Members of the Call/Volunteer Recruit Firefighter Training Class 73.
STOW-- State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Director David C. Evans presented certificates of completion to members of the Call/Volunteer Recruit Firefighter Training Class 73. The ceremony took place on Thursday, Nov. 1, in an evening ceremony at the Department of Fire Services.
The Call/Volunteer Firefighter Recruit Training program is unique in that it delivers a standard recruit training curriculum, meeting national standards, on nights and weekends to accommodate the schedule of firefighters in suburban and rural areas. Bringing the training closer to the firefighters often means more firefighters can participate. It uses an online eBlended format that has students doing more work outside of class and taking quizzes online. This allows students more time to practice training skills with instructors and to better control their own workloads and time commitments.
The 26 graduates, one woman and 25 men, represent 22 fire departments including Ayer, Groton, Pepperell, Shirley and Townsend.
Today's firefighters do far more than fight fires. They are the first ones called to respond to chemical and environmental emergencies, ranging from the suspected presence of carbon monoxide to a gas leak.
They may be called to rescue a child who has fallen through the ice or who has locked himself in a bathroom. They rescue people from stalled elevators and those who are trapped in vehicle crashes.
They test and maintain their equipment, ranging from self-contained breathing apparatus to hydrants, hoses, power tools, and vehicles.
In this Massachusetts Firefighting Academy program, they learn all these skills and more from certified fire instructors who are also experienced firefighters. Students learn all the basic skills they need to respond to fires and to contain and control them. They are also given training in public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, firefighter self-rescue, and vehicle extrication. The intensive program includes classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and live firefighting practice.
Students receive classroom training in all basic firefighter skills. They practice first under non-fire conditions and then during controlled fire conditions. To graduate, students must demonstrate proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation, and fire attack. Fire attack operations range from mailbox fires to multiple-floor or multiple room structural fires.
Graduates have completed 240 hours of training on nights and weekends. Upon successful completion of this program, all students have met the standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001. In addition they have the ability to become certified to the level of Firefighter I and II and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational Level by the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, which is accredited by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.


Claire Louise Hunt director information. Free company director check.
MS Claire Louise Hunt worked at ASSIST STAFFING AGENCY LIMITED as Director, APEX RECRUITMENT (SOUTH WEST) LIMITED as Director, APEX RECRUITMENT (BRISTOL) LIMITED as Director.
Claire Louise Hunt worked as Director (RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT) at ASSIST STAFFING AGENCY LIMITED from 14 May 2013.
Claire Louise Hunt worked as Director (RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT) at APEX RECRUITMENT (SOUTH WEST) LIMITED from 21 January 2008.
Claire Louise Hunt worked as Director (RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT) at APEX RECRUITMENT (BRISTOL) LIMITED from 01 December 2011.


text:
Thane district's COVID-19 count rises by 343, death toll by 4
Thane, Jan 1 (PTI) With 343 new coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 2,43,178, an official said on Friday.
These new cases were reported on Thursday, he said.
As the virus claimed the lives of four persons during the day, the death toll in the district rose to 5,958.
Thane district's mortality rate is 2.45 per cent, he added.
So far, 2,33,168 patients have recuperated from the infection, which took the recovery rate to 95.88 per cent.
There are 4,052 active cases in the district at present, the official said.
In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 44,278, while the death toll is 1,186 now, he said. PTI COR NP NP

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Watch as the soft glow of the Amish Deluxe Small Wall Curio Cabinet draws family members and friends over to take a peek. Your treasured keepsakes and collections are a joy to collect, let them shine on the shelves of an Amish made curio cabinet. From antiques to family heirlooms, these precious items have a story to tell. Bring them down from the attic and onto the glistening shelves of a glass curio cabinet. Our collection of Amish Curio Display Case Cabinets offers a variety of styles. This Deluxe Small Wall Curio Cabinet is shown in oak wood which is a strong, heavy and light colored hardwood. Oak creates a warm welcome wherever it's displayed.
Customization options offer you touch lighting to illuminate you display as well as additional shelves for larger collections. Enjoy our popular blog post, Curio Cabinet of Curiosities that offers curio cabinet features and styles. Call us today, toll-free at 866-272-6773 with any questions.


JEE Advanced Exam Pattern: Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, is going to conduct JEE Advanced examination in 20-May-2018, aspirants who are going to appear in this exam must check updated JEE Advanced Exam Pattern 2018-19 from here!
The JEE Advanced examination (Paper 1/2) will be carry out only through the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode. The time limit of each paper of JEE (Advanced) 2018 is 3 hours that is 180 minutes.
Appearing candidates are advised to check updated JEE Advanced 2018 exam pattern, the Exam Pattern includes complete details about JEE Advanced Test like total number of questions, duration of exam, marking scheme etc.
The JEE exam pattern will help you in understand the structure of the exam and provides you all the essential feature of exams. So check out JEE Advanced Exam Pattern 2018-19 from this page of www.privatejobshub.inand start your exam preparation accordingly.
JEE Advanced 2018 Exam Date: The JEE Advanced Exam 2018 will be held on 20th May 2018.
JEE Advanced Mode of Exam: The IIT JEE 2018 Advanced Exam will be organized through online (Computer Based) mode only.
Number of JEE Advanced Exam Paper: The IIT JEE Advanced Exam 2018 consists of 2 papers. It is necessary for an applicant to attempt both the papers.
Number of Sections: There are 3 separate sections in both the papers such as Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
Type of JEE Advanced Question Paper: The JEE Advanced Question Papers will contain objective type that includes MCQ as well as numerical answer type questions.
JEE Advanced Exam Time: The duration of exam is of 3 hours. Timings for Paper-1 will be 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and for paper-2, the timings will be 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
JEE Advanced Marking Scheme: There is a procedure of negative marking for some of the questions. JEE Advanced Syllabus will contain topics form Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics subjects.
Check this Official Link to know more about JEE Advanced Exam Pattern 2018-19. Contenders if you want to know more information about IIT JEE Advanced 2018 Exam Pattern then keep visiting our web portal on regular basis or subscribe our free email service to remain updated through email.
Contenders may also join us on Facebook and Google+ or you can also bookmark the web portal by pressing Ctrl+D option for latest updates about JEE Advanced Exam Pattern. Applicants may also subscribe our free email services to get latest updates about JEE Advanced Exam Pattern directly to your mailbox.


CD 1 features the basic history of how Lemurian Light Healing came to be. You will also hear short discussions on foundational healing energetics and understanding the quantum leap. Of course, the highlight is a deep meditation called "Whispers of Lemuria", a journey to misty, magical Lemuria during which you will be introduced to the Lemurian Light Masters and Master Physicians as well as the first wave of Lemurian energy. Learning the foundations should feel effortless as you sit back, relax and are guided every step of the way. For additional information, visit www.pamelaarwine.com.


Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike yesterday donated N200Million to persons displaced by herdsmen attacks in Benue state with a call for lasting measures to resolve the killings by Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria.
The governor who led a delegation of Rivers Elders on a condolence visit to Benue State in honour of those killed by Fulani herdsmen earlier in the year, said the amount was to assist the state government in providing relief materials and Medicare for those displaced by the crisis. He said: "What has happened in Benue has affected me. Look at deaths everywhere.
Nobody is free again. People don't understand the magnitude of the injury inflicted on the people of Benue. The country must sit down to proffer solutions to this menace ". "There is no way anybody can justify these killings. There is no justification whatsoever. The people of Benue State must rally round their governor at this point.
He said as Christians, Rivers people respect the sanctity of human lives, hence the visit, urging the Benue people to be vigilant at all times and employ techniques of self defence to protect themselves from unprovoked attacks.
Wike's condolence delegation was led by Governor Samuel Orthom to the graveside of the slain 73 persons where Sen George Sekibo, among the governor's entourage, offered prayers for repose of the souls of those murdered.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using TribalWars.Controls.GridExs;
using TribalWars.Forms.Small;
using TribalWars.Maps;
using TribalWars.Villages;
using TribalWars.Worlds;

namespace TribalWars.Forms
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Manage the World.You <see cref="Player"/>
    /// </summary>
    public partial class YourVillagesForm : Form
    {
        public YourVillagesForm()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        public static void ShowForm()
        {
            if (World.Default.You.Empty)
            {
                ActivePlayerForm.AskToSetSelf();
            }
            else
            {
                var form = new YourVillagesForm();
                form.villagesGridControl1.Bind(World.Default.You);

                form.Show();
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
TMF Associates blog
Satellites, spectrum and other stuff
Posted in Broadband, Echostar, Financials, Inmarsat, Operators, Services, ViaSat at 10:50 am by timfarrar
In late July, EchoStar raised $1.5B in debt, to add to its existing $1.5B in cash and marketable securities. Echostar's lack of obvious need for these additional funds has led to considerable speculation about what the company's intentions are, including the possibility of an Avanti acquisition.
As an aside, Avanti is clearly in serious trouble, having leaked the possibility of an Inmarsat acquisition on Friday, in order to try and drum up more interest in its sale process, only to be rebuffed by Inmarsat today, with Inmarsat stating that "it has withdrawn from Avanti's announced process and it is not considering an offer for the shares of Avanti."
It seems very likely that there is no potential buyer for the company (otherwise the leak would not have been needed) and therefore Avanti will be forced to file for bankruptcy on or around October 1 when its next bond interest payment is due. Inmarsat would clearly be interested in certain Avanti assets, including Ka-band orbital slots for its I6 and I7 satellites and possibly the Hylas-1 satellite for additional European capacity, but these can be picked up in bankruptcy, likely for no more than $100M. And it is hard to imagine other mooted potential buyers, such as Eutelsat and EchoStar being more generous: Eutelsat has made it clear it does not intend to invest more in Ka-band satellites until they reach terabit-class economics, while Charlie Ergen's past adversarial relationship with Solus and Mast (in DBSD, TerreStar and LightSquared) makes him very unlikely to bail out Avanti's investors. At this point, it is therefore probable that there will be no buyer for Hylas-4, forcing Avanti's bondholders to continue to fund its construction, if they want to avoid a NewSat-like situation, where the nearly completed satellite is simply abandoned and handed over to its manufacturer.
Returning to the question of what EchoStar intends to do with its $3B of cash, it seems that a response to ViaSat's global ViaSat-3 ambitions is likely to emerge in the very near future. After all, Hughes announced Jupiter-1 in 2008 in response to ViaSat-1, and then pre-empted ViaSat-2 with its own Jupiter-2 announcement in 2013. EchoStar could do this in one of three ways:
1) EchoStar could build its own global satellite system. This seems like the least plausible option, because there will already be at least three global Ka-band systems (from ViaSat, Inmarsat and SES). However, if EchoStar decides it does not believe the fully global opportunity is large enough, it could decide to just build a North America focused Jupiter-3 satellite (which would likely have a capacity of at least 500Gbps, and would have competitive economics to ViaSat-3).
2) EchoStar could partner with another operator. This is very plausible, especially as SES seems poised to announce its own GEO system soon, and would be keen to offload risk to an anchor tenant. Its even possible that EchoStar could build Jupiter-3 for North America, and partner in a separate global coverage effort with somewhat lower capacity.
3) EchoStar could buy another operator. This would be the most radical option, with Inmarsat the obvious candidate. There are many challenges here, not least that EchoStar might not be able to afford to buy Inmarsat, but the fit would be perfect, enabling EchoStar to leapfrog ViaSat to fully global coverage today, while being able to backfill Inmarsat's limited GX capacity with its own HTS satellites. Moreover, Ergen would clearly attach significant value to Inmarsat's L-band spectrum assets, not least in the leverage he could obtain over Ligado's efforts to become a competing source of terrestrial spectrum to DISH in the US.
There remain other possibilities, but these seem less likely to emerge in the near future. EchoStar could build out a terrestrial network to meet the buildout deadline for DISH's AWS spectrum holdings, and lease it to DISH, but it would be odd to announce that before the incentive auction has finished. EchoStar also changed the disclosure about new business opportunities in its SEC filings earlier this year, noting that:
Our industry is evolving with the increase in worldwide demand for broadband internet access for information, entertainment and commerce. In addition to fiber and wireless systems, other technologies such as geostationary high throughput satellites, low-earth orbit networks, balloons, and High Altitude Platform Systems ("HAPS") will likely play significant roles in enabling global broadband access, networks and services…We may allocate significant resources for long-term initiatives that may not have a short or medium term or any positive impact on our revenue, results of operations, or cash flow.
However, this new language appears to have related to Ergen's discussions about a partnership with Google, which I noted previously, and Google appears to have opted for an alternative path for its wireless broadband buildout, with its recent acquisition of Webpass.
As a result, I think EchoStar is likely to push forward with its satellite broadband efforts in the next month or two, presenting a serious challenge for ViaSat. That means its certainly not the case, as Jefferies wrote in its coverage initiation on ViaSat today, that "ViaSat-2/3 will give [ViaSat] the best bandwidth economics in the world (for now) and a de facto monopoly in residential broadband". Indeed, I'd predict that although ViaSat will undoubtedly grow its satellite broadband business in North America very substantially (by as much as a factor of two) over the next 5 years, its extremely unlikely to pass EchoStar in the total number of subscribers, especially given the lead to market that Jupiter-2 will have over ViaSat-2 during 2017.
Posted in Aeronautical, Broadband, Operators, Spectrum, ViaSat, VSAT at 2:28 pm by timfarrar
Its been interesting to hear the feedback on my new ViaSat profile that I published last weekend, especially with regard to ViaSat's supposed technical advantages over the HTS competition. As I noted in the report, ViaSat has apparently been struggling with its beamhopping technology, reducing the capacity of its upcoming ViaSat-2 satellite from an originally planned 350Gbps (i.e. 2.5 times the capacity of ViaSat-1) to around 300Gbps at the moment.
However, even that reduced target may require extra spectrum to achieve, with ViaSat asking the FCC in late May for permission to use 600MHz of additional spectrum in the LMDS band. Fundamentally this appears to be due to the reduced efficiency that ViaSat now expects to achieve relative to that set out in its original beamhopping patent. The patent suggested that for a ViaSat-2 design (with only 1.5GHz of spectrum, rather than the 2.1GHz ViaSat now intends to use), the efficiency could be as high as 3bps/Hz on the forward link (i.e. 225Gbps) and 1.8bps/Hz on the return link (i.e. 135Gbps) for a total of 360Gbps of capacity. But at Satellite 2016, ViaSat's CEO indicated that an efficiency (apparently averaged between the forward and return links) of only 1.5bps/Hz should be expected, no better than existing HTS Ka-band satellites and nearly 40% lower than ViaSat originally estimated.
A notable side-effect of this additional spectrum utilization (even assuming approval is granted by the FCC) is that new terminals will be required, including replacement of both the antenna and the modem for aircraft that want to make use of the extended coverage of ViaSat-2. That's why American Airlines is waiting until the second half of 2017 for this new terminal to be developed, before it starts to install ViaSat's connectivity on new aircraft.
While the FCC's Spectrum Frontiers Order yesterday does contemplate continued use of the LMDS band for satellite gateways (though utilization by user terminals appears more difficult), it looks like other Ka-band providers intend to shift more of their future gateway operations up to the Q/V-band, rather than building hundreds of Ka-band gateways as ViaSat will need for its ViaSat-3 satellite. That decision could reduce the costs of competing ground segment deployments substantially, while retaining continuity for user links. Thus, as a result of the lower than expected beamhopping efficiency, it remains to be seen whether ViaSat's technology will now be meaningfully superior to that of competitors, notably SES and Inmarsat who both appear poised to invest heavily in Ka-band.
SES gave a presentation at the Global Connected Aircraft Summit last month, depicting its plans to build three new Ka-band HTS satellites for global coverage as shown above, and the first of these satellites could be ordered very shortly, because as SES pointed out in its recent Investor Day presentation, it has EUR120M of uncommitted capex this year and nearly EUR1.5B available in the period through 2020.
Meanwhile Inmarsat is hard at work designing a three satellite Inmarsat-7 Ka-band system, with in excess of 100Gbps of capacity per satellite. Although the results of the Brexit referendum may complicate its efforts, Inmarsat is hoping to secure a substantial European Commission investment later this year, which would replace the four proposed Ka-band satellites that Eutelsat had previously contemplated building using Juncker fund money.
So now it appears we face (at least) a three way fight for the global Ka-band market, with deep-pocketed rivals sensing that ViaSat may not have all the technological advantages it had expected and Hughes poised to secure at least a 6 month (and possibly as much as a 9-12 month) lead to market for Jupiter-2 compared to ViaSat-2. Victory for ViaSat is far from certain, and perhaps even doubtful, but beyond 2020 Ka-band therefore appears very likely to be the dominant source of GEO HTS capacity.
Permalink Comments
Stepping off the precipice…
Posted in Aeronautical, Eutelsat, Financials, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Operators, Services, SES, VSAT at 1:49 pm by timfarrar
Back in March I noted that the Satellite 2016 industry conference "felt like 2000, as attendees peer over the edge of the precipice." Yesterday, it seems the industry stepped off into the void, as Eutelsat's profit warning proved to be the catalyst for a wholesale re-evaluation of the outlook for FSS/HTS data services.
Everyone is worrying about capacity pricing, where according to Eutelsat's CEO "the outlook for data delivery is bad." Just how bad hasn't been obvious to many observers, not least Northern Sky Research, who in March dismissed suggestions that the sky is falling and instead claimed that so far there has only been "generally slow and stable downward pressure on pricing up to 2016″ though these drops were "expected to continue to gather steam." Moody's struck a similar positive note about European satellite operators in January, suggesting that "A Rebound in Revenue Growth, Stable Margins and Plateauing Capex to Support Credit Quality in 2016."
In reality, a look at some of the largest deals shows just how much of a price decline has already taken place. Traditional wide beam transponders have been priced at $3000-$4000 per MHz per month, which made Intelsat's offer to IS-29 anchor tenants in 2012 of about $2000 per MHz per month look like a bargain (Intelsat said it leased 20% of the capacity, i.e. about 2GHz, for $50M p.a.).
However, in February 2016, Gogo struck a deal with SES for "several GHz of both widebeam and spotbeam capacity in total" on its new SES-14 and 15 HTS satellites, followed by another agreement with Intelsat and OneWeb in early March. Gogo's latest 10-Q has now revealed the impact of those agreements which represent commitments "to purchase transponder and teleport satellite services totaling approximately $29.5 million in 2016 (April 1 through December 31), $41.9 million in 2017, $40.4 million in 2018, $45.3 million in 2019, $58.6 million in 2020 and $309.2 million thereafter."
Although the split between Intelsat and SES is not given, its a fairly good bet that they will be paid roughly equal amounts in 2020 and beyond. This is consistent with Intelsat renewing and extending its existing contract with more capacity being delivered at about the same revenue level (Intelsat claimed last September it had an 73% share of the aeronautical satellite communications market and Gogo had $37M of lease obligations in 2016 before these deals were struck) and also consistent with the Intelsat deal running through Dec 31, 2023 (as stated in the 8-K) and the SES deal running for "ten years from the applicable commencement of service date" for the SES-14/15 satellites (implying 7-8 years of the respective terms remaining in Jan 2021).
So if SES is leasing at least 2GHz of bandwidth to Gogo, which is the minimum amount consistent with the use of the word "several", then the price of this capacity is no more than ~$1200 per MHz per month, and very plausibly the price may be as low as $1000 per MHz per month if Gogo is leasing say 2.5GHz. Given that the deal also represents a combination of wide beam and spot beam capacity, it certainly seems that SES's HTS spot beam capacity is now being leased in (very!) large quantities for as little as $1000 per MHz per month, about 50% less than Intelsat's original IS-29 deals.
That makes it pretty clear why Eutelsat has decided to step away from the HTS Ku table and limit its HTS investment "to providing broadband access to consumers and small businesses", presumably via its European and African Ka-band satellites (and its partnership with ViaSat). Back in March I also suggested we could be in for a re-run of 2001 with "a sharp fall in satellite orders" and Eutelsat has confirmed there will now be a "downward review of our capital expenditures".
So what comes next? Intelsat has just ordered a 9-series replacement satellite (a necessary step given that a large part of its C-band capacity reaches end of life in the next few years). But how much more Ku-band capacity is needed in the near term, given the looming threat of further price pressures from new Ka-band satellites like ViaSat-3? After all, despite large contracts with Gogo and Panasonic, there's still a way to go just to fill up the HTS satellites that Intelsat and SES already have on order. And can Intelsat afford to match or beat SES's price levels and still generate an adequate return on capital from the Epic satellites?
Most importantly, how much repricing is still to take place for existing Ku-band data services, and what will C-band users do if their C-band capacity becomes significantly more expensive than Ku (let alone Ka)? In addition, though Inmarsat believes (correctly) that its a very different company from Eutelsat, it has far more exposure to the data services business, and Inmarsat will now have to reconsider its pricing (and capacity provisioning) for GX services, as this low cost Ku HTS capacity impacts the aeronautical and maritime markets.
Posted in Broadband, Financials, Globalstar, Inmarsat, Operators, Regulatory, Services, Spectrum, VSAT at 8:34 pm by timfarrar
The Satellite 2016 conference this week has reminded me of years past. All the talk has been of ViaSat and their new ViaSat-3 1Tbps high throughput satellite (depicted above), just like in 2004 when Mark Dankberg used his Satellite Executive of the Year speech to describe his ambitions to build a 100Gbps satellite. Unlike back then (when most dismissed Dankberg's plans as pie-in-the-sky), ViaSat's announcement has already caused some large investment decisions by major operators to be postponed, and re-evaluated or perhaps even cancelled. Indeed the entire industry seems frozen like a deer in the headlights, trying to decide which way to run.
Some competitors, like Inmarsat, have chosen to portray ViaSat-3 as a "mythical beast" and ViaSat's current offering of free streaming video on JetBlue as a "marketing stunt". However, its far more serious than that. One perceptive observer suggested to me that its like competing for the presidency against Donald Trump: how do you respond to a competitor who is clearly intelligent and has a plan to win, but deliberately says things that fundamentally contradict your (supposedly rational) world view.
In the satellite industry the prevailing world view is that (at least in the foreseeable future) there is no need to build 1Tbps satellites offering capacity at $100/Mbps/mo, because satellite broadband will never compete directly with terrestrial and capture tens of millions of subscribers. But if ViaSat is determined to blow up the industry, most current business plans for two-way data applications (including essentially all Ku-band data services) are simply no longer viable. And if competitors remain frozen (or worse still dismissive) in response to ViaSat's plans, then ViaSat will gain a head start on building these new higher capacity satellites.
In addition to this overarching theme, several other nuggets of information emerged: Inmarsat is acquiring a seventh "GX payload" by taking over Telenor's Thor-7 Ka-band payload in Europe on a long term lease, presumably at a very attractive rate (perhaps even approaching the Eutelsat-Facebook-Spacecom deal price of ~$1M/Gbps/year, given Telenor's lack of Ka-band customers). And Globalstar now appears to have a roughly 60%-70% chance of getting FCC approval for TLPS in the next couple of months, given the FCC's desire to set a precedent of protection for existing unlicensed services that can be used in the upcoming LTE-U rulemaking. However, it appears that any deal would require a compromise of 200mW power limits (the maximum level demonstrated to date) and sharing of Globalstar's L-band spectrum above 1616MHz with Iridium.
Going back to the title of this post, if last year's conference felt like 1999, with exuberance about multiple new satellite projects, this year felt like 2000, as attendees peer over the edge of the precipice. Following on from that, next year could be like 2001, with pain to be shared all around the industry: a sharp fall in satellite orders, as operators re-evaluate the feasibility of their planned satellites, a continuing fall in prices, and the possibility of stranded capacity, either at operators, who are unable to sell their growing inventory of HTS capacity, or at distributors, who entered into contracts for capacity leases at prices far above current market rates.
Mayday, mayday…
Posted in Aeronautical, Financials, Services at 12:18 pm by timfarrar
As I predicted back in January, American Airlines has now selected ViaSat over Gogo to equip its next batch of 200 new 737 aircraft. However, Gogo rejected American's notification that "ViaSat offers an in-flight connectivity system that materially improves on Gogo's air-to-ground system" which led American to file a petition for declaratory judgment to enforce its rights under the contract with Gogo.
The clause in dispute is 13.5.2 which reads as follows (with certain confidential information redacted):
With respect to each of the Fleet Types, if at any time after the [***] of the Trigger Date for such Fleet Type (A) an in-flight connectivity services provider other than Aircell offers a connectivity service (B) that provides a material improvement in connectivity functionality [***] (C) such that American reasonably believes that failing to offer such service to passengers on such Fleet Type would likely cause competitive harm to American by [***], (D) such competitive system is installed and in commercial operation on [***], and (E) American has completed sourcing processes with respect to the competitive offering sufficiently rigorous such that American can validate the technology, functionality and feasibility of the competitive offering and provide objective system performance and functionality criteria to Aircell for its use in determining whether it wishes to submit a proposal as contemplated below, then American may provide written notice thereof (including such criteria) to Aircell. In such event, Aircell will have the opportunity to submit a proposal to provide such service to American, which proposal will include, without limitation, proposed terms regarding pricing, system functionality and implementation dates, within [***] after receipt of such notice, and if Aircell timely submits such proposal then American will in good faith consider such proposal. If American reasonably determines that Aircell's proposal is at least as favorable as the competitor's offering, this Agreement will be amended to incorporate such additional or replacement offering or functionality and the agreed upon terms. If Aircell declines or fails to submit a proposal to American within such [***], or if American reasonably determines that Aircell's proposal is not as favorable as the competitor's offering, then American may elect to termination this Agreement with respect to such Fleet Type. Such election must be made by providing at least [***] advance notice thereof to Gogo, and in such event this Agreement will terminate as and to the extent and otherwise in accordance with American's termination notice. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, American shall not be required to provide to Aircell any information that American may not disclose pursuant to confidentiality obligations to any third party.
It seems that Gogo could only have based its rejection of American's notice on an assertion that either ViaSat's service is not a "material improvement" (over basic ATG!) or that it is not in "commercial operation" but neither rationale appears likely to hold up in court. Moreover, the competition to equip American's next gen 737 fleet has been going on for the last six months or more and Gogo has already offered 2Ku to American in this competition. In fact, according to Runway Girl Network, American told Gogo some time ago to stop working on the STCs needed to install 2Ku on American's new planes.
UPDATE (2/18): According to Runway Girl Network (although not specified in Gogo's public filings), the suit "covers approximately 200 of the carrier's 737 aircraft known as the 'pre-Apollo' fleet", which are older aircraft (delivered before 2009) "flying with ATG today and no in-seat IFE screens." A key difference between these older aircraft and American's decision to desire to use ViaSat on future deliveries, is that Clause 13.5.2 references a different "Trigger Date" for each "Fleet Type" and so it seems likely that the time period, after which a termination notice can be issued for the new aircraft deliveries, has not yet expired, and American may therefore not have the right to terminate the Agreement in respect of its new aircraft fleet at this point in time. Conversely, American certainly has the right to terminate the older aircraft even though for some of them, with limited remaining lifespan, it may not be economic to retrofit with satellite communications.
So I'm forced to conclude that in reality, Gogo is simply trying to delay American's decision to select ViaSat for future aircraft, probably threatening litigation as it initiated (and lost) against Southwest when it purchased AirTran and switched that fleet of Gogo-equipped aircraft to Global Eagle (Delta ultimately purchased 88 of the 128 aircraft which remained on Gogo). And in response, American seems to have decided that it would go nuclear by issuing a termination notice on older aircraft, and a public lawsuit, in order to force Gogo's hand. However, Gogo made a further filing on Tuesday Feb 17, stating that it had rescinded its prior letter which had questioned American's termination notice (on the grounds of "system performance and functionality of the competitive technology"), and claimed that as a result American's suit was now "moot," presumably in an effort to limit the public airing of the two companies' disagreements.
After all, if American did not exercise its rights under Clause 13.5.2 of the agreement, it appears that it would have to use Clause 13.5.1, which contemplates a payment to Gogo apparently equal to at least a year's revenue per plane:
American will have the right to terminate this Agreement at any time on or after the [***] of the Trigger Date for the last retrofitted Fleet Type, by giving [***] written notice and paying Aircell an amount equal to the amount obtained by multiplying (A) [***] by (B) Aircell's [***] from Connectivity Revenues earned by Aircell in the year ending on the applicable anniversary of the Trigger Date.
Gogo has declared that it now plans "to submit a competing proposal to install our latest satellite technology – 2Ku – on this fleet". However, given that American has already considered 2Ku with regard to "system functionality and implementation dates" for its newer aircraft, Gogo's only option to improve its offer would be to reduce the pricing significantly. As I've noted in conference presentations, ViaSat is providing significantly better service, to 4-5 times more passengers, with a revenue per boarded passenger of around $0.50, compared to the $0.80 that Gogo currently generates from its ATG network. In other words, ViaSat's revenue per Mbyte is something like a factor of 10 lower than Gogo generates at present (and remember Gogo has told investors that the cost of capacity for 2Ku is similar to ATG-4, albeit with future reductions expected as Ku HTS satellite capacity becomes cheaper).
It therefore seems that Gogo will lose either way: it either loses American's old and/or new aircraft, setting the scene for a complete termination of the existing contract if ViaSat proves to offer a significantly superior service, or it wins the deal by offering dramatically lower pricing, which will reduce its revenue per boarded passenger and increase its capacity costs on these new aircraft, and would presumably provide a benchmark for a renegotiation of the deal covering the rest of the American fleet. That would be a far different trajectory from the increases to as much as $4-$5 per boarded passenger that Gogo set out as its long term objective in previous analyst days.
However, it remains to be seen how and whether American will ultimately be able to proceed with its original plan to install ViaSat on new aircraft deliveries, or whether we are set for a long and ugly stalemate between American and Gogo over how these aircraft will be equipped.
The exploding inflight connectivity market?
Posted in Aeronautical, Financials, Inmarsat, Operators, Services at 2:27 pm by timfarrar
Its been interesting to see Inmarsat's stock price rising recently based on excitement about the prospects for its inflight connectivity business, as well as the fourth GX satellite (which Inmarsat hopes to lease to the Chinese government as the Financial Times also reported in October).
We published our new Inmarsat profile in December which highlights the company's prospects for strong revenue growth from GX over the next few years, although since then Inmarsat has faced a few setbacks, with the Intelsat appeal of Inmarsat's US Navy contract win being sustained and Apax finally emerging as the purchaser of Airbus's Vizada division, despite Inmarsat telling people before Christmas it expected to buy this business in early 2016.
However, there is the potential for an even more worrying development in the near future, with ViaSat expected to give more details of its ViaSat-3 project in early February. This seems to represent something of an acceleration in ViaSat's plans since last November, and it now looks possible that this announcement could include deals with some large new airline customers to provide advanced passenger connectivity services.
If it can be realized, ViaSat's proposed 1Tbps capacity for ViaSat-3 would have a dramatic impact on bandwidth expectations and more importantly the low cost of capacity would make it feasible to offer low cost or free Internet connectivity, including streaming video, to airline passengers, even as data consumption continues to grow rapidly in the future. ViaSat could potentially do deals with Southwest and/or American, the first of these sounding the long awaited death knell for GEE/Row44′s connectivity business and the second proving disastrous for Gogo, which currently gets about 40% of its passenger connectivity revenues from American Airlines (though any fleetwide migration to ViaSat wouldn't happen until after the current 10 year contract expires in 2018, just as seems likely for Virgin America).
That really would represent an explosion in the inflight connectivity market, though not one which would be welcomed by other satellite operators and service providers, many of whom have a difficult relationship with ViaSat. Indeed its notable how ViaSat is now also throwing its one-time partner Thales LiveTV under the bus, claiming that they mounted "a campaign of whispers…alleging that Exede did not meet its advertised performance."
The implications of deals that could ultimately bring ViaSat's number of served aircraft in North America up to as many as 2000 planes (i.e. half the equipped fleet) would be wide ranging, not least for inflight connectivity service providers, who've become used to seeing Gogo and Panasonic as the market leaders, and passengers, who've become accustomed to a market where "Inflight Wi-Fi Is Expensive, and No One Uses It."
Even amongst satellite operators there could be some upheaval, with Inmarsat having just ordered $600M of I6 satellites (actually $900M+ including launch, insurance and ground segment costs) carrying what looks, in comparison, like a puny ~30Gbps per satellite, SES having signed a ten year $290M bandwidth contract with GEE in November 2014, and Intelsat potentially set to lose some of its claimed "73% share of today's aeronautical satellite communications market." Most importantly, if passenger expectations of free or low cost inflight WiFi start to spread beyond North America, then Inmarsat's estimate that its European Air-To-Ground network will generate $300K per plane per year (more than double Gogo's current run rate) would look even more questionable.
Widespread angst about the effects of new HTS satellites and slowing revenue growth is already weighing on the outlook for the satellite industry, but if ViaSat really does have one or more big deals to announce next month, then it would take concerns over future capacity and pricing trends to a whole new level. In that case we'd better all buckle in and get prepared for a very bumpy ride.
Chinese whispers…
Posted in Financials, Inmarsat, Operators, Services, VSAT at 9:40 am by timfarrar
Inmarsat has certainly had a great deal of success in the last two months, winning key contracts with the US Navy, Lufthansa and most recently Singapore Airlines, as well as a strategic partnership with Deutsche Telekom to built out its S-band European Aviation Network. While some of these wins may be a direct result of what Inmarsat refers to as "success-based capex" (otherwise known as giving away free terminals), these deals certainly have the potential to provide a significant boost to the company's revenue growth outlook.
Moreover, it seems that the biggest deal is yet to come, as Inmarsat hinted on its results call last week that "customers in different regions [are] vying to have the [fourth GX] satellite placed over their areas of interest" and the plan for this satellite is expected to be finalized before Inmarsat announces its Q4 results in early 2016. However, in practice there is one deal which is far and away the most likely outcome, and it appears these statements are simply a matter of Inmarsat trying to make sure that it still has some negotiating leverage.
That deal was clearly apparent during last month's State Visit to the UK by Chinese President Xi Jinping, when the only British company he visited was Inmarsat. Inmarsat highlighted that one purpose was "to understand how Inmarsat is able to uniquely contribute to President Xi's One Belt One Road ('OBOR') strategic vision through the provision of critical global mobile broadband connectivity services, including Inmarsat's revolutionary new service, Global Xpress" and noted that "Inmarsat has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China Transport Telecommunication & Information Centre (CTTIC) to establish a strategic partnership to deliver Inmarsat's revolutionary Inmarsat-5 Global Xpress mobile satellite broadband communications connectivity throughout China and OBOR."
I'm told that the original intention of President Xi's visit, accompanied by HRH The Duke of York and the UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury, was to have a signing ceremony for the agreement to formalize this "strategic partnership" and that would involve a full lease of the fourth GX satellite to China. Unfortunately the final agreement required certain changes and therefore could not be completed in time.
However, assuming this deal can be completed, Inmarsat is likely to receive a further significant boost to its revenues. Given Chinese expectations are typically that they will receive lower prices than other countries, I'd expect the payments to Inmarsat for capacity could potentially be on the order of $100M p.a. (assuming the agreement is for 10+ years), depending on who covers the capex and opex costs for the new GX gateways in China. And China could then be in a position to provide free or subsidized satellite broadband capacity to adjacent countries in support of its geopolitical OBOR ambitions, just as Google and Facebook have been working to bring Internet access to developing countries.
Once this deal is done, Inmarsat can move onto ordering I6 satellites with both L-band and Ka-band capacity, in order to supplement the (somewhat limited) capacity of the initial GX constellation. But with Eutelsat apparently looking for French government backing to buy a 3-4 satellite Ka-band system, and ViaSat (not coincidentally) announcing the intention to build its own even bigger 1Tbps satellites, the race to add lower cost Ka-band capacity is far from over. More importantly, despite all the attention given to Ku-band HTS in the last year or two, its hard to agree with the statement Gogo made on its Q3 results call (after its GX distribution deal with Inmarsat was terminated) that "there are simply not enough Ka satellites now or for the foreseeable future to meet the needs of global aviation".
French kiss off…
Posted in Broadband, Financials, Globalstar, Inmarsat, LightSquared, Operators, Regulatory, Services, Spectrum, VSAT at 9:20 pm by timfarrar
Paris is the place to be in September for satellite industry gossip (though not the weather), and this year is no different. There's been plenty of chatter already about the MSS sector, as people look forward to Inmarsat's upcoming investor day on October 8. The company has seen some good news recently, displacing Intelsat General to win a large US Navy contract last week. However, Inmarsat's aggressiveness on price is highlighted by the reduction in the total ceiling price from $543M last time around to only $450M over 5 years (which is in turn perhaps double the US Navy's most likely spending profile). Though this contract should help Inmarsat show top line revenue growth in 2016 and beyond, a significant proportion of the capacity (in C, Ku and X-band) will have to be bought in from other players, limiting Inmarsat's ability to make a profit.
However, the other main news about Inmarsat is that the company is expected to order its first I6 L-band satellite before the end of 2015, and it will include substantial additional Ka-band capacity to supplement the rather limited amount of capacity available on GX, even after the fourth GX satellite is launched in 2016 or 2017. That will likely mean a total capital expenditure of $450M-$500M, plausibly repeated once or twice more in the next few years, just to keep Inmarsat in the bandwidth race.
There's also been some chatter about the FCC regulatory situation as it affects Globalstar, where a source confirms that my suppositions in June about the purpose of Globalstar's change in tone to the FCC were correct and that a deal was on the table to approve terrestrial use just for Globalstar's own MSS spectrum and not the wider 22MHz TLPS channel. However, this approval was only going to be for low power use, and would therefore not be of much import, except as a demonstration of regulatory progress.
Then after Jay Monroe met with several FCC Commissioners in late July he withdrew this potential compromise and insisted instead on full TLPS approval, presumably believing that if permission either to use the unlicensed spectrum or high power terrestrial use or the MSS band was treated as a separate, second stage of the process, a conclusion would be delayed for years, making it impossible for Globalstar to deploy or monetize its spectrum anytime soon.
So now it seems we are back to an impasse, and though Globalstar has recently added some additional information into the docket on an experimental deployment in Chicago, this documentation doesn't provide quantitative information on (for example) the exact rise in bit error rates seen by services like Bluetooth, merely observing that no observable performance impact was noted. As a result, I believe it is unlikely that the FCC will feel able to rule on full TLPS approval anytime soon (i.e. this year).
Ironically, Globalstar's consultants are also acting for LightSquared, and have proposed a similar program of tests for GPS interference, again based on a "KPI" criteria of observable degradation in performance, rather than actual quantified impact on the signal to noise ratio. Most observers seem to believe that LightSquared is no more likely to gain FCC approval for its plans than before, and that after the recent publication of the DOT test plan for their Adjacent Band Compatibility study, the FCC will wait for those tests to be conducted, which could take a considerable period of time.
Predictably LightSquared is already criticizing the DOT test plan, very likely setting us off on exactly the same well trodden (and ultimately disastrous) path as before. As a result, I'm sure that those hedge funds who committing funding to the bankruptcy plan (especially those in the $3B+ second lien, which sits behind $1.5B of first lien debt) must now be feeling pretty nervous. I wonder if any of them will now be frantically searching to see if they have any way to avoid funding these commitments once the FCC approves the transfer of control?
Finally, in yet more FCC-related news, the consensus here seems to be that the 14GHz ATG proceeding may also fail to reach a conclusion in the near term, as I predicted earlier this month, due to the uncertainty over how to protect NGSO systems. Instead, ViaSat's Ka-band solution seems to be going from strength to strength, with the hugely positive reactions to the performance on JetBlue contributing to their recent win at Virgin America and to other airlines taking another look at what will be the best future-proof solution. All this makes Gogo's predictions that its US market share is secure and that its revenue potential is "like a gazillion dollars" seem just as foolish as it sounds.
Gogoing, gone?
Posted in Aeronautical, Inmarsat, Operators, Regulatory, Services, Spectrum at 4:14 pm by timfarrar
Often I wonder whether some companies understand how the FCC works and what they really shouldn't say in an FCC filing. Gogo has just provided a classic example in its August 26 ex parte filing that tries to counter SpaceX's recent intervention in the 14GHz ATG proceeding, where Gogo has been trying to get 500MHz of spectrum auctioned for next generation ATG networks.
Unfortunately for Gogo, it has been left as virtually the sole active proponent of this auction, after Qualcomm laid off the team that developed the original proposal and stopped participating in the proceeding. While I'm sure Panasonic and Inmarsat would take part if an auction was held, undoubtedly they are relishing the prospect of Gogo struggling to improve its "infuriatingly expensive, slow internet" service with 2Ku capacity that Gogo itself admits is roughly the same cost per Mbyte as its existing ATG-4 network (at least until it can renegotiate its current bandwidth contracts).
So when Gogo makes submissions that directly contradict those it previously put into the record, it shouldn't be surprised if the FCC regards these rather skeptically. In particular, in July 2014 Gogo told the FCC that it "supports the proposed §21.1120 requirement that interference from all air-ground mobile broadband aircraft and base stations not exceed a 1% rise over thermal" whereas now "Gogo concurs with Qualcomm in that a 6% RoT has a negligible impact on the cost and performance of an NGSO system while creating an additional and disproportionate level of complexity or loss of performance for the AG system" and "Gogo supports the 6% RoT aggregate interference levels initially proposed by Qualcomm". So suddenly Gogo thinks that its a perfectly acceptable to have six times more interference than a year ago.
Even more of a hostage to fortune was Gogo's September 2013 comment about the unacceptable problems that an ATG network (referred to as Air to Ground Mobile Broadband Service or AGMBS) would cause for NGSO systems like that proposed by SpaceX:
"In its initial comments, Gogo expressed its concern that Qualcomm's assumptions regarding the operating parameters of the hypothetical NGSO satellite systems were not representative of typical or worst case system configurations, and that the interference between a future system and AGMBS systems could be far greater than indicated by Qualcomm's estimates. Gogo is not alone in this view, as the Satellite Industry Association ("SIA"), ViaSat, EchoStar and Hughes all raised similar concerns in their comments. SIA included an analysis within the Technical Appendix attached to its comments which illustrates the potential for much greater interference than had previously been calculated by Qualcomm. In Gogo's view, some aspects of the analysis are subject to challenge because it overstates the level of interference that may be expected. Nevertheless, the overall conclusion remains valid – an AGMBS system operating consistent with the proposed rules would cause unacceptable levels of interference to many, if not most, possible future Ku-band NGSO system configurations. The analysis of EchoStar and Hughes, provided in Annex B of their comments, provides additional support for this conclusion. Similarly, ViaSat's comments indicated that the NGSO analysis presented by Qualcomm is not representative of the range of potential Ku-band NGSO systems which have been previously proposed."
Yet now Gogo, having previously claimed that Qualcomm's calculations were flawed, suddenly decides that after "incorporating [SpaceX's] stated parameters into the Qualcomm interference calculation methodology" everything is fine and "the resultant RoT from an AG system into the SpaceX NGSO system is far less than [its newly relaxed] 6%" interference criteria.
I can only conclude that Gogo must be truly desperate to get the 14GHz ATG proceeding completed, because it needs the capacity ASAP. However, making contradictory filings is certainly not going to help the company to get a favorable ruling from the FCC anytime soon (especially when politics is lurking in the background, in the form of the Association of Flight Attendants expressing concern about the FCC taking action on this matter).
The costs of Loon…
Posted in Iridium, LDR, Operators, Services at 1:44 pm by timfarrar
As I pointed out in a tweet a couple of months ago, Iridium's SBD service is being used for command and control of Google's Project Loon. So it was interesting to see just how much Google has been spending on Iridium airtime, when Iridium's CFO mentioned in their July 30 results call that:
"…our network provides the connectivity to remotely command and control the assets of the large and unique project by a major company who doesn't let us reference their involvement in the program. We saw significant airtime usage in last year's third quarter during the testing phase for this project. We now understand from our customer that this high level of activity will decline in the second half of 2015 as the service moves into another, more mature development phase, which will culminate in commercialization in 2016. We expect a full-year decline of $500,000 in M2M service revenue from this customer as a result of this evolution, with much of that coming in the third quarter."
Its been reported that the Loon balloons have flown for "more than three million kilometers" at speeds of up to 300km/hour, though an average speed of say 40-50km/hour seems more plausible (which would mean it takes 50-60 minutes for the 40km diameter coverage area to traverse a given location if directly overhead, or somewhat less if the balloon path is more distant).
So that would suggest Project Loon has achieved something like 60,000-80,000 flight hours in total over the three years of the project, with a significant fraction of that during the 2014 testing phase. Much of the spending on command and control was likely incurred in 2014, because Google reportedly moved to sending new orders to the balloons "as frequently as every 15 minutes" (and presumably receiving data from them even more often).
But if Google spent something over $500K on wholesale Iridium airtime (and even more with retail markups included) in 2014, then that would suggest the cost of airtime command and control is something like $8-$10 per hour (before retail markup). As a benchmark, the spending level of about $140K per month in Q3 of last year suggested by Iridium would then equate to an average of 20-25 balloons operating continuously during the quarter (which is consistent with Google's suggestion that it would step up to "more than 100″ balloons in the next phase of testing).
Google has indicated that the operating costs of each balloon are "just hundreds of dollars per day" but it is still surprising to consider that the company would be spending $200+ per balloon per day just on satellite connectivity. Moreover, it seems that Google's "hundred of dollars per day" quoted cost could potentially exclude all the other costs involved in manufacturing and deploying the balloons and backhauling the traffic carried by them. That seems pretty expensive compared to the costs of a new fixed cellsite and highlights the perhaps questionable economics of the Loon architecture.
Now that Google has announced an MOU to potentially bring internet to remote areas of Sri Lanka next year, it is also interesting to contemplate just what that might mean in terms of Iridium airtime if the deal comes to fruition. Google has said it needs "more than 100 Loon balloons circling the globe" just to provide "'quasi-continuous' service along a thin ribbon around the Southern Hemisphere". So it seems implausible to think that all of the rural areas of Sri Lanka would be served with less than say 300 balloons operating continuously. Assuming Google could get a somewhat better deal for high volume usage of say $5 per flight hour (of wholesale revenue to Iridium), then that would equate to annual wholesale airtime revenues of perhaps $13M for Iridium. And revenues could be even higher if more balloons are used to ensure continuous reliable coverage.
Perhaps Google can afford to spend a few tens of millions of dollars a year for a demonstration project in Sri Lanka (although the funding sources for this project remain uncertain). However, the scalability of Loon to a global deployment must be in much greater question. For continuous global coverage there would need to be as many as 100,000+ balloons in operation simultaneously. Even ignoring capital costs, if the operating costs of the network (for all aspects, not just satellite connectivity) are of order $300 per balloon per day, then that would amount to $11B per year in operating costs (for comparison US wireless carriers are projected to spend $56B in opex between them in 2017 to serve well over 300M customers). Its therefore unsurprising that Google intends to rely on wireless operators (and perhaps governments) to support these costs, rather than taking on the burden of commercial deployment itself.
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Home/World/A picture and its story: A daughter's shock as a trip to buy bread ends her father's life
A picture and its story: A daughter's shock as a trip to buy bread ends her father's life
KHARKIV, Ukraine, April 21 (Reuters) – Victor Gubarev stepped out to buy bread when he was killed by a fragment from a shell that landed in front of his apartment block in Kharkiv on Monday, minutes before his daughter arrived to find an ambulance crew standing over his body.
Crew members had to hold Yana Bachek back as they carried her father's body away following the blasts that hit the Soviet-era apartment complex where they live.
An English teacher, she said she had been preparing an online lesson in the kitchen of her one-bedroom apartment, close by her parents' flat, when the shelling started.
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"I remember just the explosion," she said. "I just returned from shopping and crazy explosions, noise."
Immediately her mother, Lyubov, called, voice trembling, and said her father had gone to buy bread and was still outside. Her partner, Yevgeniy, stopped her from rushing out straight away in case there were follow-up strikes, as there were, seconds later.
"I began to call him and there was no answer," she said.
When she pulled on her coat and went out a few minutes later, her anguished reaction to the sight of her father's body was caught by photographers who had arrived with the ambulances, shortly after the blasts.
"I am sorry. I want to forget it. The picture. The one picture I saw him," Bachek said.
Along with the mass graves of Bucha near Kyiv or the destruction of the port city of Mariupol, the indiscriminate shelling of cities like Kharkiv has come to symbolize what the Kremlin has called its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Russia says its incursion is intended to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and its Western allies reject that as a false pretext for war.
Yana Bachek is consoled by her partner Yevgeniy Vlasenko and her mother Lyubov Gubareva, as she mourns over the body of her father Victor Gubarev, 79, killed by shelling during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 18, 2022. REUTERS/ Alkis Konstantinidis
Russia denies targeting civilians and rejects what Ukraine says is evidence of atrocities, saying Ukraine has staged them to undermine peace talks.
Gubarev's death was one of at least three on Monday in Kharkiv, which has been subjected to near-daily bombardment since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.
A former driver who started working at the age of 16 and rose to become a vehicle fleet manager for the oil company Gazprom, the 79-year-old had been reluctant to leave because of health problems he and his wife suffered.
Sitting in her kitchen, occasionally fighting back tears, Bachek, their only child, shared family photos showing her father with an Elvis-style quiff on holidays by the Black Sea, beaming at Lyubov or swinging his granddaughter playfully in a shopping bag.
She described growing up in a middle-class family without a lot of money in late Soviet Ukraine, studying hard at school with her mother, a piano teacher who enjoyed concerts and theater and her father who liked tinkering with cars and joking around with his daughter .
"In his normal life, even in war, he tried to smile, to joke, to support us. He said to us: 'You are my girls, my heroes'," she said.
Now she waits until her father can be buried but here too the war has imposed an additional agony as the sheer number of dead has grown and normal funerals have become impossible.
"It's not like we used to do – cemetery, grave, a special place where I can be separate from other people, to be calm, to speak, to cry, to put out the Easter cake," she said, referring to a Ukrainian memorial custom.
While the family waits for news, the loaf of bread Gubarev went out to buy remains, still in its plastic wrapper, on a table in the hallway, where she touches it briefly each time she goes to the door.
"The bread was in blood," she said. "Now I ca n't keep it in my hands, but I want to because it is a piece of my dad. It was the last thing he had in his hands of him."
Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Birsel
ASIA ASXPAC AU CEEU CISC CWP EMRG europe GENE HLF HLS NASIA POL PXP SAW UK War
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Nicole Heins
Nicole joined KKTV in October 2019 as a producer and worked her way up to being a reporter. She grew up in Colorado Springs, but spent the last two years working at the "happiest place on earth" in Anaheim, California.
Nicole graduated from Colorado State University in 2017 with her B.A. in Journalism and Media Communication. While in College she worked at her college television station (CTV) as an entertainment anchor, reporter, and producer. She also interned at Fox 31 in Denver on the "Everyday Show".
She is still getting used to the cold weather, but she is excited to be reporting stories in her hometown! When Nicole is not in the newsroom, you can find her hiking with friends, watching cute dog videos, or planning her next travel adventure!
Mystery 'elf' leaves cash, prizes to spread holiday cheer
Updated: Nov. 24, 2021 at 7:02 PM EST
By Amanda Alvarado, Nicole Heins and Tony Keith
The mystery elf is leaving gifts across Colorado Springs, Colo. with a messages that read, "If you found this, it is a gift for you! Please open!"
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: 'Fireball' meteor lights up Colorado sky
Updated: Oct. 4, 2021 at 4:02 PM EDT
By Lindsey Grewe, Nicole Heins and Gray News Staff
Many in Colorado received an unexpected light show early Sunday morning when a meteor lit up the sky.
Wilmington District Attorney Ben David will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. at the Onslow County Courthouse to provide an update on the case.
The Turning Point Workplace Development Board is collaborating with NCWorks to help the 1,900 employees who were displaced from their jobs after a fire at the QVC facility in Rocky Mount.
A group of ECU students are holding a "Say No To Crypto" protest on campus from 1 p.m.- 2 p.m. on the main campus student lawn.
Highway Patrol charged 19-year-old Louis Barrera. Two Marines are listed as in critical condition.
Eastern North Carolina prepares for winter storm
By Cindy Choi
While residents shopped ahead of the winter storm, the NCDOT and Greenville Utilities prepared for messy road conditions and possible power outages.
DENSO closing impacts hundreds of Greenville residents
DENSO announced Tuesday that it is closing its Greenville plant, but employees will have the opportunity to pursue jobs at other DENSO locations.
Gas prices rise in North Carolina
North Carolina still remains below the national average, however.
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Kinston police say a suspect has been arrested in a nearly 7-year-old murder case.
Governor Cooper declares State of Emergency ahead of winter storm
Governor declares State of Emergency
Morehead City Fire and EMS gets upgraded rating
"As you can see with these results, our staff trains hard every single day to keep our community safe," Chief Jamie Fulk said.
At-home COVID-19 test kits to ease long testing lines
By Maddie Kerth
Noticing the strain the omicron variant has put on hospitals across the country, the Biden administration is rolling out four free at-home testing kits for each household.


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Personal Loan Dharmavaram, 21 January 2020 from south Indian Bank
Wedding Loan from south Indian Bank in Dharmavaram
Dharmavaram is situated in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. It functions as the divisional headquarter of the Dharmavaram revenue division and the Dharmavaram Mandal. The huge tank at Dharmavaram was built by Kriyasakthi Odeyar, whose mothers name was Dharmamba. The city has got its name there. Dharmavaram is known for cotton and silk weaving industries. The handloom silk sarees of Dharmavaram are popular all over South India. It is often called the silk City of Andhra Pradesh. The economy of the town is driven by the weaving industry. The major crop cultivated in this area is groundnut. Leather puppets are manufactured at Dharmavaram and the city is quite famous for it. Around 1.2 lakh residents live in Dharmavaram, who mostly speak in Telugu. Dharmavaram has adequate government schools to impart primary and secondary school education. It also has a few aided and private schools and colleges. The city has good connectivity in terms of roads and railway.
Low interest rate Wedding Loan in Dharmavaram, 21 January 2020 from south Indian Bank
Mr. V.G Mathew is the Managing Director & CEO of the South Indian Bank. In 1946, It became the first private sector bank to get the scheduled bank status. It has 852 branches, four service branches,56 extension counters, and 20 Regional Offices spread across the states and union territories of India. It has a network of 42 Bulk Note Acceptor/Cash Deposit Machines and 133 ATMs all over Indian 1992 it became the first ever bank for opening an NRI branch in Jhumritalaiya. In June 1993, it became the first private sector bank to open the overseas office. Recently "KIOSK Banking Model" is introduced by the bank as Financial Inclusion Initiative in collaboration with Akshaya e-centres in Kerala state through the software service provider - M/s Tata Consultancy services. The kiosk is a kind of banking model for people who are living in areas where banking facilities are not available so that they can avail necessary banking facilities from a nearby service center. The Basic banking needs of the public like the opening of an account, deposit and withdrawal of cash, etc. can be availed from these common service center/BC Office. The South Indian Bank has the eighth most extensive network of branches among the other private sector banks of India.


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Бими́ни () — район Багамских островов, состоящий из цепи островов, крупнейшие острова: Северный Бимини и Южный Бимини.

География

Северный Бимини — около 11 км в длину и 210 метров в ширину.

Бимини находится примерно в 80 км к востоку от Форт-Лодердейла (Fort Lauderdale) (Флорида) на побережье США.

Достопримечательности
Главный населенный пункт острова — Элис-Таун (), представляет собой скопление магазинов, ресторанов и баров вокруг единственной дороги, известной как Королевское шоссе (King's Highway). На Южном Бимини находится взлётно-посадочная полоса и две гостиницы, это тихая альтернатива суете Северного Бимини.

Остров больше всего известен рыбалкой — окружающий его океан многие считают одним из самых лучших мест в мире для рыбной ловли. Поскольку Бимини находится всего лишь в 80 км (50 миль) восточнее Форта Лодердейл (Флорида), многие американцы-рыболовы отправляются на остров на лодке или на яхте, чтобы порыбачить или насладиться ночной жизнью острова. Также популярны плавание с аквалангом и в ластах с маской и дыхательной трубкой, так как вокруг острова много затонувших кораблей.

Американцы больше узнали о Бимини после того, как Адам Клейтон Пауэлл младший (Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.) стал там жить после исключения из Палаты представителей США (с января 1967 года по апрель 1969 год) в добровольном заточении на Бимини.

Загадки Бимини
На Бимини находится несколько памятников природы с загадочными свойствами неясного происхождения. Большая часть исторических сведений об этих местах носит гипотетический характер, при этом специалисты различных областей знания высказывали самые разные объяснения. Из них вызывающее самые большие споры место — это Дорога Бимини (Bimini Road), лежащая на морском дне на глубине 5-6 метров.

Дорога Бимини
Между 1930 и 1940 годами американский предсказатель Эдгар Кейси заявил в хорошо задокументированном предсказании, что у берегов Бимини в 1968 или 1969 году будут найдены остатки затерянного города Атлантиды.

В сентябре 1968 года в море у берегов Парадиз-Пойнт (Paradise Point) на Северном Бимини было обнаружено семьсот метров аккуратно выложенных известняковых блоков, составляющих то, что сейчас называют «Дорогой Бимини». После десяти проведённых подводных археологических экспедиций начиная с 1974 года, историк Дэвид Зинк (David Zink) убеждён, что эти камни по своей природе являются мегалитами и были уложены людьми.
Гэвин Мензис (Gavin Menzies), автор книги «1421 год: год открытия Америки Китаем» (), полагает, что это дело рук потерпевших кораблекрушение китайских путешественников.
Другие исследователи утверждают, что это результат дноуглубительных работ, работы прибоя или морские отложения, называемые береговой породой.

Являются ли эти камни действительно следами утраченной цивилизации, работой оказавшихся на берегу моряков или всего лишь естественной геологической формацией — ещё предстоит установить. На природное происхождение данного объекта указывают и схожие образования у островов Флорида-Кис (у побережья Флориды).
Выполненный Харденом Худом радиоуглеродный анализ образцов, поднятых со дна Грегом Литтлом в 2010 г., говорит, что возраст камня составляет 3640±40 лет (1630±40 лет до н. э.).

Фонтан молодости
Известные факты о Хуане Понсе де Леоне (Juan Ponce de León) и его поисках Фонтана молодости так же уклончивы, как и сам таинственный омолаживающий источник. Рассказали ли эту историю де Леону араваки или их родственники индейцы таино — неясно, но в обеих версиях этой истории утверждается, что коренные жители говорили о земле под названием «Би-ми-ни», где находится фонтан. Хотя экспедиция де Леона привела его во Флориду, ходили слухи, что фонтан находится в мелководных заводях Южного Бимини.

Целебный грот
В морском мангровом лесу, который покрывает четыре мили Северного Бимини, находится Целебный грот (), заводь, расположенная в конце причудливой сети подземных туннелей. Во время отливов по этим каналам в заводь поступает прохладная, обогащенная минеральными солями пресная вода. Природный литий и сера — вот два элемента, которые, как утверждают, содержатся в этой воде, которая, похоже, обладает лечебными свойствами, поскольку люди испытывают чувство умственного и физического омоложения после посещения грота.

Факты о Бимини
 Во времена сухого закона в США Бимини был излюбленным прибежищем и пунктом снабжения для торговли спиртными напитками (ромом).
 Атлантический голубой марлин весом около 250 кг, пойманный у берегов Бимини, вдохновил Эрнеста Хемингуэя написать повесть «Старик и море».
 Последняя сцена фильма «Молчание ягнят» () происходит в аэропорту Южного Бимини.
 Рейс 101 авиакомпании «Chalk's Ocean Airways» летел на Бимини, когда упал 19 декабря 2005 года; как минимум одиннадцать его пассажиров были жителями Бимини.
 Песня Теда Льюиса 1921 года «Bimini Bay» посвящена острову Бимини и его ночной жизни в 1920-е годы.
 31 декабря 2005 года один из самых известных баров Бимини, «Опытный рыболов» () сгорел дотла во время пожара. Бар прославился висевшими на его стенах фотографиями Эрнеста Хемингуэя; фотографии погибли в огне.
 У Генриха Гейне есть поэма «Бимини», где он называется «островом счастья».
 Действие первой части романа Эрнеста Хемингуэя «Острова в океане» происходит на Северном Бимини.
 «Долгий путь на Бимини» — дебютный роман писательницы Карины Шаинян, эксплуатирующий тему источника молодости и изобилующий отсылками к именам Гейне и Понсе де Леона.

Административное деление

Бимини — один из 32 районов Багамских островов. На карте он обозначен номером 3. Административный центр Района — населенный пункт Элис-Таун (). Площадь района — 23 км². Население — 2008 человек (2010).

Фильмография
 «Загадки истории. Тайны Атлантиды» — научно-популярный фильм, снятый AETN International и КП Продакшн в 2010 г.
 В 5 эпизоде 3 сезона сериала «Декстер», Декстер отправляется на Бимини, преследуя очередную жертву.

Литература
 Cayce, Edgar Evans. Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, Warner Books, 1988. ISBN 0-446-35102-4
 Menzies, Gavin. 1421: The Year China Discovered America, Harper Perennial; 1st Perenn Edition, 2004. ISBN 0-06-054094-X
 Zink, Dr. David. The Stones of Atlantis, Prentice Hall Trade, 1978. ISBN 0-13-846923-7

Ссылки

 Музей Бимини

Районы Багамских Островов

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
WNBA Launches Jersey Designs for the Upcoming League
Live Sports Coverage
AT&T® has become the first non-apparel company to be featured on WNBA jerseys all through the league. The Women's National Basketball Association recently announced their multiyear marquee partnership with the telecom giant, and said that their logo will be featured at the front of all 12 team jerseys.
As per the deal, AT&T® — which is seen as both the best internet provider and a solid competitor to companies bringing the cheapest cable packages to consumers – will be integrated into the association's official website and mobile app, as well as its social media channels. Their partnership will also see AT&T® collaborate with ESPN and NBA TV, who are the broadcast partners of WNBA. The telco will also be WNBA All-Star's title partner and have its logo placed on the court as well.
"The WNBA is deeply committed to empowering and inspiring women," said Kerry Tatlock, SVP for Marketing Partnerships. "AT&T's groundbreaking commitment to our game, which is anchored on our shared values of diversity and inclusion, make it the perfect partner for the WNBA at this exciting time."
Reports say that AT&T® and WNBA will also be working on programming in order to support women in different sports. This partnership works well for both parties; while WNBA celebrates the power and optimism of women, AT&T® proactively involves itself in supporting diversity. In fact, this was one of the country's first ever women's employee resource groups that started AT&T® around four decades ago. The telco even met their goal to eradicate gender bias from advertising and content, in cooperation with the #SeeHer movement by the Association of National Advertisers.
The chief brand officer for AT&T® Communications, Fiona Carter, said, "Together, we can create ways for basketball fans and for AT&T® customers to engage in the causes and communities important to the WNBA and to AT&T®. Whether it's women in sports, supporting small businesses like those owned by WNBA players, being a leading voice in LGBTQ rights, or giving back to communities in which we operate, we have much in common and many opportunities to empower these incredible athletes and their fans."
The NBA All-Star 2019 kicked off the partnership with AT&T® after the telecom giant was chosen as the title partner of Slam Dunk as well as the presentation partner of NBA All-Star Practice and Media Day. They are also collaborating with the NBA 2K League as of now. The WNBA season will start on May 24, 2019, featuring the Washington Mystics, New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks, Las Vegas Aces, Chicago Sky, Minnesota Lynx, Dallas Wings, Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, and Seattle Storm.
Author's Review Score Breakdown
Informative:
By thetripleplay
Category: DirecTV
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Created: May 7, 2019
AUTHOR RATE
DirecTV Ready TV – Know The Compatible Television Models
DirecTV Announces The Addition Of Two New HD Channels To Its Lineup
Reviews Categories
Strategy Changes in Major Telecom Company
OAN And AWE Channels Will Be Available On DirecTV And DirecTV Now
Why MetroPCS is the king of unlimited plans?


There is so much on your to do list right now, including watching the new episode of The Bold Type. But then you notice that your apartment is looking kind of messy and you can't be expected to be productive in this dump! Tell us what you do and we'll reward you with your exact procrastination style.
What did you get? Let us know in the comments below.
And remember, you can watch all new episodes of The Bold Type right here on Freeform.


text:
Street Preservation and Maintenance (SPAM)
The City adopted the Street Preservation and Maintenance (SPAM) program to address roadway maintenance and upkeep. This program is designed to take a holistic view of the city's streets and their conditions to help prioritize projects and funding over a five year period. The city took the first step in developing this program in 2016 with the implementation of the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) study. As a result of the PCI, a number of streets within the city were identified for a range of preservation, maintenance, and reconstruction efforts. The projects listed below are slated to begin summer 2019.
These are the currently planned roadway improvements and are subject to modification based on final design, bid, cost, and unforeseen challenges once construction begins.
John Nowak, P.E.
Email John Nowak
Developing a Five Year Spam Plan
5-Year SPAM Workshop - City Council 6/11/2019
Schertz parkway
Live Oak Rd. to Beck - This section of road will receive what is known as a "mill and overlay." The existing asphalt surface will be "ground off" using a milling machine, a depth of four inches. The base material underneath will be compacted and four inches of new asphalt will be placed. Only one lane of the street will be closed at a time, and the work is expected to take about three weeks to complete.
Maske Rd. to Woodland Oaks - This section of street will be completely reconstructed much like the section from Live Oak to Maske Rd was done in 2018. The multi-use pathway on the east side will also be removed and replaced with a new asphalt section. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained throughout construction and the work should take about five months to complete.
Live Oak Rd. from Oak Run to FM 3009
This section of road is scheduled to receive a chip seal treatment but has some larger base repair areas that need to be completed as part of the prep work for the chip seal project. Along with base repair, there may be some minor widening of Live Oak at the FM 3009 intersection to add a left turn lane. Sidewalks, curbs, and gutters will also be installed on both sides of Live Oak Rd. This prep work must be completed before the chip seal can be applied, so because of this, it is likely that the chip seal will not be applied with this project effort. However, the prep work will provide some improvement to the condition of Live Oak Rd.
Randolph from Main to Exchange
This section of street will be completely reconstructed with existing sidewalks, curbs and gutters also being removed and replaced. The street reconstruction will require full road closer during the month long construction process.
Tri County Parkway from IH-35 to Corridor Parkway
This section of street will be completely reconstructed. All of the curb and gutter will be removed and replaced to correct draining issues. This section of the street receives a large amount of storm water runoff and has a high volume of truck traffic on it, so the new pavement section will be constructed with concrete instead of asphalt. The roadway will be closed during construction to accommodate a quicker turn around. Staff anticipates construction to take about one month.
Greenfield Village, Lone Oak, Deer Haven, The Estates at Wilson's Preserve, Curtiss (Lindbergh to Beacon) and Randolph (Exchange to Maple)
Roads in these areas will be resurfaced using a chip seal technique; however, before any new street surface is applied some prep work is needed. This prep work includes sealing up larger cracks and repairing potholes and other base failures; this is expected to take a couple of weeks to complete in each area. Greenfield Village will also have some concrete valley gutters installed at key intersections to help improve drainage. This will be done in conjunction with the other prep work for the area. There may be a time lag from when the prep work is completed until the new surface is applied as dry and warm weather conditions (August – October) are the best time to apply new surfacing.
Streets in this community will have the existing surface ground up and blended together with cement to be used as the new base for the roads. There will be a new 2 inch asphalt overlay placed on top to finish out the roadway surface. There will also be some drive approach and curb and gutter replacements to correct drainage issues due to settling/moving curb and gutter.
East Live Oak Ground Storage Tank painting
Drainage Maintenance Projects
FM 1103 Utility Relocations
Corbett Elevated Storage Tank
Woman Hollering Creek Wastewater Line
East Live Oak Water Pump Additions
Pedestrian Routes and Bike Lanes


text:
El Día de los Muertos: Our Community Continues to Honor Migrant Lives Lost
For thirteen years now, Derechos Humanos has been uniting the community in our annual Day of the Dead Pilgrimage to honor all of those migrants that have perished in the Southern Arizona Desert. We were hoping that many years ago we would be able to discontinue our pilgrimage because the deaths would have stopped. Instead, here we are again preparing for our 14th annual pilgrimage, which will take place this Saturday, November 1st. Unfortunately, again this year we will be carrying too many crosses -122 – as we complete our 8-mile walk from St. John's Church to San Xavier Mission. Each cross that we will carry represents a human life lost to harsh conditions in the desert, conditions that people have been forced to traverse as a result of anti-immigrant and anti-human policies.
What is unique and troubling about this year is that several news outlets have featured stories that, according to Border Patrol, the deaths along the U.S./Mexico border have reached a fifteen-year low due to their efforts. While it's true that this Saturday, October 25th, many of us came together to make 122 crosses compared to 183 in 2013, not a single person that added a name or the word "Desconocido/a" ("Unknown") to the crosses was happily reflecting on the smaller number. We should not have to gather to make a single cross, or to lament the unnecessary death of a single human being. Statistical analyses will clearly reveal that the death rate continues strong when you compare the rate of death to the number of crossings. Migration continues to be at the lowest level in the last 40 years, yet hundreds are still dying. It is also disingenuous to equate the number of recovered remains with the true number of deaths, given that hundreds of remains have not and will never be found. Most importantly, additional militarization of our borderlands will not only increase the number of deaths, but will also decrease the possibility of finding remains. As people are pushed further into more and more desolate terrain, the real numbers will be masked.
This year, of the 122 remains recovered in Arizona, 41 families received a phone call in which they were told that their brother, sister, mother or father had died after crossing the U.S./Mexico border. 89 of the 122 recovered remains have yet to be identified. This means that at least 89 families continue to live with the anguish of not knowing what happened to their loved ones. Unfortunately, many more family members never even make it to the list we receive from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner each year, which totals 2,771 since we began keeping track and making crosses in the year 2000.
As the Border Patrol and U.S. policymakers continue to devalue and dehumanize the lives of migrants, funneling them into deadly terrain, we as a community will, yet again, honor and commemorate each human life lost. We hope you can join us along with other groups such as No More Deaths, Corazón de Tucson, the Calpulli Teoxicalli, Tucson Samaritans, Southside Workers' Center, Veterans for Peace, Casa Mariposa, Fundación México, Casa María, and Borderlinks.
Also, there is still time to sponsor this event. If you or your organization is interested in sponsoring, please call us at 520-770-1373 or e-mail us at coalicion@derechoshumanosaz.net Please indicate whether or not you would like to donate $25, water, or just send participants and let us know how you would like to be listed in our program.
Comments Off on Remembering the Dead
< Alto al abuso a los niños inmigrantes no acompañados 2014 End-of-the-Year Newsletter >


text:
ASAP/J welcomes pitches for edited clusters on topics of special interest in the contemporary arts.
What are clusters?
Clusters are a series of topically linked essays or roundtable discussion in print, video, sound, or image.
What topics are you looking for?
As with our single feature essays, we publish work that articulates new arts movements, critically examines emerging aesthetic practices, discovers new critical methods and vocabularies, and investigates how the contemporary arts confront the historicity of artistic form. We welcome clusters that choose as their subject international art, artists, or arts movements of any kind, unrestricted by national, ethnic, religious, or gender borders and boundaries. We invite contributions that address the aesthetics, ethics, politics, forms, and methods of the contemporary arts in any medium, including the cinematic, media, visual, plastic, sound, literary, and performance arts.
How do clusters work?
You would be the primary editor for such a cluster, with support from ASAP/J's editor. Our general size for a cluster is 6–12 pieces. While by no means a rule and depending on the number of authors per 'cluster,' text should be about 500-3000 words in length to foster dialogue, yield more experimental answers, and challenge disciplinary boundaries.
We invite you to consider the digital means at your disposal (video, image, audio, text, forums) and publishable on ASAP/J as you develop your cluster. We are happy to work with many digital formats, though if you have a particularly technical idea, please do contact us to see whether it will be possible. We welcome interviews, 'cluster' features of short form essays, multimedia virtual exhibitions and showcases, forums and other forms of discussion.
Who can pitch a cluster?
We encourage clusters with authors in different stages of their career, from graduate student to full professor, including those in contingent and non-academic positions. In line with ASAP's commitment to the contemporary arts, we will also evaluate positively proposals that include artists and other practitioners, those that seek participants from multiple disciplines, and those that feature diverse methods and areas. We look favourably on diversity of disciplines in the cluster and we hope that contributors come from at least two different types of academic departments, programs, or fields, though we. In addition, we encourage our applicants to look for and work with new co-contributors to ensure exciting and truly experimental—even unexpected—conversations and collaborations!
I have a bright idea in its early stages. Can I get in touch with you?
Yes! If you have an idea for an 'open' cluster, and it is the right fit, we can also advertise cfps and suggest writers to be in touch with. Please send a cluster proposal in the form of a 200-word call for papers to be circulated via ASAP's regular channels, including on ASAP/J's "Calls for Papers" page.
Okay, I'm in! How do I pitch you?
If you would like to pitch an edited cluster, please contact Alexandra Kingston-Reese at editor [at] asapjournal.com. Include the cluster title, the names of your potential collaborators, and a pitch no longer than 150-200 words.


text:
UN SSE welcomes Zagreb Stock Exchange
The Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) has solidified its commitment to transparency and sustainability by becoming a member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative. The SSE's newest member joins a network of now 101 stock exchanges around the world that are...
UN SSE welcomes Paraguay stock exchange — BVPASA
The Paraguay stock exchange — Bolsa de Valores y Productos de Asunción (BVPASA) — has solidified its commitment to transparency and sustainability by becoming a member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative. The SSE's newest member joins a network of now 99...
March News Highlights
This month includes news from HKEX, SET, BME, SIX, SZSE, NSE, LuxSE, Deutsche Börse, Bursa Malaysia and more. Monthly news highlights are compiled by the SSE to give an overview of the capital markets' sustainability news from that month. You can subscribe to...
The UN Sustainable Stock Exchange welcomes two new partners exchanges – Q1 2020
The Bolsa y Mercados de Valores de la República Dominicana (Dominican Republic) and Baku Stock Exchange (Azerbaijan) have solidified their commitment to the transparency and sustainability of their growing economies by becoming a member of the UN Sustainable Stock...
The UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Welcomes The Somali Stock Exchange
The Somali Stock Exchange has solidified its commitment to the transparency and sustainability of Somalia's growing economy as a member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange. The SSE's newest member joins a network of now 90 stock exchanges around the world that are...


jQuery plugins may provide translations in an i18n/ subdirectory on the backend and let J Query Plugin take care of loading the appropriate language file for the current web page. This is done by specifying the path to the i18n/ subdirectory in the plugin definition.
See also the lib/Foswiki/Plugins/JQueryPlugin/EMPTY.pm template as shipped with J Query Plugin.


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text:
Q: Wide to long data conversion I have a dataset in 'wide' format that I would like to convert to a non-standard long format.  At least, that is how I would characterize this problem.
The original dataset mimics the following:
d1 <- data.frame('id' = c(1,2),
                 'Q1' = c(2,3),
                 'Q2' = c(1,3),
                 'Q3' = c(3,1))
d1
   id Q1 Q2 Q3
 1  1  2  1  3
 2  2  3  3  1

In this example, there are two individuals who have answered three questions.  The answer to each question takes the following values {1,2,3}.  So, in this examples, individual 1 answered 2 to Q1, 1 to Q2, and 3 for Q3.  I now need to convert to a 'long' format that would be take the following format.  For each individual and each possible answer
d2 <- data.frame('id'= rep(seq(1:2),each=9),
                 'question' = rep(seq(1:3), each=3),
                 'option' = rep(seq(1:3)),
                 'choice' = 0)

d2
   id  question option choice
1   1         1      1      0
2   1         1      2      0
3   1         1      3      0
4   1         2      1      0
5   1         2      2      0
6   1         2      3      0
7   1         3      1      0
8   1         3      2      0
9   1         3      3      0
10  2         1      1      0
11  2         1      2      0
12  2         1      3      0
13  2         2      1      0
14  2         2      2      0
15  2         2      3      0
16  2         3      1      0
17  2         3      2      0
18  2         3      3      0

The part of I am struggling with is how to 'merge' or 'reshape' the data from d1 into d2 so that the final outcome would look like the following with the choice column reflecting the answers given in dataframe d1:
   id question option choice
1   1         1      1      0
2   1         1      2      1
3   1         1      3      0
4   1         2      1      1
5   1         2      2      0
6   1         2      3      0
7   1         3      1      0
8   1         3      2      0
9   1         3      3      1
10  2         1      1      0
11  2         1      2      0
12  2         1      3      1
13  2         2      1      0
14  2         2      2      0
15  2         2      3      1
16  2         3      1      1
17  2         3      2      0
18  2         3      3      0

Individual 1 did not chose option 1 or 3 in question 1, but DID choose option 2 as indicated in the dummy coding in the choice column.
Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

A: d3 is the final output.
d1 <- data.frame('id' = c(1,2),
                 'Q1' = c(2,3),
                 'Q2' = c(1,3),
                 'Q3' = c(3,1))

library(dplyr)
library(tidyr)

d2 <- d1 %>%
  gather(question, option, -id)

d3 <- d2 %>%
  complete(id, question, option) %>%
  left_join(d2, by = c("id", "question")) %>%
  mutate(question = sub("Q", "", question)) %>%
  mutate(option.y = ifelse(option.y == option.x, 1, 0)) %>%
  rename(option = option.x, choice = option.y)

Update
Here is a more concise approach. dt2 is the final output.
d2 <- d1 %>%
  gather(question, option, -id) %>%
  mutate(choice = 1) %>%
  complete(id, question, option, fill = list("choice" = 0)) %>%
  mutate(question = sub("Q", "", question))

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


You can add extra items to your basket once you have added the Drabest Double Sided Step Ladders to the basket.
A sturdy and lightweight aluminium double sided step designed and manufactured with user safety our priority. Certified to EN131 for trade use.
Available in seven sizes 2-8 tread.
High tensile polypropylene straps provide added stability.
80mm wide anti slip treads for comfort and safety.
Treads are safely secured to the stiles with rivets and fitted with protective caps.
Minimum space required for transportation and storage.


LiveWire Community Energy (LWCE), the new organisation that allows you to invest in Warrington's future, will be holding a briefing session on Monday 24 August, 6.30pm at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub for you to find out more about how you can join the community energy revolution.
Set up by LiveWire CIC, Warrington's biggest leisure, library and lifestyle provider in July 2015, LWCE is a Community Benefit Society that will contribute to lowering our carbon footprint through the installation of solar panels on community buildings in Warrington.
The community share offer has now been extended and investors will receive an estimated pre-tax relief return of 4% on their investment annually. Furthermore, they may also receive a one off 50% tax relief on their investment under the Government's SEED Enterprise Investment Scheme, meaning someone who invests £1,000 could see a return of £500 if they've already paid this in tax. Any surplus made by the organisation will be reinvested to benefit the local community in Warrington.
LWCE is seeking to raise a total of £142,000 to fund the installation of solar panels at Grappenhall Community Centre, Heathside Mews, Latchford Community Hub and Poplars Farm. This will reduce the running costs of the buildings with any surplus energy being fed into the grid.