Last week's release of a devastating audit of Erie Community College by the Office of the State Comptroller highlighted poor management at the school in the areas of personnel, purchasing and governance. While the official ECC response as contained in the audit document was loaded with denials and finger-pointing, the public face that college President Jack Quinn tried to put on the issues was something like this – thanks for the constructive criticism. We are getting right on it to set it all straight. We'll document better and let people know what we are doing.
Fine, President Quinn, but why all the new and expensive administrative positions? What about the pay raises that appear to be personal rather than professional decisions? What about all those little-documented and no-bid contracts? Why are the college Foundation and the Auxiliary Services Corporation being used for executive perks? When the college is in serious financial distress, where is the fiscal restraint?
The ECC Board met yesterday. Their response to the need for better record-keeping was to hire a court reporter to make a transcript of the meeting. A costly bit of over-kill. Most professional organizations' minutes consist of the presentation of the agenda; attendance; board resolutions that take action; and a recording of the votes of board members. It more important to document what was voted on and how members voted rather than the words said during the meeting.
As a side note, I went looking a couple days ago on the College website for minutes of Board meetings. I could not find a reference for that so I emailed an information office at the college to ask where I could locate the minutes and who the school's Freedom of Information Officer is. I haven't heard back.
The ECC Board will prepare a "corrective action plan" for the State Comptroller within 90 days from the time of the audit release, explaining how they will resolve the issues raised. Board member Dennis Murphy will head the effort.
The ad-hoc committee intends to hire an outside counsel and a "temporary" administrator to assist in their efforts. This can be read as the Board saying they do not trust existing legal or administrative staff to be part of the solution. Not good in the sense that extra money will be spent, but unfortunately probably necessary in order to take an objective look at the clean-up work that needs to be done. The County Executive may need to sign off on hiring the outside counsel.
Hiring a "temporary" administrator is interesting because, according to the audit, there are already at least 29 "Senior Executive Staff" (SES) members, with total salaries of $2.2 million. While the school budget identifies each clerk and maintenance position, there is no documentation about the titles or individual salaries of the SES folks.
Kristen Klein Wheaton, the college's in-house legal counsel, resigned yesterday. The audit criticized the College Board's liaison for refusing to give auditors contact information for Board members. The liaison was Ms. Klein Wheaton. Are there terminations coming?
The County Legislature's Community Enrichment Committee met yesterday to apparently review the audit. Nothing of note transpired at the brief meeting.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz. He is so far holding his cards close to the vest. Reportedly he has met with Quinn. Poloncarz has also appointed deputy budget director Tim Callan to the Board. This is an unusual move, but justifiable given the seriousness of ECC's problems. Callan can be expected to be an aggressive member of the Board but he will need allies.
Board Chairman Steve Boyd's term is up in June and he may not want to continue as a member. Boyd's seat is a gubernatorial appointment, so we'll see if Governor Cuomo chooses to play a role in the direction that the Board will take.
The County Legislature could play an important role in reforming the school. The Legislature has not demonstrated much initiative in pursuing substantial county government centered issues. There is more to the role of the Legislature than memorializations and approving congratulatory resolutions.
County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw has been silent on this issue. He has his own problems at the moment, but the office has the authority to involve itself in follow-up to the State audit.
The State University of New York has an oversight role with community colleges. Do the management problems at ECC interest them?
Finally, the college administration needs to step up on this. It does not seem too much to ask for the president of the school, whose salary and perks exceed $200,000, to devote his full time attention to the management of the school. Jack Quinn is a member of the Board of Directors of Kaiser Aluminum, which is headquartered in California. Kaiser pays Quinn in excess of $100,000 per year in retainer fees, stock options and meeting attendance fees. Serving on that board requires Quinn's regular attendance at meetings in California. He is a member of the Corporation's Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Quinn also serves as a Management Trustee of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and has served on the Hurricane Sandy Task Force of the State of New York and the New York State Tax Relief Commission – none of which seem to have anything in particular to do with the management of Erie Community College.
The audit reported that the college's Associate Vice President of Information Technology received up to $500 per week in extra stipend payments for three and a half years for a project that may have taken only a few weeks. The stipends totaled $74,750. The IT administrator retired recently and was provided an early retirement incentive that represented a substantial portion of his previous annual salary at the school. What I have heard is that upon his retirement he has been hired back. Terms and conditions are unknown at this time. Perhaps if the College Board did better with their record keeping we would know more.
Not much attention elsewhere so it seems that the burden of disclosure and illumination remains on you.
Thanks Tim. The News is literally a day late and a dollar short on this story.
Dear Ken, there is more to ECC problems that are currently "hidden" from the public, and I believe that this is being done due to the fact that it involve a "public sector union in Erie County" that has assisted in the demise of ECC and is still in involved with ripping off the taxpayers of Erie County while a select few of union leaders fatten there pockets.
to suggest you few interesting issues or suggestions.


Röda Sten Konsthall, the main venue of GIBCA, is located at the harbour entrance of Gothenburg and under the Älvsborg Bridge. It is one of the most original sites of the city, where urban splendour meets the Swedish west coast landscape. Röda Sten Konsthall is situated in an old boiler house now converted into a contemporary art gallery with a popular restaurant and bar.
Admission 40 kr. Free entry under 26 years, 20 kr for students and seniors. Free entry for foreigners.
Göteborgs Konsthall is a well-known institution in Gothenburg's cultural scene. The gallery was built already in 1923 and is accommodated in a classicistic brick building at Götaplatsen, at the top of Avenyn. An average of five exhibitions of contemporary art are on show here annually and every other year the art biennial is a returning guest.
Artists: Fahd Burki, Fatma Bucak, Haegue Yang, Haseeb Ahmed & Daniel Baird, Hilma af Klint, Jens Haaning, Joakim Forsgren, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Santiago Mostyn, Saskia Holmkvist, Ellen Nyman & Corina Oprea.
Göteborg City Library is located at Götaplatsen, at the top of Avenyn. The library hosts collections of books and other media and there are also various reading places, a café and spaces for events and exhibitions. At the Göteborg City Library the video exhibition We're Saying What You're Thinking is located on the lower, first and second floor.
GIBCA has hosts at the City Library to give introductions and answer questions, 1 pm – 3 pm following Wednesdays: October 11, October 25, November 1, November 8, November 15.
Keep an eye out for the blue colour and our staff in blue T-shirts.
Artists: Catti Brandelius, Cecilia Lundqvist, Claes Söderquist, Dorinel Marc, Elin Magnusson, Ellen Nyman, Eva Linder, Guds söner / Sons of God (Leif Elggren/Kent Tankred), Jannicke Låker, Jesper Nordahl, Johan Tirén, Lene Adler Petersen & Bjørn Nørgaard, Loulou Cherinet, Marko Raat.
The splendid Elite Plaza Hotel is the only five-star hotel in Gothenburg, located by Domkyrkan, hosting a one-to-one performance during the biennial.
The artwork WheredoIendandyoubegin by artist Shilpa Gupta is installed on the roof of an industrial building on Marieholmsgatan 86. You can see the artwork from trams 4, 8 and 9 between Gamlestadstorget and Hjällbo.
Museum of Gothenburg has a unique home – the Swedish East India Company building from the 1750s, situated by the riverside. The exhibitions tell the story of Gothenburg from prehistoric times to the present day – a trip through 12,000 years of history. In the museum you can also find a café, restaurant, museum shop and children's playroom.
Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 12 am – 5 pm.
Myrorna is the largest secondhand chain in Sweden with stores all over the country and a strong social mission. The store at Järntorget has four floors offering various gadgets, books and furniture as well as clothes and retro garments.
Chalmers University of Technology was founded in 1829 to conduct research and offer education in technology, science, architecture and maritime engineering and management. Ljusgården, an open inner courtyard with a high conical glass ceiling where the artworks in the biennial are hosted, can be found at the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering located at Campus Johanneberg.
The ones whoreach the top of Masthuggsberget will enjoy an amazing panorama over the city of Gothenburg. This is where Masthuggskyrkan is located. With its beautiful national romantic architecture, the church is one of the most visited attractions in Gothenburg.
Götaplatsen is the cultural heart of the city and is overlooked by the Gothenburg City Theatre, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Göteborgs Konsthall and Gothenburg Concert Hall. The square also hosts a large sculpture of Poseidon by Carl Milles, sculpture that became the symbol of Gothenburg.
Musiclovers Records, established in 2012, is a record shop with both new and vintage vinyl records. Located on the street parallel to the main shopping avenue, Kungsgatan, Musiclovers Records is just next door to Kafé Höga Nord and several other small butiques.
Opening hours: Monday - Friday 11 am - 6 pm, Saturday 10 am - 5 pm.
Hjalmar Brantingsplatsen is one of the most important junctions for public transport in the district Hisingen in Gothenburg, a place where thousands of inhabitants of the city pass and meet every day.
Location: The artwork Turkish Jokes (1994) is located on a pole between the bus roads.


text:
World News Network
Home Gaming Mum bought son, 5, McDonald's then tied their hands together and jumped...
Mum bought son, 5, McDonald's then tied their hands together and jumped to death – Metro.co.uk
A mum bought her son a McDonald's Happy Meal, filled his rucksack with rocks and tied their hands together before jumping into a reservoir, an inquest heard.
Emma Sillent, 41, drove five-year-old Jenson Spellman to a deserted spot in Derbyshire before ending their lives in murder-suicide.
The social worker left a note in her car which made it clear she wanted to end her own life but couldn't bear to leave her son behind.
Jenson was found 'tied to her by his wrist', Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard.
Emma had been struggling with depression for years and had recently suffered three miscarriages, the hearing was told.
Their bodies were found at Valehouse Reservoir in the Derbyshire Peak District two days after they were reported missing on November 20 last year.
The mum said she would 'leave a marker' to help locate their bodies, which led officers to find a cuddly toy and a torch at the water's edge.
Jenson's dad John Spellman called emergency services the following day, DC Rebecca Fearon told the inquest.
He told them his partner had been 'very low' and that she had previously talked about 'ending it all'.
Emma's black Peugeot 308 at the reservoir, less than three miles from the family's home in the village of Dinting, near Glossop.
Leftovers from a Happy Meal, a handbag, phone and purse was found in the car.
DC Fearon said: 'It was clear she battled with thoughts of suicide, but had also battled with continuing to live.'
She added: 'She said she could not stand the thought of Jenson living without her. She talked about never wanting to put him through a life of pain and being bullied and singled out.
'She said she wanted to tie him to her because she did not want him drifting away from her.'
The inquest was told Emma's letter spoke about how she was 'traumatised' by her own childhood and how she had sought help and undergone some therapy, but added: 'Nothing had helped'.
She had also written letters addressed to other family members apologising for what she was about to do.
The hearing heard how her brother's death and miscarriages had contributed to her depression.
DC Fearon continued: 'It's clear Emma struggled with life and all the evidence points to depression being a long term and recurring issue, but there was nothing out of the ordinary that could be seen as a trigger.
'The breakdown of her relationship appears to have been the most significant issue in her life.'
Concluding that Emma took her own life and unlawfully killed her son, Derbyshire Assistant Coroner Emma Serano said the mum's note made it clear she had tried to carry out her plan the day before.
'But Jenson became frightened so this was abandoned,' she said.
'We don't know exactly what time events unfolded but at some time Emma took him out of the car, tied him to herself, then put rocks in the rucksack she was wearing and also put rocks in the pockets of his jacket and they entered the reservoir together.'
Addressing the families in court she added: 'I simply do not have the words to express what I would like to express to you.'
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Saint Dizier Environnement is a partner of the ROULEPUR research project, following the call for projects launched in 2014 by ONEMA (the French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments) on the fight against micropollutants in municipal wastewater.
This project aims to assess innovative solutions for the control of the source of micropollutant contamination in road and urban car park runoff water. STOPPOL is also amongst the technical solutions retained.
The consortium is made up of 3 regional authorities (Ville de Paris, CG 93, CG 77), 2 SMEs offering innovative rainwater management solutions (Saint Dizier Environnement and Ecovégétal), and 2 public research laboratories (Cete Ile de France, LEESU).


Coding for Kids 2 is designed to introduce kids to the basic concepts of programming. Using a language created especially for them (Scratch 2.0), young readers can learn to code and create a short animated story or mini videogame from the very simple to the more complex.
Our goal is to encourage children not to experience technology passively, but to understand and see it for what it is: a very powerful tool for bringing their ideas to life.
By means of intuitive tasks, each chapter will provide readers with the essential tools for programming.
Don't just buy a new video game, make one. Don't just download the latest app, help design it. Don't just play on your phone, program it.


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The View From Down Here#105 – It's Rant-tastic
Steven Gepp | August 10, 2010 | Columns | No Comments
Well, a lot has happened this week. So I rant against the AFL, soccer bosses and a few other things. And I answer a facetious American (really? they exist? [/sarcasm]) with the latest Australiana instalment, this one concerning urban animals.
AFL Round 19
Essendon 9.19 (73) def by Carlton 23.11 (149)
North Melbourne 19.9 (123) def Fremantle 10.9 (69)
Sydney 19.15 (129) def Hawthorn 13.7 (85)
Geelong 11.9 (75) unfortunately def by Collingwood 13.18 (96)
(No, I do not support Geelong; I just really hate Collingwood)
West Coast 9.11 (65) def by Brisbane 10.10 (70)
St Kilda 23.13 (151) completely hammered Port Adelaide 8.9 (57)
Melbourne 16.13 (109) def Richmond 11.14 (80)
Adelaide 7.11 (53) def by Western Bulldogs 8.13 (61)
A bit of news about, but the one story that got me was the fact that the Tasmanian government have indicated that they are willing to back Hawthorn in moving to the Apple Isle. There are three issues with it – one, Hawthorn is a Melbourne club and would most likely go through the same teething problems South Melbourne did when they became Sydney; two, the size of the grounds in Tasmania (initially Aurora at Launceston, maybe later Bellerive in Hobart) is not large; and three, the AFL doesn't want it. I mean, why would they? They love the idea of too many teams in Melbourne and pushing their sport into non-traditional areas of Australia like Western Sydney and the Gold Coast, both rugby centres. The fact Tasmania is an Australian Rules state does not matter. There's not enough money in it for the AFL and so they do not care.
The other big story doing the rounds this week has been the revelation that the Victorian police has given the AFL confidential files regarding the players and officials where it comes to police matters. Not only is this a gross invasion of privacy, but also a flagrant misuse of power. But it's the AFL, and the governments of this country let them bend the laws as they see fit. And all because it's sport.
SANFL Round 20
Glenelg 10.4 (124) def West Adelaide 7.11 (53)
Norwood 16.14 (110) def North Adelaide 6.10 (46)
Port Adelaide 12.7 (79) def by Woodville-West Torrens 15.2 (102)
South Adelaide 13.5 (83) def by Central Districts 17.14 (116)
Bye: Sturt
Well, the AFL has decided to flex its muscle and probably go against ACCC guidelines now that it has decided Adelaide Oval is to be the new home of AFL football in South Australia. What this means is that the SANFL – the group which owns and paid for the licences for the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power AFL teams – may be left with nothing. The AFL has even hinted it will take the licences away.
How arrogant. Now Victorians may say they own the game (and they often do say this) but if they want the game to extend beyond basically the bottom half of Australia, this stupid parochial decimation of other interstate leagues (and even smaller Victorian leagues) has to end. The AFL thinks it can run roughshod over everyone else, to the detriment of grass roots. But what does the AFL care? All they want is the money from TV rights to support the ridiculously high salaries of its bosses. Football? It can get stuffed. And that's why I try to support the SANFL as well as I can – because it's not the AFL.
NRL – Round 22
North Queensland 26 def by Brisbane 34
Gold Coast 34 def Parramatta 12
Manly 26 def Melbourne 6
South Sydney 30, Wests Tigers 30
Extra time: Souths: 34 def Wests 30
This was the most amazing game of Rugby League I have ever sat down and watched. Truly awe-inspiring. You need to track this one down. Seriously. Do it. (Highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqQaHMsan9k)
Cronulla 10 def by Warriors 37
Newcastle 30 def Canterbury-Bankstown 6
Sydney Roosters 12 def by St George Illawarra 19
Canberra 30 def Penrith 26
Following on from last week's news about an independent commission being investigated, the Rugby League Players Association has not ruled out going on strike to get one up and running.
Part of the issues come because the players want a voice on any independent commission, which is not going to happen it seems. But if the NRL remains reluctant to put one in place, there could be trouble a-brewing.
A-League Round 1
Melbourne Heart FC 0 def by Central Coast Mariners 1
Adelaide United FC 0 drew with Newcastle Jets FC 0
Perth Glory FC 3 drew with North Queensland Fury 3
Sydney FC 3 drew with v Melbourne Victory FC 3
Gold Coast United 0 drew with Brisbane Roar FC 0
Australia still does not have a national coach. They have been encouraged to go to Asia to look for one, or maybe back at Europe. Well, here's an idea: How about picking a freaking Australian!? I'm sure we could find one who is doing the job for, I don't know, love of country instead of the insane amounts of money thrown at soccer managers! And, yes, if you find an Australian who is not quite up to par, then let him cpoach his way. Give him charge of all national teams – youth, women's and men's. And let him learn the ropes. He'll make mistakes, but he'll be there for love of country. Period. How hard is it? What a joke. Way to promote the sport in this country FFA!
Australia 59 def Jamaica 38
Not a lot of note. Netball remains relatively scandal free. Could it be because no teenaged and drunken men are involved? Or that the money is less and so doesn't attract the egos of all other sporting codes?
Rugby Union – Tri Nations Test
New Zealand 20 def Australia 10
And thus the All-Blacks retain the Bledisloe Cup.
Hockey – Champions Trophy
Australia 4 def England 0
Australia win the final in this prestigious field hockey tournament.
Australia!
I received an email during the week asking if it's true that kangaroos hop down our streets. While this rather facetious fellow claims he hails from MI (Michigan? Missouri? Mississippi? Ming The Merciless? Who cares?), I think he was trying to be funny. I mean, you don't hear Australians asking if bald eagles fly around and dive bomb people on the streets of New York… Oh that's right, they couldn't because Americans have virtually hunted them to extinction!
Well where I live, in Adelaide, a city with a population a little over a million, surrounded by hills and national parks and farmland, things are a little different. Lots of trees and green still dot our suburbs, even if the developers seem to want to get rid of it all (except where they live, of course – greedy arseholes). And we have animals.
In my backyard we had a few possums for a while. Possums are a common scourge in Australian cities. They get into your roof and just go out of their way to piss people off. Think of them as cat-sized, clumsy rats and you get the idea. There was a pair of koalas living in the park at the end of our street last summer; when the winter came they migrated down to the creek about five hundred metres from our place. At least, we saw some koalas down there not long after they left here.
In the city itself, the CBD, there are 'duck crossing' signs, and possums congregate. We get swans and ibises and herons and pelicans on the river running through the centre of our city. We have dolphins in the Port River, who seem to play whenever anyone's around.
We also have some of the most dangerous snakes in the world in our backyards, red-back spiders in our gardens (caught one last month with a leg width of five centimetres – huge bloody things!), and Great White Sharks patrolling our beaches (only about three people a year get attacked here, so that's not too bad), where seals also occasionally come to have a look at the sun-bathers.
And we have kangaroos. Where I am, small 'roos have been known to make their way. Only two kilometres up the road bigger ones have been seen on school grounds destroying the ovals.
So, yes – we do have kangaroos hopping down our streets. And we love it.
And that's the View through to August 9.
Tags: View From Down Here
Steven Gepp
Australian. Perpetual student. Married. Kids. Write for Sports and Wrestling and anyone else if they want me. Is there anything else?
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Stephen Park is an American comedian and actor. The son of Korean immigrants, Park began his entertainment career as a stand-up comedian before transitioning into acting. He is best known for being a cast member of the sketch comedy television series In Living Color during the 1991–1992 season. He is also known for the film roles of Mike Yanagita in Fargo (1996), Sonny in Do the Right Thing (1989), and Detective Brian in Falling Down (1993).
"[T]he 1st AD (assistant director), in a short tirade, called an Asian-American actor to the set over a walkie-talkie with the words, 'I don't have time for this! Where's Hoshi, Toshi or whatever the f--k his name is. Get the oriental guy!' He did not even have the respect to learn the name of the actor, a veteran of 40 years."
In 1997, Park wrote a mission statement in which he called for Hollywood to portray people of Asian descent in a less disparaging light. He wrote the statement after witnessing a racist incident while appearing in a guest role on the television series Friends.
In his statement, Park wrote that "In movies and television, Asian characters, mostly men, are subjected to indignity and violence or are tokenized, while Asian women are exploited as objects of sexual desire. You rarely see Asian characters in leading roles that contain any significant power or influence". Park also describes the negative effect that racial stereotypes in the media have on American society, and urges peace and love among people of different races.
Park's other acting work includes the role of Mike Sorayama in the Adult Swim animated television series The Venture Bros. and the role of Judge Pete in the critically acclaimed independent film Rocket Science (2007). Park has acted in two Coen brothers films, Fargo (1996) and A Serious Man (2009).
Park married Kelly Coffield, another former cast member of In Living Color, in 1999. They have a son, Owen, and a daughter, Eliza.
^ a b c d Williams, Stephen (June 5, 2009). "'In Living Color,' the Sequel". The New York Times. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
^ Holden, Stephen (August 10, 2007). "A Boy Rendered Speechless by Life". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
^ Emerson, Jim (April 25, 2011). "Steve Park: A funny man, serious and significant". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved September 3, 2016.


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Chiefs 'desperate for health board to get this right' over West Wales health care shake-up
Current and former Community Health Council chiefs say public must have a say over the future of hospitals and care in West Wales
Ian LewisChief Reporter, Carmarthen
Nine options over the future of health care across Hywel Dda which could see major implications for hospitals (Image: Wales Online)
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The needs of patients and how they will access care in the future should be at the core of any shake-up to health services in West Wales, claims a former manager at Health Inspectorate Wales.
Hywel Dda University Health Board has drawn up a catalogue of controversial proposals which could see a radical overhaul to how people access care in their area, with the potential closure of some hospitals in seven of nine options currently being looked at.
The plans, which are still being worked on and are not final, were leaked last week.
Sam Dentten, chief officer at Hywel Dda Community Health Council which represents patients across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, said: "We are desperate for the health board to get this right.
"We understand there are concerns among the public, these hospitals and the services are close to their heart, they were born there, family members too, so they are hugely important in their lives."
Among the most controversial options being looked at is to open a new, major, urgent and planned care hospital in an as yet undisclosed location.
This would replace Carmarthen's Glangwili Hospital, Withybush in Haverfordwest and Prince Philip in Llanelli, all of them would close.
While two options include keeping all hospitals open, but with urgent care being centralised in either Glangwili or Withybush
Other options include a network of community hubs with beds and none of the options involve closing Bronglais in Aberystwyth.
Five of the options would involve the closure of Withybush hospital in Haverfordwest.
Glangwili General hospital in Carmarthen has a range of options for its future as part of a major shake-up to health care (Image: Western Mail Archive)
Anger as 'selfish' fly-tippers dump piles of tyres at Carmarthenshire beauty spot
The proposals, despite not officially being ready for consultation by the health board, sent ripples of concern and shock throughout the area, with Carmarthen mayor Alun Lenny stating the community would "fight tooth and nail" to save Glangwili.
Mr Dentten added that public involvement was essential in any plans reaching fruition.
He said: "The aim is that by March the health board will be ready to consult with the public and there are some options that will not make the final few but I have no doubt that all nine of them have been put forward because the health board thinks it has a solution.
"Our aim is to ensure patients get a full picture from the health board.
"We want the full story on these plans and for the public to make informed views on what will be presented.
"At present you can look at it as nine prototypes that have been looked at, a bit like designing a car, not everything will make the final stages for consideration but the scale of all this is huge, there is no denying that."
John Skipper, former Carmarthenshire CHC Chief Officer and former public and patient engagement manager for Health Inspectorate Wales says public consultation will be key to any shake-up of health care across the Hywel Dda University Health Board area (Image: Ian Lewis)
John Skipper, former Carmarthenshire CHC Chief Officer and former public and patient engagement manager for Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW), said: "These plans being considered by the Hywel Dda University Health Board are radical and, once further refined, must be subject to extensive consultation with the public.
"In such a rural part of Wales where access to health services is already difficult, the health board has bitter experience of how public and patient concern can be raised and confidence dashed because of poor engagement."
The health board's medical director Dr Philip Kloer said last week: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our health service and community to work together to design an NHS which is fit for our generation and beyond."
In response Mr Skipper said: "Dr Phil Kloer rightly says, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop a health service fit for the future.
"I will emphasise again that potential solutions are radical, the public and patient must be involved throughout and the changes form part of a Wales-wide solution not one just for Hywel Dda.
"I regret very much that the health boards immature plans were made known, since the broad span of options being considered can cause public alarm.
"I would ask for people to be patient and allow the health board to fully develop their plans and options."
Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli could be closed under some of the options being considered by the health board. Critics have described the plans as "radical" (Image: Wales Online)
Family's praise for off-duty officer and lorry driver who tried to help mum killed in M4
Expanding further on his concerns for the proposals that were made public by the media, Mr Skipper said the Hywel Dda Community Health Council (CHC) needed to take up the mantle and be the voice of the people it represents to get concerns across to health bosses.
He added: "I would hope that the CHC will work closely with the health board in this consultation process but sadly they seem to have an unacceptably low profile within Hywel Dda and across Wales.
"A poor situation when CHC is supposed to represent the statutory voice of public and patient."
"However, in light of the current systemic failures within the NHS nationwide, the health board simply must look at ways to improve a current system that is inefficient and throwing money at it is not the answer.
"They should be given the chance to refine their options and then go out to consultation at the earliest opportunity. I would counsel that their plans must tie in with any changes in health care delivery across the whole of Wales - parochial changes are not the answer."
Big changes are ahead with several options affecting three hospitals across west Wales (Image: Western Mail)
Mr Skipper said closer links need to be forged between the health board and social care sector, adding: "Core to any workable plan must be to ensure a much, much closer relationship between health and social care, combining funding and ensuring uniformity between local authorities.
"The biggest fault currently is seeing the patient fall into the gap between the NHS and Social Care - one effect being a high level of delayed transfers of care.
"These changes will take time and will, in the short term require considerable investment."
Despite the criticism by Mr Skipper, Hywel Dda CHC has said reinforced it is committed to ensuring the voice of parents are heard as the plans unfold.
The Hywel Dda CHC chair, Dr John Morgan, said: "The health board is coming to a point where all the talk and the ideas around NHS change becomes a clear set of options for the public to think about and have their say.
"The local system has big problems to fix, and 'sticking plaster' solutions won't help.
"It will be essential that the options for change recognise what people value about their existing services at the same time as making the improvements necessary so that everyone can access the care they need when they need it and where they need it."
Under current plans the health board will launch a full public consultation in the spring.
Dr Morgan went on to say; "In the CHC we will be working to ensure that people in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have every possible opportunity to hear from the health board about its proposals and to understand what the proposals would mean for them, their families and their communities.
"As the independent patient watchdog we'll be listening to what people in local communities are saying and why they are saying it.
"We will work to ensure the health board listens and responds to peoples' views to inform the future design of our NHS."
Further details over consultation will be made available over coming weeks
Follow @WalesOnline
Traffic and TravelEight-vehicle smash blocked busy A465 at GlynneathThe carriageway was blocked for more than an hour
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Neath Port Talbot CouncilNumber of councillors could be cut in Neath Port Talbot under new proposals by Boundary Commission Neath Port Talbot Council currently has 64 councillors


text:
tj lavin Dec 11, 2020
'The Challenge' Host TJ Lavin Has Been Asked to Dump a Girlfriend and Quit a Job on Cameo
When T.J. Lavin, the host of MTV's "The Challenge," joined Cameo, he didn't anticipate some of the crazy requests that would come his way. Lavin filled NBCLX's Tabitha Lipkin in on some of his favorites.
TJ Lavin Says This Season of MTV's 'The Challenge' Was Also Tough (and Inspiring) Behind the Scenes
"The Challenge: Double Agents" premiered Wednesday and host T.J. Lavin says this season of the MTV reality show was the biggest challenge yet. Not only did the show shoot in punishing weather, but they also had to film under strict quarantine conditions. Lavin joined LX News' Tabitha Lipkin to talk about why he's proud of what the show accomplished....
Jennifer Lopez Oct 2, 2020
JLo and Maluma Team Up in Steamy Cinematic Video
Ahead of their first motion picture "Marry Me" — to be released Valentine's Day weekend 2021 — music superstars Jennifer Lopez and Colombian reggaetón artist and heartthrob Maluma released their first musical collaboration featuring a very sexy and steamy two-part cinematic music video for their respective singles, "Pa Ti" and "Lonely."
Rachel Lindsay Sep 1, 2020
From 'Bachelorette' to Ghost Buster: Rachel Lindsay Joins MTV's 'Ghosted'
Former "Bachelorette" Rachel Lindsay pulls back the curtain on the upcoming season of MTV's "Ghosted: Love Gone Missing," where she helps contestants track down ex-friends and lovers who, without explanation, cut off all ties with them, also known as "ghosting." The host talks about filming during quarantine and her personal experience being "haunted by a love ghost."
MTV Aug 29, 2020
Your 2020 MTV VMAs Guide: How to Watch, Who's Performing and More
It's almost time for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. That's right! The award show is celebrating music and pop culture for the 37th year in a row–and it all takes place this Sunday, Aug. 30. This year, the big night is being held in the Big Apple. According to MTV, the virtual event will "pay homage to the...
2020 MTV VMAs: The Weeknd, Maluma, CNCO Added as Performers
Chart-topping Grammy winners The Weeknd and Roddy Ricch are set to perform at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards this month
dometi pongo Jul 8, 2020
'We Can't Get Tired': MTV Host Dometi Pongo on Keeping the Fight for Black Lives Going
MTV News and "True Life Crime" host Dometi Pongo joins LX News to urge people not to let up in the fight against systemic racism.
Chance the rapper Jan 25, 2020
'Punk'd' to Be Revived With Chance the Rapper Doing Pranks
Celebrities, beware: "Punk'd" is being revived. And this time Chance the Rapper is the one doing the punk'ing. MTV Studios and Quibi said Friday they are teaming up to revive the show with Grammy-winner Chance the Rapper pranking unsuspecting A-listers. No date was announced but the show will be available only on Quibi's mobile video platform. Quibi is an...
Attorney Oct 4, 2019
'Jersey Shore' Star in Custody After Hollywood Hills Domestic Violence Report
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro of MTV's "Jersey Shore" was in custody Friday on suspicion of battery in connection with an alleged domestic violence attack in the Hollywood Hills area, according to police.
NBC News Sep 19, 2019
Merriam-Webster Adds Nonbinary 'They' Pronoun to Dictionary
Merriam-Webster's dictionary is adding a new entry to the definition of the pronoun "they": a way to refer to a nonbinary individual, one who identifies as neither exclusively male nor female, NBC News reported. It's been a year of heightened visibility for nonbinary people, from the popularity of MTV's "sexually fluid" season of the dating show "Are You the One?"...
Florida Sep 9, 2019
FWC Investigating Shark Abuse Incidents
'The Challenge's' Theo Campbell Is Blinded After Champagne Cork Accident
For British reality TV star Theo Campbell, it really is unfortunately all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Campbell, who starred on "Love Island" in 2017 and will compete on the upcoming season MTV's "The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2," revealed he recently lost all sight in one of his eyes after it was split in half...
New Jersey Aug 13, 2019
Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Shawn Mendes, Bad Bunny to Perform at VMAs
Lil Nas X, Lizzo and Shawn Mendes are set to perform at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. MTV announced Tuesday that Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, J Balvin and Rosalia will also hit the stage at the Aug. 26 event, taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Finally, Missy Elliott Will Receive MTV Video Vanguard Award
Missy Elliott, one of the most iconic players in the history of music videos, will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
New Jersey Aug 7, 2019
Taylor Swift to Perform at MTV Video Music Awards
Taylor Swift is set to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards. MTV announced Wednesday that the pop star will hit the stage on Aug. 26 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
King Jul 3, 2019
Hip-Hop Star Nicki Minaj to Perform in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia said Wednesday that hip-hop star Nicki Minaj will perform in the ultraconservative kingdom as it sheds decades of restrictions on entertainment.
MTV Apr 3, 2019
Lauren Conrad Reveals She's Expecting Baby No. 2
Lauren Conrad is going to be a mom again. The MTV alum, 33, announced that she's expecting her second child with husband William Tell.
United States Oct 17, 2018
MTV's 'Real World' to Go International With Facebook Watch
MTV's long-running reality show "The Real World" is going digital and international. The network announced Wednesday that its production studio will work with Facebook Watch to create new editions of the series next year for audiences in the United States, Mexico and Thailand. The series, which depicts the adventures of young strangers placed in a house together, will stream on...
Hollywood Jun 18, 2018
Stars Shine at the 2018 MTV Awards
"Black Panther" and "13 Reasons Why" led the pack with seven nominations at the MTV TV and Movie Awards on Saturday. Both movie and small screen stars were in attendance to celebrate the winners as Tiffany Haddish hosted the event in Santa Monica, California, Saturday, June 16, 2018. The full ceremony aired Monday night.
United States Mar 22, 2018
'N Sync to Reunite to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
The boy band will earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 30. Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpartrick will attend the event.


BOSTON--China's new rural reform plan could degrade conditions in cities unless the government pursues changes in energy and environmental policies, economists say.
The rural reform plan announced by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Oct. 12 would allow limited sales of land rights to create larger, more efficient farms, according to state media reports.
Experts say the new rules for the 30-year-old "rural contract household responsibility system" could cause many of China's 737 million low-income rural citizens to sell their land interests and move to the cities over time.
The CPC has promoted the plan as a way to address the widening gap between farmers and urban dwellers, who earn more than triple the income of rural residents, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. But experts are concerned that many of the newcomers to China's cities will still face disadvantages after receiving a one-time benefit from sales of their limited land rights.
The shift also raises questions about what will happen to China's crowded cities, where wasteful energy policies and pollution are already major concerns.
The influx of millions of new residents is expected to create demand for more housing and infrastructure, giving a boost to the construction boom that has been blamed for many of China's woes.
"There are lot of these issues surrounding urbanization, namely the need for infrastructure development, the need for housing most particularly, and the higher levels of pollution," Harvard University economist Dale Jorgenson told Radio Free Asia. "All these things are subjects for concern."
China has been struggling for the past five years with power shortages that have been linked to runaway investment in construction, roads, and infrastructure.
In 2004, the National Development and Reform Commission estimated that overinvestment in the steel, cement, aluminum, and auto industries accounted for up to 40 percent of the growth in power demand.
Industries that include steel, oil, power, and building materials are responsible for 70 percent of industrial energy use and sulfur dioxide emissions, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said last year.
In 2005, Premier Wen Jiabao set a goal of improving China's energy efficiency by 20 percent over five years. But so far, the country has been unable to meet of any of its annual energy-saving goals.
The government has pledged to cut emissions of major pollutants by 10 percent under the current Five-Year Plan by 2010, but these efforts have also fallen short. In July, the State Council warned that high-energy consuming industries are developing too fast to meet the target.
Jorgenson said he does not believe that the land plan will lead to a sudden wave of migration that will swamp China's cities and overwhelm current housing and infrastructure capacity. But the rural reform will have to be accompanied by greater efforts to implement the energy and environmental goals that the government has already set.
"It's not as if this is all going to happen overnight. In the meantime, I think the government will have to deal with the serious environmental problems and deal with the needs of infrastructure investment," Jorgenson said. "I think that China's made a lot of strides in both areas, but on the environmental front they could do a lot more, and I think they plan to do a lot more."
The government's plan to reduce rural populations means that it will have to improve urban environments throughout the country, said Jorgenson.
"This is the sort of thing that China needs to continue doing on a very large scale, and not just in the most conspicuous cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, but in the large cities that make up the industrial heartland," he said.
The cities will need not only more housing but also new infrastructure for clean water and sewage treatment, Jorgenson said.
"These are cities that are still very short on infrastructure, are very polluted, and need to be cleaned up, and that's the work of a generation," said Jorgenson. "The amount of money involved is humungous."
David Dapice, an economist at Harvard and Tufts Universities agreed that greater migration to cities will push the government into dealing with the energy and environment problems created by the development boom.
"The issue is basically is how the cities work. Right now, the urban planning and execution has been somewhat haphazard," said Dapice.
Traffic and congestion have worsened with uncoordinated housing, highway, and industrial projects, he said. As cities grow, it will become increasingly inefficient for residents to use private cars.
"If they planned somewhat more efficiently, what you would find is that energy consumption could be considerably reduced, while the standard of living would still be quite high," said Dapice. "It's something they can do, but [now] it's something they will have to do."
Along with rural reform and urban investment, China will also need political changes to implement the new policies because land has often been diverted for less beneficial purposes, Dapice argued.
"Because land is very often used by party officials as a means of payment or enrichment, it's rather sensitive, and it's politically difficult," Dapice said.


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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a special concert for all ages at the West Branch!
Los Cenzontles (Nahuatl for "The Mockingbirds") dig deep into Latino traditions to promote dignity, pride and cultural understanding. The group has pioneered revivals of Mexican roots music in California bringing traditions to new generations. The Mockingbirds now create a powerful new hybrid sound – creating a fresh Chicano voice for a new generation.
Fronting the group is the dynamic vocal dueto of Fabiola Trujillo and Lucina Rodriguez. The Mockingbirds effortlessly mix electric bass and drums with traditional Mexican instruments – jarana, vihuela, requinto, pandero and quijada (jawbone) – creating a powerful contemporary sound infused with the gutsy soul of Mexico's rural roots music.


Steve Carr is the luckiest front of house engineer in the world right now: "The quality of the sounds from the band are outstanding." There are probably more than a few house mixers lucky enough to say that about the band they are with but none of them are working for Nick Mason's 'Saucerful of Secrets'. A rapturously received European tour by Mason's band in the fall of last year saw Spring 2019 dates in North America get booked before that first leg had ended. Whatever side of the Atlantic, Mason's production team has elected to use Britannia Row Productions for all their audio needs, a company with more than a passing familiarity to Mason.
For those who don't know and indeed, those who can't remember the sixties because they were there, Mason is, and always has been, a full-time paid up member of Pink Floyd. Part of that history saw the band establish Britannia Row (Brit Row) as a production house back in the nineteen seventies. The fact the company still exists now, as part of Clair Global, says much about the calibre of sound engineers they attracted back in those heady days.
Pink Floyd may no-longer function, not least because of the sad demise of keyboard player Rick Wright, but Mason has determined to bring the band's early material to a new audience. That, in many ways, explains Carr's opening comment; Mason revisits early Pink Floyd songs focussing on the Syd Barret legacy, much of which has not been played live for decades.


Article Resource: http://EzineArticles.com/110680Payday loans would be the fastest and many convenient choice for getting a money advance for emergencies before the next pay day. However getting pay day loans as well as their repayments involve certain main reasons. Herein we are trying to answer all of your general queries associated with Pay day loans so we hope it'll function as a tool to spread out up any mystery surrounding pay day loans or cash loan.


Leessang turns off the TV to go on a stop-motion adventure in their new song.
"Turned Off the TV" is an unusual soft and mellow hip hop track with four artists: Gary and Kwon Jung-yul (from 10CM, an indie band) on vocals, Gil and Tasha on R&B-style rap. The song is very pleasant and soothing, and I definitely liked the underlying beat (and the fact that the singer loved his girlfriend enough he turned the TV off for her, haha).
"Neol neomuna saranghaeseo, nan TV reul kkeosseo/Saebbal gan, ni ibsul." ("I love you so much, so I turned off the TV/Your red lips.") They repeat this part so many times that it has literally been stuck in my head for days. And it is so awesome to listen to while just kind of strolling along, like they do in the MV! Aside from that, I like the steady core beat. This is a great song to relax and drink a glass of wine to (if you can ever get that line out of your head!).
Except for "TV" and "yeah," there isn't any English. Kind of rare!
This MV strongly reminded me of Oren Lavie's "Her Morning Elegance," which is another stop-motion music video (and a better one, in my opinion). That said, there is something really cool and interesting about the techniques used and how creative one can get with this kind of camera work, and Leessang definitely kept me curious as to what would come next.
Nah, they're just playing around with different things you can do with stop-motion. My favorite part was the stop-motion dancing. The possibilities are endless, and I was pleased to see how creative and charming this video was.
Things do get a little bit dirty (matching the kinda sexual lyrics) both in the part below and when they zoom in on a still frame of the girl's crotch for some reason.
Although there is a cute dance scene early on and it's repeated later, there wasn't official choreography.
Leessang is a hip-hop duo with Gary (rapper) and Gil (vocalist). However, I apparently have no idea who is in this music video. I thought it was Gil, 10 CM's Kwon Jung-yul (who sang beautifully on the track), and Tasha Reid (a.k.a. Yoon Mi Rae), Kpop Queen of Soul, but I've been told that's inaccurate. If you know, please tell me.
It almost looks like a flag.
The girl whose name I don't know was the star of this video and gave it a lovely pleasant feel. I loved how her curly hair was always spread out like she was in a wind machine.
Although I applaud Leessang for writing something different here, I'm afraid it's too mellow for my tastes.
Like Crispi Crunch's "Thumbs Up", this is another hip hop duo who released interesting teasers to promote their title track. I approve of cool teasers!
Yeah, although for me that main riff is STILL stuck in my head and has been all weekend! Aargh!
The girl in the MV wasn't Tasha. And i don't think the men were Gil & Kwon Jungyeol either.


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text:
Q: Wordpress - List only links to existing Image sizes in a post I´m using the following piece of code to offer download links to the images of a post, that are included in the media library.
 <?php
                    $images = array();
                    $image_sizes = array ('superlarge', 'large', 'medium', 'small');
                    $img_id = get_post_thumbnail_id( get_the_ID() );

                    if ( $img_id ) {
                            echo 'Image Download: ';
                            foreach( $image_sizes as $image_size ) {
                                    $image = wp_get_attachment_image_src( $img_id, $image_size );
                                    $name =  '' . $image[1] . 'x' . $image[2] . '';
                                    $images[] = '' . $name . '';
                            }
                            echo implode( ' | ', $images );
                    } ?>

This works fine if there is an image with "superlarge" dimensions. In that case I get a list of the 4 images sizes, with download link like this:
"superlarge, large, medium, small"
The problem is, that it doesn´t work properly if there is only the "large" image size. In that case I get a list like this:
"large, large, medium, small"
Is there a a way to show the download link, only if the size of the image exists? In that case this would be : "large, medium, small"
Thanks in advance for any help that solves that issue

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
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Another interesting trick with APPLY operator
Geovanny Hernandez Ambassador
Some years ago, I was reading one book of Itzik Ben-Gan where he explained in depth the use of a new operator: APPLY, I told myself, it just another new feature more. I didn't understand the relevance and the many versatile applications it had, through time, I have been using APPLY in many scenarios. Saving time and resources it is a fundamental part of each TSQL development, in this short article I would like to explain a simple trick with APPLY operator.The requirement can sound exotic but is...
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Most people are familiar with HTTPS and the concept of secure websites. Securing websites become more and more common, which is a really good thing. Not only do we know that the data sent and received from the website is secure, but we also get a sense of knowing we will be alright. We expect that we get confidentiality, authenticity and integrity from modern websites. After all, we see sites every day with this:This is becoming more and more common, and according to Scott Helme almost 31% of the...
The state of gender diversity in the tech industry: Gooroo facts and data
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The discussion on gender diversity in tech recently heats up with the viral memo on gender issues (titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber") by ex-Googler James Damore. Since then it has attracted several follow ups, including prominent ones by the New York Times or by The Washington Post. At Gooroo, it is pretty relevant to us as the tech industry is our main focus. We are specifically interested in knowing the facts behind the state of gender balance/diversity in tech companies...
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As Machine Learning (ML), a specialization of Data Science / Artificial Intelligence (AI), moves from a hype to becoming mainstream, there are still a lot of unknowns around the role ML plays in businesses. What exactly do companies hire ML for? What are the skills they need? As this article puts it For instance, did you know the top hiring role in Data Science is no longer "Data Scientist". In fact, it's relating to Machine Learning skills. As it is happening, at Gooroo.io, we are...
Gooroo Insights
How innovative analytics improve the chance of success in finding jobs on Gooroo.io
For the data science team at Gooroo.io, a question commonly asked is, how can big data be utilized to improve recruitment, for both those hiring and job seekers? Like many big HR tech companies, we also use data to produce insights and trends on jobs and salaries (like Stackoverflow Trend Survey or SEEK's job trend). What's more, at Gooroo we are looking beyond general insights and into smart, innovative analytics that can help individual recruiters and applicants with their job...
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Over the past few months in the little spare time that I have, I've managed to submit a handful of pull requests to various .NET-related repositories (e.g. coreclr, corefx, docs, etc.) and incredibly, they were accepted.Now, for some, this may not seem like a big deal. But it felt like a pretty big one to me so I thought I would take some time to elaborate on the process itself, share my experience, and hopefully dispel a few myths or misconceptions that you might have that may be holding you back...
C Sharp - C#
The Path is Null and Full of Squiggles
I've been using Visual Studio 2017 since the earliest bits were available and I can confidently say, I'm a fan and highly recommend you give it a shot if you get a chance.With that being said, sometimes new features can cause things to blow up and this post is going to be discussing one of those such features, namely Lightweight Solution Load.Recently, I opened up a decently sized solution (~9 projects) and everything seemed in order. All of my dependencies were there, with no warning signs to be...
Sharing is Caring: Using Shared Projects in ASP.NET
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Glyphfriend 2.1 Released! Now with Library Filtering
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In very simple terms we can say that"regular expression is a group of characters that defines a pattern" and using that pattern we find out specific information that we required in our caseSo the regular expressions are nothing but a group of characters that have special meanings to regular expression engine which is already installed in .Net framework and represented by System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex .My goal in this article is to give you a basic understanding of regular expressions in very...
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text:
package com.norbitltd.spoiwo.model.enums

object CellVerticalAlignment {

  lazy val Bottom = CellVerticalAlignment("Bottom")
  lazy val Center = CellVerticalAlignment("Center")
  lazy val Disturbed = CellVerticalAlignment("Disturbed")
  lazy val Justify = CellVerticalAlignment("Justify")
  lazy val Top = CellVerticalAlignment("Top")

}

case class CellVerticalAlignment private(value: String) {
  override def toString = value
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Those uncomfortable conversations you're dreading this holiday season are actually an opportunity to get better at addressing our issues to the public at large.
I don't know what it's like to have a family where everyone agrees politically. I did not grow up in an activist household where even if there were disagreements about the details there might be an overall consensus that injustice to anyone is something that we dedicate our lives to transforming.
As a Montessori preschool teacher and peace educator at a unique preschool in Petaluma, California, I work on a daily basis with families who, in general, realize the benefit of raising nonviolent peacemakers from early childhood onward. But that wasn't my experience as a child. Instead, I learned that women's bodies were as important — if not more than — our minds, and that we children were simply "ungrateful" when we had any disagreement with the decisions made by our parents. There was also spanking any time a rule was transgressed.
When I began to have my own political insights, it was like stepping on a hornet's nest, and I was wholly unprepared to respond. Sometimes, even as an adult, I still am. Don't get me wrong, I love my family deeply. It's just taken a lot of work to be able to find the places of commonality between our worldviews.
When Donald Trump was elected president, we all found ourselves in this situation vis-a-vis the extended "family" that is our badly divided country. What's more: The holiday season is upon us, and like it or not, we are going to find ourselves confronted by many an uncomfortable conversation with our dear ones — conversations that might even rival other previous life tensions, such as being the sole vegetarian or human rights activist at the table on Thanksgiving; or asking Dad not to insult Mom about her cooking; or coming out; or just simply disagreeing with your sister and brother-in-law about letting their child use a gun. You name it. If any of us have learned any lessons from previous negative holiday experiences, the leading lesson might simply be that we don't feel great when a peaceful moment with family becomes a traumatic event for all involved — especially when there are children watching.
We're at a time when we are beginning to realize that we cannot achieve our movement goals by ignoring or shutting down those with whom we disagree. True to the spirit of nonviolence then, we can turn holiday conversations with our families into some welcome and needed nonviolence training.
In a nonviolence training I received from the Meta Peace Team — an unarmed peacekeeping organization from Michigan that intervenes and de-escalates violence at Gay Pride events, KKK rallies or wherever tensions may run high — I learned a method called CLARA. It stands for center, listen, affirm, repeat and add.
Here's how it works: First, center yourself by drawing from your inner calm, which many people find through meditation, prayer practice, reciting a mantra or simply breathing and counting to 10. The point is, whatever you do, really draw from it. Then listen, affirm and repeat. Remember, everyone has a point of view, and electoral politics are rarely rational since our emotions are played upon from day one of campaign season. To even have a conversation requires some emotional de-escalation. So we prepare ourselves at the same time to listen and be able to say that we've heard what was really said. Even when it makes us chaff. Even if we have temporary moments of inner fury. We listen. This certainly does not mean that we are not committed to dismantling a system that made Trump possible. In fact, oftentimes in nonviolence nonconfrontational strategies work in tandem with more confrontational ones.
Finally, and when possible: add. As a friend suggested to me upon hearing about my own family dilemma, "Use talking points." When someone offers us contention or even aggression, we can respond clearly and confidently with what we actually believe in a way that repeats our core values without dehumanizing or insulting the person to whom we are speaking. This can be hard, so we need to prepare in advance. And practice.
What might some talking points sound like? Here's a rough sketch that I'm working on for myself.
1. We have more in common than meets the eye. I disagree with how you think we can achieve our common goals, but let's see if we can identify what they are. It might take us a while to find them, but I'm willing to work on this with you, even if it's hard.
2. I think I'll learn a lot if you and I can make our relationship stronger, even in the heat of disagreement. We'd be a model for the whole country, you know?
3. Violence is violence. Whichever side uses it, whether rhetorically or in action. I am not justifying the violence of those who share my political ideals, and I don't think you should try to justify the violence of those who share yours. Let's find a way to disagree politically without resorting to violence, even disrespect or harsh language.
4. No human being is the worst thing they've ever done. I want to create a society that is based on mercy and justice. Can you tell me a story about yourself so I can know your own struggles better? Can I tell you a story about myself?
Beautiful writing, Ms. Van Hook!
It's always a great honor to work with Bryan, Eric, and the WNV folks.
Helps to take along some dry organic ginger squares or strips to alleviate stomach pain or upset during such family time.
Thank you for a meaningful article. I am planning on investigating nonviolent communication for myself because I come into contact with many divergent views in the work that I do. I think it's essential for liberals "to prepare in advance. And practice…" I believe the failure of many of us to do so for the past eight years is part of what led to the tragedy we are now facing.
Thank you, Laura. Practice is something we all need, all of the time. And forgiveness when we make mistakes.


Client Alert: Caught Off Guard By the GDPR?
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect on May 25th. The sweeping new regulations appear to have caught many businesses off-guard. Those who are wondering what they need to do if they have not yet taken steps to ensure they are compliant can begin by answering a few questions and gathering information.
Who are your customers? If your business is collecting and processing online data of customers located in the EU, or if you advertise to EU residents, you are likely required to comply with the GDPR. Unless you are certain your business will never store or process the data of EU customers, you should ensure your company's policies and procedures are compliant.
What types of data is your company collecting and what are you doing with it? Differences in how your business obtains and uses the personal data of EU citizens will determine your obligations and liabilities under the GDPR. You should know whether your company collects and stores personal data, what kinds of data are being processed and stored, as well as who can access that data. You will need to post a clear and precise notice of your data processing activities and obtain freely given consent from EU residents to collect personal data.
Can you comply with user requests? Your business will need to consider whether or not it can comply with the data subject rights and requests mandated by the GDPR. Companies will need to have procedures that allow EU data subjects to access, rectify, and erase data. The GDPR allows data subjects to revoke their consent to collection and processing at any time.
Are you prepared for a breach? The GDPR imposes strict requirements on conduct following a data breach. In most instances, when a security breach threatens the rights and privacy of data subjects, companies must issue a notification within 72 hours after discovering the breach, describing the consequences of the breach, and communicating the breach directly to all affected subjects. Companies may need a process for identifying and informing individual EU data subjects of a breach under certain circumstances.
Are you aware of the penalties? The EU imposes strict penalties on companies for violating the GDPR. If your company compromises an EU citizen's data, the penalty could be up to 20 million euros or four percent of a company's worldwide revenue, whichever is larger.
Any other requirements? Compliance with the GDPR may require the adoption of other measures, including ensuring that your vendor contracts are in compliance, determining if you need to conduct impact assessments, evaluating requirements for international data transfer, appointing a Data Protection Officer, and quite a bit more.
If you have any questions regarding GDPR compliance, please contact Rudy E. Verner at BHGR Law at 303-402-1600. You can access the GDPR and other materials regarding the regulation at .


text:
US Legions es un álbum recopilatorio de la banda noruega de black metal, Mayhem. Las canciones 1-7 son en directo, y las canciones 8-12 son de las sesiones de la preproducción de Grand Declaration of War.

Lista de canciones
 "Fall of Seraphs" – 5:56
 "Carnage" – 3:55
 "View from Nihil" – 2:59
 "To Daimonion" – 2:55
 "Chainsaw Gutsfuck" – 5:13
 "Pure Fucking Armageddon" – 1:22
 "Necrolust (from U.S.A.)" – 4:03
 "To Daimonion" – 3:15
 "View from Nihil" – 2:58
 "In the Lies Where Upon You Lay" – 5:56
 "Crystallized Pain in Deconstruction" – 4:01
 "Completion in Science of Agony" – 2:09

Créditos
 Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) - Voz
 Blasphemer (Rune Eriksen) - Guitarra
 Necrobutcher (Jørn Stubberud) - Bajo
 Hellhammer (Jan Axel Blomberg) - Batería

Álbumes de Mayhem
Álbumes de black metal
Álbumes en inglés

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Our internship program allows you to apply the knowledge and skills you are learning to practical workplace experience.
We offer a wide selection of internships for our students. If the pre-education option interests you, there are opportunities to work with local schools. If you are interested in professional writing or editing, there are options available on-campus, including the Virginia Tech Magazine and University Relations. If you prefer an off-campus placement, some of the options include Pocahantas Press and The Southwest Times. If you are engaged in the pre-law option, you may consider an internship with the Montgomery County Commonwealth Attorney's Office. The list of internships changes from semester to semester, but several sample locations are included. For more information about any internship on the list, contact Carlos Evia.
"My English education at Virginia Tech is without a doubt the reason I am so happy in my current career and feel confident in every move I've made since college."
- Caitlin McHale, '11, Global Treasury Associate, Mars, Inc.
This annual careers and networking event is hosted by the department's Distinguished Alumni Board. Meet the members and learn how their background in English has helped them on their journeys to successful careers in law, finance, education, IT, aeronautics, conservation, and more. The schedule includes practice interviews, personalized resume reviews, and other career search-related activities.


text:
Pussy Riot sentences show what Russia holds sacred
The three members of Russian girl-punk band Pussy Riot who laid on an impromptu and sacrilegious "prayer" in a Moscow Cathedral in February have been sentenced to two years imprisonment for hooliganism and religious hatred. While severe, this is less than the seven years they might have faced, and its relative leniency - at least by Russian standards - may represent a nod in the direction of international opinion, which has been firmly on their side, and almost unanimous in seeing the trial primarily as a manifestation of Vladimir Putin's authoritarian style of government.
The case has certainly attracted quite extraordinary international attention. That can't simply be because it gives serious news reporters and journalists the opportunity to say "pussy". The trial has been headline news throughout the world, gaining far more prominence than, for example, the execution in Texas of a mentally retarded man or either of our own recent "freedom of speech" cases, the Twitter Joke Trial and the trial of Simon Walsh for possession of "extreme pornography". Yes, there are attractive women involved, and yes it feeds into a narrative about the state of modern Russia. But above all it has provided an opportunity for western liberal self-congratulation: it allows us to tell ourselves that in our own land of liberty, democracy and the rule of law such a show trial could not have taken place.
Yet today's sentences, it might be thought, compare reasonably well with the 18 month sentence given to Cambridge student Charlie Gilmour for swinging from the Cenotaph during a protest in London in 2010, and is considerably less than the 4 year sentences handed down last year to Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan and Jordan Blackshaw, who had posted messages on Facebook that supposedly constituted incitement to riot - even though no riots in fact took place.
Nevertheless, while the savage sentences handed down to many people involved in last year's riots attracted a good deal of public support, today's sentence has been greeted as an outrage. The European Union, for example, has officially condemned the sentences as "disproportionate": no such statement was forthcoming from Brussels in response to the courts' response to last year's British riots. It's hard to spot any enthusiasm for today's verdict outside Russia, unless you count Christian Voice which put out a press release welcoming both the sentences and the decision of Moscow City Council to ban Gay Pride. ("I don't pray to Mary, as it happens," said Stephen Green, "but I can recognise an assault on the Christian Faith when I see it.")
This may be because, in the West, protesting against Vladimir Putin is generally perceived as being a Good Thing and as a brave stand for the principle of free speech. Indeed, the assumption has been that the trial is, in itself, evidence that free speech is dying in Russia or has already died there. Knowing this, yet still protesting - and doing so in a dramatic, hard-to-ignore fashion - thus becomes a particularly noble action, even if it did cause genuine offence to many Orthodox Christians who have no stake in the Putin regime and perhaps no interest in politics.
The incident in the cathedral was only one of many protests carried out by members of Pussy Riot and its associated art collective, Voina, which have included painting a giant penis on a Moscow Bridge, spilling live cockroaches in a courtroom and kissing policewomen. In 2008 the youngest of the trio, Nadia Tolokonnikova (then aged 18 and heavily pregnant) took part in a public orgy in a Moscow museum. Why should they have been treated so much more severely this time?
Religion undoubtedly has something to do with it. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, it has been claimed by the husband of one of the imprisoned women, personally contacted both Putin and the chief of the Moscow police to demand the arrest and prosecution of Pussy Riot, after seeing the footage of their protest on YouTube. He denounced the protest as "blasphemy" and called for severe penalties; his spokesman called it "demonic". If there is political manipulation behind the scenes of the trial (and there may well be) it is likely to be motivated as much by Putin's neo-Tsarist desire to pose as a champion of Orthodoxy as by his undoubted intolerance of dissent.
The religious angle has been strangely overlooked in Western reporting. Where it is discussed, it is usually in terms of the closeness of the Russian Orthodox hierarchy to the Putin regime rather than questions of sacrilege and blasphemy. The protest did not take place in a cathedral by accident, of course. The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished by Stalin and recently rebuilt (allegedly with help from the Russian mafia) is deeply symbolic both of the reemergence of Orthodoxy after the collapse of Soviet communism and of the unhealthy closeness between the church hierarchy and the Kremlin. The Pussy Riot "prayer" called upon the Virgin Mary to cleanse Russia of Putin, and the women in their statements to the court repeatedly criticised the links between Orthodox hierarchs and the government, especially the way in which Putin has used these religion for his own political benefit:
Our sudden musical appearance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior with the song "Mother of God, Drive Putin Out" violated the integrity of the media image that the authorities had spent such a long time generating and maintaining, and revealed its falsity. In our performance we dared, without the Patriarch's blessing, to unite the visual imagery of Orthodox culture with that of protest culture, thus suggesting that Orthodox culture belongs not only to the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch, and Putin, but that it could also ally itself with civic rebellion and the spirit of protest in Russia.
No doubt Kirill's amour propre was damaged - the protest was aimed at him personally more than at religion - but this does not mean that there was no genuine offence to ordinary believers. Russian Orthodox churches are not, like some Anglican churches, simply buildings people go to pray in: they are more like temples, sacred spaces where heaven is believed to come down to earth. The Pussy Riot prayer was foul-mouthed (for example, replacing the words of the mass, "Holy, Holy, Holy" with "Shit, Shit, Shit") and, to a traditional religious sensibility, profoundly shocking. Without this profanation of the sacred, the patriarch might have been less outraged, and might therefore not felt compelled to call in political favours, and this trial might never have taken place.
When Peter Tatchell interrupted George Carey's sermon in Canterbury Cathedral in 1999, to protest the then archbishop's views on gay clergy (or something) he was arrested and charged under an obscure 1860 law. He was later fined the symbolic sum of £18.60. But then in secular Britain, a cathedral is far less sacred a place than the Cenotaph, and religious feelings count for less than property. Indeed, Pussy Riot have been supported by several prominent Anglicans, such as Giles Fraser or, on Thought for the Day this morning, Lucy Winkett. They have even been compared to Jesus, who "profaned" the Jerusalem Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers. Christ's complaint, though, was that the traders had turned a house of prayer into a "den of thieves". He didn't stride into the Holy of Holies and shout "Caesar is a cunt!" In any case, his punishment was rather more severe.
Labels: Politics Pussy Riot Putin religion
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Pussy Riot sentences show what Russia holds sacred...
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Q: What do introductory non-finite clauses modify? I posted the following question in Linguistics Stack Exchange, but since I'm asking about English grammar, I'm thinking that this is a better forum for it. The question:
The introductory non-finite clauses below (in bold)
Speeding down the road, Peter ran a red light.
Discouraged by his losing record, the boxer quit boxing
what, if anything, do they modify?
Do they modify the subject of each sentence ("Peter," "the boxer"), the main verb ("ran," "quit"), or the entire main clause ("Peter ran a red light," "the boxer quit boxing)?
How do grammarians/linguists analyze such introductory non-finite clauses? And if they are not "modifiers," what's the syntactic function of such non-finite clauses?
Thanks in advance

A: To the introductory non-finite participial clauses

*

*Speeding down the road, Peter ran a red light.

*Discouraged by his losing record, the boxer quit boxing.

let's add an infinitive, the other type of non-finite clause

*

*To qualify for the trophy, the boxer had to win five events.

You can normally think of any subordinate clause as "modifying" the clause one cycle above it, for all the good it will do; this is especially true of adverbial clauses -- and all of these are adverbial in function. But in general, "modification" is not a big deal with medium-sized constituents like these.
They're up there at the front of the sentence to lead the addressee's attention to the circumstances
surrounding the main clause that they appear before. Where they come from is hard to say,
but it's not hard to find possible exponents with words missing from Conversational Deletion.
Viz,

*

*(While he was) speeding down the road, Peter ran a red light.

*(Because he was) discouraged by his losing record, the boxer quit boxing.

*(In order)(for him) to qualify for the trophy, the boxer had to win five events.
These are very common constructions, even more common in non-fronted positions.
Since they usually lack overt subjects, significant referential ambiguity is possible:

*

*&Sitting on the fence, Aunt Tillie saw three cats.


Jerusalem is the City of David, the heart of the Promised Land and the focus of prophecy fulfilled and unfulfilled. Its significance to God commands our attention. Frame a reproduction antique map in sections for an interesting art and conversation piece. Measure and mark cut lines on the map, then use a straight edge and utility knife to cut apart.
Calm and inviting, this restful space encourages prayer. Physical comforts include a thick rug for bended knees, a small table, a comfy chaise and good lighting for Bible reading or journaling. Wall art serves as a reminder to pray. Panels are made from recycled boards glued together and cut into 22-inch squares, topped with found wooden and metal letters. Picture mounting kits finish the backs.
A room accent becomes a prompt for remembering God's mercy. The half-spherical bowl of rocks represents the world. The dark rocks symbolize fallen mankind and the single white one, our sinless Savior. The contrasting rocks also remind us of the daily battle we face to live godly lives, of good versus evil, light versus darkness. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" John 8:12 NIV.
Bold and uplifting, pink makes a strong statement about God's omnipotent power. Sparrows remind us of His promise to watch over us: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father … So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29, 31 NRSV.
The appliqué pillow is made by adhering a sparrow motif to the fabric. A running stitch edges the bird and shell buttons create a mock flange border sewn on after the pillow is stuffed. Birch branches add natural contrast.
Bright green and yellow against a neutral palette remind us of the new life we find in Jesus. Wheatgrass, books on nature and a subtle animal print rug turn our thoughts to the beauty of creation in this restful room.
The graphic Bible verse on crisp linen pillows is created with heat transfer paper.


It's the late afternoon, and from the small plot of white sand I've laid claim to, I can see Phuket Island, the mainland province of Phang Nga, and a couple small, uninhabited islands - both inspiring Gilliganesque fantasies.
Another boat arrives, an armada of inflatable canoes storms the beach, and tour guides enjoy a game of beach football while their charges flop on mats in the shade and reflect on the day.
I wonder if I'm the only person confused as to where the hours went. We're ending a day that seems like it just began. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
In the morning, I boarded one of Sea Cave Canoe's big boats - the name of it wasn't obvious, but ISO 9001:2000 certification was - from the little pier of Laem Sai on Phuket's northeast corner.
The boat chugged peacefully through Phang Nga Bay, where oddly shaped islands towered over the water. Some looked unbalanced; on the verge of collapsing into the sea. But some hid secrets.
The hongs ("rooms" in Thai) are caves that lost their tops - literally. Towering rock walls, sky blue ceilings, and watery carpeting, these dramatic rooms are the private sanctuary of all manner of plant and animal life. Dark tunnels, eroded from the stone, are the only way in and out.
During the course of the day, I was face to face with inquisitive monkeys, saw bats hanging a comfortable distance overhead, and grasped gnarled mangrove roots that twisted into knee-deep mud. I heard silence interrupted only by oars dipping in water. My guide asked me quietly, almost apologetically, to look here sir, look there, as he pointed out shapes in flowing rock formations: a dog's head, a duck, Buddha.
In a word, the scenery was astounding; easily enough to make the trip worthwhile. But the staff of Sea Cave Canoe was an unexpected bonus. Always quick with a joke, a smile, a cold drink, or a helping hand, they made the day truly memorable.
Guides were assigned to guests, personal introductions were made, and that was your paddle guru for the day. A glass of water or a bottle of cola was barely finished before a staff member swooped in to discard the trash, true to the "Keep Bay Clean" slogan scrawled on their shirts.
Instructions and informative tidbits were explained slowly, clearly, and even spelled out when there might be confusion. "The first island we are going to is Panak: P-A-N-A-K. In Thai, panak means back of a chair. So the island is comfortable, relaxing, something like that," said our head guide Took.
On we passed, from one sight to the next, until inexplicably, here we are winding down on the beach. Stellar sights, a first-class crew, and no little detail forgotten, I'll leave wanting only one thing: to come back again.


Four feisty women come to New York City to find love and get lost in the madness. In the process, they expose anthropological desires and new-age affairs through their own trials. Carrie Bradshaw, a prototypical writer gets entangled in this web too. Through her writing, she uncovers – sometimes brutally – this thing called "love". Her three best pals have different perspectives on the same. And when they are not drifting between clubs and looking for love in all the wrong places, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte are contemplating life.
SATC has a strong traction on women because it depicts life as it is, and as it can be. The reason most women empathise and commune with the show and the films is that it spins a unique yarn that is relatable across age groups. Bradshaw is a babe-in-a-big-city. She runs from one man to another with an unending hope that one day she'd find her Mr Perfect. And she eventually does, as Mr Big comes along. The former is head-over-heels in love with a man who is wary of relationships after failed marriages.
She tells her story – and that of her friends – through her column that is quirky and refreshingly unassuming.
Samantha Jones is a firm believer of the carnal pleasures of life. The oldest of the four, this publicist is a seductress who refrains from entwining in the many grooves of emotions. She is of the opinion that a woman can fulfil all her sexually-fuelled desires without getting emotionally attached to a man.
Miranda Hobbes is driven by her career, and as Bradshaw puts it, "a disciple of tough love". She is a little contemptuous when it comes to men and relationships, but that changes when she marries her on-again-off-again boyfriend, and gives birth to their son. Through her challenging journey of mistrust, infidelity and single-parenthood, she states lesson in life, something that we can all learn.
And finally, Charlotte York – the most emotional of the four, who places her belief in the traditional old-school love. She waited all her life for her knight in shining armour, a family and happiness of a lifetime. She got everything and more. York would take a bullet for a friend.
If I had not known enough, I would have unceremoniously dumped the show for its bold content and expletive dialogues. But this show is one that every woman should watch once in her life, to draw strength and some feminine wisdom. SATC has something for every season and for every woman.


Professor Philip Wilson has worked at the University of Southampton for more than forty years. He helped start the Department of Ship Science, which is now an integral part of the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment. During this period, he has focused on the determination of the response of ships, of all designs, to waves and as part of that process, he has also lectured on ship stability.