What is the role of HER2-specific antibody immunity in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer receiving chemotherapy plus trastuzumab?
Correspondence to: Matteo Lambertini, MD. Institut Jules Bordet and Université Libre de Bruxelles (U.L.B.), Boulevard de Waterloo 121, 1000 – Brussels, Belgium. Email: matteo.lambertini85@gmail.com.
Comment on: Norton N, Fox N, McCarl CA, et al. Generation of HER2-specific antibody immunity during trastuzumab adjuvant therapy associates with reduced relapse in resected HER2 breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res 2018;20:52.
Submitted Sep 04, 2018. Accepted for publication Sep 11, 2018.
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women worldwide and the leading cause of cancer death in many countries (1). In around 20% to 25% of breast cancer cases, there is an overexpression of HER2 or an amplification of its gene (HER2-positive subtype); HER2 is a transmembrane receptor implicated in tumor replication, invasion and dissemination (2). HER2-positive breast cancer is characterized by a worse prognosis, aggressive disease, higher mitotic index, worse nuclear grade and lymph nodes positivity (3).
The anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab inhibits proliferation and induces death via intracellular or extracellular mechanisms by targeting HER2-positive cells and inducing receptor internalization and degradation (4). Trastuzumab was the first approved targeted therapy against HER2-positive breast cancer. In the early stage, results from several trials suggested improved survival outcomes when adjuvant trastuzumab was added to chemotherapy with 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) exceeding 80% and 90%, respectively (5). More recently, pertuzumab has been also approved in the adjuvant setting. Pertuzumab is an anti-HER2 antibody with complementary mechanism of action to that of trastuzumab (6); this monoclonal antibody acts by preventing the dimerization of HER2 with HER3 (7). Dual anti-HER2 blockade with trastuzumab plus pertuzumab has proved to be a successful strategy also in the adjuvant setting leading to a 3-year DFS rate of 94.1% (8).
Despite the survival advantage associated with the addition of trastuzumab to the treatment of early breast cancer, a not negligible proportion of patients develop disease relapse. With the recent approval of pertuzumab in the early setting and the relatively small added benefit associated with its use, the identification of the patients who are more likely to benefit from anti-HER2 targeted therapies represents an area of crucial importance to be further developed in the coming years. In fact, besides HER2 itself, biomarkers predicting patients who may truly benefit from anti-HER2 agents are still lacking (2). Therefore, other predictors of response to targeted therapies beyond HER2 testing need to be identified. HER2-specific antibodies may be promising biomarkers on this regard.
The investigators of the NCCTG N9831 trial had previously shown evidence on the important role of immunity in HER2-positive early breast cancer by both gene expression profile analyses (9) and the evaluation of tumors infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) (10). In the recently published analysis by Norton and colleagues conducted within the NCCTG N9831 trial, the investigators showed that the serum levels of endogenous antibody immunity specifically developed against HER2 (i.e., HER2-specific antibodies) increased only with the use of adjuvant trastuzumab (given sequentially or concurrently to chemotherapy as per study design) and not following the administration of chemotherapy alone (11). In addition, patients who experienced elevation in the levels of post-treatment HER2-specific antibodies had improved DFS compared to those in whom antibody levels remained normal. The 5-year DFS rate after adjuvant trastuzumab was 84% among patients with elevated antibodies, contrarily to 60% in patients with normal levels (11).
This analysis raises the important questions on how increased serum levels of HER2-specific antibodies can be associated with better DFS, and if their levels should be routinely monitored when treating breast cancer patients with trastuzumab. Moreover, it remains to be proven if HER2-specific antibodies should be considered as a predictive factor for treatment effect and if their monitoring can inform on its duration, maintenance or discontinuation.
Trastuzumab is probably the primary mediator of activating the adaptive immune system as suggested by the NCCTG N9831 trial results in which adjuvant chemotherapy alone did not generate HER2-specific antibodies, contrarily to the combined treatment of paclitaxel and trastuzumab that resulted in an adaptive immune response in the majority of patients (12). It can be hypothesized that the generation of antibodies could be mediated via antibody-dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), a process leading to apoptosis and release of antigens in the circulation, or through the activation of antigen-presenting cells. Those cells can process antibody-HER2 complex in the tumor microenvironment (13). Another study examined specific antibodies against the HER2 extracellular and intracellular domains in patients receiving chemotherapy plus trastuzumab (14). Clinical response to trastuzumab and chemotherapy may be due to several pathways involved in the adaptive immune response (15).
The levels of HER2-specific antibodies were shown to be elevated prior to treatment in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, relatively to healthy individuals (14). However, antibodies to HER2 extracellular domain were increased in the adjuvant setting as compared to the metastatic disease, while antibodies targeting the intracellular domain were lower in the adjuvant setting. Moreover, the induction of HER2-specific antibodies by trastuzumab was more pronounced in patients with normal (low) pre-existing antibody levels as compared to patients with elevated levels at baseline. Also survival analyses showed that the presence of high preexisting antibody immunity to HER2 was associated with poorer progression-free survival and OS (14).
Considering the timing for monitoring the serum levels of HER2-specific antibodies, in the NCCTG N9831 trial, serum samples were taken between 19 months and 24 months post-treatment (11). However, in another study, serum samples were collected around 4 months after initiation of adjuvant therapy (14). The best timing for measuring this biomarker after treatment initiation needs to be further explored considering its potential clinical implications.
Taken together, the available but limited data on the topic including the recent analysis by Norton and colleagues suggest that HER2-specific antibodies represent emerging promising biomarkers to be further explored in the setting of HER2-positive early breast cancer during anti-HER2 targeted therapy. Besides being able to target the HER2 extracellular domain and thus improving the response to therapy, trastuzumab therapy appears to also target the intracellular domain and other tumor antigens. We hypothesized that patients more likely to beneficiate from anti-HER2 targeted treatments are those who have normal baseline levels of antibodies and then are capable of generating significant levels of HER2-specific antibodies following treatment initiation.
In conclusion, results from the study by Norton and colleagues are encouraging and indicates a possible role of measuring the levels of HER2-specific antibodies to predict treatment response in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer receiving chemotherapy plus trastuzumab. However, no strong conclusions on the potential clinical implications of these findings can be made particularly considering the small sample size (50 pairs of pre- and post-treatment serum samples) of the analysis. Therefore, larger studies are needed in the field to confirm these findings and potentially allow the incorporation of the monitoring of HER2-specific antibodies into daily practice in order to better select the patients that would better respond to anti-HER2 targeted therapy or those with intrinsic treatment resistance.
Matteo Lambertini acknowledges the support from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) for a Translational Research Fellowship at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels (Belgium).
Conflicts of Interest: Matteo Lambertini served as a consultant for Teva and received honoraria from Theramex outside the submitted work. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Knutson KL, Perez EA, Ballman KV, et al. Generation of adaptive HER2-specific immunity in HER2 breast cancer patients by addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy in the adjuvant setting: NCCTG (Alliance) study N9831. J Clin Oncol 2013;31:abstr 522.


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Notre Dame Football Season Preview
For the first time since December 28th, 2019, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take the field on Saturday, September 12th when they welcome the Duke Blue Devils to Notre Dame Stadium.
This season has had a wrench thrown into it with COVID-19 forcing conferences to a conference only schedule, to reduce traveling. As a result, Notre Dame has joined as a full member of the ACC, something only for this season.
The Irish are coming off a 11-2 season, including a Camping World Bowl win over Iowa State. If the Fighting Irish finish with double digit wins this season, it would be the 5th double digit win season in 6 seasons, something that has only happened once before in program history. The last time that was done, was when Lou Holtz led the Irish on the streak from 1988-1993. This could be helped by the fact that Notre Dame is expected to be Vegas favorites in all of their games, except for the Clemson game. That rings true, in Week One, when, according to the William Hill Sportsbook, Notre Dame is 20 point favorites over the Duke Blue Devils.
Notre Dame is helped by key returners this year including senior QB Ian Book who holds a 20-3 lifetime record for the Golden Domers and is Sporting News' 26th ranked player in the country. They also benefit from the 18thranked class in the country, including the number one all purpose back in the country according to 24/7, Chris Tyree. This season, Book will be backed up by redshirt freshman Brendan Clark and the second ranked player in the state of Connecticut, Drew Pyne. Clark played in two games last year, completing one pass, a 27 yard touchdown to Braeden Lenzy.
Notre Dame has to retool their weapons after the departure of TE Cole Kmet, WR Chase Claypool, RB Tony Jones Jr, and WR Chris Finke, to the draft. Notre Dame also lost backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec, after he transferred to Boston College. Coach Brian Kelly will have to do all of that with a new offensive coordinator after Chip Long left to join the Tennessee Volunteers. As a result, former Notre Dame starting Quarterback and QB coach Tommy Rees has taken the offensive reins.
Notre Dame is going to have a two back set this season with junior Jafar Armstrong and sophomore C'Bo Flemister sharing the duties. Last season, Armstrong had 122 yards and 1 touchdown, a step down from his sophomore season where he had 72 carries for 383 yards and 7 touchdowns. C'Bo Flemister stepped up in the second half of last season after Armstrong went down, compiling 48 carriers for 162 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The Notre Dame offense will run through a veteran offensive line including 4 upper classmen and what is expected to be a freshman in Tosh Baker.
Head Coach Brian Kelly returns his defensive coordinator, Clark Lea this year to a defense that was 18th in the nation for points per game and yards per game a year ago. The team however did lose, defensive leaders, Jamir Jones, Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem to the NFL Draft. Notre Dame is hoping they are replaced by sophomore Jacob Lace, a healthy Daelin Hayes, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish.
The defensive backs for Notre Dame have to continue to step up this season as they did last season, in a tough ACC, where they will have to face Trevor Lawrence and the vaunted Clemson offense. That will be up to sophomore Kyle Hamilton, Houston Griffith and Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor. Brian Kelly's staff has to be hoping that Isaiah Pryor returns to his 2018 form when he had 31 tackles, 1 interception and 5 pass deflections. After the transfer, Pryor helps Coach Kelly out tremendously with two years left of eligibility including this season.
On the special teams front, Notre Dame looks to have sophomore punter Jay Bramblett carry over his stellar freshman year, when he had 18 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line and he averaged 39.4 yards per punt. The Golden Domer's kicker this season will be senior Johnathan Doerer, who went 57 for 57 on PATs and 17 for 20 on field goals last season.
Stop teams in the red zone: Last season, Notre Dame allowed scores in the red zone 75% of the time and 53% of those were touchdowns. In the 44-14 loss in the Big House last season, Notre Dame allowed Michigan into the red zone 5 times and gave up 4 touchdowns. Needless to say they need to force more field goals this season.
Rush for 100+ yards: The veteran running back room, will be led by C'Bo Flemister and Jafar Armstrong. Those two have to get to triple digit yards every game. The Fighting Irish are 1-8 since rushing for 80 yards in a win over Pitt, when rushing for less than 100 yards. On the flip side of that coin, Notre Dame is on a 23 game winning streak when rushing for 100+ yards.
Heisman Hopeful: Notre Dame's best chance to win a Heisman this season is Quarterback Ian Book. William Hill Sportsbook lists Book at 30-1 odds to win the Heisman. Book would be Notre Dame's first Heisman winner since Tim Brown won it in 1987. Last season, Book compiled 3,034 passing yards, 546 rushing yards and 38 total touchdowns, a stat line he needs to slight improve going up against quarterbacks like Trevor Lawrence from Clemson and Spencer Rattler from Oklahoma in the Heisman race.
Breakout Players: Braeden Lenzy, WR, JR: Last year Lenzy started to break out before injuries slowed him down. However, he finished with 11 receptions for 254 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 23.1 yards after the catch.
Kyle Hamilton, CB, SO: Last year he had 27 tackles, four picks, and six pass deflections, allowing only 7 catches all of last season. He did that as a backup to Alohi Gillman, playing as a nickel safety, not his primary role.
Kevin Austin, WR, JR: In his freshman campaign he caught 5 passes for 90 yards, as the 86th ranked recruit in the country. He missed all of last season, after being suspended for undisclosed reasons. This season, Austin who has been hyped up to be a star by Pittsburgh Steelers, former Notre Dame star WR Chase Claypool. However, the breakout season will have to wait at least a few weeks after Austin suffered a broken fifth metatarsal in his foot. As a result, he had surgery back on August 3rd. Notre Dame has not announced a return besides saying, "Austin is expected to return to action this fall".
Record Prediction: 10-1, 2nd in the ACC.
For more thoughts and opinions from Max, check out his author page or Twitter.
Image Source: AP Images

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Many practical systems are characterized by high uncertainty which makes it difficult to maintain good stability margins and performance properties for closed loop system. In case of conventional control, if plant parameter changes we can not assure about the system performance hence it is necessary to design robust control for uncertain plant. Among the various strategies proposed to tackle this problem, Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) has proved its superiority especially in the face of significant parametric uncertainty. The feature of QFT is that it can take care of large parametric uncertainty along with phase information. For the purpose of QFT, the feedback system is normally described by the two-degrees-of freedom structure. A PID controller is a generic control loop feedback mechanism widely used in industrial control systems. A flexible transmission system that has uncertainties in the frictional losses, stiffness of spring and inertial constant is presented using robust PID controller.


03 Dec 2018 --- A 29-year-old French entrepreneur has created and independently-launched a 100 percent renewable and recyclable food wrap packaging called Cosse. Produced from organic cotton coated with resin, wax and oil, the sticky but not gluey material can be used to package a wide range of foods including fruit and vegetables, pasta salad, cheese and bread. It can be washed in warm soapy water and reused up to 250 times. PackagingInsights speaks to the creator, Clémence Maurel, about the environmental and commercial success of this innovative packaging.
"I have been buying organic foods and reducing my waste for a long time. Lowering my impact on the environment has become an obsession. During a trip to New Zealand, I heard about ecological packaging alternatives made with beeswax, and I tried to replicate this in France," Maurel says.
"Knowing that, I had to find another option. I decided to keep the same functionalities as the beeswax packaging, and developed my own recipe made from only vegetal raw material, and Cosses were born," explains Maurel.
The Cosses are made from organic cotton, infused with carnauba wax, pine rosin and sunflower oil. They are ultra-sustainable, boasting plastic-free, aluminum-free, zero toxins and zero waste credentials.
Cosse is suitable for a wide range of foods, for example, to better preserve fruit and vegetables, cover a plate or bowl or to wrap bread and cheese. Thanks to its self-adherent features, you can also fold it to create a transport bag, ideal for on-the-go sandwich packaging.
"Last May we launched our e-shop and sold more than 1000 Cosse packs in the four first months so, commercially-speaking, things have been successful so far considering we had no prior knowledge of the market potential for the Cosses," says Maurel.
"We continue to establish partnerships with retailers that approach us. We already have more than 20 partnerships, mostly online retailers, including one in Italy," he adds.
Maurel believes that the aesthetic design of Cosse has been a key aspect of its success, with a flower theme employed to portray the "naturalness" of the material's make-up.
"This agility is crucial to us. In the future, we could even imagine cooperating with artists who feel connected to our brand and values," Maurel says.
Cosses are sold in packs of three. The three themes that are currently available are flowers, graphics and children. Each wrap is handmade in the French Alps and available in three sizes: Large (35x35cm), Medium (30x30cm), Small (25x25cm).
"We are already working on other products made from bamboo straw, for example. We expect exciting times ahead," concludes Maurel.


Here are some sprankles for your Monday!
I made these forever ago, but saved them for a rainy day. I was in Ohio all weekend (one of my awesome friends from college got married!) and knew I'd need a blog post to start off the week.
These cupcakes are super easy to make. I had never made hi-hat anything before this Neapolitan Hi-Hat Cake from I am Baker's cookbook, Surprise-Inside Cakes. I loved making that cake. It was one of those recipes that made me smile the whole time I was making it, and especially when it turned out decently!
So I decided to make some actual hi-hat cupcakes.
For the cake, you can go box mix or use a homemade funfetti recipe. I tried this with both, and they turned out wonderfully and sprinkle-filled. If you're looking for a great homemade recipe, this one from Sweetapolita is the real deal. I sort of cut it in half so I would only have 12ish cupcakes, but the whole thing will make about 24. Maybe a couple extras. For snacking.
Then comes the super fun part. I think most hi-hat cupcakes use a marshmallow frosting, but the hi-hat cake called for Cool Whip. I wanted to take a "so easy anyone can do it!" approach to these, so I stuck with Cool Whip.
I go to Michael's and Hobby Lobby a lot. When I was in college, the register lady at Michael's would see me walk in and be like, "Oh, you're making another cake!" True story. In the little bins of candy melts, I've always thought the speckled, ColorBurst Candy Melts are so cute! Which is the other place the inspiration for these cupcakes came from. I just really wanted to come up with a way to use them.
Make and bake cupcakes according to box or recipe instructions. Cool completely before frosting!
Once the cupcakes are cool, transfer the Cool Whip (You'll need the big 16oz container) to a piping bag with a large round decorating tip, or simply with the end snipped off. Pipe the Cool Whip on the cupcake by starting with a large circle. Fill in the circle and smooth it over with a knife. Then pipe a slightly smaller circle on top of that and fill it in. Repeat one or two more times.
Transfer the cupcakes to the freezer and let them freezer for at least 3-4 hours. Overnight is best, just to make sure they're completely solid.
Once the cupcakes are nice and frozen, take them out of the freezer one at a time for dipping. Holding the cupcake upside down, dip it into the coating until the Cool Whip is completely covered. Then lift it out of the coating and let the access drip off. Immediately sprinkle the bottom rim with sprinkles. If they start to slide off, wait another minute to let the coating harden slightly. Put the cupcake back in the freezer and move onto the next one! Repeat with all the cupcakes.
Store cupcakes covered in the freezer (I didn't try the refrigerator, but you could try that.) Let them thaw for a few minutes before serving.
All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without permission. If you would like to republish this post, please just link back to it. Thank you!
And, because I love you guys, I've teamed up with some of my awesome blog friends for a really fun Nielsen-Massey giveaway! Seriously, this is a good one, y'all. Pretty much all the extracts of your dreams. To enter, just fill out the form below!
Check out these posts by the other bloggers in this giveaway!
I love these cupcakes!! They're absolutely adorable, and I love all the sprinkles everrrywhere 😀 Pinned!
Beautiful!!!! I love funfetti cupcakes ready but topping with a hat takes them to a whole new level!
I've always wanted to bake hi-hat cupcakes. . love these! so fun and look soooo good!!!
These look almost too cute to eat – almost…….
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I am unfamiliar with the hi hat concept. So thanx for the education! Perfect choice for using funfetti! Kids just go wild with this cup cake style—big and little kids. Ha!
These are awesome! I have been on a hi-hat cupcake kick lately–just need to actually make a batch for the blog. 🙂 But I love them an I love your cool whip/funfetti twist! I always see those funfetti melts but have never tried them before–this is the perfect use for them. 🙂 Fantastic giveaway as well!
I love high hat cupcakes – these look so sweet!!
These are an amazing twist on hi-hat cupcakes! Seriously, amazing job Beth!
Sprinkles are definitely the best way to cure Monday blues!! I love these cupcakes – they are seriously so fun! I only recently discovered hi-hat cupcakes, but I'm dying to make them now!! They are so awesome!
Oh wow these are gorgeous! Hi-hat cupcakes are so cool.
Cupcakes look delicious and that frosting is so on point!
The hi-hats are SO cute! And what a genious idea of how to use those candy melts!
omg hi hat cupcakes are so adorable and I've never seen funfetti ones! I MUST HAVE THEM!! 😀 Also, super awesome giveaway! I'm hosting one too this week so be sure to enter if you haven't (there's a cool grill involved!) !
Oh girl, I totally entered your giveaway! Haha. 🙂 Totally want that mini grill!
You're a genius to use the Cool Whip!!! And to freeze them. I think I love you! And the photos – OMG. Can I have one for breakfast please???
Love these hi hat cupcakes! And the addition of the funfetti cake is so perfect and fun! I can never turn down a cupcake and would love one of these for lunch!
Bring on the sprinkles! So adorable! I haven't made hi hat cupcakes yet, because I thought that a large amount of frosting would be a sugar overload for the kiddos. So, your option of using cool whip is perfect, and super easy! Thanks so much for sharing Beth!
These are too cute! Yum and yum!
Beth, these are so beautiful! I am of the school of thought that you can never, ever have too many sprinkles in a dessert and i'm glad you share that belief!


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Best Unknown Italian Cheeses
Everybody can appreciate a great Italian meal. There are fewer cuisines more beloved internationally than the pastas, breads, and cheeses that come from Italy. Italian cooking is a cultural tradition just as much as anything. There are a lot of things that go into the craft, but something that makes it much easier to master if you're not Italian is knowing the secret Italian cheeses that deliver full, authentic flavor. There is a well-known cheese like mozzarella and parmesan but knowing these best unknown cheeses in the Italian repertoire can make your cooking go up to the next level.
If you talk about Italian cheeses anywhere in the Northern regions, they'll point you to taleggio. It's an old cheese, and it's been around for a long time for a reason. It's thick and somewhat elastic texture makes it a bit intimidating, but in the middle, it's crumbly and great in any dish. Add it to a sauce or top pasta with it for a great, bold finish.
What do you get when you mix cream and mozzarella? Burrata is hard to miss if you're touring Italy, but here in the United States, it is severely underused. A lot of people use its creamy consistency in a variety of ways, including topping light salads with it as a pseudo dressing. If you sprinkle it on pasta, get ready for some really great flavors. Translating loosely to buttery, it's a wonderful topping to any dish.
Pecorinos
Sheep are a big deal in Italy, and not just for their wool. Sheep's milk yields pecorinos, a cheese featuring some heavy flavor. A lot of people might know pecorino in its romano form, but the milder sardo and toscano varieties are not very often used in cooking for an American take on Italian. It's a shame too because they're a great accent to milder cheeses like mozzarella or parmesan.
Formaggio di Fossa
Pit cheese sounds much less appetizing than Formaggio di fossa, but that's what it means. While it looks deformed, its flavor is so delicate that you can smell it long after you've finished eating it. You'll see this cheese in a lot of Italian quiches.
Sure, we use ricotta in lasagna in the United States, but try it on fish for a whole new experience! It's a creamy cheese that can really revolutionize a dish, so try it on some things you might not often think of.


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In 2016, BHCC was designated an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) by the U.S. Department of Education and received a $1.7M Title III AANAPISI grant to better serve its API students. Fifteen percent of BHCC students are Asian American, including students from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos.
Building upon its successful model streamlining developmental education, BHCC used the AANAPISI grant to accelerate and compress its English as a second language (ESL) program and provide success coaching to API students so these students, many of whom are immigrants, children of immigrants or first-generation college students, could surpass English language proficiency requirements entering college-level coursework faster.
Furthermore, the College has gone beyond restructuring its ESL curriculum to create an inclusive environment for its API students by focusing on social connections and social capital in its outreach.
"We're pulling in lived experiences," says President Eddinger, "There's always more than one way to engage the community."
In 2018, BHCC established the Center for Equity and Cultural Wealth to engage faculty in developing culturally relevant, equity minded and locally grounded curriculum; and in 2017, BHCC collaborated with the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center to open a new instructional center at the Pao Arts Center.
Read the article in Community College Daily
Read the BHCC Magazine article "New Center Positions Equity at its Core"
Read more about BHCC's partnership with BCNC and the opening of the Pao Arts Center


I am sure you have noticed from the numerous sale catalogs you've been receiving in the mail that bull sale season has again rolled around. I thought I would take a moment let you know how the bull market has been so far this year so maybe you can have an idea what to expect as you prepare to make your bull purchases. There have already been a handful of sales, including several different breeds, held around the region. This is a broad view of what I have seen so far.
In general the demand for bulls has been a little stronger when compared to this same time last year. This seems to be especially true for calving ease bulls, which really isn't a big surprise to me considering the shortage of labor that we are currently experiencing. We are so spread out already, who has time to stop and help a cow calve?
If you are going to be searching out bulls that possess calving ease genetics this year you may have to pay a little more to get them bought or search a little harder than normal to find bulls that are similar in quality to what you have been buying without having to spend more for them. I do have one suggestion that might help you out as you look for this type of bull.
Most of the time we can tell if a bull will be calving ease by examining him physically along with inspecting his actual birth weight and birth weight (BW) EPD. If he hits all the marks that we are looking for in those three areas then we can feel pretty comfortable that he will work. The problem is that everyone else at the sale is looking for the same things you are. What if you had a tool that would allow you to confidently add more calving ease bulls to your list of potential candidates, which everyone else might not necessarily have marked down on theirs? We all know that there is a huge difference between a low birth weight bull and a calving ease bull. Just because a bull's calves might weigh 70 pounds or 85 pounds when they are born their phenotypic make-up determines if the bull is calving ease regardless of what his calves weigh at birth.
Almost every one of the major cattle breed associations has developed a Calving Ease Direct (CED) EPD. Essentially what this EPD does is act as a tool that allows you to compare two or more bull's probability of producing offspring that calve without assistance. When making these comparisons it is important to remember the higher the number the more likely the bull will be calving ease. That's exactly the opposite of how you compare BW EPDs. So, for example, if you are comparing two bulls – one with a CED EPD of +4 and the second with a +9, the second bull's calves will more likely be born without assistance even if the calves weigh a little more.
By using the CED EPD as an additional selection tool you might be able to locate bulls that possess a little more actual birth weight or a little higher BW EPD than you and other buyers would normally feel comfortable selecting as a sure shot calving ease bull, but in reality will fit your needs. You will more than likely, judging on what I have seen at sales so far, be able to get this bull bought at a discount while still maintaining the calving ease you are looking for in your bull battery.
Many breeders are starting to include the CED EPD in their catalog or sale supplements and if not I am sure they would be more than willing to get this information to you if you contact them prior to their sale. My example was very simplified because I didn't want to bore you with the details, so I encourage you to visit with your seedstock provider(s) or the breed association of your choice to get more information on CED EPDs.


Two available widths: 84" or 88"
Every year like clock work, the cool autumn winds start blowing around and you know the snow will soon follow. The winter has its good sides, but shoveling snow out of the driveway is not one of them. What if you've already shoveled snow for the last time? It sounds crazy at first but when you take a looks at the uncompromisingly tough and easy to use SnowBear Hydraulic Snow Plow, you'll start to realize that maybe you have shoveled your last driveway.
Thanks to the wirelessly controlled hydraulic and steel chain lift system, you can raise and pivot your plow without ever leaving the comfort of your heated cab. Each application ships with custom mounting brackets which will connect this plow directly to the frame of your truck or SUV. The perfect fit for midsized pickups like your F150s, 1500s, and Titans, this plow also gets the job done on larger trucks and SUVs. Designed with patent-pending TerrAdapt (Terrain Adaptive Technology) this plow is perfect for personal or light commercial needs.
The SnowBear Hydraulic Snow Plow comes in two widths, an 84" (7') or 88" (7'4") model. Everything you need for a complete installation and use is included, including a caster kit for easy storage. This steel plow is finished in a black powder coat and backed by a 1-Year Warranty.
We currently do not have any FAQs for the SnowBear Hydraulic Snow Plow. If you have any questions, email us at [email protected].
The SnowBear Hydraulic Snow Plow carries a 1-Year Warranty.
Colby S from Conway, AR, who drives a Chevrolet Tahoe.
Good looking products that are heavy duty. Simple to install with the right tools. I will know better how it works when we have snow later this winter. I expect I will buy another one if I like it.


Hello! My name is Alicia Ward. I am a multidisciplinary artist centered in Calgary who graduated from the University of Calgary's Drama Department. I focused my studies on how drama and dance can be layered together in honest performance. I love creating art collaboratively with a community of people. My recent projects have included: Black Sheep (The Common Ground Festival), Pistachio Crumble (Fringe), Hazardous Love (DeFakto Theatre), Hole (University of Calgary) as well as my ongoing projects The Giving Stories, One Body and St-St-Stories. I have recently finished as an intern for Theatre Junction and dance training at Decidedly Jazz Dancework's Professional Training Program. My true passion will always be the sharing of knowledge, especially through teaching the inspiring young players at Theatre A Go Go!


The elder daughter of M. Masud, a lawyer by profession and women's rights activist, social worker, consultant and businesswoman. Over the past 30 years, she has been actively associated with government and semi government organizations. (Evacuee Trust Property Board, Halla Milk Idara-e-Kissan, Govt. Of Punjab Task Force, Govt. of Punjab Special Task Force for Women) and various NGO's (Pakistan Girl Guides Association, Business and Professional Women Organization, Lahore Gymkhana Club, International Women's Club, AMEN Society, Nirali Kitaban Trust, English Speaking Union, Women Action Forum, and Pakistan Women Lawyers Association and Asian Study Group, Lahore). She has traveled extensively around the world in connection with work and pleasure.
Born in 1929, in Gujranwalla to Naima and Dr. Muhammad Nazim. Iffat had an older and a younger sister.
Iffat by nature was a soft spoken gentle person very fond of the arts and music and the finer aspects of our cultural life. She was a lady ahead of her time. Besides the regular subject, Iffat also studied French and music at Kinnaird College Lahore and after graduation, she accompanied her father to UK where she joined 'journalism' classes. Dr. Nazim was an archeologist by profession and obtained his Ph.D from Cambridge University, UK. His thesis work on Mahmud of Ghazna was published by the Cambridge University Press in 1931 and gained world acclaim as the most comprehensive work so far.
Iffat married Muhammad Masud, a young ICS officer in 1949 and throughout their married life supported and wrote about his struggle for causes close to his heart. She stood by her husband in his times of tribulations and encouraged him to continue with what he believed. She was the founding Chairperson of the Trust till her death in 1993.


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Reviewed by Ian Casselberry on February 18, 2020 February 17, 2020
The horror "reimagining" of the '80s TV show is awful yet has cult movie potential.

Genre: Horror/Comedy
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Starring: Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Portia Doubleday
Anyone who has fantasized about a feature-film remake of the 1980s TV show "Fantasy Island" will likely be disappointed by director Jeff Wadlow's attempt. The movie's beginning and end aim for some amusing allusions to the source material, in which people arrive by plane to a mysterious island where they can live out their fantasies, but the references are a stretch and will be meaningless to those unfamiliar with the show.
Wadlow (Truth or Dare) tries to reimagine Fantasy Island as a horror film, yet the best he can come up with is a series of derivative scenes from better movies, including elaborate torture scenarios, mindless slashers, zombies with oozing eyes and doppelgängers lurking nearby.
The premise of having fantasies fulfilled without considering the consequences brings a sense of dread to the story, yet any payoff gets lost amid repeated attempts to surprise the audience with a twist, which only creates more absurdity.
However, Michael Peña's performance as Mr. Roarke, the head of Fantasy Island, might help this movie become a cult hit. He's miscast in a role that requires dignity and authority, and his attempt to mimic Ricardo Montalban's accent as the original Mr. Roarke will fuel many future drinking games: Take a shot every time Peña says "FAHN-tisy." Viewers won't make it to the end of the movie — which is the best fantasy Roarke could provide.


make their desired pick. This is the commitment that makes the customers to come back to Burger King. It will not take too much time but 5 to 10 minutes. . However, there apparently was some kind of problem with Latorres coupons.
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HOUSTON, TX – The Astros head off to Detroit after a nine game homestand that added seven more wins to their record.
Houston currently leads the MLB in home runs, they're currently in second place in strikeouts, and it doesn't look like anyone in their division will be catching them anytime soon.
The team hits the road for a seven-game stretch, and they'll challenge themselves to stay as focused and productive as they've been at home the last week.


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Illinois Labor and Employment Law
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The Illinois Prevailing Wage Act requires contractors and subcontractors to pay laborers, workers and mechanics employed on public works projects at least the general prevailing rate of wages for work that is similar in nature and carried out in the same locale. As of January 1, 2010, bills designed to clarify and enhance compliance with the Prevailing Wage Act will go into effect. These clarify what work is covered and how contracts are to receive notification that the projects they work on are subject to prevailing wage requirements.
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The Illinois Equal Pay Act prohibits employers with four or more employees from paying unequal wages to men and women doing either the same work or work that is substantially the same, requires equal skill effort and responsibility and is completed under similar working conditions.
On August 14, 2009, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill allowing complainants more time to file a complaint in court regarding gender-based wage discrimination. The extended time to file a complaint in court means that employees will maintain their right to sue in cases where employers delay paying back [added space here]wages or do not cooperate with investigations and enforcement actions.
Employees now have within one year of the date of the underpayment to file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor and have within five years of the date of underpayment to file a complaint in state court.
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Since July 1, 2010, the Illinois minimum wage has been $8.25 an hour. In the city of Chicago, minimum wage is $10.00 an hour.
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Illinois is an "employment at will" state. As such, at-will employees can be terminated for any reason. The only exception is for employees who are covered by a contract or union agreement governing the terms of employment. Employees who are covered by an employment contract can usually only be terminated for the reasons set out in the contract. At-will employment also protects the employee's right to resign.
Unlawful terminations violate legal protections, including discrimination or harassment, whistleblower protections, absence to serve on a jury, retaliation for asserting legal rights or violations of employment or union contracts. In such cases a fired employee could potentially file a wrongful termination claim.
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The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law regarding employee wages and hours worked, including overtime hours and wages. Under the FLSA, some workers can be exempted from overtime pay. However, those workers must fit the criteria the FLSA sets out for exemption. Illinois' laws also apply to employment subject to the FLSA. In cases where both the FLSA and state law apply, the law setting the higher standards must be observed.
More information on how the Fair Labor Standards Act applies to overtime can be found here.
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The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal act that requires that covered employers provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees for the following reasons: the birth and care of the employee's newborn child; care for a child after adoption or foster care placement; leave due to a serious health condition that affects the employee's own ability to work; or the need for the employee to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.
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Employees who feel their rights have been violated may have the opportunity to bring their complaint before the courts.
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Illinois Family Video Plaintiffs Not Exactly a Happy Family
Chicago, IL: It appears it is anything but a happy family amongst two classes of workers employed by Family Video, a movie rental franchise that is alleged to have stiffed employees of overtime pay in violation of Illinois labor and employment law.
Kraft Workers Cheesed Off
Urbana, IL Workers at the Kraft Foods plants in Champaign, Illinois, contend their employer daily cheats them out of money by requiring them to change into factory clothes, attend a staff meeting and then walk a considerable distance to their workstations before they can clock in for the day.
Lawmakers Consider Changes to Illinois Labor Law
Springfield, IL Lawmakers are considering making Illinois labor law changes that would associate teacher tenure with student test results, potentially making it easier to fire some ineffective teachers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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text:
Media and Telecoms
Donations roll in after Emma Watson backs UK anti-harassment campaign
By Umberto Bacchi, Thomson Reuters Foundation
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A crowdfunding campaign to fight sexual harassment has raised almost 1.6 million pounds ($2.2 million), a day after the fund was spotlighted at Britain's prestigious BAFTA film awards.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson donated 1 million pounds to the UK Justice and Equality Fund which has received more than 300 donations in two days - ranging from just a few pounds to two anonymous contributions of 400,000 and 100,000 pounds.
"We are delighted with the reaction that we've had ... it just goes to show that people are really looking for this change," Seyi Newell, a spokeswoman for Rosa, the women's rights group behind the campaign, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The fund was launched ahead of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, where the campaign for women's rights in the entertainment industry took center stage.
In an open letter published on Sunday in British newspaper The Observer, more than 200 actresses, including Oscar winners Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, called for sexual harassment and abuse to be rooted out from the industry.
"In the very near past, we lived in a world where sexual harassment was an uncomfortable joke; an unavoidable, awkward part of being a girl or a woman," the letter read.
"In 2018, we seem to have woken up in a world ripe for change. If we truly embrace this moment, a line in the sand will turn to stone," it added.
The fund, which will support organizations that help victims of harassment and abuse, received donations from numerous actors, including Keira Knightley and Tom Hiddleston - who gave 10,000 pounds each.
"One concrete way this movement is trying to make a difference is by fundraising for frontline agencies that support women and others that have suffered harassment and abuse," Knightley said in a statement.
"Many of these organizations are woefully underfunded and we want to help fund their vital work," added Kate Kinninmont, who heads the Women in Film & Television UK group.
Award-winning director Susanna White called for the establishment of an independent body to deal with reports of harassment and bullying in the entertainment sector.
The initiative comes after a slew of allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein last year sparked the #MeToo campaign, with women and men using social media to share their experiences of harassment.
At Sunday's BAFTA awards in London many of the female attendees wore black outfits in a gesture of protest, mirroring last month's Golden Globes awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Both male and female attendees sported badges name-checking the "Time's Up" campaign against sexual harassment.


In pen 28 days room temp.
Humulin M5 was the EU/UK brand name for Lilly's r-DNA/GE/GM human insulin mix consisting of 50% R/neutral insulin and 50% NPH/isophane crystal insulin.
Lilly stopped offering this insulin in the EU & UK in July 2004.
It is the same as Mixtard 50, Actraphane 50/50 and Aventis' Insuman Comb 50.


Lol. As much as id like to say that im part of the Infinity Ward team, im just an Indie dev like Suduki and Crasherbuu. For us IW is just short for Infected World. The good thing about that is that this game will be 100% free to download. The point of this game was to make a game that everyone could enjoy and help those of us associated with the project to actually get recognized by big game companies. So sorry for the dissapointment but im glad to see interest in the project.


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La Galice, région du nord-ouest de la péninsule Ibérique, est une entité historique aujourd'hui communauté autonome du royaume d'Espagne. La constitution de 1978 dans son article 151 la reconnaît comme nation historique à l'instar de la Catalogne et du Pays basque.

Ce territoire, occupé dès la préhistoire, présente une identité culturelle propre dès l'âge du fer avec la culture des castros, ses limites géographiques ont évolué au cours des siècles. À la province romaine Gallaecia a succédé en 410 le regnum suevorum, regnum galliciense ou royaume suève. On appelle reino de Galicia (royaume de Galice) la période qui va formellement  de 410 au 30 novembre 1833, date à laquelle la régente Marie-Christine signe le décret qui dissout la Xunta Superior do Reino de Galiza (junte du royaume de Galice). Toutefois il est convenu de considérer que la Galice a eu une politique autonome jusqu'au , en prenant comme date symbolique 1486, date de la visite des rois catholiques à Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, bien que depuis 1230 les rois du royaume de Castille sont aussi rois de Galice.

À partir de 1833  et de fait jusqu'à la transition démocratique, la Galice n'est plus une entité politico-administrative. Néanmoins, la Galice a toujours évolué avec ses particularismes culturels, économiques, sociaux et politiques. Le 28 juin 1936, un projet de statut d'autonomie a été approuvé par référendum en Galice, mais il n'a pu eu le temps d'être mis en œuvre par le gouvernement républicain, la guerre civile espagnole a éclaté le 17 juillet et dès les premiers jours les quatre provinces qui constituent l'actuelle Galice se sont trouvées du côté des nationalistes. Lors de la recréation, en 1940 par le régime franquiste, des capitaineries générales militaires assorties de pouvoir de droit civil, la Galice est la VIII.

Les nouvelles institutions créés à partir de 1977 ont abouti au statut d'autonomie du 6 avril 1981, l'article 151  de la constitution de 1978 du royaume d'Espagne reconnaît la Galice comme nationalité historique à l'intérieur de l'État espagnol.

Préhistoire

On ne peut dater l'apparition de l'homme sur les terres de Galice. Les traces les plus anciennes de l'homme se trouvent sur la frange est/sud, le gisement archéologique de Lousadas (paroisse de Vilaselán de la commune de Ribadeo, province de Lugo), et le gisement archéologique des  Gándaras de Budiño (commune d'O Porriño, province de Pontevedra)  qui datent de la glaciation de Riss sont les plus anciens .

Culture mégalithique

Depuis le Néolithique et le Chalcolithique, vers 4500 à 1500 av. J.-C., la Galice, le nord du Portugal, les Asturies, l'ouest du León, et Zamora constituent une unique région mégalithique.

La culture mégalithique, première grande culture à apparaître en Galice, se caractérise par son étonnante aptitude pour la construction et l'architecture. Elle s'associe à un profond sentiment religieux, basé sur le culte des morts, considérés comme les intermédiaires entre les hommes et les dieux.

De nombreux historiens distinguent deux composantes à cette culture mégalithique : l'une orientale, qui prédominait dans les régions méditerranéennes, et l'autre atlantique, dont l'origine est située au nord du Tage. Cette dernière composante expliquerait, en raison de sa proximité géographique avec la Galice, l'abondance des restes de culture mégalithique dans la région.

De cette époque, subsistent des milliers de dolmens répartis dans toute la région. Ceux-ci témoignent d'une organisation sociale, et il a été confirmé que celle-ci était structurée en clans .

Âge du bronze

L'introduction des techniques de travail du bronze initia une nouvelle ère culturelle, quand la nouvelle importance des métaux s'accompagna de l'intensification des activités minières. Quelques historiens attribuent le fort développement de ce secteur à la forte érosion accompagnant le climat très chaud et humide, qui fit révéler les richesses minières du Nord.

Comme la Galice était aussi très humide de par sa proximité de l'océan Atlantique, la population des villes du plateau castillan migra vers la région, augmentant son peuplement.

Cet accroissement démographique fut la cause de conflits, mais soutint fortement les activités minières, qui s'accompagnaient d'une forte production d'armes et d'objets utilitaires. Les métaux de Galice permettaient également à des artisans de fabriquer de splendides bijoux d'or et de bronze, qui étaient diffusés dans toute la péninsule ibérique, et même dans le reste de l'Europe.

Premiers âges

La Gallaecia pré-romaine

D'après Strabon, géographe du , les premiers colons qui résidaient au nord du Douro étaient connus sous le nom de Kallaikoi ; ce nom de Kallaikoi fut ensuite transcrit Gallaeci, Callaeci ou Gallaicoi en latin.

Le Lebor Gabála Érenn, mentionne que la dernière invasion en Irlande, est celle des enfants de Miles venus de la péninsule Ibérique. Rien n'atteste d'une réalité historique. Toutefois les indices du texte à partir desquels on peut supputer que les milésiens sont originaires de Galice qu'ils sont les enfants de Bréogan, qui lui-même serait un roi mythique de Galice n'ont été utilisés que par les Irlandais qui cherchaient refuge en Galice au . Ces indices ont été ensuite pris pour argent comptant par les intellectuels au  dans le même type de mouvance romantique qui se développait par ailleurs en Europe (Macpherson, etc.).

Aujourd'hui, la ferveur « celtisante » des historiens et des poètes galiciens du XIX siècle s'étant quelque peu apaisée, les spécialistes pensent désormais que les populations celtiques, non seulement étaient minoritaires en Galice à l'arrivée des Romains mais de surcroît que leur influence sur la région n'aurait été en définitive que très limitée : elles n'auraient constitué qu'une petite oligarchie militaire et il semblerait même, souligne Ramón Mariño Paz, qu'à l'arrivée de Rome leur langue fût déjà en voie d'extinction (absence d'inscriptions en langue celtique et quasi-absence du suffixe panceltique -(i)ako-). D'après Johannes Hubschmid, à l'époque de la romanisation, le celtique était peu présent en Hispania ou du moins fortement imprégné d'éléments pré-indo-européens et il est même possible que les langues pré-indo-européennes fussent tout à fait majoritaires. Alain Tranoy souligne, quant à lui, que le peuplement de la Galice dut se faire à partir d'un important fonds de peuplement préceltique. Pour certains auteurs, ajoute-t-il, « les Callaeci seraient même restés en dehors de ces vagues indo-européennes et représenteraient un peuple de la fin de l'âge du Bronze, en pleine expansion ».

Des éléments archéologiques nous indiquent que vers la période du , l'influence de la culture celte de Hallstatt commence à se manifester en Galice et au nord du Portugal. Mixée avec d'autres éléments identifiés, comme ceux originaires de Méditerranée orientale, ou bien ceux subsistant de la culture précédente (connue sous le nom d'Âge du bronze atlantique) dominant en Galice, ils aboutirent à la formation d'une nouvelle culture fusionnant ces éléments, qui a connu un développement original appelée culture Castrexa, nom qui évoque le principal type de village qu'ils construisaient, appelé castro. Néanmoins, cette culture souffre encore, tout comme l'art galicien, d'études insuffisantes qui mettent en évidence sa spécificité. Il n'est donc pas exclu que cette culture des castros soit bien une culture originale ayant intégré par la guerre et, ou le commerce des éléments de culture celtibère selon un processus de « celtibérisation ».

Si nous nous fions à ce que les géographes et historiens grecs et romains ont rapporté, les Galiciens étaient des barbares qui passaient la journée à combattre et la nuit à manger, à boire et à danser lors de la pleine lune. L'historiographie moderne jette un regard différent sur leurs mœurs et leur organisation sociale. Au cours des cinq derniers siècles av. J.-C., les autochtones développèrent un modèle social aristocratique et peut-être même féodal.

Ainsi, la structure fondée sur les castros apparaît comme associée à une occupation fortifiée du terrain, similaire à celle de l'habitat celtique classique du centre de l'Europe (notamment de la Gaule). D'un autre côté, cette sorte d'occupation territoriale est différente car elle est probablement liée à l'attraction suscitée par les ressources minières, assimilable à une certaine forme de « fièvre de l'or ». En tout cas, il est également patent que les Romains s'intéressaient à cette région principalement en raison de sa richesse aurifère.

Quand l'Ibérie fut impliquée dans les guerres puniques entre Carthaginois et Romains, une alliance stratégique ininterrompue avec les Phéniciens permit à Hannibal de recruter de nombreux Galiciens.

Le proconsul romain Decimus Iunius Brutus mena des campagnes victorieuses en Ibérie, au sud de l'actuel Portugal, avant de se diriger plus au nord. La tribu des Gallaicoi affronta les légions romaines en 137 av. J.-C. à la bataille du Douro ; cette bataille se conclut par une écrasante victoire romaine contre  Galiciens, et le général romain Brutus fut reçu à Rome comme un héros, recevant le nom de Gallaicus, d'après l'historien Paul Orose.

La Gallaecia romaine

Après les campagnes de Brutus, Rome contrôlait les territoires compris entre le Douro et le Minho, avec probablement quelques extensions le long de la côte et vers l'intérieur. En 61 av. J.-C., Jules César commanda une seconde invasion, qui débarqua à Brigantium (La Corogne).

Les témoignages suggèrent que la résistance des Galiciens contre les Romains cessa à cet endroit ; à partir de ce moment, les Galiciens furent massivement enrôlés comme troupes auxiliaires dans les légions romaines. Plus d'un tiers des troupes auxiliaires romaines en provenance d'Ibérie appartenaient aux tribus du nord-ouest de la péninsule.

La réduction de toute résistance fut l'objet de violents et impitoyables combats (guerres cantabres) sous l'empereur Octave entre 26 et 19 av. J.-C. La résistance était farouche : suicide collectif plutôt que la reddition, mères qui tuaient leurs enfants avant de se suicider, prisonniers crucifiés chantant des hymnes guerriers, rébellions de captifs qui tuaient leurs gardiens et revenaient chez eux depuis la Gaule. et probablement émigration vers l'Irlande comme attesté dans le livre des invasions Lebor Gabála Érenn (Irlande).

Au , Dioclétien créa une division administrative qui comprenait les conventus de Gallaecia, d'Asturica et peut-être de Cluniense. Cette province s'appela Gallaecia car la Gallaecia était la région la plus peuplée et la plus importante de la province. En 409, lorsque l'autorité romaine fléchit, les conquêtes des Suèves transformèrent la Gallaecia romaine (circonscriptions de Lucense et Bracarense) en royaume de Gallaecia (la Galliciense Regnum rapportée par Hydatius et Grégoire de Tours).

Le royaume suève

En l'an 411, la Galice tombe aux mains des Suèves, qui y constituent leur propre royaume.

Le nombre des envahisseurs suèves initiaux est évalué à seulement , s'établissant principalement dans les zones urbanisées de Braga (Bracara Augusta), Porto, Lugo (Lucus Augusta) et Astorga (Asturica Augusta). Les Suèves firent de Bracara Augusta, l'ancienne capitale de la province romaine de Gallaecia, la capitale de la Gallaecia suève ; celle-ci était plus vaste que la Galice actuelle, et s'étendait au sud du Douro et vers l'Est jusqu'à Avila.

Le royaume suève de Gallaecia se maintint de 410 à 584 et semble avoir assuré un gouvernement stable pendant toute cette période. Des historiens comme José António Lopes Silva, traducteur des chroniques d'Idatius, la principale source écrite du , estiment que le principal caractère de la culture galicienne se forgea de ce mélange entre la culture ibéro-romaine et celle des Suèves.

Il y eut quelques affrontements ponctuels avec les Wisigoths, qui arrivèrent en 416 dans la péninsule ibérique et la dominèrent presque entièrement. Mais les Suèves conservèrent leur indépendance, jusqu'à ce que le roi wisigoth Léovigild envahisse leur royaume en 584, les défit, et inclut la Galice dans son royaume wisigoth.

Richard Fletcher (Fletcher 1984) souligne que, pendant l'Antiquité tardive, la Galice était demeurée un pays du monde romain et méditerranéen. Il donne en exemple le compte-rendu du pèlerinage en Terre sainte de la nonne galicienne Egeria en 381–384, ainsi que le voyage du jeune Idatius qui, bien qu'habitant « à la dernière extrémité du monde », avait rencontré Jérôme en Orient ; sa chronique montre qu'il demeurait informé des affaires de la Méditerranée orientale, car il se réfère à des voyageurs orientaux venus en Galice. Devenu évêque, Idatius voyagea en Gaule en ambassade auprès d'Aetius, 431–432.

Miro, roi des Suèves, avait des relations diplomatiques avec les rois barbares alliés de Neustrie et de Bourgogne, mais aussi avec les empereurs de Constantinople. Martin de Braga, célèbre évêque du , était natif de Pannonie. Le roi wisigoth Léovigild confisqua les navires des marchands gaulois de Galice.

À Lorenzana, le beau sarcophage qui reçut ultérieurement la dépouille du comte Osorio Gutiérrez avait été probablement importé du sud de la Gaule au , relève Fletcher. Et l'une des pièces du trésor de Bordeaux constitué vers 700 était frappée d'un motif galicien, suggérant de possibles relations commerciales.

La Galice médiévale

Le royaume wisigoth et la conquista mauresque

Avec la conversion au catholicisme des rois wisigoths, l'influence des évêques augmenta jusqu'à reprendre aux nobles, au IVe concile de Tolède de 633, le droit de désigner le roi au sein de la famille royale.

Rodrigue, dernier roi élu, fut trahi par Julien, comte byzantin de Septem, dont il a avait violé la fille. Ce dernier invita ses voisins musulmans Omeyyades (ou Maures), qui venait juste de conquérir le Maghreb à pénétrer en Hispanie. Il leur fournit pour cela une flotte que Tariq ibn Ziyad fit brûler à Gibraltar, avant d'engager le combat contre les Wisigoths à Guadalete, où le roi Rodrigue, trahi par ses sujets, meurt le  (28 Ramadan 92 AH). La conclusion de cette bataille provoqua l'écroulement du royaume, le trône restant vacant parce que les Maures ne permirent pas à Agila de l'occuper. Parmi les quelques survivants de la bataille, il y avait Pélage, un noble commandant la garde royale (Comes Spatharius).

Ce fut le début de la Conquête musulmane de l'Espagne qui soumît la majeure partie de la péninsule ibérique à la charî'a dès 716. La pénétration maure fut facilitée par la population indigène. Cette conquête rapide peut être comprise comme la poursuite des guerres civiles qui avaient affecté la péninsule pendant des siècles, aussi bien que comme la volonté des Maures de respecter les commandements de l'Islam les incitant à opérer des conversions par la force.

Pélage se vit créditer du début de la Reconquista de l'Ibérie quand, en 718, il vainquit les Omeyyades à la bataille de Covadonga, et établit le Royaume des Asturies au nord de la péninsule.

La Reconquista

Au cours des s, les comtes de Galice se soumettent plus ou moins à leur souverain en titre, et des raids normands/vikings ravagent les côtes de Galice. Les tours de Catoira (Pontevedra) sont construites dans le cadre d'un réseau de fortifications destinées à arrêter les raids vikings sur Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle.

Le nord de l'Ibérie (précédemment duché de Gallaecia), même conquis, n'est pas l'endroit rêvé pour les Maures, qui se bornent à y envoyer une force militaire pour y collecter des taxes, et comme les Romains, ne s'occupent guère des Asturies et de la Cantabrie. Mais, à la fin des années 710, l'Andalousie fut affligée de révoltes. Les Berbères n'appréciaient pas les terres qui leur avaient été attribuées et furent réprimés par les forces de l'émir lors de plusieurs batailles jusqu'à stopper la rébellion. Revolté par cette injustice manifeste, les Berbères se tournèrent alors vers les Asturies, réclamant davantage de taxes de cette région et organisant des expéditions punitives contre ses villages. Ceci conduisit les Astures à commencer une guérilla. Les Maures occupèrent la Galice pendant 24 ans jusqu'à leur expulsion en 739 par Alphonse  des Asturies. Le royaume fut connu sous le nom de Royaume des Asturies jusqu'en 924, puis devint le Royaume de León.

La rivalité constante entre les royaumes de León et de Castille fut exploitée par Sanche III de Navarre (1004–1035), qui absorbe la Castille dans les années 1020, puis le León pendant la dernière année de sa vie, laissant provisoirement la Galice indépendante. Après sa mort, ses terres furent divisées, et son fils Fernando lui succède au comté de Castille.

Deux années plus tard, en 1037, il conquiert le León et la Galice. En 1065, Ferdinand  de Castille, du León et de Galice divise son royaume entre ses fils. La Galice est attribuée à Garcia II de Galice.

Royaume de Galice et de Portugal

Un Royaume de Galice et de Portugal est constitué en 1065 par le comte de Portugal Nuno Mendes, qui déclare son indépendance après la mort de Ferdinand , profitant des dissensions provoquées par les guerres entre les fils de Ferdinand.

Cependant, en 1071, le roi Garcia II le défait et le tue à la bataille de Pedroso, et annexe son domaine, ajoutant le titre de Roi de Portugal à ses précédents titres. En 1072, le roi Garcia II est lui-même battu par son frère Sanche II de Castille et doit fuir. La même année, après le meurtre de Sanche, Alphonse VI devient roi de Castille et du León ; il fait emprisonner Garcia à vie, en se proclamant Roi de Galice et de Portugal, réunifiant ainsi le domaine de son père. Depuis ce temps, la Galice demeura une partie du royaume de Castille et du León, bien que bénéficiant de divers degrés d'autonomie de gouvernement.

En 1095, le Portugal se sépare définitivement du Royaume de Galice, ces domaines restant sous l'autorité du Royaume de León, comme la Castille (Burgos). Ses territoires, principalement constitués de montagnes, de landes et de forêts, étaient délimités au nord par le Minho, au sud par le Mondego.

Saint-Jacques et la Galice

D'après la légende, le transfert des reliques de saint Jacques en Galice fut accompagné d'une série d'évènements miraculeux : décapité à l'épée par Hérode Agrippa lui-même dans la ville de Jérusalem, son corps fut enlevé par des anges, puis porté, seul sur un radeau, jusqu'à Iria Flavia en Espagne, où un énorme rocher se referma autour de ses reliques à Compostelle.

L'Historia Compostellana fournit un résumé de la légende de saint Jacques telle qu'elle était contée à Compostelle au . Celle-ci est centrée autour de deux assertions : la première, que saint Jacques a prêché l'Évangile en Espagne aussi bien qu'en Terre sainte ; la seconde, qu'après son martyre par Hérode Agrippa, ses disciples transportèrent son corps jusqu'en Espagne par la mer, débarquèrent à Iria Flavia sur la côte de Galice, puis l'emmenèrent jusqu'à Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle pour l'ensevelir.

Une autre tradition plus tardive soutient qu'il apparut miraculeusement pour combattre parmi les rangs de l'armée chrétienne pendant la bataille de Clavijo, lors de la Reconquista, et fut dès lors appelé Matamoros (tueur de Maures). ¡ Santiago y cierra España !, qui signifie « Saint Jacques et reste ferme Espagne ! » devint le cri de guerre usuel des armées espagnoles.

Saint Jacques le tueur de Maures, l'un des plus vaillants saints et chevaliers que le monde n'ait jamais connus… a été donné par Dieu à l'Espagne pour être son bienfaiteur et protecteur.— Cervantès, Don Quichotte.

L'hypothèse de l'instauration du culte de saint Jacques afin de remplacer le culte galicien de Priscillien (exécuté en 385), qui était très vénéré dans tout le nord de l'Espagne comme martyr des évêques, plutôt que comme hérétique. Une légende se superpose à celle de saint Jacques, ce ne seraient point les reliques de l'apôtre qui reposent dans la cathédrale de Saint-Jacques, mais le corps de l'évêque Priscillien ramené de Trêves en Galice.

Époque moderne

La Galice contemporaine

Des mouvements galiciens nationalistes et fédéralistes se formèrent pendant le , et après la proclamation de la Seconde République espagnole en 1931, la Galice devint une « région autonome » à la suite de l'approbation de son projet de statut d'autonomie par un référendum.

Le 6 octobre 1934, des socialistes et des anarchistes tentent un coup d'État dans les Asturies et en Catalogne. Ce même jour, le politicien catalan Lluís Companys i Jover proclame la Catalogne république libre et indépendante. Les mineurs des Asturies se révoltent, occupant Oviedo, et provoquant la mort d'environ 40 personnes.

La tentative des rebelles de s'emparer des ministères à Madrid échoue, et il a été reconnu que les plus forts combats se déroulèrent en Catalogne et en Galice. Au milieu du mois d'octobre, cependant, la révolte avait été entièrement écrasée par le général Francisco Franco. Ce soulèvement et sa répression divisa la nation.

Pendant la dictature du général Francisco Franco (natif de Ferrol en Galice), de 1936 à 1975, le statut autonome de la Galice fut annulé (comme le furent ceux de la Catalogne et des provinces basques).
Le régime de Franco supprima également toutes les mesures en faveur de la langue galicienne (bien que son usage ne fut jamais interdit). Pendant la dernière décennie de l'ère franquiste, il y eut un renouveau du sentiment nationaliste en Galice.

Avec le retour à la démocratie qui suit la mort de Franco en 1975, la Galice recouvre son statut de communauté autonome d'Espagne.

Divers degrés de sentiments nationalistes ou séparatistes se manifestent au niveau politique. Le seul parti nationaliste ayant une certaine représentativité, le Bloque Nacionalista Galego ou BNG, plaide pour une plus grande autonomie vis-à-vis de l'État espagnol, et pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine galicien et de sa culture. D'autres factions revendiquent une complète indépendance, tandis que quelques groupuscules souhaitent la réunion avec le Portugal et le monde lusophone. Cependant, les partis nationalistes n'ont jusqu'à présent obtenu qu'un soutien minoritaire lors des échéances électorales.

De 1990 à 2005, le gouvernement et le parlement régional, la Xunta de Galicia, ont été présidés par le Parti populaire de Manuel Fraga, qui fut ministre et ambassadeur sous le régime de Franco.

Cependant, lors des élections galiciennes de 2005, le Parti populaire perdit la majorité absolue, bien que demeurant le parti le plus représenté au parlement. Le pouvoir passa aux mains d'une coalition de gauche entre le Partido Socialista de Galicia (PSdeG) (Parti socialiste de Galice), un parti-frère du principal parti socialiste espagnol, et le BNG. En tant qu'élément principal de la nouvelle coalition, le PSdeG désigna son chef Emilio Pérez Touriño à la présidence de la Galice.

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Bibliographie

  Ramón Villares, Historia de Galicia, Editorial Galaxia, 2004
  Jesús de Juana et Julio Prada (coord.), Historia contemporánea de Galicia, Barcelone, 2005
 Alain Tranoy, La Galice Romaine, Diffusion de Boccard, Paris, 1981.
  Richard A. Fletcher, « Chapter 1. Gallicia », Saint James's Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela, Oxford University Press, 1984.

Articles connexes

 Histoire de la Galice pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale
 Pèlerinage de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle
 Naufrage du pétrolier Prestige
 Suèves
 Histoire de la monnaie en Galice
 Bretons en Galice et aux Asturies
 Vikings en Galice
Antiquité romaine
 Antiquité tardive, Gouverneur romain, Notitia dignitatum,
 Liste des diocèses de l'Empire romain tardif, Liste des provinces du Bas-Empire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Blossoms 666 is a 5-issue comic book miniseries published by Archie Horror, an imprint of Archie Comics, in 2019. The story, which takes place in an alternate reality from the main Archie Comics continuity, focuses on siblings Cheryl and Jason Blossom as they compete for the title of Anti-christ. The series was created by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Laura Braga.

Publication history
In October 2018, Blossoms 666 was one of two 5-issue comic book miniseries announced by the Archie Horror imprint of Archie Comics, along with the crossover series Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica. The limited series was written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Laura Braga. Bunn described the series as "one part Omen, one part Cruel Intentions, all Archie!"

The first issue was released on January 23, 2019, making Blossoms 666 the first limited series to be published by the Archie Horror imprint. The second issue was released on March 6, the third issue on April 17, and the fourth issue on May 29. The fifth and final issue was released on July 17.

Story
The story revolves around twins Cheryl and Jason Blossom, who secretly come from a family of Satanists, as they compete for the title of Anti-christ. The Blossoms throw a pool party at their parents' mansion and invite all of their peers from Riverdale High School as part of their competition. Cheryl personally convinces Dilton Doiley to go to the party after rescuing him from Reggie Mantle's taunting, while Jason charms Miss Grundy into giving Jughead Jones an extension on a paper so that he can attend as well. At the party, the Blossom siblings play Truth or Dare with the other attendees and ask them to admit increasingly vicious truths and commit potentially homicidal dares, resulting in Betty Cooper storming off. As Jason's plan backfires and Jughead skips the party, Jason instead sets his sights on Ethel Muggs. Meanwhile, Cheryl takes Dilton into the woods where she is keeping Reggie tied to a tree. Cheryl then offers Dilton a knife and "dares" him.

The following Monday, a shadowy figure arrives in Riverdale. Dilton runs out of class after Miss Grundy notes Reggie's absence, prompting Betty to check on him. Dilton warns her to stay away and scatters at the sight of Cheryl. As Jason dismisses Cheryl's concern regarding Betty, they are met at Blossom Mansion by a sheriff who questions them about the disappearances of Reggie and Ethel. The Blossoms feign ignorance, but Cheryl suggests that the sheriff, who is revealed to be a Satanist, should talk to Dilton about Reggie. After her friends dismiss her suspicions of the Blossoms, Betty investigates the woods behind their mansion and finds a crazed Ethel, who points Betty to a cave containing a bloody Satanic idol. Admitting that Betty needs to be dealt with, Jason proposes that whoever can corrupt her "picture of innocence" shall be crowned the Anti-christ. Cheryl agrees to the terms, as does a man identifying himself as Julian Blossom, their older brother.

A flashback to the Blossom twins' birth reveals that they are actually triplets, and that the first-born Julian was taken away by cultists. In the present, Clifford and Penelope Blossom confirm that one of the three children will become the Anti-Christ. Betty misses school and witnesses Dilton being arrested by police. Feeling guilty that the group ignored Betty's concerns about the Blossoms, Archie Andrews convinces Betty's best friend Veronica Lodge to check on her. However, Cheryl insists to Veronica, also Betty's rival for Archie's affections, that Betty is manipulating the situation only to get Archie's attention. Meanwhile, Ethel tells Betty about her nightmares of the idol and, under Jason's secret orders, she sends Betty to research the Order of Abbadon. At the library, Betty finds a picture of her parents in one of the books on the Order before Julian introduces himself, offering to aid in her research so that they can take Cheryl and Jason down.

Flashbacks reveal Cheryl and Jason's more pleasant and privileged upbringing compared to Julian's. In the present, Betty finds another image of her parents in an Order of Abaddon book, this time with the Satanic idol from the cave behind the Blossom Mansion. Julian volunteers to help Betty find answers because, as he claims, Cheryl and Jason took everything from him. Meanwhile, after a freak accident nearly kills them, Cheryl and Jason agree to unite against Julian. As a result of Cheryl's previous intervening, Veronica visits Archie at home, distracting him from calling Betty. Jughead stumbles upon Ethel outside of Pop's diner and Ethel explains that she needs to show him something in the woods behind the Blossom estate. Betty invites Julian to her house to devise a plan and decides to warn her friends by sharing her findings about the Blossoms. However, Betty finds Archie and Veronica kissing and runs away upset. As Archie and Veronica embrace, he utters "All praise Abbadon."

Ethel leads Jughead to the three-tongued idol of Abbadon and orders him to kill her as a sacrifice. When he refuses, she stabs herself. Fleeing, Jughead runs into Cheryl and Jason, with the latter ready to collect on the favor Jughead owes him. After another freak accident results in Jason saving Cheryl's life, Cheryl suggests telling the truth in order to take Julian down. With Betty feeling hurt by Veronica and Archie, Julian blames Cheryl and Jason's manipulation. Betty and Julian hope to gain answers from Dilton, but find him hanged in his cell. Julian attempts to make Betty vengeful until Jughead arrives to tell Betty the truth, resulting in Betty slapping Julian and stomping off. Returning to the Blossom Mansion, Julian is stabbed to death by Cheryl and Jason to prevent him from ruling as Anti-Christ. The Blossoms then agree to resume their competition. While being watched in Pop's diner, Betty and Jughead wonder what to do now. Elsewhere, a body under a bloodied sheet rises.

Characters
 Cheryl Blossom: A popular student at Riverdale High School and a member of the wealthy, and secretly Satanist, Blossom family. Between her and her brothers Jason and Julian, one of them is the Anti-christ, and the siblings compete with each other for the title.
 Jason Blossom: A popular student at Riverdale High School and a member of the wealthy, and secretly Satanist, Blossom family. Between him and his sister Cheryl and brother Julian, one of them is the Anti-christ, and the siblings compete with each other for the title.
 Julian Blossom: Cheryl and Jason's older triplet brother who was taken away at birth by cultists. Upon his return, he also competes for the title of Anti-christ. Resentful of his siblings' privileged upbringing compared to his own, he teams up with Betty to take them down.
 Betty Cooper: A student at Riverdale High School whose long-gestating suspicions of the Blossoms intensify following their pool party. She sets out to investigate them and, lacking support from her friends, teams up with Julian to find answers. Unbeknownst to her, corrupting Betty becomes the goal of the Blossoms' competition.
 Ethel Muggs: A student at Riverdale High School who turns up missing after the pool party. Found in a manic state in the woods by Betty, who tries to help her get answers, Ethel subsequently acts as Jason's secret pawn in his mission to corrupt Betty.
 Jughead Jones: A student at Riverdale High School who is personally invited to the pool party after Jason gets him an extension on a paper. He ultimately skips the party, but owing Jason a favor, he later falls victim to the Blossoms' manipulation.
 Veronica Lodge: A student at Riverdale High School and Betty's brazen best friend and romantic rival who convinces her go "cut loose" and attend the pool party. Cheryl later manipulates her into believing that Betty's actions are a plot to obtain Archie's affections.
 Archie Andrews: A student at Riverdale High School who attends the pool party. He seemingly comes to regret dismissing Betty's suspicions of the Blossoms, but after Betty catches him and Veronica kissing, which upsets her, he is revealed to be a follower of Abaddon.
 Dilton Doiley: A student at Riverdale High School who is personally invited to the pool party after Cheryl defends him from Reggie's taunting. At the party, Cheryl encourages him to torture a tied-up Reggie. He is later arrested in connection with his disappearance.
 Miss Grundy: A teacher at Riverdale High School. She gives Jughead an extension on a paper after being persuaded by Jason.
 Clifford and Penelope Blossom: The wealthy and secretly Satanist parents of triplets Julian, Cheryl, and Jason.
 Reggie Mantle: A student at Riverdale High School who picks on Dilton. He next appears tied to a tree during the pool party as Cheryl dares Dilton to torture him. Afterward, he is declared missing.

Kevin Keller and Moose Mason make brief appearances in the first issue as attendees of the Blossom pool party. In later issues, Alice and Hal Cooper also appear in photographs.

Reception
Blossoms 666 received positive reviews from professional critics. The series holds an average critic rating of 8.1 out of 10 on the review aggregation website Comic Book Roundup, based on 32 reviews.

Patrick Cavanaugh of ComicBook.com gave the first issue a rating of 5 out of 5, praising the creative team and adding, "Blossoms 666 keeps up the tradition of Archie Horror by finding the perfect way to balance what readers already know about characters with terrifying horror movie tropes." Joey Edsall of Newsarama gave the debut issue a rating of 8 out of 10, calling it "a great issue in its own right" and said that Bunn, Braga, and colorist Matt Herms "excel at both imbuing the more gothic scenes and locale with a thick atmosphere of dread and at making the juxtaposition between the world of the Blossoms and the rest of Riverdale's youths pronounced without being overly jarring."

Cavanaugh gave the second issue a rating of 4 out of 5, writing, "Blossoms 666 continues to walk the line between a campy teen drama and a horrifying exploration of cults in a small town, with [Bunn and Braga] showing their skills with both tones. [...] The narrative didn't drive forward too much, the issue's only shortcoming, yet this just leaves us with more places to go, with this chapter remaining engaging and entertaining." Nathan Koffler of Comics: The Gathering rated the issue 10 out of 10, crediting Bunn's writing for producing "an amazing issue that is full of tension, drama, and wickedness with characters that are sexy, intimidating, and menacing." He also praised Braga for illustrating those elements "beautifully" and said that she did "an exceptional job at turning those [...] characters into visuals for us to fall in love with."

For the third issue, Cavanaugh reported a rating of 5 out of 5. He applauded the new narrative wrinkle in Julian Blossom for breaking with the book's darker themes and for "[putting] the story in a position to take some unexpected twists and turns, making an already intriguing story even more mysterious. The book continues to walk the fine line between being a straightforward horror story and a campy adventure, which is a highly entertaining delight for all fans of the darker side of Riverdale." Reviewing for Comic Watch, Nicholas Osborn praised the issue's pacing and artistry, giving it an overall rating of 9 out of 10. He concluded, "Blossoms 666 #3 deepens the mystery with compelling developments and an emphasis on character drama."

The fourth issue received a rating of 4 out of 5 from Cavanaugh, who noted that the issue largely serves to "[move] important pieces around the board to set up the story for some exciting reveals." He felt that, "Despite the slight stagnation of the narrative momentum, we're still delivered a creepy and charming story exploring the seedier side of Riverdale, making for an entertaining read for all fans of the darker interpretations of Archie Comics." Multiversity Comics Michael Govan gave the issue a rating of 5.5 out of 10. He criticized the characterization of Julian and the inclusion of the Betty-Archie-Veronica love triangle, but praised the comparable appearances of the characters to the actors who play their live-action counterparts on the television series Riverdale.

Cavanaugh of ComicBook.com described the fifth and final issue as "ambiguous and underwhelming" but again praised the artwork, which he felt "[makes] the book work well tonally, even without a single bubble of dialogue." With a rating of 4 out of 5, he concluded, "The dialogue between the characters feels authentic and engaging, yet the events of the actual book feel as though the storyline ran out of steam and serves more as a collection of scenes than an organic ending." Beyond The Panels Jideobi Odunze gave the issue an overall rating of 7.5 out of 10. He offered a mixed reaction to the artwork, criticizing the amount of off-panel action, but wrote, "The only thing that really sold those moments were the reaction shots and terrified expressions. To that extent they did succeed in creating engagement with the tone of the story."

References

Fictional depictions of the Antichrist
Horror fiction
Horror comics
2019 in comics


Carmichael Lynch Relate is a full-service marketing communications firm rooted in public relations. With an evolving nature and lofty objectives, the firm builds powerful relationships between people and brands through creative ideas that give our clients the advantage. Our work engages communities and drives actions and produces business results for our clients.
Public relations requires highly specialized expertise in many different disciplines. We house skill, talent and ability across a wide range of practice and industry groups.
At Carmichael Lynch Relate, we get part of our name from award-winning advertising agency Carmichael Lynch. While we remain two stand-alone agencies, we have the ability to snap together to fulfill our clients' broad range of needs. It's a unique, collaborative approach that provides our clients brilliant ideas across the full range of modern marketing channels, paid, owned and earned.
Clients are our reason for being, and we are proud to represent some of the most iconic brands in the world. We immerse ourselves in our clients' businesses as well as how people relate to them. We shop for them. We experience them. We observe others with them. We live them.
An agency is its people. And these are ours. Thinkers, makers, dreamers, artists, analysts, coffee-consumers, and a surprising amount of bikers from all over, from all walks of life, who make Carmichael Lynch Relate what it is today.


text:
What's new in obesity prevention
Reports about what to do about obesity in adults and children are coming out one after another.
The HSC Foundation has produced Fighting Obesity: What Works, What's Promising? (click on Fighting Obesity Report). Based on interviews, it reviews model programs that are having some success, such as The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization; The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC); and The Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) Program. Its main conclusion: a focus on pregnant women and children will have the biggest payoff.
NIH has New Tools to Promote Healthy Habits, one of which is "We Can! Ways to Enhance Children's Activities and Nutrition." The online program tells families how to improve food choices, increase physical activity, and reduce screen time. [Question: do online programs do any good at all? I'd really like to know.]
Finally (for now), the Institute of Medicine and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have produced Local Government Action to Prevent Childhood Obesity, with a mind-numbing 58 steps that governments could take to do some good . They also published a brief summary. Fortunately, the authors select the 12 actions most likely to succeed:
Create incentive programs to attract supermarkets and grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods
Require menu labeling in chain restaurants to provide consumers with calorie information on in-store menus and menu boards
Mandate and implement strong nutrition standards for foods and beverages available in government-run or regulated after-school programs, recreation centers, parks, and child-care facilities, including limiting access to unhealthy foods and beverages
Adopt building codes to require access to, and maintenance of, fresh drinking water fountains (e.g. public restrooms)
Implement a tax strategy to discourage consumption of foods and beverages that have minimal nutritional value, such as sugar sweetened beverages
Develop media campaigns, utilizing multiple channels (print, radio, internet, television, social networking, and other promotional materials) to promote healthy eating (and active living) using consistent messages
Plan, build and maintain a network of sidewalks and street crossings that connects to schools, parks and other destinations and create a safe and comfortable walking environment
Adopt community policing strategies that improve safety and security of streets and park use, especially in higher-crime neighborhoods
Collaborate with schools to implement a Safe Routes to Schools program
Build and maintain parks and playgrounds that are safe and attractive for playing, and in close proximity to residential areas
Collaborate with school districts and other organizations to establish agreements that would allow playing fields, playgrounds, and recreation centers to be used by community residents when schools are closed (joint-use agreements)
Institute regulatory policies mandating minimum play space, physical equipment and duration of play in preschool, afterschool and child-care programs
A 12-step program for preventing childhood obesity! These are good ideas. What will it take to get them put into practice?
Acrylamide, sigh
Slow Food Eat-In for School Meals: September 7
Tags: Obesity, Obesity-in-kids, Obesity-policy


I started Digital Fourth with two friends in 2012. We wanted to document the abuses of the surveillance state, and identify state-level strategies to undermine it. As the experienced nonprofit manager, I handled the day-to-day setup, and we became a properly designated 501(c)(4) nonprofit.
Then all hell broke loose, and it's still breaking.
On June 6, 2013, Edward Snowden went public with the first of a series of revelations about the vast extent of US government intrusion into our digital data. Though civil liberties activists like myself had suspected a lot of what he disclosed, he provided inarguable proof of serious Constitutional abuses.
We now know that we have in this country an intelligence community that views the Fourth Amendment as a dead letter, and that barely even bothers to structure any of its systems around the notions the Fourth Amendment embodies. We now know that we are all spied on relentlessly and without ceasing, irrespective of whether there is probable cause – or even reasonable suspicion – to suspect us of any crime.
The police departments of large cities are increasingly complicit in this system, and rapidly advancing technologies make it easier and easier for them to track us. Prosecutors, lacking any meaningful accountability, see hackers, technologists, journalists, dissidents and people of color as especially frightening, and use vague laws to criminalize ordinary and Constitutionally protected behavior. The leadership of both political parties is bound up in this system, both as its creators and also its victims.
Starting here in Massachusetts, we are pursuing meaningful reforms of government data collection and retention, criminal justice, and intelligence work, so that each of us can breathe a little easier as we go about our daily lives. In October 2013, we merged with Restore The Fourth's Boston chapter, making Digital Fourth one of over 20 chapters of Restore The Fourth nationwide. As part of our national work, we aim to sunset Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, a law that enables a major part of the surveillance state.
This is an agenda that is both new and old. We want to preserve the timeless protections of the US Constitution; but by doing so, we will also preserve the freedom to experiment, to innovate, to create, and to agitate. We cannot remain at the forefront of technological and social advances if our brightest minds are constantly under the closest watch.
If you agree, join us. It's going to be a wild ride.
1. Your cause is one of dozens/hundreds of "political," constitutional, etc. causes across America that thousands/millions of passionate, intelligent Americans are involved in.
2. All of the wrongs you and these other groups are trying to right exist, ultimately because our national government is more an unaccountable, self-serving master than a responsible, selfless servant. And it is that way because we as a free society never learned how to practice democracy competently — which is to say, our voters do not know how to keep Congress filled with a steady supply of liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans who don't have a politically ambitious or power hungry bone in their body.
3. The primary reason our voters are incompetent voters: lack of salient, actionable knowledge. They lack the lexicon of apolitical/non-ideological (ANI) terms and concepts that would enable them to understand why the "model" of self-governance they are and have been using to elect their legislators to Congress is a flawed, ignorance-based model (based on a flawed theory of self-governance).
4. Funding a national ANI education/awareness campaign AND advocating the creation of a new subfield in political science: comparative self-governance, is the best way to introduce these new "political" concepts and ideas into our "mainstream" marketplace of new ideas.
aside: it's probably too late in the 2016 legislative election cycle to affect the 2016 election outcomes, but not too early to start thinking about the 2018 national legislative election process (NLEP).


Discussion in 'CS:GO Pre-Sale Questions' started by Sören Putzenlechner, Apr 10, 2019.
We have already contacted paymentwall a while ago. They are not responding so it is not in our hands. Try using PayPal instead.


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Canadian Solar Signs Loan Agreement with China Minsheng Bank
BookmarkGUELPH, Ontario | NEWS RELEASE — Canadian Solar has signed a US$250 million loan agreement with China Minsheng Bank. The loan facility has a three-year maturity and will be used to partially finance the acquisition of Recurrent Energy LLC and the construction of the utility-scale solar projects in USA. "We are very delighted to receive this loan facility from China Minsheng Bank, a large commercial bank in China. Our ability to get support from both international and Chinese financial institutions is a testament to Canadian Solar's position as a global leader in the utility-scale solar energy business," said Dr. Shawn […]
By Derick Lila May 8, 2015 0
GUELPH, Ontario | NEWS RELEASE —
Canadian Solar has signed a US$250 million loan agreement with China Minsheng Bank. The loan facility has a three-year maturity and will be used to partially finance the acquisition of Recurrent Energy LLC and the construction of the utility-scale solar projects in USA.
"We are very delighted to receive this loan facility from China Minsheng Bank, a large commercial bank in China. Our ability to get support from both international and Chinese financial institutions is a testament to Canadian Solar's position as a global leader in the utility-scale solar energy business," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. "We look forward to continuing our cooperation with Minsheng Bank and other financial institutions to fund our profitable growth."
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