12-1231. Regional library; resolution; petition; election; board; certain cooperating township libraries to be maintained as regional libraries. Any two (2) or more adjoining counties, or any two (2) or more adjoining townships, may establish and maintain a regional library as provided in this act. A proposition to establish and maintain a regional library may be submitted to the electors of each county or township proposing to participate therein, by resolution of the governing body thereof, and shall be submitted upon presentation of a petition signed by ten percent (10%) of the qualified electors of the county or township as determined upon the basis of the total vote cast for secretary of state at the last preceding general election. Such proposition shall be submitted at the first general election occurring after the passage of the resolution or the presentation of the petition, and if a majority of the votes cast in each county or township voting on the proposition shall be in the affirmative, the governing bodies of such counties or townships shall forthwith create a library board and proceed to establish a regional library. Any township library originally established under the authority of K.S.A. 80-804, which has been continuously maintained and operated and which is providing library services in the member townships on the effective date of this act shall be governed by and maintained in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 12-1231 to 12-1235, inclusive, and amendments thereto, as a regional library.
History: L. 1951, ch. 485, § 14; L. 1980, ch. 66, § 1; April 26.


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Petr Mrázek (ur. 14 lutego 1992 w Ostrawie) – czeski hokeista, reprezentant Czech.

Kariera klubowa

Wychowanek klubu HC Vítkovice w rodzinnym mieście. Sukcesywnie awansował od juniorskich drużyn klubu do seniorskiego zespołu, w którym rozegrał jeden mecz w czeskiej ekstralidze. W drafcie 2009 do OHL w ramach CHL został wybrany z numerem 30 przez kanadyjski klub Ottawa 67's. W połowie 2009 wyjechał do Kanady i przez trzy sezony grał w jego barwach w lidze OHL. W maju 2010 w KHL Junior Draft został wybrany przez ukraiński klub Budiwelnyk Kijów (ostatecznie nie przystąpił do ligi KHL), a miesiąc później w drafcie NHL z 2010 został wybrany przez amerykański Detroit Red Wings. W październiku 2011 podpisał trzyletni kontrakt wstępny z Detroit Red Wings. Od 2012 występował w zespole farmerskim wobec Red Wings, Grand Rapids Griffins, w lidze AHL. Epizodycznie 7 lutego 2013 zadebiutował w lidze NHL w barwach Detroit, a 10 dni później rozegrał drugi mecz. 24 maja 2015 został po raz drugi wybrany w KHL Draft, przez klub Łokomotiw Jarosław. Od sezonu NHL (2014/2015) na stałe w składzie Detroit, w tym w fazie play-off. Przedłużał kontrakt z Red Wings w lipcu 2014 o rok, w lipcu 2016 o dwa lata. W lutym 2018 przeszedł do . Od lipca 2018 zawodnik Carolina Hurricanes. Pod koniec lipca 2021 ogłoszono jego transfer do Toronto Maple Leafs i trzyletni kontrakt. W lipcu 2022 został zaangażowany przez Chicago Blackhawks.

Kariera reprezentacyjna
Wystąpił w barwach reprezentacji Czech do lat 18 na mistrzostwach świata w 2009. Z reprezentacją do lat 20 zagrał na mistrzostwach świata juniorów w 2012. W seniorskiej kadrze Czech uczestniczył w turniejach mistrzostw świata w 2012, 2017, Pucharu Świata 2016.

Sukcesy

 Reprezentacyjne
  Brązowy medal mistrzostw świata: 2011, 2012

 Klubowe
  Złoty medal mistrzostw Czech do lat 18: 2009 z HC Vítkovice U18
  Złoty medal mistrzostw Czech do lat 20: 2009 z HC Vítkovice U20
  Leyden Trophy: 2010, 2011, 2012 z Ottawa 67's
 Mistrzostwo dywizji AHL: 2013 z Grand Rapids Griffins
 Mistrzostwo konferencji AHL: 2013 z Grand Rapids Griffins
  Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy: 2013 z Grand Rapids Griffins
  Puchar Caldera: 2013 z Grand Rapids Griffins

 Indywidualne
 OHL 2009/2010:
 Dinty Moore Trophy - pierwsze miejsce w klasyfikacji średniej goli straconych na mecz wśród pierwszoroczniaków: 3,00
 Drugi skład gwiazd pierwszoroczniaków
 OHL 2010/2011:
 Pierwsze miejsce w klasyfikacji skuteczności interwencji: 92,0%
 Trzeci skład gwiazd
 Mistrzostwa Świata Juniorów w Hokeju na Lodzie 2012/Elita:
 Pierwsze miejsce w klasyfikacji skuteczności interwencji na turnieju: 92,79%
 Drugie miejsce w klasyfikacji średniej goli straconych na mecz na turnieju: 2,49%
 Jeden z trzech najlepszych zawodników reprezentacji na turnieju
 Najlepszy bramkarz turnieju
 Skład gwiazd turnieju
 AHL 2012/2013:
 Mecz Gwiazd AHL
 Najlepszy zawodnik tygodnia - 3 lutego 2013
 AHL 2013/2014:
 Drugi skład gwiazd

Przypisy

Bibliografia

 Petr Mrázek – profil na stronie NHL
 Petr Mrázek – profil na stronie AHL
  – profil na stronie Grand Rapids Griffins

Czescy hokeiści
Hokeiści HC Vítkovice
Hokeiści HC Frýdek-Místek
Hokeiści Ottawa 67's
Hokeiści Toledo Walleye
Hokeiści Grand Rapids Griffins
Hokeiści Detroit Red Wings
Hokeiści Philadelphia Flyers
Hokeiści Carolina Hurricanes
Hokeiści Toronto Maple Leafs
Hokeiści Chicago Blackhawks
Ludzie urodzeni w Ostrawie
Urodzeni w 1992

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Have you noticed it yet? The absolute best new feature of our recently updated website? If you haven't, I'll give you a hint — you don't have to search very far to spot it.
OK, that was a terrible near-play on words, please forgive me, but I want everyone to notice that you no longer have to search for the Search function on our website — we give you that little magnifying glass at the top of the page, right next to the (clearly labeled) Menu button.
That improvement is far and away my favorite for this update, and there were actually quite a few contenders this time. There's the Subscribe button, also readily available at the top of the home page. There's the categories list right under our name at the top of the page, so you can jump right to what you're looking for. And there's the more engaging layout.
I like the layout when I look at the site on a computer, and when I look at it on my phone, I still like it.
Wait, you probably don't understand what effusive praise that is, coming from me. I'll explain: I have a Windows phone, and not Windows 10. I have some older, often unsupported and much maligned version that has a terrible success rate when it comes to trying new things.
So let me try that again. Even the mobile version of our website is easy to read, detailed but not cluttered, and with loads more photos than the previous version displayed. It's a little bit like carrying an actual newspaper in your hand. It's useful.
That usefulness is the driver behind most of the redesign decisions. Readers, us included, like to see photos or short introductions on stories before we click or tap on a headline.
We like to see our information stacked up where we expect to see it, too, so the actual organization — News, Opinion, Sports, Life — won't change on our site, but we can add subcategories if they seem useful. I expect we'll need subcategories for some of the hot topics now in front of us, such as the hospital's potential affiliation with Astria Health, the proposed development of the former Weyerhaeuser mill site in Snoqualmie, or the North Bend weigh station debate and the I-90 and S.R. 18 improvements that prompted it.
Just like the regular categories, the subcategories will collect all of those connected stories together. To see them, just click (or tap) the tag, under the headline, next to the date of the story.
Another change we made for readers is so simple, it's funny that we've never done it before. At the bottom of each story, there are Previous and Next buttons, so that you can find something else to read. Or you can check out the More In section or the Most Read list underneath a story. So much for the Back button.
Maybe the last noticeable change you'll spot on the website is our comments section. We are returning to the Disqus tool for comments. As with the previous tool, Civil Comments, you will need to create a login and password before you can add your words to any comment box.
That's enough about the website, but I still have some praise to pass out. It's a little overdue, but still necessary. It's for the candidates and their armies who, starting Nov. 8, set to work to collect all of their campaign signs and restore our roadsides and medians to their normal, if a little boring, states.
These signs are colorful, effective, and to reuse a word, engaging, but on Nov. 8, they are unneded distractions. So I want to thank all of those candidates who recognized that the drudgery of removing all your campaign signs after the election was also part of what they signed on for when they decided to run for office. Good job.


Walking Tours in Nepal: Why Choose Exodus?
Experience: With over 40 years' experience operating treks in Nepal, we're industry leaders. We have worked with our family-run local operator for two generations.
Safety: Your safety is paramount to us. We offer one of the highest guide-to-client ratios of any Nepal walking tours, with at least one member of staff to four clients. And on high-altitude treks, we carry Portable Altitude Chambers – known as PAC bags – to treat altitude sickness, if needed.
Responsible tourism: Our projects include the installation of over 50 solar cookers in tea houses and villages, as well as support of the Nava Kiran orphanage in Kathmandu and the Esther Benjamins Trust.


Water levels are expected to rise over the weekend on the Ottawa River.
Snowmelt runoff from the nearby watershed – an area where rain or snow drains or seeps into a body of water – is expected to work its way into the Ottawa River. This, combined with the rainy weather, is expected to cause the river to rise, according to the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board.
While extensive flooding is not expected at this time, the board is warning the public that the banks around the river could become slippery, and that the water will be moving very quickly and is still very cold.
The warning is in effect until May 7, as next week's warm and sunny weather is expected to help the river fall back to its normal level.
Little Italy high-rise fire deemed accidental, losses set at $10 million Egan: Bilingualism, blessings and curses. It's how we roule.


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text:
Black Entertainment Television facts for kids
Black Entertainment Television (BET)
National and parts of Canada
Robert L. Johnson - Founder and former Chairman
Debra Lee CEO/Chairman of BET
Reginald Hudlin Programming President
BET.COM
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American cable television television network. It is based in Washington, D.C.. The network is targeted toward African-American audiences in the United States. Most of what it shows is hip-hop and R&B music videos as well as religious shows and movies and series for African-Americans.
BET was founded by Robert L. Johnson on January 25, 1980. The network started out as a two-hour Friday night show on the USA Network each week. It was on from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (EST). They mostly showed older movies and music videos. In May of that year, BET started showing Black collegiate sporting events. In November 1980, BET added two half-hour shows, Black Showcase and The Bobby Jones Gospel Show. On June 26, 1983, BET started showing Video Soul, a music video series. On October 1, 1983, BET started broadcasting 24 hours daily with help from Home Box Office. In the latter years, BET has moved from having a variety of Black entertainment to mostly showing music videos around the clock. who now owns it.
Popular original BET shows
Video Soul
Bobby Jones Gospel
106 & Park
Rap City
Video Vibrations
Caribbean Rhythms
Video LP
Lil Kim: Countdown to Lockdown
Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is
DMX: Soul Of A Man
BET's Top 25
BET's BlackBuster Movies
BET's Comic View
Coming To The Stage
BET Live
BET: Uncut
BET.com Countdown
BET Style
Hits From The Street
Cita's World
BET Tonight with Tavis Smiley
BET Tonight with Ed Gordon
Midnight Love
Season of the Tiger
The Black Carpet
How I'm Livin
Planet Groove
Beef: The Series
Top 25 Countdown
Freestyle Friday
Spring Bling
Wild Out Wednesday
Black Entertainment Television Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Portraits from photographer John Raymond Mireles' Neighbors Project are on display outside the BOK Park Plaza building at the intersection of N. Walker and W. Sheridan avenues until April 15.
When photographer John Raymond Mireles moved to a new neighborhood, he thought of a more original way to meet his new neighbors than borrowing a cup of sugar. He photographed several of the people in his community, displayed larger-than-life prints on the fence surrounding his house and hosted an outdoor exhibition.
In collaboration with Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership, 35 portraits from Mireles' Neighbors Project are on display outside the BOK Park Plaza building at the intersection of N. Walker and W. Sheridan avenues through April 15. The portraits, up to 12 feet tall, feature people from Oklahoma and other parts of the United States.
Mireles said he hopes the subjects he has chosen from Oklahoma are characteristic of the state but he has also tried to showcase the diversity of the population here.
The enlarged size of the portraits, from Mireles' perspective, is crucial for emphasizing the humanity of their subjects.
Whatever feelings these portraits might inspire in their beholder, Mireles said he emphasizes capturing candid moments over taking glamor shots, so sometimes his subjects aren't fond of the way they look in their photos.
Discussing his photography methods, Mireles talked more about philosophy than technical details. The minimalist backdrop is the same in every photo to emphasize the equality of his subjects, and he's more concerned with finding their humanity than their most flattering angles.
Since he started the Neighbors project three years ago, Mireles has traveled across the country in a motor home, photographing strangers from every state. Sometimes his subjects are people at events he has been assigned to photograph such as Oklahoma City's annual NAACP dinner. Other times, he has just photographed people he has stopped on the street. Despite the much-discussed divides between races, political parties, economic classes and rural and urban mindsets, Mireles said he has discovered similarities everywhere he has been.


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Don't Let Police Arm Autonomous or Remote-Controlled Robots and Drones
By Matthew Guariglia
It's no longer science fiction or unreasonable paranoia. Now, it needs to be said: No, police must not be arming land-based robots or aerial drones. That's true whether these mobile devices are remote controlled by a person or autonomously controlled by artificial intelligence, and whether the weapons are maximally lethal (like bullets) or less lethal (like tear gas).
Police currently deploy many different kinds of moving and task-performing technologies. These include flying drones, remote control bomb-defusing robots, and autonomous patrol robots. While these different devices serve different functions and operate differently, none of them--absolutely none of them--should be armed with any kind of weapon.
Mission creep is very real. Time and time again, technologies given to police to use only in the most extreme circumstances make their way onto streets during protests or to respond to petty crime. For example, cell site simulators (often called "Stingrays") were developed for use in foreign battlefields, brought home in the name of fighting "terrorism," then used by law enforcement to catch immigrants and a man who stole $57 worth of food. Likewise, police have targeted BLM protesters with face surveillance and Amazon Ring doorbell cameras.
Today, scientists are developing an AI-enhanced autonomous drone, designed to find people during natural disasters by locating their screams. How long until police use this technology to find protesters shouting chants? What if these autonomous drones were armed? We need a clear red line now: no armed police drones, period.
The Threat is Real
There are already law enforcement robots and drones of all shapes, sizes, and levels of autonomy patrolling the United States as we speak. From autonomous Knightscope robots prowling for "suspicious behavior" and collecting images of license plates and phone identifying information, to Boston Dynamic robotic dogs accompanying police on calls in New York or checking the temperature of unhoused people in Honolulu, to predator surveillance drones flying over BLM protests in Minneapolis.
We are moving quickly towards arming such robots and letting autonomous artificial intelligence determine whether or not to pull the trigger.
According to a Wired report earlier this year, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2020 hosted a test of autonomous robots to see how quickly they could react in a combat simulation and how much human guidance they would need. News of this test comes only weeks after the federal government's National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence recommended the United States not sign international agreements banning autonomous weapons. "It is neither feasible nor currently in the interests of the United States," asserts the report, "to pursue a global prohibition of AI-enabled and autonomous weapon systems."
In 2020, the Turkish military deployed Kargu, a fully autonomous armed drone, to hunt down and attack Libyan battlefield adversaries. Autonomous armed drones have also been deployed (though not necessarily used to attack people) by the Turkish military in Syria, and by the Azerbaijani military in Armenia. While we have yet to see autonomous armed robots or drones deployed in a domestic law enforcement context, wartime tools used abroad often find their way home.
The U.S. government has become increasingly reliant on armed drones abroad. Many police departments seem to purchase every expensive new toy that hits the market. The Dallas police have already killed someone by strapping a bomb to a remote-controlled bomb-disarming robot.
So activists, politicians, and technologists need to step in now, before it is too late. We cannot allow a time lag between the development of this technology and the creation of policies to let police buy, deploy, or use armed robots. Rather, we must ban police from arming robots, whether in the air or on the ground, whether automated or remotely-controlled, whether lethal or less lethal, and in any other yet unimagined configuration.
No Autonomous Armed Police Robots
Whether they're armed with a taser, a gun, or pepper spray, autonomous robots would make split-second decisions about taking a life, or inflicting serious injury, based on a set of computer programs.
But police technologies malfunction all the time. For example, false positives are frequently generated by face recognition technology, audio gunshot detection, and automatic license plate readers. When this happens, the technology deploys armed police to a situation where they may not be needed, often leading to wrongful arrests and excessive force, especially against people of color erroneously identified as criminal suspects. If the malfunctioning police technology were armed and autonomous, that would create a far more dangerous situation for innocent civilians.
When, inevitably, a robot unjustifiably injures or kills someone--who would be held responsible? Holding police accountable for wrongfully killing civilians is already hard enough. In the case of a bad automated decision, who gets held responsible? The person who wrote the algorithm? The police department that deployed the robot?
Autonomous armed police robots might become one more way for police to skirt or redirect the blame for wrongdoing and avoid making any actual changes to how police function. Debate might bog down in whether to tweak the artificial intelligence guiding a killer robot's decision making. Further, technology deployed by police is usually created and maintained by private corporations. A transparent investigation into a wrongful killing by an autonomous machine might be blocked by assertions of the company's supposed need for trade secrecy in its proprietary technology, or by finger-pointing between police and the company. Meanwhile, nothing would be done to make people on the streets any safer.
MIT Professor and cofounder of the Future of Life Institute Max Tegmark told Wired that AI weapons should be "stigmatized and banned like biological weapons." We agree. Although its mission is much more expansive than the concerns of this blog post, you can learn more about what activists have been doing around this issue by visiting the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots.
No Remote-Controlled Armed Police Robots, Either
Even where police have remote control over armed drones and robots, the grave dangers to human rights are far too great. Police routinely over-deploy powerful new technologies in already over-policed Black, Latinx, and immigrant communities. Police also use them too often as part of the United State's immigration enforcement regime, and to monitor protests and other First Amendment-protected activities. We can expect more of the same with any armed robots.
Moreover, armed police robots would probably increase the frequency of excessive force against suspects and bystanders. A police officer on the scene generally will have better information about unfolding dangers and opportunities to de-escalate, compared to an officer miles away looking at a laptop screen. Moreover, a remote officer might have less empathy for the human target of mechanical violence.
Further, hackers will inevitably try to commandeer armed police robots. They already have succeeded at taking control of police surveillance cameras. The last thing we need are foreign governments or organized criminals seizing command of armed police robots and aiming them at innocent people.
Armed police robots are especially menacing at protests. The capabilities of police to conduct crowd control by force are already too great. Just look at how the New York City Police Department has had to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle a civil lawsuit concerning police using a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) punitively against protestors. Police must never deploy taser-equipped robots or pepper spray spewing drones against a crowd. Armed robots would discourage people from attending protests. We must de-militarize our police, not further militarize them.
We need a flat-out ban on armed police robots, even if their use might at first appear reasonable in uncommon circumstances. In Dallas in 2016, police strapped a bomb to an explosive-diffusing robot in order to kill a gunman hiding inside a parking garage who had already killed five police officers and shot seven others. Normalizing armed police robots poses too great a threat to the public to allow their use even in extenuating circumstances. Police have proven time and time again that technologies meant only for the most extreme circumstances inevitably become commonplace, even at protests.
Whether controlled by an artificial intelligence or a remote human operator, armed police robots and drones pose an unacceptable threat to civilians. It's exponentially harder to remove a technology from the hands of police than prevent it from being purchased and deployed in the first place. That's why now is the time to push for legislation to ban police deployment of these technologies. The ongoing revolution in the field of robotics requires us to act now to prevent a new era of police violence.
Street Level Surveillance
Deeplinks Blog by Katitza Rodriguez, Karen Gullo, George Wong | January 13, 2022
Nearly 130 Public Interest Organizations and Experts Urge the United Nations to Include Human Rights Safeguards in Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty
(UPDATE: Due to the ongoing situation concerning the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Ad Hoc Committee won't hold its first session from 17 to 28 January 2022 in New York, as planned. Further information will be provided in due course).EFF and Human Rights Watch, along with nearly 130 organizations and academics...
Press Release | January 12, 2022
Livestreamed Hearing Moved to Jan. 21: EFF Will Ask Court to Issue Judgment Against SFPD for Illegally Spying on Protesters Marching in Support of Black Lives
Update: The hearing has been moved to January 21.San Francisco—On Friday, Jan. 21, at 9:30 am, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the ACLU of Northern California will ask a California state court to find that the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) violated city law when it used a network...
Press Release | January 6, 2022
"Worst in Show Awards" Livestreams Friday: EFF's Cindy Cohn and Cory Doctorow Will Unveil Most Privacy-Defective, Least Secure Consumer Tech Products at CES
Las Vegas—On Friday, January 7, at 9:30 am PT, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Executive Director Cindy Cohn and EFF Special Advisor and sci-fi author Cory Doctorow will present the creepiest, most privacy-invasive, and unsecure consumer tech devices debuting at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES).EFF, in partnership with iFixit, USPIRG,...
Deeplinks Blog by Matthew Guariglia | January 6, 2022
How are Police Using Drones?
Across the country, police departments are using myriad means and resources at their disposal to stock up on drones. According to the most recent tally on the Atlas of Surveillance (a project of EFF and the University of Nevada), at least 1,172 police departments nationwide are using drones. And...
Deeplinks Blog by Joe Mullin | December 28, 2021
In 2021, We Told Apple: Don't Scan Our Phones
Strong encryption provides privacy and security for everyone online. We can't have private conversations, or safe transactions, without it. Encryption is critical to democratic politics and reliable economic transactions around the world. When a company rolls back its existing commitments to encryption, that's a bad sign. In August, Apple made...
Deeplinks Blog by Veridiana Alimonti | December 27, 2021
Uncovering government surveillance and fighting for robust and effective legal safeguards and oversight is a continuous battle in Latin American countries. Surveillance capabilities and technologies are becoming more intrusive and prevalent, surrounded by a culture of secrecy and entrenched views that pit security against privacy. There are several...
Deeplinks Blog by Eva Galperin | December 25, 2021
Stalkerware—that is, commercially-available apps that can be covertly installed on another person's device for the purpose of monitoring their activity without their knowledge or consent—is nothing new, but 2021 has underscored just how prevalent and dangerous these apps continue to be and how important it is for companies and government...
Deeplinks Blog by Karen Gullo, Eva Galperin | December 15, 2021
Apple's Android App to Scan for AirTags is a Necessary Step Forward, But More Anti-Stalking Mitigations Are Needed
This post has been updated to say that Tracker Detect is available internationally.We're pleased to see Apple has come out with an Android app called Tracker Detect that addresses some of the serious threats to privacy and safety we identified with Apple AirTags when they debuted. Quarter-sized Bluetooth-enabled...
Deeplinks Blog by Alexei Miagkov, Bennett Cyphers | December 14, 2021
Google's Manifest V3 Still Hurts Privacy, Security, and Innovation
It's been over two years since our initial response to Google's Manifest V3 proposal. Manifest V3 is the latest set of changes to the Chrome browser's rules for browser extensions. Each extensions manifest version update introduces backwards-incompatible changes to ostensibly move the platform forward. In 2018, Manifest V3 was...


^ Toliver, L. P.; Wilhite, J. R. (1990). "Taxodium distichum". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. Conifers. Silvics of North America. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 1. Retrieved 2009-10-11 – via Southern Research Station (www.srs.fs.fed.us).


Like many other Americans, I DO remember.
And I'd to share my story for a very special reason: For my son.
In 2001, my son was a junior in high school.We lived in a small town in rural Western Washington, the kind of place where the high school kids hold a Homecoming Parade on the main street every fall, with football players (including my son) riding on fire engines and cheerleaders riding in convertibles.The marching band plays, the flags spin,the entire school empties and walks down the streets displaying their Panther Pride for the whole assembled town.The Snohomish Serpentine is tradition and history and pride.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, my kids left for high school and I was cleaning house. My husband called me from his workplace, to tell me what had happened in New York. I didn't believe him. I thought he had misunderstood.The World Trade Center could not be GONE. Because we had just moved into a new house the week before, we didn't have cable yet. No TV. No News. I turned on the radio and listened to the accounts. I had vivid pictures in my mind from what I heard.
A few hours later, I had to leave to go to work before my kids came home from high school (and I was not very happy about that).
I had to drive fifteen miles to the winery, where I was one of the staff for a corporate event. Frankly, every one of us who had to work that night were surprised that it hadn't been canceled. It was a dinner for over 100 HR Managers for a large locally-based computer company. (You know, the one I can't name....) They were at the nearby headquarters/campus for a conference, and had come from several other countries as well as the US.We were told they had no where else to go for dinner, so the event was not canceled.The staff was quiet, hushed, wanting only to be home with our families to absorb the news and comfort one another. Many of my friends and co-workers had seen news reports and images of the devastating events of the day.
They tossed bread and flicked vegetables across tables, and laughed their heads off like children in a lunchroom. Not one of those people assembled stood up to say 'ENOUGH!'. NOT ONE.
The supervisor of our staff quietly gathered us, and instructed us to begin removing all wine and utensils from the tables. And we did.The 'guests' got mad when we took the wine away.
Then our supervisor stood in front of them and calmly announced that the event was over. Their buses were out front and they needed to go now. If I remember correctly, she used the words 'evacuate the facility'.The crowd dispersed loudly but quickly, and left.The dozen staff members and four kitchen staff stood together, and cried. We hugged. And we said goodbye to head home to our families. We all knew that we'd back our supervisor if anything was ever said about the way the event ended. We were just glad it HAD.
My son, seventeen years old, had rummaged through my (many) bins in the attic, and found all of my vintage American flags. He hung one in EVERY window in our house,and turned the lights on in every room. And he had put the largest one on the whip antenna of his truck in the driveway.
The place glowed like a beacon of Patriotism, Hope, Pride, and Reverence for all those who had lost their lives that day. For everyone who had lost hope that day. For the innocence we all lost that day. I had to stop my car in the street because my eyes were so filled with tears.
I parked and ran inside, to find my family huddled around the television. My husband had hooked up the cable and they were watching live news coverage and taped film of the collapse of the towers. It was the first time I had seen it, and I fell to my knees on the floor. The 'vivid images' my mind had conjured earlier that day hadn't even come close to the devastation I was watching. My son put his hand on my shoulder, and we cried.
I was even MORE angry at those HR Managers at that point. I will never understand their reaction that day. A seventeen year old high school boy grasped the meaning, the solemnity, the horror of it all. And could not help but show his emotions in a way that honored the victims.
He is a good man, a proud man, and a man that his parents are very proud of.
My favorite vintage flag flies outside my house each September 11th, in honor of the victims and the heroes of 9/11. And I fly it for my son, who is a hero in my eyes and my heart. I pray the pain of horrific loss never revisits him again.
I pray the same for our country...Land of the Free, Home of the Brave.
I just found your blog today because of a picture pinned on Pinterest.
I read todays' blog and cried when I read what your son did. I think that's wonderful. I also can't believe the experience you went through at work that night. Totally unexplainable and bad.
Thank you for sharing your story, and I plan to visit your site a lot now that I found it.
Thank you, Steph and Holly, for sharing your thoughts with me. And yes, I try to replace the worst memories with the good ones - today, and every day.
Today is the fifteenth anniversary of that awful day. I shared this post again on facebook, and even now as I read it, my eyes fill with tears as I remember the shock and pain and confusion that fell over our country. That I felt myself, and saw in the eyes of my family and my friends at work that night. My heart aches to remember it all, and it aches to see our country so divided and angry now. We vowed to 'Never Forget' - but we HAVE forgotten. We've forgotten how strong we can be when we come together to serve one another and our country with compassion, pride, and resolve. I pray that it does not take another disaster of this horrific magnitude to remind us who we ARE when we stand together: Americans.


Michael van der Mark says he faced the toughest race conditions he's encountered at the Suzuka 8 Hours during his stints helping the #21 Yamaha Factory Racing Team to a fourth consecutive victory, while securing his own fourth win at the event.
After injury ruled out Katsuyuki Nakasuga from contesting the race for the factory Yamaha squad after crashing on Saturday, the duties were split between van der Mark and his World Superbike team-mate Alex Lowes for the defending champions.
The Dutch rider started the race for the team, which was held in wet conditions following a typhoon which swept across Suzuka on the night before the race, while he was also hit in the mid-race rain storm on his third stint.
The factory Yamaha rider's charge in the rain proved vital as he overhauled the #33 Red Bull Honda with Japan Post to retake the lead with just under three hours to go after teh Honda had been able to make one fewer stop having pitted on schedule as the rain hit while the majority of teams were forced into an extra stop to switch to wet tyres.
Van der Mark feels the added challenge of having just two riders for the race plus the wet conditions made it his toughest Suzuka 8 Hours but was thrilled to secure victory by almost half a minute ahead of the factory Honda squad.
"It was a really tough race which started yesterday when we knew that Nakasuya was not fit to ride," van der Mark said. "They told me I was going to start the race which was a bit stressful. I think this is my worst Suzuka 8 Hours in terms of conditions as it kept changing so quickly.
"I think the first stint I did a one hour stint and I thought we were past the worst part but in my third one. I had been on the bike for an hour and 40 minutes because of the safety cars, rain and then the dry. It was really tough but in the end we had a nice gap and Alex finished it off.
Michael van der Mark joins an elite list of riders with four career Suzuka 8 Hour wins including team-mate Nakasuga, who has claimed a record four straight triumphs, Wayne Gardner and Ryuichi Kiyonari.
The Dutch rider claimed back-to-back wins for #634 MuSASHi RT HARC-Pro Honda in 2013 and 2014 before repeating the feat for Yamaha over the past two years.


The process of setting an Internet connection for an office is one that has three main steps.
In the first step within the process of setting an Internet connection for an office, you design the network: that is, you come up with some sort of network architecture. For very small networks, this can even be done mentally: so that you can come up with a mentally visualized plan.
In the second step within the process of setting up an Internet connection for an office, you put up the network's physical infrastructure. So this is about laying the cables, connecting to the routers, the switches and all that.
In the third step within the process of setting up an Internet connection for an office, you configure the software to support the network, after which the Internet connection should go 'live'.
If you are doing all these things by yourself, and you get stuck at some level, you may be able to obtain help by phone or through the Internet. There is also the possibility of getting help remotely (but in real time), through the Logmein123 technology, which you can access at www.logmein123.com. You should also be able to get help from the vendor of the networking software/hardware you are installing: like, for instance, if it is Cisco, D-Link, Huawei or any other.


text:
\section{Introduction \label{s-1}}

General Relativity (GR) is our current theory of gravity and so far
there are no clear observational evidences in disagreement with
its predictions~\cite{will}. However, the theory has been tested
only in certain regimes; in particular, only for weak gravitational
fields. Even in the famous observation of the decay of the orbital
period of the binary system PSR1913+16, due to the emission
of gravitational waves, the gravitational potential is $|\phi| \sim M/r
\sim 10^{-6}$; that is, $|\phi| \ll 1$\footnote{Throughout the paper,
I use units in which $G_{\rm N}=c=1$.}. On the other hand, we
know GR breaks down in some extreme situations: the theory
allows for the existence of space-time singularities, where
predictability is lost, and regions with closed time-like curves,
where causality can be violated. GR seems also to be incompatible
with quantum mechanics, and probably for this reason we do
not have yet a quantum theory of gravity.

One of the most intriguing predictions of GR is that the collapsing
matter produces singularities in the space-time, at least in the sense
of time-like or null geodesic incompleteness\footnote{This
conclusion requires the following assumptions: $i)$ the validity of
the Einstein's equations with non-positive cosmological constant,
$ii)$ the energy condition $T^\sigma_\sigma \ge 2 T_{\mu\nu}t^\mu
t^\nu$ for any vector field $t^\mu$ such that $t^\nu t_\nu=-1$, where
$T_{\mu\nu}$ is the matter energy-momentum tensor and the metric
has signature $(-+++)$, $iii)$ the absence of closed time-like curves,
and $iv)$ every time-like or null geodesic enters a region where the
curvature is not specially aligned with the geodesic. The condition
$ii)$ means that gravity must be always attractive. The condition
$iv)$ just excludes very pathological situations. For more details,
see Ref.~\cite{sing}.}~\cite{sing}. There is no theorem restricting
the nature of these singularities, but there are only two options: the
singularities are hidden behind an event horizon, and the final product
of the collapse is one or more black holes (BHs), or the singularities are naked.
Since space-times with naked singularities have several kinds of
pathologies, one assumes the weak cosmic censorship conjecture,
according to which all the singularities of gravitational collapse must
be hidden within BHs~\cite{wccc}. Numerical simulations support this
conjecture~\cite{wccc2,wccc3}. Surprisingly, it turns out that in 4-dimensional
GR there is only one uncharged BH solution, the Kerr metric, which is
completely specified by two parameters, the mass, $M$, and the spin
angular momentum, $J$, of the object. This is the celebrated ``no-hair''
theorem~\cite{hair,hair2}, although, strictly speaking, a Kerr BH has ``two
hairs'', $M$ and $J$. The condition for the existence of the event
horizon is $|a_*| \le 1$, where $a_* = J/M^2$ is the (dimensionless)
spin parameter. For $|a_*| > 1$, the Kerr metric does not describe a
BH but a naked singularity, which is forbidden by the weak cosmic
censorship conjecture. Astrophysical BHs presumably form from the
gravitational collapse of matter (stars or clouds), while the no-hair
theorem demands that the space-time is time independent. However,
one can see that any deviation from the Kerr solution is quickly
radiated through the emission of gravitational waves~\cite{price,price2}
(but see Ref.~\cite{mck}). Numerical simulations show that a BH
rapidly goes ``bald'' even when the initial deviations from the Kerr
background are large (see e.g.~\cite{alcu}). Let us also notice that the
Kerr metric is not an exact solution of the Einstein's equations only,
but it is common to many other theories of gravity; however, in general,
there may not be a uniqueness theorem as in
GR~\cite{kerr}\footnote{Nevertheless,
gravitational waves emitted by a Kerr BH in GR and by a Kerr BH in
another theory of gravity may be different and may thus be used
to distinguish the two scenarios. The gravitational radiation depends
indeed not only on the metric of the space-time, but also on the field
equations of the gravity theory~\cite{kerr2}.}.

At the observational level, there are at least two classes of
astrophysical BH candidates~\cite{ram}: stellar-mass objects in
X-ray binary systems (mass $M \approx 5-20$~$M_\odot$) and
super-massive objects in galactic nuclei ($M \sim 10^5 -
10^9$~$M_\odot$). The existence of a third class of objects,
intermediate-mass BHs with  $M \sim 10^2 - 10^4$~$M_\odot$,
is still controversial, because their detections are indirect and
definitive dynamical measurements of their masses are still
lacking. All the BH candidates are supposed to be Kerr BHs because
they cannot be explained otherwise without introducing new
physics. The stellar-mass objects in X-ray binary systems are
too heavy to be neutron or quark stars for any reasonable matter
equation of state~\cite{kal}. At least some of the super-massive
objects in galactic nuclei are too massive, compact, and old
to be clusters of non-luminous bodies~\cite{maoz}. There is
also observational evidence that the surface of the BH candidates
does not emit any radiation, even when it is hit by the accreting gas.
This fact has been interpreted as an indirect proof of the existence
of an event horizon~\cite{horizon,horizon2} (see however Ref.~\cite{abra}
for different interpretations). The existence of an event horizon is
also theoretically required for the stability of any rotating very
compact object~\cite{ergo1}. However, for systems close to the
formation of an event horizon, the instability time scale would be
very long and they could still be consistent with observations~\cite{ergo2}.
Examples of compact objects with a ``quasi-event horizon'' can be found,
for instance, in~\cite{noev1,noev2}.

The aim of this paper is to provide a short review on the current
attempts to test the Kerr nature of the astrophysical BH candidates,
focussing the attention on some selected recent results. The content of
the manuscript is as follows. In Sec.~\ref{s-2}, I review the basic
idea to test the nature of the BH candidates and
the theoretical frameworks proposed in the literature. In Sec.~\ref{s-3},
I show that non-Kerr BHs may have some fundamental properties
that are different from the ones expected for a BH in GR. In
Sec.~\ref{s-4}, I review the possibilities offered by present and
future experiments to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. The
conclusions are reported in Sec.~\ref{s-5}.

\section{Measuring deviations from the Kerr geometry \label{s-2}}

A framework within which to test the Kerr BH hypothesis was
first put forward by Ryan~\cite{ry}, who considered a general
stationary, axisymmetric, asymptotically flat, vacuum space-time.
Such a generic space-time can be used to describe the
gravitational field around a central object, whatever its nature,
and its metric can be expressed in terms of the mass moments
$M_\ell$ and current moments $S_\ell$~\cite{mom}. Assuming
reflection symmetry, the odd $M$-moments and even $S$-moments
are identically zero, so that the non-vanishing moments are the
mass $M_0=M$, the mass quadrupole $M_2=Q$ and the
higher-order even terms $M_4, M_6,\ldots$, as well as the angular
momentum $S_1=J$, the current octupole $S_3$ and the
higher-order odd terms $S_5, S_7, \ldots$. In the case of a Kerr
BH, all the moments $M_\ell$ and $S_\ell$ are locked to the mass
and angular momentum by the following relation:
\begin{equation}\label{kerrMultipoles}
M_\ell+{\rm i}S_\ell=M\left({\rm i}\frac{J}{M} \right)^\ell \, .
\end{equation}
By measuring at least three non-trivial multiple moments of the
space-time around an astrophysical BH candidate (e.g. $M$,
$J$, and $Q$), one over-constraints the theory and can test the
Kerr nature of the object.

A post-Newtonian approach with generic $M$, $J$, and $Q$ can
do the job only if we have the possibility of measuring with excellent
accuracy the geometry relatively far from the compact object,
where the contribution of higher-order moments is negligible.
The advantage of a post-Newtonian approach is that we do not
need specific assumptions about the space-time close to the BH.
The disadvantage is that very accurate measurements are
necessary, while they may be out of reach in realistic astrophysical
situations.

The differences between a Kerr and a non-Kerr BH are more and
more evident if we probe the space-time closer to the object, where
gravity is strong. However, we have to consider a specific metric
and take all the special and general relativistic effects into account.
In this case, there are basically two approaches:
\begin{enumerate}
\item We assume that the space-time around the compact object can
be described by an exact solution of the Einstein's vacuum equations
which, because of the no-hair theorem, cannot be a BH. The idea
on the basis of this choice is that this metric can correctly describe
the exterior gravitational field around the compact object and holds
up to the ``surface'' of the object. The latter should cover all the
pathological features (e.g. space-time singularities and regions with
close time-like curves) of the space-time.
\item We consider a metric with a regular event horizon: this is a
true BH but, as follows from the no-hair theorem, it is not a solution
of the Einstein's vacuum equations. The advantage of this
approach is that the position of the event horizon is well defined,
while in the first approach there is still some arbitrariness to be fixed.
\end{enumerate}
In both cases, we eventually have a metric more general than the
Kerr solution and that includes the Kerr space-time as special case.
So, we have a compact object characterized by a mass $M$, a spin
angular momentum $J$, and one or more ``deformation parameters'',
say $\delta$ (or $\{\delta_i\}$ with $i=1,2,\ldots$), measuring (hopefully
generic) deviations from the Kerr geometry. When $\delta = 0$,
the object is a Kerr BH. One can then consider a particular astrophysical
phenomenon, compare the theoretical predictions in this general
space-time with the observational data, and constrain the deformation
parameter $\delta$. If the observations demand $\delta = 0$, they
confirm the Kerr BH hypothesis.

The Tomimatsu-Sato space-time was the first non-Kerr solution of
the Einstein's vacuum equations discovered~\cite{ts1,ts12,ts13,ts14}.
It is stationary,
axisymmetric, and asymptotically flat and it has three free parameters
(mass, spin, and deformation parameter). However, the metric is quite
complicated, there is no analytic form for any value of the deformation
parameter, and deviations from the Kerr geometry are not very generic
(for instance, the Kerr solution is recovered even for $|a_*| = 1$,
independently of the value of the deformation parameter). A metric
more useful to test the Kerr BH hypothesis is the Manko-Novikov
solution~\cite{mn,mn2}. It is still a stationary, axisymmetric, and asymptotically
flat exact solution of the Einstein's vacuum equations, but it has an
infinite number of free parameters: here the object has a mass $M$, a
spin angular momentum $J$, and arbitrary mass multipole moments
$M_\ell$ ($\ell=1,2,\ldots$),
while the current multipole moments $S_\ell$ of order higher
than 1 are fixed by the mass multipole moments. Some authors have
also proposed approximated solutions of the Einstein's vacuum
equations: these metrics are solutions in GR only up to some order of
one or more expansion parameters. This is the case, for instance, of
the ``quasi-Kerr'' metric proposed by Glampedakis and Babak~\cite{babak}
and of the ``bumpy BHs'' introduced by the MIT group~\cite{mit1,mit12,mit13}.

In order to be able to probe the geometry of the space-time very close
to a BH candidate and study very rapidly-rotating objects (for which
possible deviations from the Kerr metric should produce stronger
effects, see next section), it may be more convenient to use a metric
describing a BH, without the ambiguity related to the position of the
``surface'' of the object. These space-time can be seen as BHs in
alternative theories of gravity, even if we do not know the gravity theory
they would belong to. The first theoretical framework in this direction
was proposed in~\cite{mit2}: these objects are called ``bumpy BHs in
alternative theories of gravity''. Another family of metrics describing
non-GR BHs was introduced by Johannsen and Psaltis in Ref.~\cite{ps}.

\section{Properties of non-Kerr black holes \label{s-3}}

If the astrophysical BH candidates are not Kerr BHs, some of their
fundamental properties are likely very different from the ones
predicted by GR. If we know some generic features of non-Kerr BHs,
we can hopefully figure out generic observational signatures to
test the nature of the astrophysical candidates.

\subsection{Spin parameter}

A fundamental limit for a Kerr BH is the bound $|a_*| \le 1$. This
is just the condition for the existence of the event horizon. In absence
of a horizon there would be a naked singularity, which is forbidden
by the weak cosmic censorship conjecture~\cite{wccc}. Even if
it is not yet clear if naked singularities can be created in Nature,
and therefore if the weak cosmic censorship conjecture can be
violated (see e.g.~\cite{pankaj,pankaj2} and references therein), it is
apparently impossible to make a star collapse with $|a_*| >
1$~\cite{wccc2,wccc3} or to overspin an already existing BH to
$|a_*| > 1$~\cite{e2}. Moreover, even if it were possible to create
a Kerr naked singularity, the space-time would be unstable and
it should quickly decay~\cite{dotti}. The same would be true if the
singularity were replaced by a very compact object arising from
new physics, independently of its nature, because of the ergoregion
instability~\cite{e1}.

The story changes if the compact object is not a Kerr BH: in this
case, the maximum value of $|a_*|$ may be either larger or smaller
than 1, depending on the geometry of the space-time around
the compact object, on the exact nature of the compact object, and
on the gravity theory. Generally speaking, objects with $|a_*| > 1$
are quite common in the Universe and even the value of the spin
parameter of the Earth is about $10^3$. However, a priori it is not
obvious if it is possible to create even a compact object with
$|a_*| > 1$.

In Refs.~\cite{spin1,spin12,spin13},
I considered compact objects characterized by
three free parameters (mass $M$, spin parameter $a_*$, and
quadrupole moment $Q$) and I studied the evolution of $a_*$ as
a consequence of the accretion process from a thin disk. It is
indeed well known that accretion from a thin disk is a quite efficient
mechanism to spin-up a compact body. In the standard theory of
thin disks (Novikov-Thorne model~\cite{n-t-m}), the disk is on the equatorial
plane, the gas particles move on nearly geodesic circular orbits,
and the inner radius of the disk is at the innermost stable circular
orbit (ISCO). When the gas reaches the ISCO, it quickly plunges into
the BH and crosses the event horizon, with negligible emission of
additional radiation. So, the BH changes its mass by $\delta M =
E_{\rm ISCO} \delta m$ and its spin by $\delta J = L_{\rm ISCO} \delta
m$, where $E_{\rm ISCO}$ and $L_{\rm ISCO}$ are respectively the
specific energy and the $z$-component of the specific angular momentum
of a particle at the ISCO radius, while $\delta m$ is the gas rest-mass.
When the Novikov-Thorne model can be applied, the evolution of
the spin parameter is thus governed by the following equation:
\begin{eqnarray}\label{e-spin}
\frac{d a_*}{d \ln M} = \frac{1}{M}
\frac{L_{\rm ISCO}}{E_{\rm ISCO}}  - 2 a_* \, .
\end{eqnarray}
Recent numerical simulations support this model for thin disks around
Kerr BHs~\cite{cfa,cfa2} (see however Ref.~\cite{kro}). The equilibrium
spin parameter is reached when the right hand side of Eq.~(\ref{e-spin})
is zero. For a Kerr BH, this occurs when $a_*^{eq} = 1$. Including
the small effect of the radiation emitted by the disk and captured by
the BH, one finds the famous Thorne's limit $a_*^{eq} = 0.998$~\cite{th}.
On the other hand, if the compact object is more oblate than a
Kerr BH, the equilibrium spin parameter is larger than 1, and its value
increases as the object becomes more and more oblate. The situation
is more complicated for objects more prolate than a Kerr BH, and the
value of the equilibrium spin parameter can be either larger or smaller
than 1. The result of Refs.~\cite{spin1,spin12,spin13} is thus that compact objects
with $|a_*| > 1$ can be created, at least in principle. Depending on
the exact nature of the compact object and on the gravity theory,
there is still the possibility that the equilibrium spin parameter
predicted by Eq.~(\ref{e-spin}) can never be reached, because the
compact object becomes unstable at a lower value of $|a_*|$.
For instance, a similar situation occurs for neutron stars: the
accretion process can spin them up to a frequency $\sim 1$~kHz,
but the existence of unstable modes prevents these objects from
rotating at higher frequencies~\cite{neutron}.

\subsection{Event horizon \label{ss-eh}}

The event horizon of a BH is defined as the boundary of the causal
past of future null infinity. The spatial topology of the event horizon
at a given time is the intersection of the Cauchy hypersurface at that
time with the event horizon. In the Kerr space-time, the spatial
topology of the event horizon is a 2-sphere. However, the topology does
not change even if the space-time is not exactly described by the Kerr
geometry, e.g. like in the case of a BH surrounded by a disk of accretion.
The Hawking's theorem indeed ensures that, in 4-dimensional
GR, the spatial topology of the event horizon must be always a
2-sphere in the stationary case, under the main assumptions of
asymptotically flat space-time and validity of the dominant energy
condition~\cite{hawking}. In the non-stationary case, BHs with a
toroidal spatial topology can form, but the hole must quickly close
up, before a light ray can pass through~\cite{tedj}. Numerical
simulations confirm the theoretical results~\cite{teuk,teuk2}.

Non-Kerr BHs may instead have topologically non-trivial event
horizons, as they are not solutions of the Einstein's equations.
In Ref.~\cite{topo}, I have even argued that topologically non-trivial
event horizons may be a quite common feature for rapidly-rotating
non-Kerr BHs, providing two explicit examples in which the horizon of the
BH changes topology above a critical value of the spin parameter.
The basic mechanism is the following. A Kerr BH has an outer
horizon of radius $r_+$ and an inner horizon of radius $r_-$.
As $|a_*|$ increases, $r_+$ decreases, while $r_-$ increases.
For $|a_*| = 1$, there is only one horizon ($r_+ = r_-$) and, for
$|a_*| > 1$, there is no horizon. In general, however, the outer and
the inner horizons may not have the same shape. If this is the
case, when $|a_*|$ increases, the two horizons approach each
other, but eventually they merge together forming a single horizon
with non-trivial topology. Interestingly, such rapidly-rotating BHs can
be easily created. Indeed, the topology transition can be potentially
induced by the accretion of material from a thin disk, which
should be a quite common event in the Universe.

\subsection{Accretion process \label{ss-ap}}

The geometry of the space-time around astrophysical BH
candidates can be probed by studying the properties of the
electromagnetic radiation emitted by the gas of accretion. It is
thus important to figure out clearly the accretion process itself
and have under control all the astrophysical processes.

If the gas around the compact object has negligible angular momentum,
a Bondi-like accretion can correctly describe the evolution of the
system. For example, this may be the case of a BH
accreting from the interstellar medium or of one belonging to a binary
system in which the companion is massive and has a strong stellar
wind. Here, the accretion process is basically determined by the balance
between the gravitational force, which attracts the gas towards the
central body, and the gas pressure, which increases as the gas becomes
more and more compressed and hampers the accretion process.
If the gravitational force is stronger, the compact object can swallow
a larger amount of matter without problems. If the gravitational force
is weaker, the accretion process is more difficult and the production
of outflows is favored. Around naked singularities, the gravitational
force is typically much weaker (indeed, unlike a BH, a naked
singularity cannot trap
light rays) and can be even repulsive. For more details, see
Refs.~\cite{super,super2,super3,super4,super5,super6}.

The formation of an accretion disk around the compact object is
possible when the gas around the body has significant angular
momentum. The disk is geometrically thin and optically thick
when the gravitational energy of the falling gas can be efficiently
radiated away. Thin disks are described by the Novikov-Thorne model.
One of the key ingredients is the existence of an ISCO: circular orbits inside
the ISCO are radially unstable and therefore, as the gas
reaches the ISCO, it quickly plunges onto the compact object and
crosses the event horizon, without significant emission of  additional
radiation. The evolution of the spin parameter of the BH is given by
Eq.~(\ref{e-spin}) and the radiative efficiency $\eta$, defined by
$L_{\rm acc} = \eta \dot{M}$, where $L_{\rm acc}$ is the luminosity
due to the accretion process and $\dot{M}$ is the mass accretion
rate, is simply $\eta = 1 - E_{\rm ISCO}$.

If the geometry around the compact object is not described by the
Kerr metric, one can find even other scenarios~\cite{bb2}.
In particular, if the object is more prolate than a Kerr BH, circular
orbits on the equatorial plane may be even vertically unstable
(in the Kerr background, all the circular orbits on the equatorial
plane are vertically stable) and, in addition to an outer region
with stable circular orbits delimited by the ISCO, one may find
regions with stable circular orbits even closer to the compact object.
At least for the subclass of Manko-Novikov space-times studied
in~\cite{bb2}, there are four qualitatively different final stages of
accretion:
\begin{enumerate}
\item The ISCO is {\it radially} unstable, and the gas plunges
into the compact object remaining roughly on the equatorial
plane and without emitting significant radiation.
This is the same scenario as in the Kerr case.
\item The ISCO is {\it radially} unstable and the gas
plunges, but does not reach the compact object. Instead,
it gets trapped between the object and the ISCO,
forming a thick disk.
\item The ISCO is {\it vertically} unstable, and the gas plunges
into the compact object {\it outside} the equatorial plane and
without emitting significant radiation.
\item The ISCO is {\it vertically} unstable and the gas
plunges, but does not reach the compact object. Instead,
it gets trapped between the object and the ISCO and
forms two thick disks, above and below the equatorial plane.
\end{enumerate}
The scenarios (2) and (4) occur only in a limited range of the
parameters of these space-times. Nevertheless, they have
quite peculiar features and may be likely tested with
future observations. Because of the presence of a thick disk
inside the ISCO, the evolution of $a_*$ is given by
Eq.~(\ref{e-spin}) with $E_{\rm inner}$ and $L_{\rm inner}$
replacing respectively $E_{\rm ISCO}$ and $L_{\rm ISCO}$,
where $E_{\rm inner}$ and $L_{\rm inner}$ are the
specific energy and the $z$-component of the
specific angular momentum at the
inner edge of the thick disk, and the radiative efficiency
becomes $\eta = 1 - E_{\rm inner}$.

\section{Observational tests \label{s-4}}

Generally speaking, the Kerr BH hypothesis can be tested by
using the same techniques through which astronomers can
measure the spin parameter of a BH, assuming the geometry
of the space-time is described by the Kerr metric. In what
follows, I discuss in some details the three approaches of which
I have some experience, while other possibilities are just
mentioned in the last subsection.

\subsection{Radiative efficiency}

The radiative efficiency $\eta$ is defined by the relation
$L_{\rm acc} = \eta \dot{M}$, where $L_{\rm acc}$ is the accretion
luminosity and $\dot{M}$ is the mass accretion rate. In the case
of a BH, $\eta$ may be even extremely small, because the gas
can cross the event horizon before it can radiate away the
energy of the gravitational potential. For example, in a spherically
symmetric and adiabatic accretion onto a Schwarzschild BH
(Bondi accretion), $\eta \sim 10^{-4}$. High values of the radiative
efficiency can be easily obtained in presence of a thin accretion disk,
where $\eta = 1 - E_{\rm ISCO}$\footnote{As discussed in
Subsec.~\ref{ss-ap}, $\eta = 1 - E_{\rm inner}$ in those special
cases in which the gas forms a thick disk between the ISCO and
the BH.}; for a Schwarzschild BH ($a_* = 0$), we
find $\eta = 0.057$, while for a maximally-rotating Kerr BH
and a corotating disk ($a_* = 1$), $\eta = 0.42$.
When the compact
object has a solid surface, the picture is instead much more
complicated, as the gas may radiate additional energy
when it hits the surface of the body; anyway, this does not seem
the case for the BH candidates~\cite{horizon,horizon2}.

In general, it is difficult to estimate the radiative efficiency of a
BH candidate, because it is not possible to measure the mass
accretion rate. However, one can estimate the mean radiative
efficiency of active galactic nuclei (AGN) by using the Soltan's
argument~\cite{soltan}, which relates the mean energy density in
the contemporary Universe radiated by the super-massive BHs
with the today mean mass density of these objects. In the final
result, there are definitively several sources of uncertainty.
However, a reliable lower bound is thought to be $\eta >
0.15$~\cite{elvis,elvis2}, especially if one restrict the attention to the
most massive objects.

For a Kerr BH, since the radiative efficiency is $\eta = 1 - E_{\rm ISCO}$
and increases as $a_*$ increases, $\eta > 0.15$ corresponds
to $a_* > 0.89$. If we do not assume that the super-massive
objects in galactic nuclei are Kerr BHs, it is possible to get a constraint
on the mean deformation parameter of AGN. In Ref.~\cite{eta}, I considered a
subclass of the Manko-Novikov space-times, in which the deformation
parameter was the quadrupole moment $Q$ of the object. Defining the
dimensionless parameter $q$ as $Q = - (1 + q) a_*^2 M^3$ (for
$q = 0$, we recover exactly the Kerr solution), observations require:
\begin{eqnarray}\label{e-q}
-2.01 < q < 0.14 \, ,
\end{eqnarray}
Let us notice that, in the case of a self-gravitating fluid like a neutron
star, one would expect $q > 1$. In other words, BH candidates are
much stiffer than ordinary matter.

Since the most efficient way to spin a compact object up is
through the accretion process from a thin disk,
the maximum possible value of the spin parameter of a super-massive
object at the center of a galaxy is given by the equilibrium spin
parameter $a_*^{eq}$ of Eq.~(\ref{e-spin}). The exact value depends
on the deformation parameter. If we require that a BH candidate
must be able to have $\eta > 0.15$ with $a_* \le a_*^{eq}$, we find
the maximum value of the spin parameter for the super-massive
objects in galactic nuclei~\cite{bspin,bspin2}:
\begin{eqnarray}\label{e-a}
|a_*| \lesssim 1.2 \, ,
\end{eqnarray}
which is basically independent of the choice of the theoretical
framework. This argument cannot be applied to the stellar-mass
BH candidates because the value of the spin parameter of the
latter reflects the one at the time of their formation;
that is, it is determined by more complex physics involving the
gravitational collapse.

As shown in this subsection, the estimate of the radiative efficiency
can already be used to provide interesting constraints on the nature
of the BH candidates. However, the constraints are
weak and presumably they cannot be significantly improved in the
near future, as there are several sources of uncertainty. On the other
hand, the approaches discussed in the next subsections are more
complicated, but much more promising to get stronger and more
robust bounds.

\subsection{Continuum fitting method}

The X-ray spectrum of stellar-mass BH candidates has often a
soft component ($< 10$~keV), which is thought to be the thermal
spectrum of a geometrically thin and optically thick disk of
accretion. In the Novikov-Thorne model, the observed spectrum
of a thin disk around a BH depends only on the background
metric, the mass accretion rate, the distance of the observer, and
the viewing angle. Assuming the Kerr background, one can
measure the spin parameter from the observational data. This
technique is called continuum-fitting method and at present it has
been used to estimate the spin of a few stellar-mass BH
candidates~\cite{cfm,cfm2}\footnote{For super-massive BHs, the disk
temperature is lower (the effective temperature scales like
$M^{-0.25}$) and this approach cannot be applied.}.
Basically, one has to get independent measurements of the the
mass of the object, its distance from us, and the inclination angle
of the disk, and then it is possible to fit the soft X-ray component
of the source and deduce $a_*$ and $\dot{M}$. The key-point is
that there is a one to one correspondence between the value
of $a_*$ and the one of the radiative efficiency $\eta$.

Relaxing the Kerr BH hypothesis, one can probe the geometry
around the stellar-mass BH candidates~\cite{bb1} (see also
Refs.~\cite{cfm-s,cfm-s2,cfm-s3,cfm-s4,cfm-s5,cfm-s6,cfm-s7}
for tests of more specific models). Generally
speaking, current X-ray data are not so good to break the
degeneracy between the spin parameter and the deformation
parameter, but it is only possible to constrain a combination of
the two. However, the thermal spectrum of a thin disk around
a rapidly-rotating Kerr BH can be hardly mimicked by a compact
object very different from a Kerr BH. So, if we observe a spectrum
that seems to be generated around a very rapidly-rotating Kerr
BH, we can constrain the deformation parameter, independently of the
value of its spin. In principle, we could
also discover deviations from the Kerr geometry if we find that
the thermal spectrum of the disk is too hard even for a Kerr
BH with $a_* = 1$. It may be interesting to test this possibility
with the spectrum of the high-spin BH candidate
GRS1915+105~\cite{grs}, when future more accurate measurements
of the distance to this object will be available. However,
significant work has still to be done, especially in the case of
fast-rotating objects, before using the continuum fitting method to
probe the geometry around the BH candidates~\cite{bb1}.

\subsection{Direct imaging}

The capability of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) has
improved significantly at short wavelength and it is now widely believed
that within 5-10 years it will be possible to observe the direct image
of the accretion flow around nearby super-massive BH candidates with
a resolution comparable to their event horizon~\cite{doel,doel2}. If the disk
is optically thin (which is always the case for sufficiently high frequencies)
and geometrically thick, it will be possible to observe the BH
``shadow'', i.e. a dark area over a bright background~\cite{sha0,sha02}.
While the intensity
map of the image depends on the details of the accretion process, the
contour of the shadow is determined exclusively by the geometry of the
space-time around the compact object. The observation of the shadow
can thus be used to test the Kerr BH hypothesis, as first suggested
in~\cite{sha1,sha12,sha13} and further explored in~\cite{sha2,sha22}.

The contour of the shadow is the photon capture surface as seen by
a distant observer. As light rays are bent by the gravitational field of
a massive object, the size of the shadow is always larger than the one of the
photon capture surface. In the case of rotating objects, in general
the shadow is not symmetric with respect to the axis of the spin of the
BH, because the capture radius for corotating photons is
smaller than the one for counterrotating ones; the effect is maximum
for an observer on the equatorial plane and goes to zero for one
along the $z$-axis. For generic space-times, the contour of the
shadow is computed by considering the photons crossing perpendicularly
the image plane of the distant observer and integrating numerically
backward in time the geodesic equations. All the points on the image
plane of the observer whose trajectories cross the BH horizon make
the shadow.

As discussed in Subsec.~\ref{ss-eh}, rapidly-rotating non-GR BHs
may have a topologically non-trivial event horizon. One can see
that in these space-times the central singularity is naked. In other
words, in these scenarios it is easy to overspin a BH and violate
the weak cosmic censorship conjecture. If such rapidly-rotating
BHs exist, a distant observer may see also the central singularity or,
more likely, the quantum gravity region replacing the central
singularity~\cite{topo2}.

\subsection{Other tests}

In addition to the continuum fitting method, another famous
technique among astronomers to measure the spin parameter
of BH candidates is the approach of the relativistic iron line~\cite{reyn}.
Basically, one sees a broad spectral line which is interpreted as
fluorescent iron K$\alpha$ emission from cool gas in the accretion
disk. The rest energy of the iron line is 6.4~keV, while the
observed line is broad because it is affected by Doppler boosting,
frame dragging, and gravitational redshift.
The advantage with the continuum fitting
method is that this technique can be applied either to stellar-mass
and super-massive BH candidates. However, the physics is more
complicated, we have no way to predict {\it a priori} the
intrinsic surface brightness profile of the K$\alpha$ line,
and even the basic model is subject to critiques~\cite{tita}.
A preliminary study to use the K$\alpha$ line to test the Kerr BH
hypothesis is reported in Ref.~\cite{iron}.

The geometry of the space-time around BH candidates can also
be mapped by studying the orbital motion of individual stars.
The latter are massive objects, so they move along the geodesics
of the space-time and, unlike the gas particles, their motion is
not affected by the presence of electromagnetic fields. However,
they are usually relatively far from the BH candidate, where
gravity is weak, and therefore very accurate measurements
are necessary. In the literature, there are two proposals in this
direction. The study of the motion of a radio pulsar around a stellar-mass
BH companion~\cite{wex}; for the time being, however, no BH-pulsar
binary system is known.
Astrometric monitoring of stars orbiting at mpc distances from
SgrA$^\star$~\cite{will2,will22}; in principle, it would indeed be possible to measure
the spin $J$ and the mass-quadrupole moment $Q$ of the
super-massive BH candidate at the center of the Galaxy.
While future infrared experiments could be able to observe such short
period stars, it is not clear if the idea can work, because the presence
of unknown and unseen objects closer to the BH candidate would
also affect the motion of these stars and spoil the measurement.

Another interesting proposal was put forward in Ref.~\cite{bhb}
and uses the available optical data of the BL Lacertae object OJ287.
The system is modeled as a spinning primary BH with an accretion
disk and a non-spinning less massive secondary BH. If we
assume that the observed outbursts from 1913 to 2007 arise when
the secondary BH crosses the accretion disk and we fit the data,
we can constrain the spin and the quadrupole moment of the
primary BH.

Future gravitational wave astronomy may open new possibilities
and test the nature of the BH candidates with excellent accuracy.
That should be possible in at least two ways:

{\it Observations of extreme-mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs)}. These
are systems consisting of a stellar-mass compact object orbiting
a super-massive BH candidate. Since future space-based
gravitational waves antennas like LISA (or a similar ESA-led mission)
will be able to follow the stellar-mass object for millions of orbits
around the super-massive BH candidate, the space-time around
the latter can be mapped with very high accuracy. Any deviation
from the Kerr geometry will lead to a phase difference in the
gravitational waveforms that grows with the number of observed
cycles. The technique is very promising, it is not very sensitive to
the exact field equations of the gravity theory, and it has been
studied in details by many authors~\cite{babak,emris,emris2,emris3,emris4,emris5,emris6}.

{\it Observations of quasi-normal modes (QNMs)}.
Ground-based detectors like the Einstein Telescope will be
able to observe the QNMs of stellar-mass objects, while the ones
of super-massive BH candidates will require space-based missions
like LISA. For a Kerr BH, the frequencies of these modes depend
only on its mass $M$ and spin $J$. The identification of at least
three modes can thus be used to test the nature of a BH candidate.
As the QNMs are more sensitive to the specific field equations of
the gravity theory, the interpretation of the data is more complicated
with respect to the first approach of the EMRIs.
For more details, see Refs.~\cite{qnms,qnms2,qnms3,qnms4}.

\section{Conclusions \label{s-5}}

Up to now, GR has successfully passed all experimental tests, but the
theory has never been checked under extreme conditions, where new
physics can more likely appear. In particular, we currently believe that
the final product of the gravitational collapse is a Kerr BH, but
we have no observational confirmations. Astronomers have
already discovered several good astrophysical candidates
and recently there has been an increasing interest in the
possibility of testing the Kerr nature of these objects with present
and future experiments.
If the BH candidates are not the BH predicted by GR, they
likely have different fundamental properties: for instance, they
may violate the bound $|a_*| \le 1$, they may have a
topologically non-trivial event horizon, and even the accretion
process may present peculiar features.
For the time being, one can probe
the geometry around a BH candidate by using the techniques
developed to estimate the spin parameter of these objects
under the assumption they are Kerr BHs; the continuum fitting
method and the study of relativistic lines are the two most
popular approaches. With the already available X-ray data,
we can test the Kerr BH hypothesis, at least when all the astrophysical
processes are well understood. In the future, we can hope
to get more reliable and precise measurements with the
advent of new observational facilities: VLBI arrays will
be able to observe the shadow of nearby super-massive BHs,
thus detecting the apparent photon capture surface of the
space-time,
ground-based gravitational wave detectors like the Einstein Telescope
will be able to test the Kerr BH hypothesis by detecting the QNMs of
stellar-mass BHs, and space-based
gravitational wave antennas like LISA or a similar ESA-led mission
will be able to observe the gravitational waves emitted by EMRIs
and test the nature of super-massive BHs.

\section*{Acknowledgments}

I would like to thank my collaborators in the works reviewed in this
paper: Enrico Barausse, Francesco Caravelli, Katie Freese, Tomohiro
Harada, Leonardo Modesto, Rohta Takahashi, and Naoki Yoshida.
I am grateful to Federico Urban, for reading a preliminary version
of the manuscript and providing useful feedback, and Luciano
Rezzolla, for useful comments about the weak cosmic censorship
conjecture. This work was supported by Humboldt Foundation.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Searching for new strategies against prostate cancer
The European Research Council (ERC) has announced that Roland Schüle, Scientific Director at the Department of Urology, University of Freiburg Medical Centre has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant. Professor Schüle will receive €2.5 million for a period of 5 years for his research proposal to identify and characterize the molecular and physiological functions of the epigenetic enzyme LSD1 and to explore its role in prostate cancer.
"I am absolutely delighted to receive this significant research award" says Roland Schüle. "This is an acknowledgement of both, the quality of the research proposal as well as a recognition of the excellent science which my team has generated over the last years." The proposed research will explore the role of the epigenetic regulator lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1). LSD1 is an enzyme that has been identified by the Schüle lab as a histone demethylase with important functions in the onset and proliferation of prostate cancer. "This 5-year funding will allow us to establish the molecular functions of LSD1 by using disease models and high-throughput genomic approaches. This may lead to novel therapeutic and diagnostic concepts for prostate cancer."
The ERC Advanced Grant complements the recently established Collaborative Research Centre Medical Epigenetics (CRC MEDEP), a consortium of about 20 Freiburg-based investigators who determine the potential of epigenetics in medical applications. Roland Schüle is also coordinator of the CRC MEDEP.
About ERC Advanced Grant
The ERC Advanced Grant is one of the most prestigious research grants awarded to individual scientists within Europe. The grant is awarded to excellent researchers who already have a track record of significant research achievements and who have worked for at least ten years successfully at the highest international level. The evaluation process takes into consideration the scientific achievements of the applicant as well as the specific research project submitted. The grants are awarded based entirely on the scientific quality of the applications.
Prof. Dr. Roland Schüle
Scientific Director Department of Urology
University of Freiburg Medical Center
Department of Urology/ Women's Hospital and Center for Clinical Research
Phone: +49 (0)761/ 270 - 6310
Fax: +49 (0)761/ 270 - 6311
E-Mail: roland.schuele(at)uniklinik-freiburg.de
Source: Universitätsklinikum Freiburg (07.11.2012) (P)
New window Universitätsklinikum Freiburg
Website address: https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/searching-for-new-strategies-against-prostate-cancer


…only to find a matched set of five fabulous shades! And, thus, the pair was purchased.
The pendants are ideal for a home built in the late 1890s or through to, say, 1910.
I only but gently polished the brass so as to protect the luscious patina.
Oh, those shades, I love them.
The shades are so lovely and dainty.


text:
Q: What might be alternatives to Userena in Django? I am interested if there are alternatives to Userena in Django. I want my website to have kind of serious feeling that a validation email be sent after registration, and able to change password, etc. Just curious what plugins are off the shelf.

A: This has always been my go-to package for two step registration (validation email):
https://django-registration.readthedocs.org/en/latest/
Django auth system already provides the change password functionality:
https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.5/topics/auth/default/#module-django.contrib.auth.views

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
Q: Accessing MS Graph resources with Intune SDK We are using the iOS Intune SDK to build a native MAM app. This app needs to access the Graph API to read the user profile and other data. What we did:
(1) We registered a app and gave the permissions: User.Read (for Graph and Windows Azure AD), DeviceManagementManagedApp.ReadWrite
Login and enrollment to Intune is working, the app gets enrolled. But, when trying to obtain the access token for the Graph API using the ADAL SDK I need to sign in again a then I am blocked with the message that the device needs to be managed to access this resource.
Do I need another permission? Where to I get the access token from? Is anything else missing?

A:
From your description it appears you have a Conditional Access policy enabled that requires mobile devices are Intune MDM managed.  When you call the Graph API from an unmanaged device it will ask you to enroll the device.  If you remove the Conditional Access policy you should be able to confirm this.


text:
Ernst Kretschmer (8. října 1888 – 8. února 1964) byl německý psychiatr.

Kretschmer popsal vztah mezi tělesnou stavbou (typem), vlastnostmi osobnosti a jejími psychickými poruchami. Studoval medicínu a filozofii na univerzitě v Tübingenu; studium dokončil roku 1913. Své nejznámější dílo Körperbau und Charakter dokončil již v roce 1921. Jedná se však o nevědeckou teorii.

Členění osobnosti podle temperamentu

Dělí se podle stavby těla:

 Pyknik: má sklony k tloustnutí, postavu s větším objemem břicha a hrudníku, bývá středně vysoký. Lidé jsou to spíše veselí, ale se sklony k občasným maniodepresivním poruchám = cyklotymní typ charakteru.
 Astenik (leptosom): charakteristická štíhlost a výška, často se uzavírají sami do sebe, jsou přecitlivělí nebo naopak chladní až cyničtí, není příliš aktivní, má sklony k schizofrenním chorobám = schizotypní typ charakteru.
 Atletik: lidé s výrazně vyvinutým svalstvem, široký hrudník a ramena, lhostejní až neteční, někdy výbušní, podle Kretschmera mají tendenci trpět epilepsií = viskózní typ charakteru.

Externí odkazy

Němečtí psychologové
Narození v roce 1888
Úmrtí v roce 1964
Muži
Narození 8. října
Úmrtí 8. února
Vyučující na Univerzitě Marburg
Vyučující na Univerzitě Tübingen


text:
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
    QApplication app{ argc, argv };

    QGroupBox groupBox{"&Colors"};

    QRadioButton* redButton{ new QRadioButton{"&Red"} };
    QRadioButton* greenButton{ new QRadioButton{"&Green"} };
    QRadioButton* blueButton{ new QRadioButton{"&Blue"} };
    greenButton->setChecked(true);

    QVBoxLayout* layout{ new QVBoxLayout{} };
    layout->addWidget(redButton);
    layout->addWidget(greenButton);
    layout->addWidget(blueButton);
    groupBox.setLayout(layout);

    groupBox.show();

    return app.exec();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Jewish World Review Dec 27, 2011 / 1 Teves, 5772
Certain prediction for 2012
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | According to the Mayan "long count" calendar, the final day on Earth is less than a year away, on Dec. 21, 2012.
While we wait to see if that apocalypse occurs, a more reliable prediction includes an end of a different sort. The economic stimulus pipeline from Washington to the states is about to run dry. This means many governors can be expected to ask their legislatures, or voters, to raise taxes for "essential" programs. To government, all programs are "essential."
According to the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), Washington state is planning to put a tax-increase proposal on its ballot in March, while California voters are likely to vote in November on raising taxes. California is a certifiably insolvent state. It is in deep debt because Democratic politicians won't stop spending, not because taxpayers aren't paying their "fair share."
We are hearing -- or will soon hear -- that state governments have cut spending to the bone and disaster will occur if more is cut. It's never true, but fear has always worked to squeeze more money out of the people who earn it.
True, Medicaid continues to be the main driver behind state spending, but that's a reason for fixing what ails Medicaid, not pouring more money into it.
Consider construction projects, which are snarling traffic around the country. According to a study by 22 Gannett newspapers, published earlier this month in USA Today, "The federal government spends $40 billion a year on highway construction but does not track how many projects are over budget, how much goes toward overruns or whether the record is getting better or worse. The result is a patchwork pattern of planning lapses and design errors that sends some states back for more money again and again ..."
FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO JEWISH NEWSLETTER THAT CARES ABOUT CHRISTIAN ISSUES
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". In addition to INSPIRING stories, HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here.
In Connecticut, what critics call the "busway boondoggle" finds Gov. Dan Malloy, a Democrat, doubling down on a half-billion-dollar project to create bus service between Hartford and New Britain. Republican state Sen. Joe Markley notes buses between the suburbs and Hartford are "a lonely ride" and adds, "I don't believe there is overwhelming need for more buses when the ones we have aren't being used." What a novel thought.
It's that way in many states as politicians spend federal money on wasteful and unnecessary projects and when the money runs out claim granny will be thrown off a cliff if state taxpayers don't pony up for "essential" programs.
Here's one I'll bet you didn't know. Last week, the local news in Washington, D.C., showed pictures of a major water-main break in suburban Maryland. It seems to happen a lot, not only in the Washington area but, according to NTU, hundreds of times each year around the country. NTU estimates the breaks cost taxpayers $3 billion annually, not counting costs associated with traffic tie-ups, emergency equipment, lost time and depleted water supplies.
What could be done to save money when it comes to broken water mains? Corrosion is the main cause of the breaks due to old metallic pipes. NTU estimates the broken pipes are a $50.7 billion drain on the economy, not including the cost from lost water due to leaking or broken pipes.
Utilities have generally replaced old corroded pipes with new ones made of the same or similar materials, which also corrode. Other non-corrosive options are available, and NTU estimates they could save between 30 percent and 70 percent on capital improvement plans. Since localities spent $103 billion on water supply and sewerage programs in 2009, that's a lot of savings. Read all about it at ntu.org.
All governments should be regularly audited by outside auditors. Their sole interest should be saving taxpayers money. Any program or agency that wastes money ought to be updated or eliminated. If taxpayers don't force big government at the state and federal levels to go on a diet, the bloating will only continue to the detriment of our economic health.


text:
Glimpses at the Freedmen's Union Industrial School, Richmond, Virginia Digital History ID 2377
Credit: Library of Congress
Media type: engraving
Museum Number: LC-USZ62-33264
Annotation: This illustration of African American women sewing appeared in Frank Leslie's illustrated newspaper, v. 23, 1866 Sept. 22, p. 5. Though only intended to function one year after the end of the Civil War, U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedman's Bureau), was responsible for the creation of several medical facilities which provided assistance to millions of African Americans and the establishment of thousands of educational institutions. The U.S. established the agency to ease the transition of former slaves into society during the Reconstruction, and it encountered heavy resistance in the south from whites. Institutions like the Freedman's Union Industrial School offered many African Americans an opportunity to not only to learn important trade skills but also lessons in reading and mathematics. It is estimated that by the end of 1865, more than 90,000 former slaves were enrolled in schools whose attendance rates between 79 and 82 percent for which the United States spent over five million dollars. The Bureau also functioned as powerful political tool intended to organize African Americans to vote for the Republican Party. After a bill extending the life of the program was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, the Bureau was abolished; and many of the schools were closed in the face of racial violence against students and teachers by whites.


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text:
Canadian Taxpayer Bill of Rights Toronto Income Tax Lawyer Analysis
Canadian Taxpayer Rights
Canadian Taxpayer Rights – Toronto Income Tax Lawyer Analysis
Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman
Canadian taxpayers have formal rights that have been set out in the CRA Taxpayer Bill of Rights. To help enforce these rights the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman was established in 2008 and operates independently from the CRA. Its mandate is to uphold the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and to provide an independent review of unresolved taxpayer service complaints. Ms. Sherra Profit, who is a lawyer, was appointed to the position in April 2015 and is the second person to be appointed Canada's Taxpayers' Ombudsman since the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman was created in 2008.
Mandate of Canadian Tax Ombudsman
The Ombudsman will not review matters that are before the courts, will not deal with complaints relating to tax policy or program legislation and cannot direct the CRA to take action. The role of the Tax Court of Canada is to review specific Canada Revenue Agency assessments and direct them to change the assessment if incorrect. The Taxpayers' Ombudsman will deal with service complaints. Typically this includes undue delay; poor or misleading information; staff behaviour; or mistakes, which could potentially result in a misunderstanding. A service complaint can be submitted through one of our top Canadian income tax lawyers if it requires a technical explanation. The Taxpayers' Ombudsman website also contains information about how to submit a tax service complaint.
Canadian Taxpayer Bill of Rights
The Canadian Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a set of 16 very specific rights that Canadian taxpayers have in their relationship with the Canada Revenue Agency. Here is a discussion by a Toronto tax lawyer of some of the more important rights.
Right to Receive Entitlements and to Pay no More and no Less than What is Required by Law
The first right seems to be very self evident, but it is very important. This right means that Canadian taxpayers can expect to receive the benefits, credits, and refunds to which you are entitled under the Canadian Income Tax Act. This means that CRA should inform taxpayers of credits available, and taxpayers can expect to pay no more and no less than the correct amount required under tax law. It is important to realize that taxpayers must still claim for credits that they are entitled to receive. CRA cannot know if, for example, a child has participated in activities eligible for the Children's fitness tax credit.
Right to Privacy and Confidentiality
Taxpayers have the right for CRA to protect and manage the confidentiality of their personal and financial information in accordance with the laws they administer, such as the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act and the Privacy Act. Furthermore, only CRA employees who need information to administer programs and legislation have access to taxpayer information.
Right to a Formal Review and a Subsequent Appeal
This is the right routinely invoked by our experienced Toronto income tax lawyers. It means that Canadian taxpayers are entitled to a formal review of their file if they disagree with a proposed income tax assessment . If even after this review there is no agreement with the tax department then there is a right to file a formal Notice of Objection. The income tax appeals officer responsible for handling the Objection will not have been involved with the original decision under dispute and has an obligation to provide an independent review of the file.
Right to be Treated Professionally, Courteously and Fairly
Canadian taxpayers can expect that CRA will treat them courteously and with consideration at all times, including when they ask for information or arrange interviews and audits. Taxpayers can also expect the Canada Revenue Agency to listen to them and to take their specific circumstances into account.
Right to Relief from Penalties and Interest Due to Extraordinary Circumstances
This is another right routinely exercised by our top Toronto income tax lawyers by filing taxpayer relief or fairness applications. This right means that Revenue Canada has to consider a request to waive or cancel all or part of any penalty and interest charges if the taxpayer was prevented from complying with tax obligations because of circumstances beyond their control. Specifically included is the right to relief due to financial hardship.
Right to be Represented by a Person of Your Choice
Canadian taxpayers have an absolute right to be represented by a Canadian income tax professional. They can choose a person to represent them and to get advice about their tax and benefit affairs. CRA is required to deal with this representative once they have been properly retained and authorized. Furthermore when dealing with a Toronto income tax lawyer (but not a tax accountant) all communications between the tax lawyer and taxpayer, as will as the files, are privileged and confidential. This also means that an income tax collections officer is required to communicate with the tax professional and not the taxpayer if so instructed by the taxpayer. Failure to do so is grounds for a service complaint to CRA or to the Tax Ombudsman.
Right to Lodge a Service Complaint or Request a Formal Review Without Fear of Reprisal
CRA employees are expected to act in accordance with the CRA Code of Ethics and Conduct and the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector. If a Canadian taxpayer lodges a service complaint or requests a formal review of a CRA decision CRA is required to treat them impartially and they are entitled to receive the benefits, credits, and refunds as set out in the tax law, and pay no more or no less than what is required by income tax law. Taxpayers should not fear reprisal.


Featuring nine floors of one- and two-bedroom suites, including unique Village Mains with direct suite access, The Annex is designed to seamlessly integrate into your best life. Whether hosting summer barbeques on the rooftop patio, biking Calgary's riverside pathways or taking in Kensington's unparalleled retail and restaurant offerings, The Annex is where you'll find The Next You.
The Annex is equipped with a spacious roof-top patio that's complete with a dog run, fireplace, communal barbecues, a community garden, a group game set-up and ample seating areas for residents to socialize and get to know each other, while enjoying an incredible view of Calgary's skyline.
Your home should be a reflection of who you want to be. Choose from one of The Annex's three distinct aesthetics — Industrial, Mid-Mod or Urban — and customize the perfect space. All our finishes offer quartz countertops with waterfall islands in the kitchen, luxury vinyl flooring throughout the suite and tile flooring in the bathrooms — and it's all included.
Sophisticated and stylish. A modern yet neutral colour palette is complemented by sleek accents throughout the design's two-tone cabinetry, quartz counters and subway tiling.
Welcoming and invigorating, warm neutrals provide a backdrop for intricate geometric tile, vintage-inspired lighting paired with contrasting glossy and wood cabinetry.