text:
Issue 2 feature: Brexit – what do socialists say?
Claire Laker-Mansfield
Three years on from the referendum on EU membership, Britain's Brexit crisis has reached a dramatic climax. The issue has dominated the political landscape since as far back as 2015. As time has gone on, and as the crisis has deepened, the question has become ever more all-consuming. It has claimed the careers of two Tory prime ministers. It has broken apart the Conservative Party. It has been a perennial headache for Jeremy Corbyn and a point of attack for the Blairites.
Asav / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
But despite thousands of column inches, hundreds of television debates and hours upon hours of parliamentary wrangling, the 'fog' that has surrounded Brexit has only thickened. In this article, we aim to assist in lifting that fog. By posing some of the more fundamental questions which lie underneath the crisis, and by challenging the dominant media narrative – which ultimately views this crisis through the eyes of the rich – in this article we hope to provide some clarity on the question of Brexit, and to point towards a socialist approach on this most thorny of issues.
1. What is the European Union?
"It's your job, the job of business, to gear yourselves up to take the opportunities which a single market of nearly 320 million people will offer. Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers – visible or invisible – giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of over 300 million of the world's wealthiest and most prosperous people."
This quote, from a speech delivered by Margaret Thatcher, articulates the enthusiasm with which the ruling class greeted the foundation of the EU's Single Market. It summarises the real purpose of the project we call the European Union.
One of the most fundamental questions that has been posed by this crisis, but which has rarely been addressed in the political mainstream, is this seemingly basic one. It's the question of what the EU is – of who it's for.
How people perceive the answer can have an important bearing on how they voted in the referendum, and on how they view the current criss. What's more, the lack of clarity, especially from the workers' movement, on what the answer to this question actually is, has contributed to the huge confusion which exists within society on the issue.
What we have seen develop, both in the run-up to the referendum, but perhaps especially in its aftermath, is huge polarisation. In many ways this is a false polarisation. That's because it's not a polarisation which sits along clear class lines. It doesn't straightforwardly reflect the real and most important division which exists within our society – the division between the interests of the capitalist class – the rich 0.1% – and the working class.
This false polarisation has at its root the failure of the labour movement's leadership. In particular, this is a failure of both the trade unions and Jeremy Corbyn to offer a clear, independent, pro-working-class approach to both to the referendum itself and what has followed.
Many workers who voted Remain did so out of a sense that the EU represents an antidote to xenophobic Little Englander-ism. Others did so based on the conviction that the EU protects workers' rights – a notion encouraged by many trade union leaders in the run up to the vote.
At the same time, the dominant mainstream voices supporting Brexit have emphasised the question of immigration. The official campaigns – both for Leave and Remain – were shot through with anti-migrant and sometimes openly racist rhetoric. Rightly, thousands of workers, and especially a majority of young people, were repulsed by this.
But what is the reality? How do socialists understand the EU? And how should that inform our approach to the Brexit crisis as it continues to unfold?
Fundamentally, the EU represents the institutionalisation of a series of treaties and agreements which have been entered into by the capitalist governments of its 28 member states.
As the Thatcher quote indicates, the ultimate aim of these treaties is to create the maximum-sized market for European multinationals. And within that market, to create a 'level playing-field' for big business.
This means creating certain common standards and regulations. Occasionally, as with regulations limiting the supply of poor-quality chlorinated chicken, for example, these can have some benefit to the majority of ordinary people. But far more often, and more importantly, the overall effect of these agreements is to undermine workers' rights. In particular, they tend to create a race-to-the-bottom in wages and conditions – a 'levelling down' for workers. One example of how this is implemented is that of the posted workers' directive. This is a policy which allows companies to employ migrant workers based on the terms and conditions they would receive in their home countries, giving the green light to employers to ignore existing trade union agreements and pay far below the rate for the job. This encourages not only the super-exploitation of migrant workers, but also the undercutting of the terms and conditions of their non-migrant brothers and sisters.
And this anti-worker approach extends further into the sphere of politics. In reality, a condition for membership of the existing EU Single Market, as well as of the Eurozone, is preparedness to implement neo-liberal economic policies.
If you look further into the Thatcher speech quoted above, she describes the way in which she believes the Single Market will ensure that big business is allowed to bid for contracts when privatised public services are put out for tender – how all companies across Europe must be given the opportunity to carve up the proceeds of privatisation. EU competition and state aid laws create an obstacle to the implementation of socialist policies such as the renationalisation of the privatised utilities and railways. They present a barrier to a left government intervening to save jobs – for example in threatened industries such as steel and car-manufacturing.
In other words, these laws, unless they were consciously defied by a left-led government, would restrict the implementation of pro-working-class policies. And what's more, the EU is a deeply undemocratic institution. There is a thin democratic veneer represented by the European Parliament. But even this has no power to propose new laws – only to approve or amend them. The real power in the EU lies with the European Commission – a committee of appointed bureaucrats who essentially call the shots.
What is the EU? Ultimately, it's a capitalist club. It's designed to protect the interests of bankers, big business and the rich across Europe. It's Thatcherism on a continental scale.
2. What did the Leave vote represent?
What took place in June 2016 was an earthquake in British politics. The result was unexpected. It defied the polls and confounded the supposed experts. It symbolised the extent to which the British capitalist class was losing control of the situation. Their failure to predict the outcome was matched by an inability to understand it once it was fact. But the truth is, in a confused and inchoate way, that the Leave vote represented a revolt by primarily working-class voters. It was a revolt against a capitalist establishment responsible for a decade of austerity, for the decimation of communities wrought by de-industrialisation, for wrecked public services, privatisation, slashed benefits and food-bank Britain.
The most important factor determining how likely someone was to vote Leave in the referendum was class. Almost two thirds of low-paid workers – classified as 'C2DE' in surveys – did so. And while it would be wrong to minimise the reality of racism as a factor in the referendum – something present on both sides of the debate and consciously stirred up by pro-capitalist politicians – it would not be correct to characterise this as the primary cause of the Leave vote. When surveyed about their reasons for voting the way they did, only a third of Leave voters cited the issue of immigration as their main reason for doing so. By far the most common factor referred to – the reason given by almost 50% – was the issue of democratic control, the desire for a proper say over the decisions that affect our lives. What is this, if not an acknowledgement that the society we live in is 'rigged' in favour of the super-wealthy – that working class people lack a genuine voice in the way our society is run? Surely underlying this sentiment, even if it is not always clearly articulated, is an understanding that the European Union plays its part in the 'rigging' that is inherent in capitalism – that it is part and parcel of this establishment.
In other words, the Leave vote in reality represented an expression of raw class anger. And it has shaken British capitalism to the core.
3. So do socialists think Brexit is a good thing?
The Leave vote represented a revolt by working-class people. It dealt a major blow to the capitalist class. It forced the resignation of the austerity-monger David Cameron and plunged the Tory party into an historic and potentially terminal crisis.
All crises for the ruling class present opportunities for the workers' movement to make advances. But advances are never guaranteed.
Crucial in answering the question of whether leaving the European Union might be a 'good thing' for working-class people, is asking: leaving in what way? On what basis?
One thing that is clear is that any form of Tory Brexit, whether with a deal or without one, will not improve workers' lives one jot. Both of the Tory party's warring and increasingly separated wings – the 'sensible' capitalist wing represented by May and the right-populist wing represented by Johnson – have one thing in common: both are united in wanting a continuation of cuts, privatisation and wage restraint. Any successful deal struck by the Tories with the European Union will inevitably involve Britain continuing to implement most of the neo-liberal agreements that characterise the Single Market and the Customs Union.
And while the European negotiators would ultimately prefer a deal – an outcome which is preferable from the point of view of European big business – they have no incentive to give Britain an easy ride, let alone to agree to some form of 'pick and mix' Boris Brexit. Doing so would only feed the centrifugal forces already threatening to pull the EU apart. It would encourage the growing anti-EU mood that exists in Italy, France and elsewhere. Meanwhile, a no-deal outcome has the potential to significantly bring on the already developing downturn.
While the stories hitting headlines threatening economic Armageddon in the event of a no-deal Brexit do contain a large element of 'project fear', they are not purely based on fantasy. The truth is, the threat posed by such an outcome is real. Even a two minute delay at the port of Dover, something which could easily be caused by the necessary new customs checks, would be likely to result in a queue stretching back for more than seventeen miles!
The potential for capitalists to carry out closures and job losses based on the frustration of supply chains is also not simple scaremongering. But neither is it an inevitability. Economics is not physics. And it would be possible for a left government to intervene to prevent closures and job losses – if it was prepared to take companies threatening closures or cuts into public ownership, guaranteeing the jobs and the conditions of those who work there.
This hints at something very important. Because a hard or soft Tory Brexit, or indeed a Remain outcome, are not the only options that exist.
Among the main things which differentiates a socialist approach to this question and others, is the fact that we believe working-class people have the potential to be actors in history. We argue that the intervention of the workers' movement, especially with clear leadership, has the potential to dramatically alter the situation and completely reframe this debate. Should Corbyn and the union leaders intervene decisively – mobilising the mass of working-class people around a clear programme – it would be possible to put workers' interests centre stage, to make use of this opportunity to deal a decisive blow to the super-rich and their rigged capitalist system.
4. So how should socialists approach the question of Brexit?
Socialists approach the question of Brexit from a fundamentally different starting point. Unlike the pro-capitalist representatives of both the Leave and Remain camps, we do not recognise the existence of British interests. That's because we live in a deeply unequal and fundamentally unfair society. We live a society in which the super-rich get richer based on the exploitation of working-class people. Because, despite the propaganda, wealth is not created by genius entrepreneurs, savvy speculators or mega-monopoly men. It is ordinary working people who turn the world's resources into goods people can use. It's working people who distribute those goods the world over, who provide services that keep society running. In other words, it is working-class people who create society's wealth. Profit comes from collectively not paying workers the full value of the wealth they produce.
This means that the interests of workers and the interests of the capitalist class – who own and control the major banks and businesses that dominate our economy – are diametrically opposed.
It's why genuine internationalism is the property of the workers' movement – not of any capitalist club. We recognise that workers in Britain have far more in common in terms of shared interests with the workers of France, Romania, South Africa or America than we do with any of the exploitative bosses who happen to share our nationality. That applies as much to Brexit as it does to any other issue you can name.
So what's needed from Corbyn and the trade union leaders is an approach which is based on fighting for the independent interests of working-class people. What's needed is an internationalist approach, which recognises the common struggle of workers across the continent of Europe against the brutality of austerity.
So what would such an approach involve? Well, for a start, it would require outlining a very different set of 'red-lines' to those laid out by any capitalist politician – including by the pro-capitalist Blairites who sit on the Labour benches. It would mean starting with a negotiating position based on pro-worker red lines – refusing to sign up to any treaty or agreement which undermines workers' rights, or which attempts to limit the implementation of pro-working class policies. Such a stand would need to be linked with a programme for ending austerity, making huge investment in starved public services, implementing a real living wage, ending pay restraint, bringing in free education, renationalising the railway and utilities, and so on. But such a stand, if it were taken and followed through with by a figure like Corbyn, would ultimately require going much further.
5. What about Greece?
Taking a determined pro-working-class position on Brexit, and fighting to implement policies which threaten the profits of the super-rich few, would inevitably bring down the wrath of the capitalist class, of Britain and of Europe, upon such a government. This ruthless determination to force through austerity policies was most brutally demonstrated in Greece in 2015, when the overwhelming mass of Greek workers voted for a break with cuts politics twice – once by electing the Syriza government, and again in the referendum on the proposed austerity memorandum. The successful attempt by the Troika – the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF – to crush the Syriza government is instructive. Because tragically, despite the tremendous heroism of the Greek workers, the then Prime Minister Tsipras ultimately capitulated to the Troika's demands.
In doing so, he went from being an anti-austerity figure to being the enforcer for the most brutal and punishing regimes of cuts in the whole of Greek history. He became an active participant in attempting to crush the Greek working class.
This example should stand as a stark warning to Corbyn. It is rich in lessons. What it shows is that a Corbyn-led government, if it were determined to fight for the interests of working-class people, would need to be prepared to challenge the power of capitalism – in Britain and in Europe – in order to succeed.
Doing so would require a preparedness to meet threats of economic sabotage with a preparedness to take power and control out of the hands of the capitalists and to place it in those of working-class people. To begin with, that would mean nationalising the banks – preventing attempts by the super-rich to take money out of the country. It would mean pledging to take into public ownership any company threatening job losses, closures and relocations, guaranteeing livelihoods of all workers. It would mean removing from capitalist control the major monopolies that dominate the economy, and by extension the lives of millions, nationalising them under democratic workers' control. And crucially it would mean relying not on parliament – full as it is with pro-capitalist politicians wearing rosettes of all colours – but on the active mobilisation of the working class, on the streets and in the workplaces, for all of its power and legitimacy.
Such an approach, were it fought for, and seen through, would electrify Europe. It would awaken the working class across a continent rich in revolutionary history – pointing towards the possibility of a decisive break with capitalism and with austerity. And it would open the door to a socialist confederation of Europe, and ultimately of the world.
Among the most thorny questions that has been raised by the Brexit debate is over the issue of a so-called 'backstop'.
Despite his self-presentation as a determined hard Brexiteer, it's clear Johnson would prefer to arrive at some form of agreement with the European Union. But for him to be able to justify such a deal to his own support base, both in Parliament and outside it, this would need to be one which included significant concessions, particularly on the question of the Irish backstop.
But such concessions are extremely difficult for the EU to agree to. The backstop agreement is designed as a supposed fail-safe. Its purpose to guarantee against the possibility of a hard border between the north and south of Ireland which, if implemented, would inflame sectarianism and has the potential to reignite the troubles.
On a capitalist basis, this problem is in many ways intractable. From the perspective of the EU, any arrangement in which the UK ends up outside of the Single Market or Customs Union without a deal which closely aligns Britain to its central regulations and agreements, would from their point of view necessitate some form of border – either north-south or east-west. The existence of either one of these would be a huge source of sectarian tension and should be strongly opposed by socialists.
Our sister organisation in Ireland – the Socialist Party – campaigns strongly against the hardening of any borders and argues for a united working-class struggle. They argue that, in this situation, the trade union movement – with its 800,000 members in Ireland and six million members in Britain – has a historic responsibility to take up the gauntlet and offer an alternative. The labour movement should organise its own conference to discuss the issue, representing workers across Ireland and Britain.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), and the British Trades Union Congress (TUC), should take responsibility for the convening of a conference along these lines. If they don't face up to their responsibility, then a coalition of the trade union bodies prepared to do so should take the initiative. Such a conference should discuss how the economic interests of the working class in Ireland and Britain could be defended against those who wish to use Brexit to attack workers' rights and conditions, including the possibility of co-ordinated industrial action. It would also have to discuss how we can defend the unity of the working class in the context of Brexit, preparing to counter any increase in sectarian tension and conflict with protests, demonstrations and industrial action to challenge the sectarian forces.
Ultimately, it is not our Single Market – and working-class people should not have to suffer in order to protect its 'integrity' on behalf of the capitalists. On the basis of socialist change – including public ownership of the big monopolies under democratic working-class control – it would be possible to completely eliminate the need for border checks of any kind and to build a society based on solidarity and unity.
What we fight for:
No to Boris coup! For mass protests, bringing together the trade unions, climate strikes movement and all those opposed to this attack on democratic rights
We can't trust capitalist MPs to protect workers and young people from a Tory No Deal Brexit! Fight for a general election and a Corbyn-led Labour government with socialist policies
Serious trade union-led action against every threatened cut, closure or redundancy
No to a Tory Brexit – deal or no deal. Oppose the capitalist EU. Build real solidarity and coordinated resistance to capitalist policies across Europe
For a socialist England, Wales and Scotland, alongside a socialist Ireland and Europe, where resources are democratically owned and planned


As winter sets in, Leach & Lang is pleased to prepare a short report from the construction site of Wawrzyńca 19. The works of the internal installations have been well on the way and finishing works are carried out – consisting of preparing concrete floor, internal plaster and ceilings.
Favorable – as for this time of the year - weather conditions allow to work on facades. There have been made – ahead of the expected schedule - most of the elevation of the courtyard and part of the facade from the Wawrzynca Street.
Please take a look in the images and be invited to visit our development!


The Cromcast is a three host podcast featuring the works of author Robert E. Howard and weird fiction in general. We are back for a second season, focusing this time on the female heroes in Robert E. Howards' tales. This episode features the second Dark Agnes de Chastillon story "Blades for France". Find us on the web at http://thecromcast.blogspot.com!


text:
Q: Failed to use the AWS greengrasssdk to get thing shadow with error code 404 I want to collect some information with my sensor and analyze them  on greengrass core to decide whether send an e-mail by SES to me or not. Everything is ready except my connection between shadow and lambda, which is deployed on my greengrass core. When I try to get information from shadow, I can only get error code like this:
{
  "code": 404,
  "message": "Shadow Not Found",
  "timestamp": 1529392914
}

But actually, the shadow is updated continuously every second. Is there anything that I missed? Or can somebody give me some suggestion? Thanks all!
import greengrasssdk

def lambda_handler(event, context):

    seeeduino_client = greengrasssdk.client('iot-data')
    client = greengrasssdk.client('iot-data') # it's used for send data to "Iot Cloud"

    response = seeeduino_client.get_thing_shadow(thingName='Seeeduino_Cloud')
    client.publish(
                    topic='load/successed',
                    payload=response["payload"]
                    )
    return

A: Tim
How are you updating the shadow? Is it updated to IoT Core in the cloud, or it is updated to Greengrass Local shadow? These two are independent in GG.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ok boys, we provided a bad tip yesterday, but anyway, you can be sure that at the end of the season Cantù will be relegated. Too many problems in that club.
Varese is one of the few Italian clubs to have the official website also in english. We think this is a good reason for starting following the white and red team.
Please feel free to suggest us any good website about female basketball. Thank you.
Next Today is the #Reyerday !!


text:
Brexit: So... what was the point of all that?
Lucas TRIPOTEAU
Translation by:
Кeri
BrusselsPoliticsBrexit
One of David Cameron's main demands in the negotiations between Britain and the European Union will only serve to put strain on political discussion between these two European partners. Cafébabel Brussels gives their opinion on a still ongoing debate.
"I will not take a deal that does not meet what we need," declared David Cameron in a speech lasting little more than 40 seconds on his arrival at the European Council of the 18th to 19th of February. In the face of ever-growing Eurosceptic public sentiment – if not outright anti-European – the British Prime Minister stated his firm demands before the real negotiations had even begun.
One major sticking point is Britain's position on the principle of an "ever-closer union" enshrined in the first Article of the Maastricht Treaty, as well as the preamble to other treaties. This point has been portrayed as crucial to reassuring the British people ahead of the referendum on Britain's membership of the EU planned for the 23rd of June.
Although the agreement struck by David Cameron and his European counterparts is symbolic, it will have limited impact. In political terms, he has merely added further strain to an already tense atmosphere existing between EU member states, and in legal terms, it carries no significance.
Challenging the European idea
The phrase "ever-closer union" could be viewed as a summary of the ambitions of the founding fathers of the European project. It is about strengthening solidarity between member states, and going beyond mere European integration. As part of Article A of the Maastricht Treaty, it has powerful implications.
Since setting out his intentions in a letter to Donald Tusk dated the 10th of November, Cameron has strongly insisted on his country's exemption from the clause. It should be noted that Britain has always held a "special" position in the EU: it has opted out of the single currency – as well as various other areas of cooperation including the Charter of Fundamental Rights – and the infamous UK rebate has meant that since 1984 Britain has contributed less towards the common European budget. While some of David Cameron's demands have been received with sympathy from his European partners, this one in particular has been more controversial as it puts into question the very essence of the European idea.
Alongside the Greek crisis and the refugee crisis, this is yet another identity crisis facing the EU in recent months, with many member states turning away from displays of solidarity towards their partners. Therefore, though unfortunate, Britain's attitude comes as no surprise, and this agreement – which takes the form of an exemption to be included in the annexes of treaties – is an unnecessary, harsh and untimely blow for the European Union.
Legally redundant
The deal has involved intense negotiations, most notably taking place on the night of Thursday the 18th of February and into the early hours of the next morning. The existence of the exemption makes a crucial difference. If inserted in the form of an article into one of the treaties or a protocol, it has binding legal force. In the form of a declaration annexed to such treaties, it demonstrates political intent and carries unmistakable symbolic meaning, but is legally void.
It is the latter form that has been chosen, mainly owing to pressure from pro-integration member states such as Belgium and, to a lesser degree, France and others. This meant that in the European Council conclusions, the member states committed to exempting Britain from this clause in the next revision of the treaties. François Hollande made it clear in a final press conference that this will not apply to Britain in future.
The declaration will soon join a list of counterparts, such as Declaration 3, which takes into account "the particular situation of small-sized countries which maintain specific relations of proximity [with the EU]." They have symbolic meaning, but neither the member states nor the union itself are bound to them. In reality, they are of minor consequence.
This new declaration is of even less significance than the phrase "ever-closer union", i.e. the extension of EU powers, which already placed Britain at the heart of the decision-making process by subjecting the revision of treaties to a single unanimous decision by member states. Britain was therefore not excluded before and will not emerge from these negotiations in a stronger position.
David Cameron may perhaps make a show of triumph on his return to Number 10 Downing Street, claiming to have secured a key victory for his country regarding its place in the EU. But this declaration, which has brought needless and nauseating controversy, is little more than a smoke screen hiding legal deadlock and betraying profound disagreements on the very idea of European integration. It remains to be seen how British people will react to the agreement.
This article was published by our local team at cafébabel Brussels.
Translated from Brexit : tout ça pour ça

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Sen. Warner on Russia report: "I thought we would be done before this"
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says that while the committee has made significant progress in their bipartisan investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he "thought we would be done before this."
"As we see all of these connections, they all lead to somebody else, to lead to another question," Warner said on CBS News' "The Takeout" podcast this week.
The committee, headed by Chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, is charged with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and any possible involvement of Trump associates. Warner said that "the cast of characters" has further complicated and drawn out the investigation.
"We are not going to reach any final conclusions until we see all the evidence," Warner said. "We're not going to try to leak stuff out. We feel very committed that we've got to follow this to where the truth ends."
Re-evaluating the January 2017 intelligence community findings: "Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections"
So far, the committee has reached unanimous conclusions on the first three points. Warner predicts that at the end of the investigation, the bipartisan group of senators will be more divided on the effects of Russia's social media meddling.
According to Warner, the committee has seen over 100 witnesses so far, but is reserving judgment on the collusion question until the witness interview process is completed.
"I think what we want to try to do is give the American people the truth, not only in terms of what Trump and the Russians did or didn't do, but equally important, how do we make sure they don't do it again on a going forward basis," Warner said.
For more of Major's conversation with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, download "The Takeout" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. New episodes are available every Friday morning. Also, you can watch "The Takeout" on CBSN Friday at 5pm, 9pm, and 12am ET and Saturday at 1pm, 9pm, and 12am ET. For a full archive of "The Takeout" episodes, visit www.takeoutpodcast.com. And you can listen to "The Takeout" on select CBS News Radio affiliates (check your local listings).


text:
HomeTottenhamTomas Rosicky Eyeing More Wonder Strikes.
Tomas Rosicky Eyeing More Wonder Strikes.
Joe Kraize Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Hero of the Day at White Hart Lane on Sunday is confident he can score more of the kind of goal he bagged to give Arsenal a win over their North-London rivals.
Tomas Rosicky's thunderbolt strike from an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain assist had been one of the major topic of discussion on football shows. It also earned a place in the Goal of the Week contest on Super Sport.
The 33-year old Czech Republic midfielder who recently signed a new contract at Arsenal has scored twice against Tottenham Hotspur this season, his first being in an FA Cup tie at the Emirates. He is so happy with his performance in the derby and thinks that win would act as a catalyst to the Gunners' title challenge.
"I am not a big goal-scorer but I can score big goals," Rosicky declared. "I would like to get on the score-sheet more but for me it's not easy.
"The team is more important so even if someone else scored I would be glad as long as we won the game. It means a lot because it is a derby and everyone knows how the fans feel about games like that so it is a great win.
"Defensively we were very good but we have to improve offensively if we want to win the league."
Saturday's game away at Stamford bridge is one which Arsenal need to win so as to completely close the gap on current league leaders. Rozza is also aware of that and is prepared to give his best against Chelsea in the weekend.
"It will be a vital game against Chelsea but still there are so many games to go so we don't know what will happen after that," he said. "It can change very, very quickly in two games and of course you talk about Chelsea and Man City but you have to talk about Liverpool as well.
"There are four teams there and it is absolutely exciting."
Arsenal News Rosicky Tottenham
Thanks THOmas for you football
Leaked Image of Arsenal's New Adidas Away Kit for 2019/20
Legend Slams Arsenal Skipper


On Sunday, Fox and Friends Weekend host and Minneapolitan Pete Hegseth turned to the camera and did his whole city proud by saying something controversial and incredibly brave.
They continued to laugh, even as Hegseth's face remained deadpan serious. One co-host, smiling, exclaimed, "Someone help me," almost as though she was providing an adequate button on which to end this conversation. But Hegseth wasn't done.
"So, you're becoming immune to all the bacteria," his co-host suggested, helpfully.
There were some on Twitter who found this full-throated denial of the benefits of hand-washing a little… concerning. But at least one Twitter user, Smittymhs, applauded Hegseth's bold admission with a tweet of his own.
Hegseth retweeted the proclamation and punctuated it with a tagline: #DontWash.
On Monday morning, a USA Today piece came out reviewing the #DontWash incident and assuring its readers that, yes, washing your hands is incredibly important, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "highly recommends" Hegseth, you, and I do so.
Finally, about a minute later, Hegseth retweeted a commenter, Chris Hayes, speculating that he was "pretty clearly joking" on Sunday.
"When even @chrislhayes can see the obvious… Twitter really has come full circle," he said.
Other examples of Hegseth's television bravery include insisting it's "hard" to find English-speakers in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood and accidentally hitting a man with an axe during a June 2015 Fox News segment.


text:
Makro-Altaisch oder Nordostasiatischer Sprachbund ist eine Gruppe eurasisch-sibirischer Sprachen, die folgende Sprachfamilien und Einzelsprachen umfasst:

Nordostasiatisch nach Hattori (1964)
Ainu
Altaische Sprachen
Mongolische Sprachen
Tungusische Sprachen
Turksprachen
Japanisch-Ryūkyū
Koreanisch

Lange umstritten war die Frage, ob es sich beim Makro-Altaischen um eine genetische Einheit (Sprachfamilie) oder nur um einen Sprachbund typologisch ähnlicher Sprachen mit arealen Kontakten handelt. Stand der Wissenschaft in der Linguistik ist, dass (wie auch bei jeder anderen Version der altaischen Hypothese) keine genetische Einheit vorliegt, sondern ein Sprachbund (bestehend aus den sechs allgemein anerkannten, unumstrittenen, eigenständigen genetischen Einheiten Turksprachen, Mongolisch, Tungusisch, Koreanisch, Japanisch-Ryūkyū und Ainu). Alexander Vovin beurteilt Versuche, das Japanische mit den altaischen Sprachen in Verbindung zu bringen, als abwegig und wissenschaftlich wertlos.

Diese Thematik wird im Artikel Altaische Sprachen behandelt.

Einzelnachweise

Vorgeschlagene Sprachfamilie

Macro-Altaic theory

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
11th Street, Sekondi
22 Nov 2019 | AR131CD|AR131VL | album | 2LP|CD|digital
11th Street, Sekondi by Gyedu-Blay Ambolley
Gyedu-Blay Ambolley was born on the 11th Street in Sekondi, Ghana 72 years ago. on the cover photo you can see on the right side the house of his birth which was also his parental home.
The Ghanian legend's latest release shows off a pride of heritage, and his honed talent for mixing highlife with other genres like rap, Afro-funk and Disco
Ghanaian highlife star and renowned saxophonist, singer and guitarist Gyedu-Blay Ambolley returns with 11th Street, Sekondi, his 31th album since his debut in 1973. The charismatic stage personality, no stranger to mixing humour into his music and who has performed alongside Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and highlife bandleader Ebo Taylor, has been a record collector's staple since his appearance on the seminal Ghana Soundz compilation on Soundway in 2002, which re-introduced the world to his trademark 'Simigwa' style.
Highlife, which started in Sierra Leone and Liberia, took hold in Ghana in the 1940s as a coming together of the musicians fed up with the foxtrot and quickstep parties originally hosted by English colonists. It began with big band horns and happy lyrics, popularised by artists such as E.T Mensah, before opening up in the '50s and '60s with a wave of guitar-driven, socially conscious and more danceable Afro-funk hits — a product of the easy movement of people between Nigeria and Ghana.
It was then that Ambolley's trademark baritone vocals burst onto the scene, under the tutelage of close personal friend Ebo Taylor. Already an accomplished flautist, drummer, guitarist and singer, Ambolley joined Tricky Johnson's Sextet — a band led by ET Mensah's former guitarist — as a 15-year-old vocalist in 1963. This was followed by spells with highlife legend Sammey Lartey's Railways band, then with Taylor in the Stargazers and the Uhuru Dance Band. Ambolley's musical development was also informed by a love of popular '60s US radio show 'Voice of America Jazz Hour', a programme packed with artists including Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald.
These influences, and a fearless ability to mix highlife with funk, blues, soul and disco were drawn together for Ambolley's 1973 solo album Simigwa, later re-released on Essiebons. The musician says his spoken style not only created a new genre — inspired by the melodic ravings of a man in his hometown — but was the first ever example of commercially-recorded rap, six years before the Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight. Ambolley's English and Fanti language tracks then appeared in records and tours throughout the US and the UK, most recently with his band The Sekondi Band International, but it was not until Soundway Records produced the Ghana Soundz compilation in 2002 — the result of painstaking research by DJ Miles Cleret — that the highlife artist's other albums, including 'Party Time' and 'The Sekondi Man', were rediscovered and re-released. This recent resurgence in his career has led to performances at prestigious festivals, such as Montreaux and sees a forthcoming performance at Le Guess Who? In Holland.
Ambolley's latest album, 11th Street, Sekondi, named after the area of West Ghana in which he grew up, is a look back at the area and musical styles that shaped the musician's life. Black Woman is a funky number that opens the album with Ambolley on a tenor sax solo, while tracks like Little Small Girl showcase his renowned James Brown-influenced vocal flourishes. Soul, jazz, blues and comedy are present — in keeping with his fervent belief that music must always be entertaining for the listener.
The album is the second of his to be released on German label Agogo records, after acclaimed 2017 hit, Ketan. It also stays true to highlife's social ambitions, with reflections on the misguided pursuit of European ideals ahead of African values. Ambolley's career has been filled with accolades, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Charles R Drew University in Los Angeles, and formal recognition from the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC for producing the first ever commercially recorded rap album.
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More releases by: Gyedu-Blay Ambolley


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Walter Bryce Gallie (Lenzie, 5 de outubro de 1912  Cardigan, 31 de agosto de 1998) foi um teórico social, teórico político e filósofo escocês. Foi, respectivamente, professor de filosofia na Universidade de Keele, professor de lógica e metafísica na Queen's University of Belfast e professor de ciência política na Universidade de Cambridge.

Contribuições
Dentro da Filosofia da história, Gallie pode ser identificado como um filósofo analítico. Na década de 1960, seu livro Philosophy and the Historical Understanding (1964) e seu artigo The Historical Understanding (1963) trouxeram contribuições para a área, principalmente no que tange a explicação e a narrativa histórica. Para Gallie, a narrativa é o modelo de explicação próprio da História. Sendo a narrativa a capacidade de concatenar eventos até uma conclusão, não precisando ter uma sequência lógica, mas sim um desenvolvimento coerente das motivações dos agentes entre os acontecimentos. Essa narrativa é ligada também a capacidade do leitor de acompanhar e compreender o que está sendo contando, a essa capacidade Gallie associa a compreensão histórica. Para tal, a narrativa deve remeter a ações humanas que façam sentido ao leitor, que remetam as suas próprias experiências e ações.

Bibliografia

Historiadores do século XX
Professores da Universidade de Swansea
Mortos em 1998
Nascidos em 1912
Filósofos da Escócia
Teoria da história
!Mais Teoria da História na Wiki (Wikiconcurso de edição)


text:
Published December 24, 2016 2:08pm EST
National Guard Member Faces Terrorism Charge, Accused Of Wanting To Blow Up L.A. Subway
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 29: Handcuffs are seen on the hands of a twenty-year old "Street Villains" gang member who was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers from the 77th Street division on April 29, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The 77th Street division patrol the same neighborhood that truck driver Reginald Denny was nearly beaten to death by a group of black assailants at the intersection of Florence and Normandie Avenues. It?s been 20 years since the verdict was handed down in the Rodney King case that sparked infamous Los Angeles riots. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)
SEATTLE (AP) – A man who prosecutors say spoke of bombing the Los Angeles subway system and joining Islamic extremists in Syria is returning to California to face a terrorism-related charge after his arrest near the Canadian border.
Nicholas Teausant, 20, of Acampo, Calif., an unincorporated area near Lodi, was taken off a northbound Amtrak bus in Washington state Sunday night just short of the border. A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Sacramento described him as a student at San Joaquin Delta Community College in Stockton and a member of the National Guard who is being discharged for failing to meet basic academic requirements.
Beginning last spring, Teausant began expressing on his online photography account a desire to see America's downfall, saying "I would love to join Allah's army but I don't even know how to start," the complaint said.
Later, he took to another online forum to say he hoped to fight in Syria, the document states.
It wasn't immediately clear if Teausant had a lawyer in California. He was charged with a single count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, based on his alleged attempt to travel to Syria, and he agreed during a hearing Monday at U.S. District Court in Seattle to be returned to Sacramento to face the charge.
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Tall and lanky with closely shorn hair and a thin beard, Teausant appeared in court wearing a white T-shirt and tan pants. He sat hunched beside a lawyer appointed for that hearing only, answering "Yes, ma'am" or "No, ma'am," to questions posed by Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler.
The complaint said he had discussed numerous other ideas for terrorist activity that never came to fruition, including a plot supposedly hatched during a camping trip with seven other people to bomb the Los Angeles subway system last New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
Investigators never corroborated that such a camping trip actually occurred. When an informant questioned Teausant on Jan. 4 about what happened to his plan, Teausant responded that it was canceled because "they" had been "tipped off," the complaint said.
The complaint said he had been planning since October to support the efforts of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a group that has been fighting in Syria's 3-year-old civil war and is designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.
Investigators said Teausant discussed his scheme at length with a person who turned out to be a paid FBI informant, repeatedly affirming that he was serious about it.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is a breakaway organization from al-Qaida that is considered one of the most brutal groups fighting in Syria's civil war, made up largely of non-Syrian Islamic militants. It has seized several areas in Syria as it fights the government of President Bashar Assad.
The complaint said Teausant referred to himself as a convert to Islam but did not give details about when or why he may have done so. He met the informant through a mutual acquaintance, the document said.
Among Teausant's plans was to appear in videos for the group, without covering his face — to be "the one white devil that leaves their face wide open to the camera," he was quoted in the complaint as saying.
The informant put Teausant in contact with a "mentor" — in reality, an undercover federal agent — who could purportedly approve his efforts to join the extremists. Early this month, the "mentor" blessed Teausant's travels, and he boarded a train for Seattle on Sunday night, the complaint said.
When the bus arrived in Blaine, just south of Vancouver, British Columbia, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped it and questioned Teausant about where he was headed. He responded that he was traveling to Vancouver and was arrested, the complaint said.
The complaint said Teausant enlisted in the National Guard in April 2012 but never underwent basic training because he didn't meet academic requirements.
The complaint also states that Teausant told the informant he has an infant daughter and had arranged for his mother to get custody of the girl if he disappeared.
At one point, the informant questioned him about whether he was serious about his plans, given that he talked a lot but did not seem to follow through.
The maximum penalty for attempting to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.


text:
Q: Array push with Key and Value using Jquery I'm struggling a little bit with this JQUERY code. How do i get the value of an input number and stored it array? Below is my sample Code.

var arr = [];
$('.tblPartial input[type="number"]').each(function(i) {
  arr.push(this.id);
});
$.each(arr, function(i, v) {
  var split = v.split('_');
  var expCount = $('#ec_' + split[1] + '.expCount').html();
  var inputCount = $('#' + v + '.inputCount').val();
  console.log(expCount + "\n" + inputCount);
});
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

Output:
EXPCOUNT HTML Has a value of 1; which is good and nothing to care about.
inputCount value is 0, but the actual it has 1.
As i collaborate with the codes, i saw that i only got the index, and the id of my item. That's my Bad Idea. I need those id, and also i need the value of that element. Do i need to use Multidimensional array here? how to achieve this? thanks!

$.post(self.baseUrl + "ShowingCountDetails", {CountNo: countno}, function (data) {
            var ctr = 0;
            var table = $('#partialTbl tbody');
            $('#ICnoPartial').val(data.CountDetails[0].CountNo);
            table.empty();
            $.each(data.CountDetails, function (i, v) {
                ctr++;
                var ctrtd = $('<td/>').append(ctr);
                var itemCode = $('<td/>').append(v.ItemCode);
                var desc = $('<td/>').append(v.Description);
                var ActualStock = $('<td/>',{
                    'id': 'ec_' + v.ItemId,
                    'class': 'expCount',
                    'value': v.ActualStock
                    }).append(v.ActualStock);
                var inputNum = $('<input />', {
                    'type': 'number',
                    'value': v.CountTemp,
                    'class': "inputCount form-control input-sm",
                    'id': "inp_" + v.ItemId,
                    //'name': v.ItemId
                });
                var inputCount1 = $('<td/>').append(inputNum);
                var uom = $('<td/>').append(v.Uom);
                //var matched = $('<td/>').append();
                var icon = $('<i />', {
                    'class': "iconChecked fa fa-check aria-hidden=true",
                    'id': "icon_" + v.ItemId,
                    'style': 'color : #00a65a; text-align:center;'
                });
                var icontd = $('<i />', { // X Icon
                    'class': "iconStop fa fa-times aria-hidden=true",
                    'id': "icon1_" + v.ItemId,
                    'style': 'color : #f90808;'
                });
                var deleteButton = $('<button />', {
                    'type': 'button',
                    'class': 'btn btn-danger btn-xs btnDelete',
                    'id': v.ItemId
                }).append('<i class="fa fa-trash" aria-hidden="true"></i>');

                var del = $('<td/>').append(deleteButton);
                var iconTD = $('<td/>', { 'style': 'text-align:center;'}).append(icon).append(icontd);
                var row = $('<tr/>').append(ctrtd).append(itemCode).append(desc).append(ActualStock).append(inputCount1).append(uom).append(iconTD).append(del);
                table.append(row);
            });
        }).success(function () {
            self.ifMatch(true);
            self.loadIconValidation(true);
            self.deleteButtonClicked();
            });

The code first above, is a part of my validation.


On August 31, 2017, The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh partnered with global retailer American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) to bring a unique back-to-school shopping experience to three of our amazing kids! Two students from The Day School - Satchel and Kalen - and Noah, an outpatient from The Hospital, participated in a remote robotic shopping experience powered by AEO's Beam® Smart Presence System (SPS).
See how our amazing kids "beamed" into AEO's Cranberry Mall store from their iPads to engage in a personal shopping experience with an AEO stylist in news coverage from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, RabbleVID, and The Incline.


text:
Q: multiple background pics in css this is what im trying to do...
ul#newnav a{ /*--This is basically the hover state of navigation--*/
color: #555;
background: url(images/a_bg.gif) repeat-x left bottom;}

ul#newnav a{ background: url(images/navpic.png) no-repeat top left;}

and of course its only loading the last one but is it anyway I can load both.

A: You can use :hover pseudo class
ul#newnav a{ background: url(images/navpic.png) no-repeat top left;}

ul#newnav a:hover { /*--This is basically the hover state of navigation--*/
color: #555;
background: url(images/a_bg.gif) repeat-x left bottom;}

See The dynamic pseudo-classes: :hover, :active, and :focus
In CSS3 you can have multiple backgrouds for an element
See Multiple backgrounds with CSS3

A: With CSS, you can only one background at a time.   You can try to have multiple layers and put backgrounds in each layer, if they contain transparencies.


Daniel Masterson is a PhD student in Political Science at Yale University. Daniel worked for UNHCR in Syria in 2007 and 2008. From 2008 to 2011, he worked as the Founding Executive Director of A Plate for All, an NGO running food and nutrition programming for Iraqi refugees in Syria. He holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University.
Dr. Lehmann is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Brasilia. His area of expertise is the study of the impact of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes, including work with the World Bank in Nigeria and WFP in Swaziland and Mozambique. Currently, Dr. Lehmann forms part of a team of researchers that studies the impact of cash transfers to poor women in Uganda on the local economy.
The authors would like to acknowledge IRC staff who were essential to the successful implementation of this impact evaluation, Information International for their professionalism in conducting the field-based data collection and UNHCR staff who supported the research and shared key information. In addition, the authors and IRC would like to thank their colleagues from other organisations for support and guidance, including DRC, LHIF, Save the Children, World Bank, ACF and UNICEF. The project would not have been possible without the funding from the Department for International Development (DfID) of the UK Government, which supports the IRC Cash and Livelihoods Promotion interventions in Lebanon. Within DFID and ECHO, respectively, IRC is particularly grateful to Simon Little and Maureen Philippon for believing in this project. This project received funding through DFID grant agreement number 204007-111. The research project received exemption from the Yale University Human Subjects Committee under 45 CFR 46.101(b)(2) with IRB Protocol #: 1404013714.
More Syrian refugees reside in Lebanon than in any other country in the region. As no refugee camps have been established in Lebanon, Syrian refugees live in over 1,000 villages and communities across the country and increasingly reside in informal settlements (ISs). The pace of the refugee flow has more than quadrupled since 2012. At the beginning of 2013, there were 130,799 Syrians registered with UNHCR in Lebanon; this has grown to more than 1.1 million registered refugees (September 2014). The magnitude of the crisis can only be understood relative to Lebanon's population of around 4.5 million people.
Starting in November 2013, an inter-agency winterisation1 programme began providing cash transfers to around 60% of all refugees from Syria (including Palestinians), Lebanese returnees, and some vulnerable Lebanese families. This article details the findings of a study2 on the impacts of the winterisation cash transfer programme run by UNHCR and partners, from November 2013 to April 20143. The programme gave $575 USD via ATM cards to 87,700 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon with the objective of keeping people warm and dry during cold winter months. The programme also provided heating fuel, tools for improving shelters and non-food items (NFI), such as blankets, children's clothing, and stoves. About 87,700 Syrian refugee families (in Lebanon) received cash intended for the purchase of heating supplies4.
Aid was given at high altitudes to target assistance for those living in the coldest areas during the winter months. Eligibility for the programme was determined by a geographic criterion (refugees residing above 500 metres altitude were eligible, while those living below were not5) as well as demographic criteria6. UNHCR used the demographic data to calculate a 'vulnerability score.' Only households with a vulnerability score above a cut-off were eligible for the programme.Each eligible household was notified via SMS that they were eligible to receive an ATM card at a distribution point. The head of household could pick up the card and receive a pin number. Beneficiaries were notified by SMS message when UNHCR and implementing and operational partners transferred cash to the ATM card. Eligible households could withdraw the money at any ATM. Anyone who had the card and pin could withdraw the money. Although UNHCR and the operational partners generally told beneficiaries that the cash assistance was intended for the purchase of heating supplies, there were no restrictions on beneficiary expenditure (though the message varied across operational partners). Therefore, beneficiaries could spend received cash as they wished.
At the same time as the cash transfer programme, WFP was running an e-voucher programme, allowing recipients to buy food at specific stores. Eligibility was based on the same demographic criteria as the winterisation programme, regardless of altitude. All survey respondents (both treatment and control groups) received the e-voucher. The monthly value of the food e-voucher was $30USD per person.
Inter-agency funding could cover transfers for 87,700 households for the winterisation cash transfer programme. To define the altitude criterion, UNHCR used the highest point within each town as the altitude for all households within that town. The vulnerability score was calculated using biometric data available in UNHCR registration records7. The initial assignment to the programme was conducted using the geographic and demographic data for each household in the UNHCR databases, as of November 2013. For the purposes of this survey, a household was defined as a group of people who spend most nights under the same roof and share in financial activities like income and spending. For instance, two 'households' may live under the same roof if they operate independently of each other in financial matters.
This study used a regression discontinuity design (RDD) that allowed quantification of the causal impacts of the cash transfer programme. The research measured the impacts of cash on numerous metrics of household well-being, negative coping strategies, and food and non-food consumption. It tested whether cash produces negative consequences such as local-level inflation or drawing more refugees to regions with assistance (a "pull factor"). And finally, it sought to estimate the multiplier effect of cash aid, i.e. for every dollar of cash assistance, how much would the Lebanese economy benefit.
In order to evaluate the programme's impact the study compares outcomes of cash beneficiaries residing slightly above 500 metres (i.e. less than 550 metres) (treatment group) to non-beneficiaries residing slightly below (above 450 metres) (control group). The same demographic criteria were used at all altitudes to calculate vulnerability. Therefore the study is comparing households that are similar in their vulnerability scores and only slightly different in altitude. Households did not know beforehand that there would be an altitude eligibility cut-off. This suggests that, around the cut-off point, selection to treatment should not be related to background characteristics in expectation.
According to UNHCR refugee registration records, there were 827 households in the treatment group and 962 households in the control group, i.e. 1789 households in total within the window of analysis (450 metres to 550 metres altitude). This includes only households that had a vulnerability score above the eligibility cut-off.
Because of Lebanon's topography, the distribution of registered Syrian households living between 450 and 550 metres covers nearly the entire country, running from the north in Akkar to the south in Bint Jbeil. Figure 1 shows the location of all towns where survey respondents lived at the time when the winterisation programme began. In November 2013, when the programme began, survey respondents lived in 15 of Lebanon's 25 districts (aqdia)8. Due to beneficiaries who moved between the beginning and end of the programme, interviews were conducted in all 25 districts.
UNHCR's demographic data was used to compare pre-treatment characteristics between the treatment and control groups. Among the demographic variables that were available, 21 of 24 variables were balanced9. Therefore, prior to the start of the programme, households in treatment and control group were very similar. Thus, differences measured after the programme represents causal impacts of cash assistance.
All other aid programmes were equally distributed between the two groups around the altitude cut-off.
The survey was translated and back-translated by separate parties, pre-tested in Halba, Akkar and later pilot-tested in Khirbat Daoud, Akkar and in Al Bourjein, Chouf. Enumerators were Lebanese local to the survey region. The Research Manager conducted three two-day training sessions with groups of enumerators, to enable more direct communication and understanding through smaller training groups.
The questionnaire consisted of 226 questions. The primary respondent in each household was the person mainly responsible for how the household spends its money. An interview took about one hour. A town-level stratified random sample of households was asked 81 additional questions on local prices and market characteristics10. A full description of the data collection methodology is available in an online appendix11. The study compared households living within 40 metres of either side of the 500-metres altitude cut-off due to a drop in sample size at smaller bandwidths. For simplicity, results only for one bandwidth are included here. Other technical publications will show robustness to bandwidth specification. The survey was administered in April and May 2014, beginning about five months after the start of the programme and one day after the programme's final cash transfer. The Research Manager spent more than 20 days in the field and sat in on more than 80 interviews12. Enumerators worked in pairs, with one conversing and reading and the second writing. Enumerators collected the data using anonymous paper-and-pencil interviewing. On average, survey teams conducted five interviews per day. Usually, other people were present in interviews including friends, family, and neighbours.
While the use of cash has increased significantly over the past decade13, there is little rigorous evidence of the impact of cash assistance programmes in refugee crisis. The research design is a key contribution to research on Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and more generally to research on the impacts of cash aid in a humanitarian crisis. This is the first study, to the researchers' knowledge, to rigorously compare refugees receiving cash to those not receiving cash, which makes it possible to quantify the causal impact of the assistance.
Cash assistance produces multiple positive social impacts within the household and in the community. Cash assistance increases school enrolment and reduces child labour. Findings from this research show that households receiving cash assistance were half as likely to send their children to work as households not receiving cash assistance. In the control group, about 33% of children were currently enrolled in school, compared to about 39% in the treatment group. This suggests that cash assistance increases access to education.
Cash assistance caused reductions in negative coping strategies. Households receiving cash assistance less frequently reduced the number of meals per day, reduced the portion of meal sizes and restricted consumption by adults for children to eat. Cash recipients were less likely to withdraw children from school. The programme also increased mutual support between beneficiaries and other community members, and decreased tensions within beneficiary households. The cash programme led to reduced tensions in beneficiary households and between refugees and the host community.
This study found that the cash assistance for beneficiaries at high altitude during winter months increased spending on heating supplies. However, the value of the cash assistance was too low to meet the programme's objective of allowing all beneficiaries to keep warm constantly throughout the winter and beneficiaries only partially use it for this purpose. Almost half of beneficiaries reported that heating supplies were often not enough to keep warm. This is not because heating supplies were unavailable in the market, but because beneficiaries' income was so low that they were forced to use the cash assistance to satisfy other basic needs, in particular food. Households spent the majority of cash assistance on food and water despite receiving food vouchers from WFP.
Markets were able to provide sufficient quantities of the goods and services that beneficiaries demanded. The programme did not have a meaningful impact on prices. Across approximately 50 consumer goods, there was no meaningful trend toward higher prices in treatment communities. The programme had significant multiplier effects on the local economy. Each dollar of cash assistance spent by a beneficiary household generated $2.13 USD of GDP for the Lebanese economy14. Also, the research shows that the grants were spent locally, meaning that local Lebanese economies benefit from the cash programme. The vast majority of beneficiaries (more than 80%) preferred cash assistance compared to in-kind assistance (e.g. food parcels).
The study confirmed the absence of a number of hypothetical negative consequences of cash assistance. For instance there was no evidence of beneficiaries spending cash assistance irresponsibly or meaningfully reducing labour supply. The research did not find that cash assistance exacerbated corruption and exploitation. There was no evidence that cash assistance is a pull factor for refugees to settle in communities where cash is distributed.
Indebtedness and asset depletion will likely continue without further assistance. The majority of households surveyed had no savings and were on average $500 USD in debt. Cash assistance helped in a very marginal way to limit further indebtedness. But the amount of cash assistance given to date is modest in comparison to the costs of the minimum expenditure basket and previously incurred debts. Even with the cash assistance, household income remained insufficient to cover refugee's basic needs.
This study provides a number of key findings that are relevant to policy and practice in Lebanon, and beyond. But, there are a few limitations that should also be acknowledged.
First, the results in this study are only representative of refugee households living around 500 metres altitude. Great care has to be taken to extrapolate from the findings to higher altitudes, not to mention other countries and contexts. In higher altitudes, where average temperatures can be several degrees colder, the impact of cash assistance on heating fuel purchases is likely to be stronger because the weather is colder. In lower altitudes, on the other hand, one would likely see even less spending on winter goods.
Second, this research demonstrates benefits of cash assistance and provides evidence against hypothetical negative impacts. The study does not, however, provide evidence of the positive effects of providing cash assistance in place of in-kind assistance. The comparison groups were control households that received food e-vouchers, versus treatment households that received food e-vouchers and also cash assistance.
Third, 85% of respondents were male. The results for intra-household tensions, therefore, need to be interpreted with caution, as women respondents may have answered this question differently. Any downward bias, however, will be present in both the treatment and control groups. The under-reporting will reduce the likelihood of identifying a true effect if it exists. But if one identifies a difference between the groups one could be confident that it is real and that the difference is at least as large as what the study would have found without measurement error.
Fourth, the study estimates the impacts of cash when $575 was delivered per household over the course of five months. The findings suggest, but do not prove, what would happen with a different amount or timeframe. Specifically, the absence of evidence of market distortions from the recent programme suggests that Lebanon's market is able to adjust for increased demand. This suggests that Lebanon's economy could adjust to larger amounts of cash aid. The study's evidence on the multiplier effect suggests that Lebanon's economy would benefit even more from larger cash transfer amounts and/or broader targeting.
Finally, the research design allows confident statements that the cash transfer caused the difference in outcomes between the treatment and control group and about the scale of the difference. How the cash caused a difference in a particular outcome is a different – and very challenging – research question about causal mediators and causal pathways that could require a research project to study causal pathways for each outcome.
1 By 'winterisation' the humanitarian community means the process of assisting beneficiaries in staying warm, dry, and healthy during winter months.
2 Winterisation cash. Aiding Syrian refugees in Jordan. From November 2013 to May 2014. IRC. August 2014.
3 UNHCR operated more than half of the cash assistance. Operational partners included: ACTED, AMURT, AVSI, CARE, Caritas, CISP, DRC, Handicap International, Humedica, IOCC, IOM, Makhzoumi, MEDAIR, Mercy Corps, NRC, Oxfam, Save the Children, SHEILD, SIF, Solidar Suisse, and World Vision. Source: UNHCR's winterisation partner Coordination Map (December 2013).
4 All aspects of the winterisation programme assisted about 96,700 vulnerable families of various targeted groups (Syrians, Palestinian Refugees from Syria, Lebanese returnees and vulnerable hosts). Around 87,700 received cash through ATM cards, checks or Liban post, while around 9,000 received fuel vouchers. In addition, 21,000 households received one-off in-kind winterisation assistance.
5 Altitude was used to target those living in the coldest areas. 500 metres specifically was chosen, instead of 501 or 502, because it is an easy-to-remember multiple of 100. This further emphasises the as-if random nature of the altitude cutoff, which allows us to make inferences about the effect of aid by comparing recipients to non-recipients with similar vulnerability scores.
6 Additionally, families living in "inadequate shelter" were targeted regardless of altitude. The vast majority of informal settlements are located near the sea (low altitudes) or in the east (high altitudes). Since surveyed households were living between 450 and 550 metres, households living in inadequate shelter and informal settlements were rare in the sample. The demographic criteria calculated a vulnerability score based on a weighted sum of the number of: children ages 0-2y, children ages 3-4y, children ages 5-12y, children ages 13-15y, children ages 16-18y, able bodied adult males 18-59y, disabled individuals in household, adults 51-61y, adult dependents 61-70y, adult dependents 71+y, adult females 18-22y, adult males 18-22y, children at risk of not attending school. "Severe vulnerability" status was given to households (HH) that were elderly headed (HH size >= 2 and only one adult >=59y); only one non-dependent adult in household (HH size >= 2 and only one 18-59 year old in household); families with two or more disabled in the family (HH size >=2 and disabled in family >=2); elderly household with one or more disabled adult (HH size >= 2 and disabled >=1 and only 1 adult >=59y); Unaccompanied/separated minor; child-headed household (HH size >=2 and HH members are ages between 0 and 18y).
7 Syrians need to be registered to be eligible for UN winterisation cash assistance, the program studied in this paper. Some NGOs run separate small-scale cash programmes that can include or explicitly target the unregistered.
8 Chouf, El Meten , Aley, Kesrwane, El Nabatieh, Jbeil, Akkar, El Minieh-Dennie, El Koura, El Batroun, Bent Jbeil, Sour, Marjaayoun, Hasbaya, Jezzine.
9 Balance means that differences are not statistically significant (all p-values are above 0.1). The number of residents of every age group was balanced between treatment and control groups. This reveals that households in treatment and control groups had, on average, the same demographic structure prior the start of the programme. The population of the towns where respondents lived was balanced. Education levels for household members above 30 were also balanced. The Research Team subsetted on age because this was measured post-treatment, and we wanted to only consider people old enough that receiving cash would not have an effect on their education levels. The number of disabled and non-disabled individuals in households within age groups was also balanced, except for three categories. We found imbalance in "Males not disabled aged 51 – 59", "(both genders) Disabled aged 13 – 15", and "(both genders) Disabled aged 16 – 17". The differences are small in absolute terms.
10 The town-level stratified sample selected up to four respondents in each village. If a village had four or fewer respondents from our full sample, then all households in that village were interviewed.
12 1861 individuals met the selection criteria in November 2013 at the beginning of the program. By the time the researchers sought respondents for the survey in April 2014, 62 households were no longer present in UNHCR data. So when surveying began, there were 1789 households in the sample. Given 1361 complete interviews, the study had attrition rates of 24-26 percent depending on which calculation you use.
14 Higher-round effects can be calculated by the formula: dY=C/(1-MPC). That is, the total amount of additional Gross Domestic Product (dY) generated by one beneficiary household is calculated by dividing the amount of winterization cash that the beneficiary household spends (C) by one minus the marginal propensity to consume (MPC). The total amount of additional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that each beneficiary households generates for the Lebanese economy is then given by dY=575/(1-0.53)=1223.40 USD. The multiplier is M=1/(1-0.53)=2.13. See the full report for more details.


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MS Dhoni is back in form with the bat but meanwhile, his trademark fast-paced glovework has remained intact and he once again showcased this incredible skill in the second ODI against New Zealand. Dhoni's quick work behind the stumps stunned Ross Taylor as he was stumped by a fraction of second.
Dhoni: The fastest in stumping?
One of the features of Dhoni's wicket-keeping is his ability to quickly break the stumps after collecting the ball. Such is his excellence in this aspect that he often beats the batsman in this race.
In the 18th over of New Zealand's innings, Kedar Jadhav was successful in beating the outside edge of Taylor's bat. The Kiwi batsman missed the delivery and also went off balance for a moment and this was enough for Dhoni to collect the ball and break the wickets.
Taylor's back foot was in the air when the Indian wicket-keeper dismantled the stumps and the third umpire ruled Taylor out.
This stumping once again proved that when it comes to quick glovework, Dhoni is one of the best in the world.
Earlier in the day, the Indian cricketer played a crucial inning to take India to 324 runs. After a good start from the openers, Team India's scoring rate reduced in the middle overs and the wickets of Kohli and Rayudu pushed India on the back-foot.
But the Indian wicket-keeper continued his purple patch and scored 48 runs off just 33 balls. He took his time and then went berserk in the last two overs.
This is the third consecutive innings in which Dhoni has remained not-out.
Meanwhile, Team India outplayed New Zealand in the second ODI as well and won the contest by 90 runs. India now lead the series 2-0.


Here, MIT freshman Lynn Yu discusses her D-Lab trip to Brazil, and how it opened her eyes to some of the complexities involved in practicing international development.
I've been interested in working in development for as long as I can remember. As a child, I used to dream of being a heroic figure who didn't follow the traditional go-to-college, get-a-job, live-a-stable-and-comfortable-life path. I wanted to be the person who devoted her life to bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, to bringing kids selling Sampaguita flower wreaths or begging for money on the crowded roads of Manila, in my home country of the Philippines. Before coming to MIT, I searched the Internet for development initiatives being undertaken here, and read about D-Lab. I fell in love with the philosophy of using technology as a tool to better the lives of those in poverty.
During the semester, we worked on rebuilding the Reciclideas prototypes developed during the International Development Design Summit last summer in Brazil. They turn plastic PET bottles into strips that can then be easily used to weave baskets, bags and other marketable items. Before my IAP trip, I thought it was a perfect solution; not only did it recycle trash, it also generated income. When I arrived in Dois Palitos, I realized that I hadn't really thought about what specific problem this "perfect solution" would address. Yes, the community could probably benefit from an additional source of income, but was this the most pressing issue that residents faced? Everyone could benefit from additional wages, but perhaps the most immediate problem that people wanted to see addressed in the community was something else, like the winding, steep, and unpaved roads that may pose a threat to the oldest and youngest members of the community. Maybe people cared more about finding a way to prevent teenage pregnancies, which seemed to be a prevalent issue throughout the favela. I realized how important it was to really take the time to talk to people and understand the nature of the problems in the community before trying to develop a solution.
I also began to see that development work is, by nature, incredibly complex and time consuming. For example, although many members of the community expressed interest in attending our Reciclideas workshop when we walked around the community advertising it, less than half of these people actually showed up on the day. We realized that everyone had busy lives, and it was unrealistic of us to expect them to immediately adopt the Reciclideas model as an alternative income generation method. Firstly, many people probably didn't have the time to dedicate many hours to collecting plastic bottles, making strips and then weaving them in to products. Secondly, even if they did make many products, where would they sell them and to whom?
During our time in Dois Palitos, we also visited two different "catadores," or waste-picker cooperatives, in the city of Embu. The first was a very small one, run by three men who worked together to sort trash brought to them by others in the community. We worked with them to build one Reciclideas PET bottle stripper. Afterwards, I felt so happy thinking of the wide-eyed, curiosity and happiness with which one man in particular had received the machine – he told us he was passionate about arts and crafts. I began to think that the Reciclideas project could potentially provide a viable alternative source of income for these men. After that, however, we visited a much larger center, and I was astounded by the incredible work they were doing. Lines of men and women painstakingly sorted out each bit of trash that could be recycled from a moving conveyor belt, and then crushed them using giant, mechanical press machines for further processing. These were the faces behind Brazil's reputation as a world leader in recycling. I saw that these people served a vital function in society, and yet were paid so little. If we tried to "improve their lives" by encouraging them to use PET bottle strippers to make crafts and become artisans, who would take their place as trash sorters? Could we try to affect the market to naturally reallocate resources to provide these people with higher wages and better living conditions?
Through these experiences, I realized that there were an infinite number of variables that needed to be taken into account in development work - that there could be no singular "perfect solution." Inspired by my experience in Brazil, I plan to pursue more economics classes here at MIT, in the hope that a greater understanding of markets will help in understanding and investigating development theory.


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Home Arts Artists ready for life-changing experience
Artists ready for
life-changing experience
A select group of dancers, artists, poets and filmmakers are now readying themselves for a life-changing experiences in Asia after receiving grants from the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono.
The Foundation's Arts Practitioners Fund gives support for experiential opportunities for New Zealand-based arts practitioners to deepen artistic and professional connections with Asia, including residencies, work placements, research tours and exchanges.
The eight successful grantees in this funding round are hugely diverse in their creative mediums and goals for their trip, said Director Arts Craig Cooper.
"Many of the projects we picked – and we really had some fantastic applications to choose from – will not only enhance the practitioners' personal understanding of Asian arts and culture, but allow them to bring that understanding back to share with New Zealand audiences," he said.
The successful applicants include high-profile artistic director, choreographer and filmmaker Shona McCullagh, who will be undertaking research in Taiwan to better understand the work and practice of Taiwanese artists and the possibilities for co-productions.
McCullagh will be travelling to Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung this month to meet with artists and programmers and visit venues and festivals. She will research various Taiwanese choreographers and designers with a potential view to collaborate with the New Zealand Dance Company in future.
Show Me Shorts Film Festival Director Gina Dellabarca was also successful in her grant application and will use the money to attend the 21st Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo to identify Japanese works to be presented in New Zealand.
Filmmaker Shuchi Kothari will travel to India in December to research opportunities for New Zealand filmmakers in the Indian screen industry. Her aim is to create connections for India-New Zealand co-productions, collaboration and internships.
Other grants include support for artists and writers to attend residencies, conferences and exhibitions.
"These kind of grants are hugely important to the creatives growing their practice, and for us at the Foundation it's important because it grows the pool of people who have seen first-hand how exciting, dynamic and diverse Asia is," said Cooper.
[Top image: Kiss the Sky, New Zealand Dance Company. Photo: John McDermott]
SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS
Han Nae Kim
Visual artist Han Nae Kim has been invited to exhibit at the prestigious Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS) in Hanoi. Kim is based in Auckland where she's a doctoral candidate at Elam. She's organised several art shows which have seen her introduce contemporary Asian lacquer practices to New Zealand audiences. Kim will be travelling to Vietnam from May 19 to 25.
Gina Dellabarca
Show Me Shorts Film Festival Director Gina Dellabarca, MNZM, will attend the 21st Short Shorts Film Festival in Tokyo to identify Japanese works to be presented in New Zealand. Programming a collection of contemporary Japanese short films to New Zealand audiences will showcase the breadth of filmmaking talent in Japan's creative sector with a wide range of styles and stories.
Daniel Belton
Performing artist, choreographer and producer Daniel Belton (Good Company Arts) will travel to China to undertake an artist residency at YINZI Theatre in Chongqing. During the residency Belton will deliver a Dance on Film workshop, performances and public lectures. He hopes to build long-term connections with artists and arts organisations in China.
Doc Drumheller
Poet, performer and editor Doc Drumheller will represent New Zealand at the 39th World Congress of Poets (WCP) in India in late September, and then to experience Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KIIT & KISS), Konark, and Puri. Clements edits and publishes the South Island literary journal Catalyst. Catalyst will showcase writers and artists from Asia by publishing a feature of poets from the 38 WCP, and a feature of poetry and artwork by artists in India.
Lipika Sen
Artist and writer Lipika Sen will travel to India in September to undertake an artist residency at Belgadia Palace, Mayurbhanj Odisha, along with co-artist Prabhjyot Majithia. During the residency they will collaborate with the local indigenous communities, who live as one with the forests in Simlipal National Park. The artists' multimedia practice includes interactive and experiential works, acrylic on canvas, digital drawings, words, sound, music, film and large scale public art such as their landmark kinetic sculpture – the six-metre tall, steel and acrylic Firkee Wala at the Puke Ariki Museum landing in New Plymouth.
Nolwenn Lacire
Digital curator Nolwenn Lacire will go to Korea in June to attend the International Symposium of Electronic Art in Gwangju and meet with counterparts in Seoul. Lacire aims to find animated and/or interactive content in Korea that will provide highly accessible content for New Zealand audiences, especially for the outdoor digital screen in Aotea Square.
Shona McCullagh
New Zealand Arts Laureate, choreographer, director, installation artist and internationally acclaimed dance filmmaker Shona McCullagh will travel to Taiwan this month. The focus of this trip is to develop a full understanding of how Taiwanese arts practitioners operate to inform McCullagh how to curate and create Asian works that align with the New Zealand market.
Shuchi Kothari
Filmmaker, academic, and founding Executive of the Pan-Asian Screen Collective Shuchi Kothari will research Indian screen industry opportunities for New Zealand filmmakers with a programme of meetings in December. The new connections will inform opportunities for India-New Zealand co-productions and collaborations will make Asian content more readily accessible and eventually central to the next generation of New Zealand audiences.
2019 Media releases Arts
Arts / Article
About our arts programme
Our arts programme aims to bring Asia into the mainstream of New Zealand arts by inspiring New Zealand arts professionals to grow their connections and knowledge of Asia. It also supports the presenta
Arts / Grant
Arts Practitioners Fund
Our Arts Practitioners Fund supports arts practitioners undertake opportunities that deepen artistic and professional connections such as residencies, work placements, research tours and exchanges.
Arts / News
Artist explores the interconnectedness of everything
Social Practice Artist Tiffany Singh was the 2017 New Generation Award recipient. Her acclaimed interactive works explore the engagement between arts and cultural and community well-being. Tiffany rec


Nic McClure's life is "not for the faint-hearted". The EP of Sydney's #1 FM breakfast show, KIIS 106.5's Kyle and Jackie O, celebrates 20 years in radio this year.
She describes working with the two radio personalities as "a full-circle moment", because her first full-time job as a producer was working with the duo at Hot 30 Countdown at SCA.
Talking about the two radio veterans, McClure detailed: "On a working level, I don't think Jackie has changed at all. She is still as driven and focused as she was in the Hot 30 days. Jackie is very sure and has a clear vision where she sees the show and the contents of the show.
When Sydney's MIX FM rebranded to KIIS in 2014, its parent company ARN poached Kyle and Jackie O from SCA's 2DayFM in a bid to improve its ailing position in the market. The duo left as Sydney's #1 breakfast show. There were lots of reports and doubts about whether they would be able to work their magic on the new station. Over time the duo's switch has proven to be one of the most successful in Australia. They have consistently ranked in the top two breakfast shows on FM in Sydney, only to be beaten by their stablemates at WSFM Jonesy and Amanda.
McClure became the EP of the show a year after Kyle and Jackie joined. But she witnessed everything as it unfolded as the EP of ARN's national drive show.
McClure said the immediate task at hand was keeping them at #1, and now it's about growing that lead.
The Kyle and Jackie O show started 2016 on top of its game in the first radio survey for the year.
"Radio is such a competitive game, and the desire to be #1 is an excellent driver to create the best show that we can every day," McClure said.
"The pressure is real and it's there, but it is a great driver. It is so rewarding when we get surveys like this year, where we went up 2.4% to get a 12.5% share, and took out the #1 FM title.
The show's followers on social media at some point will have come across a video of Jackie O shooting through the studio doors a second before the show starts. Literally, a second. Asked about how she deals with the tension, McClure laughed: "Isn't it funny though. You'd think Kyle would be the one who is late but he is actually really diligent.
"He will make sure he gets in with plenty of time. He makes his cup of coffee and sits down with the paper, and gives himself plenty of time to look over the show and get himself ready. It's a funny role reversal.
"We do have plans in place though," McClure revealed.
For McClure this is a testament to how much of a pro the breakfast presenters are.
"I really think people underestimate how much Jackie is the driving force behind the content. I work very closely with her every day on the contents.
From waking to alarms at 3:15am and working up until 8pm, McClure is clear to say that this is not a job she takes lightly.


text:
Buffalo Bills Community Forum
Discussion Forum, Breaking News and Rumors
Want to be in a commercial? Amazon looking for Bills Fans
Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary (26) celebrates with wide receiver Lance Lenoir (9) after scoring a touchdown against Detroit during the first half of the preseason game at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Image Credit: © Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press
Aug 21, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) passes the ball against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field. Image Credit: © Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 28, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Efe Obada (93) stretches prior to the game Green Bay Packers at Highmark Stadium. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 28, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leads a group of teammates on the field prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Highmark Stadium. Image Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 28, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis (13) celebrates his touchdown with teammates running back Devin Singletary (26) and wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at Highmark Stadium. Image Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 28, 2021; Orchard Park, New York, USA; A fan holds up a sign during the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. Image Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
By Ann,
September 20, 2021 in Buffalo Bills Community Forum
Members of Bills Mafia are known for their fanatical nature, with fans willing to fall through tables during pregame tailgates.
But what if Amazon paid you to take that leap?
The company wants to hear from you as they search for fans to feature in an upcoming commercial. An ad posted on Casting Buffalo's Facebook page says Amazon is seeking local "authentic" Bills fans who are non-union talent and are available to shoot a commercial on October 5 or October 6.
There's a stunt role, called "table jumper" which pays $1,100 for 12 hours. You must a man who is between 30 and 45 years old. This diehard Bills fan is expected to be "eccentric, goofy" and, of course, willing to jump through a table. Experience is encouraged for the role.
The rate for people in featured speaking roles is $550 for 12 hours. Those roles are described as:
Two boat fans. You must be 30 to 50 years old and able to be "calm, relaxed while enjoying the boat, can display a genuine reaction of disbelief or excitement when seeing a play on TV."
Face paint fan. You must be 50 to 70 years old, and are expected to be "enthusiastic, energetic, and genuine."
Superfan. You must be at least 18 years old, a diehard Bills fan, and willing to wear face paint.
Young football fan. You must be 10 to 22 years old and be able to portray someone no older than 16 years old. This is a "dream big" role.
From IG post:
Yeah, but... do I get free Prime?
Bills Fan
I am already hosting Jeopardy so I have no time...sorry
KD in CA
That includes a stunt role that will pay $1,200 for 11 hours for someone that is willing to jump through a table.
Eleven hours?? How many times is someone gonna need to jump through a table to earn that $1200?
I'm guessing that starts to hurt after the first dozen times or so if you don't have the full use of alcohol at your disposal.


I am overjoyed! I pray you will find great peace and joy with your son for the next few days, and may the Lord sustain you through the weeks and months to come.
WHAT A PICTURE!!!! OH My GOODNESS!!!! look how happy he is!! you two look AWESOME together!! he's a little Rhodes!!!! i wish i could watch you in person…just take tons of pictures and video so that we can celebrate with you when you return!!
What a wonderful picture! He looks so happy in your arms. Have fun – can't wait to see more pictures.
Oh man! The tears. I'm so happy for you! Such a joyous photo!! Enjoy your time together!
ACK!!! Shedding a tear or two for you right now . . .
ok, the video on facebook about did me in. I started crying before you said anything. Several of us were shedding a tear at SL yesterday morning at just the thought of you on a plane to Haiti. Bless the Lord for His gracious to enlarge all of our hearts to make room for Frankie Rhodes.