text:
Q: How to replace the deprecated "--" prefix decrement operator in comparisons? Before I used --theX > 0 and it worked fine.
Excerpt of old code:
if --theX < 0 {
    ...
if ++theX < 0 {
    ...
if ++theX > worldSize.width + 1  {
    ...
if --theX > worldSize.height  {
    ...

Below you can see four lines of code that have theX - 1 > 0 or something similar. Now that I've updated to Swift 3 I thought it would be easy to just change --theX to either theX - 1 or theX -= 1.
Attempt of updated code:
func move(_ point:Point, worldSize:WorldSize) -> (Point) {
    var theX = point.x
    var theY = point.y
    switch self {
    case .left:
        if theX - 1 < 0 {
            // theX = worldSize.width - 1
            print("g.o.")
            stopped = true
        }
    case .up:
        if theY + 1 < 0 {
            // theY = worldSize.height - 1
            print("g.o.")
            stopped = true
        }
    case .right:
        if theX + 1 > worldSize.width + 1  {
            // theX = 0
            print("g.o.")
            stopped = true
        }
    case .down:
        if theY - 1 > worldSize.height {
            //  theY = 0
            print("g.o.")
            stopped = true
        }
    }
    return Point(x: theX, y: theY)
  }
}

However, it seems that is not working ("Cannot convert value of type 'Bool' to expected argument type 'Int'" ---> When using -= or +=). If you guys are wondering, this is a Snake arcade game, and the function above is what happens when the snake moves (left, right, up, down)
Any help of why this issue is happening or possibly how use a different yet similar version of increments and decrements (-- and ++)?

A: The statement --theX is using the pre-decrement operator.  It decrements the value of the theX before using it, so:
This:
if --theX > 0 {
}

is equivalent to:
theX -= 1
if theX > 0 {
}

The same is true for the others.  If you were using a pre-decrement (--value) or a pre-increment (++value), then replace that with value -= 1 or value += 1 before using value on the next line.

The problem with your translation of if --theX > 0 into if theX - 1 > 0 is that the value of theX isn't being modified, so you'll use the wrong value for theX when you construct the Point in the return Point(x: theX, y: theY) statement.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Pune station is among the 23 railway stations, which are scheduled to be revamped along the lines of a 'Swiss Challenge' model. The 'Swiss Challenge' model of bidding is different than the conventional process. It allows the entity, which submitted the unsolicited bid itself, to match or better the best bid that comes out of the Swiss process.
PUNE: Six national and foreign infrastructure firms are vying to get the contract for redevelopment of the Pune railway station under the 'Swiss Challenge' model, the decision on which will be declared in a few months, said officials. Several bidders have approached the officials in the Pune Division and the Railway Board for the contract. Earnst and Young, which is appointed as an advisory firm, is in touch with the prospective bidders.
Pune station is among the 23 railway stations, which are scheduled to be revamped along the lines of a 'Swiss Challenge' model. The second phase of a mega modernisation programme is slated to kick off later this month. Passengers may soon get to enjoy "airport-like facilities", said an official.
The Railway Board has identified 15 key parametres, including separate arrival and departure terminals, easy connectivity with local modes of transportation, such as bus or Metro, and accessibility from both sides of the city. Facilities such as food courts, retail outlets and medical facilities will also be made available.
"The project is getting good response from the infrastructure firms. As many as six companies have approahed us, in Pune and Delhi. Most of the work is being handled from Delhi. We have a liasoning officer in Pune too," said a senior official in Pune Division.
The 'Swiss Challenge' model of bidding is different than the conventional process. It allows the entity, which submitted the unsolicited bid itself, to match or better the best bid that comes out of the Swiss process.
"Under the project, real estate development of land and air space belonging to the railways will be done. The private partner can exploit the space for commercial purposes. Redevelopment is on 'as is where is', through open invitation from interested parties with their designs and ideas," said officials.
Officials added that the estimated cost of redevelopment of Pune railway station is 200 crore. The other stations scheduled for remodelling include Thane, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Mumbai Central, Bandra and Borivali.


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text:
Select other LIU Sharks Baer, Weston Bailey, Elijah Booker, Tre Burns, Quion Commander, Maurice Cook, Jake Crawford, Noble Davis, Kyndall Delancy, C.J. Essahaty, Ahmed Fall, Amadou Greene, R.J. Johnson, Jacob Kabala, Anthony Kamich, James Maletic, Marko Ndiaye, Cheikh Wague, Zaid Washington, Andre Wood, Tre LIU Sharks
James Kamich
Team: LIU Sharks Height: 6-9 Born: --
Class-Eligibility: Jr-Jr Weight: 195 Hometown: Tonj, South Sudan
21-22 LIU 6 0 3.5 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.7 .333 .000 -
Career 11 0 3.3 0.5 0.4 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 .333 .000 -
21-22 LIU 6 0 21 2 6 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 4
12/5 UML L 64-84 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
12/10 @UConn L 61-114 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
12/18 @JMU L 79-115 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
12/22 SUNYPu W 95-58 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
1/14 @StF-Pa L 68-87 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


You see it all the time – Client briefs, agency presentations, awards papers – the great cop out.
This is a low interest category.
It's the universal panacea, the ultimate excuse, the dog ate my homework of the marketing world.
No wonder the work is dull, the thinking is lame or the creative is vacuous it is after all a low interest category and we might as well all go home.
There is no such thing as a low interest category only low interest thinking.
I first aired this idea in the post on aphorisms and I thought it might benefit from an example.
A little while ago we worked for a windscreen replacement company called Autoglass.
Everyone thought this was the ultimate low interest category. No one is remotely interested in windscreens until they need one replaced and then its usually down to the insurance company to make the choice of supplier.
The previous agency in particular thought it was a low interest category (no names, no pack drill). No doubt they had a powerpoint presentation to prove this was the case because they clearly decided the only option was a little hollow salience for the brand. Hey presto hilarious ads in which we chortle at the sight of poor hapless people who have no windscreen and therefore have nothing to protect them from the attention of safari park monkeys. Oh how we laughed.
Low interest categories and brands are of low interest precisely because we haven't thought of anything to make them high interest.
Our planner – Giselle Okin – found out that your windscreen represents 30% of the structural integrity of your car. If your car rolls or the air bag goes off its the windscreen that protects you and gives the airbag something to work against. Fit a good windscreen properly and you potentially save lives.
End of low interest category and a platform for brand preference and most probably a premium to boot.
So never peddle or accept the notion that you are working for or in a low interest category. Suggest that the job of the agency is to get people interested and not in a few funny ads but in the very role that the brand plays in peoples' lives.
Good stuff Richard. However, can you think of any financial services examples?
That we continue to view money as low interest when it is so patently of very great interest kind of makes my point.
I love the Cooperative bank line at the moment. They have been an ethical bank for a while now (some would say since their inception) and have had an accurate but uninspiring line – something like customer driven, ethically guided.
However I have recently noticed that they have adopted the line – good with money. Now thats something I can get excited about.
I absolutely agree that money should be viewed as high interest. After all, the whole world revolves around it.
However, to say 'good with money' doesn't add much interest for me. The very fact that they're a bank means that being 'good with money' is a hygene factor.
There's real value in ethics but no one seems to be able to make it tangible.
I think that the Cooperative bank have absolutely used ethics to build a platform for preference amongst a particular high value audience and I think the genius of the line is that what would be a bland assertion for anyone else has real resonance in the hands of the Coop.
How do you think this might fit in with the low involvement processing model?
Since it hypothesises that we process most marketing messages at a low cognitive level, and that this is a good thing as these elements don't decay as they are stored in the "implicity memory" not the conscious, what does this mean for the industry's implicit assumption that we need to drive salience, meaningful or not?
It may be low involvement as far as the consumer is concerned but it is certainly not as far as the advertiser is concerned. My feeling is that only the richest clients can afford to operate on the basis of low involvement. Because only the richest clients can build and maintain those constant presence models. Other clients have to make a more decisive intervention into their marketplace to get noticed whether strategically (lets say dirt is good for Persil) or creatively (lets use 118 118 as the example here).
Makes sense chief – I guess if you are P&G you can exist at the perceptual periphery all the time.
Although for 118 118 we actually use a combination of the two: high profile disruptive activity to drive salience and on going, regular activity across the whole year to drive recency as a way to maintain our position at the front of people's minds.
They told us that directory enquiries was a low interest category. But then, as you point out, nothing need be.


Who will finish first? My money is on whoever is not blastme, since he's already restarted three times.
Although, my only real suggestion is to take your time. Like most RPGs it gets rather stale the second time through, so enjoy it this time around and try to fight against that MMO rush to max level mentality!
Why does one of them not have a colon?
I actually like my character this time around, sticking with it.
have any idea how you'd do it on hard without a healer.
fairly tough, and I'd often win with one person left alive.. but it was fun!
stuck or tripped up and then start playing one of the other 2 dozen games ive bought from Steam in the last week.
colon because I think he might have purchased on Amazon, though I might be thinking of L4D2.
rest of it is pretty samey.
I think I'm on the home stretch...There is something afoot in the Alienage!
thru your main story anyway.
Finished. Epic! "The Ultimate Sacrifice."
bittersweet, ended really well. time to play thru again!!


CAIRO: Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi asked Thursday for a suspected extremist leader and former Egyptian special forces officer captured this week in Libya to be handed over to his country.
Forces of Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who supports an administration vying for power with Libya's UN-backed unity government, have said they arrested Hisham el-Ashmawy on Monday in the eastern city of Derna.
"We want him to serve time in prison," El-Sisi said in a televised speech on the sidelines of a military conference.
A spokesman for Haftar's forces, who are backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, said Ashmawy was an alleged member of the Islamist extremist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis and wanted over the attempted assassination of an ex-interior minister in September 2013.
Ashmawy left the Egyptian army in 2012 and joined Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, based in the eastern Sinai Peninsula.
He is believed to have gone to Libya in 2013, before Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to the Daesh group in November 2014.
He is accused of being behind attacks in Egypt's Western Desert.


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text:
Analysis Projects
Le Commandant Charcot Polar Exploration Vessel
Norwegian Joy Cruise Ship
Island-Class Hybrid-Electric Vessels
Pride of Rotterdam –
The Pride of Rotterdam (along with its sistership the Pride of Hull) is one of the world's largest ferries, working the
The Pride of Rotterdam in Venice.
The Pride of Hull and Pride of Rotterdam (left) under construction.
The access doors on the ferry.
The Pride of Rotterdam's main staircase.
Pride of Rotterdam driver's bar.
The Pride of Rotterdam (along with its sistership the Pride of Hull) is one of the world's largest ferries, working the route between the ports of Hull and Rotterdam. The construction of the ferries was carried out at Fincantieri's Marghera yard in Venice. The Pride of Rotterdam took less than 14 months to build.
The Pride of Rotterdam has an overall length of 215.4m (203.7mbp) and a moulded beam of 31.5m. It has a design draught of 6.05m and a 9.4m depth to main deck. It also has a gross tonnage of 59,925t, making it the biggest ferry in the world in terms of gross tonnage. It has a design deadweight of 8,800t and a scantling deadweight of 10,350t.
Pride of Rotterdam facilities
The facilities are based over twelve decks. The main public rooms and services centre around atrium area on Decks 8 and 9.
"The Pride of Rotterdam is one of the world's largest ferries."
Deck 8 incorporates the bureau de change, continental café and cyber cafés, shops and a children's area, as well as the hotel facilities reception. Dining facilities are located aft.
The entertainment facilities include a casino, Irish bar, two cinemas and a double-deck show lounge.
Deck 9 boasts a fully equipped business centre, wine bar and a la carte restaurant. There as also a lounge bar and restaurant exclusive to freight drivers.
Decks 8 and 9 are connected by processional staircases port and starboard, while all the connecting decks are accessed by a main stairtower.
The Pride of Rotterdam has 546 cabins with a total of 1,376 beds. Passenger cabins are forward on Decks 8 and 9 and aft on Deck 7, as well as being located throughout Deck 10. The vessel is managed by a crew of just 141, whose accommodation is on Deck 11.
At the base of the funnel on Deck 12 lies a multi-functional sky lounge – the only public space – designed for access to the teak-planked sun decks outside. This sky lounge also serves as a piano bar and breakfast area.
For speed of turnaround, the car deck is accessed through a side entrance in the ship and consequently separated from the main freight deck entrance. The 2.7m-high car deck is designed to accommodate 250 cars, caravans etc.
"The Pride of Rotterdam has 546 cabins with a total of 1,376 beds."
The freight capacity of the Pride of Rotterdam is 3,345 lane metres. These freight decks are accessed via an 18m-wide by 12.5m-long stern door/ramp from Hamworthy KSE. The main deck is completely flat for the easy loading of trailers. On boarding, the vehicles travel up one side of the vessel, turn in the spacious bow area, and then proceed back towards the stern on the other side.
On Deck 3, a total of 1,483 lane metres (3.1m wide, 7m high) can be employed, while on Deck 5, the upper trailer deck is accessed via two Ham worthy KSE hoistable ramps, giving a further 1,560 lane metres. Each ramp is 58m long and 3.4m wide. While the deck is 4.8m in height, it is open aft, permitting the carriage of hazardous cargo. At the aft end of Deck 7 there is an exclusive area for drivers, featuring 14 single and 39 double cabins.
The ferry is powered by four Wärtsilä NSD 9L46C engines, delivering a total output of 37,800kW at 500rpm. The ferry also has two Wärtsilä 9L32 auxiliary engines, giving an output of 4,050kW at 720rpm. The engines are linked via Schelde reduction gear to two Lips highly skewed propellers measuring 4.9m in diameter. This gives the vessel a service speed of 22 knots.
The ferry is manoeuvred by two Fincantieri 2,000kW bow thrusters.
Companies Involved
Escape Safe UK
Le Commandant Charcot is a new hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel under construction for Ponant, a French cruise ship operator. The…
Norwegian Joy cruise ship was built by Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). It is…
The Island-class ferries are a series of six next-generation hybrid-electric vessels being built for Canadian operator BC Ferries. Two of…
Grimaldi Green 5th Generation (GG5G) Class Ro-Ro Vessels
Grimaldi Green 5th Generation-class (GG5G-class) vessels are new hybrid roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships being built by Nanjing Jinling Shipyard for Grimaldi…
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This scrub is a three-in-one! It's a nourishing, exfoliating wash that gently clears away dead skin cells, unblocks the pores while cleaning away makeup (along with debris & other pollutants) and finishes by providing nutrients from nourishing oils such as avocado, sunflower and/or sweet almond.
This face wash scrub was is formulated to be PH balanced for all skin types. It can be made with sugar or Himalayan Rose Pink salt crystals.


Portfolio management companies provide a wide variety of placement opportunities to economic units with spare funds who do not want to, or cannot, directly buy securities or other assets. There are three broad types of portfolio management companies: mutual funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts (UITs). One of the main differences between them is the characteristics of the shares they issue in terms of marketability and redeemability. Mutual fund shares are nonmarketable and redeemable on demand, closed-end fund shares are marketable and irredeemable, and UIT shares are marketable and redeemable on demand. Closed-end funds and UITs do not continuously offer their shares for sale. Rather, they sell a fixed number of shares in an initial public offering, after which the shares typically trade on a secondary market such as the New York Stock Exchange or through the sponsor (for UIT). The price of closed-end funds is determined by the market and may differ greatly from the net asset value per share (see below). Another main different is the type of asset they are allowed to acquire, with closed-end funds allowed to buy more illiquid assets than mutual funds.
Within each of these three broad categories, there is a wide variety of funds in terms of the assets they purchase, the placement strategies, and the means of issuance and redemption of shares (cash redemption or security redemption). This wide variety of funds accommodates the financial preferences of most shareholders. For example, some like risks and others do not; some like stocks others prefer bonds; some want stable fund share prices others want to be able to make capital gains (while risking to make a loss). They also have different level of minimum financial contribution to cater to different wealth groups. The following focuses on mutual funds, which are the most common type of portfolio management companies.
Mutual funds became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, but have existed since the 19th century. They issues shares to whomever wants to join, and use the proceeds to buy earning assets for the benefits of the members. As shown in Post 18, 80 percent of mutual funds shares are held directly or indirectly (via pension funds) by households. Mutual funds are open-end companies, that is, the outstanding number of shares is allowed to change on a daily basis. The shares of mutual funds are not tradable and are redeemable on demand, which is quite different from corporate shares that are tradable and irredeemable. Economic units who want to place some funds in a mutual fund must purchase shares from the mutual fund itself, not from other bearers. When economic units wish to retrieve their funds, they can redeem them—that is, sale them back to the mutual fund—for a fee.
The price that an economic unit pays for mutual fund shares is approximately the net asset value (NAV) per share. The NAV is the net worth of the funds (assets net of liabilities). For example, if a mutual fund has $100 of assets and $10 of liabilities, NAV is $90. The NAV is calculated on a daily basis by recording how the value of assets and liabilities at the end of each day. The price at which a share can be bought and redeemed is the NAV per share, and this price varies on a daily basis because of daily changes in the NAV and in the outstanding number of shares. So, if the NAV is $90 and there are 100 shares outstanding, the price of a mutual fund share is 90 cents that day.
In the mid-1970, money market mutual funds (MMMFs) emerged to bypass regulation Q. They purchase mostly short-term, safe securities. MMMFs try to keep their NAV per share stable at $1 and the dividend paid on MMMF shares closely follows short-term interest rates. Given these financial characteristics and the fact that MMMF share are redeemable on demand, financial market participants consider MMMF shares to be close substitutes to savings accounts offered by private depository institutions.
Most assets of mutual funds are composed of corporate shares except for the decade 1985-1995 during which Treasuries, agency securities, and municipals grew to represent 40 percent of the financial assets of mutual funds. Today, these types of securities only represent 15 percent of the $12.6 trillion of financial assets held by mutual funds, while corporate shares represent 65 percent of the financial assets. As the stock market plunged during the Great Recession, mutual funds recorded a $3-trillion decline in the value of their assets, but they recovered their losses quickly as the stock market boomed again (Figure 19.15). Their liabilities is composed mostly of their shares, but also of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) that have grown to represent 20 percent of liabilities (Figure 19.16).
The assets of MMMFs are composed mostly of safe to safer assets that are of short-to-medium term maturity, such as commercial papers, T-bills, agency securities, Treasuries, time and savings accounts, and repurchase agreements (Figure 19.17). Prior to the crisis, MMMFs bought a lot of asset-backed commercial papers because they looked safe but, as explained in the post on securitization, were not so. During the crisis, some MMMFs recorded large losses on asset-backed commercial papers and the value of their assets fell by $1 trillion to $2.8 trillion. This led the NAV per share to fall below $1 for some MMMFs; customers could not recover 100 percent of the principal they put in the fund, in the same way one could not recover 100 percent of the funds in a savings account. As the NAV per shares fell below $1, a run on MMMFs began—many customers tried to recover their funds by redeeming their MMMFs shares at the same time, forcing MMMFs to sale assets quickly—that compounded the decline in the value of MMMF shares, and the Federal Reserve intervened to help contain the run.
Note: No information is shown about currency and checkable deposits because the Financial Accounts assumes all monetary instruments received is immediately put to work. How the funds are used (that is which financial assets goes if more funds are received) is based on econometric analysis or discretionary decisions of Federal Reserve analysts.
Note: "Other financial assets" includes checkable deposits, private foreign deposits, among others.
Hedge funds emerged in the 1950s. Like mutual funds, hedge funds pool funds to buy return-earning assets but, unlike mutual funds, they frequently use riskier balance-sheet strategies, such as leverage (see Post 7) and short selling, to achieve the rate of return they promise to their clients. Hedge funds are also more lightly regulated and may not have to file full financial statements with regulatory agencies, although the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act increased the regulatory filing requirement. Finally, they cater to wealthy individuals.
Some hedge funds try to make a profit under whatever market conditions by implementing "market neutral strategies." This means that they speculate on the price direction of two assets by taking an opposite position in each asset. For example, assume that the stocks of companies X and Y are worth respectively $100 and $90. Hedge fund Alpha expects that the price of both stocks to be $95 in one week (Figure 19.19).
Take a short position in X shares: Borrow X stocks from a broker for a week and sell them immediately at current market price ($100), and buy them back at $95 next week to repay the broker. A capital gain of $5 per share is expected.
Take a long position in Y shares: Buy Y stocks today for $90 and sell them in Week 2 at $95: Expected capital gain of $5 per share.
This placement strategy allows Alpha to "hedge" its portfolio position because it can avoid losses, to a certain extent, if its expectations turn out to be incorrect. For example, assume that both stock prices decreases by $10, in that case, the funds loses $10 on its long positions in share Y but gains $10 on its short positions in share X (Figure 19.20). Of course, if X stock go up or go down by less than Y shares, then Alpha will record a loss.
Short positions are inherently more risky than long positions because the price of financial assets cannot be negative so potential gains are limited by how much price can fall ($100 for stock X) while potential losses are unlimited (the price of stock X can to up to infinity).
They were created in the 1960s to provide opportunities to take a position in real estate. They hold about $500 billion in assets tied to the real estate in the form of actual real estate properties or financial instruments linked to real estate (mortgages, agency securities, mortgage-backed securities) (Figure 19.21). REITs also issue mortgages that, together with bonds, usually represent over half of the liabilities they issue. Their short-term debts are in the form of reserve repurchase agreements and advances from private depository institutions (Figure 19.22).
Note: Nonfinancial assets have a negative value from 1968 to 1974 and from 1984 to 1989. This is due to statistical discrepancies and errors because their value is measured indirectly as the difference between liabilities and financial assets. The value is set at zero for those years.
Note: "Other financial assets" includes multifamily mortgages and other financial assets.
Note: "Other liabilities" include advances by the Federal Home Loan Banks, commercial papers, among others.
Securities do not trade themselves; there needs to be a platform that is reliable and standardized so trading can be done smoothly and at low cost. Some businesses specialize is setting up such a platform. A market platform sets up trading rules, quotation methods, methods of buying and buying securities, and provides smooth means to transfer of securities among parties. It also provides other market services such as extensive market data and trading services.
The most well-known market platforms are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ. NASDAQ used to be the acronym of "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations" until the company became independent from the National Association of Securities Dealers in 2006. Created in 1971, NASDAQ was the first market platform to provide automated trading of securities and competitors followed.
Market platforms used to be a noisy place in which many individuals were on the phone taking sell/buy orders from clients and were "talking" (more yelling) to each other to match orders. The place was actually so noisy that individuals working on the floor of the market had to develop some hand signals to be able to carry their trading operations. Today, most market platforms are very quiet places except for a few markets that have not been automated. The NASDAQ is fully automated and its physical place is a room with a giant digital screen on Time Square.
Once a platform has been set up, some businesses specialize in provide specific market services; issuing securities, ensuring the continuous quotation of securities, redeeming securities, trading securities, among others.
Investment banks complement commercial banks by focusing on the needs of medium to large businesses, governments and other economic units with large needs for funds (think at least tens of millions of dollars). When a client X needs a large sum of funds to build an expensive illiquid long-term project with an uncertain profitability—railroad, industrial plant, nuclear plant, Channel tunnel between the UK and France—a commercial bank is not willing to take X's financial instrument. Indeed, it would be a very large single financial asset on the bank's balance sheet that would greatly negatively impact its net worth in case of problem (see Post 9). A bank would is even more so reluctant that complex industrial projects usually run into delays, record significantly larger expenses than budgeted, and take decades to break even.
One solution is to share that risk through syndicated credit in which several commercial banks and other financial institutions join to meet the financial needs of the client. However, even in that case, banks usually do not want to keep all their share of financial instruments of X on their balance sheet and gauge the ability to sell some of them before agreeing to provide credit to client X. Figure 19.23 shows that syndicated credit to nonfinancial businesses boomed in 2004 to reach $550 billion. Major bearers are special purpose entities ("issuers of ABSs"), mutual funds, security brokers and dealers, life insurance companies, and funding corporations.
While syndicated credit has become more popular, its outstanding volume is still small, especially compared to alternative wholesale funding methods. Indeed, beyond syndicated credit, another solution to spread the risk is to issue many marketable financial instruments. Say client X needs $100,000,000, one way to obtain that sum is to issue 100,000 bonds with a face value of $1,000. Each bearer takes on its balance some credit risk for up to the dollar amount of bonds each bought, which is much more limited than if a commercial bank had to bear a single non-marketable financial instrument worth $100,000,000. In addition, bonds can be traded—at least this is the hope—so if some of the initial bearers no longer want hold the bonds, they can sell them to willing buyers.
Determine which type and what quantity of securities should be issued in order to raise as much funds as possible at the lowest cost: if stock markets are booming then issuing shares is a better option, whereas issuing bonds is best if interest rates are low and profit expectations of the issuer are high.
Help get a rating from credit rating agencies by making sure that the issuer complies with all the necessary requirements.
Initial public offering (IPO): For shares, investment banks must figure out what is the fair price for the shares of a company that enters the stock market for the first time. For bond, pricing is easier and based on the price of bonds of comparable risk and term to maturity.
Seasoned offering: Pricing is based on current existing securities but the investment bank must figure out how the new issue will affect the price of existing securities.
"Underwrite:" Investment banks usually take some responsibility for the price at which they expect the securities will sell, that is, they sign a contract with the issuer that guarantees that the issuer will be able to raise a certain dollar amount of funds. If the securities sell above the contracted price, the investment bank makes a capital gain. If the securities sell below, the investment bank may stop selling securities for a while and hold the securities on their balance sheet.
Brokering: To buy and sell securities for clients for a fee. The rise of automated trading and online brokerage accounts has significantly reduce the fees that brokers can charge.
Dealing: To buy and sell securities for one's own account. Dealers usually play an important role of market makers to promote market liquidity. They have specialists on the floor of the platform who act as buffer between the demand and supply of securities. If there is a surplus, specialists buy for their own account some securities to close the surplus; if there is a shortage, specialists sale securities they own to close the shortage. With the emergence of automated trading, the need for specialists has diminished considerably. Some dealers may choose to become primary dealers, which entail them to have a direct working relationship with the Federal Reserve to help implement monetary policy (Post 4) and fiscal policy (Post 6).
The balance sheet of security brokers and dealers reflects the fact that they deal in securities (Figure 19.24). Margin credit, that is advance provided to clients to buy securities on credit, use to represent up to 60 percent of their assets. From the 1970s, security repurchase agreements (RPs) have substituted margin credit as their main assets. Clients seeking funds sell securities to brokers and dealers, and promise to buy them back later at a price that will provide an income to security brokers and dealers. This is a form of secured credit. Post 4 explains how security repurchase agreement are used to implement monetary policy. The value of the assets held by security brokers and dealers peaked in 2008 at $4.6 trillion and has been falling since to reach $3 trillion in 2015. Since the late 1980s, a great proportion of the business operation of dealers and brokers has been to lend the securities they own. Claims on borrowers of securities have represented at least 20 percent of their balance sheet.
The structure of liabilities reflects the shift in assets (Figure 19.25). Security brokers and dealers used to be indebted to private depository institutions that provided the funds to clients requiring margin credit. Brokers and dealers would make a profit on the interest rate differential between the interest rate charged on margin credit and the interest rate charged on the credit that broker and dealers obtained from depository institutions. Since the 1970s, repurchase agreements, in the form of reverse repurchase agreements, have become the main liability of security brokers and dealers. They obtain funds by selling securities and by promising to buy them back later at a price that rewards the seller.
Note: At times, the outstanding value of US Treasuries is negative, reflecting the fact that security dealers had an overdraft on their Treasuries account at the Fed; they were borrowers of Treasuries.
Note: "Other financial assets" includes commercial papers, agency securities, municipals, syndicated advances to nonfinancial business, among others.
Note: "Other liabilities" includes corporate shares, corporate and foreign bonds, various advances, trade payable, taxes payable, among others.
Securitization is discussed in a following post but the following Figures together with the ones presented in this post and in Post 18, should convince the readers that companies involved in securitization have become major participants in the financial sector. Figure 19.26 and 19.27 show the financial assets held by issuers of asset-backed securities and issuers of mortgage-backed securities backed by federal agencies and GSEs. Together, they held up to $8.5 trillion of financial instruments of all sorts in 2008, after which the outstanding value of their financial assets felt to reach $3 trillion, a big part of which is due to the sale of $3-trillion worth of mortgages to government-sponsored enterprises. Since early 2000s, mortgages have replaced consumer credit and agency securities are the main assets of issuers of asset-backed securities.
Figure 19.27. Structure (percent) and level (trillions of dollars) of the issuers of asset-backed securities.
Note: "Other financial assets" include funding agreement backing the ABS issuers and Treasuries.
Government and government-related financial agencies include some federal budget agencies and some for-profit companies chartered by the U.S. Congress. Their goal is to promote, through financial means, specific economic activities that are deemed socially beneficial but that are underserved by the traditional private financial sector because of their riskiness or low profitability.
Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are private for-profit companies created by US Congress. They help to promote specific economic activities by buying and/or insuring illiquid and risky financial instruments that financial companies have on their balance sheet. By doing so they remove the credit risk—and liquidity risk if they buy the financial instrument—from the balance sheet of the seller. This encourages private financial companies to provide credit at more affordable terms (lower interest rate, longer term to maturity) to specific economic units. Put differently, the point of GSEs is to intervene in the financial sector to reduce the volatility, and to bring down the level, of interest rates on specific financial instruments, and to raise the volume of issuance of such financial instruments. GSEs do so because these financial instruments are issued to perform economic activities that U.S. Congress deems socially beneficial.
A point of entry in the world of GSEs are the Financial Accounts (Figures 19.28 and 19.29). From 1945 until the mid-1980s, advances from the Farm Credit System and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, Farm mortgages (that is mortgages backed by a farm excluding the farm dwelling), and home mortgages represented about 80 percent of the assets of GSEs. After the mid-1980s, the promotion of farming shrunk considerably in relative terms, with farm mortgages and Farm Credit System advances representing about 5 percent of the financial assets of GSEs in 2015. Agency securities, federal funds sold and corporate bonds gained in importance. The financial crisis led to an enormous increase in the balance sheet of GSEs because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased over $3 trillion of mortgage-backed securities from the special purpose entities ("mortgage pools") they back. MBSs from these pools now represent 60 percent of the assets of GSEs. Most of the liabilities of GSEs consist of securities and securitized securities and the purchase of $3 trillion of MBSs by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was done by issuing bonds backed by them. The following sections provide a more detailed presentation of some GSEs.
Figure 19.28. Structure (percent) and level (trillions of dollars) of the financial assets of government-sponsored enterprises.
Note: The GSE sector includes the following enterprises: Federal Home Loan Banks, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Farmer Mac, Farm Credit System, the Financing Corporation, and the Resolution Funding Corporation and the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) until 2004:Q4. Mortgage pools backed by GSEs are not included.
Note: Others financial assets include Sallie Mae financial assets, commercial papers, checking, savings and time accounts, currency, among others.
Note: "Other liabilities" include federal funds purchased and reverse repurchase agreements, loans of U.S. government to Sallie Mae, among others.
The Federal Loan Act of July 1916 created the first government-sponsored enterprise; the Farm Credit System (FCS). Its organization is based on the template provided by the Federal Reserve System created in December 1913. The goal of the FCS is to help the agricultural sector and rural communities by providing a stable and affordable source of funds to Agricultural Credit Associations (ACAs) and agricultural cooperatives that compete with private banks.
The ACA makes the payment to the tractor company on behalf of farmer F1, and F1 will repay the ACA bit by bit by servicing its financial instrument.
Each ACA is part of a district. The System is composed of four districts, each overseen by a Farm Credit System Bank that is owned by the ACAs (Figure 19.30). There are four Farm Credit System Banks (FCS Banks); three Farm Credit Banks (FCBs) and one Agricultural Credit Bank (ACB). The FCS Banks issues Farm Credit System debt securities (FCS securities) via a funding corporation (the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation) that acts as fiscal agent for the four banks. The funding corporation determines the amount and terms of FCS securities, issues them and handles their servicing. The term to maturity of FCS securities varies from overnight to 30 years. The funds obtained from the issuance of securities are lent to ACAs and cooperatives who then lend to rural communities. Beyond obtaining funds from the issuance of FCS securities, ACAs also borrow funds from, and lend funds to, each other.
The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation—established in 1987 when farmers were defaulting en masse—ensures the timely servicing of FCS securities. It is an insurance plan in which each ACA pays a premium and gets help in case of difficulty. The overall system is overseen by the Farm Credit Administration (Figure 19.31).
Table 19.1 shows the unconsolidated balance sheet of the four FCS Banks. Their main assets are securities (mostly Treasuries, federally-backed debts and GSE securities, but also federal funds sold, commercial papers and negotiable certificates of deposit) and financial instruments issued by residents of rural communities and by ACAs ("Loan, notes, sales contracts, and leases"). Figure 19.32 shows that in 2016 about two-third of the $220 billion of credit provided by FCS Banks goes to ACAs, while the rest is direct credit to rural communities mostly for production, for agricultural cooperatives, and for infrastructure. Their main liabilities are $259 billion of FCS securities. Similar to Treasuries, FCS securities are generally recorded, and transferred, via electronic entries at the Federal Reserve. FCS Banks have accounts at the Federal Reserve and they use this payment system to make payments to private banks, service debt on their securities, among others.
Note: There are four System Banks: AgFirst FCB in Columbia, SC; AgriBank, FCB in St. Paul, MN; CoBank, ACB in Denver, CO; and FCB of Texas in Austin, TX.
Note: Credit for agricultural production includes real estate mortgages issued to finance productive capacities (to purchase farm real estate, to refinance existing mortgages, or to construct various facilities used in operations), as well as credit obtained to buy equipment and for business operations.
The Federal Home Loan Bank System (FHLBS) is also organized on similar premises as the Federal Reserve System. It is much more similar to the Federal Reserve System than the FCS because the FHLBS issues monetary instruments and has its own payment system. It was established by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932 with the goal of promoting homeownership and community development. FHLBS is composed of eleven Federal Home Loan Banks (FHL Banks) that each oversees a district (Figure 19.33). FHL Banks are for-profit companies that are owned by members of the System. This System was first set up for Saving and Loans Institutions but, since 1989, all federally-insured depository institutions (thrift institutions, commercial banks and credit unions), insurance companies, and a few others (such as real estate investment trusts and finance companies) can join if they wish. Today, over 80 percent of members are commercial banks and credit unions, and 90 percent of all commercial banks are members of the System (Table 19.2). Membership is voluntary and requires the purchase of stocks of the FHL Bank of the district in which the financial institution operates. The stocks are not tradable, cannot be pledge as collateral, must be held at face value, pay a dividend, and provide a voting right to elect the director of the FHL Bank of the district. The Office of Finance is the fiscal agent of the System. It does the accounting and oversees the issuance, redemption and servicing of FHLB securities. The system is regulated and supervised by the Federal Housing Financing Agency.
Source: Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Bank System (Federal Home Loan Banks, Combined Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2016), Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), and Credit Union National Association (Credit Union Reports), Insurance Information Institute.
The purpose of the FHLBS is to provide its member a stable and low-cost source of funds. The way this is done can be understood by studying the consolidated balance sheet of the FHL Banks (Table 19.3). The main asset is "advances" that were worth $705 billion. Advances represent financial instruments issued by members to the FHL Banks. In exchange, FHL Banks provide credit and payment services in the same way private banks and the Federal Reserve do (See Post 4 and Post 10).
FHL Banks compete among each other and with other financial institutions to provide credit to its members, so each FHL Bank try to accommodate the financial needs of their members as much as possible. FHL banks do so by accepting advances with widely different financial characteristics. Advances can vary in terms of term to maturity (overnight to 30 years), interest rate (fixed or variable), collateral, among others. About 40 percent of advances have to be repaid within one year, and slightly more than half of all advances have to be repaid within two years (Figure 19.34). Revolving lines of credit can also be open—think credit card—that allow a member to continuously get access to FHLB credit.
Note: "Cash and due from" represent cash, accounts at commercial banks, and accounts at the Federal Reserve Banks.
The FHL Banks only accept the financial instruments of their members if they are secured by collateral that are consistent with the mission of the FHLBS. The Federal Home Loan Bank Act limits the type of collateral FHL Banks can accept to certain securities, residential mortgage loans, cash, deposits with the FHL Banks, and other eligible real estate-related assets. Community development financial institutions may also pledge as secured financial instruments issued to them by small businesses, small farm, and small agri-business. Figure 19.35 shows the type of collateral accepted by the FHL Bank of New York. In addition to a collateral requirement, federally-insured members must at least have 10 percent of their assets in the form of residential mortgages to be granted credit by FHL Banks. Put differently, before getting access to FHLB refinancing channels, members have to show that they have granted credit to fund economic activities that are consistent with the mission of the FHLBS.
To fund its operations, that is to obtain the funds it needs to settle payments with other financial institutions and with its members (see Post 10 on interbank payments and reserve requirement for an application to the banking system), FHL Banks must obtain either federal funds or, if the institutions to whom they must transfer funds do not have an account at the Federal Reserve, funds on a private bank account. To obtain these funds the FHL Banks issue financial instruments.
For example, a FHL Bank can attract federal funds when other FHL Banks, commercial banks and government institutions deposit federal funds (monetary assets of the FHL Bank go up) and get credited the equivalent dollar amount on a FHLB account (liabilities of the FHL Bank go up). FHLB accounts can be demand accounts or term accounts, and overdraft is possible on demand accounts and lead to an automatic advance to replenish the account. FHLB accounts can be used to make payments among members, that is, the System has its own payment system that is an alternative to the Federal Reserve payment system and the payment system of private depository institutions. Most FHLB accounts are overnight or demand accounts so the FHL Banks are required to keep an equivalent dollar amount—$8 billion in 2016—of short to medium term to maturity financial assets to avoid liquidity problems. These assets can be cash, federal funds, demand accounts at private banks or FHL Banks, short-term repurchase agreements, Treasuries and agency securities that mature in less than 3 years, among others.
Deposits are, however, a marginal funding source. The two main means to obtain funds are short-term FHLB securities ("discount notes") and long-term FHLB securities ("bonds") that together amount to almost $1 trillion. FHL Banks issue these securities in domestic and global financial markets, and compete with the U.S. Treasury, other GSEs, corporations and other issuers of debt securities to find willing bearers. Figure 19.36 shows how the FHLB operates within the financial system. "Lenders" refers to FHLBS members (see Table 19.2) that accept mortgages from "borrowers" (households and businesses) who purchase of real estate. Once they have accepted mortgages, FHLB members have illiquid long-term assets (mortgages) on their balance sheet, while they have immediate needs for federal funds to make payments to their creditors. As explained in Post 10, there are many means to obtain these federal funds and the FHL Banks are one of them. FHL Banks themselves obtain federal funds by issuing securities.
Figure 19.36 may be potentially misleading in several ways to the reader of this text. It may seem that the whole system is an intermediation between "investors" and "borrowers," with the investors (the buyers of FHLB securities) being the source of the funds that are then lent to the borrowers (households and businesses) via the help of FHL Banks and "lenders" (FHLB members). This is not the case. As explained in details in Post 10, there is no intermediation at play. Borrowers do not receive cash from investors, in fact they never see any funds, and banks (the "lenders") do not lend cash. Banks also do not wait for funds obtained by the FHL Banks from investors to accept mortgages from households and businesses. In fact, banks must accept mortgages first before they can get access to FHLB refinancing channel. The point of FHLB is not to provide credit to households and businesses, it is merely to provide an alternative source of federal funds for its members and a convenient means to make payments among its members.
Commercial banks have other means to obtain federal funds so one may wonder why they would come to the FHLBS. Given their size and given the implicit backing of the federal government, there is a high demand for FHLB securities and so FHL Banks are able to issue securities at relatively lower cost. As such, the interest rate FHL Banks pay on their liabilities is lower than that of their members. Given their cooperative structure, FHL Banks pass the lower cost of their liabilities to their members by granting credit are a lower cost than what members may be able to get if they tried to get credit on their own.
The interest rate charged on advances is slightly higher than the interest rate on US Treasuries of similar maturity, and interest rates on Treasuries are among the lowest at a given time for a given maturity. This is important especially in time of crises because interest rates on private financial instruments tend to rise steeply as the number of potential bearers dwindle and the demand for safe assets, such as Treasuries, rises. For members, revolving advances have proven to be a reliable substitute to federal funds market and security repurchase agreements to obtain federal funds, and, in times of stresses, advances from the FHLB tend to be a preferred means to obtained funds. During the savings and loans crisis of the mid-1980s, advances to thrifts peaked at $150 billion in 1988 (Figure 19.37). During the Great Recession, advances to members peaked almost at $1 trillion in 2007 and 2008, with commercial banks asking for the bulk of the $600 billion obtained by U.S. chartered depository institutions in 2008.
Thus, members can obtain loans of federal funds from FHL Banks at a more stable and lower cost than would otherwise have been the case. They can also obtained those funds for a much longer period than alternative wholesale sources. This helps them to lower the interest rates they charge to their customers; homebuyers, small businesses, farmers and others. Lowering the cost of getting credit for homeownership and community development helps to promote these economic activities; precisely the goal of the FHLB.


Political Reporter and Presenter for Sky News, Deserves her own thread.
2016 Federal Election mega-post of the very beautiful Laura appearing throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning on Sky News HD on Foxtel.
Great post led. Thanks for your efforts.
She certainly is a honey. Wish there was more caps of her floating around.
Great caps mrbbi, where are they from? Is there a video?


text:
Die Ravine Rozette (dt.: Schlucht Rozette, auch: Vieux Fort River) ist ein Fluss auf der Karibikinsel St. Lucia.

Geographie
Der Fluss entspringt im Hochland im Norden des südlichsten Quarters Vieux Fort und verläuft in südlicher Richtung. Er verläuft durch das Gebiet La Ressource und La Tourney und mündete ursprünglich direkt am Ortskern von Vieux Fort als südlichster Fluss St. Lucias in der nach Westen geöffneten Vieux Fort Bay in den Atlantik. Für den Flughafen Hewanorra International wurde er entlang der Landebahn weiter nach Westen verlegt.

Die benachbarten Flüsse sind Canelles im Nordosten und der Ravine Languedoc im Westen.

Literatur
 Geografie der Welt – Eine Enzyklopädie, Bechtermünz Verlag, 1997, Seite 92, ISBN 3-86047-603-3

Fluss in der Karibik
Vieux Fort (Quarter)
0Ravine Rozette

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Today's weather is turning out to be light rain shower. The visibility is going to be around 12 km i.e. 7 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1010 mb . The daytime temperature is going to reach 7 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 3 °c at night. We expect around 22.5 mm of precipitation to fall and cloud covering 82% of the sky, the humidity will be around 87%.
Tomorrow weather is forecasted to be patchy rain possible. The visibility is going to be around 16 km i.e. 10 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1020 mb. The daytime temperature is going to reach 10 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 1 °c at night. We expect around 4.3 mm of precipitation to fall and cloud covering 52% of the sky, the humidity will be around 73%.
On Wednesday weather will be patchy rain possible with daytime temperature reaching 13 °c. Night time temperature are expected to be 0 °c.It will be mostly dry with little or no precipitation. The visibility is going to be around 19 km i.e. 12 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1024 mb. It will be mostly dry with little or no precipitation and cloud covering 32% of the sky, the humidity will be around 61%.
Thursday seems to be partly cloudy. Keryaderi, Iraq visibility is going to be around 20 km i.e. 12 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1022 mb. The daytime temperature is going to reach 16 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 2 °c at night. It will be dry with no precipitation and cloud covering 9% of the sky, the humidity will be around 53%.
Moderate rain at times will be the weather pattern for the Friday. The visibility is going to be around 20 km i.e. 12 miles and an atmospheric pressure of 1020 mb. The daytime temperature is going to reach 17 °c and the temperature is going to dip to 3 °c at night. It will be mostly dry with little or no precipitation and cloud covering 22% of the sky, the humidity will be around 51%.
Looking at the weather in Keryaderi, Iraq over the next 7 days, the maximum temperature will be 18℃ (or 65℉) on Sunday 28th April at around 3 pm. In the same week the minimum temperature will be 0℃ (or 33℉) on Wednesday 24th April at around 3 am.
The national weather service for Keryaderi, Iraq is reporting Monday 22nd April to be the wettest day in the coming week with around 6.20mm (or 0.2 inches) of rainfall. Make sure to carry an umbrella if you are out and about in Keryaderi, Iraq.
The windiest of all days will be Friday 26th April as wind will reach 8mph (or 12kmph) at around 6 am.
Please also visit Keryaderi Historical Weather, Text Weather and Weather Charts pages. Historical or past weather forecast page provides historical weather forecast from 1st July, 2008 till now in 3 hourly interval. Text weather page will allow you to get a weather text summary for next 14 days and weather chart page displays weather pattern like temperature, wind speed, gust, pressure, etc. in graphical mode for next 14 days. We hope you like it.


If you know me in practice, you know that I like to have science and biochemistry to lead my treatment plans or when introducing new therapies. I also think its very important to help my clients understand their bodies and their biochemistry so that they can be a true participant in their overall health.
So, today I thought I'd pass on a information from a great new column from the Living Without magazine. You've heard me rave about this magazine before and this column is yet another great feature. This column provides a brief review of recent medical news regarding food sensitivities and allergies. You can access the full link here: Research Roundup by Christine Boyd Feb/Mar 2012: Good Bacteria at Birth, Celiac Pill and more.
This episodes discusses research that looks at the changes in an infants normal flora as a result of elective C-section and hospital vs home birth, hiding veggies in kids foods significantly increases their veggie intake without affecting their intake or liking of foods, food sensitivities as a trigger for irritable bowel, the association between undiagnosed Celiac disease and ADHD, a new enzyme treatment for Celiac disease in clinical trials, and higher BPA levels in pregnancy appear to be associated with mood and behavior complaints in the resulting children.


Spring training is only a month away and there could be enough Democratic presidential candidates to fill a major league baseball roster. The best way for hopefuls to stand out in such a crowded field is to carve out a niche for his or her candidacy.
A niche in a crowded primary means developing a unique selling proposition and identifying a target audience for your message. In a Democratic primary, the targets often are identity groups — part of what President Obama calls the Ascending Democratic Coalition of millennials, minority voters and women.
The ascendant coalition is on the rise. A clear majority of the 2020 Democratic primary voters will be women. In 2016, four of every 10 Democratic primary voters were black or brown. Young people were the catalysts for the improbable Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersElection analyst says Biden could face uphill battle attracting small-dollar donors Gillibrand 'not worried' about being 'discounted' in 2020 race Biden's sloppy launch may cost him MORE candidacy that came so close to denying Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonForget the spin: Five unrefuted Mueller Report revelations Former senators launching effort to help Dems win rural votes Biden's announcement was a general election message, says political analyst MORE the Democratic nomination.
Democratic women carried the day for their party in the midterm elections. There will be no shortage of female Democratic presidential candidates. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenColbert links large 2020 Dem field to Avengers: 'A group of every available person in the universe' Seven big decisions facing Biden in 2020 primary Sanders dominates, Buttigieg surges in 2020 social media battle MORE (Mass.), Kamala Harris Kamala Devi HarrisThe symbol of 'Wakanda' and black political vision Seven big decisions facing Biden in 2020 primary Sanders dominates, Buttigieg surges in 2020 social media battle MORE (Calif.), Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean KlobucharHarris wins town hall war among CNN viewers Cory Booker releases 10 years of tax returns Dems accuse White House of caving to Trump's 'ego' on Russian meddling MORE (Minn.) and Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth GillibrandGillibrand 'not worried' about being 'discounted' in 2020 race Cory Booker releases 10 years of tax returns Buttigieg gets first congressional endorsement MORE (N.Y.) could all run.
The candidate who has identified most closely with the powerful #MeToo Movement is Gillibrand. She made a name for herself in Congress for her determined opposition to sexual harassment and assault in the military and the attempts by Pentagon brass to cover up the problem. She also made many enemies on the Democratic side for her call for Sen. Al Franken Alan (Al) Stuart FrankenBehar laments Franken resignation to Gillibrand: 'I really miss him now' Winners and losers from first fundraising quarter Election analyst says Gillibrand doesn't have 'horsepower to go the full distance' MORE (D-Minn.) to resign after allegations of sexual misconduct were directed at the progressive icon.
Enthusiastic support from millennials fueled Bernie Sanders' rise in 2016. Millienials appreciated the novelty of Sanders's candidacy. He was such a vivid contrast to established politicians like Hillary Clinton who parsed every word they said. Sanders was the new fresh face in 2016. Will Beto or Bernie be the new kid on the block for millennials in 2020?
Beto O'Rourkes's candidacy is certainly idiosyncratic or even odd. Young voters will find O'Rourke refreshing because he speaks his mind. He has a strong social media following among millennials and he always has something for them to watch on YouTube. Recently his social media followers and the press were able to watch him while his dentist drilled down on his molars. During the exploratory phase of his campaign, the former congressman from Texas embarked on a solo tour through the southwest towards Iowa. He also publicly stated he was in a "funk" after losing his job in Congress. Is his next act a public presidential announcement during an interview with Oprah? Stay tuned!
Obama blazed the racial trail for the nation and the Democratic Party with two successful presidential campaigns. Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker Cory Anthony BookerBooker fundraises off Biden announcement The symbol of 'Wakanda' and black political vision The Hill's Morning Report - Trump tells House investigators 'no' MORE of New Jersey are poised to follow his path.
Harris has impressive credentials. She served as the Attorney General of the largest state in the union before she became a United States senator. She like the former president has a mixed race heritage. Obama never made a big deal of his background and I don't think Harris will either. But she did schedule her announcement to coincide with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Hispanics are the fastest growing power block in the Democratic Party. President Trump Donald John TrumpForget the spin: Five unrefuted Mueller Report revelations Lara Trump: Merkel admitting migrants 'one of the worst things that ever happened to Germany' Financial satisfaction hits record high: survey MORE's racism and population trends have made Latinos the key to improving the prospects for a Democratic candidate to win the electoral votes of Texas and Arizona.
Julian Castro has a killer resume. Former Texas congressman was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama Administration and was on Hillary Clinton's list of potential running mates. Latinos are a major force in three states, California, Texas and Nevada that select delegates early in the nomination process. Castro may not win any of these states but he may pick up enough delegates at the beginning of the process to be a big presidential player.
Castro made his first major appearance in Puerto Rico after his announcement in Texas. He joined a group of congressional Democrats there to criticize the president for his failure to help the island after the devastating hurricane. Puerto Rico doesn't have any electoral votes but it does send delegates to the national convention. Castro's attack on Trump there does send a powerful message to the many Hispanic Americans of Puerto-Rican origin who live in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Identity campaigns work well in a primary when there are many candidates and few voters. These kind of campaigns are less effective in general elections when there are fewer hopefuls and a more diverse group of voters. Older white voters aren't part of the ascendant coalition. Clinton's failure to address the concerns of blue-collar white voters in the industrial Midwest cost her vital electoral votes.
The eventual Democratic nominee will need to walk and chew gum at the same time. That candidate will need to galvanize the ascendant coalition and reach out to the disaffected voters who don't feel Democrats care about them. You can win the nomination by doing one thing well but it takes two to get to the White House.


text:
import * as zrUtil from 'zrender/src/core/util';

export default function (option) {
    if (!option || !zrUtil.isArray(option.series)) {
        return;
    }

    // Translate 'k' to 'candlestick'.
    zrUtil.each(option.series, function (seriesItem) {
        if (zrUtil.isObject(seriesItem) && seriesItem.type === 'k') {
            seriesItem.type = 'candlestick';
        }
    });
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Oliver County Commission has opened the door for a wind energy company to expand its field of turbines.
North Dakota leaders and the coal industry are ready to go to war against the president's plan to reduce carbon emissions from coal plants.
Would you drive 100 miles for cancer? That's exactly what Oliver County motorcycle and car enthusiasts will do July 13 for the Kickin Cancer Ride & Drive.
Help does come from the skies sometimes, but not in the form of a caped superhero.
Once-per-decade work has begun at Dakota Gasification Company's Great Plains Synfuels Plant that will seek to keep the facility up-to-date and running smooth.
A 400-mile pipeline that could help transport natural gas from the Oil Patch may pass through Oliver County's backyard, officials said recently.


Hello, I am new to the forum and hoping to seek guidance. In 2011 I had a tenant that failed to pay rent, I was able at that time to hire an attorney to assist with eviction and second cause. I am no longer able to hire an attorney but here is the scenario. In 2011 the eviction and second cause filed, tenants appeared and were already out of the home. The judge asked if we wanted to proceed with second cause for monetary damages and my attorney said we do not request a second cause, we simply wanted access to the home. Am I able to file a suit against those tenants to collect unpaid rent if my attorney at the time indicated that we did no during the eviction hearing when asked if we wanted to proceed with second cause?
Is this a new case, or are you asking if you can go back to those same people now and ask for money from a case that has been settled since 2011? If you are asking to get money from the 2011 case, no, you already decided not to pursue that.


text:
Although the first hospital building at Hills Road was opened by the Queen in 1962 most of the beds and service facilities remained at Trumpington Street until the early 1970's. The building of what was known as Stage Two at Hills Road was begun in 1968 and it was about then that Sir Frank Lee who was vice Chairman of the Board of Governors suggested that a Development Trust should be set up, the control of which would be independent of the Exchequer. Its objectives were to finance the provision of recreational facilities for the staff, of improved facilities for patients and their relatives, and the funding of medical research.
After discussions with the then Mr. Francis Pemberton and the Board of Governors, an appeal committee was set up which later became the Board of Trustees. There was a great deal of enthusiasm for the project since Addenbrooke's was the only new teaching hospital in the UK building on a virgin site; the two and a half acres for the recreation centre had been given by the Pemberton Trust to the Development Trust and no other hospital was able to contemplate the provision of such facilities for its staff. A lot of staff, members of the Board of Governors and members of the general public worked hard to raise funds. Raffles, bring and buy sales and public appeals were launched and a retired accountant was appointed as an appeal organiser (his salary was paid by the Pemberton Trustees). In the space of about eighteen months enough money was raised - about £170,000 - to enable the first part of the Frank Lee Centre to be built. This comprised a swimming pool, two squash courts and most important, a general purpose room and bar. As well, two tennis courts were included which were paid for from the small allocation of NHS capital funds provided for staff recreation out of the Stage Two funding. It should also be recorded that Cambridge University made a significant contribution in respect of its students' use of the proposed Centre and the Medical Research Council made a loan.
At this point I should say something about the originator of scheme, Sir Frank Lee. He was vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the United Cambridge Hospitals (that is all the hospitals in Cambridge with the exception of Fulbourn Hospital) from 1967 until his death in 1971. He had been Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury and on his retirement from the Civil Service in, I think, 1966, he was elected Master of Corpus Christi College. He was a very wise man, and of course extremely experienced in the ways of Government. We were lucky to be able to recruit him as a member of the Board and he brought not only experience but much humanity; he had a great awareness of what ought, and could be done to help those who worked in stressful jobs. Sadly he died in office in 1971 and Sir Francis succeeded him as Chairman of the Development Trust; he steered through the completion of the first components of the Frank Lee Centre which was opened by Lady Kathleen Lee in 1972. As a tribute to the memory of Sir Frank the main contractors of the new Hospital, Mowlems, commissioned the plaque in the entrance hall of the Frank Lee Centre.
With the bar, swimming pool and squash courts completed a committee was set up by all those eligible to become members of the social club and therefore able to use the facilities. Those eligible were, and still are, all those members of the staff of the authorities permanently based on the site at Hills Road, together with the staff of the other hospitals in Cambridge not at Hills Road. This latter group included the maternity hospital at Mill Road, Brookfields Hospital and Douglas House all of which were destined to move to the new site in due course. Within a fairly short space of time other categories of membership were devised, namely associate members, that is partners of full members, retired members and, later, honorary members. This latter category was reserved for those who had given substantial voluntary service to the Club.
The Social Club was responsible to the Trustees who gave the Club a fairly free rein to run the Frank Lee Centre as they judged best. The Trustees were principally concerned on two matters; 1 - that membership was confined to those entitled to have it as I have defined above, and 2 - that membership fees were not raised to the extent that less well paid members of staff would be discouraged from joining. In those days this category was particularly student nurses whom the Trustees believed were among the most deserving of the new facilities available but the principle remains that all staff should be encouraged to join.
A great deal of entirely voluntary work was done be those elected to run the Club and as a result the Centre prospered. Income rose, donations were received and as all the 'profits' were only available for use for Club purposes the Trustees were able to begin an expansion programme. First to be added was the badminton hall which was of course available for multiple uses. This was followed by two further squash courts (one was subsequently removed when Profiles was built) the Hexagon extension with its own bar, and this was followed by the enlarging of the kitchen and the provision of the snooker room and further toilet facilities. Inevitably as the Centre grew staff were required to run it on the extended hours that were necessary to fulfil demand. A Manager was the first of these appointments, the first being in post from I think about 1980; other staff soon followed.
The structure of the management of the Frank Lee Centre had its most significant change when Hexagon PLC was set up as a company under-written by the Trustees to administer the facility. The staff of those working on the Hills Road Site remained as an advisory body to reflect staff views and needs and a Manager was appointed by the Company to run the Centre as a business within the original aims of the Trust. If there is a common thread running through this brief description of the history of the Frank Lee Centre it is that there has always been change, and probably always will be change. It is a tribute to Sir Frank that the original objectives which he set were such that these changes could be absorbed whilst the recreational facilities continued to grow in the Centre named after him.
Graham Cannon


text: Q: AngularJS lazy loading components with ngNewRoute I want to make an application that uses AngularJS new router. I decided to wrap every component to a new module and lazily load the component (module, controller and template) with ocLazyLoad when user changed the route to that component. I think I have to load module with ocLazyLoad but don't know where to write this code!


text:
Home | News | Indonesian news
Indonesia: Google, Twitter Agree to Tighten Content Monitoring
Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata
Rudiantara, (fourth from right), and Ann Lavin (to his right), Google's director for public policy and government affairs in Southeast Asia and Greater China, answer questions during a news conference in Jakarta, Aug. 4, 2017.
Courtesy of Ministry of Communications and Information
Indonesian officials said Friday that Google, the operator of YouTube, and Twitter had agreed to tighten monitoring by allowing selected users to flag material deemed as being linked to terrorism.
Indonesia, a Muslim-majority nation of 260 million people, is a prolific user of social media, including YouTube, which is owned by Google. Government officials in recent years have warned that terrorist organizations like Islamic State (IS) were using such online platforms to spread propaganda and recruit young Indonesians to its violent cause.
This week alone, Indonesian officials held separate meetings with executives from four of the globe's tech giants – Google, Twitter, Telegram and Facebook – to discuss ways in which these firms could help the Southeast Asian nation flag problematic content.
After the meeting with Google representatives in Jakarta on Friday, Rudiantara, Indonesia's minister of Communications and Information, told reporters that Silicon Valley firm and ministry "have agreed to implement a new system called 'trusted flagger'" during the next two to three months for YouTube only.
He issued the statement after meeting with Ann Lavin, Google's director for public policy and government affairs in Southeast Asia and Greater China, and other representatives of the search engine.
Lavin, who also attended a post-meeting news conference, said the flagger system was running in France, Germany, Britain and the United States.
"With the trusted flagger program, we're working even more closely with highly sensitive, well-trained users to flag the problematic content so we can move even faster," Lavin said.
Indonesia would be the first Southeast Asia nation to adopt the program allowing a panel of non-governmental organizations and other trusted groups to alert Google to questionable YouTube content.
The flagging system will be limited to YouTube and will not apply to Google's search engine, Rudiantara told Bloomberg news service.
Lavin said the screening process would be transparent and Google would issue a public report every six months revealing details of flagged data.
Rudiantara separately discussed the issue of "negative content" on Friday with Kathleen Reen, Twitter's Asia Pacific director for public policy and philanthropy.
The two shared ideas about countering content related to radicalism, terrorism, drug abuse and child pornography, officials said.
Semuel Pangerapan, director-general of the Communications Ministry, told reporters that the reporting system on Twitter would be similar to the Google flagger system.
"In addition to providing special access, Twitter will speed up the request of the Ministry of Communications and Information related to various types of negative contents, especially in handling the content of radicalism and terrorism," he said.
Flagged content would be removed within an hour to 24 hours, Semuel said.
Eradicating propaganda
Friday's announcements followed a similar one on Tuesday when the government agreed to unblock almost a dozen domain names used by the encrypted messaging service Telegram, after company founder Pavel Durov promised to eradicate terrorist propaganda and content.
Indonesia blocked 11 domain names belonging to Telegram last month after collecting evidence that many channels on the messaging app had been promoting extremist ideologies, including some linked to the extremist group IS.
On Wednesday, Rudiantara met Jeff Wu, Facebook's Asia Pacific Representative, and received assurances that the social-networking giant would include a new feature called "geoblocking" on its pages, allowing users to flag negative content, Semuel said.
He said negative content would include material considered to be pornographic, radical, terrorist, hateful speech as well as fake accounts and fake news.
"There is special content that will not be accessible in Indonesia with the existence of this geoblocking feature," Semuel said.
He said Facebook, which has an estimated 80 million users in Indonesia, would improve its procedure of handling complaints about negative content by hiring employees based in Jakarta.
Threatening to infringe
Such moves by the government to crackdown on content deemed as problematic online alarmed human rights activists, who warned that this threatened to infringe on free speech.
"The government has exceeded its authority," the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) said in a statement last month.
Indonesia is a major source of digital advertising revenue for Google and Facebook. Tax officials have been quoted in local reports as saying that the two online giants accounted for about 70 percent of the U.S. $830 million in estimated online revenue from the country in 2015.
Two months ago, Indonesia reached a tax settlement with Google for 2016 after senior tax officials said they planned to pursue the company for five years of back taxes, which could include a bill of more than $400 million for 2015 alone, Reuters reported.
Officials declined to disclose the figure in the settlement.
Marathon meetings
He said negative content would include pornography, radicalism, terrorism, fake accounts, hoax news and hate speech.
Indonesian VP Calls on Tech Industry to Join Drive for Safer Internet
US Commits More Intelligence Money for Philippines, Manila Says
Indonesian Authorities Uncover Plot to Attack Police District HQ
Indonesian Military Dismisses Papuan Rebel Leader's Claim of Unified Army
Eight Chinese Nationals among Human Trafficking Suspects Arrested in Indonesia
Indonesia Inaction on Uyghurs Reflects Non-Interference Stance, China Cultivation of Islamic Groups


This year we have been experimenting with different processing methods for our decaf offering, and, for the first time, have a Yellow Honey process decaf from the Peralta family in Neuva Segovia, northern Nicaragua.
that continues to prove successful, especially with the microlots that we continue to buy, yearon-year. For our honey process decaf, we've sourced coffees from two of the Peralta farms in the Dipilto and Jalapa mountain range.
involves setting the pulping machine to remove around 50% of the mucilage.
After ripe cherries are handpicked and sorted between December and March. There is a wet mill on the farm where the ripe red cherry is deposited and weighed from each picker. The cherries then enter flotation tanks where ripes and un-ripes are separated by density. The selected cherries are then pulped in a Penagos eco-pulper to remove the skin from each fruit, the water is recycled and reused in this process before entering oxidation ponds to remove bi-products. The sticky pulped beans then enter fermentation tanks for between 14 and 18 hours before being washed in channels. The washed beans are then taken to the drying patios at the nearby mill of San Ignacio where they are regularly turned by rake to ensure good, even drying. The overall drying process will take around 10 to 12 days.


You can see all default categories and sub-categories.
The black exclamation mark only appears if you are in Joomla! 3.x it allows you to rearrange the subcategories within their parent category. You cannot put "SubCat1" in "Category 2" but you can order "SubCat3" before "SubCat1" by dragging the black exclamation mark up or down.
You can see pictures assigned to each category and a button ads.
Clicking on the button ads in the first row redirects to the page list of ads in administration filtered to display the chosen category.
This view is pretty simple to understand and very similar to create a category in Joomla!
Give the category a title, location, picture (check out limitations here) and a description.
You can assign keywords here whether they are published.
You can set a limit of ads per user for your category, you just have to fill the field with the limited number that you want.
The -1 value is a unlimited number of ads.
You can also limit the access of your categories to a chosen user groups.
Two options are available, 'Read' will limit the read access of the category to the users in the authorized groups, 'Write' will limit the write access of the category to the users in the authorized groups.
Congratulations, you have just created a new category!


For the last few years, activists and employment experts have publicized the date that we hit "Equal Pay Day" in America – the date that women would have to work through from the previous year, to make the same amount their male colleagues did. This year, the "holiday" – if you want to call it that – falls on April 2.
March is Women's History Month, and on March 9th, Serrins & Associates was proud to attend the #NYCForWomen forum held at John Jay College, which featured a variety of panels and speakers looking at the state of women's rights and equality. You can take a look at some highlights and photos from the event here.
The event was sponsored and organized jointly by the John Jay College departments of Africana Studies, Gender Studies, and External Affairs, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights.


The start of a New Year is an exciting time for merchants. It welcomes change while also introducing opportunities… and of course, allows for new goals, new expectations and new standards to be put in place. Among them? Making 2018 your best year yet as a merchant. To help? Consider the below five tips.
The human touch is undoubtedly a powerful tool when it comes to small businesses – particularly retailers who truly come to life thanks to the personalities and hard work that their owners offer. This said, human touch alone cannot capture, identify and react to all the necessary details that help a retailer be both successful and profitable. Data, however, combined with the unique human touch is a powerful duo. By incorporating data into your business decisions, you can strengthen your marketing efforts, employee management, inventory evaluations and all other aspects that influence your business. Fortunately, obtaining data is easy for businesses large and small these days – with no shortage of companies offering valuable data solutions specifically for retailers. Among them? This list of ten must know tech driven and data focused companies here.
A recent article by Forbes explained that "digital and physical touchpoints now must work together flawlessly – yet also do what each touchpoint does best on its own." Keeping this in mind, 2018 is no longer the year to say 'one day' but rather make it part of your immediate new year strategy to create consistent brand experiences across all touchpoints that your brand is represented. From your website to your social media to your email marketing, text messaging strategies and of course, in-store, your store should be represented in a consistent effort across all channels while also standing strong in each unique platform.
Gone are the days where only one store in town offered what customers needed. Competition – as you already know – is tough, therefore retailers must aim to make their store memorable during all consumer touchpoints. From social media to email marketing to in-store experiences, aim to please in 2018 so that your customers will remember your store among all others when it's time for them to make a purchase decision. A good way to challenge yourself as you strive to do this? Ask yourself if what you're delivering in terms of customer service, product assortment, merchandising, in-store events, online engagement, employee standards and all other factors that influence your business are worth bragging to friends about. If not, re-consider your efforts.
Data is certainly influential for businesses, but data alone cannot strengthen retailer efforts in 2018. Combined with artificial intelligence, however, retailers savvy enough to use AI in their strategies will be well positioned to react and support their target audiences. As retail expert Nikki Baird explains, "AI is really an umbrella term for three distinct capabilities: machine learning, natural language processing and optimization." When you keep this in mind, consider how AI can enhance your customer support, inventory management and operational decisions. Added insight is always appealing to businesses – so make sure AI is something you consider incorporating into your own retail efforts in 2018.
Good or bad, right or wrong… Brick and mortar retailers sometimes think that when they sell online, they're selling out. Yet if you perceive your physical storefront as a warehouse space in addition to a community contribution, you suddenly open another avenue of selling inventory and thus, increasing your store sales. By selling your store inventory online, you welcome new ways to increase store revenue, reach new customers and turn-over your inventory faster. To help do this, be sure to incorporate smart shipping strategies into your online sales business – such as leaning on resources that include ShipStation and Refund Retriever – as well as managing your inventory sell-thru via a POS that integrates in-store and online sales. These efforts may take some initial time to get set up, but ultimately your reward will be welcoming increased sales opportunities. In the New Year be sure to embrace the changing habits of consumers. It's important to stay aware of consumer expectations as the retail landscape continues to evolve – ultimately helping your store thrive in a 2018 and beyond.


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Q: QTableView, glitch on showing hidden rows I'm not sure either it's some kind of bug\glitch or I'm doing something wrong.
I have some hidden rows in the table and on click I want them to appear but result you can see on the picture below.

This effect occurs only when slider is scrolled till the end. Glitch disappears if I change focus to another window or when I scroll table up until it goes out of view.
Here is my code:
connect(tableView_, SIGNAL(clicked(const QModelIndex &)), this,
    SLOT(onTableClicked(const QModelIndex &)));

for(int i = 0; i < table_->rowCount(); i++)
{
    if(i%table_->typesNumber())
        tableView_->hideRow(i);
}

...

void DumpsComparisonWindow::onTableClicked(const QModelIndex& index)
{
   ...
   tableView_->showRow(index.row() + i);
   ...
}

UPDATE: to make it possible to test I have created cut version of my project, you can find it here: https://gitlab.com/JuicyPussy/qtableview_glitch

A: After showing or hiding any rows make the model notify about the change in the layout to all views. You do that by calling layoutChanged.
void DumpsComparisonWindow::onTableClicked(const QModelIndex& index)
{
   ...
   tableView_->showRow(index.row() + i);
   ...
   table_->layoutChanged(); //add this
}


Inuutsiarit is a very distinctive and impressive song. Inuuqatik, with nine tracks released by Inukshuk Productions in spring of 1997. Charlie Ningiuk – originally from Iqaluit, now living in Inukjuak – covers progressive rock for the most part, and is easy to listen to. There's a nice fuzz-guitar sound throughout this well-recorded CD.


Set immediately after Last Man Standing.
Gibbs goes to see Ducky to share his real thoughts about what has happened.
Written: September 2008. Word count: 1,000.
"Hey, Duck," Jethro strode into Autopsy and looked around. "Palmer gone for the day?"
"Yes. I sent him home and reminded him of his promise to you. I am so very sorry, Jethro. I should have -"
Jethro put his hand on Ducky's shoulder. "Not your fault, Duck."
"Maybe not, but - May I offer you a drink?"
Ducky opened his desk drawer and took out a bottle of Thamdu and two glasses. He poured two healthy measures and handed one to Jethro who'd perched on the edge of his desk.
"Thanks, Duck." Jethro took a large swallow. "It's good."
Ducky sipped his and waited for a moment before speaking. "It came as a surprise to learn Agent Langer was guilty of murder and blackmail. I would never have believed it."
Jethro shook his head. "He wasn't."
"Jethro? What do you mean?"
"Wasn't Langer. I'm sure it wasn't."
Ducky leaned back in his chair slightly and looked up at Jethro as he considered his words. "Are you quite certain you're not letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment?"
Jethro shook his head. "No," he said, his tone grim. "I'm not, Duck. It was all too convenient, too slick. My gut didn't like it at the time and the more I think about it, the more sure I am. We both worked with Langer. We knew him."
"I know that, but people aren't always what they seem." It wasn't that Ducky didn't believe Jethro; he did. He had been shocked when he'd heard the news. However, he played Devil's Advocate.
Jethro flashed him a half-smile. "Know that, Duck. But I did know Langer. It wasn't him."
"Who do you believe is the real blackmailer, then? Agent Lee or Agent Keating? Or someone else entirely?"
"Not sure, Duck. But I know one thing: for someone who can't shoot, Lee did a damned good job of shooting Langer. Keep her lack of shooting abilities in mind when you Autopsy him."
Ducky touched Jethro's hand. "Of course I will. But, Jethro, you can't possibly think -"
"But that would make her a . . ." Even though he knew women could and did kill, Ducky's chivalrous side clicked in. He was unable to say the word 'murderer'.
"Murderer? Yeah, it would - and not just the once. The pillow wasn't used to mask the sound of the gun. It was used to cover Vargo's face. Whoever shot Vargo couldn't look at him while they did it. That sound like Brent Langer to you?"
"Well, no. I confess it does not. But, Jethro, if it's wasn't Langer, why then did Agent Lee shoot him?"
"Guess we'll never know for sure, Duck. Maybe he suspected her and she saw it and had no choice but to kill him. Maybe it isn't her. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. They knew they shouldn't be there; they'd have been on edge, wary. Maybe Langer heard something, or thought he did, reached for his gun and Lee misinterpreted it."
"Except," Ducky said slowly, "I understand from Timothy that when Agent Lee called you for help, she was clearly distressed and there were sounds of gunfire. If it were neither of them, I cannot believe Brent would have shot at her."
"Nor can I. So either it is Lee or someone else was in the room. Langer saw them, drew his weapon - "
"And Agent Lee saw that, wasn't aware of the other person, so fired at Brent and the other person was firing at her."
Jethro shook his head. "And she went on not knowing someone else was in the room? Nah, Duck. She's not that bad an agent. Even she'd know the difference in direction of gunfire."
"Not necessarily. As you say she is not an experienced shooter, she was scared, the noise could have been reverberating and she panicked. And -"
"You defending her, Duck?" Jethro looked slightly bemused as he stared down at Ducky.
"No, my dear. Merely playing Devil's Advocate and responding as someone who doesn't know you, someone who is legally representing Agent Lee, might."
Jethro smiled. "Yeah. I know." He drained the rest of his scotch. "Thanks for the drink, Duck. I better get back upstairs."
"Jethro, do you really believe it was Agent Lee?"
Jethro shrugged. "Don't know, Duck. I'm not sure. Part of me says it's the only explanation. Part of me says it's ridiculous to even consider her. But there's something about her that's tripped my gut. Not enough to say for sure, but there's something. And there's something else."
"I don't believe she's working alone."
"Who else do you suspect?" Ducky looked at his friend. "Oh, Jethro, not Mr. Palmer."
Jethro squeezed Ducky's shoulder. "Not knowingly, no. But if he was speaking the truth earlier about feeling used by her, and I think he was, he's like McGee, he doesn't know how to lie, then unwittingly he could somehow be involved."
"But you said he assured you the relationship was over."
"Yeah. But they were lovers for several months. And Palmer's the kind who connects with people. If Lee asked for his help, he'd give it. And he probably wouldn't ask too many questions. Keep an eye on him, Duck. Let me know if you hear anything or if something doesn't feel right. Palmer's a good kid."
"He is indeed and he's a very good assistant. I'm very fond of him."
"Know that, Duck." Jethro smiled.
"If we rule Jimmy out then who could it be?"
Jethro stood up. "Put it this way, Duck, I'm not sure I fully trust our new director."
Ducky stood up too and moved a step nearer to Jethro. He gazed up at him and read the grim look in the dark eyes. "Oh, Jethro," he said softly.
"Yeah. Got to go, Duck. See you later." With those words, Jethro turned and left Autopsy.
"Oh, dear me," Ducky said softly as he watched Jethro leave. "Not again."


text:
AfterNow - The Book and Our Services
Jeff Atiken
By Bob Stilger February 17, 2018
Bob's wisdom shines thru these stories and frameworks - witnessing, supporting, cohosting in communities whose future is suddenly uncertain. Which increasingly is true for all of us. Wicked questions and vital lessons here!Jeff
Jeff Aitken
California Art of Hosting Community
Bob Stilger
Bob Stilger is the Founder and now one of the Illuminators at New Stories, a nonprofit that uses the power of story to help people regenerate community. After leading a local community development corporation in Spokane, Washington for 25 years, Bob's work has stretched to many parts of the world including Japan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Brazil, Australia. Co-President of The Berkana Institute from 2005-2009, Bob has a PhD in Learning and Change in Human Systems from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Since 2010 he has done extensive work in Japan, introducing collaborative spaces called "Future Sessions" as well as many participatory leadership processes. Eiji Press of Tokyo published "AfterNow: When We Cannot See the Future, Where Do We Begin" in June, 2015. New Stories published the English Edition in 2017. The current focus of Bob's work is helping communities regenerate after disaster strikes.