In 1863 Jean-Baptiste Camus founded a collective of producers to create the highest quality cognac, they called it "La Grande Marque". As development was very positive and business was flourishing, Jean-Baptiste decided to buy out his partners and establish his very independent cognac house, which he called Camus La Grande Marque. After his death, Edmond and Gaston Camus took over the running of the company in 1894, Edmond being the cellar master and Gaston looking after the export business. Camus even received an order from the Court of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicolas II, to supply them with their fine spirit. Following these two, there was Michael Camus, yet another clever business mind. He attacked the international market even more aggressively, seeing huge potential in the duty free market. He approached the American group Duty Free and got a deal with them in the early 1960s, delivering a variety of products, even decanters made from Limoges porcelain and Baccarat Crystal – later on to become the preferred material for top-of-the-line luxury cognac bottles. In 1977 Jean-Paul Camus would become cellar master and gradually get involved in the international affairs. He furthered the duty free business that his father introduced to the Asia-Pacific region, notably to Japan and Korea. This step established Camus as one of the five leading cognac house.
Today, it is Cyril Camus who is the bearer of all family tradition and the undisputed quality of Camus Cognac. Export development remains at the top of the list, however product innovation to keep up with the other large producers is also extremely important. Cyril Camus has entirely modernized the cognac house's interiors, relying on a fresh new take on Cognac for the new century. Instead of leather, wood and velvet in shades of brown, he opts for light colors and a combination of tradition and modern design.
The business strategy of the modern Maison Camus is that of diversification, with a range of Cognacs on offer as well as wine, champagne and select coffee roasts.


Called the "Apostle of appreciation" by the Globe and Mail, Canada's largest newspaper, and "creative and refreshing'" by the New York Times, Chester Elton is co-author of several successful leadership books. !e Carrot Principle and !e Orange Revolution by Simon & Schuster have been New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestsellers, and his new book All In will be released in April 2012. His work has been called a "must read for modern managers," by Larry King of CNN.Elton's books have been translated into more than 20 languages and have sold over a million copies worldwide.
As a motivation expert, Chester has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Fast Companymagazine and the New York Times, and has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, National Public Radio and CBS's 60 Minutes.
Chester has spoken to delighted audiences from Seattle to Singapore, Denver to Dubai, and from Toronto to Istanbul. He was the highest rated speaker at a recent national Society for Human Resource Management annual conference (Bill Cosby was the number two rated speaker).
He serves as a leadership consultant to firms such as American Express, Avis Budget Group and Cigna.
90% of senior leaders believe employee engagement is a key driver of business performance, but only 24% think their employees are engaged enough to move their businesses forward. New York Times bestselling authors Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton are founding partners of The Conference Board's Engagement Institute, and have unprecedented access to meta-data on engagement that includes hundreds of thousands of employees in some the world's highest performing organizations. In a fresh, humorous and thought-provoking keynote, Gostick & Elton can show exactly how real leaders move the needle on employee engagement. The authors drill deep with case studies and practical examples of known drivers of engagement such as open & honest communication, people development and recognition. Designed for managers and senior leaders, the authors have presented "Employee Engagement: The Deep Dive" to many corporate audiences as a follow-up to their All In presentation on Culture. The session is typically customized to an organization's specific engagement needs.
In this interactive and engaging session based on the New York Times bestselling business book "All In" which includes research from more than 300,000 people in high-performance organizations, Chester Elton will teach leaders how to Engage, Enable and Energize their workforces. The formula of E+E+E outlines how high-performance organizations deliver extraordinary results by creating a vibrant, productive culture where people believe that what they do matters and that they can make a difference. In this presentation, Chester will relate fascinating stories of leaders in action that vividly depict just how these powerful methods can be implemented.
New York Times bestselling author Chester Elton transformed the corporate playing field withThe Orange Revolution. This presentation reveals the synergy that exists among teams in the world's most respected and innovative organizations, and teaches leaders how to tap into the power within any group of individuals. Chester will show how to achieve true teamwork, and how that can produce results that can immediately increase Productivity, Engagement, Loyalty, Innovation, and Bottom-line results.
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Carrot Principle has become the preeminent source on employee engagement and recognition. Attendees will learn how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results. Chester shows how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks and in doing so achieve higher Productivity, Engagement, Retention, and Customer Satisfaction.
For more information about Chester Elton please call 1.877.8TALENT or email us.


The Coast Guard repatriated 43 Haitian migrants Wednesday from two separate interdictions in the Mona Passage, including a pair of migrants who had to be rescued after they were forced into the water by smugglers attempting to avoid interdiction at sea.
The Coast Guard Cutter Confidence repatriated the migrants to Haiti Wednesday.
On Friday a group of 19 migrants was detected by a Coast Guard aircraft west of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo to interdict the migrant vessel and informed federal law enforcement partner agencies.
Upon the cutter Key Largo's arrival on scene, the smugglers, in an attempt to flee the area and avoid interdiction, allegedly threatened the migrants onboard and forced two Haitians, including a minor, overboard without life jackets. The crew of the Key Largo rescued the two Haitians and continued to pursue the suspect vessel.
During the pursuit, a patrolling U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine Operations aircraft was able to maintain surveillance of the fleeing vessel until it was relieved by a Coast Guard HC-144 Maritime Patrol aircraft deployed to Puerto Rico from Coast Guard Air Station Miami.
The suspected smugglers were later apprehended by Dominican Republic law enforcement authorities.
"This incident demonstrates just how ruthless smugglers are. They have no regard for human life and are only seeking to profit from this illicit activity," said Lt. Daniel E. Stepler, Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo commanding officer.
The other 24 Haitian migrants were interdicted four days earlier by Coast Guard Cutter Drummond approximately 13 miles west of Mona Island. Two suspected smugglers were apprehended and turned over to law enforcement authorities in Puerto Rico for further investigation.
Hanging from a yardarm might be a good idea for those smugglers. Attempted murder charges at least.
The Coast Guard repatriated 25 Haitian migrants to Cap Haitien, Haiti, and 31 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba, Tuesday.
These repatriations are a result of five separate attempts to illegally migrate to the United States.
On June 9, 2014, the Coast Guard Cutter Drummond interdicted 25 Haitian migrants on a yola vessel west of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The migrants were transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma and then to the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence for repatriation to Haiti.
The following Friday, three separate interdictions totaling 31 migrants took place in the Florida Straits. The crews of Coast Guard Station Key West, Florida, Coast Guard Station Marathon, Florida, the Coast Guard Cutter Sawfish and Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo interdicted the migrants and safely removed them from their unseaworthy vessels.
All the migrants interdicted were transferred to the Coast Guard Cutters Knight Island and Confidence for repatriation.
Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter all migrants receive food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention.
Crewmembers from the Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo rescue a Haitian migrant from the water west of Mona Island, Puerto Rico, Friday. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
Why are the poor Cuban escapees sent back to torture, incarceration and certain death? I guess it's because survivors of Statist socialist/communist tyranny do not vote for Statist socialist/communist tyranny in this country. B.O. must go.


text:
Jul 9, 2011 · 12:00 pm
The News of the World, the Profumo Affair and the planned military coup
(This blog was later published in The Huffington Post)
I studied journalism at college – well, radio, TV and journalism.
The man in charge of the journalism part of the course was the Production Editor of the News of the World. So we got lots of good lecturers – people like Cecil King, who had created Mirror Group Newspapers and the then-all-powerful IPC.
As a result, we got a very good insight into the real workings of the press and occasionally some great anecdotes.
One was about Rupert Murdoch's take-over of the News of the World in 1969.
At the time, obviously, there was a lot of publicity about the re-launch of the 'new' Murdoch version of the paper and the News of the World's TV ads promised one big thing – the REAL story of the 1963 Profumo Affair which had brought down Harold Macmillan's government.
The News of the World had been a major player in the 1963 scandal and had interviewed almost everyone involved in the affair on tape at the time and had sworn affidavits from all and sundry.
But, when Rupert Murdoch took over the News of the World in 1969, he realised that, sitting in the basement in boxes of tapes and papers, there was much that had gone unpublished in 1963 – in particular about the sexual proclivities of Profumo's wife, actress Valerie Hobson… and about exactly what type of sexual services Christine Keeler provided to Profumo (the UK's Secretary of State for War) and to Yevgeny Ivanov, the senior naval attaché at the Soviet embassy in London.
However, when the News of the World published their 'new' stories about the Profumo Affair, they were just the re-heated previously-published stories. There was nothing new or earth-shattering.
Apparently this was because there had been such unrelenting legal, political and financial pressure on the News of the World that they had backed off. There were even stories of the police listening to tape recordings in one room while, next door, News of the World staffers were busily erasing parts of tapes.
I am a great fan of Doctor Who and, boy, do I wish I had a fully-functioning TARDIS so that I could come back in 100 years or 150 years and find out what had really been happening during my lifetime.
Cecil King, our occasional lecturer at college, was an interesting man because, with some good reason, he had an ego that engulfed any room he entered. Years later, it was claimed or revealed (two words that expose a gulf of possibilities) that he had, in 1968, talked to Lord Mountbatten (who was later assassinated) about the possible overthrow of Harold Wilson's government with Mountbatten replacing the Prime Minister.
It seems to have been a relatively low-key bit of idle ego-boosting by Cecil, as opposed to the more seriously-thought-through plans for a military coup to overthrow the Wilson government in 1974-1975.
This plan for a military coup in the UK was briefly mentioned in some editions of Rupert Murdoch's Sunday Times in 1987 but, I think, removed from later editions. The article does not seem to exist online at the Sunday Times, but I have the original newspaper cutting.
I did once ask the MP Dale Campbell-Savours about the 'Cunard Affair' – part of the plans for a military coup in the UK – as he had brought the subject up in the House of Commons. He asked me to phone him at home at the weekend, not at the House of Commons. I did. And he then told me he could not remember any details. "We were looking into a lot of things at the time," he told me. "I can't remember." I always thought this was a little strange. However many murky affairs you were looking into, a planned military coup to overthrow the UK government (with a dry run during which tanks were taken to Heathrow Airport), might stick in the memory.
Only journalists or time travellers know the truth about history while it is actually happening.
The general consensus seems to be that the perceived necessity for a military coup in 1974/1975 lessened and became unnecessary when Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party in February 1975 and subsequently won the 1979 General Election. The so-called Operation Clockwork Orange in which Margaret Thatcher's close adviser Airey Neave (who was later assassinated) may have been involved may also have had some effect.
Clockwork Orange and the linked Colin Wallace affair, in which he was framed and imprisoned for manslaughter after he claimed the security services had tried to rig the 1974 UK General Election, surely has the makings of a feature film. A pity the title has already been used.
Conspiracies and conspiracy theories are always gripping entertainment, especially if they are real and who knows what is real?
Earlier in this blog, I specifically wrote that both Lord Mountbatten and Airey Neave were peripherally involved in political machinations and were both later assassinated.
Paranoid conspiracy theorists could have a field day with that. But, of course, they were both assassinated by Irish terrorists for reasons totally, utterly unconnected with the alleged plots: they were assassinated because they were high-profile targets.
As for other matters, I always think it is healthy to maintain a certain level of paranoia. There was a saying circulating in the 1960s: No matter how paranoid you are, they are always doing more than you think they are.
I wish I could get a time machine and go forward 100 years to see what was really happening in the world during my life.
Filed under History, Newspapers, Politics, Sex
Tagged as 1963, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1975, affair, Airey Neave, airport, assassination, bondage, Britain, Cecil King, Christime Keeler, Clockwork Orange, Colin Wallace, conspiracy, coup, Daily Mirror, Dale Campbell-Savours, defence, Doctor Who, Eugene, frame, General Election, government, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, Heathrow, House of Commons, IPC, Irish, Ivanov, journalism, journalist, lesbian, london, Lord, Louis, Margaret Thatcher, military, Mirror Group, Mountbatten, MP, naval attache, News of the World, newspaper, operation, paranoia, phone hacking, plot, political, Prime Minister, production editor, Profumo, publish, rig, Rupert Murdoch, Russian, scandal, Secretary of State, sex, Soviet, spy, Sunday Times, tanks, TARDIS, terrorist, theory, time travel, uk, United Kingdom, Valerie Hobson, war, Yevgeny Ivanov
Mar 3, 2011 · 12:18 pm
I saw this comedian last night and I have no idea who he was… or if the act was good or just deeply odd
I am worried I am going to get even fatter and ultimately explode like Mr Creosote in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. I am also worried, having just re-read this blog entry, that I am turning into a mindless luvvie but without the glitz, glamour, class and cravat.
Yesterday I had lunch with Malcolm Hardee documentary director Jody VandenBurg and multi-talented multi-media writer Mark Kelly, who has that very rare thing: a genuinely very original TV idea. He was, at one time the stand-up comic Mr Nasty and he reminded me of one typical early Alternative Comedy incident in which comedy duo The Port Stanley Amateur Dramatic Society got banned from right-on vegetarian cabaret restaurant The Earth Exchange… for throwing ham sandwiches at the audience.
This was actually part of their normal act but proved far too non-PC an anarchic step for the militant non-carnivores at the Earth Exchange which was so small I'm surprised they actually had space to move their arms backwards to throw the offensive sandwiches.
Mark also remembered having his only serious falling-out with Malcolm Hardee at the Tunnel Palladium comedy club after Malcolm put on stage a female fanny farting act who, at the time, might or might not have been a girlfriend or ex-girlfriend of local Goldsmiths College art student Damien Hirst. Mark felt the audience – and, indeed, Malcolm – might have been laughing at the performer rather than with the act.
Knowing Malcolm, I guess it might have been a bit of both.
(Note to US readers, "fanny" has a different meaning in British and American English.)
So, anyway I had a very nice ham omelette and banana split with Mark and Jody downstairs at The Stockpot in Old Compton Street, Soho, and then Irish comic/musician/vagabond Andrias de Staic arrived. I know him from his wonderful Edinburgh Fringe shows Around The World on 80 Quid and The Summer I Did the Leaving, but he is currently appearing until 2nd April in the Woody Guthrie musical Woody Sez at the Arts Theatre in London's West End.
I swear that, the last time I met Aindrias – and it was only last year – he was 5ft 9ins tall. He confirmed this height to me. Yesterday he was 6ft 1in tall.
"It's the theatrical work," he told me. "It makes you stand straighter and taller."
For a moment, I believed him. Then I realised it was rubbish. Then I started to wonder if it could be true.
Or perhaps I am shrinking. The uncertainty of life can be a constant worry.
After that, I went to the weekly Rudy's Comedy Night gig at Rudy's Revenge in High Holborn to see Miss D perform an interestingly different routine in which she gave advice on what to do and what not to do when having a heart attack – something she knows about, having had one in June 2009.
The gig was also notable because I saw for the first time the extremely funny and talented compere Katerina Vrana… and an extraordinary act by a man claiming to be an archaeologist about having a hawk on his arm. I missed his name. If you know, tell me, because it had the same effect on me as watching Anthony Newley's Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? in a Kensington cinema one afternoon etched on my memory in 1969. Perhaps I mean the experience scarred me for life. When the movie finished, I sat there like a stunned halibut and thought What was that??!! and sat through it again to see what on earth I had been watching and whether I liked it. Except, of course, I didn't have the opportunity to sit still and see this guy perform again last night.
He certainly had energy, that's for sure.
As for Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? – it is highly recommended, provided you know what you are letting yourself in for.
It is a bit like North Korea in that respect.
(POSTSCRIPT: Within 5 minutes of posting this, two people Facebooked me to say the 'hawk' comedian is Paul Duncan McGarrity. The wonders of 21st century communications leave me in perpetual awe; I should, perhaps, get out more.)
Filed under Comedy, Movies, Theatre
Tagged as 1969, Aindrias de Staic, Alternative Comedy, American English, Anthony Newley, Around the World on 80 Quid, Arts Theatre, Britain, british, British English, cabaret, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, comedy, comedy club, comedy night, comic, Damien Hirst, Daphna Baram, documentary, Earth Exchange, Facebook, fanny, fart, farting, Goldsmiths College, Guardian, heart attack, High Holborn, humor, humour, Irish, Jody VandenBurg, Katerina Vrana, Kensington, london, luvvie, Malcolm hardee, Mark Kelly, Miss D, Monty Python, Mr Creosote, Mr Nasty, North Korea, Old Compton Street, original TV idea, Paul Duncan McGarrity, PC, politically correct, Port Stanley Amateur Dramatic Society, restaurant, revenge, Rudy's, stand up, Stockpot, The Meaning of Life, The Summer I Did the Leaving, theatre, theatrical, Tunnel Palladium, US, vagabond, vegetarian, West End, Woody Guthrie, Woody Sez

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In this paper, we investigate the determinants of job mismatches with respect to field of education among school-leavers in Europe. In addition, the effects of having a job mismatch on the labour market position of school-leavers are examined. Special attention is paid to cross-country variation in this respect. The data that are used come from the EU LFS 2000 ad hoc module on school-to-work transitions. The results of the empirical analysis show that several individual, job, and structural characteristics affect the likelihood of having a job mismatch. Furthermore, the incidence of job mismatches differs between European countries: in countries where the share of upper secondary education students in school-based vocational education is high, the incidence of job mismatches among school-leavers is higher than in countries where this share is low. With respect to the labour market effects of job mismatches, the most important finding is that school-leavers with a non matching job achieve less occupational status than those with a matching one. This negative effect of job mismatches is smaller in countries where the share of school-based, respectively apprenticeship-type vocational education is higher. Moreover, the analysis reveals that school-leavers with a job mismatch use adjustment strategies to improve fit. A first strategy refers to job search activities: school-leavers with a non matching job more frequently look for another job than school-leavers with a matching job. In countries where the share of school-based vocational education is high, the effect of having a job mismatch on the likelihood of looking for another job is smaller than in countries where this share is low. A second adjustment strategy concerns training participation: on average, there is a negative effect of having a job mismatch on the probability of participating in continuous vocational training. However, in countries where the share of school-based, respectively apprenticeship-type vocational education is low, the impact of having a job mismatch on training participation is positive.


text:
Britney Spears' father suspended as her conservator
By Chloe Melas, Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso III and Meg Wagner, CNN
Updated 0141 GMT (0941 HKT) September 30, 2021
What we covered here
Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, has been suspended as conservator of her estimated $60 million dollar estate and designated a temporary replacement to oversee her finances.
Spears' father petitioned to end her 13-year conservatorship earlier this month.
Over the summer, the Grammy winner said during two emotional testimonies that she wanted to press charges against her father for "conservatorship abuse."
Our live coverage has ended. Read more about today's court hearing here.
9:19 p.m. ET, September 29, 2021
A lot happened in the conservatorship of Britney Spears on Wednesday. Get caught up.
A person holds an image of Britney Spears outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on September 29. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
A Los Angeles judge suspended Britney Spears' father from the 13-year conservatorship, which has captured the world's attention and emboldened her legions of fans under the banner of #FreeBritney.
Here's what else happened Wednesday:
End of an era: Spears will no longer have her father Jamie Spears managing her estate after he was suspended from the role as conservator of the singer's estate. Certified public accountant John Zabel has been appointed as temporary conservator of her estate.
Strong words: In the contentious court hearing, Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart called her father "a cruel, toxic, abusive man." "She wants him out of her life today rather than a lingering and toxic presence," Rosengart said. "Britney deserves to wake up tomorrow without her father as her conservator."
Crediting the #FreeBritney movement: Rosengart praised the #FreeBritney movement this afternoon in helping to lead to the suspension of the singer's father as her conservator. "It's been a lot of hard work, it's been intense. I'm proud, Britney's proud," Rosengart said during a news conference after the hearing. "I think the support of the #FreeBritney movement has been instrumental. To the extent that it allowed my firm to carry the ball across the finish line, I thank them as well."
Documenting history: "Britney vs. Spears" documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr deliberately chose not to include images of Britney Spears at the height of her mental struggles in her new Netflix film because she hoped to "move the story forward," she told CNN this afternoon shortly before the judge's ruling. "It was in empathy for people with mental struggles, but it also was that I wanted to move the story forward. I think when I approached Netflix with this story, it wasn't about the parade of images and videos we have previously seen, but what is going on inside the conservatorship and me, two and a half years ago, maybe I can help crack one of the most mysterious legal mysteries of our time," Carr said. "It was incredibly naive, but if I was going do it, I was going to do it in a forward-facing way. "
What comes next: A hearing to consider a request by Spears to end her conservatorship altogether is set for Nov. 12. Rosengart said the singer, who did not attend Wednesday's hearing, would like an orderly transition and an opportunity to put a plan in place to terminate her conservatorship in the next 30 to 45 days. A second hearing is planned for Dec. 13, when Judge Brenda Penny will address financial matters and additional petitions.
Spears posts video of her flying a plane following court ruling
Britney Spears this evening shared a video of her flying a plane following a Los Angeles judge's decision to suspend her father as conservator of her estimated $60 million dollar estate.
"On cloud 9 right now 🤩☁✈ !!!! First time flying a plane and first time in a prop plane," Spears wrote on Instagram along with the video.
Spears was not in court Wednesday where Judge Brenda Penny suspended the legal oversight of her father, Jamie Spears.
A hearing to consider a request by Spears to end her conservatorship altogether is set for Nov. 12.
Spears' attorney: "The support of the #FreeBritney movement has been instrumental"
Britney Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart speaks after a hearing at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on September 29. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Britney Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart praised the #FreeBritney movement this afternoon in helping to lead to the suspension of the singer's father as her conservator.
"It's been a lot of hard work, it's been intense. I'm proud, Britney's proud," Rosengart said during a news conference after the court hearing in Los Angeles. "I think the support of the #FreeBritney movement has been instrumental. To the extent that it allowed my firm to carry the ball across the finish line, I thank them as well."
More on the #FreeBritney movement: In 2009, Spears superfan Megan Radford read a blog post about her idol's new legal arrangement, and something didn't feel right.
So Radford staged a one-woman protest outside the star's concert in Dallas, wearing a T-shirt she'd made herself, emblazoned with a quirky slogan: "Free Britney."
"I was all alone ... I think some people definitely thought I was a nut," Radford told CNN this summer. But, she added, "when you really care about a human, it's not that much bigger of a step to start advocating for her rights."
Radford, 34, who said she never "grew out" of her adolescent love for Spears, had never heard of a conservatorship before. The Spears fans around her had little concern about the cause, and the phrase on her clothing wasn't a hashtag yet — just a couple of words she'd read on a fansite.
"It was just a way of trying to convey the situation," said Jordan Miller, the owner of the fansite and the man who coined the expression "Free Britney" in a series of breathless posts to his readers in late 2008. "I was 19, 20 years old ... all of this came flying out of me."
Today, those two words describe arguably the defining pop culture crusade of the internet era.
The #FreeBritney movement, which claims the star is being kept against her will in a legal stranglehold that denies her even the most basic personal freedoms, has outposts around the world and has drawn intense media scrutiny onto the singer's case in recent years.
Reporting from CNN's Rob Picheta contributed to this post.
Court hearing to end Britney Spears' conservatorship set for November
From CNN's Julia Jones
A sketch shows the courtroom and a monitor with attendees on video conference during Britney Spears' conservatorship hearing in Los Angeles on September 29. (Bill Robles)
A hearing to consider a request by Britney Spears to end her conservatorship altogether is set for Nov. 12.
Attorney Mathew Rosengart said the singer, who did not attend Wednesday's hearing, would like an orderly transition and an opportunity to put a plan in place to terminate her conservatorship in the next 30 to 45 days.
A second hearing is planned for Dec. 13, when Judge Brenda Penny will address financial matters and additional petitions.
Earlier today: Penny suspended the legal oversight of her father, Jamie Spears, designating a replacement selected by the singer and her attorney.
Certified public accountant John Zabel has been appointed as temporary conservator of her estate.
Britney Spears' attorney calls her father "a cruel, toxic, abusive man" in contentious hearing
From CNN's Chloe Melas and Cheri Mossburg
A court sketch shows Britney Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart, left, and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny at a hearing in Los Angeles on September 29. (Bill Robles)
In the contentious court hearing, Britney Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart called her father, Jamie Spears, "a cruel, toxic, abusive man."
"She wants him out of her life today rather than a lingering and toxic presence," Rosengart said. "Britney deserves to wake up tomorrow without her father as her conservator."
Judge Brenda Penny appointed John Zabel as the temporary conservator of Britney's estate.
Another hearing will be set, possibly before the end of the year, to consider terminating the conservatorship altogether.
Rosengart also cited behavior he called "unfathomable," based on reporting by the New York Times during today's hearing.
Rosengart accused Britney Spears' father of placing a recording device in her bedroom, allegations an attorney for the elder Spears did not directly respond to when previously contacted by CNN.
"We learned Mr. Spears did something unfathomable. He instructed [a] security team, paid for by my client, to place a listening device in Britney's bedroom."
In response in court on Wednesday, Vivian Thoreen, Jamie Spears' lawyer, said, "It's not evidence, it's rhetoric."
There will be another hearing to consider ending Spears' conservatorship altogether
A Los Angeles judge moments ago suspended the legal oversight of Britney Spears' father, designating a replacement selected by the singer and her attorney.
The move suspends Jamie Spears as his daughter's conservator, but it does not end the conservatorship.
Another hearing will be set — possibly before the end of the year — to consider terminating the conservatorship altogether. The exact date is not known.
Britney Spears made a tearful plea in court in June asking for the arrangement to end after 13 years, and, specifically, for her father to be removed from his role managing her estate.
Jamie Spears suspended as Britney Spears' conservator
From CNN's Chloe Melas
Britney Spears will no longer have her father managing her estate after he was suspended from the role as conservator of the singer's estate.
A Los Angeles judge on Wednesday suspended the legal oversight of her father, Jamie Spears, designating a replacement selected by the singer and her attorney.
Britney Spears did not call into the hearing.
Today's hearing is currently on a break. Afterward, both sides will discuss when there will be another court hearing.
The conservatorship of Britney's person, managed by Jodi Montgomery, remains in place.
"Britney vs. Spears" director says she hoped to solve one of the most "mysterious legal mysteries of our time"
Erin Lee Carr, "Britney vs. Spears" documentary filmmaker, speaks with CNN on September 29. CNN
"Britney vs. Spears" documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr deliberately chose not to include images of Britney Spears at the height of her mental struggles in the film because she hoped to "move the story forward," she told CNN this afternoon.
"Britney vs. Spears" premiered on Netflix Tuesday.
"It was in empathy for people with mental struggles, but it also was that I wanted to move the story forward. I think when I approached Netflix with this story, it wasn't about the parade of images and videos we have previously seen, but what is going on inside the conservatorship and me, two and a half years ago, maybe I can help crack one of the most mysterious legal mysteries of our time," Carr said. "It was incredibly naive, but if I was going do it, I was going to do it in a forward-facing way. "
"Britney vs. Spears" is one of a handful of documentaries to be released on the singer, including Hulu's "Controlling Britney Spears" and CNN's "Toxic: Britney Spears' Battle for Freedom."
Britney Spears fans rally around the world ahead of conservatorship hearing
Scores of Britney Spears fans gathered in Los Angeles and London this afternoon ahead of a hearing where a judge will determine whether the 13-year conservatorship can be terminated.
Fans were seen carrying homemade signs featuring photos of the singer and #FreeBritney, the viral hashtag used to rally support for Spears.
See some of the scenes from Los Angeles and London:
Britney Spears supporters attend a rally in London on September 29. (Kate Green/Getty Images)
Britney Spears supporters demonstrate outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on September 29. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
A Britney Spears supporter holds a sign outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on September 29. (Chris Pizzello/AP)
Signs are placed on the ground as Britney Spears supporters demonstrate in front of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on September 29. (Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)
, Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso III and Meg Wagner, CNN"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".speakable"]}}


Can you believe how adorable these two are?
Kate and I have different but complementary styles, and as soon as we started talking about the project, I knew it would be my Bruton Hoody that got a fresh look. Kate chose to scale down her popular Bluebells cardigan from the wonderful book, Yokes. She's kept the same pretty bluebell motif, from that point when the flowers start to go over and point skywards, but reworked the sweater to a more child-friendly cardigan. Sofia is wearing the age 2 size, and sizes are available from 1-12, but you should definitely check the actual finished sizes in comparison with your intended recipient - kids vary in size ENORMOUSLY!
I had been of a mind to design a child's version of the Bruton Hoody since it was first conceived. As I worked on the original I had ideas about making a mini-version for my nephew James. Well, it's only taken a couple of years, but Wee Bruton is now here! The adult's hoody is worked in Excelana DK, but to keep the proportions of the Bavarian twisted stitch motif, I have scaled the Wee version down to Excelana 4ply. Both yarns are a joy to knit with, and there are some limited edition colours available in the 4ply at the moment, if you're quick!
When you purchase Cross-Country Knitting Volume 2, you not only get the patterns for Wee Bruton and Wee Bluebells, but also a lovely essay by Rachel Atkinson exploring the significance of childhood handknits. Spoiler alert, there are pictures of Kate, Rachel and me as kids in handknits along with that article! It's a great read. Thanks for joining us on the CCK adventure Rachel!
Kate and I were overjoyed when Fergus Ford (the brother of the TURBO Felix) agreed not only to photograph but also arranged our fantastic models for us. Fergus has really captured the exact look and feel we were hoping for in these beautiful pictures.
If you'd like to know more about Kate's design, head over to her blog to read more.


text:
Sarawak to host 25th BIMP-EAGA Ministerial Summit
KUCHING, June 24 (Bernama) – Sarawak will host the 25th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Ministerial Summit here from Nov 20-24.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the opportunity to host the event showed the confidence of the ASEAN neighbours in Sarawak, which was moving towards an integrated and digital economy.
"I was in Bangkok to attend the 34th ASEAN Summit at the invitation of the Prime Minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad)," he said when launching PwC Malaysia's Kuching office here today.
He said the 10-nation regional grouping, including the BIMP-EAGA, was cooperating in many areas such as transforming the economy, which would see Sarawak taking advantage of its resources to be developed as potential commodities.
The BIMP-EAGA was launched in March 1994 as a cooperation initiative to increase trade, investment and tourism in the region comprising Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan in Malaysia, Brunei,Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya in Indonesia, besides Palawan and Mindanao in the Philippines.
On the opening of PwC Malaysia's office here, the 7th in the country, Abang Johari said it was an indication of Sarawak's fast growing reputation as an attractive hub for business, as well as the confidence shown by the private sector.
Via a joint venture between China's Huawei and the Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (Centex), he said the state government planned to leapfrog to 5G technology to upgrade Sarawak's digital infrastructure.
He said there was a need to explore the implementation of the 5G network from 3G at present, while the digital economy only contributed 2.3 per cent to the state economy as of last November.
Earlier PwC Malaysia managing partner Sriharan Nair said there was a growing demand for professional services in Sarawak and the multi-disciplinary firm could offer a wide range, from implementing effective tax strategies to reshaping workplace culture in response to current trends.
--BERNAMA


text:
The Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) was a professional baseball sports league that operated in Venezuela from 1997 to 2015, primarily in the state of Carabobo. Teams in the league served as academies for Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations, and were classified at the Rookie League level within Minor League Baseball.

History
The VSL was created in 1997 as an alternative to the Dominican Summer League (DSL) to improve the development of young prospects from Venezuela in their early years in organized baseball. Besides Carabobo, the states of Aragua, Lara and Yaracuy were represented in the league.

Each team had a roster limit of 35 active players, at least 10 of which had to be pitchers. No player on the active list could have more than four years of minor league service. There were no age limits. The league was closed to all MLB Draft eligible players; that is, players from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Exceptions were made for two players from Puerto Rico. In addition to Venezuela, players in the league came from Argentina, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Sint Maarten.

The regular season champion and runner-up played a best-of-three-games playoff series for the league championship.

The league had six squads in its first season, 1997, via three teams fielding split-squads. By 1999, the league had grown to 10 individual teams, and had nine teams as late as 2007. The league reduced to four teams in 2012, played the next two seasons with five teams, and was again reduced to four teams in 2015. Political instability in the region led to more teams opting out before the 2016 season, resulting in the league shutting down.

Venezuela would go without a summer professional baseball league until 2021, when the Venezuelan Major League was established.

Teams

1997–2004
Teams during this period were named for the city they operated in.

Single-squad teams

Source:

Split-squad teams
These clubs operated as split-squads, fielding two teams denoted by numbers (e.g. VSL Venoco 1 and VSL Venoco 2).

Source:

2005–2015
Teams during this period were named for their affiliated MLB team(s).

Single-affiliate teams

Source:

Cooperative teams
Note that cooperative teams are linked to their respective teams (e.g. VSL Cubs/Twins links to VSL Cubs and VSL Twins).

Source:

League champions

 1997 – VSL Maracay 2
 1998 – VSL Guacara 1
 1999 – VSL Chino Canónico
 2000 – VSL San Felipe
 2001 – VSL Venoco
 2002 – VSL Aguirre
 2003 – VSL San Felipe
 2004 – VSL Tronconero 2
 2005 – VSL Astros
 2006 – VSL Phillies
 2007 – VSL Astros
 2008 – VSL Pirates
 2009 – VSL Rays
 2010 – VSL Pirates
 2011 – VSL Rays
 2012 – VSL Phillies
 2013 – VSL Mariners
 2014 – VSL Tigers
 2015 – VSL Tigers

Source:

MLB alumni
VSL players who have gone on to make MLB appearances include:

José Altuve (HOU)
José Alvarado (TBR)
Wladimir Balentien (SEA)
Asdrúbal Cabrera (SEA)
Ramón Cabrera (PIT)
Ezequiel Carrera (TOR)
Yonny Chirinos (TBR)
Argenis Díaz (BOS)
Elías Díaz (PIT)
Félix Doubront (BOS)
Luis Durango (SDP)
Sergio Escalona (PHI)
Eduardo Escobar (CWS)
Víctor Gárate (HOU)
Avisail García (DET)
Severino González (PHI)
Mayckol Guaipe (SEA)
Jesús Guzmán (SEA)
César Hernández (PHI)
Oscar Hernández (TBR)
Dilson Herrera (PIT)
Edgar Ibarra (MIN)
Gregory Infante (CWS)
Dixon Machado (DET)
Jean Machi (PHI)
Germán Márquez (TBR)
David Martínez (HOU)
Yoervis Medina (SEA)
Diego Moreno (PIT)
Omar Narváez (TBR)
Ángel Nesbitt (DET)
Lester Oliveros (DET)
José Ortega (DET)
Hernán Pérez (DET)
Erasmo Ramírez (SEA)
Wilking Rodríguez (TBR)
Bruce Rondón (DET)
Josmil Pinto (MIN)
José Quintana (NYM)
J. C. Ramírez (SEA)
Felipe Rivero (TBR)
Miguel Rojas (CIN)
Jorge Rondón (STL)
Rómulo Sánchez (PIT)
Eduardo Sánchez (STL)
Eugenio Suárez (DET)
Rubén Tejada (NYM)
Ronald Torreyes (CIN)
Wilfredo Tovar (NYM)
Luis Valbuena (SEA)
Felipe Vázquez (TBR)
Brayan Villarreal (DET)

Note: team affiliations reflect a player's organization while in the VSL; the player may have reached MLB with a different franchise.

See also
 Venezuelan Major League

References

External links
Official website archived March 2016 via Wayback Machine
VSL Encyclopedia and History at Baseball-Reference.com

Venezuelan Summer League
Minor league baseball leagues
Baseball leagues in Venezuela
Sports leagues established in 1997
Sports leagues disestablished in 2015
1997 establishments in Venezuela
2015 disestablishments in Venezuela
Defunct baseball leagues

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Our favorite overly-enthusiastic bunch is back~! Who's ready for some enthusiasm injections?
Is this real? Am I really here after a whole year? Am I really back here at the beginning of October with the second season of Bakuman? IS THIS REALITY? Indeed it is conscious as six months to its first ending, our fantastic duo is back for a second season of enthusiastic manga-making while being accompanied by all sorts of new challenges for them to take on. While I found my Bakuman fix from catching up with the manga (which I and countless others will HIGHLY recommend because you can't ignore the brilliance that is Ohba and Obata together), I missed the animation that got my love for the series started. With that, let's get this enthusiastic tag-team post started!
Like I said in the Anime Addicts Anonymous podcast, everybody needs enthusiasm injections!!! Life would be nothing without them and a boost here or there really makes it easy. So, join Hoshi and I for another season's worth of ENTHUSIASM!
At the end of the past season, Mashiro and Takagi finally achieved their goal of getting serialized in Jump with their one-shot 'Detective Trap'. Yet when it comes to the meeting, Hattori brings along another editor, Miura, and suddenly announces that he'll be their new supervisor! Hattori goes to explain that since he's working on other series, including One Piece, it would be bad to hand these off to someone else. And so, they needed to add someone else to supervise Detective Trap, despite Hattori and Ashirogi being together with it this long. As he leaves, Miura says Hattori had begged desperately to continue working with them, but of course, still wasn't allowed to. With that, the two rush outside and thank Hattori for everything he's done before he enters the elevator.
You have received the glittery-eyed Hattori sign of approval.
After their touching goodbye, Miura goes over the formal issues of salaries and assistants, then mentions a New Year's party they are to attend since all serialized authors are invited. By the next day they are introduced to their assistants, Ogawa, Kato, and Takahama. Ogwa, their pro assistant, quickly gets things arranged for them, making them feel more professional than ever.
As January 17th rolls around, Ashirogi are picked up a chauffer and driven to a fancy, brightly lit building for the News Years party. Inside, the two manage to find not only Hattori and Miura, but Niizuma as well! Behind him however is a new, somewhat gloomy face that belongs to Hiramaru, the new genius author of another newly serialized manga called Otter 11. He accidentally manages to bring the mood down for poor Ashirogi Muto, but with Miura and the proceeding party, they quickly regain their spirits. Takagi even ends up winning a tv for the studio from winning a game of bingo!
Towards the end of the party, the Editor in Chief introduces them to a man named Mashirito, who knew Mashiro's uncle back when he was serialized. He gives them so encouragement and proceeds to leave, but Mashiro says that he'll do the things his uncle couldn't do: make a living off of making manga and getting first place in the surveys.
End thoughts~ So glad that this new episode really left off from the last season and it made following what happened previous so easy to go. So we all knew that Ashirogi Muto would be getting a new editor and I so knew that it would be some annoying guy. But what was even more cool was how the new editor is such a big fan of Mashiro's uncle. It's all sad that Hattori isn't the editor anymore but I'm sure we'll be seeing him a bit more later in the series (yes maybe I have read ahead hah). But with that aside, the studio is always cool when it's getting praised and to see that the boys get some assistants is cool. But it kind of feels like they're not as high up there when the assistants are introduced. Such professionalism in the job is given with Ogawa present and the criticizing of the studio was amusing. As well, the introductions of the other assistants was funny having a girl and a 19 year old boy who gives such a smug look at Mashiro like he knows he is just as good. Considering the opening song, we can see that people will get along just fine.
I have never really had a liking to the opening themes for Bakuman. I guess that I just don't like its whole happy slice of life type feel of opening with its mellow songs or I you can just say that I have no liking for the singers. But I did however like the ending theme song. I could tell right away who the singer was and it's one of my favorite artists, Tommy heavenly6. Man she changes the names she uses to identify herself for her certain songs a bit too much or I am just not up to date (The Brilliant Green). The animation for this is typically the same as the previous season. It still looks decent but Azuki's hair is still fugly.
I do say, the introduction of Hiramaru is so so so amusing. Here we have a guy who out of the blue picks up a shonen jack magazine and decides to give it a shot in hopes of becoming rich so that he can do nothing but eat and slip. But it probably never occurred to him how he will actually have to work to meet deadlines and it's not an easy job as you'd think. Poor man is so depressed at the New Years party but so amusing with his cold attitude that just spreads to Ashirogi Muto while Eiji is all happy and hyper. As well, the whole New Years party scene was pretty cool and the Bingo! Man, sounds boring but cool to win a TV. Seeing Hiramaru begging Eiji to listen to his problems made me crack up. I think that for now, Hiramaru is my favorite character. Anyways, overall this opening for the new season was pretty good. I look forward to seeing Ashirogi Muto's serialization progress and I'll be following this series for sure. If you have been following up with the previous season, you already know how much Hattori has worked with the boys to make them reach a part of their goal. If you have been in the fandom, you already should appreciate how difficult it is to have a serialized manga. The source material out of which anime and movies spring up. A very difficult medium to stay abreast of. I mean, look at the mangaka of Hunter x Hunter, he keeps on going on hiatuses after 2-3 months of regular work.
Anyways, coming to the first episode, the pacing was as usual following the events of Ashurogi Mutou after they hit the big luck of getting serialized. It's also time for changes as Hattori's leaving (So gonna miss him!) for better things and the new guy is an overenthusiastic one, grating to the ears and eyes even. But I guess, you can't really hate him because he brought capable minions to assist the budding mangaka team.
The thing that I loved is as usual was Eiji's eccentricity. I guess, this character is one of the reasons I like Nobuhiko Okamoto so much and his floundering about and calling most of his worthy competitors sensei. Seiyuu of Hiramaru as Masakazu Morita was a nice surprise and I'm liking how he's adding variety to his roles; this one is going to be hella interesting as well. I haven't read too far off in manga so I'm curious to know what would be the teething problems of serialization and managing a high school routine. More Ashirogi Mutou is really not bad, peeps. :3 Was I the only one who seriously fangirled over that Detective Trap opening sequence? Even though it was only for a few seconds, it was quite AWESOME. I wish they gave more of that like they did with the Super Hero Legends opening sequence last season (Mashiro you could've thought of it longer!). As for Bakuman's new opening however, I have to say it felt kind of lazy by them just using scenes that will be coming up in the series. It was still really nice though, and the song was great too~ Ten times better than BlueBird, which I still detest after all these months.
Overall, it was a rather enjoyable episode, and with faster pacing! I know last season some had some complaints about the slow pacing, so hopefully they stick with this. The story seems to be getting even more interesting now that they're ACTUALLY serialized and we get to see how things will change for Mashiro and Takagi. I'm a bit scared for our enthusiasm injections as now that they've completed their main goal, what other major goal, other than the obvious get-an-anime one, will there be? Yet, since this is Bakuman, I'm sure we'll still get our decent amount of enthusiasm somehow. I, like a lot of others, was also quite sad that Hattori won't be with Ashirogi now, but it's nice to see that he's still around. The big issue though that has my stomach twisting is if Miura will be a good editor for them or not, because if not, who knows what kind of disasters might happen. I have to say it was nice to feel some familiarity; not just manga familiarity, but tone familiarity, you can say. Watching the first episode to a new anime is kind of nerve-racking as you don't know if it'll be good, etc. etc. but to come back to a show that I personally adore, and feel that familiarity made me feel so comfortable and excited, and I couldn't wait to go back to blogging it. With that, I can definitely say I'm more than happy to be back with Bakuman for another 24 episodes. Bring it on second season~!!
Time for their serialization to take off! But will Ashirogi get along with their assistants? And what has happened to Azuki to cause her to look so depressed? Until next week then~!!
Congrats on the blog post!!! Look forward to the ones in the future!
~I KNOW RIGHT? SO MUCH AWESOMENESS<3 I agree it did feel a bit rushed. I had to stop for a second and think, wait, it's already over?!
You can catch up! We have faith in you!
Finally! I missed this series so much.
Yeah! I was ahead too in the first season.. but then I got busy<_<. Maybe if I get free time, I will read ahead too haha.
I was disappointed by the first season, but decided to treat it as the story of how they got to the good part. I'm really looking forward to seeing Ashirogi Muto work as pros. This first episode was pretty good. I'm happy that the focus was on the professional (not the romantic) life of our heroes.
Yes! I like the professional aspect of this and don't give a crap for the romantic part because that just comes with Mashiro whining, thus I skipped over some of the 'romantic' moments hah.
Yeah the first season was more of the work on their way up to serialization, and now it'll most likely be more of them as professionals, which hopefully helps pick up the pace. I'm excited for this as well as I'm always interested in how mangakas work, heh.
Well, we'll have to see how much emphasis they give to what. I can probably stand a show with a small part that I hate if the rest is good.
My god. I think i watched this episode 3 or 4 times. It's just me going, wow, how far this show has come, animation quality, character development, plot, the boys, even the OP/ED songs. The ED was so pretty, especially when we compare it to BRUE BAAHDS. I just looooove it. The new editor looks like a bunch of fun, and somehow, despite having a rather narrow space to work with for plot, they make every episode exciting and worthwhile.


The leadership team of the Minnesota STEM Network Northeast Region invites stakeholders of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development to attend the 2nd annual Northeast regional meeting.
This event will bring together business, education, civic, and community leaders who have a stake in improving STEM education and workforce development in Northeast Minnesota. In 2012, the inaugural meeting attracted an overflow attendance of more than 100 STEM stakeholders.
Keynote Speaker -- Caryn Mohr, Research Scientist at Wilder Research, will present STEM research and data pertinent to the Northeast region now available on the STEM Portal on MN Compass . With support from Boston Scientific, MN Compass has recently launched this new section within its education metrics which is devoted to portraying the current status of interest and achievement in STEM from cradle to career. Explore it to discover the depth of data and research contained in it.
A continental breakfast and networking will open at 8:00 before the meeting begins at 8:30.
Parking is complimentary for meeting attendees. Enter the attached covered parking ramp on West First Street.
with additional support from the University of Minnesota.


text:
News Sports Outdoors Opinion Obituaries eNewspaper Ozarks Life Legals Horoscopes
Harassment claims target 4 Missouri lawmakers
David A. Lieb, Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — The Missouri House has dealt with six formal sexual harassment complaints over the past two years, including four that involved lawmakers and that cost more than $22,000 in external legal fees to investigate, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.
That's twice as many complaints as the House received in the nearly two years before it strengthened its sexual harassment policies in November 2015. But it's impossible to know whether alleged sexual harassment instances actually have increased or whether lawmakers and staff simply feel more comfortable reporting allegations.
The records do not contain the names of the lawmakers or the specific reasons why no action was taken against them.
House Speaker Todd Richardson has spearheaded the House's new sexual harassment policies since taking over in May 2015 for Speaker John Diehl Jr., who resigned while admitting to sending sexually suggestive text messages to a college student serving as a House intern.
"My hope is that what you're seeing now is a quicker resolution to the kind of issues that — absent a policy that requires reporting and quick investigation — would have gone unresolved," Richardson said.
The Senate said it had no records of any complaints other than an allegation that Democratic Sen. Paul LeVota had sexually harassed an intern in 2015. Records show that the state spent about $25,500 for private attorneys to investigate the claim against LeVota. He denied the allegation but announced his resignation shortly after the investigative report was publicly released in July 2015.
The Missouri House and Senate both updated their sexual harassment policies before the growth of the #MeToo movement last fall, when numerous women across the country went public with claims of sexual harassment against prominent people in politics, entertainment and the media.
Since then, legislative chambers in a majority of states have revised or are considering changes to their sexual harassment policies, according to an AP review.
The names of the Missouri House members involved in the sexual harassment complaints were kept confidential in the documents provided to the AP under the state's open-records law. But two lawmakers at odds in one of the cases confirmed their involvement to the AP, and both expressed frustration with how it was resolved.
"The policies that are put in place in the House are totally ineffective," Democratic Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal said in a tearful interview with the AP. She recalled feeling "like you're a nobody" when her complaint against Democratic Rep. Joshua Peters was quietly dismissed last year.
Chappelle-Nadal had gone public in January 2016 with allegations that Peters had grabbed her in a "forceful embrace" and called her "boo" and a derogatory name. Peters said at the time that the accusations were "completely and categorically false."
The House sexual harassment policy requires complaints involving lawmakers to be investigated by private attorneys who submit their findings to the House Ethics Committee, a panel of five Republican and five Democratic representatives. Complaints involving staff are handled internally.
Records of a closed-session February 2016 meeting show the House Ethics Committee voted to dismiss a complaint on the condition of the lawmaker in question meeting with the chair and vice chair and being "warned that any further complaints of inappropriate language or behavior will be dealt with more severely."
Peters told the AP that he was the lawmaker admonished to behave and he acknowledged that he had cursed at Chappelle-Nadal. But he expressed frustration that he never received anything in writing declaring that he had been cleared of the sexual harassment allegation.
"There needs to be transparency in these particular situations when it comes to the final results," Peters said.
Richardson told the AP that providing written resolutions of cases to the parties involved is a suggestion worth considering. But he was reluctant to publicly release documents about the investigations.
The House policy is designed "to make sure that we're protecting the privacy and the confidentiality of both the person making the complaint and the accused," he said.
Invoices show that the House also hired outside lawyers to investigate two sexual harassment complaints in early 2016 and one additional complaint in early 2017 while the Legislature was in session.
Minutes show that the House Ethics Committee met in a closed session in March 2016 but do not indicate how any complaints were resolved. Records show that the committee dismissed a complaint in March 2017. Another harassment complaint was dismissed Jan. 4, though the lack of invoices for private attorneys suggests that particular complaint may not have been of a sexual nature.
Some of the sexual harassment complaints involving lawmakers have been investigated by the St. Louis law firm McMahon Berger, which the House also hired to lead sexual harassment training sessions. All House members and staff were required to participate in a 90-minute session in January that discussed specific examples of potentially inappropriate behavior, including sexual jokes, hugs or comments about personal photos on social media.
The Missouri Senate only requires training once when people start their jobs.


'Back in December , Donald Trump's personal doctor declared to the world that Trump would be "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." While that particular claim is unfalsifiable (although almost certainly incorrect), according to a source with knowledge of Trump's current prescriptions, that letter isn't telling the whole story. Most notably: Donald Trump is allegedly still taking speed-like diet pills.
Rumors of Trump's predilection for stimulants first started really popping up in 1992, when Spy magazine wrote, "Have you ever wondered why Donald Trump has acted so erratically at times, full of manic energy, paranoid, garrulous? Well, he was a patient of Dr. [Joseph] Greenberg's from 1982 to 1985." At the time, Dr. Greenberg was notorious for allegedly doling out prescription stimulants to anyone who could pay.
The diet drugs, which [Trump] took in pill form, not only curbed his appetite but gave him a feeling of euphoria and unlimited energy. The medical literature warned that some potentially dangerous side effects could result from long-term usage; they included anxiety, insomnia, and delusions of grandeur. According to several Trump Organization insiders, Donald exhibited all these ominous symptoms of diet drug usage, and then some.
The supposed drug Trump took back then was Tenuate Dospan, a drug with speed-like effects that's not unlike dexedrine.
'On Sunday, the White House said it was in the "beginning stages" of talks to relocate the American embassy to Israel from its current home in Tel Aviv to the much more hotly contested Jerusalem. The announcement came just a few hours before Trump was scheduled to hold his first official conversation with embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (above).


text:
Q: AngularJS how to pass data from one controller to different directives I am not sure whether I can do like this or there is a better way. I need someone to guide me.
I created two template using directive (both directives in the same page).
Let say

*

*directiveVideo for display videos

*directivePhoto for display photos

Then I have a controller. this controller requests two different data, videos and photos.
My question is, how can I pass the video data to display in directiveVideo and photo data to
directivePhoto

A: Your question is incredibly vague, so I'll give an equally vague answer. If you want something more specific, you'll need to edit your question to include some code - preferably in a Plunker.
If your controller declares two scope vars, videos and photos, then you can simply pass those as attributes to your directives:

And you can read this in from your directive. Assuming you have an isolate scope:
scope: { photos: '=' }

Otherwise:
scope: true,
link: function ( scope, element, attrs ) {
  attrs.$observe( 'photos', function ( val ) {
    $scope.photos = val;
  });
}

And your template can access it however it needs to:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Thank you for your review of our Tunbridge Wells Hotel. We are sorry to hear that the temperature of your room affected the comfort of your stay. Where possible, our room are provided with fans and we are taking measures to ensure our rooms are cooler. However, we're pleased to hear our staff have provided our expected high standard of service and contributed positively to your stay with us. Thank you again and we do hope you choose to visit Travelodge again soon.


text:
Vieillir avec toi est le  studio de Florent Pagny et son  discographique, sorti le  chez Capitol Music France, dont la musique est entièrement composée et réalisée par Calogero.

Florent Pagny retrouve certains de ses auteurs et compositeurs habituels tels que Calogero et son frère Gioacchino Maurici, déjà compositeurs de Châtelet les Halles , Lionel Florence, auteur de ses grands succès comme Savoir aimer, Et un jour, une femme et Ma liberté de penser, Marc Lavoine, déjà présent sur Tout et son contraire ou Emmanuelle Cosso, présente régulièrement sur ses albums depuis Abracadabra. L'album sera certifié disque de diamant.

L'album se hisse, pour sa première semaine d'exploitation, devant Céline Dion et Eminem avec près de 43 000 exemplaires. Un petit exploit compte tenu des faibles ventes de ses albums depuis Baryton (2005) peinant à atteindre les 300 000 ventes.

Son lead single s'est hissé jusqu'à la  du top Single, ce qui ne lui était plus arrivé depuis 2006 avec Là ou je t'emmènerai. Ses singles n'ont pas vraiment été des succès commerciaux mais les diffusions radio, l'exposition médiatique grâce à The Voice et les (très) bonnes critiques (presse et consommateurs) ont fait de cet album un nouveau classique de la variété française. Un disque de diamant lui est décerné le 27 juillet 2015. En effet l'album s'est vendu à ce jour à 690 000 exemplaires.

L'album est resté classé plus de 100 semaines dans le top Album dont une à la première place et 32 non consécutives dans le top 10. Face à ce succès, une émission spéciale Florent Pagny fut diffusée le  avec comme invités, entre autres, Yannick Noah (avec lequel il interprétera en duo Ma liberté de penser, en référence à leur exil fiscal commun), Calogero et Indila. 3,64 millions de personnes étaient devant leur poste durant cette soirée.

Liste des titres

L'édition limitée contient, en bonus, les quatre premiers titres en version acoustique, joués au piano par Calogero et aux guitares acoustiques par Michel Aymé.

Notes et références

Album de Florent Pagny
Album musical sorti en 2013
Album publié par Capitol Records
Album numéro un en France
Album certifié disque de diamant en France
Album enregistré au studio Guillaume Tell


text:
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/*    MERCHANTABILITY  AND FITNESS FOR  A PARTICULAR  PURPOSE ARE    */
/*    DISCLAIMED.  IN  NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY  OF TEXAS AT    */
/*    AUSTIN OR CONTRIBUTORS BE  LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,    */
/*    INCIDENTAL,  SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY,  OR  CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES    */
/*    (INCLUDING, BUT  NOT LIMITED TO,  PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE    */
/*    GOODS  OR  SERVICES; LOSS  OF  USE,  DATA,  OR PROFITS;  OR    */
/*    BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED  AND ON ANY THEORY OF    */
/*    LIABILITY, WHETHER  IN CONTRACT, STRICT  LIABILITY, OR TORT    */
/*    (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)  ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT    */
/*    OF  THE  USE OF  THIS  SOFTWARE,  EVEN  IF ADVISED  OF  THE    */
/*    POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.                                    */
/*                                                                   */
/* The views and conclusions contained in the software and           */
/* documentation are those of the authors and should not be          */
/* interpreted as representing official policies, either expressed   */
/* or implied, of The University of Texas at Austin.                 */
/*********************************************************************/

#define CPU_UNKNOWN     0
#define CPU_P5600       1
#define CPU_1004K	2
#define CPU_24K		3

static char *cpuname[] = {
  "UNKNOWN",
  "P5600",
  "MIPS1004K",
  "MIPS24K"
};

int detect(void){

#ifdef __linux
  FILE *infile;
  char buffer[512], *p;

  p = (char *)NULL;
  infile = fopen("/proc/cpuinfo", "r");
  while (fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), infile)){
    if (!strncmp("cpu", buffer, 3)){
	p = strchr(buffer, ':') + 2;
#if 0
	fprintf(stderr, "%s \n", p);
#endif
	break;
      }
  }

  fclose(infile);

  if(p != NULL){
  if (strstr(p, "5600")) {
    return CPU_P5600;
  } else if (strstr(p, "1004K")) {
    return CPU_1004K;
  } else if (strstr(p, " 24K")) {
    return CPU_24K;
  } else
    return CPU_UNKNOWN;
  }
#endif
    return CPU_UNKNOWN;
}

char *get_corename(void){
  return cpuname[detect()];
}

void get_architecture(void){
  printf("MIPS");
}

void get_subarchitecture(void){
  if(detect()==CPU_P5600|| detect()==CPU_1004K|| detect()==CPU_24K){
    printf("P5600");
  }else{
    printf("UNKNOWN");
  }
}

void get_subdirname(void){
  printf("mips");
}

void get_cpuconfig(void){
  if(detect()==CPU_P5600){
    printf("#define P5600\n");
    printf("#define L1_DATA_SIZE 65536\n");
    printf("#define L1_DATA_LINESIZE 32\n");
    printf("#define L2_SIZE 1048576\n");
    printf("#define L2_LINESIZE 32\n");
    printf("#define DTB_DEFAULT_ENTRIES 64\n");
    printf("#define DTB_SIZE 4096\n");
    printf("#define L2_ASSOCIATIVE 8\n");
  } else if (detect()==CPU_1004K) {
    printf("#define MIPS1004K\n");
    printf("#define L1_DATA_SIZE 32768\n");
    printf("#define L1_DATA_LINESIZE 32\n");
    printf("#define L2_SIZE 262144\n");
    printf("#define DTB_DEFAULT_ENTRIES 8\n");
    printf("#define DTB_SIZE 4096\n");
    printf("#define L2_ASSOCIATIVE 4\n");
  } else if (detect()==CPU_24K) {
    printf("#define MIPS24K\n");
    printf("#define L1_DATA_SIZE 32768\n");
    printf("#define L1_DATA_LINESIZE 32\n");
    printf("#define L2_SIZE 32768\n");
    printf("#define DTB_DEFAULT_ENTRIES 8\n");
    printf("#define DTB_SIZE 4096\n");
    printf("#define L2_ASSOCIATIVE 4\n");
  }else{
    printf("#define UNKNOWN\n");
  }
  if (!get_feature("msa")) printf("#define NO_MSA\n");
}

void get_libname(void){
  if(detect()==CPU_P5600) {
    printf("p5600\n");
  } else if (detect()==CPU_1004K) {
    printf("mips1004K\n");
  } else if (detect()==CPU_24K) {
    printf("mips24K\n");
  }else{
    printf("mips\n");
  }
}

int get_feature(char *search)
{

#ifdef __linux
        FILE *infile;
        char buffer[2048], *p,*t;
        p = (char *) NULL ;

        infile = fopen("/proc/cpuinfo", "r");

        while (fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), infile))
        {

                if (!strncmp("Features", buffer, 8) || !strncmp("ASEs implemented", buffer, 16))
                {
                        p = strchr(buffer, ':') + 2;
                        break;
                }
        }

        fclose(infile);

        if( p == NULL ) return 0;

        t = strtok(p," ");
        while( t = strtok(NULL," "))
        {
                if (strstr(t, search))   { return(1); }
        }

#endif
        return(0);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Only A Game
Home//Radio//Only A Game
The Baseball Card That Made Keith Comstock A Legend
<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://player.wbur.org/onlyagame/2019/10/11/baseball-card-crotch"></iframe>
Martin KesslerTwitter
Keith Comstock's famous 1989 baseball card. (Courtesy blowoutbuzz.com)
Keith Comstock played professional baseball for 17 years.
"Nine years in the minor leagues, I played two years over in Japan, and then I played six years in the big leagues — parts of six years," he says.
When he runs into baseball fans out in the world, some are curious about his time in Japan.
"But, mostly, they want to talk about that baseball card," he says. "That card goes a long way in conversations."
"So 17 years — that's what's risen to the top?" I ask.
"That's pretty much, yeah," Comstock says with a laugh.
So picture this: Comstock's got his uniform on, with his hands stretched out in front of him, and he's got this horribly pained look on his face. His eyes are squeezed shut. His mouth is open, like he's letting out a scream.
But what makes this card truly stand out — the reason fans continue to bring it up — is the location of the baseball in the photo.
And the story of how Comstock made this happen, how he got this image on a real baseball card, may be even more bizarre than the photo itself.
"Yeah, there was a lot of thinking on your feet," Comstock says.
The Minor League Grind
Growing up, Keith Comstock kept his baseball cards in two shoe boxes. One was for the special cards: the star players you wanted to hold onto.
The other was for cards destined for service in his bicycle spokes.
"The cards only lasted like two or three days in a bicycle, so I'd always have to keep replenishing those cards," Comstock says. "So if I got a Reggie Jackson card — yeah, I saved Reggie. But if I got — and I love Dick Green; Dick Green was a hard-nosed baseball player — but if I got Dick Green from the Oakland A's, he went into my bicycle spokes and became my motorcycle."
"Did you dream of having your own card?" I ask.
"I don't think there was a dream, to be honest with you," Comstock says. "Somewhere along the line, it became more of a vision than it did a dream."
Keith Comstock was a standout left-handed pitcher at Cañada College in California, where, according to the school, he once struck out 22 batters in a single game. And when Comstock was 20 years old, the California Angels selected him in the fifth round of the 1976 MLB draft.
Comstock ended up in Iowa, playing for the Single-A Quad Cities Angels. That's where he got his first card as a professional baseball player.
"It is not a good picture," Comstock says with a laugh. "It's black and white. It's, like, point blank. My eyes are all squinty, and I just kind of [have] this look on my face like I just ate a lemon or something."
"But I bet when you got, it was still pretty amazing to see," I say.
"Oh, yeah," he says. "And the thing was, I didn't know if I was going to get another one or not."
But Comstock would get plenty more minor league baseball cards — more than he'd want, in fact.
And there's something important to know about minor league baseball cards. Unlike major league cards, which feature action shots from actual games, minor league cards, at least back then in the late '70s, used posed photos.
So as he toiled away in the minors for the next five, six, seven years, Comstock became very familiar with the limited pose options.
"You're lifting your leg and you're holding your balance point," Comstock remembers. "The other one is when you're finishing your follow through, and the ball's still in your hand. It looks like you're about ready to release it. There's other ones that you would kind of just sit there in a stretch position, or in a windup position before you even started.
"Those got boring. And, unfortunately, the reason why I got tired of doing the same thing was because I was in the minor leagues for so long."
But in 1987, 11 years after he was drafted, Comstock finally stayed in the Majors long enough with the San Diego Padres to earn his first big league card.
"And so when you get that first card in the mail, man, there was just nothing like it — at least not for me," Comstock says. "I played with Ken Griffey Jr., and I'm sure his first baseball card was a totally different experience. Because it was a year after high school. Mine was, you know, I'm almost in my 30s for crying out loud, so it was justification of me sticking through it."
(Keith would actually have been 32 when his Padres card came out in 1988.)
"But that first card I got — I remember I was still at my mom's house, and my dad had passed away years earlier. And my mom and I saw it, and I gave it to my mom right away. Now, she might've put it in my bicycle spoke for all I know," Comstock jokes.
'I'm Gonna Take It To The Nuts'
But after finally getting a real taste of the big leagues, Keith Comstock got sent back down to the minors. He ended up on the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars for the 1988 season. He was now 32 years old, playing for a team stacked with young prospects.
And then, one day, the photographer from ProCards showed up.
"It was a Sunday morning," Comstock recalls. "He was running late, and he wanted to get things done. It was kind of a big setup."
The photographer had a checklist with all the players on the roster. And he was having them go through the usual poses.
For Keith Comstock — who'd been in the minor leagues for so long, who'd finally gotten a real major league baseball card — this was tough to take. So, before it was his turn, Comstock basically snapped.
"I'm like, 'I'm tired. I want to do something different,' " Comstock recalls.
Now, the creative process can be mysterious, and Comstock's not sure where exactly this particular stroke of inspiration came from. But he decided that he wanted — no, needed — his baseball card to feature him taking a baseball ... to the crotch.
"I just said, 'I'm gonna take it to the nuts,' " Comstock says. "And then, you know, to make a face like, [if] that ball is hitting you in that area and how much it would hurt."
After some trial and error, Comstock figured out he could get the ball to stick to his pants (for at least a few seconds) with the help of some super glue.
Comstock presented the idea to the photographer.
"He's like, 'Hey, I don't know about this. I can't do this. I'm under strict orders about just taking set shots. I've got pitcher shots here. Balance points,' " Comstock recalls. "He's telling me all these kinds of poses that he wants me to do. And I said, 'Been there, done that.' And he goes, 'No, I can't take it, man. I'm sorry.' So he drew his line in the sand, and he just didn't think I was going to come across."
Comstock and the photographer had reached a stalemate.
And that's when one of Comstock's fellow relievers had an idea. It would require the support of the younger prospects up in the clubhouse who hadn't yet come down to take their photos.
"He said, 'Hey, just go up there and tell these guys not to come down until you've taken this picture. Tell them what you want to do,' " Comstock recalls.
In other words, use the prospects as leverage to get the photographer to budge. Comstock was on board to give it a shot.
So what did Comstock tell his teammates?
"It wasn't a big, you know, like that big Mel Gibson 'Braveheart' speech, anything that was inspirational by any means," Comstock says. "It wasn't like I thought up [a] big thing where I had people in tears, or wanting to fight for me, and — 'Yeah, yeah!' — screaming — "Yeah, yeah!' "
"No, it was more or less guys reading the paper saying, 'Whatever, man. Yeah, sure, go ahead, go. I'm all for it. Go ahead.' "
"I'm gonna take it to the nuts."
Keith Comstock
With that vigorous backing from his teammates, Keith Comstock returned to the photographer.
"And so I just walked over to him, saying, 'Hey, they're not going to come down,' " Comstock says. " 'They're young. I'm old. I want this picture done. They know how much I want it done. So we've got to get this done.' He goes, 'All right, get over there.' So, boom. We got it done."
That next season, with Comstock still playing for the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars, the card showed up at the clubhouse.
"Oh, son of a gun. There it is," Comstock says. "And I was so proud of myself. I mean, you could have told me that I was a Cy Young Award winner, and I don't think I would've felt as much pride as I did [with] that baseball card."
"I mean, yeah, there have been a lot of Cy Young winners," I say.
"Yeah, there's only one baseball card like that," Comstock says.
Except not any more: In the 30 years since Comstock's famous card showed up in that 1989 ProCards set, at least one other player has imitated his pose. And with that kind of legacy, Keith Comstock shouldn't have to worry about that card ending up in anyone's bicycle spokes.
We first learned about the saga of Keith Comstock's baseball card in his ESPN piece with Robert Sanchez. Comstock is collaborating on a forthcoming novel based on his career called "The Conman."
This segment aired on October 12, 2019.
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Martin Kessler is a producer at Only A Game.