Remember him? At least our dear German readers will: From the 1970s to the early 2000s he came to our living room before every newsreel. As the insurance representative of the nation, he embodied trust, closeness and fairness. Whether property, casualty or motor vehicle insurance, Günther Kaiser knew what was going on. He was the most famous advertising face in Germany. Thanks to the large comparison portals, he is now retired.
Today's digital economy provides for considerable market transparency, and the increasing presence of online insurance aggregators drives the market into a permanent price comparison. This makes it necessary to be able to react quickly and adapt to one's own tariffs. Technology disruptors, external data providers and the Internet of Things, as well as wearables and telematics services, also give insurance companies the opportunity to develop new innovative pricing models. This includes dynamic pricing, better risk assessment, and the right discount depending on willingness to pay, willingness to buy or probability of migration. And finally: More sophisticated consumers are now open to new value propositions based on new variables (individual mobility patterns, limited and individually adjustable coverage) and requiring dynamic price structures.
"We need to stay relevant and competitive, so we need more insightful pricing models."
"We must protect our customer base."
In other words, insurers need new pricing skills to improve the accuracy of technical pricing. They want better optimisation techniques for premium adjustments in order to achieve the maximum profit from existing portfolios. And they need real-time pricing capabilities to implement underwriting engines for agile tariff deployment.
Faster development of tariff models through an agile methodology, including machine learning techniques.
Faster delivery of tariffs in production with the option to embed complex price optimisation models in real time, along with a model governance solution.
Access to powerful simulation capabilities.
Is this all just theory? Absolutely not, as the example of the Spanish insurance company Caser Seguros shows. Caser Seguros offers a wide range of products for home, car, health, life, etc. Its most important challenge was the impact on sales and earnings from slow pricing and underwriting processes. And, of course, despite price wars between insurance companies and an economic downturn, it was important to win and retain customers. With the help of SAS, the insurer succeeded in improving customer loyalty by 50 percent in important customer segments despite the economic situation. Portfolio premiums were improved by optimising premium adjustments and the underwriting process. Caser Seguros can analyse market trends, evaluate competitors' prices and products, and make pricing and underwriting decisions in real time. All in all, this means faster adaptation to market conditions.
Now that Mr Kaiser is retired, the focus is on competitive tariffs, optimised portfolios and real-time pricing. What if insurance companies could fully exploit the potential of modern machine learning algorithms and increase maturity levels with standard software? With better methods, more accurate risk assessment and "sharper" tariffs can be achieved, which would increase margins. What if actuaries could provide robust, efficient and repeatable processes using a standardised and unified platform? They could significantly increase their throughput and make better use of their resources. And what if insurance companies could use a flexible real-time engine to quickly deliver rates that give actuaries more control? They would be more agile and could update tariffs daily on the market. And that's what we should talk about!
What if insurance companies could use a flexible real-time engine to quickly deliver rates that give actuaries more control? They would be more agile and could update tariffs daily on the market Click To Tweet.
Mr Kaiser, you have earned your retirement!


He's not alone. Farage has withdrawn his claim that we would have an extra £350m a week to spend on the NHS, so he didn't expect to win. Boris didn't either as he wants to wait until 2020 to start the process of leaving. Cameron didn't expect to lose as there would have been no referendum but for him.
And the Kippers were getting their excuses in early with the fantasy that the spooks would tamper with all ballot papers filled in by pencil.
It has all the signs of a mass protest vote that went wrong.


Channel your inner boss and be the queen you are. There's no need to think like a man to dominate the game when you are flawlessly amazing. Even on your low energy days, run your empire in style and comfort.


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Dave Bakke: Pawnee women appear flawless in Internet ads
Dave Bakke
According to the ads on the Internet, the women who live in Pawnee have exceptionally white teeth, make a ton of money from home and lose weight faster and easier than you and me. The only problem is that none of these women actually, you know, exist.
According to the ads on the Internet, the women who live in Pawnee have exceptionally white teeth, make a ton of money from home and lose weight faster and easier than you and me.
The only problem is that none of these women actually, you know, exist.
That would include "Kelly Richards" in Pawnee who says in her Internet testimonial for some sort of get-rich-quick scheme, "I actually make $5,000-$7,000 a month from home."
There is also "Becky Thompson, an ordinary mom from Pawnee" who "discovered a clever trick to get a celebrity smile for less than $3." Oddly enough, in the next Internet ad, "Amy," a "Pawnee school teacher and full-time mother" also "discovered a clever trick to get a celebrity smile for less than $3." Amazing!
There must be something in the water in Pawnee.
I put on my investigative reporter hat and went to The Style Connection beauty parlor to meet an actual Pawnee woman.
"If we were all rich, would I be down here taking down my own curtains?" asked owner Stacey Thornton, as she took down her curtains in the shop so they could be cleaned.
She examined the ads and said none of these "Pawnee women" looked familiar. What a surprise.
When we click on certain Web pages, the page reads our IP address and adjusts its advertisements to show a local person, usually a woman, from wherever we are. Up here in the State Journal-Register newsroom, it's always Pawnee, which is about 19 miles south of Springfield.
It's called geo targeting. Software determines the location of the person clicking on the Web page, then delivers different content depending on that person's location. If the same Web page advertisement is called up from a computer in Pennsylvania, the person on the keyboard could be seeing these very same women doing the very same wonderful things — except they will be from Allentown or Schenectady.
But on my computer, it is always Pawnee women whitening their teeth and making a fortune at home. Not Virden women. Not Ashland. Not Elkhart.
Examining the ads at the Snelling-Chevalier Real Estate office in Pawnee, Bobbi Chevalier and her mother-in-law, Gail Chevalier-Zini, and Kathy Baker-Bowen found them "hilarious" and "bizarre." Of course, they have never heard of any of these women who are purportedly from Pawnee.
But even if the women don't exist, this is great publicity for Pawnee. According to the Internet, Pawnee's women are all thin, have great-looking teeth and are wealthy.
"The bars (here) will love it," says Bobbie Chevalier. "We might have a lot more truck drivers coming to town."
Pawnee women overcome life's obstacles, too. The fictional "Becky Thompson" says in her ad that "I smoked for eight years, drank two cups of coffee a day (only way to stay awake at work), and loved a glass of red wine to help me sleep at night.
Furthermore, I would be lying if I said that I brushed my teeth 3 times a day every day."
She has a boring job, can't get to sleep at night without alcohol and has poor dental hygiene. Yet, says good old Becky from (ahem) Pawnee, "I'm an optimist and always look for the silver lining in any situation."
You have to love that, too, about the women in Pawnee where (with apologies to Garrison Keillor) all the men are strong, the women good-looking and their children are above average.
State Journal-Register columnist Dave Bakke can be reached at (217) 788-1541 or dave.bakke@sj-r.com. This column is the opinion of the writer and not of the newspaper.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I attended a fascinating class, given by Dr Emily Yu Zong, on 'Racial Melancholia'. The class was part of a humanities course on 'Happiness' at Xiamen University and the students were attentive and engaged. The content explored distinctions between 'grief' and 'melancholia', racial stereotypes (for example, of Asians in the USA) and how they impact – for better or worse – on individual aspirations. Dr Xiaofei Liu, a philosopher, is director of a 'Lab of Philosophy and Virtual Reality'. He introduced the lab's potential in ethics education. I was also shown around the large simulation suite on the new university campus.
Xiamen (pronounced Schamin) is on the southeast of Fuijan Province and at the estuary of the Jiulong River. Taiwan Island is just across the Taiwan Strait from Xiamen city. The city island of Xiamen is considered one of the most beautiful in China with an impressive mix of older buildings and ultra-modern architecture, bordered by a sandy coastline. A 20 minute boat ride away is Gulangyu (Kulangsu) Island which is known as the 'Garden on the Sea' and also as the 'Island of Music' due to its many past and present musicians.
Xiamen University was founded by Tan Kah Kee in 1921 and was the first university set up by an overseas Chinese leader. It has approximately 40,000 students and 2500 full-time teachers and researchers. The main campus is impressive with grand buildings, a lake and many services for students and staff. It has been described as China's most beautiful university.
It is no surprise, then, that both the islands of Xiamen and the university campus are popular tourist attractions. At the end of each day and every weekend, many people queue to enter the campus, visiting the museums and taking photographs beside the monuments (see http://en.xmu.edu.cn/ ).
The couple in the photo was particularly welcoming with 'Mrs Li' saying, through the interpreter, that this was the first time she had met a 'foreigner'. She asked me for a hug and I was happy to oblige. As I was leaving she said I should give their best wishes to my parents.
The circumstances of two other couples we visited were less happy with one partner having experienced a severe stroke and needing all care.
One of the teaching sessions I led this week, revealed a lot of common ground between student and staff perceptions of dignity in care in China and in the UK, for example, the importance of not exposing patients, respecting confidentiality, offering choice and obtaining informed consent. Differences arise in relation to care and medical decision-making, with family decision-making prioritised in China.
Some of the conversations I have had this week point to another perceived difference between China and the UK. In Confucian philosophy 'filial piety' is a virtue of respect for parents, elders and ancestors.
Some people here talked to me of the important role grandparents play in caring for grandchildren, others described coming home from abroad to care for elderly parents and still others talked of a change in Chinese culture whereby middle-aged people neither welcomed responsibilities to give or receive family care. An academic told me, that amongst older Chinese people filial piety was an expectation and to be admitted to an elder care facility would be considered 'a disgrace'.
Should adult children be made responsible for the care of their elderly parents?
If not, who is responsible? (i) The individual themselves, making plans in their younger years for elder care? (ii) Governments, providing care for all or only for those who have limited resources? (iii) Or fellow citizens, charities and churches?
Should grandparents be expected to care for grandchildren?
This week there is a three day holiday in China and I will continue with visits and interviews after the break.


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Q: Text display issues - certain applications only show a and _ I'm using a Debian 8 with testing repositories and i3wm. Quite a while ago some applications (vlc, ownCloud client, qbittorrent, teamspeak3) started to only display 'a's and underscores as dialog and menu text. Seems like all this application are using wxWidget.
I've already tried unloading the intel video driver as suggested in some archlinux forum, but without success.

My problem is, that I'm completely lost with this. I don't have any starting point or idea what can causes this.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Trump's "WMD" Scandal? Was the Charge of "Imminent" Soleimani Attack Just Made Up?
The "intelligence" on which Trump and Esper and secretary of state Mike Pompeo made their decision to off Soleimani was likely raw and cherry-picked.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo(R) listens as US President Donald Trump speaks about the situation with Iran in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, D.C., January 8, 2020. (Photo: Eric Baradat / AFP via Getty Images)
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Trump administration's claims that it assassinated Gen. Qasem Soleimani because he posed an imminent threat to American lives and was coming to Baghdad to launch an immediate attack the US embassy there have fallen apart. Commentators are suggesting that the "imminent threat" argument is the equivalent for the Trump administration of the "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD) claim of the Bush administration in the run-up to the Iraq War.
Trump himself and figures in his administration such as secretary of defense Mark Esper have repeatedly failed to provide any evidence of the imminence of any threat.
It is easy to demonize Soleimani in the US, since he certainly was an enemy of US interests in the Middle East for much of his career. But he does not appear to have killed or had killed any Americans at all in the past decade, and from 2015 because of the UN Security Council nuclear deal with Iran, Soleimani was not an adversary of the US in recent years. In fact, he was often a de facto ally and the US Air Force gave him air support at Tikrit and elsewhere in the campaign against ISIL (ISIS, Daesh). In fact, for a while there Soleimani was fighting ISIL and al-Qaeda-linked militias in Syria in tacit alliance with the Kurds supported by the United States at a time when Israel allied with an al-Qaeda affiliate in the Golan Heights.
Moreover, the entire narrative of the Trump administration was undermined by Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdelmahdi, who told Parliament on Jan. 5 when he asked its members to kick out the US military, that he had personally invited Soleimani to Baghdad as part of a back-channel set of negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran aimed at cooling down tensions between the two. Soleimani did not sneak into Iraq on a covert mission. He flew on a commercial jet and went through passport control with his diplomatic passport.
While an attempt was made to invade the US embassy on the Wednesday before Soleimani's arrival, that was done by members of the Iraqi militia, the Kata'ib Hizbullah, who were angry that on December 30, the Trump administration bombed its bases in northern Iraq and killed some two dozen of its fighters. Trump blamed Kata'ib Hizbullah for a rocket attack on a base at Kirkuk that killed an American contractor. It is murky in open, unclassified sources whether Kata'ib Hizbullah actually fired those rockets. Nor is there any evidence in open sources that Soleimani ordered the Iraqi militia to so act. US intelligence may have signals intelligence to that effect, but since Soleimani is dead, they should share that at least with the Gang of Eight in Congress if they have it. For all we know, a foreign government hostile to the Iraqi Shiite militias and to Iran passed this allegation over to Trump as a false flag to manipulate him, and he swallowed the bait. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Israelis would all have a motivation to behave this way and their close military and intelligence ties with Washington would make them credible if they wanted to run such a scam on the naive and gullible Trump.
Suspicions were raised when Trump refused to come beforehand to Congress for authorization to take dramatic action against Iran, an action that could easily have sparked a war. The "gang of eight" in Congress who are usually informed of such momentous plans. They would have included majority leader Mitch McConnell and minority leader Chuck Schumer in the Senate, majority leader Nancy Pelois and minority leader Kevin McCarthy in the House of Representatives, and the ranking and minority leaders of the Intelligence committees of the Senate and the House. Was it because the "intelligence" was so "razor thin" (as one leak put it) that no one would have bought it?
Then, as The Week pointed out, the New York Times reported that while CIA director Gina Haspel had not taken a policy position on killing Soleimani, she had assessed for the administration that removing him would improve US security while not incurring unbearable risks of reprisals from a weak Iran. Haspel had supported the torture of al-Qaeda prisoners and is known for being ruthless, so you'd expect an assessment like that from her. It isn't, however, an argument that Soleimani posed an imminent threat, just that he was an able adversary whose removal from the board would benefit the US side in its attempt to strangle Iran.
Then there was the fiasco of the post-operation briefing of Congress by the Trump Pentagon on the killing of Soleimani, which actually enraged Republican Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who says he supports president Trump.
Lee called the briefing the worst he had seen in nine years in Congress and said it was "insulting" and "demeaning." He and his colleagues were given no significant intelligence and were just told to salute and go along. He accused the executive of acting like a king and disregarding the prerogative of Congress to declare war.
Yesterday, Sunday, Rep. Justin Amash (I-Michigan), a Republican until Trumpism forced him out of the party, tweeted that "The administration didn't present evidence to Congress regarding even one embassy. The four embassies claim seems to be totally made up. And they have never presented evidence of imminence—a necessary condition to act without congressional approval—with respect to any of this."
Amash was reacting to an interview given on Sunday by Secretary Esper in which he admitted that he had not seen specific intelligence showing that Soleimani was imminently going to attack four US embassies. This admission contradicted what Trump had just alleged, since Esper wold certainly have seen the intelligence underpinning Trump's allegation if it existed (which it obviously does not).
One of the ways the Bush administration pushed the supposed WMD threat from Iraq was that the third man in the Pentagon at the time, Doug Feith, set up and headed an ad hoc committee inside the Pentagon, the Office of Special Plans. Its task was to comb through raw intelligence and cherry-pick it for evidence of Iraqi nuclear, biological or chemical weapons programs. Feith even had people brief Congress off of these cherry-picked reports, undermining the CIA, in a way that was by statute actually illegal.
All kinds of wild reports come into the US government, including UFO sightings. These are "raw intelligence" and are worthless in and of themselves. The people making the allegations might be drunks, or unbalanced, or working for a foreign government or for a set of conspirators. (Feith picked up raw "intelligence" from all four of these sorts of sources).
Only once highly trained, seasoned analysts comb through the raw intelligence and weed out what seems wacky or unfounded or uncorroborated do you start actually to have what you might call an intelligence assessment.
I think it is highly likely that the "intelligence" on which Trump and Esper and secretary of state Mike Pompeo made their decision to off Soleimani was raw and cherry-picked, the product of the Trump equivalent of the Office of Special Plans.
It appears that Soleimani was actually coming to Iraq on a mission of negotiating less conflict with Saudi Arabia.
Juan Cole teaches Middle Eastern and South Asian history at the University of Michigan. His new book, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation Is Changing the Middle East (Simon and Schuster), will officially be published July 1st. He is also the author of Engaging the Muslim World and Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East (both Palgrave Macmillan). He has appeared widely on television, radio and on op-ed pages as a commentator on Middle East affairs, and has a regular column at Salon.com. He has written, edited, or translated 14 books and has authored 60 journal articles. His weblog on the contemporary Middle East is Informed Comment.
© 2019 Juan Cole
Donald Trump, Qasem Soleimani, Iran


We asked our current students and recent graduates to tell us why they chose the Solstice MFA Program, what their experience has been like thus far, and what they hope to do upon graduating. Here are some of their responses; we are so pleased to have such a diverse and engaging group of writers in our program!
I chose Solstice because the low-residency setup matched my ideals —I assumed that if I couldn't get a writing degree while maintaining an active "real life," I wouldn't be able to continue writing once I was out of school. I've never been a traditional classroom junkie, so the bootcamp stint of on-campus classes combined with the intensive one-on-one work with brilliant mentors was perfect for me.
My first big goal post-graduation was to get a teaching job, which I did! I teach college level writing full time at Elmira College, and I've recently become affiliated with the Women's Studies Program on campus.
I spent a year or so researching low residency programs and after narrowing the list to a handful, Solstice most fit the sort of writing environment I was looking for—diverse, challenging, and intimate. From application to acceptance phone call, the staff/administrators made me feel as though my educational needs were important.
The diversity of the faculty's work alone has sparked new interests in me, and participating in writing seminars and workshops across genres has been encouraging and thought provoking. These experiences have caused me to try new writing techniques and speak more freely about what I am trying to accomplish in my work.
I sought a place where perspectives stemming from cultural diversity are valued; where all voices are important, not just philosophically but also in day-to-day interactions. I wanted a less traditional program, one where the faculty facilitate student learning, and publishing is subordinate to craft. This program was a perfect match for me!
First and foremost, I will continue applying my learning to my own creative work. Secondly, as a teacher, I will continue to reassess my mentoring relationships with my students in both distance-learning and traditional classroom environments, and apply what I've discovered through my own experiences as a student to further guide them. I anticipate teaching more courses on craft and creativity, and I will continue to broaden and deepen my fellowship with other creative writers.
I chose Solstice for three reasons: (1) Solstice is one of the few MFA Programs that not only offers a concentration in Writing for Children and Young People, but also strongly supports and respects writers in that genre (2) The Low Residency option fit into my schedule, allowing me to both pursue my MFA and continue to work (3) The personal phone call and warm welcome from Program Director Meg Kearney made me feel like Solstice was a program where I could build a network of not only fellow writers, but also friends —and I was right.
Since graduation, I have been pursuing a screenwriting career, have signed a contract for my first feature film, have written a few short films, have had my TV spec scripts recognized at film festivals, and have had my novel recognized in a YA Novel Discovery Contest.
I chose the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program because [the program] emphasizes the commitment to personal and professional writing growth through collaborative relationships with peers. The goal at Solstice is not only to refine your own writing, but also to compassionately and intelligently improve your peer's writing, too. This program is the perfect one for someone looking to develop their work —not by climbing over the backs of others —but by working constructively with them.
Since graduation, I have furthered and refined processes and practices I learned during my MFA. These include continuous analysis and examination of great writing, critiquing my friends' work, committing to regular quality writing time, and finding a sequential writing process that works for me.
I audited a class at the winter 2010 residency and then immediately applied to the program; I started in July, 2010. I left my first residency inspired and ready to write and read up a storm, and I feel encouraged by my peers in the program and my mentor.
As a boarding school teacher, it is necessary for me to carve time for my writing out of my busy life. The Solstice MFA Program is putting me to the test of discovering whether or not I can really do this, and so far, I'm doing it!
The Solstice program fit everything I needed in a writing program: a diverse student body and faculty, an intimate community, and a challenging learning environment. I am learning patience, which is something that has typically been in short supply in terms of my writing life, and I'm finding that I read with more intent. I focus on things like sentence structure, word choice, white space. Sure, there were books or essays before that caused me to read more closely, but I do that now with everything!
I spent almost two years looking at MFA programs. I knew that I wanted to enroll in a low-residency program, but finding the right fit wasn't so easy. It was important to me to find a program with excellent faculty but that didn't suffer from "superstar syndrome"— I'm a bit of an introvert, and I was concerned that if I enrolled in a program that was too big, both my writing and my confidence would suffer.
The theme of my first Solstice residency was creative risk. The Solstice Program provides a supportive environment for taking those creative leaps that can often seem so intimidating. One of the most valuable skills I've learned at Solstice is revision — that it's not just editing, it is a process that can be approached methodically, and most important, that it's not as frightening as I thought it was. Learning to approach a poem I've already written in a new way — to re-vision it, if you will —really opened up my writing in ways I hadn't ever expected.
I chose Solstice fora variety of reasons. First, I wanted to pursue an MFA in a convenient and affordable way. Two, I wanted to inhale craft lessons from writers I respected and could relate to. And three, after years spent as afreelance writer, employed reporter andaspiring novelist, I wanted todevelop my skills for future creative endeavors. I've always known what direction I wanted to head in, but Solstice gave me the necessaryacumen and assuranceto travel forward in a more effective way.
Since I graduated from the program, I've had various items publishedwith newspapers, magazines, Web sites and blogs, and I finished acomplete draftof the novel I started writing on PMC's campus. When it's published, I hope to become the second most successful man in America named Michael Farrell--behind the guy who played B.J. Honeycutt on M.A.S.H.
I chose the Solstice MFA Program because of its lower cost, the availability of scholarships, its emphasis on community, excellent faculty, and —coming from a very homogenous, rural area — the opportunity to mingle with a diverse population of students and faculty. By the end of my first residency, I felt like the program, the faculty, and my very inspiring fellow students were a giant safety net below me, making it possible for me to leap into new things and take greater risks with my work.
I chose Solstice because I wanted a low-residency program that celebrated writers of varied experiences; I wanted a non-traditional experience. While attending residencies, I've felt an exuberance of support from my peers and mentors, and this boost of confidence has made me more devoted to my writing, to meeting deadlines, and to elevating my craft.
As a MFA student of creative writing, I've challenged myself to write fiction, read fiction or do research for my novel every day. Before becoming a student in the Solstice MFA Program, I did not consider my writing, reading or research a priority — now I do.
I chose the Solstice MFA Program at Pine Manor College based on the recommendations of a couple of current students —everybody spoke so highly of the atmosphere and the sense of community among the students and faculty. I wanted a nurturing environment and liked the idea that is it small program. So far, the program has forced me to make my writing a priority. Having deadlines demands that I dedicate a certain amount of time to my writing on a consistent basis.
[The author] Roland Merullo —after being kind enough to look at a manuscript that I naively foisted upon him— said "some of the poems and stories were striking, but your prose needs a little work." He suggested an MFA Program would do me some good. Solstice was local, affordable, and thecampussomehow seemed just right for literary endeavors.
Since graduation, I've received feedback onmy novel (i.e., my creative thesis) from about a dozen readers that reinforced the confidence that it was final and publishable. I've outlined and began drafting my second novel, and I volunteer one day a week in my local public high school writing center, advising students, some skilled, some close to illiterate, on their college essays or school assigned essays.
When considering schools, I weighed whether to attend a program that solely focused on creative nonfiction. In the end, I'm glad I choose a program with multiple disciplines; I have learned a quite a lot from other students and teachers in other genres, i.e., poetry, fiction, and literature for young adults. I resist being pigeon-holed, and in the future I hope to try my hand at other genres. Another important factor was the low student-to-professor ratio.
I have a habit of being self-critical to a fault, and this has sometimes frozen me solid, keeping me from writing stories. I have learned to do first things first — first write, then critique and edit and re-edit my work. Just as important, perhaps, I have learned that I am not alone. In large measure, the problems I face as a writer are the same ones that other students have faced, as well as my teachers.
I chose Solstice because it was affordable, and the faculty is stellar! Since graduating, I have been accepted as a participant at the Breadloaf Writer's Conference, received a fellowship from the Ragdale Foundation, and an editor from a literary magazine has asked for some of my poems. My poetry manuscript, Miss Universe: Poems, is under review for publication.
My main reason for choosing the Solstice MFA Program was the opportunity to work with excellent faculty members and fellow writers who are diverse and interested in issues of class, gender, ethnicity, immigration, and race. Those are the issues I write about, and I found a perfect match in this program.
My immediate plan is to finish my novel, Limonaria. I'm also doing research and taking notes for a second project, a series of short stories on the circular movement Mexican immigrants make between their country and the U.S.
I chose the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing Program because it offers [a concentration in] Writing for Children and Young Adults, has small class sizes, and is low-cost compared to other programs. I searched extensively for programs that offered Writing for Children and Young Adults, and I only found a few — also, I didn't want to go into a program where I would get lost in a crowd.
The program has helped me develop a more mature view when it comes to my writing. Before I came to Solstice, I didn't plan, I had little experience with revision, and I basically thought my first drafts were acceptable. My writing has become a lot tighter and more polished because I see what can be achieved with planning and revising my work.
Joining the Solstice MFA Program was a phenomenal experience. As a genre writer, I expected to be treated as a second-class citizen by both faculty and students. This was not the case. My work has been treated with nothing but respect; my mentors didn't try to change my focus or style, but instead embraced and fostered my goals as a writer.
Before coming to Solstice I was confident I could tell a rousing story. Now, I know what it means to have depth of story, character, language, and insight. I can identify these things when I read the works of others, and I am learning to incorporate them into my own writing. I am striving to find a balance between the surface story and the deep story.
I chose the Solstice MFA program because the staff was amazing. I knew it had to a be a great program because of the caliber of writers that supported the program. [Three years post-graduation] I'm in the midst of finishing another novel; I'm very excited to have found the motivation, inspiration and time to write! A lot of that motivation has come from my fellow Solstice classmates.
I'm a person who works well with deadlines and interactive learning, and the Solstice Low-Residency Program fit my learning style with its small workshop classes, the opportunity for regular and close feedback from mentors, and the option of cross-genre learning during the ten-day residencies. The challenge inherent in both the critical and creative theses helped me to cement my identity as a writer. Now, I am working to expand my creative thesis into a full memoir.
Before I entered the program, I had reached some sort of creative "glass ceiling." I could see that I wasn't where I wanted to be but had no idea of how I could there. My work felt tired and predictable— I kept bumping up against whatever it was that was stopping my work from maturing. I had hoped that being a part of a community of writers and working under the guidance of accomplished poets would allow me to get to that next level. Having two years of intense study of and focus on the craft of poetry has helped me to re-see the way I approach a blank page.
After investigating several different MFA programs throughout New England, I decided that because PMC is so community-driven it would be the best place for me to meet other like-minded people. I now feel, with classmates, faculty, and staff, that I have my own little cheering squad on the sidelines. Even when they are not physically around, they are encouraging me to do my best and take advantage of every spare minute I have to write, write, write.
Over the [course of the program], I revised, refined, and completed the manuscript I'd been writing since 2004. I'm proud of how far it's come, and how I've grown as a writer — all as a result of the program. I've become more patient. If I am having trouble and need to step away from a current project for a week or two, I know that's ok and I should work on something else. Also, I've learned that if I'm uncomfortable writing about something, that means I must do it. Solstice helped me leave my comfort zone. As for the future, as long as I can have a job living and breathing children's and YA books, I'll be happy.
I was first lured by the faculty and writers-in-residence, Dennis Lehane in particular, and the location. As I researched other programs and audited some classes, Solstice became my first choice. A low-residency program was a good fit for me, with my job and my family's needs. The reasonable price certainly didn't hurt, either.
Since graduating, I've had a fair amount of stories published, and I am working to find a home for my novel.
Being at Solstice is one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my life; I can honestly say that. The people I've met, the writers I work with, the community that Program Director Meg Kearney and Assistant Director Tanya Whiton have worked so hard to create is like none other. And I've become a more focused and patient writer through my studies in the program; I'm more easily able to identify my strengths and weaknesses. My goal is to be a life long writer, first and foremost. I've always been a writer, but I've not always been committed to my craft. Now, I can be.
Click here for Advice and Comments to applicants from our students.


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Astros' shakeup: Jim Crane's son moves in as Reid Ryan moves to background
Sports // Astros
Chandler Rome , Houston Chronicle and David Barron , Houston Chronicle Nov. 7, 2019 Updated: Nov. 7, 2019 7:02 p.m.
Reid Ryan, celebrating the team's Game 5 win the ALDS, will move from team president to executie advisor, business relations as part of a reorganization.
Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
Putting in place an early plan for his succession, Astros owner Jim Crane appointed his son Jared to help oversee the franchise's business operations in place of longtime team president Reid Ryan.
"We felt at this time it was time for him to step in," Crane, 65, said Thursday. "I'm past retirement age, and he needs to learn the business if the family is going to retain the team."
Jared Crane, 36, will "assist Jim and his executive team in a broad variety of functions related to the operations of the Astros business," the team said in a statement.
Jim Crane said the plan to bring Jared into the franchise was brewing for "about a year." Jim Crane said he told Ryan "months ago" he was considering bringing his son aboard.
"I'm not a spring chicken," Crane said. "I've been working hard for a long time, and in all of my stuff I'm building a succession plan. Baseball requires a plan in place for each team, so we're doing that and planning for the family. It has nothing to do with Reid."
Ryan and Jim Crane met Monday to finalize the plan. All three men will attend the owner's meetings in Arlington at the end of the month
The team promised Ryan will remain "an important part of the Astros organization." He was given a new title — executive adviser, business relations — so he could have "have more opportunities to focus on his other business ventures while remaining an important part of the Astros organization."
Ryan had been the team's president of business operations since May 2013.
Ryan did not return a text message seeking comment. Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who spent the past six seasons as an Astros executive adviser, told Fox 26 on Thursday he no longer will serve in that role.
Nolan Ryan was a frequent attendee at Minute Maid Park during his son's tenure, often sitting behind home plate. Jim Crane said Thursday he tried to reach out to Nolan Ryan to tell him he was always welcome at Minute Maid Park. Nolan Ryan's contract with the team was set to expire in February.
"I can't speak for Nolan," Crane said Thursday. "I tried to call him and (tell) him you'll always be welcome at the stadium, and if he chooses not to continue, that's his decision. We weren't going to address that until we got closer to February, and I guess he's done that."
Before joining the Astros, Reid Ryan was president and CEO of Ryan Sanders Baseball, which owns the Round Rock Express minor league team that last year resumed its Class AAA affiliation with the Astros after being affiliated for several years with the Texas Rangers. The Express has three seasons left on the Professional Development Contract it signed with the Astros last September.
Ryan Sanders Baseball also founded the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros' Class AA affiliate, before selling that team to the Astros in 2013.
"Jim Crane has been a great owner for the city of Houston, and I thank him for the opportunity to lead the Houston Astros organization," Ryan said in a statement. "Thank you to the many employees, fans, and partners that have supported this team during my tenure as president. Baseball is about bringing joy to people's lives and I take pride in knowing that we have made so many memories for our fans. While my role has changed, I will remain with the Astros and look forward to another great season in 2020."
Under the company umbrella of Ryan Sanders Baseball, the families of Nolan Ryan and Houston financier Don Sanders also own a turf company, a live entertainment production company and a hospitality company along with the Express and interests in several area banks.
Reid Ryan has not been active in the daily management of those assets since joining the Astros. He came amid general manager Jeff Luhnow's teardown, when the team was just beginning its third consecutive 100-loss season. He replaced George Postolos, the former Rockets and NBA executive who worked with Crane on his attempts to buy the Astros and, before that, the Texas Rangers.
Postolos' brief tenure as president of business operations came at a difficult time for the club, which also was involved in a tense standoff involving Comcast SportsNet Houston, the regional sports network owned by the Astros, Rockets and Comcast that was forced into bankruptcy in the fall of 2013 when it couldn't pay tens of millions of dollars in rights fees owed the Astros.
After a period of considerable front-office turnover in the wake of the Crane ownership group taking control of the Astros from former owner Drayton McLane, Ryan's arrival heralded a period of stability for the club's business operations and a critical link to its past through the Ryan family's longtime ties to baseball in Houston.
In that vein, Ryan was instrumental in establishing an Astros Hall of Fame along the left field concourse at Minute Maid Park that was unveiled this season.
One of Ryan's first actions was opening gates earlier to give fans access to batting practice. He also helped preside over the 2017 renovation in center field that included the removal of Tal's Hill and the addition of a field-level suite and dining and hospitality areas in a previously underutilized portion of the stadium.
The Astros announced plans earlier this year for a $25 million renovation that will include the addition of a new club for season ticket holders on the stadium's suite level and changes in the right-field corner that will include an open staircase with field viewing areas and additional restaurant options.
"Speaking for those who are close to Reid, he has dedicated the past five or six years to the Astros, and all you have to do is look where the Astros were when he came and where they are today," said a person with knowledge of the Astros' management structure who declined to be identified.
"The baseball team has done a lot, but the changes in the ballpark, from seating to restaurants to getting in and out, that's Reid Ryan. The things he has accomplished have been gigantic."
Jim Crane said Ryan will continue to aid in alumni relations, do public speaking and "some of the things with the Greater Houston Partnership."
"He just won't be on the point," Crane said. "The executive team will report to me, and Reid and I will continue to work together."
Crane said the change in Ryan's role was not related to the team's awkward handling of assistant general manager Brandon Taubman's outburst at a group of female reporters at the end of the American League Championship Series. Taubman eventually was fired, and the team apologized for a series of missteps and statements that originally questioned the first story on the rant.
"Absolutely nothing to do with that," Crane said.
Crane's decision to bring his son into the management structure is noteworthy in light of the fact that McLane sold the Astros to Crane in November 2011 in large part because his sons Denton and Drayton III were not interested in taking over the team.
According to Jared Crane's LinkedIn profile, his most recent job title was regional vice president, business development at Crane Worldwide Logistics. Jared earned a bachelor's degree in business from California Lutheran University in 2007 and worked various jobs at Champion Energy Service from 2002 to 2008 — when his father was CEO and director of the company.
Jared Crane founded Incite Energy in 2012. Last September, he sold the company's assets to Infinity Power Partners LLC and CSD Energy Advisors LLC.
Crane's LinkedIn page lists him as president of the Astros Foundation since 2016.
"He'll come in and go to meetings," Jim Crane said of his son. "He isn't going to be running the thing. He'll be learning and observing, and I'll be showing him how things work as we go along.
"He'll participate in things and he'll have an office close to me, so we will be able to work together and I'll bring him in so we will be able to work together and eventually assign some things to him."
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Forrest Whitley headlines Astros' non-roster invitees to spring training
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Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more, but also makes you feel and look better. Watch this video now to find out about the different stages of sleep and all the things sleep does to enhance your health.
Very few people actually know what they are, but almost everybody has them. They come just as you are falling asleep or sometimes happen while you are in a deep sleep. If you don't know what a hypnagogic jerk is, then you have to watch this video.
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Putting toxins into your home environment instead of removing them is what's really happening when cleaning with commercial sprays, wipes, scrubs and polishes. Watch this video now to find out which natural products you can use that clean as good as the unsafe commercial products.


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I have never experienced insecurity: tabu
admin February 17, 2019 all mahiti Leave a Reply
From the 1996 movie Machis to the 2018 film Anhadhun, we have introduced the stage identity as an actress and very different role-playing actress, who got her role in Golmaal Agne and Haider. Though its work is full of bliss but the fun of talking with him is also different.
In one such interview, discussing the success of the chaos in the movie, with the help of his work and the kind of characters he wants to play. Here's an excerpt of discussions with a risky actress in her own words.
Although the chaos has been a good success at the box office, she said that she was considered to be a very risky project, but she said that she always wanted to work with Shriram. My mind is already very respected for them. It's also very interesting as a film maker and the way they are saying stories.
His characters are very different from the other characters in the film. I met him at the time of shooting at Badlapur and I told him that I had to work with you. A few months after that he contacted me with this work. That was a very new scheme, but even though I had joined it because I had never done such a work before.
Talking about the experience of working with Mr. Raghavan, he said that working with them seems very natural and easy. Because they are very knowledgeable about story and characters.
My experience working with them was similar to learning a lesson and they gave me much more than I thought it was. Apart from that he also gave us enough freedom and that was why the connection with them was very interesting.
This experience was very beneficial and beautiful. I thought I was getting success with the experience as well and I am happy to say that everyone associated with this film will have the same views. The film was a bit heavy, and the characters were also written in a slightly different way. And Seima's character was also very challenging.
You have been surprised that you got an inhuman role in a chaotic thriller film, after the performance of Maachis and Haider, that in response to this, Tabu laughed laughing that neither of them nor of me was thrilled to be able to play the character, not being a role.
I was excited to play such characters because I had a mental and emotional connection to the characters, and so I realized that I have to go ahead of all this. I feel as much work as I have a challenging role. These characters inspired me to challenge my boundaries and I worked out of my capacities.
Yes I believe the character of Seema is very cruel, even though the character seemed very real and natural in the film. The main reason for this is the firm belief that Shriram has a special style of making films. And he says that people are looking for a different kind of movie. And that movie only succeeds when the film succeeds in holding the viewers to the last.
Tabu says that he is always known to break the rules and risk a person who says that yes, in my opinion this is correct and that the adjectives I received are also true, but it has not worked to break rules ever. The kind of choice you make is only from what kind of person you are and what your personality is like.
So doing any work normally is a good thing too. But sometimes people are living their life according to their opinions. And I do not see any reason not to do unusual work. The field of cinema is very creative and creative. So there is also the liberty of expressing themselves differently to each of us. The characters I selected never felt threatened.
This was the only way to do my work, and this was a very common thing for me because these characters only excited me and besides that I had an opportunity to make something unusual and my novels were written by my scriptwriter.
And writing deeply and I had to judge my creativity by my acting. These directors were supposed to live with my imagination in my imagination, so they became a mirror of mine and my life.
When you were doing very little films, were you sure that if you worked patiently you would get good characters. Did you not feel insecure feeling or in response to it, Tabu said that I have never felt the feeling of insecurity.
When I did not work, I was not waiting for some good characters at the time but yes, I had full faith in the fact that if I do something then I would have liked it. And I found the need for a special reason to accept any film. And where I got the reason I got the reason.
Would you have been waiting for a favorable time for you, rather than direct competition with young actresses, that in response to that, Tabu said that I would never have made myself comfortable
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If you don't happen to know someone who just had heart surgery (which is really, probably for the best), this felt piece is also great for teaching kids (and adults) about human anatomy!
My niece is almost three and is curious about EVERYTHING around her right now! So, not only is this mess-free toy a great way to keep her entertained, but she can also move the pieces around and explore the human heart's many different layers.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am passionate about science (especially getting more women in science). So, I do everything I can to spark that scientific curiosity while kids are young!
There are so many amazing kid-safe things out there to get kids conducting their own experiments, learning about biology or the solar system. Here are two that really stood out to me!
The first is the Dinologia handmade science kit. This kit gets kids playing and learning about dinos and, extra bonus, they can test out their new knowledge when playing on the dino felt wall.
The other toy I love is the mini-science box! It is SUPER simple and offers a range of activities for kids and grown-ups to try together.
These are some of my favorites; what are your favorite science toys or kits for the little ones in your life?


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Core Cities 2016
Category: Employment Landscape
The Core City Regions must be increasingly quick in responding to changing market dynamics in order to remain competitive. To reach growth targets in the next 20 years, Core Cities have to find more investment and more people with the right skills. They need better support for local businesses, improved transport, more and better housing, faster broadband, and to meet rising energy demands. Low skills and high levels of people without work still represent the single biggest barrier to increased productivity in the Core City Regions. Core Cities will need about 259,000 graduates and 443,000 people with NVQ Levels 1–3 beyond what is currently predicted.
The Core Cities Group was established in 1995 and until recently consisted of the eight largest cities in England outside London (Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield) however, Cardiff and Glasgow have now joined the Core Cities Group bringing the total to 10 cities.
Across the UK, cities take up just 9% of the land mass, but account for 58% of jobs, 60% of the economy and 72% of high skilled workers. By 2030 – before HS2 is completed– the Core Cities urban areas could put 1.16 million more jobs and £222 billion into the economy.
The Core Cities have a strong pool of highly skilled workers and compare well with their European rivals on the number of graduates they can draw from, however when compared to Germany and France our cities are not nearly as innovative as they could be. More must be done to encourage businesses to innovate, so that our cities can be global players in the 'knowledge industries' of the future.
Cities will not grow unless people choose to live or work there because they can access more opportunities or a better quality of life. In order to drive faster progress to an innovative knowledge-based economy and to enhance the UK's global competitiveness, improving the UK's skills at all levels is critical. Each city has its own economic strengths, and therefore different skill needs for its workforce.
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Why Your Pastor is Tempted to Quit — And What You Can Do To Help – God's Missionary Church, Inc.
"Pastor." The title may have lost some respect over the years due to high-profile scandals, Hollywood hit jobs, and TV caricatures. But the word still conjures up good things in many American minds. A 2011 study by Rasmussen says 70% of Americans view pastors favorably.
But pastors, through all of their healing, restoring, and guiding work, sometimes live with a lot secret pain. According to a survey by the New York Times in 2010, about 1,500 pastors per month leave the ministry due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure.
45% of pastors say they've experienced enough burnout or depression to feel the need to take significant time away from ministry.
57% of pastors report that they would leave ministry if they thought there was somewhere else to go.
33% say that being in ministry is a hazard to their families.
What's toughest about your job?
Odds are, your pastor struggles with four or five of these. I want you to look at the common thread in the seven. Do you see it?
That one factor ties it all together.
In former days, people led lives with more margin, less media, smaller houses, only one car, and fewer options. Pastors had a privileged position in the community. They were not expected to be CEOs, doing executive work in a complicated world.
Pastors today have more to administrate than ever before, and they are often overwhelmed and frustrated. There is a lot of "shadow work" that drains time and creative energy.
If you want to help him, here's the best thing you can do: Ask him if you can take something over.
Doing this every time there's a new project!
The people who are the biggest blessing to their pastor are the ones who offer to do something specific and do it well, week after week.
Meet for coffee and write it all down.
Ask him if he can do it with you once.
Ask him questions, as you do it together.
Go nail it the next week.
Ask for his feedback how you could improve.
Go nail it every week after that.
Your pastor will literally feel the lift from day one, just from having someone else on the team. By the time you reach the last step, he will be willing to swim a river full of crocodiles for you. Now, what are you waiting for? Share this article with your pastor, and tell him you want to buy his lunch or coffee.


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Q: Why do we need multiple keyed by operators in flink? KeyedProcessFunction requires the previous operator to be a keyedBy operator
When I try to process a keyed stream using two KeyedProcessFunctions, why does the second function require me to apply the keyedBy operation again. Shouldn't the stream already be partitioned by keys?
var stream = env.addSource(new FlinkKafkaConsumer[Event]("flinkkafka", EventSerializer, properties))

var processed_stream_1 = stream
                         .keyBy("keyfield")
                         .process(new KeyedProcess1())

var processed_stream_2 = processed_stream_1
                         .process(new KeyedProcess2()) //this doesn't work

A: With some Flink operations, such as windows and process functions, there is a sort of disconnect between the input and output records, and Flink isn't able to guarantee that the records being emitted still follow the original key partitioning. If you are confident that it's safe to do so, you can use reinterpretAsKeyedStream instead of a second keyBy in order avoid an unnecessary network shuffle.


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You are here: Home Members Back Row Cornets
A brass band has more cornets than any other instrument with 10 being the normal compliment. On the back row a full line up is the Repiano, two seconds and two thirds taking the harmony parts.
Over the top of all this is the soprano cornet, the highest pitched instrument in the band.
Jonathan Skinner - Soprano Cornet
Jonno joined the band in 2007 on back row cornet and has taken on the challenge of the sop part in the last couple of years. Jonno is our treasurer and is also a member of the Sussex branch of CAMRA so can always point us in the direction of a good beer!
Liz Weedon - Repiano Cornet
Biography to follow
Elspeth Hackett - 2nd Cornet
Elspeth joined the band in the summer of 2007 after playing for a band in Croydon for several years. She was 'persuaded' to join us by her husband Matthew who happens to be the current conductor of the band!
Amy Richardson - 2nd Cornet
The first time Amy picked up a brass instrument was in 2005 and after three months of tuition Amy joined the band and went on to win the Most Improved Player of the Year award for 2008. Anyone who wonders whether they can learn to play a new instrument as an adult should take this as proof that is can be done! Amy keeps herself busy with her day job as a solicitor.
Hilary Lowe - 3rd Cornet
After a long absence Hilary rejoined the band in the summer of 2006. She has been a member of the band on and off for almost 20 years. She has two grown up daughters, one of whom until recently was the band librarian before leaving Sussex to travel around Australia and New Zealand and then returning to take up the position of band librarian again.


Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Houston South can be found at 12591 Briar Forest, Apt 1410 . The following is offered: Electricity, Decoration Supplies, Christmas Decorations & Trees . In Houston there are 95 other Electricity. An overview can be found here.


If there is one thing you can count on within Hull's creative scene, it is community spirit. Whether you're musician/artist/band wanting somewhere to sell merch, an artist looking for wall space to showcase your work, an event promoter looking for promotion wall space and sell tickets, Poorboy Boutique based on Humber Street are an essential cog for creative types in the city.
However, when you talk about homegrown success stories, Riccardo Seaton, owner of Poorboy epitomises grass-roots, entrepreneurial energy, in a 'rags-to-riches' story, which he built from sacrifice, hard-graft and his family roots within the city.
Having originated in 2003 taking the name from Bohemia Rhapsody- "I'm just a poor boy from a poor family" the company has grown stronger in brand awareness and retail development. As we progress into 2018, it's clear to see that Poorboy Boutique core values are to remain true to the roots of the city it was established in and also the history behind the curator's family to give this brand an edge that no other retail concept has within the city.
Re-branding Poorboy in 2006, Ricardo introduced the 'Anchor logo' to reference his own history with the Maritime city and reflect the success of his own grandfather who also started with nothing, working as a trawlerman and progressing to captain, the very first black captain of a trawler ship to leave the city of Hull. An astonishing achievement and one which enriches the boutiques' vision even further to be one of the top independent boutiques to visit whilst coming to Hull. It is also a great example of paying homage to your own roots and seeing what path that progression will lead you on. Having created the business from nothing Poorboy boutique has become one of the Cities best retail locations, incorporating creative direction alongside re-working of hand-picked, and globally sourced vintage clothing.
Poorboy has a strong team of vintage graders within the company who source clothing from all regions of the world, making its way through the alterations team to then be distributed globally as a newly styled garment, often ending up back in the country it was originally purchased from. Given the now global nature of the retail landscape, digital commerce plays a key part in the boutique's strategy. Along with their online store, they also feature on ASOS Marketplace, enabling their creations to be purchased from the USA, Japan, Europe to name a few.
Just like his own grandfather before him, Ricardo (far right) built Poorboy Boutique on ambition and drive, creating his vision from nothing to become a successful and thriving business in the City of Culture, a testament to Ricardo and all his team.
The route the boutique has taken from vintage wholesaler into a brand which is a key retailer of the city will serve as a great platform for inspiration for future independent boutiques who wish to stick to their roots and build something they believe in with core values true to themselves. The move Marina has proved to be the catalyst for the journey to further success within the local retail environment, along with increased digital success from their online offer.
Tomorrow and Sunday, Poorboy celebrate one-year of trading down Humber Street artist Anna Bean hosting a pop-up photo booth Live in-store performance and tunes from Lockdown's The Third and Deezkid. T-Shirt designers Hull Sailor trading some special T-shirts, with an exclusive design, just for their birthday. Fruit Markets foodies Nibble will be providing tasty treats, brownies, sausage rolls, canapés and more. Street Art Kings, Spray Creative working their aerosol magic in an around the store from 12pm. Humber Street distillery will be serving Poorboy-infused vintage cocktails. Finally, to top it all off, we have a 50% off voucher in our latest print edition to spend in store.


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Meet Honeypreet Insan, daughter of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
The Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem has three daughters -- Charanpreet, Amarpreet, and Honeypreet and a son named Jasmeet Singh
Fukres
Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the self-proclaimed Godman who was accused of rape, was pronounced guilty on August 25. Since then, the followers of the Gurmeet Ram Rahim have turned things upside down and even torched the streets of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and other parts of the country. Baba does not only enjoy a cult religious following but has also acted and directed in a few self-produced films and is a celebrity with Z security. Interestingly, his daughter Honeypreet Insan also supports her father in his ventures. Be it as an actor or a singer, she has been an essential part of his films.
Honeypreet, who is a pillar of strength and is 'papa's angel', is also a philanthropist, director, editor, and even an actress. Her Twitter bio reads "Passionate to transform my Rockstar Papa's directions into actions!". Haryana police are now on the lookout for Honeypreet with an alert issued at airports and other exit points for her. She has been a constant companion of the Dera chief and was even seen holding his bags in court.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim is married to Harjeet Kaur, with whom he has two daughters Charanpreet, Amarpreet and a son, Jasmeet Singh. Honeypreet is an adopted child of Baba. She has acted with Gurmeet Ram Rahim in his last release Hind Ka Napak ko Jawaab.
Check out the photos of Honeypreet Insan:
Also read: Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his 'miracle stories': What makes his followers go brainless?
Also read: How Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh became a self acclaimed saviour of the world using cinema as propaganda
For more interesting content, visit YouTube.com/InUthdotcom


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Paphos mayor says car park permit not lawful
Fedonas Fedonos points fingers as Turkish Cypriot property saga continues
Paphos mayor says town was bypassed in green grocer's car park permit on Turkish Cypriot property
There is no end in sight in the Turkish Cypriot property saga in Paphos, with the town's mayor Fedonas Fedonos saying a parking lot outside a produce market was not licensed lawfully.
Fedonos on Sunday posted on social media a photograph of the green grocer "The Garden of Eden" in Paphos, saying the business did not have a proper license. The mayor, who got elected on a campaign promise to clean house, resumed his long-standing criticism of officials for "acting with impunity".
"Without any license being granted, they signed off on their using the area as a parking lot while a town planning permit from the City ought to have obtained in advance," said the mayor.
Fedonos says the municipality did not have a say in providing the permit
"They ignored us and handed over the license on their own," the mayor wrote on Facebook and Twitter.
But another Facebook user, who responded to Fedonos' comment and appeared to be speaking on behalf of the produce market, dismissed the issue raised by the mayor.
"We were given a 15-day permit for Easter holidays. Have mercy, if this is a crime, then we have committed a crime," she wrote.
She also said that the private business had offered to create a public car park at their own expense, adding that the mayor is refusing the offer.
Rules and procedures bypassed
But according to Fedonos, the municipality did not have a say in providing the permit, suggesting that there was no coordination between the government at district level and the city in granting the license.
It is not the first time that the mayor has been shedding light on the misuse of managing Turkish Cypriot properties in Paphos. Last year he dropped a media bombshell by pointing fingers to individuals who were renting properties at a nominal fee but were not lawful beneficiaries. Turkish Cypriot properties in the Republic of Cyprus fall under the Turkish Cypriot Properties Management which is a committee overseen by the Interior Ministry.
Following the ethnic division and population displacement between north and south, the government passed a law aimed at safeguarding the rights of (Turkish Cypriot) property owners while making those properties available under specific criteria, namely to assist Greek Cypriots in the south who lost their properties in the north as a result of the conflict in 1974.
In order to have a fairer administration of Turkish Cypriot properties, but also speed up the process of addressing specific issues, special committees were formed in the south at the local level which would examine cases and then make recommendations to the guardian of the properties. Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides, who has been overseeing government reform before assuming his new position, said last year he had been aware of some accusations leveled by Fedonos and action was being taken.
The Paphos mayor has been a major newsmaker since his election in 2015 by helping uncover scandals in his town and other parts of Cyprus. He has said repeatedly that his main concern is that cases would not see the light of day unless people and media keep these stories alive.
Paphos holds title for selling land to most foreigners
Paphos demands proper shelter for world-class mosaics
Cyprus | Paphos | Turkish | Cypriot | property | Fedonos
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Macron leading light in alliance to dominate Middle East


Most people are not aware of this, but there are 7 different types of gluteal muscles. That's right! Most people are already aware of the big three: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. In fact most hip exercises out there are designed to target these muscles. But what about the other 4 uncommon muscles? These guys are responsible for external rotation of the femur. Most hip exercises out there do not effectively target these muscles. Now I'm not saying that these muscles need to be stronger, that is rarely the case. The problem is they need to be cued. In this post we are going to explore different types of hip exercises that help to target external rotation.
In most lower body movements, especially the squat, you hear the common cue to drive your knees out. There is nothing wrong with that cue, except for the fact that the kinetic chain in the lower body will be insecure.
Remember that a kinetic chain is a group of muscles transmitting force together as one unit. In the case of the squat, the entire leg works as one unit to drive force into the ground. If there is a weak link in that chain anywhere from the feet to the hip, then your form will eventually breakdown.
The problem with the knees out cue is that it often fails to cue external rotation in the femur. External rotation helps to secure the head of the femur in the socket when performing lower body exercises. Think of the external rotators of the femur as the rotator cuff of the hip.
By training the external rotators of the hip, we can take our squat to new heights.
So what are these mysterious external rotators?
Just like the rotator cuff of the upper body, strength is usually not the issue, motor control is.
Okay, so now how do we activate them? There are many different exercises out there to activate them, but we want to make sure that you are using the right exercises for the right circumstances.
For example, you would not need to use closed clam shells if you already have decent motor control and just need some strength. Likewise, you would not use bulgarian split squats or pistol squats if you can barely squat you own bodyweight with good form.
We also want to make sure that we perform hip exercises that will complement our squat form the most. Exercises that mimic the squatting motion will assist the exercise the most.
Below are some of my favorite hip exercises to use when addressing external rotation.
I don't know if the Bulgarians actually invented this exercise, but I do know that it is a powerful knee and hip exercise for external rotation and glute activation.
Find a bench, or a box, and place one foot behind you elevated on the bench. Now take a step out in front of you and squat all the way down just before your knee touches the ground, then stand back up. Make sure you keep your torso as vertical as possible. Your heel should stay down the entire time and your knee should not go past your ankle.
Start out with bodyweight until you are able to do 10-15 reps with perfect form. Now you can start to add weight to this exercise. There are multiple ways to do this, you can either use a kettlebell or a barbell.
A kettlebell can be held up in the front rack position. A barbell can be placed on the back or on the shoulders in the front rack position for an even greater challenge. Start out with light weight and gradually add weight as you get better. Remember, this is an assistance exercise, not a primary lift so don't get too jacked up.
Aside from being a great tool for assessing muscle imbalances and mobility restrictions, the pistol squat is also a great exercise for external rotation. However, this only applies to individuals with good form.
If you observe a beginner performing a pistol, you will notice that they have a rounded back in the bottom position. Many factors can cause this, ankle mobility being one of them. However, inactive glutes can also be a cause.
When the glutes activate properly in the bottom of the squat, the spine will not round and will remain straight just like a normal squat. This makes the pistol squat a powerful activator of the deep external rotators.
Very little is understood about the concept of counterbalance. When people hold a weight in front of them, the are activating the posterior aspect of whatever musculature they are working.
Try holding a weight in front of you while standing up. You will notice that the muscles in your upper and lower back will be firing in order to stabilize your body.
For people who have difficulty activating their gluteal muscles during squats, deep squat press outs are one of those hip exercises that will effectively recruit those muscles.
Simply squat down with a weight plate, or kettlebell, and while you are in the bottom position, press the weight out in front of you. Hold it there for 3-5 seconds. Your spine should remain as vertical as possible and your heels should remain on the ground.
You can do this as a warmup exercise for your squats, or as part of a workout itself.
Typically used as a rehabilitative exercise for individuals with a hip injury, this hip exercise can also be used for motor control of the hip external rotators.
To perform, simply lay on your side and move your bottom leg out in front of you so it is at a 90 degree angle. Keep your spine and neck in a straight line and keep your top leg straight. Now drive your knee into the ground as hard as you can and lift your foot up towards the ceiling. DO NOT let your knee leave the ground.
This is actually much harder than it looks and it will cause you to break a mental sweat as much as a physical sweat. You should aim to perform about 10-15 reps for each leg. Dr. Evan Osar has an excellent video explaining this exercise.
I would not use this hip exercise during a warm up or cool down. Instead, use it on your off days, or during de-loading phases of training.
This hip exercise also is used in many rehabilitative settings for activating the external rotators. The only difference is that this one is used when standing. Thus, adding functionality over to our assistance work.
Find a wall and place your back completely flat against the wall. Place your feet slightly in front of you, about shoulder width apart. Keep your feet straight and externally rotate your knees as far as you can UNDER CONTROL. Then begin to SLOWLY internally rotate them UNDER CONTROL.
If your toes leave the ground at any time, then stop and restart. If your back comes off the wall in any way, stop and restart. It is very wise to perform this exercise very slowly so as to not damage your knees.
The best part about this hip exercise is that it is weight bearing. Rather than lying down to primarily train and isolate the external rotators, this hip exercise incorporates it with everyday activities. It also gets you to feel what external rotation feels like. True functionality right there!
This exercise is best performed on your off days, or de-loading cycles. Try not to go too crazy with it because the gluteal muscles can become overtightened. About 10-20 reps will get the job done.
1 Response to "Hip Exercises: External Rotation For Squats"
information. Great read! I've bookmarked your site and I'm including your RSS feeds to my Google account.


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A legal mandate to house the homeless?
OpinionOpinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author's interpretation of facts and data.
The corner of South Beacon Street and 9th Street have sidewalks completely blocked with tents and belongings of homeless people in San Pedro on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. (Photo by Brittany Murray,Press-Telegram/SCNG)
By Dan Walters | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: January 16, 2020 at 8:48 a.m. | UPDATED: January 16, 2020 at 8:48 a.m.
Numerically, 151,000 people in a state of 40 million are scarcely one-third of 1%.
However, 151,000 is the latest official estimate of California's homeless population, not only the most of any state but a quarter of the nation's homeless. And their makeshift camps on sidewalks and in parks and other public places throughout the state spark both compassion and revulsion in the larger population.
A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll found that homelessness is one of Californians' most vexing concerns, with more than 80 percent seeing it as a problem, and little variation of concern either geographically or ideologically.
As mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom tried, but failed, to stem the explosive growth of the city's homeless street dwellers and while running for governor, he promised to appoint a "czar" to fix it.
Last week, while introducing his new state budget and boasting about its $1 billion commitment to homelessness, the governor was peppered with questions about his czar promise and he replied testily, "You want to know who's the homeless czar? I'm the homeless czar in the state of California."
Thereupon, he embarked on a week-long tour to highlight homelessness efforts in local communities. And as he was doing his thing in Nevada County, a commission he appointed to study homelessness delivered its preliminary report, recommending that local governments be required by a new provision in the state constitution to provide enough shelters to house everyone.
"The state must establish in law that it is not morally or legally acceptable to deny housing for people on the streets and create the legal mandates and funding mechanisms necessary to dramatically improve this unacceptable condition," the commission said in a letter to Newsom.
"We propose that both state and local governments be held legally accountable to achieve the aims of dramatically reducing homelessness and creating avenues to rapid resolution," it continued. "A legally enforceable, results-based, accountability mandate will require state and local governments to provide resources for, and reduce barriers to, the creation of both interim and permanent housing that is high quality, low barrier and complies with fair housing rules."
The housing mandate would, the commission said, be analogous to those for free public education and other public services. And to enforce it, the report proposed, it should have "a public right of action that requires state and local governments to create the capacity to bring unsheltered homeless people under a roof …" In other words, governments could be compelled to act by lawsuits filed on behalf of homeless people.
Newsom, asked about the mandate recommendation, seemed to endorse it, at least in principle. "We do it in almost every other respect," Newsom said. "On this issue, we don't and I think that's missing. The question is how do you do it. … This is not black and white. This is tough stuff."
As AI advances, when will the Terminators arrive?
Kevin de León just won't go away
Can President Biden get away with it?
Adam Schiff, the guy who voted for the Iraq war and the Patriot Act, for Senate? Nah.
Having appointed himself as homelessness czar, Newsom now owns the problem, adding another to his portfolio of unresolved issues, such as the fate of bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric.
However, a "czar" implies unfettered power that Newsom doesn't have. If he adopts the commission's recommendation, he would have to persuade the Legislature to also endorse it with a two-thirds vote for a constitutional amendment and then voters to ratify it.
Local governments would resist having such a mandate thrust upon them unless Newsom, et al, would also provide a lot of money to finance it. Shifting local funds from police patrols, fire protection and other popular services would be a nonstarter.
CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary
Dan Walters


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Watch Flying Paper Film & Trailer
Flying Paper is the story of Palestinian children in Gaza engaged in the fascinating culture of kite making and flying. The film follows Musa, a charismatic teenaged kite-maker in the village of Seifa, and Abeer an aspiring young journalist in the Jabalya refugee camp. They join a remarkable quest, along with thousands of other children, to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown.
Now Streaming on Itunes, Amazon and Distrify
Purchase this award-winning 52 minute documentary to screen in your homes and share with friends. The DVD comes with a bonus short film, Gaza From Within: Return to Seifa Village, a reunion with the stars of Flying Paper, who are rebuilding their lives just days after their homes were destroyed in the Fall of 2014.
Order the DVD online for $25 including free shipping anywhere in the U.S. For Educational and Institutional Use DVDs please order here. Educational DVDs come with an unlimited screening license. For international orders please contact us.
Film directed by Nitin Sawhney and Roger Hill, Copyright 2013-2016.
For public screenings, please contact us to purchase public performance rights.
Flying Paper short trailer (2 mins) edited by Ramon Iriarte Campos. Kite animations by Daniel Nienhuis. Original Music by Nitin Sawhney, Universal Music Publishing (U.K.). Watch all Trailers for Flying Paper.


Today we are sharing performance data from the Prosper Portfolio for February 2019.
In February, 66% of originations were rated AA-B and the dollar weighted average FICO was 719, relatively flat month-over-month.
Weighted average income of borrowers on the platform in February increased by $13,964 year-over-year.
Weighted average borrower rate for February originations on the platform decreased by 18 basis points compared to the month of January 2019. This decrease was largely mix driven; the weighted average borrower rate would have been relatively flat month-over-month without the shift in rating mix.
Portfolio insights and key charts can be found here.
The Prosper Performance Updates are designed to help our investor community better understand performance trends and to provide important insights into the trends we are seeing and the information needed to invest through the Prosper platform.


← Sustainability, Engagement – Is Continuous Improvement a Problem?
As much as I am an optimist, I know that our business world is in a funk. Here is the thing, it is summer and my optimism grows when the sun shines in Vancouver. So if you want to gain that positive momentum back into your work place here is one trick in the leadership trade: Use symbols that support who you want to be and where you want to go. They work to focus and encourage the positive. When done well, they become a point of celebration and encourage progress.
The video tells a story of two different approaches that football teams have used to encourage and celebrate what they wanted to be. Sports teams do this the best in my experience and that is why I use their stories. We can do this at work; it will just be a different symbol, one that is right for you and your team.
You look really lean on the web!!


ARGOS, Ind. — A teenage boy was killed and another student was injured when a flatbed truck collided Wednesday in northern Indiana with a school bus carrying students on a field trip to see a Christmas musical, police said.
The boy, who was seated in the left rear of the bus, died after the truck rear-ended the bus along U.S. 31, near the Marshall County town of Argos, about 30 miles (48 kilometres) south of South Bend, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner.
The crash comes about a month after a 9-year-old girl and her twin 6-year-old brothers were killed Oct. 30 near Rochester , about 15 miles (24 kilometres) south of Wednesday's crash scene. In the October crash, a pickup truck hit the children in a rural area before sunrise. The driver has been charged.


In the event, have participated five invited foreign artists, and the artist highlighted the Cuban art with her sculptural work, with two meter high, created in metal and terracotta, which will occupy the most important park of the town.
The prestigious artist has won, among numerous awards, the Distinction for National Culture and the UNESCO Prize, awarded in 1997. She was also honored at the International Handicrafts Fair of Havana and was the only Latin American awarded in 2010 at the Biennale of Modern Art in Shanghai, China.


Pope Francis has confirmed that Lionel Messi is not actually God, despite being very good at football.
In a remarkable interview with La Sexta's Jordi Evole, the Pontiff was asked if it is sacrilege to suggest that the Barcelona forward is in fact a deity.
The 82-year-old is a big fan of football, supporting Buenos Aires-based side San Lorenzo de Almagro throughout his life, but he has drawn the line at stating the Argentina captain is a divine power.
When Evole suggested he did believe Messi was God, Pope Francis replied with a chuckle: 'I don't. People can say he is God, just as they may say "I adore you" but only God can be worshiped.
'Those are expressions from people. "This is a God with the ball on the field" is a popular way for someone to express themselves.
'Of course, he is very good, but he isn't God.
While Messi's abilities with his feet might be comparable to that of a higher power, it is unlikely that God would be found guilty of tax fraud.


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Category: Sunday Smackdown
Sunday Smackdown: Ghostbusters (2016) vs Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Two movies enter the arena, each with a different idea of what made the original Ghostbusters work. (Some spoilers for Afterlife)
At this point, there have been three attempts to make a movie follow-up to Ghostbusters that captured everything that made the original such a classic. None of them have managed to do it.
But it'd be unfair to be too critical of them for that, since the original Ghostbusters was such a once-in-a-lifetime confluence of ideas, execution, and timing that it's impossible to pick the one trait that made it such a classic. Back in 1989, when I was feeling so betrayed by Ghostbusters II, I probably should've kept in mind how completely surprised I had been by the original.
I'd gone in expecting it to be another Meatballs or more likely, Stripes: a movie built around Bill Murray's charmingly lecherous, rebellious, screw-up persona that somehow became an engaging action comedy. It was only after the opening sequence, with a genuinely scary library ghost, that I realized this wasn't "just" a comedy.
If the decades of behind-the-scenes accounts and making-of stories and frequent retellings are to be believed, that dichotomy was present in the project from concept all the way through to filming. Dan Ackroyd supposedly had a concept that went all-in on the lore, and Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman came in to steer it back towards family comedy. I'm skeptical that it was as clear-cut as all that, but it is evident in the movie, which has way more plot and world-building than a comedy needs, even in the golden age of movies that 1984 turned out to be.
(Case in point: possibly my favorite line in the movie is when the under-appreciated MVP of the whole project, Rick Moranis as Louis Tully, is foretelling the coming of Gozer the Traveler. From IMDb: "Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!")
So any attempt at a follow-up inevitably has to decide what it was that made the original work so well. Ghostbusters (2016) decided that it was a special-effects-heavy comedy featuring SNL alumni as wacky, hapless outcasts crackin' jokes while bustin' ghosts. Ghostbusters: Afterlife decided that it was a lighthearted supernatural adventure whose strength came from its characters and their discoveries.1Ghostbusters 2 decided that Ghostbusters had made Columbia Pictures a lot of money, so bringing back the entire cast with more studio interference and a smaller budget couldn't help but recapture lightning in a bottle.
Honestly, neither one is wrong. But neither one is quite able to encompass everything that made the original work, either. Is it better to be entertaining in the moment but ultimately forgettable? Or to be more earnest and emotionally resonant at the expense of much of the comedy and action?
Continue reading "Sunday Smackdown: Ghostbusters (2016) vs Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)"
Ghostbusters 2 decided that Ghostbusters had made Columbia Pictures a lot of money, so bringing back the entire cast with more studio interference and a smaller budget couldn't help but recapture lightning in a bottle.
Author ChuckPosted on November 28, 2021 November 28, 2021 Categories Movies, Sunday Smackdown
Sunday Smackdown: Aquaman vs Shang-Chi
Two movies, four worlds, one winner
I really, really enjoyed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I think Simu Liu is a revelation, everything with Michelle Yeoh is automatically interesting (even if not necessarily good), and it did a phenomenal job of bringing a martial-arts-and-magic based hero to the MCU without losing the character moments that make the MCU work in the first place.
I surprisingly enjoyed Aquaman. Not nearly as much as Shang-Chi, but more than I'd expected, which was none enjoyment. For a while, it's been my example of how modern cinema is failing me: even as big, dumb spectacle, it didn't have enough draw to compel me to go to a theater. But after watching it on HBO Max, I was pleasantly surprised. It still felt as if it were made up predominantly of the Zack Snyder version of the Justice League, combined with a movie exec in 2016's idea of what bros want from a super-hero blockbuster, combined with Geoff Johns's idea of what bros want from a super-hero comic book.
But there were enough moments of self-aware goofiness, and a willingness to poke fun at itself, that made it a lot easier to let everything else wash over me. If this were a "One Thing I Like" post, I'd choose the scene in which a bunch of guys approach Aquaman to start a bar fight. It captured exactly the tone I liked seeing peek through the rest of the bullshit that's too insecure and defensive to let comics and comics-inspired properties just be fun.
Shang-Chi and Aquaman have more aspects in common than just "blockbuster super-hero movies built around lesser-known or disrespected characters from the comics." Both of them establish that their main character is of two worlds, and both of them try to build up to a climax in which the hero is going to have to bring together both of his worlds to overcome his obstacles.
Continue reading "Sunday Smackdown: Aquaman vs Shang-Chi"
Author ChuckPosted on October 17, 2021 October 11, 2021 Categories Movies, Sunday Smackdown
Sunday Smackdown: Skyfall vs Spectre
When you like a worse movie better than a better one
Let's try yet another intermittent weekly series on this blog: pitting two pieces of art or entertainment against each other to decide a "winner."
All of my parasocial friends on YouTube and the rest of the internet have been optimizing their SEO by talking about James Bond movies to capitalize on No Time To Die. Even if I felt comfortable going to theaters again, that movie is around two hours and 45 minutes long — somebody on Twitter more clever than I am called it No Time to Pee — so I'm not going to be seeing that until it comes to streaming services or cheap rentals.
The movie looks interesting, but Black Widow and Shang-Chi both satisfied my action-spectacle-on-a-big-screen quota for 2021. Honestly, the most compelling part of the movie for me is Ana de Armas, who I thought was fantastic in Knives Out and is so preternaturally beautiful that it's hard to believe she isn't a digitally-created person. I like Daniel Craig a ton, and the only reason he's not my favorite James Bond is because the Sean Connery movies exist, but honestly, I'd much rather see him in Knives Out sequels, except where they find an excuse for him to spend most of the movie with no shirt on.
And while Craig is pretty great, the movies post Casino Royale have been pretty disappointing. Skyfall has been near-universally praised as one of the best in the series, but I was so turned off by it that I didn't even bother watching Spectre until last night, as a compromise: if I can't watch the new Bond movie, I'll watch the new-to-me one.
So I was pretty surprised that I kind of enjoyed it. To be clear: it's absolutely absurd, even frustratingly so in parts. But then, that's true of almost all of them. I think the franchise is best when it leans into the absurdity, with the important qualifier that everybody in the movie has to act as if the absurdity is genuinely cool. That's why Roger Moore came across as too silly, and Pierce Brosnan came across as too eager to be in on the joke, while Sean Connery could be in situations that were ludicrous and even downright offensive, but still somehow retain an aura of cool.
Continue reading "Sunday Smackdown: Skyfall vs Spectre"
Author ChuckPosted on October 11, 2021 Categories Sunday Smackdown