This easy vegan plum cake is very fluffy with hints of vanilla and orange. It only takes 15 minutes to prep and is a one bowl wonder cake!
Preheat oven to 355°F and grease and line a 8-inch round cake tin with grease proof paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on, cream the vegan butter, sweetener, vanilla extract and orange zest until pale and creamy. About 1-2 minutes.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and gently mix in until it's just incorporated. Add in the milk and mix again to combine. Pour cake batter into the prepared tin and arrange the plum halves around the cake, gently pushing each one in.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin before serving.
After you sift the flour in, you need to gently mix it in until it's just combined. If you over-mix, the gluten in the flour will begin to activate and that will lead to a tougher, less fluffier cake. So mix until that last bit of flour has disappeared and then add the milk. Again, mix until the milk has just combined and then stop.
Per Serving: Calories: 163 | Carbs: 17g | Fat: 9g | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 108mg | Sugar: 4g Note: The information shown is based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Simple, great-tasting desserts that are perfect for sharing.
I am the recipe creator, photographer, blog writer and publisher for my site. I'm passionate about veganism, food, and health so I have chosen to bake using healthy ingredients because I believe that you should be able to eat everything guilt free! My aim is simple, to create great tasting vegan desserts that you can replicate and serve to your friends and family.


Brand engagement and leadership specialist Cirrus has boosted its digital department with the appointment of three former Custard Media employees.
Anthony Brushwood, Andy Holland and Tim Daniel have all moved to Cheshire-based Cirrus from Custard.
Damon Evans has also joined Cirrus from TBWA as a senior developer.
Carol Smith, Cirrus's brand communications MD, added: "These appointments mean we are in an even stronger position to deliver the same high levels of quality, creativity and efficiency whatever the channel."
Cirrus works with clients Bupa, Breville, Brother and Marks & Spencer.


I'd like to think that I am a compassionate person. However, I've spent time examining some of my responses to friends when they've suffered or struggled through difficult circumstances and I've realized the depth of my compassion can be very shallow at times.
The word [compassion] comes from roots that mean literally to "suffer with."' To show compassion means sharing in the suffering "passion" of another. Compassion understood this way asks more from us than a mere stirring of pity or a sympathetic word.
To live with compassion means to enter others' dark moments. It is to walk into places of pain, not to flinch or look away when another agonizes. It means to stay where people suffer.
We try to help our friends quickly process grief…All the while however, we act less out of genuine suffering with and more out of the need to stand back from the discomfort we might feel…Our hesitation to look squarely at another's suffering, to sit or stand with someone in pain, weighs on conversations an obligation for the other to "act happy"…Our evasions do not help others but rather cause them to put up defenses and drive away those who need someone to care. By offering premature advice on how to cope, by rushing to reassure, by prodding with advice, we say much about our need for easy closure. When we barge in with such consolation, we make hurting souls into objects or projects.
One reason we react to others this way grows out of our skirting of our pain. We resist getting near the suffering of another partly our of our unwillingness to suffer ourselves. For another's hardship suggests to us what can also hurt us.
As I've reflected on Nouwen's words I've come to the conclusion that I often lack compassion because I do not suffer well. When suffering comes my way I am slow to accept the trial and quick to complain. If I cannot embrace my own suffering and difficulties then how can I sit with someone else in the midst of their suffering and pain. I'd never made this correlation before but it does makes sense. Those who embrace their own pain and suffering (like Jesus) are better able to show compassion, better able to suffer with others in the midst of their pain.
I am hesitant to even write this next sentence because of what it implies.
Father, help me to be more compassionate.
It is good that everything is not always to our liking; for adversity makes people look into their hearts in order to realize that they are exiles and must not put their hopes in any worldly thing.
It is good for us to run into opposition and to have others think badly of us, even when our intentions are good. For these things help us to be humble and rid us of pride. Then we seek God more earnestly, Who alone knows our inmost self, when outwardly we are ignored and discredited by others.
Therefore, people should rely so entirely on God that they have no need to look for human consolations when adversity comes. When people of good disposition are afflicted…then they understand the need they have of God that without Him they can do nothing.
Then too they grieve, while they sigh and pray because of the miseries they endure. They grow weary of this life and long for death in order to be with Christ, their Lord. It will also be clear to them that there is neither perfect peace nor security in this world.
But over the years I've learned and still am learning something. While I desperately need His grace when I sin and fall short of living the ideal of a life fully surrendered and directed by the Holy Spirit, I also need His grace when life falls short of my ideals, hopes and expectations.
We all have ideals for our life. Many of these ideals we seek are "good." These hopes or ideals we have for our lives, our families and our friends are very often born out of virtue and the very nature of our created being and our vocations in life.
The man who desires to provide for and protect his family.
The missionary who wants nothing more than to care for the poor and feed the hungry in her midst.
The woman who longs to carry a child in her womb.
We hold onto our ideals. We dare to hope for what is good. All the while knowing that we live in an imperfect, fallen world; a world where often the distance between our hopes and reality is marked by disappointment.
This disappointment of the man or woman who never dreamed they'd end up divorced.
The disappointment of the parent whose wayward child is off doing a Prodigal Son tour.
The disappointment of the one who gives up their personal dreams to serve and take care of a sick relative.
The disappointment of the widower who loses his beloved and must live the rest of his days without her.
When our disappointments are rooted in an unfullfilled desire for something that is essentially good it can be especially difficult. It's at times like these, when life is less than our ideal, less than perfect, that we need God's grace.
We need grace to live with disappointments and still hold out hope for what is good and virtuous.
We need grace to offer up our disappointments as a sacrifice and see them as part of living in this fallen world and sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings.
We also need grace to see that sometimes our loss or disappointment can be a gift of grace itself.
It may well be the grace we need in order to allow the Holy Spirit to align our ideals, hopes, and dreams with his will and ways. Or, our loss or disappointment may be the grace we need to see a sin that we didn't even realize we'd latched onto.
Big or small, our disappointments, our losses and sufferings make up the landscape of grace in our lives. Sometimes it's hard to see the beauty of this landscape. We're so focused on a specific disappointment or loss that we can't see the forest for the trees. But if we are patient and we keep our gaze on him, we will eventually see the big picture and appreciate the grace of an imperfect life.
You are currently browsing the archives for the Dealing with adversity and pain category.


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Country Report Ethiopia
Ethiopia continues to record robust growth. However, the state-led development model is con-straining the private sector and has resulted, from time to time, in macroeconomic imbalances, and therefore seems unsustainable in the long term.
June 13, 2014 Economic Report Dutch version
The ill-advised rigidity of the 2% inflation target
Our macroeconomic policy is largely based on the theory mainly developed in the post-war years. This also applies to the inflation target of 2% set by the central banks although this target is not strongly empirically founded.
Country Report Nigeria
After a rebasing exercise, Nigeria became the largest economy of Africa. However, this does not reduce Nigeria's large structural issues, and instability and violence could worsen ahead of elections in 2015.
Country Report Egypt
A generous financial lifeline from the GCC countries kept the Egyptian economy afloat in 2013 and will do so again in 2014. However, persistent polarisation of the Egyptian society makes the country's future highly uncertain.
Country Report China
China's housing market has been weakening recently, but exports seem to do rather well. The latest PMIs suggest the country should be able to avoid a hard landing.
Country Report Croatia
Croatia's economy is heading for its sixth year of recession, as ongoing deleveraging efforts and structural weaknesses depress growth. Amid worrying public debt dynamics, Croatia's government increased its fiscal consolidation efforts and adopted some structural reforms.
Economic growth in 14Q1 was slightly disappointing, but Mexico's economic outlook is improving considerably, as almost all intended structural reforms are approved. The most important one –energy- is likely to be approved soon.
Country Report Russia
Due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Russia's economy deteriorated; growth fell and the Ruble depreciated. In recent weeks the situation has improved, but risks remain to the downsize, as we may not exclude additional sanctions from the west.
Country Report Aruba
Although Aruba's economy grew again in 2013 its economic outlook remains bleak. Government finances in particular are a reason for concern, as Aruba's deficit is still large, its debt level high and control over public finances weak.
Country Report Indonesia
The policy focus in Indonesia is on macroeconomic stabilisation, while protectionist policies have been implemented in the past months. Growth is expected to slow to 5.4% in 2014. No major new structural reforms are expected from the next government.
Erwin Blaauw
Country Report Czech Republic
The Czech Republic's economy is heading for a relatively broad-based recovery, after it emerged from an 18-month recession last year. On the political front, early elections following a major corruption scandal yielded a less eurosceptical cabinet.
Country Report Philippines
The institutional quality of the Philippines has improved in recent years, while growth has been relatively high. On the political front, the peace agreement with the MILF bodes well for stability, but relations with China remain poor.
Country Report Serbia
Serbia's newly-elected government promised to embark on a comprehensive structural reform programme as the country's fiscal situation has deteriorated markedly, but the prospect of faltering economic growth could confront it with considerable social challenges.
Country Report Thailand
After the May 22 coup, Thailand is under military control. The risk of large and violent protests remains present. The democracy is unlikely to be restored in the short-term. Whilst in control, the military aims to restore economic growth.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Tag: Jennifer Lawrence
Six Buzzy Moments From Last Night's Golden Globes
So the 2014 Golden Globe awards are over, but as per usual, the evening had its share of WTF/holy shit/GIF-able moments because booze. If you missed the show but want to pretend you didn't, here's what your friends are probably talking about today.
1. Jennifer Lawrence Videobombed Taylor Swift
Then she joked about pushing her down the stairs, during which Taylor gave a rare shoutout to her haters.
But then we found out JLaw and Taylor are actually pals who text on the regular, and suddenly the whole world made no sense at all.
2. One Network Got a Crash Course in 'Fun Facts'
During the red carpet show, someone at E! lost their damned minds and flashed this when Michael J. Fox was on camera:
Uhhhh that's not fun. That's not fun at all.
The gaffe quickly became a meme — and E! later issued a mea culpa, saying in a statement, "We regret the insensitive classification of Michael J Fox's Parkinson's diagnosis during our Eonline live stream. We understand the serious nature of the disease and sincerely apologize."
(Still no apology for "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," though.)
3. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Were Great. (Derp.)
Their second of at least three Globes hosting stints proved their brilliance last year wasn't a fluke. (But really, anyone familiar with either of them shouldn't be surprised.) Here are their best bits, courtesy of Vulture.
But if you can't watch that, this joke is the only one you need:
4. Jacqueline Bisset Seemed Like She'd Be Fun to Party With
Jacqueline Bisset's win for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Miniseries, or Movie for "Dancing on the Edge" was a stunner, but no one was more shocked than she was.
And after a trek to the stage that required GPS, a zip line and at least four Sherpas (srsly, Golden Globes, how's about next year we put the nominees up front instead of in a trailer in the parking lot), she gave a loopy, rambling speech that immediately made her a trending topic on Twitter.
5. Emma Thompson Became Everyone's Lord and Savior
Midway through the show, the typically very regal Emma Thompson took the stage to hand out a Globe. But with a martini glass in one hand and her Louboutins in the other, she gave off the air of someone who'd been forced to take a business call in the middle of a party. The number of effs she did not give was beyond measure.
I love her so.
http://youtu.be/wVOao5qt90U
6. Mia and Ronan Farrow Threw Shade at Woody Allen
None of them were even there, but when Woody Allen got a lifetime achievement award (accepted by Diane Keaton because Woody never shows up for these things), his ex Mia Farrow and her son Ronan (who's also legally Woody's son but everyone knows he's actually Frank Sinatra's kid) had a little something to say about it on Twitter.
Mia took the high road:
Time to grab some icecream & switch over to #GIRLS
— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) January 13, 2014
But Ronan? Mmmmmnot so much.
Missed the Woody Allen tribute – did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?
— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 13, 2014
And there you have it. (For a total wrap-up of all the night's events, this is a good place to start.)
Posted on January 13, 2014 February 24, 2014 Author Shauna WrightCategories Blabberings, Golden Globes, VideosTags Amy Poehler, Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift, Tina Fey
Jennifer Lawrence Beats Miley Cyrus for AP Entertainer of the Year — By One Vote
Even David Letterman wants to pet her
Human kitten calendar Jennifer Lawrence just gave us all one more reason to love her — she bested pop culture rerun Miley Cyrus by one vote to become the Associated Press Entertainer of the Year, thus sparing us the endlessly self-congratulatory string of tweets with which Cyrus would've otherwise honored herself.
The AP asked 70 US editors and news directors to choose the person or entity that had the "most influence" on entertainment and culture in 2013, and once the ballots were tallied, JLaw's 15 votes gave her first place, Cyrus was the runner-up with 14 votes, and Netflix took third with 13 votes (for "altering the TV landscape with its on-demand format and hit original series").
Lawrence — who started the year with an Academy Award for best actress, fueled a box-office franchise as "The Hunger Games" heroine Katniss Everdeen, and wrapped 2013 with a critically acclaimed performance in "American Hustle" that just earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations — charmed fans everywhere with her candid sincerity.
She was also a fashion darling — a muse for Dior — who made headlines with her pixie haircut.
Kristi Runyan of The Derrick and The News-Herald Newspapers in Oil City, Pa. wrote, "It's refreshing to see a young woman not squandering her talent and success by succumbing to the temptations many do in Hollywood and who actively speaks about the ridiculous behavior of some of her peers."
And speaking of such, Miley's counting down the days until her new video comes out and retweeting fans like this who hope to artificially inflate the viewer numbers to give her a new record. Because playing fair is for loooozers.
https://twitter.com/MySmilerSide/status/414858656359145473/
Posted on December 23, 2013 Author Shauna WrightCategories BlabberingsTags Jennifer Lawrence, Miley Cyrus
Here's Jennifer Lawrence Being Awesome. Again.
http://youtu.be/ZwWYlZmnma0
Newly-shorn Jennifer Lawrence was recently doing the red carpet thang at the London premiere of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" when she caught sight of a young female fan in a wheelchair crying. And because Jennifer Lawrence is made of class and compassion and peanut butter cups, she had security bust through the barriers so she could comfort the girl.
Look, you may be sick of hearing what a glittering gem Lawrence is, but it's shit like this that makes everyone love her. And the best part is that she's not doing it for show. She's kind and gorgeous and goofy and a dork all at once, with no pretension about her. Notice her or don't — she has few effs to give. She'll still be fabulous either way.
Posted on November 12, 2013 December 22, 2013 Author Shauna WrightCategories Badasses, Blabberings, Good Eggs, VideosTags Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence Boards the Pixie Cut Bandwagon
It's been pixie cut mania lately. First Pam Anderson lopped off her locks (and looked great), then Kristin Chenoweth followed suit — and now "Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence has gotten the same treatment.
J-Law posted the above to her official Facebook page with the caption:
Headed up north for #GLOBALFANDAY with The Hunger Games Catching Fire cast. Follow this page all day for updates!
As to be expected, she looks amazing — and not just because I've been enamored with pixie cuts since first seeing Dolores O'riordan in all those Cranberries videos in the early '90s.
Of course, this being Facebook and all, the peanut gallery erupted in fury, with bitchy 13-year-old girls saying things like "I prefer long hair Jen" and "your hair? NOOOO," but there's a reason those proletariats aren't cavorting around on Jen's magical pixie cut plane.
Keep doing what you're doing Jen. You have our full support.
Posted on November 6, 2013 November 6, 2013 Author Ryan AndersonCategories Blabberings, PhotosTags Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence Is Going to Eat Whether You Like It or Not
For the uninitiated, Jennifer Lawrence became everyone's fantasy BFF after proving how human she is during much of last year's awards season. At the Oscars alone, she spent part of her red carpet interview telling Ryan Seacrest she was hungry and asking where the food was. Then she won Best Actress and promptly face-planted on her way up the steps. And later, she gave a charmingly drunk interview to the press corps and launched a thousand GIFs after being visibly starstruck by Jack Nicholson.
The end result was that even the bitchiest of cynics (hi!) wanted to hug her and squeeze her and call her George.
She's been busy working lately so we haven't heard much from her, but some quotes from her new Harper's Bazaar UK interview (via Fishwrapper) are making the rounds and reminding us why we fell in love with her in the first place. Specifically this, about being called "fat" early in her career:
"I was young. It was just the kind of shit that actresses have to go through. Somebody told me I was fat, that I was going to get fired if I didn't lose a certain amount of weight. They brought in pictures of me where I was basically naked, and told me to use them as motivation for my diet. It was just that.
"[Someone who brought it up recently] thought that because of the way my career had gone, it wouldn't still hurt me. That somehow, after I won an Oscar, I'm above it all. 'You really still care about that?' Yeah. I was a little girl. I was hurt. It doesn't matter what accolades you get.
"I know it'll never happen to me again. If anybody even tries to whisper the word 'diet', I'm like, 'You can go fuck yourself.'"
Man. This girl.
Posted on October 3, 2013 October 3, 2013 Author Shauna WrightCategories Badasses, BlabberingsTags Jennifer Lawrence


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Apr 11 2013 Issue
Without the benefit of warm spring weather housing market sales declined
First-time buyers and the housing market
Thatcher and "Thatcherism"
"Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice
Wonderful world of whimsy
Prelude to the Battle of Kapyong — the prime minister in 1950 called for volunteers to serve in Korea War
The spring thaw has been delayed by unseasonably cold weather, and the same bitter temperatures are having a chilling effect on the spring housing market, according to statistics released by the WinnipegREALTORS® Association (WRA).
"Instead of March madness," said WRA president Richard Dettman, "it was March calmness with buyers noticeably absent from our MLS® market at this time of year."
With so much snow still on the ground, people aren't too prone to be thinking about buying or selling a home, he added.
The March statistics released by the WRA reveal a 26 per cent decrease in MLS® sales from the same month last year to 844 units, and a dollar volume drop of 15 per cent to $224.7 million.
"It's like we're still in the depths of winter rather than into spring," said Peter Squire, WRA's market analyst. "You also have to remember that last March was so warm that people were out on the golf course."
The sales figures for March were the lowest for the month since 1995, when the first version of the NHL Jets were playing at the Winnipeg Arena.
Dettman said lower sales also resulted from a chill in the intentions of first-time buyers.
"In looking more closely at what happened in March, the drop-off in buyer activity was three times greater in the first-time house ranges ($300,000 and below) than in the upper ones.
"In fact, our highest price range of over $500,000 clearly outperformed March 2012 in sales, less days on the market and having a higher sale price of $1.65 million for one property," added Dettman.
Unlike first-time buyers, Squire said move-up buyers have equity built up in an existing home, giving them an advantage when purchasing a home.
"Certainly, these buyers aren't going away," he added.
Dettman said the decrease in first-time buyers was influenced by changes to the mortgage rules by federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last July. The minister reduced the amortization period from 30 to 25 years, which increased monthly mortgage payments by about one per cent.
"First-time buyers now have less room to manoeuvre, because of the tightened mortgage rules," said Squire.
Year-to-date MLS® sales at the end of March were down 13 per cent to 2,156 units, as opposed to the 2,483 units sold during the same period in 2012. In addition, dollar volume MLS® sales dropped by six per cent to $550.4 million. During the same period in 2012, $589 million in sales were recorded.
But Dettman cautioned not to read too much into the decline in sales.
"Good or bad," said Dettman, "we do not over react either way, as one month does not make a trend, so we will be watching April very closely to see if the spring thaw brings more buyers out of the woodwork, and MLS® sales are more in line with our expectations."
Traditionally, the months of April and May have been the busiest for the local housing market.
While there has been a pause in buying intentions, the active inventory of listings was up four per cent by the end of March over the same period last year.
"It helps to restore some supply-balance to what has been one of the tightest resale housing markets in the country," added Dettman. "This development should be viewed favourably by buyers feeling unduly pressured by a lack of listings."
"Our inventory is in good shape," said Squire.
The only uncertainty is flooding, he added. "In bad years, listings have dropped in the more flood prone areas of rural Manitoba."


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Ironwood to discontinue IW-3718 development programme
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has decided to discontinue the IW-3718 development programme after the Phase III IW-3718-302 trial missed its primary endpoint in refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients.
IW-3718 is an experimental gastric-retentive formulation of colesevelam. Credit: James Yarema on Unsplash.
The drug candidate failed to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in heartburn severity.
IW-3718 is a gastric-retentive formulation of colesevelam. It is designed to maintain bile-acid sequestrant in the stomach for a longer duration, where it was positioned to stop bile prior to reaching the oesophagus.
An independent data monitoring committee reviewed data from IW-3718-302 and found that the study failed to meet the necessary criteria. The drug candidate was generally well-tolerated in trial participants.
Based on these results, the company intends to halt IW-3718 development. This includes termination of enrolment in IW-3718-301, another Phase III trial assessing the investigational drug.
The company is also planning an organisational restructuring and cutting down of the current workforce by almost 35%.
The company also intends to decrease the headcount by about 100, to have approximately 210 full-time employees by the first quarter of next year.
With workforce reduction, Ironwood estimates to save at least $45m annually and around $50m by discontinuing the IW-3718 programme. Cost savings achieved through this restructuring would total to more than $95m.
Ironwood anticipates one-time costs of approximately $10-$12m associated with discontinuing development of IW-3718, mainly due to planned workforce reduction.
Anticipating economic challenges related to Covid-19, Ironwood plans to restructure its commercial organisation.
It will focus on maximising the commercialisation of Linzess, a treatment for patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC).
Ironwood CEO Mark Mallon said: "We have made the difficult decision to re-align our resources and capital with our business moving forward.
"With a streamlined organisation that we believe will be positioned well to deliver in this current environment, we aim to continue our efforts to maximise Linzess and to drive further growth and profitability."
In May last year, Ironwood and Allergan reported results of Phase IIIb clinical trial of Linzess on multiple abdominal symptoms in adult patients with IBS-C.
Jeeva Informatics Solutions
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Keio University traces its beginnings to the original Keio Gijuku, an institution of Western learning unlike any other in Japan in its time. Founder Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835–1901) was a man of uncommon courage, vision, and wisdom who defied the established powers of the time and pursued knowledge above all else, endeavoring to understand the society and morals of 19th century civilization in Europe and North America. His beliefs were very progressive in a Japan that was just beginning to awake from centuries of isolation. His convictions and deeds made an indelible mark on the country that would, barely more than a century later, become the second-largest economic power in the free world.


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Wawsearch.com is a website associated with various Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) and Malware that modify existing internet browser settings. An internet browser infected with cooperative and native PUPs and malware will redirect to wawsearch.com when a new browser window is opened, a new tab is opened, or a search is orchestrated in the address bar.
Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) and Malware associated with Wawsearch.com aggressively take over existing Internet Browser settings without user consent or knowledge. The browser hijacker will replace the search settings of each browser installed on the machine simultaneously in order to cause affected Internet Browsers to start-up on and redirect to a webpage on http://www.wawsearch.com/ during certain circumstances.
Browser affected by this infection will have their home page, new tab page, default search engine, and browser shortcut replaced and this will cause affected browsers to start-up on the website and redirect to the website when a search is manually performed by the user in the address bar, a new browser window is opened, or a new browser tab is opened.
In addition to the initial symptoms of this occurrence, third-party advertising platforms and download managers that distribute this infection will advertise and bundle the initial threat with other rogue programs, Malware, and malicious files.
Items that are used to modify existing Internet Browser settings (including Windows programs and browser attachments) are typically bolstered by malicious advertising platforms on prohibited websites and websites that deceptively offer free programs and rogue download managers.
The infection can be introduced to a computer via third-party freeware, shareware, plugins, dubious torrent files, and dubious game patch files. Downloading free programs online can often result in PUPs, Malware, Adware, Spyware, and other threats infecting the computer system. Even if a program is commonly used by many people and well-known such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Word and infection can still occur depending on the distribution location. That is why it is recommended to download programs like Google Chrome from the developer's website and not a third-party website.
The infection may also be introduced to a machine by deceptive advertising methods. Some advertisements embedded by third-party websites and download managers claim that the program is something it is not in order to trick users to install it. The program may also be offered as a custom install which allows users to manually chose to accept or decline the download.
10. Download and Install CCleaner by Piriform to automatically remove junk files, repair your registry, and manage settings that may have been changed.
Malwarebytes and Vipre Antivirus offer real-time features that can block malicious files before they spread across your computer. These programs bundled together can establish a wall between your computer and cyber criminals. It is recommended to purchase these programs to take advantage of full-time protection in order to stay protected against future threats. Without real-time security software your computer cannot protect you against malware and hackers.


On winter afternoons my mind often wanders to the warmth of treasured memories, to places and things my kids never knew and for that I feel sad.
I feel sad they never had a Popeye doll. In my early years, I developed an intense crush on my spinach-eating hero. I watched Popeye cartoons constantly, over and over and over again. I had a Popeye jack-in-the-box and I would coerce my dear friend Patty to being Olive Oil to my Popeye in pretend games. Sad but true, in their childhood, my children never had a cartoon hero that they actually wanted to marry when they grew up.
Hot summer days, sitting under the elm tree in our front yard, cutting out the latest fashions to dress my paper dolls in: I can almost smell the grass and hear the cicadas as I dreamily float through this memory. Similar were Color-forms! I loved Color-forms. They entered my life as a sickbed diversion and exited my childhood as a dear diversion filled with imagined tales and stories.
Ah – Barbie! I adored my Barbie and her case-full of clothes. I was meticulous about hanging them using little plastic Barbie hangers and keeping track of all accompanying shoes and accessories. I had Barbie's friends Ken, Midge and Skipper as well as the Barbie Dream House and pink Barbie sports car. I spent hours coming up with stories and dramas involving all the Barbie characters. It was a wonderful world to escape into. My daughter had a Barbie doll, but she never appreciated it like I did. In fact, she never really played with it and certainly never made up all the stories that I did when I lost myself in play. I feel sad for her.
Horses – my passion, my dream, my obsession even to this day. In my simple childhood world, everything was a horse: my bicycle, snowbanks where I so carefully crafted saddle with stirrups, and the best of all: gym horses with their leather coverings so like a saddle. I drew horses all over my school notebook. But I was a lousy artist, so I mostly traced from one of my bookcase full of treasured horse books. I never could understand why my parents wouldn't give me a horse that we could keep in our little city backyard and garage. I now have a horse and I do not keep him in my little city backyard and garage.
There were so many magical things in my childhood filled with dreams and simple things. Perhaps my children feel they have also had childhoods filled with magical things, and I hope so, but I bet I have them beat .. and that makes me feel sad.


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AUW
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Anthony Joshua defending titles vs Kubrat Pulev with Tyson Fury fight on horizon
Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev pictured during a media opportunity ahead of their World Heavyweight title clash at Principality Stadium on September 11, 2017 in Cardiff, Wales.
Anthony Joshua has never been so close to a shot at being the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
The WBA, IBF, WBO belts are back in his possession. An agreement in principle has been reached with Tyson Fury, the WBC champion, for a two-fight deal in 2021 to unify the titles in an all-British blockbuster.
Andy Ruiz Jr, in action against Britain's Anthony Joshua. (dpa/picture alliance via Getty I)
Nothing is ever straightforward in boxing — especially when arranging what would be one of the biggest fights in a generation, perhaps the biggest ever in Britain — but it appears there's one major obstacle in the way of an eagerly awaited Joshua-Fury bout next year.
Kubrat Pulev.
A robust, hardened 39-year-old Bulgarian, Pulev will get the chance to blow a turbulent heavyweight division wide open again when he fights Joshua at Wembley Arena in London on Saturday as a mandatory challenger.
Kubrat Pulev throws a punch at Dereck Chisora. (Bongarts/Getty Images)
It will be his second world title fight — he lost to Wladimir Klitschko in 2014 for what remains his only professional defeat — and a belated shot at Joshua, having been forced to pull out of a 2017 fight against the Briton after sustaining a shoulder injury late in his training camp.
"I like that people are talking more about Joshua vs. Fury than Joshua vs. Pulev," said Pulev, who is a 7-1 underdog with some British bookmakers. "It is not insulting to me … I am happy because while he is thinking about fighting somebody else, he is underestimating me."
Anthony Joshua celebrates winning a bout against his American rival Andy Ruiz Jr. (Valery Sharifulin/TASS)
Joshua is insisting he is not looking beyond his immediate opponent, and that he is answering any questions about Fury only as a matter of courtesy, but there's no doubt Saturday's fight takes place in that bigger context.
Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been freely discussing the proposed meeting of Joshua and Fury — for which financial details have been agreed but official contracts have not been signed. Hearn has talked about how the purse will be split, possible locations for the fight — the Middle East or London appear favorites — and how it is the fight all boxing fans have been waiting for.
Two time Heavyweight Champion of the World, Anthony Joshua. (Getty)
"I am as close to 100% as I can be that the Fury fight will happen if AJ wins on Saturday," he said.
Hearn just needs his main man to do the business before the first crowd to attend a British boxing fight during the pandemic.
Joshua has become used to selling out Britain's biggest sports venues — Wembley Stadium in London, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff — but only 1,000 fans will be allowed in Wembley Arena for his first home fight since knocking out Alexander Povetkin in September 2018.
Since then he has lost his titles in shocking fashion to Andy Ruiz Jr., before immediately regaining them in a money-spinning rematch in Saudi Arabia a year ago that reportedly earned Joshua $70 million.
During his 12 months away from competitive boxing because of the pandemic, Joshua said he has "honed his craft," returning again to developing his ability to show the "sweet science" of the sport. Ahead of Pulev, he has taken some advice from Klitschko — he has even started wrapping his hands methodically before workouts like the long-time heavyweight champion from Ukraine used to do.
Joshua has described Pulev, who is known for having a relentless jab and a tough chin, as a "tricky customer."
Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev pictured during a media opportunity ahead of their World Heavyweight title. (Getty)
"He's not going to be an easy fight, it's a banana skin," Joshua said. "I'm at a level now where I can't take easy fights or warmup fights. I've got to roll with the punches.
"It's not the fight I want. I'd rather have a nice warmup fight before because I've been out of the game for a year."
The 31-year-old Joshua was once regarded as a knockout machine — the first 18 fights of his pro career didn't go beyond seven rounds and he got off the canvas to knock out Klitschko in the 19th — but he has met craftier opponents and become more measured and disciplined in his approach to recent fights, picking his moments to attack.
Two of his last three wins, against Joseph Parker and Ruiz Jr., went to the judges. Against Ruiz Jr. in Saudi, Joshua relied on his longer reach to stay clear of trouble and was almost running around the ring away from the American in the final round with victory in the bag.
So, what version of Joshua will we see on Saturday?
"I'm prepared for it to go to the final bell," Joshua said in Thursday's pre-fight news conference. "I feel like I'm a 15-round fighter, not a 12-round fighter.
"If it needs to go to 12 rounds, I will be more than capable to carry my stamina, to carry my boxing IQ, my concentration and my strength to the final bell."
EXCLUSIVE: Paul Gallen knew when he was done in footy, and Mark Hunt is about to discover the same fate
Former wrestling star Tommy 'Tiny' Lister dead at 62


On June 10th 2010, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued the publication Circular on Issues Regarding Delegation of Approval Authority for Foreign Investment (Shang Zi Fa  No.209) (Circular 209). Circular 209 is assumed to be in accordance with several opinions on further improving the work of utilizing foreign investment promulgated by the State Council. Prior to the implementation of Circular 209, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) issued a similar circular to delegate its relevant authority.
Under Circular 209, the authority to approve any changes surrounding an "encouraged" or "permitted" foreign invested enterprise (FIE) that has a total investment of less than US$300 million is now delegated. This delegation of authority also applies to any "restricted" FIE that has a total investment on less than US$50 million. Such approvals may be granted by the provincial counterparts of the MOFCOM (including counterparts in ten "deputy-provincial-level cities" such as Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Xi'an). Before this, only "encouraged" or "permitted" FIEs with US$100 million and "restricted" FIEs with US$50 million can be approved by these counterparts.


Scenarios come in many different sorts and sizes, but from the organisers point of view they can be divided into two main categories. There are games which require no more than a quick introduction, and there are those which will usually take fifteen minutes or so of preparation by the player before the game can begin.
The first kind, which for want of a better idea I will call the 'Instant' variety, certainly require a good deal of preparation on the part of the organiser, but they are ideal for introducing people to the game, and they are particularly useful for public demonstration/participation games where you are going to ask for volunteers from the public to take part. They get the beginner into the game with the minimum of fuss once a few basic ideas about how a map game works have been explained.
The 'Instant' scenario has to take the player right into the game at a point where action is likely to break out at any moment, and decisions will have to be made.
Are we in friendly country or enemy territory?
Are there friendly troops at Amanweiler on whom we may be able to call for assistance?
Do we want the player calling on troops from Habonville in any case?
How large is the detachment? How long is the supply train to be?
Would the player have any idea of the likely direction from which an enemy attack might come?
Is it reasonable to suppose that flank guards or outriders would have been assigned? What are the leader's actual orders, and what should his priorities be?
The map shows part of Red territory, which is under attack from Blue forces from the west. The main Blue army is still several days' march away from Metz.
* Lt Smirnoff will be with the Hussars at the head of the main body.
**The flank guards are to travel in the open country to the west of the Montveau woods as the column makes its way up the valley.
You have just ridden up to join the advance guard, which is now about 500 paces ( ¼ mile) south of Amanweiler. The rest of the column is still making their way up the Montveau valley. As you look towards Amanweiler you see one of the outriders who were sent on ahead is galloping back towards you.
This leaves Red ready to get straight into the game and begin issuing orders as soon as he receives the message from the outriders. This can be written out in readiness, and as soon as the umpire is satisfied that the players understand how the game works the umpire will hand Red the message, saying, "It is now 9.32 am and the outrider has just handed you this message".
Civilians report that enemy cavalry have been seen in St. Privat this morning, but Amanweiler is clear.
Up until this moment the players have been in a kind of "limbo" in which time stands still, at least as far as the game is concerned, so that for both players it has been 9.32 am for maybe some ten minutes or so. But as soon as the umpire hands over the reports times at 9.32 am the clock starts ticking. If Red has no orders to give, the convoy will continue on its course. If he stops the convoy for ten minutes while he considers the situation, and then gives some orders, the orders will start to take effect as if issued at 9.42. This will be covered more thoroughly in the notes on umpiring the Kriegsspiel.
When we start to think about the scenario for Blue it is often necessary to make yet more changes to Red's scenario. Both sides need to have a reasonable chance of success. Both sides must know what their objective is, but sometimes we can have a hidden objective. In the present case we can say that Blue has been told a supply column is expected to be in this area which he must try to capture or destroy. On the other hand we can have him carrying out a routine reconnaissance when the chance to win a bit of glory for himself is presented. Either will do, but in the latter case we have to drop some very broad hints that there might be something more to it than reconnaissance.
You have been ordered to carry out a reconnaissance of the area between Verneville and the Montveau valley, and seize any opportunity to capture or destroy any enemy supply columns you might encounter. Earlier this morning cavalry patrols penetrated as far south as Verneville. Verneville and Habonville were found to have quite good defensive possibilities. The farms nearby were found to have stone walls round them, about 4ft high. The rivers were found to be fairly easily forded; though likely to cause delays for wheeled vehicles. One of the scouting parties also noticed a dust cloud hanging over the lower Montveau valley, which indicated the presence of a moving column. Another patrol was sent to investigate further. Meanwhile the main force of your detachment is making for St Privet from the north.
The head of the main body is just arriving on the high ground just east of St. Privat, where you and the Hussar squadron have already assembled. The two scouts who were sent to reconnoitre the enemy column can be seen galloping towards you from the direction of Amanweiler.
I have used the conventional Kriegsspiel terms here. The general idea contains any information known to both sides, and it is therefore the same for both sides. The special idea, or separate report, gives information which is confidential to one side.
Any orders received by the leader.
Any information he might have about the enemy.
The units under his command.
The present position of his troops.
Any relevant details about terrain, objective, weather etc.
Umpire's requirements such as written orders, order of march and route to be taken.
Whatever else might be needed for a particular game.
Note. In the above example nothing has been required of the player in the scenario except that he read it and give some attention to the situation, which is why it is so quickly got going. The umpire has already worked out the route and order of march, which would normally be left to the player to decide. Sometimes a player will object that he would never have chosen a particular route or disposition for himself. The umpire can usually make minor adjustments without upsetting his game idea, or he can say that the real detachment leader, who issued these ridiculous orders, fell of his horse and broke his neck not five minutes ago and that he, the player, has had to step in at the last minute. He will be free to make any changes he likes once the game has begun – allowing for whatever time it will take to move troops to new positions.
In more normal scenarios we can allow for a little preparation by the players before the game. This also calls for some careful thought on behalf of the organiser, but of a slightly different kind. If we take the "instant" scenario above, for instance, Red would plan his own route from Metz to Habonville, and decide on his own order of march and make his own flank guard arrangements etc. Of course it would need a larger map of the area because he would need to see the ground between Metz and Habonville. In Blue's case he starts off the map anyway so we would have to say that his starting-off camp is about three hours march from St Privat, or any other entry point along the northern edge of the map. We might have to say he is 2 ½ to 3 hrs from St Privat in case Red finds a much quicker way of getting there. Blue will have to stay with the main body until he gets onto the map, but he can give orders for any cavalry scouts he sends on ahead as they will get there in half the time of the main column.
It is worth remembering that a game which needs some player preparation will also need more umpire preparation on the day before the game can actually begin. If both sides spend ten minutes planning and writing out the order of march etc. the umpire will have to read both sets of orders and work out the intended troop movements on the map before he can report back to the players, which could take another ten minutes – this is assuming that the players are already familiar with how the game works and do not need to spend time on that aspect. This can seem like a very slow start sometimes, especially if you are new to the game. Ideally, of course, the preparation can all be done in advance . The players received their briefings the week before and returned their initial orders to the umpire in good time by post, and the umpire has been able to get everything ready on the day so that the game can begin at once.
You have been entrusted with the safe conduct of a supply column from the St Martin Barracks just outside Metz to Habonville. As of yesterday no enemy troops had been seen in the immediate area, i.e. as far as Habonville, Verneville, or St Privat, but some enemy cavalry patrols had been seen several hours ride north of St Privat. The column will depart from the St Martin Barracks at 6.30am tomorrow.
The route you will be following.
The order of march for your column.
Details of any advance guards, flank guards etc.
Your own position in the column.
Any special orders for units.
They used to say of the cowboy films that there were only six basic plots. There are probably not many more basic plots for Kriegsspiel scenarios, but you can ring the changes on them, and they quite often look very different on a different part of the map.
A rear guard action –delaying tactic.
An attack on a flank guard.
Attack on a foraging party.
Attack and defence of a village.
These can be further varied by having more than one player on one or both sides, and these are varied again according to whether the players of one side have separate briefings and independent commands, or whether they share the same scenario. In the latter case one of the players will usually be assigned to a subordinate role. Remember that for more players you need extra umpires or the game becomes too unwieldy.


 Michelangelo Towers Johannesburg. JIMAT di Agoda.com!
Ada soalan mengenai Michelangelo Towers?
Menawarkan penginapan yang berkualiti tinggi di daerah bisnes, restoran, beli-belah di Johannesburg, Michelangelo Towers merupakan pilihan popular untuk kedua-dua tujuan perniagaan dan percutian. Hotel ini terletak 18.00 Km dari pusat bandar dan menyediakan akses kepada kemudahan bandar yang penting. Untuk pilihan bersiar-siar dan tempat daya tarikan tempatan, pelancong tidak perlu pergi jauh dari hotel kerana ianya berdekatan dengan Sandton Square, Sandton City Shopping Centre, Nelson Mandela Square.
Perkhidmatan hotel kelas pertama dan kemudahan yang menentukan pengalaman Legacy Hotels menanti anda di Michelangelo Towers. Tetamu hotel boleh menikmati kemudahan seperti khidmat bilik 24 jam, Wi-Fi percuma semua bilik, Wi-Fi di tempat awam, tempat letak kereta, khidmat bilik.
Hotel ini mempunyai 60 bilik yang sangat cantik, setiap bilik dilengkapi karpet, ruang tamu asing, televisyen skrin rata, internet wayarles (percuma), bilik larangan merokok. Sepanjang hari anda boleh menikmati suasana yang santai dengan pusat kecergasan, sauna, kolam renang terbuka, kolam renang tertutup, spa. Apabila anda mencari penginapan yang selesa dan mudah di Johannesburg, ijadikan Michelangelo Towers sebagai rumah anda seperti berada di rumah sebenar.
Tetamu yang berumur 17 tahun dan ke atas dianggap sebagai orang dewasa.
The apartment was perfect for the two of us. Kitchen had all appliances including washing machine, which was great as we had to unexpectedly extend our stay. The staff were great. It was home from home. Will definitely stay again next time we are in Sandton.
The cons were no indication of where to park upon arrival. While there are great restaurants on Nelson Mandela Square, their location means that they are very expensive. The hotel was comfortable, clean, and friendly, but very business like in its decor.
Huge apartments overlooking the city. Although the furnishing and decor is in the older style, they are very well maintained. Comfy beds and well-equipped kitchen. Efficient and warm service at reception. Great breakfasts and food is of a very high quality - delicious and not greasy.
This hotel is well situated at the Mandela Square and has direct access to the mall. The room I booked came with breakfast. The basics were served on a smallish buffet style table but hot breakfast was to be order from the menu. It took a long time to get the hot breakfast but for a 5* hotel it was not great. The room we got was a 1 bedroom apartment with a great kitchen and a nice bathroom. The TV in the living room was a LED but the one in the bedroom was a dinosaur from the 90's !! It was a hoot luckily we did not really watch too much TV.
Had a bit of an issue with our late check out which was amicacably resolved at midnight by the front office staff after almost getting messed up by management which found it wise to slip a note under our door rather than communicate about the issue. Very impressed with front office staff, porters and doorman too.
The staff could not have been more helpful. They were so good humoured and ready to help. It felt like a home from home. Was lucky to get my daughters to leave there at all. So helpful with a late checkout, when they knew we had an evening flight back to Europe. Could not recommend it more. Right beside Nelson Mandela Sq. , food, shopping, etc. Service in Parc Ferme was excellent. Very enjoyable and leisurely breakfasts. We wil be back. Our new Go To place in JNB.
Great location for me as the offices I had to visit were in the same complex (Nelson Mandela Square), super large apartment (approx. 100m2), with fully-equipped kitchen, coffee, tea, boiler, daily water bottle supply, good security, high-floor (23), quite, etc. Super deal with 65% off + 10% off by agoda.com, all good really. 2 minor things I would like to add: - the fact that you have to buy the South African electrical plug adapter when you are only staying for 3 nights and won't need it anywhere else (not so expensive, 100 rand, but just the principle). - being told late the last night of your stay that due to high occupancy, you need to check-out at 10am instead of the regular 12, or often a little later if asked, when your flight back is at 6pm.
I put out a sign for the room to be cleaned at 8:00 at 11:30 the room was still not cleaned. I phoned to request the room to be cleaned. The room was only cleaned by 13:30 - two hours after I phoned. Furthermore, breakfast at Parc Ferme is average. The fruit did not taste fresh. They only have a little table with 4x types of fruit, croissants, scones and nothing special. My husband did not like the scones. There was really nothing special about breakfast. I ate an omelette for breakfast and on day two they served me an omelette with tomato, but the tomato tasted like tinned tomatoes. It seems they ran out of fresh tomatoes. Also it had a bit of a burning taste. I would not have any meals at the Parc Ferme, as there is really nothing special on the menu. The creme brûlée is delicious, though.
This is an outstanding accommodation in South Africa. Everything worked as if programmed. I have never come across such delightful staff members. All facilities were excellent and exceeded our expectations.
Stayed in a 1 bed suite. Absolute value for money. The staff were excellent. Room service was good - Parc Ferme Restaurant performed really well. Breakfast was also included. The accommodation - the suite itself was absolutely amazing. I can't fault it and definitely recommend. My only complaint is with regards to the gym and pool facilities. The two gyms are really small with very limited equipment. Quality of equipment is also below the standard i would expect for this calibre hotel. If you are into fitness, you will be disappointed by the gym. The heated indoor pool is also really small, if you put any more than two people in the pool, don't expect to actually swim, you can sit in the pool, but forget multiple people swimming. There is an outdoor pool which is bigger but I didn't use it and I believe it's not heated. Overall, really high quality hotel with obvious attention to detail. I recommend.
I ordered room service it was tasteless I asked for salt i was only give pepper blend food chips were burnt. Breakfast was a tiny spread small portions very disappointed expected more from the hotel chain.
My mom & I went on a shopping trip for her birthday. The staff were incredibly helpful, friendly and accommodating. Definitely five-star service! The hotel itself was also very convenient and luxurious. I would like to mention Joseph & Rocky for fantastic service. I would definitely recommend this hotel.


For many years I had a collection of story ideas that grew and grew. While at first the focus was on the alternate world, the story begins when someone from our world has an accident and wakes up in this alternate world where he discovers that he has magical powers.
Since he always wanted to find a magic land, he assumes that he is producing the hallucination and is actually back in the real world, dying. He finds himself comparing his experiences to Thomas Covenant and other standards of fantasy fiction. It makes perfect sense, especially given how easily he learns to perform Real Magic, as well as some other unique attributes of the world in which he finds himself.
Then, last year, during the winter in 2010, I actually began writing and flushed out a good bit of the beginning of the story. I wrote about 20 chapters, then hit a glitch and stopped. I have now resumed. Chapter 3 is actually a new chapter. It is kind of exciting to "be back" in Wyrld. It feels like I am returning to a favorite place, and now looking forward to see what happens.
If you are reading this and would like to read what I have so far (realizing it is still very rough), please let me know and send me your e-mail address and I will be glad to send you the password.
In the meantime, magical (and wyrd!) journeys to you!
This past week I registered on the site for my high school class reunion, and I have begun catching up with a few old (and now older) friends. In the process, I saw that I had a spike in visits to WyrdWanderers – as much as 12 hits one day!!! – and that some had been to my humor page. The humor page that I unfortunately discovered had nothing in it!
Well, I would like to say that I have been doing my Wanderings and focusing on the moment. To some degree that is probably true, and to some degree posting actually preserves, remembers, or even creates the moment. Life has few definitive borders, just like the earth seen from space. Everything is in flux, in motion. "Difficult to see. Always in motion, the future is." "Prediction is very hard, especially about the future." "You can't put your foot in the same river twice." And those same currents that make the future difficult to see actually blur the boundaries between things like enjoying the moment and creating new moments.
Ah, well, I admit it. I haven't been keeping the site up. Sooooooo, welcome to visitors. Please feel free to post comments. And a special welcome to those with whom I am beginning to connect after 40 years. I trust you won't be too surprised at some of the places I have wandered.
I have been performing magic off and on for about 30 years. You can see my magic page here. When I was first learning magic, I was often disappointed tolearn the secret. Well, let's face it, I had just read The Lord of the Rings and, truth be told, I really wanted to be Gandalf. So I was often disappointed at how simple the secrets were to a lot of the effects I purchased.
That is one of several reasons that magicians don't tell the secret; it would spoil the magic. I learned that my task as a magician was to put the magic back into the effect. The combination of the secret, the story or presentation (magician's call it the patter), and the magician's personality all serve to make a magical effect a true magical moment. Performing magic is really a bit like alchemy: a bit of this, a bit of that, something to make everything interact.
Life itself is like that. I believe life really is magical. Much of life can, of course, be explained scientifically. Even human beings, with our electro-chemical systems, synapses firing, etc. can be explained scientifically, at least as far as science can explain the human body.
But life from the inside, life as we live it, doesn't seem like science and logic so much as something else; something more fluid, more messy, perhaps, less predictable. Life, art, creativity, imagination, these do not seem to be bound so much by scientific principles as by magic; by alchemy.
Why is it that when we try to force an idea it won't come? Or when we try to remember something, it eludes us? But in that misty realm of the mind when we are just awakening, or perhaps standing in the shower with our mind on idle, it comes to us?
Why is it that I find that I have difficulty thinking a story through in logical, outline form, but when I write and tell the story, it surprises me, the supposed author? How is it that when I start telling the tale, things happen that I did not expect?
Please understand, I am not saying that science is invalid. Nor am I trying to use science to explain some esoteric philosophy, as some of the new age folks do (usually misusing the science in the process). Rather, I am simply trying to say that life is magical, it is full of magic, full of wonder. Yes, things can be explained logically and scientifically after the fact, but just try predicting the path that the mind will take when creating art, or writing a story. Or loving. Or living.
Life is magical. Do you believe in magic?
My last post was about the light of the season. Some of the lights of the season are still up. I admit we haven't gotten our tree down and decorations put away. But time rolls on, and it is now late January late February. Winter is two-thirds gone, and we will soon have a sense of pushing toward spring. There are a few patches and piles of snow around, and a new snowfall piling up as I write.
We look toward the holidays with so much anticipation, then before we know it, the holidays were a month ago, two months ago, and we are well into the new year. We are back into the old routines, the old worries and problems, perhaps new worries. Many of our resolutions have already fallen by the wayside. Time goes on.
It is almost a cliche, but all we really have is now. It is so easy to worry about so many things, but the gift of life is the gift of now. This moment. What is past is, hopefully pleasant to recall. What is coming may be pleasant to anticipate. But all we really have is … right now. This moment.
This moment is a portal. We are constantly entering – but never arriving at – the future through the portal of this moment. Beyond the portal lay mystery, wonder, magic…. All we have to do is … step through. Embrace the moment. Embrace the possibilities to come by fulling living in THIS moment.
A couple of days before the new year, on Tick Tock Day, I wrote this poem (if you want to call it that).
Time goes on. Cherish the moment. Live. Laugh. Love.
The most magical time of the year is upon us, especially for those of us in the northern hemisphere where the coincides with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. So much of the symbolism of this season is based on Christmas being combined with major holiday in the northern hemisphere. There are several holidays, Yule/Solstice, Christmas, Hannukah that emphasize the light over coming the darkness.


text:
On November 29, 2018 November 30, 2020 By Sarah MurdenIn Dido Elizabeth Belle
When you begin to research a person's life, especially one who has frequently been written about, you suddenly find that you've opened a real can of worms with more and more information toppling out every day. This has never more so than in the research into the life and extended family of Dido Elizabeth Belle with many new facts being found. The more time we've spent down this proverbial rabbit hole the more we have managed to piece together.
Her father, Sir John Lindsay is well-known to anyone who knows anything about Dido and if they didn't know that Sir John had several illegitimate children, then they probably know about his high achieving naval career. Our interest in his career has merely been a sideline, we needed to know more about his career in order to validate elements of Dido's life.
We know that Sir John was the younger son of Sir Alexander Lindsay, of Evelick and his wife Amelia Murray, the sister of Lord Mansfield who lived in what today is a ruined castle at Evelick, Perth, Scotland.
Captain Sir John Lindsay (1737-1788 by Allan Ramsay); Glasgow Museums
We know that they had also two daughters, one being Margaret, who married the famous artist Allan Ramsay.
Margaret Lindsay, the second Mrs Allan Ramsay. Portrait painted by her husband c.1758-1760. National Galleries of Scotland
We know that his elder brother Sir David Lindsay who was married to Susannah Long whose family lived in Jamaica where they owned plantations Sir David inherited the title from his father and her brother was Edward Long, the famous author of The History of Jamaica, his views on slavery were, even at that time considered extreme.
Lt. General Sir David Lindsay of Evelick, 4th Baronet ( circa 1732 – died 1797) c. 1761 by Gervase Spencer (Courtesy of Online Galleries)
We know that Sir John's other sister, Katherine, married Lord Henderland and that Sir Alexander's children were nephews to Lord Mansfield.
Lady Katherine Lindsay, Lady Henderland Attributed to William Yellowlees. National Gallery of Scotland
Why are we telling you things you probably know? Well, we could argue that that is the whole point, it's all pretty well documented, you can find all of this is in books and online in a matter of minutes if you wanted to, such being the power of the internet!
It wasn't until we started trying to find exact dates for the baptisms of Sir Alexander's children (with no luck whatsoever), that annoyingly, we realised that none of them appeared to have been baptised, which seems extremely unusual for that period in time. We don't seem to have fathomed that one out. Nor, so far, does there appear to be any record of a marriage for Sir Alexander to Amelia although we're sure they were legally married.
All references we have seen about Sir John Lindsay state that he was the younger son i.e. one of two sons. What does, however, seem to have been almost completely air-brushed out of the family history is Sir Alexander's middle son – William Lindsay. We stumbled across his existence by chance and began to delve further and have only found two references to his existence in books, but why?
Well, in all likelihood, William who was born 18th December 1734, left Scotland when aged just 16 and set off for a role in the East India Company. Sir Alexander had an heir – David, so it fell to the second son to take a different path in life.
How do we know of his existence? Because it was his uncle, William Murray, later to become the 1st Lord Mansfield who confirmed it in a letter written in 1750. The letter was written from Lincoln's Inn to the all-powerful East India Company (EIC) when William was being sent out to India to make his fortune and was as confirmation of his age and explaining that the EIC wouldn't find a baptism for the boy, as none existed. The document also confirms that William had successfully undertaken a course in mathematics and book-keeping.
From the British India Collection
William appears to have been posted as a lieutenant to, what was then known as British Bencoolen in Sumatra (now Bengkula). We then came across the sad report of his death in the EIC records. He was suffering from mental health issues and was being returned home to Britain by ship when he died at sea around September 1779.
South East View of Fort Marlborough, Benkulen, Sumatra, 1799. Yale Centre for British Art
His death appears to have made even more tragic as he left 3 orphans when he died. So far we haven't been able to trace these children nor find out what became of them. We know that a committee met to discuss their plight decide what was to be done with them, but they concluded that more information was required from Scotland before any decision could be reached.
Given that both Sir John and William were in the EIC we wondered whether the two brothers would ever have met up; of course, we have no idea but it would be good to believe that if they did and that they exchanged news about both families. We do wonder what, if anything Dido knew of her uncle or of her cousins.
For a complete list of articles written to date about Dido Elizabeth Belle and her family follow the highlighted link.
Jervise, Andrew. The history and traditions of the land of the Lindsays in Angus
British India Collection
Government House & Council House, Fort Marlborough, Benkulen, Sumatra, 1799 Yale Centre for British Art
Dido Elizabeth BelleEvelickLady Catherine HenderlandMargaret LindsaySir Alexander LindsaySir David LindsaySir John LindsayWilliam Lindsay
Art Detectives: William Hornby of Hornby's Bank in Gainsborough
2 thoughts on "The missing brother of Sir John Lindsay"
Christopher Normand
Great bit of research! I, too, searched, without success, for the baptisms of Sir John and his siblings – and wondered why the was such a gap between the marriage of their parents and the first child.
Always grateful for more information!
Thank you so much, glad it's proved useful. I think that Lord Mansfield having to confirm the date of birth for William seems pretty conclusive that none of they didn't have any of the children baptised, but no idea why as yet. Yes, Amelia would have been mid-30's when Margaret was born which really was quite late to be having your first child.


text:
{-# LANGUAGE Safe #-}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- |
-- Module      :  Control.Monad.IO.Class
-- Copyright   :  (c) Andy Gill 2001,
--                (c) Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology, 2001
-- License     :  BSD-style (see the file LICENSE)
--
-- Maintainer  :  R.Paterson@city.ac.uk
-- Stability   :  experimental
-- Portability :  portable
--
-- Class of monads based on @IO@.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

module Control.Monad.IO.Class (
    MonadIO(..)
  ) where

-- | Monads in which 'IO' computations may be embedded.
-- Any monad built by applying a sequence of monad transformers to the
-- 'IO' monad will be an instance of this class.
--
-- Instances should satisfy the following laws, which state that 'liftIO'
-- is a transformer of monads:
--
-- * @'liftIO' . 'return' = 'return'@
--
-- * @'liftIO' (m >>= f) = 'liftIO' m >>= ('liftIO' . f)@

class (Monad m) => MonadIO m where
    -- | Lift a computation from the 'IO' monad.
    liftIO :: IO a -> m a

instance MonadIO IO where
    liftIO = id

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Home / General News / News / Trending / Declaration of bandits, IPOB as terrorists has not reduced insecurity – Experts tell FG - Featured Trending Popular Viral News
Declaration of bandits, IPOB as terrorists has not reduced insecurity – Experts tell FG - Featured Trending Popular Viral News
Trump Francis December 18, 2021 General News, News, Trending
Experts have said that the declaration of bandits and the Indigenous People of Biafra as terrorists has not reduced the level of insecurity in Nigeria.
These security experts who spoke during a security roundtable organised by the Centre for Peace and Development Studies of Veritas University in collaboration with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation for West Africa also called on the Federal Government to embrace good governance and justice.
The roundtable was based on the theme, 'Interrogating criminal label and the scourge of insecurity in contemporary Nigeria'.
While presenting his paper, a lecturer in the Department of Defence and Security Studies, at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Dr Adejo Sunday said, "The declaration of Boko Haram and IPOB as terrorist organisations have not in any way addressed the insecurity in Nigeria. The activities of Fulani herdsmen and bandits are worst trends in Nigeria's security history."
"Regardless of the increase in labelling, there seems not to be any tangible improvement in the security of the Nigerian state. It is important to note that the increasing rate of crime and criminality in Nigeria has not only worsened the pace of insecurity.
He, therefore, urged the authority to "demonstrate some level of unbias in the process of labelling, as good governance and justice remain the policy option in addressing issues related to criminal labelling."
On his part, another lecturer from the Department of Political Science, University of Calabar, Dr Obi Neji, said a situation where the authority is quick in ascribing labels to certain groups while acting with sustained restraint in ascribing the same levels for same tendencies by others, has only fuelled suspicion and sustained insecurity.
I'm very positive Salah will renew Liverpool contract -Klopp - Featured Trending Popular Viral News
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he is "very positive" over contract talks with Mohamed Salah, stating that the forward wants to stay at the...


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Located in the Willamette Valley, Salem is Oregon's capital. The city has a number of historic sites, including the 1870 Reed Opera House, 1878 Bush House Museum, and the Deepwood Museum and Gardens. The Willamette River runs through Salem, and wildlife refuges, forests and natural aquatic areas are plentiful. Thanks to a moderate climate, the area is rich in agriculture and known for producing blueberries, hazelnuts, tulips and Christmas trees. Salem offers a number of attractions, ranging from the Gilbert House Children's Museum in Salem's Riverfront Park to several breweries, that appeal to varied ages and interests.
Salem has large agricultural and food-processing sectors, and Kettle Foods, NORPAC Foods and Oregon Fruit Products all maintaining large operations in the city. The local economy has grown increasingly diverse in recent decades, attracting several high-tech manufacturing plants and a variety of jobs.
Although Portland is nearly an hour away, commuting to the city for work is always an option. However, you'll find that there are a number of jobs to choose from in Salem, with the largest employers including the state of Oregon, local school districts and Salem Health.
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Topics › Pension Reform
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Despite Poor Process, Kentucky Enacts Meaningful Pension Plan Design, Funding Policy Reforms
The bill constitutes a significant improvement overall, with meaningful risk reduction and better funding policy across Kentucky's various retirement plans.
Anthony Randazzo
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin recently signed into law a set of changes to how state and local pension benefits are funded, while also creating a new retirement benefit for future teachers and other public education professionals. Senate Bill 151 is a controversial pension reform bill due to the public perception that the legislation cuts benefits for current teachers — a misperception attributable to an unfortunate political process that has already prompted labor backlash and litigation. However, this controversy is rooted in broader state politics, and the controversy is obscuring the solvency benefits of the total package.
The funding policy improvements of SB151 will be important for preventing the state employees pension plan— currently, around 15 percent funded — from sliding into insolvency. And the prospective cash balance plan that will be offered to future teachers represents a step forward in terms of risk reduction (albeit it an insufficient step that leaves open the need to improve teacher pension funding policy).
These pension plan positives for Kentucky may only become clearer to protestors once the perception of benefit cuts fades. In the end, ironically, the policy prompting protest and rancor in Frankfort these days did not cut a single dollar of an active teacher or retiree benefits or cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs), and it still preserves a guaranteed "no loss" retirement benefit for newly hired teachers.
Legislation Summary
The Pension Integrity Project at Reason Foundation provided technical assistance on policy concepts presented by Gov. Bevin and legislative leaders as they crafted various reform proposals over the past year. Ultimately, Gov. Bevin and legislative leaders explored a wide range of policy designs, and SB151 was the final product of an iterative process that saw several different versions of reform legislation that dialed back the scope of reform along the way.
Nonetheless, Senate Bill 151 constitutes a significant improvement overall, with meaningful risk reduction and better funding policy across Kentucky's various retirement plans. Major policy elements of the legislation include:
Teachers' Retirement System (TRS):
New members of TRS will be offered a cash balance plan that guarantees against any principal losses and credits employee accounts with 85 percent of investment returns over 0 percent.
The only change to affect existing members is that their accrual of sick leave that can be cashed into spike a pension at the end of a career is being capped — a provision in SB151 applicable to public sector employees across the state.
Note: There were no changes to employee contribution rates, COLA reductions, or benefit changes for current members of the TRS defined benefit pension plan.
Kentucky Retirement System (KRS):
Members of most plans will be offered an optional defined contribution plan that would serve as a primary retirement income benefit, including:
Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS)
County Employees Retirement System (CERS)
Legislators' Retirement Plan (LRP)
Judicial Retirement Plan (JRP)
The bill creates a statutory funding policy that will be one of the most effectively risk-managed in the nation, with amortization payments based on a level-dollar schedule and 5.25 percent discount rate for KERS and the state police plan, and 6.25 percent discount rate for CERS. The years in the amortization schedule were re-set to 30 years in order to make the shift to level-dollar more manageable for state and local budgets.
Note: These changes effectively codify the same practices adopted by the KRS board during the summer of 2017, ensuring that future KRS boards won't be tempted to reverse course on conservative practices to ensure retirement system sustainability.
The design of the cash balance plan available to current members will change from offering a 4 percent rate of return guarantee, with 75% of returns above that minimum, to being credited with 85 percent of returns above 0 percent. Over the past 10 years, there has been no 10-year period with a geometric average return less than 0 percent (even accounting for the financial crisis), reflecting the minimal risk associated with this kind of plan design.
Legislators' Retirement Plan (LRP):
Benefits for current members were adjusted for this plan—with a slightly lower accrual rate adopted for prospectively earned service. No existing accrued benefits were cut.
While these are significant and prudent policy changes, many other ideas that could have helped improve pension solvency and retirement security were considered, but jettisoned, along the way:
Cost saving measures for TRS — such as temporary COLA freezes and reductions—were proposed, negotiated down, and then eliminated from the bill. While changes to COLA benefits can be uncomfortable, making permanent or temporary changes can have an outsized effect on the overall affordability of existing pension debt. In the case of Kentucky, for example, several years of unpaid for COLA increases have created their own share of unfunded liabilities that has grown exponentially.
Freezing defined benefit service accrual at normal retirement age was proposed, but dropped from the bill. This approach would have helped reduce overall contribution rates (while allowing employees in defined benefit plans to continue accruing benefits as they might have expected).
A defined contribution retirement plan—first mandatory, then optional—was proposed for TRS and then dropped. Allowing teachers access to a DC plan built to provide primary retirement benefits would have given a wider range of future teachers access to a retirement benefit with a path towards retirement income security.
Further, funding policy changes for TRS are still necessary for the legacy defined benefit plan. The teacher plan is currently 56 percent funded, but that is using an unrealistic 7.75 percent assumed rate of return. Assumptions for TRS need to be improved, and the methods of paying off the debt need to be adjusted along similar lines as what has just been adopted for KRS. Thus, there remains a need for additional pension reforms in upcoming legislative sessions to continue chipping away at changes needed to advance the goal of pension solvency.
Process Critique
Politics is often messy, something exemplified in Kentucky on the issue of pensions the last year. The legislative effort that culminated in SB151 was a moving target since the fall of 2017, when Gov. Bevin and legislative leaders jointly announced a plan and related legislation to place all newly hired teachers and public employees in a pure defined contribution plan, among other aggressive policy proposals designed to improve solvency.
That plan was quickly beset by political obstacles. In addition to an abrupt, scandal-driven change in House leadership, TRS's actuaries and board muddied the waters by releasing misleading actuarial analysis to the press regarding the original Bevin/leadership bill draft. (Specifically, the analysis measured the status quo forecast for TRS and the proposed changes using different underlying assumptions.) That started to pressure legislators to start backing away from the original reform concept.
This was succeeded by a wave of various legislative proposals around different plan design concepts, slowly chipping away at the more aggressive policy proposal in the original bill in an attempt to win over sufficient political and labor support (the latter of which never materialized, as is evident from recent labor protests and school closings).
And just when it seemed as if all chances of movement on pension reform were dead for the legislative session, a negotiated plan by legislative leaders to rush a sequence of pension reform, tax reform, and budget bills hastily through both chambers in a matter of days delivered SB151 to Bevin's desk in short order at the end of the regular 2018 legislative session.
The language included in SB151 was pieced together from a range of previously introduced or drafted bills that had been considered and analyzed, such that the final text reflected a patchwork of ideas that had been debated in various forums since the Fall of 2017.
The passage triggered several waves of protests by teacher unions—part of a larger narrative emerging in several states around teacher compensation issues—and a lawsuit filed by Kentucky Attorney General Steve Beshear and two labor associations challenging the passage of SB151 on both procedural and constitutional grounds.
It may be fitting that such a convoluted process culminated with the terrible optics of pushing a pension reform bill through the legislature in the dead of night as a "gut and replace" amendment to a piece of unrelated legislation on wastewater issues. But it is not true, as some have asserted, that the bill hadn't been read by members — every provision was in some version of the reform bills presented over the previous six months. All components had been discussed and debated ad nauseam—it was only the particular combination of ideas that were new. Still, it is always unfortunate when sound policy is tainted by poor politics and poor messaging.
Untangling Kentucky's 2018 pension reform requires reconciling some tricky contradictions. First, it's true that SB151 was watered down and did not go far enough to solve all of Kentucky's pension crisis. But no one reform ever does, and the fact remains that it makes some major policy changes that will de-risk and improve the long-run solvency of the KERS and TRS plans speaks to its merits. Second, the legislation did not cut a single dollar of teacher benefits or COLAs and will create a still-very-attractive retirement plan for new hires. But activists and labor associations are still decrying the reforms as "pension cuts" in the local and national media, distorting the intent and reality of the situation. Third, the bill passed through an unfortunate political process (as did Kentucky's recent tax reform and budget bills). But Kentucky's recent experience in pension reform serves as a good reminder that an ugly political process can still occasionally result in good public policy.
Hopefully, the needed follow-on reform work in Kentucky will tread a more conciliatory and collaborative path.
Stay in Touch with Our Pension Experts
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Nano makes a Comeback... And How!
On trak.in, we've actively covered news related to the much-publicized Tata Motor's Nano car – be it its high pre-launch expectations or the affordable alternative for Indian families in place of two-wheelers or even the unfortunate event of the petit-car bursting into flames.
Over the past few months, the reputation of this "people's car" has come up for instant drubbing on the back multiple instances of the dream car catching fire and raising questions of safety standards used to build this 624-cc car, in the minds of the people.
Moreover, the key strategy for this low-cost car which was always to drive on the volume growth pattern led by demand from the lower-middle class of population, had back-fired on the back of fire-accidents. The overall dispatches of this small-sized car slumped to a record low of 509 units in November.
Just to give you a feel of the fall in sales volume, the November dispatches came at less than 10% of what was notched in the month of September at 5520 units.
However, the Nano seems to have witnessed a turnaround with its December dispatches coming at a healthy 5784 units, on the back of slew of recent measures aimed at reviving the sagging volumes of the Ratan Tata's dream project car.
Further, as the company's new plant at Sanand in Gujarat became operational, the Nano's production scaled new highs and the company added 10 more states to open fresh bookings in November; backed by increased promotional efforts and additional tie-ups with 29 finance institutions to facilitate fast-track loans to borrowers.
In December, Tata Motors extended the warranty on the Nano car to 4 years or 60,000 km, which ever is earlier, at no extra cost, in a move aimed at sprucing up the sales. Further, the company had also launched an all new comprehensive maintenance contract at just Rs.99 per month for all new buyers of the car in yet another favorable gesture by the car manufacturer.
In fact, people closely tracking the Nano story have to say that the petit car may have recorded much higher (retail) sales figures than what the saga of disappointing dispatch volumes for the month of November actually indicate.
Further, the Nano will be available through Tata's 874 outlets across the country. The sales for the Nano have surged dramatically in December backed by television advertisements, incremental rise in sales point in smaller towns and introduction of the 90% financing plan through its in-house vehicle financing unit Tata Motor Finance.
Lastly, the Tata's initiatives to spruce up sales volume for Nano are not just limited on marketing, promotional and finance fronts. The company has also retrofitted Nanos with additional protection in exhaust and electrical systems after recent fire incidents.
Will the dream car Nano rise up to the people's expectations in 2011?
Infosys results disappoint – Will others live upto Market expectations?
Tata Motors Unveils TAMO Racemo, an Inexpensive Sports 2-Door Coupe!
When errors can occur even in newly-launched premium hatchback models, some untoward incidences in a low-cost Nano cars should be given a benefit of doubt and be excused, to start with.


SHUT OUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING and raise awareness in our community.
Two viewings of the movie "Sold" which follows a young woman who risks everything for freedom after being trafficking from her mountain village in Nepal to a brothel in India.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 12:00 PM Roth's Alumni CenterRSVP: borgerm@newmanu.eduEvents co-sponsored by the Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies, Newman University Athletics Department, and Campus Ministry Office.