly seems that at a certain point they
actually become irreducible - and inarguable. Either you
believe in things like equal justice under the law and
secular government, or you believe in some other things.
> In defence of the archbishop, he went out of his way in
> the interview (and no doubt the lecture) to stress he
> was not suggesting abandoning or even weakening the
> overarching universality of British law, and related
> traditions of human rights, for all British citizens.
In defence of the archbishop - whose essay evidently
only one of us has read - he wasn't being evil, merely
horrendously, clownishly wooly-headed. And I for one
don't give a damn if he steps down or rides it out until
he's the last congregant of the state church (which I
probably needn't underscore was set up for the connubial
convenience of tyrants). But whether or not Britons
repudiate his suggestions will tell a lot of the tale
for the future of this country.
Addendum: Britons – in the form of the media, politicians, the person on the street, and even other church leaders – have seemed to move overwhelmingly to confront and repudiate Williams' ideas. The net effect seems to me to be positive: increased understanding that 7th-century religious dictates have no place in the laws of a free society.
Additional Addendum: As usual, it was worth waiting for the Great Polemicist to weigh in. In To Hell with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Christopher Hitchens argues,
Picture the life of a young Urdu-speaking woman brought to Yorkshire from Pakistan to marry a man – quite possibly a close cousin – whom she has never met. He takes her dowry, beats her, and abuses the children he forces her to bear. She is not allowed to leave the house unless in the company of a male relative and unless she is submissively covered from head to toe. Suppose that she is able to contact one of the few support groups that now exist for the many women in Britain who share her plight. What she ought to be able to say is, "I need the police, and I need the law to be enforced." But what she will often be told is, "Your problem is better handled within the community." And those words, almost a death sentence, have now been endorsed and underwritten – and even advocated – by the country's official spiritual authority…
You might argue that I am describing an extreme case (though, alas, now not an uncommon one), but it is the principle of equality before the law that really counts. And just look at how casually this sheep-faced English cleric throws away the work of centuries of civilization:
[A]n approach to law which simply said "there's one law for everybody and that's all there is to be said, and anything else that commands your loyalty or allegiance is completely irrelevant in the processes of the courts" – I think that's a bit of a danger.
In the midst of this dismal verbiage and euphemism, the plain statement – "There's one law for everybody and that's all there is to be said" – still stands out like a diamond in a dunghill. It stands out precisely because it is said simply, and because its essential grandeur is intelligible to everybody. Its principles ought to be just as intelligible and accessible to those who don't yet speak English, in just the same way as the great Lord Mansfield once ruled that, wherever someone might have been born, and whatever he had been through, he could not be subject to slavery once he had set foot on English soil. Simple enough?
excerpts freedom hitch islam religion the long war the uk
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An "arctic vortex" was expected to reach into East Tennessee Tuesday afternoon bringing snow and cold temperatures.
While many may wonder what exactly is an "arctic vortex," the most important thing to understand is that it meand snow, ice, and very cold temperatures. Forecasts are calling for anywhere from two - four inches of snow, possible freezing rain on top of that, and temperatures dropping in to a single digit Tuesday night/Wednesday morning — with a high estimated at 27-degrees Wednesday afternoon.
But those are just predictions hard to imagine on a day when the thermometer hit almost 60 degrees.
Monday afternoon Anderson County Schools and Clinton City Schools called off Tuesday classes.
The decision to call off school is always more complicated than it looks until you learn what the deciding factor is: Student safety.
"East Tennessee weather is hard for meteorologists to predict, and at times, even harder for directors to make a call about the closing of school," Clinton City Schools Director of Schools Kelly Johnson said.
Speaking of safety: The Anderson County Sheriff's Office has offered these tips for making sure this week is a safe week.
"Should our weather result in snow and bad road conditions, we encourage motorists to stay off roads if at all possible," a release from the Sheriff's Office advises.
• Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
• Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
• Keep your lights and windshield clean.
• Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
• Don't use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
• Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
• Don't pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you're likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.


On the central route Matala – Heraklion, in the village of Ag.Deka, you will find the archeological site of Gortys. Getting there, the cathedral of St. Titus, the first bishop of Crete, dominated since the 6th ct BC.
Gortys is an important archaeological site. According to Mythology, this is the place where the wedding of Zeus with Princess Europa took place. The ancient city of Gortys flourished during the Minoan period, while during the Roman times, it became the capital of Crete and the North African region, reaching the peak of its acme. It was destroyed by earthquakes twice, the second time completely. Historically the city got the final strike on 828 by Arab invaders.
On its ruins today, the villages of Ag. Deka, Mitropoli and Ampelouzos are built.


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Finance & Administrative AffairsOffice of Legal Affairs
The Office of Legal Affairs provides comprehensive legal services to the university, including advice on a wide variety of legal issues such as personnel matters, research contracting and compliance, intellectual property, campus safety, open records and meetings, privacy and security of information, and many others.
Legal Affairs also reviews and drafts policies, represents the institution in administrative hearings, acts as a liaison with the Wisconsin Department of Justice in litigation filed in court, and educates the campus regarding legal issues.
We strive to minimize risks and liability to UWM while balancing the other interests of UWM representatives and the mission of the University.
Legal Affairs is committed to providing the highest standard of legal advice and representation, with professionalism and integrity, in furtherance of UWM's unique mission as a major doctoral university serving the diverse needs of Wisconsin's largest metropolitan area.
Legal Affairs is a small office, with four full-time attorneys and one legal support staff member. Each attorney is a generalist capable of handling a wide variety of legal matters, while also having particular expertise in certain key areas (please see our directory for details). The attorneys rotate the handling of new matters to ensure quick response to urgent issues while also accommodating planned workloads and schedules.
Access to Legal Services
Under the Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules regulating attorneys practicing in Wisconsin, our attorneys represent the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System as an institutional entity. This means that we are available to provide counsel to any UWM employee who represents the University's interests and has questions arising in the course and scope of their employment. Legal Affairs does not represent or provide legal advice to students or UWM employees on personal matters, including challenges to institutional decisions. If you are a student or an employee seeking personal legal assistance, please see our legal referral information.
Copyright and Permission to Use
Users of this website may copy, distribute, and display the materials on this page for any educational, non-commercial purpose without seeking permission as long as appropriate attribution is given to the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. To the extent we have linked to materials of others, this license to use may not apply — separate permission may be needed from the author of the work. Legal Affairs expresses particular gratitude to the UW System General Counsel's Office. Many Legal Topics are linked to the UW General Counsel's excellent and helpful web site, and some content has been borrowed directly from that site.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Grayling area offers a paved pathways system that is over 11 miles long. Six miles of the trail is an extended shoulder that runs to Hanson Hills Recreation Area. From town to Hartwick Pines State Park, the trail is a separate pathway. It is a family friendly, paved hiking & biking trail. Once at Hartwick Pines State Park, the only fee to enter the state park is a Michigan Recreation Passport; people on foot or bike entering the park do not pay a fee. The trail is fairly level with thru mixed pine and oak forest or open grassy cover types.Parks, local attractions, historic spots and restaurants are assessable from the trail.


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This photo of a sunset on Lake Titicaca was made during a tour in Peru, in May 2014. During my trip in Peru we stayed a few days on the island of Amantani located in Lake Titicaca. We 'lived' at homes of traditional families, and that was a nice experience. The contact with these people was very nice. After we had been playing a number of volleyball matches with the local people (at 3800 meters) during the afternoon, we could go and see the sunset. I walked down to the beach along with a travelling companion to gain a free composition. The photo was taken using a tripod, remote control and a 10-stop neutral density filter. The shutter speed used is 65 seconds and the aperture f11.


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Home » Pie Five names new v.p. of operations
Pie Five names new v.p. of operations
Scott Black, new vice-president of operations at Pie Five Pizza
Photo: Pie Five Pizza
By Sam Danley
DALLAS — Food industry vet Scott Black is joining Pie Five Pizza as vice-president of operations.
Mr. Black brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role. He got his start as a general manager at Nick-N-Willy's Take-N-Bake Pizza, working his way up to chief executive officer in under a decade. Since then, he has held a series of leadership roles at fast-casual brands, including Noodles and Company, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, Lyfe Kitchen and Bobby's Burgers Place. He also has experience in the growing fast-casual pizza segment. Before joining Pie Five, he was vice-president of operations at &Pizza and chief operating officer at NakedPizza.
Dallas-based Pie Five is a subsidiary of Rave Restaurant Group, Inc., which owns, franchises and supplies more than 250 Pie Five and Pizza Inn restaurants in the United States as well as globally.
"Scott really understands the Pie Five vision and he brings invaluable experience in both pizza and the fast-casual segment to our team," said Robert W. Bafundo, president of Rave Restaurant Group. "He has the incredible ability to develop systems and processes, build teams and optimize emerging brands that are in growth mode, making him the perfect fit for Pie Five."
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Game of Thrones: The Biggest Leaks & Spoilers From the HBO Series (So Far)
by Dylan Parker
– on Feb 03, 2019
To say that Game of Thrones fans are waiting on the edge of their seats for the new (and final) season of the show would be the understatement of a century. Frankly, April 14th just can't come soon enough. The anticipation and anxiety that GoT fans are feeling all across the globe is the main reason why so many of them are scouring the internet for as many leaks and spoilers from the final season as possible. Unfortunately, the details of this season are some of the most tightly kept secrets around.
RELATED: Game of Thrones Season 8: Everything We Know About The Battle of Winterfell
This is unlike previous seasons which have been riddled with legitimate leaks, speculations, and theories based on piracy and early script releases. In this article, we'll go back in time and talk about some of the spoilers that have plagued the show in the past as well as ones that reveal the secrets of the final season. Without further ado, here is Game of Thrones: The Biggest Leaks & Spoilers From the HBO Series (So Far).
Continue scrolling to keep reading
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10 Cersei's Pregnancy
Via: Bustle
Season Seven revealed that Cersei became pregnant with a fourth Lannister child. However, this fact was actually spoiled before the season even aired. The information was posted on Reddit months before it aired on HBO. The only difference was that the leak contained details of a scene that never ended up in "The Dragon and the Wolf" as it was apparently supposed to. This scene saw Cersei wake up covered in red, suggesting that she had a miscarriage, which would have made things even worse for her and sent her down an even darker path. The change was probably made because the writers either wanted to propel Cersei in a different direction, as well as to catch those who thought they knew the ending off-guard.
9 Dany The Dothraki
Not long before the sixth season of Game of Thrones premiered, an anonymous user on Archive.4plebs.org claimed that they had information on multiple plot details of the new season. One of the details had to do with Dany's storyline. This included her being taken to Vaes Dothrak and ordered to be a subordinate to the Khals.
They also detailed how she would eventually get all of the Dothraki to bow to her. The leaker got all of these details right except for how Dany is able to do this. In the leak, it says that Drogon comes to rescue her and this solidifies the Dothraki's belief in her leadership. However, in the show, she does this by herself after taking down all of the Khals.
8 The Great Battle And Demise Of Winterfell
A colossal action sequence has been said to take place in and around the iconic castle of Winterfell in Season Eight. More and more this seems to be an upcoming reality. This has been speculated since photos of the castle up in flames were leaked onto the internet. And when we say "up in flames", we really mean it. The entire castle is probably coming down during the climax of this epic battle.
The battle sequence is reported to have has 400-500 extras as well as was shot at night over 55 days and three locations. It has been said by cast and crew members that this battle will dwarf the one in "The Battle of The Bastards".
7 The "Spoils Of War" Leak
"The Spoils of War" (otherwise known as the "Loot Train Battle") was one of the biggest episodes of season seven. Unfortunately for HBO, the entire episode was actually leaked online two days before it aired. This led a lot of GoT fans to download it and view it illegally. The leak traced back to one of HBO's distributors in India and led to the arrest of four individuals.
RELATED: HBO Hack: Game of Thrones Episode Details & Stars' Personal Info Leaked
This was a big jab to HBO as this episode was meant to be a landmark television event. The effect of the episode was ultimately lessened by its early release. And, without a doubt, it harmed the episode's ratings.
6 When We All Knew What Was "Beyond The Wall"
"The Spoils of War" wasn't the only episode to fully leak online ahead of its air date. But this time, HBO only had themselves to blame. HBO Spain accidentally made the penultimate episode of season seven available to their subscribers before they were supposed to. This made a mess that the rest of HBO had to clean up.
"Beyond The Wall" was easily the episode with the most twists of the season. Additionally, it acted as the climax for most of the main storylines throughout the season. Having it leak online ahead of time revealed many of the plot details to those who wanted it to be a surprise.
5 The Truth Of The Tarlys
Before the release of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, an anonymous user on Archive.4plebs.org let loose some leaked information about the happenings of the season. Among the vast array of plot details (some of which were untrue) was the very accurate Sam Tarly storyline. It was divulged ahead of time that Sam and Gilly would visit with Sam's dad and the family wouldn't exactly get along. It also stated that Sam would take his father's Valerian Steel sword on his way to the Citadel. Although many of the details from this leak proved to be untrue, this was exceedingly accurate.
4 The Identity Of Rhaegar Targaryen
Ever since the show premiered, fans of the books were wondering if the character of Rhaegar Targaryen would be included in a flashback sequence. Fans got their wish at the end of season seven, but they actually knew about it long before "The Dragon and the Wolf" premiered. This is because a user on Reddit got ahold of a leaked HBO file that revealed the name of the man cast to play this important GOT character, Wilf Scolding.
Based on the theories circulating the internet, dedicated fans knew that the casting of this character would lead to the reveal that Jon Snow is a Targaryen, and thus in conflict with Dany for the throne.
3 Arya's Blind Storyline
Ahead of the premiere of season six, that same anonymous user on Archive.4plebs.org revealed that they had many plot details for the show. One of the details that they shared had to do with Arya's training as a Faceless Assassin. The post told readers that Arya would spend some of the season completely blind, as Jaqen had taken away her sight at the end of the previous season. But it also claimed that Arya could earn her sight back through a series of tasks. This included taking out an actor in a play that reenacted the events of the prior seasons. Of course, all of this ended up being true.
2 The First Four Episodes Of Season Five
Although script leaks tend to be the most common for HBO, back in 2015, the network was actually dealing with full-on piracy. According to spokespeople at HBO, the first four episodes of the fifth season of Game of Thrones were leaked online ahead of the spring premiere of the show. These leaks originated from someone who was pre-approved to see the episodes ahead of schedule.
RELATED: Game of Thrones Theory: Tyrion Betrays Daenerys In Season 8
Obviously, this was a big disappointment for the network, as reviews for the episodes came out before they were aired. Additionally, those who wanted to watch them sooner could do so. This made it the most pirated show in history.
1 The Great Big Leak Of The Century
As reported by Complex, the biggest Game of Thrones leak of them all was that of the entire seventh season. Almost every detail of the show was spoiled by those who scoured Reddit. This is because all someone got ahold of all the leaked scripts, as well as a script from HBO and Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Of course, the production called these leaks "nonsense", but most of them ended up being true. Among the true leaks was the fact that The Night King would posses Viserion and that Jon and Dany would spend much of the season hanging out at Dragonstone.
Here's hoping that HBO can keep a lid on the most important spoilers of the final season.
NEXT: Game of Thrones Season 8 Spoilers Roundup
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I've had Apple servers for quite some time now (actually, this MacMini is my fourth Mac doing server roles, after a G3 iBook, a dual G4 MDD PowerMac (power hog alert!) and a beautiful G4 iMac), and I've had an incredibly positive experience. Although people are complaining about (Mountain) Lion Server's simplicity, I believe things have gotten better, not worse.
Still, my requirements are a bit simple; after all, this was, up until very recently, a geek's server. It does file, web/wiki/blog, mail, and home automation server, as well as media center, my apps server, Internet and gaming machine. Nowadays, with Lion Server and our startup activities, it does a bit more: Time Machine (backup) server, contacts and calendar, VPN, and a couple of web apps.
And most of these with a simple flick of a switch.
What I like the most about it is it's flexibility, but also it's resilience. Remember, it's used daily as a media center (XBMC, iTunes) and a gaming machine (native Mac games). No crashes, no down time, no perceivable performance loss, low power consumption (13W "idle"), inaudible in all tasks (except with some heavier games).
Posted in Home Sweet Home, Information Technologies | Comments Off on Servers ahoy!


This entry was posted in Campus Announcement, General News and tagged medicine, small animal, veterinary on December 7, 2010 by Wire Eagle.
AUBURN – The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine will break ground on a new Small Animal Teaching Hospital and educational wing in a ceremony at 2 p.m. Dec. 9 on the lawn adjacent to Overton Auditorium-Goodwin Student Center on the site of the classroom building expansion.
This entry was posted in Academics and tagged accreditation, animal, medicine, veterinary on July 24, 2009 by Wire Eagle.
AUBURN – The Colleges of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Auburn University have achieved accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International. The association is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs.
This entry was posted in Campus Announcement, Community and tagged medicine, veterinary on April 9, 2009 by Wire Eagle.
AUBURN – The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine will host its 32nd annual open house on Saturday, April 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its campus on Wire Road. The free public event will feature college tours and scientific displays, a dog agility course, sheep-herding dogs, Teddy Bear surgery, a parade of breeds of dogs and horses, birds of prey from the Southeastern Raptor Center and many other attractions.
High school and college students can talk with counselors about courses for a future career in veterinary medicine. A presentation on "So You Want to Be a Veterinarian?" at 10:30 a.m. includes information about admission as well as career opportunities.
This entry was posted in Community, Events, Faculty, Research and tagged diabetes, medicine, veterinary on February 24, 2009 by Wire Eagle.
AUBURN – Auburn University will welcome top diabetes researchers as well as a former Miss America when it hosts the second annual Boshell Diabetes Research Day on March 6 at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
This entry was posted in Campus Announcement, Events and tagged conference, medicine, veterinary on April 3, 2008 by Wire Eagle.
AUBURN – The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine will host its 101st annual conference April 10-13 with almost 2, 000 veterinarians, technicians and spouses gathering for seminars, entertainment and class reunions. It will be held at the college's Wire Road campus and at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.


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Filipino Seafarers Celebrate the "Magna Carta of Seafarers"
International May 17, 2017 By Jacob Maslow
Filipino seafarers are celebrating new protections planned by the House of Representatives committee. The committee approved what is being hailed as the "Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers" that ensures working conditions and living conditions are aligned with Philippine law and maritime conventions.
The bill, a major step forward for all workers in the Philippine maritime industry, would protect all employees in the field who are working or engaged in work on Philippines-registered ships. The law will apply to all ships in domestic and international waters.
Filipino seafarers will also be protected when working on foreign-registered ships, too.
Mariano Maichael Velarde Jr., Buhay Party lawmaker, led the bill's approval that will guarantee the right to a safe workplace for all seafarers. The bill also requires that seafarers have a right to medical care, safe living and working conditions, and fair terms, including salary.
Discrimination protection is also provided as well as working hour requirements and rest periods that are in law for all Philippine workers not in the maritime industry.
The bill also works to provide rights to seafarers to collective bargaining, terms and conditions of employment and a say in company policies that have an impact on seafarers. Access to training and educational advancement at a reasonable cost is also a right under the current bill.
Ship-to-shore communication, email and Internet is required as a basic right to all seafarers where available.
The bill's formation is a result of a recent study that found that seafarers in the country are challenged most by fatigue, homesickness and work safety issues. Opponents of the bill state that while Filipino seafarers will benefit greatly from the bill, local shipowners will suffer if the bill is passed into law.
Shipowners will need to pay large sums of money to invest in the safety standards on their vessels and to develop new work. Opponents further doubt that all of the provisions in the bill could be implemented properly.
Seafarers contributed $5.5 billion to the Philippine economy, with a total of 229,000 Filipino seafarers employed across the world last year.
Senator Loren Legarda renewed a call for better protection of seafarers in 2016 ahead of June 25, the Day of the Seafarer. "Various policies to protect the welfare of our seafarers are scattered in numerous existing laws. This indicates a need for a more comprehensive legislation that will cover all these provisions, while at the same time complying with international maritime standards," she said.
She has also stressed the need for a National Seafarers Commission that will work with maritime workers to address their specific needs. She states that seafarers have not been given the attention they need in the Philippine society.
She argues that no legislation has been passed to help curb the safety issues, unjust compensation and abduction that occurs on many of the country's vessels. Policies and programs for migrant workers that have passed through legislation are for land-based workers that do not face the same work environment challenges as seafarers.
The proposed bill will have an immediate impact on the lives of workers in the Philippines, and will change the way Philippine maritime workers are treated domestically and internationally
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newsinfo / Nation
Tropical depression 'Samuel' heading to Sulu Sea
By: Daphne Galvez - Reporter / @DYGalvezINQ
INQUIRER.net / 03:14 PM November 21, 2018
Tropical Depression "Samuel" is off the southern coast of Antique on Wednesday afternoon and is now heading towards Sulu sea, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
In its 2 p.m. update, the state weather bureau said it last spotted Samuel at 70 kilometers west-southwest of Iloilo City, Iloilo or 120 km southeast of Cuyo, Palawan.
It is moving in a west-southwest direction with a speed of 40 kilometers per hour (kph).
Pagasa said the tropical depression packs maximum sustained winds of 45 kph and gusts up to 70 kph.
Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Number 1 is still on in 10 provinces in Luzon and the Visayas.
In Luzon, the places under Signal No. 1 are Romblon, southern Oriental Mindoro, southern Occidental Mindoro and Palawan including Calamian and Cuyo group of islands.
2 soldiers killed in Cotabato ambush
In the Visayas, the affected areas include Northern Negros Occidental, Guimaras, Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique.
Signal No. 1 over northern Cebu had been lifted.
Samuel is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) between Thursday evening or Friday morning, Pagasa said.
Moderate to heavy rains could still be expected over Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Aurora, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Catanduanes.
Pagasa warned the residents in these areas of possible flooding and landslides caused by Samuel.
Samuel made its first landfall in Samar at 2 a.m. Wednesday and another landfall over Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo at 9 a.m.
READ: TD 'Samuel' makes second landfall in Iloilo
2 alleged drug pushers nabbed in Taguig City
TAGS: news, Philippines, Tropical Depression Samuel, Weather
French shipbuilder launches PH Coast Guard's 'biggest, most modern' ship


I haven't been posting many of the RT comics on here because we've gotten so many hits on our Tumblr and the main page. It's been incredible finally being able to reach out to a new audience this past month or so and I'm glad people are getting a chance to enjoy the comics. This is a quasi-sequel to our comic that was inspired by the unfortunate Mike Brown shooting, which is regards to the news of another shooting that happened in St. Louis this week.


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Q: How to sort array for already existing names and add objects from those names to original name I currently have an array in Powershell giving me a list of users with certain objects (info). There are multiple instances of certain users but with different info attached. I want to add that info so when I search for a certain element/name in array it comes back with all the info.
So say for example I have three array.name all equal to John. But each instance has different addresses. I want to add those different address together so I have one array.name equal to John but it has the three different address attached.
I have tried a loop within a loop and creating a new array by trying to compare what I already have with the new array. But it doesn't work and spews out an endless list.
$arr3 += $arr2[0]

For ($a=0; $a -le ($arr2.length - 1); $a++) {
    $temp3 = $arr2[$a].managedBy
    if ($temp3 -eq $null){
        $temp3 = "none"
    }
    For ($b=0; $b -le ($arr3.length - 1); $b++) {
        if ($temp3 -eq $arr3[$b].managedBy) {
            $arr3[$b].name += "`n"
            $arr3[$b].name += $arr2[$a].name
            $arr3[$b].description += "`n"
            $arr3[$b].description += $arr2[$a].description
            $arr3[$b].info += "`n"
            $arr3[$b].info += $arr2[$a].info
        } else {
            $arr3 += $arr2[$a]
        }
    }
}

I should have arr3 with a list of managedBy that don't repeat but with extra info attached in some cases. This doesn't work and ends up spewing out a huge endless array.

A: Applying Lee_Daily's suggestions, you can do the following:
$arr3 = $arr2 | Group-Object ManagedBy |
   select @{n='ManagedBy';e={$_.Name}},@{n='Name';e={$_.group.Name -join ";"}},
   @{n='description';e={$_.group.description -join ";"}},
   @{n='info';e={$_.group.info -join ";"}}

This code groups names that are identical into one line of output using Group-Object. The .Group property contains the remaining properties of the $arr2 objects. All of the array object properties are stored in the .group property of the Group-Object output, hence the need to use nested properties ($_.group.property) to access them. I excluded ManagedBy. I use the -join operator to join all values of a single property with a semi-colon delimiter.
To customize this code for your situation, you can change the following since you may need to swap properties to reach your desired effect:

*

*Group-Object ManagedBy: You can use another property besides ManagedBy. This should be the property that contains duplicate values across your array that you want to reduce to one entry.

*Select @{n=...;e={...}}: The property you are grouping by (ManagedBy in this case) is mapped to the .name property of the Group-Object output. The remaining headers and values in the hash table should be the multiple values you want to join in one line. The hash table values should exclude the grouped property.

*-join ";": This is the delimiter that separates your common properties' values. Your info property value will be in the format Info 1;Info 2;Info 3. You can update this delimiter.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: How to download VODs concurrently I have the following code and it successfully downloads whatever list of YouTube URLs I have:
import os, pytube

youtube_URLs = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPlGWKm-jdg', 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPWFSCWJL_0']

current_dir = os.getcwd()

def youtube(url_list):
    if not os.path.exists(current_dir + '/youtube_videos/'):
        os.mkdir(current_dir + '/youtube_videos/')

    for i in url_list:
        youtube = pytube.YouTube(i)
        video = youtube.streams.first()
        video.download(current_dir + '/youtube_videos/')

But as you can see, it downloads them sequentially and this isn't ideal. How can I make this process concurrent? If I have a list of 5 VOD URLs, how can I download all 5 at the same time?

A: One idea is to use threading to run downloads in parallel. A simple example:
import threading
import pytube
import os

class DownloadVid(threading.Thread):
   def __init__(self, url, download_dir):
      threading.Thread.__init__(self)
      self.url = url
      self.download_dir = download_dir

   def run(self):
      print('Downloading URL: ' + self.url)
      youtube = pytube.YouTube(self.url)
      video = youtube.streams.first()
      video.download(self.download_dir)

youtube_URLs = ['https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPlGWKm-jdg', 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPWFSCWJL_0']

download_dir = os.getcwd() + '/youtube_videos/'

if not os.path.exists(download_dir):
    os.mkdir(download_dir )

for url in youtube_URLs:
    DownloadVid(url, download_dir).start()


Part 3 of a 3-part series. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Sean Martin is joined by Ryan Duguid, Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy at Nintex, for a conversation connecting cybersecurity with business process management.
Sean Martin: We talked about orchestration and about putting processes together that guide employees to do things that are good for the business, and hopefully some of those things can be automated. Where do you see companies urging automation—not just to improve efficiency, but also to erase human error and the risk that's associated with that.
Ryan Duguid: Probably the easiest way to answer that question is that companies have historically very much been obsessed with efficiency, which is good. In fact, a Navy Seal by the name of Jocko Willink wrote a book called Extreme Ownership, in which he talks about the solution. If you define all of your standard operating procedures, and people understand the mission, then everything gets really, really easy. Under duress and under fire in each situation, people know what to do instinctively.
A lot of companies think there's too much process here, too much bureaucracy. But process, done the right way, frees people up.
A lot of people think great, that means we're more efficient. Yes, but in actual fact, once you deal with the efficiency component—because you can only be so efficient, and you can only cut costs to zero—the real important thing is that it frees you up for higher value and a higher purpose activity. How do you bring in more revenue? How do you make your business more profitable? How do you accelerate base innovation, create new customers and keep them happy, and obtain and retain high-performing employees?
When it comes to where human error plays into all of this, the process might be something that creates higher productivity for half your employees. But nobody likes making mistakes or doing the wrong thing, and then getting told about it during a performance review. The more things you automate, or the more you can assure things are done in the described way, the less likely you are to make mistakes and create issues and get into trouble.
Shadow IT is a great example. You can tell your team to let people use their own applications, but to also ask them to fill in a simple form and wait to get the OK before they use their own applications, so you know it's done right. You won't create a problem.
Or, if you're onboarding a new partner, you ask them to fill in a form and sign an NDA with DocuSign. Take that contract, put it into your SharePoint enterprise content management repository, and set a retention schedule. Everybody's good; you're all happy.
If you go the route of Wild West file sharing, I think that is one of the biggest challenges in this day and age. If you're working with an external design firm, for example, put in a request for a location to interact with that design agency. What this will do as a result is an inclusion of a box repository for you, and it will invite the various stake holders from either side and ask a couple of questions: Are you going to share confidential information? What's the duration of your project?
Based on that, you can say, we'll keep that space alive, find the right people, and set the right security policies. Maybe you're watermarking things or applying DLP information rights management, and when it comes to the end of that project lifecycle, you're going to send you a quick note to ask, "Do you still need this space?" If they say, "Yes," you can extend it for a month and come back and ask again in a month. If they say "No," you can archive it, remove peoples' rights to that information, and then potentially move or archive that content somewhere else so you can keep track of what happened with the project if you need to refer back to it at any time.
SM: Taking out just one of those parts can cause the whole process to fall apart, and if you don't have a clear process, like you said, you're holding your fingers crossed, hoping things will happen the way you expect them to, right?
RD: Yes. If you look at those examples I gave, historically, most people would tell you that there's too much effort to get that out. Why would I bother? I just spent a million dollars on this BPM platform, and I'm going to hire developers to build that thing? Honestly, on our platform, most of those things I just described to you can be implemented in a drag-and-drop form and workflow that take just under an hour to put it into production, and then you're off to the races.
Historically, people have ignored all that and said something like, "We're an insurance company, and we really need to focus on our claims adjusters and our assessments and looking for fraudulent activity." That's good, they need to do all that stuff. It's going to make sure they don't go bankrupt. But all this other stuff is at real significant risk.
Using the insurance company as an example…if someone's involved in a car crash, how do they upload the pictures? Who's got access to those pictures? Is there any involved person that didn't file information? Was there an injury? Are personal medical records being shared? Do you have access to those medical records? Is there a simpler way to do this that can speed things up? Can you avoid having information bouncing around in e-mail, forwarded to a Gmail account, and taken out of the organization? Again, think on how to start to scope those problems and how you can know that things have been handled in a consistent fashion.
SM: I'm not necessarily saying that humans are stupid or malicious, but I'll go out on a limb and say we're lazy for sure. People in the insurance company are paid, reviewed and bonused on how well they sell and how much fraud they eliminate, right? They're not paid to fine-tune their business processes.
RD: Most people aren't negligent, but many are involved in gross misconduct. I think they are trying to get their jobs done the best that they can, are overloaded, and have a lot on their minds, especially in this day and age that we live in. Posts and notifications are always popping up on their screens. New e-mails, new messages, text messages from their family. There's a crisis—my kid's unhappy at school, I've got a dental appointment, and on and on. Things fall through the cracks.
When trying to juggle a whole lot of things, if you can just document, orchestrate, and automate as much as possible, it frees you up to be focused. If you can get on a workflow, you can do the job as best as possible and take the guess work out.
SM: Yes…take the guess work out and put your mind to the decisions and problem solving. That can potentially have a bigger impact.
As we wrap up here, let's bring it back to getting things "on the rails" and keeping people and processes from "going off the rails." You mentioned companies with thousands of business processes running on your platform. Most companies start with the core business processes but leave the rest to chance. Given those two things that you've mentioned, how would you suggest folks take the first step to look at their business processes, and begin to orchestrate and maybe eventually automate, if it makes sense? Where should they start?
RD: It's the alcoholics anonymous approach. First admit you have a problem. There's a lot of things going on that you likely don't know about that R&D controls. Second, acknowledge there's actually a solution for this. The technology is there to solve these problems, and there's a need to do it at scale. You don't have to buy five million dollars of software and have consultants work years to tackle these problems. In the spirit of shadow IT we talked about, you need to empower the people who understand the processes to deliver solutions to orchestrate or automate this process and then optimize it over time. You can do this because you understand what's going on.
Part of the job here is to get the right tools into the hands of the right people. If a customer has a thousand work flows, who approved the use of a thousand work flows? Who approved the spend for these thousand work flows? Not every process is going to be around forever. Who's reviewing the processes to clean them up and clear them out? At what frequency? Getting the tools in the hands of the people because they mostly know what to do gives us a little governance in getting started.
Then there's prioritization. A large part of my job on a day-to-day basis is to look at all the things we could build as a technology company, and place a value on them to our customers, our partners, and to ourselves. We then prioritize the investments accordingly. Organizations should try to understand the scope of the problem. Then pop that up to the start of the discussion: We've got problems in HR, sales, finance, and R&D. Where should we start? Do we start with one department then expand beyond that? Or do we create champions in each department and have them start in parallel to solve the problems? There's no right or wrong answer; it just depends on the resources you have and the problems you are trying to solve.
The luxury we have as a technology partner to our customers is that with 8,000 customers, millions of processes, and another platform, we can actually talk to people and say here's what we've seen in other industries like yours. Or here's what we've seen in other sales organizations that can get our customers the quick wins. When you get quick wins, it's easier to go back and request greater investments into the technology and what you're trying to do with your business functions.
SM: That's great advice and guidance. You also mentioned prioritization and value to others, and I'll take this moment to thank you for taking the time and prioritizing this time with us to share your experience. It's been a value to me as a business owner and, hopefully, our listeners found value in what you shared with us today as well.
RD: Thank you for the opportunity, and I hope there's a whole bunch of questions that come in as a result of this. I'm looking forward to engaging with folks as a result.
We hope you enjoyed this 3-part series!
Part 2: The Connection Between Cybersecurity And Business Process Management – How Many Process Can You Automate? Why?
Ryan Duguid is vice president of products at Nintex, where he is responsible for setting product and platform vision, driving continuous innovation, and delivering technology to help everyday people solve their process problems. Ryan joined Nintex from Microsoft where he was responsible for the content management business in the SharePoint Product Group.


text:
Q: Get list of files from a folder inside a packaged project I have a list of public assets inside the "src/main/resources" folder that looks like this:
public/images/

*

*asd1.png

*asd2.png

I'm trying to list all the files inside the "public/images/" directory, as it is a compiled project using sbt universal:packageBin I'm trying to access the assets using:
val input = getClass.getResourceAsStream("/public/images/")

or
val input = getClass.getResource("/public/images/")

getResourceAsStream returns an empty result and getResource returns a URL object that contains a direct path to the folder but I cannot list anything inside that folder even with new File(getClass.getResource("/public/images/")) as the check for .isDirectory() returns a false as a response or .listFiles() throws an exception.
What is the best way to achieve this?


text:
Димитър Пиронков може да се отнася за:

 Димитър Пиронков (р. 1925) – български цирков артист
 Димитър Пиронков (р. 1940) – български учител и общественик

Вижте също
 Пиронков

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
<?php

/*
 * This file is part of the Active Collab DatabaseStructure project.
 *
 * (c) A51 doo <info@activecollab.com>. All rights reserved.
 */

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace ActiveCollab\DatabaseStructure\Test\Associations\AssociatedEntities;

use ActiveCollab\DatabaseStructure\Test\Fixtures\Association\WriterHasManyBooks\WriterHasManyBooksStructure;
use ActiveCollab\DatabaseStructure\Test\StructuredDbTestCase;
use InvalidArgumentException;

final class HasManyAssociationAssociatedEntitiesTest extends StructuredDbTestCase
{
    protected function getStructureClassName(): string
    {
        return WriterHasManyBooksStructure::class;
    }

    protected function getBuildPath(): string
    {
        return dirname(dirname(__DIR__)) . '/Fixtures/Association/WriterHasManyBooks';
    }

    public function testNonIterableAttribute()
    {
        $this->expectException(InvalidArgumentException::class);
        $this->expectExceptionMessage("A list of entities expected.");

        $this->pool->produce($this->type_entity_class_names['writers'], [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'books' => 123,
        ]);
    }

    public function testInvalidAttributeInstance()
    {
        $this->expectException(InvalidArgumentException::class);
        $this->expectExceptionMessage("A list of entities expected.");

        $this->pool->produce($this->type_entity_class_names['writers'], [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'books' => [new \stdClass],
        ]);
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntitiesAttributeOnInsert()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ], false);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ], false);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ], false);

        $this->assertFalse($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertFalse($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertFalse($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'books' => [$book1, $book2],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertSame($writer->getId(), $book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertSame($writer->getId(), $book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertFalse($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $this->assertSame(2, $writer->countBooks());
    }

    public function testExistingAssociatedEntitiesAttributeOnInsert()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ]);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ]);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'books' => [$book1, $book2],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $this->assertSame(2, $writer->countBooks());
    }

    public function testNonIterableIdsAttribute()
    {
        $this->expectException(InvalidArgumentException::class);
        $this->expectExceptionMessage("A list of ID-s expected.");

        $this->pool->produce($this->type_entity_class_names['writers'], [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'book_ids' => 123,
        ]);
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntityIdsAttributeOnInsert()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ]);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ]);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'book_ids' => [$book1->getId(), $book2->getId()],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $this->assertSame(2, $writer->countBooks());
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntityIdsAttributeUpdatesOnInsert()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ]);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ]);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        // Set three books.
        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'book_ids' => [$book1->getId(), $book2->getId(), $book3->getId()],
        ], false);
        $this->assertFalse($writer->isLoaded());

        // Reset to one book
        $writer->setAttribute('book_ids', [$book2->getId()]);
        $writer->save();

        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());
        $this->assertSame(1, $writer->countBooks());
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntitiesAttributeOnUpdate()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());
        $this->assertSame(0, $writer->countBooks());

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ], false);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ], false);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ], false);

        $this->assertFalse($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertFalse($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertFalse($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $this->pool->modify($writer, [
            'books' => [$book1, $book2],
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertSame($writer->getId(), $book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertSame($writer->getId(), $book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertFalse($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $this->assertSame(2, $writer->countBooks());
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntityIdsAttributeOnUpdate()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ]);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ]);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'book_ids' => [$book1->getId(), $book2->getId()],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $book_ids = $writer->getBookIds();
        $this->assertCount(2, $book_ids);

        $this->assertContains($book1->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertContains($book2->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertNotContains($book3->getId(), $book_ids);

        $writer = $this->pool->modify($writer, [
            'book_ids' => [$book2->getId(), $book3->getId()],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $book_ids = $writer->getBookIds();
        $this->assertCount(2, $book_ids);

        $this->assertNotContains($book1->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertContains($book2->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertContains($book3->getId(), $book_ids);
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntityAttributeResetOnUpdate()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ]);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ]);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'books' => [$book1, $book2],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $book_ids = $writer->getBookIds();
        $this->assertCount(2, $book_ids);

        $this->assertContains($book1->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertContains($book2->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertNotContains($book3->getId(), $book_ids);

        $writer = $this->pool->modify($writer, [
            'books' => [],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $this->assertSame(0, $writer->countBooks());
    }

    public function testAssociatedEntityIdsAttributeResetOnUpdate()
    {
        $writer_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['writers'];
        $book_entity_class_name = $this->type_entity_class_names['books'];

        $book1 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'War and Peace',
        ]);

        $book2 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Anna Karenina',
        ]);

        $book3 = $this->pool->produce($book_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'The Government Inspector',
        ]);

        $this->assertTrue($book1->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book1->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book2->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book2->getWriterId());
        $this->assertTrue($book3->isLoaded());
        $this->assertNull($book3->getWriterId());

        $writer = $this->pool->produce($writer_entity_class_name, [
            'name' => 'Leo Tolstoy',
            'book_ids' => [$book1->getId(), $book2->getId()],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $book_ids = $writer->getBookIds();
        $this->assertCount(2, $book_ids);

        $this->assertContains($book1->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertContains($book2->getId(), $book_ids);
        $this->assertNotContains($book3->getId(), $book_ids);

        $writer = $this->pool->modify($writer, [
            'book_ids' => [],
        ]);
        $this->assertTrue($writer->isLoaded());

        $this->assertSame(0, $writer->countBooks());
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Pilous, Z. (1999) "The moss Schistidium atrofuscum Schimp. in the Slovakian and Roumanian Carpathians", Oecologia Montana, 8(1-2), pp. 47-49. Available at: https://om.vuvb.uniza.sk/index.php/OM/article/view/115 (Accessed: 25April2019).


(SNO) – Just over an hour after responding to a stabbing in Mon Repos, police were called to another possible crime scene, in Soufriere.
Police are investigating the death of Gregory Philip, aka 'Checkie'.
It is alleged that Philip fell from a balcony during an altercation.
According to sources, police have not ruled out foul play as they investigate the allegation.
The incident is reported to have occurred around 9 p.m.
About an hour earlier, police responded to the stabbing of Stephen James, aka 2pac, in La Pointe, Mon Repos.
James was pronounced dead at St. Jude Hospital.
He was allegedly stabbed in the neck during a dispute with another man.
It's the patois English demerit we try to speak putting it with a reverse psychology and it will not work so we are Angry all the time because what we want to bring out is not what the message is so we kill.
In less than ,2 hours 2 dead.!!!! We must learn anger management.


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Dr Sunhee Koo
In: Anthropology » Social Sciences » Faculty of Arts
https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/profile/skoo849
Senior Lecturer The University of Auckland: Anthropology
For the last ten years, I have focused my research on the relationship between music and the construction of identity among diasporic Koreans in the U.S., China, and Japan, and Chinese Korean return migrants and North Korean defectors in South Korea. My research on these topics presents important case studies that deal with the transformation of Northeast Asia, into a vibrant cultural intersection in which various nations, citizenship, and cultural identities are crisscrossed. The primary outcome of my research is the sole-authored book on Chinese Korean music and identity (under contract with the University of Hawai'i Press); I have submitted the full manuscript for the press review in 2017, and after receiving the positive reviews, I am currently completing the revision of manuscript, which I expect to finish no later than the end of 2018. By winning the University of Auckland's Faculty Research Development Fund in 2016, I began new research on North Korean performing arts troupes in South Korea and Japan. As outcome of this research, I delivered six conference papers at various international conference venues and submitted two book-chapter and one refereed-journal manuscripts, all of which are currently under review. My growing expertise in Korean diaspora and migration, and North Korean performing arts distinguishes my work globally.
ANTHRO 202 Music and Identity in World Music Cultures
ANTHRO 301 Contemporary Research in Music and Culture
2018–2019 John Hyun-Joon Jang, MA thesis, P'umba: Politics and Commercialisation of a Traditionesque Theatre in Contemporary South Korea, Anthropology, University of Auckland
2017– Hae Eun Shin, PhD thesis, North Korean Performing Arts, Anthropology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (External Supervision Committee Member)
2017- Kooshna Gupta, PhD thesis, Item Songs and Gender in Hindi Cinema, Anthropology, University of Auckland
2017–2018 Dorithy Mitasa, BA Honour dissertation, Transculturality in K-Pop and its Appeal to Auckland Youths, Anthropology, University of Auckland
2016–2017 John Hyun-Joon Jang, PG Dip, Aging and Ritual in Korean Music, Anthropology, University of Auckland
2011–2017 Jihye Kim, PhD thesis, Ethnicity and Opportunity: Korean Entrepreneurship in the Argentine Garment Industry, Asian Studies, University of Auckland
2014 Shahabeddin Chilan, PhD thesis in the School of Music (SoM), the National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries (NICAI), University of Auckland
2012–2013 Anna Zhang, MM thesis, The Construction and Reconstruction of Chinese National Vocal Music, School of Music, NICAI, University of Auckland
2007 The 2006 Best Student Paper Prize, Association for Korean Music Research
2004 The 2004 Chancellor's Doctoral Student Research Achievement Award, University Research Council, UHM
2003, 2002Arts and Sciences Advisory Council Award, College of Arts and Sciences, UHM
2002 Outstanding Student in Ethnomusicology, Music Department, UHM
2002 Chinese Music Scholarship, UHM
2001 Nesta Obermer Chamber Music Scholarship, UHM
1995 Founder's Day Award, College of Arts and Sciences, NYU
1995 Hanna van Vollenhollen Memorial Prize, Department of Music, NYU
UoA Korean Studies Advisory Board (Academy of Korean Studies‒Core University Program of Korean Studies Fund)
East Asia: China, North and South Korea, Japan
Korean Studies Australasia Association (KSAA) Board Member
Newsletter Editor of KSAA
Board Member of Asian Musicology, a peer-reviewed journal published in South Korea
Koo, S. H. (2019). Silky or Broken Sound?: The Performance and Performativity of North Korean Self-Reliance Singing in South Korea. Voicing the Unheard: Music as windows for minorities. Paris, France: L'Harmattan. Related URL.
Koo, S. (2019). Korea: History, Culture, and Geography of Music. In J. Sturman (Ed.) The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture (pp. 1274-1276). Thousand Oaks, USA: SAGE Publications, Inc.. 10.4135/9781483317731.n409
Kim, J., & Koo, S. (2017). From father to son: 1.5- and second-generation Korean argentines and ethnic entrepreneurship in the argentine garment industry. The Review of Korean Studies, 20 (2), 175-201.
Koo, S. (2016). Silky or broken voice? Performing North Korean self-reliance singing in South Korea. Paper presented at ICTM Study Group Symposium "Music and Minorities", Rennes, France. 4 July - 8 July 2016.
Koo, S., & SUNG, S. Y. L. (2016). Asia and beyond: The circulation and reception of Korean popular music outside of Korea. In H. Shin, S. A. Lee (Eds.) Made in Korea: Studies in Korean popular music (pp. 203-214). London & New York: Routledge.
Koo, S. (2015). Instrumentalizing Tradition?: Three Kayagŭm Musicians in the People's Republic of China and the Construction of Diasporic Korean Music. Asian Music, 46 (1), 78-109. 10.1353/amu.2015.0002
Koo, S. H., & Oh, J. Workshop on Korean Drumming, 11/8/2014. , Kenneth Myers Theater, University of Auckland. Commissioning body: Academy of Korean Studies
(2014). MORE THAN TWO KOREAS: CULTURAL INTERSECTION AND CHINESE KOREAN MUSICIANS IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTH KOREAN MUSIC SCENES. Yearbook for Traditional Music, 46, 1-21. 10.5921/yeartradmusi.46.2014.0001
s.koo@auckland.ac.nz
HUMAN SCIENCES BUILDING - EAST - Bldg 201E
10 SYMONDS ST


text:
The Morning Shift
Toyota Says It's Going All In On EVs While Also Going All In On Hydrogen Somehow
Filed to:Tesla
The Morning ShiftAll your daily car news in one convenient place. Isn't your time more important?
Toyota wants to get you into an electric vehicle faster, GM may be putting controls in their autonomous vehicles after all, the Tesla stock roller coaster rides on, and more in The Morning Shift for Friday, June 7, 2019.
1st Gear: Toyota Wants Half of All Sales to be EVs by 2025 But Still Hasn't Given Up on Hydrogen
Electric cars are the future feels like a phrase that can only be typed using the Spongebob meme font these days, not because it's untrue but because it's kind of meaningless at this point. The dominating question is not if but when, and, for automakers, whether they'll dive into the EV deep end or keep wading in gradually while whining about how cold the water is.
Which is to say it's not exactly surprising Toyota has cut its goal for when it wants half of all global sales to be EVs to 2025, roughly twice as fast as the previous benchmark. They plan to do this by leveraging partnerships with battery makers and other automakers. From Reuters:
Toyota is now faced with a higher-than-expected demand for cars that use batteries, rather than gasoline, Executive Vice President Shigeki Terashi told a briefing on Friday.
Also, increasingly stringent emissions regulations require more lithium-ion batteries in the next five years than the automaker plans to produce, he added.
"We consider ourselves as a maker of electric vehicle batteries, going back to when we developed the battery for the Prius," he said, referring to the pioneering gasoline hybrid.
"But there may be a gap between the amount of batteries we can produce, and the amount of batteries we may need."
Toyota, which already makes batteries for hybrids and hybrid plug-ins, said it will partner with China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) and EV maker BYD Co Ltd for battery procurement.
This is all pretty standard fare for an article about EVs; we expect the industry to shift quickly but making batteries is hard etc. However, Toyota did throw in one curve ball at the end:
"We haven't changed our policy towards battery EVs," Terashi said. "We are not shifting our focus to prioritize battery EVs, nor are we abandoning our FCV strategy."
Yes, that's FCV, as in Fuel Cell Vehicle, as in hydrogen fuel cells. I get diversifying R&D to minimize strategic risk and all that, but it doesn't seem like you can be going all-in on both electric and FCVs.
But not only that, we're not sure how Toyota plans on catching up so quickly that half of all car sales to be EVs by 2025. Despite the head start from the Prius, it barely makes any long-range electric cars to begin with. And its hydrogen efforts have always fallen a bit flat, outside of California.
2nd Gear: GM's Cruise May Just Keep the Dang Steering Wheel For Now
More than a year ago, GM began the process seeking federal approval to build autonomous vehicles for its Cruise subsidiary without manual controls such as pedals or steering wheels. Like nearly any process seeking federal approval, it has dragged on without resolution.
Now, GM appears to be ready to just keep the damn steering wheel until the Feds can get their act together. From Automotive News:
General Motors' initial fleet of autonomous vehicles for public use will "most likely" include manual controls such as steering wheels and pedals, according to the company's head of electric and autonomous vehicles.
GM last year requested federal approval to launch such a fleet with its fourth-generation Cruise AV that does not include manual controls as early as this year. However, the U.S. government has been slow to grant safety exemptions for the vehicles, which do not meet existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
"Until we have exemptions, which we filed a petition for, and/or law changes, we probably wouldn't go forward with Gen 4," Doug Parks, GM vice president of autonomous and electric vehicle programs, said Thursday during the 2019 RBC Capital Markets Future of Mobility Conference in Palo Alto, Calif. "But we think it's really something we've got to talk about, we've got to work on."
There's still no time frame for Cruise to publicly launch, although GM execs have previously targeted some time this year. I, for one, would be more than happy to have Cruise take their time and launch when ready as opposed to falling prey to the "race to AV" narrative and rushing a product that isn't there.
As far as AV companies go, Cruise—and Cadillac's Super Cruise semi-AV system for that matter—have done a good job staying out of the news for the wrong reasons. Let's hope that continues.
3rd Gear: Tesla Stocks Up, Wheeeeee!!!
The Tesla stock roller coaster continues its exciting ride, with prices up 12 percent in June due to expected forthcoming good news on orders and deliveries, particularly on the Model 3, according to the Detroit News. This follows a terrible-no-good May for Tesla that saw the company's stock price plummet 22 percent.
This might be too simplistic, but it sure seems to me like when Tesla focuses on making good cars well the stock does well, and when it's all about robotaxis and arbitrary price points it can't hit the stock does poorly. But that's just one poor blogger's take using nothing but the financial mysticism of his own two semi-working eyes.
Anyways, here's what Tesla's recent years look like on the ol' ticker:
Screenshot: Google Stocks
Up down up down up down up down. It's almost like Tesla is a volatile company run by an unpredictable futurist.
4th Gear: We Have So Many Questions About the Erstwhile FCA-Renault Merger
The Financial Times has a detailed rundown of the FCA-Renault merger deal falling apart, which is worth reading in full should you be fortunate enough to have an FT login. But the detail that sticks out to us is this:
A demand that French finance minister Bruno Le Maire be given time to use a trip to Japan to smooth the deal with Renault partner Nissan, made late in a meeting on Wednesday evening, was too much for FCA.
As the minutes ticked towards midnight, a call between FCA's increasingly frustrated board members ended with a decision to call off the merger approach.
So a multi-billion dollar merger months in the making was called off because a key player in the whole deal—the French state owns 15 percent of Renault—wanted to talk it over with another key player in person? We're sure to learn more about this abrupt about-face in the coming weeks and perhaps even months, but the big question is why the rush?
5th Gear: Businesses Hate Unpredictability, Especially Car Companies
My colleague Brad wrote about the news last night that a bunch of the major automakers, including Ford, General Motors, BMW, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, wrote a letter to President Trump asking him to please reconsider his emissions standards rollback:
If the White House follows through on its plan to roll back EPA regs to pre-Obama specs, some 14 states have already stated that a legal suit would be on the table. California's Air Resource Board, for example, would institute its own fuel economy and emissions standards, more stringent than the federal minimum. The rollback would knock the planned 2025 corporate average fuel economy goal down from 54.5 mpg to about 37 mpg, among other planned regulations knockdowns.
By cleaving the country over automotive regulations, this rollback would effectively mandate that manufacturers would have to treat those 14 states as a new market with separate goals. The automakers are attempting to drum up legislative support for continuing a single unified EPA and CARB standard, stepping in to seek compromise between the White House and California.
Brad's post is worth reading in full, particularly for pointing out that this is an all-time example of Be Careful What You Ask For.
But the broader point I want to add is that this is unlikely to be the last time the federal government seeks vastly different rules than a handful of states looking to go in the complete opposite direction. Should a Democrat further to the Left win the next election, the same dynamic could well appear, this time with red states bucking the federal regulatory trend.
Businesses, especially very large ones that have to plan manufacturing schedules years and years in advance, hate this kind of unpredictability and variability. Should this come to pass, regardless of your feelings on fuel economy standards, it is going to radically change the business climate in this country, and almost certainly for the worse.
Reverse: Switzerland Invents the Drive-Through Bank
Switzerland welcomes first drive-through bank
On this day in 1962, the banking institution Credit Suisse—then known as Schweizerische…
Neutral: FCA-Renault WTF
What are your biggest questions about the FCA-Renault failed merger? What smells fishy to you?
This Ford Bronco Test Mule Looks Kind of Fantastic Just as It Is
I Need A Large Vehicle That Looks Professional But Isn't Too Fancy! What Car Should I Buy?
Science Has Perfected the Ferrari 458 Italia With a Manual Transmission
Senior Reporter, Investigations & Technology, Jalopnik


text:
Transparency in Governance & Finance
ICC in the Media
ICC Calls on Government of PM Trudeau to Fulfil its Promise and Re-Engage With Iran
Recieve Email Updates
درباره کنگره
پیوندها و پایگاه داده مفید
Quarterly Progress Report
posted by ICC Communications | 5sc
Here is ICC's quarterly progress report from ICC President, Bijan Ahmadi:
We are working on creating a strong and memorable past and building a promising future.
Dear members and supporters of the Iranian Canadian Congress,
The current Board of Directors of the Iranian Canadian Congress, commenced their work upon election to office following the last Annual General Meeting on May 15th, 2016. In support of my initial promise, I will be providing quarterly updates to members and supporters of ICC, with information in regards to the development and progress of our work and actions thus far.
Needless to say, each and every member of the new ICC Board of Directors is working tirelessly, with great dedication, and passion, to lead, build, and shape this organization into a professional, powerful, and influential entity, for our Iranian Canadian community. Collectively, the passed brief 3 months have been promising, and fruitful in setting a great foundation for our work. Predominantly our focus was on consultation and planning, identifying our long-term priorities, and recruiting professional talent to various ICC departments.
As always, we welcome and invite you to please provide us with your feedback about this report. You can always contact us via email or call our office (Click here for contact info). For those of you who live in Toronto, and would like to meet with us in person to discuss the details of this report, or provide us your feedback about ICC activities, we have scheduled special office hours for the coming week, for 3 days on Aug 29 at 6-8PM, Aug 30 at 3-5PM , and Aug 31 at 6-8PM. You are more than welcome to join us on any of these days. Due to our office building's policies and rules, and the limited space, we kindly ask that you send us an email, a day in advance, letting us know about the time that you will be attending our office open house (email: info@iccongress.ca).
Community consultation process
In this process we consulted with community members, activists and experts to identify key challenges and priorities of the Iranian Canadian community. The feedback collected in the consultation process helped us in preparing a short-term and long-term action plan for the works of ICC.
As part of the Consultation and Planning process, we met with Iranian Canadian elected officials and political activists, in all three leading political parties in Canada. We had the pleasures of consulting with Members of Parliament Majid Jowhari, Ali Ehsassi, Hon. Reza Moridi, former federal candidate and conservative activist Michael Parsa, and former federal candidate and NDP activist Mehdi Mollahasani.
Further, in this process we organized a roundtable discussion with representatives of 20 active Iranian-Canadian non-profit and charity organizations, to hear the perspectives of these leading organizations with respect to the challenges and priorities of our community. In addition, two public consultations were organized and an online consultation form was launched to provide accessibility to fellow Iranian-Canadians interested in participating in our consultation process from near or far parts of Canada.
To complete and conclude our Consultation and Planning process, we sent out online consultation forms to Iranian-Canadian experts across Canada to provide us with their inputs, ideas, and contributions around solutions in addressing the identified issues and challenges of our community.
Planning and prioritization
One of the challenges ICC has continuously faced over the recent years has been the lack of direction and lack of focus. To address this challenge, the Board of Directors conducted extensive reflections and deliberations to prepare a comprehensive action plan, and list of priorities based on the inputs from the consultation process, directions of our by-laws, and thorough research of the works of comparable organizations. In this action plan we have defined the priorities that ICC will be working on, and each department's position and part in addressing these priorities.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to our Board of Directors for the hundreds of hours of time, and the efforts they fulfilled in the last 3 months on the Consultation and Planning process. Especially ICC's outreach director, Tayaz Fakhri, for the time, determinations, and energy he spent on the consultation process with different stakeholders.
In this report I will be summarizing the priorities of the departments of Policy, and Culture, and also provide a high level explanation about some of our organizational priorities.
Policy priorities:
As it has been announced in the statement published by our Policy Chair, Pouyan Tabasinejad, the ICC will be actively advocating for the following issues:
Accreditation of foreign trained professionals.
Re-establishing relations between Canada and Iran.
Resolving banking restrictions negatively affecting Iranian Canadians.
Combatting racism and discrimination.
Increasing participation of Iranian Canadians in Canadian political parties.
Granting permanent residents voting rights in municipal elections.
Cultural priorities:
While ICC is the only, or among the only, organizations with a mandate to advance the interests of the Iranian-Canadian community through advocacy, there are several actively successful Iranian-Canadian non-profit organizations across the nation whose work and aspirations are hearted on the Iranian arts and culture.
It is a pleasant blessing to be witnessing such great abundance, success, and prosperity surrounding cultural events and initiatives organized frequently in Toronto, and other Iranian-Canadian populated cities, including Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary. A continuous challenge for ICC has been building a unique value proposition in the field of culture, exclusive of creating redundancy, and inefficiency by doing similar work that other great Iranian-Canadian cultural organizations are doing.
This challenge led us to rethink our approach to the cultural elements and components of our work. We strongly believe that in alignments with the by-laws of the organization, the Cultural priorities of ICC shall be focused on Image Building for our community. Constructed on this pronouncement, we have identified our cultural mandate and priority as:
Promoting Iranian culture and values and upholding the prestige, dignity and success of Iranian Canadians.
Furthering this mandate, our Culture Department under the leadership of Dr. Dorna Mojdami, is planning and developing several exciting initiatives that will be announced upon finalization. A cultural initiative that has already been announced is the Nowruz Stamp Project, a project also supported by other community groups. The Iranian Canadian Congress is proud to support this proposal, and will do its part in advocating for the Canada Post to prioritize issuing the Nowruz stamp in 2017 or 2018.
It is important to note that the ICC continues consultations with various stakeholders, to identify other priorities, and to build consensus and support around the challenges that must be addressed in our community.
Professional work & working professionally:
In strengthening the Iranian Canadian Congress and transitioning it into an influential organization for the Iranian-Canadian community, our focus is to ensure that we are strong in two core areas: knowledge and grassroots support.
In the core area of knowledge, we have recruited dedicated, passionate, and professional volunteers with an academic and educational background, and extensive experience in their respective fields that is associated with the work of various departments at ICC.
Under the leadership of our Policy Chair, Pouyan Tabasinejad, and with the new additions to our policy team we have built a strong team of policy associates, analysts and advisors, whose works and initiatives, provide our executive team and our community at large, with research and analysis regarding public policy issues. The analysis provided by our policy team forms the backbone of the advocacy work of the Iranian Canadian Congress for its priorities.
In the core area of grassroots support, our Public Relations (PR) department has the mandate to grow the network of supporters of the Iranian Canadian Congress across Canada. In the preceding 3 months, the PR team under leadership of Behzad Jazizadeh, and with the assistance of Ali Bangi, has been working on enhancing ICC's communication infrastructure that will support our prospective initiatives.
A noteworthy accomplishment in our foundation setting has been the launching of our first ever Summer Internship Program. As part of the Canada Summer Jobs Program, we were able to obtain the necessary funds for hiring six summer interns. Three of our dedicated and passionate interns have been working on the Communications, Consultation and Planning projects and initiatives of the ICC, and one of our interns, a student with a Political Science background has been working with the operations of our Policy Department.
Expanding ICC's reach in the community:
At ICC we believe that working in unity, and connecting to fellow community leaders, and actively engaged community organizations, is an important goal of ours, and a deep heart value. In alignment with this goal and objective, building our network of affiliate organizations is of especial importance. We continue extending our invite to active, engaged, and leading community non-profit organizations, to build and expand the diversity of our ideas, and unity of work.
With great joy, in recruiting our summer interns we were able to assist and collaborate with one of our affiliate organizations, Tirgan. This cooperation resulted in two of our hired summer interns to work on Tirgan projects. This is a successful example of the sharing of resources, collaborative efforts, and supports that we are able to offer to our affiliates.
We are not limiting our scope of collaboration with other organizations only to Canada. We have been researching successful Iranian non-profit organizations outside of Canada and are very interested to learn from their experiences and explore collaboration opportunities with them. The agreement to share experiences and learnings with the Iranian Community In Germany is an example of this work.
Another wonderful accomplishment in expanding our reach in the community has been the opening of a permanent office space for the operations of the ICC. As of early August, ICC's permanent office opened its doors to the inquiring community members, thus far we are happy to announce that it has been very active in connecting us with our fellow Iranian-Canadian community members. We hope this opportunity continues to connect us to our community and provide a centralized location for our operations, and addressing community needs.
Lack of financial resources is our main challenge
It goes without say that a successful and sustainable organization requires within its operations planning; a strong and well thought Financial Plan/Model. It is this very plan that leads to the furthering of an organization's accomplishments and achievements, and smooth operations.
An unfortunate challenge for ICC in recent years has been lack of a financial plan for its operations. The inherited financial and operational instability of the organization limits our capabilities. After the transition period, and receiving the financial books and accounts of the organization, the current Administration and Finance Department (Formed by Soudeh Ghasemi, Mojtaba Adibrad, Mehran Farazmand and I) started its work on reviewing the financial reports of the recent years and preparing a financial plan for resolving the operational challenges of the organization. With careful considerations, and from scratch, we have developed a finance and fundraising plan/model that will be utilized as the organization builds connections with its dedicated, passionate, and engaged potential donors, sponsors, supporters, and contributors. Aligned with previous activities, we will pursue a "grassroots model" in our fundraising approach.
The visions, goals, and accomplishments of ICC aims to encompass our community in entirety, and the responsibility to participate in building its strength and stability is in the hands of each and every single community member that it is working for. Hence, in addition to reaching out to successful business owners, we invite each and every member to financially contribute and assist in building a stronger organization, one brick at a time. Every contribution, regardless of its amount or size, and every donation enables us to get one step closer to the objective of building a strong and influential organization that can work towards advancing the interests of the Iranian Canadian community.
Our policy actions thus far
Re-establishing relations between Canada and Iran:
As you know the Iranian Canadian Congress has announced its official position to advocate for re-engagement between Canada and Iran and reopening of embassies in Tehran and Ottawa. A position, that is in complete alignment with the feedback we have received in the consultation process and the objectives, mission, and the mandate of our organization.
Advocacy for the needs and the interests of Iranian-Canadians are at the heart of what we do at the ICC. In alignment with our responsibilities of maintaining and continuing this advocacy, on the anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal with P5+1 countries we launched a PR/Policy campaign to highlight the position of our organization regarding Canada-Iran relations and also raise awareness about the troubles and difficulties that have been created for many in our community because of the lack of relations and closure of the embassies.
As part of this campaign the ICC issued a statement, which was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the statement we emphasized on our position, and asked the government of Canada to expedite the process of re-establishing relations with Iran. Further on this matter, in an interview with Radio Canada, I repeated the position of the Iranian Canadian Congress in this regards, and discussed the challenges and troubles that the lack of relations, and the closure of embassies have created for many Canadians, especially the Iranian-Canadian community.
Moreover, in an opinion piece by our Policy Team in New Canadian Media we have provided analysis of the successes of the nuclear deal a year after, and the successes of our allied countries in re-establishing their relations with Iran, and expanding bilateral relations in advancing peace and their interests in the region. On that note, we have had a meeting with Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Alghabra, and discussed the process of re-establishing relations with Iran.
As we go forward in the imminent months, and in regards to this very important and critical topic, we have an action plan to continue building on our advocacy work, for the benefits of our community. We strongly believe that the closure of the embassy, and severing of all diplomatic ties by the former government was a mistake. This failed policy has created countless problems for many Iranian Canadians, with no positive attainment.
Prof. Homa Hoodfar & Saeed Malekpour:
As we speak about community and advocacy, it goes without say that the new board has also been incredibly active in ensuing the cases of Canadian linked prisoners in Iran. Since our board started its work, we connected with the family of Saeed Malekpour in Canada, and have coordinated our efforts with them.
Further, when the news of the arrest of Prof. Homa Hoodfar was released, the Iranian Canadian Congress was quick to respond and demand her immediate release. Approximately a week following the news of Prof. Hoodfar's arrest, I had a tele-meeting with Parliamentary Secretary Omar Alghabra. We have also communicated our concerns with the Department of Global Affairs, and the office of Hon. Stephane Dion. Both Parliamentary Secretary Omar Alghabra, and the officials at the Department of Global Affairs, have reassured us that the case of Prof. Hoodfar is on their top priority and that Canada is taking all measures possible to secure Ms. Hoodfar's release.
The ICC takes matters of safety, security, and protection of individual rights, of our community members, with great gravity and seriousness. We will continue working on the cases of both Prof. Hoodfar and Saeed Malekpour until their release from prison.
Accreditation of foreign trained professionals:
Another of ICC's priorities is to advocate for the development and enhancement of the process of evaluating foreign trained professionals. Many Iranian professionals encounter substantial difficulties for their accreditation when they move to Canada, as well as seeking and obtaining suitable jobs that fit their education and profession. We have had meetings with a group of Iranian Canadian dentists who had reached out to us initially, requesting ICC's assistance in the matter. Further, we are discussing this matter with other Iranian-Canadian professional organizations, to identify difficulties and challenges in the evaluation process for various fields. Subsequently with the supports of these organizations, we will communicate the problematic extents, and our recommendations to the provincial and federal governments.
Combating racism and discrimination:
The racist attack against a member of our community in London, Ontario, back in June was a wake up call for our community that racism still exists, and is an ever-real problem. The Iranian Canadian Congress was quick to react to this alleged racial attack, and in discussion with the office of the Mayor of London, elected City Councillors, London Police Services, and media, condemned this attack and demanded the elected officials, and law enforcement, to take immediate action against this hateful act, and to prioritize combating racism and discrimination. Further, we have communicated our concerns about the increase of these incidents in London, Ontario, with elected officials and media as well. We will continue to communicate with officials at all levels of government the need to allocate adequate resources to combating racism and discrimination. Furthermore, urge and embolden that law enforcement needs to act strong against hate crime.
The past 3 months have fashioned and conceded great successes for the Board of Directors, and the organization. We have been effective in setting a strong foundation for our forthcoming works and actions, while working in close connection and collaboratively with our community, and in alignment with the mandate and visions of the Iranian Canadian Congress. As we go forward, with every step, we are working on creating a strong and memorable past and building a promising future.
Bijan Ahmadi
Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC)
برای دریافت گزارش فارسی فعالیت سه ماهه هیات مدیره ۲۰۱۶-۲۰۱۷ شما را به خواندن مصاحبه چاپ شده در سلام تورنتو دعوت میکنم. برای مطالعه ی این مصاحبه اینجا را کلیک کنید.
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The Iranian Canadian Congress is a non-profit, non-partisan and non-religious organization established in 2007 to represent the interests of Iranian-Canadians and encourage their participation in Canadian society.
45 Sheppard Avenue East, Unit 900
Toronto, Ontario, M2N 5W9
Email: info@iccongress.ca