Never again, Easy Jet. My three hour flight from Alicante to Glasgow was torture thanks to a drunk sitting next to me. He was already hammered getting on the plane but the Stewards served him 3 double vodkas within minutes of take-off. As the abuse and taunts increased I finally hit my call-button. Only to be told they could not possible move him, but that I was free to find another seat. Difficult as the flight was close to full. Giving unlimited alcohol to these louts guarantees trouble, but profit comes first, I guess. Why is alcohol not limited? It is completely irresponsible and dangerous to fuel those already inebriated. Your comments would be welcomed.
We would like our Customers to have a speedy response to their enquiry, with this in mind we have looked at your email and have provided you with some suggestions for an instant answer to your question. We hope you will find these helpful.
If we have not found an immediate answer to your question, we aim to respond to your question within 12 hours.
didn't want or buy travel insurance!" I said to no one in particular.
covered risks like death, medical, etc.
all the other extras they flog at the customer is travel insurance.
Nicely hidden with the default "buy" switch on. Nice one.
cow in a herd of cattle?
Google Calendar now has a facility for synchronising a calendar in iPhone with Google's Calender. Useful.
The weather this winter (note that it is "winter") has been a bit cold, snowy, etc. British people tend to have a short memory about weather and forget that in winter it can get a bit cold, snowy, etc. When the snow does arrive, there is such uniform shock and surprise that the government didn't do anything it. Weather like this also generates yet more articles in the media about this weather is all proof of the apocalyptic future caused by climate change.
Experts at Britain's top climate research centre have launched a blistering attack on scientific colleagues and journalists who exaggerate the effects of global warming.
The Met Office Hadley Centre, one of the most prestigious research facilities in the world, says recent "apocalyptic predictions" about Arctic ice melt and soaring temperatures are as bad as claims that global warming does not exist. Such statements, however well-intentioned, distort the science and could undermine efforts to tackle carbon emissions, it says.
In an article published on the Guardian website, Dr Vicky Pope, head of climate change advice at the Met Office, calls on scientists and journalists to stop misleading the public with "claim and counter-claim".
Finally some science gets attention in the media. While the above was in the Guardian for which I have a lot of respect, I do note it appears as if this news is not being reported by the BBC (or at least as far as I've noticed).
Climate change politics in the UK centres around the Kyoto Treaty, which itself is focused around wealth creation and redistribution.
Wal-Mart is a political issue. People and organisations line up on both sides of the "issue".
Charles Platt, a former senior writer from Wired, has published a fascinating story in the NY Post about his experience of actually working at Wall-Mart.
Based on my experience (admittedly, only at one location) I reached a conclusion which is utterly opposed to almost everything ever written about Wal-Mart. I came to regard it as one of the all-time enlightened American employers, right up there with IBM in the 1960s. Wal-Mart is not the enemy. It's the best friend we could ask for.
We have other big political issues in our world: The Economy. The Climate. The Environment. Families. War. What can we learn from Wall-Mar?
This Rings True to Me. Technology.
Susan Cramm writes at the Harvard Business Review "Don't Use Technology to do Dumb Things". See http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/cramm/2009/02/dont-use-smart-technologies-to.html.
1. Increase breadth of impact by pushing technology as far down in the organization as possible.
2. Increase the depth of impact by implementing features that simultaneously serve individual and business interests.
The relationship between photographers and police could worsen next month when new laws are introduced that allow for the arrest – and imprisonment – of anyone who takes pictures of officers 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'.
You are currently browsing the Musings on Interesting Things blog archives for February, 2009.


Lean or dilute phase vacuum conveying systems generally use positive displacement exhausters to provide a vacuum (up to 50%) to convey materials through a pipeline to receiving vessel where the air and product are filtered and separated. Lower capacity fan-based systems are also available.
Product enters the pipeline directly or via a feeding device (rotary valve or screw feeder) if metering is required, is suspended in the airflow and is conveyed at relatively high velocities depending on particle size and density. The conveyed product is discharged from the receiving vessel on a continuous basis by a rotary airlock or intermittently by valves.Lean or dilute phase vacuum conveying systems generally use positive displacement exhausters to provide a vacuum (up to 50%) to convey materials through a pipeline to receiving vessel where the air and product are filtered and separated. Lower capacity fan-based systems are also available.
Lean phase vacuum systems are particularly suitable for conveying low to moderate capacity materials over medium distances, from multiple points to a single destination. They are versatile and adaptable, and their low operating pressures allow less expensive pipelines and fittings to be used. This method is frequently used for central vacuum cleaning systems or to draw product from multiple silos and other applications that require a reticulated network of vacuum pipes to convey product to a single collection point.
Convey Rates: low to medium (<10 tonnes/h).
Air mover: Positive displacement (Roots Type) exhauster or fan.
Material Air Ratios: low to medium (3–15 kg/kg).


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Can Activision Blizzard make money?
August 16, 2021 August 16, 2021 daniel	Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Activision Blizzard generates less cash, Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI), Can Activision Blizzard make money?, Does Activision Blizzard Make Money?, Is Activision Blizzard a Value Investment?, What Value Does Activision Blizzard Have?
Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
For example, there are charges of a "frat boy culture" that create a toxic workplace full of sexism and sexual harassment at the video game maker. Some people will wonder if these allegations make Activision Blizzard (ATVI) a value investment?
Activision's stock price lends credence to the value argument. Mr. Market paid $91.50 for ATVI on 23 July 2021 and $83.85 for it on 16 August 2021. Some people will wonder if the allegations make and a lawsuit by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing makes Activision Blizzard a value investment.
To elaborate, the sexual harassment charges have nothing to do with the company's business (making and marketing video games). Others will wonder, if the problems go at Activision, go beyond sexual harassment.
Notably, sex scandals are often symptoms of deeper problems, including corruption and financial crimes. Most offenders do not stop at one kind of unethical behavior.
Is Activision Blizzard a Value Investment?
People will wonder if Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is a value investment because it owns several popular game franchises. Activision Blizzard's portfolio includes World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Diablo, Candy Crush, Hearthstone, and Overwatch.
Those games still attract millions of players. For example, Statista estimates World of Warcraft had 4.88 million subscribers in 2020. However, Statista forecasts that number will fall to 4.74 million in 2021 and 4.46 million in 2023.
In contrast, Activision claims it sold over 400 million Call of Duty games between October 2003 and April 2021. Additionally, Activision claims Call of Duty Warzone has over 100 million players worldwide.
Conversely, Overwatch had around 800,000 concurrent players in June 2021, TechACake estimates. In addition, Overwatch ranked #25 on Twitch in June 2021. Overwatch had 10 million players in the third quarter of 2020, TechACake calculates. In addition, couch potatoes watched 12.08 million hours of Overwatch play on Twitch in November 2020.
Impressively, people downloaded CandyCrush 2.7 billion times between April 2012 and 2017, Business of Apps estimates. Business of Apps estimates Candy Crush had 273 million active users in 2020. Business of Apps estimates Candy Crush generated $1.19 billion in revenues and $857 million in profits in 2020.
Does Activision Blizzard Make Money?
Hence, Activision Blizzard's games are still popular, but does the company make money? The answer financial data provides is yes.
For example, Activision reported a quarterly operating income of $959 million and a quarterly gross profit of $1.741 billion on 30 June 2021. Those numbers rose from $749 million and $1.46 billion on 30 June 2020.
In comparison, Blizzard's quarterly revenues rose from $1.929 billion on 30 June 2020 to $2.296 billion on 30 June 2021. Activision has experienced dramatic revenue growth over the past year.
For instance, the quarterly revenues grew by 52.81% in the quarter ending on 30 September 2020 and 19.03% in the quarter ending on 30 June 2021, Stockrow estimates. The revenues grew by 38.18% in the quarter ending on 30 June 202
Skeptics will note that Activision Blizzlard's highest revenue growth occurred during the year the pandemic people trapped at home with nothing else to do.
Activision Blizzard generates less cash
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) is generating less cash. The quarterly operating cash flow fell from $768 million on 30 June 2020 to $388 million on 30 June 2021.
Activision can generate enormous amounts of cash. It reported a quarterly operating cash flow of $1.14 billion and a quarterly ending cash flow of $9.287 billion on 31 March 2021.
However, the quarterly ending cash flow fell from $430 million on 30 June 2020 to -$64 million on 30 June 2021. The quarterly ending cash flow rose from $1.235 billion on 31 December 2020 and $1.235 billion on 30 September 2020.
Activision Blizzard borrowed some money in 2020. It reported a quarterly financing cash flow of $934 million on 30 September 2020. Yet the company is paying off the debts. It reported a quarterly financing cash flow of -$376 million on 30 June 2020.
Activision Blizzard's total debt grew from $2.676 billion on 30 June 2020 to $3.606 debt on 30 June 2021. Conversely, Activision's cash and short-term investments grew from $6.339 billion on 30 June 2020 to $9.625 billion on 30 June 2021.
What Value Does Activision Blizzard Have?
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) finished the pandemic with more debt and cash, but what value does it have?
The total assets grew from $20.22 billion on 30 June 2020 to $23.572 billion on 30 June 2021. Thus, Activision's cash, revenue, income, profit, and value are growing as its stock price falls. That fits my definition of a value investment.
Plus, Activision Blizzard pays an attractive dividend. ATVI shares paid a 47₵ annual dividend on 6 May 2021. The annual dividend grew from 41₵ on 6 May 2020 and 37₵ on 9 May 2020. Overall, Activision shares offered a 47₵ Last Twelve Months Dividend a 0.55% dividend yield on 13 August 2021.
If you are looking for a growing and moneymaking company that Mr. Market cannot appreciate, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) is worth a look. This company sells a popular product to a growing market. I think Activision Blizzard proves video games can be a value investment.
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Does Intuit Make Money?
December 11, 2017 daniel

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Andréi Andréyevich Gromiko (en ruso Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко, en bielorruso Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка [Andréi Andréyevich Hramika]) (Gómel, Imperio ruso, 18 de julio de 1909 – Moscú, Unión Soviética, 2 de julio de 1989) fue un economista, diplomático, político y canciller soviético. Desempeñó los más altos cargos de su país, Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores durante más de veinticinco años, y Presidente del Presídium del Sóviet Supremo de la URSS en las postrimerías del gobierno comunista.

Biografía

Primeros años, Segunda Guerra Mundial
De origen bielorruso, nació en el seno de una familia campesina empobrecida en las cercanías de la ciudad de Minsk el 18 de julio de 1909, correspondiente al 9 de julio del calendario juliano entonces vigente en el Imperio ruso. Su familia debía trabajar de forma estacional en fábricas de la zona para poder sobrevivir. Siendo todavía un niño, en noviembre de 1917, los bolcheviques tomaron el poder y poco después estalló la Guerra Civil Rusa.  En abril de 1922 se inscribió en la Escuela de Comercio de Gomel y un año después es nombrado Secretario del Komsomol del pueblo. En 1924 murió Lenin, hecho que será recordado por él años después por el impacto que provocó en su comunidad.

En 1931, mientras vivía en Borisov, ingresó en el Partido Comunista. En diciembre de 1931 comenzó la campaña de colectivizaciones agrícolas de Stalin. Gromiko realizó trabajos en defensa de las políticas económicas del partido en las granjas de la región. Ese año conoció a la que será su esposa Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich y nació su primer hijo, Anatoly. En 1933 ingresó en el Instituto de Economía de Minsk donde permanecerá poco más de un año ya que en diciembre de 1934 se traslada al Instituto de Economía de Moscú, donde realizó tareas como investigador principal e impartió clases de Economía Política en el Instituto de Ingeniería Civil. En junio de 1937 nació su segunda hija, Emilia.

En 1939 entró a formar parte del servicio diplomático de su país, poco después que la Gran Purga de Stalin, consiguiendo el cargo de director del Departamento Americano del Comisariado de Asuntos Exteriores en 1943. El 1 de noviembre de 1939 y hasta 1943 será ministro en Washington. En noviembre de 1942 asistió a la Conferencia de Teherán y un año después es nombrado embajador en los EE. UU. En agosto de 1944 asistió a la reunión de Dumbarton Oaks y en febrero del año siguiente a la Conferencia de Yalta. En mayo de 1945, mientras participaba en la Conferencia de San Francisco, recibió numerosas felicitaciones de diversas personalidades y ciudadanos de los EE. UU. por la victoria de la URSS sobre la Alemania Nazi.

El 6 de agosto, los EE. UU. lanzan la bomba atómica sobre Hiroshima y el 8 la URSS declaró la guerra a Japón. El 9 de agosto los EE. UU. lanzaron una segunda bomba sobre Nagasaki y el 2 de septiembre la URSS invadió Manchuria. Japón se rindió ese mismo día. A causa del gran poder destructor de las armas nucleares, Gromiko se mostrará contrario a la carrera armamentística el resto de su vida, participando en numerosas reuniones de desarme.

Al frente de la política exterior soviética

Naciones Unidas
Entre mayo y julio de 1945 asistió a la Conferencia de Potsdam. En marzo de 1946, coincidiendo con el discurso de Churchill en Fultom donde advertía la creación de un «Telón de acero», Gromiko es nombrado representante en la ONU, cargo que ejercerá entre 1946 y 1948.
El 14 de mayo de 1947, Gromiko defendió la solución de un solo estado para el conflicto israelí-palestino, y la solución de dos estados como la segunda mejor opción en el caso de que "las relaciones entre las poblaciones judía y árabe de Palestina llegará a ser tan mala que sería imposible reconciliarlos".
La URSS fue el primer país en reconocer oficialmente a Israel, dos días después de declarar la independencia el 14 de mayo de 1948.
Un año después será nombrado Ministro Adjunto de Asuntos Exteriores, cargo que desempeñará hasta 1949. En octubre de 1949, coincidiendo con la creación de la República Popular de China, es nombrado Ministro Principal de Asuntos Exteriores, cargo que ejercerá hasta 1952. Entre diciembre y febrero de 1949 y 1950 se encuentra con Mao Zedong, de visita oficial a la URSS.

Embajador en el Reino Unido
Entre 1952 y 1953 fue embajador de la Unión Soviética en el Reino Unido. Gromiko fue nombrado embajador soviético en el Reino Unido en una reunión de junio de 1952 con Iósif Stalin en el Kremlin. Stalin se paseaba de un lado a otro como de costumbre, contándole a Gromiko la importancia de su nueva oficina y diciendo: «El Reino Unido ahora tiene la oportunidad de desempeñar un papel más importante en la política internacional. Pero no está claro en qué dirección estará el gobierno británico con su gobierno». (...) «Es por eso que necesitamos personas que entiendan su forma de pensar». Gromiko se reunió con Winston Churchill en 1952 para no hablar de política actual, sino con nostalgia para hablar sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Gromiko se reunió con Churchill nuevamente en 1953 antes de regresar a Rusia cuando fue nombrado Viceministro de Asuntos Exteriores.

Ministro de asuntos exteriores
Entre 1953 y 1957 será de nuevo Ministro adjunto de Asuntos Exteriores. En mayo de 1955 asistió a la firma del Tratado de Viena. En mayo, acompañando a Jruschov, visitó la Yugoslavia de Tito. En septiembre se encontró con Adenauer, de visita oficial en Moscú y en noviembre visitó la India. En febrero de 1956 se produjo el XX Congreso del Partido Comunista, donde Jruschov criticó a Stalin. Gromiko participó en el congreso como asistente. En octubre de ese mismo año tomó parte en la firma del tratado de paz soviético-japonés sin llegar a ser ratificado por Tokio. En febrero de 1957 en nombrado de nuevo Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, cargo que ejercerá durante 28 años hasta 1985. Será uno de los promotores de la idea de la détente o razryadka (разрядка). En mayo visitó a Mao y consiguió doctorarse en economía gracias a su publicación La Exportación del Capital Americano bajo el seudónimo de G. Andreev. En noviembre vuelve a visitar a Mao de incógnito.

En septiembre de 1958 formó parte de la delegación de Jruschov que visitó los EE. UU., y en octubre hizo un viaje semejante a China. Poco después, en abril de 1960, se hace público el conflicto chino-soviético y en mayo de ese mismo año se produjo el incidente del U2. Asiste a la Cumbre americano-soviética de París. En febrero de 1961 conoce a Sukarno durante un viaje oficial a Indonesia. Según Raúl Roa Kourí, diplomático y escritor cubano, en 1960 se encontraron Jruschov y Fidel además de Gromiko y otras personalidades políticas de Cuba. En dicho encuentro se produjo la siguiente anécdota: «Entre brindis y elogios, Nikita preguntó si había entre los presentes algún viejo comunista. Honorio levantó la mano, orgulloso. El líder soviético, con sonrisa intencionada, le soltó: "¿Y no le da vergüenza que hayan sido otros quienes dirigieran la revolución?" Después, girando hacia Fidel: "¿Usted sabía que Andréi Gromiko fue embajador ante Batista? ¿Qué debemos hacerle por ese pecado imperdonable? ¿Lo fusilamos?" El Comandante, en el mismo tono, repuso que no era necesario».

Crisis de los misiles de Cuba de 1962
En octubre de 1962 Gromiko se encontró con John F. Kennedy a causa de la crisis de los misiles en Cuba. En dicho encuentro le advirtió en nombre de la URSS al presidente de los EE. UU.: «Si los EEUU emprenden acciones agresivas contra Cuba u otros países que tengan buenas relaciones con ella, la Unión Soviética no puede desempeñar el papel de espectadora en lo que se refiere a su independencia y a prestarle ayuda en un momento difícil». Gromiko se refería como agresiones a acciones como el incidente de la bahía de Cochinos, de 1961. Según las palabras de Gromiko, Kennedy respondió: «Mi gobierno no tiene intenciones de atacar a Cuba, y la Unión Soviética puede tener la seguridad de que no existe peligro alguno para Cuba» —Kennedy añadió— «La acción en la zona de Bahía de Cochinos fue un error». En sus memorias, Gromiko afirma que Kennedy en ningún momento le preguntó directamente si la URSS había desplegado misiles en Cuba, por lo que pese a lo que se ha dicho en muchas ocasiones según su opinión en la reunión no debió aclarar si tenían o no misiles allí. Gromiko le dijo a Kennedy: «La ayuda soviética a Cuba tiene por fin, exclusivamente, reforzar su capacidad defensiva y desarrollar su economía de forma pacífica». Gromiko también aseguró posteriormente que notó a Kennedy nervioso, contradiciéndose a sí mismo en diversas ocasiones. Según afirma en sus memorias, Kennedy sufría la presión de los halcones en su propio país quienes insistían en usar la fuerza contra Cuba. Finalmente se llegó a un acuerdo y el presidente optó por una vía más pacífica. Para Gromiko, esta fue la entrevista más difícil de toda su carrera en la diplomacia.

En septiembre de 1963 Gromiko se encontró por última vez con Kennedy. Según afirma en sus memorias, lo encontró sonriente y de buen humor. Según sus palabras el presidente de los EE. UU. dijo al diplomático soviético: «Lo cierto es que hay dos grupos que no quieren que mejoren las relaciones entre nuestros dos países» —a lo que Gromiko contestó— «Seguramente, la gente corriente no desea que existan tensiones entre los EEUU y la URSS» —Kennedy añadió finalmente —«Solo quería que supiera usted algunos de los problemas con que se enfrenta el Presidente de los EEUU cuando aborda temas que se refieren a las relaciones soviético-americanas».

Segunda mitad de la Guerra Fría
En 1963 se encontró por primera vez con el Papa Pablo VI en el Vaticano. Para visitar el Vaticano no había una invitación oficial sino que se comunicaba a Gromiko el deseo del Papa de verle. La última reunión con Pablo VI se produjo en 1975. En dicha reunión el Papa se refirió según palabras textuales «en términos elogiosos a la política exterior de la URSS, a nuestro esfuerzo por lograr el entendimiento mutuo y al acuerdo entre los pueblos». En mayo de 1964 visitó Suecia, Dinamarca y acompañó a Jruschev a Egipto donde conoció a Gamal Abdel Nasser. El 11 de septiembre de 1964, tras la intervención de Che Guevara en la ONU se celebró una cena en su honor en la delegación soviética descrita como calurosa y llena de cordialidad. Gromiko tuvo una breve conversación con él y este le comentó: «Me voy directamente desde Nueva York a una tierra lejana, para ayudar a su gente en su lucha por una vida digna y por la libertad».

En septiembre de 1971 toma parte en la firma del Acuerdo Cuatripartito sobre Berlín. Fue miembro del Buró Político del Comité Central del PCUS desde el mes de abril de 1973, pero hasta diez años después no fue elegido vicepresidente del Consejo de Ministros de la URSS. En agosto de 1973 se encuentra con Kissinger en Chipre poco antes de la Operación Atila, tras la cual la isla quedará dividida. La división de Chipre en dos mitades es denominada por Gromiko como patrón Kissinger. Según afirma en sus memorias preguntó directamente al Secretario de Estado de los EE. UU.: «¿Apoya el gobierno americano la independencia en integridad de Chipre o no?», a lo que según sus palabras respondió con evasivas pero admitiendo que los EE. UU. aceptaban la creación de dos estados independientes en Chipre.

En agosto de 1974 visitó a Sadat y en noviembre asiste al encuentro de Vladivostok entre Leonid Brézhnev y Gerald Ford. En junio de 1979 viaja por primera vez en visita oficial a España y en septiembre de 1980 participa en la Conferencia de Madrid. En septiembre de 1983 se encuentra con el rey de España Juan Carlos I. En septiembre de 1984 se encuentra con Ronald Reagan en la Casa Blanca. En enero de 1985, tras morir Konstantín Chernenko, propone a Mijaíl Gorbachov como Secretario General.

Con la llegada del reformista Gorbachov a la dirección del Partido Comunista soviético, Gromiko, una de las principales caras de la época de Leonid Brézhnev, dimite de su cargo de canciller para ser nombrado como presidente del Presídium del Sóviet Supremo de la URSS en julio de 1985. Este cargo, aunque en el papel representaba el de jefe de estado, en realidad constituía un mero lugar ceremonial, sin mayor poder o trascendencia. Pese a lo anterior, y en razón de su conservadurismo ideológico, fue cesado en 1988 para ser remplazado por el mismo Gorbachov, quien en el proceso conocido como perestroika intentaba trasferir el poder desde el Partido hacia el Estado Soviético. En octubre de 1988, el Pravda, comenzó a criticar la política internacional anterior de la URSS.

Tras retirarse de la política en 1989, Gromiko comenzó a trabajar en sus memorias.

Andréi Gromiko fue internado y operado de urgencia a causa de una afección circulatoria. Murió el 2 de julio de 1989 en Moscú.

Valoraciones de Gromiko
Henry Kissinger, quien fue Secretario de Estado de los Estados Unidos, coincidió en varias ocasiones con Gromiko. En su libro Diplomacia hace una serie de valoraciones sobre el diplomático soviético. Según Kissinger, Gromiko seguía una estrategia de agotamiento del adversario y no de persuasión durante las negociaciones para conseguir los objetivos dictados por Moscú. Le califica como diplomático hábil y consumado pero sin autoridad para diseñar políticas a largo plazo. También afirma que Gromiko conocía perfectamente los crímenes cometidos durante los años de Stalin en nombre del comunismo. Tras su retiro, Kissinger preguntó a Gromiko sobre la diplomacia de Stalin durante la crisis de Berlín en 1948:

Un artículo escrito en 1981 en The Times dijo: «Es uno de los miembros más activos y eficientes de la dirección soviética. Un hombre con una memoria excelente, un intelecto agudo y una resistencia extraordinaria [...] Tal vez Andrey sea el más informado Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores en el mundo». La conducta severa de Gromiko se mostró claramente durante su primer mandato en Washington y se hizo eco a lo largo de su mandato como ministro de relaciones exteriores soviético. Hay una historia de que Gromiko estaba saliendo de un hotel de Washington una mañana y un reportero le preguntó «ministro Gromiko, ¿disfrutó su desayuno hoy?». Su respuesta fue «quizás».

El 18 de julio de 2009, Bielorrusia celebró el centenario del nacimiento de Gromiko con actos en todo el país. En la ciudad de su nacimiento muchas personas depositaron flores frente a su busto. Se realizó una ceremonia a la que asistieron su hijo y su hija, Anatoly y Emiliya. Varias exposiciones fueron abiertas y dedicadas a su honor y una escuela y una calle en Gómel fueron renombradas en honor a él.

Referencias

Bibliografía

Nacidos en Gómel
Fallecidos en Moscú
Políticos de la Unión Soviética
Embajadores de la Unión Soviética en Cuba
Embajadores de la Unión Soviética en los Estados Unidos
Embajadores de la Unión Soviética en el Reino Unido
Representantes permanentes de la Unión Soviética ante las Naciones Unidas
Gobernantes de la Unión Soviética
Sepultados en el cementerio Novodévichi
Héroe del Trabajo Socialista
Premio Lenin
Orden José Martí
Orden de Klement Gottwald por la Construcción de la Patria Socialista
Orden al Mérito de la República de Polonia
Grandes cruces de la Orden El Sol del Perú
Ateos de Bielorrusia
Miembros del Partido Comunista de la Unión Soviética
Galardonados con la Orden de la Insignia de Honor
Galardonados con la Orden de la Bandera Roja del Trabajo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
'Okay for teachers to hit students': Swedish court
Teachers should be able to tolerate violence inflicted on them by students, but at the same time have scope for using force against unruly pupils, according to two recent Swedish court rulings.
Published: 24 May 2012 08:37 CEST
In one case, a teacher was assaulted by a student who was subsequently convicted by the district court in Gällivare, northern Sweden.
The assault took place at a school in Kiruna after a teacher had taken the unruly student out of the lunchroom, at which point the student began to hit and kick the teacher, and also threatened to kill him.
Despite the guilty verdict, the court nevertheless found that the teacher didn't deserve any compensation for the incident because teachers who are responsible for supervising students "must expect that some violence and threats can occur when they intervene".
In justifying its denial of compensation for the teacher, the court compared the teacher's supervisory role to that of a police or security guard.
"A very strange ruling and what really makes is weird is that they say that teachers should be able to tolerate a beating. No, teachers shouldn't tolerate that," Metta Fjelkner, head of the Lärarnas riksförbund teachers union, to Sveriges Television (SVT).
At the same time, however, a Swedish appeals court recently acquitted a principal charged with beating a student.
It cited a Supreme Court ruling stating that it's okay for teachers to use violence against students if it occurs when teachers are trying to keep students under control, the Metro newspaper reports.
While violence against students cannot be used as a form of punishment, it is allowable if it takes place in the course of escorting an unruly student out of a classroom.
Following the ruling, a principal who had been charged with assault for grabbing a student by the ear and forcing him to sit down was subsequently acquitted of all charges by the appeals court.
The ruling has caused concern among child's rights advocates.
There is an obvious risk that we're heading down a slippery slope when it comes to our view towards violence against children," Åsa Landberg, a psychologist with Save the Children (Rädda Barnen) in Sweden told Metro.
TT/The Local [email protected] @thelocalsweden
VIOLENCETEACHERSUPREME COURTGÄLLIVARE
French government to rewrite controversial Article 24 of security bill
French MPs will completely rewrite the contentious Article 24 of the security bill that restricts the publication of images of police, which caused thousands to take to the streets in protest across France this weekend.
Published: 30 November 2020 16:20 CET
Christophe Castaner, former French interior minister and current parliamentary president of the ruling party La République en Marche, speaks to journalists on November 30th. Photo: AFP
"We propose a complete rewriting of Article 24," said Christophe Castaner, Parliamentary President of the ruling party La République en Marche and former interior minister.
Castaner, who held a press conference on Monday afternoon after President Emmanuel Macron summoned ministers to an emergency summit, said the government had "taken note" of the public opinion's "incomprehension" of the text in question.
READ ALSO Aujourd'hui: What's happening in France on Monday
France's controversial security law proposal – which was passed in the lower house of parliament last week but still faces legislative hurdles – has caused uproar across the country and saw hundreds of thousands protesters take to the streets in several French cities on Saturday.
Article 24, the most controversial part of the text, would criminalise publishing (either by journalists or on social media) images of on-duty police, if there is manifest intent to harm their "physical or psychological integrity".
EXPLAINED: The new French law that restricts photos and videos of police officers
Journalists groups and international NGOs say the vague wording of the Article is open to abuse.
"The misunderstandings raised by Article 24 require that we take the time to discuss this point again," Castaner said, as he refuted critics' claims that the bill would limit press freedom by making it more difficult to film police.
"As legislators, we must be the guarantors of fundamental rights and freedoms, first and foremost, of course, freedom of expression and freedom of the press," Castaner said.
"Article 24 is pursuing two objectives, one of them being to better protect police officers. . .The other objective of article 24 is to preserve press freedom, whether it concerns journalists. . . or citizens."
But several rights organisations have called for the government to withdraw the article in question, a call that gained strength after a French media published a video of three police officers beating up a music producer in Paris last week. This came shortly after police violently cleared a migrant camp set up in protest at Place de la République, in the heart of Paris.
Macron called cabinet ministers and parliamentary leaders to a crisis meeting on Monday to rapidly produce "suggestions to re-establish confidence" between the police and the population.
The rewriting will be done by the three majority groups in the French parliament – LREM, MoDem and Agir.
The Local [email protected] @thelocalfrance


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Reflection Models
Previous: Fourier Basis BSDFs
Phong (1975) developed an early empirical reflection model for glossy surfaces in computer graphics. Although neither reciprocal nor energy conserving, it was a cornerstone of the first synthetic images of non-Lambertian objects. The Torrance–Sparrow microfacet model is described in Torrance and Sparrow (1967); it was first introduced to graphics by Blinn (1977), and a variant of it was used by Cook and Torrance (1981, 1982). The Oren–Nayar Lambertian model is described in their 1994 paper (Oren and Nayar 1994).
Hall's (1989) book collected and described the state of the art in physically based surface reflection models for graphics; it remains a seminal reference. It discusses the physics of surface reflection in detail, with many pointers to the original literature and with many tables of useful measured data about reflection from real surfaces. Burley's (2012) more recent paper includes a thorough annotated bibliography of more recent work on reflection models for computer graphics.
Heitz's paper on microfacet shadowing-masking functions (2014a) provides a very well-written introduction to microfacet BSDF models in general, with many useful figures and explanations about details of the topic. See the papers by Beckmann and Spizzichino (1963) and Trowbridge and Reitz (1975) for the introduction of their respective microfacet distribution functions. Kurt et al. (2010) developed an anisotropic Beckmann–Spizzichino distribution function; see Heitz (2014a) for anisotropic variants of many other microfacet distribution functions. Early anisotropic BRDF models for computer graphics were developed by Kajiya (1985) and Poulin and Fournier (1990).
The microfacet masking-shadowing function in Equation (8.14) was introduced by Smith (1967), who used the assumption of no correlation between the height of the microsurface at nearby points to derive this result. Smith also first derived the normalization constraint in Equation (8.12). (This result was derived independently by Ashikhmin, Premoze, and Shirley (2000).) See Heitz (2014a) for further discussion of derivations of these functions. A more accurate upper G left-parenthesis omega Subscript normal i Baseline comma omega Subscript normal o Baseline right-parenthesis function for Gaussian microfacet surfaces that better accounts for the effects of correlation between the two directions was developed by Heitz et al. (2013), and the rational approximation to the Beckmann–Spizzichino normal upper Lamda left-parenthesis omega Subscript Baseline right-parenthesis function used in this chapter is due to Heitz (2014a), which is derived from an approximation developed by Walter et al. (2007). Our derivation of the normal upper Lamda left-parenthesis omega Subscript Baseline right-parenthesis function, Equation (8.13), is also due to Heitz (2015).
Stam (2001) developed a generalization of the Cook–Torrance model for transmission, and more recently Walter et al. (2007) revisited this problem. Weyrich et al. (2009) have developed methods to infer a microfacet distribution that matches a measured or desired reflection distribution. Remarkably, they show that it's possible to manufacture actual physical surfaces that match a desired reflection distribution fairly accurately. Simonot (2009) has developed a model that spans Oren–Nayar and Torrance–Sparrow: microfacets are modeled as Lambertian reflectors with a layer above them that ranges from perfectly transmissive to a perfect specular reflector. However, this model doesn't account for masking-shadowing effects and can't be evaluated in closed form.
The microfacet reflection models in this chapter are all based on the assumption that so many microfacets are visible in a pixel that they can be accurately described by their aggregate statistical behavior. This assumption isn't true for many real-world surfaces, where a relatively small number of microfacets may be visible in each pixel; examples of such surfaces include car paint and glittery plastics. Both Yan et al. (2014) and Jakob et al. (2014b) have developed techniques that model these cases well.
It can be useful to be able to find BSDFs for layered materials, such as a metal base surface tarnished with patina, or wood with a varnish coating. Hanrahan and Krueger (1993) modeled the layers of skin accounting for just a single scattering event in each layer, and Dorsey and Hanrahan (1996) rendered layered materials using the Kubelka–Munk theory, which accounts for multiple scattering within layers but assumes that radiance distribution doesn't vary as a function of direction.
Pharr and Hanrahan (2000) showed that Monte Carlo integration could be used to solve the adding equations to efficiently compute BSDFs for layered materials without needing either of these simplifications. The adding equations are integral equations that accurately describe the effect of multiple scattering in layered media that were derived by van De Hulst (1980) and Twomey et al. (1966). Weidlich and Wilkie (2007) rendered layered materials more efficiently by making a number of simplifying assumptions, and Jakob et al. (2014a) efficiently computed scattering in layered materials using the Fourier basis representation implemented here as the FourierBSDF.
A number of researchers have investigated BRDFs based on modeling the small-scale geometric features of a reflective surface. This work includes the computation of BRDFs from bump maps by Cabral, Max, and Springmeyer (1987), Fournier's normal distribution functions (Fournier 1992), and Westin, Arvo, and Torrance (1992), who applied Monte Carlo ray tracing to statistically model reflection from microgeometry and represented the resulting BRDFs with spherical harmonics. More recently, Wu et al. (2011) developed a system that made it possible to model microgeometry and specify its underlying BRDF while interactively previewing the resulting macro-scale BRDF.
Improvements in data-acquisition technology have led to increasing amounts of detailed real-world BRDF data, even including BRDFs that are spatially varying (sometimes called "bidirectional texture functions," BTFs) (Dana et al. 1999). Matusik et al. (2003a, 2003b) assembled an early database of measured isotropic BRDF data. See Müller et al. (2005) for a survey of work in BRDF measurement until the year 2005. Sun et al. (2007) measured BRDFs as they change over time—for example, due to paint drying, a wet surface becoming dry, or dust accumulating. While most BRDF measurement has been based on measuring reflected radiance due to a given amount of incident irradiance, Zhao et al. (2011) showed that CT imaging of the structure of fabrics led to very accurate reflection models.
Fitting measured BRDF data to parametric reflection models is a difficult problem. Rusinkiewicz (1998) made the influential observation that reparameterizing the measured data can make it substantially easier to compress or fit to models; this topic has been further investigated by Stark et al. (2005) and in Marscher's Ph.D. dissertation (1998). Ngan et al. (2005) analyzed the effectiveness of a variety of BRDF models for fitting measured data and showed that models based on the half-angle vector, rather than a reflection vector, tended to be more effective. See also the paper on this topic by Edwards et al. (2005).
Zickler et al. (2005) developed a method for representing BRDFs based on radial basis functions (RBFs)—they use them to interpolate irregularly sampled 5D spatially varying BRDFs. Weistroffer et al. (2007) have shown how to efficiently represent scattered reflectance data with RBFs without needing to resample them to have regular spacing. Wang et al. (2008a) demonstrated a successful approach for acquiring spatially varying anisotropic BRDFs. Pacanowski et al. (2012) developed a representation that could guarantee a given error bound between measured and fit data, and Bagher et al. (2012) introduced a parametric BRDF that accurately fit a wide variety of reflection function distributions using just six coefficients per color channel. More recently, Brady et al. (2014) found new analytic BRDF models that fit measured BRDFs well using genetic programming. Dupuy et al. (2015) developed an efficient and easily implemented approach for fitting measured BRDFs to microfacet distributions based on using power iterations to compute eigenvectors.
Kajiya and Kay (1989) developed an early reflection model for hair based on a model of individual hairs as cylinders with diffuse and glossy reflection properties. Their model determines the overall reflection from these cylinders, accounting for the effect of variation in surface normal over the hemisphere along the cylinder. For related work, see also the paper by Banks (1994), which discusses shading models for 1D primitives like hair. Goldman (1997) developed a probabilistic shading model that models reflection from collections of short hairs. Marschner et al. (2003) developed an accurate model of light scattering from human hair fibers that decomposes the reflected light into three components with distinct directional profiles based on the number of internal refraction events. Sadeghi et al. (2010) developed intuitive controls for physically based hair reflection models that made it easier to achieve a desired visual appearence. Further improvements to hair scattering models were introduced by d'Eon et al. (2011). Finally, see Ward et al.'s survey (2007) for extensive coverage of research in modeling, animating, and rendering hair.
Modeling reflection from a variety of specific types of surfaces has received attention from researchers, leading to specialized reflection models. Examples include Marschner et al.'s (2005) work on rendering wood, Günther et al.'s (2005) investigation of car paint, and Papas et al.'s (2014) model for paper.
Cloth remains particularly challenging material to render. Work in this area includes papers by Sattler et al. (2003), Irawan (2008), Schröder et al. (2011), Irawan and Marschner (2012), Zhao et al. (2012), and Sadeghi et al. (2013).
Nayar, Ikeuchi, and Kanade (1991) have shown that some reflection models based on physical (wave) optics have substantially similar characteristics to those based on geometric optics. The geometric optics approximations don't seem to cause too much error in practice, except on very smooth surfaces. This is a helpful result, giving experimental basis to the general belief that wave optics models aren't usually worth their computational expense for computer graphics applications.
The effect of the polarization of light is not modeled in pbrt, although for some scenes it can be an important effect; see, for example, the paper by Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum, and Wozny (1994) for information about how to extend a renderer to account for this effect. Similarly, the fact that indices of refraction of real-world objects usually vary as a function of wavelength is also not modeled here; see both Section 11.8 of Glassner's book (1995) and Devlin et al.'s survey article for information about these issues and references to previous work (Devlin et al. 2002). Fluorescence, where light is reflected at different wavelengths than the incident illumination, is also not modeled by pbrt; see Glassner (1994) and Wilkie et al. (2006) for more information on this topic.
Moravec (1981) was the first to apply a wave optics model to graphics. This area has also been investigated by Bahar and Chakrabarti (1987) and Stam (1999), who applied wave optics to model diffraction effects. For more recent work in this area, see the papers by Cuypers et al. (2012) and Musbach et al. (2013), who also provide extensive references to previous work on this topic.
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Next: Reflection Models / Exercises


text:
The elusive quest for democracy
Sun, Nov 23, 2008
About 3,200 years ago something extraordinary happened: a group of people formed a new society in a unique way. Where they came from is open to debate. Some say the indigenous people rose up and overthrew their oppressors. Some say the idea came with nomads from the east. The descendants of the society's early members believe a man named Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt. Regardless of where they came from, they did an astounding thing: in a world ruled by pharoahs and kings, for two centuries the state of Israel existed as a loosely organized group of self-governing communities with no central government.
What happened to this unique experiment in community-based primitive democracy? Security concerns led the people to give up their relative freedom and institute a strong central government in the form of monarchy. (Sound familiar?) The spiritual leader Samuel warned of the burden a monarchy would bring:
"These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle£ and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day." (1 Samuel 8:11-18)
But fear prevailed, and after two hundred years (1200BC – 1000BC), Israel's experiment with primitive democracy ended.
Over the years, democracy developed further in other experiments: Greece (500BC), Rome (500BC), India (750CE), the Iroquois Nation (1570CE), Ukraine (1650CE), and later the United States and France. In most cases, democracy ended or became restricted not because of an outside conqueror, but because its practitioners became afraid and chose security over freedom.
Community-based democracy is still practiced in intentional communities around the world, from Mondragon to the Hutterites. But can it exist outside a closed community? Imagine an organization that is entirely decentralized and democratic. Any group can choose to do anything. No one can get kicked out. The organization has no rules, only a set of voluntary guidelines. It has no central government or leadership– though it does have a main office funded by voluntary contributions of the membership which coordinates communications and publishes literature.
This may sound like a recipe for chaos, but such an organization does exist, and has remained healthy and growing since 1935. It's called Alcoholics Anonymous. Regardless of what you may think of its philosophy, as an organization it is astoundingly successful. It is an intentional community in that people choose whether or not to attend (or to participate). Yet it has virtually no membership requirements. "You are a member when you say you are." And the members are all alcoholics! If a group can function under those conditions, it can probably handle about anything. Sure, there are occasional power struggles in which some supposed leader will stack an AA meeting with supporters in order to win a vote. But such events rarely last, because there's no real power to be had. The key to AA's organizational structure is its 4th Tradition: "Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole." In other words, as long as certain basic principles are followed– to protect the organization as a whole– the group can make whatever local decisions it wants.
AA is one of many examples of successful democratic organization. Yet when searching for a foundation for community-based democracy, one could certainly do worse than AA's Twelve Traditions.
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Here's your free ebook, Active Directory Basics.
To download, click on the link below. It will open up a new page, right click and choose "save as".
I would like to hear your feedback on the book once you have read it. You can connect with me on twitter.


Click on the image if you want to buy a copy of Graham Watson's famous photo of Bob Roll. My buddy Paul actually has one of those vintage Serotta/Huffy 7-eleven team bikes that he only rides on his Compu-trainer. It is my size too ... hint.
Or is it the other way around? Either way, I wanted to update the ride to note that while I do still have a bit of a runny nose and cough, I think I will be well enough to make the ride tomorrow. Sounds like a handfull of folks are up for the trip.I you are coming along, just stay clear of my snot rockets.
I also heard via comments that the afore mentioned Luxemburger hangout at the end of the trail in Belgium is now Chrissy's Now and Then Pub, so you might not need to pack those sardine sandwiches. We can grab some quick food and hopefully a Belgian beer at the midway stop. Other than that, I don't think we will have this much adventure on our ride unless Russell elbows me in the ditch like Bobke up above. It doesn't sound like either Russell's more flat-prone friend or my equipment failure-prone friend (you both know who you are) will join us, so with good weather, it should be smooth but slow sailing.
Actually I would elbow you for the right to be the first to ride in the ditch. That's how I roll.
What time is this ride going to be swinging by at Hollander on Downer?
Some Pegasus riders might show.
Can you call me or Russell in the am? 414-736-2209 is my mobile. We will leave the west side at 8am. If there are a few of you, we can swing by Hollander at 8:30.


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Q: Difference between LTRIM and LTRIM with RTRIM what's difference between LTRIM(str) and LTRIM(RTRIM(str))
SELECT LTRIM(RTRIM('     Removes trailing spaces.   '))
SELECT LTRIM('     Removes trailing spaces.   ')

A: ltrim() removes leading spaces from the string (spaces on the left side), rtrim() removes the trailing spaces.
Cascading the two functions removes spaces on both ends. Some (many... most!) databases have a generic trim() function; SQL server 2017 onwards has this function, but older versions do not: that's the reason why you will sometimes meet this ltrim(rtrim(...)) construct in legacy code.

A: This is not the question the OP asks in their question, but in the comments, but sounds like it's their real question. I am therefore putting this in as an answer for posterity:

I am get len(LTRIM(RTRIM('     Removes trailing spaces.   '))) and len(LTRIM('     Removes trailing spaces.   ') . is equals.

When determining equality SQL Server ignores trailing spaces. 'Trailing Spaces' = 'Trailing Spaces         ' would return True.
This is not the case for leading spaces. ' Leading Space' = 'Leading Space' would not return True.
Thus, when comparing 2 values, if they might have varying numbers of leading spaces, you would need to trim (LTRIM) those, but for comparison purposes (only) you would not need to trim (RTRIM) the trailing ones.
Of course, you could trim both with TRIM in more recent versions of SQL Server (2017+), however, any trim operations will make your query non-SARGable, which could (significantly) effect performance. If you need to store untrimmed and trimmed data, you are better off with the latter being a PERSISTED computed column you can index.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The choice of the garage door company, which will take over the maintenance of the mechanism, will certainly determine the level of your personal safety and the resistance of the system against invasions and elements. The supreme quality services provided by Garage Door Company Edmonton are based on the ability and experience of its technicians, who are chosen for their great skills among many repairmen in Alberta. We offer great services because we work with high tech equipment and top quality branded repair parts and products and we guarantee safety because we are at your service for any problem 24/7.
We know well Edmonton and the requirements for high security and this knowledge keeps us one step ahead of all problems. This way, we manage to offer proper garage door service and suggest the most appropriate solutions, methods or new doors to our clients. We definitely take into consideration external conditions and personal desires in order to make suggestions based on real needs. In any case, we try to stick to your budget and offer quality products in the best garage door prices.
When you need 24 hour services, you must contact our emergency garage door company right away. We have a full network of specialized technicians, who work 24/7 and have the experience and ability to fix any problem on-site. After all, we are one of the few garage door companies, which keep technical crews ready for action at all times and support them completely with the best equipment on the market. If you are looking for efficiency and reliable professionals, contact our Garage Door Company in Edmonton for full, trustworthy repair services 24/7.


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Safety of nicotinamide riboside chloride as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 and bioavailability of nicotinamide from this source, in the context of Directive 2002/46/EC
Published on: Wed, 07 Aug 2019
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on nicotinamide riboside chloride as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, including an evaluation of the safety of its use in food supplements as a source of niacin, and the bioavailability of nicotinamide from this source, in the context of Directive 2002/46/EC. The NF, a synthetic form of nicotinamide riboside, is proposed to be used in food supplements for the healthy adult population at levels up to 300 mg/day. The production process, composition, specifications, batch‐to‐batch variability and stability of the NF do not raise safety concerns. Animal and human data indicate that the NF contributes to the nicotinamide body pool. There are no concerns regarding genotoxicity. Human studies do not raise safety concerns. The proposed maximum use level corresponds to an amount of nicotinamide, which is sixfold lower than the tolerable upper intake level (UL) set for adults, excluding pregnant and lactating women. The margin of exposure (MoE) of 70 derived from repeated dose toxicity studies with rats and dogs is considered sufficient for the adult population, excluding pregnant and lactating women. Regarding these two population groups, the MoE of 76 derived from a developmental toxicity study in rats is considered insufficient in the absence of data which could justify accepting a MoE lower than 100. The Panel concludes that the NF is safe under the proposed conditions of use for the healthy adult population, excluding pregnant and lactating women, and that an intake of the NF up to 230 mg/day is safe for pregnant and lactating women. The Panel also concludes that the NF is a source from which nicotinamide, a form of niacin, is bioavailable.
Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of a tincture derived from the fruit of Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss (parsley tincture) for use in all animal species (...
Efficacy of the feed additive containing Companilactobacillus farciminis (formerly Lactobacillus farciminis) CNCM I‐3740 (Biacton) for chickens for fattening, turkeys for...
Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting on Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (formerly Lactobacillus plantarum) CECT 8350 and Limosilactobacillus reuteri (formerly...


A patient, who recently underwent cholecystectomy and ERCP due to gallstones in the the gallbladder and the hepatic duct, had persitently elevated liver function tests. Therefore, MRCP was requested. It showed a stenotic segment involving most of the common hepatic duct between the stump of the cystic duct and the bifurcation. The stenosis has smooth edges and the dilatation of the intrahepatic biliary ducts is almost non-existent indicating a benign nature of the stenosis. A non-comunicating cyst (well-defined and high signal intensity) in the head of pancreas is a secondary finding.


"The perfect starting place for anyone who needs business and economic data."—Ran Hock, "The Extreme Searcher"
Statistics are a critical component of business and marketing plans, press releases, surveys, economic analyses, presentations, proposals, and more--yet good statistics are notoriously hard to find. In this practical guide, statistics guru Paula Berinstein (author of six previous books including Finding Statistics Online and The Statistical Handbook on Technology) shows readers how to use the Net to find statistics about companies, markets, and industries, how to organize and present statistics, and how to evaluate them for reliability. Here are dozens of easy-to-use tips and techniques for maneuvering around obstacles to find the statistics you need. Supported by a Web page.


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[WP27] Prospects for Security Cooperation and Community Building in Northeast Asia
2015.07.13 Views 2015.07.13
[ARI Working Paper Series No. 27]
Prospects for Security Cooperation and Community Building in Northeast Asia
Shin-wha Lee
Notes on Contributor
LEE Shin-wha, Professor of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University, received her Ph.D from the University of Maryland at College and held a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Harvard University (1994-97). She was a research associate at the World Bank (1992), a visiting scholar at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI), Sweden (1993), a special advisor to the Rwandan Independent Inquiry at the United Nations (1999-2000), chair's advisor of East Asian Vision Group(EAVG) (2000-2001), a coordinator of UNESCO Chair on Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (2001-2006), a visiting professor at Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies (IDSS), Singapore (2004), a Korean delegate of the 2004 Korea-China-Japan Future Leaders' Forum (2004), a visiting scholar at East Asian Studies Program, Princeton University (2005), a full-time visiting professor at School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University, and a scholar-in-residence for political affairs at the Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations (2009-2010). In addition, she has received Nakasone Yasuhiro Award of Excellence in 2008 and is a board member (2008-2011) and executive committee member (2009-2010) of Academic Council on the UN Studies (ACUNS), and an international advisory member of Asia-Pacific Center for Responsibility to Protect (R2P) (2008-present).
Prof. Lee has published numerous articles and books including Environment Matters: Conflicts, Refugees & International Relations (2001), Promoting Human Security (2004) and South Korean Strategic Thought toward Asia (2008), and "The Theory and Reality of Soft Power: Practical Approaches in East Asia" (2011), which cover the fields of global security including nontraditional security, international organization, and East Asian foreign policy and security cooperation.
The 1st East Asian Community Forum
RISING CHINA AND THE FUTURE OF EAST ASIAN COMMUNITY
ARIWorkingPaper027.pdf
[WP26] Prospects for Economic Cooperation and Community Building in East Asia
[WP28] Export Subsidies and Least-Developed Countries: Entry-Deterrence Model Under Complete and Inc
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Copyrights (C)2015 Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University. All Rights Reserved.


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Masaaki 'Mike' Kotabe, Ph.D., to be Grant Thornton Visiting Executive at Bryant University
Oct 27, 2021, by Sarah Garnsey
Masaaki 'Mike' Kotabe, Ph.D., will be Bryant University's next Grant Thornton Visiting Executive, and will be on campus from October 31 – November 2, speaking to students and meeting with Bryant faculty and leadership representatives.
A Visiting Executive is a senior-level executive or consultant whose experience, knowledge and skills – through a strategic set of engagement opportunities over a two-day campus visit – significantly contributes to the expansion of knowledge and success of key stakeholders at the University's College of Business.
Sponsored by accounting and advisory firm Grant Thornton, which has a longstanding partnership with Bryant University, this fall's Visiting Executive will focus on the topic of international business.
Kotabe is recognized internationally as one of the most prolific and influential researchers in international business, marketing and strategic management today. His keynote talk on campus will address "Stark Contrasts in US-Japan Global Supply Chain Management During the Coronavirus Pandemic." He will speak in the Stepan Grand Hall in the Bello Center on Monday, November 1 at 4:50 p.m.
"The Grant Thornton Visiting Executive is a wonderful opportunity for Bryant students, faculty and leadership to interact with leading minds in business today," says Crystal Jiang, Bryant University Professor of Management, who worked under Dr. Kotabe's supervision for her doctoral program, and co-authored manuscripts with him. "Dr. Kotabe's renowned expertise in international business will bring new perspective and insight, and provide our students with exposure to one of the field's greatest thinkers."
Kotabe holds a joint appointment at School of Commerce, Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and at the Shidler College of Business at University of Hawaii at Manoa in the United States. Previously, he held the Washburn Chair Professorship at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in 1998-2021, and the Ambassador Edward Clark Centennial Endowed Fellow and Professorship in Marketing and International Business at the University of Texas at Austin in 1990-98. Dr. Kotabe also served as President of the Academy of International Business in 2016-17.
He received his Ph.D. in Marketing and International Business at Michigan State University. He has taught international marketing and global sourcing strategy at the undergraduate and MBA levels, and theories of international business at the Ph.D. level, among others. Kotabe has lectured widely at business schools in more than 20 countries.
For his research, Kotabe has worked closely with leading companies such as AT&T, Kohler, NEC, Nissan, Philips, Sony, and others, and has served as advisor to the United Nations' and World Trade Organization's Executive Forum on National Export Strategies. With more than 150 books and scholarly publications, he has well over 20,000 Google Scholar citations and has held editorial and editorial board posts at several different industry publications.
Kotabe was elected a Fellow of the Academy of International Business in 1998 and a Fellow of the Japan Academy of International Business Studies in 2017. He was the recipient of the 2002 Musser Award for Excellence in Research at Temple University, and most recently, he received a Gold Medalist award from the Academy of International Business as one of the most published researchers in the world over the past 50 years in the Journal of International Business Studies in 2019.
"We're grateful to Grant Thornton for their consistent support and funding of the Grant Thornton Visiting Executive at Bryant," says Madan Annavarjula, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Business. "The program allows us to bring outstanding researchers, executives, and consultants to campus to enrich the educational experiences of our students, and to help prepare them for success in today's competitive and ever-changing business environment. Dr. Kotabe is a supreme example of the kind of leading thinkers and influencers who help Bryant students be prepared and inspired to excel."
Kotabe will address classes in Bryant's International Business major, and will meet with undergraduate and graduate students both individually and in small groups for specific career counseling discussions.
Members of the Bryant community can register for his Monday, November 1, 4:30 p.m. talk at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stark-contrasts-in-us-japan-global-supply-chain-management-pandemic-tickets-195340046337.
College of Business Giving
Physician Assistant Class of 2024 welcomed to Bryant at Eighth Annual White Coat Ceremony
Incoming cohort of 47 students to begin 27-month curriculum
Bryant University in the Media
Bryant's innovative education and world-class faculty attract the attention of top media.
Exploring real-world accounting through the PwC Challenge
Dedicated mentors introduce Challenge competitors to their future field.
Bryant finance and investment strategy expert Dave Louton weighs in on inflation and the challenges ahead for policy makers
See what Louton has to say about inflation: the causes, effects, supply chain impact, and potential Fed moves.
Bringing stories to life in Introduction to Literary Studies
Studying a wide range of media to examine the art and craft of storytelling
Marking 10 years, Bryant's IDEA program prepares and empowers future-ready graduates with an innovation mindset
All first-year students begin to develop critical 21st century skills through this three-day design thinking experience.


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Dictionary of Stationery
Welcome to Ryman's Dictionary of Stationery
We know stationery. It's been our business since 1893 after all! Over the years, we've discovered there are masses of curiosities that make something as everyday as stationery really interesting. From stumbled-upon inventions to primeval cave paintings, the origins of stationery are miles from being mundane.
And more than that, stationery is essential. How would you manage if you never had a piece of paper handy? What if ink were never invented? Do you think you could've gotten through school if the pen hadn't been invented?
Since there are few who know more about stationery than us, we've put together this Dictionary of Stationery. It's packed full of little known facts and curious articles of stationery, to keep us all enchanted by the un-sung hero we know so well.
Flick through, share it with your friends and download a copy for yourself.
Just like the tool that a blacksmith would use to forge metals, the humble stapler also has an anvil. On a stapler, it is the metal plate on which the staple is struck and crimped into shape.
Adopted as part of an international standard of paper sizes in the 1970s, A4 is the most commonly used paper size around the world. It measures at 210mm x 297 mm, and is part of the A-series of paper sizes.
Analine Inks
A type of ink that has the special property of drying quickly, making it a popular choice in industrial-scale printing. The oil based ink is used widely for printing on plastics, particularly with food packaging.
Founded in 1945 by Marcel Bich, the Bic Cristal became the best selling pen worldwide, selling over 100 billion. The MoMA in New York holds one in their permanent collection as an example of classic industrial design.
A type of pen with a metal ball in the writing tip, which uses viscous, oil-based ink, held within the pen's barrel. First created and patented by John Loud in 1888, it was then developed by László Bíró from the 1930s.
Breather Hole
Also called a Vent Hole, a breather hole is the small hole present on the nib of a fountain pen. It allows air to flow into the pen and reduces the tension caused by the pressure applied during writing.
A fastener that is inserted into hole-punched holes, usually along the margin of a piece of paper, to hold several sheets together. Available with a range of adornments, they are also popular in arts and crafts.
The circular disc of paper produced by a hole punch. In the 2000 US elections, 'Hanging chads', where the hole was not fully punched in voting cards, meant that some votes were incorrectly counted, possibly influencing the result.
A thin sheet of paper covered in carbon, used to produce duplicates of written documents. Placed between two sheets of paper, when the top sheet is written on, the carbon leaves an identical mark on the bottom sheet.
The section of exposed wood at the top of a pencil between the lacquered shaft and the graphite tip. The taxonomy of collars identifies such types as the 'throat', the 'creeping collar' and the 'headless horseman'.
Chinagraph Pencils
A type of pencil with a wax core, which allows you to write on glossy surfaces such as glass, ceramics and plastic. Sometimes referred to as 'grease pencils', they are often used by photographers for marking up contact sheets.
Deckle
A key element in the process of making paper, a deckle can be found within a papermaking machine. It comes in the shape of a wooden frame, and its role is to control the size of the sheets of paper produced.
A metal nibbed pen that's used by dipping the tip into a pot of ink. This style of pen was mainly used in the early to mid 19th Century, and fell out of popularity once the fountain pen was invented.
Earning its name from its original use, the drawing pin was initially used by draughtsmen to hold down their drawings. It is a metal pin usually made of brass, with a flat or domed head.
A piece of rubber used to remove pencil marks from paper. Before rubber became the accepted medium for the purpose, artists, and regular pencil users, would use chunks of stale bread to erase pencil marks.
A loop of elastic used to hold items together. The largest rubber band ball in the world was made by Joel Waul using 700,000 elastic bands. It is more than 8ft (2.4m) tall and weighs 9,032lb (4,097kg).
Electoral Stain
A special type of ink used during elections in many countries. The ink is usually applied to the forefinger of voters as a way to mark those who've voted, preventing instances of electoral fraud like double voting.
The small metal band that holds the eraser at the end of a pencil to the pencil's shaft. Ferrules can be found on many stationery articles, such as pens and paint brushes, used to attach materials to the object's shaft.
A size of writing paper that was once widely used in the UK, before A4 became the standard. It earned its name as paper of this size during the 18th Century bore the watermark of a jester, or a fool's, cap on it.
Invented by Engle Frankmussler in 1884, the machine was designed to allow its users to pay for postage via Royal Mail, without the need for stamps. The first machine ever made had the literal name "Postage Stamp Affixing Machine".
The material used to create the core of a pencil, often mistakenly referred to as "lead". The core is made from a mixture of graphite and clay, allowing for varying hardness. The HB is the most common 'hard' pencil in the UK.
Taking its name from the notorious French method of execution, the paper guillotine is much less terrifying than its namesake. Guillotines are used to cut multiple sheets of paper at once with a perfectly straight edge.
The original and most popular design of paper clips, the classic, favoured design features a distinctive double loop. The design was never patented and still suffers dispute over whether the country of origin was Britain or USA.
A type of pen with a felt tip and flourescent ink, designed to highlight text without obscuring the words. First introduced in 1963 by Carter's Ink Company, they were fist referred to and trademarked as the 'Hi-Liter'.
Helmet Base
Origami base folds are the starting points or foundations, from which you create more complex models in origami. The Helmet Base is one of these, and is the foundation for many hat constructions, such as helmets and party hats.
Inochioge
Sometimes referred to as the 'hairs of life', this is the tip and finest point of a calligraphy brush. The name comes from Japan where calligraphy has formed a predominant part of art and culture for centuries.
Indian Ink is commonly used for comic strips, but has been used in ancient civilisations like China and Egypt for centuries. It is a black ink traditionally made by mixing soot or ash with water, and a binding agent.
This stands for International Standards Organisation. The 216 refers to the 'A' and 'B' ranges of paper sizes, including A4. Most countries around the world adhere to this standard, chiefly excluding the USA and Canada.
The part on a pen cap that fastens the clip to the rest of the lid. The clip is held to the cap by a type of screw, while the jewel fits into the screw opening, hiding the hole and giving the cap a finished appearance.
Credited with bringing printing to Europe, Johannes Gutenberg was a German publisher who invented the printing press in the 15th Century. He is hailed for bringing literacy to the masses, at a time when only the rich had access to books.
Key Lever
A component of a traditional typewriter, concealed by the outer frame. It is responsible for returning keys back to their starting position after they have been pressed, which allows for smooth, unhalted typing.
A type of durable, tear-resistant paper, named after the German word for 'strong'. Kraft paper is often used for packaging, and is produced from wood pulp by removing the elements that make standard writing paper much weaker.
Line Gauge
The ruler found within a printer. These rulers have demarcations that you would not find on standard rulers, such as picas and agates, which denote 'points', or parts of an inch, as typographic units of measurement.
Lascaux, France
In Lascaux, near the town Montignac, evidence of the earliest use of glue was discovered. Neanderthals made cave paintings using paint mixed with glue, to help the paint withstand the moisture of the cave walls.
A small deciduous tree, which formed the chief component of the first piece of paper ever made, by a Chinese official named Ts'ai Lun in about AD 105. He also combined other fibrous material, old rags and hemp waste.
Microsphere Adhesive
The type of adhesive used on Post-its, and similar adhesive notes. Having particles with a small surface area is the special property of microsphere adhesives, allowing them to stick lightly to many hard surfaces.
The name applied to all lowercase letters as opposed to uppercase or 'majuscule' letters. Not all languages place any distinction on these two types of letters, though languages based on Latin and Greek tend to.
The business end of a pen, which comes into contact with the paper or writing surface, to accurately distribute the ink. Depending on the type of pen, nibs are generally pointed with a small surface area.
Norman & Hill
The previous name of the brand now known as Filofax. The company, founded in 1921, decided to change its name in the 1980s, in favour of the name of their massively popular, hero product - the Filofax.
Before clay, wax or paper were adopted as our primary writing mediums, humans used stone, as still evidenced in Egyptian obelisks. These are tall pillars of stone, dating as far back as 2465 BCE, featuring hieroglyphics.
The art of forming objects strictly by folding single pieces of paper. The Japanese art form has never been traced to its precise beginnings, but the first known written document on the art form was produced in 1797.
A stamp collector, or individual who studies and is keenly interested in stamps and related postal items. This can be taken up as a hobby, or as a means of building long term investments, as stamps can become valuable over time.
Commonly mistaken as the first paper produced, papyrus differs greatly from paper in how it is made. Papyrus is derived from the pith of the cyperus papyrus plant, and is then treated. Paper, however, is wholly manufactured.
A key element within a printing press, the platen is a flat plate, which presses the clean paper onto the parallel plate featuring the inked message, transferring the copy onto the paper. This later evolved to a cylindrical roller.
The primary writing instrument used before the invention of pens, such as the first dip pen and later fountain pens. Quills are made from primary-flight feathers from birds, shed naturally during their annual malt.
Quink
Developed by the Parker Pen Company, quink is the name given to a type of ink that was exceptionally fast drying. The name was made by combining the words 'quick' and 'ink', and was initially sold in jars.
Quadrille Pad
A type of paper pad which features a continuous square grid pattern across the entire sheet, as opposed to lined paper or plain paper. This type of ruled paper is commonly used during the practice of mathematics.
Often confused with a ballpoint pen, the key defining qualities of a rollerball are that they use liquid ink, as opposed to oil-based inks. As such, rollerballs tend to write with a more fluid, fine line.
Round Hand
A style of handwriting developed by English writing masters during the 18th Century. It is typified by its rounded, sweeping curves, and the contrast between thin and thick lines. The style was created using metal pointed nibs.
Often confused with 'stationary' (which is the state of non-movement), stationery is the umbrella term applied to writing materials and related articles. The term can also be extended to cover arts and crafts items, plus office supplies
Sometimes referred to as a 'silencer', the stopper on a pair of scissors is usually found on the handle, helping the blades to align correctly when closed. It also acts as a buffer when the finger rings meet.
The process of coating paper or canvas materials with a gelatinous substance to reduce its absorbency, and to make it more robust. This occurs when producing writing paper, and when preparing canvas for painting.
Always present in pairs, two tines make up the narrowest part of the tip of a fountain or calligraphy pen. Tines are divided by a 'split' – the slit separating the two parts, allowing for greater resistance to pressure.
A type of ink that exists as a powder made of pigment and a type of plastic, which is used in laser printers and photocopiers. Via an electrical charge, toner will 'melt' and adhere to paper. Often confused as an ink.
The name given to the open cavity present within an envelope, between the top fold and the back face. It's within this cavity that the contents of the envelope are placed and covered with the top fold, then sealed.
First developed in 1932 by a German chemist named August Fischer, UHU is both the name of a type of glue, as well as the company that manufactures it. It was named after a type of owl, and is actually pronounced 'uw-who'
One of the ways a left-handed person will write using paper and pen. This technique allows the writer to avoid smudging freshly laid ink by positioning their hand under the text that is being written.
A small picture or decorative design often featured on stamps, title pages in books and other publications, or at the start or end of a chapter. These originally featured designs with vine tendrils, present on borders of books.
A type of fine parchment that was used widely throughout the 6th Century AD . It's referred to as a delicate type of parchment as it was originally made from the skin of a calf, kid (a young goat) or lamb.
Vulcanization
The process by which raw rubber, as was used for the first rubbers / erasers, was cured to make them more durable and non-perishable. This became the standard practice for manufacturing rubbers from 1839.
Web Printing
A type of offset printing, or mass production printing, where paper is fed into the machine as a continuous roll of paper as opposed to separate sheets. It's used in high-volume printing, as with newspapers and magazines.
Waterman, Lewis Edson
Noted as the inventor of the capillary dispenser in fountain pens. This new mechanism made fountain pens much more practical to use, as they removed the need for ink dipping, which often resulted in spills and blotches.
X-Height
The measurement that defines the height of lowercase letters in a typeface. As demonstrated by the lowercase letter 'x', it is the halfway line between the 'baseline' - the line that all letters sit on, and the 'cap height'..
Founded in New York in 1906, Xerox is an international company that is best known for their widely used photocopying machines and printers. Engineers at Xerox are accredited with inventing the computer mouse.
The innovative pen created by US based Waterman Pen Company in 1954. It was made in direct response to the Parker 61 – a revolutionary self-filling pen. Waterman's pen improved on the Parker by simplifying the filling process.
Yapp Binding
A form of bookbinding using leather to cover a book, with edges that project further than the book's sheets. This protects the paper from damage. The technique was named after William Yapp, who first made use of the style..
Similar to the colour 'mustard', Yellowstone is a unique and distinctive colour that was notably used with the Parker '51' Vacumatic Filling pens with Blue Diamond clip. Made in the 1940's, these classic pens are collectables.
Yoshizawa-Randlett System
The accepted standard system that outlines and describes the folds of origami models, via a series of clear and easy to understand diagrams. Devised by Yoshizawa and added to by Randlett, it endures as the accepted system today.
Zebra Co Ltd
Known simply as Zebra Pen, the company was founded in New York, with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. In 1897, the company's founder Tokumatsu Ishikawa, manufactured and sold the very first domestically produced metal nibs.
Zaffre
Similar to smalt, zaffre is a mixture made by combining cobalt oxide and silica to form a blue pigment. This blue pigment has been historically used by painters, especially in Europe, as well as in pottery and ceramic decoration.
A type of magazine that is self-published and distributed, to a limited circulation of no more than 1,000. Zines can be handwritten and manually photocopied and stapled together. They usually feature content on a niche topic.
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A sheet metal hole cutting kit is a self explanatory tool used for cutting accurately sized holes in thin sheet metal quickly and easily.
Sheet metal hole cutting kits generally consist of a central drill section and a range of different cutting blades to create different sized holes.
Sheet metal cutting kits differ from hole saws in that they are specifically designed for metal cutting although you can buy hole saws for metal), they generally cut faster and last longer too.