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NewsGuard is a globalist-funded "news ratings" front to protect pro-war NeoCon interests while silencing all independent media
February 11, 2019 by IWB
by: Lance D Johnson
(Natural News) Independent news organizations have become increasingly popular over the past decade. Using social media as an outreach, independent news outlets have been instrumental in influencing U.S. democracy and public opinion on world affairs. Independent news isn't always 100 percent correct on every story, but readers and listeners are ultimately the ones who get to interpret the story, sort out fact from fiction, and make up their own minds. When President Donald Trump won the 2016 election, the corporate-run and globalist-controlled media was de-legitimized because it was apparent that independent news outlets and social media outreach was instrumental in influencing voter motivations and the outcome of the election. Since then, there has been an all-out effort to eradicate "fake news" from the internet to re-instate "official" media sources such as CNN, WashPo, MSNBC, and the NYTimes as the trustworthy sources.
NewsGuard is a manipulative tool to control information and quell independent media dissent on important topics
Now, media insiders Steven Brill, founder of Court TV, and Gordon Crovitz, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, are on a for-profit mission to eradicate "fake news" from the internet. Instead of using algorithms to censor specific topics (like Facebook does) these media insiders want to analyze, rate, and write out against independent media organizations to de-legitimize them. Their new venture, NewsGuard, seeks to restore trust in journalism by manipulating Internet users to trust their phony, biased rating system.
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NewsGuard's advisors include well-connected political operatives, communications personnel, and former intelligence operatives. Among them are Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security (George W. Bush administration), who created the color-coded terrorist threat system, – the same system that is now hilariously being used as the benchmark for NewsGuard's rating system for news sites.
Advisors also include Don Baer, former White House Communications Director (Clinton administration), Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA, former Director of the National Security Agency and former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (George W. Bush administration). These people are not interested in journalism, but instead concerned about controlling public opinion on foreign interventions. Co-CEO Crovitz is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is an editor for the American Enterprise Institute and Heritage foundation, two neoconservative think tanks that promote forever wars. If they can control the news and eradicate dissenting sources of information, they can manipulate voter motivations and prop up who they want in positions of power.
NewsGuard has already given red ratings to RT, which questions the motivations for U.S. involvement in the Middle East. NewsGuard is already trying to de-legitimize Wiki Leaks, the most highly respected source of intelligence in journalism. Not surprisingly, mainstream organizations such as CNN have already been rated very trustworthy, even though they are responsible for some of the most heinous disinformation campaigns.
Teaming up with Big Tech, NewGuard seeks to convince social media users not to trust independent media sites that their panel of experts has determined to be untrustworthy. As stories unfold and as new facts emerge, NewsGuard supposedly has all the answers on complex topics across all genres. Their team of analysts has already rated up to 2,000 news sites and promises to further analyze the 7,500 most read news sites online, which represents "about 98 percent of news and information people read and share online."
With its connection to Silicon Valley and intelligence officials, NewsGuard is lobbying to have its news ranking system installed by default on computers in U.S. schools, universities, and public libraries. When NewsGuard finishes a new site rating, all computers that have installed the browser plug-in will be automatically updated. Their goal is to control news and information for everyone, catering to official narratives that protect corporations and government officials from being held accountable to the people. In the end, NewsGuard is intended to be used by default on all smart phones and computers within the United States and abroad.
NewsGuard is an affront to truth, nothing but a cabal of intelligence operatives and controlling, power-hungry analysts who want to manipulate public opinion through deceptive measures. Because of independent media, more people want to know the truth about complex topics, which include the corrupted forces and powerful financial interests that want to dictate the news. Many of the most important topics are rarely, if ever, discussed on corporate media channels and include things like:
What toxins are in the food and water supplies and how do they impact my health?
What are the real reasons for going to war and fighting on multiple fronts in various countries?
What chemicals are used in vaccines and how do I recognize vaccine injury?
What does "climate change" really mean and why is geo-engineering considered a solution?
What are agro-chemicals such as glyphosate and atrazine doing to human and environmental health?
Independent media is more likely to explore the inefficiencies of government, its waste, fraud, and abuse. Independent media is more likely to call out corporations when their products and actions harm people and the environment. The mass purge of anti-establishment, anti-war, vaccine choice pages from Facebook and Twitter is just the beginning of mass manipulation of news and information across smart phones and computers. The most influential independent media outlets that expose wrongdoing in the private and public sectors are the target of U.S. oligarchs, corporate leaders, political bosses, and neoconservative war-mongers, as those in power attempt to control the narrative.
NewsGuard is nothing but a globalist-funded front to protect military adventurism and to prop up corporate-controlled narratives on complex topics such as vaccine safety and choice, the causes of cancer, the perils of modern medicine, among other hot topic issues that affect people's lives.
For more on attempts to control information, visit Censorship.News.
TheTruthAboutCancer.com
Vaccines.News
NewsGuardTech.com
Tags front, funded, globalist, neocon, newsguard, protect, ratings	Post navigation
Air New Zealand flight to China forced to turn back for not having permission to land
Fox:Conway slams 'bigmouth Democrats' seeking to defund ICE – Kellyanne Tears the Democrats Apart


Here's a look at some basic park construction and maintenance.
Players can also take photographs during a hot-air balloon ride over their park.
In this mission, the player must take photographs of dinosaurs in a rain storm.
Sniping from a helicopter is the only way to save the President of Dregovia from a pack of rampaging dinosaurs.
A large carnivore is tranquilized than moved to a more centralized location in this clip.
The player receives opinions and feedback from one of his visitors in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis.
Take a look at some direct feed footage of Jurassic Park: Project Genesis from Universal's E3 B-roll in this clip.
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis is an enjoyable game that should appeal to dinosaur buffs and park simulation fans alike, thanks to its attractive graphics engine and unique features.


Why are well maintained properties important?
The risk of fires starting and/or spreading to neighbouring properties is significantly reduced when properties, whether residential or commercial/industrial, are well maintained. This in turn means more protection for property, animals and of course, human beings.
The State government has laws that require property owners and occupiers to remove fire hazards and maintain their properties.
Council officers conduct inspections in November and December each year. If a property is found to be hazardous a fire prevention notice will be issued giving the property owners or occupier 14 days to clear the property.
If not cleared by that time, Council may arrange for work to be done and charge the owner accordingly.
Regularly maintain gardens and lawns to keep grass height at no more than 100mm. If you need the grass for stock feed, you should at least cut 20m wide fire breaks along all your boundaries.


Belen Fernandez writes in the Jacobin that Benjamin Netanyahu's recent pact with a far-right, anti-Arab party ahead of April's elections is in keeping with a state that has racism and exclusion baked into its foundation.
Tennessee has just passed a resolution reaffirming Tennessee's "unequivocal support" for Israel. State Senator Mark Pody pushed for its passage for "biblical" and other reasons..
Mohammed suffered a stroke, but Israel says he's not ill enough for his son to get a travel permit to visit him. He needs care, but that is irrelevant. According to Israeli criteria, travel permits are only granted if first-degree relatives are dead or dying.
Yemen's War Is a Mercenary Heaven. Are Israelis Reaping the Profits?
In a unanimous decision, a DC court is allowing Palestinian plaintiffs to sue Sheldon Adelson & others for $1 billion over their support of Israeli settlements & alleged war crimes – including genocide.
As Palestinians in Hebron navigate life without the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) observers, it is worth looking back on how oppressive and violent life was even with outsiders watching. Eric Garner would find the city eerily familiar.
Elor Azaria, the Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter after shooting a wounded Palestinian in the head, now has a paid position on the political campaign of an Israeli Prime Minister candidate.
Azaria served 14 months for the killing. He returned to Hebron a folk hero and celebrity.
As Congress tackles urgent issues of reopening government and setting the budget for the country, it takes the time to prioritize a foreign country: H.R.648 contains assurances that Israel will receive $3.8 billion for arms, and funding for refugee resettlement; the bill also includes threats to de-fund the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and any future state of Palestine–if US demands (dictated by the Israel lobby) are not met.


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The Mexico Tourism Board & Travelocity Present: "Mexican Experience Begins with a Click"!
Mexico Taps travelocity in AN Effort to capture Cost-concious American Travelers
With the concept "The Mexican experience begins with a click" the Mexico Tourism Board is taking the first step in converting Visitmexico.com into an Integral Tourism Portal (ITP)
Southlake, Texas and Miami, Fl (August 13, 2008) – As Americans scale back on travel to destinations where the U.S. dollar continues to struggle, the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) today launched a new shopping and booking engine on Visitmexico.com for travelers in the U.S. The
new deal with Travelocity aims to bring those travelers to Mexico.
The announcement comes at a time when many travelers have already started shifting their international travel plans to the more affordable Mexico. For example, Travelocity recently reported that the share of its bookings to Mexico this summer increased 31.4%, while
destinations in Western Europe declined by 14.6%.
With the concept "Mexico's experience begins with a click," the Mexico Tourism Board seeks to reach potential tourists offering a unique practice; involving tourists and bringing them closer to Mexico by visiting the website (www.visitmexico.com), and more importantly, enabling them to book online with no need to look elsewhere.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Travelocity Partner Network, which currently powers the shopping engines for more than 100 destination marketing organizations around the world, will power the booking engine for the MTB's Visitmexico.com, providing a variety of travel products ranging from flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages and last minute packages for visitors around the world interested in traveling to Mexico. This marks the first time that the MTB has entered into a comprehensive agreement with an online travel company.
"The launch of this new shopping and booking engine is a major milestone in promoting all of the wonderful destinations Mexico has to offer to the world," said Oscar Fitch, CEO of the MTB. "We need to get the message out that Mexico is an affordable destination with tremendous value."
"Travelocity is honored to be playing such a key role in promoting tourism throughout Mexico," said Bryan Estep, vice president partner marketing Travelocity. "We are proud to couple the zest and spice of each of Mexico's unique destinations with our hassle-free one-stop shopping engine."
The Internet is becoming the primary means of finding information and purchasing travel services. It is a global trend and has revolutionized the way in which tourism is done. For this reason and to bolster Mexico's competitiveness in tourism markets, the MTB has embraced this technological advantage and is planning on taking its portal to the next level.
About the Mexico Tourism Board
The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) brings together the resources of federal and state governments, municipalities and private companies to promote Mexico's tourism attractions and destinations internationally. Created in 1999, the MTB is Mexico's tourism promotion agency, and its participants include members of both the private and public sectors. The MTB has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.
FOR PRESS ONLY: For additional ideas, help with a story or general travel and tourism information about Mexico, please contact the MTB's North American Press Room directly at 1-800-929-4555, by e-mail at northamericanpress@visitmexico.com, or visit our press Web site at www.visitmexicopress.com.
About Travelocity Global
Travelocity(R) is committed to being the traveler's champion --before, during and after the trip. This customer-driven focus, backed by 24/7 live phone support, competitive prices and powerful shopping technology has made Travelocity one of the largest travel companies in the world with gross bookings of more than U.S. $10 billion in 2007. Travelocity also owns and operates:
Travelocity Business(R) for corporate travel; igougo.com, a leading online travel community;
lastminute.com, a leader in European online travel; and ZUJI, a leader in Asia-Pacific online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation, a world leader in travel marketing and distribution.
Posted by Mexico Living Guide
Tags: Business / Money

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


TRD Sport Package lets you take on tougher terrain with added features including TRD-Tuned Bilstein shocks, front and rear sway bars, 20'' black alloy wheels, and front and rear clearance sonar. It also brings new levels of comfort and convenience with black leather seating, 8 speakers, 6.1'' Touchscreen Audio with Integrated SiriusXM and Bluetooth® Capability, and more.
Sequoia features 10-way power-adjustable driver's seat with lumbar and thigh support for optimum comfort. The middle row offers heated/reclining captain's chairs on 7-passenger models and a power fold-flat 3rd row seat. 3-zone independent climate controls ensure everyone is cozy, while leather seating in Graphite, Black, or Red Rock add to the premium feel.
No more moving van rentals. With rear fold-down seats offering 120 cu. ft. of cargo capacity behind the front seats, you can transport that perfect dresser or heavy-duty table saw. For the added convenience of a power rear door, choose Limited or Platinum models.
The 7-passenger Sequoia Platinum offers premium heated/ventilated leather seating and woodgrain trim. The 2nd-row features comfortable captain's chairs and a convenient centre console, while JBL Synthesis audio and a rear DVD system with 9'' screen provides entertainment for all.
Standard on Sequoia is 6.1" touchscreen audio with USB audio input, integrated Bluetooth® and backup camera. Choose Sequoia Limited or Platinum for integrated SiriusXM radio and the added convenience of voice-activated navigation.
A 3-Zone Climate Control system features automatic air-conditioning with left, right and rear independent temperature controls. A specially designed Multi-layer Filter helps remove dust and pollen from the cabin air.
No more "Are-we-there-yets". The journey is just as fun as the destination with a rear DVD system that includes a remote control, a 9" LCD screen, and two sets of wireless headphones.
Sequoia is ready to work with a towing package that includes a 4/7-pin wire harness with trailer brake prewire, a Class IV weight distribution trailer hitch, Sway Control and Trailer Control logic.
Equipped with a powerful yet efficient 5.7-litre V8 VVT-i engine, Sequoia outputs 381 hp and 401 lb-ft of torque. A convenient one-touch 4WD system and the standard six-speed automatic transmission - with sequential shift mode, transmission fluid warmer, and transmission cooler - creates a driving experience that just feels effortless. The engine also contains a lockup torque converter.
Sequoia features One-Touch 4-Wheel Drive, and a Two-speed Transfer Case with a Lockable Torsen Limited-slip Differential. The transfer case uses a six-gear planetary ring instead of the standard four-gear ring, is shifted electronically via an easy-to-reach rotary knob, and locks with the push of a button.
Standard on 2019 Sequoia is Toyota Safety Sense P, which comprises of Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Alert, Automatic High Beams, and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control.
Provides collision avoidance or collision mitigation support in speed ranges where frontal collisions are likely to occur. In certain conditions, the Pre-collision System with Pedestrian Detection (PCS w/PD) may also help to detect pedestrians and help prevent or mitigate a collision.
*** The TSS Pre-Collision System is designed to help avoid or reduce the impact speed and damage in certain frontal collisions only. The Pedestrian Detection system is designed to detect a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle, determine if impact is imminent and help reduce impact speed. It is not a substitute for safe and attentive driving. System effectiveness depends on many factors, such as speed, size and position of pedestrians, driver input and weather, light and road conditions. Please see toyota.ca, your local Toyota Dealer or Owner's Manual for details.
2 Lane Departure Alert is designed to read lane markers under certain conditions and provide visual and audible alerts when lane departure is detected. It is not a collision-avoidance system or a substitute for safe and attentive driving. Please see toyota.ca, your local Toyota Dealer or Owner's Manual for details.
Alerts you if you start to drift out of your lane when visible lane markings are detected. On some models with TSS-P, the Steering Assist function may also provide small corrective steering inputs.
3 Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist is designed to read lane markers under certain conditions and provide visual and audible alerts and slight steering force when lane departure is detected. It is not a collision-avoidance system or a substitute for safe and attentive driving. Please see toyota.ca, your local Toyota Dealer or Owner's Manual for details.
Designed to detect oncoming and preceding vehicles' lights and depending upon the circumstances, Automatic High Beam (AHB) can switch between high and low beams for you.
4 Automatic High Beam system operates at speeds above approximately 34 km/h. Factors such as a dirty windshield, variable weather, lighting conditions and hilly terrain will limit effectiveness, requiring the driver to manually turn it off. Please see toyota.ca, your local Toyota Dealer or Owner's Manual for details.
Using forward sensing radar technology, the system can automatically adjust vehicle speed to help maintain a preset following distance between you and the vehicle directly in front of you.
1 Dynamic Radar Cruise Control is designed to assist the driver and is not a collision-avoidance system or a substitute for safe and attentive driving practices. System effectiveness depends on many factors such as weather, traffic and road conditions. Please see toyota.ca, your local Toyota Dealer or Owner's Manual for details.
* Drivers should always be responsible for their own safe driving. Please always pay attention to your surroundings and drive safely. Depending on the conditions of roads, vehicles, weather, etc., the TSS systems may not work as intended. Please see toyota.ca, your local Toyota Dealer or Owner's Manual for details.
Available on Limited, Platinum and TRD Sport, this feature uses sensors and audible warnings to alert the driver to the position of objects in front of the vehicle and the distance as well.
Standard on every 2019 Sequoia, the BSM & RCTA warn you when a vehicle is in your blind spot and detects vehicles approaching from the side, respectively. RCTA uses a millimetre wave radar sensor and then alerts you of any possible vehicles while the BSM lights up as a notification on your side mirror.
At Toyota, we know that your peace of mind while driving is paramount. That's why we were the first full line manufacturer to introduce our Star Safety SystemTM as standard equipment with its six advanced accident avoidance technologies – including ABS, Traction Control, Vehicle Stability Control and more.
When something unexpected appears in your path, you may instinctively swerve to avoid it and jam on the brakes.
However, without ABS, the brakes can lock up, the vehicle starts to skid, and you struggle to stay in control.
Toyota's ABS sensors detect which wheels are locking up and reduce the lockup by "pulsing" the brakes at each wheel independently.
Pulsing releases brake pressure repeatedly for fractions of a second – a reaction time not possible for humans.
Brake Assist is designed to detect sudden or "panic" braking and then add the full pressure needed to help prevent a collision.
Because the reaction time is so short before the driver hits the brakes, not enough pressure may be applied.
As a result, the car may not stop in time.
Toyota's Brake Assist can help in this situation.
If a driver fails to apply enough pressure to the brake, the Brake Assist sensors will detect this sudden or "panic" braking and add the pressure needed.
This additional pressure can help the driver avoid hitting the object.
* Brake Assist is designed to help the driver take full advantage of the benefits of ABS. It is not a substitute for safe driving practices. Braking effectiveness also depends on proper brake-system maintenance and tire and road conditions.
If you have to stop abruptly, momentum causes the vehicle to tilt forward and reduces the brake-force effectiveness of the rear tires.
Front wheelslip can occur when the front wheels lose traction during cornering and begin to drift toward the outside of the turn.
When the front wheels lose traction during cornering, they begin to drift toward the outside of the turn.
Toyota's VSC monitors your steering angle and the direction your vehicle's actually travelling and senses when your front wheels begin to slip.
When it senses your front wheels lose traction or slip, VSC reduces engine power and applies braking to the individual wheels that need it.
This helps correct the slip and keep the vehicle in the intended path.
* Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) is an electronic system designed to help the driver maintain vehicle control under adverse conditions. It is not a substitute for safe driving practices. Factors including speed, road conditions and driver steering input can all affect whether VSC will be effective in preventing a loss of control. Please see your Owner's Manual for further details.
If your vehicle gets stuck in the snow, and one or more wheels loses grip -- yet continues to spin -- your vehicle may come to a stop.
Without TRAC, there is nothing to apply the brakes to the spinning wheel so it can get traction.
Toyota's Traction Control sensors are activated when one of the wheels starts to slip.
TRAC limits engine output and applies the brakes to the spinning wheel.
This transfers power to the wheels that still have traction to help you go safely on your way.
As an added measure of safety, Toyota created the braking system enhancement known as Smart Stop Technology. This advanced technology automatically cuts engine power and allows the brakes to take precedence over the accelerator when both pedals are pressed at the same time.
Smart Stop Technology intervenes when the accelerator is depressed first and the brakes are applied firmly for longer than one-half second at speeds greater than eight kilometres per hour.
In normal driving conditions, you won't notice Smart Stop Technology as it is imperceptible. The feature doesn't engage if the brake pedal is depressed before the accelerator pedal. This allows for vehicles starting on a steep hill to safety accelerate without rolling backward (known as hill start).
Browse some of our featured accessories - then visit Build & Price to customize your very own Toyota.
There are no featured accessories available for this model.
Please download the full list of available accessories below, or select another model.
Visit Build & Price to view the entire accessory line-up and customize your Toyota.
‡ Pricing includes parts & labour, and is based on either the highest labour rate amongst dealers in your province, or your selected dealer's pricing. Prices do not include taxes.
Experience Sequoia for yourself or start building your perfect configuration.


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Frontline officers left exposed under COVID workers comp changes
Frontline officers left exposed under…
The Nationals Member for the Agricultural Region has called on the State Government to urgently review the legislative protections available to frontline police and ambulance officers in light of confirmation that they will not be protected by recent reforms.
"The Labor Government has rushed legislation through the Parliament that provides a rebuttable presumption that certain workers who contract COVID-19 and other prescribed diseases have suffered a work-related injury and workers compensation arrangements will apply.
"During debate it was confirmed that police officers and volunteer ambulance officers are not 'workers' for the purposes of the Act and therefore the new protections will not extend to them," Mr Aldridge said.
There are currently 6,500 police officers and 9,000 volunteer ambulance officers serving in Western Australia.
"Police and ambulance officers have been at the frontline of the COVID-19 response, often working in uncontrolled conditions and in environments where they are at a greater risk of exposure.
"The Labor Government rushed this legislation through the Legislative Council in a matter of hours with the Leader of the House guillotining debate midway through consideration.
"Where was the Minister for Health and Minister for Police when this Bill was being drafted and approved by Cabinet and considered by Parliament as they have wholly failed in their responsibility to advocate for these frontline officers," Mr Aldridge said.
The government committed prior to the last State election to introduce a new Police compensation scheme, however no such legislation has been introduced into the Parliament with just eight weeks remaining in the 40thParliament.
"The government has not honoured its commitment to Police officers in Western Australia to introduce a new compensation scheme, despite figures showing that assaults on officers continue to rise.
"These COVID-19 amendments have now further disadvantaged officers often serving alongside other workers who have been afforded protections under these new laws," Mr Aldridge said.
It is imperative that the State Government reconsider its position and ensure that workers and volunteers not provided protection under the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 be provided similar protections by another regime.
Category: Press Releases 27 August 2020
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Drop off before 10 a.m. and pick up the same day.
Can't find the right size in store? Bring in your garments and we will alter them to fit the way you want.
All garments brought in for drying cleaning are first pre-treated for any stains or spots. After the machine cleaning they are post-spotted to remove any lingering stains.
We specialize in many different services including: leather cleaning, wedding dress cleaning and alterations, area rugs, comforters, drapes/curtains, and zippers.


We just finished our first FULL year of homeschooling. I am currently working on grades right now so we are all very excited that we are officially on summer break. I thought I would share some pictures and also just a few of my thoughts on homeschooling now that I have done it long enough to have some "likes" and "dislikes".
On the first day of school I put together little baskets with all of their school supplies in them. They woke that morning, got ready for school, and then Michael took them to breakfast. When they "arrived" at school their baskets were out and we spent the morning going over some classroom rules and doing some fun activities. One thing I will change fore next year is the organization of their supplies and I will buy ALOT more of them. We go through pencils like crazy.
Many days they will sit together and do their work.
That they get split up.
Luna takes her school very seriously so she needs quiet most days.
And Bear is such a goofball that he needs quiet most days too.
Homeschooling is one the hardest and most rewarding things I have ever done. It took me a while to get on board (10 years to be exact). I was petrified at the thought for years because I really believed that I couldn't do it. We have some really hard days and some great days. Most days I am exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. But at the end of the day it is worth every minute. We are learning so much about each other and about ourselves.
It is not all work around here though. We have so much time to have fun. Because the class is so small and they have very individual attention it does not take us near the amount of time to get all of our work done so we have more time to play and explore.
We have had many opportunities to go on field trips. We went to American Village at Thanksgiving and Christmas for their historical programs. They are wonderful and very entertaining. We go the park and on nature walks at least once a week. And we even had the opportunity to go to Belize on a mission trip this year with Luna and Bear.
The children also had time to pursue many of their own interests in their free time. Luna learned how to make polymer clay figures and sold them at Christmas time to her friends to raise money for her mission trip to Belize.
She also made cakes and cupcakes for her Aunt Mimi and Tots birthday parties.
Tot's discovered her love for cooking like the rest of them and loves to help me make pancakes for breakfast.
We love being together (most days). It is a joy to be able to watch my children grow up. I love being able to have so many opportunities to teach them about life and God, as well as teach them their academics.


The category B-listed building will be transformed into a cultural facility with exhibition spaces, learning suite, café and retail space.
Mecanoo Architects from The Netherlands emerged as Perth & Kinross Council's preferred partner to bring forward a transformation of the historic Perth City Hall following an international design competition after winning the most support during a public engagement exercise.
Seeing off four other shortlisted teams Mecanoo will now be tasked with overhauling the current attraction and surrounding public realm to create a £20m museum.
Detailed designs will now be drawn up ahead of an expected planning application next year, withy work commencing on-site sometime in 2019.
The Mecanoo team includes BB Heritage Studio, Arup, Aecom, BDP, Cushman & Wakefield and GWP.
Perth & Kinross Council are exhibiting five shortlisted designs for the redevelopment of Perth City Hall, enabling the public to have their say on initial concept designs.
The architects are bidding for the cultural attraction, which is set to become a centerpiece of the its 2021 UK City of Culture bid.
When complete the revitalized hall will house interactive displays, learning facilities and a meeting space in the centre of town.
Austin-Smith:Lord with MVRDV's approach will see a dramatic staircase installed to allow those up for the climb to ascend all the way to a dramatic new rooftop garden from St John's Square. Hoskins meanwhile propose to improve access with a new raised plinth with existing entrances opened up and circulation rationalized, culminating in a new temporary exhibition space in the roof.
For their part LDN plan to install a series of exhibition plinths along the Hall's south side, outlining the edge of a raised plinth reserved for cafes. A '21st century entrance' will also be formed facing St John's Kirk taking the form of a full-height glazed wall.
Mecanoo have opted for a more understated approach with retention of the existing roofscape, although existing solid doors will be replaced with glazed alternatives.
Last but not least Richard Murphy Architects aim to remove the central portion of the north elevation in its entirety, save for the cornice and parapet which will rest on a new steel beam, in order to insert a new glass wall. The ground floor would also be lowered to sit flush with surrounding streets.
The five designs will be on display until 24 June at Perth Civic Hall from 10:00 until 19:00 on weekdays and 16:00 on weekends.
Five of the biggest names in UK architecture are vying for the right to redesign Perth City Hall with the building's re-opening scheduled for 2021, reports The Courier.
A shortlist has been drawn-up of firms whose experience includes some of the most significant museum and theatre projects in recent history.
They will now develop initial design concepts for the listed Edwardian building before revealing them to the public in June.
The people of Perth will then have an opportunity to have their say on the firms' visions before a final decision is taken by Perth and Kinross.
It is anticipated that the winning architects will be confirmed by the end of the year with construction work then starting in 2019.
The building would then reopen in 2021 to coincide, the council hopes, with Perth being UK City of Culture bid.
Perth and Kinross Council voted in June to bring the building back into public use with the vision of increasing the city's capacity to display collections of national significance, house major touring exhibitions and feature national and oversees loans.
Together with a £10m investment to transform Perth Museum and Art Gallery, it is planned that the two venues will tell the story of how Scotland's ancient roots were forged in Perth in the Kingdom of Alba and how modern Scots, including the painter John Duncan Fergusson, shaped the modern world.
This project aims to renew and enhance the existing Edwardian Theatre in the centre of Perth and was won in competition in September 2008.


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Last weeks edition of Collaboration Newswire has been distributed. It focuses on the numerous Conversations About Collaboration I have been involved in recently.
If you don't already, subscribe for email delivery, or read it up on the Messaging News site.
Expresso is great! There is so much you can do with it. I have been using it for about 3 months and love it. It has made working with other individuals outside the four walls very easy and I never lose control over my spreadsheets. The file history and cell tracking features are the best. If you havent used expresso yet, I highly recommend trying it!


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Alliance for Global Justice
Nicaragua Network & NicaNotes Blog
Colombia Watch
Venezuela Solidarity
Honduras Solidarity
Prison Imperialism
Worker to Worker Solidarity Campaign
Border Militarization Resource Guide
Eco-Solidarity Project
Respect for Democracy
Peace, Anti-War, and Liberation
AfGJ's Fiscally Sponsored Projects
Donate to a Fiscally Sponsored Project
Global Justice Center
NicaNotes, Nicaragua, Uncategorized
Nicanotes: Danger of NICA Act Passing Increases with Introduction in the Senate
I want to revisit the issue of the NICA Act this week because I may have been too complacent in dismissing it since it is so irrational. As we in the United States are going through a period of greater than normal irrationality, it behooves us to prepare not just for rational events, but for irrational ones as well.
Likely everyone who reads this blog knows what the NICA Act is, but just in case we pick up some new readers, let me briefly describe it. The NICA Act stands for Nicaragua Investment Conditionality Act. If it became law it would require the US to vote against all multilateral loans to Nicaragua. Since the US has a virtual veto in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Development Bank (see Brief #1 below concerning IDB) and others, the NICA Act would effectively cut Nicaragua off from international finance, just as Venezuela has been. In Nicaragua's case, the effect on the economy would be even more devastating and the effect on the US would be to add Nicaragua refugees to the stream coming from its northern neighbors.
Up until now, I haven't been too concerned that the NICA Act could become law. It was introduced in the House by Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtenin joined by only 23 right-wing Republicans and Democrats. (Co-sponsors were 14 Republicans and 10 Democrats.) Ros-Lehtenin recently announced that she is retiring at the end of this term. (If your windows were open, you could hear the cheers of Cuba and Central America solidarity activists cheering throughout the land.) There has probably not been a greater enemy of Latin America than Ros-Lehtenin since the late and unlamented Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC).
In the last Congress, just before the elections in the US and Nicaragua, Ros-Lehtenin managed to slip the NICA Act through as part of the unanimous consent docket. That is a bundle of bills that the Republican and Democrat leadership determine are noncontroversial. Generally the unanimous consent bills are passed when only the House leadership is on the floor, but the effect is just as if all Members had actually voted.
I hope those of you who are US voters acted on the Alert that I included a few weeks ago in this blog and sent a message to your Congresscritter telling them to block the NICA Act from being passed by unanimous consent. In theory, any Member can do so. If you are a US voter and you didn't act on that alert, you can still send a message by clicking here.
We have now learned that Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio has introduced the NICA Act in the Senate as a companion bill. According to Lisa Haugaard at the Latin America Working Group in Washington, DC, the fact that the bill is active in both houses of Congress is much more worrisome than if it were only in the House. It is especially significant that the leading co-sponsor is Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is generally considered to be a liberal, so his co-sponsorship demonstrates the danger that the NICA Act could sail through Congress due to shear ignorance on the part of the Representatives and Senators about what its effects would be. Still, it is the House of Representatives that would take action on it first, and there the biggest danger is that it would pass as part of the unanimous consent docket, so that is where our focus should lie for the time being. (Although Maryland solidarity activists may want to let Ben Cardin know exactly what you think of his co-sponsorship right now!)
According to Lisa Haugaard, in the House the NICA Act has been assigned to the Financial Services Committee and also to Foreign Affairs. California Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) of Los Angeles is the Ranking Member of Financial Services and Keith Ellison (D-MN) of Minneapolis is on the Committee. At Foreign Affairs, Joaquin Castro (D-TX) of San Antonio is the Ranking Member. If you or someone you know is in any of these three Members' districts, please let me know at Chuck@AFGJ.org so that we can coordinate talking with them about the bill.
President Trump has shown no particular animosity toward Nicaragua, and it is difficult to think that he would want to add to the flow of migrants and refugees coming to the US southern border before he builds his impermeable wall. But, as I noted at the start of this blog, we in the United States are going through a period of greater than normal irrationality. So, we need to remain vigilant. You can do your part by educating your Congresscritter, and I'll do my part by keeping an eye out for any movement of the bill in Congress.
The threat by the United States to apply a kind of economic embargo if the NICA Act should become law has activated dozens of international Nicaragua solidarity committees. The Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign of Great Britain promoted an open letter of solidarity condemning the NICA Act signed by union leaders in the UK, Ireland and EU countries. The letter expressed their "solidarity with Nicaragua to defend democracy and progress." (Informe Pastran, May 8)
Former Nicaraguan Ambassador to the US, Arturo Cruz, stated that, thanks to reforms at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) the US cannot veto loans to Nicaragua, eliminating the threat of the NICA Act in that regard. Prior to January 2017, it took a 75% vote to approve loans, but now only requires a simple majority, effectively removing the US veto power. (Informe Pastran, May 8)
The Rama and Kriol territorial government in the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve in the South Caribbean Autonomous Region has issued an alert. It is calling on the national government and nongovernmental groups to address threats to the reserve from the advance of the agricultural frontier and illegal settlement. Their alert says, "Many of the lands are occupied by settlers. Some have been classified as "living owners" because they have been authorized by communal assemblies to live with us, but there are others who are invading, degrading the flora and fauna and committing a cultural colonization that is making it difficult to protect the land, according to Aldrick Beckford who is territorial prosecutor. He made these declarations at the First National Encounter of Social Actors for the Indio Maiz Reserve attended by over 100 people. [Illegal colonization is also a serious problem in the Bosawas Nature Reserve in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region.] (El Nuevo Diario, May 4)
The Nicaragua Central Bank reported that family remittances to the country surpassed US$323 million during the first three months of this year, 6.9% over the same period in 2016. The United States, Costa Rica, Spain, Panama, El Salvador and Canada were the main sources of these remittances. The Nicaragua Center for Exports also announced that exports totaled US$1 billion during the first four months of this year, led by coffee, beef, sugar, and gold. Exports were 23.9% above the same period in 2016. (Nicaragua News, May 2)
The Nicaragua government and the World Bank signed a US$ 55 million dollar loan for the Nicaragua Quality Education Alliance Program. The purpose of this initiative is to continue to strengthen teaching capabilities and improve infrastructure conditions in rural schools in the country, primarily those that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. (Nicaragua News, May 3)
The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) granted legal status to the Democratic Restoration Party (PRD) and the Citizens for Freedom Party (CxL) week. The PRD President, Saturnino Serrato, said this is an important achievement for Nicaragua democracy and they are prepared to run in the municipal elections of November 5 this year. Nicaragua has 19 legally registered political parties. (Nicaragua News, May 4)
Ricardo Melendez, vice-president of the Nicaragua Chamber of Builders said the sector strongly supports the 100,000 unit housing construction plan announced by the government this week. "We believe this five year plan will contribute to promote greater dynamism in the construction sector, creating more jobs and improving the quality of life of the Nicaraguan people," Meléndez said. (Nicaragua News, May 4)
The President of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP), José Adán Aguerri said the Tripartite Alliance Model between government, employers and labor has contributed to growth in formal employment in Nicaragua. "Over the last 10 years the minimum wage grew 214% and formal employment 74%. We continue to work to ensure greater stability and better wages, as well as profitable and productive companies", Aguerri said. President Ortega, in his May Day speech also called for further strengthening the Tripartite Alliance Model saying, "Nicaragua must continue to strengthen this Tripartite Alliance Model to ensure peace, stability and prosperity for all Nicaraguan families." (Nicaragua News, May 2)
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July saw a break in our delightful sunny weather. As I write the wind is beating the heads off the roses and the petals take off high into the air. The trees are bent low. Recently we met with our friend, Beth, a professional and excellent photographer, who shared the following anecdote with us. She was looking out at her garden when she noticed baby rabbits hopping about. They are quite regular visitors, trespassers by means of a hole in her wall. She found their antics restful and amusing. Then there flew in, on rapid wing beats, two magpies. They also hopped, but in an aggressive manner. The young rabbits fled through the hole in the wall and there the birds stopped. They stretched their necks into the hole, taking it in turns, but they did not venture bodily into it. Then they moved away.
The rabbits returned, but only briefly because the magpies rushed at them, forcing them to retreat. This continued for some time but never once did the magpies hop through the hole after the baby rabbits. Of course no self-respecting member of the crow family would be foolish enough to confine itself in such a small space.
Some days before this account I had a delightful chat with a tourist. I met him coming away from the Rine, that spit of land that stretches into the bay. He was smiling. I asked if he was enjoying himself. He answered: "I have had the most astounding and happy experience. I went for a swim and I found myself among seals. There must have been 20. The only notice they took of me was to show off their acrobatics. I ended with three wonders, the swim, the company and the show." He inquired if this was a usual experience. I told him that it happened, but was not an everyday occurrence. He departed smiling.


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Question: Why did you PRIMARY decide to use GIMP?
Ok, I choosed "I'm working on Linux and there are not many good alternatives", but GIMP is actually a good alternative. I work with web design as a profession and mainly use Photoshop at work, but I can do mostly the same things in GIMP with some more layers and a bit more time. Maybe I can switch to GIMP at work in a couple of years? I hope so.
The only thing better about photoshop is history brush, liquify, and blending options are a lot better but it's not nearly worth the $$$ when there is Gimp.
there is nothing I can't do with GIMP that I can do with photoshop and since I run a linux based OS on my laptop I don't have to learn menus in two programs that have the same purpose.
I used Jasc Paint Shop Pro in the past but after it got acquired by Corel I didn't like the direction they where going,. To be honest they have not added any interesting features or even fixed bugs in old features in a long time and the last major update came down to a new theme.
Since I never was a fan of Ulead Photoimpact or Adobe Photoshop and was planing to switch to Linux ultimately I jumped on the GIMP band wagon.
I chose "other" because there wasn't an "All of the above" option (except Linux).
I chose "Other" because I was willing to experiment with software that would allow me to photo-edit, albeit I was oblivious to the capabilities Gimp had. Little did I know almost a year ago that this would spark graphical designing as a hobby of mine and get me interested in the open-source community.
I chose "Other". I started out using it because I was a linux user, but now that I'm a Mac user, I still use it because I am more familiar with it. I've tried Photoshop, but I just don't have the patience to re-learn everything, so after a few frustrating hours, I went back to the trusty, familiar Gimp.


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Paper Bird's Esme Patterson on how there's more to the human experience than love songs
Josiah M. Hesse | October 19, 2012 | 10:56am
As the latest solo project to come out of the Americana collective Paper Bird, Esme Patterson's All Princes, I is probably the most radical departure from her band's bluegrass/Dixieland sound. Pulling from influences as varied as Van Morrison, CBGB-era punk and Motown, the record is an authentic and infectious gift to the scene. Produced by Roger Green, Patterson's solo album also boasts an impressive roster of local talent, with Nathaniel Rateliff, Ben Desoto, Mike Fitzmaurice and Princess Music's Tyler Ludwick all lending a hand on different tracks. We caught up with Patterson in advance of her Twist & Shout in-store next week (where you can also pick up a copy of the album, nearly a week before the official release party) for a chat about the new record, as well as digressions into subjects like mysticism, Carl Jung and suffering for your art.
See also: - Esme Patterson CD release show at L2 Arts & Culture Center, 10/20/12 - Tip sheet: Paper Bird's Esme Patterson flies solo - Harpoontang combines Paper Bird, Laura Goldhamer and Kitty Crimes for raunchy fun
Westword: Between the ballet and other shows, Paper Bird seems to have such a full schedule. When did you have time to record a solo album?
Esme Patterson: The album was recorded last April, May and June. Paper Bird was starting to rehearse for the ballet at that time. Actually, one of the songs I wrote for the album ended up going into the ballet -- "Love in an Arch." In the ballet, there are these male and female characters, only you don't know what their relationship is, if they're brother and sister, or lovers, or male and female aspects of the self. I based the song on the Isis and Osiris myth, where they're both brother and sister and lovers. He's the night and she's the sun -- I really like that idea.
Are you really into mythology? The works of Joseph Campbell and all that?
Oh, yeah. I fucking love Joseph Campbell. I got all three volumes of his Masks of God series at the Tattered Cover the other day, Primitive Mythology, Oriental Mythology...he's amazing. I also do Tarot readings; I've studied it for a while, but am just starting to do readings for people. It's not just a spiritual thing; it's also psychological, very Jungian.
All of the songs have a serious emotional weight to them. Is there any kind of theme that ties them all together?
Yes. At the time, I was really sick of people playing love songs, boy-girl songs, because there's so much more to the human experience than that. A lot of what I was doing with this record -- whether consciously or unconsciously -- was writing songs that were gendered, gendered as a dialogue between aspects of the self. It's the Jungian archetype of anima and animus, which are the male and female aspects of the self.
The song "My Young Man" is the feminine aspects of myself writing a love song to the masculine aspects. I love playing with that idea of gender and how we all have these aspects of ourselves that need to be balanced. Sometimes the masculine aspects need to be seduced, and sometimes the female aspects need gentleness and tenderness.
Yet within all these themes, there's a variety of tone within the record. Songs like "My Young Man" or "Jessica" sound like sweet pop songs, while others, like "Easter Sunday," are quite dark. It seems like there's a variety of experiences going on here.
Certain songs are about certain people, or for certain people. I write from my experiences, kind of to a fault. Once you've been through these cycles of relationships and really thoroughly felt them, they all start to kind of blur. So often we try and project things onto another person, not asking, "How do I view otherness and self and the reflection of self?" And that's how I started to change how I viewed a romantic song.
Are you always concerned with themes and the interior expression of a song -- or do you ever start with an aesthetic, like a good melody or a witty line?
I know what you mean. For me, it's more like a feeling. Like that song "Light of Day" -- it's a meditation on the metaphysics of light. I kind of use my body as a tuning rod, and if something hits me, then I'll write about it. Sometimes it's conscious, an intellectual pursuit of an idea; and sometimes it's just getting your fucking heart ripped out, which gives you feelings to write about.
So the larger picture for you is a retooling of the self, with the music being an extension of that?
Yeah, it's a process. I think that real art has to come from that. There's a merit to doing music as an exercise, with a focused end point; but for me, it's just living. It's the process of experiencing the world, giving and taking. In art there's an honesty that you can explore in the polarity between joy and pain -- something that's hard to encounter in conversation or everyday life.
What was it like working with [producer] Roger Green on this record?
He definitely helped me explore [the songs] in really cool ways. He got what I was going for. There wasn't a lot of me having to explain things. He's so creative -- the way he thinks about music is the way I think about music, which was nice, because I just wanted to barrel through that record. The subject matter was so hard for me, I just needed to do it fast.
Yet you had so many guests on the album. How did it work as a collaboration? Did you already have the songs ready to go before you started?
When we did our first recording session, we were working with over thirty songs, which is a lot. I'd been writing forever, and there'd be these songs that Paper Bird wouldn't want, or I wouldn't want to use them in Paper Bird. And so I had this stack of songs in the back of my mind, and I wanted to give them a shot.
And while recording that record, I was going through an intense period of change. I was constantly writing. I think I drove Roger crazy -- I'd call him and say "I just wrote another one. Can it go on the album?" Then, three days later, I'd say it again. They were written in the climate of that exact moment.
Do you typically go through intense periods of writing? Or is it more steady?
I feel like I'm always dragging my experience into tiny pieces of inspiration -- it's a constant process. Sometimes I'm putting the pieces of a song together in my head, and it will be over a long period of time; or sometimes it will be like, "Holy shit! I wrote ten songs this week." There's never a time when I'm not writing songs, but sometimes the scope is protracted. I have dozens and dozens of songs.
While you're writing so much on your own, how important is collaboration in fleshing out those songs?
Huge, especially because that's my artistic experience. Paper Bird is a collective, and there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen -- which makes for a rich atmosphere to draw inspiration from. It's so many brilliant people, all combining efforts, and playing off each other, and creating together. I really thrive in that.
So what was it like making a record without them?
It was really interesting. There were parts of it that were like, "Yeah, I get to make my own choices! I get to say yes or no -- just me!" But that's also hard to step up to sometimes. In the studio there would be moments where I'd be looking around about to say, "What does everyone else think?" and then I'd realize it was just me. It's important to have a balance. That's why it was so healthy to be doing the solo record and [Paper Bird at the same time]; you can't have too much of one or the other.
Is everyone in Paper Bird sick of the phrase "old timey" yet?
It changes. I think it has everything to do with people's intentions when they use it. There's a huge part of that band that draws from tradition a lot -- really valuable parts of tradition, that make us feel connected in a really beautiful way. The band does a great job of drawing from those traditions.
But this new solo album sounds so modern -- it sounds very different from Paper Bird.
I feel like the traditions being drawn from were very different. Before I was in Paper Bird, I never listened to music with banjos in them. And that's become a huge part of what I listen to -- it's allowed me to see the merit of country and bluegrass. But the songs I'm writing [on this record] are coming from a completely different cultural experience. The soul music I listened to as a child was a huge influence on it. I really like mixed meters and bizarre stuff. Some of it even comes from a punk rock place -- I'm a huge Patti Smith fan.
You have to be unapologetic when it's just you that you're responsible for. So some of the songs are explicitly sexual, or very dark. They're perspectives that I wouldn't want to speak for a whole group of people -- this is just me, not necessarily songs I would want to put on the whole band.
In the past, you've said that these songs are of such a visceral and personal nature, that you wouldn't want to tour with them. What are your plans for shows and promotion of the album?
When I said that before, I was in a very difficult emotional situation, and that reflected where I was at in that process. And now time has marched on, and it gets easier to step back into certain spaces. I'm actually in a place where I find it really healing and really good to play these songs. It goes back to that thing I was saying before: These are just aspects of myself that I'm wrestling with. The songs aren't necessarily anything I'm projecting onto a certain person. And I want to keep that dialogue going. It's something we all deal with, going into those difficult places.
We all deal with it, but most of us don't deal with it publicly. Something I imagine is made even more difficult when you're alone on stage without Paper Bird.
Right. You feel pretty naked sometimes. But I need to do that -- it's what I've been craving. Everybody needs to do that sometimes: Stand with your feet planted, presenting all your gifts and your faults. It's part of the process. It's what I'm here to do.
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Simple desserts with fresh berries
Fruit / By heavencreamery
Raspberries are an important commercial fruit crop, widely grown in all temperate regions of the world.
Many of the most important modern commercial red raspberry cultivars derive from hybrids between R. idaeus and R. strigosus. Some botanists consider the Eurasian and American red raspberries to belong to a single, circumboreal species, Rubus idaeus, with the European plants then classified as either R. idaeus subsp. idaeus or R. idaeus var. idaeus, and the native North American red raspberries classified as either R. idaeus subsp. strigosus, or R. idaeus var. strigosus. Recent breeding has resulted in cultivars that are thornless and more strongly upright, not needing staking.
The black raspberry, Rubus occidentalis, is also cultivated, providing both fresh and frozen fruit, as well as jams, preserves, and other products, all with that species' distinctive flavor.
Purple raspberries have been produced by horticultural hybridization of red and black raspberries, and have also been found in the wild in a few places (for example, in Vermont) where the American red and the black raspberries both grow naturally. Commercial production of purple-fruited raspberries is rare.
Blue raspberry, is a local name used in Prince Edward Country, Ontario, Canada for the cultivar 'Columbian', a hybrid (purple raspberry) of R. strigosus and R. occidentalis.
Both the red and the black raspberry species have albino-like pale-yellow natural or horticultural variants, resulting from presence of recessive genes that impede production of anthocyanin pigments. Fruits from such plants are called golden raspberries or yellow raspberries; despite their similar appearance, they retain the distinctive flavor of their respective species (red or black). Most pale-fruited raspberries commercially sold in the eastern United States are derivatives of red raspberries. Yellow-fruited variants of the black raspberry are sometimes grown in home gardens.
Red raspberries have also been crossed with various species in other subgenera of the genus Rubus, resulting in a number of hybrids, the first of which was the loganberry. Later notable hybrids include boysenberry (a multi-generation hybrid), and tayberry. Hybridization between the familiar cultivated red raspberries and a few Asiatic species of Rubus has also been achieved.


Ride into a fun skiing themed construction puzzler game; packed full of creative physics-based challenges, sports and bloody disasters! Build chairlifts, gondolas, bridges and jumps to guide your riders away from (or towards if you feel like it) peril!... How to Maintain Balance While Skiing Moguls. Keep your hands in front of you: Doing so helps with weight distribution and it will keep your body facing mostly downhill, which will help you maintain your momentum into the next mogul.
Skiing is a sport and therefore, be practical by getting into physical shape a few weeks before your skiing trip. Moreover, getting a hotel or a resort near the ski lifts will make your life easier when it comes to carrying your ski equipment up the slopes.


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« The End of Dodge? – EPautos – Libertarian Car Talk
Now Big Pharma is pushing for a MONTHLY covid shot, obliterating the false narrative that once claimed a vaccine would earn back your "freedom" – NaturalNews.com »
Uncle Sam Must Cease Intervention in Haiti | The Libertarian Institute
Posted by M. C. on July 14, 2021
In April, 2009, the [U.S.] State Department, under the leadership of Hillary Clinton, decided to completely change the nature of the U.S. cooperation with Haiti.
Apparently tired with the lack of concrete results of U.S. aid, Hillary decided to align the policies of the State Department with the "smart power" doctrine proposed by the Clinton Foundation. From that moment on, following trends in philanthropy, the solutions of U.S. assistance would be based solely on "evidence." The idea, according to Cheryl Mills, Clinton's chief of staff, "was that if we're putting in the assistance, we need to know what the outcomes are going to be."
The January 2010 earthquake was the long awaited opportunity to test this new policy.
The idea was to transform Haiti into a Taiwan of the Caribbean, with maquiladoras, an apparel industry, tourism, and call centers. These would be the niche sectors that would guide the new cooperation framework.
In this plan, the particularities of Haiti itself didn't matter much.
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/uncle-sam-must-cease-intervention-in-haiti/
by Patrick Macfarlane
The Assassination of President Jovenel Moïse
During the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 7, 2021, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home by a team of gunmen. His first lady, Martin Moïse, was critically injured. She was airlifted to Florida for treatment where she remains in critical condition.
Moïse was elected president of Haiti on February 7, 2017. According to Moïse's opposition, his four-year term was to end on February 7, 2021. Moïse refused to step down on that date, arguing the Haitian constitution entitled him a five-year term. He has since remained in office, spurring months of opposition protests and rising crime rates that some outlets blame on Moïse himself.
The aftermath of the assassination was filmed by the late president's neighbors. According to the Maimi Herald, a man can be heard in one of the videos yelling in English over a megaphone: "DEA operation. Everybody stand down. DEA operation. Everybody back up, stand down."
Bocchit Edmond, the Haitian ambassador to the U.S., stated the attack "was carried out by foreign mercenaries and professional killers," that it was "well-orchestrated," and that the attackers were "masquerading as agents of the DEA." He asked the U.S. government for assistance with the investigation.
Haitian officials claim at least twenty-eight people were involved in the assassination plot including twenty-six Colombian citizens and two Haitian-Americans. On July 8, Haitian national police chief Leon Charles confirmed that fifteen Colombians and the two Haitian Americans had been taken into custody. Three others were killed in a firefight with authorities. The two Haitian-Americans were identified as thirty-five-year-old James Solages and fifty-five-year-old Joseph Vincent.
Solages has been circumstantially linked to Haitian oligarchs Reginald Boulos and Dimitri Vorbe. Although Boulos and Vorbe were initially friendly to Moïse, they later became his outspoken critics, leading many Haitians to believe they are involved with the killing.
The day before the assassination, president Moïse nominated Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon, to replace Joseph as prime minister. Henry was slated to be sworn in to the position on the afternoon of the killing, Wednesday, July 7. Following the assassination, Moïse's interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, assumed a tenuous control of the Haitian government over Ariel Henry. As of the writing of this article, Joseph remains in power, though questions persist regarding the proper succession of presidential authority.
Joseph declared a state of martial law immediately following news of the assassination. Fearing unrest, the Dominican Republic closed its border with Haiti and the Port-au-Prince-Toussaint Louverture International Airport was shuttered, with all arriving planes being rerouted.
Despite Joseph's declaration of martial law, the political situation appears relatively stable, at least for the moment. Nonetheless, the assassination has the potential to exacerbate an already turbulent political state of affairs—one to which the U.S. and other international influences not innocent third parties.
The U.S. and the O.A.S. Have Controlled the Haitian Presidency Since at Least 2011
If the current Haitian political arrangement appears chaotic, the U.S. and the U.S.-led Organization of American States ("O.A.S.") own a lion's share of the blame:
To set this plan in motion, Clinton selected Cheryl Mills to head the U.S. State Department's Haiti Task force despite the fact that Mills had neither training nor experience in international development.
In order for the Haitian People to accept Clinton and Mills' technocratic agenda, it had to be window dressed as democratic consensus. This first required the breaking of the country's deadlocked presidential race, which had been pushed from April 28, 2010 to November 28, 2010 in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. After the November vote, the election became deadlocked when none of the candidates received the required 50 percent of the vote.
According to the Haitian election commission, the candidates who received the two highest November vote totals were Mirlande Manigat, a former first lady, and Jude Célestin, the candidate backed by the then-outgoing president, René Préval. The two candidates were scheduled to compete in a final run-off election March 28, 2011.
Despite the Haitian election commission's findings, Clinton and the O.A.S. conducted their own audit of the November vote totals. This audit found popular Haitian singer Michael "Sweet Micky" Martelly had actually placed second and not Célestin. Incidentally, Martelly was the preferred candidate of the O.A.S.
To assure the Haitian people did not make the wrong choice, Hillary Clinton met with then-outgoing president René Préval on January 30, 2011. In this meeting, Clinton muscled Préval into breaking the electoral stalemate between the front running candidates:
Towards the end of the meeting, she asked Préval to make a last gesture in favor of harmony and understanding. It was to be a gesture that would lead him, once and for all, to a special place in the pantheon of Haiti's history and the struggle for democracy in the continent. Préval replied with an emotive, albeit enigmatic smile. It was only him who knew that the crisis had reached its epilogue at that moment.
As she was leaving the house, Hillary invited Bellerive to accompany her. The [then-]prime minister asked Préval for authorization to do so and placed himself between the two women inside the armored truck that left in a convoy to the airport. Confident that she had obtained what she wanted, Hillary was concerned now with the result of the second round. Bellerive removed all traces of apprehension when he informed her that Michel Martelly was going to win easily. And so he did.
As she was heading toward the plane, Hillary made a comment to Bellerive about his family relationship with Martelly. He confirmed that they were distant cousins. Since they were both educated individuals and the game was already over, the secretary of state allowed herself to make a joke and asked: "You are relatives, but you don't sing?" Bellerive replied, humorously: "Neither does he."
Hillary confessed having heard Martelly sing some songs and could not agree more with Bellerive. Then, smiling, she left Haiti.
Martelly proved to be a heavy-handed leader who was subservient to international interests.
About Patrick Macfarlane
Patrick MacFarlane is a Wisconsin attorney in private practice. He is the host of the Liberty Weekly Podcast at www.libertyweekly.net, where he covers libertarian legal theory, Austrian economics, history, and other libertarian topics. He may be reached at patrick.macfarlane@libertyweekly.net
This entry was posted on July 14, 2021 at 8:11 am	and is filed under Uncategorized. Tagged: Clinton Foundation, Haiti, Hillary Clinton, intervention, Jovenel Moïse, maquiladoras, smart power. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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ACT government concerned by moves to extend control orders to 14 year olds
Posted by NSW Council for Civil Liberties 1228.40sc on October 15, 2015
The ACT government has expressed concern about a proposal to extend the reach of counter-terrorism control orders to youth as young as 14. Federal Attorney-General George Brandis said he would make the change after a request was made by NSW Premier Mike Baird. The request was prompted by the shooting of NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng by a 15-year-old boy who has been linked to Islamic extremism.
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has also criticised the proposed lowering of the control order age threshold.
"The proposed laws are undoubtedly going to be in breach of human rights standards," president Stephen Blanks told the ABC, "The idea of detaining 14-year-old children for questioning without charge, and secretly for long periods of time, should be obviously unacceptable to the whole community."
Article:ACT government concerned by moves to extend control orders to 14 year olds
Source: The Canberra Times


You understand the importance of martial arts training, but have you ever struggled to keep the attention of every student in your class? I've outlined some ideas to assist you in preparing for your next training session. Here are some basic strategies that can make training more effective for you and your students.
When planning your training, considered who you will be training, what you want them to learn, and how you can measure success. Do you write down the lessons you want to cover or do you just "wing it"? A written lesson plan can go a long way to help you make sure you cover everything you'd like your class to experience. Will you be training children or adults? Don't be excessively technical, with either group, unless it's absolutely required for the lesson. It's always best to present information in a language that the students can easily understand.
Spend some class time both during and after the warm up analyzing the level of skill of each of the members of the class. The warm up can give you insights into levels of flexibility, range of motion, upper and lower body strength, etc. Training basic movements, especially those related to your lesson plan, can generate understanding of an individual student's application of contouring, dead motion deception, body alignment, and other Principles of Motion.
Make sure you present effectively to all the different learning styles in the class. There are three primary learning styles that describe how your students, and all people, take in information, especially new information. Some learn best by seeing (visual learners). Others learn more effectively by hearing a description of the lesson (auditory learners). Still others learn best by doing (kinesthetic or tactile learners). Understanding a student's primary and secondary learning modalities and preparing a presentation that includes visual demonstrations, explanations, but only as detailed as necessary (refer to step 1), and lots of physical, hands-on activities are essential in getting your points across to all learning styles.
Make sure that everyone in the class is actively training or "walking the walk." Having students and their instructors adhere to a simple training requirement such as wearing a groin cup or the proper uniform goes a long way in making everyone feel a part of a cohesive team. Students will model your behavior. You need to set the example. If you simply lecture and demonstrate, students will perceive that teachers don't "work out". Get out on the training floor. Let the students work the exercise on you. This (2nd person point of view) will allow you to evaluate the student's progress more effectively.
The assessment is based on the goals for training that you establish in your lesson plan. Create a way to measure student success, whether that is through more effective striking power (again the 2nd person point of view is invaluable here), measuring student speed or flexibility, how well they've memorized a new exercise, or some other method. You need to have some method of determining the effectiveness of your lesson. Without this you will not know if your lesson plan or your approach to training is effective, or how well your students understood the lessons.
Students, especially adult students, can be an abundant source of feedback on what works and what doesn't. Don't hesitate to ask them. In my early years as a teacher, I was blessed to have many knowledgeable adult students, some of whom were professional educators. Their feedback and "Corrective Adjustments" helped me become a much better instructor. Children can be an even better gauge of your effectiveness. If they are bored or inattentive, you can be sure your lesson missed its mark. You can keep your student's training fresh and effective, by gathering input, objectively measuring their progress, and leading by example. Remember, the quality of your student's movement and understanding is a direct reflection on your ability as a teacher.


Time is money. Time becomes even more valuable when you are looking for a job that suits your needs. When you are taking your time to interview with a company for a Product Manager position, the last thing you want is a low ball offer waiting for you.
Always, I'm asked in the first interview (or before it) what my salary expectation is. I always try to deflect it, but sometimes the recruiter or hiring manager will tell me their salary cap, which sometimes happens to be a good bit lower than I would like to accept.
I already told them, "I would like to discuss money and salary more when I know more about the position later in conversations.
I just don't want to waste too much time on a bunch of places that cannot meet my salary expectations or does not have money.
I want to know what is the best way to bring the negotiation up later in the process?
If your intention is to truly get better at Product Management interviewing, then you should continue to interview with this company. Your objective should always be to get to the next round of the interview process.
You do not know what the real budget the company has set aside for this position anyway. How would you know?
Honestly, how could you ever know what their real budget is? Are you going to audit them and their books? What about the companies that quote the highest salaries and, when offer time comes around, still give you a lowball offer?
Let's think about it from a different perspective; would you tell a real estate agent, car salesman, or anybody trying to sell you something what your real budget is? How many times do you go shopping, say you are not looking and walk out with 3 or 4 bags worth of merchandise? When we turn the situation around, the truth is you will not tell anybody your true budget is either. Even if you would tell the truth, try to exercise some end user empathy and appreciate most people won't. Human beings are not wired to tell the truth and sometimes people really don't know.
The real problem is the fear of disappointment and rejection all job hunters feel. When you decided to commit to looking for a Product Manager (or any other) job, wasting your time was exactly what you signed up for. There is no way to avoid this fact. It's a numbers game for the reason that there are simply too many factors beyond your control and you have to be able to accept that. Disappointment, frustration, and riding the emotional roller coaster was exactly what you signed up for.
More offers, even lowball offers, will help you more than no offers when you need more leverage to help your other offers pay more.
Stay focused on the process, rather than the outcome. You can't control the outcome anyways. When you stay focused on the process, you can start seeing more things that you can do, in contrast to fixating yourself on the offer.
Watch this Brett Ledbetter Video, where he talks about why and how the best athletes and coaches around the world focus on the process rather than the outcome.
The best way to negotiate the offer up later in the interview process is to deliver the most value-packed interview possible, showing that you can help them identify, mitigate, and neutralize challenges. Companies often are not bound to the budget they quoted; why would you need to be bound to the salary expectation you quoted earlier? What happens if you have another offer or multiple offers? Would your salary expectations not change too?
The secret to landing offers is making the interview all about the person that is interviewing you.
It hurts to hear this, but this interview is not about you (the applicant). It's about them (the company that is interviewing you). It's about their desires, pains, problems, concerns, etc. It's all about them. Make it about them.
Treat Product Management interviews like consultations, not interviews.
1. Think about all the people you have interviewed, you have hired, or people you love working with.
What makes you love these people?
Have you ever worked with somebody you were truly impressed with?
Was it because they knew everything?
Was it because you like them because of the way they approach problems?
What was it about these people that made them so awesome to work with?
2. On the flip side, think about all the people that you didn't hire or don't like to work with. People that you would never want to see in your life again.
What was it about them that made it so uncomfortable for you?
3. Lastly, ask yourself this honest question: Would you hire you? This is a fair question. Would you make an offer to yourself, if you could interview yourself?
Again, focus on the process rather than the outcomes because if you can win the process, then creating the outcome you want becomes a byproduct. There are going to be good days and bad days for those of you actively interviewing for a Product Manager role, just like there are good days and bad days for Product Managers. Go and change your perspective on interviews as an opportunity to help another person solve a problem.
In the book, The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday, one of the chapters is dedicated to how, at one time, world-renowned actor George Clooney struggled to land even the smallest roles.
Clooney was auditioning days and weeks on end without landing even some of the most undesirable roles. He probably felt many of the same emotions you are feeling right now. His career took a turn when he realized that the people that were trying to cast the best actor for this role had a problem that needed to be solved too, so that's what Clooney focused on – helping them solve their problem.


text:
Free Speech Nearly Prevails as SCOTUS Favors Ranting Cheerleader
A 14-year-old was suspended from cheerleading for a year over a social media post filled with swearwords in 2017. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., centered on whether or not schools had the right to suppress a student's right to free speech for anything they say or post while off-campus. In an 8-1 ruling on June 23, 2021, the justices favored the student.
The court determined the punishment was too severe but fell short of protecting free speech for students when off-campus. The justices declined to say schools did not have a role in limiting language used when students are no longer on campus.
Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote an 11-page majority opinion in which he stated:
It might be tempting to dismiss B.L.'s words as unworthy of the robust First Amendment protections. But sometimes it is necessary to protect the superfluous in order to preserve to neccessary.
Brandi Levy (B.L.), now 18, was a high school freshman who posted the expletive-filled Snapchat message sent to about 250 friends out of frustration. Her angst was about being passed over for the Mahanoy Area High School varsity cheerleading squad.
As a teenager, she had to share her disappointment the best way she knew — Snapchat. So, on a Saturday, she posted a photo of herself and a friend. They posed with upraised middle fingers, and this rant to ef-school, ef-softball, ef-cheer, ef-everything never thinking exercising free speech would cause trouble at school.
Messages on Snapchat are temporary; hers would be gone in 24 hours. But someone alerted her cheerleading coaches. As a result, she was suspended for exercising her right to free speech — for a year. However, she was not suspended from school.
"Young people need to have the ability to express themselves without worrying about being punished when they get to school," explains Levy in a statement on Wednesday. "I never could have imagined that one simple snap would turn into a Supreme Court case." Nevertheless, she says she is proud that, as a family, they worked to advocate for free speech for millions of students.
American Civil Liberties Union attorneys for Levy argued that school principals should not be allowed to punish students for exercising free speech off-campus and on social media. They contend doing so would give schools too much power to monitor harmless interactions with their friends, thereby denying them free speech.
Whereas, school officials stated they need to discipline bullying and cheating before it makes its way into the classroom.
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas dissented. He believed the Court's opinion did not clearly set a standard for schools to try to follow. Several of the justices stated they were concerned about "setting a hard-and-fast standard for when schools could regulate off-campus speech."
USA Today: Supreme Court sides with cheerleader who wrote profane social media post slamming her school; by John Fritze
The Washington Post: Supreme Court sides with high school cheerleader in free-speech dispute over profane Snapchat rant; by Robert Barnes
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Geoff Livingston's Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Related Topics:Featuredfree speech
Portland Metro Cooling Center Locations Open During Extreme Heatwave
US Scientists Race to Discover Why Wild Birds Are Sick and Dying


text:
Olaplex's New Bond-Building Hair Oil Is Here to Give Your Hair Lots of Shine
Elizabeth Denton
Angelina Jolie Just Dyed Her Hair Chocolate Brown
This Light Rainbow Hair Color Is Trending on Instagram
Prince William Shaved All His Hair Off
New year, new look.
Devon Ivie
Daniel Leal-Olivas/WPA Pool/Getty Images
This week, Prince William stepped out with a new hairstyle. Instead of the short look he's been sporting for several years now, the Duke of Cambridge officially has a buzz cut. William debuted his new hairstyle during an event at Evelina London Children's hospital in London on Thursday, where he discussed, according to HuffPo U.K., his new program for the National Health Service. (No, his hair did not come up.)
Prince William's hair has been noticeably thinning in recent years — something that his wife, Kate Middleton, has even poked fun of throughout their marriage. "The prince was interested in the alpaca, and as I showed it to them, the princess said he should put it on his head," an Australian farmer famously told E! News a few years ago when the couple were on a royal tour of New South Wales. "She said, 'You need it more than me,' and pointed to his head and he laughed."
Perhaps most notably, upon the birth of his first child, William remarked to the press outside St. Mary's Hospital that the baby has "got way more hair than me, thank God!" E! notes. Such a joker.
In any case, we fully support William's new look. Not only is the style more efficient, but he can now claim a striking resemblance to Big Little Lies star Alexander Skarsgård, who briefly sported a partially bald style last fall.
More on the royals:
This Is the Perfume Princess Diana Wore at Her Wedding
Kate Middleton Looks Completely Different With This Cute Bob Haircut
Kate Middleton's Secret for Flawless Updos Is Actually GENIUS
Now, check out this video on celebrity wedding gowns:
Don't forget to follow Allure on Instagram and Twitter.
Cardi B Threw Her Wig Into the Audience and Would Like It Back, Please
People Think Meghan Markle Broke Wimbledon's Famously Strict Dress Code
Experts Say the "World's First Bluetooth Hair Straightener" Can Be Hacked With Dangerous Consequences


There is slavery in every shopping centre in Europe and America.
From cocoa, coffee and clothing, to cars, computers and cell phones - many products are tainted by slavery. Please watch this short film featuring our course's lead educator Kevin Bales and original film footage of contemporary slavery from the organisation Free the Slaves. It describes the importance of businesses tackling the problem of slave-made goods and products in their supply chains.
After watching the film, please explore Know the Chain's company rankings of 20 information & communications technology companies on their efforts to eradicate forced labour from their global supply chains; and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's public track record of companies' statements under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
Did you see companies you recognise and/or expect to see other large companies on these lists?
You can also start preparing your responses and questions for Kevin's live session as our "expert in the hot-seat" later this week. Kevin advised the UK government on the Modern Slavery Act and consults regularly with corporations on the issue of slavery in supply chains.


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Tiny asteroid sets record for closest fly-by of Earth
August 19, 2020 9:10 am Robert Zimmerman
Astronomers using the robotic Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at the Palomar Observatory in California on August 16 spotted a tiny asteroid just after it had zipped past the Earth at a distance of only 1,830 miles, the closest any asteroid has ever been seen to do so without hitting the ground.
Asteroid 2020 QG is about 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 meters) across, or roughly the size of an SUV, so it was not big enough to do any damage even if it had been pointed at Earth; instead, it would have burned up in our planet's atmosphere.
"The asteroid flew close enough to Earth that Earth's gravity significantly changed its orbit," says ZTF co-investigator Tom Prince, the Ira S. Bowen Professor of Physics at Caltech and a senior research scientist at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA. Asteroids of this size that fly roughly as close to Earth as 2020 QG do occur about once a year or less, but many of them are never detected.
The ability to spot these things is continuing to improve, though it does not appear they have yet obtained enough information to predict 2020 QG's full orbit, or when or if it will return.
sippin_bourbon
"There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at with no result."
Boy does that thing look like a piece of pipe or other long rectangle.
The robotic camera took what appears to be 10 or more pictures of that section of sky to place on top of each other for a better resolution. A fast moving object will leave a streak. As it says in the article;
"ZTF, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other collaborators, scans the entire northern sky every three nights in search of supernovas, erupting stars, and other objects that otherwise change or move in the sky. As part of a NASA-funded program, ZTF team members search for near-Earth asteroids. When these space rocks speed across the sky, they leave streaks in the ZTF images. Each night, machine-learning programs automatically sort through about 100,000 images in search of these streaks, and then narrow down the best asteroid candidates to be followed up by humans. This results in about 1,000 images that team members and students sort through by eye every day."
Robert Zimmerman
Chris: What you are looking at is a smeared streak caused by the asteroid's motion. This isn't its shape. Note the stars are points. The telescope was tracking the stars, so that anything like an asteroid would be streaked because it was moving.
Whoops. I should have read all the comments before answering Chris's comment. Max explained far better.
Thanks to both – I should have looked closer
Herve on Planetary scientists fight back: "Pluto is a planet!" Jan 28, 09:05
Concerned on Eta Carinae: The star that proved Hubble was fixed Jan 28, 09:03
Bobby Hill on Pushback: Blacklisted doctors opposed to present Biden/CDC/FDA policies testify to Congress Jan 28, 08:52


text:
<?php
// src/UserManagement/UserMgtBundle/Form/ChangePassType.php

namespace UserManagement\UserMgtBundle\Form;

use Symfony\Component\Form\AbstractType;
use Symfony\Component\Form\FormBuilderInterface;
use Symfony\Component\Validator\Constraints\Length;
use Symfony\Component\Security\Core\Validator\Constraints as SecurityAssert;

class ChangePassType extends AbstractType
{
    public function buildForm(FormBuilderInterface $builder, array $options)
    {
        //$builder->add('password', 'password', array('constraints' => array( new SecurityAssert\UserPassword(array('message' => 'Password did not match your current password'))), 'label' => false , 'attr' => array('placeholder' => 'Current Password', 'class' => 'form-control')));
        $builder->add('password', 'password', array('label' => false , 'attr' => array('placeholder' => 'Current Password', 'class' => 'form-control')));
        $builder->add('newpassword', 'password', array('constraints' => array( new Length(array('min'=> 6, 'minMessage' => 'New Password must be at least {{ limit }} characters long'))), 'label' => false , 'attr' => array('placeholder' => 'New Password', 'class' => 'form-control')));
        $builder->add('connewpassword', 'password', array('label' => false , 'attr' => array('placeholder' => 'Confirm New Password', 'class' => 'form-control')));
        //$builder->add('password', 'repeated', array(
            //'type' => 'password',
            //'invalid_message' => 'The password fields must match. It should be %num% alphanumeric characters',
            //'invalid_message_parameters' => array('%num%' => 6),
            //'options' => array('attr' => array('class' => 'form-control')),
            //'required' => true,
            //'first_options'  => array('label' => false , 'attr' => array('placeholder' => 'New Password', 'class' => 'form-control')),
            //'second_options' => array('label' => false , 'attr' => array('placeholder' => 'Confirm New Password', 'class' => 'form-control')),
        //));
    }

    public function getName()
    {
        return 'changepass';
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


'[Men] of Lamedon contested the fords with fell folk of Umbar and Harad who had sailed up the river. But defenders and foes alike gave up the battle and fled when we came, crying out that the King of the Dead was upon them. Only Angbor, Lord of Lamedon, had the heart to abide us; and Aragorn bade him gather his folk and come behind, if they dared, when the Grey Host had passed.