Members from 12 different countries including Switzerland, Germany and the USA attended the PrimeGlobal UK & Ireland conference, hosted by Fairway Group and Bracken Rothwell.
PrimeGlobal is among the top five associations of independent accounting firms in the world, comprised of over 300 highly successful independent public accounting firms in over 80 countries.
Delegates heard business strategist Royston Guest, Rugby World Cup winner Kyran Bracken as well as Jersey Finance, Digital Jersey and Locate Jersey.
They also visited Jersey War Tunnels, St. Brelades bay and took part in teambuilding games with 3D events.


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Armenia votes for president
10:39 18.02.2013	 Читати українською	 Armenia
On February 2013, 1988 polling stations opened for the presidential in Armenia at 8.00 am today. 7 candidates are running for president: President Serzh Sargsyan, former PM and leader of the Freedom Party Grant Bagratyan, former Foreign Minister and leader of the Heritage Party Raffi Ovannisyan, leader of the National Self-Determination Union Paruyr Ayrikyan, former Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman Melikyan, a political analyst of Radio Hay Andreas Gukasyan and a researcher of epos Vardan, News Armenia reports.
According to data of February 8, Armenia had 2,505,882 voters. 6883 people will monitor the elections. 6251 of them come from local public organizations and 632 from 12 international organizations, including the OSCE ODIHR, CIS, OSCE PA, CE PA, CIS Inter-parliamentary Assembly, ICES and IFES.
Voting will continue until 8.00 pm. Press secretary of the Central Electoral Commission Ermine Arutyunyan, the CEC media center will operate non-stop. Briefing will be organized at 9.00 am – 9.00 pm.
Vote results will be announced no later than at 8.00 pm on February 19. Final results will be published in seven days.
Should no candidate get over half of votes, the country will have the second round of vote in 14 days with two candidates running for president.
Adapted from: Vestnik Kavkaza
Section: political news
Topics: elections

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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I know its been a long time since I posted on the blog, but rest assured, I have been toiling away!
THE OFFICIAL STASIS LOGO!
Before we go into the nitty gritty, I would like to officially show the new, official, STASIS logo!
STASIS GAME UPDATES
I have been very busy with STASIS, focusing almost exclusively on polishing the existing areas and puzzles, and adding in any small rooms that are required as linking corridors, or extra puzzle opportunities.
Small tweaks, like a new cursor (one that's more classically aligned to the old Sierra Adventure Games), a new way of separating the dialogue between characters, and dialogue that's sent through the ships PA system, and lots of small animated extra touches that (I feel) links the character's avatar to the player.
SHOWING OFF STASIS PUBLICLY…For the first time!
I also had my very first public display of STASIS, at the JoBurg Community Meetup of MAKEGAMESSA.com
I have to say its was VERY nerve racking to show off the game in such a public setting. While it was more of a Q&A session, I wasn't sure of what to expect, or what reaction the game would get. Showing the game to a room of game developers and programmers is something that was both exciting, and scary. Developers have a VERY critical eye, but it was something that I really enjoyed doing at the end.
The feedback I got was extremely positive, (especially to the cinematic intro sequence..which is awesome BTW), and I felt that people really 'got' what I'm trying to do with the game.
I think you also have to know what comments are personal opinions, and what are constructive enhancements to the game. Adventure Games can be quite polarizing when shown to non-Adventure Gamers, and honestly can be seen as a little…'boring' when watching someone else play it. I think its something that you really have to EXPERIENCE first hand to get the full impact of it. STASIS is the type of game where you have to sit down in a dark room, put on some headphones, and immerse yourself in the story – and that's something that's very difficult to get across in game-play videos, and through discussions.
I deliberately chose to show off one of the less complete areas of the game, to get feedback on something that I haven't spent weeks polishing. And because of that, this experience has really made MUCH me less insecure about showing the game off, even in its 'raw' state.
NEW AGE GAMING! www.nag.co.za
STASIS was also featured in the largest local gaming magazine in South Africa.
This was a little surreal for me, because I have purchased ever issue of this since the announcement of StarCraft…to see my name in it was an amazing experience.
AND THE WRAP UP….
On the crowd sourcing front, we have been VERY hard at work getting things in order. I don't want to give away too much, but be certain that it will be AWESOME. I wish I could say more, but I'm sworn to secrecy – plus its more fun this way. 😉 Subscribe to the news letter, or just bookmark this page, and will be the first to know what's happening!


My wife and I came to Canada 15 years ago and Hired a RV and travelled from Montreal across to Halifax, PEI and back via Quebec. We loved it!
We always said we wanted to do it again, but this time the West of Canada, taking in the Rockies. The only difference is now we have three children!
We have booked flights into Calgary for August 18 for three weeks and looking for the most suitable RV to hire. Our children will be 9, 6 & 6 at the time of travel, weighing 30kg, 22kg and 22kg respectively. I seen numerous hire companies, but the most established seems to be Fraser RV's and Canadream. My main issue with just boooking is that ive heard some campsites don't take the larger RV's around Banff and Jasper? However, having three kids requires a fairly large unit. I was thinking of the C-XL large from Fraser RV's?
My next issue is car seats for the children? Can all these units all take 3 car seats? Or does the elder child not need one?
As we are doing a couple of weeks in Toronto first before coming to Calgary, I was going to buy 3 car seats for the minivan I am hiring.
Also anyone who has experience of taking 3 young children to these locations, with any preferred campsites and info on manoeuvrability around the towns would be appreciated also.
I moved this to the "Outside the USA" discussion area since it sounds like you are sticking to Canada only. We have some veteran members who have ventured up around our northern neighbors and may be able to offer some information.
As far as type of RV, with three kids I'd say it depends on how much time you plan on spending in the rig itself. A Class A motorhome will provide more living space, headroom, and visibility than a Class C. But a Class C may fit your needs too, and would probably be less expensive to rent. Those are a couple of the factors to consider.
We took our 34 foot DP from Calgary, through Banff and Jasper, then on to Edmonton and we stayed at National Park campsites, so I would say that you won't have any difficulty with the Fraserway extra large Class C. As for child seats, each province has its own legislation, as I read it, the 6 year olds will need booster seats in Ontario but not in Alberta, but booster seats are not overly expensive.
One of the places I would highly recommend, particularly with children are the Badlands and the Royal Tyrrell Museum (dinosaurs) in Drumheller, about an hour from Calgary. Also, the Ice Fields between Banff and Jasper, is unique and a real hit with kids, as is Lake Louise.
You can easily fit the 3 kids on the overhead bunk of a Class C, which would give you lots of options on a rental unit.


VESTA is working with the Craft Beverage Expo to provide this workshop.
Day 1 White Wines - Early Bird Registration $200 per person (register before 10/27/2017); $250 per person after 10/27/2017.
Day 2 Red Wines - Early Bird Registration $200 per person (register before 10/27/2017); $250 per person after 10/27/2017.
Both Days - Early Bird Registration $350 per person (register before 10/27/2017); $400 per person after 10/27/2017.
Page was last updated: October 2, 2017 | Page maintained by: Michelle Norgren | Copyright © 2014 VESTA - National Center of Excellence. All Rights Reserved.


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Odoo (conegut anteriorment com a  OpenERP  i inicialment com a  TinyERP ) és un sistema d'ERP integrat de codi obert actualment produït per l'empresa belga Odoo S.A. El fabricant defineix el seu producte com una alternativa de codi obert a SAP ERP i Microsoft Dynamics.

Programari Empresarial
Odoo S.A. proporciona en el seu lloc web referències tant al mòduls amb suport oficial com als mòduls contribuïts (proporcionats per la comunitat).

Aquest programari té com a objectiu empreses de totes les mides. Inclou facturació, comptabilitat, fabricació, compres, gestió de magatzems i gestió de projectes.

Llicència i impacte en el model de negocis
Els mòduls de «Odoo Community version», a partir de la versió 9.0, majoritàriament, estan coberts per la GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) i algunes parts utilitzen una derivada de la llicència Mozilla Public License. Com a conseqüència directa, Odoo no requereix cap pagament de llicències per a ser utilitzat. Això també implica que, mentre que es respectin els termes de la  llicència, la modificació directa del programa és possible.

Arquitectura
Odoo utilitza  Arquitectura Orientada a Serveis com a patró de disseny.

Arquitectura d'Aplicació Web
Les versions més recents de Odoo (des de la versió 7) s'implementen com aplicació web seguint l'especificació Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI). Odoo inclou un Servidor d'aplicacions /Servidor web (conegut com a Odoo Server) que se'n cuida de la lògica de negoci, de la comunicació amb el Sistema de gestió de bases de dades, i del client web per donar accés als  navegadors web. La part del servidor i de lògica de negocis està escrit principalment en llenguatge de programació Python. El client web està escrit principalment en JavaScript.

Mòduls
Les funcionalitats del negoci s'organitzen en mòduls. Un mòdul és una carpeta amb una estructura predefinida, amb codi Python i arxius XML al seu interior. Un mòdul defineix l'estructura de les dades, formularis, informes, menús, procediments, fluxos de treball, etc. També poden contenir components web escrits en JavaScript. Els mòduls es defineixen mitjançant una sintaxi independent del client, de tal manera que afegir nous objectes, com menús i formularis els fa disponibles per a qualsevol client.

Base de dades
Odoo utilitza PostgreSQL com a Sistema de gestió de bases de dades.

Codi font i contribucions
El codi font d'Odoo s'allotja en GitHub, utilitzant el sistema de control de versions Git. Les contribucions també s'administren mitjançant GitHub.

Programari com a servei
A partir de la versió 6.0, l'actual Odoo S.A. proporciona una versió d'Odoo  com a servei: Odoo On Demand.

Entorn de desenvolupament
El desenvolupament de mòduls es realitza editant arxius Python i XML. No hi ha un editor oficial, encara que en els tutorials hi ha preferència per Eclipse o PyCharm. Part de la lògica de l'aplicació pot ser canviada des de la interfície del client web en mode desenvolupament.

Historial de versions
Les tres últimes versions són suportades a l'hora. Això significa que quan es publica una nova versió la versió suportada més antiga acaba el seu cicle de vida, no tindrà més suport. Per exemple, la versió 7.0 serà suportada fins al moment de la publicació de la 10.0.

Referències

Vegeu també
 Openbravo
  Planificació de recursos empresarials (ERP)
 Sistema de Traçabilitat

Enllaços externs

Control de gestió
Programari ERP
Programari CRM
Aplicacions web
Programari lliure

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A record breaking number of women, people of color, and members of the L.G.B.T.Q community were elected on November 6.
The midterm elections have served as a groundbreaking year for diversity in politics, with 2018 seeing the most diverse group of candidates in United States history: 411 of elected officials were women, people of color, or part of the L.G.B.T.Q community.
According to the New York Times, out of the 964 candidates running for office this year, 272 of them were women, 26 identified themselves as L.G.B.T.Q, and 216 were either black, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian. These numbers stand in stark contrast to past elections, resulting in the lowest number of white males ever running for office in the United States: a mere 58 percent.
New research demonstrates the growing diversity in congress.
"We've never seen this amount of diversity, and all these different people with different ethnic backgrounds, political views and purposes going out for the government before in any previous election," Colby Peck, a Woodside High School junior, reflected.
Not only was the number of minority groups and women running for office record-breaking, a high percentage of candidates won their races, resulting in the most diverse group of congressmen, senators, and governors in American history.
"They [the minority groups] are going to bring a new outlook, a new viewpoint. They're going to be be speaking for a community that has never had a chance to be heard before in the government." Peck continued.
Yet the diversity of the group is not the only status quo broken by the 2018 midterm elections: congress has received its first two Muslim women (Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib), as well as it's first two Native American women (Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids). New Mexico also elected its first Latina governor, (Michelle Lujan Grisham), another landmark first.
While not all minorities running for office were triumphant, the number running shows development and drastic change in comparison to prior years. Before 2018, the highest number of women running for governor was eight, yet this year the number has grown to thirteen. Moreso, over 80% of these women were qualified for office with previous government experience; one such being newly elected congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
"I decided to run because I was one of many people I knew who really wanted to demonstrate what representative democracies are supposed to be. We wanted to show our commitment to true representation and reflective representation," Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, stated in an interview with Elle magazine.
This year's elected officials create the most accurate representation of the American population in history: just over 50% of the American population is women, while people of color make up nearly 40%. In prior years, the Congressional population has consisted of less than 105 women, however this year saw a spark up to 126. For many, this provides hope for a change of tide regarding government decisions.
"Representation matters. I think that the best intentioned people in the world don't know to notice different things, just because they aren't on their radar, so regardless of what ends up getting done, the fact that they [the candidates] are going to be in the room at the table having tough conversations is going to be exciting." Buckowski stated.
This outcome demonstrates a change driven by voters. The majority of democrats, young adults, and city residents voted for the minority candidates, in hope that they would bring new voices and reliable actions to the United States government, according to the Wall Street Journal.


In your mobile food business, sales are what determine whether you're able to make it through your first year of operation. Forecasting your future sales is a critical step in ensuring that your food truck is profitable. Prospective investors want to know whether your projected sales will support your business needs. Although no set-in-stone formula can project your sales for your truck, making a well-informed guess is critical to planning your future funding. Pulling numbers out of thin air does nothing for you or investors.
You need to show your sales forecast for the first three years in your business plan. Then show your sales growth for the next two years.
You may already have a few specific locations, or at least a general idea of some, that you plan to use as regular stops or venues. A great way to find out how many walk-up customers you can expect is to compare your potential business to existing mobile kitchens in those areas. Visit trucks of similar size and cuisine type. Although these businesses may turn out to be your competitors, you can obtain valuable information by observing how many covers (number of meals) they serve during peak hours. You may even speak with the owner to learn about how many covers he sees in a week.
Another way to project your customer count is to determine how long it'll take to produce a meal for a customer. Start your timing from the moment a customer places an order to the time the transaction is completed. Your projections will depend on the number of staff you have to complete the transaction and the type of cuisine and how it's prepared. For some styles of food, it may take up to ten minutes to turn an order. Other vendors who serve only prepackaged food can turn an order in two to three minutes.
After you've determined how quickly you can serve a single customer, you can estimate how many customers you can serve in an hour, during a full shift, or a full day. For example, if it takes four minutes to prepare a meal for a customer during a rush, you'll be able to serve 15 customers per hour, 45 customers per three-hour shift, or 90 customers a day if you're open for two three-hour shifts.
Don't base your approximations on the maximum number of people you can serve from your truck with perfect conditions because you'll unlikely be able to hit or maintain these numbers during the first 12 to 24 months of operation. To be conservative in your sales forecasting, calculate how many customers you can serve, and then use only 75 to 80 percent of that number. After you've started your operation, you'll be able to adjust these numbers to match your real sales figures.
Using your customer count estimate, the next step is to put together a per-person average based on your menu prices. Make sure you use moderately priced menu items to figure out this average, because you can't expect all your customers to buy the most expensive (or even the cheapest) item on your menu every time.
Also, be sure to consider the number of customers and per-customer spending averages for different meal periods. For example, lunch periods tend to bring in lower average sales than dinner periods, unless you're able to park in central business districts with a lot of foot traffic and hungry workers.
Days of the week also bring in different sales numbers; for example, Thursday nights are usually more profitable for food trucks than Monday nights. You'll also want to break out your food sales from your beverage sales because each of these items is broken out separately when you determine the amounts to purchase and keep in your inventory.
For example: Use a $6 menu item as the base price for your mid-level menu entries. If you add in a $2 side item and a $1 beverage, you have an average of $9 of spending per customer (also known as a check average). To give yourself an average for your slower times, you can cut out the side or divide it by two to represent the idea that every other customer will choose to purchase a side dish in his order.
Generate a chart showing estimated number of customers per meal period each day, as well as the per-person spending average. The data generated in these charts help you determine your estimated monthly and annual sales.
After mapping out weekly sales projections, some mobile food vendors merely multiply their weekly sales totals by 52 weeks to get a year's sales projection. Other owners divide the year into seasons to reflect the business they'll receive during different times of the year. Although using the latter method is a little more complicated because seasons vary per region, it can be more accurate because some months are usually busier than others.
Think about what an average week's sales may look like, and then ask yourself what your potential earnings are during a slow week and during a busy week.
Consulting with seasoned food truck employees or owners in your area can help you decide what kind of traffic or sales volume to expect at different times of the year. These estimations vary from truck to truck and depend on your menu and your locations. After even a few months of operating, you'll have a much better idea of what to anticipate as far as sales go, and you can alter your estimations accordingly. You should also evaluate your operations and promotion efforts if sales aren't matching the projections in your business plan.
To show your potential investors how your business will grow, you need to show them more than a single year of sales forecasting. Financial professionals consider 10 to 25 percent to be a strong sign of long-term growth. You can use 10 percent as your growth factor to apply to your first year's sales forecast to show strong growth potential in your second and third years in business, without setting the bar too high and having investors question your ability to grow your business.
Here is a one-year sales forecast for a mock food truck business. As you can see, the chart is broken into separate food and beverage sales per day and shift. This forecast shows investors how many covers occur each shift and day as well as the average spending of each cover.


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Champion Newspapers
Aintree & Maghull
Crosby & Litherland
ChampJobs
Paper Rounds
PixOnline
Due to the latest national lockdown we will be pausing the printing of our papers for a while. We will continue to bring you all the latest local news and more on our website and Facebook page. The Champion might not come through your door for a while, but we are still here for you. In the meantime, please stay home, stay safe, protect the NHS and take great care of each other. Best wishes from your Champion Team.
A&E nurse treated to garden revamp
by Henry James (December 2020)
A NURSE who works in the A&E department of Aintree Hospital was delighted when she and her family were gifted a free garden upgrade in Gardens For Guardians.
The nationwide campaign was set up by land management company Greenbelt to say thank you to NHS employees who've been helping the UK stay safe throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The upgrade was given to Crystal Stephen, 29, and her partner Carl, a civil engineer and CCTV operator working for United Utilities, carrying out urgent work to keep waterways safe 24 hours a day. They have a two-year-old old daughter Sienna and live in Greenbelt's Stirling Chase development.
Crystal, who is from Bootle, said: "A few years ago we were lucky enough to buy our first home.
"We were just getting used to living in our house, slowly room by room making it our home then the pandemic hit! Our lives became a whirlwind, with both of us working shifts and Sienna attending nursery. It's been a strain at times and often it felt like we were ships passing in the night!
"Unfortunately, getting around to improving our garden had to take a back seat – to be fair, we wouldn't have had the time to enjoy it during such a hectic period of our lives."
Crystal says the family is finally getting to spend time together again . . . and the garden makeover is making a huge difference.
She added: "We felt so overwhelmed to be chosen to have our garden upgraded. We're so proud of all the hard work that's been put in to make this happen, especially due to the hard times we're still facing at the moment with Covid-19."
Greenbelt managing director Colin Thomson said: "It's been an incredibly challenging year for everyone but especially so for key frontline workers such as Crystal. Through Gardens For Guardians, we want to applaud their courage, determination and, with Covid-19 still affecting us, their unstinting endurance.
"We're especially delighted we've been able to give Crystal, Carl and Sienna a space where they can relax together and enjoy all of the benefits that being outdoors brings."
Crystal added: "For us, as a family, to have a nice place to relax and unwind is unreal. The thought of having space for Sienna to play safely, somewhere we could sit at the end of the day without having to plan or do ourselves, somewhere we could instantly make the most of the rest of this year and enjoy in the future . . . that is a dream come true.
"My little girl is over the moon, she can always play outdoors with no mud in sight!"
- Select Area - All Areas Southport Formby Aintree & Maghull Crosby & Litherland Bootle Ormskirk Skelmersdale
Festive flout raised £5k for charity
Police launch fresh appeal after machete attack in Southport
Council agrees to invest in residential care for vulnerable children
Would you pay extra tax to hire more police officers?
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Continuing a successful collaboration in Kosovo and FYR Macedonia, SAFOSO is supporting the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in its implementation of risk-based SPS border inspections in the Western Balkan region. Together with experts from the national sanitary and phytosanitary authorities, we are analyzing historical import data based on which a proposal for a risk-based inspection program is subsequently developed. The goal of the revised border inspection programs is to maintain or even increase the protection of public health while reducing the administrative and financial burden for government and importers alike.


Gwinnett Technical College will launch its new Executive Lecture Series with two guests from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Dr. Michael Ashmore, administrative officer and Mark Wszolek, staff accountant, will present "Who We Are and What We Do" on Mon., Feb. 2, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the Busbee Center Auditorium (Building 700).
This is the first event in the series, hosted by the college's Business and Finance Division. "We're bringing in executive-level managers to speak primarily about what's going on in the business world," said Jermaine Whirl, dean of Business and Art & Design.
"The speakers from the SEC will talk about the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and current issues related to fraud in the U.S., among other topics," added Whirl.
The series is predominantly aimed at students in marketing, accounting, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, and any discipline in business management. All lectures are free and open to all faculty members, staff and students – and the general public.
"This semester, in particular, we are focusing on financial markets. We're bringing speakers from the SEC and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to educate us about what those institutions do and to speak about some hot topics and issues and concerns within the U.S. economy," said Whirl.
The goal of the series is to educate and connect students to business enterprises. Students will also learn about career opportunities and possible internships from prominent institutions in the financial sector.
"Opening the doors, leveraging our relationship with these organizations and creating networks is what we're trying to do," said Whirl.
Gwinnett Tech offers associate degrees in Business Administrative Technology, Accounting, Marketing Management, Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, and Business Management, plus a host of certificate and diploma options that prepare students for various financial, business, marketing, entrepreneurial and administrative careers. For more information, visit www.GwinnettTech.edu or call 770-962-7580.


More than 50,000 union workers went on a 3-day strike in May against University of California medical facilities across the state to fight for a fair contract.
More than 50,000 workers, including thousands in Sacramento, went on a three-day strike in May to fight for a fair labor contract at University of California medical facilities across the state.
Joe Trujillo told media. Trujillo is a senior cook at University of California, Davis Medical Center.
The California Nurses Association and the University Professional and Technical Employees-CWA, both of which have also been locked in long contract negotiations with the university, joined AFSCME 3299 in the strike.
"UC Davis Medical Center nurses support our fellow UC workers in their demands for a strong contract and justice in the workplace. As nurses we know that in order to provide the safe patient care our communities need we count on our co-workers and they count on us," said UC Davis registered nurse Melissa Johnson-Camacho in a statement from CNA.
As AFSCME-represented UC service workers concluded the three day strike, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and State Senator Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) joined the chorus of state leaders urging UC President Janet Napolitano to return to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith to address workers concerns, according to a statement from the union.
"The wage disparities amongst racial, gender, and socio-economic lines recently highlighted by UC's own employment data is startling," wrote De Leon, who joined striking workers today on picket lines at UC Davis Medical Center.
"I urge the University to return to negotiations with urgency, and in good faith," wrote Newsom.
AFSCME 3299 negotiators have sought wage increases of 6 percent, a freeze on health-care premiums and elimination of contracting out jobs for which its members are trained.
AFSCME 3299 rejected the university's last-and-best offer of 3 percent across-the-board wage increases and a prorated, lump-sum payment of $750.
While imposing employment terms on its lowest wage service employees, Napolitano and UC administrators have yet to acknowledge workers' chief concern: the outsourcing of their jobs, which a recent report suggests drives income, racial, and gender inequality at UC.
UC has suggested as many as 7,000 jobs have been outsourced to low wage contractors. As UC outsourcing has grown, research shows that African Americans are disappearing from UC's directly-employed workforce, and are now more likely to work for low wage firms under contract with UC for a fraction of the wages and few, if any benefits. They also face higher risk of wage theft and other workplace abuses. In fact, UC's own internal audits revealed that the University wasn't enforcing its own contractor minimum wage, creating additional hardships for its most vulnerable workers.
"Disparities will only widen with the University's continued outsourcing of low-wage work," Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher (D-San Diego) and 24 other state legislators wrote in a letter to UC President Napolitano, as reported by AFSCME.
California State Auditor Elaine Howle has also confirmed that UC is displacing its own career workers through outsourcing while often violating its own competitive bidding rules in the process.
No resolution on the contract has yet been reached with the University.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, UC's largest employee union, representing respiratory therapists, surgical technicians, custodians and groundskeepers. The California Nurses Association represents 14,000 members, and University Professional and Technical Employees-CWA has 15,000 members.


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Rand weaker as SAA struggles to stay aloft
updated 12 hours ago
JSE faces mixed Asian markets on Monday morning
Union asks Ramaphosa to intervene as violence escalates at Richards Bay mine
SA fails in education, health and jobs, says WEF
ANC approaches 60%, DA and EFF drop, IRR election poll finds
'Hard-working' Malema's re-election illustrates his tight grip on power
Google CEO wants co-ordinated rules on artificial intelligence
Domain registration tool to help small firms
Understanding travel allowance and capital gains tax
PODCAST | Ethiopian fintech diaries: insider founder and investor perspectives
How Solskjaer's world is falling apart
Faf in no mood to quit Test cricket just yet
How do I invest in SA government bonds?
From smarter energy to less plastic, Caribbean resorts go green
MARIKA SBOROS: Vegan hype of titanic proportions is a game changer in diet spin
HSBC's new Hong Kong leadership intent of mending ties with Beijing
Bank executives say they are finding it increasingly hard to keep focused on business and steer clear of politics
06 January 2020 - 12:31 Alfred Liu and Jun Luo
Armed undercover police officers guard a vandalised HSBC bank branch in Wan Chai during demonstrations on New Year's Day in Hong Kong. Picture: REUTERS/JESSIE PANG
Hong Kong/Shanghai — The two bronze lion statues standing guard over HSBC's main offices in Hong Kong still bear the marks of an attack by protesters, who last week daubed them with red and black paint, setting at least one ablaze. Graffiti declared that HSBC had been dyed the red of China.
HSBC has vowed to restore the iconic lions to their former glory. But the Asia-focused lender may not find it so easy to disentangle itself from deepening tensions in its biggest market at a time when its new leadership must also repair a relationship with Beijing that's been weakened by the Huawei probe.
The bank became the target of the public's ire in Hong Kong after the police arrested four people linked to a group that helps pro-democracy protesters pay legal fees. HSBC had closed an account used by the group in November.
Bank executives are finding it increasingly hard to keep focused on business and steer clear of politics, said a senior executive in Asia, who asked not to be named discussing internal matters. Political tension on the streets is also causing rifts among HSBC staff. Younger local employees in the Hong Kong office tend to be supportive of the pro-democracy movement, while those with business and personal ties to the mainland are more neutral or pro-Beijing, staff interviewed by Bloomberg said, asking not to be named speaking on a sensitive issue.
With two-thirds of its profit at stake, the London-based firm has previously been able to stay away from controversy as political tensions roiled Hong Kong and dragged in peers including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. Chinese retailers and branches of lenders such as Bank of China have been targeted, while Cathay Pacific Airways and the National Basketball Association came under pressure from Beijing after employees supported the demonstrations.
HSBC has said its decision to close the protest-linked account was unrelated to the police action. It's condemned acts of vandalism against its property as "unjustified" and promised to restore the defaced lions, which it said "form part of the bank's and Hong Kong's history."
The decision was made after finding unusual transactions, people familiar with the matter said, adding that the bank risked being punished by regulators for any negligence. They asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
"HSBC is now joining Cathay Pacific in discovering that politics and business can't always be easily reconciled," said Brock Silvers, managing director at Adamas Asset Management in Hong Kong. The pro-democracy protests are "doubly negative" in that they "detract from the local market while simultaneously complicating the Chinese market," he said.
A spokesperson for HSBC did not comment beyond the statements released by the bank when contacted by Bloomberg.
Navigating the politics of the protests is one of several challenges facing interim CEO Noel Quinn, who is also dealing with the fallout from HSBC's assistance with a US probe into Huawei and the wider impact of the US-China trade war.
HSBC was singled out for contributing to the arrest of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou on charges of violating US sanctions on Iran and Syria. The bank has made the case that it had no choice but to help the US department of justice probe. The formal hearings for Meng's extradition to the US begin on January 20 in Vancouver.
The bank is working to improve relations with China, launching a public-relations offensive aimed at leaders in Beijing after missing out on several business licenses.
Bank overhaul
Hong Kong and China together contributed two thirds of HSBC's adjusted pretax profit in the first three quarters in 2019. The group has $1.1-trillion worth of assets across Asia, according to its interim report last year, with a majority concentrated in Hong Kong.
Born as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp in 1865, HSBC has been shifting more resources to Asia, especially China, since 2015 as part of a strategy initiated by Stuart Gulliver and strengthened under the leadership of John Flint, who was ousted in August. Acting chief Quinn will make his pitch to keep the top job in February as the bank undertakes its biggest overhaul in years.
The lender has warned of write-offs, plans to pare back underperforming businesses, and people familiar with the matter have said it will try to sell its French retail bank.
It is the Asian operations that offer the greatest promise and, now, some of the biggest challenges.
Hong Kong is HSBC's single biggest market with 21,000 employees. In China, it has ramped up its investment across financial sectors including commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking and wealth management. The bank now employs more than 8,000 staff as the largest foreign bank in China, according to its website.
As the tension in the former British colony shows little sign of abating, campaigns against the Chinese firms have now expanded to include HSBC. Some protesters have linked the account closure to the police arrests for suspected money laundering, taking to online forums and rallies claiming HSBC has betrayed the Hong Kong people. Bank's branches and ATMs have been vandalised in areas including Wan Chai and Mong Kok.
One employee who regularly donates to groups that support the protests said she was sad after the lions were vandalised because they are seen as spiritual leaders and HSBC was innocent in this case. She said she won't turn against the protesters, but feared that some of her colleagues would change their mind.
Stephen and Stitt, the two lions, have been covered by hoardings. The sign on front promised: "They will return."
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Al Gore headlines major sustainability conference
UH News » Community · Videos » Al Gore headlines major…
Community, Videos
Former Vice President Al Gore brought his message about the dangers of climate change to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa on the evening of April 15, 2014. He spoke before a crowd of nearly 7,000 people—more than half of them students—at UH's Stan Sheriff Center.
"If we act together, there is absolutely no question that we will solve this," said Gore. "Hawaiʻi is very impressively playing an inspiring leadership role."
Gore's speech was the capstone event of Ascent, a one day conference on clean energy and a sustainable future hosted by the UH Sea Grant College Program, UH Mānoa Chancellor Tom Apple and U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaiʻi. His message was crystal clear.
Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at UH's Stan Sheriff Center on April 15, 2014.
"Our way of life is at stake," he said raising voice and waving his arms. "Our grandchildren are at stake. The future of human civilization is at stake. Somebody says, don't tell people about that. I'm sorry but I cannot but tell people what is at stake. We got to rally on this and we got to understand what's at risk."
Those who attended say they were impressed.
"It was really exciting to see energy and passion, to support the knowledge and facts that he had to bring to us," said UH student Clarice Schafer.
"It was really interesting to see that we had that sort of connection with getting someone as famous as president, Vice President Al Gore, to come down here and talk about it," said Levi Viloria, who also attends UH.
The Ascent conference started in the morning with an opening speech by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer of California at UH Mānoa's Orvis Auditorium. She was also very passionate as she addressed the audience on climate change.
VIDEO: U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer's Ascent conference address
"Clean energy is good for our lungs, energy efficiency is good for our pocket book, both create good paying jobs that can't be outsourced," said Boxer. "And as we move forward, we will make sure consumers are protected. That is the right thing to do and that is the moral thing to do. Hawaiʻi gets it."
Boxer's speech was followed by a roundtable discussion with respected community and business leaders from Hawaiʻi and the continental United States. The focus was on water and energy sustainability.
The discussion continued in the afternoon during breakout sessions at the East-West Center on the Mānoa campus with experts from the public and private sectors who are on the front lines of sustainability efforts.
"What they bring up is just how difficult decisions are that they have to make on a day-to-day basis dealing with costs when it comes to strategies and the challenges. And then, how do you deal with that in terms with moving forward and making the best decisions," said Daniele Spirandelli, a UH Mānoa urban and regional planning professor.
The University of Hawaiʻi Ascent conference addressed key underlying issues of sustainability and demonstrated the role UH plays.
"This university has been fantastic and hosting this conference is a very big, big move because it captures people's interest," said Boxer.
"We can attract the quality of people like Senator Boxer and Vice President Gore, who are the major thinkers in these areas, not only in the nation but across the world," said event organizer Gordon Grau, the director of the UH Sea Grant College Program. "So it is very, very important and it shows the importance of the university, not just locally, but nationally and internationally."
All of the speakers waived their fees, including Gore, who ended the conference by imploring the audience to think about future generations.
"I want them to look back at us, at our time, and ask, how did you find the moral courage to stand up and do the right thing, and turn the tide?" said Gore. "And part of the answer is that the state of Hawaiʻi provided leadership and the United States finally listened. Always remember, that the only thing we need is political will and political will is a renewable resource!"
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer's Ascent conference address
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Dit artikel behandelt de Bronstijd in de Levant.

De Levant lag tijdens de bronstijd ingeklemd tussen de grootmachten van Mesopotamië, Anatolië en Egypte en was politiek versplinterd.

De Bronstijd dankt zijn naam aan de ontwikkeling van een nieuwe technologie: het maken en bewerken van brons. Brons wordt vervaardigd door een kleine hoeveelheid tin aan koper toe te voegen. Het voordeel van brons is dat het harder is.

Verreweg de belangrijkste uitvinding van deze periode was de ontwikkeling van het schrift rond 3200 v.Chr. Het oudste schrift verschijnt min of meer gelijktijdig in twee gebieden: in Mesopotamië en in Egypte. De ontwikkeling van het schrift was het logisch gevolg van een ontluikende bureaucratie in deze cultuurgebieden.

Vanuit Ugarit waren al vroeg handelscontacten gelegd met Alashia op Cyprus, waar men koper vandaan haalde, en ook met de verder weg liggende Cycladen en Kreta. Intussen waren de contacten tussen Mesopotamië, Anatolië, Syrië en Egypte toegenomen. In de bergen van de Taurus haalde men obsidiaan voor spiegels, en tin om met koper tot brons te mengen. Koper werd waarschijnlijk uit Cyprus aangevoerd, dan wel via Ugarit. Aan het einde van het vierde millennium was Jericho, dat vanuit het stroomgebied van de Eufraat via de Jordaan goed bereikbaar is, een ommuurde stad die sindsdien onafgebroken bewoond werd. Vanwege haar ligging werden er grote voorraden en kostbaarheden opgeslagen om verder verhandeld te worden.

Na een klimaatverandering begonnen Indo-Europese nomaden vanuit het noorden de Levant binnen te dringen.

Vroege Bronstijd (~3500 - ~2000 v.Chr.)
Terwijl op Kreta de Minoïsche beschaving bloeide en er vanuit dit eiland voortdurend overzeese contacten waren met de wijde omgeving van de Middellandse Zeekusten, waren ook in de Levant een aantal steden opgekomen. Vermoedelijk was er daarbij ook sprake van culturele uitwisseling.

Gedurende de Vroege en Midden-Bronstijd gingen Syrië en Palestina ieder hun eigen weg. Palestina was gedurende een aantal generaties vrijwel onbewoond. Gedurende de Vroege Bronstijd verschenen er migranten uit het noorden. Het gebied bleef dunbevolkt en nam nauwelijks deel aan de internationale handel. Alleen met Egypte was er regelmatig contact. Er zijn uit deze periode in Palestina nauwelijks schriftelijke bronnen overgeleverd. Het gebied bestond uit ongeveer twintig kleine stadstaten. Slechts enkele steden hadden meer dan 2.000 inwoners. De belangrijkste Palestijnse steden waren Megiddo, Laish, (het latere Dan), en Ai.

Handel en culturele uitwisseling
Volgens Herodotos zouden in Fenicië de eerste steden rond 2750 v.Chr zijn gesticht. Navolging van de bloeiende stadstaten in Mesopotamië kan deze ontwikkeling hebben beïnvloed. Sidon was vanaf 2700 v.Chr. de oudste Fenicische stad naast Baalbek en Tyrus. Dit waren alle havens van het mediterrane handelsrijk. Tyrus, dat uit dezelfde tijd stamt, was eveneens een latere havenstad van de Feniciërs. Er bevond zich een Ashtart-tempel in Sidon.

Aan de kust van Syrië waren rond 2500 een aantal van deze steden tot bloei gekomen; zij speelden een belangrijke rol in de internationale handel. Gedurende het Oude Rijk vond op grote schaal vreedzame uitwisseling van goederen en cultuur plaats met Egypte via de steden Askalon en Byblos. In de Vroege Bronstijd was Byblos de belangrijkste havenstad van de Levant. Van daaruit werd vooral veel cederhout naar Egypte verscheept. Aangezien er in Egypte zelf weinig bomen met goed timmerhout groeiden, was dit daar een gezocht artikel. Tijdens de tweede dynastie (~2853 - ~2707) waren de kuststeden min of meer Egyptische kolonies. Ook met Mesopotamië was er een levendige handel, vooral in metaal.

Volksbewegingen en vazalsteden
Vanaf 2500 trad er een kentering op in de rustige vreedzame levenswijze in en rond Kanaän. Vanaf die tijd blijken er in toenemende mate volksbewegingen in en naar de regio op gang gekomen te zijn. Vanuit Egypte werden pogingen gedaan om het gebied en de handelsrelaties voor zichzelf veilig te stellen.

De stadskoningen (intussen "Baäls" genaamd), werden vanaf de 4e dynastie van Egypte (2639–2504 v.Chr.) vazallen van farao's als Snofroe. Deze laatste ondernam op zeker moment een strafexpeditie tegen Libische stammen, waarbij honderden Libiërs gevangen werden genomen, omdat een Baäl blijkbaar niet aan zijn voorwaarden voldeed. Iets gelijkaardigs gebeurde daarna meerdere malen: Teti, Farao van de 6e dynastie van Egypte (2347–2335 v.Chr.), en veel later ook Merenptah en Othoes, stuurden expedities naar Kanaän. In Byblos zijn sporen van hem gevonden.

Volgens professor Seton Lloyd "schijnt er omstreeks 2300 voor Chr. een golf van Indo-Europese volken, die een dialect spraken dat als Luwisch bekendstaat, over Anatolië heen gespoeld te zijn" ... "Hun voorttrekken werd gekenmerkt door wijdverbreide destructie". Tussen 2300 en 2100 ontstond ook een migratiegolf van Semieten naar het noordelijke deel van Kanaän dat later Fenicië zou worden, waarbij de twee volken zich met elkaar vermengden. Het was in dezelfde periode, rond 2100 v.Chr., dat Myceense Indo-Europese stammen Griekenland binnenvielen. Deze Achaeërs drongen door tot de Peloponnesos en stichtten er de steden Mycene, Tiryns en Pylos, met kolossale burchten en muren.

Midden-Bronstijd (~2000 - ~1550 v.Chr.)

Tijdens de Midden-Bronstijd kwamen een aantal stedelijke centra in Palestina plotseling tot bloei. Dit hield vermoedelijk verband met invloeden uit Egypte tijdens het Middenrijk en de periode van de Hyksos. Ook de invloed van Fenicië was groot in deze periode.

Tijdens het Middenrijk voerde Egypte een op expansie gerichte politiek. De twaalfde dynastie veroverde Neder-Nubië, dat rijk was aan goud, koper en rundvee. Ook werden in deze periode veldtochten in Syrië gehouden met als belangrijkste drijfveer het bemachtigen van het cederhout uit de Libanon. Andere gewilde producten uit Syrië waren wierook, olie en wijn. Met de stad Byblos en andere stadstaten werden diplomatieke contacten onderhouden.

In Opper-Egypte zijn inscripties gevonden die dateren uit de negentiende eeuw en geschreven zijn in wat lijkt op Proto-Sinaïtisch schrift. Het Proto-Sinaïtische schrift is tot ~1100 v.Chr. in gebruik gebleven

Van ~2000 tot ~1750 onderhield het Oud-Assyrische Rijk een uitgebreid netwerk van handelsnederzettingen in de stadstaten van Anatolië, waardoor ook daar het schrift zijn intrede deed. Het Midden-Brons kwam daar gewelddadig ten einde en er ontstond een nieuwe macht, het Hettitische Rijk.

Vanaf 1800 v.Chr. was er sprake van Amorieten die toen deel uit gingen maken van de bevolking in Kanaän. Toen deze Amorieten de regio waren binnengevallen veroorzaakte dat grote omwentelingen. Steden raakten verlaten en geheel vernield, en de rondzwervende indringers gingen zich er op hun beurt vestigen. Zo verrezen er nieuwe ommuurde steden met stamhoofden die in forten leefden, terwijl de half-nomadische stamleden zich daar in hutten of tenten rondom schaarden. Als er gevaar dreigde vluchtten zij het fort binnen.

Hyksos
Rond 1750 v.Chr. brak in Egypte een periode van politieke desintegratie aan. Semitische migranten uit het oosten drongen de delta binnen om zich er in aanzienlijke aantallen te vestigen. De invallers introduceerden in Egypte het paard en de strijdwagen, nieuwe wapens en een nieuw soort boog. Mede door hun aantal waren zij een macht van betekenis; hun aanwezigheid bracht in Egypte op termijn buitenlandse heersers aan de macht.

Rond 1640 v.Chr. werd de dertiende dynastie omvergeworpen door een groep van deze Hyksos, de Griekse vorm van de Egyptische woorden heqaw chasoet, 'heerser van vreemde landen'. De Hyksos maakten Avaris in de oostelijke delta tot hun hoofdstad. De vijftiende dynastie van deze Hyksos werd gesteund door prinsen en vazallen die in Neder-Egypte tot de zeventiende dynastie zouden heersen. Opper-Egypte ten zuiden van Memphis maakte geen deel uit van hun machtsgebied. Avaris speelde een belangrijke rol bij de handel met zuidelijk Palestina, dat vermoedelijk ook door de Hyksos werd geregeerd. Ook met Cyprus, Kreta en Griekenland werden door hen contacten onderhouden.

In Kanaän werd rond 1580 v.Chr. de stad Jericho belegerd en geheel verwoest. Ook andere steden werden verwoest. Enkele christenfundamentalisten menen hier Jozua en het volk van Israël uit de Hebreeuwse Bijbel aan het werk te zien, hoewel de datering niet strookt met de Bijbelse chronologie. Een deel van de verwoestingen is ongetwijfeld het werk van Egyptische legers; Egypte begon aan het eind van de Midden-Bronstijd immers de verovering van Palestina en Syrië na te streven. De Engelse archeologe Kathleen Kenyon heeft dankzij archeologische verbeterde stratigrafie methoden de ruïnes van de wallen van de stad Jericho in 1550 v.Chr. gesitueerd.

Late Bronstijd (~1550 - ~1200 v.Chr.)

Tussen ~1650 en ~1550 werden de meeste steden in Palestina verwoest. Dit had verschillende oorzaken. Gedurende de Late Bronstijd was de regio een speelbal in de strijd tussen de grootmachten. In het noorden had het koninkrijk der Hettieten zich tot een sterke militaire macht ontwikkeld. In noordelijk Mesopotamië lag het rijk der Mitanni, een Hurritisch vorstendom met een aristocratie die bedreven was in de oorlogvoering met de strijdwagen. De sterkste macht was Egypte, dat onder de achttiende en negentiende dynastie het hoogtepunt van zijn macht bereikte.

Er waren een aantal redenen waarom de grootmachten probeerden Syrië en Palestina te veroveren. Enerzijds waren dat de natuurlijke hulpbronnen van het gebied: het cederhout uit Syrië, de olie en wijn van Palestina en de kopermijnen in de Negevwoestijn. Anderzijds speelden strategische overwegingen een rol: het gebied lag tussen de grootmachten in. Voor Palestina waren de effecten van de buitenlandse overheersing vooral negatief. Belasting en tribuut deden de welvaart afnemen. Daarnaast werd een deel van de bewoners tot slaaf gemaakt of gedeporteerd.

De grootmachten Egypte, Mitanni en Hettieten

In Egypte werden de Hyksos als vreemde invallers beschouwd. Er werd langdurig strijd geleverd tussen de heersers in Thebe en de Hyksos in de delta. Uiteindelijk slaagden de heersers van de achttiende dynastie erin om de Hyksos te verdrijven. De strijd werd in Palestina voortgezet. De verdrijving van de Hyksos was een mijlpaal in de geschiedenis van Egypte en wordt beschouwd als het begin van het Nieuwe Rijk (~1550 - ~1070). In deze periode werd de titel 'farao' ingevoerd, hetgeen "het Grote Huis" betekent. De achttiende dynastie was afkomstig uit Thebe in Opper-Egypte, maar verplaatste de hoofdstad naar Memphis in de delta.

De volgende farao's uit de achttiende dynastie speelden een belangrijke rol in de geschiedenis van Palestina: Hatsjepsoet, Thoetmosis III, Amenophis II, Thoetmosis IV, Amenophis III, Achnaton, Toetanchamon, Eje en Horemheb.

Tijdens de laatste decennia van de zestiende eeuw streefden de farao's er in de eerste plaats naar Nubië te onderwerpen. Onder Hatsjepsoet was de verovering van het gebied door Egypte min of meer afgerond. Onder Thoetmosis III en Amenophis II werd langdurig strijd geleverd met de Hurrieten in het noorden. De periode van Thoetmosis IV en Amenophis III, een groot deel van de veertiende eeuw, was voor Egypte een soort 'gouden eeuw'. Met Ramses I begint de negentiende dynastie.

In Egyptische teksten uit de tijd van de achttiende dynastie duiken met enige regelmaat de termen Shasu en Habiru op. Vanaf ~1400 v.Chr. ontmoeten we de eerste melding van de Shasu in Egyptische teksten van Amenhotep II. Het waren termen om sociale groepen aan te duiden. Van etnische duiding was geen sprake. Met Shasu werden nomaden bedoeld die rondzwierven in Palestina, het zuiden van Syrië en het Overjordaanse. Akkadische bronnen gebruiken het woord Sutu voor dezelfde groep. De Habiru worden in de bronnen nooit als nomaden beschreven; het is evident een andere groep. Veel Habiru spraken Hurritisch.

De Hettieten stamden af van een Indo-Europees volk, dat zich in Anatolië had gevestigd. Na een periode van crisis was daar een nieuw en sterker Hettitisch rijk tot bloei gekomen. Gedurende de Late Bronstijd werd het een grootmacht. Halverwege de veertiende eeuw maakte het de facto een eind aan de macht van de Mitanni. Vanaf dat moment waren de Hettieten en het Nieuwe Rijk van de farao's elkaars belangrijkste rivalen. De Hettieten breidden hun invloed steeds verder naar het zuiden uit. In de Amarna-briefwisseling van Achnaton tijdens de Egyptische dominantie van Kanaän tussen 1350 en 1330 staat de uitbreiding van de Hettitische macht in Noord-Syrië beschreven. De streek werd op dat moment geteisterd door een pandemie die er tot lethargie leidde. De farao besloot gewapenderhand Fenicië te heroveren, zodat het de volgende vijftig jaar in feite weer onder Egyptisch bestuur kwam te staan.

Verslagen van Egyptische veldtochten melden in dezelfde periode tot 1300 v.Chr. politieke instabiliteit en endemisch banditisme in de Djadi-streek, het overstromingsgebied van de Jordaan.

In de dertiende eeuw regeerde in Egypte de negentiende dynastie. Onder zijn heerschappij werd niet ver van Avaris een nieuwe stad gebouwd, Pi-Ramesse. Dit bleef gedurende het Nieuwe Rijk een belangrijk machtscentrum. Belangrijke farao's uit de negentiende dynastie waren Seti I, Ramses II en Merenptah. Seti I en Ramses II voerden beiden oorlog met de Hittieten. Van 1294 tot 1279 v.Chr. was Seti I op het toppunt van zijn macht in de regio. Hij veroverde Kadesj (Kadesh) en liet het daarna bij informeel vredesverdrag aan Muwatalli II van Hatti in beheer. Seti I en zijn opvolger Ramses II richtten overal in hun rijk enorme monumenten op. In 1274 v.Chr. leverde Ramses II de slag bij Kadesh tegen de Hittieten, in zijn soort de grootste veldslag van het millennium, met 5000 strijdwagens en 9000 soldaten te voet. Egypte leed een zware nederlaag. Aan de dominante positie van Egypte in de Levant kwam goeddeels een eind.

In 1271 had Ramses II de toegang tot kuststeden als Sidon zekergesteld, maar in 1250 moest hij alweer zware veldtochten voeren tegen Libiërs en de Neo-Hettitische vorstendommen. Daarbij viel hij Kadesj aan, maar heeft deze stad niet meer kunnen heroveren. Hij sloot een vredesverdrag met de Neo-Hettieten waarbij het noorden van de Levant aan hen werd afgestaan. Ramses II huwde een dochter van Hattusili III. Na een opstand van de Shasu hield Ramses II nog enkele veldtochten in het gebied ten zuiden daarvan. Hij vestigde een Egyptisch garnizoen in Moab, een bergachtig gebied ten oosten van de Dode Zee.

Rond de eeuwwisseling voerde Ramses III strijd met de zogenaamde Zeevolken.

De halve eeuw die volgde op het vredesverdrag tussen Egypte en de Hettieten was een periode van vrede en voorspoed voor de hele regio. Dankzij de politieke stabiliteit gingen de grenzen open; de internationale handel bereikte een hoogtepunt.

Egyptische teksten maken gewag van de aanwezigheid in de Nijldelta van "Volken uit het groen". Deze 'Peleset' werden er ooit door de farao verslagen, maar werden daarna als huurlingen in dienst genomen en in Palestina geplaatst, de latere Filistijnen. Zij kenden zelfs de smeedkunst in ijzer, staat er, en bouwden steden groter dan de Kanaänitische met centrale gebouwen waarin een vierkante ruimte met haard in Myceense stijl voorkwam. In dezelfde tijd werd gewag gemaakt van de aanwezigheid van 'Sherden' in de Nijldelta, aldus werden Semitisch sprekende mensen in Egypte aangeduid.

Palestina was gedurende vrijwel de gehele Late Bronstijd een Egyptische provincie. De Egyptische overheersing duurde tot ~1135 v.Chr.

De Fenicische stadstaten

De Feniciërs, die in het noorden van Kanaän leefden, werden in deze periode de belangrijkste en meest succesvolle zeevaarders en handelaars van de Middellandse Zee. Dit is de periode van het ontstaan van de poleis Sidon, Tyrus, Byblos, Aradus, Beiroet, en ook Gaza, de stad van de Filistijnen, waarvan we de eerste vermelding aantreffen onder Thoetmosis II. In het noorden van Syrië beleefde intussen de stad Ugarit tussen 1500 en 1300 v.Chr. haar bloeitijd onder Mitanni. Ugarit stond onder leiding van een adath. Deze havenstad was ook de eindbestemming voor de afzet van de intussen opgekomen Myceense economie; ook functioneerde zij als doorvoerhaven van en naar het gebied van de Eufraat en de Tigris. Het was de belangrijkste haven van de Levant.

In Baalbek, Sidon en Tyrus werd in deze periode een Semitische taal gesproken die verwant was aan het Hebreeuws en aan het Kanaänitisch. De religie had er nog altijd kenmerken van de oude Kanaänitische religies.

De relatieve onafhankelijkheid die de Feniciërs verwierven, werd met lede ogen bekeken door de Egyptische farao's, die hun greep op het gebied wilden verstevigen en voorkomen dat het in handen van vreemde volken of het opkomend Hettitische rijk zou vallen. Rond 1500 v.Chr. veroverde Thoetmosis III dan ook Fenicië.

Van 1411 tot 1358 v.Chr. hadden Amorieten en Hettieten voortdurend Fenicische steden aangevallen, zoals gemeld wordt in de Amarna-brieven. Onder Suppiluliuma I en Mursili I strekte het Hettitische rijk zich uit tot bijna geheel Anatolië en delen van Syrië en Kanaän, waaronder Fenicië. Tussen 1350 en 1330 besloot de farao om gewapenderhand Fenicië te heroveren.

In de eeuwen die volgden na 1200 v.Chr. was Fenicië de belangrijkste zee- en handelsmacht van de regio. Mogelijk kwam het door deze handelslieden dat het Hebreeuwse woord "kena'ani" de bijbetekenis van "marchandeur" kreeg. De Feniciërs verhandelden cederhout voor het maken van schepen en andere zaken. De Griekse term "Tyrisch purper" verwijst naar de kleurstof waar zij vooral om bekendstonden en ook naar de haven van Tyrus. Mooi textiel behoorde ook tot de Fenicische weelde, en Fenicisch glas. Zij hadden blijkbaar als eersten de techniek ontdekt om het glas doorschijnend te maken. Alhoewel de Feniciërs geen grote landbouwers waren, werden er wel schapen gefokt en werden die evenals hun wol verkocht. Grote cederstammen werden eveneens als vanouds naar Egypte vervoerd. Zoals de Amarna-brieven suggereren betaalde Fenicië hiermee tribuut in de 14e eeuw v.Chr.

In de tijd van de Feniciërs werden in Ugarit ateliers ingericht voor eigen beheer van export zoals Fenicisch purper. Ivoorsnijkunst was er ook van hoog niveau. Een godin die op een dergelijk opgegraven ivoorplaket staat afgebeeld was Ishtar of Potnia. De stijl van de kunstvoorwerpen verraadt de internationale invloeden vanuit alle windstreken. Op dat punt is de rol van de stad Ugarit vergelijkbaar met die van huidige drukke handelssteden als Hong Kong.

Invoer van artikelen van elders waren vooral zilver en tin uit Spanje, dat samen met Cyprisch koper tot brons werd verwerkt. Volgens Strabo was er ook al een lucratieve tinhandel met Bretagne. De Aziatische handelsroutes convergeerden ook op de Fenicische kusten. Hierdoor kon Fenicië de handel tussen Mesopotamië aan de ene kant en Egypte en Arabië aan de andere kant regelen.

Luwiërs
Een Luwisch koninkrijkje ten noorden van Kanaän was in de 15e en 14e eeuw v.Chr. bij machte om redelijke weerstand te bieden aan het Hettitisch koninkrijk dat in het noordoosten was opgekomen en zelfs de leidende rol van Anatolië op zich te nemen. Het Hiëroglyfenhettitisch als beeldtaal werd samen met het Luwisch door de Luwiërs als religieuze taal gebruikt, ook in het Hettitische rijk. Luwisch-sprekenden verspreidden zich meer en meer over dit rijk en droegen later bij tot de instorting ervan. Maar eerst droegen zij ertoe bij dat de invloed van dit rijk zich naar het zuiden uitbreidde over Kanaän tot voorbij de strategische haven van Ugarit, en dat een botsing met het Oude Egypte onvermijdelijk werd.

Myceense bloeiperiode

Niet alleen in de Kanaänitische regio nam de onrust in deze jaren toe, maar ook in het Middellandse Zeegebied vonden enkele ingrijpende veranderingen plaats. Vanaf 1450 v.Chr. werden bijvoorbeeld op Kreta de Minoïsche paleizen voor een tweede keer verwoest. Archeoloog Arthur John Evans weet dit onder meer aan de Myceners, die het eiland vanaf de vijftiende eeuw voor Christus zouden zijn binnengevallen.

Van ~1400 tot ~1200 v.Chr. beleefde Myceens Griekenland een bloeitijd. Het oefende invloed uit in en rondom het gehele oostelijk bekken van de Middellandse Zee. Sommige onderzoekers spreken van een Myceense periode. De monarchie van de Achaeërs vervulde een spilfunctie in de internationale handel, die sterk opbloeide. Er was veel vraag naar producten afkomstig uit de Griekse wereld. Ook Cyprus speelde een belangrijke rol. Het prachtige Myceens aardewerk is bijna overal teruggevonden, waardoor het voor een archeoloog een belangrijk hulpmiddel is bij dateringen. Ook Egyptische en Syrische kooplieden speelden een belangrijke rol in de overzeese handel. Behalve aardewerk importeerde de Levant hars, vet en olie.

Migraties van stammen in Palestina
Uit de tweede helft van de dertiende eeuw is ons een waardevolle bron overgeleverd, Papyrus Anastasi I, een brief van Hori, een schrijver in dienst van het Egyptische leger, waarin hij een reis door Fenicië en Palestina beschrijft. De brief bevat veel gegevens over de wegen, steden, bossen en bewoners van het gebied. Hori maakt ook gewag van nomaden die de bossen onveilig maken in het gebied van de stam Aser (í-s-r), een Kanaänitische groep ten zuiden van Megiddo. Ook inscripties van Seti I en Ramses II vermelden deze groep. Pas met de opkomst van de Israëlitische monarchie (~950) werd Aser in naam een Israëlitische stam. Iets vergelijkbaars is gebeurd met de stammen Dan, Gad en Naftali. Uit de Amarna-brieven komt het beeld naar voren van rivaliserende stadstaten en kleine koninkrijken.

Vermoedelijk heeft er aan het eind van de Bronstijd migratie plaatsgevonden van de kustvlakte naar de centraal gelegen hooglanden, waar rond 1200 een aantal nieuwe nederzettingen werden gebouwd. De hooglanden waren dunbevolkt; er woonden voornamelijk schaapherders. Ook veel Shasu hadden er zich gevestigd. Dit betekent niet dat delen van Palestina ontvolkt raakten. Enkele versterkte steden werden echter verlaten. Ook in deze periode woonde slechts een minderheid van de bevolking in steden. Langs de strategisch belangrijke kust bouwden de Egyptenaren een aantal forten en versterkingen.

Onder farao Merenptah (1212–1202), een zoon van Ramses II, werd een stèle opgericht om een overwinning op de Libiërs en het neerslaan van een opstand in Palestina te herdenken. Hierbij werd Askalon belegerd en ingenomen. Volgens  wordt de kustvlakte met zijn urbane centra in de inscriptie aangeduid met Kanaän (Charoe) en werd melding gemaakt een vijandig Israël in de hooglanden van Palestina. Deze oudst bekende vermelding van "Israël" luidt: "Israël is verwoest, zijn zaad is niet (meer)".

Bronstijd in Zuidwest-Azië
Geschiedenis van het Midden-Oosten


The City of Burien will be holding its next Annexation Informational Session on Thursday, Aug. 23 at the White Center Food Bank (10829 8th Ave SW), starting at 6 p.m.
"The City is conducting a series of informational sessions designed to inform North Highline residents and merchants about the North Highline annexation on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot," reads a statement on the city's website.
This is a free meeting open to the public, and residents are encouraged to come with questions ready for Burien officials.
Oct. 18 at Cascade Middle School cafeteria (6 p.m.).
The Burien City Council on April 2 adopted a resolution that requests King County to place on the Nov. 6, 2012, General Election ballot a proposition concerning annexation of the North Highline Area "Y" annexation area. Residents of the proposed annexation area would vote on whether to become part of the City of Burien. The proposed annexation area includes the unincorporated remainder of North Highline, which takes in White Center, Top Hat, Beverly Park, Glendale, and portions of Boulevard Park, Riverton Heights and Shorewood. Burien annexed the southern section of North Highline in 2010.
At its Oct. 3 meeting, the Council approved an "intent to annex" resolution that set in motion the formal annexation process. The annexation proposal went before Washington State Boundary Review Board for King County, which conducted a public hearing Jan. 9 and 10 before voting to accept the proposal on Feb. 16. If approved by voters, the annexation could take effect in spring 2013.


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The Hyde
Woh Hup
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Anglo Chinese School Educational Institution
July 11, 2018 /0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by thehydecondo
Relax, sit tight for being about to take you through an innumerable journey of discovering something I would consider the new world wonder on the list that is already existing. This wonder is non-other, but Anglo-Chinese School founded way back in 1886. It's a non-relenting education center that is a magnanimous world phenomenon. Everything about them is something I know you would cherish and that would make you wish you were a part of them, by association or membership or your children studied in it.
Anglo Chinese School Near to The Hyde Condo
I hope you never forgot to sit tight because what am about to unleash regarding this fantastic school might catch you off guard. Looking at the sense of belonging students have concerning their school and pride is more than I would desire if I were a manager of a school myself. The love spread and the kind of graduates that they produce every year is something to be admired. Buckle up the journey is about to start.
Anglo Chinese School Foundation on Teaching
Anglo-Chinese School is an excellent Methodist-founded learning institution that has been in existent for over a century. It was built and established on solid foundations of spiritual values coupled with a tradition of epitomic excellence with a global perspective hence making it a learning institution of choice by many people around the world. It is located in Coleman Street, City-Port Singapore after it moved from No. 70 Amoy Street where it was first established.
The school is an independent learning institution offering two academic tracks and operating under the Ministry of Education and the International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. The school has a distinct kind of vision that is spiritually centered and divided into two segments, one for students between years 1-4 and another one for students in years 5 and 6. These visions are designed to ensure a clear focus on whether local or global for every ACSian Scholar and anchor them to spiritual growth and prepare them for service to God and humanity.
What is unique about Anglo-Chinese School
This school is a family, anchored together with unending love for school, the badge and its blue, red and gold colors, but its heritage, culture and its rich history. In their pledge, you can tell of undying devotion, commitment and sense of ownership that can only be attributed by students love and believe in what the school stands for, what it represents, and they are ready to guard it to the very end. When they leave the school, they go as responsible young adults showing great levels of maturity, competent in their specific fields and with a very admirable spirit that is ready to learn and learn some more. As a parent am sure, there is nothing else you would want or wish for your child but this.
History reminds us of a call for Methodist Reverend William Fitzjames Oldham to go to Southeast Asia and establish his mission there. During that time, there were few schools hence very limited educational opportunities for learners yearning to learn. The reverend had a vision of giving as many children as possible a chance to access quality education and help the young boys wandering in the streets a life that had a meaning and a future. This vision culminated in the founding of Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) on 1 March 1886. Reverend William had a sole mission of nurturing the boys and prepare them to serve God and humanity and one another with lots of humility and love. And his dream lives on. Enroll your child today for a life-transforming opportunity to study with the best and learn from the best.
https://www.thehydecondo.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/The-Hyde-by-Woh-Hup-Group-at-11-Balmoral-Road.jpg 0 0 thehydecondo https://www.thehydecondo.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/The-Hyde-by-Woh-Hup-Group-at-11-Balmoral-Road.jpg thehydecondo2018-07-11 10:42:582018-07-11 10:42:58Anglo Chinese School Educational Institution
Project Name The Hyde
Address 11 Balmoral Road Singapore 259796
Opening Hours To Be Confirmed
Email mail@thehydecondo.com.sg
The Hyde Condo at 11 Balmoral Road by Woh Hup Near Newton MRT Station
The Hyde Floor Plans
The Hyde Location
The Hyde Project Details
The Hyde Register Interest
The Hyde Site Plan
Woh Hup Group Real Estate Developer
© Copyright - The Hyde Condo Official Site Woh Hup Group at 11 Balmoral Road
Raffles Girl Secondary School in Singapore


The event immediately sold out. Dr. Mininni's lecture attracted the attention of local and national media and has been featured in a variety of outlets, including the San Diego Union-Tribune and NPR.
Cultivate optimism: Notice your words and try not to use the words always and never. Look at things as they are, but not worse than what they are. Try to see difficulties as temporary.
Shift your focus: Look for the good in the world. Think of things you are grateful for.
Process difficult feelings: Write for fifteen minutes for three or four days, express your deepest feelings and thoughts, and explore your writing.
Connect: If you have one person to connect with, you are ten times less likely to be depressed. You can connect with pets as well as human beings.
Be present: Practice mindfulness meditation every day.
Dr. Mininni's lecture has been recorded and is available online.


A seagull interrupted a TV weather report... twice in four days!
It's not every day that a seagull interrupts your weather report, but for anchor Tara Jean Stevens, it happened twice! A video shared by Breakfast Television Vancouver on August 1 quickly went viral after a seagull hijacked the channel's live skyline camera, sending the presenter - Ms Stevens - into giggles. "I won't let him distract me," asserts Ms Stevens, before admitting, a minute later, "Okay, that is distracting" as the seagull examines the camera behind her.
She then finished her report on the heatwave in Canada while giggling several times.
Since being shared on Facebook on August 1, the video has been viewed over 45,000 times.
Ms Stevens later called it 'One of the greatest moments' of her broadcasting career.
Even though it made no comments, its innocent presence still sent Ms Stevens and her co-host into a fit of giggles.


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Home Conventions SDCC'17: HAPPY! on SYFY- the product of a cute imaginary friend on...
SDCC '17
SDCC'17: HAPPY! on SYFY- the product of a cute imaginary friend on Crank.
Davey Nieves
You would think after a long illustrious career writing comics, Grant Morrisson would have had several projects adapted to film or television. It's 2017 and that honor goes to SYFY network's investment in perhaps his least synonymous work, the Christmas story of crime, sex, and a blue horse named HAPPY!
SYFY is bringing the four issue mini series co-created by the exceptionally talented Darick Robertson who with The Boys coming two show time will have two properties adapted on screen which he worked with a Scotish writer on. Not sure if that has any relevance but it's an interesting coincidence.
Morrisson was joined on stage Saturday by co-executive producer Brian Taylor (director of Crank) and showrunner Patrick MacManus, even Nick Sax himself Christopher Meloni (Law & Order) was on Happy's SDCC panel. While production starts on the first season in two weeks, the group had filmed and completed FX on the pilot episode. In fact, the crowd in attendance got a peek at just how SYFY intends to adapt this extravagantly dark tale. If you've read the book, you would have instantly recognized one oof the scenes shown where Nick is brutally fighting his way out of a hospital with blood caked hands and a cocaine withdrawal hangover.
Taylor himself summed up the Happy! comic book series as "Crank through Grant Morrisson's eyes." In the footage shown during Saturday's panel it's easy to see the similarities of Meloni and Statham in the respective roles. Visually it has much of the extreme action close up style of Crank, but with a twist of levity brought by the CGI title character to be voiced by Patton Oswalt. Maybe a Happy! / Goldergs crossover? Morrison and crew even utilized a local Scotish animation studio to do all the work on putting the tiny blue horse on screen. When you get a peek at it, you might notice it's the furriest thing on television today.
Also in the room was artist Darick Robertson. No word on if SYFY will tap the artist to conceptualize the show's opening credit sequence, but the network is utilizing much of the book's logo designs already. One of the biggest questions was how far SYFY would allow Happy! to go. This comic was already pushing boundaries when your first scene includes a man in a prawn costume getting oral from a prostitute. Morrisson and Taylor both rebutted by talking about television today being the medium that Vertigo comics was in the 90's and film was in the 70's. Both feel confident they can tell the story without having to dilute the source material's raw essence.
The other big question was how do you take a comic book series with only four issues of source material and make not only an 8 episode season but multiple seasons after that. Show producers and Morrisson will be adding new characters and mysteries to solve in this world. Grant wants this series to be something special for newcomers while at the same time being something unexpected for fans of the book.
HAPPY! premieres on SYFY this fall.
SDCC'17
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Recap: THE STAND S1E5 – "Fear and Loathing in New Vegas"
Gavin 07/23/2017 8:39 pm At 8:39 pm
Garth Ennis is Irish, not Scottish.
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When did short stories first come about? Flip through this six-slide presentation with your class to give them a brief glimpse into the world of the short story. Designed for emerging writers, you could also show this resource to a class before they begin reading a short story.


American Holly has the most pure white color of any wood in the world. It is very hard to dry properly without cracking and must be harvested in the dead of winter or the wood will be spalted (stained) with a blue-grey fungus. This process makes American Holly quite expensive. Add to that the fact that it is a nightmare to keep from shifting in board form, and it's easy to see why only the most meticulate artisans work with this wood.
American Holly makes uniquely striking dice due to its almost non-existent grain pattern and nearly pure white coloration. American Holly takes laser engraving very well, so the markings on laser-engraved dice are highly legible.
NOTE: The American Holly box is for display purposes only. Dice will arrive in our standard dice box.
Could you post a picture of the dXX dice? I'd love to see what they look like with the engraving before purchasing.
will try to get a set finished before the kickstarter ends, but we have a ton of others in front of it so no promises.
Must get a fudge set of these. It'd be a perfect match for my ABO fudge set.
Does the fungus destroy the wood, or could you make white/blue grey marbled dice from it?
it just stains the wood.
Hi, I am interested in your dice, though I am not sure how I can look at prices and or purchase? I don't see an option for it. Can you help?
american holly was available on the kick starter and will be added to the web site shortly. you will see the check out options then.
I would like to get a set of these in d10s. How much extra would it cost to get the box made of the same wood? Thanks!
Hey Rachel, unfortunately American Holly that thick and long would be quite expensive, for a polyhedral size box you'd end paying about $150.
agreed. my supplier of American holly is out of the 2 inch thick material we'd need to make boxes, and the one other supplier I can get American holly from is extremely proud of their stock.
hello, you can send in Italy?
I was considering buying a set of polyhedral dice from you all and I really like that American Holly, about how long would it take to recieve a set if ordered within the week?


This project was created on 04/04/2019 and last updated 5 days ago.
The omni multimachine is conceived to combine several useful operations from a single design machine capable of cutting materials to size , engraving them and routing them for instant placement into a design for rapid prototyping.
In the past I have been making more single use machines such as cnc lathes for turning, mills for shaping and pcb work etc and while single use tool machines are great, they just lack some basic interchangeability for more than one real purpose. Sure you can make tooling to add functionality extensions to a machine but the machine often suffers in rigidity or is just plain awkward to setup.
My idea was not to make a machine to do everything, but to make a machine that could do a lot of common tasks that I did lots of...Cutting flat material, make a quick prototype pcb or make some one time use stencils. Often I needed to make multiples of items(sometime LOTS of multiples) and wanted the machine to start up and go no muss no fuss..This is my goal.
The basic machine will be a familiar looking design to many. It is a 3 axis setup with a long x and y and a moderately short z. I am 3d printing the major components including gantry type z overhead axis so it can be scaled up and using very standard parts throughout. Everything on the mechanical side can be got at a hardware store and the steppers and leadscrews from ebay etc. Nothing is expensive and nothing is particularly hard to come by. I have been printing machines and basic axis for several years and have finally formulated a nice mix of functionality and easy to make axis that just is working out well for my needs.
I was new to laser cutting and etching when I started this and went through several laser power levels before landing one that worked for one of my common material cutting needs-Balsa(and thin plywood). I make lots of balsa prototype stuff,some flying machines and rockets, some decorative stuff and lots of impromptu stuff just screwing around. My thickest are about 3/16ths thick and when I settle on some crazy design it involves make a bunch.....for some reason. I first used a motor and router bit which worked fine but when I saw the price of those small lasers come down I tried one at 2.5 watt(about 40$ from ebay. I would etch fine bit only would pierce and cut 1/16 material. So next I tried a ten watt and it proved to cut even a bit beyond 3/16ths. It would also cut very thin plastics and that proved useful for make some spray paint type stencils. Ten watt versions are still inexpensive and can be PWMed for etching details in wood etc. making cool effects and decorative as well. If I needed to cut thicker wood and plastics the motor bit setup was easy to bolt on to the z axis(just two wing nuts!) and plugged in the same plugs as the laser.
Later I would add a vinyl pen knife older as an additional accessory which cuts sign vinyl(sticky backed) just perfect. This was an easy thing to make just using a servo for pen blade direction.
The controller was my next bit of planning. I could never get gerber setups working all that well. I had problems with the software, with the setup and it always seemed lie it was too much fiddling.
I stuck with an Arduino but did some serious and contemptable acts I never dreamed I could pull off...I made my own file converter for several commom cad file formats that takes the file and creates sketches from them that could be flashed to the Arduino or read from an SD card. Yes-I did in fact reinvent the wheel, but it is so simple to implement and made everything work seamlessly. The Arduino can hold many cut files that could keep residence in the Arduino and executed from a pushbutton, or loaded from an sd card. I was shocked and amused at the simplicity and no tinkering with feeds and speeds, weird crashes or stupid errors. I could have used many other microcontrollers for this but used the Arduino as it is cheap,I had several, and in reality the end builder can sub whatever they desire anyway.
The machine also features a small onboard joystick to execute jogs and a port for a large analog joystick used for freehand cutting and slicing of material. It is good for ripping strips of material up or just making some nice graphics in wood, plastic and paper.
After many designs the axis have never been easier to make. Here are things slipped together and ready for final assembly.
Not sure yet what the final design will be yet. This years contest leans heavily toward mass manufacture.
The simplest of the machines functions is a plotter,graphics drawing application. I made the holder so it fits sharpie markers which are widely available and used frequently by lots of folks in making.. The pen holder is adjusted so just the weight of the marker itself provides ample pressure for drawing.
The colors for sharpie seem endless!
This attachment consists of two 3 D printed parts fused together. It bolts on the Z axis like the others using the two wingnuts.
I often use this before laser or routing on a piece of scrap paper to check the tool paths and make sure everything is a go.
The router attachment simply consists of a motor in a cylindrical mount that attaches to the Z axis like the others. The motor can be of different sizes depending on what materials the user is working with. The motor has a collet type chuck and holds the bit securely while in sideload.
This motor is about 2 inches around and 2 1/2 inches long with ball bearings on both ends I made several of these motor attachments including one with a very large shaft for use with a drill chuck. I must confess I never used it as a cnc driven head however it is handy to use a drill press by steering the X,Y axis with the joystick and then drilling with the Z. I have never had the need yet for drilling so many holes in a workpiece to set up a program for doing that.
I do use this to make a prototype PCB from time to time and the holes I drop in the router bit. Normally I mill pcbs on this with a .5mm to 1mm bit so it works out ok but does add wear to the bits. I have been buying these bits at a pretty good price though so I don't feel to bad about it. I also have been using more phenolic PCB material instead of FR4 and that also seems to help if I dig a little deep on the traces(sloppy setup on my part).
The nice thing about the smaller motor9if you can use it) is less noise and screaming from the machine running a part. I often use this machine in my house so noise can be an issue sometimes(cats hate it) But I have more horsepower available if I need it and the attachment swap fast and easy.
I always liked the idea of laser cutting but the cost even as low as it has gotton was still not in my reach. I was cruising the ebay pages of laser products and started seeing laser engravers-thsy are basic woodburning type beasts that make really nice engravers but lack the power to actually cut. I first bought a 2 watt version and was going to settle for the engraver as an attachment but after using it to make some cool wood etches I wanted more power. I found a 7.5 watt version for around 45$ and bit the bullet and got it. I couldn't help but notice that this version would actually cut thin materials and really engraved well also. Again I ordered the next step up a ten watt version. This thing was pretty amazing for the cost and I quickly experimented to find its limitations. It is shown in the prototype photo.
It does etch/engrave just fine but will only cut very thin stuff-and not all that well.
If you just want to engrave-this is cheap and perfect. The final version of the machine will be able to accept the 15 watt version. I am underfunded right now and just can't afford it. all of my data and photos will reflect the ten watt version.
This elevated the workpiece away from the table and allows space for the laser to pierce and safely absorb the beam without problems.
In the final version machine the table will have a laser safe shield to protect the user from laser energy. The shield will also function as a router shield from chips, etc.
Be careful when you hook up and test these things. The light will cook your eyes, your skin and anything,even across the room. You need a backstop, and some eyewear that is laser rated.
Buy from a reputable dealer with perfect feedback and good customer ratings. Many of the power ratings are NOT as advertised. The higher the wattage the more fudging they tend to do. My first ten watt laser module was only tested at 7.4 watts. I balked greatly and got another. The ten watt one measures at 11.2 watt.
So many China dealers are fudging the ratings on these modules. Beware.
I made this as an accessory as many times I want a spray paint a one off stencil or want to cut out some designs in sticky backed vinyl. It can cut other thin material and cardstock up to 90lb.
It was a tricky little attachment to make as the knife blade must always stay in the direction it is cutting and on sharp corners the z axis must lift the blade, rotate the blade then lower again. It was an interesting set of problems to solve.
Note the servo which rotates the knife shaft. I fashioned the mount for use with an exacto penknife as they are widely available as well are the blades.
I normally put a heavy pasteboard under the material to be cut. This allows an easy setup when mounting the knife and getting the blade pressure correct so it cuts perfect every time. The blade lasts a long time too!
In trying to keep it simple I built the machine for minimal effort to operate. The lower set of controls consist of three pushbutton switches and a joystick. The joystick function is simple-it allows the user to move the X and Y axis manually. It is nice if you want to set up something on the table to avoid material waste and also useful to manually rip sheet stock into strips or just straight line cutting without any CnC control. A DB15 connector is also installed to allow the user to connect a large analog joystick for freehand cutting or engraving. The Z axis can be run up and down via 2 of the pushbuttons. A third pushbutton runs a built in table calibration if some table is alignment is suspected. Pushing in on the joystick sends all axis to the home position. The home position is part of every program and all axis return automatically home after each part is done,however of the joystick is used manually it can be done manually.
A pot control is installed to control router motor speed(markings show recommended settings for material/bit size and also laser power control.
The remaining pushbuttons shown on the upper left are imported part programs. These switches will be replaced with a 16 key keypad in the final version and the user can upload multiple designs and select from them when desired. An LCD soon to be added will display which parts have been uploaded and what button to press to make that part as well as show progress and inform the user which tool needs to be mounted on the Z axis to manufacture it. This will be a nice neat tidy solution that will allow first time users easy access to their part formation. In the end version all buttons may be moved to the keypad for simplicity and ease of manufacture with the exception of the joystick and power control.
I am pretty sure as this evolves it will get streamlined more for ease and simplicity of building it. This prototype has already yielded lots of new ideas for the next version.
Quick demo of machine routing, laser cutting and pen drawing. Nothing fancy just a demo. The material is 1/4 inch on the motor router,two stacked 3/16ths thick wood on the laser and posterboard on the pen drawing.
I wiil add the vinyl cutter and a few other accssories soon.
The circuitry for this machine is really brutally simple. The controller is an Arduino, right now an Uno but soon a mega. A number of files can be flashed into the Arduino and accessed via some buttons(or a keypad) and of course with the SD card.
The driver electronics are all mounted on a simple small Pcb an use the typical stepsticks.The power supply is 15 volt at 6 amps.The laser requires 3 amps and is not fussy about being tied to the motor driver power so a single supply runs it all easily.Laser power is manually selected depending on job requirements and range for simple etch/engrave to max power for cutting material. The same Pwm is arranged so it also powers the router motor also.
Endswitches are provided for each axis for safe travel as well as slot photointerupters for counting leadscrew revolutions. I sort of wanted some security past just step signals to keep track of the progress. The wiring on the 1st prototype is rather gangly looking but will be shaped into a nice neat harness when all the details of the machine have been satisfied.
This is probably the stupid simplest wiring and controller setup I have ever made...Finally!
I am hesitant to make an Arduino shield as many will scoff at the idea and want to go with another flavor of controller. More power to ya!
I am also entertaining the idea of adding an lcd to show status,progress etc. There may be some other items helpful to the user friendly aspects of the machine tossed in there as things move along.
I have built a dozen or so 3D printed machines including lathes,mills carvers and duplicators for a variety of materials and each improved drastically as I learned what I could get away with and what the limitations of each machine would be being made of plastics.
This machine would make use of all the combined knowledge accumulated and produce the best that could be gleaned from previous designs. This machine uses a gantry design for the z axis, supported by two pylons at each end which allows excellent rigidity for the tools being used. The gantry pylons are joined with steel rods that the z axis itself can be moved on if needed and solidly supported to the base with ever widening pylons and affixed to a baseplate. The axis are also all 3 d printed as three durable blocks with a conventional 12 inch leadscrew affixed to the stepper and bearing placed throughout. I selected flat pancake steppers for this design but the axis have multimounts that can accommodate and form factor motor.
The table for this 1st prototype machine I made woefully small and can increased on the next version but was most helpful in establishing endstop switches and slot sensors for positioning. The table size will increase by 25% or more on the final machine. All the printed parts I produced from ABS and are solvent fused together to make modifications, extra holes etc in future versions. I am making files for this entire machine to be also fabricated from laser cut plastics as well as the 3 D printed stl files.
The steel rods are typical hardware store versions in 3/8 inch size and I opted for the zinc plated versions as they tend to be smoother and will not rust. All the mechanical hardware for the machine came to about 35$. I used a full spool of ABS printing this machine as it appears in the picture.
As far as best way to manufacture this machine: Still unsure. 3D printing the parts is an excellent way to allow individuals to build it for themselves, but to make a bunch...That is going to take some more serious looking into. I actually made a simpler version of a gantry setup similar to this out of wood with supporting rods and it worked well(not suggesting I would use wood). There are available options that will present themselves as this moves forward.
How accurate is your machine when moving around?
Not sure how to answer that but the built in calibration is spot on every time I run it so consistency is not an issue. Of course this is just a prototype of the real machine to come but it is doing well.
Neat little machine! looks like it has many uses too!
This is fantastic mate, great work!
Thanks. I am hoping I can have enough good days to finish the contest out this year.
Yeah I'm hoping to get more done than last year. I never got my main project beyond the planning phase.
A "demo" direct drive SCARA made out of MDF. The idea is to test my SCARA Controller.
You are about to report the project "The Omni multi-machine", please tell us the reason.


Saudi Arabia claims plaintiffs cannot prove the kingdom supported those who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Washington, DC – Saudi Arabia has asked a US judge to dismiss 25 lawsuits filed against it in relation to its alleged support of the September 11, 2001 attacks, court documents filed late on Monday afternoon show.
In a filing in US District Court in Manhattan, lawyers representing Saudi Arabia claim the plaintiffs – who represent thousands of victims who died and were injured in the attacks, as well as businesses and insurers – cannot prove the Gulf kingdom supported the al-Qaeda-affiliated men who hijacked and crashed planes into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon outside Washington, and a Pennsylvania field. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks.
Saudi Arabia also claimed it deserves sovereign immunity.
Saudi Arabia's lawyers introduced several exhibits which they say support their claims. One such exhibit was an executive summary from the CIA dated to 2005, which says there was no evidence that Saudi Arabia supported the attackers.
But doubt has long-centred over claims that Saudi Arabia wasn't involved. It is known that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, and several met Saudi nationals with ties to their government, such as Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national who has connections to Saudi diplomats.
A trove of declassified documents suggested evidence of collusion between the hijackers and Saudi Arabia described as "chilling" by investigators.
Congress initiated an inquiry on November 27, 2002 into the attacks. A report totalling over 1,000 pages was published in 2004. There were 28 pages left out of the report on the orders of former President George W Bush, which became a source of controversy.
These pages were finally made public in July 2016, though no definitive answers arose, and further possible ties between al-Qaeda and the Saudi embassy in the US were uncovered, as phone numbers saved in the phone of an al-Qaeda operative captured in Pakistan were linked to Saudi consulates in the US.
The 25 cases were previously in danger of being thrown out, due to a legal inability for US citizens to sue foreign governments for support of "extremists".
Then, in 2015, legislators introduced the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), which made possible legal action against states that support "terrorists" who commit violent acts on US soil.
Then-President Barack Obama attempted to veto the bill after months of Saudi threats and lobbying, but the US Congress overrode Obama's veto in 2016. The override was widely praised as a step towards justice for the victims of the deadliest attack on US soil in history by much of the US public.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs have until October 2 to file documents in opposition to the motion.
Lawyers on both sides declined Al Jazeera's request for comment.