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Home / Commentary / Iraq: Musings on Accomplishing the Mission
Iraq: Musings on Accomplishing the Mission
In this appreciation of a problem currently plaguing the foreign policy establishment in Washington, and one perturbing peace-loving peoples around the globe, a retired senior U. S. diplomat gives briefly his estimate of the situation. An expert in Middle East affairs, he draws conclusions, set in historical perspective, on what the end game in Iraq may turn out to be.—Ed.
by Curtis F. Jones
Back in the 1960's, President Lyndon Johnson realized the United States was losing the war in Vietnam. If he had been a statesman, he would have sued for peace, but he was a politician. Johnson was obsessed with the thought that he might be the first U. S. president to lose a war. So, in 1968, he dropped out of a race for reelection, handing the predicament over the Republicans Richard M. Nixon and Henry Kissinger.
Those two also were politicians. Under cover of a slogan ("End the War and Win the Peace"), they looked for the best way to give up without appearing to do so. They chose the path of "Vietnamization"—something of a holding action involving the bombing of North Vietnamese supply lines heavily enough to provide a face-saving prelude to American withdrawal and abandonment of the Saigon government. In the eyes of the American public, the stratagem worked. Most of the the U. S. troops came out in 1971. A peace treaty was signed in 1973. The North finally overran Saigon in 1975.
Iraq does not offer the same room for maneuver. Only if the elections scheduled to be held shortly take place and are more widespread and effective than now expected, Washington will have no operative, recognized government in Baghdad to take responsibility. The Iraqi opposition is not 800 miles away, as in Vietnam: it is around the corner. Thus, President Bush lacks the option of ducking out in the manner that President Nixon did; it's his war and U. S. elections will not be coming around for another four years. Further, the President's credibility is already damaged by the administration's misrepresentation of the threat of WMD's. None have been found and no evidence of ties between the Saddam regime and the radical Islamists have been discerned.
One notable feature of the conflict is the engagement of three varieties of religious fundamentalists: Shiite radicals who want to reduce the Kurds and Arab Sunnis to disempowered minorities; fundamentalist Sunnis, many of whom are slipping in from neighboring Arab states, who do not consider Shiites good Muslims; and certain conservative Americans who endorsed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein as a service to Israel, whose predominance they support as a Biblical prerequisite to the End of Days.
The President may not realize it, especially in light of his Inaugural Address, but the very idea of democratizing Iraq is another misrepresentation. It would be the ultimate incongruity to try to impose democracy in that country (or anywhere else, for that matter) by force. Democracy is the end result of generations of social and political evolution in which the West is well along, while the Middle East has hardly started the process.
Even if the United States could implant democracy there, American policy-makers likely would not like the result. Washington's preference for pliable autocracies in the underdeveloped world is well known. U. S. officials have opposed the rise of theocracies, which majority opinion in Iraq could well produce. If an Arab democracy were to emerge there or elsewhere, that might be even more awkward in another sense, that is, by highlighting the fact that Israel, the cornerstone of America's Middle East policy, is not itself truly a democratic state.
Could Washington, lacking the threat in reality of WMD's, justify a claim that it invaded Iraq to rebuild it? Hardly. In the first place, that is the job of Iraqis, perhaps aided by the international community, not that of the United States. The sticker shock of the billions of dollars in costs involved already is pronounced. And it would probably take a total of another $50 billion to put Iraq back where it was in 1991, before its defeat following its invasion of Kuwait, the subsequent economic sanctions, and a second, more recent and total, defeat.
Oil is a strategic concern, although one not openly cited as a basis for overthrowing the regime. Nonetheless, oil has been central to America's Middle East policy since President Franklin Roosevelt met with King Ibn Sa'ud at the Suez Canal in early 1945.
Thus the administration is left with an explicit justification based on the spread of freedom and democracy and the defeat of tyranny worldwide as a strikingly new, startlingly ambitious U. S. policy, a policy articulated at length by President Bush only on January 20, 2005, in his Inaugural Address.
The disorder and apparent confusion in Washington's Middle East outlook arises from a lack of historical perspective. The lead policy-makers evidently do not fully understand that ever since the collapse of the Ottoman and then the British empires generations ago, the region has been the scene of vicious power struggles to fill the vacuum, troubles that are still not resolved. Successor regimes have thus far generally failed in their attempts to take over, resulting in a tragic abundance of regional wars—at least sixteen since 1945.
In this troubled area, Iraq is the roughest neighborhood of them all. When the British "invented" the country in 1921, they brought in an Arabian prince to rule the Iraqi people. He was shocked to learn, however, that there is no single Iraqi people. The country is an ethnic crazy quilt of tribes, sects, and language groups. No one trusted (or trusts yet today) a central government. Even though Britain began to operate there in what was still the Age of European Imperialism and there was simply no competing power structure in the country, the British did not hold out much beyond the mid-twentieth century.
In 2003, the United States stumbled into the middle of a power struggle between the majority Shiites and the ascendant minority Sunnis, the latter a part of the group that dominates the Arab world in general. It was, as America has seen, in many respects an unfortunate intrusion into a deadly political jungle. Now, two years later, Mesopotamia's inhabitants are trying to guess which way to jump. They do not know who will come out on top, but Iraqis, through long experience, have to judge the Americans to be short-timers in the country. By now, few if any Iraqis other than the Kurds in the north and interim government officials want them to stay: The Kurds want U. S. protection from the Arabs and the Turks, and figures such as Interim Prime Minister Allawi is protected by American soldiers.
The elections scheduled to held very soon (as this is written) and in December 2005 are intended to produce a government that can take over the country and run it. There are few grounds for optimism, however. Put bluntly, civil war looms, whatever the "success" of the election procedure. The outlook is gloomy —and different from that in Afghanistan because the U.S. presence there is smaller and centered on one city (Kabul) and the Afghan peoples have a lucrative source of income in raising poppy seeds for opium.
Where does that leave the Washington leadership? They assuredly have fewer viable options than the Nixon administration had thirty-five years ago. Nonetheless, if Iraq flares into civil war, or even a wider conflict, U. S. policy makers may still contrive to put some kind of a spin on the situation. (When a tsunami strikes, head for the hills.) Aside from the Vietnam pullout, the United States quite simply evacuated Lebanon in 1958 and again in 1984, as well as Somalia just ten years ago.
It may even be that a better interpretation can some day be put on the American intervention in and departure, whenever it comes, from Iraq. From an historical perspective, the Middle East has been on dead center for fifty years at least, and it will take a shock treatment to nudge it toward social and political reform. Perhaps Americans will look back one day and be able to say they administered that shock.
Curt Jones, a retired senior U.S. Foreign Service officer, had a thirty-year career as a diplomat, most of it stationed in the Middle East or concerned with Middle Eastern affairs in Washington. He writes frequently for American Diplomacy.
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Our National Devaluation of Diplomacy
The Importance of Economic Interests in Foreign Assistance
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A Salute to Cultural Diplomacy and Those Who Make It Possible
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NOTE: The opinions expressed by the authors published in this Journal are not necessarily those of members of the Journal's staff or the American Diplomacy Board of Directors, nor of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies or the Curriculum for Peace, War & Defense at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Picks from 25 Years
To mark our 25th anniversary, we spotlight past articles about diplomatic practice and challenges facing the State Department
Benjamin Franklin: American Diplomacy Traditions (2007)
American Diplomatic Practice Redefined (1996)
The Work of Diplomacy (2002)
The Other Side of Powell's Record (2006)
Diplomacy as Risk Management (2018)
Relearning the Art of Nation State Diplomacy (2018)
Diplomatic Readiness (2010)
Musicians and Diplomats (2007)
The Infrastructure of Diplomacy (2000)
Ten Principles of Operational Diplomacy (2014)
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text:
WHAT SPORTS DO YOU HAVE TO CHILDREN WITH EXTRA WEIGHT
- The desire to start playing sports can not occur in a child by itself. Something should captivate the kid: the older brother's story about training, watching interesting sports programs…
« Native American biathlon: both to squander and shoot
The art of being a coach. Profession nuances »
Large-scale scandal associated with meldonium, is gaining momentum. Because of him, Russia has already lost several leading athletes. More than one hundred positive doping samples recorded.
On September 30, 2015, meldonium (MILDRONAT) was added to the Prohibited List of Substances and Methods of the 2016 World Anti-Doping Agency. It is added to class S4 (Hormones and metabolic modulators).
Reception should be excluded both in the competitive and in the out-of-competition periods. From January 1, 2016, the detection in the athlete's sample of a given substance is a violation of the anti-doping rules.
Forbidden List 2016
Speech by sports doctor Mikhail Petrovich Lagutin
Why do you need meldonium?
Meldonium is a metabolic agent that normalizes the energy metabolism of the heart and other organs. It is prescribed for disorders of the cardiovascular system, changes in the conductivity of the myocardium and other disorders.
Under conditions of increased load, the drug restores the balance between the delivery and the need of cells for oxygen. It protects cells from damage, eliminating the accumulation of toxins. When taking meldonium the body is able to cope with the load and quickly recover.
Meldony (mildronat) is produced in Latvia by the company "Grindex". The drug is exported to Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former USSR. In Western countries, it is not licensed. For a long time, meldonium was not considered doping and was popular among athletes. So, Maria Sharapova admitted that she had used the drug for about 10 years quite legally – for medical reasons.
The inventor is at a loss
The inventor of the drug, academician Ivars Kalvins believes that meldonium has no place at all in the Forbidden List of WADA. He was indignant and offended when he learned the news about the new doping rules. The professor considers the prohibition of mildronata a crime against human rights, because we have the right to protect our body and be healthy.
In the photo: the inventor of the drug Ivars Kalvins
"Meldonium is not a stimulating substance and, in my opinion, cannot improve the performance of athletes. Therefore, it is not clear why it is included in the list of prohibited substances. This is equivalent to prohibiting eating meat on the grounds that meat contains carnitine, a substance that stimulates energy production, "said the professor.
In March, the "doping wave" began. Meldonium was found in the blood of athletes who performed in 14 out of 20 sports at the European Games in Baku in the summer of 2015. Positive results were shown by many famous Russian athletes.
Now decisions about disqualification await swimmer Yulia Efimova, tennis player Maria Sharapova, figure skater Ekaterina Bobrova, skater Pavel Kouzhnikov, short trackers Semyon Yelistratov and Ekaterina Konstantinova, biathlete Edward Latypov, bicycle racer Edward Vorganov, rugby players Alexey and Alena Mikhaltsy
At the moment, 127 people in the world are caught in applying meldonium. Of these, 27 Russian athletes. Because of this, Russia has become the leader of anti-rating for canceled medals. Reports of positive doping samples from rowers yet.
Zurab Ordzhonikidze, head of the Center for Sports Medicine at the Moscow Health Department, believes that WADA has been let loose. "Meldonium has never been a doping, it is just a restorer. In the West, similar in composition preparations are commonly used by athletes, they are simply called differently. I think the Meldonium scandal is political pressure. It is time to turn to the UN to rein in the beating WADA, "Ordzhonikidze said.
Ivars Kalvins also believes that there is a political background in the doping scandal. "I was informed that before banning mildronate, athletes were monitored for who exactly and how much of the drug is in the body. And stated that the concentration is most of all athletes from Russia. Obviously, some people had some political decision. I can only assume, of course, that this could be the cause, "says the academician.
Michael Phelps is unaware of anything
Internet publications have not missed such a magnificent informational occasion. Of course, speculation and outright slander followed. For example, Facebook has been strolling through the article for several days referring to a famous American radio station. The headline reads: "The 17-time world champion Michael Phelps uses the American equivalent of Meldonium." FoxNews presenter Glenn Beck and four-time Olympic champion Serena Williams are also mentioned in the article.
Athletes are allegedly outraged and accuse WADA of pressure on unwanted countries. The article cites the words of Michael: "Tomorrow they will receive a team: to ban athletes from unwanted countries to eat national food, recommending American food. And WADA will do it. This organization, which has completely discredited itself, has long had to be driven away from the argument.
Posted in changes, It protects cells, The ancient Greeks, The dancer simply, ttached motorcycle, Uncategorized, useful and develops
the greates the location has been It was assumed singer Daniel Balavoine acacia hey steal the hearts But it will be a completely but sometimes fun As a result Now and then many injured Choose the right gradually increasing This experience spinning fishing radio engineer The news appeared Once the girlfriends-kayakers enormous loads Based on the da Vinci One of them will receive lessons causes genuine Florentine football canoeists and three modernization of sewage ecological balance Universe as a whole Only after this On the other hand Club owner Arkady I had ever though school and coaches. Indian Biathlon many problems Semyon Yelistratov eucalyptus Lyudmila Odintsova will come to the World began to attract They are a pair Because of dead fish Championships will be held In various years Baku in the summer overcome humanity
Olympic career is short-lived. When it comes to an end, it becomes important whether you have a job, a job, a profession, to which you can return to another -…
Indian Biathlon On the other hand It was assumed But it will be a completely Only after this This experience Now and then I had ever though modernization of sewage eucalyptus the location has been many problems Baku in the summer but sometimes fun ecological balance singer Daniel Balavoine Lyudmila Odintsova Once the girlfriends-kayakers One of them will receive many injured Club owner Arkady Universe as a whole acacia Based on the da Vinci Choose the right spinning fishing overcome humanity lessons causes genuine Because of dead fish They are a pair radio engineer Championships will be held school and coaches. enormous loads As a result began to attract gradually increasing canoeists and three hey steal the hearts the greates will come to the World In various years Florentine football The news appeared Semyon Yelistratov
Cherche la femme. Try - catch up!
Who said that the girls are weak and bring trouble to the ship? Superstition and sea nonsense! The girl in the boat - to the platonic love, and the junior…
Rowing and canoeing 2015. Announcement of the season
It remains about two months before the start of the new season. Training camps will soon give way to competitions. What surprises, countries and races are waiting for us in…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


CD'S and DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE NOW!
The launch of Skyline-Records has begun with distribution through https://cdbaby.com.
September 1st, 2018 we released our first album: Grammy Nominated Jazz Vocalist, Roseanna Vitro's fourteenth recording, "TELL ME THE TRUTH." See our Press Release Page for all info.
We are excited to resurrect our label of the same name as Paul Wickliffe's well known NYC studio: Skyline Studios, located at 36 West 37th St., NYC.
We have many gold albums and memories from the walls of Skyline Studios. This section will be filled with images and stories some day.


In AWS re:Invent 2018, AWS have launched a great feature called Layers in the Lambda service. Layers let you deploy custom runtime along with additional code/package, which can be further used/imported in the lambda function. It let you keep the deployment package small. A layer can be used within multiple lambda function, hence you can re-use the packages/runtime by deploying it once.
In this tutorial, I'm going to take you through, how to create custom layer and use it in the lambda function. Also, there exists the pre-published layers by AWS. Here will use following services.
Here, we will create the bucket in which we will upload the package for Lambda layers. Go ahead and create the bucket. In my case, I have created layer-release-test.
Now let's go ahead and launch the EC2 instance (Micro instance with ubuntu is sufficient for the purpose of this tutorial). In step 3 (Configure Instance), make sure to attach the IAM role, which we created for the EC2 instance. Once the instance is launched, SSH into the instance via terminal and execute below commands.
Note: Path (build/python/lib/python3.6/site-packages) plays the key role in Layers, make sure the path is correct.
Here, we will create the layer. Navigate to Lambda Management Console -> Layers -> Create Layer. Fill the asked configuration details as shown below and Create the Layer.
Here, we will create the Lambda function and use/import the pandas package using layers. Go ahead and create the lambda function and make sure to assign the IAM role that we created in the IAM role section (lambda_basic_execution). Refer for step by step tutorial.
Once the function is created, click on the Layers from Designer pane. Scroll down to Referenced layers pane -> Add a layer. In the Layer dropdown, you will see the pandaDependency layer (one we created) under My layers -> pandasDependency -> Version-> 1 -> Add -> Save. Now, lets use pandas in our code.
This function should run successfully and this is how you can use AWS Lambda Layers.


Palm Inc. has announced the results of its common stock offering. In addition to generating a nice $313 mil from its offering of 20,000,000 shares at $16.25 each, the company announced that the underwriters were able to sell an additional 3 million shares. The exercise of the over-allotment option brings the expected total net proceeds of the public offering to $359.9 million. In a statement, Palm said it expects to use the proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Palm also reaffirmed its fiscal year 2010 outlook and its planned product and carrier launches in the second half of Palm's fiscal year ending in May 2010. This rather bold move indicates to some that a future Verizon release may not be written off after all.
== of Palm's fiscal year ending in May 2010.
== written off after all."
Or that Palm now actually cares about stock price and is trying to support it.
There's a difference between "support" and "manipulate". If they really cared about the share price, they wouldn't dilute the current stockholders by issuing new shares.
This looks like desperation. If they weren't short of cash, they wouldn't have raised equity; that's obvious. But if they were optimistic about their future profitability, they would have issued debt, not shares. Debt would currently carry a reasonable interest rate and Palm could pay it back with future earnings. But purchasers of debt can probably see the gaping hole in that plan: "What future earnings?"
Did anyone here buy these shares at $16.25? Taking into account the $9.00 dividend, the only time PALM shares were higher was July 2001 (tech bust). What would possess an "investor" to buy PALM shares at an all-time high?
They can't issue debt - they're already $400 million in debt and that debt has restrictions on further debt.
The cheap shares (at the time at least...) were available only to The Big Guys, not retail "investors".
Free by no later than end of year - maybe MUCH sooner.
(Reads article. Looks at slowly-growing savings fund for unlocked GSM Pre, likely going to be around $700 USD.
$79.00 - the price gets any lower, they'll be paying people to take the Pre.
freakout - when it comes out, if you really want one, call palm and tell them who you are and ask for a discount. it never hurts to ask. if they're smart (questionable) they'll give you a nice discount.
heh. Palm know who I am, I harrass them for official comment on many stories here every week (very rarely get anything worth printing). but i doubt I could get a discount, heck even developers don't get one so far as I know.
My main worry really isn't the price so much as the fear the bloody thing will wind up being faulty. International warranty exchanges are very hard, as I learned with my 680.
everything in life is negotiable, grasshopper.
Palm the PDA is not dead. Interaction requires a minimum of two. We-com virtual wallet is hardware and will need to interact with PDA and Smartphone's. Perhaps PDAs with removable hard drives. Removable hard drives will allow the PDA to be up-graded, changed or serviced without any issue to the customer. If the PDA is dropped and God forbid break the customer can just remove the hard drive and exchange via courier a new one. The customer just puts the hard drive back into the new PDA and away they go. No down time or data loss issues.
E-T - nice to hear from you - i hope all is well. no removable hard drives are needed since all of your data is now on the cloud. if you lose or break your device, you just get a new one. and you can still access your data from any other connected device - ie PC, smartphone etc. and since your data isn't on the actual device, it's very secure if you lose it - you simply change your cloud password. and a credit card number is all you need to make transactions.
Cliq priced at =$200=!!! Good lord, are they STOOOOPID!?
T-Mobile says the Cliq will be $200 for existing customers.
I think they're setting themselves up to sell about 3 of them.
Maybe they're pulling a "The Producers"?
No maybe about it...they HAVE to be pulling a "The Producers".


Kate Gosselin and kids plan holiday CD? We've written their debut single!
Image Credit: TLCFile under "Greetings from the Impending Apocalypse!": AOL's PopEater blog is reporting that Kate Gosselin, master babymaker and star of several TLC programs, is hoping to record and release a holiday album with her eight children. Gosselin's rep declined to comment on the story, but nothing short of a "Hell naw, that isn't happening!" is going to stop me from rocketing down a slide of shame and into a stinking cauldron of "what ifs?" and "whys?" As such, I have gone as far as writing a potential first single for the Gosselin Child Army Chorus, set to the tune of "Winter Wonderland." Join me in a sing-along, the better to drown out the unholy howling emanating from your soul area.
Gosselins sing, are you list'ning?
Who knew Kate, was a songbird?
Any thoughts, feelings, or tears you want to shed about this topic? Head to the comments, by all means! And to get all my pop-culture ridiculata, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak!


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Protecting Religious Adoption Agencies Won't Stop LGBT People from Adopting
Almodóvar Loses His Sense of Humor
Some Notes of Caution about Reviving Blue Laws
A Martin Luther King Day Reminder: Religion Matters in Public Life
Will This Week Be the Last March for Life?
By Brad Polumbo
About Brad Polumbo
Follow Brad Polumbo on Twitter
(Pixabay)
A bill in Congress would only permit faith-based services to operate again, with the result that more kids in foster care would find homes.
On July 12, the House Appropriations Committee passed a funding bill with an amendment protecting religious adoption agencies from state laws that force them to place children with same-sex couples. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) denounced the congressional Republicans who voted for the bill, charging that they had fallen to a "sickening new low." She insisted that the amendment could deny "tens of thousands of vulnerable children the opportunity to find a loving and safe home." Representative Mark Pocan (D., Wis.) took his outrage to Twitter, insisting that "denying kids loving parents is wrong."
There's no reason for Democrats to be so upset. The amendment won't stop me (or any other LGBT person) from adopting a child — but it will enable religious child-welfare agencies to help needy kids find a home. Religious people should be able to live by their convictions, just as I wish to honor mine.
Private adoption agencies have First Amendment rights, and their freedom of conscience should be respected, even when their beliefs are politically incorrect or downright discriminatory. Allowing a small number of religious agencies to operate within their belief system doesn't restrict the ability of gay Americans to adopt, because there are LGBT-friendly agencies all across the country, and there's no shortage of kids looking for new families.
Government figures reveal that roughly 440,000 children live in foster-care programs while waiting for adoption. On average, it takes two years for a child to be adopted. Toddlers and babies usually are adopted sooner than older children. Opponents of the GOP's religious-freedom initiative point to the high number of children in foster care and argue that by letting adoption agencies decline same-sex couples, the GOP denies at-risk children the chance to find a loving home. But the new rule proposed by Republicans would only let religious adoption agencies that were shut down under old anti-discrimination laws to operate again, with the result that more kids would be placed in loving and safe homes.
Representative Robert Aderholt (R., Ala.), who introduced the religious-freedom amendment, says that under previous policies "several states and localities across the country are not allowing religious organizations, such as Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services, to operate child welfare agencies." Backing up Aderholt's claims, the Heritage Foundation reports that "in Massachusetts, Illinois, California, D.C., and Philadelphia, adoption agencies such as Catholic Social Services have lost contracts with local governments or have been forced to shut down entirely."
It's worth looking at specific examples to see just how destructive well-intentioned liberal adoption policies have been. In Illinois, Catholic Charities closed the doors of their adoption services after 40 years, in the face of a state law stripping the agency of funding if it continued to turn away prospective adoptive parents who were in same-sex relationships. Under similar circumstances, Catholic Charities ceased offering adoption services in Massachusetts, D.C., and San Francisco.
The GOP's new rule wouldn't magically erase the countless other adoption agencies open to prospective LGBT parents, but it would permit more Christian agencies to operate, thereby increasing our ability to find homes for disadvantaged children.
At The American Conservative, Liz Wolfe reports on Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia, a religious agency that takes care of more than 100 at-risk kids daily. It would decline to place a child with a same-sex couple but gave them referrals to one or more of the other 26 agencies nearby that would accept their application. For such policies, the city of Philadelphia turned on Catholic Social Services and the nearby Bethany Christian Services, preventing both from making further foster-care referrals.
With hundreds of thousands of kids in foster care, waiting to be adopted, it's hard to see how rules that shut down child-welfare agencies make sense. The GOP's new rule wouldn't magically erase the countless other adoption agencies open to prospective LGBT parents, but it would permit more Christian agencies to operate, thereby increasing our ability to find homes for disadvantaged children.
Ian Thompson of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) criticizes the religious-freedom amendment on different grounds. Many of the adoption providers in question receive taxpayer dollars. For them to turn away same-sex couples, Thompson argues, would be a violation of the 14th Amendment's equal-protection clause, which prohibits discrimination by government. But Matthew Larosiere, a constitutional lawyer at the Cato Institute, tells me that "the 14th Amendment simply does not apply" to private agencies. It's easy to see why he finds the ACLU's argument so ludicrous; does the receipt of taxpayer funds really transform a private agency into an arm of the government?
That is a standard we apply almost nowhere else. When viewed in context, the idea that taxpayer funding strips a private organization of its First Amendment rights is absurd. Private women's colleges, for example, receive federal funds but aren't required to admit male students, as they've been given an exception under Title IX, a law mandating gender equality for colleges that receive federal funds. Why shouldn't religious agencies enjoy similar latitude?
Also from Brad Polumbo
After all, progressive think tanks and organizations such as the ACLU and the Center for American Progress often benefit from tax-exempt status but are not made to cater to clientele they disagree with or to advance causes that contradict their agenda. If progressives want discretion for themselves, they have to apply that principle universally — even to people they find "deplorable."
The Left doesn't understand this. The website LGBTQnation ran a headline suggesting that Republicans voted "to make it legal nationwide to ban gays & lesbians from adopting." Gay people are perfectly fit to be parents, so if that were true, it would be tragic. But all that Republicans have done through this amendment is vote to protect the rights of religious agencies. That won't stop gay people from adopting children, but it will mean that more faith-based agencies can operate and help find homes for kids in need.
Brad Polumbo is opinion editor at the Foundation for Economic Education and host of the Breaking Boundaries podcast. @brad_polumbo
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Some Notes of Caution about Reviving Blue Laws	Some Notes of Caution about Reviving Blue Laws
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Sewer Damage Walnut Creek CA Experts (925) 448-9595 BEST Choice!
Have A Walnut Creek Sewer Damage Dry Out Issue?
Even though floods are possibly best known for causing extensive water damage to homes and businesses, they can likewise result in sewage from sanitary sewer lines to back up into properties through drain pipes.
These kinds of backups not only bring about damage that is challenging and expensive to remedy, but also develop health hazards.
Almost all homeowner and business insurance policies do not handle sewer back up unless particular sewer backup protection is put on the insurance coverage.
Sewer backup insurance coverage is available to buy from most insurance organisations for a nominal cost, usually $40 or $50 on an annual insurance coverage.
Most homeowners and businessmen might not know that they accountable for the maintenance and repair service of the property or sewer lateral the pipeline in between the town sanitary sewer main, typically placed underneath the street, and the building.
The sewer lateral is owned and maintained by the property owner consistsing of any section that may expand into the road or public right-of-way. A broken or weakened lateral or one loadeded with tree roots will make it possible for groundwater to bleed into the structure, adding to the feasible sewer backup issues.
Water Damage Walnut Creek Dry-Out Pros On The Job.
Clogs Because Of Tree Roots: Trees and shrubs seeking hydration can make their way into sewer line fractures generating huge damage. These might start out little, entering a narrow rift found in the pipeline; however as the tree or bush continues to expand, so does it's root. Tree roots may penetrate the service pipeline at joints and produce obstructions. These might also journey a lengthy way, and roots from different varieties of trees behave differently.
In the event that you think that town trees are responsible for sewer line destruction, your plumbing contractor can consult with the municipality and specimens of the root systems should be used to help distinguish the trees and who is responsible for clean-up. In certain cases a blockage is the outcome of a mix of city and personal trees. For this case fees are split up among the city and house owner.
Hygienic Main: A blockage can occur located in a city sanitary main.
If the stoppage is not picked up on in time, discharge coming from the main can back up into residential properties and offices by floor drains. Typically this takes place bit by bit, delivering the property owner time to arrange for a certified plumber to inspect the damage. In the case that water is coming into your basement at a quick rate, phone the city public works facility and make known the condition as soon as possible to ensure a city manager can examine.
Water in Cellar: Most cellar water damage is not linked with the hygienic sewer system. Thus, water can show up in a bsmt that has never had a water issue. Drainage may be greatly improved by making certain that water drains away from the property.
Unapproved Plumbing Connections: Do not connect French drains, sump pumps and other flood control devices to your hygienic sewer. It is unlawful, and rubble and sand may plug your pipes. Seek a plumber to set straight any not approved hookups.
Deal with Grease Properly: Cooking oil ought to be put into a heat-resistant container and disposed of appropriately, when it cools off, never in the drainpipe. Washing grease down the drain with hot water can bring about considerable issues. As the grease cools down, it will likely solidify either in the drain, the home owner's line, or in the main sewer causing the line to narrow and in the long run block.
Deal With Paper Products Properly: Paper towels, throw away (and fabric) diapers, and feminine products are able to trigger lots of troubles in the homeowner's lateral and also in the town main given that they do not deteriorate very quickly, as toilet paper does.
Exchange Your Line With Brand New Plastic pipe: One way to prevent tree roots from entering your line is to replace your pipes and tap with all new plastic pipe. If you continue to have issues with tree root systems flourishing in your lateral, you may have to have root systems cut periodically.
Put in a Backwater Protection Valve: A backwater valve is a fixture set up in to a sewer line, and at times right into a drain line, in the cellar of your home or business to prevent sewer line backflows. A properly mounted and taken care of backwater control device enables discharge to depart, but just not to come back in. Property owners are liable for the installment and servicing of backwater valves. The cost to put in one hinges on the sort of plumbing in your home or business and the complication of installation. Call an experienced plumber.
Cleansing out and sterilizing water line components.
With regard to insurance claim purposes, take before and after images of the damaged areas and cite any type of property damages. Save all invoices connected to repairs, cleansing or damages and talk to your Independent Insurance Representative as quickly as feasible.
Our Services include: water damage elimination, water removal, flood clean up, cellar flooding clean up, wet carpet and rug, water damage contracting, water extraction team, sewage clean up, flooded basement, flood damage, drying wet carpet, flood cellar, basement drying, carpet flooding, water damage service, flooded carpet, flooded house, flooded home, water removal, water in cellar.
We take care of water damage Walnut Creek problems, flood water difficulties, fire damage challenges, fire damage resolutions for our neighbors in Walnut Creek. We also work with mold challenges. We resolve commercial and residential work around the Walnut Creek vicinity. Crawl Space flooding and sub pump breakdowns, emergency plumbing, leaking pipes also.


They have a specialized skillset and years of practical experience connected to electrical style and electrical security, which is why their solutions can prove so helpful to businesses. Whilst it could be tempting to attempt and fulfill these electrical energy-connected demands in-residence, it tends to make a lot much more sense for enterprises to trust a firm that has the experience to get the job completed for them. In addition, hiring these firms typically ends up costing significantly less dollars than attempting to obtain a resolution in-residence. Right here are some of the other positive aspects of hiring an electrical engineering firm.
No matter whether it is in the designing of environmentally sustainable styles for your electrical energy demands, or it pertains to electrical security, these firms have the specialized talent to get the concept for a project off the ground, and they are also capable to full the operate linked with stated project. If you are hunting to start out a project ideal away, they are most undoubtedly the form of businesses to speak to, and they are also excellent for giving guidance about future projects and plans you could be thinking about.
When it comes to electrical style or other electrical energy-connected subjects, there is no firm superior than an electrical engineering firm to go to for help. They seek the advice of with other businesses and folks about their electrical energy and engineering demands. They have personnel who have worked in the market for quite a few years, which signifies they have observed many sorts of circumstances, and they are capable to give you with the sound small business guidance you could have to have pertaining to this subject.
Security instruction is so significant when it comes to electrical energy, which is why arc flash instruction and other sorts of instruction courses are frequently mandatory at operate web-sites and other places. If you are operating a small business exactly where the personnel are going to come into speak to with electrical energy, and the doable for arc flash incidents is present, consulting with an electrical engineering firm could assist you sufficiently prepare your personnel and the rest of your firm to deal with these matters. Some firms give the courses themselves, although other individuals will happily place you in touch with somebody who will.
Even the most effective businesses and enterprises go by means of periods exactly where they are not capable to feel creatively in the way they did ahead of. And no matter if your small business is situated in the pharmaceutical, utilities, renewable energies or manufacturing market, you could have to have electrical solutions for 1 of the quite a few operations linked with your firm. And although some of these operations are simple to head up and execute in-residence, some of them demand much more inventive considering. New suggestions are a excellent way to assure your firm is performing points in the most productive and effective way doable, and an electrical engineering firm can absolutely assist in this regard.


text:
The handball competition at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games will be held in Veracruz, Mexico from 15 to 26 November 2014 at the Centro Deportivo Carlos Serdán Arechavaleta.

Qualification

Medal summary

Women's tournament

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

5th–8th place playoffs

5th 8th place playoffs

Semifinals

7th-place match

5th-place match

Bronze medal match

Gold medal match

Final standing

Men's tournament

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

5th–8th place playoffs

Final standing

Medal table

References

External links
 Official Website

2014 Central American and Caribbean Games events
2014 in handball
Qualification tournaments for the 2015 Pan American Games
Handball at the Central American and Caribbean Games

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home Commercial Natus Vincere enters content partnership with Caffeine
Natus Vincere enters content partnership with Caffeine
Ukrainian esports organisation Natus Vincere has announced a new partnership with streaming platform Caffeine.
The deal will see players that represent the organisation livestream their gameplay, as well as showing behind the scenes action at bootcamps & backstage at events.
Natus Vincere has its own official channel on the platform – which is currently in pre-release – where it will share all of the above and other "exclusive content".
Yevhen Zolotarov, CEO of Natus Vincere discussed the deal in a statement: "I'm thrilled to announce our partnership with Caffeine! This is the case when the emergence of a new streaming platform is like a breath of fresh air for the industry. Frankly speaking, not all the features have been implemented yet.
"However, I am completely sure that Caffeine has all chances to become the platform where our players stream passionately and interact with fans. Our goal is to help Caffeine.tv to become the most convenient and popular streaming service with the help of NAVI players and the whole esports community."
As well as Caffeine, Natus Vincere is partnered with Monster Energy, HyperX, OMEN by HP, DXRacer, and GG.BET. It fields teams in Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Fortnite, FIFA 19, and Paladins.
Caffeine received $100 million (£77 million) in investment from American media corporation 21st Century Fox during a funding round in September last year. Earlier in the year, the streaming platform signed a deal with ESL to house some esports programming.
Esports Insider says: We haven't heard much from Caffeine in the world of esports since the deal with ESL last March, so it's good to see it still has intentions of working in the industry. Na'Vi is a popular brand in esports, of course, so this is a great grab for Caffeine – it'll be worth keeping an eye on the platform to see if it keeps getting exclusive content from organisations.
Follow ESI on Instagram
Natus Vincere
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ELEAGUE release Season Two CS:GO groups
Michael Moriarty - September 22, 2016
After an interesting first season for TBS' ELEAGUE, with questions over viewing figures and controversies over disqualification, the second season of the $1.4m (£1.08m)...
Copenhagen Royal Arena to stage the world's top CS:GO teams
HyperX announced as official sponsor for FACEIT London Major
Psyonix partner with ELEAGUE as well as MGM & HyperX as...


The WVMEA Music Education Project Grant program allocates funds to help stimulate creativity, innovation, experimentation, or positive change in school music programs. It encourages teachers to explore new ideas and approaches to music education. It also helps provide students with additional opportunities and experiences in music.
The WVMEA Music Education Professional Development Grant program allocates funds for professional development workshops for West Virginia music teachers that focus on pertinent topics and occur outside the context of the WVMEA In-Service Conference.
Any music educator, group of music educators, or music supervisor employed by a West Virginia public or private elementary or secondary school may apply for Music Education Project Grant funds.
Music Education Project Grant awards are up to $500.00. Matching funds are not required; however, it is recommended that other sources of funds be used to supplement WVMEA funds.
Each application will be evaluated according to the following criteria: project purpose, practicality of implementation, and implications for improvement of music teaching and learning.
Applications will be distributed for blind review to a panel of readers appointed by the WVMEA Executive Board. Recommendations will be made to the Executive Board, which will then make awards.
Request a Music Education Project Grant Application. Please allow two weeks for your application to be mailed to you.
Completed applications must be postmarked no later than July 31st .
Music Education Project Grant awards will be announced by September 15th.
Approved projects must take place between June 15 of the current year and June 15 of the next year.
Music Education Project Grant recipients must submit a final report to WVMEA within 60 days of completion of the project or by August 01. This report will be published in Etude. It should include relevant statements about the purpose, implementation, results, and conclusions of the project.
The WVMEA Music Education Professional Development Grant program allocates funds to help stimulate creativity, innovation, experimentation, or positive change in school music programs. It encourages teachers to explore new ideas and approaches to music education. It also helps provide students with additional opportunities and experiences in music.
Any music educator, group of music educators, or music supervisor employed by a West Virginia public or private elementary or secondary school may apply for Music Education Professional Development Grant funds.
Music Education Professional Development Grant awards are up to $500.00. Matching funds are not required; however, it is recommended that other sources of funds be used to supplement WVMEA funds.
Each application will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Professional Development purpose, practicality of implementation, and implications for improvement of music teaching and learning.
Request a Music Education Professional Development Grant Application. Please allow two weeks for your application to be mailed to you.
Music Education Professional Development Grant awards will be announced by September 15th.
Approved Professional Development must take place between June 15 of the current year and June 15 of the next year.
Music Education Professional Development Grant recipients must submit a final report to WVMEA within 60 days of completion of the project or by August 01. This report will be published in Etude. It should include relevant statements about the purpose, implementation, results, and conclusions of the project.


text:
5G is the 'latency tipping point'
And it's becoming the new battleground for business
by Mo Katibeh, Chief Marketing Officer, AT&T Business
When I stepped onto the showroom floor at Mobile World Congress 2018, I immediately realized that there was one pervasive and overarching theme that was visible in bright lights at almost every booth - 5G and technology that may be possible in a 5G world.
One of the opportunities that I had was to see the benefits of 5G in action. I got to participate in a real 5G demo that was using mmWave spectrum and edge compute technology. The demo was a two-player hardware-intensive video game where the entire experience was being powered by 5G. No on-premise equipment—the game itself (for both players) was housed in the cloud.
It was a truly remarkable experience, with no noticeable latency. You could not tell that the compute behind the gaming console was not right there next to you, and it illustrated the type of use cases that 5G will enable for both consumers and business customers.
What's different about 5G is the 250 physical pieces of hardware aren't getting refined around the edges—they're being transformed into software
Share this quote
This experience reinforced a key question I keep being asked: "What makes 5G different?" Telecom, media, and technology executives will tell you we see 5G being different because it's lower latency. But every new G has brought down latency:
1G - no data/analog systems
2G - 300 ms
4G - 50 ms
Going to 3G brought a 3X improvement in latency. Going to 4G was a 2X improvement. It's important to appreciate that both of these improvements were historic in magnitude.
BUT - 5G could have up to 10X less latency. That is a greater leap than we've ever seen. This improvement has set off what I call the "latency tipping point." And, it's becoming the new battleground for businesses.
One factor behind 5G is driving latency tipping point
Each time we've gone up from 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G… AT&T has replaced the hardware and software that powers the network. With 4G, there were nearly 250 different kinds of hardware devices powering the AT&T network. What's different about 5G is the 250 physical pieces of hardware aren't getting refined around the edges—they're being transformed into software.
By the end of 2017, AT&T pulled 55 percent of our network hardware off the racks and replaced it with software. (Our goal is to have a 75 percent software-defined network by 2020.) A physical firewall became a firewall app—a physical router became a router app—and so on. This reminds me of the animation Vala Afshar recently shared on Twitter showing mobile apps eating the work desk.
The new apps powering the AT&T network run on servers in the central office, cell towers, microcells, and the other places where we house infrastructure.
Closer processing on the network nodes will enable you to write applications that cut latency by 10X for your customers, partners, and employees
Who's to say the software-defined network must only run networking apps (routers, firewalls, etc.)?
Nobody. Thanks to the new Akraino project, the infrastructure powering the AT&T network can also run third-party apps like the video game I played at #MWC18.
The next day at Mobile World Congress, I caught up with Andre Fuetsch about how the AT&T Foundry is turning one of our buildings in Palo Alto into an "edge computing zone" for developers of drones, AR/VR, and autonomous cars. This building is on its way to evolving from a hop on the way to the data center into an edge computing zone.
The edge is the new cloud
What's transformative about edge computing on the software-defined network is that processing doesn't have to happen as much on the phone or the data center (the old "cloud").
Processing can happen on network nodes, and network nodes are typically a few miles away from you. Data centers are typically hundreds of miles away, adding latency. Closer processing on the network nodes will enable you to write applications that cut latency by 10X for your customers, partners, and employees.
This new edge has the potential to make experiences possible like the video game I shared at the beginning of this article. Lower latency experiences can translate into a real competitive advantage for your business. New business cases are still being uncovered. What is clear after attending Mobile World Congress is that businesses are not wasting any time imagining new use cases to get ahead of the latency tipping point.
Here are five use cases that 5G will enable for business:
1. A home décor brand could use 5G and immersive virtual reality to show customers what furniture will look like in their homes.
2. A hospital could respond faster to changes in patients' vital signs with edge computing inside and outside the hospital.
3. A consumer electronics manufacturer that operates fast-moving machinery could identify and fix mechanical failures in record time.
4. A financial services firm could transform the ATM into a full-service branch powered by video-conferencing over a 5G fixed wireless connection.
5. A SWAT team or a fire department could enable augmented reality to help first responders navigate a burning building or see around corners.
The latency tipping point is a tailwind that will accelerate growth across industries
These 5G use cases remind me of a new book from Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, and Sven Smit at McKinsey called Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick. The book explains how the companies who position themselves ahead of strong industry tailwinds become industry leaders.
My absolute favorite part of Mobile World Congress was talking with our customers. Executives told me they are ready to make big moves; this is not new. But what is new is executives realize that getting connectivity right is key for pulling off big moves.
It goes back to the complexity every business customer is dealing with. Business is global, workforces are mobile, and the need for new IoT devices continues to grow. Customers are asking us to simplify their connected lives. AT&T is bringing everything together edge-to-edge—from endpoints to connectivity to the cloud—wrapped in security. Simplifying connectivity into an edge-to-edge model is the first big move a company needs to make to get ahead of the latency tipping point.
If you've ever read Malcolm Gladwell's book, you know that tipping points are moments of massive transformation. During these moments, new ideas can come from anywhere, and they can have massive impact.
Visit our Network Services page to learn more about software-defined networking solutions.
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This site introduces you to our instant pricing approaches for you to promptly see the cost of the item selections you've chosen. Our on-line ordering program has very minimal hitches and you can quickly and rapidly spot your orders. At present, on the internet printing has caught the interest of a lot of persons. Printing processes have been transformed into a thing easier and quicker. Far more advanced printing equipment has been developed and the web has become the ultimate supply of the answers to diverse printing concerns.
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January 30, 2017 - No Comments!
At Nokia we had dedicated roles on design teams for people to focus solely on prototyping. I find it most rewarding to jump into the process myself and become a prototype for a day or two because it helps clarify a lot of design thinking early and quickly. When you're in the thick of crafting a new prototype you should have a process for moving though this stage of the design efficiently.


Find out more about the beautiful new seating, lighting and objet that have been added to the collection in the last couple of weeks. We found the set of eight English, William and Mary dining chairs with festive tartan upholstery in a Northamptonshire manor house and thought they'd be a great addition. One of our favourite pieces is the sweet French bar/drinks station, perfect for the party season! Our lamp obsession continues with some interesting styles to compliment our existing collection, especially the delicate modern marble shaded lamps which are achingly stylish. If you'd like any more information about any of the new stock items listed here, please don't hesitate to get in touch.


Start spreading the news: The Conservation Center is truly excited to announce a remarkable partnership with Crozier Fine Arts—New York's foremost fine and decorative arts storage and logistics company. Together, we have launched the Art Conservation Shuttle, fully connecting The Center's interdisciplinary conservators in one the nation's largest art conservation labs to our friends and growing client base on the East Coast. New York's art community can now enjoy museum-quality, art conservation services with an efficient turnaround timetable at competitive cost.
This shuttle is the first of its kind to offer collection and delivery of artwork throughout the New York Tri-State area to Chicago specifically for conservation. Our goal is to provide flawless art transport, from a single painting to an entire collection, and to carry out a customized treatment plan of the finest quality within a few short months depending on the scale of the project.
Crozier Fine Arts will consolidate shipments at their New Jersey logistics hub; this will guarantee an impeccable and cost effective transfer to and from locations. Additionally, transport fees have been minimized due to the biweekly, nonstop shuttle between New York and Chicago. The overall advantage is an efficient turnaround for clients at a competitive cost, not to mention the quality of the conservation and logistics is to the highest standards in the industry.
As logistics become more integrated, the Art Conservation Shuttle represents the future of art conservation, seamlessly connecting two of the most progressive metropolitan areas in the country and two of the most established art businesses for the first time.


Newry Garage Conversions: If you don't often use your garage for parking your car in, you might be able to make better use of it by turning it into a usable room with a garage conversion. If you are worried about planning applications, in most cases these are not even necessary. Think of the many uses that can be made of a spacious and cosy room rather than a cold cluttered storage space.
If you are not sure about the possible uses to which such a room could be put, you should contact your local garage conversion specialists, who will be happy to offer their guidance and advice. Perhaps you want to create a new family bathroom, gain an extra bedroom for the kids or simply extend you liveable home space. Whichever it is your local Newry garage conversion specialist will be able to turn your dream into a reality.
If the purpose of your garage conversion is to add value to your home for a possible sale, it might be a wise move. But if you live in an area where off-road-parking is in great demand, it might be an advantage to keep your garage for the purpose it was intended. If this is your intention then any respected Newry garage conversion company will offer the correct advice, that converting may not raise the value of your property.
An architect will be employed by your chosen Newry garage conversion specialist to help in drawing up plans and making sure that your garage has been constructed in a manner that is suitable for the proposed conversion. This is because some garages in Newry are not constructed using the same methods as residential buildings and must be adapted before work can begin. This can involve replacing footings and ensuring the roof and structure is watertight and strengthened to national standards for buildings in residential use.
Your Newry garage conversion firm will make sure they know about any applicable regulations though, leaving you to chill out while the work progresses.
Newry garage conversion specialists can generally help with garage rebuilding, garage facelifts, garage conversions for a home cinema, joinery, garage conversions for a granny flat, garage conversion for the disabled, garage conversion for a kitchen, conversion drawings, brickwork, carpentry, conversion advice, garage alterations, garage conversion for a gym, decorating and other garage related stuff in Newry, Northern Ireland.
Also find: Keady garage conversions, Poyntzpass garage conversions, Ballynaskeagh garage conversions, Tassagh garage conversions, Mountnorris garage conversions, Kilcoo garage conversions, Mayobridge garage conversions, Rathfrinland garage conversions, Cabra garage conversions, Scarva garage conversions, Hilltown garage conversions, Bessbrook garage conversions, Camlough garage conversions, Markethill garage conversions, Warrenpoint garage conversions, Banbridge garage conversions, Glenanne garage conversions and more.
More Northern Ireland garage conversion specialists: Newtownabbey, Craigavon, Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Newtownards, Derry, Castlereagh, Belfast, Newry, Ballymena, Bangor and Lisburn.


text:
"""Utility functions, node construction macros, etc."""
# Author: Collin Winter

# Local imports
from .pgen2 import token
from .pytree import Leaf, Node
from .pygram import python_symbols as syms
from . import patcomp

###########################################################
### Common node-construction "macros"
###########################################################

def KeywordArg(keyword, value):
    return Node(syms.argument,
                [keyword, Leaf(token.EQUAL, '='), value])

def LParen():
    return Leaf(token.LPAR, "(")

def RParen():
    return Leaf(token.RPAR, ")")

def Assign(target, source):
    """Build an assignment statement"""
    if not isinstance(target, list):
        target = [target]
    if not isinstance(source, list):
        source.set_prefix(" ")
        source = [source]

    return Node(syms.atom,
                target + [Leaf(token.EQUAL, "=", prefix=" ")] + source)

def Name(name, prefix=None):
    """Return a NAME leaf"""
    return Leaf(token.NAME, name, prefix=prefix)

def Attr(obj, attr):
    """A node tuple for obj.attr"""
    return [obj, Node(syms.trailer, [Dot(), attr])]

def Comma():
    """A comma leaf"""
    return Leaf(token.COMMA, ",")

def Dot():
    """A period (.) leaf"""
    return Leaf(token.DOT, ".")

def ArgList(args, lparen=LParen(), rparen=RParen()):
    """A parenthesised argument list, used by Call()"""
    node = Node(syms.trailer, [lparen.clone(), rparen.clone()])
    if args:
        node.insert_child(1, Node(syms.arglist, args))
    return node

def Call(func_name, args=None, prefix=None):
    """A function call"""
    node = Node(syms.power, [func_name, ArgList(args)])
    if prefix is not None:
        node.set_prefix(prefix)
    return node

def Newline():
    """A newline literal"""
    return Leaf(token.NEWLINE, "\n")

def BlankLine():
    """A blank line"""
    return Leaf(token.NEWLINE, "")

def Number(n, prefix=None):
    return Leaf(token.NUMBER, n, prefix=prefix)

def Subscript(index_node):
    """A numeric or string subscript"""
    return Node(syms.trailer, [Leaf(token.LBRACE, '['),
                               index_node,
                               Leaf(token.RBRACE, ']')])

def String(string, prefix=None):
    """A string leaf"""
    return Leaf(token.STRING, string, prefix=prefix)

def ListComp(xp, fp, it, test=None):
    """A list comprehension of the form [xp for fp in it if test].

    If test is None, the "if test" part is omitted.
    """
    xp.set_prefix("")
    fp.set_prefix(" ")
    it.set_prefix(" ")
    for_leaf = Leaf(token.NAME, "for")
    for_leaf.set_prefix(" ")
    in_leaf = Leaf(token.NAME, "in")
    in_leaf.set_prefix(" ")
    inner_args = [for_leaf, fp, in_leaf, it]
    if test:
        test.set_prefix(" ")
        if_leaf = Leaf(token.NAME, "if")
        if_leaf.set_prefix(" ")
        inner_args.append(Node(syms.comp_if, [if_leaf, test]))
    inner = Node(syms.listmaker, [xp, Node(syms.comp_for, inner_args)])
    return Node(syms.atom,
                       [Leaf(token.LBRACE, "["),
                        inner,
                        Leaf(token.RBRACE, "]")])

def FromImport(package_name, name_leafs):
    """ Return an import statement in the form:
        from package import name_leafs"""
    # XXX: May not handle dotted imports properly (eg, package_name='foo.bar')
    #assert package_name == '.' or '.' not in package_name, "FromImport has "\
    #       "not been tested with dotted package names -- use at your own "\
    #       "peril!"

    for leaf in name_leafs:
        # Pull the leaves out of their old tree
        leaf.remove()

    children = [Leaf(token.NAME, 'from'),
                Leaf(token.NAME, package_name, prefix=" "),
                Leaf(token.NAME, 'import', prefix=" "),
                Node(syms.import_as_names, name_leafs)]
    imp = Node(syms.import_from, children)
    return imp

###########################################################
### Determine whether a node represents a given literal
###########################################################

def is_tuple(node):
    """Does the node represent a tuple literal?"""
    if isinstance(node, Node) and node.children == [LParen(), RParen()]:
        return True
    return (isinstance(node, Node)
            and len(node.children) == 3
            and isinstance(node.children[0], Leaf)
            and isinstance(node.children[1], Node)
            and isinstance(node.children[2], Leaf)
            and node.children[0].value == "("
            and node.children[2].value == ")")

def is_list(node):
    """Does the node represent a list literal?"""
    return (isinstance(node, Node)
            and len(node.children) > 1
            and isinstance(node.children[0], Leaf)
            and isinstance(node.children[-1], Leaf)
            and node.children[0].value == "["
            and node.children[-1].value == "]")

###########################################################
### Common portability code. This allows fixers to do, eg,
###  "from .util import set" and forget about it.
###########################################################

try:
    any = any
except NameError:
    def any(l):
        for o in l:
            if o:
                return True
        return False

try:
    set = set
except NameError:
    from sets import Set as set

try:
    reversed = reversed
except NameError:
    def reversed(l):
        return l[::-1]

###########################################################
### Misc
###########################################################

consuming_calls = set(["sorted", "list", "set", "any", "all", "tuple", "sum",
                       "min", "max"])

def attr_chain(obj, attr):
    """Follow an attribute chain.

    If you have a chain of objects where a.foo -> b, b.foo-> c, etc,
    use this to iterate over all objects in the chain. Iteration is
    terminated by getattr(x, attr) is None.

    Args:
        obj: the starting object
        attr: the name of the chaining attribute

    Yields:
        Each successive object in the chain.
    """
    next = getattr(obj, attr)
    while next:
        yield next
        next = getattr(next, attr)

p0 = """for_stmt< 'for' any 'in' node=any ':' any* >
        | comp_for< 'for' any 'in' node=any any* >
     """
p1 = """
power<
    ( 'iter' | 'list' | 'tuple' | 'sorted' | 'set' | 'sum' |
      'any' | 'all' | (any* trailer< '.' 'join' >) )
    trailer< '(' node=any ')' >
    any*
>
"""
p2 = """
power<
    'sorted'
    trailer< '(' arglist<node=any any*> ')' >
    any*
>
"""
pats_built = False
def in_special_context(node):
    """ Returns true if node is in an environment where all that is required
        of it is being itterable (ie, it doesn't matter if it returns a list
        or an itterator).
        See test_map_nochange in test_fixers.py for some examples and tests.
        """
    global p0, p1, p2, pats_built
    if not pats_built:
        p1 = patcomp.compile_pattern(p1)
        p0 = patcomp.compile_pattern(p0)
        p2 = patcomp.compile_pattern(p2)
        pats_built = True
    patterns = [p0, p1, p2]
    for pattern, parent in zip(patterns, attr_chain(node, "parent")):
        results = {}
        if pattern.match(parent, results) and results["node"] is node:
            return True
    return False

###########################################################
### The following functions are to find bindings in a suite
###########################################################

def make_suite(node):
    if node.type == syms.suite:
        return node
    node = node.clone()
    parent, node.parent = node.parent, None
    suite = Node(syms.suite, [node])
    suite.parent = parent
    return suite

def does_tree_import(package, name, node):
    """ Returns true if name is imported from package at the
        top level of the tree which node belongs to.
        To cover the case of an import like 'import foo', use
        Null for the package and 'foo' for the name. """
    # Scamper up to the top level namespace
    while node.type != syms.file_input:
        assert node.parent, "Tree is insane! root found before "\
                           "file_input node was found."
        node = node.parent

    binding = find_binding(name, node, package)
    return bool(binding)

_def_syms = set([syms.classdef, syms.funcdef])
def find_binding(name, node, package=None):
    """ Returns the node which binds variable name, otherwise None.
        If optional argument package is supplied, only imports will
        be returned.
        See test cases for examples."""
    for child in node.children:
        ret = None
        if child.type == syms.for_stmt:
            if _find(name, child.children[1]):
                return child
            n = find_binding(name, make_suite(child.children[-1]), package)
            if n: ret = n
        elif child.type in (syms.if_stmt, syms.while_stmt):
            n = find_binding(name, make_suite(child.children[-1]), package)
            if n: ret = n
        elif child.type == syms.try_stmt:
            n = find_binding(name, make_suite(child.children[2]), package)
            if n:
                ret = n
            else:
                for i, kid in enumerate(child.children[3:]):
                    if kid.type == token.COLON and kid.value == ":":
                        # i+3 is the colon, i+4 is the suite
                        n = find_binding(name, make_suite(child.children[i+4]), package)
                        if n: ret = n
        elif child.type in _def_syms and child.children[1].value == name:
            ret = child
        elif _is_import_binding(child, name, package):
            ret = child
        elif child.type == syms.simple_stmt:
            ret = find_binding(name, child, package)
        elif child.type == syms.expr_stmt:
            if _find(name, child.children[0]):
                ret = child

        if ret:
            if not package:
                return ret
            if ret.type in (syms.import_name, syms.import_from):
                return ret
    return None

_block_syms = set([syms.funcdef, syms.classdef, syms.trailer])
def _find(name, node):
    nodes = [node]
    while nodes:
        node = nodes.pop()
        if node.type > 256 and node.type not in _block_syms:
            nodes.extend(node.children)
        elif node.type == token.NAME and node.value == name:
            return node
    return None

def _is_import_binding(node, name, package=None):
    """ Will reuturn node if node will import name, or node
        will import * from package.  None is returned otherwise.
        See test cases for examples. """

    if node.type == syms.import_name and not package:
        imp = node.children[1]
        if imp.type == syms.dotted_as_names:
            for child in imp.children:
                if child.type == syms.dotted_as_name:
                    if child.children[2].value == name:
                        return node
                elif child.type == token.NAME and child.value == name:
                    return node
        elif imp.type == syms.dotted_as_name:
            last = imp.children[-1]
            if last.type == token.NAME and last.value == name:
                return node
        elif imp.type == token.NAME and imp.value == name:
            return node
    elif node.type == syms.import_from:
        # unicode(...) is used to make life easier here, because
        # from a.b import parses to ['import', ['a', '.', 'b'], ...]
        if package and unicode(node.children[1]).strip() != package:
            return None
        n = node.children[3]
        if package and _find('as', n):
            # See test_from_import_as for explanation
            return None
        elif n.type == syms.import_as_names and _find(name, n):
            return node
        elif n.type == syms.import_as_name:
            child = n.children[2]
            if child.type == token.NAME and child.value == name:
                return node
        elif n.type == token.NAME and n.value == name:
            return node
        elif package and n.type == token.STAR:
            return node
    return None

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


HURRICANE KATRINA…A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH… RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD…AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATEADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS…PETS…AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
At 6:10am, on August 29, 2005, the eye of hurricane Katrina had made it's first northern Gulf Coast landfall along the southeastern tip of Louisiana. It would then make a second landfall along the Mississippi Gulf Coast a few hours later, as it tracked north. There were actually 3 landfalls in the US with Katrina, with the first happening in southeast Florida, as the storm was just starting to get organized. Hurricane Katrina was a monster as it tracked across the gulf. The setup was perfect for this wild storm, due to extremely warm gulf water temperatures, no wind shear, no nearby dry air and general rising motion in the tropics.
The storm tracked around a ridge of high pressure, located from Bermuda to Georgia. There was a weakness in the ridge over the northern Gulf Coast, which caused the storm to turn north and impact our area, as well as the surrounding states.
What made Katrina such a mess for so many was her size. Katrina was an enormous storm… Small hurricanes typically die out quickly at landfall and the core of the strong winds and surge only affect a small area. With Katrina's enormous size, the storm took a long time to weaken over land and the damaging winds and surge extended well out from the center. There was a storm surge in Gulf Shores similar to the one with Hurricane Ivan. Katrina made landfall over 100 miles away from Gulf Shores! The damaging winds extended hundreds of miles inland, which caused major issues, even across Alabama.
Below is a great article from the National Weather Service in Birmingham, which includes the local impacts from Katrina in west and central Alabama. Check it out!
Hurricane Katrina formed near Long Island in the Bahamas on the afternoon of August 23rd, 2005. Katrina reached hurricane strength just before making landfall north of Miami, Florida on the evening on August 25th, 2005. Katrina produced 10 to 20 inches of rain, flooding, tornadoes, and injuries across far southern Florida.
Katrina moved southwestward across the extreme southern tip of Florida and into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Katrina reached category five in the central Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds around 175 mph. This occurred on Sunday August 28th, 2005. Katrina then turned on a northward path.
Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast early Monday morning August 29th, 2005 as a large category four hurricane. Sustained winds were around 145 mph in Southeast Louisiana. Katrina continued northward, affecting areas from near New Orleans, Louisiana to near Mobile, Alabama. Devastating damage occurred along the Gulf Coast. Katrina will most likely go down as one of the worst natural disasters in United States history.
Katrina weakened to a tropical storm Monday evening August 29th, 2005 northwest of Meridian, Mississippi. Katrina continued to move northward across far eastern Mississippi overnight, then into Tennessee Tuesday morning. Katrina finally lost its tropical characteristics as it merged with a cold front over northern Pennsylvania on August 31st, 2005.
Katrina produced local effects that were widespread across Central Alabama. Numerous trees and power lines were downed, minor to major structural damage occurred, and power outages were widespread. Many locations remained without power for a week or more. Storm damage effects across parts of West Central Alabama were worse than what was sustained during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Four tornadoes occurred across Central Alabama, two F0s and two F1s. Here is the information on those tornadoes.
Storm total rain amounts of 1 inch or less were measured in the northeast and east central portions of Central Alabama. This was due to dry air wrapping into the circulation Katrina and diminishing the rain area. Rain totals of 1 to 2 inches were common over the southeast sections. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches occurred over much of West Alabama, west of interstate 65. Some locations received 5 to 6 inch amounts in the northwest sections, specifically in Lamar and Marion Counties.
The highest sustained winds from Katrina ranged from 25 mph along the Georgia state line to around 65 mph along the Mississippi state line. Peak wind gusts generally ranged from around 35 mph to near 80 mph, with the highest gusts occurring across West Central Alabama and in the highest elevations.
Here are some peak wind gusts and storm total rainfall amounts associated with Hurricane Katrina.


text:
package com.example.profbola.bakingtime.utils;

import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentManager;
import android.support.v4.app.FragmentPagerAdapter;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * Created by prof.BOLA on 7/2/2017.
 */

public class RecipePagerAdapter extends FragmentPagerAdapter {

    private final List<Fragment> mFragmentList = new ArrayList<>();
    private final List<String> mFragmentTitleList = new ArrayList<>();

    public RecipePagerAdapter(FragmentManager fm) {
        super(fm);
    }

    @Override
    public Fragment getItem(int position) {
        return mFragmentList.get(position);
    }

    @Override
    public int getCount() {
        return mFragmentList.size();
    }

    @Override
    public CharSequence getPageTitle(int position) {
        return mFragmentTitleList.get(position);
    }

    public void addFragment(Fragment fragment, String title) {
        mFragmentList.add(fragment);
        mFragmentTitleList.add(title);
        notifyDataSetChanged();
    }
}


text:
The General Directorate of Political and Social Investigations (Spanish: Dirección General de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociales, DGIPS), was one of the two main domestic intelligence and security service of the United Mexican States. Created in 1918 as Sección Primera, under President Venustiano Carranza's administration, it reported directly to the office of the president. After the consolidation of the post-revolutionary Mexican political structure, and the rise of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Spanish: Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI), its jurisdiction changed to that of the Mexican Secretariat of the Interior (Secretaria de Gobernación). In 1985, following a political crisis involving the death DEA agent (Enrique Camarena Salazar), the DGIPS was combined with its sister agency, the Federal Security Directorate (Spanish: Dirección Federal de Seguridad, DFS), creating the Center for Research and National Security (Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional, CISEN) which is active to this day.

Created during the years of the Mexican Revolution, its function, structure and scope of research changed over the years. Alongside the DFS, during the period from 1968 to the late 1970s, the DGIPS was accused of illegal detentions, torture, assassinations and forced disappearances. At least 347 complaints were received by the United Nations related to Mexican State crimes from 1960 to 1980.

Background
Intelligence services have always existed in Mexican history. During the pre-Columbian times, the Mexicas (aztecs) used "pochtecas" as political informants of the neighboring nations. These individuals would pretend to be merchants or merchant assistants, and travel to different areas to try and gather information on the number of warriors, changes in leadership or weather conditions. By the colonial times, the viceroyalty used the Inquisition and its network of informants as an informal form of rudimentary intelligence gathering service. Political and family alliances during the early years of the new Mexican nation were used as spies around the country. During the thirty year government of Porfirio Díaz (known as Porfiriato), infiltration into dissident political movements was common placed and it worked as a reliable intelligence service. The intelligence service active during the Porfiriato was disrupted by the eruption of new social and political conditions, derived from the ongoing revolutionary war. By 1914, most of the old government structure had been eliminated and replaced by a new, "revolutionary" equivalent, including the intelligence agencies.

History

Mexican Revolution
After the defeat and exile of the ousted Mexican President, Victoriano Huerta, the different factions that fought in the Mexican Revolution gather in 1914 at what was called the Convention of Aguascalientes, in an attempt of creating a uniform political movement to govern the country. Yet, due to ideological differences, the Carranza delegation never arrived nor sent a representative, leaving the Zapata and Pancho Villa delegations in charge. Carranza refused to acknowledge the decisions taken at the Convention and faction wars broke up again. In 1916 he called for a Constituent Congress, which drafts the 1917 Mexican Constitution. Since the faction war was still active, Carranza created the Sección Primera as an intelligence agency in charge of investigating both the political enemies as well as allies. The agency started with twenty agents, all of them with a background in the police.

By 1929, after a series of rebellions, changes in political alliances and assassinations of mayor figures (the last one being the one of President elect Alvaro Obregón), the Sección Primera was reformed into the Departamento Confidencial. Its main focus of research changed from closed allies and enemies, to that of the whole political structure which included deputies, senators, governors and possible candidates. This coincides with the creation of the National Revolutionary Party (the predecessor of the current PRI) and the unification of the different political factions into one national program.

World War II
Following the political restructuration, economic reforms and industries nationalization that occurred during the Lazaro Cardenas' administration, the DC was reformed again into the Oficina de Información Política. The focus of the intelligence services switch from threats from within the government to external rebellions, which came from conservative and religious factions, the first one from the urban areas and the latter from the rural areas of the county. As the European conflict escalated, the agency was reformed one more time, into the Departamento de Investigación Política y Social.

The DIPS was formed during the context of World War II, as an attempt to protect the national interest from those of the different international factions. The process of professionalization, which started in 1918, started to consolidate, with the security agency becoming more secretive and precise. The practice of infiltration within social and political movements started to grow as a standard practice. It's also a period of politicization within the DIPS, becoming more of a political tool for the PRI government than a police agency.

Cold War & Dirty War
During the times of the DIPS, the relationships between the Mexican and American intelligence agencies started working closely, with the U.S. "Hemispherical Defense" strategy being the guideline of the national security policy. This was a legacy of WWII and of the post-war escalation into the Cold War. After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, and a growing regional tension in Latin-American, this strategy was change to that of defense against "internal subversion". The threat no longer was the USSR invading the continent, but local dissidents overthrowing their respective governments and creating socialist countries. This change in strategy was visible in the shift of focus of the intelligence services in México, moving from external and conservative threats to left-wing politics, independent unions, peasant collectives and students movements.

The Camarena Incident and the reformation of the intelligence agencies
By the early eighties, the Mexican intelligence service, as well as the security services in general, had suffered a mayor backlash, product of the social mobilizations that demanded the appearance of disappeared people, as well as the liberation of political prisoners. By that time, the political and social environment had changed, and calls for reform were being heard. Still, the security and intelligence services hadn't adapted to the new times. During this time, since the counter guerilla activity had been on a considerable decline, most of the DGIPS and DFS agents got involved in the drug trafficking business.

In 1984, acting on information from Camarena, 450 Mexican soldiers backed by helicopters destroyed a 2,500 acres marijuana plantation with an estimated annual production of $8 billion known as "Rancho Búfalo". Camarena, who had been identified as the source of the leak, was abducted in broad daylight on February 7, 1985, by police officers working for drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. Camarena was tortured at Gallardo's ranch over a 30-hour period, then murdered. His body was found in a rural area outside the small town of La Angostura, in the state of Michoacán, on March 5, 1985.

Camarena's torture and murder triggered a rapid reaction from the DEA and launched the 'Operation Legend', the DEA's largest investigation. A special unit was sent to coordinate the investigation in Mexico. Investigators soon identified Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo and his two closest collaborators: Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo and Rafael Caro Quintero, as the main suspects in the kidnapping. Under enormous pressure from the United States on the government of Mexico's President Miguel de la Madrid (1982-1988), Fonseca and Quintero were quickly arrested.

As a direct result of the Camarena Incident, the Mexican government was forced to admit the inefficiency of their intelligence service since both the DGIPS and the DFS, as well as police officers and military agents, were involved in the kidnapping. In order to avoid a bigger escalation of the crisis, both the DGIPS and the DFS were officially dissolved in 1985 and its remnants combined into one organization, the General Directorate of Investigation and National Security (Dirección General de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional, DGISN), which was renamed Center of Investigation and National Security (Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional, CISEN) in 1989. By that time, most of what was considered as a "bad element" in the previous agencies had been purged and the main focus of the new organization was rooted in the new political and social environment: rule of law. Most of the previous elements of the DGIPS and DFS, haven been trained in counterinsurgency strategies and intelligence gathering, defected and started working with the drug cartels.

DIPS & DGIPS Directors
As part of the consolidation process of the Mexican Revolution, little political power was given to the military. This was done in order to avoid generals or captains having a strong influence on the government structure, which might lead to the destabilization of political system. As so, the directors and top members of the DGIPS were mostly from a civilian background, with the exception of Capt. Alfonso Castro de la Mora. This was in sharp contrast with the DFS, whose directors mostly came from the military sector.
 Alfonso García González (1942)
 José Lelo de Larrea (1943)
 Capt. Alfonso Castro de la Mora (1943)
 Lamberto Ortega Peregrina (1950)
 Alejandro Romero Ortega (1952)
 Raúl Lince Medellín (1958)
 Rafael Hernández Ochoa (1964)
 Manuel Ibarra Herrera (1966)
 Jorge A. Vázquez Robles (1975)
 Óscar de Lassé (1982 - 1985)

See also

 Dirección Federal de Seguridad
 Dirty War (Mexico)
 Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre
 Party of the Poor (Mexico)

References

Defunct law enforcement agencies of Mexico
1918 establishments in Mexico
1967 establishments in Mexico


The Hull Pixelbot is a small robot that was born in Hull. It carries pixels, so it is a pixelbot. It is designed to be simple to build, fun to play with and, above all, cheap to make. The chassis is made from 3D printed parts and the electronics and motors needed to get a robot up and running can be purchased for less than 10 pounds.
You can use it anywhere you need a tiny, mobile, pixel. It's a great way to explore programing and robotics. If you want to take fun photographs you can use it to spice up the lighting in them (the pixels can be very bright) or take long exposure photographs and make snazzy light trails.
We've got people trying to make a robot that will seek out the lightest part of a room, others trying to map out an area and some just getting together for the fun of building something. It is a great way to get started working with electronics, computing and robotics.
For techie details you can find an overview of the Hull Pixelbot design in the documentation folder which you can find here.
You can follow @hullpixelbot for pixelbot news.