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Government snubs campaign to build hospital central to St Albans, Watford and Dacorum
Anne Suslak
Watford General Hospital
A petition to build a new hospital central to St Albans, Watford and Dacorum has met with an unwelcome response from the Government.
The petition, which closed on Wednesday, May 23, called on NHS decision makers to urge the West Herts Hospital Trust (WHHT) to build a new A&E hospital in a central location rather than redeveloping the existing Watford General Hospital.
After reaching 10,000 signatures, the petition had gained enough support to be considered by the Government, who argued that the decision was best left to the local NHS, specifically Herts Valley Clinical Commissioning Group (HVCCG).
A statement from the Department of Health and Social Care said: "The Government understands that Herts Valley CCG has gone through a lengthy engagement process to reach the decision to maintain A&E services in Watford General Hospital.
"The Government is clear that all service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. Decisions on configuration are best made by the local NHS, who can best assess how to meet the needs of people in their area.
"For any significant system reconfiguration, we expect all local parts of the system to be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly; it is vital that people can shape the future of their local services."
However campaigner Andy Love, who started the petition, feels that the Government is attempting to "pass the buck" by devolving responsibility to the local NHS trust.
He said: "The government response to my petition calling for a new A&E Hospital for West Herts was underwhelming to say the least.
"A lot of time and effort was put in to achieve the 10,000 signatures needed to trigger a government response. By saying that the government understands that HVCCG have gone through a lengthy engagement process to reach their decision does not inspire confidence that this process has been fully audited by the NHS regulators.
"The government response also says 'The CCG has stated that their ambition is for as much new building as possible, rather than only refurbishment.' I ask anyone to stand at the bottom of Watford General Hospital's car parks and look up the steep hill at the buildings and ask yourself is this really the best place for West Herts' only A&E Hospital for the next 50 years?
"The redevelopment work will take over 12 years and during this period the A&E hospital would be expected to continue to operate as normal - frightening!
"I sincerely hope that the petitions committee review the government's response and decide to press them for an independent review of HVCCG's decision making process that has led to them approving West Herts Hospital Trust's plans for retaining WGH as West Herts only A&E Hospital."
The petition has previously been backed by former Labour MP for St Albans Kerry Pollard, as well as Sir Mike Penning, who is MP for Hemel Hempstead. The current MP Anne Main, however, declined to back the petition as it lacked provision to keep critical services at St Albans City Hospital.
Members of the New Hospital Campaign (NHC), argued that building a new hospital would be cheaper and quicker than redeveloping Watford General, and would be easier to access by public transport than the current site in Vicarage Road, Watford.
A spokesperson for Herts Valley CCG said: "We welcome the government's response to Mr Love's petition which recognises that the CCG and the hospital trust went through a lengthy public engagement process to arrive at our preferred option of redeveloping Watford General Hospital as the base for A&E and critical care services. The engagement that we carried out in 2016 about hospital options reached the same conclusion as a health care review in 2007 when A&E services were centralised at Watford. This was also subject to formal public consultation which we have been advised that we can still legally rely on.
"We are waiting for a response from national regulators on our high level plans before we can progress to the next more detailed planning phase when there will be further opportunities for residents and patients to input into the proposals. We want to make sure that the new hospital facilities that we develop meet local healthcare needs and public feedback will be vital in helping us shape their design."
Kerry Pollard
Andy Love
St Albans City Hospital
Commissioning Group


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But scientists have found that there are ways to start up an exercise routine, and set expectations for yourself, that may increase your chances of making a lifestyle change. how to start a dirt bike in cold weather Start off training 3 days per week. Start with one day of full body resistance training in-between 2 cardio days. Train for approximately 45 minutes on resistance days including a 5-10 minute warm-up and 5-10 minutes of stretching at the end.
Believe it or not, starting a new fitness routine is not easy for everyone. Some people come from a long life of sports and being on teams, but many others have not.
Start off training 3 days per week. Start with one day of full body resistance training in-between 2 cardio days. Train for approximately 45 minutes on resistance days including a 5-10 minute warm-up and 5-10 minutes of stretching at the end.
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Assexualidade ou espectro assexual é a falta total, parcial ou condicional de atração sexual a qualquer pessoa, independente do sexo biológico ou gênero.

Assexuais tendem em sua maioria a apresentar pouco ou inexistente interesse nas atividades sexuais humanas. Assexualidade é considerada uma orientação sexual, sendo também parte do "A" da sigla LGBTQIAPN+.

Embora tal sexualidade abranja também um amplo espectro de subidentidades assexuais conhecido como área cinza ou assexualidade cinza, do qual fazem parte a demissexualidade e sapiossexualidade, duas das mais conhecidas atualmente, quando falamos de assexualidade em seu sentido mais literal, nos referimos à assexualidade estrita e/ou plena, isto é, a pura falta total de desejo sexual.

Definição, identidade e relacionamentos

Assexualidade às vezes é chamada de ace (uma abreviação fonética de "assexual"), enquanto a comunidade às vezes é chamada de comunidade ace, por pesquisadores ou assexuais. Como existe uma variação significativa entre as pessoas que se identificam como assexuais, a assexualidade pode abranger definições amplas. Os pesquisadores geralmente definem a assexualidade como a falta de atração sexual ou a falta de interesse sexual, mas suas definições variam; eles podem usar o termo "para se referir a indivíduos com desejo ou atração sexual baixa ou ausente, comportamentos sexuais baixos ou ausentes, parcerias não sexuais exclusivamente românticas ou uma combinação de desejos e comportamentos sexuais ausentes". A autoidentificação como assexual também pode ser um fator determinante.

A  Asexual Visibility and Education Network define um assexual como "alguém que não sente atração sexual" e declarou, "outra pequena minoria se considerará assexual por um breve período de tempo enquanto explora e questiona sua própria sexualidade" e que "não existe um teste decisivo para determinar se alguém é assexual. Assexualidade é como qualquer outra identidade - em sua essência, é apenas uma palavra que as pessoas usam para se ajudar a se descobrir. Se a qualquer momento alguém achar a palavra assexual útil para se descrever, nós o encorajamos a usá-la enquanto fizer sentido."

Pessoas assexuais, embora não tenham atração sexual por nenhum gênero, podem se envolver em relacionamentos puramente românticos, enquanto outros não podem. Existem indivíduos com identificação assexual que relatam sentir atração sexual, mas não a inclinação de agir de acordo porque não têm nenhum desejo verdadeiro ou necessidade de se envolver em atividades sexuais ou não sexuais (abraços, mãos dadas, etc.), enquanto outros assexuais se envolvem em carícias ou outras atividades físicas não sexuais. Alguns assexuais participam de atividades sexuais por curiosidade. Alguns podem se masturbar como uma forma solitária de alívio, enquanto outros não sentem necessidade de fazê-lo.

No que diz respeito à atividade sexual em particular, a necessidade ou desejo de masturbação é comumente referido como impulso sexual pelos assexuais e eles o dissociam da atração sexual e de ser sexual; os assexuais que se masturbam geralmente consideram isso um produto normal do corpo humano e não um sinal de sexualidade latente, e podem nem mesmo achar isso prazeroso. Alguns homens assexuais não conseguem ter uma ereção e a atividade sexual tentando a penetração é impossível para eles. Assexuais também diferem em seus sentimentos em relação à prática de atos sexuais: alguns são indiferentes e podem fazer sexo para o benefício de um parceiro romântico; outros são mais fortemente avessos à ideia, embora normalmente não desgostem das pessoas por fazerem sexo.

Muitas pessoas que se identificam como assexuais também se identificam com outros rótulos. Essas outras identidades incluem como eles definem seu gênero e sua orientação romântica. Frequentemente, eles integrarão essas características em um rótulo maior com o qual se identificam. Em relação aos aspectos românticos ou emocionais da orientação sexual ou identidade sexual, por exemplo, os assexuais podem se identificar como heterossexuais, lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, queer, ou pelos seguintes termos para indicar que eles se associam aos aspectos românticos, em vez de sexuais, da orientação sexual:

 arromântico; falta de atração romântica por qualquer pessoa
 birromântico; por analogia ao bissexual
 heterorromântico; por analogia ao heterossexual
 homorromântico; por analogia ao homossexual
 panromântico; por analogia ao pansexual

As pessoas também podem se identificar com a área cinza (tal um cinza-romântico, demirromântico, demissexual ou semissexual) porque sentem que estão entre serem arromânticos e não arromânticos, ou entre a assexualidade e a atração sexual. Embora o termo área cinza possa abranger qualquer pessoa que ocasionalmente sinta atração romântica ou sexual, demissexuais ou semissexuais experimentam atração sexual apenas como um componente secundário, sentindo atração sexual uma vez que uma conexão emocional razoavelmente estável ou ampla tenha sido criada.

Outras palavras e frases únicas usadas na comunidade assexual para elaborar identidades e relacionamentos também existem. Um termo cunhado por indivíduos da comunidade assexual é friend-focused, que se refere a relacionamentos não românticos altamente valorizados. Outros termos incluem squishes e zucchinis, que são paixões não românticas e relacionamentos queer-platônicos, respectivamente. Alguns assexuais usam naipes da carta de baralho ás como identidades de sua orientação assexual: o ás de espadas para os arromânticos, o ás de copas para os romanticos, o ás de ouros para os demissexuais e o ás de paus para os greyssexuais.

Termos como não assexuais e alossexual são usados para se referir a indivíduos do lado oposto do espectro da sexualidade.

A palavra assexual, no português, foi incorporada pela primeira vez ao dicionário somente em 2021, diferente de assexuada, que se refere a reprodução sem fecundação e já se encontrava em todos os dicionários.

Pesquisa

Prevalência

A maioria dos estudiosos concorda que a assexualidade é rara, constituindo 1% ou menos da população. Assexualidade não é um novo aspecto da sexualidade humana, mas é relativamente nova ao discurso público. S.E. Smith do The Guardian não tem a certeza de que assexualidade realmente aumentou, mas tende a acreditar que está simplesmente mais visível. Alfred Kinsey avaliou indivíduos de 0 a 6 de acordo com sua orientação sexual de  heterossexual a homossexual, conhecido como a escala de Kinsey. Ele também incluiu a categoria à qual chamou  "X" para indivíduos com "nenhuns contactos ou reações afeto-sexuais." EKinsey rotulou 1,5% da população adulta masculina como X.resentar assexualidade, o estudioso Justin J. Lehmiller declarou, "a classificação X de Kinsey enfatizou uma carência de comportamento sexual, enquanto a definição moderna de assexualidade enfativa uma carência de atração sexual. Assim, a Escala de Kinsey pode não ser suficiente para classificação precisa de assexualidade." Kinsey rotulou 1,5% da população adulta masculina como X. Em seu segundo livro, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, ele reportou sua discriminação de indivíduos que são X: mulheres não-casadas (14 -19%), mulheres casadas (1 - 3%), mulheres anteriormente casadas (5 - 8%), homens não-casados (3 - 4%), homens casados (0%), e homens anteriormente casados (1 - 2%). Vale ressaltar que a escala Kisney atualmente não é amplamente utilizada por estudiosos, sendo abandonadas por conceitos julgados mais modernos e tampouco por populares.

Outros dados empíricos sobre uma demografia assexual apareceram em 1994, quando uma equipe de pesquisa no Reino Unido realizou uma pesquisa abrangente com 18.876 residentes britânicos, estimulada pela necessidade de informações sexuais após a pandemia da AIDS. A pesquisa incluiu uma pergunta sobre atração sexual, para a qual 1,05% dos entrevistados responderam que "nunca se sentiram sexualmente atraídos por ninguém". O estudo desse fenômeno foi continuado pelo pesquisador canadense de sexualidade Anthony Bogaert em 2004, que explorou a demografia assexual em uma série de estudos. A pesquisa de Bogaert indicou que 1% da população britânica não sente atração sexual, mas ele acreditava que o número de 1% não era um reflexo preciso da porcentagem provavelmente muito maior da população que poderia ser identificada como assexual, observando que 30% das pessoas contatadas para a pesquisa inicial optaram por não participar da pesquisa.Visto que pessoas com menos experiência sexual são mais propensas a se recusar a participar de estudos sobre sexualidade, e os assexuais tendem a ter menos experiência sexual do que as pessoas sexuais, é provável que os assexuais estejam sub-representados nos participantes que responderam. O mesmo estudo descobriu que o número de homossexuais e bissexuais somados chega a cerca de 1,1% da população, o que é muito menor do que indicam outros estudos.

Comparando o valor de 1% de Bogaert, um estudo de Aicken et al.,publicado em 2013, sugere que, com base nos dados do Natsal-2 de 2000-2001, a prevalência de assexualidade na Grã-Bretanha é de apenas 0,4% para a faixa etária de 16 a 44 anos. Esta porcentagem indica uma diminuição em relação ao valor de 0,9% determinado a partir dos dados do Natsal-1 coletados na mesma faixa etária uma década antes. Uma análise de 2015 por Bogaert também encontrou um declínio semelhante entre os dados do Natsal-1 e do Natsal-2. Aicken, Mercer e Cassell encontraram algumas evidências de diferenças étnicas entre os entrevistados que não experimentaram atração sexual; homens e mulheres de origem indiana e paquistanesa tiveram maior probabilidade de relatar a falta de atração sexual.

Em uma pesquisa realizada pela YouGov em 2015, 1.632 adultos britânicos foram convidados a tentar se posicionar na escala de Kinsey. 1% dos participantes respondeu "Sem sexualidade". A repartição dos participantes foi de 0% homens, 2% mulheres; 1% em todas as faixas etárias.

Orientação sexual, saúde mental e causa
Há um debate significativo sobre se a assexualidade é ou não uma orientação sexual. Foi comparado e igualado a Síndrome do desejo sexual hipoativo (DSH), em que ambos implicam uma falta geral de atração sexual por alguém; DSH tem sido usado para medicalizar a assexualidade, mas a assexualidade geralmente não é considerada um distúrbio ou disfunção sexual (como anorgasmia, anedonia, etc.), porque não necessariamente define alguém como tendo um problema médico ou problemas relacionados a outras pessoas socialmente. Ao contrário das pessoas com DSH, as pessoas assexuais normalmente não experimentam "angústia acentuada" e "dificuldade interpessoal" em relação aos sentimentos sobre sua sexualidade, ou geralmente falta de excitação sexual; a assexualidade é considerada a falta ou ausência de atração sexual como uma característica duradoura. Um estudo descobriu que, em comparação com indivíduos DSH, assexuais relataram níveis mais baixos de desejo sexual, experiência sexual, angústia relacionada ao sexo e sintomas depressivos. Os pesquisadores Richards e Barker relatam que os assexuais não têm taxas desproporcionais de alexitimia, depressão ou transtornos de personalidade. Algumas pessoas, entretanto, podem se identificar como assexuais, mesmo que seu estado não sexual seja explicado por um ou mais dos distúrbios mencionados acima.

O primeiro estudo que forneceu dados empíricos sobre os assexuais foi publicado em 1983 por Paula Nurius, a respeito da relação entre orientação sexual e saúde mental. 689 sujeitos - a maioria dos quais eram estudantes em várias universidades nos Estados Unidos tendo aulas de psicologia ou sociologia - participaram de várias pesquisas, incluindo quatro escalas de bem-estar clínico. Os resultados mostraram que os assexuais têm maior probabilidade de ter baixa autoestima e maior probabilidade de ficarem deprimidos do que os membros de outras orientações sexuais; 25,88% dos heterossexuais, 26,54% bissexuais (chamados de "ambissexuais"), 29,88% dos homossexuais e 33,57% dos assexuais relataram ter problemas de autoestima. Uma tendência semelhante existia para a depressão. Nurius não acreditava que conclusões firmes pudessem ser tiradas disso por vários motivos.

Em um estudo de 2013, Yule et al. examinou as variações de saúde mental entre heterossexuais, homossexuais, bissexuais e assexuais caucasianos. Os resultados de 203 participantes do sexo masculino e 603 do sexo feminino foram incluídos nas descobertas. Yule et al. descobriram que participantes assexuais do sexo masculino eram mais propensos a relatar ter um transtorno de humor do que outros homens, particularmente em comparação aos participantes heterossexuais. O mesmo foi verificado para participantes assexuais do sexo feminino em relação às heterossexuais; no entanto, mulheres não assexuais e não heterossexuais tiveram as taxas mais altas. Participantes assexuais de ambos os sexos eram mais propensos a ter transtornos de ansiedade do que os participantes heterossexuais e não heterossexuais, assim como eram mais propensos do que os participantes heterossexuais a relatar ter tido sentimentos suicidas recentes. Yule et al. levantaram a hipótese de que algumas dessas diferenças podem ser devido à discriminação e outros fatores sociais.

Com relação às categorias de orientação sexual, a assexualidade pode ser argumentada como não sendo uma categoria significativa a ser adicionada ao continuum e, em vez disso, como a falta de orientação sexual ou sexualidade. Outros argumentos propõem que a assexualidade é a negação da sexualidade natural de alguém e que é um distúrbio causado pela vergonha da sexualidade, ansiedade ou abuso sexual, às vezes baseando essa crença em assexuais que se masturbam ou ocasionalmente se envolvem em atividades sexuais simplesmente para agradar um parceiro romântico. Dentro do contexto das políticas de identidade de orientação sexual, a assexualidade pode cumprir pragmaticamente a função política de uma categoria de identidade de orientação sexual.

A sugestão de que a assexualidade é uma disfunção sexual é controversa entre a comunidade assexual. Aqueles que se identificam como assexuais geralmente preferem que seja reconhecida como uma orientação sexual. Os estudiosos que argumentam que a assexualidade é uma orientação sexual podem apontar para a existência de diferentes preferências sexuais. Eles e muitos assexuais acreditam que a falta de atração sexual é válida o suficiente para ser categorizada como orientação sexual. Os pesquisadores argumentam que os assexuais não optam por não ter desejo sexual e geralmente começam a descobrir suas diferenças em comportamentos sexuais na adolescência. Por causa desses fatos virem à tona, é argumentado que a assexualidade é mais do que uma escolha comportamental e não é algo que pode ser curado como um distúrbio. Há também uma análise sobre se a identificação como assexual está se tornando mais popular.

A pesquisa sobre a etiologia da orientação sexual quando aplicada à assexualidade tem o problema de definição de orientação sexual não sendo consistentemente definida pelos pesquisadores. Embora a heterossexualidade, a homossexualidade e a bissexualidade sejam geralmente, mas nem sempre, determinadas durante os primeiros anos da vida pré-adolescente, não se sabe quando a assexualidade é determinada. "Não está claro se essas características [no caso, "falta de interesse ou desejo por sexo"] são consideradas para a vida toda ou se podem ser adquiridas".

Um critério geralmente usado para definir a orientação sexual é que ela seja estável ao longo do tempo. Em uma análise de 2016 no Archives of Sexual Behavior, Brotto et al. encontraram "apenas um apoio fraco" para este critério sendo atendido entre indivíduos assexuais. Uma análise de dados do National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, de Stephen Cranney, descobriu que, de 14 indivíduos que não relataram atração sexual na terceira onda do estudo (quando os indivíduos tinham idades entre 18 e 26), apenas 3 continuaram a se identificar dessa forma na quarta onda, seis anos depois. No entanto, Cranney observa que a identificação assexual na terceira onda ainda era significativa como um indicador de identificação assexual na onda subsequente. Em um comentário subsequente, Cranney afirmou que a interpretação desses dados foi complicada pela ausência de qualquer "padrão quantitativo definido para quanto tempo um desejo sexual deve durar antes de ser considerado estável ou intrínseco o suficiente para ser considerado uma orientação".

Comunidade

Atualmente não existe um trabalho acadêmico que trate da história da comunidade assexual. Embora alguns sites privados para pessoas com pouco ou nenhum desejo sexual existissem na Internet na década de 1990, estudiosos afirmam que uma comunidade de assexuais autoidentificados se fundiu no início do século XXI, ajudada pela popularidade das comunidades online. Volkmar Sigusch afirmou que "Grupos como Leather Spinsters defenderam a vida assexual contra a pressão da cultura" e que "Geraldin van Vilsteren criou a Nonlibidoism Society na Holanda, enquanto o Yahoo oferecia um grupo para assexuais, Haven for the Human Ameba." A Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) é uma organização fundada pelo ativista norte-americano da assexualidade David Jay em 2001 que se concentra em questões de assexualidade. Seus objetivos declarados são "criar aceitação pública e discussão da assexualidade e facilitar o crescimento de uma comunidade assexual".

Para alguns, fazer parte de uma comunidade é um recurso importante porque muitas vezes relatam ter se sentido condenados ao ostracismo. Embora existam comunidades online, a afiliação com as comunidades online varia. Alguns questionam o conceito de comunidade online, enquanto outros dependem fortemente da comunidade assexual online para apoio. Elizabeth Abbott postula que sempre houve um elemento assexual na população, mas que as pessoas assexuais se mantiveram discretas. Embora o fracasso em consumar o casamento tenha sido visto como um insulto ao sacramento do casamento na Europa medieval, e às vezes tenha sido usado como fundamento para o divórcio ou para declarar a nulidade do casamento, a assexualidade, ao contrário da homossexualidade, nunca foi ilegal, e geralmente passou despercebido. No entanto, no início do século XXI, o anonimato da comunicação online e a popularidade geral das redes sociais online facilitaram a formação de uma comunidade construída em torno de uma identidade assexual comum.

Comunidades como a AVEN podem ser benéficas para quem busca respostas para resolver uma crise de identidade em relação à sua possível assexualidade. Os indivíduos passam por uma série de processos emocionais que culminam na identificação com a comunidade assexual. Eles primeiro percebem que suas atrações sexuais diferem daquelas da maioria da sociedade. Essa diferença leva a questionar se a maneira como eles se sentem é aceitável e os possíveis motivos pelos quais se sentem assim. A tendência é que surjam crenças patológicas, nas quais, em alguns casos, eles podem procurar ajuda médica por sentirem que têm uma doença. A autocompreensão geralmente é alcançada quando eles encontram uma definição que corresponda a seus sentimentos. Comunidades de assexualidade fornecem suporte e informações que permitem que assexuais recém-identificados passem do auto-esclarecimento para a identificação em um nível comunitário, o que pode ser fortalecedor, porque agora eles têm algo com o que se associar, o que dá normalidade a essa situação geral de isolamento social.

Organizações assexuais e outros recursos da Internet desempenham um papel fundamental em informar as pessoas sobre a assexualidade. A falta de pesquisas torna difícil para os médicos entenderem a causa. Como acontece com qualquer orientação sexual, a maioria das pessoas assexuais se auto identificam. Isso pode ser um problema quando a assexualidade é confundida com um problema de intimidade ou de relacionamento ou com outros sintomas que não definem a assexualidade. Há também uma população significativa que não entende ou não acredita na assexualidade, o que aumenta a importância dessas organizações para informar a população em geral; entretanto, devido à falta de fatos científicos sobre o assunto, o que esses grupos promovem como informação muitas vezes é questionado.

Em 29 de junho de 2014, a AVEN organizou a segunda Conferência Internacional de Assexualidade, como um evento afiliado da WorldPride em Toronto. O primeiro foi realizado no World Pride 2012, em Londres. O segundo evento, que contou com a presença de cerca de 250 pessoas, foi o maior encontro de assexuais até hoje. A conferência incluiu apresentações, discussões e workshops sobre tópicos como pesquisa sobre assexualidade, relações assexuais e identidades cruzadas.

Símbolos
Em 2009, os membros do AVEN participaram da primeira entrada assexual em uma parada do orgulho LGBT americana quando caminharam na San Francisco Pride. Em agosto de 2010, após um período de debate sobre ter uma bandeira assexual e como estabelecer um sistema para criá-la, e contatar o maior número possível de comunidades assexual, uma bandeira foi anunciada como a bandeira do orgulho assexual por uma das equipes envolvidas. A bandeira final era uma candidata popular e já havia sido usada em fóruns online fora da AVEN. A votação final foi realizada em um sistema de pesquisa fora da AVEN, onde os principais esforços de criação da bandeira foram organizados. As cores das bandeiras têm sido usadas em obras de arte e referenciadas em artigos sobre assexualidade. A bandeira consiste em quatro listras horizontais: preto, cinza, branco e roxo de cima para baixo. A listra preta representa a assexualidade, a listra cinza representa a área cinza entre sexual e assexual, listra branca representa a sexualidade e a listra roxa representa a comunidade.

Semana Ace
A Semana Ace (anteriormente Semana de Conscientização Assexual) ocorre na última semana inteira de outubro. É um período de conscientização que foi criado para celebrar e trazer a consciência para a assexualidade (incluindo a assexualidade cinza). Foi fundada por Sara Beth Brooks em 2010.

Dia Internacional da Assexualidade
O Dia Internacional da Assexualidade (em inglês, IAD) é uma celebração anual da comunidade assexual que ocorre em 6 de abril. A intenção do dia é "colocar uma ênfase especial na comunidade internacional, indo além da esfera anglófona e ocidental que até agora teve maior cobertura". Um comitê internacional passou pouco menos de um ano preparando o evento, além de publicar um site e materiais para a imprensa. Este comitê estabeleceu a data de 6 de abril para evitar confronto com o maior número possível de datas significativas em todo o mundo, embora esta data esteja sujeita a revisão e possa mudar nos anos futuros.

O primeiro Dia Internacional da Assexualidade foi celebrado em 2021 e envolveu organizações assexuais de pelo menos 26 países diferentes. As atividades incluíram encontros virtuais, programas de defesa tanto online quanto offline, e o compartilhamento de histórias em várias formas de arte.

Religião
Estudos não encontraram correlação estatística significativa entre religião e assexualidade, com a assexualidade ocorrendo com igual prevalência em indivíduos religiosos e não religiosos. No entanto, a assexualidade não é incomum entre o clero celibatário, uma vez que outros são mais propensos a ser desencorajados por votos de castidade. No estudo de Aicken, Mercer e Cassell, uma proporção maior de muçulmanos do que cristãos relatou  que não experimentou qualquer forma de atração sexual.

Por causa da aplicação relativamente recente do termo assexualidade, a maioria das religiões não tem posições claras sobre isso. Em , Jesus menciona "Porque há eunucos que nasceram assim, e há eunucos que foram feitos eunucos por outros - e há aqueles que optam por viver como eunucos por causa do reino dos céus." Algumas exegeses bíblicas interpretaram os "eunucos que nasceram assim" como incluindo assexuais.

O Cristianismo tradicionalmente reverencia o celibato (que não é o mesmo que assexualidade); o apóstolo Paulo, escrevendo como um celibatário, foi descrito por alguns escritores como assexual. Ele escreve em .

Discriminação e proteções legais

Um estudo de 2012 publicado na Group Processes & Intergroup Relations relatou que assexuais são avaliados mais negativamente em termos de preconceito, desumanização e discriminação do que outras minorias sexuais, como gays, lésbicas e bissexuais. Um estudo diferente, entretanto, encontrou poucas evidências de discriminação séria contra assexuais por causa de sua assexualidade. A ativista, autora e blogueira assexual Julie Decker observou que o assédio sexual e a violência, como o estupro corretivo, comumente vitimam a comunidade assexual. O sociólogo Mark Carrigan vê um meio-termo, argumentando que embora os assexuais frequentemente sofram discriminação, não é de natureza fóbica, mas "mais sobre marginalização porque as pessoas genuinamente não entendem a assexualidade".

Assexuais também enfrentam preconceito da comunidade LGBT. Muitas pessoas LGBT presumem que qualquer pessoa que não seja homossexual ou bissexual deve ser heterossexual e frequentemente excluem os assexuais de suas definições de queer. Embora existam muitas organizações conhecidas dedicadas a ajudar as comunidades LGBTQ, essas organizações geralmente não chegam aos assexuais e não fornece materiais de biblioteca sobre assexualidade. Ao se declarar assexual, a ativista Sara Beth Brooks foi informada por muitas pessoas LGBT que os assexuais se enganam em sua autoidentificação e buscam atenção imerecida dentro do movimento de justiça social. Outras organizações LGBT, como The Trevor Project e a National LGBTQ Task Force, incluem explicitamente os assexuais porque não são heterossexuais e podem, portanto, ser incluídos na definição de queer. Algumas organizações agora adicionam um A à sigla LGBTQ para incluir assexuais; entretanto, este ainda é um tópico controverso em algumas organizações queer.

Em algumas jurisdições, os assexuais têm proteção legal. Enquanto o Brasil proíbe desde 1999 qualquer patologização ou tentativa de terapia da reorientação sexual por profissionais de saúde mental por meio do código de ética nacional, o estado americano de Nova Iorque classificou os assexuais como uma classe protegida. No entanto, a assexualidade normalmente não atrai a atenção do público ou um grande escrutínio; portanto, não tem sido objeto de legislação tanto quanto outras orientações sexuais.

Na mídia

A representação assexual na mídia é limitada e raramente reconhecida ou confirmada abertamente pelos criadores ou autores. Em obras compostas antes do início do século XXI, os personagens geralmente são automaticamente considerados sexuais e a existência da sexualidade de um personagem geralmente nunca é questionada. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle retratou seu personagem Sherlock Holmes como o que hoje seria classificado como assexual,com a intenção de caracterizá-lo como movido exclusivamente pelo intelecto e imune aos desejos da carne.O personagem da Archie Comics, Jughead Jones, provavelmente foi planejado por seus criadores como um contraponto assexual à heterossexualidade de Archie, mas, ao longo dos anos, essa representação mudou, com várias iterações e reinicializações da série, implicando que ele era gay ou heterossexual. Em 2016, ele foi confirmado como assexual nos quadrinhos New Riverdale. Os escritores do programa de televisão Riverdale de 2017, baseado nos quadrinhos do Archie, optaram por retratar Jughead como um heterossexual, apesar dos apelos dos fãs e do ator Cole Sprouse de Jughead para manter a assexualidade e permitir que a comunidade assexual seja representada ao lado das comunidades gays e bissexuais, ambas representadas no show. Essa decisão gerou conversas sobre o apagamento deliberado das assexualidades na mídia e suas consequências, especialmente nos telespectadores mais jovens.

Anthony Bogaert classificou Gilligan, o personagem principal da série de televisão Gilligan's Island, como assexual. Bogaert sugere que os produtores do programa provavelmente o retrataram dessa maneira para torná-lo mais identificável para os jovens espectadores do programa que ainda não haviam atingido a puberdade e, portanto, presumivelmente ainda não experimentaram o desejo sexual. A natureza assexual de Gilligan também permitiu aos produtores orquestrar situações cômicas intencionalmente nas quais Gilligan rejeita os avanços de mulheres atraentes. Filmes e programas de televisão frequentemente apresentam personagens femininas atraentes, mas aparentemente assexuais, que são "convertidas" à heterossexualidade pelo protagonista masculino no final da produção. Essas representações irrealistas refletem uma crença heterossexual masculina de que todas as mulheres assexuais secretamente desejam homens.

A série BoJack Horseman da Netflix revelou no final da terceira temporada que Todd Chavez, um dos personagens principais, é assexual. Isso foi mais elaborado na 4ª temporada da série e tem sido geralmente bem aceito pela comunidade assexual pela representação positiva.

Ver também
 Associalidade: uma falta de interesse nas relações sociais em geral
 Antissexualismo: as opiniões de alguém que é antagônico à sexualidade
 Amor platônico: um relacionamento afetivo não romântico/não sexual
 Apotissexualidade: espectro da assexualidade, caracterizada pela repulsão de atos sexuais
 Caligossexualidade: sentir atração sexual muito fraca.

Bibliografia

'We're married, we just don't have sex' ["Somos casados, apenas não fazemos sexo"], UK Guardian, 8 de dezrmbro de 2008
Asexuals leave the closet, find community [Assexuais saem do armário, encontram uma comunidade] – SFGate.com
"Assexualidade", artigo de Mark Carrigan, em: The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies 1 (A-G) [A Enciclopédia SAGE de Estudos LGBTQ 1 (A-G)].

Ligações externas

Sexualidade
Atração sexual

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Welcome to the GuestHouse Inn & Suites, your ideal hotel choice when visiting the Sioux Falls South Dakota area. The GuestHouse Inn & Suites is located near the Sioux Falls Arena and Convention Center, Fighting Pheasants Baseball Stadium and close to the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. We are also convenient to the Bike Trail, Thunder Road Family Park, Howard Wood Field, Sioux Empire Fairgrounds, Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum, Falls Park on the Big Sioux River, Elmwood Golf Course and the Washington Pavillion. When visiting Sioux Falls, South Dakota make the GuestHouse Inn & Suites your first choice for Sioux Falls hotels.


The title of this article could be «Amorgos on the rocks». If it's not «Martini on the rocks», we are nevertheless dealing with rocks on Amorgos and it's on the rocks that you discover the island and it's numerous hiking opportunities.
Odos Seladiou is not one of the main streets of Tholaria. At a short distance from the animated village, this path is worth the detour. There you will find one of the nicest bars of the island. This is were Iorghia, originally from Thessaloniki, stretched out her golden hand, restored an old village building and opened her coffee-bar «Seladi» in july 2010. The small building offers a charming courtyard and an amazing view on the village of Langada and the Aegiali bay. At night Langada brightens up like a constellation and inspires fertile imagination as to what you see : a dolphin, an otter, a scorpion or a crab. Iorghia and her crew are most welcoming, cheerful and relaxed.
Some others coffee-bars we enjoyed were «Amorgialos» on the port of Aegiali and "Jazzmin" in the main town, Chora.
As you leave the Seladi Bar you hit the dirt road to the mountain. The most courageous will pursue until the bed&breakfast of Wendula. This is where we stayed and enjoyed amorgian bohemia for 10 days. Here, no air conditionning, no television, no backround music around a pool, as there is no pool. Here you don't spend time waving bathtowels from shower to shower as it is clearly pointed out not to waste water because the autonomy of the house depends on rainwater. Here, silence is deeper than silence and at night the sky brightens up in a profusion of stars. Here you are not compelled to have breakfast between 8am and 10am. Wendula adapts to the needs of each and every one. Brunch after a swim or lunch after a longer walk, anything is possible, even a dinner under the stars, cooked by a Belgian guest who boarded the same time as we did.
Wendula has planted a vineyard from which she plans to make wine from in three years. Meanwhile we emptied joyfully bottles which came from an other production.
Faithful to Amorgos since 20 years, Wendula built her house 10 years ago and settled in with her cats and dogs. Watch her stride around the village, saluting and being saluted, and you will understand that she has been adopted by the community. You will have understood that her vivid personality created a home at her image with a warm, bohemian, unconventional touch.
Nature, peace and freedom lovers as well as hikers will feel at home. Hikers and occasional walkers: don't miss out on the thousands of walking opportunities. Not even the summer heat must put you off. Just leave early. With some willpower you will tear yourself out of your sheets, your head following with reluctance, still suffering the consequences of a heavy night. Don't forget water, biscuits, sun cream, the map of Amorgos and a good pair of shoes. The main paths are easy.
Check the website www.cyclade.be. It gives valuable information on the hiking options which will make you discover the many faces of Amorgos. These paths are well maintained and one can often encounter farmers passing on their donkeys.
All your senses will be put to the test. Sage bushes reminding you the smell of incense burning in the orthodox chapels, sweet figs picked on the way, melting on your tongue, vertigo on the mountain cliffs dropping into the sea, the touch of a donkey or a soft cat you encounter on the path, the immaculate white chapels peeping like bright eyes in the green « holy-oak » vegetation or contrasting with the burnt hills.
These are some of the walks we did: From Tholaria to Langada, to the Chapel of Stavros, passing the Monastery of Agios Theologos. Magnificient, unforgettable . Green valleys, cliffs falling into the sea. Not suitable for people suffering of from vertigo.
From Katapola to the chapel of Agios Valsamitis. There, in the hight of summer, after an hour's walk, we came across a brook with frogs and dragonflies.
Most of the nicest beaches are accessible by foot. You will find deserted creeks, or nearly, where bathers dress or undress without shame. Study the map of the island and don't fear to be adventurous. Your curiosity will be satisfied.
Here you will find a number of beautiful pictures of Amorgos.
Please, feel free to send us your impressions of the island, too!


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Red roses, chocolate candy hearts, romantic movies, and cards that say sweet nothings are all hallmarks of Valentine's Day. This holiday has become popular around the world; such countries as the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Argentina, Mexico, and France all celebrate this day. Because of the association with love and romance, it has become the most common wedding anniversary. In the Philippines, they even have hundreds of couples that gather together and have a mass wedding on that day. So why is this day considered a romantic holiday? Where did it originate? Why is it called Valentine's Day?
Some believe it originated from a Roman fertility rite that was known more for its drunken carnal happenings than sweet moments. The rite was originally called Lupercalia and was always celebrated in the middle of February because the middle of February was believed to be when the birds began to mate and spring was near. It was a celebration to enjoy the coming of spring and fertility.
They would begin the festival at a sacred cave that the infants Romulus and Remus, the supposed founders of Rome, were believed to have been raised by Lupa, a she-wolf. The priests would sacrifice a goat for fertility and a dog for purification. They would stake the goat's hide and cut it into strips, then dip it into the sacrificial blood. Then they would run around and slap the crops and even the women with the bloody goat hide believing they were encouraging fertility. Men and women would often pair off during the festivities.
When the Roman Empire became a Christian nation rather than Pagan, Lupercalia became outlawed, because it was deemed to be "un-Christian." Then at the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th as St. Valentine's Day. Although Lupercalia was outlawed, some still participated in it, so St. Valentine's Day and Lupercalia ended up blending into one celebration. Noel Lenski described the transformation best when he said, "It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it."
So who was this man Pope Gelasius wanted to honor; this St Valentine?
It is believed that there may have actually been two possibly even three different men named Valentine or Valentinus. Due to the same name, their identities have merged into one identity that we collectively refer to as Saint Valentine. It is not easy to separate the stories as they often end up overlapping one another.
One of these men, as legend has it, dared defy the order of Emperor Claudius II. The Emperor declared that Roman soldiers should not marry, because he believed that single men were better soldiers. Saint Valentine, a priest from the 3rd century, felt this decree was unjust. He defied the emperor by performing marriage ceremonies in secret for Roman soldiers. Another variation of this story is that he performed marriages in order to keep men from having to serve as soldiers and going to war. Either way, this was an act of treason against the decree.
This act of defiance angered the emperor and he beheaded Valentine on February 14th. His beheading occurred around the same time the celebration of Lupercalia, which caused the two to become associated with one another.
Many Roman men were inspired by Valentine's faithfulness to marriage and in honor of him decided to draw names of eligible ladies out of an urn during this holiday. Then the couple would pair off and spent the year getting to know one another. This often led to marriage. This custom spread across Europe, even in Germany and England.
Because many of the legends of St. Valentine overlap, the story of the first Valentine is often part of the above story. Some believe this was a different man.
This Valentine was martyred because he wanted to protect others. During the third century, Christians were being imprisoned, tortured, and beaten and sent to Roman prisons. Valentine could not bear to see this happen, so he plotted and succeeded in freeing many of these prisoners. When this was discovered, he was instantly imprisoned and his death was planned. Before he was killed while still in jail, he met and befriended the jailer's daughter. Some say he healed her from blindness and was capable of performing other miracles. But he fell in love with this woman, and before he was killed he wrote her a letter and signed it, "from your Valentine." This took place in mid-February in A.D. 270 and is believed to be why we sign our own cards this way today.
Regardless of who the man (or men) was, Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet during the Middle Ages, had a great influence over the holiday. Some will even argue that there is no evidence that Valentine's Day was celebrated until after Chaucer wrote "Parlement of Foules," which was the first poem on record to reference the day. In it, he wrote, "For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day / When every foul cometh ther to choose his mate." This officially cemented the idea that Valentine's Day was a day of romance.
Some often wonder why did he choose Valentine as his muse? Was it because the day was already celebrated in such a way? This may have been true, but some believe he connected that particular saint with romance because it was convenient artistically. He chose the name St. Valentine because it was more pleasing to say that than some of the other Saints names that were well celebrated, such as St. Austrebertha or St. Eorminhild. Eorminhild Day just does not have the same ring to it.
There are many theories as to who Saint Valentine was and why we have a day celebrating him that deals more with love and romance than saintly behavior. The truth most likely lies somewhere in between all the stories combined.
Yet today, it has evolved into one of the biggest spending holidays of the year, celebrated by buying cards and sending sweet messages to our loved ones. Formal messages are believed to have begun on this holiday in the 1500s because the oldest valentine that still exists today was written in 1415. Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote a poem for his wife, while he was imprisoned after being captured during the Battle of Agincourt.
The tradition continued and in the 1700s, commercially printed cards began. They depicted Cupid, the Roman god of love, as well as hearts, which is why today you often see pictures of this saint with winged cherubs.
Now today, there are approximately 1 billion cards sent through the postal service each year. This does not include the millions given in school classrooms, between couples in person, and the millions of other cards exchanged in person.
Despite the popularity of the holiday, it's origins still remain a mystery. They all do contain a man who valued romantic love and dying for his beliefs.
History.com Staff. "History of Valentine's Day." History.com. 2009. Accessed February 07, 2018. http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day.
Stack, Liam. "Valentine's Day: Did It Start as a Roman Party or to Celebrate an Execution?" The New York Times. February 14, 2017. Accessed February 07, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/style/valentines-day-facts-history.html.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Valentine's Day." Encyclopædia Britannica. January 19, 2018. Accessed February 07, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day.https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/topics/v/valentines-day/.
Interesting history of Valentines Day I have a hub called Red, White and Pink Heart Day that is nothing like this I loved reading the information and stories you have here.
Interesting stories and information about Valentine's Day.
A wonderful story. I lean toward a holiday to market.


Even if you're not in the media business, there's a lot to learn about how Netflix approaches content and goes about amassing an audience.
Amazon and HBO aren't the real competition as far as Reed Hastings is concerned.
The Ironworkers union now offers female workers up to six months of paid maternity leave.
You either liked it or you didn't; no more internal debates over just how much or how little you enjoyed something.
It's time to lose the potato chips. The streaming service has instructions to make a personal trainer device.
The funds will go to 10 organizations working to foster racial, social and criminal justice.
Do You 'Netflix Cheat'? You're Not Alone.
'With a show being made about your life, I think the smartest thing is to kind of stay out of the way,' Sophia Amoruso said.
Several mocking tweets were sent from the Netflix U.S. Twitter account.
China is the missing piece for both Amazon and Netflix in their global expansion as the world's most populous country has stringent policies on regulations and censorship.
This DIY doorbell gives kids all the treats they need without you ever having to leave the couch.
The CEO has been an outspoken advocate of net neutrality, which holds that internet service providers should not favor some types of content over others.
The company's shares were up 18 percent at $117.93 in premarket trading.
Manbang allows users to watch documentaries about North Korean leadership.


text:
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down in Ukraine sees last court hearing
Image of wreckage from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Credit: Twitter @JITMH17
The Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down in Donbas, Ukraine, while flying from the Netherlands in 2014, has seen its final court hearing on Friday, June, 10.
The news of the final court case of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was announced by the Joint International Criminal Investigation Team of flight MH17 on their official Twitter account:
"Today was the last day of the mh17 trial. The verdict is due in November or December 2022. The point of view of the prosecutors is read and seen here: https://strafdossiermh17.om.nl (English and Dutch) #MH17criminalfiles #mh17"
Today was the last day of the mh17 trial. The verdict is due in November or December 2022. The point of view of the prosecutors is read and seen here: https://t.co/HBs875P6tg (English and Dutch) #MH17criminalfiles #mh17 pic.twitter.com/I4fHWZYqct
— JIT MH17 (@JITMH17) June 10, 2022
Credit: Twitter @JITMH17
The tragedy that claimed the lives of 298 people, saw the court accuse four servicemen of the 53rd air Defence brigade of the Russian Federation.
The defence of one of the four defendants, Russian Oleg Pulatov, reportedly appeared in court on June 9 and June 10, in an attempt to present arguments by the prosecution.
Pulatov reportedly denied his guilt in his final plea, as he has done since the incident first occurred, stating that "it is still not completely clear what happened".
The announcement of the verdict is expected in November-December 2022.
The Hague has seen the pending case at its District Court since March 2020, and aside from these hearings both Australia, as well as the Netherlands, have reportedly launched a case on the incident before the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Iranian couple jailed for 10 years after DANCING in front of Tehran landmark

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty Archives - Frith Ellerman & Davis Law Firm, P.C.
If you do you what propose to do, i.e., start a company on the side and bid for the same contract your current employer is bidding on, while still an employee of the company, you will be in big fat trouble. The kind of trouble that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars trouble. You will get fired. You will get dragged to court. You will lose, and no, capitalism doesn't protect you, nor does the fact that Virginia is a right to work state. Please reconsider.
Total side bar – if you think "right to work" somehow protects you from your non-compete, please, Google it. See Michigan. Right to work has nothing to do with your non-compete. Nothing. I swear!
What could this employee have possibly contemplated that prompted such a strong message?
By starting a competing business while they were still employed at the company, they risked violating the a legal duty that employees owe their employers under Virginia law: the duty of loyalty.


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The ancient Greek word for pyramid means "fire in the middle." This striking polished black onyx pyramid on this collar necklace burns with the eternal brilliance of a diamond. The bold collar wire gives it a contemporary edge. You can also wear the pendant on a chain for a completely different look.


text:
Breathe easy: In busy year for wildfires, Calgary escapes the smoke
Sammy Hudes
In May, smoke filled the city skyline from wildfires burning in northern Alberta.	Al Charest/Postmedia
After two years of record-breaking smoke, summer has brought a reprieve for Calgary despite one of the busiest wildfire seasons in Alberta of the past 60 years.
Last summer, Calgary broke a record for the number of smoky hours within the city as wildfire smoke from B.C. blew east throughout much of August. With 322 recorded hours of smoke consuming the city, it smashed the mark set in 2017 of 315 hours.
But August has seen clear skies, aside from some rain, so far this year.
There have been 69 hours of smoke in Calgary, all of which came before June 3, when haze from northern Alberta wildfires blanketed the city.
"If you looked 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, that would not be unusual. That would be par for the course," said Ottawa-based weather historian Rolf Campbell.
But he said three of the past four summers — 2016 being the exception — were considerably smoky in Calgary.
"Certainly by Aug. 22, we normally are in the hundreds of hours," he said.
"There has been a pattern over the past seven years of a major increase in the amount of smoke in the Calgary area … It doesn't look like, to me, that this pattern has ended. It just may be off for the year."
Around 882,000 hectares have burned in Alberta during this year's wildfire season, equal to an area about 10 times the size of Calgary. It's the second-most area burned in the province due to wildfires since 1959, according to Mike Flannigan, a professor of wildland fire at the University of Alberta.
Smoke settles over downtown Calgary on Aug. 16, 2018.
But in big centres like Calgary and Edmonton, the bulk of that effect was felt in May. On average, it's Alberta's busiest wildfire month.
Meanwhile, after two record-breaking years, B.C. has had a quiet wildfire season. Just over 21,000 hectares have burned in the western-most province this year, after 1.3 million last year.
Winds generally flow west to east, causing smoke from B.C. wildfires to spill over the mountains in Alberta.
"Because they've had very little fire this year in B.C., there's been very little smoke," said Flannigan.
Environment Canada meteorologist Sara Hoffman said Alberta and B.C. have experienced very rainy summers, especially in the heavily treed parts of both provinces.
In B.C.'s interior, which drier than normal conditions have caused many wildfires the past few years, a moderately wet summer has helped keep fires contained.
But she said it's too early to declare wildfire season over.
"We absolutely cannot count out fires in the start of the fall, but that being said, it's late in the season now," said Hoffman.
"We've got low fire danger risks for much of the area that covers the boreal forest in B.C. and into Alberta. It's too soon to say we're out of the woods, but we can't see a situation at this time that would give us the weeks of smoke that we experienced (in past summers)."
Western provinces will likely see longer fire seasons, in addition, more frequent wildfires, heat and drought in the coming years, according to Flannigan.
An average of about 2.5 million hectares burn each year in Canada, which has doubled since the early 1970s.
"My colleagues and I attribute that to human-caused climate change," he said. "What we've found is the warmer it gets, the more fires you see."
Warmer climates cause extended wildfire seasons, creating more opportunities for fires to occur.
While wind patterns generally blew the smoke away from Calgary and Edmonton this summer, that might not be the case every year, according to Flannigan.
"Not every year's going to be a bad year. This was an active year, at least at the beginning, for Alberta. Next year could be cool and wet.
"On average, we're going to see more fire and more smoke."
shudes@postmedia.com
Twitter: @SammyHudes
Calgary Pride festival launches with flag-raising at city hall Father thanks public for support after crash kills son, leaves wife...
Inner-city pools could see $3 hike to drop-in rates: committee report
Autonomy and separatism take spotlight at Value of Alberta conference
Legalities of a possible Wexit up for discussion at conference on Alberta's future
Climate action to blame for Alberta's woes, says Conrad Black
Dozens attend annual Womxn's March in Calgary
Rejoice! Environment Canada cold warning lifted for Calgary
Jumbo Glacier deal enshrines Indigenous protected area, consigns mega-resort to history
Ottawa to help Newfoundland dig out after massive blizzard


Preparation time: 5 min. Cooking time: 10-15 min.
In another pan melt the butter over a low heat, and when it's melted add the flour continuously mixing it all together — this is called a roux — let this cook for a while and you will notice that the colour changes and becomes golden (blonde). When this is done you are ready to add the warmed milk.
Add the milk little by little making sure you don't stop beating it in, this will stop the sauce becoming lumpy. When all the milk is added you can add the salt, pepper and some grated nutmeg.
If the sauce does have a few lumps don't worry as you can pass it through a sieve.


text:
Q: Decrypt without losing data
*

*Why crypto JS files? I see that 1 in 10 have crypted Javascript. Would it be useful information?

*http://pastebin.com/Upqy9xmx - as an example of one of the files, which is encoded.
Is it possible to find out what it is coded, and is there any possibility to decrypt it without losing data?

A: Almost nobody encrypts JavaScript files (except when in transit over HTTPS because loading non-SSL traffic into SSL traffic is a huge security issue). Quite a lot of people minify JS, which is done to reduce the bandwidth needed to transfer the script so it loads faster.
The file you link to is an example of that. You can use a code formatter to restore new lines and indents, but once a human readable variable name as been replaced by a very short variable name, there is nothing you can do to get it back.
Modernizr is an open source library though, you can get the human readable version from their website.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
China's Xi Jinping Is Really Going To Miss Donald Trump Despite Four Chaotic Years
Samsung Billionaire Heir Jay Y. Lee Sentenced To 2.5 Years In Prison For Bribery
Obama Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Elected Chair Of Top U.S.-China Group Ahead Of Biden Inaugural
Taiwan's Success Battling Covid-19 Has It Ready To Plan A Reopening Of Its Borders
Bad Times For China E-Commerce?
Nickel Soars And Could Keep Flying As Demand Rises And Supply Falls.
Yidu CEO Joins Ranks Of China Healthcare Billionaires And World's Richest Women
Malaysia's Newest Billionaire Automates Factories Around The Globe
Taiwan Chipmaker TSMC Revenues Hit Record High In 2020; Stocks Follow
China Internet Heavyweight Baidu Confirms Plan To Enter EV Market With Geely
Feb 15, 2019, 09:22am EST |
Francis Lui Is The Unlikely New Face Of Macau Gaming
Muhammad CohenContributor
I cover casinos and travel in Asia.
Galaxy Entertainment Group deputy chairman Francis Lui runs the most profitable integrated resort in... [+] Macau. (Photo credit: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg)
Galaxy's evolution from a company that "didn't deserve" a gaming concession, according to Macau's casino liberalization chief, to market leader reflects Macau's evolution from a VIP gambling destination toward the "world center for tourism and leisure" that Macau and Beijing authorities prescribe. It also reflects Galaxy deputy chairman Francis Lui filling the void left when Stanley Ho, Mr Macau, then chairman of casino operator SJM Holdings and the face of local gaming since the 1960s, collapsed at home in July 2009, effectively ending his business career. You would have expected someone with casinos in their blood, or at least more prominent on their resume than Lui, a Cal-Berkeley trained engineer with no prior gaming experience, to assume Ho's role and make their company as Macau's unofficial local champion in its most prominent industry. Lui's ascent was all the more unlikely given three billionaire contenders for the role from Ho's family circle.
Ho's fourth wife Angela Leong is co-chairman and executive director of SJM Holdings as well as a hugely successful property investor and an elected Macau legislator. Successor to Ho's casino monopoly, SJM operates 22 of Macau's 42 casinos and is building $4.6 billion Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai with Karl Lagerfeld and Palazzo Versace branded hotels. Adjacent to that site, Leong's separate Macau Theme Park and Resort Limited is developing $640 million Lisboeta, a homage to the Macau of Stanley Ho's salad days, and she controls the site where SJM developed Jai Alai Hotel, another nostalgia play.
Macau tycoon Stanley Ho positioned fourth wife Angela Leong, SJM Holdings co-chairman and executive... [+] director, among the contenders to succeed him as the face of Macau's gaming industry. (Photo credit: AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Pansy Ho, once her father's heir apparent, cleared a cool $1.6 billion from the MGM China IPO in 2011 while retaining the titles of co-chairperson and executive director. MGM China owns Macau's newest integrated resort, $3.4 billion MGM Cotai, opened last February, a bookend to downtown MGM Macau that debuted in 2007. Pansy Ho also heads property developer and Macau ferry operator Shun Tak Holdings, founded by her father, reputed to have the largest land bank in Macau. Like Leong, she's a director of STDM, the majority shareholder in SJM.
When Macau casino liberalization became a reality, Stanley Ho recruited his oldest surviving son Lawrence Ho from investment banking into gaming. Lawrence Ho partnered with fellow son of a billionaire James Packer to create Nasdaq listed Melco Crown Entertainment and build City of Dreams and Studio City, the only integrated resorts on Cotai's showcase north-south spine not owned by Sheldon Adelson's Sands China, plus City of Dreams Manila in the Philippine capital. Since the Crown partnership dissolved amicably in 2017, renamed Melco Resorts with Ho as chairman and CEO has opened Morpheus, a mind-blowing US$1 billion boutique hotel designed by the late Zaha Hadid, while rebranding two of the other three hotels at its City of Dreams flagship, and listed Studio City on the New York Stock Exchange.
That's an impressive group with formidable resumes, but the bottom line is the bottom line. JPMorgan estimates Galaxy's 2018 Ebitda at $1.6 billion, matching the combined total of SJM, MGM and Melco, and Galaxy Macau is the single most profitable casino resort in Macau. Lui and Galaxy are beating the Ho clan at its own game. University of Macau gaming expert Ricardo Siu suggests Lui is the "face of Macau's new era of integrated resort development instead of the old-day concept of casino destination." To put it another way, not so much the new Mr Macau as Mr New Macau.
Galaxy Macau in Cotai is the single most profitable integrated resort in Macau, successful across... [+] all market segments. (Photo credit: Getty)
Leading junket promoter Suncity Group does more business at Galaxy Macau than any other casino in town, its VIP customers betting in excess of $5 billion a month there, according to Suncity President for Marketing Strategy YM Choong. "Galaxy has across the board appeal," Choong says. "The familiarity they have with the market adds value for customers." He cites hotels, retail and especially food where Galaxy presents tempting options for "the high and low end" of the market.
"Galaxy continues to navigate the political seas better than any other operator," Global Market Advisors senior partner Andrew Klebanow says. "They understand both the Macau government and central Chinese government. They do not attract news headlines and are uniquely uncontroversial."
"We count ourselves as a Chinese company which is run by a Chinese family," Lui, who helms Galaxy under his father, 89 year old chairman Lui Che Woo, says. "I like to say that we bring a certain new dimension to Macau but continue to evolve to be successful in the future." That formula worked awfully well for Stanley Ho for decades, and Galaxy has made it its own.
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Muhammad Cohen
As editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming following nearly a decade as a special correspondent for Macau Business magazine, I cover the casino business in Macau and
As editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming following nearly a decade as a special correspondent for Macau Business magazine, I cover the casino business in Macau and throughout Asia. I'm also a contributor to Asia Times, This Week in Asia from the South China Morning Post andand The Guardian. After writing in the US for The New York Times, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and others, I joined CNN as a news writer and producer in Washington, then moved to Hong Kong in 1995 (for six months, I thought) as a producer with CNBC. In Hong Kong, I returned to print at Bloomberg as a regional business editor, worked as an editor at both Hong Kong English language dailies and headed Asia-wide media relations for a top US multinational. I'm also the author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie, and founder of Writing Clinic, where writing gets better. You can follow me via my website www.muhammadcohen.com, on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.


text:
NiMET to establish 6 regional meteorological research centres
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) says it will establish Regional Centers of Excellence in Meteorological Research in the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The University of Ilorin would be hosting that of the North Central.
A statement by the Director of Corporate Affairs of the University, Kunle Akogun, disclosed that NIMET's Director General, Prof. Abubakar Mashi, said this while inaugurating the Surface Meteorological Station (equipment for weather data collection).
The equipment was donated by the Agency to the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Ilorin.
Mashi said Nigeria has only 54 weather observatory stations out of the expected 9,300, adding that this has prompted the Agency to partner with universities through the National University Commission (NUC).
He explained that weather was a critical element that affects everybody while urging every University to have a standard weather station.
The director general promised that the agency would continue to support the University of Ilorin in funding the station and providing the complimentary infrastructure for the laboratories.
Earlier in his address, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, stated that the equipment was a great blessing that would enhance the teaching and research endeavours.
He said it would also benefit not only the Department of Geography and Environmental Management but also many other related Departments and Units in the University.
Abdulkareem said that insufficiency of funds has retarded the capacities and activities in Laboratory, Field and classroom components of the training given to students in the area of meteorology, as well as in the capacities for cutting-edge research.
He, therefore commended the Agency saying, "the intervention we have got from your Agency, and which we are opening to the public today, is, therefore, an appreciable assistance and motivation."
The VC recalled that the relationship with NiMET began in 2010 when the University's Department of Physics signed an MoU with the Agency. (NAN)
Ajiri Daniels
Sun News Online Team
NCDC releases 4th advisory to Nigerians on COVID-19
NCAA harmonises coronavirus preventive measures at airports
Juventus stop under-23 training after opponents diagnosed with coronavirus


Is Cold Calling an Effective Approach for your Business?
When you don't have leads in your sales arsenal, the first thing you thought about is performing cold calling. Cold calling can also be referred to prospective or canvassing. This process involves contacting prospects who have not been pre-qualified as leads.
Is cold calling an effective marketing approach? Well, it is a little bit difficult to say this. According to the nature of cold calling, it implies that you won't have as much success with selling, but if you don't have any leads in your sales pocket, then it's the best option to take a leap.
Let's understand the cold calling in detail.
Cold calling is a marketing method in which a sales executive contact prospects who have not previously exhibited an interest in the business offerings that are being offered, as compared to warm calling. Cold calling is the practice of genuine outbound call centres wherein skilled telemarketing agents make calls to prospects with a key objective to sell specific products or services.
Cold calling is quite similar to the concept of fishing in a large, open lake or river.You are aware of the fact that there are thousands or lack of fish in the water body to catch, but you also know that only a few will bite the food. Whenever you head for the fishing, you would never go unprepared because you know the fact underneath. That's why you come up with plastic lures and jigs, some kind of live bait so that you can catch different types of fishes. A fisher with the complete focus on catching a great proportion of fish might bring a net, tools like hook removers, gloves, pocket knives, etc.
A focused fisherman takes time to prepare a strategy so that he can catch more and more fishes. Similarly, when it comes to cold calling, take a time to prepare the strategy, know the right techniques to employ, and you will definitely start selling more. If you are wondering that cold calling is really that simple, check out the following tips for cold calling success.
Is cold calling effective or waste of time?
Cold calling is only a waste of time if you're salespersons are doing it in wrong way. You can make this marketing process effective by implementing some proven strategies that grab your prospects' attention and achieve success.
It is a typical method of getting someone's approval and earning their trust. But, the major thing is how can you mirror someone that you have never met in- person and just spend some time over the phone? Herein, the main trick is to listen to your prospects carefully. How do your potential customer respond to the phone? Do they speak loudly or slowly? Do they sound frustrated? Do they sound happy? Identify your prospect by just knowing their attitude and behavior of talking. This can make a big different in performing cold calling and achieving success as well.
If you are doing well in engaging prospects by making them equally participate in the conversation, the chances of your success get increased. On the contrary, if you're doing all the talking and don't allow your prospect to speak, your chances of getting that lead shatters down. To prevent your prospects to hang up, offer your initial pitch, ensuring that you end it with a positive question that they can respond to. If you will be able to engage a prospect and pass the mark of 10 seconds, you can increase your odds or get leads and boost sales.
You can outsource cold calling requirements to outbound call centres to get the qualified leads and increase the sales effectiveness.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using LibrarySystem.Data.Models;
using LibrarySystem.Data.Repositories;
using LibrarySystem.Services.Data;
using Moq;
using NUnit.Framework;

namespace LibrarySystem.Services.UnitTests.Data.UserServiceTests
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class UserServiceTests
    {
        [Test]
        [Category("UserService.Constructor")]
        public void Constructor_ShouldThrowArgumentNullException_WhenPassedNull()
        {
            // Arrange
            //Act
            //Asssert
            Assert.Throws<ArgumentNullException>(() => new UserService(null));
        }

        [Test]
        [Category("UserService.Constructor")]
        public void Constructor_ShouldCreateAnInstanceOfUserService_WhenPassedValidInput()
        {
            // Arrange
            var mockedRepo = new Mock<IEfRepostory<User>>();

            //Act
            var result = new UserService(mockedRepo.Object);

            //Asssert
            Assert.That(result, Is.InstanceOf<UserService>());
        }

        [Test]
        [Category("UserService.AddBook")]
        public void AddBook_ShouldAddBookToUsersWantToReadCollection_WhenPassedValidArguments()
        {
            // Arrange
            var mockedRepo = new Mock<IEfRepostory<User>>();
            var guid = Guid.NewGuid();
            var book = new Book();
            var bookCollection = new List<Book>();
            var user = new User()
            {
                Id = guid.ToString(),
                WantToRead = bookCollection
            };

            var query = new List<User>()
            {
                user
            }.AsQueryable();

            mockedRepo.Setup(x => x.All).Returns(query);

            var sut = new UserService(mockedRepo.Object);

            //Act
            sut.AddBook(guid, book);

            //Asssert
            CollectionAssert.Contains(user.WantToRead, book);
        }

        [Test]
        [Category("UserService.AddBook")]
        public void AddBook_ShouldNotAddBookToUsersWantToReadCollection_WhenPassedInvalidUserId()
        {
            // Arrange
            var mockedRepo = new Mock<IEfRepostory<User>>();
            var guid = Guid.NewGuid();
            var book = new Book();
            var bookCollection = new List<Book>();
            var user = new User()
            {
                Id = guid.ToString(),
                WantToRead = bookCollection
            };

            var query = new List<User>()
            {
                user
            }.AsQueryable();

            mockedRepo.Setup(x => x.All).Returns(query);

            var sut = new UserService(mockedRepo.Object);

            //Act
            sut.AddBook(Guid.NewGuid(), book);

            //Asssert
            CollectionAssert.IsEmpty(user.WantToRead);
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A long-term veteran expert, consultant, and instructor – who is normally found in a keynote session – TripAdvisor's Michael Berry will serve PAW's audience with invaluable insights by way of his highly rated, captivating speaking style. Mr. Berry is also the founder of the consultancy Data Miners and co-author of popular books, including Data Mining Techniques: For Marketing, Sales, and Customer Relationship Management.
September 27- October 1, 2015 in Boston.


AN investigation has been completed into a series of botched eye operations at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital – but the report isn't being made public.
Patients and key members of staff have been told that "a number of factors" led to an "unusually high level of complications" during dozens of cataract operations carried out by a private firm.
The boss of Vanguard Healthcare Solutions Ltd, which was hired to perform the operations to cut waiting lists, says no problems have been identified with the mobile theatre used.
Musgrove has refused to release the report into what went wrong to the County Gazette, citing "legal reasons".
But a lawyer chasing compensation claims for some of the 31 of 62 patients affected says it is in the public interest to know why so many people suffered blurred vision and swollen corneas leading to the need for follow up treatment in some cases.
Laurence Vick said: "The public needs to see this report – not just the patients.
"People have a right to know what went wrong with this contract and whether lessons have been learned.
Vanguard's £320,000 contract to carry out 400 cataract operations in a mobile unit in a car park at Musgrove in May was cancelled after the problems came to light.
Referring to the investigation that followed, a hospital spokeswoman this week said: "As with similar ophthalmic incident clusters, there is no clear single cause for the range of problems our patients appear to have experienced following surgery in the Vanguard mobile theatre.
"Instead, we have identified a number of factors which may have led to the unusually high level of complications seen.
She added that the hospital trust has been working closely with the patients who suffered adverse reactions to ensure they get "the best possible ongoing care and treatment".
She said: "We have identified a number of learning points from this incident, many of which have already been implemented as a result of the investigation and others which will be implemented over time.
Vanguard chief executive Ian Gillespie said: "Our focus remains first and foremost on the patients and their care, and I'd like to personally convey my sympathy for any patients who have experienced discomfort or distress.
"This was a collaborative contract, and we have been working closely with the trust throughout this investigation.
"The investigation does not identify any one cause, but instead points to a number of different factors which may have led to the complications experienced by patients.
"No issues have been identified with the Vanguard mobile theatre facility itself.
"However, there are clearly lessons to be learnt by all parties.


text:
Quarter of UK student nurses drop out before graduation, study finds
This article was taken from: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/03/quarter-of-uk-student-nurses-drop-out-before-graduation-study-finds
By Haroon Siddique
Nearly a quarter of student nurses are dropping out of their degree courses before graduation, according to figures that bode ill for the staffing crisis in the NHS.
Of 16,544 UK nursing students at 55 universities who began three-year degrees that were due to finish last year, 4,027 left their courses early or suspended their studies.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warned that students were being put off by bad experiences on clinical placements, as well as by financial difficulties and academic pressures. The NHS faced a shortage of tens of thousands of nurses.
Attempts to address the issue over the past 10 years appear to have failed. The magazine Nursing Standard, which obtained the student data jointly with the Health Foundation, said its 2006 investigation found the attrition rate was 24.8%; today it was still 24%.
Ben Gershlick, senior economics analyst at the Health Foundation, said: "While the attrition rate has remained fairly constant over the last decade its impact is becoming more severe bearing in mind the overall shortage of nurses, vacancies in nursing posts and rising demand pressures on the NHS. The need for nurses trained in the UK has also increased as we have seen a recent fall in the inflow of nurses coming from abroad."
NHS Digital figures published in July showed that NHS care providers, mainly hospital trusts, tried to recruit 69,408 nurses and midwives in the six months between October 2017 and March this year.
In May, NHS Improvement, the health service's financial regulator, said the health service in England was operating short of 35,794 nurses – though the lack of key staff was not putting patient safety at risk because 95% of rota gaps were filled by temporary workers. The RCN has disputed the claim, however.
James Buchan, professor at the health and sciences faculty, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, who is an expert on the nursing workforce, said: "Student nurse attrition has been for many years identified as a major problem for the UK, both in terms of the negative impact on individuals who leave programmes early, and also for the system at large, given nursing shortages are so prominent and increasing."
Last year, applications by students in England to nursing and midwifery courses at British universities fell by 23% after the government abolished NHS bursaries, replacing those with tuition fees and a loans system.
Lynn Eaton, editor of Nursing Standard, said: "Nursing is a great career. Despite all we hear about the problems in the NHS and the changes in funding students while they study, it's still a very attractive option.
"However, the drop-out rate, shown by our survey, is a major concern. We need to recruit enough nurses to meet the needs of our growing older population. But we also need to make sure we're training the right people for those roles. Some students will, sadly, realise it's not for them."
Nursing Standard asked 74 universities for start and completion data for students in total. The 55 responses were analysed by the Health Foundation.
New drive to encourage doctors to write to patients in plain English	Number of doctors opting for early retirement doubles, amid pension clampdown


artnet News, February 19, 2019.
Resting State — Turquoise, 2015 has been acquired by the University Museum of Contemporary Art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The painting was donated to the museum by Alex Katz.
The watercolor, The Principles of Immortality, by Richard Kalina was acquired by the Springfield Art Museum.
An important Richard Kalina painting, Midnight Rider from 1972 has been acquired by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
— "Exhibitions- The Lookout: Richard Kalina at Lennon, Weinberg", Art in America, March 28, 2014.
Richard Kalina recently participated in Conceptual Abstraction, an exhibition curated by Pepe Karmel and Joachim Pissarro at the Hunter College Times Square Gallery. The show reprised and updated the 1991 Sidney Janis Gallery exhibition of the same name. Conceptual Abstraction was reviewed by Holland Cotter in the New York Times in November.
Richard Kalina was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Design. The National Academy was founded by Samuel F.B. Morse, Rembrandt Peale, Asher B. Durand and Thomas Cole in 1825 and was modeled on the Royal Academy in London. National Academicians are drawn from the fields of fine art and architecture.
This mini-retrospective showcases twenty paintings by the artist, who is also a well-respected critic. Starting with post-painterly abstraction (represented here by a crumpled striped canvas from 1970), Kalina went on to experiment with postmodern pastiche and now makes elegantly tessellated collages, his strongest work yet. The buoyant hexagons of "A Cartesian Diver" traverse a grid, the intersections of which are cut into squares of raw canvas, giving the delicate composition a satisfyingly rough contrast. A painter's painter, Kalina has affinities with other New York artists who came of age in the sixties and seventies, from Jennifer Bartlett to Philip Taaffe; this show will hold the greatest appeal for fans of formal abstraction. Through Aug. 13.


Flexible guardrail slows down forklift impacts and returns back to its original state. This not only reduces repair and maintenance cost on both the guardrail and the forklift, but also provides a less stressful collision for the driver.
With a steel guardrail, all of the energy from an impact is released all at once through the forklift, the railing, and the lag bolts holding the railing in. The sudden release of energy often causes damage to your lift, your concrete floor and requires that the guardrail section be replaced. However with flexible guardrail, the impact forces are slowed down by the flex of the rail and dissipate through the internal layers of the rail's core materials.
Flexible impact single rail guard rail saves significant costs from not having to replace dented guard rail and floor anchors. This guard rail absorbs forklift impact then returns to its original shape to prevent damage to rails, floors and vehicles.
Double rail flexible guard rail withstands high speed forklift impact and heavy load collisions without damage, the need to repaint, replace sections or make repairs. Polymer rails absorb impact forces and return to original shape.
Pedestrian guardrail withstands forklift impact to help protect people along walkways or near equipment that they may be working with. Rails flex and absorb impact forces to prevent denting, scarring or damage to rails, floors or vehicles.
This multi-rail barrier combines the benefits of flexible handrail and floor-level guard rail that can absorb forklift impacts and flex back into shape. The upper rails are tall enough to contain and protect pedestrians, while the bottom rail prevents forks and loads from encroaching under the barrier.


text:
14-year-old girl's cousin allegedly shot her, stabbed her more than 80 times
Chelsea Robinson
Digital Media Manager
This article contains details that may be upsetting to readers. A Pennsylvania man has been charged in the brutal slaying of his 14-year-old cousin, who died days after being stabbed more than 80 times and shot in the head. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Colin Haag III, 20, is facing a criminal homicide charge in the death of his cousin, Autumn Bartle. Court documents allege "bloody handprints" on the bathroom window in her Buck's County home show Bartle desperately tried to escape the attack. "A copious amount of blood" was found throughout the house. Bartle's mother returned home on the evening of March 30 to find her teenage daughter unconscious and bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital, where she died Monday from her injuries. Haag, who lived in the basement of Bartle's home, was not there when Bartle's mother arrived on March 30. Later that day, police found him walking along a road. As officers approached him, a gunshot sounded. Haag had shot himself in the throat, allegedly saying he "didn't want to go to jail." He was arraigned on charges of homicide, kidnapping, burglary, unlawful restraint, gun counts, and related offenses.No motive for the slaying has been released. "We hope to have that answer," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said. "We'll continue to work on getting that answer. But sometimes, as we stand here in this case, you look into the face of a killer and you don't get answers. You see only darkness."The gun Haag allegedly used in the killing was taken from the attic bedroom of the victim's father, authorities said. A GoFundMe account for Autumn Bartle's medical and funeral expenses has raised nearly all of its $20,000 goal.
Bristol Township, Pa. —
This article contains details that may be upsetting to readers.
A Pennsylvania man has been charged in the brutal slaying of his 14-year-old cousin, who died days after being stabbed more than 80 times and shot in the head.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Colin Haag III, 20, is facing a criminal homicide charge in the death of his cousin, Autumn Bartle.
Court documents allege "bloody handprints" on the bathroom window in her Buck's County home show Bartle desperately tried to escape the attack. "A copious amount of blood" was found throughout the house.
Bartle's mother returned home on the evening of March 30 to find her teenage daughter unconscious and bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital, where she died Monday from her injuries.
Haag, who lived in the basement of Bartle's home, was not there when Bartle's mother arrived on March 30. Later that day, police found him walking along a road. As officers approached him, a gunshot sounded. Haag had shot himself in the throat, allegedly saying he "didn't want to go to jail."
He was arraigned on charges of homicide, kidnapping, burglary, unlawful restraint, gun counts, and related offenses.
No motive for the slaying has been released.
"We hope to have that answer," Bucks County District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said. "We'll continue to work on getting that answer. But sometimes, as we stand here in this case, you look into the face of a killer and you don't get answers. You see only darkness."
The gun Haag allegedly used in the killing was taken from the attic bedroom of the victim's father, authorities said.
A GoFundMe account for Autumn Bartle's medical and funeral expenses has raised nearly all of its $20,000 goal.


Kevin A. Burton writes in with news that NewsMonster 1.0 has been released: "Come and get it gang! This build focuses on stability while we work hard on 1.1. Screenshots are available as is a full introduction to NewsMonster PRO."
NewsMonster is very promising, but still not ready. I've installed it three days ago and then uninstalled after it fired stupid errors ('Drive D: empty, please insert a disk') on startup. Uninstalling itself, it also took all my right-click menu extensions with it. And worst of all, it can't create subscription categories (when you have more than 20 feeds you need different folders). I'm still waiting, and I'm confident NM will be a great app in 6 months, but not now.
I have been trying out NewsMonster for the last two months or so, off and on. It has come along very nicely. Start up times greatly improved, it has folders so you can categorize your feeds (and has had them for some time now), aggregation speed is greatly improved though could get better still. Also, if you do not want to have it automatically run when you start Mozilla (or a recent Firebird nighlty), you have a preference somewhere that allows you to specify that. I think it is a very fine tool and goes above and beyond with additional features such as its reputation system (PRO version) and its weblog universe popularity tool. A great benefit for me was the ability to import my feeds from AmphetaDesk using the OPML import wizard. Great work Kevin.


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Solyndra vs. Military Boondoggles
I was offline most of last week, which means I missed a lot of the hubbub around the bankruptcy of the solar company Solyndra Inc. The Fremont, Calif.-based company went belly up last month despite the $535 million loan guarantee it received from the Department of Energy in 2009. This has sent Republican critics of renewable energy into a tizzy, who are using the company's failure to paint all renewable energy investment as a boondoggle.
Now, all of the hype fails to note that the company also got a lot of money from private investors, that it was the Bush administration that made the first moves to provide the company a loan guarantee, that the loan represents just 1.3 percent of the money that DOE has given out, and that all technology ventures come with some level of inherent risk. And some of the leading hype-sellers on the Solyndra subject haven't been as critical of other energy projects that also suck up a lot of funds with little pay off (see: nuclear loan guarantees, FutureGen).
Time's Michael Grunwald has a good take here on one of the biggest hypocrites on this front:
For example, Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has filed a bill to increase scrutiny of taxpayer-financed renewable energy projects. It wouldn't scrutinize taxpayer-financed non-renewable energy projects, like the nuclear reactors that Vitter so ardently supports. It wouldn't scrutinize why a certain Louisiana Senator has worked so hard to protect oil companies from liability for their spills. It would just crack down on Big Renewables.
Grunwald goes on to note that Vitter has sought loans for a clean-car start-up, a company that would turn animal fats and used cooking oils into renewable diesel, nuclear power, and so-called "clean-coal." The Associated Press also covered this issue today. So yeah, Vitter's criticism rings a little hollow.
See David Roberts, Kevin Drum, and Chris Hayes for other take-downs on the Solyndra hype.
It does appear that White House officials were well aware of the concerns about the firm before handing out the loan, which is problem enough. And now critics are raising questions about President Obama's relationship with a major investor in the company. But let's put the spending into perspective. For that, check out this graph from Green For All's Philip Bump, who took this data about some of the military's biggest boondoggles (think ballistic missile defense) and compared it to the amount of money lost on Solyndra. It looks like this (via Climate Progress):
How to Talk About Solyndra
The All-Time 10 Worst Military Contracting Boondoggles
Adam Weinstein
GE's $3 Billion Pentagon Boondoggle
Obama's Nuclear Boondoggle