Are you thinking about buying an Android, but want to try out the smartphone's apps first? Or maybe you already have an Android phone and want to run your favourite apps on a larger PC monitor. BlueStacks App Player, now in alpha testing, lets you do both of these things on a Windows PC.
Once downloaded on a PC, an icon of the Android robot standing on the Windows logo appears on the top right-hand corner of the Windows desktop screen. A menu of over 10 default apps is displayed by placing the cursor on the Android icon and can be opened with one click. Once activated, you can also use the mouse and keyboard to interact with the Android applications on your PC.
Pulse, Talking Tom Cat 2 and Drag Racing are some of the apps available. Testing them on an Acer Aspire 5738 laptop with a 2.1 GHz Pentium Dual Core CPU and 8GB of memory running Windows 7, I experienced none of the bugs that one might expect with an alpha version of software.
You can click out of any Android app by clicking the "X" icon only once on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Open Windows programs that are running in the background can be accessed without closing BlueStacks App Player by pressing the Alt. and tab keys on the keyboard.
The main novelty of BlueStacks App Player is that it runs like any other application on Windows. You access BlueStacks and the apps running on it like you would an Internet browser, word processor or any other Windows application without slowing down your computer.
BlueStacks has thus managed to create a program that runs applications from a different operating system on Windows that does not require the installation of a separate OS or console. Since BlueStacks App Player runs on Windows, you do not have to boot into another operating system to run the apps on your PC.
One drawback is that BlueStacks App Player requires Windows 7 or Vista, at least 2GB memory and an Intel Core 2 Duo or more powerful processor. PCs that meet these requirements are hardly representative of all the different possible system configurations out there.
In my case, I would have preferred Windows XP and Linux as well, which are what most of my PCs run.
BlueStacks will launch a final version of BlueStacks App Player Pro in the near future for a yet-to-be announced price. However, the company states that a free version will remain available.
For those users with PCs or tablets that meet the Windows operating system and hardware requirements and who want to run Android apps on their PCs, the BlueStacks App Player is at least worth the free download.


An improved active formula easily removes dead insects. Spray the affected surfaces and allow to take effect for several minutes. Then, using a sponge and plenty of water, rinse off dissolved insects and dirt. Silicone-free and AOX-free.


Bangkok is the capital of Thailand. The city is also known as "Venice of the East" because of its many canals.
The most important sights of Bangkok are the Royal Palace and the temple of the Golden Buddha which weighs 5,5 tons.
Viva.gr gives you direct access to airline tickets databases effectively reducing costs by cutting out middlemen. You can independently evaluate and select all available flights to Bangkok on any airline and based on your custom criteria, be that best price or flight schedule. You can also book a hotel in Bangkok through viva.gr hotels section.


Share information between different directives and components.
This cookbook contains recipes for common component communication scenarios in which two or more components share information.
HeroChildComponent has two input properties, typically adorned with @Input decorations.
The second @Input aliases the child component property name masterName as 'master'.
The HeroParentComponent nests the child HeroChildComponent inside an *ngFor repeater, binding its master string property to the child's master alias, and each iteration's hero instance to the child's hero property.
Use an input property setter to intercept and act upon a value from the parent.
The setter of the name input property in the child NameChildComponent trims the whitespace from a name and replaces an empty value with default text.
Detect and act upon changes to input property values with the ngOnChanges() method of the OnChanges lifecycle hook interface.
You may prefer this approach to the property setter when watching multiple, interacting input properties.
Learn about ngOnChanges() in the LifeCycle Hooks chapter.
The VersionParentComponent supplies the minor and major values and binds buttons to methods that change them.
The child component exposes an EventEmitter property with which it emits events when something happens. The parent binds to that event property and reacts to those events.
Clicking a button triggers emission of a true or false, the boolean payload.
The parent VoteTakerComponent binds an event handler called onVoted() that responds to the child event payload $event and updates a counter.
A parent component cannot use data binding to read child properties or invoke child methods. You can do both by creating a template reference variable for the child element and then reference that variable within the parent template as seen in the following example.
The following is a child CountdownTimerComponent that repeatedly counts down to zero and launches a rocket. It has start and stop methods that control the clock and it displays a countdown status message in its own template.
The parent component cannot data bind to the child's start and stop methods nor to its seconds property.
You can place a local variable, #timer, on the tag <countdown-timer> representing the child component. That gives you a reference to the child component and the ability to access any of its properties or methods from within the parent template.
This example wires parent buttons to the child's start and stop and uses interpolation to display the child's seconds property.
Here we see the parent and child working together.
The local variable approach is simple and easy. But it is limited because the parent-child wiring must be done entirely within the parent template. The parent component itself has no access to the child.
You can't use the local variable technique if an instance of the parent component class must read or write child component values or must call child component methods.
When the parent component class requires that kind of access, inject the child component into the parent as a ViewChild.
The following example illustrates this technique with the same Countdown Timer example. Neither its appearance nor its behavior will change. The child CountdownTimerComponent is the same as well.
The switch from the local variable to the ViewChild technique is solely for the purpose of demonstration.
It takes a bit more work to get the child view into the parent component class.
First, you have to import references to the ViewChild decorator and the AfterViewInit lifecycle hook.
Next, inject the child CountdownTimerComponent into the private timerComponent property via the @ViewChild property decoration.
The #timer local variable is gone from the component metadata. Instead, bind the buttons to the parent component's own start and stop methods and present the ticking seconds in an interpolation around the parent component's seconds method.
These methods access the injected timer component directly.
The ngAfterViewInit() lifecycle hook is an important wrinkle. The timer component isn't available until after Angular displays the parent view. So it displays 0 seconds initially.
Then Angular calls the ngAfterViewInit lifecycle hook at which time it is too late to update the parent view's display of the countdown seconds. Angular's unidirectional data flow rule prevents updating the parent view's in the same cycle. The app has to wait one turn before it can display the seconds.
Use setTimeout() to wait one tick and then revise the seconds() method so that it takes future values from the timer component.
Use the same countdown timer tests as before.
A parent component and its children share a service whose interface enables bi-directional communication within the family.
The scope of the service instance is the parent component and its children. Components outside this component subtree have no access to the service or their communications.
This MissionService connects the MissionControlComponent to multiple AstronautComponent children.
Notice that this example captures the subscription and unsubscribe() when the AstronautComponent is destroyed. This is a memory-leak guard step. There is no actual risk in this app because the lifetime of a AstronautComponent is the same as the lifetime of the app itself. That would not always be true in a more complex application.
You don't add this guard to the MissionControlComponent because, as the parent, it controls the lifetime of the MissionService.
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Me and Andrej Boleslavský are happy to invite you to experience our VR project DUST at Centro de Cultura Digital in Mexico City soon.
The exhibition will take place during Connecting the Dots festival featuring lots of other interesting talks, discussions, round tables and workshops.
I am pleased to invite you to the exhibition of our VR project Camouflage at Laboratorio Arte Alameda in Mexico City soon.
we're happy to announce that we'll be hosting a Retune 2018 satellite on September 28th.
the workshop will walk you through examples using the only recently released 2d graphics library (Skia) and the OpenCV library for computervision. you'll learn how with only a few clicks you can achieve quite complex results using vl.
The Retune Festival is a biennial event at the intersection of Art, Design, and Technology. Happening from September 27 – 28, 2018 in Berlin. In its fifth edition, the Festival will bring together over 250 creative pioneers across 2 days.
A full conference day with international keynotes, talks, discussions and performances. Taking place at Silent Green, a former crematorium and now a beautiful event space in Berlin-Wedding. Speakers include Kimchi and Chips, Evan Roth, Ralf Baecker, and Banz & Bowinkel.
On the second day, we take the Festival into the city. Satellite events in art and design studios all over town offer workshops, talks, exhibitions, and open-studios. We are closing the Festival with a performance and club night at STATE Studio.
This release comes with a cleaned up VL core library. We also made sure that the node set feels more explorable just by making basic nodes more visible than others. Advanced, experimental or obsolete nodes now don't hide in different packages but can be opted into the list of nodes, while browsing the library.
But this release also comes with features for you to clean up. Frames help to structure VL patches in a visual way, groups, and categories in a structural way. You even can tweak the visibility of your nodes in the node browser and by that distinguish rather advanced or still experimental nodes from the daily node set. Library developers will also love the feature to make certain helper nodes internal so that they are free to change or delete them at any time in the future.
Less VL documents get opened by default, leading to a faster startup and making the navigation menu more meaningful. Less ".Net Packages" get shipped leading to a smaller download and a lighter ".Net Packages" dependency menu. Process nodes now are lighter in terms of memory allocation.
We introduce a new way of making a VL patch run. Up to now you always had to drop a VL node into vvvv to make it actually run.
Now you can define an "entry point" in VL, leading to one running instance of that patch.
This is the first release that supports the VL.Skia library.
It comes with a huge stack of example patches.
Debugging should feel much more intuitive, as it now allows to inspect the exact state of the patches for the moment when something went wrong.
All in all this release makes VL easier to learn, use and develop for.
Тебе трудно с vvvv, потому что у тебя не очень с английским? Ничего. Теперь мы об этом позаботились. У тебя появилась возможность задавать вопросы, получать ответы и разбираться с проблемами в русском vvvv-чате.
Здесь каждый канал ведет давний пользователь vvvv, готовый помочь на родном языке. Если ты говоришь на языке, который все еще отсутствует в нашем списке и хочешь помочь другим vvvv-пользователям на твоем родном языке - просто дай об этом знать в одном из чатов и мы поможем тебе настроить новый канал. Ну или просто - присоединяйся к любому каналу, на языке которого ты говоришь - и вперед.
Боимся ли мы, что эта наша затея с языками только расколит всех пользователей, потому что все будут писать только на родном языке, и все знания, и интересные проекты так и будут оседать на разных каналах? Наоборот. Так как каналы всех языков полностью доступны для всех, каждый сможет видеть что где происходит. Это сделает нас ближе. И мы надеемся, что каналы притянут пользователей, профессионалов и целые группы интересных людей о существовании которых сейчас мы даже и не догадываемся. Ведущие каналов будут служить мостами и будут стараться перекидывать дискуссии между языками, если это будет полезно. Ок, давайте попробуем!
Findest du es schwer mit vvvv zu arbeiten, weil dein Englisch nicht ausreicht die Dokumentation zu verstehen oder im Forum fragen zu stellen? Dann haben wir etwas für dich: komm in den deutschen vvvv Chat, wo du alle deine vvvv Fragen auf deutsch beantwortet bekommst.
Jeder der Chaträume wird von einem langjährigen Mitglied der vvvv-community geleitet, das bereit ist Fragen in seiner Muttersprache zu beantworten. Wenn du eine Sprache sprichst, die auf unserer Liste noch fehlt und du anderen vvvv-usern in dieser Sprache helfen willst, sag uns einfach in einem der Räume bescheid und wir helfen dir, einen neuen Chatraum anzulegen. Ansonsten bist du natürlich auch in jedem der Räume willkommen um anderen Usern zu helfen.
Man könnte jetzt befürchten, dass mehrere Räume die Community schwächen werden, weil jeder nur noch in seiner Sprache sprechen wird und somit interessante Gespräche in verschiedenen kleineren Räumen untergehen. Aber wir denken im Gegenteil: Dadurch, dass wir öffentlich zugängliche Räume erstellen, die jeder auf einen Blick sehen und ohne Anmeldung betreten kann, haben wir die Hoffnung, die gesamte Community näher zusammenzubringen. Das Ziel ist, dass wir dadurch eine noch diversere Gruppe an Leuten erreichen können, ganze Usergruppen, von denen wir bisher noch gar nicht wussten, dass sie existieren. Ausserdem haben wir die Raummoderatoren, welche als Kommunikationsbrücken zwischen den Räumen dienen. Also lasst uns das versuchen!
Ha vannak kérdéseid vvvv-vel kapcsolatban de kényelmesebb lenne magyarul kérdezni akkor csatlakozz a vvvv-hu riot.im szobához és tedd fel kérdésedet magyarul, nyelvi korlátok nélkül.
A teljes lokalizált szoba lista a https://riot.im/app/#/group/+vvvv:matrix.org oldalon található.
Összes chat-szobát egy-egy veterán vvvv felhasználó kezeli a saját anyanyelvén. Beszélsz egyéb nyelveket amik még nincsenek a listában és szeretnél segíteni? Csatlakozz bármelyik szobához, beleértve az eredeti vvvv szobát és segítünk létrehozni egy csoportot az adott nyelvhez. Ha már létezik az adott szoba, egyszerűen csatlakozhatsz ezzel is támogatva a multikultúrális ökoszisztémát.
"Hogy marad egységes a vvvv közösség ha különböző nyelvű szobákban folynak párhuzamos diskurzusok?" Ezzel a lépéssel reméljük hogy olyan emberek is csatlakozni fognak a vvvv közösséghez akik eddig nyelvi okok miatt ódzkodtak tőle. Terv szerint a szobákban elinduló mélyebbre ható párbeszédeket a moderátor összefoglalja angolul a vvvv.org-on vagy egyéb angol nyelvű platformokon. Próbáljuk ki!
فکر می‌کنید یادگرفتن vvvv سخته چون انگلیسی زبان اول‌تون نیست؟ دوست دارید سوال‌هاتون رو درباره‌ی vvvv به زبان اصلی‌تون بپرسید؟ ما هواتون رو داریم: عضو اتاقِ گفتگوی فارسی بشید و به راحتی سوال‌های مربوط به vvvvرو بدون دشواری های زبانی طرح کنید.
هر اتاق زیر نظر یکی از کاربرهای بلند مدتِ vvvv اداره می‌شه که حاضره تا به سوالات شما به زبانِ اصلی جواب بده. اگر مسلط به زبانِ خاصی هستید که اینجا لیست نشده و مایلید که کمک کنید؛ به راحتی عضو یکی از گروه‌ها بشید و ما رو در جریان بذارید تا براتون یک اتاق جدید راه بندازیم! اگر هم نه، فقط عضو گروه‌هایی که زبان‌شون رو میشناسید بشید و بقیه کاربرها رو پشتیبانی کنید.
فکر می‌کنید این کار انجمن آنلاین رو ضعیف می‌کنه، چون هرکسی فقط به زبان مادریش با vvvv همکاری و کمک می‌کنه و محتواهای جالب و به درد بخور توی اتاق‌ها و گرو‌های مختلف گم می‌شه؟! در عوض راه‌اندازیِ اتاق‌هایی که دسترسی عمومی دارند و هرکسی میتونه به راحتی بهشون نگاهی بندازه، همه رو به هم نزدیک‌تر می کنه و امیدواریم طیف‌های مختلف از کسایی که حتی از حضورشون باخبر نبودیم رو بهمون بشناسونه. کاربرهایی که اتاق‌ها رو اداره می‌کنن اونجا هستن تا محتوا و مطالب جالب رو بین زبان‌های دیگه رد و بدل کنن. بیاین امتحانش کنیم!
¿Te resulta difícil aprender vvvv porque el inglés no es tu primer idioma? ¿Te gustaría hacer preguntas sobre vvvv en tu propia lengua? Tenemos la solución para ti: únete al chat en español donde puedes preguntar libremente sobre vvvv sin barreras de lenguaje.
Cada canal es moderado por un miembro conocido de la comunidad de vvvv que está listo para ayudar en su idioma nativo. ¿Hablas un idioma que no está disponible y quieres ayudar? Simplemente únete a cualquiera de los canales existentes y háznoslo saber, así podremos ayudarte a crear un nuevo canal. En cualquier caso, siéntete libre de unirte a cualquiera de los canales cuyos idiomas hables para que puedas ayudar al resto de usuarios en ese idioma.
¿Que si nos preocupa que esta iniciativa debilite a la comunidad porque todos van a segregarse y colaborar solamente es sus idiomas nativos provocando que se pierda contenido en distintos canales? Por el contrario: Al crear canales accesibles públicamente que todos los usuarios pueden ver en un único lugar, estaremos uniéndonos bajo un mismo techo y ojalá atrayendo a un grupo más diverso de personas que hasta ahora no sabíamos que existía. Los moderadores de los canales estarán ahí para servir de puente entre los distintos lenguajes como mejor les parezca. ¡Intentémoslo!
Vous avez du mal à vous mettre à vvvv car l'anglais n'est pas votre langue maternelle ? Vous voulez demander de l'aide dans votre propre langue ? On a ce qu'il vous faut : connectez-vous au salon francophone et posez toutes vos questions !
Chaque salon est tenu par un membre de longue date de la communauté prêt à vous venir en aide dans sa langue maternelle. Vous parlez une langue qui ne figure pas dans la liste et avez envie d'aider ? Rejoignez un des salons et faites-le-nous savoir pour que nous vous aidions à créer votre propre room. Sinon, n'hésitez pas à rejoindre un salon dont vous parlez la langue pour vous aider les uns les autres.
Craignons-nous que la communauté en sera affaiblie parce que tout le monde n'échangera plus que dans sa langue maternelle, ou bien que du contenu intéressant sera éparpillé dans différents salons ? Bien au contraire : en créant des salons accessibles par tous et visibles d'un seul coup d'oeil, nous nous rapprocherons les uns les autres et dans le meilleur cas entrerons en contact avec des gens dont nous ne connaissions même pas l'existence. Les modérateurs seront là pour faire le pont entre les différents salons quand ils le jugeront nécessaire. Essayons !
I've updated my deployment workflow yesterday solving a major issue which I wonder if anybody else met actually. If you're and you were using vpm nothing changes for you. Except 2-3 more entries in the license agreement page. If you are installing them manually well, you might want to switch to vpm, or edit xml files.
So the problem was that all my packs depend on md.stdl and mp.pddn which are both swiss army knifes when it comes to dealing with everyday coding issues. So far I just delivered them next to my packs. However this created an issue when 2 packs delivered a different version and vvvv loaded the older one first, it might have broke the pack with the newer version.
This also means my packs won't deliver these libraries with them. I'm improving these libraries as persistent as possible so old API's should stay the same while up to date packs can be guaranteed to use new API's.
you missed link? well..you were missed too. so what happened? basically: patch, lake, food. to get a bit of a glimpse, check the final presentations of the focus groups.
next chance to meet your fellow patchers in the realworld is our 4th berlin vvvv meetup on september 5th.
we've still not released our candidate for beta37 since we had a few buggers to fix thanks to your feedback. if no unexpected events occur, this should drop really soon now.
if you're looking for a job, check this announcement by intolight.
That was it for August. Anything to add? Please do so in the comments!
We're looking forward to have Quadrature giving us insights to their latest and greytest work.
Quadrature is a berlin based art collective. Their works revolves around space: data from space, humans in space, messages from space. The results are kinetic installations, performances, graphics, sculptures (actually anything but video) - and 99% of the time vvvv is at least involved in the making process.... They will show current work in progess, e.g. a new sound performance for the Kubus at ZKM.
There will be a bar serving us drinks. There will also be other poeple around as well. This time we share the space with the openframeworks community.
Thanks go to Lieke and Alfredo who are running the fantastic spacehttps://spektrumberlin.de.
beta37 is done - as far as we know. Now, please help us to find out!
Try the release candidate - link at the bottom - by opening the project you're currently working on and see if it opens timely, patching is responsive and everything works correctly. If not, please let us know in the forum using the alpha tag.
This one can be understood as a late spring cleaning.
To get the desired appearance in the node browser we at times needed to resort, rename and polish nodes and types without changing much in terms of functionality. There were other examples though where we refined some major bits in the basic node set - e.g. file IO and serialization nodes got a complete rework and just got so much easier to use. And we made sure that the core library feels more explorable just by making basic nodes more visible than others. Advanced, experimental or obsolete nodes now don't hide in different packages but can be opted into the list of nodes, while browsing the library. Within that process, we also polished the node browser quite a bit.
But this release also comes with features for you to clean up. Frames help to structure patches in a visual way, groups, and categories in a structural way. You even can tweak the visibility of your nodes in the node browser and by that distinguish rather advanced or still experimental nodes from the daily node set. Library developers will also love the feature to make certain helper nodes internal so that they are free to change or delete them at any time in the future.
Startup speed got improved. Also, there are less VL documents open making the navigation menu more meaningful. Let me not begin with the much lighter ".Net Packages" menu or the much lighter download size. Process nodes now opt for mutation which makes them lighter in terms of memory allocation.
Drop VL documents onto vvvv or VL to open them. They start running.
To make them go away use the "close document feature Ctrl-F4" in the VL document menu.
In essence, this allows to do example patches, tutorials or help patches - an essential feature that will make future libraries so much easier to learn. To have a patch start on document load, create a non-generic process called "Root" in the document patch. So again from the end user perspective: no need to create a node in vvvv to see the patch running.
Ctrl-W now behaves like in an internet browser: It just closes the tab - closing the last tab closes the VL window. Ctrl-W doesn't ask you to save the document though. Closing a tab doesn't close the document, it just closes the view onto the specific patch within the document.
If you now managed to hide the VL window use the "Show VL" command in the vvvv main menu to get back into VL.
RuntimePauseOnError: When turned on, allows to inspect nodes and pins above the pink node. You see the values for when the exception occurred. For end users, this feature typically is off. Library developers will likely switch this often depending on whether they're debugging or using their library. Reloading the settings now always should work. No need to restart when switching the setting.
RuntimeAutoJumpToError: if the auto panning gets in the way this is the setting to turn off.
You can switch the settings via Quad menu -> Settings -> Open in editor.
Actually we never really told you about how amazing the Cache region is. If you have any node that you want to perform better, ask yourself if it wouldn't be enough to only compute it when the input changes and then cache the computed results. The cache region allows expressing this easily. The cache region actually got added with beta36, but now the interplay with other constructs works better.
Loops for example now output their spreads in a way that the changed-detection of a downstream connected Changed node or Cache region only triggers if the slices actually changed from frame to frame.
Some of this stuff may for sure sound pretty special interest, but we have the feeling that these details matter in the end for having an expressive but playful language.
for an in-depth list of changes have a look at the changelog.
Beware: Make sure you secure your data. Patches saved with an alpha might lead to not being able to open them with the former beta.


Genesis is an advanced WordPress theme framework from StudioPress. The Genesis Theme Framework is essentially a core WordPress theme with a considerable amount of inbuilt options and features which can be extended further with the use of child themes (or skins).
Why a theme framework? There are numerous benefits to using a framework such as Genesis for your website including: building on a solid core theme with quality code that includes a lot of inbuilt functionality which is continually being updated and improved, plus easier customisation that doesn't break when new core theme updates are applied.
There are two child themes available for the Genesis framework (Mocha and Executive) at present with more to come.


text:
Sexual Assault Case Against CNN's Don Lemon Finally Moving Forward
Posted on September 28, 2021 by Blexit
According to a Fox News Digita l report Tuesday, the sexual assault accusations against CNN's Don Lemon is expected to land in court sometime in January 2022. This development came just as allegations of sexual harassment were raised against Lemon's close friend and fellow CNN prime time host Chris Cuomo last week.
"The attorney for the man who accused fellow CNN host Don Lemon of a sexually charged assault expects the case to finally end up in court early next year after a prolonged legal process," said senior media reporter Brian Flood.
The report noted that it's been two years since the lawsuit was filed in August of 2019 "accusing the 'CNN Tonight' host of assault and battery at a bar," and three years since the alleged incident took place. A combination of a "lengthy discovery process and the coronavirus pandemic" was what had kept them from getting to court.
The details in the lawsuit were graphic and showed a side of Lemon not seen during his normal show, but perhaps his annual drunken benders as part of CNN's New Year's Eve debauchery:
"[Lemon] put his hand down the front of his own shorts, and vigorously rubbed his genitalia, removed his hand and shoved his index and middle fingers into Plaintiff's mustache and under Plaintiff's nose," according to the lawsuit, filed Aug. 11, 2019 in Suffolk County Court.
"Lemon intensely pushed his fingers against Plaintiff's face under Plaintiff's nose, forcing Plaintiff's head thrust backward as Defendant repeatedly asked Plaintiff 'Do you like p—y or d–k?' While saying this, Mr. Lemon continued to shove his fingers into Plaintiff's face with aggression and hostility," the suit alleged.
"The alleged incident occurred at Murf's Backstreet Tavern, in the prestigious Sag Harbor town of the Hamptons area east of New York City in July 2018," Flood noted. And we know that Lemon lives in that area because his swanky home appeared in Hamptons magazine. "Inside CNN News Host Don Lemon's Sag Harbor Home," the headline read.
And in a statement to Fox News, accuser Dustin Hice called out the sexist double standard being applied to his allegations because he's a man and not a woman:
Last year, Hice told Fox News the alleged "vile, disgusting, lewd and inhumane" attack by Lemon would be treated much differently if Hice were a woman.
"I'm not doing this for notoriety or fame, I'm doing this because I'm standing up for myself and what I believe in," Hice told Fox News. "I've grown a new respect for people dealing with mental health issues because stress, depression, anxiety, those are all very serious things. It consumed my life."
In addition to Cuomo's own sexually inappropriate actions coming under the microscope, attention was being drawn to comments he made about such accusations in an audio recording secretly captured by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. That's not to mention his role in trying to aid his corrupt brother, disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) through his own sexual misconduct allegations.
Finally, Flood also recalled that "CNN also allowed legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin to return to the network after he was caught masturbating on a Zoom call with coworkers from his other gig at the New Yorker."
This is CNN. Gross.
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Huggy Wuggy Plush Toy, Blue Scary and Funny Plush Doll, Horror Game Doll Monster Doll Toy Gifts for Fans and Friends Beautifully Plush Doll Gifts 15.7 in (Pink)
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Take time to "De- Stress" from classes & work. Come join the Student Activities for a relaxing time. This event is free and open to current PBSC students, faculty & staff. Sponsored by Student Activities.
Join us at Grad Fest to celebrate PBSC graduates while encouraging panther pride and promoting resources and services our departments provide to recent graduates and alumni. The following departments will be participating in this event: Career Center, Registrar's office, Alumni Engagement & annual giving, Student Activities, Bachelor's program, Academic Advising, Bookstore, Veterans Success Center, Disabilities Services.
This event is free and open to all PBSC students. Sponsored by the listed departments.
Are you ready to go walking in a winter wonderland? Come by the Student Activities Center to enjoy a sweet party full of Christmas spirit! There'll be games, refreshments, and music! Enjoy! This event is free and open to PBSC students, faculty, and staff. Sponsored by Student Activities.


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The British Isles and the War of American Independence / Stephen Conway
The nineteenth-century German political theorist, Heinrich von Treitschke, concluded that it was war 'which turns a people into a nation.' His opinion has been reiterated by scholars over the years, many of whom concur with Michael Howard's assertion that from 'the very beginning, the principle of nationalism was almost indissolubly linked, both in t
British Imperialism in Cyprus, 1878-1915: the Inconsequential Possession / Andrekos Varnava
The first decades of British rule in Cyprus have so far received by far too little academic interest. Ever since the fourth volume of George Hill's epic A History of Cyprus was published in 1952, few books have added in depth analysis and new insights on this period.
George II, King and Elector / Andrew C. Thompson
A detailed biography of George II in English has been needed for some time. His is one of the longer reigns of an early modern British monarch (1727–60), encompassing both the final military defeat of the Stuart cause in 1745, and the high point of the first British Empire.
Britain, Ireland, and Continental Europe in the Eighteenth Century: Similarities, Connections, Identities / Stephen Conway
The rise of the Atlantic world as a framework for understanding early modern and 18th-century Britain has been one of the most significant historiographical developments of the last 25 years.
Playing the Great Game: Britain, War and Politics in Afghanistan since 1839 / Edmund Yorke
The historical literature on Afghanistan and the various armed conflicts fought on its soil has greatly increased in recent years, due to the tragic events following the American-led invasion of the country in October 2001.
A Union Forever: The Irish Question and U.S. Foreign Relations in the Victorian Age / David Sim
Ireland's protracted struggle for freedom from British rule has long occupied an important place in American imaginations. Few historians, however, have treated America's sympathy for Ireland as a matter of formal state-to-state diplomacy.
Britannia's Embrace: Modern Humanitarianism and the Imperial Origins of Refugee Relief / Caroline Shaw
Over the past year more than 600,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean and Southeast Europe to seek asylum in the European Union.(1) While countries such as Germany have been incredibly welcoming in offering these refugees protection (with an increase of 155 per cent from 2014–15), others – most notably the United Kingdom – have been reluctant to open their border
Irish Nationalists in America: The Politics of Exile, 1798-1998 / David Brundage
David Brundage's Irish Nationalists in America employs no sleight of hand in its title. It is a short, well-crafted new survey of Irish nationalists in the United States from the late 18th century to the close of the 20th that is more than the sum of its parts.
From Empire to Humanity: The American Revolution and the Origins of Humanitarianism / Amanda B. Moniz
For many of us, the ongoing carnage in Syria is a self-evident humanitarian crisis. We do not need to be convinced that the children drowning at sea, the women and men, young and old, begging for entry into any country that will accept them are worthy of our help.
India Conquered: Britain's Raj and the Chaos of Empire / Jon Wilson
This week in Reviews in History we are focussing on a single book, Jon Wilson's India Conquered: Britain's Raj and the Chaos of Empire. We invited five reviewers to contribute to a round table discussion and take up different aspects of the book, with the author then responding to each in turn.
Found 12 items
(-) Remove Imperial and Colonial filter Imperial and Colonial
(-) Remove International History filter International History
21st Century (1) Apply 21st Century filter
Military History (3) Apply Military History filter
Economic History (1) Apply Economic History filter
Intellectual History (1) Apply Intellectual History filter
Religious History (1) Apply Religious History filter


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What is the Oxford University MSc in Migration Studies?
COMPAS Communications
Some of our students!
In the past academic year, I have been course director of Oxford's 9-month interdisciplinary MSc degree in Migration Studies, offered jointly by COMPAS, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, and the International Migration Institute (IMI), part of the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID).
Who are the students?
Our students are a cosmopolitan group, not only in terms of their diverse origins – 12 different nationalities were represented among the 23 students this year – but also in terms of where they have lived, studied and worked before coming to Oxford. Many have migrant backgrounds themselves; their interest in migration issues is therefore not only an academic interest, but something that resonates with their personal experiences and history. The same diversity is reflected among the staff who teach them; I was born and grew up in Denmark, but have for the past 12 years lived and worked in the UK, including periods of fieldwork in Spain and Cuba. Many of my colleagues have likewise migrated to work in the UK.
What are their interests?
Given the diversity of students' backgrounds, it is unsurprising that they bring different interests and approaches with them: from an interest in the fate of migrant brides in South Korea, to military migration between West Africa and Europe, and from the cultural construction and transnational implications of Danish marriage migration policy, to displacement and migration following natural disaster. Some focus on identity issues, e.g. for New York City's Indo-Trinidadian migrants, others critically discuss legal issues, for example by questioning the legitimacy of US employer sanction laws, to mention a few of this year's dissertation titles.
Some of our students choose dissertation topics based on recent events, for instance the Arab Spring and how it affected the European Union's external migration policies. Others draw on their own previous work experiences, e.g. when exploring the role of frontline Filipino welfare bureaucrats and informal migration governance in Qatar.
Notwithstanding the already existing and rather impressive diversity of our students, we would like to attract more students from the global South in particular. We have a dedicated scholarship for students from developing countries, but our main challenge is to encourage more applications. We hope to be able to offer more targeted scholarships in the future to give more bright and talented young people who apply an opportunity to study in Oxford and to benefit from the resources available to our students here.
Beyond the benefits of an Oxford degree to individual students, and to their countries when they go back to work there, it would also be desirable if the student body reflected the different societies that are touched in different ways by international migration. In that spirit, we cover different perspectives on international migration in our teaching, including migrants' own perspectives, the experiences and perspectives of those who stay behind when others leave, as well as the meso- and macro-perspectives of sending and receiving communities, societies and states.
An interdisciplinary approach
Most of the staff involved in teaching were trained in traditional disciplines, in my case social and cultural anthropology, for my colleagues sociology, politics, law, economics, international development, and geography. The degree is interdisciplinary and introduces students to migration from many different angles, so the students end up with insights and understanding that are the product of the combined knowledge those of us who teach the degree. Consequently, the questions our students ask and the approach they take to migration often challenge our ways of thinking in stimulating and productive ways. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy teaching on the degree so much: we, the staff, learn from our students even as we teach them. I think I can speak for the teaching team as a whole in saying that we have all been enriched in the process of planning and designing the degree, and the process continues in lectures, seminars, tutorials and supervision meetings.
Where do our students go after graduating? The degree is only about to enter its third year so it is difficult to say anything about long- or even medium-term career prospects, but so far our graduates have gone on to internships with IOM, UNHCR and other international organizations, NGO work e.g. for the International Red Cross, research assistant positions in Oxford and elsewhere, work for think tanks and governments, and of course doctoral studies.
An audio podcast is now available on the MSc Migration Studies ItunesU feed, featuring graduates from the 2011-12 cohort talking about their experiences on the degree. .


You're not satisfied with what the Irish job market can offer in terms of IT quality and competence? Time to stop interviewing people and spend needless resources on full-time staff members! You can have a virtual IT Director with ten times the expertise for a fraction of the cost! At the least!
A Virtual IT Director is the solution for all of your problems and headaches. It's basically what the title says: an outsourced IT executive with unquestionable expertise and for a limited time. Something like an Interim Manager – only better!
Having a Virtual IT is like having Zinedine Zidane or Roy Keane in your team all the time: always in the centre of things, versatile and all-round captain fantastic overseeing everything and everyone.


The Atwater Kent Model E speaker (circa 1928) had a timber-veneer cone.
Arthur Atwater Kent was born in 1873 and his career choice was probably influenced by his father being a machinist, before he became a doctor. Atwater, as he became known, studied mechanical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1895. Not keen on study, Atwater was already running a small business called the Kent Electric Manufacturing Company in the back room of his father's machine shop.
Kent was making and selling electrical items like small motors, generators and fans. By 1906, this included automobile ignitions, with the Uni-Sparker ignition system becoming an industry standard. In 1921, Atwater Kent improved his ignition system further and patented it.
Entertainment radio was saturating the media hype of the early 20s, so in 1921, Kent produced his first radio components, with do-it-yourself kits for "breadboard" assembly by early radio enthusiasts. The Model 3925 (or Model 1) was introduced late in 1922, as a tuner, detector, and one-stage amplifier without the middle variometer installed, in order to avoid Edwin Armstrong's regenerative circuit patent fees.
The variometer was sold separately (frequently being featured in the same advertisement as the radio, although its real function was not mentioned). When this "missing" component was installed by the user, it provided additional RF signal boost through regeneration.
The Model 53 was a mains-powered consolette, circa 1929. This is the model shown in the photo of the press stamping out cabinets and is often referred to as the "stove model", for obvious reasons.
During 1923, his firm produced complete radio sets, with the Model 10 ready for Christmas that year. This was followed by the Model 9 and more breadboard sets. According to an employee, Mr Kent had already decided to close his plant in 1923 and was winding down his operations. However the increasing sales of radios apparently changed his mind and he expanded instead.
In 1924, the company moved to a new $2 million plant in North Philadelphia. This plant, constructed in sections, would eventually cover 32 acres (13 hectares). The Atwater Kent brand became known as a leader in quality radios and despite high prices, people recognised they were one of the very best money could buy. He spent a staggering half million dollars on advertising alone during 1924.
By 1925, Atwater Kent was the largest manufacturer of radios in the USA. The company also sponsored the popular "Atwater Kent Hour", a top-rated radio concert music program broadcast across the country from 1926-1934. Sponsoring this show cost $7000 a week in 1926-7 and his printed advertising outlay was three to four million dollars!


SRINAGAR – A complete shutdown is being observed on Wednesday, to protest against the killing of Jamaat-e-Islami activist and principal of a private school in Indian Occupied Kashmir .
The 28-year-old, Rizwan Asad was arrested by the sleuths of Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Pulwama district three days ago and was killed at the infamous Indian torture centre, Cargo camp, run by the Special Operations Group.
The custodial killing triggered forceful anti-India protests in different areas of the territory including Pulwama and Srinagar districts.
Students of Kashmir University in Srinagar also held forceful demonstrations against the custodial death of the school principal and the summoning of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq by Indian agency, NIA. Several people were injured when troops fired bullets, pellets and teargas shells on the mourners in the area.
The call for today's the shutdown was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik.


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36 Hour Film Challenge
2019 Film Submissions
The Gary Glenn Award
Photos by Paul Jendrasiak
Board & Reports
Typical Events
Intern or Volunteer
Accepted Films
Film Block G: Feature Something Fun
Wealthy Street Theatre 1130 Wealthy Street Southeast Grand Rapids, MI, 49506 United States (map)
Veronica Atburn returns to her home town after a year of traveling the United States, reunites with her high school friends, and forces everybody to stop rehashing the past and start doing Something Fun.
Chad grew up in Williamston, MI, the location and inspiration for his first feature film, Something Fun. He studied Screen Arts and Culture at the University of Michigan, where he watched a lot of movies, wrote about those movies, then attempted to make movies of his own. Since graduating in 2014, Chad won the Feature Screenplay category of the Final Draft Big Break Contest, and made the move to Los Angeles, CA where, finally, winter no longer exists.
Film Block 2F: Cloudy with a Chance of Sunshine
GRFF Lowing Lighting Workshop
Grand Rapids Film Festival, Grand Rapids MI 49503(773) 503 - 9333john@grfilmfestival.com


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P.O. Box 231 • Nazareth, PA 18604
484.264.7505 •
Visions of Eagles Nazareth PA
Portfolio of Giving
VOE Future Fundraising Events
We've got a lot of fundraising events planned for 2012! February is an evening hosted by Pizza Joe! We'll give you more details in the next week. March is a Tastefully Simple party hosted by Deb Rizzotto at Carol Seaton's house. Contact any VOE committee member if you want to place an order. April is our VOE 2nd Annual Celebration event at the Hampton Inn in Easton and we are working with the school district to plan a walk a thon in May. We will also be participating in the Soap Box Derby again this year held in May. More to follow! Please support YOUR local charity to help your neighbors cross the bridge from despair to hope.
We are a Pennsylvanian non-profit organization operating as a public charity. Our objective is to work with religious organizations, civic groups, other non-profit organizations, and individuals to identify needs in the Nazareth area. Our membership feels that those who have been blessed should be sharing their blessings with those in need.
Copyright © 2023 • Lehigh Valley Website Design by J Taylor Design


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PRESS RELEASE – New Immigration Legislation Compared: CrImmigration™ Experts Welcome BRIDGE Act, Reject SAFE Act
New Immigration Legislation Compared: CrImmigration™ Experts Welcome BRIDGE Act, Reject SAFE Act
The Chilling Effect of a National Dialogue on Immigration Centered on a Flawed Perception of Good vs. Evil and the "Criminal Alien"
ATLANTA, GA – December 29, 2016:
What does it mean to defend the American Dream? For the CrImmigration™ firm, STERN Law, LLC in Atlanta, it means to stand between its foreign-born clients, who mainly wish to earn a future primed with opportunity, and a Government that is increasing its effort to imprison and deport as many immigrants as possible. The national conversation around immigration has now focused on a primary target: the "Criminal Alien." This polarizing characterization implies that we should throw hundreds of millions of dollars at extracting foreigners who are undesired and undeserving of a chance in the United States of America.
Meet "criminal alien," Alan Muñoz Paisano, a 22-year old client of STERN Law. After five months of detention, fierce advocacy and community campaigns, Alan lost all appeals to top officials and legal advisors for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. A week before Christmas, they ultimately proceeded with his removal from our country – Alan's home since the age of 5. There must have been good reason, right? Alan made the fatal mistake in 2014 to drive the 10-minute trip home after a family party, not yet having learned his limits with drinking. We will deport him because of his conviction for DUI, a split-second moment in time compared to a lifetime of promise. The government previously saw Alan as a contributing member of society, granting him DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) executive action protection twice before. He was, after all, a former Junior ROTC cadet and high school graduate turned car mechanic saving money for college, brought to the U.S. by his Mexican parents at 5 years of age. Alan's removal highlights the strict, unpredictable and destructive nature of our country's focus on "the criminal alien."
With our newest president-elect set to take power in January 2017, many citizens and non-citizens alike are reasonably anxious about the future of immigration in the United States. STERN Law's managing attorney, Jessica Stern, is especially concerned about the ambiguous situation for DACA recipients, also known as DREAMers, particularly those with relatively minor, adolescent brushes with the law. After the failure of the DREAM Act, President Barack Obama passed DACA through executive order in 2012 to protect undocumented individuals who arrived as children to the country. This temporary fix has allowed hundreds of thousands of young adults to step out of the shadows, continue their educations, and legally attain employment, like Alan. However, since it remains an executive order and not a law, it is possible that DACA will be eliminated under President Donald Trump, which would result in the sudden loss of status for all its recipients.
On December 9, 2016, Senators Graham (R-SC), Durbin (D-IL), Murkowski (R-AK), Feinstein (D-CA), Flake (R-AZ), and Schumer (D-NY) introduced the BRIDGE Act ("Bar Removal of Immigrants Who Dream and Grow the Economy Act," S. 3542) to Congress. A bipartisan effort, the BRIDGE act would continue offering temporary protection to DACA recipients, who are now estimated to be more than 750,000. STERN Law welcomes the BRIDGE Act and its timely introduction, while recognizing that this is yet another temporary fix to the broader issues in our immigration system.
However, on the same day the BRIDGE was introduced, Senator Flake (R-AZ) also proposed the SAFE Act ("Securing Active and Fair Enforcement Act," S. 3546), which calls for a $100 million budget to enact tough immigration enforcement measures that would increase the use of mandatory detention and further expedite removal proceedings. With its misleading name, SAFE asks to undermine judicial due process, sweep in undocumented immigrants who pose no proven threat to public safety, and erode constitutional rights for the sake of quick deportations. Furthermore, SAFE would contribute to an escalation of racial profiling and excessive policing of already vulnerable communities around the country. Legal experts firmly reject the SAFE Act as unnecessary and harmful legislation, encouraging colleagues and the larger public to join in opposition. Legislation like this exacerbate injustice in our immigration system, leading to removal of promising additions to society, like young Alan and countless others.
"We did not come to this country to terrorize or harm anyone. We keep to ourselves. We work hard. All of this is for our children's future, and now that future is destroyed. This is not the America we know," bemoans David Muñoz Paisano, father of Alan Muñoz Paisano.
Alan's U.S. Citizen little sister pleads to keep her family together


Does Varnish HTTP Purge is bad for sitemap?
Do you know if the plugin Varnish HTTP Purge is bad for my current sitemap or All in One SEO Pro? – I just want to make sure this wont affect the sitemap crawling, indexing or anything else.
It suppose to clear the cache every time i post an article. Just want to make sure this wont conflict with my SEO or Sitemap. I just talked to my Hosting provider and they say is good to used because it's only for DreamHost and DreamPress. Like i said, i just don't want to stop the functioning of All in One SEO or my sitemap.
Is not even there and it was created on Nov 30.
Is also not there and it was created on Nov 29.
So there must be something wrong because is not indexing things right.
FYI: The same day articles like: "Lenovo en tratativas para comprar la sección de PCs de Samsung" created on Nov 29 are showing up in Google but all the articles from that or other dates are not showing in Google.
1.- Alright i understand that. And when you help me last time you setup the XML Sitemap Daily. Thanks for this.
2.- Is it ok for me to set the Priorities > Post > 0.9 ?
3.- Is it ok for me to set the Frequencies > Posts > Hourly ?
Now my last question for you is this.
Now when i tried to search for it in Google there's no trace of this article, any idea why?
I really need to find a fix for this, because my client can't find this article. Before even when you searched for: Como comprar casa en Minnesota con Raul Sanchez – or Como comprar casa en Minnesota – Google will place my article in the first page. Now is not even there (the first 15 pages or not even there).


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A Guide to Pension Reform for Employer's
By Russell BrownSeptember 20, 2013January 29th, 2021Employment
Successive governments have been concerned by the lack of pension planning undertaken by many employees in the private sector. The coalition government is proceeding with legislation that was initiated by Labour, designed to ensure that all employees automatically join a suitable pension scheme.
Both employees and their employers will be required to contribute to a pension scheme unless the employee specifically opts out. This summary covers the basic details of the new legislation including information on NEST, the government backed option for employers considering a new scheme.
Employer's Obligation
Employers must offer all employees between the ages of 16 – 75 access to a qualifying pension scheme and provide information on the scheme
Employees aged between 22 and state retirement age who earn at least the basic income tax allowance (£9,440.00 pa in
2013/2014) must be auto-enrolled into the pension scheme. Those aged below 22 or above state retirement age can request to
join the scheme
From the appropriate staging dates, employers must initially contribute 1% of the employee's qualifying earnings which will
increase to 3% from October 2018
The employer is responsible for deducting the employee's contributions and forwarding all payments to the pension
scheme provider
Staging Dates
These requirements started for the largest firms with over 120,000 employees in October 2012. For smaller firms, the implementation date depends upon the number of employees. For most organisations these dates are as follows:
Employees must be given at least 1 month's notice before the relevant staging date of automatic enrolment.
From the appropriate staging dates, the employer will have to automatically enrol all eligible employees into a qualifying pension scheme and make contributions.
Other employees can choose to opt into the scheme. The employer must ensure that the pension scheme makes contributions of at least the minimum level indicated below which are based on the employee's qualifying earnings band which, for the 2013/2014 tax year, is set at earnings between £5,668.00 and £41,150.00.
This earnings band will be reviewed annually. The minimum level of contributions increases in phases:
Employers can pay more than the minimum and allow employees to pay less providing that the total contribution is at least equal to the minimum total contribution. There is also no requirement to base contribution solely on the qualifying earnings band.
Employers will be required to confirm how much they have met their requirements within 2 months of their staging date and every 3 years thereafter. Full records of the scheme will have to be retained for a minimum period of 6 years. Where employers fail to comply with the Regulations, there is a fixed penalty of £400.00 plus an additional amount of between £50.00
and £10,000.00 per day depending upon the level of non-compliance and the size of the employer.
National Employment Savings Trust (NEST)
The government has created NEST as a national workplace pension scheme which can be used to meet the requirements of the new legislation.
It is a low charge simple pension scheme with charges typically averaging at around 0.5% pa compared to around 1% pa for
traditional pension schemes. Investment choice is very limited with the default option being a strategy based around the
employee's staged retirement date.
There are restrictions on maximum contributions to the NEST scheme, currently £4,500.00 pa and transfers are not allowed in or out of the scheme. These restrictions will be reviewed in 2017.
Ongoing support for employers and employees will be broadly limited to e-channels such as internet and e-mail. An advice service will be available to employers and employees at an additional charge which is still to be confirmed.
Thank you to Vale Insurance Services Limited for the provision of the information contained within this e-bulletin. www.vale.uk.com
Author Russell Brown
Russell is a Partner and Head of Glaisyers' Employment Team.
More posts by Russell Brown


The Medical Staff Credentialing Coordinator maintains medical staff services and credentialing/privileging, obtains necessary information to complete appointment and reappointment processes, maintains accurate files credentialing with regard to verification documentation, demographics, committee attendance, National Practitioner Data Bank, malpractice insurance and state medical licensure/certification. In addition, the position supports medical staff committees, as required and maintains medical staff bylaws, rules/regs and policies.
License or Certification: - CPCS or CPMSM encouraged Education, Training and Years of Experience: - High school degree preferred - Three years experience in medical staff credentialing preferred Machines, Equipment Used: - General office equipment such as telephone, copy machine, fax machine, calculator, computer. Physical Requirements: - Good visual acuity and ability to communicate. - Ability to lift a minimum of 15 pounds and ability push/pull a minimum of 25 pounds, which includes the lifting, pushing and/or pulling. Reasonable assistance may be requested when lifting, pushing, and/or pulling are undertaken which exceeds these minimum requirements. - Ability to withstand prolonged standing and walking. - Ability to reach, stoop, bend, kneel, and crouch are required for patient care functions and in setting up and monitoring equipment Skills and Abilities: - Ability to speak, read, write, and communicate effectively. - Ability to coordinate, analyze, observe, make decisions, and meet deadlines in a detail-oriented manner. - Ability to work independently without supervision. Environmental Conditions: - Indoor, temperature controlled, smoke-free environment. Occasional outdoor exposure. - Exposure or potential exposure to blood and body fluids may be required. - Handicapped accessible. - May work under stressful circumstances at times. Proficiency or Productivity Standards: - Meets established attendance standards. - Adheres to hospital/department dress code including wearing ID badge. - May be required to work weekdays and/or weekends, evenings and or night shifts if needed to meet deadlines. - May be required to work on religious and/or legal holidays on scheduled days/shifts. - Will be required to work as necessary during disaster situations, i.e., before, during or after a disaster. - May be required to stay after workday to assist after a disaster situation until relief arrives. - May be required to perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.


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Home » Surf Beaches Mobile Coverage Grants Program
Surf Beaches Mobile Coverage Grants Program
Page last updated: Thursday, 15 December 2022 - 10:05am
Following the fatal shark attack near Cull Island in Esperance, the Department initiated work to identify popular surf beaches that would benefit from enhanced mobile coverage which would assist first responders in their search operations and for the benefit of the local community generally.
The Department has worked with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and other stakeholders and identified 18 popular surf beach locations throughout the State requiring improvements in mobile coverage.
Salmon Holes Sat small cell (3).JPG
Applications for State Government funding - now closed
Up to $1 million in funding is available from the State's Regional Telecommunications Project for the Surf Beaches Mobile Coverage Grants Program (Program) to help improve mobile coverage for popular surf beaches.
Applications for State funding for the Program opened on Monday 24 October 2022 and are now closed.
The Program will prioritise proposals that provide the widest coverage for the priority areas with fit-for-purpose and innovative mobile technologies. Although there are 18 sites that require improved mobile coverage, proposals may include solutions that could cover multiple sites (e.g. one small cell solution can address several sites instead of a 'one solution to one site').
Applications were submitted via the SmartyGrant portal.
Applications will be assessed by an independent assessment panel against the eligibility and assessable criteria and submitted to the Minister for Regional Development for approval.
Further details are available from the Program Guidelines or email agtech@dpird.wa.gov.au or by contacting the Department at 08 6552 2119 or 08 6552 1949.
The closing date for applications under this Program was 5 December 2022 at 5.00pm (AWST).
Email Terence Young
Program Guidelines - Surf Beaches Mobile Coverage Grants Program.pdf
Surf Beaches Mobile Coverage Grants Program Guidelines - Addendum 1.pdf
Goldfields-Esperance
Wheatbelt


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Ohio GOP leaders expect to submit their state legislative district maps soon
Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) talks about possibly moving the primary date.
Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) says a new set of Ohio House and Ohio Senate district maps could be proposed to the Ohio Redistricting Commission as early as Thursday.
Mapmakers for the Republican legislative caucuses have been working on drawing maps that comply with the constitution and the supreme court order, according to Huffman.
The senate president says the mapmakers have been working on a new proposal since February 11 and that they are very close to a final product.
"The problem always is with these things, especially trying to do it in a short period of time, is making sure all that the technical things are appropriate. You know, our goal is to do precisely what the court asked. And I think we're pretty close to that," says Huffman.
House Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) echoed Huffman's comments and said the work was being done as "expeditiously as possible."
But Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) added that, since maps were being drawn, Democratic staff should also be included in the process.
"We're part of the commission. And so far, we haven't seen it and they haven't participated in it, and I can't verify that the work is even being done," says Sykes.
On Wednesday, different members of the commission filed briefs with the Ohio Supreme Court making their arguments for why they should not be held in contempt for not meeting the February 17 deadline to draw new state legislative maps.
In the response filed by Huffman and Cupp, their attorney included a statement saying that state legislative maps were being drawn and a proposal was expected to be submitted to the commission some time this week.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio), who is on the redistricting commission, and Attorney General Dave Yost (R-Ohio) both issued warnings to legislative leaders this week that it is unlikely the May 3 primary can take place with a complete ballot since the state does not have final plans for Ohio House, Ohio Senate, or U.S. Congressional district maps.
Ohio Redistricting Commission members tell Supreme Court why they shouldn't be held in contempt
The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the commission to file an explanation for why it should not be held in contempt for failing to follow a previous order.
Do constitutional Ohio redistricting maps already exist? Maybe.
The Ohio Supreme Court has identified some maps that they think would be constitutional but redistricting leaders are not embracing them.
Republicans on Ohio Redistricting Commission revive talks on new state legislative maps
Just days after allowing a court-ordered deadline to expire and facing possible contempt of court, Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission are expressing a change of heart on adopting new state House and Senate district maps.


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Q: authentication ruby valid_password error I'm new to ROR. I tried for simple login with email and password. I can't authenticate the password. It's repeated question, and my error is not yet cleared with old questions. My code is
 user = User.find_by_email(params[:email])
 user.valid_password?(params[:password])

 if @user = User.find_by_email(params[:user][:email]).valid_password?(params[:user][:password])
    #render :json=> user.as_json(:status=>'success', :Message=>'Sucessfully Registered', :username=>user.username ), :status=>201
    render :json=> {userDetails: [{:status=>'Success',:Message=>'Successfully Signed in', :username=>@user.name, :useremail=>@user.email, :usermobile=>@user.mobile_no }]}, :status=>200
 else
   render :json=> {:status=>'Failure',:message=>'Invalid Credentials'}, :status=>422
   :message=>'Sucessfully Singed in', :auth_token=>user.authentication_token, :email=>user.email), :status=>201
  end

I'm facing the below error
undefined method `valid_password?' for nil:NilClass

could anyone tell me what i'm doing incorrectly?

A: change the if line to
if (@user = User.find_by_email(params[:user][:email])) && @user.valid_password?(params[:user][:password])

A: user = User.find_by_email(params[:email])

User.find_by_email(params[:email]) returns nil (can't find), thus user is nil, and Rails is telling you that the nil class doesn't have a valid_password? method.
EDIT
You are calling a method User.find_by_email(params[:email]) that has nil as result. So in simple words you didn't find records.
EDIT v2
You could check the content of user for debugging purpose by using a code like:
if !user.nil?
  puts "#{user}"
else
  puts "user is nil!"
end

A: Just check user . I think your query with User.find_by_email(params[:emil])
 return a nil .thats why you getting the undefined method `valid_password?' for nil:NilClass .

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RELATIVES of 67-year-old Rupert Derrick, who was killed in a drive-by shooting at George Street, Port of Spain on Monday night, expressed doubt yesterday that police will find his killers. But Port of Spain Division Supt Floris-Hodge Griffith said police are doing everything to bring the killers to justice.
At around 8pm on Monday, people in a black Nissan X-Trail drove up George Street firing shots. Derrick, of Picton Road, Laventille, was shot along with Terrence "Corn Curls" Gardener, Teneil Rennie of Nelson Street PoS, and Henry Fraser from Quarry Street, Laventille.
Derrick was shot once in the chest, and Gardner once in the right leg. Rennie was shot three times in the right thigh and once in the left, and Fraser was shot in the left hand. They were taken to the PoS hospital, but when Derrick arrived at about 8.15 pm he was already dead. The other shooting victims were attended to and are said to be in stable condition.
Yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, relatives said they did not believe police would be able to solve the crime because CCTV cameras were being tampered with, and footage of the shooting may not be available. They said Derrick was going to play a mark at a Play Whe booth and would usually lime with friends on the road for a little while after.
He was described as a humble and easy-going person.
Hodge-Griffith told Newsday yesterday, the CCTV footage from a camera at George Street captured the vehicle which the gunmen used.
Reply to "Relatives: Nothing will come out of it"


text:
Der Erweiterte Verfall war eine Maßnahme des deutschen Strafrechts, die in  Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) geregelt wurde. Durch das Gesetz zur Reform der strafrechtlichen Vermögensabschöpfung wurden die gesonderten Regelungen des Verfalls am 1. Juli 2017 im deutschen Strafrecht insgesamt abgeschafft und mit den Regelungen der Einziehung zusammengeführt.

Wesen der Maßnahme

Im Rahmen des so genannten Verfalls konnte ein Gericht bei besonders schweren Taten und wenn dies in der Rechtsnorm vorgesehen war, anordnen, dass Gegenstände eines Täters oder Teilnehmers an einer Straftat ins Eigentum des Staates übergehen, wenn nach den Umständen anzunehmen war, dass die Gegenstände für die abzuurteilende Straftat benutzt werden sollten oder aus dieser Tat stammen oder aus diesen erlangt wurden. Gemäß  StGB konnte anstelle des Verfalls auch eine entsprechende Geldsumme aus dem Vermögen des Täters oder Teilnehmers dem Staat verfallen, wenn die Sache selbst aus rechtlichen oder tatsächlichen Gründen nicht für den Verfall geeignet war.

Der erweiterte Verfall erlaubte die Einziehung von Gegenständen auch dann, wenn sie nicht aus der abzuurteilenden Straftat, sondern aus anderen rechtswidrigen Taten stammten. Der Bundesgerichtshof stellte hohe Ansprüche an die Beweise und entschied, dass die Anordnung des erweiterten Verfalls nach  StGB nur dann in Betracht komme, wenn der Tatrichter aufgrund erschöpfender Beweiserhebung und -würdigung die uneingeschränkte Überzeugung gewonnen habe, dass der Angeklagte die von der Anordnung erfassten Gegenstände aus rechtswidrigen Taten erlangt habe, ohne dass diese selbst im einzelnen festgestellt werden müssten.

Entwicklung
Diese Regelung stieß auf Bedenken wegen des Schuldgrundsatz des Strafrechts, woraufhin das Bundesverfassungsgericht im Januar 2004 feststellte:

 Der erweiterte Verfall ( StGB) verfolgt nicht repressiv-vergeltende, sondern präventiv-ordnende Ziele und ist daher keine dem Schuldgrundsatz unterliegende strafähnliche Maßnahme.
  StGB verletzt die Unschuldsvermutung nicht.

Die Anordnung des erweiterten Verfalls ist daher auch vor einer rechtskräftigen Verurteilung zulässig.

Das BVerfG stellte aber auch fest, dass dem Erweiterten Verfall des  StGB eine Schutzklausel fehlte, nach der Ausgleichsansprüche Dritter, insbesondere der Geschädigten der Straftaten fehle, wie sie im Verfall des  StGB enthalten ist. Dies könne zum unerwünschten Ergebnis führen, dass das Opfer nicht mehr durch den Täter entschädigt werden könne, weil dessen Vermögen schon durch den Staat eingezogen wurde, bevor durch die Verurteilung die Grundlage für eine Geltendmachung des Schadensersatzes hergestellt wird. Dem kam der Gesetzgeber durch eine Änderung des StGB von 2007 nach, der  StGB enthält seitdem einen Verweis auf  Abs. 1 Satz 2 StGB.

2011 befasste sich der BGH erneut mit der Thematik und stellte zum Verhältnis zwischen Verfall und erweitertem Verfall fest, dass der erweiterte Verfall auch dann in Betracht kommt, wenn sich zwar die Herkunft eines Gegenstands aus einer rechtswidrigen Tat nachweisen lässt, jedoch nicht eindeutig festgestellt werden kann, ob aus der im Prozess abzuurteilenden Tat. Demnach ist der erweiterte Verfall subsidiär zum Verfall und steht nicht exklusiv daneben.

Prozessuale Voraussetzungen
Für den erweiterten Verfall galten die Vorschriften der  bis  StPO entsprechend. Danach war für die förmliche Sicherstellung der Gegenstände bzw. der Geldsumme die Staatsanwaltschaft zuständig. Anordnungsbefugnis hatte der Richter, bei Gefahr im Verzuge auch die Staatsanwaltschaft und deren Ermittlungspersonen, letztere aber nur soweit es sich um bewegliche Sachen (und damit auch Geld) handelt.

Beispiele

Beispiele für Delikte, bei denen der erweiterte Verfall in Frage kam:
 eine kriminelle und terroristische Vereinigung im Ausland gemäß  StGB
 gewerbsmäßige oder bandenmäßige Geld- und Wertzeichenfälschung -  StGB
 Verbreitung, Erwerb und Besitz kinderpornografischer Schriften -  StGB
 (schwerer) Bandendiebstahl nach  Abs. 1 Nr. 2,  StGB
 gewerbs- oder bandenmäßige Bestechlichkeit und Bestechung im geschäftlichen Verkehr -  StGB

Der häufigste Anwendungsfall war jedoch das Betäubungsmittelrecht gemäß  BtMG. So entschied der Bundesgerichtshof im Fall eines wegen des Handels mit 16 kg Marihuana Verurteilten, dass ein Grundstück in Spanien zugunsten des dortigen Staates verfallen kann.

Weblinks
  Nina Nestler: Zur Reichweite von § 73d StGB: Der erweiterte Verfall vor neuen Legitimationsdefiziten? bei hrr-strafrecht.de

Einzelnachweise

Sanktionenrecht (Deutschland)

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text:
A Faith Perspective on the Economy
Author: Makbul Rahim
Category: Theology, philosophy and ethics, Social justice and environment
Tags: climate change, economy, Faiths in Creation
Photo by Brett L. at flickr.com
Today marks the anniversary of Black Tuesday, a crucial date on the timeline of the 1929 Wall Street Crash, and in similar times of financial uncertainty our attitudes towards the economy are under the spotlight. Makbul Rahim describes how religious ethics can inform economic pursuits, asking particularly how a religious perspective might view the economy as a tool for tackling climate change.
It is only in very recent times that our society's moral systems and ethics as a whole have been keenly challenged by deep and serious questions about the environment. The extent of the possible damage that human beings can cause to the environment and the natural world today has been exponentially enhanced by ultra modern technology which has provided individuals, peoples and nations with extraordinary tools, processes and capacities for impacting on, affecting and damaging the environment that were not even imaginable in the past. This has led to the need for modern society to re-examine our moral and ethical views on the environment and also the economic activities that adversely impact on the environment.
In the modern economy and the business world, faith and religious ethics generally are often regarded as being of only marginal relevance. For those considering business transactions and activities, the primary factors and drivers are profit maximisation, market efficiency, maximization of shareholder value and the capital asset pricing model. Economic activities are seen as essential bread-and-butter matters – sources of one's livelihood – with faith and religious ethics as leisure or part time activities for society and its members. In other words faith is not seen as an integral part of economics or business life. The emergence of investor protection and transparency and good corporate governance in the business world has not come about voluntarily out of faith considerations. Rather it has had to be imposed upon it by law and other means and is more related to sustainability of the confidence which drives and maintains the economy. Religious ethics, on the other hand, emphasise factors such as human flourishing, the good of society and human happiness, the nature of the human person, the demands of community and solidarity. These are not considered as critical drivers or important determinants by market players in the economy.
In this paper we will discuss how a religious perspective might view the economy as a tool for tackling climate change. The primary focus will be on Islamic faith, though examples from Christianity and Judaism, the other two Abrahamic faiths, will be used. There are two aspects which need to be considered in this respect. Firstly, the interaction and relationship between faith and the economy and, secondly, the relationship and impact of the economy on the environment.
Clearly religious ethics cannot go beyond its specific competence (for example, by providing detailed economic plans). What it can do, however, is ask different sorts of questions so as to arrive at guidelines to influence various economic activities taking place in society. The first question concerns the purpose of the economy. It is necessary to ask what is/are the good(s), and the ultimate good, for the sake of which the purposes of business might be pursued? How does business contribute to the purpose of the economy? What is the relationship between economic activity and the wider society?
The moral justification of the market can only lie in the nature of its object, that is, the purpose of the economy. Equitable arrangements for the production and generation of wealth and its fair distribution to all the needy in the global society are critical factors in the moral justification of the economy and its activities. The UN millennium goals also highlight the basic rationale of the ultimate good of the world society as a key objective of all our endeavours. In the end one is asking: How does this activity contribute to the ultimate good of human life? What we have here is a clear assertion that the economy has a purely instrumental function; it is a means to an end. It is not an end in itself. This was clearly articulated in Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World promulgated by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI on 7 December 1965.[1]
The ultimate and basic purpose of economic production does not consist in the increase of goods produced, nor in profit, nor in prestige; it is directed to the service of man, that is of man in his totality, taking into account his material needs and the requirements of his intellectual, moral, spiritual and religious life. Economic activity is to be carried out according to its own methods and laws, within the limits of the moral order, so that God's design for mankind may be fulfilled.[2] The common good does not subscribe to a reductionist anthropology which sees the human person as no more than homo economicus, or to a view of society which, by absolutising the market, diminishes society to an adjunct of it. The market, as only one aspect and one dimension of human activity, is not to be absolutised. Neither should the consumption of goods or pursuit of profits be society's only value. What religious ethics could contribute to business ethics at this point is the provision of a theoretical justification for denying validity to the claim that business should be allowed to act unhindered by political and social constraints.
In responding to climate change and related environmental issues the primary drivers of behavioural change in modern society have, so far, been guilt and fear: guilt over one's greed and excessive consumption, and fear of the drastic consequences of environmental degradation on one's own life. What religious ethics can do is to provide a sustainable motivation which is connected with positive values, already deeply held, and which can be embodied in the life of believers.
Faith traditions and perspectives
Let us now examine the key concepts and perspectives rooted in Islamic faith that may be considered in addressing environment issues and concerns.
We will start with the implications of the basic fundamental principle of Tawhid – oneness of Allah. God is the Ever Living Eternal God, the one absolute creator of all creation and He brings into existence creation from non-existence. His act of creation has a definite purpose, and humanity and the universe and all in it are a part of the creation of God to fulfil the purpose of creation. This is to worship God through living life on earth in accordance with His guidance. Ownership of all things is with Allah, the Creator and Sustainer.
Many of the Islamic traditions and values are shared by the other two Abrahamic faiths. All three traditions start from a common acknowledgement of our place in the natural order: creation bows before God, not before us, and human beings must do that which God commands. A correct relationship with the wider creation is a religious responsibility. Our relationship with wider creation might be understood as one of trusteeship in the case of Islam, stewardship in the case of Christianity, and, for Judaism, one which involves working the land – making demands of it – as well as looking after it.
In Islam, every human being is unique in the sight of God but to understand fully the significance of the human being, it must be seen in context. Islam says 'you are not the centre – you are a channel of grace – you alone do not matter'. Everything belongs to God, everything in the world sings to God's praise. There is, nonetheless, something that is unique to me and this implies rights. Attention to the environment sits within a recognition of rights and an overarching sense of responsibility. It is in this context that Muslims are enjoined to avoid waste and to recognise a duty to the future.
Christianity and Judaism share the belief that 'what I do matters' because 'I matter' infinitely to God. Moreover, the Jewish consciousness of living as a stranger in the land and the Christian consciousness of being a pilgrim people lead both traditions to an understanding that we are guests on the earth, with associated notions of hospitality and respect. While Christians describe themselves as stewards of creation, Judaism sees human beings as God's partners in the repair of the world, and considers that, as such, what each does has cosmic significance.
Then there is the principle of responsibility of human beings. Humanity is responsible to God for all their actions and deeds. Humans are accountable for their trust and actions and deeds. Humans have been given the highest status among all God's creation as the best of all creation (ashraful makhluqaat). They also have been given the responsibility of stewardship and trust (amaanat) by God to care for and be a conduit of blessings of Allah for all creation. Humans are invested with special status and responsibility as trustees on earth.
The notion of human responsibility in relation to human capacity has changed over time. From being limited by the fragility of natural life and an imperilled relationship with the natural world, it expanded in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries due to the optimism generated by the notion of an age of 'progress' Today humanity is again confronted by an imperilled, fragile world – this time due to our own huge capacity for destruction.
The balance and natural order in the universe created by Allah must be preserved. The environment is not only for the present generation but is Allah's bounty (Niyamat) for all ages past, present and future. The preservation of environment is one of the basic duties of Islam.
We have permission to utilise but not to waste the environment and resources of the universe. There is also the concept of thanking Allah, or being grateful to Him (shukr). Thanking Allah means protecting and preserving Allah's bounties and favours to mankind on earth. Therefore to use natural resources without regard to the environment is ingratitude to Allah. There has to be respect for the signs of God. The universe and all its wonders, discovered and undiscovered to date, are worthy of respect as signs of God. In praying in the present, a Muslim remembers God and, through Ibadah, spiritual elevation, shapes his or her future. Prayer involves, first of all, awareness – in admission and contrition – of our past and our present. First we repent, and then we pray for the future. By praying, believers set a direction for the future, becoming tuned in to the Divine plan.
There is then the concept of doing wrong to oneself, which is classified as injustice (dhulm). Self-destructive and self-seeking materialistic activities in the exploitation of natural resources which recklessly pollute and despoil the natural environment and its natural resources constitute dhulm to one's self and others – for which one is accountable.
Islam shares the concept of the 'end of time' with Christianity and Judaism, but there are two different understandings of its time-frame. The first sees it as the whole Islamic era, and the second as just the end-point, the period immediately before the resurrection. The 'end of time' is characterised by widespread religious, moral and social problems, compounded by irresponsibility on the part of the powerful, but also by the 'best believers' in history. Quantitively, evil will be in the ascendancy; qualitatively, good will be. At the same time, the responsibility of Muslims towards creation is not affected by dangers or threats. The Qur'an says that all have a responsibility to improve the earth and to leave the world a better place for future generations. Even if their efforts appear to have no effect, they still have a duty to avoid waste and to do what they can to bring about improvement. This process is about intention, coupled with the best available knowledge and experience.
There is also the concept of corruption or Fasaad. Allah has condemned disorders, disharmony and unjust use in which plants, animals and natural resources are destroyed. In relation to the disorder of the environment, the real problem is not the subduing of the heavens and the earth but the immoderation, unlawful control and excessive, rash and haphazard utilisation of earthly resources without caring for the environment and causing disintegration of the system of the environment, harm to human life, and disorder and mischief. All of these concepts call into question the often unthinking ways in which we value and treat the environment, ways which are often seen in our attitudes about the economy.
Then, there is the concept of the hereafter. The two important implications of that for the environment are that, firstly, one should live in a manner which is as simple as possible within the era in which one lives. Since this earth is a way station, the traveller should live with simplicity in the temporal home and not be lavish and extravagant in the consumption of material and physical objects and all the bounties of the natural environment. We must at the same time pay attention to the earth and make our best efforts to nurture and conserve the environment. Secondly, one must return the keys of this temporal residence to the real owner when we check out of this world, having fulfilled all the obligations of a tenant of God and having complied with the rules made by God for using the earth and all its bounties.
The natural environment is intrinsically valuable because it constitutes the signs of God and God's manifestation through the sun, stars, moon and all the things in the universe. It is valuable because it plays an important part in the perfection of human beings. The signs of Allah are a manifestation of the divine attributes and names, and enable mankind to witness to the glory and majesty of God and remind us of God's presence in creation and the Day of Judgement. The natural environment provides human beings with a means to achieve the goal of closeness to God by the discharge and fulfilment, in the manner taught by God, of the duties and responsibilities of its proper utilisation and conservation. It is important to note that Islam does not forbid the utilisation of the resources of the environment. What it does forbid is that this utilisation be undertaken without regard for its deeper meaning for human life.
Using Aristotle's terminology the environment, and that includes the economy, constitutes the external goods for salvation while the internal goods are the good qualities of our souls. The first holy Shi'a Imam Ali (a.s.) says that God will question you in regard to the permitted uses of the earthly goods and will punish you as regards the forbidden uses of the earthly goods. Some traditions do provide good role models, such as Imams who earn wealth and give it away, or use it to help others earn a living, but then why is this issue not more prominent in the congregation? Why are we so dominated by consumerism, even though other principles are part of our core beliefs?
What motivates a fractured society to go without for the sake of others? It is possible that it is only from a religious perspective that these questions can be asked about the economy without simply becoming a route to despair. Using the principles that have been outlined here, it is possible to envisage answers which illustrate the compatibility of wise economic activity with human flourishing and fulfilment. Islam does not condemn economic activity, but it does put it into a wider and deeper framework. Like the other two traditions, it sees that economic activity is necessary, but it does not see it as the dominant feature of our life. It is something which should be of service to virtuous and pious living, not an end in itself. Therefore, while economic activity is a necessary condition, it is not a sufficient condition for living the good life.
How can the faith traditions be used in tackling environment issues?
Arguably, 'conspicuous consumption', has been replaced as a signal of status these days by 'competitive' consumption, relative to and compared with the 'top' 20% of the population, and signalling a set of values which conflict with simplicity, moderation, or the idea of having 'enough'. Be that as it may, the Qur'an tells us that we eat and drink what God has provided. Wealth is a bounty from God, who gives different bounties to different people. Wealth, however, brings responsibilities. The wealthy man must be conscious of the claims others have on him. Consumption as a status symbol is wrong – decisions should be made on the basis of need (although this will always be a subjective view), and one should not put others to shame. At the end of each year, Shi'a believers are expected to give 20% of any extra money to the religious authorities – and the definition of 'extra' includes spending not appropriate to one's need. Islam challenges economic poverty, but does not condemn poor people. Poverty is not a sign of God's anger, and neither is wealth a sign of God's approval. The generation of wealth is a positive thing, but among the four questions believers will be asked when they die are 'Where did your money come from?' and 'Where was it spent?'
In the Catholic tradition, Religious (i.e. monks and nuns) are called on particularly to witness to the beauty of a simple lifestyle. All traditions have this element, but we are all guilty of excessive consumption – why? Perhaps because the culture in which we live depends on our consumption. In Europe, we have to take note, too, of a particular difficulty encountered by Christianity, which has played a significant part in the development of that culture and finds it hard to disentangle its values.
Islam defines a clear economic system; Christianity has economic principles (e.g. wealth for the alleviation of poverty; just distribution of goods; a just wage, just price etc); Scripture defines a set of values, not a system. Catholics would add that any economic system can be good or evil; what is important is the values which are brought to bear. Despite these differences, the market economy may be seen as the fault-line between religion and society. It is essential to see it as instrumental, not an end in itself. This is one of our most fundamental battles, but people of faith should not see themselves as its victims. They can influence it by being part of it, by directing their consumption, and by supporting businessmen who try to integrate faith and professional life.
For Islam, the God-centred nature of creation is the root of responsibility to the future. Accountability to God makes humanity look to the future and aspire to development and to the achievement of a repaired and reformed society. Essential to this process are education, awareness and sensitivity. All three faiths offer people 'way stations' to look at their life and access greater wisdom about how to live it, but it is a struggle to transmit this consciousness to all. Religion is too commonly perceived by secular culture to be 'pie in the sky when you die' – an acceptance of suffering in the hope of future elevation – instead of an immersion in the depth and mystery of the here and now, the reality of which is revealed by the prophetic vision, centred on God, not on 'me'.
When it comes to communicating our vision to others, maybe we should get out of the 'religious box'; we all live in a plurality of worlds and in speaking to today's culture ours should be a language of empowerment. Our traditions all emphasise the extent to which we each create the future because of decisions we make now. They live out a constant process of commitment, but we rarely express this as commitment to the future. In speaking of the future we are able to use the language of love, mercy and grace, rather than fear.
From a faith perspective, our objective would be to promote the acceptance of religious ethics as an integral factor to be considered in the pursuit of economic activity, alongside the technical and economic factors and other considerations which determine the form and nature not only of individual activities but the economic activities undertaken by society at large. From a faith perspective, this would mean taking account of fair distribution of wealth in society; the impact of economic activities and operations (such as hydro projects or the extraction or exploitation of natural resources) on poor and vulnerable people and on land and water resources; justice in economic relations between producers and consumers and other stakeholders; and fairness of access to, and pricing of, goods, services and technology transfers from developed to developing world. It would demand the development of an ethical blueprint to guide all economic activities, including production, marketing, distribution and consumption of wealth and goods and services, encouragement of ethical business and economic activities and practices, good corporate governance for business and society at large. These are not small matters, and they demonstrate that religion – rather than being something to be relegated to the private sphere – is at the heart of how we organise our common life.
Makbul Rahim is a lawyer and legal consultant specialising in legal and policy aspects of natural resources development, promotion of private investment and capital markets development in developing countries. He has worked extensively in these areas in the Commonwealth Secretariat, a UK based multilateral developmental international organisation. He has also served as part time principal of and teacher at a Shi'a Islamic educational institute in London. He lectures on various aspects of Islamic faith and traditions and participates extensively in interfaith activities.
This article is part of a series, Faiths in Creation, published earlier this year by the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life,IBN 978-1-905566-07-5. It is available as a booklet from HIREPL, Heythrop College, Kensington Square, London W8 5HQ, at £4 per copy.
Read the Introduction to the Faiths in Creation series
[1] Second Vatican Council Gaudium et spes (London, Catholic Truth Society, 2001).
[2] Gaudium et Spes, paragraph 64.
The Winning of the Carbon War
Aspects of Environmental Ethics: An Islamic Perspective
This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs the Climate