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9 clues you probably missed from Taylor Swift's new music video, 'ME!'
NewsMusic
It's jam-packed with secret messages about TS7, including the titles of both the upcoming album and second single.
By Nina John-Clement On Apr 28, 2019
Following a countdown of cryptic Instagram posts, Taylor Swift finally dropped her highly anticipated single, 'ME!', on Friday and boy, is it a banger. The song is a catchy self-love anthem about "embracing your individuality and owning it," featuring Panic! At The Disco's Brendon Urie.
The pop star also kicked off this new era with an accompanying music video that's already made history by racking up 65.2 million views in its first 24-hours, breaking multiple YouTube and Vevo records including the biggest female and solo debut.
It turns out the old Taylor isn't really dead, as the video is a stark contrast to the edgy vibe of Swift's previous album, 'reputation'. The sparkly spectacle can best be described as pastel perfection, transporting viewers to a magical dream world filled with rainbows; unicorns; and butterflies, while also conveying a heart-warming message. It's an instant mood-booster and we kinda wanna live there forever.
As fans expected, the video is jam-packed with secret messages and 'easter eggs' that either relate to Swift's life or give hints about TS7. Taylor even took to Twitter to announce that the titles of both the upcoming album and second single are revealed within the video, but nobody has managed to guess it yet.
So… the new album title is actually revealed somewhere in the video AND so is the title of the second single, but I haven't seen people finding them yet…
🕵♂🕵♀ #MEmusicvideohttps://t.co/cdxQ6dFiar
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 26, 2019
Even the most eagle-eyed of viewers haven't spotted everything, so let's get practising our detective skills. Buckle up because we've re-watched the video hundreds of times (as if we needed an excuse) and have found 9 clues you may have missed:
1. The snake exploding into butterflies
The opening sequence can be interpreted as symbolising the end of the previous era and represents Taylor's glow-up from a snake (the false image attached to her reputation) to a butterfly (living freely as her true self.)
FYI: a group of butterflies is known as a 'kaleidoscope', leading many fans to believe that will be the title of her new album. We'll come back to this later.
2. There's no place like home
Pennsylvania – Christmas Tree
LA – Palm Trees
London – Skyline
Nashville – Cowboy boots
All home to Taylor!!@taylorswift13 @taylornation13 #MEmusicvideo #MeoutNOW pic.twitter.com/F9iFYVYUZN
— Philly/Nashville Swiftie! (@beenherealalong) April 27, 2019
One of the first things we see is a Christmas tree in the background of the room, despite it clearly not being winter, as we learn when Taylor exits through a corridor showing sunny palm trees outside the window. Bizarre, right? Well, it all makes sense when you consider that Taylor grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania and Swifties recognised it as a symbol of her childhood home.
In fact, there appear to be references to multiple cities throughout the video. Palm trees representing LA, Nashville cowboy boots and a skyline showing London's Big Ben – all of which are places Taylor has called home or often resides.
This lead many fans to speculate that the album may be centred around the theme of home. Not entirely convinced? The video also gives off strong Wizard of Oz vibes and appears to recreate the Emerald City, as well as depicting a rainbow brick road.
3. The cats
These fur babies and Taylor's on-screen 'daughters' making a cameo appearance are her much-loved Scottish fold cats – Dr. Meredith Grey and Detective Olivia Benson.
4. The chickens in sunglasses
The Dixie Chicks and Taylor Swift have a cute Twitter moment after the trio was featured in a picture frame in the "ME!" music video! #MeOutNow pic.twitter.com/LYV1BlPW9z
— Taylor Swift News (@Swift_Alert) April 26, 2019
Yep, you read that right. There are pictures on the wall of chickens wearing sunglasses (perhaps a nod to the song's lyric about 'cool chicks') but more interestingly, accompanied by a portrait of the Dixie Chicks. This lead many fans to muse about a potential collaboration as Taylor mentioned them in a recent Elle UK essay, alongside Panic! At The Disco.
5. The old Taylor's fighting
YOU CAN SEE THE OLD TAYLORS FIGHTING WHEN SHE WALKS OUT OF THE CLOUDS. OMG HER MIND pic.twitter.com/FfxYuxG6mu
— Deena (@swift_and_vine) April 26, 2019
If you look closely, you can see people in the shadows of the clouds who appear to be the old Taylor's fighting each other from the 'Look What You Made Me Do' music video. Blink and you'll miss it, but it's there.
6. There are 13 clouds and 7 briefcases
Taylor asked us to "count the number of briefcases and clouds" that are in the "ME!" music video. There are SEVEN briefecases and THIRTEEN clouds. 7/13, July 13th. Yes, there is also a wax seal on July 13! pic.twitter.com/PNadc8zGVB
— TSwiftinAsia (@TSwiftinAsia) April 26, 2019
Taylor instructed fans to pay attention to the numerology within the video and encouraged them to count the number of briefcases and clouds. There are 13 clouds and 7 briefcases which many see as a hint to the date 13th July. The album release date? The second single? Something else entirely? Nobody knows, but something is definitely happening as it's marked with a wax seal on Taylor's official 2019 calendar.
7. The kitten
We've already seen Meredith and Olivia, but Taylor introduced us to her newest addition in this video. She later confirmed fans' theories that it was hers, in an Instagram live, and revealed she adopted him on set after learning he had no home. His name is Benjamin Button and he's adorable.
8. The sign in the background
There's literally a neon sign saying 'Lover'. You can't get more obvious than that.
9. The kaleidoscope heart
We told you kaleidoscopes would be important. Is this scene a visual representation of the Welcome to New York lyric 'kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats' or is another hint about the upcoming album name? Discuss.
PS. Here's more evidence of the kaleidoscope theory:
So in @taylorswift13 new video it looks like she's trapped in a kaleidoscope and there's the though back lyric reference and in the end there dancing in a kaleidoscope and if a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope dose this mean her new album is called kaleidoscope pic.twitter.com/GoQkrDvI9V
— taylorfan40 (@Taylorfan40) April 27, 2019
Aaaand that's it. Our brain hurts. Spotted any clues that we missed? Tweet us at @unitedbypop.
brendon uriepanic at the discoTaylor Swift
Nina John-Clement 11 posts 0 comments
LISTEN: EBEN plays You [Pick] The One
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« Philadelphia: City's Second Largest Charter School is in Turmoil
Michigan: Ethical Problems at Cornerstone Charter School »
EdWeek Surveys Private School Choice Programs and Finds Little Oversight
March 6, 2020 //
Education Week examined the extent of state oversight of publicly funded religious schools and found that it was minimal. Betsy DeVos's goal of public funding for religious school tuition is gaining traction.
However, there is one glaring error in the article: it cites positive poll data from Education Next, which strongly supports vouchers, yet fails to mention that voters have repeatedly rejected such programs, most recently in Arizona in 2018, where voucher expansion lost a state referendum by a margin of 65-35% despite ample funding from the Koch and DeVos families and the support of Governor Doug Ducey, a Koch mentee.
The story begins:
Montana, like many other states, helps some students pay for tuition at private schools. But the rules for the schools that participate in its tax-credit scholarship program are scant: They do not have to hire teachers with college degrees or conduct criminal background checks on all their employees. Schools do not have to publicly report graduation rates or demonstrate that they are on sound financial footing. And no entity-be it the state, the organization that awards the scholarships, or the private schools-is required to track and report basic demographic data on the students who use the program.
Montana is hardly an outlier.
Nearly 30 states that have private school choice programs that either directly pay students' tuition at private schools or provide generous tax-credits to incentivize businesses and individuals to do so.
But few require private schools to follow standard policies used to ensure transparency and accountability in the nation's public schools, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey of states on how private school voucher and other closely related programs are regulated.
* Just six states require that all participating private schools admit students regardless of their religion, while only three require participating private schools to admit students regardless of their sexual orientation.
* Only 11 require that all teachers in participating private schools have a bachelor's degree.
* Fourteen mandate that schools conduct criminal background checks on all staff before accepting tuition paid with the help of state aid.
* And only six states require schools to publicly report their graduation rates.
Those and other findings demonstrate the relatively thin state oversight these programs operate under, especially when compared to the tight regulation and governance of public schools.
While proponents say that giving families the choice to use publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools-and the freedom to walk away from any school that isn't living up to their expectations-is the ultimate form of oversight, opponents argue that vouchers and their kin are funneling taxpayer money into largely unaccountable private schools.
It's not a new debate, but it is one that has added urgency as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case challenging the legality of Montana's program. The outcome of that case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (Case No. 18-1195), could remove the constitutional hurdles to establishing voucher programs in many other states.
"For school choice families, transparency is necessary if the policy goals articulated in the voucher laws are to be achieved-does the school provide sufficient information for families to make informed choices?" said Kevin Welner, a University of Colorado education professor who studies law and public policy. He is also the director of the National Education Policy Center, a group that is generally critical of vouchers. "I think more importantly, when the school accepts taxpayer dollars, it has to be transparent … around the responsible use of those dollars."
Growing Popularity
The popularity of private school choice programs continues to grow.
More than half of Americans now support the idea of allowing government to help families pay for tuition at private schools, according to a 2019 survey on the public's attitudes toward education by the journal Education Next.
Taken together, the number of private school choice programs, which include traditional vouchers, tax-credit scholarships, and education savings accounts, and families using them have expanded substantially over the past decade, fueled by influential advocacy groups and strong parental demand.
While Montana's program is at the center of the potentially pivotal Supreme Court case, it's miniscule-around 40 students a year receive an average annual scholarship of $500-compared to private school choice programs in Arizona Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin, which serve tens of thousands of students in their respective states with average scholarship amounts in the thousands.
To better understand the governance and accountability of this small, but growing sector of the K-12 system, the EdWeek Research Center reviewed statutes in 29 states that have at least one of the three types of private school choice programs on the books. The Research Center then sent the results of its analysis to state education departments to verify, correct, or update the findings.
The analysis' findings include:
* Five states require that all teachers in participating private schools be licensed;
* Eight states require all participating private schools to publicly report the results of state and national tests;
* Four states require public reporting of demographic data on participating students;
* Five states explicitly require all participating private schools to admit students with disabilities;
* Fourteen states mandate that participating private schools prove that they are fiscally sound through audits or other measures.
Finally, half of the states with private school choice programs-14-do not even require that the agencies or organizations overseeing them publicly list all the private schools participating.
The same is true for the third-party organizations that oversee tax-credit scholarship programs. Just 12 states require a publicly available list of scholarship-granting organizations-the groups that are approved by the state to take in tax-credit-eligible donations and award scholarships.
Oklahoma is among the states that do not require that a list of scholarship-granting organizations be publicly reported. It took Education Week dozens of emails, multiple records requests, and six months to simply obtain the names of the scholarship-granting organizations from the state.
This is only part of the article. In the remainder, there are extensive quotes from voucher zealot Robert Enslow of EdChoice, formerly known as the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation, whose only purpose is to promote publicly-funded vouchers.
It would be interesting to see an article in Education Week about the long list of states that have voted against vouchers (including Florida and Arizona) but got them anyway, shoved down the throats of the public by voucher fanatics with large wallets to buy legislators' votes. Such an article–or a different one–would review the studies of vouchers that show they have a negative effect on students' test scores. How about an article about the "education scholarships" in D.C., which has never found any gains for voucher students, and most recently showed that voucher students lost ground? Or a review of the Thomas B. Fordham study of Ohio vouchers that showed that students lost grounds in voucher schools? Or similar results in Indiana and Louisiana?
We are hurtling back to the early 19th century, not preparing students to live in the present and the future.
Categories Education Industry, Education Reform, Privatization, Research, Vouchers
Directors of state Catholic Conferences are citing Prof. William Jeynes' 2020 research (Calf. State University), "Faith and family play a bigger role in academic achievement than race or socioeconomic status".
Professors whose research appears to be aimed at influencing public policy should post the sources of their grants at the schools' websites.
The Minnesota Catholic Conference has a lengthy list of its legislative interests identified as the "Catholic Advocacy Network Action Center". The Minnesota Catholic Conference posted the Coalition Letter Regarding Education Tax Credits. Others in the coalition include, Ed Allies (receives funding from the National Alliance of Charter Schools), Minnesota Business Partnership and, the Minnesota Independent School Forum, funded by corporations and wealthy families.
Jeynes summarizes his "meta-analysis" at the Witherspoon Institute site. Witherspoon was founded by Robert P. George, an author of the Manhattan Declaration.
Oh, it's fine Diane. The neglected and ignored public schools will still be there to act as the disfavored "back up" to all these ed reform innovations.
Once a year ed reformers will swoop into our public schools to collect the standardized test scores our kids produce- just think of the 90% of kids in the country who attend the unfashionable public schools as the "control" for their experiments.
Ohio has now devoted the last two legislative sessions to enacting Betsy DeVos' education agenda. No one accomplished anything on behalf of the kids in public schools. They can't even be bothered to put together funding- too busy meeting the demands of the ed reform lobby.
Duane E Swacker says:
Little oversight??
A generous description, eh!
Ed reformers are aware that it's completely incoherent to demand that every public school student in the country take their standardized tests while exempting the students in their publicly-funded private schools, right?
If "accountability" is good enough for the students in the disfavored public schools it ought to be good enough for the publicly-funded private schools these folks prefer.
These are the same people who regularly scold public school parents about how we all have to provide standardized test scores, correct? Why doesn't that apply to the schools they prefer?
This is a common trick in ed reform, by the way. They use the fact that public schools have to report stats to mislead people into believing that public schools are the only schools WITH problems.
The lack of transparency is deliberate. If there is no centralized reporting for private schools and there is centralized reporting for public schools, public schools will always look worse than private schools, simply because they're comparing some information to NO information.
"They use the fact that public schools have to report stats to mislead people into believing that public schools are the only schools WITH problems." YES.
When Bush and DeVos passed the giant new private school funding bill in Florida they bragged that they had also increased funding to public schools by 300 dollars a year.
Massive new funding for the private schools they prefer, a tiny afterthought effort for public school students.
They simply don't work on behalf of students in public schools. They return no value. Public school students would literally be better off if Bush and DeVos stopped showing up for work. They are ideologically opposed to the existence of our schools and every public school student in the country sacrifices on account of that.
Meanwhile in Ohio we are now in the middle of Year Two of state employees focusing exclusively on private school vouchers and accomplishing absolutely nothing on behalf of the 90% of students in the state who attend public schools:
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/03/what-private-schools-use-the-most-vouchers-in-ohio-a-few-may-surprise-you.html
Ed reform lobbyists have utterly captured my state government. No one works on anything other than meeting their demands.
You can't pay these people to lift a finger on behalf of public school students- I know because we are paying them and they have spent the last two legislative sessions either expanding private school vouchers or fixing their rushed and botched expansion of vouchers. The worst part is I'm not sure I want any of them to do any work on public schools- if their past efforts are any indication they'll just harm our kids anyway.
The absolute best public school families can hope for out of ed reform is that they continue to ignore our schools and students. The alternative is worse.
EdWeek cannot be trusted as a source of information. Two much of the content is paid for by foundations. These spin-controllers are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (also paying for two journalists to cover education for USA Today), Carnegie Corporation of New York,the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation,the Joyce Foundation, NoVo Foundation, the Oak Foundation, the Wallace foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, the William E. Simon Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.The January 15, 2020 paper devoted four full pages to Rick Hess's phoney Edu-Scholar rankings.
Rick Hess lost his credibility when he wrote "Don't Surrender the Academy" (Philanthropy Roundtable), if not before.
So why the accountability craze for public schools and the no-accountability craze for publicly-supported private schools? Gives the lie to the ed-reform movement– or at least its religious & libertarian/ voucher-proponent wing. Proves that stds/hi-stakes aligned assessments for public schools is SOLELY about closing public schools and shunting publicly-supported ed into private hands. Charters at least– eventually– get hoisted by their own petard [test scores, grad rates]– voucher schs aren't even held to pubsch stds.
Voucher families have the option to choose, then "walk with their feet" if they're unsatisfied– but on what basis? In only one out of 5 voucher schools will they know school test results or graduation rates. In 1 of 6, whether teachers are licensed – in 1 of 3 whether they even have BA's. In half of them, they'll know nothing about the financial soundness of the school, or whether background criminal checks are done.
It is ludicrous to imagine that taxpayers in those 30 states agreed to have their hard-earned bucks tossed to the wind like that. Much less that "more than half of Americans now support the idea of allowing govt to help pay for tuition at private schs" [acc to EdNext survey, hmmm]. As Diane points out, in states with referenda it's been turned down decisively & repeatedly. More likely the 30 states' voucher pgms were manhandled into place by ALEC-style backroom deals.

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Video: kbb.com Launches 'Cash for Clunkers' Calculator
Kelley Blue Book Provides Key Details for Federal Cash for Clunkers Program, Finding Best Next Car
IRVINE, Calif., July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new-car and used-car information, today announces the launch of its Cash for Clunkers Calculator on its top-rated Web site, kbb.com. Using the Cash for Clunkers Calculator, consumers can gain important details to assist them in determining if their current vehicle might be eligible for up to $4,500 toward the purchase of a more fuel-efficient new car, research new-car options, and reach a dealer -- all in one place.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090702/NY41400)
Kbb.com provides a simple, interactive Cash for Clunkers Calculator to help consumers determine whether they may be eligible for a credit under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the official government name of the Cash for Clunkers program. The calculator helps consumers evaluate vehicles with model years between 1989 and 2009 based on make, model, condition, and mileage. The age of the vehicle, its fuel economy and the fuel efficiency rating of the new car are key factors to determine whether the vehicle qualifies for a 'Cash for Clunkers' credit toward the purchase of a new vehicle. The calculator also displays the Kelley Blue Book® Trade-In Value, to help consumers determine whether their vehicle is worth more or less than the possible credit they could receive from the CARS program.
Under this groundbreaking, government-sponsored program, a consumer can receive instant credit toward the purchase of a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle upon trade-in of an old, gas-guzzling ride that has a combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 miles-per-gallon or less, is in drivable condition and has been insured and registered for the past year by the same owner.
"While the conditions of the new Cash for Clunkers program can be confusing, kbb.com provides a means of assisting consumers to determine eligibility and help get them into their next new car quickly and easily," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.
Ford will be the official sponsor of the Cash for Clunkers program on Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. Ford has been on the forefront of this new federal program and is dedicated to providing consumers the information they need. Ford also recently launched its 'Let Ford Recycle Your Ride' campaign to help take the confusion out of the Cash for Clunkers program. With an impressive line-up of fuel-efficient cars, trucks and utility vehicles, Ford can offer a variety of gas-sipping models to fit the needs of any consumer.
"Kelley Blue Book is pleased to have Ford as the official sponsor of the Cash for Clunkers Calculator on kbb.com," said Justin Yaros, executive vice president of product design and development for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com. "Together, we have the ability to further educate the consumer on the new government program and assist in all stages of the shopping process."
Video: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/kbb/38983/ Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090702/NY41400
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com


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The Chinese Deep Space Network (CDSN) is a network of large antennas and communication facilities that are used for the interplanetary spacecraft missions of China. It is managed by the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control Center General (CLTC), which reports to the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force Space Systems Department. They also deal with radio-astronomical and radar observations.

The network was first needed for the lunar mission Chang'e 1, and since has been used to support subsequent missions to the Moon and Mars such as Chang'e 5, and Tianwen-1 missions. Similar deep space networks are run by the United States, Russia, European countries, Japan, and India.

Introduction

In principle, a Chinese deep space network has existed since 1993 with the commissioning of the Nanshan 25-meter telescope in the mountains south of Ürümqi. The 25-meter antenna of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory was then not only able to participate in the Southern Hemisphere VLBI Experiment program, but also to form its own Chinese baseline together with Ürümqi and observe and measure distant objects.

All stations are equipped with high-precision hydrogen maser clocks and connected via powerful communication networks. All stations comply with the provisions of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), so data exchange with the systems of other space agencies is possible despite different technical equipment.

The antennas of Sheshan, Ürümqi, Miyun, Kunming and Tianma can be interconnected to form a national association and in this way form the Chinese VLBI Network (CVN), a VLBI telescope the size of China. The evaluation of the data from the CVN takes place in the VLBI observation base Sheshan of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. The facilities in Shanghai and Ürümqi are also integrated into the European VLBI Network (EVN).

Network

In 2007, the network consisted of:
 Ground control stations in Kashgar and Qingdao (in the Shandong province).
 18-meter antennas in Qingdao and Kashgar
 A 50-meter antenna at Miyun (~116°E), near Beijing.
 A 40-meter antenna in Yunnan (~101°E).

In 2012, improvements were made to support Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 4 Moon missions, including:
 Upgrades to the ground facilities at Kashgar and Qingdao, and a deep-space ground control station at Jiamusi.
 A new 35-meter antenna at the Kashgar station.
 A 64-meter antenna in Jiamusi. (~130°E)

In 2014, China and Argentina signed an agreement allowing China to construct the Espacio Lejano Station in South America. The station was built in Neuquén Province, Argentina (~70°W), with a 50 million-dollar investment. The facility, a part of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, was inaugurated in October 2017. The station is seen by some as a symbol of China's increased role in South America's politics and economy.

Since 2018, China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General (CLTC) was a customer of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), which provided CLTC services, including TT&C for pre-defined civilian satellites within research, Earth observation and weather data as well as for other scientific spacecraft. It was reported by Reuters on 21 September 2020 that SSC decided not to renew its contracts with China to help operate Chinese satellites from SSC's ground stations, or seek new business with China.

In late 2020, the Kashgar ground station was upgraded from one single 35-meter antenna to an antenna array consisting of four 35-meter antennas. The capacity of the new system was equivalent to a 66-meter antenna.

Systems for radio astronomy

Radio astronomy, despite using similar large antennas, is a very different field than spacecraft communication. There is no need to transmit, and the receiving bands are chosen for scientific interest.
 The 15-meter radio telescope in Miyun was built in 1992 and used to study pulsars, but was dismantled around 2002 in favor of the 50-meter radio telescope.
 The Miyun Synthesis Radio Telescope (MSRT) is a telescope for observing solar activity and examines the frequency range of 232 MHz. It consists of 28 antennas with a diameter of 9 meters each with baselines between 18 m and 1164 m at intervals of 6 m and has been in operation since 1998.
 The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the radio telescope with the world's largest primary mirror. The total diameter of the immovable spherical main mirror is 500 meters; signals can be effectively received over an area with a diameter of 300 meters (aperture). FAST is mainly used for radio astronomy. However, FAST will play an important role in the China's 2020 Mars mission, because of the frequency range of its receivers (70 MHz to 3 GHz). Any Mars landing, such as will be attempted by Tianwen-1, must decelerate from many times the speed of sound to 0 within 6–8 minutes, so the frequency of the carrier wave of the telemetry signals in the X-band changes rapidly due to the Doppler effect. In the event of the sudden braking caused by opening the parachute, the regular deep-space stations will most likely lose contact with the probe. For backup, Mars landings therefore enlist the cooperation of radio astronomy facilities that can receive decimeter band (UHF) communication.
 Primeval Structure Telescope (PaST), also called 21 Centimetre Array (21CMA), in Ulastai, Xinjiang was completed in 2006. It was expanded in 2009 with new, low-noise amplifiers and better computer technology for evaluation. This remote valley array studies the low level emissions of neutral hydrogen from the hydrogen line. The array consists of 81 groups (pods) with a total of 10287 antennas. These are arranged in two mutually perpendicular arms, one 6.1 km long in an east–west direction, the other 4 km long in a north–south direction. Each antenna has 16 dipoles with lengths between 0.242 and 0.829 meters and covers a frequency range from 50 to 200 MHz.

Planned or under construction stations
 The Qitai Radio Telescope (QTT) is a planned 110-meter radio telescope to be built in Qitai County in Xinjiang, China. Upon completion, which is scheduled for 2023, it will be the world's largest fully steerable single-dish radio telescope. It is intended to operate at 300 MHz to 117 GHz. The fully steerable dish of the QTT will allow it to observe 75% of the stars in the sky at any given time. The QTT and the FAST, also located in China, can both observe frequencies in the "water hole" that has traditionally been favored by scientists engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), meaning that each observatory could provide follow-up observations of putative signals from extraterrestrials detected in this quiet part of the radio spectrum at the other observatory.

Relay satellites
China has several relay satellites of the Tianlian series in geostationary orbits, which can relay data to each other and to the ground, thus enabling communication with spacecraft that have no direct contact with ground stations. The technology of the relay satellites enables intermediate storage of data, a higher bandwidth of data connections, and greater sky coverage. These satellites were originally placed in orbit as of 2008 for communication with the Shenzhou spacecraft of the manned space program. But they are also used for deep-space missions, for example in 2020 for the Mars mission Tianwen-1, where the satellites Tianlian 1B and Tianlian 2A were parked for orbit tracking and the transmission of telemetry data from the probe.

Moon missions

 Chang'e 1: remotely controlled from stations at Qingdao and Kashgar, as the first use of the Chinese Deep Space Network.
 Chang'e 2: first to Earth–Sun  Lagrange point and then to the asteroid 4179 Toutatis.
 Chang'e 3
 Chang'e 4
 Chang'e 5-T1
 Chang'e 5

Planetary missions

 Tianwen-1 and Zhurong: Ongoing Mars Mission with rover operation.

See also

 China National Space Administration (CNSA)
 Chinese space program
 Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
 Planetary Exploration of China
 European VLBI Network
 History of spaceflight
 Yuan Wang-class tracking ship

References

External links
 Official website of the European VLBI Network

Deep Space Network
Radio astronomy
Space program of the People's Republic of China
Telemetry
People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Jesus, another tour group
by Dwight Cathcart | Mar 27, 2012 | Coming out | 0 comments
In Ceremonies, after Mickey came out to his sister, and then to his mother the next day, he found he had to come out to his friend at work. He took his friend Charles to a fast food restaurant on the highway. After some preliminary talk about cars and tires and politics—it's in the middle of the 1984 presidential election—Mickey says,
"You know the boy who drowned?"
"What boy?"
"The one who was thrown off the bridge?"
"Oh, that. Sure."
"Well, he was a homosexual—"
[Charles] doesn't say anything.
"—and it upset a lot of his friends, a lot of the homosexuals in Cardiff—"
"What are you telling me?"
"It upset me. It made me real angry that somebody—"
"Why did it make you angry?" His eyes have narrowed and he has pulled away a little bit.
"I'm a friend of his."
I am aware of the children shouting and squealing on the slide.
"You queer?" His face has crumpled up into a mask of disbelief.
"I am a homosexual."
A pause.
"No shit!" He lifts his hands from his knees and then drops them down again and leans on them. "You're a fucking queer!" He starts to laugh. People look at us. "Why are you telling me? You coming on to me?" He laughs. "I know, you're telling me to be careful around you, you can't help yourself, right?"
So, Mickey was out to his little gang—his boyfriend and Jack and Claire and Timothy and Bernie, people who came to his house and ate his food and watched his TV—and then he came out to his sister and to his mother, and now he is coming out to Charles, the guy from work. Later, he will come out on television—by which he comes out to everybody—after the funeral service for Bernie. A television reporter and cameraman stop them as they are walking down the lane from the burial plot:
It is 3:45 p.m. in the afternoon on Friday—the funeral began an hour ago—and the sun is beyond the trees. There is no cloud in the sky. The trees, great elms up against the hillside and willows along the lane, in a light breeze, rustle and cast deep shadows. The cemetery grasses are a deep, rich green, the effect of lavish care, and in the shadows the granite tombstones are gray and cool. The cameraman has turned the camera on me. At first I am aware of this only in the periphery of my vision. And then, drawn naturally toward it, I turn to the camera and face it down, talking, answering the reporter's long questions on Bernie's death and its effect on the gay community in Cardiff, on me and my homosexuality, on grief and loss, staring into the large black round glass eye. "Bernie was very courageous. He said, I am what I am. In many ways, he died of that courage." The camera's lens sees me, and in the broad light of day it takes me in without blinking.
Another friend, Dana, a young woman who is slightly older and has a partner and a baby and a good job, and whom all the kids in Ceremonies look up to, says, "I learned, however, that you never get to the end of coming out. On the other side of the glass there is always a new tour group coming through who haven't been here before. They start using language about you that doesn't apply, and if you're not careful, the words will begin to seep into your mind and cause damage, like water in a gas tank. They need it all explained to them, and you have to put down your business and lay it all out in simple terms."
You may never get to the end of coming out. You can't ever come out to everybody, even on television or the newspapers. You may have to do it over and over. It's not ever going to be finished.


text:
Edward J. T. Kenney
Ed Kenney is a special consultant for Mutual of America, a firm he has been with since 1994 after retiring from a 25-year career as an F.B.I. agent. Throughout the peace process in Northern Ireland, he used his diplomatic background as a liaison with other law enforcement and government agencies as a valuable tool. Kenney joined Mutual just as chairman Bill Flynn's invitation to Gerry Adams won...
Ed Kenney Hall of Fame
Pete Hamill is a much-lauded journalist, columnist, essayist, commentator, and novelist who has spent a career documenting stories from wars in Vietnam, Nicaragua, Lebanon, and Northern Ireland to rock and roll and the underclass of New York City. Born in 1935 in Brooklyn to Belfast immigrants who arrived in New York the same day the stock market crashed in 1929, Hamill had artistic ambitions...
Hall of Fame Pete Hamill
General Martin E. Dempsey
Martin Edward Dempsey served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for which he served two terms, and is a retired U.S. Army general who also previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Army. General Dempsey graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1974 and has been a career armor officer, serving in Operation Desert Storm, commanding the 4th Battalion 67th Armor in Germany,...
Hall of Fame Martin Dempsey
Colonel Eileen Collins
Former NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel Eileen Collins was the first female commander of a space shuttle mission and a career U.S.A.F. officer. In 1999, she commanded the Columbia mission STS-93 to launch the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the most advanced X-ray telescope produced at the time. Collins was born in Elmira, New York, the second of four children of Rose Marie and James Collins,...
Eileen Collins Hall of Fame


text:
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You are here: Home Press Releases CAIR-Georgia Welcomes Apology and Guilty Pleas After Attack on Muslim Uber Driver
CAIR-Georgia Welcomes Apology and Guilty Pleas After Attack on Muslim Uber Driver
Last Updated: 16 December 2019 | Email	| Hits: 746
(ATLANTA, GA, 12/16/2019) -- The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) today welcomed a Georgia man's decision to plead guilty to assaulting and attacking a Muslim Uber driver outside the SunTrust Park baseball stadium after an Atlanta Braves game on April 2, 2019.
During a plea hearing at the Cobb County state court on Dec. 13th, the man entered two guilty pleas, paid a fine in lieu of further jail time, and directly apologized to the victim in open court in a lengthy statement, at which point the two men shook hands.
As part of his plea agreement, the defendant also agreed to perform 50 hours of community service, spend 12 months on probation without using alcohol or drugs and undergo CAIR-Georgia's educational religious sensitivity training on Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry, which was conducted at the courthouse after the hearing.
In a statement, CAIR-Georgia Staff Attorney Murtaza Khwaja said:
"We thank the Cobb County prosecutor's office for pursuing this case to the end. We applaud the victim for having the courage to defend himself during the attack, and to stand up for himself throughout the legal process.
"We also commend the defendant for doing the right thing. Many people wrong others because of ignorance and bigotry, but few people then admit their mistakes, seek forgiveness and make amends, which this defendant did.
"This crime serves as another reminder of why Georgia should recognize, document and penalize hate crimes. Without a hate crimes law, officers and prosecutors cannot officially document or appropriately punish these incidents for what they are: crimes of hate."
On April 2, 2019, a Muslim Uber driver was parked at SunTrust Park after an Atlanta Braves game. When a man who smelled of alcohol entered his car, the driver refused to serve him. Cursing, the man exited the vehicle.
According to a police report and cell phone video of the incident, the man's drunken friend then approached the Uber driver's car, threatened to "f*cking destroy you," opened his car door, spit on him, and punched him. The attacker also repeated an Islamophobic slur, saying, "How many virgins are you going to get for sucking c***?"
SEE: Bleeped Video of Incident (WARNING - GRAPHIC)
https://youtu.be/lTO-uPRWdY4
The Uber driver fought back in self-defense before the police arrived and arrested the man, charging him with simple battery and public drunkenness.
[NOTE: Out of respect for the victim's privacy, and the perpetrator's contrition, CAIR-Georgia is not publicly identifying the names of either man.]
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
CONTACT: CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Murtaza Khwaja, 404-432-8847, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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text:
When Amanda spies on one of her female teachers in the ladies dressing room, she makes a discovery about the woman that awakens Amanda's latent lust for another women. But the ferocity of her sexual thoughts about females soon overwhelms the girl, and only a severe punishment delivered by the very woman she peeped on has a chance of saving the young girl. This Lesbian romance takes the reader on a journey of sex, punishment and total abandon, as it explores the forbidden love that develops between a young girl and a nun.
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Amanda's Bare-Bottom Spanking at Smashwords


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Q: How can users identify which of their iPhone/iPad apps are still only 32-bit (and therefore won't work in future)? Many iPhone/iPad users still use apps on their devices which are only 32-bit. These apps will not work in future if users upgrade to iOS 11, unless of course the apps themselves are updated to run natively in 64-bit.
This being the case, users may want to identify any important apps they have installed that will become useless if they upgrade to iOS 11 in a few months. By doing this users can prepare for the upgrade by:

*

*contacting the developer to confirm their future development plans, and

*finding alternative apps that will meet their needs

How can users identify which of their currently installed apps are still only 32-bit?

A: In iOS 10.3 and above, users can:

*

*Go to Settings

*Swipe up and tap on General

*Tap on About

*Tap on Applications
A list will appear showing all of the apps you have installed that
won't run in 64-bit mode. Now you can tap on any of your important apps
to determine if it is still available on the App Store. If…

*

*you get a message indicating it is not available, it's quite likely
that the app is no longer supported. You should try contacting
the developer to check whether it will be updated.

*you're taken directly to the App Store, then the app is still
available and you'll need to contact the developer to confirm
their plans for 64-bit support.

This process is the recommended approach for ensuring you
don't get caught out when iOS 11 is released later in the year.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


And yet, as I looked through it I could see the problem she was concerned about: she had done so many good things in so many different fields it was hard to know what was distinctive about her.
Step 4: Capable people end up doing lots of projects well but are distracted from what would otherwise be their highest point of contribution which I define as the intersection of talent, passion and market (see more on this in the Harvard Business Review article The Disciplined Pursuit of Less). Then, both the company and the employee lose out.
When this happens, some of the responsibility lies with out-of-touch managers who are too busy or distracted to notice the very best use of their people. But some of the responsibility lies with us. Perhaps we need to be more deliberate and discerning in navigating our own careers.
In the conversation above, we spent some time to identify my colleague's Highest Point of Contribution and develop a plan of action for a more focused career strategy.
We followed a simple process similar to one I write about here: If You Don't Design Your Career, Someone Else Will. My friend is not alone. Indeed, in coaching and teaching managers and executives around the world it strikes me that failure to be conscientious about this represents the #1 mistake, in frequency, I see capable people make in their careers.
Using a camping metaphor, capable people often add additional poles of the same height to their career tent. We end up with 10, 20 or 30 poles of the same height, somehow hoping the tent will go higher. I don't just mean higher on the career ladder either. I mean higher in terms of our ability to contribute.
The slightly painful truth is, at any one time there is only one piece of real estate we can "own" in another person's mind. People can't think of us as a project manager, professor, attorney, insurance agent, editor and entrepreneur all at exactly the same time. They may all be true about us but people can only think of us as one thing first. At any one time there is only one phrase that can follow our name. Might we be better served by asking, at least occasionally, whether the various projects we have add up to a longer pole?
I saw this illustrated some time ago in one of the more distinctive resumes I have seen. It belonged to a Stanford Law School Professor [there it is: the single phrase that follows his name, the longest pole in his career tent]. His resume was clean and concise. For each entry there was one impressive title/role/school and a succinct description of what he had achieved. Each sentence seemed to say more than ten typical bullet points in many resumes I have seen. When he was at university he had been the student body president, under "teaching" he was teacher of the year and so on.
Being able to do many things is important in many jobs today. Broad understanding also is a must. But developing greater discernment about what is distinctive about us can be a great advantage. Instead of simply doing more things we need to find, at every phase in our careers, our highest point of contribution.