text:
Action & Movement
Deeply Serene
Serenity Through Beauty
The War Is Not Over
Westori Blog
Corruption Isn't Sexy
Now available everywhere:
What happens when a vivacious fashion model reunites with her humorous boyfriend in New York?
Life and carnage!
Killing Us Softly
A brilliant documentary & study about the objectification of women.
Killing Us Softly 4
Thank you Jean Kilbourne for your tireless efforts & Beka Kecske for sharing.
We're all human, stop all objectification.
ℒ♥ⓥℯ & Ṩerenity to all♥
A report raising questions about the ethical use of so-called "killer robots" has been debated at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
One People One World☀❤
Vernon Hugh Bowman Vs. Monsato
This week, the United States Supreme Court will take up a classic David-and-Goliath case. On one side stands 75-year-old farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, from Indiana and on the other, the agribusiness giant Monsanto.
The farmer is fighting Monsanto's patents on seeds - but he's up against more than just Monsanto. The biotech and computer software industries are taking Monsanto's side.
See also, Food Inc.
Oil Spill Plaguing Nigerian River
Crude oil from a leaking ExxonMobil pipeline in southern Nigeria has begun to creep into neighbouring rivers, causing economic and environmental damage.
The Invisible War, by Oscar and Emmy-nominated director Kirby Dick and Emmy-nominated producer Amy Ziering, is a searing expose of the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
St. Louis & Guatemala.
U.S. Army Tested Chemicals on Cities, Low-Income Residents:
Newly disclosed documents have revealed details on how the U.S. military carried out testing of chemicals on major U.S. cities during the 1950s and 1960s. Sociologist Lisa Martino-Taylor of St. Louis Community College says zinc cadmium sulfide was sprayed in several cities without residents' knowledge. The most densely sprayed area appears to have been a housing complex for low-income people in St. Louis.
Lisa Martino-Taylor: "It was pretty shocking, the level of duplicity and secrecy. Clearly they went to great lengths to deceive people. There is a lot of evidence that shows people in St. Louis and the city, in particular minority communities, were subjected to military testing that was connected to a larger radiological weapons testing project."
Ex-Guatemalan Commander Ordered to Stand Trial in U.S.:
A former Guatemalan army commander accused in a 1982 massacre has been ordered to stand trial on charges he lied about his past to obtain U.S. citizenship. Jorge Sosa was allegedly a commanding officer during the notorious Dos Erres killings, when a U.S.-backed death squad killed more than 200 villagers, including women and children who were strangled, beaten with sledgehammers, and thrown down a well. Sosa was extradited to the United States from Canada last week. If convicted, he could be extradited back to Guatemala to face charges in connection with the massacre after he completes his sentence.
Westori reveals global news stories that may have escaped the mainstream media's attention.
If you are using the Google Chrome browser, you can get the free RSS extension to properly view the RSS at GRSS.
Thank you for reading♞.
Aguifer
Ahmed Soultan
Amy Ziering
Andy Cory
Atemi Oyungu
Cape Verdi
Christine Kamau
Democracy And Freedom
Dos Erres
Environmental Disaster
Eric Wainaina
Jacques Fresco
Jorge Sosa
Kidum
Kirby Dick
Kori Cioca
Marc Guttman
Marla Spivak
Megastructure
Modelling Industry
Monsato
Oil Leak
Oil Pipeline
Steven Mercado
The People's Voice
Ting Huang
Tshila
Vieux Farka Toure
Why Peace
Westori: Bridging The Gap Between People & The World


text:
namespace bluez {

// TODO(apusaka): move these consts to system_api/service_constants.h
namespace {
const char kBluetoothDebugObjectPath[] = "/org/chromium/Bluetooth";
const uint8_t kMinDispatcherLevel = 0;
const uint8_t kMinNewblueLevel = 0;
const uint8_t kMinBluezLevel = 0;
const uint8_t kMinKernelLevel = 0;
const uint8_t kMaxDispatcherLevel = 0xff;
const uint8_t kMaxNewblueLevel = 0xff;
const uint8_t kMaxBluezLevel = 2;
const uint8_t kMaxKernelLevel = 1;
}  // namespace

const char BluetoothDebugManagerClient::kNoResponseError[] =
    "org.chromium.Error.NoResponse";
const char BluetoothDebugManagerClient::kInvalidArgumentError[] =
    "org.chromium.Error.InvalidArgument";

// The BluetoothDebugManagerClient implementation used in production.
class BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl : public BluetoothDebugManagerClient,
                                        public dbus::ObjectManager::Interface {
 public:
  BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl() = default;

  ~BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl() override = default;

  // BluetoothDebugManagerClient override.
  void SetLogLevels(const uint8_t dispatcher_level,
                    const uint8_t newblue_level,
                    const uint8_t bluez_level,
                    const uint8_t kernel_level,
                    base::OnceClosure callback,
                    ErrorCallback error_callback) override {
    if (kMinDispatcherLevel > dispatcher_level ||
        kMaxDispatcherLevel < dispatcher_level) {
      std::move(error_callback)
          .Run(kInvalidArgumentError, "dispatcher_level is out of range.");
      return;
    }
    if (kMinNewblueLevel > newblue_level || kMaxNewblueLevel < newblue_level) {
      std::move(error_callback)
          .Run(kInvalidArgumentError, "newblue_level is out of range.");
      return;
    }
    if (kMinBluezLevel > bluez_level || kMaxBluezLevel < bluez_level) {
      std::move(error_callback)
          .Run(kInvalidArgumentError, "bluez_level is out of range.");
      return;
    }
    if (kMinKernelLevel > kernel_level || kMaxKernelLevel < kernel_level) {
      std::move(error_callback)
          .Run(kInvalidArgumentError, "kernel_level is out of range.");
      return;
    }

    dbus::MethodCall method_call(bluetooth_debug::kBluetoothDebugInterface,
                                 bluetooth_debug::kSetLevels);

    dbus::MessageWriter writer(&method_call);
    writer.AppendByte(dispatcher_level);
    writer.AppendByte(newblue_level);
    writer.AppendByte(bluez_level);
    writer.AppendByte(kernel_level);

    object_proxy_->CallMethodWithErrorCallback(
        &method_call, dbus::ObjectProxy::TIMEOUT_USE_DEFAULT,
        base::BindOnce(&BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl::OnSuccess,
                       weak_ptr_factory_.GetWeakPtr(), std::move(callback)),
        base::BindOnce(&BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl::OnError,
                       weak_ptr_factory_.GetWeakPtr(),
                       std::move(error_callback)));
  }

 protected:
  void Init(dbus::Bus* bus,
            const std::string& bluetooth_service_name) override {
    DCHECK(bus);

    object_proxy_ = bus->GetObjectProxy(
        bluetooth_service_name, dbus::ObjectPath(kBluetoothDebugObjectPath));

    object_manager_ = bus->GetObjectManager(
        bluetooth_service_name,
        dbus::ObjectPath(
            bluetooth_object_manager::kBluetoothObjectManagerServicePath));
    object_manager_->RegisterInterface(
        bluetooth_debug::kBluetoothDebugInterface, this);
  }

 private:
  // dbus::ObjectManager::Interface override.
  dbus::PropertySet* CreateProperties(
      dbus::ObjectProxy* object_proxy,
      const dbus::ObjectPath& object_path,
      const std::string& interface_name) override {
    return new dbus::PropertySet(object_proxy, interface_name,
                                 base::DoNothing());
  }

  // Called when a response for successful method call is received.
  void OnSuccess(base::OnceClosure callback, dbus::Response* response) {
    DCHECK(response);
    std::move(callback).Run();
  }

  // Called when a response for a failed method call is received.
  void OnError(ErrorCallback error_callback, dbus::ErrorResponse* response) {
    // Error response has optional error message argument.
    std::string error_name;
    std::string error_message;
    if (response) {
      dbus::MessageReader reader(response);
      error_name = response->GetErrorName();
      reader.PopString(&error_message);
    } else {
      error_name = kNoResponseError;
    }
    std::move(error_callback).Run(error_name, error_message);
  }

  dbus::ObjectProxy* object_proxy_;

  dbus::ObjectManager* object_manager_;

  base::WeakPtrFactory<BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl> weak_ptr_factory_{this};

  DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl);
};

BluetoothDebugManagerClient::BluetoothDebugManagerClient() = default;

BluetoothDebugManagerClient::~BluetoothDebugManagerClient() = default;

BluetoothDebugManagerClient* BluetoothDebugManagerClient::Create() {
  return new BluetoothDebugManagerClientImpl();
}

}  // namespace bluez

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


When it comes to managing your help desk, every second counts. With BeyondTrust Remote Support, you'll impact the metrics you care about most.
Create queues, portals, teams, and policies to standardize technical support services. Define your support channels for efficiency.
BeyondTrust also makes it easier to manage large teams of technicians with integrated identity management and group policies.


The European Central Bank unveiled today the new €100 and €200 notes, which will be introduced in May 28, 2019. These notes complete the Europe series, the second since the introduction of the euro. The new notes, featuring security components that make them harder to counterfeit, are the highest-value denominations after the phase out of the €500 note.
Yves Mersch, member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, unveiled the new €100 and €200 designs during an event held in Frankfurt. These notes complete the Europa series, launched in 2013. The Europa series is being introduced gradually over several years, in ascending order. The first four notes – €5, €10, €20 and €50 – started circulating in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 respectively. The most recent launch, the €50 note, was phased in in April 4, 2017.
According to ECB data, as of June 2018, there were 2.7 billion €100 banknotes in circulation in the euro area (13 percent of the total amount of notes in.) These notes represent almost one fourth of the total banknote value. On the other hand, €200 notes represent 1 percent of all notes and 4 percent of their value.
Why are new banknotes issued?
The European Central Bank explains that this second series boasts enhanced security features and the latest banknote technology to make the notes even more secure and harder to counterfeit. Specifically, the new €100 and €200 notes include the same security features as the latest €50 note version, such as the watermark portrait.
These notes also feature a hologram on the top of the silver stripe. When tilting the note, it shows small € symbols. Also, when tilting the note, the emerald number on the bottom left corner of produces an effect of the light that moves vertically. These features have been implemented to enhance the reliability and security features of the notes as method of payment.
The new euro notes are more durable than the first series and will not need to be replaced so frequently. The ECB explains that this is especially important for the €5 note, which is used much more frequently than other banknotes. Now, the notes' longer lifespan will also reduce their impact on the environment.
This banknote series has been dubbed Europa because two of their security features contain a portrait of Europa, a Greek mythology figure to which the continent owes its name.
The €500 banknote will be phased out, but, will cash disappear?
This new series will not include the €500 banknote, thus, the €100 and €200 notes complete the issuance of the new series. As the ECB announced in May 2016, as of 2018, no new €500 notes will be printed.
However, the ECB is not considering getting rid of cash in the euro area anytime soon. In fact, according to the bank, since it was introduced in 2002, the number of banknotes in circulation has tripled, and currently stands well over 21 billion. The value of the notes in circulation grows at a yearly pace of about 4 percent and is now nearing the €1.2 trillion mark.
BBVA Group Executive Chairman Francisco González thinks it is necessary to establish "a new global regulation," one that could benefit society as a whole with all the opportunities the digital era has to offer. "We are living an unprecedented revolution, that could bring a never-before-seen level of well-being if we manage to make progress in a new legal architecture," he pointed out during a meeting at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in Brussels.


text:
Poy Sang Long Festival 201...
Poy Sang Long Festival 2019 - What, When and Where
Every part of this beautiful world has its own set of customs and rituals that bring in a factor of individuality to any region. Now that we are talking about various customs and festivals of the world, it will be of a matter of great interest to talk about Poy Sang Long, the age-old Asian tradition. If you are wondering what that is, then this article is a must-read for you to know everything there is to know about this festival celebrated in Myanmar and the neighbouring area of Thailand, in its northern part.
When is Poy Sang Long Celebrated?
Poy Sang Long is celebrated in the period of post-March 20 to mid-April. Dates of 2019: 20th March 2019 - 20th April 2019.
What is Poy Sang Long?
Translated as the 'Festival of the Crystal Sons', Poy Sang Long is an exclusive ceremony meant for young to adolescent boys between the age of seven and fourteen years of age. The word 'Poy' signifies a religious event whereas 'Sang Long' means a young boy who is about to get ordained as a monk. Better understood as a 'Rite of Passage' ceremony, which is categorised as a transitional practice in which an individual will be moving from one group to a newer one, mostly, associated with a change in their overall status in the society. Poy Sang Long festival is a popular traditional practice among the Shan people in Myanmar and Thailand where Shan immigrants have introduced their cultural norms among the people of their sect. The Shans are also known as Tai Yaian which is a Thai tribe in its ethnicity.
It is believed that the tradition of Poy Sang Long started when the first Buddhist novice, Prince Yahura, son of Buddha, gave up his luxurious lifestyle to follow in the footsteps of his father.
Poy Sang Long festival is majorly concerned with the young boys taking their monastic vows to initiate their monastery life. The young boys are taught tenets of Buddhist teachings and how to lead a self-disciplined life as is expected from monks. Once they take the vows, they are required to spend time at the monastery which can be either a few days, weeks or even months in some cases. During the festival, a considerably large group of boys have ordained as s'ma' era (novitiate monk) in the ceremony.
Poy Sang Long in Thailand
In Thailand, which is a neighbouring country to Myanmar, the Shan immigrants reside in the northern part and hence, also observe the Poy Sang Long festival. Here, the vibrant festival is celebrated for three days. During the festival, the young boys are dressed as princes resembling Gautam Buddha as he belonged to a royal family and was a prince himself before he opted for the religious path. The boys sit atop the shoulders of an older male family member for all the three days and on the third day they are ordained after which they spend a week in the monastery. The boys' feet should not touch the ground for the three days unless they are in the temple or their family home. During these three days, all relatives and friends of a boy are excited to meet him as it is believed that it brings good luck.
In the Chiang Mai region, the ceremony takes place mainly in two temples whereas, in the Mae Hong Son province, the ceremony is usually four to five days long. Here also, the Poy Sang Long festival takes place in two temples - Wat Ku Tao and Wat Pa Pao. Around 50 boys are a part of the festival celebration at the Wat Ku Tao temple.
How is Poy Sang Long Celebrated?
The three days of festivities is a very colourful affair.
Rup Sang Long (First Day)
'Rup Sang Long' is the first day of the festival. On this day, the families of the boys get together, exchange gifts and indulge in a sumptuous feast. The boys are then carried on the shoulders of an elder member of their respective families and taken to the temple.
Once at the temple, the hair and eyebrows of the boys are shaved off. A purification ritual is carried out where each boy is bathed in holy water. After that, they are paraded around accompanied by musicians who play the flutes, drums, and cymbals.
During the parade, each boy has three attendants by his side. One, who carries him on his shoulder; the second, who carries an umbrella to provide shade from the sun and the third, who protects him and the jewels he wears.
Kham Kaek (Second Day)
The boys have adorned in snow white turbans. The families resume their feasting and dancing in celebration of the boys.
The boy is once again led in procession to the temple. Once there, they offer prayers to Buddha and gifts to the resident monks while seeking their blessings.
Hae Khrua Lu (Third Day)
This is the day of ordination. The boys are seated on thrones and once again led to the temples.
Once here, they seek permission from the monks for their ordination.
After they are accepted by the monks, the boys take part in exchanging vows, change their princely robes for simple yellow monk robes and are finally accepted as novices.
The monk robes are a gift to the boy from his parents. The moment when the boys step into monkhood is treated as one with great reverence. The boys getting ordained as novices is a matter of pride for Buddhist parents. A delectable feast is set up for the boys once they have entered the monastery, monks are not allowed to have food after midday.
Rice wine is consumed in enormous quantities during Poy Sang Long by the attendants and musicians who keep the fervour high for all the three days. Each day, the procession that follows the boys either indulges in dance and music or they queue up to carry offerings such as robes and bowls for the monks, pillows, mats, water containers, utensils, trays, towels, candles, silver and gold artificial lotus flowers, bank notes and dried food. Towards the end of the procession, people hold bamboo branches.
Sometimes, the boys also ride horses. They ask for blessings from the noble spirits to bless the festivities and then participate in dance and music which are an essential part of Poy Sang Long.
If you are planning that long overdue trip to Myanmar or Thailand, then make sure that you expect it around the months of March-April so that you get the unique chance to witness this cultural extravaganza. This exciting and colourful festival is a must-watch as there is plenty of celebrations throughout the three days, whether it is in the daytime or the evening. Do not miss out on the chance of witnessing Poy Sang Long which is rightfully a spectacular celebration in which friends and family of the boys' flock together to rejoice in the ceremony. The food stalls, the dance and music performances and a lot of other entertaining activities are a pure delight to those who are seeing it for the first time.
This post was published by Deepshri Mishra
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A critical vulnerability affects the Drupal References module that is used by hundreds of thousands of websites using the popular CMS.
The Drupal security team has discovered a critical vulnerability in a third-party module named References.
The Drupal team published a Security advisory on April 12 informing its users of the critical flaw.
The flaw has a huge impact on the Drupal community because the affected module is currently used by more than 121,000 websites.
Please note, the security team will not release information on this vulnerability for up to a month, the recommendation is to migrate. Emails asking for details on the vulnerability will not be responded to. If you would like to maintain the module, please follow the directions below.
The References module allows users to add references between nodes for more complex information architectures.
The module was initially flagged by the Drupal development team as unsupported, its last update was provided in February 2013.
The good news for References users is that, on April 14, the Drupal security team announced it was assigned to a new maintainer.
"2017-04-14 – A potential new maintainer is working through the process of fixing the References module. When this is complete a new release will be published and this SA will be updated." reads the advisory.
A few days later, on April 18 the problem has been fixed with the release of references 7.x-2.2.
The Drupal security team did not disclose the technical details about the vulnerability in order to avoid the exploitation of the flaw in the wild. Unfortunately, it will very difficult to upgrade websites heavily using the Reference module.
Drupal will release information on the critical vulnerability in the next few weeks.
Security experts believe threat actors could find the vulnerability by analyzing the source code of the module and could develop and exploit.
Drupal CMS is a privileged target for hackers that try to exploit vulnerabilities in the out-dated plugin.
In June 2016, security experts warned of the Drupalgeddon attacks against Drupal websites, more than 19 months after the public disclosure of the CVE-2014-3704.


Wow. This book was amazingly awesome.
My daughter read it first, and she loved it.
I picked it up yesterday and was instantly hooked. This is a very well written YA thriller about a nice young girl called Carly who loses herself, alienates herself from the people who love her, and winds up dead.
Her uncle was jailed for killing her, but her cousin and good friend, Audrey, doesn't believe it. And now she's back in the preppy school to figure out what really happened. But to do that, she'll need Carly's ex to help her. Niely hasn't been the same since the night Carly left him a message on his phone and he didn't respond. He's been torn up and suffering nightmares ever since. So doing this with Audrey might be just what he needs to find closure.
The more they investigate, the deeper Niely and Audrey get to real danger. Because whoever killed Carly is still out there.
I loved this book. It turned out to be an amazing thriller that kept me guessing. I did end up working out who the killer was and why before it was revealed, but there were still a lot of twisty answers that blew me away.
This is an excellent story! I also loved the ending. It was nice to find out what happens to both narrators after they get closure about the girl who impacted both of their lives so deeply.


text:
UConn standout Napheesa Collier headlines AP women's All-America team
By Doug Feinberg
| Associated Press |
Connecticut forward Napheesa Collier (24) drives down court during the first half of a regional semifinal game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Friday, March 29, 2018, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) (Kathy Willens/AP)
Napheesa Collier has had an incredible senior year so far, leading UConn back to the Final Four for a 12th consecutive year.
The senior forward averaged 20.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot 61.4% during the regular season for the Huskies to earn a spot on The Associated Press women's basketball All-America team.
"There haven't been a lot of players like her that I've seen, a few, but not a lot," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
Geno Auriemma on UConn women extending Final Four streak to 12: 'It's not normal' »
She was joined on the All-America team Monday by Iowa's Megan Gustafson, Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu, Louisville's Asia Durr and Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan. Voting was done before the NCAA Tournament by the 28-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week.
[Related] UConn Insider Podcast: Drafting memorable wins in Husky history »
Collier received the most votes, garnering 27 first place votes from the panel. She is third on UConn's all-time scoring list with 2,386 points and third in shooting percentage and fourth in rebounding. The senior forward has been snubbed for many of the other major awards, not being named a finalist. She hasn't let it bother her.
"I don't need the validation but it's nice to be recognized," she said.
This is the second time Collier has made the first team, also earning the distinction as a sophomore. She was also named the AAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year this season, as well as being the most outstanding player of the conference tournament and Albany Regional.
In the Huskies' first four games of the NCAA Tournament, the senior has recorded a double-double each game, including a performance of 27 points and 16 rebounds against Buffalo in the second round. She's recorded 24 double-doubles this season, and leads UConn in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks.
Fellow UConn senior Katie Lou Samuelson, was named to the third third team.Her sophomore season she earned first team honors. This season she's averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, and leads UConn in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.
[Related] UConn formally withdraws from AAC in letter to conference commissioner; hopes to discuss relationship, if any »
Samuelson missed four games, including all three conference tournament games, after suffering a back injury at the end of the regular season. She's continued to deal with the lingering injury throughout the NCAA Tournament, and pushed through the pain to lead UConn to an 80-73 victory over Louisville on Sunday to send the Huskies to their 12th consecutive Final Four. She scored a team-high 29 points and drained seven 3-pointers.
Gustafson put up eye-popping numbers at Iowa this season and got the Hawkeyes back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1993. She averaged a Division I-best 28 points while also ranking second in rebounding. She had 33 double-doubles to tie the NCAA's single season record.
"She's completely taken over our record books," Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. "Her legacy will stand for a long, long time. People will remember her for the great teammate she is and what a humble great young woman she is."
BREAKING: Napheesa Collier of @UConnWBB is top vote-getter on 2019 women's basketball AP All-America team. Joining her: Megan Gustafson of @IowaWBB, Sabrina Ionescu of @OregonWBB, Asia Durr of @UofLWBB and Teaira McCowan of @HailStateWBK. @DougFeinberg: https://t.co/dxRIumkC5S pic.twitter.com/JKj8Ofxbnt
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) April 1, 2019
While Gustafson has been a double-double machine, Ionescu has rewritten the NCAA record book for triple-doubles and helped the Ducks reach the Final Four for the first time. She has 18 triple-doubles in her career, including one in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Indiana. She averaged 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists during the regular season for the Ducks. What's impressed her coach Kelly Graves is her competiveness.
"She's defined our program since she got here. The fortunes of our program have turned since she got here," he said. "To go to the Elite Eight and what she's done that three years, that's crazy. We had only won five total NCAA games in the history of the program. She doesn't take plays off and hates to lose."
[Related] Thanks to UConn pedigree, Napheesa Collier has acclimated quickly to professional life with Minnesota Lynx »
Durr has been one of the best scorers in the country the past few seasons and was an All-American for the second consecutive season. She averaged 21.3 points this season for the Cardinals.
"I'm thankful to be honored as an All-American again," Durr said. "It's a testament to my hard work paying off. I'm always in the gym, always training, always trying to find something that I can get better at. I'm just grateful for it. To be considered one of the best five players in the country, I'm very thankful for it."
The 5-foot-10 guard would love a chance to play with the other first-teamers.
Production from UConn's young starters Megan Walker, Christyn Williams gives Huskies a different look heading into Final Four »
"They are all great players and fun to watch and I'm a fan of all of them," she said.
McCowan has had a stellar senior season, carrying Mississippi State to the first SEC Tournament title in school history and earning most outstanding player honors in the process. She averaged 17.8 points, 13.5 rebounds and blocked 2.4 shots a game.
[Related] UConn is moving to the Big East, so what happens next? »
"I can't tell you how proud I am of her. It's been a work in progress for her to where we are today," Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. "She's going to graduate in four years, she was marginally eligible when she came to us. I'm proud of that. I'll be in front row when she walks that stage. Her development as a young lady as well as a basketball player is like something I haven't seen. She's deserving of being an All-American. ... I love the kid to death, she's made me a better coach, father, a husband."
The second team consisted of Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale, Baylor's Kalani Brown, California's Kristine Anigwe, Stanford's Alanna Smith and Iowa State's Bridget Carleton.
Samuelson was joined on the third team by Notre Dame teammates Jessica Shepard and Jackie Young, Baylor's Lauren Cox and Missouri's Sophie Cunningham. UConn junior Crystal Dangerfield was an honorable mention.
Durr, Ionescu, Samuelson, Ogunbowale and Brown made up the preseason All-America team.
2018 WOMEN'S AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM LIST
Statistics through March 11
[Related] UConn women's basketball team lands 2020 recruit Mir McLean »
Napheesa Collier, UConn, 6-1, senior, O'Fallon, Mo., 20.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 61.4 fg pct (27 of 28 first-place votes, 138 points)
Megan Gustafson, Iowa, 6-3, senior, Port Wing, Wis., 28.0 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 69.6 fg pct, 1.8 blocks (26, 136)
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon, 5-11, junior, Walnut Creek, Calif., 19.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 8.1 apg, 42.3 3-pt fg pct, (26, 136)
Asia Durr, Louisville, 5-10, senior, Douglasville, Ga., 21.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.6 steals (25, 134)
[Related] UConn return to Big East may boost profile of XL Center and attract private investment for major renovations to keep arena viable »
Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State, 6-7, senior, Brenham, Texas, 17.8 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 65.5 fg pct, 2.4 blocks (20, 124)
Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame, 5-8, senior, Milwaukee, 21.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.9 steals (4, 87)
Kalani Brown, Baylor, 6-7, senior, Slidell, La., 15.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 62.3 fg pct, 1.5 blocks (3, 81)
Kristine Anigwe, California, 6-4, senior, Phoenix, 22.9 ppg, 16.3 rpg, 51.9 fg pct, 1.8 blocks (5, 76)
[Related] After long, unusual path, Evelyn Adebayo thrilled to land at UConn »
Alanna Smith, Stanford, 6-3, senior, Melbourne, Australia, 19.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.4 blocks (0, 68)
Bridget Carleton, Iowa State, 6-1, senior, Chatham, Ontario, 21.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 84.8 ft pct (0, 60)
Third Team
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn, 6-3, senior, Huntington Beach, Calif., 18.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 88.1 ft pct (0, 58)
Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame, 6-4, senior, Fremont, Neb., 16.5 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 60.8 fg pct (2, 29)
[Related] UConn Insider podcast: The Huskies head home to the Big East »
Lauren Cox, Baylor, 6-4, junior, Flower Mound, Texas, 12.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 50.5 fg pct, 2.5 blocks (1, 29)
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri, 6-1, senior, Columbia, Mo. 18.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.8 apg (0, 21)
Latest UConn Women
UConn Insider Podcast: Drafting memorable wins in Husky history
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Thanks to UConn pedigree, Napheesa Collier has acclimated quickly to professional life with Minnesota Lynx
Jackie Young, Notre Dame, 6-0, junior, Princeton, Ind., 14.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 5.3 apg, 55.4 fg pct (1, 15)
Honorable Mention (alphabetical order)
Bella Alarie, Princeton; Chastadie Barrs, Lamar; Kenisha Bell, Minnesota; Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M; Kaila Charles, Maryland; Crystal Dangerfield, UConn; Cierra Dillard, Buffalo; Reyna Frost, Central Michigan; Ae'rianna Harris, Purdue; Ruthy Hebard, Oregon; Natisha Hiedeman, Marquette; Jazzmun Holmes, Mississippi State; Anriel Howard, Mississippi State; Kiara Leslie, N.C. State; Tiana Mangakahia, Syracuse; Aari McDonald, Arizona; Beatrice Mompremier, Miami; Destiny Slocum, Oregon State.
Courant staff writer Kelli Stacy contributed to this report.
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Crystal Dangerfield, Evina Westbrook recovering well from injuries; Ania Makurat compares UConn with...
Crystal Dangerfield, Evina Westbrook recovering well from injuries; Ania Makurat compares UConn with Poland


JSC "BASHSPIRT" and the Bashkir scientific-research institute for bee-keeping and apitherapy will present Republic of Bashkortostan in Berlin. The Ministry for agriculture RB reports the Bashkir exposition will demonstrate famous Bashkir honey, bee-keeping products and drinks.
The Russian delegation, headed by the Minister for agriculture of Russia Elena Skrynnik, is leaving for the capital of Germany today, January 19, for participation in the 77th international agricultural exhibition "Green Week-2012". The exhibition will be officially opened tomorrow, January 20.
The representatives of Bashkortostan are found in the staff of the Russian delegation and along with participation in the exhibition and in its program the representatives of Bashkir business circles intend to visit several agricultural enterprises in Germany and negotiate with their German colleagues.


Rabbit is a Kings Road restaurant that truly celebrates British wild food with an emphasis on sustainability, brought to you by the talented Gladwin Brothers.
From 15th November they launched their latest pop-up at The Prince in Earls Court. The menu is a twist on classic British comfort food with their signature quirky, wild ingredients. Our brief was to provide an identity for this pop-up, capturing the essence of Rabbit itself, whilst mixing in the childhood nostalgia with proper, grown-up flavours that the menu brings. As well injecting the sense of fun and accessibility that sits at the heart of the pop-up concept.


Motorists on the M1 near Luton are being warned of long delays after a collision in the middle of the northbound junction.
Two lanes (of 4) are closed on the M1 northbound between J12 and J13.
Traffic officers are at the scene but the Highways Agency is now saying there are long delays on the approach, adding approx. 45 mins to journey times.


text:
Human Defense
Irish Pro-Life Group On Referendum: "Most Tragic Day In Irish History"
by Lois McKiernan
June 3, 2018 • 20:48 pm / International
Northern Ireland's leading pro-life group Precious Life calls the results of the recent abortion referendum "heartbreaking."
The 66% voting in favor of repealing Ireland's life-affirming 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which acknowledged and protected the "equal right to life" of preborn children, marks the "most tragic day in Irish history," says the pro-life group.
Yet however tragic the outcome, Precious Life promises the result will only "spur them on" in the inevitable battle to protect Northern Ireland's preborn children.
"Ireland has had more than its fair share of tragedy, but the 'Yes to abortion' result of this referendum marks the most tragic day in Irish history," said Bernadette Smyth, the Director of Precious Life, in a press statement.
Despite the Irish government promising to enact new legislation by the end of the year, every preborn child still has an inherent right to life which cannot be ignored.
Mrs Smyth reminds, "the Constitution did not 'give' this right to unborn children. Every person's right to life is inherent, regardless of what corrupt laws the State may enact."
She believes media bias and the blocking of pro-life ads online made a huge contribution to the end result.
And with the Yes vote acquired in Ireland, attention has now shifted to Northern Ireland — the last bastion of abortion-free government, which Mrs. Smyth calls "a beacon of hope to the pro-life movement around the world."
Even at the announcement of the result of the Irish Referendum, leaders from Northern Ireland political party Sinn Fein held high a sign stating "The North Is Next" amidst their exuberant cheers.
But this is something Precious Life — and the many pro-life supporters in Northern Ireland — will fight against.
Mrs. Smyth added, "We will not stand idly by in Northern Ireland and let pro-abortion groups, in collusion with pro-abortion politicians, try to legalise the killing of our unborn children by attacking our pro-life laws. We will continue fighting in Northern Ireland for the right to life of unborn babies — on the streets, in the courts, and in government."
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Lois McKiernan
— Human Defense Initiative —
Belgium's Liberal Assisted Suicide Laws Questioned
A Case for Life: Vincent Lambert
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Equal Rights Amendment: Why It Could Devastate The Pro-Life Movement
A 36 year old Constitutional Amendment has the potential of rolling back all abortion restrictions.
Landon T. Jones
a year ago 2 min read
Linked: Falling Birth Rate, Title X, And Entitlements
While pro-lifers are willing to spend a little more on Medicaid to ensure access to health care for pregnant moms and children, it appears abortion proponents are contributing to the entitlement crisis facing the US.
Katherine Mayne Wheeler
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package org.snmp4j.security;

import javax.crypto.*;

import org.snmp4j.log.*;
import javax.crypto.spec.IvParameterSpec;
import javax.crypto.spec.SecretKeySpec;
import org.snmp4j.smi.OctetString;

/**
 * Base class for PrivAES128, PrivAES192 and PrivAES256.
 *
 * This class uses AES in CFB mode to encrypt the data. The protocol
 * is defined in draft-blumenthal-aes-usm-08.txt.
 *
 * @author Jochen Katz
 * @version 1.9
 */
public abstract class PrivAES
    implements PrivacyProtocol {

  private static final int DECRYPT_PARAMS_LENGTH = 8;

  private static final LogAdapter logger = LogFactory.getLogger(PrivAES.class);
  private int keyBytes;
  protected Salt salt;

  /**
   * Constructor.
   *
   * @param keyBytes
   *    Length of key, must be 16, 24 or 32.
   * @throws IllegalArgumentException
   *    if keyBytes is illegal
   */
  public PrivAES(int keyBytes) {
    if ((keyBytes != 16) && (keyBytes != 24) && (keyBytes != 32)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          "Only 128, 192 and 256 bit AES is allowed. Requested ("
          + (8 * keyBytes) + ").");
    }
    this.keyBytes = keyBytes;
    this.salt = Salt.getInstance();
  }

  public byte[] encrypt(byte[] unencryptedData, int offset, int length,
                        byte[] encryptionKey, long engineBoots,
                        long engineTime, DecryptParams decryptParams) {

    byte[] initVect = new byte[16];
    long my_salt = salt.getNext();

    if (encryptionKey.length < keyBytes) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          "Needed key length is " + keyBytes +
          ". Got only " + encryptionKey.length +
          ".");
    }

    if ((decryptParams.array == null) ||
        (decryptParams.length < DECRYPT_PARAMS_LENGTH)) {
      decryptParams.array = new byte[DECRYPT_PARAMS_LENGTH];
    }
    decryptParams.length = DECRYPT_PARAMS_LENGTH;
    decryptParams.offset = 0;

    /* Set IV as engine_boots + engine_time + salt */
    initVect[0] = (byte) ( (engineBoots >> 24) & 0xFF);
    initVect[1] = (byte) ( (engineBoots >> 16) & 0xFF);
    initVect[2] = (byte) ( (engineBoots >> 8) & 0xFF);
    initVect[3] = (byte) ( (engineBoots) & 0xFF);
    initVect[4] = (byte) ( (engineTime >> 24) & 0xFF);
    initVect[5] = (byte) ( (engineTime >> 16) & 0xFF);
    initVect[6] = (byte) ( (engineTime >> 8) & 0xFF);
    initVect[7] = (byte) ( (engineTime) & 0xFF);
    for (int i = 56, j = 8; i >= 0; i -= 8, j++) {
      initVect[j] = (byte) ( (my_salt >> i) & 0xFF);
    }
    for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
      decryptParams.array[i] = initVect[i + 8];
    }
    if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
      logger.debug("initVect is " + asHex(initVect));
    }

    // allocate space for encrypted text
    byte[] encryptedData = null;
    try {
      // now do CFB encryption of the plaintext
      Cipher alg = Cipher.getInstance("AES/CFB/NoPadding");
      SecretKeySpec key =
          new SecretKeySpec(encryptionKey, 0, keyBytes, "AES");
      IvParameterSpec ivSpec = new IvParameterSpec(initVect);
      alg.init(Cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE, key, ivSpec);
      encryptedData =  alg.doFinal(unencryptedData, offset, length);

      if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
        logger.debug("aes encrypt: Data to encrypt " + asHex(unencryptedData));

        logger.debug("aes encrypt: used key " + asHex(encryptionKey));

        logger.debug("aes encrypt: created privacy_params " +
                     asHex(decryptParams.array));

        logger.debug("aes encrypt: encrypted Data  " +
                     asHex(encryptedData));
      }
    }
    catch (Exception e) {
      logger.error("Encrypt Exception " + e);
    }

    return encryptedData;
  }

  public byte[] decrypt(byte[] cryptedData, int offset, int length,
                        byte[] decryptionKey, long engineBoots, long engineTime,
                        DecryptParams decryptParams) {

    byte[] initVect = new byte[16];

    if (decryptionKey.length < keyBytes) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(
          "Needed key length is " + keyBytes +
          ". Got only " + decryptionKey.length +
          ".");
    }

    /* Set IV as engine_boots + engine_time + decrypt params */
    initVect[0] = (byte) ( (engineBoots >> 24) & 0xFF);
    initVect[1] = (byte) ( (engineBoots >> 16) & 0xFF);
    initVect[2] = (byte) ( (engineBoots >> 8) & 0xFF);
    initVect[3] = (byte) ( (engineBoots) & 0xFF);
    initVect[4] = (byte) ( (engineTime >> 24) & 0xFF);
    initVect[5] = (byte) ( (engineTime >> 16) & 0xFF);
    initVect[6] = (byte) ( (engineTime >> 8) & 0xFF);
    initVect[7] = (byte) ( (engineTime) & 0xFF);
    for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
      initVect[i + 8] = decryptParams.array[i + decryptParams.offset];

    }
    if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
      logger.debug("initVect is " + asHex(initVect));
    }

    byte[] decryptedData = null;
    try {
      // now do CFB decryption of the crypted data
      Cipher alg = Cipher.getInstance("AES/CFB/NoPadding");
      SecretKeySpec key =
          new SecretKeySpec(decryptionKey, 0, keyBytes, "AES");
      IvParameterSpec ivSpec = new IvParameterSpec(initVect);
      alg.init(Cipher.DECRYPT_MODE, key, ivSpec);
      decryptedData =  alg.doFinal(cryptedData, offset, length);

      if (logger.isDebugEnabled()) {
        logger.debug("aes decrypt: Data to decrypt " + asHex(cryptedData));

        logger.debug("aes decrypt: used key " + asHex(decryptionKey));

        logger.debug("aes decrypt: used privacy_params " +
                     asHex(decryptParams.array));

        logger.debug("aes decrypt: decrypted Data  " +
                     asHex(decryptedData));
      }
    }
    catch (Exception e) {
      logger.error("Decrypt Exception " + e);
    }

    return decryptedData;
  }

  public int getEncryptedLength(int scopedPDULength) {
    return scopedPDULength;
  }

  /**
   * Turns array of bytes into string
   *
   * @param buf	Array of bytes to convert to hex string
   * @return	Generated hex string
   */
  public static String asHex(byte buf[]) {
    return new OctetString(buf).toHexString();
  }

  public int getMinKeyLength() {
    return keyBytes;
  }

  public int getMaxKeyLength() {
    return getMinKeyLength();
  }

  public int getDecryptParamsLength() {
    return DECRYPT_PARAMS_LENGTH;
  }

  public byte[] extendShortKey(byte[] shortKey, OctetString password,
                               byte[] engineID,
                               AuthenticationProtocol authProtocol) {
    // we have to extend the key, currently only the AES draft
    // defines this algorithm, so this may have to be changed for other
    // privacy protocols
    byte[] extKey = new byte[getMinKeyLength()];
    int length = shortKey.length;
    for (int i=0; i<length; i++) {
      extKey[i] = shortKey[i];
    }

    while (length < extKey.length)
    {
      byte[] hash = authProtocol.hash(extKey, 0, length);

      if (hash == null) {
        return null;
      }
      int bytesToCopy = extKey.length - length;
      if (bytesToCopy > authProtocol.getDigestLength()) {
        bytesToCopy = authProtocol.getDigestLength();
      }
      System.arraycopy(hash, 0, extKey, length, bytesToCopy);
//      for (int i=0; i<bytesToCopy; i++) {
//        extKey[length + i] = hash[i];
//      }

      length += bytesToCopy;
    }
    return extKey;
  }

}


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If that is what the Canucks have planned for him then $ is not out of the question.First place winners also receive four tickets to the 2017 concert of their choice, including acts like Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ariana Grande and more compliments of RD Music.A good college receiver who's unlikely to translate to the pros, Ruffin has small hands and is painfully short on athleticism, running 4 at the Combine with a lineman-like 27 2-inch vertical.last two or three years here I didn't know what role be.Hogan is off to a solid start at camp.
We're good shape.Morales, a switch-hitter, figures to fill for free agent Edwin Encarnacion, who now figures to be a longshot for a return to Toronto.Mason Plumlee Plumlee got a full practice with his new squad on Tuesday, he could some limited minutes off the bench on Wednesday night.Danh said…named to the 2011 Butkus Award Watch List 2011 preseason fourth-team All- selection by Steele's College Football.said he played his best game since he starred for the High School Generals Huntsville.
Dennis Pitta, Benjamin Watson, Maxx , and Gillmore all have skill sets that offensive coordinator Marc Trestman can use different situations.Thursday, Feb.And he very well could be.By far a better comparable is the immediately above Scrivens on that list, Bishop.
This is not to say was the source of the problem.Sanders looked like he was jogging.I just having him as our coachname's on the record.
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text:
Posted on May 30, 2018 May 30, 2018 by grigorh
Armenia-Diaspora: Pros and Cons of Trans-Armenian Government
With recent political changes in Armenia associated with the election of Nikol Pashinyan as the new Prime Minister and the formation of a new Cabinet of Ministers of Armenia an idea voiced in diaspora for many years before has been included in the agenda of the new government. This idea entails giving political representation to Armenian diaspora in the government of Armenia. For this concept to work elections of deputies in Armenian communities abroad covering more than eighty countries around the world will be required to carry out. Implementing this idea will require changes to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia and reorganization of Armenian community structures to a higher level of organization and complexity that at the same time will not contradict the laws and constitutions of host countries where diasporan Armenians reside.
Majority of diasporan Armenians are citizens of host countries that they reside and according to the present constitution of Armenia they cannot be elected to Armenia's Parliament or hold high positions in Armenia's government. Just like any idea with significant political implications both at home and abroad there are a number of pros and cons that will be considered in this article but not all of them necessarily addressed as a bigger study needs to be conducted both in Armenia and diaspora and more articles need to be written about this topic before the idea gets off the ground. If other countries have such experience it must be carefully studied and revised as necessary to meet the needs and present-day realities in Armenia and diaspora.
For the past twenty years if not more, the idea that Armenian diaspora should be represented in the government of Armenia has been brought up and argued over in various media outlets, including by this publication. Now that the government in Armenia is considering this option of integrating Armenian diaspora in the decision-making process taking place in Armenia it is the most appropriate time to discuss the merits of this idea and devise a conceptual framework of how such an idea may be implemented if embarked upon. Many (not all) diasporan Armenians would agree that the amount of support that Armenia has received (including Artsakh) from them is tremendous and amounts into billions since 1988 devastating earthquake that took away more than twenty thousand lives and shattered cities of Gyumri, Spitak and dozens of towns and villages within their vicinities.
The aid received by Armenia from diaspora was distributed among various layers of Armenia's society including war veterans, elderly, handicap, women, children (schools, kindergartens and orphanages), military, hospitals and medical clinics (live saving drugs and medical equipment, free surgeries and eye exams), development of country's infrastructure (funding the construction of Yerevan-Stepanakert highway via Goris and Berdzor, North-South highway in Artsakh, and another one via Vardenis to Karvachar and Mardakert to Stepankaert). Additionally, the aid was followed by implementation of various business projects and opening up of various training centers and workshops aimed to help people in Armenia acquire skills and knowledge that is in high demand in present day Armenia (e.g. Tumo Center, etc). Significant contributions were made into the Armenia's economy also via distribution of micro-loans to business savvy and through other means meant to support Armenia's agriculture by gifting farmers with cattle, goats, sheep, etc.. Most was done on purely humanitarian basis and feelings of patriotism found in large segments of Armenian diaspora while others were done for business purposes as direct investments in Armenia's economy.
First time the idea of incorporating diaspora representation in government of Armenia aroused around 2006-2007, when Armenia and Azerbaijan were discussing one of several options for resolving Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Artsakh known as Madrid Principles. This option entailed the surrender of liberated territories back to Azerbaijan while postponing the decision on the legal status of Artsakh to some indefinite time in the future. Many would agree that Madrid Principles were not realistic from the start as it failed to consider the safety of Armenian people in Artsakh and didn't provide effective security guarantees to prevent Azerbaijan from carrying out another massacre of Armenians in the region and deporting them from their homeland. During the entire process the opinion of Armenian diaspora on this matter of pan-national importance was not considered.
Second time, the concept of incorporating diaspora representation in Armenian government aroused in 2009 during public discussions of Armenia-Turkey Protocols (also known as Zürich Protocols) in diaspora meant to reconcile Armenian grievances over the role of Turkish government in the genocide of its ancestors during WW-1. This process was meant to lead both sides to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and lifting of the road and railroad blockade imposed on Armenia by successive Turkish governments since early 1990s in connection with the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Artsakh. Part of the deal envisioned swapping territories between the two sides where Armenia would have given up its Syunik Province (also known as Zangezur) in the south along with portions of land along the Araks river in the south of Artsakh to allow Turkey establish land corridor with Azerbaijan. This step would have forfeiting Armenia's land connection to Iran and the rest of Middle East and Europe where large Armenian communities reside. In exchange, Turkey was going to give up Kars, Van and other nearby territories along with Mt. Ararat to Armenia as part of genocide restitutions without necessarily recognizing the genocide. On both occasions, the opinion of Armenian diaspora was not considered.
If Armenia decides to engage its diaspora in the affairs of Armenia by giving diaspora political representation there are at least two ways of achieving them. One way was proposed by Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, recently appointed Minister of Diaspora which entails setting up a consultative body called Senate which will include diaspora representatives but will not have an actual political power to do anything but consult the government on various matters of national importance. Even though the matters to be consulted about were not clarified it is logical to assume that topics related to Armenian-Turkish reconciliation, genocide recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations, and negotiations over the status of Artsakh will fall under its purview. Another matter of such importance could possibly be reconciliation of two slightly different writing and speaking systems of Armenian language generally known as old and modern dialects (Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian) into one writing and speaking system.
It will be reasonable to assume that such a consultative body can also consider developing a pan-Armenian national strategy that can serve as a guide for preserving and maintaining the Armenian statehood and Armenian cultural identity both in the Homeland and abroad. The pros of such an arrangement is the inclusion of Armenian diaspora in some form to assist the government of Armenia in the matters of national importance. The cons for such an arrangement include the absence of political power and questionable legitimacy of such a structure that may not be inclusive of all Armenian communities abroad or reflect the majority opinion of diasporans.
The second option is to consider allocating unspecified parliamentary mandates to representatives from diaspora thus empowering global Armenian community in all matters of state affairs that fall under the purview of the Parliament of Armenia. There are many questions of how this arrangement could be implemented. To address them all will require serious and sustained research study months and possibly years long to be conducted both in Armenia and abroad to flush out the details for such a political setup which cannot be addressed in just one article. However, what is clear is that both options described above will require amending the Constitution of Armenia and setting up of "electoral districts", "electoral precincts", "electoral monitors", "electoral commissions" and other parts of a democratic electoral process which will lend credence to those who get "elected" to represent opinions of diasporan Armenian communities in everyday matters of Armenian state.
Arguably there are bigger questions that need to be answered before tackling the merits of political representation for the Armenian diaspora in the government of Armenia. Perhaps the first question to answer is understanding the purpose of maintaining a vibrant Armenian diaspora in the twenty first century and the role/s that it can play in strengthening its ancestral homeland. The second question to answer is whether present realities in diaspora allow itself to partake in a shared responsibility for the future of the Armenian statehood and the continuity of the Armenian nation in its native homeland. Maybe there are other ways that haven't been explored which will include the Armenian diaspora in the decision-making process taking place in Armenia by utilizing its vast resources in a more efficient way without necessarily granting political representation to the Armenian diaspora in the government of Armenia.
CategoriesGeopolitics
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Transformative upgrades to an existing inner-city Brisbane property will see a new precinct emerge. The refurbishment of a service laneway, carpark warehouse and an existing prominent building create a series of spaces that celebrate stripped-back original conditions, while introducing refined complimentary detailing.
Seen from the street, a new café tenancy projects into the laneway, while a bar and dining venue is housed in the former carpark to offer visitors an unpretentious experience that revels in the idiosyncratic nature of urban laneways and retrofitted spaces.
A new sculptural staircase, fabricated from mild steel, cantilevers into the laneway to lure visitors' gaze to the upper level tenancies and encourage movement down Ulster Lane. Lush planting is integrated into forms to create an environment characterised by growth, in sync with the rhythm of the bustling city.
A redevelopment of a Brisbane CBD office tower including a thoroughly redesigned ground level lobby and cafe, end-of-trip facility and lift interior upgrades.
The new lobby transforms what was formerly an austere and empty space into a lush, densely detailed environment full of intimate settings for gathering together or enjoying some quiet solitude in a semi-public space that is neither the office or the street.
Continuing the design themes and materiality from the foyer redevelopment above, this new End-Of-Trip considers in great detail the experience of building users as they arrive from their morning commute or step out for a midday gym session.
Being an entirely subterranean space, the EOT is crafted as a completely introspective environment, offering visual and tactile delight in a highly crafted series of discreet rooms.
This reworking of a particularly raw but refined 1970's CBD office tower pares back layers of recent refurbishments to leave the beautiful bone structure of tapered concrete columns and uninterrupted facade glazing to do the talking.
Overlaid onto this is the bare minimum of embellishment, intended to bring a sense of tactile deliciousness to surfaces that the hand can touch and the eye can wander over.
The fitout of a deluxe chocolate retailer is perfectly matched to the design philosophies underpinning our base building redevelopment of Central Plaza Annex situated in Brisbane's CBD.
The store is anchored by a central copper-clad counter to entice passersby. The counter mimics a "jewellery box" to encourage the careful perusal of the assortment of chocolate. A sheet of copper frames the rear wall of the tenancy to create a luminous and expansive space to compliment the richness of the chocolate itself.
The open plan layout features dark stone and raw industrial surfaces to provide a rich and subdued space to showcase the indulgent edible delights.
Bespoke lobby furniture made in collaboration with Schiavello for Central Plaza Brisbane, originally designed in the 1980's by Japanese architect Kisho Kurakawa. The polished stone floors were intended to represent the Japanese game of "Go", and this furniture creates new pieces for the board.
Opening up a brand new pedestrian connection between Queen Street and Eagle Lane via a dining arcade, this redevelopment of an existing 7-storey office "mini-tower" annex to the much larger, 40-storey conjoined "Central Plaza", strips away all traces of 1980's polish (leaving the adjoining tower thoroughly intact) and leaves a raw but refined arcade dining environment that announces its presence at street and laneway frontages via large insitu concrete portals.
An adaptive re-use redevelopment of a historic Art Deco apartment building on a very busy South Brisbane corner into a new bar/dining establishment. A new Corbusian slabs-and-pilotis construction is proposed as the site's new primary entry point fronting Fish Lane, Brisbane's most active and diverse dining laneway. A gold mosaic tile-clad vault caps the structure, with diminishing voids cut through the levels below to allow the golden shimmer to be visible from the moment visitors arrive at the laneway entry.
The design of La Macelleria Gelateria's fourth establishment in Brisbane's growing RNA precinct is a lovingly detailed store that draws people in.
The shopfront consists of slender black framing and clear glazing to showcase the interior and dissolve the boundary from outside to inside.
Simple white tiles are accented by the rich red-painted exposed soffit and services. Linear track lighting further accentuates this powerful overhead expression.
The design of a new office tower on Coronation Drive in Brisbane combines striking forms and materials to produce an outcome that is powerfully distinctive.
The hero, a ribbed glazed prism showcases a tapered void set into its profile and a cantilevering floor plate above. Each floor has uncompromising views of the river, and to the city and South Brisbane precinct.
A contrasting volume, wrapped in a terracotta screen, is positioned at the rear site to house many functional elements. The ground plane assumes a village-like presence, with a terracotta clad colonnade prompting movement into and around retail spaces.
The first Brisbane example of ISPT's "Dialogue" concept, this full floor fitout of the Central Plaza Annex converts a conventional office floor into a flexible meetings & gathering space for Central Plaza tenant organisations. Accessible via the sensuous copper stair (or lifts) from our laneway retail development at ground level of the same building, this new space is designed to create spaces scaled to feel perfect for gatherings ranging from a casual one-on-one chat to a 200-person function.
The overall form of this multi-residential apartment tower is punctuated with voids that run the full height of the building, capped with arched apertures. The varied use of scale in this proposal animates the building's composition amid the surrounding streetscape and carves out views to enable residents to appreciate the adjacent river.
A large arched aperture is also featured on the ground plane to mark the entry into the building.
Retail tenancies are tucked into the strong base of the building where their presence is clearly identified. Immense planting cascades down the façade of the building making this proposal a welcomed addition to Brisbane's Coronation Drive.
Located in Brisbane Quarter's new W Hotel, a bespoke tailoring store resides on the podium level. The intent of the fitout design and the tailor's product mirror each other — carefully detailed forms that speak volumes to both quality and individuality.
The fitout exploits the narrow floor plate and the full-height glazed frontage by positioning a series of crisp, white, well-proportioned arched display frames that showcase custom-designed suites worn by mannequins.
This seductive and powerful display is balanced by the restrained design that occurs beyond. While it is possible to glimpse a private fitting session and the range of the high-end product within the store, walls and joinery are dark in tone and are accented by luxurious curtains, parquetry flooring and a bespoke brass serving counter.
The humble five square metre footprint of the 'Beach Box', located on the Mornington Peninsula, is an unimposing addition to the captivating landscape.
The box, clad in reclaimed timber, unfolds in sections to maximise the use of internal space and reveal the contrasting blackbutt timber interior lining.
The proposal for a federal government office building provides a robust planning approach that caters to the diverse needs of people working in and visiting the building. The site is strategically located with ease of access to transport and a major town centre.
Projecting towards the street, an aperture spans from the ground plane and extends past the roofline, clearly identifying the building's entry. The ground plane opens into a generous double height volume that exudes a sense of welcoming as people enter.
The clean lines of the expressed concrete slabs delineate the floor levels. Floor-to-floor glazing is situated on the north and south facades, while angled fins on the west and east facades protect the building's inhabitants from harsh sunlight.
This contemporary house boat re-imagines how to recreate on the water. The design of the 85 square metre floating structure is detailed with high quality finishes.
A blackbutt timber screen located on the perimeter of the boat provides privacy to selected interior spaces. Blackbutt timber is further used to clad internal walls enriching each space significantly. Structural elements are slender and powdercoated black to produce a sophisticated statement.
The prototype features a central opening that functions as an intimate swimming area, whereas the roof deck is ideal for socialising and taking in the surroundings.
A quaint building neighbouring St Patrick's Church in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley serves as a private function venue for weddings typically. An upgrade of the building's entry sequence to provide more equitable access, along with the addition of a verandah space to the building's eastern facade will offer the best possible experience for guests.
The new entry introduces hard and soft landscaping that aims to harmonise the ascent from street level through gently inclined walkways and additional planting. The hard landscaping features a selection of porphyry stones to reference the materiality of the church in eye sight.
The new verandah provides guests with an additional area that features large spotted gum timber retractable windows and a glazed roof to take full advantage of the view to the adjacent fig tree and church.
Located 250 kilometres north of Brisbane, a private client's vacant site on Fraser Island offers an idyllic destination to relax and spend time with friends and family.
The form of the home nestles into the natural gradient of the landscape and is organised around the preservation of an existing Banksia tree.
A pool accompanies the existing tree in a central courtyard space that draws attention inwards, creating an intimate and private home that at the same time is spacious and able to accommodate several guests at any one time.
Externally the house is clad in white fibre cement panels and features green stained timber in communal outdoor dining spaces to complement the native surroundings. Double height volumes characterise many of the home's public spaces and frame views of the island and the nearby water.
In an era where a basement "end of trip facility" is a fundamental requirement for any CBD office tower, this proposal takes over an entire above-ground office level and converts it into a wellness centre for use by building users and the general public alike.
A new stair links the upper level space to a busy street-level laneway, leading to a juice bar reception which opens onto a boxing gym and yoga studio.
Around the tower's core, shower, change and locker facilities are grouped so that they can be used by cycle commuters, evening joggers and gym users alike.
The design of the entire space emphasizes the raw concrete structure of the buildling, paring back finishes & embellishments in the same way that working out takes us back to our raw physical selves.
A new store for designer optometry brand OPTIKO, this fitout in the historic Tattersall's Arcade in the Brisbane CBD looks to settle effortlessly into its old-world gentlemen's club location, as if it's always been there.
Referencing Sir John Soane's 1812 House Museum in London and Carlo Scarpa's 1958 Olivetti Showroom in Venice, the fitout mixes theatricality with familiarity, brought together with fetishistic detailing.
Acting as catalyst to the larger centre, one wing and its forecourt look to return a vibrancy and bring much needed shape to a neglected dining and fresh produce precinct of the Forest Lake Shopping Centre.
A richly fluctuating landscape offers an array of courts, shady groves, stairs, seating pockets and platforms, all coupled with gardens for joy and lawns for play.
The sight and sound of ponds, channels and cascades threads the plaza together on axis with the existing fig tree and clocktower. Working together with a new planted colonnade a its perimeter, a civic sense is brought to the square and dignifies it as a destination in itself.
Taking cues from the grand axial atrium of the centre, a concertina ceiling suspends a steel frame of signage, lighting and greenery to order and demarcate the spaces below.
The latest Pig'N'Whistle venue and the first on the Southside, this very sophisticated pub opens directly out onto a very busy corner with outdoor seating and lush landscaping right up to the footpath edge.
Inside, the vaulted ceilings simultaneously tie the whole interior space together whilst also having the effect of breaking up the large internal volumes into more intimate, human-scaled spaces that lend an aura of specialness to the space around each table.
The ceilings create a regular rhythm in the interior spaces that are very irregularly-shaped in plan, bringing order and a sense of familiar history that is carried in the vault forms. The spaces thus created are visually arresting but also easily approachable and instantly comfortable.
The bar itself is the centrepiece of the venue, crafted from brass and Pilbara marble in an intricate composition on a very large scale.
A design proposal for the new Uber "Green Light Hub" in West End, Brisbane, utilising an extremely limited budget to maximum effect by concentrating the design effort around the public entry point, while the remainder of the spaces were to be ultra-basic, stripped back and raw.
The new reception point occupied an existing double-height space at the front centre of the building footprint and was treated as a single timber mass form where the arrival counter was integrated into the stair access to the upper staff level, and an accessible staff lift was edged with a lush planted timber screen. All other finishes were to be simple raw concrete with basic painted walls and economical loose furniture.
This raw and simple design for La Macelleria Gelateria's West End store emphasise the diverse selection of exquisite gelato and sorbet on offer. The fresh concrete floor is paired with deep tones that envelop the service counter, ceiling and services.
Walls feature clean white tiling, with touches of brass and timber detailing adding warmth.
To be constructed using a prefabricated timber shed-frame system, this house for a large family on a magnificent semi-rural site is envisaged as a small village with a central courtyard and a series of distinctly different outdoor spaces on the outer periphery.
With a primary structure including all the main living spaces, the other structures that make up the village include a parents' suite, a pair of double children's rooms, a garage and a utility shed.
The "circled wagons" arrangement of the individual buildings creates a completely private yet completely open central space which forms the true living heart of an outdoor-oriented household.
A new 5-bedroom house for a lush suburban Brisbane site, this house adapts itself around an existing carport and complex crossfalls to create a carefully arranged cluster of familyoriented spaces that relate intimately to their private landscape setting.
A heavy brick base anchors the house to the site and creates a variety of subtle edge conditions that each facilitate a different mode of engagement with the landscape.
Above the brick base, simple white weatherboard-clad volumes sit amongst the tree canopies, offering views and privacy.
A concept for Australia's first permanent Ultimate Disc facility, this robustly elegant structure is intended to become the Brisbane home of the rapidly-growing sport of Ultimate Disc.
It is designed as a community facility, and as such takes economy and flexibility as its starting points. Oriented north/south, it has two distinctly different faces - one screened off from the western sun with a deep colonnade, and the other opening out to the playing fields with grandstand seating.
The expandable modular structure comprises 3 primary materials - raw concrete superstructure, white powdercoated steel elevated structure, and raw coreten steel infill walls & screens.
The ceiling is the only interior surface in any building that remains largely uncovered by furnishings and decorations. Flat ceilings give nothing for the imagination to become attached to, for the reclined eye to investigate and traverse - the inverted landscape of daydreams.
A refurbishment of an apartment in a 1980's cream brick tower, this scheme is defined by the extruded triple-vault ceiling form that is adapted at an exact 1:1 scale from the entry arches of the building at street level.
The triple-vault form is modified further in plan, overcoming the typical "space sandwich" of the apartment volume by creating a unique spatial environment in each room. The vault form re-appears in every room in a different guise - as a portal, an ornament or the upper limit of a loosely defined sub-space.
The intent is to create an enjoyable and physically tangible sense of spatial variety, as well as an intriguingly-detailed ceiling over which the eye may wander at leisure. The result is a collection of rooms that each carry their own sense of atmosphere and intimacy, tied together into a recognisable whole by the simple but surprisingly varied triple-vault device.
According to the late Ngunnawal Elder Don Bell, the true meaning of the word "Canberra" is "woman's breasts", referring to the twin mountains of Mt Ainslie and Black Mountain that define the plain in which Canberra was created. Despite this, Canberra is defined around just one primary axis established between Mt Ainslie and Parliament House.
This proposal seeks to re-establish a polyvalent relationship with the ancient Canberran genius loci by forming itself around the intersection of the two major axial lines to Mt Ainslie and Black Mountain, and then adding to this the third and fourth axial determinants of Red Hill and the sky, or Cosmos.
Australia is an ambitious, outward-looking island nation, and this proposal reflects our grounded, "down to earth" persona combined with global outlook in its siting and physical expression. The site itself is the landing point for a soaring structure that leaps out over Lake Burley Griffin and addresses the City of Canberra with a confident, welcoming disposition.
The siting of The Lodge allows the majority of the site to be preserved as landscape setting for perambulation and rehabilitation. The site divides into two equal sized settings on either side of the ridge. To the west, gathered around a private cove, is the "cultivated" landscape, whilst to the east is the protected "indigenous" landscape.
The great copper roof is the defining element of the architecture, as it is of our mineral-rich continent. The roof takes on the familiar gabled profile of historic local structures, including the original worker cottages at Westlake and the Yarralumla Brickworks. This roof form speaks immediately of "home", but its scale and articulation give the building a sense of purpose and identity befitting its role as The Lodge.
At the primary entry, the great roof cantilever reaches out to a skyward mast from which the Australian flag is flown. The roof is truncated perpendicular to the axis linking the Lodge and Parliament House flagpoles.
Internally, the ground level is given over to public spaces, with the ballroom and dining room occupying the primary eastern and western wings over the Lake. The upper level features the PM's residence and office in separate wings. A great central atrium connects both levels with the sky and is envisaged as a "house museum", displaying Prime Ministerial art and artifacts from Federation to present day.
Central to this scheme is the unfolding of a continuous steel element which appears variously on floor, wall and ceiling surfaces throughout the building, linking together through tactile familiarity a series of otherwise very different areas. Internally, a large void has been cut in the existing upper level floor to create a central room which is the orienting space to which visitors return, often a little sleepily, from their various aesthetic treatments.
A small renovation project on an existing 1930's house and gallery in Canberra, the scheme removes a bathroom, toilet and laundry which previously occupied the northeastern corner of the house and replaces them with new indoor and outdoor living spaces whilst adding no extra floor area. The primary organising and spatial device is a utility spine accessible from both sides which buffers the public living areas from the private sleeping areas.
collection of three discrete rooms by doing nothing more than removing all existing finishes and positioning a small number of new plaster walls. The outcome is a generous, high-ceilinged main gallery which spills into a smaller display area and proprietor's workspace, with both of these providing access via breaks in enclosing walls to a largely separated and very intimate gallery. Floors and ceilings are pared back to the original grey concrete, and the smallest gallery space is animated by the copper pipework left exposed overhead.
This residential tower proposal was intended as an exemplar of subtropical residential tower living.
The primary sustainability and lifestyle requirement for a residential tower in Brisbane is to have access to natural cross-ventilation through every apartment, and this was the starting point of the design manifesto. On every floor of the tower, apartments are designed so that they can be opened at each end in order to draw the readily-available breezes through and minimise the need for air-conditioning. Small screened spaces between lift lobby and front door allow for a greater density of cross-ventilated apartments, outdoor drying space (saving energy from clothes drying) and a gentler privacy gradient between apartment and lobby.
The building form is broken down or pixellated by the randomised use of common elements such as balustrades and sunshades, as well as simple offsets in window placement and panel jointing. The emphasis here is on elegance and restraint.
The planning of individual apartments is premised on the desire to allow views of the river and beyond from most apartments, and this was achieved in 80% of all apartments. Detailed planning prioritises living area and bedroom space over kitchens, on the evidential basis that large kitchens are less critical to inner-urban residents.
The podium of the building is screened with translucent glass extrusions interspersed with lush vertical planting, with steel boxes projecting through from the two-storey street-facing SoHo apartments behind. A large public outdoor dining terrace is envisaged above the corner of Herschel St and North Quay, offering expansive views across the river reaches and the Cultural Precinct.
A shortlisted proposal for a new northern metro workplace for Energex (a major utility organisation), this six-storey office building was designed to be a thoroughly modern, open and flexible 5-star Green Star, PCA A-Grade workplace.
Externally, there are three primary elements to the architectural composition – a timber-detailed base, a glazed prism and a layer of metallic screens that enclose and protect it. The timber base creates a strong tactile interface with the ground plane and landscape, while the metallic screens are detailed specfic to their orientation and offer a vernacular response to the Brisbane climate.
Rather than designing the building from the outside in as an "object" first and work environment second, the external envelope has been kept simple and refined in order to turn the primary spatial focus inward. A great atrium occupies the central area of the plan and is encountered as one moves through the building from the main entry foyer to the uppermost floor. The arrival point at each floor level opens directly onto the atrium, and it is located such that it is ringed and crossed by the primary circulation routes, including stair access between different floors. Natural daylight is admitted from the top of the atrium and, in conjunction with unrestricted daylight available around the edges, ensures that the workspaces have minimal reliance on artificial lighting.
Furthermore, the atrium is designed as a positive space rather than a negative void, and it offers a different experience on each floor level, aiding orientation and giving a sense of uniqueness within a large work environment. Primary breakout and meeting spaces adjoin the edges of the atrium, and it is criss-crossed by timber stairs and walkways offering ever-changing views and informal contact between disparate floors and workspaces.
On a macro scale the overall form of this student accommodation proposal responds primarily to the site topography, which falls steadily toward the northern end of the site. Looking closer, the mass of the buildings are conceived as an additive arrangement of individual unit 'blocks' onto which are plugged simple steel balconies. The stacking of these blocks is varied across the site to respond to the existing context, provide views, and produce an interesting built form that becomes new built topography overlaying the natural terrain.
Rather than consolidate the apartments into a single, monolithic building, we have proposed a site planning strategy that is founded upon the desire to create village-scaled courtyard spaces scattered across the site, allowing for frequent small-group use and the development of a tangible sense of communal familiarity.
_Secondary courtyards that provide a more intimate-scaled outdoor space for informal outdoor leisure and recreation.
A single-loaded access strategy has been adopted, as it allows all apartments to have a northern or street-facing view, and it also ensures that no living room overlooks another. The variety of windows, balconies and walkways that open onto the courtyards also helps to activate and animate them throughout the day and night.
The detailed apartment planning sets out to create simple, repeatable modules that are cost-effective to fabricate and produce a high quality environment for living and studying.


Nike: Are they Doing It?
Worth $424 billion and employing over 70,000 people throughout 190 countries, it is safe to say that Nike has an impact on the world. Nike has not had a good rep with the press and has had a very negative history of abusing worker rights. However, they do not own any of their factories. Rather, they outsource everything. This makes it very hard to to gather all the information and make sure all factories are complying to Nike's code of conduct, especially because factories range over 43 countries. The factories themselves have over 1,000,000 workers that are also working to supply Nike with products but they are not technically "Nike employees'. So what efforts has Nike made to change their respectability and public view?
First, Nike has recently taken new transparency efforts by releasing locations of all 666 factories, what each factory makes, and how many employees are working at each factory. Transparency helps us keep companies accountable and generally gives the impression that the company has less to hide.
Environmental changes: Recycled materials are being used in 71%of Nike's products and they desire to send 'zero waste from contracted footwear manufacturing to landfills by 2020' while also cutting down the number of factories. Since releasing their Carbon and Energy Program in 2008, Nike has cut down their energy use per product in half. They have began to focus on lower impact and higher volume materials that increase water and energy efficiency.
– Mark Parker, President and CEO, NIKE, Inc.
Transform Manufacturing: Nike has created a code of conduct that each contract factory must comply to. They believe that skilled, valued and engaged workers are key to growth and sustainability therefore, they have also begun to set up systems to get their workers connected to health care and education programs. Nike has started new technology efforts to transform the process of manufacturing and to also eliminate waste by having 'one-piece shoes'. They also believe that by setting up more transparency the factories can coordinate to enforce the code of conduct and create a better working environment for the employees.
Unleash Human Potential: Nike also has the desire to inspire and innovate human potential so that all people can be active and engaged. They want this for their consumers so they start with their employees. By investing in their employees they can empower ambitious growth and create an agenda of innovation. Nike has a strong commitment to diversity, believing it is necessary for innovation. Therefore, they promote the culture of inclusion and diversity that seeks to empower everyone.
Nike is good example of a company that has good intentions for the future and has made progress in the past couple of years. This being said Nike does have a long way to go and consumers need to continue to put a demand on them to do what they preach.


Become part of the nature while listening to the nature in your busy everyday life anywhere and at any time.
✔ this time 7 new sounds were added and it supports HD screen.
✔ NaturalSound completely supports multitasking. Alarm and sleep timer functions normally even when the background and the screen is locked.
✔ 100% purely a natural sound.
✔ There is absolutely no advertisement.
✔ The developer personally went to the field to record each sound with care. The developer went to some hard time as he even dipped bare feet into the icy cold seawater in winter to record better sounds.
✔ The developer personally took the photographs.
✔ There are sounds of the water drops falling on the microphone at time.
✔ The sounds are not as clear compared to the sounds you can purchase on line, however, these sounds are purely natural sounds.
✔ this time 10 new sounds were added and it supports retina screen.
If you like this app, you can support the developer . Your support brings a lot of energy to the developer.