Hey! don't apologise for asking for something and then finding out that it already exists? If that's what you are apologising for.
Icy Phoenix takes some time to learn. And there are more than one in the forums!


Usually when people talk about 'deep cuts,' they're talking about underrated jams from classic rock bands like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, The Clash, and even bands like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and David Bowie. Not many people think about 'deep cuts' by artists like Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake . . . but Billboard.com has. They have a list of 'The 100 Best Deep Cuts by 21st Century Pop Stars' . . . and it's pretty interesting.


Once the outreach has been made, engagement has taken place, and any immediate crises addressed, the next step is to conduct in-depth assessment of the household. This assessment is done by the Case Management team. Areas of assessment include, but are not limited to: number of members in the family, current level of income, substance use disorders, mental health issues, chronic physical issues, developmental disabilities, ex-offender status, prior evictions, legal issues regarding DCFS, child support or other child protective concerns. The results of this assessment enable the case manager(s) to begin the development of a service plan and refer family members to appropriate services. This plan not only includes addressing barriers as listed above, but also prepares the family for moving into their own permanent housing. Number of family members, current income and barriers help to determine if the household needs subsidized housing or affordable housing. Case management continues through the housing process and for as long as the household needs support.


hina Education and Equipment Exhibition, has been successfully held 72 sessions since 1980.Nowadays it develops into the largest and most professional education equipment industry's exhibition in China even in the world. It is dedicated to show the new achievements, new technologies and new products of the educational equipment industry. It is an important platform to show the latest development of China's educational equipment industry and an important window for educational equipment production and management enterprises to go out. It's not only the best platform for enterprises to establish a brand, promote products, trade exchanges, but also understand the educational equipment industry trends, high-end platform to share product information, educational equipment. the Ministry of Commerce was listed as national key guidance and support of the show.
LEAP TIMER participated in the exhibition to expand horizons, open ideas, learning advanced, communication and cooperation-based. Make full use of this opportunity and use of products for live demonstrations, with customers to explore Q & A doubts, to communicate and negotiate with the exhibitors and dealers to further expand the company's visibility and influence in the industry. In the meanwhile, further know the features of peer advanced enterprise products in order to better improve own product structure, exploit own advantages. Of course, LEAP TIMER will show you our hit products --stopwatch, chess clock and other five series of sports timing products. In addition, will show and promote the talent gene detection and gold gene detection projects. Autumn season, is the most comfortable season in Guangzhou, where there is endless culture of Ling Nan, endless Cantonese cuisine, endless view of the South Guangdong beauty. Warmly welcome you to Guangzhou!!


text:
package sample.jcu.semaphore.producerandconsummer;

/**
 * Created by kanglei on 20/10/2017.
 */
public class Producer extends Thread {
    FootList list = null;
    public  Producer(FootList list){
        this.list = list;
    }

    @Override
    public void run() {
        this.list.cook();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Жана тилек (, до 08.11.2007 г. — Южное) — село в Урджарском районе Восточно-Казахстанской области Казахстана. Административный центр Жана тилекского сельского округа. Код КАТО — 636447100.

Население
В 1999 году население села составляло 1576 человек (790 мужчин и 786 женщин). По данным переписи 2009 года, в селе проживало 1357 человек (705 мужчин и 652 женщины).

Примечания

Населённые пункты Урджарского района
Переименованные населённые пункты Казахстана

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Fed should start tapering as soon as possible to prevent a premature rise in interest rates under tapering.
A December tapering would be beneficial for both Bernanke and Yellen. Bernanke began talking about tapering in May because he wanted to at least put things in motion before his term expired at the end of January, and avoid potential criticism that he had started QE but left the cleanup to his successor.
If Yellen's strong dovish credentials were the basis for her nomination then it would be difficult for her to announce a tapering immediately after becoming Fed chair. Her job would be made much easier if Bernanke were able to set a new course for the Fed before stepping down.
Abenomics is finally addressing Japan's fundamental economic problem: getting households and businesses to borrow. In this balance-sheet recession, consumers preferred to aggressively pay down debt instead of spending following the burst of the asset price bubble in the early 1990s.
Companies and individuals are still wary of taking on debt. The trauma that keeps companies from borrowing can be overcome with measures like tax breaks for corporate investment, a part of Abenomics.
Government stimulus to make up for a lack of private-sector demand is good, but plans to lower the corporate tax rate in tandem with other tax incentives is not, because it would reward all profitable firms, not just those that are investing.
Higher wages is something that should happen naturally when the economy improves.
Monetary easing did produce results including an 80% rise in stocks to their peak in May, and a 20% drop in the yen against the dollar, but what happened was the result of foreigners buying Japanese stocks, not renewed optimism by Japanese investors.
Money printing is useless if people do not use the cash, so easing will not stop price declines, or deflation, which is caused by a lack of borrowing and spending. Relying on more easing could even be a liability, so the BoJ should not ride its luck too far.
The worst-case scenario would be a bold move by the BoJ that causes government bond holders to believe it will reach its 2% inflation target and unload bonds – the subsequent yield spike would make it impossible to stimulate more and leave banks with big losses on their balance sheets before the economy really recovers.


text:
SAVE THE DATE: From June 28 to July 1, 2022 the CBFP will hold the 19th Meeting of Parties and celebrate its 20th anniversary
The Facilitation of the Federal Republic of Germany of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) in collaboration with the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) and the Republic of Gabon will organize the 19th Meeting of Parties (MOP) of the CBFP in Libreville (Gabon) from June 28 to July 1, 2022 in accordance with its statutory texts. On this occasion, the CBFP will celebrate its 20th anniversary: 20 years of structural reform in the tropical forest of the Congo Basin in Central Africa.
Since its creation in 2002, the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) has brought together an ever-increasing number of members. Today, nearly 120 partners grouped into 7 colleges work for the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable management of forest ecosystems in the Congo Basin, the fight against climate change and poverty reduction in Central Africa in the member countries, in accordance with the COMIFAC Convergence Plan and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
More than 500 participants attend its annual Meeting of Parties. A wide variety of partners from a broad spectrum come into dialogue with one another. They work on joint, cross-sectoral and sustainable solutions.
The 19th Meeting of the Parties is organized with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ).
It will be co-chaired by His Excellency Dr. Christian Ruck, Goodwill Ambassador, Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany for the CBFP, and His Excellency Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister of Forests and Wildlife of Cameroon, current Chairman of COMIFAC, alongside with His Excellency Prof. Lee White, Minister of Water, Forestry, Sea and Environment in charge of the Climate Plan and Land Use Plan of Gabon, host country of this 19th Meeting of the Parties.
Nearly 600 participants are expected to attend this major event, including the Ministers of Forestry and Environment of the Central African countries that are members of the Central African Forestry Commission, representatives of donor countries, financial institutions and international organizations, civil society, representatives of training and research institutions and the private sector.
Many side events are planned, including the organization of thematic streams. Indeed, after an analysis of recent major international conferences and the "status quo" of the Congo Basin, three important themes will be discussed in four streams during the first two days. The purpose of these streams is to look for ways and means to accelerate the implementation of the COMIFAC Declaration, the Glasgow Declaration on the "Fair Deal" as well as the results of the 2021/2022 international conferences:
Planning - Sustainable Land Use (with 2 sub-themes)
a: Preconditions for effective and sustainable land use planning (including monitoring/tracking tools and various land uses including gold mining and climate change)
b: Conditions and prospects for a sustainable timber economy
Biodiversity: The Future of Protected Areas (including Post 2020; Good Protected Area Management Practices, Peaceful Transhumance for Peaceful Coexistence; Ecotourism; Revenue Generation/Jobs, Payments for Ecosystem Services)
Landscape restoration (Perspectives and conditions for successful landscape restoration)
In addition, half of the second day will be dedicated to roundtables on topical issues, such as the improvement and coordination of technical and financial contributions for the Congo Basin and on the draft EU legislation on deforestation-free products.
The CBFP Colleges will hold their meeting on Day 3 of MOP 19 as will the CBFP Governing Council which will hold its 10th Meeting. On the evening of Day 3, the CBFP will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a Gala evening in the presence of former CBFP Facilitators, coupled with a retrospective on the CBFP and its vision for the next 20 years.
On day 4, the CBFP will hold its 19th Plenary General Assembly.
An exhibition space for CBFP partners will be set up to accommodate about 20 exhibitors. Information on the exhibition modalities will soon be available on the CBFP website. Networking time will also be provided.
A field trip will be offered to participants the day before the event to allow them to appropriate the themes.
Useful information :
Registration of participants: Registration for CBFP MOP 19 will open on 28 February and close on 31 March 2022.
MOP 19 Side Events: Partners interested in organizing side events at the CBFP MOP 19 are requested to register between 28 February and 15 April 2022.
MOP 19 Exhibition Center: Registration for partners wishing to acquire exhibition space will open on March 15 and close on April 30, 2022.
Field Trip MOP 19: Registration for partners wishing to participate in the field trip opens on March 15 and closes on April 30, 2022.
N.B. Participation fees are the responsibility of the participant.
The ATIBT will keep you informed in the coming months of the progress of the organization of this event.
Congo Basin
Sustainable forest management
News from the sector in the DRC
Membership of ATIBT in the CNDB: an opportunity to better understand the French tropical wood market

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Vladimir Putin during a meeting with Russia Today's leadership. Photo: The Russian presidential executive office, CC-BY-4.0
Banning Russia Today would solve nothing
Russia Today may be full of conspiracy theories but banning the channel is not the answer to Russian aggression. The real losers from this would be journalists and Russia's domestic opposition, argues Madeline Roache
The month's attempted assassination of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury has sent relations between the UK and Russia spiralling, with both sides issuing recriminations and counter-recriminations.
The latest threat concerns the Russian-government funded English-language news network, Russia Today (RT), described by one British MP as a 'propaganda mouthpiece for the Russian state'. In a debate following Prime Minister Theresa May's assertion that it was 'highly-likely' there was Russian state involvement in the incident, she faced repeated calls to take action against RT. British broadcasting regulator, Ofcom has now warned RT that if the UK determines Russia was behind the nerve gas attack it will reconsider whether RT is 'fit and proper' to operate in the country.
A ban on RT is likely to fuel accusations of Russophobia and victimization by the West, and above all a charge of Western hypocrisy: Britain preaches democracy abroad but fails to guarantee it within its own borders
But the proposed ban on RT could backfire.
Moscow has a history of counter-accusations and conspiracy-mongering, whether in attempting to obscure its complicity in the mass murder of Syrian civilians by Russian ally Bashar al-Assad, or suggesting the Rothschilds were behind the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. At home, the Kremlin portrays the West as an enemy out to get Russia, which solidifies support for Putin – while diminishing chances for an opposition movement to emerge by tarring Putin's opponents as 'unpatriotic'. Russia's sense of being threatened by the West also helps the Kremlin justify acts of aggression abroad.
A ban on RT is likely to fuel accusations of Russophobia and victimization by the West, and above all a charge of Western hypocrisy: Britain preaches democracy abroad but fails to guarantee it within its own borders.
This is already happening. On Sunday night, Russian state TV's flagship programme, Vyesti Nedyeli ('News of the Week') claimed British Prime Minister Theresa May herself invented Novichok, the nerve agent used against Skripal and his daughter, and that 'Britain prefers to act against Russia in a dirty way, treacherously, with Russophobia and ultimatums.' Commenting on the proposed ban, RT said it is being used as a 'sacrificial political pawn' and revoking its licence would make a mockery of the concept of press freedom in the UK.
The ban on RT would likely lead to the retributive expulsion of British journalists from Russia and hamper free speech within the country.
A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, was reported by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency as saying that 'Not a single British media outlet will work in our country if they shut down RT', which could affect outlets including the BBC World Service, Sky News, The Guardian, and others who have correspondents in the country.
It would not be the first time that foreign journalists have come under Russian pressure. In 2014, Moscow expelled American journalist and author David Satter, a former Financial Times correspondent who wrote critically about Putin's regime.
Last November, Russia moved against Western media in direct response to RT being made to register as a 'foreign agent' in the US, as part of the fallout over allegations that Russia interfered in last year's US presidential election in favour of Donald Trump. Putin signed a law allowing authorities to label foreign media outlets that engage in broadly defined 'political activity' as 'foreign agents', subjecting them to onerous requirements. Failure to meet the new requirements could result in the suspension of their activities. The Russian government has already notified Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), both funded by the U.S. government, that they must register as foreign agents.
'This legislation is tailor-made to be selectively and politically enforced, and to silence voices they do not want Russian people to hear,' said the Europe and Central Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, Hugh Williamson, at the time.
The move against the American news outlets is yet another blow to media freedom in Russia, which Putin has been dismantling since he came into office in 2000 – and especially after the 2011-12 mass protests and the 2014 Ukraine conflict. As Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow bureau chief says, establishing a single, unchallenged narrative was essential to mobilizing domestic support for the war.
In October 2014, Putin passed a law limiting foreign ownership in Russian media assets to 20 percent, forcing some of the world's largest media companies to sell their assets or shut down, including Conde Nast, Hearst Corporation and Axel Springer. Then in May 2015, a law came into effect banning media from reporting on casualties among Russia troops deployed in special operations, classifying these as 'state secrets'.
Russia's nationalistic media campaign appears to have worked and according to polls conducted by Russia's Levada Center, positive Russian attitudes toward Ukraine and the West dramatically collapsed during the Euromaidan; Russians think the most hostile countries are the United States, followed by Ukraine, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania. A UK decision to ban RT would again play into the Kremlin's hands and leave the Russian opposition out in the cold.
'We have witnesses who say you met with unhappy locals and used the word "annexation". This word is incorrect. We don't like it'
Many independent Russian outlets been also been severely restricted or shut down. In 2014, Russia's attorney general ordered federal censors to block the opposition website Grani.ru, accusing it of publishing 'incitements to illegal action', including unsanctioned political rallies. The independent TV channel Dozhd (Rain) almost faced closure in January 2014 after it posted an online poll asking viewers to vote on whether Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) should have surrendered to the Nazis during World War II to save its residents' lives.
The media landscape is even worse in Crimea where, after annexation by Russia in 2014, independent outlets were forcibly shut down, transmissions of Ukrainian stations were replaced with broadcasts from Russia and many journalists fled to escape harassment, violence and arrest. I caught a glimpse of this during a research trip to Crimea's capital, Simferopol in February, when police detained and questioned me about my political interests and work. 'We have witnesses who say you met with unhappy locals and used the word "annexation". This word is incorrect. We don't like it,' they said.
The poisoning of Skripal and his daughter seems to be just the latest example of Russia's aggressive intervention in a foreign country. It is part of the same attempt to destabilize democracy as the invasion in Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea, military manoeuvres on NATO's eastern borders, the bombing of Syria and more. An international consensus that joins the dots of these events is both increasingly urgent and necessary.
Britain's expulsion of Russian diplomats, and the proposal to ban RT, much like Estonia's ban on Russian media, and US sanctions over Kremlin election meddling, are not enough to stop Moscow's aggression.
Rather than countries separately punishing Russia, there needs to be collective, multilateral efforts through existing institutions such as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). It's starting to happen. The initial response was a joint UK, US French and German response, now the entire EU bloc has joined the protest – with Australia and the US also expelling diplomats.
While the suggestion that countries might boycott this year's World Cup in Russia looks far-fetched and Boris Johnson's comparison with the 1936 Nazi Olympics overly dramatic, acts of protest by fans and even players are possible, if only to counter a Russian propaganda coup. The 1978 tournament in Argentina served to expose the dictatorship's horrific human rights record to the world, and Russia's image is vulnerable to critical media attention during the competition.
The closer the international community comes to a joint recognition of Russia's global aggression, the better it will be able to counter it – and prevent its escalation. Banning RT is the wrong battle to pick.
Madeline Roache is a British freelance journalist focusing on human rights issues in the former Soviet Union.
More about Madeline Roache
Putin's critics have labelled him a 'kleptocratic dictator' and drawn comparisons with Hitler. Russia expert Mark Galeotti...
Do we fetishize indigenous people?
Working on a documentary about the Moken 'Sea Gypsies' prompted Julian Sayarer to examine the West's obtuse gaze and...
Paper promises: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70
Why is it so easy for governments to ignore this much-feted document? TJ Coles analyzes the British case.
For climate action, 'mass civil disobedience' is the only way
Husna Rizvi witnesses the launch of a bold environmentalist campaign: Extinction Rebellion.
Human rights after Trump
Nanjala Nyabola explains why Trump presents a challenge for those who work in human rights.
Botswana: losing its sparkle?
Wame Molefhe profiles Botswana, where prosperity has morphed into corruption and inequality.
Shahidul Alam imprisoned another month
A court will hear his bail petition in September. Rumana Hashem reports.
Russian LGBT activists battle teenage isolation
Young people discovering their sexuality have been denied access to information or acceptance since the 'gay propaganda' law...
Inside Hungary's post-truth laboratory
Viktor Orbán, the country's autocratic hard man, is riding high, with the help of young propaganda-mongers. Lorraine Mallinder...
Where football meets politics
In tiny Abkhazia, outcast from the world stage, football is a source of hope. Robert O'Connor reports.
Next generation of Chagos exiles resists deportation
Decades after the UK made them exiles, their children and grandchildren now face expulsion. Katie McQue reports.
Brexit looming casts shadow over EU whistleblower protections
Naomi Colvin weighs the pros and cons of the EU draft Directive on whistleblower protection and wonders how Brexit will impact...
A People's Vote on Brexit
A new popular movement is born – and it might just halt a Brexit disaster. Vanessa Baird dares to hope.
The selfish giants
Laura Basu on how media ownership is getting more concentrated – and what to do about it.
Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies…
Vanessa Baird writes on the strange mutations of 'fake news'.
Will EU copyright law 'carpet bomb' the digital world?
Article 13 of the EU's Copyright Directive, up for vote on 20 June, will impose mandatory upload filters on internet users....
Fighting Mr Fake
How editor Maria Ressa took on the president of the Philippines. Iris Gonzales tells the story.
A better media is possible
Out of the current crisis, a more hopeful vision is emerging, argues Vanessa Baird.
Blueprint for a better media
11 strategies for a better media. Vanessa Baird writes.
Supporting New Internationalist
As news media face a crisis of legitimacy, reader supported alternatives offer a way forward, Chris Spannos writes.
Will new laws tame the tech giants?
Are these new privacy laws the best solution? Mike Morel investigates.
Defending journalism in a climate of fear
On World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty International's Stefan Simanowitz reports on why Turkish journalists need support.
The case for public ownership
After decades of neglect, the mood is turning. Dinyar Godrej on the fightback against privatization.
The Women Who Stopped the Nuclear Deal
Makoma Lekalakala and Liz McDaid won the Goldman Environmental Prize for stopping a secret nuclear deal with Russia. Veronique...
Why neoliberals are pushing 'Accountable Care' worldwide
NHS campaigner Jo Land explains why she is resisting changes through the courts.
Is Hungary mimicking Putin's authoritarianism?
Has Putin exported 'managed democracy' to Hungary? Madeline Roache examines Orbán's regime.
Fleeing Myanmar
Parsa Sanjana Sajid speaks to Rohingya refugees trapped on the Bangladeshi border.
Why striking lecturers can't give up now
Strikes have shown our strength. Academics could demand so much more for our universities, writes Hamish Kallin.
Paraguay: An unequal land
Paraguay's land activists are under attack. Toby Hill profiles the country's precarious democracy.
How can famines be ended?
To wipe out mass starvation we must engage with the politics that drive it, argues Alex de Waal.
History repeats itself in Crimea
In 1944, Stalin declared the Tatars 'traitors'. Now Putin calls them 'extremists'. Madeline Roache reports.
Life after Putin
The struggle to define Russia's future is under way but those hoping for a more progressive post-Putin Russia shouldn't hold...
Latin American governments should serve the people
Human rights activist Adolfo Pérez Esquivel highlights the failure of democracy in Argentina, Brazil and across the region.
Indonesia cracks down on organized labour
Unions face backlash after years of minimum wage increases. Fahmi Panimbang writes.
Brazil's rich weaponize law to stop Lula campaign
'Impossible' for Lula to get fair trial, say lawyers. Vanessa Baird reports.


text:
Tourism in Japan
by Peng Lim | Jan 16, 2023 | Whitepapers | 0 comments
In the "International Tourist Arrivals by Country/Region Rankings" of 2019, Japan ranked 12th (3rd in Asia) with 31.88 million people, while Japan ranked 11th (3rd in Asia) with 31.19 million people in 2018.
In the "International Tourism Revenue by Country/Region Ranking" of 2019, Japan ranked 7th (2nd in Asia) with $46.1 billion, while Japan ranked 9th (2nd in Asia) with $42.1 billion in 2018.
In the "International Tourist Departures by Country/Region Rankings" of 2019, Japan ranked 14th (4th in Asia) with 20.08 million people, while Japan ranked 18th (4th in Asia) with 18.95 million people in 2018.
In the "International Tourism Expenditure by Country/Region Rankings "of 2019, Japan ranked 16th (6th in Asia) with $21.3 billion, while Japan ranked 16th (6th in Asia) with $20.2 billion dollars in 2018
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the number of international tourists in 2020 was 394 million people, which is 1.72 million people less than that in 2019 (up 73.1% from 2019). There was a significant reduction in the number due to travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, etc.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2020, the share of the travel and tourism industry in the world's GDP was roughly halved from about 10.4% to about 5.5%, and the number of tourism-related industry workers decreased by about 62 million people (down about 18.5% from 2019).
The number of international visitors to Japan in 2020 was 4.12 million (down 87.1% from 2019). The breakdown of the number is as follows: 3.32 million people from Asia (80.6 % of the total), including 2.6 million people from East Asia (63.1%) and 690,000 people from Southeast Asia (16.8%), 270,000 people from North America (6.6 %) and 150,000 people from 5 major European countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) (3.6%).


GURGAON, India — The Trump Organization is about to double its real estate empire in India with two new projects in this suburb of New Delhi known for rapacious development and poor planning.
In two deals signed before Donald Trump was elected president, the company aligned itself with Indian partners who were already attracting the attention of law enforcement authorities. One, called IREO, is under investigation by India's Enforcement Directorate over the source of its funding, suspected violations in its land purchasing and the possibility of money laundering. The other, M3M India, has been the target of sweeping tax raids; on a different project, the company was recently accused in a criminal complaint of bribing officials to clear-cut land.
An investigator working on the IREO probe, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for his job, said he now expects the investigation to "go slow" because of the subjects' ties to the man who has since become president of the United States.
On Monday, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at the White House to meet with President Trump. It will be exactly the sort of moment that makes ethics experts, worried about the conflation of Trump's business abroad with his oversight of U.S. foreign policy, especially alarmed.
The Trump Organization's two partners here have been among the primary developers in Gurgaon's now-stalled building boom. They are hard-charging companies — a surgeon named Subrat Saxena is just one of many former property owners here who, bullied and misled, lost their land to the developers, land that is now slated for a Trump tower.
After Saxena applied for a land-use change back in 2005, Dinesh Dayma, an agent acting on behalf of IREO, persuaded him to sell his land before the government acquired it by eminent domain, according to Saxena. Panicked, Saxena sold about a third of it for $188,000. The developers packaged it with other parcels, similarly acquired, and now are making it available for the Trump project.
"I'm sorry I did it; if I hadn't, I would have a hospital now," Saxena said.
A state leader from Maharashtra, who met with Donald Trump Jr., says the young American's Indian partner there pushed him to relax building codes to revive a stalled project — an allegation confirmed by another person familiar with the discussion but disputed by Indian developer Kalpesh Mehta, who was also in the meeting.
Though the Trump Organization has declined to comment for this article, Alan Garten, the company's general counsel, addressed questions earlier this year about some of the company's other unorthodox business partners. He said that blemishes on their records are not "reflective of the portfolio as a whole" and that the organization conducts "due diligence" background checks.
Ethics experts say engaging partners who have ongoing legal issues underscores the growing concern that the president's business projects around the world could create conflicts of interest or other challenges for his administration.
In April 2016, the Trump Organization announced that it was expanding its brand in India, lending its name to an IREO Private Ltd. office tower in Gurgaon designed by Foster + Partners, the architects of Apple's new campus. The Trump company signed a licensing agreement with IREO that includes use of the name, technical assistance and a portion of office rental income, according to Lalit Goyal, IREO's managing director.
Goyal said that his company is a private-equity fund founded in 2004 by a former Goldman Sachs executive and Indian partners to infuse foreign capital into India's real estate market. The company counts high-profile sovereign wealth and university endowment funds among its backers.
India's Enforcement Directorate, which tracks financial crimes, has long been investigating the source of IREO's funding, officials there said. Money from abroad was routed through entities in Mauritius and Cyprus, and investigators believe it was used to finance land purchases in Gurgaon, documents show.
According to an internal case memo shared with The Washington Post, tax-fraud investigators found that IREO used seven holding companies and dozens of subsidiaries to bypass restrictions on foreign direct investment in agricultural land to purchase $443 million of property in Gurgaon from 2006 to 2007, including the subsidiaries that purchased land now slated for the Trump office tower.
"There is a serious reason to believe that a substantial part of the funds in IREO are money that has been layered and laundered," the report said.
The Bansal brothers, Basant and Roop — sons of a mustard-seed-oil seller from a small village nearby — made their fortune buying up adjoining plots of land for bigger developers. As they built M3M India, which stands for "Magnificence in the Trinity of Men, Materials and Money," they became adept at sweet-talking villagers over a hookah pipe, locals said. The Bansals, who declined to comment for this article, helped IREO put together the land for the Trump project.
Dinesh Dayma, a land agent for the Bansals, persuaded the surgeon to sell his land to the developer rather than risk having his land appropriated by the government at below-market rates. Dayma works out of an office in a low-slung concrete building not far from luxury hotels and a Porsche dealership. It sits snugly inside the walled office compound of his brother, Mahesh, a local politician from the BJP. A saffron-and-green banner with the politician's photo — common in India — hangs prominently outside the property office.
Inside, Dayma sat in his darkened office — the electricity was out — and denied that he had used his brother's position to glean information about the doctor's land. He came by the information fairly, he said.
"Everything is for sale as long as you get someone to put a price on it," he said, with a smile.
Dayma said that the property in Gurgaon was purchased from farmers by agents who used a variety of pressure tactics in collaboration with the state's development authority.
"The state and the developers work together," Dayma said, encouraging rumors to rush farmers into selling. "In all of the sectors, all of the land was acquired this way," he said.
One state official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of jeopardizing his employment, recalled the heady days of growth when developers routinely showed up at the home of a former chief minister in sport-utility vehicles laden with suitcases full of cash.
On a blindingly sunny day in Gurgaon, Pankaj Bansal, son of Basant Bansal, appeared on a golf green to greet contestants from the "Apprentice"-style Indian reality show "The Pitch." The young scion, in a lilac shirt and aviator sunglasses, told the budding entrepreneurs that his family was positioning itself to be "one of the most respected developers in the country" and worked only with the best architects, interior designers and landscapers.
The Bansal brothers have come far since their gritty early days. They have several large projects in the works, including one complex built around a nine-hole golf course that has suffered delays. Now, they are preparing to announce a joint venture with Mehta's Mumbai-based Tribeca Developers to build Trump-branded residences, Mehta said.
Basant Bansal caught the attention of tax investigators twice, records show, once in 2008 and again in 2011, when he threw a lavish wedding for his daughter in Turkey, according to a report in the Hindustan Times. Investigators seized cash worth $48 million in a raid on the company's offices. A tax investigator said that Bansal ultimately paid the taxes he owed.
In March, one of the Bansals' employees was caught allegedly bribing a forest guard to illicitly cut more than 2,200 trees, in connection with a separate project, according to a police complaint that is still under investigation.
Most companies seeking to minimize their legal risk would find such red flags "insurmountable," Wrage said.
Trump 'finally' condemned killing of Indian man as act of hate. Was he too late?


text:
Home / Startup / Personal Readiness / Small Biz Interviews: Build It and They Will Come
Small Biz Interviews: Build It and They Will Come
Dec 28, 2016 By Michael Jones
Architecture is a unique field that combines artistry with mathematical precision; it requires long days of bouncing between loosened up creativity and buttoned up exactness. Design too requires a similar blend of left and right brain skills—on the one hand, you need to find the right solution for your client at the right price, and on the other, you need that solution to be aesthetically inspired. Together, the two fields are all about how humans interact with and perceive the space around them.
Stephen Conte and Carolina Escobar know the struggles of being innovative while maintaining the day-to-day realities of running a small business—especially when that business is operating in the context of one of the most sought-after real estate markets in the world. StudiosC, a Brooklyn-based architecture and design company, was an honoree of this year's NYCxDesign Awards. The firm is young but starting to make a name for itself with residential and commercial projects in New York and Medellin, Colombia. Stephen and Carolina, the principals of StudiosC, have known and worked with each other for a long time. On the foundation of their friendship and working relationship, they've built the studio from scratch.
The challenges of the architecture and design practice are many—add on top of that the fact that they are highly competitive fields and the result is a high pressure environment. However, with the right team in place, this pressure can be converted into innovation (and revenue, of course). Below, Stephen and Carolina discuss the way that their working experience organically led to the creation of a small business, the challenges of management in a creative field, and the value of having an international perspective.
BOND STREET: How did you get into architecture in the first place?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: Stephen Conte: It was from an early age really—as early as high school. Building and constructing was always an interest, and thankfully I had a good art teacher in high school who recognized to give me some direction about architecture school, and I took it from there. I went on to do a Bachelor of Art program at Pratt.
Carolina Escobar: I studied in Colombia; there was a very close family friend that studied architecture and I really liked it every time I'd see the work. When I was in school I was really interested in places and developing small scenarios, and it was then that I realized that studying architecture would make me happy—but the interest in smaller spaces led me to design.
BOND STREET: Stephen, does anyone in your family come from an architecture or entrepreneurial background?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: My dad always had a job but also started companies. My older brother has his own business as well, so yea, I think there's definitely a background there. I think that helped a lot when we decided to start the company. I remembered things from when my dad was starting companies—to be brave first of all, and other lessons about what you were supposed to do.
BOND STREET: What's the origin story of StudiosC? When and how did the practice get its start?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: Carolina and I have known each other for a long time; we're very good friends. Carolina's husband is my best friend, I worked with him 10 or 12 years ago. He's also an architect. Carolina was working at an interior design studio and I was at an architecture firm, and we worked on a project together. In 2012, when I left my job and decided to start StudiosC, I called Carolina because I knew and liked her work. We started working back and forth, and Carolina was thinking about leaving her studio. She had some clients that wanted her to work some individual jobs. At the beginning it was very organic, we were passing work back and forth. Then we decided to get a co-working space in Greenpoint. From there it quickly blossomed and took off a lot faster than we thought, around 2013. At first I was more of a freelancer picking up jobs, but 2013 is when we decided to go in 50-50.
BOND STREET: How was the business bootstrapped originally?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: It was basically through clients' word of mouth. It was about taking on all types of projects to get our footing and doing what we were capable of. It was through these small projects that we were able to form a platform and launch the work we have now. At the moment, we haven't needed to take on any outside investment. Not yet.
BOND STREET: What was an early business challenge in starting StudiosC?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: CE: Everything is a challenge. I think we managed it pretty well, but hiring people was the biggest challenge. Hiring our first employee, figuring out payroll, and all the other small details about how a business functions, that was the biggest challenge. We're a creative profession, but there's a completely different side of it. You can be incredibly creative but if you're not on top of the day-to-day that a business needs in order to be profitable, things fall apart.
SC: For Carolina and myself this was our first company, so that was definitely the biggest challenge: getting into the groove of both being creative and managing the business and all the challenges that come with it.
BOND STREET: You work with an international team. How does this impact your practice?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: From a business side, it adds a lot of different cultural perspectives to architecture and interior design. Everyone has seen their own education and journey, so I think it brings a lot. I think it reflects in the work too, in that it blends different ideas. I think this works especially in the architectural context of New York. It's not a traditionally-based design, and I think that's really advantageous to us.
CE: When you have an international perspective, everyone also thinks about their own country and how things are done there, which is very important.
BOND STREET: What does your portfolio look like?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: We do both residential and commercial projects. We do ground-up construction, and when we take on a project like that we like to do everything—we'll design the exterior and the interior ofthe building. We believe everything should be cohesive. There's a lot of cases in our industry where the interior and exterior are done by different studios, and that's very successful in many cases, but for us, we like to make it cohesive and do it ourselves. We like to tell a story with the building, and make sure that everything works together and is a seamless experience.
CE: We do have a lot of interior design projects at the moment, and a handful of small and medium-sized buildings as well. A couple brownstone renovations too.
BOND STREET: What architects inspired you originally? And what about today?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: There's quite a few for me. When I really started looking into it and going to college for it, some of my original inspirations were Louis Khan, Renzo Piano, and countless others. A lot of my professors weren't as well known but were doing some really amazing work. Currently, I think the list hasn't changed, but there are more small and medium-sized studios that we see doing really nice work in New York and all over the world. There's some really good architecture and design happening right now. The list keeps growing.
BOND STREET: How does the architecture business landscape look now, compared to the past?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: I think it's more design focused. If we go back 15 years, there was always the small handful of really amazing projects, and a lot of mediocre projects going up. Design was kind of depending on the client. Design could have been secondary at the time. I think today people realize the value of design, and whether you're designing a rental or a condo or a retail store, the value of design is real and tangible now. People want to have a experience in a well-designed space. The level of design in New York has really increased over the past 10 to 15 years.
BOND STREET: You do a lot of projects in Brooklyn, but some work in Medellin too.
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: CE: We've done some residential projects in Medellin. It's very different from New York, because there's a lot of land to work with.
SC: We haven't done too many projects in South America, our focus really has to be New York. But every once in awhile something will come along, and if we think it's a good fit, we'll take it on. We can't really take on too much work—we usually take on one project at a time. Maybe in the future if we have the ability to expand there, and if there's a market there, it would be great since we already have the connections and foothold in Medellin. It could be really interesting.
BOND STREET: So the whole team focuses on one project at a time?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: No, Carolina and I both have our hands on everything, but then we have project managers who deal with the day-to-day. We set up a small team for each project, depending on the project. A lot of times though, we get input from people who are not working on that specific project. We ask for ideas from everyone at some point depending on the work.
BOND STREET: How do you utilize marketing channels?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: That's something that's constantly developing. We haven't done too much marketing. We did work with a PR person for a few months as an initial push for work. I think we've been fortunate though: a lot of our clients come from referrals. It's hard though because we do want to break into new markets, and we've got some work coming up that could help us get into them. For that, I think it's really about submitting for publications and awards and trying to keep your work out there, and showing potential clients what you're capable of. There's a lot of talented architects and designers in this city, so for clients to choose one firm over the other, they're gonna have their reasons. It's a very specific type of marketing—it doesn't really help if 100,000 people see your marketing since so few of them are looking to hire an architecture firm. It needs to be the right people. The marketing has to be very focused.
BOND STREET: What's your biggest business challenge currently?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: CE: Quality is the most important thing in the profession. When we have multiple deadlines, it can be difficult to do everything 100%. The biggest challenge is definitely time management.
BOND STREET: What's the 5-year vision for StudiosC?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: There isn't a specific goal, it's more of an idea. We want to continue to create a really good studio environment. It's important that everyone who works here is happy and content with what they're doing. I think the idea is just to continue doing good work and deliver a high quality service to our clients. We're constantly focusing on the day and the hour. Like Carolina said, we have to keep a very high level of quality, and I think as long as we keep focusing on that, good things will come. Whichever direction that leads us, we'll be very okay with that.
CE: I think part of the goal is also to be able to enter more into the commercial markets.
SC: Definitely. We've done 3 office spaces, a wine bar, and have a restaurant project that we have on the board right now. Breaking into those markets is very important. It'll help diversify our portfolio, and it's really interesting work.
BOND STREET: What's your dream project?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: SC: Personally, for me, it would be a cultural institution, like a library or museum. Something with a lasting impact that the public could really appreciate and enjoy.
CE: I was thinking the same thing! Something that would really help support a community of people.
Quickfire:
BOND STREET: What's one book every entrepreneur should read?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, by Ha-Joon Chang
BOND STREET: One brand that you admire:
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR: Bower
BOND STREET: 5 favorite independent businesses in New York?
STEPHEN CONTE AND CAROLINA ESCOBAR:
Ovenly
Walter Foods
Brooklyn Bazaar
Halcyon Records
Filed Under: Personal Readiness Tagged With: Creativity, Interviews
Source: Bond Street
Michael Jones is the Director of Community Development at Bond Street, a company focused on making small business loans simple, transparent, and fair. Contact Michael at Michael@Bondstreet.com.
TwoThings You Can Do TODAY to Be More Creative at Work
10 Ways Entrepreneurs Limit Their Creative Potential
8 Tips for Right-Brain Entrepreneurs to Build Balance
What Makes Customer Service Interactions Good or Bad in the Eyes of the Customer?
May 3, 2013 By Teresa Allen
VIDEO: Why You Must Pick a Tight Niche
Aug 28, 2013 By Marcus Schaller
How to Successfully Train Your Call Center Team
Aug 4, 2016 By Scott Resnick
Where can I buy the lowest price international domain names that have country extensions?
Aug 4, 2014 By Ed Fox
Digital Signage Content: Successful Marketing Techniques to Drive Engagement
Sep 6, 2018 By Chloe Ward


Scientific and curricular advances in the United States, and the elevation of the status of its universities, at first drew scrutiny from European scholars. The new status of American academics had the immediate effect of attracting foreign interest, as countries such as China began to invest in the acquisition of fresh scholarship. Others would follow suit. By the end of the 1800s, colleges and universities in the United States were hosting international students from around the world. Around the same time, America adopted its first immigration policies, among them the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was the first of many such policies that would affect the migration of foreign students to America.
Kao, Timothy. 1999. Yung Wing and Young Chinese Students in America 1872–1881. The Chinese Students Memorial Society. www.120students.org.


The release will be available in three editions: A limited deluxe edition – now sold out – in an embossed cloth bound book featuring selected poems from Kindertotenwald as read by Franz Wright with contributions from three renowned photographers assembled by Sylvian to illustrate the edition. The second edition is a digipak showcasing photographic artwork by Nicholas Hughes. The third is a digital download with extensive digital booklet. All art directed by Sylvian and designed by Chris Bigg.


The NEW Sigma 16mm f/1.4 Lens for Mirrorless: Perfect for Vlogging?!
Whaaat! Sigma just announced today that they will be releasing a brand new 16mm f/1.4 lens for Sony E-mount and APS-C Mirrorless cameras. This got me thinking... I was just complaining (to myself) that I wish the 15-45mm kit lens on my Canon M6 was available with a better aperture, and lo and behold! Sigma came through and created this new lens, without me even having to voice my opinion to them! Arigato!!!
Unfortunately, this lens doesn't work with my Canon M6, and I recently sold my Sony A6000, (which would have been perfect for this lens). The release of this lens has me curious about buying an A6500 just to try out this lens.
The wide focal length will be perfect for videographers using the lens for smooth panning shots. This would be especially perfect for anybody who intends to use their mirrorless camera on a gimbal, like the Zhiyun Crane or something like that - you want a wide lens for smooth pans and tilts!
However, you also want a lens with a wide open aperture to create sharpness and bokeh! Let's face it - shooting in f/3.5 and f/4 is no fun! Mannnnn, I can NOT wait to try out this new Sigma lens!
The lens looks to be very well constructed - apparently, it is supposed to be up to par with Sigma's Art Lens lineup.
The 16mm F1.4 DC DN | C is making its first world appearance at PhotoPlus Expo in NYC this week. Damn, I wish I could go and check it out! This looks to be such a great lens option!
The Sigma 16mm 1.4 DC DN Contemporary is a high performance prime with a large aperture of F1.4 designed for APS-C Mirrorless cameras including Sony E mount and Micro Four Thirds. The Contemporary line is part of Sigma Global Vision and is aimed at combining image quality and compact size. The large aperture is great for low light and for creating depth of field and its small size makes it highly portable.
The optical design and stepping motor are said to deliver smooth autofocus during video shooting. The lens design fully accommodates the Fast Hybrid AF of Sony E-mount cameras for super-fast autofocus functionality. Using face recognition AF results in consistent autofocusing on faces, even as the subjects move.
Like all SGV lenses, each lens is hand crafted in Aizu Japan, individually inspected before shipping.
Sigma hasn't announced pricing yet, so let's cross our fingers over here! For automotive shooters like me, you might want to order a good 67mm CPL filter off Amazon already, so you'll have it ready to go once you pick up one of these new Sigma 16mm lenses!
As an automotive media influencer, I've been blessed with the opportunity to find out what it would be like to drive the highly anticipated FR-S on a winding road, open highway, autocross course, wet skidpad, and perhaps the most enjoyable – a high speed handling test at one of Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch's racetracks.
Just thirty minutes south of Reno Nevada and 40 minutes east of Lake Tahoe lies the most dangerous stretch of highway in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, and quite possibly, the entire west coast – Nevada State Route 341.
As the twisty road slices through the mountains towards the oldest city in the state of Nevada, a gold and silver mining town called Virginia City, it allures drivers with breathtaking views of the snow capped mountains in the Sierras – but this is all part of Highway 341's deadly charm.
Drivers who are tempted into gazing upon the majestic beauty of the Sierras while behind the wheel are often fooled into making fatal mistakes at high speed.
Endurance Racing has always been about how hard and how long you can go. For almost a century, legendary races like Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona have made history as a proving ground for men and their machines.
Los Angeles has automotive heritage that spans from the first hot rodders and dry lakebed racers in the 1940s and 1950s to the evolution of the European and Japanese car scenes on US shores that began in the late 1960s and continues strong until today.
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach kicked off this morning with the American LeMans cars circling the track. At 7:30AM, the pleasant sound of birds chirping was interrupted by an even better sound – a symphony of exhaust notes produced by the thirty three competition cars of the ALMS Series.
Even if you're too young to recognize the name 'George Barris,' you've undoubtedly seen the cars he has created. As the automotive legend behind Barris Kustom Industries in North Hollywood, George Barris has created some of the most iconic cars in movie and television history.
All Images Copyright 2018 Antonio Alvendia, Cipher Media Group. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Q: Why am I getting 'TypeError: Cannot read property 'length' of undefined' I am trying to create a typing effect using vanilla JS, but for some reason I keep getting a TypeError: Cannot read property 'length' of undefined error. I don't understand why though, as 'word' is defined. It's been bugging me for a while and I'm the type of person who likes to try to get the answer right on my own, but I'm completely stuck.

var sentence = document.getElementsByClassName('sentence')[0];
var words = ['websites', 'apps', 'games'];
var speed = 100;
var i = 0;
var j = 0;

function type(word) {
 if(i<word.length) {
   sentence.innerHTML += word.charAt(i);
    i++;
    setTimeout(function() { type(word); }, speed);
  }
}

function backspace(word) {
    if(j<word.length) {
        sentence.innerHTML = sentence.innerHTML.slice(0, -1);
        j++;
        setTimeout(function() { backspace(word); }, speed);
  }
}

function check() {
    if(j < words.length) {
        setTimeout(function() { type(words[j]); }, 1000);
        j++;
        check();
    }
}

check();
* {
    font-family: Arial;
  }

  .container {
    display: flex;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
  }

  .cursor {
    background: #000;
    width: 2px;
    height: 15px;
    animation: blink 1s steps(5, start) infinite;
  }

  @keyframes blink {
    to { visibility: hidden; }
  }
<!DOCTYPE html>

    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="ie=edge">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
    <title>Typing Effect Example</title>

We make

A: The function you pass to setTimeout isn't evaluated until the given duration has expired, as you would expect. At that point, your j is going to be 3, and words[3] is undefined. Hence, (undefined).length gives you an error.
Open your browser dev tools and run the snippet through stack overflow, then set a breakpoint where the error occurs. This should be your first reaction when you get stuck.

A: What the error is saying is not that the variable is undefined, but that its value is set to undefined. A common way to get a value of undefined is to access a property/index of an object that is not defined. For example, if your index j becomes something outside the bounds of words, then words[j] will equal undefined, so word.length will have a type error since there's no length property of the value undefined.

A: Your variable name is "words" and you are parsing "word" please check variable name.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
: Distinguished Lecture : Brian Kobilka
Distinguished Lecture : Brian Kobilka
ISIS, Auditorium
Brian K. Kobilka (born May 30, 1955) is an American physiologist and laureate of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Lefkowitz for his work on G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). He is currently a professor at the department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Kobilka's laboratory has determined the molecular structure of the β2-adrenergic receptor. This work has been highly cited by other scientists because GPCRs are important targets for pharmaceutical therapeutics, but notoriously difficult to work with in X-ray crystallography. Before, rhodopsin was the only G-protein coupled receptor where the structure had been determined at high resolution. The β2-adrenergic receptor structure was soon followed by the determination of the molecular structure of several other G-protein coupled receptors.
Photos of the event
Structural insights into the dynamic process of G protein coupled receptor signaling
G-protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs, which snake in and out of the cell membrane, serve as one of the main methods of communication within the body — conveying chemical messages into the cell's interior from outside through the membrane.
Roughly 800 different GPCRs have been identified to date, making them one of the largest families of human proteins. These proteins regulate the beating of our hearts, the workings of our brains and nearly every other physiological process. About 40 percent of all medications target these receptors, including Zyprexa, which is used to treat schizophrenia; the antihistamine Clarinex; and Zantac, which is used for stomach ulcers and gastro-esophageal reflux disease. GPCRs are also involved in some kinds of drug addictions, such as addiction to morphine and other opiates.
G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) conduct the majority of transmembrane responses to hormones and neurotransmitters, and mediate the senses of sight, smell and taste. The b2 adrenergic receptor (b2AR), the M2 muscarinic receptor and the mu-opioid receptor are prototypical Family A GPCRs. Recently the Kobilka lab has obtained three-dimensional structures of these receptors in inactive and active conformations, as well as a structure of the b2AR in complex with the G protein Gs. Comparison of these structures provides insights into common mechanisms for propagation of conformational changes from the agonist binding pocket to the G protein coupling interface. The lab has used fluorescence, EPR and NMR spectroscopy to study the dynamic properties of the β2AR. Professor Kobilka will discuss what these studies have taught us about allosteric regulation of GPCR structure by G proteins and ligands.
Organised together with Labex Medalis
10:30 Coffee/tea
11:00 Welcome by Thomas Ebbesen, Director of USIAS
11:05 Introduction by Alain Beretz, President of the University of Strasbourg
11:10 Lecture by Brian Kobilka
12:10 Discussion
12:30 Drinks


text:
class AddDeletedAtToPlans < ActiveRecord::Migration
  def change
    add_column :plans, :deleted_at, :datetime
  end
end


text:
> Arkwright Scholars
We are delighted to share that our latest Arkwright Scholars, Alexander Shen and Amanda Scobie received their awards at a recent EICC event.
Our two Arkwright Associates Josh Flint and Rory Mainland also achieved the very high Scholarship standard set by Arkwright and successfully passed the interview, which is a great accolade. They receive a certificate and are able to access the opportunities available to Arkwright scholars. Stephen Addison (S6) is currently in his second year of the scholarship.
The Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship of its type in the UK. The main aim is to inspire and nurture school-age students to be the country's future leaders of the Engineering profession. Arkwright Scholarships are awarded to high-calibre 16 year old students through a rigorous selection process and support students through the two years of their A levels, Scottish Advanced Highers or equivalent qualifications.
This year, there were 425 awards in the UK, with only 30 in Scotland. We are proud that four of these were Watson's pupils.
As part of our commitment to community engagement and widening access, we are proud to sponsor an additional ten Arkwright Scholars from state sector schools across the central belt: two pupils from Balwearie High School, one pupil from Kirkcaldy High School, one pupil from Queen Anne High School and one pupil from Berwickshire High School.
We also have pupils now in their second year of the scholarship at Boroughmuir High School, Madras College, Drummond Community High School, Falkirk High School, Falkirk and Holyrood High School.
These pupils, who represent many of the very best young engineering minds in Scotland, get together for meetings and group activities with Watson's pupils as they work on their Arkwright projects.


text:
BMW iX M60 is 611bhp electric range-topper
5 January 2022 - autocar
The new iX M60 is BMW's most powerful electric car, delivering 611bhp and 811lb ft of torque and achieving 0-62mph in 3.9sec.
It becomes BMW's new electric flagship and, alongside the new BMW i4 M50, marks a milestone in M's 50-year history as the sub-brand moves into electrified cars.
Priced from £111,905 and arriving this summer, the iX M60 is the third variant of the BMW iX, which was launched last year. The entry-level iX xDrive40 offers 257 miles of range and the xDrive50 up to 380 miles, while this M60 has a 357-mile range, compromised by the extra power to make it deserving of the M badge.
It shaves 0.7sec off the xDrive50's 0-62mph sprint time and also has a top speed of 155mph to differentiate it from its siblings.
The Tesla Model X and Audi E-tron S rival features electric all-wheel drive, an actuator-based wheel-slip limitation function and M-tuned dual-axle air suspension with automatic level control – all of which "ensure hallmark M driving experience, agility and precision", BMW claims.
The firm has taken a different approach with its electric M cars by making them less visually distinct from their standard siblings and exploring new ways for them to stand out.
Johann Kistler, iX project director, said: "If you look at the M60, there's not a great difference with the exterior [versus the iX] and there's not such a great difference in acceleration because all electric cars have good acceleration so we have to look differently.
"But we want to offer a top-end powertrain and therefore we decided to make a small differentiation. If you look at the M5, it should have a different exterior to the four-cylinder [5 Series] so it's really seen, but with BEVs, we've done a lot of finer differentiation, beginning with the sound.
"It has a different start-up sound, a different shutdown sound, different sounds while driving. There is also a different look and feel from displays and a different colour on the wheels to give the sense of a different, high-speed performance car."
The M60 uses an aluminium spaceframe and a carbon cage with carbonfibre-reinforced plastic in the roof, side and rear sections, first used on the 2003 BMW M3 CSL.
The exterior gets blue M-branded brake calipers and M logos in the new gloss black and titanium bronze finish on the front, side panels and rear.
Inside, it has the same lightly curved display as the other iX models, running BMW's eighth-generation iDrive operating system, and with a focus on touch functions and voice communication. With no centre console, the controls, including the iDrive rotary controller, are set within the forward section of a high-mounted armrest.
Its spacious interior uses FSC-certified wood, leather tanned with olive leaf extract and other natural materials. Recycled fishing nets are among the raw materials used for floor coverings and mats.
Over standard iX equipment, M60 customers receive 22in alloy wheels, soft close doors, laser lights, an advanced park assist package, a Bower & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system, front electric and massage seats and four-zone air conditioning.
The M60 is built alongside its iX siblings – plus the 5, 6, 7 and 8 Series – at BMW's Dingolfing factory in Germany.
Q&A: Johann Kistler, BMW iX project director
How will you retain repeat M customers in the switch to EVs?
"If we look at the market 10 years ago when we started with the i3, electric cars were seen as smaller cars with little range and mobility restrictions. If we look at our targets now, we will keep improving electric [range], offer electric vehicles of every size and show sportiness to convince M4, M6, M8 owners that electric cars are good for them. You must offer a top-end powertrain to achieve this, which is why we're launching the iX M60."
Do you think it's important all BMW models have performance variants?
"As you know from all models of BMW, we will always have an M sports car at the top end. It's easier to explain with combustion engines: it's familiar to have four-cylinder, then six, eight and 12 for the M. For electric, the xDrive40 standard version is good for driving in urban areas and for tax benefits. If customers want a longer distance without looking for our next charging station, there's the xDrive50. And there's the possibility of having more power, torque and a higher top speed of 155mph in the M60. It is for the customer who likes outstanding.
Is the legacy of the i8 significant when it comes to electrified sports cars?
"Yes, very. We started with the i3, which was an urban concept, and then we wanted to show electric cars were possible in a sports version. The i8 was a lighthouse project: we wanted to show our competence and that electrified cars were possible for sports cars. It's a different customer who likes to show they have a special car."
Even affordable EVs accelerate quickly. Will big power figures always be important?
"In the end, a car should be a BMW with driving pleasure and experience. But you have to find a sweet spot. We have to offer electric range of around 310 miles but, on the other side, it should be a BMW and that means driving dynamics. You go to the countryside to enjoy it. It's not only about acceleration."
Mountain Drifting Is Even Cooler In Virtual Reality27 September 2016
Bmw Actually Built Two M3-Based Pickup Trucks4 October 2016
Bmw M4 Facelift Spotted With Possible M4 Csl In Tow11 October 2016
Bmw 5 Series Touring Spotted With Even Less Camo10 November 2016


Did you know that your subconscious mind makes up over 80% of your brain matter? It's true! Also, the subconscious controls over 95% of what you perceive and how you behave. Maybe those dreams really are meaningful.
Do you think someone or something can force you to do what you don't want to do? Do you feel like life is out of your hands?
Think again! No one and nothing can force you to think, say, or do what you don't choose to do. There is also some evidence to suggest that mind over matter is a real phenomenon.
The brain can handle approximately does 10 quadrillion processes per second on average.
In contrast, your typical quad-core PC can do about 10 billion per second. The fastest computer in the world was clocked at 360 trillion operations per second.
Your subconscious is constantly aware.
This part of your brain is always analyzing and processing that which is going on around you in the background. This is the reason why it completes so many processes per second!
Your conscious mind is the source of free will.
The small percentage of your brain consisting of conscious thought is the part of you that determines what you will do in life and how you think and reason.
The conscious mind is blind to what it does not want to see.
Your brain wants the things it perceives in the world to match up with what it has already experienced. In this way, it will disregard patterns with which it is not familiar. This is called inattentional blindness.
The conscious mind is the source of self-determination.
…your subconscious can't separate fact from fiction.
When you're dreaming, most of the time your mind is tricked into thinking those events are really happening. The subconscious can't tell the difference between a car and an image of a car, or between fantasy and real life.
You can train and re-train your mind.
Sometimes we have addictions or habits that are harmful, but we can train our brain through repetition and consistency. Once you have an idea, if you convince your brain enough times on a consistent basis that it is true, it will become so. We can set goals of happiness, abundance, or finding love by continuing to impress upon your brain the things you desire for your life!


Thanks so much to everyone who participated in our Growing A Little Country Contest. Terrific selection of comments from an obviously gardening and landscaping audience at www.westernhorsereview.com. I just planted some of these seeds this evening; I tried the Sudan Grass, Black-Bearded Wheat and Starburst Millet. I'm aiming for a great backdrop against one wall of the log house.
Congratulations ladies, and enjoy the grass seeds. Please send your mailing address to editorial@westernhorsereview.com as soon as possible and we'll get your seeds out to you. Just because I want to be sure you have enough, I'm going to send you each two envelopes of three seed packages each. Enjoy!


No performer, but here's presenter Hailey Frances of Channel 39. She's pretty.
Best Latin Contemporary: Los Skarnales. That trophy case has got to be getting pretty crowded at this point.
Best Radio Station: KPFT. Another snippy acceptance speech. "We don't have a university backing us up. We don't have a church backing us up, unless it's the church of the blues."
Best Keyboards: Ryan Scroggins. "If Earl Gilliam was here tonight, I'd give this to him. Sorry I didn't play keyboards tonight. I will next time."
Best Blues: Little Joe, who had to be helped onstage this time. And is not letting go of poor Hailey Frances. What he lacks in coherence, Little Joe makes up for in gratitude and enthusiasm. We are currently trying to find one of tonight's performers for him to sit in with. Now he's talking about his hat, which is pretty stylin'. Flamin' Hellcats are next - can he sit in with them, maybe?


text:
Tags Kevin spacey
Tag: kevin spacey
'Nine Lives' Teaser Trailer and Poster: Kevin Spacey Gets Catty
EuropaCorp's released the teaser trailer for the comedy film Nine Lives starring Kevin Spacey in one of the most unusual roles of his career....
First Look: 'Elvis & Nixon' Trailer with Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon
Elvis is in the building... The first official trailer for Bleecker Street and Amazon Studios' Elvis & Nixon finds Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley...
Netflix Announces the 'House of Cards' Season Four Premiere Date
Rebecca Murray - December 16, 2015 0
Netflix smartly scheduled the reveal of House of Cards' fourth season premiere date during the televised Republican debate on December 15, 2015. The date...
Mark Strong, Angela Lansbury Win 2015 Olivier Awards
The 2015 Olivier Awards were held on April 12th at the Royal Opera House in London and hosted by comedian Lenny Henry. The most...
Check Out the 'House of Cards' Season Three Poster
Rebecca Murray - February 5, 2015 0
Netflix's award-winning series House of Cards has just unveiled a poster for the upcoming third season of the dramatic series. Season three will arrive...
Check Out the 'House of Cards' Season Three Trailer
The eighth time was the charm for Kevin Spacey who finally won a Golden Globe during the 2015 awards show after being nominated eight...
Netflix Reveals the 'House of Cards' Season 3 Premiere Date
Rebecca Murray - December 1, 2014 0
Netflix posted a special message on Twitter and Facebook announcing the season three premiere date of the critically acclaimed series House of Cards. Set...
Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey Set to Star in 'Elvis & Nixon'
Rebecca Murray - November 5, 2014 0
Bloom just confirmed Oscar winner Kevin Spacey and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon have been cast to star in the dramatic film Elvis & Nixon....
Kevin Spacey and Jimmy Fallon Play "Wheel of Impressions"
Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Spacey are both terrific at impersonating their fellow celebrities, and on The Tonight Show's Halloween episode the two competed in...
Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin Lend Their Voices to 'Boss Baby'
Rebecca Murray - October 2, 2014 0
Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey have signed on to voice characters in DreamWorks Animation's Boss Baby, an animated comedy inspired by Marla Frazee's picture...


text:
Defending Democracy: MinnPost's 12th Anniversary Celebration
MinnPost marks 12 years of award-winning nonprofit journalism with Defending Democracy, featuring special guest Dr. Brian Klaas and MinnPost Editor Andrew Putz in an in-depth conversation on the threats facing democracy across the globe and what can be done to reverse these trends.
Dr. Klaas, a native of Golden Valley, is a weekly columnist for The Washington Post, a professor at University College London, and the host of the popular podcast, Power Corrupts. He's a frequent expert guest on international news outlets including CNN, BBC, NPR, and Bloomberg.
MinnPost Silver, Gold and Platinum members receive a $10 discount on tickets, with pre-sale access on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. Those members should check their email for the access code. (If you didn't receive the email with the code, please email the MinnPost Membership Team at members@minnpost.com for further assistance.)
About MinnPost
MinnPost is a nonprofit, nonpartisan local news source that provides high-quality journalism for people who care about Minnesota's future. We believe our work is an essential ingredient to civil discourse and democracy.
Our work is only possible thanks to the over 4,000 members who give between $10 and $25,000 a year. To support our work, you can join with a contribution of any amount at minnpost.com/support.
Mon @ 7:30pm


Do you guys leave your Boulder amps on?
Do you guys leave your Boulder amps on all the time? I was just wondering, not sure if I should shut mine off if I don't use it for a couple days. Also I wasnt sure about the damage of turning it on and off.... rather than just keeping it on.
I keep my Class A monoblocks (not Boulder) on continuously to avoid thermal cycling.
I'll be interested to hear what others have to say or do.
I wish I could afford the electricity to leave my amps on all the time. LOL. And that is with solar installed to be able to afford them being on from Thursday night to late Sunday night.
The main problem is that when the amps are on the A/C is also on.
I leave every component in my system on permanently.
Boulder 1050s here -- I do not leave mine on, turn on one hour before listening to warm up. In the summer months we get frequent thunderstorms and I leave the amps unplugged to be safe.
accuphase, class a monoblocks (A200s) - I leave them on about Thursday night through Sunday night during cooler months and cycle them during the other days. In warmer months, I cycle them every day as they're just too hot to leave on all the time (basically, like a baseboard heater . . . in the summer . . . in Georgia - too hot!).
Sweet 1050s... how do you like them?
Pass Lab X260.8 class A/B (about 400 watts each standby)- Usually leave them on 24/7 in winter, but only evenings in the summer, otherwise I need to run the AC.
I just turned mine off... Was on for 2 weeks.


LICE! Most people cringe and instantly start itching as soon as you hear the word. You may not realize it, but getting head lice is just as common as catching a cold. Head lice can be prevented and The Head Lice Specialist has the best preventative measures.
Head lice are spread through head-to-head contact. Have an age appropriate conversation with your child about how head-to-head contact occurs. In social settings keep your child's hair up in braids, buns or ponytails. Use repellant products! Head Hunters Naturals has a full line of repellant products that repel adult louse transfers. The more layers of protection you use, the better chance you have of preventing lice. We recommend using the Lemon Heads Repellant Shampoo, Conditioner and Spray daily. Perform routine wet head checks using the Head Hunters Pro Lice Comb. To safe guard your family against head lice be sure to check when the school sends a lice letter, your child is scratching more often than normal and when someone in your social circle has lice.


The Barn is a stunning, two-storey barn conversion that has been sympathetically renovated, retaining many original features.
Just a few steps from Slapton Sands beach and Torcross village amenities such as the local pub, shop and cafes, it's the perfect bolthole for a coastal retreat.
From the courtyard parking area, the entrance leads into a hallway with cloakroom, and ash staircase leading up to a spacious open-plan living area, with high vaulted ceilings, original cross beams and skylights.
Set in the heart of Torcross, the property enjoys two luxurious en suite bedrooms, and a light and sunny open plan living area.
The contemporary kitchen (including four-ring Miele induction hob, integrated ovens plus combi microwave, two fridges, dishwasher, small freezer, Nespresso coffee machine and kettle tap) has a dining area that comfortably seats four.
The large living room has a spacious L-shaped sofa, glass-topped coffee table, wall-mounted Smart TV and playstation!
The master suite, on the ground floor, enjoys a super-King size oak-framed bed, ample clothes storage, Smart TV an armchair and a luxurious en suite bathroom complete with bath and separate rain head shower.
The second bedroom has two oak-framed single beds, wardrobe and drawers, Smart TV and en suite shower room with a large walk in shower cubicle.
Duvets, pillows, bed linen and towels are all provided, and a travel cot and highchair are provided for children if required.
Guests can enjoy free wireless broadband internet and benefit from secure off-road garage parking.
The owners kindly provide a complimentary welcome pack including fresh milk, coffee, tea and juice.
With quick access to the South West Coast Path, the property is also just 8 miles away from Dartmouth, and a 10-15 minute drive from the stunning beaches of East Portlemouth and Blackpool Sands.


text:
U.S. top trade negotiator praises deal, China remains cautious
December 16, 2019 by Michael Stumo
Editor's note: Lighthizer's statement that the China deal is "totally done" means that any changes by Beijing will not be considered. If a red-lined version comes back like earlier in the year, it will be unacceptable.
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump's top trade negotiator praised a "phase one" U.S.-China trade deal which is expected to nearly double U.S. exports to China over the next two years, while China remained cautious ahead of the signing of the agreement.
[David Lawder, Kevin Yao | December 15, 2019 | Reuters]
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation" program on Sunday, said there would be some routine "scrubs" to the text, but "this is totally done, absolutely."
The deal, announced on Friday after more than two and a half years of on-and-off negotiations between Washington and Beijing, will reduce some U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural, manufactured and energy products by some $200 billion over the next two years.
China has also pledged in the agreement to better protect U.S. intellectual property, to curb the coerced transfer of American technology to Chinese firms, to open its financial services market to U.S. firms and to avoid manipulation of its currency.
Asian shares rose on Monday, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hitting a near eight-month high although investor caution over a lack of details capped gains.
A date for senior U.S. and Chinese officials to formally sign the agreement is being determined, Lighthizer said.
Chinese purchases of agricultural goods were expected to increase to $40 billion to $50 billion annually over the next two years, Lighthizer said.
The United States exported about $24 billion in farm products to China in 2017, the last full year before the world's two largest economies launched a tariff war on each others' goods in July 2018.
Soybeans were the biggest U.S. farm products shipped to China in 2017, with cargoes totaling $12 billion in value. China has said it would buy more grains from the United States as part of the deal.
While China's trade delegation has expressed optimism about the deal, some government officials are cautious.
FILE PHOTO: China's Vice Premier Liu He gestures to the media between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (L) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin before the two countries' trade negotiations in Washington, U.S., October 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
"(The deal) is a phased achievement, and does not mean that the trade dispute is settled once and for all," said a source in Beijing with knowledge of the situation. That source said signing and implementing the pact remained the main priority for success.
Several Chinese officials told Reuters the wording of the agreement remained a delicate issue and care was needed to ensure expressions used in text did not re-escalate tensions and deepen differences.
China faces huge pressure to fulfil the phase one deal, said Shi Yinhong, a professor at Renmin University and an adviser to the cabinet.
Shi suggested imports of some U.S. agricultural goods like soybeans would be far above China's demand.
"Trump will also force China to buy a lot of U.S. energy and manufacturing products at this stage or the next stage," Shi told a forum in Beijing on Monday.
"Look at Trump and Lighthizer, they are very happy. But our government only reported facts, we did not cheer."
TARIFF REDUCTION OFFERS
The deal suspended a threatened round of U.S. tariffs on a $160 billion list of Chinese imports that was scheduled to take effect on Sunday. The United States also agreed to halve the tariff rate, to 7.5%, on a $120 billion list of Chinese goods including Bluetooth headphones, smart speakers and flat-panel televisions.
FILE PHOTO: United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer gestures as he chats with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, looking on after posing for a family photo at the Xijiao Conference Center in Shanghai, China, July 31, 2019. Ng Han Guan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
USTR and the U.S. Treasury said reports that U.S. negotiators had offered to cut the tariff rate by half on all $360 billion worth of goods hit by tariffs were "utterly false".
"No such offer was ever made to China by the United States. There is not a single knowledgeable American negotiator who would support this falsehood," the agencies said in a joint statement.
The deal ultimately left 25% U.S. tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, limiting stock market gains on Friday.
Lighthizer said the success of the deal will be up to decisions by officials in Beijing.
"Ultimately, whether this whole agreement works is going to be determined by who's making the decisions in China, not in the United States," Lighthizer said.
"If the hard-liners are making the decisions we're going to get one outcome, if the reformers are making the decisions – which is what we hope – then we're going to get another outcome."
He said it would not solve all of the problems between the United States and China, because integrating China's state-dominated economic system with America's private-sector led system will take years.


text:
Главная News In English
Riots in the USA
The Reuters reported that a strong explosion took place near the central prison in the Yemeni city of Aden, where the ministers of the new government had arrived a bit earlier. The sources of the Reuters reported that the explosion destroyed one of the prison walls. No data was reported so far on the dead and wounded. Earlier in late December of 2020, the Aden city airport came under mortar fire during the arrival of ministers of the new Yemeni government. The shelling killed 27 people and injured dozens.
2 Armenia
The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the current Armenian priority task for the further implementation of the trilateral agreement from 9th of November is the implementation of the full exchange of prisoners, hostages, and other detainees, as well as the bodies of the dead — Pashinyan stated on Facebook. He called «unblocking of all regional economic and transport communications» as an another priority task. He underlined that it means the implementation of the cargo transportation, and the establishment of transport communication between Armenia via the territory of Azerbaijan with Russia and Iran. As well as the transport link between Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic via the Armenian territory.
3 Iran
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps demonstrated an underground missile base on the Gulf coast, the IRGC affiliated news website Sepah News reported. The ceremony was reportedly attended by the commander-in-chief of the IRGC, Hossein Salami, and the commander of the IRGC naval forces, Alireza Tangsiri. As Hossein Salami stated — the missile base has high-precision missiles of great destructive power — they have range of hundreds of kilometers. The missiles are, supposedly, capable of penetrating electronic defenses. This statement was made during the mass-media reports that the administration of the US President, Donald Trump, may strike Iran before the expiration of his term in office on 20th of January.
The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated that Iran doesn't care if the USA return to the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan. «Our demand is the lifting of the sanctions. It is the right of the Iranian people» — Khamenei stated during a TV speech. He added that the return of the USA to the nuclear deal would only make sense if the sanctions are lifted. Khamenei explained that it makes no sense for Iran to fulfill the obligations in accordance with the action plan if the other parties of the nuclear deal fail to comply their own obligations. Khamenei added that Iran will return to the implementation of the nuclear deal when the other countries, participating in the agreement, return to its implementation.
5 The USA
A Capitol policeman died of injuries during the riot at the US Congress building — the Congress website reported. An investigation will be launched on this case. The Reuters reported while citing a source in the US administration that on on Wednesday, after the riots in Washington, the Senior Director of African Affairs, Erin Walsh, the Senior Director of the Defense Policy, Mark Wandroff, the Senior Director on the Weapons of Mass Destruction, Anthony Rugierro, the Senior Director on Middle East and Africa, Rob Greenway, and the Senior Director for the Russian and European Affairs, Ryan Tully, have left their posts. The US Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao, and the head of the US Department of Education, Betsy Devos, as well as the US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, Mick Mulvaney, resigned on Thursday.
6 The EU
The spokesman for the President of the European Council, Barend Leates, stated on Twitter that the EU leaders will hold an emergency video summit on 21st of January in order to solve the new coronavirus pandemic. On 5th of January the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced during a press conference that an emergency video-conference of the EU leaders would be held in late January. It was underlined that the conference will consider the organization of the vaccination, and the purchase of the vaccine for the EU. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.


text:
Legal Recourse for Mesothelioma in Veterans
For the thousands of innocent victims affected by asbestos exposure each year, it's important to know that recourse is possible and legal help is available. Perhaps most importantly, asbestos exposure victims should know that they do not have to be in a financial position to afford legal representation-for valid, qualifying cases, legal fees are paid out of the settlement or trial award received, not the victim's pocket.
Most people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related illness-including other types of cancers, asbestosis and pleural effusion-did not even realize that they were at risk. This is because most victims of asbestos exposure did not even realize that they had come into contact with what is known to be a highly toxic and dangerous carcinogen.
Fortunately, there is a silver lining of hope for those who have suffered the physical and financial consequences of negligent and/or illegal asbestos exposure. Recourse and compensation is possible via multiple avenues, including toxic tort and workers' compensation laws as well as well as disability claims through the Social Security Administration and (for veterans) the Department of Veteran Affairs.
PART IX: LEGAL RECOURSE FOR MESOTHELIOMA IN VETERANS
Making up around a third of the overall population annually diagnosed with mesothelioma, veterans of the United States Military are by-far the nation's largest occupational group affected by toxic asbestos exposure. Legal recourse is especially imperative for these individuals, who were negligently exposed to a known carcinogen while serving their country, and there are multiple claims types that can be filed by affected-by-mesothelioma veterans-allowing this specific victim-group more options for recourse than any other.
Legal Recourse Option One: Personal Injury Claim
After being diagnosed with mesothelioma, veterans are urgently advised to file a special type of personal injury claim, called a toxic tort, through the U.S. Civil Court System. To do so, you will first need to choose and retain an experienced asbestos attorney-an action that must be taken as quickly as possible as legal claims are governed by strict deadline, making them the most time-sensitive of the three recourse options.
Legal Recourse Option TWO: VA Claim
All U.S. Military Veterans are eligible for certain benefits, available to them through the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). Additional benefits, such as disability pay and full-coverage health care, are also provided for those injured while in the service. Once they have received a diagnosis of mesothelioma, veterans should file disability claim either at their local VA office or online in order to qualify for these added benefits, which can cover medical expenses as well as the cost of traveling for treatment and more.
Legal Recourse Option: SS Disability Claim
As of March 17, 2014, veterans who meet the requirement of a VA compensation rating of 100% permanent and total (P&T) are eligible to receive disability benefits through the Social Security Administration. Those who have malignant mesothelioma qualify for the P&T designation in that they are:
Unable to do substantial work due to their medical condition, and
Their medical condition is expected to last "at least one year or to result in death"


text:
Nov 13, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates | 0 comments
Tepco embraces Woods Hole Oceanographic's (WHOI) report on Pacific Ocean Cesium content. WHOI says the waters off the coast of North America show very little Cs-134, the isotope used to identify radioactivity from the Fukushima accident. The research group says the concentrations are "well below what is thought to be of human health or fisheries concern." WHOI researcher, Ken Buesseler says the levels have no impact on the human body, or and shellfish. The analyzed activity of less than 2 Bq/m3 is more than 1,000 times lower than drinking water limits established by the US EPA. (aside – Who drinks seawater? – end aside) Buesseler added that someone swimming in the water would be exposed to radioactivity "1,000 times less than a single dental X-ray. It will not deter me from swimming in the Pacific," and Cesium "does not bio-accumulate [in fish and shellfish] the way many other elements do, like mercury." http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2014/1243939_5892.html
The question of where land-deposited Cesium is going, may have been answered. University of Tokyo's Toshihiro Kogure and his team studied soil samples from Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture. They found that most of the deposited Cesium was contained in the soil's black mica. Mica is a common mineral found in most types of rock. Granite in Fukushima prefecture contains the mineral, and tiny pieces flake off from weathering. Kogure's study identifies that much, if not most of the radioactive Cesium is trapped in the mica and may spur ideas on how to remove it. The team says they don't know why the Mica entraps the Cesium. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141111_09.html
More post-accident transcripts have been released by Tokyo. Unlike the release of Masoa Yoshida's and Naoto Kan's testimonies last summer, there has been very little Press about the latest releases in Japan. On Wednesday, the government disclosed another 56 testimonies taken by the Diet's independent nuclear accident investigation panel (NAIIC). Tokyo has now released 75 testimonies, but roughly 700 continue to be sequestered. One of the latest released testimonies comes from Manabu Terata, aide to then-PM Naoto Kan. Terata mostly parroted his boss' rationale for Kan's infamous invasion of F. Daiichi the morning of March 12, 2014. Terata said Kan's move was ill-advised, but in keeping with his character. He added that he wasn't optimistic about what kind of impact the visit would have on emergency actions at the plant. Terata also said, "[Kan] appeared to be quite menacing, and he was speaking in an extremely harsh tone of voice." Another testimony, by Hidehiko Nishiyama of NISA, concerned whether or not he said anything about meltdown early-on in the crisis, "There was no denying the possibility of meltdowns occurring there, but I did not use words such as meltdown." Another testimony, this time made by Atsuo Tamura of the Science and Technology Ministry who was sent to Fukushima Prefecture, says, "I was convinced [the facility's] reactor cores had been damaged, judging from the fact that, even prior to March 12, high concentrations of iodine and cesium had been detected [around the nuclear facility]." http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html — http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001716505 (comment – So, who ordered meltdown to be a forbidden topic at press conferences? I've repeatedly reported that it was Naoto Kan who ordered Tepco to stop speaking about meltdown on March 12, and have all press statements cleared by his cabinet before release. Now, the non-transparency plot thickens. It wasn't only Tepco that was withholding the information (as all antinuclear sources allege), but it was government spokespersons, as well. Only one person could have muzzled everyone – Kan!!)
Japan's nuke watchdog will consider a formal public objection to the Sendai station restarts. The document was signed by 1,400 citizens from across Japan, roughly .001% of the country's population. The objection contains the usual antinuclear complaints, including insufficient safety systems to protect against worst-case earthquakes, inability to confirm that emergency evacuation plans will actually work to protect the public, and restarting at this point-in-time is unacceptably hasty. The NRA says they will consider the objection. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141112_29.html
Kansai Electric is set to apply for licensing extensions on two units. Two Pressurized Water Reactors at Takamara station are approaching their politics-based 40 year lifetimes. One will be 40 by the end of the week, the other next November. KEPCO plans to ask for the allowed 20 year extensions. The company expects high returns on the money it will invest to meet the new regulations for extended licensing. Tokyo says it will allow the 20-year extension on conditions that plant operators conduct special inspections and upgrade safety measures. KEPCO is the first utility to announce plans for extensions, pursuant to Tokyo's October request that companies decide on either lifetime extension or commitment to decommissioning for seven units approaching age 40. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20141113p2a00m0na001000c.html
Fukushima farmers continue to suffer from consumer radiophobia. Date City farmers produced 210,000 shipping-bags of rice this year, all of which met the Prefecture's self-imposed 60 Becquerels/kg limit. The national standard is 100 Bq/kg. Regardless, market sales lag pre-accident levels by hundreds of millions USD. Another item, dried persimmons, has had a more difficult time. Although last year's fruit met the local standard, drying concentrated radioactive isotopes by up to a factor of five and kept the item from being sold. None of fruit from the area's 250,000 trees could be marketed. But, this year some of the dried persimmons have met the standard. Only time will tell if consumer radiophobia will hurt sales. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclearwatch/20141112.html