How quickly can you evolve?
When Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" was published, evolution was already a well-established idea. Darwin's insight was that evolution – through the process of natural selection – led to the introduction and extinction of entire species. This of course upset the established church, and to this day there are still religious groups who reject the idea, in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence.
The early twentieth century saw the rise of "neo-Darwinism", which finally provided a mechanism for natural selection. It wasn't happening at the level of creatures but at the microscopic level of genes. Natural selection is simply the playing out of a long-running stastistical game based on shuffling genes, and more disturbingly the creatures themselves (and ourselves) are just a very sophisticated form of temporary accomodation for those genes!
Richard Dawkins, the acclaimed scientist and author of "The Selfish Gene", goes a stage further. He suggests that a species' ability to adapt or evolve may itself change over time. In other words, evolvability is a trait that can evolve, just like a tail or gills.
So what does this have to do with the world of software development? Well the various flavours of agile development, such as XP, Crystal, Scrum, Lean and DSDM, are all trying to solve the same problem, namely coming up with a repeatable, predictable way to adapt to change. In other words, they are trying to make software delivery evolvable. This ensures that delivery isn't wrong-footed by a change in the project's ecosystem or environment.
As an agile process coach, my job is to increase a team's – or in the case of an Organisational Transformation programme an entire organisation's – ability to evolve. Taking a cue from Mother Nature, you can't expect this to occur overnight. The weight of evidence shows that macro-mutations in the process are almost always going to be detrimental. Instead you need to evolve the organisation towards evolvability, or agility, through a series of small steps that are easy and intuitive to grasp.
You can't just walk in and announce that "this is how we do things now". You need to take the time to understand and appreciate the existing ecosystem, and present the change process as a simple and natural way to improve delivery. At a getting-things-done level this is usually pretty straightforward: tested code tends to break less than untested code, and paired code tends to be better designed than solo code, so the incremental changes are intuitively a Good Thing.
At a project management or governance level the messages are more subtle. It's not about how quickly or accurately you can deliver – you can put a bunch of bright people in a room with a big enough incentive (be it carrot or stick) and software will come out. Instead it's about how resilient the process is to some sort of disruption.
Delivery Assurance addresses exactly this, and agile delivery is the most effective way I know of managing this risk. By pair programming you reduce the impact of a single person becoming unavailable or leaving the team. By applying the principles of test-driven (or behaviour-driven) development, you eliminate the risk of introducing regression defects into the codebase. Adaptive planning and tracking – and their resultant incremental steering and project funding – leverage this to provide programme-level adaptability. The requirements can change, the political environment can change, the goalposts can move, and you are still in with a chance of delivering something useful.
The more you can evolve an organisation's evolvability, the more resilient you make it to change, and the better it can adapt to changes, both internally and in the external market. As Kent Beck famously said, embrace change. It is inevitable, and your chances of survival are directly linked to your ability to evolve.
ps. Thanks are due to Mats Helander for the casual comment that inspired this article.
Nicely said Dan! As a lot of talk, sometimes under the heading of "fragilist" has been taking place lately, I wonder if you see a conflict that I have been noticing. Many agile aficionados tell those resistant or unsuccessful at adopting agile techniques that you must adopt all of them and "do them right", whatever that means, to be successful. I think reality is that organizations need to evolve as you point out here. So do leaders need to find a way to define success differently so they can see progress as they evolve toward agile methods?
Definitely. Some practices work together to be greater than the sum of the parts, so for instance tracking is far more effective if you have a good definition of "done", in the form of automated acceptance tests. But any tracking is better than no tracking, so you can start with the obvious stuff and introduce the more advanced techniques once the team gains trust in the process.
Trust me, it never was.
gone through those nice lifecycles they tell you about in CompSci classes.
without fail. Always. In biology, and in software.
I have led them, and been on them, and done those things.
If, by major software project vs niche project you intend to say something about the size of the project, I think you ought to be more specific.
And what is a "nice lifecycle"? We all know that lifecycle models are an abstraction, and that abstractions are inherently wrong, if you are expecting one to be correct at every level of detail.
You are correct–software isn't designed.


text:
WHY COMMONWEALTH LAND
Our TeamBailey2022-01-03T15:11:36+00:00
Mark W. Claud, CCIM, CPM
mclaud@commonwealthland.com
Scott Keeton
Managing Director – Sales & Leasing
skeeton@commonwealthland.com
William "Bill" Barnett, ALC, CCIM
Senior Vice President | Partner
bbarnett@commonwealthland.com
Hawes "Hank" Campbell, IV
Senior Vice President – Land Sales
hcampbell@commonwealthland.com
Joe Buhrman
jbuhrman@commonwealthland.com
Vice President – Land Sales
cjenkins@commonwealthland.com
T: 804-228-4928 C: 804-922-6364
Randy Cosby
rcosby@commonwealthland.com
Associate – Land Sales
Brian Reinhart
Forestry Consultant
breinhart@commonwealthland.com
Philip Berry
Director of IT
pberry@commonwealthland.com
Sallie Pruitt
Digital Marketing Director
spruitt@commonwealthland.com
T: 804-215-1863 x344
E hcampbell@commonwealthland.com
Timberland Acquisition & Disposition
Farmland Acquisition & Disposition
Commercial & Development Land
Land Asset Valuation Consulting Services
As Senior Vice President with Commonwealth Land (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC), Hank specializes in rural real estate with a strong concentration in the brokerage of timberland and farmland.
Hank joined Commonwealth in 2002. He has continued a practice of real estate services focused primarily on the brokerage of timberland and agricultural land, as well as commercial land. Hank has offered seller and buyer representation services to Timberland Investment Management Organizations, private partnerships and conservation groups, and numerous other large land owners across Virginia.
Prior to Commonwealth, Hank joined Virginia Realty & Relocation (1994), where he focused his practice on rural estates and agricultural properties across Central Virginia.
Hank received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1992 where he was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Society for Leadership and recipient of the Anna Carrington Harrison Award for Leadership. Hank holds his Broker's license and is a Graduate of the Realtors Institute (GRI).
Hank is a member of the Virginia Association of Realtors. He has offered his leadership skills to the community where he is involved in activities with the Maymont Foundation, the Virginia Forestry Association, the James River Association, Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Coastal Conservation Association. Hank has also served on the Annual Fund Board for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Over the last 20 years, Hank has sold over 90,000± acres of rural real estate across the state of Virginia. These properties consisted of institutionally and privately-owned timberland, as well as farmland and commercial land.
E skeeton@commonwealthland.com
Brokerage Management and Development
Service Line Growth
As Managing Director of Sales and Leasing at Commonwealth Land, Scott is responsible for the operation and growth of the Brokerage Division. These responsibilities include long-term strategic planning, business development, training and recruitment.
Scott has over 20 years of experience in corporate real estate and commercial real estate services including brokerage and research. He spent the last 5 years working in corporate real estate at Dominion Energy. There he led and advised business units in real estate acquisitions and dispositions, executed transactions on behalf of various units within the company, and created value with existing assets. He also analyzed portfolios of various companies to create efficiencies and monetize surplus assets. He was also instrumental in forming and executing transactions on behalf of the solar land acquisition team.
Prior to that, Scott worked at Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL) where he developed a consulting and brokerage practice focused primarily on industrial and redevelopment projects. He represented property owners, users, and investors and gained experience in all aspects of real estate from site selection and development to disposition of surplus assets; valuation and performance; business development; and drafting and negotiating leases and purchase agreements on behalf of clients. Before JLL, Scott spent 6 years at GVA Advantis.
He has been quoted in many publications including the Washington Post and Virginia Business and has earned many awards including a GRACRE Best Industrial Deal in 2017.
Bachelor of Arts from the James Madison University
Master's degree in Urban Planning from the University of Virginia
Multiple CoStar Power Broker Awards
GRACRE Best Industrial Deal Award (2017)
Member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and the Duke Club
E bbarnett@commonwealthland.com
Seller Representations Services
Fee Consulting Services
As a partner with Commonwealth Land, Bill specializes in the brokerage of rural real estate including farms, timberland, waterfront and recreational properties. Bill created a system of tracking buyers, owners and transactions that has been elevated by brokers at Commonwealth Land to provide an unparalleled resource to our clients.
Bill joined Commonwealth in 2001 after a 27 year association with Joyner & Company Realtors where he was Director of the Land Department. Bill has participated in the transfer of hundreds of thousands of acres of rural property. Recent large waterfront transactions include Brandon Plantation (4600 acres), Ware Creek Preserve (2700 acres), Corbin Hall (2038 acres), Hollyfield Farm (1140 acres) and Malvern Hill (870 acres).
Bill has a bachelor of Arts from the College of William and Mary and he holds a broker's license in Virginia and North Carolina. He is recognized regionally and statewide for his understanding on the highest and best use of land.
Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM)
Accredited Land Consultant (ALC)
Past Chairman of the Commercial Council of the Virginia Association of Realtors
Past member of the Board of Director for the Virginia Forestry Education Foundation and past president of the Central Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP).
Outstanding Commercial Broker for Richmond Association of Realtors in 2004
Outstanding Salesman of the Year by Richmond Board of Realtors in 1980
Salesman of the Year for the Virginia Association of Realtors in 1981
E cjenkins@commonwealthland.com
Rural Land Investments
Chris specializes in large-acreage, rural real estate sales with a strong concentration in the brokerage of timberland, farmland and transitional land with higher and better use. Chris has experience working with large-acreage investment properties, conservation easements, high value home sites, and the emerging solar farm industry. Chris also has experience advising clients based on zoning, entitlements, utilities and development.
Prior to joining Commonwealth, Chris worked in marketing and business development for an investment firm in Norfolk, Virginia. Chris was responsible for account management, sales and marketing, lead generation, needs analysis, and post-sale service for multiple regional retail businesses.
B.S. Business Administration with a Concentration in Marketing and Business Analytics from Old Dominion University
Licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and North Carolina
ALC – Accredited Land Consultant
E jbuhrman@commonwealthland.com
As Senior Vice President with Commonwealth Land (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC), Joe specializes in commercial and rural real estate with a strong concentration in the brokerage of recreational land.
Joe entered into the commercial real estate business after selling his family business, Buhrman and Sons, Inc., a retail and wholesale distributor of John Deere farm, timber and consumer products. He joined Commonwealth in 2002 and has actively been involved in land sales in Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Goochland and New Kent counties.
Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Richmond.
Joe has been involved in land sales across the state of Virginia and has developed a comprehensive knowledge of the different markets, enabling him to guide his clients to the properties best suited for their objectives.
E rcosby@commonwealthland.com
As a member of Commonwealth Land (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC), Randy has developed a strong expertise for large acreage timberland, agricultural and recreational land sales. Randy has helped construct an in-house research platform that monitors large acreage sales and identifies active buyers and sellers throughout Virginia and North Carolina.
Prior to joining Commonwealth Land, Randy worked in the heavy equipment industry for a CAT dealer in Richmond, Virginia. Randy was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of multiple service areas. Since joining Commonwealth Land, Randy has participated in land sales throughout Virginia, ranging from the Shenandoah Valley to Chesapeake, Virginia.
Bachelor of Science in Crop and Soil Environmental Science from Virginia Tech. Licensed in Virginia & North Carolina.
North Carolina Real Estate License
Member of Urban Land Institute
Serves on the Richmond Ducks Unlimited Committee
Involved in large acreage land sales throughout throughout Virginia and North Carolina.
T 804-2793-0065
E breinhart@commonwealthland.com
As Managing Director of Broadleaf Forestry Company, LLC, Brian oversees all aspects of the company's operations, including oversight of all forest management, timberland investment, and timber marketing activities.
Brian has over twenty years of experience in the forest products and timber industry, starting as a forest technician for a hardwood sawmill located in central Virginia in 1995, and then later as a procurement forester. He has been an "in-the-woods" forester most of his career.
In 2004, Brian started working with landowners as a forestry consultant. He has extensive experience with forest management, forest finance, timber inventories, GIS mapping, timber sales, harvesting operations, and timberland investment acquisitions/dispositions. His two areas of advanced expertise, timber sale services and forest management, are the primary services he currently provides to landowners.
Prior to Broadleaf Forestry, Brian was a consulting forester with Precision Forestry, Columbia Forest Resources, and served as Vice-President of Operations for Upton Timber Company.
Registered Forester NC#1688
Licensed Forester SC#1812
VA Sharp #254
VA Certified Prescribed Fire Manager
As Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Land (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC), Mark is responsible for the operational long-term planning for all company functions, including strategy and allocation of resources. Mark also remains active in the transactional side of the business.
Mark founded Commonwealth Commercial in 1996. Since that time, he has continued a varied practice in commercial real estate, including asset management, leasing, acquisition, disposition and consulting services.
In 2008 Mark saw the need for a singularly focused real estate asset management company and founded StreamCo, LLC. StreamCo has grown in scope and presence and provides services in 14 states, with over 175 assets and over 15 million square feet. In 2010 Mark helped facilitate the merger with Afton Hospitality, LLC into Commonwealth Lodging Management, LLC, a top 50 company in US hospitality management firms. Also in the late 2000's, Mark helped forge a partnership between Commonwealth Commercial and Lingerfelt Companies to establish a vertically integrated real estate fund management firm, Lingerfelt Commonwealth.
In 2016 Mark and Brian Reinhart created Broadleaf Forestry, a multifaceted forestry services company. The following year, Mark founded the rural land sales company, Commonwealth Land, a subsidiary of Commonwealth Commercial.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Bachelor of Science Degree in Business, with a Major of Management. CCIM.
CCIM – Commercial Investment Real Estate Member
CPM – Certified Property Manager
Virginia Council of CEOs
Advisory Board Member of Virginia Tech Real Estate Program
Investment Committee Member of Lingerfelt Commonwealth Income Fund and Commonwealth Opportunity Fund
Serves on Various Boards and Directorships
E baltaffer@commonwealthland.com
E pberry@commonwealthland.com
CRM Administration
As a CRM Administrator / Data Analyst, Phil is responsible for database development and analysis. These responsibilities include software development, software integration, database management, data analytics, and training.
Prior to joining Commonwealth Land, Phil worked for a Software company in Midlothian, VA. Phil was a Product Specialist with a focus on Salesforce Integration and CRM best practices.
Phil graduated from West Virginia University with a BA in Communication Studies
Certified in coding languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Alum of the WVU Swimming & Diving team.
Phil is an active member in the Richmond Salesforce User Group and Developer Community
Marketing Strategy Framework
As Director of Digital Marketing for Commonwealth Land (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC), Sallie is responsible for the digital marketing platform.
Sallie began her career in marketing working for Colliers International out of Atlanta, Georgia. She later joined Retail Insight as a Tenant Representative Broker and handled the marketing for Regional and National Retailers throughout Georgia. Sallie and her family moved to Richmond in 2010 and she was named the IT and Marketing Director for CCA Financial. Sallie joined Commonwealth Commercial in 2016 as the Director of Marketing and took over as the Director of Digital Marketing in 2018.
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from The University of South Carolina in 2006.
Commonwealth Commercial Partners

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Jay Allen Knows the Power of the Right Person in 'Cool' [Listen]
Angela Stefano Published: August 10, 2020
Jay Allen knows that the right person can make you feel like a rockstar. The country newbie honors the woman who has him thinking he's Superman in his new single "Cool."
In Allen's new song, love has him feeling way cooler than he is: like "a certified big-city gangster ... with a grill made of 24-karat gold" and "a rockstar at a rock show." (In real life, he's in a longterm relationship with fellow rising artist Kylie Morgan.)
"She make me wear my sunglasses at night / Never take em off 'cause my future's so bright / Go downtown, buy the bar a round on me / Put a hundo in the jukebox," Allen sings in the uptempo chorus. "She's like a backstage pass to my favorite band / I'm on top of the world when I'm holding her hand / I'm like Superman actin' a fool / There ain't nothing that I can't do / She make me feel coo-oo-ool."
Ben Burgess and Jason Mater co-write "Cool," which is the first outside cut for Allen, who's spent recent years working as a songwriter in Nashville. It was a decision that initially came with some trepidation.
"I didn't write it, and I didn't know if it was authentic to who I am as an artist. But after being on the road and playing it live over the last few years, I've seen how well it so naturally connects to country music fans," Allen says of "Cool." "It's fun, it has energy and swag, it makes people dance, and it just feels like a hit."
Allen previously earned looks with his song "Blank Stares," written for his mother, who battled Alzheimer's disease prior to her death at the age of 54 in February of 2019. The Iowa native, who was raised on a farm, is the flagship artist on Mickey Jack Cones' Verge Records.
These Five Artists Are Hot Under the Radar in 2020:
Filed Under: Jay Allen
Categories: Country Music News, Country Songs


Some contractors have a television antenna set up on their brand-new houses while others leave this up to the brand-new property owner. Either way, these installations are normally fairly simple, requiring a roofing system install, antenna, cable, splitter and access into the ceiling area to finish the hook up to the internal cables run by the electrician. In circumstances where a house hub is installed the antenna cable will be linked directly to the distribution center.
A digital meter is used to site the antenna for best signal reception and to evaluate the outlet points in the home in Kitchener. If the signal strength is bad an amplifier may be used to boost the inbound signal to offer excellent images.
An antenna might give poor results or stop working for a number of factors. Plastics become fragile gradually and might break in high winds or storms. Large birds can take their toll in addition to close-by tree branches whipping about in the wind. Ingress of water and corrosion in the balun can be a problem, and the cable ought to remain in great condition.
Older houses may have flat ribbon cable which is susceptible to breakage and this should be replaced with excellent quality coax cable.
Where flat ribbon has actually been utilized in unit structures it is generally unable to be replaced except by running new cable. Depending on the building, cable televisions can be often changed internally, however where this is impossible they must be run externally on the building surface areas. The appearance of the structure has to be taken into account if this option is being considered.
Digital only signal and modifications in TV antenna design has actually led to antennas which are more efficient, lighter and smaller than a lot of older TELEVISION antennas. This should indicate not only much better results in image quality, but also a less visible addition to the structure.
Although Newcastle is blessed with an abundance of warm days, harsh weather condition can cause hold-ups to occur to antenna work. It becomes rather dangerous to walk around angled roofs and OH&S concerns enter play.
This may cause jobs to be rescheduled from time to time which may be a trouble, but security of our specialists is an essential issue.
Wall plates and splitters can be the reason for some reception problems. Nowadays most connections are made using F type ports which are more trustworthy than the older saddle and screw style. They are more safe and secure and less susceptible to deterioration.
Wall plates in rented buildings in Kitchener frequently end up being loose from over use through a succession of occupants. This is less of an issue in personal residences as furnishings is less likely to moved.
Areas which receive poor signal levels can take advantage of the antenna installation of signal amplifiers (or booster) to increase their reception. There are mast head amplifiers which are utilized in fixed positions and portable indoor amplifiers which are more fit to momentary circumstances such as leased facilities, outdoor camping and caravaning.
Mast head amplifiers are mounted outdoors on the antenna mast with a power pack set up at one of the TELEVISION points in the home. This power pack must remain plugged into this TV point and switched on to supply power to the amplifier. In this case the amplifier will increase the signal to all points linked to the antenna.
Keep in mind– depending on the Signal Strength and the number of Antenna Outlets in your house, some Antenna Installations may require a Antenna Amplifier or "Booster". Cost is additional to phone quote, and is established upon site examination.
We specialise in TV Wall Mounting of ALL kinds of TV's consisting of Plasma, LCD and LED equipment all over Sydney. Integrating leading edge product competence with the latest technology and imaginative, personalised support, Sydney Antenna Solutions offers you with the solution to meet the particular requirements of your home or business.


text:
Chris Stapleton(II)
Chris Stapleton was born on 15 April 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for The Predator (2018), The Midnight Sky (2020) and The Do-Over (2016). He has been married to Morgane Stapleton since 27 October 2007. They have five children.
BornApril 15, 1978
26 wins & 52 nominations
Soundtrack("Midnight Train to Memphis")
Soundtrack("Tennessee Whiskey")
Soundtrack("Crash and Burn")
Soundtrack("Arkansas")
Actor6
Composer2
Soundtrack35
Archive Footage7
Taylor Swift: I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version)
Chris Stapleton (voice)
Chris Stapleton: Second One to Know
Ed Sheeran, Chris Stapleton & Bruno Mars: Blow
Chris Stapleton (singing voice)
Wildling Wight (uncredited)
Justin Timberlake: Say Something
Chris Stapleton: Fire Away
6′ (1.83 m)
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Morgane StapletonOctober 27, 2007 - present (5 children)
Former frontman for The Steeldrivers (2008-2010).


The therapeutic use of herbs and nutrition, herbal capsule for animals.
Massage to fine-tune a blood circulation and energy in the body.
Depending on your pet's element and characteristic which is diverse and vary, we diagnose and select the appropriate method to deal with disease differently for a best result. This way of treatment couldn't be found in the current medicine.
The alternative treatment, particularly acupuncture, can be used as a treatment for each of body systems. On one hand, it can be used together with herbs and nutrition to avoid medications which adversely affect to liver and kidney. On the other hand, using acupuncture aligning with the current medicine could also be an option.
While a well-being pet is a result from an acupuncture, a scientific explanation underpins this outcome. Beta-Endorphin produced when doing an acupuncture helps on relaxing and reducing the pain. The alternative medicine can be applied on a variety of diseases, for instance, diseases of the nervous system and muscular system such as Seizures and Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, respiratory system, endocrine system, or even cancer to give animals a good quality of life and avoid suffering from pain.
The veterinary alternative treatment should be done constantly. Depending on the response in each animal to the treatment, herbs and nutrition will be adjusted to the size and needs of animal. An acupuncture session may be arranged 1-2 times a week with 30 minutes per session in the beginning and continuously keeping track of treatment for the effectiveness.


If we put the number if the middle at around, say, three years, $45M for Kimbrel, it's at least a starting point for contenders to think about. For a team like the Phillies, there's at least a chance Kimbrel could slide in under the $17.8M the team has left under the luxury tax umbrella.
Kimbrel, 31, owns a 1.91 ERA across 532.2 career innings. That includes 333 saves, including leading the league every year between 2011-2014. Kimbrel has pitched for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox.
Based on early-season results, the NL East could be decided by which team lands Kimbrel. Despite issues in Philadelphia's bullpen, the Nationals and Braves likely need the veteran power arm most in order to keep pace with the Phillies and Mets this summer.


This firm are ahead of their rivals in providing excellent conveyancing services. The successful Conveyancer will join this highly successful firm which has an enviable reputation in the market place.
The successful Conveyancer will deal with freehold and leasehold transactions (circa 100) including newbuild, unregistered and shared ownership properties, a minimum of 2 years experience is essential.
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Residential Conveyancer that is looking for a better work life balance where they are able to work full or part time from home. Apply now for immediate consideration!!


Advanced Placement Computer Science is a fast-paced course meant to replicate a college introductory programming class. The prerequisites are successful completion of Algebra II course , strong reading skills and a willingness to work hard!
This course will cover fundamentals of programming syntax and methodology using the Java programming language. Java is a good choice because it has all the features expected of a modern langage while having fewer subtleties than, for example, C++. Java is also one of the languages in the highest demand in industry.
The course will be based on University of Washington's excellent CSE 142 course and students can qualify for UW credit through the UW in the HS program. Many thanks to Marty Stepp and Stuart Reges for the use their excellent materials.


Before we start the tests, a down payment is required upfront.
We accept your payment by PAYPAL, Bank transfer, Moneybookers and Western Union.
We can guarantee you 100% passing all testing programs for you.
Generally speaking, though we can complete all the testing programs within 7-10 working days, we promise a time limit of a maximum of 20 working days. If we can't complete all the relevant tests for you in 20 working days, we will give you a full refund.


Wide range of Trocellen product are offered to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) applications.
Trocellen insulation materials can be easily applied to various solutions through a process used by local technologies at OEM customers.
Our materials offer a very high performance in terms of durability and constant thermal insulation as well as mechanical stability.
Trocellen tested after 23 years of operation found the same insulating value.
Test reports available on request.


text:
Q: in radio form using css input[type="radio"] checked not working I created a mood barometer with a radio form and want to keep only img as a selector. When I hover and press the image I want to keep it bigger when selected. With hover it works but when pressed doesn't keep its size.
I've tried with input[type="radio"]:checked and focus, but it doesn't work.
Any ideas? I cant change the HTML code because its a WordPress plugin (Forminator), I can only change the CSS.

.forminator-radio .forminator-radio-bullet {
  position: absolute !important;
  opacity: 0 !important;
  width: 0 !important;
  height: 0 !important;
}

.forminator-radio .forminator-radio-label img.emoji {
  height: 40px !important;
  width: 40px !important;
  padding: 0 5px;
}

.forminator-radio .forminator-radio-label img.emoji:hover,
.forminator-radio-label:focus {
  height: 60px !important;
  width: 60px !important;
}

    <input id="68326-0-answer-1" type="radio" data-required="" name="68326" value="answer-1">

    <input id="68326-0-answer-2" type="radio" data-required="" name="68326" value="answer-2">

    <input id="68326-0-answer-3" type="radio" data-required="" name="68326" value="answer-3">

A: To do what you require you can use an additional rule which sets the emoji size when the input is checked:
.forminator-radio input:checked ~ .forminator-radio-label img.emoji

This selector targets any checked radio input, then retrieves the label sibling and finally it's child img.
Here's a working example:

.forminator-radio .forminator-radio-bullet {
  position: absolute !important;
  opacity: 0 !important;
  width: 0 !important;
  height: 0 !important;
}

.forminator-radio .forminator-radio-label img.emoji {
  height: 40px !important;
  width: 40px !important;
  padding: 0 5px;
}

.forminator-radio .forminator-radio-label img.emoji:hover,
.forminator-radio input:checked ~ .forminator-radio-label img.emoji,
.forminator-radio-label:focus {
  height: 60px !important;
  width: 60px !important;
}

    <input id="68326-0-answer-1" type="radio" data-required="" name="68326" value="answer-1">

    <input id="68326-0-answer-2" type="radio" data-required="" name="68326" value="answer-2">

    <input id="68326-0-answer-3" type="radio" data-required="" name="68326" value="answer-3">

One thing to note here is that I would strongly suggest you stop using !important everywhere. Use selector specificity to override, not flags.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Maven exec with ProcessBuilder stops processing I am running my code as;
mvn exec:java@xxxxxxxxxxxx -Dexec.args="hello"

I don't know why but somehow it stops processing. It is getting stuck after 10 or 20 seconds. But this is happening with the ProcessBuilder;
Here is how I run it:
public static long runCommandLine(String commandLineArgs){
        try {
            ProcessBuilder pb = new ProcessBuilder("cmd.exe", "/c", commandLineArgs);
            Process process = pb.start();
            if(!commandLineArgs.contains("runner")) {
                BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(process.getInputStream()));
                while ((reader.readLine()) != null) { /*haha*/}
                process.waitFor();
            }
            return process.pid();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
            return 0;
        }
    }

I send the .bat file's path to the method as an argument (String commandLineArgs);
.bat file contains lines:
cd C:/xxxx/%username%/xxx
mvn exec:java@xxxxxxxxxxxx -Dexec.args="hello"

If I run the .bat file manually, everything is okay. But with the ProcessBuilder it will get stuck after a while.
pom.xml configutarion:
<plugin>
                    <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
                    <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                    <version>1.6.0</version>
                    <executions>
                        <execution>
                            <id>xxxxxxxx</id>
                            <configuration>
                                <mainClass>xxxxxxxxxxx</mainClass>
                            </configuration>
                        </execution>
                   </executions>
</plugin>

A: The cause of a process apparently pausing some time after ProcessBuilder.start() is often related to your application not consuming the stdout and stderr streams as they are generated. So if not calling redirectError/redirectOutput(File) as suggested, just set up a Runnable/Thread to consume both of getInputStream / getErrorStream.

A: as khmarbaise mentioned "ProcessBuilder.redirectError and ProcessBuilder.redirectOutput should be used and afterwards you can read from it...", the solution is adding redirects.


text:
Battlefield: Decisive Conflicts in History
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Dimension: H: 1.2 x L: 9.1 x W: 6.1 inches
The Peloponnesian war, the decisive English victory at Agincourt, the brilliant sea battle of Trafalgar, the bloody three day struggle at Gettysburg, the ferocious fighting on the beaches of Normandy on D Day this exciting book tells the stories of the most dramatic, memorable, and important conflicts in world history.
This superb, one volume reference begins with the battle of Megiddo, fought by the ancient Egyptians, and takes the reader through to the Second Gulf war of 2003. On the way it describes almost 300 battles from around the world from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as well as from Europe and the Americas. All the battles are grouped in chapters which tell the wider story of a particular era or region, whether it be the ancient world (the campaigns of Alexander the Great or the Punic Wars) or Asia and the Middle East (the Vietnam War, the Second Gulf War). Each chapter includes an introduction that sets out the historical, tactical, and technological context, and looks at current debates among military historians. In addition, individual battles are placed clearly within the wars and campaigns of which they formed a part, allowing readers to follow the details of the battle and understand its military and historical implications.
With detailed maps, a wide range of illustrations, and an extensive index that gives the reader instant access to historical figures, locations, battle formations, and much more, Battlefield offers a gold mine of information for everyone interested in world or military history.


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Karanis Site Museum est un musée d'archéologie situé à Fayoum, Gouvernorat du Fayoum, en Moyenne-Égypte.

Le musée présente des objets de l'Égypte antique provenant de Crocodilopolis et de la région de l'oasis du Fayoum.

Index égyptologique
Musée égyptologique

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Take Your Crew Out for a Party in a Victorville Party Bus. Next time you would like to truly impress your group, you need to pull out all the stops to show them a great time. Show them you care by planning a night on the town they'll rave about for years to come. With a Victorville CA party bus, you celebrate with your buddies in a premium, loaded vehicle during a tour around the town's most popular hot spots.
There are likely going to be some in your group that want to do some dancing. Teazers (92395) is the place for you to show off your best moves. DJ will be playing tunes to intended to get you to boogie will have you grooving all night long. If you were wanting to visit Laguna Woods, Placentia, Orange, Newport Beach, or San Clemente, then we've got you covered! Our services expand across the whole state.If a cozy lounge with some live music is more your thing, you will find it at Center Stage Lounge (92395). A hip crowd sways along to the sounds of talented local acts looking for their big break. The setting is intimate and you're probably going to chat up the group sitting at the next booth over. No trip around this city is complete without a visit to a classic dive bar, Gators Sports Bar & Grill (92395). This tavern has your typical bar food, like nachos, chicken wings, and tacos for when you get the munchies. There are plenty of TVs to see the game, or play some pool at one of several tables.
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ITMO: Russian Team Scores Resounding Victory at First European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI 2021)
AcademicsInternational NewsUniversity News
By iednewsdesk	 On Jun 21, 2021
A team of Russian school students helmed by an ITMO coach has demonstrated brilliant results at EGOI 2021. All of the team members Daria Grekova, Ekaterina Poray, Alisa Gladchenko, and Ekaterina Shilyaeva – brought home gold medals. Alisa Gladchenko and Ekaterina Shilyaeva also took the top two spots on the competition's leaderboard.
The (EGOI) is a new programming competition for young women under the age of 20. The first competition took place in Zürich, Switzerland, and was organized by the committee of the Swiss Olympiad in Informatics. In the following years, the competition will be hosted by different countries.
The olympiad aims to support young women interested in computer science and increase their involvement in IT. Globally, there is a significant gender gap among IT specialists: as noted by the organizers, women made up only 10% of the participants of the Swiss Olympiad in Informatics.
Similarly to the International Olympiad in Informatics, the competition consisted of two stages. Each country was represented by a team of four school students and two coaches. In total, the competition brought together 156 young women from 39 countries, including the USA, Brazil, Japan, and Canada. The Russian team participated in the olympiad remotely from the Sirius Educational Center, where its members are taking a specialized course. The team was headed by Andrey Stankevich, an associate professor at ITMO's and the coach of ICPC-winning teams, as well as Elena Andreeva, the head of the Department of Informatics at Kolmogorov Boarding School of Lomonosov Moscow State University.
The team was formed based on the results of the final round of the National Olympiad in Informatics. Its members have for a long time demonstrated outstanding results in computer science and have been studying at Sirius for several years.
As noted by Andrey Stankevich, the team hasn't trained specifically for the olympiad for several reasons, one being that it was held for the first time. Apart from the Sirius programs, the students studied informatics with their own tutors.
"We knew we had a strong team. The competition was tough, but our girls managed to achieve, perhaps, the best possible results. We couldn't wish for more. They won four gold medals, Ekaterina Shilyaeva and Alisa Gladchenko ranked first, and Daria Grekova and Ekaterina Poray scored the second-highest number of points. We're all very proud of them," comments Andrey Stankevich.
Alisa Gladchenko grew up in Yekaterinburg, studied at the Specialized Educational and Scientific Center of Ural Federal University, and got into the Center for Teaching Excellence in Moscow. Now, she is about to finish school and plans to pursue her career in IT. Ekaterina Shilyaeva studies at the Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 31 in Chelyabinsk. Ekaterina Poray goes to the Letovo School in Moscow, and the youngest participant, Daria Grekova, is a seventh-grade student at School No. 2007 in Moscow.
ITMO
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Catholic Men's Breakfast: You're invited!!
February 5th (Saturday) 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
FATHERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING THEIR SONS AT NO CHARGE!
Comments: Comments Off on Catholic Men's Breakfast: You're invited!!
In what will likely be my only attempt to participate in this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (in addition to a few meager prayers for that intention), I took time today to breathe with the other lung by watching/listening to this recent talk by Metropolitan Jonah of the OCA. His prior training in eastern monasticism gives his presentations a credibility and a depth that really draws me in.
The title of his talk, "Do not resent, do not react, keep inner stillness," proposes three principles of living the Christian life taught by the Eastern Fathers. Underlying the successful implementation of these principles is the practice of intentional silence – a proposition highly incongruous with the busyness and wordiness of our current American culture.
Let us take refuge in the Lord and ascend a little to the place where thoughts dry up and stirrings vanish, where memories fade away and the passions die, where human nature becomes serene and is transformed as it stands in the other world.
He proceeds to teach how, through, silence, prayer, and repentance, we can ascend above the rational two-dimensional "Etch-A-Sketch" level of consciousness to attain the highest levels of spiritual maturity, having our senses transformed through the grace that comes with entering into cooperation with God. Then the entire creation will shimmer with God, and we'll see God's presence in everyone and everything, and all of creation is made new before our eyes. The highest level is to know the Father in the Son by the Holy Spirit, so that we can dare to say "Our Father".
As we grow deeper and deeper in this spiritual maturity, we can become more like God, especially in his compassion and forgiveness. The grace of God's presence within us will enable us to root out the criticisms, condemnations, and judgments to which we are so prone. Our increasingly compassionate and forgiving heart will empower us to practice not reacting, not resenting, and keeping our inner stillness.
As an example of the effectiveness of this path, he concludes his talk with an emotional testimony of apparition, healing, and forgiveness involving Matushka Olga, who has been supernaturally assisting abused and battered women.
While John Paul II is getting all the press, here's another role model for Catholic men.
When the psalmody of the Divine Office is executed with a gentle discipline and a joyful élan, it generates a healing experience of the tranquility of order.
it reminds me of my own similar sentiments after hearing the monks of Mount Saviour Monastery pray the Divine Office on my first visit in 1984.
Brian Patrick interviewed Patti Armstrong on the Son Rise Morning Show today between 7:30 and 7:45 (heard on our local Catholic radio station). The discussion centered on a new movie (with which I am not familiar) about exorcism. During the interview, she was highly complimentary of Scranton's own Msgr John Esseff, and referred to him multiple times. Apparently, she used him as a resource for an article she's writing about this movie. She said the article should appear on her website next week. She related that Msgr Esseff told her that, in his 53 years involved with exorcism and investigating situations allegedly demonic, he has encountered only two cases that he considered to be actual demonic possession. Many others involved lesser, but still serious, degrees of oppression, infestation, etc.
I'll try to remember to pass along an update when Patti's article is available.
The overarching theme is Duc in altum, "put out into the deep".
As the Council itself explained, this ideal of perfection must not be misunderstood as if it involved some kind of extraordinary existence, possible only for a few "uncommon heroes" of holiness. The ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each individual. I thank the Lord that in these years he has enabled me to beatify and canonize a large number of Christians, and among them many lay people who attained holiness in the most ordinary circumstances of life. The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction.
But what does this mean in practice? Here too, our thoughts could run immediately to the action to be undertaken, but that would not be the right impulse to follow. Before making practical plans, we need to promote a spirituality of communion, making it the guiding principle of education wherever individuals and Christians are formed, wherever ministers of the altar, consecrated persons, and pastoral workers are trained, wherever families and communities are being built up. A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us. A spirituality of communion also means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as "those who are a part of me". This makes us able to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship. A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as a "gift for me". A spirituality of communion means, finally, to know how to "make room" for our brothers and sisters, bearing "each others' burdens" (Gal 6:2) and resisting the selfish temptations which constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy. Let us have no illusions: unless we follow this spiritual path, external structures of communion will serve very little purpose. They would become mechanisms without a soul, "masks" of communion rather than its means of expression and growth.
Sherry Weddell of the Catherine of Siena Institute has been generating a number of eye-opening posts recently on the Institute's "Intentional Disciples" blog. I highly recommend her four posts from December 31st. She has gained tremendous insights into Catholic evangelization, catechesis and discipleship as a result of her prayer, study, and travels to give seminars at parishes. I'm glad she is taking the time to share her insights with us via the blog.


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Tag Archives: UNDP
Sex imperialism
Posted on 24 September 2013 by scottlong1980
Let me take that off for you: Oprah's liberation strip show
In early 2001, Oprah Winfrey made a famous appearance at Madison Square Garden, for "V-Day," Eve Ensler's enormous, $1000-a-ticket benefit for feminism. What happened is etched in many memories (there were cheaper seats, too), but I'll let Ms. Magazine describe. Oprah performed "Under the Burqa," a kind of inverted "Over the Rainbow" about a foreign land:
a heart-wrenching, spine-tingling story written by Ensler to personify the daily terror and misery of women's lives in Afghanistan under the Taliban's harsh gender apartheid rule. Oprah Winfrey gave an "Oscar-winning" performance to the piece as she described women in Afghanistan crying out in pain with no one to hear or acknowledge their suffering, because in Afghanistan life for women under the brutal Taliban hardly exists. An Afghan woman wearing the all-inhibiting burqa appeared as vocal sounds of pain and agony filled Madison Square Garden.
The woman crept up behind Oprah over the stage. As the audience gasped over the misery-murmurs soundtrack, Oprah turned and lifted the burqa off her. Thundering cheers! The tableau of liberation was entrancing. It told us that freedom lay in the hands of Westerners to give; that we were the voices, the hands, the absent lives, of others; and that the gift would be easy, like Superwoman getting a phone-booth makeover – "the 'hey presto' transformation of suffering into strength with the flick of a hem," as Noy Thrupkaew wrote. This was imperialism lite, no boots on the ground; all you needed was a celebrity and a portable article of clothing. Just over six months later we all would be at war, and while these lessons may not have been too useful for the travails ahead, they were remembered. Eleven days after the September 11 attacks, CNN aired a film on the burqa in Afghanistan; it became its most-watched documentary ever. Six weeks later, Laura Bush would assure the nation that "The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women." If the fight turned out longer and harder than expected, still the image and ideal remained, an emancipation embodied in omnipresent Oprah and hence impossible to escape, through all the ravages of Fallujah and Bagram and Abu Ghraib. One of the sponsoring organizations for victorious "V-Day" was a group called Equality Now.
Equality Now, founded in 1992, is a US organization fighting to diffuse worldwide the waning impulses of absolutist Western feminism from forty years ago. It campaigns for reproductive rights but, even more militantly, against pornography and prostitution. It's also been exceptionally good at publicity, particularly by recruiting that kind of American celebrity who believes their fame is an anointing – that they can use it to liberate the tired, the poor, the war-torn, and also the wrongly dressed and inappropriately employed. Julia Stiles! Joss Wheedon! Glenn Close and Oprah! Equality Now is at it again this week, with a campaign aimed at the drab and unexciting UN; no institution is intrinsically unsexy, and already the publicity machine is starting to roll. There's a campaign page at Tina Brown's Daily Beast, headlined "Call to Arms"; there are the endorsements from the famous and the only-slightly-faded. The aim is to roll back more than a decade of progress at the UN, and around the world, in safeguarding sex workers' health and safety.
Beauty and the Daily Beast: Equality Now campaign page
The campaign stems from a year-old letter that Equality Now organized to Helen Clark, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As Prime Minister of New Zealand, Clark oversaw the law reform that decriminalized sex work in her country in 2003. FInding her unreceptive to their solicitations, Equality Now called for public protest. They want you to write to UNDP, UNAIDS, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Women, but the gist is simple: Damn the evidence. Get me rewrite!
[We] express great concern about two recent reports on efforts to prevent HIV within the commercial sex industry: the Global Commission on HIV and the Law report HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights and Health ("Global Commission Report") released on 9 July 2012, and the UNDP, UNFPA and UNAIDS report Sex Work and the Law in Asia and the Pacific ("Asia Pacific Report") released on 18 October 2012. … [W]e are deeply concerned with both reports' incomplete and misleading information regarding the effects of decriminalizing prostitution and surrounding activities.
The two reports linked above are ground-breaking work. The former, by 14 distinguished jurists and experts including former Presidents of Botswana and Brazil, examines the role of the law in promoting or impeding effective responses to HIV/AIDS. The latter surveys 48 countries in the Asia / Pacific region, investigating how their legal regimes around sex work affect both health and human rights. Two aspects strike Equality Now as especially noxious.
ONE. The reports called on governments to "Decriminalise private and consensual adult sexual behaviours, including same-sex sexual acts and voluntary sex work" (Global Commission Report, p. 9). The Asia Pacific Report found that criminalization of "sex work or certain activities associated with sex work … increases vulnerability to HIV by fuelling stigma and discrimination, limiting access to HIV and sexual health services, condoms and harm reduction services, and adversely affecting the self esteem of sex workers and their ability to make informed choices about their health" (p. 1).
TWO. The reports called for a clear distinction, in policy, law, and public understanding, between sex work and sex trafficking, "which are not the same. The difference is that the former is consensual whereas the latter coercive."
Criminal sanctions against human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of minors are essential—but the laws must clearly differentiate these activities from consensual adult sex work. (Global Commission Report, p. 29)
The Asia Pacific Report said laws that conflate "human trafficking and sex work and define sex work as 'sexual exploitation' contribute to vulnerability, generate stigma and create barriers to HIV service delivery".
The unwillingness or inability of people to recognise that people can freely decide to engage in sex work means that sex workers are often automatically labelled as victims of trafficking when they are not. Often sex workers are portrayed as passive victims who need to be saved. Assuming that all sex workers are trafficked denies the autonomy and agency of people who sell sex. (pp. 3, 15)
"We respectfully request that you re-examine the findings and recommendations included in these two reports," Equality Now writes in civil UN-ese, meaning: Retract these conclusions, or else.
With a little help from the law: Anti-prostitution poster from World War II
Equality Now is an eradicationist organization. They believe all sex work is exploitation, and hence "trafficking." They want prostitution eliminated. To this end they're trying to press the so-called "Swedish model" on the UN; they claim it "addresses demand by decriminalizing the person in prostitution and criminalizing the buyers and pimps." This sits rather strangely with the headline they chose for their campaign, above: "Keeping Prostitution Illegal." In fact, though, that is what the "Swedish model" is about. It decriminalizes the "person in prostitution" about as much as traffic laws decriminalize the person in speeding car. The brothel raids and the stings on johns trawl up sex workers, not just clients, in their nets; police pick out and pick up sex workers, photograph them, stamp stigma on their lives; and there's always a battery of other policies and punishments — loitering and solicitation laws, civil forfeiture, seizing cars and homes, even taking children — that can be used to drive women out of sex work. Melissa Giri Grant notes,
A 2012 examination of prostitution-related felonies in Chicago … revealed that of 1,266 convictions during the past four years, 97 percent of the charges were made against sex workers [as opposed to clients and others], with a 68 percent increase between 2008 and 2011. This is during the same years that [eradicationist activists] lobbied for the Illinois Safe Children Act, meant to end the arrest of who the bill describes as "prostituted persons" and to instead target "traffickers" and buyers through wiretaps and stings. Since the Act's passage in 2010, only three buyers have been charged with a felony. These feminist-supported, headline-grabbing stunts subject young women to the humiliation of jail, legal procedures, and tracking through various law enforcement databases, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
The Global Commission report charges the Swedish model with "Victimising the 'victim.'"
The Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) has answered the claims Equality Now made in its letter; I won't recap its arguments here, save to note that Equality Now repeatedly misrepresents and distorts the results of studies. (For example: Equality Now asserts a government report in New Zealand found "no great change" in sex workers' access to health services, and use of safer sex, in the wake of of law reform. But the government report actually says something quite different — that effective, and sex-worker friendly, "HIV/AIDS prevention campaign that ran in the late 1980s" had already generated across-the-board improvements, hence the room for positive change was small. Meanwhile, a 2007 study by researchers at the University of Otago in Christchurch found that decriminalization had made sex workers more willing to choose and refuse clients, a right the reform law specifically guaranteed them — the numbers who felt they couldn't do so fell from 63% in 1999 to only 38% in 2006. They were also readier to report abuses to police, and in general more empowered about the conditions of their work.)
Gathering at the Wellington office of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, for the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, 2011
I will make two points, though. One is that Equality Now cultivates a rhetoric of care built round the idea of "Listening to Survivors." Listening is admirable; but in this case, it becomes an accusation against any and all opponents: those other people, the ones you're listening to, aren't real. Thus, one eradicationist cites a "survivor" approvingly:
To support decriminalising the sale of sex would be to support prostitution itself. … I believe if a prostitute or former prostitute wants to see prostitution legalised, it is because she is inured both to the wrong of it and to her own personal injury from it.
This is a moral rephrasing of the old Marxist claim of false consciousness: your class position, or in this case your sin, invalidates your voice and deafens my ears to your inauthentic pleas. Moreover, the audible "survivors" aren't so audible in the end. They fade into placeholders for institutions that can, and will, speak on their behalf. The letter to Helen Clark bemoans that "If the drafters of the reports – in particular the Asia Pacific Report – had consulted with a broader range of stakeholders, including anti-trafficking and women's rights organizations as well as trafficking survivors" — well, everything would have been different. In essence this means: Do nothing till you hear from me. In fact, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law held seven regional dialogues and reviewed 680 written submissions in its work. The Asia Pacific report draws on extensive consultations with advocacy groups, including sex worker groups, in the countries it analyzed. Integrating usually-unheard voices into the conversation is likely to rouse acute institutional anxieties; but you really can't just claim those voices were never there.
Listen to Carmen, fools. And now can we just pretend these "reports" you published never happened?
The second point is that, while Equality Now talks the talk of protecting the helpless against exploitation, its concerns flow from a different point where morality and politics, respectability and power, meet. Ninety-seven organizations signed the letter to Helen Clark; but while most of them seem dressed in the appealing-looking garments of sober feminism, quite a few are wearing a burqa underneath. For instance, Ruhama, a powerful Irish "anti-trafficking" group, sounds awfully progressive, opposing prostitution because it's so "deeply rooted in gender inequality and social marginalisation." Ruhama, though, is a front. Behind it lurk several Catholic religious orders which, for decades, imposed forced labor and virtual slavery on "fallen women" in the notorious Magdalene Laundries. Moral rigor and a quest to recover political authority drive its campaigning, not indignation at the gendered injustice its parent groups enforced for years.
There's a history behind this power quest. Anthropologist Laura Agustin argues that the earnest focus on "prostitution" as a social problem in Britain's 19th century came with the emergence of middle-class women as a group who needed occupations, purpose, and identities. "Social critics and philanthropists constructed an identity for 'the poor' in general, and 'prostitutes' in particular, which necessitated intervention, at the same period when the same critics, in need of and desiring employment, designated themselves as peculiarly suited to intervene."
Philanthropy came to be seen as an appropriate sphere of paid employment for middle-class women, who designated themselves as those authorised to care for a group of working-class women they designated prostitutes. Both groups were engaged in the search for livelihoods and a degree of independence during the development of industrial capitalism. In the new 'prostitution' discourse, both figures, the victim and the rescuer, belonged to a new vision of society in which good conduct was linked to bourgeois, domestic marriage and family.
Slumming with a purpose: Victorian philanthropists go in search of the deserving and undeserving poor
What Agustin doesn't say [in this article, I mean; see in the comments, below, for references to places where she's drawn out the implications!] is that this vision of "intervention" paralleled other interventions in the larger, political sphere: imperialism, militarism, the projection of British might, the growth of a governing class of males whose identities were built on intruding in other countries and morally recuperating other peoples. Deviant within and barbarian abroad were matching objects of colonial improvement.
Behind every successful empire is a good woman: France distributes the benefits of civilization to suitably impressed people in funny hats
Elizabeth Bernstein has pursued these ideas in a contemporary frame. She argues that "antitrafficking activism," as practiced by both feminists and their faith-based allies, "has been fueled by a shared commitment to carceral paradigms of social, and in particular gender, justice … and to militarized humanitarianism as the preeminent mode of engagement by the state." You fight the enemies of your version of liberation, at home and abroad. You need the big guns on your side; feminism turns to the State. The battle requires the government to flex its muscles, through its police under the streetlights of Chicago as much as through the soldier boys in the alleys of Kabul. It's no coincidence that Equality Now defines its demand for protests to the UN as a "call to arms." It's no coincidence that eradicationist Gloria Steinem, touring India and pressed to explain why she refused to dialogue with sex worker activists, fell back on a strange anti-Blitzkrieg rhetoric: "The truth seems to be that the invasion of the human body by another person – whether empowered by money or violence or authority — is de-humanising in itself. … [P]rostitution is the only [job] that by definition crosses boundary of our skin and invades our most central sense of self." Does she mean all prostitution is rape, or all penetrative sex is? Shouldn't we defend against an invasion by any means necessary — police, armies, the full panoply of power? Indeed, isn't the best defense maybe just invading something ourselves?
It's no coincidence, either, that both the war-cry against uncivilized and misogynistic Muslim peoples and the clamor to crack down on sex trafficking met in the receptive embrace of the Bush administration. Bush is gone, of course. But the powerful impulses are both still there. And their common feature, the guilty secret of their involuntary incursions, is still there too. The objects of rescue, the victims of intervention, don't get to lift the veil of their own volition, or speak for themselves.
The niqab is back in the news these days. Banned in France and Belgium, it now faces prohibition in part of Switzerland. It's a hot topic in Britain, where a Liberal Democrat minister called for a "national debate" on whether the State needed to "protect" women from veilish wiles. One right-wing British blogger drew an analogy I found illuminating, like a white phosphorus flare. It's all, in the end, about State power, whether embodied in laws or bombs:
While the two situations are not directly analogous, there are, nonetheless, noteworthy similarities between the objections made to humanitarian military intervention in foreign countries and the objections made to state intervention in the matter of the niqab. Concomitant similarities can be observed in the arguments in favour, which speak to a common impulse.
Opposition to a niqab ban is frequently undergirded by a suspicion of State power as irrational and indiscriminate as anti-War hostility to American power — in neither case is it conceded that power can be harnessed for benign, progressive or utilitarian ends. … The wisdom of intervention in either case may be disputed, but the motivating humanitarian impulse in both cases is the responsibility to protect and should be debated as such.
In other words, you must concede the principle that the State has an absolute right to intervene ("protect") in either case; the only permitted argument is about the pros and cons of particular interventions. The females who choose to cover their faces, and the peoples who slave away in oppression while unable or unwilling to resist, are equally incapacitated children, whose very muteness demands a decision-making power located somewhere else. Confronted with a woman, "a proud Welsh and British citizen, a molecular geneticist by profession and an activist in my spare time," who says, "I find the niqab liberating and dignifying; it gives me a sense of strength," the man sees nothing but mind-forged manacles:
Coercion does not necessitate physical imprisonment, and religious authority exerts a particularly pernicious hold over those taught from birth to accept it without question.
The blogger elects to remain veiled in anonymity, so all I know is he's one of the pro-war, Islam-fearing fans of the neocon website Harry's Place, a type that's done so much to damage British public life. In an interview with Norm Geras — co-author of the invading-things-is-fun Euston Manifesto — he declares that "I dislike any ostentatious displays of religious or political affiliation. Slogan-bearing badges and t-shirts, religiously observant haircuts, dress codes and iconography of any kind." One senses further prohibitions down the pike. The sinister beauty of power is that it corrupts even before you have it; just the scent, the fantasy of it, intoxicates. And the same spirit that drives you to enthuse over stripping women of their veils, or herding them into Black Marias on a moonless evening, is the spirit that informs imperial dreams of imposing one-size Mao jackets on the unisex masses, toppling statues and towers, Rumsfelding it over subject peoples like a Roman titan. Your idealism? No vaccine against megalomanhood. Human rights activists are hardly immune to State-worship. The whiff of power deranges their brain cells no less than anybody's.
Police arresting a niqabi woman in Paris, April 12, 2011, © EPA
And, as long as we're talking about power: a colleague noticed something interesting over at the New School for Social Research. The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy is offering a practicum for students to do research, in a project for Equality Now. "This project would analyze the legalization of prostitution and formation of sex workers' rights groups. … Equality Now seeks to better understand the movement to legalize prostitution and form sex workers' rights groups in order to refute arguments for legalization and lobby for adoption of the Nordic Model instead." The students will:
Examine the history of sex workers' rights groups in the following countries and answer the questions below: Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, Senegal, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nepal, India, Philippines and the United States (particularly in Nevada)
– What is the history of the formation of sex workers' rights groups in these countries?
– Who are the groups, what are their funding sources, and where is the influence on their policies coming from (for example is a larger international NGO working with them)?
– Are the sex worker's groups pushing for legalization in those countries where it is not already legalized? (Look only at India, Nepal, Philippines, US, South Africa)
– In those countries where it is not legalized, what are the local women's rights groups in these countries saying about legalization? (Look only at India, Nepal, Philippines, US, South Africa)
"Please keep in mind that this is a confidential work product developed for Equality Now and not intended for distribution or publication." OK, don't put it on the website where a Google search can turn it up, then. Now, it's obvious what this is: it's what we call oppo research, trying to figure out what your foes (bad people "inured to the wrong" of prostitution) are doing. Many organizations dabble in this at one point or another, though they don't usually call on students at a distinguished university to help. But this is where the power question comes in. I don't like the tone of the questions — the funding sources, the suggestion of foreign influence. Most sex worker groups are poor and marginal. In countries where sex work "is not legalized," the organizations' very existence is often endangered. Even where sex work is at least partly legal, they're still stigmatized as advocating immorality, and any number of contrived crimes from promoting public indecency to spreading pornography to running a brothel can provide excuses to shut them down, and even jail their members.
So what exactly is this information going to be used for? Has the professor (a good guy, I think, with a history of work on migration issues) who's overseeing the practicum asked Equality Now? Has the New School put safeguards in place to make sure its students' research will only be used for ethical purposes, and will not endanger the safety, human rights, or freedom of sex worker advocates and activists? The school is asking its students to monitor sex workers' groups for an NGO that really doesn't like them. And the school needs to be answerable for any consequences. The history of power politics around sex workers' rights and freedoms is too acute and recent — and the possibility of even inadvertently endangering people is too strong — for an academic institution to pretend this is purely an academic question for very long.
NB. A comment (below) states that the Milano School is not part of the New School for Social Research but a parallel institution to it within the overall New School structure. Sorry for the confusion.
Alleged sex workers arrested in a "rescue" raid on a lodging in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 15, 2013
Posted in Human Rights, Religion, Sex Work, Sexual Rights	| Tagged burqa, damaged belonging, Equality Now, Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Helen Clark, humanitarian intervention, Islamophobia, Milano School of International Affairs, New Zealand, niqab, Oprah Winfrey, prostitution, rescue, responsibility to protect, Scott Long, UNDP, veil	| 20 Replies


We've all heard them – horror stories of pipes bursting in winter, causing hundreds of dollars of damage. Those stories are exactly why it's so important to understand what happens when a pipe freezes and how to prevent it from ever happening in your home.
We're sure you remember learning that water expands when frozen. It's a lesson every kid in grade school learns, and remembers when a frozen water bottle bursts in their car years later. When water freezes in a pipe, it expands and causes the pipe to crack, no matter how sturdy the pipe was before.
Generally the most vulnerable pipes are those exposed to the outdoors such as hose bibs, swimming pool supply lines, water sprinkler lines, and pipes located in higher or unheated areas like attics, garages, crawl spaces, and outside walls.
One of the most noticeable signs of a frozen pipe is a drastic decrease in water pressure. More times than not, if your water pressure suddenly decreases in the winter, it's probably due to a frozen pipe.
There has to be a way to prevent pipes from freezing though, right? You're in luck! We've compiled a fairly lengthy list below to try and save you the trouble of calling us, even though we love hearing from you.
Installing your pipes in either an insulated or heated area can help to keep them warm.
If your pipes are already installed in an uninsulated area, you can fit them with insulation sleeves or wrapping. You can also install a heating cable to run alongside pipes.
Burying outdoor pipes lower in the ground, specifically below the frost line, can be very effective.
This one seems obvious, but turning up the heat indoors can help. We know you want to save money on your heating bill, but is a few dollars of savings worth hundreds in repair?
Believe it or not, opening cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathroom can help the heat reach pipes nestled in the wall behind them.
If you have pipes in your garage, make sure to keep the garage door closed at all times to help retain as much heat as possible.
Never let your thermostat reach below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Yes, this even applies when you're going out of town.
In extremely cold conditions, and we mean extremely cold, letting a faucet drip can help prevent a pipe from freezing or a frozen pipe from bursting.
Outdoor winterization is extremely important. Before the first freeze, make sure to remove, drain, and store all outdoor hoses. Close the inside valves supplying water to the hose bib and then open the outside bib to allow any remaining water to drain. You can even leave the outside bib open throughout the winter. That way, if there is any water still in there, pressure is never able to build and cause a pipe to burst.
We know it's a lot to take in, but taking five minutes to learn about frozen pipes can really save you a lot of hassle in the long run. If you suspect a frozen pipe, please call us immediately! Acting quickly can help to prevent any further damage.


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An officer privy to the details revealed that "Officers were haphazardly allocated to politicians to entice them to remain defiant. Based on how close they were with the the powers that be. A senior politician could put a case to Boinett on behalf of the MPs".


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