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Unfoonk and Yak Gotti discuss maintaining a proper work-life balance while pursing their careers
On this new episode "Big Facts" with DJ Scream and Big Bank, the crew sat down wit Unfoonk and Yak Gotti of YSL Records.
By Tabie Germain
S1 E28 | Unfoonk & Yak Gotti
DJ Scream and Big Bank share nothing but "Big Facts" in their podcast, as they chop it up with today's popular figures in the entertainment industry.
On this week's installment of the "Big Facts" podcast, DJ Scream and Big Bank sat down with rappers Unfoonk and Yak Gotti. The Atlanta stars discussed new music, legal issues, and how they balance their time between work and family.
Being label-mates on Young Thug's YSL Record, they shared their experiences running into some severe legal troubles that threatened to end their careers before they even really jumped off.
While much is unknown about Unfoonk's past that initially landed him in prison, the Atlanta rapper has revealed in interviews that he was originally set to do a life sentence. But, thanks to the efforts from his brother Thugger and a record of good behavior, his time was reduced to 11 years. Meanwhile, Yak's success was briefly interrupted after the "All Day" rapper faced murder charges following an incident in which a man who previously shot at his mother wound up dead.
Reflecting on his time in jail, Unfoonk detailed what his thought process was like facing a life sentence — knowing there's a possibility he may never be free again. "I had to adapt to my surroundings… I only did like a year and a half in the hole," the rapper explained. "You just gotta adapt to it until ya time come. See, I was just patient. I was just reading every day. After I got that call from Slime, I was just like, 'Sit back. They say they got you a lawyer, now nigga sit back.' I'm like say no more, and I just got to reading books. And try and learn more and just focus on getting out."
While he says he doesn't essentially regret what happened, Unfoonk understands the severity of his past actions. He later admitted that he always wanted to be a rapper. However, after having welcoming a baby girl, the artist needed a way of obtaining income to support his family and ultimately turned to street life.
Further elaborating on the topic of family and with their recent success, the guys reveal how they maintain a work-life balance. "See my baby momma tripping she don't get it, I'm [on] a mission… I'm tryna get these M's man, hold on, I gotchu though," Yak quipped, alluding to the fact that his family should understand that he has goals he wants to achieve. But, when it comes to Unfoonk, the "Mob Ties" emcee said that family is his number one priority, specifically when it involves his daughter. "She call me like, 'Where you at? I wanna come see you," the rapper explained. "Yes, bring her to me. I just had my lil baby the other day. Bring her to me."
When it comes to the music industry, Unfoonk and Yak say there are things they've witnessed already that don't sit well with them including "dick riding" and the amount of false encouragement that goes around. In addition, Unfoonk feels that too many people in the business big up artists they truly know aren't as talented as they make themselves out to be. Meanwhile, Yak believes the music game lacks authenticity and this it is all about politics, and often folks are quick to pick sides in a feud without having adequate information on the matter.
As always, be sure to stay tuned every week for new episodes of "Big Facts." Also, don't forget to watch the latest show above!
Young Thug and Unfoonk keep it "Real" in new visual
Casanova gets punished for doing a TikTok challenge in jail
By REVOLT Staff


We realize that utilizing our past project experience plays a key role in our continued success and is what sets us apart from our competition. We also know that continuous training and investment in our employees and work methods enable us to recognize new ways to implement the advantages of today's technologies. It's a challenge that we strive to meet on every one of our projects.
As a construction service provider, the key elements that enable us to provide the best service are our people and our equipment. Beaver Excavating believes that we have one of the best work forces in the industry and maintains their safety, training, and wellness as a priority. With nearly 600 pieces of specialized earthmoving and construction equipment, Beaver has one of the largest, well-maintained, modern, specialized construction fleets in the region. Real-time equipment tracking enables us to maximize equipment utilization and respond quickly to project mobilization needs. Beaver continually invests in our fleet to provide the most reliable and productive equipment for our customers' project sites. Our commitment to a partnering approach with our customers has enabled us to adapt and respond to best suit the needs of a changing and evolving industry.
Beaver is an industry leader in utilizing the innovations that technology has brought to the construction industry. As an early adopter of global positioning system (GPS) technology, we now have over 20 years of experience with Trimble machine control and surveying products. 3-dimensional machine control enables Beaver to meet the most stringent accuracy requirements on the project site while optimizing efficiency at every level of our operation.
Our GPS controlled machines provide blade control to 20-30 millimeters (0.1 foot).
Our total station grader using the SPS930 ATS instrument provides blade control to 2-5 millimeters (0.007 to 0.016 feet).
Our GPS controlled machines with Laser Augmentation provide blade control to 3-6 millimeters (0.01 to 0.02 feet).
We equip our survey department with state-of-the-art high accuracy instruments like the Trimble S8, S7, VX and the DiNi level. These instruments help provide our customers with a superior product that is far above the industry standard.
Our survey department has a fleet of several SenseFLy and DGI drones consisting of both fixed wing and quadcopter models to service all mapping and inspection needs. Our fleet of drones is more than capable of mapping sites up to 250 acres as well as mapping the exterior of buildings and similar structures with a very high degree of accuracy. Our drone program operates with stringent attention to detail and quality, allowing us to obtain consistently accurate results and track quantities to less than 1% error over an entire site. Although we are not a "drone for hire" company, we do utilize this available technology and our expertise to ensure the success of our projects. We have flown hundreds of successful drone missions without incident due to strict adherence to FAA policies and our own guidelines that go above and beyond what is normally required. Our pilots are fully licensed and FAA Part 107 compliant, and all of our drones are fully insured.
At Beaver Excavating, we continually research and invest the newest in technology and equipment to support our field-proven experience and time-honored commitment to quality construction.


This fourth book of this series explains the basic beliefs of a Muslim including the concept of Allah; the Qur'an; the Prophets and the Hereafter. As well as outlining these basic teachings; the book gives simple; practical advice as well as telling the stories of some of the major Prophets. In full colour and recommended for ages 10 and over.


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Dell dabbles in wearable computing
Computing giant Dell has announced the company is investigating forms of wearable computing.
The revelation comes after Apple chief executive Tim Cook said last month his own company was watching the wearable computing market with "great interest".
Dell global vice president of personal computing, Sam Burd, told The Guardian the company is "exploring ideas" in the field of wearable computing.
"There are challenges in cost and how to make it a really good experience," Burd said. "But the piece that's interesting is that computers are getting smaller. Having a watch on your wrist – that's pretty interesting, pretty appealing."
Google has spearheaded the most recent wearable computing initiatives with its Glass product.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Our Real Estate Agent, Josh Zimmerman, is Here to Help You!
Do you make a point to thank the local heroes you meet? Here at NextHome Priority,our real estate agents do everything they can to give back to those who make a difference in our community. Whether someone is a police officer, fire fighter, active military or a veteran, a teacher or a doctor, we believe they deserve a big thank you simply for everything they do on a daily basis.
Beyond the financial benefits, Josh is here to guide you, answer any questions and make this transition a positive one for you.We are able to provide recommendations on home inspectors, lenders, title companies and more that are compatible with home for heroes programs.
Watch Keely & Kalee share exciting news on how Josh Zimmerman made an impact in the lives of those local heroes in our community. Although we may never be able to fully repay them for all they give to us, we will certainly do everything we can to pay back their countless hours of service. Josh chooses to participate in the Homes for Heroes program where a portion of his commission was donated back to the hero who bought or sold their home. This money has proved to be invaluable when it comes to covering costs such as buying new appliances, new furniture, or even just having that extra financial cushion during a financial transition in your life.
If you are a teacher, doctor, military veteran, fire fighter or police officer who is looking to buy or a sell a home-be sure to check out our featured listings here or call Josh Zimmerman today!


VISION™ helmets are a stylized and innovative solution for the motorcycle industry and rider. VISION™ equips the motorcyclist with technology that supports the pleasure of riding while ensuring they have critical information regaring road conditions, automotive hazards, data collection, speed, gps and interactive communication through a heads up display in the visor.
The VISION™ community of riders supports one another thrugh social platforms and data collection. VISION™ will forever change the motorcyclists experience throughout the world.
Creating a menu for a luncheon was the main objective of this project. Using typography and hierarchy to enhance a simplistic layout, I created something that is timeless and easy to read.
WICC was a personal project and was aimed at recreating the way boutiques showcase product. This storefront will be a self sustaining, all natural brand.Providing candles, incense, aroma therapy, candle accessories. The social responsibility of this store will be based on the garden that is behind the store. Using all of our plants to make our product. Based in Salem, MA. The design direction was to take modern twist on historic Apothecaries. It is an ode to Salem and its rich history of witchcraft, referencing its roots in the worship of nature. The goal is to lessen impact on earth and to teach people that they can make home remedies and be self sufficient.
nine is a smart collar specifically for felines. Integrating IoT, AI, gps & video tracking into this collar we can get a closer look at how cats behave when we are not around. This collar will monitor your cats temperature, heart rate, and hydration levels. This product is for the cat omner who worries about their cats when working or away from home. This digital product will enhance the care for the cat(s) in your life, unlike the smart wearables out there for animals that are only for canines, this collar is specifically for those with nine lives.
HEXE supply co. is my personal brand I created. I do this as my creative outlet. Creating graphics for stickers, patches, clothing inspired by history, nature and the strange side of life.
BUBL is a personal creation steming from the effects of the hustle & bustle of everyday life that every person endures. BUBL is a bubble company that also acts as aromatherapy. We allow you to take a second out of your day to have a bit of fun, and also get a sort of relaxation break as well. Perfect for adults and children who suffer from anxiety, depression, stress, or just need a little pick me up. Don't stress this small stuff, and enjoy your day.
Two flyers I created for RVCA IG. Both are images I edited, set type to RVCA branding specifications.
This was a personal branding project. I wanted to create a victorian inspired feel for the overall look of this brand. Taking from the intricate details from the victorian era. As well as producing interesting packaging that was reminiscent of antique glass bottles, I personally went out and found these bottles and created print logos and did all the photographing and edits.
Designing two separate hypothetical lines for surfing brand Hurley. This was a student project that was for Hurley. Salem & Tiki were the names of the lines. Salem was inspired by the salem witch trials during the 1600s. The design direction was a mysterious and dark feel that was meshed with the surf culture of California. Tiki was directly inspired by the tiki culture during the 40s-50s. Using bright vibrant colors in a vintage style, this line personifies the california surf culture.
A project I decided to do due to the presidential election that is taking place in November 2016. The Republican party is going through a time where it needs to redirect their image and retrace its roots to obtain the strong and respectable party it once was. This project included a digital and print book, new campaign, logo, ads, app all designed by me.
Web banners for different social media, email, and web banners. Created composition, set type, and placed logos in accordance to RVCA branding.
Alchemy is a Tattoo Ink Brand that I created for a personal project. Alchemy is a brand that creates organic ink by using all organic minerals. The use of these minerals let us create a vast array of brilliant colors. The design direction I chose was a more historical and classic feel, which I feel will work for our demographics.
This personal project was inspired by the film Sweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which is directed by Tim Burton. One of the patterns created names Mrs. Lovett which is hand drawn and finished in Illustrator. The second is a digital created pattern named Sweeney. These patterns were then applied to clothing.
This project was to create a way for the consumer to be apart of MR.G'S Bistro. A way that is visually appealing while giving them information about what MR.G'S can do for you.
Industria Printer Ink is a personal project that sells printer ink that is sold in 100% recycled plastic cartridges. The design direction for this brand is proffessional yet approachable. Using a color palette inspired by nature and appropriate branding this ink is sure to make a positive impact.


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In bad faith
On July 2, the IMF released its analysis of whether Greek debt was sustainable or not. The report said that Greek debt was not sustainable and deep debt relief along with substantial new financing were needed to stabilize Greece.
By: Ashoka Mody Date: July 3, 2015 Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance
On July 2, the IMF released its analysis of whether Greek debt was sustainable or not. The report said that Greek debt was not sustainable and deep debt relief along with substantial new financing were needed to stabilize Greece. In reaching this new assessment, the IMF stated it had learned many lessons. Among them: Greeks would not take adequate structural reforms to spur growth, they would not sell enough of their assets to repay their debt, and they were unable to undertake sufficient fiscal austerity. That left no choice but to grant Greece greater debt relief and to provide new financing to tide Greece over till it could stand on its own feet. The relief, the IMF, says must be provided by European creditors while the IMF is repaid in whole.
The IMF's report is important because it reveals that the creditors negotiated with Greece in bad faith. For months, a haze was allowed to settle over the question of Greek debt sustainability. The timing of the report's release—on the eve of a historic Greek referendum, well after the technical negotiations have broken down—suggests that there was no intention to allow a sober analysis of the Greek debt burden. Paul Taylor of Reuters tells us that the European authorities worked hard to suppress it and Landon Thomas of the New York Times reports that, until a few days ago, the IMF had played along.
As a result, the entire burden of adjustment was to fall on the Greeks before any debt reduction could even be contemplated. This conclusion was based on indefensible economic logic and the absence of the IMF's debt sustainability analysis intentionally biased the negotiations.
As an international organization responsible for global financial stability, it is the IMF's role to explain clearly and honestly the economic parameters of a bailout negotiation. The Greeks, many said, benefited from low interest rates and repayments stretched out over many years. Therefore, no debt relief was needed. But, of course, as the IMF now makes clear, if a country has to repay about 4 percent of its income each year over the next 40 years and that country has poor growth prospects precisely because repaying that debt will lower growth, then debt is not sustainable. If this report had been made public earlier, the tone of the public debate and the media's boorish stereotyping of Greeks and its government would have been balanced by greater clarity on the Greek position.
But the problem with the IMF report is much more serious. Its claims to having learned lessons from the past years are as self-serving as its call on other creditors to provide the debt relief. The report insistently points at the Greek failings but fails to ask if the creditors misdiagnosed the Greek patient and continued to damage Greek economic recovery. Protected by the authority and respect that the IMF commands, it is easy to lay the blame on the Greeks whose rebuttals are treated as more hysterical outbursts of an (ultra) "radical" government.
The creditors' serial errors are well documented, including by the staff of the IMF. Continuing deliberately to suppress past errors is an act of bad faith but continuing to repeat those errors in making future projections of the Greek debt burden is a willful abuse of the trust that the international community has placed in an organization set up to serve the best interests of all nations. If the IMF's latest numbers are properly reconstructed, the Greek debt burden is much greater than portrayed—and the policy measures proposed to reduce that burden will make matters worse.
To see this, we must go back to a lesson that American economist Irving Fisher taught in 1933. He says—in italicized words—on page 344 that "the more debtors pay, the more they owe." That pathological condition arises in the midst of Great Depressions, such as the United States in the 1930s and Greece in the last 5 years.
Here is how this principle applies today to Greece. Recall that prices in Greece have been falling for about two years now. Since debt repayment obligations do not change when businesses sell at lower prices or when wages fall, businesses and households struggle to repay their debt in that deflationary environment. Investment and consumption are held back, the government receives less revenue, making its debt repayment harder. If fiscal austerity is imposed in such a deflationary setting, prices and wages are forced down faster, making debt repayment even harder. This is Fisher's debt-deflation cycle. Greece is in a debt-deflation cycle. It is the medical equivalent of a trauma patient: the blood flow does not stop on its own and, in such a condition, austerity is like asking the patient to run around the block to demonstrate good faith.
The IMF's latest numbers bear out this diagnosis. In November 2012, the IMF tentatively concluded that Greek debt was borderline sustainable if it would undertake austerity to reduce its debt burden and structural reforms to spur growth. The primary surplus (the budget surplus without interest payments) was to rise from -1½ percent in 2012 to 4½ by 2016—an extraordinary additional austerity on top of the extraordinary austerity that had already been undertaken since 2010. The Greek government actually delivered on the austerity through 2014, bringing the primary budget in balance, as per the proposed timeline.
But look what happened along the way—and this is the debt deflation cycle. In 2012, prices were expected to be broadly stable over the coming years. Instead, prices fell by over 5 percent just in 2013 and 2014. True, it is important for Greek wages and prices to eventually fall. But because of the Irving Fisher theorem, when prices fall, the debt burden increases. To reduce the debt burden, Fisher says, not only must austerity stop, but the economy must be "reflated." He emphasizes that it was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policy of reflation that ultimately stopped the Great Depression. In an analogy similar to the trauma patient, Fisher says that when tipped beyond a point, the boat continues to tilt further until it has capsized. In a deflationary economy, the bankruptcies and distress can go on in a vicious spiral for years.
This is why the further austerity, while viewed as an evident necessity by many, is counterproductive in an economic depression. The IMF's latest research makes this clear, here and here. That research is just a gentler restatement of Fisher's insights.
But disregarding its own research, the IMF's debt sustainability report says that because the Greeks are incapable of delivering 4½ percent primary surplus, they should reach just up to 3½ percent. This is intended to be a concession. Economic growth, the IMF insists, will rise to 2 percent in 2016 and then to 3 percent in 2017 and 2018; importantly, prices will start rising again by between 1 and 1½ percent a year.
These forecasts are fictitious. What is the evidence? The evidence comes from Greece. The November 2012 analysis, refusing to learn the lessons from the previous two years, proved incorrect because it failed to recognize the inexorable interaction of deflation, austerity, and debt. The lesson has still not been learned. The latest report repeats the same analysis with no explanation why the dynamics have changed. Neither is there reason to think that the global economy will provide a boost. The United States is muddling along with its weak recovery. Crucially, China is slowing down, rendering world trade anemic. It would be foolish to expect a miraculous source of external growth to lift Greece or Europe. Hence for Greece to stabilize and grow, requires maintaining a primary surplus of 0.5 percent of GDP, and that requires more debt relief than the IMF proposes.
This is why the IMF's latest report is disingenuous. The report says that growth in Greece has failed to materialize because Greeks are incapable of undertaking sustained structural reforms. There is so much that is wrong with that statement. First, my colleague Zsolt Darvas of Bruegel argues persuasively that the Greeks have, in fact, undertaken significant structural reform. He notes that the "Doing Business" index has improved materially and labor markets are now more flexible than in Germany. Second, the IMF had set unrealistically high expectations of structural reforms: productivity was to jump from the lowest in the euro area to among the highest in a short period of time and labor participation rates were to jump to the German level. Again, the IMF's own research department cautions that the dividends from structural reforms are weak and take time to work their way through (see box 3.5 in this link). The debt-deflation cycle works immediately. If it has taken decades for Greece to reach its low efficiency levels, it was irresponsible to assume that early reforms would turn it around in a few years. Finally, when an economy spirals down in a debt-deflation cycle, demand falls and that, in itself, will show up in the less productive use of resources. So, it is even possible that productivity has increased more but is being drowned by shrinking demand.
We may not like the conclusion, but it is quite simple. Greece has not grown and prices have fallen because that was to be expected when persistent austerity is laid on top of an unsustainable debt. The debt-deflation spiral always outpaces the returns from structural reforms. As certainly as these things can be predicted, on the path set out by the creditors, the stakes will continue to be escalated: the debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to rise, the calls for more austerity will grow, and, as the pattern repeats, more debt relief will needed.
So we arrive to the present. The IMF looks back at its diagnosis in November 2012 and says, the Greeks did not follow our advice; it is no surprise that they are in a mess and they need more debt relief. The truth is that the Greeks are in a mess precisely because they followed the IMF's austerity advice and because the promised elixir of structural reforms was illusory.
And the double indignity is that the IMF now wants the Greeks to do more austerity in the midst of a debt-deflation cycle because it chooses to misread the evidence of the past years. If that advice is, in fact, followed, it is nearly certain that the Greek debt burden will be greater in two years than it is now.
We may cast a moral and political spin on these facts. Indeed, it is understandable that political considerations will play a central role in the European dialogue. But the economic logic is relentless. And the IMF's role—its only role—is to render the economic logic transparent for informed decision making. In disregard of generations of fine IMF economists and research, the IMF has engaged in its own moral posturing to retrieve its money and hide its failures.
To be clear, the argument is not that more debt relief be promised in exchange for more austerity now. The argument is that debt relief is needed now—more than the IMF suggests—to prevent the need for even more debt relief later. It is as much in the creditors' interest to change course as it is in the Greek interest. Once that premise is accepted, then within that basic framework there is much that the Greeks can do to improve their lot. But such is the momentum, the politics will almost surely subordinate the economic logic. That would be a mistake. At what is surely a pivotal moment in European and global history, at least the facts must be laid out transparently.
Read more from Ashoka Mody:
The IMF's big Greek mistake
Greece and the André Szasz axiom
A Schuman compact for the euro area
Focus on Greece Greece IMF Sovereign debt
Farewell, flat world
In the last 50 years, the most important economic development has been the diminishing income gap between the richer and poorer countries. Now, there is a growing realisation that transformations in the global economy have been re-established centrally from intangible investments, to digital networks, to finance and exchange rates.
By: Jean Pisani-Ferry Topic: Global Economics & Governance Date: July 2, 2019
Uncertainty over output gap and structural-balance estimates remains elevated
The EU fiscal framework strongly relies on the structural budget balance indicator, which aims to measure the 'underlying' position of the budget. But this indicator is not observed, only estimations can be made. This post shows that estimates of the European Commission, the IMF, the OECD and national governments widely differ from each other and all estimates are subject to very large annual revisions. The EU should get rid of the fiscal rules that rely on structural balance estimates and use this opportunity to fundamentally reform its fiscal framework.
By: Zsolt Darvas Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance Date: June 17, 2019
The campaign against 'nonsense' output gaps
A campaign against "nonsense" consensus output gaps has been launched on social media. It has triggered responses focusing on the implications of output gaps for fiscal policy under EU rules, especially for Italy. But the debate about the reliability of output-gap estimates is more wide-ranging.
By: Konstantinos Efstathiou Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance Date: June 17, 2019
Role of national structural reforms in enhancing resilience in the Euro Area
At this event Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist at the IMF will discuss the role of national structural reforms in enhancing resilience in the Euro Area.
Speakers: Shekhar Aiyar, Maria Demertzis, Romain Duval, Gita Gopinath and Guntram B. Wolff Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance Location: Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 1210 Brussels Date: June 17, 2019
The inverted yield curve
Longer-term yields falling below shorter-term yields have historically preceded recessions. Last week, the US 10-year yield was 21 basis points below the 3-month yield, a feat last seen during the summer of 2007. Is the current yield curve a trustworthy barometer for future growth?
By: Inês Goncalves Raposo Topic: Global Economics & Governance Date: June 11, 2019
Germany's even larger than expected fiscal surpluses: Is there a link with the constitutional debt brake?
Germany is having a political debate on the adjustment of its budgetary plans due to revised forecasts, and an academic debate on the debt brake. Yet, since 2011, general government revenues and surpluses have been systematically and significantly higher than forecast. The German surplus reached 1.7% of GDP in 2018. This bias did not exist from 1999-2008 before the introduction of the debt brake. While the IMF also got its forecasts of German surpluses wrong, the extent of the bias is larger for the German government's forecasts. These data suggest that the political debate should focus on the debt brake and its implementation rather than on how to close the budgetary 'hole'.
By: Catarina Midoes and Guntram B. Wolff Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance Date: May 13, 2019
Whose (fiscal) debt is it anyway?
The authors map how much fiscal debt is in the hands of domestic and foreign holders in the euro area. While the market for debt was much more international prior to the crisis, this trend has since been reversed. At the same time, central banks have become important holders of fiscal debt.
By: Maria Demertzis and David Pichler Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance Date: February 6, 2019
By: Alexander Lehmann Topic: European Macroeconomics & Governance Date: January 29, 2019


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Tri-State Area
Four Northeastern Governors Team Up on Vaping and Marijuana Standards
Democrats commit to establishing similar tax rates and potency standards for cannabis
Vaping related illnesses are on the rise, and it appears to be related to a black market of THC vapes. WSJ's Daniela Hernandez sat down with doctors and experts to understand what's happening with the outbreak.
By Joseph De Avila
Oct. 17, 2019 5:22 pm ET
The governors of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania met to discuss vaping and the legalization of recreational marijuana in hopes of reaching a consensus on regional standards.
The governors, all Democrats, committed to working together to establish similar overall tax rates for cannabis products and setting common standards for how potent the drug can be, among other regulatory goals. Common rules across state lines would help with enforcement efforts, such as using the same process for roadside blood or saliva tests by police officers, they said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who led the summit Thursday in Manhattan, said setting regional standards for marijuana can cut down on residents shopping between the states.
"We don't want someone driving from New York to Connecticut or from New Jersey to New York to buy marijuana and then drive back and possibly be using it in the car," Mr. Cuomo said. "To the extent regional coordination makes sense and is politically practical, we want to do that."
The governors aim to establish vaping standards across the region that include banning or regulating flavored vaping products, cracking down on sales to minors and restricting ads that target minors.


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By Bill Brioux January 13, 2023
Director Ethan Hawke's remarkable "The Last Movie Stars," finally available in Canada thanks to Hollywood Suite, is The Actors Studio of documentaries.
The six-part docuseries is, in many ways, a salute to the famous school of acting which operated in New York in the late '40s and '50s as taught by Lee Strasberg, Elia Kazan and others. Among the star pupils were Marlon Brando, James Dean and a guy looking to get his life on track, Paul Newman.
The love of Newman's life, Joanne Woodward, had, as described in the opening episode, a "running head start" on this new keeping-it-real acting style. In presenting this look at Newman and Woodward and their 50 year union, Hawke delivers a terrific history lesson, putting their lives in the context of an explosion of talent in mid-century America.
As Hawke says at one point, "This is the generation that heard Marlon Brando scream, 'STELLA!' for the first time." Hawke makes that comment and many others throughout the doc directly to his zoom camera as he has conversations with others about the process of making this documentary. The story behind the story is truly quite unique.
One of Newman's daughters asked Hawke if he would make a documentary from the salvaged remains of her parent's abandoned attempt to create their own autobiographical work. Newman and close friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern embarked on an oral history starting in 1986. Over 100 people in the actor's life were interviewed, including directors such as John Huston, George Roy Hill and Martin Scorsese, to actors Bruce Dern and Tom Cruise to his first wife and other family members.
"This book came out of the struggle to try and explain it all to my kids," Newman wrote, a desire to "set things straight." (A version of the memoir did come out from Knoff in 2022: "Paul Newman: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man.")
In 1991, the Oscar-winner and race car driver had second thoughts, however, about going public with his private life and burned most of the audio tapes. There are aspects of the story he probably did not want out there. Much has been made, for example, of a certain "hut" where the couple like to consummate their lust. Newman describes Woodward as "a sexual being" and one of Woodward's more colourful quotes is that "acting is like sex: you should do it, not talk about it."
Even better is her description of Newman after they first met:
"Out stepped this bandbox creature in this gorgeous Arrow collar and a Seersucker suit. Looked like he'd been kept on ice. And I hated him."
Newman was married with three kids when he met Woodward. He remained married throughout a five year affair. The toll on first wife Jackie bordered on cruelty, especially when you consider that the aspiring actress gets dumped for Joanne Woodward, who immediately wins an Oscar.
Other misdeeds followed, including periods of alcoholism. So, yes, Newman must have had reasons to burn those tapes and ditch the book. What survived, however, was box after box filled with typed transcripts of the conversations. Hawke's mission: to try and turn it all into "a play with voices."
That he does with George Clooney and Laura Linney well cast as Newman and Woodward. Others taking part by either voicing dialogue found in the transcripts or sharing memories are Sally Field, Oscar Isaac, Karen Allen, Ewan McGregor, Sam Rockwell, LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Zoe Kazan. Also featured are Newman and Woodward's daughters.
I stopped guessing who was speaking for whom almost immediately. You just buy into the premise that these are the words and views of Newman and Woodward's contemporaries. One of the best is Broadway star Brooks Ashmanskas as droll Gore Vidal. The author was a best friend of the Newmans and brands them as the last movie stars.
Visually, the series is packed with clips of both Woodward's and Newman's films, including "Picnic" (where they fell in love as understudies),"The Three Faces of Eve," "On the Waterfront" and "Somebody Up There Likes Me" — a film title that came to describe Newman's own fortunate path to movie stardom. There are even early TV clips from Woodward on Robert Montgomery Presents, Newman on I've Got a Secret? and Edward R. Murrow's You Are There.
Hawke discovered Newman as a lad when he and his dad ditched Sunday church and went to the movies instead. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was playing and Hawke was hooked. The actor-turned-director was approached by a member of Newman's family to tackle this project and does so with energy and aplomb. Besides the wealth of movie clips, he occasionally cuts to close ups of old cassette players, if just to remind viewers of the the crazy surrogate star approach happening here. The docuseries also has a sneaky soundtrack full of apt musical cues.
There is also a scene towards the end of Chapter One: Cosmic Orphans where Hawke asks Vincent D'Onofrio, who speaks for both John Huston and Karl Malden, to demonstrate the difference between "flat" acting and method. The demonstration is astonishing — as is so much of "The Last Movie Stars." See it now on demand anytime on Hollywood Suite.
Elia KazanEthan HawkeFeaturedGeorge ClooneyHBO MaxHollywood SuiteJoanne WoodwardLaura LinneyMarlon BrandoMartin ScorsesePaul NewmanSam RockwellTennesse WilliamsThe Last Movie Stars
THIS WEEK'S PODCAST: Jason Priestley and Michael Geddes on their docuseries "Offside: The Harold Ballard Story"


To plan a great birthday party, you need the right pros for the job.
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What service do you need for your birthday party?


U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is planning to visit North Korea next week to discuss details of the North's denuclearization.
Canada is set to impose tariffs on a wide range of U.S. goods starting on Sunday in retaliation for U.S. levies on steel and aluminum.
A small rocket developed by a Japanese startup company has failed to enter space. It fell to the ground bursting into flames.


text:
Le Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (Ver.di), littéralement « syndicat unifié des services ») est un syndicat allemand.

Il comptait plus de 2,4 millions de membres en 2005 ce qui en faisait le premier syndicat allemand et, selon la présentation officielle, le « plus grand syndicat du monde libre ». En 2015, il compte cependant moins de participants que le syndicat IG Metall, devenant ainsi le deuxième plus grand d'Allemagne.

Ver.di est membre de la Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB). Au niveau international Ver.di est affilié à UNI global union et à la Fédération internationale des ouvriers du transport.

Ver.di est dirigé depuis sa création en 2001 par Frank Bsirske.

Origine

Ver.di a été créé en 2001 par la fusion de cinq organisations syndicales du secteur des services (ÖTV, DPG, HBV, IG Medien et DAG). Cette fusion a représenté une rupture d'autant plus importante dans le paysage syndical allemand qu'elle faisait rentrer dans le giron de la Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (Confédération allemande des syndicats) le seul syndicat important qui n'en était pas membre, la DAG.

Références

Liens externes

  Site officiel
 Introduction en français au site officiel
 Udo Rehfeldt, V.di : problèmes d'organisation du plus grand syndicat du monde, Chronique internationale de l'IRES n°75, .

Syndicat en Allemagne
Syndicat des travailleurs des transports
Organisme fondé en 2001

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


We've had some nifty updates shipped out in the past 2 weeks, with a focus on inviting clients to use the Accelo portal and making dates in your Projects easier to understand. Enjoy!
To handle inviting users in bulk, we've upgraded the invite template to be more customizable including extra merge fields and a more obvious button for your contacts to get started in the portal.
Reporting on your tasks in Accelo just got a little easier with the addition of a "Billable" filter field in the list task screen. Simply put, this filter lets you search for tasks based on their billable or non-billable budget setting.
Wait! What are these dates and why are we only just hearing about them now?! - Fair question, but don't panic - these are not another set of possible dates to be configured by your team - they're simply the "best-fit" dates, based on all the data Accelo has, to tell you how the project is tracking.
We have made this more visible since users were often wondering why the dates shown in the Project Overview didn't always match the dates shown when viewing a task or milestone. By illuminating these dates as the default option, now they'll match!
Tell me more, please, this is tricksy stuff: Sure! So say a user overrides the due date on their task. They leave the start date based on the original project plan. We've now got a Planned Start and a User-Estimated Due as the most accurate Start and Due dates with which to use for populating the task time into their schedule, and when viewing the task all throughout Accelo, it's those 2 dates we show.
Unfortunately, this consistency was lost in the Project Overview - and it was hard for project managers to know that toggling the Dates columns to Planned Start and User-Estimated Due was the answer, and only the answer for that particular task!
Now, there's no more guesswork - the new "Scheduled Start" and "Scheduled Due" options will reveal which dates are in play for each milestone and task in the project - no more having to open each task to double-check what dates are there.
Yep, simple but obvious - we didn't have a way for you to completely remove a sign-off - including its attachments, from Accelo. Easy done now.
Activity List - Filter by status, e.g. "Invoiced"
If you're searching for activities and want to focus on just those that have been invoiced, or are still unapproved, this new filter will make life much easier. Of course it's only relevant for activities created by your staff, but powerful nonetheless as you can even filter on work that's part of a closed (Locked) retainer period.
If being able to relocate notes, work logs, emails and meetings between clients with ease wasn't enough, if you prefer to search by contact, this is now supported too. Also, if the contact doesn't have a company associated with it, we'll let you relocate to work directly under that individual contact.
If you had configured any conversions on your request types with the Override set to "No" and the Auto-convert set to "Yes" it was possible that some of the special actions for the new Issue/Ticket were being skipped. This includes actions like linking a retainer, and auto-adding team members.
When requesting staff (user) details via the API, it is now possible to filter by the group_id.
This small update ensures that expenses deleted in Expensify will now be deleted in Accelo automatically too.
Yep, we've added support for 2 decimal places in the % invoicing option, so instead of being limited to invoicing for 33% of a budget (for example), you can now invoice for 33.33% - and this can be configured into your invoice template settings too.
To help combat a problem with content in tables spilling across to the next page of a quote or invoice PDF and causing text overlap, we've introduced an option to disable the table headings from appearing at the top of every page when a table continues across multiple pages, as this appears to alleviate the text overlapping problem.
Some users noticed that ordering expenses by status was not working perfectly when expenses were invoiced. We've fixed this behaviour so that invoiced expenses are treated as a proper status for the list ordering/sorting feature.
We had a bug whereby meetings & bookings created in Accelo, whilst connected with Office365, were not allowing you to enable the Send Invites flag, making it difficult for other attendees to get notified by the meeting event.
In the company list screen, we were showing the postal address of the primary contact linked to that company, which wasn't the best source of address for the company now that in the create & edit company flow, we allow you to indicate a single primary address for a company. This is what the list screen will now use!
If not included as the quote approver or an observer, your client contacts were not able to view quotes in the portal. This new permission ensures contacts can be given access to view any published quotes within their portal.
By condensing the time inputs from 2 fields down to 1 simple hh:mm style field, the interface is faster to work with and we'll gracefully handle an input like "3d 2h", converting it to "26:00" since 1d is interpreted as 8 hours.


The Florida Keys: Battle to save the Miami blue butterfly.
Coffs Coast, Australia: First known birth of an endangered southern right whale in 13 years, New South Wales.
Watch sea turtles hatch courtesy of the Henderson Beach Inn, Destin, Florida, with 24/7 turtle cam!
Mark your calendar for August 14th. This should be good!
This entry was posted on August 10, 2011 at 8:47 AM	and is filed under Atlantic Coast Beaches, Beach and Coastal Wildlife, Beaches of Australia and New Zealand, Gulf of Mexico Beaches, Sand and Shoreline, Sea Turtles, Whales and Dolphins. Tagged: Coffs Coast Australia, Destin Florida beach, Henderson Beach Florida, Key West Florida beach, Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Miami blue butterfly, New South Wales beach, southern right whale. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


To compare clinical outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) presenting with an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treated with clopidogrel or ticagrelor (both FDA approved and guideline indicated drugs for treating these patients upstream managed medically or with coronary revascularization).
The purpose of this trial is to see if ticagrelor is a better antiplatelet treatment option than clopidogrel for dual antiplatelet therapy (with aspirin) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This study will be a comparative effectiveness trial of the two guideline-based treatments for patients with ACS with CKD, who are at a significantly higher risk of mortality and morbidity and often receive sub-optimal treatment. Ticagrelor and clopidogrel are the only two drugs in ACS that are approved for upstream (on admission) use both in CKD and non-CKD patients who are managed both medically (conservatively) or with coronary revascularization (with PCI-percutaneous coronary revascularization or CABG-coronary artery bypass graft surgery). Both of these drugs are not cleared renally and do not require dose adjustments in any stage of CKD.
Moreover, as a significant majority of CKD patients presenting with ACS are initially cared for by internists, hospitalists, and nephrologists, execution of this study at VA hospitals will strengthen collaboration between these specialties with cardiology and help adopt best practice pathways across multiple services participating in the care of this high-risk patient population. Finally, the study and its findings will for the first time provide randomized clinical trial evidence to guide the care of CKD patients with ACS who are at a high risk for both recurrent ischemia and bleeding complications.
Hypothesis to be tested: The Investigators hypothesize that use of guideline-indicated dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with ticagrelor compared to clopidogrel in CKD patients presenting with ACS will reduce ischemic cardiovascular events at 1 year, additionally without a significant increase in severe bleeding (Bleeding Associated Research Consortium or BARC >3 category) over the same period. This hypothesis is based on prior subgroup analysis of published studies.
Randomized patients will be followed for 1 year from date of admission and events recorded through chart review. For patients who are event free, a phone follow-up will be done at the end of 1 year to note events, which will be recorded on the medical chart as well.
Eligible patients randomized to the Ticagrelor arm will receive open label drug at a dose selected by their providers along with 81mg aspirin. These patients will be followed for 1 year through chart review for events. For event free patients, a phone follow-up will be done at the end of 1 year to record events These events be documented in the medical records.
Ticagrelor in patients with CKD presenting with ACS.
Clopidogrel in patients with CKD presenting with ACS.
Best PJ, Steinhubl SR, Berger PB, Dasgupta A, Brennan DM, Szczech LA, Califf RM, Topol EJ; CREDO Investigators. The efficacy and safety of short- and long-term dual antiplatelet therapy in patients with mild or moderate chronic kidney disease: results from the Clopidogrel for the Reduction of Events During Observation (CREDO) trial. Am Heart J. 2008 Apr;155(4):687-93. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2007.10.046. Epub 2008 Feb 21.
Bonello L, De Labriolle A, Roy P, Steinberg DH, Okabe T, Pinto Slottow TL, Xue Z, Torguson R, Suddath WO, Satler LF, Kent KM, Pichard AD, Lindsay J, Waksman R. Impact of optimal medical therapy and revascularization on outcome of patients with chronic kidney disease and on dialysis who presented with acute coronary syndrome. Am J Cardiol. 2008 Sep 1;102(5):535-40. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2008.04.040. Epub 2008 Jun 26.
Charytan D, Kuntz RE. The exclusion of patients with chronic kidney disease from clinical trials in coronary artery disease. Kidney Int. 2006 Dec;70(11):2021-30. Epub 2006 Oct 18.
Dasgupta A, Steinhubl SR, Bhatt DL, Berger PB, Shao M, Mak KH, Fox KA, Montalescot G, Weber MA, Haffner SM, Dimas AP, Steg PG, Topol EJ; CHARISMA Investigators. Clinical outcomes of patients with diabetic nephropathy randomized to clopidogrel plus aspirin versus aspirin alone (a post hoc analysis of the clopidogrel for high atherothrombotic risk and ischemic stabilization, management, and avoidance [CHARISMA] trial). Am J Cardiol. 2009 May 15;103(10):1359-63. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2009.01.342. Epub 2009 Apr 1.
Hwang SJ, Lin MY, Chen HC, Hwang SC, Yang WC, Hsu CC, Chiu HC, Mau LW. Increased risk of mortality in the elderly population with late-stage chronic kidney disease: a cohort study in Taiwan. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2008 Oct;23(10):3192-8. doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfn222. Epub 2008 May 1.
Iakovou I, Schmidt T, Bonizzoni E, Ge L, Sangiorgi GM, Stankovic G, Airoldi F, Chieffo A, Montorfano M, Carlino M, Michev I, Corvaja N, Briguori C, Gerckens U, Grube E, Colombo A. Incidence, predictors, and outcome of thrombosis after successful implantation of drug-eluting stents. JAMA. 2005 May 4;293(17):2126-30.
James MT, Pannu N. Early-invasive strategies for the management of coronary heart disease in chronic kidney disease: is acute kidney injury a consideration? Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2014 May;23(3):283-90. doi: 10.1097/01.mnh.0000444819.03121.4b. Review.


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Home • Cartier
Cartier Tank Américaine, Platinum
This Tank Américaine was produced as part of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris, which aimed to bring back some of the jeweller's most iconic designs, combined with high quality manual-winding movements. It features a distinctive yet classic design, housed in a rare platinum case. This piece is among the first 30 delivered, as confirmed by the serial number on the caseback.
The Collection Privée Cartier Paris
In the last decade of the 20th century, the industry was still recovering from the impact of the quartz crisis, with consumers just starting to redevelop an interest in mechanical watches. In the midst of this, Cartier aimed to reestablish its credibility as a true watchmaking manufacture. From 1998 to 2008, the Collection Privée Cartier Paris brought back some of the most iconic Cartier designs from the past century, from the Crash to the Tank Cintrée, combined with high quality mechanical movements. In many cases, these distinctive designs hadn't been produced for decades, speaking to the jeweller's desire to place an increased focus on its heritage.
All the Collection Privée Cartier Paris - or CPCP for short - pieces housed high-quality mechanical movements, at a time when the jeweller was mostly associated with quartz. Not possessing the mechanical knowledge in-house, Cartier relied on a range of external suppliers, such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, Frédéric Piguet, Piaget or THA Ébauche - a collaborative movement manufacture between Vianney Halter, Denis Flageollet and François-Paul Journe. All the movements were manual-winding, rather than automatic, emphasising the traditional nature of this project.
All the Collection Privée Cartier Paris watches feature small, distinctive details, intended to set them apart. With the exception of the Cintrée, all of them are signed "Cartier Paris" on the dial, a subtle nod to their vintage pieces. They also display a central rose motif just beneath the hands, which radiates into a classic guilloché. Even the subtle engravings on the caseback are reminiscent of what they used to do in the early 20th century. As for the manual-winding movements, these were finished in-house by Cartier, with their interlaced "double C" pattern appearing across the collection.
Despite the brand's global reach at the time, the Collection Privée models were produced in small quantities, with many explicitly limited to 50, 100 or 150 pieces. As for those that weren't marked as part of a numbered series, evidence suggests that production often remained between 200 to 500 pieces. Eventually, partially due to difficulties and delays in getting parts from their various suppliers, the CPCP program came to an end.
The Tank Américaine
The Tank Américaine was first envisioned in 1989, intended as a more masculine interpretation of the classic Tank Cintrée. It built on the elongated and curved design of the Cintrée, whilst bringing some of the proportions more in line with contemporary tastes, making it thicker and wider, with a greater presence on the wrist. The jeweller experimented with the design for a few years, ultimately settling on the configuration visible in this piece, which arguably represents the most desirable incarnation of the Tank Américaine.
Introduced in 1998, the first year of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris, this Tank Américaine integrates a range of distinctive features. It is made out of platinum, which is the most rarely used metal across the Collection Privée Cartier Paris. The case follows the classic lines of the original Tank from 1917, which was inspired by the Renault tanks which Louis Cartier saw in use on the Western Front. Building on the legacy of the Tank Cintrée, the design is elongated and slightly curved, reaching 43mm by 25mm. The case hugs the wrist, in a way that is both supremely comfortable, yet distinctively elegant and characterful.
The polished sides of the bezel feature an arched shape, sloping down as they reaches the extremities of the case. Meanwhile, the sides of the case are brushed, which creates an interesting interplay of textures, with a sapphire cabochon bringing a touch of colour. As with all platinum pieces from the CPCP series, this Tank Américaine features a closed caseback, with a brushed finish. This piece is among the first 30 delivered, as confirmed by the "N. 002X" serial number on the caseback.
As is to be expected, the dial is signed "Cartier Paris" at 12 o'clock, a nod to some pieces from the early 20th century, which had the city's name inscribed below the brand. The dial is made out of 18 carat gold, featuring a central rose motif just beneath the hands, which radiates into a traditional guilloché. Evidence suggests that the inspiration for this central rose came from vintage Cartier clocks, which often featured the distinctive decoration. The rail track and Roman numerals are stamped directly onto the dial in black ink, whilst the blued steel hands are executed in a legible sword shape.
This platinum Cartier Tank Américaine is powered by the Calibre 430MC, which is based on a Piaget ébauche. Piaget helped develop a range of calibres for the Collection Privée Cartier Collection, drawing on their mechanical expertise, notably in the field of ultra-thin movements. The manual winding nickel lever movement features 18 jewels, 36 hours of power reserve and a mono-metallic balance.
It is accompanied by its its Cartier Paris Collection Privée red leather box, Cartier hangtag, document holder, Certificate (confirming sale in Rome in March 1999) and manual. It comes on one of our stone grey Stockholm straps, also accompanied by a custom made alligator strap and an 18-carat white gold deployant buckle.
Brand: Cartier
Model: Tank Américaine 1734A
Movement: mechanical manual-winding calibre 430MC
Features: guilloché dial, blued steel hands
Case: 43mm x 25mm
Bracelet: grey Stockholm strap, a custom made alligator strap, an 18-carat white gold Cartier deployant buckle
Year: 1999 (sold)
Box & papers: Cartier Paris Collection Privée red leather box, Cartier hangtag, document holder, Certificate (confirming sale in Rome in March 1999), manual
This Cartier Tank Américaine is in very good condition, with a few signs of superficial wear found throughout the case (most visibly on the side of the bottom left and top left lugs, as well as above the Cartier signature on the caseback). It is guaranteed for authenticity and comes with a two-year warranty from A Collected Man.


Sterling Capital Reserve Ltd is one of the leading commercial finance brokerages in the Midlands, arranging finance for clients throughout the UK since 1999.
Our professional team have extensive experience in the accountancy, banking, factoring and financial services sectors and specialise in arranging funding for clients rangeing from small family run businesses, through to large multinationals. Funding sourced ranges from £50,000 upwards.
We specialise in arranging: Commercial Mortgages, Peer to Peer Funding, Invoice Finance, Healthcare Finance, Vendor Finance, Asset Finance, Corporate Finance and Distressed Finance.
Sourcing a wide range of innovative Commercial Mortgages, Remortgages and Bridging Loans, for commercial and semi commercial properties.
With the High Street banks now reluctant to agree any speculative development lending, we have access to specialist lenders that can provide the funding.
This an extremely flexible form of UK cashflow finance allowing you to release cashflow by utilising invoice discounting or factoring.
Funding Without Banks is an ever growing sector of the commercial finance market and one Sterling Capital Reserve have fully utilised for clients.
For Doctors to Dentists, Vets to Pharmacists etc, we focus on providing a high quality personal service in respect to structuring a finance deal.
Asset Finance secured against commercial assets for new asset purchases, refinancing assets and manage away services.
We provide proactive lead advisory services to the proposed management team throughout a management buy out on buy in.
We can assist with almost all aspects of Business Turnaround and Recovery sourcing finance / refinance for most businesses.
Unsecured practice loans allow investment in new equipment, staff training etc minimising your capital outlay without affecting any other funding you have.


Functional design crafted from select solid woods, wood products and choice veneers. Features a matched cherry veneer top, with a linen-fold inlaid design of maple and walnut veneers, all framed within mapa burl veneers. The cherry veneer base is joined to the top by an elegant pedestal turning. This tray table moves freely on casters for use in any room, making it suitable for multi-tasking as a temporary work desk, for gaming or everyday entertaining.


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A Dangerous Evangelist Threatens to Come to America
January 14, 2012 By Janet Heimlich
I don't care to criticize others for their religious beliefs. It's not my business whether one worships Allah, Yahweh, Jesus, the pope, Mohammad, or Warren Jeffs. But when I see religious leaders spouting beliefs that directly, or indirectly, harm children, I speak up. Whether it is indicted Bishop Robert Finn or pro-spanking fundamentalist Christian preacher Michael Pearl, we must examine what role authority figures play in failing to protect children from abuse or, worse, inciting violence against children.
I just found out that Helen Ukpabio, a powerful fundamentalist Christian preacher from Nigeria, will soon be visiting Houston, Texas. I learned about this after reading a Huffington Post article written by Michael Mungai, a student at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and founder of Harambee Youth Kenya, a Nairobi organization that offers shelter to homeless boys.
Ukpabio plans to perform a 12-day "marathon deliverance," beginning on March 14th, where she promises to relieve people of such problems as nightmares, "witchcraft attacks," being possessed by a "mermaid spirit," and poverty. Mungai says Americans should be troubled by the arrival of Ukpabio whom he calls a "notorious child-witch hunter." Mungai goes on to say,
Ukpabio alleges that Satan constantly manifests himself in the bodies of children through demonic possession, turning them into witches and wizards. Condemned as witches, these children are splashed with acid, buried alive, immersed in fire or expelled from their communities.
Richard Wilson, writing for New.humanist.org.uk, points out that Africans have long believed in the power of evil spirits, but, as of late, that belief has been ramped up due to the "explosive rise of Pentecostal and Revivalist churches" which push the idea during services.
"The belief in witchcraft has thus become intertwined with Christianity," writes Wilson.
Ukpabio is one of the most influential preachers behind the movement. Warning congregants about witchcraft is a mainstay of her sermons, as well as the subject of her book, Unveiling the Mysteries of Witchcraft, in which she tells readers how to identify a child witch.
"If a child under the age of two screams in the night, cries and is always feverish with deteriorating health, he or she is a servant of Satan," Ukpabio writes.
The most damaging of Ukpabio's propaganda, however, seems to be her 1999 dramatic film, End of the Wicked, in which child actors are seen being initiated in eerie rituals in which they are turned into drone-like witches and instructed to "blow up all electronic things in your home! Break plates, glasses, and then cause fever and failure to all other children in your home."
The film is comical to watch—I liken it to the old and zany "Our Gang" films—but, as Wilson points out, many Nigerian children are, indeed, blamed for bad things that take place, while being accused of being tools of Satan. Once the accusations fly, these children are often ostracized or made to undergo violent, and sometimes fatal, exorcisms.
And such abuses extend beyond Africa's borders. London has seen a rash of crimes involving child victims who had been accused of witchcraft and tortured. Currently, a couple is on trial in London for the brutal killing of a 15-year-old boy named Kristy Bamu. Both perpetrators were born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It is no wonder that some partly blame these abuses on Ukpabio. End of the Wicked has been widely disseminated, and her Liberty Gospel Church has grown tremendously since she founded it in 1992. Headquartered in Calabar in Southern Nigeria, Liberty Gospel now has branches in other parts of Nigeria and overseas. A poster advertising Ukpabio's Houston visit says she will be performing at a Liberty Gospel church.
According to Mungai, "She [Ukpabio] continues to enrich herself, through her books and remittances from exorcisms. In this, she joins the growing list of televangelists who are fleecing poor Africans all over the continent, promising 'miracles' for a fee."
There is a determined movement to protect children from this kind of abuse and oppose Ukpabio's teachings. The organization Stepping Stones Nigeria and the 2008 a documentary Saving Africa's Witch Children have brought international attention to the issue of child witchcraft and Ukpabio's fear mongering.
The Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom has passed a child rights law that prohibits people from accusing children of being witches. However, critics point out that government officials, themselves, believe in witchcraft and that children can be guilty of practicing it.
Leo Igwe
One Nigerian who has worked tirelessly to protect children from such abuse is Leo Igwe, a representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. In an interview with Wilson, Igwe explains how he became frustrated when he took three "confessed child-witches" to the Ministry of Women's Affairs and was told by the director that the children would "contaminate" other children being kept at a childcare facility.
"I was outraged," Igwe said. "Here is a ministry that tells the world, 'We are taking care of these children.' But the director did not want to accept these children because, in the course of being interviewed, they admitted that they were witches."
Igwe believes that Akwa Ibom passed its child rights legislation largely due to international pressure and, he states, no one has been prosecuted or convicted for accusing children of witchcraft to date. Politicians are afraid that "if they dabble into it the witches will come after them," says Igwe.
Helen Ukpabio
This won't be Ukpabio's first trip to the United States. She spoke in Houston in May of 2010. As reported by the New York Times, Ukpabio was "emphatic that children can be possessed, and that with her God-given 'powers of discernment,' she can spot such a child." The Times reported that Ukpabio accused her critics of lying and that legislation criminalizing witch accusations infringes on her freedom of religion.
One can understand why Michael Mungai, in particular, wants to alert people to Ukpabio's visit. He is a victim of abuse himself, having lived on the streets as a boy. He has worked with street children, many of whom came from abusive backgrounds. "It therefore disturbs me to see Ukpabio, hiding behind the immunity of religion, inflicting even worse torture on Nigerian children," Mungai writes.
I join in Mungai's appeal to Americans "to ensure that Ukpabio, with her hateful campaign against defenseless children, knows that she is not welcome in their country. She should be met with hostility similar to the protests against the Pope's visit to the United Kingdom. While we should all respect the freedom of everyone to practice their religion, this respect should stop where it starts harming those around them."
"Protesting against Ukpabio's visit to America would be a step towards the right direction in giving a voice to her unfortunate little victims," says Mungai.
CALLS TO ACTION:
Visit this Facebook page which protests Ukpabio's visit.
Sign this petition demanding that President Obama deny Ukpabio entrance to the U.S.
Donate to Stepping Stones Nigeria, an advocacy group that helps to protect children accused of witchcraft.
Filed Under: Blog, child witches, corporal punishment, pope, religious child abuse Tagged With: Africa Evangelist, Africa Witch Hunt, evangelical christianity, Helen Ukpabio, Helen Ukpabio Nigeria, Nigerian Child Witch, pentecostal
Bob Seidensticker says:
It's hard to imagine African fundamentalists finding a market here in America. We live in interesting times.
Of course, the reverse is also true–American fundamentalists famously went to Uganda a few years ago to spread their homophobia, which encouraged Ugandan bills that included death penalties for homosexuals in certain situations.
Scott M says:
I'm afraid it's not all that hard to imagine something like this happening in the U.S. We have plenty of hyper-religious morons here who could easily fall for this nonsense. (The semi-hysterical responses from evangelicals to the Harry Potter books springs to mind.) Fortunately we have very secular laws against this sort of thing.
Someone once said that "your right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose." This insane, evil woman need this explained to her in detail. Her claim of efforts to stop the madness somehow infringes on her "freedom of religion" is rather similar to some of our crazies here in the United States claiming that anti-discrimination laws infringe on their religious freedoms.
Sorry guys. Believe what you want, but you don't have the right to bully, harass, or harm other people just because you think your holy book gives you the okay.
LSLiss says:
There is a large Nigerian population in Houston. This can explain why she may have been invited and who the target audience is.
You mean like the African witchhunter who visited Alaska to bless Sarah Palin when she was running for office?
Phoebe says:
right… another left wing bigot… What did Sarah Palin do to you guys anyway. Why do you 'hate' her so much?
Gus diZerega says:
Anyone who has paid the slightest attention would know that your question is asked either as a troll, or in ignorance.
We can start with her denial of the separation of church and state as our Founders intended it and can conclude with her use of violent rhetoric against her opponents. Here is something on what our Founders really believed. http://www.patheos.com/Pagan/Religion-and-Freedom-Religion-and-Slavery-Gus-diZerega-04-06-2012.html
There is a lot more, but if you are ignorant at this point why should we take the time to explain? Prove me wrong and give a response to the post I liked to.
Wyocowboy says:
This is scarey for these chidlren in this community. A protest needs to take place. Children are not demons or possessed or witch's…that is just crazy thinking. I would bet she is in for the money…Helen Ukpabio has no concern for chidlren only her pocket book.
Ophelia Benson says:
I came to see if you knew about this before I emailed to tell you about it. Texans arise and speak out!
I've published a lot of articles by Leo Igwe. He's a *very* brave man.
Michael Mungai says:
The deadly symbiosis between American evangelicals and African fundamentalism is truly a marriage made in hell. Americans who support Ukpabio are no different from the ones behind the death calls to homosexuals in Uganda and we need to raise hell to stop the religious impunity they enjoy.
I have always thought that it would be an interesting project to study the diabolical matrimony between African cultures and Evangelical Christianity. Historically, witchcraft was rampant in Africa even before the coming of Westerners. In the wake of Evangelical Christianity, most regressive African cultural practices were fortified and are now widely accepted in many African churches. Poverty, gender inequality and illiteracy in many African countries only adds fuel to this fire.
Leo Igwe is a courageous man and I commend his efforts to counter this pestilence.
Diabolical matrimony between African cultures and Evangelical Christianity… Don't you think that is going a bit too far? Not ALL Christians are as loony as you think. Rotten apples must not be associated with the good ones out there. And there are good ones out there.
Laurel Cozzuli, MC says:
Janet, Thank you so much for the work you are doing to protect our children from these horrors. I am appalled and disgusted that Ukpabio is promoting these messages! She needs a wake-up call and some education how the experience of trauma can affect the psyches of children. You are right on with your information. I am a trauma therapist and can tell you conclusively that symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can look an awful lot like "demonic possession." The sad truth is that these children–who have likely been sexually or physically abused- develop the "screams in the night, cries, are always feverish and deteriorating health" are labeled "possessed," then exposed to even more torture, which leads to Complex PTSD and (especially if the trauma is pre-verbal) their symptoms dramatically worsen… which leads to more torture. (Meanwhile, the perpetrators get off scott-free as the child is blamed… which, of course, is a common component of childhood abuse.)
Actually, what came to my mind just now while reading your article was the "creating of a zombie" practices in years past–whereby a person would be burred alive for days–and, once finally exhumed–near death, is so traumatized (disassociated) that he had no thoughts of his own, and would unconditionally obeyed his master. "The walking dead" indeed. Tragic. And I suspect that the result of the torture that is imposed on these youngsters is extreme disassociation–to the point of being "zombies"… so they become good, obedient children.
Laurel Cozzuli, MC
Matt Begley says:
She doesn't care about the damage she causes to the psyches of any children. Wanting to educate her is absurd. The wake up call she needs is to be executed. She has found a very lucrative income doing what she does and has not just preached this evil, she has personally tortured and murdered children. She and those she cons have no interest in rehabilitating these children or ever accepting them back into society. Her perpose is not to make them into "good, obedient children", they already were. Prophet for Profit is her sole interest.
This evil creature is not only indirectly responsible, she is directly responsible for the torture and murder of thousands of innocent children. She and her thugs attack anyone who opposses her warped vile rantings. Even the most devout Evangelist Christian should stand against this witch.
Joe Bauwens says:
This woman is well documented for abusing children in Nigeria, but there is (realistically) not much hope of bringing a stop to her there. While she is in the US she would be open to prosecution in a US Court. This visit should be seen as an opportunity.
M.E. Anders, the Cult Slayer says:
Jan – Thanks for giving us action steps to take against this child abuser. Keep bringing awareness to these issues, and we'll step in to help where we can.
Akpoke says:
These are false accusation on Lady Apostle Helen Ukpabio. All what the humanist foundation and Leo Igwe are saying are all false. Do you people think that Nigeria government will seat down without arresting and prosecuting those inflicting pains on helpless children? Leo Igwe is seeking for international recognition and an avenue of making wealth. Why is it that other Nigerians are not complaining about Ukpabio? We all in Nigerians know what Leo is up to. Do not be deceived, Mrs Ukpabio is innocent. Beware,bewarned and do not fall a prey to LEO IGWE LIES
Hello readers, there is no need campaigning and mobilizing people for street protest against Marathon Deliverance scheduled to hold in USA by Helen Ukpabio. All these write up about her are fallacies. She does not afflict or recommend children to be subjected to any form of torture. For more details, you can contact any Nigeria Authority of your Choice to know if actually, she practices all what she is been accused of.
Janet Heimlich says:
I apologize for taking so long to approve these last two comments. The delay was due to computer problems I've been experiencing. In regard to supporters' comments about Ms. Ukpabio, I would not state that she "recommends children be subjected to torture." She is not being challenged because she supports child abuse per se. She is being challenged because she foments fears about children being witches. While she has every right to believe this, as someone who is recognized as a religious authority, she is irresponsible to make such beliefs public, for it is these beliefs that have led to the abuse, torture, and death of children. The connection between Ms. Ukpagio's preaching and the abuses that result is undeniable.
Michael Breen says:
Shame on Texas for letting this thing enter their state. Shame on the US for allowing it entry into this country.
Their has to be a cut-off point where common-sense must prevail.
Joe Smith says:
Just a note: Please stop using language like, "appeal to Texans" or "comes to Texas" as if its some event for the whole state. Texas is huge. I can drive to California when i do half of the drive is in one state: Texas. Its meaningless. Just say Houston or where ever it might be.
Evert de Vries says:
So sad. The incidence of abuse will no doubt go up for a while after her visit. Preventable by not letting her in. But, let her in, monitor and gather evidence, prosecute. imprison and save a whole lot more from abuse. In the meantime social services will need to be very vigilant in those communities most likely to be affected. Good luck Houston !
I now hear that Ukpabio's trip has been delayed. Opponents hope the U.S. is denying her a visa!
Christopher S. Fite says:
Jesus loved children. He took them up in his arms.
"Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel said, 'Only the victims can speak for the victims.' In her comprehensive treatise, Janet Heimlich shares the voices of the many victims of religious [child] maltreatment. What's more, she tells the stories of those too young, too intimidated, too mutilated, too traumatized, or too dead to tell their own tales. . . . She makes a convincing case for the abolition of religious exemption laws and the education of public officials who in the past may have failed in their duties to protect children by allowing their judgments to be obscured by claims of religious freedom. She draws a map for religious communities to follow when they need to confront offenders while retaining their commitment to their faiths."
— Seth Asser, PhD, Pediatrics Consultant, Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty


Annette McGhee is from Maintenance and Operations and she is being recognized for her positive attitude, reliability and job performance. Annette exudes cheerfulness when helping other team members or customers, she is dependable and has great attention to detail regarding financial documents allowing resources to directly benefit students.
Russell Jensen is from Maintenance and Operations- Exterior and he is being recognized for his dedication, patience and ability to help others. Russell teaches his crew how to maintain a safe environment when working at sites so students and staff can focus on student achievement.
Jill Griffith is the head custodian at ESC 4 and she is being recognized for her flexibility, collaboration and kindness. Jill is a key resource in making sure the new APS Welcome Center is ready to support Family Engagement Events and ensuring accessibility to resources for the daily flow of refugees and immigrant families.
Laura Huxley is the head custodian at Side Creek and she is being recognized for her leadership, willingness and commitment. Laura leads her team by example with detailed cleaning schedules, training team members how to effectively clean the school based on the needs of students and staff and being available for school and community events when need.


text:
José Luis Varto
Glasswork: Fine Art; Painting; Public Art: Murals; Sculpture
Ingenious, creative, spirited, a relentless explorer of new forms of artistic expression. Constantly experimenting with new materials, he creates new art concepts that have led him from realistic art to a unique abstraction of shape; which characterizes his work, he is creator of his very unique "Lonarias".
Ever from his early years he was strongly attracted towards sketching. Inspired by his father, a painting devotee who provided him with his first drawing tools, and by his mother, from whom he inherited his passion for observation; he developed a steady and sound sketching. Mesmerized by the human body, he soon came to understand its tridimensionality, and that of several other objects; growing more sensitive towards color and shape.
His interest in graphic expression encouraged him to practice his skills in journalistic illustration and publicity. This job allowed him to acquire a sense of discipline and creativeness.
He then went on to study in the National School of Plastic Arts of the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM); where he polished his technique and became acquainted with several others, such as photography and engraving. He created many artwork and participated in several exhibitions.
Nowadays, keeping up to date with technological advances; and, in compliance with his innovative drive, he has adopted digital media as means of artistic expression. He has even taken up CGI, thus satisfying his ambition for "keeping in touch" with his tim
Nowadays, keeping up to date with technological advances; and, in compliance with his innovative drive, he has adopted digital media as means of artistic expression. He has even taken up CGI, thus satisfying his ambition for "keeping in touch" with his time, ad those to come.
He enjoys the pleasure of crafting surreal or realistic pieces, manipulating colors and artistically distributing them on any surface, creating easily recognizable shapes, or abstract figures in unimaginable, dreamlike settings; with one-of-a-kind characteristics, that set them apart from traditional and old-school painting. He relies in his enormous imagination to innovate and produce "state-of-the-art" pieces.
Willing to work in...: American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Napa, Oakville, Pope Valley, Rutherford, Saint Helena, Yountville, Anywhere in Napa County


It is, in fact, very easy to make your own DIY scents — from diffusers to sprays and we even have some other tips and tricks up our sleeves! The plus side to making your own scents is that you can decide just how strong you want them to be, as well as exactly how you want them to smell. And no aerosol cans necessary!
The kitchen — the heart of the home — deserves to be one of the best-smelling rooms in the house as so much time is spent there. Here are just a few recipes that you can use to make your kitchen smell like the essence of the seasons, or even like coffee cake or biscuits — yum!
For some classic scents, combine rosemary sprigs and slices of lemon, or lavender flowers and slices of lemon in a pot or slow cooker with four cups of water. Another variation of stove top potpourri to try for the kitchen is lemon or lime, thyme, and mint along with a few drops of tea tree oil. Replace the thyme with a few eucalyptus leaves (or a drop or two of eucalyptus oil) for those mornings when someone's sinus seems to act up. Two birds with one stone! Simmer the mixture on a low setting and delight in the fresh smell.
For some faux home baking smells, you can use a number of spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and vanilla extract or a vanilla pod in four cups of water. Simmer on low heat as well. For the delightful smell of coffee cake, use coffee grounds, vanilla, and a drop of almond essence. Vanilla and almond essence on their own gives a sweet but absolutely delightful scent that brings to mind butter biscuits and other yummy cookies!
Greet spring with rosemary, vanilla, and lemon or vanilla and cherries and summer with coconut and vanilla stove top potpourri. For a more muted scent for the whole house, try lavender flowers, rose buds or leaves and a drop of vanilla. Get into the mood for fall with a stove top potpourri of apple slices, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cranberries. You can also try out some orange slices and cloves — add a drop or two of vanilla if you like. Welcome winter with a mixture of cedar (either chips or the essential oil), pine cones and eucalyptus leaves. You can also make it truly smell like Christmas by simmering together some cinnamon, cloves, cranberries, pine cones, and pine sprigs.
Herbal teas can also be used to great effect in stove top potpourri, for instance those containing fruit and flowers, those containing green tea, and those containing rooibos and honeybush tea.
The bathroom can sometimes be difficult to keep smelling fresh, but with the right scents and some creativity, that will be a problem of the past!
Diffusers are an easy way to get a steady scent in a room that is not as overwhelming as an aerosol air-freshener. You can make your own diffuser by using a glass jar or small vase, some almond oil, a few drops of essential oils of your choice and some rattan sticks. Try using fresh scents like lemon and mint in the bathroom, rather than heavier scents or scents that are usually associated with food and food preparation.
Make your own toilet bowl bombs by mixing bicarbonate of soda, citric acid, a few drops of the essential oils of your choice, and some rubbing alcohol. Put this mixture in small moulds or ice cube trays and let them harden. On contact with the water in the toilet, they will start to fizz and clean the toilet (and leave a much better odour behind). Some of our favourite scents of the bombs include lemon, lemongrass, mint, tea tree, and balsam fir mixed with tea tree. You can also opt for lavender or rose geranium, especially if it suits the scents of your cleaning products better.
Your own air freshener is also easy to make — the most difficult part is deciding which scent to try first! Using rubbing alcohol, water, and the essential oils of your choice is all you need. You can even use it as a "before you go" spray. We suggest trying lavender, lavender and lemon, tea tree, and witch hazel.
Another easy trick to scent your bathroom is to put a few drops of essential oil like tea tree or even rose geranium on the inside of the cardboard of the toilet roll. It will slowly diffuse from there, leaving a delightful, but not overpowering, fragrance.
While stove top potpourri can scent the whole home — very good for the holiday season especially — you can also use diffusers, scented candles, and potpourri throughout your home to make it smell utterly delightful.
Diffusers can be made in the same way as above for the bathroom diffuser, but the essential oils can simply be changed to suit the room where it will be kept. For instance, a guest room may use lavender and rose geranium, while the study can use sandalwood oil. Mixing sandalwood and cinnamon is also a good way to get a more masculine scent.
Scented candles is another option to make your home smell wonderful. You can also place coffee beans, or a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and star anise around unscented tea, votive, or pillar candles. The heat from the flame will let the scent of these ingredients escape without burning them.
Potpourri is very easy to make and can be as intricate or as simple as you like. From a simple bowl of rose petals and a few drops of rose essential oil, to a mixture of dried citrus, and herbs or spices, the possibilities are endless. Use essential oils to enhance or enrich the scent of the potpourri when first you make it and then every few weeks as the oils diffuse and the scent fades. Some of our favourite scents include lavender flowers, rose leaves, and vanilla pods and also dried orange slices, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, pine cones, and pine sprigs.
Experiment with all the scents you love to find the best combinations. Always start with only one or two drops and make the mixture stronger from there as it is always easier to add more oil than to take away!