No documentation here, other that the comments in the source. It's the typical multiple select box thing. There is probably a much better way to do this. This is my way.
// each linked select pair will need a set of if/thens.


Sticky: What have you been playing recently?
Some Quintet Love From Extra Credits!
SMT: Synchronicity Prologue - free to dl, ends on Dec 24.
Help Wanted: Hunt of a custom handheld console.
Final Fantasy Music - Best Of - I Need You!
Games That Give You The Nostalgic Fuzzies?


Three glass mold aspherical lenses provide excellent correction for distortion, color aberration and field curvature. The inner focusing system corrects the fluctuation of aberration to maintain image quality regardless of the focal distance. Sigma's Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting and provides sharp and high contrast images even at the maximum aperture. The superior telecentric optical design improves image quality throughout the frame. This lens benefits from a newly developed linear AF motor which moves the lens elements directly without the need for gears or the drive of other mechanical parts. This system ensures accurate and quiet autofocusing, making the lens suitable for video recording as well as still photos. The lens features a rounded 7 blade diaphragm creating an attractive blur to the out of focus areas of the image. This Sigma 19mm F2.8 EX DN has a minimum focusing distance of 20cm/7.9in and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:7.4.


Igniting Unlimited Possibilities for Students!
Welcome to American Sign Language! I am excited to start the 2018-2019 school year with you! I believe that American Sign Language is a beautiful and rich language; I look forward to sharing it with you and all of the opportunities it can open up.
Please access the "What Did We Do Today?" slides in Google Classroom frequently as these resources are vital to your success in the class.
American Sign Language will include Deaf history and culture, language content and vocabulary, structure and grammar, as well as communication opportunities in various language situations and settings to meet the World Language Content Standards for California Public Schools.


At HARRIET SPEAKS we believe that all of us have a role to play to create the kind of society our nation has stated it strives to be. We can all be an agent of change. Here are a few of our thoughts regarding what is not required and what is required to be an agent of change for racial justice.
1. Having a large platform or audience.
2. Being a member of the affected population.
3. Being politically inclined or motivated.
4. Being an articulate or a "good" speaker.
1. Being willing to make mistakes. No one can talk about race or racism and get it right all the time. Embrace the possibility that you may say something wrong, but then commit to getting it right in the future.
2. Having a close friend who will support you if and when you are attacked for speaking up. This is difficult work, but a support system will make it easier.
3. A spirit of love. We can love people, yet hate the actions that people engage in.
4. Understanding and acknowledging whatever forms of privilege you bring to the conversation. You may have privilege (socially bestowed advantage) of race, economics, education, gender, sexual orientation and/or identity, to name a few. However, using your privilege to support others is what counts.
Have this conversation with your friends, family, or colleagues. What would you add to either list?


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You are here: Home | ASEAN | Women in the workplace in Asean – part two
2015 Nov 14
Women in the workplace in Asean – part two
An increase in employment of women can be an indicator of how a good an economy is doing overall, as well as future prospects for available labor. Such factors can be game changers when selecting an investment location. As such, this article will profile the role of women in the labor force of three large ASEAN economies: Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In part two of this three part series, ASEAN Briefing continues to take a closer look at women in the workplace regionally.
The employment level for women throughout the ASEAN region is important for foreign investors and international companies to understand and anticipate. Indeed, the importance of female penetration in the labor force for overall economic growth is something that could affect the prospects of multinational companies investing in any region, and is especially important in emerging economic regions such as South East Asia.
Thailand's employment-population ratio shows that men were more likely to be employed than women. Being aware of the level of employment for females in this country has been one important indicator on the overall strength of the Thai economy. Usually men are more employed than women, especially during a decline in the economy. However, female professionals are playing a larger role than ever before in the workplace. Participation rate of women in Thai workforce is higher than the average Asian participation rate of women.
In 2012, Thai women started migrating to seek jobs as they become an increasing part of the educated work force in Thailand. Within the past decade Thai women have been present in the formal work place. According to the World Bank, in 2008 45.4 percent of women were employed in the nonagricultural sector. The private sector has been a contributor to women's involvement in the workplace. As a result, female professionals are being touted in some corners as an important factor in an eventual pick up in the country's growth prospects. Furthermore, Thailand's great strides of equality in the workplace will continue.
Gender inequality – as in most ASEAN countries – is an issue in Indonesia. Women are twice as likely to work in the informal sector and are paid less than men for similar work. In 2009, the CIA World Fact book stated that Indonesia had a working age population of 79.5 million males and 78.9 million females.
Indonesia has significant differences in the employment-to-population ratio of men and women. The labor force participation rate of women is extremely low, with many women reporting that they are fully engaged with housekeeping responsibilities. This is a similarity that you will notice in many ASEAN countries alike. While men are more likely to work as employees, women are more likely to work as unpaid family workers. Thus, the labor force participation rate of males is higher than those of females for every age group. The average monthly income for female workers is 475,192 rupiah (US $52) and for male workers 654, 371 rupiah (US $72). Females work on average 93.18 percent of males' hours of work, while male workers earn almost 1.38 times more than female workers.
It has been a challenge trying to boost female labor participation rate in Indonesia. However, government solutions to make this issue better have been proposed. The Indonesian government has been aiming to improve the labor participation rate of females by launching various policies and programs. Some of which include a public campaign on providing the facilities for women workers in the workplace as well as establishing Task Force on Equal Employment Opportunity and Responsive Gender program.
The country's female labor participation rate has been progressively increasing over the years, which is a clear sign that more women (albeit it at a very slow pace) are becoming employed in the Philippines. Results from the October 2013 Labor Force Survey showed a 0.1 percent increase in labor force participation rate for women at 49.8 percent from 49.7 percent in 2012 and a 0.2 decrease for males at 78.2 percent from 78.3 percent in 2012. The population of women government officials, corporate executives, managing proprietors and supervisors is estimated at 2.5 million, while men in the same group are estimated at 2.4 million.
Though the female labor participation rate slightly increased in 2013, men still have an overall higher labor participation rate than women. In the Philippines, women have significantly lower employment rates than men, which in 2012 gave rise to the gender gap in the employment rate. Women are also subject to the deficits of less available work, more vulnerable work and unpaid work burdens. In many occupations and industries women are paid at a lower rate than men even when they do find work.
The lower Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of women compared to that of men is a clear representation of the under-utilization of women's labor in the paid labor market. This is the result of inferior employment and decent work opportunities, human capital differences and unpaid domestic labor and care constraints for women. The reasons for such gender gaps in the workforce are women have more limited access to resources, including education, training, government services, credit and financial services. Other reasons include discrimination, labor domestic work and care burdens.
Gender equitable employment and decent work are necessary for achieving both gender equality and inclusive growth in the Philippines. In order to achieve this there must be a requirement of broad macroeconomic responses to expand employment opportunities as well as making policies and legislation to improve decent work, social protection and achieve labor market support for women.
What does Improved Female Employment mean for International Companies?
Female employment has the power to enhance a company's relations with the local community and with other business partners. This can help companies when conducting their business activities. Usha Rao-Monari, Director of International Finance Corporation (IFC) Sustainable Business Advisory stated, "Women's participation is critical to meet the demand for skilled labor in emerging markets. Investing in women's employment is a win-win for all, strengthening both companies and community and changing the face of the global economy".
There have been clear patterns of the lack of female employment rate in many ASEAN countries. Some countries are worse off than others, which is also very indicative of how well the economy is doing. This is something companies should keep a careful eye on especially when thinking of starting a business in these specific countries. As a result, hiring more women can enhance a company's workforce by making sure it is representative of its customer base and it can provide more insights into consumer preferences. Thus, understanding women's penetration in the labor force is a key insight which decision makers must not overlook when selecting an investment destination in ASEAN. – Felicia Romain
http://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/2015/11/12/women-in-the-workplace-in-asean-part-two.html
Women in the workplace in Asean – part one
About Asia Briefing
Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home Rock Features Headlines Foo Fighters Member Calls Bandmate Liar After 'Explicit' Remark
Foo Fighters Member Calls Bandmate Liar After 'Explicit' Remark
Brett Buchanan
Earlier this week, we reported on former Foo Fighters drummer William Goldsmith ripping Dave Grohl for keeping an unreleased Sunny Day Real Estate album in his 'sock drawer.' Nate Mendel, the bassist of Foo Fighters and Sunny Day Real Estate, shot down this claim.
William Goldsmith is questioning his former Foo Fighters bandmate Nate Mendel for saying there is 'no truth' to his recent story about there being an unreleased Sunny Day Real Estate album that Dave Grohl played a part in blocking. Mendel and Goldsmith were bandmates in Sunny Day Real Estate until the band's 1995 split. They quickly joined Foo Fighters, with Goldsmith later leaving in 1997 during the recording of The Colour and the Shape when Dave Grohl re-recorded his drum parts. Mendel and Goldsmith later reunited with Sunny Day Real Estate and played in The Fire Theft.
Goldsmith has posted on Facebook, "I'm hearing all these comments Nate Mendel is making saying 'Categorically there are no songs' regarding SDRE LP5. Categorically means in a way that is unambiguously explicit and direct. Anything that is swept under the rug and never completed doesn't have the slightest chance of being unambiguously explicit and direct. But the fact of the matter is I listened to the seven tracks that should have been that record 2 days ago."
Goldsmith said in his first post earlier this week, "It's both a shocking slap of reality and a swift kick in the balls. Gets harder to handle each time. Somehow someday – something has to be done.
The tragedy of it is literally manifesting into physical pain. It honestly feels like someone has taken a part of me as a human being and locked it in a closet. My wife looked at me this evening and said 'I am starting to understand what's been haunting you for the past 6 years because it's starting to haunt me as well.'
This is not the first time I've had my voice taken from me. But now This music hasn't just been taken away from me anymore – now it's been taken away from my children. Unforgivable."
He wrote in a clarification post the following day, "For clarification purposes – Dave's sock drawer was meant to figuratively represent studio 606. To clarify – there are many ingredients that resulted in the abandonment of LP5. Ingredients that I had to put together myself and find out later on. One of the unfortunate elements being that Jeremy did not receive the moral support as well as engineering that he deserved and I hold myself accountable just as much as everyone else involved for that mistake.
The reference to Dave's sock drawer meant studio 606 which was where it was essentially left. If I come across as being a little bit outraged it's simply because I've had the unfortunate experience of hard work being disregarded with no communication or explanation as to why."
He also said, "So no I was not meaning to claim Dave single handedly prevented the record from being finished. He just owns the place where it was abandoned. However he wasn't too thrilled when Nate played with the fire theft so I doubt he thought about making it so Nate had the time to see it through. But it's misunderstandings like this that arise because people don't communicate. At least not with me with the exception of Jeremy.
Dave and I should have hashed this shit out through honest human interaction a decade and a half ago. And Nate – the last time I talked to you was when you guys said to be by the phone the next day to have a conference call about finishing LP5. The phone never rang and I haven't heard from you since then which was 2011 if memory serves."
If you are an indie artist/band or represent one and are interested in being featured in one of Alternative Nation's 2018 year end lists like 'Top 10 Songs of 2018' or 'Top 10 Albums of 2018' email us at altnationadvertising@gmail.com
Nate Mendel
william goldsmith
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rachel lin weaver
Bio CV
Projects Curatorship Research Teaching
News Events Press About Bio CV Works Projects Curatorship Research Teaching Contact
Forest (in) Balance (2014)
Dual channel video installation/experimental documentary video, 5.1 surround sound audio. This work was developed in partnership with the University of Utah and plant geneticists, and explores the shifting dynamics between mule deer populations and quaking aspen trees in Utah's Fish Lake National Forest.
Fish Lake, Utah is home to Pando, possibly the heaviest living organism on Earth. Pando is a single male quaking aspen existing as a "clonal colony," which is a grove of seemingly separate trees that are actually stems from the same massive single root system. Pando is estimated to be around ~80,000 years old based on genetic sampling, measured colony size, and estimated growth rates for the region. The tree's many stems die back and regrow, spreading over a process that takes centuries upon centuries. In the past 50 years, however, the grove, like many other massive quaking aspen groves in the region, has slowed in grow-back and in some areas has stopped regrowing completely. Although absolute reasons are uncertain, ecologists theorize that a combination of global warming and unchecked mule deer populations are to blame. The deer's natural predators were killed off by people many years ago, and they are now eating new growth faster than the colonies can regrow. Though this project was initially conceptualized as a meditation on timelessness, it soon became a startling reminder of impermanence.
The installation consists of video interplay of the deer and the aspen, with media initiated by generative sound and field recordings. In the interactive version of this project, ultrasonic sensors in the space, along with Max/Jitter patch, cue changes in the video and sonic content. When visitors attempt to approach (interfere) with the space, the deer scatter. Audio field recordings of the forest are intercut with interviews from a mix of scientists and residents of the Fish Lake region.
Forest (in) Balance
15 minute loop, dual channel
1080p high definition video
ultrasonic sensors, generative media
5.1 or stereo sound
© Rachel Lin Weaver, 2019


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The icon for Google LLC's Play Store application is displayed on a smartphone. (Photographer:Justin Chin/Bloomberg)
Google Pulls Errant Personal Loan Apps From Play Store
Vishwanath Nair@Vishwanath4389
Jan 14 2021, 2:38 PM Jan 14 2021, 3:54 PM January 14 2021, 2:38 PM January 14 2021, 3:54 PM
Google Inc. reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps on its Play store in India and removed the ones that didn't meet its guidelines after being flagged by users and government agencies.The review follows reports of unscrupulous digital lending apps available for download on Play store. These apps would offer short-term loans at very high rates. Some of them also stored private information of a customer to use it against them, if they...
Google Inc. reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps on its Play store in India and removed the ones that didn't meet its guidelines after being flagged by users and government agencies.
The review follows reports of unscrupulous digital lending apps available for download on Play store. These apps would offer short-term loans at very high rates. Some of them also stored private information of a customer to use it against them, if they fail to recover dues.
"The apps that were found to violate our user safety policies were immediately removed from the store, and we have asked the developers of the remaining identified apps to demonstrate that they comply with applicable local laws and regulations. Apps that fail to do so will be removed without further notice," Suzanne Frey, vice president, product, android security and privacy at Google, said in a statement.
Also read: Aggressive Recovery Practices Make A Comeback As Loan Defaults Begin
Before an application goes live on Google's Play, developers have to agree with Google's developer distribution agreement to adhere to applicable rules and laws, including generally accepted practices and guidelines.
Besides, the store requires financial services apps that offer personal loans to disclose key information such as minimum and maximum periods of repayment, maximum annual percentage rate, and a representative example of the total loan cost.
Google has also asked developers to seek customer permission for data necessary to implement current features or services. Developers must only use data for purposes that a user has consented to and must obtain the permission again if they later want to use the data for additional purposes, its statement said.
Last month, the Hyderabad police arrested people related to money-lending apps involved in luring borrowers into a debt trap by offering short-term credit at high rates. The recovery practices employed by these applications resulted in suicide of a borrower, prompting criminal action.
Since June. the RBI has called for caution on various aspects of digital lending. In June, it reiterated that all digital lenders must abide by the fair practices code. In December, it asked customers to ensure that apps they are borrowing from are legitimate. The regulator has now set up an internal working group to study the digital lending ecosystem.


Disclosure Officer. The Superintendent of the District is hereby designated as the officer responsible for the Disclosure Procedures.
The Disclosure Officer shall review and make comments on the first draft of the Official Statement. Such review shall be done in order to determine that the Official Statement does not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made in the Official Statement not misleading. The Disclosure Officer shall also be responsible for ensuring that the financial data presented with regard to the District is accurate and corresponds with the financial information in the District's possession, including but not limited to information regarding bonded indebtedness, notes, certificates, outstanding leases, tax rates or any other financial information of the District presented in the Official Statement.
After completion of the review, the Disclosure Officer shall (a) discuss the first draft of the Official Statement with the members of the Working Group and such officials of the District as the Disclosure Officer deems necessary and appropriate and (b) provide comments, as appropriate, to the members of the Working Group. The Disclosure Officer shall also consider comments from members of the Working Group and whether any additional changes to the Official Statement are necessary or desirable to make the document compliant.
The Disclosure Officer shall continue to review subsequent drafts of the Official Statement.
If, in the Disclosure Officer's reasonable judgment, the Official Statement is compliant, the Official Statement may be released for dissemination to the public.
By November 27 of each year, the Disclosure Officer shall prepare (or hire an agent to prepare) the Annual Financial Information. The Disclosure Officer shall also review the audited or unaudited financial statements, as applicable, to be filed as part of the Annual Financial Information. In addition to the required updating of the Annual Financial Information, the Disclosure Officer should consider whether additional information needs to be added to the Annual Financial Information in order to make the Annual Financial Information, including the Financial Statements, taken as a whole, correct and complete in all material respects.
If, in the Disclosure Officer's reasonable judgment, the Annual Financial Information, including the Financial Statements, is correct and complete, the Disclosure Officer or retained agent shall file the Annual Financial Information with EMMA within the requisite timeframe.
EMMA Notices. Whenever the District is required to file an EMMA Notice, or whenever the District decides to make a voluntary filing to EMMA, the Disclosure Officer will oversee the process of preparing the EMMA Notice.
The Disclosure Officer or retained agent shall prepare the EMMA Notice. The EMMA Notice shall be prepared in the form required by the MSRB.
If, in the Disclosure Officer's reasonable judgment, the EMMA Notice complies with the Undertaking and is correct and complete, the Disclosure Officer, or retained agent, shall file the EMMA Notice with EMMAwithin the timeframe allowed for such filing.
Making recommendations to the Board of Education as to whether revisions or modifications to this Disclosure Policy are appropriate.
All participants in the disclosure process should be encouraged to raise potential disclosure items at all times in the process.
The Disclosure Officer should consider whether changes in form and content of Disclosures are necessary or desirable in order to ensure the Disclosures are accurate and complete.
When speaking to the market of potential investors, District officials ensure that the released information does not make any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary or desirable in light of the circumstances in which they were made.
The review and maintenance of the Disclosures is a fluid process and recommendations for improvement of the Disclosure Procedures should be solicited and regularly considered.


It annoys me that, for sensible business reasons, I have to title make generic 'key word' blog titles, like "Halifax wedding at venue: wherever!". I have to do it because Google indexes websites by the word content, with special emphasis on the title. In other words, the machine overlords are looking for special words to categorize me, and I know that, so I have to say things like "photography" and "Nova Scotia" a lot in my blogs. It probably REALLY helps that I say things like "Halifax wedding photographers" as often as possible. So, pardon all my Halifax wedding photographers comments. Hey, it's the times, right?
In a perfect world, I'd title this something like: "Humans with their priorities straight give convincing marital vows!" But headlines like that don't get you on top of Google any better than they sell newspapers. Everyone these days is buying Trump and whatever yesterday's tragedy was. It's enough to get you cynical. Real cynical. Halifax wedding photographers.
My favourite moment in this wedding was one that for me, encapsulates who J & B are, as parents and as human beings. It was a funny moment after the ceremony, after pictures, after dinner, as the sun was getting really low on the horizon. J wanted photos by the ocean when the sun was the lowest it was going to get before disappearing–that neato window of the day when the sky starts reflecting really interesting hues all over the place. Well, that moment had just come, and we'd all managed to escape the venue for a few quick, cool shots. At that same time, a train came thundering our way, inevitably blocking our ocean view until it passed. But it didn't pass. It just parked between us and the ocean. Result? I got some of my favourite photos captured this year. Turns out, J & B's son is bananas about trains, and they were both so excited about this train coming through that we got to catch real, awesome moments–pure, spontaneous joy. Neither J & B were at all upset that their ocean photos wasn't going to happen. And hey, it's not like we didn't get some great ones from a slightly different direction…as well as the excitement as the train came by. It's all that Halifax wedding photographers could hope for. In Nova Scotia.
I hope you enjoy some of our favourite moments of this Halifax wedding, captured by photographers.
– Topher and Rae (your friendly neighbourhood Halifax wedding photographers).
Wedding Gown: Chester & Felicity with custom detailing by Miss Foxine Courture.
If you know any of the vendors I may have missed, please let me know. I'l add them as I know them.


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Q: Difference adapter and decorator I'm lerning design patterns and now I'm trying to understand the difference between adapter and decorator. Consider the following decorator on the List:
Collections.synchronizedList(List<T> lst)

creates a synchronized decorator on the specified List. The adapter pattern, in turn, also incapsulates it as said here. Example:
public interface Chief {

    public Object makeBreakfast();
    public Object makeDinner();
    public Object makeSupper();

}

public class Plumber {

    public Object getPipe(){
        return new Object();
    }

    public Object getKey(){
        return new Object();
    }

    public Object getScrewDriver(){
        return new Object();
    }

}

public class ChiefAdapter implements Chief{

    private Plumber plumber = new Plumber();

    @Override
    public Object makeBreakfast() {
        return plumber.getKey();
    }

    @Override
    public Object makeDinner() {
        return plumber.getScrewDriver();
    }

    @Override
    public Object makeSupper() {
        return plumber.getPipe();
    }

}

Couldn't someone explain the difference?

A: decorator pattern is primarily for the purpose taking/introducing additional responsibility to a class. For example you can take a class container of sequence of objects and implement a iterator to give additional responsibility of, ability iterate that collection inside the class.
Gof

attach additional responsibilities to an object dynamically.
  Decorators provide a flexible alternative to subclassing for extending
  functionality.

On the other side, Adapter is convert a class to another responsibility, as in the example you have shown, adapter converts the plumber to be a chef.
Gof

convert the interface of a class into another interface clients
  expect. Adapater lets classes work together that couldn't otherwise
  because of incompatible interfaces.

A: A decorator 'decorates' the an existing interface with additional functionality but the interface and type of the new instance remains the same - note how synchronizedList takes a List and returns a List. Adapter 'adapts' a particular interface to appear as a completely different, unrelated interface - in your case, it turns a Plumber into a Chief, an entirely different type.

A: Decorator : you want to add functionality to a class but you do not want to use inheritance (use a instance of the base class), see (open closed principle)
Adapter: you have a class that you want to user but those method are different to the one use in you program, you create a class that contain an instance o this class and you program does has to talk to this class directly, see (liskov substitution principle).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Scott Morrison is a Senior Data Scientist for ScottDatabases.com, inc. a well-regarded Software and Database Development company located in Wilmington NC. Scott heads the development team and provides special project consultations for clients desiring to utilize the power of Business Analytics and Work Flow Automation to increase their profits and lower their expenses through cost saving efficiencies.
More about Scott Morrison, Senior Data Scientist for ScottDatabases.com, inc. a Software Development company based in Wilmington, NC: Scott first began developing software in 1985 using 'Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Code', more commonly known today as the language "BASIC" which in its current versions is called Visual Basic (VB) or VB.NET. Scott has developed and implemented several successful startups throughout his 25 years in the business world and began to develop and utilize custom software in several of these startups. This real world business experience has been a tremendous factor in keeping his coding relevant to the needs of his small business clients. Scott has designed, developed, and implemented Automation Control, Business Workflow, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Software As A Service (SAAS), Business Process Management (BPM) and custom analytic systems for small businesses and many major corporations including work with many National Financial Institutions, Household Electronics Manufacturers, and the Department of Defense.
Scott is an intriguing and valued business speaker on topics related to the benefits of Small Businesses embracing the power of Big Data & Analytics. Scott has the unique combinations of technical knowhow and Entrepreneurial understanding to help growing businesses properly plan, build, and implement highly effective software and database solutions. Scott is known to maintain his focus on 'getting results', it is this culmination of knowledge and experience that has gained him the title of Data Scientist, the science of taking the skills beyond concept and into an art, that's what distinguishes him in the industry.
Scott unique ability to grasp a client's processes and help them determine how to most effectively merge technology to their benefit, stems from his unique combination of experience in business operations, logistics, sales, leadership as well as from some rather unusual cloak and dagger skills in the areas of investigations, intelligence gathering and surveillance. These especially unique skill sets, allow him to observe and capture not only the obvious but the often more important and less obvious needs for a system design. Scott's has a unique ability to keep his feet firmly planted in both the technical side, and the real-world business side, which makes him a highly sought master developer and consultant to small businesses across the country. Scott is able to guide development projects down more ideal paths that often incorporate unique systems and concepts that would otherwise be missed. Scott's approach to software development allows his clients to often reap benefits in their market place, such advantages and opportunities, are why there is no better choice for your small business.
ScottDatabases.com, inc. has cornered the small business market by providing an alternative to canned software or so called custom software that is rubber stamped out of a basement by kids who have never experienced the nuances of starting and operating a brick and mortar business. ScottDatabases.com provides its clients with more intuitive High Impact results for small businesses that want to increase their chances for greater success. ScottDatabases.com is a Veteran Owned Business and is recommended by the Chamber of Commerce. For more information about ScottDatabases.com or to inquire about the chances of involving Scott's team in your next project call (910) 550-8610 or visit them online at ScottDatabases.com.


text:
Good job, Grenell
Grenell told The Washington Examiner earlier this year that he is focused on Iran because "it is a matter of life and death for many."
By JPost Editorial
German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives the ambassador of U.S. to Germany, Richard Grenell, in Meseberg, Germany July 6, 2018. (photo credit: AXEL SCHMIDT/REUTERS)
German exports to Iran dropped 9% last year, Benjamin Weinthal reported in Sunday's Jerusalem Post.
Large German banks like Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank stopped doing business with Iran. German engineering companies have stopped exporting engineering equipment to Tehran. Well-known companies like Volkswagen, BMW, Siemens and Daimler are withdrawing from Iran's volatile market.
The reason? US sanctions on Iran – and the unyielding efforts of America's Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.
In fact, in the German state of Lower Saxony, Weinthal reported, trade with Iran rose in the first half of 2018, but then dropped drastically in the second half of the year, due to US sanctions on Iran and Grenell's arrival in May.
Grenell has made sure that the American position is amply clear. On his first day on the job, he tweeted: "US sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran's economy. German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately."
The ambassador stopped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government from trying to evade American sanctions by sending $400 million in cash to Iran and convinced Germany's government to ban terrorists' favorite airline, Mahan Air, which helped the Iran-backed Syrian regime attack civilians.
"We know [Iran] destabilized Syria; we know they have an aggressive strategy to use terror to destabilize the entire region. Their operation is growing in Europe," he said, pointing to recent examples of involvement by Iranian diplomats in terrorist plots on the continent.
Grenell has strongly advocated for Germany to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, which it has continually failed to do, leaning on a false division between its political and military wings. There are 950 active Hezbollah members in Germany, according to intelligence reports.
Yet last month, after the UK took the important and necessary step of designating all of Hezbollah as terrorist, a spokesman for the German Interior Ministry said the government maintained that Hezbollah's political arm is legitimate, even though he admitted to Weinthal that Hezbollah "fights the right of existence of the State of Israel with terrorist means" and that "such an objective is antisemitic in nature."
As for the trade between Germany and Iran, not only is Berlin not trying to slow things down, it is actively attempting to increase business with Tehran and circumvent US sanctions.
Together with France and the UK, the German government is creating a financial mechanism called Instex to get around sanctions. Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (Bafa) defended sales of equipment to Iran that was used in chemical attacks on Syrian civilians in 2018, arguing that the material was not designated as dual-use merchandise that can be applied for military and civilian purposes.
Chambers of commerce across Germany have held seminars on how to do more business with Iran and get around the sanctions. Companies that are not doing business with Iran are not doing so mainly because they cannot process payments in banks that are complying with sanctions, an expert explained to Weinthal.
There is something deeply wrong with Germany's treatment of the Iranian issue. This is not just a matter of Berlin's responsibility toward Israel and the Jewish people to stop an antisemitic, genocidal regime while we are still within living memory of the Holocaust. Iran's agenda of destabilization and terror puts the whole world in danger: from Caracas to Buenos Aires to Burgas, Bulgaria to Aleppo and beyond.
As the largest economy in the EU, German cooperation with sanctions would go a long way in hindering Iran's ability to spread its death and destruction across the globe.
Grenell should be commended for working overtime toward that goal. And Germany should reverse its course.
Richard Grenell


text:
Proforma Invests in Technology Education with Tampa Coding Event
Proforma sponsored its first Code Kata event at their Technology Innovation Lab in the Worldwide Support Center in Tampa, Fla.
Proforma recently sponsored its first Code Kata event at its Technology Innovation Lab in the Worldwide Support Center in Tampa, Fla. This event was open to developers and data scientists of all skill levels in the Tampa area to practice structured coding challenges with professionals from Proforma's elite 75-member technology team.
"It gives me great pride to invest in the next generation of technology leaders," says Proforma CEO, Vera Muzzillo. "We are honored to be a community leader in creating a collaborative workplace that empowers productivity and encourages education. At Proforma, we are just as committed to the investment of our community and our employees as we are to our investment in developing technology solutions."
Code Katas are monthly meetups for developers to practice coding exercises with peers and mentors, bringing the practice of "kata" to software development. The term "kata" refers to an exercise that is repeated many times, making minor improvements by increasing the level of difficulty or introducing new challenges.
"With the ongoing development of our industry-leading business management technology platform, ProVision, we're always looking to improve our professional skillsets and be at the forefront of the newest solutions in programming," adds Brian Carothers, Proforma's Chief Technology Officer. "It is inspiring to see both beginners and professionals come together and merge their talents to further their career growth and personal development."
Proforma Developer Charles Bayley explains, "I am proud to work for a company that fosters this culture of innovation. Because each exercise can be coded in different ways and in different languages, these events have challenged me to find new approaches to problems we may already have solutions for."
Attendees at this month's event received complimentary food, refreshments, beverages and giveaway prizes. Proforma's next sponsored Code Kata event will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at its Worldwide Support Center on Davis Island in Tampa, Fla.
Source: Proforma
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.
The Week That Was (1/11/2021)
Worzalla Wraps Up Holiday Season of Giving
Inside Burger King's Big Rebrand: New Logo, New Pa


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Toronto Remembers
80th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid
Prisoners of War - Dieppe Raid
Prisoners of War – Dieppe Raid
Four young men from Toronto enlisted with the Royal Regiment of Canada (RRC). They would go on to train together, fight together at Dieppe and were ultimately taken as Prisoners of War (POW) together. They endured harsh conditions as POWs and survived, but they carried haunting memories of the experience for the rest of their lives. Following their liberation, all four men returned to Toronto to build their lives, and were once again reunited as police recruits for the Metropolitan (Toronto) Police Service.
Learn more about the Prisoners of War through personal stories told in their own words and audio interviews with their sons.
Lance Corporal Campbell Harry Brown
Lance Corporal Campbell H. (Harry) Brown was born in Toronto and enlisted in 1940 at the age of 18. As his group arrived in the landing craft in the second wave, every soldier was killed before stepping foot off the boat, except for Campbell and the man to his left. He made it to the seawall uninjured until the surrender.
Lance Corporal Campbell Harry Brown, 1940. Credit: Doug Olver
Lance Corporal James Duncan Donald
Lance Corporal James Duncan Donald was born in Toronto in 1920, enlisting in early 1940. He trained in Toronto and at Base Borden before departing overseas. In the first wave at Blue Beach, he was one of the few that made it up the wall where he was ultimately captured. He witnessed many friends die on the beach and attended to injured soldiers the best he could. James wrote home following capture and spoke about close friends from Toronto he saw killed as they stepped off the carrier. The letter ended up serving as a death certificate for those friends.
Lance Corporal James Duncan Donald. Credit: John Donald
Private William Carson Olver
Private William Carson Olver was born in Toronto in July of 1919. He enlisted when the war broke out in 1939. Arriving in the first wave at Dieppe, William was the first member of the Regiment to land at Blue Beach and reach the seawall. After blowing a hole in the wall, Olver gained access to the upper promenade of the beach, where he became trapped for approximately an hour. Unable to proceed further, he returned to the beach where he was subject to heavy fire until the surrender a few hours later.
Private William Carson Olver, 1949. Credit: Doug Olver
Correction: During this interview, Mr. Olver misspoke about dates for the death marches. The POW death matches began in the January or February 1945. In Mr. Olver and Cam Brown's situation, it started in February 1945. An incorrect date was stated in the recording.
Private Charles Edward Surphlis
Sergeant Charles Edward Surphlis was born in Toronto in 1920 and was already a member of the Royals when the war broke out, having joined at the age of 16. He was part of the second wave on Blue Beach and was able to make it to the seawall. When he got to the wall, Charles (or Charlie) was shocked when a man jumping back down the wall landed directly on top of him– Private Olver. From that point on, Surphlis and Olver stayed together until they were liberated.
Private Charles Edward Surphlis. Credit: Doug Surphlis
After the Surrender
After the surrender, all four of these men were loaded on cattle cars and taken to the same German Prisoner of War camp- Stalag VIIIB in Lamsdorf. This was the largest camp in Germany and contained many prisoners who had fought earlier at Dunkirk. Some families received no news about their sons until letters arrived home in October, three months after the Raid.
Conditions in the camp were harsh and prisoners were shackled from October 1942 to December 1943. Toilets were referred to as "forty seaters" with open air seats situated on either side of the room. Lack of food was a constant concern. Canadians received coffee in Red Cross packages which they would trade with Americans who were given tea, and they would then reuse the same tea bag over and over again. There were no showers so prisoners would venture out to take advantage of the rain. There was no privacy and barracks were searched regularly with belongings tossed outside.
The Red Cross sent musical instruments into the camp for the prisoners to entertain themselves. Maps, papers and money were also concealed inside the skins of the drums and never found during the searches conducted by the Germans.
After some time, a few prisoners were transferred to another camp where they worked as laborers doing farm work and other duties.
View of Camp. Credit: John Donald
A typical search in a Prisoner of War Camp. Credit: John Donald.
Prisoners of War shower in the rain. Credit: John Donald
A Prisoner of War inspects a Red Cross package. Credit: John Donald
A Guard Tower, Credit: John Donald
Germans Carry Wounded off Dieppe Beach. Credit: Jayne Poolton-Turvey, Dieppe Blue Beach - Every Man Remembered.
Image of the Barracks at a Prisoner of War Camp. Credit: John Donald
Inside the Barracks. Credit: John Donald
The Barracks. Credit: John Donald
People behind the barbed wire at a Prisoner of War Camp. Credit: John Donald
The Death March and Liberation
The Death Marches began in the winter of 1945 as Russian Troops were were advancing closer to Berlin and Germany was losing the war. The prisoners marched over 500 miles each day in the winter snow for four months. They searched for any food they could find while on the march, as very little food was provided. At times, their own planes shot at them, thinking they were German soldiers. Prisoners took cover in ditches while bullets from Allied planes sprayed both sides of the ground around them. During one of these attacks, Campbell Brown and a few others were able to escape while the German soldiers were preoccupied.
After spending 33 months as prisoners of war, Olver, Donald and Surphlis were liberated by Allied forces in April of 1945.
Once they returned to England, it was found that the four men had lost an average of 60-70 pounds each due to poor nutrition and illness. Following the liberation, many prisoners of war spent time in hospitals recovering from illnesses that occurred during their captivity.
Back at Home
After the war, Olver, Surphlis, Donald and Brown returned to Canada and went back to life in Toronto.
Without coordinating their plans, all four men chose to join the Toronto Police in 1945. They were shocked to see each other at the Police Academy for the first time since the war. Each of the four men went on to have policing careers that spanned more than 30 years.
The four friends rarely spoke of their time as Prisoners of War, of Dieppe or of the horror they endured there and in the three years that followed.
Each year, they would meet at the Metro Toronto Police War Veterans Dance and kept in touch over the years. On occasion, they returned to Dieppe for commemorations and to honour the fallen who had made the ultimate sacrifice.
Campbell Brown was the last member of the group to pass away in 2020 at the age of 98. He was also the last surviving member of the regiment that had landed at Blue Beach.
Despite the unspeakable horrors of Dieppe, the years at the Prisoner of War camp and the haunting memories that they were left with, these four men developed an unbreakable bond and a friendship that lasted a lifetime.
Commemorative Display
History of the Dieppe Raid
Survivors – Dieppe Raid


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The life of Pastor Barton Elliott Harris of Westwood Baptist Church, University Center is a "tale of two cities" – Nashville, Tennessee and Boston, Massachusetts.
Pastor Harris is a native Nashvillian. In Nashville he was born, reared, educated, ordained and married. He is a Pearl High School alumnus – class of 1969. In 1973, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fisk University and received departmental honors and General University Honors. At Fisk, he was inducted into the Delta Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Fraternity.
Upon receiving a Protestant Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, he matriculated at Boston University School of Theology and received his Masters of Divinity Degree. Having secured several fellowships, he pursued post graduate studies at Boston University.
While in Boston, he taught at St. Francis de Sales School and later became its principal. (Under his leadership, the school received national recognition and was featured in the New York Times.) Simultaneously, his involvements included the pastoral ministry. He served as interim pastor of Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton, MA (1975), as assistant pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Dorchester, MA (1976-1979), and as senior pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Roxbury, MA (1980-1987).
In December, 1987, he relocated to Nashville to assume the present pastorate of his home congregation, Westwood Baptist Church, University Center.
Pastor Harris has a wide range of experiences serving churches, schools, colleges and universities, prison ministries and various religious and civic organizations. He formerly taught Mathematics at Tennessee State University and at McMurray Middle School (Metropolitan Nashville Public School System).
For forty years, Pastor Barton Elliott Harris has been married to Carolyn Alvina Washington Harris (his Fisk classmate) of St. Petersburg, Florida and for thirty years, he has pastored Westwood Baptist Church, University Center.


Pinnpoint, in partnership with Smartrac and Lexmark International, is pleased to announce its collection of superior RFID products which allow you to print, encode and customize form and labels from a single Lexmark color printer/MFP device.
The Lexmark CS725R printer and CX725R MFP provide simultaneous high-resolution printing and UHF programming of RFID tags on Pinnpoint RFID enabled forms and label media.
Designed for reverse logistics applications, the packing list is printed on the front side then duplex and the shipping label is printed on the reverse. The shipping label is folded in half then inserted into a plastic pouch for return to the shipper.
Designed for internal tracking of incoming pallet shipments, label is placed on received pallet to track location put up and is utilized for inventory control. Other uses include: Outbound pallet shipping and document tracking applications.
Designed for work-in-process (WIP) traveler for manufacturing environments. Other uses include: Shipping label with RFID inlay and packing list form for tracking outgoing shipments.
Pinnpoint stock products use the Smartrac Short Dipole inlay which is designed for global performance with excellent read range and speed.


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West Ham win over Norwich
West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen is "knocking on the door" for an England call-up,
according to Hammers boss David Moyes.
Bowen scored both goals against bottom club Norwich City to lift his side above Arsenal into fourth
in the Premier League table.
The former Hull City player, who signed in a £20m-plus deal in January 2020 with the Hammers and now
he has eight goals in all competitions this season,
including three in his last two appearances, and has a further eight assists in 2021-22.
Bowen's strikes condemned Norwich to their sixth straight defeat in the Premier League, with his first coming from
Vladimir Coufal's inviting cross just before the break and his second arriving in the 83rd minute when he turned in
Arthur Masuaku's ball.


Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (LDC) Recruitment 2013 for 25,406 LDC Clerk Vacancies (Rajpanchayat) www.rajpanchayat.gov.in, Panchayati Raj Department, Rajasthan has published Rajpanchayat Recruitment 2013 notification for filling up 25,406 vacancies of LDC Posts. Rajasthan Panchayati Raj has issued huge Lower Division Clerk Job Openings for the Intermediate passed Candidates. Eligible candidates can apply through online application form at official website www.rajpanchayat.gov.in.
Candidates Educational Qualification: Candidate should pass out 10+2/ Intermediate exam from government recognized institute or University.
All Eligible and Interested candidate can apply online through official website of the Panchayati Raj Department at www.rajpanchayat.gov.in.


Nice La Maison Au Fond Du Jardin #13 - Mangez Dans Un Ch226teau was posted in December 31, 2017 at 6:18 pm. If you like to manage this photo as your desktop wallpaper, you should tap the download link below or you can just right click on the photo at the top and tap "Save Image As" to download the Nice La Maison Au Fond Du Jardin #13 - Mangez Dans Un Ch226teau or by choose the "Set Desktop Background As" options if your internet browser has this option. If you were no able to grab the the most wonderful image you are expecting for, you should go for "Search Column" at top right or browse another photo wallpapers whatever you wish. This picture has the photo size is 128kB and the resolution of 1072x712. Nice La Maison Au Fond Du Jardin #13 - Mangez Dans Un Ch226teau has been viewed by 62 users and it is an image from La Maison Au Fond Du Jardin.


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Wed, Jul 17, 2019 [Archive]
Journal Overview
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Track your article
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IJCE Archive
New Issues: Vol. 14 ongoing
Vol. 1-13
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Showing 4 results for Shakib
Considering Different Criteria for Minimizing Torsional Response of Asymmetric Structures Under Near-Fault and Far-Fault Excitations
H. Shakib, A. Ghasemi,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (December 2007)
An attempt has been made to explore the general trends in the seismic response of planasymmetric structures when subjected to near-fault and far-fault ground motions. Systems with structural wall elements in both orthogonal directions considering actual and common nonlinear behavior under bi-directional excitation were studied. Idealized single-storey models with uni-axial eccentricity were employed. The main findings are: The rotational response trend considering actual behavior method would be different from common behavior method assumption, when the system subjected to near-fault motions. In the former case, the minimum rotational response could be achieved, when stiffness and strength centers are located on opposite side of the mass center. In the latter case, stiffness eccentricity determines the minimum and maximum rotational response. General trends in the rotational demand for far-fault motions, considering two type behavior assumptions, are similar to the last case. Moreover, in near-fault motions, when stiffness and strength centers are located on opposite side of the mass center, stiff side displacement demand would be greater than that soft side which is contrary to the conventional guidelines. While, in farfault motions similar to near-fault motions which stiffness and strength centers are located on one side of the mass center, displacement demand would be according to conventional guidelines.
Seismic Demand Evaluation of Elevated Reinforced Concrete Water Tanks
H. Shakib, F. Omidinasab, M.t. Ahmadi,
Volume 8, Issue 3 (September 2010)
Elevated water tanks as one of the main lifeline elements are the structures of high importance. Since they are extremely vulnerable under lateral forces, their serviceability performance during and after strong earthquakes is a matter of concern. As such, in recent years, the seismic behavior of water tanks has been the focus of a significant amount of studies. In the present work, three reinforced concrete elevated water tanks, with a capacity of 900 cubic meters and height of 25, 32 and 39 m were subjected to an ensemble of earthquake records. The behavior of concrete material was assumed to be nonlinear. Seismic demand of the elevated water tanks for a wide range of structural characteristics was assessed. The obtained results revealed that scattering of responses in the mean minus standard deviation and mean plus standard deviation are approximately 60% to 70 %. Moreover, simultaneous effects of mass increase and stiffness decrease of tank staging led to increase in the base shear, overturning moment, displacement and hydrodynamic pressure equal to 10 - 20 %, 13 - 32 %, 10 - 15 % and 8 - 9 %, respectively.
Minimizing the Torsional Response of Asymmetric Wall-Type Systems Considering Soil-Structure Interaction
H. Shakib, Gh. R. Atefatdoost,
Volume 12, Issue 1 (Transaction A: Civil Engineering March 2014)
An approach was formulated for the nonlinear analysis of three-dimensional dynamic soil-structure interaction (SSI) of asymmetric buildings in time domain in order to evaluate the seismic response behavior of torsionally coupled wall-type buildings. The asymmetric building was idealized as a single-storey three-dimensional system resting on different soil conditions. The soil beneath the superstructure was modeled as nonlinear solid element. As the stiffness of the reinforced concrete flexural wall is a strength dependent parameter, a method for strength distribution among the lateral force resisting elements was considered. The response of soil-structure interaction of the system under the lateral component of El Centro 1940 earthquake record was evaluated and the effect of base flexibility on the response behavior of the system was verified. The results indicated that the base flexibility decreased the torsional response of asymmetric building so that this effect for soft soil was maximum. On the other hand, the torsional effects can be minimized by using a strength distribution, when the centre of both strength CV and rigidity CR is located on the opposite side of the centre of mass CM, and SSI has no effect on this criterion.
Probabilistic Seismic Performance Evaluation of Vertically Irregular Steel Building Considering Soil-Structure Interaction
Farshad Homaei, Hamzeh Shakib, Masoud Soltani,
Volume 15, Issue 4 (Transaction A: Civil Engineering 2017)
In this paper, the probabilistic seismic performance of vertically irregular steel buildings, considering soil-structure interaction effects, is evaluated. Various irregular distributions of structural properties, including mass, stiffness and strength along the height of three-dimensional moment resisting steel frames were intended. The finite element model of soil medium was created with solid elements below the structure. The nonlinear material behavior of soil was considered as well. Nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis was performed to evaluate the flexible-base structural performance in the framework of probabilistic performance-based earthquake engineering. According to the median curves of intensity-demand of structures, it is concluded that non-uniform height-wise distribution of lateral resistance properties of steel structures varies the displacement demand and the seismic capacity of the irregular frames, compare to the regular structure. The capacity variation of most irregular frames is more obvious at the nonlinear phase of structural behavior. Due to the foundation flexibility, the damage concentration raises in the bottom floor and the irregularity increase the seismic demands of the lower floors of the system. Among all the irregular steel frames, the average increase of the displacement demand and reduction of the seismic capacity are maximal for the strength and concurrent variation of stiffness and strength irregularity models, respectively. Additionally, mass irregularity shows minor influence in the seismic demand and capacity variations of the steel frames. The predominant influence of stiffness and strength irregularities (soft and weak story) is observed in reduction of the structural ductility factor and the mean annual frequency of exceeding limit states.
© 2019 All Rights Reserved | International Journal of Civil Engineering


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Bobby's Champions
Sir Bobby Charlton and The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation are working tirelessly to help children and families rebuild their lives after conflict, but we cannot do it alone. We need your help.
Donate TodayYour donation will make a real difference to vulnerable people around the world whose lives have been shattered by war.
By donating to The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation today you will enable us to provide the care and support needed to lift people out of poverty, give people with a disability back their mobility and dignity, and help children who have been traumatised by conflict to re-engage with their friends, family and school. You can also contribute to our ground breaking research and innovations which are designed to make people affected by conflict safer, healthier and more resilient.
Join in with
Bobby's Champions is a new charitable fundraising initiative that offers you the opportunity to join Sir Bobby's team and contribute to his goal to transform the lives of conflict affected communities.
The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation, Springwood, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 8GS, UK
info@thesbcfoundation.org +44(0)1565 759 829
info@thesbcfoundation.org
The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation is a UK Registered Charity No. 1140911
Registered in England and Wales Company No. 07574103
Any personal information you give to us will be processed in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 1998. The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation will use the information to process your request and to provide any relevant further information. We may also use it to support The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation's marketing and market research activities.
Stay updated with project information, latest news and upcoming events.
Copyright © 2020 The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Made by Bella Design


I just came back from the 2018 Foodservice Equipment & Design Global Thought Leadership Summit in Chicago.
As FE&S Publisher Maureen Slocum put it, the event was 32 hours of intense insight and experience sharing, along with networking with great people in our industry.
The event left me so energized and I could not wait to share with you some of the highlights of the FED Summit. Here are some of my observations and take-aways from the roster of fantastic speakers.
David Portalatin of the NPD Group addresses FED Summit attendees.
It all started with an industry review. Being an industrial engineer that works in the foodservice industry, I love numbers, and David Portalatin of the NPD Group did not disappoint. Portalatin did a good job explaining why restaurants continue to struggle to drive consumer traffic. Conclusion: Millennials are the heavy restaurant users, but they do not visit these operations as much as the prior generation did when they were the same age. Consumers today definitely eat more meals at home, which clearly impacts customer traffic and restaurant design. Does that mean restaurants should provide dinner or other meals as a solution to help time starved customers? That was a thought floated during the conference and one worth pondering.
The evolving restaurant experience was a common topic throughout the conference. To remain successful, today's operators need to do more than serve good food in a good atmosphere. Operators that create impactful restaurant brands make an emotional connection with their customers by facilitating leading-edge hospitality. So, how can operations create such an experience during a time when apps, kiosks and employees of third-party delivery companies are becoming the face of the restaurant that consumers see most? Balancing the benefits of technology with the need to deliver hospitality will be a big challenge for operators from all industry segments.
Steve Starr of starrdesign told the FED Summit audience that sometimes customers want to engage with technology and sometimes they don't.You have to understand that it is a "both-and" world with guests, Steve Starr of starrdesign told the audience. Sometimes customers want to engage with technology and sometimes they don't. The winners will be those operators that figure out how to apply technology that enhances the human interaction. The challenge is to figure out how to not sacrifice one for the other.
Angelo Mojica of Johns Hopkins Health System spoke about the importance of being authentic in foodservice.
While everything continues to change throughout the industry, one core element remains constant: the food has to be good and authentic. "It's important to say we are going to be authentic or we are not going to do it at all," said Angelo Mojica of Johns Hopkins Health System. But differentiating involves more than being authentic. In order to engage customers, and ultimately grow the business, foodservice operators can identify opportunities in their markets by developing menu items and concepts that nobody else is doing, he added.
And that thought leads us to another key idea: the importance of making the design/build process collaborative. As Tobin Ellis pointed out, giving everyone a role in the process will lead to better and more efficient operations that can focus on facilitating great customer experience.
Automation is a topic that remains on the minds of many in today's foodservice industry. And presentations by Gennadiy Goldenshteyn from Welbilt reminded us that automation is already here, albeit not as widespread as many would have predicted years ago. Moving forward, though, unit economics of the foodservice business will ultimately drive more automation of foodservice functions and perhaps even the use of robotics. One big challenge is understanding how to apply automation and what to share with guests without compromising their experience.
On the equipment front, the industry now has the opportunity to collect more mission critical information from its equipment through the right communication, suggested Markus Glueck from RATIONAL. This can help better address food safety concerns, manage equipment uptime and other benefits. The information is already there. The key moving forward is to apply it to become more proactive after installing a piece of equipment.
Other topics included the importance to start with the right staff to drive a great customer experience, and also creating the right culture to make this happen, including the value of getting involved in the community.
A gathering like this exemplifies a couple of our industry's key attributes: inclusiveness and willingness of our industry brethren to share in our own experiences. A key message of the conference is that we are stronger together than we are by ourselves. When we group our individual expertise, it gets multiplied, not just added; perhaps it is more like exponential valuation, instead of just a multiplication. If you did not get the last mathematical comparison I was trying to make, don't worry, just humor me; I am an industrial engineer after all.
In closing, I want to suggest that if you have the opportunity to attend the next FED Summit that will take place in two years, make it happen. It is well worth it to find 32 hours in your very busy schedule.
If this article teased you some, don't despair. You can get more information and watch videos of all the presentations at fedthoughtleadership.com.


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Uproar over watches threatens Thailand's ruling generals
A growing uproar over the deputy prime minister's mind-boggling array of luxury timepieces is damaging the military government's image
Bangkok: Entering their fifth year in power, Thailand's ruling generals may be running out of time and it's not for a lack of watches.
A growing uproar over the deputy prime minister's mind-boggling array of luxury timepieces is damaging the military government's image so badly that some observers believe it could eventually pave the way for its downfall.
General Prawit Wongsuwan — a career military man who receives only a modest salary — has so far been spotted wearing a total of 25 opulent timepieces, none of which appears on his last declaration of assets. His belated explanation — that he borrowed them from friends — has been met with ridicule.
"Do you really think Thai people would believe your story?" former Senator Rosana Tositrakul said of Prawit. "You gave such an answer because you don't think the Thai public can do anything to you."
"If you don't take any responsibility," she added, "you'll bring down the whole government."
The timing couldn't be worse for the junta, which seized control of the country in a 2014 coup and is under increasing pressure to finally hold long-delayed elections. The scandal has grown at the same time that junta leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha has been testing the political waters, hinting that he plans to stay in power past any possible polls.
So far the band of brothers has closed ranks and the military government has ignored calls to fire or suspend Prawit. But observers say that may be at their own expense because at best it is making their leader look indecisive and at worst fuelling accusations of hypocrisy given the junta's self-praise of its anti-corruption efforts.
The saga began on a sunny day last December, with the unveiling of a new, reshuffled Cabinet. Prawit, who is also the minister of defence, took his place for a routine photo op. But then, routine turned remarkable.
Prawit raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and reporters noticed his gleaming watch. A quick records check showed that he had never declared the Richard Mille timepiece on his assets list.
Then it got worse.
Thousands of kilometres away in Los Angeles, a Thai internet sleuth calling himself CSI-LA scoured the web for previous photos of Prawit. Netizens joined in. And the watch count rocketed: from one to five to 12. It currently stands at 25. Makes include Rolex and Patek Philippe. The total estimated value: more than $1 million (Dh3.6 million).
"We live in what they call the Big Data World," CSI-LA said last week. "So, these days, everywhere, there is a record of what you do, so if you do something corrupted and you think you can get away, it's not like before."
CSI-LA spoke on condition of anonymity for reasons of personal safety.
For weeks, the general refused to account in public for his glittering hoard. Then when he did, the explanation did nothing to defuse the issue.
"I have friends and they gave them to me," he told reporters. "No, they didn't buy them for me; they just let me wear them. That's all."
When Prawit and his fellow officers toppled the government, they did so, they said, partly to end corruption. Unlike venal, grasping politicians, they said, they were pure.
That claim's rung hollow many times since 2014, with a number of scandals linking the junta or their associates to corruption allegations. But unlike those scandals, which typically grabbed headlines for a few days before being swept away, the watch saga appears to be gaining traction.
It's certainly providing ample fodder for the government's opponents, long held in check by bans on protests and political gatherings.
Activist Ekachai Hongkangwan has risked arrest multiple times over the years to wind the junta up with his stunts. His latest campaign has focused on Prawit, whom he regularly tries to ambush to present him with a cheap Seiko watch.
Ekachai said his message is simple: It's time to go.
"If you can't keep track of the time, there's no point in wearing expensive watches!" Ekachai said at one recent attempt to surprise Prawit, before being dragged away by security.
Rosana, the former senator, said the Thai public is fast losing faith in the men in army green.
"The government said they would fight corruption and that they had promulgated a constitution that was anti-corruption," she said.
"But if their actions show that they are employing a double standard, that they crack down on the opposition but ignore their own people, the general public is not going to accept it."
The matter is now with the National Anti-corruption Commission. But this has only deepened dismay: Its members were appointed by the junta, and its head has a long-standing relationship with Prawit and won't recuse himself.
Worawit Sukboon, a spokesman for the anti-graft body, has called on the media to "wait for all the facts".
Prawit has said he'll resign if the anti-corruption body finds against him. But the damage from this ticking time-bomb of an issue may already have been done.
"It is almost like the last straw," political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak said, noting that people have "put up with a lot from the military government".
"I think the watches saga has become the lightning rod, opening the way for the downfall of the military government," he said.
Philippines' main airport fires contractor over baggage thefts
Thousands participate in Terry Fox Run in capital


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Guilty Pleas In Huge Bay Area Retail Theft Ring; Ringleader Gets 6-Year Prison Term
Filed Under:California Attorney General Rob Bonta, retail theft, smash-and-grab robberies
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Five people have pleaded guilty in one of the largest retail theft ring busts in California history.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Friday announced the sentencing during a press conference outside a Burlingame CVS store. He said the five pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-million dollar theft scheme targeting Bay Area retailers, with charges including conspiracy to commit retail theft, receiving stolen property, money laundering along with an aggravated white collar enhancement of over $500,000.
The investigation began in April 2020 and led to the discovery of a major theft ring dealing in stolen property from burglaries across the Bay Area. According to the complaint, defendants transported, stored, and sold stolen goods in other countries and laundered the money back to the United States.
Download the full complaint
Over the course of the investigation, nearly $2 million was seized from the defendants' bank accounts.
The man identified as the ringleader, Concord resident Danny Louis Drago, will be sentenced to six years in state prison, with four others already sentenced to lesser terms.
Danny Louis Drago (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office)
"The retail theft we're seeing across California is unacceptable," said Bonta. "Those who break the law and peddle stolen goods, they will be held accountable."
Bonta said those participating in the current wave of thefts should take note.
"Today's announcement should serve as a warning shot to anyone thinking of participating in organized retail theft," Bonta said. "You will be held accountable."
The five defendants were arrested in September of 2020 and during the operation law enforcement seized about $8 million in merchandise stolen from retailers such as CVS, Target, and Walgreens, as well as $85,000 in U.S. currency from the defendants' warehouse, residences, and storage facilities.
Merchandise stolen by a retail theft ring from Bay Area pharmacies and other stores. (California Attorney General's Office)
"We believe we have the key figures behind this operation," said Bonta. "They have been arrested and they received the biggest punishment. We have covered the gamut here."
The other defendants were identified as Drago's wife, Michelle Renee Fowler, San Francisco husband and wife Edgar Geovany Robles Morales and Isis Vasquez Villanueva, and Jose Villatoro. Their arrests followed a joint investigation by the California Department of Justice's White Collar Investigation Team, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office's Crime Suppression Unit, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office, and the California Highway Patrol.
Drago, was scheduled to be sentenced to a six-year prison term on February 25. Fowler was sentenced to three years in state prison, suspended pending two years' supervised probation, including 364 days in San Mateo County jail. Robles Morales and Villanueva were sentenced to probation with 364 days of electronic monitoring or work program. Villatoro was sentenced to probation and 30 days in jail.
Bonta promised more prosecutions of retail theft rings and the case was a good example of law enforcement agencies working together to hold these organizations accountable.
"The organized retail theft we're seeing in California and throughout the country are coordinated efforts by groups that are targeting stores with the intention of stealing as much as possible with no regard for the safety of the workers or consumers in those businesses," said Bonta in a prepared statement. "In this case, we see that the coordination doesn't stop at the initial theft. Groups are in turn reselling items, and in many cases using them to fund additional illicit activity, including human trafficking and organized crime. The defendants in this case have been held to account for their crimes, and I can assure you, others will be as well."


text:
La 17ª Mostra de Venecia se celebró del 28 de agosto al 9 de septiembre de 1956.

Jurado
 Internacional
 John Grierson (Presidente)
 André Bazin
 Fridrich Markovič Ermler
 James Quinn
 Kiyohiko Ushihara
 Luchino Visconti
 Giovanni Battista Cavallaro

 Mostra del Film per Ragazzi
 Vittorino Veronese (Presidente)
 Antonin Brousil
 Jean Benoît-Lévy
 Mary Field
 Luciano Emmer

 Mostra del Film Documentario
 Vittorino Veronese
 Antonin Brousil
 Jean Benoît-Lévy
 Mary Field
 Luciano Emmer

 Rassegna del film d'interesse turistico
 Vittorio Gallo (Presidente)
 Aldo Nascimben
 Alberto Bertolini
 Giorgio Longo
 Roberto De Gasperis
 Umbro Apollonio
 Vincenzo Del Gaudio
 Camillo Bassotto

Películas

Sección oficial
Las películas siguientes se presentaron en la sección oficial:

 Fuera de concurso

Premios
León de Oro: Desierto
Copa Volpi al mejor actor: Bourvil por Travesía de París
Copa Volpi a la mejor actriz: Maria Schell por Gervaise
Mención especial- La calle de la vergüenza de Kenji Mizoguchi, Heinz Rühmann en El capitán de Köpenick , Anna Magnani en Suor Letizia, Franco Bernetti, Mario Craveri, Ubaldo Marelli, Giovanni Raffaldi en L'impero del sole, Torero! de Carlos Velo, Guarnición militar inmortal  de Zakhar Agranenko y Eduard Tisse, Betsy Blair por Calle Mayor,  El arpa birmana de Kon Ichikawa, Calle Mayor de Juan Antonio Bardem
Premio New Cinema:
Mejor película: Calle Mayor de Juan Antonio Bardem
Mejor actor: Heinz Rühmann en El capitán de Köpenick
Mejor actriz: Maria Schell por Gervaise
Premio San Jorge: El arpa birmana de Kon Ichikawa
Premio FIPRESCI:
Calle Mayor de Juan Antonio Bardem
 Gervaise de René Clément
Premio OCIC: Calabuch de Luis García Berlanga
Premio Pasinetti: ¡Ataque! de Robert Aldrich
Mención honorable: El arpa birmana de Kon Ichikawa

Véase también

 Festival Internacional de Cine de Venecia

Referencias

Enlaces externos

Italia en 1956
1956
Festivales de cine de 1956

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Ondřej Šedivý (born September 30, 1989) is a [Czech professional ice hockey player. He is currently under contract with HC Frydek-Mistek of the 1st Czech Republic Hockey League (Czech. 1).

He previously played with home province club, HC Vítkovice in the Czech Extraliga during the 2010–11 Czech Extraliga season. and with HC TWK Innsbruck of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL).

References

External links

1989 births
Living people
Czech ice hockey right wingers
HC Frýdek-Místek players
HC TWK Innsbruck players
HC Vítkovice players
Orli Znojmo players
People from Bohumín
Sportspeople from the Moravian-Silesian Region
HC Havířov players
HC Oceláři Třinec players
HC Olomouc players
Czech expatriate ice hockey people
Czech expatriate sportspeople in Austria
Expatriate ice hockey players in Austria
GKS Tychy players
Czech expatriate sportspeople in Poland
Expatriate ice hockey players in Poland


text:
Thoughts and Prayers Go Out to Those Affected by the Tragic Metro-North Accident in Valhalla
by admin | Feb 4, 2015 | News | 0 comments
On Tuesday at approximately 6:30 p.m., Metro-North Train #659, the 5:44 p.m. northbound departure from Grand Central due Southeast at 7:08 p.m., struck a black Jeep Cherokee at the Commerce Street railroad grade crossing in Valhalla.
There are six confirmed fatalities, including the female driver of the jeep and several passengers on board the train. Fifteen passengers are being treated for injuries at local hospitals.
The names of the victims have not yet been identified.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the individuals, families and friends affected by the Metro North tragedy this evening," said Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell. "Let us remember how precious life is and not take a single moment for granted."
About 400 passengers aboard the train evacuated to the rear of the train and were taken to the Cliffs, a local rock-climbing gym for shelter. Buses then transported them to the Pleasantville Train Station.
Metro-North set up buses to transport Metro-North customers between Pleasantville and North White Plains. There is normal train service between Grand Central and North White Plains. There is Shuttle train service between Pleasantville and Southeast.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino went to the scene of the tragic collision.
"We're just keeping everyone in our prayers," he said. "Godspeed to our first responders."
The MTA has announced that Metro-North Harlem Line train service on Wednesday, February 4 will remain suspended between Pleasantville and North White Plains until further notice due to the train/car collision near Valhalla. There will be limited bus/train service for Upper Harlem Line customers beginning with morning rush hour service on Wednesday and until further notice. See details and bus schedule.
According to the MTA, the train cars cannot be removed until the on-scene investigation is complete, and they will need to be removed before service can be restored. Regular service through this area is not expected to resume until a full investigation is complete, the infrastructure is fully assessed, and repairs are made.


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text:
Do filmmakers tell the cast and crew where the money is coming from in these cases?
Re: Do filmmakers tell the cast and crew where the money is coming from in these case
Well, you certainly shouldn't borrow the money! So your own pocket is the only likely source isn't it.
Ryan, one thing you never ever do is comment on the MAJOR snags we mention. Somebody makes a hugely important comment based on what we know about you, but you ignore 90% of the post content and only comment on the unimportant stuff.
We are seriously concerned you are wasting your money. You want to create something that you cannot do, with the budget, your skills, other people's willingness to participate, equipment, locations, sets etc etc
You are essentially doing what a small child does. Getting fixated on the end product and totally disregarding and obstacles in the way..
You still don't even know which role is best for you. You are totally unwilling to even consider this - you just want to make this movie. You have pinned the restaurant menu to your door, and have no idea who the chef is, who the suppliers are, who will wait on tables, who is doing the cleaning and washing up, or how many tables you have. You just tinker with the menu on the door. NOBODY is inside and NOBODY is phoning up for tables - but you keep showing people the menu.
My guess is that you won't even respond to this question at all, and just ask another question, here or on other forums where your failed attempt to be a new person clearly failed again. Even worse, the people there remember your last persona, and remember the same questions from years ago. Do you really not understand how silly this makes you appear? Everyone is gently teasing you about your multiple names, and you have such silly excuses for it. Do you see how unprofessional you are acting, yet constantly you mention your desire for professional acceptance.
Slash Rules!
I honestly don't think he DOES see it that way...remember, we're talking about someone who thinks very differently than most of us do.
Ryan, homie, let's say you do self fund this thing and it's all for nothing...no payday, not even making your money back. WILL YOU BE OKAY IF THAT HAPPENS? Will you be homeless and penniless or still able to survive?
The Bass' camerawork
The Bass on IMDB
In another forum, he now seems to be fixated on coincidences in his script, even though he seems to be aware thar these occur all the time in films. "Dr Zhivago" is full of them, "LA Confidential" has a number of them, James Bond seems to run into them, "Casablanca" is about one. MOVIE REALITY, Pt. 1: Coincidences That Work https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/t...s-2e52de53c906
I suspect, like the pub film director, Ryan likes talking about the details or rather having other people talking about the details of his future movie on forums. However, he doesn't seem to be able to make the next decisive step and make use of the information, so, he just goes around in circles.
In the end, it's how you do it, just like coincidences in a film, it's how you use them within the story and that's down to the person doing the actual work and the decisions make when putting a film together. There are no easy answers from a few lines on a forum, it comes from hard digging at the rock face.
Last edited by Brian Drysdale; July 4th, 2020 at 04:05 AM.
I think this movie of his is an excise in distraction, an escape from daily life and concerns about future. So he doesn't respond or ignores any input that questions should he do it. The only way he can afford to do this for so many years is concentrate on all the aspects that don't cost money ie script writing, planning, watching movies, talking about the minutiae on forums, directing and bringing in people who use their own equipment.
It's really no surprise he can't get funding with that terrible script and his lack of skill, experience and proven track record being able to pull off sometime of this complexity.
also known as Ryan Wray
Location: Saskatoon, Canada
Oh well I didn't think an unknown newcomer could get much funding though. But I could use my money and just attempt to get a cast and crew and make the movie if that's best.
I think of the reasons I have trouble taking the next step after receiving advice is that there are pros and cons in each piece of advice, and so I am not sure which to choose after therefore. The advice is definitely good, it's just different pieces of advice, with pros and cons in each. I can try to work on that.
Originally Posted by Ryan Elder
Okay thanks for the help. Right now I have 50K to use, and can try to raise more.
What happened to your 50k?
I can still use it technically, I was just advised by others that I am spending too much and need to cut it down, or at least try to get funding from somewhere else.
I assume from a personal risk point of view.
Assuming Canadian dollars, that's still a very low budget for a feature film, especially if you're paying people. .
I was the one who warned you that it's highly likely that you'll lose all the money you put into this movie whether it's your money or someone else's. And whether you were prepared for that out come. But like most things we say to you they seem to have no effect.
50k might not be a lot for a movie budget but it's nothing to sneeze at and this environment where you can't get a job for who knows how long it be fool hardy to pour that into some risky project.
Yeah for sure. I was advised to make it 10K and people said that more of a reasonable loss, so I am trying to get the budget down that low. What you said had an effect for sure, yes, and that is why I am trying to do it for less now.
That's about the budget for some of the short films made here, it used to be a lot higher when being shot on film.
You won't be able to pay anyone on that budget, so I would forget about that.
Yeah that's the thing, for sure, I want to be able to pay people. So I am wondering what would be a reasonable compromise, since I am told I am spending too much on it.
Ideally if you had supreme confidence in your abilities and a proven track record it be nice to spend more to achieve better results. It's hard to say whether 10k is enough or if it would be better to put this whole project on ice.
I understand the appeal of doing your own movie where you have complete freedom to do whatever you want. But you should have thought long and hard about the money needed to adequately produce such a project and the very real risk of losing all that money. That's why most if not all of us here stick to paying gigs instead of these self funded passion projects.
Last edited by Pete Cofrancesco; July 4th, 2020 at 02:52 PM.
Oh okay. Well it's hard to get a track record without spending money though, isn't it? It would probably cost more than 10 K just to get a better a track record I think. Unless I use my payed gigs as a track record?
I can understand people telling you that it was costing too much and I suspect it may be a reflection on your current experience.
Working as a boom operator doesn't give you a track record as a director.
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"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring…not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations". He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed… the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.


Today I returned our hired car and took the bus, and then train, with my kids to return home. Taking public transport was a highlight for my children! They loved waiting at the bus stop, saying 'hello' to the bus driver as they hopped on, and pressing the buzzer to alert the driver to stop!
On the way home, we stopped at a park and had lunch. They loved the open space, beautiful 20 degree Melbourne weather without humidity and refilling their water bottles with fresh, drinking water from the water drinking fountain!
We then took a leisurely walk home, where my children were mesmerized by the rubbish bins along the road, hoping that the rubbish truck would drive by to empty them!
These are the simple pleasures of Australia that we miss when we are in Jakarta. All of these experiences are new to my children and it brings me so much joy to see their faces light up with happiness.
Tonight, as I'm laying in my bed, exhausted and sore from my long day out with them, I wish that I could text my massage lady to come over for a two hour, full body massage. I'd then order a chocolate oozing, butter dripping Martabak on GoJek…and book in a hair spa at the salon in my condo for the morning! These are the simple pleasures that I miss about Jakarta, when I am in Australia.
My heart really does live in both countries.


text:
Resident (bestuurder), een bestuursambtenaar in Britse en Nederlandse koloniën
De Resident, een wijk in de Nederlandse gemeente Den Haag
Standvogel, een vogel die in het broedgebied overwintert


One of the functions of government is to ensure the existence of an adequate supply of the next generation of workers; suitably trained to know their place, and with no aspirations for anything more fulfilling in life than a place on the capitalist machine's profit production line.
And if a state mis-education alone is not enough to guarantee young workers a job stacking shelves in the local pound shop, politicians assume that regular religious interference in their lives to further confuse and demoralise them will help.
It's no surprise then that the state takes an interest in the institution of marriage and legislates on where parents of the next generation of workers can get hitched. Register Office weddings are no problem, nor are the mainstream church weddings or those carried out in synagogues or mosques. Some of the premises of the lesser known, and the more bizarre gods however, just don't come up to scratch, however luxurious or opulent they are.
It shouldn't really matter these days which god workers are indoctrinated in, you might think. One non-existent god is as good as another, but no, it's not that simple. The next generation of workers need to be born to parents who, if believers, are only married in the premises of a properly government approved god. At least, this has been the position until now.
In December, however, there was a court case where for some unknown reason a couple decided they wanted to get married in the Church of Scientology. Unfortunately there was a 1970 High Court ruling in the way which said that Scientology services were not 'acts of worship'.
However after duly reflecting on the nature of the gods and their need to be suitably worshipped, the Supreme Court Justices decided that the 1970 ruling was out of date. It was not the job of the Registrar General of Births, Marriages and Deaths to venture into 'fine theological or liturgical niceties' they said. Which is fine as far as it goes. Less state interference in our lives is always welcome.
But, unleashing a can of theological worms they added, 'Religion should not be confined to religions which recognise a supreme deity'. What's that? Jesus Christ! The God bothering business is overloaded with self-proclaimed prophets and Holy Joes jumping on the Jesus bandwagon already. Are L Ron Hubbard and his ilk going to be allowed to officially join this con-man's circus as well?
There may be more to this story than meets the eye. Religious establishments are exempted from paying business rates. Is it possible that this is why the 'Church' of Scientology, with its vast property holdings is so keen to conduct marriages? Local Government minister Brandon Lewis said he was 'very concerned' about the ruling and its implications for business rates. We bet he was.
Signs that religious mumbo-jumbo is becoming a free for all are appearing in the USA as well. Following the installation of a monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma state Capitol, a Satanic group have submitted an application to erect a seven foot tall statue of Satan on a throne complete with horns, wings and a beard. 'The statue will have a functional purpose as a chair where people of all ages may sit on the lap of Satan for inspiration and contemplation' they said.
Requests to install a monument have also been made by the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. This won't end well, will it?