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Ben Jervey and Steve Horn's blog
EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Gets Grilled on Fossil Fuel Ties at Confirmation Hearing
Ben Jervey and Steve Horn | January 18, 2017
By Ben Jervey and Steve Horn • Wednesday, January 18, 2017 - 11:54
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt sat down before the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee for his confirmation hearing as a nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Senator John Barrasso, the Wyoming Republican who newly chairs the committee, opened the hearing with a number of compliments for Pruitt. Just after, the ranking Democrat, Tom Carper of Delaware, used his introductory remarks to say that he's never opposed an EPA nominee before, from either party, and strongly indicated that Pruitt wouldn't get his vote.
The rest of the more than three hour morning session proceeded in turn, with Republican members complimenting the attorney general and lobbing him softball questions, and the Democrats grilling him on his stance on climate science, his ties to the fossil fuel industry, and his perspective on what role the EPA has in actually, well, protecting the environment.
Read more about EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Gets Grilled on Fossil Fuel Ties at Confirmation Hearing
Heritage Foundation's Climate and Energy Policy Summit: Science Deniers Emboldened by Trump's Electoral Victory
Ben Jervey and Steve Horn | December 8, 2016
By Ben Jervey and Steve Horn • Thursday, December 8, 2016 - 18:47
This morning, while introducing the Heritage Foundation's "premier energy-and-climate-policy event in America," Becky Norton Dunlop offered a fleeting wisp of reasoned reality.
"A growing economy and an improving environment go hand in hand," Dunlop said. She wasn't, however, referring to the near-exponential growth in renewable energy jobs that have helped lift the country from the worst recession in a generation and the worst financial crisis in 75 years, the conditions that loomed over the last presidential transition. Nor was she referring to the historic decoupling of Gross Domestic Product from greenhouse gas emissions, which has shown consistent economic growth over the past five years both in the United States and globally while emissions have stabilized and slightly reduced at both scales.
Rather, Dunlop, who is reportedly assisting President-elect Trump's transition efforts, was referring to stripping public health and environmental oversight of fossil fuel companies and creating "an atmosphere of freedom."
Read more about Heritage Foundation's Climate and Energy Policy Summit: Science Deniers Emboldened by Trump's Electoral Victory
"No Turning Back:" Mexico's Looming Fracking and Offshore Oil and Gas Bonanza
Ben Jervey and Steve Horn | May 12, 2014
By Ben Jervey and Steve Horn • Monday, May 12, 2014 - 10:21
After generations of state control, Mexico's vast oil and gas reserves will soon open for business to the international market.
In December 2013, Mexico's Congress voted to break up the longstanding monopoly held by the state-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos — commonly called Pemex — and to open the nation's oil and gas reserves to foreign companies.
The constitutional reforms appear likely to kickstart a historic hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and deepwater offshore oil and gas drilling bonanza off the Gulf of Mexico.
"This reform marks a major breakthrough in Mexico's economic history only comparable to the signing of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992," international investing and banking giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) wrote in a January 2014 economic analysis.
What does this mean for the oil and gas industry in Mexico? And for the workers and those who live above these oil and gas plays or along the pipeline routes that will funnel the liquids to refineries? And how about for the Earth's atmosphere?
Can Mexico's fossil fuel infrastructure handle the boom? Can the country spare the precious freshwater supplies needed for thirsty fracking operations in an era of increasingly severe droughts and drinking water shortages? Can environmental, safety and public health regulations possibly keep up with this industrial boom?
DeSmogBlog will examine all these issues and more as Mexico opens its fossil fuel reserves to international exploitation in the weeks and months ahead. But, first, an overview of the state of play in Mexico's energy reforms.
Read more about "No Turning Back:" Mexico's Looming Fracking and Offshore Oil and Gas Bonanza


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The Atlantic staff writer, Pulitzer-prize winning historian, Senior Fellow at the Agora Institute, Johns Hopkins University
On Communism
The Washington Post Column
Posted on May 18, 2018 July 13, 2018 by anne
Watch what happens in Rome. It could be our post-Trump future.
The Northern League started out as a secessionist party, advocating the breakup of Italy and independence for the northern provinces. The Five Star Movement started out as a joke — it was invented by a comedian — and then became a social media operation. Both evolved: The Northern League turned itself into a far-right party, using aggressive language about immigrants, while the Five Star Movement adopted some classic left-wing policies, calling for a universal income and high public spending. Together, they are now set to run the Italian government.
Unsurprisingly, they've had difficulty writing a joint program. Most of the things they agree on — conspiracy theories about vaccines; opposition to Russian sanctions; a strong rejection of austerity policies — risk creating a backlash. Still, it's becoming clear that if they don't share policies, they do share an attitude. They are both incoherent, angry, unrealistic and often anti-science; they are also clever users of information technology.
Between them, in other words, the Northern League and the Five Star Movement represent every powerful emotion, resentment, suspicion and anxiety that can be mobilized and weaponized by modern political parties. Above all, they reflect the disillusionment with politics — the disillusionment with everything — that inevitably sets in when populism fails.
For, despite the widespread belief that "anti-elite" rhetoric in Italy is a new phenomenon, populism has failed in Italy already. As not everybody now remembers, the Italians lived through a major anti-elite revolution not so long ago, albeit one led first by lawyers and judges. In the 1990s, they uncovered a vast corruption scandal: Tangentopoli — the name translates into something like "bribesville" — eventually engulfed the entire political class. One former prime minister, Bettino Craxi, fled to Tunisia to escape prison; about half of the members of parliament were indicted. The old party system (Christian Democrats, Socialists, Communists) eventually disappeared.
The main beneficiary of this turmoil was Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire with surgically enhanced skin who entered politics partly to evade prosecution himself. He won the prime ministership on a cloud of jokes and promises, and he held it, on and off for nine years, with the help of a new party, Forza Italia. He had a Trump-like way of offending, and a Latin American strongman's lack of interest in anything resembling real reform. During his years in office he fought the courts that tried to indict him, held elaborate parties in Sardinia, and failed to tackle the bureaucratic and legal tangle that chokes Italian commerce.
A series of technocratic governments, as well as a center-left government that tried to blame the European Union for Italy's local problems, followed. But the failure of populism did not, in Italy, lead the public to beg for the return of sober centrists. Reeling from the flood of broken promises, electorates did not turn back to honest realists who told them hard truths or laid out the hard choices. On the contrary: In Italy, as in so many Latin American countries in the past, the failure of populism has led to greater dislike of "elites," both real and imaginary; a greater demand for radical and impossible change; and a greater sense of alienation from politics and politicians than ever before.
Of course there are many different ways that this new Italian government might fail. The coalition could quarrel and break up; the Northern League voters who want tax cuts could run up against the Five Star voters who want a huge rise in public spending. If the new government choses to do both, Italy will face a financial crisis. And if the new government behaves "responsibly," it risks sparking yet another wave of anti-elitist, anti-political emotion — or worse.
Italy, in other words, might have some lessons for Americans. In President Trump's wake, we too are not necessarily going to return to the status quo ante, to a tame trade-off between centrist conservatives and centrist liberals, all of whom respect the Constitution, believe in the old definitions of patriotism and get elected based on their experience and political views. It is just as likely that national politics becomes a patchwork of competing, incompatible single-issue groups and causes; that otherwise disparate groups meet one another online and form temporary alliances. It is just as likely that irresponsibility and irrationality become something that people vote for, not something that they reject. Watch what happens in Rome, because it could be America's future.
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Home / Blog / MSc (Workplace Consultancy) – why not?
During the Blair Government years there was a drive to get more school leavers into tertiary education; a rather vague target of 50% was set for people entering university courses. This drive was no doubt well-intentioned, but it did unwittingly lead to the development of some degree courses that might not have met the highest of educational standards (raising the hackles of the Daily Mail in the process). Some disciplines obviously require years of study and practice, e.g. Medicine, Dentistry, Law, before the individual is able to practice; other disciplines you essentially learn on the job at present. One such discipline is Workplace Consultancy.
Workplace Consultancy might be considered somewhat of a mongrel of a profession, a "jack of all trades" discipline etc. You can study for a BSc in Facilities Management at institutions like Liverpool John Moores University and often FM is seen as 'second-cousin-twice-removed' from Workplace Consultancy.
Were Workplace Consultancy to be taught as a degree course (starting probably at Masters level), what might the constituent elements of the course be? What modules might make up the taught part of the course? The following are presented in no particular order.
As a Workplace Consultant you have to be able to sell your ideas to the client, therefore a little knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of marketing would not be out of place in the degree course. A few practical seminars on Acting thrown in for good measure would be useful, to give you the confidence to work the crowd and to project properly to a large audience. We've all sat through seminars where an interesting and relevant topic is badly let down by a woeful presenter hiding behind a podium and reading a script. Debating skills and knowing how the respond quickly to questions is always going to be important. Often Workplace Consultants have to challenge their client and knowing when to pick a 'fight' is learned through experience; perhaps this is one topic that can't be taught in class, however.
A client does not always expect that the same person who is carrying out the staff engagement will be the same person who will detail the tender drawings. However, some knowledge of building construction is useful and stops wistful ideas from the client (and the consultant) being developed when there is no practical opportunity (within reason) to implement them. There's no point in getting your clients' hopes up with a workplace design solution that requires the legendary 'sky hooks'.
Should a Workplace Consultant know which colours are 'on trend' for the following year? Possibly not but having an awareness of what is popular in interior design and being aware of successful completed projects across the sector is invaluable. At haa design designers and consultants sit side-by-side so there is an obvious opportunity to learn through the very fact of being co-located. Similarly, with furniture solutions, knowing what options are available and ballpark costs are important; knowing that Orangebox do standalone meeting booths in four different configurations is not critical (I made that bit up – maybe they do supply that number). Workplace Consultants are never hired to be designers. To re-quote Neil Usher in his book The Elemental Workplace, "if the brief is a design, start again".
Information is king these days and we are being bombarded by facts and 'facts' 24/7. On a purely superficial level if you state 51.2% rather than 'approximately half' then you are perceived as being more rigorous (nevermind how large the error bars might be with that precise figure, nevermind that precision and accuracy are often seen as being the same thing – they are not). The ability to understand complex data and manipulate it is an important skill. It's not just being able to work your way around an Excel spreadsheet, though that is important too.
To a certain extent his ties in with Marketing. Being able to read a room and understand what drives individuals, teams and organisations is vitally important. Equally, knowing which questions to ask of your client can often unlock the answers that will progress the project far quicker than innumerable focus groups. That 'naïve' question you ask of the client is often the product of endless hours of background research. I don't foresee a time when interviews are conducted with the client supine on a couch and with an opening gambit of "How does your relationship with your parents influence your approach to smarter working?".
Nowadays the daily commute (especially in London) is a key contributor to workplace stress (and therefore individual performance). Understanding how transport and flexible working impacts a more mobile workforce is important. An appreciation of the opportunities for green travel and how staff facilities to support different forms of travel impact upon building design and office layout is useful. The rise in the provision of showers and bicycle storage and the continual reduction in car-parking spaces are both key items for discussion during staff engagement.
Great ideas need to jump off a page or a presentation and the ability to write a coherent (and concise) sentence is invaluable. While a client will always say that they want a comprehensive written report, often the real decision makers sitting in head office will have time for a short executive summary and nothing else. Before able to get to the heart of the matter quickly and not couching your conclusions and recommendations in industry jargon is important for maintaining credibility. Knowing the difference between atria and atrium tells the client that you are educated; this can often place the client at ease.
What makes you stand out from the crowd and show that you are different is often how you are able to show that you will tackle problems from a different perspective and always use evidence to back up statements. One such way of differentiating yourself from your competitors is to keep abreast of research trends and more importantly, to direct your own research. Knowing a little of practical research methods will be of benefit.
The three interlocking circles – people, place and technology – will always have a place in a workplace transformation project. While no-one is expecting that you are a computer scientist and AV / IT technician all rolled into one, the client will expect that as a Workplace Consultant that you have an awareness of what is possible and what technology will support them moving forward. Being able to intelligently discuss proposals with the clients' in-house technology teams, but also to know when to say "I'll need to look into that a bit more" or "I think that's one for a specialist consultant" is a key skill and one to learn quickly.
9 times out of 10 the main issues with an existing workplace (according to staff surveys) are heat (too much in the summer, too little in the winter) and light (not enough natural light). 10 times out of 10 noise is also discussed (in terms of disturbance and need for concentration). Being aware of recent research (e.g. on biophilia, acoustics, circadian lighting) is important a is knowing what is appropriate for the particular client.
This is again veering into the realms of specialist consultant and into the technical detail of how buildings operate and are controlled. There will always be an occasion for the Workplace Consultant to show they know the basics, but then very quickly hand over to the experts.
The above are all the different aspects of being a Workplace Consultant; there are undoubtedly a few areas that have been omitted. Jack of all trades, master of none is perhaps not too wide of the mark.
If no two clients are the same, then no two projects are the same and therefore the above knowledge sets will be used to varying degrees. A Masters level course based on the above would be a challenge for the student, but the breadth of topics is very interesting and one that would necessarily involve some element of practical application of the taught portion. Perhaps local private sector consultants could deliver the seminars, making use of their expert knowledge (and perhaps, with a small cohort, even using their own meeting facilities). Who knows, perhaps one of our Glasgow higher education institutions might be interested in delivering such a course.
The one aspect of workplace that is a constant is that change itself will be ever present. Therefore, the need for skilled Workplace Consultants to assist clients in coping with this change will also be a constant.
20 years ago, no-one had heard of Workplace Consultancy as a profession. Given the nature of job invention as outlined in the Dell report, should, we be surprised that new professions are emerging. Who knows, maybe in 5 years' time high school pupils will go to university open days and have their interest piqued.
No, it's not an entry for the Bad Fiction Awards. It's my life. It's my fault.
The second paragraph is what is conveyed or at least implied in the photos following a workplace refurbishment or the move to the new office. Everyone in the shot looks like a Gap model and there's usually the correct demographic mix to show that the organisation is ticking all the boxes.
Which version more closely resembles your lunchtime experience? I am guessing that for the majority of people, the second version is only a dream.
But what is stopping you from moving away from your desk? If it is workload then, as was highlighted in a previous thought piece, it's either stop prevaricating and manage your time better. Or get better at delegating or asking for assistance (a worthwhile skill to learn). If it is the design of the workplace and the lack of decent facilities, then that might be (somewhat) easier to fix.
Feasibility and fit-out projects large and small delivered by our office over the past few years have had several things in common. Concern over the loss of personal space is one topic that raises its head constantly (and is somewhat assuaged by the reveal of what might be gained by sharing). Environmental conditions in the workplace will always be high on the agenda and there are often very simple ways of tackling these issues (well-designed workplace protocols can go a long way to solving such problems). But what have we, as workplace consultants and designers, thrown in to the mix with our clients that has had the greatest impact in terms of buy-in?
Shared social spaces. Not rocket science.
Shared, quality social spaces, particularly the communal staff kitchen and break-out area. We do a significant amount of consultancy work with the public sector and managing expectations is part and parcel of staff engagement. Google-style in-house catering with free, healthy food choices might be beyond the budget of the public sector but providing a well-appointed facility at the physical centre of the organisation is key to winning hearts and minds. It can be even more important when an organisation is distributed over several floors of a building. If an army marches on its stomach, then these days it seems that organisations do exactly the same. Throw good quality, free tea and coffee in to the mix and you are saying to your staff "you are valued".
Providing an escape from the desk and the ability to prepare your own food or sit in comfort eating bought food is so obvious that it isn't going to appear on an end of year list of "What's hot for 2019". You'd think it was a given, but many workplaces have facilities that are simply not fit for purpose. Sometimes this can mean not big enough or without the right range of facilities (let's face it, there will always be a debate over whether a toaster is a fundamental human right or an accident waiting to happen); cleanliness comes into it also. Often "not fit for purpose" can mean that it's actually too designed and not user-friendly. How many times have integrated refuse and recycling bins been quickly replaced with bulky free-standing items because the carefully-designed solution just gets in the way of the cutlery drawer.
So why the need for these spaces? Community. Health & Wellbeing. Staff Experience & Expectations.
Once an organisation increases beyond a certain size (often dependent on the sector) there is a real risk that you will not know what all your colleagues do. Dunbar's number of 150 springs to mind. You might only bump into a colleague at the Christmas party and then go a whole year without speaking to them again. By making distributed tea points functional and the central facility a destination, you increase the opportunity for a community spirit to be developed. A burgeoning community spirit a great space raises the potential for more social events; one thing leads to another.
Not everyone has a smart-desk or Fit-bit watch that reminds them every 45 minutes to get off their backsides and move. We all know we should be more active (in general) but this is often easier said than done. A welcoming social space with outside views and plentiful daylight, some greenery (let's not overdo it and replicate Kew Gardens in an attempt to bring down CO2 levels however) and a range of seating options will entice staff to linger, to give their brains a breather and recharge the batteries. If the desk is as welcoming as the social space then people will choose to eat at their desk (they will take less time over lunch and therefore look busier, earning brownie points from their line managers who are not doubt having lunch at their desk also).
The nightmare vision of the staff cafe has Formica table tops, red plastic chairs (ergonomically awful but great for stacking – interior design by the janitor!) with egg, beans and chips every day and an endless number of 4-person tables (of course people are sitting individually); a Ken Loach drama in washed out 1970s tones. Nowadays a basket of fresh fruit (which we get every week in our office) and free tea and coffee is almost taken for granted. We shouldn't be shocked if a prospective employee asks to be shown the staff social space ahead of the desk where they might actually be working. Again, it is the former that better displays the values of the organisation.
The next time you think of revamping your office and are looking to slash budgets, the social space will be in the 'nice to have' column and therefore the easiest to value engineer (a wonderful euphemism). The evidence of how important staff perception of the workplace is suggests that it might be the worst mistake you could make. A 'happy' workforce is a more productive workforce. A more productive workforce leads to a healthier organisation in every respect.
You can tell a lot about an organisation from their social space. Come to 140 West George Street, Glasgow and tell us what you think of our space. We are big enough and ugly enough to take any criticism. We will however use any feedback to make our next social space (your next social space?) even better.
We do have good coffee, however.


whocanihire.com is a valuable tool for many Chambers of Commerce. Any Chamber can list themselves on whocanihire.com at no cost and with very little effort.
whocanihire.com gives an added benefit to a Chamber of Commerce's promotional efforts for the businesses and professionals that have joined. When a business, service or profession joins whocanihire.com and they are also a member of a Chamber of Commerce, the business will be able to place a link to that Chamber's website on their profile in whocanihire.com. This promotes all the businesses that have joined that particular chamber as well as the business. For the Chamber of Commerce, this is a very powerful promotional tool since the Chamber is becoming linked to all the social media sites connected to that business, service or profession!


text:
package org.spongepowered.common.mixin.core.entity.ai;

import net.minecraft.entity.EntityCreature;
import net.minecraft.entity.ai.EntityAIWander;
import org.spongepowered.api.entity.ai.task.builtin.creature.WanderAITask;
import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Final;
import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Mixin;
import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Mutable;
import org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.Shadow;

@Mixin(EntityAIWander.class)
public abstract class MixinEntityAIWander extends MixinEntityAIBase implements WanderAITask {

    @Shadow @Final protected EntityCreature entity;
    @Shadow @Final @Mutable private double speed;
    @Shadow private int executionChance;

    @Override
    public double getSpeed() {
        return this.speed;
    }

    @Override
    public WanderAITask setSpeed(double speed) {
        this.speed = speed;
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public int getExecutionChance() {
        return this.executionChance;
    }

    @Override
    public WanderAITask setExecutionChance(int executionChance) {
        this.executionChance = executionChance;
        return this;
    }
}


A nonprofit nationally ranked youth dance team.
AZ Hype is home to hip hop dancers of all ages who have a passion to train, perform, compete and battle against all odds. This is a team that turns dancing into a lifestyle, a team into a family, and a coach into a visionary.
The dancers of AZ Hype leave everything they have on the dance floor and dedicate their lives to dancing in this family. The dancers juggle their work, school and relationships, but if you watch them dance, you'll see where their heart truly lies.
AZ Hype evolves with the spirit of hip hop and takes initiative in learning all styles of hip hop from breaking to housing, pop locking to krumping, this team will take you on an urban cultural tour in just three minutes.


Ritrama's new Easy Application Solutions series of monomeric vinyls is designed for medium- and long-term graphic applications such as window displays, billboards, P-O-P displays, and more.
Ri-Dot is available in glossy clear or matte white and features a drop coat technique designed to prevent air bubbles forming upon installation. Ritrama reports installers can apply and remove graphics without prior experience. The 4-mil film is eco-solvent- and latex-printable.
Ri-Jet 100 Airflow features a removable adhesive designed for shop windows and other promotional graphics. The 4-mil film is available in gloss clear or matte white; compatible with UV, solvent, eco-solvent, and latex inks.
Ri-Fix is a 7-mil PVC film for short- and medium-term indoor applications at the point of sale. It can be applied to glass or plastic and will not leave residue upon removal, according to the company. Available in gloss clear and matte white; printable with UV, solvent, and eco-solvent inks.


A cute kimono is a staple that can be thrown over a bikini or styled as an outfit! This gorgeous teal color pairs with almost any color and we love the lace inlay, flutter sleeves, and waterfall front draping --- You will want it, and we've got it!
** Just add jeans, your favorite cami or tunic and even a pair of fun tassel earrings for to make your look a total statement!


text:
Un àcid metabòlic o àcid no volàtil és un àcid que es produeix de fonts diferents al diòxid de carboni i no és excretat pels pulmons, Es produeix, per exemple, per un metabolisme incomplet de carbohidrats, greixos i proteïnes. Tots els àcids produïts pel cos humà són no volàtils excepte l'àcid carbònic. Entre els àcids metabòlics comuns hi ha l'àcid làctic, l'àcid fosfòric, l'àcid sulfúric, etc. Els humans produeixen uns 1 - 1.5 mmols de H+ per kilogram i dia. Els àcids no volàtils s'excreten pels ronyons. L'àcid làctic normalment es metabolitza completament dins del cos i per tant no s'excreta.

Vegeu també
Àcid carbònic

Referències

Metabolic
Metabolisme

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The definitive Philips CD-i technical resource and the longest standing CD-i website in history. Suggest content, articles, technical information or any other material you would like to see on the ICDIA. Discuss the available resources on the ICDIA and anything related to this historical website.
"Hey, I've got a question that you might be able to help me with. I was talking to a friend reciently, and she brought up this tetris game that she played when she was younger, through a bit of deduction we figured out it was the Tetris that was on the Phillips CD-i.
Now, she mentioned that the music from this tetris game affected her very much when she played it when she was younger, so I went on a little self-imposed quest to try to find the music.
I came up with nothing. So, I went to the next step and downloaded an image of the game (bad, I know, but I really wanted to get her this music) and a copy of ISO buster. I got the file downloaded, did some research at the ICDIA, and much to my dismay, the music wasn't in the IFF format that I could rip onto my computer, but in the RTF format (I deduced that a file called RTA.RTF is the file in question, and I think I'm right).
So, I tried the next logical step and got the CD-i emulator thinking I could just play the game and rip the audio directly into winamp from the audio output, I've done the same before with file formats which weren't able to be converted directly into wav or mp3 files. But this didn't work for me either. I realize now you actually need a Phillips CD-i to use the emulator (which I don't understand, but that's neither here nor there, and not what I'm emailing you about).
Basically, I have a dilemma here. I've put hours into this already and come up with nothing but a useless .nrg cd rip of this tetris game, some raw files I can't do anything with, and a headache. If there's anything at all you could do to help me to get this music, point me to someone else who has it or could rip it, give me some info as to how I could rip it myself from the rtf file, anything at all, I would be extremely greatful.
I apoligize if I'm out of line, I understand the problem with pirated games and whatnot nowadays, I just really want to get this game music for my friend, just a bit of nostalgia I want to give her, I guess.
What kind of program are you using to convert the rtf file? I don't have any experience with these music converters but perhaps this will do a trick?
Right here, I am able to connect my MD drive to the cd-i and simply use the line-in to 'rip' the tracks (using an analogue cable), this converts the fies to atrac (damn you sony) which are easily transferred to my pc.
I don't know any other way to get them directly from the digital format, but it's possible nonetheless, I guess.
I don't have a program that can convert the rtf file to audio, this is the problem I've come up against.
1. Convert from RTF to "raw" ADPCM data. IsoBuster should be able to do this for you.
2. Convert ADPCM to AIFF or something. If you can find it, something called the "Audio Conversion Utilities" should be able to do it. I think it used to be part of "MediaStockroom" or something which can be downloaded from the ICDIA site, I think.
I can't provide more details right now, sorry.
What is raw ADPCM data? I don't understand what I'm doing to this .rtf file.
And being so "back then" as it is, i've come with a question seen around while getting to know this forum: is it really so "unethical", so illegal to look for and to download .isos?
I still haven't done it but it's tempting, cause Philips isn't making any money on selling titles so we're not stealing from them.. And prices sometimes get very high, some insanely high like that Zelda title..
I don't think anyone will hunt you down but it's illegal by law; we didn't make the rules. Copyrights go a long way and for one reason I think that's good, games are made by people/companies and they can decide what to do with it.
I got the 2 common zelda games and was trying to do a RAW extract of the audio from isobuster but the file is still listed as a .RTR file not .RAW. I am guessing you need the paid version of isobuster for this to work?


Kurt is the rector (lead pastor) of Light of Christ. Before becoming rector, Kurt served as a hospice chaplain for over two years. He grew up just south of Austin in Driftwood, TX, home of the world famous Salt Lick BBQ. Kurt has been engaged in Gospel mission throughout the world, including Honduras, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam. But God has called Kurt to preach the Gospel specifically in Georgetown, TX and to declare the incredible grace of God in Jesus which transforms us to reach out in love and hospitality to our neighbors. Additionally, Kurt loves bass guitar, beaches, BBQ, beer, his beautiful bride and brand new baby boy.
Harrison Cole has been using his musical gifts to serve the Lord since he was a child. He started taking piano lessons at the age of six and began playing in church at the age of seven. He studied piano performance after Eastern Illinois University and musicology at the University of Arizona. He and his wife Nora enjoy leading worship and are excited to join the Light of Christ family. In his free time, Harrison enjoys reading, eating gumbo, and watching basketball.
Prior to moving to Texas in late 2016, Anne spent her life working in a manufacturing environment in various physical locations with the bulk of her time in west Tennessee. Regardless of the job she held over the years, Anne knew it was where God had placed her for a time and she regarded her position as a trust from God and as part of her ministry. She is excited to be following her new ministry path and to be doing so in Central Texas at Light of Christ. Anne has 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. She enjoys spending time outside, especially walking, she enjoys cooking, and spending time with family and friends.


Featuring 25 magical beauty treats, this premium collection contains a show-stopping line-up of the best products from the beauty industry. From skincare treats to tanning, haircare to cosmetics, branded tools and exclusive products, this Christmas you shall take center stage with lookfantastic.
Let us take you on an unforgettable journey this December. Whether to open your eyes to a new array of beauty luxuries or delight your family and friends with the ultimate beauty gift, each product has been carefully selected and beautifully wrapped, for you to uncover its magic.
I viewed all the boxes on YouTube. I specifically chose this box for me! Love seeing it in my bedroom during the holiday season next to a lit Aerin candle!
This was my very first advent calendar that wasn't bits of chocolates and it was an absolute delight to experience. I felt very spoiled as I opened each drawer (Yes, I opened it all at once!). First, let me say how much I loved the overall packaging of this calendar. It is large, sturdy, and glamorous. I'm going to reuse it this Christmas, and put little surprises in each drawer for my son's. Every drawer contained an item which was carefully wrapped in red tissue. I'm even setting that aside to reuse. They're the perfect size for wrapping ornaments in once the holiday's are over. The mix between makeup and skincare was evenly balanced. There were only a few haircare items, which I was totally okay with. There majority were full sized products and deluxe samples. I only had a couple of small samples. It seemed like the quality of the skin care products were a level above everything else. In my opinion, this was a wonderful way to be exposed to a wide variety of products, and was worth every dollar. I can't wait until next year for my next calendar. Merry Christmas and enjoy!
I really like this advent calendar. The presentation and packaging were very nice and good quality. The products were also really good and popular products. I will purchase again in the future.
I received this advent calendar in October. I waited until December to start opening each box daily. I loved every item. It introduced me to high end brands I didn't know exsisted. It hit every expectation on the beauty spectrum. It made my day throughout the month opening a little beauty treat. This will be the only beauty advent calendar I ever buy. Thank you so much!
I'm almost done opening all the boxes. So many great skin care products and worth the money! The box is so cute also.
This has a great variety of products and I was thrilled to see so many cruelty free and vegan brands in the calendar. Would have liked one or two more makeup products, but there was an excellent variety included.
First of all the box is gorgeous. All items are great, even the ones that aren't specifically for me make great gifts.
With ALL of the beauty advents out there, this one is my favourite. The packaging is stunning. I will be using the packaging to hold the beauty products. Love the range of products, skincare, makeup and tools. I have peeked inside but I am trying hard to wait until December to use the products. I tried the hand cream and the lip balm though. Will be ordering these when the products are finished for SURE! It's nice that you have the options to reorder the products when you fall in love!
I decided to binge and open all the boxes only 3 days after getting my Advent Calendar. I was super excited for receiving it!!! The packaging looks good but not so much that I want to display it in my bedroom (I'm 34 years old), so I'll keep it inside my closet to save any extra cosmetics that don't fit my bathroom cabinet. Regarding the products, I won't spoil the surprise for anyone, but I felt that there weren't enough "wow" products for the publicized price (worth over 350 dollars). Yes there is make-up, but nothing from any of the major brands. So you'll find a lot of face creams, hand creams, hair products, cleansing products... all of them very useful if they fit your age/skin type. This, of course, can be problematic. Also, I got two products that I had already received in previous Beauty Boxes, and that was a total bummer. For future boxes I would love to see more "wow" products, from more well-known brands, more make-up, more tools (like brushes, etc) and a more discrete/elegant box.


text:
Centre for Governance and Public Policy
Cambodian election a delicate balancing act
Published August 5, 2013 May 5, 2014 AuthorStephen O'Grady
School of Government and International Relations researcher was in Cambodia to observe elections.
Systematic corruption in Cambodia is conspicuous, even at election time, says Griffith University researcher, Lee Morgenbesser, who spent two weeks in and around the capital Phnom Penh in July.
"The corruption was toned down in the lead up to the election but it was clear to see if you looked hard enough" he said.
"The government held the election to renew their position atop a patronage system, which denotes the exchange of material goods for political loyalty.
"They essentially say to the voters, particularly people in the rural areas, 'If you do not vote for us, we will not finish this road we half built'."
Lee Morgenbesser is completing a PhD at the School of Government and International Relations in Brisbane, analysing why authoritarian regimes bother holding elections.
He has carried out extensive field research in Cambodia, Myanmar and Singapore to investigate this paradox.
"The question warrants consideration because scholars and policymakers repeatedly assume elections can and will facilitate democratic transition," he says.
"While authoritarian elections are sometimes an exercise in international credibility, the case of Cambodia illustrates that they can afford to hold an election and lose some seats in the National Assembly given the extent of their power.
"But nothing will change. It is business as usual."
Mr Morgenbesser interviewed members of the two main parties during his visit to Cambodia, paying so-called "fixers" to gain access to government officials.
He observed increased tensions in Phnom Penh in the build-up to the election, a situation that was not reflected outside the capital.
"It was generally peaceful in the rural areas because the people there are the main source of support for the government."
Categories Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith Business School, home, News articles, School of Government and International RelationsTagged Cambodia, Camobodian elections, Corruption at elections, Lee Morgenbesser, Myanmar elections, Singapore elections


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Decode the rants of the man who knows everything and ask him anything in return. Just like the sign says, Clyde's door never closes.
The door to Room Eight is completely ajar and is the only door of the Clock that the Family didn't change in the remodel. It matches the original structure of the House, chipping its yellowing white paint to scarcity on the pale wood. At the center is a hurried, black spray-painted number eight. The interior of the room is pitch black but for a flickering orange neon light claiming WE NEVER CLOSE.
It's easy to forget that Clyde knows everything. It takes a long time to understand what kind of creature he really is. He looks like the guy whom it was rumored was held back in high school for getting his English teacher pregnant.
His hair falls in tangled waves that brush his brutish shoulders over a tattered Platinum Blonde tour shirt. His jeans are always tight and always black and wrinkle at the tongues of his matching, immortal combat boots.
His silence mistaken for affable shyness, his slow speech mistaken for a charming drawl. His black spells of fury over a future he can't change are interpreted as a quiet intensity, his portentous babbling about future events seen as deeply sensitive poesy.
The room seethes in a rotting floral smell over burnt engine oil stuck to the insides of its minimalist, survivalist decor. Every piece of Clyde's furniture has it's origins in some derelict factory or junkyard. Function versus aesthetic creates an eerie echo off the white walls and exposed piping when he opens his mouth to inform you of your destiny.
Whether you're living in Gray House or not, Clyde watches you, takes into consideration the course of your life, the ways in which he knows your stories will end, and the moment; the moment you'll die, the moment you first felt joy, and the moment he fell in love with you. Ask him anything by using the form below or write to him at clydeebarrow@gmail.com.
Ask anything. Be as long-winded as you like. Please be specific.
Adam commits suicide for art.
Angels and Dragons end the world and together create a new one.
Adam reveals an old and holy place.
A small Rosie causes huge destruction.
A young Clyde reveals himself to an unwilling Rosie.
The Dragons wake to a new day.
For the Gray Family, a people who can see into the infinite, mythology becomes a card catalog of where we've been and what we're experiencing. It's kind of like the existential version of stereotyping. We do it for better understanding, we do it as sport, and we do it to prove we're real. What fairy tale character do you feel like? Chances are good that you are that character and just don't know it yet. In Room Eight, you'll see what mythos means to us.
ROOM EIGHT: Clyde gets in touch with his facet most connected to Los Angeles.
ROOM SEVEN: Clyde does a special Around the Clock Update from his unique perspective.


Two young Japanese tourist girls with backpacks ask people passing by to take a polaroid picture of them. Right as a van slowly drives by the girls magically transform into old, Asian men. Even the photo shows two elderly men, and not the cute little girls that were there just moments before!


Nice Mag! Really liked this one!!
I shall one day learn to defeat both of you ... Love and Hate.
you know that I suffer from hights.
you know well that I don't believe in peace.
And you know well that I am peaceful when it hurts the most.
knowing too well that I hate surprises.
that your eternity without me lasts till tomorrow.
just like I can feel summer thunder and rain.
Last edited by Baclavio; 07-29-2018 at 09:44 PM.
: "you weren't so dedicatedly making love with me, like with him/her"
Oh, what is a girl to do? There will always be jealousy!
You right about the jelaousy...no jealousy = no love in the relationships.
And cherry Maraschino red lips, beyond addictive with eyes spreading blue skies.
her passions will take you to the darkness of the night.
will already have lost a fight.
Last edited by Baclavio; 09-10-2018 at 06:45 PM.
And let me feel those nice feelings once again.
Last edited by Baclavio; 09-11-2018 at 06:56 PM.
Oh! How today bores me!
I can't read her mind!
And certainly, our love don't have " yesterdays Charm".
Oh! She loved me so!
she sneaks and sneaks around.
When I wish to never see her trace.
She lingers for a mile.
But I gotta admit...they sometimes make me dream.
Oh! Where is the past?
I'm holding out for you.
Passion all I want is you...again.
Last edited by Baclavio; 09-15-2018 at 08:42 PM.
Can a man ever crave for the touch of your lips more than I?
like caressing the petals of a rose.
I could vile away the breezy summer evenings laying in them.
And in the bitter winter evenings cuddled between them.
I will never feel when the cold closes in.
I could sleep in their cradle and dream of them whispering my name.
They frame your smile with velvet and crown your "p00sie chin" with satin.
Moonlight kissed I think of thousand different reasons why I enjoy them.
Last edited by Baclavio; 10-02-2018 at 09:32 PM.


Description Only edition, volume 2. , 126, 129-140,  ff., 305:193 mm., old hand on title, wide margins, usual age and damp staining, scattered worming affecting letters. A very good copy bound in modern cloth boards.
Paragraph 1 The R. Hayyim Berlin copy with his stamp on several ff.
Description Responsa on the Orah Hayyim and Yoreh De'ah. Volume one was printed in Constantinople two years earlier.
R. Abraham b. David Yizhaki (1661–1729), rabbi, halakhic authority, and kabbalist. Born in Jerusalem, he was the grandson of the kabbalist, R. Abraham b. Mordecai Azulai, and son-in-law of R. Abraham Israel Zeevi, a scholar of Hebron. He studied Talmud under R. Moses b. Jonathan Galante, and Kabbalah together with R. Joseph Bialer, grandfather of R. H. J. D. Azulai. He was chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Rishon le-Zion, by 1708, and held the position until his death. He also headed a yeshivah. Among his disciples were R. Moses Hagiz, R. Isaac ha-Kohen Rapoport, and R. Isaac Zerahiah Azulai.
At the beginning of his rabbinate, the inhabitants of Jerusalem suffered from the heavy burden of taxation placed upon them by the government. To ameliorate the situation, R. Yizhaki went to various European countries and to Turkey as an emissary of the community (1709–16). In 1708, as head of the Jerusalem rabbis, he signed a declaration against the Shabbatean Nehemiah Hayon, and during his journey he vigorously opposed the propaganda conducted by Hayon and Miguel Abraham Cardozo. On reaching Amsterdam in 1712 he encouraged R. Moses Hagiz and R. Zevi Ashkenazi (Hakham Zevi) to oppose Hayon, who came to Amsterdam in 1713. On returning to Jerusalem, Yizhaki devoted himself to teaching and writing. Some time later, when the situation of Jerusalem deteriorated and his safety was endangered, he was compelled to flee to Hebron, but later returned to Jerusalem, where he passed on.
[חלק ב]: תשו' דשייכי לא"ח וי"ד [לאורח חיים ויורה דעה]. הובאו לבית הדפוס ע"י ... ר' משה פאלקון ה"י וחתנו ... ר' יצחק ארדיט תושבי אזמיר. אזמיר, דפוס יונה אשכנזי ודוד חזן, בשנת נהר פ'ל'ג'י'ו' י'ש'מ'ח'ו' עיר [תצ"ג]. , קכו, קכט-קמ,  דף. מעבר לשער ובדף : הקדמת "התלמיד" ר' יצחק [ב"ר יהודה רפאפורט] כהן. בספר קונטרס מיוחד ממנו (דף עט-פו): שתי תשובות, בעניין שהמחבר דן עליו עמו בתשובה קודמת.
Description CD-EPI 0136896; EJ; JE; Yaari, Sheluhei, 353-8; Benayahu, in: KS, 28 (1952/53), 33; Toledano, in: Yerushalayim, 4 (1953), 215–6; Scholem, Shabbetai Zevi, 1 (1957), 199–200.


At the closing date, 31st January 2012, there were 41 entries - an 13% increase on last year.
Peter and David were joined by last year's winner, Neil Cryer, and by the IAC webmaster, Jan Watterson for the final judging.
Backyard Productions for the sheer enthusiasm of their site.
Hearty congratulations to all the webmasters whose sites made it to the shortlist and especially to our winners.


Ho Ho Tower slots is all set to take you to the Hong Kong city on this Christmas. The festive celebrations are clearly visible in the background by the laser beams and colourful fireworks adorning the sky The Wheels of the Sky feature will treat you with some nice payouts which will allow you to celebrate this Christmas in a bit more lively way.
Celebrate This Christmas with Ho Ho Tower Slots!
Ho Ho Tower slots is designed with 5 reels and 99 different ways to win. It gives you decent range from 10p to £50 to stake. When it comes to visuals, it is placed in Hong Kong with a background of the city skyline. Since it is Christmas, you will see plenty of laser beams and fireworks lighting up the buildings.
Symbols are represented by Christmas bonsai trees and sweets, lotuses and a festive gold 7. Apart from these, the card values are the lower symbols. Ho Ho Tower logo is the mystery symbol. It will change into random symbols in order to help you to form some extra winning combinations. Ying Yang is the bonus symbol which will be triggering the Wheels of the Sky Bonus feature for you.
Ho Ho Tower slots come with a single bonus feature which seems to be enough when you look at the payouts earned. If you will land at least three red Mystery Ying Yang scatter symbols or one or more blue Mystery Ying Yang icons then The Wheels of the Sky feature will be triggered. Landing more than 3 red symbols will add 2 additional as well.
This will give you 3 wheels of the sky. The first one of them will gift you a cash bonus. If you will hit the Level up icon then it will take you to the next wheel for bigger wins. The basic aim if the game is simply to reach the final that is the 3rd wheel before all your lives run out. Achieving your goal will give you 500 times of your total stake in addition to the payouts you will win from the first two wheels.
Ho Ho Tower slots seem to be a medium to high variance game. The maximum winning potential is about 1,530 times of your total stake. The slots game is loved basically for its higher payouts which offer some great wins. Hence, it sees to be a perfect slot game to be played this festive season.


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Home Destinations Europe Southern Europe France South of France The insider's guide Provence & Côte d'Azur destination guide
Destination guide: Provence & the Côte d'Azur
Provence and the Côte d'Azur cannot fail to enchant, with its rich natural beauty, rolling hills of lavender, forests of deep scented pine, hilltops dotted with ancient towns and dazzling beaches.
In the south east corner of France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur stretches from the Alps down through Provence to the Côte d'Azur and Monaco on the Mediterranean and is one of the most beautiful and evocative regions in the country. The diversity of scenery, the wonderful flavours of the local food, the artisan markets and the agreeable Mediterranean climate, all within a couple of hours of the UK, make this a popular destination. We have a number of luxury hotels, ranging from boutique properties surrounded by olive groves, to architect designed hotels overlooking the Côte d'Azur, where we can put together an itinerary for you to sample the best that the region has to offer.
Flop by the pool and listen to the cicadas or explore this beautiful part of France? It's a dilemma! You would need several months to see everything the region has to offer, and whatever your preference is for a holiday, you're sure to find it here. From the cosmopolitan towns on the coast to the medieval hilltop villages inland, and the striking national parks, each part offers something interesting and unique.
The area has a wealth of history, and you'll find plenty of evidence of the Romans, from the arena at Nimes, where you can still see bull fighting and re-enactments of gladiatorial games during May, to the amphitheatre and Triumphal Arch in Orange. The coastal resort of Fréjus has some famous Roman ruins and has the added benefit of being just a couple of kilometres from some lovely beaches. Avignon, with the famous remains of a medieval bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is equally famous for its Palace des Papes – built in the 14th Century when the Papacy temporarily moved its base here from Rome. Another well-known Provencal image is the 11th-century Cistercian Abbaye de Sénanque. Surrounded by rows and rows of lavender fields, its Romanesque architecture stands out prominently, and is a truly peaceful place to visit. With an abundance of lavender and other indigenous fragrant plants in the region, it is natural that the perfume business should have a heavy presence. The town of Grasse is the perfume capital of the world, with Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard all having bases there. The factory tours are interesting and worthwhile, even if you do end up in the shop at the end!
The region has its fair share of "Les plus beaux villages de France", with their mix of Romanesque and Medieval architecture. The views stretch down to the coast over the pine forests and they are a step back in time, with tiny cobbled streets, quite often with no access to traffic. Each one has its own character, and the best times to visit are when the local market is being held (easily found out at a tourist office). Not only will you find food stalls groaning under the weight of fresh local produce, including olives, truffles, lemons and tomatoes, but artisanal stalls selling paintings, crafts and usually lots of lavender! Some of our favourites are Seillans, which is surrounded by vineyards where the wines produced belong to the AOC Côte de Provence appellation; Tourtour "the village in the sky" which has a traditional festival at the beginning of August, with dancing and petanques competitions, and Tourrettes sur Loup - a picturesque village with artisanal shops run by the artists themselves. Artists have been drawn to the area for centuries, and nowhere is this more evident than at the Colombe d'Or in St Paul de Vence. Paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Dufy line the walls of this hotel and restaurant, in lieu of payment during their leaner years. Book well in advance if you'd like to have lunch here. Close by is the idyllic village of Vence with its Matisse Chapel (the artist's self-proclaimed greatest work). The stained-glass windows flood the interior with coloured light. The village itself is worth spending time in, with its relaxed vibe and streets and squares full of shops, art galleries and terrace cafés. Look out for local events, as most towns and villages celebrate saints days or host an arts festival.
For a more urban experience, then Nice is hard to beat. France's fifth largest city, it boasts one of Europe's most spectacular sea fronts, looking over the Bay of Angels. It has long been a magnet for the English, and has a cosmopolitan yet relaxed atmosphere. If you're in the centre or the old town, you can explore on foot or by hiring bikes if you're looking to venture a bit further, for example the Matisse museum at the end of the Promenade des Anglais or the Le Corbusier designed Chagall museum. Alternatively, just splurge out on a lounger, and let waiters bring you cocktails and appetizers. The rich and famous have been visiting Antibes and Juans Les Pins for ever, and it's where water skiing was invented. The narrow streets of Juan Les Pins are buzzing in the summer, especially in July when it hosts Europe's biggest jazz festival. The Chateau Grimaldi on the ramparts above the port was once inhabited by Picasso, and it now houses one of the world's finest collections of his art. One of the most spectacular places to visit further east along the coast towards Monaco, is the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild at Sain-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a beautiful Italian Palazzo with a garden featuring nine differently themed sections. Perched on a hill, overlooking the Mediterranean, it houses part of the family's incredible art collection, and the gardens are truly beautiful.
Provence has over 600 winemakers and represents 6% of the French AOC production for all types of wine. Production is dominated by rosé (88%), with some fine reds also made (9%). Many vineyards have tours and tastings, and wine lovers can visit those in the internationally recognized Bandol area, west of Toulon, or Châteauneuf-du-Pape, further east. If you're here on the first weekend of August, there's a medieval festival, where you can watch jousting and try local delicacies at all the stalls.
A major attraction in Provence is the Gorges du Verdon – a limestone canyon 25km long, up to 700 metres deep and with widths between six metres and 1500 metres at the summit, forming the border between the Alpes de Haute Provence and the Var. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Europe, with its turquoise glacial waters. It is extremely popular with climbers and kayakers – although an expert guide is recommended for the latter due to the strong currents in the narrower parts. In the quieter parts there are places where you can hire electric boats or pedalos. It is also possible to drive round the edge to appreciate its stunning beauty. A full loop is just over 100km and can take a whole day. Avid followers of the Tour de France will have heard of Mont Ventoux, northeast of Carpentras. The steep climb to the summit is often included in the route, but you can also take the easy option by driving up to admire the spectacular views.
Food lovers are never disappointed in Provence and the Côte d'Azur - food and wine here go way beyond just eating and drinking – they are a way of life. Provence is the oldest wine producing region in France and is the heartland of rosé, creating the palest pink, dry and smooth wines. The region is also the largest producer in the country of fruit, vegetables and herbs, and together with the abundance of seafood, it is little wonder that the cuisine here is so fresh and bursting with flavour. It has the largest olive harvest and creates delicious oil, and even the ubiquitous lavender is used in many dishes, especially in Haute Provence. Garlic and anchovies are used in many of the region's sauces, and truffles also feature heavily. In some restaurants, you'll find most dishes using this distinctive ingredient. Local dishes that are worth trying include Sisteron lamb – especially delicious when roasted with herbs; pissaladière – a pizza style tart with onions, anchovies and olives (no tomatoes); petits farcis – stuffed aubergines, tomatoes, peppers or courgettes; bouillabaisse – a staple on most menus, and obviously, the famous Salade Niçoise. Great debate surrounds this dish – should it have anchovies or tuna? Anchovies and tuna? Green beans or lettuce?
Eating out in the region doesn't have to be expensive. Most towns and villages have a bewildering choice of restaurants, bistros and cafés, where you can get a light snack for lunch and it's always worth finding out where the locals prefer to eat. Due to its proximity to the border, you'll find plenty of Italian restaurants too. Alternatively, if you want to go big, the list is endless. There is no shortage of Michelin star restaurants, although you'll need to book long in advance. A lunch that won't bust the bank can be found at Christian Plumail in Vieux Nice, very close to the market at Cours Saleya. Try the saddle of lamb in olive-flavoured pastry. Or for some truly haute cuisine and an amazing view of the Promenade des Anglais, La Terrasse, ten floors up on the top of Le Méridien hotel serves elegant but simple dishes. In St Tropez, the fabulously expensive Résidence de la Pinède has three Michelin stars and has a gorgeous terrace overlooking the beach – definitely worth booking for a special occasion. If you're after glamour, you should head for the Z'Plage Beach Restaurant on La Croisette in Cannes – just the best place to people watch, or try the Palme d'Or directly opposite in the Martinez Hotel. The food is sensational, the art deco surroundings are amazing - little wonder it has two Michelin stars. You'll also love the descriptions on the menu – worth going there for those alone! Food is by no means an exclusive pastime in the region, and many local chefs run cookery courses for those who'd like to spend a day learning some of the finer arts of French cuisine.
The coast during the summer months is notoriously busy and on some beaches you'll struggle to find space. However, there are stretches of quieter areas, and if you're after a bit of sea and sand, it's useful to know where to head. Away from the bustle of Nice is the Plage de Passable in a little cove in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. With a restaurant, sun loungers and water sports, it has lovely views towards the Bay of Villafranche. On the other side of the Cap Ferrat peninsula is the little shingle beach of Paloma. This is a protected cove, popular with families and with great facilities. Half the beach is private, and often frequented by celebrities, while the other section is open to the public. For a taste of what the Riviera used to be like, it's worth taking the ferry from Hyères to Porquerolles in the Ile d'Hyères, where you can rent bikes and explore this little island and its unspoilt beaches. For more glitz and a feel for the buzz of the South of France, nothing beats the beach along La Croisette in Cannes. You'll need to make a reservation at one of the restaurants, but can stay there for the afternoon topping up your glass with chilled rosé. Just west across the bay is Théoule-sur-Mer, which has a quieter beach, covered in lovely golden coloured sand. The famous Pampelonne Beach at St Tropez is the best one to go to for people watching, and as such, gets incredibly busy. It does have very good facilities including some great restaurants. Nice has 15 private beaches with public ones in between, stretching for over four miles from the airport to the Vieux Port. They are pebbly and can be quite steep in parts, making them not particularly ideal for younger children. However, there are stretches that are less steep, and it's here that you'll see most families.
This part of France is one of the oldest inhabited places in Europe, with evidence of people living here over a million years ago. Cave paintings have been found from between 27,000 and 19,000 BC. The Greeks arrived during the 7th Century BC establishing trading posts along the coast, followed by the Romans, who colonised the area. Their monuments still stand throughout the region and many amphitheatres are still used today. Christianity began to take hold during the 3rd Century AD which was followed by a series of invasions by Visigoths, Saracens and the Normans to name just a few. The Kingdom of Provence was established in 879 and was ruled by various dynasties before the powerful Grimaldi family from Genoa took power in the 13th Century. Remains of their castles can still be seen and the current Prince Albert II of Monaco is a descendant. The region became detached from the rest of France until Napolean III reinstated it in 1860. In the late 18th Century, the coast became a popular health resort for British aristocracy, turning it from a remote and impoverished region into a fashionable destination. Once the railway was completed in the 1860s, the region became more accessible and foreign enclaves, most of which were British, began to appear. Gambling was illegal in France, and a casino was built in Monaco under the guise of being a Spa to avoid upsetting the Church! The Riviera became a popular destination for European royalty with Queen Victoria being a regular visitor. At the end of the 19th Century artists began flocking to the Côte d'Azur, with Renoir, Matisse and Picasso settling there. After World War I, Americans discovered its delights and many moguls and writers, including Scott Fitzgerald and Edith Wharton frequented it. Much of 'The Great Gatsby' was written at Saint-Raphaël. In 1923, a certain Coco Chanel returned to Paris after spending the summer there, and made suntans fashionable. And a few years later, the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson lived here after his abdication. After World War II, it became a magnet for Hollywood. The Cannes Film Festival was established in 1946 and the Bridget Bardot emerged a decade later, immortalising the area. St Tropez became a "jet set" destination, with the marriage of Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco firmly establishing it on the map. Today, it still retains its allure and continues to captivate all who visit.
The insider's guide: South of France
Vive la Côte!
The inside track on the Côte d'Azur
Provence & the south of France
Driving in France
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Each set contains a t-shirt, a long sleeved top and lounge pants in a jersey bag.
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Caring for the world and the people we share it with is a life choice.


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News » Religion
Watch: No Longer Gay, Milo Yiannopoulos Gets a Message from God
God works in mysterious ways, or so the saying goes. Offering his cock-eyed proof of that statement is ex-gay, ultra-conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos with his own divine sign.
Yiannopoulos appeared in an interview on the conservative social media Gab with two co-hosts on a show called TruNews, where he seemed to be channeling Brad Pitt. Right Wing Watch tweeted a video with the text: "Milo Yiannopoulos says that as soon as he became 'ex-gay,' dogs stopped barking at him, which he believes is a sign from God."
In the clip, Yiannopoulos says: "When I made my announcement, the first thing that happened, which will make you laugh, but it's true: dogs stopped barking at me. I am one of those people, you know, everyone's got that friend that dogs always go nuts around, definitely with a stranger to pets."
Making things even more awkward, one of the two hosts pointed out that his dog had never barked at Yiannopoulos before or after his self-imposed exercise in conversion therapy, which he dismissed with the crack, "So, you must have some work left to do.
He then continued: "I was always one of those.. this sounds so stupid, but this is just how I think that God reveals Himself to us, right. This is just my experience of it. I was somebody who, invariably, without exception, always used to make dogs go crazy."
He continued with an anecdote: "We have a friend who's a political candidate down here right, and her campaign manager has two of these little yappy dogs, and they would not stop. I couldn't be in her house more than 20 minutes because it would drive everybody crazy. Even growing up we hadAlsatians, we have black Labradors. They just didn't like me at all."
He concluded with: "The dogs aren't barking at me anymore and it happened almost overnight. Now they seem to quite like me, and it sounds it's the stupidest thing in the world. "
In March, Yiannopoulos announced he is an "Ex-gay" and "sodomy free," saying he has the gay itch but isn't going to scratch it. "I treat it like an addiction. You never stop being an alcoholic." Days later, he announced he is opening a gay conversion facility in Florida with which he hopes to "rebrand" the discredited practice. In May, he made a public display of his commitment to his new movement by throwing into the Pacific a $150,000 engagement ring he had purchased for a same-sex relationship in which he was involved.
Watch 'Broke Hoe' Milo Yiannopoulos Toss his $150,000 'Sodomy Stone' Into the Pacific
Milo Yiannopolous to Open Conversion Therapy Facility in Florida
Milo Cancels Being Gay; Says He's 'Sodomy-Free'
LGBTQ Sexuality: The 10 Stories That Rose to Our Attention in 2021
U.S. Steps Up Probe into Hyundai-Kia Engine Failures and Fires
4 Favorite Mocktail Recipes from New Orleans' Best Mixologists


125 best open source robot projects.
A Hubot adapter for QQ! And also A independence robot lives on the real world. FYI: QQ is a instant messaging service widely used in china provided by Tencent. On LINUX or OSX use export VARIABLE=VALUE to set environment variables.
A PHP desktop/mobile user agent parser with support for Laravel, based on Mobile Detect with desktop support and additional functionality. Check for a certain property in the user agent.
Golang Desktop Automation. Control the mouse, keyboard, bitmap, read the screen, Window Handle and global event listener. RobotGo supports Mac, Windows, and Linux(X11).
vbot - 💬The best wechat robot base on web api!
💬The best wechat robot base on web api!
Artoo is a micro-framework for robotics using Ruby. It provides a simple, yet powerful Domain-Specific Language (DSL) for robotics and physical computing. It provides next generation robotics framework with support for 15 different platforms. Artoo includes a RESTful API to query the status of any robot running within a group, including the connection and device status, and device streaming data via websockets.
Gobot is a framework using the Go programming language for robotics, physical computing, and the Internet of Things. It provides a simple, yet powerful way to create solutions that incorporate multiple, different hardware devices at the same time. It provides next generation robotics / IoT framework with support for 30 different platforms.
Huntsman takes one or more 'seed' urls with the spider.queue.add() method. Once the process is kicked off with spider.start(), it will take care of extracting links from the page and following only the pages we want.
Robot manipulator programming simulation. Contains robot programming language interpreter and graphical environment for executing robot programs. Project written in F#.
The MRDS Samples site hosts a variety of code samples for Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (RDS).
A C# project to simulate and test a multiagent algorithm for finding multiple noisy radiation sources with spatial and communication constraints with an emulated environment.
This version of robot uses A.I. (artificial intelligence) building blocks with members and methods written in C#.
react-smartbanner - Rewrite Smart App Banner in React.js.


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Caribbean Culture	`	2018-05-28T16:34:53-05:00
The Caribbean is made up of a rich and diverse mix of different cultural traditions that make them all special in their own unique way. While it would be impossible to capture all that makes us so fascinating, we hope to do our best to demonstrate a little something special from every last one of us.
Jamaica (/dʒəˈmeɪkə/ ( listen)) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island, 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean, by area.
Cuba (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkuβa]), officially the Republic of Cuba(Spanish: República de Cuba (help·info)), is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres (42,426 sq mi), and the second-most populous after Hispaniola, with over 11 million inhabitants.[13]
Haiti (/ˈheɪti/ ( listen); French: Haïti [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (French: République d'Haïti; Haitian Creole: Repiblik Ayiti)[8] and formerly called Hayti,[note 1] is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic.[11][12] Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi) in size and has an estimated 10.8 million people,[3] making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the second-most populous country in the Caribbean as a whole.
Trinidad and Tobago (/ˈtrɪnɪˌdæd ən təˈbeɪɡoʊ/ ( listen), /-toʊˈ-/),[10]officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is a twin island country situated off the northern edge of the South American mainland, lying just 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and 130 kilometres (81 miles) south of Grenada. Bordering other Caribbean nations to the north, it shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.[11][12]
The Bahamas (/bəˈhɑːməz/), known officially as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas,[11] is an archipelagic state within the Lucayan Archipelago. It consists of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, and is located north of Cuba and Hispaniola(Haiti and the Dominican Republic), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, southeast of the US state of Florida, and east of the Florida Keys. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. The designation of "the Bahamas" can refer either to the country or to the larger island chain that it shares with the Turks and Caicos Islands. As stated in the mandate/manifesto of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas territory encompasses 470,000 km2 (180,000 sq mi) of ocean space.
Puerto Rico[a] (Spanish for "Rich Port"), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. "Free Associated State of Puerto Rico")[b] and briefly called Porto Rico,[c][16][17][18] is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea.
An archipelago among the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. The capital and most populous city is San Juan. Its official languages are Spanish and English, though Spanish predominates.[19] The island's population is approximately 3.4 million. Puerto Rico's history, tropical climate, diverse natural scenery, traditional cuisine, and tax incentives make it a destination for travelers from around the world.
Barbados (/bɑːrˈbeɪdɒs/ ( listen) or /bɑːrˈbeɪdoʊs/) is an island country in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean region of North America. It is 34 kilometres (21 miles) in length and up to 23 km (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 432 km2 (167 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 km (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea;[6] therein, it is about 168 km (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and 400 km (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt. Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown.
Saint Lucia (/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ ( listen); French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereignisland country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean.[6] Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and reported a population of 165,595 in the 2010 census.[7] Its capital is Castries.
Grenada (/ɡrɪˈneɪdə/ ( listen); French: La Grenade) is an island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), and it had an estimated population of 107,317[4] in 2016. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops, of which it is one of the world's largest exporters. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada dove.
Antigua and Barbuda (/ænˈtiːɡə ənd bɑːrˈbjuːdə/ ( listen); an-TEE-gǝ ǝnd bar-BEW-dǝ) is a sovereign state in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guiana, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The permanent population numbers about 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.
The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβliˌka ðoˌminiˈkana]) is a country located in the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with the nation of Haiti,[10][11] making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two countries. The Dominican Republic is the second-largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) at 48,445 square kilometers (18,705 sq mi), and third by population with approximately 10 million people, of which approximately three million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.[12][13]
Guadeloupe (/ɡwɑːdəˈluːp/; French pronunciation: [ɡwadəlup]; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is an insular region of France located in the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Administratively, it is an overseas region consisting of a single overseas department. With a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 square miles) and an estimated population of 400,132 as of January 2015, it is the largest and most populous European Union territory in North America.[3][note 1]
Guadeloupe's two main islands are Basse-Terre to the west and Grande-Terre to the east, which are separated by a narrow strait that is crossed with bridges. They are often referred to as a single island. The department also includes the Dependencies of Guadeloupe, which include the smaller islands of Marie-Galante and La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes.
Martinique (French pronunciation: [maʁtinik]) is an insular region of France located in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 square kilometres (436 sq mi) and a population of 385,551 inhabitants as of January 2013.[2] Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. One of the Windward Islands, it is directly north of Saint Lucia, southeast of Puerto Rico, northwest of Barbados, and south of Dominica.
As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the eighteen regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the République française (French Republic). As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its currency is the euro. The official language is French, and virtually the entire population also speaks Antillean Creole (Créole Martiniquais).[4]
Curaçao (/ˈkʊrəsaʊ/ KUR-ə-sow or /ˈkjʊərəsaʊ/ KEWR-ə-sow; Dutch: Curaçao, pronounced [kyːraːˈsʌu̯];[7] Papiamentu: Kòrsou) is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of the Venezuelan coast. It is a constituent country (Dutch: land) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
It was formerly called Curaçao and Dependencies (1815–1954) and the Country of Curaçao (Dutch: Land Curaçao;[8] Papiamento: Pais Kòrsou);[9] it includes the main island of Curaçao and the uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"). It has a population over 160,000 in an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi), and its capital is Willemstad.
Aruba (/əˈruːbə/ ə-ROO-bə; Dutch: [aːˈrubaː]) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the southern Caribbean Sea, located about 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) west of the main part of the Lesser Antilles and 29 kilometres (18 mi)[5] north of the coast of Venezuela. It measures 32 kilometres (20 mi) long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and 10 kilometres (6 mi) across at its widest point.[5] Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, Aruba and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines(/seɪnt ˈvɪnsənt ænd ðə ɡrɛnəˈdiːnz/ ( listen)) is a sovereign state in the Lesser Antilles island arc, in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean. The country is also known simply as Saint Vincent.
Its 389 km2 (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands stretching south from Saint Vincent Island to Grenada. Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within the Hurricane Belt.
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI; also called the American Virgin Islands), officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, is a group of islands in the Caribbean that is an insular area of the United States located 40 miles (64 km) east of Puerto Rico. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, and many other surrounding minor islands. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km2).[3] The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas.
Dominica /ˌdɒmɪˈniːkə/; French: Dominique; Island Carib: Wai'tu kubuli), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is a sovereign island country.[8] The capital, Roseau, is located on the leeward side of the island. It is part of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The island lies south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its area is 750 km2 (290 sq mi), and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at 1,447 m (4,747 ft) in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census.[5]
The Cayman Islands (/ˈkeɪmən/ or /keɪˈmæn/) is an autonomous British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea. The 264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile) territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman located south of Cuba, northeast of Costa Rica, north of Panama, east of Mexico and northwest of Jamaica. Its population is approximately 60,765[7], and its capital is George Town.
The Cayman Islands are considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean Zone as well as the Greater Antilles. The territory is often considered a major world offshore financial haven for many wealthy individuals.[8]
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis(/seɪnt ˌkɪts ænd ˈniːvɪs/ ( listen)), also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis,[4] is a two-island country in the West Indies, in the Caribbean. Located in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both areaand population. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.
The capital city is Basseterre on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller island of Nevis lies approximately 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Saint Kitts across a shallow channel called "The Narrows".
Sint Maarten (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪnt ˈmaːrtə(n)]) is an island country in the Caribbean. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. With a population of 33,609 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), it encompasses the southern 40% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 60% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg.
The Turks and Caicos Islands (/ˈtɜːrks/ and /ˈkeɪkəs/ / /ˈkeɪkoʊs/ / /ˈkeɪkɒs/), or TCI for short, are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population is 31,458 as of 2012 [2] of whom 23,769 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands.
Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin), officially the Collectivity of Saint Martin (Collectivité de Saint-Martin) is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. With a population of 36,286 (as of Jan. 2011)[2] on an area of 53.2 square kilometres (20.5 sq mi), it encompasses the northern 60% of the divided island of Saint Martin, and some neighbouring islets, the largest of which is Île Tintamarre. The southern 40% of the island of Saint Martin constitutes Sint Maarten, since 2010 a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Before 2007, the French part of Saint Martin formed a part of the French overseas région and département of Guadeloupe. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially simply "Virgin Islands"[3], are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
The British Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke, along with over 50 other smaller islands and cays. About 15 of the islands are inhabited. The capital, Road Town, is on Tortola, the largest island, which is about 20 km (12 mi) long and 5 km (3 mi) wide. The islands had a population of about 28,000 at the 2010 Census, of whom approximately 23,500 lived on Tortola.[1] For the islands, the latest United Nations estimate (2016) is 30,661.[4]
The Caribbean Netherlands[7][8] (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland) are the three special municipalities of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba,[a 1] although the term "Caribbean Netherlands" is sometimes used to refer to all of the islands in the Dutch Caribbean. In legislation, the three islands are also known as the BES islands (an acronym of their names). The islands are currently classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, EU law does not automatically apply.
Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire) is one of the Leeward Antilles and is located close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are in the main Lesser Antilles group and are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Anguilla (/æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-GWIL-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean.[4] It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla, approximately 16 miles (26 km) long by 3 miles (5 km) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cayswith no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 35 square miles (90 km2),[5] with a population of approximately 14,764 (2016 estimate).
Saint Barthélemy (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃baʁtelemi]), officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy (French: Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy), called Ouanalao by the indigenous people, is an overseas collectivity of France[4] in the West Indies. Often abbreviated to St-Barth in French, and St. Barths or St. Barts in English, [5] the island lies about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of St. Martin and north of St. Kitts. Puerto Rico is 240 kilometres (150 mi) to the west in the Greater Antilles.[6]
Montserrat (/mɒntsəˈræt/) is a Caribbean island—specifically in the Leeward Islands, which is part of the chain known as the Lesser Antilles, in the British West Indies. It is a British Overseas Territory(BOT). Montserrat measures approximately 16 km (10 mi) in length and 11 km (7 mi) in width, with approximately 40 km (25 mi) of coastline.[2]Montserrat is nicknamed The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants.