text:
Q: Why does my if else statement fail when combined with the sample function in R I have two vectors that can be of variable length. I want to constrain how I sample from one by using the length of the smaller one. In this case, xy is smaller so the first part should execute and the second should be ignored, but when I run the code I get an error:

Error in sample.int(length(x), size, replace, prob) :    cannot take a
  sample larger than the population when 'replace = FALSE' In addition:
  Warning message: In if (xx > xy) { :   the condition has length > 1
  and only the first element will be used

  xy<-c(1:5)
  xx<-c(1:10)

  if(xx > xy){
    father<-xy;
    mother<-sample(xx,length(xy), replace = FALSE)
  } else {
    mother<-xx;
    father<-sample(xy,length(xx), replace = FALSE)
  }

The error makes sense on its own, if I run those lines with sample separately but I thought the if else coding should prevent that.

A: Just change the if condition to,
 if(length(xx) > length(xy))

A: In your if statement you need to use the lengths rather than the raw vectors:
if(length(xx) > length(xy)) {...}


text:
Minister, Teacher, Soldier, Spy
Dear Mr Williamson,
Part 1: Thursday 25 June
You were spotted in SW1 earlier this week and the fieldman's report (I'm reading Le Carré) classified you as 'preoccupied'. I'm not surprised. I feared for your state of mind before the current shenanigans began and I can't imagine what it's like navigating the corridors of power with your colleagues. Seeing them on the telly requires nerves of steel.
Unlike watching us! Tallis was on the box on Monday. BBC London came and filmed a newly-regathered half A-level Psychology class, interviewed Mr Smith, four thoughtful youths and me. They said that being back helped focus their minds: I said that having no children was scrambling mine but that the 2m rule would need to be gone – and all the bubble talk – before we could reassemble.
So we plugged the gogglebox in the dining room in on Tuesday lunchtime to watch the PM forecast the future. Social distancing meant those at the reception end needed binoculars, but never mind, I had a front seat. Good news: everyone back to school in September! That's exactly what I wanted to hear and I tried to encourage moderate cheering. Some HTs are worried about the detail, but I'm sure you have it all under control. In fact, my pavement artist (Le Carré again) said it looked as though it was all in your bag.
Perhaps one of those bright young things who nip around ministers fore and aft could sort it out a bit for you, though? Headteachers are fussy and we like things to be clear. It would be great to see which rules we have to follow in school, which are optional, which just occurred to a front-bencher while they were cleaning their teeth, which have been abandoned, which denied and which are ideas being road-tested before becoming policy which may never be heard of again. My primary colleagues, blessings on their tiny furniture, were certainly shocked this week to be told that 2m in school had never been a rule for them. Are you sure?
And what about this rumour afloat that the exams might be pushed back a few weeks next year to maximise teaching time. That's partially a good idea – but oh my, wouldn't it have been better to test it out below decks before musing from the bridge? Now everyone's asking about it and no one has the foggiest.
And without wishing to reopen a wound, since The Drive To Barnard Castle the whole cabinet's seaworthiness is questionable, like a teacher who lost control of a class in October but has to survive until July. Was he worth it?
Mr Williamson, I've been thinking about exams too, nursing a fond hope that the experience of this year might usher in a better future. Why have GCSEs at all? Why not base the 16-year-olds' passport on teacher assessment, moderated in the way this year's will be, properly evaluated and monitored by nerdy subject-based inspectors who really know their stuff? That's who Her Majesty's Inspectors were before Ofsted was invented. Wouldn't it be great to liberate learning by dispensing with GCSE? Wouldn't it be great if year 11 marked their transition without the examination hall as the rite of passage? Remember, it only remotely works for two thirds of them.
Like the hapless October teacher we're not very good at some kinds of learning so we end up having to keep promising the same changes time and again. I took two years out of teaching before I had my children and worked as a Community Relations Officer in the midlands. The 80s were a time of disturbance in Birmingham and London which resulted in a significant amount of Home Office funding for projects to tackle the racism and social exclusion. Most of the focus was on anti-racism training for individuals, but we understood about institutionalised racism and encouraged institutions to scrutinise their processes to combat it. Fifteen years later there was the McPherson Report. Now, twenty years after that, ten years after the Public Sector Equality Duty, where are we, exactly? And how can any government mired in the Windrush depatriations and the Hostile Environment be believed?
I saw a photo in the paper of a novel idea in a Chinese school to keep small-ish children apart. They had very serious expressions for persons in purple paper wings but it just goes to show that children will accept anything as normal if an adult tells them so. Children will believe a lie if someone they trust tells it. That's why we have to tell them the truth and that's why we can't keep fobbing them off with change tomorrow.
Education, equality and justice are really hard to get right. Your Shadow has fallen today. You're picking your way, Mr Williamson, through very difficult circumstances and you don't look very steady on your own feet. Tell us the truth, talk to us and trust us and we can rebuild something righteous and grand, together.
Yours, at some distance.
Carolyn Roberts

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Predict the metabolic stability (half-life and clearance) of your test compound or xenobiotic using our Metabolic Stability assay.
In the human body, the liver plays a major role in the metabolism and clearance of drugs absorbed through the gut. Therefore, in vitro metabolic stability is an important early ADME test for predicting in vivo half-life and clearance of a test compound. Our Metabolic Stability Assay uses microsomes (various species available) and human primary hepatocytes in a sandwich culture. While microsomes contain Phase I enzymes, primary human hepatocytes in sandwich culture contain both the Phase I and the Phase II enzymes. The microsomes and/or primary human hepatocytes in sandwich culture are exposed to the test compound for a number of exposure times and the samples are then assessed by LC-MS/MS to determine intrinsic clearance of a compound.
The graph illustrates the Intrinsic Clearance (CLint) of low (caffeine), medium (midazolam) and high (verapamil) clearance controls, as well as two blinded compounds, in human primary hepatocyte sandwich cultures.
IONTOX's Metabolic Stability assay can be combined with the Human Dynamic Multiple Organ Plate to assess how one organ impacts the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the test drug or chemical. Lung-to-liver, or Intestine-to liver models can provide important information on how the test compound will behave in vivo.


If you want to buy something online or are wanting to sign up to a service, rather than going directly through the website you are able to go through Top Cashback.
Top Cashback is a simple service which helps you earn money whilst you shop. To use Top Cashback you simply need to make a account and wait until you are wanting to spend some money. When you decide you need something you simply log on to Top Cashback and search for the online retailer you want to buy from. If the company is listed, you are able to click and see what offers they may have. The offers range from a sum of money to a percentage of the money which you are going to spend on the site.
Once you have visited the site, the cashback is then tracked. The cashback then has to be approved by someone and the cashback will go into your account where you are able to swap it for money, vouchers or Tesco Clubcard points.
The use of the site is free. Some cashback sites charge a annual amount meaning if you don't manage to cash much money in, you will find you are not making any money annually.
There are many options to cash out your money you have earned. You are able to get Love2Shop vouchers, Amazon Vouchers, Tesco Clubcard Vouchers, Paypal and Bank Transfer.
If you choose to cash out your money with vouchers you earn 5% extra.
You are able to do free things to earn money - This year I have made £10 by doing free offers which pay.
Topcashback now lets you trade in every £10 of cashback for 1,050 Tesco Clubcard points. This equals £10.50 to spend in in-store, but up to £42 in Tesco Rewards.
You are now able to earn money whilst out due to the Top Cashback phone app via snap and save.
Some free cashback options only let you pay out via bank transfer rather than a voucher form.
Some cashback offers can take a while to process.


Melbourne, Ian and Nicol, Matthew (2003) Statistical limit laws for equivariant observations Stochastics & Dynamics, 4. pp. 1-13.
We show that statistical limit laws for ergodic stationary sequences of G-equivariant observations φ on a probability space Ω × G are inherited by sequences of observations φ(·,g0) on the probability space Ω for each fixed g0. The statistical limit laws we consider are the central limit theorem, weak invariance principle and the law of the iterated logarithm.


People seek the right products in wrong places. This dedicated reviewing site brings all of them under a single shed. Reviews Best Electric Shaver, Braun Series 7 7865cc Shaver, Braun Cooltec Shaver, Braun Series 5 5090cc Shaver, Norelco Electric 8900 Shaver, Philips Norelco Shaver 4500, Philips Norelco Shaver 6100, Panasonic ES8103S Shaver, Wahl Professional 8061 Shaver, Braun Series 3 3040s Shaver, Remington f5-5800 Shaver. Product Items is Product Reviews, Update, News, tips, Solution Website.


846 results. Displaying results 1 - 10.
Postcard of an old man and a young girl pushing sack barrows with ammunitions shells on them.
Postcard of rows of ammunition shells surrounded by soldiers.
Newspaper clipping concerning the treatment of Germans living in New Zealand, the Denaturalisation Bill and the internment of of enemy subjects suspected of being dangerous.


The winner of the Archibald prize 2017 for portraiture has been awarded to Mitch Cairns for his portrait of artist, and partner, Agatha Gothe-Snape. A runners-up highly commended rosette goes to Jun Chen, for his portrait of retired gallerist Ray Hughes.
This review was first published in a slightly different version by Guardian Australia, July 29, 2017.


This was taken from a friend's Nokia N70. The help section makes clear that Wayfinder Earth is free but that there are plenty of extra services you can buy for it: GPS positioning (if you have a USB GPS device) and also bitmapped maps instead of the vector-based ones. Wayfinder says that screen vector-based maps are more bandwidth intensive than bitmaps. This is not a problem on a Swedish 3G network, but might be elsewhere.
Finally, I was really impressed with the search. The database found obscure East vilage (NYC) bookstores and returned details including phone numbers in no time. Same for Sweden, and I'm guessing a whole host of other countries. The maps themselves are chockablock with points of interest.


text:
Q: How to place a DOM element on the top right This piece of code works, but I would like to know if it is the best way to place a dom element on the top right of a container.
the prerequisites are the following:
1) the DOM cannot be changed.
2) the CSS code with comment with original code cannot be changed.
demo: http://jsfiddle.net/jBme9/1/

                Name

                    <input type="text" class="form-prize-item-name" value="prize2">

        <button type="button" class="btn" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="">
            Edit
        </button>

.controls button{
    float: right;
    position:absolute;
    top:0px;
    right: 0px;
}

/* original code */
.control-group {
    background-color: #D9EDF7;
    padding: 13px;
    margin-bottom: 20px;
}
/* original code */
input {
    box-sizing: border-box;
    height: auto;
    padding: 8px 4px;
    width: 100%;
}

A: Looks fine. But you don't need float:right line. position:absolute will do.

A: You can simply do what you have done, but if you want to place that somewhere in the middle of your web page you need to have an outer div with position: relative;
First of all things you wont need :
1) float: right; /* In .controls button */
2) You have a class called .btn so you don't need .controls button simply use .btn else your styles will apply to all buttons in .controls
3) button doesn't require type=button attribute...(Unless you are not using it to reset/submit anything than you need to specify)
My Fiddle

A: Your absolutely positioned element (the button) needs context for its absolute positioning, this can be done by declaring a parent element of it with position: relative. If you do not do this, the button will be positioned absolutely relative to the outer most parent element, ie the html tag.
Also your CSS has a redundant property, the float. No float is needed when absolutely positioning.
This is all you need:
position: absolute;
top: 0;
right: 0;

A: You can make element class like
input[type="button"]
{
float:right;
}
input[type="text"]
{
float:right;
}
or

input[type="text"], input[type="button"]
{
float:right;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


"Necessary evil" – that's how most entrepreneurs and small business owners I've crossed paths with see marketing. Sure, in an ideal world we'd all be judged by the quality of our work and our service, but we all know that's not the way the game works – in this day and age more than ever! Even the smallest markets are saturated with plenty of options in every industry and every sub division of every industry, and it's extremely difficult to find any sort of competitive advantage.
The more far-sighted among my business acquaintances understand that marketing is arguably the most significant aspect of your business in terms of gaining a competitive edge. In this scheme, the importance of an established and well formulated brand cannot be overstated.
Developing a recognizable brand is a process that doesn't just happen overnight, especially if your means are limited, which is the case with most small business owners and entrepreneurs. A quality brand usually requires a multi-front approach and a long term commitment to a single, clear vision.
Some people believe that branding is all about a nice logo and a catchy slogan. Even though both of those things can't hurt, branding is about the entirety of your business. It is the way you present yourself and the way your business is perceived. It is the values you stand for and the way you stand behind them. Every aspect of your business comes into the brand equation.
Understanding that it won't happen overnight, there are certain paths you should follow and be certain you're on the right track. Here are a few guidelines you should consider in order to ensure a solid foundation for your future brand.
Before you present yourself to the world, you need to decide how you want to be perceived. What would you like to be the core values of your business? The answer to that question is greatly determined by the nature of your work. You need to focus on one thing, whether it is the value your business represents or a specific quality of your service that separates you from your competition. Remember, you want your business to be the go to place when people require a service you provide, and in order to achieve that you will need to find a way to stand out among your competitors.
Once you define your strategy, the logo, the slogans and all the rest will follow. Be focused, be consistent and be committed to your vision.
Whatever it is your promotional efforts offer and promise, make sure you deliver. Attracting the public attention is the easier part – proving you're as good as your word is where a lot of businesses fail. A clever marketing campaign may entice people to give you a try, but the quality of your service is what's going to keep them coming back.
You know how every once in a while in your life you have a door opened for you by a personal acquaintance? Well, it works the same in business, doubly so when you're operating on a smaller level and in a lesser market. Sometimes the best way to move forward is to get a helping hand.
Try to identify businesses that share both your core values and your target clientele, and then make a concentrated effort to connect with them (perhaps getting together behind the same cause, or designing a package deal). Aligning with a successful brand makes you look successful as well.
It is up to you to choose your promotional channels, but you should cover all the bases. Even if you're focus is on the traditional means of marketing (TV, papers, etc), you should at least have a functional website and utilize the social networks. And don't forget promotional items. Freebies are a nice way for your logo to enter people's homes, and that is your ultimate goal – for your business to be considered a house member or a part of the family. If you're organizing a business or a community event, make sure you have your logo on everything, from gift bags to custom printed labels on water bottles.
There is no better PR than charity work. Find a cause worthy of your backing, a cause consistent with the core values of your business. You don't need to donate a million dollars; sometimes a small, local cause can make a big splash. You can be creative with it – sponsor a local sports team, organize a charity event. Feel the pulse of your community and you'll know what to do.
Jenny Hahn is a marketing consultant from Sydney, Australia who enjoys sharing tips and advice with free thinking entrepreneurs. You can find Jenny on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Next articleHow to Manage Your Business Reputation?


It's no secret that Noah loves construction vehicles. He used to call them all diggers, but now he knows the difference between back hoes and dump trucks. Chris and Noah will often go for walks around the neighborhood to look for diggers and back hoes. They have literally chased diggers up and down the road before!
Since Noah is in love with diggers, it was the obvious choice to throw him a construction party! I started where I always do and did some Pinterest browsing. We are having it at our local Gymboree, so we are limited to decorating the small party room. I found a lot of inspiration for things to hang on the walls and put on the tables.
As for the food, we are limited to only having store bought food. Since it's an afternoon party, we are keeping it simple and just doing pizza and birthday cake. While I love getting creative and found so many cool ideas on Pinterest, I am actually very happy to keep the food simple this time around. We ordered a cake very similar to the one below. A "3" made out of oreo crumbs with some trucks and cone candles on top... Noah will love it!
Ooh can't wait to see how it all comes together! Target has quite a bit of construction party decor right now. You should check it out.
Love the theme!! We did construction for Cam's second birthday and it was a huge hit. Can't wait to see and hear how it went.
Reed attended a friend's construction party and it has been his favorite party to date. He wanted to live there I think. Yall will have a blast!
Oh my gosh! This is PERFECT. I cannot wait to see his party! Please make a cake like the inspiration one because that looks AH-MAZING!
I love the idea of a construction party. I think Connor is a lot like James in the fact that he doesn't enjoy a lot of typical boy/guy things. He has no interest in construction vehicles at all. This week they did some work on our road and he was like "let's go" when I tried to show him the diggers.
Such a cute party! I adore the construction theme. And the helmets on the back of the chairs? Perfect and adorable!!


Our congratulations goes out to all those individuals and local groups in Knowsley who attended Knowsley's Sports and Cultural Awards presentation evening in October.
We were pleased to be nominated for Knowsley's Community Group of the Year 2015 and delight on the night to be in good company as well coming third in such a popular and competitive category.
"They are proactive and focus on solutions to make sure any issues and concerns raised can be realistically and practically addressed, changed or enhanced for the better – for the benefit of everyone who lives in Knowsley.
It's through their individual determination, personal challenges & physical barriers faced they as a collective group of local people,working in partnership they really can overcome problems".
Paula Thompson our KULO Vice chairperson was nominated for her dedicated efforts in the volunteer of the year category and came second.
Her nomination was in recognition for her commitment not only to our group, she also coordinates Plan B Knowsley, an innovative social programme for young autistic adults as well as her timeless volunteer efforts for older people's charity KPAIS and Knowsley Carers Centre.
"Paula is an energetic and passionate person who selflessly champions local people of all abilities to realise their full potential to succeed in life.
A great night out and look out for next year's awards – get nominating!
The Knowsley User Led Organisation will be hosting a series of community training courses in Knowsley.
Courses are FREE to adults who are unemployed and living in Knowsley and will take place at Knowsley's Centre for Independent Living, Unit 11, Brickfields, Huyton Business Park L36 6HY.
We are delighted to be offering a series of know how community courses and workshops in partnership with Knowsley Family and Community Education.
Our Community Training sessions kick off our with Effective Note Taking on Friday 6 November 12 – 3pm.
This session is perfect for anyone who needs to learn the fine art of taking minutes – we know from experience that being tasked to take minutes is often a chore that not many relish!!
This will be followed up in December with a Basic Book Keeping session on Friday 4 December from 12 – 3pm.
Places are limited and lunch will also be provided.
Local help and know how is on hand across Knowsley if you want to Get Online.
Whether is surfing on the web, signing up to facebook, buying things online or creating an email account – whatever you need there's always help across Knowsley.
Take a look at the places and spaces where you can Get Online for FREE!
Starting in November and every Wednesday from 10 – 12pm, join us at Knowsley's Centre for Independent Living for some creative sewing workshops.
The Knowsley User Led Organsation will be running a series of FREE sewing sessions in November. No matter what your ability, help is on hand – if you need it – and you'll get to make some unique items for you and your home including a funky cotton carrier bag, colorful draft excluder and a fab & festive Christmas wreath.
Take part and join in, plus all materials are supplied for FREE as well as a cuppa or two and some good company!
If you are aged 16-25 and not in education, training or employment Get Started with Princes Trust and Everton in the Community to help achieve your goals.
This FREE course will cost you nothing – your travel expenses and lunch will be provided every day by the Princes Trust. You'll also receive three months support to help you move into education, training or employment.
This 'Get Started with Football' course runs from on 26 – 30 October 2015 and there's a taster session being held prior to this on 21 October at Goodison Park.
Advice Services Knowsley (ASK) brings local organisations together to improve quality of – and access to – advice services in Knowsley.
Take a look at ASK website which provides easier access to local advice services.
Whether you are looking for advice on Housing & Benefits, Employment & Education Opportunities, Welfare & Benefits, Health and Emotional support, the website has a wealth of local information and local services that can help you.
ASK also provides a list of Frequently Asked Questions on your topic of choice – so you may get your question/problem/issue resolved without having to contact a local service!
Over the next few months, our community group the Knowsley User Led Organisation will be hosting a a series of FREE training courses for local people in Knowsley.
From Accredited First Aid, minute taking, basic book keeping as well as health & safety.
We are currently arranging dates for training and we'll post dates of useful courses here as well as our Facebook Page.
Here's a useful guide to services and organisations in Knowsley.
It's a website which provides local (to Knowsley) & national information and support for Special Educational Needs and Disability.
Called the Knowsley information Service the website is packed full of information about SEN, advice, guidance, local support for carers & parents, education, employment, housing and learning support….the list goes on.
As the saying goes 'Knowledge is Power' and too often we meet local people who are just unaware of services that are available to help.
See what you can find on the site that's useful and good to know – for you and your family.
Go to www.knowsleyinfo.co.uk and if you know of any more useful sites, please get in touch with us!
Onwards and Upwards for Al's Club!
Al's Club is a social activity group for young people aged 16 – 30 with disabilities in the Knowsley area.
The group meets at Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park, Longview Drive in Huyton every Thursday from 6.30 till 8.30pm.
With a small charge of just £2 at Al's Club you can meet people and make new friends – plus there's lots to see, do and join in with!
Al's Club also run a Tweenies session for 0 – 16yrs every Sunday from 11am till 1pm.
Did you know Healthwatch Knowsley host Positive Mental Health Coffee Mornings in Kirkby & Huyton?
Positive Mental Health Coffee Mornings are open to anyone, including service users, family members and carers.
Please note: venues for the coffee mornings will be alternated between Huyton and Kirkby, and transport is always available on request – just ask!


Rachel is proud to promote the true essence of Belly Dance ~ the fun, the friendship, the spirit, the history, the culture, and the expression of this beautiful art form. Rachel is a Belly Dance teacher in the South East Saskatchewan area. Join for the Fitness, Stay for the Fun!
Open to all levels. No experience required. Contact Rachel to Register via email.


text:
Home Praxis Center for Aesthetics Wondering What's Missing? It's This…
Wondering What's Missing? It's This…
David Barry, Mount Tam
A career in art is about so much more than knowing how to create. While it is important to spend many hours honing your craft and practice, there are other elements to a successful career that carry quite a lot of importance. One of these is the ability to write with clarity and authority. As a working artist, you will be called upon to create written biographies, statements, proposals and any number of other documents. It is important that you know how to navigate this piece and that you understand the significance of this.
Praxis student David recently learned firsthand just how much well-crafted documents matter. He put in the hard work of crafting a bio and statement and then had Praxis experts help him hone these documents. In so doing, he not only created two working written pieces to use going forward, he also discovered a newfound readiness when it came to putting his work out into the world. And his hard work is paying dividends. In his own words:
"Thank you Brainard Carey and Julia Tolstrup for your editing help and suggestions for my bio and statement. It really made a difference and got me moving forward to apply to shows. One photograph, "Mount Tam", has just been accepted into "Coastal", a group show in San Rafael, CA that runs from April 26 to June 7, 2019. Reception is Friday, May 10, 5pm – 8pm. Please stop in and say hello if you're nearby."
Praxis Center dedicates itself to aiding artists with those things that are not necessarily obvious from the outside. The nuts and bolts that make for a truly viable career. When you sign up for just $40/month, you gain access to experts who will take you through the practical steps involved in shaping those written pieces that every artist needs. Our suite of courses and virtual classroom are the keys to finding the next step on your artistic journey.
Brainard Carey is an author, artist and educator. He is the director of Praxis Center for Aesthetics. He has written six books for artists; Making it in the Art World, New Markets for Artists, The Art World Demystified, Fund Your Dreams Like a Creative Genius, Sell Online Like a Creative Genius and the forthcoming Succeed with Social Media Like a Creative Genius.
Signed and doodled copies of these books can be purchased from Praxis Center.
Golden Artist Colors began publishing the Just Paint newsletter in 1989, a source for information about painting techniques, product information, and the latest research in art materials. Now online, JustPaint.org has become one of the most exhaustive resources for technical information in fine art. With the new Just Paint Experience, GOLDEN is expanding the concept to provide artists with quick-reading, studio-oriented content to help bring their visions to life.
When you subscribe to Just Paint Experience (free), you'll receive access to exclusive content. GOLDEN will also notify you whenever there is new content added to the site.
Previous articleNew Beginnings
Next articleDo You Want to go to Paris?


In Spring 2016, two graduating seniors who served on the Chapter Executive Board—Jessica Bailey and Krystal Bailey—proposed a special event to allow Phi Eta Sigma members an opportunity to offer their reflections on what Phi Eta Sigma had meant to their academic, personal, and social lives.
The event was named "Bye to Phi," though the creators realized that one never leaves Phi Eta Sigma because members are inducted for Life. Still, the occasion for graduation would represent another transition for those venturing on to graduate and professional schools and/or careers for which they had prepared.
The inaugural "Bye to Phi" was held on May 9, 2016, and was a marked success. The event included a meal, the presentation of honor cords, and congratulatory addresses by the faculty adviser and members of the Executive Board, and brief speeches by the graduating seniors. There was never a doubt that the event would appear on the chapter's slate of activities for Spring 2017. May 6th was the date chosen for the special salute.
What a great day to be a Phi Eta Sigma Owl at Kennesaw State University! On Saturday, March 4, 2017, the Kennesaw State Chapter of Phi Eta Sigma successfully inducted 127 new members into the Honor Society. Along with these exceptional students, the KSU Chapter of Phi Eta Sigma recognized outstanding faculty and staff who are instrumental to a student's success at KSU. At the 2017 Induction Ceremony, we inducted five honorary member into the KSU Chapter: Dr. Michael Maloni, Associate Professor of Management; Dr. Linda M. Lyons, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Assistant Professor of Education; Donald Coleman, Director, Orientation Programs; and Yen Rodriguez, Assistant Director, Multicultural Student Affairs. Included in these five faculty members was our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Chris Hutt, who is the Assistant Vice-President for Academic Advising at Kennesaw State. After the Ceremony, we partook in a reception held in our Social Sciences Building where we enjoyed refreshments and fellowshipped with one another. The KSU Phi Eta Sigma chapter looks forward to working with our new members, and maintaining the values of this great organization!


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Flash Gordon (Spaceship to the Unknown) [50 Films Older Than Me #11]
Posted on October 13, 2021 October 17, 2021 by benmc47
Just lately, it was my birthday! And to add to all the real life goals and challenges that that brings, I've created at least one as it relates to movies and this blog–watch a film I've never seen before which came out in each year of the fifty years before I was born, and then write a bit about it. This is Post #11.
Spoilers ahead.
Flash Gordon (aka Spaceship to the Unknown)
Directed by Frederick Stephani
Release Year: 1936 (34 years before I was born).
Sort of, anyway. Flash Gordon is a 13 episode serial which was released in 1936. But Spaceship to the Unknown is a 90 minute distillation of the serial which I think was released for TV in 1966. That's the only version of the film that I could find available, and is what I actually watched. But even so, I'm still counting this as my 1936 selection.
What it is about: When an alien planet is detected on a collision course for earth, the brilliant scientist Dr. Zarkov manages to recruit the help of the young Flash Gordon and Dale Arden. The planet, Mongo, is under the rule of Emperor Ming, who becomes smitten with Dale and enraged at Flash because of Dale's affections for him. Ming's daughter, Princess Aura also falls for Flash and attempts to win him from Flash. Flash and his friends have many adventures dealing with Ming, which brings them into contact with many other galactic races and rulers. Ming sets his sights on earth but is ultimately defeated.
Starring Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon, Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Charles B. Middleton as Ming the Merciless, Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura, Frank Shannon as Dr. Zarkov, and Richard Alexander as Prince Barin, Jack Lipson as King Vultan, and James Pierce as Prince Thun (all leaders of different interplanetary races).
Flash Gordon is the first film adaptation of the comic character Flash Gordon that Alex Raymond created in 1934. This was the first of three film serials starring Buster Crabbe as the character.
My impressions of this movie before I watched it: I'm vaguely aware of the classic Flash Gordon story thanks mainly to having half-seen the cheesy 1980 film. And knowing that fact that this was (or was originally) a serial film tells me something of what to expect…quickly paced storytelling heavy on the adventure and light on dramatic depth.
Reality: Well, "light on dramatic depth" is an understatement. Not only is this project a 1930's movie serial with little interest in digging into anything so nuanced as real emotions, it is also severely abridged–down to just above a third of its original runtime (245 minutes down to about 98)! So forget about depth or relationships or themes or anything like that…there's barely time for anything but plot and movement and punching.
The serial was quite big budget for its day, and there is certainly some inventiveness with the effects and the odd impressive explosion here or there. But overall of course they are pretty laughable and the production design badly dated. Now, I am no stranger to overlooking production limitations for the sake of a good story–after all, some of my favorite things are 1960's Doctor Who, classic-era Star Trek, 1970's Doctor Who, 1980's Doctor Who…well, you get the idea. But the problem with Spaceship to the Unknown is that there just isn't the good story to carry us through. Or if there is, it is llost in the awkward pacing and choppy editing. So the obviously model spaceships, the little animals pretendng to be monsters, or the odd costume choices (a lot of men are wearing shorts out there in space, it seems)…well, it all become painful to watch.
The rushed storytelling doesn't leave much room for characterization, beyond the most basic of tones. Flash Gordon is courageous and quick to throw a punch (seriously, dude is always ready to jump in and start beating people up), and that's about it. His enemy Ming is villainous and untrustworthy, though not particularly cunning. Dr. Zarkov is earnest and worried. Prince Vultan is boisterous and likes to belly laugh. And that's about the depth of things.
The worst might be Dale Arden, the story's female lead. She is smitten with Flash and likes to scream a lot, and seems otherwise completely incapable of helping herself. And if she's not screaming, she's either hypnotized, and thus being carried around like a rag doll, or she's fainting–neither of which are a great look or your story's heroine.
Fairing a little better is Princess Aura (Ming's daughter), who at least gets to do a bit of scheming. She actually shoots a guy and at one moment suddenly charges into a battle arena with a spear–I thought she was going to kill Flash's opponent (a horned ape-like creature that looks a fair bit like a Star Trek "Mugato") but in the end she just passed the spear to Flash. Oh well, it's better than nothing, I guess. She's written as being toxically in love with Flash for most of the story, but then just seems to change her mind off-camera–which, given the original serial's editing, is actually completely plausible.
I didn't get a lot of joy watching Spaceship to the Unknown, but it is interesting from a film history perspective. It is the earliest full science fiction serial that was ever made, and ended up being the first of many such productions.
It has been recognized by the Library of Congress' National Film Registry as culturally or historically significant. It's fascinating to imagine how a film like this may have inspired the future filmmakers in the audience. It's easy to see how someone like George Lucas could have seen a film like this (although clearly not on its first release) and being stirred to tell similar stories, using more modern techniques to wow later audiences just as this film might have done so for those in 1936.
So…when you get down to it, what did I think? Like I said, I didn't actually enjoy Flash Gordon. But one might feel I'm being quite critical about a film that was made 85 years ago mostly for kids, and which I've actually only seen less than half of. And it's true, I'm probably judging it pretty harshly for what it was. But still, I'm watching it now and not then, and I'm watching it in this format, and as interesting as I think idea of the movie is, I found actually watching it to be a pretty tedious viewing experience.
However, having said all that, I have just discovered that the full serial is actually available on Youtube! With a nearly four hour run time it will take me a while to get through, but I'll make my way through it and offer some follow up thoughts, starting here.
See here for the Master List.
Posted in MoviesTagged Alex Raymond, Buster Crabbe, Charles B. Middleton, Flash Gordon, Frank Shannon, Frederick Stephani, Jack Lipson, James Pierce, Jean Rogers, Priscilla Lawson, Richard Alexander1 Comment
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Thanks for this review that really clarifies how far we've come in all our sci-fi evolution.


From the start of football season to the Super Bowl, with Halloween and the great fairytale of Thanksgiving in between, this time of year is wrought with stereotypes of Native people.
So when my six-year-old daughter came home recently saying her class had made paper turkeys whose feathers turned into the headdress of the Indian on the flip side, I asked her teacher if I could come in to talk to the class in order to show a less stereotypical (and less animalistic) side to what it means to be Native American today — no leather, feathers, or fringe needed.
I know people like my kid's teacher mean well, but what they and many others don't understand is that those paper Indians you're making with your students, or those paper headdresses kids will wear in the school play, and the stories told about the first Thanksgiving are doing little more than perpetuating harmful stereotypes and racism.
Why are they racist? Because they uphold the systemic oppression that comes with erasure.
To put it another way, the subliminal message – and one that is fortified by pop culture – is that Native Americans aren't living, contemporary people. To the average American, Natives look a certain way, act a certain way, and are neat props in romanticized timelines of US history.
And if we don't exist in a modern context, then our issues get overlooked and we begin to question our own identities. That's the real harm of these stereotypes.
Thankfully, November is also National Native American Heritage Month and offers many opportunities to move past one-dimensional representations. Whether you're in a first grade classroom like my daughter, cooking in the kitchen for a big feast, or just trying to broaden your perspective, here are six suggestions of how to de-stereotype Native American Heritage Month.
One of my family's favorite musicians to listen to is Frank Waln, a 24-year-old Sicangu Lakota artist from my home state of South Dakota.
If that name means nothing to you, then the second season premier of Rebel Music is a good place to get acquainted with this self-described feminist and other talented Native artists and activists fighting against the destruction of women, culture, the environment, and more.
The show debuts at 4pm ET exclusively on the brand's Facebook page, and will follow Waln, Nataanii Means, Mike Clifford, and Inez Jasper, who is well known in Indian Country, especially Canada, for her strong musical chops and advocacy work bringing attention to the plight of thousands of missing and murdered indigenous women (#mmiw).
The show is just 30 minutes, but Rebel Music offers Common Core-based curriculum, which is accessible online to classrooms and individuals wanting to extend the show's lessons on indigenous issues.
Random fact about Rebel Music: Laura Jane Grace of punk rock's Against Me! is the show's music director. Squee!
Possibly one of the neatest things to come out of social media is Rock Your Mocs, which launched in 2011 and is observed annually by indigenous people and allies across the globe. "Mocs" is slang for moccasins, and this year, the event is being held on 11/15.
Created by 22-year-old Jessica "Jaylyn" Atsye, Laguna Pueblo, the event offers a different, more contemporary platform for those wanting to showcase their Native pride beyond traditional venues, such as powwows.
It's truly amazing watching my social media timelines blow up with photos of indigenous-made (see #3) fancy footwear paired with everything from traditional regalia to Wall Street power suits.
Wear yours, snap a photo, and tag it #RockUrMocs and #RYM2014.
There are few better ways to encourage self-sufficiency in a capitalist society than by supporting local and small businesses.
Native-owned online shops and cooperatives make purposeful shopping easy and highlight authentic Native-made products.
I emphasize the Native-made aspect because so many of the trendy "tribal" items out there in stores like Urban Outfitters, Gap, JC Penney and others use and profit off our images and designs, but not a single hand in Indian Country made the item or the profits.
In addition, many of the items being sold in our image and without our consent have deep, traditional meanings for indigenous people and are offensive when used blatantly out of context.
I'm thinking specifically of headdresses here, people.
Unless you are a tribal leader or respected warrior in a tribe that actually utilized these items (and very few tribes actually wore the kind of headdress so prolific among music festival hipsters), you need to stop wearing anything related to headdresses or war bonnets. Now.
Natives are making and selling everything, from head-to-foot clothing and skin care, to furniture and technology, to food and services.
A few of my favorite fashion boutiques include women-led or managed Beyond Buckskin, RezonateArt, and ButterflyBuffalo. I'm also a big fan of Louie Gong's Eighth Generation products, which include fashion, but also household items and the beautiful Inspired Natives Project.
Want more ideas? Beyond Buckskin creator, Dr. Jessica R. Metcalfe, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, put together this ever-growing list of Native-owned businesses that can help you "Buy Native" products in every category this holiday season.
For many people, Natives are viewed as people of the past, not present people with a past. The difference is that we're often viewed in the context of museum exhibits, Hollywood westerns, and whitewashed history books.
Very rarely are we placed in a modern setting.
And when we are, it's generally to showcase how poor our reservations are, how much crime and violence we experience, and other negative associations. Not that those things aren't true, but like every other community on this planet, we're so much more than those surface depictions.
Camera in hand, Matika Wilbur has set out to change perceptions of Native people.
Back in 2012, Wilbur, Swinomish and Tulalip Tribes, embarked on a journey to document the people representing our nation's federally recognized tribes.
The point is, the wildly successful crowd-funded project has and will continue to take Wilbur across the United States to showcase contemporary and beautiful Native identities. The photos she has taken already show a side to Native America rarely seen in mainstream media and pop culture.
Roughly 4,000 protesters gathered earlier this month in one of the nation's largest ever anti-mascot rallies during the Minnesota Viking's matchup against the Washington, DC NFL team.
I can't adequately describe the pride I felt watching the protest unfold.
I've personally advocated for the removal of Native-associated mascots, names, and logos since I was in high school (early 2000s), but the indigenous struggle against these racist images and dictionary-defined racial slurs has been ongoing for decades (see the Suzan Shown Harjo link in #6), despite what some Hollywood A-listers think.
If you've been paying attention at all, you know that study after study after study proves that mascots dehumanize Native Americans and are particularly detrimental to Native youth.
Indian mascots are rooted in violence, aggression, and stereotypes that severely inhibit the development of positive Native identities.
Native images – detached heads, racist caricatures, tomahawks/spears/war bonnets, and everything diehard fans bring to the table with makeup, chants, and rival team putdowns – unequivocally place Natives in an entertainment and objectification category no other ethnicity would be forced to tolerate.
To be clear: These images do not "honor" indigenous culture, as is often contended.
This isn't about being the dreaded "politically correct," folks. This is about being respectful.
As it is, a name like Redsk*ns does not promote respect. The historical associations of the word are violent and racist; local governments offered bounties for the bloody (red) skins of Indian savages standing in the way Manifest Destiny.
Census numbers show more than five million self-identified Native Americans living in the United States. But even if all of us agreed in a unified effort against Indian mascots (we don't – lots of Natives support mascots, believing it's better to be recognized in a problematic way than not to be recognized at all), we'd still be woefully outnumbered by the tens of millions of football fans angered we're trying to take away their traditions (irony!).
That's why we need allies to help us as we try to educate the public on the streets and especially on social media. Join us in our efforts to end racism in sports using the hashtags #NotYourMascot, #ChangeTheName, and #NoHonorInRacism.
Alright, people. It's not about not being thankful or hating feasts with family and friends. Speaking as someone who will use any excuse to eat good, starchy food with loved ones, there are very few qualms with the reflective nature this holiday has undertaken in modern times.
But the reasons a lot of Natives get riled up about Thanksgiving are varied and legitimate.
First, Thanksgiving, like Columbus Day, is an annual reminder of the genocide and violence Natives experienced (and continue to experience) at the hands of colonizers.
I mean, we created America's first welfare line for white folks, white folks flourished, and our numbers and land base plummeted to near extinction. It's hard not to associate the "thanks" your giving to that fact, especially when the holiday's true origins are willfully ignored by the masses.
Second, and following up on that last part: The "historical" retelling of Thanksgiving has reached mythological proportions, and yet continues to be taught in classrooms as fact.
The time period generally associated with the Pilgrims was a grim one for the new arrivals and for tribes. We're talking bad weather, starvation, and disease.
Classrooms teach of friendly collaboration and exchange of goods occurring between Natives and the Pilgrims. In reality, it was more like Natives felt sorry for the ill-prepared Pilgrims who knew nothing of the kind of survival skills required in the New World.
In addition, there's a lot of evidence that the origins of Thanksgiving were founded on the colonists "giving thanks" that God's will either wiped out neighboring tribes with disease like smallpox or through war and massacre.
For more, check out these articles: A Wampanoag's perspective on the first Thanksgiving; Cracked.com's recap; and Christopher Moraff's 2012 piece, "Should We Rename Thanksgiving 'National Ethnic Cleansing Day'?" in Philadelphia magazine.
Finally, Thanksgiving lesson plans are rife with stereotypes.
Whether we're talking crafts in which feather-donning Natives morph into animals (like my daughter's assignment) or performances where kids are decked out in paper headdresses and war paint, the imagery reinforces problematic representations of Native people, who are rarely — if ever — presented to students as living, breathing, contemporary individuals who represent more than 500 unique sovereign nations.
Instead of the go-to Thanksgiving stereotypes, take advantage of Native American Heritage Month to teach about indigenous people today, our past and present contributions to society, and our challenges and successes.
A great way to do this is to highlight Indian Country's heroes and leaders every child can look up to, including WNBA superstar Shoni Schimmel and her NCAA champ sister Jude, South Dakota lawmaker Kevin Killer (who just ran a successful campaign to change the problematic name of a county with a high Native population to Oglala Lakota County), and Suzan Shown Harjo and Amanda Blackhorse, the figureheads taking the biggest national stand against racist sports mascots.
Misrepresentation and mistreatment of Natives is pervasive in this country. What better time than Native American Heritage Month to start working to change that?
No leather, feathers, or fringe needed.
Taté Walker is a Contributing Writer for Everyday Feminism. She is a Mniconjou Lakota and an enrolled citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She is a freelance journalist who lives in the Colorado Springs area. She blogs at Righting Red and can be reached onwww.jtatewalker.com.


Students in the Diploma in Diaconal Ministries program are required to take 8 academic courses at a recognized theological education institution.
What external Courses are required?
Eight semester long courses (3 credit hours) are required for the Diploma.
an overview course of the content and context of the Christian Scriptures which introduces methods in biblical criticism; in some situations these courses are in two parts (semesters), one part is sufficient, but then the Christian Scriptures Theme should be complementary.
a specific course (generally would require a prerequisite introductory course) and where appropriate and possible, at a second or third year level, that concentrates on a book or books, a writer, a theme or issue.
an overview course of the content and context of the Hebrew Scriptures which introduces methods in biblical criticism, in some situations these courses are in two parts (two semesters), one part is sufficient, but then the Hebrew Scriptures: Theme or Focus should be complementary.
a specific course (generally would require a prerequisite introductory course) that concentrates on a book or books, a writer, a theme or issue.
an overview course which introduces theological concepts and methodology in theological thinking.
a specific course (generally would require a prerequisite introductory course) that concentrates on a theological topic or particular school of theological approach.
a survey course of church history: a complete overview of early church to modern era is strongly recommended, an overview from early church to reformation, and an overview from reformation to modern era may be used in some situations.
an overview of methods in ethical thinking and approaches, not a "professional ethics" course.
Students may take courses from the undergraduate or graduate Religious Studies Department of an approved University or from an approved Theological School. Whenever possible, students are encouraged to take courses from a Theological School and whenever possible at a Master's level. Students without an undergraduate degree may apply to Theological Schools offering Masters programs, although space is often limited. Students with undergraduate degrees must seek special dispensation from their primary staff person in order to take a course at the undergraduate level. This dispensation may be granted based on the staff person's assessment of the particular learning needs of the student. Students who are interested in a joint degree with one of CCS's partners are advised that the level at which their externals are taken may affect their eligibility for joint degree requirements (i.e. Courses for a Master's degree may need to be at the graduate level).
Following is a list of schools recognized by CCS. This list is evolving and other schools may be added as students inquire with staff about their suitability. Students are advised that they must still consult with their primary staff person about courses at the schools listed below as not all courses may be approved.
Increasingly, Theological Schools are willing to set courses up in response to a request when there are sufficient students. Initiative among students to determine course needs in common and identify dates for courses that would work is encouraged. Students are required to be in touch with the Principal prior to approaching any Theological School to set up courses, to avoid duplication of requests.
Courses are available through an increasing number of delivery methods. Even within each method there are variations in methodology and tools.
Whatever the method of delivery, students are encouraged to take courses from institutions where a diversity of theological thought is encouraged and accepted.
Why are external Academic Courses part of the CCS program?
further demonstrate CCS commitment to the value of scholarly work and affirms the importance of intellectual resources.
How will courses be approved?
Students are required to consult with primary staff about suitable courses for them.
Requests for approval of courses should be made as far in advance of the registration deadline for the course as possible. Courses which are taken without prior approval may or may not be approved. Whether or not a course has been started will not be taken into account in the approval process.
Applicants and newly admitted students may want to consult with the Principal or designate, as some courses taken prior to entering the CCS program may be counted toward the externals requirement at the time of admission.
How are results of courses shared with CCS?
Students are responsible to provide CCS with transcripts of External Courses. Once a student has completed all of the courses they plan to take at a particular external school, then they should arrange to have an official transcript forwarded to the registrar at CCS. Diplomas can not be granted until the transcripts have been received. However, while students are still taking courses with an external school, a digital "report card" is sufficient. Students are requested to send confirmation of final course marks to CCS as soon as they receive them from the external school. Normally, a grade of 65% or equivalent on an External Course will be required in order to satisfy the requirements of the Centre for Christian Studies.
Can External Courses be counted towards a degree?
Students must register with at least one of the recognized schools to access courses. Students may register at the school as a special student or in a degree program.
The Centre has joint degree program arrangements with St. Stephen's College for a Master of Theological Studies in Diaconal Ministry and a Bachelor of Theological Studies in Diaconal Ministry and with University of Winnipeg for a Masters of Arts in Theology or a Bachelor of Theology.


text:
The Nigerian-American Nightmare: The remarkable story of Kamaru Usman's father
by Joseph Mayall
Through it All, Stand Sure: Megan Anderson's magical night in Melbourne
No stranger to variety, the podcast of UFC commentator Joe Rogan, The Joe Rogan Experience, has been the launchpad for countless remarkable stories that span a gamut of topics from bowhunting, to artificial intelligence, to zany conspiracy theories, and everything in between.
One of the podcast's more fascinating discussions was provided by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru "The Nigerian Nightmare" Usman: during his appearance on the show, Usman made it known that his father, Muhammed Usman, was serving a 15-year sentence in a federal penitentiary for crimes Kamaru believes his father didn't commit.
Kamaru Usman's anecdote left the MMA fan base intrigued and perplexed; how was the fact that the father of the UFC welterweight champion was serving such a lengthy sentence just coming to light? What was the chain of events that led to Mr. Usman's incarceration? What did he do that got him a 15-year sentence? And, perhaps the most contentious question of all, does Muhammed Usman deserve to be in prison?
Some of these questions can be objectively answered; the last cannot. With an understanding of the chain of events that led to the incarceration, an explanation of the particularly nuanced legal statutes that affected the sentencing, and a consideration of the larger societal questions at play, we leave you to make your own judgment about the ethicality of Muhammed Usman's imprisonment.
An Attempt at the American Dream
Muhammed Usman immigrated to the United States from his home country of Nigeria in 1989. After gaining citizenship in 1996, Usman followed in the footsteps of the entrepreneurial immigrants that came before him, embarking down the well-walked path towards The American Dream. Usman founded a pair of ambulance companies — Royal Ambulance (established in 2003) and First Choice EMS (established in 2005) — that were so successful he was awarded the Republican National Committee's "Who's Who Businessman of the Year."
Although he had worked as a pharmacist in Nigeria, Usman had no prior experience in the American ambulatory or healthcare industries; Usman's defenders point to the lack of experience as evidence of an entrepreneurial spirit, while his critics (and prosecutors) simultaneously argue it shows he was looking for any way to run a scam.
Lacking the expertise to operate the businesses and the 60+ EMTs they employed, Usman placed "an unusually high degree of trust and authority" in a trio of employees: Josie Horn, David McNac (Horn's brother), and Shaun Outen, all served as high-level managers for Royal Ambulance and First Choice EMS for periods of time during 2004 to 2007.
By all accounts, Usman was "laissez-faire" with the trio, allowing them the discretion to run the ambulatory services while he pursued other time-consuming interests, such as a car export business, a healthcare facility for handicapped children, and frequent, lengthy visits back to Nigeria.
The Run Sheets
At the core of the case against Mr. Usman, sits the issue of the fraudulent run sheets. As Usman's ambulance companies didn't operate as traditional emergency transports but rather transferred non-emergency dialysis patients to and from their weekly infusions, they were required to log "run sheets" for every trip.
A "run sheet" is a document filled out by an EMT that records the specifics of an ambulance ride for the purpose of billing later on: who was the patient, where they were picked up and dropped off, time of the trip, etc. The run sheets are then submitted to a contracted medical billing company, whose experts review the details of the trip and send a bill to Medicare (government-funded health insurance for those over 65) and Medicaid (government-funded health insurance for low-income individuals) on behalf of Royal Ambulance and First Choice EMS.
It was these medical billing companies that first expressed concern that the run sheets were ripe with false information: many run sheets evidenced "multiple loading," a fraudulent practice where two patients ride in the same ambulance, but two run sheets are fabricated to show that there were two separate trips.
Others showed evidence of improper documentation, such as stating patients needed to be loaded into the ambulance when they actually climbed in autonomously, and claiming the patients needed a stretcher when they actually just sat in a chair.
Medicare will only pay for a non-emergency ambulance ride for a patient if other types of transport would place the patient at risk, so by lying about the patient's medical condition on the run sheet, bad actors at First Choice EMS and Royal Ambulance were attempting to defraud the government.
Once Usman learned that the medical billing companies had raised concern about the blatant attempts of fraud on the run sheets, Usman and Outen had a row that led to Outen leaving the companies.
According to David McNac's testimony, after Outen left the "multiple-loading" ceased. Whether Outen's departure was a result of Usman being an honest businessman who found out his partner was engaging in criminal activity, or a co-conspirator angry at his accomplice for getting caught is highly contentious and open for interpretation.
The prosecution asserted that with Usman's direction and approval, Outen and McNac instructed and showed their EMTs how to produce the fraudulent run sheets, and according to the 12 members of the jury who voted to convict, there was sufficient evidence to prove this point.
In total, Medicare and Medicaid were fraudulently billed for over $3.5 million, resulting in First Choice EMS and Royal Ambulance receiving over $1.3 million in unwarranted payments from the government programs.
The Mass-Marketing
While the duplicitous run sheets were being used to defraud the government, Royal Ambulance and First Choice EMS were undertaking mass-marketing efforts to expand their client base and accrue more patients who would comply with the companies' "unorthodox" practices. While it is obviously not illegal for a company to market to potential customers, the prosecution highlighted the marketing efforts as evidence of Usman's participation in the conspiracy, which had severely increased the length of Usman's sentence.
These marketing efforts included standard, ethical practices — such as disseminating pens and flyers with the companies' labels — and practices that were certainly not: catered lunches and gifts in the form of "perfumes, colognes, and gift cards" were commonplace, and certainly lend credence to the idea that the shot-callers of Royal Ambulance and First Choice EMS were looking for patients and dialysis center employees to "play along" with their illegal billing activities. Murray Thomas, a patient that was enlisted by the ambulatory companies to market to other patients, testified that in 2004 and 2005, "90% of the patients acquired by Royal Ambulance had been acquired by these 'mass-marketing efforts.' "
The prosecution's emphasis on his involvement in the mass-marketing practices impacted Muhammed Usman in more ways than one: not only did it assist in convincing the jury that Usman was a willing participant of the dishonest and illegal practices of his companies, but due to the convoluted system of sentencing guidelines, it severely lengthened his sentence.
The Sentencing
One aspect of Kamaru Usman's recounting of his father's case that caused great consternation among The Joe Rogan Experience's audience was the length of Muhammed Usman's incarceration: one expects a 15-year sentence for particularly heinous crimes such as sex-crimes and violent assaults, so to learn such a stern penalty was handed down for a crime involving ambulance companies alarmed many listeners.
While David McNac and Outen plead guilty (both received less than five years in prison), Usman elected to go to trial. By declining the plea agreement, Usman was facing charges for healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, aiding and abetting, and money laundering. Once he was found guilty on all counts, Usman's sentence was determined by the application of sentencing guidelines, a framework that dictates the length of a convict's sentence based on the "levels" that their crime warrants.
While guidelines are advisory in nature (judges aren't required to pass sentences that fall within them), they are implemented frequently; as we saw in Usman's case, their use can lead to bizarrely-long periods of incarceration.
One particular event in the sentencing process had dire consequences for Mr. Usman: the court elected to base Mr. Usman's penalty on the amount Medicare and Medicaid had been billed for ($3,644,464.90), as opposed to the amount that the companies actually received from the government (less than $1.3 million): this seemingly trivial decision (which Usman unsuccessfully appealed) greatly increased the length of the sentence, as the court added 18 levels on top of Usman's base level of nine due to the higher "loss amount."
On top of the 18-level increase, the court tacked on two levels for the "mass-marketing" scheme, four levels for Usman's "role as a leader and organizer" in the conspiracy, two levels for obstruction of justice, and then a mere two-level reprieve, resulting in a sentencing level of 33.
Under the sentencing guidelines, a level of 33 corresponded to a sentence of 168 to 210 months; Mr. Usman was sentenced to 180 months incarceration in a federal penitentiary, and forced to pay restitution on $1,317,179.30 — the amount the ambulatory companies received from Medicare and Medicaid, not the $3,644,464.90 that had been used as the basis for his sentencing.
Sports and politics are notoriously contentious, so a story such as Muhammed Usman's where the two collide has generated bellicose debate: some see Muhammed Usman as a criminal conspirator, rightfully punished with an appropriate implementation of justice; others see a victim of a dysfunctional justice system that wrongfully imprisoned the American Dream incarnate after he was scapegoated by his native-born partners for a crime he had no hand in committing.
Regardless of which perspective one takes, Mr. Usman's saga is undeniably being contemplated through the cultural lens of the time in which his son exposed it: while sentenced back in 2012, Mr. Usman's story encapsulates a spectrum of societal quandaries that America struggles to answer today: encompassed by the issues of race, immigration, questions of over-prosecution in the justice system, government-funded health insurance (and therefore its potential for abuse), the case of Muhammed Usman serves as a Rorschach Test for one's political beliefs; a fitting test given who Muhammed Usman's son will be fighting next.
In a development fit for the final act of a Hollywood blockbuster, it was recently announced Kamaru Usman will be defending his welterweight UFC belt against Colby Covington at UFC 245. Covington — a relentlessly vocal champion of President Donald Trump — has modified the President's strategy of using bigotted rhetoric to galvanize his political supporters fit his own objective: by infusing the "heel" persona of a 1980's professional wrestler with the modern political rhetoric detested by many, Covington has positioned himself as the "UFC's ultimate villain," energizing supporters and detractors alike and drawing attention to his bouts.
Regardless of Covington's motives for his antics, his behavior is indisputably atrocious: racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogynism aren't bugs for Covington, they're features. Most notoriously, after telling a Brazilian crowd: "Brazil you're a dump. All you filthy animals suck," Covington took to Instagram to explain he's not a racist, but a "realist:" a common trope racists use to justify racism.
While Colby Covington has successfully increased his relevancy by manifesting the MAGA-movement into a cage fighter, Kamaru Usman seeks to be its, and Covington's, antithesis. Vowing to "put the wrath of every immigrant" (including his father), on Colby Covington, UFC 245 will be an appropriate culmination to the story of Muhammed Usman and his family; the "final-battle" of a narrative almost too perfect for the silver screen.
Fueled by what he believes is an unjust imprisonment of his father, Kamaru Usman will undoubtedly be dedicating his existence to the objective of vanquishing the opponent he sees as the incarnate of the societal problems that led to his father's incarceration. We will see if it will be enough when Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington make the walk at UFC 245. Unable to order pay-per-view from a cell, Muhammed Usman will have to wait a bit longer than the rest of us to learn the conclusion to this remarkable saga.
Joseph Mayall October 20, 2019
New year. Same us.
The Body Lock enters 2020 with the objective of remaining at the forefront of MMA journalism.
With your continued support, we remain committed to reporting the most important stories in MMA and publishing the news that those in power do not want to see printed.
Click here to review our most significant work from 2019.
UFC 246 Results: Conor McGregor crushes Donald Cerrone to claim first win since 2016


I firmly believe that the arts are an essential component of every child's education, so this project has been especially gratifying. It has also been quite familiar, as I am the former Director of New Media for the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), the sponsoring organization.
The JumpStart Theatre pilot program was launched in the 2015-2016 school year in order to create sustainable theatre arts programs in middle schools where there currently are none. Three schools in the Greater Cincinnati area were chosen for the program's initial year and this video documents that journey.
Happily, both the JumpStart Theatre initiative and the resulting video have received universal praise from those invested. Looking back at the creation of this video, it is easy to identify a few key elements that I feel contribute to the effectiveness.
1. Early planning and investment in the video process. It was a strategic decision to periodically document the first year of the program. Footage collected throughout the year was shared quarterly with invested parties (donors, board, staff) as welcomed program updates. Then, at the conclusion, all of the assets were on hand to create the comprehensive overview video shown.
2. A collaborative client/vendor relationship. Being a first-year program, there was no ready template for how to tell this story. The truly collaborative relationship between Talkington Media and EdTA allowed us to evolve the storytelling together in order to meet objectives. For example, the script for this video was an initial draft by EdTA that was refined together. They also provided the voiceover talent.
3. An editorial approach to coverage (as opposed to a large commercial production). I often work with a small team or as a solo filmmaker, which allows capturing genuine moments and commentary without the distractions of a larger production team. Stitching together the sincere and unrehearsed commentary of the subjects, collected over time, is a key component to the story.
Do you have a story that needs telling? Or questions on how video can benefit you, your business, or nonprofit organization? Please do not hesitate to let me know by email or phone.


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Christie's 'Murder at the Vicarage' Bellatrix Lestrange's Debut in Fiction?
August 21, 2019 by John 1 Comment
In the interview Rowling did with Val McDermid, the interviewer asked 'Robert Galbraith' what his favorite Agatha Christie novel was. S/he said it was Christie's The Moving Finger (1942), which I read and wrote about here. McDermid, though, offered up a different title, Murder at the Vicarage (1930), and Galbraith said he thought that was great as well:
V: It's hard to pick a favorite of Christie. I cleave to the one that made me fall in love with her and ultimately with the crime genre, The Murder at the Vicarage.
JK: Oh, God, that's so good.
V: What I love about The Murder at the Vicarage is the humor.
JK: Yeah, she is. She's very funny.
V: There's a wonderful bit right at the beginning when she's introducing the four spinster women of the parish, and she says, "Miss Harknell, who was much feared by the poor." You just know exactly what kind of woman this person was…
JK: … instantly…
V: … And I think Christie is never really given credit for her humor…
JK: …that's so right…
V: …I think we pick up on that and we understand that you can use humor inside the crime format.
So I bought a copy of Murder at the Vicarage, read it, and, y'know, it really is very good. And funny.
More important, I think Rowling really has read it. For the links of it with the works of Rowling and Galbraith, make the jump!
The Names: There are quite a lot of names in Murder at the Vicarage that Potter-philes will recognize. Some of them, Dennis Clement and Rose the parlormaid, for example, are relatively common names that needn't be thought of as possible sources for Wizarding World characters. Others, though, like Archer Haydock the physician and Mrs Archer the cleaning woman, might be distinct enough that Rowling made a note of it in her names notebook, from which she gives us Archer Evermonde, Minister of Magic. There's a Mrs Wetherby, too, which, of course, is what Percy Weasley's boss calls him to his brothers' amusement at the Quidditch World Cup in Goblet. The wife of the vicar and story narrator, Griselda Clement, might also be a notebook entry from which Griselda Marchbank got her first name.
The three finds that I think are significant in the names-correspondence game, though, are Gladys Cram, 'Gladys' being something of a favorite for Rowling (she uses it for three characters), Colonel Lucius Prothero, a despised pure-blood zealot in Murder and the murder victim, and Mrs Lestrange, who plays an important background role in the story and whose secret life, revealed only in the story's final pages, may have been the inspiration for one of the nigh on unbelievable plot points in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (assuming Rowling had something, anything, to do with its plotting).
The Press Report: Christie despised the tabloid press and their characteristic exploitation of other people's misfortunes by exaggerating, distorting, and misrepresenting bland answers they may have given to questions into sensational headlines. She includes the headline and first paragraph of a newspaper story about the widow's vowing to hunt down the murderer of her husband which is a template for Rita Skeeter's Quick Quotes Quill treatment of Harry Potter from his interview before the weighing of the wands in Goblet.
The Plot Points: Two jumped out at me. The first is that the murderer set the clock back at the murder scene in order to confuse the police investigators. When Cormoran Strike tells John Bristoe that this is what he must have done with his mother's clock, he adds the observation that this is something like typical behavior for criminals. He might have said, "Do you think I've never read Murder at the Vicarage? It's the first Miss Marple mystery, you clown!"
The second is that Rev Clement finds a single lapis lazuli earring at the scene of the murder, the desk in his study, albeit several days after the crime was committed. It turns out to be a 'plant,' someone has left it there to throw suspicion on another character who might be the murderer, and it suggests to the reader that there may be more substance to the hints that the vicar's wife was unfaithful to him than he wants to admit. The fear of this cuckoldry rather haunts his narration because she is so much younger and flippant than he is.
Robin Ellacott finds a single diamond stud earring in her bedroom (Lethal White, ch 53), which, like Rev Clement, she immediately recognizes. There's nothing subtle about the adultery here, of course; Robin's discovery leads to her final break with her husband. As noted in 'Lethal White: Flints and Head Scratchers,' though, it seems as likely as not that this earring was, like the one in Murder at the Vicarage, left there deliberately. Sarah Shadlock very much valued her fiancee's expensive gift earrings and it seems rather unlikely she wouldn't have been aware that one was missing as she dressed post coitus with Robin's husband.
As far as literary allusions go, Murder at the Vicarage is early Christie, so there's little of the P. D. James quality in the book beyond a single coy reference to the detective novels of G. K. Chesterton. The keepers, I think, from this Miss Marple classic in terms of Rowling influence and take-aways, are all the general correspondences between Rowling/Christie — great character studies, the humor of daily life in a relatively closed community, the narrative misdirection and satisfying 'big twist' at the finish — and the likely name-list elements of Lucius and Lestrange with the planted earring as a misunderstood clue about what really happened. If Sarah turns out to have left the earring deliberately to foil Matt's plans to reconcile with Robin, remember Murder at the Vicarage and it's implausibly stray earring.
As always, I look forward to reading your thoughts. Please share them in the comment boxes below!
Filed Under: Agatha Christie, Cormoran Strike
Shabra Bendrix says
Thanks for this enjoyable post, which I stumbled upon after completing — and completely loving— the highly witty Murder in the Vicarage. (Why readers revere the Poirot stories mystifies me; Miss Marple is such better company.) One quibble, though: I don't know that the lapis earring has to with Vicar Clement's wife at all; it turned out to belong to the newly widowed Ann Protheroe, did it not?
Anyway, great post; thanks!


James Martin (1815-1892) was a draper and warehouseman, and a councillor.
Martin was the son of a Parkhead weaver. He was a radical Liberal in politics and campaigned for universal suffrage, earning the nickname "The East End Tribune". He made several attempts to win a place on the Town Council, and after finally succeeding in 1870 he campaigned vigourously against corruption and the abuse of power.


A clever 360° rotation system makes life easier and less back-breaking for parents. The clever rotation mechanism makes it easy to change between the rear-facing and forward-facing positions without having to take the seat out. Getting in and out is also easy as the seat can be turned to the side facing the door with one hand.
A one-click installation with ISOFIX both in rear- and forward-facing position allows for simple installation and guarantees increased safety. Sirona Q i-Size is secured using the car's ISOFIX system and requires no further fastening. A prop at the front helps to absorb the force of impact in case of a head-on collision and provides additional stability. This anchoring technology minimizes installation mistakes and optimizes the protective effect.
The innovative Seat-to-Chassis technology creates a direct link between the seat and the chassis. In case of an accident, the force of an impact is transferred straight to the chassis, which simultaneously activates the safety features of the car and the seat and thereby initiates the process of distributing the force at the earliest possible stage of an accident. Patent pending.
The telescopic linear side-impact protection (L.S.P. System) absorbs the force of a side-impact collision at a very early stage (patent pending). Whether rear- or forward-facing, the CYBEX Sirona Q i-Size's adjustable Linear Side-impact Protection system (L.S.P.) increases the level of safety in case of a side-impact collision. The L.S.P. system can be individually adjusted to the position of the seat and the type of vehicle and absorbs the force of a side-impact collision in combination with the head and shoulder protectors (patent pending).
Depending on their shape and size, older children may have insufficient legroom when sitting backwards. Depending on your preference, the Sirona Q i-Size can also be used as a forward-facing car seat for children who are 16 months and 76 cm and above (up to 105 cm).
The adjustable impact shield with A.R.T. Technology cleverly reduces the risk of serious neck injuries without confining the child. Thanks to the integrated fastening system, there is no longer the need to fasten the impact shield separately. In the forward-facing position, the child is protected by an adjustable impact shield. This system works like an inflated airbag, which absorbs the energy of impact over its entire area. Compared to a conventional 5-point harness, the strain on the neck is significantly reduced. What is more, in case of an accident, the impact shield's new Active Response Technology (A.R.T.) ensures that the child is intuitively secured within the safety zone of the seat (patent pending). Thanks to the new integrated fastening system, it is also unnecessary to fasten the impact shield with the car seatbelt (patent pending).
Continuing the CYBEX tradition of having fashionable colours, the PLATINUM car seats come in a great range of colours. Comfort version: the soft and cozy comfort version of the Platinum car seats features 3 colour combinations.


An advice column for farmers that recommends farmers diversify the crops that they plant.
Years of experience have taught me that the wise farmer is he who keeps his land up to the highest notch of fertility, if not by one means, then another. There are many different ways to accomplish this, and the plan for each man to follow is the one that gives best results, with material at hand, at least expense.
Here in Southwestern Iowa, writes the correspondent of Farmers' Voice, it is not necessary to buy fertilizers that are sold in the markets. Most farmers keep at least a few head of stock, and the wise man is he who doubles the number of head of stock and divides his acres of corn. If he will then judiciously and systematically go about building up his land (supposing it has run down), his income would very soon double.
Every man must study his soil, and if he has a knowledge of chemistry so much the better; but for the ordinary farmer, I first recommend seeding down old worn out land to clover, using plenty of seed, and in three or four years plowing the clover under deep and seeding some other part of his farm to the same.
So many farmers have the idea that they must have from 60 to 80 acres of corn, and perhaps not an acre of hay or pasture. The corn will average say 40 bushels, where if they had half the number of acres and made it yield 70 bushels, they would be the gainers; then seed the balance to hay. Timothy, clover and alfalfa bring always a good price, and if the farmer will keep hogs and cattle enough to feed this crop to, put every ounce of manure on the land where it is most needed every year or two, plowing up a new piece and seeding down, there is not the least doubt but that his bank account will double.
Farmers that live on leased land cannot follow this method and move every year, but it is to the interest of both landlord and tenant to stay on the same place as long as possible and also to bring the land up to the highest productiveness.
There is no more simple plan to follow for the average farmer than crop rotation. If we see a field of thin soil with the corn stalks no larger than one's finger and showing a yield of no more than 20 bushels, you will also find on the same farm manure piled around the barn so high one can find no room for anything else, and one can be sure that farm has never had a load of any kind of fertilizer and the only thing it is sure to have will be a mortgage.
"Method by Which Soil Can Be Kept in Good State of Fertility," Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed April 18, 2019, http://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/497.


As you know CES is considered one of the biggest tech events of every year. CES 2019 was no different, it saw a lot of great new tech. As usual the world's tech, manufacturers came to talk about and launch their new innovations. This post is going to discuss all the biggest announcement from CES 2019.
One of the biggest announcements from CES 2019 was LG's rollable TV. LG launched a rollable TV at CES 2019 show. The LG Rollable TV which is called LG Signature OLED TV R disappears into its stand when it is not being used. LG's OLED TV R is the world's first rollable TV. They announced that the device will be coming soon, but no exact day was announced neither was a price announced.
Another one of the biggest announcements from CES 2019 was that Apple will start making its AirPlay and HomeKit tech compatible with smart TVs. Apple announced that it will make its tech compatible with smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Sony. They also announced that they will be bringing their iTunes service to Samsung TVs. This is considered one of the biggest announcements from CES 2019 because Apple has never opened its ecosystem to third parties.
AMD's announcement was considered one of the biggest if not the biggest announcement from CES 2019. This was the first time AMD will be presenting its keynote at an international trade show. They didn't disappoint with the products they announced. The biggest was the AMD Radeon 7, the world's first 7nm graphics card. They announced that the chip will be going on sale on the 7th of February for $699. It will be coming in bundles with games like Resident Evil 2 remake, The Division 2 etc.
IBM made one of the biggest announcements from CES 2019. They unveiled the prototype for their first commercial quantum computer. The computer is a breakthrough in quantum computing. What makes this quantum such a big deal is its compact size when compared to other quantum computers which usually occupy an entire room.
Dell's reveal of its Alienware Area 51M was one of the biggest announcements from CES 2019. The Alienware Area 51 M is considered the world's most powerful gaming laptop. The laptop has an RTX 2080 graphics card, 8-Core 9th Generation Intel Core i9 K-Series processor and up to 64GB of DDR4 combining to make the ultimate gaming laptop. Dell practically packed a gaming PC into a portable laptop.


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Thomson, Thomas; Outlines of Mineralogy, Geology, and Mineral Analysis. By Thomas Thompson, M.D. 1836
651-T
Thomson, Thomas; Outlines of Mineralogy, Geology, and Mineral Analysis. By Thomas Thompson, M.D. Two Volumes. London: Baldwin & Cradock. 1836. Quarto, vol. 1, pp. viii, 726, 2. Vol. 2, pp. vii, 566, text illustrations.
The set is complete and in a contemporary full calf with gilt spine titles. Bindings are tight, restoration along spines, marbled text block edges and end sheets.Presentation leaf in each volume to Dr. David Thomas with two later penned signatures on end sheet. Text is clean and bright. In very good condition.
Thomson (1773-1852) was a Scottish physician, chemist and mineralogist. He was educated at St. Andrews and Edinburgh and upon completing his studies became a chemistry instructor. He was a sub-editor for the Encyclopedia Britannica, writing articles on both chemistry and mineralogy. These contributions were to form the basis for his four volume set " System of Chemistry, published in 1802. He moved to London and founded the journal Annal of Philosophy in 1817 and became a lecturer at Glasgow University. In 1836 he published " Outlines of Mineralogy…". This work was an updated contribution to his "System of Chemistry and focused strictly on mineralogy and geology. The objective of the work was to promote the advancement of mineralogical chemistry by collecting numerous facts from scattered sources together with much original research, and present them as a cohesive system, in which new discoveres could be reported. In the work Thomson determined the chemical constitution of all the known mineral species that he could procure through the same ridgid chemical analysis. His procedures are fully described in the third section of the text. As a result of this process, Thomson discovered many new species, which are described in these volumes for the first time. Thomson also presented a foundation of research that provided the best and longest list of chemical compositions of minerals written to that time, and showed the importance chemistry would play in mineralogy in the coming decades. This is highlighted by the fact that the minerals are arranged on the basis of their chemical composition and not by their physical properties as was typical of the time. In addition, Thomson provides in the second section of the text, interesting observations on the chemical compostion of various rocks, anticipating the importance of geochemistry. The text is divided into three parts: I. Description of all known minerals.; II. Account of nature and position of different rocks in the crust of the earth.; III. Detailed methods by which minerals may be analyzed.
Rare Mineralogy Book: Emmons, Ebenezer; Manual of Mineralogy and Geology... Albany, Websters & Skinners, 1826.
Short, Thomas; The Natural Experimental, and Medicinal History of the Mineral Waters of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire, 1734-1740.
Mantell, Gideon Algernon; Petrification and Their Teachings or A Hand-book to the Gallery of Organic Remains of the British Museum. 1851
Mantell, Gideon Algernon; The Wonders of Geology, London, 1839
Rio, Andrés Manuel del; Elementos de Orictognosía, ó del Conocimiento de los Fósiles, 1832
Köhler, Alexander Wilhelm, editor; Bergmännisches Journal; Freiberg, Craz, 1789, 1790, 1792 (vol. 1).
Coxe, William; Travels in Switzerland in a series of letters to William Melmoth. Dublin, 1789.
Stephenson, John; Medical Zoology, And Mineralogy, 1838
Bakewell, Robert; An Introduction to Geology: Comprising the Elements of the Science...; with an outline of the Geology of England and Wale, 1828s.
Rare Mineralogy Papers: Gmelin, Leopold; Description and Analysis of the Mineral Called Hauyne. & Some Account of the Mountains of Ancient Latium, in which the Mineral called Hauyne is Found. 1814
Rare mineralogy book: Hill, John; Fossils Arranged According to their Obvious Characters..1771


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Home / Blog Articles / Pre-election budget 2015 [Poll]
Posted: 18th March 2015
Pre-election budget 2015 [Poll]
With under 50 days to go until the general election, the chancellor announced that there would be no gimmicks and giveaways in this pre-election budget.
A very tempting opportunity to do so given a large windfall in government funds from various sources: a drop in oil prices, large amounts of capital raised from the sale of bank shares and a decrease in the cost of borrowing money, all gave rise to the possibility of freebies from the government in an attempt to woo voters before the election.
George Osborne however decided that the money was better spent to offset some of the deficit and this shows; the deficit as a share of national income as halved since 2010.
The forecasts for government borrowing are also set to fall from £97.5bn in 2013-14 to £90.2bn in 2014-15, £75.3bn in 2015-16, £39.4bn in 2016-17, £12.8bn in 2017-18 before reaching a £5.2bn surplus in 2018-19.
Moving on to workplace pensions, the pension pot lifetime allowance is to be reduced from £1.25m to £1m from next year which will also save the government around £600m per year.
As we expected from yesterday's blog post, the law will be changed to allow pensioners to access or change their annuities and will abolish the 55% tax charge.
Another announcement aiming to put money back into the pockets of workers is that personal tax allowance will rise from the current £10,000 to £10,600 for the 2015-16 tax year, £10,800 in the 2016-17 tax year and up to £11,000 in 2017-18. The upper rate band of 40% tax will also increase beyond inflation from £42,385 in 2014-15 to £43,300 in 2017-18.
Annual paper tax returns will also be abolished.
Fantastic news also for the pub industry, beer duty has been cut by 1p/pint, cider by 2%, whisky by 2% and the duty on wine has been frozen.
In terms of the changes to savings, there will be a new personal savings allowance with the first £1,000 interest on savings income will be tax free and the annual savings limit for an ISA will be increased to £15,240. Emphasis on helping first time buyers has also been written into the savings part of the budget with a "Help to buy" ISA which will be topped up by government of £50 for every £200 saved for a deposit on a house.
In terms of infrastructure and housing developments, the budget announced by the chancellor will include up to £600m to clear new spectrum bands for auction which will ultimately improve mobile phone networks and connectivity and also a commitment to providing high speed internet; of at least 100mb/s for every household in the UK.
Furthermore, a new inter-city rail franchise for the south west of England has been proposed and to promote the Northern Powerhouse, councils of Greater Manchester will be allowed to keep 100% of additional businesses rates.
Emphasising business, the anticipated "Google Tax" namely, the "Diverted Profits" tax will come into effect next month which will prevent firms from moving their profits offshore artificially to avoid the taxman. Farmers will also be allowed to average their incomes over five years for tax purposes.
The annual bank levy will also rise to 0.21% which will raise an extra £900m per year.
Finally, a further £75m from the Libor fines issued will go to charities for regiments that fought in Afghanistan, to renovate the Battle of Britain memorials and also to contribute towards a permanent memorial to casualties of those who died in Afghanistan. There will also be £25m allocated to support army veterans.
So there we have it. One of the main criticisms was the believability of the budget and whether the promises made were going to hold their own water. Do you believe in the budget or do you think it's all to woo voters for the next election? Does this budget work for you personally or for your business?
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Take Charge of Your Own Learning
IRIS has launched a brand new approach to payroll training, and it's pick and mix. Who doesn't love pick and mix? Unfortunately, we're not talking…
Posted: 2nd July 2019
Introducing IRIS GDPR Advisor, and Megan Kane.
To get ready for the launch of our brand new IRIS GDPR Advisor, we sat down with Megan Kane, a GDPR Practitioner from The Data…
Posted: 3rd April 2019


Recently we've made Zombie Treats aka eye balls, Pretzel Bones and Monster Toes so it's definitely time for Vampire Teeth!
I'll admit…I saw a passing picture of these on Facebook and knew immediately that I could do it! So here's what I came up with.
Smear a little of the white icing on the bottom of both cookies and set them on a plate.
Place 4 of the mini-marshmallows on the front edge of the bottom cookie and then one directly behind them on the other edge (to hold up the back of the cookie).
Squeeze a little of the red cookie icing on the tops of the marshmallows.
Immediately stick the 2 slivers of almond in the red icing between the first and second marshmallows and the third and fourth marshmallows.
Place the second cookie on top and let dry.
These are SUPER CUTE!!! What do they look like if you dip the bottom of the 'fangs' in the red icing?
My kids would love this. Thanks for hosting!
This looks so yummy & easy! So creative!!
So cute! I use to teach middle school cooking classes and my students would have loved these!
Ahaha this is gross and funny and awesome! ;P Love it.
Thanks! These are really good too!
These vampire teeth are great! Cool idea…the kids will love them 🙂 Love the blog name as well.
Thank you! These are fun…and delicious!
These are gross yet awesome!
How adorable are these? I love it!