text:
The end of Western civilisation
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/ageing/replacement-migration.shtml
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration
The present study considers countries in which current fertility ranges from 1.2 to 2.0 children per woman. For France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union, the number of migrants needed to offset population decline is less than or comparable to recent past experience. While this is also the case for Germany and the Russian Federation, their migration flows in the 1990s were relatively large due to reunification and dissolution respectively. In contrast, for Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Europe, a level of immigration much higher than that experienced in the recent past would be needed to offset population decline. As a result of this higher level of immigration for Italy, Japan and Europe, 18 to 29 per cent of the 2050 population would be post-1995 immigrants and their descendants; for the Republic of Korea, the comparable figure is 3 per cent.
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE U.N. RESEARCH ON REPLACEMENT MIGRATION, BECAUSE IT SEEMS NOBODY CARES ABOUT IT, IT MEANS, THAT AROUND 500,000 IMMIGRATES PER YEARS WILL BE NECESSERY FROM TODAY TO THE YEAR 2050, PLEASE WAKE UP!
C10Q60
Second hit for this quatrain….
Je pleure Nisse, Mannego, Pize, Gennes,
Savone, Sienne, Capue, Modene, Malte:
Le dessus sang & glaive par estrenes
Feu, trembler terre, eau, malheurueuse nolte.
I weep for Nice, Monaco, Pisa, Genoa,
Savona, Siena, Capua, Modena, Malta:
For the above blood and sword for a New Year's gift,
Fire, the earth to tremble, water, unfortunate nolition.
Variantes avec les autres éditions consultées
1558: Capuë — Modene
1568:Modene .
1644: Capuë, Modene
1694: Savonne — Capuë, Modene — glaive par étrennes
Je pleure Nice, mer Noire, Pisé, Gênes, Savone, Sienne, Capoue, Modene, Malte: Le dessus sang, et glaive par étrennes,
(étreintes) Feu, trembler terre, eau, malheureuse note.
Quelques interprétations avancées
Les deux Fontbrune y voient l'invasion de l'Italie, la côte méditerranéenne, les tremblements de terre, lors de la troisième guerre mondiale. Laroche-Valmont et John Hogue épousent allègrement l'hypothèse de la Djihad islamique qui peindrait dès 1999.
Mireille Corjava y voit l'épisode de la Seconde Guerre mondiale où les raids aériens frappèrent la plaine du Pô et la région bordant la mer Tyrrhénienne, jusqu'à Malte. De véritables avalanches de bombes (les «estrennes» dont il parle) larguées sur toute cette zone, faisant trembler le sol, agitant l'eau de la mer et anéantissant aveuglément les vies et les biens des habitants qui ne combattaient pas. Louis Shlosser y voit le périple du mage de Salon en Italie en 1543. Serge Hutin pense qu'il s'agit de l'Empire français obligé, en 1814, d'abandonner toutes les belles conquêtes napoléoniennes en Méditerranée. Pour Cheetham, cela fait allusion aux temps derniers. Lemesurier pense également à cette invasion de l'Europe par les forces islamiques et pense que ce quatrain concernerait les années 2000 à 2005.
From Jean Guernon's book
NOSTRADAMUS AND THE COMING ISLAMIC INVASION OF EUROPE via Spain, Italy and France by Middle Eastern religious fanatics
From: http://nostradamusinvasion.blogspot.co.uk/
[Wikipedia Commons]
The Ottoman siege of Vienna of 1529 (note camels in foreground)
Don't blame me -- but a future Arab/Muslim invasion of Europe, albeit undated, is the pre-eminent theme of Nostradamus's Prophecies (largely unknown though this may be to the public at large). That is why I said so in print in 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2006, in the last three cases even including versions of the maps that you can see below.
Being unable to predict future events directly, Nostradamus based his disturbing scenario on the then-common conviction that history repeats itself. He therefore took his details from the ancient invasions of the Roman Empire by 'barbarians' ranging from the Goths to Attila's Huns; from the sweeping conquests by Muhammad and his followers; from the campaigns of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; and from the then-quite-recent invasions by the Muslim Ottomans from Turkey, which had actually succeeded in reaching Vienna during his lifetime as per the illustration above (Nostradamus didn't distinguish between Turks and Arabs), and would do so again in 1683. He also followed the general scenario foretold by the ancient Mirabilis liber, and especially the ancient prophecies of Pseudo-Methodius and the Tiburtine Sibyl (q.v.).
The following map (dating from my Nostradamus:The Final Reckoning of 1993) gives a general idea of the largely undated campaign that he envisaged up to the point where it crossed the Straits of Gibraltar. As my translation of quatrain VI.80 puts it:
From Fez shall rulership to Europe spread,
Burning their cities, slashing with the sword.
By land and sea shall Asia's mighty horde,
Blue-coiffed, hound Christians till they drop down dead.
While this map features some actual quatrain-numbers, the detailed predictions for the campaigns in Spain, Italy and France will be shown on the more local maps that follow.
Compare the invasion map produced by the Islamic State, or on its behalf, during late 2014 (below).
The campaign now spreads across southern Spain towards France:
At about the same time, Italy, too is invaded from the south:
And so France, too, is duly attacked from both directions:
Indeed, France -- and, not least, Paris -- seems to be the principal target of the invaders – but the proposed invasion seems not to cross the Channel to England (see VI.43).
As my translation of quatrain V.68 puts it:
He'll come to drink by Rhine's and Danube's shore –
The mighty Camel no remorse shall show.
The folk of Rhône shall quake, of Loire e'en more.
Yet near the Alps the Cock shall lay him low.
The general context, then, is quite clear. There is to be an invasion of Europe from the south and south-east by Arab/Muslim forces, whether massed military ones (which is what Nostradamus clearly envisaged) or simply groups of pseudo-religious terrorists who are seriously ignorant of their own scriptures.*
Yet the precise details are speculative – both on Nostradamus's part and on mine. Given Nostradamus's characteristic refusal to be precise, most of the quatrains indicated (and a rash of others besides) could quite conceivably apply to other contexts entirely -- though probably not to the quite recent Muslim influx into Europe of modern times, which, though vast, has been almost entirely peaceful and benevolently devout.
The result, however, is a sobering one, as quatrain VII.34 confirms:
In grief the folk of France shall mope and pine,
Light-heartedness be foolishness decreed
No bread, salt, water, beer, nor drugs, nor wine:
Their noblest captive, hunger, cold and need.
And, in particular, the French language will be mingled with Arabic. Until, that is, the West finally gets its act together and mounts an enormous counter-invasion that will sweep through a devastated France (IV.12, III.99), then into Spain and Italy (IV.37, VI.42, V.13 ), and finally on to the Middle East (V.80, IV.50, III.97, II.60), which (unbelievably) will be converted to Christianity (VII.36 -- but I'll believe that when I see it!).
But then, of course, it might not happen at all. Nostradamus never actually 'saw' these events. He was merely projecting selected past events into the future. The history that repeats itself rarely does so exactly. And his evident Islamophobia was merely typical of his time (for perfectly understandable reasons -- see above!) in a way that it does not need to be of ours.
As for 'ISIS' (one of the names of one of the current Muslim movements in Syria and Iraq), Nostradamus doesn't use the name in his Prophecies, but only in his speculative work on Egyptian hieroglyphs entitled Orus Apollo, where it is of course the name of the pre-eminent ancient Egyptian goddess, who was entirely innocent of any designs on Europe!
Nevertheless, compare the movement's proposed invasion map published in July 2014:
...and its planned conquests for 2019:
*Young ideologues, that is, who blithely trot out the Koran's 'Kill them wherever you find them…' while conveniently ignoring the rest of the text at Sura II:191-2: 'Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not begin hostilities... But do not fight with them within the precincts of the Holy Mosque unless they attack you there...But if they mend their ways, fight nobody except the evil-doers;' or who happily cite Surah 9:5's 'slay the idolaters wherever you find them' while forgetting the caveat 'But if they repent and start praying and pay the poor-tax, then let them go on their way. Behold, Allah is forgiving and merciful'. A good deal more merciful, it has to be said, than some of His acolyres. MORAL -- Always ask what the next verse says1 And remember Surah 5.32: Whoever killeth a human being, except as a punishment for manslaughter or other wicked crimes, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind.'
Ven. Anne Catherine Emmerich
Note: All reasonable attempts have been made to contact the copyright
holders of any images that are not either the author's own, kindly made available to him or already in the public domain.
We would be grateful if any whom we have been unable to contact would get in touch with us.
An Augustinian nun,
stigmatic, and ecstatic, born 8 September, 1774, at Flamsche, near Coesfeld, in the Diocese of Munster, Westphalia, Germany; died at Dulmen, 9 February, 1824. Her parents, both peasants, were very poor and pious. At twelve she was bound out to a farmer, and later was a seamstress for several years. Very delicate all the time, she was sent to study music, but finding the organist's family very poor she gave them the little she had saved to enter a convent, and actually waited on them as a servant for several years. Moreover, she was at times so pressed for something to eat that her mother brought her bread at intervals, parts of which went to her master's family. In her twenty-eighth year (1802) she entered the Augustinian convent at Agnetenberg, Dulmen. Here she was content to be regarded as the lowest in the house. Her zeal, however, disturbed the tepid sisters, who were puzzled and annoyed at her strange powers and her weak health, and notwithstanding her ecstasies in church, cell, or at work, treated her with some antipathy. Despite her excessive frailty, she discharged her duties cheerfully and faithfully. When Jerome Bonaparte closed the convent in 1812 she was compelled to find refuge in a poor widow's house. In 1813 she became bedridden. She foresaw the downfall of Napoleon twelve years in advance, and counselled in a mysterious way the successor of St. Peter. Even in her childhood the supernatural was so ordinary to her that in her innocent ignorance she thought all other children enjoyed the same favours that she did, i.e. to converse familiarly with the Child Jesus, etc. She displayed a marvellous knowledge when the sick and poor came to the "bright little sister" seeking aid; she knew their diseases and prescribed remedies that did not fail. By nature she was quick and lively and easily moved to great sympathy by the sight of the sufferings of others. This feeling passed into her spiritual being with the result that she prayed and suffered much for the souls of Purgatory whom she often saw, and for the salvation of sinners whose miseries were known to her even when far away. Soon after she was confined to bed (1813) the stigmata came externally, even to the marks of the thorns. All this she unsuccessfully tried to conceal as she had concealed the crosses impressed upon her breast.
Then followed what she dreaded on account of its publicity, an Episcopal commission to inquire into her life, and the reality of these wonderful signs. The examination was very strict, as the utmost care was necessary to furnish no pretext for ridicule and insult on the part of the enemies of the Church. The vicar- general, the famous Overberg, and three physicians conducted the investigation with scrupulous care and became convinced of the sanctity of the "pious Beguine", as she was called, and the genuineness of the stigmata. At the end of 1818 God granted her earnest prayer to be relieved of the stigmata, and the wounds in her hands and feet closed, but the others remained, and on Good Friday were all wont to reopen. In 1819 the government sent a committee of investigation which discharged its commission most brutally. Sick unto death as she was, she was forcibly removed to a large room in another house and kept under the strictest surveillance day and night for three weeks, away from all her friends except her confessor. She was insulted, threatened, and even flattered, but in vain. The commission departed without finding anything suspicious, and remained silent until its president, taunted about his reticence, declared that there was fraud, to which the obvious reply was: In what respect? and why delay in publishing it? About this time Klemens Brentano, the famous poet, was induced to visit her; to his great amazement she recognized him, and told him he had been pointed out to her as the man who was to enable her to fulfil God's command, namely, to write down for the good of innumerable souls the revelations made to her. He took down briefly in writing the main points, and, as she spoke the Westphalian dialect, he immediately rewrote them in ordinary German. He would read what he wrote to her, and change and efface until she gave her complete approval. Like so many others, he was won by her evident purity, her exceeding humility and patience under sufferings indescribable. With Overberg, Sailer of Ratisbon, Clement Augustus of Cologne, Stollberg, Louisa Hensel, etc. he reverenced her as a chosen bride of Christ.
In 1833 appeared the first-fruits of Brentano's toil, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Meditations of Anne Catherine Emmerich" (Sulzbach). Brentano prepared for publication "The Life of The Blessed Virgin Mary", but this appeared at Munich only in 1852. From the MS. of Brentano Father Schmoeger published in three volumes "The Life of Our Lord" (Ratisbon, 1858-80), and in 1881 a large illustrated edition of the same. The latter also wrote her life in two volumes (Freiburg, 867-70, new edition, 1884). Her visions go into details, often slight, which give them a vividness that strongly holds the reader's interest as one graphic scene follows another in rapid succession as if visible to the physical eye. Other mystics are more concerned with ideas, she with events; others stop to meditate aloud and to guide the reader's thoughts, she lets the facts speak for themselves with the simplicity, brevity, and security of a Gospel narrative. Her treatment of that difficult subject, the twofold nature of Christ, is admirable. His humanity stands out clear and distinct, but through it shines always a gleam of the Divine. The rapid and silent spread of her works through Germany, France, Italy, and elsewhere speaks well for their merit. Strangely enough they produced no controversy. Dom Guéranger extolls their merits in the highest terms (Le Monde, 15 April, 1860).
Sister Emmerich lived during one of the saddest and least glorious periods of the Church's history, when revolution triumphed, impiety flourished, and several of the fairest provinces of its domain were overrun by infidels and cast into such ruinous condition that the Faith seemed about to be completely extinguished. Her mission in part seems to have been by her prayers and sufferings to aid in restoring Church discipline, especially in Westphalia, and at the same time to strengthen at least the little ones of the flock in their belief. Besides all this she saved many souls and recalled to the Christian world that the supernatural is around about it to a degree sometimes forgotten. A rumour that the body was stolen caused her grave to be opened six weeks after her death. The body was found fresh, without any sign of corruption. In 1892 the process of her beatification was introduced by the Bishop of Münster.
WEGENER, tr. McGOWAN, Sister Anne Katherine Emmerich (New York, 1907); DeCAZALES, Life of A. C. Emmerich prefixed to the 2d ed. of The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord (London, 1907); URBANY in Kirchenlexikon, s.v.; MIGNE, Dict. de mystique chrétienne (Paris, 1858).
E.P. GRAHAM
Transcribed by Michael T. Barrett
Dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory
From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright ©
1913 by the Encyclopedia Press, Inc.
(These prophecies were made by 1820 by Anna Katarina Emmerick (Anne Emerich), a stigmatized Augustinian nun who bore the wounds of Christ on her body and who lived many years solely on the Holy Communion until she died. She was given many visions of our Blessed Lord and Lady including their earthly lives, printed into books. Her life and the following prophecies were recorded in The Life of Anne Catherine Emmerich by Rev. Carl Schmoeger, C.SS.R., published in English in 1870 and reprinted in 1968 by Maria Regina Guild, LA, California. )
THE GREAT APOSTASY IN THE PRESENT CHURCH - THE AGING POPE: "Among the strangest things that I saw, were long processions of bishops. Their thoughts and utterances were made known to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities ... I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world, but only a small number were perfectly sound. I also saw the Holy Father - God-fearing and prayerful. Nothing left to be desired in his appearance, but he was weakened by old age and by much suffering. His head was lolling from side to side, and it dropped onto his chest as if he was falling asleep ...Then I saw that everything pertaining to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upperhand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence. Most priests were lured by the glittering but false knowledge of young school-teachers, and they all contributed to the work of destruction. In those days, Faith will fall very low, and it will be preserved in some places only, in a few cottages and in a few families which God has protected from disasters and wars. "
POPE JOHN PAUL II LEAVING ROME, THE CHURCH IN EXILE:
"... As we came nearer, however, the fire abated and we saw the blackened building. We went through a number of magnificent rooms, and we finally reached the Pope. He was sitting in the dark and slept in a large arm chair. He was very ill and weak; he could no longer walk. The ecclesiastics in the inner circle looked insincere and lacking in zeal; I did not like them. I told the Pope of the bishops who are to be appointed soon. I told him also that he must not leave Rome. If he did so, it would be chaos. He thought that the evil was inevitable and he should leave in order to save many things beside himself. He was very much inclined to leave Rome, and he was insistently urged to do so. "
THE ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH INVADING ITALY AND ROME:
"I also saw the various regions of the earth. My Guide (Jesus) named Europe and pointing to a small and sandy region, He uttered these words: " Here is Prussia (East Germany), the enemy." Then He showed me another place, to the north, and He said: "This is Moskva, the land of Moscow, bringing many evils.'"
THE FALSE ECUMENICAL, HERETICAL CHURCH ESTABLISHED IN ROME:
"I saw also the relationship between two popes ... I saw how baleful would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size; heretics of every kind came into the city of Rome. The local clergy grew lukewarm, and I saw a great darkness...
"I had another vision of the great tribulation. It seems to me that a concession was demanded from the clergy which could not be granted. I saw many older priests, especially one, who wept bitterly. A few younger ones were also weeping. But others, and the lukewarm among them, readily did what was demanded. It was as if people were splitting into two camps.
"I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. They were building a great, strange, and extravagant Church. Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description. Such was to be the new Church ... But God had other designs. "
"I saw again the strange big church that was being built there in Rome. There was nothing holy in it. I saw this just as I saw a movement led by Ecclesiastics to which contributed angels, saints, and other Christians. But there in the strange big church all the work was being done mechanically according to set rules and formulae. Everything was being done according to human reason ...I saw all sorts of people, things, doctrines, and opinions. There was something proud, presumptuous, and violent about it, and they seemed very successful. I di not see a single Angel nor a single saint helping in the work. But far away in the background, I saw the seat of the cruel people armed with spears, and I saw a laughing figure which said: " Do build it as solid as you can; we will pull it to the ground."
"I saw again the new and odd-looking church which they were trying to build. There was nothing holy about it ... People were kneading bread in the crypt below ... but it would not rise, nor did they receive the body of our Lord, but only bread. Those who were in error, through no fault of their own, and who piously and ardently longed for the Body of Jesus were spiritually consoled, but not by their communion. Then my Guide (Jesus) said: "This is Babel."
"I saw deplorable things: they were gambling, drinking, and talking in church; they were also courting women. All sorts of abominations were perpetrated there. Priests allowed everything and said Mass with much irreverence. I saw that few of them were still godly... All these things caused me much distress. "
DEVOUT CATHOLICS AND CLERGY BEING OPPRESSED:
"Then I saw an apparition of the Mother of God, and she said that the tribulation would be very great. She added that people must pray fervently with outstretched arms, be it only long enough to say three Our Fathers. This was the way her Son prayed for them on the Cross. They must rise at twelve at night, and pray in this manner; and they must keep coming to the Church. They must pray above all for the Church of Darkness to leave Rome... These were all good and devout people, and they did not know where help and guidance should be sought. There were no traitors and enemies among them, yet they were afraid of one another... "
"I saw more martyrs, not now but in the future ... I saw the secret sect relentlessly undermining the great Church. Near them I saw a horrible beast coming up from the sea. All over the world, good and devout people, especially the clergy, were harassed, oppressed, and put into prison ... "
"Whole Catholic communities were being oppressed, harassed, confined, and deprived of their freedom. I saw many churches closed down, great miseries everywhere, wars and bloodshed. A wild and ignorant mob took violent action. But it did not last long... "
THE INTERCESSION FROM BLESSED VIRGIN AND KING HENRY, THE VICTORS:
"I had a vision of the holy Emperor Henry. I saw him at night kneeling alone at the foot of the main altar in a great and beautiful church ... and I saw the Blessed Virgin coming down all alone. She laid on the altar a red cloth covered with white linen. She placed a book inlaid with precious stones. she lid the candles and the perpetual lamp. Then came the Saviour Himself clad in priestly vestments. He was carrying the chalice and the veil. Two angels were serving Him and two more were following ... Although there was no altar bell, the cruets were there. The wine was as red as blood, and there was also some water. The Mass was short. The Gospel of St. John was not read at the end . When the Mass had ended, Mary came up to Henry, and she extended her right hand towards him, saying that it was in recognition of his purity. Then she urged him not to falter. Thereupon I saw an angel, and he touched the sinew of his hip, like Jacob. Henry was in great pain; and from that day on he walked with a limp ... "
"Very bad times will come when non-Catholics will lead many people astray. A great confusion will result. I saw the battle also. The enemies were far more numerous, but the small army of the faithful cut down whole rows of enemy soldiers. During the battle, the Blessed Virgin stood on a hill, wearing a suit armor. It was a terrible war. At the end, only a few fighters for the just cause survived, but the victory was theirs. "
THE CHURCH SHALL BE VICTORIOUS, REBUILT, AND MORE GLORIOUS THAN EVER:
"I was in such distress that I cried out to Jesus with all my might, imploring His mercy... He said , among other things, that this translation of the church from one place to another meant that she would seem to be in complete decline. But she would rise again; even if there remained but one Catholic, the church would conquer again because she does not rest on human counsels and intelligence. "
"When the Church had been for the most part destroyed by the secret sect, and when only the sanctuary and altar were still standing, I saw the wreckers enter the Church with the beast. There, they met a Woman of noble carriage who seemed to be with child because she walked slowly. At this sight, the enemies were terrorized, and the Beast could not take but another step forward. It projected its neck towards the Woman as if to devour her, but the woman turned about and bowed down toward the Altar, her head touching the ground. Thereupon, I saw the beast taking to flight towards the sea again, and the enemies were fleeing in the greatest of confusion. Then, I saw in the great distance great legion approaching. In the foreground I saw a man on a white horse. Prisoners were set free and joined them. All enemies were pursued. Then, I saw that the Church was being promptly rebuilt, and she was more magnificent than ever before. "
Peter Lemesurier
In Memory, R.I.P. my friend
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there; I did not die
Mary Elizabeth Frye
After more than 64,000 virus erased from my web site I reload all the stuff, still some layout not very nice but all the scanned books are there…
www.propheties.it
Windows Live Writer is dead…
After many years I used Live Writer he passed away, sad for the loss I will start to use another blog writer in the next few days…
NOSTRADAMUS AND THE COMING ISLAMIC INVASION OF EUR...


text:
Police drive out the county's car thieves
CAR thieves in West Yorkshire have met their match.
Figures from the force show officers are making a massive impact on vehicle crime.
It is due to the success of the police Target project's Steer Clear campaign.
Countywide detection rates for motor theft have increased by 97%, rising from 48 to 94 when compared with last year's weekly average. Detections for theft from motor vehicles have also increased significantly. They have risen from 32 to 75 every week, a difference of 134%.
West Yorkshire has also seen a considerable reduction in the number of vehicle crimes reported during this period.
Figures for recorded motor thefts show a 22% decrease, falling from 374 to 292. Reports of theft from motor vehicles have also dropped. Recorded incidents have fallen from 698 to 481, a reduction of 31%.
The man who used to be in charge of Huddersfield police, Chief Supt John Holt, now of Territorial Operations, said: "These results are extremely encouraging.
"We have been doing our utmost to warn the region's motorists and criminals to `Steer Clear' of vehicle crime, with an intensive programme of operations and crime prevention work covering the whole Force area.
"However, this is by no means an isolated campaign. Recent activity has built on the consistent good work of local divisions to drive down vehicle crime across the county.
"These figures reflect our determination to reduce the number of offences committed and to catch those responsible.
"The impact we are having is very reassuring and we hope to maintain this success for the considerable future."
The Steer Clear campaign was launched on June 14.
Operations with Trading Standards, the DVLA car licensing authority and local authorities are being used to disrupt criminal activity and arrest prolific offenders.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


You are here → MobilityArena Home » Mobile News » Are phone calls from 08030004900 really sending people to their deaths?
Are phone calls from 08030004900 really sending people to their deaths?
The number just called me this morning. Thank God I got the info before the call came in. I was told the person that picked it disappeared. Please send to all your contacts to warn them of this evil number!!! Copied!
If the reports are to be believed, there is some dark person behind the phone number and using it to whisk people away or to send them to their deaths. It would be hilarious of so many people were not so scared to death (forgive the pun) about this matter. So, I decided to help kill the hoax.
First thing I did was call the number. I mean, if the dark powers behind the number were so keen on killing people, they would be delighted to have someone call in instead. Nothing would delight a hungry lion more than for an antelope to walk into its lair; right? Exactly.
So I called the number. Duh. A pre-recorded voice told me that the number I was trying to reach does not exist. Aha. A little feedback from other people and some research on my part confirmed that the said number is an MTN Nigeria telemarketing line used for callertunez promotions. Which explains why my call didn't go through.
Nobody is dying after receiving a call from 08030004900. There is no sorcery behind the number. It is a pesky marketing number that you should probably block. One of those numbers that disturb you with marketing that you do not need or want. But do tell your friends and uncles and aunties that it is not true that people are dying or disappearing after receiving a phone call from 08030004900.
Please tell all these superstitiously gullible rumormongers..
That's hilarious! Should have made it an April fool day post!!!
Errr…maybe MTN are in on it, as whatever tune they are playing when you call is an enchantment in a language the listener doesn't understand and then they translate it to mean…never mind.
Wouldn't it be great if you could trace where the original rumour started and by whom? Now that would be even more interesting.


What an amazing weekend Katie has had! Three days of birthday celebrations and tons of presents. More than our Queen!! The little lady is high on it all. I think it will take her the rest of the week to come down again from all the fun and attention and we are seeing some very stroppy behaviour at the moment, bless her. She must be exhausted. I know I am!! I was in bed asleep by 9.30pm on Sunday night! Everyone is now full of cold and sneezing all over the place.
Day 1 of the Celebrations: Her birthday party on Saturday was brilliant and all the children had a wonderful time. The Childrens Entertainer we had hired did an amazing job and I would definitely use him again. Several of the mums at pres-school have commented this morning on how good it all was. We round around like the preverbial madpeople on Saturday, blowing up balloons, organising food, decorating the hall etc. Everything went exactly to plan. Katie's face when she magicked a real live rabbit with the Entertainer was a total picture. She couldn't believe it! We then went home to open all her party presents. She was so lucky and received some wonderful presents. She was so delighted with everything.
Day 2 of the Celebrations: On Sunday we had a small afternoon tea party at home with some close friends and family, with lots of cakes and some party games. The children played beautifully together, barely an argument between them. One of my friend's daughters drew the most gorgeous card for Katie during the party. It brought all the female adults to tears because it said how lucky she was to have such wonderful parents. We have decided to keep this for the social workers!! Bless her, she even created additional copies in case we needed them. She has asked if she can be a referee and speak to the social worker when the time comes so she can tell them the same thing. How amazing is that?
Day 3 of the Celebrations: Yesterday we went to visit Nana and Pops and then we took Katie out for lunch at Frankie and Bennys followed by The Lion King movie. Katie hadn't seen the film before and really enjoyed the film. She looked so cute in her 3D glasses and she sat as still as it is possible for a very active 4 year old to sit. I can't believe my little girl is 4 years old already. She has grown so much over the past 18 months. I decorated the hallway of our house with loads of photographs of Katie, from the day we first met her, up to the current time. Seeing the changes the past 18 months have brought are phenomenal to see. She was a toddler when she first came home and now she is looking so grown up and so gorgeous. She is going to melt and break a few hearts when she grows up, of that I have no doubt.
Katie is currently hiking around everywhere with her two prized birthday possessions, Milky the Bunny and Joey the Puppy. They are full sized so it is hilarious to see her carrying both of them around at the same time. She has gone to pre-school today with Milky to show her teacher and is planning to take Joey in tomorrow. Mike has made her a kennel to keep in her bedroom for Joey and he sleeps very nicely in there each night. Both of the new additions have been very well behaved indeed!
I did lots of cake baking for Sundays tea party and was very pleased with all my gluten-free cakes and brownies. I am enjoying baking again but need to expand the repertoire of gluten-free cakes. It's taken a bit of creativity and lots of mistakes but I'm getting there. I do need to work on my presentation though. I've never been an arty person, in the sense of decorating cakes etc and I really need to practice more. Trouble is, I end up eating all the cakes and that is not doing my expanding waistline any cook whatsoever! I am starting a diet today to get myself back to the trim size 12 I was last summer. It's only about 9lbs to get myself back there but those pounds have sneaked on very slowly so I have bought lots of soup today and have a very healthy food week planned. It's helped some by the fact that I choked (quite badly I might add) on a chunk of chocolate on Saturday night. Mike had to give my back a good bash to get it back up again. I haven't touched any chocolate since. I can't face it. My migraine specialist will be delighted as he has asked me to try and stop eating chocolate (I take absolutely no notice of him whatsoever as my diet is already so restricted and I refuse to cut anything out of it! He might get his way after all).
Roll on tomorrow, the start of our second chapter!
My daughter watches it, she can't talk properly yet but she tries to copy the words sometimes, it sounds really funny!


text:
View source for A Garden of Forking Paths
{{BaseLarp |image= |name=A Garden of Forking Paths |genre=Literary fiction |number_of_players=12 |time=4 hours |date=2012 |credits=Susan Weiner, Vito D'Agosta, Nat Budin |identifier= |homepage_url=http://library.interactiveliterature.org/brands/alleged-entertainment/projects/3-a-garden-of-forking-paths |homepage_link_text=A Garden of Forking Paths }} '''A Garden of Forking Paths''' is a [[theatre-style]] larp by [[Alleged Entertainment]]. The game was inspired by the story "The Garden of Forking Paths" by Jorge Luis Borges, and is an example of a [[tale-telling game]]. It is often used as an example of the [[American freeform]] style. As a tale-telling game, the larp has two stories - an outer story and an inner story. The outer story (12 characters) is set after the memorial service for an old man. He has written a book, which his surviving relatives have been told to publish. The inner story (4 characters) is the story told by that book. Because of the mismatch in character numbers, the characters play (and switch between) multiple simultaneous iterations of the inner story, in which different choices are made. Unusually for a tale-telling game, the primary focus is on the inner story rather than the outer one. ==Summary== Each year, Barbara has a garden party for her birthday. She brings her family to enjoy a quiet meal in her beautiful and well-tended garden. This game charts the course of her life and the lives of those around her through the decisions made at these parties. A Garden of Forking Paths is a LARP told in scenes. This is a game heavily inspired by Jeep format, not a traditional LARP. In each scene, four characters will face certain dilemmas, and make decisions that will affect the course of their lives. At the same time, two other groups of players will be playing the same characters and, possibly, making different decisions. Between scenes, players will be shuffled into different groups. They will generally play the same characters, but those characters may have made different decisions in the prior scene, causing them to start the next scene in a different situation. ==External links== * [http://library.interactiveliterature.org/brands/alleged-entertainment/projects/3-a-garden-of-forking-paths A Garden of Forking Paths] at [[Larp Library]] * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Forking_Paths The Garden of Forking Paths] at Wikipedia [[Category:USA]] [[Category:Tale-telling larps]] [[Category:American Freeform]] [[category:Theater Style Game]] [[Category:Convention Game]]
Return to A Garden of Forking Paths.
Retrieved from "http://larpwiki.labcats.org/index.php?title=A_Garden_of_Forking_Paths"


text:
Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform launched & funding opportunity announced for Hydrogen Valley Platform at MI meeting
By Odisha Diary bureau On Apr 5, 2022
New Delhi : Three Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platforms were launched at the MI Annual Gathering session on 4th April 2022, where new Energy Innovation Collaborations were announced.
Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh awarded the citations to the three centres leads of the Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platforms.
These Material Acceleration Platforms set up by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) would leverage emerging capabilities in next-generation computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and robotics to accelerate the pace of materials discovery up to 10 times faster. The platforms constitute a knowledge network of more than 38 elite institutions and 80 research personnel working on next-generation low-cost advanced energy materials.
Dr Singh also announced the funding opportunity of Hydrogen Valley Platform, which is also a global initiative to optimise the hydrogen demand and supply by onsite generation and utilisation, utilise the renewable resources effectively, and water excess areas with geographical identity. The H2 Valleys objectives will be achieved through cohorts of clean hydrogen valleys to combine the complete hydrogen value chain (production, storage and transportation) with the aim of reaching critical scale and unlocking learning curve effects. DST has committed to facilitate the delivery of three clean hydrogen valleys in India by 2030.
The Mission Innovation (MI) Annual Gathering, which reviewed, discussed and set MI's strategy and work plan, also shared insights on national priorities to build a network of senior clean energy innovation leaders.
Over the course of the three-day programme, senior clean energy innovation leaders advanced MI strategic priorities for 2022.
Mission Innovation brings together governments from every continent, international organisations, and private sector investors to spearhead the global investment and collaboration needed to achieve tipping points in making clean energy technology affordable and accessible worldwide.
Demonstrating how collaborating governments can accelerate innovation and contribute to the "Year of Implementation" is central to the MI agenda. Maximising long-term impact through partnerships and capacity building is another MI priority, as well as continuing to position MI as the key international clean energy innovation forum.
Following the launch of an ambitious second phase of the MI initiative in June 2021, MI 2.0, this gathering marked a crucial opportunity to agree on the actions needed in the decade of global clean energy innovation. Five out of a total of seven Missions have been launched over the past year. Focusing on power systems, hydrogen, shipping, urban transitions, and carbon dioxide removal, the missions resolved to accelerate technologies to facilitate clean energy transitions. When combined with those to come, the MI Missions have the potential to unlock affordable decarbonisation pathways for sectors responsible for 52% of current global emissions.
The three Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platforms set up by DST include:
DST-IISER Thiruvananthapuram Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform on Storage: The consortium of 14 R&D institutes set up at IISER Thiruvananthapuram aims to accelerate the development of Solid-State Battery technology using Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence through automated processes. The centre would leverage the expertise and knowledge toward solid-state battery research.
DST-IIT Hyderabad Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform on Bioenergy and Hydrogen: The centre nucleated at IIT Hyderabad aims to accelerate the development of ultra-efficient commercially biomass and waste-water to hydrogen conversion and storage systems through accelerated discovery of novel catalysts, novel storage systems and materials and optimised plant condition designs. The project will be implemented jointly between a team of scientists from 09 partnering institutes.
DST-IIT Kanpur Integrated Clean Energy Material Acceleration Platform on Materials: The objective of this platform is to design materials for energy harvesting by employing quantum and classical mechanics enabled atomistic simulations and AI & ML algorithms. The network of researchers engaged in the platform comprises of scientists from 13 elite institutions.
Ultimate objective of the Good Governance is to bring ease of living in the life of a common man, says, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh
JNPA handles 5.68 Million TEUs in FY 2021-22 ; Highest ever for any financial year


text:
Гельветський ярус (, , ) — нижній ярус середнього міоцену в Західній Європі.

Назва використовувалася з 1858 року, її ввів швейцарський геолог  для позначення ярусу, що передує тортонському ярусу та йде після лангійського. Надалі виявилось, що описаний Маєром-Еймаром гельветський ярус повністю відповідає бурдігальському. А ярус між тортонським і лангійським назвали серавальським.

Для Бельгії приблизно відповідає серавальському та лангійському ярусам міоцену, тривав між 15,9 та 11,6 млн років тому.

Примітки

Література

Геологічні яруси
Міоцен

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Bridges fascinate me. Every time I drive near a river I am aware of the bridges and the patterns they make against the natural landscape. Bridges bring together people and places. They connect us to the larger world. They provide a crossing from the familiar to the unfamiliar. As I have worked with this theme I have become more aware of the symbolism bridges have in relationship to the journey of life. All of the work in this gallery uses my hand dyed fabric. They are machine pieced and machine quilted.


text:
<?php namespace Furey\LaravelFacebookService;

class FacebookFields {

    public static function getCommentsFields($config = [])
    {
        $fields = 'id,attachment,can_comment,can_remove,comment_count,created_time,from,like_count,message,message_tags,user_likes';
        // If parent isn't set to false.
        if (!(isset($config['parent']) && $config['parent'] === false)) {
            // If parent fields set, use it, otherwise use defaults.
            $parentFields = isset($config['parent']) ? $config['parent'] : 'id,from,message,attachment';
            $fields .= ',parent.fields('.$parentFields.')';
        }
        return $fields;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


he election of 2016 has caused more strife and division than any in recent memory. We can point to many causes for this, from the campaign rhetoric to each side's fear of the other candidate. However, it seems to me at least that the reason this election has produced such a histrionic response is that the stakes are so much higher than they have ever been. The reason for this is the amount of power now held within the office of the presidency, so it matters now more than ever who holds that office.
As many such as Jeffrey Tucker have articulated, ((In this article.)) if the state had an appropriately minimal amount of power, it wouldn't make much of a difference who held the office of president. As libertarians, or anarchists even, this is of course our ideal. On the other hand, we can extend this analysis in the other direction as well. The more power the state has, the more it matters who wields that power, since it allows them to further achieve whatever agenda they may have, trampling over us and our liberties along the way.
So what's this got to do with Tolkien, Frodo, or the Ring of Power? Many have rightly pointed to the "applicability" of the One Ring to indicate the power to rule over others. ((For example, Alberto Mingardi wrote this article on the topic for Mises.org some time ago.)) With the Ring representing absolute tyrannical power, it becomes critically important who holds it. Because of this, great care must be taken in selecting a Ringbearer, and a poor decision could cause horrible repercussions, strife, and division.
When I most recently watched The Lord of the Rings after the election, I was stunned by a particular part of that scene, where everyone present can be seen loudly and violently arguing in the reflection of the Ring, ultimately erupting in flames, as depicted in the featured image. Even once they'd reluctantly agreed that the Ring is evil and must ultimately be destroyed, the very fact that it's there, and represents such incredible power, breeds discord and strife between allies and friends.
This is the power of Sauron, the malice which he forged into the Ring. Not only does the Ring contain within it the power and desire to rule over all beings in Middle Earth, but also pits those beings against each other rather than against its Lord. This is parallel to the power of Satan, who both controls all political power in the world ((See Luke 4:5-7)) and foments strife among men. The mark of the diabolical is always human beings cast apart and opposed to one another, ((This is related to the Greek root of "diabolical", which literally means "to cast apart".)) while the mark of the holy is for human beings to be united in communion. In both Tolkien's fictional world, and in our own, power of rule over others leads to division and conflict over who will rule.
Seeing that scene, where otherwise good and friendly folk were brought to each other's throats by the great power sitting between them, over the question of who should hold that power, I couldn't help but see the strife and discord between so many friends in the aftermath of the election. Boromir assumed that the Elves' motives were suspect, just as many Americans assumed the worst of their political opponents. In turn Legolas insulted the Dwarves' intelligence, in the same way we have all insulted the intelligence of our political opponents in these last few days and weeks. Finally, when the conversation was engulfed in flame, representing their mutual hostility and hatred, I couldn't help but see the flames kindled by rioters upset that the election didn't go their way.
It was only then that Frodo, a Hobbit, and so very non-partisan in the conflicts between the established opponents, stood to take responsibility for destroying the Ring of Power. He resolved everyone else's conflict by taking up the Ring not to wield it, but to destroy it; not with might, but with meekness. Setting aside the Ring of Power, and uniting to destroy such a great and terrible thing, was all that could bring the parties together who were on the verge of war.
Where is our Frodo? Where is the one who, when faced with the terrible decision of who will carry the might of the presidency, will instead steadfastly refuse to use its power until it can be destroyed? When the stakes are so unimaginably high, this is the only solution that can bring peace between us and them. When none of us can imagine of the them holding so much power, the only thing to do is for someone to carry it to its destruction. Sadly, there is no one even attempting to fulfill the role of Ringbearer, and far too many people on both sides of every conflict wanting to fill the role of The Lord of the Ring.
Adam Kokesh seems to be a somewhat Frodo-ish figure.


text:
'use strict';
// rcpt_to.access plugin

exports.register = function() {
    var i;
    var config = this.config.get('rcpt_to.access.ini');
    this.wl = this.config.get('rcpt_to.access.whitelist', 'list');
    this.bl = this.config.get('rcpt_to.access.blacklist', 'list');
    this.deny_msg = config.general && (config.general.deny_msg ||
        'Connection rejected.');
    var white_regex =
        this.config.get('rcpt_to.access.whitelist_regex', 'list');
    var black_regex =
        this.config.get('rcpt_to.access.blacklist_regex', 'list');

    if (white_regex.length) {
        this.wlregex = new RegExp('^(?:' + white_regex.join('|') + ')$', 'i');
    }

    if (black_regex.length) {
        this.blregex = new RegExp('^(?:' + black_regex.join('|') + ')$', 'i');
    }

    this.logerror(this, "plugin deprecated. see 'haraka -h access' for upgrade instructions");
    this.register_hook('rcpt', 'rcpt_to_access');
};

exports.rcpt_to_access = function(next, connection, params) {
    var plugin = this;
    var rcpt_to = params[0].address();

    // address whitelist checks
    if (!rcpt_to) {
        connection.transaction.results.add(plugin, {skip: 'null rcpt', emit: true});
        return next();
    }

    connection.logdebug(plugin, 'checking ' + rcpt_to +
        ' against rcpt_to.access.whitelist');

    if (_in_whitelist(connection, plugin, rcpt_to)) {
        connection.logdebug(plugin, "Allowing " + rcpt_to);
        connection.transaction.results.add(plugin, {pass: 'whitelisted', emit: true});
        return next();
    }

    // address blacklist checks
    connection.logdebug(plugin, 'checking ' + rcpt_to +
        ' against rcpt_to.access.blacklist');

    if (_in_blacklist(connection, plugin, rcpt_to)) {
        connection.logdebug(plugin, "Rejecting, matched: " + rcpt_to);
        connection.transaction.results.add(plugin, {fail: 'blacklisted', emit: true});
        return next(DENY, rcpt_to + ' ' + plugin.deny_msg);
    }

    connection.transaction.results.add(plugin, {pass: 'unlisted', emit: true});
    return next();
};

function _in_whitelist(connection, plugin, address) {
    var i;
    for (i in plugin.wl) {
        connection.logdebug(plugin, 'checking ' + address + ' against ' +
            plugin.wl[i]);

        if (plugin.wl[i] === address) {
            return true;
        }
    }

    if (plugin.wlregex) {
        connection.logdebug(plugin, 'checking ' + address + ' against ' +
            plugin.wlregex.source);

        if (address.match(plugin.wlregex)) {
            return true;
        }
    }

    return false;
}

function _in_blacklist(connection, plugin, address) {
    var i;
    for (i in plugin.bl) {
        connection.logdebug(plugin, 'checking ' + address + ' against ' +
            plugin.bl[i]);

        if (plugin.bl[i] === address) {
            return true;
        }
    }

    if (plugin.blregex) {
        connection.logdebug(plugin, 'checking ' + address + ' against ' +
            plugin.blregex.source);

        if (address.match(plugin.blregex)) {
            return true;
        }
    }

    return false;
}


BETHLEHEM, March 27, 2015 - A participant runs next to the controversial Israeli barrier during the 3rd Palestine International Marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on March 27, 2015. About 3,200 runners participated in the marathon this year, including about 750 foreigners and about 46 participants from the Gaza Strip, who participated for the first time.
Participants run next to the controversial Israeli barrier during the 3rd Palestine International Marathon in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on March 27, 2015.


text:
Q: java.io.IOException: Permission denied cannot create file in Linux I am trying to create a temporary file under /opt/ie/var/tmp in linux, the permission for /opt/ie/var/tmp is drwxr-xr-x. I got java.io.IOException: Permission denied cannot create file when creating, below is my code:
File uploadedFile = File.createTempFile(prefix, suffix, new File("/opt/ie/var/tmp"));

Is there any way I can set sudo when creating the temp file in Java? Thanks.

A: You are using a shared tmp directory, so I think the proper thing to do is to give it a proper permission:
chmod 1777 /opt/ie/var/tmp

P.S. I got 1777/drwxrwxrwt using stat /tmp from a Linux Mint system. The t is restricted deletion flag or sticky bit (t).

A: You can run your java application from root user, then it should be able to create the file.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, for thousands of years, man has been asking questions about his existence, about his beginnings. Man looks at himself and wonders where did I come from? How did I get here? Why am I the way I am?
Man search for his beginnings necessarily involves asking questions about the beginning of all things. Man feels the earth below his feet, he takes a deep breath of oxygen into his lungs, he looks up and he sees the sun, moon and stars above and he asks Where did all this come from? How did it get here? How and why does all this exist?
And so man searches for answers. Man studies nature; man studies animals; man studies ancient civilization, man studies man searching for answers about life. What does he find? In an interview between Nova Magazine and a Harvard professor of natural history, the professor was asked to define life. He gave a very scientific answer, but then he said this: The short answer is we don't really know how life originated on this planet. And so man's search continues.
Man looks to the distant stars and planets for answers. Nations spend billions of dollars each year launching rockets, orbiters, and shuttles into outer space searching for the answer to our beginnings. This year alone our nation alone has budgeted 16.8 billion dollars for NASA to continue space exploration and discovery.
What's so sad in all this, beloved, is that the answer man is looking for is not to be found under a microscope in the laboratory; nor is this answer to be found at the other end of a telescope, on some distant planet out there somewhere in the vast universe.
No. The answer is right in front of us. We're holding it in our hands. As the Apostle Paul explained to the Athenians, The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would SEEK HIM and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far off from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.
The book of genesis tells us the answer. The book of Genesis tells us the story of our beginnings and of the world's beginnings. It tells the story of the beginning of all life; it tells about the beginnings of civilization; it tells about the beginnings of sin and evil and death. But most significantly of all, it tells us about the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
That's what we read about here Genesis 1. This morning we are going to consider the first two verses. Here, God's Word Reveals the Truth about the Beginning.
People of God, if someone asked you what was life like before you were born, many of us could answer that by our knowledge of history or by simply remembering the stories that our parents told us about life back before we were born.
I was born in 1965, but I could tell you a lot about life before I was born. I could tell you about the major movements in our nation's history, the wars that were fought. In fact, if I thought long and hard enough, I could probably tell you something of significance that happened in just about every century dating back to the early church (and even a bit beyond that).
So it's not that unusual for us to know something about life before our beginning. That's just being a good student of history. But within our text this morning we encounter something that is truly mind boggling, something that is beyond all comprehension, beyond all knowledge and thought; it is, in fact, beyond anything we humans can even imagine.
Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This verse takes us back to the very dawn of history itself, back to the very origin, to the very beginning of everything that we have come to know, and see, and smell, and feel, and hear, and taste, and touch and breathe. That's what the name Genesis means—beginnings.
But more than that, Genesis 1:1 takes us back before the beginning. Genesis 1:1 takes us back before there was such a thing called earth or space or time. It takes us back before there was such a thing known as man or matter, or atoms, or energy or gravitational force.
When we read the opening verse of Scripture In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth the Bible is telling us that God existed before the beginning. Notice, the Bible isn't interested in making an argument for God's existence. It merely recognizes the fact that God is.
What does that mean? It establishes the supremacy of God as Creator and Lord. It clearly establishes the fact that God is not of this world; God is not of this universe; He is the Almighty Creator (the One of whom the Apostle Paul sing his doxology in Romans 11:36 For from Him and through him and to Him are all things).
That's exactly what we mean when we say that God transcends this world, as well as time and space. We, and everything around us, have been created, brought into existence--we and everything around us have a beginning and an end; but God does not. God is divine; He is eternal; He is uncreated.
That's what makes God, God. Unlike everything else in Creation, God is not subject to change. (God is immutable). Likewise, God is all knowing, all seeing, all powerful and everywhere present. God is infinitely superior; He is immeasurably more powerful; He is inestimably more wise and knowledgeable.
The fact that God was there before the beginning, from all eternity, teaches us that God is also wholly and completely a self-sufficient and independent Being. Unlike creatures, God does not rely or depend upon anything or anyone else for His existence. Just take a moment, beloved, to reflect upon our lives here on this planet. Even if we had to, we couldn't possibly enumerate all the things upon which we depend for our existence in this world.
Our existence depends upon the constant gravitational pull of the moon, upon the exact position of the earth in relation to the sun, we depend upon our atmosphere containing the right mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and other gases which make it possible for us and other creatures to breathe. We depend upon fresh water, and crops, and animals for food.
But God doesn't rely upon anything for His existence. Besides that, God is also totally free; He is able to do as He chooses. And God is totally autonomous, which means that God answers to no one. God holds and exercises complete and sovereign control over the universe.
From all this beloved, we can that God was under no obligation, He was under no compulsion, He was under no force or pressure to create heaven and earth and mankind. Creation was the result of the will of God; creation was the result of God taking the initiative. God acted first.
That is a very significant point here in Genesis 1:1. All our life long we hear that phrase: God comes first; the things of God take priority. We parents try to impress that truth upon our children. Now we know where this truth is first established. Right here, in the beginning.
In the beginning, God too the initiative; God created; God acted on behalf of creation. And every other action that we see from this point on is a response to God's action. The fact that the sun shines, and the wind blows, and the fish swim, and the birds fly, and the dog barks, and the grass grows--all that is attributed to the fact that God acted first.
As we know, that theme carries right over from creation to redemption. There too, God initiates. We can follow that theme through Genesis as well--the fact that God initiated His plan of salvation; man disobeyed God and fell into sin, but God in His grace and mercy is right there to pick man up and promise that through the seed of a woman, man's Redeemer would come!
So you see beloved, there is so much meaning, so much significance, so much wonderful knowledge about our God packed within those first three words: in the beginning. Those words tell us about the God who already existed, who always existed before the Beginning.
Secondly, we want to talk about the Creation which was brought forth in the Beginning. Verse 1 goes on to say that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. I want to call your attention there to two things in particular.
First we consider the phrase 'the heavens and the earth'. It refers to the totality of all creation, all of that which God made. Think of this phrase as an overarching introduction to the six days of creation that are about to be described in greater detail in the remainder of the chapter.
It's no different than a wife telling a visitor to her home that her husband built their house (the both floors, the garage, the deck--the totality of everything you can see) by himself. And then she might proceed to tell that person all the details: on the first day he dug the hole and poured the foundation; on the second day he connected the floor joists to the foundation, on the third day he raised the walls, etc. and so forth.
But this phrase might also be something more than a mere introduction. Some commentators believe that this phrase indicates the very moment when God created the heavens above (not the firmament or sky we see above us, but the actual heavens in which God dwells in all His glory).
That would include the creation of the angels, cherubim and seraphim, all His heavenly hosts. We're never told in Scriptures when exactly God created the angels, but we know from Job 38 that it was very early on in Creation. Job 38 says that the angels sang when God laid the foundations of the earth. So the angels were there by the time of the creation of the earth.
The second item in this verse that demands our close scrutiny is the word created. The word that is used here for 'created' is a very significant, a very unique word in the sense that no where in the Scriptures is it ever used in reference to the work of man in making or creating something.
This word is only ever used in reference to God's sovereign and divine activity of making, of creating. That's essential for us to understand, for it impresses upon our hearts and minds that God's work of Creation was altogether unique and set apart from anything that man can do.
This word helps us to see, it helps us to understand, that God is truly the One and only Creator. As Creator, God did far more than just fashion and arrange, and give shape and order to the universe as we see it today. No. God did, in fact, create all things—in the truest and purest sense of the word. God brought forth all things—all that we see, all that exists—out of nothing.
Boys and girls, man can make many beautiful and wonderful things in this world. Just look around you at this beautiful sanctuary. This was designed and built by human hands. And when you drive home this morning with mom and dad, you'll be driving in a car that was built by human hands.
But where did man get the material to build this sanctuary? Where did man get the steel to build our cars? We get our wood from the forests and our steel comes from minerals buried beneath the ground. And long before we can use it, that wood and steel has to be taken to the mill and it has to be milled and fabricated and processed before it can ever be used.
In other words, man cannot walk up to an empty lot with no building materials and suddenly start building a church; and man cannot walk into an empty room and suddenly create a car out of thin air. That's silly. But yet, that is exactly what God did when he created the heavens and the earth.
God brought forth all things into being out of nothing. So in this regard, creation is a singular act of God's greatness, power, and wisdom that is (and will always remain) unparalleled and unmatched.
Now, verse 2 turns our attention specifically to God's work in the creation of the earth. Verse 2 tells us that the earth was formless (without shape), and empty, and darkness covered the surface, the face of the deep. What that tells us is that the first thing God did in creation was to bring forth His own building supplies; God called forth the substance, the building material which He Himself would use to create the world, the universe, the planets, the oceans, and man himself.
Now, some have made the rather unfortunate mistake of referring to this 'formless and dark and empty' mass as a chaos (suggesting that God creates order out of chaos); others suggest that the darkness here is the presence of evil. But those are two very inaccurate and extremely unwarranted descriptions.
How do we respond to this? In the first place, we know that darkness was as much of a creation and blessing of God as light itself. Later on God will separate light from darkness and call one day and one night. Both serve an important function in life on earth. Besides, evil can only be equated with the presence of sin and Satan, and God's creation is called good by God.
And secondly, the description of this mass as chaos or confusion suggest that the Creator God had made something that was out of His control; it is to suggest that God created a mess, and now somehow God would have to make sense of what he had made—that He would have to somehow bring order and beauty and purpose out of the empty dark, disorderly chaos.
But that's simply not true. That's simply not what this means. We know that because we know God; we known how he has revealed Himself to us in His Word. God is a God of perfect order, not chaos and confusion.
God is the master Architect and Builder; He knows the end from the beginning; He not only has the perfect end in mind, but he also uses the perfect means to accomplish His end, to reach that end. So, the material which God created, which is called 'earth' was very much like the lump of clay on the potters wheel, about to be shaped, formed and fashioned by the Hand of the sculptor.
In our text, we see further evidence of the perfect order and control of God in Creation. For what does the final part of verse 2 state? It tells us that the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the deep/waters. So in verse 1 we are introduced to this God, this Creator, this Being who exists before the beginning, by verse 2 this God is already providing a self-revelation of who He is.
God's Spirit (literally God's breath, God's wind) was hovering over the surface of the deep. In Later on in chapter 1, in verses 26, we read where this One God and Creator says Let us make man in our image. And we know from John 1:1-3 that in the beginning God's eternal Son was also present; He was with God in and before the beginning.
And so here already God reveals to us that He is one simple Being, who exists in three distinct persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so we bear witness to the fact that the Creation proceeds from the Father, through the Word (the Son), and in the Holy Spirit.
From these first two verses of Genesis, I hope it is apparent to you, beloved, that the account of creation is so much more than a scientific debate between creationism and evolutionism. I hope you see that the account of creation is so much more than a debate over the origins of man, and the age of the earth, and the length of the creation days.
Yes, we absolutely have to talk about those things, and yes we absolutely have to defend against those forms of false teaching. But what we must see first and foremost, above all else, is that this revelation, this Biblical account of creation establishes God's relationship to man, and man's relationship to God.
We meet God--who is wholly and utterly distinct, who transcends the very creatures and creation he has made, but nonetheless, He is a loving and caring; He is an intimate and personal God who desires the fellowship and communion with His creatures, with His creation.
By reason of His own eternal decree, God willed to create, to bring forth the heavens and the earth, man and beast, dry land and sea, fish and fowl, day and night, all for the pleasure and for the glory of His own Name.
So, do you it see now? Do you see that in creation God established the very root and foundation of true religion? All that is, and all that lives and breathes, men, women, and children, mountains, trees, and oceans are to give glory and honor and praise to Creations God and King.
Psalm 148:1-5 Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
Later, in Acts 14:15, when the crowd at Lystra wanted to worship Paul and Barnabus as the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes, Pau land Barnabas shouted: Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
We can't forget what Paul writes to the Romans, in Romans 1:25, when speaking bout the depravity and sinfulness of mankind, he writes: They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-- who is forever praised. Amen.
Finally, there's Revelation 4:11 which says, You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.
So clearly, the act of creation—this display of God's awesome power and wisdom whereby He called forth all things into being from that which was not, this act serves as the foundation, the root, the basis for all service and worship of God.
Perhaps Psalm 24:1 says it best; The earth is the LORD's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. As Creation's Lord, our God has a sovereign right to demand the allegiance and the honor and the worship and the glory of the entire world—of everyone and everything in it!
And the wonder of it all, beloved, is that even though we know that Satan would attempt to destroy all that God had made, all that God had designed, all that God had brought forth, God's plan was still not thwarted.
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together… For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
There we behold the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, that creation and redemption are so wonderfully and beautifully intertwined, that even in the beginning, our God and Creator was our redeemer and Lord.
What a comfort it is for us to know that the God who created the world is powerful and wise enough to rule the world; He's powerful enough to keep His promises; when man the creature falls in sin, when we fail to serve God and love Him as we ought, still our God is faithful, and He promises to crush the head of the serpent and provide us with forgiveness and victory in Christ.
By God's power, he has brought us to Christ and by His power He keeps us bound to Christ. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and He will accomplish all that He has promised and all He has purposed. We are His creatures who called to live in reverence and fear of His name and we are called to walk by faith in ways of Jesus Christ His Son. Amen.


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home > architecture > apple's new store in rome by foster + partners occupies a renovated 17th century palazzo
apple's new store in rome by foster + partners occupies a renovated 17th century palazzo
apple has opened a new store in rome, making it the largest of all the 118 apple stores in europe. created in collaboration with foster + partners, the store is housed inside the grand palazzo marignoli on via del corso and boasts a restoration project that pays homage to the italian capital's rich history of art marking it as one of apple's most significant restoration projects.
images by apple
built in 1873 by renowned architect salvatore bianchi and following a second renovation by giulio podesti, rome's palazzo marignoli used to be the home of marquis filippo marignoli and hosted the caffè aragno, one of the city's most notable places, frequented in its day by artist, writers, and actors. to highlight its creative history, several original pieces of the caffè aragno have been restored and incorporated within the new store design. pieces include multiple graffiti panels created by italian painter afro basaldella in 1950; fabio cipolla's dawn; and ettore ballerini's dusk — two large ceiling paintings that date back to the 1900s.
the apple store in rome features large glass windows that face via del corso, allowing natural light to fill the interiors. the design is centered around a lush courtyard decorated with native camphora trees. on the first floor, four sets of doors provide access to an exterior landscaped terrace filled with jasmine vines and olive trees inspired by roman roof terraces that look into the courtyard.once inside, visitors will encounter with an original detailing of locally sourced carrara marble, including the massive staircase dating back to 1888.
on the upper floor, visitors will find the forum which occupies the ballroom of the marquis's palazzo, hosting the today at apple sessions. next t to the forum is a dedicated space for apple support and the genius bar, where a team of conservators have worked thousands of hours to restore the exquisite, geometrically patterned, hand-painted ceiling.
'we can't wait to begin a new chapter in rome with the opening of apple via del corso,' said deirdre o'brien, apple's senior vice president of retail + people. 'the new store represents a celebration of the unique history and art of roman culture, and we hope to inspire creativity among the local community with our made in rome program and future today at apple sessions.'
name: apple store rome
location: via del corso, rome
designed in partnership with: foster + partners
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turn your iPad into an eco-friendly workstation with the MAJEE cork dock
foster + partners transforms los angeles' historic tower theatre into an apple store
ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY (415)
vudafieri-saverino blends milano verticale's hidden gardens into the italian city
MoDusArchitects unveils its icaro hotel, a forest of timber columns in the dolomites
benedetta tagliabue's san giacomo church takes its form from a hot air balloon
andrea dragoni completes contemplative cemetery extension in italy
ELASTICOfarm completes new national institute of nuclear physics in turin, italy
FOSTER AND PARTNERS (257)
foster + partners completes datong art museum as four interlocking pyramids
foster + partners opens narbo via, an archeological museum of layered stone
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foster + partners completes its le dôme winery in bordeaux, france
TK studio creates a forest-like landscape for foster + partners' bangkok neighborhood


American Spin is a Bronze Level figure. This online reference gives a detailed description of the dance steps, including timing, movement, a list of figures that may precede or follow the pattern; and videos providing instruction and demonstration of the figure, techniques and practice routines that include it.
Start in Open Position. R to R hand hold.
retract R arm to lead lady fwd.
regain L to R or R to R hand hold at end of lady's turn.
Lady may turn up to 3/4 R on RF on 5, completing turn over 6-7.
Lady should respond tone in Man's arm by increasing her tone in her R arm, taking her weight well forward to lean against Man's hand.
1/4 to R over 6-8.
Start in L to R hand hold.
Retain hold and lead lady to spin under raise arm on 5. Lower at end of lady's turn.


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U of L arrives at Destination
Posted on February 20, 2019 by Lethbridge Sun Times
With keys now in hand, the University of Lethbridge is looking forward to moving into its new $248-million Destination Project Science and Academic building by May. Local media were given the opportunity to tour the largely completed project on Wednesday with Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips, Lethbridge-East MLA Maria Fitzpatrick and various university officials.
The tour highlighted the first-rate laboratory facilities which will be housed in the building, the sustainability aspects which have been incorporated into the building's design, and some of "wow-factor" spaces which the building boasts — spaces such as the university's largest auditorium, the building's Winter Garden, and its Makerspace classrooms, which will allow greater applied learning by students attending classes in the facility.
Media representatives were told there are still about 100 workers left on site applying the finishing touches on a project that boasted about 600 workers at its height.
Phillips credited the Destination Project with being the right project for the right time in Lethbridge in helping many workers who would otherwise have been unemployed during the recent recession.
"I can tell you from personal experience on knocking on doors in west Lethbridge that I have talked to people who moved here for work on this project, and then the Cavendish project," said Phillips.
Shuttered drug house 'one of the worst'
The floor was littered with hundreds of used drug needles. A blood stain on the wall was being used as a macabre dart board, with the used needles as darts.
And the home had been basically trashed before Alberta Sheriffs and Lethbridge police entered and sealed a suspected drug house on Wednesday. Responding to ongoing complaints from neighbours, they shuttered the northside home for 90 days.
"It's one of the worst we've seen," said Insp. Mike Letourneau of the Alberta Sheriffs' special Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods unit.
"You couldn't walk without stepping on used needles."
Armed with a court-issued Community Safety Order, the officers ordered the building vacated. Work crews changed the locks, boarded the windows and erected a security fence around the property at 235 15 St. N.
City police first responded to neighbours' concerns last summer, reported Const. Ryan Darroch. Alberta Sheriffs investigators confirmed drug activity and then partnered with Lethbridge police to address the issues. In August, city police executed a search warrant at the property, seizing drugs and weapons.
Then a warning letter was sent to the owner, who does not live at the property. But drug activity at the property continued, police say, so investigators began gathering more evidence to support a Community Safety Order application in court.
Lottery coming for playoff tickets
Tickets will be free for any Lethbridge Hurricanes' 2019 home playoff games played at Nicholas Sheran Arena.
That's if you can get one.
Season ticket holders, or those who commit to buying season tickets for the 2019-20 regular season, can buy playoff ticket packages for the city's WHL team. One entry for each package purchased will then go to a lottery draw for two free tickets to a possible game at Nicholas Sheran.
Those selected for the first game will not be qualified for further games until the entire pool of eligible ticket seekers is rolled through. The visiting team also receives an allotment of 100 tickets. If they are not all claimed by noon on a game day, any remaining tickets will be dispersed to those on a 50-person waiting list.
This potential situation is because the Lethbridge Hurricanes, should they qualify for the post-season, will be displaced from the Enmax Centre due to the 2019 Pioneer Hi-Bred World Men's Curling Championship set for March 30 to April 7. Depending on different WHL divisional matchup scenarios, up to three Hurricanes' home playoff games could took place during this time.
The Enmax Centre can fit about 5,350 people for hockey, but Nicholas Sheran Arena only has 968 seats and standing room for about 200 more.
Illinois man facing charges
Numerous charges have been laid related to 10 bomb threats thanks to the efforts of multiple departments spanning two countries.
Thirty-five-year-old Justin Bagley of Elkville, Ill., has been charged with 11 counts of felony disorderly conduct in connection to a series of bomb threats made in Taber that spanned three days last week.
A joint investigation began Saturday when police in Taber contacted the Jackson County Sheriff's office in Illinois.
The Taber Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, Jackson County police and United States Department of Homeland Security all participated in the investigation.
Jackson County Sheriff's office noted investigators were able to track the phone number used to call the targets in Taber, leading to the arrest of Bagley.
All told, the suspect was arrested within a 72-hour time frame from when the first threat was received last Thursday night at Walmart in Taber.
Graham Abela, chief for the Taber Police Service, said Bagley accessed an online app which is used to listen to police scanners. Bagley would often listen to these from the United States but chose to attempt to spy on detachments from Canada. Bagley clicked on the Alberta tab from the app and selected Taber Police Service.
Airport traffic taking off
A little competition can have a huge impact.
Launching WestJet flights to Calgary has reportedly brought new life to Lethbridge Airport.
Passenger traffic has soared by 75 per cent, according to reports from Tourism Lethbridge.
To meet the new demand, travellers are seeing larger aircraft assigned to the Lethbridge service. And for those travelling out-of-province, they're also seeing connector fares that eliminate the need to drive and park at Calgary International.
The unprecedented hike in Lethbridge Airport business, highlighted in a new Tourism Lethbridge report, followed WestJet's introduction of daily service in competition with Air Canada.
WestJet partner Pacific Coastal Airline started the Calgary connector with 34-seat Saab turbo-props. Now one of those flights is being handled by a Q400 aircraft with more than 75 seats.
Air Canada's regional partner has been using a 19-seat Beechcraft — with no washroom or other amenities — but now it's reportedly planning an upgrade. The national carrier did not respond Tuesday to a call for confirmation of that change.
The airport figures, comparing November 2018 to the same month a year earlier, are part of a new monthly update from Tourism Lethbridge. It will also track the number of passenger cars driving into the city from other Alberta communities, and report the number of American cars heading north through the Coutts border crossing.
Local hotel operators also reported a five per cent occupancy rate increase in November, the report shows, while numbers were little changed in the rest of the province.
And in seasonally warm December, it adds, the number of Waterton Lakes National Park visitors reached 8,000 — up more than five per cent.
William Slenders, executive director at Tourism Lethbridge, cites the growing number of travellers using Lethbridge Airport as a positive indicator for the region's hospitality and tourism industry.
"We do have a quite vibrant tourism economy," he points out.
WestJet promoted its new "regional hub" routes when they were launched, he says, but traffic has continued to grow.
"A lot of it is 'organic' growth," says Slenders.
Assessment ordered
The former southern Alberta woman charged after 200 dogs were taken from her by the SPCA in 2014 and 2015, has been ordered to have a psychiatric assessment.
It's the second time April Dawn Irving has been ordered to have the assessment.
The first time was in November 2015 but the accused, who was not in custody at the time, failed to attend and later disappeared.
During a hearing in Lethbridge provincial court, Irving was ordered again to have the 30-day assessment, this time as an inpatient since she is in custody and will not have a choice but to attend.
The former Milk River-area resident faces one charge of animal cruelty under the Criminal Code and 13 charges under the Animal Protection Act.
She was charged early in 2015 after she voluntarily surrendered 60 dogs to the SPCA in December 2014, and after another 141 dogs were seized Jan. 13, 2015, after authorities returned to her property with a warrant.
Officials reported many of the dogs were emaciated, dirty, dehydrated and suffering from various medical and behavioural ailments, and were found under trailers, in outbuildings and outside where they were exposed to cold weather.
Turbine up for auction
Alberta's ongoing wind power and renewable energy renaissance may be in full bloom under the NDP government, but it is not the first time Alberta has flirted with government-sponsored wind power generation. On March 20 at Ritchie Bros. in Lethbridge a remnant of that legacy will be coming up for auction.
Built in the 1990s under the government of the day's Small Power Producers Program, the Bonus 150 has a height of 23 metres with a generating capacity of 150 kW/hr.
Jeff Wearmouth, owner of Optimist Wind Energy, which is selling the turbine, says the Bonus 150 was the first privately owned power-generating wind turbine erected in southern Alberta.
Air Canada adding bigger planes
With Lethbridge passenger numbers soaring, travellers will soon say farewell to their familiar 19-seat commuter aircraft.
Starting April 30, Air Canada confirms, 50-seat turboprops will replace the narrow-body Beechcraft 1900 planes that have covered the Lethbridge-to-Calgary run for many years.
The upgrade is part of an agreement signed earlier this month providing three daily flights with the much-larger aircraft.
"Air Canada's regional flights in Western Canada will be operated exclusively by Jazz Aviation LP as part of our new agreement with Jazz's parent company, Chorus," says Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah.
Halifax-based Chorus Aviation Inc. provides aircraft leasing and contract flying in addition to regional service as an Air Canada partner. Lethbridge flights on Beechcraft have been provided by smaller companies including Air Georgian and Central Mountain Air in recent years.


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Q: is it possible to add a time limit to enter an input to a batch file? I would like to add a time limit to a batch file to enter an input for example:
@echo off

echo.
echo.
set /p m=press 1:
if %m%==1 (
goto start
)

:start
echo hello
pause >nul

:fail
you have failed!
pause >nul

Could you put any code near the set /p m=press 1: so that if no input is entered within 10 seconds then it would go to fail?
thank you :)

A: With the CHOICE command you can do that :
CHOICE /T 5 /C yn /D y

This will automatically answer yafter 5 secondes without user input


Hi! I am a Data Scientist based in London with a strong background in Engineering Sciences.
Below, I share a list of interesting machine learning books. Most of these books have a free version available on their website and can be ordered from Amazon. I have included links to relevant HN discussions, as it is how I found out about these books in most of the cases.
This book presents some of the most important modeling and prediction techniques, along with relevant applications. Topics include linear regression, classification, resampling methods, shrinkage approaches, tree-based methods, support vector machines, clustering, and more.
This book describes the important ideas in these areas in a common conceptual framework. While the approach is statistical, the emphasis is on concepts rather than mathematics. Many examples are given, with a liberal use of color graphics. It is a valuable resource for statisticians and anyone interested in data mining in science or industry.
If you want to find out how to use Python to start answering critical questions of your data, pick up Python Machine Learning whether you want to get started from scratch or want to extend your data science knowledge, this is an essential and unmissable resource.
In this practical book, four Cloudera data scientists present a set of self-contained patterns for performing large-scale data analysis with Spark. The authors bring Spark, statistical methods, and real-world data sets together to teach you how to approach analytics problems by example.
Resonate helps you make a strong connection with your audience and lead them to purposeful action. The authors approach is simple: building a presentation today is a bit like writing a documentary. Using this approach, youll convey your content with passion, persuasion, and impact.
In Reinforcement Learning, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the key ideas and algorithms of reinforcement learning. Their discussion ranges from the history of the fields intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications.


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Robots on the trigger – while that sounds like science fiction, the fact is that around sixty countries and armies are currently working on such lethal autonomous systems. They evaluate the available data in fractions of a second, enabling them to decide accurately when and where to fire. Nothing can distract them. Human failings are no longer a source of error, and precise warfare using combat robots reduces collateral damage. This trend and the associated capabilities raise many questions as well as ethical concerns.
Can soldiers really be replaced? Are algorithm-equipped autonomous weapons systems actually capable of taking over highly complex decision processes in all kinds of deployment scenarios? Doesn't responsible decision-making require a conscience? Self-reflection and empathy are key to making ethical judgments and decisions. Can these human abilities be translated even approximately into artificial intelligence?
The debate surrounding fully autonomous weapons systems is an example which shows that issues in military ethics, far from being aloof from reality, arise directly from the lives and experiences of the military and, for example, from the challenges which accompany asymmetric wars and conflicts, and technological advancements in warfare.
A second basic point emerges from this debate, namely that military ethics should be an interdisciplinary subject. The military question and military expertise, the international law perspective, the moral philosophical or even theological point of view, as well as current findings from the empirical sciences – such as psychology and political science – should be investigated and examined so as to enable an adequate response to current challenges, and avoid being one-sided or myopic.
Finally, the debate should be international, and contentious – as demonstrated by the articles in our first military ethics e-journal, "Ethics and Armed Forces – Controversies in Military Ethics & Security Policy".
The intention of the e-journal is to make subject matter and content from zebis training and podium events available in essay style to an interested international audience, and so – in keeping with the role of zebis as an innovative church-affiliated educational organization – to promote and stimulate debate on current topics in military ethics.
I would like to thank everybody who has contributed to this edition – the renowned authors, the co-editors and especially the zebis editorial team.


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We are really excited to announce we will be sponsoring Altrincham FC Women for the forthcoming 2021/2022 football season. This is a great opportunity to support women's football and a fantastic part of our local community.
As part of our partnership with Altrincham FC we will offer brand new kits for the women's first team. We will also include travel and training wear for the squad. We are also proud to extend this support to the community coaching team who do brilliant work with over 800 children, young people, and adults. (more…)
After our 3-year sponsorship of Altrincham FC drew to a close, there was only one question on everybody's lips this weekend… Would J Davidson be backing the team again?
In a timely announcement, on the eve of Sunday's opening pre-season friendly at Widnes, Alty chairman Grahame Rowley revealed our pledge of support for the next two years. The new shirt and stadium sponsorship deal will help keep the club on a sound financial footing, so the lads can concentrate on the game!
For their part, Alty will again wear the J Davidson logo emblazoned on the front of their shirts, and one of non-League football's best-known venues will continue to be known as The J Davidson Stadium. (more…)
TRUCKFEST 2016 HERE WE COME!
It's that time of year again – the wax and polish are out, in preparation for our annual pilgrimage to Peterborough on the 1st May… Where we'll be taking on Truckfest 2016!
My, how time flies when you're scrapping Manchester's metal. It barely seems like 5 minutes ago that we hit the road headed for Peterborough to attend last year's Truckfest. As always, we had a great time hanging out with like-minded truck-lovers and catching up with a few old faces from all over the country. And now the time's arrived to do it all over again!
Scrap Metal Prices in 2016
Due to a surplus of steel in China, combined with the floundering Chinese economy, scrap metal prices might have been low, but thankfully, forecasts for the future are optimistic.
Experts quite rightly state that scrap metal prices and steel affect every aspect of our lives. Scrap metal from old buildings often helps to fund new developments and the sector alone is worth around £5.6 billion. With scrap metal contributing to growth and infrastructure, it's a vital aspect of commercial and municipal development.
Stock Car Racing Across the Pond
January saw us jumping for joy, as Tom Harris did us proud across the pond yet again. We attended the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma to cheer Tom on – and we must have cheered pretty loud as he achieved a cracking result.


Above: Two silhouettes framed by View's dynamic glass.
The world is increasingly full of smart things: smart phones, smart TVs, smart watches, even smart refrigerators.
Now there's one more item to add to the list: smart glass. And it comes with a host of benefits.
Silicon Valley-based View (formerly Soladigm), which today announced a $100 million funding round, makes "dynamic glass" that reacts intelligently to outside conditions, automatically tinting to reduce glare and energy usage from interior lighting and air conditioning. Occupants of buildings outfitted with View's windows can also manually adjust the glass settings with mobile apps or wall switches.
According to View CEO Rao Mulpuri, the company's dynamic glass eliminates the need for blinds or shades — and more importantly, it reduces annual HVAC and lighting energy consumption by around 20 percent in a typical commercial installation.
"The concept is very simple: It's like wearing sunglasses and adjusting them to how bright it really is," explained Mulpuri.
The company's core technology is its electrochromatic material. In a process that takes six to eight hours, it sputters metal oxide gases onto a glass pane to create a ceramic coating about a micrometer thick, or about two percent the width of a human hair. Then it adds low voltage wiring so the window can connect to a building's central management system, followed by another glass pane sandwiching everything together.
For a typical commercial installation, View's dynamic glass costs about 50 percent more than regular glass windows — though it lowers energy costs over time.
The savings are leaner in residential buildings, which tend to have less window space and less efficient HVAC installations, so the key draw there is user experience. For now, though, View is focused on corporate buildings, hospitals, hotels, schools, and government facilities.
Above: View glass at the Clovis Community Medical Center in Clovis, CA.
On Tuesday morning, View announced a $100 million investment from Madrone Capital Partners. The growth capital will enable View to ramp up production efforts in its Olive Branch, Miss. manufacturing facility and build out its sales and marketing team.
Including the new $100 million funding round, View has raised more than $300 million in equity from investors like Khosla Ventures, Sigma Partners, and GE Capital. It currently has about 300 employees, said Mulpuri.
Before joining View in December 2008, Mulpuri spent a decade at Novellus Systems, a maker of semiconductor equipment. He said that industry taught him how to rapidly innovate on hardware technologies.