After Nephi had received this vision, he had to come back to the harsh realities of this world, for his brothers, Laman and Lemuel, despite their previous experiences with angels and God's protection, were still not believers in revelation from God.
Nephi relates that his brothers came to him with many questions about what he and their father, Lehi, had seen.
They told Nephi that they couldn't understand what Lehi and Nephi were telling them about natural branches of an olive tree, a rod of iron, a tree with fruit, and a filthy river. Nephi was direct in asking them, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?"
"We have not;" they said, "for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us."
Nephi responded, "How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?"
In other words, they had been taught, correctly, that asking God is a commandment whenever we are in doubt or are confused about anything at all. It's not something to be treated lightly or tossed aside because of our unbelief or doubts. We have an obligation to approach God and ask Him for wisdom.
This is the principle problem with the Book of Mormon. Not that the book itself has problems, but that people will renounce it out of hand, after reading just a few pages, by declaring it unreadable, boring, difficult to understand.
How is it done? Through prayer! When we feel that we should not pray to know the truth of something, we are paying more attention to the devil than we are to God. For, "if ye would hearken unto the aSpirit which teacheth a man to bpray ye would know that ye must cpray; for the devil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray."
It is a theme that is repeated frequently in scripture.
52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be abaptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of bgrace and truth, which is Jesus cChrist, the only dname which shall be given under heaven, whereby esalvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
It is clear from these and many other passages what the Lord wants us to do. He wants us to talk to Him and ask Him for wisdom.
Will you ask God whether what you are reading in the Book of Mormon is true?


Fill out the information below and a trade-in consultant will reach out to you right away.
Thank you for inquiring about our Trade-In program!
One of our representatives will contact you within 24 business hours. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our Philadelphia office at (215) 988-7777 or call our Exton, PA retail store at (610) 280-3800.


text:
Q: App Insights returns error: This expression cannot follow pipe ('|') The following query in App Insights returns no real result but instead an error:

"This expression cannot follow pipe ('|')"
  pageViews |  url, duration, timestamp

I mean I took this from a toturial and I dont know why it should not work.

A: It depends on what you want to do. After each pipe you will need to perform an action, like if you want to display these columns you should use project:
pageViews | project url, duration, timestamp

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

  <title>wordcount</title>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">

<link type="text/css" href="css/wordcount.css" rel="stylesheet" />

AMAZING WORD COUNTER!!!

Paste some text here:

<textarea id="text" ></textarea>

<button id="clear" >clear counts</button>

<button id="export" >export CSV</button>

Total word count: 0

optional pattern (prefixes like æŋ- and suffixes like -lar work):

<input id="pattern" type="text"/>

<button id="calculate" >calculate word frequencies</button>

count	word

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Interested in Technology? Join a new group of young adults at the Church of St Joseph's in Greenwich Village for New York's growing technology community: Catholic Tech. Networking events will feature guest speakers in technology innovation.
Join us for an upcoming evening event on July 31st on the rooftop of St Joseph's parish house from 6:30–8:30 p.m.


text:
RH-ISAC Blog
By Natalie Paskoski, RH-ISAC Manager of Marketing & Communications
This month's member spotlight is Victoria Lau, CTI analyst at Saks OFF 5TH Victoria is new to the cybersecurity field, having recently graduated in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in computer science and information security from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She originally started her college journey studying pre-law at Vassar, but decided…
World Cup 2022 RH-ISAC Cyber Threat Landscape Summary
By Lee Clark, Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst & Writer
Context On November 20, 2020, the FIFA World Cup 2022 is scheduled to begin in Qatar. Multiple retail, hospitality, and travel organizations are involved in this event to varying degrees and on various fronts and may be affected, including: Organizations, especially hospitality organizations, with a presence in Qatar Organizations that handle sports betting Organizations that…
Special Interest & Resilience
When Good Bots Go Bad This Holiday Season
By Susan McReynolds, Retail Industry Strategist at Akamai Technologies
As we approach this 2022 holiday season, retailers will be faced with myriad pressures, some a continuation of market conditions from years past, others a bit more unexpected. Supply chain challenges remain, but instead of empty shelves, there's a twist — driven by changing consumer preferences and buying behaviors. Red-hot categories like apparel and home…
New Threat Group "Earth Longzhi" Targeting Global Government, Infrastructure, Aviation, Health, and Finance Orgs
On November 9, 2022, Trend Micro researchers reported two campaigns they attribute to a new threat group Earth Longzhi, which they assess is a subgroup of APT41. Context Trend Micro researchers based the assessed connection between the groups on shared targets, shared Cobalt Strike metadata, code similarities, and shared tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Impact…
Mobile Application Security Best Practices
The use of mobile phones is expanding worldwide, with approximately 6.65 billion currently in use. As smartphones become ubiquitous, an increasing number of the world's e-commerce transactions are taking place on mobile devices, leading to the coining of the term "mcommerce" to describe the new method of shopping. eMarketer predicts that by 2024 nearly 70%…
< 1 2 3 4 5 … 61 62 >
Application Security Cloud Security Events General Blog Member Spotlight Press Release Ransomware Reports Risk Management Security Architecture Security Operations Special Interest & Resilience Threat Intelligence Vulnerability Management Zero Trust
Application Security Associate Member ATO BoD Cloud Security COVID-19 E-Commerce Holiday Season IAM Malware Peer Choice Awards Ransomware RH-ISAC Summit Risk Assessments Security Awareness Threat Intelligence Threat Trends Tools Vulnerability Management Zero Trust

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Thomas joined EH Global Capital in September of 2017 and works across all parts of the firm's investment and advisory businesses.
Prior to joining EH Global Capital, Thomas was an Associate at the international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna LLP where he practiced across the firm's International Private Equity, Corporate M&A and Capital Markets teams. Thomas was selected to represent CMS on secondment at Goldman Sachs, where he advised various desks on derivative and structured finance transactions.
Thomas has a portfolio of personal investments, including two in which he is a founder-investor, and plays an active role providing strategic advice to these companies. Thomas holds an MSc. in International Relations, Political Science and Economics from the London School of Economics and separately a Diploma in Law, with Distinction.


text:
Home News Social 202106
Police Officers Undergo Terrorism Training In Spain
/ Social, News
The Ghana Police Service has stepped up effort in building its capacity to fight the menace of terrorism in the West Africa Sub Region.
Eight officers from the Ghana Police Service are currently undergoing training on counter terrorism and transnational crimes in Spain.
The move is coming on the back of recent upsurge in activities of terrorism in the West Africa Sub Region.
A statement issued by the Ghana Police service said over fifty personnel from the security agencies and the ambulance service will subsequently benefit from trainer of trainees course this year.
"As part of efforts to curtail any terrorist activities in the country, eight Police officers of the Counter Terrorism Directorate of the Ghana Police Service have commenced training on counter terrorism and transnational crimes in Spain. The Trainer of Trainees (TOT) course, sponsored by the European Union seeks to support Ghana to build capacity and skills to deliver such trainings locally," it said.
The statement added, "A total of fifty-four personnel from Ghana's Security Agencies and the Ambulance Service are expected to be trained this year. The TOT is planned to cover more personnel for the next four years. Kenya and Senegal are also beneficiaries of similar sponsorship package."
Despite the significant efforts made by the ECOWAS Member States, particularly those on the frontline, terrorist attacks doubled between 2020 and the first five months of 2021.
Dr Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, said over that period, there had already been more than 700 attacks and more than 2,000 civilian and military deaths, with an increase in the number of displaced persons.
He said those attacks occurred largely in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, spreading to other coastal countries.
Dr Brou said this in his address at the 59th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Accra.
The Session was formally opened by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
It is was attended by all ECOWAS Member States, with the exception of Mali, due to a military coup d'etat in that country.
Dr Brou said the implementation of the Regional Plan of Action to Combat Terrorism, which ECOWAS leaders adopted in September 2019, had commenced and should complement the significant efforts made by each Member State.
"It would be appreciated if the planned funding could be mobilised to speed up its implementation," he said.
He said keeping with the usual practice, the 59th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government would consider the reports of the Council of Ministers as well as specific reports submitted to ECOWAS leaders for guidance and decisions.
"In this respect, the preparatory work for this Summit centred on five major issues. Unfortunately, the security issue is still a concern for our region," he said.
Source: asaaseradio.com
Scenes From Kumasi After Yesterday's Rainfall - VIDEOS
Packaging Hot Foods In Rubbers & Plastics Causes Cancer
What Ghanaian Nurses In The Villages Are Going Through - VIDEO
Western Region Explosion: Govt To Rebuild Appiatse Community
Vice President And His Delegates Visit The Bogoso Explosion Scene
Teacher In Court For 'Stealing' Welfare Money
Rev. Owusu Bempah's Trial: Prosecution Opens Case Feb. 2
Bogoso-Appiatse Is Dead; Humans Can No Longer Live There – NADMO
Bogoso Explosion: Prez Akufo-Addo Commiserates With People of Appiatse
Animals Acting Like Humans - VIDEO
Other Social Stories
Next Time The World Suffers Pandemic It Could Be Worse Than Coronavirus - Bill Gates


Mark Linkous. I never knew you personally, but the fact that you are now gone hurts like hell. It hurts so much that I'm almost ashamed to admit that a death of a musician can have such a huge impact on me. It's because our relationship was always so freakin personal. Your songs and your whispering voice carried me through lonely nights and gave me comfort when I needed it the most. You reached the darkest corner of my heart and made it brighter by injecting a truckload of beauty straight to the core. You took care of me without even knowing it. That's why our completely one-sided love affair was so extremely personal on my part. Thank you for everything.
Sparklehorse's first two albums Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and Good Morning Spider are both classics and some of the finest albums ever made (nothing wrong with the other two either. Those are "only" really wonderful while the first two are some of the best ever).
One Chord to Another turns 12!
14 Down, 1 To Go: One Chord To Another Turns 14!


text:
Q: FastAPI APIRouter prefix are showing twice. Why? notecard_router = APIRouter(
prefix = "/notecard",
tags = ['notecard']

)

Hi, I am trying to include a router to my app, but for some reason, the prefix that I give in the API router comes twice in the API paths. I have no idea why this is happening.

A: This is happening because from what I'm able to tell, you're not structuring your endpoints the way you want them. Instead of creating the API router and adding your prefix to it in each endpoint,
from fastapi import APIRouter
app = APIRouter(tags=["notecard"], prefix="/notecard")

@app.get("/notecard/index")
async def root():
    ...

When you do something like this, your endpoint actually becomes /prefix/notecard/index, which is /notecard/notecard/index. It looks like that's what you're doing. Instead of that, you can do
from fastapi import APIRouter
app = APIRouter(tags=["notecard"], prefix="/notecard")

@app.get("/index")
async def root():
    ...

And FastAPI will handle the prefixing for you.
Also, relevant snippets of your code or anything that can be used to reproduce your issue would make answering easier :)


Pan Mee, Ban Mian or Mee Hoon Kueh? A Malaysian Delicacy 板面或面粉粿?
An authenthic Malaysian Chinese Hakka noodle, also locally known as Mee Hoon Kueh, literally translated as flat flour noodle. Similar egg noodle dish are also popular in China, Taiwan and Singapore. Really love this noodle when I was a kid, and here it is today, to share with you lovely people how this amazing noodle is made, from sketch!
Rinse the salt off the "salt-preserved Chinese kohlrabi" with water.
Put the "salt-preserved Chinese kohlrabi" and dried anchovies into a soup pot.
Add 5 liters of water.
Only season with salt when it is done.
For the dried wood ear, soak them into a bowl of water and soak for approximately 30 minutes.
Once the wood ear have soften and expanded in size, use a scissors and cut the stem off, which is the hard part of the wood ear.
Fold the wood ear into a size where your hand could grab hold of, then slice the wood ear into julienne and set aside.
For the baby spinach, pluck the leaf part from the stem.
Wash and rinse them with clean water twice. Strain and set aside.
Peel garlic, crush and chop.
Prepare the other ingredients accordingly.
Preheat cooking pan/wok with cooking oil.
Shallow fry the dried anchovies with low heat.
Strain the fried anchovies and set aside while leaving the oil in the pan.
At medium low heat, add chopped garlic into the pan and fry to golden.
Add minced meat and thoroughly fry it.
Add soy sauce, salt and sugar and fry the minced meat until dark brown color. Transfer to a bowl/container and set aside.
Bring 3 liters of water to boil and blanch wood ear fungus for 30 seconds.
Strain blanched wood ear fungus and set aside.
Then with the same boiling water, blanch the egg noodle for 30 seconds.
Strain the noodles and plate.
With a bowl, place the baby spinach leaves in.
Place the blanched egg noodle onto the spinach leaves leaving some at the side of the bowl.
Topped with generous amount of minced meat, blanched wood ear fungus and fried anchovies.


Discrete Drums and Sony Creative Software have joined forces to bring you the new state-of-the-art in beat construction tools. Our Discrete Drums: Volume I collection is a world-class purveyor of sparkling rock/pop acoustic kit drum and percussion grooves, customizable to meet the most demanding professional music production needs. Sony Creative Software refines the Discrete Drums aesthetic by applying our trademark ACID software metadata, library organization and presentation - qualities that make Sony Sound Series libraries the most compelling in the industry. At the macro level, each Discrete Drums volume contains three fully-mixed foundation beats, with all the fills and variations you need for creating complete, seamless drum tracks instantly, from crisp intro to smashing finish. At the micro level, you get everything, from the multitrack session files to isolated one shots. Experience the new cutting edge in drum loop library design - the Discrete Drums/Sony Creative Software alliance.


All work must be submitted on Blackboard by the due date along with a completed Assignment Cover Page.  The assignment must be in MS Word format, single spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.  Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.
Assignment 1 Specifications Purpose: This unit aims to give you an opportunity to combine many facets of your acquired MBA skills into the production of a high-quality research project. Assignment 1 – the Topic Approval – is to ensure you have given sufficient thought to the topic you are choosing to base your research project on. You will ideally work with a group of 4 class-mates. Your respective contributions will be governed by the Team Charter, which is a document you will produce at the same time as your Topic Approval submission. The Team Charter is to indicate, essentially, what roles will be played by each member of the team. Your lecturer will LEAD you through the process, week by week. The learning will be progressive, so for best results you will need to be in weekly contact with your lecturer during class time at your campus.
Team Charter (not applicable if doing the assignment individually) Here the team members must participate in robust discussion during which they discuss their individual interests, strengths and weaknesses and contemplate who can best contribute what over the period of the business research project. For example, while all members of the team must contribute to the whole project, the team members may decide that a particular person will take the lead role in a certain section of the project, such as the sourcing of relevant literature. [If one member takes on the lead role it doesn't mean that others don't do any of the work, just that they will be guided by the one leading that section of the project]. It is recommended that each team member assumes a leading role for one aspect of the team effort. The result of your discussions should be documented in a table similar to the one below. [Note that you need to define the roles; those listed are simply examples]. Each person's name and student number must appear at least once in the table. There may be more than one person allocated to any role.
2. Who is responsible for each activity?
3. What particular team-roles will each member contribute to the team?
4. What are your team's expectations regarding meeting attendance (being on time, leaving early, missing meetings, etc.)?
5. What process will team members follow if they have an emergency and cannot attend a team meeting or complete their individual work promised to the team (deliverable)?
6. What are your team's expectations regarding the quality of team members' preparation for team meetings?
7. What are your team's expectations regarding team members' ideas, interactions with the team, cooperation, attitudes, and team-member contributions in general?
8. How will your team ensure that members contribute as expected to the team and that the team performs as expected?
9. How will your team reward members who do well and how will you collectively manage members whose performance is below expectations?


Leopard prints are really stylish and on all the runways for 2019. When you don't want to wear all over leopard, this classy scarf is chic, stylish, understated and goes everywhere. This is our snow leopard print, a hand painted and printed modern sized scarf in a beautiful silver color (not metallic) but a silver look with hints of soft camel against the black leopard spots. This scarf is hand made in our fine silk like shimmer satin. We choose this fabric because it is brilliant, color fast, washable, shimmers the designs we paint like no other.
Which or our bags does this scarf match? Looks great with any of our 'lipstick red' vegan suede bag and of course any black bag you may already have.


text:
Q: JPA Unknow column in table aliases with Pagination/Page in Spring In spring implementing pagination with a custom query I request:
{{host}}:8080/list?page=0&size=2 and the result is OK
{{host}}:8080/list?page=0&size=3 and the result is OK
{{host}}:8080/list?page=0&size=4 and the result is OK
{{host}}:8080/list?page=0&size=1 and the result is NOT OK
{{host}}:8080/list?page=1&size=1 and the result is NOT OK
{{host}}:8080/list?page=1&size=2 and the result is NOT OK
{{host}}:8080/list?page=1&size=3 and the result is NOT OK

Controller:
@GetMapping(value = "/list")
public Page<User> list(Pageable pageable) {
    try {
        return userRepository.findUser(pageable);
    } catch (Exception e) {
        logger.error("Ex: {}", e);
        return null;
    }
}

Repository:
@Query(value = "select U.*, M.local as LocalM from user U inner join Morada M on M.idmorada = U.morada", nativeQuery= true)
public Page<User> findUser(Pageable pageable);

What happens when the response is not ok:
2020-01-03 11:34:01.659  WARN 9652 --- [nio-8080-exec-3] o.h.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper   : SQL Error: 1054, SQLState: 42S22
2020-01-03 11:34:01.659 ERROR 9652 --- [nio-8080-exec-3] o.h.engine.jdbc.spi.SqlExceptionHelper   : Unknown column 'U' in 'field list'

Why does the pagination properties size and page only work in certain scenarios with the nativeQuery?

A: You also need a count query for the pagination to work, like below -
@Query(
  value = "select U.*, M.local as LocalM from user U inner join Morada M on M.idmorada = U.morada",
  countQuery = "select count(*) from user U inner join Morada M on M.idmorada = U.morada",
  nativeQuery = true)
Page<User> findUser(Pageable pageable);

For Spring JPA ver prior to 2.4, you need a workaround in sql stmt like -
value = "select U.*, M.local as LocalM from user U inner join Morada M on M.idmorada = U.morada order by U.id \n-- #pageable\n"

The #pageable placeholder tells Spring Data JPA how to parse the query and inject the pageable parameter.
As far as projection is concerned you could use a interface to map your resultset like -
public interface IUser {
public getId();
... getter methods from User entity
public getLocalM();
}


FreddickBratcherandCompany.com : 40 Modern Tabletop Patio Heater Sets. 40 Perfect Patio Umbrellas Walmart Ideas. 40 Luxury Patio Door Locks Sets. 40 Lovely Patio Enclosure Sets. 40 Beautiful Patio Enclosure Kits Sets.
By Alek. Patio. Published at Monday, August 20th, 2018 - 05:54:28 AM.
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By Alek. Patio. Published at Monday, August 20th, 2018 - 08:12:28 AM.


When providing directions for clients seeking emergency dental care ar our Virginia dental offices, we'll often mention the Reston Parkway as an easy route to reach us. We're located just east of Reston Parkway on State Road 5320, or Sunrise Valley Drive, as it is also known. With the Reston National Golf Course right behind our building, we're easy to find.
Emergency dental care is often required when there has been an accident of some sort that has damaged the teeth. In addition to dealing with the immediate concerns related to lost or broken teeth, Expressions Dental Care offers a full range of cosmetic dental options to restore your teeth to their pre-accident state. Even if the teeth were chipped, broken or lost some time ago, it's not too late to look into returning your smile to one that you are proud to show off.
When a tooth has been chipped or broken, porcelain veneers are what you can expect to be recommended from a top-rated dentist like Dr. John Han. Porcelain veneers adhere directly to your teeth to provide a smooth natural looking surface. Repair of broken and chipped teeth are not their only application. They are also used to simply improve the look of a smile that has some minor misalignment or jagged edges on the teeth.
When an adult loses one or more teeth due to an accident or dental decay, the option of dental implants has become a sound choice for many of our Reston dental patients. Dental implants are quite different from dentures and provide several advantages.
When a tooth or several teeth are missing, your facial muscles and jawbone react to the change in structure. Teeth help form the outline of your face. Missing teeth can cause your jawbone to shrink and your face to become drawn in, looking older than it should.
Rather than being a removable replacement, a dental implant involves a true implant of the root of a tooth where the missing tooth used to be. As am implant, the root is able to anchor itself to the patient's jawbone and provide a solid base to adhere the crown to, just as if it were the patient's own tooth. Implants can be done for the replacement of a single tooth or for multiple teeth. For some patients, the implantation of an entire arch of teeth can be done, avoiding the need for a denture plate.
Dental implants are bound to continue to grow in popularity as consumers realize the superior performance provided by implants versus dentures. Implants feel just like your natural teeth. There are no concerns about them coming loose while talking or chewing, as might be the case with traditional dentures. When maintained properly, dental implants can provide a lasting solution for missing teeth.
Even when our Reston dental patients are seeking simple fillings to repair decay in their teeth, they need not lose the beauty of the teeth to ugly silver colored fillings. Expression Dental Care offers tooth colored composite fillings. The material used for these fillings not only provides a natural looking surface, it also offers a better filling solution than traditional fillings since it bonds more easily with your tooth. Better bonding means the dentist doesn't need to remove as much of your healthy tooth prior to applying the filling. So, it isn't simply cosmetically superior, but functionally superior as well.
This offering under Expressions Dental Care cosmetic dentistry services is the single service that is generally not related to repairs. Teeth whitening is all about improving the look of your smile; but as many of have come to realize, when you look better, you feel better. You exude more confidence when you know you look your best.
Cosmetic dentistry isn't about getting people to notice your teeth; it's just the opposite. Yellowed, crooked or missing teeth are more likely to be noticed than straight white teeth. It's just not the kind of attention that you want your mouth to have. When you feel confident about your smile, you'll smile more. If there's anything this world can use more of, it is more smiles.


text:
"We waste our money so you don't have to."
"We waste our money, so you don't have to."
One last ride
US Release Date: 04-03-2015
Directed by: James Wan
Starring▸▾
Vin Diesel, as
Dominic Toretto
Paul Walker, as
Brian O'Conner
Jason Statham, as
Deckard Shaw
Michelle Rodriguez, as
Jordana Brewster, as
Tyrese Gibson, as
Ludacris, as
Dwayne Johnson, as
Lucas Black, as
Sean Boswell
Kurt Russell, as
Nathalie Emmanuel, as
Elsa Pataky, as
Gal Gadot, as
John Brotherton, as
Luke Evans, as
Owen Shaw
Tony Jaa, as
Kiet
Djimon Hounsou, as
Jakande
Noel Gugliemi, as
Ali Fazal, as
Sung Kang, as
Ronda Rousey, as
Iggy Azalea as
Eric:
Reviewed on: April 8th, 2015
Paul Walker in Furious 7
The Fast and Furious movies have always been critic proof. People who like preposterous action scenes are not concerned with plots that make sense. Hot cars and a plethora of girls in scantily painted on clothes make for some nice scenery but do nothing to hide the flaws in the poor script. Fifteen year old boys, or people with the mentality of a fifteen year old boy, may love this film as they could not care less about what a critic thinks.
Jason Statham plays a bad ass that sets out to get revenge on Vin Diesel and his friends because they put his brother in a hospital. Kurt Russell shows up as the head of some secret government agency that is after Statham and provides Vin Diesel and company with an endless amount of money and resources to get Statham. Dwayne Johnson has a couple of scenes that book end the movie. He is also after Statham whose backup comes in the form of Djimon Hounsou and his small army. Throw in a hot computer genius that the Furious crew must save and protect and you have a story that quickly speeds out of control.
There are several huge action sequences and each is more ridiculously implausible than the previous. The first involves saving a girl from a large armored moving vehicle surrounded by other armored vehicles. The second takes place in an Abu Dubai skyscraper that ends with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker driving a three million dollar car out of a penthouse window and into another skyscraper, twice. Of course neither gets hurt. The final one involves an assault chopper and a military grade drone shooting countless bullets and missiles at cars in the Los Angeles city limits. All scenes feature impossible stunts and even more impossible coincidences.
This movie is filled with WTF moments but I will mention one of the most ridiculous. While lying in his hospital bed, Johnson sees on the news, and out his window, the attack on the cars by the helicopter and drone. He flexes his arm to break the cast off of it. Jumps into an ambulance and drives it right in front of a missile just before it hits a car driven by Michelle Rodriguez. The car and chopper are driving like mad around the city but Johnson knows just where and when to be to take the hit.
Not only does he not get hurt but he is able to grab a mounted gun and return fire. In fact, these guys never get hurt no matter how dangerous the accident. Not only does Vin Diesel drive his car through skyscrapers but over cliffs sending his car rolling over and breaking into pieces. He gets nothing more than a scratch or two. Near the end he has yet another outrageous accident involving a collapsed parking ramp. Rodriguez screams in concern while I laughed as I am fully aware that Vin Diesel is impervious to any physical harm.
Not only is the plot just plain stupid, but the dialogue is just as poor. When getting behind the wheel of the three million dollar car, Vin Diesel says to no one in particular, "Time to unleash the beast." I groaned out loud when Johnson confronts Statham who just stole information from his computer, "You just earned a dance with the devil." There has always been a theme in the Fast and Furious films that this group of friends consider themselves family. At one point, Vin Diesel reiterates it with the line, "I don't have friends. I have family." It has always been meant as an endearing gesture but it does not add any amount of emotional connection.
As far as this being Paul Walker's last film, they include a nice tribute to him in the last scene but it is obvious when his brother stood in for him. The last action sequence and scene on the beach feature very little of his face and when you do see it, it is a CGI replacement over his brother's. In real life, Paul Walker's co-stars spoke highly of him and he may have very well been a hell of a nice guy but those last few scenes demonstrates just how little he actually brought to Furious 7 and for that matter, any film. He was a good looking guy with nice blue eyes and a friendly smile but he truly lacked any real acting range.
Photos © Copyright Universal Pictures (2015)
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Fast Five (2011)
Home | Reviews | Articles |
© 2000 - 2017 Three Movie Buffs. All Rights Reserved.


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An overview of all our services for compute and data can be found under Research & ICT. Contact us via info@surfsara.nl to to use the services of SURFsara.
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Home > Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster > Homilies > Archbishop Oscar Romero Mass
Archbishop Oscar Romero Mass
Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador from February 1977 until 24 March 1980. Today we come to pray, on the thirtieth anniversary of his death, in thanksgiving for the witness he gave during those three years of his episcopacy and for the people of El Salvador. In doing so we keep in mind all who are deprived of basic needs, especially of a place to live and of a chance for education.
The memory of Archbishop Romero, whose funeral was attended by over 200,000 people, will be treasured today in many parts of the world, but with especial devotion and gratitude in El Salvador. There, thankfully, so many things have changed so that today the man shot to death by the authorities is now recognised by all as a champion of truth and as an heroic voice for the poor.
The situation was not so peaceful when, in my turn, I went to El Salvador in February 1985. I have never forgotten the days we spent there, my visit to the tomb of Archbishop Romero in the still incomplete cathedral, standing in the midst of a chaotic city as a sign of the strength and defiance of the Church in the face of repression and violence. During that visit we met with so many people: the missionary priests from abroad, including the now famous Jesuits, some of the local diocesan priests, the Vicar General, Bishop y Damas, the British Ambassador and many local people.
A number of things were clear. At that time, everything was politicised, everything seen in ideological terms. There was no middle ground. Then, secondly, it was clear that violence and threat were everywhere. One diocesan priest told me that if he so much had a bidding prayer for the refugees, encamped in the grounds of the seminary next to his church, then his sister and her family would be threatened or killed.
A third memory stays in my mind: in that small country, not much bigger than Wales, there were thousands and thousands of refugees, people forced off their land and living with next to nothing, and no security at all.
We are now familiar with the heroic stand taken by Archbishop Romero. He was determined to follow a clear path. Week by week, in a way that riveted attention, he spoke the truth of how things were. He named all those who, in the course of the week, had been murdered by agents of the government. He made sure that they were not forgotten, nor discarded as worthless as their killers wanted. He worked to alleviate the suffering of the poorest, making resources available, using his time to be with them. He worked to improve their prospects, encouraging the church congregations to see that the Gospel has to be lived in action, actions aimed at the integral human development, of which we speak today.
This was his programme, a programme he followed with courage in the extreme and difficult circumstances which were the fruit of systematic exploitation and which led, a short time after his death, to the outbreak of a twelve year long civil war. This was a brave path which drew both criticism and support. Today we are proud to recall the unequivocal support given to Archbishop Romero by our own Cardinal Hume. As early as June 1977, the Cardinal wrote to the Archbishop expressing his deepest concern about the events he faced in El Salvador. He wrote:
'Many reports have reached me of the increasing tensions and violence since the elections. I have been saddened by the widespread repression of peasant farmers and by the killing of the Foreign Minister. However I am especially concerned at the violent attacks on the Church in El Salvador which have culminated in the murders of Fr Rutillio Grande and Fr Alfonso Navarro. It is depressing that their only 'crime', like other priests who have been tortured or expelled, was that they preached the Gospel message of social justice to the poor. The stand that you personally have taken, supported by your fellow bishops, is an inspiration to the Church throughout the world.'
At the heart of that stand was Oscar Romero's repudiation of violence. And it was his brave direct appeal to members of the army and the police to refuse orders to kill which, as we know, provoked his own murder on 24 March 1980 in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence while actually celebrating Mass.
Today we join with so many people in thanking God for this outstanding bishop who sought to be faithful to his calling, the calling and promise of every bishop, to make the care of the poor his special concern. In his final homily, Archbishop Romero said:
'Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ will live like the grain of wheat that dies….The harvest comes because of the grain that dies…We know that every effort to improve society, above all when society is so full of injustice and sin, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us.' And he was not afraid to pay the price.
Today, as we give thanks to God for this remarkable witness, what do we learn for ourselves? Our circumstances in this country are not cast in such extreme conflicts. We are thankful for our tradition of democratic politics and the rule of law by which we handle the exercise of power. Yet there are many places in the world where this is not so and we keep in our prayers all who suffer through the misuse of power and the domination of heartless and oppressive self-interest. Indeed we are committed, through actions which reflect our Gospel commitment, to bring assistance to the huge number of poor and deprived people in the world, working in partnerships with many others of good will.
But here, in our circumstances, what do we learn? Perhaps most of all we can be inspired by Oscar Romero's courage to speak the truth of the human reality that is before our eyes. This is a fundamental commitment in service of the Gospel. But it is always costly. We know how easily events are manipulated, how 'facts' are distorted to fit a predetermined narrative, often one that is fashioned to serve another purpose, whether of a political or an economic nature.
We know how, in the Church too, we can be tempted to hide distressing failure and we can recognise the cost of doing so. Yet the first step towards a freedom of action is the courage to name and acknowledge the truth, whether that is true effects of the financial crisis, the truth of the failures in the care of the vulnerable elderly, the real effects of sexual permissiveness, or the real impact of social breakdown and of poverty in this country. Then the inspiration of the Gospel will produce in us the desire to act in the service of this truth and in support of those most in need.
In all of this we must take care, as Oscar Romero did, that our words and actions, expressed in the name of the Church, do not spring from any political ideology but from a commitment to the dignity of every person and from a commitment to the common good, a good which excludes no-one from its embrace. This was the framework of his thought. And these are the perspectives which we are to bring to our own forthcoming election and which we bishops have expressed in our document 'Choosing the Common Good'.
Oscar Romero was a preacher of astonishing clarity and power. As we recall his life and his death, let us listen again to his words. These are words addressed to us as we travel through these last days of Lent. These are words that he would wish us to take to heart for they spring from the depth of his own spiritual journey, one which all of us must travel. They were spoken on the 23 March 1980, the day before he was killed:
'How easy it is to denounce structural injustice, institutionalised violence, social sin! And it is true, this sin is everywhere, but where are the roots of this social sin? In the heart of every human being. Present-day society is a sort of anonymous world in which no one is willing to admit guilt, and everyone is responsible. We are all sinners, and we have all contributed to this massive crime and violence in our country. Salvation begins with the human person, with human dignity, with saving every person from sin. And in this Lent this is God's call: Be converted!'
Amen, indeed, amen to that.
May the life and words of this holy bishop inspire us all on our journey of conversion and in joyous service of the Lord.
'God our Father, you blessed your servant Oscar Romero with a love for the poor and a passion for justice. United with Jesus your Son, he gave his life at the altar in love for your people. Pour your Holy Spirit upon your Church. Grant that we too may recognise and serve Jesus in those most in need, and bring your love and compassion, your peace and justice to our world. Amen.'
+Vincent Nichols
Text of the Mass


Do you love Quinta de Paços? Follow them to show your support. Why?
Almost clear wine with a nose that at first is almost transparent, though with time begins to show some flesh fruit and "albarino" like fruit. In the mouth the acidity is fresh and alive with apple hints and peach notes. The acidity is wonderful, and rounds out with some hints of lemon. Really want to say more about this wine, but I have a strange feeling that this an example of a VV that could age and improve for a couple of years. Very fresh and full of life/body.
If a wine could actually be white, or transparent, this is it, making it strangely attractive solely for its clarity. The bouquet is really creamy and lemony with almost a raw almost almond and mineral touch near the end. Nice gentle acidity that coats my entire palate, leaving a slightly dense creamy apple finish from its time in barrel. I'd be curious how the flavors express themselves in a few years time as they're slightly reserved at the moment. Fun wine!


The age-old dilemma of what to do with a second hand car once it has past the point of an easy sale is an irksome one.
Things were a lot easier when the government offered a wad of cash to rust bucket owners in return of a scrappage promise but now, old car owners are often left to pick up the bill from the breakers.
But a select group of engineering enthusiast from Holland decided not to send and old Volkswagen Golf to the grave yard and instead opt to fit the banger with an enormous exterior roll cage that enables it to somersault through the air.
The crazy contraption is the brainchild of Master Milo and his SAS Team – a group of mates that like to fabricate bizarre vehicles from old bits of scrap.
The Mark 2 Golf 1600 automatic was bought for 25 Euros from a local garage and the boys decided to cut the car in half to shorten the wheelbase to enable it to pitch forward more violently under heavy braking.
An exterior roll cage was then added plus a 'liquified petrol gas fuel system' to stop is stalling mid roll.
Raised suspension from a VW Golf Country was also bolted on and the RollGolf was ready for a test run.


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Q: How to best transfer learning using Dopamine for Reinforcement Learning? I am using Google's Dopamine framework to train a specific reinforcement learning use-case. I am using an auto encoder to pre-train the convolutional layers of the Deep Q Network and then transfer those pre-trained weights in the final network.
To that end, I have created a separate model (in this case an auto-encoder) which I train and save the resulting model and weights.
The DQN model is created using Keras's model sub-classing method and the model used to save the trained convolutional layers weights was build using the Sequential API. My issue is with when trying to load the pre-trained weights to my final DQN model. Based on whether I use the load_model() or load_weights() functionality from Tensorflow's API I get two different overall behaviors of my network and I would like to understand why. Specifically I have the two following scenarios:

*

*Loading the weights with theload_weights() method to the final model. The weights are the weights of the encoder plus one additional layer(added just before saving the weights) to fit the architecture of the final network implemented in dopamine where they are loaded.

*First load the saved model with load_model() and then when defining the new model in the __init__() method, extract the relevant layers from the loaded model and then use them for the final model.

Overall, I would expect the two approaches to yield similar results with regards to the average reward achieved per episode , when I use the same pre-trained weights. However the two approaches differ ( 1. yield higher average reward than 2. although using the same pre-trained weights) and I don't understand why.
Furthermore, in order to validate this behavior I have tried loading random weights with the two aforementioned approaches in order to see a change in behavior. In both cases, based on which of the two aforementioned loading methods I am using, I end up with very similar resulting behavior with the respected case when loading the trained weights. It's seems like the pre-trained weights in each respected case have no effect on the overall resulting training behavior. Although, this might be irrelevant to the issue I am trying to investigate here as it might be the case that the pre-trained weights don't offer any benefit overall which is also possible.
Any thoughts and ideas on this would be much appreciated.


Solarstone pres. Electronic Architecture 2 - Solarstone.
In 2009 Solarstone released 'Electronic Architecture'… a knowing kick-back against the throwaway nature of today's mix CD. It was nominated for Best Compilation Album at the 2010 WMC International Dance Music Awards, running against releases by Deadmau5, Paul van Dyk, Above & Beyond and Armin van Buuren. It won press plaudits (and fan acclaim) for its imaginative concept, with Tilllate Magazine hailing it as "a magical blend of music, art and design" and DJ Mag calling it "a genuine gem".
As designated by its 'squared2' tag this is not just a follow-up, nor simply a 'Pt.II', but an evolutionary next stage in the EA story, Electronic Architecture2 will unfold a landscape sound-design like no other. Using studio-born, super-immersive mixing techniques crossed with bespoke graphical aspects, Electronic Architecture's geometric/isometric futuristic sky-cities will rise again.
Over at the EA2 website – http://www.electronicarchitecture.co.uk – you are able to deconstruct EA2's cover art and re-build your own version of its spectacular super-structure. As the release date gets closer, so excerpts of the music will be premiered there and they will combine with this powerful, yet simple-to-use tool to create an incredible, thoroughly unique interactive experience! We will shortly be announcing a competition in which a selection of EA2 prizes will be awarded to fans who come up with the best personalized re-work of the EA2 art, so make sure you save a screen shot of your EA2 Art creation.
And what about the music — the Ying to the visual's Yang…? To uncover the 100% exclusive audio it carried, the original Electronic Architecture required a prodigious, exhaustive A&Ring mission… EA2 was no different! Seeking out music from newest, most talented electronic dance producers out there (from far-flung corners of the globe like China, Kenya, Japan and Australia) took Solarstone 9 months of precision dot…connecting.
From the early dystopian, Blade Runner-esque micro-prog of Piotro's 'Mist' thru to the thoroughly utopian trance shimmer of Aerium's 'Icedive' and Elfsong's 'Eta Carinae', the album pans out to reveal its full musical panorama. Treating the blending of its composite tracks more like that of a full-length musical composition, it creates a deep and intricate mix where you'll hear echoes of tracks long before they fully reach the laser.
Some of EA1's alumni return – Jahawi, Majera and Alucard all help to re-anchor the album's unique tone-set, while there's audio from progressive hall-of-famers too — Tilt, Hybrid and Medway among them. Solarstone's naturally is well represented too with Orkidea's glowing recreation of last year's 'Touchstone' and the new single 'Big Wheel' both premiering on the album.
Come April 25th the audio/visual élan of Electronic Architecture's successor will be released in full via Solaris Recordings. For electronic dance fans around the world, it will not be a multimedia event to miss.


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StephenSegovia
'Superior Carnage' Miniseries Coming in July From Shinick And Segovia
It's been a pretty... superior... week of news for Spider-Man fans. Following up on the recent solicitation of the upcoming The Superior Foes of Spider-Man series due in July, Marvel's just announced that Carnage will get his own five-issue miniseries, written by Kevin Shinick (Robot Chicken) and drawn by Stephen Segovia (X-Treme X-Men), starting in July...
Ziah Grace
Marvel Confirms 'Fantastic Four' and 'FF' will Co-Exist, Teases New Thor and Doom Minis
Marvel closed out a week of tantalizing teaser imagery with confirmation that not only will Fantastic Four return for its 600th issue, but its spinoff book, FF, will also continue. Both series are written by Jonathan Hickman and are part of a mega-plot he's been constructing since he took over Fantastic Four in 2009 (one that our own David Uzumeri has been annotating prodigiously)...


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Italy must allow migrants on NGO vessels to disembark: Human Rights Watch
Italy must allow migrants on NGO vessels to disembark: Human Rights Watch /node/2195941/world
Migrants disembark from a coast guard vessel, after arriving by the hundreds packed on boats, on the southern island of Lampedusa, Italy, May 9, 2021. (Reuters/File)
https://arab.news/zswvf
Updated 08 November 2022
'The government's actions cruelly expose survivors of abuse in Libya to potential further harm'
UN: 'Reasonable grounds' to believe 'crimes against humanity committed against migrants in Libya'
LONDON: Human Rights Watch has criticized Italy for refusing entry to two NGO rescue vessels carrying hundreds of people from Libya, labeling the move a "violation" of the European country's human rights obligations.
Last weekend, the two ships — Humanity 1 and Geo Barents — docked in the port of Catania in Sicily.
But following the entry refusal, the vessels were ordered to move back to international waters, though large numbers of passengers were allowed to disembark following vulnerability assessments. In total, 144 people left Humanity 1 and 357 people disembarked Geo Barents.
However, HRW said the assessments conducted by authorities only involved two doctors and risked overlooking large numbers of vulnerable passengers.
Following the incident, two people on the ships collapsed and were medically evacuated by Italian authorities.
Giulia Tranchina, Europe and Central Asia researcher at HRW, said: "The government's actions cruelly expose survivors of abuse in Libya to potential further harm, and deny them their right to seek asylum in defiance of Italian and international law.
"No one should be deliberately exposed to degrading conditions, and everyone should be allowed to disembark and have their claims for international protection fairly processed.
"Trapping people on ships or stranding them at sea is not serious immigration policy: It's just inhumane and unlawful theater.
"Rather than violating people's rights and alienating European partners, Italy should be advocating a predictable system for people to disembark and the resumption of state-led European search and rescue operations, alongside an equitable system for sharing responsibility for migrants and asylum seekers."
The captains of both vessels have refused to follow the Italian exit order, and both ships remain in Italian waters.
Since Oct. 20, NGO vessels have rescued about 1,000 people, mainly hailing from Libya.
The UN warned in June that there were "reasonable grounds" to believe that "crimes against humanity are being committed against migrants in Libya."
A report by the organization warned that migrants face "murder, enforced disappearance, torture, enslavement, sexual violence, rape and other inhumane acts."
Topics: Italy Libya migrants
Morocco arrests 32 migrants heading to Spain
Greece: Sailboat carrying 75 migrants safely towed to port
Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet /node/2243286/world
Updated 14 sec ago
Since 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers
The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state
SEATTLE: Boeing bids farewell to an icon on Tuesday: It's delivering its final 747 jumbo jet.
Since its first flight in 1969, the giant yet graceful 747 has served as a cargo plane, a commercial aircraft capable of carrying nearly 500 passengers, a transport for NASA's space shuttles, and the Air Force One presidential aircraft. It revolutionized travel, connecting international cities that had never before had direct routes and helping democratize passenger flight.
But over about the past 15 years, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have introduced more profitable and fuel efficient wide-body planes, with only two engines to maintain instead of the 747′s four. The final plane is the 1,574th built by Boeing in the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
A big crowd of current and former Boeing workers is expected for the final send-off. The last one is being delivered to cargo carrier Atlas Air.
"If you love this business, you've been dreading this moment," said longtime aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. "Nobody wants a four-engine airliner anymore, but that doesn't erase the tremendous contribution the aircraft made to the development of the industry or its remarkable legacy."
Boeing set out to build the 747 after losing a contract for a huge military transport, the C-5A. The idea was to take advantage of the new engines developed for the transport — high-bypass turbofan engines, which burned less fuel by passing air around the engine core, enabling a farther flight range — and to use them for a newly imagined civilian aircraft.
It took more than 50,000 Boeing workers less than 16 months to churn out the first 747 — a Herculean effort that earned them the nickname "The Incredibles." The jumbo jet's production required the construction of a massive factory in Everett, north of Seattle — the world's largest building by volume.
INNUMBERS
1,574 Number of 747 jumbo jets built by Boeing
1970 - The year the first 747 entered service on Pan Am's New York-London route
50,000 Boeing workers who took part in building the first 747 in almost 16 months
68.5 meters - Length of the jumbo jet's fuselage, and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building
The plane's fuselage was 225 feet (68.5 meters) long and the tail stood as tall as a six-story building. The plane's design included a second deck extending from the cockpit back over the first third of the plane, giving it a distinctive hump and inspiring a nickname, the Whale. More romantically, the 747 became known as the Queen of the Skies.
Some airlines turned the second deck into a first-class cocktail lounge, while even the lower deck sometimes featured lounges or even a piano bar.
"It was the first big carrier, the first widebody, so it set a new standard for airlines to figure out what to do with it, and how to fill it," said Guillaume de Syon, a history professor at Pennsylvania's Albright College who specializes in aviation and mobility. "It became the essence of mass air travel: You couldn't fill it with people paying full price, so you need to lower prices to get people onboard. It contributed to what happened in the late 1970s with the deregulation of air travel."
The first 747 entered service in 1970 on Pan Am's New York-London route, and its timing was terrible, Aboulafia said. It debuted shortly before the oil crisis of 1973, amid a recession that saw Boeing's employment fall from 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. The "Boeing bust" was infamously marked by a billboard near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that read, "Will the last person leaving SEATTLE — Turn out the lights."
Actor John Travolta, a licensed pilot, speaks during a ceremony to mark the delivery of the last Boeing 747 aircraft, in Everett, Washington, on Jan. 31, 2023. (AFP)
An updated model — the 747-400 series — arrived in the late 1980s and had much better timing, coinciding with the Asian economic boom of the early 1990s, Aboulafia said. He recalled taking a Cathay Pacific 747 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong as a twentysomething backpacker in 1991.
"Even people like me could go see Asia," Aboulafia said. "Before, you had to stop for fuel in Alaska or Hawaii and it cost a lot more. This was a straight shot — and reasonably priced."
Delta was the last US airline to use the 747 for passenger flights, which ended in 2017, although some other international carriers continue to fly it, including the German airline Lufthansa.
Atlas Air ordered four 747-8 freighters early last year, with the final one leaving the factory Tuesday.
Boeing's roots are in the Seattle area, and it has assembly plants in Washington state and South Carolina. The company announced in May that it would move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, putting its executives closer to key federal government officials and the Federal Aviation Administration, which certifies Boeing passenger and cargo planes.
Boeing's relationship with the FAA has been strained since deadly crashes of its best-selling plane, the 737 Max, in 2018 and 2019. The FAA took nearly two years — far longer than Boeing expected — to approve design changes and allow the plane back in the air.
Topics: Boeing 747 Atlas Air
Boeing makes first 787 Dreamliner delivery since May 2021
Philippines to expand US access to military bases: official /node/2243276/world
Updated 54 min 21 sec ago
China's growing assertiveness on Taiwan and its claims over the disputed South China Sea have given fresh impetus to Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership
MANILA: The United States and the Philippines are expected to announce a deal Thursday that will give US troops access to another four military bases in the Southeast Asian nation, as the longtime allies seek to deter Chinese aggression in the region.
The agreement to expand cooperation will be announced during a visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a senior Philippine official told AFP, and comes as the countries seek to repair ties that were fractured in recent years.
China's growing assertiveness on Taiwan and its claims over the disputed South China Sea have given fresh impetus to Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership.
Given its proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, the Philippines' cooperation would be key in the event of a conflict with China, which a four-star US Air Force general has warned could happen as early as 2025.
"There's been an agreement to designate four new additional sites," the Philippine official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
Talks were ongoing for a potential fifth base, the official added.
The two countries have a decades-old security alliance that includes a mutual defense treaty and a 2014 pact, known by the acronym EDCA, which allows US troops to rotate through five Philippine bases, including those near disputed waters.
It also allows for the US military to store defense equipment and supplies on those bases.
EDCA stalled under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, who favored China over his country's former colonial master, but the new administration of President Ferdinand Marcos has been keen to accelerate its implementation.
Under the EDCA expansion to be unveiled Thursday, the United States will have access to at least nine military bases across the archipelago.
It has been widely reported that most of the new bases will be on the main island of Luzon, the closest Philippine landmass to Taiwan, where the US already has access to two sites.
The fourth will reportedly be on the western island of Palawan, facing the Spratly Islands in the hotly contested South China Sea, taking the number of sites there to two.
Ahead of the announcement, Austin was to hold talks with Marcos at the presidential palace.
A senior US defense official told reporters Wednesday that the Philippines was under "day-to-day pressure from (China) in ways that contravene international law."
The United States aims to ensure "they have the capability to defend their own sovereignty," the official said.
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and has ignored a ruling at the Hague that its claims have no legal basis.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of the sea.
China also claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be reclaimed one day, by force if necessary.
"Looking at the location of the proposed sites, it seems pretty clear that these sites are in relation to a Taiwan contingency," said Greg Wyatt of PSA Philippines Consultancy.
Topics: Philippines Armed Forces of the Philippines US troops Lloyd Austin
Philippines' Marcos says South China Sea keeps him 'up at night'
Philippines' Marcos seeks to forge 'higher gear' ties with China on Beijing trip
UN expert warns of another Rohingya genocide if world continues to do nothing /node/2243271/world
Updated 02 February 2023
Ephrem Kossaify
Special investigator Tom Andrews told Arab News frustration and anger among Rohingya at lack of accountability for atrocities in Myanmar is "pervasive"
He presented his report to the UN's Human Right Council on the eve of the second anniversary of the military coup in the country
NEW YORK CITY: The independent UN expert tasked with investigating the situation in Myanmar has called on the international community to "do a lot more" to protect the vulnerable Rohingya population in the country's Rakhine State.
Tom Andrews, whose official title is UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, warned that "not to do so is to risk seeing another 2017."
This referred to the brutal persecution of the Rohingya that began with a military crackdown on their community about six years ago, during which thousands were killed and more than a million were ultimately forced to flee to other countries.
Tom Andrews warned that the same forces who committed "those genocidal attacks" are now in control of the country and "their priority is not the human rights of the Rohingya people."
Rohingya Muslims have suffered decades of violence, discrimination and persecution in Myanmar but the largest exodus began on Aug. 25, 2017, after Myanmar's military launched brutal operations targeting them in northern Rakhine State.
Amnesty International said the subsequent wave of violence resulted in grave crimes under international law. The junta torched entire villages and forced more 700,000 people, half of them children, to flee to Bangladesh, where almost 1 million Rohingya now live in crowded refugee camps at Cox's Bazar.
Andrews, who had just returned from a fact-finding trip and presented to the UN in New York his report on the situation in the South Asian country, told Arab News that more than 600,000 Rohingya continue to live in Rakhine State, 130,000 of them in makeshift internment camps.
"Even those who are living in the villages, those villages are surrounded," he said. "The people are prisoners in their own home villages. They have virtually no rights whatsoever. It's very, very oppressive to be living under these conditions."
700,000 Number of people who fled Myanmar after government soldiers torched entire villages
600,000 Number of Rohingya who continue to live in Myanmar's Rakhine State, 130,000 of them in makeshift internment camps.
1 million Number of Rohingya now living in crowded refugee camps at Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar.
2,900 Number of people who have died since the Myanmar military ousted the democratically elected government
The special rapporteur said the frustration and anger among the Rohingya community at the lack of accountability for the atrocities that have been committed against them "is pervasive."
"Many would argue that the lack of accountability for the genocide that occurred in 2016 and 2017 was not lost on the military leaders that committed (the February 2021) coup," said Andrews.
"You know: If you could get away with one, why not get away with another? If the international community is not willing to bring justice to bear in one, perhaps they'll just forget about what happens as a result of the coup.
"So, failure to bring accountability is not only tragic, and an injustice for the people who suffer, but it's an injustice and a tragedy for those who will suffer at the hands of the very same forces who are receiving the message that the international community simply doesn't care."
A human rights organization and a group of people from Myanmar this month filed a criminal complaint in Germany seeking punishment of Myanmar's generals for the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that they allege were committed during the crackdown on the Rohingya minority in 2017 and after the military coup in 2021.
Meanwhile, International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan has said that an investigation being conducted by his office into the crimes against the Rohingya will be a priority during his tenure.
Andrews lamented the fact that such legal mechanisms are "slow and cumbersome, and they are no comfort to the people who have lost loved ones in the most horrific of ways." He called on the international community to do the "very least" it can and fully support them.
"We need to create the kind of pressure on those who are responsible for these tragedies, namely the SAC (the State Administration Council that currently rules Myanmar), so that they understand that there's a price to pay (and) that what they're doing now is not sustainable — and unless and until they receive that message from the international community, impunity will continue to reign," he said.
In his report to the Human Rights Council, published on the eve of the second anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, Andrews described the coup as "illegal" and the military's claim to be the country's legitimate government as "illegitimate."
He called for nations that support human rights to recognize the National Unity Government, the main underground group coordinating resistance to the military rule, as the legitimate representatives of the people of Myanmar. It was formed by elected politicians prevented from taking their seats when the military seized power.
Andrews said UN member states "have an important responsibility and role to play in determining whether Myanmar's military junta will succeed in achieving its goal of being accepted as legitimate and gaining control of a nation in revolt."
He described the situation in Myanmar as "the forgotten war" and accused the international community of failing to properly address the crisis and "the junta's systematic crimes against humanity and war crimes."
Since the military came to power, he said at least 2,900 people, and probably many more, have died, 17,500 people are political prisoners and at least 38,000 homes, clinics and schools have been burned to the ground.
In addition, a total of 1.1 million people have been displaced, more than 4 million children do not have access to formal education, and 17.6 million people are expected to need humanitarian aid this year, up from 1 million before the coup.
Andrews, a former US congressman, said a new, coordinated global response to the crisis is crucial.
He added in his report that the military's hold on the country "is weakening" and his investigation found international sanctions have made it difficult for the junta to move and access the funds it needs to maintain its operations.
But "the problem is that the sanctions are not coordinated," he added.
Topics: Rohingya Myanmar genocide Tom Andrews
After 5 years in no man's land, last group of Rohingya enters Bangladesh
US and allies mark anniversary of Myanmar coup with more sanctions
US Republican leader says debt cliff talks with Biden went well /node/2243251/world
Republicans are threatening to block the usually rubber-stamp approval for raising the nation's credit limit if Democrats don't first agree to steep future budget cuts
The White House accuses the Republicans of taking the economy "hostage" in order to posture as fiscally responsible
WASHINGTON: The US took a small step back from the risk of a catastrophic debt default Wednesday after the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said talks with President Joe Biden went well — even if a deal has yet to be reached.
"The president and I tried to find a way that we can work together," McCarthy told reporters after an approximately one-hour meeting with Biden at the White House. "I think at the end of the day, we can find common ground."
McCarthy said that while it was a "good discussion," he cautioned that there were "no agreements, no promises, except we will continue this conversation."
The White House also sounded positive, saying in a statement that Biden and McCarty had "frank and straightforward" talks and "agreed to continue the conversation."
At stake is the stability of the world's biggest economy.
Republicans are threatening to block the usually rubber-stamp approval for raising the nation's credit limit if Democrats don't first agree to steep future budget cuts.
The White House, meanwhile, accuses the Republicans of taking the economy "hostage" in order to posture as fiscally responsible.
Fail to raise the debt ceiling by around June, the Treasury says, and the United States will be forced into default on its $31.4 trillion debt — a historic first that would leave the government unable to pay bills, undermine the US economy's reputation, and likely panic investors.
McCarthy said Republicans and Democrats have about five months to talk before reaching the debt cliff, but "hopefully it doesn't take that long."
There have been other showdowns over the years when Republicans balked at allowing US debt to spiral ever higher. But on most occasions the dispute was quickly smoothed over, Congress extended the ceiling and the economy kept going without a hiccup.
This time, the political heat makes things far riskier.
Two years through his first term, Biden is widely expected to be on the cusp of announcing his bid for a second term in the 2024 election. And Republicans, who have just taken over control of the House, are eager to show their muscle.
Even if McCarthy is minded to show flexibility, his power in Congress depends almost entirely on the desires of a far-right group of Republicans who are more likely to play chicken, regardless of the global financial consequences.
The White House says it won't allow the current debt ceiling to be part of any negotiation on future government spending because that $31.4 trillion is money already agreed to by Congress. In other words, refusal to raise the debt ceiling would be like refusing to pay an already existing credit card bill.
There could be room for negotiating on changes to future budgets.
McCarthy said he had told Biden that he was against defaulting on the existing debt but that he wanted to see cuts in future spending, because "the current path we're on we cannot sustain."
But when it gets down to brass tacks, it's hard for either party to say where they can find significant reductions — unless they go into the usually politically untouchable Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or other government-subsidized health care.
Biden signalled he wanted to call McCarthy's bluff by insisting that the Republicans lay out where exactly they'd make cuts. His bet is that the internal divisions in the party will burst into the open as more right-wing members demand cuts to popular spending programs.
"What are House Republicans hiding?" deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said.
In a memo Tuesday, Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, and Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, challenged McCarthy to publish a draft budget. The White House will issue its own on March 9, they said.
Topics: Kevin McCarthy Joe Biden
Republicans win US House majority, setting stage for divided government
Biden signs bill to avert US government shutdown, aid Ukraine
Gunman kills 1, wounds 2 in US metro rampage before passengers disarm him /node/2243236/world
Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C., said the shootings highlight the need for serious gun control
"This is not a Metro-specific safety issue; it's an American gun violence issue," says Metro GM
WASHINGTON: A man "randomly" brandishing a firearm shot three people, killing one, in a Wednesday morning rampage in the nation's capital that started on a city bus and ended in a Metro tunnel after passengers attacked and disarmed him.
Authorities were still piecing together the chaotic series of events that left two people with gunshot wounds to the leg and Metro employee Robert Cunningham shot dead. The shooter is in police custody and has not been publicly identified.
Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict praised the "heroic actions of our citizens, our community, to disarm this shooter."
But he added, "The fact that our citizens had to intervene with armed gunmen is disturbing to me."
The violence began shortly after 9 a.m. when the man began brandishing a weapon and confronting passengers on a city bus in the southeast area of the city. The man pursued one of the passengers off the bus and shot them in the leg, Benedict said.
The man then went down the escalator of the nearby Potomac Avenue Metro stop, confronted someone who was buying a Metro pass and shot that person in the leg as well. Both victims were recovering in local hospitals.
The armed man then went down to the train platform and began confronting a woman there. Benedict characterized his behavior as deeply erratic, saying, "He's walking around brandishing a firearm and just randomly engaging people in confrontation. He's clearly agitated about something."
At that point, Cunningham, a 64-year-old mechanic in Metro's power department, tried to intervene and was killed by a gunshot. A statement from Paul Smedberg, chair of the Metro board, said Cunningham "acted with extreme bravery to help a customer who was being threatened by the shooter."
The armed man then attempted to board a Metro train and was apparently confronted and disarmed by the passengers. He exited the train car and was taken into custody by police officers, who recovered his weapon on the train tracks, Benedict said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said the shootings highlight the need for serious gun control. Bowser and the Police Department have recently endured intense public pressure after a city employee shot and killed a 13-year old boy who was part of a group of youth breaking into parked cars on his block. The resident was charged this week with second-degree murder.
"We're focused on how we get guns out of our city," Bowser said. "Whether it's the Metro, it's the street, it's in individual homes, we know that we have guns that are creating tragedies in our city and in our nation."
Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said his administration had recently beefed up security measures, including increased police patrols and video surveillance. But he said the morning's incident was indicative of a wider issue beyond Metro security.
"This is not a Metro-specific safety issue; it's an American gun violence issue," Clarke said.
Topics: US shootings wild wild west US gun violence
Ten killed in shooting near Los Angeles during Lunar New Year party
Second mass shooting in 24 hours injures 12 in gun-crazy US


text:
Matthew, 25
1. 'Then the kingdom of Heaven will be like this: Ten wedding attendants took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
2. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible:
3. the foolish ones, though they took their lamps, took no oil with them,
4. whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps.
5. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.
6. But at midnight there was a cry, "Look! The bridegroom! Go out and meet him."
7. Then all those wedding attendants woke up and trimmed their lamps,
8. and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, "Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out."
9. But they replied, "There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves."
10. They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed.
11. The other attendants arrived later. "Lord, Lord," they said, "open the door for us."
12. But he replied, "In truth I tell you, I do not know you."
13. So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.
14. 'It is like a man about to go abroad who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them.
15. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one, each in proportion to his ability. Then he set out on his journey.
16. The man who had received the five talents promptly went and traded with them and made five more.
17. The man who had received two made two more in the same way.
18. But the man who had received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19. Now a long time afterwards, the master of those servants came back and went through his accounts with them.
20. The man who had received the five talents came forward bringing five more. "Sir," he said, "you entrusted me with five talents; here are five more that I have made."
21. His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have shown you are trustworthy in small things; I will trust you with greater; come and join in your master's happiness."
22. Next the man with the two talents came forward. "Sir," he said, "you entrusted me with two talents; here are two more that I have made."
24. Last came forward the man who had the single talent. "Sir," said he, "I had heard you were a hard man, reaping where you had not sown and gathering where you had not scattered;
25. so I was afraid, and I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is; it was yours, you have it back."
26. But his master answered him, "You wicked and lazy servant! So you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered?
27. Well then, you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have got my money back with interest.
28. So now, take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the ten talents.
29. For to everyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but anyone who has not, will be deprived even of what he has.
30. As for this good-for-nothing servant, throw him into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth."
31. 'When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory.
32. All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.
33. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
34. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.
35. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome,
36. lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me."
37. Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38. When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you?
39. When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?"
40. And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."
41. Then he will say to those on his left hand, "Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42. For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink,
43. I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me."
44. Then it will be their turn to ask, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?"
45. Then he will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me."
46. And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.'
Lord clothes hungry lacking lamps master prison servant sick stranger talents thirsty
"Todas as percepções humanas, de onde quer que venham, incluem o bem e o mal. É necessário saber determinar e assimilar todo o bem e oferecê-lo a Deus, e eliminar todo o mal." São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina


Billabong One Way Sandals Womens Desert Daze Slide into summer days and effortless style with the One Way. Made from vegan leather, the wide single strap slide sandals offer a custom take on the minimalist style with a perforated or striped strap. The nuts and bolts Vegan leather slide sandals. Wide single band. Black features a perforated band. Multi features a printed stripe band. Cece Construction.


text:
Sweet Deceiver is het zevende album van de Britse progressieve rockmusicus Kevin Ayers. Het verscheen in 1975.

Tracklist
Observations - 4:26
Guru Banana - 2:49
City Waltz - 3:34
Toujours Le Voyage - 7:59
Sweet Deceiver - 2:48
Diminished But Not Finished - 1:58
Circular Letter - 4:27
Once Upon An Ocean - 3:31
Farewell Again (Another Dawn) - 3:16

Bezetting
 Kevin Ayers: zang, gitaar (akoestisch + elektrisch), piano, orgel
Met:
 Ollie Halsall gitaar
 Jacob Magnusson orgel
 Freddie Smith drums
Gasten:
 John Altman klarinet
 Elton John piano
 Fuzzy Samuels basgitaar
 Chilli Charles drums

Muziekalbum van Kevin Ayers
Muziekalbum uit 1975

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Stuff A Bagel
Milton St. Pine Island Orlando
Established in 2001, we serve New York style bagels made the old fashioned way. We the Giambalvo Kids would like to Thank You for voting us the "Best of Cape Coral" 20 years in a row (our product speaks for itself). Now two generations strong and growing, we are so excited to expand our families name to a place that has been a dream of our Mother and Father for 2 decades, Where "Dreams" Come True… Stuff a Bagel: DISNEY WORLD. Our family looks forward to serving yours with the same pride and friendship that we have shared of the last 20 years, not only in South West Florida, but now in our new home Orlando as well. Who would have thought you can get a real New York Bagel here in paradise! Not just a bagel store, but a real New York experience. We the "Stuff-A-Bagel Family" would like to say thank you to all our valued family here in SW Florida, and are so excited to make new family and friends, in Orlando, FL.


Mental illness continues to be a major health, social and economic issue in Australia with one in five people experiencing mental health concerns in any one year (ABS 2008).
For many dealing with a mental illness is a prolonged battle that requires ongoing psychological support. Here in Australia our systems don't often support this need. Awareness campaigns grow stronger each year as we actively challenge the stigmas that prevents people from seeking help, robbing them from having important conversations. Despite these tremendous efforts a huge number of barriers still exist, one of which Is something I'm hugely passionate about changing; access to counselling & psychological services.
In Australia those that cannot afford private counselling (a large percentage of the population) are reliant on a capped/subsidised and overburdened public system or will need to seek the aid of charities with extensive wait lists. For many time is of the essence and it means they simply go without the support they so desperately need.
As a therapist in private practice charging market rate and as one who has my own weekly counselling and pays market rate, (yes we all know I'm a firm believer that counsellors should have counsellors) I am all too aware of how expensive therapy is!
I often ask myself what more can I do as a therapist?
As mental health awareness week slowly comes to an end I encourage everyone to have a closer look at your mental health needs, is seeking support something you've been putting off? Are your symptoms getting worse and you've been ignoring them hoping they will disappear? If so now is the time to be proactive and reach out.
If you identify with this please make contact and let's put a plan in place to help you move towards wellness.
Brooke Cefai is a Melbourne based Counsellor & Wellbeing Facilitator who has spent two decades working in a number of diverse counselling and wellness settings in Sydney & Melbourne. This includes the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Victims Services NSW, PWD Abuse & Neglect Hotline, Mission Australia Counselling Services, and Essential Energies Wellbeing Centre. Brooke's qualifications include a Graduate Diploma of Counselling and Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Wellness qualifications include a Certificate of Metaphysics and Advanced Certificate of Spiritual Healing. She is professionally registered with the Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).
Brooke uses a holistic approach to counselling that draws on a number of counselling models and techniques chosen specifically to meet a person's current needs. This approach considers physiological and psychological disorder as part of a greater whole and will focus on the relationship between body, mind and spirit to empower individuals to unlock their innate wisdom and potential. Brooke is further guided by a psychodynamic framework meaning within sessions the aim is to bring unconscious elements within one's life into consciousness and often requires an exploration of your past to understand the current impact on the present. Brooke is available for private counselling sessions at MISS FOX, online, and at her South Melbourne clinic.


On 5th July, we attended a Fun Day at Moat House School.
Moat House is Stockport's school for pregnant and teenage mothers, and they kindly invited us down to their event which was raising money for us.
Two of the school's students came up with the idea in the first place, and designed a variety of activities to raise both money and mental health awareness.
Our staff member Natalie by our awareness stand.
The event included hook-a-duck, cakes, food, toys, books and a raffle drawn by both our manager Collin and the Inline Skating World Champion Jenna Downing, which raised over £100.
Here is a video of Jenna jumping over some teachers, and you can read a fantastic quote from her below this.
"It has been an absolute pleasure to mentor two students at Moat House School as part of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and AQA 'Unlocking Potential' programme. I am really proud of what the girls have achieved over the eight months that I have been working with them.
"The girls have taken on challenges and really pushed themselves out of their comfort zone. It has been amazing to see. For me the proudest moment was seeing all their planning and hard work come to fruition at the Stockport Mind Fun Day event.
"Students, past and present, came along to the event in a bid to raise awareness of mental health in young people, something which the girls are incredibly passionate about. The day was a huge success with families taking part in all sorts of activities throughout the day – even the sun was out in full force!
The school have since kindly donated lots of books for our tombola events which we held at Stockport Carnival and Stockport Pride, which were both very successful and raised even more money.
Thank you very much to everyone involved in making this event a success at the School.
We look forward to maintaining and building upon our links with Moat House and looking at other ways we can work together to promote positive wellbeing. We are extremely grateful that they thought of us for the event and gave us the opportunity to raise awareness of mental health.
Thank you to all who made it possible. As a local charity all support is valuable and the more awareness we can raise the better- thank you for this opportunity.


text:
Dr Arun Gadre wins this year's Human Dignity Award
Dr Arun Gadre, of Pune, Maharashtra is the winner of this year's Maanav Adhikaar Paaritaushik (Human Dignity Award) of Rupees One Lakh in memory of Professor M. M. Guptara.
The citation reads:
"Dr Gadre worked for some 20 years in a rural part of Maharashtra as a gynecologist: instead of working in a major city where he would have received a reasonable income and a comfortable quality of life, he chose rather to invest the best years of his life to helping rural women. As the only MD within a radius of 50 km, in a draught prone and poor area, with much more irregular electricity than in our cities, with scarcity of water, paucity of trained assistants, no blood transfusion facilities, and no one to assist, he conducted around 5500 deliveries as well as other major surgeries.
"In spite of his heavy duties in the challenging environment, Dr Gadre somehow found time to exercise his gift for writing, to produce in fact many different books. Two of them are due to be published soon, one on ante-natal care and one on HIV/ AIDS counseling. However, he has 14 books which are already published - three for semi-literate people on medical subjects, two medical textbooks, one on premarital counseling, one is a work of philosophy, one is autobiographical, and six are novels.
"Many of the books have won awards. His philosophical work, BHAVA PESHI, won the Shenolikar Puraskar for the best book of the year in philosophy from the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad Pune, as well as the Marathwada Sahitya Mandal Puraskar. His novel, EK HOTA FENGADYA, won the Shankar Patil Puraskar for the best novel of the year, from the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Pune. His novel GHATACHAKRA won the H. N. Apte Puraskar from Maharashtra State as well as the VS Khandekar Puraskar for the best novel of the year from the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad Pune. His latest novel, VADHASTAMBH, won the Vikhe Patil Puraskar, as well as the Vaman Malhar Joshi Puraskar for the best novel of the year from Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad Pune. His latest book, a biography of the (now practically unknown) founder of modern India, William Carey, has just been published under the title: "Ase Hote William Carey" (Rajhans Prakashan, Pune).
"We probably have many people in our country who have put in decades of medical work in poverty-stricken, resource-poor and ill-connected rural areas, but there are hardly any who have combined that with outstanding literary work– and all of Dr. Gadre's works, whether philosophical, biographical, fictional or medical, provide evidence of a deep commitment to humane values which seem to be under threat in our world. We hope that the award will inspire many people to follow Dr Gadre's example of self-sacrifice, and of the triumph of the human spirit over adverse circumstances, and that it will therefore inspire even more people to serve our rural areas with distinction".
Dr Gadre, a doctor also a writer, is the second winner of the Maanav Adhikaar Paaritaushik (Human Dignity Award). The first winner was Dr John Dayal, a Member of the Indian National Commission for Minorities.
Prabhu Guptara
Labels: Maharashtra


text:
Ashe Farm Camping & Caravan Site
The Camping & Caravan Site
Holiday Caravans
We are pleased to inform you that Ashe Farm is open for bookings. We have worked hard to put in place safety measures to keep everyone safe, however, there will be some restrictions, so please contact us to book your pitch. We look forward to seeing you all soon.
Ian, Sarah and Jean
Ashe Farm is a quiet informal family-run caravan and camping site part of a working farm situated near Taunton in Somerset between the Quantock and Blackdown Hills.
The six acre site has two sheltered meadows with lovely views of the hills and an atmosphere of peace and seclusion. Towing approach from the M5 motorway is straightforward and the site is easy to find at the end of your journey. There are electric hook-ups in both fields. The first field has a number of hard standings and a fully equipped toilet / shower block with disabled facilities and a laundry.
Ashe Farm provides a great site for children to get close to nature with plenty of space for games and lovely walks around the farm and local woods.
The historic Taunton town is three miles from the farm. It has a good shopping centre with major supermarkets and department stores, ten-pin bowling, golf courses, the Brewhouse Theatre, Odeon Cinema and swimming and sports facilities. It's also home to Somerset County Cricket Club and the Racecourse.
To the north are the Quantocks. Bishops Lydeard, a village just North West of Taunton is the starting point for the West Somerset Railway, which runs regular steam services through the beautiful Quantock country side and along the coast to Minehead.
To the East is the Somerset Levels with access to the Willow and Wetlands Centre and cheap shopping at Clarkes Village factory outlet, Street. In the Mendip hills you have Cheddar Caves & Gorge and Wookey Hole, a great day out for when it's wet.
Other attractions within easy travelling distance include Sheppy's Cider, Cricket St Thomas, Diggerland at Cullompton, Crealy Park, near Exeter and of course the beaches...Woolacombe, Exmouth, Minehead, Bream Sands & Lyme Bay.
Ashe Farm
Hosted by: TritonTS Ltd. Thornfalcon . Taunton . Somerset . TA3 5NW | Tel: 01823 443764 . 07891 989482