text:
Artful Dimensions
Interview by Lindley Estes
Issue 60 • February 2018 • Fredericksburg
This artist collective continues to carve out spaces that not only allows them to promote their work, but also invite others to learn from their experience.
Above: Pixelated Cow #1 by Joseph Wilkinson
On a frozen First Friday art opening last month, the streets were scarce with people, but gallery-goers packed into Artful Dimensions to see their new location at 922 Caroline Street in downtown Fredericksburg. They were living fixtures in the space, talking to artists, interacting with the work in the way art objects are supposed to be interacted with. They craned, they peered, they spanned, and—somewhat less advised—they touched pieces in the gallery.
Christine Lush-Rodriguez
Artful Dimensions reopened to the public on January 5. The gallery, founded six years ago on nearby Charles Street, has a simple mission: to bring 3D art to the forefront of the gallery experience. Gallery president Christine Lush-Rodriguez said the cooperative began when she and the other founding members expressed their unwillingness to be continually cast into corners and the background of galleries that focused on painting. "In many galleries, 3D art is a second thought," she said. "But that's not true for us. We wanted to put the focus on dimensional art."
The new location is doing that in a way they haven't experienced before. Aside from the reopening reception, she said they had more foot traffic the first day than they would have in a week in the former location—and more walk-ins the first week than they would see in a whole month.
The move wasn't just about location. The group wanted a space that worked for them with a well-thought out gallery and studio spaces. They built it out themselves for almost a year. In some ways, that process was like the craft of creating 3D art. But it also, according to treasurer and woodworker Joe Wilkinson, was the complete opposite.
The whole process involved the act of uncovering: exposing wood and brick, peeling back linoleum to expose the original terrazzo floors, finding tin ceilings from the art deco era and then even older tin from the 1880's. It was an exercise in patience and self-control—not things artists are generally known for.
Along with the gallery are six studio spaces. Lush-Rodriguez said they hope at least one artist will be there working during open hours so visitors can view the craft being done. She has a studio there, creating ceramics. "It is the techniques in their art," she said. "People like to look at art, but also like to see how it is made."
Also there is Mary Lazar, who does fabric art, including batik dyeing. She has been working with the medium for 40 years and opened her studio during the First Friday event to show people her current pieces. So did Sally Cooney Anderson, who does free-form crochet. She showed visitors how she starts with a color palate and goes where the yarn takes her. The cooperative has 19 members now, who create in mediums as diverse as paper, sculpture, stained glass, and jewelry.
Wilkinson, who makes custom furniture and wooden art pieces said people sometimes ask him, "But what do you use this for?" He's responds, "It's like a painting, for your table." He makes one-of-a-kind furniture, never using the same design twice. He likes complicated pieces. But like many 3D artists, he runs into the problem of cost. He said because chain stores manufacture similar goods for a fraction of the price, he has to explain the artistry, time, and quality inherent in his products.
He said his medium, woodworking, is in his genes. Wilkinson's grandfather and all of his sons worked for a saw mill. Growing up, he worked on houses with his father, carving gingerbread features for old Victorians. He kept the craft going throughout his time in the Navy and made it a full time preoccupation in retirement.
Silly Pop by E. A. Skeeter Scheid
Likewise, Lush-Rodriguez has always known her medium. She has worked in ceramics ever since high school when she first took a class in it. Along with her work in the gallery, including a group of vases that look like Birch trunks, she does shows around the country. She has one coming up in Miami featuring her pots covered in clay barnacles. She said all of her inspiration comes from the natural world, mostly plants and the ocean.
Throughout Artful Dimensions, unusual pieces made by artists in this region of Virginia are on display. They will also be hosting their third annual juried show, Dimensional Expressions, featuring 3D artists from all over the country (the deadline for submissions is February 28). But the collective is not just about promoting its members and their ilk; they want to increase the number of people making 3D art.
To that end, they offer regular workshops and classes in forms such as felting, polymer clay, Raku pottery, stained glass, weaving, fabric dyeing, and even making clocks out of found objects. Lush-Rodriguez said they also offer private classes for particular interests. No matter what someone wants to make, she said they have members with varied expertise who can help.
"We're real, not plastic," she said about the people who make up the gallery. "We're real people with rich stories."
Artful Dimensions will host their next gallery opening on Friday, February 2. Learn more about their members and upcoming classes at artfuldimensionsgallery.com.
Photography by Aaron Spicer
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Mickael Broth
This entrepreneurial muralist is taking his love of painting and using it to advocate for the power of public art.
What's better than a kid who likes comics? A big kid who likes comics and wants to give back to his community in as many ways as humanly possible.
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Whurk Staff
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When you hear mention of the word innovation, what comes to mind? Technology? Biometrics? Virtual reality? Androids? Data mining? Holograms? Wearable devices? Driverless cars? Let's face it, innovation is nothing new, but it has become our sizzling buzzword of the century. Not to be confused with the word invention, innovation provides better solutions for a market's unstipulated or existing needs.
In order to survive in today's business climate, regardless of how large or small an organization is, or what industry they are in, the creation of new internal processes, new products, new additions to service offerings or overall business structures is vital. Innovation can refer to creating something new (an idea, method or device) or changes made to an existing product.
1. Ideas: Abstract concepts, mental representational images that you have in order to create, expand or reinvent your product or service for your organization.
2. Imagination: The creative ability to visualize, form, transform and integrate those ideas into functional products or solutions.
3. Inspiration: The process of learning through visual thinking or divine influence by moving intellect to motion and emotion.
4. Investigation: Discovering, studying, gathering or inquiring information and resources to produce an end-product for your users.
5. Identification: To recognize and establish your idea or invention into quantifiable and qualifiable opportunities and benefits to market your product or service.
6. Investment: A monetary, educational or time asset that will provide productivity for future profits and growth development of the organization.
7. Integrity: Ethics in all aspects of business practices influences the culture of attracting new customers, increases loyalty among current employees and affects the organization's reputation in relationship building with stakeholders, business partners, and suppliers.
8. Influencer: Those individuals or influences (e.g. testimonials, reviews) who make a positive or negative impact on decision-making by potential buyers. Opportunities in your marketing activities, social influence, the power of persuasion, the collective teamwork of employees and other external interactions impact advocacy and promotion.


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Q: What should be the Bayes factor while testing a simple null against a composite alternative? Suppose $X_1,X_2,\ldots,X_n$ are i.i.d $\text{Poisson}(\theta)$ where $\theta$ has a Gamma prior. The testing problem is $H_0:\theta=\theta_0$ against $H_1:\theta\ne \theta_0$. I am trying to find the Bayes factor in favour of $H_1$.
Let $\Theta_i$ be the parameter space under $H_i$ and $\Pi(\Theta_i)=\int_{\Theta_i}\pi(\theta)\,d\theta$ where $\pi$ is the prior density, $i=0,1$. Similarly, $\Pi(\Theta_i\mid \boldsymbol x)=\int_{\Theta_i}\pi(\theta\mid \boldsymbol x)\,d\theta$ where $\pi(\theta\mid \boldsymbol x)$ is the posterior density.
My definition of Bayes factor in favour of $H_1$ is $$B=\frac{\text{Posterior odds}}{\text{Prior odds}}=\frac{\Pi(\Theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi(\Theta_0\mid \boldsymbol x)}{\Pi(\Theta_1)/\Pi(\Theta_0)}=\frac{\Pi(\Theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi(\Theta_1)}{\Pi(\Theta_0\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi(\Theta_0)}$$
For simple null against simple alternative, say $H_0:\theta=\theta_0$ vs $H_1':\theta=\theta_1(\ne \theta_0)$, Bayes factor is the likelihood ratio:
$$B=\frac{\pi(\theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/\pi(\theta_1)}{\pi(\theta_0\mid \boldsymbol x)/\pi(\theta_0)}=\frac{f(\boldsymbol x\mid \theta_1)}{f(\boldsymbol x\mid \theta_0)}$$
But how to use this definition for simple versus composite alternative as I have in the problem above?
Do I have to use a mixture prior for $\theta$ like $$\pi(\theta)=p\delta_{\theta_0}+(1-p)g(\theta)\,,$$ where $\delta_{\theta_0}$ denotes a degenerate distribution at $\theta_0$ and $g(\cdot)$ is the pdf of a Gamma distribution on $\Theta-\{\theta_0\}$? If this is the case, should the Bayes factor be modified as
$$B=\frac{\Pi(\Theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi(\Theta_1)}{\pi(\theta_0\mid \boldsymbol x)/\pi(\theta_0)}=\frac{\Pi(\Theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi(\Theta_1)}{f(\boldsymbol x\mid \theta_0)}\,\,?$$
I guess the posterior would also be a mixed distribution if I go down this road.

A: As we discussed in our reassessment of his 1939 Theory of Probability, this issue is central to Jeffreys' introduction of the Bayes factor (although an earlier version appears in Haldane, 1932, and Wrinch and Jeffreys, 1921, see Etz & Wagenmakers, 2017).
When considering a point null hypothesis such as $\text{H}_0: \theta=\theta_0$, the prior $\pi$ (if at all available before considering this null hypothesis) need be modified to incorporate a point mass at $\theta_0$. Otherwise, there is no need for data to reach a decision: $\text{H}_0$ is a priori and a posteriori impossible. This was made quite clear in Jeffreys' 1939 Theory of Probability.
Using the (mixture) prior with the point mass at $\theta_0$
$$\pi^\prime(\theta)=p\delta_{\theta_0}+(1-p)\pi(\theta)$$
means that the null hypothesis is a priori possible, with a prior probability of
$$\Pi^\prime(\Theta_0) = \Pi^\prime(\{\theta_0\}) = p$$
The Bayes factor then writes as
$$\dfrac{\Pi^\prime(\Theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi^\prime(\Theta_1)}{\Pi^\prime(\Theta_0\mid \boldsymbol x)/\Pi^\prime(\Theta_0)} =
\dfrac{\Pi^\prime(\Theta_1\mid \boldsymbol x)/(1-p)}
{\Pi^\prime(\Theta_0\mid \boldsymbol x)/p} =
\dfrac{\int_0^\infty f(x|\theta)\pi(\theta)\,\text d\theta}{f(x|\theta_0)} $$
and the posterior is indeed a mixture of a Dirac mass at $\theta_0$ and of a Gamma (continuous) distribution.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Assignments will be available through this webpage. Assignments are due by end of day Tuesday (midnight). Late submissions will not be accepted, but the lowest homework score will be dropped.
There is a page with links for references and further information.
The in-class section meets W 5:45pm-9:00pm, in Lewis 1105. This course is OL, you can watch lectures online at https://d2l.depaul.edu/ .
My office hours are W 4-5:30 and MW 10:55-11:40. During those times you can find me in the CDM building, room 749.
Required texts: There are two required texts, one for the Linear Algebra, one for the Calculus part.
Shores, Thomas S. Applied Linear Algebra and Matrix Analysis, Springer, 2007.
Ayres, Mendelson, Calculus, 6th Edition, 2013.
We will use additional reading as necessary, including the Matlab Tutorials created by Dr. Raicu.
We will be using Matlab in this course.
The following is a very rough schedule, and we might depart from it. LA, and C refer to the textbooks.
Midterm for the in-class section will be during class-time, Wednesday, 2/7, in a computer lab (CDM 819); the in-class final exam will take place on Wednesday 3/14, again in a lab (CDM 819). Registration for online students will be available on d2l. No make-up exams. Exams will require a laptop and access to Matlab (which means wireless connection, or your own installation of Matlab). Online students need to find a proctoring location which can meet these conditions.
For homework this means that while you can talk to other students about the class material, you cannot talk about your homework solutions; you cannot share your homework solutions, either in written or electronic form. Any work you submit with your name on it needs to have been done solely by yourself, and you need to be able to fully explain it. If you do use someone else's work, you need to clearly mark this by placing quotations within quotation marks and citing any references you use. If you have questions on proper citation, you can visit DePaul's Writing Center. Note that this may lead to reduced credit, however, since you are expected to do the work by yourself.
Last updated: December 4th, 2017.


text:
Tag Archives: leaks
Civil Liberties, Edward Snowden, Opinion
Snowden: Remove The Government's Ability To Interfere With Our Rights
Feb 24, 2015 Samuel Eaton 6 Comments
In an 'Ask Me Anything' question and answer session on Reddit, Edward Snowden was asked: "What's the best way to make NSA spying an issue in the 2016 Presidential Election? It seems like while it was a big deal in 2013, ISIS and other events have put it on the back burner for now in the media and general public. What are your ideas for how to bring it back to the forefront?"
Snowden replied:
This is a good question, and there are some good traditional answers here. Organizing is important. Activism is important.
At the same time, we should remember that governments don't often reform themselves. One of the arguments in a book I read recently (Bruce Schneier, "Data and Goliath"), is that perfect enforcement of the law sounds like a good thing, but that may not always be the case. The end of crime sounds pretty compelling, right, so how can that be?
Well, when we look back on history, the progress of Western civilization and human rights is actually founded on the violation of law. America was of course born out of a violent revolution that was an outrageous treason against the crown and established order of the day. History shows that the righting of historical wrongs is often born from acts of unrepentant criminality. Slavery. The protection of persecuted Jews.
But even on less extremist topics, we can find similar examples. How about the prohibition of alcohol? Gay marriage? Marijuana?
Where would we be today if the government, enjoying powers of perfect surveillance and enforcement, had — entirely within the law — rounded up, imprisoned, and shamed all of these lawbreakers?
Ultimately, if people lose their willingness to recognize that there are times in our history when legality becomes distinct from morality, we aren't just ceding control of our rights to government, but our agency in determing thour futures.
How does this relate to politics? Well, I suspect that governments today are more concerned with the loss of their ability to control and regulate the behavior of their citizens than they are with their citizens' discontent.
How do we make that work for us? We can devise means, through the application and sophistication of science, to remind governments that if they will not be responsible stewards of our rights, we the people will implement systems that provide for a means of not just enforcing our rights, but removing from governments the ability to interfere with those rights.
You can see the beginnings of this dynamic today in the statements of government officials complaining about the adoption of encryption by major technology providers. The idea here isn't to fling ourselves into anarchy and do away with government, but to remind the government that there must always be a balance of power between the governing and the governed, and that as the progress of science increasingly empowers communities and individuals, there will be more and more areas of our lives where — if government insists on behaving poorly and with a callous disregard for the citizen — we can find ways to reduce or remove their powers on a new — and permanent — basis.
Our rights are not granted by governments.
They are inherent to our nature. But it's entirely the opposite for governments: their privileges are precisely equal to only those which we suffer them to enjoy.
We haven't had to think about that much in the last few decades because quality of life has been increasing across almost all measures in a significant way, and that has led to a comfortable complacency. But here and there throughout history, we'll occasionally come across these periods where governments think more about what they "can" do rather than what they "should" do, and what is lawful will become increasingly distinct from what is moral.
In such times, we'd do well to remember that at the end of the day, the law doesn't defend us; we defend the law. And when it becomes contrary to our morals, we have both the right and the responsibility to rebalance it toward just ends.
Glenn Greenwald focused on how the issue did not break down along party lines:
The key tactic DC uses to make uncomfortable issues disappear is bipartisan consensus. When the leadership of both parties join together – as they so often do, despite the myths to the contrary – those issues disappear from mainstream public debate.
The most interesting political fact about the NSA controversy, to me, was how the divisions didn't break down at all on partisan lines. Huge amount of the support for our reporting came from the left, but a huge amount came from the right. When the first bill to ban the NSA domestic metadata program was introduced, it was tellingly sponsored by one of the most conservative Tea Party members (Justin Amash) and one of the most liberal (John Conyers).
The problem is that the leadership of both parties, as usual, are in full agreement: they love NSA mass surveillance. So that has blocked it from receiving more debate. That NSA program was ultimately saved by the unholy trinity of Obama, Nancy Pelosi and John Bohener, who worked together to defeat the Amash/Conyers bill.
The division over this issue (like so many other big ones, such as crony capitalism that owns the country) is much more "insider v. outsider" than "Dem v. GOP". But until there are leaders of one of the two parties willing to dissent on this issue, it will be hard to make it a big political issue.
That's why the Dem efforts to hand Hillary Clinton the nomination without contest are so depressing. She's the ultimate guardian of bipartisan status quo corruption, and no debate will happen if she's the nominee against some standard Romney/Bush-type GOP candidate. Some genuine dissenting force is crucial.
Both make great points. We must remember that it is our duty to restore our rights and take away the power of the government to destroy those rights. But to do so means full spectrum cooperation.
Read the whole Snowden, Greenwald, and Poitras Reddit AMA here.
Edward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldleaksNSA
Police State, Technology
New Snowden Documents Reveal American and British Spies Hacked SIM Card Manufacturer
Feb 20, 2015 Derrick Broze 2 Comments
New documents from whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal the National Security Agency (NSA) and the British GCHQ hacked into a SIM card manufacturer in the Netherlands and now has access to encryption keys that allow monitoring of voice calls and metadata.
The Intercept released the new documents which detail the existence of the Mobile Handset Exploitation Team (MHET), a team formed in April 2010 to study and target cellphones and hack computer networks of manufacturers of SIM cards. The team specifically targeted Gemalto, a SIM card manufacturer based in the Netherlands that produces SIM cards for 450 wireless companies, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Gemalto has operations in 85 countries around the world.
Internal slides from the NSA and GCHQ show that the team was after encryption keys that "live in" the SIM cards. By possessing these keys the spy agencies are able to access wireless networks without leaving any clues and without the need for a warrant. Beyond simply accessing current communications, accessing "authentication servers" allows the agencies to unlock past encrypted communications they may not have had the ability to decrypt. One agent wrote on a slide that he was "very happy with the data so far and [was] working through the vast quantity of product."
The 2010 document refers to this as "PCS Harvesting at Scale," or harvesting large amounts of encryption keys as the data passed between the wireless providers and the "SIM card personalisation centres," such as Gemalto. The NSA boasted at having the ability to process 12 to 22 million keys per second. The spy agency was aiming to process more than 50 million per second. These keys are processed and made available for use against surveillance targets.
Indeed, the GCHQ specifically targeted individuals in key positions within Gemalto and began accessing their emails in hopes of following their trail into the SIM card manufacturers servers. The team of spies even wrote a script which allowed them to access private communications of employees for telecommunication and SIM "personalization" companies in search of technical terms that might be used in assigning encryption keys to cellphone customers.
Paul Beverly, a Gemalto executive vice president, told The Intercept he believed,"The most important thing for me is to understand exactly how this was done, so we can take every measure to ensure that it doesn't happen again, and also to make sure that there's no impact on the telecom operators that we have served in a very trusted manner for many years."
More than likely the NSA and the GCHQ violated international law every time they covertly accessed the emails of employees in foreign nations. Dutch officials are already calling for an investigation into who knew the American and British agencies were conducting such a program, and if so, under what doctrine is such a policy allowed.
As Edward Snowden continues to unveil disturbing uses of surveillance against innocent users of the technology, it is important to remain educated and informed about the way global governments target their own citizenry. Learning to encrypt your communications and watch what you say on the phone becomes largely useless when the government has access to the SIM card itself. What is a free person to do in the Surveillance State of 2015? How can we find balance between freedom and security?
Leave your thoughts below.
britishcell phonesleaksSnowdenSpyingwhistileblower
NSA Chief: Federal legislation to end media leaks only weeks away
Mar 7, 2014 Michael Lotfi 21 Comments
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 7, 2014–National Security Agency (NSA) chief executive General Keith Alexander addressed a cyber-security panel Tuesday where he proclaimed that "media leaks legislation" he introduced to prevent journalists from reporting on government surveillance programs like those leaked by Edward Snowden could reach the floor within a couple weeks.
"We've got to handle media leaks first," Alexander said in report by the Guardian. "I think we are going to make headway over the next few weeks on media leaks."
Alexander stood in support of the United Kingdom's actions last summer when the British government detained Guardian Journalist Glenn Greenwald's partner David Miranda on terrorism charges for carrying leaked data obtained by Snowden. He stated similar measures should be implemented in the USA.
"I think we are going to make headway over the next few weeks on media leaks. I am an optimist. I think if we make the right steps on the media leaks legislation, then cyber legislation will be a lot easier," Alexander said.
Alexander has been pushing his idea for quite some time. "We ought to come up with a way of stopping it. I don't know how to do that. That's more of the courts and the policymakers but, from my perspective, it's wrong to allow this to go on," he told an official Defense Department blog in October.
Alexander, who is set to retire within the next few weeks, seems to have found his solution.
Follow Michael Lotfi on Facebook and on Twitter.
journalismleaksLegislationMichael LotfiNSASnowden
New Report Shines Light on NSA's Mishaps and Ineffective Surveillance
Jan 14, 2014 Ezra Van Auken 3 Comments
Unfortunately for National Security Agency (NSA) bureaucrats and policymakers in Congress, another report has seeped through the headlines showing yet more inconsistencies with government-approved stories on the NSA's surveillance state. The latest report comes from the New American Foundation (NAF), which outright calls director Keith Alexander's thwarted terror attacks claim misleading and overblown.
While the NAF does claim the federal government has stopped dozens of terrorist attacks, the organization believes NSA bulk data collection had "minimal" involvement in those thwarted plots. Jumping right in, out of the 225 allegedly foiled plots by state agents, roughly 1.3 percent of the plots were dismantled by "NSA surveillance under an unidentified authority." And besides unidentified authority, the numbers are still low.
Crunching the numbers, NAF writes that NSA surveillance under section 702 of the Patriot Act was involved in 4.4 percent of thwarted plots. Under section 215, only 1.8 percent was deterred because of NSA surveillance. Simply put, NAF explains that the American surveillance complex hasn't actually stopped terrorist plots, but rather, related plots that come secondary to the actual plot such as fundraising for groups.
Even in one case of NSA intervention where exchange took place between San Diego cabdriver Basaaly Moalin and an al-Qaeda affiliate group al-Shabaab, the actual intervention took place two months later by FBI officials. Although the call between Moalin and the Somalian-based al-Shabaab occurred under the NSA's radar, the actual surveillance and wiretapping by FBI agents happened months later, stalling the capture.
The NAF notes, "This undercuts the government's theory that the database of Americans' telephone metadata is necessary to expedite the investigative process, since it clearly didn't expedite the process in the single case the government uses to extol its virtues." Another case, which has been sprinkled with NSA exaggeration, is the David Coleman Headley and Najiullah Zazi's case – better known as the NYE bomb plot. In addition, court files show other references where NSA surveillance played a role in tampering with terrorist activities, however the NAF was unable to detail how much of a role was played.
Concluding, the NAF believes the problem with NSA techniques is that once the information is compiled, officials are lacking the proper tools to actually do something with the compiled information, making it a soft point for stopping plots. With such low NSA intervention after bulk data collection, it's a wonder whether or not the bureaucrats are actually doing this for national security or rather vast domestic surveillance of Americans.
leaksNSAReportSpying
Lawmakers: Snowden Has Aided Terrorists, Betrayed the US – No Evidence Given
Jan 13, 2014 Ezra Van Auken 16 Comments
Surely whistleblowers and intelligence community opponents have targets on their heads when it comes to dissenting opinions, but for whistleblower Edward Snowden, his target has grown much bigger in the past year. Aside from the redundant plea against government growth and surveillance, Snowden took up the task of putting words into actions against the increase of bureaucracy, and Snowden's catching backlash.
Although undisclosed, House Intelligence Committee members have illustrated how the Pentagon is taking direct lash at Snowden's actions. With the report being touted by members such as Dutch Ruppersberger and Mike Rogers, what's known of it is little, but telling. Produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and other three-letter-agencies, lawmakers overlooking the report have called Snowden's actions a "betrayal".
Rep. Ruppersberger explained, "Snowden handed terrorists a copy of our country's playbook and now we are paying the price, which this report confirms. His actions aligned him with our enemy." Both Ruppersberger and Rogers joined other lawmakers last week at the White House for a briefing on the DIA report, being instructed on what and what not to disclose. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to refute besides talking points.
Calling Snowden's acts a betrayal to American interests, Rep. Rogers warned military personnel of a looming, greater risk. Going as far as saying Snowden's snowstorm has tipped off American adversaries of counter-terrorism methods, despite no evidence, the two lawmakers dug even further saying NSA leaks hurt efforts against human and narcotics traffickers, cyber crime and weapons of mass destruction.
Along with the bold claims was relatively hot air, considering not one shred of information has been released backing what Ruppersberger or Rogers said. "No specific examples are actually given, and you will also notice in virtually every sentence includes the word 'could' — meaning real damage hasn't actually occurred, they are just saying it potentially could happen," wrote Trevor Timm of Freedom of the Press Foundation.
The secret report fails to be seen by any independent organization or individual unrelated to the Pentagon apparatus or Congressional staff, making the interpretations and claims one-sided at best. Claims like these from Rogers and Ruppersberger have been made before, ironically from Rogers in particular, regarding the NSA leaks. In July, Rep. Rogers was the one to throw out the "number 54" when describing how many terrorist attacks have been thwarted because of NSA surveillance.
Rogers said, "Fifty-four times this and the other program stopped and thwarted terrorist attacks both here and in Europe — saving real lives," adding that what officials are dealing with is "real". Yet with the statistics, reports and trumped fear by Rogers, his ultimate claim turned out to be half-truths and misleading reports.
Of course, until the classified information comes out showing Snowden's unintended role in terrorist activities, no one besides the policymakers and bureaucrats making these claims can actually know.
leaksSnowdenSpyingTerrorist
Hayden: NSA 'Infinitely Weaker' Because of Snowden Leaks
Dec 31, 2013 Samuel Eaton 8 Comments
Former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden today declared Edward Snowden a "traitor" for leaking details on the NSA's surveillance programs to the American public, declaring it the "most serious hemorrhaging of American secrets in the history of American espionage."
Hayden went on to claim that the NSA was "infinitely weaker" now that everyone knows about what it is doing, insisting it would take "decades" for the NSA to return to the pre-Snowden era of unchecked power.
Snowden legal adviser Jesselyn Radack dismissed Hayden's allegations, saying that both a federal court and President Obama's own review panel have said what Snowden uncovered was likely unconstitutional, and that this vindicates him as a whistleblower.
Reactions like Hayden's are all-too-common in the current administration, with officials declaring anyone who reports inconvenient facts to be guilty of treason, and blaming them for the inevitable fallout from illegal and unconscionable programs.
This article is from Antiwar.com. A friend in need is a friend indeed – and we need your help to fight this brazen state repression. We're fighting to restore constitutional government in America – but we need your tax-deductible donation to do it. Please, make your contribution today!"
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Comparison of the Physiological age of Adult Resting Versus Flying Culex Quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae)
https://doi.org/10.24200/squjs.vol15iss0pp9-17
D.M. Roberts
derekmr@squ.edu.om (Primary Contact)
Department of Biology, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 36, Postal code 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Relatively little is known about the physiological age of resting mosquitoes. In this study, Culex quinquefasciatus Say had a similar proportion of males (75%) in the resting as in the flying population (76%), but among the females, there were significant differences between the physiological age of the resting and flying populations. The proportion of unfed females (51%) was significantly smaller in the resting than in the flying female group (82%). By contrast, in the resting group, there were much higher proportions of blood-fed (28% compared with 4%) and to a lesser extent gravid (21% compared with 14%) females. Of the blood-fed females, most of the resting individuals were freshly blood-fed. Both males and females entered the resting traps throughout the day (but none were collected after sunset), with the main peak around dawn. The flying population showed two circadian peaks: a larger peak at dawn and smaller peak after sunset. This indicates a different pattern from that shown in other studies and demonstrates the significant geographic variation within this pan-tropical species.
Culex quinquefasciatus Mosquitoes Circadian activity Resting Flight activity.
ABU HASSAN, A., NARAYANAN, V. and SALMAH, M.R.C. 1993. Observations on the physico-chemical factors of the breeding habitats of Culex quinquefasciatus Say, 1823 (Diptera: Culicidae) in towns of North Western Peninsular Malaysia. Ann. Med. Entomol., 2: 1-5.
BEEHLER, J.W., WEBB, J.P. and MULLA, M.S. 1993. Spatial and circadian oviposition patterns in an urban population of Culex quinquefasciatus. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc., 9: 385-388.
BIRLEY, M.H. and RAJAGOPALAN, P.K. 1981. Estimation of the survival and biting rates of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae). J. Med. Entomol., 18: 181-186.
BRUNHES, J. 1975. La filiarose de Bancroft dans les sous-region malgache (Comores-Madagascar-Reunion). Memoires ORSTOM, 81: 1-212.
CAGLAR, S.S., ALTEN, B., BELLINI, R., SIMSEK, F.M. and KAYNAS, S. 2003. Comparison of nocturnal activities of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) sampled by New Jersey light traps and CO2 traps in Belek, Turkey. J. Vector Ecol., 28: 1-11.
CHANDRA, G., SEAL, B. and HATI, A.K. 1996. Age composition of the filarial vector Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Calcutta, India. Bull. Entomol. Res,. 86: 223-226.
CHANDRA, G. 2001. Man biting activity of filarial vector Culex quinquefasciatus. J. Comm. Dis., 33: 53-57.
CHAVASSE, D.C., LINES, J.D., ICHIMORI, K. and MARIJANI, J. 1995. Mosquito control in Dar es Salaam. I Assessment of Culex quinquefasciatus breeding sites prior to intervention. Med. Vet. Entomol., 9: 141-146.
GOWDA, N.N. and VIAYAN, V.A. 1993. Biting density, behaviour and age distribution of Culex quinquefasciatus Say in Mysore city, India. S.E. Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Hlth., 24: 152-156.
HAYES, J. and DOWNES, T.D. 1980. Seasonal changes in an isolated population of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae): a time series analysis. J. Med. Entomol., 17: 63-69.
JONES, M.D.R. 1982. Coupled oscillators controlling circadian flight activity in the mosquito, Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus. Physiol. Entomol., 7: 281-289.
KHAN, S.A., NARAIN, K., DUTTA, P., HANDIQUE, R., SRIVASTAVA, V.K. and MAHANTA, J. 1997. Biting behaviour and biting rhythm of potential Japanese encephalitis vectors in Assam. J. Comm. Dis., 29: 109-120.
KULKHANI, S.M. and RAJPUT, K.B. 1988. Day-time resting habitats of Culicine mosquitoes and their preponderance in Bastar District, Madhya Pradesh, India. J. Comm. Dis., 20: 280-286.
MAHANTA, B, HANDIQUE, R., DUTTA, P., NARAIN, K. and MAHANTA, J. 1999. Temporal variations in biting density and rhythm of Culex quinquefasciatus in tea agro-ecosystem of Assam, India. S.E. Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Hlth., 30: 804-809.
MENON, P.K.B. and RAJAGOPALAN, P.K. 1980. Relative importance of different types of breeding habitats in contributing to the population of Culex pipiens fatigans in Pondicherry. Indian J. Med. Res., 71: 725-733.
MORRIS, C.D. 1981. A structural and operational analysis of diurnal resting shelters for mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). J. Med. Entomol., 18: 419-424.
PANICKER, K.N., BAI, M.G. and VISWAM, K. 1981. Observations on the oviposition rhythm of some mosquitoes. Indian J. Med. Res., 74: 388-391.
PIPITGOOL, V., WAREE, P., SITHITHAWORN, P. and LIMVIROJ, W. 1998. Studies on biting density and biting cycle of Culex quinquefasciatus, Say in Khon Kaen city, Thailand. S.E. Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Hlth., 29: 333-336.
RAMASAMY, M.S., KULASEKERA, R., SRIKRISHNARAJ, K.A. and RAMASAMY, R. 1994. Population dynamics of anthropophilic mosquitoes during the northeast monsoon season in the malaria epidemic zone of Sri Lanka. Med. Vet. Entomol., 8: 265-274.
ROBERTS, D.M. and IRVING-BELL, R.J. 1997. Salinity and microhabitat preferences in mosquito larvae from southern Oman. J. Arid Environ., 37: 497-504.
SCHREIBER, E.T., WALTON, W.E. and MULLA, M.S. 1993. Mosquito utilisation of resting sites at an urban residence in southern California. Bull. Soc. Vector Ecol., 18: 152-159.
SERVICE, M.W. 1963. The ecology of the mosquitoes of the northern Guinea savannah of Nigeria. Bull. Entomol. Res,. 54: 601-632.
SHINKAWA, Y., TAKEDA, S., TOMIOKA, K., MATSUMOTO, A., ODA, T. and CHIBA, Y. 1994. Variability in circadian activity patterns within the Culex pipiens complex (Diptera: Culicidae). J. Med. Entomol., 31: 49-56.
SINHA, V.P. 1976. Further observations on the physico-chemical factors of the breeding places of Culex quinquefasciatus Say = fatigans Wied. Mosq. News, 36: 358-360.
SUBRA, R. 1970. Etude ecologiques sur Culex pipiens fatigans Wiedemann, 1828, (Diptera, Culicidae) dans une zone urbaine de savane soudanienne ouest-africaine. Dynamique des populations preimaginales. Cah. ORSTOM serie Entomol. Med. Parasitol., 8: 353-376.
SUBRA, R. 1981. Biology and control of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say, 1823, (Diptera: Culicidae) with special reference to Africa. Insect Sc. Applic., 1: 319-338.
SUBRA, R. 1982. The distribution and frequency of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus Say 1823 (Diptera: Culicidae) breeding places on the Kenya coast in relation to human sociological factors. J. Trop. Med. Hygiene, 85: 57-61.
SUCHARIT, S., HARINASUTA, C., SURATHIN, K., DEESIN, T., VUTIKES, S. and RONGSRIYAM, Y. 1981. Some aspects of biting cycles of Culex quinquefasciatus in Bangkok, Thailand. S.E. Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Hlth., 12: 75-78.
SULEMAN, M. and SHIRIN, M. 1981. Laboratory studies on oviposition behaviour of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae): choice of oviposition medium and oviposition cycle. Bull. Entomol. Res,. 71: 361-369.
TUNO, N., TSUDA, Y., TAKAGI, M. and SWONKERD, W. 2003. Pre- and postprandial mosquito resting behaviour around cattle hosts. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc.,19: 211-219.
VANAMAIL, P and RAMAIAH, K.D. 1991. Biting periodicity index of Culex quinquefasciatus and its relationship with microfilaria periodicity in Pondicherry. Indian J. Med. Res., 93: 379-383.
YEE, W.L. and WOODBRIDGE, A.F. 1992. Diel sugar-feeding and host-seeking rhythms in mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) under laboratory conditions. J. Med. Entomol., 29: 784-791.


text:
BMW range expands with three new plug-in hybrids
New hybrid variants of the 2 Series, 3 Series and 7 Series will go on sale in the UK early next year
by Greg Kable
Follow @@autocar
Three new petrol-electric plug-in hybrid BMW models will launch in the next year, as the 225xe, 330e and 740e join the X5 xDrive40e and sleek i8 to provide BMW with a five-strong range of plug-in hybrids.
The 225xe Active Tourer draws on the plug-in hybrid technology developed for the i8 sports car to offer the choice between front, rear or four-wheel drive, depending on the driving conditions.
A 134bhp front-mounted turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine sends power to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. The combustion engine is supported by an 88bhp electric motor mounted within the rear axle, driving the rear wheels via a fixed-ratio gearbox.
The 225xe can travel up to 25 miles on electric power alone. At a constant cruise over longer distances, it is programmed to run in front-wheel drive, with power provided exclusively by the petrol engine at speeds of up to 126mph in order to preserve the energy reserves of its 7.7kWh lithium ion battery.
Under acceleration, the combustion and electric motor pool their resources to provide a combined system output of 221bhp and 284lb ft, as well as four-wheel drive, in hybrid mode. A 0-62mph time of 6.7sec is claimed, along with CO2 emissions of 46g/km and fuel consumption of up to 141.2mpg. The 225xe is priced at £35,005, and will go on sale next March.
Further along the model line-up, the larger rear-wheel drive 330e saloon relies on a detuned version of the plug-in petrol-electric driveline used by the X5 xDrive40e. It uses a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and an electric motor mounted within the gearbox to provide combined outputs of 248bhp and 310lb ft along with 148.7mpg claimed combined economy and 44g/km of CO2 emissions. The lithium ion battery provides an electric-only range of 25 miles. It is priced from £33,935, with first customer deliveries planned for April 2016.
BMW 3 Series 2014-2018
The BMW 3 Series' outstanding performance and handling makes it a complete and consummate all-rounder - but then the Jaguar XE and Alfa Romeo Guilia arrived
The flagship of BMW's new plug-in hybrid line-up is the 740e. Available in standard and long-wheelbase body styles with rear-wheel drive (740e and 740Le) or in long-wheelbase form with four-wheel drive (740Le xDrive), it also draws on the plug-in hybrid system used by the X5 xDrive40e. Claimed figures for the 740e are 321bhp, 369lb ft, 134.5mpg and 49g/km, plus a 25-mile electric-only range. The 7 Series hybrid will go on sale in the summer.
BMW has also said it will introduce more hybrid variants in the coming year.
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Just what is the point of a
Just what is the point of a petrol hybrid ? Diesel is surely the obvious choice for hybrids.
XXXX just went POP.
Essentially the minimum electric range they can get away with to meet the emissions target and tax band. Where's your ambition gone BMW?
Ambition? It is obvious that
Ambition? It is obvious that greater electric range than this requires a much bigger battery -this then impacts on the space, weight and cost of the vehicle. It is important to maintain the usability and familiarity of this vehicle for regular customers, while keeping the price sensible. Furthermore, the idea is to meet the regulations and reduce the corporate fuel economy, not to create a new Tesla automobile.
BenC30
I'd rather have a BMW i3.
Petrol Electric Hybrids
From what I can gather on the subject of hybrids it seems that because Diesel engines work better at lower engine revolutions and thus generally lower engine speeds and electric motors also work better and for longer (on battery power) at lower speeds the advantages of the two systems almost cancel each other out. But the car with a diesel/electric hybrid system should *in theory) have good fuel efficiency. Petrol engines are better at higher engine revolutions and higher engine speeds so the petrol motor works in better harmony with the electric motor so at lower speeds the electric motor gives instant acceleration and as the speed increases the petrol engines adds its high rev power to the equation. Of course, as bol says, if manufacturers are only going to give these cars an electric range that is just enough to pass the EU test it is all a bit pointless as the car has to lug about a heavy battery pack and electric motor for the odd occasion it can be used. Unfortunately as battery technology and charging technology runs into the buffer imposed by the laws of thermodynamics it is unlikely that electric battery cars will ever become as convenient to use as an internal combustion (ICE) driven car as it will always take far too long to charge up. Hybrids should therefore fill the gap by having a "quick charge" petrol tank that fuels the engine that can also charge the batteries as you drive. Installing these hybrid power trains in conventional (steel) cars seems to be foolish as the car is already heavy and then you add a very heavy hybrid power train to make it even heavier. I have just made the choice between a BMW 5 ActiveHybrid and a conventional ICE 5 Series and bought the ICE car because the hybrid was far too heavy which affected the steering, handling and economy in the real world. The boot is also very small due to batteries being in the boot space as the car was never designed to be a hybrid. The best idea would be a carbon fibre body shell like the i8 or i3 so the car is very light then the heavy hybrid power train does not have to move an anachronistic heavy ICE design around. It sounds as though BMW are partly on the way to the future though as the new 7 Series does have a partial carbon fibre body shell to go with the hybrid system.
taylorshaw151
Great Blog
The need for such alternative to fossil fuel automotive have paved way for hybrid and electric vehicles and companies like BMW stepping into the market by pushing such technologies seems to be a great deal without any doubt. Hope other manufacturers follow the same path. real estate image stitching
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Here we are sharing some of the numerous aphorisms and poems that Sri Chinmoy wrote. His aphorisms and poems are uplifting in nature, thus can be your daily companion in times of both joy and sorrow. They are grouped according to spiritual themes, each one followed by its Japanese translation.
The possessor of a new life.
I kept the page numbers but of course they can be deleted.
To find fault in others.
I mean your true self.
And not a remote destination.


Microsoft is reportedly in acquisition talks with GitHub, according to sources privy to the matter. Based on the Bloomberg report, the deal to purchase one of the biggest code repository companies will be announced as early as Monday.
Founded in 2008, GitHub was a popular hosting site of codes, projects, and documentation for several developers and companies. It is the commonly used platform for open-source software projects, boasting of more than 20 million developers working across 67 million repositories in 2017. GitHub has come a long way from having just 2,000 users when it first started 10 years ago.
Back then, Microsoft disparaged open-source programs built on GitHub because of its proprietary software in the market. Open-source software allows developers to play around, improve, and share codes, making it a threat to Microsoft applications. Over time, the software giant became more receptive to the idea, launching its own open-source community over a decade ago and shifting its bigger projects on GitHub in 2015.
These days, Microsoft is the top contributor to the site, while other big tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple also use GitHub. Microsoft's seismic move to open-source technology, as well as cloud computing, began when CEO Satya Nadella took over the top post in 2014. Since then, the company has been pushing for ways to support Linux as it veers away from depending on the Windows operating system.
It's likely that Nadella's vision has impressed GitHub, opting to sell instead of going public. Although the terms of the deal remain under wraps, GitHub was reportedly valued at $2 billion in 2015. This was lower than its $5 billion asking price when acquisition talks were discussed previously, say sources familiar with the deal.
GitHub is viewed by many as the de-facto source code platform where developers can connect and collaborate. However, it suffers from a few operational problems such as monetizing its products and turnover in its executive ranks. One of the company's co-founders, Chris Wanstrath, stepped down as its CEO in August 2017. Since then, there has been no replacement while Chief Business Officer Julio Avalos handles daily leadership in the interim.
GitHub posted losses of about $66 million for three quarters in 2016 but reported revenue of $98 million during the same year, according to Bloomberg. However, its annual revenue doubled to $200 million in 2017, driven mainly by its paying corporate accounts. The company began offering GitHub Enterprise, a paid option for corporations with additional features and services, such as 24/7 support, dynamic hosting alternatives, and private workspaces, among others.
With GitHub's push for more corporate clients, investors anticipate an initial public offering in the future. The company seems to benefit significantly from selling out instead of going public, particularly since Microsoft appears eager to snap up the platform based on their intermittent talks over the years.


Laravel kindle Nur leanpub ipad Docs Wachid By Pdf "We're doing it to try to prevent underage drinking. When underage kids [drink], they cause trouble; they're not experienced drinkers," Charles Robbins, the liquor board's chief inspector, said following the liquor board's meeting in Bel Air Wednesday.
ipad kindle Wachid Pdf By leanpub Docs Nur Laravel "It's a pretty big problem," he said.
Wachid Nur ipad By kindle Pdf Docs leanpub Laravel Looney's caught a woman with a fake Delaware ID and she told doorman that when she got it, she was advised it shouldn't be used in Harford County because it would be taken away.


RuPaul can't believe people think drag is his life. He calls it his "punk rock statement".
The US entertainer rose to fame thanks to his drag act, fronting TV shows and releasing music under the blonde-haired alter ego. There's more to RuPaul than this, but he admits many people have that misconception.
Despite his self assurance now, the 55-year-old performer hasn't always been so confident. In fact when asked what he'd love to delete online from his own past, RuPaul stated he'd clear away the majority of it if he could.
"All of it," he admitted. "When I was in my twenties I so wanted everyone's approval. When I see videos of myself from that time I'm so desperate to please, poor thing.
As for regrets, the entertainer doesn't beat around the bush.
RuPaul's most famous TV show Drag Race will soon be back for an eighth season. The reality series sees RuPaul search for America's next drag superstar, and the 2016 finalists will be announced on 1 February (16).
Permanent judge on "Skin Wars" on GSN.
Host of "Good Work" on E!


Our range of Measurement and Control equipment includes all types of instruments to monitor, display and record high and low speed signals. These range from high speed multi-channel data acquisition for Automatic Test Equipment to low speed stand-alone process instruments for just one signal. The majority are usually connected to a computer for constant monitoring, or to offload data, although we can offer a variety of solutions with on-board processing for real-time control.
Chassis, controllers, data acquisition and modular instruments for PXI form factor.


text:
Home » Air India is set to finalize an order for 150 Boeing 737 Max jets
Air India is set to finalize an order for 150 Boeing 737 Max jets
by 2 months ago
Air India was close to signing an agreement with Boeing Co to purchase 150 of the brand-new 737 Max jets. According to a media report, the Tata Group-owned Indian carrier will likely place a firm order for 50 737 Max planes with an option to purchase up to 150 aircraft. Sources in the industry reported in July that Air India was moving closer to a decision on a mega order worth $50 billion at list prices. This mega order would be split between Airbus and Boeing. This order would include up to 300 narrowbody aircraft and 70 widebody aircraft.
This would be a win for Boeing, which is planning to expand its capacity in India to meet the world's fastest-growing major aviation market's demand. Akasa, a low-cost airline in India, purchased 72 737 MAX jets for nearly $9 billion in 2021, Boeing's last mega order in India. Indian skies are dominated by low-cost carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and AirAsia India, most of which operate Airbus narrowbody planes. 155 MAX planes have been ordered by SpiceJet, Boeing's biggest customer in India.
COVID infections increase in China after controls are loosened
France beat England to book a semi-final date with Morocco
In the relaunch of Air India, Airbus to win 235...
Copenhagen, Dusseldorf added to Etihad Airways route network
OAG rates Etihad Airways as the most punctual airline in...


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
We Are Known by the Friends We Keep
We are known by the friends we keep, and that saying applies to us not only as individuals but also as a nation. We claim Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan as our friends but do not criticize their use of apostasy and blasphemy laws to deny the fundamental freedoms of religion and speech, even as we claim to promote those fundamental freedoms worldwide.
Our hypocrisy is palpable, and it is a matter of both faith and politics. In matters of faith, few sermons are preached on human rights today. That's because our scriptures say nothing about human rights, only about human obligations. Slavery illustrates how religion can distort moral concepts of what is right, or legitimate. Because ancient scriptures speak of slavery as an accepted institution, churches in both the North and South of the Antebellum U.S. were reluctant to condemn slavery.
In America, our faith has always shaped our politics, and vice-versa. Our concepts of legitimacy were transformed by the libertarian political ideals of the Enlightenment, but those ideals originated in secular natural law, not religion. Even so, the concept of love over law is at the heart of the greatest commandment to love God and our neighbors as ourselves, so that if we value human rights for ourselves, then we should make those rights available to our neighbors.
Libertarian human rights, beginning with the freedoms of religion and speech, were affirmed as national priorities in the First Amendment to our Constitution. But today those freedoms have mutated into almost unrecognizable forms. The Supreme Court has supported religious conservatives who have used the freedom of religion to deny serving homosexuals, and liberals in colleges and universities have carried political correctness to the extreme by prohibiting any speech that is offensive to students.
We are just as hypocritical as a nation. The U.S. has provided substantial security assistance to Egypt and Pakistan that have apostasy and blasphemy laws, and President Obama has waffled on human rights as a priority in U.S. foreign policy. The leading GOP candidate for President, Donald Trump, has advocated outlandish and xenophobic policies that pander to public fears and frustrations, and Jerry Falwell, Jr., an evangelical Christian who is President of Liberty University, has endorsed Donald Trump as an exemplar of the greatest commandment.
If we are known by the friends we keep, then we are known to be hypocrites when we advocate human rights.
Part of the problem is in how different cultures understand human rights. The civil and political human rights that protect fundamental freedoms (libertarian human rights) are quite different from the economic and social human rights that provide welfare benefits. Both are recognized in international treaties, the former in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the latter in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The U.S. is a party to the ICCPR, but not to the ICESCR.
Every nation has a moral obligation to provide the basic economic and social needs of its people as well as protecting their fundamental freedoms; but there are no universal standards for social welfare benefits since they depend on a nation's resources, while there are universal standards for fundamental freedoms. International law can prevent a government from violating fundamental freedoms, but it cannot force a government to provide specific economic benefits.
As alluded to above, ancient Jewish Mosaic Law and Islamic Shari'a mandated caring for the poor and needy, but did not mention political freedom. To their credit, Jews have not allowed Mosaic Law to stifle libertarian democracy in Israel; but in neighboring Islamic nations the apostasy and blasphemy laws of Shari'a have prohibited the freedoms of religion and speech and denied women and non-Muslims equal justice under law.
We are known by the friends we keep. In the Middle East we consider Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Israel as our friends. Israel provides the freedoms of religion and speech while the Arab nations of that region do not. They are hostile to Israel and their religious laws deny fundamental freedoms; and the Islamist terrorism spawned by the Wahhabism of Saudi Arabia utilizes rigid and barbaric versions of Shari'a to further its nefarious purposes.
It is time for the U.S. to oppose authoritarian and oppressive regimes in the Middle East and Africa by conditioning U.S. foreign aid on adopting libertarian human rights and the secular rule of law. Libertarian values can undermine the legitimacy of Islamist terrorism and enhance the prospects of peace in the region. They promote U.S. national security objectives and are the right thing to do. To do otherwise is pure hypocrisy and only strengthens our enemies.
Previous blogs on related topics are: Faith and Freedom, December 15, 2014; The Greatest Commandment, January 11, 2015; Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy, January 18, 2015; Jesus Meets Muhammad: Is There a Common Word of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims Today?, January 25, 2015; Religion and Human Rights, February 22, 2015; God and Country: Resolving Conflicting Concepts of Sovereignty, March 29, 2015; Religion, Human Rights and National Security, May 10, 2015; Christians Meet Muslims Today, June 21, 2015; Politics and Religious Polarization, September 20, 2015; The Muslim Stranger: A Good Neighbor or a Threat?, October 25, 2015; The Four Freedoms, Faith and Human Rights, January 9, 2016; The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves, January 30, 2016; and Jesus Meets Muhammad on Issues of Religion and Politics, February 7, 2016.
In a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State John Kerry "reiterated [U.S.] support for ally Saudi Arabia" and said that "the two nations have as strong a relationship as ever." See http://www.voanews.com/content/us-gulf-allies-move-forward-on-syria/3159556.html.
On liberal intolerance that is limiting free speech on campus, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/liberal-but-not-tolerant-on-the-nations-college-campuses/2016/02/11/0f79e8e8-d101-11e5-88cd-753e80cd29ad_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_opinions.
Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy in Faith, Freed...
The Evolution of Faith, Religion and Spirituality
Jesus Meets Muhammad on Issues of Religion and Pol...


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LiveLinks would utilize our client(s) corporate, product or brand logo to increase business-to-consumer relationships. Use of these images will be paired with customer reviews, star ratings and method to redirect for consumer to connect. LiveLinks would lead consumers to a client(s) predetermined destination, i.e. shop page, corporate website, offers page. Another avenue would be a secondary (pop-up) window open allowing consumers to view multiple offers, products, deals and such.
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Abu Dhabi: A consummate performance by Sardar Azmoun laid the foundation for the Islamic Republic of Iran's 3-0 win over China PR as Team Melli eased into the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 semi-finals on Thursday.
The livewire 24-year-old forward was in superb form throughout, setting up Mehdi Taremi for the Iranian opener and scoring himself to further underline his burgeoning reputation.
Azmoun's excellence and Iran's victory saw Carlos Queiroz's charges grab their fourth win and fifth clean sheet at Asia's premier event, while taking a step nearer to claiming the nation's first Continental title since 1976.
The Iranians are now set to face Japan – albeit minus Taremi who will be suspended after picking up his second yellow card of the competition – in the semi-finals on Monday.


text:
Q: PHP use {{name}} to echo in HTML I have seen in some scripts, where they use {{}} to echo inside HTML, and I think it looks way more clean!
So, for example I now have:
<?php $hi = "hello"; ?>
<html>
<title><?php echo $hi; ?></title>

and that will display hello in the title, but what I would like to have is:
<?php $hi = "hello"; ?>
<html>
<title>{{hi}}</title>

How can I do this?

A: In PHP, you cannot get the variable name (unless using unreliable hacky methods). But as @samayo mentioned, this is usually handled by a template engine.
If you want to mange this yourself, you can do the following:
$array = [
  'tag' => 'a',
  'text' => 'b'
];

$html = '<html>
 {{tag}}
 <body>
  {{text}}
 </body>
</html>';

Now you can use a couple of methods to replace this, usually done by regex:
preg_match_all("/.*({{(.*)}})/", $html, $result);

Outputting:
$result = array(
  0 =>  array(
    0   =>  '{{tag}}'
    1   =>  '{{text}}'
  )

  1 =>  array(
    0   =>  '{{tag}}'
    1   =>  '{{text}}'
  )

  2 =>  array(
    0   =>  'tag'
    1   =>  'text'
  )
)

You could also directly replace the data with preg_replace()
With this, you have all the data you would need to replace text.
$result[2][0] is referring to $array[key] ($array[$result[2][0]]))replacement definition.
This is how template engines usually work.

A: What you have probably seen it was a template engine, have a look at twig here : http://twig.sensiolabs.org/
Here's the documentation:
http://twig.sensiolabs.org/documentation
Here's how you can install it :
http://twig.sensiolabs.org/doc/intro.html#installation
Or AngularJS:
Here's a link: https://angularjs.org/

A: I have used [Dust.js] (www.dustjs.com) successfully like templating javascript engine in my PHP project. Dustjs is good framework mainly if you need some resources from REST sources using JSON.
DustJs is designed to run asynchronously on both the server and the client browser. At this time is have choosed the last option.
DustJs can use Partials - Templates that can include other templates.
Dustjs has ability to navigate onto your JSON structure looping and searching KEYS to get data simplifying your rendering work and uncoupling your data of user interface.
DustJs is maintained by Linkedin Team and largely adopted on mainly site.
Give a try to him. Start on http://www.dustjs.com/guides/getting-started/.
Cheers.

A: use php frameworks that has a template engine
like laravel ( Blade templating engine )
https://laravel.com


text:
Lost River Township is one of six townships in Martin County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 572 and it contained 265 housing units.

Geography
According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , of which  (or 98.92%) is land and  (or 1.08%) is water.

Unincorporated towns
 Rusk at
 Windom at
 Yenne at
(This list is based on USGS data and may include former settlements.)

Cemeteries
The township contains these seven cemeteries: Anderson, Cornel, Emmons Ridge, Green, Jones, Simmons and Walker.

Major highways
  U.S. Route 150

School districts
 Shoals Community School Corporation

Political districts
 Indiana's 8th congressional district
 State House District 62
 State Senate District 48

References

 United States Census Bureau 2008 TIGER/Line Shapefiles
 IndianaMap

External links
 Indiana Township Association
 United Township Association of Indiana
 City-Data.com page for Lost River Township

Townships in Martin County, Indiana
Townships in Indiana

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
OUR SAFETY COMMITMENTS
First and foremost, we want to express our sincere concern for everyone who has been impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Cheesecake Factory is dedicated to being a great place to work and to taking great care of our people. The health and wellbeing of our staff, managers and guests is our top priority and has been our guiding principle throughout this unprecedented time. We have been following the guidance of the CDC and our local health departments and will continue to do so throughout this evolving situation. Before arriving onsite for an interview, please discuss our health and safety protocols related to interviewing and working at our restaurants with a manager.
Na'lasia
"Cheesecake works to find not only the best talent, but also the best people. I know that whatever challenges I might face, my team will be there to support me."
"I get to interact closely with a lot of our corporate and field leaders who inspire me to work hard and grow in my career."
STAFF RELATIONS
"I love the culture here. You're part of a team that wants you to learn and grow. I couldn't ask for a better start to my professional career."
"My coworkers are some of the most intelligent, caring and fun people I've ever worked with. It doesn't get any better than that!"
"I get to work with amazing humans who genuinely care about making a difference in the lives of our restaurant staff and managers."
"Our values are not just words for us - we live them every day through a culture of service-mindedness and an unwavering commitment to do what is right."
"I get to work with some of the best and brightest in the industry every day. It's no wonder why we're such a great place to work!"
"The positive energy here is unreal. Disneyland may be the happiest place on Earth, but we give them a run for their money."
"We're always looking for ways to celebrate, whether it's a birthday, a work anniversary, the Super Bowl, or just a random Tuesday!"
IT'S NOT A JOB IF YOU LOVE IT
At The Cheesecake Factory, fun is in our DNA. We love what we do, and it shows. From Bagel Fridays and birthday celebrations to our over-the-top Halloween contests, we like to play as hard as we work.
Since we first opened 40+ years ago, we've never stopped welcoming new people and places into our family.
$2.9Bin Sales
Our annual revenue is 50% since 2010
300+Restaurants
From 41 restaurants in 2000 to more than 300 in 2022
The Cheesecake Factory per restaurant sales average
46000Staff
Our team has grown by 16,000 in the past 10 years
29Int'l Locations
Find us in the Middle East, Mexico and Asia
6NROs
We open an average of six new restaurants each year
OUR PEOPLE MAKE US A GREAT PLACE TO WORK
We're proud to be recognized on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for nine years in a row. In 2022, we ranked #58 based on feedback from our people around teamwork, leadership, growth opportunities, values and culture. Learn more
Being recognized on such a prestigious list makes me really proud to work here. I love working for a company that takes such good care of its people.
- Tom, Finance
What makes us a great place to work? Hands down the people. I remember when I first started, I felt at home from day one. Everyone here genuinely cares about the people they work with and the work they do.
- Brittany, Operations Services
In the five years I've worked here, we've celebrated this award in a BIG way every year. We basically spend the whole day eating from food trucks and taking pictures with our teammates. And last year they brought in PUPPIES!
- Emma, Human Resources
A FEW OTHER AWARDS WE'RE PROUD OF:
Best Workplace for Millennials
Best Workplace for Women
Best Workplace for Diversity
PEOPLE Companies That Care
We extend our hospitality beyond our restaurants to support local organizations with nourishing meals, helping hands and financial support.
SUSTAINABILITY STARTS WITH
REALLY GOOD FOOD
But we don't stop there. We're committed to something bigger – like how and where we get our ingredients and the way we care for people in need.
FOOD DONATION
BENEFITS FOR YOUR BEST LIFE
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTHCARE
Medical, dental and vision insurance options to fit your goals and budget
Includes a company match to help you plan for retirement.
Up to $2,500/year toward college tuition and education materials
DISABILITY & LIFE INSURANCE
Company-paid life insurance and long-term disability, with options for supplemental life, short-term disability and other voluntary plans
Set aside pre-tax dollars to cover your out of pocket health and daycare costs
Talk to a licensed counselor on demand, 24/7 – at no cost to you
DINING DISCOUNT
Enjoy a 25-35% dining discount (bring your friends and family!)
SHOPPING DISCOUNTS
Save on cell service, gym memberships, electronics, travel and more
START YOUR JOURNEY TODAY
Search jobs at our other concepts
Team Locations


text:
OBIT: Jon Mac McCorkle
Jon Mac McCorkle, age 67 of Mason City, IA, peacefully passed on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at Mercy One Hospice of North Iowa surrounded by family.
Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., Sunday, January 22, 2023, at Ward Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 310 1st Ave. North, Clear Lake.
Jon's Celebration of Life Service will be held 2:00 p.m., Monday, January 23, 2023, at Ward Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 310 1st Ave. North, Clear Lake, Iowa, with Pastor Cory Atkinson officiating. Inurnment will be at a later date in Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City.
Jon was born on 8/17/1955 at Mercy Hospital in Mason City, Iowa and remained a resident of Mason City for the remainder of his life.
Jon met Donna Mae Madsen at the Clearview Roller Rink in 1969 and proceeded to spend the rest of their life together, marrying in 1974.
Jon worked at Wooz's full-service gas station for his entire adult life. He was known for whistling tunes and providing smiles and laughter to his dedicated customers. The Globe Gazette did a feature story on Jon in 2012 detailing his many years of service and positive attitude at Wooz's.
Jon enjoyed roller skating, bowling, and traveling over the years, particularly to Florida and Walt Disney World. Jon loved Christmas, and for years could be seen on Christmas morning wearing a Santa Claus suit outside their home on Highway 122, waving at passers-by.
Above all else, Jon loved and was most proud of his family. Attending all events and activities and providing the means for participation to his two daughters and son. He was a lifelong Mason City Mohawk and Hawkeye fan.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife Donna, daughter Kris (Mike) Penca Flagstaff, AZ, daughter Mary (Jeremy) Witt Des Moines, IA, son Nick (Jennifer) McCorkle Mason City, IA. 8 Grandchildren, Maysen, Clay, Paisley, Kenzie, Hunter, RaeLyn, Liam, Aiden, and 4 Great Grandchildren.
Jon is preceded in death by his parents Kermit and Lawisa McCorkle.
colonialchapels.com
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And be kind and merciful to one another, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you in Christ. Therefore, as most beloved sons, be imitators of God. And walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and delivered himself for us, as an oblation and a sacrifice to God, with a fragrance of sweetness.


Product prices and availability are accurate as of 2019-04-24 22:29:45 UTC and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on http://www.amazon.com/ at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Venture deep into area to uncover secrets and discover the lost expedition!
Ancient Space is a story driven single gamer actual time method game where you take command of a fleet embarking on a clinical objective to chart undiscovered reaches of area called 'The Black Zone'. Get rid of overwhelming probabilities and defend your life and the survival of your ship and its team.
Ancient Space functions actual time strategic starship battles that encourages tactical maneuvering. In time honored RTS tradition, you build and upgrade your fleet as you full objective goals and collect resources which permit you to progress further into the game. Chart your approach-- from defense to offense and everything in between such as companion and stealth missions.
Embark and explore the darkest recesses of area in this tale of strategic resource management and engrossing interstellar warfare. Directing you through the experience are the voices from sci-fi celebrities as Dina Meyer and John Billingsley.
An excellent cast-- The game is voiced by fan-favorites from much loved sci-fi motion pictures and television programs such as Star Trek: Enterprise, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly.
Deep area expedition-- Each objective advances the plot further and presents a new location of area being checked out with secrets to discover and threats to react to.
Command your fleet-- Build, preserve and tactically utilize a multitude of ship types to deploy into battle, each with unique tactical uses during grand strategic area warfare as you square off versus well-known pirates and mysterious aliens.
Upgradeable progression-- Your systems can be updated. Different upgrades to gamer ships are used throughout the project. You decide what to improve and what to leave behind.
Select your team-- Before each objective, select up to 3 officers with unique abilities that assist your progress through the missions. Employee more team members along your journey.
An engrossing project-- The single gamer project comes with a pulsating story that follows legendary battles and tackles philosophical questions about humanity and science whilst posturing the question-- what lies beyond?


text:
Maddox: October Was a 'Good Month' for COVID-19 Cases
James Benedetto
James Benedetto Published: October 20, 2020
(Stephen Dethrage)
After some concern over rising cases and an influx of people in Tuscaloosa this past week, Mayor Walt Maddox announced that Tuscaloosa County is in "really good shape" during Tuesday's pre-council meeting.
Despite eclipsing 10,000 COVID cases (7,167 confirmed and 2,856 probable), the Alabama Department of Public Health reported that the county had 28 new cases, the lowest positive case number in a week. The seven-day average of positive cases is also on the decline after a recent surge that saw the average jump to over 46 cases per seven days.
"So in looking at that seven-day average, you see a little bit of a slight uptick since the beginning of October, but overall since we implemented the mask ordinance, we continue to have really good trend lines," Maddox said.
These trend lines seem to be an outlier as the state of Alabama reported over 174,000 cases, a 4.14% increase over the past seven days. With the surge in cases, the state of Alabama registered a 1.1 rate of transmission while in Tuscaloosa County, the rate of transmission is .95.
With rising case numbers across the state and the country, Maddox said that he is unsure if that will affect Tuscaloosa County but noted, "we tend to be behind the national trend."
"Overall, if you take a month as a snapshot, we've had a really good month," Maddox said. "With two home football games, one pretty large home football game, even by COVID standards, and so we have, for now, weathered the storm."
Top Stories from the Tuscaloosa Thread (10/12 - 10/16)


Medley, Margaret: THE ILLUSTRATED REGULATIONS FOR CEREMONIAL PARAPHERNALIA OF THE CH'ING DYNASTY. TOCS 31. London, 1982. vii, 30 pp. 29 illustrations. 17x13 cm. Paper.
A study of an eighteenth century manuscript in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Reprinted from the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society volume 31. Important of the study of Qing period costumes.
Was item 156 in printed List 193.


Lower Division Clerk(LDC) – Pass in Intermediate 10+2 and typing speed should be Minimum 25wpm in Hindi on Computer.
Panchayat Secretary – Pass in Intermediate 10+2 and typing speed should be Minimum 25wpm in Hindi and must have Computer Knowledge.
Stenographer – Pass in Intermediate 10+2 with steno speed 100 wpm and typing speed in Hindi 30 wpm.
Selection Method– Selection to the following posts will be done Written Exam and typing test.
AGE LIMIT – For general candidate the Age should be between 18 to 35 years, for OBC I &BC II the age should be between 18 to 37 years, for SC/ST candidates the age should be between 18 to 40 years and for Data Warehouse Architect the maximum age limit is 40 years.


Dress up your table with a True Blue Plastic Table Skirt!
Add a pop of color to any table with our True Blue Plastic Table Skirt. Each of the 29" high x 14' long true blue plastic table skirts has an adhesive backing for easy hanging.


text:
using Swetugg.Tix.Activity.Commands;
using System;
using Xunit;
using Xunit.Abstractions;

namespace Swetugg.Tix.Activity.Domain.Tests
{
    public class when_decreasing_seat_limit_on_tickettype_with_lower_limit : with_activity
    {
        public when_decreasing_seat_limit_on_tickettype_with_lower_limit(ITestOutputHelper output) : base(output)
        {
        }

        protected Guid ActivityId = Guid.NewGuid();
        protected Guid TicketTypeId = Guid.NewGuid();

        protected override void Setup()
        {
            Given
                .Activity(ActivityId, UserId, OwnerId)
                .WithSeats(20)
                .WithTicketType(TicketTypeId)
                .WithIncreasedTicketTypeLimit(TicketTypeId, 5);
        }

        protected override object When()
        {
            return new DecreaseTicketTypeLimit()
            {
                ActivityId = ActivityId,
                OwnerId = OwnerId,
                TicketTypeId = TicketTypeId,
                Seats = 10
            };
        }

        [Fact]
        public void then_the_command_fails()
        {
            Assert.True(Command.HasFailed);
        }

        [Fact]
        public void then_ErrorCode_is_LimitTooHigh()
        {
            Assert.Equal("LimitTooLow", Command.FailureCode);
        }
    }

    public class when_decreasing_seat_limit_on_tickettype_with_more_reserved_seats : with_activity
    {
        public when_decreasing_seat_limit_on_tickettype_with_more_reserved_seats(ITestOutputHelper output) : base(output)
        {
        }

        protected Guid ActivityId = Guid.NewGuid();
        protected Guid TicketTypeId = Guid.NewGuid();

        protected override void Setup()
        {
            Given
                .Activity(ActivityId, UserId, OwnerId)
                .WithSeats(5)
                .WithTicketType(TicketTypeId)
                .WithIncreasedTicketTypeLimit(TicketTypeId, 5)
                .WithReservedSeat(TicketTypeId, "Hej")
                .WithReservedSeat(TicketTypeId, "Hej")
                .WithReservedSeat(TicketTypeId, "Hej");
        }

        protected override object When()
        {
            return new DecreaseTicketTypeLimit()
            {
                ActivityId = ActivityId,
                OwnerId = OwnerId,
                TicketTypeId = TicketTypeId,
                Seats = 3
            };
        }

        [Fact]
        public void then_the_command_fails()
        {
            Assert.True(Command.HasFailed);
        }

        [Fact]
        public void then_ErrorCode_is_LimitTooLow()
        {
            Assert.Equal("LimitTooLow", Command.FailureCode);
        }
    }
}


text:
"The Office" Is Getting Its Own Children's Book
Even though "The Office" has been off since 2013, we all still love it so much. So much in fact, that they're making a children's book inspired from the characters.
Mashable.com says there's a new CHILDREN'S BOOK coming out called "The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary" . . . and it's about a young Michael Scott, who's aiming to become the "World's Best Line Leader."
'The Office' children's book is here to inspire a whole new generation of fans https://t.co/UNusAJX238? pic.twitter.com/6gWXrmgIgv
— Mashable (@mashable) February 25, 2020
Children's book Dunder Mifflin Michael Scott The Office


Goal here is to determine and implement the best route for installing an open source operating system for a phone on a small computer like the Raspberry Pi or Beagle Bone. This is both an open hardware And libre software question.
The reason for the phone is that telephony is a widely popular use case for microcomputer devices. It is useful to run a phone via internet phone protocols, or through cellular protocols. WiFi telephony can occur at no cost wherever an internet connection can be found. Cellular telephony is an on-the-go and emergency use case wherever there is no internet.
The main reason for the open source hardware/software phone is to produce the lifetime design phone, which thus has good lifecycle material stewardship embodied in its design. An open source phone can be maintained by the user for as long as the user requires, as opposed to being a throwaway good once some part breaks. This is good for the environment, as society builds in material stewardship into the economy.


text:
Q: Flutter While function not doing what it's ask to class Player {
final String playerName;
final int playerValue;

Player({this.playerName, this.playerValue});

static List<Player> pairPlayers() {
final List<Player> playersList = [
  Player(playerName: 'Cristiano', playerValue: 20),
  Player(playerName: 'Messi', playerValue: 20),
  Player(playerName: 'Cristiano', playerValue: 30),
  Player(playerName: 'Cristiano', playerValue: 50),
  Player(playerName: 'Messi', playerValue: 20),
];

playersList.shuffle();
var player1 = playersList.first;
var player2 = player1;
while (player1.playerValue == player2.playerValue) {
  playersList.shuffle();
   player2 = playersList.first;
 }

return [player1, player2];

}

@override
String toString() {
  return playerName;
 }
}

So I'm using this class to provide me with two players. The problem is that it's still giving me players with the same value. Could anyone please help?
Here's the stateful widget I'm using it in:
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import './playerClass.dart';

 class ComparisonInterface extends StatefulWidget {
 @override
  _ComparisonInterfaceState createState() => _ComparisonInterfaceState();
}

class _ComparisonInterfaceState extends State<ComparisonInterface> {
Player player1 = Player.pairPlayers().elementAt(0);
Player player2 = Player.pairPlayers().elementAt(1);
 _ComparisonInterfaceState();

 @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
   void initState() {
    Player.pairPlayers();

    // TODO: implement initState
    super.initState();
  }

  return Column(
  children: <Widget>[
    Text(
      player1.playerName +
          'is valued at ' +
          player1.playerValue.toString() +
          '\$, ' +
          player2.playerName +
          "'s value is " +
          player2.playerValue.toString(),
      style: TextStyle(fontSize: 20),
    ),
    Column(
      children: <Widget>[
        Container(
          padding: EdgeInsets.only(top: 20),
          width: double.infinity,
          child: FlatButton(
              onPressed: null,
              child: Text(
                'Higher',
                style: TextStyle(color: Colors.black, fontSize: 60),
              )),
        ),
        Container(
          width: double.infinity,
          child: FlatButton(
              onPressed: null,
              child: Text(
                'Lower',
                style: TextStyle(color: Colors.black, fontSize: 60),
              )),
          ),
        ],
      )
    ],
  );
}

}
If you know how to fix it please provide me with some details to understand what's happening to use this way of thinking for future projects.

A: When you do this :
Player player1 = Player.pairPlayers().elementAt(0);
Player player2 = Player.pairPlayers().elementAt(1);

You call pairPlayers() twice, and because of shuffle you get 2 random players.
If you want a pair of player with different values (which your pairPlayers correctly provides) you should call it only once, like this :
 List<Player> pair = Player.pairPlayers();
 Player player1 = pair[0];
 Player player2 = pair[1];


text:
USDA: Rural Kentuckians to receive more than $26 million for clean energy programs
Kentucky will receive more than $26 million in grants and low-interest loans to lower energy costs, expand access to renewable energy, and combat climate change in rural areas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced recently.
The USDA is investing $285 million across the country through the Rural Energy for America Program, which is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs make energy efficiency improvements and purchase renewable energy systems like wind and solar.
The USDA selected 18 projects in Kentucky, including more than $1 million in grants and one $25 million low-interest loan. That loan will go to a company doing business as 80 Acres Farms, headquartered in Hamilton, Ohio, and operating a vertical farm in Boone County, Ky. The loan will be used to install energy-efficient equipment for a hydroponic grow facility that's expected to create 72 jobs, according to the USDA. 80 Acres Farms grows leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens.
The grants Kentucky received range from around $4,000 to as much as $240,000 to help farmers make improvements that will save money on their energy bills. Among them is a farm in Pembroke. Ky. that will receive a nearly $60,000 grant to install an energy-efficient grain dryer, and a meat producer in Smiths Grove that will receive more than $13,000 to install a 10-kilowatt solar system.
"These funds have been used to help create and put together renewable energy systems on the farm and in communities. It's also been used to produce, install and construct energy efficiency on the farm," Vilsack said in a press conference Thursday.
Read the complete article at www.wkyufm.org.
Publication date: Tue 20 Dec 2022
2023-02-08 "Soilless crops are strategic for a sustainable vegetable production"
2023-02-08 NL: Climate system installed at plant propagation lab
2023-02-07 Localized approach increases community access to healthy food, creates jobs in Cleveland
2023-02-06 USDA funding for free energy and water-use benchmarking expiring soon for greenhouse and CEA operators
2023-02-03 Mushrooms emerge from the shadows in pesticide-free production push
2023-02-01 Growth index as a function of water consumption
2023-01-31 Horizontal vs. vertical stacking of plants
2023-01-31 AU: Old factory to become largest exotic mushroom farm
2023-01-30 CAN (ON): University of Guelph students are in the race to grow food in space
2023-01-25 US: Research expanding opportunities for commercial seaweed production
2023-01-24 Putting the fun in fungi
2023-01-20 CAN (BC): North Vancouver company builds system for deep space farming
2023-01-20 Veganuary: can vertical farming help to provide alternative protein?
2023-01-18 US (PA): Penn State assists Cameroonian refugees with specialty mushroom ventures
2023-01-12 How to grow Broccoli microgreens
2023-01-10 Unpacking the packaging potential of mycelium, the mushroom 'roots' of many uses
2023-01-06 Bringing fresh greens into Detroit with vertical farming & Planted Detroit
2023-01-04 To boldly grow: how space agtech shapes farming on Earth
2023-01-03 Key mistakes of vertical farms
2023-01-03 High-tech New Zealand strawberries on the horizon


The Buffalo Wild Wings immediately closed for cleaning Wednesday when it was told about the possible exposures. It reopened Thursday.
Delaware public health officials are warning patrons of the Buffalo Wild Wings in Middletown that they may have been exposed to hepatitis A at the restaurant between March 31 and April 10.
The dates cover much of March Madness and the NCAA Basketball Tournament, an event that draws a lot of customers at the sports bar and grill.
When told Wednesday about the possible exposures, the restaurant voluntarily closed for cleaning and sanitization before reopening Thursday.
The state, which issued the warning late Thursday, would not say who had been infected because of privacy rules. Buffalo Wild Wings confirmed through a spokeswoman Friday that an employee had been infected.
Hepatitis A is a viral infection that hits the liver. It spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool from an infected person.
The virus can spread at a restaurant when an infected person does not wash his/her hands adequately after using the toilet, prepares food or shares utensils with others while eating.
Symptoms may include loss of appetite, nausea, tiredness, fever, stomach pain, yellowing of the skin of the eyes, and brown-colored urine and light-colored stools. They usually appear 15 to 50 days after exposure.
If anyone develops these symptoms, they should stay at home and contact their health care provider immediately.
There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A. Usually, rest, fluids and good nutrition are prescribed. Those with hepatitis A should avoid drugs and alcohol because that can badly affect the liver as it's fighting the virus.
Public health officials emphasized that it's "relatively rare" for restaurant patrons to become infected with hepatitis at a restaurant.
Even so, they advise anyone who consumed food or drink at the Middletown Buffalo Wild Wings location between March 31 and April 10 to consider contacting their health care provider for further guidance, especially those who have symptoms, are pregnant or have chronic medical conditions.
Staff of the food establishment have been advised to contact their health care provider to receive post-exposure prophylaxis, which may include the hepatitis A vaccine or a shot of immune globulin to prevent severe illness.
Porter State Service Center, 509 W. 8th St., Wilmington. (302) 777-2860.
Hudson State Service Center, 501 Ogletown Road, Newark. (302) 283-7587, option 2.
Kent County Health Unit, River Road, Dover. (302) 857-5140.
Sussex County Health Unit, 544. S. Bedford St., Georgetown. (302) 515-3220.
For more information, call the Division of Publish Health Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at (302) 744-4990 or (800) 282-8672.
News Journal reporter Meredith Newman contributed to this report.
Contact Betsy Price at (302) 324-2884 or beprice@delawareonline.com.


This movie followed the general plot from the book. I think HP book fans will like it more than the third movie. The scenes were very exciting and fast.
The first scene, Harry's dream was very well acted out.
The task with the hungarian horntail dragon will keep you on your toes, but it was really silly when the dragon climbed around the tower to get to Harry, as if its afraid of heights and couldn't fly around it.
The second task, in the lake was also realy cool but instead of Winky, Neville gave Harry the gillyweed and made the scene more funny.
All the young actors were cute and played their roles really well.
However, the characterization of some characters and some scenes were a bit disappointing.
– In the movie, Dumbledore was a bit too rough on Harry and acted too authoritative than wise and gentle, as according to the book.
– Hermione looked really pretty especially at the Yule Ball, but at other times, could you say, she looked a bit too pretty. She didn't even have bushy hair!
– I was a bit disappointed with how Voldemort turned out, I expected him to be taller at least, and maybe uglier.
– The maze for the third task was way too easy, there were only creeping plants instead of boggart(disguised as dementor), giant spider and sphinx.
Well, overall, I really liked this movie, especially in contrast to the third movie. Like every HP fan, I'd recommend you guys to buy the DVD so you can watch it over and over again.


Good fortune and an understanding wife meant Oamaru man Damien McNamara recently had the chance to see a sight reserved for a special few.
Last Thursday, he flew about 2300km to the Antarctic circle on a Boeing 767 with a group of about 150 others to view the aurora australis, more commonly know as the southern lights.
The flight out of Dunedin was the initiative of Otago Museum director and former Nasa Space Telescope Science Institute public outreach head Ian Griffin, and was the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
Mr McNamara, a self-confessed space nut and Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand space weather director, loves everything about the skies, aurora included.
So, when he got the chance to board the historic flight after another passenger pulled out, he was not about to turn it down.
"On Thursday morning, I received a phone call from a friend in Invercargill who informed me someone had pulled out and their seat was mine if I wanted it.
The flight left about 9pm, and he knew it would not be long before the light show began.
Mr McNamara, a keen astronomy photographer, took plenty of shots of the green-coloured phenomenon, which also had tinges of red and purple.
"We were all smiling and had grins from ear to ear. We saw plenty of colour – it was fantastic.
The fact he made the flight at all was the result of good luck – and a bit of sweet-talking on his part.
"I called my wife and basically pleaded with her because it was very expensive. I should give her a bit of credit as well.
Asked if he would go again if he had the chance, Mr McNamara's response was emphatic.
He planned to give talks on his experience.