text:
Nirmukta
The Nirmukta Freethought Community › PHILOSOPHY › Secular Humanism
Understanding causation in social/cultural contexts
Kanad Kanhere
Likes Received: 109 in 74 posts
Often in conversations, when its pointed out that so and so is caused by culture or some social systems, some typical objections come up. I would like to dedicate this thread to counter these standard objections.
Before those counter arguments can be presented some definitions need to be understood
1. Necessary condition: A cause that is necessary for an effect. The effect cannot happen in absence of the necessary condition. E.g. wind is a necessary condition for wind mill's operation.
2. Sufficient condition: A cause that is sufficient for an effect. Given the cause the effect will certainly happen. e.g. Deadly venom is sufficient to cause death.
A point to be noted is that Necessary condition needn't be a sufficient condition and vice versa. i.e. Wind might be necessary for wind mill's operation but it is not sufficient. Proper functioning of other mechanisms is needed as well. Similarly deadly venom is sufficient to cause death but not necessary one. Death can be caused by various other reasons.
Coming back to the standard objections
Objection 1: Citing X person/group as exception
Objection 2: Effects exists even without the claimed causes.
Objection 3: Changing the claimed cause won't bring about change in the effect.
Lets consider an example that doesn't carry any moral baggage for easy evaluation.
Claim: Speakers produce music.
Objection 1: But I have a pair of 20 year old speakers that do not produce music.
Objection 2: But guitars do not have speakers and they still produce music.
Objection 3: Removing the speakers is not going to stop music as the live orchestra will still be audible.
The above objections sound inane because everybody understands what exactly the claim is and how the objections are not applicable in the correct context.
But now consider topics that get hotly debated.
1. Caste based discrimination leads to restricted growth opportunities
Objection 1: But Dr Ambedkar accomplished a lot even when there was a lot of caste based discrimination.
2. Misogyny in Indian culture leads to rapes
Objection 2: But this happens even in west.
3. Slurs lead to bigoted culture.
Objection 3: Stopping the usage of slurs is not going to change the culture.
We need to understand that causes in real life are extremely complicated. Most effects that we experience are not caused by "necessary" conditions and neither by sufficient conditions. Driving rashly is not going to necessarily cause an accident and driving safely is not a sufficient condition for avoiding accidents. Real world effects have a lot of causes and associated complexity.
Hence we need to understand claims just like the speaker example. The evaluation should be done based on probabilities, similarity of circumstances, and how presence and absence of the cause in right context makes a difference.
The following 4 users Like Kanad Kanhere's post:4 users Like Kanad Kanhere's post
anupambam, Captain Mandrake, SwatiNair, unsorted
SwatiNair
Nirmukt Noobie
This should probably be on the blog, methinks.
Captain Mandrake
Veteran of Freethought
23-Apr-2013, 07:43 PM (This post was last modified: 23-Apr-2013, 07:57 PM by Captain Mandrake.)
(23-Apr-2013, 12:01 PM)Kanad Kanhere Wrote: 1. Caste based discrimination leads to restricted growth opportunities
I think some of the objections can be avoided by modifying the claims from "X lead(s) to Y" to a less emphatic construction "X can lead to Y".
arvindiyer
Likes Received: 607 in 315 posts
One interesting coinage that helps avoid the traps like the fallacy of the single cause and the fallacy of necessity, is nexus causality. The following article is a useful aid to promote a better understanding of causality, notwithstanding its daunting title.
Nexus causality, moral warfare and misattribution arbitrage
The notion of nexus causality is useful in several topics discussed here:
- While there is a tendency among some liberal commentators to ascribe acts of violence by fundamentalists wholly to deprivation and othering, religious motivations are very much part of the causal nexus and far from simply coincidental. (Related discussion)
- Suggesting that an average man and and average woman under the BPL category are equally disadvantaged ignores the causal nexus of gender and caste that results in intersectional marginalization. (Related discussion)
The following 3 users Like arvindiyer's post:3 users Like arvindiyer's post
anupambam, Captain Mandrake, Kanad Kanhere
Another objection, that I often come across, is around localization of causality to individuals, even when the causal ownership is attributed to a system.
For e.g. I had a discussion with one of my friends on causal link between violent video games and increase in random teenage violence. He cited articles that concluded with skepticism on the causal link. The problem with those articles was that they used a very restrictive meaning of causality i.e. they used the following parameters to check for a causal link
1. Did a teenager, who frequently played violent video games, commit violent acts more often than others.
2. Did a teenager, who committed some random violent acts, played violent video games.
This is trying to deduce a direct causal link, rather than the indirect systematic causation which is typically claimed. The claim is that exposing teenagers to violent video games desensitizes them towards violence, which leads to a culture where violent acts are on the rise. This subtle distinction is missed more often than not even in the case of culture of misogyny, culture of homophobia etc.
The following 1 user Likes Kanad Kanhere's post:1 user Likes Kanad Kanhere's post
anupambam
08-May-2013, 06:48 AM (This post was last modified: 08-May-2013, 06:51 AM by Captain Mandrake.)
(08-May-2013, 06:00 AM)Kanad Kanhere Wrote: 1. Did a teenager, who frequently played violent video games, commit violent acts more often than others.
This is trying to deduce a direct causal link, rather than the indirect systematic causation which is typically claimed.
Not sure those two examples are trying to deduce a causal link. But don't such studies atleast have the capability to establish correlation? The causal link might just be a hypothesis which has to be tested using more clever studies after correlation is established.
(08-May-2013, 06:48 AM)Captain Mandrake Wrote: Not sure those two examples are trying to deduce a causal link. But don't such studies atleast have the capability to establish correlation? The causal link might just be a hypothesis which has to be tested using more clever studies after correlation is established.
I agree that those studies are capable to establish positive correlation, but only at individual levels. What matters is correlation at system level i.e. something like "countries with more teenagers playing violent video games vs countries with less teenagers playing violent video games". That can be complicated because of so many other cultural aspects.
The point was to show how those studies don't really debunk the claim. The claimed causation is Violent-Video-games -> Desensitization -> Culture-that-trivializes-violence -> More-violent-acts. This can't be reduced to individual levels and hence the studies checking the 2 points that I have mentioned earlier don't help.
(08-May-2013, 08:37 PM)Kanad Kanhere Wrote:
Yes the differences in cultural aspects will make it difficult to make an apple to apple comparison. But what do we hope to achieve by that comparison? After all American teenagers are going to play their games and commit (or not) their violent acts in America and Australian teenagers are going to play their games and commit (or not) their violent acts in Australia. Just trying to find a relationship between these phenomena with in a country/society might be possible and can be useful.
(08-May-2013, 08:37 PM)Kanad Kanhere Wrote: The point was to show how those studies don't really debunk the claim. The claimed causation is Violent-Video-games -> Desensitization -> Culture-that-trivializes-violence -> More-violent-acts. This can't be reduced to individual levels and hence the studies checking the 2 points that I have mentioned earlier don't help.
Yes. Those studies do not have the capability to test the claim about causation or correlation even if we are only talking about an individual. But such studies can be improved by seeking answers to these questions about a population living in a sufficiently similar culture/society.
Quote: What % of teenagers in the US who commit violets acts have a history of playing violent video games? What % of teenagers in the US play violent video games? Is there a statistically significant difference in these %s?
Data on video game consumption (eg. time spent online playing games) and crime statistics should be available. So answers to these questions must also be available. The answers can be valuable in that they can at least confirm whether or not a correlation exists. If there is no correlation then we can conclude that causation do not exist.
But if we find that correlation exists then we will have to devise clever experiments or painstakingly mine available data to test if there is a causal link. And if a causal link is established we will then have to further devise more intricate experiments to test out the hypothesized causal pathway (Violent-Video-games -> Desensitization -> Culture-that-trivializes-violence -> More-violent-acts).
I understand that your posts are really not about violent video games and violent acts. As per my interpretation of your posts the points (correct me if I am wrong) you were making are the following.
1) In trying to find causal links between two phenomena in social contexts we should not be relying on data about individuals.
2) We should instead be looking for system level causal link but then when we take a system level approach there are so many confounding factors that it will be difficult to test if there is a causal link.
I agree with you on 1). And on 2) though I agree that the system level problem is made difficult because of confounding factors it may not be unsolvable. We may be be able to break the problem into smaller parts and get an answer to your question about causation subject to some simplifying assumptions and caveats.
The following 1 user Likes Captain Mandrake's post:1 user Likes Captain Mandrake's post
(09-May-2013, 08:43 AM)Captain Mandrake Wrote: 1) In trying to find causal links between two phenomena in social contexts we should not be relying on data about individuals.
I agree on all counts. I would also like to add is that for 2) step-wise data could be sufficient to imply cultural level causation. For e.g. if there is data to show violent video games lead to desensitization, and then there is different data to show that cultures with higher levels of indifference towards violence lead to more acts of violence, then we have sufficient evidence to claim "violent video games lead to increased violent acts".
(24-Apr-2013, 01:34 AM)arvindiyer Wrote: One interesting coinage that helps avoid the traps like the fallacy of the single cause and the fallacy of necessity, is nexus causality. The following article is a useful aid to promote a better understanding of causality, notwithstanding its daunting title.
This recent BBC news item illustrates one important contemporary instance of nexus causality that is relevant worldwide, while examining the flipside of using slogans like "Every 10 seconds, a child dies of hunger."
Does a child die of hunger every 10 seconds?
Quote: The fact that poor nutrition is identified as an underlying cause of death means that there's also some double counting going on. When you hear that one child dies every few seconds from water-related diseases, for example- or from poverty - some of these children will be the same ones that are said to be dying every few seconds from hunger.
I have also observed that lack of naturalistic perspective leads to a lot of resistance to the acceptance of influence of culture. The illusion of free-will is compelling. Additionally it takes a certain amount of rebellion in an individual's part to become a freethinker in our present society. This leads to overemphasis on individual choices and underemphasis on cultural causation.
Hence, in my experience, in lot of discussions, there is this suppressed premise that "if individuals change, the culture will change. Hence its individual's fault". This view is not logically unsound, but it is disconnected from reality. We are caused beings and culture has immense role in making us who we are. This reductionism of society to collection of individuals is not helpful. Additionally there is great benefit for individuals to maintain status quo [please refer system justification theory]. All this means that dismantling unjust cultural systems is of greater value than demanding people to "just change".
To explain the above I would like to use example of Sati system.
Sati was prevalent about 300 years back. And now it is banned. And not just that, but considered totally evil by most. Then how could such an evil system be practiced back in those days? There is no reason for us to believe that biology of Indians has changed over a period of couple of centuries, resulting in us being *more ethical*. There is no reason to believe that conscience of Indians got drastically better in a span of decades. What is more likely is that the works of Raja Rammohan Roy and his peers, against the practice of Sati, lead to a cultural change and eventual ban of the system.
26-Jun-2013, 10:10 PM (This post was last modified: 27-Jun-2013, 12:29 AM by arvindiyer.)
(26-Jun-2013, 04:16 PM)Kanad Kanhere Wrote: I have also observed that lack of naturalistic perspective leads to a lot of resistance to the acceptance of influence of culture. The illusion of free-will is compelling. Additionally it takes a certain amount of rebellion in an individual's part to become a freethinker in our present society. This leads to overemphasis on individual choices and underemphasis on cultural causation.
One way of illustrating the interplay between both top-down (policy-initiated) and bottom-up (aggregated-collective-preference-based) influences is to consider the history of reorganization of Indian states on a linguistic basis.
(i) A spoken language evolves or 'speciates' by a process of 'mutual accommodation of speakers' in local communities, a process that is largely 'emergent' and bottom-up. Influential literary figures (really, members of literary movements) can establish status as a literary language for contemporary forms of a spoken language. Cases in point are the role of patronage structures as well as the agenda of progressive groupings (that maybe treated as more top-down influences) in the development of modern Kannada literature and Telugu literature. In other words, it was not just a coincidence of changing individual reading tastes that shaped the use of written language in late colonial India.
(ii) In independent India, we might say that state boundaries made a Kannada-speaker more Kannada or a Marathi-speaker more Marathi, besides the bottom-up influence of a given language being their mother-tongue. Pending state boundaries, linguistic communities merge into each other and floating populations are casually multilingual to this day. Administrative boundaries enforce a sort of linguistic consolidation which being raised speaking a mother-tongue alone does not seem sufficient to accomplish, through measures like establishment of schools with the defining language as the medium of instruction. It would be reasonable to assume, for instance, that there is more Kannada spoken in Belgaum today thanks to its appropriation into Karnataka and resultant administrative decisions, than would have been if there were no linguistic states.
Here are some earlier discussions about how inadequately acknowledging either top-down or bottom-up influences can adversely affect understanding of social phenomena and the quality of proposed solutions:
(i) State response to riotous behavior will be inadequate if unmindful of social mobilization and treated simply as a coincidence of individual delinquency and hooliganism.
(ii) Undue confidence in legislative silver bullets (eg. Jan Lok Pal) at the cost of slackening attitudinal and behavioral change on part of individual citizens, can result in such initiatives lapsing into an unrealistic transcendental institutionalism.
(iii) The same person can be harmed as an individual (say by a pickpocketing incident at a fair) or harmed as part of a society (due to unreasonable tax policies of the administration). Therefore there is relevance for two ways of doing good, through one-off acts of individual assistance as well as through advocacy and activism for social change, and to eschew one in the name of the other will leave everyone with a feeling of 'something missing'.
Understanding people's behavior in different cultures Kanad Kanhere 1 7,235 02-Mar-2014, 07:04 AM
Last Post: arvindiyer
Current time: 20-Jan-2021, 04:12 PM


text:
import { upperFirst } from 'lodash';

export default str => upperFirst(str);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


This week SST staff members are attending the Christian Leadership Alliance's (CLA) annual conference in our hometown, Dallas. The conference promotes "powerful interactive sessions on Christ-centered thought leadership and practical, biblically-based professional development". Furthermore, this conference serves as a great opportunity for our team members to network with our clients and friends in the nonprofit ministry based community. Keynote speakers at the conference include Danielle Strickland, Kelly Minter, and Derwin Gray of Transformation Church. For more information on the conference click here.
Salmon Sims Thomas and Associates has over thirty years of experience serving the needs of nonprofits with industry specialists who have honed their knowledge and skills to serve those in ministry. If you are attending the conference this week be sure to stop by our booth to speak with someone on our team who can answer your questions, we would love to get to know you. If you stop by our booth, be sure to enter your name to win a Fitbit!


The Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alluded to rumours that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) colluded with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone the 2019 general elections.
The spokesperson of the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign, Mr Festus Keyamo, said in a statement early Saturday that the campaign council was aware of rumours that INEC's postponement of the Presidential/National Assembly and Gubernatorial/House of Assembly elections to February 23 and March 9, respectively, was orchestrated by the PDP.
The statement reads: "This news is, therefore, a huge disappointment to us and to our teeming supporters nationwide and around the world, many of whom have come into the country to exercise their franchise", the statement reads.


On September 28, the Dutch-led joint investigation team (JIT) reported the first results from its investigation into the July 17, 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. The flight, which originated in Amsterdam, was bound for Kuala Lumpur with 298 people on board. It crashed in eastern Ukraine, in an area of heavy fighting, with no survivors.
In a public address, the JIT emphasized the following points. First, evidence suggested that MH17 was downed by a surface-to-air missile. Four scenarios were initially considered, including a Russian Ministry of Defense version citing an «air-to-air» incident in which the civilian airliner could have been brought down by a military aircraft (although the Ministry of Defense recently refuted the statement.) The second objective was to establish from where the BUK missile was fired and who was responsible, the Ukrainian Army or pro-Russian separatists.
According to the JIT report, MH17 was shot down by a Buk 9M38 missile launched from a self-propelled BUK-TELAR mobile launcher positioned in a field near the village of Pervomayskiy. The area was at the time under the control of pro-Russian separatist troops. The Buk was transported to Ukraine from Russian territory, and returned to Russian territory following the attack.
«That we knew», was the surprising unanimous reaction of supporters of various versions. Some wearily stated that the Russian footprint was evident even two years ago. Others were angry, purporting that the evidence was falsified and Ukraine is clearly behind the incident.
Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova expressed disappointment: «The investigation was biased and politically motivated. Enough is enough». Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in an attempt to be more neutral, stated that the JIT report cannot be considered the «final truth». A representative of Almaz-Antey, manufacturer of the missile system, noted that the JIT had not conducted a test firing accurately.
Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke, head of the JIT, stated that Ukraine was the scene of the incident and therefore was represented in the group (however Ukraine's position in the JIT was discussed separately, as the country is also a participant in the military conflict that resulted in the incident, and is therefore an interested party); for Russia there are questions, many of which remain «up in the air». For example, there is still no response to a request for information from the primary radar data.
There was a question about the MH17 crash investigation from Almaz-Antey (the essence of which is the Buk in question was a part of the Ukrainian Army's arsenal). Was that taken into account? According to the JIT, that information was taken into account but did not impact the final conclusion.
Another popular question direct to the JIT's Ukrainian representative focused on why Ukrainian airspace over the conflict zone was not closed. The Dutch attorney headed off this line of questioning by noting that the matter is not the focus of the investigation. The topic was covered in the October 2015 report from the Dutch Security council, which noted that the Ukrainian regulatory authorities had every reason to close the airspace completely rather than only place limitations on flight altitude.
Incidentally, several flights were in the sky at the same time as MH17, and air traffic over Ukraine has always been heavy. This route is favourable, as well as raises an average $200 million annually in overfly revenues, and the routes are shorter and less expensive for airlines. The Dutch Security Council pointed out that it is the responsibility of the airlines to determine what routes are flown.
The MH17 crash has become one of the ten worst aviation disasters of all time based on the number of victims, and the crash has captivated the international media for some time, with stories of the suffering of victims' families, travelers' fears of flights over the conflict zone, US and European sanctions against Russia, economic losses; as well as the covers of leading magazines featuring Putin along with the aircraft, threats by politicians, and the popular thirst for a tribunal.
But it has been two years and all the reactions – human, social, political, economic – are in the past. The results announced yesterday surprised no one. Although the announcement was covered in the media, the main stories in the business press focused on problems with Deutsche Bank and OPEC's statement on limiting oil production. The Dutch press covered the story in abbreviated fashion, giving just information with few photographs. This terribly tragedy, which killed almost 300 people, has been permanently removed from the list of hot topics and reduced to boring legalese. The public will certainly forget the story.
The investigation continues, says prosecutor Westerbeke, but he gave no timeframe and made no promises. He noted only that the main stage – bringing the case to court and punishing the criminals – lies ahead. One can speculate on these words, build conspiracy theories – but then there are the relatives of the 192 victims from Holland. For a country of 17 million, this is a major tragedy.
Russia alleges that the the investigation is intended to defame Russia and cover for Ukraine. But what possible motive could the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Australia and Malaysia have to cover for Ukraine? There is none. The more obvious motive is to find out who killed their citizens. If the evidence had been different, it would have been made no less public that the BUK system didn't originate from Russia.
The JIT report noted that during the investigation, approximately 100 people were identified who could in some way be associated with the attack on the airliner or with the BUK missile system.
Westerbeke called on witnesses to cooperate. According to the JIT website (www.jitmh17.com), «the investigation team is paying particular attention to the safety of witnesses, and we are ready to take all possible measures to ensure your safety». The founders of bellingcat.com, a resource for investigative journalists, states «they expect that someone will give himself up». The evidentiary requirements are high, as they will need to withstand possible criticism in the courtroom. According to Westerbeke, it is too early to speculate about what the court will discuss.
Several groups of relatives of victim have filed lawsuits against Ukraine, Malaysia, Russia and Malaysia Airlines. Three families from Germany believe that blame should lie with Ukraine for not closing the airspace over the war zone. Representatives of 33 victims from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia filed a civil complaint with the ECHR against Russia and Vladimir Putin. As compensation, the lawsuit demanded $10 million to be paid to each victim's family.
In a Chicago court, 18 families of victims filed suit against Russian citizen Igor Strelkov (Girkin), and demanded compensation in the amount of $900 million.
And what about the Tribunal? Last year, Russia blocked a UN Security Council resolution on the tribunal but it can still be established based on agreement between Ukraine and an international organization such as the UN or the Council of Europe, said Marat Davletbaev, head of the international practice at Nektorov, Saveliev & Partners.
As examples, Davletbaev cites the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2002, which investigated crimes committed during the civil war, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2007, which investigated the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
This Tribunal will be endowed with criminal jurisdiction over Ukraine, making it possible to investigate crimes on Ukrainian territory. The experience of international tribunals suggests that the proceedings could last for years.
Such a tribunal cannot prosecute a state, but rather private individuals. Among these could be officials of any country, including Russia, Davletbaev explains. But the Tribunal's decision will not be binding for Russia, and a country has the right to refuse the extradition of its citizens.
It turns out that from a legal point of view, Russia can ignore any tribunal decision. Of course, political risks remain, including the potential for tightened sanctions. But it seems that Russia has already reached the point of no return in this respect.
Meanwhile, the Russian government persists in its denial, the State news agency TASS states on its website that alleged separatists downed a Ukrainian transport airplane. The report dated 17 July, 2014.


text:
La Druivenkoers è una corsa in linea di ciclismo su strada maschile che si disputa annualmente a Overijse, in Belgio. Dal 2005 fa parte del calendario dell'UCI Europe Tour come evento di classe 1.1.

Creata nel 1961, fino al 1969 si svolgeva come criterium, mentre dal 1970 è una corsa in linea internazionale. I ciclisti che hanno ottenuto il maggior numero di vittorie nella corsa sono i belgi Roger De Vlaeminck e Björn Leukemans, con quattro successi ciascuno (Leukemans consecutivamente).

Albo d'oro
Aggiornato all'edizione 2022.

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Galatians 5:7 – You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
Paul was addressing the legalism that had impacted the churches in the area of Galatia. Legalism is disobedience to the truth. The Galatians had made a good start in the Christian life, but someone had hindered them. This hinderance came at the hands of the Judaizers and the false apostles of their day. By accepting their faulty teachings, the saints were disobeying the truth of God and not living in the grace that was available to them through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Hinderances to your faith can come in many different ways and forms. This past week, in the Nashville area, winter weather was able to hinder many of us from our regular routine of life. As the snow fell the first day, it was exciting and the kids we happy to be out of school and able to go sledding down the hills of this area. But by the 4th and 5th day of bad weather, everyone was beginning to pray this would all just pass on by. It truly is amazing how easy it is for us to be hindered by weather.
Just like the weather can hinder your ability to get out of your house and drive to the grocery store, there are things, though out of your control, that can hinder your relationship with God. Notice this week's verse starts out with "You ran well." You see, there was an earlier time in these believers lives where their faith was strong in the Lord and their lives were quite productive. But they took their eyes off God and began to do things in their own strength trying to please the Lord. Is there something that is hindering your relationship with the Lord? Are there outside influences that are taking your attention away from God? Your challenge this week is to practice praising God no matter what outside pressures are pulling at you. For instance, do you have a favorite worship song that lifts your spirit when you hear it on the radio? Get a copy of that song and listen to it a couple times a day and let the music minister to you. Find a scripture that encourages you to worship the Lord. For example, Psalm 66:4 "All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name." These ways will help you rise above your hinderances and rest in the goodness of God. Finally, I ask you to read this next statement slowly and consider how true this really is. "The more you pray, the less you panic. The more you worship, the less you worry." Let that sink into your mind and heart until you feel the pressures of this life falling away. God bless you.


So Your Talent is Going Unrecognized?
Webs.com is an awesome free website provider. I need another website like a hole in the head but found myself building one at 2am on Webs.com and couldn't believe how user friendly and easy to navigate this website builder was. You get a large selection of templates and a well designed easy to use control panel for adding pictures, video, text, and social sharing buttons. You can create multiple web pages and even add custom HTML code. The site you create will be search engine friendly and is set up with an option for adding Google Analytics. A free mobile version is also available. Since this service is free ads may appear on your website and be sure to read the terms of service about the content you put on the site. Simply adding headshots, a demo real, and a filmography are ideal for this service, you can always upgrade to remove the ads.
Openfilm.com is a pioneering independent film site which allows you to upload HD film up to 2 gigs and create a user profile for free. They offer funding for independent films, film distribution, and keep members up to date with the latest film festivals excepting submissions. James Caan is on board with openfilm so I can't think of a better way to close this article then with words from a legend. I highly recommend watching James Caan in the movie Thief, directed by Michael Mann. My favorite scenes are when James Belushie's character gets killed with a shotgun blast and the ending bedroom scene that shows just how hard it is to kill a man, well done film.


That previous link doesn't work. This is the correct link.
Stats are out! Unfortunately, we were not able to find the scoresheet for the final (our attempts to find it account for some of the delay). Sorry for any inconvenience. For any corrections, please email us.
We have just been PACE Platinum Certified! This means that the top 25% of teams will qualify for NSC Nationals in Chicago!
Are nationals playoff stats going up, or are they not available for some reason?
Will stats for this tourney be up soon?
Can high school teams play at college sites?
Hunter could bring two buzzer sets if it would be convenient. Also, would it be possible for us to get an invoice? My email is luke1865@gmail.com. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Also, I would like to ask again: what metrics were used to seed teams for this event?
Where are stats for the main site?
I would love to see a regional vote breakdown. I always wonder if people overrate or underrate teams they play regularly. There are interesting arguments in both sides.
Is this open to high school teams?
Topic: Would You Recommend Working for NHBB?
Re: Would You Recommend Working for NHBB?
AKKOLADE wrote: Numbers instead of speculation.
My analysis would be that it was somewhere in between 2014 and 2015 in difficulty level. I would really object to the idea that the field was weaker than last year in a significant way.
Topic: 2016 NAQT HSNCT: Congratulations Hunter!
Re: 2016 NAQT HSNCT: Congratulations Hunter!
You might already know about this, but there was an MUT mirror at Penn that a lot of teams played. I usually play for Hunter, but I went solo under a pseudonym that I have used under numerous occasions (Spuyten Duyvil).
I find this projection for Hunter very optimistic, and I think High Tech is a little under ranked.
Spuyten Duyvil is interested in maybe, potentially attending this event.
Spuyten Duyvil is interested in maybe potentiallly attending this tournament.
I really enjoyed the set and the tournament. Great job, Harvard! Just a quick question, when will playoff stats be up?
Is this only open to New Jersey teams?
Topic: 2015 Natl. Quiz Bowl Awards: Congratulations to the Winners!
Did the nominating committee take NHBB performance into account?
I think the power idea is awesome. I had actually thought about that for a sec once and dismissed myself as crazy. I think this would help reward knowledge.
Did anyone else think that the JV and Varsity finals played out in an almost eerily similar fashion? Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that the course of the two games was remarkably similar.


text:
Q: React / Unit Test (Jest) click method with preventDefault So I got a little issue I am stumped with...
I have a Link component which will either go to a specific route via a to prop, if a certain condition is met. If that condition is not met, that link, when clicked, will do something else (launch a custom modal, in my case).
I have a class method which is bound to an onClick handler on my Link component
// Card.jsx

import Link from 'components/Link';

...

static props = {
  condition: PropTypes.bool
};

constructor(props) {
  this.state = {
    showModal: false
  };
}

...

goToUrlOrLaunchModal() {
  return (
    <Link
      to="www.google.com"
      onClick={this.handleClick}
    />
  );
}

...

handleClick(e) {
  const { condition } = this.props;

  if (!condition) {
    e.preventDefault();

    this.setState({
      showModal: true
    });
  }
}

My issue is with unit testing. I have a unit test for clicking the link when condition is false
// Card.test.js

...

import renderer from 'react-test-renderer';

...

const event = {
  preventDefault: jest.fn()
};

const component = renderer.create(<Card>).getInstance();

instance.handleClick(event);
expect(event.preventDefault).toHaveBeenCalled();
expect(instance.state.showModal).toBe(true);

Where I am getting lost is testing the other side - when condition is true, I do not need to call preventDefault or perform any logic after that. I do not need anything in handleClick to fire. The only logic in handleClick is for when condition is false.
The logic to go to the route when clicking the Link component is fine, it's just the unit test for when condition is true.
I need to test that preventDefault has not been called, and that instance.state.showModal is to be true, but I am stumped. Here is what I keep thinking it has to be, but cannot get past it...
const event = {
  preventDefault: jest.fn()
};

expect(instance.handleManageClick).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
expect(event.preventDefault).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
expect(instance.state.showModal).toBe(false);

If anyone has some guidance, would be very much appreciated! Thank you!

A: I got to the answer, thanks to the help of Andrew who commented on the initial post.
Here is what I did:
// Card.test.js

const event = {
  preventDefault: jest.fn()
};

const component = renderer.create(<Card>).getInstance();

const spy = jest.spyOn(instance, 'handleManageClick');

expect(spy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
expect(event.preventDefault).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
expect(instance.state.showModal).toBe(false);

Thanks for your help!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Alfonso Farina
BoG 2019-2021); Outstanding Organizational Leadership Award Chair, AESS Distinguished Lecturer (2017-2019); IEEE Fellow; Technical Operations Education Coordinator
Selex (Retired)
Alfonso FARINA , LFIEEE, FIET, FREng, Fellow of EURASIP, received the doctor degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Rome (IT) in 1973. In 1974, he joined Selenia, then Selex ES, where he became Director of the Analysis of Integrated Systems Unit and subsequently Director of Engineering of the Large Business Systems Division. In 2012, he was Senior VP and Chief Technology Officer of the company, reporting directly to the President. From 2013 to 2014, he was senior advisor to the CTO. He retired in October 2014. From 1979 to 1985, he was also professor of "Radar Techniques" at the University of Naples (IT). He is the author of more than 800 peer-reviewed technical publications and of books and monographs (published worldwide), some of them also translated in to Russian and Chinese. Some of the most significant awards he's received include: (2004) Leader of the team that won the First Prize of the first edition of the Finmeccanica Group (45,000 employees) Award for Innovation Technology, out of more than 330 submitted projects by the Companies of Finmeccanica Group; (2005) International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, U.K., and the fellowship was presented to him by HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh; (2010) IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications for "Continuous, Innovative, Theoretical, and Practical Contributions to Radar Systems and Adaptive Signal Processing Techniques"; (2012) Oscar Masi award for the AULOS® "green" radar by the Italian Industrial Research Association (AIRI); (2014) IET Achievement Medal for "Outstanding contributions to radar system design, signal, data and image processing, and data fusion". He is a Visiting Professor at University College London (UCL), Dept. Electronic and Electrical Engineering, CTIF (Center for TeleInFrastructures) Industry Advisory Chair, and a Distinguished Lecturer (DL) of IEEE AESS.
(2017) IEEE SPS Industrial Leader Award for contributions to radar array processing and industrial leadership.
(Since 2017) Chair of Italy Section Chapter, IEEE AESS-10.
(Jan 2018-Dec2019) IEEE Signal Processing Society 2018, Distinguished Industry Lecturer.
(Jan 2019-Dec 2021) Member of the IEEE AESS BoG.
Main received best paper awards: B. Carlton of IEEE – Trans. on AES (2001, 2003, and 2013), IET – Proc. on Radar Sonar and Nav. (2009-2010) and Int. Conf. on Fusion (2004, 2009).
(2018): Associate Editor, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine.
(2018-2019): Visiting professor at Cranfield University, UK.
(2019-2021): Member of the Board of Governors, IEEE AESS.
(2020): Honorary chair of IEEE RadarCon, Florence (www.radarconf20.org).
The 26 October 2018 he was interviewed at RAI Storia for the "70° anniversario di Leonardo Company" ("70th anniversary of Leonardo Company"). A 3 minute trailer is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYarcsoiyC8
Please, see also:
"A CONVERSATION WITH FRIEND: ALFONSO FARINA", interviewer: Fulvio GINI, IEEE AES SYSTEMS MAGAZINE, June 2016, pp. 41-49. IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society.
Technical Areas of Interest:
Radar Systems, Adaptive Beamforming, Tracking Algorithms, Systems Engineering
alfonso.farina@outlook.it
M. Barry Carlton Award
Award Citation:
"Impact of clutter spectra on radar performance prediction", IEEE Trans. on AES, Vol. 37, No. 3, July, 2001, pp. 1022-1038.
IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal
For continuous, innovative, theoretical and practical contributions to radar systems and adaptive signal processing techniques
"Spatial Adaptive Subspace Detection in OTH Radar", IEEE Trans on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, October 2003, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 1407-1428
Fred Nathanson Memorial Radar Award
For development of radar data processing techniques
"Knowledge-Aided (Potentially Cognitive) Transmit Signal and Receive Filter Design in Signal-Dependent Clutter"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The problem with making predictions – even ones that seem distant on the horizon – is that eventually, time passes and it becomes clear whether you were right or wrong.
IBM Corp. is now in its fifth year of its Next Five in Five predictions, in which it attempts to synthesize emerging technology trends with societal progress and predict five ways technology will significantly change our lives five years hither. For 2011, they're predictions include talking to 3D holographic representations of our friends, batteries that you can recharge by giving a shake, and reduced traffic congestion because of intelligent road reporting systems.
But the really interesting thing about IBM having done this for five years now is we can look back and see how the first set of predictions have panned out. Douglas Heintzman is the director of strategy for IBM's Lotus division and discussed the 2006 predictions at IBM's Battle of the Brains (more formally called the Association for Computing Machinery's International Collegiate Programming Contest or ACM ICPC) in Orlando. Heintzman wouldn't deliver a pass or fail verdict on the predictions, but I'm happy enough to provide those.
The prediction: IBM said that we'd use wireless sensors to track metrics about our health, participate in a virtual check-in with doctors via video-conferencing, and medical records would be made electronic and accessible online by patients.
While access to electronic health records is hardly a universal experience now, IBM's vision of remote healthcare portals being used to manage chronic conditions has come true. Take for example the Atlantic Health Sciences Corp. in Saint John, N.B. that has a Web portal its diabetic patients use to track their blood sugar levels and learn about how to better manage their condition. Governments are investing in electronic health records and pushing stubborn doctors into adopting them. Software vendors such as Microsoft Corp. have released programs like Health Vault designed to let people be the arbiters of their permanent health records.
The prediction: IBM was enthusiastic about Linden Labs' Second Life and saw those sort of immersive and graphical virtual destinations becoming more mainstream. Virtual worlds would no longer exist in isolated silos, but be interconnected.
The hype around Second Life in 2006 was at a fever pitch, but the temperature quickly dipped and our Internet looks pretty much like it did five years ago, with a few more Flash animations and embedded video. Instead of 3D virtual worlds, we're spending most of our time on the Web exchanging text and photos on social networks like Facebook.
If the avatars' facial expressions had changed to match our real expressions by using video-mapping technology, that would add emotional context to online exchanges, he says. Or if users could enter and exit conversations more naturally – say by approaching a group and hearing the conversation get louder, or leaving a group and hearing those voices fade away.
Meanwhile, social networking technology has managed to hit the nail on the head. "Social networking allows for serendipitous alignment of people that are thinking through the same problem sets," Heintzman says.
But Heintzman says we may yet see 3D worlds fill more online spaces, perhaps combining with current social networking technology.
The prediction: Mobile devices would use presence technology to learn and adapt to the preferences and needs of users, IBM said. Phones would learn about a user's whereabouts and likes and react intelligently to meet them.
Thanks to GPS and Wi-Fi hotspot mapping by the likes of Google, our smartphones are now aware of our location within a few meters. Other apps remind us of our errands when we're near a store where we can complete that task. Bluetooth pairing allows our mobile devices to start working with wireless headsets or computers as soon as they're within range.
Heintzman enjoyed his devices' context-aware abilities while visiting Sea World. "I pulled up satellite mode on Google Maps to help me navigate around the park," he says.
The prediction: IBM thought we'd be using technology equivalent to Star Trek's universal translator – allowing two people speaking different languages to understand each other fluidly.
Though IBM's MASTOR project is still in the works to allow for real-time, two-way translation of free form conversational speech, this is still a future aspiration more than a present reality. A beta version of Google Tranlsate allows for speech to text translation for some languages, but its execution is far from perfect. Even text-to-text translation is still imperfect, often resulting in confusing or humourous translations.
Heintzman says IBM's Watson computer could help better translate languages, because it has the semantic understanding to evaluate what it is saying. Current translation technology relies on brute-force analysis of syntax and grammar, which doesn't always turn out well.
The prediction: Nanotechnology – literally the programming of molecule-sized robots and organisms – would be used to improve water distribution and filtration, and more efficiently capture solar power, IBM predicted.
The verdict: Pass – mostly.
Solar panels have progressed in the past five years thanks to the use of nanotechnology applications. San Jose, Calif.-based Nanosolar Inc. uses nanoparticle inks to print its solar cells and is looking to produce efficient solar cells as economically as possible.
IBM has pushed the benchmarks for solar panel efficiency in the lab, Heintzman says. Trains in Germany use solar panels on every second rooftop to glean power, showing that distributed energy distribution has caught on.


text:
Ezekiel 17:22-24 The Message (MSG)
"'GOD, the Master, says, I personally will take a shoot from the top of the towering cedar, a cutting from the crown of the tree, and plant it on a high and towering mountain, on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow, putting out branches and fruit—a majestic cedar. Birds of every sort and kind will live under it. They'll build nests in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will recognize that I, GOD, made the great tree small and the small tree great, made the green tree turn dry and the dry tree sprout green branches. I, GOD, said it—and I did it.'"
Ezekiel 17:23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit and become a stately cedar. And birds of every kind will nest under it; they will nest in the shade of its branches.
Ezekiel 17:23 New Living Translation (NLT)
It will become a majestic cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches.
Ezekiel 17:23 King James Version (KJV)
In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
Ezekiel 17:23 New Century Version (NCV)
I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel. Then it will grow branches and give fruit and become a great cedar tree. Birds of every kind will build nests in it and live in the shelter of the tree's branches.
Ezekiel 17:23 American Standard Version (ASV)
in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell.
Ezekiel 17:23 New International Version (NIV)
On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.
EZEKIEL 17:23 The Amplified Bible (AMP)
I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel, that it may grow boughs and bear fruit and be a noble and stately cedar. And birds of every kind will live under it; they will nest [securely] in the shade of its branches.
Ezekiel 17:23 English Standard Version (ESV)
On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.


text:
Home » Europe » Netflix wrongly suggest Sussexes' 'security was pulled' before Megxit
Netflix wrongly suggest Sussexes' 'security was pulled' before Megxit
Meghan and Harry 'need security' following threats says Bond
The latest trailer for 'Harry & Meghan' Netflix series appears to wrongly suggest that the couple's security was withdrawn prior to their royal exit in 2020, royal experts have said. In the 90-second clip, Harry is heard saying: "I wonder what would have happened to us had we not got out when we did", implying that the couple made their decision to leave the UK due to their increased concern over their safety.
After Harry's "I wonder what would have happened to us" comment, Meghan, 41, then added: "Our security was being pulled – everyone in the world knew where we were."
Harry then added that he told his wife, at the time, "we need to get out".
A clip was then shown of Harry appearing on a flight. In the clip, Harry says he is on "the freedom flight", a suggested reference to the couple's relocation to the US in early 2020.
The couple's comments have led royal experts to question the timeline of the trailer.
Royal author Tom Bower told MailOnline that the couple's comments about their security being withdrawn prior to their exit were "shockingly untrue".
The couple announced their decision to step down as senior working royals on January 8, 2020.
Just over a month later, on February 20, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) revealed that the couple would lose their right to taxpayer-funded security.
Despite this, with the couple living in Canada at the time, government minister Bill Blair confirmed that the couple, and their young son, were being protected by the Met and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The minister released a statement stating that the arrangement would end on March 31.
Sharon Osbourne reacts to Harry and Meghan's documentary
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that the couple's comments implied that "they were not given proper security as senior working royals before Megxit".
He also added that they suggested that Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) were not "doing its job properly".
The first three episodes were released on December 8 and focused on the couple's turbulent relationship with the UK press, with Meghan even accusing the media of wanting to "destroy" her.
King Charles urged to hold back punishment plan for Harry [INSIGHT]
Prince Harry claims 'they were happy to lie' to 'protect' William [REVEAL]
Harry and Meghan urged to 'prove' new claims after 'going too far' [REPORT]
In 2020, shortly after their exit, Meghan and Harry signed a few lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify.
Aside from Meghan's podcast, which began streaming in August and finished last month, the docu-series is the couple's first major project to be released for them.
Aside from the couple's shared projects, Harry's bombshell memoir is set to be released on January 10, 2023.
Delaying end of lockdown by four weeks 'could keep thousands out of hospital'
Scottish independence: Dictator threatened Queen to 'end British oppression' in letter
UK records 93,045 Covid cases as daily toll hits new record yet again
Did Wagner chief's SON get dozens of comrades killed with this photo?
Putin accused of being a paedophile by Litvinenko in unearthed reports


Hydrophilic rubber is a sort of water-sensitive polymers. It is characterized by water swelling and shrinkage, while its elasticity, strength and water holding capacity remain unchanged. In this paper, hydrophilic rubber is coupled with the fiber with the adhesive packaging method.FBG (fiber Bragg grating) sensing technology is used to accurately measure the fiber tensile and compressive deformation, which are caused by water swelling and shrinkage. When the moisture content of rubber and the moisture content of soil are in a dynamic equilibrium, soil moisture content can be obtained by measuring the deformation. Firstly, the linear correlation between the hydrophilic rubber volume and its moisture content is verified by experiments. The ability of water swelling and shrinkage for hydrophilic rubber in repeated tests still remains unchanged, indicating that the hydrophilic rubber can be used as the energy exchange material for moisture content sensing. Then we establish the corresponding relationship between the central wavelength of FBG sensor and the moisture content of hydrophilic rubber. Finally, this moisture sensor is used to test the moisture content of clay. The piecewise linear relationship between the central wavelength of FBG sensor and the moisture content of clay sample shows that this moisture sensor has the feasibility of monitoring the soil moisture content. Not only can the sensor realize the in situ monitoring of moisture content, but also can get the spatial distribution of moisture content and its real-time changes. It can provide the basis for the evaluation of the engineering properties of soil and the prediction of geological hazard, which has wide application prospect.
[1]Gaskin G J, Miller J D. Measurement of soil water content using a simplified impedance measuring technique [J]. Journal of Agricultural Research,1996,63 (2): 153-160.
[2]张虎元, 王少一, 赵天宇,等. 利用高密度电阻率法进行盐渍土含水率的测定[J]. 水文地质工程地质, 2012, 39(1):95-101.
[3]吕海波, 赵艳林, 陈川亮. 时域反射法测量膨胀土含水量试验研究[J]. 岩石力学与工程学报, 2008, 27(12):2568-2574.
[4]陈仁朋, 陈伟, 王进学,等. 饱和砂性土孔隙水电导率特性及测试技术[J]. 岩土工程学报, 2010, 32(5):780-783.
[5]Carcione, Seriani. An electromagnetic modelling tool for the detection of hydrocarbons in the subsoil[J]. Geophysical Prospecting, 2000, 48(2):231-256.
[6]Skierucha W, Wilczek A. A FDR sensor for measuring complex soil dielectric permittivity in the 10-500 MHz frequency range[J]. Sensors, 2010, 10(4):3314-3329.
[7]李玉霞, 杨武年, 童玲,等. 基于光谱指数法的植被含水量遥感定量监测及分析[J]. 光学学报, 2009, 29(5):1403-1407.
[8]常丹, 李旭, 刘建坤,等. 土体含水率测量方法研究进展及比较[J]. 工程勘察, 2014, 42(9):17-22.
[9]Walker J P, Willgoose G R, Kalma J D. In situ measurement of soil moisture: a comparison of techniques[J]. Journal of Hydrology, 2004, 293(1/4):85-99.
[10]刘岚, 向洁, 罗远芳,等. 吸水膨胀橡胶的研究进展[J]. 高分子通报, 2006(9):23-29.
[11]Giallorenzi T G, Dandridge A. Optical fiber sensor technology[C]//Optical fiber sensor technology: Kluwer Academic, 2000:626-665.
[12]Hill K O, Meltz G. Fiber Bragg grating technology fundamentals and overview[J]. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 1997, 15(8):1263-1276.
[13]Jia-Yan H U, Yin X D. The multiplexing and demodulation of FBG sensors[J]. Study on Optical Communications, 2006, 14(1):63-66.
[14]黄丽, 郑春苗, 刘杰,等. 分布式光纤测温技术在黑河中游地表水与地下水转换研究中的应用[J]. 水文地质工程地质, 2012, 39(2):1-6.
[15]LIU C, DING J, LANG Z, et al. Mechanical properties, water-swelling behavior, and morphology of water-swell able rubber prepared using cross linked sodium polyacrylate[J]. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2010, 102(2):1489-1496.
[16]JIN L, ZHANG W, ZHANG H, et al. An embedded sensor for simultaneous measurement of stress and temperature[J]. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2005, 18(1):154-156.
[17]Merzbacher C I, Kersey A D, Friebele E J. Fiber optic sensors in concrete structures: a review[C]// Optical Fiber Sensor Technology. Springer US, 1999:196.
CHEN Qiang,MENG Guo-wei,LIU Shi-dong.Centrifuge model tests on the stability of sandy soil slopes[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2011,38(04):58.
SONG Xue-lin,XIE Xun,QI Jian-feng,et al.A study on the engineering properties of sliding-body and sliding-zone soil at Ailaoshan in Yunnan Province[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2010,37(04):77.
HE Jun,YANG Ping,HE Wen-long.Mechanical behavior research of typical frozen soil clay in Suzhou subway[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2010,37(04):72.
FENG Xiaodong,LIU Gao.An experimental study of cyclic loading of sandstone under different water contents[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2017,44(04):110.
GU Tianfeng,YUAN Liang,HU Wei,et al.Experimental research on disintegration of the Heifangtai loess[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2017,44(04):62.
WANG Guiyao,SHA Linchuan,CAO Wengui,et al.An experiment study of cracking properties of rice straw reinforced soil with different ratios[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2017,44(04):52.
CHENG Pengju,YU Qingchun.An experimental study of the breakthrough pressure of unsaturated low-permeability sandstone: a case study of the Carboniferous sandstone in the eastern Qaidam Basin[J].Hydrogeology & Engineering Geology,2017,44(04):77.


1/3 msr Pineapple SyrupPineapple flavoured syrup such as the kind added to soda or strained from a tin of pineapple rings or chunks..
2 msr Whiskey (Scotch)Blended Scottish whiskey - a mixture of maize spirit and malt whiskey.
Substitute:Any other whiskey if you are not worried about your cocktails being 100% authentic!
Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice.
Stir the ingredients and pour into the glass.
Garnish with seasonal fruit, short straws and a twist of lemon.
Note: Raspberry or sugar syrup can be substituted for the pineapple syrup.


text:
Museum of the Moving Image to Pay Tribute to Stephen Sondheim With 10-Film Series
West Side Story, Gypsy, Into the Woods, and more will be screened throughout April.
Hayley Levitt
Ansel Elgort as Tony and Rachel Zegler as Maria in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story.
(© 2020 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)
Museum of the Moving Image has announced the launch of See It Big: Sondheim, a 10-film series paying tribute to the late, legendary musical-theater composer Stephen Sondheim.
The series opens on Friday, April 1, with a big-screen presentation of West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg (showing again on April 3), followed by screenings of the original movie version of West Side Story (1961) the same weekend. Presentations continue through May 1 with screenings of Gypsy (1962), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), Original Cast Album: Company (1970), Stavisky (1974), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Into the Woods (2014), The Last of Sheila (1973), and Dick Tracy (1990). Click here for the full schedule.
Sondheim died on November 26, 2021, at the age of 91. His long list of career honors includes the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Sunday in the Park With George); an Academy Award for Best Song ("Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from Dick Tracy); eight Tony Awards (including a 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award); eight Grammy Awards (including Song of the Year in 1975 for "Send in the Clowns"); a 1993 Kennedy Center Honor; and memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
See It Big is a collaboration between Museum of the Moving Image and Reverse Shot. All screenings will take place in the Redstone Theater at Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York.


text:
Review: 'Paw Patrol: The Movie' a fun and furry dose of harmless silliness
Courtesy of Paramount
There's a very small world in which the target demographic for the Nick Jr based "Paw Patrol: The Movie" is reading this review to determine if it's for them. Regardless of whatever this mid-twenty-year-old critic has to say about a group of adorable canines trying to save Adventure City from the clutches of the nefarious madman Mayor Humdinger, I think three to six year olds are going to wince with glee at the sight of their favorite puppers saving the day, like they always do, but the parents who are forced to go along for the ride (be it inside a movie theater or living room filled with young tykes) will appreciate the film's cheery sense of humor and educational elements.
Full disclosure, I'm not big on "Paw Patrol" lore, but the opening scene quickly acclimated me to this colorful world where a squad of canine heroes, along with their 10-year-old human handler Ryder (voiced by Will Brisbin) are commonplace when peril strikes. They have telephones which beep in their pockets and at Paw Patrol headquarters alerting them when disaster strikes. Oh, and they can talk, which nobody has any issues with. I grew up on the "Rugrats" craze, so I get the hype, and my five-year old nephew cherishes "Paw Patrol" (that opening jingle is infectiously catchy). And "Paw Patrol: The Movie" is harmless, silly fun.
As for the plot, it involves the gang, lead by Chase (Ian Armitage), a spirited German Shepherd, getting a call from nearby Adventure City via a dachshund named Liberty (Marsai Martin) alerting the group to the maniacal plans of Mayor Humdinger (Ron Pardo), a known enemy putting dogs and humans in harm's way with something called the "Cloud Catcher," a device built to help study weather patterns, that he's using to cultivate the "fun city" for his own ego stroking.
The Chaos creates all types of friction for the citizens of Adventure City, but also for Chase, who is struggling with PTSD (when he was a young pup, a car almost almost ran him over on the streets). Those emotions come rushing back to Chase and it's important for children to understand they can openly talk about how something makes them feel even if it's scary. Despite support from his pals, Chase bolts for the exit and ends up in the clutches of Humdinger's bumbling, appropriately cartoonish henchmen, and the film shifts gears into an all-hands-on deck rescue mission complete with cool gadgets and slick vehicles and aircrafts. In another world, I'd like to see the tax documents for how Paw Patrol is funded, because some of this artillery doesn't look cheap.
Of course, this G-rated adventure isn't going to offer much surprise, and despite citizens being stranded on a subway train suspended in mid-air because the tracks were constructed like Hot Wheels tracks, nobody is ever in any "real" danger. But I still appreciated that "Paw Patrol: The Movie" treats kids as equals and doesn't talk down to them, rather, encouraging them to be brave and face their fears while also sneaking in subtle digs at political corruption (yes, political corruption) and even climate change. That this family film is even remotely watchable for those outside of the Pre-K fanbase is quite the achievement, and who knows, maybe in the future I'll be a cadet for the Paw Patrol fan-club. Crazier things have happened.
PAW PATROL: THE MOVIE opens in theaters and streams on Paramount+ Friday, August 20th.
Sundance 2022 Review Day 1: 'When You Finish Saving The World' and 'Emergency'
'The King's Daughter' review: Long delayed fantasy adventure arrives with a whimper
'Hairspray' review: Energetic cast breath new and timely life into musical classic


"There are two major problems in the world. One is the difference in wealth between people. The other is climate change," Ron Van Erck is convinced.
In many respects, this helps to explain why Van Erck took on the challenging role of overseeing international market development for Energiesprong: a Netherlands company seeking to radically transform the home renovation industry, by converting aging blocks of residences into Net Zero Energy communities.
It's an elegant solution that concurrently addresses the challenges of inequality and climate change.
Why aim for such a lofty goal as converting homes to Net Zero in the first place? "If you want to reduce CO2 emissions by 80-90 percent, you need building stock to get close to Net Zero," says Van Erck. In a best case scenario, through individual measures such as adding loft insulation and adding triple pane glass, homeowners might get to 50-60 percent efficiency. But he says only through a whole house solution, as with Energiesprong's approach, are higher efficiencies possible. One of the most impactful prerequisites of an Engiesprong retrofit, is wrapping the homes with an insulated, airtight exterior facade. Using drones and 3D modeling software, prefabricated exterior panels are manufactured to within a millimeter of accuracy. And the retrofit process is so streamlined that the entire job, involving installing the façade, smart heating and cooling and insulated rooftops with solar panels is completed within a week.
Energiesprong is currently operating in the Netherlands, France, the UK, Germany, the U.S. and Canada. One of Van Erck's goals is to engage more cities within these markets and build on the economies of scale that have already been achieved.
Not surprisingly, the Netherlands – where it all started, is the first market in the world that is on the cusp of industrializing the process of retrofitting homes to Net Zero. "We'll do 4,000 this year and probably double that next year," says Van Erck. They are also in the midst of brokering a deal involving 6,500 homes in France, with opportunities on a comparable scale in the UK.
With several thousand homes being retrofitted year over year now in the Netherlands, Van Erck says Energiesprong's work is pretty much done.
In other words, they've achieved a scale that makes it possible to industrialize the process of retrofitting homes to Net Zero.
So now, Energiesprong it is turning its attention to other markets… with the admirable goal of making themselves redundant as soon as possible in those markets as well.
Our mission… is to enforce the transformation of the construction industry.
In the beginning… you sort of bluff your way through the process until you have enough momentum to move things along.
Our ideal partners… are the most innovative ones within an ecosystem.
The process of change… is tedious and slow. It requires habits embedded in organizations to change.


text:
Essential oil of Cedarwood obtained from the wood of Cupressus funebris (Cupressaceae) by steam distillation and washing - Terpenes
IUPAC name: (1S,2R,5R,7S)-2,6,6,8-tetramethyltricyclo[5.3.1.0¹,⁵]undec-8-ene; (1aR,4aR,8aR)-2,4a,8,8-tetramethyl-1H,1aH,4H,4aH,5H,6H,7H,8H-cyclopropa[e]naphthalene
CC1=CC[C@@]2(C)CCCC(C)(C)[C@]22C[C@H]12.[H][C@@]12CC[C@@H](C)[C@]11C[C@@H](C(C)=CC1)C2(C)C
InChI=1S/2C15H24/c1-11-6-9-14(4)8-5-7-13(2,3)15(14)10-12(11)15;1-10-7-8-15-9-12(10)14(3,4)13(15)6-5-11(15)2/h6,12H,5,7-10H2,1-4H3;7,11-13H,5-6,8-9H2,1-4H3/t12-,14-,15-;11-,12+,13?,15+/m11/s1
UVCB
Warning! According to the classification provided by companies to ECHA in REACH registrations this substance causes skin irritation.
This substance is registered under the REACH Regulation and is manufactured in and / or imported to the European Economic Area, at ≥ 1 to < 10 tonnes per annum.
This substance is used by consumers, by professional workers (widespread uses), in formulation or re-packing and at industrial sites.
This substance is used in the following products: air care products, biocides (e.g. disinfectants, pest control products), perfumes and fragrances, polishes and waxes, washing & cleaning products and cosmetics and personal care products.
Other release to the environment of this substance is likely to occur from: indoor use as processing aid and outdoor use as processing aid.
This substance is used in the following products: biocides (e.g. disinfectants, pest control products), polishes and waxes, washing & cleaning products and cosmetics and personal care products.
This substance is used in the following activities or processes at workplace: transfer of chemicals, closed processes with no likelihood of exposure, closed, continuous processes with occasional controlled exposure, batch processing in synthesis or formulation with opportunity for exposure, roller or brushing applications, non-industrial spraying, treatment of articles by dipping and pouring and hand mixing with intimate contact only with personal protective equipment available.
Other release to the environment of this substance is likely to occur from: indoor use as processing aid.
This substance is used in the following products: air care products, biocides (e.g. disinfectants, pest control products), polishes and waxes and washing & cleaning products.
This substance is used in the following activities or processes at workplace: transfer of chemicals, closed processes with no likelihood of exposure, closed batch processing in synthesis or formulation, mixing in open batch processes, transfer of substance into small containers, closed, continuous processes with occasional controlled exposure, production of mixtures or articles by tabletting, compression, extrusion or pelletisation and laboratory work.
Release to the environment of this substance can occur from industrial use: formulation of mixtures.
This substance is used in the following products: biocides (e.g. disinfectants, pest control products), washing & cleaning products and metal surface treatment products.
This substance is used for the manufacture of: machinery and vehicles.
This substance is used in the following activities or processes at workplace: industrial spraying, transfer of chemicals at dedicated facilities, roller or brushing applications, treatment of articles by dipping and pouring, closed processes with no likelihood of exposure, closed, continuous processes with occasional controlled exposure, batch processing in synthesis or formulation with opportunity for exposure and manual maintenance (cleaning and repair) of machinery.
Release to the environment of this substance can occur from industrial use: in processing aids at industrial sites and in the production of articles.
When handling this substance: wash parts of the body (as specified by manufacturer/supplier)in contact with substance thoroughly after handling; wear protective gloves and/or clothing, and eye and/or face protection as specified by manufacturer/supplier.
Givaudan France SAS - OR1, 55, Rue de la voie des Bans CS500024 95102 Argenteuil Cedex France
Givaudan France SAS - OR2, 55, Rue de la voie des Bans	95102 Argenteuil Cedex	France
Cedrene Washed
-50 °C @ 101.325 kPa [1]
266 °C @ 101.325 kPa [1]
1.5 - 17.3 Pa @ 20 - 50 °C [3]
2.7 - 7.4 @ 20 °C and pH 7 [13]
475 µg/L @ 20 °C and pH 5.6 [1]
Readily biodegradable (100%) [1]
EL50 (48 h) 100 mg/L [1]
EL0 (48 h) 100 mg/L [1]
EL100 (48 h) 100 mg/L [1]
EL10 (72 h) 3.31 - 100 mg/L [2]
LD50 2 000 mg/kg bw (rat) [1]
GHS criteria not met [1]


text:
BAR Highlights: 12/21/07
Herod in Jordan
German excavators have uncovered a monumental building that indicates that King Herod's control extended further into ancient Jordan than previously known.
A Pea in Tut's Pod
A pea from the Carnarvon estate in England thought to have come from King Tut's tomb has been saved from extinction. The fifth Earl of Carnarvon sponsored the expedition that discovered the tomb.
Grappling over Judas
Scholars at a recent meeting argued over the portrayal of the disciple in the Gospel of Judas.
Temple Mount Project to Resume
Israel's cabinet has instructed the Israel Antiquities Authority to restart work on a new walkway to the Temple Mount. The project had been halted in the wake of violent protests by Muslims who claimed the walkway would damage the Mount.
Spartan Myth
A study of a large pit with human remains suggests that the ancient Spartans did not throw deformed babies away.
At the behest of the British Museum, a London hospital has performed a CT scan of a mummy inside a linen and plaster coffin.
Vani, Vidi, Vici
"Wine, Worship & Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani," a just-opened exhibit at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC, focuses on the civilization that once flourished in what is now the Republic of Georgia.
A Glimpse Inside the Museum
Officials led a small group of visitors through the Iraq National Museum to highlight restoration efforts and the recovery of looted artifacts.
Sale of Prehistoric Sculpture Smashes Record
The Guennol Lioness, a 5,000-year-old carving barely 3 inches tall and considered by many as one the world's great works of art, sold for more than $57 million—by far the most ever for a sculpture.
Response on Judas
One of the translators of the Gospel of Judas and an official of the National Geographic Society respond to Prof. April DeConick's recent criticism of their work.
Ancient Weapons of Mass Destruction
A molecular biologist suggests that rams and donkeys infected with rabbit fever (tularemia) were used as bioweapons in the Anatolian wars 3,300 years ago.
Retrieving a Treasure
Scholars in Israel have called for the return of all fragments of the Aleppo Codex, considered the finest example of the traditional Hebrew text of the Bible. One such fragment, saved from a synagogue in Aleppo, Syria, that had been set on fire by rioters, was recently returned to Israel and scholars think there are more pieces in private hands.
Infant Burial
Archaeologists in Syria have recovered an ancient glass jar containing the ashes of a child. The find was made at Palmyra, home of spectacular Roman-era remains.
The Ark—In Ethiopia?
Smithsonian magazine investigates the claim, popular in some circles, that the Ark of the Covenant is secreted in Africa.
Facts and Anti-Facts
An Israeli scholar writes that the recent granting of tenure to Nadia Abu El-Haj by Barnard College has ramifications well beyond the archaeology of Israel.
Queen's Palace Found
Archaeologists working just outside Jerusalem's Old City Walls have uncovered a major structure that they believe was the palace of Queen Helena, who converted to Judaism in the first century.
Several photos of the site and the artifacts found there can be viewed at www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124482.
A short video report appears at the Jerusalem Post.


text:
All Closures and Refurbishments at The West Side in Walt Disney World during February, May and September of 2016 and 2022
Disney Springs Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Hollywood Studios EPCOT Magic Kingdom Disney Resorts The West Side
2014 - May. 31 The West Side : Disney Springs Disney Springs Transformation Parking Lots - Entrance 2 - Lots A-G. Loss of parking lot Entrance 2 to Guest/Cast traffic and associated lots A-G in preparation for the construction of Town Center and the East Garage.
Unknown The West Side : Disney Springs DisneyQuest DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney will close sometime in 2016 to make way for the previously announced new NBA Experience, which will include a restaurant and a store.
Early 2015 - Feb. 03 The West Side : Disney Springs Planet Hollywood Planet Hollywood will be transformed into a four-story stargazing observatory to "match the design aesthetic of Disney Springs." The interior will feature spherical, planet-shaped lighting fixtures and will create a welcoming atmosphere for fans to celebrate a new generation of superstar entertainers, while retaining the old movie memorabilia. There will be a new outdoor terrace and an outdoor bar space called Stargazers that will feature live entertainment. The main dining room will include a DJ. Planet Hollywood's renovations will be completed in 2016.
Apr. 04 - Early 2017 The West Side : Disney Springs Fulton's Crab House Becomes Paddlefish Paddlefish is set to open Saturday, February 4, 2017.


text:
Home Business One-on-One With Juan Rodriguez
One-on-One With Juan Rodriguez
by Scott Nishimura
Juan Rodriguez says his business acumen emerged from the influences he's surrounded by: growing up in Mexico, Chicago and Fort Worth; spending summer and winter breaks with family in Mexico; working at a range of restaurants in the area after he finished culinary school, including Rough Creek Lodge & Resort, Café Aspen, Lonesome Dove and Reata. His uncle grew an excavation company into what's today a big concern. Rodriguez's parents sold pottery in Mexico and Chicago. He worked in a retail store as a youth for his grandfather, who owned it. "I've always been around it," Rodriguez, 37, says. He describes the cooking produced by his four-year-old Magdalena's Catering and Events in Fort Worth as a mélange of Mexico, Chicago's melting pot and everything else he's picked up. Even the prix fixe supper clubs that have boosted Magdalena's sales came from an idea he got while working at a restaurant in Oregon for the experience. "I kind of learn from everybody," Rodriguez, a member of the Entrepreneurs" Organization Fort Worth chapter, says.
Starters: Working at Motorola with his mother, who had transferred to Fort Worth for a job, "I wanted to go into animation. I got a tour [at a college]. Holy cow, I'm good, but I'm not that good." Steered into culinary arts by an adviser, he completed that program in two years while working at Motorola on weekends. "I got into two accidents because I fell asleep at the wheel." He worked at a string of restaurants, capped by Reata. "Reata really taught me the business. You're cooking for a lot of people. You've got to know the numbers. You've got to manage it."
Starting Magdalena's: "My wife said stop talking about it, and do it." Initial capital for the launch, initially using the kitchen at Fort Worth's Z's Café and later that year into a space on Fort Worth's Northside: $30,000 loan from an uncle, $15,000 401(k) from Reata, and $15,000 line of credit ("I think we used half; we bought a lot of equipment at auction.").
Almost Out of Business: By October 2015, "we were down to our last $1,000 in the bank. My wife said, "Let's hold on; I think one of the brides said she wanted to pay for her whole event up front." That Monday, she wrote that check. We floated it, and we haven't looked back."
Magdalena's weekend Supper Clubs, $60 per person, BYOB: "We started the supper clubs because we didn't think we could fill the slots with caterings." Friends can come with friends or rub elbows with strangers at the dining room's three tables. "My grandmother was big on community and bringing people together. I wanted to recreate my grandmother's table. People love it. I do a speech at the beginning to introduce it. [Patrons might sit next to a] new friend, a new neighbor, new client. Sure enough, people make friends, and they make plans to come together the next time."
Growing: Joined EO's Accelerator program two years ago for entrepreneurs who haven't yet hit $1 million in annual sales. "Within a year, I was granted full EO member." Magdalena's sales last year grew to $1.8 million, up from $649,000 his second year.
Goals: "My goal is to get to $2.5 million and grow a little on the staff [currently six back of the house and one up front], and that's it."
What's next: "We want to be a one-stop [catering] shop. We want a coffee shop and Mexican bakery." But no full restaurant. "It's almost every chef's dream to open his own restaurants. Just hearing everybody talk about their restaurants, I didn't want to have to deal with that. We're having fun; we don't have the stress of a restaurant."
First year sales: $259,000
Last year's sales: $1.8 million
FWinc Juan Rodriguez Magdalena's


text:
DIRECTIONSAkis Panagos2022-12-31T10:36:35+02:00
Karditsa, Greece
29, Lamprou Sakellariou, Karditsa, 431 00, Greece
You can reach the training venue from your hotel based in Karditsa either on foot as it is in the middle of the town or by a taxi shared between participants.
How to reach Karditsa
Karditsa by airplane
1 Flights to Athens
and public transportation to Karditsa
The Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport is located 27 km east of the city of Athens. A large number of European and International carriers fly direct into Athens. The airport has excellent public transit connections to the city.
From the airport you may use:
Metro service
Bus service
Athens to Karditsa:
– By intercity train: From the Athens airport, using the metro or taxi (not the bus), you should get off at "St. Larissis" (on the red metro line) and get a train ticket to Karditsa. You will need to change over at the Paleofarsalos stop (same ticket). For more information on the train service:
tickets.trainose.gr
– By bus: From the Athens airport, using bus X93 (link maps) or taxi (not metro), you should get off at "LIOSION BUS STATION" and get a direct ticket to Karditsa. Find the bus schedule for Karditsa-Athens and Athens-Karditsa (weekdays and weekends):
www.ktel-karditsas.gr
2 Flights to Thessaloniki
Flights to Thessaloniki are available by many airlines from various parts of Europe. There are direct flights to Thessaloniki from various European cities.
From the airport, you may use:
Bus service from the airport to the bus station:
The airport is served by a 24-hour bus service. On arrival at the Airport of Thessaloniki you can use the bus Line 01x, route Airport – KTEL /central bus station, which goes directly to the city centre (link).
Taxi from the airport to the bus station:
The cars are easily recognized because they are all blue and white with an illuminated sign marked "TAXI" on top. TThe ride's cost to the bus station should be about €20-25.
Thessaloniki to Karditsa:
– By bus:
Timetable information and online booking can be found at the site ktelmacedonia.gr
– By train:
Timetable information and online booking can be found at tickets.trainose.gr
Karditsa by Car
Karditsa is in the heart of Greece and easily accessible with a car from the two main airoports.
A drive from Athens takes about 3 hours
click the image –>
A drive from Thessaloniki takes about 2 hours (212 km).
The highway connecting all three cities is modern and comfortable
Useful information about visiting Karditsa, Greece
About Karditsa
Karditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of the Karditsa regional unit. Click here to learn more.
For the duration of your stay, we suggest that you use Booking.com to find appropriate lodging, all hotels within the city of Karditsa are no more than 15 minutes away on foot from the venue.
Many of our associates who visit Karditsa prefer to stay at Kierion Hotel. at the city center.
If you decide to extend your visit please do not hesitate to contact us for more information
The official currency in Greece is Euro. The prices in Greece are not very high as well (e.g. bus ride – 1.20 €, Bread – 0.90 €).
You can check the cost of living in Greece.
Although all training will be provided in English, as you will be exploring Karditsa for a few days, you may indeed have a richer cultural experience if you learn a few common Greek words. You can get an overview of such terms through this link.
Places of interest around Karditsa
It is built close to the tributary of Peneus River, in an area perfect for commercial contact between the plain and mountain area (31.000 inhabitants). This is one of the reasons why it is the rural center of Thessaly's products (cotton, wheat and products of cattle raising) collection and distribution. With its two big squares, the huge park and beautiful pedestrian precincts, Karditsa gives its visitors the opportunity to go around the city by bicycle (it has a wide network of bicycle streets) and enjoy its beauty.
Near Karditsa (about 30km) there is an artificial paradise for every season of the year.
Lake Plastiras, also known as "Little Switzerland", is surrounded by an idyllic landscape of incomparable natural beauty that captivates the mind at first sight. Dreamlike in all aspects, it is one of the largest artificial lakes in Greece created in a location where in antiquity we could find the confluence of the rivers Tavropos and Achelous. It is a natural wonder that owes its existence to the inspired vision of General Nikolaos Plastiras (rightfully named after him) to create an impressive dam that would reinvigorate the entire region. Lake Plastira is located in the wider area of Agrafa, lives every season at its fullest, promising to offer you the holiday you dreamed of.
The grandeur of the lake is crowned with the surrounding alpine peaks; snowcapped or green, with rushing streams that flirt with lacy coves, narrow inlets of water between cliffs that create fjord-like scenes and a single luscious green islet in the middle create a mind-blowing landscape which is mirrored in the emerald waters of the lake.
In the vicinity you can find a handful of charming villages situated along the lakeshore or on the mountainous slopes which offer you an idyllic view of the lake!
Plastiras Lake
Last but not least, Meteora is about 50 km from Karditsa. Pillars of rock, sculpted by prehistoric rivers and crowned by otherworldly monasteries, monuments to the power of faith. Meteora means 'suspended in space'.
Your first, second and third sight of these impossibly tall, vertical rocks will have you gasping in disbelief. But it's not just the incredible geology that stretches your imagination. It's the monasteries balanced on these pinnacles. How did they get there? The monks who built them were the original rock climbers, lifting the materials up with pulleys, nets and their bare hands. Today, fans of the sport come to Meteora from the world over, to pit themselves against these gigantic rocks. Unesco has declared Meteora a World Heritage Site.
The Greek state calls it a sacred spot, inviolate and immutable. You'll no doubt come up with other adjectives to describe Meteora, this wonder of the world.
The Central Square of Karditsa, and the "Pallas" building
Karditsa is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece.
The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit. Good layout, spacious squares, Pausilipo park, pedestrian streets, bike lanes are the trademark of Karditsa. The city of Karditsa, on the west end of the fertile Thessaly plain, is a modern administrative, financial, commercial and cultural center. Also of architectural interest are the "Pallas" building (in place of the historic Karditsa Hotel "The Beautiful Hellas"), which has been the city's most important entertainment venue.
Pausilypo Park
The Pausilypo Park is the first urban public green space the city acquired, just twenty years after Thessaly was annexed to the Greek state, is a reference and meeting point for the citizens of Karditsa. The creation of the 165000 m2 park, designed by engineer G. Foskolos (1901), was initiated by Mayor Stergios Lappas, who has linked his name to other infrastructure projects.
The Archaeological Museum, built on the site of the old hospital of the city, contains representative findings of the area, dating from the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages to late antiquity.
Municipal Art Gallery of Karditsa
The Municipal Art Gallery of Karditsa, founded in 1993, contains representative paintings of remarkable artists, who have connections to originate from Karditsa but also from the wider Thessaly area.
The Historical – Folklore Museum
The L. & N. Sakellariou Historical-Folklore Museum (Museum of the City) includes historical relics, everyday objects, urban and traditional costumes and clothing accessories, coins, household utensils etc.
Church of St. Constantinou and Helenis
The Metropolitan Church of Saints Constantinou and Helenis with frescoes by painter Dimitris Yoldassis
Nikolaos
Plastiras
The statue of Nikolaos Plastiras (1883-1953) military and politician from Karditsa
Arni Hotel, a magnificent neoclassical mansion of 1921 (the two floors of the building served hotel needs from the beginning, while the ground floor functioned as a cinema, theater and ballroom).
Useful information whilst in Karditsa
Karditsa Police Headquarters
2nd km. Karditsa-Trikala Ring Road, 431 00, Karditsa, Greece
Tel.: +30 24410 80223, 80224
General Hospital of Karditsa
End Tavropos, 43100, Karditsa
Emergency Number in Karditsa: Emergency-> 112
Mobile Number of your host contact:
E-School: +30 2441021130
Maria Malliora: +30 6979012067
You can reach our venue from your hotel based in Karditsa either on foot as it is in the middle of the town or by taxi.


text:
Current plan for 2021 WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony
Fans will be in attendance for WWE WrestleMania 37 in Tampa, Florida
Official WWE announcement on WrestleMania heading to Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Los Angeles
WWE announces dates and locations for WrestleMaina 37, 38, and 39
Will RVD be back with WWE?; Another name in the WWE Hall of Fame
As we mentioned this week, Rob Van Dam was meeting with WWE in Los Angeles when Raw was in town. RVD lives in the area and he went to find out if the company had plans to use him at WrestleMania. The call not to use RVD was made by Triple H. RVD may have ruffled some feathers because the company was not happy when he chose to go home after his last deal (90 day deal) as up.
Cyndi Lauper is another name being looked at for the WWE Hall of Fame this year. It would make sense to have her go in with Mr. T since she played just as big a part as Mr. T did with getting all of the media buzz for WrestleMania 1.
So far here's how the WWE Hall of Fame is looking like this year:
– Ultimate Warrior
– Jake "The Snake" Roberts
– Lita
– Mr. T (he has reportedly agreed)
– Cyndi Lauper (not official)
– Paul Bearer (not officially announced but he's likely to be inducted)
– Stacy Keibler is also possible if they make a deal with her
Related Topics:Mr T, Rob Van Dam, Triple H, WWE Hall of Fame, WWE WrestleMania


text:
Apple releases first iOS 8.1.1 beta to developers with bug fixes
Monday, November 03, 2014, 08:41 pm PT (11:41 pm ET)
Following the release of OS X 10.10.1 Yosemite beta, Apple on Monday issued the first developer beta for iOS 8.1.1 , the upcoming point release for the company's mobile operating system.
With iOS 8.1.1 beta, classified as build 12B432, Apple brings a number of bug fixes and performance improvements to its iPhone and iPad OS, according to the update's release notes.
Notably, display of blood glucose data has been temporarily disabled for the Health app as Apple works to add compatibility with devices that display the metric in mmol/L. Currently, the Health app does not allow manual input of data using that particular unit of measurement, so it will be removed to avoid confusion. While a fix is being engineered, third-party developers can still access the APIs, however.
Apple released iOS 8 in September, though the initial version rolled out with bugs in the HealthKit developer framework that prompted the delay of certain apps supporting the protocol. A subsequent iOS 8.0.1 release attempting to patch the problems was found to disable wireless connectivity and touch ID for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Apple finally issued a stable iOS 8 version in iOS 8.0.2.
Australian Bureau of Statistics credits Apple's iPhone 6 for stoking retail surge
'Disney Movies Anywhere' gets Android app, ushers in cross-platform movie purchasing


Qiaodan Sportswear Co., a Chinese-based sneaker brand named by no coincidence after the Mandarin Chinese language annunciation of "Jordan," has been embroiled in a legal battle for over a decade with Michael Jordan himself, and of course, by extension, Nike Inc.
From direct knockoff pairs of the most beloved Air Jordan models to a broad confusion in the Chinese marketplace that the brand was actually and authentically associated with Jordan himself, the two sides have been tangled in courts over everything from trademark infringement and likeness violations, to patent and identity theft.
Nike has sued Qiaodan ten times since 2002.
The brand's logo, although not a direct ripoff of the Jumpman logo, is a direct ripoff of a mirrored Jordan silhouette from a much less iconic layup during his final season as a Chicago Bull. The brand has also released several sneakers featuring an elephant-like material. Its sneakers even hit the NBA hardwood briefly, thanks to an endorsement deal with the less-than-gravity defying Houston Rockets center Chuck Hayes during his final year in the league.
In late 2016, China's highest level court ruled that Qiaodan must cease using the Chinese characters for "Jordan" in products, marketing and messaging. While they could still use the silhouette logo, the ruling was deemed a major win for Nike and Jordan Brand at the time.
"The decision ensures that my Chinese fans and all Chinese consumers know that Qiaodan Sports and its products have no connection to me," Michael said at the time.
In theory, the chapter of Qiaodan's infringement was soon over. Which makes Qiaodan countersuing Nike now so much more unexpected.
Instead, thanks to some search results thirstiness on Nike's part, Qiaodan is now seeking just shy of $50,000 in damages and a public apology from the Swoosh, perhaps bordering on pettiness.
Similar in violating nature to Skechers' use of "Stan Smith" showing similar web store results, Nike's China e-commerce web store was apparently showing product results for a "Qiaodan" search from a consumers.
There's no telling if this is just the latest in the ongoing battle between the two sides, but stay tuned for further updates as Nike Inc. now faces defending themselves against its longtime infringing rival.