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Interpreter Staff
Ukraine Live Day 562: Ceasefire Holding, But 2 Anti-Smuggling Patrol Members Killed
Map provided by the Ukrainian military | September 2, 2015
Yesterday's live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here. An archive of our liveblogs can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast.
Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs.
For links to individual updates click on the timestamps.
For the latest summary of evidence surrounding the shooting down of flight MH17 see our separate article: Evidence Review: Who Shot Down MH17?
Appeasement As a Solution?
The latest Window on Eurasia from Paul Goble.
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If There's A Ceasefire, Why Are Russian-Backed Fighters Massing Armor And Jamming OSCE Drones?
So far Ukraine is seeing its second day of ceasefire, and as we reported below for the most part it is holding. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. The OSCE is witnessing the ceasefire holding, but they are also simultaneously warning that Russian-backed forces appear to be massing just behind the front lines. In fact, their drones are still crashing after their signal is interrupted by jamming equipment.
Take these excerpts from their report published yesterday but dated August 31:
At a "DPR" training area and shooting range in Rozy Liuksemburh (45km north-east of Mariupol), the SMM heard five explosions and shooting, which it assessed to have been fired from infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), anti-tank guns (ATGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM).
At 10:13hrs, while flying south of "DPR"-controlled Sontseve (59km north-east of Mariupol), all contact with an SMM unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was abruptly lost. Contact with the UAV was not restored by 13:45hrs, by which time the UAV must have run out of fuel. At this point, following the procedures, the aircraft was declared lost. An SMM patrol went to the last known location over which the UAV was flying on a field 1.5km south of the village, where the SMM was stopped by two armed "DPR" members, who denied the SMM further access to the area*. However, when looking towards the probable crash area, the SMM could observe burned patches on the ground.
The SMM also revisited four "DPR" heavy weapons holding areas whose locations corresponded with the respective withdrawal lines. In two areas, it found that all previously recorded weapons were present. In the third area, the SMM observed five mortars (120mm PM-38) were missing. In the fourth area, the SMM observed that the serial numbers of three howitzers (122mm D-30) did not match the numbers previously recorded, and one anti-tank gun (100mm MT-12 Rapira) was missing. In a fifth area, the SMM was denied access*.
In "DPR"-controlled Sontseve, the SMM observed a parked truck with an anti-aircraft gun mounted from 100m south from its position. Until the moment contact was lost between the UAV and its base, the UAV observed concentrations of military hardware in "DPR"-controlled areas close to the contact line: notably seven main battle tanks (MBTs), twenty-five armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and four multi-purpose light-armoured towing vehicles (MT-LBs) in and around Komsomolske (73km north-east of Mariupol), five self-propelled howitzers (2-S1 Gvozdika,122mm) and eleven APCs in and around Rozdolne (46km south-east of Donetsk), two MBTs in Michurine (55km north-east of Mariupol), and two MBTs in Bezimenne (30km east of Mariupol).
In the report, Ukrainian military holding areas were in full compliance with the Minsk agreement.
As we've been reporting, the jamming equipment seen in separatist territory in recent months was almost certainly supplied by the Russian military.
The OSCE has not released a report from yesterday yet, but the Ukrainian military spokesperson, Colonel Andriy Lysenko, is still reporting sightings of enemy drones:
— James Miller
While Ceasefire Appears To Be Holding, 2 Anti-Smuggling Patrol Members Killed Near Schastye
The latest ceasefire in the Donbass has lasted into a second day, with almost no attacks reported along the front line. This is, in itself, a significant achievement. Previous ceasefire deals have been violated within hours or even stillborn, such as that signed days before the capture of Debaltsevo in February.
The Ukrainian military reports that "practically complete" adherence to the ceasefire regime over the last 24 hours.
According to the military's ATO Press Centre, there were only minor incidents:
From 18:00 until midnight, the militants opened fire erratically on Ukrainian troops' positions. At around 23:00, our defensive position near the village of Krymskoye, in the Lugansk region, was fired at by criminals with small arms.
Overall, throughout September 1, the illegal armed formations violated the ceasefire five times.
So far today, September 2, between midnight and 6 am, one incident of the enemy using weapons has been recorded. At 00:30, from the direction of the village of Lyagushachye, criminals hit our positions in Opytnoye [north of Donetsk] with a grenade launcher.
Meanwhile the pro-separatist Donetsk News Agency (DAN) reports that the administrations of separatist-held front-line towns have reported no attacks by Ukrainian forces.
There was, however, one deadly incident on the front line.
Georgiy Tuka, the governor of the Lugansk region, announced on his Facebook page this morning that a 'combined mobile group,' patrolling the frontier to combat smugglers, had been attacked near Schastye.
Two members of the patrol were killed and four wounded. One of the dead was a personal friend of the governor.
No suggestion was made in Tuka's post as to the identity of the attackers.
On August 27, another 'mobile group' was attacked near Schastye. Their vehicle was damaged but there were no casualties.
— Pierre Vaux
Ceasefire Donetsk Electronic Warfare Kalmius front Lugansk Mariupol Opytnoye OSCE Russian invasion Schastye September 1 Ceasefire SMM Smuggling UAV Ukraine
9 Policemen Injured in Mariupol-Kiev Soccer Match
1 Ukrainian Soldier Wounded, 1 Concussed; OSCE Monitors Blocked, Drone Shelled
It's 'Suspiciously Calm' After Russian-Backed Fighters Launch Failed Offensive In Ukraine
9 Ukrainian Soldiers KIA, 5 WIA, 1 Captured in Battle; 1 Separatist Fighter Killed; 5 UA Soldiers Injured in Training
5 Ukrainian Soldiers Wounded; Total of 61 Attacks in 24 Hours During 'Ceasefire'
3 Ukrainian Soldiers Wounded; Russia-Backed Forces Fire Grad Missiles on Avdeyevka


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I read in the Financial Times yesterday that Warwick University are revamping their MBA course to increase the element of soft skills.
(As an aside, is it just me that thinks the FT and it's sibling the Economist are obsessed by MBAs? – maybe this isn't surprising as they are both owned by Pearson publishing. Anyone whose ever done an MBA will have spent a lot of money books published by Pearson. Before I put ideas of a conspiracy in your mind I'm not saying this. There may be some greater underlying course, e.g. Pearson tends to hire MBA's as managers perhaps. Anyway, back to my subject...).
I don't know how much emphasis Warwick puts on soft skills and I don't know how it compares to what I did a few miles up the road at Nottingham University. However I understand their point and think they are doing the right thing.
An MBA course may fill your head full of new ideas, and tools such as IRR, NPV, Real Options, Four Forces, Cash Cows and other such ideas but this isn't the stuff a manager needs day to day. Day to day you need to work with people; you need to make your operation tick.
Once in a while you will calculate IRR for a project, perform an SWOT analysis and draw up a new strategy but once you've done this you have to make it happen. And making it happen is more difficult. It allcomes down to people in the end.
I'm from software development, when I was an undergraduate I used to love the fantasies my lecturers used to tell me about Formal Methods. If only everyone could specify their program formally then everything would be good. I loved these stories. And then I tried it.
They didn't work like I was told they would, they didn't solve anything, they moved the problem somewhere else. Now later in life I don't believe they ever could – you see, I've discovered the soft side of software development.
After formal methods fell from the pedestal I read a lot on software process practice. I could see how you could make it all work like clockwork. This was good. And then I worked for a company certified to ISO 9001 – it was hell.
I never got started with CMM before I worked for a company that was introducing it. There is a lot of good in the CMM literature but it is a ruler to measure things by, not a thing that stands high by itself. Anyway, its upside down. The top layer is "self improving" and this is what you need right at the bottom.
Yet I work in business, and the company I work for is pretty enlighten, intelligent people and, at least on the face of it, its managed well. Still, I can find dysfunctional areas. Does this mean the company is doing something wrong? Is there some great thinker/author they've missed out on?
But then, every company I've ever work for has had some degree of success. Even one or two really really bad places have had successes, or at least a successful history. So why is it so difficult to find a company with gets it right?
Does your employer get it right?
Where is the company that knows its customer, isn't stuck-in-the-middle, practices lean manufacturing, values innovation, develops software in a Agile way with CMM level 5?
I'm forced to the conclusion that such places don't exist.
If such placed did exist we need so much literature?
And actually, if such a place did exist wouldn't it be a bit boring to work at?
self-awareness, is the company and employees aware of a problem?
It maybe they are aware, they are trying to fix it, or they are routing around it – who cares if your front line people can't get their innovations accepted up the chain if the R&D department have great pipeline of new ideas?
No, its when people don't know about dysfunctional that there are real problems. How can you deal with an issue if you are blind to it?
I'm sure I'll return to this topic as I write more in this Blog.
Have you ever read a specification document? I did today and I was reminded why I don't like them.
They are boring. Even when they are telling you something you didn't know they are boring.
They are boring because they follow the "form follows function" mantra. The function of a specification document is to communicate what one person wants (or thinks they want) to a second person who is responsible for implementing it. But there is more, the first person wants to specify exactly what it is they want, so thinks are set out in simple fashion, e.g. bullet points, no prose. Supposedly this limits ambiguity.
It also provides an audit trail so they can go back and see what has been done and what isn't.
Ambiguity still exists, in fact, because the document is so boring it can be difficult to pay attention enough to spot the ambiguity. And because everything is presented as bullet points it can be difficult to understand how the different parts hang together.
I suppose it does provide an audit trail but this is more damming than it is positive. We create an audit trail because we expect things to go wrong, we expect to need to trace back and apportion blame. So, we set up an adversarial relationship.
And when you've worked with a few requirements specification you know they are frequently the subject of battles so you don't approach them with any enthusiasm. So you find them even more boring.
The result? Requirements documents fail on all counts; they fail to communicate, they fail to provide an mechanism for getting things done, they fail to enthuse, and they set up a bad work environment - so things are more likely to go wrong.
Stories are something that interests me. They are a topic I expect to return to over the course of this blog. In the meantime I'll just recommend one book. It is The Springboard by Stephen Denning, Butterworth Heinemann (2001).
What I wonder are the forces behind this growth? Why are small grocers growing so much faster than the big ones?
I'd like to think that customers have finally got fed up with "buy 2 get one free" type offers that obscure the real price and discriminate against those on low income or single people.
David Anderson has an interesting piece in his blog noting how the batch size for grocery purchases in Japan is much smaller than is typical in the USA. I'd say that UK purchase size is generally smaller than in the USA but is catching up. After all, it's in the interests of WalMart-ASDA, Tesco and other big retailers to sell more. I read (the FT again?) or heard (BBC radio 4?) recently that half of all food in the UK is wasted. While I don't think this happens in my house I can imagine its true, we do throw away lot of food, especially the "buy 4 widgets get 2 widgets" type where we can't possibly eat 4 widgets before they go off let alone 6!
Anyway, I digress, I would be surprised if enough people where getting so upset with larger batch sizes and buy-get-free offers to bring about the statistics mentioned at the top.
So, simply an improvement in the quality and branding of local stores is one factor I think.
Next, I think these changes in the market reflect some lifestyle changes. There has been an increase in city living in the last few years. Such people have the option of convenience stores - people living our in the suburbs, particularly on new middle class estates, probably don't have any option but to get the car out and drive to the large supermarket.
One lifestyle change has effected me directly: Internet grocery shopping. We started doing this about a year ago - shortly after I got rid of my car. At first we bought everything online. Gradually though we've switched to buying more stuff locally. We still have the Ocado van visit us every regularly (9 to 14 days) but this tends to be the big heavy stuff, stuff we can store. I've been increasingly using my local high street to buy fresh stuff.
At first this felt strange, going to the butchers and asking for beef-mince, pork chops, etc. Almost like something from one of those "learn French" school textbooks. I'd never done it before - or very rarely. I came from a generation brought up on supermarkets.
Now I've got use to this way of shopping I love it. My butcher has a better selection of meat than the supermarket although the green grocers doesn't compare so well and I feel more involved in the locality. I'm also convinced it cheaper.
I'd love to think that as more people shop online the high streets of the country will experience a renewed importance. In particular, I'd love my high street to get a renewed importance. Acton High Street needs: a baker that doesn't shut at 10am, a good deli where I can buy fresh cheese, good quiche and fancy continental foods, plus a good off license wouldn't go amiss. Of course I could just accept that this is Acton and move a couple of miles down the road to Chiswick!
Before I finished, one more point on those statistics. However you look at the grocery market it is growing. This doesn't seem right. How can a market just grow and grow? After all, economic theory tells us that as people get richer a smaller portion of their income goes on food. So I can understand more clothes shops, more book shops and so on but groceries? Why is the sector expanding?
Some growth will be due to an expanding economy and higher incomes, some will be down to clever retailers finding new ways to sell us more food we won't eat and some of it will be people buying further up market, e.g. organic carrots instead of regular carrots. But what else is driving it?
Many of the answers to these questions are probably contained in the IDG report cited by the FT but that will probably cost me several thousand pounds to read. So, I'll have to stick to hypothesising.
At the end of the day I don't know what forces are at work here, and forces are important.
Maybe it's odd that I'm writing a second Blog entry in one day - I've just finished the first! - but I have something else to say.
Well, maybe I'm making a rod for my own back and I'll regret it later. For the moment I'd like to try Blogging, lets see what happens.
In writing this Blog I'm going to attempt to address this problem. Hopefully, I can keep my ideas to "bite sized chunks" which don't need much editing. Secondly, I beg the readers forgiveness.
Software is, in theory, infinitely flexible. I can take the software from my toaster and, with enough modification, get it to run a nuclear power station. OK, I'd have to be pretty odd to want to do this, and one could argue whether it is the same software (does it pass the Mary Rose test?*) but you get my point.
If there really is no similarity in the projects that organizations do then I wonder if the organization really exists for a particular reason. What is the core competency if no two projects are the like? Far more likely there is similarity in some way.
So, what we need is to cut off some options to ourselves. I'm not saying we need to document our process - heaven forbid! Nor am I saying that we need to call in process experts to advice us on how to do the project. What I'm saying is we need some kind of process base line we can talk about, some reference point. For if we can't talk about it we can't describe it and can't modify it. Within that we need to give ourselves some constraint, leaving all our options open makes for too much uncertainty.
With all that said its important to note that process must come from the bottom up. It is for the people who live and breath the process to decide what they are doing. That doesn't mean they can't be influenced in their decisions, nor does it mean they can't be lead or challenged to do better. It may just boil down to showing them that things can be different and providing them with the tools and options to do it differently.
And when they find a better way of doing things the people above them should use their leadership to support it, and to help others see the benefits and change too.
The worst thing we can do is to just assume that tomorrow will be a repeat of today. We should ask teams to do better, to change, to improve but we should also give ourselves boundaries and rules to work within. And we should, from time to time, question those boundaries and rules.
Blog entry 1: What do I hope to achieve by Blogging?
As some people know I've not been particularly keen on blogging, so, since this is a blog, indeed my blog, that raises the question: Why?
In a future entry I'll write about why I don't like the word why but for now lets rewrite the question: What do I hope to achieve by writing a blog?
So, I've spent 18 months thinking about this and now I have a need. For about 5 or 6 years now I've been writing magazine pieces. Mainly these have appeared in ACCU Overload. They started with technical pieces and moved through an enquiry phase and into a research based new paradigm phase (influenced by my MBA course). Lately have become more opinion pieces.
After six years its time I tried something new, a forum that is more opinion based may just be what I'm looking for.
Next I'm quite taken with the idea of personal journals, or diaries if you prefer, or learning diaries if you want to give them a longer title. My interest in these was started when I kept one as part of my MBA course. Since then I've kept a professional diary quite regularly. I use it as a sense making and thinking mechanism in work.
I've always said that the advantage of a private diary over a public blog is that I can say things privately that I can't say publicly, e.g. my boss is ??? However, I've also noticed a tendency in my own diary to sometimes become a frustration vent that can be less than constructive. So, this blog is an experiment: What advantages does a public blog have? Well, I'm about to find out.
So now I blog. This is Entry One.
What is this blog to be about?
I've been politically active in the past but I'm not any more so I don't think this will be a political blog.
There will be lots of software development stuff in here, that's my background, although its something I'm trying to get away from - I'll write another entry about this and identity sometime. When I write about software development I'll probably be writing about Agile development and Lean software, I'm a big fan of both of these.
There will be some business stuff - I'm interested in business so I'll pull that in.
Now there is an intersection here. Two in fact.
The first is Change. This is the real problem that both software developers and businesses face. How do I change my development team to Agile practices? How do my customers need to change? How must my business change?
Second, there will be a lot of stuff about Patterns. I came to patterns through software development (you know, Gang-of-four stuff) but my current interest is in applying pattern techniques to the business domain. When I say "business patterns" I don't mean the kind of "IT business patterns" that some people propose as "business patterns" - I mean IT free patterns of business strategy, operations, etc. Take a look at my business patterns page if you want to know more.
There you have it, another blog is born.


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Such a wordy title... A few weeks ago I went along to a bloggers event at The Body Shop in Liverpool, which you may have seen my post about - click here if not! I had such a lovely time but it was hell for my bank balance, as I ended up buying a few products that I needed wanted. One of these was the Bouncy Sleep Mask from their Drops of Youth range.
I suffer from mega dry skin, and I'm always on the look out for anything that will soothe it. At first I thought this might be quite gimmicky, as it's the consistency of PVA glue and has some sort of memory foam technology. Ahhhh, science. But nevertheless I decided to give it a go, and we got a little bit of discount on the night so it seemed the perfect opportunity.
You apply the mask (which comes with tiny spoontula, which is a blend word I have just invented because it's a cross between a spoon and spatula) after the rest of your skincare routine, which for me is pretty lengthy. It's recommended that you put the mask on about 15 minutes before bed time, so it's not completely gross and sticky on your pillow. It is meant to feel quite tacky on the skin, which doesn't bother me at all!
Being pessimistic, I didn't expect much. Oh how wrong I was - the next day I woke up and was expecting my skin to feel tight, rough and dry as it usually does in the morning. But for the first time ever, it was SOFT. I'd never experienced that before, and immediately rang my mum claiming it was a miracle. It is, okay?
I went home from uni for a couple of days and, alas, forgot to take the mask with me. My skin reverted to it's red-raw self, and I kicked myself for not doing a thorough bag-check before I left the house. Luckily after a night of using it when I got back to uni, my skin was dreamy again. I still have a bit of redness on my cheeks and the usual acne on my chin, but my make up seems to be applying so much better and my skin isn't sore any more.
Honestly, I am so thrilled I found this product and I'd recommend it to anyone. If you've tried it, let me know what you thought!
I'm loving body shop skincare at the moment and this sounds great! I feel like I'm picking up practically every product available for dry skin recently, my skin is desperate for it.
Great review! I picked this up last week but am yet to try it yet, super excited!
Ooo! Now this is another product I need to buy from Body Shop! The list is becoming endless!!


Folk music. Blue jeans. Apple Pie. Baseball. Backyard Barbeques. Chevy. Craftsmanship. Ruggedness.
No one seems to know when, where, or why these symbols were incorporated into the quintessentially American vernacular, but they seem to be with us for the long haul. One can go on forever romanticizing the traditional American culture of yesteryear, or one can go out in search of its modern iteration. In the exhibition American Folk, currently on view at Foley Gallery, photographer Lisa Elmaleh presents an America that most people fail to realize still exists in the twenty-first century. Since 2010 she has created tintype portraits of traditional folk musicians living in and around the Appalachian Mountains. It is hard to believe that anyone is still creating tintypes in the age of digital photography and the iPhone. It is this attention to tradition that defines the series.
Both her subject matter and her process, itself a novelty of the 19th century, reflect an emphasis on detail that many contemporary photographers have long forgotten. Like many of her predecessors, Elmaleh uses a large format 8x10 camera and develops her images on site. She works in the tradition of Walker Evans and Paul Strand; her photographs are simple and straightforward with a focus on the individual that seems to reveal something about the character of her sitters. Elmaleh's images are equal parts portrait and documentary. Although they contain many of the formal elements of traditional portraiture, there is a deeper narrative here than just what we see. These images tell a story of a group of people that extends beyond the individuals featured in Elmaleh's photos. The musicians in American Folk of today work in an idiom just as Elmaleh's process is wrapped in nostalgic process.
Despite the rapidity of change in our time, there are still things that remain immutable. Words like 'classic' and 'traditional' have been thrown around to describe what always has been and what always will be. American Folk perfectly captures the notion of classic Americana.
American Folk is on view at Foley Gallery through August 9th.


Addiction can involve individuals from every walk of life. Drugs along with alcohol are only a few of the addictions that individuals suffer from. These problems used to be thought of as merely bad choices many years back then. Nowadays, doctors along with other medical professionals are recognizing that this problem is more complex than that. With this shifting outlook comes hope. At present people are trying to overcome their addiction through technology.
Here are some ways in which technology is helping addicts bounce back.
A few years back, addicts generally would go turn to their support group whenever they feel the desire to indulge themselves. Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous have taken advantage of support systems to offer help to people whenever they felt an urge to drink. AA has come up even with a reward system to help addicts monitor their progress. Tokens are offered for every year the individual has been alcohol-free. For people who are in this program, they are even able to obtain AA coins online. The idea was well-received that it helped a lot of people.
On the other hand, what happens if the sponsor was away? Well, modern technology has changed all of that. Apps are making way for addicts to reach their sponsors no matter how far apart they are. Smart devices enable addicts to now contact their support crowd at any time of the day. Apps such as AA Big Book are downloadable for free and facilitates for users to connect with each other.
Even though there are controversies about neurofeedback, it's being used as a therapy for addiction. Doctors as well as scientists are making use of this technology to observe the brainwaves of an addict and use these to stimulate positive habits. This facilitates a change in the standard of the addiction and substitutes healthy rewards for drugs or other vices. All of this is performed with the use of computers that are connected to electrodes and subsequently placed on the head of the patient. This simple procedure has enabled many people to successfully overcome their addiction.
For many years computer algorithms have been employed to solve difficult problems. Today, however, they are being applied for a different noble cause — to combat addiction. A number of new companies, some of them initiated by ex-addicts, are coming out with apps which are designed to allow addicts to choose their treatment method. Apps similar to Addicaid, etc. are changing the game for sure.


?	Eliminate distractions. Choose a comfortable setting-perhaps your office or a conference room with good lighting. Block off distracting window views and minimize interruptions. Clear the table of clutter.
?	Sit next to the person at eye level. Sit side by side rather than across a desk form each other. This has psychological and physical effects. It creates a feeling of being on the same side and allows both people to look at materials from the same perspective.
?	Maintain good eye contact but don't stare. In a group you make eye contact with everyone. With individuals, you don't want to lock eyes. Break eye contact from time to time. A good guide is to look at the person 70% of the time.
?	Use visual aids. Props, pictures, and objects can serve as effective visual aids. Visuals are important learning tools, and you shouldn't overlook them in a one-to-one situation. Be sure your visuals are appropriate to the situation. A few carefully placed props and occasional use of a table easel can enhance your presentation.
?	Clarify but don't repeat questions. In a large group, you repeat the question so that everyone can hear it. But in one-to-one settings, the same technique would be silly. You may ask for clarification: "Are you saying that you need more practice?" Or you may restate the question in your answer. "The procedure for this project is?"
?	Maintain a comfortable physical distance. Don't invade the other person's space. When sitting side by side, don't lean in or take over the person's materials. Ask permission to demonstrate with their materials.
?	Pause. The brain needs a few seconds to process information. Don't overload the learner with too much data. Pause between thoughts to let the information sink in.
?	Use smaller gestures. Show enthusiasm and get involved with the learner. Allow yourself to be natural and expressive. But contain your gestures, because the physical space is smaller in one-to-one situations. Wide, sweeping movements will seem out of place.
?	Prepare and organize. It's easy to lose track of time when you're working with only one person. Whether you train one person or a hundred, the preparation is the same. Without adequate preparation, you'll seem disorganized and unprofessional. Prepare an outline and establish time frames.
Watch for nonverbal cues. In a group, different personalities react in diverse ways. Someone in the group will often say what others are thinking. In a one-to-one situation, however, the person may feel reluctant to tell you that he or she needs a break or doesn't understand. Watch body language and continually check back: "You look like you disagree." "Are you ready for a break?" "Is this something you can use on the job?"
Copyright Diane DiResta 2005. All rights reserved.
Diane DiResta, President of DiResta Communications, Inc. is an International speaker, coach, and author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz. To subscribe to Impact Player, a free online newsletter visit http://www.diresta.com.


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Veganuary: Fast food giants launch plant-based meals as red meat sales plummet
3 January 2020, source edie newsroom
Food-to-go giants including Greggs, KFC and McDonald's have all launched new plant-based options to mark Veganuary, after supermarkets recorded a plunge in meat sales which looks set to continue into 2020.
KFC's vegan burger (pictured) proved a hit during trials last summer.
Launched in the UK in 2014 by a team of environmentalists, the Veganuary campaign challenges participants to eat only vegan foods for 31 days, with a view that they will change their dietary habits in the long-term.
After the campaign recorded record participation in 2019, many businesses have been keen to cash in on the occasion for 2020, given that 300,000 people have already signed up.
Following the successful launch of its vegan sausage roll last January, Greggs this week debuted a vegan version of its popular steak bake. The new version is made using funghi-based protein Quorn and has already proven a huge hit, attracting queues of up to 20 minutes.
Greggs' profits soared 52% to £36.7 million for the 26 weeks to 29 June 2019, a trajectory attributed to the vegan sausage roll launch. Similar success is expected around the new steak bake.
The time has come. pic.twitter.com/AUP82hPcBj
— Greggs (@GreggsOfficial) January 2, 2020
KFC, meanwhile, has introduced a vegan 'chicken' burger to its menu as a permanent addition, following successful trials. It is marketing the burger, again made using Quorn, with taglines such as "new burger, who dis?" and "11 herbs and spices. Zero chicken."
During trials of KFC's vegan burger, the chain said it racked up sales 500% higher than its traditional chicken offering.
But other businesses' attempts to cash in on Veganuary have proven less successful. After unveiling a 'veggie dippers' meal, which includes goujons made using split peas and red pepper pesto, McDonald's was widely criticised on Twitter, with customers saying they would have preferred a hearty burger or a faux-chicken option.
Introducing our new, @vegsoc vegan approved, Veggie Dippers meal! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ugEISWXrj3
— McDonald's UK (@McDonaldsUK) January 2, 2020
Other notable Veganuary launches include Subway's meatless meatball marinara sandwich; Costa Coffee's Quorn ham and vegan cheese toastie; Frankie & Benny's first dedicated vegan menu; a fish-free 'tuna' bowl from Wagamama and Marks & Spencer's 'No Chicken Kiev'. The launch of the kiev builds on the success of the retailer's Plant Kitchen range, which launched last year. Since the range launched, surveys of M&S customers have found that one in four now consider themselves 'flexitarian' or otherwise plant-based.
More than a trend?
Research conducted by Nielsen and published for the first time in The Grocer last month showed that sales of beef and pork in supermarkets fell by £184.6m in 2019.
The researchers put this trend down to a number of factors, including a relatively short summer and high levels of rain, which will have put a damper on BBQ season.
But they ultimately concluded that the biggest contributing factor was the growing popularity of plant-based diets including veganism, vegetarianism and 'flexitarianism'. Indeed, a £61.9m increase in the sale of 'meat-free' lines at supermarkets was recorded over the same period by Nielsen.
Reasons for the transition to a plant-based diet are varied, ranging from concerns to animal welfare, to a desire to improve health or to save money on grocery bills. But amid a backdrop of climate protests – and as scientific research continues to connect land use for animal agriculture to rising emissions – environmental concerns are increasing in prominence as a driving factor.
While questions around whether plant-based diets are a passing fad have been raised, experts ultimately believe the shift is here to stay. Coller Capital's FAIRR initiative estimates that the global market for alternative plant-based proteins will reach $5.2bn in 2020 and continue to expand at an annual rate of 8.29% thereafter.
agriculture | Food & drink | new business models | Green innovation
Technology & innovation | New business models

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The item you tried to buy is sold outLe produit que vous tentez d'acheter est en rupture de stock.
• Figurine en porcelaine peinte à la main.
Copyright ©2019 D Liche | Ecommerce Software by Shopify. | Bilingual Theme bypar Shopify Ninjas.


"It includes something we call Hotspot access. So you, for instance, can just walk into a McDonald's, turn on your camera and it will start uploading your photos just like you were at home and it also includes a service that we call geotagging."
That embeds the location where the picture was taken into the file. Prices for Eye-Fi models start at under a hundred dollars. You can find us with archives, interviews and more at BootCamp.com. I'm Fred Fishkin.


text:
Home / Computer and Technology / Choose Your Favorite Trait In SIMS 4 !
Choose Your Favorite Trait In SIMS 4 !
A favorite game for video game lovers
Video games are a brilliant time pass for people. You never know how much time you can spend on a game if you like it. One such fan-favorite game that you can play is 'The Sims 4.' It is a life simulation game wherein you have to play with characters and control how they live their lives.
It has an aspect in it called the sims 4 how to change traits after my story. That will help you to change the look, personality, bonus, and death of the character. These traits make the game more fun as you feel more connected to the game. You can make the personalities of them, similar to what you like. Therefore, it will give a feeling of yourself when you play with them.
Reasons why people like to change the avatars
There are many reasons why people like to change or pick a particular trait of the character. They want it to interact and have a conversation in a way that is different from others. Let us have a look at some of them.
When people change the looks and personalities of their character, they feel more connected to them. It also makes them happier in playing with those avatars.
When people choose their favorite traits in the character they are playing with, it makes the game more appealing. They find the game more exciting and fun than ever. It is because they connect more with them and feel better.
While playing video games, many people do not like to interact with others. But when they choose their favorite traits in their character, they tend to open up more.
These are some of the reasons people like to use sims 4 how to change traits after my story.
Way to change the traits
The way of changing the traits and personalities of the character is straightforward. You will get to the cheat consoles to make changes in these traits. To open that, you will have to enter CTRL + Shift + C. Here you get the chance to write the cheats that you want to test. There you will find the opportunity to change the traits of your avatars. When you click on the option of modify in Cas, you will find a menu where you can select your favorite looks, gender, and other kinds of stuff.
Different modes that you can select
SIMS 4 has a lot of characters, which you can choose from always. All of these characters have different personalities and bonuses. You will find character mods like the Guitar Legend, Artistic Prodigy, baby maker, etc. For people who like cooking, you can also have a born chef trait. There is another character called the Tech genius for those who are into technology-related kinds of stuff. If you play the game and you the cheat consoles, you will know more about it. So why wait for more? Get your smartphones and start playing the brilliant life simulation game.
Mario 42 views 0 likes Dec 9, 2020 Computer and Technology, Gaming, Guide, Internet, SIMS 4, Video Game Share


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The Declaration of Independence – cortometraggio del 1911 diretto da J. Searle Dawley
The Declaration of Independence – cortometraggio del 1911 prodotto dalla Thanhouser Film Corporation
The Declaration of Independence – cortometraggio del 1924 diretto da Kenneth S. Webb
The Declaration of Independence – cortometraggio del 1938 diretto da Crane Wilbur

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
=begin
Write your code for the 'Grep' exercise in this file. Make the tests in
`grep_test.rb` pass.

To get started with TDD, see the `README.md` file in your
`ruby/grep` directory.
=end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
La 1. Bundesliga 2021-2022, 31ª edizione della massima serie del campionato tedesco di pallavolo maschile si è svolta dal 6 ottobre 2021 al 30 aprile 2022: al torneo hanno partecipato nove squadre di club tedesche e la vittoria finale è andata per la dodicesima volta, la sesta consecutiva, al .

Regolamento

Formula
La formula ha previsto:
 Regular season, disputata con girone all'italiana, con gare di andata e ritorno: le prime otto classificate hanno acceduto al turno intermedio.
 Turno intermedio, con le squadre divise in due gruppi: il gruppo A formato dalla squadre classificate ai primi quattro posti della classifica e il gruppo B con le restanti squadre. Ciascun gruppo si è disputato con un girone all'italiana, con gare di andata e ritorno, per un totale di sei giornate; le squadre hanno ricevuto punti aggiuntivi in base al posizionamento in regular season: 9 punti alla prima e alla quinta classificata, 6 punti alla seconda e alla sesta, 3 punti alla terza e alla settima.
 Play-off scudetto, strutturati in:
 Quarti di finale, giocati al meglio di due vittorie su tre gare
 Semifinali e finale, giocate al meglio di tre vittorie su cinque gare.

Criteri di classifica
Se il risultato finale è stato di 3-0 o 3-1 sono stati assegnati 3 punti alla squadra vincente e 0 a quella sconfitta, se il risultato finale è stato di 3-2 sono stati assegnati 2 punti alla squadra vincente e 1 a quella sconfitta.

L'ordine del posizionamento in classifica è stato definito in base a:
Punti;
Numero di vittorie;
Ratio dei set vinti/persi;
Ratio dei punti realizzati/subiti;
Risultati degli scontri diretti.

Squadre partecipanti

Torneo

Regular season

Risultati

Classifica

Note:
Alcune partite in programma non hanno avuto luogo: per questo motivo, la classsifica è stata determinata sulla base del quoziente tra il numero di punti e il numero di partite giocate.
Al  sono stati inflitti sei punti di penalizzazione per violazione delle procedure di lega

Legenda:
      Qualificata al turno intermedio

Turno intemedio

Gruppo A (1-4)

Risultati

Classifica

Note:
Alcune partite in programma non hanno avuto luogo: per questo motivo, la classsifica è stata determinata sulla base del quoziente tra il numero di punti e il numero di partite giocate.

Legenda:
      Qualificata ai play-off scudetto

Gruppo A (5-8)

Risultati

Classifica

Legenda:
      Qualificata ai play-off scudetto

Play-off scudetto

Tabellone

Risultati

Quarti di finale

Semifinali

Finale

Verdetti

Statistiche

Note

Collegamenti esterni

 2021-2022
Pallavolo nel 2021
Pallavolo nel 2022


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Florence Anne Lindstrom
North Haven Smeaton & District Care Home
2nd Ave West
Smeaton, Saskatchewan, Canada
Leask Cemetery
RM of Leask
Leask, Saskatchewan, Canada
Obituary of Florence Anne Lindstrom
Please share a memory of Florence to include in a keepsake book for family and friends.
Florence Lindstrom was born in Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan on June 28, 1926, the eldest daughter of Wilfred and Winnifred Freer. They were raised on a farm near Marcelin, SK.
Florence, Dorothy, and Frances had many happy times together, horseback riding, sledding and in winter jumping up and down on the snow banks. The girls visited neighbors and played blind man's bluff and many card games. Florence knitted and embroidered most evenings. The girls did a lot of walking, bringing cattle home in the evenings and watering cattle half a mile away in the winter and when it was dry. Because they did not have a TV, Florence enjoyed playing cards and several board games on Sundays.
Florence took her schooling at Paddling Lake, a country school under several teachers. She would walk two miles to school with family members but, in winter their dad would take them in a horse drawn sleigh called a "caboose". After leaving school in Grade 8, she did housework & worked in restaurants in Prince Albert, SK. Florence had a generous, kind and caring heart and was able to make friends easily.
Florence met her husband Emil in Prince Albert. Florence & Emil married in Prince Albert in 1949 & moved to a farm in Choiceland, SK. There they raised cattle, and Florence enjoyed picking berries and gardening. She enjoyed several parties the neighbors had for them, especially the celebration of their 25th anniversary. After Emil's passing, Florence moved into Choiceland, then due to health issues, she moved to the North Haven Lodge in Smeaton where she lived out the remainder of her life. She passed away on July 16, 2019 at the age of 93.
Florence was predeceased by her parents Wilfred and Winnifred Freer, her husband Emil, her sister Francis and two brothers-in-law.
Florence is survived by her sister Dorothy and numerous nieces and nephews.


Introducing a law, that would say that a threat of suicide a ground for abortion, is not something that should be done under the pressure of artificial deadlines.
I know of no other area of law, where a threat of suicide is sufficient to make legal, what would otherwise be illegal.
The notion that a simple threat of suicide would make right, something that would otherwise be wrong, is a really dangerous principle.
We must think long and hard about where it might lead.
We should also think carefully about the legitimating effect, that giving a threat of suicide this sort of high level statutory recognition, might have on attempts to reduce the incidence of suicide, or of threats of suicide.
The abortion question boils down to whether one believes an unborn child is a separate human, with human rights of his/her own, or not.
Some believe the unborn child is not a human with human rights, but just a part of the mother. If it is a part of the mother and not another life, then of course logically, the mother could make her own decisions. But the Irish constitution says something different.
The Irish people formally rejected that view when they decided in 1983 on an amendment to the constitution, now Article 40,(3)(3), which says that the unborn child has an "equal right to life" with its mother. This is being forgotten in some recent discussions.
The word "equal" is crucial here. A possibility is never equal to a certainty. The particular sentence in the constitution would have made sense if the word "equal " had not been put before "right to life", but it WAS put in. That must be respected in any law the Dail may pass.
In Article 40, the Irish constitution, in recognising his or her right to life, recognises the basic humanity of the unborn child, and grants the unborn child human and constitutional rights.
Thus I believe that an unborn little girls life cannot, constitutionally, be taken away by a decision of 2,4,6 8, or any number of doctors, along with her mother, because the Irish people have said that she has rights of its own, separate from all of them.
At the very least, the unborn child, whose life may be about to be ended, must have separate representation in any process that might suppress her life. That should be a fundamental and uncontroversial legal principle.
Allowing medical certificates of suicidal intent to suffice to authorise the taking away the otherwise healthy life of an unborn child, would also be put great stress on the system of medical ethics. Medical certification is sometimes fallible, as we know in regard to the certification of illness for absence from work.
The fact that leading psychiatrists are reluctant to be involved in certifying suicidal intent, in the context of ending the life of an unborn child, and the fact that many of them assert that abortion is never a cure for suicidal feelings, shows how impractical and mistaken was the original Supreme Court majority decision in the X case, in so far as it allowed suicide ideation on the part of a mother to override the equal right to life of an unborn child.
2. an option I do not favour, have a constitutional amendment to remove the equal right to life of the unborn from the constitution.
Some may argue against these options on the ground that the X case is settled law, and is thus is a reliable basis for proceeding with legislation to allow abortion where suicide is threatened. I believe this is wrong.
Irish constitutional law has changed considerably since 1992, when X was decided. There are two particularly relevant examples.
The first is the development by the Irish Courts of what is called the "proportionality test". This test, first adopted by the High Court in 1994 (2 years after the X case), but now well entrenched, is used by the Courts when deciding cases, where there is a clash of rights.
This test involves the Court in a much more searching examination of the evidence than happened in the X case – when a majority of the Court agreed to the deliberate ending of an unborn life on the basis of a report by a single psychologist. Critically, the proportionality test requires someone, who is seeking to interfere with another individual's rights, to prove that there is no other way of resolving the matter.
If a new X case were to come up, the Court would be required by the proportionality test, to take account of the sort of evidence, heard by the Oireachtas Committee recently, to the effect that there are plenty of other things that could be done to prevent a suicide in such a case. As a result of the improvements in legal procedure and in psychiatric medicine, I believe Courts would decide an X case differently today.
The second way in which things have changed since the X case, is the amendment made by the people in 2001,which is now Article 15 (4) of the constitution, which bans the state imposing a penalty of death, in any circumstances.
This ban cannot even be suspended in an emergency like a war. This added constitutional commitment to the inviolability of every human life, because it was passed after the X case was decided, could not have taken into account then. In a future case, all the different articles in the constitution would be interpreted together, and the argument would surely be advanced that it would be incongruous, constitutionally, to allow an unborn and innocent child, with explicit rights to life under Article 40, to be deprived of her life, while protecting, in every situation, the life of an adult who had committed a very serious crime .
WHO ARE THE REAL WINNERS FROM COMPLEX FINANCIAL REGULATIONS?


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Man sending explicit messages snared by paedophile hunters
By Ryan Evans @RyanBasGazette Reporter
Basingstoke views 2016 May..Basingstoke Magistrates Court....Photograph By: Sean Dillow..www.TheBigCheesePhotography.co.uk.
A BASINGSTOKE man who sent sexually explicit messages to three accounts he thought belonged to children has been spared jail.
Vijay Barretto, 49, was snared by a group of paedophile hunters when he tried to meet the person behind an adult account after messaging people he believed were children.
Basingstoke Magistrates' Court heard how Barretto thought he was messaging two 13-year-olds and one 12-year-old when he asked: "I want to be naked with you?" and "Will you have my children?".
Barretto, who lived in Elizabeth Road in Basingstoke when the offences were committed, has now moved. He gave his most recent address to the court as Queensbury Road but did not specify the town.
According to the prosecution, Barretto had sent messages between November 30 and December 26, 2017 using "the type of language the Crown says is wholly inappropriate".
"All three profiles made clear very early on that they were a child," prosecutor David Fossler said.
He appeared before Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on Monday.
In mitigation, Ms Bonavia said that there had been no indication of any offences before or since, and there was no indication that he was attempting to meet any children or decoys, likening it to a "sexual fantasy".
He was confronted by paedophile hunters when attempting to meet the adult account.
She continued: "He appears to have become very isolated and was turning to gambling and using alcohol – he was in a bad place."
Barretto had been working and sending money back to his family in India, with Ms Bonavia saying that if he loses his employment, "his whole point of being has gone".
"He is doing the very best he can to recover the situation, certainly I do not think he has any inclination that he would be damaging people.
"He has demonstrated to the court that he is not someone who is an ongoing danger," she continued.
Barretto was spared jail and was given an 18-month community order, including 35 rehabilitation activity days and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Mrs Ashton, Chair of Magistrates, said: "We make the order because we believe the cases are so serious."
As well as the community order, Barretto was ordered to pay £85 in costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
Forty new jobs could come to Basingstoke as Lidl say they are "delighted" at plans
Council makes almost £3 million in parking revenue
County women can't afford rent
CAMERA CLUB: Picture of the Week (January 16)
Basingstoke bikers invited to Matt Harris funeral march
One lane blocked on A303 following accident near Bullington Cross
Four figure grant for Basingstoke projects from community foundation
American Gods author Neil Gaiman joins dozens of authors to oppose plans to close 10 libraries
Kind-hearted residents offer fire victims help as Apollo Hotel offers to provide accommodation


The sun is finally breaking through the clouds, putting an end to the snowfall, which means spring is right around the corner for us. While a lot of us are planning vacations, managing to pull off the dreaded spring cleaning, or just enjoying the sun, our plants also need a little TLC during this transitional period. Last year, we wrote a guide on spring care for your plants, and this year we'd like to follow up on that. Read on for our tips and tricks to get your plants prepped for the growing season.
Spring is an ideal time to repot your plants. Most cacti, succulents, and tropical plants grow more during spring and summer than they will the rest of the year. To maximize their growth, it's best to choose a pot that's around two inches larger in diameter than the current one; too large, and you run the risk of overly-saturated soil when watering. Too small, and the roots may crowd each other, not leaving space for optimal growth to occur. It's also important to be mindful when choosing a container for your plants. If you're planning on keeping plants outside for the duration of spring and summer, choose a container with a drainage hole for when your plants receive a good watering from the rain.
If you ended up moving your plants around during winter to maximize the amount of sunlight they were receiving, now's a good time to rearrange them accordingly for when the sunlight starts to get stronger. Most tropical, leafy plants enjoy bright, but indirect sunlight, meaning unobstructed windows with a western or southern exposure might be a bit much for them. Keeping them a few feet away is usually best to avoid any kind of sunburn they might experience otherwise. Cacti and succulents, on the other hand, thrive in direct sunlight, which western and southern exposures provide plenty of.
One of the best things you can do for your plants during this time is putting them outdoors, if you're able. When placing them outdoors for their mini vacation, be sure to slowly transition the sun-loving plants to the direct sunlight outside. Being indoors (especially for the winter) makes plants — even cacti and succulents — susceptible to sunburn when they're suddenly put outdoors. Try placing them outside in a shaded area to start off with. From there, place your plants in full sunlight for half an hour or so, then back to a more shaded area for the remainder of the day. By increasing their time spent in direct sunlight each day, you'll start to acclimate your plants to being outside and have a much smoother transition period. Be sure to place them accordingly outside as well. For instance, try to place leafier plants underneath an awning or shady tree rather than in full sun, where they might still experience sunburn even after acclimating to being outdoors.
Spring and summer are always a fun time for both us and our plants. Hopefully these tips have helped you learn how to maximize your plant's growth under sunny skies. If there's a question or topic you feel like we might have missed addressing in this post (or if you have any ideas for a future journal topic), feel free to give us a shout down below, reach out to our HELP! page, or come in to one of our locations and chat with us!


Paul Manafort (center), standing with his lawyers, is introduced to jury pool on Tuesday.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort arrives at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., for a hearing in June.
Gayelynn Taxey and Danny Hastings protest in front of the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., Tuesday.
But the trial of Manafort, which began Tuesday in a suburban Washington, D.C., courthouse, is already upending those low expectations. The trial is the first brought on indictments by special counsel Robert Mueller's office.
TV crews were in place setting up outside the courthouse before 5 a.m., and a jury of six men and six women, largely white, was seated before the lunch break of the trial's first day. There are also four alternate jurors, three of whom are women.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye's opening statement followed the strategy prosecuting lawyers have planned for the trial. They plan to call witnesses who they say demonstrate how Manafort spent his allegedly ill-gotten gains: custom-made suits, Persian rugs, landscaping fees, Land Rovers and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and season tickets to the New York Yankees, among other items.
Manafort is accused of paying for that lifestyle, which Asonye also specifically mentioned included a $15,000 jacket "made from an ostrich," by evading taxes on money he made for political consulting work in Ukraine and lying to banks to get loans.
"A man in this courtroom believed the law did not apply to him," Asonye said.
Asonye said Manafort made $60 million in Ukraine between 2010 and 2014, and operated 30 bank accounts in three foreign countries in an effort to skirt tax laws.
Manafort's defense attorney, Thomas Zehnle, however, vehemently disagreed with that characterization in his opening statement. Instead, he presented Manafort as a self-made, second-generation immigrant, and a "driving force in the candidacy of multiple U.S. presidents."
"Paul Manafort has rendered a valuable service to our system of government," Zehnle said.
Manafort was often on the road, sometimes seven time zones away from his political consulting business, so he relied on his business partner Richard Gates to handle operations and finances, the defense lawyer argued.
Gates abused Manafort's trust and allegedly embezzled from the business, only to take a guilty plea and become the government's star witness in the case. His goal was to save himself from prison time and having to pay back taxes, Zehnle said.
Special counsel Robert Mueller did not appear in court for the first day of the trial. Two of his deputies, James Quarles and Aaron Zebley, sat in the audience for the opening statements.
It's what may not come up much during the trial in Alexandria, Va., that will draw attention from all over the world: Manafort's work for candidate Donald Trump for a critical period in 2016 when Trump clinched the Republican nomination for president.
In pretrial arguments, prosecutor Greg Andres told the court that the government would only bring up Manafort's campaign work in the context of a witness from a bank that gave him a loan, with the expectation that the banker would win consideration for a post in the Trump administration.
"I don't anticipate that a government witness will utter the word 'Russia,' " Andres said.
Manafort's defense team has argued that any mention of Trump could be seized on by jurors who have an unfavorable view of the president.
"Evidence or argument relating to Mr. Manafort's work for then-candidate Trump's campaign in 2016 or the Special Counsel's investigation of the campaign's alleged collusion with the Russian government is wholly irrelevant to whether Mr. Manafort's personal income tax returns were false, whether he willfully failed to file reports of foreign accounts, and whether he conspired to commit, or committed, bank fraud," defense lawyers wrote.
There was no mention in the courtroom of President Trump on the trial's first day.
Judge T.S. Ellis III opened the trial, and jury selection, by reading 60 potential jurors a brief summary of the indictment and reminded them that the indictment itself was "not proof of a crime."
Already, Ellis has confronted questions about whether prospective jurors can be impartial in the highly charged case. Earlier this month, the judge denied a bid by Manafort to move the case out of Alexandria. The defense had worried that voters in Northern Virginia leaned more Democratic than in the western part of the state in 2016, but the Reagan-appointed judge said that was not the standard to assess whether a defendant could receive a fair trial.
"On the basis of the record presented thus far, there is no reason to believe that fair and impartial jurors cannot be found in the Eastern District of Virginia," the judge concluded.
The prospective jurors filled out a lengthy questionnaire that asks about their experience with the criminal justice system and their familiarity with Ukraine. Manafort's work for the pro-Russian government in Ukraine plays a central role in the allegations against him, because prosecutors say he concealed income from that work from U.S. tax officials and allegedly laundered more than $18 million in proceeds.
The heart of the government's case involves nine years of Manafort's lucrative lobbying and consulting for Ukraine and its former leader Viktor Yanukovych, work the U.S. government said Manafort should have registered with the Justice Department. The grand jury indictment accused Manafort of funneling the money to offshore accounts in Cyprus, the Seychelles and other locations, as well as failing to report it to the IRS.
When Yanukovych fled to Russia, Manafort and his business partner Gates experienced a severe cash crunch, and the men allegedly began leveraging real estate to take out new loans, providing false or incomplete profit and loss statements and other data to banks.
Gates has since pleaded guilty and agreed to help prosecutors with their case, as one of the government's star witnesses. That leaves Manafort, 69, facing charges that could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life.
Manafort's defense team has filed a flurry of motions — to suppress evidence gathered from a Virginia storage unit, to challenge the mandate of the special counsel and to delay the trial — nearly all of which it has lost so far. A legal defense fund set up to help cover his mounting bills praises his "lifetime of service" to "no less than four United States presidents."
Responding to allegations that Manafort took the campaign job with Trump in 2016 to pay off debts he owed to a Russian oligarch, the defense fund website asserts that he was "motivated solely by his appreciation and ardor for our country."
"Hearing the voice of so many Americans who felt unrepresented by our government, Paul helped to define Donald Trump's core beliefs and, along with other remarkably talented individuals, they achieved what is believed to be one of the greatest victories in the annals of any presidential campaign," the defense fund site said.
But that lofty rhetoric stands in contrast to Manafort's current circumstances. His legal burden grew heavier in mid-June, when a different judge, in Washington, D.C., ordered Manafort to jail, as a flight risk. A grand jury in D.C. had indicted Manafort on new charges — of alleged witness tampering — for contacting people who could testify in the cases against him.
Authorities initially detained him more than 100 miles away in the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Va. His lawyers cited the distance in a bid to postpone the trial until autumn at the earliest.
Instead, Ellis directed U.S. marshals to move Manafort to the detention center in Alexandria, near the courthouse. That facility has housed a variety of prominent defendants including Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, and spies Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames.
The judge told potential jurors that the trial would last no more than three weeks.
When it is over, Manafort will not quite be done with the justice system. He faces a separate trial in late September in Washington, D.C.
Special counsel Robert Mueller was tapped to look into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. At the same time, Mueller was empowered to pursue any possible crimes that might come up in the course of that investigation. Enter Paul Manafort - President Trump's former campaign chairman is facing charges of financial fraud, alleged crimes that were uncovered through Mueller's larger probe. Jury selection in Manafort's trial starts today. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been covering this case from the very beginning and joins us now. Good morning, Carrie.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Rachel.
MARTIN: All right. So financial fraud - that is the catch-all phrase we use to describe what charges Manafort is facing, but can you get a little bit more granular for us? What exactly is he accused of?
JOHNSON: Sure. Remember that Paul Manafort is a brand name in part because he was the Trump campaign chairman for a key part of 2016 during the Republican National Convention. But these bank and tax fraud charges against him go all the way back to 2005. This case today revolves around lucrative lobbying work that Paul Manafort did for the government in Ukraine, the pro-Russia government there. Prosecutors say he earned more than $60 million and failed to report a lot of it on his tax returns. He also allegedly failed to register his foreign bank accounts. And when that work dried up in Ukraine, Manafort allegedly borrowed against the value of real estate and then allegedly misled banks and lenders about all that.
MARTIN: So now he's facing charges, and his trial is going to get under way today. Are prosecutors going to try to make a connection in this trial to possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia? I mean, is there any way that comes up?
JOHNSON: Well, quite the opposite, Rachel. Prosecutor Greg Andres said in pretrial proceedings that it's unlikely any government witness will actually use the word Russia. The heart of the government's case, the government's witness list, includes accountants, people familiar with Paul Manafort's money and other people connected to how he spent that money. Expect to hear about the purchase of expensive rugs, New York Yankees tickets, real estate and expect to hear from Manafort's former right hand man, Rick Gates, who was charged alongside Manafort and later pled guilty and flipped. Looming over this whole thing, though, is whether Manafort has any information about Russia and the Trump campaign. Remember; Manafort did attend that Trump Tower meeting in June 2016. So far, no sign that he's going to flip.
MARTIN: Do we know anything about his defense strategy? Are his lawyers indicating what arguments they're going to try to make?
JOHNSON: They have not previewed their strategy too much. They filed a lot of motions in this case to delay the trial - to the mandate of the special counsel, and they've lost almost all of those motions. We do know Manafort's lead lawyer, Kevin Downing, has said from the start that Manafort's innocent, there was no collusion with Russia. And the defense seems to be arguing that but for Manafort's work on this Trump campaign, he never would have been charged with a crime.
MARTIN: So you are, I understand, across the street from the courthouse right now where you've set up your makeshift studio. Are there lines forming to get in there?
JOHNSON: A line did start forming shortly after 6 a.m. And what we're expecting is that the judge is going to hear some pretrial arguments about limiting evidence in the case. And then later this morning, he's going to start questioning prospective jurors. He wants 12 jurors and four alternate, 16 in all. These prospective jurors have already filled out a written questionnaire. The judge is going to follow up, make sure they can be fair and impartial. And the judge in this case, T.S. Ellis, wants this process to move quickly. He's told the jury pool the whole case will last no more than three weeks.
MARTIN: So it's interesting to kind of think how President Trump has changed his rhetoric on all of this. I mean, he has been consistent about attacking the special counsel to be sure, from the very beginning calling it a witch hunt. He's even gotten his national security adviser, John Bolton, to describe it as a witch hunt. At the same time, though, President Trump has been distancing himself from Paul Manafort recently, right?
JOHNSON: Yeah. The president's lead lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said this week if Manafort - and that Manafort and Trump didn't have any intimate business dealings at all. Giuliani also said that Manafort had no incriminating information against the president. Giuliani said they can squeeze Paul Manafort, but he doesn't have anything. Now, Trump has also said that Paul Manafort is a good guy being treated brutally by the government. There is a chance that Manafort could decide to cooperate with investigators down the line. Remember; he's 69 years old. If he's convicted of these charges, it could be a virtual life sentence in prison for him.
MARTIN: All right. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson covering the beginning of Paul Manafort's trial. He is, of course, the former campaign chairman for the Donald Trump presidential campaign. Hey, Carrie, thanks so much.
JOHNSON: My pleasure, thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


Two vehicles entered the Bedford, New Hampshire, tolls at the same time on Tuesday afternoon.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is issuing a few sage words of advice to motorists traveling on the state's highways.
"Only one vehicle at a time through the toll lane please..." the NHDOT posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon, alongside a photo of two vehicles squeezed together side by side in a single toll lane.
Two motorists entered the same toll lane southbound at the Bedford tolls around the same time on Tuesday afternoon and got stuck there. State transportation officials said no one was injured.
The lane was cleared and reopened within an hour.


President Trump Donald John TrumpThorny part of obstruction of justice is proving intent, that's a job for Congress Obama condemns attacks in Sri Lanka as 'an attack on humanity' Schiff rips Conway's 'display of alternative facts' on Russian election interference MORE and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwaySchiff rips Conway's 'display of alternative facts' on Russian election interference Kellyanne Conway: Mueller didn't need to use the word 'exoneration' in report Giuliani: 'It would not have been obstruction' if Trump had fired Mueller MORE's husband sparred over Twitter Wednesday.
"'Trump could be the most honest president in modern history. When you look at the real barometer of presidential truthfulness, which is promise keeping, he is probably the most honest president in American history. He's done exactly what he said he would do.' Marc Thiessen, WPost," Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
Thiessen is a former speechwriter to George W. Bush's administration.
George Conway, who has been a frequent critic of the president, fired back using another sentence from Thiessen's piece.
"In the second sentence of the same opinion piece, Thiessen also said, 'Don't get me wrong, Trump lies all the time,'" Conway quipped.
In his piece titled, "Trump could be the most honest president in modern history," Thiessen argues that the president is "a paragon of honesty" when it comes to doing what he promised to do.
Thiessen admits that Trump inflates the value of his accomplishments — such as bragging that he enacted the "biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history."
But the columnist argued that Trump is far more honest than most presidents, particularly his predecessor, President Obama.
Thiessen cites Trump's promises to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, which many presidents have promised but never completed, as well as Trump's promise to "crush and destroy ISIS." Theissen says the U.S. is now on the verge of eliminating the terrorist group.
"When Trump says he will do something, you can take it to the bank."
"Yes, he takes liberties with the truth," he explains. "But unlike his predecessor, he did not pass his signature legislative achievement on the basis of a lie ('If you like your health care plan, you can keep it ') — which is clearly worse than falsely bragging that your tax cut is the biggest ever."


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The Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) is a voluntary association of cities, counties and special districts in Central Texas.

Based in Austin, the Capital Area Council of Governments is a member of the Texas Association of Regional Councils.

Counties served
Bastrop
Blanco
Burnet
Caldwell
Fayette
Hays
Lee
Llano
Travis
Williamson

Largest cities in the region
Austin
Round Rock
San Marcos
Cedar Park
Georgetown
Pflugerville
Taylor
Lockhart
Kyle
Leander

References

External links
Capital Area Council of Governments - Official site.

Texas Association of Regional Councils


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Exclusive webinar On-Demand
What AI Won't Tell You:
making the leap from social listening to social intelligence
Today, components of AI augment social listening platforms are far from entirely replacing humans.
In this webinar, we'll discuss the importance of combining AI with human expertise to turn social listening data into actionable insights, and real-life examples from global brands.
Jessica Liu, Senior Analyst @Forrester Research
Guillaume Decugis, CEO@Linkfluence
Watch webinar on-demand
Your privacy is important to us and your information will be kept confidential.
THE WEBINAR IS STARTING IN:
2019/06/27 17:00 GMT
Join guest speaker Jessica Liu from Forrester Research to unpack AI's role in social listening:
How does AI manifest in social listening platforms?
What role do humans play in social intelligence practices?
How to deliver actionable consumer insights?
Jessica Liu
Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
Jessie serves B2C Marketing Professionals with a focus on social marketing. Her research covers the types of strategies and technologies marketers can use to win, serve, and retain customers in a rapidly changing social media landscape.
Prior to joining Forrester, Jessie spent 10 years on the marketing agency side, working closely with leading B2C and B2B brands to define and execute their digital go-to-market, acquisition, and retention strategies. She led and managed agency teams specializing in branded content, social media, native advertising, influencer marketing, sponsorship and events, and offline-to-online customer journeys. Her industry experience spans Fortune 100 brands in financial services, technology, telecom, and retail.
Jessie holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.A. from The University of California, Berkeley in political science.
Guillaume Decugis
CEO, Linkfluence
Guillaume has been a serial entrepreneur for the past 15+ years. He's currently the CEO of Linkfluence, a leading social media intelligence company that brings social insights to global brands.
Guillaume co-founded and developed Scoop.it into a prominent Marketing Tech company until its acquisition by Linkfluence in 2018. Following its public launch in November 2011, Scoop.it has been ranked by inbound.org among the Top 50 MarTech companies in the world.
Guillaume's first company, Musiwave, was acquired for $120 million in 2006 - one of the top European tech startup exits that year. It is now a Microsoft company. Guillaume also launched Goojet in 2008 - a social widget platform for mobile which topped 1m downloads.
Originally from France, Guillaume received a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford University. He now lives in San Francisco where he likes to surf, ski and sing in "The Frogs" - the rock band he started with some of his tech entrepreneurs friends.
Don't forget to share this webinar:


This drama definitely has potential in developing the storyline if the episodes were a bit longer. I honestly like the storyline but because there's only 12 episodes, I feel like not a lot of the mystery are covered. The storyline would of definitely have a stronger build up with the main leads. I'm also still confused if DJH is really KSH's dad and they never explain why he has blue eyes. With only 2 episodes left, I'm not sure how it's going to end. I love the interaction between KSH and DHJ. Even if there isn't a love story line going on, the why they always stare at each other shows that they long for one another or care for one another. I also feel like the writer is trying to create a love triangle along with the prosecutor Yoon Jae Hyun. If that were the case, he should of done that from the beginning. Overall, I still enjoyed this drama.
I'm wondering if anyone know what's the background music played in episode 26 when haolan was crying?


For your special occasions, we can perform in special fire shows with pyrotechnic finale and led light shows. For each event is studied a personalized and exciting choreography that will amaze your guests pleasantly.
Our fire shows are designed on energetic music with great emotional impact. Each show is customized based on the occasion of the event and performed with great style, technical sophistication and a great desire to surprise and excite the audience and the protagonists of the party. The fire show is ideal to enhance the moment of the cake cutting, to give life to an unforgettable event and evening.
The show includes a pyrotechnic finale, perfect to end the show with energy and to celebrate the special day of the party. It is a moment of certain success that amazes and excites the public present leaving the guests with a great desire to have fun and continue the party with joy.
For each private event we study a completely personalized show based on the theme of the party. Thanks to led technology, we can insert in the visual sequence images and various color patterns that will alternate during the choreography creating incredible lighting effects. The performance with led lights can also include the projection of the names of the protagonists of the party or special messages.
In addition to the led show, the artists of Lumen Invoco can perform in a performance made up of light effects and wonderful trails with bright tones. It is a light animation show perfect to entertain guests during the event and to involve them in the dances.
We project logos, color patterns and special messages, creating a unique and perfectly tailored show for every corporate type of corporate event.
An elegant and refined fire show is truly stunning in the gardens of this charming location set on the hills in the Florentine countryside.


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Amazon Prime branded semi-trailers sit at a fulfillment center in Baltimore, U.S. (Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)
Amazon To Host Small Business Day In India On June 27
PTI@PTI_News
Amazon.com Inc. on Sunday said it will host the third edition of its sale event -- Small Business Day 2020 -- on June 27 to help small businesses, artisans, weavers, micro-entrepreneurs and startups rebound from economic disruption created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sale, which will coincide with the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, will offer customers the opportunity to discover and purchase unique and hard-to-find products from startups, women entrepreneurs, artisans and weavers under its various programs such as Local Shops, Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Saheli, and Amazon Karigar, a statement said.
Products across categories including work from home essentials, regional weaves in fashion, handcrafted accessories and footwear, wall decor and hangings, idols and figurines, kitchenware, and sports essentials will be available on several theme stores like India Bazaar, Budget Buys and Bestsellers among others, it added.
"SMBs are the backbone of Indian economy who also make the most unique selection of products. These businesses were on a consistent growth trajectory until Covid-19 disrupted many of them," Amazon India Vice President Seller Services Gopal Pillai said.
"We are committed to support them and help generate customer demand for their products," he added,
"Customers will be able to discover some hidden gems from these theme stores on the marketplace while also empowering millions of lives across India through their purchase on Small Business Day," he added.
Also read: Amazon, BigBasket Foray Into Alcohol Delivery In West Bengal
During the second edition in December last year, over 1,200 sellers witnessed their highest single-day sales ever, Amazon said.
Artisans and weavers who were part of Amazon's 'Karigar' program witnessed a 2.5 times growth on Amazon after the event, while women entrepreneurs selling as part of 'Amazon Saheli' program witnessed a growth of 1.7 times, it said.
Sales for startup brands under 'Amazon Launchpad' program had grown by 1.4 times, it added.


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Q: ASUS P5N-E SLI USB Issues I'm having issues with my ASUS P5N-E SLI USB ports.  Sometimes they won't recognize any USB device in them and other times they will perform flawlessly.  I've even had to move my wireless keyboard/mouse combo to the PS2 ports to ensure functionality.
I'm running Vista Business 32-bit SP2 and have updated to the most recent BIOS (1403).  Does anyone have any ideas how to get them functioning properly?
Thanks!
-JFV

A: Just for the record I have  a P5B-E that was pretty much doing the same thing, except across all USB ports including the front ones. Managed to make it better for a while by forcing USB 1.1 (disabling the USB 2.0 host controller in device manager). Eventually, even that started getting flakey.
Now they don't work at all, not even with live cd's or in the BIOS. They still provide the 5v rail though. My only solution was to buy a PCI USB card.
Not saying it's definitely hardware, but it seems awfully familiar from my standpoint.
My recommendation would be to download a linux live cd (ubuntu has pretty good driver support) and see if it still happens - linux uses completely separate drivers to windows. If it does and it's still under warranty I'd definitely organise an RMA.

A: Maybe check USB power settings?

Start -> Run -> powercfg.cpl -> Change plan settings (of selected plan) -> Change advanced power settings
USB settings -> USB selective suspend setting -> disabled

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Business, Financial & Legal
NVIDIA Appoints Former PepsiCo. Exec Dawn Hudson to Its Board of Directors
Posted: Jul 24, 2013 7:45 am | Business, Financial & Legal Press Releases
NVIDIA announced today that it has named Dawn Hudson, former CEO of PepsiCo's $6 billion North American beverage business and a veteran product-marketing executive, to its board of directors. Hudson, age 55, is vice chairman of Parthenon Group, an international strategy consulting group. Until 2009, she spent 11 years at PepsiCo in top marketing, strategy and management roles.
Previously, she spent 13 years in marketing, advertising and branding strategy, holding leadership positions at major advertising agencies, including DMB&B (D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles) and Omnicom. "We are delighted to have Dawn join NVIDIA's board of directors," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer, NVIDIA. "She has been a senior executive at one of America's great companies and has extensive experience as a company director." Hudson has served on the boards of Lowe's Home Improvement Co. for 12 years; Allergan Inc. for five years; and Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. for two years. She has a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College. Her appointment expands NVIDIA's board to 10 members.
pepsi co
dawn hudson


There are many places to choose from in the London region when looking for a new home. Each has its own qualities and atmospheres and so to find that one place that has everything you need can take a while to discover. One place worth looking at is the EC/Eastern Central area of London. This postcode district encompasses the City of London as well as the Boroughs of Islington, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Camden. The sorting office of the area is based in Mount Pleasant.
In an effort to improve mail delivery and streets signs, as well as make navigation easier and more accurate, each postcode region was split into multiple sub areas. For this area, there are twenty-eight of them, each beginning with E1, E2, E3 or E4 and then followed by a letter. Five of these codes are not used to represent a specific location but instead are utilised by different businesses for direct marketing and PO boxes.
EC2A itself covers Shoreditch, which is in the Borough of Hackney and uses the post town address of LONDON. Houses prices here are unsurprisingly high for a central location, with Flats ranging from approximately £500,000 to £1,231,000 for one to three bedrooms. Houses span from roughly £543,000 to £1,833,000, also for one to three bedrooms. Studio flats cost around £390,000.
Shoreditch is north of the City of London and east-northeast of Charing Cross. In the past fifty years or so it has become a popular place to live. It started as a working class area but many technology companies began to locate here and so has been dubbed Silicon Roundabout. Numerous old industrial buildings have been converted in recent years to create new flats, office and pubs. Art galleries, bars, restaurants, media businesses are becoming more common in the area. Various buildings belonging to Hackney Community College campus are scattered around. Transportation has also been improved with expanded roads and lots of railway stations. There have been many notable residents on Shoreditch throughout it's history including William Shakespeare who wrote and preformed plays in the old theatres. Other persons of interests comprise of comedienne and actress Barbara Windsor, singer Matt Monro and artist Damien Hirst.
When choosing a removal firm to help you with your move there is less options because all you need is Man and Van. We employ a skilled team who cane handle each and very job that can make your move a success. Just one call to us on 020 3743 9354 an instantly make things easier as we give you advice, answer your questions, give you full details of all of our services and if you are unsure of the price we can ease you worries with a free, no commitment quote. Prior to our arrival parking spaces should be booked outside both of your homes with Hackney Council.
When our team arrives at your home we will be equipped with all the wrapping and containers you could need. We will carefully pack all of your belongings so that they will be easy to carry and remain safe and clean throughout the process. Moving large furniture and appliances can be a nightmare to move but our team will be able to handle anything without them incurring damage. Our range of vehicles will be at the ready to transport your possessions to your new address and once they are there we will carefully unload and unpack everything, and help you set up. If necessary we have local and secure storage facilities available. If you want all this and more to help you into your new home, make the right choice with Man and Van.
I did quite a bit of comparing between home removals in Shoreditch. I chose this company for their positive reviews. Now, I understand what customers were talking about when they mentioned the exquisite customer service and great price.