text:
Q: Represent date of (1,1,1) How can I use boost gregorian date to represent a date like this ?
C# works like this
Datetime d=new Datetime(1,1,1);

how boost works then ?

A: From the docs:

The implemented calendar is a "proleptic Gregorian calendar" which extends dates back prior to the Gregorian Calendar's first adoption in 1582. The current implementation supports dates in the range 1400-Jan-01 to 9999-Dec-31

You can't represent the year 1 with a boost::gregorian::date.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Cuba warns about Latin America and the Caribbean challenges
Moscow, Dec 22 (Prensa Latina) Latin America and the Caribbean are facing serious challenges today, warned the head of the Ideological Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and deputy, Rogelio Polanco, at an international forum on Russia's relations with the region.
Published by: Ana Luisa Brown
In a video message, the Cuban official talked at the international round table about the role of parliamentary parties in the development of cooperation between Russia and Latin America to ensure environmental and food security, environmental protection and the fight against dangerous infectious diseases.
Convened by the United Russia party and its chairman, Dmitry Medvedev, the meeting was attended by representatives of Latin American political parties and movements.
The exchange was considered by Polanco as a practical continuity of the international conference on Global Challenges of the 21st Century: the inter-party dimension, organized by the same party on December 1st, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its foundation.
The representative of the island recalled that the first secretary of the Central Committee of the PCC and president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, attended the event, which was also held virtually.
In this regard, he stressed the importance of continuing the analysis of the global challenges that have a significant impact on Latin America, a region full of natural wealth, but the most unequal on the planet.
Polanco also expressed his concern about the impact of the environmental crisis, which is worsening and threatens the very existence of some of the smaller Caribbean islands, which may disappear in the coming years due to the increase in the level of the oceans and seas.
ef/abo/gas/mml
#CARIBBEAN #Cuba #LATINAMERICA
Int'l support for Cuba's fight against US blockade highlighted
Cuba to hold referendum on Family Code
Cuba reports 2,967 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths
Cuban prime minister recalls publication of "El Diablo Cojuelo"
Nachito Herrera and Bobby Carcassés inaugurate Jazz Festival in Cuba
Parlatino Venezuela rejects US blockade against Cuba

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Robert Lynam (14 April 1796 – 12 October 1845) was an English cleric, schoolteacher, writer and editor.

Life
The son of Charles Lynam, a spectacle-maker of the parish of St. Alphage, London Wall, he was born in London on 14 April 1796. He was admitted to Christ's Hospital in March 1806, leaving in 1814, and graduated B.A. at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1818, M.A. in 1821. He was ordained deacon in 1820, priest in 1821.

Lynam was appointed assistant mathematical master at Christ's Hospital in 1818, and was promoted in 1820 to be fourth grammar master—a post which he resigned in 1832 for that of assistant chaplain and secretary to the Magdalene Hospital. He was St. Matthew's day preacher at Christ's Hospital in 1821 and 1835, and was subsequently curate and lecturer of Cripplegate Without until his death in Bridgewater Square, London, on 12 October 1845. He left a widow and nine children.

Works
Besides some sermons Lynam published:

 The History of England during the Reign of George III, London, 1825.
 The History of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to the Death of Marcus Antoninus, 2 vols., London, 1850, with portrait; published after the author's death by John Tahourdin White, a master at Christ's Hospital.

Lynam is mainly remembered as an editor:

 The fifteenth edition of the translation of Charles Rollin's Ancient History, 8 vols. 1823, with a memoir.
 The Complete Works of Philip Skelton, rector of Fintona, 6 vols. 1824, dedicated to John Plumptre.
 The Complete Works of William Paley, with Life and Extracts from his Correspondence, 4 vols., 1825.
 The Works of Samuel Johnson, 6 vols. 1825.
 The Edinburgh Mirror (1779–80), with introductory preface and notices of the main contributors, London, 1826.
 The British Essayist, with Prefaces Biographical, Historical, and Critical, with Portraits, 30 vols. London, 1827; contended with the British Essayists (1803 and 1823) of Alexander Chalmers.

Notes

Attribution

1796 births
1845 deaths
19th-century English Anglican priests
People educated at Christ's Hospital
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
English book editors

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Giroud displaces Arsenal legend as third fastest player to 50 goals
Olivier Giroud has become the third fastest Arsenal player to reach 50 goals in Premier League history, knocking Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp down a place in the rankings.
The Frenchman gets a huge amount of stick from pundits and fans, but the stats show he's up there with some of the best strikers in the game – both past and present.
The striker has taken just 113 games to reach the half century mark, with only Ian Wright and Thierry Henry ahead of him in the list – hardly bad company.
Giroud grabbed his fourth goal in four days against Aston Villa this past Sunday afternoon, converting from the spot after Theo Walcott won the penalty (check out the goal here).
He sent Brad Guzan the wrong way, smashing into the open side of the goal. The Aston Villa fans were furious with the decision to award a penalty, but replays showed it was definitely the correct decision.
Giroud has been criticised in the past for his goalscoring among other things, with fans demanding a better striker in every single transfer window. And while we could certainly use reinforcements in the striking department, the criticism Giroud receives is clearly a little harsh.
He does an excellent job for us on a consistent basis, and deserves the plaudits he's been getting recently for his fine form.
Hopefully he continues in this vein, and he keeps firing goals in as we look to lift our first Premier League trophy in years.
(Image courtesy of Sky Sports)
More Stories: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Thierry Henry


text:
Second Seminole War, 1835-1842
"Cannon Firing" by NPS Photo , public domain
Florida Pocket Maps
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Territorial Florida National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Second Seminole War, 1835-1842 Castillo de San Marcos National Monument St. Augustine, Florida ( Southern Migration Seminole Indians, c. 1870 The original native inhabitants of Florida had all but disappeared by 1700. European diseases and the losses from nearly constant colonial warfare had reduced the population to a mere handful. Bands from various tribes in the southeastern United States pressured by colonial expansion began moving into the unoccupied lands in Florida. These primarily Creek tribes were called Cimarrones by the Spanish "strays" or "wanderers." This is the probable origin of the name Seminole. Runaway slaves or "Maroons" also began making their way into Florida where they were regularly granted freedom by the Spanish. Many joined the Indian villages and integrated into the tribes. Early Conflict During the American Revolution the British, who controlled Florida from 1763 to 1784, recruited the Seminoles to raid rebel frontier settlements in Georgia. Both sides engaged in a pattern of border raiding and incursion which continued sporadically even after Florida returned to Spanish control after the war. Despite the formal treaties ending the war the Seminoles remained enemies of the new United States. Growing America At the beginning of the 19th century the rapidly growing American population was pushing onto the frontiers in search of new land. Many eyes turned southward to the Spanish borderlands of Florida and Texas. Several attempts at "filibustering," private or semi-official efforts to forcibly take territory, occurred along the frontiers. The Patriot War of 1812 was one such failed American effort aimed at taking East Florida. Hostilities continued during the War of 1812 as the British encouraged the Creek tribes to attack Americans. Andrew Jackson became a national hero in these years, defeating the Indians in the Creek War of 1813-1814, then the British at New Orleans in 1815 and finally leading an invasion in 1818 into the West Florida territory to destroy the Seminole strongholds along the Suwannee River. This became known as the First Seminole War. Despite the international repercussions arising from Jackson's actions, the United States eventually was able to purchase Florida from Spain in 1821 for five million dollars. Andrew Jackson was appointed governor of the new territory. Trails of Tears Land pressure and Indian trouble continued. Though an 1823 treaty with the Seminoles reducing them to a reservation in Central Florida was negotiated, the provisions of the treaty were only slowly implemented, and the Seminoles were reluctant to move into the reservation area. As plantation agriculture grew in North Florida the runaway slave problem continued to aggravate negotiations. In 1828 Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States. As a security measure and a way of easing land hunger the United States adopted a national policy of Indian removal, essentially trading lands in the west acquired by the Louisiana Purchase for those held in the east by the tribes. Originally a policy of encouragement and negotiation, with the passing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 it became a policy of reluctant and often forcible emigration for tens of thousands of American Indians to the West. A new treaty was negotiated with some of the Seminole chiefs to remove them to the Creek reservations in Oklahoma. This split the tribes with some agreeing to go west and others refusing to abide by any treaty agreements. Internal tribal conflict, clashes with white settlers, and clandestine aid from Spain quickly sparked armed conflict. The Second Seminole War By December 1835 open warfare erupted. Osceola, a respected Seminole warrior along with some of his followers killed Indian Agent Wiley Thompson at Fort King (near present day Ocala) 50 miles away in the area of present day Bushnell, a column of 108 soldiers led by Brevet Major Francis Dade was ambushed and wiped out almost to a man. A single surviving solder made it back to Fort Brooke, present day Tampa, to tell of the battle. The Second Seminole War had begun. The War lasted from 1835 until 1842. The Seminoles inaugurated a guerilla war raiding plantations along the rivers and coasts, displaced much of the civilian population, and damaged the economy. The United States countered with a massive military buildup of 10,000 regulars backed by 30,000 militia. Establishing a chain of forts across the state to protect supply lines the Army sent expeditions against the Seminole villages, burning houses, running off cattle and destroying crops. Threatened with starvation, the majority of Seminoles finally gave in and fighting faded out by August of 1842. . Approximately 200 to 300 Seminoles were left hiding in the Everglades - a nearly impenetrable swampy wasteland. Aftermath Prior to the Vietnam War, the Second Seminole War was the longest conflict that the US Military would ever take part in. The war cost an untold number of Seminole lives, the lives of 1500 US Military and Militia, and approximately $20,000,000. At the end, between 4000 and 5000 Seminoles had been gathered up and shipped west. The War did accomplish the aim of opening up central Florida to white settlement, but it would be many years before any appreciable sized population moved into the area. Cattle ranching became the major industry in the interior and Florida today remains the second largest cattle producing state in the country. A third and final Seminole War broke out in 1855 and ended in 1858 just prior to the Civil War. This conflict began with an act of vandalism by a US Army Surveying team in the Everglades. They destroyed a prize garden of Chief Billy Bowlegs. The Seminoles retaliated and the war was renewed. As with the Second Seminole War before it, the US Military left the Seminoles in the depths of the Everglades. Having never surrendered the Florida Seminoles remain the only Native American Indian tribe yet to make a formal peace treaty with the United States and they still refer to themselves as the "Unconquered People." The Seminole Wars are a unique part of Florida's history. They were typical of the conflicts between whites and Native Americans that would continue throughout the 19th century as America sought to accomplish the ideals of "Manifest Destiny" establishing a single nation from coast to coast. The Castillo de San Marcos, renamed Fort Marion, continued as a prisoner of War camp for captured Indian chiefs and their families. In the 1870's members of the Plains tribes were held here; in the 1880's Geronimo's Apaches. Eventually the Indian Wars came to a close and all Native American tribes were resettled onto reservations where many still remain.


text:
Q: Android App Consumes Memory
After alot of scrolling the memory goes up to:

I have simple android app that shows list if images but the memory appears to be high i'm using Picasso for loading images into the list and here is my code for loading images:
@BindingAdapter({"thumbnail_cars"})
    public static void loadImage(ImageView imageView, Cars cars) {
        Log.e("width ",String.valueOf((Converter.getScreenWidth()-40)*0.4));
        Log.e("height ",String.valueOf(Converter.convertDpToPixel(130)));
        float margins = Converter.convertDpToPixel(20);

        String widthUrl = cars.getImage().replace("[w]",String.valueOf((Converter.getScreenWidth()-margins)*0.4));
        String heightUrl = widthUrl.replace("[h]",String.valueOf(Converter.convertDpToPixel(130)));
        imageDownloader.loadImage(heightUrl, imageView,R.drawable.ic_launcher_background);
    }

Any help will be much appreciated


text:
Setting An Example: Sex Trafficking Survivors Help Rebuild Damaged Houses Of Kerala Flood Victims
The Logical Indian Crew Kerala
September 6th, 2018 / 1:08 PM
Image Credits: Sunitha Krishnan/Facebook
Kerala is trying to find its ground after the devastating floods left over 400 dead and lakhs of people displaced. A 20-member team of carpenters and welders, who are all survivors of sex trafficking, have been working in tandem with the local governing bodies to rebuild the state and make the houses habitable again. This certainly adds to the long list of heartwarming incidents from Kerala, which have reinforced our faith in humanity.
Women engaged in cleaning activities in Kerala
Trafficking survivors help in rebuilding Kerala
The group of women, who belong from Hyderabad-based antitrafficking NGO Prajwala, are skilled workers who have been trained in welding and carpentry. Sunitha Krishnan, co-founder of Prajwala on August 27 tweeted saying that the girls had left for Kerala to assist families in rebuilding their houses.
Finally this afternoon, our girls left for Kerala on their mission to assist families to repair and rebuild their houses. My heart swells with pride. Their generosity of spirit is both awe inspiring and reflective. Every such act of my girls aspires me to be a better person.
— sunitha krishnan (@sunita_krishnan) August 27, 2018
Ever since then, the women, clad in blue and gumboots, have been cleaning people's houses, taking care of minor repairs as well as fixing doors and windows. Sunitha Krishnan, while talking to The Logical Indian said that all the women in the team are employed, however, they have excused themselves from their jobs to help those who are in need in Kerala. The team is going to continue with their efforts till mid-September, added Sunitha. Foregoing their own livelihood for a month, these women, who have learnt the trade during their time at Prajwala, are eager to help people who have lost their all, get back again on their feet.
The team of 20 women are skilled workers who have learnt carpentry
Reportedly, Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development, a Kerala-based organisation which works on low-cost alternative housing was approached by Prajwala. The women have been working in Alappuzha as well as in Kuttanad. In a tweet on August 30, Sunitha said that the women had successfully cleaned 10 houses and a school in a span of just two days. Over the last 14 years, the NGO has trained 2000 survivors of sex trafficking, informed Sunitha.
These women have shown an exemplary act of generosity by choosing to volunteer for the flood-victims in Kerala. The Logical Indian community applauds the efforts of these women.
TN:12-Yr-Old Girl With Heart Condition Donates Part Of Surgery Money To Kerala Relief Fund
Humanity Above All: Maharashtra Sex Workers & Kerala Jail Inmates Also Come To Aid Of Kerala Flood Victims
Written by : Sromona Bhattacharyya
This Architect Travelled 1800 KM From Tamil Nadu To Odisha On Bike To Help Fani Victims Rebuild Their Houses
By Reforming Its Public Education System, Delhi Govt Is Setting An Example Of Good Governance
Kerala: For Helping Victims During Flood, Catholic Priest Gives Thanksgiving Speech In A Mosque
Women's Group Harnesses The Power Of Social Media To Help Kerala Flood Victims
Companies Have Found Ways To Help Flood Victims Of Kerala And Kodagu, Here's How You Can Too


text:
Inventing the Fiesta City
Heritage and Carnival in San Antonio
By Laura Hernández-Ehrisman
$34.95 Paperback 978-0-8263-4311-6 April 2016
The story of how the multicultural identity of San Antonio, Texas, has been shaped and polished through its annual fiesta since the late nineteenth century.
Subjects: American StudiesHistory
Global West, American Frontier
Travel, Empire, and Exceptionalism from Manifest Destiny to the Great Depression
By David M. Wrobel
$29.95 Paperback 978-0-8263-3081-9 October 2014
Looking at both European and American travelers' accounts of the West, from de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, David Wrobel offers a counternarrative to the nation's romantic entanglement with its western past and suggests the importance of some long-overlooked authors, lively and perceptive witnesses to our history who deserve new attention.
Subjects: Western HistoryAmerican Studies
Dispatches from the Drownings
Reporting the Fiction of Nonfiction
By B. J. Hollars
In homage to Michael Lesy's cult classic, Wisconsin Death Trip, Hollars pairs reports from late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century journalists with fictional versions, creating a hybrid text complete with facts, lies, and a wide range of blurring in between.
Subjects: American StudiesJournalism
Intimate Memories
The Autobiography of Mabel Dodge Luhan
By Mabel Dodge Luhan
Edited by Lois Palken Rudnick
$24.95 Paperback 978-0-8263-2106-0 July 2014
At last edited into one volume, the story of one of twentieth-century America's most flamboyant women, from her youth in upper-class Buffalo to her "discovery" of New Mexico.
Subjects: American StudiesBiographySouthwest
Amiri Baraka and Edward Dorn
The Collected Letters
Edited by Claudia Moreno Pisano
The letters of Amiri Baraka and Edward Dorn offer a vivid picture of American lives connecting around poetry during a tumultuous time of change and immense creativity.
Subjects: Literary CriticismAmerican Studies
The Suppressed Memoirs of Mabel Dodge Luhan
Sex, Syphilis, and Psychoanalysis in the Making of Modern American Culture
$29.95 Hardcover 978-0-8263-5119-7 July 2012
Restricted at the behest of her family until the year 2000, Rudnick's edition of these remarkable documents represents the culmination of more than thirty-five years of study of Luhan's life, writings, lovers, friends, and Luhan's social and cultural milieus in Italy, New York, and New Mexico.
Subjects: American StudiesBiographyNew MexicoSouthwestWomen
Strange Jeremiahs
Civil Religion and the Literary Imaginations of Jonathan Edwards, Herman Melville, and W. E. B. Du Bois
By Carole Stewart
$75.00 Hardcover 978-0-8263-4679-7 March 2011
Stewart studies the writings of three American authors who all helped define civil religion through their expressions of the tradition of the jeremiad, or prophetic judgment of a people for backsliding from their destiny.
Subjects: American StudiesLiteratureReligion
Invitation to an Execution
A History of the Death Penalty in the United States
Edited by Gordon Bakken
$75.00 Hardcover 978-0-8263-4856-2 November 2010
These original essays examine the complex history of the death penalty, focusing on specific geographic areas to illuminate the circumstances of law and politics.
Subjects: American StudiesPoliticsSociology
Notes from a Miner's Canary
Essays on the State of Native America
By Jace Weaver
$29.95 Paperback 978-0-8263-4874-6 November 2010
A leading scholar takes on a variety of contemporary issues as they relate to Native Americans.
Subjects: American IndiansAmerican StudiesHistory
Land of Disenchantment
Latina/o Identities and Transformations in Northern New Mexico
By Michael Trujillo
$29.95 Paperback 978-0-8263-4736-7 March 2010
This experimental study of cultural dysfunction in New Mexico's Española Valley tells the stories of several of its Nuevomexicano residents, both famous and notorious.
Subjects: American StudiesAnthropologySouthwestSociology


Eso.Xo.Supreme is an up-and-comer that you'd be wise to pay attention to. Today, Eso gives us the new video for the intro track off of his December-released " Lonely Ghost EP." This record is produced by Swede808 of 808mafia and DJ Pain 1. Directed by Shiner Pacific and edited by R3xWonders, the visual depicts a trippy look at the lines drawn between her and him, a search for love and a want to never lose it, and the effect of the mind, body, and soul from the thought of not obtaining this love. Learn Eso's inner concerns through this deep video with a vintage feel.
Tune in up top for the latest.


text:
Ciara to "Level Up" and Attend Harvard Business School
The 'Beauty Marks' mogul is going to college
Emma McIntyre / Staff
Only 10 days after dropping her bold new album Beauty Marks, Ciara is set to "Level Up" to her next challenge.
The singer announced on Monday that she has been accepted into Harvard Business School, writing "I always dreamt of going to college, but by God's grace, my music career took me on a path that I'm so thankful for. This week I got accepted into Harvard!"
"Words cannot describe my excitement!" continued the R&B star, who just released her 7th studio album on her own Beauty Marks Entertainment label.
I always dreamt of going to college, but by God's grace, my music career took me on a path that I'm so thankful for. This week I got accepted into Harvard! Words cannot describe my excitement! Thank you @anitaelberse for a once in in a lifetime opportunity to attend @Harvard BEMS. #WhyNotHER
A post shared by Ciara (@ciara) on May 20, 2019 at 4:29pm PDT
According to Billboard, Ciara is set to attend Harvard University's Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports program, where she'll learn to "capitalize on market disruptions" and establish a "long-term competitive advantage." Those are some boss moves to add to the skill set of an already amazing woman.
In addition to her new album, Ciara also wowed the crowd earlier this month at the Billboard Music Awards with a performance during the show and an adorable red carpet moment with her son. The mother of two married Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in 2016, and has become a beacon of self-love and positivity.
Beauty Marks is now available everywhere.
Related: Seattle Seahawks Make Russell Wilson Highest-Paid Player in NFL


We know that we only thrive if we could guarantee our combined selling price competiveness and good quality advantageous at the same time for Eurocard Vertical Plug Male Connectors , Eurocard Vertical Plug Type Connectors , Eurocard Vertical Female Connectors , We invites you and your company to thrive together with us and share a dazzling foreseeable future in world-wide market place.
"Our pursuit and corporation aim should be to ""Always satisfy our consumer requirements"". We carry on to build and style and design remarkable quality items for both our outdated and new clients and reach a win-win prospect for our clients at the same time as us for Eurocard Vertical Plug Male Connectors , Eurocard Vertical Plug Type Connectors , Eurocard Vertical Female Connectors , With its rich manufacturing experience high-quality items and perfect after-sale service the company has gained good reputation and has become one of the famous enterprise specialized in manufacturing series.We sincerely hope to establish business relation with you and pursue mutual benefit.


Also known as the "Control Segment"
These stations monitor the GPS satellites, checking both their operational health and their exact position in space. The master ground station transmits corrections for the satellite's ephemeris constants and clock offsets back to the satellites themselves. The satellites can then incorporate these updates in the signals they send to GPS receivers.
There are five monitor stations: Hawaii, Ascension Island, Diego Garcia, Kwajalein, and Colorado Springs.


text:
Euan McColm: Tory contenders admit drug taking but can't face Brexit reality
Michael Gove has admitted to taking cocaine when he worked as a journalist
Euan McColm
Published: 11:00 Updated: 11:12 Sunday 09 June 2019
As Conservative leadership contenders line up to admit to drug taking, their plans on getting out of the EU seem more fantasy than reality, writes Euan McColm
As the deadline grows closer, things are getting downright weird.
Nominations to replace Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party – and, by extension, Prime Minister – close at 5pm tomorrow and, as the clock ticks down, some candidates appear to be competing over which of them has taken the most dangerous drugs.
This most peculiar game of one-upmanship began when International Development Secretary Rory Stewart revealed that he had once, while attending a wedding in Iran, smoked opium. This he had done out of politeness (and which of us hasn't taken a deadly narcotic rather than offend a host?) and he was very sorry about it indeed.
Inspired by this confession, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt responded with his own story of youthful drug use. While on a backpacking holiday in India, he "might have" drunk a cannabis lassi. That he appeared unable to remember whether he had, in fact, ingested a drink laced with weed suggests that it was heavy duty gear.
But this bizarre game did not end with Hunt's admission. Yesterday, Environment Secretary Michael Gove upped the ante when he explained that, as a young journalist in London, he had snorted cocaine on a number of occasions. This, I'm bound to say, was quite the line to take for a man who hopes to lead a party which remains fully committed to both the criminalisation of drugs and the imprisonment of anyone involved in their use or supply.
It is, I suppose, easier to talk about taking illegal drugs than it is to explain precisely how one might succeed in achieving Brexit where May so emphatically failed.
May stepped down as Tory leader on Friday but will remain Prime Minister until her party's 160,000 members choose who should be our next head of government. In the fantasies of those who wish to replace May, they will find solutions where none are apparent. Under their leadership, Britain will leave the EU on October 31 and wake up the next morning, ready to thrive.
Anyone who believes they will easily achieve this is either a fool or a liar.
May certainly made serious mistakes over her handling of Brexit. The most damaging among a litany of errors was her decision to pander to the Leavers in her party rather than trying to build any kind of consensus across the House of Commons where a majority of MPs voted Remain in the 2016 referendum.
This short-sightedness did nothing but further polarise an already divided parliament. She was never going to be able to please her party's hard right Eurosceptic cranks – the likes of Jacob Rees Mogg, Steve Baker, and Nadine Dorries – but she tried. In the process, she earned the contempt of her own moderates and the vast majority of opposition MPs. And, of course, the Eurosceptics continued to despise her.
The legacy of May's attempt to unite her party and deliver on the result of the referendum is a Tory Party in tatters, where even former allies are divided. Just a few days ago, the excitable and stupid MP Mark Francois declared that Michael Gove – a leading figure in the Leave campaign – wasn't even a "proper Brexiteer".
This right-on-right conflict is entertaining enough to watch but it doesn't fill one with much hope that May's replacement – whether that's the career-liar Boris Johnson or someone else – will make progress where she stalled.
Countless commons votes on the issue of whether the UK should leave the EU with or without a deal and what shape that deal should take have revealed a stand-off that shows no sign of ending.
Nonetheless, it appears we are to indulge the fantasies of those who wish to lead our nation, and take seriously their suggestions about how things will be different under their glorious reigns.
We are to take seriously such nonsense as Andrea Leadsom's proposal that she could legislate to guarantee the status of British citizens who live elsewhere in the EU and Dominic Raab's horrifying suggestion that he might prorogue parliament in order to force through a No-Deal Brexit in defiance of the wishes of a majority of MPs. We are to entertain the No-Deal fantasies of Sajid Javid and Esther McVey and the renegotiation pipe dreams of Johnson and Hunt.
Reality be damned! It bounces off these pretenders to the throne.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the majority of MPs continue to oppose a No Deal. Furthermore, regardless of the proposals put forward by Johnson and Hunt, the EU has absolutely no intention of re-opening negotiations. In fact, the negotiating team has been disbanded, its members redeployed on other duties.
Unless a great many MPs who have, until now, held the sensible position that crashing out of the EU without a deal would be catastrophic for the UK, suddenly forget their principles, then the next prime minister, if he or she is a hard Brexiteer, will be as stuck as May was. Likewise, a more moderate PM will be thwarted in their mission unless those on the Tory right suddenly decide that they can live with an arrangement that maintains links with the EU.
The success of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party in the recent European Parliamentary elections may tempt the next PM to pander to the rigidly ideological Eurosceptics in the Conservative Party but to do so would be a short-term solution that would reposition the Tories further from the political centre.
A second referendum looks like the only way of breaking the current parliamentary deadlock.
But even that would not begin to bring this matter to any kind of easy conclusion. A second Leave win is unlikely to persuade those MPs who believe that would be a mistake to change their minds while a victory for Remain would only encourage Eurosceptics to play even dirtier than they have until now.
Any one of the candidates to be our next prime minster who believes they can easily succeed where May failed must be on drugs.


Aqueous Calamine Cream for sympathetic relief of mild sunburn and other minor skin conditions.
Simple Linctus citric acid monohydrate offers fast soothing relief from the symptoms of coughs.
Simple Antiperspirant Roll On keeps you fresh all day.
SIMPLE SHAMPOO 200ML -GENTLE FREQ.


Language Isochrony (Rhythm, Prosody, Stress-timed, Syllable-timed, and Mora-timed are some related terms) is studied by Linguists but is also relevant to applied fields such as Interpretation and Language Teaching. The topic is also related to Human Evolution and to Cognitive Science. English is a stress-timed language. Japanese is a mora-timed language (a mora is a unit of stress and timing that is below the level of the syllable). The tonal language Cantonese is a syllable- timed language and the tonal language Mandarin falls on a continuum between syllable-timed and stress-timed. A language learner will normally, implicitly try to apply the language isochrony characteristics of his or her first language to the task of internalizing the new vocabulary and structures. Instructors of TESL and of languages should learn and apply some of the basics of Language Isochrony in their work. Similarly, interpreters. A critical aspect of an interpreter's work is rendering 'units of meaning' in to the second language and saving time (at the subsecond level) is an important concern. So things such as rhythm and stress are important. In the talk, the literature will be presented and reviewed, and results from some of my specific investigations will also be presented. Samples from English and Mandarin, and from some Mandarin Tongue Twisters and other spoken forms will be modeled and analyzed in the context.
Gina Wells is the faculty sponsor of this project.


text:
Ukraine Civil War, Vladimir Putin, Western Intervention
The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention—But Does It Apply to Donbass?
Posted by KAR ⋅ March 18, 2016 ⋅ Leave a comment
Filed Under Graham E. Fuller, Rajan Menon
Introduction by Kennedy Applebaum
Rajan Menon (–network2020.org)
I present below a review by Graham E. Fuller, posted yesterday at the Ron Paul Institute, of Rajan Menon's new book The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention. Fuller, a former CIA official, portrays City University of New York Professor Menon as an enlightened critic of US neoconservative aggression abroad, a policy that has caused the deaths of tens or hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, primarily in the Middle East. But as I was reading Fuller's excellent synopsis, I had an uneasy sense this was too good to be true.
What then, I wondered, is Rajan's opinion on Ukraine and Donbass?
Alas, my discovery was not a happy one. Rajan is apparently unaware that the US was largely responsible for the violent coup in Kiev that overthrew democratically elected President Viktor Yanukovich. He seems to maintain the propagandist fiction that Russia was not justified, after the coup, in annexing Crimea. The fact is, following a violent coup, leadership is up for grabs, and for want of established international law on post-coup transitions of power, any faction supported by the people has a right to step into the vacuum. The population of Crimea voted to go with Russia. This was as legal as anything else—and certainly more legal than the America-sponsored coup was in the first place.
Oleksandr Turchynov (–ibtimes.com)
Menon also seems to believe Russia instigated the Donbass revolt, not recognizing the ironic fact that Russia didn't need to. Kiev regime leader President Petro Poroshenko managed to instigate it well enough himself by continuing to bomb civilians in Slavyansk,, a massacre begun by his temporary predecessor Oleksandr Turchynov.
Why is Menon enlightened about America's "naked imperial ambitions" in the Middle East, yet clueless about the crimes of Poroshenko's Western-backed post-coup government in Kiev?
Apparently anti-Putin propaganda has been so thorough, even careful scholars have missed the point.
I post first the book review, followed by excerpts revealing Menon's opinion on Ukraine.
The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention
Book Review by Graham E. Fuller
Rajan Menon's new book, "The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention," (Oxford) launches a timely argument against a dominant argument lying behind so much of modern American foreign policy—"humanitarian intervention" or "liberal interventionism." We are, of course, well familiar with Republican and neocon readiness to go to war, but the reality is that many Democrat Party leaders have been no less seduced into a series of optional foreign military interventions, with increasingly disastrous consequences. Hillary Clinton is today one of the leading exponents of the idea, but so are many of the advisors around President Obama.
Menon offers powerful argumentation skewering the concept of "humanitarian intervention," demonstrating how it operates often as little more than a subtler form of an imperial agenda. Naked imperial ambitions tend to be recognizable for what they are. But when those global ambitions are cloaked in the liberal language of our "right to protect" oppressed peoples, prevent humanitarian outrages, stop genocide, and to topple noxious dictators, then the true motives behind such operations become harder to recognize. What humanitarian could object to such lofty goals? Yet the seductive character of these "liberal interventionist" policies end up serving—indeed camouflaging—a broad range of military objectives that rarely help and often harm the ostensible objects of our intervention.
Professor Rajan Menon brings a considerable variety of skills to bear in this brief and lucid book. Despite his first class academic credentials in the field, he also writes in clear and persuasive language for the concerned general reader. Second, Menon is no theoretician: he has worked closely with policy circles for many years and understands the players and operations as well as anyone outside government.
In rejecting the premise of "liberal interventionism" Menon is not exercising some hard-minded, bloodless vision of policy—quite the opposite. He is deeply concerned for the wellbeing of peoples and societies abroad—who are often among the primary victims of such liberal interventionism. He argues not as an isolationist but rather as an observer who has watched so many seemingly well-minded interventions turn into horror stories for the citizens involved. From a humanitarian point of view, can the deaths of half a million Iraqis and the dislocation of a million or so more be considered to have contributed to the wellbeing of "liberated Iraq?" As former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once said, she regretted the death of 500,000 Iraqi children who, in Saddam's Iraq, had been deprived of medicines under a long US embargo, but, she concluded, "it was worth it." One wonders to whom it was worth it? Where is the humanitarian vision behind such a comment? Libya too has been transformed from an unpleasant but quiescent dictatorship under Qadhafi into a nightmare of raging militias, civil war, anarchy and a breeding ground of ISIS and al-Qa'ida. Afghanistan is still mired in conflict. So Menon is arguing not for a hardening of hearts, but for questioning the real-world outcomes of such seemingly "well-intentioned" wars.
Ultimately the case for "humanitarian intervention" is justified by the quest for international justice, protection of civilians, and the broadening of democratization and human rights. The US has regularly invoked these principles in justifying its ongoing— indeed nonstop— wars over the past several decades. Yet the sad reality is that the selective nature of US interventions raises serious questions about the true motivation behind invoking such "universal" values. US calls for "democratization" more often operate as punishment to its enemies ("regime change") but rarely as a gift to be bestowed upon friends ("friendly dictators.")
Menon argues, buttressing his case with striking examples from around the world, that such selective implementation of "universal values" by a global (imperial) power ends up tarnishing and diminishing the very values they are meant to promote; as a result they create broad cynicism around the world among those who perceive them as mere instruments of aggressive US global power projection. Yet when many genuine humanitarian crises do burst forth, as in Rwanda or in the ongoing agonies of the Congo (five million dead and counting) Washington has opted not to intervene because it did not perceive its immediate national interests to be threatened.
In short, the selective and opportunistic character of liberal interventionism ends up giving a bad name to liberalism. And it cruelly deceives many in the West who seek a more "liberal" foreign policy and yet who find that, in the end, they have only supported the projection of greater American geopolitical power—and usually at considerable human cost to the Iraqs, Afghanistans, Somalias, Libyas, and Columbias of the world.
Any reader of the book is eventually forced to confront a deeper question: when is war in fact "worth it"? Few would respond "never," but many might respond "rarely." Yet Menon is not arguing against war as such, so much as forcing us to acknowledge the faulty "liberal" foundation of our relentless quest for enemies to destroy—in the name of making the world a better place.
The title of the book, "The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention," suggests that at the very least such policies are self-deceiving, in other cases perhaps deliberately meant to obfuscate. Menon here poses the question whether, for whatever motivation, great powers can ever sufficiently master the complexity of foreign societies to truly engineer a better life in the countries we target for remodeling. And whether we can afford an enterprise that might take decades at the least.
In the end we become aware of the unhealthy nature of combining broad ideals married to global power. In the case of the British Empire, and now the American, this combination readily leads to the manipulation and then corruption of those ideals—discrediting US prestige and credibility and damaging the lives of those living in troubled areas.
None of this is to say that there is never room for international intervention in arenas of horrific depredations against civilian populations. But it is only when such intervention is truly international (essentially UN-sanctioned and not a mere maneuver to insert NATO into another global hotspot) that it can it take on a measure of credibility and international respect. Otherwise it ends up perceived as a US proxy move against Russia, China, Iran, or some other adversary.
Menon's book constitutes essential reading for anyone troubled by the ugly character of so much of the international scene these days, and yet dismayed by its exploitation by policy-makers who cloak invasion, power projections and military operations in the garb of humanitarian effort. Here is a cogent critique of the recent decades of US foreign policy misadventures in which our military has become the primary instrument of US policy—and justified in the name of humanitarian goals. We rarely get to hear these arguments so clearly presented.
Graham E. Fuller (–newsroom.ysu.edu)
Graham E. Fuller is a former senior CIA official, author of numerous books on the Muslim World. His latest book is "Breaking Faith: A novel of espionage and an American's crisis of conscience in Pakistan." (Amazon, Kindle) grahamefuller.com
Conflict in Ukraine
The Unwinding of the Post–Cold War Order
By Rajan Menon and Eugene B. Rumer
Excerpts from Book Review
The current conflict in Ukraine has spawned the most serious crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. It has undermined European security, raised questions about NATO's future, and put an end to one of the most ambitious projects of U.S. foreign policy—building a partnership with Russia. It also threatens to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts on issues ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation. And in the absence of direct negotiations, each side is betting that political and economic pressure will force the other to blink first. Caught in this dangerous game of chicken, the West cannot afford to lose sight of the importance of stable relations with Russia.
This book puts the conflict in historical perspective by examining the evolution of the crisis and assessing its implications both for the Crimean peninsula and for Russia's relations with the West more generally. Experts in the international relations of post-Soviet states, political scientists Rajan Menon and Eugene Rumer clearly show what is at stake in Ukraine, explaining the key economic, political, and security challenges and prospects for overcoming them. They also discuss historical precedents, sketch likely outcomes, and propose policies for safeguarding U.S.-Russia relations in the future. In doing so, they provide a comprehensive and accessible study of a conflict whose consequences will be felt for many years to come.
"Here is a calm, clear alternative to the many emotional efforts to place blame for the crisis in Ukraine on one side alone…. Menon and Rumer leave no doubt about the boundaries Russia crossed in seizing Crimea and fueling the war in eastern Ukraine, but they do not settle for the common one-dimensional explanation that attributes Russian actions to President Vladimir Putin's alleged imperial fantasies….. The modest length of the book and its crisp prose complement the efficiency and restraint of the analysis." —Foreign Affairs [Emphasis by Kennedy Applebaum]
Rajan Menon is Anne and Bernard Spitzer Professor of Political Science at the Powell School, City College of New York/City University of New York, Senior Research Scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University, and the author, most recently, of The End of Alliances. He is completing a book on humanitarian intervention and is a regular contributor to nationalinterest.org.
« Russia as Ally, China as Foe: A Unique Dichotomy in US Relations
Donald Trump Speaks Against US Foreign Intervention – Washington Post »


text:
"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."
The following sermon was preached on Sunday, February 21, 2016 (the second Sunday of Lent), at the Church of St. Michael & St. George. Services today, as all through Lent, begin with the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) and Penitential Rite (Summary of the Law with Confession), in which each commandment is read aloud followed by the whole congregation saying together, "Lord have mercy and incline our hearts to keep thy law." Following all the commandments we say the general confession and hear the words of pardon. This takes the place of the Confession later in the service.
Collect: O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from thy ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ thy Son; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings: Genesis 15:1-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35
In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen:
A few years ago I met a priest who had been a guest preacher at Eton College Chapel in England. As you may know, Eton College is one of the world's great boarding schools, where boys from 13 to 18 years old have been educated in the shadow of Windsor Castle since the reign of Henry VI, in 1440. The school has sometimes been called "the nursemaid of the empire," and it has been the alma mater of monarchs, statesmen, and churchmen alike (both the present Prime Minister and Archbishop of Canterbury are alumni, to name two examples). Since its founding, daily worship has been offered in the school chapel, according to all the seasonal changes and chances of the Book of Common Prayer.
This preacher whom I met had arrived at the chapel early, since he wanted to check a reference in his sermon against the Prayer Books in the chapel seats (which of course were then — and still are! — the Book of Common Prayer of 1662). He chose the nearest prayer book, and on opening it, the pages fell naturally to the "Table of Consanguinity," the page that lists all the persons in a person's family whom he or she is not permitted to marry.
This amused the preacher, and as he scanned the familiar list, he noted some writing in the margin: next to the line saying that a man may not marry his grandmother, some poor homesick boy had written, "Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law!"
Of course the boy was making a wordplay on the lines we just spoke earlier this morning: they are part of our "Penitential Rite" which we use at the beginning of our services during Lent, and which are spoken with at least the same frequency in the English prayer book. "Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law." Whether reciting the Ten Commandments or steeling ourselves against the charms of Grandma, it's a wonderful prayer to keep in our back pockets and at the tips of our tongues!
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is also engaging in a little wordplay. First he calls Herod a fox, which is funny enough: this Herod was not his father: his father was the Herod who talked himself into a fruitful alliance with the Romans, who had engaged in massive building plans, negotiated with the three wise men, and left his kingdom far stronger than he found it. This Herod, the son, was no great politician. He had presided over the fracture of his father's kingdom into much smaller bits, an outright takeover bid by new Roman Governors, and couldn't manage to keep a lid on the intrigue in his own house let alone his kingdom. Jesus is making fun of Herod by calling him a sly fox. But then he continues, by referring to himself as a hen! Foxes and henhouses, the implication is clear: Herod is out to get him. Jesus reflects that as much of a fool as Herod might be, Jerusalem will still be his doom, even as it was the doom of all the prophets before him.
Jesus concludes his rueful reverie with yet another wordplay, this one a little more biting: "Behold, your house is forsaken, and I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord." First of all Jesus is referring back to Psalm 118, one of the great liturgical psalms used in Jewish feasts, in which the whole people of God is summoned to praise the Lord, "whose mercy endureth forever." "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" is one of the concluding verses of that Psalm, and serves to point the whole singing congregation towards the saving activity of God on behalf of his people. It is one of the great summaries in Scripture of the whole purpose of the prophets.
Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. By saying that people will not see him until they say this line, Jesus is identifying himself with that tradition of prophecy and praise. But more than this, he is also foreshadowing his own triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In true prophetic fashion, his witty play on words serves a real predictive purpose: this is exactly the chorus that the crowds will shout on Palm Sunday: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna to the Son of David!"
Of course the irony, which Jesus knows all too well, is that the crowd will not crown him king except with a crown of thorns, and they will not set him on a throne but nail him to the cross. The even deeper irony is that, though they do this to mock him, their coronation is a true one: the Lord of Glory, who comes in the Name of his Father, does reign from that tree: from that cross he works the salvation the prophets had promised, and truly is it said of him, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
Jesus' wordplay here is not just the tired and somewhat caustic commentary it initially appears to be. His wit plays the whole prophetic and religious tradition of his people off of his own upcoming triumphal entry, passion, and crucifixion. In a moment of sly humor, Jesus makes a wonderfully cheeky comment about his own future and the nature of his gospel.
What about you and me? "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" has some resonance for us too, just like the homesick Etonian and the line "Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law." We repeat "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist, whether quietly at a midweek service in the chapel, or to music at this choral mass on Sunday morning. It comes immediately following the Sanctus, when we repeat Isaiah's great vision of the Lord enthroned in glory with the three-times acclamation "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts."
When we sing "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" in church we are doing two things: first, we recall the act which Jesus accomplished on our behalf upon the cross and give thanks for the salvation it works for us; and second, we also turn our attention towards the coming Eucharistic Prayer, and recognize Jesus' presence among us under the sacramental signs of bread and wine. In effect, we are saying, "Thank you for what you did for us on the cross; and thank you for the nourishment we are about to receive, the fruit of that same redemption." Singing, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" locates us as recipients of God's grace, and throws us on the Name of Jesus as the one through whom we receive it.
But this isn't all. There is more wordplay to offer. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." It is a witty remark by Jesus which reflects on prophetic tradition and predicts his own triumphal entry and crucifixion. It is pithy line by which you and I remember his sacrifice and prepare to receive the ongoing nourishment of his body and blood. But it's not just a way of reflecting on the past and preparing for the present. It is also an anticipation of the future.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." You and I, with all the baptized, have put on Christ as a garment by the power of the Holy Spirit. Day by day, in Lent especially by our individual disciplines, we are being conformed to his image and growing into the fullness of his stature. When God the Father looks at each of us on Judgement Day, He will see the likeness of his Son and the virtue of His sacrifice, not our own meager efforts. On that day, as we enter into the joy of our Master, the whole chorus of angels will sing of each one of us, "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord," and all heaven will laugh at how well the wordplay fits for each of the redeemed.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." What am I trying to say with this whole wandering series of reflections on wordplay? Only a very simple point, which some of you have been hearing me make all week long. That is, that the Christian religion is not a sad or a depressing thing. Sure we discipline our souls and bodies, especially in Lent, and of course we mourn our sins. But the whole brilliant wonderful reason for doing all this is that, thanks to God, our sins do not have the last word, they cannot speak the last judgment against us. The power of sin and death have been defeated by him who faced them on our behalf. And all that's left, he deepest truth about heaven and earth and each one of us, far deeper than our sin and failings, is the mirth, the good cheer, the laughter of God.
There's a wonderful line in the classic film, "Becket." Richard Burton, playing Thomas Becket, the recently appointed new Archbishop of Canterbury (who did not go to Eton College, by the way) has just given away all his former possessions to the poor. The Bishop of London, his more worldly friend, is scandalized by his profligacy, thinking it merely a clever political ploy to win favor with the crowds. But Becket reassures him by laughing and saying he never felt better. He says, "I'm simply enjoying all of this. I'm beginning to believe he's not a sad God after all."
Friends, we do not serve a sad God, but one who delights in laughter and good cheer, whose abiding mirth is a far firmer foundation than anything sin and death can throw at us. This Lent, let us rejoice to lay aside the sin that clings so close, to walk with Jesus on the way of the cross, to see all of heaven opening before us, and to say with prophets, saints, Angels, and all the redeemed, "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."
In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Amen.
Tags: CSMSG : Lent : Liturgy : Mirth


Building air leakage can significantly impact the energy performance of a building through envelope heat loss and higher fan energy to maintain building pressurization. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council is offering a workshop on December 13th in the Tri-Cities area about the commercial air barrier requirements in the 2015 WSEC. This 2-hour training will provide information about air barrier installation and building enclosure testing. Click here for the full flyer.
What is an air barrier and why it is required in the WSEC?
What happens if the building fails the building enclosure air leakage test?


text:
Q: Prove the set of continuous real-valued functions on the interval $[0,1]$ is a subspace of $\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$
Prove the set of continuous real-valued functions on the interval $[0,1]$ is a subspace of $\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$

My Attempted Proof:
$$\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]} := \{ f \  | \  f : [0,1] \to \mathbb{R}\}$$
Part 1 :Take $f_0 : [0,1] \to 0$ (i.e. $f_o(x) = 0 \ \ \  \forall x \in [0,1]$). Clearly $f_0 \in \mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$, and thus we have our additive identity for $\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$.
Part 2 : Now take $\alpha : [0,1] \to a \in \mathbb{R}$ and $\beta : [0,1] \to b \in \mathbb{R}$. Fix $x \in [0,1]$, then
$$\alpha(x) + \beta(x) : (x \in [0,1] \to a \in \mathbb{R}) + (x \in [0,1] \to b \in \mathbb{R})$$
which is the same as $x \in [0,1] \to (a \in \mathbb{R} + b \in \mathbb{R}) = (a+b) \in \mathbb{R}$, and thus $$\alpha(x) + \beta(x) \in \mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$$
and $\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$ is closed under addition.
Part 3 :Finally we take $\gamma \in [0,1]$ and $f \in \mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$. $f(x) = a \in \mathbb{R}$ for some $x \in [0,1]$, then $$\gamma \cdot f(x) = \gamma \cdot a \in \mathbb{R}$$
and $\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$ is closed under scalar multiplication. $\square$

Is my proof correct and logical/rigorous?

A: You need to emphasize the continuity. That is, you need to show that the set of continuous functions is nonempty and that it is closed under the operations of $\mathbb{R}^{[0,1]}$.
When you take the zero function, you need to note that this function is in fact continuous. Similarly with addition, you need to take two continuous functions $f$ and $g$ and show that $f+g$ is continuous.
Also, in the end you should take an arbitrary $a\in\mathbb{R}$ and prove that $(a\cdot f)\colon [0,1]\to\mathbb{R}$ is continuous for all $f\colon [0,1]\to \mathbb{R}$ continuos, where $(a\cdot f)(x):=a\cdot f(x)$ for all $x\in [0,1]$.


Utah Courts - Rule 5.6. Restrictions on right to practice.
(b) anagreement in which a restriction on the licensed paralegal practitioner?s rightto practice is part of the settlement of a client controversy.
 An agreementrestricting the right of licensed paralegal practitioners to practice afterleaving a firm not only limits their professional autonomy but also limits thefreedom of clients to choose a licensed paralegal practitioner. Paragraph (a)prohibits such agreements except for restrictions incident to provisionsconcerning retirement benefits for service with the firm.
 Paragraph (b)prohibits a licensed paralegal practitioner from agreeing not to represent otherpersons in connection with settling a claim on behalf of a client.
 This Rule does not apply to prohibitrestrictions that may be included in the terms of the sale of a licensedparalegal practitioner practice pursuant to Rule 1.17.


Was the Qana tragedy staged?
The word "blog" has become a familiar part of our vocabulary. It is an abbreviated form of weblog, an evolving type of website on which "bloggers" express their views on everything from food to politics. Some are frivolous, others blatantly contain misinformation and yet others are plainly hoaxes. On the other hand, there are many serious blogs and web sites containing important and valuable information, which stimulate serious discussion among opinion makers.
With the focus of world attention on the Middle East conflict, Bloggers have raised pertinent and very serious questions about the accuracy of mainstream media reports on the Qana tragedy. They have even produced credible evidence suggesting that the scenes we have witnessed on TV were skillfully staged.
At a press conference, IAF chief of staff General Amir Eshel said there had been three air strikes on Qana on June 30. Only the first strike, which occurred at 01.00 hit the building in which the civilians were staying; the other two bombs hit areas at least 400 meters away. He added that foreign press statements reported that the building did not collapse until about 08.00 creating an unexplained gap of about seven hours.
With the increasing credibility of bloggers, allegations raised by them that Hizbullah may have staged the Kana tragedy on June 30, cannot be ignored. Bloggers have suggested that this time delay gives rise to several theories about the ultimate cause of the collapse. Was it perhaps due to explosives stored in the building?
It also raises the question why the militants left the building and allowed only weaker adults and children to remain.
The IAF chief's statement has been confirmed by the Israelinsider blog, which wrote that Brent Sadler of CNN reported that the Israeli ordnance did not even hit the building but landed "20 or 30 meters" from the structure, that the roof of the building was intact and that journalist Ben Wedeman of CNN noted that there was a large crater next to the building, but observed that the building appeared not to have collapsed as a result of the Israeli strike.
It questions "Why would the civilians who had supposedly taken shelter in the basement of the building not leave after the post-midnight attack? They just went back to sleep and had the bad luck to wait for the building to collapse in the morning?
National Public Radio's correspondent reported that residents of that building had left and the victims were non-residents who chose to shelter in the building that night.
What we do know is that sometime after dawn a call went out to journalists and rescue workers to come to the scene. And come they did, in droves.
Lebanese rescue teams did not start evacuating the building until the morning and only after the camera crews came. The absence of a real rescue effort was explained by saying that equipment was lacking. There were no scenes of live or injured people being extracted.
The blog cited a CNN report that the victims had died in their sleep. It seemed highly improbable, the piece asserted, that people could have slept "through thunderous Israeli air attacks. There was little blood, on the victims CNN's Wedeman noted.
The blog also speculates that the setting was perfect for a propaganda scoop. Ten years ago, Qana was the focus of world condemnation of an errant Israeli shell that hit a civilian compound. Now it was used as a primary site for launching more than 150 rockets against Israel, thus drawing an Israel air force attack. Just as the Israeli bombing of Qana in 1996 brought a premature end to Operation "Grapes of Wrath," so too, they figured, Qana II could damage Israel.
The blog suggests that the scenario would be a setup in which the time between the initial Israeli bombing near the building and morning reports of its collapse would be used to "plant" bodies killed in previous fighting, (reports in previous days indicated that nearby Tyre was used as a temporary morgue), place them in the basement and then engineer a "controlled demolition" to fake another Israeli attack.
Adding substance to the above theories, bloggers point to an event that should have prompted investigative reporting, but which has hardly been mentioned in mainstream media. An AFP dispatch reported that almost immediately after the Qana disaster, Hezbollah supporters hung a pre-prepared 30 feet (3 storeys high) banner picture of Condoleezza Rice bearing the legend in Arabic: "The massacre of children in Qana 2, is the gift of Rice".
(http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060730/photos_wl_me_afp/9034cf170a188a04a5e80bd48812ca98 ). The date and time of the dispatch (AFP/Ramzi Haidar) AFP – Sun Jul 30, 2:36 PM ET are highly significant.
A professional poster maker advised Pollard that the 30-foot banner could only have been prepared in advance of the Qana tragedy, leading to serious questions about whether the entire event was staged. The poster-maker added that just putting that large picture together would be an all day affair for most print houses even with a grand format printer. In addition time would be required to transport it and the cost would be in the thousands. Pollard concedes that this may be a red herring. But given Hezbollah's media savvy, and their contempt for human life, he says it's far from impossible that they staged the entire thing.
The blog calls the main actor "Green Helmet" because of his olive green hard hat. In some pictures he has a radio in his jacket pocket and his hands are bare. In others the Radio is absent and he is wearing gloves. The several shots are clearly posed.
The following day, the site posted another very disturbing page about "Green Helmet" photographed with a dead child, which appeared in differing evidently artificial poses in newspapers around the world. Claiming that this man was a poseur the blog said "If he had been a genuine rescue worker, he would deserve a medal".
The same man is photographed a day later watching while a bulldozer clears rubble of a building in Sreefa, 30km south east of Tyre.
The blog then showed the same, though younger man at the center of action in Qana in April 1996 "in his now classic pose of handling a victim of an Israeli "atrocity".


text:
Car Accident Lawyer Clearwater: Esposito Law Firm
Looking For A Car Accident Attorney In Clearwater? Call (813) 992-HURT(4878)
Have you been in a car accident in the Clearwater area? You need qualified representation ASAP.
Local people and even tourists alike value the Clearwater Sea Shore's white sands and blue waves. The city of Clearwater, Florida, hosts hundreds of fantastic professional organizations and busy districts. This is why you'll need to hire a car accident lawyer in Clearwater.
Tragically, this hustle and bustle and the busyness of the city can quickly take an unfortunate chain of events and cause uproarious accidents, usually when two or more auto collisions occur and can cause an unnecessary commotion in the city of Clearwater.
Car Accident victims could be seriously harmed in the accident, sometimes causing severe injuries such as broken bones, nerve wounds, and other injuries that require serious hospitalization. Expensive medical bills and charges typically follow, even for such victims who were already insured.
If you were harmed in a car crash in Clearwater, you might be stressed about your hospital expenses and other accident-related costs. Feel free to contact us at Esposito law firm for a Car Accident Lawyer in Tampa so that we can start processing your car accident claim.
Some Of The Most Common Causes for Car Accidents in Clearwater:
First, let us discuss some of the most common causes of car crashes in Clearwater.
Surrounding Conditions
This includes the climatic conditions in the area such as wind, rain, fog, or even other circumstances, such as driving around in the evening or at night time with headlights off or if the street lights are not working properly.
The chances of an accident also increase if the road is not properly built or is under construction. The same applies if any other unusual road conditions could pose a threat to drivers.
Driving At High Speeds:
Driving above the posted speed limit is hazardous and prompts mishaps and accidents throughout Florida consistently. It is the duty of every driver to stick to speeding laws.
Car Malfunction
An automobile that is not working correctly, especially during busy hours on a busy street, can cause an accident.
It is recommended that tired drivers should not be driving. Truth be told, there are government and state guidelines for huge business vehicles that require a specific measure of rest and limited driving time. Driver weakness can impede one's capacity to respond and settle on appropriate choices and is a genuine danger to everybody on the road.
Anything that diverts the driver's concentration away from the road can lead to a car accident. That includes using a cell phone while driving, messaging, talking too much to someone next to you, and more.
Even something as simple as laughing out loud in such a manner that makes you lose attention while driving, or playing around with the car radio could lead to an accident.
If you were seriously harmed due to an injury caused by a car accident contact Esposito law firm. to get a Clearwater Accident Attorney.
Some Areas In Clearwater Where Accidents Take Place The Most:
Generally, any district can represent a danger. There are a few, however, that appear to be too noticeable for accidents. Following are the streets and highways you need to be generally most cautious of in Clearwater:
Interstate 4
Brandon Blvd
Gibsonton Dr
Hillsborough Ave
Fletcher Ave
Dale Mabry Highway
What Must You Know Before Selecting a Clearwater Car Accident Attorney?
Car accidents have become very common nowadays. Due to the increasing demand for automobiles, the incidences of road accidents are increasing rapidly. Furthermore, people have also become more careless now as many drivers do not even follow the traffic rules. As a result, accidents are more likely to take place, especially in densely populated and busy cities. You'll need a car accident lawyer in Clearwater.
These days, people rely on automobiles so much that they take for granted the convenience that cars provide, and can get so caught up in getting to our destination that our mind slips during the journey. It could also be that someone else as well, who does not follow traffic rules (such as taking turns without looking at a red light, speeding to beat a yellow traffic light when it is not necessary to do so), or some commits other minor traffic-rule violations that could lead to a traumatic accident.
What To Do If You Were A Victim Of A Car Accident?
If you or anyone you know becomes a victim of a car accident, feel free to call Esposito law firm. . today for a Clearwater Auto Accident Lawyer that will fight for the compensation you rightfully deserve.
The car accident lawyers at Esposito law firm can help anyone who has been involved in an auto accident, whether they are seeking compensation for damages to themselves or for damage done to their car or another automobile. We also help those who need to be defended against false accusations.
Our team at Esposito law firm can help you receive compensation for bodily injuries, loss of work, auto damage, and other issues that may occur when you are involved in an auto accident. However, many complications can come up when the victim of a car accident waits too long to see an auto accident lawyer, so don't wait! You are going to need a lawyer that is knowledgeable and understands your needs. Our auto accident attorneys know Clearwater law and understand what you are owed in the event of an accident.
Be sure to call or contact us as soon as possible to hire a car accident lawyer in Clearwater.


Promise day: Feb 11th this is one of the best day of valentine week. of course every day is important but promise day is you need to give some promises to your girl friend/boyfriend to believe your love.
Kiss Day : 13th day of valentine week finally you may kiss a bride oh i am sorry here your lover or partner rite .okay let kiss her before kissing hrer you need to wash your teeth fresh and use some freshener otherwise your partner may get feeling bad.


One of the biggest issues facing us today is the storage and safety of our personal information, whether it is on our home computers, mobile devices, or in the "cloud." At BWFA, we have investigated these topics to find the data storage, communications, and security solutions that are best for our company and our clients.
BWFA takes many measures to ensure the safety of our company data. First, we safeguard our network from hackers and viruses by using "above code" network firewalls and storage area network appliances. Second, when corresponding with our clients, we use encryption software that password-protects sensitive information from interception. Third, we routinely hire outside technology experts to run security audits on our network. Fourth, we partner with top technology engineers in the region to advise us on our technology strategy.
Only in recent years have we seen the terms "cloud" or "cloud-based" used on a regular basis. Now, almost everywhere we look, we see new cloud-based services and applications developed for managing financial information. So what is the cloud?
All that the "cloud" means is that your data resides on someone else's server. Your local bank gives you online access so you can view your account balances and pay bills. That's in the cloud. If you use Gmail or Yahoo Mail to contact friends and family, your email resides in the cloud. Your music on iTunes, photos on Facebook, or your resume on LinkedIn are each housed in the cloud.
We are confident that our service providers and consultants have developed methods to keep data secure in the cloud. We are considering moving to cloud-based storage of our data and our clients' financial information, (presently the data are housed on our in-house server). There are many benefits of cloud-based computing, including security. Saving data and accessing it through the cloud is faster, more reliable, and less likely to crash than keeping it only on an in-house computer network.
Consider the difference between storing all of your financial information (along with your music, photos, tax returns, etc.) on your home PC or laptop instead of the cloud. What happens if your computer dies, becomes infected with a virus, or gets hacked? Now all of your information is at risk. If your data is spread across various clouds, then the risk of losing it all at once is removed.
If you have any questions regarding the security of your data, contact me at 410-461-3900 or jcaputo@bwfa.com.


Pakistan Railways has decided to deploy police trolleys ahead of trains to ensure safety of passengers. "The decision has been taken on the instructions of Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique to facilitate passengers and avoid any untoward incident," sources in the Ministry of Railways said. They said a head constable, constable, civil engineering staff will be present at the trolley which will accompany all major trains across the country.
Pakistan Railways has given trolleys to its different divisions and Multan Division had already been handed over three trolleys, the sources added.
They said that out of three trolleys given to Multan Division, two will accompany Khushhal Khan Khattak Express that goes to Kot Addu, Dera Ghazi Khan and Kashmore.
"This type of motor trolley patrolling will also be conducted on the sensitive sections between Karachi, Quetta and Sukkur Divisions," they added. The sources said the patrolling by motor trolleys will start shortly.


FULL VERSION of the top "Life After Death" story on the web (20 minutes). Brought to you by http://ImageTrinity.com. This powerful mini-documentary was scored by The O'Neill Brothers... check out the other beautiful, story-inspired, instrumental music on the K2H CD at http://Keys2Heaven.com!
Amazing story about a woman who died and lived to tell about it blended with testimony from her surgeon. Keys2Heaven is inviting people to share their stories of faith. Once a month a story will be selected and song composed by the renown O'Neill Brothers- led up to release of a 12 track CD - "Stories of Faith: 12 Songs Inspired by You." It's an amazing journey of Songs Inspired by You! Get on board at www.Keys2Heaven.com.
It's quick thinking like this dad's that can make the difference between life and death. ... a little boy with an amazing story. ... I'm Just a Younger Mom.
... comforting and humorous quotes by famous authors on death, loss, end of life, sympathy, ... our concern must be to live while we're alive ... Image of the Moment.
Brutal murder, wrenching trial: HBO's must-see doc "The Cheshire Murders"
Statues that would never be seen by human eyes after his death ... shed light on what it must have been like to face the challenge of making life-sized soldiers out of clay. Zhang Binruo ... And Han Ping Zhe ... Make terra cotta warriors for a living.


text:
Posts tagged with "Immigration Law"
July 10th, 2019 Is your spouse in Canada without legal status? It is common knowledge that Canadian citizens or permanent residents can sponsor their spouses or common-law partners living abroad, or, in Canada as legal visitors, workers or students. What is less known is that they can also apply for spousal sponsorship for their partners living in...
June 17th, 2019 Over the course of the past several years I have noticed a steady increase in the number of what I call digital nomads seeking to immigrate to Canada. These individuals, often avid readers of Tim Ferriss's The Four Hour Work Week, typically work from home. They are hyper efficient, and through delegation and automation can...
February 26th, 2019 And how you can ensure yours is sufficient to meet immigration requirements Most Canadian economic immigration programs require that applicants have qualifying work experience. In order to demonstrate that past and current positions qualify, applicants are required to provide references letters from their employers. Such reference...
Should courts defer to immigration officers' decisions?
December 17th, 2018 Supreme Court of Canada Vavilov decision could have broad impact on immigration law In 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada will release what could be its most impactful decision on Canadian immigration law in a decade. The case, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration v. Alexander Vavilov is about whether a child who was born in Canada to...
"Borderlines" podcast on overcoming barriers to LGBTQ asylum claims
March 7th, 2018 "Borderlines" Podcast Topic #14: How to overcome systemic barriers in LGBTQ asylum claims, with Sharalyn Jordan Listen to more episodes of the "Borderlines" podcast at http://meurrensonimmigration.com/podcast. This podcast was originally broadcast in 2017. Rebroadcast with permission from Steven Meurrens...
'Immigration Law' columnist Steven Meurrens' "Borderlines" podcast shares insight on immigration system
February 21st, 2018 "Borderlines" Podcast Topic #1: Vancouver-based Immigration lawyers Steven Meurrens, Peter Edelmann and Deanna Okun-Nachoff on Canada's Immigration System Listen to more episodes of the "Borderlines" podcast at http://meurrensonimmigration.com/podcast. This podcast was originally broadcast in 2017. Rebroadcast with...
Raise immigration levels to boost Canada's GDP
November 13th, 2017 In a recent report titled 450,000 Immigrants Annually?, the Conference Board of Canada says that the best bet to meet the imminent economic challenges of Canada's aging population is to increase rates of immigration. The not-for-profit think tank, which analyzes economic trends and public policy, says that due to an imbalance in...
Working without a work permit: what jobs can a visitor do in Canada?
August 17th, 2017 It is generally understood that visitors to Canada cannot work without work permits. The consequences for doing so can include removal from Canada, being unable to apply for work permits for six months, year-long prohibitions on returning to Canada and even possible criminal sanctions for employers. Canadian immigration legislation...
The difference between immigration law and information on the IRCC website
December 28th, 2016 Toward the end of this year, the Canadian government made many changes to Canada's immigration programs. The parents and grandparents sponsorship program went from being first-come, first-serve to a lottery system. Arranged employment through a labour market impact assessment went from guaranteeing someone an invitation to apply for...
Government commits to initiate proceedings against 875 refugees per year
May 2nd, 2014 In January 2014, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) released Operational Bulletin: PRG-2013-59, which states that the CBSA has committed to referring a minimum of 875 refugee vacation or cessation cases per year to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD). News of this bulletin, and the apparent resolve of CBSA to reach its quota,...


500 Perth shoppers are now Mi Rewards Members!
It's one small step for Perth and it's a giant leap for local businesses. Now we're getting somewhere, that's certainly worth shouting about. Thank you to every one of Perth's new Mi Rewards members.
Five-hundred people are now officially out there enjoying access to all the points, perks and prizes that Mi Rewards Perth has to offer. Just to add some context, that's enough to fill the Victorian Auditorium in Perth Theatre.
We're not going to kid ourselves; a lot of these people will be linked to Perth businesses in some way. From business owners, to staff, to their friends and family, we know that those who support a scheme like this in the early stages will likely have some link to a Perth business.
That can't be right! What about local shoppers like you? You don't want all the prizes and perks to go to a select group of individuals, do you? You're a supporter of Perth businesses, so you should get to feel rewarded too. Shouldn't you?
Don't let them have all the fun!
Well here's the good news, you can. It's simple to join (and it's free). What's more, from the moment you join Mi Rewards we'll do everything in our power to make you feel rewarded for your support and your loyalty to the businesses of Perth.
And we make it easy for Mi Rewards members to enjoy their new membership with perks to go with those points. Our next perk promises to be a tasteful way to spend a morning (we can't tell you any more, we're sworn to secrecy). It's not all about points, and when it comes to perks there's lots more where that came from.
We've also set up the system to allow us to offer 'random acts of kindness'. As time goes on you might find yourself on the receiving end. Keep an eye on the Perth City facebook feed for a glimpse of the sort of thing you could expect.
It really is easy to join Mi Rewards click here to see for yourself. What's more, if you sign up before the end of October you'll be entered into a £250 Perth Gift Card prize draw!


A Stream Key is your ticket to the big game. When you hit Start Streaming , it�s with this unique code that Twitch knows what account you�re streaming to. Click that link in the Wizard to grab your Stream Key.... The users should have the Twitch Stream Key to stream their content. This also means that the chances of someone else accessing your account are very minimal. This guarantees the security of your account, both as an audience and as a creator.
A Stream Key is your ticket to the big game. When you hit Start Streaming , it�s with this unique code that Twitch knows what account you�re streaming to. Click that link in the Wizard to grab your Stream Key.... A Stream Key is your ticket to the big game. When you hit Start Streaming , it�s with this unique code that Twitch knows what account you�re streaming to. Click that link in the Wizard to grab your Stream Key.
The users should have the Twitch Stream Key to stream their content. This also means that the chances of someone else accessing your account are very minimal. This guarantees the security of your account, both as an audience and as a creator. how to get a handicap parking permit in florida Twitch Giveaways � Tips To Get Followers! Giving away prizes on twitch is one way to get more viewers into your stream! However, simply offering a prize up can be tricky.
The users should have the Twitch Stream Key to stream their content. This also means that the chances of someone else accessing your account are very minimal. This guarantees the security of your account, both as an audience and as a creator. how to get division symbol on keyboard A Stream Key is your ticket to the big game. When you hit Start Streaming , it�s with this unique code that Twitch knows what account you�re streaming to. Click that link in the Wizard to grab your Stream Key.
The users should have the Twitch Stream Key to stream their content. This also means that the chances of someone else accessing your account are very minimal. This guarantees the security of your account, both as an audience and as a creator.
Twitch Giveaways � Tips To Get Followers! Giving away prizes on twitch is one way to get more viewers into your stream! However, simply offering a prize up can be tricky.
A Stream Key is your ticket to the big game. When you hit Start Streaming , it�s with this unique code that Twitch knows what account you�re streaming to. Click that link in the Wizard to grab your Stream Key.


text:
Shock. 21(6):505-512, JUN 2004
DOI: 10.1097/01.shk.0000126906.52367.dd
CECAL LIGATION AND PUNCTURE VERSUS COLON ASCENDENS STENT PERITONITIS: TWO DISTINCT ANIMAL MODELS FOR POLYMICROBIAL SEPSIS
Stefan Maier;Tobias Traeger;Markus Entleutner;Alexandra Westerholt;Britta Kleist;Norbert Hüser;Bernhard Holzmann;Albrecht Stier;Klaus Pfeffer;Claus-Dieter Heidecke;
*Department of Surgery and †Institute for Pathology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, Greifswald, Germany; ‡Department of Surgery, Technische Universität München, München, Germany; and §Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
ABSTRACT—Colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP) and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), two animal models designed to closely mimic the clinical course of intra-abdominal sepsis, were compared. In the past, immunomodulatory therapies developed in animal studies failed to be successful in humans. As a consequence, the established animal sepsis models were criticized. It has been proposed that present models had to be reevaluated, and new, clinically more relevant models should be evolved. CLP procedure was performed puncturing once (CLP[1]) or twice (CLP[2]) the ligated cecum of C57BL/6 mice. In the CASP model, a stent with defined diameter was surgically inserted into the ascending colon. Survival, bacterial load, immunohistochemistry, and serum cytokine levels were analyzed in the groups. Survival after CASP procedure correlated strongly with the stent diameter, whereas the number of punctures in CLP did not significantly change survival rate. Bacterial loads of peritoneal lavage, liver, and lung, as well as serum cytokine levels (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 1β, interleukin 10) steadily increased from 6 to 24 h after the CASP procedure. In contrast, continuously low amounts of bacteria and cytokines were found in CLP mice at any point of time. Twenty-four hours after CLP surgery, the ligated cecum was covered by adhesive small bowel loops, whereas in CASP mice, the intestinal leakage was then still present. The CASP model mimics closely the clinical course of diffuse peritonitis with early and steadily increasing systemic infection and inflammation (systemic inflammatory response syndrome). In contrast, CLP reveals a model of intra-abdominal abscess formation with sustained and minor signs of systemic inflammation.


text:
WoW Armory Hits the iPhone
Batman: Arkham Asylum Gameplay Footage
Modern Warfare 2 will wound your wallet
by Asim Tanvir on July 17, 2009
A few days ago we brought you the news that the eagerly awaited Modern Warfare 2 would be getting two rather cool special editions, the hardened edition and the prestige edition. The geek in all of us was especially exicted that the prestige edition would be coming with fully functioning night vision goggles. Well that excitement was short lived, infact the excitement has now turned into disgust.
Today Activision have announced the following prices for Modern Warfare 2:
The standard edition will have an RRP of £54.99
The hardened edition will have an RRP of £69.99
The prestige edition will have an RRP of £119.99 and will be only available from HMV
I'm sure your jaws are still touching the floor as you try to recover from the shock of these amazingly high prices revealed today by Activision. The standard edition has an RRP of £54.99, we thought the days of paying over £40 for a bog standard copy of a game were gone but clearly the fat cats up in the gold towers at Activision disgaree. Their reason for this sudden price boost is down to the pound being weak and the only way to be competitive in the UK market is to raise the prices of their games. They also think that more publishers will follow suit and the £54.99 RRP will become the norm.
We know that most online retailers do not have the standard edition up for pre-order at £54.99 but the average price is still around the £44.99 mark which in this day and age is still very high. Fact is that most gamers are now used to paying on average about £37.99 for a new release which is not great but widely regarded as a decent enough price for what is regarded as a luxury item.
Moving onto the two special editions, well overpriced doesn't begin to explain what we think about them. The hardened edition which comes with a steelbook case, artbook and a token to download the original Call of Duty is priced at £69.99. It is priced £15-£20 more than the standard edition depending on where you choose to buy it from. Steelbook editions of games are no rare thing nowadays and are usually £5-£10 more than the standard edition, infact sometimes they are even the same price. If the hardened edition was priced at £54.99 or even £59.99 we could deal with that because after all it does come with the token to download the original Call of Duty but no, Activision are insistent on charging us high prices.
Now finally we come to the prestige edition which is priced at £119.99, yet again this is amazingly overpriced. The same edition is priced at $149.99 in America which works out to be around £90, a huge difference of £29.99 against the actual UK price. Once again, as has been the norm over the years, UK gamers get absolutely ripped off. Now we know that the prestige edition comes with actual fully working night vision goggles but how much did actually cost to make?! £50? Maybe £60? At most probably even £70 which still would not explain the £119.99 price tag.
Bottom line here is that Activision are fleecing all of us, taking us for a very expensive ride. They know that Modern Warfare 2 is the most anticipated game of this year and that it will sell millions of copies worldwide. They know that we don't necessarily need it but being gamers we most definitely want it. They see all this and want to absolutely maximise their profits in anyway they can. It makes great business sense but it will end up pissing off alot of gamers and leave a severly bitter taste in their mouths. We have no doubt the game will be fantastic and will give us hours of gaming joy but this has really lowered our opinion of Activision as a gaming publisher/developer.
ActivisionCall of DutyEditionInfinity WardModern Warfare 2PrestigeSpecial
Asim Tanvir


text:
Developers Cubed: How To Keep An App Going
Luke Hopewell
Gizmodo's Developers Cubed series offers a behind the scenes look into Australia's up and coming dev scene. This week: the guys from OzTV are back to tell us just how to keep an app going successfully as you update it over the years.
Who are you and where do you work? I'm Alex Johnston, the Designer at Apps Perhaps, a two-man company I Co-Founded with Developer Jeff Tan-Ang here in Melbourne, Australia.
Why do we know you? What have you created? Together our main product is OzTV, Australian Free-to-Air TV Guides for iPhone and iPad which we started working on nearly three years ago.
What platforms do you develop for? Currently we work exclusively on iOS titles for iPhone and iPad, though like many people we come from Mobile Web backgrounds.
What are you working on right now? We just released our latest update for OzTV, one year in the making, that basically reinvented the entire app and added a whole lot of features including Favourites and enhanced data. We also introduced a social layer, focused on allowing you to Check-In to shows and see what friends are watching on the guide. The launch has gone really well, being a featured app for the iPhone 5 Australian launch was a great privilege and we're currently working on improving these features now we've had a chance to see how people are using them. There will be an update coming very soon for OzTV.
We've also been working away this year on a new app with some friends.It was the first idea we've come across since OzTV that made us so excited we just had to get involved. It's all about food and cooking and has been in development for some time now. We hope to release during the Summer.
What do you think about the rise and rise of App Stores? How has it influenced your titles? It provided us a market place to distribute and, most importantly, monetise our work which has completely changed our lives and empowered us to work on our products. I wasn't sure at first if it was just going to be a fad but now it really seems like the rise of a whole new medium, one that will hopefully continue to greatly improve the quality of experiences on all devices.
What's your favourite app that you didn't create? I'm going to have to say Flipboard, it simply and elegantly defined what a digital magazine could be and was one of the first apps that made the iPad a must have. Jeff loves Path, it's a great way to share with those close to you and it's done with such polish you enjoy using it.
What phone do you use? Why? Currently we both use iPhone 5's. We've got a bunch of older iPhones but it's a nice perk of the job that we require the latest device to work with.
What advice do you have for budding Aussie developers out there? Focus your apps to a single core scenario and the features needed to deliver that promise. Spend your time on the parts of the app people will use all that time and always cut things that don't work regardless of how much time you spent on them.
It's a tough balancing act and many people worry they'll take too long and never release. Sure it will take a long time, probably more than you would like but that's just what it takes. It's important to remember you're not going to have all the answers but if you keep all features cut to their core value it shouldn't take long to make them polished enough that you can release and see how people use them.
Set your quality level really high, you'll probably never reach it but as each part of the app gets close, you'll know it's time to release. You shouldn't be embarrassed by anything you release let alone your first version, it should be good, it has to be good. What you left out shouldn't embarrass but rather motivate you to continue and improve it.


text:
Diversions Front Page U.S.ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Deputy skips arrest in exchange for sex
'There's a possibility that he's done this before'
Published October 14, 2014 at 12:18pm
(SUN-SENTINEL) — A Broward Sheriff's deputy is accused of accepting oral sex in exchange for not arresting a woman in Dania Beach.
Ted Arboleda, 32, was arrested Monday following an investigation by Broward Sheriff's Public Corruption Unit detectives. He is charged with unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior — a second-degree felony.
Arboleda began talking with a woman at a Dania Beach gas station on July 13, 2013, Broward Sheriff's spokeswoman Dani Moschella said. At some point during the conversation, Arboleda learned the woman did not have a valid Florida driver's license and was in possession of marijuana and an unlabeled bottle of prescription medication.