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#CBR11 Book 32: "Muse of Nightmares" by Laini Taylor
Spoiler warning! While I'm going to try very hard not to spoil THIS book in my review, this is the second book in a duology, and it will be impossible for me to write about the book without spoiling events and plot for book 1, Strange the Dreamer. Both books are absolutely wonderful, so you should absolutely check them out, if you haven't already.
But seriously, there will be plot spoilers for book one in the coming paragraphs, so go away if you're not caught up:
In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.
Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or everyone else?--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.
As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?
Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.
Strange the Dreamer was one of my favourite books of 2017, and the mind of Laini Taylor is like no other when it comes to conjuring up fantastical and unbelievable new worlds and ideas. The first book ended on a hell of a cliffhanger, and after we'd come to root for the tender romance between Lazlo and Sarai, it seemed their happy ending would be ruined forever, just as Lazlo also discovered that everything he had believed about himself was a lie.
I genuinely had no idea where the story was going to go in this book, and really don't want to go into details, as the experience of having the story gradually revealed to you is so much better. While I read the first book on my e-reader, I chose to get the audio version of Muse of Nightmares once I discovered that it's narrated by Steve West, whose voice work I really enjoy. He's also excellent with various accents, which helps a lot.
We discover that a lot of the established truths revealed in the first book are in fact something completely different. In what some might consider a mild spoiler, I can say that what seemed like a straight fantasy story in the first book, is revealed to have distinct science fiction elements in this second part. I'll say no more than that.
While there is a lot of darkness, pain and sadness in this second part, there is also hope, friendship, love, the chance at forgiveness and chances of a better future, at least for the characters who make it until the end of the narrative.
I don't know what Laini Taylor is working on next, but based on these two books, I'll be pre-ordering her next book as soon as there's a release date.
Judging a book by its cover: In much the same design style as the previous cover, this has a primary colour and a beautiful image (which is significant for the contents of the story) traced over it. The red is almost angry, and could play into the various feelings of anger, fear, grief and rage that different characters feel over the course of the story. I liked the previous, peaceful blue cover better, but they make a nice matched set.
Labels: #CBR11, 5 stars, audio book, family, fantasy, Laini Taylor, magic, romantic, science fiction, Strange the Dreamer, war
#CBR11 Book 31: "Love in the Time of Scandal" by Caroline Linden
Penelope Weston does not like Benedict Lennox, Lord Atherton. He may be the suave and charming heir to an earl, as well as the most handsome man on earth, but she can't forget how he abandoned a friend in need—nor how he once courted her sister, Abigail. He's the last man she would ever marry. If only she didn't feel so attracted to the arrogant scoundrel...
Once upon a time, Benedict thought he and Penelope got along rather well. Though he needs a wealthy bride to escape his cruel father's control, spirited Penelope just doesn't suit his plans for a model marriage—until a good deed goes awry, and scandalous rumors link his name to Penelope's. She might not be the quiet, sensible wife he thought he wanted, but she is beautiful . . . beguiling . . . and far more passionate than he ever imagined. Can a marriage begun in scandal become a love match, too?
I'm going to be honest with you, people. I read the synopsis for this book and had a hard time remembering even reading the book. I literally had to glance at two or three reviews already on Goodreads to remind myself of the finer details of the plot, because my mind was a complete and utter blank. Now, it's been a bit over two months since I finished the book, but I shouldn't need to question whether I in fact read the book in the first place. It really doesn't speak too well for the plot that it's quite so forgettable.
When I had refreshed my memory, I also remembered one of my biggest problem with this romance. Benedict, the hero, has an absolute monster of a father. His entire family was held hostage to the man's cruel treatment, and while Benedict's sisters and mother weren't necessarily physically abused (Benedict was not so lucky), they were deeply emotionally scarred. Penelope keeps being hurt because her husband doesn't want to introduce her to his parents, and even after she meets his father and can tell that there's something really rather wrong with him, she still doesn't really believe Benedict's warning and out of weird politeness puts herself into a situation where not only she, but her husband, nearly ends up dead.
I get that it can be difficult to understand a dysfunctional family situation if you've grown up in a loving, supportive home, but Penelope seems to think that Benedict is overreacting or exaggerating when he is reluctant to admit the true awfulness of his former home life, and she seems bemused even after one of Benedict's sisters (now happily married and away from her father's evil presence) confirms just how bad things were. Like, why would someone make something like that up?
That's the thought that now remains with me - it's genuinely like someone took an eraser and smudged out the actual romance part of this story. Benedict starts the novel courting someone else, but because Penelope believes him to be untrustworthy, she warns the young woman away. Trying to help a family friend in a tense situation, she is then put in a deeply uncomfortable, near sexual assault situation that Benedict conveniently rescues her from. Penelope's dress is torn (I think) and some gossip or other walks in on them, cue scandal and pretty much having to marry to save Penelope's reputation. She claims she doesn't like him because he was once her sister's suitor (who in an earlier book in the series ended up with someone else), but it's clear that deep down, she was jealous of her sister and liked Benedict a bit too much.
I honestly don't know if it's because I've had a LOT to do and my mind has been busy with other things that makes it so impossible for me to remember the plot, or if the book is in fact completely forgettable. I didn't like the domestic abuse subplot with Benedict's family, not sure it's the strongest recommendation that that's the bit that sticks most in my mind.
Judging a book by its cover: Oh mercy, how I hate these romance covers with the people on the cover so awkwardly positioned that you just twist your brain trying to figure out the anatomy. How is the majority of the skirt spread out like a sail when he also has it bunched up so much you can pretty much see all of her legs? Why is her upper body facing one way and her legs the other? It's not great, guys.
Labels: #CBR11, 3 stars, Caroline Linden, historical romance, Love in the Time of Scandal, Regency, Scandalous
#CBR11 Book 30: "Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science - and the World" by Rachel Swaby
Page count: 288 pages (but I only read about half)
Fifty-two inspiring and insightful profiles of history's brightest female scientists.
In 2013, the New York Times published an obituary for Yvonne Brill. It began: "She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job, and took eight years off from work to raise three children." It wasn't until the second paragraph that readers discovered why the Times had devoted several hundred words to her life: Brill was a brilliant rocket scientist who invented a propulsion system to keep communications satellites in orbit, and had recently been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Among the questions the obituary—and consequent outcry—prompted were, Who are the role models for today's female scientists, and where can we find the stories that cast them in their true light?
Headstrong delivers a powerful, global, and engaging response. Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby's vibrant profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one's ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they're best known. This fascinating tour reveals these 52 women at their best—while encouraging and inspiring a new generation of girls to put on their lab coats.
This is the first book in more time than I can accurately (we're talking several years) that I actually ended up not finishing. It just feels like utter failure and I hate having to do it. It's not even that it's a bad book. I got it from the library to qualify for my "Diversify your reading" challenge, which for March was Science and Technology. This book seemed both interesting and important and I really did enjoy learning about the women in the first half of the book, but I also pretty much had to force myself to pick the book up to read a few more chapters every few days or so, until suddenly the return date was looming and I couldn't renew the loan, and before you know it, a big ol' DNF.
I really do believe that we need more women involved in science and technology and it's absolutely horrendous how for so much of history (and still occasionally) women's work in these fields gets ignored or credited to men. So I feel like a bad feminist for not being able to even read about these ladies' achievements without it feeling like assigned homework and an absolute chore. Yet again I've had it proven to me that with a very demanding job (which involves me reading multiple drafts of usually not very well written essays and/or stories in both Norwegian and English, giving feedback on them and grading them) as well as taking care of a boisterous now sixteen-month-old toddler (who also brings home all manner of crud and illness from his nursery - he usually doesn't get too ill, but my husband and I have alternately or simultaneously been knocked out with various colds, coughs, at least one bout of noro virus, which doesn't exactly help boost one's energy levels), I simply do not have the energy or attention span for anything too intellectually taxing. I need brain fluff, and lots of it.
I debated with myself whether I should even allow myself to review the book, but I figured that 1) I did read more than half. 2) I really don't have the output this year to even let half a book go to waste if I'm going to manage to complete a double Cannonball and the other various reading challenges I'm doing. It's also quite cathartic to admit one's failures. In conclusion, this is probably a very interesting and informative non-fiction book if you're in the right mindset for it. It just sadly wasn't right for me.
Judging a book by its cover: I really wish I could tell you more about which women are featured in the little bubbles all over this cover, but the only one I recognise is Hedy Lamarr. That in itself is probably a reason I should have finished the book (not that the e-book version I got from the library had pictures of the ladies, at least not as part of the chapters).
Labels: #CBR11, 3 stars, DNF, feminism, Headstrong, non-fiction, Rachel Swaby, science
#CBR11 Book 29: "Whatever Life Throws at You" by Julie Cross
Seventeen-year-old Annie Lucas's life is completely upended the moment her dad returns to the major leagues as the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Now she's living in Missouri (too cold), attending an all-girls school (no boys), and navigating the strange world of professional sports. But Annie has dreams of her own—most of which involve placing first at every track meet…and one starring the Royals' super-hot rookie pitcher.
But nineteen-year-old Jason Brody is completely, utterly, and totally off-limits. Besides, her dad would kill them both several times over. Not to mention Brody has something of a past, and his fan club is filled with C-cupped models, not smart-mouthed high school "brats" who can run the pants off every player on the team. Annie has enough on her plate without taking their friendship to the next level. The last thing she should be doing is falling in love.
But baseball isn't just a game. It's life. And sometimes, it can break your heart…
Another long time TBR book that I finally got round to reading, and it turned out to be a lot cuter than I was expecting. Annie's father never really got a chance at a proper baseball career, because he lost his leg, but now he has a chance at a really great job as a pitching coach, but it means taking his daughter and elderly mother in law (Annie's mum is not good people or interested in taking care of her teenage daughter or ailing elderly mother) and moving across the country. Annie is nervous, but all for it, as long as he doesn't tell her Mum where they're actually going.
Of course, settling in a new place is never going to be easy. Annie's dad is a provisional hire, and a lot of the more established players are reluctant to be coached by him. The team's owner would love nothing more than to send him packing, so neither he nor Annie can make any mistakes that would jeopardise the position. Which means Annie's crush on two year older, new star recruit Jason Brody is doomed to go nowhere. Not that Jason seems interested in treating her like anything but a younger sister anyway. He seems much more interested in high profile dates with beautiful models and actresses everywhere the team travel to play games.
This would be a pretty short and boring book if it was just about a high schooler mooning over a slightly older, handsome bad boy. Of course Jason is crazy about Annie, and the dates are just to boost his publicity and make him attractive to a certain demographic of baseball fan. He also deeply respects Annie's father, however, and since Jason really hasn't had a stable father figure in his own life, he's not going to mess up and lose the respect of the surrogate he's found by making the moves on that man's teenage daughter, no matter how much chemistry they have together.
So there's an element of the forbidden romance here, but I thought Julie Cross managed to spin the story out really well. There's definitely a slow burn element to the romance, although it gets pretty hot once Annie and Jason decide to actually give in to their feelings for one another. What makes the book so good, though, are the other relationships Annie has in her life. Her closeness with her father, who despite his disability has pretty much raised her single-handedly after her mother flaked on them time and time again. Her love for her dementia-suffering grandmother. Her friendship with Lenny London, who as the daughter of a major league baseball player on the surface has a lot more in her life than Annie, but would kill to have her parents care even a little bit about anything but her father's career and their media profiles. I liked that Annie has a life very much outside of any potential relationship, and we get a proper understanding of the people she and Jason could be letting down by giving into their feelings and starting to secretly date.
It's always nice when you discover when a book you bought for very little in an e-book sale and then forgot about surprises you and turns out to be a lot more enjoyable than you were expecting. I didn't have particularly high expectations for the book, based on the pretty generic cover and the plot description, but am absolutely going to check out more Julie Cross books in future, because if this is an accurate representation of her writing, then there are a lot of fun reading experiences in my future.
Judging a book by its cover: Yeah, this cover and it's fake kissing isn't really doing it for me. To be fair, I've mentioned before that I really don't like couples actually full on kissing on my romance covers, but if they are doing it, they might as well look like they're actually enjoying themselves, rather than being forced to smooch on a dare. Seriously, this doesn't look passionate or affectionate, it just looks forced and awkward.
Labels: #CBR11, 4 stars, baseball, contemporary romance, disabilities, Julie Cross, New Adult, running, Whatever Life Throws at You
#CBR11 Book 28: "What the Lady Wants" by Jennifer Crusie
Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was nothing like the movies. He'd envisioned a world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames. Instead he saw case after case of cheating husbands, suspicious wives and unsuspecting mistresses until she walked through the door. Right down to her stilettos, Mae Sullivan was a knockout with a lethal body–and a lethal family to go with it.
There was something not quite on the up-and-up about her, but she came with a case he couldn't afford to refuse and left him with a case of lust he hadn't had since high school. It didn't take long for him to fall for her, hook, line and sinker. But was Mae interested only in catching the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle or did the lady want to catch him?
This is yet another book that has languished on my TBR list for years and years because I got it in an e-book sale and then forgot about it. Jennifer Crusie has written some of my favourite amusing comfort reads, so every time I see one of her early books on sale that I don't already own, I get it. I don't necessarily feel any pressing need to read it right away, though, and so it likely gets forgotten about until it fits into some reading challenge or other that I'm doing, in this case, the Monthly Keyword Challenge.
This is also another book that while it was fun and diverting while I read it, is reduced from four to three stars by the time I review it, since I can barely remember the name of the protagonists less than three months later, let alone the intricacies of the plot (of which, there are a lot in this book, to be fair). Mitch Peabody works as a private detective (but only because of a bet, and as long as he can make a certain amount of money from his last job this year, he'll win and whichever judgmental friend and/or relative he was betting with (see, I really do NOT remember the finer details here or what Mitch used to do for a living before he became a PI) will be proved wrong. His possibly last case as a detective arrives in the form of bombshell Mae Sullivan, who needs to find the diary of her dead uncle. She won't tell Mitch WHY the diary is so important, though and as he starts investigating, it becomes clear that while it seems like the uncle died of natural causes, there were a LOT of people around with a motive to kill him.
Mae wanted a private detective she could easily manipulate, but Mitch proves to be not only much better at his job than she was hoping, but more attractive than she's entirely comfortable with. Since everyone seems to either fancy Mae or want to aggressively protect her, she doesn't seem unused to male attention. She's not very nice to Mitch to begin with, and he's downright rude to her. It's not a great basis for a romance, but I think it's supposed to evoke that old timey Hollywood banter, and a lot of (crazy, wrong) people seem to absolutely adore the verbal abuse that Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn fling at each other in Bringing Up Baby, so what do I know?
The uncle who died was only one of Mae's influential and scary uncles. There's no end to the threats Mitch gets while he's working for and with her. He's stubborn, though, so it just makes him more determined to solve the case and win Mae over.
There's a truly ludicrous amount of twists and turns in the case. For quite a bit of the book, it's really not clear whether Mae's uncle died of natural causes or was murdered. If he was murdered, Mae is one of the chief suspects, but there's a lot of other candidates who might have offed him too. The mystery part of the story was probably more satisfying than the romance, but as I said, I had fun while I read it, and got through it in less than a day, so while it's not going to join the Crusie novels I re-read every now and then, I also don't regret paying money for it.
Judging a book by its cover: I genuinely don't even know what's going on with this visual assault of pastels and various fonts. So much yellow and pink, it's like an Easter basket. The original cover appears to have a film noir vibe with cartoony silhouettes against the window in the door of a detective's office, which seems a lot more appropriate. Disembodied leg and lady carrying a briefcase doesn't exactly scream light hearted detective romp, or romance, for that matter.
Labels: #CBR11, 3 stars, contemporary romance, Jennifer Crusie, mystery, private detective, What the Lady Wants
#CBR11 Book 27: "Mrs Martin's Incomparable Adventure" by Courtney Milan
This novella is part of The Worth Saga, and stars one of the minor supporting characters of After the Wedding. You really don't need to have read that book, though (unless you want to, it's good, but sad), this story stands perfectly on its own.
From the author's website:
Mrs. Bertrice Martin—a widow, some seventy-three years young—has kept her youthful-ish appearance with the most powerful of home remedies: daily doses of spite, regular baths in man-tears, and refusing to give so much as a single damn about her Terrible Nephew.
Then proper, correct Miss Violetta Beauchamps, a sprightly young thing of nine and sixty, crashes into her life. The Terrible Nephew is living in her rooming house, and Violetta wants him gone.
Mrs. Martin isn't about to start giving damns, not even for someone as intriguing as Miss Violetta. But she hatches another plan—to make her nephew sorry, to make Miss Violetta smile, and to have the finest adventure of all time.
If she makes Terrible Men angry and wins the hand of a lovely lady in the process? Those are just added bonuses.
Author's Note: Sometimes I write villains who are subtle and nuanced. This is not one of those times. The Terrible Nephew is terrible, and terrible things happen to him. Sometime villains really are bad and wrong, and sometimes, we want them to suffer a lot of consequences.
Courtney Milan is a marvel. She writes incredibly satisfying, yet informative romance novels (you are unlikely to find historical inaccuracies in her stories, unless she's changed something on purpose) and manages to take a genre so full of tropes and frequent repetition and create new and interesting things with it. While most of her stories are about cis-gendered, heterosexual couples, she's big on at least a supporting cast of queer characters. She's had several bi-racial pairings, and one of her best books has a trans heroine and an Asian hero, not something you see in a lot of contemporary novels these days.
In this novella, while both the protagonists are cis-gendered white women, she manages to diversify the genre that little bit more. While m/m (male/male) pairings are getting a lot more common, in both historical and contemporary romance (so many athletes), you still don't see a lot of f/f (female/female) stories. You certainly do't see them about women around my mother's age. Romance really is so much about young people, I literally don't think I've ever read a story with characters who are in the later stages of their lives.
That the story is also full of righteous female rage and how powerless they can feel, and how important it is to learn to not give a f*ck and making yourself heard and fighting back against the patriarchy, that's just a bonus. I don't want to give too much away, but there is a LITERAL "watch it all burn down and make cheese toast among the embers" scene in this story, and it felt earned.
The two women in the story are from different social classes and while they interact and come to love one another, they also learn a lot and expand their horizons. Violetta has never had the chance to be brave and impetuous, Bertrice has always had the privilege of her wealth to protect her, even in a world entirely ruled by men. She has never really had to consider how difficult life is for women of the lower classes, and becomes kinder, wiser and less bitter over the course of the story.
This novella wasn't in the original outline for Courtney Milan's Worth Saga, but came to be as a result of some of the truly depressing developments we've seen in the news over the last few years. It's a terrible time to be a woman in America, the patriarchy keeps trying to wrest away hard-earned rights and this very angry little story is her result of some of the frustrations she's clearly felt. While I despair at the direction the world is currently turning, I'm glad Ms. Milan turned some of her anger and fury into another piece of great art.
Judging a book by its cover: The covers are never going to be a selling point for Ms Milan's stories, but this one is even more badly photo shopped than some. You once again get what I'm assuming is stock photo formal wear, this time with an elderly lady wearing it, slightly awkwardly placed in front of an image of the British Houses of Parliament. I love your writing, Ms. Milan, but your covers just really make me sad. No one's going to pick up a story based on this. However, the cover is tons better than that for After the Wedding, so that's something.
Labels: #CBR11, 4.5 stars, Courtney Milan, feminism, historical romance, LGBTQ, Mrs Martin's Incomparable Adventure, novella, the Worth Saga, Victorian
#CBR11 Book 26: "A Dangerous Collaboration" by Deanna Raybourn
Spoiler warning! This is book four in an ongoing series, and while you get enough information to follow the plot, you're definitely better off starting at the beginning. Especially since there are quite a lot stuff that's been building for the entire series that finally begins to come to fruition in this book, and it'll be a lot more satisfying if you've read the preceding three books.
Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell is whisked off to a remote island off the tip of Cornwall when her natural historian colleague Stoker's brother calls in a favor. On the pretext of wanting a companion to accompany him to Lord Malcolm Romilly's house party, Tiberius persuades Veronica to pose as his fiancée—much to Stoker's chagrin. But upon arriving, it becomes clear that the party is not as innocent as it had seemed. Every invited guest has a connection to Romilly's wife, Rosamund, who disappeared on her wedding day three years ago, and a dramatic dinner proves she is very much on her husband's mind.
As spectral figures, ghostly music, and mysterious threats begin to plague the partygoers, Veronica enlists Stoker's help to discover the host's true motivations. And as they investigate, it becomes clear that there are numerous mysteries surrounding the Romilly estate, and every person present has a motive to kill Rosamund...
Veronica begins the book by surprising her close friend and detecting partner Stoker by announcing that she'll be accompanying their patron Lord Rosemorran's sister, Lady Cordelia on an extended trip to Madeira. She claims Lady Cordelia needs an urgent vacation, while she wants to look for new species of butterflies. Veronica is absolutely not trying to get away from any awkward or meaningful conversations about the possible shift in her and Stoker's relationship after the events of A Treacherous Curse. Oh no, certainly not. She encourages Stoker to write to her in her absence, he refrains to. Hence they don't communicate at all for over six months.
When she returns from her journey, Veronica discovers that Lord Tiberius, Stoker's eldest brother needs her assistance and can tempt her with a rare species of butterfly believed to nearly be extinct as thanks for her services. He's visiting an old friend on an island off the coast of Cornwall and doesn't want to travel alone. Despite his brother's wishes, Stoker obviously shows up at the last minute, not happy to have Veronica alone in his brother's company.
When they arrive on the island, they discover that not only is it remote, but everything there is terribly Gothic. Their host, Lord Malcolm, still grieves his missing wife. There's his wastrel nephew and drunken sister-in-law, his eccentric herbalist sister, the dutiful housekeeper and it doesn't take long for Stoker and Veronica to deduce that Tiberius also had a strong connection to the missing woman. He wanted Veronica and Stoker to accompany him because it's been three years since Rosamund's disappearance (and likely death) and he knows neither of them can resist a mystery, especially when they're isolated on an island with nothing else to do.
While Veronica and Stoker have been in some pretty serious scrapes during their past adventures, nothing has come closer to ending them both than this current mystery. The guilty party is none too happy about the amateur sleuths come to visit and is willing to go to great lengths to dispose of them both.
Veronica spends a lot of this book desperately trying to avoid any sort of conversation with Stoker about the way their relationship is developing from fast friendship into something more. She has always prided herself on her independence and free spirit, and doesn't want to be tied down by societal conventions like matrimony or monogamy. Yet she spends her entire journey away with Lady Cordelia thinking about Stoker, wondering why he won't write to her, and when Stoker announces that he is quite happy with them remaining just friends (yet keeps taking his clothes off in front of her every chance she gets), she is forced to start reevaluating what it is she really wants for her future.
Lord Tiberius' rather obvious flirtation only makes it more obvious to her that despite her claims to want the freedom to choose her lovers, she's not really interested in anyone else, and pretty much hasn't been for a long time. Stoker, of course, seems perfectly willing to wait her out, and keep tempting her until she is forced to make a declaration of her own. As they end up in ever more deadly situations, the only question is if they're both going to survive long enough for her to be able to admit her feeling to him.
Lord Tiberius has been an interesting supporting character in some of the earlier books, and I enjoyed discovering more about him. As it turns out, he's not a particularly nice man (but we sort of knew that already), but there is pain and loss in his past and a lot of that has turned him into the manipulative and devious person he is now.
My favourite part of this entire book is obviously what the developments mean for Stoker and Veronica going forward. Sadly, the next book isn't out until sometime next year, so I guess I'll just have to impatiently wait (and re-read my favourite parts of this one).
Judging a book by its cover: I really do love the woodcut-inspired covers for these, and the dark emerald green background is gorgeous. There is a vague link to the actual plot of the book with the island with a fancy mansion on it in the corner, but these really are mainly just pretty to look at, without giving too much of anything away.
Labels: #CBR11, 4 stars, Deanna Raybourn, historical fiction, mystery, romantic, Veronica Speedwell, Victorian
#CBR11 Book 25: "Lady Derring Takes a Lover" by Julie Anne Long
A mistress. A mountain of debt. A mysterious wreck of a building.
Delilah Swanpool, Countess of Derring, learns the hard way that her husband, "Dear Dull Derring," is a lot more interesting—and perfidious—dead than alive. It's a devil of an inheritance, but in the grand ruins of the one building Derring left her, are the seeds of her liberation. And she vows never again to place herself at the mercy of a man.
But battle-hardened Captain Tristan Hardy is nothing if not merciless. When the charismatic naval hero tracks a notorious smuggler to a London boarding house known as the Rogue's Palace, seducing the beautiful, blue-blooded proprietress to get his man seems like a small sacrifice.
They both believe love is a myth. But a desire beyond reason threatens to destroy the armour around their hearts. Now a shattering decision looms: Will Tristan betray his own code of honor…or choose a love that might be the truest thing he's ever known?
This is Julie Anne Long's return to historical romances, (to much greater success than some, Lisa Kleypas, I'm looking at you) after a few years of only publishing contemporary ones. While I thought her Hellcat Canyon books were just fine, gradually getting better with each book, it is really almost sad how much better I thought this was.
In this, the beginning of a new series, The Palace of Rogues, Ms. Long introduces us to Delilah Swanpool, whose really rather boring husband has died and left her with nothing but a lot of creditors and a large, empty building near the docks. When visiting her husband's solicitor, she also discovers that her husband had kept a mistress for years, and said woman is also down on her luck. After some consideration, Delilah suggests to the other woman, who goes by the name Mrs. Angelique Breedlove (NOT her actual given name), that they go into business together. They use what meagre funds they have, selling their jewelry and refurbish the building into a boarding house, ignoring all the warnings of the somewhat dodgy neighbours that the property has a notorious reputation and there is no way they will meet with success.
While it might have been natural for them to hate each other, Delilah and Angelique, helped by Delilah's well-meaning, but rather inept maid, as well as whatever former staff Delilah has been able to persuade to still work for her, set about making their boarding house not only a profitable business, but a cosy place that they and their guests can call home. They make sure to have set rules for what is allowed and expected of their lodgers, such as at least some mandatory socialising every week and communal meals. It's all rather sweet.
Unbeknownst to the two women, "Dear Dull (and now Dead) Derring" was involved in a smuggling operation, and the location they have chosen for their lodging house has such a bad reputation exactly because it was part of the smugglers' chosen hiding places. They suspect nothing untoward when the dashing Captain Hardy comes to stay with them (although he and Delilah are mutually attracted to one another from the moment they lay eyes on each other). Hardy has a sterling reputation, and always "gets his man". He has the trust of the Prince Regent and finds it unlikely that the women running the loftily named "Grand Palace on the Thames" could both have been intimately involved with Derring and not known about his involvement with the smuggling. As he comes to discover through his investigations, they are both innocent, and because he's pretty much fallen madly for Delilah at this point, he's very relieved to discover it.
While the romance is thoroughly satisfying, I think my favourite part of this book were the various female friendships. Delilah frequently despairs over the dimness of her maidservant, but nevertheless keeps the loyal and enthusiastic young woman in her employ as she knows she'll have nowhere else to go if Delilah fires her. Angelique and Delilah are very different women who form an unlikely and very touching friendship over the course of the novel. In so many novels (even romances, sadly) believable and supportive female friendships are lacking. Not so here.
If there's a weakness to the book, it's that it's not difficult to discover who the true villains in this book are, for all that our intrepid current and future heroines (Angelique's book is out in the second half of the year) are rather naive as to some of their lodgers' true natures. There's a rather unpleasant incident where Delilah is threatened with rape and rescued by Hardy which I'm not sure it was necessary for Long to include - I think she could have conveyed the danger posed to the women in some other way, but apart from that, the book is really rather delightful and features so much of what makes Julie Anne Long such an entertaining romance writer.
I'm so very happy that she is writing historical novels again, and since she got 11 books out of the inhabitants in and vaguely connected to Pennyroyal Green, I am hoping that she manages to mine this new location for a good few books yet.
Judging a book by its cover: While the dress the cover model is wearing is quite pretty (and period appropriate, what a nice change that makes from the majority of romance covers), the facial expression on the poor lady is awkward in the extreme to me. She doesn't really look as if she's glancing towards a lover, rather than wanting her hand to be released immediately, so she can go and scrub it and remove all traces of the person who just touched it. Still, the marketing department signed off on it, so I might just be overly critical.
Labels: #CBR11, 4 stars, historical romance, Julie Anne Long, Lady Derring Takes a Lover, Regency, smuggling, the Palace of Rogues
#CBR11 Book 24: "Polaris Rising" by Jessie Mihalik
Audio book length: 12hrs 41 mins
As the seventh of nine children, Ada von Hasenberg knows that her only value to House von Hasenberg is as a political pawn in an arranged marriage. But after watching two of her older sisters get auctioned off to horrible men, Ada refuses to play her part. She flees off-planet and disappears for two years.
Ada's father, fed up with her rebellion, offers a bounty for her safe return. The universe is a big place, but mercs are everywhere, and Ada is caught. With the merc ship full, she's forced to share a cell with Marcus Loch, the Devil of Fornax Zero. Rumor has it he murdered every commanding officer who issued orders during the Fornax Rebellion. All anyone knows for sure is that the Royal Consortium wants his head.
Ada has no trouble believing the muscled man chained in the back of her cell is a killer. But when their ship is attacked by forces from rival House Rockhurst, Ada must decide whether to trust him—because once you release the devil, you can't put him back. And when the attack heralds the opening salvo of a much bigger war, Ada must determine where her loyalties truly lie.
As if some of the reviews I did earlier this year weren't a bit sub par, when I was trying to remember things I read one or even two months ago, my massive work load and other priorities have now resulted in there now being a nearly three month long gap between the books at the bottom of my review backlog and me actually writing about them - and as a consequence, I should probably apologise in advance for what is likely to be a thoroughly middling review.
This is by no means a bad book, there's romance, there's action, there's all manner of fanciful technology. The hero and heroine keep getting into dangerous situations, and there's a nice balance of Marcus rescuing Ada and vice versa. Ada certainly isn't a damsel in distress, but she relies more on cunning and connections than brawn to get her out of a sticky situation. Marcus is obviously not the terrible villain that the blurb makes him out to be, there's moral and understandable reasons for his insubordination and since the series, of which this is the first book, is called The Consortium Rebellion, it's safe to assume that the Consortium that controls things is something worth rebelling against. There's some perfectly enjoyable supporting characters, but I can't really say I remember much more than Ada has a friend, Marcus has some friends, there's a plot moppet and maybe his grandma? They don't feature heavily in the main plot.
Ada may be a space princess, but she's sick of her father's expectations. While she's quite happy to go off and do her own thing, she's not exactly willing to give up on her family's wealth, having squirrelled away as much as she can of her substantial personal funds and whatever else she can lay her hands on in private accounts. That comes in handy when she goes on the run.
I really do only remember snippets of the plot by now. The book starts with Ada and Marcus being thrown in the same cell on a space ship. Since the people after Ada are worse than even the big threatening looking lug she's locked up with, Ada decides she has no choice but to trust him to help her get away. As she quickly discovers, he's not at all as bad as his reputation suggests, they find one another extremely attractive (and he's totally OK waiting until she's ready to act on that mutual attraction, which takes quite a while, in fact). At some point, they steal a space ship. There's a fair amount of space travel and planet hopping.
At one point, Ada goes back home and sees her older sister, now widowed after an unhappy marriage. The sister is going to be the heroine of the next book in the series, and I'm looking forward to the book, as I liked her (and the family security chief and the mutual secret pining that has clearly been going on between them approximately forever).
I also seem to remember that Ada's father and her arranged to be married to intended are both odious to a moustache-twirling degree. Some nuance would have been nice here. As I said, it's a perfectly fine book, but I will say that I have adjusted my initial rating of this book down from 4 stars to 3.5, because I feel that if the book was really good, I would remember more than a faint outline even this long afterwards.
I can't remember anything that stood out, either positively or negatively with the audio narration, so that was probably fine too. Fine seems to be the main adjective in this review. I am happy to be able to add another sci-fi book to the "Liked" pile - it doesn't happen too often.
Judging a book by its cover: The book has a perfectly fine cover. There's not exactly any doubt that this is science fiction, with our heroine wearing a figure-hugging futuristic spacesuit, holding up a blaster and looking ready for action. Just in case you still needed convincing, there's a spaceship in the background. I like the various shades of blue, actually. It's not the most eye-catching or exciting cover, but it also doesn't make your eyes bleed.
Labels: #CBR11, 3.5 stars, audio book, Consortium Rebellion, Jessie Mihalik, Polaris Rising, romance, science fiction, space opera
#CBR11 Book 31: "Love in the Time of Scandal" by C...
#CBR11 Book 30: "Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed ...
#CBR11 Book 29: "Whatever Life Throws at You" by J...
#CBR11 Book 28: "What the Lady Wants" by Jennifer ...
#CBR11 Book 27: "Mrs Martin's Incomparable Adventu...
#CBR11 Book 26: "A Dangerous Collaboration" by Dea...
#CBR11 Book 25: "Lady Derring Takes a Lover" by Ju...


The participants in the Holy Synod of Antioch in Lebanon denounced the silence of the world over the terrorist crimes committed against the Syrian people.
The remarks came in a statement marking the 3rd session of the Synod, which was chaired by Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X Yazigi.
The participants also called for reaching an end to the crisis in Syria and releasing all kidnapped persons, especially bishops John Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, who were kidnapped by terrorists in Aleppo in April 2013.


If you want to own a home but are not sure if you can keep up with a spacious yard, then a townhouse might just be your best option.
Just as you would with any other property, you need to consider certain things before you ultimately decide to buy a Kingstowne VA townhouse. Aside from the property's architectural style, other factors that you need to carefully consider before sealing the deal are its neighborhood, crime statistics, tax rates and schools in the area, as well as its accessibility to public transportation.
1. How good is the quality of its walls?
Before purchasing a townhouse, it is important that you know the quality of materials used in building its walls, especially those that are shared with neighboring townhouses. In case of fire, does it have a firewall to prevent the smoke and fire from spreading? Do the walls meet current local fire safety codes? Are they soundproof?
Sometimes, a homeowner who has just purchased a townhouse without a firewall has to pay for fire safety modifications. Are you ready for such additional expenses?
2. Will you have enough privacy in the exterior spaces of your home?
Check if there are walls that separate the townhouses, or if the units have shared privacy screens. Of course, you wouldn't want your neighbor to be staring directly at you from their rear deck, so make sure that the townhouse gives you enough privacy.
3. Is your townhouse physically separated from the other townhouses?
Once you live in a townhouse, you will be partly responsible for exterior maintenance. If you don't want to encounter maintenance headaches in the future, check if there are clear demarcations of the boundaries of your home—from the roof, the concrete curb, down to the driveway.
4. How much do you have to pay for common maintenance?
Townhouse owners living in most townhouse associations usually pay for maintenance of public amenities such as recreational parks, parking areas and even private roads. Before you decide to buy a townhouse, make sure that you know how much all of these will cost you.
Note that unlike tenants, homeowners cannot withhold payment of such mandatory assessments. If you do that, your townhouse association can place a lien on your home and collect on that lien either with a financial judgment or the foreclosure of your property.
5. How much of the property is really yours?
If your townhouse is part of a condominium association, then the only part of the property that you own is the interior, which covers the interior walls and everything inside it. You do not own the exterior walls, the driveway and the yard.
Most likely, you also have limited ownership of patios, decks, porches and other spaces outside your home. If you love decorating or modifying exterior spaces, it is important that you clarify how much of the property you really own before buying it.
Buying a townhouse for sale in Kingstowne VA is a huge financial commitment, so you have to make it right. Most homeowners find a problem with their new home within the first couple of months of purchase.
If you don't want to eventually regret your decision to buy a townhouse, know the right questions to ask before you buy. Call Amanda Davidson at 703-431-3755 and she'll be glad to assist you throughout the process.


text:
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<title>ArSegmenter (LangPi 1.1.1 API)</title>
<meta name="date" content="2017-03-28">
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kariminf.langpi.basic.arabic

Class ArSegmenter

java.lang.Object

kariminf.langpi.basic.arabic.ArSegmenter

All Implemented Interfaces:

Segmenter

public class ArSegmenter
extends java.lang.Object
implements Segmenter

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Constructor and Description

ArSegmenter()

Method Summary

All Methods Static Methods Instance Methods Concrete Methods

Modifier and Type
Method and Description

static void
main(java.lang.String[] args)

java.util.List<java.lang.String>
segmentWords(java.lang.String text)

Tokenizes a text: split it to many words.

java.util.List<java.lang.String>
splitToSentences(java.lang.String text)

Segments a text in a given language to many sentences.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

ArSegmenter

public ArSegmenter()

Method Detail

splitToSentences

public java.util.List<java.lang.String> splitToSentences(java.lang.String text)

Description copied from interface: Segmenter

Segments a text in a given language to many sentences.

Specified by:

splitToSentences in interface Segmenter

Parameters:

text - input text

Returns:

a list of sentences

segmentWords

public java.util.List<java.lang.String> segmentWords(java.lang.String text)

Description copied from interface: Segmenter

Tokenizes a text: split it to many words.

Specified by:

segmentWords in interface Segmenter

Parameters:

text - input text (a sentence usually)

Returns:

a list of words

main

public static void main(java.lang.String[] args)

Parameters:

args -

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text:
Zafares back on top in Montreal, with Taylor-Brown and Learmonth on podium
Victory in Montreal gave Katies Zafares her fourth victory in five races of the 2019 World Triathlon Series and wreaked swift revenge on runner-up Georgia Taylor-Brown who had defeated her in Leeds last time out.
The consistent Jess Learmonth also fought off a strong challenge from Italian Alice Betto to cling on for her fourth consecutive podium, while third Brit, Jodie Stimpson – in her second WTS race back after injury – was 13th.
"I think I'm at my best having to run with Georgia, and as soon as we got on the bike, I was telling myself to be ready," Zafares said, having only carved out her 11sec winning margin in the closing metres of the 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
Taylor-Brown moved up to third in the overall series and retained her chance of being in contention come the Grand Final in Lausanne should Zafares slip up.
"I just didn't have the legs today and Katie was incredible," the 25-year-old said. "I think I'm getting into this triathlon thing now and each race is getting better."
A further 23sec behind was Learmonth who admitted to "a bit of a struggle" as she searches for her maiden WTS triumph.
Learmonth, Taylor-Brown and Stimpson were the only British representatives, with the most notable absentee being Vicky Holland. The Olympic bronze medallist from Rio 2016 won in Montreal last year as she hit a run of form that would land her the world title.
But after failing to make a podium this season, her decision to stay away looked a concession that she won't catch Zafares at the top of WTS leaderboard and that the Tokyo 2020 test event in August will now become her sole focus – with a top three place guaranteeing her a third Olympic shot.
The race started with a non-wetsuit swim and Brazil's Victoria Lopes, who had finished eighth in Leeds, led Learmonth out of the water, with Zafares in close attendance and Taylor-Brown emerging in 10th.
A quick transition led to a quartet of Lopes, Learmonth, Zafares and Holland's May Kingma opening an immediate gap with Taylor-Brown, Italy's Alice Betto and USA's Taylor Knibb forming a second group.
The chasing trio managed to close the gap midway through a flat and twisting bike leg as they built a 30sec advantage over the field, where Stimpson was often the lone driving force.
By the time the leaders reached T2, Lopes had been jettisoned and the podium chances rested with the front six as the gap to the rest widened to 63sec.
In a repeat of the Leeds clash three weeks earlier, Zafares and Taylor-Brown took charge, shoulder-to-shoulder on the run, with Learmonth establishing herself in third.
There was never more than a metre or so between the front two as they entered the final mile before Zafares struck decisively for home with just over 400m to go.
"I went early and ran as fast as I could," Zafares said. "The only time I looked back to see where she was, was when I got to the finish."
Zafares increases her lead at the top of the standings over Learmonth and Taylor-Brown, with USA's Taylor Spivey in fourth and Non Stanford in fifth.
There is little time for the athletes to recover as they head to Hamburg next weekend for another sprint distance contest on Saturday.
The World Mixed Relay championship takes place the following day, where France will be looking to defend its crown and Britain make the podium for the first time in four years.
Previous Previous post: Geens wins in Canada as WTS shocks continue
Next Next post: British paratriathletes win three golds as Paralympic quest starts in Montreal

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text:
Home / Articles / New Orleans Promotions / New Orleans Events
Five Safe In-Person Events Coming Up
By: John Glover
Recent weeks have seen New Orleans, along with the rest of the country, easing into a kind of reopening. We haven't so much seen the end of the quarantine as a new economic normal with quarantine characteristics. In the Crescent City, that means that we can go out, albeit to fewer places and only while following certain safety guidelines. With that in mind, here's a list of five fun and in-person things to do here in the coming days.
Jeremy Davenport at the Davenport Lounge
If you haven't seen live music since before the quarantine and have a fire in your belly to witness some again, then now's the perfect time to get back out there. The luxurious Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the French Quarter offers plenty of opportunity to do so. Just visit their Davenport Lounge, the hotel's restaurant and bar area that doubles as a music venue. Named for one of New Orleans's most famed living jazz musicians, the eponymous Jeremy Davenport, the man himself sometimes plays in the lounge. 921 Canal St., (504) 524-1331, ritzcarlton.com
COOLinary New Orleans
Parts of the city may remain shut down due to COVID-19, but no one says you can't still enjoy a delicious meal in the food mecca of America. Running through the month of August and encompassing the first couple months of September, COOLinary is a restaurant promotion. You'll be able to get mouthwatering, multiple-course meals at participating locations at discounted prices. Those restaurants include Andrea's, Café Degas, and more. August 1 through September 13, experienceneworleans.com/coolinary
Beignet Fest at Their Place
Unfortunately, the city's traditional beignet festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19. However, it's still possible to celebrate and experience the delicious treat and New Orleans staple in a socially distant way. Restaurants throughout the city and greater Louisiana will be offering specialty beignets between July 24 and July 26. All you have to do is show up at one of the participating locations, and you can get your sweet fix. beignetfest.com
Tribe Yard Yoga
Yoga classes are back, and they're in-person. At least, they are at Tribe Yard Yoga, located at the Tchoup Yard. Nestled a stone's throw from the Mississippi River in the Garden District, this yoga class is back to being once a week. You can get in for the low price of $5. 405 Third Street, Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m., (504) 517-4689,nolatribeyoga.com
Go on a drinking tour through the French Quarter with the organization Pub Crawl NOLA. They have events regularly. There's one this Friday, July 24, starting at 8:00 p.m. They're calling it the French Quarter VIP Pub Crawl. Meet just off of Canal Street and begin a truly epic night out on the town, featuring some of NOLA's best bars and pubs, with extra-special drink specials. Tickets go for $22. pubcrawlneworleans.com
More From New Orleans Events
Five Livestream Events to Catch This Week
Hold Your Horses!: "Say 'Hay' to Horses Equine Experience" is Coming
Attend the Black Lives Matter Rally for Transit Workers' Rights
Galatoire's Raising Money for Boys Hope Girls Hope of New Orleans
Five New Things to Learn This Week
Five Things to Do With Kids This Week
Five Things to Do With Your Kids This Week
Five Safe In-Person Things to Do in New Orleans This Week
Five Workouts to Try This Week
How To Make The Most Of This Year's 4th Of July
Parade Through New Orleans Homes This July
Think You're Smart? Play Virtual Trivia to Fight Leukemia
New Orleans Events
Lark in the Park: City Park's Most Elegant Fundraiser
It's time to send your snazziest daytime cocktail attire to the cleaners because City Park's most elegant fundraiser is right around the corner, and you must at least try to get that wine stain off your dress. On Sunday, March 14, Lark in the Park will be...
Emeril Lagasse Foundation's "Carnivale du Vin" Fundraiser Was a Massive Success
The Carnivale du Vin event is the Emeril Lagasse Foundation's annual fête for fundraising and festivities, but this year's circumstances rendered such an event implausible in-person. It was still held this year, though virtually, and achieved another momentous feat. Having raised a whopping $1 million for various charities dedicated to the enrichment of young children, this year's virtual Carnivale...
The National WWII Museum Honors the Anniversary of V-J Day
President Truman addressed America: "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies." On this day that he spoke of, the day of September 2, 1945, Japanese officials boarded the USS Missouri to surrender in World War II. According to BBC, the fighting in Europe had ended in May 1945, but many Allied soldiers were still fighting against Japan....


How to properly update one column value to be showed in another with fields.related?
[SOLVED] How to correctly add a field with fields.related on pos module?
How to address fields.related correctly?
How to implement fields.related in Odoo SaaS V8?


text:
2015 AYF Olympics: Providence Wins Cup #40
29 Sep 15, 17:14 #1 (permalink)
By Bob Tutunjian
EAST GREENWICH, R.I.—In New England when someone speaks of dynasties, they are usually referring to a certain NFL team that has won four Super Bowls. But after this past Labor Day, you will have to add the Providence "Varantian" AYF Chapter to the discussion, as they have now won 10 times as many championships. A total of more than 220 athletes participated over the weekend in these 82nd Annual Olympics.
Team Providence
The Green Machine brought a team of 45 members and amassed a total of 204 points, 56 more than Greater Boston. They became the first team to surpass the 200 mark since Philadelphia set the chapter scoring record in 2010. Providence won the swim meet and tennis competition to build a small 9-point lead on Friday. The margin grew to 27 points after the Sunday morning track and field events and kept increasing from there. The Varantians were led by three high scorers, Tarvis Hintlian and siblings Lynne and Stephen Tutunjian. They added pentathlon winner Mark Hamalian and double gold medalist Andrew Hintlian to their usual depth at home. In all, their balanced attack grabbed 18 golds, 10 silvers, and 14 bronzes along with winning 5 relays.
Providence Celebrates Their Victory with Hey Jon
Anoush Krafian (BOST) sets a New Record in the Long Jump
Last year Greater Boston placed 5th in Detroit, scoring only 55 points. This time around, the "Nejdehs" had 35 members entered to increase their total by almost 100 points. They brought their own sibling 15-point scorers with rookie Anoush Krafian and sister Nairi, who won the pentathlon. Boston also had three double gold winners: veteran Michelle Hagopian and newcomers Alex Avakian and Katarena Nalbandian. The Nejdehs took home 11 gold medals along with 8 silvers and 8 bronzes. They also won three relays on the track.
Philadelphia also improved as they came with 19 athletes and moved up to 3rd place with 83 points. They won the men's golf and scored 25 points in the pool to start the weekend. On Sunday, rookie Masis Mardirosian won both the 100 and 200 to lead the "Sebouhs." Overall they snatched 5 golds, 8 silvers, and 5 bronze medals.
New Jersey and Worcester tied for 4th place with 43 points. Melanee Melkonian won three events for the "Arams" after scoring 13 points in 2014. Meanwhile the "Arsens" dropped a bit from their 71-point 3rd-place finish in Detroit. They hope to bounce back next year as they host the Games in 2016.
Last year's host and defending champion, the Detroit chapter, had to settle for 6th place this year with only 29 points. Close behind them was Chicago with 27 points. The "Ararats" came with 16-year-old swimming star Andrew Devedjian, who won both freestyles and almost won the butterfly. The 8th spot went to Most Improved Chapter North Andover with 11 points. New York recorded 8 points while West San Fernando scored 7 for 10th place. Washington, D.C. and San Francisco scored 4 points, while Toronto and Granite City each had 2. Burbank Valley, Glendale, Orange County (all California), and Racine entered but did not score.
There were 5 high scorers with 15 points each, and Providence had 3 of them. Veteran Lynne Tutunjian started things rolling on Friday by winning three events in the pool in her final Olympics. The former Bentley University swimmer won three golds for her seventh time. In doing so she became the all-time AYF women's scoring leader with 153 career points. Lynne exceeded the old record total of 144 points shared by Jill Tosoian Dolik and Nancy Gavoor, both from Detroit. For good measure, she also broke her own record in the 25 freestyle set in 2004 during her first Olympics. Lynne has a master's degree in accounting and a CPA and currently works for Arrowstreet Capital in their performance group.
Her brother Stephen swept the 3 jumping events for his 7th high-scorer trophy to bring his career Olympics total to 130 points and retire as the 6th highest man overall. He has scored 15 points for 6 straight years—a longer streak than any other male athlete. It is surpassed only by Michelle Hagopian and Nancy Gavoor, who achieved this feat seven consecutive times. Steve also broke his own record in the triple jump set in 2012. He recently completed his M.S. in bio-engineering from Tufts and is working as a sales support specialist for Brainlab, a medical technology company.
They were joined by Tarvis Hintlian who swept the distance events for the second straight year. Tarvis has run a personal best of 5:20.93 in the mile during her 2014 indoor season. She battled some injuries this past season but was able to get back in shape during the summer.
Tarvis Hintlian & Emily Sarkisian (PROV) finish 1-2 in the 1600 Run
Anoush Krafian of Greater Boston had the most impressive AYF debut in many years. Anoush won the hurdles as well as the long and high jumps. She set records in the first two events and narrowly missed in the third. The long jump record of 16'10" had been on the books since 1978 and belonged to Christine Varadian Johnson from the host chapter. Anoush tied the old record on her 4th jump and set the new standard of 17'3.25" on her last attempt. The old hurdles mark (16.10) was set in 2007 by Samantha Essian Bagdasarian of Detroit, and Anoush lowered this to 15.76. Anoush set school records in the same two events as a freshman and team MVP for Belmont High School (15.74 for the high hurdles and 17'5.5" in the long jump). She also competed in the New Balance High School Nationals at the Armory in New York City. At that meet she was the second highest finisher among the female freshmen athletes.
The Women High Scorers (L-R) Tarvis Hintlian (PROV), Melanee Melkonian (WORC), Lynne Tutunjian (PROV), Anoush Krafian (BOST)
Worcester's Melanee Melkonian won three golds by sweeping the 50 and 100 and then took the baseball throw in record fashion. The old record of 211'0" was thrown by Varantian Donna Depalma Reach in 1976. Melanee had her eyes set on breaking this mark after just missing last year. She changed her technique to do so by eliminating her run-up and then increased her weight training. The end result was a heave of 226'9". Melanee also tied the mark of 6.60 in the 50, set by Detroit's Andrea Nranian in 1979. Melanee graduated from Clark University in 2013 with an MBA in marketing. There she starred in softball and field hockey, where she holds the school record with 112 career goals.
Both of the 2014 pentathlon champions took silver this year in tight competition. Greater Boston's Vigen Sarkisov was overtaken on the last event by Mark Hamalian from Providence. Mark scored 2,735 points, which was only 36 more than Vigen. While Vigen dominated the first two throwing events, Mark came back to win the jumping and running events. On the women's side, 2012 champion Nairi Krafian from Greater Boston totaled 2,212 points, which was 59 points better than Detroit's Knar Topouzian. The two had met before in 2013 when Knar came out on top. This time around Nairi pulled ahead to stay when she ruled the second event, the long jump.
An amazing total of nine records were broken or tied at this year's Games. This is the highest total since the remarkable 1979 Olympics when 21 marks were set. In addition to the six set by the high scorers, there were two individuals and a relay team to make history. Sixteen-year-old Ani Armenakyan of Providence started off by breaking the shot put record of 37'4" set by Providence's Joyce Ajootian in 1981. Ani tied the distance on her first throw and then broke it by 4.5" on her final one. Then, Greater Boston's Alex Avakian set a new standard of 151'7" in the discus on his last throw. The old record (150'2") was held by Emmanuel Mkrtchian from Philadelphia and was set 5 years ago. Finally the Greater Boston co-ed 4×200 relay team established a new mark of 1:47.15 in that event. They shattered the old Sebouh record of 1:48.65 run in 2008.
The Ernest Nahigian Award for sportsmanship and fraternal spirit was presented to Raffi Sarajian of New Jersey and Megerdich Kassabian from North Andover. North Andover also won the Most Improved Chapter trophy. The Cory Tosoian Trophy for the alumni golf was won by Armen Tenkarian, a former member of the host chapter.
Men's Track & Field
Stephen Tutunjian continued his streaks in the men's jumping events taking the long and triple jumps for the ninth straight year and retiring undefeated in those two events. However, the long jump competition was the closest he has ever faced. Steve jumped 21'4.25" but there were two other jumpers less than a foot behind. Mike Melkonian from Worcester leapt 20'8" to narrowly win the silver by 3 inches over rookie Armen Almasian of North Andover. The triple jump was not as close, as Steve broke his own record soaring 49'2", which is only 2 inches less than his first NCAA Championship qualifying mark at Lehigh University during 2010. His personal best in the event is 50'4.5" which set the Lehigh record in 2012. Varak Ghazarian from San Francisco took second, as he did in 2014, and Mkrtich Arslanyan (Providence) won the bronze. Finally Steve won the high jump at 5'8" with Greater Boston's Sam Chakmakjian close behind at 5'6" and Varantian Nareg Mkrtschjan at 5'4".
Long Jump Medalists (L-R) Mike Melkonian (WORC), Stephen Tutunjian (PROV), Armen Almasian (NO AND)
On the track, the only double winner was Masis Mardirosian from Philadelphia. In his first Olympics, Masis sprinted to victory in the 100 and 200, both by less than 1/10th of a second ahead of Greater Boston's Shant Mahrokhian. Armen Almasian took 3rd in the 100 while Mike Melkonian won bronze in the 200. Andrew Hintlian secured the 400 for Providence, in front of Philly rookie Eric Papazian and Washington sprinter Haig Pakhchanian. Papazian earlier had won the 800 ahead of veterans Daron Bedian (Chicago) and Gary Dodakian (Providence). Meanwhile Daron came out on top in the grueling 3200-meter run on Sunday morning. Sam Chakmakjian and New York's Haig Minassian followed behind. Another rookie, David Barsamian from Jersey, won the 1600 with Chicago teammates Alek Surenian and Daron Bedian grabbing silver and bronze. The hurdles were run in the morning and Daniel Chakmakjian brought home the gold for the Nejdehs as he did in 2012. Sebouh Richard Keshgegian and Mkrtich Arslanyan were the other medalists.
The throws were dominated by Greater Boston newcomer Alex Avakian. In the morning, Alex won the discus with his record heave of 151'7" which was over 50 feet ahead of Alexan Topalian from Providence and Armen Nercesian of West San Fernando. Philadelphia's Mark Santerian then defended his javelin crown with a toss of 157'3". Alex took the bronze and was edged out by only three inches by Sevan Zobian from the host chapter. But Alex came back to win his second gold in the shot put with a throw of 45'4.5". Armen, the 2014 champion, when he was with Detroit, took second and Meran Topalian (Providence) won the bronze.
Greater Boston came from behind to win the 4×100 meter relay in 47.14 with Providence close on their heels and Philadelphia just behind them. The Varantians bounced back to take the 4×400 relay in 4:02.51 with New Jersey and Philadelphia following in second and third.
Women's Track & Field
Three high scorers dominated the women's track and field events this year and won 9 of the 14 individual events. Rookie Anoush Krafian started things off with her record leap of 17'3.25" in the long jump. She was almost three feet ahead of last year's winner, Ariana Chipolone from New Jersey. Providence newcomer Jessica Marabian placed third. Anoush continued her assault on the record book by easily winning the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.76. Two time event champ Kenar Charchaflian of Worcester beat Mackenzie Derderian from Providence for second place. Finally Anoush took gold in the high jump by clearing 5'2" and just missed on her third attempt to set a new record there also. Defending champion Ariana settled for second again with Philadelphian Emily Selverian in third. The other jumping event, the triple jump, was won by Ani Comella at 26'5.75" for Providence. She bested teammate Mackenzie Derderian and Jersey's Theresa Jelalian, who both had the same distance, but Mackenzie took the silver with a better second jump.
Triple Jump Medalists (L-R) Mackenzie Derderian & Ani Comella (PROV), Theresa Jelalian (NJ)
The track events saw Tarvis Hintlian repeat her 2014 titles in the three distance events. Tarvis recorded times of 5:55.10 in the 1600, 2:39.63 in the 800, and 1:06.61 in the 400. She finished ahead of teammates in all three of these events. Emily Sarkisian was second in both the 800 and 1600 and still had enough energy to take 3rd in the 400. The bronze medals went Shayna McCarty from New Jersey in the 1600 and to Sevan Dulgarian from Greater Boston in the 800. Rebecca Khimatian won silver for Providence in the 400 after previously winning the 200 in a time of 30.01. Philadelphia's Jessica Selverian placed second in the 200 with Jersey's Alycia McCarty in third.
The short sprints were ruled by Melanee Melkonian. The Aram speedster first tied the record of 6.60 in the 50-meter dash. Greater Boston took second and third with Araxi Krafian and her cousin Ani Hackett. Melanee repeated in the 100 with a time of 13.40, besting Ariana Chipolone. In 2014, Ariana beat Melanee in the 200 but both ladies decided against running the event this year. Jessica Selverian won the bronze medal here.
200 Dash Medalists (L-R) Jessica Selverian (PHIL), Rebecca Khimatian (PROV), Alycia McCarthy (NJ)
The throwing events were won by four different ladies. Melanee won her third gold with her record setting baseball throw of 226'9". Providence's Ani Armenakyan earned the silver and Christine Kutlu won bronze for New Jersey. Ani had earlier set her record of 37'8.5" winning the most impressive shot put competition in AYF history. For the first time, the top four places were all over 30 feet. Defending champion Ani Sarajian (New Jersey) achieved her AYF personal best of 30'10" and had to settle for 4th place. Providence took all the medals with Kaitlin Garabian and Siran Krikorian in second and third. In the discus, Central Executive president Michelle Hagopian, of Greater Boston, won for the 10th straight year with a toss of 99'2". The 10-year run matches her success in the golf event and ties the streak set by Harry Derderian (Springfield) in tennis during the 1960's. Kaitlin and Ani won silver and bronze. The javelin medals were all collected by AYF newcomers. Varantian Tatevik Khatchatryan won the event with a 94'9" heave with teammate Sara Anoushian in third and Christine Kutlu in second.
The Greater Boston girls won the 4×100 meter relay in 55.76 while New Jersey overtook Providence for 2nd place. But the Varantians came back to take the 4×200 event with a time of 2:05.30. Philadelphia and New Jersey took second and third, respectively. The final event of the afternoon was the 4×200 co-ed relay where Greater Boston set their new record of 1:47.15 as Providence and Philadelphia finished well behind.
The Record Breakers (L-R) D. Hamparian, S. Mahrokhian, N. & A. Krafian, A. Avakian (All from BOST), M. Melkonian (WORC), S. Tutunjian (PROV)
Stephen Tutunjian (PROV) Winning the High Jump
Shot Put Medalists (L-R) Ani Armenakyan & Siran Krikorian (PROV)
Philadelphia, Providence and Greater Boston Battle in the 4 x 100 Relay
Pentathlon Winner Nairi Krafian (BOST)
Lynne and Stephen Tutunjian Carry In the Olympics Torch
Javelin Medalists (L-R) Sevan Zobian (PROV), Mark Santerian (PHIL), Alex Avakian (BOST)
Javelin Medalists (L-R) Christine Kutlu (NJ), Tatevik Khatchatryan & Sara Anoushian (PROV)
Discus Medalists (L-R) Michelle Hagopian (BOST), Ani Armenakyan (PROV)
Ernest Nahigian Sportsmanship Award Winners (L-R) Megerdich Kassabian (NO AND), Raffi Sarajian (NJ)
3200 Run Medalists (L-R) Samuel Chakmakjian (BOST), Daron Bedian (CHIC), Haig Minassian (NY)
1600 Run Medalists (L-R) Alek Surenian (CHIC), David Barsamian (NJ)
100 Hurdles (L-R) Theresa Jelalian (NJ), Mackenzie Derderian (PROV), Anoush Krafian (BOST), Kenar Charchaflian (WORC)
By Bob Tutunjian EAST GREENWICH, R.I.—In New England when someone speaks of dynasties, they are usually referring to a certain NFL team that has won four Super Bowls. But after this past Labor Day, you will have to add the Providence "Varantian" AYF Chapter to the discussion, as they have now won 10 times as many championships. A total of more than 220 athletes participated over the weekend in these 82nd Annual Olympics. Team Providence The Green Machine brought a team of 45 members and amassed a total of 204 points, 56 more than Greater Boston. They became the first team to surpass the 200 mark since Philadelphia set the chapter scoring record in 2010. Providence won the swim meet and tennis competition to build a small 9-point lead on Friday. The margin grew to 27 points after the Sunday morning track and field events and kept increasing from there. The Varantians were led by three high scorers, Tarvis Hintlian and siblings Lynne and Stephen Tutunjian. They added pentathlon winner Mark Hamalian and double gold medalist Andrew Hintlian to their usual depth at home. In all, their balanced attack grabbed 18 golds, 10 silvers, and 14 bronzes along with winning [...]
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No thanks to hectic lifestyles, busy mornings of beating traffic jams to work – more often not we tend to forget that having a good, healthy breakfast is the best way to kickstart the day.
For many people, one of the most preferred breakfast choices is the infamous 'Nasi Lemak' – which you can find at practically every food stall, restaurant and kopitiam across the country.
No one can deny that nasi lemak is tempting. Soft, fluffy fragrant coconut rice topped with eggs and a generous serving of spicy sambal, along with some crisp anchovies and peanuts for some crunch. Nasi lemak truly is a rather filling and satisfying meal in the mornings.
But nasi lemak is not the healthiest breakfast you can get your hands on. To justify chowing down on all the fatty goodness, we use the "once in a blue moon" excuse, but by the time we realise it, we would have already eaten nasi lemak for breakfast 3 times in a week! We also tend to forget about moderation of food intake and a balanced diet while we're at it.
Gone were the days when nasi lemak was a simple dish with rice cooked with 'santan' (coconut milk), topped with hard boiled egg and sambal ikan bilis – plus a few slices of cucumber. Today, creative vendors have tapped into our inner craving for fatty foods and offer up a variety of oily delights like fried eggs, fried chicken, 'rendang paru', 'sambal sotong', 'chicken rendang' which are usually high in saturated fats and contributes to the high-levels of bad cholesterol in our body!
How about having fruits to start off your day – an apple or a banana? These are quick and fast as you just need to grab them off your fruit bowl, and they're really nutritious too!
Try a premixed cereal drink that is available in the market It's a healthier breakfast and it is quite filling till your next meal! Just make sure you go for the ones with no sugar added.
Make use of your leftovers from the night before. Cook up something authentic from leftover curry or sambal in less than 15 minutes. You can mix it up with canned sardines and turn it into a spicy spread which will go well with wholegrain bread for a wonderful and filling breakfast! Top with lots of salad to create a crunchier texture while also increasing your fiber intake.
Preparing a fresh fruit juice or smoothie will only take about 10 minutes. Blend up yoghurt and fresh fruits to soak up the wonderful benefits of both ingredients – use low fat sugar-free yoghurt and pop in your favorite fruits; you can also use raisins or pumpkin seeds as toppings for your homemade smoothie. Pumpkin seeds have high insoluble fiber content and poly-unsaturated fat which is beneficial to the cholesterol levels in your body.
Whip up a Malaysian version of the French toast with fresh chillies, chopped parsley and chives, shredded onions into egg batter, and use wholegrain bread instead of white bread.
If you have absolutely no time at all in the morning to do anything (serial snoozer?), then this might suit you. With this recipe, you can make your oats up to a week ahead of time (and it only takes like 10 minutes!), stick them in the fridge and grab one when you go to work! Healthy and full of fiber, you won't be falling into a food coma after eating this creamy breakfast!
Chop up some fresh button mushrooms, green onions, green and red peppers, or tomatoes if peppers are not your thing, and beat together with two eggs. Throw this batter into a lightly oiled pan and voila you get a tasty, nutritious AND filling breakfast. Add in some cheese if you like.
It is just a matter of time management and commitments when it comes to having a healthy and hearty breakfast to kickstart your day! Everyone should take charge and practise healthy food intake at all times for a healthier, happier lifestyle.
Remember: You Are What You Eat!
Share some of your favourite healthy breakfast ideas with us in the comments below or on our Facebook page!
To Drink Water Before or After Food?


Preliminary results are presented after 2 years of the Canadian long-term multicentre study on the impact of hormone therapy on the final height, sexual development and psychological status of girls with Turner syndrome. Girls entering the study were randomized either to be treated with recombinant human growth hormone or to act as controls. Both groups received oestrogen replacement therapy in the same dose and format at the age of 13 years. However, for the purposes of the psychological study at this time, children receiving oestrogen were excluded from analysis. Girls treated with GH for a period of 2 years showed a significant increase in growth rate, which declined with continued treatment, while the growth rate in the control group remained constant throughout. There was a correlation between the higher growth rate and the girls' perceptions of themselves as more intelligent, more attractive, having more friends, greater popularity and experiencing less teasing than the untreated group. Growth rate was not correlated with family or school functioning.


Alberta-based 51st Parallel, an affiliate of Denver-based LivWell Enlightened Health, announced a series of transactions Monday that will result in the creation of LivWell International, the companies said in a news release, setting up both for global expansion.
51st will change its name to LivWell International, and LivWell Enlightened Health will continue to operate out of Colorado under the existing name.
LivWell International will also undertake a reverse takeover of CBi2 Capital, and pending acceptance by the respective exchanges, its shares will trade on both the Canadian Securities Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange.
The dual listing could begin trading mid-September.
Jason Kujath, co-founder and president of 51st Parallel, told Marijuana Business Daily that the moves are part of the company's broader international strategy, with potential expansion markets in the European Union – including Germany.
"We hope to look to the medical markets that are opening up and bring the experience that John Lord (LivWell Enlightened Health CEO) and Mike Lord (LivWell Enlightened Health COO) have built in Colorado to other jurisdictions," Kujath said.
LivWell's investment in 51st last fall was believed to be the first time an American cannabis company made a move into Canada to establish an integrated business that offered both production and retail operations.
51st is awaiting approval from Canadian authorities to become a licensed marijuana producer.
Concurrent with the creation of LivWell International, 51st said it plans to undertake a $20 million equity investment in GCH, a Denver-based cannabis brand holding company.
In return, 51st will retain the exclusive Canadian licensing rights to Willie Nelson's marijuana brands owned by GCH – Willie's Reserve and Willie's Remedy.
The company also entered into an agreement with syndicate agents led by Eight Capital and including Cormark Securities, Canaccord Genuity, AltaCorp Capital and Atlas Capital to raise up to 50 million Canadian dollars ($38 million) in financing.
LivWell is a medical and recreational marijuana retailer that operates over a dozen stores across Colorado and Oregon. The company also operates its own cultivation facilities and employs roughly 600 people.
Dean Heizer, executive director of LivWell Enlightened Health, said Canada's capital and federally-regulated markets are appealing to American marijuana companies facing financial restrictions.
He said LivWell is not planning to slow down its expansion strategy in the United States.
LivWell's deal with 51st does not include the Colorado company's licensee.


Rocky Thompson: USA! USA! USA!
Clear a few things up for me World Cup fans. Are Alexi Lawless and Lucy Lawless brother and sister or husband and wife? And, why is that every four years I have to be reminded that Alexi Lalas is living human who says things with his mouth while I hear things with my ears. When the man is on television talking, all I can do is look at him and think about how much I dislike him. And I loved him in '94! Or at least he was the only one who's name I remembered. I dislike him now because he tries to call soccer (football) like (American) football: stats, story lines; he talks like a cogent Stephen A Smith or a tall Bill Simmons. He's stuck in 1994 trying to make soccer relevant to an American audience. It's time to come around Alexi. Everything's changed in 20 years. More Americans watch and love soccer than ever before. Being conversant in the Premier League is a cultural touchpoint, a status symbol. While the NFL was busy trying to cram football down the throats of Europeans, they've been bleeding Americans. And with a deep run (next round, please?) in the World Cup, more Americans will discover the joy of games that aren't interrupted by commercials every 30 seconds. Where it's okay to wake up at 8:30 in the morning and have a pint of Guinness at 9. Where people can shout "Nice ball!" or "That was a crackerjack!" and not be pushed down the stairs. That's why I cheer for team America. Well, that and the beer.


On the 4th of September, we were pleased to host a delegation from the China Foreign Trade Centre. The discussion focused on finding areas of collaborations and learning more about the business opportunities, for Scottish businesses, provided by the Canton Fair.
The Canton Fair was established in 1957. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of PRC and the People's Government of Guangdong Province and organized by China Foreign Trade Centre, it is held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou, China.


When we think of Briarcliff Village we think of an exclusive shopping and dining destination, with a reputation for quality and service. The Shopping center has a variety of tenants, Right now you can find a fabulous organic grocer, a stylish salon, chic day spa, scrumptious restaurants, delicious coffee, some of the most exclusive boutiques for women, and opening in 2014 a savvy computer retail store. Kansas City computer repair shops can be a bit of a bore, they all look the same, and there isn't much to do when your repair will only take a minute besides flip through old tech magazines. Now that KC Computer Support is opening their retail/computer drop off store in the fabulous tuscan style Briarcliff Village, Computer services will be taken to whole new level.
With this new convenient location just 5 minutes from downtown & Parkville and two from Riverside, KC Computer Support will be able to better serve their clients with an easy to find location and a retail store to satisfy all needs for new computers, accessories, and continue to provide the same quality service that has earned this company its loyal customer base and reputable name.
KC Computer Support has specialized in technology services for the home, home office and small businesses since its start in 2008. What started as a solution to the lack of affordable services available for small and home-based businesses has turned into a most successful company in the computer tech industry that reaches out to both businesses and other users with service and support that has been setting standards across the board, not only with computers but for small business development as well.
The company's service area covers eleven counties and extends from St. Joseph to Spring Hill, and Blue Springs to Leavenworth. Recognized by Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser as a "Small Business Success" and winning Angie's List Super Service Award two years in a row has given them great pride, but pushed them to further develop their services, customer service, and knowledge and stay ahead of the competition and themselves. With only eight members, this company has been able to truly specialize on Small Business Tech, with five of its employees being certified as Microsoft Small Business Specialists.
Their services will continue to be the same, they will now have a location at which you can drop off your computer for service, or shop for a new one at a prestigious shopping center with exclusive shops and products.
The new location will be right beside Green Acres Market on Mulberry Dr. and will be open after the 1st of the new year.
We look forward to the grand opening, and now KC Computer tech is even closer to home with new products and convenient service location for all of us in the Northland.
For more information or if you have any questions regarding their products, services, or new location do not hesitate to call them at (913) 541-0001 (913) 541-0001 or visit their website www.kccomputersupport.com.
Keeping it Local, your Kansas City Blog.


2 Close price on the filing date of CVS Health Corp.'s Annual Report.
EV Enterprise value is total company value (the market value of common equity, debt, and preferred equity) minus the value of cash and short-term investments. CVS Health Corp.'s EV declined from 2016 to 2017 but then increased from 2017 to 2018 exceeding 2016 level.


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Image: Emma Reilly Twitter page
China wants to make sure that Uyghur genocide is never discussed: Human rights lawyer
India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | 03 Dec 2021, 12:20 am
#Emma Reilly
London: Irish-British human rights lawyer Emma Reilly, a whistleblower who was fired after warning her bosses at the United Nations Human Rights office that China was getting information on dissidents coming to speak at the world body, has said Beijing does not want Uyghur genocide issue is ever discussed at the UN.
"Don't let this stop you from getting the message out in UN fora. That's what China wants. China wants to make sure that the Uyghur genocide is never discussed anywhere in the UN. Just be super careful about how you do it," she told Radio Free Asia (RFA).
Revealing the reason behind losing her job, she said: "I was fired for doing my job. It was telling the truth to member states and in public that didn't work. It was telling people about the UN policy of handing names over to the Chinese government."
"The irony is that in court, the UN's argument is that the policy is public. So, I've been fired for making public something that, when they're in front of a judge, the U.N. says is public," Emma Reilly said.
Who are Uyghur Muslims?
Uyghur Muslims are a Turkic minority ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.
The Uyghurs are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.


Sony Ericsson Xperia active Android smartphone. Announced 2011, June. Features 3G, 3.0? LED-backlit LCD display, 5 MP camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth.. Here the Sony Ericsson Xperia active Specifications - Phone Accessories - Cases.
You might also want to buy related products with Sony Ericsson Xperia active phone or compare the specs or features.
Internal phone storage: 1GB (up to 320MB free). RAM: 512MB. Memory card slot: microSD, up to 32GB. Platform: Android 2.3. Screen: 320 x 480 Pixels / 16,777,216 color TFT / 3 Inches.
Water and dust resistant. Durable mineral glass screen with wet finger tracking. ~ , Brand: Sony, Color: Black/Orange, Model: ST17a-BKO.
Internal phone storage: 1GB (up to 320MB free). RAM: 512MB. Memory card slot: microSD, up to 32GB. Platform: Android 2.3. Screen: 320 x 480 Pixels / 16,777,216 color TFT LCD 3 Inches display.
Water and dust resistant. Durable mineral glass screen with wet finger tracking. ~ , Brand: Sony, Color: Black/White, Model: ST17a-BKW.
for Sony Ericsson Xperia Active ST17i ST17.
Designed to be compatible with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active.
Perfect Fit Sony Ericsson Xperia Active ST17i ~ .
Compatible with Live with Walkman, Xperia active, arc, arc S, mini, mini pro, neo, neo V, pro, and ray.
Use LiveWare manager - an easy-to-use Android Market application - to automatically connect your favourite smartphone apps to Smart Extras or accessories..
Instantly launch your favourite apps when you dock your Android phone ~ , Brand: Sony, Color: White, Model: DK10.


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Fmr. Willow Creek Lead Teaching Pastor Steve Carter Backing Campaign for Church Sex Abuse Survivors
(Photo: Courtesy of Willow Creek Church)Volunteers at Willow Creek Community Church of South Barrington, Illinois, hold up care packages made for prisoners for Christmas, December 6, 2015.
Steve Carter, the now former lead teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, has said that he's backing a campaign raising money for church and clergy abuse survivors.
Carter wrote on his blog last week following his resignation in the unfolding scandal concerning founder and former senior pastor Bill Hybels that he trusts that God "has a plan for Willow."
"Willow Creek, as you humbly seek Christ to restore and forge your future, this pastor who once called Willow home is praying for you and cheering you on," Carter said.
"The kindness we have received has been overwhelming and has prompted us to find a way to extend that love and support to others," he added, speaking of his family.
"To this end, we feel called to lift up this grassroots campaign focused on creating scholarship programs for those who have survived church and clergy abuse. Its aim is to provide survivors with access to therapy, mental health resources, and safe spaces to heal," he added.
The campaign in question is titled "We Believe You," and says that it is aimed at standing with the "brave individuals" who have spoken out about the abuse they have experienced.
The GoFundMe effort explains that the scholarship program will help those abused at the hands of churches and clergy.
Willow Creek Megachurch Paid .25M in Lawsuits Over Sex Abuse of Disabled Boys
Willow Creek Association President Apologizes for 'Missteps, Mistakes, Slip-Ups' in Hybels Scandal
Willow Creek's Entire Elder Board, Pastor Heather Larson Resign Over Bill Hybels Scandal, Failings
Willow Creek Leaders Your 'Time Is Up,' Scot McKnight Says; Church in New Bill Hybels Investigation
"We are partnering with a counseling group that specializes in areas of power, clergy, and sexual abuse. We are tremendously grateful to the brave survivors who wrestled this darkness into the light and believe it's time to honor their pain and empower their healing," it adds.
The effort, which as of Thursday has raised almost $30,000, comes from a Christian ethos, the website notes:
"We know God's word invites us to bind up the brokenhearted, defend the oppressed, advocate for the marginalized against the powerful and to partner with Jesus in healing their wounds. One of the most redemptive things we can do as Christ's followers is to partner with God in the restoration of all things. This includes healing and wholeness in Christ as victims bear witness in a safe environment to the devastating things they have experienced."
Several links are provided at the end of the page to the Hybels scandal, meant to serve as an example of "sexual misconduct and power abuse."
Hybels, who founded Willow Creek in Illinois in 1975, has faced numerous accusations throughout the year of sexual misconduct and forced sex acts on women, which allegedly occurred years ago.
The Willow Creek elder board at first sided with Hybels when he proclaimed his innocence, including in an internal investigation that suggested the women were not telling the truth.
Still, Hybels retired prematurely in April, and as more accusations continued piling up, the Willow Creek elder board said that it now believes that he "entered into sin," and apologized for not believing the women.
Carter resigned earlier in August over disagreements he had with the evangelical megachurch about how it handled the allegations against Hybels. Days later, executive pastor Heather Larson and the entire elder board also resigned, stating that Willow Creek "deserves a fresh start."
On his blog post last week, Carter thanked all those who have supported him for taking a stand, and suggested how they can help.
"If you have been heartbroken by the stories that have come out, if you are hurt or angry at the fallout, or if you are one of the many treasured people who have asked me how you can help, please consider a donation to this or other cause of your choice," he said of the "We Believe You" campaign.
"We pray for each woman, each survivor, each leader, each congregant, each person affected by all that has happened and all the work that is still to be done," he added.
"We pray for Willow Creek. We pray that those who have been hurt will be comforted and healed. We pray that those who have inflicted pain accept the invitation into transparency, understanding, and repentance. We pray that we, as the Church and as a family, lean into deep dependence on God, and experience His nearness and love like never before."
Follow Stoyan Zaimov on Facebook: CPSZaimov
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Friday Sketches Part 4 | Mair Perkins Ltd.
Since March 2012 I have been posting a drawing made just for fun every Friday. The purpose of this task was to ensure I draw at least one non-work related picture every week to share on my social media accounts. The media and subject matter vary by whatever inspired me that particular week.
Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Google Plus to see each week's Friday sketch.
Friday sketch: Flying octopus ink drawing.


This gorgeous home has been professionally redone throughout by interior designers and landscape architect with 1900+ sq ft of stunning outdoor space added, including a solar heated salt pool with fire bar, high top table with fire pit, summer kitchen, limestone pavers and extensive lighting all within screen enclosure. Beautiful kitchen with marble counters & custom cabinets is part of the open floor plan with living room with entertainment center and fireplace. Master bath with Italian porcelain floors & designer closet. Extensive use of wood tile flooring. Crown moulding & custom window treatments throughout. New roof 2017, new HVAC 2018. Backing up to preservation area, there's an amazing amount of privacy! Furniture can be negotiated separately, should Buyer desire.
SR44 to north on Airport Blvd, right on Marisol Dr.