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Born Perfect
"Don't Say Gay or Trans"
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Racial & Economic Justice
Criminalization & Incarceration
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Cases & Advocacy
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The Freedom to Marry Turns One: How Far We've Come, How Much We Still Need to Do
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Jun 24, 2016 | Uncategorized
U.S. Supreme Court Made History June 26, 2015 with Landmark Decision in Favor of Marriage Equality A year ago on June 26th, several of us from NCLR sat in white-knuckled silence at the U.S. Supreme Court, waiting for the Court's most important decision ever for LGBTQ Americans and their children. Anticipation gave way to jubilation when Justice Kennedy announced the Court's decision. In soaring and inspirational prose, Kennedy's opinion for the Court made clear that same-sex couples are...
Supreme Court Order Marks the End of Legal Challenges to New Jersey's Ban on Conversion Therapy for Minors
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Mar 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
On February 29, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review Doe v. Christie, a case challenging New Jersey's law prohibiting state-licensed therapists from engaging in the discredited practice of conversion therapy with patients under 18 years of age. The Supreme Court's order allows the law to remain in full effect and marks the final chapter in a nearly three-year-long series of challenges filed by Liberty Counsel, an anti-LGBTQ legal group. NCLR was proud to join Garden State Equality...
A Landmark Decision and an Incredible Year for Marriage
A year ago today, we celebrated a major tipping point in the movement for LGBTQ equality—a watershed United States Supreme Court decision that continues to impact the lives of same-sex couples across the country. The Supreme Court's decision on June 26, 2013 striking down the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which barred the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples, set off a legal tidal wave unlike anything we have seen before. Inspired by Justice...
A Year Like None Other: NCLR's Litigation Work
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Jun 8, 2014 | Uncategorized
Ever since NCLR's founding, we have been at the forefront of some of the most important legal cases in the history of the LGBTQ movement, from winning the freedom to marry in California, to securing critical protections for LGBTQ parents in courts around the country, and all the way to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. But no year in our history has ever been quite like this one. The Supreme Court's decision last summer striking down the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which...
NCLR Analysis: Latest on LGBTQ Cases at the Supreme Court—What to Expect and When
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Oct 1, 2012 | Uncategorized | SCOTUS, DOMA, Supreme Court, Chris Stoll, Proposition 8, marriage equality, freedom to marry
As was widely expected, the Supreme Court today declined to take any action on three important cases involving the rights of same-sex couples, including the challenge to California' Proposition 8 and one of several challenges to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). (See my Huffington Post blog post for a preview of the Court's LGBTQ cases this term.) At this point, we still do not have any information about whether the Court will take any of these cases, or whether it will let the...
NCLR Analysis: Got Married in Canada? Don't Panic, But Protect Your Relationship
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Jan 13, 2012 | Uncategorized | Marriage, marriage equality, Chris Stoll
Yesterday, the thousands of American same-sex couples who have married in Canada since 2003 woke up to some shocking news: The Canadian government had decided that all marriages of non-Canadian same-sex couples were invalid. As details have emerged, it's become clear that the reality is far less dramatic than early reports made it out to be. First, let's put to rest some misconceptions about what happened. Contrary to what some news reports have said, the Canadian government did not...
CA Supreme Court Should Not Give Unprecedented Powers to Prop 8 Supporters
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Sep 6, 2011 | Uncategorized | Shannon Minter, Marriage, Proposition 8, Prop 8, Chris Stoll
This morning, the California Supreme Court heard arguments on an important issue of California law that may affect whether the sponsors of Proposition 8 can continue to pursue their federal court appeal in Perry v. Brown, the case challenging Prop 8. The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing the appeal from federal District Judge Vaughn R. Walker's August 2010 ruling striking down Prop 8. This January, the Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court to answer a specific...
NCLR Analysis: NCLR Overview of Today's CA Supreme Court Decision in the Proposition 8 Case
by Chris Stoll, Esq. | Feb 16, 2011 | Uncategorized | Marriage, Proposition 8, Prop 8, Chris Stoll
Today in the federal court challenge to California's Proposition 8, the California Supreme Court agreed to accept a question sent to it last month by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and provided a timeline for the briefing and argument on that question. The question posed to the California Supreme Court by the Ninth Circuit panel is whether California law gives ballot initiative sponsors the extraordinary power to override the decisions of elected state officials about how to litigate court...
Closing Arguments For Perry v. Schwarzenegger
It's been several months since the parties wrapped up the presentation of evidence in Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Since then, they've been fighting over some issues about evidence, which are now all resolved. Today, the advocates reconvened for a full day of closing arguments, watched closely by hundreds of spectators in two overflow courtrooms. In closing arguments, attorneys summarize the most important evidence from trial that supports their side. Today's arguments overwhelmingly demonstrated...


I recently read a book where the author asserted that the word "namaste" has been whitewashed, and that in India, it really is more of a greeting like "hello." I have not fact-checked this, so please understand that as a white woman who's never traveled to India, I don't have any credibility. I spent a number of years teaching yoga though, and I ended classes with "namaste." My mother asked me after seeing a number of bumper stickers pop up around town as yoga became trendy, "Am, what does nom-moss-tee mean?" I love her.
I have always loved that. And now that I suspect that "namaste" has been translated in ways that appeal to the western audience, I love it more because perhaps it is just simply: hello…I see you. I acknowledge you're there.
All of this philosophical jargon just to say that when I photograph families, I always hold the intention to get one beautiful photo of Mom. I might sell it to her on the notion that her children will want it some day, and I do believe that's true. But, it's also because children can absorb all of our time and energy and resources. (I'm still so new at this motherhood thing, but I think that's safe to say…or maybe I'm just doing it wrong ). So I take a photo of every mother I photograph as if to say "I see you": I see you and the sacrifices you're making and how hard you're working to make sure everyone gets a snack every five minutes and you are beautiful and worth celebrating. as I was trying to take a photo of this beautiful doe-eyed mama holding her new babe and suddenly (as it always happens) the toddler became interested in the camera again, and I got this shot and thought "Wow, how fitting" - an authentic portrait for a mom to two, yet there she is…can't you see her…wrapped up in the forever frame of her entire world.
I don't give much advice because I just barely manage my own life. And, I receive tremendous help from friends and family and the Divine. But, I'd just like to offer one piece of advice that I feel is universal: take photos with the ones you love the most. Even if you never hire a photographer, if you've got a smart phone, you've got a camera at your fingertips most of the time. You don't have to identify as a "photographer." you don't have to copy the composition you find on Pinterest. You don't need to weigh a certain amount before you're "photo-ready." You don't need to wear what's found in this season's look book. I will say that some lipstick will work wonders (if that's your thing), but honestly, these elements are all secondary to the raw emotion that a portrait of a loved one evokes.
Nothing we see here is permanent. There's this term I heard from Jack Kornfield a number of years ago about embracing the full stream of life. As it turns out, life and death are just not that far apart. Something I've noticed through the years is that when I photograph newborns, I feel about as close as I ever have to the Spirit within each of us that I have come to call God. There's a fresh luminosity and a palpable sense of the Sacred.
These are my friends, Leah and Jon. We thought these might be his last photos, but he's since been moved from hospice to palliative care - a true miracle. I spent an hour with them and truly didn't know what to expect because it had been almost a year since I'd seen him. The previous time he could barely speak, and I remember telling him, "Jon, I'm going to go now, and you don't have to respond, and I want you to know that when you're ready, you can go, too…I love you." And, he'd not acknowledged me at all until that point but still somehow choked out, "I love you." I thought that might be the last time I'd see him because that's what all the doctors said. As his mom says, we fight to get in this world, and we fight to get out. Here he is still defying all of the diagnoses and prognoses.
His mom gave me a homemade oat bar to eat on my way home. And I wondered how - with everything they've been through and continue to go through - their Presence filled me up so very much. When the film came back, I could actually see strange lights and auras that were not visible to my eye that day. If I think too much about it, I'll think it's impossible. But, everything about Jon's resilience has seemed impossible. He is a breathing miracle with a smile that could change the world. That's really the only reason I post these photos here. And to remind you that it doesn't matter if you've not slept in a year or if your photo shoot occurs in a bed, in a room that you've lived your life for years, take more photos. His mom insisted that she take a photo of me with Jon, and I felt myself shrink for a moment because it was humid and my hair and I didn't…and I said, "Yes, that is so thoughtful of you. Thank you" and I will cherish the photo for the rest of my days.
If I allow myself to absorb the moments in people's lives - the highs and lows and the moments in between - I get to share, my heart swells with gratitude. "Honored" seems a strange word, but I do feel honored…and completely humbled at the same time. Here's to the full stream of life.
My son is 17 months now; how did that happen? I remember when I'd ask parents, "How old is he?" And, inside I'd laugh when they answered in months. So in homage to pre-parent Amber, my son is one. I miss when he was new, and I don't know if I'll ever experience what it's like to have a newborn again. Who knows? I'm fortunate that when I get a little blue or nostalgic, I begin to get calls to photograph newborns.
When I photograph newborns and families, I send out a guide with some general information about what to expect, my process, what to wear, etc. I am in the process of rebranding my business, and I've been looking at colour palettes, and I actually googled "portra blue." Kodak Portra 400 blue is my favorite blue hue. I know, I'm so strange. People have said that to me since I was this kid's age. His first-time parents were so smitten, and how could you blame them: he's perfect. Even the Great Danes agreed. I will always love a cool blue and a warm skin tone. This is the magic that film produces. I crave experimenting at the edges of grit and elegance, where vintage meets modern and light plays in the shadows. I love a timeless portrait and some authentic lifestyle photography, too. In a newborn or family session, I strive to create a mix of both in your home environment. If you or someone you know is expecting a baby in 2019, send me a note.


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60-Second Space
Solar Magnetic Field Flip Poses No Problem
The only issue related to the flip of the sun's magnetic field is that it corresponds with the peak of the sunspot cycle, when the sun is prone to launch flares and bursts of plasma into space that can effect satellites and power grids. John Matson reports.
The sun's magnetic field is about to flip! You may have read reports warning about the effects rippling out through the solar system. But:
"The flip itself is nothing to worry about." Solar physicist David Hathaway, by phone from his office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The reversal of the sun's magnetic field is a regular occurrence. The reversal corresponds to the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle, when the sun is prone to launch flares and bursts of plasma into space. But Hathaway says, "This is the smallest sunspot cycle in at least 100 years," so things should be pretty tame.
"The only thing to worry about is that yea, verily, we're at sunspot cycle maximum, and with that there is an increased likelihood of space weather events that can influence our assets in space and things here on the ground, in particular power distribution. So there is that to worry about. But I would say that that worry is lessened by the fact that this is a wimpy sunspot cycle."
—John Matson
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
Bacteria Got an Early Fix on Nitrogen
60-Second Space - By Lee Billings02:13
Stars Reveal Hidden Galaxy
60-Second Space - By Clara Moskowitz01:22
Space Science Budget Gets Small Lift
5 Rocky Planets Found in Ancient, Distant Solar System
Long-Lost Lander Found on Mars
Look Up to See Latest Comet Lovejoy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


AccuBoost, the innovator for partial breast brachytherapy technology, is pleased to announce that Littleton Radiation Oncology in Littleton, CO has signed a contract to bring the AccuBoost technology to its patients starting this January. This will be the first site in Colorado to offer AccuBoost. AccuBoost is the mammography-guided non-invasive brachytherapy procedure for patients with early-stage breast cancer. The procedure may be employed as a boost to the tumor bed or as a monotherapy option for Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI). Dr. David Schreiber will lead the AccuBoost offering at this center.


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Carson Wentz's Incredible Reappearing Act
The sophomore QB pulled off an Eli-esque escape as he led the Eagles to a key division win on Monday night
By Danny Heifetz Oct 24, 2017, 1:28am EDT
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Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Everything You Need To Know About NFL Week 7
As the fourth quarter of Monday night's game began, Carson Wentz disappeared.
Not figuratively speaking—the second-year quarterback literally vanished from the camera's view, lost in a suffocating crush of Redskins defensive linemen. The question seemed to be not whether the play would result in a sack, but which Redskins defender would earn credit for it.
And then, like Eli Manning in Super Bowl XLII—or maybe the marine iguana from Planet Earth II—Wentz miraculously escaped.
Hate when the video game glitches. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/RUJ7S5Zer9
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 24, 2017
That disappearing act was the best of Wentz's myriad magic tricks as he led the Eagles to a 34-24 victory over the division-rival Redskins. Wentz finished the game completing 17 of 25 passes (68 percent) for 268 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, good for a 126.3 passer rating. He even led both teams in rushing with eight carries for 63 yards—1 yard fewer than all other Eagles rushers combined. Philadelphia is now 6-1 and owns the best record in the NFL as well as a 2.5-game lead in the NFC East after seven weeks. Wentz, who now leads the NFL in passing touchdowns, is the best player on what might be the best team in the league, which feels like the latest of many shocking developments this season as it approaches its halfway point.
The Eagles started slowly Monday. Down 10-3 with just over four minutes to play in the first half, Wentz took an avoidable (and painful-looking) sack on first-and-10. He followed that up with a 64-yard touchdown pass to Mack Hollins (who might have biked to the stadium???) on second-and-16 that tied the game at 10. A Washington three-and-out gave the Eagles the ball back two minutes later, and Wentz led the team on a six-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz that put the Eagles up 17-10 heading into the half, just four minutes after they were trailing by seven points.
The second half was all Wentz. He led a 10-play, 81-yard drive to start the third quarter that ended with this ridiculous 9-yard touchdown toss to Corey Clement right as Wentz got popped.
Hey @cj_wentz, ummm what?
#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/rCJGQYFgzO
Then early in the fourth quarter, Wentz turned a first-and-goal from the 10-yard line into an easy touchdown when he audibled and hit a wide-open Nelson Agholor.
(running out of Carson Wentz captions)#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/7JEG5XI3mm
Monday wasn't all good news for the Eagles. Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters suffered a knee injury scary enough for dozens of Eagles to meet him at midfield and the entire crowd to chant his name as he was carted off early in the third quarter. Losing Peters for an extended period will certainly diminish Philadelphia's offensive line, and it's unfortunate to lose him just as right tackle Lane Johnson returns from a concussion. But Wentz proved Monday that he has enough mojo in the pocket to handle leaky pass protection.
The Eagles host the 0-7 49ers next week in what could be a thrashing that sends them to 7-1, and then face the suddenly vulnerable Broncos the following week. By the time Philadelphia heads to Dallas in Week 11, the team may already be within striking distance of clinching the division, and Wentz might be the favorite for NFL MVP. Thus far, Wentz is showing up when the Eagles need him to—even if that means briefly disappearing.
Matt Nagy vs. Nick Foles, Confusing Coaching Decisions, and Do the Patriots Suck?
NFL Week 7 Recap: Embrace the Chaos in a Season With No Complete Teams
Next Up In NFL
Aaron Rodgers's Next Move, and Some Respect for the Titans
Building Gambling Cards for Divisional Weekend
Divisional-Round Preview
Four Things to Watch for in the Divisional Round
Come for the discussion of why the AFC's no. 1 seed doesn't get enough respect. Stay for the story of Ryen getting hit in the head by Darren Rovell.
By Kevin Clark and Ryen Russillo
Warren and House run through the divisional slate and share their leans on each game
By Warren Sharp and Joe House


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Top Ten Rome
Rome's incredible history means that there are countless things to do and see. Whether your interests are ancient Rome or the Renaissance, archaeology, art or religion; it would take years of living in the city to visit each of its many attractions. If you are short on time or want to hit the top sites first these are the places not to miss:
Undoubtedly the top attraction in Rome is the Colosseum, which received a record 7.5 million visitors in 2019. The icon of ancient Rome, the Colosseum is famous for hosting gladiatorial combat and entertaining the ancient Romans with bloody spectacles for over 400 years. Two thirds of the ancient amphitheatre still exist, the biggest stadium of its kind in ancient times and the largest Roman monument today, the Colosseum is a must see for all ages.
The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel with its famous frescoed ceiling by Michelangelo is another must see when in Rome. The Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican Museums which is essentially a large extended palace lived in by the popes over the centuries. Its halls and galleries represent the combined collection over centuries of priceless ancient artifacts and statues as well as some of the finest renaissance artwork spanning more than 5,000 years of diverse cultural heritage. The personal apartments of Julius II are also a highlight in the museum, known as the Raphael Rooms after their famous decorator.
Roman Forum and Palatine HIll
This is the heart of ancient Rome and the largest inner-city archaeological site in the world. The Roman Forum was the centre of the ancient city where religious, political and commercial activities took place. For more than a thousand years this was the nerve-centre of the empire. The Palatine Hill above is where the elite and later the emperors lived. For those interested in all things ancient Roman you should not miss these sites, they are dotted with the remains of temples, basilicas, triumphal arches and palaces. The viewing platform on the top of the palatine hill has a breathtaking view of the area. Both of these sites are included in the ticket for the colosseum and are often included in guided tours. Comfortable shoes, water bottles and sunscreen are a must!
Another must see is The Pantheon, with its astounding concrete dome still standing after almost 2,000 years. It is the most complete Roman monument standing today and is a marvel of engineering. As you step inside through the enormous bronze doors, the space magically opens around you and your eyes are drawn up to the gigantic hole in the dome where the sunlight streams through. The Pantheon still exists today because it was converted to a church where regular mass is still held; it also houses members of the royal family and the famous painter Raphael di Sanzio.
Known to locals as 'Scalinata di Trinita di Monti' (steps of the French church above), the Spanish Steps are located on Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Square). The steps were built in the early 18th century after the 30 year war. They represent a symbol of friendship between the two communities who had been on opposite sides; French at the top of the hill and Spanish at the bottom. The area was landscaped by creating a sweeping staircase of 136 travertine steps divided into three vertical paths on three levels.
Until recently the steps were a favourite meeting point for locals and tourists alike, sitting on the steps for a break and for a spot of people watching was a popular attraction. Alas today, after the steps were cleaned by the fashion house Bulgari, we are forbidden to linger, for fear of being violently whistled at.
Trevi Fountain
Rome's most famous fountain is on everyone's list, if only to throw a coin into the rushing clear waters. It is the largest fountain in Rome, standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide and certainly one of the most famous fountains worldwide. The Trevi fountain was created by the relatively unknown architect Nicolo Salvi for the pope Clement XII. It officially opened in 1735 and is a celebration of the importance of water to mankind. The fountain takes up the whole facade of the palace behind. At the centre is the god Oceanus on a chariot being pulled by two horses, one rearing violently, one more placid – they represent the changeable nature of the seas.
Today people flock to see it, but also to throw a coin in the fountain thanks to Hollywood. Standing with your back to the fountain you throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder and you will be sure to come back to Rome! Be aware, you will have limited time before the guardians with whistles shriek at you to move on!
This long elongated piazza lined with shops and restaurants, is the most enigmatic of Rome's squares and possibly the most beautiful. This is another great spot for people watching. At the centre of the piazza is the masterpiece fountain of Rome's favourite architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The fountain of the four rivers shows the four continents of the Catholic world as huge statues, surrounded by allusions to their particular landscape and topped with a huge obelisk. The obelisk truly belongs to the piazza as it was brought to Rome by the emperor Domitian to crown his running track, the Stadio Domiziano. The extraordinary shape of Piazza Navona today is thanks to the ancient athletics stadium that lies beneath the piazza.
For art enthusiasts the Borghese gallery is a must-see, and is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful galleries in the world. The gallery is housed in a beautiful suburban villa set in the largest inner city park in Rome known as the Villa Borghese. The beauty of the Borghese is that it is not overwhelmingly large and has only two floors.It is the private art collection of the Borghese family amassed over three hundred years and is packed full of renaissance and Baroque masterpieces alongside ancient greek and Roman sculpture. Unlike other museums and galleries in Rome, the number of visitors is strictly monitored with timed entrance every two hours, which means you can enjoy the experience without having to elbow through the crowds. Guided tours include the highlights of the museum and present the artworks alongside the lives of the artists and their passionate if unscrupulous patron.
The catacombs are a popular attraction slightly away from the main tourist sites. There are five catacomb complexes open to the public out of more than 60 catacombs. Located outside the ancient city walls, they are situated in less chaotic parts of the city; 3 of them are along the Appia Antica surrounded in greenery. The network of underground tunnels are the burial place of Romans and the first christians date to the 2nd century AD. When christianity came to Rome burial practices changed which meant finding another solution for the bodies of the dead. Long underground passages were dug to bury the dead and the crypts and tombs were sometimes decorated. The catacombs of Rome are unique in their importance to the development of Christian art and there are some beautiful early frescoes to be seen. Because they are underground, the catacombs are a constant temperature and can be a great choice on a swelteringly hot day. Tickets included guided tours as you cannot explore alone.
Castel St Angelo
The fortress of the Vatican and the city has witnessed the rise and fall of the city over two thousand years. Originally built by Hadrian as his tomb, its use has changed over time from a mausoleum, a fortress, the treasury, the residence of the popes and a prison. The castle has seven levels to visit including the ancient mausoleum at the very bottom. There is a military museum and the papal apartment to see. Occasionally 'the Pasetto' an 800 metre corridor that leads to the Vatican is open. Once the tallest building in Rome, the views from the top of the castle are stunning. During September the castle opens in the evening with free guided tours. (For more information see our blog)


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G'day, Chelsea! Handler goes down under
Next week, "Chelsea Lately" will air a series of shows shot in Australia.
"The shows will be recorded at Sydney's Foxtel Studios in front of a live audience, will feature Australian guests, and will be broadcast to a worldwide TV audience," according to an E! press release. "For the sharp-tongued star, this will be her first trip to Australia and the first time E! has ever shot a series of talk shows outside the US. Local celebrities shall be put on notice, as Chelsea seeks out the best and worst of Australian popular culture for her inimitable, frank and always funny verdict.
"Says Handler about the upcoming trip to Australia, 'I am so excited to turn the tables on a country and finally be the one going down instead of the one being gone down upon...I love kangaroos.'"
(Incidentally, this may be the "the first time E! has ever shot a series of talk shows outside the US," but another one of the channel's stars, "The Soup"'s Joel McHale, went to Australia last spring, and taped a special "Soup" episode for broadcast down under.)
Chelsea's Aussie guests will include talk show host Rove McManus, "True Blood" actor Ryan Kwanten, and nature program host "Ranger Stacey" Thomson.
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Tag: breaking benjamin
11 best video game soundtracks featuring rock music
Collin Goeman - June 10, 2019
A great soundtrack can turn a decent video game into a classic. While most soundtracks are given to game sound designers, well-known artists have...
Marilyn Manson, I Prevail, Asking Alexandria, more announced for Rock USA
Whitney Shoemaker - January 16, 2019
Rock USA is pulling out all the stops for their 2019 lineup, bringing in massive artists such as Breaking Benjamin, Of Mice & Men,...
Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin donate $190K to charities
Beth Casteel - September 12, 2018
Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin may have just wrapped up their summer run, but it seems to be a tour that keeps...
Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin launch joint tour
Philip Trapp - July 17, 2018
Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin have set out on the road together for a massive co-headlining tour. The North American summer trek...
Breaking Benjamin's album debuts at No. 3 on Billboard charts and other news you...
Lauren Tullio - April 23, 2018
Watch new music videos from Emmure and Machine Gun Kelly—plus, don't miss the final lineup for Sophomore Slump Fest. Check out the news you...
Breaking Benjamin share early look at intense "Torn In Two" music video
AltPress - April 12, 2018
Ahead of the release of their self-produced sixth studio album, EMBER, Breaking Benjamin are giving you an exclusive first look at the cinematic music...
Breaking Benjamin flaunt their heaviness with "Psycho"
Kaitlyn Ulrich - March 24, 2018
Breaking Benjamin have released heavy new single, "Psycho," from their forthcoming record, Ember. Read more: Breaking Benjamin announce spring tour dates Ember will be the band's...
Breaking Benjamin announce spring tour dates
Maggie Dickman - March 12, 2018
Breaking Benjamin have announced a number of spring tour dates with support from 10 Years. Read more: Breaking Benjamin detail new album with fiery new song "Feed...
Breaking Benjamin drop teaser for summer 2018 tour
Whitney Paxton - March 4, 2018
Breaking Benjamin have dropped a teaser for their upcoming tour, and if the teaser holds to be true, it could be one of the...
Breaking Benjamin detail new album with fiery new song "Feed The Wolf"
Maggie Dickman - January 26, 2018
Breaking Benjamin have announced the release date for their sixth studio album, Ember, and with the news, debuted their fiery new track "Feed The Wolf." Read...
10 musicians with breathtaking graphic novels to add to your reading list


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Raw Sex: HIV in the world of porn
By Alicia: The Sexual Intellectual
At the end of 2009, an estimated 1,148,200 persons aged 13 and older were living with HIV infection in the United States, including 207,600 (18.1%) persons whose infections had not been diagnosed. (http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics/index.html)
Sadly, those statistics don't matter to most sexually active people in the US and across the world. We continue to have unprotected sex, hanging on a hope that it'll never happen to us but the reality is, it's out there and thousands of people are infected right now and don't even know it because they'd rather be in denial than protect their partners.
The porn industry is facing a huge dilemma right now. Even with a monthly HIV testing mandate, actors are still coming up positive and situations on set are putting their co-stars at risk. A midst of an ongoing battle between the state of California and top Porn producers about a mandate to wear condoms during shoots, several porn stars (including a male who has asked not to be named at this time) have been testing positive for HIV. In 2012 LA county passed a resolution mandating condom use on set, but shooting Pornography is legal all across California. Some of the top porn producers, like "Hustler" claim that "people don't want to see condoms in porn" other companies like "Wicked Pictures" have mandated condoms since the 1990's. Stating they've never seen a decrease in sales, and they don't plan to change that rule anytime soon.
The name of my show isn't called "Raw Sex" unintentionally. We all love it in the raw but is putting yourself or your employees at risk really worth it? I understand that in today's economy, people are a bit more disposable, I'd assume even more so in the world of pornography. There is always someone younger, sexier, tighter or longer but regardless of profession, employers should still keep their employees health at a top priority. They are still humans.
Raw Sex Returns Live On - Air Mon Jan 6th at 10pm
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Farmville, Virginia
St, Theresa Catholic Church
Parish Hall Addition and Sanctuary Renovations
This project consists of a parish hall addition and the renovation of the parish church. A major addition to the existing parish hall is under construction with enough space to serve 150 people with a storage space below.
Offices from the existing church will be moved to the hall where the existing spaces have been reconfigured for new classroom spaces.
The former office space in the church will be converted to an expanded sacristy and the existing confessional space, located in the sanctuary, which was not accessible, will be moved to a new accessible and location within the church.
The sanctuary itself will be beautified with a new tabernacle altar and decorative painting to emphasize the importance of the Eucharist and the altar.
Parish Hall Addition
Schematic Design & Design Development
Harmony, balance, proportion, human scale.
Beauty and craft.
Home Office Studio
Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha
Gallup, New Mexico
Holy Comforter Catholic Church
© Copyright 2020 Erik Bootsma, Architect


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Office Bay | Breakfast Networking Event!
Join us for a free business breakfast on Wednesday 14th June, 8.30am till 10.30am.
Office Bay are providing business owners, professionals and decision makers an opportunity to network and build relationships.
This event is for you if you would like to grow your business and meet potential new clients.
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Matt Weiss
Who He Is: An Atlanta native, Matt Weiss spent years as a touring guitarist and creative before joining the A3C Festival and Conference team as Production Director/General Manager. During his six years in this role, he has helped to grow A3C into the largest hip-hop event in the country. As a long-time champion of the Center for Civic Innovation, Matt looks forward to the opportunity to support CCI's vision and contribute to the city he loves.
"I see this role with The Center for Civic Innovation as a chance to give back to the city that has provided me with endless love, support, and community. The work that lies ahead of CCI will be its most important work to date, and I am elated to play a role in the future of Atlanta and its communities."
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Greater awareness of effective drug treatment is more important than ever, as drug use and related disorders increase with growing world population.
How to recognise ADHD - symptoms, consequences and co-occurring conditions throughout the lifespan.
The first in a series of articles exploring the link between ADHD and addiction. This article looks at ADHD sufferers' increased risk of developing an addiction.


North Korea: Does 'Never Again' mean anything?
All the "Never Agains," all the Holocaust memorials, all the anguish over starvation in Biafra, killing fields in Cambodia, horrors in Bosnia, machetes in Rwanda, murder in Darfur, cannot hide the ugly truth: Humanity does not respond to mass murder.
Item: Just last week, the UN issued a massive, 400-page report on mass murder in North Korea.
Item: Already this week, the report is all but forgotten.
The author of the UN report on human rights abuses in North Korea, Australia's Judge Michael Kirby, amended his report in a radio interview. The report opened a window onto the "gravity, scale and nature" of human rights abuses in North Korea that do not have "any parallel in the contemporary world." Alas, Kirby said in an interview, he needed to add a word to "gravity, scale and nature," and that word is duration. Decade in and decade out, North Korea's evil continues unabated — and we sit. We do nothing.
The report was under the auspices of the normally timid, controlled United Nations. The reports shredded every excuse of "we didn't know" or "we couldn't prove." The report is chilling.
Islamic eschatology relates to this same AntiChrist as Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic for "the false messiah"). He appears pretending to be Masih (i.e. the Messiah) at a time in the future and is directly comparable to the figure of the Antichrist, as does Armilus in Jewish eschatology.
Switching now to the subject of North Korea: Although I am certainly not indicating that the Kim dynasty is or will bring forth the AntiChrist, to some degree I would suggest that the decades-long North Korean dictatorship does allow a glimpse into what the forthcoming Antichrist regime might be like.
The mass starvation, brutal oppression and religious persecution of Kim Jong Il's Stalinist North Korea regime, described as "worse than 1984", could very well be a forerunner of what this AntiChrist will attempt to make life like for believers.
The North Korean constitution disallows belief in any higher power than its despot. Christianity or any other religion is suppressed.
Somewhere in the area of up to 300,000 North Koreans have fled their country to China to live illegally, risking their lives to flee the starvation and oppression of Kim Jong Un's Stalinist North Korea regime. Thankfully, many of these refugees make their way to "safe houses" set up by Christian activists who run a modern day "underground railroad" to help these refugees escape to safer countries.
A new North Korean declaration of war on Christians?
Foley says that what has surprised him the most personally about North Korean underground Christians is their acceptance that the practice of their faith will naturally lead them to imprisonment in a concentration camp. "They do not regard imprisonment with surprise or outrage, as if it were unusual," notes Foley.
Ahn Myong-Chol witnessed many horrors as a North Korean prison camp guard, but few haunt him like the image of guard dogs attacking school children and tearing them to pieces.
Ahn, who worked as a prison camp guard for eight years until he fled the country in 1994, recalls the day he saw three dogs get away from their handler and attack children coming back from the camp school. "There were three dogs and they killed five children," the 45-year-old told AFP through a translator. "They killed three of the children right away. The two other children were barely breathing and the guards buried them alive," he said, speaking on the sidelines of a Geneva conference for human rights activists.
The next day, instead of putting down the murderous dogs, the guards pet them and fed them special food "as some kind of award," he added with disgust. "People in the camps are not treated as human beings… They are like flies that can be crushed," said Ahn, his sad eyes framed by steel-rimmed glasses.
After fleeing the country two decades ago, Ahn worked for years at a bank in South Korea but gradually got involved in work denouncing the expansive prison camp system in the isolated nation. Three years ago, he quit his bank job to dedicate all his time to his non-governmental organization, Free NK Gulag. "It's my life's mission to spread awareness about what is happening in the camps," he said.
Ahn Myong-Chol knows all too well the brutal mentality of the camp guards. When he, as the son of a high-ranking official, was ushered onto the prestigious path of becoming a guard in 1987, he says he was heavily brainwashed to see all prisoners as "evil". At his first posting at camp 14, north of Pyongyang, he was encouraged to practice his Tae Kwon Do skills on prisoners.
And he recalls how guards were urged to shoot any prisoner who might try to escape. "We were allowed to kill them, and if we brought back their body, they would award us by letting us go study at college," he said. Some guards would send prisoners outside the camp and kill them as escapees to gain access to a college education, he added.
Although he witnessed numerous executions, starving children, and the effects of extreme torture, it was not until he was promoted to be a driver, transporting soldiers back and forth between camps, that he began to question the system. During his travels he sometimes struck up conversations with prisoners and was astonished to find that "more than 90 percent" of them said they had no idea why they were in the camp.
The UN report is written by a three-member UN panel headed by Michael Kirby, an Australian former judge, and it is extraordinary in the fierceness of its condemnation. Mr. Kirby told journalists North Korea was comparable to "Nazi Germany," and the report itself urges the UN to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for prosecution for war crimes. In a letter sent directly to Kim Jong Un, the North's dictator, the commission warned that he could be held accountable for crimes against humanity.
A 36-page summary of the 400-page report can be found here.
The Chosun Ilbo claims that Jang Song-taek, Kim Jong-un's uncle, was executed chiefly for his role in overseeing a thinly-disguised prostitution ring.
This according to the Kim family's former sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, who claimed Jang Song-taek was eliminated because of his role supplying young women for a "pleasure brigade" for former leader Kim Jong-il, because his son detested his father's womanizing.
Fujimoto told the U.K.'s Daily Mail on Saturday that when Kim Jong-un returned to North Korea aged 18 from study abroad, he "found himself exposed to his father's 'pleasure brigade,' " groups of beautiful young women who sing, strip and perform massages or sexual favors.
Today, there are some 25,000 North Korean defectors living in South Korea. While they have escaped extreme poverty and political repression, life in the South can also be hard. In fact, the suicide rate among North Korean defectors is six times that for South Koreans.
By comparison, 95 percent of North Korean defectors are unemployed after they leave Hana Center where they stay for three months familiarizing themselves with South Korea and its way of life, according to Park.
According to a UN report, North Korea's spending on luxury goods has more than doubled from an average of $300 million a year to $646 million in 2012, when Kim Jong-un assumed control following his father's death, Kim Jong-il. The 372-page report said the country continues to allocate a "significant amount of state resources for the purchase and important of luxury goods" while hunger and malnutrition take a heavy toll on the population.
These items violate UN sanctions imposed on North Korea prohibiting "the provision of luxury goods" adopted in 2007. The report did not examine how the items were imported into the country.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly treated himself to a dozen luxury cars, top quality pianos and a private theatre for his closest allies and top aides.
A former North Korean official who managed to escape the country said Kim funded his lavish lifestyle by trafficking ivory from Africa to China and selling alcohol to Islamic countries. The money was transferred into parallel funds outside of the state budget to cover "personal expenses of the Supreme leader, his family and other elites".
The report released by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea constitutes a clarion call to action. According to many analysts, it will also amount to little, unless China, one of North Korea's few allies, gives its consent.
"So what is likely to happen? Nothing," write the editors of New York Post. They argue that while the report exposes a slew of North Korean atrocities, it may be more eye-opening to see the extent of the UN's failure to do anything about it.
Bloomberg View's editors suggest that China may be ready to back away from Kim Jong-un. "China's interests lie in a transition to minimally acceptable standards of behavior in Pyongyang, not in supporting the insupportable pending the outright collapse of Kim's regime," they write.
Even if the Chinese Security Council roadblock is overcome, however, that doesn't mean that Kim Jong-un will ever face judgment. The editors of the Ottawa Citizen write that the Security Council has a bad record of actually catching those they refer to the ICC.


At Granite State Credit Union, we not only believe in personal, friendly service, but we practice it everyday. From your local branch teller to your mortgage representative and, yes, even the CEO, we care about our members and value your input.
I invite you to meet Our Leaders - the men and women who drive your credit union's vision. You don't need to know us by name but don't be surprised if we get to know yours.


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Ayad Akhtar
Born in New York City and raised in Wisconsin, Ayad Akhtar is a playwright, novelist, and the winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Disgraced. Most recently, his play Junk received the 2018 Kennedy Prize for American Drama and was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Play. His other plays, The Who & The What and The Invisible Hand, received Off-Broadway runs and are currently being produced around the world, winning multiple awards and garnering nominations for the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards in London. As a novelist, he is the author of American Dervish, published in over 20 languages worldwide. As a screenwriter, he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for The War Within. He is also the recipient of an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Steinberg Award for Playwriting. Akhtar has received fellowships from the American Academy in Rome, MacDowell, The Sundance Institute, and Yaddo, where he serves as a Board Director. He joined the PEN America Board in 2015.


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Q: Random values in fixed interval - how to assign probability distribution? Please excuse my lack of terminology. I am just a humble discrete optimizer
Assume we have a kind of "coin toss" where the result is not binary, but a rational number between -1 and 1. There is nothing known a priori about the probability distribution underlying this "coin".
What can I do to estimate the probability distribution through experiments?
I read a bit about Bayesian and Maximum Entropy approaches, but I need somebody to guide me in the right direction.

A: If I understand what you mean, you don't have an a priori about the family  (normal, Beta...) the distribution belongs to. This is called a non parametric approach.
A simple method to estimate a distribution is kernel density estimator.
You can also use Maximum Entropy but then you implicitly assume a certain family. You have to:

*

*define a few properties of the distribution you estimate empirically (like expectation, expectation of the log, expectation of the square, variance...)

*Take the distribution matching these properties that has maximum entropy.

With this method, defining the properties you want to estimate is equivalent to choosing a distribution family. For example, if you choose mean and variance (assume your values range over $]-\infty;\infty[$), then the distribution will be a normal distribution.
Kernel density estimator is maybe closer to the idea of having no a priori.

A:
There is nothing known a priori about the probability distribution underlying this "coin".

Do you have no information at all about the source that produces this information? If you know something about the nature of the process, you could choose a type of distribution and then fit the model by finding the maximum likelihood estimation for the parameters.
If there is really no a priori information available about the type of distribution, the best estimate that you can get is an empirical histogram or kernel density estimate. Both the histogram and the kernel density estimate have parameters that determine how the estimate will look like. For the histogram this is the bin width, and for the kernel density estimate this is bandwidth parameter. Elements of Density Estimation by the Utah university provides a good overview of those methods.
If the bandwidth or bin width is chosen too low, the estimate will be too coarse. If the bandwidth is too narrow, you might overfit the model if you have too little data, as can be seen in this picture from the KDE wikipedia page. In general, the more data is available, the narrower you can set the bandwith parameter. Chapter 3 of the Utah paper talks about optimal bandwidth selection.
How good your estimate will be all depends on the number of samples that you can get from your source, and from the distribution itself. For example, when estimating a histogram bin with an estimated probability of one in a hundred, you need well over a hundred samples to be certain that the probability is actually one in a hundred. A simple test that you could do is to divide your data up in to multiple sets, and then compute the histogram or KDE for each set. If the variance of the different estimates is within a reasonable boundary, you can use this of a proof that is a good estimate. Once again, the Utah paper provides some nice background about this problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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TU course on LGBTI need more clarity
April 21, 2019 / Pahichan Reporter
Kathmandu (Pahichan) April 21 – Tribhuwan University has started a course related to third gender, same-sex relation and sexual relation of bi-sexual from 2070. A book written by Baburam Acharya mentions that third gender means having separate behavior, nature and expectation than male and female.
The book has said that there is presence of this community in the society and there would be relation between male-male and female-female. The page 114 of book further states that society is gradually becoming flexible about same-sex relation.
The relation between male is called gay and relationship between girls is called lesbian and book states that it is a reality of society. In the sociology and anthropology of BA second year, such relations are romantic and they are engaged in all professions.
However, in some places there is prejudice opinion regarding this community. This book is the seventh edition prepared in 2070 for the sociality and anthropology of BA second year (313).
Six year ago, it has been written that LGBTI communities have activated their movement seeking legal recognitions. The book further states that there are been efforts to legalize same-sex marriage and increase its social acceptability. Additionally, book states that such relation would contribute to develop a new relation, affect population which needs to be studied.
The book, however, is not clear about changing sexual organs, third gender rights activist Jyoti Thapa said. The book states that such type of relation is much hidden in the society. The book has also explained about transsexuality. Thapa said people who change their organs are transexuality but if male shows the behavior of female and vice versa they are called third gender. The book, however, has not clearly mentioned about it which has created confusions.
Jyoti said, "The people who have changed their sexual organs are trans sexuality." The book, however, has not mentioned about the inter-sex people. Similarly, the book does not mentioned about third gender female and male. Jyoto is of the view that TU book prepare book on the basis of new curricula.
Your Opinion on this news
Priya travels Kathmandu seeking justice (with video)
India: LGBTQ persons face discrimination in housing, work and public spaces despite increased legal recognition – new ICJ report
Call to include sexual minorities


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Mohamed Salah is BBC African Footballer of the Year 2017
Home » News » Mohamed Salah is BBC African Footballer of the Year 2017
Mohamed Salah has just been voted to receive the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2017 award. The Egyptian player has been an asset to both his club and his country for his superb performance, especially this year.
With the recognition, Salah joins the other legends of the sports from Africa and will therefore be among the names Bitcoin sports betting fans should remember. These legends include Mohamed Barakat and Jay-Jay Okocha.
African Footballer of the Year Award
Mohamed Salah won the BBC award by garnering the most votes. Other nominees for the award include Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang, Victor Moses, Naby Keita, and Sadio Mane.
Mohamed Salah said:
"I'm very happy to win this award, it's a special feeling for me. I'd like to thank everybody; my teammates and the people I work with. I am very happy here at the club, I've had a very good start here. Also the manager [Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp] has helped me to settle into the team. Last season I had a very good season with Roma, so I need to thank my teammates [there] and also my teammates in the national team. The people I work with are very professional and I'm happy with them. [Now] I'd also like to win it next year!"
Year 2017 has been a good year for the forward player. Salah is the Premier League's top scorer this season with 13 goals overall. At the start of the year, he is a major contributor to the Egyptian team, which finished as the runner-up for the Africa Cup of Nations. Salah scored five goals and two assists for his country and this allowed the team to qualify for the World Cup 2018 in Russia.
On a club level, Salah has also been in good form. He scored 15 goals in Italy and 11 more goals when playing with Roma. Salah's performance has helped Roma finish second in Serie A, which is the highest placing the league has achieved in seven years.
Jurgen Klopp, boss of Liverpool, said:
"It's well-deserved. I am a really lucky person. I had the opportunity to work with a few outstanding players and I am happy that it is now with Mo. The good thing is that he is still young, there is a lot of space for improvement, a lot of potential still that we can work on, but that's how it should be. It's a big pleasure, to be honest, to work with him."
BBC African Footballer Legends
Salah counts his name as part of the other legends who received the award. This includes the retired Mohamed Barakat, who was known as the Mercurial Footballer when he was still playing. His use of his mind in finding holes against his defenders helped him score tremendous amounts of goals.
Another legendary player to receive the BBC African Footballer of the year is Jay-Jay Okocha, who won the award for two consecutive years and was the first to win the award twice.
Copyright © 2021. bitcoinsportsbetting.co.uk. All rights reserved.


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'Jessica Jones': 7 Spoiler-Free Reasons It's Marvel's Best Show Yet
Take the day off November 20th. You're going to need it.
Victoria McNally 10/22/2015
If you're not familiar with the comic book heroine Jessica Jones, she might strike you as a confusing character to base a TV series around -- even more confusing than the blind crime fighter Daredevil, who'd already gotten his shot at live-action stardom in 2002 before Marvel decided to bring his story to Netflix earlier this year. After all, she's not that well known to the non-comic reading audience, and she's not even really a superhero, despite her awesome super strength and sleuthing skills.
But you need to put all of that aside, because Netflix's "Jessica Jones" is going to be one of the best, brutally honest, most amazing television shows you watch all year, regardless of whether you knew who Jessica was before you hit "play." MTV News was given the chance to watch the first seven episodes before the show hits Netflix on November 20, and believe us, we are never going to stop talking about how great it is from here on out.
First of all, it's incredibly faithful to the mood of the comics.
Not necessarily as far as plot beats go, mind you, because Jessica Jones' breakout comic "Alias" does a lot of overlapping with other Marvel properties that the TV show simply can't do: in the very first couple of issues she has to protect Captain America's secret identity, and in the MCU he doesn't even have one of those. But if you've read the comic, this world will feel very comfortable and familiar to you, from the murky purple shadows right down to the hard-boiled narration from Krysten Ritter.
Jessica Jones is unlike any female protagonist we've met before.
The male antiheroes you see on TV aren't usually the kinds of friends you'd want to have in real life, but they sure are fascinating to watch, especially when you know that they're trying to do the right thing deep down. But you don't always get to see women that are as morally complex and messed up, because for some reason people have a harder time dealing with fictional women they find unlikeable.
Jessica Jones, however, laughs in the face of those people while flipping them off and kicking giant dents into their cars. She is a "jerk with a heart of gold" in the purest sense of the term, and like any good antihero, she's wonderfully complicated. She has a moral code but doesn't always stick to it; she tries to help people but doesn't always know how to do it right. She drinks to excess, she fights, she steals and cheats and does terrible things, and despite all that she is infinitely relatable in her abrasiveness. Oh, and she's also very, very good at her job as a private investigator.
Her supporting cast is also incredible.
Part of Jessica's charm -- or lack thereof, depending on your point of view -- is how she plays off of the other people in her life. There's Luke Cage (Mike Colter), of course, who's a perfect level-headed foil to Jessica's combative energy; the methodical lawyer Jeri Hogarth (Carrie Anne-Moss), who cynically challenges Jessica's moral fortitude at every turn; and the people who live in Jessica's building, all of whom are equal parts creepy and eccentric and heartbreakingly real.
But the true MVP so far, in my opinion, is Rachael Taylor as radio talk show host Trish Walker, Jessica's best friend in the series. If you know your Marvel comics history, you know that Patsy Walker is a teen romance icon turned superhero who wants nothing more than to save the world with her own two hands, and "Jessica Jones" does a fiendishly excellent job of translating her to live action. Frankly, it might be the most interesting version of the character, (at least until Kate Leth and Brittany William's comic "Patsy Walker (AKA Hellcat)" comes out in 2016), and this is coming from someone whose first reaction to "Trish" was, "Aw, how come she's not a redhead anymore?" More importantly, her friendship with Jessica is a breath of fresh air, compared to all the superhero-filled Marvel movies that don't even pass the Bechdel test.
And you're definitely going to wish you had her superpowers.
Remember how great the fight scenes in "Daredevil" were? Jessica's might be even better. Sure, Matt Murdock is a martial arts master and his fights were gorgeous, brilliantly-directed feats of filmmaking, but Jessica Jones can throw fully grown men three times her size up over her head without even so much as an eyeroll.
Of course, having super strength doesn't solve every problem -- honestly, Jessica has so many problems that it doesn't even cover half of 'em -- but every time Krysten Ritter yanks a steel-plated door open or angrily hits a glass window so hard that it shatters, you can't help but feel a little thrill of excitement.
The show features honest depictions of sexuality and relationships.
It's no secret that Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are a powerhouse couple of Marvel Comics, and eventually they're going to have to end up together because those are the rules. But that doesn't exactly make the two star-crossed lovers or anything -- their relationship is real and raw and oh yeah, super hot. And unlike with other Marvel TV shows, the camera doesn't pan away when things are about to get intense. Beds get broken, neighbors get irritated, and neither Jessica nor Luke are ever treated like terrible people for it. (Jessica does terrible things that have nothing to do with having sex, mind you, but her sexual agency isn't the problem there).
And she's certainly not the only woman who navigates her sexuality in a way we've never seen on a Marvel TV show before -- so is Jeri Hogarth, an open lesbian who's dealing with personal drama of her own. Queer relationships can be just as sweet or as broken as heteronormative ones, after all, and "Jessica Jones" isn't afraid to explore that at all.
And its villain is compelling -- but completely monstrous.
Vincent D'Onofrio almost stole the show as the Wilson Fisk in the first season of "Daredevil," but don't expect to feel as much sympathy for the new Marvel baddie, Kilgrave. At first glance there are similarities between the two men -- both hide in the shadows and torment their heroes from afar -- but they do so in radically different ways, and with very, very different intentions. If you were worried that "Doctor Who" fans were going to defend Kilgrave's inherent creepiness because he's played by the charismatic David Tennant, then worry no more, because the dude is a literal nightmare come to life who leaves a lot of people traumatized in his wake. It gets horrifying very, very quickly, and the show never shies away from the ugliness of his particular "gift" for manipulation.
At the heart of the show is an emotionally earnest story of survivorhood.
This year has seen a huge surge in discussion about the way that abuse and sexual assault should be depicted on television -- many feel that it's used too often for shock value or as visual shorthand for villains being villainous, and we rarely get to delve into how it psychologically affects the victim afterwards.
Of course, this series isn't strictly about sexual assault, though it is hinted at and even mentioned by name (but never shown outright, at least not in the first seven episodes). Instead it's primarily about coping with the feelings of helplessness and shame that come after experiencing a trauma, whether or not that trauma happens to be violent in nature -- and it's especially powerful given that, like so many people who experience real-life abuse, those who encounter Kilgrave aren't believed by the world at large. It's a type of story that almost never gets told, let alone treated with the importance and respect it so rightfully deserves, and "Jessica Jones" completely nails it from the get-go.
Krysten Ritter
Rachel Taylor


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West Moreton Anglican College receives funding under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program (NSCSWP). This funding is used to support the Chaplaincy Service in the College.
The Chaplaincy Service is a service that complements the care offered by other helping disciplines and aims to assist the College community through the provision of help and care to support the personal and social wellbeing of students and the school community.
The NSCSWP allows West Moreton Anglican College:
to promote personal development through a balance of spiritual growth, enlightened academic tradition and a genuine commitment to social justice – Faith, Knowledge, Service;
increased provision of pastoral care and attentiveness for students, parents, staff and the College community;
increased development of the religious service program.
The School Chaplain provides spiritual and pastoral leadership within the College and its wider College community. This includes a range of day-to-day matters affecting the spiritual, social and emotional wellbeing of the students and members of the College community. The Chaplain also co-ordinates the social justice activities throughout the College community. The Chaplain is a non-teaching role and does not deliver the Religious and Values Education (RAVE) classes.
Participation in activities or receiving services through the School chaplaincy service under this program is voluntary. The activities / programs are offered on an opt-in basis and require parental / guardian consent to participate. All children are welcome at West Moreton Anglican College regardless of religious origins.
Services provided by the School Chaplain under this program include:
the holistic development of our students, including spiritually, emotionally and pastorally leading Worship services, including a weekend service
coordinating the partnership with Operation Kinder Community (OKC), allowing students a service opportunity
coordinating social justice activities throughout the College community, such as World's Greatest Shave, 40 Hour Famine
coordinating the Casserole Bank for families in need or in crisis
pastoral care and conversation, working with the Counselling team and other staff members to assist in the area of staff, student and where required, family care
supporting students who express a desire to explore their spirituality, including preparation of students for various sacramental milestones
coordinating God Gang and Turbo groups (opt-in lunchtime clubs with a spiritual content)
contributing to College newsletter
Feedback and Complaint Procedures - The Principal has an overall duty of care and is ultimately responsible for all students and staff within the school setting. Any complaints about the school chaplaincy or chaplaincy service should be directed to the Principal or his delegate, in the first instance. Complaints may be escalated to the Funding Recipient and or the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in accordance with the process set out in Section 7 of National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program Guidelines (July 2012).
Community Consultation and Support - The funding under this program is subject to community continued support. There will be consultation with the College's parent body on an annual basis to review and confirm the support of the College community of the program.
Disclaimer - The views expressed herein do not necessary represents the views of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Acknowledgement - This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program.


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Q: Prove or disprove $|a| \geq 2|b| \implies |a+b| \geq |b|$ I conjectured that for all real $a, b$, that $|a| \geq 2|b| \implies |a+b| \geq |b|$. I'm using this to try to prove a limit where the denominator is $x^2+xy+y^2$ since I know $|x^2+y^2| \geq 2|xy|$.
My attempt: Suppose $|a| \geq 2|b|$. We want to show that $|a+b| \geq |b|$.
$|a| \geq 2|b| \iff |a|-|b| \geq |b| $. Since $|b| \geq  0$ then $|a|+|b| \geq |a|-|b|$.
So we have $|a| + |b| \geq |b| \geq 0.$ Therefore $|a| + |b| = ||a| + |b||$. But I don't know whether $||a|+|b|| \leq |a+b|$. How to proceed, or is my conjecture wrong? And if it is wrong, is there any tweak that can be made to make it correct?
Also, what would be an alternative way to minorate $|x^2+xy+y^2|$ ?

A: Hint:
By the reverse triangle inequality, you have,
$$|a-b|\geq ||a|-|b||~\forall~a,b\in\Bbb C$$
Replacing $b$ by $-b$ and using the given relation $|a|\geq 2|b|$ gives you the desired inequality.

A: Suppose $|a| \geq 2|b|$. Then $|a|-|b| \geq |b|$, so in particular, $||a|-|b|| \geq |b|$. By the triangle inequality you get
$$|a+b| \geq \left||a|-|b| \right| \geq |b|$$

A: If $b=0$ this is true. Say $x=a/b$ then we have $|x|\geq 2$ and we have to prove $|x+1|\geq 1$.  So $$x\geq 2 \implies x+1\geq 3\implies |x+1|>1$$ or $$x\leq -2\implies x+1 \leq -1 \implies |x+1|\geq 1$$


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Lý Do Độc (Hán tự: 李由獨; ? - ?), known in Chinese as Li Youdu (Wade–Giles: Li Yu-tu) was a chieftain of a tribe called Taohua and a rebel leader in Phong around mid-9th century, during the Third Chinese domination of Vietnam. Phong (modern-day Phú Thọ Province) back then was the boundary area between Tang empire's Annan Protectorate and the kingdom of Nanzhao in modern-day Yunnan. Lý Do Độc himself commanding a local army of 6,000 and was assisted by seven "Lords of the Ravines."

The Annan governor, Li Zhuo (r. 853–857) refused to entrust Lý Do Độc, unfortunately pushed Lý Do Độc into closer ties with Nanzhao, the contemporary enemy of the Tang. In 857, Lý Do Độc and his "Lords of the Ravines" submitted to Nanzhao. King Meng Shilong of Nanzhao sent a military commander to deliver a letter to Do Độc soliciting his submission. Lý Do Độc and the Lords of the Ravine accepted the offer of vassalage by the Nanzhao king. The Yunnanese commander married his niece off to Lý Do Độc's younger son, and this young man in return became a junior official of the Nanzhao court.

Lý Do Độc and other disaffected mountain tribes openly sided with Nanzhao, formed a "suicide squad in white clothes" (baiyi mengmin yun) and teamed up with the Yunnanese forces, joined with lowland people that brought warfare to villages in the heart of the protectorate. Chaos and riots ravaged northern Vietnam until they were briefly calmed in 858 by the arrival of the new governor Wang Shi.

References

Bibliography

Vietnamese military leaders
9th-century Vietnamese people
Tang dynasty rebels

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Disclosure: Complimentary tickets were provided for review purposes.
The ever-so-popular hit TV show PAW Patrol has come to life at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall! Paw Patrol Live: Race to the Rescue is a fast-paced, action-packed musical complete with colorful costumes, catchy songs, and an easy-to-follow story-line that is appropriate for kids of all ages.
and official PAW Patrol merchandise such as t-shirts, stuffed animals, lanyards, glow wands, and bottles w/straw lids.
If you don't have time to shop before the show, don't worry, you'll have plenty of time during the intermission or after the show.
While we were waiting for the show to start, my boys kept asking me "is it time yet?!" They were so excited to see the PAW Patrol gang!
The lights went out, the music started and out came Ryder to get this party started!
It's the day of the Great Adventure Day Race between Mayor Goodway and Mayor Humdinger. When Ryder and the PAW Patrol pups learn that Mayor Humdinger can't race due to injuring her foot, they step in to take her place in the race.
The PAW Patrol pups and Ryder race to find all the clues and find the finish line first, before Mayor Humdinger and before the sun goes down.
My boys were mesmerized through the entire performance, probably from seeing the TV show come to real life before their very eyes. They recognized a lot of songs and catch phrases from the TV show that they watch on a daily basis!
The show was a little over an hour long, with a brief intermission at the 35 minute mark. Time went by really fast and before I knew it, the show was over. During the show, a lot of the children in the audience were clapping, singing, and dancing, and even the adults were getting into the groove as well. And in addition to its entertainment value, the show also teaches you about heroism, bravery, and working together to help people (and animals) in need.
Tickets for the remaining 10 performances on Oahu are available at Ticketmaster.com or at the Neal S. Blaisdell Box Office. The show will then head to Maui, HI from July 13-15, 2018 (click here for ticket information).


Free HD wallpapers for desktop of Mr. Robot in high resolution and quality. All Mr. Robot you can download absolutely free. Here you can find only the best High Quality Wallpapers, Widescreen, Images, Photos, Pictures, Backgrounds of Mr. Robot.


Euclid's simple formula to generate Pythagorean triples.
Pythagorean triples consists of three positive integers a, b, and c, such that a2 + b2 = c2. These triples are commonly written as (a, b, c), and a typical example is (3, 4, 5); 32 + 42 = 52 or 9 + 16 = 25.
A primitive Pythagorean triple is one in which a, b and c are coprime (gcd(a, b, c) = 1) and for any primitive Pythagorean triple, (ka, kb, kc) for any positive integer k is a non-primitive Pythagorean triple.
m and n have opposite parity – i.e. if one is odd, the other must be even.
m and n are coprime – i.e. they have no common integer factors greater than 1.
It's easy to check algebraically that the sum of the squares of the first two is the same as the square of the last one.
Below is a table of [a, b, c] for n between 1 and 9 and m between 2 and 10.
The highlighted cells show primitive Pythagorean triples (GCD(a, b, c) = 1).
Euclid of Alexandria is the most prominent mathematician of antiquity best known for his treatise on mathematics The Elements. The long lasting nature of The Elements must make Euclid the leading mathematics teacher of all time. However little is known of Euclid's life except that he taught at Alexandria in Egypt.
Love the table of Pythagorean Triples. First example I've seen of triples, using Euclid's formula, that shows the actual integers for m and n, and the resulting triple.
Thanks Robert. It's good to know it was useful in some way.


text:
Висар Фида (; ) е политик от Северна Македония от албански произход.

Биография
Роден е на 24 януари 1971 г. в град Скопие. През 1998 г. завършва магистратура по компютърни науки към Техническия университет във Виена. През 2014 г. става магистър по бизнес администрация към Лондонското бизнес училище. Между септември 2005 и март 2009 г. работи като държавен съветник за телекомуникациите. От 2009 до 2011 г. работи към EVN в Тетово, където е директор отговорен за снабдяване с енергия. През 2011 г. е назначен за изпълнителен директор на агенцията за чуждестранни инвестиции и насърчаване на износа на Република Македония. На 28 юли 2011 година е назначен за министър без ресор, отговарящ да привличане на чуждестранни инвестиции в правителството на Република Македония.

Бележки

Министри без ресор на Северна Македония
Северномакедонски албанци
Родени в Скопие


We are delighted to welcome this high-calibre jazz quintet led by guitarist Ant Law, playing his compositions.
Guitarist Ant Law was a scholar at both Edinburgh University and Berklee College of Music until moving to London in 2008. He then picked up work with artists such as Tim Garland, Mica Paris, Gwilym Simcock, Leon Ware, Asaf Sirkis, Koby Israelite, Camille O'Sullivan, Britain's Got Talent star Tony Laf, X-factor winner Steve Brookstein and Eileen Hunter, and members of Incognito and Level 42.
Ant's debut album "Entanglement" was released on the 33Jazz record label in February 2013 to great critical acclaim. This project was awarded funding from the Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme. The album launch at Pizza Express Dean Street was sold out and the band then completed a 29-date UK tour, with further support from Jazz Services. Ant completed the second volume of compositions whilst on tour in Brazil this summer. The band are showcasing that music before recording the second album.
This entry was posted in drums, guitars, saxes on April 25, 2014 by deebyrne.


I just moved to California, and everyone keeps telling me to check out Vegas.
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We're very happy to announce that the second part of our Lightroom Workshop Series, Advanced Lightroom Processing, is here!
This course is a collection of comprehensive tutorials that focuses strictly on the power of RAW processing within the Lightroom Develop Module.
Buy the Advanced Lightroom Processing Workshop at the SLR Lounge Store.
Many photographers are taking images into Photoshop when they don't need to be and are constantly underestimating and underutilizing Lightroom's RAW processing capabilities. Rather than having to go into Photoshop and making edits that take far more time, we will show you how to do those same advanced edits in Lightroom in a matter of seconds. In addition, everything that you learn in this workshop can be applied to both Lightroom and Photoshop Adobe Camera RAW (ACR).
We'll be taking you through 11 hours and 70 start-to-finish images to cover all the stylistic effects you can achieve through RAW processing and situational RAW processing. Discover new ways to use Lightroom to get your images from ordinary to extraordinary in no time at all!
Each one of our chapters will focus on a specific aspect of processing so that we can really get into the nitty-gritty details of RAW processing, go over every RAW Processing function and feature, and demonstrate edits for almost any situation.
Get your copy of the Advanced Lightroom Processing Workshop at the SLR Lounge Store.
Anyway to get the discount when you don't have twitter?
The link to "Advanced Lightroom Processing" isn't working – clicking on it results in a page not found error.
Thanks for catching that for us! I've updated the link so the links should work now.


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Omaha Public Power District to kick off Midwest Transmission Project
The Midwest Transmission Project includes a 345-KV transmission line from Nebraska City, Neb., to Sibley, Mo., which is near Kansas City
The Omaha Public Power District said Aug. 14 that its board of directors has approved funding related to a power line project that will, among other things, allow greater use of renewable energy.
The Midwest Transmission Project includes a 345-KV transmission line from Nebraska City, Neb., to Sibley, Mo., which is near Kansas City. The evening of Aug. 13, the OPPD board approved a contract for foundation construction at the OPPD's substation just outside of the Nebraska City Power Station to support the project.
OPPD has partnered with Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) of Kansas City, Missouri, to develop and construct the 180 mile high-voltage line. OPPD is responsible for the Nebraska portion. When the Midwest Transmission Project is complete it will relieve congestion on the electric grid in the region, help advance renewable energy and increase reliability, OPPD noted.
The contract for construction of the foundation system at the substation is for $465,000 and it was awarded to Thompson Construction Inc., of Arlington, Neb. That work is expected to begin in September as is transmission construction.
Recently, OPPD and KCP&L agreed with the Southwest Power Pool to update the in-service date of the project, which is one of several priority projects determined by SPP. MTP is now scheduled to be in service by late 2016.
In other action, the board on Aug. 13 also:
· Approved an agreement selecting Brattle Group of Cambridge, Mass., as OPPD's new external rate consultant; the agreement is for five years, with the option to renew for and additional five years
· Approved a compensation adjustment for Vice President Jon Hansen; Hansen has assumed the responsibility of nuclear oversight for the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station


text:
NewsQueensland News
A new voice for marriage equality
David Alexander — January 17, 2013
A tumultuous year in 2012 for the LGBTI community around the country and especially in Queensland was reason enough for Brisbane rights advocate Chad St James (pictured) to create something that could galvanise the community in the face of growing adversity.
Disappointed at the state of the marriage equality debate in Australia where several pieces of federal and state legislation to gain equal rights were defeated and moves made in Queensland by the conservative Liberal National Party government to wind back civil unions and defund the state's only gay men's health organisation, St James decided to put his efforts into making a documentary that the LGBTI community could rally behind and the broader population could learn from.
"The reasoning behind my need to make 'Love Like Yours', came from a few different factors, at the forefront of these was to create a film that would share our journey as a community fighting for Equal Rights, and our freedom to love. While some countries are making progressive steps forward in providing equal rights for members of the LGBTI community, Australia seems to be falling behind." St James told the Star Observer
St James drew upon a few sources of inspiration such as US actor/comedian Lily Tomlin and close friends and fellow activists.
"A huge part of my inspiration came from meeting everyday people and hearing their own life journeys of finding love and self acceptance."
Love Like Yours is a unique take on the marriage equality debate that continues to rage on across Australia and St James hopes its particular style will strike a cord and linger on in the minds of audiences.
"It will be quite pastiche, think of a cross between Michael Moore and John Safran, a mixture of documentary/reality television that will cover the diversity of the LGBTI community as a whole, while also tackling the current legislation in Australia in rather hilarious ways. Expect happiness, tears, laughter, hope and a take on the Australian Marriage Act that no-one saw coming."
The documentary will include interviews with celebrities along with prominent faces within the LGBTI community across the country including president of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Shelley Argent and Carl Katter, half brother of outspoken and divisive Queensland politician Bob Katter.
Believing there to be growing support for the issue within the wider Australian public, St James plans to capitalise on the momentum and add another strong voice of progression that will get people talking.
"There has definitely been progression on the issue. Public polls show more then ever an overwhelming support for marriage equality. Politicians, celebrities, high profiled figues are not only throwing open the closet doors but are also lending their voices to the fight for marriage."
St James is relying upon external funding for his documentary and has just over a month and a half to collect enough donations for the documentary to become a reality.
"The momentum is really starting to build…we reached $1000 [recently] meaning now we just $3000 worth of pledges to make within 50 days. People are now really starting to get behind it and post the pozible link on their various social network."
"I want to share our story with the world in the hope that people will understand that our love is just like theirs and that we deserve to be treated as equal, not second class citizens…we live in exciting times and while the battle is far from being won. It is on the horizon."
More info: pozible.com/lovelikeyours
Tags: Carl Kattermarriage equalityShelley Argent
Next post Mardi Gras past on show
Previous post (15) The Horizon : Season 2 - Ep 7
About the Author David Alexander
David Alexander is a Sydney born/Brisbane-based journalist and unfortunate political junkie. He is the former Queensland journalist for the Star Observer.
Blacktown LGBTQI Youth Group's Survival In Doubt Following Funding Cuts
Lydia Jupp, December 17, 2020
Same-Sex Marriages In Australia Down 15% In 2019
Shibu Thomas, December 14, 2020
Sydney Queer Irish Founder Receives Presidential Award
Jessi Lewis, November 17, 2020


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Despite Tariffs, U.S. Soy Is Still Headed to China. Here's Why
OVKNHR / Shutterstock
By Shruti Date Singh and Tatiana Freitas (Bloomberg) –It looks like China can't completely shun U.S. soybeans as at least a few cargoes of American supplies head to its shores.
The crop has been thrust into the center of trade war between the two nations. China slapped retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on American shipments, sending buyers from the Asian country rushing to Brazil for supplies. But even though the South American country is the world's largest exporter, it's still unlikely to meet China's voracious appetite alone.
Brazil's supplies will start to tighten by October, after months of record shipments. That's also just about the time that U.S. crop gathering is under full swing. With no other growers really exporting enough to satisfy China's demand, the nation will likely either buy from the U.S. or suffer through a shortage.
"We will start to see more business being done" between the U.S. and China, said Mark Schultz, chief market analyst for Northstar Commodity in Minneapolis. "It may never get to levels we enjoyed, but it's going to be better than none."
China is the world's biggest soybean buyer and crushes the oilseed into meal, used in livestock feed, and cooking oil.
As the trade war changed buying patterns, prices for the oilseed surged in Brazil, while futures in the U.S. tumbled. Even with these moves, the tariffs mean that Brazil soybeans are still cheaper for Chinese buyers than American supplies, Paulo Sousa, Cargill Inc.'s grain director for Latin America, said at an industry event this week.
It's hard to overestimate just how huge China is when it comes to the soybean trade. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted that China's soybean imports will fall to 95 million metric tons in the 2018-2019 season, the first decline in 15 years. Even with the drop, that's still about 60 percent of total global shipments.
Brazil's exports for the season are estimated at 75 million tons. Even if China sucks up all that on its own, the country is still facing a gap of 20 million tons it needs to buy from somewhere.
It may be almost impossible to meet that import need without buying from the U.S., which is expected to ship 55.5 million tons. Argentina, forecast as the next-biggest exporter, is only projected to supply 8 million tons, USDA data show.
There's already evidence that China is still doing some buying from the U.S. The bulk carrier Betis departed Gavilon Group LLC's export terminal in Kalama, Washington, for Shanghai on July 29, carrying the first cargo of American soybeans destined for China in three weeks, according to a report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To meet its demand, China will likely need to import at least 10 million tons of U.S. soybeans, Jiang Boheng, analyst with Luzheng Futures Co. Ltd., said in a telephone interview from Shandong.
Other analysts peg the number even higher. Pedro Dejneka, a partner at Chicago-based MD Commodities, said that unless China reduces its demand for soybean crushing aggressively, the country may import at least 15 million tons from the U.S. by the end of 2018.
Soy Alternatives
Still, there are some signs that China is looking for alternatives to U.S. supplies, such as reducing its soybean use. The country could lower its imports by more than 10 million tons in 2018 through measures including using low-protein diet formula in animal feed, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Aug. 5. The nation could also boost purchases of palm kernel, sunflower and rapeseed meals in place of soy, Xinhua said.
China could also draw from its "significant" soybean stockpiles instead of importing from the U.S., according to Soren Schroder, the chief executive officer of agriculture giant Bunge Ltd.
Unless the U.S. and China come to a trade resolution, the Asian country "will continue to buy those beans in Brazil," Schroder said in a telephone interview. "China in a normal year would take over 20 million tons of U.S. soybeans in the fourth and first quarter. That will be a hole in U.S. exports that will be difficult to fill with other business."
But supplies from inventory can only last for so long. High stockpiles, coupled with ample imports from Brazil between July and September, should keep supplies sufficient through October, according to a report by the China National Grain and Oils Information Center. Chinese buyers have only purchased 30 percent of their needs for October loading and half for September, according to CNGOIC, which said the country runs the risk of a shortage in the fourth quarter.
"China will buy at least some soybeans from the U.S.," Karl Setzer, a market analyst for MaxYield Cooperative in West Bend, Iowa, said by email. "It is very difficult to say when this will happen. But if they do, it will likely be once the U.S. harvest is taking place as that is usually when soybeans are the cheapest."


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Ghostlimb - "Infrastructure" (CD)
"Infrastructure" track listing:
1. Construction (2:16)
2. Concrete (1:31)
3. Extreme Duress (1:48)
4. Biota (1:07)
5. Reduction (1:25)
6. Asphalt (3:02)
7. Unending Ache (1:36)
8. Incomplete Works (2:08)
9. Traverse (1:44)
10. Substructure (1:39)
11. Eight (4:27)
12. Plastic Surgery (2:35)
Reviewed by heavytothebone2 on April 19, 2011
"Where the record hits its peak is with the flourishes of melodic guitar work and a sinking feeling of uneasiness on the longer cuts, 'Asphalt' and 'Eight.'"
Ghostlimb is another project from proficient vocalist/guitarist Justin Smith, who is also involved with the hilarious grindcore act Graf Orlock. Much more serious than his other bands, Ghostlimb's hardcore sound may seem all bitter and punishing on the outside, but it does have a gooey melodic temper on the inside. Their third album, "Infrastructure," continues to push this agenda across 12 tracks. The album isn't lengthy, and a few of the shorter songs zoom through with destructive impact, but it is the more restrained tunes that work out best for this trio.
No knock against the one-minute scorchers, though. While these songs lack tunefulness, they have a forceful energy to fall back on. "Construction" enters thrash ground, a joyful display worthy of being labeled the opening tune. An abundance of fast drum blasting and unstable riffs welcome "Extreme Duress" and the driving tempo of "Unending Ache" makes the title of the song seem all the more appropriate. The band certainly knows what they are doing with these tracks, but they aren't the high points of "Infrastructure."
Melodic components give "Concrete" and "Incomplete Works" relevance beyond their briefness. A stretched-out song may only happen a few times on the album, but it is the instances where the band is on top. "Asphalt" is heavy on the bass and slow in delivery. It's a combination that makes it automatically stand out from the rest of the songs. "Eight" works off of a rattling start that descends into a clean extended passage worthy of the stark haze it creates. A lone guitar strums lifelessly to close out a wonderful piece tucked near the end of the record.
The real ending of the album is saved for the Leatherface cover "Plastic Surgery." Leatherface is a British punk band with a cult following and "Plastic Surgery" is one of their more laid-back numbers. Ghostlimb does a credible job with the track, and Smith's vocals are better suited than the gruff ones on the original. The thing is, the track is out of place, and seems like an unnecessary coda to the strong close developed by "Eight." After a powerful display like that, the band scales back, and drifts into the final moments of the record like a paper sailboat in a calm pond.
This band has been laying beneath the scanners for years, which may continue with "Infrastructure." Not a terrible release, "Infrastructure" just lacks enough gripping qualities to warrant giving it attention. The Leatherface cover is out of place and the emphasis on quick-paced songs with a lack of hooks hurts the album's appeal. Where the record hits its peak is with the flourishes of melodic guitar work and a sinking feeling of uneasiness on the longer cuts, "Asphalt" and "Eight." Fans will be satisfied with this one, but there isn't much to attract new listeners to the party.
Highs: Fast-paced, some melodic structure on "Asphalt" and "Eight," doesn't waste much time
Lows: Awkward ending to record with "Plastic Surgery," lack of hooks on the shorter songs
Bottom line: Fans of Graf Orlock and their earlier material will enjoy "Infrastructure," but others tread with caution.
Get more info including news, reviews, interviews, links, etc. on our Ghostlimb band page.


The Traveling Man, Robot, Located near the DART Deep Ellum Rail Station, Dallas, Texas, America - There are three sculptures made of stainless steel, and the largest, this one, is 38 feet tall. The other sculptures are located at the corner of Gaston and Good Latimer and at the corner of Good Latimer and Elm St. I think Dallas has one of the best skylines in the USA, I think the best location to shoot it is from the Hyatt Regency Hotel.


'The Price of Friendship' was my first completed and published novel. It grew out of a prompt from The Great Hites podcast. The prompt was "A pound of flesh" from the 'Merchant of Venice'. I thought the story would go one way and end after about 5000 words. But as I got into it, it went a totally different way. I did the first few episodes on Great Hites, and then Justin Lowmaster suggested I participate in the "Something International Podcast" that ran every day in 2010. I was writing very 'organically' without thinking much about where the story was going.
In 2011 I decided I needed to finish something and decided that story was most complete. It ended with just over 50,000 words and pretty rough, compared to what I have learned since. But it is what it is, my first published novel and is available on podiobooks.com in 16 audio episodes.


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Ltd to 300, gatefold, black vinyl One of the biggest cult classics of Maryland doom metal available on vinyl at last! Released on the classic Hellhound label in 1993, a year after the demo Voyage (also available on LP from Svart) The album resulted in an US tour with doom pioneers Saint Vitus. For some reason neither Hellhound nor Nuclear Blast USA who licenced it for US distribution never pressed it on vinyl. The Svart vinyl edition of Standing on the Sun comes in a gatefold jacket and is mastered on 45 rounds per minute on virgin vinyl.


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Oedura fimbria, also called the western marbled velvet gecko, is a species of geckos endemic to Western Australia.

References

Oedura
Geckos of Australia
Reptiles described in 2016
Taxa named by Paul M. Oliver
Taxa named by Paul Doughty