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The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris: The History and Legacy of the Sacré-Cœur
The Order of Santiago
The Decline of the Soviet Union: The History of the Communist Empire in the Last 30 Years of Its Existence
Carl von Clausewitz: The Life and Legacy of the Prussian General Who Wrote On War
The Assyrian Empire's Capitals: The History and Legacy of Nineveh, Assur, and Nimrud
The California Trail: The History and Legacy of the 19th Century Routes that Led Americans to the Golden State
The Second Italian War of Independence: The History and Legacy of the Conflict that Led to Italy's Unification
Naples: The History and Legacy of the Prominent Italian City-State, from Antiquity to Today
Ulrich Zwingli: The Life and Legacy of the Swiss Reformer Who Fought the Catholic Church during the Reformation
South Africa and the British Empire: The History and Legacy of the Region Under Great Britain's Control
Kosmos 954 and Operation Morning Light: The History of Efforts to Contain Radioactive Debris Spread across Canada by a Soviet Satellite
Ancient Egyptian Language and Writing: The History and Legacy of Hieroglyphs and Scripts in Ancient Egypt
Russian Cyber Warfare: The History of Russia's State-Sponsored Attacks Across the World
Simon Magus: The Life of the Samaritan Who Converted to Christianity and Confronted Peter the Apostle in the 1st Century
The Battle of Vienna (1683): The History and Legacy of the Decisive Conflict Between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and Holy Roman Empire
Colonial Argentina: The History of Argentina's Colonization and Struggle for Independence
Sinn Féin: The History and Legacy of the Irish Republican Political Party
The Unification of Italy: The History of the Risorgimento and the Conflicts that Unified the Italian Nation
The First Italian War of Independence: The History and Legacy of the Revolutions that Started the Process of Italy's Unification
Simón Bolívar: The Life and Legacy of the Venezuelan Leader Who Liberated Much of Latin America from the Spanish Empire
Apartheid in South Africa: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Segregationist Policies in the 20th Century
Japan and World War I: The History of the Japanese Empire's Participation in the Great War
Chechnya: The History of the Chechen Republic and the Ongoing Conflict with Russia
Jan Hus and Ulrich Zwingli: The Lives and Deaths of the Reformation's Most Famous Martyrs
South Africa: The History and Legacy of the Nation from European Colonization to the End of the Apartheid Era
Edith Stein: The Life and Legacy of the Jewish Philosopher Who Became a Catholic Saint
The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon: The History and Legacy of France's Administration of the Levant after World War I
The Soviet Union during the Brezhnev Era: The History of the USSR Under Leonid Brezhnev
The Republic of Venice: The History of the Venetian Empire and Its Influence across the Mediterranean
King Mithridates the Great of Pontus: The Life and Legacy of the Leader Who Challenged Rome during the Mithridatic Wars
How To Read Musical Notation
The Collapse of the Soviet Union: The History of the USSR Under Mikhail Gorbachev
The Uighurs: The History and Legacy of the Turkic Muslim Minority Group in Asia
The Byzantine Army: The History and Legacy of the Byzantine Empire's Military During the Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Italy: The History and Legacy of the Italian State from Unification to the End of World War II
The First Italian War
Haile Selassie: The Life and Legacy of the Ethiopian Emperor Revered as the Messiah by Rastafarians
Boudica: The Life and Legacy of the Celtic Queen Who Rebelled against the Romans in Britain
John Wycliffe: The Life and Legacy of the English Theologian Who Preceded the Protestant Reformation
Nimrud: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian City
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It is most shameful to note that six of our senators from the Liberal Party, a party that has become the unofficial spokesman of foreign interest groups, have filed a motion for reconsideration seeking to invalidate the decision of the government to withdraw from the Statute of Rome otherwise known as the International Criminal Court. The traitorous senators are Kiko Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Bam Aquino, Antonio Trillanes IV, Risa Hontiveros and Leila de Lima. De Lima is, of course, detained at the PNP Custodial Center accused of benefitting from the sale of illegal drugs during her term as secretary of justice.
Any citizen who dearly values his being a Filipino is astounded at their action to shamelessly beg before a colonialist-created Kangaroo Court not to accept the government's decision to withdraw, having in mind of bringing President Duterte before the ICC for alleged extrajudicial killing of suspects involved in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs and for alleged human rights violation. These misplaced Filipinos argue that Article 127 of the Statute of Rome provides that the withdrawal shall take effect only after one year, and the proceedings which started before the effectivity will not be affected, referring to the preliminary investigation conducted by ICC special prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda.
To begin with, the ICC has never been considered an international organization because it overlaps the functions of the UN Security Council, notwithstanding that it has no enforcement arm. Yes, it was President Estrada who certified our application for membership in 2000, and was ratified by Senate Resolution No. 546 in 2011.
To withdraw, they say, from that Kangaroo Court organized by former European colonial powers that hold the unparalleled and unsurpassed distinction of enslaving an entire continent and for committing pillage and plunder in countries they now want to be placed under ICC jurisdiction, the senators insist that the withdrawal is invalid, and ergo the President can be charged criminally.
The trouble, however, is that they refuse to admit that Resolution No. 546 and now cited by them as basis to effectively ensnare the country is not a law. Many right-minded lawyers argue that the country can legally withdraw from it anytime much that the resolution is not a law or a treaty that the contracting parties would be affected by such unilateral decision to withdraw. The Senate resolution was a mere adhesion contract, the reason why many countries arbitrarily and unilaterally withdraw—as when the US withdrew from UNESCO. Besides, it is not provided in the Constitution that the Senate must first revoke the resolution before we can effectively withdraw from the ICC.
Unlike a treaty or international agreement where contracting parties simultaneously agree to abide to the accord, our membership with the ICC is by virtue of our adhesion to a contract, which means that the country simply adhered to what original contracting parties agreed on what is often called a convention treaty or accord. As an adhesion contract, the Philippines cannot be punished by any form of punitive action for withdrawing from that organization unless it committed acts specifically punishable while being a member.
Has our membership become effective and binding considering that the Senate Resolution was not published in the Official Gazette? These rascals should not cite Article 126 of the Statute of Rome as their point of reference because its applicability implies that we have already become a member.
The so-called "principle of complementarity" states that ICC comes in only to investigate and prosecute core international crimes when national jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to do so genuinely. That means, only if our local courts cannot carry out its function of enforcing our own penal laws. But again that presupposes that the accused was brought to trial before ICC special prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to proceed with the case.
Our moronic senators should understand that although the ICC can prosecute any individual for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes of which the state has not ratified the Statute, a UN Security Council Resolution is necessary. In its absence, it is highly doubtful whether the ICC prosecutors can proceed to act on their own initiative. This reiterates the universal principle of the sovereign right of an independent state. This is mandatory because the UN Security Council is the only enforcing agency of the world body.
But how can that be made possible when three of the permanent members, the United States, China and Russia, refused to become members of the ICC? France, United Kingdom, Germany and many European countries that were once the greatest colonizers of Africa and Latin America certainly have their motive in creating a body bent on overtaking the functions of the International Court of Justice.
So far, four countries have already withdrawn from the ICC. Many leaders have been indicted by the ICC for alleged war crimes and genocide, but this has raised questions and suspicion that this pattern has a color of racial discrimination. To many of them, they see it as even worse because the architects behind the indictment and prosecution of their leaders before the ICC are their former colonizers, which technically mean they have more power now than during their heydays of imperialist colonization.
In this case, the ICC's main goal is to help put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of serious crimes. These accordingly include crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. While the enumerated crimes could make the President liable, they are presumptuous. For instance, the use of the word "impunity" is to denote the guilt of the law enforcing authorities. Maybe some are killed for resisting arrest or for fighting back, but the circumstances cannot automatically be elevated to one that falls within the jurisdiction of the ICC, much more be categorized as one committed with impunity.
Moreover, while the 1987 Constitution did not directly grant to the President immunity from suit, that privilege remains even to his immediate predecessor but applying a different principle called the "Stare Decisis Doctrine," a principle of international law which precludes the courts from inquiring into the validity of the public acts of a recognized foreign sovereign power committed within its own territory. The drug war launched by President Duterte is an official policy of the state. It is not a policy designed to commit genocide or to exterminate our own citizens but to deter those engaged in the distribution and sale of illegal drugs. It is the act of the criminal to defy the law that is said to commit impunity, and not to those law enforcing authorities who put their lives on line to prevent the spread of drug addiction and invariably curtail criminality.
The President, being vested with executive power to formulate and enforce the policy of the government, can implement such policy similar to the power to approve and veto budget, impose tariff, grant pardon and amnesty, etc., without waiting for Congress to concur with him on such matters. Otherwise, that would unduly curb his power to make him completely powerless from performing his duty.


In the end, when the unimaginable blinked on the scoreboard, when the unthinkable danced on the hardwood, the cheers even drowned out Randy Newman.
"We love it!" the too-cool Staples Center fans giddily chanted with their victory song. "We love it! We love it! We love it!"
Oh, will the Lakers forever love this one.
Man, will the Spurs forever loathe it.
"Just tried to read the flow of the game," said Kobe Bryant.
Well, um, Kobe, can you maybe read it a little closer next time? Maybe turn on a light and read the part where it says, "Dude, you have to score for the Lakers to win!"
"I can get it off any time, and in the second half, I did that," said Bryant, who indeed scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and gave the Lakers the lead with two free throws and a hanging jump shot.
The Lakers also may have won this series by winning a game in which their point guard Derek Fisher had zero assists and one basket, and their big man Pau Gasol had no offensive rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic was more clutch than any of them.
"There is no script to an NBA basketball game," said Fisher. "You just go out and play as hard as you can."
Lamar Odom put it another way.
"We scrapped," he said. "We just scrapped."
The Lakers scrapped at the Spurs until they missed 18 of 21 shots in the fourth quarter.
Fisher stopped being beaten by Tony Parker. Gasol stopped being dominated by Duncan. Bryant's arms and legs stopped everyone else.
"We just kind of stopped," acknowledged the Spurs' Manu Ginobili. "I don't know if it was our legs or if it was our heads."
The Lakers then scrapped at their own pride until they stopped doing silly things, committing just one turnover in the final quarter while clearing out for Bryant to be the usual hero.
"It was crazy," said Luke Walton. "Especially to do that against the Spurs, that's impressive."
In the final seconds of the game, there was a pile of Lakers on the floor, Odom grabbing Ginobili and Sasha Vujacic grabbing the ball for the clinching free throws.
"Heart," said Vujacic. "I think we have a big heart."
In the final moments of the night, there were piles of untouched food on a table in the Spurs' locker room, pizza and sandwiches abandoned by a team that had lost its stomach.
To a team that had taken a huge step toward finding its soul.
"Winning a championship is not easy, it doesn't come to those who just wait for it, and tonight was an example," said Fisher. "We went out and we won the game."
You ask me, they won a lot more than that.


Building Healthy Habits: Weight Loss Fear - Success??
I'm preparing myself for a huge transformation that will begin when I return from vacation on September 1. Unlike past experiences, I'm not just starting right out with the goal to lose as much weight as fast as possible. This time it's different. This time I want to prepare myself. When you move to a new city, you don't just show up one day, you prepare. You get your things in order, you make lists of things you need to do, you tell your friends, you get yourself mentally ready. That's why I wrote myself a letter when I restarted my blog, I needed to acknowledge to myself that although I have failed, I have, indeed changed, and I needed to give myself permission to try again. It was my first signal to begin getting myself mentally ready for what will be an incredibly tough challenge.
Today is another step in my preparation; admitting to one of my biggest (and probably seen as craziest) fears.
Another well-known blogger asked me recently if I was excited to get started. I told him that it wasn't excitement, but rather fear I'm feeling right now. To be honest I'm scared as hell about this. I stared into a mirror the other morning, and I couldn't recognize the person I was seeing. I've been going through the motions for so long now that I don't really feel anything anymore. I just get up, do the same thing everyday, and then go to bed. No excitement, no enthusiasm, nothing. While this might seems sad, keep in mind that it can also be quite comfortable; nothing really changes.
My fear isn't about failing… that just means more of the same, familiar life. Besides, I've failed millions of times; it's not like I don't know how to handle it. No, my fear is around succeeding. It's amazing when you spend a little time just thinking about "stuff". Since high school I've been overweight. Throughout my entire life my "vision" of myself as a thin person was simply… me, but thinner. At the age of 42 I find myself astounded that I've never seriously considered that fact that I would also change as a person! Seriously, I've never even had a mental picture myself as happier person, or a more confident person, it was always just a one dimensional image, same person, just with less body. Laugh if you want, but it just never really dawned on me. Now don't get me wrong I pictured myself mountain biking and going kayaking with friends. I had all those visions of doing things that fat people can't really do, but I never really thought about who I would be as a person.
It's this realization that really has hit me hard. Most people assume that losing weight will only change them in positive way. While it is true there are positive aspects of losing weight. What's not a given is how you will change as a person. How will my relationships with my family change? My friends? What personality traits will disappear? What new personality traits will show up? What new habits will I pick up? What will I think about my career? There's a lot that can change when you go through these transformations, and there's no guarantee that they will all be positive.
Don't get me wrong, when I say I'm scared it's not a "run for the hills – I can't do this" type of scared, it's that fear of the unknown. It's like walking into a pitch dark cave with your hands out in front of you. You don't necessarily stop, but you are scared as hell about what your about to run into!
This is just something that I've never really thought about before; it's not just your appearance that will change, it's everything about you! I don't know how I will change, I don't know the answers to all those questions I listed above, I don't even know if I will like the new me or not. However, I do know this: The one thing that would be worse would be to never find out! Wish me luck, I'm going into the cave.
Have a relaxing vacation and have a good start on Labour Day!
I always wants to be fit and healthy because healthy life can be the right life. Garcinia Cambogia can help to lose weight because it helps to control food desire.


I'm a runner. And with running comes nasty, crusty feet at times (that or I just have nasty feet and running is a convenient excuse). Very much including my heels. Even painful feet at time because of callous build-up on the bottom of my feet. I have struggled with what to do…pedicures, gadgets from the store and creams. You name it and I've tried it…to no success…until August.
And I'll be shocked and amazed…it actually works. Really!! I promise!!
It retails for around $14.00 for a 2 oz. bottle. A little pricey but it seems to last for awhile.
I just spray it on my feet twice a day…after my morning shower and then when I get into bed at night. And my feet are so much smoother, heals and all. And, even more important to me than the wonderful silky smoothness is the fact the painful callouses on the bottom of my feet have disappeared. This spray seriously healed a painful condition that I have fought for years!!
So, if you have any dry foot conditions, you MUST try Healthy Feet!! You won't be disappointed!!
I found it on amazon.com for $9.00 for a bottle. That includes shipping.
I just placed my order! If this stuff works, my husband will forever be in your debt. If not, you owe me $16.95! HA!!!


September 20, 2011 to fill the vacancy.
12 noon on June 3rd.
There is a qualifying fee of $54.00.
We have no wards. All positions are "at large".
So if you live in Lake Park and you want to run, you need to qualify by noon today. Mayor Sandlin predicted there would be multiple qualifiers. We'll see how it goes.
Incidentally, the entire council is up for election in November, including whoever wins the special election will have to run again in November if they want to stay on the council.
This entry was posted in Elections, LAKE, Lake Park, LPCC 3 May 2011 and tagged 3 May 2011, Election, Eric Schindler, Georgia, Gretchen Quarterman, Jeff Spradley, John S. Quarterman, LAKE, Lake Park, Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange, Lowndes County, Paul Mulkey, Rob Plumb, Ronald Carter, special election, Walter K. Sandlin on June 3, 2011 by admin.


Discussions on equity, diversity and inclusion in research system have increased in recent years. While most of the related global discourse surrounds the global north and south or gender, equity within the research system rarely finds a place in national conversations. A multi-stakeholder dialogue on research equity in Bangladesh, organized by the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences and INASP, has helped to explore this uncharted field.
In terms of ensuring diversity among its participants, the dialogue event in Dhaka passed the challenge with flying colours! The numbers of male and female participants were almost equal, with representation from universities and research institutions, scholarly journals, libraries, policymakers, and agencies coordinating education and research. Although the majority of the attendees came from the capital, other parts of Bangladesh were fairly well represented too. Participants ranged in age from their early-30s to mid-80s – and this range of perspectives across the generations was a key feature of this event.
The dialogue started off drawing the research landscape of Bangladesh. It was done by analyzing four components of the research system − accessing research, conducting research, communicating research, and using research for policy and/or practice.
The participants identified the inputs driving each component, the policies or rules guiding it, the tangible products or outputs derive from it, the broader changes it contributes to, and, finally, the historical, political, economic and cultural context each component has to work in.
Recognition of researchers and their inspiration for research and communication.
A session on gender equity in higher education and research heard two eminent Bangladeshi scientists − a physicist and a biologist. As they shared their decades-long struggles and frustrations as mothers, scientists and educators, the audience unanimously agreed that Bangladesh has come a long way over the last 40 years in terms of gender equity. It is in fact doing much better than many countries of the world; gender equity at senior positions at Bangladeshi universities, for example, is quite commendable.
Supportive government policies, changes in society's mindset, and improved family support were acknowledged as the key elements contributing to women's positive participation in education and research over the past few decades. Participants in the dialogue event shared success stories of gender equity and women's representation in politics. For example, Bangladesh has had women as Prime Minister since 1991 and in primary and secondary schools 54% of students are girls.
However, some issues still remain in academia. These include the lack of universal child-care facilities at research institutions. In addition, the special requirement of female scientists to be with their small sick children also needs to be appreciated by institutional leave policies. Societies and institutions are yet to appreciate and fully support women to balance their roles as mothers, wives, and scientists. As identified by INASP's Gender Mainstreaming in Higher Education Toolkit, this 'balancing the baskets' act still remains a universal challenge for female scientists.
A word of caution was also uttered at the Dhaka dialogue meeting to watch out for dropping numbers of boys and take necessary actions to achieve true gender equity in the coming decades.
The Dhaka event gave the participants space to envisage Bangladesh's research system in 10 years' time. At the beginning of the dialogue, they expressed that they wanted to see strong national policies supporting research systems that are focused on investing in people, particularly young researchers, as well as research facilities and infrastructure. Participants also emphasized access to data and libraries and a desire to build collaborations and networks.
As the dialogue progressed, investing in research was identified as an insurance for a nation. Therefore, there was a need for establishing a 'national research system' for conducting coordinated, multisectoral, holistic research. A platform of research institutions was needed to ensure common understanding of important agendas, like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Setting up research targets through national planning process was recommended as an important prerequisite for Bangladesh. Transmitting research and innovations to users also demanded investments. As a source of research funding, co-financing from industries was suggested as an option.
As the participants started articulating a 'vision' for Bangladesh's research system in small groups, they talked about capacity development, pragmatic and strong leadership, healthy lives, sustainable future, eco-friendly and innovative systems, diverse and resilient ecosystem, transboundary cooperation, collaboration among stakeholders, effective planning and governance, equitable access to resources, achieving SDGs, and ensuring economic growth and prosperity.
Our vision is a research system that generates the world-class human resources and knowledge that lead Bangladesh to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, being an economically developed nation and offering a promising future for all of its people — a future that is safe, healthy, equitable and sustainable.
Participants also agreed actions for collectively helping make Bangladesh's research system world class. These include harnessing the opportunities provided by open science as a way to improve visibility and dissemination of Bangladesh's research output; exploring the use of pre-prints; doing work to support gender mainstreaming; and building up critical thinking processes within higher education in the country. In working on these actions, we also aim to build on systems already in place within Bangladesh such as the researcher database HEMIS (Higher Education Management Information System) and reinvigorate existing projects that may currently be underused.
It was great to be part of this meeting and the participants look forward to working with Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) to help make our vision a reality.


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Review: 'Our Friend' transcends fatal illness drama to find depth in its characters
Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck in the movie "Our Friend."
(Claire Folger / Gravitas Ventures / Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
By Gary Goldstein
Jan. 21, 2021 10:56 AM PT
When it comes to a film's success, it's not always about the story that's being told but how it's being told — and the talent of those who are bringing it to life. Such is the case with "Our Friend," a movie that may at first evoke a reaction of "been there, saw that" but ends up proving a tender, enormously moving retelling of a heartbreaking time in the life of a family — and the best friend who helped them through it.
Based on a 2015 Esquire article by Matthew Teague, the movie follows the true-life story of journalist Teague (Casey Affleck) and his luminous wife, Nicole (Dakota Johnson), who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. More than a year later, as caring for the increasingly ill Nicole and their active young daughters, Molly (Isabella Kai) and Evie (Violet McGraw), becomes too much for Matt, his and Nicole's old best friend from college, Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel), moves from New Orleans to quaint Fairhope, Ala. (where the film was shot), to live with and support the Teagues.
The fine, well-observed script by Brad Ingelsby ("American Woman," "The Way Back") is not all-consumed by the anguish of Nicole's downward spiral but instead effectively sets it within the context of an event-filled 14-year period, from her college days to her 2014 death.
The film absorbingly shuttles back and forth in time, tracking key moments in the trio's lives that not only illuminate their pasts but effectively prepare us for who Matt, Nicole and Dane become, for better and worse, when the going gets tough. It adds up to a skillful kind of mosaic that pays powerful emotional dividends. (I wasn't crying, you were crying.)
As capable, earnest, loving and engaging as these three characters often are, they are also drawn with candor and dimension: Their flaws become as integral to the story as their strengths. Whether it's the rudderless Dane's trouble committing to a career or a woman, the newsman's drive that takes Matt away from his family or singer-actress Nicole's suspect marital fidelity, these are complex, unpredictable folks who we still greatly care about.
Anger, depression, jealousy, resentment and more all vividly factor in here and help the characters avoid the kind of "saintliness" that can slicken these sorts of tragic tales. Even older daughter Molly who, unlike her little sister, intuits the gravity of her beloved mother's condition, strikes a verbal knife to the heart of her besieged dad that's as painful as it is utterly real.
Jason Segal and Dakota Johnson in the movie "Our Friend."
(Claire Fogler / Gravitas Ventures / Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Yet it's the strength of its cast, in the capable hands of director Gabriela Cowperthwaite ("Blackfish," "Megan Leavey"), that truly makes the film such a poignant and profound experience. Segel is wonderfully empathetic as the devoted if flailing Dane, a man who's better at caring for others than he is for himself. (A sequence in which an adrift Dane hikes the Grand Canyon is especially stirring.) As the ill-fated Nicole, Johnson impresses with affecting range — from flirty, ebullient and adoring to stalwart, enraged and resigned; it's a lovely performance. But it's Casey Affleck's exceptional turn as Matt that reminds us why he won an Oscar for his work in "Manchester by the Sea." He brings such a visceral, fine-tuned sensitivity to his often conflicted, overwhelmed and grieving character that it's hard to look away. He's a knockout.
The estimable Cherry Jones also tears our hearts out in her few late-breaking scenes as a compassionate hospice nurse.
As well, there's an evocative use of tunes by Led Zeppelin, R.E.M. and others, including Steve Winwood, whose wistful classic "Can't Find My Way Home" couldn't be more touchingly placed.
'Our Friend'
Rated: R, for language
Running time: 2 hours, 6 minutes
Playing: Starts Jan. 22, Vineland Drive-in, City of Industry; Temeku Cinemas, Temecula; also on VOD
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Sleek contemporary design, the Lydia is 66" x 29". It is designed with a end drain and a dramatically raised backrest. The perfect modern bath to pair with a freestanding or wall mounted tub filler. Constructed with 2 acrylic sheets, there is an option of adding foam insulation between tub walls. Great for wet room bathrooms, this tub doesn't have an overflow. If need an overflow can be drilled at no extra charge when drain is purchased with the tub.
65 1/2" x 28 1/2" x 32 1/4"


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Pro & College Sports
N.J. native, Rutgers alum Carli Lloyd: I hated playing for USWNT at the end of my career
Published: Mar. 04, 2022, 8:00 a.m.
N.J. native Carli Lloyd retired last year following the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.AP
Mike Rosenstein | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Gone, but certainly not forgotten.
Delran, N.J. native Carli Lloyd isn't going quietly into retirement.
The Rutgers alum joined the "Hope Solo Speaks" podcast on Tuesday and dropped this nugget about the U.S. Women's National Team, according to Yahoo Sports:
"Even within our squad, the culture has changed," Lloyd said. "It was really tough and challenging to play these last several years. To be quite honest, I hated it. It wasn't fun going in. It was only for love of the game, really, for me. I wanted to win, and I wanted to help the team, but the culture within the team was the worst I'd ever seen it. I'm hoping that the future is bright and some things change."
Lloyd also joined "The State of the Union" podcast on Tuesday and continued her criticism of the USWNT.
"In 2015, winning a World Cup obviously put us on a really big, big stage, and endorsements started coming, and the spotlight started coming, and I just saw a shift in people's mindsets. It became more about 'what can I do to build my brand off the field? What can I do to get an endorsement deal' and less about what we have to do when we step in between those lines."
Lloyd clarified her point Wednesday in a video she posted to Instagram:
"By culture, I am referring to mentality. Respect for coaches, teammates, support staff. I'm also talking about the drive, the desire, the hunger, the fight, the accepting a role and doing it to the best of your ability. Giving it your all every time you step on the field, giving it your all in training, and giving it your all whether it's five minutes on the field, 10 minutes on the field, 60 minutes on the field or 90 minutes on the field. It doesn't matter. You represent the crest and you represent your country with pride because there are millions of other people who would love to be in our shoes playing on the national team, and so you can never take it for granted."
The 39-year-old Lloyd retired following the the Tokyo Olympics in August.
Lloyd was a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008 and 2012), two-time World Cup champion (2015 and 2019) and two-time FIFA Player of the Year (2015 and 2016). She helped lead the USWNT to a bronze medal in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, with Lloyd scoring a pair of goals in a 4-3 victory over Australia.
Lloyd, who made her first appearance with the national team in 2005, scored 134 goals for the United States, third-most in team history, along with 61 assists. Her final match was her 316th with the national team, the second-most international appearances of any player.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.


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Business High street
Ulster Bank is one of the 'Big Four' Irish banks and is registered in both Northern Ireland (as Ulster Bank Limited) and the Republic of Ireland (as Ulster Bank Ireland). It is headquartered in Dublin and Belfast.
Business Loans Child Account Credit Cards Current Accounts Highstreet Branches Mobile App Mobile Banking Overdraft Savings Accounts Student Accounts
https://digital.ulsterbank.co.uk/
11-16 Donegall Square E, Belfast BT1 5UB, UK
About Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank was founded in 1836 as Ulster Banking Company. It was founded by Bank of Ireland employees who were disgruntled about that company's plans to invest profits in London instead of Belfast.
Ulster Bank was acquired by Westminster Bank in 1917. It is a subsidiary of NatWest and became part of Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 2000. The bank purchased First Active, the oldest building society in Ireland, in 2003; the First Active brand name was retired in 2010.
In 2014, Royal Bank of Scotland Group considered merging Ulster Bank with rival banks in order to reduce its holdings in the Republic of Ireland. This move was cancelled after trading in Ireland improved.
Ulster Bank Products and Services
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whose virtues have not been forgotten….
This morning's first reading come from a chapter that begins Sirach's listing of the "cloud of witnesses" that enveloped him.
As I read her post I recalled my experience last Saturday at the beatification of Monseñor Oscar Romero.
I was standing surrounded by a cloud of witnesses – four women religious. One, a Sister of Charity, has spent more than 28 years in El Salvador; it was a joy to hear Mother Seton mentioned. Two others, Dubuque Franciscans, had spent years in Chile and are now in Honduras; it was a treasure to hear the name of the Jesuit Alberto Hurtado; one of them also spent years in El Salvador. An Italian sister with us had also spent years in El Salvador.
It was a blessing to feel accompanied by the cloud of witnesses of those who had gone before us as well as by the mist of those who are current witnesses.
Saints are for me witnesses of the presence of God in the midst of our broken world.
Some are "famous" – beatified and canonized by the Church – or by the sense of the faithful.
There are others – the witnesses among us which included those around me that morning in San Salvador.
There are even others whom I now remember – two friends who died last week while I was in El Salvador.
Mary Sawyer, a colleague at Iowa State University last Wednesday. A friend wrote a beautiful tribute to her that I put on my blog.
Father Pat Geary, a gentle man, died on Saturday. He was the priest who hired me to work in ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Ames, Iowa. I told him several times when I visited the US in the past few years that he was responsible for me being here in Honduras.
And so we are surrounded.
What is importance is to pass on their memories, to pray to and with them, and to let them and their lives accompany us as we walk the way in the Reign of God.
Today is the feast of St. Philip Neri who was a practical joker. Part of that was a defense against those who wanted to adulate him as a saint when he was alive. Part was an expression of the joy he found in God.
Perfection does not consists in such outward things as shedding tears and the like, but in true and solid virtues, Tears are not a sign that a man is in the grace of God, neither must we infer that one who weeps when he speaks of holy and devout things necessarily lives a holy life. Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life; therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits. When a man is freed from a temptation or any other distress, let him take great care to show fitting gratitude to God for the benefit he has received.
In the last few years here in Honduras I have experienced the grace of joy, of cheerfulness. Also, I have become more "picaro," mischievous, and more of a "bromista," a joker.
I find myself becoming more like my father whom I remember as a great joker, a man with a great heart.
Being able to joke around with people and to be a little mischievous helps break down barriers. It helps us establish bonds.
It also can lead us deeper into the love of God, as we set aside our pretensions and rejoice in the good gifts that God gives us.
Not everyone has a sense of humor. That calls for an altruistic detachment from oneself and a mysterious sympathy with others which is felt even before they open their mouths. . . . A good laugh is a sign of love; it may be said to give us a glimpse of, or a first lesson in, the love that God bears for every one of us. . . . God laughs, says the Bible. When the last piece of human folly makes the last burst of human laughter ring out crisp and clear in a doomed world, is it too much to imagine that this laugh will resemble that of God . . . and seem to convey that, in spite of everything, all's well?
I have been blessed with a hearty laugh, but I think I saw one of the most amazing manifestations of joy last Friday night, in the midst of torrential rains, as I joined the vigil before the beatification of Monseñor Romero.
There were may moments of joy that night, but one stands out.
For almost two full hours, between 1:00 and 3:00 am, young Franciscan friars from Central America led a crowd in song and dance – and moments of reflection on the witness of Romero.
Their joy was contagious. Here's a short video which, though it's shaky in places, gives you a sense of the joy in the Lord that many felt with the beatification of Romero – a sign of the presence of God.
If the video doesn't load on this page, you can find it here.
Some might be surprised that the Pentecost sequence invokes the Holy Spirit as Father of the Poor.
The Spirit is the Comforter – and comforts the poor in their sorrows and pain.
The Spirit is the advocate, the Paraclete – who advocates for the poor in the face of injustice.
The Spirit gives the People of God the gift of Courage – so that the poor and their advocates witness to the justice of the Reign of God.
The Spirit is the force of Initiative in the lives of God's people, renewing the Church – so that the Church be truly "a poor Church and a Church for the Poor," as Pope Francis as said.
The Spirit is continually be poured on the People of God, the Church, so that it may live the mission of Jesus, to be Good News for the Poor.
Romero who lived the Spirit of Jesus shows us how the Spirit walks on earth.
Romero was a comforter of the poor, accompanying those who family members were killed or disappeared.
Romero was an advocate for the poor, the voice of the voiceless, speaking out often, especially in his Sunday homilies, to denounce the injustice being done to the poor.
Romero gave people courage by his words and by his presence, as well as by listening to those whom the powers held in contempt – the poor, those struggling for justice.
Romero was a force that renewed the Church of El Salvador in his time – and that hopefully will renew the Church today, opening us up to the initiatives of the Reign of God.
Romero witnessed to the mission of Christ, especially by his option for the poor and marginalized, in the name of Christ.
With Romero, the Spirit of Jesus breathes among us.
A friend of mine, Jaime Vidal, in a reply on a Facebook post, reminded me that the Pentecost sequence includes much that shows us how the Spirit breathes among us and how Romero showed us we can let the Spirit blow through us.
to the point we let the Spirit into us, we become what He is — pater pauperum [father of the poor], consolator optime [the best comforter], in fletu solatium [solace in the midst of tears]… and we flecte quod est rigidum [bend what is rigid], fove quod est frigidum [fire up what is cold], rege quod est devium [correct what goes off course]… May [Romero's] glorification on the feast lead many more to open their hearts wide and let that same Spirit in, and become like Oscar, and one with the Spirit.
with the blessed martyr Oscar Arnulfo Romero.
Honduras is plagued with violent killings. In the big cities these are often related to gangs or to crime. But there are a significant number of killings that are related to vengeance.
In our area of Honduras there have been a number of vengeance killings in the last year. Two villages have been deeply affected.
At a recent meeting of catechists I heard a story from a few years ago of a feud within a family that started with a dog killing a chicken and ended with deaths of members of the family.
So I was surprised to learn of a saint who should be the patron of those who seek to end violence based in vengeance.
Last Sunday I was in the village of El Zapote de Dulce Nombre to lead a Celebration of the Word with Communion. They noted that they will celebrate Saint Rita of Cascia, their patron saint, on Friday with a procession, Mass, and baptisms.
I have heard of Saint Rita and know that she is revered by many Italians and Italian Americans, but I didn't know much about her. As I sat listening to the village's plans, I looked up her short biography in the missal I had with me and was surprised about a few details of her life.
Saint Rita lived between 1381 and 1457. I know that she is often invoked as the saint of impossible cases, but she really should be the patron saint of peacemakers within families.
Though she wanted to become a sister, Rita was forced into a marriage with a man who was not very faithful. They had twin sons.
After several years of marriage, he was killed by some members of a rival family. His sons wanted to take vengeance on the family of the assassins but their mother forbid it. There is even a story that she prayed to God that it would be better for them to die than to take the lives of others in vengeance.
They did die and she decided that now was the time to follow her dream of becoming a sister.
She applied to the town's convent of Augustinians sisters. She was refused because the sisters were afraid that vengeance killings – or at least disharmony – would follow her into the convent, since some of the sisters were members of the rival family that had killed her husband.
…inspired by her three patron saints (Augustine, Nicholas of Tolentino and John the Baptist), Rita set out to make peace between the families. She went to her husband's family and exhorted them to put aside their hostility and stubbornness. They were convinced by her courage and agreed. The rival family, astounded by this overture of peace, also agreed. The two families exchanged a peace embrace and signed a written agreement, putting the vendetta to rest forever.
There are other details of Saint Rita's life which are fascinating but I really think that she needs to be looked upon as an example of how to live the loving reconciliation of Christ and as an intercessor for those places where vengeance and vendettas lead to death.
And so today I pray to Saint Rita to help us find ways to stop the cycle of violence that so often plagues us here in Honduras and many other places of the world.
Yesterday when I was in line for the procession at Mass in Dulce Nombre, Padre German who was being installed as pastor whispered to me about my being accepted as a candidate for the permanent diaconate at the same Mass.
For the Reign of God – in the spirit of Monseñor Romero.
This isn't about me; it's about the Reign of God.
And it's about doing it as a member of the Servant Church, a Church that is diaconía.
The essence of the church lies in its mission of service to the world, in its mission to save the world in its totality, and of saving it in history, here and now. The church exists to act in solidarity with the hopes and joys, the anxieties and sorrows, of men and women [Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, ¶1]. Like Jesus, the church was sent "to bring good news to the poor, to heal the contrite of heart…and to seek and to save what was lost " (Luke 4: 18; 19:10).
The witness of Monseñor Romero has challenged and sustained me, offering an example of a person committed to God and to the poor.
It's not one or the other – it's both and more.
To be a servant – a diakonos – is be at the beck and call of God and the poor, helping to make clear to all the connection between the table of the Eucharist and the table of the poor.
May I have the courage to go forward on this journey – and walk the way of self-emptying to be a servant (Philippians 2).
A few days ago Padre German asked me what reading from the New Testament I would like for today's Mass. He will be installed as pastor of the Dulce Nombre de María parish and I will be accepted as a candidate for the diaconate.
It's a good passage – and a good guide for an examination of conscience for a potential deacon. But I asked Padre German to use another reading.
First of all, if that reading were used some might think that was being ordained a deacon at this Mass. That is about a year down the road – God willing.
I prefer Philippians 2: 5-11, Paul's hymn to the self-emptying Christ.
For me, the self-emptying of Christ and his becoming a slave are central to my understanding of what it would mean for me to be a deacon.
The deacon is, as I see him, the person in the shadows, looking at the needs of others and bringing them to the People of God.
The deacon is the one who empties self of all that keeps one self-centered and self-contained. The deacon allows one's self to be emptied so that God and God's people might find a place there.
During a service trip to New Orleans with one resident and fourteen students parishioners from St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames, we emptied out the house of an African-American grandmother as she stood by.
As we emptied out that house, something was emptied out of me so that I could open myself to a new calling – serving God and the People of God, especially the poor, in Honduras.
And so today I ask God to give me the grace to be emptied of all that keeps me from being open and available for God and God's people.


The last 3 months have been very busy for the Landcare Okareka volunteers. Winter is always the busy planting season.
The toilet gardens at Steep St reserve got a complete make over. We also undertook a good trim and tidy up around the reserve there. Castlecorp have been into the reserve since and planted a couple more specimen trees which will provide shade for visitors to the area in summer.
Some of you may remember reading in the Lake Okareka Newsletter last year, about Maddie and Hunter Potter, local children who made a donation of some of their hard-earned money as part of a school project, to Landcare Okareka. During the last school holidays the Potter children, along with their friend Ollie Martelli went to visit the Treeline Native Plant Nursery of Diane Coleman at Kaharoa to purchase their plants. And before school started back, they came with their dad Ian Potter one afternoon and planted those plants in the Lake Okareka Scenic reserve area near the bus stop. Many thanks Maddie and Hunter – and we hope that you enjoy being able to watch your plants and all the others in the area, continue to grow.
A very exciting happening occurred for Landcare Okareka volunteers – when the film crew of Steve Fisher and Don Anderson and interviewer Kerryanne Evans from "Country Calendar" came to film a planting working bee in the Lake Okareka Scenic Reserve in August. This was as part of a programme the "Country Calendar" team were making about Diane Coleman and Treeline Nursery. Diane won Rural Women NZ Enterprising Rural Women Award 2013. Diane spoke about Landcare Okareka as one of her "customers" during her presentation to the competition. She asked that LO also be included in the programme to show where some of her plants are going. LO get plants from "Treeline Nurseries" through both Rotorua District Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council. We understand the programme goes to air on the 27th September on TV1 at 7.00pm.
The planting of the area above and around the sewage pump station – Lake Okareka Scenic reserve - is now completed. There will be on-going weed control to be done in the area for the next several years, and maybe the occasional new plant added.
There will be more Working Bees around Lake Okareka....so if you would like to help, watch out for the sign boards and come along. You will be most welcome.


text:
Current: Islamic fintech makes inroads into Europe
Islamic fintech makes inroads into Europe
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has announced two new partnerships with non-profit associations in London and Zurich aimed at strengthening its position as a global fintech hub for the Middle East reports International Adviser.
The UAE capital's international financial centre has formed alliances with the Swiss Finance and Technology Association (SFTA), a trade body representing various players within the Swiss fintech ecosystem and think tank Responsible Finance and Investment Foundation (RFI).
Swiss ties
The collaboration between ADGM and the SFTA will connect Swiss and UAE fintech participants to business opportunities, experience and investments in each other's region, accelerate the exchange of fintech expertise, and anchor fintech activities in ADGM, Abu Dhabi, and Switzerland, ADGM said in a note.
"With Switzerland as one of the world's leading blockchain and crypto-currency centres, this new fintech bridge and partnership dovetail well with Abu Dhabi's focus as a global fintech hub," said Richard Teng, chief executive of ADGM's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA).
"This relationship illustrates our continued interest to develop a neutral global network of leading fintech hubs so that each can develop their competitive advantages while the global ecosystem expands," said John Hucker, president of SFTA.
Ethical Islamic fintech
ADGM also announced it has set up a partnership with London-based non-profit organisation RFI, for the purpose of integrating ethical and socially responsible practices into Sharia-compliant fintech services and Islamic finance activities.
The partnership establishes an open platform for both RFI and ADGM to share expertise and knowledge and to create joint efforts "which will enhance and strengthen the fintech ecosystem that ADGM initiated for the Mena region in March 2016".
ADGM and RFI will also work closely to enable and assist investors, fintech entrepreneurs and innovative firms in testing and introducing innovative products, services and solutions "within a well-structured and conducive environment" under the ADGM Reglab programme.
"Fintech has a major opportunity to transform how Islamic financial institutions connect with their customers and promote a unique and differentiated approach to financial services," said Blake Goud, chief executive of RFI.
"We are optimistic that this partnership with ADGM, building on the regulatory environment they have created in Abu Dhabi, can encourage and support emerging fintech companies to adopt ethical, responsible and Islamic approaches.
"We look forward to working with ADGM to expand responsible fintech in a way that encourages more equitable, inclusive and sustainable growth," Goud said.
Global fintech push
Abu Dhabi's international financial centre is pushing forward with its plans of establishing a global fintech hub in the UAE capital by way of deals and partnerships in all four corners of the globe.
It has recently signed agreements with authorities and regulators including Australia, Malaysia, Kenya and with the authority of Qianhai Shenzhen in Hong Kong.
Tech-based tax services gain pace to ensure businesses comply with global digital transparency standards
Global consultancy EY among firms now offering advanced services that redefine how companies face new developments in tax, audit and compliance, reports the South China Morning Post.
Rigid new global initiatives to increase transparency of business data are giving rise to more advanced professional tax services, which employ innovative tools that include cloud computing, financial technology and artificial intelligence.
"Professional services firms of all disciplines are expecting their workforces to change, which will see many jobs displaced and new roles created for software programmers, data analysts and computer scientists," Paul Haswell, a partner at international law firm Pinsent Masons, told the South China Morning Post.
"Existing providers who fail to embrace this technology driven future are doomed to obsolescence."
EY, one of the world's four largest professional services networks, on Monday announced the creation of a dedicated group of more than 1,000 professionals from its member-firms across the globe for its new tax technology and transformation practise.
Albert Lee, digital tax leader at EY Asia-Pacific, pointed out that the pace of change in tax legislation and the accelerated use of technology by governments for automating compliance and filing processes, are disrupting traditional tax preparations.
EY, one of the world's four largest professional services networks, on Monday announced the creation of a dedicated group of more than 1,000 professionals from its member-firms across the globe for its new tax technology and transformation practise. Photo: SCMP
EY's new practise will include a custom tax technology application development, a post mergers and acquisitions tax function, robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and tax analytics and reporting services.
Jim Hunter, managing partner for tax at EY Asia-Pacific, estimated that its tax technology and transformation practise will have more than 5,000 professionals by 2020, helping cultivate new careers for science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates.
"We have, by far, the leading practise in this space, because we have pooled all of our tax technology and transformation resources from across the Asia-Pacific and linked them with global resources," Hunter said.
EY's new practise was established in response to many governments' commitment to enhance tax transparency and fight cross-border tax evasion, which has prompted many companies to better manage their digital business data to comply with tax laws.
That development is linked with global efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), which refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations.
About 70 jurisdictions have so far signed the OECD's "Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Shifting" – a legal document that offers to help governments counter tax evasion, tax treaty abuse and improve dispute resolution.
"Hong Kong indicated its commitment in June 2016 to implement the BEPS package put forward by the OECD. The government has also released a consultation report on measures to counter BEPS," Hunter said.
"[Mainland] China is also a strong supporter of that BEPS package, which led it to start the e-government audit for big enterprises in Shanghai last year."
Hedge Fund Optimas Looks Aroun…


text:
On This Day: Reagan and the Air Traffic Controllers
August 3, 2016 July 31, 2017 by , posted in Presidential History
Today's post comes from Reagan Library Education Department staffer Brett Robert.
Thirty-five years ago on Monday August 3, 1981 members of PATCO, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, went on strike at 7 A.M. Shortly before 11 A.M. President Reagan delivered the above remarks from the White House Rose Garden.
Let me make one thing plain. I respect the right of workers in the private sector to strike. Indeed, as president of my own union, I led the first strike ever called by that union. I guess I'm maybe the first one to ever hold this office who is a lifetime member of an AFL – CIO union. But we cannot compare labor-management relations in the private sector with government. Government cannot close down the assembly line. It has to provide without interruption the protective services which are government's reason for being.
Page 1 of The Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 passed by the 80th Congress, after overriding President Truman's veto. ARC Identifier 299855
During the twentieth century regulation regarding American unions underwent several large shifts. The Wagner Act in 1935 and the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, also known as the Labor Management Relations Act, were the first major pieces of legislation regarding private sector unions, but neither granted Federal employees to the right to form unions. A series of executive orders and laws came into play during the Kennedy, Nixon, and Carter administrations regarding the rights of Federal Employees to unionize and collectively bargain. President Kennedy's Executive Order 10988 was largely replaced by President Nixon's Executive Order 11491. Before Kennedy's 1962 Executive Order Federal employees did not have the same guaranteed right to unionize as private-sector workers. Nixon's Executive Order sought to guarantee those rights, expand them in some ways, and establish the National Federal Labor Relations Council. President Jimmy Carter sought to have Congress strengthen these protections further, which led to the passage of the Federal Labor Relations Act of 1978 (FLRA). The FLRA guaranteed many union rights but prohibited Federal employees from striking.
For more resources about the history of labor rights in the twentieth century, there are several Federal Government sites that may be of interest. A brief history of the process of establishing Federal labor rights can be found in this article from the National Labor Relations Authority. The following links from the Kennedy Library's oral history project has several interviews regarding the history of Executive Order 10988: including this interview with Daniel Patrick Moynihan Assistant to the Secretary, United States Department of Labor, 1961-65 (see p. 6-8), this interview with Richard Murphy Assistant Postmaster General, Washington, 1961 – 1969 (see p. 23-28), and this interview with Stephen Shulman who was Executive Assistant to the Secretary of Labor in 1961-62 (see p. 2).
In 1981 President Reagan faced a significant challenge in how to deal with the PATCO. Federal unions were not even twenty years old. The right of private workers to unionize was important to President Reagan, who had proudly served several terms as President of the Screen Actor's Guild, an AFL-CIO union. The PATCO strike tested this strongly held personal belief in private sector unions as instrumental to capitalism against Reagan's equally strong belief in the importance of keeping government small and efficient. In the end Reagan concluded that not only were Federal worker's unions fundamentally and legally different from private unions, but that it was necessary to take a strong stance in fully enforcing the FLRA's strike prohibition. Within hours of the strike commencing Reagan stood in the Rose Garden delivering a 48-hour ultimatum, seen and heard in the speech at the top of this article. Striking air traffic controllers had 48-hours to return to work or they would be fired.
Reagan held true to his word and on August 5, 1981 more than 11,000 striking members of PATCO were fired. For weeks and months the PATCO strike was front-page news. On August 4, 1981 the Washington Post ran this story highlighting the affects of the strike on travellers. This story from the Los Angeles Times on August 6, 1981 highlights strikers. Months later the press was still running articles like this one from the New York Times, as they continued to try to dissect why PATCO had decided to strike and why it had failed. For PATCO the strike was indeed a failure. In the last months of 1981 the strikers were fired, its president resigned, and the union was de-certified.
In the years since 1981 historians, activists, pundits, and policy makers have sought to understand and ascribe meaning to the PATCO strike and Reagan's response to it. Many observers point to the breaking of the PATCO strike as important because it established confidence in Reagan's leadership ability and made the Soviet Union take him seriously. Others contend that breaking the strike was a serious blow to organized labor in the United States that had consequences for both public and private sector unions.
Tagged 1981, Air Traffic Controllers, History, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, NARA, National Archives, Organized labor, PATCO, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, United States
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text:
Q: Copy a pointer to a struct in a function (linked list) I want to craete a single linked list without gloabal variables. I initialized the first element with NULL and then wanted to copy the first element node to list_. It is copied in the function but the side effect isn´t working. In my main-function the value is still NULL.
If I return the struct in the add_element()function all works fine but, is it possible that l gets the value of node without changing the functions structure and the struct itself?
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

struct list {
        int value;
        struct list *next;
};

struct list *initialize(void)
{
    struct list * l = NULL;
    return l;
}

int add_element(struct list *list_, void *v)
{
    struct list *node = malloc(sizeof(struct list));
    node->value = *((int*)v);
    node->next = NULL;

    if(list_ == NULL)
    {
        list_ = node;
        printf("list_->value = %d\n", list_->value);    // correct copy
        return 0;
    }
    //TODO if not first then  add at end..
    return 0;
}

int main()
{
    struct list *l = initialize(); // l = NULL
    int i = 10;
    add_element(l,&i);
    if(l == NULL) printf("l == NULL!\n");
    printf("l->value = %d\n", l->value); // does not work, l is NULL
    return 0;
}

A: kaylum's comment points you in the right direction.
When you pass a pointer in C, the pointer's value is copied to the stack, and this copy is the value that the add_element() function is referring to.  When you alter the pointer's value, you are modifying the copy placed on the stack, not the original pointer.
If you want to alter the original pointer (as if it was passed by reference and not by value) you need to use a double pointer.
Try this variant:
    int add_element(struct list **list_, void *v)
    {
        struct list *node = malloc(sizeof(struct list));
        node->value = *((int*)v);
        node->next = NULL;

        if(*list_ == NULL)  // dereferencing the double pointer will access the original pointer
        {
            *list_ = node;  // this will change the original pointer
            printf("(*list_)->value = %d\n", (*list_)->value);    // correct copy
            return 0;
        }
        //TODO if not first then  add at end..
        return 0;
    }

    int main()
    {
        struct list *l = initialize(); // l = NULL
        int i = 10;
        add_element(&l,&i); // notice you are now passing the address of l instead of its value
        if(l == NULL) printf("l == NULL!\n");
        printf("l->value = %d\n", l->value); //should work now
        return 0;
    }

A: For starters the function initialize
struct list *initialize(void)
{
    struct list * l = NULL;
    return l;
}

does not make great sense. You can just write in main
struct list *l = NULL;

Or the function initialize can look like
inline struct list *initialize(void)
{
    return NULL;
}

The function add_element deals with a copy of the passed list.
int add_element(struct list *list_, void *v);

So any changes of the copy do not influence on the original list. Also it is unclear why the second parameter has the type void * instead of the type int.
You have to pass the list by reference to the function.
The function can look the following way
int add_element( struct list **head, int value )
{
    struct list *node = malloc( sizeof( struct list ) );
    int success = node != NULL;

    if ( success )
    {
        node->value = value;
        node->next = NULL;

        while ( *head != NULL ) head = &( *head )->next;

        *head = node;
    }

    return success;
}

and called for example like
int i = 10;

if ( !add_element( &l, i ) )
{
    puts( "Error: not enough memory." );
}

Here is a demonstrative program
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

struct list
{
    int value;
    struct list *next;
};

static inline struct list * initialize( void )
{
    return NULL;
}

int add_element( struct list **head, int value )
{
    struct list *node = malloc( sizeof( struct list ) );
    int success = node != NULL;

    if ( success )
    {
        node->value = value;
        node->next = NULL;

        while ( *head != NULL ) head = &( *head )->next;

        *head = node;
    }

    return success;
}

void output( struct list *head )
{
    for ( ; head != NULL; head = head->next )
    {
        printf( "%d -> ", head->value );
    }

    puts( "NULL" );
}

int main(void)
{
    struct list *head = initialize();

    const int N = 10;

    for ( int i = 0; i < N; i++ )
    {
        add_element( &head, i );
    }

    output( head );

    return 0;
}

Its output is
0 -> 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 -> 7 -> 8 -> 9 -> NULL

Pay attention to that if a new node is appended to the tail of the list then it is better to define the list as a two-sided singly-linked list.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The reason we cannot find a cure for the common cold is because viruses mutate rapidly. Where do the mutations occur in the DNA/mRNA of viruses and does this have any effect on the protein level? what has to change for the virus to be considered a new strain?
I don't know if this is a comprehensive enough answer, but viruses are taxonomically broken down into order (-virales), family (-viridae), subfamily (-virinae), genus (-virus) and species. This system was developed by the ICTV and is concurrently used with the Baltimore System.
A lot of species contain variations called virus strains. There are two types, serotype and genotype.
In serotypes, the differences are detected by variation in antigens. Genotypes are detected by differences in genome sequence.(1).
The reason a vaccine is difficult to create for the common cold, or upper respiratory tract infections is not only because of the frequency of mutation but also due to the large number of serotypes present.(2),(3).
Virology: Principles and Applications - Carter.
Princuples and Practice of Infectious Diseases - Mendell, et al.
E.g. Olszewska, et al. Development of vaccines against common colds. Br Med Bull. 2002. 62(1):99-111.
How does Iota-Carrageenan achieve an antiviral effect?
Is it possible for parasitic wasp to alter the behaviour of it's host after emerging from it?


text:
Maidstone railway station could refer to:
 Maidstone Barracks railway station, on the Medway Valley Line
 Maidstone East railway station, on the Maidstone East Line
 Maidstone West railway station, on the Medway Valley Line
 Paddock Wood railway station, originally named Maidstone Road

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Borderlands Movie Star Praises Production Value and Attention To Detail
News, Tabletop Games, Video, Video Games
Metal Gear Solid Artist Creates Special Magic The Gathering Card
PlayStation Plus Free Games For January 2022 Revealed (VIDEO)
Madden NFL Star John Madden Passes Away At Age 85
LEGO Sonic Green Hill Zone Set Officially Releases In January (VIDEO)
5:59 AM Borderlands Movie Star Praises Production Value and Attention To Detail
11:37 PM Metal Gear Solid Artist Creates Special Magic The Gathering Card
5:03 PM PlayStation Plus Free Games For January 2022 Revealed (VIDEO)
3:17 AM Madden NFL Star John Madden Passes Away At Age 85
1:11 AM LEGO Sonic Green Hill Zone Set Officially Releases In January (VIDEO)
Mafia: Definitive Edition Review Round-Up (VIDEO)
Though the saga had been well-regarded for its underground crime story and thrilling action-heavy gameplay, the Mafia series had yet to see a new entry materialize, even with numerous rumors of a new project from developer Hangar 13. All was finally revealed earlier this year with the announcement of Mafia: Definitive Edition, a top-to-bottom remake of the original 2002 game featuring all the bells and whistles of a modern-gen release. Detailed in several gameplay showcases, the new title touted completely overhauled visuals, fresh voice acting, and updated gameplay intended to pay fitting homage to the original in a shiny new wrapper.
As Mafia: Definitive Edition is aiming to renew the crime series' legacy for 2020, there's certainly a few expectations weighing on the title ahead of its release. However, by the looks of emerging reviews, it appears the remake has been successful in making full use of modern visuals and storytelling to bring the story of Tommy Angelo to life for this generation. However, the game's adherence to the original game has inspired a decidedly mixed response, with many appreciating the nostalgia-driven campaign, while others felt disappointment regarding the game's lack of innovation.
Destructoid – 90/100
"All this time, the first Mafia was the best of the trio. It just took a phenomenal effort from Hangar 13 to do it justice with Mafia: Definitive Edition. This feels like the rare necessary remake that elevates and builds upon the original. It's truly an offer you can't refuse."
Game Informer – 55/100
"The original Mafia was well-received at its release, and I'm sure a lot of people remember it fondly. For me, it's something that's probably best seen as a foundational statement in a series that got better over time and subsequent entries. As part of the Mafia trilogy, it's an interesting footnote on what came before. As a standalone game that can hold its own against modern titles in the open-world genre? Fugetaboutit."
IGN – 80/100
"Oozing with 1930s atmosphere, Mafia: Definitive Edition is a successful rejuvenation of the best story in the series."
PlayStation Universe – 80/100
"Mafia: Definitive Edition is the best Mafia to date. With an amazing story and gorgeous visuals, Hanger 13 have done a great job at remaking a cult classic. Though it still suffers from sub-par shooting mechanics the overall package is more than worth the asking price."
Polygon – "Fails To Make A Compelling Argument"
"It's a great-looking remake, but by focusing primarily on visuals and dialogue without greatly enhancing mission design or adding elements that might have made Lost Heaven feel more alive, it fails to make a compelling argument for why Mafia deserved to be remade in the first place."
Mafia: Definitive Edition releases on September 25th for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. What do you think? Are you excited to see the original Mafia get such a well-received remake, or are you hoping to eventually see an all-new entry in the series? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don't Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!
If you enjoy this writer's work, please consider supporting them by tossing a Ko-fi their way! Every little bit helps and aims to keep DFTG independent and free of bias. Thank you so much for your support! Eric Hall @ Ko-fi
Mafia: Definitive Edition
Review Roundup
Tribeca Games Advisory Board Revealed, Includes Hideo Kojima, Geoff Keighley, And More
God Of War Fans Decode Ragnarok Reveal Trailer
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Highlights Stabbomancer And Brr-Zerker Classes
Metroid Dread Review Round-Up (VIDEO)
Far Cry 6 Review Round-Up (VIDEO)
Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Review Round-Up (VIDEO)
Lost Judgment Review Round-Up (VIDEO)
League Of Legends: Pulsefire Skins Revealed For Shen, Twisted Fate, And Riven (VIDEO)
Nolan North Doesn't Mince Words About Whose Performance Matters (VIDEO)
Project Scorpio Tech Specs Have Arrived – Here are the Details (VIDEO)


A dear friend of mine has been stressing out over their taxes and isn't sure that the have done them correctly. You wrote that you should make sure that the tax professional is available, so that you can get help whenever you need it. Especially with how many concerns my friend has, being able to call them up any time with a question could help give them peace of mind.
Absolutely, ultimately the tax payer is responsible for the taxes and without a reliable preparer to guarantee or be of resolution services, that can be stressful. Our office is open year round for all accounting services to ensure that doesn't happen to our clients.
I never knew how important it is to choose a tax prep service that can use electric filing to prepare your taxes properly with the right documents. My sister needs to file her taxes soon. Hopefully, she can use this info to find a service that can get the maximum refund.
Thanks for the tips for choosing a tax preparer. I want to find somebody to help me with my taxes this year, so I can make sure everything gets done right. I like what you said about choosing somebody who will easy to contact and access even after the due date. That way, you can be sure you will have somebody to answer all your questions anytime you have them.
I like that you mentioned to make sure you choose a preparer that is available after tax season. If I have a tax question anytime of the year, I want to be able to have it answered. I need to find somebody to help me with my taxes this year, so I have been trying to find what to look for. I will be sure to keep this in mind as I search, thanks.
I'm glad that you mention choosing a tax preparer that you're able to contact even after the April due date. In order to find one, you'd probably want to research the different options online and check reviews so that you can get their contact information and learn if they're reliable or note. Once you've narrowed down the options with your online search, you'd probably want to call them in order to talk about their tax preparation services and ask any other questions, such as if they're available after April.
I've been wanting to get a good tax preparation service, and I think that being able to get some service fee information would be good. I'm glad you talked about being able to avoid preparers who base their fee on a percentage. I'm going to have to look for a few options, and see what else we can do!
I agree that a good tax service has to check your records and receipts. It would be good to consider this because it would also ensure that they know what they are doing. My brother is looking for a tax service, so he'll have to check their receipts first.
My sister is busy with the deadlines that she needs to meet with her clients at work and doesn't have time for her taxes. My dad suggested hiring tax preparation services and shared this article with her. It says that the tax preparer should be accessible and available even after the due date.
I like your advice to avoid preparers who base their business model on percentages, whether it's that of your return or their take of your return. I've been exceptionally busy this year, and still haven't had time to do my taxes. I think hiring someone would be worth the money this year, just to get it done. Finding someone you can trust is the trick. Thanks!
I like the tip about checking a preparer's history. I agree that this can help you see what their reputation is with the Better Business Bureau. I'll have to do this when I find someone to help me with my finances. I want to make sure I find the most trustworthy person who is going to do a good job as well.
It sure was great when you mentioned that it is best to hire a tax preparer that the person can get a hold of even after the tax preparing month. I will be sure to share this with my brother since he is the one who is planning to hire a tax preparer. I know that it is not a task that can be ignored, so I do think that you were right about having someone he can reach out to whenever needed. Thanks!
What caught my eye is when you said that a tax preparation company can be checked by looking at both IRS Directory and BBB. My dad is having some problems when it comes to the paperwork of his business, especially those related to taxes. I'll definitely mention this to him so that he can research for a tax preparation company that has a good rating from both IRS Directory and BBB.
I've been thinking of hiring someone to help me gather my tax information for this next year. I thought you made a good point how you suggest I should take a look at the preparer's qualifications before hiring them. Do they need to be licensed in order to prepare my taxes for me?
I'll definitely follow your tip about checking the tax preparer's history with Better Business Bureau. My father-in-law is looking for a tax preparer since he has no time to do it himself and needs to attend to business matters. Knowing that my father-in-law wants a professional in handling his tax, I'll help him find one by checking with BBB.
You make a good point when you suggest checking what sort of service fees a tax service requires. Finding someone who will charge a fair price would be really helpful as well. When choosing a tax service for your business, you would probably want to talk with other similar business owners and find out how they get their taxes done.
You make a good point when you suggest checking a tax service's qualifications beroe choosing them. Finding out if they attend continuing education classes as part of this is really great advice. My husband and I are looking for a tax service to help get our taxes in order, so we'll have to check their qualifications first.
It is helpful to know that a reputable preparer will ask for various types of documentation. Choosing a tax accountant is easier when you know these types of positive traits. As I continue to look for one, I will be sure to check that the tax accountant wants to see these records and receipts.
I agree that you need to find a tax service that is accessible. It would be good to consider their qualifications and experience as well in order to know they will do good work. My husband and I are looking for someone to help plan our taxes, so we'll have to make sure we can get ahold of them easily.
I like how you mentioned that we should look for a tax preparer that can give me a copy of my return before it is filed. It makes sense that you would want this for reference. I'm not great at taxes, so I'm going to start looking for a service that can help me out this next tax season.
I liked what you said about making sure that you will be able to contact the tax preparer after your return has been filed. My friend has been looking for someone to help him with his taxes. I'll be sure to pass this on to him so that he can be sure to stay in contact with the preparer for future help.
My dad wants to make sure that the taxes in his business will be filed on time. It was discussed here that when planning to employ tax preparation experts, he should check their history and qualifications. Furthermore, it's recommended to hire professionals for quality tax preparation services.
That's good to know that you can check if a tax preparer has any bad reviews on the Better Business Bureau and check their history at the IRS Office of Enrollment. This is helpful since my husband and I just got married last year, so we're trying to figure out how to file our taxes. We'll have to look at preparers in our area and check with the BBB and IRS to make sure we choose one we can trust and can help us.
I like how you mention that it's very crucial to give a tax preparer the correct information that they would be plugging into the forms that they would be filling out for you. The reason for this is that when it comes to accuracy of information within the tax forms, it would fall to you, the person filing for these taxes, to explain where and when the items mentioned were acquired. If I had the chance to be able to hire a tax preparer, I would make sure that the one I would hire is qualified and is at the very least a certified public accountant who would be familiar with tax preparation services.
Thanks for the advice to ask a tax preparer if they are involved in continuing education classes to see if they are up to date on current tax practices. My son is getting a job this year, and I think it would be a good experience for him to work with a tax service next year when tax season rolls around to get experience on how to handle taxes. When I look for a service to work with, I'll be sure to find a service that has the proper education to help us out.


Carole loves Evertite™ Stretcher Bars!
She selfishly keeps them in stock so that she will always have them herself, but also is more than willing to sell them to you via her online storefront! She usually keeps sizes from 8" to 20" in stock but she's ordered 33" and 45" ones! (EEK) She also keeps the T-tools around so she can always find one! If you have never used Evertite™ bars, Carole has a great handout with pictures to 'talk' you through it. Carole believes that using Evertite™ bars will visibly improve your stitching – because it did hers!
Purchase at our ONLINE STORE!


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A Spritz at Bar Swift in London, where Mia Johansson is managing director (Photo: Lateef Photography)
Columns 18 June 2021
It's set to be the summer of the Spritz
London's happiest bartender and bar Swift co-creator Mia Johansson says that this summer, the Spritz cocktail is set to be more popular than ever
Words by Mia Johansson
Anyone who knows me knows that my middle name is Spritz. I'm a big fan of the cocktail because it's perfectly versatile and approachable, it's fun and it's refreshing, and it doesn't cost your entire salary to order one.
But this summer, the Spritz will be the perfect drink. It's visually beautiful and effervescent and it just celebrates life. It's a great drink to toast to the world coming back alive, to feeling vibrant and to everything bubbling up to the surface.
The Spritz is generally a great cocktail for the summer months thanks to its versatility. Originally, it would have been made with a Prosecco or a fortified wine. The cocktail originated in Italy, where drinks would be built on with the addition of soda or Prosecco – that's how we ended up with the Americano and with the Sbagliato.
The team at Swift serve their Spritzes with elderflower liqueur or packed with fresh fruits for a vibrant summer serve
Today, people tend to want something to start off their drinking, something that's not too strong, mixed with soda and some sparkling wine. You need a base, like an aperitif – something to whet the palate, like Campari or vermouth. Then you need a little bit of sugar content, as you'll be drying things out by using a Prosecco – and it definitely needs some effervescence.
It's a good cocktail for the daytime. If you're drinking something like cider, you've got a lot of liquid to drink that's not going to get you too boozy too quickly. But if you're drinking Manhattans, Martinis and Margaritas at 2pm, you're only going to last for a couple of hours.
It's even better in print… The winter 2021 edition of Club O is out now, with more premium content, not available online
When we started Swift five years ago, we wanted to mirror the daytime experience of the European and American bar scenes. In the UK, you have the pub, beer gardens or hotel bars, but there weren't dedicated cocktail bars that were excellent at their craft opening in the daytime. At Swift, we had the possibility of making low-ABV drinks that can last you through to the evening.
Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston, the husband-and-wife team behind both Swift bars in London
For me, the Spritz is perfect for this – it's something you can indulge in and enjoy in the daytime without feeling like you're having to cosy down in a dark basement. Because drinking is supposed to be something that's fun, and not just something exclusive that you have to save up to do every month.
It's the perfect drink to bring us all together this summer
We have a Spritz menu throughout the summer at Swift, which we call the Aperitivo menu. It sits beautifully between opening time and 7pm across both sites [Shoreditch and Soho]. It's kind of like our happy hour – but we call it the "happier hour".
The bar in Shoreditch is as geared towards daytime cocktails as the Soho original
If you're mixing a Spritz at home, you can use a low-ABV base or a smaller measurement of gin, for example, and a balance of Prosecco and soda. Or you can even take the drink down the Crémant route, using St-Germain or elderflower liqueur at the base. You can make it in a lovely jug with some mint leaves, chopped-up strawberries, fresh fruit and citrus. This summer is all about bringing back nostalgic, retro flavours like passion fruit, mango, watermelon and strawberry. Just so long as you're using fresh ingredients and you have something a bit sweet or something that has a kick to it in the mix – that could even be Tequila or vodka.
Ultimately, thanks to its sweet, fresh flavours and bubbles, the Spritz is something that is for everyone; something that suits yourself, your grandma, your mum and your best friends all at the same time. No matter who you are or how old you are, it's the perfect drink to bring us all together. What could be better suited to our long-overdue summer reunions?
Mia Johansson is managing director of Swift Soho and Swift Shoreditch cocktail bars in London. Both bars are back open and taking bookings at barswift.com.
Finally, farewell to the Quarantini
After a year of at-home "mixology", the return of the cocktail bar can't come quickly enough for Joel Harrison
Stanley Tucci's negroni – a bartender gives his verdict
The Hollywood actor wooed the internet when he fixed the classic cocktail for this wife – but was his technique up to scratch? Mickael Perron, manager of the renowned Library Bar at London's Lanesborough hotel, breaks it down
Three cocktail recipes to try at home
Henry Jeffreys' The Cocktail Dictionary is an A-Z guide of every cocktail recipe you need to know, from the Old Fashioned and the Martini to the Margarita and Daiquiri. Here he picks three simple cocktails to try at home
Why we need to rethink the way we drink and dine altogether
We have a unique opportunity to change our drinking habits and emerge from lockdown with sustainability to the fore, says Argentinian entrepreneur and IWSC Bartender of the Year Lucas Groglio


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Q: Not able to connect to sftp using jcraft JSch with camel I am trying to connect to SFTP sftp server through camel route. But I am getting some error related to jCraft Jsch exception :
Caused by: com.jcraft.jsch.JSchException: Auth fail
at com.jcraft.jsch.Session.connect(Session.java:512)
at org.apache.camel.component.file.remote.SftpOperations.connect(SftpOperations.java:124)
Here my code to read inside my xml settings.
.recipientList(simple("sftp://${exchangeProperty.x_username}@${exchangeProperty.x_host}:${exchangeProperty.x_port}/${exchangeProperty.folder}"
+ "?privateKeyFile=${exchangeProperty.privatekey}"
+ "&privateKeyPassphrase=${exchangeProperty.keypassphrase}"
+ "&password=${exchangeProperty.password}"
+ "&preferredAuthentications=publickey"
+ "&passiveMode=${exchangeProperty.mode}"
+ "&connectTimeout=${exchangeProperty.timeout_connect}"
+ "&soTimeout=${exchangeProperty.timeout_socket}"
+ "&timeout=${exchangeProperty.timeout_read}"
+ "&tempFileName=inprogress.${file:name}.filepart"
+ "&stepwise=${exchangeProperty.stepwise}"
+ "&fastExistsCheck=${exchangeProperty.fastExistsCheck}"
+ "&disconnect=true"
)).cacheSize(-1)


Flight 240, was a Tupolev Tu-154 tri-motor jetliner of Malév Hungarian Airlines, which was flying on the Budapest to Beirut regular route when it was shot down near the Lebanese shoreline on 30 September 1975. There was a crew of ten Hungarians and fifty passengers on board, some of them from Scandinavia with only a single Hungarian traveler, there were also Palestinians, Lebanese, French, an Egyptian, a Saudi and a Dutchman traveling. There were no survivors as the wrecks fell into open waters on a dark night.
During this period most airlines refused to fly the Beirut route due the chaotic Middle East situation. The airport in Beirut had received artillery fire a week before the event. Although Malév had also suspended the route temporarily in early 1975, it was soon reopened to help the Arab countries and especially the Palestinians to maintain contact, in line with the Soviet Bloc's pro-Arab policies. Independent businessmen were also keen to take advantage of this sole link, even though Malév had a poor reputation at the time. The plane was filled to less than half of its seating capacity.
The Hungarian communist government did not pursue an investigation of the events, choosing instead to collect an unusually large sum of insurance money paid for the plane and the victims (some victims never saw that money though), based on an air accident claim.
It has been known from day one that the plane was destroyed by an explosion, since it disappeared without a distress signal mere seconds after negotiating a landing permit with the Beirut Airport and several independent witnesses saw the fireball. The cause of explosion has been determined as an external event (a missile hit as opposed to a bomb on board) based on analysis of floating pieces of wreckage. After that, the case laid dormant until the early 2000s when the coming 25th and 30th anniversaries renewed public interest in the case.
In a 2004 documentary film shown on Hungarian TV, a Hungarian woman talked about the former crew of RAF Olympus long range radar station in Akrotiri, Cyprus testified that they saw the Tu-154 being shot down by an AA missile fired by another aircraft, whose radar signature was characteristic of the F-4 Phantom II. Only the Israeli Air Force operated such craft in the area and that specific area fell also under their control.
Some radar and military experts do not believe that this sort of exact determination would have been possible with the 1960's vintage radar in question.
* The large cargo space of the Tu-154 was allegedly filled with a four metric ton small arms (AK47) and ammunition shipment intended for the Palestinian armed struggle and the flight was shot down to deny these weapons to the militias, although such flights were resumed and continued for years, as did also LOT, the Polish Airline.
* A delegation of ten medium-high ranking Palestinian representatives had just opened a PLO office in Budapest and were en route to Beirut and about to board Flight 240, but they were late and missed the plane by mere minutes. The flight's departure had been rescheduled three times. Therefore the downing of Flight 240 was a possible large-scale assassination attempt, which did not get canceled for lack of up-to-date information.
Relatives and descendants of the victims are currently trying to organize a privately funded underwater mission to film the wreckage. The Hungarian government is notably silent on the issue, although it has used the pages of largest Hungarian newspaper Népszabadság to mildly inform relatives that research can only be undertaken if any interest in trying to discover the cause of such events is renounced beforehand.
Israeli investment is a very significant source of capital in post-communist Hungary's new market economy, which could be hurt badly by a war crimes themed feud.
It is worth noting that there was a strikingly similar case: OK-DBF, the Ilyushin Il-62 plane of Czech Airlines' Flight 542 crashed off Damascus on 20 August 1975.
Unfortunately the Wikipedia-crew has deleted this article.