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My experiences, Ramblings about this & that!
Dhivehi – A Language on its Deathbed
Most days, there's little to be proud about when it comes to being a Maldivian. The corruption and injustice running rampant in this small country of ours makes the country I was born and raised in a trifle bit hard to take most of the time. But then again, Maldives is home, it's people are mine and I theirs, and there's always that sense of belonging here that I have never found elsewhere. Though my inner free spirit lusts to travel to all corners of the earth, Maldives would always be my home.
In recent times, not a day has gone by without one local news or the other causing an uproar in the Maldivian community. The last one to hit us was the news that our language academy aka 'Dhivehi Bahuge Academy' had spoken out on the need to change the taxi boards affixed to every taxi as per new regulation should in fact be in the local language. An advisement that came a trifle bit too late in my opinion.
Image created by Waddey which depicts the ridiculousness of Dhivehi Bahuge Academy's statement regarding Taxi boards
Yes, Dhivehi is our own language. Our mother tongue. A language that bears characteristics of and has evolved from a mix of Arabic, Sinhalese and Maharashtri, a language spoken in ancient India. The prospect of having our own language unique to us while is a novelty in the sense that the language is part of the definition of our race and culture, many would disagree with the fact that Dhivehi contributes in any positive way to our lives. While it also helps immensely when you need to share a gossipy tidbit with the friend next to you when you don't want non-Dhivehi speaking individuals to know what you are talking about, there's also the current generation and the one that will rule this country tomorrow that does not feel overly emotional at the prospect of losing our own language.
Dhivehi as Part of our Education
Some might argue that Dhivehi as a language is dying its imminent death because our education curriculum barely touches the subject as students move through their primary, secondary and high school education. From someone who has been through every stage of Dhivehi learning that the Maldivian curriculum has to offer, I have to say I was never impressed with the delivery of the language nor the teachers that came bearing the 'goodness' of the language.
Imagine, a sleep deprived teacher who walks in with a pinched look on their face to take a 45 minute class thrice weekly. First and foremost, the teacher alone serves as a turn off for students. Teaching a language is definitely something quite different when compared with various other subject matters. A love for the language one is teaching is a must to convey that sense of 'I've got to learn this' feeling to the students. From the moment the Dhivehi teacher walks into class everything starts going downhill. An uber bored 'what the heck am I doing here' voice will ask students to open to a page number, read what's there, answer a couple of questions and then? Nothing. That's it. There aren't activities that would help a student learn what the language is about, to fall in love with it and see it as a language that could prove to be useful in their future. So how do we blame the current generation that has been bored to tears by teachers who couldn't care less of the knowledge they were leaving their students with?
Lack of Proper Language Standards
I am no guru of the Dhivehi language. I barely managed to get a 'C' grade in both the SSC (Secondary School Certificate) exam and the HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate) exam later on. My handwriting would have definitely been on par with that of a doctor's scribbles on a prescription if not for my father who was hellbent on working each of us to have a good handwriting when it came to Dhivehi as well as English. While I took to English like a duck to water, needless to say, Dhivehi came with its own dose of Valium pills in the mix.
What struck me most then and even now is the fact that Dhivehi lacks proper standards that are agreed upon and documented by the various 'scholars' of the language. While reading an article written by Hui Ali Didi might be the rage, it definitely does not instill the love a student ought to have in the language to seek more materials to read and learn from. With one teacher agreeing on one concept and the other the opposite, as students we remained confused and most of the time didn't give it much of a thought except when it came to passing exams. Even then, unlike an English exam where one knows what is expected of them, Dhivehi exams always lay in the unknown; no one knew what was expected apart from writing essays that suited the current teacher's accepted mode of essay writing. All in all, language standards remained the prerogative of the teacher in residence. So who do we blame for this confusion that has led everyone to correctly assume that Dhivehi as a language is not going to be viable for long if something drastic is not done to counter this effect?
The Language that Lies Stagnant
I don't think most would disagree with me when I say that one of the most severe problems facing our language is the fact that Dhivehi as a language doesn't seem to grow and expand to encompass and embrace the constant changing world that we live in.
If I were to be cruel, I'd have to say Dhivehi develops, if it can even be called that, at the rate it's people develop. Our dictionary aka Radheef remains absolutely obsolete. There's just one online version and that too no thanks to the department that was apparently 'protecting' the said document from going 'viral'. Dhivehi linguists (most of them so darn proud of the fact) boasts about how rich our language really is. I fail to see the point. Perhaps because I have little or zero interest in reading most Dhivehi literature (those things just scream at me not to touch them), I really don't see all that many words that can be used in multiple contexts. I judge a language to be rich by that. The words that ebb and flow and give meaning to the letters that you write on a page. Yes, our ancestors and current generation included are quite adept at cursing and throwing foul words around using the language; apart from that? Zilch, nada!
So in the end, whose responsibility is it to develop Dhivehi as a language? To make it grow and infuse it with very much needed life that could perhaps help bring it back from the throes of death. Where is the language academy's role in all of this? Is their role limited to giving advice as to the bare minimum the law on the language asks from us, and that too when the time for the advice has come and gone? Or is their job a more vital one in terms of bringing the language to the people, to make it a highly usable one in all contexts?
One thing is dead certain, pun intended. Dhivehi as a language currently lies at the language academy, stagnant and half dead, just as the academy itself, barely breathing while the said academy ignores that and pushes on more important reforms needed to run the taxi services in this country. And as I see it, if something is not done soon enough, I don't see it reviving and being able to keep up as the world continues to hurtle its way through tomorrow after tomorrow into the yonder.
Thoughts? Feel free to share! :)
Dhivehi Act
Dhivehi Bahuge Academy
Dhivehi bas
Taxi Sign Boards
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11 thoughts on "Dhivehi – A Language on its Deathbed"
Reblogged this on Khashia Blogs.
Didi says:
I've read your post and want to say that I'm 100% agreeable with you. Last thirty five years Dhivehi language hasn't been teaching by the qualified teachers as you've expressed. The solution in my opinion is the the teacher educators along with Dhivehi Academy together can fulfil this important matter.
Pingback: How Not To Let The Dhivehi Language Die · Global Voices
baratejo says:
As indigenous peoples and linguistic minorities worldwide know, among the most effective ways to "kill" a language is to stop using it as the medium of instruction in schools. This is why Tove Skutnabb-Kangas called her study "Linguistic Genocide in Education" (http://www.linguistic-rights.org/tove-skutnabb-kangas/Linguistic_Genocide_in_Education_or_Worldwide_Diversity_and_Human_Rights.html).
Mauritius too has been replacing the mother tongue with English. Here is one report on the results: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/dec/09/tefl-mauritius
For high-level multilingualism, the path to "other tongues" must start from the "mother tongue", as I have argued here: http://agrao.50webs.com/docs/mt-edu.htm
Thank you for an interesting post!
Giridhar RAO
http://bolii.blogspot.com
Hi Giridhar,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your insight in the matter.
I do hope that for our language, something is done by the scholars to revive the use of it and instill a love for the language before it's too late.
Kathleen Clark says:
I am in search of an English to Dhivehi translator for a small amount of text, warning about the dangers of smoking. I need someone who is a native speaker of Dhivehi. I also need the text translated by this Friday, July 11th 2014. If you can put me in touch with a translator that would be great. If you're a translator that's even better!
Hi Kathleen,
I do translation jobs. Send an email to fathsidhanamohd@gmail.com if you're interested in reaching out.
fawziaAbdur says:
Thanks for the post.am an expatriate working in the maldives.i have been trying to learn this language since march and still i can barely out together 2 complete sentences together.i always speak word by word and hope that my listener will figure out what am saying!!!!!!!!this is despite the fact that i have about 3 books on Learn Dhivehi. What i find most discouraging is that all the books i have teach me words.like To eat To sleep, To go. But they dont teach me the conjugation of these Words and how to use them in forming sentences. So i speak what i learn, The Words. I think my last resort is enroll into a language class, next year, with a qialified dhivehi teachervwho speaks English then atleast i will be better off.i love the bl8g.thanks
Thank you so much for the kind words. And I hope you have better luck next year with your plan to enroll in a class. :)
Maria Luisa Serrano says:
Hello. I'm Spanish and I hope I'll travel to Maldivas in a few months. Every time I travel to a country I try to learn some words to show my respect to their language. I've tried to find this words in Divahi but I've been incapable. I think one way to preserve a language is to spread it so I would apreciate, if it's posible, someone telling me how to say thanks you, please and hello, at least. Thanks in advance :)
Hello Luisa
Thank you for your interest in our language. We usually tend to say 'Assalaam Alaikum' as hello or just go with hello if that's not the case. What else would you like to know?
Happy travels to Maldives. ^^


Some Photos from Costa Rica!
This February 2015 my wife and I enjoyed an excellent holiday with a Caravan Tour to Costa Rica. Here are a few photos of the wonderful places we visited in this tropical paradice, enjoy! This page is a work ongoing and for the moment I have worked up only my better bird photos. One are two are actually pretty good..


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Helen Alvaré Guest
Posted Wed, September 18th, 2013 11:09 am
Cline symposium: Abortion, states' medical authority, and the "undue burden" test
Posted Wed, September 18th, 2013 11:09 am by Helen Alvaré
Helen Alvare is a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law.
In June 2013, in the case of Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court certified two questions to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma regarding the Oklahoma law which prohibits administering "RU-486 (mifepristone) or any abortion-inducing drug" other than according to the "protocol tested and authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and as authorized by the drug label for the RU-486 (mifepristone) or any abortion inducing drug." Opponents of the law are particularly upset that the law at issue would limit administration of RU-486 to the first seven weeks of pregnancy – the time limit specified in the FDA's protocol – while abortion providers commonly offer RU-486 abortions through nine weeks.
Consequently, the Court asked the Oklahoma court whether the law prohibits: "(1) the use of misoprostol to induce abortions, including the use of misoprostol in conjunction with mifepristone according to a protocol approved by the Food and Drug Administration; and (2) the use of methotrexate to treat ectopic pregnancies."
These questions are significant for the following reasons. First, if misoprostol is forbidden for inducing abortions (as its own FDA labeling does not include usage for abortion), then it seems possible that chemical abortions (versus surgical) would be completely unavailable to women in Oklahoma. Challengers argue that this would render Oklahoma's law an "undue burden" on women's rights to abortion, as that test was articulated first in the U.S. Supreme Court's Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992). Supporters of the law point out that the FDA's printed protocol for RU-486, however, specifically approves the use of misoprostol in combination with mifepristone, such that the availability of chemical abortions involving misoprostol for the first seven weeks of pregnancy is not at issue.
Second, if methotrexate were forbidden for treating ectopic pregnancies – which pregnancies can pose a threat to women's very lives, as well as their health – then the statute could potentially be challenged not only as an undue burden, but also as outside the scope of the state's police power. Supporters of the law counter that the ending of an ectopic pregnancy is not considered an abortion under the statute.
Previously, the Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down the statute as unconstitutional with a brief memorandum opinion stating merely: "The challenged measure is facially unconstitutional pursuant to Casey . . . . The mandate of Casey remains binding on this Court until and unless the United States Supreme Court holds to the contrary. The judgment of the trial court holding the enactment unconstitutional is affirmed and the measure is stricken in its entirety."
But there is more here than meets the eye. First, while the "undue burden" standard has never been a model of clarity, both the Casey and Gonzales v. Carhart (2007) opinions indicated that the test bears some relationship to the numbers of women prevented from obtaining abortions by the law. But following the passage of Oklahoma's law, not only could women in that state continue to obtain chemical abortions for the first seven weeks of pregnancy (the time specified by the FDA in its RU-486 protocol), but they could also obtain surgical abortions then, and during the remainder of their pregnancies.
Second, the Gonzales opinion, upholding a law banning partial-birth abortions, further indicated that the undue burden test is not intended to guarantee a woman or an abortion provider the abortion method of their choice. But if the Oklahoma law bans all chemical abortions, in the view of the state's supreme court, this question would not be identical to the question in Gonzales. Gonzales recognized that there were relatively few partial-birth abortions performed compared to other kinds of later-term abortion procedures safe for women. Further, the Gonzales Court found that a legislature could fairly easily conclude that partial-birth abortion – because it is so like a full-term delivery followed by a stabbing and crushing of the fetal body – is not beneficial for the mother's psychological health. By contrast, abortion by means of RU-486 is increasingly common in the early weeks of pregnancy. Furthermore — while there are complaints from some women about the psychological effects of RU-486 due to their expelling (usually at home) a recognizable fetal body – it is not at all clear that a Court could compare partial-birth and RU-486 abortions (even later ones) on this point.
Third, regarding Gonzales, the Court there was willing to credit a legislature's findings about the safety of a particular abortion procedure, in connection with the state's recognized interest in preserving the health of women seeking abortions. The Oklahoma legislature took notice of the report that off-label uses of RU-486 were linked with eight deaths from bacterial infection, which the FDA could neither confirm nor deny were caused by one or more aspects of off-label practices. Oklahoma's law was also passed against a backdrop of unfavorable revelations about abortion clinics' practices concerning chemical abortions. Former abortion clinic directors have given revealing interviews to media outlets indicating that they had experienced pressure from their employers to increase the number of abortions sold per clinic in a marketplace with a shrinking number of clinics. This was, in turn, related to the growth of "remote" chemical abortions – in which a doctor at a remote location "dispenses" abortion pills via computer to women who have answered a series of questions but undergone no physical examination. Both practices raise red flags about women's safety, leading to some states' banning these so-called "telemed" abortions.
In sum, Cline has the potential to further delineate the contents of the "undue burden" standard in abortion cases, and also to highlight the degree to which states may scrutinize abortion providers' medical practices in a context in which the providers would prefer to increase their freedom to offer more RU-486 abortions.
Posted in Cline v. Oklahoma Coalition for Reproductive Justice, Featured, Abortion regulation symposium
Recommended Citation: Helen Alvaré, Cline symposium: Abortion, states' medical authority, and the "undue burden" test, SCOTUSblog (Sep. 18, 2013, 11:09 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2013/09/cline-symposium-abortion-states-medical-authority-and-the-undue-burden-test/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: How can I use versioning in S3 with boto3? I am using a versioned S3 bucket, with boto3. How can I retrieve all versions for a given key (or even all versions for all keys)  ? I can do this:
for os in b.objects.filter(Prefix=pref):
    print("os.key")

but that gives me only the most recent version for each key.

A: boto3 s3 client has a list_object_versions method.
resp = client.list_object_versions(Prefix=prefix, Bucket=bucket)

for obj in [*resp['Versions'], *resp.get('DeleteMarkers', [])]:
    print(f"Key: {obj['Key']}")
    print(f"VersionId: {obj['VersionId']}")
    print(f"LastModified: {obj['LastModified']}")
    print(f"IsLatest: {obj['IsLatest']}")
    print(f"Size: {obj.get('Size', 0)/1e6}")

supposing you wanted to delete all but the current version, you could do so by adding the objects where not IsLatest to a to_delete list, then running the following:
for obj in to_delete:
    print(client.delete_object(Bucket=bucket, Key=obj['Key'], VersionId=obj['VersionId']))

A: The existing answers describe how to get the version ids of the objects. We're interested in using versions of the object(s) this usually involves accessing part, or all of the objects.
First get the version ids. I'll use al76's answer here for getting version ids to illustrate both boto3.resource and boto3.client examples.
import boto3
from collections import deque

bucket = 'bucket name'
key = 'key'
s3 = boto3.resource('s3')
versions = s3.Bucket(bucket).object_versions.filter(Prefix=key)
s3_object_versions = deque()

for version in versions:
    obj = version.get()
    s3_object_versions.appendleft(obj.get('VersionId'))

Next we need to get the actual versioned objects, there are a couple ways to do this, depending on whether you have a s3 resource or the s3 client. Given that we got the version ids with the resource we'll start there.
# using the first version of the object
obj_version = s3.ObjectVersion(bucket, key, s3_object_versions[0]).get()

# if this object is really large this loop might execute for awhile
for event in obj_version['Body']:
    print(event)

Note that each event is a botocore.response.StreamingBody object and may not correspond to a row if your object is a csv file (etc).
Now as an alternate approach, you might have an s3 client rather than an s3 resource object. In the s3 resource you can access the client via .meta. Here is code:
response = s3.meta.client.get_object(Bucket=bucket, Key=key, VersionId=s3_object_versions[-1])

# same caveat as above, for loop may run for awhile if object is large
for event in response['Body']:
    print(event)

A third option which is very similar to the first one, directly using the resource, bucket and object.
object = s3.Bucket(bucket).Object(key).get()
object_version = object.Version(s3_object_versions[0]).get()
#  again careful if object is large-will run awhile and fill stdout
for event in object_version['Body']:
    print(event)

A fourth option-also using the s3 client is to download the file directly.
object_original_version = s3.meta.client.download_file(bucket, key, '/tmp/' + key, ExtraArgs={'VersionId': s3_object_versions[0]})

Then you can read the file from /tmp via open() call or something more specialized for the file format.
In your code you'll likely want to wrap these with try/except etc. to handle errors unless this is prototyping/experimental work.

A: import boto3

bucket = 'bucket name'
key = 'key'
s3 = boto3.resource('s3')
versions = s3.Bucket(bucket).object_versions.filter(Prefix=key)

for version in versions:
    obj = version.get()
    print(obj.get('VersionId'), obj.get('ContentLength'), obj.get('LastModified'))

I can't take credit as I had the same question but I found this here

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Britain's voters made the historic decision to leave the EU last week, despite all indicators suggesting the vote would go the other way.
What will now follow will be a period of economic, political and constitutional uncertainty. This will surely manifest in volatile asset prices, particularly UK and European equities. The immediate policy response, and strong statement from the Bank of England Governor, has helped to calm nerves. At the time of writing, the FTSE100 has stabilised above 6,000 points, well ahead of the 12 month lows seen earlier in the year.
Despite the consensus prediction of a remain victory, we spent a lot of time over the last few months with our panel managers. We wanted to understand their positioning and also the immediate decisions they would take following either result. We were comforted with the robust contingency plans that they had in place, and also the steps they had already taken to mitigate the potential fall-out.
As an additional safeguard, our client portfolios are all well diversified, using the major asset classes and also with a wide geographical spread. This is a prudent approach for all market conditions, but particularly at times of higher market volatility.
All of our panel funds, bar two, are actively, rather than passively, managed. We find ourselves in a period where active fund management should prove particularly beneficial, as stock selection will be very important over the coming months.
In summary, our investment process puts our clients in a strong position and we feel that the best approach, for now, is to stick with the long-term investment plans already in place, and make no short-term decisions. This is a fluid situation, of course, so we will continue to monitor events very closely and we will contact you should we feel that alternative action is necessary. However if you have any concerns in the meantime, do not hesitate to contact us.


Good to be seen. Nice orange puddy cat you have there.
Hi I haven't been here in ages not much new with me. No new knives or anything. I'm pretty much house bound these days. I just thought i would pop in and say howdy.
I used to respect McCain but no more. Maybe he is getting senile?
The question should be rephrased. Possible phrase it as: do you believe in flying objects from outer space? I see planes every day. They are objects, they fly. I am not an expert on aviation so I so not know what they are.
A be late but happy BIRTHDAY!
Take fish oil pills avoid soda-pop, alcohol, bread & carbs. in general. And of couse no smoking.
There is something fishy about this story . . .
Happy New Year! So far nothing horrible has happened to me so I guess it's good.
I leave for awhile and this starts! Hmmmm well the Cat Dude is back!!
What happened to the 57 stars for each one of the states?
I don't post here as often as I used to but as you are asking I would say include Mr. Tryker.
I'm around. Haven't much to post these days (no new knives) so have'nt posted much.


The Big ol' Cooperative Art Piece Moves Forward!
Over a dozen (actually, the count is now at 15!) local artists are contributing to this piece. The only guide lines are that they do their thing on a 12″x12″ piece of wood that we provided, and that they use the idea of "Underground Garden" as their leaping off point. Adam wall (awesome blogger and woodworker) is going to assemble it all together. This wonder-to-behold will be unveiled at our CD release party at Audie's Olympic/Club Fred on Saturday, April 24th.
And what a party it will be!
Don't miss this chance to see this unique work from this group of local area artists.
Here's the complete list of artists: Teresa Flores, Shannon Johnson, Aileen Imperatrice, Ross Garcia, MyCow, Monica Geigle, David Gomez, Grayson Soenke, Abolino Bautista, Donnalee Dunn, Jamie Meadows. Ole Scovill, Ramiro Martinez, Ed Stewart and Adam Wall.
The Rogue Festival is over. The Underground Garden still needs exploring.
I count the talk-show Rogue Festival presentation: "The Underground Garden: scene-makers, tall-tales and Fresno rock 'n roll" as a success.
Sure there were some rough edges, and the 45 minute limitations of the show made us wish we had more time to visit with these folks, but as a teaser of things to come and a pointer towards what such a show could develop into, I think it worked.
2) to continue to explore and appreciate this metaphor of our local arts/music scene as an Underground Garden: a place where things can thrive, a place that is inter-connected, a place where new things can develop, a place that understands it's history yet moves toward the future—even if it is still, for the moment under-explored and under-appreciated.
*and the release party of our band's album The Underground Garden at Audie's Olympic Tavern (formerly Club Fred) on Saturday, April 24th.
—THIS show has more than a dozen *musical* guests slated to perform, as well as dancers, food, AND the debut of the above-mentioned art piece.
The Rogue Festival is Here!
But, in spite of my bad writing, it's true. In these 10 days of the Rogue Fest, it seems that the extreme concentration of performers and their creativity and the audience that's interested in such things just about breaks through to the general conciousness of our beloved sprawled-out town. For just a moment, we might skip our chain restaraunts and Hollywood blockbuster movies and see what kind of crazy thangs our neighbors and fellow Fresnans can dream up.
There's some posts below (yours for a scroll-down) about what's brewing in my own show. We launch the first episode tonight at Veni Vidi Vici at 7:30. This one concentrates on the local music scene of the 60′s and 70′s.
Come on out to the Rogue Festival! Bring a friend or two, and see what a deliriously delightful underground garden is blooming just under the surface of Central California.
Was it Ben Franklin, or was it Randolph Hearst or was it Johannes Genzfliesch zum Guttenburg that said "A newspaper unites a community"?
Music scenes are communities. Many small newspapers, zines and websites dedicated to Fresno music have risen up and disappeared over the years. In this episode, we talk to the people behind two of them: Gary Edwards (The Valley Music News [late 70's/early 80's]) and Josh Tehee (current editor at www.fresnofamous.com).
Bands need a place to play.
All three of these people are multi-faceted. Between them, they've written books, played in bands, ran record stores, ran rock clubs, organized music festivals, promoted gigs and fought fires.
Come to episode 2 of "The Underground Garden: scene-makers, tall-tales and Fresno rock n' roll" at 3:30 on Sunday, March 7th to hear their stories.


Increase the supply of affordable housing in Marin.
Marin is widely recognized as having one of the least affordable housing markets in the United States. With rents rising sharply, lower-wage earners face considerable challenges finding housing in Marin that's affordable and located close to work, school, and transportation. The high cost of housing leaves many families in Marin with less to spend on food, childcare, and health care, and less to invest in savings. Seniors are priced out of the neighborhoods in which they have spent their lives. Healthcare workers, farm workers, bank tellers, teachers, and many others cannot afford to live in the community where they work.
We will continue to focus our efforts on early phase investments to develop, rehabilitate, or preserve affordable housing stock. We will broker partnerships between funders, developers, and government to expand the supply of affordable housing. We will seek to leverage funding from both public and private sources for affordable housing projects. Finally, we will use the MCF Loan Fund as a way to provide financing options to nonprofits that may not be able to access or afford traditional commercial debt.
This initiative uses an invitation-only application process on an opportunistic basis. We encourage organizations with affordable housing projects in Marin to contact us in order to assess the opportunity for partnership.


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DEAD WHEN I FOUND HER to release fourth album, first vinyl, on ARTOFFACT RECORDS
Posted by Marc Urselli	New & Upcoming Releases
Dead When I Found Her to release Eyes on Backwards on vinyl, CD, and digital on November 4th.
Portland, Oregon-based Dead When I Found Her, the solo outlet of music producer Michael Arthur Holloway, will release the project's fourth album, Eyes on Backwards this Fall on Artoffact Records.
The album follow's 2015's incredible All the Way Down, which found its way on end of year lists, including album of the year on A Model of Control, and garnered Dead When I Found Her slots on every major English-language industrial music festival in 2016. The project has appeared in Canada at Terminus Festival, the UK at Infest, and this month will make its first appearance at Chicago's now sold out Cold Waves Festival.
Holloway was recently interviewed by the Cold Waves Soundcheck podcast, which can be streamed here.
Eyes on Backwards is a step away from the brooding, dense material of Dead When I Found Her's last album; here, Holloway is more direct, intense, and increasingly angry, eschewing the philosophical modes fans are used to. The album is also the first to appear on vinyl, including a beautifully designed splatter edition available on the band's Bandcamp.
1. Tantrum
2. The Big Reverse
3. Shining Path
4. Braille
5. High Anxiety
6. Unsolved History
7. Midlife Eclipse
8. The Pines
9. Serus Mundi
To coincide with the release of Eyes on Backwards, Dead When I Found Her will also reissue the project's first album, the hopelessly out of print Harm's Way. The reissue will arrive as a digipak CD on November 4th with two previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Aidan Casserly 'Incubus' new album Die Form – pre "Die Puppe" LP out soon
Patenbrigade: Wolff: After having survived the big crash of the German Celtic Circle Productions label 10 years ago with their previous music project The Dust Of Basement, two of the three members created and continued under the moniker Patenbrigade: Wolff. Initially started as a pure instrumental Elect...
Loss: I first heard Loss when he sent me a compilation track for the Zaftig Research Christmas compilation "Silver Bells," titled "That's Not A Candy Cane, Is It?" It was a great track, and he also sent along a copy of his 3" CD, "A Letter That Will Never Be Sent." I like 3" CDs because they don't req...
Agency-X: David and Lars live in differentcountries, they met few times and their will of producing fresh synthpopwon over computer crashes, jet lags, etc. They're already experiencedmusicians as David already produced a solo CD while Lars has beenplaying...
Brain Leisure: Old-school EBM and authentic Dark Electro is regaining ground, at least the responsible people behind the new label Electro Aggression Records/Vendetta-Music believe in this and release bands and projects offering sounds and ideals of the early 90ies, which doesn&...
Depressive Disorder: Lately we notice the arrival of some very talented Electro/Industrial acts hailing from the new member countries of the EU. The Czech Republic duo DEPRESSIVE DISORDER, consisting of Patrik Lev and Radim Cáp could earn some well deserved attention with their debut ...


They are extremely thorough, professional and responsive.
Espen Robak is President and founder of Pluris Valuation Advisors LLC and a nationally recognized expert on intellectual property and business valuation, restricted and illiquid securities, securities design, levels of value, and discounts for lack of liquidity. Pluris' practice includes portfolio valuations for investment funds and financial institutions, as well as a broad range of financial reporting and tax opinions for public and private companies. Mr. Robak is a frequent contributor to books and professional journals on valuation, accounting, and taxation topics and his commentary has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times, American Banker, Bloomberg, Absolute Return, and Accredited Investor, among others. He is a columnist for Wealth Strategies Journal and an editorial advisory board member for Trusts & Estates.
Mr. Robak's career has been focused on the valuation of, and research on, hard-to-value, illiquid, and distressed securities, primarily: structured finance, including auction-rate securities, restricted stock, warrants, convertible debentures, SPAC securities, and equity swap transactions. Mr. Robak has provided valuation services for portfolio valuation, stock-based compensation and other financial reporting purposes, transaction fairness, estate and gift tax, corporate and personal income tax, employee stock ownership plans, litigation support, and other purposes. Mr. Robak's business valuation experience also encompasses intangible assets and intellectual property valuations, assignments involving the allocation of value between several classes of stock, and the valuation of derivative and hybrid securities.
Prior to forming Pluris, Mr. Robak was Senior Vice President of FMV Opinions, a business valuation firm, and directed the firm's restricted stock and blockage discount practices, including directing The FMV Restricted Stock Study, a published database of private placement transactions, as well as several publications on private placements, restricted stock, and marketability discounts. Mr. Robak has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon.
"Committee Report: Valuations" Published in Trusts & Estates, November 2009.
"Fair Value Is Here To Stay" Published in CPA Journal, October 2009.
"Fair Value of Illiquid Securities: Are We There Yet?" Published in The Journal of Alternative Investments, Spring 2009.
"New Rule 144 – Lower Illiquidity Discounts and Another Boost for the PIPE Market?" Published in Valuation Strategies, November/December 2007.
"Litman Audacity" Published in Trusts & Estates, December, 2007.
"A "Fair Market" Approach to Valuing Stock Options" Published in Wealth Strategies Journal, October 2007.
"The Boards' Have Begun Finalizing FAS141R and IFRS 3" Published in BVR,August 2007.
""Best Guess' Valuations Are No Longer Good Enough" Published in Hedge Fund Manager Week, April 26, 2007.
"Restricted Securities And Illiquidity Discounts" Published in Trusts & Estates, February 2007.
"Lemons or Lemonade? A Fresh Look at Restricted Stock Discounts" Published in Valuation Strategies, January/February 2007.
"Discounts for Illiquid Shares and Warrants: The LiquiStat Database of Transactions on the Restricted Securities Trading Network" Pluris Valuation Advisors White Paper, January 22, 2007.
"Discounts for Lack of Marketability: Answering Your Latest Questions" Published in Business Valuation Update, December 2006.
"Marketability Discounts in Tax Valuations – The new LiquiStat database indicates significantly greater discounts should be taken" Published in BNA Tax Management, December 2006.
"Summary: Pluris Opens as Valuation Issues Gaining Spotlight" Published in The PIPEs Report, September 2006.
"Estate Planning and the Pending Deal: Lessons from the Merger Arbitrage Market." Published in the ACTEC Journal, Spring 2005, Vol. 31, No. 4, 338-343.
"Comparing the Characteristics and Performance of Private Equity Offering Firms with Seasoned Equity Offering Firms." Published in Journal of Economics and Management, 2005, Vol. 1, No. 1, 57-83.
"The Current State of Marketability Discounts." Published in the ACTEC Journal, Fall 2004, Vol. 30, No. 2, 125-131.
"Marketability Discounts: 4 Dimensions of Risk & Liquidity." Published in Business Valuation Update, July 2002.
"The Case of the Black-Box Model v. Empirical Data." Published in Valuation Strategies, July/August 2002.
"FMV Introduces Detailed Restricted Stock Study." Published in Business Valuation Update, November 2001.
"Marketability Discounts: A New Data Source." Published in Valuation Strategies, July/August 2001.
"Firm Characteristics, Liquidity, and the Pricing of Private Equity Issues" (with Shin-Herng Michelle Chu and George H. Lentz.) Working paper, Current.
"Son of Solomon: Tax Court Splits the Baby in DHL v. Commissioner." Published in Taxes: The Tax Magazine, September 1999.
"Lessons from Nestle v. Comm'r: Second Circuit Rejects Popular Trademark Valuation Method." Published in Journal of Corporate Taxation, Summer 1999.
Hedge 2010 – "New Thinking on Effectively Valuing Illiquid Assets" November 8-11, 2010.
Financial Research Associates – "Valuation of Hard to Value Securities Conference." March 22-23, 2010.
Financial Research Associates – "Valuation of Hard to Value Securities Conference." November 17-18, 2008.
Greenberg Traurig – "Distressed Investing Conference." November 14, 2008.
Dealflow Media – "PIPEs Conference 2008." November 12-13, 2008.
Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association – "Hedge Funds & Alternative Investments - Summit & Exposition." June 16, 2008.
Financial Technologies Forum – "Hedge Fund Operations & Technology." April 23, 2008.
Finance Leadership Exchange – "Valuing Auction-Rate Securities with Espen Robak." . March 25, 2008.
Financial Research Associates – "The 7th Annual Industry Summit on PIPEs." January 29-30, 2008.
Financial Research Associates – "Mark to Model or Mark to Market -- What Hedge Funds Should Know About FAS 157." November 27, 2007.
Hedge Fund Business Operations Association – "The 7th Annual Valuation of Hard-to-Value Securities and Portfolios - Mitigating Operational Risk Associated with the Valuation Process." November 15-16, 2007.
ASA 2007 Advanced BV Conference – "New Thinking on Discounts for Lack of Marketability." October 30, 2007.
Pension Governance – "Hedge Fund Webinar." June 28, 2007.
Financial Research Associates – "HTV Securities 101/102 Conference." July16, 2007.
Financial Research Associates Webinar – "PIPE Valuations – How do Issuers and Investors Make Determinations?" Online Panel Participant. February 23 2007.
National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, National Conference – "Discounts for Lack of Marketability." Half-day seminar. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, December 2005.
National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, Massachusetts Chapter – "Restricted Stock Studies and the DLOM." Full-day seminar. Boston, Massachusetts, September 2005.
American Society of Appraisers, San Francisco Chapter — "The FMV Restricted Stock Study." San Francisco, California, February 2002.
Various organizations — "Cheap Stock: Valuation of Early Stage Companies, Recent Trends and Issues." 1997 to 2005 (updated annually).
Various organizations — "The Current State of Discount Valuations: Is the IRS Gaining or Losing Ground?" 1998 to 2005 (updated annually).
Engaged to provide litigation support services in a lawsuit involving a $15 million block of restricted stock.
Engaged to provide litigation support services in a lawsuit involving $40 million of Auction Rate Securities.
Engaged to provide litigation support services in a lawsuit involving the valuation of stock options on thinly traded stock.
Engaged to provide litigation support services in a lawsuit involving the valuation of a significant block of restricted stock.
Engaged by the Department of Justice to provide litigation support services in a tax case involving more than $250 million in intellectual properties.
Engaged to provide litigation support services in a lawsuit involving the valuation of a significant block of restricted depository receipts on stock traded on the Euronext exchange.
Provided expert report for tax valuation case regarding marketability discounts on a 10 percent block of shares in an entertainment industry company.
Provided expert report for a lawsuit involving marketability discounts for a block of NYSE-traded shares of Singapore-domiciled company.
Engaged to provide valuation report and valuation testimony services in a lawsuit involving the valuation of software.
Named expert witness in a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court involving the valuation of a large block of stock in an Internet company.
Engaged by an Internet company to provide valuation report and valuation consulting services regarding damages for trademark infringement and dilution.
Named expert witness in a marital dissolution case involving the valuation of an operating business and provided valuation report for settlement purposes.
Engaged by taxpayer to provide valuation report and valuation consulting services regarding the fair market value of a $10 million lottery prize.


text:
Novooleksandrivka (;  – Novoalexandrovka) je sídlo městského typu v Luhanské oblasti na Ukrajině. Leží při ústí potoka Dovžyk do Velyké Kamjanky zhruba jedenáct kilometrů západně od Krasnodonu. V roce 2011 žilo v Novooleksandrivce přes šestnáct set obyvatel.

Dějiny
Osada vznikla v 17. století. Nejprve na místě budoucí Novooleksandrivky existovaly dvě malé rolnické osady: osady byly dva statky: Těpljanskij a Procykovo, které se ve druhé polovině 19. století sloučily do Novooleksadrivky. Na konci 19. století v osadě vznikly první uhelné doly.

Status sídla městského typu získala Novooleksandrivka v roce 1938.

V průběhu Velké vlastenecké války byla osada obsazena německými vojsky.

Od jara 2014 byla součástí samozvané Luhanské lidové republiky.

Reference

Sídla městského typu v Luhanské oblasti

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Sakuf Travel & Tours (Pvt) Ltd.
Govt. LIC # 3100 Sakuf Travel & Tours (Pvt.) Ltd. a leading Tour Company is a part of SAKUF Group which was established in 1988 in Pakistan & UK.
Companies in SAKUF Group are: Sakuf Foods, Sakuf Trading, Sakuf Rendezvous, Sakuf Homeware, Sakuf Homes, Sakuf Welfare.
Sakuf Travel & Tours (Pvt) Ltd are unique and fast growing Travel Company. Their main Travel Partners include an extensive number of established giants in the leisure industry across the globe. Their success today is a reflection of their long-standing values in providing superior customer service, innovation and our ability to source and provide value for money travel products to all their customers.
Their Airline Ticketing office is fully equipped with the latest Galileo & Abacus Reservation Systems, backed by a strong team of dedicated and experienced consultants.


There is increasing recognition that open technology is very well aligned to meeting the challenges organisations now face in delivering effective workplace learning.
Economic, societal and technological change is accelerating, which places more pressure on employees and other stakeholders to learn new skills and behaviours to maintain performance and productivity. As a consequence, effective workplace learning practices are becoming much more of a strategic differentiator for organisations across all sectors.
Those that recognise this are far more likely to be winners in their chosen markets.
"The way high-performing organisations operate today is radically different from how they operated 10 years ago. Yet many other organisations continue to operate according to industrial age models that are 100 years old or more, weighed down by legacy practices, systems and behaviours that must be confronted and discarded before true change can take hold.
"As organisations become more digital, they face a growing imperative to redesign themselves to move fast, [and] adapt more quickly." - Deloitte 2017 Global Human Capital Trends Report.
Learning management systems are abundant, but the marketplace is both confusing and frustrating for the buyer.
To respond with agility to accelerating and uncertain change requires a different approach to technology investment. Locked-down, long-term contracts may look like a good deal in the short term, but can in fact put the organisation into strategic straitjacket.
Organisations are waking up to the fact that current procurement practices are not delivering the returns expected. Business needs change faster than the time taken to complete an implementation. Rigid, long-term contracts then mean being locked into functionality that no longer matches the needs of the organisation.
The solution is abandoned and the costly cycle starts again. This is at the heart of many organisations' dissatisfaction with technology systems, but particularly with their LMS.
"A clear shift in procurement focus towards innovation and value requires an acceleration in the pace of change, especially in leadership, talent and innovation." - The Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 2018, Deloitte.
Learning management systems are abundant, but the marketplace is both confusing and frustrating for the buyer. There is very little clarity on how features, pricing models and contracting practices align to meet any one organisation's needs.
Many platform offers are either too narrow, too broad, too expensive or too inflexible. Combined with the persuasive tactics and unsubstantiated hype of many established software vendors, this typically leads to procurement failure.
Organisations should be empowered rather than beholden to technology vendors.
Open technology, on the other hand, keeps control within the hands of the organisation rather than the vendor. I have characterised this as four freedoms: the freedom to innovate, the freedom of choice and the freedom to save, which culminates in the freedom to learn and relearn in line with the needs of the business.
The freedom to innovate means being able to create and configure your learning platform without compromise.
The freedom of choice recognises that 'no one size fits all'.
The freedom to save arises when adopting open technology results in dramatically lower Total Costs of Ownership - as much as 80% in many cases.
The freedom to innovate, the freedom of choice and the freedom to save all combine to offer a fourth freedom: the freedom to learn. Organisations should be empowered rather than beholden to technology vendors. You are free to implement solutions that are flexible, adaptable and responsive.
Which means you can deliver effective and engaging learning experiences to all your stakeholders, whether they be employees, extended enterprise learners, or increasingly your customers (customer education is the new marketing).
For more on how the learning technology landscape is changing, download the full Four Freedoms ebook here.
An audio interview with Lars will be up on the TJ Soundcloud page later this week. Subscribe here.
Lars Hyland is chief learning officer of Totara.


text:
Q: Shading regions of a contour plot with values above/below a certain value I have the following contour plot
Mpl = 1.22*10^(19)
Tplot = ContourPlot[Log10[0.5 1/(100)^(1/8) Sqrt[Mpl 10^x] (y)^(6/8)Exp[-(y)^3 1/8]],
{x, -6, 16}, {y, 1, 10}, PlotLegends -> Automatic, FrameLabel -> {"x", "y"}]

I would like to shade the regions of contours corresponding to values (for simplicity) > 10 and < -10. (The idea is that those regions are not allowed). I feel like there should be an easy way of doing this. The idea is as below

A: Mathematica 12.1 has HatchFilling :
Mpl = 1.22*10^(19)
ContourPlot[
 Log10[0.5 1/(100)^(1/8) Sqrt[
    Mpl 10^x] (y)^(6/8) Exp[-(y)^3 1/8]], {x, -6, 16}, {y, 1, 10}
 , PlotLegends -> Automatic
 , FrameLabel -> {"x", "y"}
 , ClippingStyle -> {HatchFilling[]}
 , PlotRange -> {Automatic, Automatic, {-10, 10}}]

It can be superposed with the original plot :
 Mpl = 1.22*10^(19)
 Show[ContourPlot[
  Log10[0.5 1/(100)^(1/8) Sqrt[
     Mpl 10^x] (y)^(6/8) Exp[-(y)^3 1/8]], {x, -6, 16}, {y, 1, 10},
  FrameLabel -> {"x", "y"}, PlotLegends -> Automatic],
 ContourPlot[
  Log10[0.5 1/(100)^(1/8) Sqrt[
     Mpl 10^x] (y)^(6/8) Exp[-(y)^3 1/8]], {x, -6, 16}, {y, 1, 10}(*,
  PlotLegends\[Rule]Automatic*),(*FrameLabel\[Rule]{"x","y"},*)
  ClippingStyle -> {HatchFilling[]},
  PlotRange -> {Automatic, Automatic, {-10, 10}},
  RegionFunction -> Function[{x, y, z}, z < -10 || z > 10]]]


text:
PurMinds believes psychedelics hold promise for neurological conditions
In an increasingly competitive field, PurMinds is focusing on exploring psychedelics' potential to treat neurodegenerative disorders.
By Brian Buntz | August 6, 2021
Interest in psychedelics has ratched up in recent years and a growing number of drug companies are beginning to explore their potential to treat everything from depression to neurodegeneration.
"It is a really really exciting time," said Aron Buchman, chief strategy officer, PurMinds BioPharma, which is exploring psychedelics' potential to treat neurological diseases.
American author Michael Pollan recently surmised in an interview with Independent that the psychedelics industry was in a "gold rush" phase. "Whether it's going to work is another question. I think it's going to be very challenging to fit into the system," Pollan added.
Headquartered in North York, Ontario, PurMinds is based in a country that is warming up to the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. The Canadian government has granted a number of patients a federal dispensation covering the therapeutic use of psychedelics.
Canada was also "at the forefront of the whole cannabis initiative," Buchman said. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, initiating a transition from a deregulated environment concerning the plant to a regulated one.
There are lessons to draw from that transition, Buchman said, but adds that "psychedelics is a completely different field."
Compared with cannabis, psychedelics arguably up the stakes in terms of their potential therapeutic potential and pitfalls. In the positive column, they promise to treat disorders ranging from addiction to chronic pain to PTSD and depression. But a laissez-faire approach to psychedelic regulation comes with toxicity risks. Excessive doses of psilocybin, however, can lead to proverbial "bad trips," vomiting and even more significant problems such as seizures or coma.
Maximizing the benefits of psychedelics depends on delivering precise doses of standardized psychedelic therapies, Buchman explained. PurMinds is thus focused on standardized and uniform compounds.
When developing therapeutic psychedelics, it is vital to take "guesswork" out of the equation. "We really support stable pharma-grade compounds that are research-and-development oriented," Buchman said.
PurMinds has decided to focus on neurological applications of psychedelics given the high unmet need in the field. "We feel that we'll find at least a glimmer of hope in addressing neurodegenerative disorders, whether it's Alzheimer's or Parkinson's," Buchman said. "I think that neurodegeneration, over the next 50 years, is going to become a huge, huge issue."
Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Neurological Disease
Tagged With: Alzheimer's, cannabis, depression, neurodegeneration, neurological conditions, Parkinson's, psychedelics, PTSD, PurMinds
Brian Buntz
The pharma and biotech editor of WTWH Media, Brian is a veteran journalist with more than 15 years of experience covering an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, drug discovery and development and medical devices. Before coming to WTWH, he served as content director focused on connected devices at Informa. In addition, Brian covered the medical device sector for 10 years at UBM. At Qmed, he overhauled the brand's news coverage and helped to grow the site's traffic volume dramatically. He had previously held managing editor roles on two of the company's medical device technology publications. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email at [email protected]


text:
Disinformation Disorientation
This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality. By Peter Pomerantsev. New York: PublicAffairs, 2019. 236 pp.
If one word defines our contemporary information environment, it is disorientation. Our exposure to information continues to grow, and with it, our confusion. Peter Pomerantsev uses his family's story as a backdrop to trace how the digital information age has overturned assumptions that more information and digital connectivity will empower citizens and give them an edge over repressive forces. He begins with his family's flight from the Soviet Union to England in the late 1970s, a time when information abundance was seen as an empowering force. He then moves through his experiences watching the post-truth era first take hold in Russia and then push outward into the democratic world.
The vignettes in this book show with disturbing clarity how a range of actors manipulate the online information space to distort reality, spread extremism, undermine democratic institutions, empower authoritarians, and upend free societies. Brave journalists and activists such as Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Srdja Popoviæ from Serbia tell the tale, but so do figures such as the Austrian ethnonationalist Martin Sellner, the psychological-manipulation expert and founder of Cambridge Analytica's parent company Nigel Oakes, and the Russian internet strategist Igor Ashmanov. We also hear from those who have been on both sides of the information war: Lyudmila Savchuk infiltrated and then exposed the "troll farm" of Russia's Internet Research Agency; Rashad Ali, who was once a revolutionary extremist with Hizb ut-Tahrir, now works as a [End Page 203] counterradicalization expert. Pomerantsev's stories underscore that this problem is not confined to the online space—this distorted reality carries over into the physical world, dislocating identity and sowing confusion at the individual, political, and societal levels.
Laura Rosenberger is director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. She serves with Peter Pomerantsev on the Transatlantic High Level Working Group on Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression.
View all work by Laura Rosenberger
Today, democratic policy makers around the world are wrestling with concerns about disinformation, online radicalization, and hate speech. But discussions of these problems are too often reductionist, framing the issue of information manipulation as a tactical one driven by conspiracy theories, false content, or divisive narratives. Pomerantsev refreshingly acknowledges the depth and complexity of the challenge. As he explains, "It is not that one online account changes someone's mind; it's that en masse they create an ersatz normality" (p. 58). The contest for the digital information space is strategic, not tactical—and requires new frameworks both to understand it and to address the challenges to democracy that come with it.
Reviewing the evolution of the information space from Soviet times to the present, Pomerantsev explains how today's information operations are different from those of the past. The core difference, he argues, is that ideology is no longer a guiding force. Rather, information war itself has become the goal, with ideology just a tactical and flexible instrument employed in battle. This means that the idea of truth itself has become a target. Pomerantsev recounts his father's time working for the BBC World Service after fleeing Soviet Ukraine, when he used impartial information to pierce the veil of the Iron Curtain. While Russia at that time attacked the idea that the BBC was impartial, today they attack "the very idea that there is such a thing as impartiality" (p. 121). When winning the battle of ideas is no longer the objective, and truth is an object of attack, disorientation becomes the defining characteristic of the information environment.
The role of data in today's information ecosystem has also changed the nature of the challenge. During the Cold War, "extreme individualism" was often equated with citizen empowerment. Today's media environment, however, not only facilitates wholly new and unlimited forms of self-expression, but that expression is now translated into data. As the amount of data about us grows exponentially, it is being collected and fed into a digital information ecosystem that silos and invisibly shapes our information reality. Pomerantsev argues that "this is the potential nightmare of the new media: the idea that our data might know more about us than we do, and that this is then being used to influence us without our knowledge" (p. 183). This will become even more problematic as the number of connected devices in our lives grows, and as surveillance technology becomes more prevalent.
Pomerantsev discusses numerous ways in which the online information space affects democracy. An especially important dimension has to do with the complex impact of digital information on activism. Activists [End Page 204] are newly empowered, but so are those who seek to suppress them. Alberto Escorcia is a Mexican graphic designer who became an online transparency activist in 2009, when he caught his country's government trying to shield itself from blame by lying about the origin and severity of a swine-flu outbreak. He views protests analytically through an online prism as "little throbbing lines and dots" on a screen, setting aside an older concept of activism epitomized by "images of passionate people, slogans, speeches, stories, history" (p. 53). This digital worldview not only creates new ways of organizing, but also changes the nature of democratic movements themselves, separating them from democratic institutions that anchored them in the past.
Authoritarian regimes, however, can also use this new activism for their own ends. Pomerantsev looks at how Russia has created its own protests using these tools, often harnessing nationalism to mobilize individuals to attack democratic institutions and to subvert the rights of others. While many academics focus on measuring the impact of Russia's information operations targeting the 2016 U.S. election, Pomerantsev suggests the need to look more broadly at the impact of these tactics on democratic societies. The digital world's weakening of the physical connection of movements has both changed the nature of activism and created new opportunities for authoritarians to target democratic movements, including by hijacking existing protests for authoritarian ends. He argues that over time the "very notion of genuine protest starts to be eroded, making it easier for the Kremlin to argue that all protests everywhere are just covert foreign influence operations" (p. 64).
This is not a merely theoretical concern. In the United States, Russian information operations hijacked the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, creating fake BLM groups on Facebook and other social-media platforms and using legitimate concerns about police brutality and criminal justice as a way to suppress the black vote. In France, evidence that Russian information agitators were exploiting the Yellow Vest movement to fan the flames of division and undermine President Emmanuel Macron allowed some to dismiss the entire movement as Russian-supported and therefore illegitimate. The accusation of being a "Russian bot" is now thrown around online to discredit voices on the opposing side of issues.
Looking to the future, Pomerantsev briefly examines the information environment in China and the efforts of Chinese activists to pierce the regime's infamous Great Firewall. His discussion of the party-state's information control just scratches the surface of this looming and unique challenge. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directly spoken about the [End Page 205] importance of "discourse power"—shaping narratives to "tell China's story well," making coherence and in some cases ideology a larger part of Beijing's information-manipulation strategy. Analysts and policy makers in the democratic world need to develop a deeper understanding of China's strategy and tactics, as well as how they differ from Russia's.
Just as Pomerantsev embraces the complexity of the challenge of digital information manipulation, he declines to provide simplistic solutions. Noting some recommendations, Pomerantsev suggests that democracies work to protect against coordinated disinformation campaigns and to secure privacy. Interestingly, he also proposes that users "have a stake in the decision-making process through which the information all around us becomes shaped, with public input into the internet companies who currently lord over how we perceive the world in darkness" (p. 187). Providing users with more transparency and context to understand the algorithms that recommend content is a common and important recommendation for countering information manipulation. Yet, one senses that Pomerantsev is thinking beyond that, and I hope he will develop this idea in future work.
His analysis implicitly challenges the idea that democratic governments simply need to produce their own narratives, an approach that would be insufficient to the complexity of the challenge. And he explicitly argues that controlling content in response is a harmful approach that would play into the hands of democracy's opponents. Fighting fire with fire, he argues, is not the answer. This is the critical paradox of fighting information warfare. Pomerantsev cites the example of activists in Ukraine who have adopted the Kremlin's tactics to fight them, only to find themselves often bolstering the Kremlin narrative. The danger is that, "if all information is seen as part of a war, out go any dreams of a global information space where ideas flow freely, bolstering deliberative democracy. Instead, the best future one can hope for is an 'information peace' in which each side respects the other's information sovereignty: a favored concept of both Beijing and Moscow, and essentially a cover for censorship" (p. 85).
This leads Pomerantsev to his book's most important question: "How can one fight an information war where the most dangerous part could be the idea of information war itself?" (p. 86). This is the conversation policy makers and strategists need to be having. At present, policy debates are mired in narrow, tactical discussions that are often shaped by partisan politics. Worse, democracies find themselves fighting on a battlefield defined by authoritarians. A focus on control and manipulation dominates this space, creating an ethos fundamentally at odds with democratic institutions and values.
With data and information abundance creating new domains for competition, it is essential that democracies engage in this contest to ensure that the information space remains on a democratic trajectory. But how do democracies do so in a way that does not degrade the very space we [End Page 206] seek to defend? Pomerantsev does not pretend to have all the answers, but he has done an important service by raising and clarifying this question.
Digital technology, Media, Social media
Comparative Theoretical General
Social Media Disruption: Messaging Mistrust in Latin America
Noam Lupu
Mariana V. Ramírez Bustamante
Elizabeth J. Zechmeister
In Latin America, greater exposure to social media—and the digital misinformation that comes with it—seems to be bolstering prodemocratic attitudes even as it fuels public distrust in democratic institutions.
The Cutting Edge of Sharp Power
Shanthi Kalathil
Jessica Ludwig
Democratic societies must address the spread of technology developed in authoritarian settings while continuing to uphold democratic norms.
Digital Propaganda: The Power of Influencers
Samuel C. Woolley
Swarms of "nano-influencers," are rapidly reshaping social-media propaganda campaigns, upending political discourse in democracies around the world.


text:
Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency
Richard L. Seither, Olen R. Brown
The herbicide paraquat and the antibiotic nitrofurantoin (redox-active compounds that can transfer electrons singly to oxygen) induced intracellular accumulation of the regulatory inhibitor guanosine tetraphosphate (stringency) in Escherichia coli. This mechanism is sufficient to account for the rapid bacteristasis produced in minimal medium by these agents. The growth inhibition and stringency induction were prevented by inclusion of specific amino acids in the medium. Stringency was first reported to result from amino acid starvation, with unloaded transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNAs) acting as the trigger. Previously, inhibition of growth of E. coli by paraquat and hyperbaric oxygen were shown to be prevented by inclusion in the medium of a nearly identical profile of specific amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids, which were required because of poisoning of their biosynthesis at the dihydroxyacid dehydratase site, and stringency has been induced by hyperbaric oxygen poisoning. Thus, stringency induction via a common poisoned site in branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis appears to be a shared mechanism of toxicity for these agents and hyperbaric oxygen, which also share the propensity for one-electron-transfer, free-radical reactions in cells.
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Nitrofurantoin Medicine & Life Sciences
Escherichia Medicine & Life Sciences
Paraquat Medicine & Life Sciences
Amino acids Engineering & Materials Science
Biosynthesis Chemical Compounds
Branched Chain Amino Acids Medicine & Life Sciences
Seither, R. L., & Brown, O. R. (1984). Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 14(5-6), 763-771. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287398409530625
Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency. / Seither, Richard L.; Brown, Olen R.
In: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Vol. 14, No. 5-6, 01.01.1984, p. 763-771.
Seither, RL & Brown, OR 1984, 'Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency', Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, vol. 14, no. 5-6, pp. 763-771. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287398409530625
Seither RL, Brown OR. Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. 1984 Jan 1;14(5-6):763-771. https://doi.org/10.1080/15287398409530625
Seither, Richard L. ; Brown, Olen R. / Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency. In: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. 1984 ; Vol. 14, No. 5-6. pp. 763-771.
@article{6cb09b65180c488885a96c88705a05a3,
title = "Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency",
abstract = "The herbicide paraquat and the antibiotic nitrofurantoin (redox-active compounds that can transfer electrons singly to oxygen) induced intracellular accumulation of the regulatory inhibitor guanosine tetraphosphate (stringency) in Escherichia coli. This mechanism is sufficient to account for the rapid bacteristasis produced in minimal medium by these agents. The growth inhibition and stringency induction were prevented by inclusion of specific amino acids in the medium. Stringency was first reported to result from amino acid starvation, with unloaded transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNAs) acting as the trigger. Previously, inhibition of growth of E. coli by paraquat and hyperbaric oxygen were shown to be prevented by inclusion in the medium of a nearly identical profile of specific amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids, which were required because of poisoning of their biosynthesis at the dihydroxyacid dehydratase site, and stringency has been induced by hyperbaric oxygen poisoning. Thus, stringency induction via a common poisoned site in branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis appears to be a shared mechanism of toxicity for these agents and hyperbaric oxygen, which also share the propensity for one-electron-transfer, free-radical reactions in cells.",
author = "Seither, {Richard L.} and Brown, {Olen R.}",
journal = "Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A: Current Issues",
T1 - Paraquat and nitrofurantoin inhibit growth of escherichia col! by inducing stringency
AU - Seither, Richard L.
AU - Brown, Olen R.
N2 - The herbicide paraquat and the antibiotic nitrofurantoin (redox-active compounds that can transfer electrons singly to oxygen) induced intracellular accumulation of the regulatory inhibitor guanosine tetraphosphate (stringency) in Escherichia coli. This mechanism is sufficient to account for the rapid bacteristasis produced in minimal medium by these agents. The growth inhibition and stringency induction were prevented by inclusion of specific amino acids in the medium. Stringency was first reported to result from amino acid starvation, with unloaded transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNAs) acting as the trigger. Previously, inhibition of growth of E. coli by paraquat and hyperbaric oxygen were shown to be prevented by inclusion in the medium of a nearly identical profile of specific amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids, which were required because of poisoning of their biosynthesis at the dihydroxyacid dehydratase site, and stringency has been induced by hyperbaric oxygen poisoning. Thus, stringency induction via a common poisoned site in branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis appears to be a shared mechanism of toxicity for these agents and hyperbaric oxygen, which also share the propensity for one-electron-transfer, free-radical reactions in cells.
AB - The herbicide paraquat and the antibiotic nitrofurantoin (redox-active compounds that can transfer electrons singly to oxygen) induced intracellular accumulation of the regulatory inhibitor guanosine tetraphosphate (stringency) in Escherichia coli. This mechanism is sufficient to account for the rapid bacteristasis produced in minimal medium by these agents. The growth inhibition and stringency induction were prevented by inclusion of specific amino acids in the medium. Stringency was first reported to result from amino acid starvation, with unloaded transfer ribonucleic acids (tRNAs) acting as the trigger. Previously, inhibition of growth of E. coli by paraquat and hyperbaric oxygen were shown to be prevented by inclusion in the medium of a nearly identical profile of specific amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids, which were required because of poisoning of their biosynthesis at the dihydroxyacid dehydratase site, and stringency has been induced by hyperbaric oxygen poisoning. Thus, stringency induction via a common poisoned site in branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis appears to be a shared mechanism of toxicity for these agents and hyperbaric oxygen, which also share the propensity for one-electron-transfer, free-radical reactions in cells.
JO - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A: Current Issues
JF - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A: Current Issues


Yesterday (February 12) Tom attended the British Academy Film Awards. Big congrats to Tom for winning his category, very well deserved! I added close to 100 high-quality pictures of Tom at the event! Big thanks to my friend Neide and Stephanie for the pictures!


text:
Home » 'Use by…,' 'Best before…,' confusion causes 10% of food waste in the EU
Manufacturing NewsFood SafetyLatest headlines
'Use by…,' 'Best before…,' confusion causes 10% of food waste in the EU
The problem of date stamps in the EU is just as much of a problem as in the US, even though there are only two date stamp choices in the EU.
Factors favoring the application of "use by" date marks over "best before" date marks—though producers often use "use by" dates for food safety reasons. Source: European Commission.
Wayne Labs
KEYWORDS food loss and waste / labeling / Supply Chain
A recent study on date stamping shows that confusion over date marking and other food label information contributes to as much as 10 percent of the annual 88 million tonnes (97 US tons) of food waste in the European Union across all sectors—from manufacturing to the consumer—and everything in between on the supply chain.
The study, "Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention," was prepared for the European Commission by ICF in association with Anthesis, Brook Lyndhurst and WRAP.
In the EU, the "Food Information to Consumers" regulation requires that most pre-packaged foods display a date mark and accompanying wording that explains whether the date signals a threshold in the product's safety ("use by") or its quality ("best before").
The date mark is intended for use by consumers, but also informs food chain operations such as retailers' inventory management and food redistribution systems.
The study includes main food categories contributing to food waste, which include fruit and vegetables, bakery products, meat (including fish and poultry) and dairy products. Of these categories, the study suggests that any proposals to reduce food waste should focus on labeling practices on the food types for which the consumer decision to discard is likely to be informed by reading the on-package date label.
The greatest areas of opportunities for cutting waste due to date marking include yogurt, fresh juices, chilled meat and fish.
For other products, consumer decisions on whether to discard are more likely to be based on visual cues that indicate a decline in product quality and palatability.
The market survey also found variation in date marking practices within product types and among member EU states.
Of the 10 product types sampled for this study, only sauce, sliced bread and fresh juice had predominantly the same type of date mark in all eight member states surveyed.
The other product types tended to display a "use by" date stamp in some countries, and a "best before" in other countries. And, there wasn't necessarily any consistency in "use by" or "best before" date marks in otherwise identical products manufactured by international brands from one EU member state to the next.
The report also found there was wide variation in the storage and open-life advice found on the same type of product.
The study recommendations call for the production of technical guidance for food businesses on how to:
Determine shelf life
Choose between "use by" and "best before" date marks
Specify storage advice and open-life instructions
Examine opportunities for possible extension of product life.
The study also calls for specific action by food producers to remedy the problem of illegible labels. This includes poorly stamped labels, distorted print, wrongly placed labels, etc.
To read the study in its entirety, visit the EU Publications Web site and download the "Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and waste prevention."
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Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE's Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE's Engineering R&D section.
Another look at food loss and waste in the supply chain
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Newport Cycle Speedway Club would like to send condolences to Brian's family and all at Exeter CSC. Brian was a huge influence on the sport's junior league in our region.
He will be missed by all that had the pleasure of meeting him.


Decorate with Bright, totally submersible and water resistant LED Lights…anywhere! These LED submersible lights are reusable and waterproof and are therefore perfect for lighting up vases, bowls, or any water filled containers. These are great submersible lights for centerpieces. They also make great party favors. These lights can be used in or out of water!
– Can be turned on and off for over 36 hours of light!
Submersible LED Lights are completely waterproof and will sink in water. They do not float. To turn submersible light ON, simply twist the base of the unit CLOCKWISE. To turn submersible light OFF, simply twist the base of the unit COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. The battery life of the lighting unit is 36 to 48 hours. It has a 2 year shelf life with fresh batteries. The light is steady, not flickering. The plastic housing is clear and not the color of the light until it's turned on. Safe indoor and outdoor lighting.


After seven weeks in New Zealand, Flemming and I returned to Singapore in early December, to the brand new Downtown Line on the MRT (metro) system. The best part? There's a station right down the road from home. A five minute stroll from Mum's front door, and I main-line it into the country's urban heart, with a minimum of interruption and cross-over.
Driverless trains sweep into swanky new underground stations anchoring a vast web of tunnels. We've come a long way from the 30 year old lines that run overground on elevated tracks, giving passengers a lofty view of the city rushing by. We're now cushioned from the world above, plugged into our pocket worlds and chilled until we're ready to be poured into the rapid glitter of Singapore.
I've been making pictures of course, much like the ones in this post.
But I am not as prolific with the camera these days. Despite my best efforts, I'm unnerved by the uber surveillance that is slowly making its way all over the island. Little round CCTV globes are spread all over the ceilings of tunnels, train platforms, and entrances in close grids. Outside stations, they sprout in bouquets of steel.
If it hasn't already been for a while, I'm sure my presence is now flagged in some national security register.
I continue to make pictures in stations, and trains, attempting to remain undeterred for the particular beauty of transit. But it's hard to shake the sense of being continuously watched, and that HAL will decide some day that continued photography is wrong.
Photography is contentious these days, when we're so aware – consciously or otherwise – and disturbed by imagery's power in our private lives. There is some irony in this, and perhaps a lesson for the photographer. Whatever else the surveillance does, it keeps me thinking. And it's hard not to, knowing that each person sucked into the field of that artificial eye's view, is only valid as a risk assessment – Terminator style, I imagine, with traveling rows of vital statistics – nothing more, nothing less. Humanity must be measured to be managed.
Some fantastic photos here Charlene! Please tell me you were actually on the train and not the tracks when you took the tunnel ones!!! The second of the two platform reflections and the two tunnel ones are my favourites out of a beautiful set. The colours in those are beautiful, as is the sense of movement in the last one. Hoping we are never prevented from turning our surroundings into photographic art.
Thanks Ish! Heh, don't worry, I was definitely in the train when taking those tunnel photos.
I get that transit nodes are high risk areas, but I too hope we are never prevented from considering our surroundings artistically ever.
Great set – hope this turns into a book at some point in the space time continuum.
I keep meaning to make one at some point. I really need to get around to it one of these days….
Great article and photos Charlene!


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text:
Q: Clearing ::usage message After having assigned the usage message to f using
ClearAll@f;
f::usage=ToString@RandomInteger@{10^10,10^11};

the mouseover message is stuck at the first assignment while ?f shows the freshest usage message.
How to clear and reassign the usage message so even mouseover is updated?

Env:
Mathematica 12.0 on Win10

A: It seems one can use the following to force the front-end to update the usage templates (starting in version 12.0):
FE`CacheTemplateAndUsage["f"]

Please note that the front-end will not update the templates even if you set a new usage message. Simply call the above again to force the update once again.


text:
Los Amigos de Mazarron June 2021
Team v UCAM Murcia -B
Mazarrón FC's season ended in a disappointing fashion when they failed to progress to the second and final stage of the Play-Offs. Having qualified to play in the group for teams that finished in 4th, 5th and 6th places in the two groups, they lost four of their first five play-off games and, with just one game remaining, looked destined to finish bottom of their group. This means that they will continue to play in the Tercera Division next season.
Manager Kenny
Mazarrón missed a number of chances to win some of their games, coming back from 2-0 down against UD Los Garres, only to lose in added time. A 2-1 home win against a strong UCAM Murcia 'B' side raised hopes, but the following week Mazarrón were defeated 2-1 at CD Bullense in a game they should have won easily and which saw their Manager 'Kenny' sent off after an unsavoury touchline incident.
In the return game at home to Los Garres, Mazarrón totally dominated play, but somehow conspired to lose the game 2-1 after missing chance after chance. With further progression now almost impossible, Mazarrón took the lead in the away game at UCAM Murcia and led with 20 minutes remaining, but totally fell to pieces and conceded four goals in the closing stages.
It was a disappointing season and the new squad never reached the heights of the previous year which saw Mazarrón reach the Play-Off Semi-Final. Goalscoring was hard to come by with Chiky Ardil top scoring with seven goals and Omar next with just five at the time of writing. These two, along with goalkeeper Emilio, right back Josema, central defender Simpara and local lad Diego were the pick of the players. It will be interesting to see who will remain next season.
By contrast, the Mazarrón ladies' team, Mazarrón Feminas, are having a fantastic first season. At the time of writing they are unbeaten and are nine points clear of the second placed team at the top of the league. They have a record of P13/W12/D1/L0/F63/A10 Pts 37. Their leading scorers are Cindy with 17, Almudena with 16 and Miriam with 15.
A number of Los Amigos Supporters had a meal at La Sienna Restaurant at the final home game of the season against CD Bullense. Members and friends went to the Bar and Restaurant Velasco in Mazarrón on 18th May for an end-of-season meal. Numbers were limited to 30 because of COVID-19 regulations and a coach was provided so that members could enjoy a drink or two in typical Los Amigos fashion!!
As restrictions are gradually being lifted Los Amigos are arranging a Table Top Quiz Night (max 6 per table) at The Diner, Camposol B on 1st June – 6pm start. 6€ per head and everyone is welcome, so please invite your friends.
Food to be served from 6.15pm:
Scampi and Chips
Steak Pie with Chips and gravy
Quiche and Salad
Southern Fried Chicken with Salad and Coleslaw
Vegetable & Bean Enchilada with Chips
To book please email social4losamigos@gmail.com
Please state the number of people/names/food choices.
Los Amigos membership renewals will be accepted from 1st August. Membership is 20€ and includes discounts on all Los Amigos activities for the member and a partner. Our Thursday weekly meetings at the Golf Club, Camposol (4 pm) will resume as soon as it is possible. Please email stevebarrow01@gmail.com for a membership form.
Hopefully the AGM will be held in mid-June. This has been delayed for almost 12 months because of COVID. The venue and numbers able to attend will depend on the latest restrictions, but details will be announced on Facebook fb.me/mazarron2016 and Los Amigos members will be notified by email. Business will include the adoption of the annual accounts and the appointment of President and Vice President and re-election of officers to the Executive Committee. Only current Los Amigos members will be allowed to attend.
John Beresford MBE
The twice postponed Golf Day and 11th Gala Dinner has been arranged for March next year. The Celebrity Golf Competition will be on Monday 28th March 2022 at Camposol Club de Golf. The Gala Dinner will be held on Tuesday 29th March at Hotel la Cumbre, Puerto de Mazarrón. MC Gary Marshall, comedian Lea Roberts and ex-footballer John Beresford have all confirmed that they will be available again. Musical entertainment will be provided by the fabulous Woody. Tickets will be re-issued to those who have already purchased them. Anyone wishing to have a refund should email salterkb@hotmail.com. An announcement of when the new tickets are available for sale will be made in our next issue and on our Facebook page.
Los Amigos de Mazarron May 2021
Los Amigos de Mazarron July 2021
Los Amigos de Mazarrón
Los Amigos de Mazarron December 2022
Los Amigos de Mazarron November 2022
Los Amigos de Mazarron FC October 2022


Dreaming of a fireplace but think it's beyond your budget? Masonry wood fireplaces are majestic and beautiful but costly to build, inefficient and difficult to add after initial home construction. However there are economical and efficient alternatives available today that are relatively quick and easy to install almost anywhere.
Typical masonry wood fireplaces need a proper foundation to carry their weight, making them difficult to add after initial home construction. Zero-clearance fireplaces are much lighter in weight, not needing any special foundation, allowing placement almost anywhere, at anytime. Finishes can go beyond brick or stone to include contemporary plaster, tile, or cultured stone.
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These prefabricated zero clearance wood burning fireplaces are built to the same heating standards as an air tight woodstove, meaning you get the same heating output with more aesthetic appeal. Wood burning zero clearance fireplaces all have glass doors to keep the cold out when not in use, and improve burn times. Wood burning zero clearance fireplaces are engineered to meet the latest emissions ratings, meaning less smoke and more heat from the same load of wood. Most are now airtight also, with secondary burn to keep the glass doors clean just like a wood stove. Some have heat dump capabilities to move excess heat to harder to reach areas like the basement or adjacent rooms.
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