text:
Indian Patents
Recently Granted Patents
Recently Published Patents
Title of Invention
A NON RE-USABLE HYPODERMIC SYRINGE
A non re-usable hypodermic syringe comprising a cylinder and a plunger reciprooatingly mounted within the cylinder; a first circumferential ridge on the inner wall, of the cylinder and a second circumferential ridge on the outer wall of the plunger the second ridge having a larger circumference than that of the first ridge, the stem of the plunger being made of an elastic material provided with a slot, such that when the plunger is pushed in the cylinder, the ridges on the cylinder and on the lunger butt against each other while simulta eonsl)" the slotted portion of the stem gets resiliently compressed to allow the ridges to ride over each other and thus allow the stem to pass through into the top portion of the cylinder fo~ administering the injection the stem however being restrained from retracting by reason of the ridges fouling with each oilier such that the stem breaks off on forcible withdrawal from the cylinder.
This invention relates to a non-reusable hypodermic syringe.
It is known that unscrupulous persons attempt to reuse hypodermic syringes after administering one injection, in order to save cost and thereby give room for spreading disease and create unhygienic conditions. This situation exists despite disposable syringes being put on the market for providing adequate health care.
It is therefore an object of this invention to propose a hypodermic syringe which, once used, is incapable of being used again, because if an attempt is made to reuse it, it destroys itself rendering it incapable of any reuse.
The non re-usable hypodermic syringe according to this invention comprises a cylinder and a plunger reciprocating mounted within the cylinder, a first circumferential ridge on the inner wall of the cylinder and a second
circumferential ridge on the outer wall of the plunger, the second ridge having a larger circumference than that of the first ridge, the stem of the plunger being made of an elastic material provided with a slot, such that when the plunger is pushed in the cylinder, the ridges on the cylinder and On the plunger butt against each other while simultaneously the slotted portion of the stem gets resiliently compressed to allow the ridges to ride over each other and thus allow the stem to pass through into the top portion of the cylinder for administering the injection, the stem however being restrained from retracting by reason of the ridges fouling with each other such that the stem breaks off on forcible withdrawal from the cylinder.
This invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example and not by way of limitation one of possible embodiments of the hypodermic syringe proposed herein
Figs. 1A and 1B illustrating a view of the plunger
and cylinder of the syringe, with the top end of the
plunger just entering the top end portion of the
Fig. 2 illustrating the ridge on the outer wall of the
plunger riding over the ridge on the inner wall of
the cylinder
Fig.3 illustrating the top end of the plunger
completing its full traverse
Fig. 4 illustrating the plunger breaking off as an
attempt is made to retract the plunger for refilling
the syringe
The non-reusable hypodermic syringe
comprises a cylinder G and a plunger P reciprocating mounted within the cylinder. The inner wall of the cylinder is provided with a first circumferential ridge R1 and the outer wall of the plunger is provided with a second circumferential ridge R2 near the top of the plunger, the ridge R2 having a larger circumference than that of the ridge R2.
The stem of the plunger is made of an elastic material and i$ provided with a slot T, such that when the plunger is pushed in the cylinder, the
ridges R1 R2 on the cylinder and on the plunger butt against each other. Consequently, the ridge R2 rides over the ridge R1 by compressing the stem at the slot to allow the ridge s to ride over each other and thus allow the stem to pass through into the upper portion of the cylinder to administer the injection. However, any subsequent attempt to withdraw
(that is, retract) the plunger will be resisted by the ridges R1 and R2 fouling with each other, thus preventing such withdrawal. If the plunger is sought to be forcibly withdrawn, the stem breaks off at G wher0 two adjacent portions of the stem are connected by a strut S which ruptures on such force being applied. Consequently, the syringe is incapable of being reused. To facilitate riding of the ridges over each other the ridge R2 is tapered at E to ride over the ridge R1, but not When the ridge R2 is retracted because, in such a case, the very taper at E which
enabled passage of the stem past the ridge R1 restrains the passage of the stem in the reverse direction. Besides, in the reverse direction, the
stem at its slotted portion is not under
compression.
The bottom end of the plunger is attached to a
knob by a strut F which breaks away on forcible
withdrawal of the plunger from the cylinder thus
rendering the syringe incapable of being refilled
for fresh use.
It will be appreciated that various other
embodiments are possible without departing from the scope and ambit of this invention.
1. A non re-usable hypodermic syringe
comprising a cylinder and a plunger
reciprocatingly mounted within the cylinder; a
first circumferential ridge on the inner wall of the
cylinder and a second circumfererntial ridge on
second ridge
the outer wall of the plunger, the
having a larger circumference that that of the first
ridge, the stem of the plunger being made of an
elastic material provided with a slot, such that when the plunger is pushed in the cylinder, the ridges on the cylinder and on the plunger butt against each other while simultaneously the slotted portion of the stem gets re siliently compressed to allow the ridges to ride over each other and thus allow the stem to pass through into the top portion of the cylinder for administering
the injection, the stem however being restrained from retracting by reason of the ridges fouling with each other such that the stem breaks off on forcible withdrawal from the cylinder.
to facilitate riding over the first ridge, except
when the plunger is sought to be retracted when
the ridges foul with each other preventing such
retraction.
substantially as herein described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
407-CHE-2008 AMENDED PAGES OF SPECIFICATION 04-01-2012.pdf
407-CHE-2008 AMENDED CLAIMS 04-01-2012.pdf
407-CHE-2008 EXAMINATION REPORT REPLY RECEIVED 04-01-2012.pdf
407-CHE-2008 POWER OF ATTORNEY 04-01-2012.pdf
407-che-2008-claims.pdf
407-che-2008-correspondnece-others.pdf
407-che-2008-description(complete).pdf
407-che-2008-drawings.pdf
407-che-2008-form 1.pdf
407-che-2008-form 18.pdf
« Previous Patent
Next Patent »
Patent Number
Indian Patent Application Number
407/CHE/2008
PG Journal Number
Date of Filing
Name of Patentee
TRIBHUVANSIMH AMRITLAL RATHOD
Applicant Address
7, TIGER VARADACHARI ROAD, I STREET, KALAKSHETRA COLONY BESANT NAGAR, CHENNAI 90.
Inventor's Address
1 TRIBHUVANSIMH AMRITLAL RATHOD 7, TIGER VARADACHARI ROAD, I STREET, KALAKSHETRA COLONY BESANT NAGAR, CHENNAI 90.
PCT International Classification Number
A 61 M 5/00
PCT International Application Number
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
PCT Application Number
Date of Convention
Priority Country
1 NA
© All Indian Patents, 2013-2016.
Patent data available in the public domain from Indian Patents Office, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotions, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Unified communications will soon reach its "use by" date, and the next evolution of enterprise communications is around the corner, analysts say. But what exactly is coming next?
UC has reached maturity — in terms of language and technology — since entering the market in 2005 and will hit its "use by" date at the end of 2016, according to Art Schoeller, Forrester Research principal analyst.
UC's maturity has reaped benefits for organizations that adopt UC technology. According to a Forrester report that surveyed 1,078 telecom decision makers, 91% saw improved team collaboration in their organization and 88% reported significantly faster problem resolution.
"It's not the UC part that's unique anymore, everyone is doing it," said David Nuss, senior vice president of IT at real estate agency Cresa. It is how a vendor uses UC technology that will influence the next wave of enterprise communication and collaboration.
Vendors have started applying machine learning technology to their services to map interaction patterns and relationships, expanding on asynchronous communications to offer persistent collaboration workspaces, bridging asynchronous and synchronous communication through upcoming standards like WebRTC, and embedding UC into enterprise applications for real-time collaboration, Schoeller said.
Nuss discussed how Cresa needed to consolidate its disparate communication systems for a consistent employee and customer experience. The driver behind the consolidation was a cloud and mobile-first approach to communications that would be easy for IT to manage, lead to hard-dollar savings and support future communication needs.
Cresa chose RingCentral, the sponsor of the webinar, as its sole UC provider, which allowed the real estate firm to consolidate its 11 customer relationship management (CRM) services and 22 voice systems across the company's locations.
"You name it, we had it," Nuss said.
But the deciding factor for Cresa wasn't that RingCentral simply offered the UC technology that the company needed, but what the vendor did with the technology — like integrating with Salesforce, analytics features and real-time collaboration.
Nuss said Cresa saw high adoption of its new UC system because of the system's flexibility to allow individual users to customize the service to fit their needs while maintaining uniformity across the organization.


We demonstrate the inscription of fiber Bragg gratings in single crystalline sapphire using the second harmonic of a Ti:Sa-amplified femtosecond laser system. With the laser wavelength of 400 nm first order gratings were fabricated. The interferometric inscription was performed out using the Talbot interferometer. This way, not only single gratings but also multiplexed sensor arrays were realized. For evaluating of the sensor signals an adapted multimodal interrogation setup was build up, because the sapphire fiber is an extreme multimodal air clad fiber. Due to the multimodal reflection spectrum, different peak functions have been tested to evaluate the thermal properties of the grating. The temperature sensors were tested for high temperature applications up to 1200°C with a thermal sensitivity in the order of 25 pm/K which is more than the doubled of that one reached with Bragg gratings in conventional silica fibers.


Melone Village is a 188-unit complex and contains one, two, three, and four-bedroom townhouses. Most units include basements with laundry hookup capability. Rent is income-based, and all utilities are included in your rental payment. Minimal excess utility charges may apply for washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, additional freezers or refrigerators, and aquariums.
Melone Village is conveniently located on a City bus route. Residents' children attend Genesee Elementary School, Auburn Junior High School, and Auburn High School (bus stop is located in front of complex). Melone Village is lead safe.
Rent at Melone Village is based on gross annual income.
Rent will not exceed 33% of a household's gross annual income (including utilities).
General Occupancy Standards: 2 per 1-bedroom, 4 per 2-bedroom, 6 per 3-bedroom, 8 per 4-bedroom.
Income limits are adjusted annually based on median income in Cayuga County.
Rent is likely to fall somewhere in between the minimum rent and maximum rent established for each type of unit.


text:
Neustadt in Holstein − miasto w Niemczech w kraju związkowym Szlezwik-Holsztyn, w powiecie Ostholstein. W 2008 r. liczyło 16 535 mieszkańców.

Leży na terenie krainy Wagria, której nazwa pochodzi od mieszkającego na tym terenie do XII wieku słowiańskiego plemienia Wagrów, wchodzącego w skład Związku obodryckiego.

Podczas II wojny światowej w mieście znajdował się podobóz nr 1049 obozu koncentracyjnego KL Neuengamme. W zatoce na południe od miasta w dniu 3 maja 1945 roku zatopione zostały statki SS Cap Arkona i SS Thiebleck wraz z ponad 7 tys. więźniów obozów koncentracyjnych.

Po 1945 roku miasto znajdowało się w Republice Federalnej Niemiec.

Współpraca zagraniczna

  Dania: Rønne

Zobacz też
 Neustadt

Miasta w Szlezwiku-Holsztynie
Powiat Ostholstein

de:Neustadt in Holstein
en:Neustadt in Holstein
eo:Neustadt (Holstinio)
fr:Neustadt en Holstein
nl:Neustadt in Holstein
no:Neustadt (Østholstein)
ro:Neustadt in Holstein
ru:Нойштадт (Гольштейн)
tr:Neustadt in Holstein
vo:Neustadt in Holstein

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Le xian de Huaping (华坪县 ; pinyin : Huápíng Xiàn) est un district administratif de la province du Yunnan en Chine. Il est placé sous la juridiction de la ville-préfecture de Lijiang.

Démographie
La population du district était de  en 1999.

Notes et références

Huaping


text:
Causes, Features, Lifestyle
School of Satchel Pledges
The School of Satchel (S.O.S), a Filipino leather goods brand, launched 'S.O.S PLEDGES' in partnership with KaEskwela Inc. which promises to give a school bag to a KaEskwela beneficiary for every purchase from S.O.S' new premium collection available this month.
S.O.S is known for its hand-crafted vintage style leather satchels from genuine cow hide. The brand's products are made by Philippine craftsmen, are hand-cut and assembled manually. S.O.S endeavors to support Philippine leather industries by using Pinoy leather and local manufacturing.
While living in the United Kingdom, Bianca Donato, the sole proprietor of S.O.S, saw firsthand how fortunate their public school students are since tuition fees, school supplies, meals and transportation are subsidized by the government. Bianca's describes her motivation behind the program, "In the UK, students could focus more on their schoolwork and not worry about making ends meet. Here education remains a privilege to a certain few which shouldn't be the case. We still have a long way to go and we can do our part by supporting organizations such as KaEskwela that aims to provide equal educational opportunities to all."
The School of Satchel can be purchased online. Also available at Heima Stores (N. Garcia, Makati and Cubao Expo), Analog Soul in TriNoma and Vanity Without Apology in Pop Culture, Alabang Town Center
School of Satchel Multiply site
School of Satchel FB page
via It's All About Meow
« The initial guidelines for bloggers holding contests
How To Report Animal Cruelty »
Tags: bags, S.O.S., School of Satchel


text:
Actors: Mayrín Villanueva, Alexis Ayala, Marcus Ornellas
After stealing the Tesseract during the events of "Avengers: Endgame," an alternate version of Loki is brought to the mysterious Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of…
An epic adventure begins when a massive sinkhole opens in the middle of Los Angeles, pulling hundreds of people and buildings into its depths. Those who fell in find themselves…
Genre: Game-Show, Reality-TV
Follow Moiraine, a member of the shadowy and influential all-female organization called the "Aes Sedai" as she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women. Moiraine…
After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the…
10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, we find him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter…
It will center on a couple, portrayed by Gutierrez and Avelino, who navigates the traditional expectations attached to marriage — that it extends beyond one's partner, and includes their friends…
Kristiania magiske tivolitheater
Komi Can't Communicate
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
An emotional journey that follows a brain scientist who is obsessive about figuring out new technologies to access the consciousness and memories of the brain. His life goes sideways when…
Three lucky contestants put their pop culture knowledge to the test to complete iconic, People Puzzler crosswords. The player with the most points at the end of three rounds wins…
Pip and Posy
Following the friendship between spirited rabbit Pip and sweet-natured mouse Posy whose lives revolve around a wonderful world of play. Each day is a joyful celebration of their great friendship,…
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Episodes -----Incorrect episodeBroken linkOthers
Contents -----Incorrect detailsWrong imagesOthers


text:
Ricki Lake
Hastings-On-Hudson, USA
Born on Sep 21 #8
Actress #1837
Born in Hastings-On-Hudson #1
Virgo #1
FIRST NAME Ricki #1
More Facts of Ricki Lake
Taurus, Capricorn
Rob Sussman, Christian Evans
Hastings-On-Hudson
Barry Lake
Jill Lake
Jennifer Lake
Milo Sebastian Sussman, and Owen Tyler Sussman.
Ricki Lake Facebook
Ricki Lake Twitter
Ricki Lake Instagram
Ricki Lake IMDB
Ricki Lake Wiki
View more / View less Facts of Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake is a very successful actress and media personality from the United States. Ricki Lake is also a producer of the industry. Moreover, she has played in many movies like Hairspray, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Where the Day Takes You, etc.
Ricki Lake was born on 21st September 1968, in Hastings-On-Hudson, United States of America. This makes her 54 years old as of 2022. Her full name is Ricki Pamela Lake. While, her mother is Jill Lake, and her father is Barry Lake. Moreover, she also has a sibling named Jennifer Lake. While she holds an American nationality and practices Christianity. Further, she belongs to the Caucasian ethnicity. According to astrology, she has Virgo as her zodiac sign.
Talking about the formal educational status, she completed her schooling at a local school in his hometown. And, she also accomplished her higher studies at university. She also attended Ithaca College.
Ricki is a very popular actress, a television personality from the United States. While she has also made identity as a producer. She has acted in many movies, television shows, and series also. The award-winning actress always had a great zeal to be in this field and have a great career. With this great motivation, she moved to Los Angles and start pursuing an acting career.
Caption: Ricki Lake lifestyle (Source: Fanpop)
To have a great shape, and skills she underwent to lose the weight along with it worked very hard to hone up the skills. Her first movie came in 1988 under the name Hairspray in the role of Tracy Turnblad. She was quite famous from her initial debut role too. Following this grand debut, she got many more offers from movies. She went on to do movies like; The In Crowd, Working Girl, Cookie, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Baby Cakes, Where the Day Takes You, Inside Monkey Zetterland, A Dirty Shame, Park, Gemini, etc.
Further, she has made equally great contributions in the field of the television entertainment industry too. Some of her television shows and series are; Kate & Allie, Baby Cakes, China Beach, Gravedale High, The Chase, Ricki Lake, Higglytown Heroes, Gameshow Marathon, Drop the Mic, The Masked Singer, etc. For her amazing contribution to date, she has won many awards till date from different organizations.
Ricki Lake is living a comfortable life with her family. Thanks to the fame and fortune she has earned from her work as of today. Moreover, her total net worth is about $25 million US dollars as of 2022.
Moving on toward the romantic and private life of Ricki Lake, she is divorced. She has tied knots two times in her life. She first married Rob Sussman on 26th March 1994. They together lived a great time together until their divorce on 25th February 2004 with two children They are; Milo Sebastian Sussman, and Owen Tyler Sussman.
Later, after separating from Rob Sussman, she hitched Christian Evans on 8th April 2012. However, they could sustain their relationship for only two years, and they separated in 2014. Apart from it, she has no affairs with any other person. While she is straight regarding gender choices. And, she does not have any kind of controversial events till today.
Caption: Ricki Lake with Christian Evans (Source: The Today Show)
Ricki Lake is very good-looking and has an amazing personality. The actress stands about 5 feet and 4 inches tall. While she weighs about 59kg. Moreover, talking about the overall body measurement, the number ranges to 40 inches breast, 24 inches waist, and 36 inches hips. The color of her eyes is dark brown, and she has black-colored hair.
Ricki Lake is also present on social media. She has a Facebook account under the name Ricki Lake with around 275k followers. While also has an Instagram account under the name @rickilake with 235k followers. Moreover, her Twitter account @RickiLake has 233.3k followers.
Ricki Lake Fans Also Viewed
Belén Cuesta
Kunzang Seagal
Connor Franta
More Virgo


text:
Q: How to access swift resources in objective c? I want to show the chart in ViewController file.I am able to show the chart in swift file.my problem is, i Want to access that view in viewController file.But am not able to access.I can able to call the method test() from viewController but not able to call setChart() method.This is my Source Code:
ViewController.m
#import "ViewController.h"
#import "ChartsDemo-swift.h"
#import "ChartsDemo-Bridging-Header.h"
@interface ViewController ()

@end

@implementation ViewController
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
    [super viewDidLoad];
    //View Creation
    UIView *mainView = [[UIView alloc]initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 200, 270)];

    //Array Creation
    NSMutableArray *mn = [[NSMutableArray alloc]initWithObjects:@"5",@"8", nil];
    NSArray *un = [[NSArray alloc]initWithObjects:@"6",@"10", nil];

    //Instance for Swift Class
    BarChartViewController *bcv = [[BarChartViewController alloc]init];

    //Function Call
    [bcv test];
    [bcv setChart:mn values:un];
}

- (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
    [super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
}

@end

BarChartViewController.swift
import Foundation
import Charts

class BarChartViewController: UIViewController {

@IBOutlet var barChartView: BarChartView!
var months: [String]!

override func viewDidLoad()
{

    //Array Creation
     months = ["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"]
    let units = [20.0, 4.0, 6.0, 3.0, 12.0, 16.0, 4.0, 18.0, 2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 4.0]

   //Function call
    setChart(months, values: units)
    piesetChart(months, values: units)

}

func test()
{
    print("hi")
}

func setChart(dataPoints: [String], values: [Double])
{

    var dataEntries: [BarChartDataEntry] = []

    for var i=0; i < dataPoints.count; i++
    {
        let dataEntry = BarChartDataEntry(value: values[i], xIndex: i)
        dataEntries.append(dataEntry)
    }

    let chartDataSet = BarChartDataSet(yVals: dataEntries, label: "Units Sold")
    let chartData = BarChartData(xVals: months, dataSet: chartDataSet)

    chartDataSet.colors = [UIColor .redColor()]

    barChartView.data = chartData
    barChartView.xAxis.labelPosition = .Bottom
}

1.How to access the swift view in Objective c view?
2.How to access the setChart method from ViewController.m?

A: If u want to access the setChart() method from your ViewController.m means,

*

*Import the Bridging-Header.h in ViewController.m

*Create an instance for the BarChartViewController.swift from the ViewController class. By using the instance you can access the setChart() method.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Basic decision against gas cars. Why this dispensable step in direction of a future mobility is not necessary.
At the Citroen C3 is the difference between gasoline and natural gas 154 g CO2/km and 119g CO2/km. The bigger C4 emits as a hybrid only 90g CO2/km and even this can be radically reduced changing the monovalent Dieselhybrid to a bivalend Hybrid where it's possible to drive the first kms by electric power, falling down from the sky.
Why all this effort to reduce the CO2 emission from the small C3 from 154 to 119g/km, when the bigger C4 shines with 90g/km. It's only 35g less CO2. Instead of a costly gas refuel station in the garage, spent a electric charger for the C4. When a C4 drives 39% of his ways by electric power produced withoug CO2, this would be also 35g less CO2. Down from 90g to 55g.
More than 60% efficiency at electricity from biogas is state of the art. But what is the efficiency of a gas engine in a car? Not the best efficiency, but the average efficiency in city traffic, because the gas is not for long distances, the C3 drives on long distances with gasoline.
It could be a 1:4 difference between biogas in a high temperature fuel cell with steam turbine to make electric power also from the waste heat and a high efficient electric car and a gas car with Otto engine.
Out of this reason, use resources usefull, make out of gas or biogas electric power in a high efficient fuel cell and recharge a bivalent hybrid car instead of wasting it in very inefficient cars with Otto engine in city traffic.
Why arrived the hybrid car not earlier. What problems solves the hybrid car? Can the hybrid succeed against cars with hydrogen and fuel cells?
Cheap mineral oil was yesterday, the price system between differen energy sources and technologies for usage in the area of mobility changes durable.
Energy becomes more expensive wail the fossiles. Wrong, only the short dated special deal fossile fuels becomes more expensive. Long time available energy becomes cheaper.
From where should the electric power for electric mobility come? Some people belive the electric power comes out of the plug. Other belive electric power falls down from the sky.
2 exhibitions with the same theme, our mobility in the futures, but contrariness to the thematic similarity, differences like day and night.
Physics can not be changed. The physical physical of hydrogen are known. The hydrogen age is q question of believe.
The duell over the future of mobility. In one corner the since decades proclaimed hydrogen, on the other side of the ring: Hybrid with Lithium based batteries.


text:
package demo.inpro.system.echodm;

import inpro.apps.SimpleReco;
import inpro.apps.util.RecoCommandLineParser;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.URL;

import javax.sound.sampled.UnsupportedAudioFileException;

import org.apache.log4j.PropertyConfigurator;

import edu.cmu.sphinx.util.props.ConfigurationManager;
import edu.cmu.sphinx.util.props.PropertyException;

public class EchoDemo {

	static ConfigurationManager cm;

	public static void main (String[] args) {

		try {
			System.setProperty("mary.host","bramaputra.ling.uni-potsdam.de");
			System.setProperty("mary.port","59125");
			//System.setProperty("mary.base","/home/kjettka/MARY_TTS");
			System.setProperty("mary.version","3");
			PropertyConfigurator.configure("log4j.properties");

			String [] args1 = new String[5];
			args1[0] = "-M";					//inputMode = MICROPHONE_INPUT;
		    args1[1] = "-O";					//outputMode |= DISPATCHER_OBJECT_OUTPUT;
		    args1[2] = "-Is";					//incrementalMode = SMOOTHED_INCREMENTAL;
		    args1[3] = "7";						//incrementalModifier = 7;
		    args1[4] = "-C";					//outputMode |= CURRHYP_OUTPUT;

		    URL configURL = new URL("file:src/demo/inpro/system/echodm/prosody-config.xml");
		    ConfigurationManager cm=new ConfigurationManager(configURL);
			RecoCommandLineParser clp = new RecoCommandLineParser(args1);
	    	SimpleReco simpleReco = new SimpleReco(cm, clp);
	    	if (clp.isInputMode(RecoCommandLineParser.MICROPHONE_INPUT)) {
	    		System.err.println("Starting recognition, use Ctrl-C to stop...\n");
	    		simpleReco.recognizeInfinitely();
	    	} else {
	    		simpleReco.recognizeOnce();
	    	}
	    	simpleReco.getRecognizer().deallocate();
	    	System.exit(0);
		}
		catch (PropertyException e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
		catch (IOException e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
		catch (UnsupportedAudioFileException e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
	}
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: How a native English speaker use Present Perfect tense in formal writing? In formal academic essays or in IELTS task 2 essays. The Present Perfect can be used in two cases mainly, which are shown in the below examples:

Case 1) I have been married for 21 years.
The action "married" happened in the past, but the action is still happening now.
Case 2) When Australia has applied the economic policies which I mentioned earlier, according to the government statistics, most employees found a new job in supermarkets after their former employer companies had been closed.
The government applied these policies in the past, but I want to
  emphasis that these policies are still applied now. It is like "I have lost my book." Losing my book happened in the past, but by using present perfect, I want to emphasis that losing my book is still important now.

Two native English teachers said that the sentences in case 2 are wrong and suggested to use past tense instead, but when I discussed this with them they changed their mind. I wonder how native English speakers actually use present perfect despite what grammar books say as I want to learn avoid writing sentences which seem ungrammatical to most native English speakers.

A: When X has Y, Z is the same as saying Each time X has Y, Z happened.
It does not necessarily imply that "X is Y'ing" right now.
But it does imply that if X is Y'ing right now, then Z is probably happening now.

A: Try "The government has been applying economic policies...". That's the present perfect continuous tense, which is the one that means the action started in the past but is still happening. What matters to the tense is when the action happened, not when the consequences happened. You lost your book in the past. You got married in the past. Those are not continuous actions like applying an economic policy.


To add a DNSBL check list checker and check your domain or IP from 130 checking sites, you can select this monitor from the Add New Monitor section to enter the initial settings for this tracker.
You can start by choosing the right title for your monitor.
In the bar bar section, you can select an interval for checking your server in the daily range.
And in the final section to add a monitor in the Mihan Monitor, you can enable alert methods for the same server and the same monitor.


Gwyneth Paltrow has shared photos of her recent wedding to Brad Falchuk. The actress and businesswoman put together an album of 47 pictures of the big day on the Goop website and shared one on Instagram. The photos detail the entire day, from the table decorations to photos of her beautiful Valentino couture dress.
"Took me a minute to get it together, but at long last, for those who have requested, a little look inside the best day of our lives," she wrote on her Instagram account.
Paltrow's dress was a beautifully embroidered lace gown made by Valentino couture. It featured a partly sheer back and shoulders and she added a lovely sheer veil to the ensemble.
The actress later changed into a Stella McCartney playsuit for the evening reception so that she could dance the night away.
The photos show plenty of sweet moments from the day of the couple and of their family and friends, including Robert Downey Jr – Paltrow's co-star in the Iron Man series – making a speech at the reception.
"The revelry started the night before with a rehearsal dinner, where wedding guests dined alfresco under a canopy of bistro lights," the article on Goop said. "And for the big day: perfect weather, a superlative dinner, a dance party for the ages, and a dress that defies adjectives. Hours later, when the last guest went home and the last champagne flute was cleared away, the day ended as it began — with beauty, love, and very happy people."
See more pictures of the beautiful day this way.


text:
The History of the StairMaster
The 1980s brought about America's gym obsession—and a machine that demands a notoriously grueling cardio workout
Michelle Delgado
The StairMaster commanded attention, ensuring that users could see—and be seen. USPTO; iStock/jamielawton; Illustration by Shaylyn Esposito
Like clockwork, every January Americans return to gyms and fitness studios across the country in rejuvenated numbers. Some are driven by a New Year's resolution to get in shape; for others, it's just another routine month in a culture that prizes physical fitness.
Among viral Peloton memes and ClassPass fundraising clamor, the StairMaster remains a quiet presence in most gyms. The machine, which features an infinite loop of stairs and demands a notoriously tough cardio workout, is as common as a treadmill or a stationary bike. But the StairMaster's ubiquity belies a colorful history that skyrocketed it to fame during the 1980s.
The StairMaster was born during an oil crisis in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jim Walker and George Schupp, a pair of entrepreneurs who owned a manufacturing company that primarily worked with clients in the energy industry, knew it was time to pivot their focus when oil prices peaked at $103.95 in 1980. The trouble was, they didn't know where to go next. They were in the midst of exploring their options when, by chance, Walker bought a used car from a hobbyist inventor named Lanny Potts.
The trio forged a close relationship. Potts brought curiosity and creativity to their brainstorming sessions, while Walker and Schupp had the manufacturing know-how to puzzle out what it would take to bring a new product to market. As they explored the possibility of designing exercise equipment, Potts' thoughts drifted back to his time in the Air Force—specifically, his memory of living in a walk-up apartment while stationed in Italy. The machine he proposed would replicate the taxing four-story climb, minus the joint-straining need to walk downstairs again.
By 1983, Potts, Walker and Schupp had founded a company called Tri-Tech and were ready to launch their first product. Originally dubbed the Ergometer 6000, the stepper was renamed the StairMaster 5000 by then-marketing director Ralph Cissne. The machine debuted at the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) trade show in Chicago, to attendees who worked in the country's growing sporting goods industry. These potential buyers would have primarily worked in retail or wholesale—the first links in a long chain that would end in neighborhood gyms.
The following years brought new iterations. In March 1984, Tri-Tech released the StairMaster 6000—essentially the same design, but with the addition of a digital screen. Early advertisements for the StairMaster 6000, still bearing a "patent pending" disclaimer, emphasized the new machine's digital benefits, such as readouts that showed the calories burned and audio tones that would ring when users climbed a virtual flight of stairs.
Lanny Potts' "Stair Climbing Exercise Apparatus," patented November 24, 1987 U.S. Patent 4,708,338
The company's next chapter began with a patent application Potts filed in August 1986, describing a new machine called the StairMaster 4000 PT (short for Personal Trainer). This version replaced the machine's escalator-like stairs (which made it, technically, a stepmill) for a pair of pedals that "simulate stair-climbing for a user." Instead of climbing the rotating flight of stairs, StairMaster 4000 PT users could set the resistance level, then "climb" the pedals as if standing while pedaling a bike.
The StairMaster's innovation lay in the stairs themselves: it was possible to adjust the height of the stairs individually. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, users could climb stairs spaced according to their height. The design even allowed users to safely set two different increments—a helpful feature for anyone whose stride isn't perfectly even. Two days before Thanksgiving in 1987, the StairMaster 4000 PT's patent was granted.
Tri-Tech's decision to manufacture exercise equipment was far from random. In fact, Walker and Schupp's decision to pivot to fitness was perfectly timed. Fitness "absolutely explode[d]" during the 1980s, according to Natalia Mehlman-Petrzela, a professor of history at the New School in New York City who is currently writing a book about the history of fitness culture. "Gym culture evolved from being a very strange subculture as late as the 1950s and even 1960s to being the ubiquitous cultural phenomenon that we see today," says Mehlman-Petrzela. Though some people purchased StairMasters for personal use—particularly the 4000 PT, which was sleeker—the StairMaster's rise to fame was inextricably intertwined with the boom in gyms and fitness clubs.
National survey data backs up Mehlman-Petrzela's assessment. The same year the StairMaster 4000 PT received its patent, 69 percent of Americans self-reported regular exercise—up from just 24 percent in 1960. The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) began collecting consumer data in 1987, marking a new era for the fitness industry. Although the U.S. Census did not recognize the fitness industry until 1992, IHRSA data and contemporary reports suggest that approximately 17.3 million Americans belonged to gyms in 1987, compared to only 1.7 million in 1972.
Why the sudden spike in exercise? Historians say that gym-going was a response to a complex melange of cultural pressures. Mehlman-Petrzela cites several shifting cultural notions that gained purchase during the 1970s, one of the most important being widespread acceptance of the existence of a mind-body connection. This concept suggested that sweating on the StairMaster was not only physically rewarding, but mentally or emotionally enriching, too. According to Marc Stern, a history professor at Bentley University, fitness quickly became linked to corporate prestige and the aesthetics of beauty.
"In the 1980s, the gym gained a reputation of being a place to meet [people]," Stern says. Singles donned form-fitting Lycra, hoping to catch a potential date's eye from across the room. An episode of Seinfeld that aired in 1993 reflects this commonplace voyeurism: "I usually last about ten minutes on a StairMaster," Jerry Seinfeld says. "Unless, of course, there's someone stretching in front of me in a leotard. Then I can go an hour."
Oprah Winfrey stands next to a StairMaster during her talk show in Chicago on November 15, 1989. Mark Elias/AP
The StairMaster had cameos in movies and picked up endorsements from celebrities. By 1990, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Oprah and the entire cast of Three Men and a Baby had all publicly declared their love for the StairMaster. Later, athletes including the Knicks' Patrick Ewing were known to incorporate the StairMaster into their training. "When you see the rich and famous exercising in a particular way or with a particular machine, that operates to make a product aspirational," Mehlman-Petrzela says, "not necessarily just a program you do to lose weight or to get stronger."
When the StairMaster was first introduced, Americans were experiencing declining health. As sedentary office jobs became more common, heart and lung disease spiked. Rates of cardiovascular disease rose steadily and peaked during the 1960s and 1970s. Meanwhile, health care was becoming more expensive; between 1973 and 1983, costs more than tripled. According to Mehlman-Petrzela, Americans of all political persuasions began to view fitness as a path toward seizing a sense of individual responsibility and empowerment.
The StairMaster entered the market as these forces reached their apex, and as gyms and fitness centers swept the nation. Though private gym memberships were pricey, it was still less expensive than assembling a home gym from scratch. A 1985 article published in the Washington Post described monthly fees ranging from $22 to $100, plus initiation fees that could cost as much as $650. Gyms and fitness clubs also granted access to high-end equipment, such as the StairMaster or weight circuit machines by Nautilus. By comparison, a single exercise machine could come with a price tag well into the thousands.
Back in the fall of 1983, Stern carefully weighed his decision to join an independently owned gym in East Setauket, New York, against his meager graduate student budget. The gym he ultimately joined had separate areas for cardio and weightlifting, booming disco music and a hot tub for mingling with fellow members. Trainers roamed the floor, monitoring exercisers and interjecting to provide guidance. Stern even tried the StairMaster a few times, then a new addition.
The experience was novel enough to spark Stern's academic interest. He found himself contemplating the performances of strength playing out in gyms' Panopticon-like mirrored rooms, musings that eventually became an academic paper. The StairMaster commanded attention, ensuring that users could see—and be seen. "The StairMaster is at the center of the gym," Mehlman-Petrzela says. "It's a bit of an exhibitionist kind of machine."
By the late 1980s, StairMasters had become a fixture in gyms across the country. In a 1989 New York Times "Metropolitan Diary," a subscriber named Cynthia Arnold described her obsession with the new machine. "It allows you to climb tall buildings while trudging in place, a supposedly efficient form of exercise that doubles the torture in half the time," she wrote. The statement, which could easily be mistaken for criticism, was meant as glowing praise. "Stairmaster, I love you!" Arnold concluded.
Arnold's experience encapsulates what drew users to the StairMaster in droves. The machine was originally designed to reduce the physical strain of a cardio workout; users' joints are dealt roughly half the impact of running. Yet the StairMaster gained a reputation for being particularly grueling. "The Stairmaster in some ways really embodies that kind of Sisyphean task," Mehlman-Petrzela says, calling it a "stairway to nowhere."
Still, the StairMaster's rise to fame wasn't without stumbles. By the end of the 1980s, the StairMaster was competing in an increasingly crowded market, and legal jostling ensued. In 1991, Tri-Tech sued—and was sued by—Tru-Trac Therapy Product, a rival stairclimber manufacturer, over alleged patent infringement. Just a few months later, two more stairclimber manufacturers, Laguna Tectrix and Pro-Form Fitness Products, tangled in a similar legal fight. At the time, stairclimbing machines claimed an approximately $320 million slice of the fitness market, and everyone wanted to secure their piece.
Sales of the StairMaster eventually declined. In 2001, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and laid off employees in its Tulsa and Washington state locations. But that's not the end of the StairMaster story.
"[T]he StairMaster name is ingrained in fitness-dom," fitness and travel writer Therese Iknoian wrote at the time. "If the price is right, what company wouldn't want to own that piece of history and the steppers—still popular home equipment—that goes with it?"
That company turned out to be Nautilus, Inc.—and business rebounded. By 2007, the StairMaster "hit sales volumes they haven't reached in more than a decade," according to a report published in Tulsa World. The company predicted that it would sell 7,000 StairMaster machines that year. "I don't think it'll slow down any time soon," plant manager Rob Myers told a reporter.
In 2009, StairMaster was acquired by Michael Bruno, who was then operating Land America. That same year, Bruno created Core Health and Fitness, which today owns a collection of fitness brands including Schwinn, Nautilus, Star Trac and Throwdown. In 2012, the company unveiled a refreshed version of the TreadClimber, a treadmill-stepclimber hybrid originally sold by Nautilus, followed by a new version of the StairMaster (called the Gauntlet) in 2014.
In 2017, the National Fitness Trade Journal ran a cover story that repositioned the StairMaster as an effective way to deliver a trendy high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. "With StairMaster HIIT, club owners can create a new revenue stream while tapping into a massive growing market," the article suggested, promising that the StairMaster would leave members "hurting for more." To sweeten the deal, StairMaster provided HIIT resources for trainers, suggesting ways to include its machines in larger HIIT programs.
Now, nearly four decades into its history, the StairMaster is facing new competition from smart mirrors and spin classes, barre and bootcamp. Despite all the fitness trends that may challenge its legacy, its staying power lies in its simplicity.
Its truly basic name says it all.
"[It] implies total mastery of something that should be normal," Stern says. "You're gonna climb some stairs."
Michelle Delgado | | READ MORE
Michelle Delgado is a D.C.-based freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, CityLab, Literary Hub, and other national and local outlets.
Exercise Health Inventions Patents


text:
Bilfinger arnholdt GmbH
HomeHSEQCertificates / exemption confirmations
Certificates / exemption confirmations
Certificate for the management system according ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018 and normative SSC-P rules version 2019 [pdf, 2.7 MB]
Freistellungsbescheinigung Finanzamt Mannheim-Stadt [pdf, 62.1 KB]
Zertifikat Fachbetrieb nach Wasserhaushaltsgesetz (WHG) [pdf, 417.8 KB]
Share ThisTwitterLinkedInFacebookE-Mail
Google+Xing
2021 Bilfinger arnholdt GmbH
Imprint ǀ Data privacy ǀ Sitemap ǀ Privacy settings
We use cookies to provide you with an optimal website experience. These include cookies that are necessary for the operation of the site and for the management of our company's commercial objectives, as well as cookies that are used only for anonymous statistical purposes or for comfort settings. You can decide which categories you would like to allow. Please note that, depending on your settings, not all features of the site may be available. You will find further information on our data protection declaration.
Allow content from Twitter
Allow content from YouTube
Allow content from Google Maps
These cookies are absolutely necessary for the operation of the site. They store your language settings and your cookie decision. Please note that if you do not select this category, you will not be able to make use of all offers on the website.
To continuously enhance our offerings, we collect anonymous data for statistics and analysis. With the help of these cookies we can, for example, determine and estimate the number of visitors and the effect of changes to the site. This enables us to make further improvements. Please note that if you do not select this category, you will not be able to make use of all offers on the website.
These cookies are used to integrate external content such as Google services into our site. We can thus offer you a wide range of features to help you discover the Bilfinger World. We also use cookies to provide you with personalized content during temporary campaigns.


text:
Engineer, Manufacturing
Location: Monterrey, MX
Job Number: 3828
Requisition Number: 15104BR
External Description: JOB SUMMARY: Responsible for establishing and implementing the most cost efficient methods for production. Plans and coordinates the activities necessary to produce specified products within safety, quality and cost standards. Also ensures schedule compliance. ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES: •Develops and updates process documentation and procedure instruction. •Conducts direct labor studies using acceptable engineering practices and establishes standards on operations, set up and work station layout. •Defines tooling and fixturing used in the manufacturing process. Coordinates with tool designers to specify or procure new tooling, fixtures and ideas and fixtures. •Analyzes and evaluates manufacturing methods and standards. Provides solution to problems that adversely affect operator safety, quality, productivity, and cost. •Conducts direct labor studies using acceptable engineering practices and establishes standards on operations, set up, and work station layout. •Identifies areas of unnecessary cost. Researches methods and procedures for cost reduction, work cell development and material flow improvement. •Assists in development and troubleshooting of manufacturing equipment. •Reviews preliminary designs, making recommendations to reduce costs and improve manufacturing and quality on new or existing parts. •Develops detailed, complete and accurate capital equipment studies and makes appropriate recommendations for capital expenditures. •Assists in preparation of departmental budget including material, manpower, equipment and outside procurement costs, and operates within approved parameters. •Reviews and evaluates cost pertaining to make vs. buy decisions and new product development. •Process purchase requisitions and records as required. •Team members are expected to work wherever needed based on training. •Work in safe and healthy manner, strictly following all safety rules and regulations. •Maintain a neat, clean, orderly work area. •Complete company provided training. •Participate in PCI process. •Perform special projects as assigned. SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE •B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or Industrial Engineering. •3-5 years of Mfg. Engineering experience. •Strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills. •Excellent verbal and written skills required •Proficiency with PC's. •Understanding of SPC. •Strong Project Management skills.
QID for the EEO Statement - 89594
About Polaris
Recognized as the leader in the powersports industry, Polaris Industries is a fast growing, innovative, global organization. The people here at Polaris don't just create products - they are part of a lifestyle. It's the passion & execution of those people and their ideas that inspires the innovation that runs through everything we do.
Polaris Industries Inc. (NYSE: PII) is a global powersports leader that has been fueling the passion of riders, workers and outdoor enthusiasts for more than 60 years. With annual 2017 sales of $5.4 billion, Polaris' innovative, high-quality product line-up includes the RANGER®, RZR® and Polaris GENERAL™ side-by-side off-road vehicles; the Sportsman® and Polaris ACE® all-terrain off-road vehicles; Indian Motorcycle® midsize and heavyweight motorcycles; Slingshot® moto-roadsters; and Polaris RMK®, INDY®, Switchback® and RUSH® snowmobiles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with parts, garments and accessories, along with a growing aftermarket portfolio, including Transamerican Auto Parts. Polaris' presence in adjacent markets globally includes military and commercial off-road vehicles, quadricycles, and electric vehicles. Proudly headquartered in Minnesota, Polaris serves more than 100 countries across the globe. Visit www.polaris.com for more information.
Polaris prides itself on recognizing and developing top talent to take its people and company to the next level. Competitive salary, generous benefits and a comprehensive relocation plan are just a few components of the total compensation package offered at Polaris. Are you ready to join a company where you will work hard and play hard, and be rewarded for your performance?
Polaris is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will make all employment-related decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, status with regard to public assistance, membership or activity in a local commission, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
City: Monterrey
Community / Marketing Title: Engineer, Manufacturing
EEO Employer Verbiage:
Location_formattedLocationLong: Monterrey, MX
Lean Engineer
Roseau, Minnesota US
Manufacturing Engineer, Metal Paint
Huntsville, Alabama US
Project Assistant/Consumer Service - Post Sales Surveillance
Medina, Minnesota US
ADAS Autonomy Systems - Integration Engineer
Wyoming, Minnesota US
Apodaca, Nuevo Leon MX
© 2019 Polaris Inc. All rights reserved.


"Laid In" indicates that there is something which is included with, but not attached to the book, such as a sheet of paper.
The paper item can be a letter, picture, press release, map, or postcard which is loose inside the book. In rare book collecting, an autograph from the author can sometimes be laid-in, increasing the value of the book.


text:
''Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently''
Dr. Franklin Lamb Salem-News.com
The author has also been given eye-witness accounts of events surrounding late April-early May, 2014 from persons who escaped from Raqqa, some of whom now reside in Palestinian refugee camps and elsewhere in Lebanon.
According to the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), the looting is more damaging than the fighting that is destroying mosques.
(DAMASCUS) - The following is a transcript of an interview conducted by the author at the National Museum of Syria with an employee of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM). The gentleman had been working in the governorate of Raqqa, in eastern Syria, when armed groups were looting museums and conducting illegal excavations of heritage sites. Since 2013, the area has principally been under the control of one armed group in particular, DAASH. The name is an acronym for "the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant," and is sometimes also referred to as "ISIL." The two names are interchangeable.
The author has also been given eye-witness accounts of events surrounding late April-early May, 2014 from persons who escaped from Raqqa, some of whom now reside in Palestinian refugee camps and elsewhere in Lebanon. Included were many details of the current nature and quality of life in Raqqa. They include, but are not limited to the following:
All shop owners in Raqqa must close their stores immediately upon the announcement of prayer and go to the mosque, a decree posted by DAASH on 4/27/14 read, "Any violators after the issuance of this announcement will face consequences."
New laws by ISIS have been posted around Raqqa with leaflets directed to Raqqa's Christian community. Christians forced to pay a special tax to DAASH and are strictly forbidden to wear or exhibit crosses in any way. Christians are forbidden to repair or maintain war-damaged churches. Christians are not allowed to recite any prayer in the presence of Muslims, and are subject to conservative dress codes as imposed by DAASH.
This image purports to be that of a
Christian man, in the rebel controlled
city of Raqqa, who was brutally beaten
by Jabhat la Nusra. orontes.jimdo.com
On May 1, 2014, DAASH militiamen dragged a man across a public square and tied him to a pole his arms tied outstretched along a wooden plank as blood flowed from a head wound. A sign in Arabic was taped to his shirt. "It read, "This man fought Muslims and detonated an IED here."
One member of a recently formed anti-ISIS activist group in Eastern Syria, called, "Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently" which claims 12,000 follows on its Facebook site, reported recently that on May I, 2014, DAASH executed seven prisoners with five victims being an 11 year old boy. Another witness took photographs to document the story of bodies strung up to look like a crucifixion. This practice is being used more frequently these days in order to send a message that as a DAASH spokesman announced, the public crucifixions are warnings to anyone who challenges Islamic rule because they are the enemies of Allah.
According to Abbas Barzegar, assistant professor of Islamic studies at Georgia State University, USA, "These violent acts are part of a fundamentalist revival campaign, but these forms of ancient punishment were rarely if ever seen in the Muslim world in recent centuries. Yet they have now become a common practice of fringe Islamist groups to revive these outdated practices in an effort to bring back what they believe is authentic." The United Nations, the Syrian opposition and human rights groups have corroborated the scenes of horror in Raqqa. Earlier this year, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights stated the obvious which is that these mass executions and mistreatment, including repeated beatings, of prisoners at schools and hospitals are war crimes.
Franklin Lamb: What was your job and where were you working before the armed groups took control of the Al Raqqa Museum? When was it, and what events alerted you to the take over? Who was the armed group and where did they come from?
DGAM Employee: Just before the armed group took control of Al Raqqa city, I had relocated to Damascus to work on another related documentation project at the Directorate (DGAM). My job as director of our project was to document exactly what happened regarding Al Raqqa. On March 3, 2013, the same day the rebels occupied the city, I was on the scene to retrieve some articles and books from the museum library. When I entered the museum, I was shocked to see armed men, including some local people from Al Raqqa city, occupying the museum, its hall and its offices, after they seized the guards' weapons.
FL: What precautions had been taken by DGAM before the armed groups took control of the museum?
DE: The Director of Al Raqqa museum had been requested by DGAM in Damascus to remove the most valuable and precious antiquity pieces—gold, tablets, and coins—and take them to the central bank of Al Raqqa. We did this, and we also installed iron gates for the storage areas upstairs, and hired more guards to secure them. Similar measures, I think, were taken in most other museums.<
FL: A multiple-part question, if you please—who are the militants who were at the museum and what were their attitudes? Did they appear intent on destroying "idols" and images, such as carvings and statues of human figures? Have you received eye-witness accounts from reliable local people who saw what was done, and if so could you give us a couple of examples? Were you able to speak directly with any of the rebels or their leaders, and finally is the museum currently occupied?
DE: At the beginning of the occupation, some of them were fighting under the authority and banner of "the Syrian Free Army" and some of them were armed civilians from Al Raqqa city. I could recognize some faces of men who were known to previously have worked in smuggling antiquities (onto) the international market. But before long they seemed to be replaced with others. Today the Raqqa museum is occupied by (the) Islamic extremist group called DAASH. As for their attitudes toward destroying, I am not sure about this point, but I am sure that they are stealing and selling items, in spite of their claims about saving and protecting the museum. I have received reports about this from some of the rebels who told us that some of them had stolen many artifacts. Later, the manager of the museum and I reached one of the DAASH leaders, and we urged him to take care of the museum and its antiquities, and he promised to do so.
FL: Does the process of looting the museum and the warehouse happen during the presence of militants? Did you see this activity yourself, and if so, when was it?
DE: Yes they were at the museum, but I was not there at the precise time, and I did not witness them carrying out antiquities. They worked basically when no one was around, mainly at night, and we are told that they did so.
FL: How did you know about the thefts from the warehouse or the museum, and how much of the museum's and the warehouse's contents had been smuggled out? Did you write a report at the time or at any time subsequently, and if so is the report available to us?
DE: The director of the museum discovered this while checking the gates of the warehouse and its locks, and the member of the rebels, whom I referred to before, told us that in June of 2013 one of the armed groups, DAASH, opened the warehouse and stole eight boxes full of antiquities. Immediately we telephoned DGAM and told them about (the) looting, and they ordered us to make an inventory of the stolen pieces and send them a report. To date the report is not publicly available.
FL: How did you find the stolen boxes at Tabaqqa city and what did they contain? Are they now secured?
DE: When we learned about the robbery, we immediately communicated with the same DAASH leader whom we met before, and he told us that the boxes are in Al Tabaqqa city. For this he went with us to the leader in Al Tabaqqa. We saw only three boxes out of eight, and they contained pottery, tablets and glazed ceramic. As of today we still do not know anything about the other stolen boxes because they are still in Al Tabaqqa, and it's under DAASH control.
FL: Who is believed to have stolen the artifacts from the central bank and where did they hide them?
DE: An armed group called Ahrar Al Sham stole artifacts from the central bank, and we were given information that they are hidden in one of the Idlib villages.
FL: To date have you had an opportunity to enter the museum and review the artifact lists? If so, how long were you allowed to stay?
DE: After an armed group called Thwar Al Raqqa, whose members were local people, took control of the museum, we communicated with them and met their leader, "Abo Issa," and asked him to grant permission (for us) to enter the museum and make inventory. He agreed and guaranteed our safety, especially after we had been threatened by militia gunmen many times not to make public any information about the museum and its stolen antiquities. We worked for 16 days until we finished our inventory.
FL: How much of the museum contents still remain to the best of your knowledge? Can you give us an estimate of the percentage of the original collection?
DE: I think the number of stolen artifacts is around 900 from the Raqqa museum. There are still about 4,500 artifacts remaining inside. But at the warehouse in Herqla, the militias stole everything, but they left one mosaic panel because it was too heavy to move.
FL: What happened in the warehouse at the Herqla site, and what steps did you take before and after the looting?
DE: Herqla is an archaeological site 7 kilometers east of Al Raqqa, and it contained warehouses (belonging) to DGAM and to foreign missions. The warehouses were targets for robbery and looting by unknown gangs on several occasions, but guards and local people of the village prevented them and defended the site as best they could.
We immediately communicated with the DGAM, and they asked us to pile the doors of (the) warehouses with sandbags, take all the important and precious pieces from the warehouses, and hide them in a safe place. And the guard's house in Herqla village was the best choice.
However in mid-November in 2013, an armed group, estimated to be about 100 armed fighters from DAASH, broke in the museum and also the guard's house. They stole all the boxes except mosaic panels and took them to unknown destinations. After that happened, we closed all doors and windows with iron bars.
FL: Which hills and ancient buildings in Al Raqqa governorate have been illegally excavated and smuggled?
DE: We could not get into the hill of "Al Sabee Al Abead," but the guards told us that it was excavated by simple tools. The hill of "Shaheen" was massively excavated using heavy machines and earth moving equipment. The sides of (the) hill of "Hamam Al Turkmen" were also excavated by heavy machines. Most of (the) hill of "East Dammer" was excavated, while the slopes of "West Dammer" were not excavated. The hills of "Almafsh," of "Alsawan" and of "Alsheikh Hassan" were not excavated too widely. And here I should mention that I personally visited all of these sites.
While there are many archeological sites around Al Raqqa, due to their location and security problems and difficulties of traveling to them, we still have no knowledge of the extent of excavations that have been done. It appears from reports when we were last in contact with guards at the hill of "Khwera" and "Ghanem Al Ali" that as of that time they had not been excavated. This may also be the case in areas like the hill of "Al Swehat" and the hill of "Moumbaqa." But guards at the square of the ancient mosque, Al Masjed al Jamee, which is located inside Al Raqqa city, reported that it was excavated and then filled in again. After DAASH occupied Al Raqqa, they totally destroyed the Shia shrine of Wabesa bin Maabd al asdi, which is located in the square of the mosque.
FL: To which country do you think most of the looted artifacts were sent? What have you heard about the methods of transport, and also what have you heard about the gangs doing the stealing and who they are working for?
DE: Because the Syria-Turkey border in the area of Raqqa is completely open, I think that most of the stolen antiquities were sent to Turkey, using cars and trucks by gangs and armed groups. Some gangs are widely known in the area to be working for international mafia groups, and some appear to be working on their own.
FL: Based on the latest information coming in to DGAM in late April, 2014, what is the situation with regard to the museum and the archaeological sites in Al Raqqa now?
DE: Well, there is some good news partly due to publicity about what is happening, and also some resistance from the local population, who deeply value Syria's cultural heritage and want it preserved. Two weeks ago, the Raqqa museum re-opened to the public, after the director of museum got permission from DAASH. I have learned from the museum director that all the iron gates which we installed are still (in place), so this means that no more robbery, looting or smuggling has taken place from the Raqqa Archeological Museum. As for the other sites, we do not know anything recent or anything more about them than what I reported to you.
FL: Thank you sir for your time and insights.
Franklin Lamb is doing research in Syria and can be reached c/o fplamb@gmail.com
He is the author of The Price We Pay: A Quarter-Century of Israel's Use of American Weapons Against Civilians in Lebanon. He contribute to Uprooted Palestinians Blog
http://www.petitiononline.com/ssfpcrc/petition.html
Beirut Mobile: +961-70-497-804
Dr. Franklin Lamb is Director of the Sabra Shatila Foundation. Contact him at: fplamb@sabrashatila.org. He is working with the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign in Lebanon on drafting legislation which, after 62 years, would, if adopted by Lebanon's Cabinet and Parliament grant the right to work and to own a home to Lebanon's Palestinian Refugees. One part of the PCRC legislative project is its online Petition which can be viewed and signed at: petitiononline.com/ssfpcrc/petition.html. Lamb is reachable at fplamb@palestinecivilrightscampaign.org. Franklin Lamb's book on the Sabra-Shatila Massacre, International Legal Responsibility for the Sabra-Shatila Massacre, now out of print, was published in 1983, following Janet's death and was dedicated to Janet Lee Stevens. He was a witness before the Israeli Kahan Commission Inquiry, held at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in January 1983.
Syria | Human rights | Terrorism | Most Commented on


text:
BACKYARD BROADCASTING LOCAL NEWS OCTOBER 1, 2020
LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST PA FRATERNITY CHAPTER
A lawsuit has been filed against Bucknell University and a fraternity after a student suffered a brutal hazing incident earlier in September. According to North Central PA dot com, 20 year old John Jean said members of the local chapter of Kappa Delta Rho, also the subject of civil complaints over years past from hazing incidents at Bucknell and Penn State , forced him to drink alcohol until he was dangerously inebriated and then was allegedly assaulted along with 6 other pledges from the fraternity. Jean says he suffers from multiple issues stemming from an assault there. Jean is seeking damages from the university and KDR members for several counts of hazing, negligence, false imprisonment, and assault and battery. Jean is finishing the semester remotely.
GOVERNOR WOLF CONDEMNS REPUBLICAN ELECTION PUSHBACK
Governor Tom Wolf yesterday released a statement condemning House Resolution 1032 saying it undermines the authority of county-level elections officials and the Department of State to administer safe, secure and non-partisan elections. He said in a statement, that the state legislature came together last year on a bipartisan basis to pass landmark legislation to modernize Pennsylvania's election system. He says republicans are bowing to political pressure to undermine the mail voting that has proven to be a tremendous benefit to Pennsylvanians during the coronavirus pandemic.
DROUGHT WATCH GROWS WITH LOCAL COUNTIES
Northumberland, Snyder, Union and Montour Counties were added to the Drought Watch list in Pennsylvania – along with 13 other counties for a total of 29 across the state, according to a press release by the DEP. Residents are asked to reduce their individual water use to three to six gallons of water per day – a 5-10% decrease for the average homeowner. Tthree counties are on a drought warning, including Clinton, McKean and Potter.
METEOR FLASHES OVER OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA
Witnesses and social media reports say a flash in the night sky late Tuesday over parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio remained in view for a short time, but according to members of the American Meteor Society, it was a random incident. The National Weather says the meteor – that may only be the size of a softball -was seen before 4:30am. There was no comment from the University of Pittsburgh's Allegheny Observatory.
WOMAN ARRESTED FOR CHILD ENDANGERMENT
Pennsylvania State Police have charged a New Columbia woman with child endangerment after she passed out behind the wheel of a car after allegedly using heroin. According to North Central Pa dot com, 26 year old Kaley Lynn Griffin was heading north on Westbranch Highway around 5 p.m. Sept. 15 and stopped at the intersection with Hospital Drive and was witnessed nodding off at the wheel and drifting into the intersection by a state trooper who drove up beside her car and noticed a baby in the vehicle. After a probable cause search , police found what was suspected ot be the drug in baggies. Griffin, who admitted to using the drug before driving from a doctor appointment was taken into custody.
UPDATE ONVICTIM IN ALLENWOOD CRASH
The Allenwood woman who sustained major injuries in a one-car crash on Route 554, 2 weeks ago, is still hospitalized. According to the Sun Gazette, a Geisinger Medical Center nursing supervisor in Danville said 60 year old Tammy Hyde remains in critical condition after her September 16th crash that trapped her in the wreck for 20 minutes. Police reports say Hyde lost control and hit a pine tree, overturning in her vehicle around 10:30 am.
LYCOMING COUNTY COVID-19 UPDATE
Lycoming County reports 10 new cases of the coronavirus adding to the total here of 709 positive cases to date. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health there were 1,153 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing Pennsylvania's total to 158,967. 19 deaths were reported as of yesterday at midnight, for a total of 8,142 fatalities from COVID-19.
ROUTE 15 CONTRUCTION
There will be construction on Route 15 in Lewisburg Borough and Kelly Township, Union County beginning next Monday weather permitting. According to PennDOT, there will be lane restrictions next week in the southbound lanes for roadway maintenance between the hours of 9:00 AM and
2:00pm. Crews will be completing patch work on the roadway and will be using flaggers with alternating lane restrictions.
Lakers over heat 116 to 98 in the NBA finals game 1
In the first National League Wildcard Games – Braves blanked the Reds 1-nothing in 13 innings. Marlins beat the Cubs 5-1, Cardinals over the Padre 7-4, and Dodgers beat the Brewers 4-2. In the American League Wildcard Series 2nd games – Astros beat the twins 3-1 and Houston wins the series, A's beat the White Sox 5-3 with a series tied up one and one, the Rays beat the Blue Jays 8 to 10 in their Game 2 – Tampa Bay winning, Yankees aged the Indians 10-9, New York wins the series.
The Steelers-Titans game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, will be rescheduled to allow additional time for further daily COVID-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel. Details on the new game date and time on either Monday or Tuesday will be announced as soon as possible.
HS Girls Tennis
South Williamsport over Muncie 5-0h, Williamsport over Milton 5-0h,
HS Girls Soccer
Benton beat South Williamsport – 2 to nothing, Lewisburg beat Montoursville- 1-0


← Stewed chicken. Santo Domingo Style!
Chicken soup is one of the most popular recipes in the western world. Nothing like a chicken soup in a fresh and cloudy day. Is there something more comforting than a chicken soup when we are in bed with a flu? Who doesn't remember a chicken prepared by mom or grandma as a child?
Today I share a recipe inspired in Mrs. Anadina's (my mother in law and third Mother) hearty soups. She prepares the best broths that I have tasted. Always creamy and delicious. Today is rainy in Santo Domingo, so this recipe fits nicely!
" 3 potatoes cut in squares.
" 2 carrots, cut in squares..
" 3 rolls of noodles.
" 1 bush of cilantro.
" 1 spoonful of malagueta pepper pellets.
Add a little bit of oil to a boiler and when hot toss the cilantro, garlic and bouillon cube. Allow 30 seconds and add some 3 cups of water and allow to boil.
When it boils add the chicken (not the breasts) then allow to boil for about 15-20 minutes.
Add the potatoes, the carrots, the chicken breasts, a roll of noodles (break it up well with the hands) and the malagueta pepper pellets and allow the potatoes and carrots to get soft.
When the potatoes and carrots are ready add the pumpkin cream and the two remaining rolls of noodles. When the noodles are ready, rectify the salt and enjoy!
This entry was posted in Soups and crémes, Traditional Dominican Food and tagged borinqueño, caribbean, caribeña, chicken soup, chicken soup for the soul, chicken soup recipe, colombia, colombian, colombiano, comida dominicana, cuba, cubano, dominican, dominican chicken soup, dominican food, Dominican food at el fogoncito, Dominicana, El Fogoncito in English, el fogoncito.net, elfogoncito.com, organic food, puerto rican, puerto rico, quisqueyana, recipes, venezolano, Venezuela, venezuelan. Bookmark the permalink.
4 Responses to Chicken Soup. Dominican style.
Pumpkim cream? Can you explain?
Hi Sairamar! Sure (2 cups of pumpkin cream. (Just boil the pumpkin with some salt and blend it in its own water, a squirt of milk and a bouillon cube) that's Dominican pumpkin though, which is similar to squash. Thanks for your comment!
Yes, you may have it as a thicker soup. As a creamy soup you may have it as a stand-alone dish.


Suicide is the second leading cause of death on college campuses, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CSUN's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Queer Alliance (LGBTQA) community held their third annual Candlelight Vigil to shed light on the issues of suicide and violence that affect LGBTQA people at the Plaza Del Sol, University Student Union (USU) on Thursday night.
CSUN's LGBTQA board introduced the event with a moment of silence to remember those in the community who have passed away and those who are still struggling.
"Let's be conscious of our struggles and not forget where we come from. It is our duty to change our culture," said Ronnie Veliz, CSUN alumnus and activist.
At the Matador Square, students shared their stories about being bullied, depressed, and suicidal and a student spoke of an experience about a loved one that was murdered because he was gay.
Aminata Touncara, 21, a music education major, shared the story of David, a family friend who was murdered in 2000.
"They tried to have (an LGBTQA Candlelight Vigil) in the Central Valley but no one showed. I wanted to talk about David's life. I wanted to celebrate his life. I used what happened to him as a catalyst to be active in the LGBTQA community," Touncara said.
The crowd of more than 50 people endured the cold to listen to their peers while they shared stories about how they are dealing with their struggles or how they have overcome them.
Santa Clarita Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) member, Chris Porrazzo, attended the Candlelight Vigil and was surprised by the amount of students who had the courage to share their stories.
"I was touched by every story and each person's honesty. My heart goes out to those who have experienced so much pain in their young lives. I am glad that they have so much support here," Porrazzo said.
Porrazzo's son attempted suicide while trying to come to grips with his identity. She is glad that he overcame his internal struggle and is now openly living what she calls an authentic life.
University Counseling Services representatives attended the vigil to show their support as well as remind students of the valuable mental health resources available to all students on campus.
Amy Rosenblatt, a staff psychologist at University Counseling Services, specializes in LGBTQ mental health issues and leads LGBTQ individuals (and those questioning their gender and sexual identity) in a support group.
She urged students that should stitches become undone, or when one feels that they do not have support, that they be the stitches, or support, that creates a stronger quilt.
According to an article titled "Transgender Youth and Life-Threatening Behaviors" written by Arnold H. Grossman, PhD and Anthony R. D'Augelli, PhD, nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt.
The Blues Project, a peer-to-peer education program that specializes in depression and suicide, also attended the vigil. Although the Blues Project was not up to date with their statistics on the transgender population, they did stress statistics that concerned lesbian, gay and bisexual people. They stated that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
After reading lists of depression and suicide statistics, the Blues Project asked students to share the information with others and urged LGBTQ and allies to take advantage of the free counseling services that CSUN offers to its students.


When planners are developing coastal flood defences, they have to consider to what height they should build a sea wall so that the probability of flooding over a pre-specified future period is sufficiently small. The observed sea-level can be split into three different components; the mean sea-level, the tidal level and the surge level. The first captures the long-term changes in global water and local land levels, the second is caused by periodic forces such as the pull of the moon, and the third is an annual cycle induced by the seasonal pattern on the local climate.
Traditionally, methods to estimate sea levels have concentrated on the trend in mean sea-level, whilst assuming that the remaining two components are stationary (i.e., that they do not change over time). Since extreme sea-levels occur when there is a large storm surge at the same time as a high tide, these methods leave out potentially important cyclical effects of the tide and surge levels.
Extreme value analysis (EVA) is used to provide reliable estimates of the frequency of extreme sea-levels. Using historical data of sea-levels, a statistical model is fitted that not only incorporates knowledge of changes in long-term mean sea level, but also of the tidal and surge components of sea-level and how they interact (for more details see here). This model can then be used to provide estimates of sea-levels for specified return periods; for example, a 1 in 50 year extreme sea-level event is estimated to be 3 metres. It is often the case that planners need to account for extremes that are not observed within the available historical data (for example a 1 in 100 or 1000 year event, given a set of data that are 30 years in length); EVA provides a means of extrapolating predictions of extreme sea levels for return periods that are larger than the period of available data.
Incorporating all of the processes that affect extreme sea-levels into a statistical model results in far more reliable estimates since, for example, excluding tidal levels can result in substantial underestimation of extreme sea-level. This means that planners can use the resulting estimates with greater confidence that they are not underestimating the levels which they should plan for.


In Tallinn, there are dosens of parks green areas from tiny Green Market in Lai Street to the great Kadrioru Park that lays over the area of 85 hectars.
The area of nature protected park‑woods makes 65,2 ha. They are located in Nõmme district. These are pine-covered sandy heaths of the cowberry growing type which have become richer in species due to the human activity.Vabaduse (Freedom) park‑wood (19,1 ha), Sanatooriumi (Sanatorium) park‑wood (18,3 ha), Valdeku park‑wood (12,4 ha), Võidu (Victory) park‑wood (9,6 ha), Jannseni park‑wood (3,7 ha), Oravamäe (Squirrel's Hill) (2,1 ha).


Protect your Suzuki V-Strom motorcycle with Frame Sliders for the V-Strom 650/1000 and more. Puig, Shogun and other name brand frame sliders protect your fairings and bodywork from crashes or accidents. Fast shipping.


text:
Q: How to load an optional task into ant without -lib or global installation? I want to use the FTP task in ant, and I have found the appropriate jar files and got everything working fine.  I have put the jar files in a "libs" directory alongside the other files used in the build.  The only problem is that the user must run "ant -lib commons-net-ftp-2.0.jar" to make a build; I would really prefer that it were possible to just run "ant" with no arguments.
Reading the ant optional tasks intallation page, I see that there are five ways one can load up extra libraries in ant, and none of them are really what I'm looking for.  I do not want to force the user to make any modifications to their system to run this task; it should be possible to just load it from the "libs" directory inside of our product's source folder.  So that means setting the global CLASSPATH is also out (which is a bad idea anyways).
The last option, as noted in the documentation, is the preferred approach... loading the jarfiles individually from the build script itself.  I have done this in the past with the ant-contrib tasks and JUnit, and would like to do that here, but I don't see how I can accomplish this.  The FTP task doesn't support a nested classpath element, and I don't know the XML resource I would need to load this library via a taskdef.  How can I load the libraries from within ant?
Edit: In response to the answers and questions which have been posted here so far, I'm using ant 1.7.1.  Making an ftp taskdef definitely does not work; that throws the following error:
BUILD FAILED
/my/path/build.xml:13: taskdef class org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.net.FTP cannot be found
Perhaps this is because the classname is wrong.  How exactly do I find the classname I'm supposed to use if I only have a jarfile?  It's not documented anywhere, and I couldn't find anything in the jar itself resembling that path.

A: I have a solution:
you can download a new "classloader" task from http://enitsys.sourceforge.net/ant-classloadertask/ and load it whith:
    <taskdef resource="net/jtools/classloadertask/antlib.xml"
            classpath="XXX/ant-classloadertask.jar"/>

Naw can do things like loading classes with the same classloader that ant use for his task:
    <classloader loader="system" classpath="XXX/commons-net-2.0.jar"/>

or "loader="project""
Then you definde your task:
    <taskdef name="ftp" classname="org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.net.FTP"/>

and go :-)

A: So I succeeded in doing this for the ant-salesforce.jar that you get when trying to do salesforce work (fun...)
Check to see if the jar has an xml file in it that looks something like this:
<antlib>
  <typedef name="compileAndTest" classname="com.salesforce.ant.CompileAndTest"/>
  ....
</antlib>

Then in ant give it a taskdev that reads that file from inside the given jar, like this:
<taskdef resource="com/salesforce/antlib.xml" classpath="lib/ant-salesforce.jar" />

Hope that helps some.

A: The problem you are having is due to the different class-loaders in use.  The Commons Net classes must be loaded by the same class-loader that loads the FTP task.  Because the FTP task is loaded by Ant on start-up, you need to add the Commons Net to Ant's classpath so that it is loaded by the same class-loader.  That's why the documentation gives you 4 different ways to do this.
I agree that none of them are ideal (the CLASSPATH environment variable being the worst).  One way around this is to supply a shell script with your project that invokes Ant and passes the apporpriate -lib argument.  You then get people to use this rather than invoking Ant directly.  In fact, you could deviously name it 'ant' so that it gets run instead of the existing 'ant' on the path (this only works if the current directory is on the path, ahead of other directories).
The fifth option in the documentation is great in theory.  They finally fixed the class-loading problems in 1.7.0.  Unfortunately, as you mention, nobody retro-fitted the FTP task to take a classpath.  You could try submitting an enhancement request, but this won't help in the short term.
There is one other option, which isn't any better than the others.  Instead of making sure that the Commons Net classes are loaded by the class-loader that loads the FTP task, you could make sure that the FTP task is loaded by the class-loader that loads the Commons Net classes.  To do this you have to remove the ant-commons-lib.jar file from the 'lib' directory of the Ant installation.  This means that the FTP task won't get loaded on start-up.  This is actually why the optional tasks are broken up into so many separate JARs - so that they can be individually removed.  Put this JAR file alongside the Commons Net JAR file so that it can be loaded at the same time.  Then you can do something like this (I tried this and it works):
<taskdef name="ftp"
         classname="org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.net.FTP">
  <classpath>
    <pathelement location="${basedir}/lib/ant-commons-net.jar"/>
    <pathelement location="${basedir}/lib/commons-net-2.0.jar"/>
  </classpath>
</taskdef>
<ftp server="yourserver.com"
     userid="anonymous"
     password="blah">
  <fileset dir="somedirectory"/>
</ftp>

But this is probably a worse option than just using the -lib switch (with or without a wrapper script).  The only other thing I can think of is to try to find a third-party FTP task to use instead of the default one.

A: Ah, man, this is just so nasty. I run ant from eclipse. I don't want to reconfigure ant in eclipse for new workspaces, so here's what I decided to do, to decouple running the task and configuring ant. I extracted the ftp task to a separate build file. Next I added a native call to the command line to start a completely new ant process with the required libraries on the path:
<target name="deploy-ftp">
    <exec command="ant">
        <arg line="-buildfile ftp.xml deploy-ftp -lib lib/ant"/>
    </exec>
</target>

Now the master build file can be run without any special arguments and no modifications are required to the ant installation. It's nasty though, since the ftp task runs in a completely clean environment. None of the properties and paths from the master build file are available. Luckily I had all of these in a separate property file anyway, so I only needed a single import.
I would like to add a big thanks to Dan Dyer. Without your extensive explanation of what's going on behind the scenes, I wouldn't have found this solution.

A: Your users all have ant installed on their machines but you can't / don't want to make them add the FTP jar? Can you bundle ant with your project make tasks that call YOUR ant bundle, with the jars placed so it'll work as follows?
<taskdef name="ftp" classname="org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.net.FTP">
  <classpath>
    <pathelement location="\lib\commons-net-1.4.0.jar"/>
  </classpath>
</taskdef>
<target name="testFtp">
  <ftp server="blah" userid="foo" password="bar">
    <fileset file="test.file" />
  </ftp>
</target>

A: Will this work assuming libs is directly under you project's base directory
<taskdef name="ftp" classname="org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.net.FTP">
  <classpath>
    <pathelement location="${basedir}\libs\commons-net-1.4.0.jar"/>
  </classpath>
</taskdef>


The staff keeps busy all week taking care of business and making sure your needs are met. Get to know who we are and what we can do for you. You can reach any of us by calling the SMAR number and request the desired extension number or you can fill out the general contact form to the right.
We have Arcadian Computers as our main point of contact. They have a store front at 6257 Crain Hwy, La Plata, MD 20646. SMAR members are entitled to a 15% discount on all repair services offered by Arcadian Computers. For further contact information please visit www.arcadiancomputers.com or call the shop directly at 240-776-4458.


text:
Pandemic adds pressure to berry market
By Ching Lee
Bixler Ranch in Stockton uses a mechanical harvester on its mature blueberry plants, as the machine can damage younger plants, which must still be picked by hand.
Photo/Randy Grimm, Bixler Ranch
Growers say a disadvantage with mechanical harvest is that unripe fruit comes off with the ripe requiring additional sorting.
California blueberry farms are expected to produce a record 77 million pounds of the fruit this year, according to the California Blueberry Commission.
Larger volumes of blueberries have inundated markets already rattled by COVID-19, pushing prices lower for farmers as the cost to bring their crops to market has risen.
California blueberry production is expected to hit a record 77 million pounds this year, with peak production in the next two weeks, said Todd Sanders, executive director of the California Blueberry Commission.
American consumption, however, has not kept pace with the bigger volumes coming from California and other growing regions, particularly Mexico. Sanders said imports from Mexico continue to flood U.S. markets, pressuring prices.
"Growers are really struggling," he said, adding that they're "making economic decisions" about whether to harvest their fruit this year. "We haven't even hit peak and we've seen the price drop dramatically as the volume increases."
COVID-19 has slowed retail foot traffic, with fewer shoppers buying fruit in stores, and supply-chain problems have slowed the berries reaching supermarket shelves, he added. Another challenge, he said, has been encouraging U.S. retailers to buy local blueberries first before looking to often-cheaper Mexican imports.
Greatly reduced demand from restaurants, hotels and other food service buyers has dried up an important market that uses about 20% of the state's blueberries, Sanders estimated. Farmers and marketers whose food-service contracts were canceled now face a difficult time finding new homes for their berries. In a more-normal year, he said, they could try to sell fruit to processors for juice or for drying, but huge volumes have easily filled that market this year.
At the farm level, social distancing and other mitigation measures to combat the coronavirus have increased production costs by 20% to 25% in the field and in the packing shed, estimated Bill Steed of Fairfield Farms, a grower/packer in San Diego County.
Assuring more spacing requires more supervision of work crews, he noted. Though there's "ample labor" because many people are out of work, Steed said farmers are hiring pickers who are "not as skilled" or have never harvested blueberries.
"It's expensive in every sense of it: time, materials, production levels, efficiencies, everything," he said. "You're paying more for that and yet the price of the product is coming down" by at least 30%.
Because people are not grocery shopping as often, Steed said, buyers have become more conservative in their purchasing, as they don't want to be stuck with too much of a perishable product.
Changes in people's buying habits have also agitated markets, said Randy Grimm, director of farming for Bixler Ranch in Stockton.
"Most years, you have a pretty steady stream of purchasing," he said. "This year, it was all or nothing. You couldn't forecast the next week."
Bixler Ranch is about three weeks into its blueberry harvest, using hand labor only for its young plants that can't be harvested by machine.
Though most of the state's blueberries are still picked by hand, Grimm said farmers are trying to move to mechanical harvest, "because when you're getting $2.50 a pound on blueberries and it costs you 90 cents to pick them, by the time you pack them and you have your cultural cost and everything else, you're either breaking even or going in the red."
The challenge, he said, is the "astronomical" cost of the machines—about $300,000 apiece. Because mechanical harvest "hasn't been done a lot," he added, many marketers are "not receptive to it," even though "you wouldn't know the difference" between blueberries picked by hand and those harvested by machine.
Jerry Connery, who markets berries for California Giant Berry Farms, a grower/packer/shipper in Watsonville, said he's "not a big fan of the machines" but adds, "You will see more mechanical harvesting eventually—not yet."
Steed said though he's "continually evaluating" mechanical harvesters and "would love to be able to do it," he's not ready to go that direction. In particular, he said he doesn't like how the machines knock off unripe fruit with the ripe.
Santa Barbara County farmer Carol Mahoney, disappointed that the price of blueberries has "bottomed out" especially during peak season in May, said this is the first year her farm is not using contract labor to pick her fruit. Wanting to "eliminate the middleman," she said she's also not marketing her berries wholesale for the first time this year, instead relying mostly on her U-pick operation, one farmers market and selling a small amount to another farmer who operates a roadside stand. Her U-pick business so far has quadrupled, she said.
"This year, from the moment we opened the gate, we were slammed," Mahoney said, adding that she thinks people are "just dying to get out" of the house due to the lockdown. Whereas she used to close two days a week, she's now open every day "because it's been so crazy and there's such a demand."
Mahoney described how challenging it was to get direction from the county and other government agencies about what the U-pick operation needed to do to comply with virus-mitigation measures. But with the lateness of the crop this year, she said by the time her farm opened on April 22, people were already used to the practice and "automatically distancing themselves."
With 15% to 20% of the state's blueberry crop destined for foreign markets, Sanders stressed the importance of exports to take pressure off the domestic market and to help elevate grower prices. Though Canada remains the state's No. 1 export market for blueberries, Sanders said the commission has been working to develop markets in nations including Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore.
With the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal signed earlier this year, he said the two nations are on the verge of finalizing a phytosanitary protocol to allow U.S. blueberries into the Chinese market. Completion of the protocol may come "on the tail end" of the California blueberry season, he said, but should allow Oregon and Washington growers to export some of their crop.
(Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)