The Virtus Awards' quest for excellence, creativity and innovation in the Hospitality Sales and Marketing profession continues to its fourth year through its awards night to be held at Marriott Grand Ballroom on October 8.
Launched in 2015 by the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) in collaboration with industry partners, the Virtus Awards is designed to be the gold standard. The rigorous selection process, with measurable standards and criteria, is intended to make the Virtus awards a credible arbiter of sales and marketing excellence. There are three individual awards and one corporate award given out every year. The individual awards—Associate, Manager, and Leader—cover positions in room sales, event management, digital commerce, reservation, public relations and communications, and revenue management. The corporate award recognizes the most outstanding marketing campaign that is built around a single, unified theme using at least two different types of media.
Already, the Virtus Awards is envisioned to be the biggest and most prestigious awards event of the Philippines hotel sales and marketing industry.
That was what Christine Ann Ibarreta, president of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Philippines, envisioned for the Virtus Awards when she first came up with it four years ago—a vision, which, she admits, is still something the group is working on achieving.
In fact, it has become the event of the year for such professionals, as it is the only one which recognizes specifically their hard work and achievements. Slowly but surely, the Virtus Awards has positioned itself to become one of the most coveted honors in the hotel and tourism industry.
Ibarreta says she was inspired to establish Virtus after hearing of HSMA International's Adrian Awards in the United States. From her big dream of 10 categories, she and other HSMA Philippines officers trimmed down the list to four: Outstanding Sales and Marketing Associate; Outstanding Sales and Marketing Manager; Outstanding Sales and Marketing Leader (the award received by Reboredo for her work then with Midas Hotel and Casino); and Outstanding Marketing Campaign.
Such recognition, adds Munsayac, not only elevates the hotel sales and marketing profession, but also motivates management to take care of their staff under this division, which in turn inspires sales and marketing professionals to become more passionate about their job.
Since Virtus began in 2015, Ibarreta says the number of nominations they receive have doubled. This year's nominees for individual categories are regular employees who have served in a HSMA member-property for at least one year, including the covered period of April 1, 2017 to March 30, 2018, and have no past and/or pending administrative or criminal case.
Nominators, on the other hand, come from an HSMA member-property to ensure familiarity with the performance being cited.
Ibarreta notes that nominees this year have become significantly more competitive.
Criteria depend on the category under which a candidate is nominated. For the three individual awards, judges look at these key factors: one's actual accomplishments and achievements; customer orientation and business-specific knowledge; teamwork and interpersonal relationships; and commitment to continuing education.
The finalists for the Outstanding Marketing Campaign are: Marco Polo Davao for "Fashion & Fusion", Savoy Boracay for "A Day in Savoy Boracay", Marriott Manila for "Marry Me at Marriott", Conrad Manila's China Blue by Jereme Leung for "Modern Take on Chinese Dining", and Las Casas Filipinas for "Vanguard of Filipino Heritage".
Announcement of winners for the 2018 Virtus Awards will be held at the gala dinner on Oct. 8 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Marriott Manila, #2 Resorts Drive, Pasay City. Guest of honour and keynote speaker is Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.


The quaint country town of Vacy was the place this lovely couple chose for their wedding, with the guests greeted by the gateposts of the church transformed into beautiful pillars of flowers.
The reception was held on the family property. A wagon wheel hanging from the ceiling of the shed provided the platform for the feature arrangement cascading with Gladiolus, Hydrangeas, Delphiniums, lilies & Singapore orchids, magnolia foliage & Dodder vine. Vases along the guest tables carried the colour throughout the family venue.


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IoT is destined to connect more than 20 billion things by the year 2020, as predicted in a report by the famous IT research firm Gartner. Most of these things will possibly be the vehicles, homes, and other things that well impacts the daily lives of the human beings. IoT industry, with its rapid growth, is sure to bring numerous benefits and advantages to the consumers around the globe (and the businesses using IoT technology as well). However, the real question which boggles the mind right now is how the communication/transmission from the staggering 20 billion connections will process seamlessly & smoothly? Some of the connected things might be located at such secluded places like a far-flung desert, flying objects like the planes, tiny sensors on buoys in the deep sea, and so on so forth.
"In the current technological geography, no single technology/firm alone is capable to effectively oversee and manage this huge communication process and big data," says Clovis Lacerda, Founder of Parlacom Telecommunications Brazil, a South American IoT/M2M solutions provider. According to Mr. Lacerda, there is one specific technique that can make it possible to effectively process and manage this huge data/communication from 20 billion+ things: satellite technology.
The good thing is this that a lot of satellite companies are already working on creating innovative services and hardware to facilitate IoT via satellites. Efforts are on-going in the satellite operative firms to integrate satellite-based solutions into the IoT networking elements such as fibers, wireless, and hybrid networking sectors. These efforts will ensure that satellite-based IoT coverage will be possible on a consumer level.
You might be amazed to know that space-based communicative technologies are already helping progress several aspects of IT for decades now. IoT has just been added to this list of beneficiaries a few years ago when satellites started to act as the "reflectors" for important devices installed in secluded places by businesses operating them and to help in transferring communication and data management.
The growing fields of machine-to-machine (M2M) interaction and IoT in the future can only rely on this satellite-based communicative method to properly work. "In other words, if there are no satellites to help carry the data/communicational burden of 20 billion+ connected things in the future, we will most possibly have no IoT at all," forewarns Mr. Lacerda of Parlacom Telecommunications Brazil.
Therefore, to accommodate this soon-to-be-real IoT requirement, those satellite operators who have a deep sense of the futuristic world are working day & night to develop groundbreaking satellite-based solutions to meet the huge IoT technology requirements in the future. One of those firms is the Intelsat, the largest satellite operators in the world, who are mapping the path for IoT' salvation via satellite-based solutions. So, let us be hopeful and optimistic about the terrific future of IoT lies ahead of us in the next few years.


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Home›Music Album›Melody's Echo Chamber releases single 'Alma' ahead of new album 'Emotional Eternal'
Melody's Echo Chamber releases single 'Alma' ahead of new album 'Emotional Eternal'
Melody's Echo Chamber has released the third and final single from their upcoming album 'Emotional Eternal', a tribute to motherhood titled 'Alma'.
The single was released today (April 7). In a statement, the French musician – real name Melody Prochet – described the track as "more of a poem to life". The first song to be written after his 2018 album 'Bon Voyage', 'Alma' was written after Prochet had to leave his newborn baby for one night a year after giving birth.
"I think I registered the emotion of this kind of spiritual experience of essential but heartbreaking separation from the bubble of pure love to the world of others," she said in a statement.
Watch the lively and scenic music video for 'Alma' below.
'Alma' follows the release of 'Personal Message' and 'Looking Backward' earlier this year. All three singles will appear on "Emotional Eternal", Prochet's third studio album, which is due out April 29 via Domino.
Prochet's previous album, "Bon Voyage", was released in June 2018 after a six-year hiatus. The singer had been forced to postpone the release of the album for a year following an accident which caused a brain aneurysm and fractured vertebrae in 2017, resulting in her hospitalization.
"Bon Voyage" received a three-star review from NMEwith writer Jamie Milton describing the record as a "wild journey into the space age that could use a ticket back to Earth" and "the record Prochet has long wanted to make".
In 2012, she released her self-titled debut album, produced by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Youth art auction to benefit The Children's Home
FACES 2016 set for Oct. 28 at Baltimore Museum of Industry
Jennifer Franciotti
WEBVTT THE BENEFITS THE CHILDREN'S HOME IN CATONSVILLE. >> THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE I CAN'T GO HOME RIGHT NOW. REPORTER: THE CHILDREN'S HOME IN CATONSVILLE IS HIS REFUGE AND SERVES KIDS FROM 13-21 IN THE FOSTER SYSTEM. >> IT'S A SAFE HAVEN FOR ME. REPORTER: THAT EXPRESSION IS COMING OUT IN ART WORK CREATED BY THE KIDS. FOR PRIVACY, THEIR FACES MUST BE PROTECTED. >> THIS IS HAPPINESS AND LOVE. REPORTER: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT WHEN YOU MADE THAT? >> THERE IS A GREATER DAY TO COME. DESIGN AND MAKES IT POP OUT. >> I NEVER EVER DID THIS BEFORE. IT TOOK ME AWAY FROM EVERYBODY AWAY ME. >> THIS IS AUTISTIC EXPRESSION OF WHAT THEIR FEELINGS MIGHT BE. SOME OF THE WORK IS VERY LIGHT AND AIRY. SOME OF THE WORK IS SOMEWHAT DARK. REPORTER: CHILDREN'S HOME C.E.O. SAYS THE ART WORK WILL BE AUCTIONED OFF. IT'S A NIGHT OF FOOD AND MUSIC. >> ARTS, CLOTHING, ANY KIND OF TRIPS THAT THEY GO ON, ANY OF THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE THAT WOULDN'T BE FUNDED NORMALLY THROUGH OUR STATE CONTRACTS. IT HELPS US DO THAT. REPORTER: TICKETS ARE $85 IN
Artwork created by young people in need will be up for auction next week. The Children's Home in Catonsville hopes the event will highlight the talent of its residents while raising money for a good cause. "This place has been extremely important to me because I can't really go home right now," said Liam, a resident at The Children's Home. For Liam, 19, The Children's Home is his refuge. Sitting on 44 acres in Catonsville, it serves those 13-21 in the state's foster care system. "It's a safe haven for me because I get to express myself here," Liam said. And that expression is coming out in dozens of ways through artwork created by the youngsters. The project is called FACES, but for privacy, theirs must be protected. "This says there's happiness and love," Meshia, 16, said of her artwork. "(It says) that there's always a brighter day to come." Taylor, 15, made her artwork using chalk pastel. "It just took me away from everybody around me because I was so focused on that," Taylor said. The artwork highlights a wide range of emotions. Some of the work is very light and airy, while some of the work is somewhat dark. The Children's Home CEO Andre Cooper said the artwork will be auctioned off at a fundraiser beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, at 1415 Key Highway in Baltimore. "(The event raises money for) art, clothing, any kind of trips that they go on," Cooper said. "Any of the needs that they have that wouldn't be funded through our state contracts. The FACES fundraiser helps us to do that." Tickets to FACES 2016 are $85 in advance and $100 at the door. For more information, tap here.
CATONSVILLE, Md —
Artwork created by young people in need will be up for auction next week.
The Children's Home in Catonsville hopes the event will highlight the talent of its residents while raising money for a good cause.
"This place has been extremely important to me because I can't really go home right now," said Liam, a resident at The Children's Home.
For Liam, 19, The Children's Home is his refuge. Sitting on 44 acres in Catonsville, it serves those 13-21 in the state's foster care system.
"It's a safe haven for me because I get to express myself here," Liam said.
And that expression is coming out in dozens of ways through artwork created by the youngsters. The project is called FACES, but for privacy, theirs must be protected.
"This says there's happiness and love," Meshia, 16, said of her artwork. "(It says) that there's always a brighter day to come."
Taylor, 15, made her artwork using chalk pastel.
"It just took me away from everybody around me because I was so focused on that," Taylor said.
The artwork highlights a wide range of emotions. Some of the work is very light and airy, while some of the work is somewhat dark.
The Children's Home CEO Andre Cooper said the artwork will be auctioned off at a fundraiser beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, at 1415 Key Highway in Baltimore.
"(The event raises money for) art, clothing, any kind of trips that they go on," Cooper said. "Any of the needs that they have that wouldn't be funded through our state contracts. The FACES fundraiser helps us to do that."
Tickets to FACES 2016 are $85 in advance and $100 at the door. For more information, tap here.


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SportsPlays
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text:
class Lua_vector_int : public CPPUNIT_NS::TestFixture
{
	CPPUNIT_TEST_SUITE(Lua_vector_int);
		CPPUNIT_TEST(popBack_passedVectorWithOneEntery_vectorsSizeIsZero);
		CPPUNIT_TEST(pushBack_passedEmptyVector_sizeEqualsOne);
		CPPUNIT_TEST(size_passedEmptyVector_returnEqualsZero);
	CPPUNIT_TEST_SUITE_END();
	OOLUA::Script * m_lua;
	vector_int v;
public:
	Lua_vector_int()
		: m_lua(0)
	{}
	LVD_NOCOPY(Lua_vector_int)
	void setUp()
	{
		m_lua = new OOLUA::Script;
		m_lua->register_class<vector_int>();
	}
	void tearDown()
	{
		delete m_lua;
		vector_int m;
		v.swap(m);
	}

	void popBack_passedVectorWithOneEntery_vectorsSizeIsZero()
	{
		m_lua->run_chunk(
				"func = function (v)\n"
					"v:pop_back() \n"
				"end");
		v.push_back(1);
		m_lua->call("func", &v);
		CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(vector_int::size_type(0), v.size());
	}

	void pushBack_passedEmptyVector_sizeEqualsOne()
	{
		m_lua->run_chunk(
				"func = function (v)\n"
					"v:push_back(1) \n"
				"end");
		m_lua->call("func", &v);
		CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(vector_int::size_type(1), v.size());
	}

	void size_passedEmptyVector_returnEqualsZero()
	{
		m_lua->run_chunk(
				"func = function (v)\n"
					"return v:size() \n"
				"end");
		m_lua->call("func", &v);
		int res;
		OOLUA::pull(*m_lua, res);
		CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(int(0), res); //NOLINT(readability/casting)
	}
};

CPPUNIT_TEST_SUITE_REGISTRATION(Lua_vector_int);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Earlier this month, the American Kidney Fund (AKF) hosted 10 advocates from our Advocacy Network in Washington to meet with legislators and raise awareness for kidney disease prevention, education and research. We sat down with one patient-advocate, Monica Jemison from Waukegan, Ill., to hear about her experience on Capitol Hill.
Monica Jemison: Kidney disease is no stranger to my family. My father developed kidney failure as a result of high blood pressure and received a transplant six years ago. In 2011, I also learned that my own battle with high blood pressure had resulted in chronic kidney disease and I would eventually need a transplant. When I received this news, my kidneys were only functioning at 15 percent.
Monica Jemison: It was a wake-up call! I immediately learned how to make healthy changes to my lifestyle. While it is not for everyone, my doctor suggested I have bariatric surgery. After surgery, I worked with a nutritionist, exercise therapist and others to ensure I was on the right track. I began exercising and experienced weight loss. I also adopted a healthy eating plan consisting of a diet low in fat and sodium and continue to have regular appointments with my nutritionist to ensure my diet is on par for my kidneys, as well as to maintain the weight loss.
When I first began exercising, I could only walk a few minutes very slowly. I have built up to an hour of exercise a day, but I listen very carefully to my body because I do not want to overdo it. My goal is to run a marathon one day to prove to myself I can beat this disease.
You always hear that making positive lifestyle changes can improve your life, but many people don't ever take those steps and experience the life-changing benefits I did. I want everyone reading this to know that it is possible to improve their health. If I can do it, I know you can do it. As a result of managing my condition closely with my nephrologist and adapting healthier habits, I have been able to raise my kidney function to 21 percent and avoid starting dialysis for the time being.
Monica Jemison: I'm an advocate with AKF because I want to prevent people from suffering from this devastating disease. Though it's a silent killer, showing no symptoms at first, many cases are preventable. If I can do my part raising awareness and preventing kidney disease through educating others, then I feel like I have helped in the effort to fight this disease. The leading causes of kidney disease are diabetes and high blood pressure; I had the latter, and now I am living with only 21 percent kidney function and fighting every day to stay off of dialysis.
Kidney disease can also be caused by hereditary or congenital conditions. That's scary to me because even though you are practicing a healthy lifestyle, you can still develop kidney disease. But again, that's a reminder why screening is so important. Early detection of kidney disease leads to better health outcomes.
Kidney Today: You were invited by AKF to participate in our fifth annual Kidney Action Day on the Hill. What was your first thought when you were asked to go to Washington and speak with legislators?
Monica Jemison: In all honesty, my first thought was 'Oh my goodness, can I really do this?' I signed up as an advocate because I wanted to help, but I never thought I would actually be chosen to attend such a special and life-changing event. I had so many emotions when I found out I was asked to visit Capitol Hill–a combination of surprise, apprehension and overall excitement.
Monica Jemison: I met with the offices of Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Rep. Bradley Schneider (D- IL 10), and shared with them my personal story of how kidney disease has affected my family and me, and my experience achieving a healthier lifestyle to delay dialysis.
I also shared with the offices the importance of access to quality care for individuals on dialysis and those living with transplants, which includes adequate funding for the Medicare ESRD program for dialysis patients. I am proud that last February, Sen. Durbin introduced The Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act. This bipartisan legislation will improve the quality of life for people with kidney transplants by ensuring transplant patients have access to rejection-preventing medications for the entire life of the transplant.
Monica Jemison: Not only do I feel like I made an impact, I know I did.
One of the things I did was urge my members of Congress to join the Congressional Kidney Caucus, and my Congressman did! After I met with Congressman Schneider's office, he immediately took action and joined the Congressional Kidney Caucus. And if that wasn't enough, a few days after I met with him, he signed on as a co-sponsor of The Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act. I couldn't have asked for better results. My voice was fully heard, and I feel blessed to have made a difference.
Monica Jemison: It was my first visit to our nation's capital. It was so exciting to be in the middle of all the action and to see the House and Senate floor. Meeting with my legislators is an experience I will never forget and an opportunity for which I will forever be thankful because it changed my life.
Kidney Today: You mentioned the visit to Capitol Hill changed your life. How?
Monica Jemison: Meeting the other nine patient-advocates reminded me how much kidney disease affects millions of people in our country, from a dialysis patient to a donor, even to the caregiver. This experience sparked something inside me, and I learned that my passion in life is to help others with kidney disease and other chronic conditions. I have decided to go back to school beginning in May to pursue a degree in public health education so I can help people every day and continue to make a positive difference in others' lives.
Monica Jemison from Waukegan, Ill., is a member of the American Kidney Fund's Advocacy Network.


text:
Gauging Saudi Stakes On Pakistan And India
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam shaking hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Saudi ArabiaSourcesTHE WIREGeopoliticsCountries
Devirupa Mitra
NEW DELHI — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's visits to India and Pakistan in the immediate aftermath of a deadly suicide attack on Indian security personnel in Kashmir have been a test of Riyadh's policy to keep its relations with the two neighbors in strictly separate silos.
As Mohammed bin Salman"s statements in Pakistan gained wide coverage, his comments on terrorism in the Indian capital were minutely parsed. His travel itinerary for Asia had been decided months ahead but finally took place under the shadow of the car bomb attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy which left over 40 dead on February 14th.
Talking about terror
During his Islamabad sojourn, the crown prince signed $20 billion worth of agreements with cash-starved Pakistan. More significantly, the joint statement released on Monday said that Saudi Arabia appreciated Pakistan's fight against terrorism. It also included a statement that the "politicization" of the UN's UN's global terror list should be avoided.
With India's renewed pushing for designating Masood Azhar, chief of the Pakistan-based militant organization Jaish-e-Mohammad, as a "global terrorist" after the Pulwama attack, Salman's statement was interpreted as a snub by several quarters. The opposition Congress party spokesperson took umbrage at the Indian prime minister's decision to greet and hug the crown prince at the Delhi airport after his generous largesse to Pakistan.
On Wednesday afternoon, the crown prince declared that terrorism and extremism were "a common concern" for India and Saudi Arabia. Just before his short statement, he led discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and witnessed the signing of five agreements.
Standing next to Modi at a joint press appearance, the 33-year-old Saudi royal reiterated that "his country was ready to work in the intelligence and political arenas to coordinate our efforts." He added that Saudi Arabia was ready to cooperate not just "with India, but also with our neighbors as well."
Modi was more expansive in his statement. Describing the Pulwama attack as a "brutal symbol" of the threat of terrorism, the Indian prime minister said that both countries "agree that there is a need to increase all possible pressure on countries supporting any type of terrorism."
Terrorism and extremism are "a common concern"
"Destroying the infrastructure of terrorism and ending its support— and punishing terrorists and their supporters— is very important," he asserted, adding that Saudi Arabia and India have "similar views."
The Saudi prince didn't refer to the terror attack in his remarks. The joint statement, however, noted that both leaders condemned February 14th's incident in the "strongest terms."
There was no direct mention of Pakistan by either leader in their joint media appearance but the joint statement cited Pakistan twice. First, the Saudi prince praised Modi for his "consistent efforts' to have friendly relations with Pakistan.
"In this context, both sides agreed on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of the comprehensive dialogue between India and Pakistan," added the bilateral document.
The last time that Pakistan was mentioned by name in an Indian-Saudi joint statement was 13 years ago. When King Abdullah was the chief guest at the 2006 Republic Day celebrations, the two sides "welcomed the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan and their continued efforts aimed at settling the outstanding issues between the two countries."
Fast forward over a decade – and the context of Pakistan's specific mention had changed dramatically.
Indian officials argued on Wednesday that "creation of conditions' meant advocating New Delhi's position: action against terrorists is necessary to create "a conducive atmosphere" for dialogue.
Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman sitting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan — Photo: Xinhua/ZUMA
Saudi Arabia's joint statement with Pakistan also had a similar template on this subject. It stated that the crown prince "praised" Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's efforts for dialogue with India and the Kartarpur corridor initiative, along with an assertion that "dialogue is the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region to resolve outstanding issues."
The Indian-Saudi joint statement also referred to one particular line in Pakistan's statement that raised a lot of eyebrows.
The reference to "comprehensive sanctioning" was an implicit rebuttal from Delhi to the "politicization of UN listing" in Islamabad.
In a press briefing, the Ministry of External Affair's secretary (in economic relations) refused to comment on Saudi Arabia's announcement of a $20 billion investment in Pakistan, stating that each bilateral relationship stood on its own.
He noted that the reference to "comprehensive sanctioning" was to address the anomaly of terror groups getting listed in the UN sanctions regime, but not their members— and vice versa. Jaish-e-Mohammed was listed with the UNSC 1267 sanctions committee in October 2001, but Masood Azhar has still not been cleared by the panel due to a "technical hold" by China.
When asked about this specific sentence in the Pakistan-Saudi statement, India's Secretary of Economic Relations in External Affairs T.S. Tirumurti demurred, "If you are really looking at politicization, you know who is politicizing it."
Saudi junior foreign minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir insisted that the offending statement had been misunderstood.
"I think people here assumed that the joint statement had to do with one particular individual (Azhar). It did not. The intention was that the process of designation is clear and not political," he told PTI.
If you are really looking at politicization, you know who is politicizing it.
He asserted that any terrorist should be "designated," but claimed that Saudi Arabia's motivation was to ensure that countries "do not pit somebody who is a political opponent and put his name as a terrorist".
In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, top Indian diplomats held a series of briefings for ambassadors of foreign countries. Their stance was that Pakistan should be censured more directly, with blacklisting at Financial Action Task Force and Masood Azhar's UNSC listing.
According to Tirumurti, India underlined the "complicity" of Pakistan's government in the Pulwama attack in the discussions with the Saudis.
Al-Jubeir, who was demoted one rank to minister of state for foreign affairs after the controversy over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said that Riyadh did not want to see current tensions escalate. "You have wise leadership in both the countries represented by respective prime ministers. I believe they will be able to find a way to de-escalate," he stated.
However, he said that Saudi Arabia "will not involve ourselves into the tensions between India and Pakistan without being invited by both the countries." Tirumurti confirmed that Saudi Arabia had not offered to mediate between the South Asian rivals.
Eighteen years of de-hyphenation
Former Indian ambassador Zikrur Rahman, who had been posted both in Riyadh and Jeddah, said the Saudis have given a clear signal that they do not want to link relations between India and Pakistan.
"They are saying that our relationship with Pakistan is in our interest and it is not against India. Same the other way around. Saudis don't want to get involved in between us," Rahman told The Wire.
This separation in the relationship between the two South Asian countries, Rahman said, was literally demonstrated by the crown prince when he went back to Riyadh for a few hours before arriving in Delhi.
"This is the first time that you have seen that crown prince has not come directly. Intentionally, he has gone back to Saudi Arabia and in less than 24 hours, he came flying to India. This is basically to say that our relations with Pakistan and India are different," he said.
Similarly, former ambassador Talmiz Ahmad also said that it was unfortunate that the Indian media had framed the visit of the Saudi crown prince through the Pulwama incident, which had cast "a long and deep shadow".
Ahmad, who had been posted twice as India's envoy to the desert kingdom, noted that the Saudis had "de-hyphenated" relations between India and Pakistan for the last 18 years, referring to a policy of keeping relations with both countries independent of one another.
The kingdom had close political ties with Pakistan since its independence, and their relations were burnished by the Cold War. With India, relations had revolved around trade, energy and the large Indian expatriate population.
Post-liberalisation India, which had become one of the highest guzzlers of fuel, was a tempting courtship for the Saudi royals in the initial years of the 21st century.
"When external affairs minister Jaswant Singh visited Saudi Arabia in January 2001, it marked the commencement of political relations between us," explained Ahmad.
He recalled that Saudis established two important principles for the relationship during that visit. "They told us that we (Saudis) value relations with India on their own merit and these ties will not be influenced by ties with any other country. This was a very important clarification…till then, Saudi Arabian policy used to be influenced by ties with Pakistan," he said.
The former Indian Foreign Service officer noted the Saudi actions and statements was "reaffirming to us that there that there was no hyphenation... They de-hyphenated 18 years ago and that pattern has continued," he added.
The second important step at the 2001 meeting was when the Saudi foreign minister read a "substantive statement" on Kashmir that stated it was a bilateral dispute. "After the foreign minister finished reading it out, the external affairs minister said that he didn't disagree with anything in that statement. This cleared the air immediately," said Ahmad.
Domestic criticism within Pakistan focused on the omission of Kashmir in joint statement with Saudi Arabia.
Here, Ahmad pointed out that joint statements are a product of quid pro quo negotiations and are not "100% satisfactory to the host or the visitor".
In the Indian-Saudi joint statement, Saudi officials negotiated to include a sentence which "called upon all states to deny access to weapons including missiles and drones to commit terrorist acts against other countries." India also had its way as the joint statement called on "all countries to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy."
While the Saudis accepted Kashmir as a bilateral dispute in 2001, it took another seven years for the Gulf kingdom to have an active counter-terrorism cooperation with India.
According to Ahmad, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack was the turning point for the Saudis. "The 26/11 attack made it very clear that that this was a jihadi attack. There was no connection with Kashmir and it was sponsored by Pakistan. That is the context that they started to reach out to India for cooperation in counter-terrorism," he said.
The cooperation in counter-terrorism has been "very substantial," with several terrorists also extradited to India over the years. "We have been able to interrogate even non-Indians in Saudi custody," he said.
Ahmad asserted this was the reason that "we should not judge a relationship or even a visit on the basis of one episode."
Wednesday's joint statement announced two initiatives in counter-terrorism: comprehensive security dialogue between the national security advisors and a new working group.
The release of the joint statement was, in fact, delayed by a few hours.
Sources told The Wire that the text of the paragraphs on terrorism were prepared before Wednesday evening. But the release of the public document had to wait until after the president's official banquet in honor of the Saudi crown prince.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to make an announcement during the banquet about the release of Indian prisoners. According to official figures, there are 2,224 Indian prisoners in Saudi jails. The Saudi delegation took some time to confirm that they were ready to free 850 Indian prisoners.
At the last minute, the Saudis also wanted to include a breakup of the announcement of "$100 billion investment" in the joint statement. The document indicated that this figure included a delayed $44 billion west coast refinery, $10 billion through the Public Investment Fund and another $26 billion worth of opportunities "are being explored."
The Wire is a news website available in English and Hindi, was founded in 2015 in New Delhi. It is published by the Foundation for Independent Journalism (FIJ), a non-profit Indian company.


I think the biggest challenge for our team is keeping up with the pace of change in the business and technical environment. Today's workforce is more mobile and computer-savvy than ever. Our IT departments are expected to release new applications quickly and efficiently so that our employees have quick and easy access to meaningful data at their fingertips – regardless of where they are physically located. Our customers expect that we are applying appropriate safeguards to protect their data but also want us to be easy to work with. Sometimes those goals are in conflict. As compliance professionals, we need to embrace the changes, but we are also expected to continue to comply with regulatory and security requirements. I don't think a compliance group that continually says "no" is as effective as one that is collaborative in understanding the business objectives to be achieved and then assisting in identifying reasonable controls to address the risks and requirements. The compliance team has to be viewed as a business partner – not a gatekeeper.
As a global enterprise, sometimes it is difficult to ensure the appropriate links between our own internal organizational units. You can get bogged down dealing with varying time zones, cultural differences, language barriers, competing priorities, etc. Then you add external parties to the mix, and the situation gets even more complex. On a daily basis our employees interact with outsourcers, clients, contractors, consultants, vendors, and many other external business partners. For our organization, I think the best way to effectively manage risk is to expect every employee to be responsible for monitoring compliance. A group of compliance professionals sitting in a corporate headquarters office can't possibly oversee everything, but the working manager responsible for the day-in and day-out transactional interactions with external parties has keen insight into what is happening or not happening. I think having a corporate compliance team is extremely important, but the attitude has to be that every individual is responsible for security and compliance. This message should be driven from the top but understood by everyone throughout the organization.


text:
Georgia Supreme Court: Both sides in Northside Hospital open records flap wrong, returns case to trial court
Jan Skutch
The Georgia Supreme Court on Thursday rejected arguments by both sides in an open records dispute involving Northside Hospital Inc. in Atlanta, and returned the case to Fulton County Superior Court with instructions to apply the correct legal standard.
In the unanimous opinion, the state's highest court reversed a decision by the state Court of Appeals in favor of the corporation which operates the Atlanta hospital, but said the "all or nothing" arguments were both wrong and returned the case for further proceedings.
Northside Hospital Inc is a public facility owned by a hospital authority, the Fulton County Hospital Authority, and operated as a nonprofit organization.
At issue is whether a public hospital operated by a corporation must make records not exempt under the state's Open Records Act available to the public.
In Savannah, Atlanta attorneys for the parent corporation of nonprofit Memorial University Medical Center have repeatedly used the Northside case to block attempts by the Savannah Morning News to make public records that involve the health care provider's finances and governance decisions.
Memorial Health is in the final stages of a sale to Hospital Corporation of America, a Nashville, Tenn.-based for-profit hospital. Georgia's attorney general is in a 90-day review of the sale which is expected to be concluded by year's end.
In Northside, the Court of Appeals earlier sided with a Fulton County Superior Court judge who ruled records sought by a private citizen were not "public records" and therefore not available under the act. The hospital argued none of its records sought were open; the plaintiff argued that all of them were.
In its 29-page opinion Thursday, the high court said that both the trial court and Court of Appeals applied the wrong legal standard, reversed the appeals ruling and returned it to the trial court for further procedings.
The correct standard "requires a fact-intensive inquiry made difficult in this appeal given the divergent all-or-nothing positions taken by the parties," the justices said.
Since the authority created Northside Hospital decades ago "the corporation has become massive with considerable assets in surrounding counties," the opinion said.
"The corporation now argues that it doesn't really do anything on behalf of the agency (Northside) … and thus the corporation's records of a series of health care-related acquisitions aren't subject to public inspection.
"If the corporation's aggressive position is wholly correct, it may well cast serious doubt on the legality of the whole arrangement between the corporation and the agency."
"A lawyer who seeks records from the corporation under the state's sunshine laws, on the other hand, takes the opposite (but equally aggressive) position, contending that everything the corporation does is for the agency's benefit and those records are public," the court said.
"Both were wrong," the justice said. "We remand for the trial court to consider in the first instance whether the records in question are sufficiently connected to the operation of the leased facilities to constitute public records" under the Open Records Act.
The court went on to say that the corporation's operation of the hospital and other leased facilities is a service it performs on behalf of the agency and so records related to that operation are public records.
The court said Northside's operation of the leased facilities, "at the very least," is done on behalf of the authority.
"How closely the transactions at issue are tied to operating the leased facilities will determine whether documents are 'public records.'"
Meanwhile, due to Smith's position that everything Northside does is for or on behalf of the authority, "he has not endeavored to connect the particular records he seeks to the operation of the leased facilities," the court said.
Attorneys for plaintiff E. Kendrick Smith, himself an Atlanta attorney, filed a Georgia Open Records Act request from Northside involving details of the hospital's acquisition of four physician practices in 2011 and 2012, arguing that those records were public under the state's Open Records Act.
Attorneys for Northside argued the request was being made for "an undisclosed competitor of Northside Hospital Inc. to use the Georgia Open Records Act to gain an advantage in the private health care marketplace" and were not covered by the act.
In November 2013, Smith sued Northside in Fulton County Superior Court to compel disclosure of the records.
A Superior Court judge sided with Northside, and the state Court of Appeals upheld his action that the records are not public and that Smith is not entitled to them.
Smith's attorneys contended that "all of Northside's records, including the requested records, are 'public records'" because the hospital "was created by the authority as a vehicle to act on the authority's behalf."
Georgia Press Association attorney David Hudson filed a friend of the court brief with the Supreme Court for the GPA, Georgia First Amendment Foundation, the Savannah Morning News and the Atlanta Journal Constitution in support of transparenncy and opening the records to public disclosure.
"The court rejected the idea that a public authority could create a private entity to carry out its business and be exempt from the Open Records Act because the trial court in Fulton County rendered its decision based on Northside's argument that it was not subject to the act," Hudson said Thursday.
"The case is now being returned to the trial court in Fulton County to make a determination on what public record must be produced as would be required by any agency subject to the Open Records Act."
He said the act has 20 to 30 exemptions which Northside will now be allowed to apply and let the court make that initial determination.
In Savannah, he said, the ruling will mean the public will get more records about Memorial's operations.
Richard Griffiths with the Georgia First Amendment Foundation said Thursday that, "I think this is a big victory for open government."
The foundation "is delighted that the justices have followed precedent and held that this institution is bound by the principles of open government transparency.
"While Northside doesn't exactly advertise it, the hospital was brought into being to do the work of the Fulton County Hospital Authority, part of Fulton County government. Transparency is the best way to maintain accountability to the taxpayers for whom Northside was founded, who paid for it, and still effectively own it.
"The Justices are appropriately asking the trial court to figure out - given the re-affirmation of Northside's status as a public entity - whether the specific records are subject to the sunshine laws.
"Northside is a $2 billion a year institution in the county. The people of Fulton County need to be able to fully understand what goes on there, be sure that it continues to focus on "the public health needs of the community," he said. "We cannot allow government agencies to spin off private entities (just as Fulton County Hospital Authority did in creating Northside) so that they can avoid public records scrutiny."
Griffiths pointed out that Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, also a creature of county governments, makes it a stated policy that it follows the requirements of the open records laws.


text:
1994 RH (asteroide 32906) é um asteroide Amor. Possui uma excentricidade de 0.44109496 e uma inclinação de 18.93840º.

Este asteroide foi descoberto no dia 2 de setembro de 1994 por Eleanor F. Helin e Kenneth J. Lawrence em Palomar.

Ver também

 Lista de asteroides
 asteroide Amor

Ligações externas

Asteroides Amor
Objetos astronômicos descobertos em 1994

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home Homes Home Tours The Downeast Sweetie
The Downeast Sweetie
A Valley Dweller's Seaside Hideaway in Coastal Maine
by Lori McLaughlin, Photography by Anne Gridley & Gary Graves
Standing on the deck of Lisa Stephen's house in Eastport, Maine, you can look across the water and see Canada. The wide, open space affords a panoramic view of the Bay of Fundy. Small islands dot the bay, including Campobello Island where a young Franklin D. Roosevelt spent most of his summers. From late June to October it's easy to spot whales that make their summer feeding grounds in these waters.
Stephen spends a lot of time out here; for five months out of the year it's her favorite spot to relax and to entertain. "It's a wonderful place to have dinners," she says. "The view is incredible."
Eastport is a long way from Riegelsville, Bucks County, where Stephen lived before taking up permanent residency in this small seaport community, population 1,300. In fact, Eastport, the easternmost city in the United States, is far from almost everything. There are no stoplights, movie theatres or big box stores—you have to travel 40 minutes to the big city of Calais (population 3,100) for fast food and Walmart.
Stephen stumbled upon Eastport six years ago, while researching locations for her retirement. "I had always harbored this dream of moving to Nova Scotia or somewhere in the Maritimes," she explains. The plan was to spend six months there and six months someplace warm. She happened to pick up a copy of Coastal Living magazine's annual review of affordable waterfront properties. Number one on the list was Lubec, Maine, with a median home price of just $125,000.
There are no stoplights, movie theatres or big box stores–you have to travel 40 minutes to the big city of Calais (population 3,100) for fast food and Walmart.
Lubec, once the nation's sardine capital, was just three miles across the water from Eastport, another fishing community trying (successfully) to reinvent itself. Locals refer to this part of the world as Downeast Maine, or "the real Maine." The idea of relocating to a town with a working waterfront where people lived year-round appealed to Stephen. She scheduled Eastport as the first of many appointments with Maine realtors, planning to start there and work her way down the coast.
Now, Maine is a very big state. It's a six-hour drive from the Lehigh Valley just to cross the border from New Hampshire. Tack on another six hours to Eastport and you get a lot of time stuck in the car. Stephen's original plan was to buy a place within easy driving distance of home for her and her two Cairn terriers, and work there remotely for a week every other month. But from the very first time she drove down the causeway connecting the mainland to Eastport, she knew it was home.
"It was late in the evening and the sun was setting and the ocean was on both sides and I drove down to Main Street and took a right turn onto the waterfront and there were lobster boats everywhere," says Stephen. "Eastport is an old commercial town and I fell in love as soon as I turned that corner. I said, 'This is my town.' I knew!"
She stayed for four days, working with a realtor. One place they saw was a garage someone had converted into a house. It was ugly, but came with a terrific view of the water. She thought about it, but feeling the need for due diligence, kept the other appointments she'd made down the coast in Bar Harbor, Camden and Kennebunkport. "These towns were touristy and much more expensive," says Stephen. "Eastport was much more affordable, but I couldn't get over the unattractiveness of that garage made into a house."
A friend offered to go back with her to Maine to check it out. They looked at other Eastport properties, including an old commercial building in town. Dating back to the early 1800s, it had two storefronts with the original tin ceilings intact, plus two apartments upstairs. Stephen's friend suggested she buy it and convert the apartments into one big living space: "It would be like being in a Manhattan loft except it's in a fishing village!"
Ultimately, she bought the garage house. It had a water view and outdoor space for her dogs, two things high on her must-have list.
The quirky shutters with cutouts in the shape of a pine tree are appropriate for a cottage-style home but also a sly nod to Maine's status as the "Pine Tree State."
She gutted the house. Off came the blue siding and in went more windows. "The interesting thing about Maine is that a lot of people whose families have been there for generations don't look to the water when they plan their living space," explains Stephen. The new house was no exception but today, "Virtually anywhere you are in the house you can see the ocean."
Up went new wood siding, typical for homes in coastal Maine towns. She wanted the color to coordinate with the huge wraparound deck going up outside. The deck would also be wood, but left natural to avoid having to stain it all the time. To find the perfect color match, Stephen drove around and looked at other houses. She had always admired one particular house in New Jersey and one day she knocked on the door to ask about the siding color. The kind owner gave her the information and Stephen took it to Sherwin-Williams to formulate a perfect paint match, which she describes as a "dark taupe."
The quirky shutters with cutouts in the shape of a pine tree are appropriate for a cottage-style home but also a sly nod to Maine's status as the "Pine Tree State." They're from an old house and Stephen found them in an antique store in Searsport, Maine. She had them cut down to size and refinished. "I actually have about 10 more of them," she says. "I bought all they had, because you just never know. If I add on I'll have back up."
Wooden window boxes complete the look. She changes them seasonally, refreshing winter's greens with bright freesias and lantana in the warmer months. "Flowers make me happy," says Stephen.
Inside, Stephen replaced everything in the kitchen and bathrooms, moved the utility room and installed wood flooring. Her goal was to create a place where she could completely unwind. She explains: "I came up here because the job I had at the time was very hectic and pressured and the economy was tough and business was tough. To come to Maine was an escape for me and I could literally drive over the causeway and feel myself let go. I could rejuvenate there."
It was also a place to have some fun and indulge her whimsical side. To know Lisa Stephen is to know she is a passionate collector, taking a single theme and running with it. A dog lover, soon after purchasing the house she began collecting oil paintings of dogs, removing the canvases and putting them in antique frames. The living room is a literal portrait gallery, with dozens of framed canines. She also bought hooked rugs of dogs and old cross-stitch pictures, things that made her happy and had a sense of home about them.
The living room features an ottoman with the sweet faces of three of her dogs (two living, one passed) painted on leather. Stephen had admired a similar bench on display at A Mano Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey and commissioned the artist to create something unique for Maine. The ottoman sits on a patchwork patterned hooked rug from Dash and Albert that Stephen had long-coveted and now had the perfect room for.
Her goal was to create a place where she could completely unwind.
If it sounds like the house has gone to the dogs, it has. Like many of the folks with summer homes in Maine, Stephen gave her house a name—The Dog House. There's a painted plaque by the front door with the name and her dogs' pictures on it, leaving no question as to who rules this roost.
The graphic red, off-white and black color theme is something Stephen had always wanted to try. When planning the interior decoration, she took a sample of black and white check fabric along with the patchwork rug to a store in New York City and worked with a salesperson there to buy all of the fabrics to make the pillows and cushions, draperies, sofa and chairs. They coordinated everything from top to bottom.
Eastport is rather isolated, so Stephen did a lot of mail order shopping to make things easy. Her couch and chairs came from Crate & Barrel—she shipped them the fabric and they upholstered the pieces and delivered them to Maine. "I also bought a lot of stuff from Pottery Barn and the bathroom fixtures come from Restoration Hardware," she adds. Most everything is new, including the living room's wicker lounger, placed strategically to take advantage of the water view. Wicker is something else that figured in the grand plan. "I love wicker inside the house."
Aside from the picture frames, the only antique is the kitchen table. It dates to the early 1800s. Stephen found it in the Camden/Lincolnville area of Maine. It pairs beautifully with the iconic ladder-back chairs, freshened up with black and white check chair pads. The chairs have been around for 30 years—they're from her very first house and have traveled with her everywhere.
The new house is cozy, just 1,200 square feet. Downstairs is the kitchen, living room, a bathroom and mudroom. Upstairs is one bedroom and full bath. "It's my cocoon. It envelops me," says Stephen. In colder months, a wood-burning fireplace warms the living room and she sits in one of the window seats to read, her dogs on the lookout. In the warmer months you'll find her outside on one of the two decks.
There's a small one off the second floor. Then there's the huge deck on the first floor. It runs down one entire side of the house and wraps around the back, adding another 1,200 square feet of living space. Guests naturally gravitate to the railings; there's not a bad view from any angle. If one looks a little to the left two hours before high tide they'll witness "Old Sow," a whirling vortex that is the largest whirlpool in North America. It is so named, depending on whom you ask, for sounding like a loud drain or hungry pigs at the trough.
"Sweeties Downeast" offers homemade fudge and more than a hundred kinds of candies sold by the pound.
Stephen does most of her entertaining on the deck. She has a table that seats ten people and plenty of seating arranged in comfortable groupings. On one of her Midcoast Maine antiquing runs she purchased the huge "King's Lobster Shop" sign that dominates one wall. The shop owner was nice enough to help her securely fasten the ten-foot-long piece to the top of her car for the drive home. When she first hung it outside, her neighbors exclaimed, "People will think it is a store!"
Actually, Stephen may never have imagined herself as a storeowner, but she is one now. Not long after deciding to stay in Eastport full time she bought the old commercial building downtown and converted the two storefronts into a candy store. "Sweeties Downeast" offers homemade fudge and more than a hundred kinds of candies sold by the pound. Stephen runs the show behind an old wrap desk that came from a general store. For her, "It's a different kind of life, but at this stage in my life it is quite wonderful. When I opened right before the Fourth of July last year a little boy walked in and looked around and said, 'Mom, this is heaven!'" How right he was.
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text:
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"The DePuy Synthes Femoral Neck System has an articulated blade and screw design that limits rotational movement on the femoral head and is protective of an anatomic provisional reduction, which is a critical step in the treatment of femoral neck fractures. It may additionally optimize the mechanical advantages of a sliding hip screw while mitigating the negative effects of rotational displacement seen with traditional sliding hip screws," said Eben A. Carroll, M.D., Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon***." The System builds nicely on DePuy Synthes' existing comprehensive portfolio of implants for hip and femur fractures and offers a dedicated alternative to traditional fixation systems used to treat these difficult fractures."
This new system combines enhanced fixation in a compact design and strengthens the company's current hip and femur fracture portfolio, which includes TFN-ADVANCED Proximal Femoral Nailing System (TFNA), TRAUMACEM V+ Injectable Bone Cement and the Femoral Recon Nail. With the addition of the Femoral Neck System to its growing portfolio, the company now offers comprehensive options with specialized solutions to address unmet clinical needs for all types of hip and femur fractures.
Filipov O. Epidemiology and social burden of the femoral neck fractures. Journal of IMAB. 2014; 20(4):516-518.
Sernbo I, Johnell O. Consequences of a hip fracture: a prospective study over 1 year. Osteoporosis International. 1993; 3(3):148-153.
Todd CJ, Freeman CJ, Camilleri-Ferrante C, Palmer CR, Hyder A, Laxton CE, et al. Differences in mortality after fracture of hip: the east Anglian audit. BMJ. 1995; 310:904-908.
Stoffel K, Zderic I, Gras F, et al. Biomechanical Evaluation of the Femoral Neck System in Unstable Pauwels III Femoral Neck Fractures: A Comparison with the Dynamic Hip Screw and Cannulated Screws Orthop Trauma. 2017. (31): 131-137.
*The Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies comprise the surgery, orthopaedics, vision and interventional solutions businesses within the Johnson & Johnson's Medical Devices segment.
****Employed by Medical Device Business Services, Inc.
© DePuy Synthes 2019. All rights reserved.


text:
Extra toppings for Domino's chief as pay more than trebles
The Domino's Pizza chief executive saw a large rise in pay thanks to a share award made in 2014
Bradley Gerrard
21 March 2017 • 12:43pm
The pay of Domino's Pizza's chief executive David Wild more than trebled last year as the share-based portion of his remuneration kicked in.
The hike in total pay from £1.24m in 2015 to £4.47m last year was down to a £3.48m share-based payout that is linked to Mr Wild's long-term incentive plan.
When Mr Wild was hired as chief executive in 2014, he was given 947,652 shares as part of his pay that he was not able to access for a specified period.
The chief executive also had to hit certain performance criteria set by the company's remuneration committee. One of these criteria is the growth in earnings per share, which has risen 69.8pc during Mr Wild's tenure - above the 60pc maximum growth target set by the board.
The shares were paid out at the three month average share price to December 25, which was 346.7p and a dividend equivalent award equal to £203,397 was also included.
Mr Wild's base salary of £510,000 is frozen until 2019 and his participation in the 2016 long-term incentive plan means he will not be eligible for this portion of pay this year or next.
A revised remuneration policy was approved at the 2016 annual general meeting and resulted in Mr Wild's annual bonus entitlement - which is separate to the long-term incentive plan - reduced to 100pc of salary from 150pc previously.
At a glance | Biggest UK franchises by units
The payout was revealed in the company's annual report, which comes shortly after the company reported like-for-like sales growth in the UK for the first nine weeks of its 2017 financial year was 3.9pc, down from 4.8pc in the final quarter of the 2016 financial year.
This was partly down to the "disappointing" performance of its Winter Survival meal deal, which proved less popular with customers after the company removed a cookie, which formed the dessert part of the deal, from the offering.
However Mr Wild was bullish on the company's wider performance, pointing out Domino's total sales growth of 8.3pc at the start of this year was ahead of the takeaway food market, which grew 5pc.


text:
HomeUK News
#BoycottThailand: Anonymous hacks Thai police websites over backpacker murder verdicts
Published time: 6 Jan, 2016 12:30
© Dado Ruvic © Reuters
Cyber hacktivist group Anonymous has hacked at least 14 Thai police websites in protest against the "scapegoating" of two Burmese men convicted of murdering two British backpackers, it has emerged.
In December, migrant bar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both now 23, were sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24.
The British couple's battered bodies were discovered on the idyllic holiday island of Koh Tao in September 2014.
Although the pair confessed to the murders, they later withdrew their statements, saying they had been tortured by police into admitting to the crimes.
Several human rights groups questioned the verdict and warned that migrants had previously been falsely accused of crimes in Thailand.
On Sunday, Anonymous released a 37-minute video on social media accusing Thai police of poor policing and corruption. Days later, the network claimed responsibility for hacking 14 of the force's websites.
We want justice #anony#BoycottThailandpic.twitter.com/8DHzLAdssa
— AnonArtist (@Anon_Artist23) January 6, 2016
On Wednesday, seven websites belonging to Thai police were down and two links showed a black screen with "Failed law. We want Justice. #BoycottThailand" written in white text.
Thai police have confirmed the attacks, but insist no confidential data has been taken.
Anonymous said it would support a boycott of Thailand until the country's police forces change the way they handle criminal investigations involving foreign tourists.
"Anonymous has found that Thai police lie, fabricate evidence, do poor police investigating, contaminate crime scenes, loose DNA and evidence, accuse non-Thai nationals … [and] refuse to believe that their own Thai locals are responsible for any wrongdoing," a masked member of the group said in the video shared on Facebook.
"We do not like the facts in this recent Koh Tao case and we do not believe the Thai court has convicted the actual murderers," they added.
Officers investigating the murders have been accused of mishandling evidence and gross incompetence. However, Thai police have denied any wrongdoing.
A judge has also dismissed the allegations, saying there is no evidence to prove they mishandled the case.
A spokesperson for the Thai police told the Khaosod news website that its Technology Crime Suppression Division will track down the hacktivists.
"Even if the source of attack was from abroad, they will be convicted eventually," they said. "It's not a problem. Thai police are excellent."
"They're not good enough to hack into our system and steal any of our data," they added.
Miller's parents, who sat through much of the trail, said they are convinced of the migrant pair's guilt.
In a statement, the family said: "David was an artist by temperament, so talented. He had a creative eye that he carried with him through life and in his degree. He was hard-working, bright and conscientious, with everything to look forward to."
Reminiscing about Witheridge's life, her family said: "Hannah was a beautiful, intelligent, loving young woman who poured joy into the lives of all who knew her. She was selfless and caring and made each and every day that little bit more wonderful."


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What happened this May in the cryptocurrency world?
By Isabel P. June 2, 2021 7 Mins Read
We have to admit it: this wasn't a great month for Bitcoin (BTC). For the first time since December 2020, we didn't see new records for it. However, that doesn't mean everything was bad. Some altcoins not only survived the bloodbath but showed new All-Time-Highs (ATH). Besides, there was some other good news in the cryptocurrency world last May.
Bitcoin price has decreased by over 43% since its last ATH in April. That's likely because of the rejection by Tesla due to environmental concerns, and the last (and negative) measures applied by China against cryptocurrency payments and Bitcoin mining. Despite this, according to some analysts, the Bitcoin bull run might continue soon.
Contrary to Bitcoin, some altcoins remained bullish this month. Cardano (ADA) reached a new All-Time-High (ATH) of over $2.4, while it had two improvement updates this year. Monero (XMR) made it too, with $517 per coin, probably due to an important adoption growth. It's lost 48% by now, though. Chainlink (LINK) joined the list as well, with over $52 per coin, before losing 42% so far.
Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) followed the same trend. The first one surpassed the awesome mark of $4,360 per coin for the first time, while DOGE reached a peak of $0.73 per coin. Since then, ETH has lost around 39%, and Dogecoin over 49% [CoinMarketCap]. The adoption growth for both of them is still there, though.
For the first time, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization reached $2.5 trillion last month. It's lost 36% by now, but it's on its way to recover. At the same time, the new cryptocurrency Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) from Dfinity Network deserves special mention. It reached a market capitalization of over $45b in two days after launch and entered briefly in the global top ten. It quickly reached $737 per coin, if now it's lost over 85%.
The total value locked on DeFi projects suffered a plunge of over 43% last month [DeFi Pulse]. Luckily, it's already on its way to recovery. The total market capitalization for this sector is over $84.5 so far, according to CryptoSlate.
NFT mania continues. There were over $247m in NFTs sales last month [Non-Fungible], while the total market capitalization is over $17.6 billion [CoinGecko]. The list of household names and artists worldwide making NFTs is only growing as more time passes. Star Wars, Meriam Webster, Floyd Mayweather, Stan Lee, GameStop, and even the deceased Andy Warhol (sponsored by the auction house Christie's) are included. Fox Entertainment is preparing its own NFT market as well.
Hacks and security
The wallet MetaMask was under a phishing attack. Some malicious actors on social networks tried to lure the users with a Google Docs form, to supposedly find support. Instead, they were snatching the private keys. Likewise, the gamers looking for the website of MSI Afterburner might be tricked by some hackers. They prepared a fake version of it to introduce crypto-stealing malware.
WallStreetBets, Elon Musk, and the show Saturday Night Live (SNL) also suffered crypto-phishing. The first one launched a new DeFi platform this month, and some hackers took advantage of it by preparing a fake pre-sale on Telegram. For its part, Elon Musk did a special appearance in SNL, talking about Dogecoin. So, the hackers stole some old verified Twitter accounts, changed the name to SNL, and pretended to sponsor a (fake) crypto-giveaway with Elon Musk.
The Colonial Pipeline suffered a high-profile ransomware attack. This is the American oil pipeline system in charge of around 45% of the East Coast's supply of diesel, petrol, and jet fuel. Therefore, the estate of emergency was declared quickly in the country, and U.S. President Biden signed an executive order to improve federal cybersecurity. The hackers got paid 75 BTC (around $5m) to release the system.
DeFi hacks, far from stopping, suffered an important increase this month. At least nine DeFi platforms were hacked, and most of them came from Binance Smart Chain (BSC). We have in the gloomy list Spartan ($30m hacked), bEarn ($11m), BurgerSwap ($7.2m), Rari Capital ($10m), xToken ($24m), FinNexus ($7.6m), PancakeBunny ($45m), Bogged Finance ($3.6m), and Belt Finance ($6.2m). Most incidents are flash-loan attacks and have a similar modus operandi. So, it's believed that they're connected.
Worldwide regulations and laws
The battle SEC vs. Ripple continued with some victories for the crypto-company last month. The Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn denied the SEC access to Ripple's legal communications. On the other hand, she allowed the right for foreign assistance to the SEC.
Meanwhile, Ripple hasn't stopped. The company forged partnerships with banks in Egypt and Oman, and also with sustainability leaders to become carbon zero by 2030. XRP Ledger added support for NFTs, and Ripple CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, stated that they're aiming to go public on Wall Street once the SEC lawsuit is resolved.
Beyond Ripple, the SEC has caused around $2 billion in losses for crypto-companies in seven years [Cornerstone Research]. The last target isn't even Ripple, but several promoters behind the infamous crypto-scam BitConnect. This one is considered one of the largest crypto-scams in history.
An official from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stated that cryptocurrencies can be seized to pay off past-due tax debts. Besides, they're now asking financial institutions (including cryptocurrency exchanges) to report transactions of over 10,000 USD. For the next year, that could even include transactions of over 600 USD.
Iran banned the trading of cryptocurrencies mined in foreign lands. This is barely a formality since the general crypto-trading is already banned in there. Additionally, the government banned temporarily the Bitcoin mining for 4 months, due to the current problems in the country's electricity production.
Meanwhile, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has told banks that blocking or not cryptocurrency-related transactions is up to them. A new regulatory committee it's being formed to study proper laws for cryptocurrencies in the country.
Hong Kong issued a proposal to ban retail cryptocurrency trading. For his part, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) assured that cryptocurrencies will have a place in the country. Since February, the government has set a banking ban over cryptos. Now, they're apparently lifting that ban.
The United Kingdom is paying more attention to cryptocurrency-related ads because, according to several lawsuits, they can be fraudulent. At the same time, some high-profile British banks are temporarily banning cryptocurrency-related transactions due to crime fears.
In Spain, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) allowed Bitcoin investments for funds. The government is also working on new laws for cryptocurrency custody services.
The stablecoin by Facebook, Diem, has withdrawn its application to get a license in Switzerland. Instead, they partnered with the American bank Silvergate Capital to issue the stablecoin pegged to USD. The project is still pending release for late 2021.
Some alliances to mine Bitcoin with renewables are appearing. DMG Blockchain Solutions and Argo Blockchain joined to promote digital mining with green energies. Not long after, Elon Musk himself, along with Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy CEO), started a new initiative to mine Bitcoin only with renewables.
Cryptocurrency trading is now supported by the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza). This jurisdiction signed an agreement with the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) "to support the regulation, offering, issuance, listing, and trading of crypto assets within the free zone", especially for tourists.
Wanna trade Bitcoin and other tokens? You can do it safely on Alfacash! And don't forget we're talking about this and a lot of other things on our social media.
ATHCryptocurrency marketDeFinewsNFTsRegulationsSecuritySummary
Cryptocurrency accounting: what you need to know


Just more proof from the good researchers that I am not crazy.
Sometime in 2001, when I was working in San Antonio, Texas, I was viciously attacked on the streets. It was around 6:30 in the evening. After finishing work, I had head back to my hotel, had a quick shower. I was feeling particularly dapper that evening, so I put on a nice collared shirt of a light material, a pair of light khaki trousers and I slicked my hair back with a generous dab of hair gel.
Around 6:30 I headed out to go and get some dinner. I left my hotel, the Westin on West Market Street, and was heading east on Market when the first attack happened. I didn't see it coming. But suddenly, *SWOOSH*, something had grazed the top of my head.
I looked up to see a medium-sized bird swooping up into the air. It landed on a lamp post, looked down at me and squawked twice. "Did that bird just dive bomb me?" I asked myself, looking around quizzically. Everyone else on the street went about their business, oblivious to what had just happened. I looked back up at the lamp post. The bird looked down and squawked again.
I continued on my way. About 20 feet later, the damn bird came swooping down again and dragged his claws across the top of my head. Luckily back then (almost eight years ago now), I had a more robust head of hair, and the birds tiny (but no doubt razor sharp) claws failed to cut my skin.
The bird again flew up into the air and found a perch, where it looked down at me and screeched loudly. I looked at a couple of passerbys. "Did you see that," I asked. "That bird just attacked me, AGAIN. That bird is stalking me!" They nodded politely with strained smiles on their faces, then quickly looked away and hurried down the street.
I started to quicken my pace down the street, looking over my shoulder. The bird launched another sortie. I ducked, my hands above my head swinging wildly as the bird flew down, and buzzed above my head. "Damn bird, leave me alone," I shouted. A couple walking towards me on the sidewalk, quickly cast their eyes down and crossed the street. "That bird is attacking me, REPEATEDLY!" I shouted after them by way of an explanation.
I broke into a run, sprinting down Market Street. The bird came after me again, flying so close to my head that the combed-back hair on my head was brushed up and forwards over my forehead. I turned the corner and sprinted up Presa Street, screaming "leave me alone, stupid bird!" I think a woman might have shrieked in horror and children clung wide-eyed to their mothers' legs, but I was for the most part keeping my head down in an all-out run up the street.
The bird, wings spread and talons pointed menacingly forward, made another plunge at the soft skin my scalp. I stumbled and fell onto one knee. "Please stop! Please stop!" I pleaded with a voice-cracking yelp. The bird flew up and perched on a lamp post, I broke into a run across the street, looking over my shoulder.
I stumbled on the curb, and staggered helpless into the wall of the building across from me. I looked back. The bird remained perched atop the lamp post. He looked at me, and squawked triumphantly. I just stared at my nemesis, chest heaving, face streaked with sweat, shirt plastered to my back and a dirty scuff mark on my left knee.
"What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?" I cried out. A man and his girlfriend who had been walking towards me turned and headed the other way.
The bird had no answer except for "Caaawww!"
I retreated, slowly, inching my way along the wall, keeping my front turned towards the bird, my eyes on him. He made no more moves, just silently watched me from his perch on the lamp post high above the street. I reached Commerce Street, and broke into a run, not stopping until I was inside the air conditioned safety of the Rivercenter Mall.
I bring this story up today, because I saw on the News this morning that apparently birds single people out for attack. According to research done on mockingbirds by the University of Florida, "Research has shown that mockingbirds can remember the faces of people who venture too close to their nests and single them out for attack. Targeted individuals are dive-bombed and even have their heads grazed by the screeching birds, while nearby onlookers are left alone."
This is good news for me, because I think most people think I am crazy when I mention this story. Now I can point to this story and say, "see, the bird did stalk me!" I don't remember going close to the birds nest, but I might have accidentally. At the time, I was inclined to think that it had a problem with my hair gel. I stopped using that brand right after, and since then have kept my hair short and tried to use only lightly scented products on my hair, in case the more robust scents drive birds into a frenzy.
Of course, the story doesn't explain why it is since that time I have been repeatedly stalked by birds. I haven't been so blatantly attacked since that day in San Antonio, but often pigeons and other foul winged things seem to be flying directly for me. I often find myself having to duck and start moving in a (hopefully) defensive zig-zag pattern. Others I am with often point to the fact that pigeons just in general like to fly low to the ground and aren't necessarily targeting me, but I think they are wrong. I'm pretty sure the birds still have it out for me. I'm am sure that the birds have not forgiven me yet.
I know, I know. Know you think I'm crazy again. I think I need to contact those researchers in Florida and get them to do a follow up study on how a mockingbird in Texas will communicate transcontinentally to birds in England to continue to carry out his mission. I'm pretty sure they'll find that's true too!


text:
Paralympics champion and Dancing with the Stars contestant Victoria Arlen shares her courageous and miraculous story of recovery after falling into a mysterious vegetative state and how she broke free, overcoming the odds and never giving up hope, eventually living a full and inspiring life.
Retail Price£9.99
Author: Victoria Arlen
When Victoria Arlen was eleven years old, she contracted two rare diseases which induced a vegetative state. For two years her mind was dark, but in the third year, her mind broke free, and she was able to think clearly and to hear and feel everything - but no one knew.
When she was fifteen years old, against all odds and medical predictions, she was finally able to communicate through eye blinks, and she gradually regained her ability to speak and eat and move her upper body, but she faced the devastating reality of paralysis from the waist down because of damage to her spine. However, Victoria didn't lose her strength or steadfast determination, and two years later, she won a gold medal for swimming at the London 2012 Paralympics.
Victoria shares her story - the pain, the struggle, the fight to live and thrive, and most importantly, the faith that carried her through. Her journey was not easy, but by believing in God's healing power and forgiveness, she is living proof that, despite seemingly insurmountable odds and challenges, the will to survive and resolve to live can be a force stronger than our worst deterrents.


Nestled in a Germanic brick enclave is Beer & Wine Pub Pilsen, a traditional German style bar established in 1968 in the Katamachi district of Kanazawa. Its name is taken from the West Bohemian city of Plzeň in the Czech Republic, birthplace of the pilsner beer. Beer & Wine Pub Pilsen hosts 22 seats at its first floor counter and another 60 at its second story tables, perfect for banquets and private parties. Come taste our fine selection of international beers and authentic German delights.
We serve German cuisine, including our original homemade wurst and eisbein, made with no artificial seasonings or preservatives; local seafood and vegetable dishes, such as our "escargot-style ivory shell" and "Kaga vegetable benga cauda;" all which pair perfectly with beer or any of our drinks.
Pilsen offers a wide variety of drinks, including domestic craft beer, a fine selection of wines from world-renown wineries, and Japanese sake.
Our draught beer in particular is masterfully quality controlled and poured with an exact technique to fully bring out the characteristics of the drink when served.
*The day before national holiday, it's open / closed the next day.
*We're open on national holidays.


Paper Jazz® has a lot of fun coming up with specialized DECORATIONS to make events, festivals, parties and holidays special. We have been in the paper decoration business for over ten years.
We manufacture honeycomb crafts, paper stars, paper lanterns, pompoms, fans, confetti, banners, photo props, invitations, table settings, and tons more, and we have them all in one place. Paper Jazz® is that place !
Our factory and parent company in China,Sunbeauty® was established in 2000, and is certified with BSCI, SEDEX, FSC, and passed the DISNEY audit.
Our goal is to help busy customers with the decorations for their party and event planning to provide that "WOW" factor. We do this by providing unique products in the market at the lowest possible price, with service that is second to none!


I should read my outside my comfort zone more often: this book proves it. Winterwood by Jacey Bedford is an easy, compelling read which ticks loads of boxes – pirates, fae, adventure, angst, ghosts, wild magic – whilst managing to surprise you with unexpected plot developments and delight you with its beautifully paced story and believably strange world. A delicious page-turner.
Not much more to say really, other than that 2016 is already turning out to be a great year for books.


text:
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 * Created by yexiaokang on 2016/4/1.
 */
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    public static String get(String key, String def) {
        return native_get(key, def);
    }

    private static native String native_get(String key, String def);

    static {
        System.loadLibrary("properties");
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I colored the image with Copic markers and added some rhinestones in the corner for some sparkle.
This is for DeeDee's Digis April Digi of the Month Challenge. The image is from Under Your Wing. I am a follower of this blog. The blog layout I use does not allow me to list challenges on a sidebar. Instead, I display badges and / or links here.
You did such a great job with this image. I love the embossed clouds and wood grain, both work so well with the image. Your Mom will adore this card, I'm sure. So glad you could play along with us here at Deedee's April Digi of the Month. Can't wait to see your card for next month. Enjoy your weekend.
I'm just loving the woodgrain embossing you added to this adorable card, and those clouds look so cute with Momma and baby owl perched on the branch! Thanks for playing along with Deedee's April challenge!


Ok... so I know this is going to be very early and very premature but what else do we have to talk about here on August 6th, John Becanic?
Let's take an early look at what the roster might look like going into training camp.
Keep in mind also that I think Sumner tries to set lines but also juggles quite a bit depending on who is hurt and who is playing well and not playing well. So these are just rough estimates of what it might look like should everyone be healthy.
I would think this would be the logical first line. Nielsen is a great two way player, leader and pivot and can anchor this line allowing Rai to utilize his speed and combination of passing and scoring to be a top point guy (assuming he is back) and Parker has the ability to finish around the net as well and could be looking at a 25 goal season.
Again, these are just best guesses. I like this combination with Jacobs being a dynamic force in the middle with Lockhart providing some hustle and grind and Boyer adding some scoring touch to the line. I think this is going to be a big proving year for Boyer... He came on strong in the second half of the year to score 21 goals to go with 35 assists and playing with a dynamic player like Jacobs can only help and might push him over 25 goals as well.
I don't really love this combo but I think Wells and Silvester can flash some speed on this line with Acolatse providing some muscle and toughness to protect his smaller line-mates. Another year removed from knee surgery should be good for Wells who will hopefully trust his body and start flashing more of the speed we saw in his 16 year old season. I could easiler see Wells or Silvester sliding into the Lockhart spot on line 2 as well. This is also a big year for Acolatse who has seen the transition from defense to winger at times look good and at times looked bad. From all accounts, Sena is in good shape and ready for the season and I think a trimmer Sena can actually become a better checker and really do some damage on the Power Play.
EDIT - I totally forgot about the Russian, Senturin. I literally can't find anything on this kid so you're guess is as good as mine when it comes to where he will fit in.
Line 4 - ? Ummm Chance Lund - Connor Sanvido?
Lund can really be a wild-card here this season... everyone knows he has big time size and potential and at times during training camp last year looked like a man among boys. Problem is, that confidence did not translate to the season. Here's hoping he finds that confidence in the lineup and starts to flash some of that potential here in his 17 year old season. Sanvido should probably be here as well and where he fits will no doubt depend on how far he has improved since training camp last year.
Any number of other players will be in the hunt for a 4th line spot and a roster spot. Tanner Muth, Tyler Alos, Joey Baker, Gus Correale, Jacob Doty, Mitch Elliot, Justin LeChance, Robbie Newton, Jordan Salahor, Tyler Sybil or Zach Walker are all kids, most of which I expect to be in camp fighting for the last couple of spots.
I notice David Richard is missing from this lineup. Do you think he is the likely 20 year old without a job?
I think many people will agree that Hickey and O'brien are long gone, so that leaves four others. Nielsen, Prab, Richie, and Schapps.
I can understand keeping a 20 year old at D, but I think sometimes you have to go with your three best players. If Rai does indeed come back, I believe it will be Schapps who leaves. He is solid on D, but I don't know if we can expect much more out of him than we have already seen. Plus he is often injured (i know...same argument can be made for the other 3).
I like Scahpps, and trust him on defense, but I don't see the point in keeping a 20 year old to be a #2-3 defenseman.
I could also see a trade made including one of the forwards and scahpps for a single 20yr old d-man...we definitely will need some help back there this season.
I will have some information on that in the next few days.
sweet! insider/ off the record type stuff i hope!!
Schapps would not be the #2-3 defenseman. He'd be #1 or #2 (along with Warg). Not sure what that says about our "D" but Dillon, Chaffin, Berg and Fleming haven't done enough to get more ice time then Schapps. Maybe they keep Sena on D.
Alright finally this blog is starting to see some action.
I know he is probably not worth much, but we need to get trade Deserres. There is no reason to have a 19 year old backup. Or two 19 year old backups for that matter, with Jahraus.
Also do you think that Sena will for sure be a forward this year. I hope they keep him up there but I also think there is a good chance that he goes back to D. Just a thought.
God I can't wait for the season to start.
and you never know ....if somehow obrien would come back ...schap would not. it would be sad cuz unless dillon pick up and Warg drastically imrpove on D its going to be a long season defense.
As far as the Deserres situation i am now thinking that unless a awsome offer come along .....he will be in seattle until the deadline, If it was me in the GM position and I have a choice between a goalie how had a bad season stat-wise last season but was top of the leaugue the year before and a 19 y/0 with a single game experience ....I would go with my first option.
My kid did the TBird hockey camp a couple weeks ago. I asked Rob Sumner then if Sena was going to play wing or defense this year and he said wing.
With that young, mostly inexperienced defense, you may need to keep DeSerres. YOu don't want Pickard facing 40 shots a night over the course of 60+ games. I'd only trade him for a 19 yr old high quality d-man. Any of those around that other teams can afford to trade for a goalie?
Didn't see enough of Berg, and dont even know if he is back in the fold at all...guess we'll have to wait and see.


I can watch this video over and over again. There is a something about the stories she tells that signals a strong connection for me…and obviously to a few others – as of this morning, this video has had 4,010,353 views. And so, I call this a 'Must See, According to Me'** video for professional development!
Last week I published a blog post over at the LEARN blog called The Connection Between Learning & Passion. In it, I talk a little about why I connect so well with what Rita Pierson had to say and how she said it.
She was one of those people who loved everything to do with teaching and schools and she saw through all of the noise to the heart of what makes things work in education – connecting with our learners.
She once told another teacher that students can't learn from people who don't like them. Though she spoke specifically about elementary school, my experience tells me that this connection is true at all levels.
I never had the opportunity to meet her, yet I was saddened by the news of her death in the summer of 2013 – as if she had been one of my own teachers. I guess that is because she was.