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TV News, San Diego Radio, Politics and News, Sewing--The Sewing Herald Tribune....we need contributors, Travel.... Agree or Disagree....Please feel free to comment.....all comments appreciated and thank you for your time..... and food,dogs and cats...... let's sit down at this cafe, have a cup of coffee and talk about politics.
Do You Even Know George Smiley or Not?
A Brief History of George Smiley by John Le Carré
The first appearance of John Le Carré's wily grey eminence: the first chapter of the first Smiley novel, Call for the Dead
theguardian.com, Friday 22 May 2009 08.44 EDT
When Lady Ann Sercomb married George Smiley towards the end of the war she described him to her astonished Mayfair friends as breathtakingly ordinary. When she left him two years later in favour of a Cuban motor racing driver, she announced enigmatically that if she hadn't left him then, she never could have done; and Viscount Sawley made a special journey to his club to observe that the cat was out of the bag.
Call for the Dead
by John Le Carré
Find this on the Guardian bookshop
This remark, which enjoyed a brief season as a mot, can only be understood by those who knew Smiley. Short, fat, and of a quiet disposition, he appeared to spend a lot of money on really bad clothes, which hung about his squat frame like skin on a shrunken toad. Sawley, in fact, declared at the wedding that 'Sercomb was mated to a bullfrog in a sou'wester'. And Smiley, unaware of this description, had waddled down the aisle in search of the kiss that would turn him into a Prince.
Was he rich or poor, peasant or priest? Where had she got him from? The incongruity of the match was emphasized by Lady Ann's undoubted beauty, its mystery stimulated by the disproportion between the man and his bride. But gossip must see its characters in black and white, equip them with sins and motives easily conveyed in the shorthand of conversation. And so Smiley, without school, parents, regiment or trade, without wealth or poverty, travelled without labels in the guard's van of the social express, and soon became lost luggage, destined, when the divorce had come and gone, to remain unclaimed on the dusty shelf of yesterday's news.
When Lady Ann followed her star to Cuba, she gave some thought to Smiley. With grudging admiration she admitted to herself that if there were an only man in her life, Smiley would be he. She was gratified in retrospect that she had demonstrated this by holy matrimony.
The effect of Lady Ann's departure upon her former husband did not interest society – which indeed is unconcerned with the aftermath of sensation. Yet it would be interesting to know what Sawley and his flock might have made of Smiley's reaction; of that fleshy, bespectacled face puckered in energetic concentration as he read so deeply among the lesser German poets, the chubby wet hands clenched beneath the tumbling sleeves. But Sawley profited by the occasion with the merest of shrugs by remarking partir c'est courir un peu, and he appeared to be unaware that though Lady Ann just ran away, a little of George Smiley had indeed died.
That part of Smiley which survived was as incongruous to his appearance as love, or a taste for unrecognized poets: it was his profession, which was that of intelligence officer. It was a profession he enjoyed, and which mercifully provided him with colleagues equally obscure in character and origin. It also provided him with what he had once loved best in life: academic excursions into the mystery of human behaviour, disciplined by the practical application of his own deductions.
Some time in the twenties when Smiley had emerged from his unimpressive school and lumbered blinking into the murky cloisters of his unimpressive Oxford College, he had dreamt of Fellowships and a life devoted to the literary obscurities of seventeenth-century Germany. But his own tutor, who knew Smiley better, guided him wisely away from the honours that would undoubtedly have been his. On a sweet July morning in 1928, a puzzled and rather pink Smiley had sat before an interviewing board of the Overseas Committee for Academic Research, an organization of which he had unaccountably never heard. Jebedee (his tutor) had been oddly vague about the introduction: 'Give these people a try, Smiley, they might have you and they pay badly enough to guarantee you decent company.' But Smiley was annoyed and said so. It worried him that Jebedee, usually so precise, was so evasive. In a slight huff he agreed to postpone his reply to All Souls until he had seen Jebedee's 'mysterious people'.
He wasn't introduced to the Board, but he knew half of its members by sight. There was Fielding, the French medievalist from Cambridge, Sparke from the School of Oriental Languages, and Steed-Asprey who had been dining at High Table the night Smiley had been Jebedee's guest. He had to admit he was impressed. For Fielding to leave his rooms, let alone Cambridge, was in itself a miracle. Afterwards Smiley always thought of that interview as a fan dance; a calculated progression of disclosures, each revealing different parts of a mysterious entity. Finally Steed-Asprey, who seemed to be Chairman, removed the last veil, and the truth stood before him in all its dazzling nakedness. He was being offered a post in what, for want of a better name, Steed-Asprey blushingly described as the Secret Service.
Smiley had asked for time to think. They gave him a week. No one mentioned pay.
That night he stayed in London at somewhere rather good and took himself to the theatre. He felt strangely light-headed and this worried him. He knew very well that he would accept, that he could have done so at the interview. It was only an instinctive caution, and perhaps a pardonable desire to play the coquette with Fielding, which prevented him from doing so.
Following his affirmation came training: anonymous country houses, anonymous instructors, a good deal of travel and, looming ever larger, the fantastic prospect of working completely alone.
His first operational posting was relatively pleasant: a two-year appointment as englischer Dozent at a provincial German university: lectures on Keats and vacations in Bavarian hunting lodges with groups of earnest and solemnly promiscuous German students. Towards the end of each long vacation he brought some of them back to England, having already earmarked the likely ones and conveyed his recommendations by clandestine means to an address in Bonn; during the entire two years he had no idea of whether his recommendations had been accepted or ignored. He had no means of knowing even whether his candidates were approached. Indeed he had no means of knowing whether his messages ever reached their destination; and he had no contact with the Department while in England.
His emotions in performing this work were mixed, and irreconcilable. It intrigued him to evaluate from a detached position what he had learnt to describe as 'the agent potential' of a human being; to devise minuscule tests of character and behaviour which could inform him of the qualities of a candidate. This part of him was bloodless and inhuman – Smiley in this role was the international mercenary of his trade, amoral and without motive beyond that of personal gratification.
Conversely it saddened him to witness in himself the gradual death of natural pleasure. Always withdrawn, he now found himself shrinking from the temptations of friendship and human loyalty; he guarded himself warily from spontaneous reaction. By the strength of his intellect, he forced himself to observe humanity with clinical objectivity, and because he was neither immortal nor infallible he hated and feared the falseness of his life.
But Smiley was a sentimental man and the long exile strengthened his deep love of England. He fed hungrily on memories of Oxford; its beauty, its rational ease, and the mature slowness of its judgements. He dreamt of windswept autumn holidays at Hartland Quay, of long trudges over the Cornish cliffs, his face smooth and hot against the sea wind. This was his other secret life, and he grew to hate the bawdy intrusion of the new Germany, the stamping and shouting of uniformed students, the scarred, arrogant faces and their cheapjack answers. He resented, too, the way in which the Faculty had tampered with his subject – his beloved German literature. And there had been a night, a terrible night in the winter of 1937, when Smiley had stood at his window and watched a great bonfire in the university court: round it stood hundreds of students, their faces exultant and glistening in the dancing light. And into the pagan fire they threw books in their hundreds. He knew whose books they were: Thomas Mann, Heine, Lessing and a host of others. And Smiley, his damp hand cupped round the end of his cigarette, watching and hating, triumphed that he knew his enemy.
Nineteen thirty-nine saw him in Sweden, the accredited agent of a well-known Swiss small-arms manufacturer, his association with the firm conveniently backdated. Conveniently, too, his appearance had somehow altered, for Smiley had discovered in himself a talent for the part which went beyond the rudimentary change to his hair and the addition of a small moustache. For four years he had played the part, travelling back and forth between Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. He had never guessed it was possible to be frightened for so long. He developed a nervous irritation in his left eye which remained with him fifteen years later; the strain etched lines on his fleshy cheeks and brow. He learnt what it was never to sleep, never to relax, to feel at any time of day or night the restless beating of his own heart, to know the extremes of solitude and self-pity, the sudden unreasoning desire for a woman, for drink, for exercise, for any drug to take away the tension of his life.
Against this background he conducted his authentic commerce and his work as a spy. With the progress of time the network grew, and other countries repaired their lack of foresight and preparation. In 1943 he was recalled. Within six weeks he was yearning to return, but they never let him go.
'You're finished,' Steed-Asprey said: 'train new men, take time off. Get married or something. Unwind.'
Smiley proposed to Steed-Asprey's secretary, the Lady Ann Sercomb.
The war was over. They paid him off, and he took his beautiful wife to Oxford to devote himself to the obscurities of seventeenth-century Germany. But two years later Lady Ann was in Cuba, and the revelations of a young Russian cypher-clerk in Ottawa had created a new demand for men of Smiley's experience.
The job was new, the threat elusive and at first he enjoyed it. But younger men were coming in, perhaps with fresher minds. Smiley was no material for promotion and it dawned on him gradually that he had entered middle age without ever being young, and that he was – in the nicest possible way – on the shelf.
Things changed. Steed-Asprey was gone, fled from the new world to India, in search of another civilization. Jebedee was dead. He had boarded a train at Lille in 1941 with his radio operator, a young Belgian, and neither had been heard of again. Fielding was wedded to a new thesis on Roland – only Maston remained, Maston the career man, the war-time recruit, the Ministers' Adviser on Intelligence; 'the first man,' Jebedee had said, 'to play power tennis at Wimbledon.' The NATO alliance, and the desperate measures contemplated by the Americans, altered the whole nature of Smiley's Service. Gone for ever were the days of Steed-Asprey, when as like as not you took your orders over a glass of port in his rooms at Magdalen; the inspired amateurism of a handful of highly qualified, under-paid men had given way to the efficiency, bureaucracy and intrigue of a large Government department – effectively at the mercy of Maston, with his expensive clothes and his knighthood, his distinguished grey hair and silver-coloured ties; Maston, who even remembered his secretary's birthday, whose manners were a by-word among the ladies of the registry; Maston, apologetically extending his empire and regretfully moving to even larger offices; Maston, holding smart house-parties at Henley and feeding on the success of his subordinates.
They had brought him in during the war, the professional civil servant from an orthodox department, a man to handle paper and integrate the brilliance of his staff with the cumbersome machine of bureaucracy. It comforted the Great to deal with a man they knew, a man who could reduce any colour to grey, who knew his masters and could walk among them. And he did it so well. They liked his diffidence when he apologized for the company he kept, his insincerity when he defended the vagaries of his subordinates, his flexibility when formulating new commitments. Nor did he let go the advantages of a cloak and dagger man malgré lui, wearing the cloak for his masters and preserving the dagger for his servants. Ostensibly, his position was an odd one. He was not the nominal Head of Service, but the Ministers' Adviser on Intelligence, and Steed-Asprey had described him for all time as the Head Eunuch.
This was a new world for Smiley: the brilliantly lit corridors, the smart young men. He felt pedestrian and old-fashioned, homesick for the dilapidated terrace house in Knightsbridge where it had all begun. His appearance seemed to reflect this discomfort in a kind of physical recession which made him more hunched and frog-like than ever. He blinked more, and acquired the nickname of 'Mole'. But his débutante secretary adored him, and referred to him invariably as 'My darling teddy-bear'.
Smiley was now too old to go abroad. Maston had made that clear: 'Anyway, my dear fellow, as like as not you're blown after all the ferreting about in the war. Better stick at home, old man, and keep the home fires burning.'
Which goes some way to explaining why George Smiley sat in the back of a London taxi at two o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, 4 January, on his way to Cambridge Circus.
would you like to actually see a picture of the real George Smiley......click on this link if you dare:
http://theronnierepublic.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-real-george-smiley.html
Posted by Chloelouise at 4:10 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: british spy novels, gary oldman, john le carre, the real george smiley, tinker tailor soldier spy
Does Ann Coulter Know What She Believes?
Polemicist Ann Coulter, once a recognized icon of the conservative movement, and later, a gay icon, has puzzled many people in recent years. Eager to be seen as conservatism's darling, a firebrand and flamethrower – indeed, a zealot in all things conservative – Coulter has been anything but conservative.
Though giving lip service to the pro-life movement, Coulter fails to seek or support pro-life candidates. Espousing family values, she became a national spokesman for gay conservatives. Claiming to be a Reagan conservative, Coulter claims Romney was a better candidate that Reagan. Now, Coulter is again attacking the Tea Party. Coulter wouldn't know a RINO if she looked in the mirror.
If Coulter is such a firebrand conservative zealot, why does she fall in love with so many RINOs?
Perhaps the answer to Coulter's conflicting views and behaviors lies within Coulter. Perhaps Coulter neither knows what she really believes nor believes what she thinks she knows.
For almost two decades, Coulter has lied, twisted the truth, defended her hypocrisy, refused to repent, and continually pushed the political and rhetorical edge. Without boundaries, and having forsaken the north star of truth, Coulter has simply gone over the edge.
If Coulter doesn't know what to believe, and if she doesn't believe what she claims to believe, why should be believe anything she says? We should Never Trust Ann Coulter – at ANY Age.
from Daniel Borchers
Thank you, Dan, for telling us your thoughts.......cl
here is a link to Dan's website:
www.coulterwatch.com
this is from Coulter Watch....just click on the link (above) and it will take you right to this page if you would like to see the website and sign up on the mailing list.......cl:
Welcome to Coulter Watch!
Coulter Watch is a site that promotes the proposition that Conservatism can only endure as a viable and vibrant movement if it maintains a commitment to the core character traits of honor andintegrity, honesty and virtue.
Labels: "Never Trust Ann Coulter--At Any Age", "Vanity: Ann Coulter's Quest for Glory", ann coulter, Daniel Borchers, www.CoulterWatch.com
Huffington Posts Martha Burk--A Very Short memo to the GOP
Martha Burk Become a fan
Money Editor, Ms. magazine; director, Corporate Accountability Project, National Council of Women's Organizations
A Very Short Memo to the GOP
Posted: 02/11/2014 2:29 pm EST Updated: 02/11/2014 2:59 pm EST
AbortionWomen's RightsBill ClintonSocial SecurityWomenGOPMinimum WageWar on WomenFood StampsEqual PayContraception Hillary ClintonPolitics News
To: GOP
From: The little woman and her sisters
Date: 2014-2016 election season
The majority of voters (women) want access to birth control.
The majority of voters (women) want abortion to be legal.
The majority of voters (women) don't think any rape is legitimate.
The majority of older voters (women) rely on Social Security and don't want it cut.
The majority of those on food stamps (women with kids) need the help.
The majority of minimum wage workers (women) want a raise.
The majority of voters (women) think they should be paid the same as men for the same work.
The majority of voters (women) know at least one husband who had a sleazy sexual relationship.
The majority of voters (women) respect the wife for getting through it the best way she could.
The majority of voters (women) don't want a female presidential candidate attacked for something her husband did almost 20 years ago that has nothing to do with her credentials, track record, ability, and yes, ambition.
The majority of voters (guess who?) know that if a man says he wants to win on his own terms he's tough and dedicated, but if a woman says it she's ruthless and bitchy.
Guess why the majority of voters (you guessed right) think your party is waging a war on women.
Follow Martha Burk on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarthaBurk
from the Huffington Post
Jim B. (Slim_Dude)
389 Fans·Oh, it looks good on YOU though...........
Each and every statement from Ms. Burk is true. Well written.
11 FEB 3:10 PM
Darla C. (ddecember)
SUPER USER·225 Fans·Independent Thinker and Voter.
The Republicans have done nothing useful for years. When you have nothing to say, you attack the other side. Because your own record is at best blank, the best you can do is try to say well they are worse than us!
12 FEB 5:02 AM
Bart DePalma (Bart_DePalma)
SUPER USER·671 Fans·Bart DePalma
"The majority of voters (women) don't want a female presidential candidate attacked for something her husband did almost 20 years ago that has nothing to do with her credentials, track record, ability, and yes, ambition."
How about a female presidential candidate who rode to power as the wife of a sexual predator and worked actively to defend him in order to maintain her own political power?
How about a female presidential candidate who calls the female victims of a sexual predator in the Senate and their female supporters "whiny women" who needed to shut up because the then First Lady needed the Senator's vote for her government health care takeover?
How can the leader of a coalition of so called women's groups support and defend such behavior?
12 FEB 10:58 AM
Barry Goldwater (GoldwaterKid)
2,967 Fans·Vote Person, Not Party
Ms Burk:
Hillary will have to answer all her questions first during the DNC Primary Election.
It has nothing to do with the GOP
Martha Burk
HUFFPOST BLOGGER·246 Fans·Money Editor, Ms. Magazine,Public Radio Host, Equa
If it has nothing to do with the GOP then why is presidential aspirant Rand Paul attacking her along with the head of the RNC, which also bussed people to the so-called March for Life on the mall last month. Wake up!
Lisa Nicholson (mdbmama)
SUPER USER·1,343 Fans·Southern liberal, lonely here
Right on target Martha. Nothing else needed.
Posted by Chloelouise at 8:54 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Abortion, Bill Clinton, Contraception, Equal Pay, Food Stamps, GOP, Hillary Clinton, minimum wage, Politics News, Social Security, War on Women, Women, Women's Rights
Hillary Clinton on the Howard Stern Show Pt. 5
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Magadheera, the Telugu mega blockbuster starring Chiranjeevi's son, Ram Charan Teja and Kajal Agarwal is still going strong despite having smashed every record in the South Indian film history. The film has been running for two years continously in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. It is an unprecedented feat as no other film has even come close to achieving this distinction. Mahesh Babu's Pokkiri is a distant second having run for 500 days.
To commemorate this feat, the producers, Geetha Arts have announced that they will organize celebrations in honor of the film at Kurnool. The entire cast and crew of the film will be present and many big names in the Telugu film industry are also expected to attend. Many congratulations to the entire team!


text:
Q: How generics in java works for the following program? public class Program {

    private static <Program> void foo(Program x){
        System.out.println(x+"-->1");
    }

    private static void foo(final int i){
        System.out.println(i+"-->2");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Integer i = 10;
        foo(i);
    }

}

And the output is:
10-->1

I wasn't able to find any relevant discussion on this topic. However, the answer to a different topic confused me a little:-
Return Type of Java Generic Methods
According to them the generic <Program> has nothing to do with return type but in my case if I change a little to this program as below then the output is different.
public class Program {

    private static <Integer> void foo(Program x){
        System.out.println(x+"-->1");
    }

    private static void foo(final int i){
        System.out.println(i+"-->2");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Integer i = 10;
        foo(i);
    }

}

Output:
10-->2

I am using JDK1.7

A: In your first example, You're not actually specifying argument of type Program, it is a generic. That type parameter has nothing to do with your class named Program. You will get same result by making a typo like this:
public class Program {

    private static <Programmmm> void foo(Programmmm x){
        System.out.println(x+"-->1");
    }

    private static void foo(final int i){
        System.out.println(i+"-->2");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Integer i = 10;
        foo(i);
    }

}

However, in your second example, the parameter is literally of type Program and so it doesn't match when called as foo(10); and you get result from second method.

A: In the first case, Program is the name of the generic parameter used for the method. It can be any name. The important thing is that the method argument is an Object, so when you call your method with an Integer argument, it uses the version that takes Object.
In the second case the generic parameter is named Integer (don't do this) but the argument the method takes is a Program. So by calling it with an Integer, there is not valid Object or integer version so it unboxes the value.
In terms of method overloading, which describes the order that overloading is resolved. That will tell you why the first version usings the Object method instead of the int method.
The second issue is that you have named your generic parameters concrete types, which is confusing. It is easier to see if you don't do that.
private static <T> void foo(T x){
    System.out.println(x+"-->1");
}

Now it is clearer, T is a parameterized argument. In your second version,
private static <T> void foo(Program x){
    System.out.println(x+"-->1");
}

Now it is clear, your argument has to be a Program object, and not just any object.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The NM Political Report
The NM Political Report - New Mexico's best political reporting. Period.
The NM Political Report (http://nmpoliticalreport.com/2018/01/29/reproductive-rights-to-come-up-this-legislative-session/)
Environmental Project
Reproductive rights to come up this legislative session
By Andy Lyman | January 29, 2018
Andy Lyman
A billboard reminds drivers where the anti-abortion group Prolife Across America stands.
This week in the Legislature may see some debate regarding abortions and whether or not doctors should have a role in family discussions.
Earlier this month, Gov. Susana Martinez outlined her legislative priorities in her State of the State address. In addition to presenting her six-point-plan to bolster the state's economy, she also called for legislators to tackle certain issues during the 30-day legislative session. She encouraged them to pass bills related to education reform and expanded criminal penalties. Legislators have introduced a handful of bills related to abortion, but she skirted the issue in her speech.
But last week Martinez signaled lawmakers to change state law and require parental notification for minors seeking to terminate a pregnancy. Further, medical providers who fail to notify parents of pregnant minors requesting an abortion could face a monetary fine and be stripped of their medical license.
Her executive message greenlighted a Republican-sponsored bill in the House that would require facilities or practitioners to first notify a parent, by certified mail or in person, that their daughter is pregnant and seeking an abortion, with some exceptions.
With almost 15 days left in the session the bill still needs to get through three House committees and the body as a whole, in addition to the Senate. But the broad impact of the bill raises concerns among many, including the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
Erin Armstrong, a reproductive rights attorney with the New Mexico ACLU, told NM Political Report said HB 56 actually aims to govern what kind of relationships young women have with their parents or legal guardians. She pointed to a policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) discouraging laws requiring notification. AAP wrote that many teens already do talk to their parents about pregnancy decisions. But, the statement said, prolonging a procedure could cause more harm than good.
"I think the bottom line is that research shows we really can't legislate good, healthy family relationships," Armstrong said.
None of the three sponsors of the bill, Reps. Rick Little, David Gallegos and Rod Montoya, nor a spokeswoman for House Republicans responded to requests for an interview.
The bill has some exceptions like providing pregnant minors a judicial avenue to opt out of the notification process. In that case the young woman would file a petition in a state district court requesting a confidential hearing with a judge. The judge would then determine "if the minor is sufficiently mature and well enough informed to decide intelligently whether to have an abortion" or if parental notification "would not be in the best interests of the minor." The court would also presume, according to the bill, that cases of incest, sexual assault or rape would qualify as reasons to not notify parents or guardians.
Armstrong called the proposed legal process "burdensome and complicated" for anyone, but especially teens who lack a trustworthy relationship with their parents or teens who are victims of rape or incest.
"All of this serves to delay a time sensitive medical need," Armstrong said.
The bill also makes an exception if the pregnant minor informs the medical practitioner the pregnancy is a result of sexual assault, rape or incest. But that determination would need to come from questions and consultation procedures approved by the state's Children Youth and Families Department.
Armstrong said many minors already consult with their parents before terminating a pregnancy and that "the very few who can't talk to a trusted adult need access to safe, quality medical providers and it's just bad policy to shut them off from that."
The Martinez administration has publicly declared it is "pro-life" but the governor does not outwardly advocate one way or the other, besides allowing issues like parental consent in 30-day legislative budget sessions.
A spokesman for Martinez did not reply to NM Political Report regarding the governor's message.
Marshall Martinez, the public affairs director for Planned Parenthood in New Mexico, said a coalition of abortion rights activists delivered more than 4,000 petition signatures urging Gov. Martinez to put a different abortion bill on the call.
House Bill 16, sponsored by Las Cruces Democrats Rep. Joanne Ferrary and Sen. Bill Soules would repeal a pre-Roe v. Wade state law that classifies an abortion as a felony. If the U.S. Supreme Court were to ever repeal the notable case, the state law would stand, effectively eliminating the question whether state or federal law takes precedence.
"The fact that this parental notification bill has a message on it [and HB 16 does not], calls into question of the priorities of the governor," Marshall Martinez said.
House Bill 56, or the Parental Notification Act, would technically repeal the decades old abortion law but replace it with the notification requirements.
Adriann Barboa, the field director of advocacy group Strong Families United and mother to a 17-year-old-girl, said she has gone out of her way to encourage her kids to tell her anything. But Barboa said, she also knows they may not take her advice.
"There are some times when young people are not going to turn to their parents because of fear or shame or lack of trust," Barboa said.
Barboa said she tries to offer close friends and family members to her children as an alternative. But, Barboa said, not all families have an honest and open line of communication and it's not the Legislature or Gov. Martinez's job to get involved.
"I don't think there's any kind of legislation that can force that relationship," Barboa said.
The first stop for HB 56 is the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, but Chair Eliseo Alcon has yet to schedule it.
Adriann Barboa
Bill Soules
Contraception access a problem for those in need
Rural, communities of color and low-income New Mexicans in some areas of the state face greater barriers when deciding if, how and when to become parents. According to Power to Decide, a Washington D.C. based reproductive rights organization, 134,850 women between the ages of 13 and 44 live in a contraceptive desert in New Mexico. The nonprofit defines a contraceptive desert as a place where women lack reasonable access in their counties to a health center that offers the full range of contraceptive methods.
TelAbortion could ease access woes
House passes bill repealing anti-abortion law
View all Abortion Access articles →
New Mexico is trying to refashion its economy—and it isn't easy
From a numbers perspective, it's hard to see a downside to the massive amounts of oil revenue flooding the state of New Mexico's coffers. But there is one: The windfall is enlarging the state's dependence on the energy industry.
The wolf's mouth: An immigrant community in the shadow of an ICE internment facility
DOH set to finalize rules on cannabis consumption areas, new testing standards
View all News articles →
Martinez strikes $5M payback to school districts
New Mexico school districts that had hoped to put a little more cushion in their budgets managed to persuade a sympathetic Legislature, but couldn't get it past the governor's veto pen. When she signed the 2018-2019 budget on March 7, Gov. Susana Martinez struck a line through $5 million state lawmakers had set aside to repay some school districts whose cash accounts had been swept by $40.
Some Martinez vetoes get pushback
The Teacher: Childhood trauma informed Stewart's legislative success
View all 2018 Legislative Session articles →
Access to abortion limited in NM
When New Mexico women are in a crisis and need to terminate a pregnancy, all too often they must drive hundreds of miles to reach a clinic that provides abortion. Clinics that provide abortions are only located in or around the three largest cities in New Mexico.
Midterms could be key, with New Mexico's abortion rights protections at a crossroads
Some in NM say Pope's abortion forgiveness extension needs more work
View all abortion rights articles →
Two progressives vying for a BernCo Commission seat
Pencils down, turn in your letters: BernCo to pick Senate replacement
View all Adriann Barboa articles →
After pushback, sponsor revamps state lottery bill
State Sen. Jacob Candelaria on Wednesday amended his controversial bill on the state lottery, adding a guarantee that at least $40 million a year from ticket sales would go for college scholarships. His initial proposal would have eliminated a section of state law requiring that 30 percent of gross lottery revenues be turned over each month for scholarships.
Democrats split on charter school cap in New Mexico
Governor charges into session: 'Enthusiastic, ambitious and ready'
View all Bill Soules articles →
Dunn switches to Libertarian Party
Suit claims MVD ignores law on authorization cards
New Mexico is trying to refashion its economy—and it isn't easy
From a numbers perspective, it's hard to see a downside to the massive amounts of oil revenue flooding the state of New Mexico's coffers.
Land home packages.
Oil Conservation District can enforce oil regulations for first time in a decade
The state agency charged with regulating the oil and gas industry can once again enforce those rules by imposing penalties.
About Andy Lyman
Andy Lyman in an Albuquerque based reporter. He previously covered the New Mexico's legislative session for the New Mexico News Network and served as a reporter and host for numerous news outlets.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Aristide - Haiti Observer Blog
Aristide, Haiti Observer Blog. Read the following articles about Aristide
Alvin P. Adams Jr., key figure during Jean-Bertrand Aristide, died
Posted on Sunday, October 18, 2015
We learned that former US Envoy Alvin P. Adams Jr. died on October 10, 2015. Many Haitians would remember him for his active role during the government of Jean Bertrand Aristide and his negotiation in the 1990s with General Prosper Avril.
Mr. Adams who was the US envoy to Haiti from 1989-1992, was appointed under Presidents George Bush. He was the one who persuaded Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril to leave power in march 1990 and also managed to get him out of the country via a United States Air Force jet.
This move actually paved the way for the ascension of Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power. Also in the the same year, a military coup overthrew Aristide from power. Alvin Philip Adams Jr. also played a key role in negotiating his exile to Venezuela. Jean Bertrand returned to power in 1994.
Aristide Foundation for Democracy Promotes Social-Justice Principles
Posted on Monday, June 10, 2013
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti's 54th president, served as one of a handful of full-term rulers since the island's independence was won in 1804. Controversial, misunderstood, maligned, and a pawn for foreign interests' agendas, he was driven from office at the end of his second term in 2004. Exiled to Africa where he remained until 2011, he continued to exert influence through his party Fanmi Lavalas.
Through his contacts with foundations outside Haiti, he received an endowment to start the Aristide Foundation for Democracy (AFD). With this endowment and other funding from the government of Haiti, Aristide built the Aristide Foundation University (AFUNI). The mission of AFUNI is the advancement of social-justice principles as part of the ethos of AFUNI's purpose.
Yvon Neptune, Prime Minister of Haiti from 2002 until 2004
Posted on Friday, May 17, 2013
The atmosphere after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was taken out of office in 2004 was expectedly tense. His elected prime minister, Yvon Neptune was first-hand witness to this when, following the removal of Aristide, on March 2, he was almost arrested by a mob claiming he should face corruption charges.
It is said that Guy Philippe was the leader of this crusade and his motive had been in retaliation for interviews Yvon Neptune had given to various news bodies in America and Europe. After having served as Prime Minister since 2002, he found himself replaced by an unelected, provisional new government and the country's 12th Prime Minister, Gérard Latortue.
Jean Claude Duvalier is for reunion with all former Haitian Presidents, Is Aristide on board?
Posted on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Following the statement made by President Michel Martelly in his message during ---- where he said that it was and it is still his objective to have all the former Haitian President to meet. Specifically, President Michel Martelly referred to Jean Claude Duvalier and Jean Bertrand Aristide whom he considers represent the two political forces in the country. Former dictator Jean Claude Duvalier replied to the president by saying that he is all for it.
On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, Jean Claude Duvalier wrote in his Facebook Page:
I carefully followed the intervention of the President of the Republic on the occasion of May 14, 2013. And I have learned with satisfaction his wish to meet with former heads of State.
Besides, I had upon my return to the country publicly expressed this wish. I remain convinced of the urgent need to unite and that only a national consensus can enable us to overcome countless challenges. Haiti First! Haiti forever! Vive Haiti! Long live the people of Haiti!
Robert Malval, Prime Minister of Haiti
Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The role of Prime Minister in Haiti is not an easy one to fill; just ask anyone on the list, including Yvon Neptune and Former Haitian Prime Minister Robert Malval, though one was forced out of office while the other chose to leave.
Born in Port-au-Prince on the 11th of July, 1943, Malval was 50 years old and had accomplished a sound career outside of politics before his nomination by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1993.
After studying internationally, in the United States at the University of Miami where he earned a political science degree, and in Paris where he undertook graduate studies in International Affairs, Robert Malval seemingly lost interest in politics and took to working for his step-father, who was proprietor of a printing house. He later quit to pursue his own publishing and printing company, and carried on to be a successful businessman before turning his sights back to the world he'd studied to be a part of, politics.
Newsletter Confirmation
Port-Au-Prince, One of the Largest Cities in the World without a Sewage System
Wheat fortification recommended for women and children in Haiti
Haitian Thanksgiving
Obtaining a Divorce in Haiti
Haiti's Houses Aren't Sturdy Enough to Withstand Large Quakes
why are there so many Black Owned Mega Churches but no Mega...
Federal Judge in California Temporarily Blocked Trump's Plans...
Marmelade, Haiti
The Town of Savanette, Haiti
Thomonde, Haiti


Posted at 4:28 pm on March 22, 2019 by Doug P.
We won't say a thing.
The mobs coming for you now. Enjoy!
What does a lefty apologizing for sharing a video from the @FreeBeacon look like?
Most seem to think the video is quite funny, but Milano should be careful or she might get in hot water with some fellow liberals.
Why would you tweet something from the Free Beacon?!?
This seems kind of negative.
The Washington Free Beacon is one of the most extreme right wing sites there is.
Okay, maybe I'm missing something? You're promoting a video that disrespects Democratic candidates?


"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - this almost sounds like the beginning of Lent, and yet it is from the Acts of the Apostles in our first reading today on the 4th Sunday of Easter. Easter, the Resurrection of the Lord, always is the culmination of Lent. We meditate on the death of Christ so that we can understand His Resurrection.
The second reading, from the First Letter of Saint Peter, echoes this same theme in these words: "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness." Easter is not a time of joy that forgets the value of suffering - and the value of living as Jesus lived. In order to grow in our understanding of God's love, we must also grow in our understanding of accepting suffering and our understanding of repentance.
Both of these readings bring us to the Gospel of John, which today is about the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd always watches over those given to Him and draws them to follow Him because they know His voice. On those who follow the Good Shepherd can enter the Kingdom. "Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture."
Following the Good Shepherd is not about belonging to the Catholic Church or to any Church. Following the Good Shepherd is about loving others. Many people love others and serve them and have not found a Christian community in which they feel at home. Or they have not found a Christian community that is so full of the life of Christ that they convert. One of the great criticisms of Christianity is that so many of us Christians are poor witnesses to the present of the love, mercy and forgiveness of Christ.
To be strong witnesses, we have to be able to accept suffering! We must be able to give our lives for others, not looking for comfort or good reputation or money or power or anything else: only the love that Jesus has given to us. And we must share that love with others by sacrificing ourselves. That is what Jesus did and that is what Jesus asks of us. We know the call: Come to me, all you who are burdened! But that means: come to me, suffer with me for others, give your life for others. In that you will find resurrection. Alleluia.


text:
The Rest of Thedas
Oooh, I Wanna Be Like You [Closed]
Thread starter Isabela
"Not getting caught is a speciality of mine," Celeste grinned, seizing Naishe's hand. The contact made Naishe's breath catch almost as much as their daring kiss in the parlour had. Touch was not unusual between friends in Antiva, but the casual cheek kisses and brief touches from the wives of Luis' usual associates were too brief and perfunctory to mean anything to Naishe. This was bold, and open, held long enough for Naishe to feel the calluses on Celeste's warm palm, and she almost tripped the first time Celeste led her down an unexpected pathway. She was quick to pull herself together, however; Luis had yet to wash out the instincts of a lifetime, and as they moved easily through the crowds Naishe was delighted to find herself falling back into the same habits she'd employed in younger, happier years. Her gaze moved from eye level to hip, seeking out the distracted, the unguarded coinpurses, the unattended stalls; Celeste was apparently thinking along similar lines.
"I stole so much here that I found out later my father set up accounts with the merchants to cover it. That took the fun out of it." Celeste crinkled her nose, then immediately pinched a bracelet from one of the stalls as they swept past it. It was done so swiftly that if Naishe hadn't been watching her directly, she would have missed it. She grinned.
"Admittedly I haven't needed to in some time - but I have missed it. There's not much on Luis' estate to get the heart pumping."
Within seconds, a ruby ring adorned her finger, swiped from the same stall. It took no effort, little thought, but she came away beaming. Despite her fears, it seemed that not all her skills had abandoned her. Of course she'd never be able to keep it, as Luis would want to know where it had come from and she didn't trust that Madame Alfonso wouldn't turn it up in the course of her daily rummagings. But she'd probably leave it behind on Celeste's ship. As a thank you gift.
Usually when passing through these streets, Naishe's face was veiled against the sun or to prevent anybody from spotting her. Blinkered by the material, and pushed to be swift with making her purchases so she wasn't out of the house too long, she never really got to enjoy the city very much, but right now it was as if the sun was celebrating her taste of freedom by picking out the vivid colours in every flower, every stripe of silken material, every mural. A jester in striped clothes was juggling knives, and further up was a conman playing the old three-card game trick. Naishe eyed him with the old professional interest when Celeste spoke again.
"I always loved Antiva City. The Marches are soooo stuffy. And grey. And warm. Have you ever seen snow?" Naishe shook her head. It still sounded a little made up to her. Ice falling from the sky? "It's fun for about five minutes, and then your tits are frozen. Give me sun and the sea any day."
"I'm inclined to agree with you on that." Antiva truly was beautiful, but once again she felt the tug of chains on her. "I remember watching the ships come and go from the docks in Rivain, but never got to go on one until Luis took me away. Even his presence couldn't spoil that experience."
Speaking of docks, they were approaching the shipyards now; the muddle of languages became more intense, almost everybody seemed to be shouting, and the warm musk of a city in the sun became tanged with sea-salt. Naishe felt something uncoiling in her back, coming looser with every step towards the water. By the time Celeste pointed out her ship, Naishe almost regretted coming - because how was she meant to walk away from this feeling?
The thought quickly died on sighting Celeste's ship, given over entirely to admiration. While what she knew about ships remained limited to her one voyage and what she'd read in books since, she could see plain that it was a fine vessel, and her eyes gleamed. "She's beautiful." Impulsively, she seized Celeste's hand between both of hers, squeezing it as she drank in the sight, taking in sails and rope, gleaming woodwork and shining brass. "What class is she? How many crew?"
Dialogue Colour - ffca41 I Profile
Celeste Monroe
Shenaniginstigator In Chief
Celeste's pilferage earned her an approving smile from her companion, whose golden eyes were coming alive in a way that delighted the sailor.
"Admittedly I haven't needed to in some time - but I have missed it," Naishe admitted, lifting a ring from the same merchant with a deft ease that was most satisfying to behold. "There's not much on Luis' estate to get the heart pumping."
"Now that is a real crime," Celeste smirked, sweeping the Rivaini beauty with a head-to-toe glance. Luis was a damned idiot. "We can definitely remedy it, though." The process looked to have already begun, judging by the spring in Naishe's step as she slipped the ruby ring onto a finger and cast an appraising glance at the moves of a three-card monte player that they passed on the street. Tempting to have a go at scamming the scammer; she was willing to bet that Naishe could give him a run for his money. But their time was limited, and the chance that word might get back to Luis that his wife had been consorting with a card shark was a bit too high.
Naishe abandoned the show willingly enough, seeming eager to get to the docks. "I remember watching the ships come and go from the docks in Rivain, but never got to go on one until Luis took me away," she remarked wistfully. "Even his presence couldn't spoil that experience."
"It never gets old," Celeste told her with an understanding smile. "If Luis comes along on whatever he's talking to Daniel about, maybe we can convince him to let you come." But even as she spoke, Celeste knew that if Luis ever saw her like this: vibrant and daring, he would lock her up in that big house and throw away the key. Or worse.
Naishe's face lit up at the sight of the Wicked Grace, the unabashed admiration in her expression cementing Celeste's affinity for her new friend. "She's beautiful," she exclaimed, catching hold of Celeste's hand in her enthusiasm as the questions tumbled out. "What class is she? How many crew?"
"She's a schooner," Celeste answered, keeping hold of Naishe's hand and tugging her in the direction of the gangplank. "A hundred and twenty feet. She crews twelve, but we can sail her with half that in a pinch." Eyes turned to follow them; they made an odd-looking pair, Celeste in her trews and vest, and Naishe in her fancy dress. Catcalls and lewd proposals marked their progress, but Celeste ignored them with the ease of long practice. Reaching the foot of the wooden ramp, she cupped her hands to her mouth. "Permission to come aboard?"
After a moment, Gideon's bass rumble rose up from the bow: "Permission granted!"
"After you, m'lady," Celeste invited Naishe to precede her with a grin and a flourishing bow, but it was more than gallantry. If Celeste had come up first, whoever was behind her would find themselves the target of as many bows and crossbows as could be brought to bear.
None were in sight at the moment; Gideon set aside the book he'd been reading and laid his spectacles atop it before leaping easily from his position atop the fo'c'sle and moving to meet them.
"Gideon, this is Naishe, Signore Lombardo's wife," Celeste introduced them."Naishe, this is Gideon, Daniel's brother and first mate."
"Gideon Augustus Nicodemus Santiago Darius Monroe," he proclaimed in his usual flourishing style, catching one of the visitor's hands and raising it to his lips for a courtly kiss as he bowed to her. There was, however, a bit less velvet-smooth charm in his purr than usual when meeting a pretty girl, and when he straightened, the crimson eyes held the faintest question in them as they turned to Celeste.
"Daniel and Signore Lombardo are talking business," Celeste supplied, knowing what he was asking. "Naishe wanted to see the ship, and they had no objection." No, she hadn't sneaked out with the man's wife without a word; Gideon had forgiven Celeste the thoughtlessness that had nearly cost him his life, but he hadn't forgotten it, and she couldn't fault him for that.
"Welcome aboard, Signora," he told Naishe warmly, with an expansive sweep of his arm. "Celeste knows the ship from bow to stern."
Profile | Dialogue - #1cd181 | Thread Tracker/NPC's | The Wicked Grace | Avatar art by Xla-Hainex
Celeste suggested a beautiful vision; one in which Naishe was able to join her and Daniel on their adventure, albeit with Luis also present. They both knew it couldn't happen. Luis would sooner admit he was lackluster in bed then let Naishe experience a moment of freedom that wasn't on his terms. Even now, he was effectively holding Daniel hostage until she came back.
Fortunately she didn't have to think about him long. The Wicked Grace commanded her full attention and all the questions she'd been ordered not to pester the captain with on her initial voyage to Antiva now bubbled up at Celeste, who seemed only too happy to answer.
"She's a schooner. A hundred and twenty feet. She crews twelve, but we can sail her with half that in a pinch." They were almost at the ship now, and Naishe utterly ignored the raucous yells and propositions that followed them along the dock. She'd been shut away from it for a while but even as a girl she knew it wasn't worth paying attention to that kind of man. Certainly not when there was something so much more interesting to look at. Celeste bellowed as they reached the end of the gangplank. "Permission to come aboard?"
An incredibly deep voice granted them entrance, and Celeste invited Naishe to go up first. She almost sprang up the board, hiking her dress up high enough to avoid hindering her step, then almost fell over anyway as she reached the top and saw the owner of the voice.
A qunari. A fucking qunari.
This had all been some sick joke on Luis' part. Had he deliberately brought Celeste in to entice her away from the house? Was this a reminder of how she'd ended up with him in the first place, or was she being given away to the same pieces of shit that had claimed her mother? Well, sod that - she might be out of practice but she could still remember how to scrap, and she squared up.
But then Celeste introduced him, with a decidedly non-qunari name, and announced that he was her husband's brother, which was confusing as all get out. Naishe faltered, suddenly feeling as unsettled as she had when she was first bought into Luis' life, but at least this time she wasn't being yanked into a corset. The qunari proceeded to confuse her further by bowing. "Gideon Augustus Nicodemus Santiago Darius Monroe." He then kissed her hand, flashing a warm smile up at her from a craggily handsome face.
Naishe's confusion went up another notch. She might have admired their build before but she'd never known a qunari to be friendly enough that she would consider them even slightly good looking. Fortunately, Celeste covered her discomfort by explaining her presence. "Daniel and Signore Lombardo are talking business. Naishe wanted to see the ship, and they had no objection."
The qunari - Gideon - greeted her warmly. "Welcome aboard, Signora. Celeste knows the ship from bow to stern."
Naishe pulled herself together. "Naishe, please. Signora's what stuffy friends of my husband call me while trying to stare down my cleavage." She eyed him up. "Sorry I was a bit twitchy at first. I knew a few qunari in Rivain, but they all acted like they had a third horn rammed up their-" She cut herself off in case Signora Alfonso appeared out of nowhere to swat her for her language, then realised that wasn't going to happen, and grinned. "Asses."
She turned towards Celeste, and a sweep of brisk sea air swept through her hair. Following it came the tang of salt and the sudden ache to be away from the docks, heading for the horizon, all 'wifely responsibilities' abandoned. She could feel herself lighting up, and she wouldn't let thoughts of her husband ruin it. "So. Show me around?"
From her vantage point in the rear, Celeste had an admirable view of the sway of Naishe's hips beneath her skirt as the Rivaini girl bounded eagerly up the gangplank. She also saw clearly when her new friend's buoyant carriage shifted in an instant to coiled tension, ready to strike, when she caught sight of Gideon. Celeste had long since stopped seeing the Tal-Vashoth as anything but Daniel's brother and first mate, as well as her friend, but she supposed the sheer size of him, along with the horns, could surprise someone who wasn't expecting him.
When she drew up alongside the other woman, however, there was a pallor beneath the bronzed skin and a tightly controlled panic in the golden eyes, like an animal finding itself trapped at bay. Something more than surprise was at work here.
Fortunately, charming women was an art that Gideon had long since mastered. Alarm faded to confusion when Celeste introduced them, then further to puzzled curiosity at the first mate's courtly greeting.
"Naishe, please," she responded, recovering her poise. "Signora's what stuffy friends of my husband call me while trying to stare down my cleavage."
"The folly of small minds," Gideon assured her. "Your eyes are by far more striking." And that was why he had women falling over each other in every port.
"Sorry I was a bit twitchy at first," Naishe offered, her confidence returning. "I knew a few qunari in Rivain, but they all acted like they had a third horn rammed up their-" She caught herself, bracing for a reprimand. When she realized that none would be forthcoming, her face lit up with a smile that was beautiful to behold. "Asses."
Gideon's delighted laugh boomed out over the water. "I'm Tal-Vashoth," he informed her with a crooked grin. "The only horns I've got are up here." He tapped his head beside one of the curving ebony horns that added another foot to his height.
Naishe looked to Celeste, her face once again shining with undiluted eagerness. "So. Show me around?"
"Absolutely!" Celeste led the way to the fo'c'sle, ducking into the galley and snagging a couple of the biscuits that Stubby had left to cool, tossing one to Naishe. "You all right?" she inquired, keeping her tone casual. "I forget that most people aren't used to seeing them up close." She snickered. "Mind you, he's got a whole bunch of women that like seeing him up close."
Naishe hadn't forgotten all the tricks of being a con artist yet. Number one amongst them was keeping a cool head and a straight face, but both failed her at the sight of the qunari. She hadn't expected the roiling anger that burned up into her throat. Normally only Luis at his most slimy could provoke that reaction. But he was so clearly unlike the ones she'd encountered before that it gave her enough time to regain control over herself, and give an introduction of sorts. His response surprised her further.
"The folly of small minds. Your eyes are by far more striking."
Qunari could flirt? She knew not all of them were dour bastards - they wouldn't have got any converts at all in Rivain if they didn't have a little life to them - but she'd never known one could actually look playful. She studied him again, trying to put what she'd experienced out of her mind. What would be her first thought if she'd never come across one of his kind before?
Handsome. Yes, handsome, square jawed and broadly smiling, and built like the side of a mountain to boot. Naishe wasn't blind, she knew that qunari could be attractive, but their attitudes largely made them ugly. Gideon was miles in the other direction. With that in mind she didn't try to pretend that she hadn't been a bit unsettled by him at first, in the broadest language she'd allowed herself to use in a while.
It earned a roar of laughter. "I'm Tal-Vashoth. The only horns I've got are up here." He gestured to the impressive black ones sprouting from his forehead, and Naishe immediately took the bait.
"Only up there?" Her gaze dropped to trouser level, then back up to his eyes, smiling wickedly. "That's a shame."
There was a definite chuckle that followed that, and Naishe would have been happy to continue that conversation, but even more interesting than a handsome and apparently silver-tongued qunari was the ship, and the woman who had brought her to it. Naishe asked for the tour.
"Absolutely!" They headed into the galley and Celeste tossed Naishe a biscuit. She bit into it immediately, enjoying the buttery pastry and gritty dusting of sugar. Luis tended to discourage the servants from letting her have treats outside of meals. Perhaps it was to keep her fitted in the dresses he bought for her.
"You all right?" Celeste asked. "I forget that most people aren't used to seeing them up close." She snickered. "Mind you, he's got a whole bunch of women that like seeing him up close."
"After the initial surprise, I could see why," Naishe grinned. "Smooth talker." She sobered slightly. "The qunari got a whole bunch of people in Rivain to convert. Sometimes forcefully, sometimes not. In a way, they're part of the reason I'm here."
She wasn't going to spin out her whole tale for Celeste right away. If ever. Thinking about her mother wasn't quite the painful wound it used to be, but she preferred to avoid jostling the memory if she could avoid it. Besides, Celeste had brought her here to have fun and show her around, not hear a sob story.
"So it's good to know they're not all colossal dickheads," she added, smiling again. "Anyway. Tell me everything!"
Naishe quickly recovered from whatever shock meeting Gideon had caused her, and Celeste could see the sparks start to fly between the pair, but the Rivaini girl was not to be distracted from her shipboard tour and Gideon would not neglect his watch duty. Which suited Celeste at the moment. She was not possessive as a rule, and she rather liked the notion of the pair of them hooking up (imagining Luis' reaction being half the appeal), but for now, she wanted her new playmate to herself.
In the galley, she asked Naishe about her initial response; her bearing had suggested something more than surprise, but she wasn't surprised when the other woman deflected the query.
"The qunari got a whole bunch of people in Rivain to convert," she replied dismissively. "Sometimes forcefully, sometimes not. In a way, they're part of the reason I'm here." The shadow in those fabulous golden eyes suggested that it was more than that, but it wasn't Celeste's place to press, so she simply nodded when Naishe concluded, "So it's good to know they're not all colossal dickheads. Anyway," her smile returned like the sun emerging from clouds. "Tell me everything!"
Celeste did, recounting the tale of the three friends from Starkhaven who had built the most wonderful ship in Thedas as she showed Naishe the galley, the infirmary, the crow's nest (from the deck, unfortunately, as the sight of that dress ascending the shrouds would definitely draw the wrong kind of attention), the cargo hold (though not the smuggler's holes; only the crew was permitted in on that secret) and the helm, letting her friend turn the wheel, well pleased with the hungry gleam that awoke in her eyes.
"And this is the captain's cabin!" she proclaimed grandly, ushering Naishe in and closing the door, giving her guest time to look around. Celeste had been on enough ships to know just what a wonder Old Torgun's skill had wrought here, from the loo and bathtub built into the bay beneath the aft windows to the wine racks that filled one section of the wall.
"Wine? Whiskey? Rum?" she invited, gesturing to the array of bottles. Her lips curved in a slow smile as she added, "Or should we just skip directly to the part where we ravish each other until we can't see straight?" There had been a couple of stops on the tour when she'd been tempted, but here there was no chance of being interrupted or seen.
Naishe would have been interested in Celeste anyway - her zest for life, sparking green eyes and wicked grin would have caught Naishe's attention from the other side of a large, packed ballroom. But her interest had really been kindled by hearing about her life on the ship, and was fanned now as Celeste did actually tell her everything, from how three friends with no mental limitations on what a ship should be put one together, how wood was treated to seal it against water, to telling apart the different sorts of rope suited for certain tasks. No question Naishe had was deemed irritating or too much, and the tour took them right around the ship.
The galley fascinated her, because how did you safely cook food on a wooden vessel? The cargo hold was stacked with chests that could have been filled with anything, so Naishe's imagination crammed them with jewels and gold coin. Then they went back up to the deck and Celeste offered her a chance to pretend as though she was steering the ship.
The moment her hands touched the wheel, something opened up inside her that she hadn't even realised was closed. She wanted to feel the weight of the ship resisting her, and to know she could control it. She wanted to look out to the horizon, pick a destination and set off across the gleaming sea, hampered by nothing and nobody. She wanted salt wind on her face and in her hair, the rush of cool sea air in her lungs. It was as though she had woken up, for the very first time in her life, actually knowing what she wanted.
It was almost disappointing to step away, but fortunately not by too much. She'd been watching Celeste for any sign or gesture she could interpret as an invitation on the tour, and she'd been half convinced by their close proximity in the cargo hold that something might start in there, but then one of the crew's voices had come through the hatch and she'd held back.
She was glad she had. When Celeste threw open the door to the captain's cabin, Naishe immediately reevaluated her idea of what constituted her dream living quarters.
Over there a wine rack, over there a table laden with maps of places Naishe had never even heard of, books and half-melted candles, beautiful wood panelling everywhere, under the window an entire Maker-damn bathtub (how, on a ship?!), and pride of place against one wall - a massive bed. And a solid door between them and the rest of the world, with full knowledge there were no eyes pressed against holes in the wall.
"Wine? Whiskey? Rum?" Celeste was gesturing towards the wine rack, but her gaze was firmly locked with Naishe's, and from the way she was smiling she knew exactly what Naishe wanted right now. "Or should we just skip directly to the part where we ravish each other until we can't see straight?"
Naishe returned the grin, eyes flashing. "I think we did enough teasing in the parlour, don't you?"
In the next moment she'd closed the distance between them, pulling Celeste forward into a kiss that felt like her first real one in years. The knowledge that their time was limited fed into her need - finally she could act on her own desires without fear that Luis would punish her for them. No need to be passive to avoid bruising his ego. The fingers of one hand wound in Celeste's hair, while the other tugged at her shirt - Naishe needed to feel the other woman's warm skin beneath her fingertips, and she needed it now.
Naishe gazed around the captain's cabin with a wonder that Celeste remembered well from the first time she had seen it, but her offer of a drink brought those amazing golden eyes back to hers, the sparks that had been dancing between them intensifying as the Rivaini woman became aware of the cabin's best amenity, at least at this point in time: privacy.
"I think we did enough teasing in the parlour, don't you?" Naishe said with a smile that made it clear that the query was entirely rhetorical.
Celeste met her halfway, the kiss all fire and need, a hungry sound rising in her throat at the feel of fingers threading into her hair to tug her even deeper into the contact. Lower, Naishe's other hand sought out the hem of her shirt, and Celeste shifted, giving her access. Giving her permission.
Her own heart was racing, heat dancing beneath her skin at the feel of Naishe's touch against her belly. She broke the kiss for a quick breath, then dove back in, angling to target the line of Naishe's throat, nipping lightly at the soft flesh, then tracing light circles with the tip of her tongue. Her hands glided over the other woman's waist and hips, but while the silk texture was pleasing enough, it was not what she wanted to feel, and she shifted to her back, fingers finding the lacing of the dress and beginning to loosen the satin cords.
She resisted the impulse to start moving them toward the bed. Luis had likely not allowed his wife anything remotely close to initiative in the bedroom; Celeste was keen to see just how Naishe responded to some freedom and was quite willing to follow her lead.
If the kiss between them earlier had been like a few drops of liquid on a parched man's tongue, this was like letting him stick his entire head in a water barrel. There was no hesitation from Celeste, no games, no acting as though her needs, while welcome for purpose, made her unseemly. More than once, Luis had made her feel ashamed for wanting anything carnal at all. Perhaps that was why he liked to watch his friends creep their hands over her backside or grip a little too tightly to her arm; he wanted her to be at least a little unwilling.
He'd hate this, then. Naishe was more than willing, the only frustrated desire here being that their clothes hadn't simply evaporated on the spot, and there were buckles to fight free and cloth to remove before she could get at the warm skin beneath. Celeste went for her throat and Naishe's knees almost turned to water as instead of the expected bite, the captain traced her tongue along the column of her neck, soft but somehow making her feel as though she was being devoured in a way she fully welcomed.
Celeste's fingers were as quick as her own, now sliding up her back and undoing the lacing with a deftness that made Naishe shiver to think how they would soon be applied. She moved back the fraction needed to allow her to try and pull Celeste's shirt over her head, and all the while she was waiting for the captain to push her towards the bed, send her tumbling onto the pile of blankets that appeared so much more welcoming than the most opulent of Luis' silken sheets. But Celeste, while surrendering nothing of the space between them, did not press forward.
Control. Even while they were pulling each others' clothes off, with no doubt at all that they both very much wanted this to happen, Celeste was giving her control over what happened next. As Naishe shimmered her shoulders to let the loosened sheath of her dress fall to the floor, she spun them both towards the bed so Celeste hit it first, and knelt astride her. It was similar to the feeling she'd had putting her hands on the wheel, and she grinned as she grasped the band of Celeste's breeches, preparing to slide backwards and take the clothing with her.
"I want to be on top."
Clothes were definitely a hindrance at this point, and Celeste obligingly shifted and squirmed until Naishe managed to tug her shirt over her head, yipping briefly as the cloth caught on one of her earrings, the brief pain quickly forgotten as she was pulled forward into another hungry kiss.
Celeste felt the instant that the Rivaini understood that what came next was in her hands. She surged forward, an impatient shrug sending the satin dress sliding down her torso and a roll of her hips completing its journey to the floor. In the next moment, Celeste felt herself being twisted around and gladly let the momentum carry her the rest of the way onto the bed, sprawling on her back with Naishe straddling her thighs.
"I want to be on top," the Rivaini girl declared fiercely, fingers already working at the lacings of Celeste's pants. She looked utterly gorgeous: dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, amber eyes bright with triumph and her smile blazing as bright as the Rivain sun.
"This time," Celeste conceded with a laugh that turned into a gasp at the feel of her trews being dragged down her legs and off.
"That," Celeste murmured, stretching with a lazy and thoroughly sated sigh, "was much more entertaining than a tea party." The fine sheen of sweat on her skin felt cool in the air of the cabin, and she worked the sheet free of the tangle of bedclothes that had been pushed to the side, drawing it over them both. She draped an arm across Naishe's belly and nuzzled the curve of her neck, the fingers of her free hand toying with a few strands of dark hair.
"Come with us when we leave," she said suddenly, giving voice to the thought that had first arisen when she'd seen the cruel way that Luis had gripped his wife's arm. "We can hide you below deck, and even if he finds out, this ship can outrun anything in the harbor." Daniel might take some convincing, but he'd come around in the end. Naishe's situation was worse by far than anything that Celeste had ever experienced. She was practically a slave! Daniel hated slavers with a passion, and he'd taken on far more formidable foes than Luis in the past. They wouldn't even need to fight; they could stash Naishe in one of the larger smuggler's holes in the hold for a few hours. Luis and his minions could search the Wicked Grace from stem to stern and never find the hidden compartments. They'd get her away from here with none the wiser, and then what fun they could have!
For a few minutes, Naishe had been left unable to speak. She barely even had a thought, just a warm sense of contentment accompanied by the buzzing beneath her skin, and feeling Celeste pressed against her lulled her into a stupor. She couldn't remember having ever felt this at ease, and she crooked her head happily as Celeste nuzzled at her neck, enjoying the extra sensation. It was odd not to immediately want to depart after sex. She liked it, and she chuckled throatily at Celeste's comment.
"Maybe I should incorporate it into my future salons," she murmured. "I imagine even the prissiest wives of Antiva would loosen up a bit after that experience."
If it hadn't been for the potential of prying eyes, she might have given it some serious thought. But even if she dared, and Luis allowed it, it would still be under his auspices, for his gratification. No. If she were ever to mess around with other people after this, it would have to be in other houses. Her appetite had now been thoroughly whetted, however; she was much more willing to take a bit of a risk in future. Hopefully Celeste would come by again…
It turned out that Celeste was thinking something quite different.
"Come with us when we leave." The drowsy tone had left Celeste's voice, and there was no playfulness in her eyes now. "We can hide you below deck, and even if he finds out, this ship can outrun anything in the harbour."
Joy seized Naishe. She'd imagined the freedom of being at the wheel, riding into the horizon while up on the deck, and she could get to experience that for real. She could get to spend more time with Celeste and learn the ways of the sea from her, and get to know the crew - particularly the handsome qunari. She'd been a quick learner as a thief, hopefully her ability to retain knowledge could be applied to sailing as well. And no more long dresses to trip over! She could learn to fight and drink properly, to bawl along with the songs she had occasionally heard spilling out of taverns along the waterfront. She would be totally unchained, for the first time since her marriage.
But - Luis. In truth, Naishe would have run away from him by now if she could have done. First there were the physical barriers - the doors to which she did not have keys, despite being the lady of the house, and while she could creep around a guard easily it would be much harder to evade Madame Alfonso. And then there were the subtle threats Luis had made. He had contacts in the Crows, and if she ever humiliated him by attempting to leave, he would have her begging to let her crawl back to him before the end. If he found out that Daniel and Celeste had helped her escape…
"I can't." She sat up, running her fingers through her hair. Maker, he was going to know something had happened just because of the disarray she was in. Although maybe he'd known anyway. "Luis has Daniel - he won't let him go until I've returned. And he has friends all over Thedas. Even if we escape him for a while, he'll track me down and then have you both killed. And me, but...not right away." She cleared her throat. "The only way I can get away from him safely is if something happened to him that didn't point at me. How would you even get me out of the house?"
"I imagine even the prissiest wives of Antiva would loosen up a bit after that experience," Naishe remarked with a low laugh that curled pleasantly along Celeste's awareness.
"Assuming you could find any worth the effort," Celeste snorted. "Most of them are too attached to their boring, well-kept lives to do anything to risk it." They would shrink in cultured horror at the notion of giving up their parlors and fine clothes for a life on the sea, breaking their manicured nails and gaining calluses on their soft hands working the rigging. She'd never been tempted to even try it before, to be honest, but now she found herself tempted to try even more.
Naishe's face lit with a fierce elation at her invitation, but fear crashed in almost immediately. "I can't." She pulled out of the lazy embrace, one hand going to her hair, which was admittedly more mussed than was likely wise but looked utterly alluring. "Luis has Daniel - he won't let him go until I've returned. And he has friends all over Thedas. Even if we escape him for a while, he'll track me down and then have you both killed. And me, but...not right away."
"He can try," Celeste scoffed. The idea of that pompous ass having friends seemed ludicrous, and him posing any kind of threat at all to Daniel and this ship was surely nonsense. The crew fended off pirates and raiders on a regular basis, and every one of them could handle themselves in a fight. Naishe was another matter, but they could surely protect her, and teach her how to defend herself; the thought of Luis' expression at getting his ass handed to him on a silver plate by his wayward wife was a pleasant one, but the stark dread on the other woman's face was all too real.
"The only way I can get away from him safely is if something happened to him that didn't point at me," Naishe said after a moment's thought. "How would you even get me out of the house?"
"That's the easy part," Celeste responded without hesitation, turning the first part of Naishe's words over in her head. Pranking a prig like Luis by spiriting his wife out from under his nose would be child's play for the Friends of Red Jenny, but killing the man? That was something that she had not even considered. Would the Jennies even take part in something like that?
She pushed herself upright. "We won't let him hurt you," she promised Naishe, squeezing her hand and looking into her eyes. "We can figure something -"
"Ho, Captain!" Gideon's bellow was not standard procedure and was most likely primarily for Celeste's ears. Daniel's responding call was indistinct and from far enough away that he (and whoever might be with him) weren't on board.
"Shit." There was a giddy exhilaration that came with teetering on the verge of getting caught in a caper, but in this case, it was tempered by the awareness of the punishment that Naishe would surely face if they were caught in their current condition. No possible way to spin tits-out-hair-mussed-sheets-in-a-tangle into a tea party. Part of her wondered if getting caught might not be the way to force the matter, because Daniel would absolutely step in if Luis tried to hit Naishe, and having Gideon for backup would surely seal the deal, but ultimately, there were too many unknowns to risk it.
"C'mon." She launched herself from the bed and began tugging on her own discarded clothes. "Time to go!" She sent Naishe a bright smile, hoping to forestall any panic that might be rising, because getting out of this was going to require both of them working together.
Celeste scoffed a little, announcing that Luis could try to find them if he wanted, implying he'd have no chance. Naishe wanted to believe her but couldn't. She didn't dare to. Luis wouldn't just kill Celeste when he caught them, he would use her and Daniel to teach Naishe a lesson, shortly before he murdered all of them. Naishe couldn't bear the thought of seeing Celeste's eyes dulling with pain and despair. But a tiny fragment of the girl she'd been in Rivain, picking pockets and running cons, insisted on trying to find the angle that might make escape possible. Tentatively, she asked how Celeste would even get her out.
"That's the easy part," Celeste announced confidently, but didn't give further details. Perhaps it was better for Naish not to know? Before she could ask, Celeste squeezed her hand. "We won't let him hurt you. We can figure something-"
Naishe wanted it. She wanted to be on this ship when it pulled away, feeling it shift on the waves and the moment the wind caught the sails, bearing her far from here, far beyond Luis' reach. But even as the hope surged in her chest, Gideon's voice called out, and Celeste's expression changed dramatically. "Shit."
Were they caught? Freezing fear poured down Naishe's spine, but Celeste didn't give it enough time to lock her in place; she got up fast, already halfway into her clothes by the time Naishe had registered the loss of warmth at her side. "C'mon. Time to go!" Her smile was bright, despite whatever had made her swear a moment ago, and Naishe took strength from it, pulling on her clothes again. She tried to smooth down her hair, reposition the gold pin that had ended up thrown under Celeste's desk, and hauled her dress back on before spinning around to present her back to Celeste.
"I need you to tie me back in. As hard as you can - barely leave me room to breathe. He might notice if it's loose."
More voices were rising; presumably the crew was running interference to buy them time, Daniel's voice now audible, clarifying some details of their trade from the sound of it. There was a thump from outside and Luis - oh shit, he's actually here - called through the door. "My love! Are you in there?"
Naishe's gaze darted around the cabin, looking for something, anything they could use to get out of this before he walked in on Celeste lacing her back in. There - a wedge, she didn't know what it was for, but she grabbed it and jammed it into the side of the door with the hinges. The door creaked heavily - he'd obviously tried to push it - but didn't move, and Luis cursed before remembering himself. "Sweetheart? Are you stuck?"
She glanced back at Celeste, dropping her voice. "Is there any way you could get out the window and scale to the top so it looks like we weren't in the same room? Or are we bluffing this?"
Naishe was scared, of course, but to her surprise there was a tiny part of her that was enjoying the problem-solving, trying to find their way out of trouble. They were going to have to run a con on Luis, and despite all her fear, she also relished the challenge.
Celeste's plan was simple - sort of. All they had to do was slip out the aft windows, climb down the mooring hawser to the dock, make their way back to Luis' mansion by the same back alleys they had taken to get here and climb up to Naishe's room, where they would both make themselves look presentable and pretend to have been back for quite a while.
She could have managed it on her own in her sleep, and even the challenge of coaxing Naishe through the caper in her dress was not a particularly daunting handicap. The Rivaini girl squirmed into her dress, then presented her back to Celeste as she tried to arrange her hair.
Tying it too tight would hamper Naishe on the climb down, but before Celeste could explain the plan to her, voices began to sound on the deck, Daniel's voice among them - shit, they were closer than she'd thought - then a knock on the door and Luis calling, "My love! Are you in there?"
Raw panic suffused Naishe's face; she glanced about wildly, then snatched up the shim that they used as a doorstop and wedged it into the door just as the handle turned.
Crap. Plan A wasn't going to work now, but working with the Jennies had taught Celeste much about improvising on the fly.
An ugly stream of curses was audible as the door rattled in its frame, then Luis apparently remembered that he was supposed to be a doting husband. "Sweetheart? Are you stuck?"
The terror in Naishe's expression had Celeste thinking seriously about simply grabbing one of her daggers, opening the door, and gutting the man like the pig that he was, but that would likely plunge Daniel and the rest of the crew into a conflict that could get somebody hurt or killed.
"Is there any way you could get out the window and scale to the top so it looks like we weren't in the same room?" Naishe whispered desperately. "Or are we bluffing this?"
Think, think, think. The door rattled again. Celeste's questing gaze fell upon the bucket sitting beside the tub: the one they kept full for light washups, and she felt Plan B come into focus.
"Leave it loose," she told Naishe, retrieving the bucket and dipping her hands into the water. She ran her fingers through her lover's dark hair, dampening it, then hurriedly wet her face, arms, and shoulders the same way, an impish grin surfacing as she dipped her wet hands inside the bodice of the dress to dampen the full breasts. "You wanted to try the bath," she explained, confident that her companion would be able to pick it up from there.
"Close the window behind me," she ordered, dumping the remnant of the pail into the tub, wetting the bar of soap and one of the towels for good measure, "and don't open the door until you hear me out there."
She darted forward for a last, fierce kiss. "It'll be all right," she promised as she drew back, fingers lingering briefly along the curve of Naishe's cheek. She moved lightly to the window, swung it open, and climbed out. Looking back, she tipped a wink and whispered, "Straighten the bed!" before starting her climb. She clambered up the stern, peeping cautiously at the poop deck before clambering over the rail, holding a cautionary finger to her lips as she crept by Nordstrom, who wore his usual phlegmatic expression. Down the ladder to the main deck, waving off the warning glance from Gideon as she ducked into the passage to the aftercastle, excitement and apprehension battling for dominance beneath her breastbone. She had to fix this. She had to.
"Gentlemen!" she announced herself cheerfully as she slipped by Daniel to address Luis, who regarded her with surprise. "Signore Lombardo, your wife wished to try out the tub in the captain's cabin, so I gave her some privacy." She managed to force an indulgent smile. "I'd imagine she's getting dressed, unless she fell asleep; it's marvelously relaxing in the heat."
"Tub?" Whether the sudden gleam in his eye was borne of coveting such a luxury or the thought of his wife naked on the other side of the door, any suspicions he might have been harboring seemed to have been quieted.
"Oh, yes!" She replied brightly, aware of Danel's gaze on her, though he gave no sign that he undoubtedly knew what was going on. "It's the most wonderful thing ever! You simply must have one installed on your own ship!" She reached past Luis to knock on the door. "Signora Lombardo?" she sang out. "Our husbands have arrived!"


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Home Erotic
Inside Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas' First Thanksgiving Together – E! Online
in Erotic
Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas hit another major relationship milestone: spending their first Thanksgiving together. Fortunately for the couple, who will star together in the upcoming film Deep Water, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1957 novel, it sounds like their holiday went off without a hitch.
Ben, who shares children Violet, 14, Seraphina, 11, and Samuel, 8, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, included both Ana and his kids in his plans. A source told E! News the duo spent the week together in Los Angeles after returning from filming in New Orleans. The kids came over to Ben's house to spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with him and Ana.
The source added, "They had a busy few days of family time together and seem very happy."
Ben was first rumored to be dating the Knives Out star in March 2020, when the two were spotted vacationing in Costa Rica.
"They have been kissing, cuddling up together and putting their arms around each other a lot," an insider told E! at the time. "They look at each other adoringly and like taking pictures of each other. Ben seems blissfully happy and giddy. He can't stop smiling and laughing. He is clearly very into Ana."
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Love Bournemouth Bunnies Recognized in Public Relations Awards!
We are pleased to announce that we are finalists in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Pride Awards for South England and the Channel Islands, Low Budget Campaign of the Year in recognition of our Easter campaign, #LoveBournemouthBunnies.
Created in partnership with one of the South's leading public relations firms, Darren Northeast PR, #LoveBournemouthBunnies ran in the lead up to Easter with the aim of encouraging residents and visitors to Bournemouth to explore our coastal areas and businesses. By deciphering the clues promoted on social media and in printed publications, including the Bournemouth Echo, the public hunted for Golden bunnies hiding in our levy-paying businesses and had to post selfies of them with the bunnies on social media for the chance to win prizes. We promoted over 90 levy-paying businesses who engaged with us during the campaign.
Hugely successful, #LoveBournemouthBunnies helped to increase footfall by 3.1% over the Easter period. Over 400 people also posted about #LoveBournemouthBunnies on social media whilst the posts about Bournemouth's coastal areas and #LoveBournemouthBunnies reached more than 310,000 people!


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KARAWAN M. ALI DR. AMMAL E. IBRAHIM, DR. BUSHRA ZALO AND DR. AHMED ABD AL BARI.
8. GROWTH AND CHARACTERISATION OF COD, COM AND HYDROXYAPATITE CRYSTALS BY GEL METHOD.


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Q: Prevent google map from triggering swipe-to-refresh I have the current layout (obviously simplified here):
<SwipeRefreshLayout>

  <MapFragment/>

  <ListView/>

</SwipeRefreshLayout>

To solve the issue of having the downward swipe triggering the refresh, I tried doing the following:
  mMap.setOnCameraChangeListener(new GoogleMap.OnCameraChangeListener() {
        @Override
        public void onCameraChange(CameraPosition cameraPosition) {
            mSwipeRefreshLayout.setEnabled(false);
        }
    });

And then enabling back in the listview:
    listView.setOnScrollListener(new AbsListView.OnScrollListener() {
        @Override
        public void onScrollStateChanged(AbsListView view, int scrollState) {
             mSwipeRefreshLayout.setEnabled(true);
        }
        // Prevents the downward swipe from triggering refresh unless the
        @Override
        public void onScroll(AbsListView view, int firstVisibleItem, int visibleItemCount, int totalItemCount) {
            int topRowVerticalPosition = (listView == null || listView.getChildCount() == 0) ? 0 : listView.getChildAt(0).getTop();
            mSwipeRefreshLayout.setEnabled((topRowVerticalPosition >= 0));
        }
    });

However, for some reason, this only works if I swipe two times on the listview, which breaks user experience.
I do not want the move the map fragment out of the SwipeRefreshLayout view because that would move the animation out of place.
Can someone point me on the right direction please?

A: I found the solution to this problem. Extended SwipeRefreshLayout and overrode onInterceptTouchEvent.
public class OverviewSwipeRefreshLayout extends SwipeRefreshLayout {

    public OverviewSwipeRefreshLayout(Context context) {
        super(context);
    }

    public OverviewSwipeRefreshLayout(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
        super(context, attrs);
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onInterceptTouchEvent(MotionEvent ev) {
        final int action = ev.getAction();
        switch (action) {
            case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN:
                super.onTouchEvent(ev);
                break;
            case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE:
                return false;
            case MotionEvent.ACTION_CANCEL:
                super.onTouchEvent(ev);
                break;
            case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP:
                return false;
            default:
                break;
        }

        return false;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent ev) {
        super.onTouchEvent(ev);
        return true;
    }
}