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Home Players Abroad Troost-Ekong Poised To Join Enyeama At Lille
Troost-Ekong Poised To Join Enyeama At Lille
Bursaspor of Turkey defender, William Troost-Ekong is bound to become the third Nigerian to star for Lille Metropole of France, following interest in his signature by the Ligue 1 club.
Lille's history includes the presence of Peter Osaze Odemwingie and former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, who is currently in a storm at the club, but that has not stopped them from showing interest in Troost-Ekong.
Subsequently, the Holland-born star could be on the move to Lille this summer, as talks between both clubs have progressed, with the French club willing to pay €3.5m for the defender, who joined Bursaspor on a free transfer from AA Gent of Belgium last season.
Troost-Ekong, who also holds Dutch citizenship courtesy of his mother, has previously had stints at Spurs and FK Haugesund of Norway, and could next play for Lille, who are in a process of reorganising after barely escaping relegation last season.
The 25-year-old stopper played in all of Nigeria's game at the World Cup, where they failed to progress beyond the group stage after losing 1-2 in their final game against Argentina three days ago.
Last season, Troost-Ekong made 27 appearances for Bursaspor with two goals to his name from his role as a central defender and Lille who were lucky to avoid relegation last season have targeted him as a priority signing to strengthen their defence.
It is believed he has already said yes to the move where he will be expected to replace Junior Alonso who is expected to leave the club soon. Bursaspor will be given €500,000 in add-ons if at the end of the season he plays in 30 games.
His fine performance for Nigeria at the World Cup alerted Lille, who are aware of his desire to quit Turkey where he has complained about late payment of his monthly salary and wages.
This comes few hours after Troost-Ekong hinted that he is happy with his decision to switch national team allegiance from Holland to Nigeria, as he says he is proud to have been part of the Super Eagles' squad to the World Cup in Russia.
Though the Eagles' expedition ended early, following a 2-1 loss to Argentina in their last group match on Tuesday, the former Dutch youth international said he was honoured to play 90 minutes in all of Nigeria's matches, and thanked God for helping his career.
It was another leap forward for Troost-Ekong, who was also part of Nigeria's under-23 team that won bronze at Rio 201 Olympics, which has again made him happy for opting to commit his international future to his fatherland.
The Eagles were just four minutes away from qualifying for the round of 16, but Marcos Rojo scored the decisive goal for Argentina's victory and passage into the knockout stage.
Group D's other last game saw Croatia beat debutants Iceland 2-1 despite resting some of their players, and advance with Argentina, who will face France in the round of 16, while the East Europeans will lock horns with Denmark.
However, despite crashing out in the first round, Troost-Ekong has expressed satisfaction with his performance and that of his teammates.
He stated: "Hard to describe in words how that felt. It was an emotional rollercoaster. We gave everything against Argentina last night.
"I'm grateful and proud to have represented Nigeria and all Nigerians at this World Cup. But most of all I am humbled and thank God for bringing me this far."
Bursaspor of Turkey defender
Peter Osaze Odemwingie
Vincent Enyeama
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This is the first appearance of Uranian. Or is it the first modern appearance of Marvel Boy? It's definitely the first appearance of Johnny Storm's new gal, redhead Frankie Raye—who ultimately…Well, I won't spoil it.
Anyway, the story is pretty good. All the confusion over who Crusader really is comes later, when other Marvel writers tried to use him (or did they?) in future stories.
The best part about these issues is that George Perez signed on as penciler, and would ultimately take on the gig pretty much full-time.


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(March 2) – The House of Representatives has expelled a member for the first time in 103 years.
By a vote of 52 to 9, the House this afternoon expelled Rep. Steve Lebsock, D-Thornton, after a three-month investigation by an independent third-party investigator found that all 11 accusations of sexual harassment against him, by five different women, were credible. One of those who came forward is Rep. Faith Winter, D-Westminster.
During debate that lasted seven hours, statements were read from the well from the four other women who filed formal complaints against Rep. Lebsock. Speaker after speaker came to the microphone to denounce Rep. Lebsock's misconduct, including his retaliation against his accusers, which is itself a violation of the legislature's workplace harassment policy.
Assistant Majority Leader Alec Garnett, D-Denver, a witness to Rep. Lebsock's harassment of Rep. Winter, spoke to the tension that has pervaded the House of Representatives this session when he tearfully acknowledged that he has worn a bulletproof vest for fear that Rep. Lebsock would make good on his threat to "take you down." Rep. Matt Gray, D-Broomfield, who was the first to say he would sponsor a resolution to expel Rep. Lebsock, also said he had begun wearing a bulletproof vest.


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Renewal & Reform Coalition releases letter to Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Renewal and Reform Coalition has released the text of a letter sent earlier this year to the UM Council of Bishops. The Coalition includes the Confessing Movement Within the United Methodist Church, Good News, Lifewatch, UM Action, and Transforming Congregations. The full text is reproduced below. Links have been added by MethodistThinker.com. — Ed.
Dear Bishops,
God's grace and peace to you and yours.
We honor you as the duly elected spiritual and temporal leaders of The United Methodist Church and count it a privilege to share with you some carefully considered perceptions about our church's future.
The annual conferences of our church have recently through spoken decisively through their votes on the 32 proposed constitutional amendments.
Though most of these proposed amendments were endorsed by the Connectional Table, and all were approved by at least two-thirds of the 2008 General Conference, rank-and-file United Methodists through their annual conferences have apparently rejected most of them by wide margins.
The people of the church are clearly calling their leaders to reconsider the direction proposed by most of the constitutional amendments.
More specifically, the reorganizational plan that the 23 Worldwide Nature of The United Methodist Church (WWN-UMC) amendments would have set in motion, has apparently been decisively overturned.
We are convinced that United Methodism's most pressing problem is not her organization. Our denomination's decline for over forty years (PDF) is not the result of faulty organization. Indeed, if we focus attention and resources on reorganization, we will miss a precious opportunity to address the main problem in our church.
The main problem facing The United Methodist Church is spiritual and theological in nature. Over the last forty years, our church has drifted from the foundational truth of Biblical authority and Wesleyan doctrine.
Significant portions of the church no longer believe that Scripture, well interpreted by the church, is "the true rule and guide for faith and practice" (The Confession of Faith, Article IV). A considerable minority in Methodism no longer believes that all persons, in their natural condition, are sinners in need of salvation.
A 1960 study guide
Some even disagree that Jesus' death on the cross was an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Indeed, there is no general agreement in our church about what the Gospel is. Seldom do our clergy and other leaders teach the Articles of Religion and the Confession of Faith.
Because our church lacks consensus about our message and its accompanying mission, we are a drifting, declining denomination.
We in the renewal movements take seriously John Wesley's warning that Methodism would surely become a dead sect unless it "hold[s] fast to the doctrine, spirit, and discipline" with which it began.
Only the Triune God — not reorganization — can renew The United Methodist Church. We are convinced you can help lead us into the proclamation, pedagogy, and practices that God can and will anoint with His Holy Spirit. We respectfully ask you to consider implementing the following initiatives.
Call our entire denomination to acknowledge that we have failed to be an obedient church and to focus on II Chronicles 7:14 in a time of repentance and rededication to God.
Lead and equip the church in a strengthened and energized prayer ministry, encouraging local congregations to engage in ongoing prayer for renewal and revival, for the needs of specific individuals and for the church's ministries, local and worldwide.
Teach the clergy at least annually the truth of the church's faith as outlined in the Articles of Religion and the Confession of Faith, and challenge the clergy to do the same in their respective charges.
On a regular basis preach doctrinal and evangelistic sermons which demonstrate how to invite hearers into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.
We observe with sadness that last year in 43 percent of our local churches, not a single person joined by profession of faith. We urge the bishops and district superintendents to meet with the pastors and lay leaders of those churches and offer instruction in how to lead people into a personal relationship with Christ and how to foster a congregational climate of spiritual growth and evangelism.
Finally, we acknowledge that from time to time circumstances require a reorganization of the church's structure in order to make it more effective at fulfilling its mission. We appreciate and look forward to the opportunity to have input into the study commission's work.
In that vein, we believe the following points are essential for creating a structure that is both helpful and has the broad based support of the church's people.
Any restructuring plan should derive from the church's mission statement. It should make clear how its proposals will actually fulfill the mission statement and foster more effective transformational disciple-making.
Any restructuring plan should assist and advance the proclamation of the Gospel around the world.
The church's leadership must patiently leverage all the resources at its disposal to engage rank-and-file United Methodists in the development of any restructuring plan, including on-site meetings with United Methodists in several parts of Africa, as well as Europe, the Philippines, and other affected areas.
Any restructuring plan should strengthen the connection between United Methodists in different regions of the world, rather than weakening it. It ought not to allow some regions of the church to foster moral positions or teachings that are at odds with those in other regions of the church.
Any restructuring plan must not add to the administrative costs or bureaucratic structure of the church.
And if a plan is developed, it is incumbent upon the church's leadership to share it widely with rank-and-file United Methodists, including those in the central conferences, before bringing it to General Conference for a vote and before any vote to ratify proposed constitutional amendments.
We share these perceptions with you and offer these initiatives and ideas for your consideration with profound respect and hope.
In no less than two months, we plan to share this letter with our constituents, as we are speaking on their behalf, and they share our concerns and awareness of the problems facing our church. But first, we want to give you ample time to respond, individually and/or as a Council.
Please know we are praying for the entire Council as you lead our beloved United Methodist Church in these challenging days.
(signatories)
The Renewal and Reform Coalition letter is signed by the Confessing Movement's Patricia Miller (executive director) and Greg McGarvey (board chair); Good News' Rob Renfroe (president/publisher) and Chuck Ferrara (board chair); Lifewatch's Cindy Evans (administrator) and Paul Stallsworth (president); UMAction's Mark Tooley (president) and David Stanley (board chair); and Transforming Congregations' Karen Booth (director). The letter is available in PDF format here.
In November 2009, renewal leaders presented additional concerns to the Council of Bishops' Unity Task Force at Lake Junaluska, N.C. A written summary of the renewal delegation's presentation is here (PDF).
• Prominent UM layman offers analysis of amendments outcome
• Bishop Scott Jones: Rethinking the path to a worldwide UMC
• Bill Bouknight: What I wish the Council of Bishops would say
• Podcast: Randy Maddox on Methodist 'doctrine, spirit, discipline'
• Bill Bouknight: Methodists are saying 'No' to their leaders
Related articles and information
• 2010 State of the Church Report (PDF) | UMC Connectional Table
• U.S. conferences report declining numbers | Heather Hahn, United Methodist News Service (July 20, 2010)
• UM Bishops announce defeat of global church and open membership amendments | Connor Ewing, Institute on Religion and Democracy (May 12, 2010)
• Study Committee responds to constitutional amendment rejections | Stephen Drachler, Committee to Study the Worldwide Nature of the United Methodist Church (May 11, 2010)
• Conference data comparison 2007-2008 (PDF) (all five U.S. jurisdictions suffered a net loss of membership in 2008; not a single conference in the Northeastern, North Central, and Western Jurisdictions showed a gain) | Background Data for Mission, UM General Board of Global Ministries (March 2010)
• Unity Task Force Meeting: Dialogue with Renewal Leaders (PDF) | Meeting with the Council of Bishops Unity Task Force, Lake Junaluska, N.C. (November 5, 2009)
• This is our story: Trends in the Church (PDF) | Office of Analysis and Research, UM General Council on Finance and Administration (June 2008)
• A rare breed: Professions of faith decline in UMC | Mary Jacobs, UM Reporter (Feb. 1, 2008)
• Exploring professions of faith (PDF) | Background Data for Mission, UM General Board of Global Ministries (May 2007)
• Methodist membership as compared to the United States population: 1790-2000 | UM General Commission on Archives and History
Posted in Bishops, Book of Discipline, Church Renewal, General Conference, United Methodist Church | Tagged UMC, United Methodist Church | 9 Comments
on August 19, 2010 at 9:40 am Dr. John D. Abbott, Jr.
Thank you so much for speaking so strongly for the rank and file of the United Methodist Church.
I pray that your letter be taken seriously by the Bishops — however, history makes me not want to hold my breath on that possibility.
on August 20, 2010 at 7:47 am UCMPage.org
If the Bishops won't listen to the other branches of church government and the UM conferences, they will not be moved by this innocuous letter.
The spiritual warfare is for the very soul of the United Methodist Church. It cannot be fought with an occasional passionless paper cut.
— The Rev. John Warrener
on August 20, 2010 at 8:28 am Donna Baker
Speaking as a former United Methodist, I think you are wasting your time.
The UMC's radical left have positioned themselves in power positions within the United Methodist Church — and that is not by accident but by design.
Their agenda is clear to any one that has been following the progression and direction of the Methodist Church:
1. Reject the Bible as the inspired Word of God;
2. Eliminate or water down the basic tenets of the Christian faith:
3. Promote, hire and encourage those in lifestyles contrary to the traditional moral teachings of the Christian Church under the guise of "inclusion" and "loving your neighbor";
4. Allow radical Bishops, pastors and laity to promote, encourage, and sanction homosexual activity and cohabitation, eliminating the "sin" factor;
5. Discourage pastors and leaders from upholding the historical, biblical doctrine of the Christian faith by intimidation, removal, and filing charges against;
6. Disband the international unity of the United Methodist Church so the UMC in United States can further the agenda of the radical left.
The late Bill Hinson (of the UMC's Confessing Movement) had it right in 2004: "The time has come to end this cycle of pain and conflict…. [T]he gulf is too wide, the differences are irreconcilable — and we cannot bridge these."
on August 20, 2010 at 2:32 pm Roger Waters
Thank you, Renewal and Reform Coalition, for this excellent letter to the Council of Bishops. This coalition is an entity that has enough integrity and strength to be heard by our upper management. This letter will make an impact.
We pray that God has been preparing hearts to receive this word and to respond in ways that will foster revival of our Wesleyan heritage.
on August 20, 2010 at 3:39 pm Mark
What's so amazing to me is that for many years (especially since the Falwell Moral Majority era) the theo-political Left — which clearly includes many in the Council of Bishops, UM academia, and the GBCS — has sanctimoniously and hypocritically decried the mixing of religion and politics regarding actions by the "Religious Right," which is their terminology for anyone more conservative than they (and also their code language for "bigot").
But here's the rub: the Left has been mixing religion and politics much longer — and in a much more secretive fashion! Further, they are more intolerant than the most close-minded fundamentalists are on their worst day! It brings to mind an old saying: the best defense is a good offense.
This bunch has turned hypocrisy into an art form!
on August 21, 2010 at 10:12 am Mark
It's already been referenced on this website (in the ThinkerTwitter feed), but I think the story about the funding of the left-leaning, ostensibly Christian causes of Jim Wallis (Sojourners) by an atheist-supporting, abortion-loving leftist billionaire such as George Soros is telling. And there are likely MANY stories like this that are never reported because those in charge of exposing leftist corruption (i.e., the media) are themselves leftists.
Last month, Marvin Olasky asked Wallis to admit his affiliations on the left when he reported on the money from Soros in WORLD magazine:
George Soros, one of the leading billionaire leftists — he has financed groups promoting abortion, atheism, same-sex marriage, and gargantuan government — bankrolled Sojourners with a $200,000 grant in 2004. A year later, here's how Jim rebutted a criticism of "religious progressives" for being allied with Soros and MoveOn.org: "I know of no connections to those liberal funds and groups that are as direct as the Religious Right's ties to right-wing funders."
Since then Sojourners has received at least two more grants from Soros organizations. Sojourners revenues have more than tripled — from $1,601,171 in 2001-2002 to $5,283,650 in 2008-2009 — as secular leftists have learned to use the religious left to elect Obama and others.
Wallis at first suggested that Olasky was lying. Then he came back and essentially admitted that Olasky was correct but that the "spirit" of Olasky's report suggested that Wallis was in cahoots with the political left and Wallis denied such an association. References to the 220K-plus that Soros gave to Wallis were scrubbed from the both Wallis's and Soros's (Open Society Institute) websites, but not before Olasky had exposed them.
These people are shameless.
on August 21, 2010 at 10:59 am Donnie
Sad to say, but I have to agree with Donna and John. The more I read the official web sites and pastor blogs, the more obvious it is that the UMC is so ridden with cancer that it'd be almost impossible to cut it out unless we can change the leadership, the seminaries, and a lot of our pastors.
Large numbers of leaders need to replaced. I don't see 1) how we can do this, and 2) where we'd get new leaders from. So many traditional believers have had bad experiences with the UMC that they have left the denomination and are not likely to want to return.
As noted, the problem goes deeper than the bishops and other denominational heads. Many of our seminaries are so liberal and unorthodox they're barely Christian.
The local church has become Ground Zero. How can we expect our denomination to re-embrace traditional Christianity when so many of our seminary-trained pastors are preaching what amounts to heresy?
on August 21, 2010 at 2:34 pm Donna Baker
The pastors of the United Methodist are tied to the denomination. Pensions, salaries, a retirement plan and the health benefits made available to retired pastors, play a part (I would think) in why biblically inspired preachers remain in the UMC.
The Methodist Church changed in the late 60s-early 70s. You can hear the mindset of the lay persons in their repeated expression of being "in love with the Methodist Church." This seems akin to an attitude the Apostle Paul warned against in 1 Corinthians 3. Our position is "in Christ."
It didn't take long for biblically faithful Lutherans to get moving — http://www.lutherancore.org/pdf/Connection-Aug-10.pdf

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Louis CK is back! Fittingly, he performed unannounced, forcing himself on an audience that didn't know they were paying to see him. But that was no matter because, in a situation similar to Milwaukee cheering their heroic formerly racist pitcher who was forced to feel bad about bad tweets, Louis was greeted with rapturous applause.
That this would happen sooner than later was a virtual certainty because he was, and still is beloved. Many, many people (myself included) thought he was great and funny. Of these, many flat out do not care about the allegations or think they weren't a big deal; many are convinced that any female accuser is a lying, vindictive, fame-seeking whore; and then there are many that actually think what he did was bad – but they will prioritize his inevitable redemption over anything else related to the situation so they can go back to being entertained by someone they like. The first two groups are too far beyond the pale to warrant comment. But the last is especially depressing – they are essentially shrieking "what about the man? He feels bad and everyone deserves second chances!" Such sentiments can be found everywhere on social media, but this one from Michael Ian Black is emblematic of that perspective:
Will take heat for this, but people have to be allowed to serve their time and move on with their lives. I don't know if it's been long enough, or his career will recover, or if people will have him back, but I'm happy to see him try. https://t.co/QmqdGJnIjy
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) August 28, 2018
The #metoo movement is incredibly powerful and important and vital. One next step, among many steps, has to be figuring out a way for the men who are caught up in it to find redemption.
He's currently being excoriated and I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said to him, but I do want to highlight a great response by Michelle Biloon:
Hypothetically let's say I were at The Comedy Cellar hanging out. I am not a regular there so of course I want to make a good impression. Louis shows up to drop in and I leave because I protest. Does that affect my standing? That's the fear always. (2/x)
— Michelle Biloon (@biloon) August 28, 2018
I don't know how to embed a tweet thread so here is the rest of it:
And it is a fear grounded in reality. It is TOO SOON for him to return. And honestly I don't think he should return. He can do something else. He fucked up. Bye. Make room for others. I care more about the silencing and shaming of the victims than him. (3/x)
Also, why does his pathway to redemption have to be through standup? There are many actually redeeming things he can do or any of these offenders can do. And if you just have to have standup, maybe wait five years and then we'll see. (4/x)
Also, he'd been jerking off in front of women for YEARS and managed with help to keep it under wraps and continue to have a wildly successful comedy career. He already had his comeback but it was just that the general public didn't know or believe his offenses. (5/x)
Fuck yes. Do something else. It is an incredible privilege to be granted a life of wealth and luxury for telling jokes. If it were up to me, he'd lose that privilege. Or – let me put it another way – I wish we lived in a world in which there wasn't an ocean of paying consumers that are all too eager to enable a comeback from persistent reprehensible behavior that ruined lives. And behavior which, with a nod and wink, he impishly referred to in his stand-up and TV show for years.
So this is going to continue to be a thing. He'll sporadically do smaller unannounced shows, and then bigger shows, and then Netflix will gladly have him back. Of course I'm not alone in predicting this. It was practically ordained the moment everything came out. If one has enough social capital, they can get away with just about anything. The penance is typically a varying amount of time spent out of the public eye. The lives they've shattered do not matter – talented men getting second chances does (a good way to discern an asshole is one whom emphasizes the latter over the former). That's what's so absurd about Michael Ian Black's assertion that we need to figure "out a way for the men who are caught up in it to find redemption:" if they're good enough, they ALWAYS get multiple chances so there's really nothing to figure out.
Aziz Ansari performed in two cities in my state. The demand for tickets was so great that he ended up doing 5 shows (3 in Madison, 2 in Milwaukee).
TJ Miller, a garbage person, is still doing shit after the many allegations against him.
Chris Hardwick, whom I've never been able to determine why anyone likes, got his terrible hack shows back after being "exonerated."
These men will be fine. They still have wealth. They still have adulation. The most discomfort they'll face is some people writing/saying mean things about them, or reading thinkpieces about themselves in which the author wrings their hands over the ethics of consuming their entertainment. But the true fans will dig their heels and stand up for the men who say the funny things. Because that's our fun and good world.
bad people, comedy, culture, entertainment
Thoughts about The Last Jedi (SPOILERS)
Because this is why you come to FtB. Read no further if you haven't already seen it.
Ok. Hi again.
What follows is a "review" only loosely organized by bullet points:
The opening crawl has the First Order conquering the New Republic almost immediately after the events of The Force Awakens. Which, what? How? At the end of The Force Awakens, they used their dumb planet death star to blow up the capital or whatever. But that shouldn't entail the rest of the republic falling like a house of cards. It had DECADES to create some kind of a military infrastructure that should survive the destruction of one planet. That leads to what I think is my main problem with TFA and TLJ. The scaffolding that holds up the various narratives is rickety. In a galaxy with tens of thousands of star systems, hundreds of thousands of sentient species, and trillions (quadrillions?) of inhabitants, everything just seems so small. Canto Bight and Maz Kanata's place were the only times it felt like there was a larger universe that the stories occur in.
One of the few things the prequel trilogy did well was give a sense of scale to the enormity of the Star Wars galaxy. Perhaps it's just too difficult to tell a good story this way and that's why these new movies are moving back towards more localized narratives. Fortunately, the localized narratives of TFA and TLJ are, for the most part, compelling and well done.
You may not be surprised to learn that I am the type of nerd whose read almost all of the recently decanonized Expanded Universe novels, many of the comic books, and other random SW ephemera. I just love the size and scale of an entire universe (spanning thousands of years) to fuck around in. When I see a weird looking alien I think "What species is that? What planet are they from? Why aren't there any more of them? Why the hell is the Resistance so human-centric (I'm aware this is not a real word)?"
The first scene after the crawl saw Poe and Hux reenacting that awful "can you hear me now" commercial, and the forced, gimmicky attempts at humor continued for most of the movie. Not all of the humor was terrible, but it should've been dialed back.
Probably the funniest part of the movie was Leia, seemingly dead, flying through space back to safety. I think I was the only one in the theater laughing out loud. It was terrible.
The writing wasn't always great, but overall, the acting was phenomenal.
Rey and Ren were great together. Their chemistry is amazing. It almost makes me want to ship them, but I'm ride or die for Rey and Finn
Finn and Rose's detour to the casino planet was meh. I liked Rose lecturing bright-eyed Finn about the amoral capitalist scum in their midst (to be honest, this should be enough to group this blog post under the "Politics or "Social Justice" categories). I fucking loved that they went animal liberation front on their asses while escaping. The entire plot proved to be a red herring, as the plan ultimately failed. I'm conflicted as to whether or not I liked it. On the one hand, not all the plans of the protagonists should work, but on the other, an opportunity was missed to develop Finn and Rose's characters.
Speaking of Rose, she stopped Finn from leaving to find Rey, calling him selfish. Then later on, she selfishly saves him, compromising a suicide mission that could've bought the Resistance much-needed time. I guess it's supposed to be character growth, rather than acting out of character
After saving Finn, she says she loves him. I don't think their storyline was developed enough for that, as mentioned above. Exchange care for love and it's much more palatable. Then again, I'm not exactly impartial given my preference for Rey/Finn. Rose is great though.
Poe was kind of annoying. Hot of course, but annoying. He was salty as fuck because he wasn't given command in Leia's stead. Shit like that sucks.
I had similar issues with Finn. He had a bit too many unfunny one-liners which is more galling due to his character's unexplored background and motivations. Unlike Rey, whose backstory is blessedly uncomplicated (see below), he was a goddamn stormtrooper who defected. It's a good thing John Boyega is awesome or his character would be almost c
Captain Phasma continued to be useless. It looked like she died after once again failing. Which is basically her arc in TFA, though with even less screen time. It's an absolutely criminal misuse of the fantastic Gwendoline Christie
Speaking of underutilized characters, the most notable thing Chewie did was eat a porg, which I believe was supposed to be funny – because eating a creature as that creature's relatives look on sadly is funny I guess.
Luke was way more excited to see Artoo than Chewie. Kinda shitty, especially since Chewie's bff just died.
Speaking of Artoo, playing the Princess's message to Obi-Wan definitely hit me in the feels
Speaking of feels, Yoda's reintroduction into the saga gave me legit chills
There were other callbacks, most of which I can't remember off the top of my head. They were both subtle and effective, and evoked just the right amount of nostalgia.
Two of the biggest questions, Rey's parentage and what the deal is with Snoke turned out to be enormous red herrings:
Leaving the theatre after I saw TFA, I wasn't even thinking about who Rey's parents were. She was awesome and it wasn't something I was interested in. After a friend brought it up, I thought "god fucking dammit, her parents will matter and that blows." The internet endlessly debating this only solidified what I thought was inevitable. However, I did have some hope, as none of the theories were very convincing. It was baggage that the character didn't need. And so Rey's parents are nobodies! That's awesome! There's a small chance that Ren is lying, but it would severely undercut the last scene of the movie, which I liked quite a lot (a child slave practicing jedi moves against a starlit backdrop)
To me, Snoke requires more of a backstory, despite his awful name. His age made it clear that he was around during Palpatine's empire. What was he doing during this time? Did Palpatine know? What's his deal? There should be interesting stories about this. Also, how did he ensnare Ren? That's not to say I didn't like that he died. It was completely (to me) unexpected, gutsy, and I respect the decision.
Luke and Ren's differing perceptions of their falling out was artfully done and effectively revealed to the audience. In short, Ren had every reason to believe Luke was going to kill him. I do wonder, though, how much Leia knows of this. Luke wasn't very forthcoming with Rey at first.
I liked Luke apparently achieving nirvana (unless he comes back as a force ghost, which wouldn't really make it nirvana). I was annoyed when he appeared unscathed after getting shot with enough lasers to blow him to bits, and cut through with a light saber. The fact that he wasn't physically present was a good enough justification for me, even if it necessitated an absurd and nonsensical amount of force power. But there was a consequence to using all that power. I think it was a cool death.
Overall, it was good, but too long. A lot of the humor was bad. It appears I didn't like it as much as some, and am one of the few that like TFA better. But that could change – my thoughts are definitely fungible when it comes to this. For example, TFA lost a bit of luster when I became aware of it's numerous similarities to A New Hope, which I didn't realize on my own. But it was still good (despite the awful planet death star thing). All of the post prequel trilogy movies have been good. And that's good – after the prequel debacle, there was ample reason for concern. (Though I do think the prequels are somewhat defensible – in a nutshell, I think of them more as the Rise of Palapatine, rather than the Fall of Anakin Skywalker (because Anakin was terrible and Palaptine ruled))
As for what's next, it's hard to see The Resistance, apparently consisting of one ship, being any kind of threat to The First Order. Perhaps they'll do a several year time jump. I think Rey kills Ren and the saga of the Skywalkers and Solos comes to an end. TFA was pure nostalgia; TLJ threw a bunch of that nostalgic baggage in the trash; and episode 9 will set the course for the next series. Not bad.
arts, entertainment


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Q: InfoPath PeoplePicker can i filter to show only People (user profiles only and no SharePoint Groups) Does anyone know how I can filter Person/Group Picker (PeoplePicker) within InfoPath to return only user profiles from a SharePoint site and not the SharePoint groups?
Using People Picker within a SharePoint list, you can indicate that you want people or people and groups, no so with InfoPath People/Group Picker (as far as I can tell).

A: Short answer, no, you can only select users in the profile database.
The People Picker you get in InfoPath 2007 is an ActiveX control there's little option for customization. The selection of people comes from the users in the profile directory so you can't direct or configure it like you can with the browser picker. The two are different beasts so don't try to compare them feature-wise.
In InfoPath 2010 the story changes as the People Picker is now a native control and allows you to specify all the same features you see in the browser/site version including a specific SharePoint Group to select from.
Hope that helps.

A: If memory serves, the People Picker returns a display name, an account name, and an account type. I'm not totally sure about 'SharePoint groups' but you can filter out AD groups because the field AccountType will return the string 'group' if it is a group, likewise 'user' if it is a user, etc. You can store this value in a hidden field or just validate directly against the accountType field from some other control. You can also weed out duplicates by storing a function value which is the count of the displayName. Lastly I think you can also validate against rubbish entered because the displayName will be empty since AD didn't find that value (..or is that accountName?, ..can't remember. Chuck both values onto the form and see the results when previewing examples to see which one it is. I think it is displayName.)
Hope this helps.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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I keep hearing people talk about and cry out to God for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit, or another visitation of His presence. That really sounds wonderful and tantilizes every emotion we have. After all who wouldn't want God's presence, who wouldn't want Him to move and revive our nation? It brings back memories and emotions of the time I heard God's audible voice, the times of visions, and visitations. Those are wonderful times, who wouldn't want to feel those things again. Even though I would be first in line to get anything God is dishing out, I'm sorry to say those prayers are not biblical and even inhibiting the progression of the Kingdom of God in our nation. Let me explain.
God has already poured out His spirit. Peter clearly declares in (Acts 2:16-17) that what the people experienced and others were witnessing over 2,000 years ago was God pouring out His Spirit. If it is already done, why do we think God needs to do it again. Why are we saying that God has been holding out on us all these years so we need to beg Him to finally give us what we need to see things change.
To get another outpouring implies that we may need more than what we have been given. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says that if we have been united with Him then we are one spirit with Him. We have been given the fullness of Jesus in us. (Colossians 2:9-10) What else do you need? God has already poured out His Spirit and poured Him into us. Now we are to walk in all authority and power as Jesus did. That makes it sound like the problem is with us and not God. Exactly! We need to stop asking God to do what He has already done. Stop begging Him to do what He has commanded us to do. The so-called leaders of the church in America need to stop blaming God and the non – christians for what is wrong with this country and start taking responsibility for their inaction. Yes every believer is to blame but those who have embraced leadership take the bulk of the responsibility for their lack of action and for teaching others the error of their own ways.
Another implication of asking God to pour out His Spirit again is that you are saying that the Holy Spirit is no longer with us. You can not give something that you have already given. There are not two Holy Spirits. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. If He was poured out way back then, He is still with us.
We need to quit prophesying what should happen then think we actually did something. That is like me declaring that I will feed my kids but never fix anything to eat. I'm not against prophesy, we need it. It is the testimony of Jesus. We should never despise the proclaiming of what our Father is saying to us. However, to prophesy without acting on that prophesy is like faith without works. If God warns us of a tornado, earthquake, catastrophe of any kind we need to understand what He is saying. He is declaring to us the plans of the enemy, with the implication that we are to then act like the sons of God we are and stop it. We have been given dominion over this earth with the authority and power to execute that dominion. We need to stop declaring the enemies plans as if they are the will of God. This nation, and even the world for that matter, will never change until we stand up and act. Stop acting like a spiritual welfare state, always expecting God to bail us out, and do what He has empowered us to do. The kingdom of God is within every believer, we must teach and demonstrate to them what that means and how to act like kings in this Kingdom so that we will see the transformation that everyone is begging God for.
I spent much of today thinking about a friend of mine. He hasn't been a friend but for a handful of months, and I've never even met him in person, but I've grown to love and respect him as if I had known him most of my life. Anyway, he sent me a message about a young girl who had been miraculously healed of cancer and about another who had died. How you weep for one while bursting with joy for the other. I began asking the Lord can one healing make up for the death of another, does healing another make up the "spiritual payment" so to speak for the one that was lost. Even though my heart desired to hear my Father say yes, the only answer I got was no. You see, Jesus has already paid the price for each and every healing, and when someone isn't healed that's just part of His inheritance that we lost. I said we lost, because that is exactly right, we are commanded to heal the sick. I've prayed for people and they have died, Jesus didn't decide not to heal them, He didn't get some "greater glory" by there enduring pain and then their death. The truth is I failed. No need to sugar coat it, I don't need someone to tell me, "well at least you tried." For me, trying doesn't count, we are guaranteed success through the finished work of the cross if only we will believe. In those cases, I didn't believe; I failed. Jesus will never regain that part of His inheritance, there are no do-overs. Fortunately, that's not the end of the story.
Enough about me, back to my friend. One of the things that I've grown to love about him is his overcome at any cost attitude. I actually have two "new" friends like that. Although a death may be a lost healing forever, he has learned to make the enemy pay in a whole new way. You see, he uses each and every failure as a stepping stone to bring forth a greater manifestation of God's glory in him and through him. He uses those experiences to become more like Jesus, and by that, destroying more works of the devil. His life is becoming the reality of what the enemy meant for evil God has turned it for good. I admire both of my brothers for that. We all will be faced with failures along the way. We don't expect them, but they will occur. But if you begin to understand Whose son you are, and what authority and power He has given you, those failures become fewer and fewer. If you do like my friend and look at a failure as a challenge to seek our Father for greater understanding of who he is and what he has been given, and take a stand that you will not lose like that again, you too will start making the enemy pay like my friend does. My friend knows something that most don't, it's not about him, it's about being Jesus to the world. He will not give up until you no longer see him anymore, but that's o.k. you'll be seeing Jesus!
To my two "new" brothers. I love you guys, you are an inspiration to me. I will continue to follow you as you follow Jesus!


Sensitive data of over 14 million Instagram users have been found in an unsecured database. The database in question is physically located in the UK. The data believed to be exposed includes users' profile names, stored links to profile pictures and their Instagram ID.
Hackers are leveraging a malware-laden phishing campaign to target anti-laundering officers at the US Credit Unions. It is believed that scammers are using the campaign to steal non-public data of the officers working in the National Credit Union Administrators (NCUA). Specially crafted emails that claim to put the money transfer on hold for suspected money laundering, are used for the campaign.
OkCupid, a popular dating site, has suffered an account takeover attack. This has affected the accounts of some users. The number of users affected in the attack is unknown. Meanwhile, the firm has denied experiencing any breach.
A new JAR-based info stealer malware called Qealler has been discovered by researchers. It is a highly obfuscated Java loader that deploys a Python credential harvester. The malware also has a directory named QaZaqne - which is a custom version of the open source project called LaZagne. LaZagne is used to capture lots of passwords stored on a local computer.
Researchers have discovered a new cryptomining malware that removes a large number of known Linux coin miners to reserve all the host system resources for itself. The script uses code from KORKERDS and Xbash. The new malware uses crontabs commands to download and execute more malicious code.
Security researchers have discovered malicious codes in four Android bus apps used in South Korea. They are named as Daegu, Gwangju, Jeonju, and Changwon. The apps are available on the Google Play Store since 2013. It has been found that the malicious codes were planted during the regular updates in August, last year.
Canonical has released a new kernel update for Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish) and Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS (Bionic Beaver) systems. This security update will address a regression introduced by the last kernel security patch released earlier this month. The last update had introduced a regression that could prevent systems with certain graphics chipsets from booting.
A PoC code for a zero-day called KeySteal has been published recently. The flaw in question can be exploited by attackers using a malicious app to steal passwords from Apple's Keychain password manager. The passwords under threat include those for bank websites, Amazon, Netflix, Slack, and other apps. If any user is using iCloud Keychain, password synced across iPhones and Macs may also be in trouble.


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February 2, 2022 speakeysie
Tori Amos Announces North American to Ocean Tour: with stop in Atlanta on May 4, 2022
Speakeysie News Desk – February 1, 2022
ATLANTA – A trailblazing musician, author and activist, Tori Amos has announced a massive North American 2022 tour today, with stops in NYC, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta and more. The Atlanta performance will happen on May 4, 2022. Public on-sale for the 'Ocean to Ocean Tour' begins Friday, February 4 at 10am local time. For more information go to toriamos.com. Thrilled to connect with fans once more, her captivating live show will bring the new album, Ocean to Ocean, to life and include some career-spanning fan favorites. Amos' NPR Tiny Desk Concert will go up tomorrow, offering an intimate opportunity to experience several new songs live.
Ocean to Ocean was released digitally and on CD in October and was made available as a beautiful vinyl package last Friday, January 28. The record received widespread acclaim by fans and media alike, with features spanning Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly, Stereogum, SPIN and NPR. The record debuted at #2 on the Billboard Current Alternative Albums Chart and #6 on the Billboard Album Sales Chart, marking her tenth "Top 10" appearance.
Tori will be touring North America, UK and Ireland in 2022. For tickets, visit www.toriamos.com.
Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to performance, as well as matching photo ID, will be required upon arrival to Atlanta Symphony Hall.
About Atlanta Symphony Hall LIVE
Atlanta Symphony Hall LIVE concerts feature world-renowned musicians and entertainers, several of which will be joined on-stage by the GRAMMY® award-winning, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Highlighting genres across the entertainment gamut, guests can enjoy concerts and events ranging from pop, rock, country, R&B, jazz, comedy, podcasts, book tours and everything in between. Symphony Hall continues to present a diverse array of artists throughout the year, bringing unique visual and audial experiences to the Atlanta community through the magic of live performances.
Previous February is Fantastic at Lawrenceville Arts Center, Home of the Aurora Theatre
Next Our Town Opens at Gainesville Theatre Alliance Next Week


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In order to save files to a local drive utilizing the Tools -> Copy File or the File -> Export functions within PRISM, some adjustments need to be made to the security settings within Internet Explorer. These new settings are the suggested resolution by both Microsoft and Oracle.
Please be advised that by changing these global settings, there may be some additional risk associated with all internet traffic. These settings will allow any encrypted data from secure web sites to be stored in your Temporary Internet Files until the browser is closed. The data is still encrypted, however it will remain on the hard drive until the Temporary Internet Files folder is emptied.
Select the Advanced tab and scroll to the Security heading.
Uncheck the "Do not save encrypted pages to disk option".
Check the "Empty Temporary Internet Files" folder when browser is closed option.


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Q: Problem with "log(0)" error while using brms in R to do Bayesian analysis I'm using brms to conduct a multilevel regression in R.  I've been getting warnings and errors of the following type:
Rejecting initial value:
  Log probability evaluates to log(0), i.e. negative infinity.
  Stan can't start sampling from this initial value.
(many repetitions of the above)

Initialization between (-2, 2) failed after 100 attempts.

I've gradually stripped out as much as I could out of the call to the simplest form that still produces the error. I used to include a Gamma family with a log link function, fixed and random effects, narrower priors, more iterations, and more chains.  I've scaled back so that I can identify if the error remains as I remove elements that could conceivably have caused it. (Note that there are very few iterations in this snippet only because I got tired of running the entire thing just to produce the error). This is what remains:
fit1 <- brm(formula = newLatency | cens(mycens) ~ (1|participant),
            data = myd1,
            warmup = 10,
            iter = 50,
            chains = 1,
            cores = 1)

I've verified that there are no zero values of newLatency, and that all participants have data with a mixture of degrees of censoring (between 11% censored and 59% censored). The only thing that will make the error go away is if I drop the "| cens(mycens)" part.
I should note that with the full model (with, of course, many more iterations, fixed effects, etc.), it starts with a ton of the "log(0)" statements and then proceeds to run the model anyway, and it gives me reasonable results.  Given that I'm not doing any log transforms, the error must be embedded in the model in the computation of log likelihoods?  If so, how can I track that down?  I'm just nervous about reporting a result of an analysis that started with a bunch of warnings.

A: The issue you have is that the algorithm for finding starting values for the MCMC sampling fails to find parameter values that give a non-zero (in terms of the precision used in the program) posterior (i.e. both prior and likelihood need to be non-zero). Once you have such values, the sampling would likely proceed without further issues. The general solution for this type of problem is to

*

*Check you (or in this case perhaps the developer of the package) have not made a mistake in specifying the model.

*Ask you algorithm to try for a longer time to find starting values with non-zero likelihood.

*Explicitly provide starting values. E.g. ask for all random subject effect to be zero initially. If the brms package does not allow you to do that, you might have to hand-specify the model in rstan, in which case you can definitely do that.


For 60 years, California's AAA Quality Services has sought new ways to provide added value for construction site services customers.
Winners announced for Andy Gump, Volunteer of the Year and Service Technician awards.
Capitalizing on the germ of an idea, Mississippi's Lauren McGraw didn't waste any time building a highly successful portable restroom company.
Time to Upgrade Tired Trucks or Worn-Out Restrooms?
A trends analysis predicts $1.6 trillion in equipment spending by US companies optimistic about economic growth in 2018.


The Capital Barbie: My Very First Giveaway!
Have you guys checked out Rosy+Tart? She just opened a beautiful Etsy shop and has graciously agreed to do my very first giveaway on the blog!!!! I chose this shop because I have a love for handwritten cards. They are such a fabulous way to brighten someone's day and these cards are bright and sassy.
Visit the Etsy shop and pick out your favorite card set. Let me know which one you'd like in the comment section below!
Contest ends on May 2 so get to it!
I love the "oh hey!" set! So cute!
I like the hello multi set. It's nice to have an option of colors.
I like the need a drink notecards!
I really like the Oh Hey set!
I am following your blog on Google Friend Connect too!
I'm such a fan of the "Hello" multi set!
And for my last entry, I liked Rosy & Tart on Facebook!
i like the "oh hey" cards!
I like the Hello cards in plum! I have my very first giveaway on my blog too-please stop by and enter!
I am following the Rosy and Tart Blog.
I like Rosy and Tart on Facebook! Please stop by and check out my first giveaway!!!
I love the "I need a drink" card set and the "Sorry I'm not sorry" card set equally! They are both so funny and things that come out of my friends and I's mouths daily.
I follow Rosy+Tart in Google Friend Connect.
I follow The Capital Barbie in Google Friend Connect.
I follow Rosy+Tart on Facebook.
I like the oh hey! cards. Thanks for the giveaway!
So cute! I like the "oh hey!" cards a lot, and "I need a drink." Thanks for the giveaway!


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Did You Know That Near Duluth Is A Lake With An Incredibly Offensive Name?
Tony Hart Published: November 10, 2021
The State of Minnesota has changed many offensive lake names over the years, but some still remain, like this one about an hour from Duluth.
Located about 70 miles west of Duluth, about a 1-hour 20-minute drive, in Aitkin County sits a little 191-acre lake, no more than 20-feet deep, that has the highly offensive and racist name of Blackface Lake.
The name was likely given by early loggers or the first settlers, and it still remains to this day. But changing the name isn't as easy as someone at the state or country level just submitting paperwork, it has to go through a lengthy process, and it's one that is started locally.
According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the government body in charge of this process for the state, "Fifteen or more voters registered in that county must petition the county board of commissioners for a public hearing. If the county board agrees on the proposed name, the board adopts a resolution in support of the name."
Provided that it's passed, the proposal would go to the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources for approval, and from there is would go to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names for consideration on a federal level. If anyone in Aikin County is interested in starting the process, here is the information and necessary paperwork.
The most notable of these name changes happened in Minneapolis in 2015 when Lake Calhoun was renamed to Bde Maka Ska. It turns out that former Vice President John Calhoun was a supporter of slavery, so the residents of Hennepin County decided to give the lake back its original Native American name.
It's probably time to start the process of changing Blackface Lake to something non-offensive, so the lake is welcoming to all. Your move residents of Aikin County, will at least 15 of you step up and take action?
This $15 Million Minnesota Home Looks Like No Home You've Ever Seen
This house looks like a set from the hit movie 'Scarface', I'm not joking, from the elevator in the house to the gold colored hot tub, this house looks like no other home in Minnesota.
20 Businesses In The Northland That Have Great Customer Service
13 Things You Never Knew That Were Invented in Minnesota
There are a handful of things that most Minnesotans know were invented in the state, like SPAM or Post-It notes, but did you know grocery bags with handles is a Minnesota invention? Let's take a look at some other little known Minnesota inventions.
13 Things You Never Knew Were Invented in Wisconsin
Wisconsin should be proud of this impressive list of inventions that come from the state.
Filed Under: lakes, minnesota, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources


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TJ OTT Weight Loss [Updated]: Diet Workout, Before & After
TJ Ott appeared in the reality TV show called Wicked Tuna telecast on the National Geography. He catches a large amount of Tuna. He has built a lot of audiences and over the years and fans started noticing the change in his physique. In this article, we will discuss TJ Ott's weight loss transformation.
When TJ first appeared on the TV Show he was overweight. And in the past few years, he has lost a massive amount of weight. TJ used to be around 170 kg.
According to some sources it is estimated that TJ has lost around 30-35 kg (66-77 lbs). It is obvious that TJ was working hard to lose this amount of weight.
Did TJ OTT have Surgery?
How did TJ OTT Lost Weight?
TJ OTT started his weight loss journey when he appeared in the National Geography reality show. He said, "I have to change my physique for better health and a happy life".
His weight loss journey was hard for him but TJ didn't give up. He was doing a workout and following a secret diet. And it was worth it and it changed his whole lifestyle.
Gregory Jbara and Steve Gonsalves have also lost a noticeable amount of weight which shocked their fans.
As he loses a massive amount of weight and it is still hard to believe, That he loses all weight naturally by doing workouts and following a diet.
But there isn't any news or report which can confirm that TJ underwent weight loss surgery. And TJ himself didn't speak about any kind of surgery. So it is certain that he loses all his weight in natural ways.
TJ didn't speak about his weight loss very much in public. But there are a few things that he followed to lose weight.
TJ started to track his eating and drinking habits all day. He added some healthy food to his diet and removed all the high calories items. And he was also eating in a calorie deficit.
TJ's diet is a little bit secret. He measures all the food items he eats. TJ avoids high-sugar food products. Added new organic food and vegetables to his diet plan.
TJ's workout routine was simple. He starts his day by walking. TJ does some cardio and weight lifting. He had to go to the gym to get a desirable outcome. Tj did a massive weight loss with a strict routine.
According to some sources TJ's net worth is around $2 million US dollars. The Show Wicked Tuna aired on National Geography and gained popularity across the United States. TJ received $100K per episode. He made a lot of money in a short period of time.
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El corriol capnegre (Thinornis cucullatus) és una espècie d'ocell de la família dels caràdrids (Charadriidae) que habita platges i zones intermareals de la costa sud sud d'Austràlia Occidental, costa i illes del sud-est d'Austràlia, Tasmània i les illes de l'Estret de Bass.

Caràdrids

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The UTStarcom Management team and its Board of Directors believes that the purpose of corporate governance is to ensure that we maximize shareowner value over a sustained period of time in a manner consistent with legal requirements and the highest standards of integrity.
The Board has adopted and adheres to UTStarcom's Corporate Governance Principles, as well as UTStarcom's Principles of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Board and senior management believe that these principles represent corporate governance best practices.
All members of our Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee, and Compensation Committee are independent.
Our independent directors meet at each regularly scheduled meeting without the presence of management.
Our Audit Committee meets separately in private sessions with our outside independent auditors at each regularly scheduled committee board meeting.
Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is monitored by our General Counsel and is affirmed by our employees every year.
We provide regular ethics and compliance training programs to company employees.
We maintain a whistleblower hotline available to all employees in English and Chinese, to report ethics and compliance concerns, anonymously if preferred, including concerns related to accounting, accounting controls, financial reporting, and auditing matters.
Listed below are links to the various Codes of Conduct that UTStarcom operates under.


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Filtering by Tag: Political Correctness
The Safety Dance
December 05, 2018 / Eric Stevens
As a toddler in the 70's, one thing that was noticeably absent whenever I was riding around in the car with my parents was a car seat. In fact, I didn't even wear a seatbelt. Instead, I used to sit on the center armrest in the front seat. Apparently, I liked the view up there and the closer proximity to Mom and Dad made for more robust conversation.
Just imagine the uproar these days of seeing a toddler riding in a car down the street just inches from the windshield without so much as a car seat or even a seat belt providing protection. The ordeal would be national news and the parents would surely be sent to prison! But back in my formative years, no one seemed to give a damn. And it wasn't just the seat belt either. The 70's and 80's were like the Wild West for kids growing up in that era. No seat belts, no scrutiny and no supervision.
Not to throw my parents under the bus, mind you. Loose parenting was without a doubt the norm in my day. Like most kids back then, I learned to ride a bike without a bike helmet. I learned to ski without a helmet as well. Every kid I knew ate peanuts (and gluten, lactose and everything else we could inhale). Most kids were a bit hyper and yet, as far as I knew, none were regularly medicated.
As grade-schoolers, my friends and I walked to the bus stop unaccompanied by parents. We rode our bikes around the neighborhood and all over town. As pre driving teenagers, we regularly took the bus downtown to hangout. All activities were unsupervised and there were no cell phones or other means of direct communication with actual adults. We were simply told to be home by dinner.
Not that there weren't legitimate dangers to be concerned with. The violent crime rate in the 1980's was significantly higher than it is now. I knew two kids that died from ski accidents. A family friend lost their son to drunk driving. One kid in my high school was hit by a train and killed. Several kids from a local school were killed in a tragic mountaineering accident.
Indeed there were good reasons to be at least somewhat fearful back then and yet we were seemingly oblivious to danger. It's a wonder I survived! All joking aside, society back in the day needed to get its act together where it came to safety, supervision and street smarts. Fortunately, we did.
In the past 30 years, seat belts have saved countless lives. Helmets have prevented many deaths and serious life altering injuries. Prominent media campaigns like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) helped bring about positive changes in attitudes and legislation to combat impaired driving. Social attitudes have vastly improved as well. For instance, gay kids and other marginalized groups didn't enjoy the freedom and respect back then that they do now. Thanks to an evolution in thought and action, life has become safer and in many ways, better.
However, while the 70's and 80's were a bit too reckless and nonchalant, the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. Fear now permeates almost every facet of our culture. Parents don't let their kids outside unaccompanied because of fearing kidnappers and rapists. We fear immigrants as dangerous criminals and opportunists looking to steal our jobs. We fear terrorism. We fear people using the wrong bathrooms. We even fear peanuts and gluten. Many, if not most of these topical fears have almost no reasonable basis or factual substantiation. We're obsessed with danger and paralyzed by fear, but the reality is we have never been safer. Consider the following statistics:
According to the FBI, violent crime rate in the US fell 48% between 1993 and 2016.
In the year October 2010-September 2011, there were only 105 kidnappings (65 abducted by complete strangers) that year out of a population of 73.9 million children.
Not including the tragedy of 9/11, there are an average of just two Americans killed by (jihadist) terrorism every year. Consider that 69 people are killed by lawnmowers every year in our country!
An estimated 1% of Americans (approximately 3 million people) have celiac disease. 3 million people is far from insubstantial, but more than 30 million Americans avoid gluten despite no indication that they are sensitive to gluten or any evidence that it's healthier for you.
In the decade from 1996-2006, the CDC documented a total of 13 child deaths from peanut exposure. Certainly, any death of a child is tragic, but because of thirteen deaths in 10 years, we've changed our entire nationwide scholastic and cultural approach to nutrition.
We don't connect the dots of our media-driven, fear-based culture and how it's making us inept, impotent and frankly, soft. We're weak where we need to toughen up and we're distracted or ignorant where it comes to the actual legitimate fears we should be concerned with.
Despite a tragic and pronounced epidemic of addiction, no one seems to notice the correlation that many kids (and adults) are more heavily medicated than ever. Furthermore, no one seems to mind the constant bombardment of aggressive advertising touting highly addictive substances from processed sugar to alcohol to prescription drugs.
Despite the alarming trend of growing suicide rates, we pay little attention to the compulsive nature of screen time and social media, which are correlated with depression and anxiety.
Despite guns killing almost 1300 kids each year and the appalling epidemic of mass shootings and school shootings, we're too self absorbed and politically polarized to actually get anything done about it.
Despite a massive looming threat from the critical state of the environment, many are unwilling to adjust their lifestyle and consumption habits.
The obvious question we should be asking related to issues of safety is the query "Is It working?" Seat belts undoubtedly work. Without question, bike and ski helmets work. But 'safe' zones and 'helicopter' parenting do nothing but perpetuate a culture of fear and ineptitude. Prescription drug ads do nothing but create a frenzy of drug use and abuse.
False ideologies on both sides of the political spectrum are to blame for our coddled and contemptuous society. Many shamefully fear monger by demonizing those that look, pray and love differently. Others left lack courage in standing up to political correctness run amok. We are now a nation of wimps and whiners thanks in large part to the unintended consequences of overparenting and the ridiculous notion of "safetyism."
The fact is we are much safer than we think from the issues that garner the most attention like crime and terrorism. Yet paradoxically, we're also in much more danger than we're aware from the issues that lurk beneath the surface of popular thought. While we're busy fretting over immigrants, terrorists and peanuts, threats of our own psyche (addiction, mental health and suicide) are literally killing us. Because of these threats, for the second year in a row, as a nation we are facing a declining life expectancy.
If we are to succeed personally, culturally and environmentally, we need a balanced approach to fear and safety. I'm not advocating for a return to the careless attitudes of my free-swinging childhood. But it's time to bring that pendulum back to the center if just a bit. It's time for us to face the music and stand up to fear instead of promoting and succumbing to it.
tags / Fear, Safetyism, Mental Health, addiction, Societal health, Social Media, Political Correctness


If there is any problem, I have more time to stay in the mountain and if everything runs well I would like to go down by the false polish route, to enjoy the mountain round.
If there is someone to join in this idea (- it is no dogma), WELCOME!
I am looking at climbing Aconcagua this coming season, possibly via the Polish Glacier, and I am looking for partners. I climbed Aconcagua solo in January last, via the "Ruta Normal" and things went very well for me, pristine weather on the summit, and I had the roof of the Americas all to myself.
I do not see any problems with your climbing roster for a climber that is acclimatized, and I would be interested in meeting up with you on your arrival at Plaza Mulas, on your rostered day 3, since I would already have spent a few days acclimatizing, ready for the move up to Berlin or Cholera.
January last, I went from Plaza Mulas, straight up to Berlin, and then the summit a few hours later and down to Plaza Mulas, and it was not really difficult, so I am comfortable with going from Canada to Berlin or Cholera in one go, but I will go slow in order to conserve my energy.
I am especially interested in your idea of going down the false Polish Route, would that be via Independencia Hut? I am not certain about the route, but I think I read somewhere that the False Polish route did exctly that, and if so, it would be appropriate to carry up and leave all non-essentials for the summit bid by the Hut, such as tents and other gear to be picked up on the way down from the summit.
I am more or less living in Buenos Aires these days, and would be available to meet up with you if you are somewhere in Argentina so we can have a sit down and talk things over, see if we share similar goals for the climb.
I do have partners for the "Ruta Normal" in January 2010, but knowing people, I am ready to go it alone if and when people drop out.
I'm also currently looking for partners to climb the aconcagua in feb 2010, preferably through the polish way.
I have some experience (Mustag Ata thi summer, Kili, Mont-Blanc, alps...) and quite a good physical condition. And I'm also quite motivated by the aconcagua !
If you're still looking for partners, then I'm more than interested. let me know.


Normally in Solid Converter PDF you'll use a wizard menu to convert PDF files to DOC. As you progress through this wizard many conversion options will be made available to you. This is useful if you convert PDF files infrequently, as it reminds you what options are available and provides an idea of what they do.
The downside to this is that if you have to convert several files (5, 10 or even more) you have to click through the wizard for each and every PDF file. This obviously isn't optimal.
A better solution is to disable the wizard in Solid Converter PDF to Word when you need to convert several PDF files to DOC. You can then select a range of PDF files in a folder and convert them all at once.
1. Open Solid Converter PDF and go into Options General Uncheck "Use Wizard" and "Launch Editor", then click OK.
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If you're happy with the conversion you may wish to go back into the Options menu and re-enable the options you disabled in step 1.


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TSX-V: JG OTCQB: JGLDF
Cautionary Notes
Why Japan Gold
Epithermal Gold Projects
Ikutahara Project
Key Prospects
Buho Project
Geology and Mineralisation
Exploration Potential
Fujimi & Onne Projects
Aibetsu Project
Tenryu Project
Sanru Project
Numanoue Project
Hakuryu Project
Tobaru Project
Harutomi Project
Ohra-Takamine Project
Togi Project
Togi Goldfield
Minamikayabe Project
Yaeyama Project
Onoyama Project
Ebino Project
Mizobe Project
Kurino Project
Gumyo Project
Isa Project
Bajo Project
Usa Project
Lithocap Projects
Kamitsue Project
Ikutahara Project: Kitano-o Prospect
Japan Gold Completes $5,000,000 Private Placement
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
August 9, 2017 – Vancouver, BC – Japan Gold Corp. (TSX-V: JG) ("Japan Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a financing with Southern Arc Minerals Inc. (TSXV: SA) ("Southern Arc"), pursuant to which Southern Arc purchased 12,500,000 units of Japan Gold at a price of $0.40 per unit for gross proceeds of $5,000,000. Each unit consists of one common share and one transferable common share purchase warrant of Japan Gold. Each warrant is exercisable into one additional common share of Japan Gold at a price of $0.40 per share for a period of 5 years. The units (and securities underlying the units) issued under the private placement will be subject to a four month hold period expiring on December 9, 2017.
The principal use of proceeds from the private placement is intended to fund $3,650,000 in exploration expenditures with the remaining $1,350,000 allocated for general working capital.
Following the private placement, Southern Arc owns approximately 53.08% of Japan Gold's issued and outstanding common shares. The private placement with Southern Arc is a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Japan Gold received shareholder approval of the private placement on July 14, 2017 and is relying on sections 5.5(b) and 5.5(c) of MI 61-101 for the exemption from the valuation requirement in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange and MI 61-101.
Japan Gold did not file a material change report more than 21 days in advance of the closing of the private placement based on the fact that the closing date of the private placement was not determined until regulatory approval had been obtained.
On behalf of the Board of Japan Gold Corp.
"John Proust"
About Japan Gold Corp.
Japan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold and copper-gold exploration in Japan. The Company has applied for 180 prospecting rights licenses in Japan for a combined area of 59,606 hectares over twelve separate projects. Thirty-two of the applications have been granted as Prospecting Rights. The applications cover areas with known gold occurrences and a history of mining, and are prospective for both high-grade epithermal gold mineralization and gold-bearing lithocaps, which could indicate the presence of porphyry mineralization. Japan Gold's leadership team has decades of resource industry and business experience, and the Company has recruited geologists and technical advisors with experience exploring and operating in Japan. More information is available at www.japangold.com or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Japan Gold Contact
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
DOWNLOAD NEWS RELEASE
About Japan Gold
Japan Gold Corp. (TSX-V: JG) (OTCQB: JGLDF) is a Canadian mineral exploration company leveraging its first-mover advantage as the first foreign exploration company to focus entirely on gold opportunities in Japan. The Company holds a portfolio of 24 Gold Projects which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization. Japan Gold's leadership team has decades of resource industry and business experience, and the Company has recruited geologists and technical advisors with experience exploring and operating in Japan.
Suite 650, 669 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 0B4
info@japangold.com
© 2020 Japan Gold All Rights Reserved
Website & CMS by Sandman Media Inc.


Who will find this information helpful?
If your business sells to hospitals, or if doctors are your target market, then I'm sure you will find this blog post most interesting as I discuss a doctor's buying journey. I have examined a recent Google survey which interviewed over 500 physicians to understand how they do research and buy online.
We will also take a look at how you can reach these doctors to help them with their research and buying decisions.
When doctors are making clinical decisions they are spending twice as much time using online resources compared to print. The reason doctors are turning to the internet for their research is because they have a lot more patients these days and a lot less time to do their research.
There are a lot more treatment options available to patients, greater expectations and much more admin required, which is becoming a big burden. There has also been a big shift to e-resources meaning doctors can get the information they need instantly.
The mass adoption of EMR, e-precribing, streamline practices and much more patient collaboration have all been contributing to the way doctors research and buy online.
The devices they use to do research is also interesting as 99% of doctors use desktops computers, 84% use smartphones and 54% tablets, this means if you website does not display well on mobile devices you could be turning your customers way.
According to this research 62% will leave a website if it is not mobile optimised.
Some might say that the reason for the switch to digital is an age thing. I was having a conversation with my mother-in-law just the other day and she thinks it is the younger generation that embrace digital, whereas the old generation still like to do the research offline.
I think this may be true for some people but it seems not so much for doctors; 80% of the under 45s and over 55s use their smartphone to do research.
However, under 45s do spend almost double the time online researching compared to their older counterparts. Not surprisngly, both use search engines every day, in fact around 80% said that search engines played a big role in their research. On average they conducted 6 searches on Google each day and 94% of them return.
What kind of things are they looking for?
In terms of healthcare marketing, 32% of their time was spent looking for names of particular medical devices. This is great news if you sell medical equipment, you should start getting your sales questions into blog posts now to help these doctors make their buying decisions.
If you trade in pharmaceuticals you will be pleased to learn that 17% of their time was was spent looking for pharmaceutical brands and 50% looking for specific drug names.
When it came to mobile searches only 34% preferred to use a mobile app, the rest preferring to use mobile websites via browsers, in fact 62% said they would leave if the website was not mobile friendly.
Video also played a very important part in their research as they spend six hours a week watching videos, half of which were for professional reasons compared to the 8 hours they spend watching T.V.
If you are in the business of selling to doctors then you need to use search as your main way to reach them. Inbound marketing is an excellent way to put you right in front of the people who buy your products.
Leverage the power of video by creating helpful videos which show your product being used and also tips on how to use these products. With over 80% of doctors performing actions after watching a video, you want these videos to be yours.
You also need to be reaching them on the go, 80% used their smartphone and 67% said they would leave a website if it wasn't mobile friendly. It was also reported that they were only sent to a mobile friendly website 41% of the time.
So if you make your website responsive, ensuring it works on all devices, this will put you ahead of 59% of the websites out there.
For more in-depth guidance on how to successfully carry out inbound marketing strategies for your healthcare business, click here to learn about our free ebook: "Digital Healthcare Marketing in a Nutshell".
What are the biggest challenges you face in getting your product infront of doctors when doing your healthcare marketing? Let me know in the comments below.


Bradley softball played three games in three days and went winless against Southern Illinois.
The Braves faced off against the Salukis and lost their games by a combined score of 23-4.
In the first game, the Braves only managed three hits off of SIU starting pitcher Danielle Glosson en route to losing the game 12-0.
Glosson gave up just three hits and struck out eight in the complete game shutout, putting her at 12-8 for the season.
SIU got home runs from three different players. The first came early in the first inning when Katie Wilson hit a three-run shot. SIU tacked on another run in the first on a Bradley error.
The second home run ended the scoring in the first when Corinna Gonzalez hit one down the left field line and put the Salukis up big early in the contest.
The third of the Saluki home runs came off the bat of Allie Hanson who cleared the bases with a two-out grand slam, extending the score to 10-0.
The mercy rule came into effect in the fifth to end the game.
Freshman Brandi Ore took the loss for the Braves, tossing two-thirds of an inning, giving up six runs, five of which were earned, on five hits. This dropped her season record to 2-6.
In the night cap, freshman Mackenzie Camp threw the first complete game of her career, but a three-run homer was all the Salukis needed, to win the game 3-2.
The Braves struck early, plating a run in the first inning. Freshman Taylor Cox drew a walk and stole second. She scored on an RBI single from junior Brittany Fairbairn to give the Braves their first lead of the day.
Fairbairn went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the night game of the double header.
Camp gave up the three-run home run to Wilson in the fourth inning after giving up back-to-back singles to lead off the frame.
After retiring the next two batters, Wilson hit one out over the left field wall, giving the Salukis a 3-1 advantage.
The Braves struck back in the fifth, adding another run when senior Lindsay Watkins scored after a double to left center by Fairbairn.
In the series finale, SIU took advantage of five Bradley errors and took the victory 8-2.
Wilson struck again for SIU, hitting a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning with the score tied at one, giving the Salukis all the offense they needed to take the series sweep.
Bradley left two runners on base in each of the first four innings of the contest, and stranded 11 runners throughout the course of the game.
Coach Amy Hayes said the team is playing better than earlier in the season.