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Seymour Hersh Stirs The Pot: Bin Laden Was ISI Prisoner, Pakistan And US Together Eliminated Him
Pakistan's Pasha and Kayani: full cooperation with the US in the raid killing bin Laden?
|13 May 2015 5:59 AM GMT
NEW DELHI: A storm is raging with growing intensity, and at the centre of it is one of America's most famous investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. And such is the impact of the article that he has written for the London Review that the US State Department and Pakistan's ruling elite are in a spin, almost ballistic in mouthing denials to the story, to the point of calling a former ISI chief "delusional" and questioning Hersh himself.
Seymour Hersh has busted the US and Pakistan version of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as "false". His report turns official accounts on their head, with little in common except the fact that US President Barack Obama ordered the raid, and the US Seals killed bin Laden in the Abbotabad house.And as the officials currently running around denying everything he has written know it better than others, much of what Hersh has written feeds into initial reports at the time that had journalists and security experts picking holes in the official version of the operation that felled bin Laden.
Hersh, in a report based clearly on meticulous investigation and high placed sources in both the US and Pakistan, has said that the al Qaeda leader was a prisoner of the ISI; that the then Army chief and ISI director general knew of the raid and worked with the US to plan it; and that the initial information did not come from the CIA operatives but from a Pakistani intelligence informant.
Four years ago the al Qaeda leader, reportedly living in a house in Abbotabad with his family, was killed by US Seals in a stealth operation that all claimed was not in the knowledge of Islamabad. In fact as per official accounts bin Laden's whereabouts were also not in the knowledge of the Pakistan authorities, who were totally surprised when the US not only discovered the hideout but also killed the al Qaeda leader in an operation that had reportedly not taken Islamabad into confidence.
There were many at the time including former Pakistan's former ISI chief Asad Durrani who did not accept this story, and murmurs grew in the ruling elite of that country questioning the version. However, in the face of resolute silence the doubters had no choice but to fall silent and accept the official version of the events drummed up by Islamabad and Washington, leading to the operation that killed bin Laden.
Seymour Hersh now in this article, based on investigation and clearly sources who have satisfied his exacting standards, maintains that US President Barack Obama did of course order the raid on the hideout, and this was carried out by the US Seals. But this is as far as it goes, with Hersh now putting out a story that is closer to the unconfirmed reports swirling around Pakistan at the time. But being denied on a daily by both Washington and Islamabad.
Hersh maintains that bin Laden was not hiding under the noses of the Pakistan military in the bungalow in Abbotabad as was made out. Instead he had been taken prisoner by the ISI and was kept there since 2006. In other words top echelons in the ISI, Army and of course the government probably knew of this. Hersh is categorical that then Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and director general of the ISI General Ahmed Shuja Pasha knew of the US raid. "The most blatant lie" he has said is that these two most senior military leaders were not informed of the raid. In fact articles to this effect had appeared in the Pakistan media at the time but were rubbished by the authorities. General Durrani, as Hersh also points out had maintained that while it was "possible" the senior officers did not know, it was "probable" that they were aware of bin Laden's 'residence'.
Hersh narrates a different story, that can have dramatic repercussions in both Washington and Islamabad. While the big players have changed in Pakistan, this is not the case in the US where President Obama is still in office. More so, as the raid on the hideout was one of the factors that went into his winning the polls again.
Hersh records, "It began with a walk-in. In August 2010 a former senior Pakistani intelligence officer approached Jonathan Bank, then the CIA's station chief at the US embassy in Islamabad. He offered to tell the CIA where to find bin Laden in return for the reward that Washington had offered in 2001. Walk-ins are assumed by the CIA to be unreliable, and the response from the agency's headquarters was to fly in a polygraph team. The walk-in passed the test. 'So now we've got a lead on bin Laden living in a compound in Abbottabad, but how do we really know who it is?' was the CIA's worry at the time, the retired senior US intelligence official told me." The informant according to the story, was relocated to Washington and is working as a consultant for the CIA. He had also informed the Americans that from 2001 till 2006 bin Laden and his family had lived in the Hindu Kush mountains and he had been caught by the ISI by paying bribes to the locals.
The US hid this from the Pakistani's lest they move bin Laden who was clearly being kept hostage to drive a bargain, if so required, at any point in time. The compound was placed under satellite surveillance and CIA operatives rented a house in the vicinity as an observation base.
President Obama was informed in October and his first response, according to Hersh quoting the retired officer who is clearly the major source of his report, was an emphatic, "Don't talk to me about this any more unless you have proof that it really is bin Laden."' Till this time the US had not shared the information with the Pakistanis, and both Kayani and Pasha continued to insist that they had no idea of bin Laden's whereabouts.
It was around this time, to get the necessary DNA that the US authorities started working on Pakistan---with a fine tuned carrot and stick approach---to make sure that the top brass cooperated. This was apparently not difficult, and soon all secrets were out and the two sides decided to make common cause on the issue. The carrot was financial perks and the stick was "a little blackmail" of releasing the information that bin Laden was being held captive by the ISI, information that would alienate their other assets like the extremist groups.
The ISI safe house was strategically located. It was close to the Pakistan Military Academy, to their combat battalion headquarters and less than 15 minutes away by helicopter from Tarbela Ghazi, that Hersh notes as "an important base for ISI covert operations and the facility where those who guard Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal are trained. 'Ghazi is why the ISI put bin Laden in Abbottabad in the first place,' the retired official said, 'to keep him under constant supervision.'"
With President Obama insisting on proof, the Americans needed Pasha and Kayani to establish bin Laden's DNA. This is where Dr Aziz was brought in who did the needful, and according to Hersh received a share of the $25 million bounty, as it was this DNA sample that had conclusively proved that it was bin Laden in the house in Abbotabad. According to Hersh he was an invalid, with his source saying that the Americans had decided not to disclose this for fear of the sympathy factor.
There was some bargaining over the execution of the mission between Islamabad and Washington. Kayani wanted the US to come in "lean and mean". According to the retired officer he even told them, "you have to kill him, or there is no deal." The agreement was finalised by end January 2011 and preparations, with Pakistan providing logistical details including a virtual map of the house, began.
Hersh claims that the Pakistanis at this stage gave permission for " a four-man American cell – a Navy Seal, a CIA case officer and two communications specialists – to set up a liaison office at Tarbela Ghazi for the coming assault. By then, the military had constructed a mock-up of the compound in Abbottabad at a secret former nuclear test site in Nevada, and an elite Seal team had begun rehearsing for the attack." Loose ends were tied up, and trust established in a meeting between Pasha and the then the CIA director, Leon Panetta, in April 2011.
Hersh quotes a "Pakistani with close ties to the senior leadership of the ISI" as telling him 'there was a deal with your top guys. We were very reluctant, but it had to be done – not because of personal enrichment, but because all of the American aid programmes would be cut off. Your guys said we will starve you out if you don't do it, and the okay was given while Pasha was in Washington. The deal was not only to keep the taps open, but Pasha was told there would be more goodies for us.'
Hersh writes, "Pasha and Kayani were responsible for ensuring that Pakistan's army and air defence command would not track or engage with the US helicopters used on the mission. The American cell at Tarbela Ghazi was charged with co-ordinating communications between the ISI, the senior US officers at their command post in Afghanistan, and the two Black Hawk helicopters; the goal was to ensure that no stray Pakistani fighter plane on border patrol
"It was understood by all that if the Pakistani role became known, there would be violent protests – bin Laden was considered a hero by many Pakistanis – and Pasha and Kayani and their families would be in danger, and the Pakistani army publicly disgraced."
It was clear to all by this point, the retired official said, that bin Laden would not survive: 'Pasha told us at a meeting in April that he could not risk leaving bin Laden in the compound now that we know he's there. Too many people in the Pakistani chain of command know about the mission. He and Kayani had to tell the whole story to the directors of the air defence command and to a few local commanders."
Hersh maintains, "At the Abbottabad compound ISI guards were posted around the clock to keep watch over bin Laden and his wives and children. They were under orders to leave as soon as they heard the rotors of the US helicopters.
The town was dark: the electricity supply had been cut off on the orders of the ISI hours before the raid began.
One of the Black Hawks crashed inside the walls of the compound, injuring many on board."
His report claims that an ISI operative had flown in with the Seals to guide them through the house. And that " Osama was cowering and retreated into the bedroom. Two shooters followed him and opened up. Very simple, very straightforward, very professional hit.' The retired official is quoted as saying, 'The squad came through the door and obliterated him. As the Seals say, "We kicked his ass and took his gas."'
The Seals were in no hurry rush off. They waited for the relief chopper knowing they were safe, according to the report … "Twenty tense minutes. The Black Hawk is still burning. There are no city lights. No electricity. No police. No fire trucks. They have no prisoners."
" Pasha and Kayani had delivered on all their promises."


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Mauz Hussain
David PIpo
Crypto Tricks
Radha Pandey
Jennifer Hu
Nawab Nawab
Emmanuel Appiah
Inês Pereira
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for Smart Cities: Research Challenges and Opportunities
The concept of Smart Cities has been introduced as a way to benefit from the digitization of various ecosystems at a city level. To support this concept, future communication networks need to be carefully designed with respect to the city infrastructure and utilization of resources. Recently, the idea of `smart' environment, which takes advantage of the infrastructure in order to enable better performance of wireless networks, has been proposed. This idea is aligned with the recent advances in design of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), which are planar structures with the capability to reflect impinging electromagnetic waves toward preferred directions. Thus, RISs are expected to provide the necessary flexibility for the design of the `smart' communication environment, which can be optimally shaped to enable cost- and energy-efficient signal transmissions where needed. Upon deployment of RISs, the ecosystem of the Smart Cities would become even more controllable and adaptable, which would subsequently ease the implementation of future communication networks in urban areas and boost the interconnection among private households and public services. In this article, we provide our vision on RIS integration into future Smart Cities by pointing out some forward-looking new application scenarios and use cases and by highlighting the potential advantages of RIS deployment. To this end, we identify the most promising research directions and opportunities. The respective design problems are formulated mathematically. Moreover, we focus the discussion on the key enabling aspects for RIS-assisted Smart Cities, which require substantial research efforts such as pilot decontamination, precoding for large multiuser networks, distributed operation and control of RISs. These contributions pave the road to a systematic design of RIS-assisted communication networks for Smart Cities in the years to come.
remote sensing architecture telecommunications internet of things

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Quality Management encompasses several coordinated activities which direct and control quality improvements in an organisation. Our certified management systems related to quality, environment and safety issues guarantee that our processes are carried out as defined in the standards.
The application of comprehensive quality management tools significantly contributes to the achievement of the strategic objective of efficiency, and swiftly leads to the development of optimally regulated and reliable processes and well-balanced product and service quality, supported by operational efficiency improvements and cost-reductions.
Management commitment towards standard-based management system operation is embodied in Group-level policies (Executive management Statement, HSE Policy), regulations, approved development directions.
We operate certified standard-based management systems in all those areas requested by customers, identified as necessary by organisational leaders, or required by law. Besides Quality Management Systems according to ISO 9001 we operate other professional standard-based management systems (e.g. environmental management Systems according to ISO 14001, Occupational health & Safety management System according to OHSAS 18001, Food Hygiene in line with HACCP requirements or according to standard ISO 22000) where the development of an integrated system and its effective operation are required. All our laboratories are accredited with the relevant qualifications (ISO/IEC 17025).
We have been measuring internal and external customer satisfaction consciously for many years. The purpose of the investigation is to identify our strengths and weaknesses as well as to monitor the effects of the measures taken according to previous analysis.
In order to promote innovation, we explore ideas, proposals of our employees as well as implement the ones which prove to be useful.
The ISCC-EU standard was successfully implemented and certified in MOL and Slovnaft. As a result of this achievement, we are able to trade to such export destinations where this sustainability certification is a precondition of any distribution activity. The requirements of the ISCC-EU standard focus on the traceability of biocomponent proportions added to fuels, on the transparency of the process, on the calculation methodology management. ISCC is a biofuel certification company adopted by the EU, the certification of biofuels is a guarantee for the whole product value chain (production of primary commodity of bio-components e.g. production of colza, oil pressing, manufacturer of bio-components, distributor of bio-component content fuel) - guarantee for product sustainability and means that production of certified products comply with renewable directive requirements.


Fully operational church available in West Baltimore. Located in the heart of West Baltimore's Walbrook community. It is between the Wells Fargo Bank and Walbrook Post Office. Could be used for variety of businesses. Lots of development going on in Walbrook.


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The 11th Day: Crete 1941 2005
Christos Epperson
The 11th Day: Crete 1941 is a 2005 documentary film featuring eyewitness accounts from survivors of the Battle of Crete during World War II. The film was created by producer-director Christos Epperson and writer-producer Michael Epperson, and funded by Alex Spanos. Among the eyewitnesses are British SOE operative and famous travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, along with George Doundoulakis, and Cretan Resistance hero George Tzitzika. The non-veterans giving historical commentary include Chase Brandon of the CIA and Professor Andre Gerolymatos of Simon Fraser University.
On May 20, 1941, an invasion begun with elite German paratroopers, the Fallschirmjäger, invading the island. It was to be the beginning of one of the largest paratrooper assaults in modern history, ultimately involving 22,040 German soldiers. It was also to be the first time German troops faced a unified resistance from a civilian populace. The Battle of Crete would become the largest German airborne operation of World War II, known as "Operation Mercury," (, also Unternehmen Merkur, ).
Michael Epperson
Jordan Dertinger
battle of france begin british and british commonwealth british commonwealth british empire in world war ii cretan resistance dominion fallschirmjäger first time france german soldier german troops john pendlebury nazi germany pyrrhic victory special operations executive wehrmacht world war ii
Christos Epperson Michael Epperson


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Blizzard Working On Multiple Mobile Games
By Cameron Woolsey November 7, 2018
The recent backlash behind Diablo: Immortal may have wafted by your nose as of late. BlizzCon 2018's most prominent reveal splashed down like a turd in a punch bowl, and fans were unhappy — to say the very least. Still, Blizzard seems to be unfazed by the frothy teeth-gnashing, as it announced the development of several mobile games "across all of our IPs."
During a press conference following the Diablo: Immortal announcement at BlizzCon, Blizzard talked about its future in the mobile market. The Q&A was headed by both executive producer Allen Adham, as well as lead designer Wyatt "do you guys not have phones" Cheng.
"In terms of Blizzard's approach to mobile gaming, many of us over the last few years have shifted from playing primarily desktop to playing many hours on mobile, and we have many of our best developers now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs," Adham said. "Some of them are with external partners, like Diablo: Immortal. Many of them are being developed internally only, and we'll have information to share on those in the future. I will say also that we have more new products in development today at Blizzard than we've ever had in our history, and our future is very bright."
Dread It, Run From It, Mobile Arrives All The Same
Obviously, the news won't make a lot of Blizzard fans happy. There may be a day when franchises like Overwatch, Warcraft, or StarCraft will move onto the mobile platform. Will Blizzard weather even more fan hatred in upcoming months? It's possible. But considering the anger brought on by the Diablo reveal, the company may attempt to tread more lightly in the future. Or, at least, it will try to avoid having another PR nightmare like it did during BlizzCon.
In the video, Adham continued and attempted to dissuade the betrayed feelings of PC gamers. Giving a nod to Diablo, he reiterated an announcement made by Blizzard months before BlizzCon.
"For our diehard PC fans, we will say though, we still have multiple Diablo teams working on multiple unannounced Diablo projects," he said. "So we haven't forgotten about them. The future is bright. Stay tuned."
[Thanks to Reddit for spotting the video clip]
Cameron Woolsey
Cam has been shooting for high scores since his days playing on the Atari 2600. Proud member of the Blue Team during the first console war, and has more Sonic paraphernalia than he cares to admit.
This N7 Day, BioWare Talks About More Mass Effect
Rainbow Six Siege Players Fight For Freedom After Ubisoft Changes Icons
By A.K Rahming 10 hours ago


As a company always pushing the boundaries of what's possible inside your vehicle, we're very proud to announce our new fascia kit for the BMW X3 2003 – 2010. Months of preparation of design has led us to create a product which many thought wasn't possible, and stands as a world-first in the industry. … More Our BMW X3 World First!
Leave a comment Our BMW X3 World First!


Dario Deiana was in London on the 2nd of July, at the Decanter World Wine Awards Tasting 2018 held at the Vintner's Hall : Decanter tasting table, to present his Riserva Cannonau which was aged in steel and ten months in oak barrels. The Sileno Riserva in this important world competition received a platinum award with 97 points. A score that is rarely given in which the Sardinian production rejoice with pride. This year the DWWA received wines from 61 countries and the Sileno Riserva was actually among the best of this annual edition. Both Ajana & Oirad were respectively given high scores, bringing home the Silver award.


Are you performing due diligence on Dadao Chemicals Co Ltd in Shandong from China who sells Ferrosilicon? If so, you may want to read the below review of the experience of one buyer and their recommendation to consider when dealing with this company.
You will also find some links to help you find more related information about Dadao Chemicals Co Ltd in Shandong on Supplier Blacklist and on Google as well as other bad suppliers of Ferrosilicon reported here on SBL.
This company was the first to send us an e-mail. We asked them for more information about their company. And we discussed the terms of cooperation. After we signed the contract by email and sent them an advance payment of $ 21,720. They had to ship the goods 7 to 10 days after receiving the advance. In early July, they sent us pictures of the loaded goods, container numbers and booking numbers for the container on the ship. But after a while, they reported that additional check is required by customs authorities and they can't send freight. We agreed to wait a while. But it took three months, the goods they never sent. We demanded to return the advance payment, to which we received a message about the impossibility of returning the advance and the desire to send the goods. For the past 9 months, we have been in correspondence with them with the requirement to return our money. They ignore our demands. Do not return the down payment and do not send us the goods.
Need More Info on Dadao Chemicals Co Ltd in Shandong?
If you need more information, you can click the below links to search for more submissions about Dadao Chemicals Co Ltd in Shandong on Supplier Blacklist as well as go to the search results page on Google for more reviews online about this company.


A web automation engine for the Gwen interpreter.
Tab completion may fail to work if the TERM environment variable is set to xterm-256color (java.lang.NumberFormatException: For input string: "0x100" on startup). Changing it to xterm-color fixes this problem.
As of a while back (16th of August), this has been superceded by gwen-gpm (https://github.com/gwen-interpreter/gwen-gpm). As a result, this package will no longer be updated.


Following the recent cast announcement for this year's Stafford Festival Shakespeare production of Macbeth, more details have been released about the local performers involved in the show at Stafford Castle.
Stafford Festival Shakespeare has a proud tradition of casting performers from the local region since its inception in 1991. Indeed, many have gone on to have successful professional careers in the world of theatre following an acting credit at a one of the Festival's annual productions.
This year, two actors from the Staffordshire area taking on roles in Macbeth are Lyle Mitchell (above right) and Ryan Edwards (below left).
Those familiar with the story of Macbeth will know that the 'Macduff' family is made up of several young children. These roles will be filled by four members of Stafford Gatehouse Youth Theatre: Isabella Paddock aged 9, a pupil at St Thomas More primary school in Great Wyrley; Hope Bennett aged 10 of St Anne's primary school in Stafford; Alexa Munday aged 9, who attends St Patrick's in Stafford; and Katy Boughey aged 8 of St Giles in Houghton, Staffordshire.
"It's a real privilege to be able to call upon such talented performers from the local area to perform in this year's production. I myself was involved in a minor part in the Comedy of Errors at the Castle back in 2004 and I loved every minute of it.


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Rebel Cities – Change the World
Democracy in Danger
Kick Back
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Radical Thinking
Tribalism is Killing us
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Why Bannon Told Trump to "Build the Wall"
Hardeep Matharu
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In the first of a new Byline Times series, 'Wall in the Mind', Hardeep Matharu explores the 30th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall and how and why the building of walls is making a worrying comeback – in the US and elsewhere.
A Curious Meeting
A year or so before Donald Trump announced his desire to occupy the White House, a bright young researcher was introduced to a man fascinated with culture.
How could it be changed? they mused.
The culture of a society, they concluded, was comprised of its people and their individual traits. If you could change how enough people felt and behaved, you could also shift the culture of the country in which they lived. If you wanted to change the culture, you had to change the people.
The researcher was tasked to find out more.
He instructed colleagues to sit before groups of Americans and speak to them about their country. Washington was dirty, they said, amongst other things. But, something else resonated. The pictures of walls and people scaling them which they were shown.
The 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be a "dark reckoning".
Buoyed by what this then little-known company called Cambridge Analytica had found, the culture warrior – who would later become known as Trump's campaign manager, right-wing media executive Steve Bannon – decided to put the results to good use. To Make America Great Again.
"I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me," Trump declared, announcing his presidential bid the following year. "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I'll have Mexico pay for that wall."
The researcher who had spoken to Bannon, Chris Wylie, blew the whistle on his time at Cambridge Analytica last year, revealing that the data analytics firm stole millions of people's Facebook data and subjected it to psychometric testing to determine how they could be 'micro-targeted' with online messaging to change their political behaviour.
Walls are making a comeback. And it's the building of them in our heads that we need to make ourselves aware of.
Although he didn't know it at the time, Wylie's work at Cambridge Analytica would have a significant impact on Trump's resonance with the American public. It also represented a concerning backwards step towards the exploitation of fear and anger in a politics of division and othering.
"Building the wall is not to stop immigrants – most come on a plane – it's to embody separation," Wylie said at the Frontline Club last year.
Whistleblowers Shahmir Sanni and Chris Wylie speaking at the Frontline Club in 2018. Photo: Byline Festival
But, this was not an original idea.
Trump and Bannon's obsession with building a US-Mexico border wall took inspiration, Wylie said, from a concept known as 'die mauer im kopf' – 'the wall in the mind'. As well as testing images of walls in the focus groups, Wylie's work at Cambridge Analytica also saw him considering the relevance of research conducted around the lasting psychological effects of the Berlin Wall – which fell 30 years ago this year.
What it indicated was, whether or not Trump actually built a wall, he merely needed to erect one in people's minds. For walls, as well as being physical barriers, are psychological separators; tools to be constructed in people's psyches.
In 1989, Germans and the West celebrated the fall of the Iron Curtain. Today, walls are making a comeback. And it's the building of them in our heads that we need to make ourselves aware of.
A Useful Study
When the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, I was three years old. History – or the end of it – didn't mean much.
Only more recently have I delved into the frighteningly not-so-distant past of Germany following the end of the Second World War. What I have learnt astounds me.
That Germany, which I have always known to be one country, was divided into two, with diametrically opposed political systems being implemented side-by-side.
I have the Wall in my mind… It's always in my mind.
Hans-Dieter Robel
That one half of the country, East Germany, was run as a communist police state – the German Democratic Republic (GDR) – by the Soviet Union; while America, Britain and France presided over its Western democratic counterpart – the Federal Republic of Germany.
That a wall, which was built one night around half of its divided capital by the East Germans as an "anti-fascist protective measure" – which people would die trying to cross – ended up falling without a single bullet fired.
It seems completely alien, but it happened. And a number of the philosophical questions raised by the Berlin Wall and Germany's division are still relevant today – about the type of society in which we want to live, where purpose and meaning comes from, how diverse individuals and communities can live together, and what identity is and why it matters.
Remains of the Berlin Wall. Photo: Hardeep Matharu
In his novel Wall Jumper, Peter Schneider wrote: "It will take us longer to tear down the Wall in our heads than any wrecking company will need for the Wall we can see." His words coined the concept of 'the wall in the mind', which has come to mean the lasting psychological effects of difference after the removal of physical barriers.
While researching culture at Cambridge Analytica, Chris Wylie took note of one study in particular, examining the phenomenon of "mental maps". Conducted in 2005, it found people tended to overestimate the distance between cities on opposite sides of the former East-West German border, far more greatly than the distance between cities on the same side.
"This trend was strengthened when participants had a negative attitude toward the reunification of Germany," it stated. "Overestimated distances between both German parts indicate that there still exists a mental gap between East and West – even in young people – 15 years after German reunification."
In Britain today, Brexit has come to represent – for some – the ultimate psychological and geographical cut-off with Europe, feeding a feeling of British exceptionalism and the supremacy of our great island state.
The study showed that emotional feelings of distance had translated into a perception of physical distance. That the two could be connected.
In Britain today, Brexit has similarly come to represent – for some – the ultimate psychological and geographical cut-off with Europe, feeding a feeling of British exceptionalism and the supremacy of our great island state. Much less discussed is its reflection of an unscrutinised legacy of Empire and a reluctance to examine how and why Britain went around the world creating walls in people's heads.
During the 2015 refugee crisis, border fences sprung up all over south-eastern Europe, even between EU member states.
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But, Angela Merkel took a different approach. The Chancellor, who grew up in the GDR, welcomed almost a million non-EU citizens into Germany. Speaking to students at Harvard University recently, she said that a wall did not take root in her mind.
"Our individual liberties are not givens," she said. "Democracy is not something we can take for granted. Neither is peace, and neither is prosperity. But, if we break down the walls that hem us in, if we step out into the open and have the courage to embrace new beginnings, everything is possible.
"The Berlin Wall limited my opportunities. It quite literally stood in my way. However, there was one thing which this wall couldn't do through all those years: it couldn't impose limits on my inner thoughts, my personality, my imagination, my dreams and desires."
A Wall in the Mind
In Berlin, I met Hans-Dieter Robel. The 71-year-old grew up in Hanover, West Germany, and moved to West Berlin in 1969.
Having lived with the Berlin Wall for 20 years and 30 years without it, it strangely appears more notable to him now than it did at the time.
Back then, he never thought about it much, he told me, because of the freedom he had and – although he felt that even West Berliners "were really under the control of the Stasi" – any sad and scary consequences of the Wall became normalised.
Hans Dieter-Robel. Photo: Hardeep Matharu
He told me about the time he attempted to visit his grandparents in East Germany. Having been granted an "entrance card" to meet them in East Berlin and receiving a letter from them to say they would be there, they never turned up.
"I waited and waited and they never came," Hans-Dieter recalled. "Then I wrote a letter to find out was going on. Six weeks later, they said 'yes, we were [on our way], but then they threw us out of the train because we were forbidden to go to the capital of East Germany'. They were not allowed to go to their own capital city. Why? Because of meeting West Germans. The Stasi had read my letters."
Hans-Dieter did not meet his grandparents in all the time they were living in the GDR. He visited their graves after the Wall fell.
Another time, he said, he was on a train to visit his girlfriend in another part of West Berlin, which had to pass through a number of 'ghost stations' – shut to the public and heavily guarded – located in East Berlin. The train broke down.
"It was a West train under East Berlin, and for four hours there was no electricity and the [East German] soldiers with the machine guns came to stop us getting off," Hans-Dieter said. "Eventually [West Germans] came with diesel and took us back. There was a baby, we needed water, people were shitting in the train and so forth. But, nothing. Because we were the enemies. The capitalists and the enemies."
If I ride the S-Bhan, I close my eyes and I only listen to what they talk in the train and I can tell you 'he's an Eastern, he's a Western'.
When the Stasi Archives opened to the public in 1992, Hans-Dieter discovered the GDR's secret police had kept a file on him. Modelled on Lenin's Cheka – as a 'sword and shield' to defend the interests of the communist state – by the end, the GDR infamously had one Stasi spy or informer for every 63 of its people.
His file contained records of conversations he had had with colleagues – code names "panther" and "lion" – during a six-year stint working in East Berlin. There were also summaries of the letters to his grandparents.
"It was normal," he told me. "Thinking about it, it was very, very sad. But at that time, every month they were shooting down men at the Wall. The Wall was normal for us."
The reopening of the Jannowitzbrücke U-Bahn station on 11 November 1989, the first of the ghost stations to be reopened after the fall of the Berlin Wall
After its fall, Hans-Dieter believed the two Germanys would exist as separate states and not one reunified country, as was to happen in 1990.
"I never thought the Wall would come down because the differences were so, so big between the two," he said. "When they opened the Wall in November 1989 everyone was happy. And then, in the first half a year, we had different economies, money, mentality."
In the days afterwards, he remembers seeing long queues of East Germans outside the state-owned bank in West Berlin – even though two private ones were located, with no queues, right next door. Nobody wanted to deviate. Describing his time managing workers from the former East Germany, Hans-Dieter said they had "double meaning" – a difference between what they said and how they felt, which resulted in them cutting corners because they were reluctant to raise concerns.
I asked Hans-Dieter about the GDR's somewhat polarised legacy – 'Stasiland' versus a paternalistic welfare state. What about the accounts of East Germans who had insisted that life in the GDR was not so bad?
He shook his head and laughed.
"I grew up as a free man in a free country and my freedom ends there where the freedom of other people starts," he told me. "They were always fighting for peace."
For him, there was nothing positive about the GDR. He recalled a conversation he had with a man still living in the former East Germany, after the Wall came down.
It will take us longer to tear down the Wall in our heads than any wrecking company will need for the Wall we can see.
"He said to me 'we were such a good collective in our neighbourhood'," Hans-Dieter explained. "'Everybody helped each other and so if I had a problem I could go to my neighbour but, now, nothing anymore because the Wall came down'. And I asked him: 'did they change the people there?' They were the same.
"Before, it was 'do you have a wheel for me? I have sugar for you', 'do you have tomatoes for me? I have bread for you'. And, now you can buy everything, you don't need the neighbours anymore. I said, 'if you were a good collective, you would make a house party [now] and so on'. Nothing."
Hans-Dieter saw the man's Ostalgie – nostalgia for the former East Germany – as being related to a forced and thus false solidarity, based on need, rather than true collectivism.
Having taken part in exchange trips around the world since 1978, he said "after the Wall came down we would start it in East Germany but nobody would go".
"We had contact with our occupiers, they were our friends," he added. "In East Germany, they had no contact to strangers or the Russians so they never met other cultures."
The Green 'Ampelmaenchen' of the GDR is only found at crossings in East Berlin
Living up to Ossi-Wessi clichés, Hans-Dieter said East Germans were "always complaining" and passively waiting for their circumstances to change. (East Germans are famously viewed as Jammerossis – 'always moaning' – by their Western counterparts, with the latter called Besserwessis – 'know it alls' – by East Germans).
When the Wall came down, East and West Germans "spoke the same language, but had a different meaning" – a sentiment Hans-Dieter still feels to this day.
"If I ride the S-Bhan, I close my eyes and I only listen to what they talk in the train and I can tell you 'he's an Eastern, he's a Western'," he said. "It's a sensitive thing, but you can hear it.
"I have the Wall in my mind. Two weeks ago, I was at a funeral in Leipzig and I came home and said to my girlfriend it was the first time that I never felt that I am in East Germany. It's always in my mind."
Although I do not think this has made Hans-Dieter any less open, warm and tolerant as a person, it has created an othering. While the Berlin Wall was normalised in his life when it stood, it has had – perhaps surprisingly – a more lasting influence after its fall.
A Return to the Past
The 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be a "dark reckoning", Paul Betts, Professor of Modern European History at Oxford University, told me back in London.
"The 'wall in the mind' was something that was in discussion after reunification – that East and West Germans had not come together successfully, that there was still enormous cultural alienation, misunderstandings, recriminations on both sides," he said. "People were surprised that what looked like a temporary Cold War division actually set very, very deep roots.
"Today, there is an idea that we're living in an age of walls – for some a frightening phenomenon which seems to undo the hopes and dreams of 1989. We're in a world of the comeback of nationalism, xenophobia, barbed wire and fences."
Building the wall is not to stop immigrants – most come on a plane – it's to embody separation.
Chris Wylie, Cambridge Analytica whistleblower
"There's a resurgence of Conservative right-wing politics across Europe, Britain and the US and it has become a new kind of axis of authoritarianism which is driven by feelings of despair and fear for lots of people and right-wing political parties seem to speak to those interests," he added.
As Prof Betts spoke of the resurgence of the idea of the "charismatic power of the nation state to organise the lives of most people", an image I had seen in Berlin's DDR Museum came to mind – of toddlers sat on a potty bench in a kindergarten in East Germany. Unable to leave until they had all finished, the practice was designed to "eschew infantile individualism for the maturity of collective group awareness".
This kind of organisation of their lives I can't see people wanting, but the notion of a national, state-focused identity appears key for many.
Citizens of West Berlin hand a pot of coffee to GDR border forces across the Berlin Wall on 11 November 1989. The Wall was opened in the night of 09/10 November
"Economic difficulties and the effects of austerity have come back to bite people," Prof Betts told me. "The nation state, however much people like to have written it off, has come back hugely as an organising principle of 21st Century political life. The idea that this was going to somewhat fade away through prosperity and secularisation hasn't happened. We're going to have to think much harder about what people care about, and why these forces seem to be so powerful and emotionally satisfying for people."
One of the politicians embodying this today is Hungary's Viktor Orban, with his "defence and greatness of the nation state under siege" and his idea of a "very strong, state-centred idea of authoritarian democracy", standing against the EU, while accepting its subsidies.
As for the former East Germany, with high levels of poverty and unemployment, it has also been susceptible to right-wing appeal, with parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) making serious headway in recent years.
Overestimated distances between both German parts indicate that there still exists a mental gap between East and West.
2005 study
"A lot of Eastern Europeans feel triply occupied – first by the Nazis, then by the Soviets, and then in the way they've been constructed by the EU," Prof Betts told me. "The nation state is the last and only vehicle of independence, of resistance, of sovereignty, so they're very strongly committed to that.
"So, in a moment where Western Europeans are pushing this idea of Europe, the tendency of Eastern Europeans has been to cling to the nation state as a much more emotional vehicle. In that way, you have a division between West Germans who have been raised in a European context and East Germans who are much more disillusioned and think of themselves, first and foremost, as Germans."
An Activation
That the Berlin Wall fell only 30 years ago, and the profound questions it raised are still relevant today, should jolt us out of our complacency.
We don't need cement and bricks to build walls, each one of us does this in our own lives, all the time. But, if – as Steve Bannon believes – these walls can be weaponised and new ones constructed, it rests on us to critically assess our own barriers, psychological and otherwise.
The Berlin Wall was built one night and came down one day. Passivity does not change the world.
@Hardeep_Matharu
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text:
OBIT: Mr. Ray J. "Wee" Dixon
Longtime Kempville Community resident, Mr. Ray J. "Wee" Dixon was pronounced dead on arrival at the Riverview Regional Medical Center in Carthage at 9 a.m. Saturday morning November 3, 2018 after being found, by his wife, unresponsive lying by the bed at their Kempville Highway home.
His nephew Bro. Steve Waller and his pastor Bro. Bryan Bratcher officiated at the 1 p.m. Monday afternoon November 5th funeral services from the Hackett Chapel of Sanderson Funeral Home. Burial with military honors followed in the Dixon family lot in section five of the Defeated Creek Memorial Gardens.
He was born Ray J. Dixon in the Gladdice Community of Jackson County on February 4, 1934 and was one of two daughters and two sons born to the late Alfred Edward "Booster" Dixon who died August 12, 1988 at the age of 81 and Annie Lee Graham Dixon who died June 17, 1984 at the age of 77.
His twin brother, J. W. "Biggen" Dixon preceded him in death on July 23, 1986 at the age of 52 and a sister Maude Ella Waller preceded him in death at the age of 81 on June 5, 2012.
Mr. Dixon was also preceded in death by two brothers-in-law, retired United Methodist minister Draper Hoyte "Gus" Murphy who died at the age of 87 on October 28, 2010 and by Hiram Stanford Waller who died at the age of 79 on July 29, 1997.
On February 10, 1956 at the Kempville home of then Justice of the Peace, the late Bob Lee Anderson, he was united in marriage to the former Imo Sadler, a Red Boiling Springs native.
A retired mechanic, Mr. Dixon was a veteran of the United States Army.
Mr. Dixon was a charter member of the Kempville Chapel Old Time Methodist Church.
In addition to his wife of almost sixty three years they are survived by four sons, Ricky Dixon and wife Barbara, Donny Dixon and wife Lisa all of the Buffalo Community; Dale Dixon and wife Pat, Lanny Dixon and fiancée Julia Harris all of the Defeated Creek Community; sister, Jo Helen Dixon Murphy of Lafayette; sister-in-law, Polly Givens Dixon of the Buffalo Community; nine grandchildren, Shawna Zody, Breanne Kintz, Ashlee Dixon Jones, Josh, Allen and Jordan Dixon, Amber Reddy, Alainey Dixon Manning and Dylan Dixon; seventeen great-grandchildren.
SANDERSON of KEMPVILLE


text:
ONE PERSON = ONE VOTE
The cases are filed, and the fight is on!
LEARN ABOUT THIS BIG NEXT STEP
Two Blue States, Two Red States
In 2016, 4,483,810 Californians voted for Donald Trump for President, but that translated into zero Electoral College votes.
In 2016, 1,083,069 Massachusettsans voted for Donald Trump for President, but that translated into zero Electoral College votes.
In 2016, 3,868,291 Texans voted for Hillary Clinton for President, but that translated into zero Electoral College
votes.
In 2016, 855,373 South Carolinians voted for Hillary Clinton for President, but that translated into zero Electoral College votes.
MEET THE PLAINTIFFS IN THESE 4 CASES
Latest Equal Votes Content
Judge rejects challenge to Massachusetts' winner-take-all election system
MORE PRESS COVERAGE
Donald Trump is no electoral phenom. He's more like Michael Dukakis than Ronald Reagan.
Electoral College Confusions
In a democracy, all votes should count equally. In our democracy, when voting for the president, they do not.
Because of the winner-take-all allocation of electoral votes, if you don't vote for the candidate who wins your state, your vote counts for nothing. That violates the Constitution's "one person, one vote" principle. We plan to challenge this system in the courts. Join this fight for citizen equality.
We're building a movement of Americans who demand more fair and equal elections.
Sign up today to receive email updates from the Equal Votes campaign and Equal Citizens, and join the fight to guarantee that all votes are treated equally.
What is Equal Votes?
Equal Votes is a crowdfunded legal challenge to the winner-take-all allocation of Electoral College votes. Winner-take-all is not in the Constitution. We believe the system violates our amended Constitution. The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment guarantees that all of us, and all of our votes, must be treated equally under the law. Winner-take-all breaks that guarantee. Over 52 million votes were ignored in the 2016 election because of winner-take-all.
Learn more about THE PLAN →
Who's behind Equal Votes?
People like you, who want our elections to be truly democratic and equal. Your donations will help Equal Votes, a project of Equal Citizens — a non-profit organization founded by Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig, bring the lawsuits that can change our unfair system in time for the 2020 election.
Learn more about THE TEAM →
How will the lawsuit work?
We filed lawsuits in federal courts on behalf of real voters perpetually disenfranchised by the winner-take-all system. We have identified voters in four safe states who believe they have been denied representation in presidential elections for decades because of this system. The goal is to have the Supreme Court rule on winner-take-all in time for the 2020 presidential election.
Learn more about this legal case in our FAQs →
Watch our VIDEOS to learn why we can win →
Track our PROGRESS →


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Moosentration Matching Game by Daisy Wheels, Inc.
The 30 adorable moose characters in this retro memory match game will bring a smile to your face every time!
What moose will you find next? The surfer moose? The clown moose? The Trekkie moose? The moose in lederhosen?? The elusive bumble moose??? You never know!
Moosentration is the best moose game available anywhere!


Some weird news out of Utah today as four suspects were arrested after allegedly breaking into a Tesla dealership and stealing some of the inventory. What's strange is that the suspects claimed that the cars were given to them by a man named Tesla as KSL reports. Unless Elon Musk changed his name or everyone's favorite Serbian scientist started a car company, I'm not sure that's accurate.
The suspects must have somehow acquired a key to the building as there were no signs of a break in at the dealership. Shane Smith was reported to have a bag of keys on him at the time of his arrest.
One guy claimed a family member had died and left them all this stuff, but two of them actually said (it was given to them) by (a man named) Tesla.
Two of the allegedly stolen Teslas were recovered that night after one of them ran out of battery. Police still don't have a full grasp on what exactly happened that resulted in four people being arrested with allegedly stolen Teslas. I'm not too sure what happened either.
The full news report can be read here.


Two women were arrested in separate incidents, 20 minutes apart, after they tried to smuggle weapons through a security checkpoint Thursday morning at LaGuardia Airport, police said.
One involved a stun gun; the other, brass knuckles, Port Authority police said.
Cherelle Starlina Graham, 19, of Alabama, was arrested in Terminal B at 5:45 a.m. and charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after security screeners found she had a stun gun, Port Authority police said.
Graham was ticketed for Spirit Airlines Flight 475 to Detroit, police said.
The second woman, identified as Tanisha Small, 24, of Grayson, Georgia, was stopped and arrested at 6:05 a.m. in Terminal B as police said she tried to go through security while in possession of brass knuckles.
She was ticketed for Southwest Flight 2890 to Atlanta, police said.
She also was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.


If you liked this show, you should follow In Bed with Dr Sue.
I'll be chatting with Irv O. Neil, Louis Friend and Ed Cantor and Angela St. Lawrence about their writing styles, what got them interested in the genre and maybe they'll be nice enough to impart some wisdom on fledgling Fetish writers.
Join us for a fascinating conversation with some very interesting authors.


Two Miami-Dade County students were named 2018 Sunshine State Scholars for their achievement in science, technology, engineering and math.
Jacob Rosenfeld of the School for Advanced Studies and Kevin Ordet of Michael Krop High School are both juniors who hold 5.10 and 5.06 GPAs, respectively. Jacob has completed 1,000 community service hours while Kevin has completed 198 hours.
The Sunshine State Scholars program brings together Florida's highest-achieving STEM students for a two-day program featuring a think tank that addresses Florida's challenges. Each scholar was honored for their academic achievements and met with prospective colleges and universities to learn about higher education opportunities.
Girl Scout Troop 118, based in Coral Gables, won the Golden Spoon Award at the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida's Iron Chef Competition earlier this month.
Girl Scout troops were required to create impressive dishes, outdoors, using green apple as a secret ingredient. Participants used various cooking methods, like foil packs, Dutch ovens, pie irons and box ovens to create the meals. The winner was chosen based on creativity, taste and presentation.
Troop 118's winning dish included chicken, potatoes, and applesauce. The adults from Troop 118 also competed and won the Golden Spoon in the adult competition for their meal, which included butternut squash rings, stuffed with green apple curry.
Local students recently learned how to design and build electric circuits during Dibia Dream's STEM Saturdays program, recently held at Samuel Johnson Youth Center.
Dibia is a sports training program that hosts camps in Miami, Bermuda and New Orleans. The founder, Brandon Okpalobi, created STEM Saturdays to promote logical and analytical thinking skills in at-risk children ages 7 to 16. The monthly program is free and open to the community.


There are millions of people who want to earn an excellent income with minimum effort from the comfort of their home. With the advent of the internet, home based job and business opportunities are increasing day by day. Though there are thousands of legitimate companies that offer real work at home jobs to people, there are chances of scammers.
Since working at home is attractive, false job offers are prevalent on the net. Some common work at home scams are noticeable, like envelope stuffing.
Work at home scams takes many forms. Most of the companies do not guarantee regular salaried employment for the home-based workers. They do not mention how many hours you would need to work without pay. Some others require you to spend money on instructions before getting the job. Some companies require paid training. Therefore work at home scams cost victims thousands of dollars and also valuable time.
1. If you need to provide personal information, avoid giving it to an unknown person or company. Provide personal information only to the company that you confirm is legitimate.
2. You can check the company by typing the name of the company in the search box of Better business Bureau. If there is any complaint about that company, avoid contact with it.
3. There is no easy road to wealth. Any job requires some effort to earn more income. Therefore beware of companies that promise to make you rich overnight, there is no such thing.
Reshipping Fraud is becoming an everyday work at home scam. This type of job, the home based worker needs to receive, repack and then mail the merchandise to a foreign address and promised a substantial amount of money. But the worker may not know that the merchandise paid for with stolen credit cards.
The home based worker would, therefore, become a part of receiving and mailing of stolen goods without their knowledge, with the employee told the funds will be paid on payday upon receipt of the merchandise, and it gets worst!
They are then told, their pay will be via cashier's check, but oddly it's for more owed. The worker is told to deposit the check and send the difference to the employer's overseas bank account. Eventually, the cashier's check bounces and owe their bank the amount of the full check.
If you want to select a legitimate work at home job, then do not accept any job offer that promises to provide high income for a part time job. Some companies would promise you get rich quick schemes. Remember only hard work and dedication can help you earn a good income from home.
If you are asked to pay for start-up kits, then do not send money to such companies. Legitimate companies do not charge anything to hire you. If you are not sure about the legitimacy of a company, then ask for references.
If the company is not willing to provide references, then beware!
One of the ways to cope with a recession is considering a career shift. Not too many likes the idea of changing career plans during a downturn. However, if you have already felt the effect of a recession — say you've been laid off, why not give a different career path a chance, right? It may not have quickly crossed your mind to prioritize job security when choosing a job. However, whether you are choosing your first job or making a switch, it can be helpful, particularly during our present economic situation. Indeed, no job is 100% secure. But some industries have workers feeling more confident that even if they get fired, the demand is so great that finding another job would be very easy.
There is a significant shortage of teachers. No matter how down the economy is, teachers will always be in-demand. Children will continue to go to school. Also, lots of unemployed adults may decide to further their education. Although teaching is not one of the highest-paid careers there is, making only about $30,000 to $45,000 a year, people will still settle for a job that does not earn more because they are tired of being unemployed for a long time. And this applies especially to those who would want to try something new anyway or those who despise the roller-coaster rid that a corporate life offers.
Job hunters with Information Technology background are said to be a good fit for the healthcare industry, particularly nursing, which is because Nursing is an information-driven career. And, it is one useful job during a recession because healthcare is an industry that does not usually get affected during these times.
Auditors are also usually unaffected by downturns. In a recession, individuals and firms are more probably doing their best to get more deductions. More people are monitoring their books, so the demand for auditors or accountants is much greater.
Energy consumers may cut back, but the consumption will not stop. The same with services, people, will still light their homes. So, jobs like maintenance and utility administration prove to be more stable than others during a recession.
As long as physicians prescribe drugs, people are still going to take them, means that if you are working as a pharmacist or as a quality assurance analyst in a pharmaceutical laboratory, you are in good hands.
Since the military is always hiring, particularly during wartime, during recession soldiers will not be that affected. Serving the military also means that you are covering most of your living expenses.
A recession does not stop crime. With the increase in layoffs, more people are considering robbing banks and doing other crimes. So, the need for security workers becomes greater.
The convenient truth is that the eco-friendly trend is not going anywhere, which that choosing a career in environment-care-related industries can be a good career choice.
Working for the government can be one of your best choices during this downturn. Many stable jobs can be found in the federal government. The government will not cease from functioning even during crisis.
With that variety of career choices, it will not be that difficult to find one that will save you from this economic situation.
Everyone responds to stress in different ways. Some of the changes in one's life can be the leading cause of one suffering from stress. There is an interactive tool that measures one's stress level according to the number of changes one has recently had. This score will give a rough estimate of one's current stress level. You will also be able to find out if you are out to experience other health related problems due to one experiencing stress in the next twelve to eighteen months, which has been known to help individual's suffering from stress to better prepare oneself for handling future outbreaks of stress.
If you experience short-term or acute stress, you find yourself being awakened during the night and finding yourself very irritable and quite edgy. One suffering from high levels of stress for longer periods of time may find they are more prone to having or developing serious health problems. High blood pressure is often related to stress. A little immune system can be brought on by stress, and cause your body not to be able to fight off infections or other diseases. Once you have encountered stress, you are bound to face depression, asthma or heart disease.
When using an interactive tool in measuring one's stress level, one may find that they could be experiencing low; mild; moderate, or high-stress levels. An individual suffering from moderate or high-stress levels, they are more prone to encountering other stress-related illnesses.
This interactive tool is only an estimate of one's stress level. Often the way an individual handles stress depends on several important factors. One's resiliency to cope with change is significant in changing one's lifestyle. This person needs all the support and love they can get from their family and friends. Many events can cause one to suffer from stress.
If you find that your stress level is high or moderate, one may want to consider trying to avoid situations that may cause an increasing amount of stress in one's life. It is important to learn how to handle the stress and suffering that one may already have.
The source of all stress for a career person's life is their workplace. The deadlines, paper works, irate clients and bosses, the details, and so on will all add up to give you the worst problems that you can experience in your entire life. These problems will all add up and will affect the productivity of your work and test your emotional, mental and physical health.
Stress management in your workplace involves a lot of factors, particularly in dealing with these little problems that tend to blow your mind off when put all together. Here are some tips that will help you out to keep your work from ruining your health, and your sanity.
The key to keeping a steady career is not let anthill of a problem into a mountain. If you keep attention to details, you can solve these problems one-by-one before they pile up. Try to get rid of the habit of postponing your problems for later since you won't know what will arrive on your desk tomorrow.
Irate and demanding clients can give you more problems than anything put together. Since your life and career revolves around them, you need to tread carefully on handling their problems. One tip in dealing with these people is to keep your cool while listening to their rants and raves. Don't let their anger affect you.
It is important to know your limits while working. Human isn't built to work 24 hours a day so its best if you keep a close eye on your body before it gets out of hand. Should work start to affect your thinking or when you start to get irritable, try to take some time off and listen to music or get a cup of coffee to help you relax.
If you have your cubicle at work, then it's advisable to customize it to make your workplace as comfortable as possible. A cushion on your chair to prop your back, a foot stool to help your legs relax, or even some pictures that will remind you of fun times to take your mind off your problems for a short period.
Some techniques like breathing exercises will help you keep your body rhythm relaxed. If you start to feel some aches and pains, then you better walk around or do a little stretching … loosen all those muscles first before proceeding with your workload.
Some massage techniques can help you relax and energize for work, while some can relieve you of your aches and pains so that you can proceed with your job without worries of annoying muscle cramps.
Stress management at your workplace will not only help your body cope with the problems at work but will also assist you in maintaining the productivity that your career needs.


text:
Editing 980: Money
{{comic | number = 980 | date = November 21, 2011 | title = Money | image = money.png | titletext = There, I showed you it. }} {{TOC}} {{Quote| I had a huge amount of fun putting the money chart together. It was the first time in a long time that my life's been stable enough that I've been able to really disappear into a project—I'd almost forgotten how enjoyable it can be.|[[Randall Munroe]]|[https://blog.xkcd.com/2011/11/24/money-chart/ Source]}} '''Note:''' Clicking on the image on xkcd (click the date above the comic to go to the comic on xkcd) takes you to an [http://xkcd.com/980/huge/ interactive] and '''much much''' larger image.
 On the interactive image there are two links:
 One takes you to the [http://xkcd.com/980/sources/ sources and downloads] page where a list of sources can be downloaded (DataDump.csv).
 Also the [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/money_huge.png full image] can be downloaded here (it is a PNG of considerable size: 12528x8352 pixels).
 This is one of the comics that can be [http://store.xkcd.com/products/money-poster bought as a poster] on xkcd and the other link takes you there. ==Explanation== This is a [[:Category:Charts|chart]] comic - a type of comic that [[Randall]] does from time to time. He has for instance done [[Online Communities|maps of the Internet]] ([[Online Communities 2|twice]]!) and other huge visualizations like this chart [[Radiation]] with a similar structure as this chart but with Radiation as the subject. The Radiation chart is most likely the inspiration for this much more comprehensive Money chart. In the chart there are five boxes with items on different scales of monetary value. Each scale of dollar increments are different colors. One dollar increments are green - naturally, because American paper money is green. Thousands are Orange/Red. Millions are gray. Billions are yellow. Trillions are blue. This comic uses {{w|Long and short scales|the short scale}} for naming large numbers (so a billion = 1000 millions = 109 rather than a million millions = 1012 as in continental Europe). Because the comic is so huge and complex the explanation has been split into several parts and also individual pages: :Below are [[#Tables with explanations|five tables]] with explanation for some of the items. :The [[#Transcript|transcript]] is (as is usually the case with huge comics) only given for the text that is visible on the picture shown here above.
 :However the '''[[980: Money/Transcript|full transcript]]''' for all the text in the [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/money_huge.png huge image] has also been completed. :Finally some [[980: Money/Prices in tables|tables with prices]] has been made (although they are not yet complete). In the Billions box there is a vague term called the "Economic Vortex" as well as arrows that flow between different blocks of this box. This is to show where the money goes. Where it is collected from, and where it is distributed to. Included in one frame is a small man with a red and white striped shirt, blue pants, a cane and a knit cap. He is known as Wally or Waldo (in the US) from the {{w|Where's Wally?|Where's Waldo books}}. To not give anything away for those who wish to search for him themselves there will be no spoiler here. But if someone needs a little help... Then by clicking this [[980: Money/Transcript#Billions|link]] you will be directed to the relevant section amongst the five sections where Waldo can be found. (The link will take you to that section of the full transcript page). If you still cannot find him (or give up in advance) then just search the transcript page for Wally or Waldo. The title text is a reference to the phrase "Show me the money!" which originates from the film ''{{w|Jerry Maguire}}''. ==Transcript== :[This transcript is only reproducing text visible on the [http://www.xkcd.com/980/ front page comic].] :[Title panel at the top left has one large heading, and then it is possible to read the first and third out of five lines (but not for instance the second line which is just the word "almost"):] :'''Money'''
 :A chart of
 :all of it
 :[Below this there are 5 large panels, each with a series of plots, comparing the values of various things. The only clearly visible text is the title of each panel written in white on black background at the top of each panel]
 :[The first section covers single coffees up to the hourly salaries of CEOs. It is located below the title panel and there are a lot of green groups marked by unreadable text.] :'''Dollars''' :[The next section discusses values from around $1000 to $1,000,000, including a dissection of the song If I had $1000000. It is located directly below the Dollars section and has mainly orange groups (but also some green) marked by unreadable text.] :'''Thousands''' :[The third section focuses on $1,000,000 to $1,000,000,000, with a large section on campaign contributions of American political presidential campaigns, values of expensive works of art, and J. K. Rowling. It is located to the right of the Thousands section below the Billions section and there are a lot of gray groups (but also some orange) marked by unreadable text.] :'''Millions''' :[The fourth section gets into larger scale finances, profits of various sectors, costs of natural disasters, and net worths of the richest people on the planet. Also, Donald Trump. It is located to the right of the Dollars section and above both the Millions and Trillions section and has mainly yellow groups (but also some gray and red) all marked by unreadable text. There are, however, a few large headings that can be read:] :'''Billions''' :Education :The Economic (...?) :US household income :Federal budget :[In the last panel global financial status is described. It discusses derivatives, liquid assets, public debt by nation and GDP by continent, culminating with the total economic production of the human race to date. It is located below the Billions section to the right of the Millions section and has mainly cyan groups (but also one yellow) all marked by unreadable text.] :'''Trillions''' :['''For the full transcript of the [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/money_huge.png huge image] see [[980: Money/Transcript]].'''] ==Trivia== *XKCD comics are usually posted at, or around, midnight Eastern time the day of the comic (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). This one was posted at about noon on Monday **The reason for this was that it was difficult to get it all finished in time, as was explained in the [[Blag]] post titled [http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/11/24/money-chart/ Money chart] released three days later. **This post also states that this was the first big project he undertook after his [http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/ fiancée was diagnosed] with breast [[:Category:Cancer|cancer]]. *Most of the amounts has a [http://xkcd.com/980/sources/ source at XKCDS]. In the dollars section there is an [[980: Money/Transcript#Important notes|important note]] that at every possible opportunity Randall used a scholarly work or government publication as a source. *A print version of this comic is available in the [https://store.xkcd.com/products/money-poster xkcd store]. *Randall misspelled "communication" as "communcation" in the section on campaign donations. *There is a [[xkcd_Header_text#Money|unique header text]] for this comic. ==Tables with explanations== ===Dollars=== {| class="wikitable" |+Dollars |- |Top-left |The price of various common bills and commodities. The One Dollar Menu is a type of menu at various fast food restaurants. The one dollar bill and ten dollar bill are likely used for reference points. A Starbucks coffee actually ranges in price from $1.95 to $2.15 depending on the location. |- |Middle-left |Pet Ownership. The {{w|ASPCA}} is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The most expensive animal on this list may seem surprising; rabbits cost an average of 35 dollars more than dogs and 70 dollars more than cats. |- |Bottom-right |Four boxes indicate that the CEO pay has skyrocketed from $490.31 (hourly) to $5,419.97 (hourly) in the same time period in which the average worker's salary has grown 10 cents. |} ===Thousands=== {| class="wikitable" |+Thousands |- |Top-right |Hogwarts degree: a reference to {{w|Hogwarts|Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy}} from the popular book series by {{w|J.K. Rowling}} about {{w|Harry Potter}}. One box is the estimated yearly tuition for the school and the next is how much seven years at the school would cost. To get a degree at the school, it takes 7 years (starting at age 11, ending at age 18). |- |Bottom |A reference to the song by {{w|Bare Naked Ladies}} entitled "{{w|If I Had $1000000}}" and all the things referenced in the song to buy the love of another person. |- |Bottom |A few items on the marriage of {{w|Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton|Kate Middleton and Prince William}}, the major royal wedding of 2011, including: *a {{w|Wedding dress of Kate Middleton|wedding dress with its own Wikipedia page}} of 3 times the annual per capita income of the average UK person, *an 8-tier [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381944/Royal-Wedding-cake-Kate-Middleton-requested-8-tiers-decorated-900-flowers.html wedding cake], *and the flowers for the wedding. These re-appear in the Millions section of the graph, where they also list the costs for the security around the event ($20 million). |} ===Millions=== {| class="wikitable" |+Millions |- |Left |Dr. Evil's ransom demands from the film "Austin Powers" corrected for inflation between 1969 and 1997. |- |Middle-right |Another reference to JK Rowling, comparing her (actual $1 billion) net worth as an author with her (imagined $82,000) net worth as a rapper. The magnified 82 orange/red ($1,000) boxes are footnoted "Professional assessment by rapper/geek culture expert MC Frontalot." {{w|MC Front-A-Lot}} is the creator of the subgenre of {{w|hip-hop}} known as {{w|Nerd Core}}. |- |Middle |An {{w|Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor|F-22 Raptor fighter jet}} (valued at $154.5M) is compared to a Velociraptor ($1.9M in production costs for the film Jurassic Park) |} ===Billions=== {| class="wikitable" |+Billions |- |Top-Left ((Fictional)Billionaires section) |{{w|Carlisle Cullen}} is from the {{w|Twilight (series)|Twilight Series}} of books and movies. He is a vampire and adoptive father of {{w|Edward Cullen|Edward}}, {{w|Emmett Cullen|Emmett}} and {{w|Alice Cullen (Twilight)|Alice Cullen}}, as well as {{w|Rosalie Hale|Rosalie}} and {{w|Jasper Hale}}. He was born in the 1640s and amassed his wealth through many years of compound interest and investments. |{{w|Scrooge McDuck}} is a cartoon character from many {{w|Disney}} properties including the afternoon cartoon, {{w|Duck Tales}}. Scrooge McDuck has a "money bin" full of coins and other sorts of collectibles that he routinely [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMU2NwaaXEA goes swimming in]. |{{w|Bruce Wayne}} is {{w|Batman}}. {{w|Batman}} is {{w|Bruce Wayne}}. He is portrayed in many comic books, graphic novels, TV shows and movies by many different actors. |{{w|Artemis Fowl II|Artemis Fowl}} is an Irish child prodigy and a ruthless master criminal from the {{w|Artemis Fowl (series)|eponymous book series}}. He uses his intelligence to build his family fortune through crime. |} ===Trillions=== {| class="wikitable" |+Trillions |- |As Randall already indicated in the transcript, this is the block for world, continent and nation finances. The numbers are really huge. There are no jokes in here (apart from the fact that Randall tried to make the shapes of the GDP look like the continent), likely because financial values this large aren't funny to start with. |- |GDP is {{w|Gross domestic product}}, the market value of all goods and services produced in a nation. *The major chart in the center shows the development of the GDP in the world since the 1940s. So far the US GDP has always grown, except for a small reduction in the early 1980s, a flat line around the 1991 global recession and a flat line in the second half of the naughts. The world-wide GDP is growing more rapidly, but is also much more volatile. |- |In the middle of the box, it shows the worth of all gold ever mined in 2011 prices. This is important because of the concept of the {{w|Gold standard}}, a concept where monetary values are linked to the value of gold. As indicated in the top-right of the box, both the EU and the USA have more debt than the total value of all gold in the world. |- |{{w|Derivative (finance)|Derivatives}} are a complex financial instrument where one is not trading in something tangible, but in derived values - like options. Derivatives thus are dangerous as one trades in concepts instead of values. Critics claim that derivatives are at the base of the 'economic bubble'. *The growth of the derivatives market size is incredible - more than doubling every four years. The derivatives market thus is much larger than the GDP of the entire world. *We get a reference to [http://landartgenerator.org/blagi/archives/127 a proposed project to power the world] by erecting massive solar farms out in the deserts. The area of Texas alone would be enough to match almost all of our modern power costs (though the people who live in Texas wouldn't enjoy being displaced). |} {{comic discussion}} [[Category:Comics with color]] [[Category:Large drawings]] [[Category:Charts]] [[Category:Velociraptors]] [[Category:Playpen balls]] [[Category:Star Wars]] [[Category:The Lion King]] [[Category:Harry Potter]] [[Category:Twilight]]  [[Category:Climate change]]  [[Category:Food]] [[Category:Wikipedia]] [[Category:Comics with xkcd store products]] [[Category:Nuclear weapons]] [[Category:Money]] [[Category:Comics featuring Donald Trump]] [[Category:Minecraft]] [[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]
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text:
Home Sports Hockey Tampa Bay Lightning keep Alex Killorn for seven more years at $31...
TAMPA, FL - APRIL 18: Alex Killorn #17 of the Tampa Bay Lightning stretches during the pregame warmups against the Detroit Red Wings before Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Amalie Arena on April 18, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)
Tampa Bay Lightning keep Alex Killorn for seven more years at $31 million
Jackie Warner
Rather than play the 'who blinks first' contract game, Alex Killorn and the Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to a lucrative seven-year contract.
Alex Killorn and the Lightning wanted to keep the team together, and Tampa Bay made sure he'd be part of its long-term future.
The Lightning on Sunday signed Killorn to a $31.15 million, seven-year contract to avoid arbitration and lock up another important player.
Earlier this offseason, Tampa Bay signed captain Steven Stamkos for eight years and $68 million, defenseman Victor Hedman for eight years and $63 million and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for three years and $10.5 million.
After a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and the Eastern Conference final in 2016, Killorn saw the Stamkos contract and the potential for more postseason success and wanted to keep the trend going.
"When you have your captain, the leader of your team, taking a pretty substantial discount, I think that sets a precedent for everyone else," Killorn said by phone. "For me, it wasn't just about money. I think the contract was a great contract, but living in Florida, playing on a team that has a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup every year is important."
Killorn, who turns 27 in September, will count $4.45 million against the salary cap through the 2022-23 season.
He has 53 goals and 85 assists for 138 points in 272 regular-season NHL games. In 47 Stanley Cup playoff games, he has 15 goals and 18 assists.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native's 33 playoff points are the fourth-most among Canadian-born players over the past three years. That total trails only Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks.
"I've been pretty fortunate because when you play on a team that does so well, obviously you're going to be put in those situations," Killorn said. "I think playoff hockey kind of suits my style."
Winning in the playoffs is what it's all about for the Lightning, who needed to keep Killorn's cap hit manageable with three other restricted free agents who need contracts: forwards Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Nikita Nesterov.
General manager Steve Yzerman said recently that negotiations with Kucherov's camp are ongoing, and Namestnikov's arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 29.
If Yzerman can get the other deals done while navigating the salary cap, the Lightning should be one of the favorites to win the Cup next season and for several more years after that.
"There's obviously still a couple guys that need to be signed, but it seems like most guys want to be here and want to be a part of this," Killorn said. "Everyone really believes in the management and what they're doing, so we're just excited for the future."
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Jackie Warner is the go-to person for all types of reviews at Movie TV Tech Geeks News. She's also the lucky one to get to head up the team that tests all of our Cool Stuff Tech and Toys for review.
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The Resident Tourist: Giants Win Super Bowl XLVI . . .
The entire city is out celebrating tonight. The commercials might have been lacking in luster, but the Giants's victory was everything New York could have asked for.
I'll most definitely be at the parade on Tuesday, so stay tuned.
Images from the Los Angeles Times.


Jabulani Sikhakhane is spokesperson for the South African National Treasury. He was previously editor in chief of Destiny Man, a men's magazine focusing on business and lifestyle. He has worked for the Financial Mail, Finance Week, Business Day, and Business Report. He is currently a political, economic, and business columnist for Business Day. Jabulani's career highlights include breaking the story for the Financial Mail about plans by South African Breweries (now SABMiller) to move its head office and primary listing from Johannesburg to London. He has written extensively on black economic empowerment (BEE), corporate governance, and other South African corporate developments. He has participated in the Insead Business Journalists Seminar and the United States-South Africa Leadership Exchange Program held by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Graves School of Morgan State University. Jabulani was a member of the Black Economic Empowerment Commission. He has won the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year Award in the business category, the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Southern Africa's Journalist of the Year Award, and the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals Journalist Award. He was awarded Harvard University's Nieman Fellowship in 2001. He is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.


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