A 25-year-old, Anambra born Chidinma Aaron, representing the South-East zone and a graduate of Business Administration from Lead City University, Ibadan, has emerged winner of the 42nd edition of the prestigious Miss Nigeria Beauty Pageant held at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotels &Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Chidinma emerged first, beating 17 other beautiful contestants to clinch the ultimate prize of N3 million, a luxury apartment and an automobile. While the duo of Chisom Dunu and Ameh Munirah emerged first and second runners-up respectively.
The event, which attracted the crème de crème of the society, kicked off the red carpet moment hosted by 2018 Big Brother contestant, Tobi Bakre.
Speaking on this year's edition of the pageant, chairman Folio Media group, Mr. Fidelis Anosike, stressed the need that the pageant had, over the years, improve and impact in the lives of its participants.
He said: "Yearly, the Miss Nigeria theme has remained empowering women beyond beauty as organisers seek to consider applicants beyond their physical look alone but their intellect which matters a lot'.
Speaking further on this year's edition, Miss Nigeria 1979, Helen Priest, noted that in selecting the ultimate winner six core target would be crucial which includes education, environment, arts and culture, health, financial management and technology.
Hosted by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Kaylah Oniwo, this year's edition recorded a massive turnout of over a thousand applicants with 40 contestants making it to Lagos for auditions which entailed coming up with a campaign against child molestation, a stride no other beauty pageant has recorded.
However, one of the unique features of this year's edition was the fact that, unlike other pageants that had 36 contestants battling for the ultimate prize, the Miss Nigeria organisers made a final selection of 18 contestants drawn from the six geopolitical zones with three contestants representing each zones.
The event saw contestants showcasing their Nigerian traditional attires and evening wear as designed by Maryam Elisha, CEO, Rikaotobyme.
12 contestants made it the question and answer stage asked by the audience. The audience was also thrilled by musical performances by Dede Mabiaku, Johnny Drille, comedian Bovi amongst others.
Recalling her moment at the past queen and 41st Miss Nigeria, Mildred Ehiguese advised the new queen to be hardworking and represent the brand well as it has become an eye-opener toward achieving her core aim as a queen.


Usually A320. Save A15 until April 30.
Terra Sancta means special place - our goal to capture the essence of our privileged part of the world in each Terra Sancta wine. With four vineyards and a winery based in the premium Central Otago subregion of Bannockburn, our soul is the Terra Sancta Estate on Felton Road - the oldest vineyard in the sub-region, originating in 1991.
Every wine is consistently linked to a particular part of Terra Sancta and like our unique labels, crafted to convey a story of provenance. "From Jackson's Block vines planted in 1995, the 2015 vintage of Jackson's Block Pinot Noir is the first Single Block release made under the guidance of Terra Sancta's consultant viticulturist François Millet, esteemed winemaker from Burgundy's famous Domaine Comte George de Vogüé founded in 1450.
In line with Terra Sancta's philosophy of minimal intervention and gentle handling in the winery, this vintage of Jackson's Block expresses the elegance, concentration and purity of the fruit on this small block of vines, with the perfumes and palate exhibiting classic Jackson's Block typicity of thyme and red berries. This wine, like the best Burgundies, will improve for a number of years.


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Tag Archive for: Civil Rights Act of 1964
Three Things: SCOTUS on LGBTQ+ Discrimination, Qualified Immunity, Gun Rights
June 15, 2020 /59 Comments/in Culture, Guns, SCOTUS /by Rayne
Very big SCOTUS day today. Huge — and that's in spite of the court declining to hear cases on multiple issues.
~ 3 ~
In BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY, GEORGIA and two other cases, the Supreme Court ruled in 6-3 decision that firing an employee for being gay or transgender violates the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Title VII (42 USC § 2000e-2 [Section 703]) reads,
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer –
(1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
Dissenters were Justices Kavanaugh, Thomas, and Alito; Alito filed a dissenting opinion which Thomas joined. Kavanaugh also filed a dissenting opinion.
Overview of the three cases from Human Rights Watch:
In R.G. & G.R. HARRIS FUNERAL HOMES v. EEOC and AIMEE STEPHENS, Aimee Stephens worked as a funeral director at R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes. When she informed the funeral home's owner that she is transgender and planned to come to work as the woman she is, the business owner fired her, saying it would be "unacceptable" for her to appear and behave as a woman. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in March 2018 that when the funeral home fired her for being transgender and departing from sex stereotypes, it violated Title VII, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in employment.
In ALTITUDE EXPRESS INC. v. ZARDA, Donald Zarda, a skydiving instructor, was fired from his job because of his sexual orientation. A federal trial court rejected his discrimination claim, saying that the Civil Rights Act does not protect him from losing his job because of his sexual orientation. In February 2018, the full Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of discrimination based on sex that is prohibited under Title VII. The court recognized that when a lesbian, gay or bisexual person is treated differently because of discomfort or disapproval that they are attracted to people of the same sex, that's discrimination based on sex.
In BOSTOCK v. CLAYTON COUNTY, Gerald Lynn Bostock was fired from his job as a county child welfare services coordinator when his employer learned he is gay. In May 2018, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider a 1979 decision wrongly excluding sexual orientation discrimination from coverage under Title VII's ban on sex discrimination and denied his appeal.
The dissent weighed in at more than 140 pages out of the entire 177 page syllabus and decision handed down by SCOTUS today.
The first sentence of the dissent:
There is only one word for what the Court has done today: legislation. The document that the Court releases is in the form of a judicial opinion interpreting a statute, but that is deceptive.
Right-wing ideologues are in a furor over Justice Gorsuch's delivery of the opinion. They must have had absolute faith in Gorsuch to be so incredibly outraged that his interpretation didn't sustain bigotry. He wrote,
An employer who fired an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids. Those who adopted the Civil Rights Act might not have anticipated their work would lead to this particular result. But the limits of the drafters' imagination supply no reason to ignore the law's demands. Only the written word is the law, and all persons are entitled to its benefit.
Today's decision doesn't end all discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons, only employers defined by Title VII. There is still a need for more legislation to ensure all persons in this country may rely on the same rights in housing, credit, property ownership and more. The House passed the Equality Act in May 2019 to address these shortcomings; the bill is now languishing on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's desk in spite of support for the bill from 70 percent of Americans.
Our work is not done. We still need Congress to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in public accommodations, federal programs, and more.
Congress must pass the Equality Act NOW.https://t.co/4npFEvKwMM
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 15, 2020
Steve Silberman noted a trait shared by two of the three dissenting jurists:
Let history record that two of the SCOTUS justices who championed discrimination against LGBTQ people this morning are alleged sexual harrassers of women. You'd almost think there's some connection between oppression of women and oppression of gays. https://t.co/vUxiP4T79m
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 15, 2020
One of the most passionately angry voices today:
Justice Scalia would be disappointed that his successor has bungled textualism so badly today, for the sake of appealing to college campuses and editorial boards.
This was not judging, this was legislating—a brute force attack on our constitutional system. (1/x)
— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) June 15, 2020
"Bungled textualism." ~chuckling~
The SCOTUS declined to hear cases seeking reexamination of the doctrine of "qualified immunity." Thomas was the lone jurist who wanted to hear cases; in a six-page dissent he wrote, "qualified immunity doctrine appears to stray from the statutory text."
There will be greater pressure on lawmakers to address qualified immunity in legislation.
Opinion piece about qualified immunity:
Powerful, excellent piece by 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jim Wynn on why qualified immunity must be fixed. He's sending up a flare. SCOTUS should listen. (The #JusticeInPolicingAct also includes a provision that would change qualified immunity). https://t.co/1LfB9qrcqW
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) June 12, 2020
Rep. Ayana Pressley on qualified immunity:
Today, #SCOTUS announced that it will NOT review the unjust doctrine of qualified immunity. It's critical that Congress pass my bill with @justinamash to #EndQualifiedImmunity. https://t.co/ZUlUZQxBVf
— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) June 15, 2020
The SCOTUS declined to hear multiple Second Amendment cases after it avoided addressing New York City's regulation of guns back in April because the city repeal of the restriction render the case moot.
Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh dissented, wanting to hear a case related to New Jersey's regulation of concealed carry guns.
There's actually four things today — SCOTUS also declined to hear the Trump administration's petition regarding California's SB 54 which prevents the state's law enforcement resources from being deployed to aid federal immigration enforcement. Alito and Thomas dissented, wanting to take up the matter; surprisingly, Kavanaugh voted with Roberts and Gorsuch to decline.
We are still waiting for a decision on Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA), which could cost the U.S. as many as 27,000 health care workers at the worst time possible if SCOTUS finds DACA unconstitutional.
This is an open thread.
https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Justice_Mindgutter_1500pxw.jpg 1124 1500 Rayne https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Logo-Web.png Rayne2020-06-15 20:10:372020-06-15 20:10:37Three Things: SCOTUS on LGBTQ+ Discrimination, Qualified Immunity, Gun Rights
harpie on Crowdsourced Timeline: Tick-Tock to Insurrection and Beyond [UPDATE-3]
Jenny on Peter Strzok Subpoenas Trump's Soccer Ball from Putin
Jim White@JimWhiteGNVHey, @GOPLeader talk to @SenatorCollins. She can provide expert advice on proper shows of concern and even "tut-tut… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…12 minutes ago27 January 2021
emptywheel@emptywheelAs noted, the key question is whether McCarthy strips her of her committee assignments. Hard to see how support for… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…12 minutes ago27 January 2021
Jim White@JimWhiteGNVRT @jmcin9: As some counties develop plans to use churches & other resources to vaccinate disadvantaged areas, @GovRonDeSantis is literally…18 minutes ago27 January 2021
bmaz@bmazRT @EJDionne: Moderates who won't take on the filibuster "should prepare for when the...public decides it would rather have the party that…3 hours ago27 January 2021
Ed Walker 🍞🌹@MasaccioEWRT @maxasteele: I mean once you shrug off the murder of 20 first graders in Sandy Hook it really isn't much more of a leap for the Senate G…8 hours ago27 January 2021
Jim White@JimWhiteGNVImportant thread twitter.com/DavidNeiwert/s…11 hours ago27 January 2021
bmaz@bmazRT @AoDespair: Merrick Garland says to fuck yourself in the ass with a Texas postholer. Or he would if he had me as an interpreter. https:/…12 hours ago27 January 2021
bmaz@bmazRT @AriBerman: Truly maddening to hear Mitch McConnell warn of "nightmare" if Dems abolish filibuster when he already killed it to put 3 Tr…12 hours ago27 January 2021
Jim White@JimWhiteGNVI fully endorse this message. twitter.com/Lesdoggg/statu…12 hours ago27 January 2021
Ed Walker 🍞🌹@MasaccioEWRepub senators only represent the mob they created of QQQrazies, 3% thugs, Proud Boy Incels and other freaks. That'… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…13 hours ago27 January 2021

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Huell is on a special quest as he searches for the Tree Circus.
Set within 600 acres of rural countryside in Gilroy, California, Bonfante Gardens Family Theme Park combines beautiful gardens, amusement rides and a little bit of history to create a unique attraction. Bonfante Gardens is home to the last remaining trees created by an extraordinary man who literally wove Sycamores, Box Elders, Ash and Spanish Cork trees into works of art.


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Thailand Live Saturday 23 Nov 2019
THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Saturday 23 Nov 2019
By rooster59, November 22, 2019 in Thailand News
rooster59 10,180
UK Labour Leader Corbyn: I would stay neutral in a second Brexit referendum
William James, Michael Holden
LONDON (Reuters) - The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Friday he would remain neutral in any second Brexit referendum, so he could credibly carry out the result of the vote and unite the country.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135411-uk-labour-leader-corbyn-i-would-stay-neutral-in-a-second-brexit-referendum/
Public hearing reveals 75 per cent are against 3 chemicals ban
Suriya Juangroongruangkit
The ban on 3 agrochemical substances namely Paraquat, Chlorpyrifos and Glyphosate as passed by the Hazardous Substance Committee's resolution on October 22 will come into full effect on December 1, according to the order of Department of Agriculture (DOA) announced in government gazette on November 18. The order also states that come next month, anyone who has any of the substances in his/her possession must inform the DOA within 15 days.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135413-public-hearing-reveals-75-per-cent-are-against-3-chemicals-ban/
Traditional ways, sustainable tourism
The Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) has prepared three special routes and activities in Pattaya and the surrounding area to present to participants of the Pata Destination Marketing Forum 2019 , which it is hosting on November 28–29.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135418-traditional-ways-sustainable-tourism/
Family-Owned Thai Restaurant in Texas Gets Racist 'Speak English' Note From Customer
A Thai restaurant located in Lubbock, Texas received a disturbing anonymous message on Thursday, demanding that the restaurant's employees "learn to speak English."
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135419-family-owned-thai-restaurant-in-texas-gets-racist-'speak-english'-note-from-customer/
Srisuwan asks ECT to accelerate investigation of Thanathorn case
Vice President and Secretary General of the Society for Defence of the Thai Constitutions, Srisuwan Chanya (Centre) Photo Credit: Wanchai Kraisornkhajit
Vice President and Secretary General of the Society for Defence of the Thai Constitutions, Srisuwan Chanya visited the Office of the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) on Friday (November 22) to submit a letter asking that Commission speed up the investigation into the case of Future Forward Party leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135422-srisuwan-asks-ect-to-accelerate-investigation-of-thanathorn-case/
Singer Iggy Azalea reports jewelry worth $366,000 stolen in burglary
Australian singer Iggy Azalea and British singer Alice Chater perform during the International Music Award ceremony in Berlin, Germany, November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/Pool
(Reuters) - "Fancy" singer Iggy Azalea and her rapper boyfriend Playboi Carti reported a burglar stole over $366,000 in jewelry from their Atlanta home, police said on Friday.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135467-singer-iggy-azalea-reports-jewelry-worth-366000-stolen-in-burglary/
KAPOW! Original Batman and Robin costumes to go under the hammer
By Jill Serjeant
Batman and Robin outfits, which are described as the only known complete costumes worn on the 1960s television show, are seen in an undated combination photo before going up for auction in Los Angeles, California, U.S. Courtesy of the Azarian Collection/Profiles in History/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) - A pair of Batman and Robin outfits, described as the only known complete costumes worn on the 1960s television show, is going up for auction in Los Angeles and the owner is determined that his childhood comic book heroes stay together.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135468-kapow-original-batman-and-robin-costumes-to-go-under-the-hammer/
Marking 40 years, Simple Minds say touring 'keeps us going'
By Vin Shahrestani
FILE PHOTO: Jim Kerr of Simple Minds performs the theme song "Dont You Forget About Me" as a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the film "The Breakfast Club" at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada May 17, 2015. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Forty years since releasing their debut album, Scottish rock band Simple Minds have no plans to slow down just yet, saying life on the road is "the thing that keeps us going" as they embark on a world tour next year.
Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135470-marking-40-years-simple-minds-say-touring-keeps-us-going/
To continue:
Thailand Live Sunday 24 Nov 2019
https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1135494-thailand-live-sunday-24-nov-2019/


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Akhara Parishad to refrain from any demands for Kumbh Mela in Haridwar after glacier burst
Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Chamoli Glacier Burst, Kumbh Mela, Uttarakhand Glacier Burst
LUCKNOW: The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) has decided it will not keep any demands before the Uttarakhand government during the upcoming Kumbh Mela at Haridwar regarding arrangements during the festival after glacier burst in the neighbouring state triggering floods on Sunday.
A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at least seven people dead and 125 missing who are feared dead.
The ABAP will also hold a puja (worship ritual) so that a disaster of such magnitude does not repeat in Uttarakhand and there is minimum loss of lives in this disaster.
Speaking to PTI, Mahant Narendra Giri who heads the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad said, "The first bathing day in the Haridwar Kumbh is on March 11. At the time of this disaster, we are with the (Uttarakhand) government. We will not keep any demand before the government during the Kumbh at Haridwar, which may pose a problem for them. At this hour of grief and adverse circumstances, we are with the government." Giri also said, "We will organise a puja so that a disaster of such magnitude does not repeat in Uttarakhand, and there is minimum loss of lives in this disaster."
Vrindavan-based religious preacher Rasik Bihari Vibhuji Maharaj, who is holding a programme in Lucknow from February 17 to 24, claimed, "This was pre-decided as per the planetary positions. There has been tampering with the environment as well, which led to this."
Meanwhile, Ashutosh Varshney, a trustee of Ram Sewa Trust told PTI, "A havan programme is being organised, so that lives of people (trapped in the disaster) could be saved, and there could be freedom from all sorts of obstructions. The havan is being held at Sangam area of the city."
Uttarakhand glacier burst: Scientists leave for Joshimath for surveillance, reconnaissance
RPF rescued over 3600 minor children from trains and stations in last five years


The stock market is also called "equity markets."
This is a place where company stocks/ shares/ derivatives etc. are bought and sold.
Stock markets are also called stock exchanges, like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
3) UK: London stock exchange (LSE). It is the largest in the world.
Nowadays a lot of trading (buying and selling) in these markets are done electronically.
The participants in these stock exchanges range from people (individuals), banks, hedge fund traders, and international traders, small and large companies etc.
We also have the old world system of physically trading stocks using the "open outcry" method.
Here the traders are physically in the stock exchange floor and take bid/ask offers from buyers/ sellers simultaneously and execute the transaction then and there.
But electronic auction bidding and selling is increasing in importance and volume by the day.
Stock trades done the old fashioned way or the modern electronic way, is basically an auction where the buyer and seller agree on price and quantity, and once they do, the transaction is completed.
The stock market could be a real physical entity (like the NYSE building) or an electronic (virtual) entity like NASDAQ.
The transactions are all done in real time.
Only the stocks listed in an exchange can be traded there.
Today's electronic trading facility has dramatically reduced the transaction fees.
Today the importance of institutional players like mutual fund companies, Index funds, Insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, large banks etc. are increasing in importance.
Large established companies can raise huge funds quickly through the stock market.
Thus the stock markets provide a major source of liquid assets for firms.
If a company is doing well and the future looks good, then demand for its shares will be high and it will fetch higher prices.
Stock markets or stock exchanges act as a clearing house for all of these kinds of transactions.
Over time the stock markets have taken over the role of the bank as the major source of investment funds.
Another change also has taken place.
People also have moved from bank savings as their major source of their retirement pot to stocks.
The percentage of bank savings has been going down, while stock investments have been increasing over time.
But we need to also be aware that bank savings and investment in bonds etc. are very low risk, as opposed to playing in stocks which are higher risk but also possibly carry higher returns.
History shows us that stock market returns over the long term has beaten any other equivalent form of investment, time and again.
Good times in the stock market with high returns and flourishing business is called a bull market, while pessimistic futures and poor market performance is called a bear market.
Since the stock market is too large in volume, speed and coverage to be controlled by one or a group of people, it is closest to the definition of an "efficient market,"where no one can make above average profits or super normal profits consistently in the long run using publicly available information.
Trading using "non-publicly available" information is called "insider trading" and is illegal, with severe penalties.
Sometimes prices in the stock markets move too much (relative to what it should based on economic fundamentals and rational player perception), but such events are the exception, not the norm.
In the long run, the stock market prices do tend to converge to the equilibrium long run average prices.
Sometimes irrational behavior (too much exuberance/enthusiasm) or its reverse (fear, panic, mass hysteria and herd behavior), may result in upward or downward bandwagon effects, causing the market to shift out of equilibrium.
But over time, cooler heads do prevail and things converge back to normal.
A dramatic drop in stock prices is a crash as happened in 1987 or again on 2008.
The worst example of a recorded crash is the 1929 market crash.
Over time as things have improved, the stock market has come back to equilibrium, every time.
Nowadays to stop too much hysteresis and panic from affecting the market, we have electronic checks and balances in the form of "breakers" in place.
1) If there is a 10% drop, trading is halted for 1 hour.
2) If there is a 20% drop, trading is halted for 2 hours.
3) If there is a 30% drop, trading is closed for the rest of the trading day.
This was done to reduce the negative consequences of panics on the broader markets.


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So if you seeking great place for relaxation, try this place is an excellent break to a appropriate pleasant resort in Lucena City, Quezon.
Planning and seeking the direction on how to get there in Diamond resort and hotel in Lucena City is very accessible either you have your own car or commute. Just follow the guide map posted below.


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Membership giant overhauls their ecommerce experience
When Walmart decided to bring new life to their Sam's Club online experience, they needed more than just a simple refresh. From top to bottom, they needed a complete rebuild of their ecommerce user experience and technology. Working with our team at Bitovi, the Sam's team built a modern ecommerce application on a responsive design framework that would look great on any device, from phones to desktop computers.
During our initial discussions about the challenges the Sam's team faced, we knew that this was more than a simple ecommerce optimization. The business requirements and specific use cases of members required that we focus our efforts.
Together, we identified several key areas:
Mobile conversion - compared to other mobile platforms, the Sam's mobile site suffered from unusually low conversion that had to be improved.
Team duplication - separate teams managed iOS, Android, desktop, tablet, and mobile web apps with separate tech stacks, often without design or feature parity.
Performance - we needed a modern, single-page front-end with better between-page performance, but without sacrificing SEO.
A Month of Discovery
Having worked with Walmart's mobile team before, we were a perfect fit to help the Sam's team solve both their design and technical challenges. Under the leadership of a new CEO, Sam's Club hired Bitovi to spend one month building a proof-of-concept single-page ecommerce application that was designed responsively to scale for every device from large computers to smartphones.
During that month, two developers built the first version of what would become server side rendering (SSR) support in DoneJS before anything similar existed in the JavaScript community. The technical goal was to support loading the same application from the NodeJS server that would be running on the client, without any code modifications.
This was accomplished using a counter that tracked the number of open asynchronous actions.
Meanwhile, our UX Director, Tom Greever, collected data from many sources (analytics, A/B test results, user studies, and heuristic evaluations) to create a vision for making a responsive app that would drive up conversion and excite customers.
At the end of the month, our team presented our findings to executives, engineering leads, and the design team.
Not only had we solved for all of the outstanding questions, but we deployed a real, working application to demonstrate our solutions using responsive design, progressive loading, and server side rendering.
They liked what they saw and gave us the go-ahead to move forward with our proposal.
Building the Future of Sam's Club Online
At the conclusion of our discovery phase, we took everything we learned and began immediately applying it to build out the future of Sam's Club online.
The task of rebuilding an exceedingly profitable ecommerce hub is a large and risky task. We took steps to try to balance introducing positive changes incrementally, without risking major changes that could affect an established business.
Progressive Enhancement
Because of the large number of teams and people involved (and because we wanted to get something into production sooner than later), we agreed to divide the initiative into separate phases, each of which could be designed, built, and deployed alongside the existing sites.
This more agile approach would allow us to frequently improve the Sam's properties over time - and reap the benefits sooner - rather than wait months and deploy an entire application at once (like a waterfall-style approach).
Agile BG DESIGN TEAM DEV TEAM RESEARCH CLUB FINDER HEADER & NAVIGATION PROTOTYPING HOMEPAGE BOOTSTRAP APP SEARCH RESULTS CLUB FINDER CATEGORY HEADER & NAVIGATION PRODUCT DETAILS HOME PAGE SHOCKING VALUES SEARCH RESULTS CLUB INSIDER CATEGORY PRODUCT DETAILS SHOCKING VALUES CLUB INSIDER
This meant running the old and new sites side-by-side, which also meant shared sessions between the different parts of the site. To minimize risk, we began with the store finder utility, a low impact part of the site that would allow us to validate this architecture without any conversion impact.
Improving UX, Minimizing Impact
Despite the fact that this was a re-design of the Sam's Club experience, our phased approach to deploying changes meant we had to find a balance between improving the overall experience and not creating a drastic new look that would confuse Sam's members.
Complicating things further, all three platforms (desktop, mobile web, and native mobile apps) each had slightly different designs and patterns.
Our task was to balance the need for improving conversion rates while bringing the platforms together, and yet not make drastic design changes. Our final designs ended up favoring the native apps, while also including known elements from the desktop site to make for a smooth transition down the road.
The original suite of Sam's applications all had slightly different looks.
We took every possible opportunity to improve performance. Studies suggest that even minor performance gains lead to substantial improvements in conversion. Simply converting Sam's from a traditional web experience to a single page app led to immediate performance gains, as transitions between steps no longer required a full page reload.
Progressive Loading
We made additional performance improvements by building parts of the app into optimized bundles, which were loaded progressively, as needed. To accomplish this, we used StealJS's progressive loading feature, which automatically optimizes bundles at build-time to balance shared dependency reuse between "pages".
Instant Category Browsing
Not everything we did to improve performance was complicated.
One very simple technique we implemented was caching the entire list of categories and subcategories for every product on the client. We discovered that one of the biggest complaints among users was that the page paused to load new data every time they chose a new category. By caching the entire list, navigating the multiple levels of the Sam's catalog was instantaneous.
UX Improvements
One of the keys to improving conversion is reducing confusion. Here are a few examples where our design team studied user behavior and recommended subtle changes that led to big improvements.
Menu Usability
Even though we had a lot of data to understand how people used the site, we still needed to test our assumptions about the changes we were making to be certain that it would be easier for people to use.
One critical question we asked was: what is the best way to describe the menu for browsing the categories of products? The words "Browse", "Shop" and "Categories" were all options, as well as icons. To find out, we ran a series of unmoderated usability tests with variations of our prototype.
We discovered the words Browse and Shop were only obvious to people about half the time, while icons like the hamburger and down-pointing arrow were nearly meaningless. The winner in our tests was the word "Categories" - which was nearly always the most obvious choice for people looking to browse products.
Add to Cart Interaction
Another one of our goals was to increase the add-to-cart-rate. This interaction was complicated by the Sam's business model in which products can have a separate online and in-store price.
Despite these constraints, our design team created a unique interaction that simplified adding to cart and reduced the number of clicks.
Users add items to their carts with a single tap, while changing quantities, managing add-ons (like protection plans), or removing the items in subsequent interactions.
Smart Search Suggestions
While analyzing search data, our team discovered that people were using the product search bar to search for terms that weren't products - such as "membership" or "credit card". Because the search engine wasn't a 'site search' feature, they would get a "product not found" page.
Since refactoring the search engine wasn't in scope, we needed a simple way to help users find what they needed without re-writing the API. Our solution was to "intercept" these users with a banner at the top of the search results page which recommended an appropriate page or category.
We aim to leave every project in a great position to succeed without us.
The Open Source Insurance Policy
While we've worked with every modern JavaScript framework, one of the benefits of partnering with Bitovi is the ability to tap into the core open source team behind the tools that we develop - CanJS, DoneJS, and StealJS.
Having direct access to the team that makes the tools means reduced project risk because we can fix bugs that arise or add features needed for the project. This just isn't possible with frameworks like Angular (owned by Google) or React (Facebook).
A great example of this happened during the Sam's project. During the regular course of our work, one of the Sam's developers discovered a bug. With other open source frameworks, it might take hours to confirm the bug is within the framework as well as days (or even weeks!) to research workarounds or a fix.
On Sam's, we were able to bring in one of our open source developers immediately - via comments on the Sam's Github repo.
Within a couple of hours, the bug had been fixed in the framework and Sam's was upgraded to the new version. This level of ownership is what makes our app development process so effective.
As we built this foundational platform for Sam's, we also worked closely with their management to hire and train a team to own the product long-term. Our goal was never to build an app and drop it off on their doorstep, but to build a product that they could maintain long-term with or without us.
Over a period of six months, we scaled back our team while the Sam's management team hired our replacements, making for a smooth transition into long-term ownership.
What we delivered was a modern, single-page ecommerce platform that could be deployed across any device from large desktops to mobile web and even packaged for native iOS and Android apps. Our improvements to the UX and technical performance resulted in a significant increase in conversion.
Today, Sam's Club is in better shape than ever to tackle the challenges of major retail online and they have a scalable, modular platform with which to build upon. We are honored to have been part of the Sam's Club team.
Can we help you make an amazing app too?
Contact us and let's create something amazing.


Summit Christian Academy is excited to continue its partnership in ministry with local homeschool families. At SCA, we believe that God has given parents the responsibility of providing their children with a Bible-based education. For some families, that means sending their children to a school like SCA. For others, God has called and equipped parents to homeschool. We never want to view different callings as being in competition with each other. We believe we are partners in educating our children.
This fall, SCA will be offering courses that are designed to meet the needs of homeschool families.
There is a $50 application fee per student that must be submitted before the application is considered complete.
Meets once each week and includes a one-week missions ministry trip to South America.
Four key components to godly living which are critical to being a successful child of God will be discussed. This course is a prerequisite for the missions ministry trip.
This course will help a student to develop a philosophy and strategy of godly living that will guide him or her for a lifetime.
Designed to enable the student to communicate clearly and effectively in written and spoken word.
This course provides a foundational overview of various business functions such as management, ethics, leadership, and motivation.
This course is an introduction to the field of psychology as a discipline concerned with the study of behavior and cognitive processes.
This course provides a foundational overview of the human body, with emphasis on nutritional and metabolic systems, as well as surrounding systems.
This course provides the student with an understanding of algebraic expressions and solving equations.
This course focuses on developing reasoning skills through advanced algebraic concepts, solving algebraic functions, and graphing solutions.
This course enables the student to study various visual elements of art, the creative process, color, digital image capture, and editing.
Meets through the year with classes offered for specific grade levels.
This course guides the student in an examination of the creationist view of the Earth's history. Scientific philosophies and models, meteorology, geology, and oceanography are studied.
© 2018 Summit Christian Academy. All rights reserved.


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#60sScoop survivors: birth records 'mysteriously' lost or destroyed
This is amazing series of stories! Stay tuned!
'I was told I don't exist,': survivors search for paper trail to their past
Donna Carreiro · CBC News
Sixties scoop survivor Lori O'Cheek was told her adoption records were destroyed in a fire. (Donna Carreiro (CBC))
When Lori Ann O'Cheek went to search for her birth records, she was told her files burned in a fire. When Carla Williams asked a different agency for her birth records, she too was told they burned in a fire. Likewise Trevor Bass. Likewise Jessica Sear.
Wayne Snellgrove, on the other hand, was not told his birth records were destroyed. He was told there were none to begin with.
"I got a very nice letter from Vital Statistics telling me I don't exist," Snellgrove said. "I am nowhere to be found."
Different survivors dealing with different agencies from across Canada facing similar barriers to access their past.
Carla Williams (left) leans on her daughter for support as she recalls the abuse in her adoptive home. (Donna Carreiro (CBC))
It is a yet another twist in the evolving legacy of the Sixties Scoop. Survivors, pulled from their Indigenous homes and adopted by white families around the world, now search for their birth and treaty records only to be told they cannot be found.
"There was no record of my adoption, no record of the adoption agency," Lori Ann O'Cheek said. "I just kept getting answers that the agency burned down and that's it."
Carla Williams was told the same thing. She didn't believe it.
"A fire that I don't believe ever happened, that [the child welfare agency] couldn't confirm at all," she said.
Survivors and critics say it is another example of forced assimilation and the federal government's effort to erase their Indigenous identities.
"If we grow up not knowing we're Indigenous and we're entitled to the land and treaties and status, then they don't have to honour those treaties," said Colleen Cardinal, a Sixties Scoop survivor, author and advocate. "They don't have to resource or revenue share."
That's why so many survivors can't find their way home, she said.
"There are so many Indigenous adoptees out there that have no idea what their rights are," Cardinal said. "That they are connected to the land and to status and to treaties."
Lori Ann O'Cheek was a toddler in Camperville, Man, when her mother began to warn her about strangers in the town.
The Sixties Scoop explained 1:12
"She used to warn us if a strange car came onto the reserve, to run as fast as we could," O'Cheek said. "Because kids went missing all the time."
Sure enough, child welfare officials drove up and knocked on their door. Some of her siblings escaped. She did not.
"I tried to run away but I was too young to flee," she said.
She was adopted to a family who moved to Vermont, and she spent the next several years trying to come home.
"I was always running away, just to find somebody I belonged to," she said, adding she was eventually placed in foster care.
Once she found her birth family, she returned to Canada.
To this day, her birth certificate lists her adoptive parents as her parents. Her original birth certificate remains "mysteriously" non-existent.
Former MLA calls for national inquiry
Eric Robinson is a former NDP MLA and was Manitoba's former Aboriginal and northern affairs minister. He said he's "disappointed but not surprised" to hear some survivors can't access their birth records.
"I've heard stories like this for years," he told the CBC. "It's a further violation of these people."
Robinson noted that in 2014, the province attempted to improve access to archived adoption records from before 1999.
But that doesn't help survivors born in other provinces.
"That's why I have long been calling for a national inquiry into the Sixties Scoop," he said. "We need a proper investigation and we need answers."
Manitoba Sixties Scoop apology moves Indigenous families to tears
Labels: #60s Scoop, destroyed records, First Nations adoptee, missing documents, Split Feathers, stolen generations
Shannon Lawrence October 5, 2016 at 3:03 PM
This is such an injustice after everything they've gone through. I hope they pursue the national inquiry. This needs to be looked into. People deserve to know where they came from, and to get what is due them.
LT October 5, 2016 at 6:15 PM
Canada leads on this - with a truth and reconciliation commission and now an adoptee class action lawsuit, Shannon. I hope the US is not far behind of stopping this insanity.
GOOD WIN: #ICWA
The Adoption of Frances T #CANADA #60sScoop
#BabyV Case analysis: A tension as old as the country
The untold story of "Bean" Swain and Roderick Tayp...
Facebook event poster leads to reunion for #60sSco...
Tribal Court Judges and Montana Judges Connect #ICWA
Stephanie Woodard: The Police Killings Noone is Ta...
Lost Children Book Series #60sScoop
Called Home: The RoadMap
President Obama Signs Bill For Native Children Com...
Dennis Banks: They Wanted to Destroy Our Identity
Standing with Standing Rock
Indian Child Welfare Act Trailer
Wahkohtowin: Cree Natural Law
Cree Nation Welcomes Bill on Customary Adoption
#60sScoop survivors: birth records 'mysteriously' ...
What needs to be happening?


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When your psychic reading shows signs that there may be problems in your future, it is important that the psychic tells you those indications openly and clearly. This provides you with information on potential pitfalls that may await you on a particular path. Knowing the possible obstacles before you begin can make a significant difference in your ability to create future happiness in both business and personal arenas.
Today "demonstration of mediumship" is part of the church service at all churches affiliated with the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC) and the Spiritualists' National Union (SNU). Demonstration links to NSAC's Declaration of Principal #9. "We affirm that the precepts of Prophecy and Healing are Divine attributes proven through Mediumship."
A series of mediumistic séances known as the Scole Experiment took place between 1993 and 1998 in the presence of the researchers David Fontana, Arthur Ellison and Montague Keen. This has produced photographs, audio recordings and physical objects which appeared in the dark séance room (known as apports).[185] A criticism of the experiment was that it was flawed because it did not rule out the possibility of fraud. The skeptical investigator Brian Dunning wrote the Scole experiments fail in many ways. The séances were held in the basement of two of the mediums, only total darkness was allowed with no night vision apparatus as it might "frighten the spirits away". The box containing the film was not examined and could easily have been accessible to fraud. And finally, even though many years have passed, there has been no follow-up, no further research by any credible agency or published accounts.[185]
Being a half-ass psychic, I wondered whether he meant business partner or sex partner. He soon revealed she was both—and they were starting a company together. My intuition/magical powers told me this woman was about to leave him high and dry, but common sense told me that news might offend him and blow my chances of landing this job. Fortunetelling has no solid ethics, so I told him what I believed he wanted to hear. And I got the job.
The spiritualists Arthur Conan Doyle and W. T. Stead were duped into believing Julius and Agnes Zancig had genuine psychic powers. Both Doyle and Stead wrote that the Zancigs performed telepathy. In 1924 Julius and Agnes Zancig confessed that their mind reading act was a trick and published the secret code and all the details of the trick method they had used under the title of Our Secrets!! in a London Newspaper.[141]
A major advantage of live phone readings versus in-person appointments is that there is no chance that the reader can cheat. During a face-to-face session, a reader can gather many clues and insights about a person based on demeanour, clothing, jewellery, hair, make-up, and overall attitude and appearance. The psychic might draw conclusions about someone based on those clues and form the reading around those things.
Unlike most sites in the industry they offer all clients a money back guarantee if you're not satisfied for any reason. You won't get any hassles or any questions. All of the fees are stated clearly so you won't have any surprises or additional fees. If you talk to someone for 10 minutes at $1 per minute, you'll pay exactly what they say and that's $10. It won't be $10 plus some silly processing fee of $2 or $10 or whatever others set.
In 1876, William Eglinton was exposed as a fraud when the psychical researcher Thomas Colley seized a "spirit" materialization in his séance and cut off a portion of its cloak. It was discovered that the cut piece matched a cloth found in Eglinton's suitcase.[79] Colley also pulled the beard off the materialization and it was revealed to be a fake, the same as another one found in the suitcase of Eglinton.[80] In 1880 in a séance a spirit named "Yohlande" materialized, a sitter grabbed it and was revealed to be the medium Mme. d'Esperance herself.[81]
Yes you can download Raw images. you can use light room and photoshop to edit. (new photoshop for iP Yes you can download Raw images. you can use light room and photoshop to edit. (new photoshop for iPad looks amazing) the best way to transfer images however is via iCloud.I hope someone will come up with a good app that will allow for external usb/hard drive use. There are some for usb drives but they are not all that yet. More(Read full answer)
^ Paul Kurtz. (1985). A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-87975-300-9 "Florence Cook was caught cheating not only before her séances with Crookes but also afterward. Furthermore, she learned her trade from the mediums Frank Herne and Charles Williams, who were notorious for their cheating." Also see M. Lamar Keene. (1997). The Psychic Mafia. Prometheus Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-57392-161-9 "The most famous of materialization mediums, Florence Cook – though she managed to convince a scientist, Sir William Crookes, that she was genuine – was repeatedly exposed in fraud. Florence had been trained in the arts of the séance by Frank Herne, a well-known physical medium whose materializations were grabbed on more than one occasion and found to be the medium himself."
Readers are like artists. They have their own form that makes them unique. At the same time each reading is unique. There is so much to this phenomena. Sure there is a structure to each tool. I believe that knowing the structure for each tool is important. Yet relying on your intuition to know how to treat each reading is the biggest asset for making a reading transform from good to great. References towards the Akashic records, also known as the eternal Book of Life, stems from antiquity. The Old Testament has references that there is a collective storehouse of omniscience.
In 1908 at a hotel in Naples, the psychical researchers W. W. Baggally, Hereward Carrington and Everard Feilding attended a series of séances with Eusapia Palladino. In a report they claimed that genuine supernatural activity had occurred in the séances, this report became known as the Feilding report.[109] In 1910, Feilding returned to Naples, but this time accompanied with the magician William S. Marriott. Unlike the 1908 sittings, Feilding and Marriott detected her cheating, just as she had done in America. Her deceptions were obvious. Palladino evaded control and was caught moving objects with her foot, shaking the curtain with her hands, moving the cabinet table with her elbow and touching the séance sitters. Milbourne Christopher wrote regarding the exposure "when one knows how a feat can be done and what to look for, only the most skillful performer can maintain the illusion in the face of such informed scrutiny."[110]


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On this day… August 22, 2020 CE (September 4, 2020)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | January 14, 2023 CE (January 27, 2023)
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | January 2023 CE
-1 +1 | 2023 CE


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Juri Michailowitsch Baturin (, wiss. Transliteration ; * 12. Juni 1949 in Moskau, Russische SFSR) ist ein ehemaliger russischer Politiker und russischer Kosmonaut.

Baturin war der erste russische Politiker, der ins Weltall flog. Als Berater für nationale Sicherheit des russischen Präsidenten Boris Jelzin wurde er ausgewählt, einen Flug als Besucher zur Raumstation Mir zu machen, und flog 1998 als Forschungskosmonaut mit der Mission Sojus TM-28 zur Raumstation Mir.

Nach diesem Flug verlor er seine politischen Ämter, jedoch absolvierte er das vollständige Kosmonautentraining, das ihm ermöglicht, als Flugingenieur auf Sojus-Raumschiffen eingesetzt zu werden. Er war ab 2000 ziviles Mitglied des Kosmonautenkontingents der russischen Luftwaffe.

Am 28. April 2001 startete er an Bord eines russischen Sojus-Raumschiffs mit dem Flug Sojus TM-32 zur Internationalen Raumstation. Zwei Tage später, am 30. April, dockte das Raumschiff um 7:59 Uhr UTC an der Station an. Auf dieser Mission, dem Weltraumflug des ersten Weltraumtouristen Dennis Tito, diente er als Flugingenieur.

Baturin war nicht der erste amtierende Politiker im All, vor ihm flogen ein US-Senator und ein US-Kongressabgeordneter ins All. Baturin war jedoch der erste und bislang einzige Politiker, der anschließend Berufsraumfahrer wurde und einen weiteren Raumflug unternahm.

Im Dezember 2011 wurde er zum korrespondierenden Mitglied der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften gewählt.

Siehe auch
Liste der Raumfahrer
Liste bemannter Missionen zur Raumstation Mir
Liste bemannter Missionen zur Internationalen Raumstation
Liste der Sojus-Missionen
Russische Raumfahrt

Weblinks
spacefacts.de: Kurzbiografie
 Батурин, Юрий Михайлович Biografie bei TASS (russisch)
 Батурин, Юрий Михайлович Eintrag bei der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (russisch)

Raumfahrer (Russland)
Korrespondierendes Mitglied der Russischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Held der Russischen Föderation
Sojus-Besatzung
Mir-Besatzung
ISS-Besucher
Hochschullehrer (MIPT)
Politiker (Russische Föderation)
Russe
Geboren 1949
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
«Олдбо́й» (, , що значить «Випускник») — кінофільм, південнокорейський психологічний трилер, друга частина «трилогії про помсту» від режисера Пака Чхан Ука. Перший фільм трилогії «Співчуття панові Помста» вийшов у (2002), останній — «Співчуття пані Помста» (2005). В основу сценарію покладено манґу японських авторів Минегісі Нобуаки та Гарона Цутія «Спогади про вбивство». Фільм вийшов у прокат 21 листопада 2003 року.
Збори в усьому світі склали 14 272 524 $.

На 13 серпня 2021 року фільм займав 69-у позицію у списку 250 кращих фільмів за версією IMDb.

Сюжет
Події у фільмі розпочинаються у 1988 році. Бізнесмен О Дай-Су, котрий в день народження своєї дочки по дорозі додому напивається і починає бешкетувати за що потрапляє у поліційний відділок. З цього відділку його забирає приятель Чжу Хван. Поки Чжу Хван телефонує дружині О Дай-Су, той зникає. Його викрадають та поміщають в імпровізовану тюремну камеру. Камера складалася з кімнати санвузла, з телевізором, і була без вікон.

О Дай-Су проводить в цій камері п'ятнадцять років свого життя, телевізор складає основну частину його дозвілля. Через рік він дізнається з телевізійних новин, що його дружина вбита, а дочка пропала і головним підозрюваним в злочині є він. Від тривалої самотності в ув'язненого розпочинаються галюцинації. Протягом п'ятнадцяти років через маленьке віконце у дверях йому дають одну їжу: смажені пельмені та чай. Час від часу в камеру через вентиляцію подавали валіум. Будь-які спроби самогубства не допускалися.

Через п'ятнадцять років О Дай-Су опиняється у валізі на даху багатоповерхівки. Він вирішує будь-що знайти свого кривдника і помститися йому.

У ролях
 Чхве Мін Сік — О Де Су
 Ю Чі Тхе — Ли У Чин
 Кан Хе Чон — Ми До
 Хі-джен Кан — Но Чу Хван
 О Даль Су — Чхоль Ун Пак

Цікаві факти
 Англійське слово «Oldboy» буквально перекладається як «однокласники, однокласник».

 Фраза «смійся, і весь світ сміятиметься з тобою; плач — і плакатимеш на самоті» неодноразово звучить у фільмі. Це цитата з поеми «Самотність» американської поетеси Елли Уілкокс.

 У Кореї дійсно їдять живих восьминогів, як і робить головний герой у суші-барі. До речі, їх перед цим зазвичай ріжуть на шматочки.

 Актор Чхой Мін Сік — буддист, і перед поїданням живого восьминоги повинен був помолитися. Було зроблено чотири дубля і, відповідно, з'їдені чотири восьминоги.

 Знаменита сцена бійки з молотком в коридорі в'язниці була знята одним дублем. На підготовку зйомки сцени пішло три дні, і в ній практично не використовується комп'ютерна графіка. На комп'ютері було намальовано лише ніж, що стирчав з спини О Дай-Су.

Нагороди та номінації

Нагороди
 2005 — Кінофестиваль в Бангкоку
 Найкращий режисер — Пак Чхан Ук
 2004 — Каннський кінофестиваль
 Гран-прі журі — Пак Чхан Ук
 2004 — «Великий дзвін» Південної Кореї (головна кінонагорода, південнокорейський «Оскар»)
 найкращий режисер — Пак Чхан Ук
 найкращий актор — Чхой Мин Сик
 найкращий монтаж — Ким Сан Бом
 найкращий музика — Чо Ён Ук
 найкраще світло

Номінації
 2006 — Премія «Сатурн»
 Найкращий фільм у жанрі екшн/пригоди/трилер
 2005 — Кінофестиваль в Бангкоку
 Найкращий фільм — Пак Чхан Ук
 2004 — Каннський кінофестиваль
 «Золота пальмова гілка» — Пак Чхан Ук
 2004 — Премія «European Film Awards»
 Міжнародна нагорода — Пак Чхан Ук

Посилання

Фільми корейською мовою
Фільми-трилери Південної Кореї
Фільми — лауреати премії «Золота пальмова гілка»
Фільми Пак Чханука
Фільми про викрадення людей
Фільми, зняті в Сеулі


text:
AmericanGaming.org
AGA adds tribal gaming leaders, others to board of directors
Alex Lanter
Latest Casino and Gambling News, U.S.A., Casino News, Gaming Industry News
It was announced yesterday that the American Gaming Association (AGA) has added nine new members, out of which three are new board members. The three additions include Wind Creek Hospitality, Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Chickasaw Nation. USFantasy Sports, Crane Payment Innovations, Atrient, Sysco Corporation, Management Science Associates and RSM US are, on the other hand, the general members that are now part of the AGA.
Commenting on the expansion, Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO, said that the growth and diversification of the organisation was making it "more influential and effective." He pointed out that the commitment to bring together commercial and tribal operators as well as casino suppliers was uniting the industry.
The new membership structure of the AGA was approved by the end of 2014 by the Board of Directors. The reason behind the decision was helping unify the gaming industry. Ever since, the membership of the organisation has been growing; more precisely, it went up for more than 50%.
It should be noted that the other Indian Country representatives on the AGA board include the Mohegan Tribe and the Seminole Tribe through the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Agency and the Hard Rock International.
The AGA is the top national trade group, which represents the $240 billion casino industry in the United States. Its mission is to protect harmful and misinformed public policies as well as to pave the path for innovation, growth and reinvestment in the industry.
Next week, the organisation will be hosting the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas. This event is known as the largest gaming conference in the world.
agatribal gamingcasino industryunited states
Bloomberry Resorts Corp withdraws bid for gaming license in Cyprus: Report
Texas tribe launches charm offensive in the face of threatened closure
AGA reports illegal gambling of $511 billion annually captures $13.3 billion in tax revenue in U.S.
Genius Sports' U.S. sales tripled in Q3; Go beyond expectations
BlueBet Holdings Limited details Low6 Limited 'strategic investment'
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol venue planning November ground-breaking
Massachusetts snubs DraftKings Incorporated sportsbetting roll-out appeal
Japan launches media campaign to reiterate illegality of online gambling
Online gaming potential for Oklahoma following Chickasaw Nation ruling
Caesars Entertainment Incorporated unveils Illinois casino expansion


text:
Can Employers Pay Wages in Cryptocurrency?
Christopher Wood, CPP
New York City Mayor Eric Adams clarified receiving wages in cryptocurrency in January 2022 in a press release saying the U.S. Labor Department does not allow it. This blog will take a look at certain federal agency responses regarding paying wages in virtual currency.
In November of 2021, Miami, Florida Mayor Francis Suarez responded to a tweet that asked who would be the first U.S. politician to receive their first paycheck in Bitcoin. "I'm going to receive my next paycheck 100% in Bitcoin," Suarez wrote.
Recently elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams added to the tweet responses on November 4, 2021, by writing that he would receive his first three paychecks via Bitcoin after being sworn in as mayor. He also noted that New York City would be the center for the cryptocurrency industry.
Cryptocurrency is becoming more used by consumers and more accepted by merchants and financial institutions as payment for services and products. This includes things from airline tickets to healthcare and luxury items like watches and sports cars. However, when it comes to wages, can employers pay employees in cryptocurrency?
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography. Ideally, this makes it just about impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology. This is a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. Cryptocurrencies are typically not issued by any central authority.
According to Investopedia, advantages of cryptocurrencies include cheaper and faster money transfers and decentralized systems that do not collapse at a single point of failure. On the other hand, there is price volatility, the high energy consumption for mining activities, and the use in criminal activities.
What's the appeal of being paid in cryptocurrency?
Because some experts have predicted that the price of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin will continue to increase, some employees may want to be paid in this may because of its potential to grow in value. A January 5, 2022, Reuters News article reported on a Goldman Sachs research note to clients with a prediction that Bitcoin would take market share away from gold in 2022 as digital assets become more widely adopted.
The research note included a hypothetical scenario where if Bitcoin ends up with a 50% share of this market, its price would reach a little more than $100,000. Year to date, Bitcoin has traded as high as $47,733.40 (early January 2022) and as low as $35,070.10 (later in January 2022). As of Monday, April 11, 2022, Bitcoin is a little north of $41,000.
A November 2021 Nasdaq press release referenced a global poll from the deVere Group that showed, "More than a third of Millennials and half of Generation Z would be happy to receive 50% of their salary in Bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrencies." The survey explains that 36% of those polled born between 1980 and 1996 and 51% of those polled born between 1997 and 2012, "would welcome their jobs to pay in digital currencies."
Can employers pay in cryptocurrency?
It appears that there is notable interest from employees to receive part of all of their wages in virtual currency. However, can employers pay wages in cryptocurrency?
Aaron Rodgers, NFL quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, announced in 2021 that he partnered with Cash App to turn part of his salary into Bitcoin. "[Cash App] have enabled me to take part of my NFL salary in Bitcoin for the very first time," Rodgers said.
There are companies that allow users to allocate some-to-all of their paycheck into cryptocurrencies. However, an employee converting part or all of their received wages into cryptocurrency is different from an employer directly paying an employee wages in a virtual currency.
What the U.S. Labor Department said about paying wages with crypto.
On April 6, 2022, a representative for the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Public Affairs provided an official response from the DOL on the question of whether employers could paid employee wages in cryptocurrencies.
The DOL explained that regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is the federal law requiring minimum wage and overtime pay for covered employees, provide that wage payments may be made in cash or negotiable instrument payable at par (e.g., payment by check). This is found in 29 C.F.R. § 531.27 and 29 U.S.C. § 203(m)(1). The official DOL response also noted that whether in cash or facilities, wages must be paid finally or unconditionally, or free and clear. This is found in 29 C.F.R. § 531.35.
The DOL added that it had no further comment and referred back to its initial response when specifically asked a more "yes or no" question regarding if employers could pay employee wages in cryptocurrencies.
What the IRS said about paying wages with crypto.
On April 8, 2022, a representative from the IRS media relations responded to an inquiry regarding the payment of wages using cryptocurrencies by saying, "In general, employers may choose to pay employees in cryptocurrency."
The IRS representative provided a reference to a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the subject. FAQ # 11 specifically says that remuneration paid in virtual currency to an employee in exchange for services constitutes wages for federal employment tax purposes. The FAQ adds that the fair market value of virtual currency paid as wages, measured in U.S. dollars at the date of receipt, is subject to federal employment taxes and must be reported on Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement).
What the IRS said about paying federal taxes with crypto.
The IRS media relations representative explained on April 8, 2022 that the federal government does not currently accept virtual currencies for the payment of any federal taxes. This includes federal income tax, Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, and Additional Medicare tax (i.e., employment taxes).
New York City Mayor Adams clarifies receiving wages in crypto.
On January 20, 2022, a press release from New York City Mayor Adams said that his first paycheck as mayor would be automatically converted into cryptocurrency – Ethereum and Bitcoin. However, back in November 2021, Adams appeared to indicate on Twitter that he would actually receive his first three paychecks via cryptocurrency.
The January 20, 2022 press release clarified that, due to U.S. DOL regulations, New York City cannot pay employees in cryptocurrency. But, using a cryptocurrency exchange, anyone paid in U.S. dollars can have the funds converted into virtual currency before the funds are deposited into their account.
This is an important difference. Like NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Mayor Adams made a choice to convert wages received to virtual currency using an exchange. Their employers did not pay the wages in cryptocurrency.
Possible wage and hour issues with paying in crypto.
Issues that could arise if employers were permitted by DOL regulations to pay wages in cryptocurrency, may include FLSA minimum wage and overtime violations. Because virtual currencies can fluctuate in value, employers that pay wages in cryptocurrencies could unintentionally underpay their employees, which could lead to FLSA minimum wage and overtime violations, in addition to the exemption from the FLSA's overtime requirement for salaried employees ($684 per week).
States have rules as well.
Issues with paying wages at the state and local levels could occur as well. For example, Cal. Lab. Cd. § 212 prohibits employers from paying wages to employees with any order, check, or other instrument "unless it is negotiable and payable in cash, on demand, without discount, at some established place of business in the state."
Also, the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115) says that wages must be paid in lawful money of the United States. This must be done, "by check, redeemable upon demand and without discount at a bank or other financial institution readily available to the employee, by deposit of funds in an account in a bank or other financial institution designated by the employee, or by a payroll card."
Although the IRS response above says that virtual currency paid to an employee in exchange for services are wages for federal employment tax purposes, the DOL response references its regulations that suggest wages should not be paid in the form of virtual currencies.
In addition, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a high-profile politician, clarified a November 2021 tweet to explain he would convert his wages into cryptocurrencies, and not be paid wages in virtual currencies. Plus, an employer needs to consider any state and local rules on the subject.
The U.S. DOL and IRS may have more information or guidance on this subject in the future since the deVere Group's global poll showed younger generations lean more toward receiving wages in cryptocurrencies. In the meantime, the safe bet is not to pay employee wages with cryptocurrencies. Employees can ultimately convert their received wages to virtual currencies via an exchange if they choose.
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PVC is replacing traditional building materials such as wood, metal, concrete and clay in many applications.
Versatility, cost effectiveness and an excellent record of use mean it is the most important polymer for the construction sector, which accounted for 60 per cent of European PVC production in 2006.
Polyvinyl chloride, PVC, is one of the most popular plastics used in building and construction. It is used in drinking water and waste water pipes, window frames, flooring and roofing foils, wall coverings, cables and many other applications as it provides a modern alternative to traditional materials such as wood, metal, rubber and glass. These products are often lighter , less expensive and offer many performance advantages.
PVC's abrasion resistance, light weight, good mechanical strength and toughness are key technical advantages for its use in building and construction applications.
PVC can be cut, shaped, welded and joined easily in a variety of styles. Its light weight reduces manual handling difficulties.
PVC is resistant to weathering, chemical rotting, corrosion, shock and abrasion. It is therefore the preferred choice for many different long-life and outdoor products. In fact, medium and long-term applications account for some 85 per cent of PVC production in the building and construction sector.
For example, it is estimated that more than 75 per cent of PVC pipes will have a lifetime in excess of 40 years with potential in-service lives of up to 100 years. In other applications such as window profiles and cable insulation, studies indicate that over 60 per cent of them will also have working lives of over 40 years.
PVC has been a popular material for construction applications for decades due to its physical and technical properties which provide excellent cost-performance advantages. As a material it is very competitive in terms of price, this value is also enhanced by the properties such as its durability, lifespan and low maintenance.
PVC is non-toxic. It is a safe material and a socially valuable resource that has been used for more than half a century. It is also the world's most researched and thoroughly tested plastic. It meets all international standards for safety and health for both the products and applications for which it is used.
The study 'A discussion of some of the scientific issues concerning the use of PVC' (1) by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia concluded in 2000 that PVC in its building and construction applications has no more effect on the environment that its alternatives.
Substitution of PVC by other materials on environmental grounds with no additional research or proven technical benefits will also result in higher costs. For example, as part of a housing renovation project at Bielefeld in Germany , it has been estimated that the replacement of PVC by other materials would lead to a cost increase of approximately 2,250 euro for an average sized apartment.
Restrictions on PVC use in construction applications would not only have negative economic consequences but also have wider social impacts, such as in the availability of affordable housing.
Like all other organic materials used in buildings, including other plastics, wood, textiles etc., PVC products will burn when exposed to a fire. PVC products however are self-extinguishing, i.e. if the ignition source is withdrawn they will stop burning. Because of its high chlorine content PVC products have fire safety characteristics, which are quite favourable as. they are difficult to ignite, heat production is comparatively low and they tend to char rather than generate flaming droplets.
But if there is a bigger fire in a building, PVC products will burn and will emit toxic substances like all other organic products.
The most important toxicant emitted during fires is carbon monoxide (CO), which is responsible for 90 to 95 % of deaths from fires. CO is a sneaky killer, since we cannot smell it and most people die in fires while sleeping. And of course CO is emitted by all organic materials, be it wood, textile or plastics.
PVC as well as some other materials also emits acids. These emissions can be smelled and are irritating, making people try to run away from the fire. A specific acid, hydrochloric acid (HCL), is connected with burning PVC . To the best of our knowledge, no fire victim has ever been proven scientifically to have suffered HCl poisoning.
Some years ago no big fire was discussed without dioxins playing a major role both in communication and measuring programmes. Today we know that dioxins emitted in fires do not have an impact on people following the results of several studies on fire exposed people: The dioxin levels measured were never elevated against background levels. This very important fact has been recognised by official reports and we know that many other carcinogens are emitted in all fires, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and fine particles, which present a much higher hazard than dioxins.
So there are very good reasons to use PVC products in buildings, since they perform well technically, have good environmental and very good economic properties, and compare well with other materials in terms of fire safety.
PVC does not conduct electricity and is therefore an excellent material to use for electrical applications such as insulation sheathing for cables.
The physical properties of PVC allow designers a high degree of freedom when designing new products and developing solutions where PVC acts as a replacement or refurbishment material.
PVC has been the preferred material for scaffolding billboards, interior design articles, window frames, fresh and waste water systems, cable insulation and many more applications.


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As colleges decide fate of children in admissions scandal, a key question: What did they know?
By Hannah Fry - LA Times (TNS)
Honoree Jane Buckingham speaks onstage at Children Mending Hearts' 10th Annual Empathy Rocks on June 10, 2018 in Los Angeles. Buckingham was one of those indicted in the admissions scandal.
With their parents now facing criminal charges, the children at the center of the college cheating scandal face an uncertain future.
It remains unclear how much the children knew about the alleged fraud committed by their parents to get them into college. And that could play a role in what happens to them.
Here's a look at what is ahead.
Q: What did the children know?
A: Some parents indicted in the scandal allegedly took steps to keep the cheating from their children and instructed William "Rick" Singer to also keep them in the dark. However, court documents allude that some students had some level of knowledge about what was happening, though the documents don't make it clear exactly how much.
Transcripts of conversations recorded by the FBI between marketing guru Jane Buckingham and Singer outline her desire to keep her son out of the loop on how his ACT test would be manipulated.
During a phone call on July 12, 2018, Buckingham told Singer that her son had developed tonsillitis and his doctor had advised against allowing him to travel. The plan was for her son to take the ACT at the test center in Houston, but he wasn't able to get there.
Buckingham allegedly asked Singer whether it would be possible for her to obtain a copy of the exam that she could have her son take at home — so that he would believe he had taken the test — while someone else took it on his behalf in Houston. He allegedly told her he would make it happen.
Ultimately, Buckingham's son received a score of 35 out of a possible 36 on the ACT.
In an effort to ensure that his son was admitted to the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy at the University of Southern California, Bill McGlashan allegedly paid Singer $250,000 to, among other things, fabricate a football career. Although McGlashan's son's high school didn't have a football team, his son was suddenly a kicker. Authorities say the new addition to his list of achievements came partially thanks to Photoshop.
McGlashan, who founded and was fired last week from the private equity investment firm TPG Growth, had been called "one of Silicon Valley's most prominent voices for ethical investing."
According to the transcripts, McGlashan asked Singer, "Is there a way to do it in a way that he doesn't know that happened?"
Singer allegedly told him that his son would know only that Singer was "going to get him some help."
"That (networking) he would have no issue with," McGlashan is quoted as saying to Singer. "You lobbying for him.
"No issue."
Q: What are the ramifications for the children?
A: The majority of college applications include an affirmation statement that students sign declaring that all information is factually true and honestly presented. It never pays to lie on an admissions application because those misrepresentations, if not caught immediately, could catch up with a student in the future, said Mark Sklarow, CEO of the Independent Education Consultants Assn.
If a university finds out at any point during someone's college career that they lied on their application, they can revoke admission to the school. If the person has already earned a degree, the school can revoke it, Sklarow said.
"What most people don't know is if a college finds out a year later or four years later that you lied on your application, they can withdraw the offer of admission," Sklarow said. "Nothing that happened while you're on campus will count. They'll never release a transcript. You're gone."
Q: What are universities doing?
A: Several universities linked to the scandal said they are looking into which students were involved and crafting a response.
USC on Monday placed holds on the accounts of students possibly tied to the far-reaching scam, which bars them from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts from the college while they are under review. The university said it has notified the affected students but did not disclose the number involved.
"Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion," the university said in a statement.


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Travel · March 23, 2018
Why should we care about the Amazon rainforest?
As the Amazon rainforest burns I thought I would elaborate on the ecosystem that supports us as well as many incredible animals. I have seen the Amazon described by the National Geographic as 'an incubator of life' and having lived and travelled there for a short while, I wholeheartedly agree with this succinct description.
Brazil has a 30% share of the tropical rainforest of which 50,000 square miles were deforested between 2000-2005, logging initiatives have been introduced to combat that but the effect has been pitiful. This mass deforestation could lead to drought as it has done already in some areas, which would cause human misery on a large scale.
Amazon river sunset
Now, the rainforest is full of absolutely marvellous goodies that go into everything from cosmetic products to medicinal substances and there are plenty more potential discoveries still to be made that can improve our lives for the better.
Bioprospecting is the growing business of collecting and testing jungle products, to see how they can be utilised for our needs. This is certainly a career move that could lead you to discover an anti-ageing ingredient or cure for a disease and that could definitely help you to get laid. The possibilities are endless and thrilling to imagine.
In terms of medicinal plants, the Amazon has a lot to offer, some of the most notable of these are the cocoa tree, trumpet tree, wild yam, cinchona, coca, opium poppy, castor beans, white trillium and foxglove.
It has been estimated by the National Cancer Institute that 70% of the world's cancer-fighting plants are found in the rainforest. A new drug developed by a private pharmaceutical company to treat HIV is harvested from a tree in Borneo. Anyone working for a business that has invested in a medicinal product from the Amazon – that has stood up in clinical trials – could be onto a goldmine, as long as they preserve the forests.
Native communities may be more inclined to reveal their secrets if they knew that their habitat was safe as well as having trust in the people that were asking those questions.
There is controversy surrounding the current building of the Belo Monte Dam in Northern Brazil, which will be the largest in the world when completed. It is claimed that it will provide electricity for 23 million homes. The problem is that its construction will displace tens of thousands of indigenous people altogether but they went ahead anyway.
In Brazil, there are more uncontacted tribes than any other country in the world, which puts the government in the unusual situation of monitoring them from afar by aerial photography.
The country's Indian affairs department FUNAI (Fundação Nacional do Índio) estimates that there are up to 70 of these groups that live in the rainforest. There are of course famous pictures of tribal people aiming arrows at low flying aeroplanes, which is a fairly natural reaction to the intrusion.
In the state of Acre, the theory is that the indigenous tribes could be the survivors of rubber boom slaves. There are believed to be up to 600 people living in 4 tribes, and they are very lucky to live a relatively peaceful existence in designated areas.
There are groups in Rondônia, Mato Grosso and Maranhão, whose homes have become fragmented by logging. They are effectively hunted for their land by loggers and ranchers, which is pretty frightening.
All the murders that are associated with this rainforest domination are truly sickening and often not known about or reported. I think that being murdered for being an indigenous forest dweller, a local person with objections or a conservationist without any effort towards compromise or collaboration is a sign of individuals beyond reprieve.
It is certainly an industry that in certain situations will bulldoze the bodies in its path and this mentality has the potential to take human beings down a dangerous road.
One Awá tribesman in Karapiru escaped into the jungle after being confronted by gunmen. He lived in solitude for ten years before making contact with and joining another Awá tribe. This ability to survive is impressive and to lose this knowledge of how to live in complete independence from other people and material goods would be devastating.
In 2017 the Brazilian airline Gol paid £1 million in compensation after damaging the Caiapó indigenous reserve in a plane crash in 2006. The Caiapó tribe understandably would not revisit the crash site that they considered to be polluted and cursed by the dead after the 154 passengers lost their lives. Their settlement had to be rebuilt elsewhere.
This was a great win for an indigenous tribe especially as the chief Raoni Metuktire travelled the world with Sting (Bono wasn't available) to highlight the plight of the rainforest.
Yossi Ghinsberg is another Amazon survivor, but one who knew very little about the environment he was in. He was one of the many Israeli travellers that travel around South America every year and he became lost in Bolivia's rainforest.
He travelled in a group with three other lone travellers from Austria, Switzerland and America, so it is not surprising that this group of very different cultures ended up having a disagreement. They set off to find a little-known tribe and parted ways when the Europeans continued into the rainforest on foot and he rafted down the river with his American friend, Kevin.
Unfortunately, the raft went over the waterfall taking Yossi with it, although Kevin managed to swim to shore. Yossi was then entirely alone and was forced to live on fruit and eggs. He even fought with a jaguar using a lighter and insect repellent to fashion a makeshift flamethrower and scare the beast away. There was a flood and he was starving and in pain, he also hallucinated that a girl was walking alongside him.
After a few days in this state, he collapsed from exhaustion by the side of the river. Incredibly Kevin had made contact with local villagers and they were searching the river by boat. They had almost given up but by chance they had landed the boat upstream as they were struggling to find somewhere to stop, and there was Yossi, unconscious but alive.
This experience consolidated his faith in Judaism, as he believes a book of Kabbalah with special powers from his Uncle Nissim helped to protect him. Kevin also converted to Judaism after marrying an Israeli girl and moved into a Kibbutz near Jerusalem.
It shows how faith has such a strong part to play in survival whether or not the survivors are believers, sometimes hallucinations can even keep people alive by giving them hope. Their travelling partners, Karl and Marcus sadly did not return from the rainforest so this is a story of luck as much as it is about survival.
Stories like won't matter if we destroy it all. A major study estimated that it would take 300 years to catalogue all the tree species in the Amazon. So far 12,000 of the trees have been registered but there are an estimated 4,000 out there ready to be classified hopefully before they are chopped down and lost to science.
This excellent research to assist conservation of this incredible place was aided by the digitisation of museum records, meaning that we have a research network to preserve important stuff around the globe – progress!
Yet more research has shown that we are responsible for the increase in forest fires as even in protected forests people practise selective logging and this fragmentation increases the likelihood of fires. It is very much not normal for a rainforest to burn, it is supposed to be wet and therefore not flammable.
Wildlife is affected as endemic bird species find it much harder to thrive in disturbed forests. These holes in the canopy that we create dry out the vegetation below and tropical forest needs to retain its cycle. When it loses moisture it becomes very sick and the wildlife suffers.
The scientific conclusion is that not only do we need to protect forests but we also need them to be pristine and undisturbed in order to thrive.
The Amazon rainforest is the one of the largest areas of rainforest that we have left, it's also a vital carbon sink so it's in our interests to keep those trees in the ground. Decreased deforestation will greatly benefit the tribes that live there, wildlife, potential medicines and climate change.
Posted In: Travel · Tagged: Amazon rainforest, Brazil, Ecuador, South America
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Home > Case Studies > Amalgamation of two units and change of use from A1 to a restaurant A3
Amalgamation of two units and change of use from A1 to a restaurant A3
16B-18A Pitfield Street, N1 6EY
Change of use from A1 to A1/A3, amalgamation of two commercial units into one.
Amalgamation of two units and change of use from A1 to a restaurant (use class A3). Alterations to rear ground floor window to provide a vent.
4D Planning's Chartered Planning Consultants advised the client on the best way to obtain planning permission for the change of use from A1 to a mixed use of A1 and A3. It was a unique situation, since the existing two units were A1, but the applicant converted one of the two units into A3 and amalgamated both units into one. A number of questions arose, such as: is it a sui generis use class, or is it perhaps A1-A3 or is the A1 or A3 ancillary to the other. Following a feasibility assessment, we advised our client to apply on the basis that the amalgamation will make both units into a single unit, and the nature of the business will be equal retail and food. Therefore, it was a part conversion from A1 to A3 with the retention of the existing A1.
We produced the application drawings, documents and liaised with the Council until Hackney Council granted planning permission.
decision notice Hackney Council
Change of use from vacant nightclub to 20 bedsits (HMO)
The Arches, 1 Wellington Road South, Stockport, SK4 1AA
Change of use from nightclub to 20 bedsits (HMO) 11 flats
New front gate and two off-street parking spaces
75 Clabon Mews, Chelsea, London SW1X 0EQ
Replace gate and remove portion of wall to provide 2 off-street parking spaces
Single storey rear and side return extension to flat - 15 Dacre Road, E13 0PT
15 Dacre Road, E13 0PT
Single storey rear and side return extension to flat
Conversion of house into 3 flats with associated amenity and parking
9 Blagden's Close, N14 6DE


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