text:
HomeReportsInternational Religious Freedom Reports...Custom Report - 12e0ad69bf
International Religious Freedom Reports
Section I. Religious Demography
Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom
Government Practices
The U.S. government estimates the total population at 38.9 million (midyear 2019 estimate). According to 2010 government statistics, the most recent available, 97 percent of the population is Muslim. Shia Muslims, predominantly Arabs but also including Turkoman, Faili (Shia) Kurds, and others, constitute 55 to 60 percent of the population. Sunni Muslims are approximately 40 percent of the population, of which Arabs constitute 24 percent, Kurds 15 percent, and Turkomans the remaining 1 percent. Shia, although predominantly located in the south and east, are the majority in Baghdad and have communities in most parts of the country. Sunnis form the majority in the west, center, and north of the country.
Christian leaders estimate there are fewer than 250,000 Christians remaining in the country, with the largest population – at least 200,000 – living in the Ninewa Plain and the IKR in the north of the country. According to Christian leaders, the Christian population has declined over the past 17 years from a pre-2002 population estimate of between 800,000 and 1.4 million persons. Approximately 67 percent of Christians are Chaldean Catholics (an eastern rite of the Roman Catholic Church), and nearly 20 percent are members of the Assyrian Church of the East. The remainder are Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, and Anglican and other Protestants. There are approximately 2,000 registered members of evangelical Christian churches in the IKR, while an unknown number, mostly converts from Islam, practice the religion secretly.
Yezidi leaders continue to report that most of the 400,000 to 500,000 Yezidis in the country reside in the north, and approximately 360,000 remain displaced. Estimates of the size of the Sabean-Mandean community vary. According to Sabean-Mandean leaders, 10,000 remain in the country, mainly in the south, with between 750 and 1,000 in the IKR and Baghdad. Baha'i leaders report fewer than 2,000 members, spread throughout the country in small groups, including approximately 500 in the IKR. The Shabak number between 350,000 and 400,000, three-fourths of whom are Shia. Most Sunni Shabak and some Shia Shabak reside in Ninewa. Armenian leaders report a population of approximately 7,000 Armenian Christians. According to Kaka'i (known as Yarsani or Ahl al-Haq in Iran) activists, their distinct ethnic and religious community has approximately 120,000 to 150,000 members and has long been located in the Ninewa Plain and in villages southeast of Kirkuk, as well as in Diyala and Erbil.
There are fewer than six adult members in the Baghdad Jewish community, according to a local Jewish community leader. In the IKR, there are 70 to 80 Jewish families, according to the Jewish representative in the KRG Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs (MERA). There are possibly more, as some Jewish families do not openly acknowledge their religion for fear of persecution, according to the KRG MERA, and NGO sources. According to the KRG Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs, there are approximately 60 Zoroastrian families in the IKR.
According to the International Organization for Migration, as of December, nearly 1.5 million persons remain displaced within the country, predominantly in Erbil, Dohuk, and Ninewa Provinces, compared with 1.8 million persons at the end of 2018. Population movements are multidirectional, with some persons fleeing their homes and others returning home. According to the KRG's Joint Crisis Coordination Center in the KRG, 40 percent of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are Sunni Arabs, 30 percent Yezidis, 13 percent Kurd (of several religious affiliations), and 7 percent Christians. Other religious minorities comprise the remaining 10 percent.
The constitution establishes Islam as the official religion of the state, and a "foundational source" of legislation. It states no law may be enacted contradicting the "established provisions of Islam," but it also states no law may contradict the principles of democracy or the rights and basic freedoms stipulated in the constitution.
The constitution protects the "Islamic identity" of the Iraqi people, although it makes no specific mention of Sunni or Shia Islam. The constitution also provides for freedom of religious belief and practice for all individuals, such as Christians, Yezidis, and Sabean-Mandeans, but it does not explicitly mention followers of other religions or atheists. Law 105 of 1970 prohibits the practice of the Baha'i Faith and prescribes 10 year's imprisonment for anyone practicing the Baha'i Faith. The KRG, however, does not enforce the federal ban on the Baha'i Faith and recognizes it as a religion, while in other parts of the country the law generally is not enforced.
Law 32 of 2016 bans the Baath Party, and also prohibits "takfiri" organizations, such as al-Qa'ida and ISIS, that declare as apostates Muslims who practice a less austere form of Islam. A 2001 resolution prohibits the practice of the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam.
The constitution states each individual has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and belief. Followers of all religions are free to practice religious rites and manage religious endowment affairs and religious institutions. The constitution guarantees freedom from religious coercion and states all citizens are equal before the law without regard to religion, sect, or belief.
Personal status laws and regulations prohibit the conversion of Muslims to other religions, and they require the administrative designation of minor children as Muslims if either parent converts to Islam, or if one parent is considered Muslim, even if the child is a product of rape. Civil status law allows all non-Muslim women who are identified in their official documents as non-Muslims to marry Muslim men, but it prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims.
The following religious groups are recognized by the personal status law and thereby registered with the government: Islam, Chaldean, Assyrian, Assyrian Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic, National Protestant, Anglican, Evangelical Protestant Assyrian, Seventh-day Adventist, Coptic Orthodox, Yezidi, Sabean-Mandean, and Jewish. Recognition allows groups to appoint legal representatives and perform legal transactions such as buying and selling property. All recognized religious groups in the country, with the exception of the Yezidis, have their own personal status courts responsible for handling marriage, divorce, and inheritance issues.
There are three diwans (offices) responsible for administering matters for the recognized religious groups within the country: the Sunni Endowment Diwan, the Shia Endowment Diwan, and the Endowment of the Christian, Yezidi, and Sabean-Mandean Religions Diwan. The three endowments operate under the authority of the Office of the Prime Minister to disburse government funds to maintain and protect religious facilities.
For the practice of unrecognized religious groups other than Baha'is – including Wahhabi Islam, Zoroastrianism, Yarsanism, and the Kaka'i Faith – the law does not specify penalties; however, contracts signed by institutions of unrecognized religious groups are not legal or permissible as evidence in court.
Outside the IKR, the law does not provide a mechanism for a new religious group to obtain legal recognition. In the IKR, religious groups obtain recognition by registering with the KRG MERA. To register, a group must have a minimum of 150 adherents, provide documentation on the sources of its financial support, and demonstrate it is not anti-Islam. Eight faiths are recognized and registered with the KRG MERA: Islam, Christianity, Yezidism, Judaism, Sabean-Mandaeism, Zoroastrianism, Yarsanism, and the Baha'i Faith.
The KRG MERA operates endowments that pay salaries of clergy and fund construction and maintenance of religious sites for Muslims, Christians, and Yezidis, but not for the other five registered religions.
The law requires the government to maintain the sanctity of holy shrines and religious sites and guarantee the free practice of rituals for recognized religious groups. The penal code criminalizes disrupting or impeding religious ceremonies and desecrating religious buildings. The penal code imposes up to three years' imprisonment or a fine of 300 dinars (25 cents) for such crimes.
By law, the government provides support for Muslims outside the IKR desiring to perform the Hajj and Umrah, organizing travel routes and immunization documents for entry into Saudi Arabia. The Sunni and Shia endowments accept Hajj applications from the public and submit them to the Supreme Council for the Hajj. The council, attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, organizes a lottery to select pilgrims for official Hajj visas. Lottery winners pay differing amounts to the government for their visas prior to Hajj depending on their mode of travel: 3.7 million dinars ($3,300) for Hajj travel by land and 4.8 million dinars ($4,200) for travel by air. In the IKR, the KRG MERA organizes Hajj and Umrah travel, carrying out a lottery to choose the pilgrims for official Hajj visas allotted to the IKR.
The constitution provides minority groups the right to educate children in their own languages. While it establishes Arabic and Kurdish as official state languages, it makes Syriac, typically spoken by Christians, and Turkoman official languages only in the administrative units in which those groups "constitute density populations." In the IKR, there are 48 Syriac and 18 Turkoman language schools. The constitution provides for a Federal Supreme Court made up of judges, experts in Islamic jurisprudence, and legal scholars. The constitution leaves the method of regulating the number and selection of judges to legislation that requires a two-thirds majority in the Council of Representatives (COR) for passage.
The constitution provides citizens the right to choose which court (civil or religious) will adjudicate matters of personal status, including marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, and charitable donations. Islam takes precedence when one of the parties to the dispute is from an unrecognized faith. The law states civil courts must consult the religious authority of a non-Muslim party for its opinion under the applicable religious law and apply the religious authority's opinion in court. In the IKR, the Personal Status Court adjudicates personal disputes between members of the same religion while the Civil Status Court handles all other cases.
National identity cards issued since 2016 do not denote the bearer's religion, although the online application still requests this information and a data chip on the card still contains data on religion, according to a 2018 study by the Danish Immigration Service. The only religions that may be listed on the national identity card application are Christian, Sabean-Mandean, Yezidi, Jewish, and Muslim. There is no distinction between Shia and Sunni Muslim, or a designation of Christian denominations. Individuals practicing other faiths may only receive identity cards if they self-identify as Muslim, Yezidi, Sabean-Mandean, Jewish, or Christian. Without an official identity card, one may not register a marriage, enroll children in public school, acquire passports, or obtain some government services. Passports do not specify religion.
The law provides constitutional guarantees for the reinstatement of citizenship to individuals who gave up their citizenship for political or sectarian reasons; however, this law does not apply to Jews who emigrated and gave up their citizenship under a 1950 law.
Civil laws provide a simple process for a non-Muslim to convert to Islam, but the law forbids conversion by a Muslim to another religion. IKR law forbids "religious, or political, media speech individually or collectively, directly or indirectly that brings hate and violence, terror, exclusion, and marginalization based on national, ethnic, or religious or linguistic claims."
The law reserves nine of the COR's 329 seats for members of religious and ethnic minority communities: five for Christian candidates from Baghdad, Ninewa, Kirkuk, Erbil, and Dohuk; one for a Yezidi; one for a Sabean-Mandean; one for an ethnic Shabak; and one for a Faili Kurd from Wasit. Usually one of the Council of Representatives (COR) rapporteur (administrative) positions is designated for a Christian MP and the other for a Turkoman. The Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament (IKP) reserves 11 of its 111 seats for ethnic minorities: five for Chaldeans, Syriacs, and Assyrians; five for Turkomans; and one for an Armenian.
Islamic education, including study of the Quran, is mandatory in primary and secondary schools, except in the IKR. Non-Muslim students are not required to participate in Islamic studies. The government provides Christian religious education in public schools in some areas where there are concentrations of Christian populations, and there is a Syriac curriculum directorate within the Ministry of Education.
The antiterrorism law defines terrorism as "Every criminal act committed by an individual or an organized group that targeted an individual or a group of individuals or groups or official or unofficial institutions and caused damage to public or private properties, with the aim to disturb the peace, stability, and national unity or to bring about horror and fear among people and to create chaos to achieve terrorist goals." Anyone found guilty under this law is sentenced to death.
The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
More than 600 demonstrators were killed in mass protests against the central government in Baghdad and southern provinces in October and November. According to news reports, the protesters were mostly young Shia, but minority religious communities, such as Chaldean Catholics, expressed their support for the movement. Human Rights Watch also documented examples of Sunnis in Anbar being detained by ISF for expressing their support of the protests on social media. The reports stated, however, that there was no evidence that members of minority religions taking part in the protests were specifically targeted by security forces suppressing the protests. According to human rights organizations, including HRW, although the PMC and Ministry of Interior forces were implicated in committing gross human rights abuses, the federal government held no one responsible for killings, illegal detentions, and torture of protestors. In October journalists reported that authorities issued arrest warrants for 130 activists and journalists for covering the demonstrations. The warrants were based on the terrorism law; however, reportedly the real reason for the arrest warrants was their coverage of the demonstrations taking place in Shia-dominant provinces of the country.
International and local NGOs said the government continued to use the antiterrorism law as a pretext for detaining individuals without due process. Observers again said the antiterrorism law did not afford due process or fair trial protections. Sunni leaders said authorities referenced the law in their arbitrary detentions of young Sunni men on suspicion of ISIS links.
According to international human rights organizations, some Shia militias, including some under the PMF umbrella, continued to commit physical abuses and were again implicated in several attacks on Sunni civilians, allegedly to avenge ISIS crimes against Shia. Following the return of central government control in Kirkuk in 2017, Kurds, Turkomans, Kaka'i, Christians, and other minorities faced abuses by PMF and ISF that included violence and forced displacement by PMF and ISF.
In June MP Raad al-Dahlaki, a Sunni from Diyala Province, warned of forced displacement of Sunnis in Diyala. Al-Dahlaki stated government-affiliated Shia militia groups intimidated the Sunni population in the province, resulting in a systematic demographic change along the border with Iran. There were reports that gunmen attacked the village of Abu Al-Khanzir in the province, killing three members of the same family and prompting a wave of displacement from the village.
Sources said some government officials sought to facilitate demographic change by providing land and housing for Shia and Sunni Muslims to move into traditionally Christian areas in the Ninewa Plain, such as Bartalla Subdistrict, Sunni areas in Diyala Province, and Sunni areas in Babil Province, including Jurf al-Sakhar District.
In addition to the Christian denominations recognized by the government, there were 14 registered evangelical Christian and other Protestant churches in the KRG, compared with 11 in 2018: Nahda al-Qadassa Church in Erbil and Dohuk, Nasari Evangelical Church in Dohuk, Kurd-Zaman Church in Erbil, Ashti Evangelical Church in Sulaimaniya, Evangelical Free Church in Dohuk, the Baptist Church of the Good Shepherd in Erbil, al-Tasbih International Evangelical Church in Dohuk, Rasolia Church in Erbil, as well as United Evangelical, Assemblies of God, and Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Erbil.
Representatives of minority religious communities continued to state that while the central government did not generally interfere with religious observances and even provided security for religious sites, including churches, mosques, shrines, and religious pilgrimage sites and routes, local authorities in some regions continued to verbally harass and impose restrictions on their activities. Christians again reported abuse, harassment, and delays at numerous checkpoints operated by various PMF units, including the 30th Brigade in Qaraqosh, Bartalla, and Karamles, and the 50th "Babylon" Brigade in Batnaya and Tal Kayf, impeding movement in and around several Christian towns on the Ninewa Plain. Christians in Bartalla said they felt threatened by the actions of the Shabak 30th Brigade, such as deploying forces in Christian areas, establishing its headquarters in the Christian sub-district of Bartalla, controlling the trade roads in the Ninewa Plain by establishing check points, forcing merchants to pay bribes, controlling real estate in Christian areas, and other forms of harassment of Christians and Sunni Arabs.
Christian religious leaders continued to publicly accuse the 30th Brigade of verbal harassment of Christians in Bartalla and elsewhere in Hamdaniya District of Ninewa. Members of the Christian community in Bartalla said activities of the 30th Brigade threatened their way of life and could change the area's demographics. Local residents also said militias posted pictures of Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei and former Quds Force Commander Qassim Suleimani on shops in Bartalla, as well as Iraqi militia leaders such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq Secretary General Qais al-Khazali and former PMF Deputy Commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. They also stated that the 30th Brigade refused to comply with government orders to withdraw from checkpoints in the Ninewa Plain. Sources said Shabak individuals threatened priests over social media after the priests sought the withdrawal of the brigade from the area on social media. Local sources said six Shabak Sunni families left their home in Bashiqa District because the 30th Brigade verbally harassed them and pressured them to sell part of their lands. Kaka'i activists and religious leaders reported continued verbal harassment and discrimination by the PMF in Kirkuk and Diyala, who identified Kaka'i men by their distinctive mustaches.
Yezidi community leaders continued to report that Yezidi captives of ISIS who were repeatedly raped and bore children were forced to register those children as Muslims and convert to Islam themselves to obtain identification cards, passports, and other governmental services – in part because the Yezidi community did not consider these children to be Yezidi. The Yezidi religion traditionally required a child to have two Yezidi parents to be considered Yezidi. Sources in the community estimated the number of these children ranged from several dozen to several hundred. They said societal stigma made it difficult to obtain accurate numbers. Due to the position of the Yezidi leaders and community on children born of rape, many Yezidi female survivors of ISIS said they were compelled to leave their children in orphanages in Syria or Iraq so they could rejoin their community.
According to Zoroastrian leaders, there were no reported cases of discrimination against them in the IKR during the year. They continued to state, however, that their religion was listed as "Islam" on their federal identification cards, a common problem reported by non-Christian religious minorities.
According to Christian leaders, Christian families formally registered as Muslim but privately practicing Christianity or another faith continued to be forced to either register their child as Muslim or to have the child remain undocumented by federal authorities, denying them the ability to legally convert from Islam. Remaining undocumented would affect the family's eligibility for government benefits such as school enrollment and ration card allocation for basic food items, which depend on family size. Larger families with legally registered children receive higher allotments than those with undocumented children.
According to Christian and other minority community leaders, some Shabak MPs, including Hunain Qado, with the support of some of some Shia elements in the central government, continued to direct the 30th Brigade to harass Christians, drive out the area's dwindling Christian population, and allow Muslims to settle in the area's traditionally Christian town centers. Christians in Tal Kayf said the nominally Christian but majority Shia Arab PMF 50th "Babylon" Brigade actively continued to facilitate the settlement of Sunni Arab and Shia Shabak populations in that town, but it no longer blocked Christians from returning to the area.
In Ninewa Province, some Shabak MPs in the COR continued to advocate for the provision of land grants in accordance with a 2017 federal law granting land to the families of mostly Shia Muslim PMF victims who fought ISIS. Throughout the year, according to media and local news reports, Hamdaniya District Mayor Essam Behnam resisted political pressure at both the federal and provincial levels to issue such land grants in Hamdaniya. In 2018 Behnam suspended the grants in a historically Christian majority district, citing the constitution's prohibition of forced demographic change. During the year, government construction of large housing development projects on government-owned land in the outskirts of Bartalla continued. Christian community leaders continued to express concern that all the future occupants of this housing would be Shabak and Arab Muslims not native to Bartalla.
During the year, the Office of the Prime Minister created a committee of security officials and Christian religious leaders to return all Christian properties in Ninewa to their Christian owners. The committee returned tens of houses to their Christian owners and remained active as of the end of year. Reportedly, no similar committee was formed to help return properties in Baghdad or other provinces. According to Christian MP Yonadum Kanna, he and other Christian leaders worked individually to help Christians return to their homes; he said he managed to return 180 homes during the year.
During the year, the PMF Imam Ali Brigade continued to block the return of the members of the Yezidi Sinjar District Council and the mayor to Sinjar City from their temporary location in Dohuk, notwithstanding an official letter from the Office of the Prime Minister provided in 2018 that ordered their return.
Some Yezidi and Christian leaders continued to report physical abuse and verbal harassment by KRG Peshmerga and Asayish forces in the KRG-controlled portion of Ninewa; some leaders said the majority of such cases were motivated more by territorial disputes rather than religious discrimination.
According to multiple sources, many alleged Sunni ISIS sympathizers or their families whom government forces and militia groups had expelled in 2018 from their homes in several provinces had not returned home by year's end. Some of these IDPs said PMF groups, including Saraya al-Khorasani and Kata'ib Hezballah, continued to block their return.
The KRG continued to actively support and fund the rescue of captured Yezidis and provide psychosocial support services at a center in Dohuk Province. By year's end, authorities in the KRG's Yezidi Rescue Coordinating Office reported between 2,900 and 3,000 Yezidis, mainly women and children, remained missing in and outside the country. Approximately 150 Christians also remained missing. According to the KRG MERA, as of October more than 3,500 Yezidis had escaped, been rescued, or were released from ISIS captivity since 2014.
As of August the KRG Yezidi Rescue Office, established by then-KRG prime minister Nechirvan Barzani, had spent approximately $5 million since its inauguration in 2014 to rescue captive Yezidis from ISIS. Yezidi groups said the presence of armed affiliates of the PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and PMF militias in Sinjar continued to hinder the return of IDPs. According to Yezidis activists and officials, the Yezidis were afraid to return to Sinjar because of the continuing Turkish airstrikes targeting the PKK. In November a Turkish airstrike hit the local headquarters of Yezidi PKK fighters in Sinjar, called the People's Protection Units (also known as YBS), killing or injuring 20 of them.
According to some Yezidi sources, Yezidis in the IKR continued to experience discrimination when they refused to self-identify as Kurdish. They said only those Yezidis who identified publicly as Kurdish could obtain senior positions in the IKR leadership. In the IKR, those not identifying as Kurdish said actions such as obtaining a residency card or a driver's license were challenging.
In some parts of the country, non-Muslim religious minorities, as well as Sunni and Shia in areas where they formed the minority, continued to face verbal harassment and restrictions from authorities. Sources reported the ISF returned to the Sunni Endowment the property of a Sunni mosque in Mosul, confiscated by PMF militia in 2018. The Shia Endowment's seizure of property owned by the Sunni Endowment continued to create tension with Sunnis in Mosul. One unidentified group placed banners throughout Mosul with the hashtag #OurWaqf [religious endowment] is our Red Line.
At year's end, the central government had not opened an investigation of the alleged ISF and PMF destruction of the second century tomb in Qaraqosh of religious notable Youhana al-Delimi, despite a lawsuit filed by Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Dawood Matti Sharaf in 2017. According to Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Sharaf, the government had neglected to address the issue.
Advocacy groups and religious minority representatives reported increased emigration. According to estimates, including those cited by several Christian MPs, the monthly number of Christian families leaving the country, including the IKR, ranged from 10 to 22. A director of an Assyrian NGO reported four Syriac language schools remained closed in Dohuk due to lack of students.
Some Yezidis and Christians continued to maintain their own militias. According to Yezidi and Christian officials, some received support from the central government in Baghdad through the PMC, which oversees PMF forces, while others received assistance from the KRG. Some representatives of religious minority groups, such as Yezidi and Sabean-Mandean MPs, stated they needed to have a role in their own security and had requested government support to create armed groups from their own communities; others asked to join regular law enforcement units.
NGOs continued to state that constitutional provisions on freedom of religion should override laws banning the Baha'i Faith and the Wahhabi branch of Sunni Islam; however, during the year, there were no court challenges lodged to invalidate the laws, and no legislation proposed to repeal them.
The KRG and the central government continued to provide increased protection to Christian churches during the Easter and Christmas holidays. Followers of the Baha'i and Yezidi faiths reported the KRG allowed them without interference or intimidation to observe their religious holidays and festivals. Provincial governments also continued to designate festivals as religious holidays in their localities.
Government policy continued to require Islamic instruction in public schools outside the IKR, but non-Muslim students were not required to participate. In most areas of the country, primary and secondary school curricula continued to include three classes per week of Islamic education, including study of the Quran, as a graduation requirement for Muslim students. Some non-Muslim students reported pressure to do so from instructors and classmates. Reports continued that some non-Muslim students felt obliged to participate because they were not allowed to leave the classroom during religious instruction. Christian religious education continued to be included in the curricula of at least 255 public schools in the country, including 55 in the KRG, according to the Ministry of Education. Private Islamic religious schools continued to operate in the country, but they had to obtain a license from the director general of private and public schools and pay annual fees.
In the IKR, private schools were required to pay a registration fee of 750,000 to 1.5 million dinars ($660-$1,300) to the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Higher Education, depending on the type of school. The KRG subsidized tuition by approximately 25 percent. To register with the KRG, private schools needed to provide information on the school's bylaws, number of students, size, location, facility and safety conditions, financial backing, and tax compliance, and undergo an inspection. The Catholic University in Erbil continued to operate with full accreditation from the KRG Ministry of Higher Education and remained open to students of all faiths.
Christian and Yezidi leaders outside the IKR reported continued discrimination in education and lack of minority input on school curricula and language of instruction. By year's end, some schools still did not utilize elements of the universally adopted 2015 Ministry of Education curriculum incorporating lessons of religious tolerance. Other than making small changes to the curriculum, observers stated that the Ministry of Education did not have a clear strategy to implement the rest of the religious tolerance curriculum.
The KRG Ministry of Education continued to fund religious instruction in schools for Muslim and Christian students. The ministry also continued to fund Syriac-language public elementary and secondary schools, which was intended to accommodate Christian students. The curriculum did not contain religious or Quranic studies. The KRG MERA and Ministry of Education continued to partner with Harvard University to develop a religious studies curriculum that would present information on all recognized faiths from a nonsectarian, academic perspective to replace the existing religion classes – an effort that continued through year's end.
The central government again extended by two years the contracts of several hundred Christian employees who faced violence in Baghdad in 2010. They were allowed to relocate from the south to the IKR and transfer their government jobs from the central government to the KRG, while the central government continued to pay their salaries.
There were again reports of KRG authorities discriminating against minorities, including Turkomans, Arabs, Yezidis, Shabaks, and Christians, in territories claimed by both the KRG and the central government in the northern part of the country.
Christian leaders reported the KRG continued to provide land and financial support for new construction and renovation of existing structures for use as educational facilities, although budget cuts halted some projects. The KRG MERA built four churches and one Christian center during the year.
While there remained no legal bar to ministerial appointments for members of religious minorities, in practice there were few non-Muslims in the central government Council of Ministers or the KRG Council of Ministers, a situation unchanged from the previous two years. Members of minority religious communities, including Christians, Yezidis, Kaka'is and Sabean-Mandeans, continued to hold senior positions in the national parliament and central government, although minority leaders said they were still underrepresented in government appointments, in elected positions outside the COR, and in public sector jobs, particularly at the provincial and local levels. Minority leaders continued to say this underrepresentation limited minorities' access to government-provided economic opportunities. The Federal Supreme Court's nine members continued to include Sunni and Shia Muslims and one Christian. Although there were no reliable statistics available, minorities stated they continued to be underrepresented in the ranks of police, senior military, and in intelligence and security services.
Some Sunni Muslims continued to speak about what they perceived as anti-Sunni discrimination by Shia government officials in retribution for the Sunnis' favored status and abuses against Shia during the Saddam Hussein regime. Sunnis said they continued to face discrimination in public sector employment as a result of de-Baathification, a process originally intended to target loyalists of the former regime. Sunnis and local NGOs said the government continued the selective use of the de-Baathification provisions of the law to render many Sunnis ineligible for choice government positions, but it did not do so to render former Shia Baathists ineligible. Some Sunnis said they were often passed over for choice government jobs or lucrative contracts by the Shia-dominated government because the Sunnis were allegedly accused of being Baathists who sympathized with ISIS ideology.
Although the IKP had 11 seats reserved for ethnic minority candidates, the law did not restrict who could vote in quota seat races. Citing reports of Kurds voting for minority parties that align with major Kurdish parties, some members of the IKR's minority populations said these votes undermined the intended purpose of the minority quota seats and diluted the voice of minorities in government. Minority political party leaders said they were unsuccessful in their campaign to amend the law to restrict voting in quota seat races to voters of the same ethnicity of the candidate.
Christians said they continued to face discrimination that limited their economic opportunities, such as "taxation" on their goods transported from Mosul into the Ninewa Plain by the PMF Brigade. Sabean-Mandeans and Christians continued to report fear of importing and distributing alcohol and spirits despite receiving permits. The legal ban on alcohol consumption by Muslims, according to local sources, prevented Muslim store owners from applying for permits allowing them to carry and sell alcohol. Community sources reported the continuing practice of Muslim businessmen using Christians as front men to apply for these permits and operate the stores.
During the year, the Kaka'i community reported it controlled all of its places of worship. In 2018 Kaka'i leaders had reported that the central government's Shia Endowment had forcibly taken over several places of Kaka'i worship in Kirkuk, Diyala, and Baghdad, converting them into mosques.
In September the KRG announced the closure of a restaurant named the "Hitler Restaurant," located outside Dohuk. The KRG stated that "Nazism and racism would not be tolerated in the autonomous Kurdish region and such actions are against the law." The KRG's Department of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs later released a statement calling for expanded laws to punish genocide denial in the KRG.
Abuses by Foreign Forces and Nonstate Actors (if applicable)
Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement
Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Tibet Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam West Bank Western Sahara Xinjiang Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe


text:
Q: Adding WIT Rules in Visual Studio Team Services I have been attempting to find a solution to edit the XML files of the WIT in VSTS so that I can customize it to add a rule on the Due Date field to be edited by the Supervisor only. However it seems that I am limited only to custom rules.
Are there any ways to do this aside from editing the XML file?
Thanks!

A: No, you can not edit VSTS XML file.
You can also refer Import and export process configuration:

With witadmin, you can modify XML definition files to support the
  On-premises XML process model. For Hosted XML and Inheritance process
  models, you can only use witadmin commands to list information.

That means, you can export and import XML for TFS, but only can export XML for VSTS.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
An Analysis: Defunding ObamaCare Vs. Government Shutdown & Debt Ceiling Deadline
The continuing resolution (CR) & debt ceiling deadline provide an excellent opportunity to solve our financial problems if we were all on the same team. We could all look @ the subject matter & arithmetic involved & come up with any number of plans to put our country back on a strong economic footing – use the above table as a basis to see how easy it is to determine your own plan assuming we are all on the same team. The fact that we never have tried to solve our fiscal problems any other time the CR &/or debt ceiling deadline came up tells you we are not all on the same team – & the current government shutdown verifies it.
As long as Democrats believe there are some wealthy people whose taxes can still be raised, some foreign governments who will lend the U.S. money, & an available electronic printing press controlled by the Treasury giving orders that are followed by the Federal Reserve they will want to continue to increase spending. With that mindset our problems will never change or be solved - we will just move from one confrontation to another until we have really fallen down the metaphorical flight of stairs that I often write about.
Of course the current impasse started with my beloved Tea Party wanting to defund ObamaCare. Now students of the Constitution, of which we have many in this readership, know that James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, wrote in The Federalist No. 58 "(T)his power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete & effective weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance . . . ." Sounds like what we have today – ObamaCare is the grievance & the House won't fund it.
(An added complication though is that some 90+% of ObamaCare is on auto-pilot so not issuing a CR & shutting down the government in & of themselves will not get the Tea Party & Republicans to the goal - the ObamaCare insurance subsidies are paid through the IRS as refundable tax credits and the Medicaid portion of ObamaCare, like Social Security & Medicare, is not annually appropriated. But like Social Security & Medicare & anything else Congress has ever appropriated ObamaCare could be defunded through a CR policy rider– but this would not work without BO & Ringside Reid cooperating.)
Indications are that ObamaCare is increasingly unpopular as more & more is learned about it; but the problem is that shutting down the government is even more unpopular & congressional Republicans have historically taken the majority of the blame for government shutdowns – Gallup has Republicans falling to a 28% national favorable rating & Democrats 43% favorable. (This could have an immediate impact in the Virginia governor's race where Ken Cuccinelli could take a hit with the government workers in northern Virginia voting Democrat more so than usual.) Further with 100% certainty BO is not going to see his signature legislative achievement in effect be repealed after Democrats have worked for government controlled healthcare for 80 years & they are still not quite where they want to be – single payer universal healthcare insurance.
The shutting down of the discretionary parts of the government (actually only 17% of the total government has been shut down) for which no appropriations have been made has resulted in calls for more & more of these parts of the government to be fully reopened. These calls of outrage are a good indication of how government dependent many Americans are. In this regard Congressman Frelinghuysen has reported that the House has passed 17 free-standing bills to reinstate programs from providing immediate funding for FEMA, to serving 9 million women & young children who need "vital nutrition that poor families might otherwise be unable to afford," to allowing our nation's capital to continue operating using its own funding, to providing compensation of federal employees furloughed due to the shutdown, to ensuring that death benefits to families of fallen troops will continue to be disbursed during the government shutdown. What kind of shutdown is this?
With all of the above going against the chances of defunding or even significantly changing ObamaCare any time soon the Tea Party in general & Texas Senator Ted Cruz in particular have vividly brought the problems with ObamaCare to the country's attention much more so than if they just voted present on the CR thereby having it pass without one Republican vote in either chamber of Congress – this still may be the outcome if Boehner brings a clean CR to the House floor for a vote.
People are becoming more aware every day how ObamaCare negatively impacts their lives – all per BO's government-dependent design. People 1) are having their hours cut back to below 30 per week so that their employers will not have to provide healthcare insurance under ObamaCare, 2) are finding that what they thought was going to be insurance that covered teeth cleanings & routine eye examinations & getting glasses is really insurance with several thousand dollars of deductibles meaning it is not really what they were hoping for @ all – it is paying something for nothing, 3) are learning that many plans are HMOs meaning that coverage depends on using the plan's approved doctors & hospitals – so much for being able to keep your own doctor, & 4) are concerned that before the technical problems with the computers on the exchanges have been solved they will be exposed to identity theft with all the sensitive private information they have supplied not being securely guarded in what is a hacker's dream. In addition people think it is not fair for businesses to have a one year delay in complying with ObamaCare while individuals must sign up now with no delay. They also resent that members of Congress & their staffs will continue to get their healthcare insurance subsidies because the staffs cannot afford to pay for the insurance - the same unaffordable predicament many other people are in who do not have the congressional type subsidies & must be fully compliant with ObamaCare. See also the account of Ashley Dionne who appeared on the Huckabee TV program on FNC after her FB posting detailing her problems with ObamaCare went viral.
BO has Cruz & his followers in a box that he will not let them out of without taking his best shot @ destroying the Republican Party & Tea Party by extension. BO has in effect said he did not know there was anything to negotiate – he has been waiting for Congress to pass a CR that will assign money for the specific purpose of appropriating the 13 departments & agencies that make up the discretionary parts of the federal government that have been authorized by law. BO has a similar seemingly innocent position re the debt ceiling deadline. This does not sound like a totally unreasonable position to the general public – especially those who have be inconvenienced or furloughed by the shutdown.
BO & Reid have said they will not negotiate anything until a clean CR is passed & the debt ceiling is raised with no strings attached. The public blames Cruz, the Tea Party, & the Republicans more than BO. This is the very bad hand Cruz has been dealt. An upcoming RTE post planned within the week will show just how bad the hand is.
The successful outcome for those following the Cruz approach is for the above ObamaCare problems, & more, to overtake the concerns of the citizenry more than the 17% government shut down has or the results of a default, if any, tied to failure to raise the debt ceiling that seems inevitable. Based on public opinion so far Cruz & his followers are playing a long shot but ObamaCare is so bad & BO has been so unreasonable (e.g., veterans having to tear down barricades to open air memorials & joggers in national parks being fined $100 for trespassing) that BO has lost some credibility with his approach to make the shutdown as obnoxious as possible – following his same earlier approach regarding the sequester – think cancelling White House tours last spring.
Below are the lists of followers of the Cruz approach to defund ObamaCare identified as those senators who signed Mike Lee's letter & congressmen who signed Mark Meadows' letter. The greatest certainty in all of this is the senators & congressmen on the below list think they are representing the will of the majority of their constituents – in fact are probably being encouraged by these constituents.
The 14 Senators who signed Mike Lee's letter:
Jeffrey Chiesa (R-NJ)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Mike Lee (R-UT)
Rand Paul (R-KY)
Jim Risch (R-ID)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
John Thune (R-SD)
David Vitter (R-LA)
The 5 Senators who signed but later withdrew from it:
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
John Boozman (R-AR)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
The 80 Republican Representatives who signed Mark Meadows' letter:
Justin Amash (R-MI-3)
Michele Bachmann (R-MN-6)
Andy Barr (R-KY-6)
Joe Barton (R-TX-6)
Dan Benishek (R-MI-1)
Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI-11)
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12)
Rob Bishop (R-UT-1)
Diane Black (R-TN-6)
Jim Bridenstine (R-OK-1)
Mo Brooks (R-AL-5)
Paul Broun (R-GA-10)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA-6)
Steve Chabot (R-OH-1)
Howard Coble (R-NC-6)
Doug Collins (R-GA-9)
Mike Conaway (R-TX-11)
Paul Cook (R-CA-8)
Rick Crawford (R-AR-1)
Steve Daines (R-MT-AL)
Rodney L. Davis (R-IL-13)
Ron DeSantis (R-FL-6)
Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3)
Jimmy Duncan (R-TN-2)
Blake Farenthold (R-TX-27)
Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-3)
John Fleming (R-LA-4)
Bill Flores (R-TX-17)
Trent Franks (R-AZ-8)
Phil Gingrey (R-GA-11)
Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1)
Paul Gosar (R-AZ-4)
Sam Graves (R-MO-6)
Tom Graves (R-GA-14)
Timothy Griffin (R-AR-2)
Ralph Hall (R-TX-4)
George Holding (R-NC-13)
Richard Hudson (R-NC-8)
Tim Huelskamp (R-KS-1)
Bill Huizenga (R-MI-2)
Randy Hultgren (R-IL-14)
Walter Jones Jr. (R-NC-3)
Jim Jordan (R-OH-4)
Steve King (R-IA-4)
Jack Kingston (R-GA-1)
Raul Labrador (R-ID-1)
Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1)
Doug Lamborn (R-CO-5)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY-AL)
Kenny Marchant (R-TX-24)
Tom Marino (R-PA-10)
Thomas Massie (R-KY-4)
Tom McClintock (R-CA-4)
Luke Messer (R-IN-6)
Mick Mulvaney (R-SC-5)
Randy Neugebauer (R-TX-19)
Steven Palazzo (R-MS-4)
Steve Pearce (R-NM-2)
Scott Perry (R-PA-4)
Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA-16)
Ted Poe (R-TX-2)
Mike Pompeo (R-KS-4)
Bill Posey (R-FL-8)
Phil Roe (R-TN-1)
Todd Rokita (R-IN-4)
Keith Rothfus (R-PA-12)
Matt Salmon (R-AZ-5)
Steve Scalise (R-LA-1)
Aaron Schock (R-IL-18)
David Schweikert (R-AZ-6)
Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI-5)
Jason T. Smith (R-MO-8)
Steve Stockman (R-TX-36)
Marlin Stutzman (R-IN-3)
Tim Walberg (R-MI-7)
Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2)
Randy Weber (R-TX-14)
Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2)
Joe Wilson (R-SC-2)
Ted Yoho (R-FL-3)
ObamaCare - Prelude To Single Payer Universal Heal...
Healthcare Insurance Does Not Mean You Will Get He...
We Are Losing Ground
Steve Lonegan & NJ's 44% Ceiling
An Analysis: Defunding ObamaCare Vs. Government Sh...
The College Bowl
Government Shut Down Begs Question - How Much Gove...
The Innovation Divergence Of China & America

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
/**
 * Created by RequireSun on 2017/5/24.
 */
module.exports = require('./lib');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A wonderful selection of 6 two bedroom apartments, 6 three bedroom apartments and a pair of spectacular three bedroom Penthouses with all the apartments offering the finest views across Sutton Harbour Marina, toward The Barbican and beyond to Plymouth Sound.
HARTLEY GARDENS A FABULOUS NEW DEVELOPMENT OF 3, 4 AND 5 BEDROOM FAMILY HOMES SET IN A CUL-DE-SAC LOCATION WITHIN ONE OF PLYMOUTH'S PREMIER SUBURBS.
QUADRANT WHARF IS THE NEXT EXCITING PHASE WITHIN THE MILLBAY REGENERATION. THE APARTMENTS AND SPLIT LEVEL HOMES WILL BE A MIX OF ONE, TWO AND THREE BEDROOMS.
A SELECTION OF ONE, TWO AND THREE BEDROOM APARTMENTS SET WITHIN A SIX STOREY CONTEMPORARY BUILDING. CALL NOW TO VIEW SHOW HOME. ONLY 2 AND THREE BEDROOM APARTMENTS LEFT.
A SELECTION OF BEAUTIFUL TWO, THREE AND FOUR BEDROOM APARTMENTS AND TOWNHOUSES IN A STUNNING SETTING ON THE EDGE OF CAWSAND BEACH ON THE RAME PENINSULA WITH SPECTACULAR PANORAMIC VIEWS OF CAWSAND BAY AND PLYMOUTH SOUND.
A TRULY UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE A PIECE OF HISTORY. THE GRADE II LISTED ADMIRALTY HOUSE IS BEING SYMPATHETICALLY TRANSFORMED INTO 12 ONE TWO AND THREE BEDROOM APARTMENTS.
ONLY ONE REMAINING. A COVETED SELECTION OF TWO AND THREE BEDROOM HOMES FLANKING THE GRAND GRADE II LISTED ADMIRALTY HOUSE.
A RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF 2, 3, 4 & 5 BEDROOM HOMES LOCATED IN THE SOUTH HAMS MARKET TOWN OF MODBURY.
CURRENTLY ALL SOLD STC. A SELECTION OF NEWLY CONVERTED TWO AND THREE BEDROOM APARTMENTS AND ONE TOWNHOUSE CLOSE TO PLYMOUTH HOE'S PROMENADE.
Cargo_2 is a selection of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and 3 and 4 bedroom townhouses set around a courtyard, overlooking King Point Marina with many of the properties benefiting from marina views.
Designed and built to a similar specification as the award winning Cargo the apartments and townhouses offer contemporary kitchen and bathroom suites, quality built-in appliances and a range of stylish fixtures and fittings.
NOW FULLY OCCUPIED. A SELECTION OF GEORGIAN INSPIRED APARTMENTS SET WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOUNT WISE.


The Library of Congress > Chronicling America > The true republican.
Vol. 1, no. 1 (Nov. 6, 1871)-v. 45, no. 27 (July 27, 1916).
"Devoted to the interests of the Republican Party and the St. Croix Valley."
Editors: G.L. Sharretts, Jan. 1875-Jan. 1876; Sharretts & Cline, Feb. 1876-Dec. 1878; Cline & Coggswell, Dec. 1878-Oct. 1887; G.D. Cline, Nov. 1887-July 1916.


text:
import { IStateful } from '../app/types';
import { toState } from '../redux/functions';
import { getPropertyValue } from '../settings/functions';

import { VIDEO_MUTISM_AUTHORITY } from './constants';

// XXX The configurations/preferences/settings startWithAudioMuted and startWithVideoMuted were introduced for
// conferences/meetings. So it makes sense for these to not be considered outside of conferences/meetings
// (e.g. WelcomePage). Later on, though, we introduced a "Video <-> Voice" toggle on the WelcomePage which utilizes
// startAudioOnly outside of conferences/meetings so that particular configuration/preference/setting employs slightly
// exclusive logic.
const START_WITH_AUDIO_VIDEO_MUTED_SOURCES = {
    // We have startWithAudioMuted and startWithVideoMuted here:
    config: true,
    settings: true,

    // XXX We've already overwritten base/config with urlParams. However,
    // settings are more important than the server-side config.
    // Consequently, we need to read from urlParams anyway:
    urlParams: true,

    // We don't have startWithAudioMuted and startWithVideoMuted here:
    jwt: false
};

/**
 * Determines whether audio is currently muted.
 *
 * @param {Function|Object} stateful - The redux store, state, or
 * {@code getState} function.
 * @returns {boolean}
 */
export function isAudioMuted(stateful: IStateful) {
    return Boolean(toState(stateful)['features/base/media'].audio.muted);
}

/**
 * Determines whether video is currently muted by the audio-only authority.
 *
 * @param {Function|Object} stateful - The redux store, state, or
 * {@code getState} function.
 * @returns {boolean}
 */
export function isVideoMutedByAudioOnly(stateful: IStateful) {
    return (
        _isVideoMutedByAuthority(stateful, VIDEO_MUTISM_AUTHORITY.AUDIO_ONLY));
}

/**
 * Determines whether video is currently muted by a specific
 * {@code VIDEO_MUTISM_AUTHORITY}.
 *
 * @param {Function|Object} stateful - The redux store, state, or
 * {@code getState} function.
 * @param {number} videoMutismAuthority - The {@code VIDEO_MUTISM_AUTHORITY}
 * which is to be checked whether it has muted video.
 * @returns {boolean} If video is currently muted by the specified
 * {@code videoMutismAuthority}, then {@code true}; otherwise, {@code false}.
 */
function _isVideoMutedByAuthority(
        stateful: IStateful,
        videoMutismAuthority: number) {
    const { muted } = toState(stateful)['features/base/media'].video;

    // eslint-disable-next-line no-bitwise
    return Boolean(muted & videoMutismAuthority);
}

/**
 * Computes the startWithAudioMuted by retrieving its values from config, URL and settings.
 *
 * @param {Object|Function} stateful - The redux state object or {@code getState} function.
 * @returns {boolean} - The computed startWithAudioMuted value that will be used.
 */
export function getStartWithAudioMuted(stateful: IStateful) {
    return Boolean(getPropertyValue(stateful, 'startWithAudioMuted', START_WITH_AUDIO_VIDEO_MUTED_SOURCES))
        || Boolean(getPropertyValue(stateful, 'startSilent', START_WITH_AUDIO_VIDEO_MUTED_SOURCES));
}

/**
 * Computes the startWithVideoMuted by retrieving its values from config, URL and settings.
 *
 * @param {Object|Function} stateful - The redux state object or {@code getState} function.
 * @returns {boolean} - The computed startWithVideoMuted value that will be used.
 */
export function getStartWithVideoMuted(stateful: IStateful) {
    return Boolean(getPropertyValue(stateful, 'startWithVideoMuted', START_WITH_AUDIO_VIDEO_MUTED_SOURCES));
}

/**
 * Determines whether video is currently muted.
 *
 * @param {Function|Object} stateful - The redux store, state, or {@code getState} function.
 * @returns {boolean}
 */
export function isVideoMuted(stateful: IStateful) {
    return Boolean(toState(stateful)['features/base/media'].video.muted);
}

/**
 * Determines whether video is currently muted by the user authority.
 *
 * @param {Function|Object} stateful - The redux store, state, or
 * {@code getState} function.
 * @returns {boolean}
 */
export function isVideoMutedByUser(stateful: IStateful) {
    return _isVideoMutedByAuthority(stateful, VIDEO_MUTISM_AUTHORITY.USER);
}

/**
 * Determines whether a specific videoTrack should be rendered.
 *
 * @param {Track} videoTrack - The video track which is to be rendered.
 * @param {boolean} waitForVideoStarted - True if the specified videoTrack
 * should be rendered only after its associated video has started;
 * otherwise, false.
 * @returns {boolean} True if the specified videoTrack should be rendered;
 * otherwise, false.
 */
export function shouldRenderVideoTrack(
        videoTrack: { muted: boolean; videoStarted: boolean; } | undefined,
        waitForVideoStarted: boolean) {
    return (
        videoTrack
            && !videoTrack.muted
            && (!waitForVideoStarted || videoTrack.videoStarted));
}


Halong Bay_ one of 25 top destinations of the world for kayaking.
In 2002, National Geographic Adventures Journal News voted Ha Long Bay one of 25 top destinations of the world for kayaking.
Kayaking is considered the best way to fully feel the majesty of Ha Long Bay and discover the cliffs with a huge number of wonderful rock tops, dales.
Although kayaking has been in Ha Long Bay since early 90s of 20th century, at first this kind of sport was mainly for the foreign visitors who like adventures. Nowadays, there are many interior guests enjoy kayaking in Ha Long Bay, especially young people. Discovering Ha Long Bay by kayaking, visitors can feel other beauty of this international wonder that can't be seen from the cruises.
Kayakers will be surprised with many cliffs which have been acted upon by the waves for centuries, contemplate the sea birds standing tottery on the top of rocks and touch the stalactites which are thousands of years old.
Kayaking alone or with a partner, visitors will discover different emotions which they have never felt before when riding the oars closely to the bottom of rock mountains and enjoying the extremely quietness of the bay.
When the kayak crowds into the unnamed islands, visitors can directly contemplate the beauties of corals, flocks of freely-swimming fishes and many many strange sceneries which have never been seen in any travelling books. Whenever the oars are moved down or up, thousands of water drops radiate the sparkling beauty under the sunshine.
Sometimes in the short caves, visitors must lay on the kayak as well as using hands to push to the cave ceiling to go inside. They also have to walk and pull the boat when passing the dry parts. Especially, taking part in the night tour on the bay, visitors can enjoy the quite air among the sea.
On the way back from a Ha Long Bay travel tour, Brian James – an Australia visitor excitedly tells about his interesting memories of the tour, especially the time when he lonely kayaking to discover Luon cave: "I was impressed the most when riding the kayak into the cave. The far I went inside, the darker it is; hundreds of stalactites hang down cross my face, sometimes I had to lay face onto the boat in order to pass. The feeling when hands were weary after finishing the Ha Long Bay discovering tour by kayaking made me very interested.
Kayaking is the best idea to discover every part of Halong for getting an insight to indigenous people life, to taste every corner of mystery lagoon, to gain surreal feeling throughout the dark tunnels.


*** En los meses de verano preferimos de sábado a sábado en los alquileres semanales *** Al reservar, use los sábados. Los alquileres mensuales y de otoño no siguen esta regla. Por favor envíeme un correo electrónico con cualquier pregunta que pueda tener.
Para la temporada 2019, desde el 1 de abril hasta el 31 de octubre, se incluirán 2 sillas de playa con sombrilla.
Administramos nuestro propio condominio y nos comunicamos con nuestros huéspedes después de su partida para asegurarnos de que continúen cumpliendo con los altos estándares de calidad, incluso totalmente equipados, limpios y cómodos para sus vacaciones.
Máquina Keurig y goteo para los amantes del café!
Cerradura de seguridad digital. Configuraremos un PIN de 4 dígitos de su elección. No hay claves para realizar un seguimiento.
Es hora de que se relaje y disfrute de esta hermosa y renovada unidad del noveno piso con una vista panorámica de playas de arena blanca, agua azul del golfo y hermosas puestas de sol. ¡Incluso puedes ver jugar a los delfines desde tu balcón! Querrá volver a nuestro condominio año tras año para una gran experiencia de vacaciones.
Su familia disfrutará de este bonito condominio con una cama tamaño king, nuevas decoraciones y accesorios de iluminación, pisos de baldosas nuevos en todo el edificio, literas en el vestíbulo y un sofá cama tamaño queen en la sala de estar. La cocina completamente amueblada tiene un refrigerador nuevo con máquina de hielo, lavaplatos, estufa autolimpiante, horno de microondas y una nueva lavadora / secadora.
Hay un televisor de pantalla plana de 50 pulgadas y 1080p (montado en la pared) y un reproductor de blu-ray en la sala de estar y un televisor de pantalla plana de 32 pulgadas (montado en la pared) en el dormitorio.
También, Smart TV's en las literas y luces de lectura LED. Para su información, el cable no está conectado a estos televisores. La transmisión es la principal opción de visualización. Además, hay entradas HDMI para otros dispositivos de reproducción.
Teléfono disponible para llamadas locales tanto en la sala como en el dormitorio.
The Summit está cerca de centros comerciales, restaurantes finos e informales, parques de atracciones, parques estatales, campos de golf, putt-putt, pesca y muchas actividades que usted espera para unas excelentes vacaciones. The Summit cuenta con 2 piscinas (una climatizada), 2 piscinas para niños, 3 jacuzzis (1 en el interior), sauna interior, bar tiki junto a la piscina, snack bar / tienda de regalos junto a la piscina, bar restaurante Bikini Bobs y sala de juegos. ¡Solo unos pocos pasos en el paseo marítimo de Summit te llevan de la piscina a la playa! Los servicios de playa incluyen: área de juegos para niños cercada, sillones, jet ski y alquiler de wave runner, así como parasailing.
Medio baño tiene inodoro y lavabo. Otro baño conectado a la habitación dispone de lavabo, ducha y lavabo. Hay una puerta corredera en el muro para separar los 2 baños.
My biggest concern with this unit is the mold. After reaching out to the owner he admitted to mold growing in the unit during the summer. My child loved the bunk area with the TV's and overall the Summit seems to be a nice property. I appreciated the beach chair rental that came with the condo. The overall atmosphere of the unit was not clean. The fridge had leftovers from the last renters. The dishwasher hadnt been unloaded. It just seems like for a unit you pay specifically for cleaning, it would be cleaner. I dont think my family and I will be staying in this unit in the future just because of the health risks with the mold. Even after being told it would be cleaned it never was and when the cleaners spoke to us about cleaning it their plan was 2 just wipe the area down. Im sorry but that doesnt fix the issue. There was mold all over the celing in the livingroom area coming from the air vent and down the wall. I think with the mold issue being fixed and a good scrubbing this unit could be really awesome. Maybe different cleaners are needed.
FYI, in Florida there will be some mold no matter where you go. Sliding doors are left open with the AC running which builds up the humidity. The units can't keep up with constant heat. We installed a new AC unit to help combat this issue.
For the cleaning issues I have reviewed the procedures with the cleaners. This issue has never happened with these employees and it won't happen again. We pay them the full amount that is charged on the guests quote and we expect it to be very clean.
If you look through my reviews, this has never been an issue. Sorry for the trouble.
Great condo and facility! The Summit offered lots of conveniences, mini-store, Bikini Bob's Grill, Tiki Bar, beach chair/umbrella service (included in this rental - a big selling point!), The overall complex could do with some more tables with umbrellas around the pools. I would definitely stay here again!
Bikini Bobs is great because the prices are so reasonable.
I'll mention to the management about the tables and umbrellas.
Great condo! Very clean and great views!
The condo was easy to find. The beach was perfect!
Loved our condo. And the Owner made sure we had a great vacation.
Highly recommend this 1 bedroom condo for 2 reasons. 1st the condo itself. Beautifully decorated and supplied perfectly for a comfortable family vacation. 2nd the owner. Mark made sure we had a great experience. He told us about concerts in the area during our stay and made sure our check in was easy and early. That was a great surprise he notified us the day before we could check in as early as we wanted to....... it was like gaining an extra day.
Glad your vacation was wonderful. I will get guests in early if possible.
Happy to hear you loved it. Hope to see you in 2019.
March and Summer: Weekly rentals only - Saturday to Saturday Monthly available; please email for rate.


Made To Bloom All-Inclusive Card Kit by Stampin' Up!
Create beautiful all-occasion cards in minutes. Perfect for new crafters, busy crafters, or crafters on the go. Makes 12 cards, 4 each of 3 designs, using the included Made to Bloom Stamp Set. Folded card size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" (10.8 x 14 cm).


The Chamber will have a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 10 a.m. today for Ponca City Beauty College, now located at 3014 N. 14th Street. Please join us.
Also today we will have a Cash Mob at 11:30 a.m. for the Marland Mall, located downtown at 417 E. Grand Avenue. Please join us at 11:25 a.m. We will take a photo and then go in as a group at 11:30 a.m.
Our 33rd Ponca City Leadership Class will have a session on county government on Wednesday. We will travel to the Kay County Court House in Newkirk. Our District Attorney, Brian Hermanson, is the Day Chair. The class will learn about every aspect of our county government and meet our county elected officials. This is always a popular session for our leadership program.
The Ponca City Business Council will meet on Tuesday at 8 a.m. at the Chamber Office. All chamber members are welcome to attend this important chamber committee meeting.


Must first be Special Summoned (from your Extra Deck) by shuffling the above cards you control into the Deck. (You do not use "Polymerization".) Once per turn, during the End Phase: Shuffle this card into the Extra Deck, and if you do, Set all face-up monsters on the field. Once per turn, during your Main Phase 1: You can toss a coin 3 times.
● 3 Heads: Destroy all monsters your opponent controls.
● 2 Heads: For the rest of this turn, the effects of all face-up monsters your opponent controls are negated.
● 1 Head: Return all monsters you control to the hand.


text:
Home Companies index P PA
Pagoda Corporation company details
Type: Foreign Business Corporation
Pagoda Corporation
Pagoda Corporation is a firm located at 419 Park Avenue South, New York. It was set up as a foreign business corporation in New York county, under DOS id number 2199454 on November 14, 1997, 25 years ago.
As far as we managed to establish, the PTO register shows that 4 trademarks officially filed on behalf of Pagoda Corporation can be found. Pagoda Corporation trademarks include: dead/abandoned (abandoned - no statement of use filed) trademark filed on 1998-06-30. The trademark's identifying feature is "KTML".
The second trademark is dead/cancelled (cancelled - section 8) and is identified as "CKO". It was filed on 1997-09-15 with a serial number 75356496 and registered on 2000-07-04. The third trademark filed by Pagoda Corporation on 1997-09-08 includes the identification "PAGODA". It is dead/cancelled (cancelled - section 8) trademark (serial no 75353120) registered on 1999-08-10. As reported in the last trademark filing with a serial number 75510776, Pagoda Corporation can be contacted at: New York, NY, postcode - 10016, located at: 419 Park Avenue South.
06/30/1998 Dead/Abandoned Pagoda Corporation 419 Park Avenue South
New York, 10016 KTML
09/15/1997 Dead/Cancelled Pagoda Corporation 419 Park Avenue South
New York, 10016 CKO
New York, 10016 PAGODA
Bolder Media, Inc.
New Street Realty Advisors, LLC
Jcs Tradecom Inc.
Mars Design, Inc.
Wander Bit LLC


text:
How to save money operating a limo business after COVID-19
by Jess Young
A limousine is, of course, not your standard vehicle; typically, it is reserved for special occasions like weddings and proms. Unfortunately, though, even those occasions have been cancelled en masse recently, and COVID-19 is the blatant culprit. So, where does this leave operators of limousine businesses?
The answer is, not exactly in the best place – especially financially. The Williamsburg Yorktown Daily reports several limo firms struggling – including James Limousine, which has abruptly lost 80% of its custom, and VA Executive Sedan and Limousine Service, which would have usually been at its busiest in March and April.
Such scary instances raise the obvious question of how limo companies like these are supposed to financially readjust to the "new normal" while they wait out the pandemic. While there's no silver bullet for the economically treacherous circumstances, there remain ways for your own limo outfit to rein in costs.
Investigate possible sources of financial support
You might be pleasantly surprised by what support options are available if you look thoroughly for them. In reaction to its sudden drop in business, James Limousine applied for a small business payroll loan. Fortunately, the application was approved, allowing the firm to hire back staff it had previously laid off.
Nonetheless, you should resist any temptation to price gouge. Doing this could simply leave your customers disillusioned and make them turn to a rival company. Basically, try to recover your financial losses from the likes of banks and government rather than by price gouging.
Publicise the anti-COVID benefits of limousines
As a limo business, you could find yourself weathering the current storm more easily than many other transportation hire companies. This is largely due to the unique benefits of choosing to hire limos over other types of vehicles during the pandemic.
"Definitely, it's gotten us where it hurts," Abdou Brahim has revealed about the pandemic's impact on VA Executive Sedan and Limousine Service, the Virginia Beach-headquartered firm he owns. His usual team of 13 drivers fell to just two, who operated only some of the vehicles in his fleet.
However, while clients have recently decided against hiring the usually fairly popular smaller SUVs and sedans in the company's fleet, it's been a different matter with the limousines. More clients have opted for these to allow for distance to be created between themselves and other people in the vehicle.
Therefore, you could save yourself money on maintenance costs by jettisoning some of the smaller vehicles in your fleet. After all, you can't be certain for how long social distancing measures will need to be in place.
Reassess your current limo insurance
If your business has a fleet of limos for private hire, you need specialist cover in the form of limo insurance. Of course, you probably don't need to be told that, given in the UK, you can be prosecuted for failing to insure your limo, which can be confiscated and even destroyed if you do get caught.
Therefore, insurance is an unavoidable expense in your situation. However, while the typical expense of maintaining limos means that insuring them can represent quite the financial outlay as well, there are still subtle and clever ways of lowering that.
You could, for example, switch to limo insurance covering classic cars if your own limo falls into that bracket, or join a limo owner's club if there would be insurance discounts in it for you. If your limo is – as is very plausible – currently only used occasionally, you could take up a limited-mileage policy.
Reduce the number of your vehicles on the road
If your limos aren't in use on the road, you don't need to pay insurance on them. It's a pretty simple equation, and means that while you wait for the economy to recover, you could take vehicles out of action and cancel further purchases of vehicles you might have previously been planning.
Still, you should make sure you remove the right vehicles – not necessarily just any vehicles in your fleet. You could learn from the example of the Albany-based Premiere Transportation Group as highlighted by Albany Business Review. Premiere has found buoyant demand for individual rides between airports and major cities.
The reason why? Some customers are understandably averse to taking planes, trains and buses – examples of public transport where crowds could easily lead the virus to spread.
Plan for the post-COVID future
It's important to remember that some semblance of normality will eventually return – and when it does, you may feel especially thankful for having started bootstrapping now.
Remember that many of the fundamentals of financial success in the limo industry – like, as Luxury Coach & Transportation explains, conducting annual audits and obtaining expert advice – are still applicable right now. Reminding yourself of them could therefore help you to prepare for a prosperous post-COVID future.
Leading Academic Institution St. John's Prep. & Senior School Supports Government Testing Policy for COVID-19
Payout Mechanics in Online Casino: Why You Need Them and What's To Do With Them?
Jess Young


A friendly, accepting community, and available mechanics tutoring and reference guides. Garb and other equipment is available for loan if needed.
Events are held each month at various sites in Central Ohio.
Most Gisido events take place at established Boy Scout camps. However, some take place at a private venue.
The Scout camps are usually outfitted with kitchens, showers, bathrooms, and heated cabins.
Our "Primitive Site" (private venue) is outfitted with port-a-johns and a camp shower, and tent camping is common.
If you are interested in moderate-contact combat involving a wide variety of weapons and combat styles–such as pugilism, nunchaku, Tonfa, live-fire archery, and trebuchets–, immersive role-play, and expansive plot, Gisido might be up your alley.
In this episode Luke gets confused about Steampunk and Rob is method acting a nasty little rash.
This was taken from a Facebook conversation in LARP Organisers and Crew with Michelle McNeill, Aaron Vanek , Conor Tuohy and Rob Davies) – A question I am pondering. Is there a scale that is used that differentiates solemn and serious LARPs from lighter, fun, just for entertainment games? The sort of thing you'd use to quantify the difference between Schindler's List and Ant Man?
This something the LARPBook team really liked – read the game information.
Like you I don't know much beyond this LARP beyond its trailer and this announcement text (taken from an entry in the Google+ LARP Community.
Is an upcoming steampunk larp which pits teams representing various nations and political entities against each other in political, artistic, scientific and athletic arenas as they vie for prestige and the admiration of the world. Steam and gear machines, top athletes, influential merchants and the foremost thinkers – all will be at the Great Exhibition.
More details will be revealed as they are decided upon.
I was lucky enough to meet Mark Cordory at a Twilight Realms LARP event earlier this year. The event ran in St Briavels Castle (built in 1205 as a hunting lodge for King John), and Mark brought some of his creations for the crew to use. He has graciously allowed me to create these galleries.
Before the pictures a bit of background. Mark currently works as a freelance designer and maker for Film, TV, Theatre, Exhibitions and LRP. He formed Mythlore LRP in 1985 with an aim of creating the best looking LARP going. He's worked on theme parks, pop videos and spent 2 years as head of department for props fabrication for Dr Who (BBC Wales).


text:
Quinn Roux called into Ireland squad for opening Six Nations games
Quinn Roux has become the 6th Connacht player to be called up to the Ireland squad ahead of the Guinness Six Nations.
The lock, who captained Connacht in Saturday's dramatic Challenge Cup victory over Bordeaux, replaces Munster's Tadhg Beirne who has been ruled out of the first two games due to injury.
Roux was named man-of-the-match for his performance in France, contributing a try in the first half as the side booked their place in the quarter-finals. In total he has made 8 appearances for Ireland since his debut during the 2016 summer tour of South Africa
He joins Bundee Aki, Caolin Blade, Jack Carty, Ultan Dillane and Tom Farrell in the Ireland camp who head to Portugal for a pre-Six Nations camp.
BEST PICS: Ireland hold open training session at The Sportsground
QRoux
Five Connacht players included in Ireland World Cup training squad
Four Connacht players in Ireland squad for Six Nations finale with Wales
CBlade
Dillane, Roux, Farrell & Blade return to Connacht side for Ospreys clash


text:
Click on the following links – please note these will open in a new window
SJ-userguide.pdf
Article 1: Baldassare, M. (March 2005). The Role of Public Opinion on the California Governor's Recall in 2003: Populism, Partisanship, and Direct Democracy. American Politics Research 33(2). 163-186.
This article examines the role of public opinion during the California governor Gray Davis' recall in 2003 compared to partisanship and ideology. In using the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) statewide surveys, the authors find that public support for the recall was consistent over time and related to negative political attitudes.
Questions to Consider:
What was the significance of the political climate on voice choices in the recall?
What are the origins of direct democracy?
Identify the three tools of direct democracy. Which one is the most popular in your state?
What led to the negative political climate during the recall?
Learning objective: Explain the role of public opinion in a democracy; Identify key factors that influence our individual and collective political opinions; Describe different techniques used to gauge public opinion; Give examples of ways in which public opinion enhances or diminishes the relationship between citizens and government
Article 2: Lewis, D.C., Wood, F. S., and Jacobsmeier, M. L. (September 2014). Public Opinion and Judicial Behavior in Direct Democracy Systems: Gay Rights in the American States. State Politics and Police Quarterly.1-22.
This article examines whether direct democracy institutions have a similar effect of enhancing the impact of public opinion on judicial behavior and
reducing the likelihood of judges voting in favor of minority rights. The author's study provides evidence that the institution of direct democracy does in fact increase the effect of public opinion on judicial decisions.
How can the direct democracy institutions influence elected officials?
What is the primary criticism of direct democracy? Do you believe that it restricts minority rights?
Learning objective: Explain the role of public opinion in a democracy; Identify key factors that influence our individual and collective political opinions
Article 3: Rothschild, D. and Malhortra, N. (July-September 2014). Are public opinion polls self-fulfilling prophecies? Research and Politics 1(2). 1-10.
This article discusses the limited research on the bandwagon effects of the polls. In order to address the gap, the authors conduct an experiment using a diverse sample of people. The authors find that opinions expressed through polls affect individual-level attitudes.
Discuss the three different policies that were used in the poll.
Do you believe that polls can be self-fulfilling prophecies?
What are bandwagon effects and how do they affect polls?
Learning objective: Explain the role of public opinion in a democracy; Describe different techniques used to gauge public opinion; Identify key factors that influence our individual and collective political opinions
CQ Researcher
Learning objective: Give examples of ways in which public opinion enhances or diminishes the relationship between citizens and government


text:
WhatsApp gets Face ID and Touch ID support
You can now add an extra layer of security to Facebook's WhatsApp.
By Stan Schroeder on February 4, 2019
WhatsApp has gotten a little more secure. Credit: Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images
> Tech > Tech Industry
WhatsApp's new version for iOS has gotten a simple but important upgrade: The app now supports Apple's Face ID face recognition tech, as well as Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
The update has gone live in WhatsApp's version 2.19.20(Opens in a new window) for iOS, which is available to all users now.
CARD ID: 417965
To turn the feature on, go to Settings > Account > Privacy and enable Screen Lock. When it's on, you'll need to use Touch ID or Face ID to unlock WhatsApp, though you'll still be able to reply to messages from notifications and answer calls, even when the app is locked. You'll also be able to set whether you want the app to require Touch ID/Face ID immediately or after 1 minute, 15 minutes, and 1 hour.
Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable
The feature is quite a big deal for WhatsApp, which touts end-to-end encryption and privacy/security in general as an important feature. Note, however, that both Touch ID and Face ID are less secure than using a good passphrase to protect your phone.
Notably, Mashable's own Ray Wong recently got the ability to use Face ID with his iOS Instagram app; Instagram confirmed to us they're testing the feature.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, made the news recently when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained his plan for merging it with the company's other two major social apps, Messenger and Instagram. One of the advantages of that would be having end-to-end encryption across all of those products. However, Zuckerberg said the plans to merge these three apps are in a really early stage and that it may not happen until 2020.
More in Facebook, Social Media, WhatsApp


As the cement manufacturing process is energy intensive, our continuous focus in the area of improving the sustainability of our resource usage has always been placed on achieving the highest levels of energy efficiency at Irish Cement production facilities.
In addition to addressing our efficient usage of resources, we are also moving towards more sustainable sources of energy with the implementation of our Alternative Fuels initiative to displace fossil fuel consumption with waste derived fuels.
To demonstrate our commitment to delivering improvements, Irish Cement has voluntarily joined the Energy Agreements Program (EAP) coordinated by Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (www.seai.ie). Our involvement in this program along with our membership of the Large Industry Energy Network (LIEN) allows us to draw ideas from energy efficiency experts across multiple manufacturing sectors within Ireland and overseas.
With the improved policies and procedures for energy management arising from our involvement in the EAP, Irish Cement is actively working towards adding accreditation to the new International energy efficiency standard ISO50001 to our existing accredited ISO14001 Environmental and ISO9001 Quality management systems.
Over many years, Irish Cement has continually invested in Best Available Technology (BAT) for cement production at both of its facilities in Limerick and Platin. As early as the 1970s and 1980s energy efficienct Dry Process kilns were first introduced at Platin and Limerick. Over time these investements were augmented with waste heat recovery for raw materials drying, vertical milling systems and high efficiency seperators.
More recently, this approach is particularly visible in our recent €200m investment in Kiln 3, a completely new ultra-modern energy efficient cement production plant in Platin. The modern technology employed in the Kiln 3 project has improved the efficiency of the cement production process resulting in considerable environmental improvements. This investment has made Platin Works one of the most modern and efficient cement plants in Europe and underlines the Irish Cement commitment to efficiently supplying Irish customers for many decades to come.


text:
Староалександровское сельское поселение — муниципальное образование в Ярковском районе Тюменской области.

Административный центр — село
Староалександровка.

Состав поселения
В состав сельского поселения входят:
 село Староалександровка
 деревня Куртюганы
 деревня Карбаны
 деревня Малая Чечкино
 деревня Тарханы
 село Чечкино
 деревня Юртобор

Примечания

Муниципальные образования Ярковского района
Сельские поселения Тюменской области

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


An AOTF is a solid-state, electronically tunable bandpass filter, which uses the acousto-optic interaction inside an anisotropic medium. These filters can be used with multi-lines sources (mixed gas lasers, Laser diodes…) or with broadband light sources (Xenon,Halogen lamps…). They allow to select and transmit a single or multiple wavelengths from the incoming light.
In most cases, the filtered output from the tunable filter is made collinear to make easier the use of these devices, and to satisfy fiber pigtailing conditions. A random input polarization will be separated into two orthogonal polarizations (order -1 and +1).