text:
UN agricultural agency launches programme to eradicate deadly goat disease
FAO/Marco Longari
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – also known as sheep and goat plague – has spread to some 70 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, causing annual damage estimated at $1.4 to $2.1 billion.
The United Nations agricultural agency today launched the first phase of a new, 15-year global programme to eradicate a highly contagious viral animal disease affecting more than 70 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia, which account for about 80 per cent of the world's sheep and goats and where millions of families depend heavily on these animals for nutrition and livelihoods.
Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – also known as sheep and goat plague – is highly lethal to small ruminants. The annual global damage due to the disease is estimated to be between $1.4 and $2.1 billion.
"Wiping out PPR will have a major positive impact on the lives of pastoralist communities in all developing countries and directly support global efforts to end poverty and hunger by 2030," said UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva in a news release announcing the launch of the $996.4 million FAO-World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) initiative.
According to FAO, an estimated 300 million small-scale farming families depend on small ruminants for food and income.
For instance, a recent outbreak in India caused $180 million in losses. Similarly, a series of epidemics in Kenya in 2006-2008 killed 1.2 million small ruminants with losses exceeding $23.5 million and a 2.1 million litre drop in milk production.
The successful implementation now relies on the capacity of veterinary services at national level – OIE Director General Monique Eloit
"When it comes to viral animal diseases, much attention falls on the threats they pose to human health – but their effects on economic growth, human livelihoods, quality nutrition and food security can be equally devastating. That's why this campaign needs wide support," Mr. Graziano da Silva added.
The disease is however, easily preventable with inexpensive vaccines that can be administered at low cost and that will protect the animal for its entire life.
The virus also has a relatively short infectious phase and does not survive for long outside a host, making it an ideal candidate for a concerted eradication effort, the FAO noted in the release.
Explaining that tools to tackle the disease are already available, Monique Eloit, OIE Director-General said: "We have international standards for surveillance and diagnosis of PPR, a global system to report outbreaks, and standards for vaccines that are highly effective when applied appropriately."
"So all the tools are available to us, and are integrated into the plan. Its successful implementation now relies on the capacity of Veterinary Services at national level – the OIE is committed to provide them with ongoing support," she added.
Global strategy backed by regional road maps
The news release further noted that the first five-year phase of the 15-year programme is now ready to be put into action and consists of a global strategy backed by nine regional road maps.
In this initial portion, focus is placed on countries where the disease is known to exist or where its status has never been assessed. This will involve activities to raise awareness among farmers, build their capacity to prevent and contain the disease, strengthen national veterinary health services and systems for control of PPR and other diseases, and implement targeted vaccination campaigns.
The plan also aims to improve national production models and help herders build the strongest, most resilient livelihoods with their animal resources.
Together, the two agencies will coordinate the global efforts of governments, regional organizations, research institutions, funding partners and livestock owners.
A pledging conference to secure financial support for the first five-year plan will be organized early next year.
Replicating earlier success
The news release also mentioned that this is not the first time the two global agricultural organizations have combined their forces to rid the world of a costly plague.
The PPR initiative is modelled on the successful effort to eradicate rinderpest, a similar disease that affected cattle, buffalo and wildlife. In 2011, this campaign achieved success and it was the first time an animal disease had been eradicated from the planet.
Meeting global demand
With the world population anticipated to rise to over 9.7 billion by 2050, FAO noted that small ruminant production is expected to rise with growing demand for meat and milk, growth that is generating new opportunities for producers, processers, and sellers.
"With that comes stronger interest from governments and industry to make supply chains more reliable and the movement of animals safer," it said.
Antimicrobial resistance a 'global health emergency,' UN, ahead of awareness week
Over 4,700 UN agency trained veterinarians new vanguard against deadly disease outbreaks
Disasters cost billions in agricultural losses, poor farmers bear brunt – UN report
Agriculture must transform to feed a hotter, more crowded planet, UN says on World Food Day
To mark World Food Day 2016, the United Nations is highlighting the close links between climate change, sustainable agriculture, and food and nutrition security, with the message: "The climate is changing. Food and agriculture must, too."


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text:
India emphasizes on responsibility of G20 nations to focus on making inclusive and sustainable economies and societies
G20 Digital Economy Task Force COVID-19 Ministerial Statement calls for a coordinated global Digital response to fight the pandemic, adopting measures to strengthen Communication infrastructure and network connectivity, Non-personal data exchange in a secured manner, use of Digital Solutions for Healthcare, cyber secured world and measures to strengthen resilience of businesses.
An Extraordinary Virtual G20 Digital Economy Ministers meeting was convened Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to forge a global coordinated response harnessing Digital Technologies. India was represented by Union Minister for Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & IT Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad. The meeting was also attended by Digital Ministers of 19 other G20 Members, invited countries and International Organisations.
At the meeting, G20 Digital Ministers agreed to leverage the potential of Digital medium to contain the pandemic and protect people. Union Minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad emphasized that G20 nations have a responsibility that everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of the ongoing pandemic.
While highlighting the steps taken by Indian Government under the able leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to contain the spread, he also offered the roadmap for the world to emulate. At the same time he emphasized the importance to revive the economy while continuing the fight against COVID-19.
He said that next phase of Digitalization is about applications that will impact livelihoods, accelerate various sectors, strengthen the supply chain and build a cyber safe world. He impressed upon the G20 Ministers that the present situation demands greater collaboration among stakeholders for providing solutions that can address issues related to social distancing, distributed workforce and the changing nature of global supply chain. He called on the G20 to come out with a concrete Digital action plan to fight the global pandemic.
He highlighted the critical role of Indian IT-ITeS Industry in maintaining the Global Business Continuity and offered India as a lucrative destination for displaced Global Supply chains.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A decade ago, a trio of like-minded 20-somethings pooled their distinct yet complimentary talents to form a record label. Even in the midst of the declining record industry, the Valcour brain trust, consisting of musician/producer Joel Savoy, photographer Lucius Fontenot and web designer Phillip LaFargue, realized that there would always be precious music to behold and cherish, especially given South Louisiana's bountiful talent. Christened after Savoy's great-great-great grandfather Pierre Valcour Savoie, Valcour Records opted to present the vast richness of the Cajun and Creole culture through one-of-a-kind, often unusual and eclectic projects rather than chase commercial trends. Tucked away in the prairie of St. Landry Parish, an outdoor kitchen belonging to Joel's grandfather and the site of many a cookout, jam session and soiree became the recording studio and the birthplace of many magical recordings to come.
Surprisingly, for being only 10 years in existence, Valcour Records has released 27 records, ranging from the ultra-traditional like French folklorist Gérard Dôle's Dennis McGee field sessions to Christine Balfa's solo triangle record and Cedric Watson's groundbreaking albums. Along the way, the rural Eunice-based imprint has netted nine Grammy nominations and one Grammy conquest in 2012 with the Band Courtbouillon featuring Cajun titans Wyane Toups, Steve Riley and Savoy's younger brother Wilson.
While 2015 marks Valcour Records' tenth anniversary, it also celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Alan Lomax, the esteemed folklorist who arrived in South Louisiana in 1934 as a young man with his folklorist father John. Equipped with a bulky 300-plus pound recording apparatus, the two traipsed the countryside, recording and documenting music and traditions for the Library of Congress that otherwise might have become extinct. They visited many South Louisiana parishes and recorded a diverse array of material that wasn't all Cajun and Creole. Without the contribution of the Lomaxes, the two sister genres would look very different today, perhaps even sparse to some. "They collected this huge and enormously important body of material that we are still wrestling with today," explains Joshua Clegg Caffery, currently Visiting Professor in Folklore at Indiana University in Bloomington and a former bandmate of Savoy's in the charter incarnation of the Red Stick Ramblers.
In modern times, BeauSoleil, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Wayne Toups, Feufollet, the Magnolia Sisters, Bonsoir, Catin, T-Salé and Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble are among those that have culled material from the Lomax Archives and recorded it with full band arrangements, hence fortifying and reinvigorating the genre through discovery, recycling and reinvention.
Seventy-nine years (2013) after the Lomaxes' Southwest Louisiana sonic-mining expedition, Caffery was releasing his groundbreaking tome Traditional Music in Coastal Louisiana, a heady 344-page resource that comprehensively examined the Lomax corpus with French lyric translations that essentially grew out of his dissertation. Along with the book's release, Caffery launched a website (www.lomax1934.com) that contains digitized versions of the 1934 field recordings.
Around the time of the book's pending release, Caffery gathered a few musicians such as Savoy, Bonsoir, Catin's Kristi Guillory, T'Monde's Megan Brown and The Revelers' Chas Justus to play a few gigs of Lomax selections as a way of illustrating the songs he found particularly interesting. "So we did the  Louisiana Book Festival and Black Pot Festival. And after those gigs, which were fun, Joel said 'Why don't we make an album of this stuff?' I said 'Sure, why not?,'" not realizing that they were embarking on Valcour Records' most ambitious project yet and first box set ever.
The resultant box set I Wanna Sing Right: Rediscovering Lomax in the Evangeline Country features a cover shot of sugar cane blowing in the wind, a common sight when the Lomaxes visited South Louisiana. It also could be interpreted as how cultures can grow and flourish when seeded by new discoveries, or, in this case, field recordings. The first EP, Part One: Bad Boys and Good Men, was released on May 1, with three more quarterly installments to follow.
BeauSoleil's Michael Doucet performed one of his favorite longtime Lomax selections "La Chanson de Théogène Dubois" live at radio station KRVS with Savoy on guitar and Bonsoir, Catin's Danny Devillier's on bongos. Though it has always had a Caribbean orchestral flavor when performed by BeauSoleil, here it leans more towards a strand of island folk music, with Doucet alternating between fiddle and mandolin.
Overall, the arrangements are consistently inventive, providing a fresh, new way to savor material that was originally a cappella-centric. Savoy and wife Kelli Jones-Savoy rock out on the advisory "Inch Above Your Knee." Jones-Savoy plays a thick riff on rhythm guitar while lead guitarist Savoy compliments with cool licks and stinging notes for an early Rolling Stones influence. "Le Garçon Sans Soucis" starts with a marching snare beat as if it were a trip to the gallows, with whistling and other effects that could have come straight out of a '60s spaghetti western. "Le Jolie Fille el le Garçon Colonial," sung a cappella by Megan Brown, closes out Part One: Bad Boys and Good Men and circles back to the type of field recordings that the Lomaxes obtained.
If Bad Boys and Good Men is any indication, future installments Part Two: Dancing and Seduction, Part Three: Love and Death and Part Four: Good Women and Bad Girls should be highly anticipated. Think of it as a sonic Flash Gordon serial, just without the popcorn.


text:
Hypserpa polyandra är en tvåhjärtbladig växtart som beskrevs av Odoardo Beccari. Hypserpa polyandra ingår i släktet Hypserpa och familjen Menispermaceae. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Ranunkelordningen
polyandra

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Elegant 17.5" graduated bead cut glass-bead necklace, a variety of different shaped clear glass beads with fancy cut finishes graduate in size from 5mm in diameter near the clasp to the largest 14mm diameter bead in the front-center, strung on a slender white base metal (WBM) link chain and finished with a brass diamond-shaped clasp with filigree cut-outs, beads and clasp are all in good overall condition but there are a number of very light scuffs from normal wear on various beads, measures approx. 450mm in length. A very attractive vintage necklace in excellent condition!


text:
Q: MySQL DB returns unpredictable Integer value on use of Exist condition. Sometimes it is Integer sometimes its BigInteger I am running below mentioned query using JDBC: .
SELECT DISTINCT
pd.ProductDefId,
pd.ProductName,
EXISTS (SELECT '1' FROM CachedButtons ct
         where ct.ProductId = pd.ProductId) as isSponsored
From ProductData AS pd

I am catching the response in Integer variable for isSponsored value. But sometime I am getting an exception "java.math.BigInteger cannot be cast to java.lang.Integer".

A: Can you please you check whether ct.ProductId and pd.ProductId share the same type ? one could be BigInteger and the other Integer , making the comparison on your exists() impossible because of casting problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


– Donut – a .NET aware Windows file infector).
Truth be told, the announcement doesn't come as a surprise. The group has been in hibernation for some time and the authorities investigating the group's activities have everything to do with it.


Learn how to make this pretty floral garland bracelet using shining brick beads and seed beads.
This Take a Make Break video tutorial will be available at 8am 25/12/2016.
Please note, the clasp in this project is now out of stock and has been replaced with an alternative style.


In this paper I'm going to take a look at the effect globalization has on education whether it is positive or unfavourable. Add to this parents who not, to an ideal diploma, support teachers. It is the parents' duty to ensure that their youngsters are doing their homework and doing it nicely. The primary huge benefit of higher education is learning about the world round you.
As a living doc, the Common Agenda is a collection of targeted exercise geared toward advancing civic, social, and cultural roles in society. House education , individualized instruction (akin to programmed learning ), distance studying and laptop-assisted instruction are different potentialities.


A lot of people have been asking us about what is it that we do exactly and what projects we have lined up. Well not really ,I just like to make it seem that there are people out there interested in our work.
Anyways here is a brief about all the projects we are currently involved in.
After the enormous success of Laith's first feature film as a producer and an editor, Captain Abu Raed, ( Winner of the Sundance Audience award 2008 as well as 27 other international awards) , he and I teamed up to form Immortal Entertainment with the vision to cultivate and incubate different projects in film, photography and music. The basis on which our platform was built was that we will seek to work on projects that deal with the realities of problems and issues in the Arab world. Basically we are inspired by the realties of the urban landscape of the world we live in.
1- Abandoned :I began working on developing the synopsis for our first feature film in late 2008. The working title of the film is "Abandoned" . It tells a story about orphans and the underworld in Amman, when I had a clear vision of what the story line was going to be, we called upon the skills of amazingly talented Nizar Wattad, a Palestinian -American screen writer who gratefully accepted to spend six weeks with us developing the treatment for the film. The treatment has generated a considerable amount of interest in the region, Europe and America and we hope that by the end of this year we will be able to sign a deal to start the pre-production for the film.
2-Voice of the Valley tells the inspiring story of two Muslim Jordanian women Asma, 26, and Munira, 25. Despite the government's refusal to issue them a license, with no formal journalistic training, and having had to face backlash from men in their community, they produce and broadcast a groundbreaking social and political radio program from Amman called "Voice of the Valley."Through their radio program they expose the many issues that negatively affect the inhabitants of the Jordan Valley, a severely neglected agricultural region in Jordan.This film also strives to highlight the detrimental problems facing the men, women and children living in the Jordan Valley such as the water shortage, poverty, corruption within the local government, and neglect—problems which have not been addressed by governmental officials in Amman, the capital city.Immortal is working with two truly remarkable , talented, brave and visionary American film directors Leila Jarman and Elspeth Dehnert who were also crazy enough to travel to the Middle East without speaking a word of Arabic and started working on this project on their own. The efforts of these two women are truly humbling and we are very grateful for the chance to work with them. Immortal's involvement in the film is extensive, we are handling the post production phase, Laith is also editing the film and through our local contacts and understanding of the country and its culture we were able to link Asma and Munira with the highest government officials whose minisitries and deparments are directly responsible for conditions in the Jordan Valley . Immortal does not simply seek projects that expose problems and issues in the region , we set out to find solutions for these issues and conncect people who are in position to bring about change.
Our involvement in hip hop movement is very interesting , because when we set out to do this project the aim was to document the movement, now we are producing music videos, photo essays , organizing shows , connecting musicians , visual artists, DJs and rappers together , locally and internationally. We are no longer just documenting the movement ,we are at the very heart of it all.
As of now we are currently working on projects with MC Amin , Arabian Knightz, Ahmad Fishawi, DJ Lethal Skillz and Omar Offendum, producing music videos for them as well as several other projects.. The Legendary DJ Lethal Skillz of Beirut is also working with us on several fronts, through him we are producing mix tapes, music videos and promotions for his upcoming album . He is also co-producing an album for one of the most promising young rappers out there, this album will be an Immortal entertainment product.
On the international scene, Immortal made history when it brought out the legendary Mochilla crew out to the Middle East for the first time, introducing them to artists in Beirut and Amman , and throwing what is without a doubt the best two hip hop shows to be ever held in Amman and Beirut, building on that success , Immortal will be working with Mochilla again this summer in July , when we hope to host the Mochilla crew along with some memebers of their extended family out in LA for a regional tour that will include shows, building with local rappers, musicians and DJ's through jam sessions etc. This will be the musical event of the summer in the region, we promise you this, if you thought those January shows were amazing then prepare to get your minds blown away in July.
Laith Majali: Photography for me is more than just snapping pictures, photography is my window to life. I spend my time roaming the streets of the world looking for moments to capture and freeze in time, I look for interactions between human beings, and through that i come to understand the world I live in. I picked up photography seriously in 2005 and since then I have traveled the world documenting the human condition. I take a special interest in culture and social documentary work. Over the past 3 years I have been working on my first photography book, which focuses on the rise of Arab Hip Hop world wide. My work has been featured in international and regional magazines and I've had my work exhibited in Jordan, London, Italy , Egypt and the US.
Last year I got one of the most difficult assignments I had to shoot so far. I was to shadow HM King Abdullah of Jordan for a month and photograph him for the royal archives. This project has been one of the most challenging but one of the most fulfilling experiences too.
I still love shooting film, I photograph with a selection of old and new cameras and I still believe I got lots to learn.
I bought my first camera in Oct 2009, in March 2010 , after going online with my work for two weeks, I was contacted by Leica , the worlds finest camera maker to work on the V lux 20 project with them. In April I was lucky enough to be awarded a schoalrship by the Foundary photojournalism workshop which is made up from the finest photojournalists in the world. I will be attending their workshop in June this year.
I am a lucky fool , the laptop I am using to write this entry is about half the yearly income of an avergage citizen in my country. I studied in private schools and for higher education I went abroad, opportunities that are seldom available for most of my fellow citizens and as such I feel that it is my duty to document the conditions and realities of those who are less fortunate wherever I travel. Since Oct I documented conditions on the streets of Indonesia, Thailand, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, England, Holland and Germany . My work can be viewed on our blog. , on Leica's travel website .com and here .
Lastly we would like to thank all our friends, families and fellow artists who have shown us immense support, encouragement , constructive criticism and love.
You taking pride in our work means the world to us , more than anything it pushes us to keep on delivering work that makes all those who are assocaited with us proud.
Immortal , coming soon to a mind near you.
Nasser Kalaji and Laith Majali.
I have just come across your work for the first time.
Can I please encourage all young artists in the region to take part in a global competition called "Fair Play Anti-Corruption Youth Voices".
Each artist or group needs to produce or share an already existing track on their view of corruption.
I'm tired of seeing the region underrepresented!
In fact I got your story about the shoes trading and smuggling from a friend of of mine, an "English man in Amman", it goes like that song an" English man in N.Y." by Sting, last march and it was the story that attracted my attention more than who wrote! as I assumed that it was the work of a foreign journalist( Fadi Ashghal) nothing to do in other words, of course I was wrong. And today for some reason I was going though my favorites list and decided to go through it again and look at WHO WE ARE, and read every word there, to find out that you guys worked hard on yourselves and still are, and that you opted to get out of the box of looking for a job arranged by your dads and the family, to be creative and dedicate your lives to the good cause of your country and Arab nations in general. Well done.
I wish that our brand name schools teach our kids how to be creative and innovative, and and ow to take a decision, not only speak languages!
Thank you for taking the time to check out our work and for your kind words and support.
we are trying man. and thats all what we can do really.
My name is Lisa Radwan. I'd like to introduce my company, DUB hub, to you. DUB hub is a CD, DVD, and Blu-ray manufacturing company. We are capable of providing our clients with start to finish service that includes graphic design, authoring, replication, custom printed packaging and fulfillment. DUB hub works with our clients to provide the exact services they need to achieve success while respecting their bottom line. Our attention to detail can be experienced through our superior and personal customer service, and of course…in your finished product!
Our plant is ISO certified, IRMA compliant, MPEG4 Royalty Compliant, and also JVC/Philips Royalty compliant. The plant location enables us to offer quick transit times and cut shipping costs.
I would greatly appreciate your assistance in reaching the person responsible for making your purchasing/disc manufacturing vendor decisions. I believe you'll find us to be a valuable business partner…..and we'll do whatever it takes to prove it!
I've attached some pricing for your review.
Dear Nasser, we got in touch once and it was very interesting chit chat with you. Can you please get in touch with me again, as I believe we can do some beneficial work together. i have an e-marketing consultant visiting Amman if it concerns you!
I was glancing at some of my fellow MC's FB & twitter accounts & I noticed that you were a fan of Middle Eastern Hip-Hop music. I'm always looking to network & showcase my music at any chance I get, so I thought I'd take the time to present some of my music to you. I'm not asking anybody to buy anything. I go by the name of Bird. I was born & raised in St. Louis, MO, but I spent 4 years during my teens in Occupied Palestine, so most of my music is about the occupation. Hip-Hop is my passion & I take my craft very serious. My first mixtape "MidWest Bank," is currently on the web as a free download. I was hoping you could check out some of the songs below, & if you like, you could download. Sorry if I'm imposing. But i really do appreciate you taking the time to check me out… Thank you!!
I'm a Songwriter, Arranger, Mixer and Record Producer.
Please NEVER miss the diamond in the rough.
Mad respect to you both!! Immortal and all the work you're doing is amazing, keep it up!! Peace!
Laith, you can not stop amazing all of us. Great job man.
Keep going , we are proud of you guys .


It is one thing to turn a quick dollar, but to build a business with staying power is a completely different achievement. When you peel back the layers of a good business and you look past the product and branding, you want to find an enterprise founded on integrity and quality service. One company that is dedicated to such ideals is Speed Weed, a marijuana delivery service in California.
Founded by AJ Gentile, CEO, and Gene Gentile, his brother and head of Business Development, Speed Weed delivers quality medical marijuana to patients in the Los Angeles area at little to no extra cost for the consumer. Prospective customers are required to sign an agreement and join its membership-based collective. Deliveries are free, but there is a minimum purchase amount.
If you are wondering how Speed Weed makes a profit, the answer is the company doesn't. By law, medical marijuana businesses in California have to be not-for-profit. In order to operate within the law, Speed Weed rewards the members of its collective.
The way Speed Weed makes money is through various consulting services. AJ and his management team have extensive experience in technology, branding, marketing, logistics and technology. In an industry that is expanding as rapidly as the marijuana industry, that kind of knowledge is worth its weight in Acapulco Gold.
Like other successful companies, Speed Weed's origins can be found in hard life lessons and the failure that often comes with it.
"In the beginning, Gene convinced me to invest in a small grow," AJ said. "We sunk all of our savings into it which turned into a disaster. Everything that could go wrong happened." Although their product was potent; it lacked the flavor, aroma, and aesthetic appeal that many medical marijuana patients, and dispensaries, have come to expect.
Undeterred, the brothers decided to turn lemons into lemonade by making edibles. After months of rigorous trial and error testing, AJ and Gene finally had a quality extract which they used to make medicated gummy bears. As their business grew patients began to reach out to them directly so they decided to launch their own medical marijuana collective and delivery service in 2011. Thus, Speed Weed was born.
In Speed Weed's short history, the company has already been able to position itself as one of the largest marijuana delivery services in the country. Speed Weed's delivery area covers all 6,000 square miles of L.A. County and the company's member enrollment has swelled to a staggering 21,000 patients. For a little perspective, that is more than the total number of medical marijuana patients in the state of New Mexico.
Speed Weed currently services L.A. County and the northern half of Orange County, but the company has plans to expand. Speed Weed will soon open offices in San Diego and San Francisco. By the end of the year, the company plans on opening up in Sacramento, Fresno and Palm Springs. Speed Weed is also eyeing the possibility of opening up in Nevada and Oregon.
AJ noted that one of the key components of Speed Weed's business model that helped grow the company was its emphasis on logistics. In the beginning, Speed Weed adopted the "ice cream truck" method of delivery that many other delivery services embrace. Under this model, a driver would drive around town with a large amount of product and money, which is neither safe nor legal under Los Angeles' Proposition D.
And Speed Weed has found success because even though the company is currently seeking funding, it is by no means strapped for cash. In 2013, an independent analyst estimated that Speed Weed was worth approximately $10 million. Using that same methodology, AJ currently estimates that his company is valued at approximately $17-$20 million.
Perhaps the biggest difficulty facing Speed Weed is the ever changing laws and regulations surrounding the medical marijuana industry. To combat any hidden liabilities, the company keeps a deep bench of lawyers.
One of the laws that presents a unique challenge to the company is Proposition D. Enforcement of the law has led to hundreds of dispensaries to shut down; and although Speed Weed is fully compliant with the law it still raises cause for concern.
It is for this very reason that Speed Weed has worked tirelessly with local leaders and law enforcement to stay within the confines of California's medical marijuana law.
Speed Weed is the perfect example of what happens if you are not afraid to fail. AJ and Gene Gentile dove headlong into the marijuana industry. While they may have had some challenges along the way, they have managed to put together an impressive team to run an even more impressive business.
It will be interesting to see how this company evolves when recreational marijuana comes to California and the rest of the nation. Marijuana delivery is definitely a part of this industry's future, and Speed Weed is blazing a trail worth tracking.


text:
Assoni – plurale di assone
 Mara Assoni (1995) – calciatrice italiana


text:
package com.fulcrumgenomics.umi

import com.fulcrumgenomics.FgBioDef._
import com.fulcrumgenomics.bam.api.{SamSource, SamWriter}
import com.fulcrumgenomics.cmdline.{ClpGroups, FgBioTool}
import com.fulcrumgenomics.commons.io.Io
import com.fulcrumgenomics.commons.util.LazyLogging
import com.fulcrumgenomics.fastq.{FastqSource, FastqRecord}
import com.fulcrumgenomics.sopt._
import com.fulcrumgenomics.util.{ProgressLogger, ReadStructure, SegmentType}
import com.fulcrumgenomics.util.ReadStructure.SubReadWithQuals
import com.fulcrumgenomics.FgBioDef.BetterBufferedIteratorScalaWrapper

@clp(description =
  """
    |Annotates existing BAM files with UMIs (Unique Molecular Indices, aka Molecular IDs,
    |Molecular barcodes) from separate FASTQ files. Takes an existing BAM file and either
    |one FASTQ file with UMI reads or multiple FASTQs if there are multiple UMIs per template,
    |matches the reads between the files based on read names, and produces an output BAM file
    |where each record is annotated with an optional tag (specified by `attribute`) that
    |contains the read sequence of the UMI.  Trailing read numbers (`/1` or `/2`) are
    |removed from FASTQ read names, as is any text after whitespace, before matching.
    |If multiple UMI segments are specified (see `--read-structure`) across one or more FASTQs,
    |they are delimited in the same order as FASTQs are specified on the command line.
    |The delimiter is controlled by the `--delimiter` option.
    |
    |The `--read-structure` option may be used to specify which bases in the FASTQ contain UMI
    |bases.  Otherwise it is assumed the FASTQ contains only UMI bases.
    |
    |The `--sorted` option may be used to indicate that the FASTQ has the same reads and is
    |sorted in the same order as the BAM file.
    |
    |At the end of execution, reports how many records were processed and how many were
    |missing UMIs. If any read from the BAM file did not have a matching UMI read in the
    |FASTQ file, the program will exit with a non-zero exit status.  The `--fail-fast` option
    |may be specified to cause the program to terminate the first time it finds a records
    |without a matching UMI.
    |
    |In order to avoid sorting the input files, the entire UMI fastq file(s) is read into
    |memory. As a result the program needs to be run with memory proportional the size of
    |the (uncompressed) fastq(s).  Use the `--sorted` option to traverse the UMI fastq and BAM
    |files assuming they are in the same order.  More precisely, the UMI fastq file will be
    |traversed first, reading in the next set of BAM reads with same read name as the
    |UMI's read name.  Those BAM reads will be annotated.  If no BAM reads exist for the UMI,
    |no logging or error will be reported.
  """,
  group = ClpGroups.SamOrBam)
class AnnotateBamWithUmis(
  @arg(flag='i', doc="The input SAM or BAM file.")             val input: PathToBam,
  @arg(flag='f', doc="Input FASTQ(s) with UMI reads.")         val fastq: Seq[PathToFastq],
  @arg(flag='o', doc="Output BAM file to write.")              val output: PathToBam,
  @arg(flag='t', doc="The BAM attribute to store UMI bases in.")
                                                               val attribute: String = ConsensusTags.UmiBases,
  @arg(flag='q', doc="The BAM attribute to store UMI qualities in.")
                                                               val qualAttribute: Option[String] = None,
  @arg(flag='r', doc="The read structure for the FASTQ, otherwise all bases will be used.")
                                                               val readStructure: Seq[ReadStructure] = Seq(ReadStructure("+M")),
  @arg(flag='s', doc="Whether the FASTQ file is sorted in the same order as the BAM.")
                                                               val sorted: Boolean = false,
  @arg(          doc="If set, fail on the first missing UMI.") val failFast: Boolean = false
) extends FgBioTool with LazyLogging {

  Io.assertReadable(Seq(input) ++ fastq)
  Io.assertCanWriteFile(output)
  validate(readStructure.length == 1 || readStructure.length == fastq.length,
    "The number of read structures must match the number of FASTQs, or only a single read structure must be given"
  )
  private val structures: Seq[ReadStructure] = {
    if (readStructure.length == fastq.length) readStructure
    else Seq.tabulate(3)(_ => readStructure.head)
  }

  private var missingUmis: Long = 0

  /** Updates the count of missing UMI records, and throws an exception if fail-fast is true. */
  private def logMissingUmi(readName: String): Unit = {
    missingUmis += 1
    if (failFast) fail("Record '" + readName + "' in BAM file not found in FASTQ file.")
  }

  /** Extracts the UMI bases and qualities given the read structure */
  private def extractUmis(rec: FastqRecord, structure: ReadStructure): Seq[SubReadWithQuals] = {
    structure
      .extract(rec.bases, rec.quals)
      .filter(_.kind == SegmentType.MolecularBarcode)
  }

  /** Main method that does the work of reading input files, matching up reads and writing the output file. */
  override def execute(): Unit = {
    // Read in the fastq file
    logger.info("Reading in UMIs from FASTQ.")
    val fqSources = fastq.map(FastqSource.apply)

    logger.info("Reading input BAM and annotating output BAM.")
    val in       = SamSource(input)
    val out      = SamWriter(output, in.header)
    val progress = ProgressLogger(logger)

    if (sorted) {
      // Loop through fastq and annotate corresponding BAM entries
      val samIter = in.iterator.bufferBetter
      FastqSource.zipped(sources=fqSources).foreach { fqRecs =>
        val records = samIter.takeWhile(_.name == fqRecs.head.name).toIndexedSeq
        if (records.isEmpty) logMissingUmi(fqRecs.head.name) else {
          val umis = fqRecs.zip(structures).flatMap { case (rec, structure) =>
            extractUmis(rec=rec, structure=structure)
          }
          records.foreach { rec =>
            rec(attribute) = umis.map(_.bases).mkString("-")
            qualAttribute.foreach(qtag => rec(qtag) = umis.map(_.quals).mkString(" "))
            out += rec
            progress.record(rec)
          }
        }
      }
      fqSources.foreach(_.close())
      // Log any BAM records that were not annotated
      samIter.foreach { rec =>
        logMissingUmi(rec.name)
        progress.record(rec)
      }
    } else {
      val nameToUmi = FastqSource.zipped(sources=fqSources).map { records =>
        val umis = records.zip(structures).flatMap { case (rec, structure) =>
          extractUmis(rec=rec, structure=structure)
        }
        (records.head.name, umis)
      }.toMap
      fqSources.foreach(_.close())
      // Loop through the BAM file an annotate it
      in.foreach { rec =>
        val name = rec.name
        nameToUmi.get(name) match {
          case Some(umis) =>
            rec(attribute) = umis.map(_.bases).mkString("-")
            qualAttribute.foreach(qtag => rec(qtag) = umis.map(_.quals).mkString(" "))
          case None       => logMissingUmi(name)
        }
        out += rec
        progress.record(rec)
      }
    }
    progress.logLast()
    // Finish up
    out.close()
    logger.info(s"Processed ${progress.getCount} records with $missingUmis missing UMIs.")
    if (missingUmis > 0) fail(exit=missingUmis.toInt)
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
About IITP Logo
Office of Registrar
Deans & Heads of Department
Accounts and Audit
Security Unit
Acts and Statutes
History of Patna
Professor-in-Charge PUBLIC RELATIONS
Other Institute functionary
ALUMNI & ENDOWMENT
Former Directors
NIRF 2017
Institute Song
Pushpak Bhattacharyya
Name and Designation:
Dr. Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Director (IIT Patna) and Vijay and Sita Vashee Chair Professor (Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay)
Organization: IIT Patna and IIT Bombay
Educational Qualification (Bachelor to Doctoral):
B. Tech. - 1984, Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, INDIA
M. Tech. – 1986, Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, INDIA
Visiting Research Fellow – 1990, Computer Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
Ph. D. – 1994, Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, INDIA
Dr. Bhattacharyya has made seminal contributions in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), working in these fields for last 25 years. In addition to being Professor at Dept. of CSE in IIT Bombay, he has been a visiting Professor at Stanford University (2004), University Joseph Fourier (2005, 2009, 2011, 2014), Distinguished lecturer at University of Houston, USA (2012), and Visiting Scholar- MIT (1990). Currently he is the President of Association of Computational Linguistics (ACL), the international apex body in NLP. Dr. Bhattacharyya has carried out sponsored research projects on various NLP technologies, funded by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Ministry of Human Resource Development and by IBM, Microsoft Research, Yahoo, HP Labs and NEC. He has written a text book called "Machine Translation", published by CRC Press, USA (Taylor and Francis group) which brings to light foundational points pertaining to translation of Indian languages. Google Scholar Citation which is the benchmark for Computer Science and Engineering shows approx.. 2300 career citations to Dr. Bhattacharyya's papers with an h-index of 26.
Specialization and Expertise:
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), Cross Lingual IR, Information Extraction
Awards and Distinctions:
FNAE: Elected Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering, 2015
President of Association of Computational Linguistics (ACL), the highest international body overseeing Natural Language Processing and related Machine learning activities in the world
Technology Development awards from IIT Roorkee and IIT Bombay: VNMM 2014 and Patwardhan 2007, respectively
Ministry of IT, India awards for technology development, Manthan Award- 2008
Multiple periodic Faculty grant awards from IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo, Accenture, and Elsevier
Speaker as expert in multilingual computation in the prestigious Dagstuhl Seminar, Germany in 2012
United Nations Research Grant: 1996
Top ten publications in last ten years:
Abhijit Mishra, Kanojia, Kuntal Dey, Seema Nagar and Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Harnessing Cognitive Features for Sarcasm Detection, ACL 2016, Berlin, Germany, August 8-10, 2016.
Abhijit Mishra, Diptesh Kanojia and Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Predicting Readers' Sarcasm Understandability by Modelling Gaze Behaviour, AAAI 2016, Phoenix, USA, Feb 12-17, 2016.
Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Multilingual Projections, book chapter in Language Production, Cognition and the Lexicon (ed. Nuria Gala et al), Springer, Switzerland, 2015.
Aditya Joshi, Vinita Sharma and Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Harnessing Context Incongruity for Sarcasm Detection, ACL 2015, Beijing, China, July 26-31, 2015.
Anoop Kunchukuttan, Abhijit Mishra, Rajen Chatterjee, Ritesh Shah and Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Shata-Anuvadak: Tackling Multiway Translation of Indian Languages, LREC 2014, Rekjyavik, Iceland, 26-31 May, 2014
Kashyap Popat, Balamurali A.R, Pushpak Bhattacharyya and Gholamreza Haffari, , ACL 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria, 4-9 August, 2013
A.Kumaran, Mitesh Khapra and Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Compositional Machine Transliteration, ACM Transactions on Asian Language Information Processing (TALIP Journal), Vol. 9, Issue 4, December 2010.
Manoj Chinnakotla, Karthik Raman and Pushpak Bhattacharyya, Multilingual PRF: English Lends a Helping Hand, SIGIR 2010, Geneva, Switzerland, July, 201
Pushpak Bhattacharyya, IndoWordNet, Lexical Resources Engineering Conference 2010 (LREC 2010), Malta, May, 2010
Ananthakrishnan Ramanathan, Hansraj Choudhary, Avishek Ghosh, Pushpak Bhattacharyya, August 2009, Case markers and morphology: addressing the crux of the fluency problem in English-Hindi SMT, ACL-IJCNLP 2009, Singapore.
(More information: https://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~pb/pubs-yearwise.html)
Summary of research output (papers, patents, technology development):
Prof. Bhattacharyya has co-authored approx. 230 research papers since 2006, in leading conferences, journals and other publications. He has contributed, not only to theoretical research in NLP, but also to the practical applications. His research spans lexical resources (like Wordnets), annotation tools, and NLP systems. NLP systems developed by him include Shata-Anuvadak (a translation engine from-and-to 110 different Indian languages), Sentiment Analysis Engines, and so on. Details of the research output are in Section 10.
Major sponsored projects completed/ongoing:
Sampark: Indian Language to Indian Language Machine Translation system, DEITY
Sandhan: Cross Lingual Information Access (CLIA) - Phase II, DEITY
Anuvadaksh: English to Indian Language Machine Translation (EILMT), DEITY
LIS: Laboratory for Intelligent Systems, Tata Consultancy Services
Indowordnet: Development and Integration of Wordnets of Indian Languages, DEITY
Text Mining: Elsevier, Netherlands
Artificial Intelligence in Question Answering, Virtual Agents etc.: Accenture Global R & D
(More information: https://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~pb/sponsor.html)
Technology development/translation/initiation:
Search Engine: Sandhan (URL: http://www.tdil-dc,in/sandhan)
Translation Engines: (a) Shata-Anuvadak, (b) English to Indian Language Machine Translation (EILMT) SMT System for "English to Marathi", (c) Indian to Indian Language Machine Translation (IL-IL-MT) system for "Marathi to Hindi" and "Hindi to Marathi", (d) Brahmi-Net (Indian language transliteration system)
Lexical Resources: (a) Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit WordNets, (b) Indradhanush: Integrated Wordnet for Bengali, Gujarati, Kashmiri,Konkani, Oriya,Punjabi & Urdu, (c) IndoWordNet (includes Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit WordNets), (d) Dravidian Wordnet: Kannad, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, (e) Development and Integration of Wordnets of North East Languages, (f) Universal-Hindi Dictionary
Any other relevant information:
Professional Service:
Associate Editor- ACM Transaction on Asian Language Information Processing (TALIP) 2010-16,
Editorship, Program Chair, Program Committee member roles for top journals and conferences of the world (TALIP, ACL. COLING, EMNLP, NAACL, LREC, SIGIR, CIKM etc.),
Organizing Chair - Computation Linguistics Conference (COLING) in 2012 at IIT Bombay (first time to take place in India).
Advisorship: PhD: ongoing 14; completed 17, Masters and Undergraduate advisorship (more than 150)


You work hard to give your family a peaceful, loving home. The last thing you expect is that an infectious creeping invader will overtake your garden, your yard––even your towering trees, and rob you of the serenity, the bliss that comes with being outdoors in Spring, Summer and Fall.
We work hard to keep poison ivy out of your family's life forever. My team gets to the root of the problem, extracting the ivy from the soil, leaving your family with a toxin-free environment to laugh and play in year-round.


text:
Leopard 2 е германски основен боен танк от трето поколение, разработен от Krauss-Maffei в началото на 70-те като наследник на танка Leopard 1 от 60-те години. На служба в армията на ФРГ постъпва през 1979 г., а към 2014 г. е на въоръжение в 16 държави. Произведени са 3480 машини, 2125 от които към 1994 г. са принадлежали на Бундесвера. Взема участие в мироопазващите мисии на НАТО в Косово, Босна и Херцеговина и Афганистан.

История на създаването
Още с въвеждането на въоръжение в Бундесвера на танка Leopard 1 през 1965 г. става ясно, че той отстъпва по огнева мощ и бронировка на новите разработки на СССР – Т-62, а по-късно и Т-64. Идеята да се монтира ново по-мощно 120-mm оръдие се изоставя като безперспективна и се преминава към проектирането на нов танк. Първоначалните разработки са плод на американско-германското споразумение за създаването на нов, общ за НАТО, танк – проектът MBT-70, който в немската версия е наричен Kampfpanzer 70 (KPz 70). Предвиждало се е да бъде въоръжен със 152-mm оръдие, да има двигател 1500 к.с. – Continental AVCR за американската версия или Daimler Benz, а по-късно MTU, за германската и маса до 45 t. В края на 60-те заради възникналите множество разногласия и набъбнал бюджет програмата е прекратена. Германците започват разработката на свой собствен проект на основата на MBT-70 със 120-mm оръдие, наречен Eber (Нерез). Успоредно с MBT-70 в средата на 60-те Порше получава задача да усъвършенства качествата на танка Leopard 1 – т.нар. програма Vergoldeter Leopard, която приключва през 1967 г. Все пак през 1969 г. са представени два прототипа. Алтернативната разработка е наречена Keiler (Глиган). Същата година германската страна взема решение да бъде прекратена работата по проектите MBT-70 и Eber и да започне разработката на нова машина на основата на Keiler. Работата по новия танк е взета под личния контрол на бъдещия канцлер на ФРГ – Хелмут Шмит – по това време министър на отбраната.

През 1970 г. фирмата, произвеждаща Leopard 1 – Krauss-Maffei, започва официално работата на нов танк, получил през 1971 г. името Leopard 2. В работата се включват и Порше – с общите проекти на конструкцията и ходовата част, Wegmann – куполата, MTU – двигателната част, AEG-Telefunken – системата за управление на огъня, Carl Zeiss – оптиката. Работи се успоредно по два варианта – Leopard 2K – с класическо въоръжение и Leopard 2FK – стрелящ с противотанкови ракети, но през 1971 г. работата по втория вариант е прекратена. До 1974 г. са построени 16 корпуса и 17 куполи, някои съоръжени с британското 105-мм оръдие L-7A3. Войната от Йом Кипур доказва силната уязвимост на танковете от управляемите противотанкови ракети, което води и до промяна в първоначалните планове за танка и усилване на бронировката му, която увеличава масата му – 50 t.

През февруари и май 1975 г. са извършени изпитания на прототипа в Северна Америка – на канадския армейски полигон Шило (CFB Shilo) и изпитателния полигон Юма в щата Аризона (Yuma Proving Ground). Доставените машини са били въоръжени със 105-мм британско нарезно оръдие L-7A3 – 2 танка, и новото 120-mm германско гладкостволно оръдие на Rheinmetall Rh-120 L44 – също 2 танка. Заключителните изпитания се провеждат през август-декември 1976 г. на полигона Абърдийн, щата Мериленд (Aberdeen Proving Ground). Съвместно се изпитват немският прототип, наречен Leopard 2 AV (Austere Version), и американският XM1. Двата танка показват, че притежават близки бойни качества, но в крайна сметка американците решават да развиват своя проект XM1, който става основата на бъдещия М1 Abrams, а германците – да продължат усъвършенстването на бъдещия си основен боен танк – Leopard 2. Германската страна окончателно се спира на 120-mm оръдие, докато американската избира да продължи със 105-mm оръдие – едва от версията M1A1 американските танкове са въоръжени със 120-mm оръдие. През януари 1977 г. е заявена предварителна серия от 3 корпуса и 2 куполи с усилена броня, които са доставени през 1978 г. През септември същата година министерството на отбраната на ФРГ поръчва 1800 танка за нуждите на Бундесвера, които трябва да бъдат доставени на пет транша. На 25 октомври 1979 г. първите танкове постъпват на служба в армията. На 2 март Холандия е първата държава след ФРГ, която поръчва Leopard 2 – 445 машини. В Германия танковете се произвеждат от Krauss-Maffei (от 1979 г. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) и MaK (Maschinenbau Kiel).

През март 1982 г. се появява версията Leopard 2A1 с термовизорна камера за мерача, а през 1984 г. – Leopard 2A2 – модернизация на първата серия, на която се заменя инфрачервената система за нощно виждане с термовизионна камера. В края на същата година започва производството на Leopard 2A3 – снабден с дигитална радиостанция SEM 80/90. От 1985 г. вече се произвежда Leopard 2A4 – с увеличена защита на куполата, компютърна система за управление на огъня, както и нова автоматична противопожарна система.

Радикална промяна в дизайна на танка е направена с версията Leopard 2A5, представена през 1990 г., където основно е преработена куполата с наклонени челни бронирани листове. Бронята е подсилена и е вече с вградена динамична защита, а масата на танка нараства на 62,5 t.

Последната серийна модификация Leopard 2A6 от 2001 г. разполага с ново по-мощно, и по-дълго 120-mm оръдие – L55. Последните разработки на Krauss-Maffei Wegmann са представени през 2010 г. – версията Leopard 2A7+, специално модифицираният за водене на бой в градски условия Leopard 2 PSO, както и модификацията Leopard 2A4 Evolution (известен и като MBT Revolution).

Описание на конструкцията

Компоновка
Танкът следва класическата схема на предшественика си Leopard 1 – в предната част се намира отделението за управление, в средата е бойното отделение и в кърмовата част – моторно-трансмисионното отделение. Екипажът се състои от четирима души: командир, мерач, пълнач и механик-водач. В носовата част на корпуса се намира механик-водачът, като мястото му е изместено вдясно от центъра. Командирът на танка и мерачът са в бойното отделение отдясно на оръдието, а пълначът – отляво. Боекомплектът за оръдието е разположен в основно в предната част на корпуса отляво на механик-водача и в бойното отделение.

Двигател и трансмисия
Двигателят е многогоривен четиритактов 12-цилиндров турбодизелов двигател с течно охлаждане MTU MB 873, достигащ мощност 1500 к.с. (1103 kW) при 2600 об./мин. Двигателят, трансмисията и обслужващите ги системи съставят един силов блок с маса 5,7 t. Тази конструкция улеснява замяната в полеви условия, където целият силов блок може да бъде подменен за по-малко от 20 минути. Пускането на двигателя се осъществява с помощта на електростартер, а в аварийни случаи – и с помощта на буксир. За пускане на двигателя при температури под -20 градуса е предвиден и предпусков подгревател. Горивото се съхранява в четири резервоара – два с общ обем 500 l в моторно-трансмисионното отделение и два отвън, над веригите, с общ обем 700 л. Разходът на гориво е около 270 l/100 km по шосе и около 500 l/100 km по пресечен терен. Танкът развива максимална скорост 72 km/h, като запасът от ход му е 450 km по шосе. Пробегът до капитален ремонт е установен на 10 000 km.

В танка е монтирана двупоточна хидромеханична трансмисия Renk HSWL 354, включваща еднореакторна комплексна хидропредавка с блокиращ фрикцион, планетна предавателна кутия и механизъм за завъртането от диференциален тип. Планетната предавателна кутия е с две степени на свобода и автоматическо превключване. В допълнителния привод на предавателно-завъртащия механизъм са установени хидрообемна придавка от аксиално-бутален тип и работеща паралелно с нея хидромуфа. За управление на завъртането се използва щурвал. Спирането се осъществява с помощта на хидродинамична спирачка и две дискови спирачки със сухо триене.

В танка е вградена система за диагностика на силовия блок и неговите системи. Предвидено е установяването на комплект, дублиращ управление на движението от командира, който освен това обезпечава дистанционно управление на танка с радиосигнал.

Верижната система има по седем гумирани опорни и по четири поддържащи ролки на всеки борд, направляващи колела с механизъм за опъване на веригата, водещи задни колела, вериги с гумено-металически шарнири. В ресорната система се използва индивидуално торсионно окачване с фрикционни амортизатори на първите три и последните две опорни ролки, както и хидравлични ресори. Веригата се състои от 82 трака Diehl 570F с гумирани улеи и сваляеми гумени възглавнички. При заледени пътища 18 от гумираните възглавнички могат да бъдат заменени с металически грайфери. Танкът може да преодолява водни прегради до 1,2 m без предварителна подготовка или до 4 m с помощта на шнорхел.

Въоръжение
Основното въоръжение е 120-mm гладкостволно оръдие на Rheinmetall Rh-120 L44 (с дължина 44 калибъра – 5,28 m), монтирано на цапфи в куполата. Оръдието има топлозащитен кожух и ежектор, разположен ексцентрично към оста на цевния канал с цел увеличаване наклона на оръдието, а по дължината на цевта е изместен по-близко към затвора, в зоната на по-високо налягане на барутните газове. Цевта е разчетена на налягане 7100 kgf/cm2 и издържа не по-малко от 500 изстрела. Боекомплектът е от 42 снаряда, от които 27 са разположени в предната част на отделението за управление, отляво на механик-водача, а 15 – в брониран отсек в задната лява част на куполата. Отделението за снарядите в куполата е проектирано при попадение и взрив в него задните панели да могат да се отделят леко и ударната вълна да се насочи извън куполата. Първоначално се използват два типа боеприпаси, разработени от Rheinmetall: APFSDS-T, известни и като DM-23 KE (Kinetische Energy) – бронебойни снаряди от валфрамова сплав и HEAT-MP-T, известни като DM-12 MZ (Mehrzweck = многоцелеви) – кумулативно бризантни многоцелеви снаряди. От 1987 г. DM-23 са заменени с DM-33, а по-късно и от DM-53. Последната модификация на този тип боеприпаси е DM-63. От 2001 г. на модификацията Leopard 2A6 се монтира новото по-мощно и по-дълго оръдие Rh-120 L55 (55 калибъра – 6,6 m). За стрелба с него се използват снаряди тип DM-43 AI 120 mm KE, DM-53 120 mm LKE, 120 mm HE DM 11 и 120 mm PELE.

Допълнителното въоръжение включва две 7,62-mm картечници MG-3A1 – една сдвоена с оръдието и една, използвана от командира като зенитна. В холандските и сингапурските модификации картечниците са белгийски 7,62-mm FN MAG, а за швейцарските танкове – 7,5-mm MG 87. Боекомплектът на двете картечници общо е 4750 патрона. На версията Leopard 2A7+, както и на Leopard 2 PSO, е монтиран модул с дистанционно управление KMW FLW 200, който може да бъде съоръжен със 7,62-mm картечница MG 3A, 12,7-mm зенитна картечница Browning M2 или 40-mm гранатомет HK GMG.

Системата за управление на огъня, разработена от STN Atlas Electronik, включва основен прицел далекомер на мерача EMES 15, панорамен перископичен прибор за наблюдение на командира PERI-R17, спомагателен телескопичен прицел за мерача FERO-Z18, аналогов електронен балистически изчислител FLT2 на AEG-Telefunken с четири вградени балистически профила, двуплоскостен електрохидравличен стабилизатор на оръдието WNA-H22, електрическа система за синхронна връзка на прицела с оръдието.

Основният прицел на мерача EMES 15 e с интегриран лазерен далекомер и два режима на наблюдение – дневен и термовизионен. Полезрението е независимо стабилизирано в две плоскости. Диапазонът за измерване на разстоянието от лазерния далекомер е 200 – 9990 m с точност до 10 m. Като защита на очите на мерача от лазерно облъчване в оптическия канал на мерника е установен светофилтър. При режим на нощна стрелба натискането на бутон "Изстрел" предизвиква сработване на щори, затварящи полезрението за изключване на ослепяването от собствения изстрел. Балистичен изчислител автоматично обработва информацията за разстоянието до целта, ъгловата ѝ скорост по вертикала и азимут, скорост и направление на вятъра, температурата на въздуха, атмосферното налягане, ъгълът на наклон на цапфите. Данните за температурата на заряда и износването на цевта се въвеждат ръчно от мерача. От версия 2A4 се монтира дигитален балистичен изчислител.

Управлението на огъня може да се води и от командира. Неговият прибор за наблюдение PERI-R17 на Carl Zeiss има независима двуплоскостна стабилизация и е свързан с основния мерник на мерача, което позволява на командира да използва лазерния далекомер, балистическия изчислител и нощния термовизионен канал. Снабден е със защитни слънчеви и противолазерни филтри. Модификацията PERI-R17A2, монтирана от версия Leopard 2A4, работи със собствен термовизор OPHELIOS-P. Тъй като в началото на производството термовизорната камера за прицел EMES 15 не е била в готовност за монтаж, първите 200 танка са съоръжени със система за нощно виждане с ниско ниво на излъчване PZB 200. Всички оптически уреди имат системи против обледяване и за очистване.

Защита
Корпусът и куполата са изградени от заварени метални листове. Бронята е многослойна, композитна – горен и долен брониран слой и междинен пълнител. В горния лист на корпуса се намира люк за монтаж и демонтаж на пакетите за пълнителя. Защитата на бордовете е усилена с помощта на сваляеми многослойни противокумулативни екрани. От версия Leopard 2A5 се монтира допълнителна модулна броня с вградена динамична защита на куполата, корпуса и страничните екрани, като модулите могат бързо да бъдат подменяни в полеви условия. Версиите Leopard 2A4M и 2A6M имат допълнителна бронировка отдолу за защита от противотанкови мини. От версия 2A6 се монтира ново, трето поколение композитна броня, като е добавен и допълнителен вътрешен слой, редуциращ осколките (spall liner), а от 2A7+ и допълнителна пасивна броня по челните листове, корпуса и куполата, както и решетъчни екрани в задната част на корпуса. Канадските версии 2A6M CAN имат и допълнителни решетъчни екрани на бордовете и куполата. Във версията MBT Revolution от 2010 г. – модернизация на 2A4 се използва композитна броня от четвърто поколение – AMAP (Advanced Modular Armor Protection). От края 2021 г. започва и монтиране на система за активна защита Trophy на израелската фирма Rafael.

Танкът разполага с автоматична противопожарна система. Зад водача вдясно се намират 4 пожарогасителя с по 9 kg Халон, които се активират автоматично с датчици или термочуствителен кабел, ако температурата се повиши над 82 °C. Системата може да бъде активирана и ръчно от механик-водача. Още един пожарогасител с 2,5 kg Халон се намира на пода под оръдието.

От двете страни на куполата са монтирани по четири 76-mm гранатомета, изстрелващи димни гранати за създаване на димна завеса, прикриваща танка. В холандските модификации устройствата са по шест от всяка страна, а от модификацията MBT Revolution системата за изстрелване на гранати е усъвършенствана, като е намалена скоростта на изстрелване и увеличена площта на покритие от димната завеса.

Модификации
 Leopard 2AV (Austere Version) – предсерийна версия, предназначена за полигонни изпитания в САЩ.
 Leopard 2A0 – първата версия, произвеждана от октомври 1979 до март 1982. Построени са общо 380 машини – 209 от Krauss Maffei и 171 от MaK.
 Leopard 2A0 [PZB-200] – тъй като до началото на производството на танка термовизионната камера към основния прицел на мерача EMES 15 не е готова, на първите 200 машини е монтирана старата система за нощно виждане PZB-200.Leopard 2A1 – от тази версия се монтира термовизионна камера, свързана към основния прицел на мерача, преработени са външните горивни резервоари. Вторият транш от 450 машини е произвеждан от март 1982 до ноември 1983 г. – 248, построени от Krauss-Maffei и 202 от Mak. От тази модификация е и третият транш от 300 машини – 165 от Krauss-Maffei и 135 от MaK, произведени от ноември 1983 до ноември 1984.
 Leopard 2A2 – модернизация на танковете от първия транш, включваща замяна на системата за нощно виждане PZB-200 с термовизионна камера, както и други дребни промени, направени по машините от втори и трети транш.
 Leopard 2A3 – машините от четвъртия транш са снабдени с дигитална радиостанция SEM80/90. Построени са общо 300 бройки – 165 от Krauss-Maffei и 135 от Mak от декември 1984 до декември 1985 г.
 Leopard 2A4 – е най-масовата версия на танка. Построени са 695 танка между1985 и 1992 г., като в същото време останалите машини от предишните версии са усъвършенствани до ниво 2A4. Така докъм 1994 г. ФРГ разполага общо с 2125 Leopard 2A4. Холандия закупува още 445 танка, а Швейцария произвежда по лиценз 380 танка Panzer 87 Leopard (Pz 87). След 2000 г. част от германските и холандски танкове са продадени на приятелски държави по света. Версията се отличава с подобрена бронировка на куполата, дигитален балистичен изчислител, нови боеприпаси, нова автоматична противопожарна система. Танкът вече се боядисва с трицветна камуфлажна боя.
 Leopard 2A5 – модификацията е представена през 1990 г. и до 1998 г. 225 машини са модернизирани до версия 2А5. Значително е преработена куполата, добавена е вградена динамична защита, като модулите на бронята могат лесно да бъдат заменяни в полеви условия. Монтирани са нови противооткатни устройства, с оглед монтирането на по-мощно оръдие, добавена е усъвършенствана система за управление на огъня. Масата нараства на 62,5 t.
 Leopard 2A6 – танковете 2A5 са въоръжени с по-мощното и по-дълго оръдие Rh-120 L55, монтира се нова модулна композитна броня от трето поколение.
 Leopard 2A6 EX – подобрена версия на 2A6, снабдена с климатична инсталация.
 Leopard 2A6M – модификация на 2A6 с усилена защита срещу мини, модифицирана система за изстрелване на димни гранати, добавени са и гумени калобрани на предния брониран лист.
 Leopard 2A7 – на 10 декември 2014 г. 203 батальон в Мюнхен получава първите 20 танка от новата модификация. Тя е на основата на нидерландските Leopard 2A6 NL. Оръдието е Rh-120 L55, като вече може да използва и новите подкалибрени снаряди DM63, както и програмируемите снаряди DM12.Защитата е с нов тип пасивна броня и противоминна защита на дъното на корпуса. Добавени са спомагателен захранващ двигател, позволяващ на всички електрически системи да работят при изключен главен двигател, климатична система за бойното отделение, нов люк за механик-водача. Командирът на танка е снабден с нов стабилизиран панорамен мерник с термовизор от трето поколение, лазерен далекомер и камера за зарядно устройство. Мерачът също разполага с термовизор от трето поколение. Масата му е 62,3 t.
Leopard 2A7+ – представена е през юли 2010 г. Модификацията включва нова пасивна броня, увеличена защита на дъното срещу мини, решетеста броня в задната част на корпуса. През 2021 г. е сключено споразумение с израелската фирма Rafael за монтиране на система за активна защита Trophy. На купола се монтира модул с дистанционно управление KMW FLW 200, който позволява стрелба със 7,62-mm, 12,7-mm зенитна картечница Browning M2 или 40-mm гранатомет. В задната част на корпуса има инсталиран телефон за връзка на пехотата с екипажа на танка. Инсталирана е "командирска спирачка" – позволяваща спирането на танка от командира. Механик-водачът разполага с термовизор за наблюдение за преден и заден ход. Допълнителна силова установка позволява захранването на системите, без да се включва основният двигател, което намалява разхода на гориво и топлинното излъчване от танка. Отпред може да се монтира булдозерно гребло. Масата достига 67,5 t.
Leopard 2A7V – най-новата към момента версия е представена през 2016 г. на изложението Eurosatory. Буквата V е от немската дума verbessert – подобрен, а самото съкращение A7V е препратка към името на първия германски танк – A7V Sturmpanzerwagen от времето на Първата световна война. Основните подобрения са нова бронирана модулна система за челната плоча на корпуса и по-мощна допълнителна силова установка, от тази при модела A7. Разполага с интегрирана военна комуникационна система (Battlefield Management System), включваща взаимодействието на войски, разузнавателни средства и комуникационна техника. Оръдието може да изстрелва новите умулативно-осколъчни програмируеми снаряди DM 11.
 Leopard 2 PSO – модификация на 2 A7+, специално разработена за мироопазващи операции (PSO – Peace Support Operations). Машината е с нов тип пасивна броня, като е повишена е защитата срещу крайпътни бомби, мини и РПГ, добавени са камери за близък обзор, дулото на оръдието е скъсено, отпред се монтира булдозерно гребло или минен трал. Танкът е с нов камуфлаж, специално пригоден за маскировка в градски условия.
 Leopard 2 RUAG – предложение за модификация на швейцарската фирма RUAG за швейцарските танкове Pz87 Leo (Leopard 2A4) от 2013 г. Модификацията включва нова модулна броня и нова система за управление на огъня.
 MBT Revolution (Leopard 2A4 Evolution) – силно модернизирана версия на Leopard 2A4. Основно е преработена бронировката, като се използва композитна броня от четвърто поколение – AMAP (Advanced Modular Armor Protection), разработена от германската компания IBD Deisenroth Engineering. Оръдието е версията на 2А4 – L44, монтира се нова подобрена система за управление на огъня, както и модул с дистанционно управление KMW FLW 200, позволяващ стрелба със 7,62-mm, 12,7-mm зенитна картечница Browning M2 или 40-mm гранатомет. Подобрена е системата за създаване на димна завеса – ROSY, изстрелваща гранати за под 0,6 s. Масата му е 60 t.

Модификации за държави клиенти
 Leopard 2A4 ES – машини, доставени на Испания, преди да започне сглобяването на испанска версия под лиценз.
 Leopard 2A4 GR – танкове, произведени за Гърция, преди да започне производството им под лиценз в Гърция.
 Leopard 2A4 NO – танкове 2А4NL, закупени от Холандия за норвежката армия.
 Leopard 2A4 OE – танкове 2А4NL, закупени от Холандия за австрийската армия.
 Leopard 2A4 PL – танкове 2А4 на Бундесвера, закупени за полската армия.
 Leopard 2A4M CAN – модифицирана версия на 2A4M с подобрена защита срещу мини, специално разработена за мироопазващата мисия в Афганистан на канадската армия.
 Leopard 2A4 CHL – модернизирана версия за Чили. Подобренията включват нови електроника, наблюдателни и информационни системи, по-мощно оръдие L55 както при версията 2A6, модул с дистанционно управление KMW FLW 200 за картечница или гранатомет.
 Leopard 2A4 DK – танкове 2А4 на Бундесвера, купени за датската армия от Германия и оборудвани с датски радиостанции.
 Leopard 2A4 FIN – танкове 2А4 на Бундесвера, купени за финландската армия. Оборудвани са с радиостанции Tadrin VRC-959.
 Leopard 2A4 NL – модификация за Холандия. Оригиналните MG 3A картечници са заменени с белгийски – 7,62-mm FN MAG. Радиостанцията е Philips, димовите гранати са холандски – по 6 от двете страни на куполата.
 Leopard 2 RI – модификация 2А4 за Индонезия. Танкът е модернизиран с елементи от MBT Revolution, като е добавена климатична инсталация и усилена противооткатна система.
 Leopard 2A4 S – вариант на 2А4, изнасян за Швеция, където е известен като Stridsvagen 121.
 Leopard 2A4 TR – модификация на германски 2А4, доставени на Турция през 2005 г. Отличават се с усилени въздушни филтри, приходени за силно запрашените терени в Турция.
 Leopard 2A5 DK – модификация за датската армия, с бронировка със степен на защита до версия 2A6, но с оръдие L44.
 Leopard 2A5 NL – модифицирана версия на Leopard 2А4 NL.
 Leopard 2A6 E – версия на 2А6 с увеличена бронировка, използвана от Испания.
 Leopard 2A6 HEL (HEL – Hellenic) – лицензна версия на 2А6EX, поръчана за гръцката армия на солунската фирма ELVO (Elliniki Viomihania Ohimaton).
 Leopard 2A6M CAN – канадска версия на 2A6M с подсилена защита срещу мини, крайпътни бомби и РПГ.
 Leopard 2A6 NL – холандски модернизирани танкове Leopard 2A5 NL.
 Leopard 2 NG (Next Generation) или Leopard 2 T – вариант за модернизация на турските танкове Leopard 2A4 от турската фирма Aselsan, включващ обновена система за управление на огъня и оптика, нова бронировка, но за разлика от версия 2А6 ще остане старото по-късо оръдие L44.
 Leopard 2 PL – вариант за модернизация на танковете Leopard 2A4 и A5 на полската армия, който ще се извършва съвместно от Krauss-Maffei Wegmann и полската ZM Bumar-Łabędy SA.
 Leopard 2 SG – версия, изнасяна за Сингапур – Leopard 2A4, модернизирана с композитна броня AMAP от IBD Deisenroth Engineering и ST Kinetics и оборудвана с белгийски картечници 7,62-mm FN MAG.
 Leopardo 2 E – испанска модернизация на танковете 2A4 до ниво 2А6, осъществена от испанската фирма Santa Bárbara Sistemas.Panzer 87 (Pz 87 Leo) – лицензен вариант на 2А4, произвеждан от швейцарската фирма RUAG Land Systems. През 1984 г. Швейцария поръчва 380 танка Leopard 2. Първите 35 са доставени директно от германската страна, останалите са построени под лиценз в Швейцария. Машините са оборудвани с швейцарски радиостанции и картечници – 7,5-mm MG 87 (танкова версия на MG 51). Обтегачите на веригите са хидравлични, подобрена е защитата срещу оръжия за масово поразяване.
 Stridsvagen 121 – версия 2А4, доставена на шведската армия. Танковете (както и Stridsvagen 122) допълнително са оборудвани и с намаляваща топлинното излъчване камуфлажна мрежа на Saab – Barracuda Mobile Camouflage System.
 Stridsvagen 122 – лицензна версия на Leopard 2A5, произвеждана за Швеция от фирмата BAE Systems AB. Пригоден е за водене на бойни действия в северни условия – гористи местности и градска среда. Отличава се с подобрена композитна броня – MEXAS, и нова система за управление на огъня.

Машини на базата на Leopard 2

 Bergepanzer 3 Buffel – бронирана ремонтно-евакуационна машина.
 Bergingstank 600 kN Bueffel – бронирана ремонтно-евакуациона машина на холандската армия.
 Buffel OE – бронирани ремонтно-евакуациона машини на холандската армия, купени от Австрия.
 Leopard 2 Fahrschulpanzer – учебна версия за механик-водачи на Бундесвера.
 Leopard 2 Doorbraaktank – бронирана инженерна машина, съоръжена с булдозерно гребло, сменяем ескаваторен кош и съоръжения за изкопаване на ровове на холандската армия.
 Leopard 2 Marksman – зенитна самоходна установка Marksman, разработена от Маркони (Marconi Electronic Systems) с ходова част на Leopard2A4 и две 35-mm зенитни оръдия на швейцарската фирма Ерликон (Oerlikon), на въоръжение във финландската армия от 2016 г.
 Leopard 2 L – мостопоставячи на основата на Leopard 2A4, произведени за финландската армия от фирмата Patria.
 Leopard 2R – инженерни машини за откриване и унищожаване на мини на основата на 2A4, произведени за финландската армия от фирмата Patria.
 Leopardo 2E Escuela – учебна версия за механик-водачи на испанската армия.
 Leopardo 2ER – бронирана ремонтно-евакуациона машина на испанската армия.

 Panzerschnellbrücke 2 Leguan – мостопоставяч.
 Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak – бронирана инженерна машина, съоръжена с булдозерно гребло, сменяем ескаваторен кош и съоръжения за изкопаване на ровове.

Експериментални машини
 EGS известен и като Kasematt Panzer – експериментална машина за екипаж от двама души.
 Leopard 2-II известен и като KVT (KomponentenVersuchsTräger) – разработка за тестване на компоненти за новата версия Leopard 2А5.
 Leopard 2 – 140 – версия, въоръжена със 140-mm гладкостволно оръдие.
 Vickers Mark 7 – британска разработка от края на 80-те за нов основен боен танк с корпус на Leopard 2.

 VT-1 и VT-2 (Versuchsträger 1), среща се и като Leopard 3 – експериментална безкуполна машина с корпуса на MBT-70 и въоръжена с две 105-mm нарезни или две 120-mm гладкостволни оръдия, разработена от MaK.
 VT-2000 (Versuchsträger 2000) – експериментална машина с корпуса на Leopard 2, за тестване възможностите да се създаде танк с екипаж от двама души.
 Vergoldeter Leopard (Keiler) – опитна машина на Порше, която по-късно става основа за разработката на Leopard 2.

Бойно използване
По време на Студената война танкът не влиза в реални бойни действия. След 1990 г. е използван в мироопазващи операции

Мисия на KFOR в Косово
Въпреки противоречивите реакции германският корпус включва в състава си и танкове Leopard 2A4 и Leopard 2A5. Макар и патрулиращите части да са въвлечени в улична престрелка, танковете не участват в реално сражение.

Мисия на IFOR/SFOR в Босна и Херцеговина
Холандският мироопазващ контингент в Босна и Херцеговина използва танкове Leopard 2A4 и Leopard 2A5, без да се налага използването им в бойни условия.

Мисия ISAF/OEF в Афганистан
В мисията участват канадски и датски танкове Leopard 2. Канадските Leopard 2A6M през август 2007 г., а на 2 ноември един танк е улучен от самоделна ракета, но екипажът няма поражения, а машината бързо е ремонтирана и върната в строя. Талибаните устройват още няколко засади на канадски танкове, но не нанасят сериозни повреди по машините.

Датските танкове Leopard 2A5 DK са доставени в южен Афганистан през октомври 2007 г. През януари 2008 г. оказват огнева поддръжка на датски и британски войници, а през февруари взривно устройство поврежда веригата на един танк. На 25 юли 2008 е първата сериозна среща на датските танкове с талибаните – тогава при засада самоделна ракета поврежда танка, при което механик-водачът получава сериозни наранявания, от които умира по-късно в болницата. По време на атаката е улучен и втори танк, но екипажът му остава невредим. През 2008 г. датските танкове отново оказват огнева поддръжка на британски части при операция Sond Chara.

Гражданска война в Сирия
Турската армия се намесва в гражданската война в Сирия от 24 август 2016 г., когато започва операцията "Щитът на Ефрат" (тур. Fırat Kalkanı Harekâtı), завършила на 29 март 2017 г. Сухопътните части са подкрепени първоначално от танкове М60А3, М60 Sabra, а през декември и от батальон – 43 танка, Леопард 2А4 TR от Втора бронетанкова бригада към Трети корпус на Първа армия, базирана в Истанбул. Същата бригада преди това е участвала при неуспешния опит за преврат в Турция на 15 и 16 юли 2016 г. При обсадата на северния сирийски град Ал Баб бойците от Ислямска държава публикуват в средата на декември 2016 г. видео и фото материали като доказателство, че са улучили с ПТУР (вероятно руски 9M111 "Фагот", 9M113 "Конкурс" или 9M133 "Корнет") 3 танка Леопард 2, а на 22 декември – фотоси с два пленени Леопард 2. Пленените танкове по-късно са унищожени от турската авиация и от самите бойци на Ислямска държава. През февруари 2017 г. изтича информация от турските въоръжени сили, че са загубили 10 танка, като независимо разследване по сателитни снимки успява да потвърди за загубата на 8 от тях.

На 20 януари 2018 г. Турция започва операция "Маслинова клонка" (тур. Zeytin Dalı Harekâtı), насочена срещу кюрдските "Отряди за народна самоотбрана" (YPG), които турската страна смята за клон на забранената Кюрдска работническа партия (PKK). В операцията сухопътните сили, навлезли в Сирия на 21 януари, са подкрепени и танкове Леопард 2А4. На 3 февруари 2018 г. турските въоръжени сили потвърждават загубата на 1 танк, унищожен с ПТУР, изстрелян от кюрдските отряди.

Оператори

  – 114 Leopard 2A4 (88 на служба и 26 в резерв), закупени от Холандия. Плановете за реформи в армията предвиждат само 28 машини да останат на активна служба (2 танкови роти).
  – 350 Leopard 2A6 по състояние от 2012 г. Общо Бундесверът е притежавал 2350 машини от всички модификации, но след края на Студената война по-голямата част са продадени на приятелски държави. Във връзка със събитията в Украйна през април 2015 г. Бундесверът реши да върне на служба 100 танка Leopard 2A4, които да бъдат модернизирани до ниво 2A6 или 2А7+, като танкове на служба да нараснат от планираните 225 до 328
  – 351, от които 170 Leopard 2A6HEL, построени в Гърция и 181 Leopard 2A4GR, доставени от Германия.
  – 64, от които 57 танка 2А5DK (но с ниво на защита 2А6) и 7 танка 2A4 DK.
  – 103 допълнително модернизирани Leopard 2A4 от Германия.
  – 327, от които 108 Leopard 2A4, доставени от Германия и 219 Leopardo 2 E – испански вариант на Leopard 2A6.
  – 60, от които 20 2A6M CAN и 40 2A4M CAN.
  – 52 Leopard 2A4NO, закупени от Холандия. Правителството предвижда след 2015 г. модернизация на 46 машини с нова броня, средства за наблюдение, климатична инсталация и др.
  – 247 машини, от които142 Leopard 2 2A4 и 105 Leopard 2 2A5, доставени от излишъците на Бундесвера. Предвижда се съвместна германско-полска модернизация на съществуващите танкове, както и доставката на 2 машини за обучение на механик-водачи.
  – 37 Leopard 2A6, доставени от Холандия.
  – 96 Leopard 2A4, доставени от Германия. Част от танковете ще бъдат модерницирани като Leopard 2SG с нова композитна броня от IBD Deisenroth Engineering и ST Kinetics
  – 344 Leopard 2A4 TR. Доставени втора ръка от Германия след допълнителна модернизация. Предвижда се модернизирането им от турската фирма Aselsan до ниво 2A6.
  – на 19 декември 2018 г. е подписан договор между унгарското Министерство на отбраната и Krauss-Maffei Wegmann на стойност 565 милиона евро за доставка на 44 нови танка Leopard 2A7+ и 12 Leopard 2A4 втора ръка за учебно-тренировъчни цели, както и 24 нови 152-mm самоходни гаубици PzH2000. Танковете ще бъдат доставени между 2021 и 2025 г.
  – 100 Leopard 2A4 FIN. През януари 2014 г. е сключен договор с Холандия за закупуване на още 100 танка Leopard 2A6, който трябва да започнат да се доставят в периода 2015 – 2019 г.
  – 344 Leopard 2А4 (Pz-87 Leo). От тях 35 за купени от Германия, останалите са произведени под лиценз в Швейцария.
  – 280 машини, от които 120 Leopard 2A5, произвеждани по лиценз – Strv 122, и 160 Leopard 2A4 (Strv 121), които през 2013 г. са свалени от въоръжение и върнати на Германия.
  – 140 модернизирани Leopard 2 A4 CHL, доставени от излишъците на Германия. Правителството води преговори за закупуването на още 100 танка Leopard 2 A5.

Галерия

Литература
 Основни бойни танкове, С., ЗИП, 1995, с. 92 – 97.
  Николский, М. В., М. М. Разтопшин. Танки "Леопард" (ФРГ). Москва: "Виктория", 1998
  Освалд, В. Полный каталог немецких автомобилей и танков Германии 1900 – 1982 гг. М., "Астрель", 2003.
  Современная бронетанковая техника, Минск, Элайда, 1998, с. 44 – 48.
  Современные танки. Под ред. Сафонова Б. С. и Мураховского В. И. – М.: Арсенал-Пресс, 1995.
  Танки мира, Смоленск, Русич, 2001, с. 170 – 171.
  Энциклопедия танков. М., 1998, с. 361 – 362.
  Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005 – 2006. Christopher Foss (ed.). London, 2005.
  Jerchel. M., Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank 1979 – 1998. Osprey Publishing, 1998.
  Kaplan, Ph. Rolling Thunder: A Century of Tank Warfare. Pen & Sword Books, 2012.
  The Military Balance 2012. Routledge, 2012

Бележки

Външни препратки

  Военное обозрение – информация за последните разработки на Leopard 2
  Леопард 2 – новый хищник из Германии
  Информация за модификациите на Leopard 2  на сайта jedsite.info
  Информация за танка Leopard 2 на сайта на Krauss-Maffei Wegmann
  Информация за модификациите на Leopard 2  на сайта на Miltary Periscope
  Информация за модификациите на Leopard 2 на сайта на Miltary Today
  "Main Battle Tank – Leopard 2". www.fprado.com.

Германски танкове


text:
Valka D'Ur Hosting Iron Pen in A&E Retired Moderator
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Kyriakos said: ↑
they do not appear to be at all aware that death is a thing.
Of course they are. There's a reason why animals do or don't do a whole host of things. The reason is because they've learned that doing/not doing them leads to being dead.
There are animals who mourn their dead, and some animals mourn the dead of other species. Elephants are especially notable for this, and when Koko the Gorilla was told of Robin Williams' death, she mourned him (the two had bonded as friends in an earlier encounter).
Never tell me what to think or feel or believe. Never assume you know what I think or feel or believe, or that I'm not being truthful when I tell you. Never assume that I'm not being truthful if my view doesn't match your view. Do not lie to me about facts. I'm not your doormat. And my name is not "honey."
Sincere apologies do not contain the word "if."
The NaNoWriMo 2019 thread is now live, in the Arts & Entertainment forum. If you are taking part or are interested or curious about this annual rite of attempting to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days, feel free to drop in. Questions and comments are welcome. After 30 days and 51,488 words, this year's contest is concluded.
Valka D'Ur, Nov 13, 2019
yung.carl.jung said: ↑
I was simply making the point of anthropomorphism - We can only imagine animal experience as analogous to human experience. So we project all kinds of things onto animals: When they whince we conclude that they're sad, when they waggle their tail we conclude that they are excited. We can never know their experience though.
Yeah, but actually, how is it different than with other humans ? It's a common philosophical question : "is what I see green the same than someone else would see as green ?". For what I know, maybe you see green as I see red.
Of course we can communicate, but our own perceptions are unique to ourselves. We can never be sure that other experiences are actually the same as ours.
Yes, we can communicate and we are the same species (so the same stimuli should logically cause the same perception) so it's a much closer guess, but we still base our interpretation on external clues.
Timsup2nothin likes this.
Valka D'Ur said: ↑
I said "most"
Modder_Mode Warlord
tjs282 said: ↑
Sounds to me like you're thinking of the short story, 'The Last Question', by Asimov...
It does sound very familiar, it was basically on the lines of humans becoming so intelligent in the future that we create everything from the beginning.
Modder_Mode, Nov 13, 2019
tjs282 Un(a)bashed immigrant
...just here for the job/ handouts/ woman
primates are capable of abstraction, mental representations, of issuing warning calls and solving conflicts, they never (as far as we know) go beyond the "words" (not exactly accurate) and sentences already established.
(If I've understood you correctly) I'm not sure that this is strictly true. The famous Koko the gorilla, who had learned a basic handsign-vocabulary, was then able to combine those signs in ways that she hadn't been taught, to describe unfamiliar things.
Wikipedia said:
Patterson reported that she documented Koko inventing new signs to communicate novel thoughts. For example, she said that nobody taught Koko the word for "ring", but to refer to it, Koko combined the words "finger" and "bracelet", hence "finger-bracelet".[40]
Which is not unlike the way that small children combine known words (or invent new ones) for things that they don't know the names of yet.
Never wanted many things/ Except the chance to learn from my mistakes
Funny how you never learn/ But know them when they come around again
Oh, what do I know?/ Gotta be, so much I don't know
SGs in progress: None Anyone wanna play with me?
My SGs: TJS1 (Vikings, Emp), ...
Other SGs: ABLES-SG (Germany, Emp), Jar01 Cultura española (Spain, Emp), JAR02 AAWE-some (Aztecs, Emp), JAR03 Space Port (Portugal, DG)
Moving up to (or willing to mentor at) Emperor+ in C3C? You are cordially invited to visit: Bow to the pRNGods, foolish mortal!
tjs282, Nov 13, 2019
Valka D'Ur likes this.
Well, did Koko say anything interesting, like refer to aliens or demons?
yung.carl.jung Hey Bird! I'm Morose & Lugubrious
the most beautiful town in Germany
Yes, that bit about Koko is true. Though linguists differentiate between words and lexigraphs -- most great apes deal exclusively in the latter.
That sounds like a familiar form of cosmic bonghitting boredom. - Farm Man
Check Out My Youtube Channel or I Will Appear in Your Dreams as a Spoopy Spirit @ 'https://www.youtube.com/embed/?listType=playlist&list=UUaNqZ_doMlw0fg8ARXjubJA'
yung.carl.jung, Nov 13, 2019
Demons...which she blamed on the Greeks.
bernie14 Filter Manipulator
coastal flood plain
Hmm, aside from what should be a "common sense" -duh- , this sounds a little judgy, i mean, if someone tells me they are suffering, should i just dismiss them by telling them there is always someone who has it worse?
Political Compass: 1.88/-2.1
Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. - George Orwell
bernie14, Nov 13, 2019
bernie14 said: ↑
Only if you can handily point to someone who very clearly "has it worse" and yet is not suffering themselves.
But who am i to judge?
A human. That's a much more common experience than most people give it credit for...especially in USian culture where everyone wants to believe in their own irredeemable uniqueness.
What's a much more common experience, being human or being judgy?
There's a difference?
Not much, but here's the thing...as the observer, can i judge that a man who has not been able to initiate a fulfilling relationship is suffering more or less than some man who lost his home in a war zone?
You can't tell me that the pets I had who died of cancer weren't suffering
I never did say that. You don't have to actually think about your future in order to suffer, but be aware to some degree that there is time and that you exist in it. I think animals do have some understanding of time, for example they can recognize aged individuals in a group, or they pick a specific place to die. And in that regard I disagree with you, I feel (though I have no proof) that animals are indeed sometimes aware that they're going to die.
That's where I draw the line with suffering vs. experiencing pain. They're different. I think one could succintly argue that plants feel something analogous to pain (they react aversely to negative stimuli is all we know), but I'm not sure whether I can say that plants suffer.
It is one problem with (most?) animals (if we don't count humans as animals) : they do not appear to be at all aware that death is a thing.
not a super serious source but here we go:
But today, thanks to scientists investigating the origins of human behavior in nonhuman species, Becker's view is becoming outdated. A growing body of evidence suggests that at least some species recognize death's special nature. "I believe we are now justified in thinking that chimpanzees have some kind of awareness of death," says psychologist James Anderson of Scotland's University of Stirling, who has been studying chimp responses to the dying.
In one case, chimpanzees in a Stirling safari park reacted to the demise of an elderly female with behaviors that included tending to the dying chimp and, later, avoiding the place where the death occurred. The dead chimp's daughter also conducted what Anderson calls a "vigil," staying by the body the night the older female died. "At least they have some understanding of the irreversibility of the transition from being alive to being dead," he says.
Intimations of a special reaction toward the dead appear in other species, but their significance remains elusive. Elephants commonly linger over the bones of their kind, especially tusks, becoming agitated and touching the remains with trunks and feet, which bear sensitive receptors. Crows and ravens sometimes gather around but rarely touch their dead, though they quickly eat the dead of other species. Orcas and bottlenose dolphins may try to keep dead calves at the surface of the sea, as if giving them a chance to breathe. Quite possibly, none of these behaviors means that the animal is "aware" of death. A dolphin trying to keep a dead baby afloat may even suggest a lack of such awareness.
Teresa Iglesias, a biologist at the University of California–Davis, studies how western scrub-jays gather in shrieking groups of 2 to 10 around dead birds of their own or other species. "The calls attract other scrub-jays, and they either join in calling or watch silently in the trees," she says. Aggregations, which last from a few seconds to 45 minutes, don't necessarily mean the birds understand death, Iglesias says. Perhaps aggregations fulfill another purpose: Seeing a dead bird and its surroundings may give jays (and perhaps crows and ravens) clues about risks to avoid.
Even if long-lived creatures as intelligent as elephants and chimpanzees do recognize that the dead are gone for good, they may not recognize that death eventually will come for all, a knowledge that may be solely human. Still, Anderson says, "Pining or grieving for a dead relative or friend is possible without any knowledge of death." An important point, because if some species share our painful awareness of the permanent loss mortality brings, then death may be a greater equalizer than anyone previously suspected.
basically I do think that some animals have some sort of understanding of the process that we describe as death, but it's probably wildly different from our conception of death.
Kyriakos likes this.
And cats have been known to "seek out" dying people and snuggle next to them.
Birdjaguar, Nov 14, 2019
yung.carl.jung likes this.
Well, cognitive capacity will vary based on the neuro architecture. Some animals will have deeper concepts than others
Ajidica High Quality Person
as the observer, can i judge that a man who has not been able to initiate a fulfilling relationship is suffering more or less than some man who lost his home in a war zone?
A failure to be in a fulfilling relationship is nowhere near as much suffering as someone who had to flee their home after seeing their family chopped up.
As I said to Mouthwash, attempting to equate the two or throwing up your hands in a sort of "who among us can judge" strikes me as somewhere on the continuum between ignorance and sociopathy.
In most cases, we only learn, after having straightened out the inverted syntax and deciphered the intricate metaphors, that some great ruler, attended by brave warriors, defeated his enemies at such-and-such a place, thus making the life of the local corpse-eating wolves and ravens a little happier. - Lars Lonnroth, on contemporary descriptions of early medieval battles
Ajidica, Nov 14, 2019
And as I said to you, there are people who go through horrific events and don't suffer. So when you say "well, yeah, that's terrible, so go ahead and suffer 'til your guts burst" do you think that you are doing someone a favor?


text:
Financial Reporting Act (TOWER Financial Services Group Limited) Exemption Notice 2011
Financial Reporting Act (TOWER Financial Services Group Limited) Exemption Notice 2011: expired, on the close of 31 March 2016, by clause 3.
(SR 2011/111)
This notice is administered by the Financial Markets Authority.
Pursuant to section 4B of the Financial Reporting Act 1993, the Securities Commission gives the following notice (to which is appended a statement of reasons of the Securities Commission).
3 Expiry
6 Exemption from section 4(1)(ba) of Act
7 Conditions of exemption in clause 6
Statement of reasons
This notice is the Financial Reporting Act (TOWER Financial Services Group Limited) Exemption Notice 2011.
This notice comes into force on the day after the date of its notification in the Gazette.
This notice expires on the close of 31 March 2016.
The exemption granted by this notice applies to the following accounting periods of TFSG:
the accounting period ending on 30 September 2011:
subsequent accounting periods.
In this notice, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Act means the Financial Reporting Act 1993
specified debt securities means the debt securities—
offered to the public by TOWER Capital Limited; and
allotted on 24 March 2009; and
that TOWER and TFSG are liable to repay if TOWER Capital Limited fails to do so
TFSG means TOWER Financial Services Group Limited
TOWER means TOWER Limited.
Any term or expression that is defined in the Act and used, but not defined, in this notice has the same meaning as in the Act.
TFSG is exempt from being an issuer under section 4(1)(ba) of the Act in respect of the specified debt securities.
The exemption in clause 6 is subject to the following conditions:
financial statements and group financial statements for TOWER must be prepared and audited in accordance with the Act:
copies of the financial statements referred to in paragraph (a) and a copy of the auditor's report on those statements must be delivered to the Registrar for registration in accordance with the Act:
TOWER must ensure that, within 5 days after receiving a request from a holder of a specified debt security for a copy of the financial statements referred to in paragraph (a), the holder of that security is sent, free of charge, a copy of the statements together with a copy of the auditor's report on the statements.
Dated at Wellington this 21st day of April 2011.
The Common Seal of the Securities Commission was affixed in the presence of:
[Seal]
D W Mayhew,
Member.
This notice, which comes into force on the day after the date of its notification in the Gazette and expires on the close of 31 March 2016, exempts TOWER Financial Services Group Limited (TFSG) from being an issuer for the purposes of the Financial Reporting Act 1993 (the Act). TFSG would otherwise be an issuer under section 4(1)(ba) of the Act because it has received more than 75% of the money raised by TOWER Capital Limited from debt securities offered to the public by TOWER Capital Limited and allotted on 24 March 2009.
The effect of the exemption is that, subject to certain conditions, TFSG is not required to file audited financial statements and group financial statements under the Act.
The Securities Commission considers that it is appropriate to grant the exemption because—
the conduit issuer provisions of the Act were introduced to require public reporting by entities that have the effective use of funds raised from the public, but which have structured themselves in such a way as to avoid being issuers under the Act:
in the situation covered by this notice, investors will receive consolidated group reports that include all the financial information of the borrowing group:
the consolidated group reports are a good indication of the financial position and performance of the group as a whole.
Date of notification in Gazette: 28 April 2011.
Reprints notes
This is a reprint of the Financial Reporting Act (TOWER Financial Services Group Limited) Exemption Notice 2011 that incorporates all the amendments to that notice as at the date of the last amendment to it.
2 Legal status
Reprints are presumed to correctly state, as at the date of the reprint, the law enacted by the principal enactment and by any amendments to that enactment. Section 18 of the Legislation Act 2012 provides that this reprint, published in electronic form, has the status of an official version under section 17 of that Act. A printed version of the reprint produced directly from this official electronic version also has official status.
3 Editorial and format changes
Editorial and format changes to reprints are made using the powers under sections 24 to 26 of the Legislation Act 2012. See also http://www.pco.parliament.govt.nz/editorial-conventions/.
4 Amendments incorporated in this reprint
Financial Reporting Act (TOWER Financial Services Group Limited) Exemption Notice 2011 (SR 2011/111): clause 3