text:
The free guide to costs, funding and the Jackson reforms
ATE/CFA
MoJ claims process
CA extends Halsey ADR rule and upholds costs sanction "pour encourager les autres"
Costs sanction: appeal court sends a message
The Court of Appeal yesterday sent out a stark warning to parties which fail to engage with a "serious invitation" to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
"Modestly" extending the guidance in the well-known Halsey ruling, it established the principle that silence in response to an invitation to participate in ADR is itself unreasonable regardless of whether it amounted to a refusal, or whether there were reasonable grounds to refuse.
As a result, the court upheld a costs sanction against the offending party, even though Lord Justice Briggs said it was "a little more vigorous than I would have preferred".
The decision operates "pour encourager les autres", he said.
"This case sends out an important message to civil litigants, requiring them to engage with a serious invitation to participate in ADR, even if they have reasons which might justify a refusal, or the undertaking of some other form of ADR, or ADR at some other time in the litigation. To allow the present appeal would, as it seems to me, blunt that message."
In PGF II SA v OMFS Company 1 Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1288, the claimant's ADR invitation was "met with complete silence", Briggs LJ recorded.
After the case settled with the claimant's last-minute acceptance of the defendant's part 36 offer, the trial judge, Mr Recorder Furst QC, sitting as a deputy judge of the Technology and Construction Court, penalised the refusal to mediate by depriving the defendant of the costs to which it would otherwise have been entitled under part 36.
However, he declined to take the further step of making the defendant pay the claimant's costs over the same period. The judge decided first that the defendant's silence amounted to a refusal and secondly, applying the Halsey guidelines, that its refusal had been unreasonable.
Briggs LJ said: "In my judgment, the time has now come for this court firmly to endorse the advice given in chapter 11.56 of the ADR Handbook, that silence in the face of an invitation to participate in ADR is, as a general rule, of itself unreasonable, regardless whether an outright refusal, or a refusal to engage in the type of ADR requested, or to do so at the time requested, might have been justified by the identification of reasonable grounds.
"I put this forward as a general rather than invariable rule because it is possible that there may be rare cases where ADR is so obviously inappropriate that to characterise silence as unreasonable would be pure formalism.
"There may also be cases where the failure to respond at all was a result of some mistake in the office, leading to a failure to appreciate that the invitation had been made, but in such cases the onus would lie squarely on the recipient of the invitation to make that explanation good."
The judge said that had he been free to do so, he would have concluded that despite the ADR failure, "the overall responsibility for the expenditure of a further £500,000 odd in costs during the relevant period nonetheless still lay primarily with the claimant" and would only have disallowed a proportion of the defendant's costs. But he found the decision was within the first-instance judge's discretion.
Briggs LJ added: "The court's task in encouraging the more proportionate conduct of civil litigation is so important in current economic circumstances that it is appropriate to emphasise that message by a sanction which, even if a little more vigorous than I would have preferred, nonetheless operates pour encourager les autres."
Sparkle Capital Ltd
Invicta Capital Funding
Acasta Europe Ltd
Complex regional pain syndrome and personal injury claims
Complex regional pain syndrome is a poorly understood chronic pain condition (lasting more than six months) in which a person experiences persistent severe and debilitating pain.
Get our news roundup every Thursday.
West End law firm Campbell & Co select Proclaim Case Management solution
Pinkney Grunwells selects Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse
© Legal Futures Publishing Limited - 2020


In Danville have a landscaping company that can work miracles with even the most depressed of properties. That grass that you think will never grow again will spring up green once again and the shrubs and trees will bloom when you call Swanson's Landscaping. If they don't, we'll dig them all out and plant new ones for you that will. The miracle is how affordable it will be for you when we do it.


If you've worked with SQL Server for any length of time odds are that you've used the IDENTITY property to create a surrogate key for a table. These auto-incrementing primary keys can be very handy, but they have a couple of quirks that have bitten me enough in the past (and recently) that I thought they warranted a blog post.
Disclaimer: None of what follows is revelatory; anyone with an even cursory knowledge SQL Server will already know everything I'm writing here. That said, I'm writing this post anyway in the hope that this knowledge might reach one or two folks that wouldn't otherwise have been exposed to it.
A column that makes use of the IDENTITY property uses two bits of metadata: a seed and an increment. The seed is the value from which the identity sequence will start. The increment is the value that is added to the identity as new rows are inserted. Most IDENTITY columns start their lives with a seed value of 1 and an increment value of 1. The first row inserted into a table with an IDENTITY column configured in this way will get the value '1' in the IDENTITY column. The second row inserted will get the value '2'. The third row will get '3', and so on. In this way you might expect that a table with an IDENTITY column that never has data updated or deleted will have a perfect sequence of identity values from 1 to N where N is the total number of rows in the table. This is technically possible, but tends to fall apart when transactions come into play.
Note how the row for 'Jesse Taber' is missing because that transaction was rolled back instead of committed.
Note how the Id value of 3 is missing. That value would have been assigned to the 'Jesse Taber' row had that transaction been committed, but it wasn't and now it's simply missing from the sequence. You might think that this is odd behavior (I certainly did the first time I observed it), but if you think about it a bit you'll realize that it must work this way or else it wouldn't work very well at all.
Imagine a busy deli counter at a grocery store with one of those "please take a number" ticket dispensers that is designed to ensure that customers are served in the order in which they arrived at the counter. An IDENTITY column is a bit like the roll of tickets in the dispenser: it contains a sequence of non-repeating numbers where each number is 1 higher than previous one. When customers pull a ticket out of the dispenser they have expressed intent to request some service at the deli counter. This is just like an INSERT statement that has been made in a yet-to-be-committed database transaction: it just represents an intent to insert some data into that row.
When 'Jesse Taber' first walked up to the deli counter and took a ticket out of the dispenser he had every intention of ordering something. After waiting for a few minutes, however, his cell phone beeped reminding him of an appointment he completely forgotten about that was supposed to start in 10 minutes. He had to hurry out of the store before being able to place an order. When he left he effectively rolled back his intention to order and the ticket that he took with him left a gap in the deli counter queue sequence. Much like you wouldn't expect the ticket dispenser to hunt down the person(s) who took the ticket after Jesse and re-issue him or her Jesse's number, you shouldn't expect a SQL Server IDENTITY column to re-issue the identity value that was doled out to a transaction that ultimately got rolled back. It might be technically possible to build a system that could re-issue numbers on the fly to eliminate gaps in the sequence, but the value that would be derived from it probably wouldn't be worth the effort to build it.
If it absolutely drives you mad to see gaps in a sequence like this I'd suggest that you take the same attitude toward it that the workers behind the counter take when they call a number for a person who had to duck out of the queue: just move on. Much the deli counter ordering system is tolerant of gaps in the queue sequence your system should be tolerant of gaps in any IDENTITY sequence.
Judging solely by the name of command (CHECKIDENT) and the parameter that's been provided you might think that this command would only check the current identity value for the table and not modify it. After all, there is an additional 'RESEED' argument that can be specified if you wish to force the current seed value of the identity to change. In most cases, just calling CHECKIDENT without the RESEED argument will not modify the current seed value. If, however, the current identity value for the table is less than the maximum value in the column, then the CHECKIDENT command will automatically reseed the identity with the maximum value from the column. I've always thought this behavior was odd, and I've never been able to come up with a good explanation for why this command was designed this way. Granted, having the seed of the IDENTITY column be lower than the current maximum value in the column carries a lot of potential risks, but I think I'd still rather see the default behavior not modify anything unless the RESEED argument is specified.


text:
Colt brings back the Combat Commander 1911 for 2017
Say hello to the new and improved Colt Combat Commander (Photo: Colt)
Reaching back into the vault to update a design long on hiatus, Colt announced Thursday that a redesigned version of the Combat Commander is making a comeback.
The new Combat Commander–available in both 9mm and .45ACP (sorry guys, no .38 Super) is an all carbon blued steel 1911 that clocks in at .75-inches shorter than the standard longslide and comes in from the cold with the addition of a dual-spring recoil system, wide-angled cocking serrations, and Novak LoMounts.
Bringing the pistol in line with their current Lightweight Commander and Competition series, Colt has upgraded the rebooted pistol with new ergos.
"The new Combat Commander features an upswept beavertail grip safety and undercut trigger guard to allow users to get good purchase on the grip, and our great Colt G10 grips," said Justin Baldini, Colt's product director, in a statement.
In the way of a brief history lesson, the Commander was introduced in 9mm for an Army pistol contract in 1949 aimed at providing a more effective replacement to the .32 ACP Model 1903 "General Officer's Pistol." It soon became popular on the civilian market and in 1971 a steel-framed (to differentiate it from the Lightweight Commander) Combat Commander went into production. That 70 Series Colt remained in the stable until 1980 and, after a brief hiatus, was replaced by the 80 Series variant that remained in production in one form or another until 1998 but has sadly been missing from the lineup since then.
Now, to borrow a phrase from John Wick, it looks like the Combat Commander is back, at an MSRP of $949– slightly less than the Lightweight Commander.
As such, it joins the latest edition of the Colt Cobra and a new railgun model of the Delta Elite, announced last week.
Product & Industry News
My Dream Gun: Smith & Wesson Model 686-3
Recently, I got my hands on my dream gun thanks to the Certified Used Guns Vault at Guns.com. I've been looking for a long time, and it's finally mine.
Walther's Q5 Match SF 'Black Tie' is a Classy Beast
Walther's Q5 Match SF "Black Tie" handgun is fit for a secret agent like James Bond. This is pistol is tricked out for accurate, fast shooting and exceedingly beautiful. Here's a closer look.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At Edgebury we provide an engaging, creative and relevant curriculum which is designed to motivate learning in all aspects of life.
Our diverse curriculum connects subjects thereby giving a range of opportunities and a balance of both knowledge and skills.
Children consulted, listened to and fully involved in their learning.
Learning and Life skills form an integral part of the curriculum at Edgebury, ensuring our children are prepared for life so they become responsible citizens of the future.


> > ncurses configuration) which do not appear in the previous stable version.
> > complaining about a problem with the editor which I haven't seen yet).
> > The attached patch fixes resizing (perhaps I'll come back to this after lynx).
changelog to see who would be a good contact).
a) the missing $ncurses_version caused resizeterm to not be found.
> Please use the mailing list mc-devel gnome org next time.
> elaborate fix.  I've applied all other patches as well.
back and fix the mouse, if needed, before then).


text:
Manifest: Season Two Ratings
(NBC)
After a very strong premiere, the first season ratings for Manifest saw a steep decline. NBC could have easily cancelled the show but it was renewed for a second season (albeit a shorter one). Will the ratings improve in season two or, will they continue to fall? Will Manifest be cancelled or renewed for season three? Stay tuned. *Status update below.
A supernatural drama, Manifest stars Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur, and Matt Long. After a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers of Flight 828 disembarked to find the world had aged more than five years. Their friends, families, and colleagues had given up hope of ever seeing them again. Now, faced with the impossible, the passengers' dreams of a second chance at life evaporate as they encounter imminent dangers surrounding them, both tangible and unexplained.
The ratings are typically the best indication of a show's chances of staying on the air. The higher the ratings, the better the chances for survival. This chart will be updated as new ratings data becomes available.
4/7 update: You can see the latest night's ratings in context.
Note: If you're not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view it here.
For comparisons: Season one of Manifest on NBC averaged a 1.25 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 6.48 million viewers.
Note: These are the final national numbers (unless noted with an "*"). These are different from the fast affiliate numbers which are just estimates of the actual ratings. The final nationals are typically released within 24 hours of the programming or, in the case of weekends and holidays, a couple days later.
What do you think? Do you like the Manifest TV series on NBC? Should it be cancelled or renewed for a third season?
*6/16/20 update: Manifest has been renewed for a third season on NBC.
More about: Manifest, Manifest: canceled or renewed?, Manifest: ratings, NBC TV show ratings
Manifest: Season Three? Has the NBC Series Been Cancelled or Renewed Yet?
Manifest: Season Three; Will Peltz to Recur on NBC Drama Series
Manifest: Season Three; Holly Taylor (The Americans) Joins NBC Series
Manifest: Season Two Viewer Votes
Manifest: Season Three; NBC TV Series Renewed for 2020-21 Season
Monday TV Ratings: Manifest, Supernatural, Prodigal Son, The Good Doctor, All Rise
Monday TV Ratings: Manifest, The Good Doctor, The Flash, All Rise, 9-1-1
Manifest: Cancelled or Renewed for Season Two by NBC?
Manifest: Season Two; NBC Teases Series' 2020 Return
Manifest: Season One Viewer Votes
Manifest: Season One Ratings
Manifest: Season Two Renewal Announced by NBC
Manifest: Season Two? NBC Series Creator Hopeful for a Renewal
Manifest: Matt Long to Recur on NBC Series in 2019
Manifest: NBC Orders Mystery Thriller Series with Josh Dallas (Once Upon a Time)
JACKIE BANTON
I have stuck to the screen for seasons 1 and 2 of manifest, I really hope there will be a season 3 as I think there are many more story lines that can be told. From the UK, bring it back.
« Previous 1 2 3 4


RV Pandaw Cruise: Highlights of this upper Irrawaddy river cruise will be passage through the 3rd and 2nd defiles, not to mention visits to enchanting local towns and delightful villages.
Set sail and visit the spectacular potteries near Kyauk-myoung where the famous 50-gallon water pots are handmade. We see all stages of manufacture from the throwing of the pots to the weeklong firing in huge kilns. We return to the ship and enter the third defile of Irrawaddy.
Cruise Price Includes: Entrance fees, guide services (English language), gratuities to crew, main meals, locally made soft drinks, local beer and local spirits, jugged coffee and selection of teas and tisanes, mineral water.


text:
Emergency Committee For Israel Board Member Calls Palestinians 'Savages,' 'Unmanned Animals,' 'Food For Sharks'
This poor lady needs a hug - and a "shower"
By Eli Clifton
The Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI) — a right-wing "pro-Israel" pressure group — attempted to paint the Occupy Wall Street protests as anti-Semitic. But while plenty of evidence runs counter to the ECI's far-reaching assertions that politicians are "turning a blind eye to anti-semitic, anti-Israel attacks," the ECI is much slower to condemn its own ties to ethnic and religious intolerance.
Abrams: Nutcase, racist
ECI board member Rachel Abrams — wife of George W. Bush administration Middle East adviser Elliott Abrams — litters her blog, "Bad Rachel," with homophobic, anti-Palestinian, innuendo-filled screeds about political opponents.
Last year, she focused on Christopher Hitchens' bisexuality in a post titled "Giving Homosexuality a Bad name." She wrote:
Wherever one stands on the homosexuality question—I'm agnostic, or would be if the "gay community" would quit trying to shove legislation down my throat—there can be no denying bisexuality's double betrayal—you never know, whether you're the man of the hour or the woman, when the ground on which you're standing is going to turn to ashes—nor any denying the self-admiring "nourishment" its promiscuous conquests afford.
And following the death of Sen. "Teddy" Kennedy (D-MA), she offered the following innuendo-filled limerick:
An amorous sot name of Teddy
Lost control when things got a bit heady.
He went over the side,
Left his ride in the tide,
And his squeeze giving head to an eddy.
The late Ted Kennedy
But Abrams saves her harshest, most dehumanizing, words for Palestinians. Abrams writes that after Israel finishes celebrating the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, they should:
…round up his captors, the slaughtering, death-worshiping, innocent-butchering, child-sacrificing savages who dip their hands in blood and use women—those who aren't strapping bombs to their own devils' spawn and sending them out to meet their seventy-two virgins by taking the lives of the school-bus-riding, heart-drawing, Transformer-doodling, homework-losing children of Others—and their offspring—those who haven't already been pimped out by their mothers to the murder god—as shields, hiding behind their burkas and cradles like the unmanned animals they are, and throw them not into your prisons, where they can bide until they're traded by the thousands for another child of Israel, but into the sea, to float there, food for sharks, stargazers, and whatever other oceanic carnivores God has put there for the purpose.
Abrams' violent fantasies are protected under the first amendment, but the organization's leadership might want to look in the mirror before smearing the Occupy Wall Street protests as intolerant. (HT: Media Matters)
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
IRNA: Pakistan's army chief does not rule out U.S. offensive
Obama trying desperately to start a war, ANY war to remain in power, stay out of prison
Pakistan's Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani did not rule out the possibility of a US ground offensive in North Waziristan tribal region, a news report said Wednesday.
No pushover: Iran medium range missiles
General Kayani told parliamentarians at a briefing at the army's headquarters yesterday that Washington will think 'many times' before launching such an attack.
"They [the US] might do it but they will have to think ten times because Pakistan is not Iraq or Afghanistan," Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was quoted as telling members of parliament's defence committees at a briefing at the General Headquarters.
Acknowledging that the US is pressing Pakistan to launch a military operation in North Waziristan, Kayani said that the ongoing build-up of Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops along the Pak-Afghan border is a tactic to intensify that pressure, The Express Tribune reported.
"We have made it clear to the US that we will decide the timing of any such action according to our situation and capabilities. We have also told them that the problem lies within Afghanistan. If anyone convinces me that everything will be sorted out if we act in North Waziristan, I will take immediate action," a parliamentarian, requesting anonymity, quoted Kayani as saying.
Mullins and Kayani (center)
General Kayani's statement came hours after senior Afghan defense officials said the country's security forces and their NATO allies have launched a new push against the Haqqani network, which the US says operates from North Waziristan.
General Kayani said that Pakistan had handed over its position on Afghanistan to the Obama administration in writing in 2010 and had asked the Americans to elaborate on their position but they had not done so. "We have long-term interests in Afghanistan, others might have short … For short-term gains, we cannot lose [sight of] our long-term interests," the army chief said.
But responding to a question on Pakistan's interests in Afghanistan, Kayani sought to dispel the perception that Pakistan was seeking so-called strategic depth in Afghanistan.
"We cannot leave both our eastern and western borders insecure," Kayani asserted. "It is wishful thinking to achieve strategic depth in Afghanistan. The Russians tried, the Brits tried, the Americans are trying. We don't have a magic wand," a participant quoted Kayani's response.
Kayani and CIA director David Betrayus
Dawn newspaper reported that General Kayani described the US action in Pakistan unlikely.
In a press release issued by the military after a recent corps commanders' meeting, Kayani is said to have stressed that the Pakistan Army does not need US aid and that he had told American officials that he means what he said.
"We got only 25% of the aid from the Kerry-Lugar Act. Pakistan Army has no objection if the US converts its military aid into civilian assistance," he said.
Stressing on civilian responsibility for peace, he said that the military can only secure areas where it conducts operations, but civilians need to take control and maintain law and order.
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30620876
"Anti-Iran claims like Hollywood scenario;" Cuban ambassador calls BS on U.S. assassination claim fantasies
Cuban Ambassador to Tehran calls it like it is; Obama, administration criminals desperate to start war to stay out of prison, abort coming U.S. revolution
Cuban Ambassador to Tehran William Carbo Ricardo has dismissed US allegation that Tehran was involved in a plot to kill the Saudi envoy to Washington.
Refusing to co-sign U.S. BS: William Carbo Ricardo
During a press conference at his residence in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Wednesday, he said, "These resemble scenes from a Hollywood movie", IRNA reported.
Last week, the US Justice Department accused Iran of involvement in a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Washington Adel Al-Jubeir through the assistance of a suspected member of a Mexican drug cartel.
The Cuban ambassador went on to say the US government is seeking to devise an unbelievable scenario and noted that Cubans know Americans well and expect such plots from them.
The Cuban diplomat stressed the necessity of maintaining vigilance against American conspiracies and scenarios.
Iran has categorically denied Washington's latest accusation, saying the allegation is a 'ludicrous' claim based on the joint US-Israel position against the Islamic Republic and meant to divert attention from the growing anti-Wall Street movement across the United States.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi censured the anti-Iran publicity campaign, warning against 'fabricating' a crisis in the region.
MAB/AZ/HGH
U.S. Begins Huge Military Maneuvers Aimed at Iran
Obama, Clinton determined to start WWIII to save themselves from criminal indictments; Israel will fight Iran to last American military personnel; U.S. battle-ready troops on standby as tensions rise following dubious assassination plot
By Paul Joseph Watson
The United States will this week commence huge military maneuvers aimed at Iran, with a massive air fleet patrolling middle eastern skies ready to land at any time, in response to Iran's involvement in an alleged assassination plot that experts have labeled dubious, amidst fears that US and Israeli targets could be hit by attacks.
CVN 73 George Washington
As we reported last week, during US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's October 3 Tel Aviv visit, Israeli hawks attempted to persuade Panetta to give the green light for a military strike on Iran. Within ten days, details of an alleged assassination plot against a Saudi ambassador emerged and the foiled attack was blamed on Iran. Innumerable experts immediately voiced their doubts about the authenticity of the plot, with 21-year CIA veteran Robert Baer labeling the story "a truly awful Hollywood script".
The US military will respond this week with a series of significant military maneuvers designed to threaten Iran, including, "an American air fleet in Middle East skies ready to land at any moment for any contingency," reports DebkaFile.
"The United States launches a large-scale exercise over the Middle East deploying 41 giant transports of the 22nds Airlift Squadron Monday Oct. 17," states the report, adding that the aircraft will be packed with fully equipped, battle ready troops.
A further seven warships from the Stennis Battle Group will also "provide ground troops with combat support and strike land and sea targets."
22nd Airlift Squadron
The Israeli, Egyptian and Saudi armies have also been placed on maximum preparedness, echoing reports that U.S. troops being sent to the region have also been put on full alert.
The maneuvers are also linked to the scheduled release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas on Tuesday, an event that US intelligence officials fear could set off a chain of attacks in the region against US and Israeli targets. Should embassies be targeted, US troops will be in place to react swiftly.
Geopolitical experts have been consistent in their warnings that Israel was preparing to strike Iran this fall.
Back in July, CIA veteran Baer told KPFK Los Angeles that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planning an attack on Iran in September to coincide with the Palestine bid for UN membership.
Both Obama and Netanyahu pray for war to remain in power
Whether the maneuvers are merely designed to be an act of belligerence against Iran or represent preparations for an actual military strike in support of Israel remains to be seen, but as Gulf News reporter Patrick Seale pointed out Friday, the window of opportunity for an attack on Iran is closing.
"Some western military experts have been quoted as saying that the window of opportunity for an Israeli air attack on Iran will close within two months, since the onset of winter would make such an assault more difficult," writes Seale, adding that the Israelis' eagerness to launch the attack has "caused considerable alarm in Washington and in a number of European capitals."
End Result: more dead and maimed U.S. service personnel
Both Republican and Democratic US lawmakers have issued strong statements against Iran in recent days, with several all but calling for war. Last week, New York Republican Peter King called on the Obama administration to put troops on standby, labeling the alleged Iranian assassination plot "an act of war". On Sunday, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that the US and Iran were on a "collision course".
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
STRATFOR: Naval Update Map
STRATFOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
October 19, 2011 | 1823 GMT
The Naval Update Map shows an approximation of the current locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups (CSGs) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs), the keys to U.S. dominance of the world's oceans. A CSG is centered on an aircraft carrier, which projects U.S. naval and air power and supports a carrier air wing (CVW). The CSG includes significant offensive strike capability. An ARG is centered on three amphibious warfare ships, with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked. An MEU is built around a heavily reinforced and mobile battalion of Marines.
Carrier Strike Groups
The USS John C. Stennis CSG with CVW 9 embarked is under way in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) conducting maritime security operations and support missions as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.
The USS George H.W. Bush CSG with CVW 8 embarked is under way in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR conducting maritime security operations and support missions as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.
The USS George Washington with CVW 5 embarked is under way in the Pacific Ocean continuing its 2011 patrol. It departed early from a port visit in Singapore on Oct. 15 to be better positioned to provide humanitarian aid to Thailand if needed in response to significant flooding in the region.
The USS Ronald Reagan is under way in the Pacific Ocean performing carrier qualifications.
The USS Eisenhower is under way in the Atlantic Ocean performing carrier qualifications and its Tailored Ship's Training Availability.
Amphibious Ready Groups/Marine Expeditionary Units
The USS Bataan ARG with the 22nd MEU embarked is supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR.
The USS Essex ARG with the 31st MEU embarked is under way conducting operations in the Philippine Sea.
The USS Wasp is under way conducting operations in the Atlantic Ocean.
This STRATFOR Naval Update republished with permission and thanks from The 5th Estate.
Turkey launches incursion into Iraq
Turk govt. never accused of being smart; this could be dumbest move ever - WWIII dumb
By Susan Fraser
ANKARA, Turkey —
Turkish soldiers, air force bombers and helicopter gunships launched an incursion into northern Iraq on Wednesday, hours after Kurdish rebels killed 24 soldiers and wounded 18 in attacks along the border.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a visit to Kazakhstan and held a nationally televised news conference to announce that Turkey had launched the "hot pursuit" operation, wording that officials often use to describe cross-border offensives in northern Iraq.
Turk army: Obsolete weapons, tactics, brains
"We will never bow to any attack from inside or outside Turkey," he said.
Turkey's chief of the military and the interior and defense ministers rushed to the border area to oversee the anti-rebel attacks, and the United States and NATO both issued statements supporting the offensive, the largest in more than three years.
NTV television said Turkish troops have gone some 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) into Iraq and that helicopters were ferrying commandos across the border. Dogan news agency said more than 20 Kurdish rebels were killed in ensuing clashes, but did not provide a breakdown. Neither report identified its sources.
The incursion appeared to be limited in scope. Turkey last staged a major ground offensive against Iraq in early 2008.
Wednesday's offensive began hours after the rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast, staged simultaneous attacks on military outposts and police stations near the border towns of Cukurca and Yuksekova.
The Interior Ministry first said 26 soldiers were killed and 22 wounded, but Erdogan corrected those figures to 24 dead and 18 wounded, without explaining the discrepancy. It was the deadliest Kurdish rebel attack against Turkey's military since the 1990s. Dogan news agency said about 200 Kurdish rebels were believed to have launched Wednesday's attacks.
Bozo Brigades: Turkish commandos
Kurdish rebel group the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, said fighting was taking place in two separate areas close to the mountainous Iraqi-Turkish border. "We have been clashing with the Turkish forces in two areas since around 3 a.m. today," Dostdar Hamo, a spokesman for the rebel group in northern Iraq, told The Associated Press by telephone.
In Baghdad, an Iraqi government spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Turkey asked Iraq last week to move against rebel bases in northern Iraq, saying "its "patience is running out" in the face of rebel attacks directed at Turkey from Iraqi soil.
"No one should forget that those who make us suffer this pain will be made to suffer even stronger," President Abdullah Gul told reporters Wednesday. "They will see that the vengeance for these attacks will be immense and many times stronger."
The Peace and Democracy Party, a pro-Kurdish party accused by authorities of links to the Kurdish rebels, urged both sides to end the fighting, saying peace is urgently needed.
But Turkish warplanes and artillery units, positioned just inside Turkey, struck at the Kurdish rebel bases across the border in response, NTV said.
Pathetic: Turks have had asses handed to them by PPK
The rebels have lately intensified their attacks in the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast, killing dozens of members of the country's security force and at least 18 civilians since mid-July.
On Tuesday, a roadside bomb blast killed five policemen and three civilians, including a 4-year-old girl. Wednesday's rebel attack sparked public outrage, with many people hanging red and white Turkish flags out of windows and balconies in Ankara, the Turkish capital.
A group of angry Turkish veterans of the 27-year-old Kurdish conflict attempted to storm the prime minister's office, shouting "Martyrs never die!"
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984 as Kurdish politicians push for greater cultural and political rights for Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of Turkey's 74 million people. The Kurdish demands include the right to education in the mother tongue, but the Turkish government fears could deepen the country's ethnic divide.
The government has taken steps toward wider Kurdish-language education by allowing Kurdish-language institutes and private Kurdish courses as well as Kurdish television broadcasts. But it won't permit lower-level education in Kurdish.
The European Union, which Turkey is striving to join, has pushed the Turkish government to grant more rights to the Kurds. But EU countries also have urged Kurdish lawmakers to distance themselves from the PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the EU.
"The United States strongly condemns this morning's outrageous terrorist attack against Turkey, one of our closest and strongest allies," President Barack Obama said in a statement released by the White House. "The United States will continue our strong cooperation with the Turkish government as it works to defeat the terrorist threat from the PKK and to bring peace, stability and prosperity to all the people of southeast Turkey."
The U.S. shares drone surveillance data with Turkey to aid its fight against the Kurdish rebels and is engaged in talks with Turkey for possible deployment of Predator drones on Turkish soil after U.S. forces leave Iraq, according to the Turkish government.
Britain condemned the attacks "in the strongest possible terms," and British leader David Cameron's office said he had written to the Turkish prime minister to express his sadness at the loss of life.
Turk Army great at torturing prisoners though, thanks to CIA
"My thoughts are with the family and friends of those you have lost," the British prime minister said. "There must be no place for this kind of violence and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms."
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also criticized the Kurdish rebel violence.
"On behalf of NATO, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent attacks in southeastern Turkey, which killed and injured several Turkish soldiers, policemen and civilians, including a child," Rasmussen said in a statement.
Erdogan said Turkey is expecting "active cooperation" from the international community in its fight against the rebels.
Indonesian princess weds in historical sultanate
Yogyakarta wedding unique in world
An Indonesian princess married her prince Tuesday in the historical sultanate of Yogyakarta.
Princess Nurastuti Wijareni, 25, married 29-year-old Achmad Ubaidillah in a traditional Javanese-Muslim ceremony attended by more than 2,000 guests that included the Indonesian president.
The newly married royal couple Princess Nurastuti Wijareni (L) and Prince Achmad Ubaidillah (R) attend the reception of their wedding ceremony at the sultan's palace in Yogyakarta on Java island
Yogyakarta, around 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Jakarta in the center of Java island, is one of Indonesia's last remaining sultanates, where the sultan acts also as the special region's governor.
The groom, a commoner, works at the office of Indonesia's vice president.
Din Syamsudin, chairman of Indonesia's Muhammadiyah Muslim organization, described the ceremony as a grand cultural expression that should be preserved.
It was "a cultural treasure that should also be revitalized, so that future generations continue to understand and love their own culture," he said.
Tens of thousands lined the streets in the afternoon to greet the couple, who were married at the sultan's 200-year-old palace in a ceremony led by the bride's father, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
Guests made offerings of banana wrapped in golden paper and flower arrangements to symbolize the sacred bond of marriage and to wish the couple a happy life together.
The groom arrived in a traditional horse-drawn Javanese carriage and sat next to his bride, as they recited their marriage vows before the sultan.
At the end of the ceremony, the couple threw betel leaves at each other to symbolize two hearts uniting.
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year criticised the sultanate, encouraging the region to begin free elections for the governorship.
Wayne Madsen Report: CIA informants inside OWS movement in NYC
CIA: "To hell with U.S. Constitution, we operate where we wish;" CIA scum attempts to infiltrate OWS, cause havoc, goad authorities into Martial Law
By Wayne Madsen
NYC Fascist pigs fight for chance to feel tits of protester
In a page taken right out of the FBI's Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) and the CIA's domestic spying operations from the 1960s, a handful of long-time CIA operatives have been detected among the key leadership of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in New York.
CIA Scum: Tough guy David Cohen
The CIA's penetration of OWS comes at the same time that a longtime CIA clandestine services officer, with field experience in Jordan and Pakistan, has been identified as a special assistant to the deputy commissioner of intelligence at the New York Police Department. The CIA agent has been assigned to his NYPD duties since July. The stationing of the CIA liaison officer at the NYPD has the approval of CIA director David Petraeus.
Two former CIA officers, David Cohen and Larry Sanchez, helped establish the NYPD's new intelligence division. Sanchez left the NYPD in 2010 while Cohen remains as the Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence. After retiring from the CIA but before taking his presenty job, Cohen worked for the "too-big-to-fail" American International Group (AIG), a company with longstanding links to the CIA, particularly in Asia.
▼ Oct 2011 (141)
Emergency Committee For Israel Board Member Calls ...
IRNA: Pakistan's army chief does not rule out U.S...
"Anti-Iran claims like Hollywood scenario;" Cuban...
Wayne Madsen Report: CIA informants inside OWS mo...


A unique "performance" in the form of a concert by two elite performers of classical music, oboist Vilém Veverka and pianist Martin Kasík is prepared for the unique space of the Villa Tugendhat.
On 5 June from 19.30, the two performers will present an ambitious programme that will reflect in the first part the so-called "Salon" music of Schumann and Chopin, while in the second part of the concert they will focus on the compositions of the Brno interwar scene: the Sonata by Leoš Janáček and a Suite by Pavel Haas. The concert will be broadcast by the Czech Radio in the EBU network.
Both soloists have been collaborating systematically since 2011. Their repertoire focuses on the music of the romantic period and the 20th century. Janáček's Sonata, originally for violin and piano, will be heard in combination with the oboe for the very first time. It is worth mentioning that Vilém Veverka with his permanent piano partner have chosen the phenomenal space of the Villa Tugendhat entirely deliberately – he personally considers this building to be the most significant monument of modern architecture in this country. The entire project thus becomes a real "Gesamtkunstwerk".
The concert will include a tour of Villa Tugendhat at the end of the concert.
Admission: CZK 1500 / person, the programme includes a 20-minute tour of the villa interiors.
Previous reservation required, capacity is limited.


Innocent '2face' Idibia earlier today issued a clarion call to Nigerians, urging them to come out and protest against government policies on Sunday, February 5.
The singer, while describing government policies as obnoxious and baseless, advised Nigerians to start asking questions.
He listed five important questions every citizen must ask the Nigerian government.
1. Where are the recovered looted funds? Why do we still have the executive arms and legislatures still enjoying their salaries and allowances while we hear there's no money to pay workers?
2. Why do we still see ceaseless power failures with no explanation and hope of getting out of it unlike before?
3. Why do we keep seeing peace talks in Niger Delta, fulani heardsmen and ipob without any solutions being reached, while the strategies keeps aggravating the people involved as political leaders stage forums to extort funds in the name of addressing their subjects?
4. Why did we have petrol price rise to 145 for the sake of global oil price crash and removal of subsidy but such price is still being maintained despite significant re-awakening of the oil price from $30/barrel to $56/barrel?
5. Who is to be held accountable for the sudden and continuous hike in price of commodities in the market, where for the first time in history, Nigeria is suddenly selling kerosene at 400 naira per litre as against 50 naira per litre, diesel at 300 naira per litre as against 100 naira per litre and petrol from 87 naira to 145 naira? Yet maintaining the same systems, environment and maybe a lesser money spending government?
The call for Mass Action or Affirmative Action is not new in use. It is a political tool of the progressives and a mass sensitization process.


text:
Polis: Center for Politics
Efforts to Ban Critical Race Theory in Classrooms are Harmful for All Students
Jessica On (PPS '24)
T o the 36 states that are pushing for anti-Critical Race Theory legislation in education: Is it accountability you are avoiding? Is it an informed youth and equipped democracy you fear? Is it the truth that you are hiding from?
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a framework which "asserts that racism is embedded in the legal system and government policy as opposed to individual prejudice". CRT is a way to understand how racism in America has influenced the design and implementation of public policy. It recognizes the harm that systemic and institutional racism have imposed on people of color.
Conversations and discourse guided by CRT function best in classrooms, where teachers are equipped with skills to facilitate discussion. However, many schools are not teaching CRT and students are actually upset to find how little they have learned about inequality when they reach college. For those that do not pursue a postsecondary education, they may never get a chance to unlearn these misguided narratives about American inequality.
The reality is that creating legislation that bans racism from being taught in schools is yet another example of racism being embedded into American institutions and policy. As of the 2022 legislative session, there are efforts in at least 36 states to restrict anti-racist and anti-bias education, as well as discussions on the contributions that specific racial or ethnic groups have made in U.S. history. For those who know about CRT, there is a clear partisan divide with 81% of Democrats in favor of it in contrast to just 17% of Republicans.
A proposed New Hampshire bill would ban "any doctrine or theory promoting a negative account or representation of the founding and history of the United States of America." However, 83% of Americans do not agree that books should be banned for criticizing U.S. history. Opponents call CRT "unpatriotic", but utilizing our country's history to understand how to improve is the most patriotic thing you can do. The reality is that our nation that has committed wrongdoings in the past, but what matters now is how they are addressed, acknowledged, and prevented from happening again.
At the root of it, opponents of CRT are anxious to shift power dynamics in the classroom and curriculum. American society has focused on a Eurocentric, white-washed version of history that reinforces the culture of white supremacy and glorifies America's flawed history. CRT favors post-modernist thoughts, which contradict traditional conservative values prevalent in American society. This crusade against CRT reaffirms the fact that preserving the image of whiteness will always supersede accountability and that truth will be sacrificed to maintain power.
The arguments against CRT frame it as "divisive," yet scholars of the framework emphasize that its purpose is not to argue that one race is better than the other or that individuals are racist themselves. Its purpose is not to pit people of color against white people. CRT is not arguing that white people now are to blame for the past, but rather that they have an inherent responsibility to address and acknowledge how racism affects marginalized communities today. If white people are personally offended by the truth of systemic racism and privilege, that itself is an inherent privilege in positionality to reflect upon.
Instead of ignoring America's racialized history, we must address the realities of it. The best way to do so is in classrooms, where children are already being socialized to interact with individuals of different races. Students deserve to know the good and bad sides of history, which includes diverse and critical analyses of the U.S.
Teaching CRT has important effects on all students. Students of color will feel validated about their identities when they learn about the historical contributions of their communities. White students, who may not always be cognizant of race, unlearn implicit biases through multicultural education. Equipping them with historical understandings of discrimination and race can mitigate racist behavior from a young age.
Educating about racism can have the power to fix systemic oppression. Young students are learning to navigate and understand these systems and will grow up to transform them. CRT deserves a space in classrooms and legislators must continue to fight against anti-CRT sentiments. California has succeeded in making ethnic studies a high school graduation requirement. Delaware is beginning to implement Black history into courses beyond social studies. Illinois is now the first state to mandate the teaching of Asian American history in schools. Instead of banning CRT, expand it.
Jessica On (PPS '24) is a Public Policy Undergraduate at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. This piece was submitted as an op-ed in the Spring '22 PUBPOL 301 course. This content does not represent the official or unofficial views of the Sanford School, Polis, Duke University, or any entity or individual other than the author.
More from Polis: Center for Politics
Tlacaxoxouhcayotl
The Justice Lab - A Critical Analysis For Justice
Equitable Community Control: A Missing Link in Our Still Separate and Unequal Schools
WritingUniverse
A List of Powerful Social Issues Essay Topics
Okhae Adeleye
So you want to get a scholarship to study abroad?
pammoran
Timeless Learning : a reflection on #whyIwrite
HARI SHANKAR
Global Teachers Academy
Joseph Baker
Digital Storytelling Rough Draft
Flora Chen
Can Vision-impaired Students Survive Emory?
Glenn W. Hawkes
Sex in the 7th Grade


text:
Fudge Brownie M&Ms Are On The Way Soon — Here's What We Know So Far
By Lucia Peters
mmschocolate/Instagram
I'll admit that when I want chocolate, I don't often reach for M&Ms — but that might be about to change soon: Fudge Brownie M&Ms are arriving on shelves soon, and, well… I never say no to a good brownie. Even if it's just something that's brownie-flavored. Usually, brownie-flavored things taste like straight-up brownie batter, and, uh… that's kind of my kryptonite. Yes, even more so than cake batter. And if the rumors are correct, we won't be waiting long for M&Ms' take on the flavor — possibly even just another few weeks!
M&Ms teased the new flavor via Instagram on July 31, posting a photo of its packaging along with the brief caption, "We've been working on something delicious… trust us, it'll be worth the wait." The purple bag features the Ms. Brown M&M mascot, who was originally introduced back in 2012; she holds a pan of brownies in one hand and half of an M&M that looks to be filled with a similarly brownie-like interior in the other. And just in case it wasn't already clear what's inside the bag, there's an image of either another brownie or a piece of fudge in the upper left-hand corner of the bag — it's not clear which — with the words "FUDGE BROWNIE" written inside it in big, capital letters.
But this teaser, it turns out, was actually confirmation of a rumor that had made its way to Instagram a day earlier. On July 30, the newly-created Instagram account Junk Food Leaks posted images of both the packaging and the M&Ms themselves, along with a short review. It's not currently known how Junk Food Leaks got a hold of the treats — and, as one commenter on the post noted, it is a little curious that all the M&Ms in the bag are orange, given that the package art suggests the treats will come in the standard array of M&M colors — but according the Instagrammer, the M&Ms are "larger in size" than typical M&Ms, resembling Peanut M&Ms, "just rounder." It seems that they're best enjoyed slowly, rather than crunching them up as soon as you pop them in your mouth; when you "[allow] them to melt a bit" in your mouth, noted Junk Food Leaks, the candies "soften up quick" while "the gooey texture of a warm brownie begins to take over your taste buds." The Instagrammer scored them 8.3 out of 10, praising the "balance" of both "the initial M&M crunch/chocolate, and the brownie flavor that creeps up not too long afterwards."
When I say Junk Food Leaks is "newly-created," by the way, I mean it; the Fudge Brownie M&Ms post is the first tidbit the account has leaked. According to the introductory post that went live just before the M&Ms post, whoever runs the account "[happens] to have the privilege of sourcing new and unreleased samples of junk before they become available to the general public"; the page aims to "provide reviews and information as best as possible, and as [it is] allowed to." Not much is known about Junk Food Leaks other than that, but it might prove to be a page worth watching.
For anyone wondering precisely when we can expect Fudge Brownie M&Ms to hit shelves, there's unfortunately no news yet. When asked directly by another Instagram user on the teaser post, M&Ms' social media team said only, "All good things come in time…" Junk Food Leaks, meanwhile, suggests that they might be coming "this fall or sooner," but that piece of information currently remains unconfirmed. It's also not known whether the M&Ms will be a nationwide release or an exclusive to a specific retailer, or whether the flavor will join the permanent line-up or if it will be limited edition. We'll just have to keep our ears to the ground for more information as it becomes available.
Fudge Brownie isn't the only new M&Ms flavor on the way soon, though — one of the brand's Halloween offerings, Creepy Cocoa Crisp M&Ms, have already been spotted on shelves at some Target locations, including at least one in New York and one in California. They might not be in wide release yet — as Instagrammers Marcus and Matthew noted in their post about the treats, they probably won't be prominently displayed until after the back-to-school season is over, which usually lasts until September — but you can always ask an employee at your local Target if they've got 'em in stock yet if you just can't wait.
Regardless, though, it's clear that M&Ms have been busy; who knows what else might be on the way soon? Chocolate lovers, take note!


text:
Q: How to adjust branch lengths of dendrogram in matplotlib (like in astrodendro)? [Python] Here is my resulting plot below but I would like it to look like the truncated dendrograms in astrodendro such as this:

There is also a really cool looking dendrogram from this paper that I would like to recreate in matplotlib.

Below is the code for generating an iris data set with noise variables and plotting the dendrogram in matplotlib.
Does anyone know how to either: (1) truncate the branches like in the example figures; and/or (2) to use astrodendro with a custom linkage matrix and labels?
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
from sklearn.datasets import load_iris
import astrodendro
from scipy.cluster.hierarchy import dendrogram, linkage
from scipy.spatial import distance

def iris_data(noise=None, palette="hls", desat=1):
    # Iris dataset
    X = pd.DataFrame(load_iris().data,
                     index = [*map(lambda x:f"iris_{x}", range(150))],
                     columns = [*map(lambda x: x.split(" (cm)")[0].replace(" ","_"), load_iris().feature_names)])

    y = pd.Series(load_iris().target,
                           index = X.index,
                           name = "Species")
    c = map_colors(y, mode=1, palette=palette, desat=desat)#y.map(lambda x:{0:"red",1:"green",2:"blue"}[x])

    if noise is not None:
        X_noise = pd.DataFrame(
            np.random.RandomState(0).normal(size=(X.shape[0], noise)),
            index=X_iris.index,
            columns=[*map(lambda x:f"noise_{x}", range(noise))]
        )
        X = pd.concat([X, X_noise], axis=1)
    return (X, y, c)

def dism2linkage(DF_dism, method="ward"):
    """
    Input: A (m x m) dissimalrity Pandas DataFrame object where the diagonal is 0
    Output: Hierarchical clustering encoded as a linkage matrix

    Further reading:
    http://docs.scipy.org/doc/scipy-0.14.0/reference/generated/scipy.cluster.hierarchy.linkage.html
    https://pypi.python.org/pypi/fastcluster
    """
    #Linkage Matrix
    Ar_dist = distance.squareform(DF_dism.as_matrix())
    return linkage(Ar_dist,method=method)

# Get data
X_iris_with_noise, y_iris, c_iris = iris_data(50)
# Get distance matrix
df_dism = 1- X_iris_with_noise.corr().abs()
# Get linkage matrix
Z = dism2linkage(df_dism)

#Create dendrogram
with plt.style.context("seaborn-white"):
    fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(13,3))
    D_dendro = dendrogram(
             Z,
             labels=df_dism.index,
             color_threshold=3.5,
             count_sort = "ascending",
             #link_color_func=lambda k: colors[k]
             ax=ax
    )
    ax.set_ylabel("Distance")

A: I'm not sure this really constitutes a practical answer, but it does allow you to generate dendrograms with truncated hanging lines. The trick is to generate the plot as normal, then manipulate the resulting matplotlib plot to recreate the lines.
I couldn't get your example to work locally, so I've just created a dummy dataset.
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
from scipy.cluster.hierarchy import dendrogram, linkage
import numpy as np

a = np.random.multivariate_normal([0, 10], [[3, 1], [1, 4]], size=[5,])
b = np.random.multivariate_normal([0, 10], [[3, 1], [1, 4]], size=[5,])
X = np.concatenate((a, b),)

Z = linkage(X, 'ward')

fig = plt.figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(1,1,1)

dendrogram(Z, ax=ax)

The resulting plot is the usual long-arm dendrogram.

Now for the more interesting bit. A dendrogram is made up of a number of LineCollection objects (one for each colour). To update the lines we iterate through these, extracting the details about their constituent paths, modifying these to remove any lines reaching to a y of zero, and then recreating a LineCollection for these modified paths.
The updated path is then added to the axes, and the original is removed.
The one tricky part is determining what height to draw to instead of zero. Since we are iterating over each dendrograms path, we don't know which point came before — we basically have no idea where we are. However, we can exploit the fact that hanging lines hang vertically. Assuming there are no lines on the same x, we can look for the known other y values for a given x and use that as the basis for our new y when calculating. The downside is that in order to make sure we have this number, we have to pre-scan the data.
Note: If you can get dendrogram hanging lines on the same x, you would need to include the y and search for nearest y above this x to do this.
import numpy as np
from matplotlib.path import Path
from matplotlib.collections import LineCollection

fig = plt.figure()
ax = fig.add_subplot(1,1,1)

dendrogram(Z, ax=ax);

for c in ax.collections[:]: # use [:] to get a copy, since we're adding to the same list
    paths = []
    for path in c.get_paths():
        segments = []
        y_at_x = {}
        # Pre-pass over all elements, to find the lowest y value at each x value.
        # we can use this to caculate where to cut our lines.
        for n, seg in enumerate(path.iter_segments()):
            x, y = seg[0]
            # Don't store if the y is zero, or if it's higher than the current low.
            if y > 0 and y < y_at_x.get(x, np.inf):
                y_at_x[x] = y

        for n, seg in enumerate(path.iter_segments()):
            x, y = seg[0]

            if y == 0:
                # If we know the last y at this x, use it - 0.5, limit > 0
                y = max(0, y_at_x.get(x, 0) - 0.5)

            segments.append([x,y])

        paths.append(segments)

    lc = LineCollection(paths, colors=c.get_colors())  # Recreate a LineCollection with the same params
    ax.add_collection(lc)
    ax.collections.remove(c) # Remove the original LineCollection

The resulting dendrogram looks like this:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Warnath Group Consultations with Government of Djibouti Officials
Mar 19, 2015 | News and Events
The Warnath Group worked with high-level officials of the Government of Djibouti regarding enactment of a National Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking and legal reform to improve the country's anti-trafficking law. Coming out of this consultation, the...
Warnath Group Advises on Historic U.S.-Myanmar Agreement
The State Department (DOS J/TIP) has selected the Warnath Group to provide advisory services and training in Myanmar to advance the objectives of the United States-Myanmar Joint Plan on Trafficking in Persons, agreed to in November 2012. The agreement is the first of...
Malaysian Specialist Prosecutors, Judges Complete Warnath Group Human Trafficking Case Skills Training
Dec 2, 2014 | News and Events
Dynamic teaching methods and specialized training materials brought the victim centered approach to life for Malaysian specialist prosecutors and judges at the Warnath Group's tailored Malaysia Anti-Human Trafficking Case Skills Training. Malaysia's Judicial and...
Justice Sector Professionals in the Kingdom of Tonga, and the Republic of Kiribati, Trained by Warnath Group Experts
Jun 12, 2014 | News and Events
Warnath Group Senior Advisor on Law & Policy Sheila Berman, and Warnath Group Expert Jenny Stanger, National Director of the Freedom Project to End Modern Slavery of the Salvation Army of Australia and former co-founder of the Coalition Against Slavery and...
The Warnath Group Invited to Haiti to Advise Government Leaders on Content of Draft of New Haitian Anti-Trafficking Law
May 30, 2014 | News and Events
A Warnath Group team, including CEO Stephen Warnath, traveled to Haiti January 20-23, 2014 for high-level meetings with Haitian government officials to discuss WG's comprehensive legal analysis and recommendations on the then proposed new anti-trafficking...
Warnath Group Conducts Justice Sector Trainings in Costa Rica
Jul 22, 2013 | News and Events
From July 15th to 19th, a team of four Warnath Group experts and staff, including CEO and Founder Stephen Warnath, conducted a series of three successful training sessions for over seventy Costa Rican judges, prosecutors, and police. The trainings were held at the...
WG Conducts Training and Technical Assistance in Lima, Peru
Warnath Group experts trained over fifty prosecutors, police, judges and social workers in Lima, Peru, from June 4th to 7th, 2013, helping to improve the country's overall institutional response to the crime of human trafficking, and law enforcement's...
Warnath Group Delivers Successful Training to Greek Criminal Justice Actors in Athens
Feb 4, 2013 | News and Events
Staff and experts from the Warnath Group recently concluded a successful training session for approximately thirty police, prosecutors, judges, and immigration officers in Athens, Greece, on January 30th and 31st. The training, delivered by Warnath Group experts...
Remarks of Ambassador Daniel Smith (As Prepared) at Warnath Group TTA in Athens, Greece
Remarks at the Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Prosecutors Training (As Prepared) January 30, 2013; 09:00 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 Akademias Street Kalimera sas. It is my great pleasure this morning to welcome you all to this important anti-trafficking...
Receive the latest news from the Warnath Group in your inbox quarterly.
For more information, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.


He's not the sun you are.
He took something from me. He took a little piece of me. I lost myself for a long time, and I promised myself I'd never feel that way again.
Rando: Do you like being big spoon or little spoon or little spoon?
Cristina Yang: I'm not a spoon. I'm a knife and I'm going to stab you in the eyeballs.
If there's no food I'm going home.
How am I supposed to get through the holidays without liquor?


This pack explores what folk music is, and presents some songs and tunes to help get you started. Rob has provided suggestions for practical activities based on the material that would be suitable at Key Stage 3 and 4.
Rob compiled this pack based on his work at Hanham High School as part of The Full English learning programme, and for the Professional Development Training day held at mac, Birmingham in 2014.
Rob is a sought-after multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer and one of the country's leading players of the English concertina.
Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/3017 What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?


Not enough Thinking Disorders Treatment Centers to choose from?
If you're looking for help with thinking disorders in Huntington Beach or for a Huntington Beach thinking disorder Treatment Center these professionals provide therapy for thinking disorders. They include thinking disorder Treatment Centers, thinking disorder psychologists, thinking disorder psychotherapists and thinking disorder counselors. They can help with Huntington Beach thought disorder Treatment.


text:
Who brought Halloween to North America?
As for modern Halloween, Santino, writing in "American Folklore: An Encyclopedia" (Garland, 1996), noted that "Halloween beliefs and customs were brought to North America with the earliest Irish immigrants, then by the great waves of Irish immigrants fleeing the famines of the first half of the nineteenth century.
Previous QuestionHow did Halloween come to North America?
Next QuestionWhat day does Halloween Horror Nights start?
Who brought Halloween to America?
What group brought Halloween North America?
How did Halloween come to North America?
Who brought Halloween to the United States?
American colonists are responsible for initially bringing Halloween to the United States. Most of the colonists were Puritans and they primarily came from England which traditionally celebrated Samhain back when the Celts lived there.
Who started Halloween in America?
How did Halloween come to America?
Who is Rachel to Jamie in Halloween?
Rachel Carruthers. Rachel Carruthers is a secondary character in the Halloween franchise, appearing as Jamie Lloyd's teenage foster sister in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Rachel is one of the series' most beloved characters.
Who owns the rights to Halloween?
Malek Akkad, whose family has been involved with the franchise since Michael Myers was an innocent young boy, remains on board to produce the next "Halloween" movie, regardless of where the rights wind up.
Who tried to kill aria on the Halloween train?
One is Melissa Hastings, who drugged Aria and was working for "A", while the other is Darren Wilden, who murdered Garrett and attempted to kill Spencer.
Who is Laurie to Michael Myers in Halloween?
"One day you'll come and see me. One day, I'll be free." Cynthia Myers, better known as Laurie Strode (February 22nd, 1961 - October 31st, 2002) is a character and primary protagonist in the Halloween franchise. She first appeared in the original Halloween, played by Jamie Lee Curtis.
What's Halloween called in America?
Halloween is celebrated in the United States on October 31. The name "Halloween" comes from "All Hallows Eve," or the day before All Saints Day, a traditional holy day for Christians.
Why does America celebrate Halloween?
Why did Halloween start in America?
Is Halloween only celebrated in America?
How do they celebrate Halloween in America?
Many Americans celebrate the traditions of Halloween by dressing in costumes and telling tales of witches and ghosts. Pumpkins are carved into glowering jack-o'-lanterns. Children parade from house to house, knocking on doors and calling out "Trick or treat!" hoping to have their bags filled with candy.
What started Halloween in America?
Irish immigrants to the United States raised the popularity of Halloween during the 19th century. During the 20th century it became more and more popular, with traditions like pumpkin carving and trick or treating becoming part of TV shows, books and movies.
How does America celebrate Halloween?
Many Americans celebrate the traditions of Halloween by dressing in costumes and telling tales of witches and ghosts. Pumpkins are carved into glowering jack-o'-lanterns. Children parade from house to house, knocking on doors and calling out "Trick or treat!"
When did Halloween begin in America?
Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought the holiday to the United States. The commercialization of Halloween started in the 1900s, when postcards and die-cut paper decorations were produced. Halloween costumes started to appear in stores in the 1930s and the custom of 'trick-or-treat' appeared in the 1950s.
When was Halloween first celebrated in America?
Almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America. It was not until mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in North America.
How Halloween is celebrated in America?
Every October 31, both children and adults slip into the night as ghouls and goblins, princesses and pirates. Many Americans celebrate the traditions of Halloween by dressing in costumes and telling tales of witches and ghosts. Pumpkins are carved into glowering jack-o'-lanterns.
What year did Halloween start in America?
Why is Halloween celebrated in America?
Is Halloween celebrated only in America?
What is Halloween Haunt Great America?
Fear is waiting for you at Great America's Halloween Haunt. The Bay Area's premier Halloween event features haunted mazes, live shows, scare zones and hundreds of monsters at every turn.
When was the first Halloween in America?
Why Halloween is celebrated in America?
How did Halloween start in America?
Why do we celebrate Halloween in America?
Is Halloween a holiday in America?
Halloween, the Eve of All Satins' Day is not a federal or state holiday. Federal holidays are spelled out in the 1968 Uniform Holidays Bill, which grants federal employees a three-day weekend on Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day.
When did Halloween start in America?
Where did Halloween start in America?
What does Halloween mean in America?
The word "Halloween" comes from"All Hallows' Eve" and means "hallowed evening." Hundreds of years ago, people dressed up as saints and went door to door, which is the origin of Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating.
What is America's favorite Halloween candy?
Snickers satisfies tons of people in Arizona and Florida, the two states where the candy is most popular. Candy Store reports over 1.6 million pounds of Snickers are purchased over the course of the Halloween season!
What is Halloween celebrated for in America?
How is Halloween celebrated in America?
How do people celebrate Halloween in America?
Why we celebrate Halloween in America?
How much candy does America eat on Halloween?
According to an infographic on History.com, the average American consumes 24 pounds of candy every year, which is equivalent to the weight of 2,336.5 Hershey Kisses. Almost 90 million pounds of chocolate are sold during the week of Halloween, according to a Nielsen Newswire Report from 2009.
Is Great America Halloween Haunt open on Halloween?
Fear is waiting for you at Great America's Halloween Haunt. The Bay Area's premier Halloween event features haunted mazes, live shows, scare zones and hundreds of monsters at every turn. Get unlimited visits to Halloween Haunt next fall with a 2019 Gold Season Pass, on sale now.
Who started Halloween?
The history of Halloween - how it all started. Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin.
Who made Halloween 2018?
Halloween is a 2018 American slasher film directed by David Gordon Green, written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle who reprise their respective roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, with stuntman James Jude Courtney also portraying Myers.
What is the scariest Halloween attraction in America?
America's Scariest Halloween Attractions Bennett's Curse. Bennett's Curse in Jessup, MD, is consistently ranked a top haunt because of its unique special effects and hi-tech fright entertainment. Witches of New Salem. Dent Schoolhouse. Hangman's House of Horrors. Terror Behind the Walls. ESP's Night Watch. Fright Factory. Bates Motel.
What time does Halloween Haunt Great America open?
Halloween Haunt is open Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m.–midnight through Oct. 6 and until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from Oct. 12–27. On Sundays, Halloween Haunt is open 7 p.m.–midnight, except Sunday, Oct. 21, when Halloween Haunt will be closed for an event at Levi's Stadium.
Where was the first official citywide Halloween celebration in America?
* In the United States, the first official citywide Halloween celebration occurred in Anoka, Minnesota, in 1921.
Who celebrate Halloween?
Who dies in Halloween?
Halloween (1978) Edit NameCause of DeathKillerMechanicBeaten to deathMichael MyersOlivia (Dog)Killed/eatenMichael MyersLester (Dog)Choked to deathMichael MyersAnnie BrackettThroat slit with kitchen knifeMichael Myers3 صفوف أخرى
Who won Halloween Wars?
But there most certainly is a happy ever after for Al DiBartolo Jr., a master cake artist whose Sugar Psychos team – which also included a pumpkin carver and candy expert – won the top prize on the season finale of "Halloween Wars'' Sunday night on The Food Network.
Who doesnt celebrate Halloween?
Jehovah's Witnesses: They don't celebrate any holidays or even birthdays. Some Christians: Some believe the holiday is associated with Satanism or Paganism, so are against celebrating it. Orthodox Jews: They don't celebrate Halloween due to its origins as a Christian holiday.
Who died Halloween 1978?
Who directs the new Halloween?
On February 9, 2017, John Carpenter announced that a new Halloween film was going to be written by David Gordon Green and Danny McBride and will be directed by Green.
Who invented Halloween costumes?
Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
Who wrote Halloween 2018?
ديفيد غوردون غرين دانى ماكبرايد Jeff Fradley
When did we start celebrating Halloween in America?
What is the meaning of Halloween in America?
Does America get a day off for Halloween?
While not an official holiday, the traditional October 31 Halloween celebration is much beloved by children in the United States, for whom the day is a chance to don costumes'often depicting ghosts, goblins and other "supernatural" creatures'and to collect candy and other treats from adults.
Who is Halloween based on?
Who was born on Halloween?
Actors who have Halloween birthdays include John Candy and Dermot Mulroney, while singers born on October 31 include Willow Smith, Vanilla Ice, and Christina Aguilar. Other celebrities who were born on Halloeen include Rob Schneider, Nolan North, Piper Perabo, and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.
Who was Pam for Halloween?
And, of course, you can always be your favorite character on Halloween. Jenna Fischer, who played Pam Beesly on the show shared a photo of a young boy on Twitter on Monday, dressed up as Dunder Mifflin's most loyal employee, Dwight K. Schrute.
How old do you have to be to go to Halloween Horror Nights alone?
Who won Halloween cake off?
If they can impress Waylynn Lucas and Pichet Ong they will take home the prize and be crowned the winner of Halloween Cake Off. Host Duff Goldman during Round Two, Trick Cakes, as seen on Halloween Cake-Off, Season 1.
Who wrote the Halloween movies?
جون كاربنتر ديبرا هيل
Who Created Halloween the holiday?
Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Europe. At the end of summer, the Celts thought the barrier between our world and the world of ghosts and spirits got really thin.
Who is born on Halloween?
Who won 2017 Halloween Wars?
On tonight's episode whoever can best illustrate the final seconds before a deadly danger strikes will be crowned Halloween Wars champion and win $50,000. Fiona Dourif, actress from the hit horror franchise Child's Play, will be the guest judge.
Who plays Luke in Halloweentown?
Debbie Reynolds played grandma Agatha "Aggie" Cromwell, a witch who resides in Halloweentown.
Who played a day in Madea's Halloween?
The idea for the film originated from a fictitious Madea Halloween movie that was mentioned in Chris Rock's 2014 film Top Five. Boo! A Madea HalloweenStarringTyler Perry Cassi Davis Patrice Lovely Yousef Erakat Lexy Panterra Andre Hall Liza Koshy Diamond White Brock O'Hurn Bella Thorne15 صفًا آخر
Who plays Michael's sister in Halloween 2018?
Laurie Strode Is Not Michael Myers's Sister for a Reason in New 'Halloween' Film.
Who is conformity in Michael Jackson's Halloween?
Something tells us The Hay Man, voiced by TV's highest paid actor Jim Parsons, might be some help to Vincent and Victoria. The Hay Man is the groundskeeper at This Place Hotel. The Conformity character in Michael Jackson's Halloween special is voiced by dynamic actress Lucy Liu.
Who is the villain in Halloween Town?
Actor Daniel Kountz portrayed Kalabar's son Kal, a warlock who hated Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) and her family for destroying his father at the end of "Halloweentown." Speaking from personal experience, I had the biggest crush on Kal. Yeah, yeah, he was the villain — but he was super attractive.
Who plays Jason in the Halloween movies?
In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film, with Tony Moran and Tommy Lee Wallace substituting in the final scenes.
Who is the baby in Halloween 6?
Six years later, on October 30, 1995, Jamie has been impregnated and her infant is born, being taken away by the "Man in Black", the leader of a Druid-like cult. Later, a midwife helps Jamie escape with her baby, but she is killed by Michael.
Who is Kevin for Halloween the office?
Kevin Malone And His Famous Chili Have Inspired An Incredible Halloween Costume. Kevin Malone is one of the best characters from the U.S. version of The Office. One of the strongest arguments for his Office GOAT status is the cold open from the season 5 episode "Casual Friday."
How old do u have to be to see Halloween?
Halloween has an 18 certificate according to the British Board of Film Classification. In the USA, the rating is R, which bars anyone under 17 from seeing the film unaccompanied.
Who wrote Halloween 2?
Who celebrates Halloween?
Who made Halloween Town?
Halloweentown (film) Halloweentown is a 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Duwayne Dunham. It is the first installment in the Halloweentown series, and stars Kimberly J. Brown, Debbie Reynolds and Judith Hoag.
Who found Halloween?
Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. On the day corresponding to November 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin.
Who is the demon of Halloween?
History. Samhain is a special type of demon. When he reigned on Earth on Halloween night, people kept their children inside and wore masks to hide from him, carved pumpkins to worship him, and left sweets at their doors to appease him. In this way, Samhain was the origin of modern-day Halloween.
Who started Halloween trick or treat?
As for the trick or treating, or "guising" (from "disguising"), traditions, beginning in the Middle-Ages, children and sometimes poor adults would dress up in the aforementioned costumes and go around door to door during Hallowmas begging for food or money in exchange for songs and prayers, often said on behalf of the
Who is the baby in Halloween 2007?
Angel Myers, better known as Laurie Strode, is a character and primary protagonist in the Halloween franchise. Laurie first appeared in Rob Zombie's Halloween remake (2007), played by Scout Taylor-Compton and based upon the main teenage protagonist from the classic Halloween.
Horror icon Michael Myers has spent a good portion of the Halloween franchise hunting down Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode.
Who plays Gordon in Halloween Town?
Cast (in credits order) Kimberly J. BrownMarnie PiperPhillip Van DykeLukeBlu MankumaGortPeter WingfieldAlexDebbie ReynoldsAggie Cromwell15 صفًا آخر
Who won Food Network Halloween Wars?
Who made the first Halloween costume?
Who does Marnie end up with Halloweentown?
And don't you even START with me about that Lucas Grabeel Return to Halloweentown romantic storyline. Get that EVIL away from me. Sara Paxton played Marnie in the fourth installment, instead of the OG, Kimberly J. Brown.
Who invented Halloween?
Halloween has its roots in the ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on the night of October 31. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, believed that the dead returned to earth on Samhain.
جون كاربنتر تومي والاس نايجل نيل
Who owns Halloween Express?
Our retail store and franchise operation is based in Owenton, KY, managed by Holly Bowling. Our online ecommerce operation is based in Florence, KY and is managed by Brad Butler.
Who does celebrate Halloween?
HalloweenA jack-o'-lantern, one of the symbols of HalloweenAlso calledHallowe'en Allhallowe'en All Hallows' Eve All Saints' EveObserved byWestern Christians and many non-Christians around the worldSignificanceFirst day of Allhallowtide4 صفوف أخرى
Who directs New Halloween?
Who made Halloween?
Who produced Halloween?
Who Created Halloween holiday?
What year does the new Halloween movie take place?Jan 19, 2020
Is Halloween Horror Nights included in annual pass?Jan 15, 2020
Why do we get candy on Halloween?Jan 15, 2020
How do you make a pumpkin last before Halloween?Jan 19, 2020
Are all the rides open during Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween?Jan 18, 2020
Who won Halloween Wars?Jan 19, 2020
What does a pumpkin mean on Halloween?Jan 17, 2020
Can you wear hats to Halloween Horror Nights?Jan 19, 2020
What do Halloween represent?Jan 17, 2020
Where was the Halloween movies filmed?Jan 16, 2020
Are Spirit Halloween stores open all year?
How much is parking for Halloween Horror Nights?
Is Laurie Michael Myers sister in Halloween?
How do you remove Halloween grease makeup?
Why are pumpkins used for Halloween?
Where Halloween is celebrated?
How much money did Jamie Lee Curtis make in Halloween?
Where else do they celebrate Halloween?
Is Halloween a pagan holiday?


Japan has published their first Hearthstone TV Commercial as of recently. If you don't natively speak the language, it will probably be a bit confusing, or even funny at times.
I think we get the basics of it. This guy, who I think we can assume is Legend rank, is well respected by his co-workers or employees, until he crosses paths with someone who we can assume has beaten him at some point, and the two switch places. The apprentice has become the master, so to speak, or in this case, the Legend. In terms of advertisement marketing, this ad does a surprisingly good job of convincing people that Hearthstone is for them. For starters, the woman who eventually gains the guy's respect appears to be young and not very high on the corporate ladder. In a nutshell, this is not only an ad for Hearthstone, but also a convincing nudge that the game is for anybody, and everybody can be good at it if they try.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed the video. Back to the office!
Check hearthstone twitch streams on EGW.


text:
Apple Strikes Big Blow to Iran with Removal of Apps
In a bold move, Apple has started pulling Iranian apps from its app stores, bowing to government pressures from the US about sanctions in Iran. The actions have been met with frustration and strong resistance by business developers in Iran.
By Mario L. Major
Apple Devices Pexels
In Iran, the reality of the sanctions imposed on the government can be quite sobering. They affect access to many basic things which some of us may take for granted: food, and medical supplies and services. However, there are some areas like tech, until recently, where maneuvering around the restrictions had been less of a challenge.
Another blow came this week when Apple—taking a cue from the US government—moved forward with its decision to remove from its app stores a number of Iranian apps, after a fresh new round of sanctions were imposed by the US government.
This move comes only a couple years after Apple had begun efforts to expand its business and product lines in Iran, and all parties involved felt optimistic about this new cooperation and a relaxing of the heavy sanctions against the country. Though the company did not have stores in Iran, iOS users were able to benefit from the apps using mobile devices smuggled into the country through various channels.
So, which apps are being removed? Well, just last Thursday Apple removed Snap, a ride hailing app similar to Uber in the US. Also, within the past few days Delion Foods, online food delivery service similar to Yemek Sepeti in Turkey, was also removed. Company founder Mahdi Taghizadeh expressed his frustration with the drastic move:
"We work so hard, and have to fight all the time, and now this," adding, "No one with an iPhone can download any of the popular apps any more. Imagine if the U.S. you wouldn't be able to get Uber on your phone."
Toeing the Line
Source: Wikimedia Creative Commons
The statements made by Apple in the past few days reflect its efforts to remain neutral in the dispute, despite the strong reactions from business developers in Iran. One of the first responses to the decision was a petition to Apple CEO Tim Cook—signatures have reached more than 11,000, and in social media, others have taken to Twitter with the hashtag #StopRemovingIranianApps.
In an official statement, a spokesperson for Apple said, "Under the U.S. sanctions regulations, the App Store cannot host, distribute or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries."
The company's shares in the global market are too high to turn away such a large customer base, and taking a neutral stance is its way of leaving the door open for future partnerships.
The reality is that Apple has had to engage in gray market activities in order to maintain its position and at the same time comply with global trade procedures, which means working in countries in which stores do not exist or only iOS software or apps, in lieu of mobile devices, can be purchased.
What is clear for now is that Iran's future with Apple is uncertain.
Via: Time, Business Insider, BBC, New York Times
11 Cameras Ranked From Biggest to Smallest of All Time
Scientists Launch Project to Recreate Smells of Old Europe with AI
Apple Announces 'One More Thing' Event for Nov. 10, Could Debut Arm-Based Macs


Ashe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2016, the population was 26,924. Its county seat is Jefferson.
Ashe County was named after Samuel Ashe, the Governor of North Carolina from 1795 to 1798.


text:
Свято-Покровский собор в Ровно — православная церковь, главный храм Ровенской епархии ПЦУ.

История
Первый камень в основание будущего собора был заложен патриархом УАПЦ Мстиславом в 1990 году. В конце 90-х начаты работы по созданию нижнего храма, освящённого в память о святых земли Волынской. Завершение строительства и освящение собора Патриархом Киевским Филаретом состоялось в 2001 году.

26 марта 2014 года в здании собора состоялось отпевание деятеля украинской революции, активиста «Правого сектора» Александра Музычко.

Описание
Покровский собор — один из самых высоких храмов Украины, его длина 51 м, ширина 42 м, высота — 55 м. Здание имеет большой купол, символизирующий Иисуса Христа, и 12 меньших, символизирующие апостолов, а также 8 малых куполов.

Собор имеет нижний и верхний храмы, которые могут вместить более 3 тысяч прихожан каждый. В здании действуют подъемники для инвалидов и пожилых людей, есть помещение для детской воскресной школы, медпункта, библиотеки, репетиций хора, музея и так далее.

Стилистика здания имеет много украинских элементов. Это, в частности, подчеркивают золотой тризуб с крестом (владимирский тризуб), украшающий фронтон здания. Витражные кресты окон над входами с западной, северной и южной сторон выполнены в виде орнаментов, заимствованных из народных волынских вышитых и домотканых полотенец.

Во дворе собора похоронены украинские церковные и общественные деятели: митрополит Ровенский и Острожский Даниил (+2005 г.) и староста собора, член Высшего Церковного Совета УПЦ КП, политический деятель Василий Червоний (+2009 г.).

Примечания

Ссылки
 http://rivne-cerkva.rv.ua/sobory/sobor-pokrova.html

Храмы, заложенные в 1991 году
Храмы, построенные в 2001 году на Украине
Соборы Украины
Ровно
Православные храмы Ровненской области
Здания и сооружения Ровно
2000-е годы в Ровненской области

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
/*
===============================================================================

	Element defines additional game variables and methods to perform
	mathematical calculations, simplify inheritance and work with HTML5.

===============================================================================
*/

/*
================
extend
	Extends `Child` from `Parent`.
	Fixes constructor and adds parent class link as `super`.
================
*/
function extend( Child, Parent ) {
	var F = function () {};
	F.prototype = Parent.prototype;
	Child.prototype = new F();
	Child.prototype.constructor = Child;
	Child.super = Parent.prototype;
}

/*
================
mixin
	Copies new properties from `src` to `dst`.
	Properties of the `Object` will be ignored.
================
*/
function mixin( dst, src ) {
	// filters `Object` variables and methods
	var filter = {};
	for ( var k in src ){
		if ( ( typeof filter[ k ] === "undefined" ) || ( filter[ k ] !== src[ k ] ) ) {
			dst[ k ] = src[ k ];
		}
	}
}

/*
================
randomHash
	Generates random hash string of 15 characters.
================
*/
function randomHash() {
	return Math.random().toString(36).substr(2);
}

/*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	CACHE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
/*
=================
Cache
	Defines named cache. All values could be accessed by the name.
	Each value can be added to the certain group.
	Group value is added to the cached object.
=================
*/
function Cache() {
	if ( !(this instanceof Cache) ) return new Cache();

	this._values = {};
}

/*
=================
get
	Gets Element by key.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.get = function ( key ) {
	return this._values[ key ];
};

/*
=================
set
	Sets element value or adds new element.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.set = function ( key, value, group ) {
	this._values[ key ] = value;
	this._values[ key ].group = group;
	return this._values[ key ];
};

/*
=================
add
	Adds only new element.
	Properties would also be ignored.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.add = function ( key, value, group ) {
	if ( this._values[ key ] === undefined ) {
		this._values[ key ] = value;
		this._values[ key ].group = group;
	}
	return this._values[ key ];
};

/*
=================
remove
	Removes element.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.remove = function ( key ) {
	delete this._values[ key ];
};

/*
=================
removeKeys
	Removes set of variables.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.removeKeys = function ( keys ) {
	for ( var k in keys ) {
		delete this._values[ keys[ k ] ];
	}
};

/*
=================
removeGroup
	Removes set of variables.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.removeGroup = function ( group ) {
	for ( var k in this._values ) {
		if ( this._values[ k ].group === group ) {
			delete this._values[ keys[ k ] ];
		}
	}
};

/*
=================
group
	Returns all values with certain group.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.group = function ( group ) {
	var values = [];
	for ( var k in this._values) {
		if ( this._values[ k ].group === group ) {
			values.push( this._values[ k ] );
		}
	}
	return values;
};

/*
=================
contains
	Returns true if key is present in _values, otherwise - false.
=================
*/
Cache.prototype.contains = function ( key ) {
	return key in this._values;
};

/*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	STRING
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
/*
=================
hashCode
	Javascript implementation of Java's String.hashCode() method.
=================
*/
String.prototype.hashCode = function() {
	if ( this.length === 0 ) return hash;

	var hash = 0;
	for ( var i = 0; i < this.length; i++ ) {
		var ch = this.charCodeAt( i );
		hash = ( ( hash << 5 ) - hash ) + ch;
		hash = hash & hash; // Convert to 32bit integer
	}
	return hash;
};

/*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	MATH
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
Math.PI_2 = Math.PI / 2;
Math.PI2  = Math.PI * 2;

/*
=================
logab
	Evaluates LOGa(b) as LN(b)/LN(a)
=================
*/
Math.logab = function ( a, b ) {
	if ( a === 2 ) {
		return Math.log( b ) / Math.LN2;
	} else if ( a === 10 ) {
		return Math.log( b ) / Math.LN10;
	} else {
		return Math.log( b ) / Math.log( a );
	}
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


So we know Google has penalized sites that accept user generared content, such as Mozilla, BBC and Sprint. They even have a help document on the topic.
One Google Webmaster Help thread has a forum owner asking why his forum received a pure spam notification over a user-generated content spam notification.
we are a file hosting site which focuses on community - people have profiles, they upload content, etc. Due to big traffic, we have a lot of spammers on our site, which we actively fight against, but something always slips through - it's an ongoing fight for years.
Recently I noticed some of our users got deindexed, and rightfully so as they were spammers, but we have been notified that our site is Pure Spam. What I'm wondering about is why were they not categorized as User-Generated Spam. Guidelines for Pure Spam state, that we should fix the content and then make a reconsideration request. Normally we would simply remove those spammy users - should we do that as usual and then make a reconsideration request? Any other ideas?
I find it funny, somewhat, that he is complaining he got one penalty over another. Clearly, Google thinks the site is pure spam, not user generated content spam. I guess one is a lesser evil.


text:
// regulus_server.h
//
// Header for regulus_server application.

#define MAX_TABLE_SIZE 100
#define MAX_GSL_ATOM_LENGTH 100
#define MAX_GRAMMAR_NAME_LENGTH 100
#define MAX_PROMPT_STRING_LENGTH 2000
#define MAX_RECOGNISED_STRING_LENGTH 2000
#define MAX_FILE_NAME_LENGTH 200

#define SYMBOL_TABLE_SIZE 1000

// Symbolic constants

enum symbols {
	NO_REQUEST, SAY_NUMBER, SAY_FILE, SAY_TTS, SET_OUTPUT_VOLUME, RECOGNISE, RECORD, CLEAN_UP
};

/*-----------------------------------------------------------------------*/

// Global function prototypes

// regulus_server.cpp

int main(int argc, char *argv[]);
void MainLoopFn(App *app);
void GetClientRequestsUntilRecognitionRequested(App *app, int *request_type, char *string_arg);
void InitFn(App *app);
void RootEntryFn(App *app);
void RootPostRecSucceeded(App *app);
void RootPostRecFailed(App *app, int status);
void RootPostRecFn(App *app);

// nlval_to_regulus.cpp

void PrintRecResultInRegulusForm(FILE *stream, App *app);
void PrintNLValueInRegulusForm(FILE *stream, NLValue *nl_val, NLValueType type);
void PrintNLIntValueInRegulusForm(FILE *stream, NLValue *nl_val) ;
void PrintNLStringValueInRegulusForm(FILE *stream, NLValue *nl_val);
void PrintNLListValueInRegulusForm(FILE *stream, NLValue *list) ;
void PrintNLStructureValueInRegulusForm(FILE *stream, NLValue *structure);
void StringToPrologForm(char *in, char *out);

// regulus_filetalk.cpp

int InitFiletalk(char *config_file);
int InitFiletalkConstantsFromConfigFile(char *config_file);
void SendRecordDoneNotificationToClient(char *recorded_file);
void SendFailedRecResultToClient(int status);
void SendRecResultToClient(App *app);
void GetClientRequest(int *request_type, char *string_arg, int *number_arg);
int ReadClientRequestFile(char *file, int *request_type, char *string_arg, int *number_arg);
void UpdateClientFilePointerFile();
void UpdateServerFilePointerFile();
void CurrentClientFile(char *file);
void CurrentServerFile(char *file);
void MarkCurrentClientFileAsProcessed();
void MarkCurrentServerFileAsProcessed();
int NumberToSuffixString(int i, char* s);