text:
Squabbling over scraps
Labels: DUP, Independence, Ireland, Tories
So the Tories eventually managed to negotiate a confidence and supply deal with the DUP to keep Theresa May in power. The headline is that it will result in £1bn of additional spending over two years in the Six Counties. People in Wales have been kicking up a fuss about it.
It doesn't surprise me at all that Carwyn Jones should do so. As Welsh Labour see things, the whole point of being in this political union is that, through it, Wales can be subsidized by countries that are richer than we are. Therefore the size of the handout we get, and how it compares to the handouts that other parts of the UK get, is important ... in fact it's probably the most important thing on their agenda.
For what it's worth, I wouldn't worry too much about it. There is almost certain to be legal challenge from the Welsh and Scottish governments, which might well result in Wales, Scotland and perhaps even England getting more public spending. But even if some legal process eventually determines that a few billion pounds more has be made available to be spent elsewhere, it is only small change in comparison with total UK public expenditure of more than £750bn a year. From the Tories' point of view, it's a very cheap way of giving them a comfort zone in terms of votes in the House of Commons. And even if there is some legal challenge, it will take years, so the Tories will have bought themselves time ... which in itself is a very precious commodity.
What concerns me more is that many of those who want independence for Wales have been complaining in exactly the same way, and that some—for example in this post have said that if only we were a little more unruly, then we in Wales could get bigger handouts from Westminster. I find this disturbing, because the whole point of independence for us to stand on our own two feet as a nation, not relying on handouts from others at all, and certainly not arguing about whether we should now get £1.7bn more to spend in Wales just because the Six Counties are in line to get £1bn.
If we do this, we are missing the point entirely. Our mentality is completely wrong. I do not want a Wales on its knees squabbling over a few billion pounds, I want a Wales on its feet, producing that few billion—and much more—by our own efforts.
Let's look more closely at Ireland. Before independence Ireland was poor. Since independence (and particularly since joining the EU) the Republic has become much, much richer. This wealth might be concentrated in the south east (just as it is in both Wales and England) but even the poorer Border, Midlands and Western region of Ireland is considerably more wealthy than the Six Counties.
Southern and Eastern Ireland ... €39,900 (£28,950) per head
Border, Midlands and Western Ireland ... €23,700 (£17,200) per head
Six Counties ... €21,000 (£15,200) per head
Let's now put this additional £1bn into perspective. It equates to £500m per year, or £280 (€390) per head, since the Six Counties have a population of about 1.8m. At best, all this additional spending only scratches the surface of the underlying inequality of wealth between the Six and Twenty-six Counties. And in fact the current inequality is much bigger now than these figures show, because the pound has fallen so much in value since the Brexit vote.
Of course, nobody can say for certain that if the whole of Ireland had become independent, without partition, the Six Counties would now be as rich as the Twenty-Six. But I would be astounded if they weren't.
To slightly modify the proverb: is it better to give someone an extra £280 of fish a year, or allow them to catch fish for themselves and become a few thousand pounds richer each year as a result?
I have no doubt that the DUP will spin this deal as a victory, and will say at the next election, "Vote for us, because only we are able to deliver all this extra fish pork."
Fish-barrel politics is as grubby as pork-barrel politics, it's a reflection of our obsession with the small picture at the expense of the big picture. We need to be asking why Wales, Scotland or the Six Counties should live as beggars, squabbling with each other over how many billion pounds the UK government will give us on the rare occasions when one of our political parties is in a position to twist their arm. With independence, we can each arrange our economies to suit our own strengths and in time, like Ireland, become much richer than we will ever be as part of the UK.
Posted by Michael Haggett at 14:05 3 comments Links to this post
Bad reporting from the Guardian
Labels: Education, EU, Media
Yes, from the headline, I guess most of you will have thought that I was referring to this article yesterday on Ysgol Llangennech and Welsh-medium education generally.
However what I had in mind was this report on a poll commissioned by Chatham House on what position the EU should take in Brexit negotiations. The Guardian's headline reads:
Two-thirds of Europeans believe EU should take hard line on Brexit – poll
But look more closely at this graphic from the article:
Yes, it is technically true that two-thirds of those outside the UK said that the EU should not compromise its core principles ... but what about the additional 20% who said that the EU should not compromise at all?
Do the maths. The truth is that more than 80% of those questioned think that the EU should not compromise over its core principles. In fact, even a majority in the UK think that the EU should not compromise its core principles. If we needed proof that the UK government is not going to get the outcome it says it wants, this survey should add to it. Twenty-seven democratically elected governments are not going to ignore such overwhelming strength of opinion in their respective countries.
So what are we to make of such reporting? Is it sloppiness? Maybe. Or is it that the Guardian, like every other media outlet, is inclined to write stories that support its own agenda, or (being more charitable) has an inbuilt, unconscious bias that it simply isn't aware of?
I don't share the general anger that I can see in many of the pro-Welsh-language comments on the Guardian's Llangennech article. I think it would be better to accept that every news outlet operates this way, and to filter what any article says accordingly. I'm glad the Guardian wrote what it did, simply because exposing such bias (whether intended or unconscious) is the best way of dealing with it.
Eleven points
Labels: 2017 Westminster Election
As so much of what is currently happening to shape the new UK government is in flux, I thought I would make a list of the points I see as important.
1. The Tories will not call another election anytime soon
This is because they'd lose it. Their previous pitch was that Corbyn was unelectable, he clearly isn't. Labour have the momentum. They'll comfortably win any election held in the next couple of years.
2. The DUP don't want another election either
They will do everything they can to make the Tory/PUP agreement last as long as possible. All their wishes have come true. Every day is Christmas for them from now until the next election.
3. Theresa May will not lead the Tories into another election
She simply isn't cut out for elections, and every Tory now knows it.
4. But the Tories won't get rid of her yet
The very earliest she would go is at the party conference this autumn. But I doubt she will go that quickly for two reasons: First, the electorate won't tolerate a second unelected leader. Whoever becomes leader will have to face a general election within a year or so. Second, the Brexit negotiations are going to be a humiliation for the UK, so no ambitious Tory is going to want to be leader until the negotiations are over. The next Tory leader will let May take all the humiliation, then emerge as a fresh new face who has learnt from her mistakes.
5. Labour want an early election
They will do everything possible to destabilize the Tory/DUP agreement ... but that will just make them more determined to hold on. Labour will only get in by attrition, if the number of by-elections in the next few years is higher than usual.
6. The UK will end up with a soft Brexit
The UK will be part of the EU single market and customs union, and the will continue to pay a fair price for it. Maintaining an even playing field costs money. However the payments will be disguised in all sorts of ways to save Tory blushes.
7. Immigration will not be a big issue
It never was. Having "control" of immigration sounds fine, but was never going to equate to having less immigration. Despite promising they would, the Tories didn't do anything to curb immigration from outside the EU even though it alone accounted for more than the limit the Tories said they were aiming for. They realize that the UK economy relies on immigration. For example, it's cheaper to hire a doctor who has been trained at someone else's expense in another country than to train a doctor here.
The Tory media will not make an issue out of immigration, because criticizing the government for conceding on the principle of free movement to the point of destabilizing it will only bring about an election that will bring Labour into power ... something they're much more afraid of than immigration. Hardline Tory MPs will not make an issue of it for the same reason ... they cannot afford to cause trouble because their seats will be at stake. And any criticism from UKIP will be ineffective because this election killed them off as a political force.
8. The Tories are still a right wing party
Irrespective of what happens in negotiations with the EU, domestic economic policy is decided by each member state individually. A Tory government propped up by the DUP might be a little gentler than a Tory majority government (triple lock pensions, winter fuel allowance, etc) but the overall thrust of their economic policy will still be to give tax cuts to the rich and restrict spending on public services. Teresa May will try to implement as many parts of her manifesto as she can, regardless of having fewer Tory MPs. In fact she'll probably be more doggedly determined to do it because she won't be around as leader to answer for the consequences at the next election.
9. Scottish independence
The SNP won the general election in Scotland handsomely, winning 34 of the 58 seats. That's a much higher percentage of seats than the Tories gained in Britain. The SNP already had a mandate for a second independence referendum following the 2016 Scottish election and the SNP/Green vote in the Scottish Parliament. So they didn't need another mandate from this election, but they got it anyway.
However EU membership is not, in itself, going to hold all that much sway in deciding the outcome of the vote for independence. What will make a difference is that Scotland is a left-leaning country in which most of the economic levers of power are held by a right wing UK government. This has always been and will always be the main reason why the Scots will eventually vote for independence. Incidentally, this is true for Wales too.
The problem the SNP have is that they must hold this referendum while pro-independence parties command a majority at Holyrood. There's no guarantee that this will still be the case after 2021. But they need a to justify a second referendum, and the EU is a far more black-and-white reason (it was specifically mentioned in the 2016 manifesto) than the differing political make-up of Holyrood and Westminster, which is no different now from what it was in 2014. It's a tricky balancing act because if, as I now expect, the UK as a whole ends up with a soft Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon will have got what she said she wanted following the EU referendum.
10. Irish reunification
The only way that a soft border could be achieved in Ireland is if the Six and Twenty-six Counties were both in the EU single market and customs union. If the Tories still held majority at Westminster, they would have ensured Britain was out of both, but would probably have made an exception for the Six Counties, because it wouldn't matter very much to voters in Britain. This would effectively have moved the economic border between the UK and EU to the Irish Sea.
(Actually, that's not strictly true. The other alternative would have
been for the border to be at ports and airports in the Republic, and for
Ireland to operate the UK's border policies ... but this would effectively
put Ireland outside the EU in economic terms and make it part of the UK,
and there's no way the Irish would accept that. However that didn't stop
some Tories floating the idea, and I wouldn't be surprised if
they try it again.)
If the border had been at the Irish Sea, it would have been a huge step towards the economic integration of the Six and Twenty-six Counties, and brought formal reunification closer. But with the Tories now reliant on the DUP to stay in power in Westminster this won't happen.
Much has been made of the idea that the UK government cannot act as an "impartial intermediary" to implement the Good Friday Agreement if it depends on the support of the DUP. That's a fair comment, but the other side of the equation is that it's quite likely that Sinn Féin will be in government in the Republic some time soon - perhaps after the next Irish general election in coalition with Fianna Fáil. If that happened, then the Irish government wouldn't be an "impartial intermediary" either. In truth, the UK government has always favoured the Unionists and the only difference is that the pretence of impartiality can no longer be maintained.
As I see it, the most significant result of the agreement between the Tories and the DUP will be that the both parties will find out just how little they have in common ... which I think will come as a bigger shock to the DUP than to the Tories. Much has been made of how socially conservative the DUP are in terms of issues like abortion and equal marriage, and the DUP are painted as dinosaurs from a bygone age. While I don't support the DUP, I would say in their defence that they represent the views of a large part of the population of the Six Counties. It isn't so much that the DUP are out of step with mainstream social views—if they were, they wouldn't have won 10 out of 18 seats—it's that there's a significant gulf between Irish social attitudes and British social attitudes. To their horror, the DUP will realize that when the Tories talk of "the United Kingdom" what they mean by it is very different from what the DUP want it to be. It hardly needs to be said that religion plays a bigger part in society in the Six Counties than in Britain. Britain is a much more secular society. I think the Protestant community in the Six Counties will come to realize that they have more in common with the social and religious conservatism of the Twenty-six Counties than they do with the liberal secularism of Britain. A generation or two ago, when more people held Christian views than they do now, which version of Christianity you adhered to was important, so much so that Protestants like Ian Paisley—who founded the DUP—saw Catholics as their polar opposites. But in a Europe which has become much more secular than it was, Protestants and Catholics in Ireland are finding that they have much more in common with each other as Christians in the face of a growing secularization that threatens to make practising Christians of all denominations a minority. In short, I think Protestants in the Six Counties will gradually come to see the reunification of Ireland as a more attractive option for helping to maintain their way of life than remaining part of the UK.
Make no mistake, public opinion in Britain might have been tolerant of the socially conservative views of the DUP while it was safely kept on the other side of the Irish Sea, but it will not be tolerant of people holding those views having a direct influence over UK government policy. The Unionist community as a whole will be made to feel, both through mainstream and social media, even less part of Britain than they think they are now. It will be a rude awakening.
I'd also mention two other factors. The first is just how far the Unionist vote has fallen, as shown in this post. It is now less than 50% for the first time. The second is the ground-breaking statement from the EU that there will be no obstacle to the Six Counties becoming part of a united Ireland in the EU.
If anything, I am more confident of a united Ireland happening in the next decade than an independent Scotland. The event that will trigger it is the death of Elizabeth Windsor.
We in Wales will be bystanders in most of this. However I think we will gain a few crumbs from the deal to form a new UK government. Apart from the DUP's constitutional red lines, they will of course extract a hefty amount of extra "pork" for the Six Counties. But it will be difficult to give one devolved (even if suspended) administration more money without the other devolved administrations getting more too. The Six Counties have greater public spending per head, and getting significantly more again would have to be justified on the principle of need. So we might finally see the Barnett Formula (even with a floor) replaced by a needs-based formula. This would benefit Wales, as our needs are greater than the UK average too.
The DUP save our bacon
Labels: 2017 Westminster Election, Brexit, DUP, EU
The result of yesterday's election wasn't too far away from what I expected. I had put the Tories on 310 and Labour on 275. So I'm disappointed to some extent, but I can see a bright side.
In the Six Counties, two things coincided to produce a perfect storm. The first was that the DUP did well in the Unionist community, gaining two seats, but the second was that Sinn Féin did even better in the Republican community, gaining three seats and wiping out the SDLP. Because Sinn Féin do not take their seats in Westminster, the result is a solid block of MPs who are prepared to support the Tories, and who have just come to a deal to keep Theresa May in a weak and wobbly position of power. The SDLP would, of course, have opposed the Tories.
There is only one thing that the DUP really want from this deal, which is that the Six Counties are not treated in any way differently from the rest of the UK. If the DUP were not in such a pivotal position, I would have put money on the eventual solution to the problem of the border between the Six Counties and the Twenty-six being that the effective border between the EU and UK post-Brexit would be the Irish Sea, and that customs and immigration checks would have been carried out at the ports and airports rather than at the land border. Logistically, that is by far the best way of handling things because the tickets of any people or goods would have to be checked anyway when they boarded the ferries or planes to cross the Irish Sea, so discretely checking their customs/immigration documents at the same time as their tickets would result in no additional inconvenience.
However this arrangement is the one thing that the DUP will absolutely oppose, because in the event of a hard Brexit it will make the Six Counties—in practice if not in name—part of the EU single market and customs union and therefore economically, as opposed to politically, part of a united Ireland.
The only alternative to this is for the UK as a whole to remain part of the EU single market and customs union. And for me this now looks to be the most likely outcome. Essentially, the UK will have a similar relationship with the EU as Norway, and the border between the Six and Twenty-six counties will become as irrelevant for day-to-day purposes as the border between Norway and Sweden. Such an arrangement will also solve the problem of the border between Gibraltar and Spain, allowing Gibraltar to remain British without taking a massive financial hit from the loss of thousands of workers who make the daily commute from Spain.
Those who wanted a hard Brexit (UKIP and the Tory hardliners) were well and truly defeated in yesterday's election, so the UK having a Norway-style relationship with the EU can now be politically justified. And the Tories, if they have any sense, will grasp the fig leaf of spinning this compromise as the only practical way of ensuring that their precious UK stays together and that Gibraltar remains British.
The huge benefit for people in the UK is that we will remain part of the EU for economic purposes, and will only have opted out politically. It means that when Wales and Scotland become independent, we only need make the political decision whether we want to be part of the EU, because there will be hardly any economic consequences either way.
If I'm right in this analysis, the DUP have saved our bacon.
Now for those of you who will argue that this means that the UK will have to continue paying money to the EU, my answer is that we would always have had to do this if we wanted seamless access to the EU single market. We were fooling ourselves if we thought the EU27 would allow us any other deal.
Two upcoming independence referendums
Labels: Catalunya, Independence, Kurdistan
I want to briefly highlight two pieces of political news which will have a very significant influence on independence for Wales and Scotland, because they'll almost certainly be drowned-out by current political events on these islands.
The first is the announcement on Wednesday that there will be a referendum on independence in south Kurdistan on 25 September this year. By south, I mean that part of Kurdistan which is currently part of Iraq, to distinguish it from the western part of Kurdistan currently in Syria, north Kurdistan in Turkey and east Kurdistan in Iran. They will vote Yes.
The second is today's announcement that 1 October this year has been set as the date for the independence referendum in Catalunya. As a parallel, I suppose I could say that by Catalunya I mean the current Spanish Autonomous Community, sometimes called the Principality, as distinguished from the other Catalan countries of Valencia and the Balearic islands which are also in Spain and North Catalunya in France.
The Catalan election in particular will be enormously important as the EU's reaction to the inevitable Yes vote in Catalunya will set a precedent for how the EU will react to similar situations in Europe such as Scotland.
I'm voting Labour tomorrow
Labels: 2017 Westminster Election, Labour
It probably won't surprise anyone that I would never vote for the Tories or for UKIP, but I have seriously considered the others. Under a preferential voting system, my first preference would go to the Greens; Plaid and Labour would vie for second and third depending on the particular circumstances of the election and the quality of the local candidates; and the LibDems would come fourth, although at present their policy of holding a second referendum on Europe (even if for the wrong reason) makes them a rather more attractive proposition than they would usually be.
At present, Wales is part of the UK. At a UK level Plaid Cymru are all but irrelevant. Even if Wales elected 40 Plaid Cymru MPs it would probably not make any difference in a House of Commons that has 650 members.
Plaid Cymru have developed two particular conceits which annoy the hell out of me: that they are the only party that speaks for Wales and that they are the only party that represents Welsh interests. Plaid Cymru will only ever be able to claim that it "speaks for Wales" when more people in Wales vote for them than for any other party. If you want to use that sort of language, the party that "speaks for Wales" is, and has been for generations, Labour. Plaid needs to do the hard work of winning more votes before it can make that claim. Additionally, no party can claim that it uniquely represents Welsh interests. What is in our national interest is a matter of political opinion, and election campaigns are all about presenting different political positions and persuading voters about the merits of each. Even parties like UKIP and the Tories stand in Wales because they believe that their policies are in the best interests of Wales and, even though we might not like it, a good number of our fellow countrymen and women vote for them ... and are no less Welsh because of it. For me, Plaid Cymru's current leadership has given up on trying to persuade people about the merits of their policies, and instead started to go down the very dangerous road of suggesting that some parties (and by implication the people who vote for them) are anti-Welsh.
My advice to Plaid is to give up on this approach and concentrate instead on how and why their vision of what they want Wales to become, and their particular policies for getting there, are better for Wales than those of other parties in Wales.
Plaid's manifesto for this election was cringeworthy. Time and time again they promised to deliver on things which they couldn't possibly deliver .... even if Plaid were to win every single seat in Wales.
In contrast, Labour are a far more realistic choice at a UK level. For the first time in several decades, Labour have put forward a manifesto which will move the UK more to the left. Under Jeremy Corbyn, there is a glimmer of hope that the UK might become a significantly better place in which to live. That's good while we're part of the UK and good if the UK breaks up, because the people of England will always be our neighbours.
I want Wales to be independent for two reasons. The first is that Wales is a nation, and we deserve to stand on our own two feet as a nation, side by side with all the other nations of the world. However I realize that this is a sentimental view, perhaps more a matter of the heart than the head.
But the second reason I want Wales to be independent is that I do not like the political direction that the UK seems determined to travel in. The UK, and specifically the welfare state and public ownership of key sectors of the economy, that our parents and grandparents built after the second world war was something to be proud of. I benefited from it enormously. But over the past few decades it has been, and still is being, systematically dismantled. A Labour-led government under Corbyn, McDonnell and their colleagues offers the hope that this will be stopped, and perhaps even reversed. In my opinion that is worth voting for, although I half fear that it's already too late.
Will Labour deliver if elected? Who knows? I don't think any government achieves everything it sets out to achieve, but it might succeed in changing some things for the better and pointing the UK in a different direction of travel. Perhaps I'm being sentimental in this too.
Being more hard-headed, it is still unlikely that Labour will win tomorrow. To form a government they will probably need a supply and confidence arrangement with the SNP. Perhaps all that voting Labour will achieve is to give the Tories a couple of dozen fewer seats, which hopefully will force the Tories to take their foot off the accelerator so that the car crash which is Brexit will be a little softer.
However, I'm sure of this: if the Tories do form the next Westminster government, it will be a catalyst that helps bring about a united Ireland and an independent Scotland more quickly than would otherwise be the case. If I were more Machiavellian, I might encourage people to vote Tory for that very reason. But it would be like voting to leave the EU knowing that Brexit would make a united Ireland and an independent Scotland more likely. I can't in all conscience do something bad in order to bring about something good. No, I want to be able to argue for an independent Wales as the only way left for us to be part of a society which values public ownership and control of key sectors, rather than ever-increasing privatization and marketization of things that should be held by us all for the common good.
This election might well be the last chance the UK has to reverse its ever-rightward direction of travel and the inevitable self-destruction it will bring. For that reason I will be voting Labour tomorrow. I want to be able to say that I tried.
Posted by Michael Haggett at 15:18 10 comments Links to this post
Theresa May's plans on terror: they are wrong
Labels: Tories
I largely agree with this editorial from the Guardian yesterday, so I thought I'd repost the first paragraph from it.
Mrs May wants us to believe that we face a threat from doctrines that do not espouse violence but somehow mutate into terror. Confusing extremism with terrorism risks dividing us as a people when we need to be united
Theresa May's "enough is enough" speech is an attempt to reshape dramatically Britain's policy to thwart terror after murderous attacks. Mrs May gave her most explicit pitch today to policing thoughts rather than acts. This is a bad idea. It rests on a strategy to counter ideology rather than one that counters terrorism. It penalises people for holding unspoken beliefs and promotes a form of thoughtcrime. Such a move would end up with Britain losing the fight against terrorism in a legal minefield of dogma and piety. Mrs May wants us to believe that we face a threat from doctrines that do not espouse violence but somehow mutate into terror by contingency. The conclusion of her speech is that a non-violent person who harbours anti-British, extremist thoughts – to be defined presumably by a future parliament – could be blacklisted, maybe even criminalised. This is a leap away from current policy, although Mrs May has been heading in this direction for years. It should worry us all. What of animal rights, ecological defence or anti-arms-trade activists who do not subscribe to violent belief systems when criminal acts – sometimes amounting to terror – have been carried out in their name? Will they be banned too?
Guardian, 4 June 2017
This woman is a danger to us all, and she will become even more dangerous if we don't get out and vote against her party on Thursday.


Information and Communication Technology (Ict) Is the Cause of Today's Many Social Ills. What Is Your Opinion?
Tsunamis (pronounced soo-ná-mees), also known as seismic sea waves (mistakenly called "tidal waves"), are a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance such as an earthquake,landslide, volcanic eruption, or meteorite. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more.


text:
Q: CSS :hover formats table rows unpredictably in Firefox I'm helping with an interactive table in a dashboard. Clicking rows in the table alters the data displayed on the rest of the dashboard. The table rows can have a  'selected' class, where the selected row is given a 4px bold border. The rows also have a :hover selector that gives them a 2px border.
My issue is that when using Mozilla Firefox V 56.0.1 this causes the rows between the row being hovered over and the selected row to be given a 4px border on the left and right sides of the row. See below for details.
Unintended behavior
Intended behavior
Here is the code:
HTML and CSS in CodePen
https://codepen.io/anon/pen/MOzJNZ

table {
      border-collapse: collapse;
    }
    tr.notselected:hover {
       border: 2px solid black;
       padding: 2px;
    }
    tr.selected {
       border: 4px solid black; }

        Header 1
        Header 2

        Subheader 1.1
        Subheader 1.2
        Subheader 2.1
        Subheader 2.2

        Row 1
        10.1
        10.6
        9.1
        9.4

        Row 2
        12.9
        11.3
        10.1
        10.5

        Row 3

        8.7
        8.8

        Row 3
        7.9
        7.9

        Row 4

        9.2
        8.4

       Row 5
       12.2
       11.9
       7.3
       9.0

A: Added following class in order to fix firefox issue:
tr.notselected {
      border: 0px solid black;
   }

table {
      border-collapse: collapse;
    }
    tr.notselected:hover {
       border: 2px solid black;
       padding: 2px;
    }
    tr.selected {
       border: 4px solid black;
   }
   tr.notselected:hover td {
   padding-bottom: 6px; }
   tr.notselected {
      border: 0px solid black;
   }

        Header 1
        Header 2

        Subheader 1.1
        Subheader 1.2
        Subheader 2.1
        Subheader 2.2

        Row 1
        10.1
        10.6
        9.1
        9.4

        Row 2
        12.9
        11.3
        10.1
        10.5

        Row 3

        8.7
        8.8

        Row 3
        7.9
        7.9

        Row 4

        9.2
        8.4

       Row 5
       12.2
       11.9
       7.3
       9.0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Daughters of the Drum featuring Susu Pampanin: The Spirit of Sultana and Ojalá!
BENEFIT FOR BORN TO DRUM WOMEN'S DRUM CAMP!
Ashkenaz and Women Drummers International celebrate Women's History Month with our March series of special concerts and workshops, the Maestra Series, featuring women musicians, dancers and poets from around the world. The nights are filled with inspired culture, singing, dancing, drumming, performers in new groupings, once-only collaborations, and reunions of pioneering women musicians.
Tonight's concert and dance is a fundraiser for Born to Drum! Women's Drum Camp, where most of these musicians serve as directors, teachers and leaders, with performances by two women-led percussion ensembles: Ojalá and Susu Pampanin: The Spirit of Sultana.
Ojalá, which means "let it be so" or "hopefully," is a group of five diverse and talented Maestra female percussionists and singers. This group is rich in experience and shares a passion for music and culture. Ojalá blends lushly harmonized original compositions and African-American song in a creative dialogue with Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and other percussion music of the Diaspora, including the music of the traditional Cuban Batá drums. Originally formed by Carolyn Brandy (conga player and percussionist in all-women jazz band Alive!), the current Ojalá is Amikaeyla Gaston, Regina Wells, Michaelle Goerlitz, Elizabeth Sayre, Jules Hilson and Brandy. This group came together in 2014 to travel to Santiago de Cuba upon an invitation to perform at the Encuentro de Mujeres Percusionistas at the 33rd annual Festival Del Caribe, the largest and oldest festival in Cuba.
Ojalá has also performed Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra in 2015 for his "1945: A Year of Infamy," and for the 2016 premiere of his "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite," based on the 1960 Max Roach and Oscar Brown civil rights recording. Members of the group also work regularly with the Susana Arenas Dance Company and performed with her at the Diaspora Diner Concert at Ashkenaz, CubaCaribe Festival, SF Salsa/Rueda Festival, and the Yemanja Festival held annually in Berkeley.
Beneficiary of tonight's concert is the 11th annual Born to Drum! Women's Drum Camp, a four-day weekend (July 20-23) at Anthony Chabot Regional Park's Bort Meadow, near Hayward. The program features camping, drum workshops, drum circles, songs, dance, fireside concerts, ecology workshops, yoga and movement, poetry, shared meals and camaraderie. Attendees can do the day camp, or bring camping gear and stay for the whole event.


Carol Jean "Jeannie" Mitchell, 62, of Newport News, died Feb. 2, 2019 at Riverside Regional Medical Center.
Carol worked as a management analyst in civil service, retiring after 40 years. She enjoyed playing Bingo and working in her flower gardens, and loved the companionship of her faithful canine, Nicholas. Carol was a very kind and gentle soul with a loving and generous heart, and was always giving to others.
She was preceded in death by her father, Johann Pfeffer.
She is survived by her daughters, Kimberly Jones (Micah) and Valerie Williams; mother, Annemarie Tocco; stepfather, Larry Tocco; stepmother, Naomi Pfeffer; brothers, Steven Pfeffer (LaDonna) and Peter John Pfeffer (Katy); niece, Hannah Pfeffer, and nephew, Erich Pfeffer.
The memorial service, officiated by the Rev. Art Wolz, will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, at Hogg Funeral Home, Gloucester Point. Inurnment will follow the service in Rosewell Memorial Garden Cemetery.
In memory of Carol, donations may be made to the SPCA, 523 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Newport News, Va. 23601.
Arrangements are under the direction of Hogg Funeral Home and Crematory, Gloucester Point. Please visit www.hoggfh.com to share condolences and memories.


text:
Reading Cooperative Bank was established in 1886, shortly after the end of the first decade of Cooperative banking in the Commonwealth. As Massachusetts focused on gaining rights and freedoms for all of its residents, the banking system began to follow suit. At that time, the mission of Reading Cooperative Bank was to enable the "workingman" to purchase a home. While larger banks loaned substantial sums to businesses and people of prominence and means, it was clear that the common man was unable to compete successfully for mortgage money in such a market. Continuing its long heritage of being progressive and committed to its customers, RCB is proud to remain the center of local banking in your community today.
Reading Cooperative Bank Founded
November 22: Officers elected and bylaws established.
December 6: first share offering held at the Old South Methodist Church.
December 11: 401 shares valued at $1.00/share fully subscribed; The Reading Chronicle reported "This is a very favorable start for the bank."
First loan granted to a woman, Carrie I. Mace, who borrowed $1,200.
Meetings held in rented space at The First National Bank of Reading, rent was $55.00/year.
First branch established in North Reading at the Carpenter & French building.
Second branch established at 22 Devonshire Street, Boston.
First Telephone
Board voted to acquire a telephone at the cost of $2.50/month.
H. Raymond Johnson
H. Raymond Johnson elected to the position of Treasurer, a job he held until 1960.
Headquarters for Reading Cooperative Bank shared with Mechanics Savings Bank located at the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets.
North Reading Wagon Company became a new collection point for deposits.
Wilmington Branch
Wilmington branch opened at McLaughlin and Dennison's Drug Store.
Stock Market Crashed – Reading Cooperative maintained its health and did not lose one penny.
Cash Reserves
Cooperative Central Bank established as a source of cash reserves for its Massachusetts member banks; Reading Cooperative Bank contributed $22,000 to Central Bank to help preserve its sister institutions.
FDIC Established
FDIC established under the Banking Act of 1933 to insure bank deposits, in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s.
In response to the Great Depression, the Bank waived all fines for the month of March.
Reduced Mortgage Interest Rates
RCB reduced mortgage interest rates in an attempt to help customers avoid foreclosures.
Share Insurance Fund established to further protect deposits in the state's Cooperative banks.
Since its founding in 1886, no customer has lost a single cent on deposit with Reading Cooperative Bank.
Dorothy Tucker
Dorothy Tucker elected Assistant Treasurer of the Bank, becoming its first female officer.
Closed Saturdays
Board voted to close on Saturdays.
New headquarters for Reading Cooperative Bank opened in the spring. After over seventy years of rented space, the Bank built its own branch. In 1986, the building was enlarged by adding a second story and the front dormer windows.
Travelers' checks and Christmas Club products added.
Leslie D. Stark
Leslie D. Stark became President & CEO – a position he held for the next 29 years.
Although the Wilmington connection had long been established through representatives who received deposits on behalf of the Bank, Wilmington's own branch opened at 352 Middlesex Ave.
The Bank started offering credit cards to its customers through BankAmericard.
First IRAs
Reading Cooperative Bank began offering IRAs to its customers for the first time.
The bank petitioned to become a member of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and was granted membership in the spring.
Philip G. Dalrymple
Philip G. Dalrymple assumed title of President & CEO for four years.
Donald G. Hicks
Donald G. Hicks, Jr. became President & CEO for nine years.
First Website
Reading Cooperative Bank embraced online technology and established its first website.
RCB Charitable Foundation
Reading Cooperative Bank established the RCB Charitable Foundation.
$35,000 Donation
The RCB Charitable Foundation donated over $35,000 to Fire Tech Safety for thermal imaging equipment.
Susan H. Muse
Susan H. Muse appointed President & CEO.
North Reading branch opened at 170 Park Street.
RCB's South Wilmington branch opened at 230 Lowell Street.
Julieann M. Thurlow
Julieann M. Thurlow appointed President & CEO.
The Bank celebrated its 120th anniversary.
Woburn Branch
Woburn branch opened at 300 Trade Center.
Fully functioning, high school student-run educational branch opened at Reading Memorial High School.
Thurlow appointed to the American Bankers Association Task Force on Regulatory Reform and has since been asked to testify before Congress on critical issues.
Julieann M. Thurlow chosen by Women's Business Boston as a Top 10 Banker.
Reading Cooperative Bank awarded Green Business Certification from The Institute for Green Business Certification, Inc.
Two New Branches
RCB opened two new branches, the first in Andover located at 20 Central Street, and the second in Burlington located at 10 Wall street.
Expanded Lending
RCB expanded the Residential and Commercial Lending departments.
RCB launched a new website and mobile banking app.
20% Annual Growth
Over the past five years RCB has averaged 20% annual growth in assets and doubled the number of employees. As a result, on July 1st, RCB moved the operations center across town to Walkers Brook Drive.
RCB started offering Cash Management services to customers.
Established Operations Center at 55 Walkers Brook Drive.
Freshened RCB brand with a new logo and tagline.
Began teaching financial literacy seminars at Abbot Academy in Lawrence High School.
Opened High School Branch
Opened high school branch at Northeast Metro Tech Regional Vocational High School branch in Wakefield.
Became one of the first community banks in MA to introduce EMV chip cards.
Received first place for Overall Brand Campaign from New England Financial Marketing Association.
Organized Reality Fair
Organized Reality Fair for students at Reading Memorial High School.
Celebrated 10-Year Anniversary of educational branch at Reading Memorial High School.
Kevin Powers and Paul Bolger are elected to Board of Directors.
Julieann Thurlow selected to American Banker's "25 Women to Watch" List and RCB is Dubbed one of the "Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts" by the Boston Globe.
Held our first Bruins Alumni Benefit Hockey Game to raise money for the Reading Schoolhouse Condo Fire Fund.
Brand new website launched that reflects RCB's true identity and its commitment to the community it serves.
Roaming Reading Scavenger Hunt organized by the bank to help celebrate the Town of Reading's 375th anniversary.
Participated in the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Loan Program (PPP), assisting local small business owners with much-needed forbearance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Collaborated with the Town of Reading on their Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program (RAMA), which helped to facilitate leftover CARES Act funds to families in need.
RCB Celebrates 135th Anniversary
See our Interactive History here!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package org.gradoop.flink.model.impl.operators.matching.transactional.function;

import org.apache.flink.api.common.functions.MapFunction;
import org.apache.flink.api.common.typeinfo.TypeInformation;
import org.apache.flink.api.java.tuple.Tuple2;
import org.apache.flink.api.java.typeutils.ResultTypeQueryable;
import org.apache.flink.api.java.typeutils.TypeExtractor;
import org.gradoop.common.model.api.entities.EPGMGraphHeadFactory;
import org.gradoop.common.model.impl.id.GradoopId;
import org.gradoop.common.model.impl.pojo.GraphHead;
import org.gradoop.common.model.impl.properties.Properties;

/**
 * Initializes a new graph head from a given GradoopId and its lineage information, e.g. the
 * source graph this one was created from.
 */
public class InitGraphHeadWithLineage
  implements MapFunction<Tuple2<GradoopId, GradoopId>, GraphHead>, ResultTypeQueryable<GraphHead> {
  /**
   * GraphHeadFactory
   */
  private final EPGMGraphHeadFactory<GraphHead> graphHeadFactory;

  /**
   * Constructor
   *
   * @param epgmGraphHeadFactory graph head factory
   */
  public InitGraphHeadWithLineage(EPGMGraphHeadFactory<GraphHead> epgmGraphHeadFactory) {
    this.graphHeadFactory = epgmGraphHeadFactory;
  }

  /**
   * {@inheritDoc}
   */
  @Override
  public GraphHead map(Tuple2<GradoopId, GradoopId> idTuple) {
    GraphHead head = graphHeadFactory.initGraphHead(idTuple.f0);
    Properties properties = Properties.createWithCapacity(1);
    properties.set("lineage", idTuple.f1);
    head.setProperties(properties);
    return head;
  }

  /**
   * {@inheritDoc}
   */
  @Override
  public TypeInformation<GraphHead> getProducedType() {
    return TypeExtractor.createTypeInfo(graphHeadFactory.getType());
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
May 24, 2019 August 16, 2019
Mo and Hien: rugby coaches of strength and determination
Mo and Hien have been ChildFund Pass It Back coaches for the Ngo Luong Commune for over seven months, and travel over 80km in a day to reach their team.
Last season, Mo and Hien not only coached two teams in their own community, but spent their weekends travelling over 80kms on unpaved roads to provide support to another three female tag rugby teams.
A bumpy road ahead
In the midst of a harsh and cold winter, Mo and Hien would head off at ten in the morning, only returning after eight o'clock at night. Despite bursting their motorcycle tyres eight times due to the rocky terrain, Mo and Hien kept up their grueling schedule and demonstrated every week their serious commitment to supporting young people in their province.
Hien said: "There was this desolated six-kilometre stretch that crosses through the forest that worried us most. What if our motorbikes broke down? Who could we call for help? My dad came to our aid three times. But we gradually grew used to it, and the road felt easier, faster, and less scary."
Since they made the decision to coach these three teams, Hien and Mo have been making a big effort to make sure more children get the opportunities they deserve. Mo says: "I think it would be unfair for our teams if we stopped coaching. They took the time to come and sign up, but if we stopped they wouldn't get the chance to learn.
Hien (pictured) can travel up to 80km a day to provide coaching support to ChildFund Pass It Back rugby teams in rural Vietnam.
"They are eager to learn, and they have become quite attached to us. I have never felt disheartened but I recognise that the challenges of getting players interested and showing up are a coach's responsibility, so I try my best to overcome them."
A learning experience for everyone
And it's not only the players who are learning something new. After finishing the Understanding Gender Module, Mo says: "I was so touched by the team when they gave us bracelets that they made themselves. A small gift, but we were both so happy as it showed how much they care for us.
"There were cold days, and there were rainy days, and some players had to walk 3km from their home to the pitch, yet they showed up for sessions. Their eagerness to learn motivated us."
Hien adds: "When I started coaching, I started to learn more about gender, and I would share my opinions about this topic with my players and listen to their opinions in return. By doing this, I was able to learn other positive perspectives about gender and adjust my own negative ideas and attitudes.
She has even managed to change the gender expectations of the people closest to her. Hien says: "My father used to dislike girls with short or coloured hair. When I started coaching, players often came by my house and discussed session content with me, and we talked about what girls should or shouldn't do. My dad would listen.
"About a month after I started coaching, I decided to cut my hair to shoulder length and colour it. When I came home, my father didn't comment but instead smiled. Another month went by and he told me to take my mother out so that she could get a haircut in the style that she wanted."
Coach Mo says: "I now know that everyone has the same rights, regardless of social class, religion, or social status, and everyone has the right to voice their thoughts and opinions, and to be respected and protected.
Building a better for young women and girls
Hien has noticed changes in her team too: "I have seen that many players would think that a woman should spend their time raising children and taking care of the family, whereas a man's sole responsibility is to go out and earn money.
"After the sessions, I could see that their views had changed. They now believe that both parents should share the housework, earn money, and manage the household expenses together."
Mo adds: "I now know that everyone has the same rights, regardless of social class, religion, or social status, and everyone has the right to voice their thoughts and opinions, and to be respected and protected.
"Most of our players come from farming households who don't have access to resources. Because of their background, our players need to work much harder to be successful, and I hope our sessions will equip them with the skills necessary to help them overcome challenges in life, to aim higher, and to seize opportunities and build a better future for themselves."
Previous: Taking rugby to remote communities in Vietnam
Next:How ChildFund 'passes it back' for children and communities


The Fusion Cell – Page 2 – Analysis and Collaborative Information from Numerous Sources to Develop a Thorough and Complete Picture.
BREAKING: North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un Announces a Halt to Nuclear Program.
Read More "BREAKING: North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un Announces a Halt to Nuclear Program."
Big Brother Wants to Track Journalists, But Why?
Read More "Big Brother Wants to Track Journalists, But Why?"
BREAKING: Iraqi Air Force Strikes the Islamic State in Syria.
Read More "BREAKING: Iraqi Air Force Strikes the Islamic State in Syria."
Message Received: The U.S. Unleashed "nice and new and smart!" Stealth Missiles into Syria as a Message to Russia.
Read More "Message Received: The U.S. Unleashed "nice and new and smart!" Stealth Missiles into Syria as a Message to Russia."


The Museum can host dinner parties & cocktail parties and small weddings in our lobby, a second floor exhibition space and an outdoor terrace. We also have an art decorated boardroom as well as a 256 seat auditorium with AV capabilities for presentations, meetings or performances. Additionally, The Museum can host small parties in the AutoNation Academy of Art + Design, some to include an art class.
Please see our website or call us for specifics on your venue rental!


Manual J Load Calculation Spreadsheet Payment Spreadshee manual j load calculation spreadsheet.
Spreadsheets are often utilized to take care of information. For instance, if the spreadsheet involves a payroll item for an employee, and that item doesn't exist for the customer in Accounting CS, the application won't import that employee record into the customer record. Simple Spreadsheet is a helpful tool for those users which need to create tables and spreadsheets without installing elaborate software.


Indeed, almost 60 percent of renters spend more than 35 percent of their pre-tax income on housing costs, the Brookings team behind The New Orleans Index at Five found. That compares to 45 percent in the New Orleans suburbs and 41 percent nationwide. It's also way up from 2004, when a still-above-average 43 percent of New Orleans renters had unaffordably high housing costs. The picture for homeowners is better, but that figure offers little solace for people too poor to own a house.


text:
Protesters oppose Direct Bank Transfer, testimonies suggest how Jharkhand villagers are being harassed
Biometric machine doesn't recognize this old working
woman's hands, and she can't get her ration
Thousands of residents of Nagri Block (Ranchi District, Jharkhand) have marched to the Chief Minister's house on Monday to protest against the Direct Bank Transfer (DBT) for food subsidy, currently under experiment the villages near Ranchi. The experiment is claimed caused havoc in Nagri in the last four months. A recent survey found that 97% of PDS cardholders are opposed to it.
Taken out under the banner of Ration Bachao Manch, it is a broad coalition of a few opposition parties, including Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Left and the Congress, and 10 people's organisations, such as Right to Food Campaign, All-India People's Forum, United Mili Forum, and Jharkhand Nagrik Prayas.
The Jharkhand government began its experiment with DBT in October 2017, under which people were forced to collect their food subsidy in cash from the bank before using it to buy rice from the ration shop at Rs 32 per kg.
Earlier, they were able to buy rice from the ration shop at Re 1 per kg. At the end of January 2018, student volunteers conducted a survey in 13 randomly-selected villages of Nagri. The findings show that the DBT system is causing huge inconvenience and even depriving many people of their food rations.
On average, respondents had received just 2 out of 4 DBT installments in the preceding four months. Among the survey respondents, 97% are opposed to the DBT system. Regular agitations against DBT have taken place at the Block and District headquarters.
Some of the testimonies taken by the campaigners show how people have been suffering due to Direct Bank Transfer over the last four months:
Gaura Orain lives with her elderly husband. Last month, the DBT money was credited to his account. He had to make four visits to the bank before he was able to withdraw the money. Gaura's husband had an accident two years ago and now has trouble walking. Each visit to the bank, with his limping leg and the support of a stick, is quite painful.
Aychi Nagduwar is an 85-year-old widow. She lives with her 40-year-old son, who is mentally challenged. For unknown reasons, no DBT money is being credited to her account.
Daniel Tirkey has not been able to collect his food rations, due to various problems with the DBT system. He has received a notice saying that his ration card will be cancelled if he does not collect his food rations.
Fulo Mundain has two bank accounts. She received her DBT money once in one of them. After that, she didn't receive any money. She has been checking both accounts regularly. Last month, she was forced to buy her food ration with her own money.
Somari Mundain's son and daughter-in-law live in the city and do not keep in touch with her. She takes care of her grandson. Earlier, her grandson would get the food rations for her. But now, he is unable to work his way around the bank, and she is too old to travel all the way to the bank multiple times and wait in the queue. So far, no DBT money has been credited into her account. Somari uses her widow pension to buy the food rations.
Binod Kerketta is yet to receive his ration card. Meanwhile, the PDS dealer has given him a notebook. The dealer says that his ration card has been sanctioned, but is yet to be issued. Quite a few in Kelende have a similar notebook. Mostly, they do not get DBT money and their names do not figure on the list.
Basi Orain's DBT money gets credited to her husband's account. Her husband, however, works in Punjab and she has not been able to withdraw the money from his account. Despite her repeated pleas, the bank has not been able to ensure that the DBT money goes to her own account. She takes care of her mentally challenged son. They have not been able to buy food rations for the last 2 months.
Fulit Kachhap is about 85-years-old and physically challenged. To make things easier, her daughter submitted her own bank account for DBT transfers. However, the money is credited to Fulit's account. The daughter has to book an auto to take Fulit to the bank to withdraw the money. This costs her 300 rupees each time. The daughter first takes Fulit to the bank for identity verification. Then she brings Fulit back home, after which she goes back to the bank, waits in the queue for hours and is finally able to withdraw the money. The banks have no separate queues for the old or disabled.
Dukraj Prajapati is about 80 years old and physically challenged, making it difficult for him to walk. Despite his disability, he has to visit the bank for 3- 4 days every month to withdraw the DBT money. Despite the effort, he could purchase ration only twice in four months as the DBT money was not credited for the remaining two months.
Janale Mirda is a daily-wage labourer who earns Rs 300 a day in Ranchi. It took him 6 days to get the DBT money, involving an opportunity cost of 1800 rupees. His plea to the government is to remove the DBT system, which has become a new source of agony for poor people like him who were already struggling, day after day, to make ends meet.
Lalita Devi is around 75 years old and lives alone. Unable to afford a rickshaw or auto, she has to walk to the bank - 7 km away from her home. She has been able to collect her food rations only once since October, and it took her 13 days.
Damiya Oraon's DBT money gets credited to her husband's account. Her husband, however, is dead and she is unable to withdraw the money from his account. She has been using her own money to buy up her food rations, which cost her Rs 32 per kg.
Santi Devi has four members in her family and most of them have their own bank accounts. For the past 6-7 days, everyone in her house has been going to different banks, sacrificing their daily wages, waiting in long queues, checking their balance for the DBT money and returning home empty handed.
Satri Devi lives with her husband in the village, while her son works in Ranchi. The DBT money is credited to her husband's account. Satri says that her husband spends all the DBT money on alcohol, leaving them with no money to buy food rations.
Prakash Kachhap was told by the Pragya Kendra that his DBT money had been credited to his Airtel wallet. When he went to the mobile store to get it redeemed, they told him that the government had stopped this scheme and that the money could not be retrieved. He does not know whether the money is still in that digital wallet. He has been using his own money to buy food rations.
Governance Human Rights Life
Uma said…
All elderly people, whether they live in villages or cities, have the same problem. Since it is enforced, the govt MUST find a solution


In 2009, I began teaching explicit lessons related to student motivation and Social Emotional Learning. Of course, since that time, I've written several very practical books on the topic.
I'm not going to reprint here the entire lengthy post, but "How Students Can Grow Their Own Brains" shared the first SEL lesson plan I used in the classroom (which I still use with few modifications).
About the same time, I did my first lessons on self-control and visualizing success. You can read about those lessons at Want To Know What's Happened Since My "Marshmallow" & "Visualizing Success" Lessons (which also contain links to the lesson plans themselves).
Since then, I've compiled The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources, which contains links to zillions of lessons and other related "Best" lists, including The Best Resources For Showing Students That They Make Their Brain Stronger By Learning.


It's placed in the grounds of the former "Campo de Marte" – Martyrs Field – used for the military parades since the XVIII century. After 1928 it was transformed into the American Fraternity Park during the Pan-American Congress held in the city of Havana on that same year. A ceiba tree was planted in the center of the park using ground from all the countries of the American Continent. The bust represents the most relevant characters of our regional history.


Hyphenation - Tantramar Interactive Inc.
When done well, hyphenation draws little or no attention to itself; it helps to maintain consistency of line-length and improves the overall reading experience. When done poorly, hyphenation causes distraction, drawing attention away from the message and onto the typesetting. Today's web browsers do hyphenation inconsistently and poorly (especially with full justification).
The practice of hyphenation goes back to illuminated manuscripts, hand-lettered on vellum (calf-skin), which was too costly to waste even the space of half a word at the end of a line.
With mechanically-set type, such as printed newspapers, hyphenation is a means of squeezing every last scrap of ad-space out of every narrow column-inch.
Modern page-layout software, such as Adobe InDesign, uses sophisticated algorithms to take multiple lines of text into consideration and makes decisions about word-spacing and tracking to use as few hyphenated words as possible without visibly distorting the text.
On the web, where pagination isn't as important as in print, we may safely dispense with hyphenation in many situations. Web browsers (and their underlying operating systems) don't (yet) offer the sophisticated approach we have at our disposal in print. At present, using it on body copy can work fine, while it's best avoided in headings and narrower columns, depending on the context and layout.
Whether to hyphenate or not is a judgment call.


An Ableton Live Instrument based on a Tibetan Singing Bowl session.
The instrument has two layers: A main layer and a tail layer. The main layer has a singing bowl hit with three round robins and a HighPass filter. The tail layer also has a HighPass filter on it but also has a select knob to scrub through a long file of a SingingBowl session.
That gives an incredible amount of variety to the sound design.
The sample Track is made entirely with this instrument. No additional Effects are used. Check out this beautiful spheric instrument.


text:
package org.apache.directory.api.ldap.model.exception;

import org.apache.directory.api.ldap.model.message.ResultCodeEnum;

/**
 * A LdapUnknownException which associates a resultCode, namely the
 * {@link ResultCodeEnum#UNKNOWN} resultCode with the exception.
 *
 * @author Apache Directory Project
 */
public class LdapUnknownException extends LdapOperationException
{
    /** The serial version UUID */
    static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;

    /**
     *
     * Creates a new instance of LdapUnknownException.
     *
     */
    public LdapUnknownException()
    {
        super( ResultCodeEnum.UNKNOWN, null );
    }

    /**
     *
     * Creates a new instance of LdapUnknownException.
     *
     * @param explanation The associated error message
     */
    public LdapUnknownException( String explanation )
    {
        super( ResultCodeEnum.UNKNOWN, explanation );
    }
}


Today marks the 100th day of the 2018-2019 school year. Students in preschool through 2nd grade spent their day celebrating the 100th day with activities centered around the number 100. This is a special day for Glenwood Elementary and the students had a great time! Happy 100th Day, Mustangs!
Mrs. Jackson's first graders designed and wore t-shirts covered with 100 items.
Mrs. Danahy's second graders were 100 Day Superheroes!
Mrs. Cawvey's Preschool students counted all the way to 100 in Fruit Loops! That's a lot of Fruit Loops!
Kindergarten students counted out 100 Fruit Loops. It was difficult to keep from eating them all!
First graders wrote paragraphs about being 100 years old and posted them with their 100 year-old pictures! Lots of wrinkles!
Welcome to the 100th Day Celebration!!


For the dog lovers out there... decorate your office, family area or a kid's rooms with this wonderful Golden Retriever cork board. Use it to pin photos, schedules, invitations, baby sitter notes, recipes and more!
Our cork boards will be a treasure for years to come. We can even add your dog's name on here to make it more personal.


An LCM (RR) (USN 1004) of the RRP ferries a jeep, an Armored Personnel Carrier and a tank across the Rhine River during a river crossing exercise with 2nd Armored Division units. (Webmaster note: I believe most -- not all -- of the LCM (RR) landing craft were manned by LSU members (German labor service). That would certainly appear to be the case with USN 1004).


A one of a kind Couture wedding dress by local Gold Coast designer Kate Gubanyi.
Only worn for the ceremony and photos as I had a second dress for reception. Mint condition, has been dry cleaned and stored in garment bag in a spare room to avoid any odours or mould.
Dress comes with veil - RRP $350 inclusive.


text:
NFL 2K1 (Dreamcast) review
"I've played many a football game in my day, but none of them have ever matched Super Tecmo Bowl for the NES, not even last year's stellar NFL 2K. Now, the folks at Visual Concepts have just made that old Tecmo dev team weep bitterly- NFL 2K1 is the best football game ever made. EVER. The game is fine tuned to perfection, with only a few (understandable) faults. "
I've played many a football game in my day, but none of them have ever matched Super Tecmo Bowl for the NES, not even last year's stellar NFL 2K. Now, the folks at Visual Concepts have just made that old Tecmo dev team weep bitterly- NFL 2K1 is the best football game ever made. EVER. The game is fine tuned to perfection, with only a few (understandable) faults.
While I shift away from the subject of dev houses weeping bitterly, I should mention that the EA and 989 boys shouldn't have bothered this year. NFL 2K1 does what those boys won't be able to do for another year and a half: bring a bunch of would-be grid iron jocks and fat female mid-40s Cincinatti Bengals fans together in an online battle of epic porportions. Not one of the 1987 AFC title match between that jerk John Elway and my beloved Browns, but epic nonetheless. Online support features 8 players per game (I never got to do that; everytime I get online with 2K1 its unbelievably nuts just to find a few other players) a nice number indeed. More than PSO actually.
This review's focus, though, will be on the offline portion of the game. Which is, well, a hell of a lot of the game. Most of the problems that pursisted in NFL 2K are, for the most part, corrected in 2K1. The running game is here, finally. In 2K it was nearly impossible to move the ball up field, and the only effective way was to stiff arm like mad. That is corrected in 2K1, which now sports a much more balanced pass and run system. There also seem to be more running plays this year than last, so that is a marked improvement.
The game is still as easy to pick up and play as last years. Call it a nag, but the entire idea of hitting a button after the snap just to bring up passing roots in Madden has been a nuisance that brings a lot of stress and little time into the mix. 2K1 is still supreme. I snap the ball, I get more recievers designation up in less than a second. Huzzah! Now I can burn those SOBs on the other side with Couch to Johnson.
2K1 also features retro uniforms, like the Charger's or the Bill's or the Bronco's (boo) AFL threads, and a nicely assembled franchise mode, which allows you to play as a team over a period of seasons while signing and trading and cutting players. Recent retirees from the league, Dan Marino, Steve Young, Barry Sanders, and Kevin Greene (I don't really know if he's retired, though) can be signed as free agents. Playing many seasons will see your players retiring or demanding trades or signing with other teams in the league. Franchise mode adds more than enough to hold you over until next year's iteration.
Now, NFL 2K1 is not without it's faults. Last year's edition had a problem with out-of-bounds calls. While 2K1 fixes many this problem, it does get a bit annoying when you connect with a reciever in the back of the end zone who runs out of bounds, leading to such a call. (It cost me a 13-10 loss to the Broncos... ugh) The game also seems to feature more penalties this time around. While it is out of the ordinary to run for daylight, pick up 38 yards and get called back on clipping, that does seems to happen on occasion in 2K1. Most penatlies come in the form of encroachment or fall starts.
2K1's graphics are, in a word, goregous. Player models to tout that freakish puppet feel from last year, but seeing green and brown dirt smudges on them, or seeing Terrell Davis pound on the ground with his fists after getting wrangled in the backfield (hehehe) are impressive. Commentary from the games to commentators have also improved- not to the point you'll really like the commentary, but it'll still sound better than Madden and Sommerall's few voice clipping in the old PSX Maddens.
Recommending NFL 2K1 is fairly easy. Its the best football game out right now, and it will remain the best until 2K2 dazzles me all over again. If you grow tired of watching Jim Drukkenmiller throwing interceptions with a red and black football this spring or Gov. Ventura harrass 2-bit coaches of 2-bit New York franchises other than the Jets, NFL 2K1 will fill that football void. Its well worth buying a Dreamcast just to experience it.
Community review by pestes (Date unavailable)
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Kabuki Warriors (Xbox)
The mere mention of Genki/Lightweight's samurai arcade brawlin' fighter Kabuki Warriors leads many gamers to sort of slink away and hardly murmur anything about it beyond that they heard from a guy who heard from a guy who heard from somebody that actually subscribes to IGNsider read that it sucks. Its the one game, X...
Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)
The term ''greatest game ever'' or ''greatest RPG ever made'' is used about everytime a RPG- be it Square or somebody else- is released. Skies of Arcadia is the latest epic to- hopefully- get this moniker.
Spawn: In the Demon's Hand (Dreamcast)
If nothing else, the latest electronic incarnation of Spawn can at least know it's the best looking god-awful game of the year. Maybe I'm being too harsh. But while Todd McFarlene continues to change from indie comic artist to obscenely rich uber-sell out, gamers are screwed. The straight-from-hell hero is cursed on ga...
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Barnes & Noble add signed copies of The Outsiders by S.E Hinton to stores!
Seeing Rob Lowe's Stories I Only Tell My Friends Live!
Criterion Collection releases Rumble Fish on blu ray!
Valentine's giveaway with Stay Gold art by Izzy Howell!
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Hilton Named to "Top 25 Companies for Supplier Diversity" by Hispanic Magazine – CSR Minute for April 12, 2012
The CSR Minute is your daily video digest of the most relevant Corporate Social Responsibility news of the day. Our team of 3BL Media correspondents tracks the global world of corporate social responsibility to bring you coverage of the most important announcements, initiatives, issues, trends, ideas, and breaking news.
3BL Media/INDIA CSR News Network
Hilton Worldwide has been named one of the "Top 25 Companies for Supplier Diversity" by Hispanic Business magazine. The publication honored Hilton with a spot on its annual ranking in recognition of the company's efforts to encourage supplier diversity across its global operations' portfolio of more than 3,800 hotels in 88 countries. Hilton's Supply Management program encourages suppliers who add to community values as well as provide quality goods at competitive prices. Hilton and the 24 other honorees were selected from an assessment of more than 1,500 companies by Hispanic Magazine.
Strategic Objectives will pick up the company's award as the only all-Canadian PR firm named to the Top Ten CSR "A-List" by PR News at an event in Washington, D.C. next week. The independent agency won the award for its record of creating original CSR programs that match big brands to important causes. Examples include its work for The Body Shop's "Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People" initiative, and The White Cashmere BT Couture Collection: Fashion with Compassion, which won 25 national and international awards.
For more information on these and other stories, go to thecsrminute.com
Video source: Hilton Named to "Top 25 Companies for Supplier Diversity" by Hispanic Magazine; Strategic Objectives is Only Canadian Firm Named to PR News "Top Ten CSR A-List"
(Source: 3BL Media)


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Flowers are beautiful. We write poetry about them, give them to our sweethearts, and grow them in our gardens. But for plants, flowers are life or death. They are nature's billboards, using flashy colors, alluring scents, and downright trickery to lure in "customers." In this class, we'll explore how plants use flowers and why they have such varied colors, shapes, and fragrances. We'll also go on a walk to identify some local Arboretum flowers and investigate floral anatomy.


Designed for replacing your Shimano SLX / XT / XTR pads (before 2011).
Shimano SLX / XT / XTR 2011 front: XT M775, XTR M975, SAINT M800, HONE M601.
Effective even in water and mud.
Sintered material with a high friction index.


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It's Life or Death
Human beings are dying daily, by the hundreds, and being publicly executed because we as a society are not following God. And I do not mean that garbage lie that "God is punishing us because we don't pledge allegiance to the flag" or "don't allow prayer to Jesus in public schools." I mean, human beings are dying daily, by the hundreds, and being publicly executed because the majority of white people in this country, the majority of whom outwardly profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, are not following Christ or the ways God has desired for human beings from the very beginning. We are not providing justice for the oppressed, healing for those who are ill, safety for the vulnerable. We are not loving God with all that we are and have and do. We are not loving others as ourselves.
The more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus are not because people don't respect the flag. The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are not because we don't have prayer in public schools. The more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus are because we have let the top 1% of human beings in this country, almost entirely white, steal trillions of dollars from the over 140,000,000 people in vulnerable poverty, disproportionally people of color. The more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus are because white people stole the land and resources of sovereign nations already living here, built an entirely new wealthy nation through the enslavement and oppression of black and brown human beings, through Native American, African, Asian, and Latinx human beings; and once all the resources and power were greedily hoarded, said, "You're on your own. Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps … Oh! By the way, let me have your bootstraps first though."
The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor are because we have established one system of judicial bias for white people and another system of injustice for people of color. White human beings can kill black human beings and walk away freely. Black human beings are often not even allowed to walk freely or breathe. The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor happened because the guilt on the souls of generations of white people runs so deep we quake in fear of the day when all that blood is righteously and justly avenged.
Our commitment to following God, or not, has mortal consequences. It is a matter of life or death, not for ourselves alone but for other human beings as well. Jesus expressed this same sense of urgency over and over again in his teaching, as much in the Sermon on the Mount as anywhere:
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:21-22
Many of us shy away from the Sermon on the Mount precisely because of the severity of Jesus' message. But we must face this truth: following Jesus is a matter of life or death.
And now is the time when we need to do everything in our power to bring life into this world. Those of us white and Christian have a particular responsibility. Those of us who are white because we embody all that is worst in our country right now. I know many will balk at this, cry foul, "I'm not like those horrible people!" But our faces, our bodies, our clothing unite us in a way that we must own. Those of us who are white hold privilege and power that others do not. Those of us who follow Christ have committed to loving God and loving others with all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do. And Jesus warned us, to follow him means to be willing even to give up our lives for the benefit of others. Following Christ is a matter of life or death.
And right now, it's far past time for people like me to put our lives at risk so that others don't die. We have to change. We have to speak out against lies and ignorance. We have to work and vote for massive structural change in our economic and justice systems. We have to listen to the voices of those pushed to the margins; then, stand with them in solidarity and march beside them in protest. We have to give ourselves to bring justice to the oppressed, health for those who are ill, safety to those who are vulnerable. We have to change. Now. It is life or death.
Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, followers of Christ, George Floyd, White People
The Longest Night of the Longest Year
Of Prophets and Patriots
markneuenschwander May 30, 2020 — 8:00 pm
Thank you, Doug, for speaking biblically, clearly and courageously.
Mark Neuenschwander a.k.a. Noosh President
425.644.6797 | http://www.hospitalrx.com
When you need to know about medication-use automation


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Key Stage 2 SATs Success!
Published: July 25, 2019 12:35 pm
The recent publication of the the Key Stage 2 SATs results is proving that the Trust is continuing to transform the quality of education for the young people of the town.
The primary schools within the Trust have improved by 24% points overall. This means that primary school performance is now above the national average for the first time in the history of the Trust.
There are some fantastic individual school stories across the combined outcomes measure for meeting the national expected standard in reading, writing and maths:
Carleton Park Junior and Infant School has improved from 53.3% in 2018 to 90.6% – an increase of over 37% points in one year. The school is now the 2nd highest attaining school in the Wakefield local authority out of 101 schools, moving up a staggering 77 places. It is also the highest attaining school for Maths in the Wakefield local authority.
Halfpenny Lane Junior, Infant and Nursery School has improved from 58.6% in 2018 to 84.2.6% – an increase of 26% points in one year. The school is now the 9th highest attaining school in the Wakefield local authority out of 101 schools, moving up 48 places.
Larks Hill Junior and Infant School has improved from 62.1% in 2018 to 86.7% – an increase of 25% in one year. The school is now the 4th highest attaining school in the Wakefield local authority out of 101 schools, moving up 43 places.
De Lacy Primary School has improved from 16% in 2018 to 53% – an increase of 37% points in one year. This means that in 2019, 24 pupils met the expected standards– over three times as many as in 2018.
Orchard Head Junior, Infant and Nursery School has improved from 60% in 2018 to a well above average 77% in 2019 – a 17% points increase in one year.
The Rookeries Junior, Infant and Nursery School has improved from an already above average score of 71% in 2018 to an even more impressive and above average 73% in 2019.
Julian Appleyard OBE, CEO of the Trust said; "These are a phenomenal set of results and a massive improvement in performance over the course of the last year. They are a testament to the hard work of pupils, staff and the support of parents, trustees and local governing bodies. The improvement means that more young people are entering secondary schools with a strong foundation on which they can build."


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Q: Change class of select while using validate I am using Bootstrap with Bootstrap-Select and Jquery Validation. The basic is working but I am trying to change the style of the select if not validated. It is changing, but the wrong element:

Should not be the div but the button only, as I can see.
Example here (click in Filter):
https://jsfiddle.net/33krycLh/
Lines here:
highlight: function ( element, errorClass, validClass ) {
    $('.TempX').addClass( "btn-danger" );
    $('.TempX .btn').addClass( "btn-danger" );
},
unhighlight: function ( element, errorClass, validClass ) {
    $('.TempX').removeClass( "btn-danger" );
    $('.TempX .btn').removeClass( "btn-danger" );
}

And, by the bellow lines, when the submit is successful, the Filter button should be disabled and change the text to Wait:
var btn = $(this)
btn.button('loading')

So, how can the btn-danger be applied just to the button and when clicked in Filter, change the text and disable the button? Thanks.

A: The problem is that your code actually does it for .TempX as well. Try to take out the responsible lines, like here:
highlight: function ( element, errorClass, validClass ) {
    //$('.TempX').addClass( "btn-danger" );
    $('.TempX .btn').addClass( "btn-danger" );
},
unhighlight: function ( element, errorClass, validClass ) {
    //$('.TempX').removeClass( "btn-danger" );
    $('.TempX .btn').removeClass( "btn-danger" );
}

A: Solved by:
highlight: function ( element, errorClass, validClass ) {
    $('div.TempX>button').addClass( "btn-danger" );
    $('#Filter').addClass( "btn-danger" );
},
unhighlight: function ( element, errorClass, validClass ) {
    $('div.TempX>button').removeClass( "btn-danger" );
    $('#Filter').removeClass( "btn-danger" );
}

https://jsfiddle.net/fp2rkvLx/


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Host BFA deals Eagle boys' basketball a loss
Jan 20, 2016 | Uncategorized
ST. ALBANS — Host BFA-St. Albans cruised to an 84-38 victory over visiting Mount Abraham Union High School in a Lake Division boys' basketball game on Monday in St. Albans.
The Bobwhites improved to 5-8, while the Eagles carried an 0-12 record into a Wednesday night home game vs. Middlebury. The 1-9 Tigers were looking to snap a four-game skid in that game, which was played after the Wednesday morning deadline for this edition of the Independent.
On Monday, BFA's Jens Ulrich-Verderber scored 12 of his game-high 22 points as his team took charge by outscoring the Eagles by 25-6 in the opening quarter. Tyler Tobin added 14 points for BFA.
Jackson Counter and Ryan Thompson led the Eagles with 14 and 10 points, respectively.


Most schools and organizations have strategic plans. The idea is to set long-term to medium-term goals (3 to 5 years) for schools to focus on so they do not get lost during the business of normal operations. Representatives from all stakeholder groups get together, usually for a full day or retreat setting to create the plan. I have seen many plans and for most, I feel, they are too spread out, trying to cover too many areas. They are also usually very dense language wise, and using a lot of platitudes. This is not good for a community to rally behind or even understand what the community should be trying to accomplish. Many schools help this by using the strategic plan to make yearly operational goals that narrow and define goals.
I am an outsider to OIS, as I have not yet started my job as Head of School. This gives me a typical stakeholder's perspective of the plan, as most people were not involved in creating the document. It is not good to have too many people involved in the writing of the document because that is one way to get the document to be too diverse, and the more people participating, the harder it is to reach consensus in what are the priorities.
I really like the OIS Strategic Plan 2013-2016. It is entitled, "Partnerships for the Future" which refers to the unique position of OIS. I don't know of any international schools that share a campus and program with a local, private, international school (Senri International School SIS) and are part of prominent university foundation. The main goal of the next three years is to develop, celebrate, and market these two partnerships. The school was founded in 1991 with its sister school, SIS, and it merged with the Kwansei Gaukin (Western Japan University) in April of 2010. During the next two school years, from 2011 to 2013, OIS did a self-study, collecting much data from the community and underwent an accreditation visit from several agencies. This time of reflection and evaluation was a good opportunity to make a new strategic plan. In 2014-2015, OIS will be in the second year of the plan and I will be blogging on our progress.
You can read the document in its entirety at the end of this post. I have summarized the key goals below.
Learning Community – The main goals here are to vertically align the school's curriculum, better collect and analyze student learning data, and define clearly the Professional Development Program for OIS within the KG Foundation's budget.
Technology and Learning – Develop a person in the position of Technology Director. The Tech Director will lead the school in figuring out what is the best technology tools for students to learn with in this age of the internet and in conjunction with the library, support teachers in using technology to improve their teaching.
Attracting Learners – Through better marketing of the school's unique partnerships, increase enrollment in the upper grades, and get a more diverse, international student body.
The OIS Community – Focus more on the "soft skills" of character education by enhancing programs such as pastoral care, Community, Action, and Service, and the PTA. They also want to broaden the number of community members interacting with the KG Foundation and to communicate clearly means to be in the two partnerships.


both of our state beverages, and the history of tea in South Carolina. Cheers!
If you live in South Carolina, you probably know a thing or two about muscadines. These thick-skinned, juicy morsels comprise a unique variety of grape native to our neck of the woods. In fact, muscadines and their close cousins, scuppernongs, can be found growing all over the South and have long been used in jams, jellies, and pies. Of course, they're also delicious right off the vine. Read more about muscadine wine and Firefly Vodka.
Greenville County Historical Schools - Index of 19 historic schools with links to extensive research and information - lots of great photos!
Innocuous packaging and the words ginger ale do nothing to warn the unsuspecting of Blenheim's fiery kick. Concocted from a secret blend of spices, this South Carolina icon is one that will both quench your thirst and set your mouth ablaze. While its reputation spans the country, Blenheim has deep roots in the Pee Dee region of our state. Read more about Blenheim Ginger Ale.
The ferris wheel dominates the midway at the Upper State Fair in Greenville, which welcomed young and old this year from August 28th to September 7th.
This shot was contributed by Tom Taylor. Be sure to check out his blog, Random Connections, for more great photos of the Upstate and beyond. If you'd like to find out when the next fair is in your area, go to SCIWAY's Directory of South Carolina Fairs.
If you would like to have your photo featured, please submit it to the SC Picture Project. We select photos for the newsletter from the ones we receive, and it is a great way to bring publicity to you or your organization.
In keeping with our ongoing look at state symbols, and given the tasty nature of this month's "beverage" issue of SCIWAY News, it is our pleasure to announce the two newest additions to our State Symbols guide – South Carolina's state drinks. No, that's not a typo. We actually have two: Our official state beverage is milk, while our official state hospitality beverage is tea.
South Carolina is one of only two states in America to feature multiple state beverages, but we share milk with 18 other states. We are currently the only state to feature tea however – and for a very good reason! The Charleston Tea Plantation, located on Wadmalaw Island, is the only place in America to produce black tea commercially.
Use the links below to learn more about these important state symbols.
SC State Beverage: Milk - Most of us grow up on milk. We receive it in some form immediately after birth and are encouraged to drink it throughout our many stages of growth. However, did you know that South Carolina has close to 90 dairy farms? We encourage you to visit our new South Carolina milk page to learn more about one of this month's featured state symbols.
SC State Hospitality Beverage: Tea - Tea is one of the most widely-loved beverages in the world. It can be enjoyed with any meal or as an afternoon treat. South Carolina has attempted to grow tea on a large scale since the 1800s, and has at last achieved success via American Classic. Visit our SC Tea Guide to learn more about the history of tea in our state.
After water, tea is the most popular beverage on Earth. People drink it far and wide, on every continent and in every country, and it's often associated with such exotic locales as China, Kenya, India, and Peru.
Thanks to a small farm on Wadmalaw Island, we can now add South Carolina to that list. Charleston Tea Plantation, owned in part by the renowned R. C. Bigelow & Company, is the only place in North America to produce black tea commercially. Read more about Wadmalaw Island's Charleston Tea Plantation.


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How to get free online gaming with a few clicks
Mumbai: It's not just gaming that will make a return to the city, though.
For those looking to test their gaming skills, online gaming is still an option.
The city's top online gaming platform, Acajutika, has partnered with the Times of America, which has been providing free online games to residents of the capital.
"Acajutique is a game platform that is very popular in India," Acajuto said.
"We will provide a free online game, if you like, to anyone who wants to try it out."
The Times of Japan, which was also the first to offer free games to its Japanese readers in 2016, has been offering free online multiplayer games for residents of Japan.
"The free games are mostly multiplayer games, such as Danganronpa 2 and The Binding of Isaac," Acarutika founder Sushil Kumar said.
While there are games available for free, Kumar said the company was hoping to expand its offer to other countries.
"It is not easy to make a game that is as popular as Danki, as they are the best in Japan," he said.
The Times Of India also announced that it will soon begin offering free mobile gaming.
The portal will soon launch a free game for its English-language readers.
It is yet to decide how many free games the portal will offer.
"You can play any of the games in the database of free games," Kumar said, adding that Acajutsi also offers other free games for users to play online.
"A Bigger, Better, Longer Christmas" (Part 2): 'The Greatest Show on Earth' Part 3 (November 6, 2018)
How do you know when you're being watched?


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It was drizzling with rain and I was making my way up the path. I was alone and the walk from the car park was proving a little difficult. I decided to wait for Graham who was moving the car to another parking place.
Then the sun came out for an instance and I wondered what this path would look like in the summer. Would there be lots of flowers among those leaves? I'm sure it would look so pretty. I thought it looked pretty anyway so I lifted up my camera and balanced myself on one stick while I took a photo.
The photo is wonky. I could have edited it to make it straight, but I've not edited it at all. I think it captures that moment. My wonky moment on a path waiting for help because I couldn't carry on. If I'd not stopped would I have noticed the door at all, would I have thought about the flowers, would I have appreciated the small burst of sunshine amid the rain.
I wasn't heading towards the door. The entrance to the building was directly to the left where three steps led up to a PVC door with a window. That's why I couldn't manage to go on. It was the steps that prevented me, something that you can't even see here.
The next hour or so was okay before the day went drastically downhill with a bang. But that's a story for another day. When bad things happen it's hard to focus on the good. This photo is the opposite of that, I saw something nice even though my path was much tougher.
I am so sorry to read that things went downhill but this is a lovely photo. I like the fact it is wonky. It adds movement – like you are walking towards the door.
Lovely photo. You are right. You probably wouldn't have noticed anything if you hadn't have stopped.
Sorry to hear that your day was a bit rough, but what a lovely capture! I can imagine that it would be full of colour come Springtime.
Hi Anne, I'm a great believer in just stopping and taking things in. If we don't there is so much we could be missing. The wonkiness of your photo suits it and I bet it does look pretty in spring.
I rush around so much that I know the importance of stopping for a moment to take things in. I make a lot of cards and think an image put on at wonky angle looks far more interesting than one that is straight!