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This Day in History – April 6 – Hijinx, Humor, and Insight
3 April 2022 by Gary Jenneke
THIS DAY IN HISTORY… APRIL 6
1652 – Cape Colony established by Dutch East India Company.
The colonization of South Africa began innocently enough. The Dutch originally intended it to be nothing more than a resupply depot for its ships sailing the trade route to Asia. Against the wishes of the shareholders of the company, it developed into a settlers colony by becoming a desirable destination for retired employees of the company. They then began to move further inland to escape the company's restrictive rule. Next to come to the Cape of Good Hope region were Protestants fleeing the new anti-Huguenot laws placed in effect in France. The native population, living a pastoral lifestyle, was nearly eradicated through conflict and smallpox, until relegated to working menial jobs under the colonists' rule.
Textbook colonization. That always reliable combination of greed and God.
1896 – First Modern Olympic games.
After a 1,500-year hiatus the games were resumed in Athens. Athletes, all men, from fourteen nations participated. The rules apparently were less strict then, for some spectators, taken up by the spirit of the games, joined in. Greece wanted to save money on a swimming venue so the swimmers were simply transported out to sea in a boat and dropped overboard to swim to shore. The first gold medal, actually silver at the time, was won by American James Connolly in the triple jump.
USA! USA! USA!
1941 – Operation Bestrafung begins.
Bestrafung is the German word for punishment. Yugoslavia signed the Berlin Pact aligning them with the Axis of Germany, Japan, and Italy. The immediate reaction in Belgrade was a coup d'état and the new government rescinded the treaty. Germany retaliated with operation Bestrafung, invading Yugoslavia and bombing Belgrade. The number of civilian casualties during the two-day bombing onslaught is uncertain, with estimates ranging from 3,000 to 17,000. The commander of the German Luftwaffe that led the raids, General Lohr, was captured by Tito's partisans at war's end, tried, and executed.
On a world scale Nazi Germany was the ultimate bully. They forced their will on other nations, and when opposed, they somehow felt they were the ones aggrieved. Therefore any retribution was justified. If Twitter had existed back then one can only imagine what Germany might have been tweeting.
1866 – Lincoln Steffens.
American journalist. He was one more prominent of the writers that President Teddy Roosevelt labeled "muckrakers." He was especially critical of the influence big business wielded in politics. He uncovered corruption of politicians by business interests. From Brittanica.com: "He revealed the shortcomings of the popular dogmas that connected economic success with moral worth, and national progress with individual self-interest."
Some of Lincoln Steffens' quotes:
"In a country where business is dominant, business men must and will corrupt a government."
"One business man's bribery was nothing but a crime, but a succession of business briberies over the years was a corruption of government to make it represent business."
"I have never heard Christianity, as Jesus taught it in the New Testament, preached to the Christians."
Steffens had a deep commitment to social justice, and believed everybody should have the same rights. He railed tirelessly against corruption in government and in doing so garnered himself many enemies. His goal was to expose the graft that greased the wheels of government to the masses. He took on Tammany Hall in New York City and helped elect a reform candidate. Despairing of reform in the American system, and after personally witnessing both the Mexican and Russian revolutions, he began advocating revolution. After being in Russia he famously said, "I have seen the future, and it works."
In the 1920s he gave up on America, married a socialist writer thirty-two years his junior, and moved to Italy. While there he observed radical politics, became disillusioned with Communism, and wrote his autobiography. The book became a bestseller in America. He moved back, was active in left-wing politics and was part of the New Deal's California Writers' Project. Steffens died in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1936.
If Steffens thought business controlled the government in the 1920s he would be aghast at "Citizens United." I would welcome his commentary about how PAC money influences elections and the power lobbyists wield in Washington. I wonder if there were those back then who decried Steffens' reporting as "fake news."
1892 – Lowell Thomas.
Journalist, radio commentator, and most importantly (to me) explorer. Thomas grew up in Victor, Colorado, worked as a gold miner, graduated from high school, and went on to college to study journalism. A self-promoter, he early on saw the personal benefits of travelogues over standard journalism. America was a reluctant entry into WWI and the government hired Thomas to use his talents to gain the population's support for the war effort. After rejecting trench warfare on the Western Front as uninspiring for a documentary he went to the Middle East. There he met T.E. Lawrence and followed him into the Arabian Desert with a cameraman. Thomas was largely responsible for publicizing "Lawrence of Arabia" and making him into the icon he still is today. In the process Thomas furthered his own career. While he capitalized on the fame, T.E. Lawrence, the complete opposite of a self-promoter, was not comfortable with it. Lawrence felt Thomas exploited him and never forgave him. Thomas said of Lawrence, "He had a genius for backing into the limelight." There was never a feud between them, however, for Thomas truly admired Lawrence and defended him after others became critical of Lawrence's reputation.
Throughout the next three decades, Thomas continued his work in broadcasting. He was narrator for newsreels, worked with Mike Todd in developing widescreen Cinerama, and did a radio news and commentary show. He was also the anchor in the first televised national political convention, the Republican convention in 1940. He was known as the "world's foremost globetrotter" and in the 1950s produced and narrated the travelogue show "High Adventure."
If viewed again, I don't know if the show would hold up. But in the 1950s when both television and myself were barely beyond our infancies, "High Adventure" certainly had its grip on me. Growing up in a small town, one of my preoccupations was dreaming about getting out of there and seeing the world. This was during a time when paperboys still existed and I was one. Late afternoon I would deliver the Minneapolis Star to a number of houses throughout the town. My imagination, coupled with "High Adventure" would take over. Instead of riding my bike and delivering papers to the Dibbs, the Kuhlmanns, or the Lemkes, I would be on a camel crossing the Sahara, trekking across Patagonia, or climbing the Himalayas. It certainly spiced up the routine of a paper route. Whether Lowell Thomas instilled this desire to see the world or merely promoted it I don't know. But other than my parents, he was someone who had a significant impact on my life at a young age.
Olympic.org
NewWorldEncyclopedia.org
* Lead-In Image (Portrait of Lincoln Steffens, circa 1910) – Everett Historical / Shutterstock.com
* The Dutch Cape Colony (video) – North Carolina State University & Rollie Rollie / YouTube.com
* 1896 Olympics (video) – onlinefootagetv / YouTube.com
* Lincoln Steffens (video) – Connor Morris / YouTube.com
* Lowell Thomas / Tibet (video clip) – ltwa dhasa / YouTube.com
Section: News | Tags: Athens 1986 Olympics, Cape Colony, Dutch East India Company, First modern Olypmics, gary jenneke, history, humor, Lincoln Steffens, Lowell Thomas, Operation Bestrafung, this day in history


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Equinix opens its 11th IBX data center in Tokyo
By Shannon Williams
Thu, 25th Jul 2019
Data Centre Operators
Cloud data center
Global interconnection and data center company Equinix has announced the opening of its 11th International Business Exchange data center in Tokyo, Japan, named TY11, as part of the company's ongoing commitment to expanding its global footprint.
The $70 million first phase of TY11 provides a capacity of 950 cabinets and colocation space of approximately 39,800 square feet (approximately 3,700 square meters). Upon completion of the planned future phases, the facility is expected to provide a total capacity of more than 3,500 cabinets and colocation space of more than 153,800 square feet (approximately 14,300 square meters), becoming the largest IBX data center to date in Japan.
Driven by flourishing technology innovation and cloud adoption, Tokyo is the world's largest retail colocation market by revenue, ahead of major international cities like New York and London.
With more and more global and local cloud service providers (CSPs) expanding their businesses in Japan, the country is forecast to be one of the largest geographic public cloud markets in 2019 with cloud spend reaching $7.4 billion.
Japan is also embracing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and robust network connectivity to power the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the government's 'Society 5.0' initiative, and the upcoming rollout of 5G services which are expected to generate huge amounts of data.
"At Equinix, we continue to expand our footprint as we strive to help our customers capture the opportunities of the digital era. Asia-Pacific has always been a highly strategic and thriving market for us, thanks in part to its burgeoning digital market, which is driving demand for interconnection and data center services," says Karl Strohmeyer, chief customer and revenue officer, Equinix.
"We are excited to continue our investments and expansions in the region, and we are delighted to provide our customers in Japan with cutting-edge interconnection services and peace of mind over the resiliency of their IT infrastructure," he says.
With the addition of TY11, Equinix now operates a total of 11 data centers in Tokyo and two in Osaka. The expanded footprint in this vibrant market will play a key role in accelerating the country's cloud adoption and transformation in today's digital era.
In close proximity to the Tokyo central business district, the TY11 IBX data center will enable CSPs to move their services closer to their customers at the digital edge via Platform Equinix' and provide the highest quality of interconnection and data center services to ensure seamless, consistent and secure data transfer.
TY11 is situated in Ariake, a district in Koto ward, which is close to key venues for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Located in an emergency evacuation area, TY11 is earthquake-resistant and equipped with multiple anti-disaster measures. It provides a high level of security and operational excellence in the event of natural disasters, enhancing business continuity and stability for customers.
"The new addition of the TY11 datacenter in the Tokyo metro area will enhance Equinix's interconnection capability and further expand its ecosystem of Internet Exchanges, service providers and enterprises. Interconnectivity and rich ecosystems of global tenants are major differentiators and value propositions of the company," says Mimei Ito, research manager, IT Services, IDC Japan .
"The new Equinix datacenter in Tokyo reflects the importance of the city as a regional hub for financial services and internet service providers. It also demonstrates Equinix's success in winning customers and expanding capacity in this important metro."
Equinix has a long-term goal of using 100% clean and renewable energy for its global platform and continues to make advancements in the way it designs, builds and operates its data centers with high energy efficiency standards.
TY11 offers a wide range of connectivity options, including Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric'' (ECX Fabric''), which allows businesses to set up on-demand and secure connections to more than 1,500 participants across all regions around the world.
TY11 benefits from direct connection to TY2, which is home to a dense network ecosystem, offering customers private and secure access to more than 80 network service providers within Platform Equinix. Directly connected to TY4, TY11 provides customers with direct and secure access to more than 285 cloud and IT service providers in Japan including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Teradata.
Customers in TY11 can benefit from connectivity to Japan's largest financial ecosystem with more than 85 financial services providers, and access to the heart of Tokyo's trading landscape, including key financial exchanges TFX and TOCOM.
Equinix data centers form a leading network hub in Tokyo, which is designed to meet rising internet exchange demands from international and domestic network operators. The hub houses the leading regional internet exchanges including Japan Network
Access Point (JPNAP), Japan Internet Exchange (JPIX) and Broadband Internet Exchange (BBIX).
"With cloud services becoming increasingly crucial to global and local businesses who are eager to reach business partners and customers worldwide, an always-on, distributed IT infrastructure is extremely important to ensure real-time data delivery in today's fast-paced economy," says Kei Furuta, managing director, Equinix North Asia.
"With the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the 'Society 5.0' initiative and the arrival of 5G, interconnection will also play a crucial role in enabling seamless and secure interactions. We are thrilled about the opening of TY11, and we look forward to accelerating cloud adoption and innovation in Japan."
Why You Need AI & ML in Your Digital Infrastructure
AWS launches 2nd infrastructure Region for securing data
AWS's Melbourne Cloud region welcomed by Equinix Australia
Singapore, Hong Kong rank 3rd, 4th in data centre market
Empyrion partners with Sejong on a new national network hub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Complementing its signature old-world charm with the finest of contemporary facilities, this Oberoi resort is a haven for anyone seeking a mountain retreat with a spectacular view.
Perched atop a knoll, Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas - an Oberoi Resort, looks out to snow-clad peaks, rugged mountains, verdant valleys and a lush cedar forest. And if a spectacular view doesn't quite quench your thirst for an experience of the Himalayan foothills, the resort lets you immerse yourself in its surroundings like never before. Nestled within 22 acres of cedar and pine forest, the 85-room property has been built on the grounds that formerly hosted the summer home of Lord Kitchener, the British commander-in-chief of the Indian army who arrived in the city in 1902.
Built to match the highest standards in the international hospitality industry, Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas, brings together the indigenous charm of Himachal Pradesh and the finest contemporary facilities. Its luxurious interiors pay tribute to its old-world heritage: Burmese teak panelling, fireplaces, exquisite works of art and polished parquet floors covered with oriental rugs, while the Spa Pavilions and Spa Suites offer you unparalleled havens of rejuvenation.
To top it all, an array of indoor and outdoor recreational activities take you closer to nature. Engage in trekking and mountain biking, indulge in a game of billiards or golf, or choose from a range of specially curated Oberoi Experiences for the Himalayan holiday of a lifetime!


NEW Updated coaches arriving for 2017 Season, awaiting pictures.
Our 53 Seater Executive coaches are an excellent choice for business or pleasure. Ideal for groups from weddings to corporate transfers these vehicles are built to bring your group around in comfort, with features such as the climate controlled Air Conditioning offering an ideal temperature all year round. Other features such as a seat belted reclining coach seat, individual reading light and air vent adding additional comfort to each individual on your trip we know you'll enjoy travelling on board these executive coaches.


Wyndham Vale boy on bail..
A teenage boy has been charged after allegedly committing near daily robberies across Melbourne's west, north and east.
Darebin detectives charged the 17-year-old with a string of offences following rampant offending from February 10-19.
He was arrested yesterday on Grant Street, St Albans about 5.20pm.
He's been charged with 16 charges including armed robbery, robbery, theft of motor vehicle, handle stolen goods, theft, committing an indictable offence while on bail and traffic offences.
The Wyndham Vale boy was remanded to appear at a Children's Court later today.


Nailsworth A second year ICELAND GULL flew W along the Avening valley and veered N as it reached the Nailsworth valley with a group of 12 Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls at 8:16am. . Also at least two Grey Herons making daily visits to the garden pond. (Terry Grant).
WWT Slimbridge An OSPREY over the grounds/reserve heading N at 10:57am. Also a Grey Plover from Holden Tower. (Slimbridge Sightings). Two Peregrines on a kill out on the Dumbles today. (Simon Ashley). A pair of Mediterranean Gulls on South Lake this morning. (Roberta Goodall).
Lydney The GLOSSY IBIS showing well at Lydney water works at 10:50am. (Mark Coller).
Barnsley Warren SSSI At the Fosse Way end two Grey Partridges, a Red Kite, two Buzzards, ten Common Gulls, five Lapwings, two Green Woodpeckers, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, ten Fieldfares, 40 Linnets and six singing Yellowhammers. Two more Grey Partridges on the other side of the Fosse Way. (Steve Brown).
Staunton & Corse A pair of Mandarins flew in and perched atop an old orchard tree for 5 mins before fast flight NW. (Harvey Sherwood).
Edge At Sevenleaze Lane from the entrance towards Spoonbed Farm mid afternoon at SO861124 30+ Linnets, two Kestrels and two Buzzards. (John Fletcher).
Tirley A singing Chiffchaff today. (Mark Grieve).
Ashleworth Ham An OSPREY at 12:39pm over the reserve heading towards Cleeve Hill. (Ken Heron). Birds today included a singing Chiffchaff, two Curlews, eight Lapwings, four Little Grebes, 35+ Shovelers, 21+ Mallards, 67+ Teal, 42+ Wigeon, 43+ Coots, eight Pintails, a Gadwall, two Snipe, seven Buzzards, four Tufted Ducks, a Reed Bunting, a Cormorant, a Red-legged Partridge, two Greylags and a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker. (Mark Grieve).
Frampton At the pools a Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, a Cetti's Warbler, a CATTLE EGRET, 11 Sand Martins, nine Chiffchaffs, a pair of Teal, 30+ Siskins and a Red Kite this morning. This evening two Swallows, 40+ Sand Martins and the female Red Crested Pochard. (Nick Goatman). A MERLIN at Splatt Bridge this morning, presumably the Saul Warth bird. (Gordon Hodgson).
Saul Warth The WATER PIPIT this morning coming into summer plumage. (Gordon Hodgson). A MERLIN perched up before hunting and flying off high this morning. (Mark Dowie/Paul Rich).
Saul Two CATTLE EGRETS and five Little Egrets in a field between Cadbury Bridge and Fretherne (half way between the two, on the right going towards Fretherne) at 4pm. (Richard Newton).
Stroud A Hawfinch this morning flew high NE over Stroud Town Cemetery. (Francis Steuck).
Overton A Little Owl in ash trees in Overton Lane this morning near the turning for Wick Court. (Sam Walker).
Cotswold Water Park East At Pit 125 the SCAUP, a Green Sandpiper, two Egyptian Geese and good numbers of Reed Buntings this morning. (Ian Ralphs).
Berkeley Two Hawfinches calling above the car park at Berkeley Castle again today. Also a Green Sandpiper, four Mallards and two Shelducks in flooded fields at Berkeley Castle. (Tom Weston-McClung). A Wheatear at Berkeley shore this morning. (Paul Taylor).
Cheltenham The female Goosander still on Pittville boating lake today. (Phil Cull/Paul Dodd).
Daglingworth 1+ Brambling with Chaffinches by Longhill Farm N of Daglingworth this morning. (Jon Mercer).
Forest of Dean Eight Goosanders on Woorgreens Lake today. (Dan White).


According to the Regina Leader Post, patients with asthma, lung diseases, and other respiratory issues may prefer to inhale medical marijuana rather than smoke it. The same goes for patients seeking relief from the pain of cancer or the unpleasant side effects of cancer treatment.
The Israeli researchers are conducting clinical trials for a specially made inhaler that offers metered doses of cannabis. Rafa Pharmaceuticals along with Panaxia Pharmaceuticals are collaborating to ensure that the inhalers can deliver the correct amount of herb to the patients flawlessly.
According to the Regina Leader Post, the inhalers will have a vaporizer attached to them that will allow medical patients to fill their ideal doses of cannabis extract or concentrate thus eliminating the guess work of how much to take. The inhalers are also fast acting and the patient reaps immediate relief.
The Israeli scientists say they expect to have the product it ready for distribution in pharmacies later this year.


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Light pollution threatens humans, animals
Kathryn Doyle • October 17, 2011
In Search of Life
Joseph Castro • December 14, 2010
Looking up to look within
Joseph Castro and Sarah Fecht • January 13, 2011
Turning down the sun
Douglas Main • April 11, 2011
Ian Cheney misses the stars. As a boy in Maine he designed his own telescope and mapped new constellations over the roof of his family's barn. Now he lives in New York City, where eight million people share only a few dozen stars per night. Lately, he has been screening his film "The City Dark" under that blank, grey sky.
Cheney is young, almost defiantly young; his website features him photographed in Brooklyn neighborhoods in various intimidatingly hip hats. But he narrates the film, which was recently screened in a basement auditorium at Columbia University, in a pleasing, approachable way, with a matter-of-fact, not too preachy delivery reminiscent of that other American documentarian, Morgan Spurlock.
"The City Dark" examines the consequences of light pollution and disappearing stars. It touches on everything from nostalgia for the star-filled skies of Cheney's childhood to scientists failing to see approaching dangers like asteroids or other space debris. Illuminating the streets has increased visibility and helped decrease crime in neighboring cities like Newark, New Jersey. But most outdoor lights are designed like a bare bulb, giving an equal amount of illumination in every direction, toward the ground where it is needed but also into the atmosphere, wasting energy and cloaking the night sky in an orange glow.
Light pollution, the excess light coming from cities at night, causes a variety of problems. Sea turtle hatchlings have evolved to know the sea as the lightest horizon, and are so disoriented by illuminated inlands that they many never make it to the water. In Chicago, about four thousand birds are injured or killed in building collisions during migration each year. Many bird species use the stars to navigate, but can't see properly if the stars are obscured by light pollution coming from cities.
According to Cheney's film, overnight shiftwork — in which the body is exposed to light through usually dark hours — is listed as a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Shiftwork is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, perhaps because light exposure suppresses the hormone melatonin, which helps slow down tumor growth.
Cheney is foremost an artist. His talent lies in piecing together beautiful images of astrophotography into a visual narrative, and filling that narrative with eccentric, charismatic people.
One of those charismatic people is Brooklyn based astronomer Irving Robins, director of the Astrophysical Observatory at the College of Staten Island, who garnered general chuckles for the line, "Americans are not known for their knowledge" and for his nickname for light pollution: "shmutz." Chris Impey, an Arizona cosmologist, described the rare view of a truly dark sky. "It's like you've smoked the very best kind of weed," he said, followed by uproarious laughter and applause from the very sympathetic audience.
As the credits rolled, some enthusiastic audience members took star maps and headed up to the thirteenth floor roof for guided stargazing. It was, true to the film, less than stellar. There were only about ten visible stars, and one of them looked suspiciously like Jupiter. But the illuminated buildings looked fantastic.
anthropoceneastronomyelectricityfilmlight pollutionlightspollutionstars
Kathryn Doyle
Kathryn Doyle recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, having majored in biology and English. Undergraduate studies led her to a small field research station in Mexico for a few months in pursuit of whales and to a summer at Universita Ca'Foscari in Venice, Italy, in the more relaxing pursuit of travel writing. She is happy to let life take her back to New York, her home state, and to SHERP. @doyleschmoyle
Kathryn Milliken says:
The research cited and film description are very enlightening. Any information regarding the distribution of "The City Dark"? HBO? I would like to view it but as I am from a small city, I am not sure how would have access to view it but would very much like to do so.
This seemingly is becoming a problem in the area in which I live with new commercial development lighting up the sky at night with greater intensity/volume.
As an aside, my father worked shift work and suffered through three different cancers…have to wonder if working at night affected his immune system, leaving him more exposed to more carcinogens.


Maschil—instructing, occurs in the title of thirteen Psalms (32, 42, 44, etc.). It denotes a song enforcing some lesson of wisdom or piety, a didactic song. In Ps. 47:7 it is rendered, Authorized Version, "with understanding;" Revised Version, marg., "in a skilful psalm."


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← Free sports course for 16-17-year-olds recruiting now
Umunna underlines Croydon Central on Labour target list →
£140 million: the cost of our council's secrecy and vanity
Posted on January 11, 2013 by insidecroydon
In an exclusive column for Inside Croydon, TONY NEWMAN, right, local councillor for Woodside ward and leader of the Labour opposition group at the Town Hall, counts the high costs of a council vanity project
As we move into 2013, one story that has haunted Croydon for the last five years will become reality. The disgraceful waste of hundreds of millions of pounds of our money on a monument to vanity – the shining new council offices that will be opened this year.
At the same time, further drastic cuts are being made to youth services, libraries, schools, support services for the vulnerable and elderly, will all hit the people of Croydon.
This ought to haunt those who took the decision to build these luxury offices forever. Sadly, I am not sure it will.
In which case, we will have to wait until 2014 and the local elections to send Croydon's out-of-touch Tories the clearest message: that their arrogance in proceeding with their luxury council HQ at a time when the global economy was heading deeper into recession and council services were already coming under greater financial pressure than at any time in history was obviously wrong. For the Tory council to make this scheme their priority over all other public services shows how completely out of touch they are.
By their own recent admission, the building has cost us at least £140 million. That's approximately £1,000 for every household in Croydon.
Even these figures can be only estimates, as five years into this "project" under Mike Fisher's Conservative-run council, much of the financial detail is still being hidden from both the public and those of us who are elected as local politicians to represent you.
Croydon Council's new headquarters building, built at a cost of at least £140m, is due to open this year
The amount being spent on these unnecessary and unwanted council offices, £140 million, could have provided a brand new school, stopped our libraries being privatised, installed new street lighting, provided numerous play areas for children, invested in the crumbling Fairfield Halls, and much more.
Yes, even in these tough times we could be going into 2013 with a council on the side of local people and offering much-needed investment in our town. Instead, we have got a glass monument on what Inside Croydon has called CostUsAMint Walk, to the folly of Mike Fisher and his friends.
This is not an accident, but it is the result of clear choices made by the current Conservative Council, with decisions often made in meetings that you, the public, were banned from attending.
So later this year, when you see the pictures of a grinning Councillor Fisher at the opening ceremony of his new offices, probably with a glass of Council Tax-funded champagne in hand and possibly still trying to tell us the luxury Council HQ has not really cost us any money, remember those cuts to your local services, remember those cuts to the services to care for our old and vulnerable.
And never again let anyone ever say that voting in the local elections does not make a difference – it does, and it has.
Croydon, Christmas 2012: Scrooge is in charge of the Town Hall
TaxPayers' Alliance say Fisher is "part of entitlement culture"
Getting trollied: Croydon's uncharitable councillors (insidecroydon.com)
Legacy of the riots: Croydon abandoned by middle-class (standard.co.uk)
£30m libraries privatisation could be sent for judicial review (insidecroydon.com)
This entry was posted in Croydon Council, Mike Fisher, Tony Newman, URV, Woodside and tagged Council Tax, Councillor, Croydon, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London, Mike Fisher. Bookmark the permalink.
4 Responses to £140 million: the cost of our council's secrecy and vanity
Peter Staveley (@UKIPAddiscombe) says:
I fully agree the CostUsAMint Walk is a pure vanity project.
The excuse given was that there are major problems with Taberner House that are expensive to fix. I very much doubt that it would cost £140 million to correct those faults, after all the former Nestle Building was built around the same time and that is being refurbished rather than rebuilt. However, even if the building is about to fall down, it is not as if there is a massive shortage of empty large office space in Croydon town centre. Surely there was a cheaper solution to housing Croydon Council staff?
I do not remember being asked whether I would prefer to pay £1,000 towards the project or have the £1,000 to spend as I wish.
I find it ironic that due to cuts in grants imposed by the, mostly, Conservative Government the council are having to reduce their spending; I thought that Conservative councillors were renowned for cutting spending without the need to be forced into it by their superiors. However, why are they cutting spending on essential frontline services such as the libraries etc but are intent on spending money on yet another large and unnecessary office block in Croydon town centre?
David Callam (@DavidCallam1) says:
Here we go! The campaign for the 2014 local government elections starts today.
And if Labour can't win Croydon this time it may as well give up. By the time we reach the ballot box, below inflation benefit and wage caps recently imposed by central government will have made their presence felt in family budgets.
Croydon Tories will have that electoral millstone hung around their necks, just as Croydon Labour had to grapple with Gordon Brown's charisma bypass last time.
Hence no doubt, Tony Newman's decision to highlight Fisher's Folly at this stage. But the £140m splurge on a vanity HQ could pale into insignificance compared with the total cost of Tory property speculation.
At the moment, we are told that the full details of the council's 'investment vehicle' with John Laing are commercially sensitive and must therefore remain confidential.
In reality, I suspect Mr Fisher and Mr Rouse – the Laurel and Hardy of Croydon Council – are too embarrassed to tell us how easily they have been duped.
So, may I ask Mr Newman two questions?
In the short-term, will you and your colleagues decline any invitations you may receive to the opening of the new municipal headquarters?
And will you agree, if your party is elected next year, to reveal the exact amount of Croydon Council tax-payers' indebtedness that results from the present administration's reckless real estate gamble?
Gordon Ross says:
From the start this vanity project has been an insult to Croydon residents by a council that would rather spend money on flash new offices for themselves, rather than on services for hard-working council tax paying residents.
Telling us the project will not cost the tax-payer anything is laughable. The council is hiding the real cost from us by claiming the need for "commercial confidentiality".
I just hope people will think about which political party is really representing their interests when the come to vote in the Council elections next year.
If you don't like what the Tory led council is doing, then vote them out.
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£250,000 Lottery funding available for 'Community Weekend'


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"New McCarthyism" to Sharon: Interviews Available on Major Legal Issues
"Yesterday a car bomb killed Elie Hobeika, a former militia chief whose forces carried out the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps while surrounded by the Israeli army. Hobeika had recently indicated his willingness to testify against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other Israeli officials, including Yaron, at an ongoing criminal trial in Belgium for their role in the massacre…."
MATT ROTHSCHILD,
mattr@progressive.org, www.progressive.org
Editor of The Progressive, Rothschild recently wrote the article "The New McCarthyism." The Progressive is offering a regular feature called "McCarthyism Watch."
SARAH HOGARTH,
post911@nlg.org, www.nlg.org/post911
Director of the National Lawyers Guild Post 9-11 Project, Hogarth said today:
"The government is talking out of both sides of its mouth about the detainees. It is claiming that the detainees held on just immigration charges have no connection to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, yet it is denying them bond and is holding secret hearings. We need to know who is in jail, who wants a lawyer and that they are being treated fairly."
MICHAEL RATNER,
mratner@igc.org, www.humanrightsnow.org
Vice president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Ratner spent extensive
time at Guantanamo Bay when he represented Haitian refugees held there. He said
"Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention clearly states that if there is 'any doubt' as to whether those captured are prisoners of war, they must be
treated as such 'until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.' Similarly, the U.S. Army has nearly identical requirements. The U.S. government's assertion that they need not be treated as POWs violates the Army's own regulations."
KEVIN GRAY,
kagamba@bellsouth.net, www.counterpunch.org
An activist, civil libertarian and former military officer, Gray is working on a book entitled The Death of Black Politics. He said today:
"When Americans are treated similarly, like during Vietnam, the U.S. is quick to raise the Geneva Convention. Now this government is subverting it. This type of hypocrisy is part of the reason the U.S. government is resented around the world. We
should insist that the U.S. abide by the Geneva Convention; it is the best assurance that our soldiers will be treated fairly and humanely."
MARJORIE COHN,
Libertad48@aol.com
An associate professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, Cohn just authored
the article "Will Walker's Statements Be Admitted Against Him?" (available at www.jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum on the Jurist web page). She can also be interviewed about the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
FRANCIS BOYLE,
fboyle@law.uiuc.edu, www.indictsharon.net
Professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, Boyle sued Israeli Gen. Amos Yaron in a civil proceeding over the Sabra/Shatila massacre. He said today:
"Yesterday a car bomb killed Elie Hobeika, a former militia chief whose forces carried out the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila camps while surrounded by the Israeli army. Hobeika had recently indicated his willingness to testify against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other Israeli officials, including Yaron, at an ongoing criminal trial in Belgium for their role in the massacre…."
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, 202.347.0020; David Zupan, 541.484.9167
[ also see related items:
Who's Watching the Watchers? Adbuster's Announces New "Rat Line" – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1626
Are You A Terrorist? Read the FBI's Definition! – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1531
The War in Afghanistan 101: 47 Questions and Answers – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1539
Rabid Journalists and Pundits Push Bush to Extremes – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1575
Action Update: Congress Must Assert Its Oversight Authority! – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1561
ACLU Exec Voices Concerns – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1623
Video Shows CIA Threats of Execution Preceding Qalai Janghi Massacre – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1599
The Castle of Death: What Really Happened in Qalai Janghi – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1591
Palestine 103: Making Occupation Work – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1647
ACTION ALERT: For NPR, Violence Is Calm if It's Violence Against Palestinians – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1632
Israeli Press on Trial for Refusing to Inform Israeli Soldiers of War Crimes – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1630
Palestinians Joined by 100 Foreign Civilians to Defy Checkpoint – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1621
Israel Proposes "Special" Cards for Palestinian Journalists – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1609
A War Of Sharon's Making: Israel Declares War on Palestine – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1595
MEDIA ADVISORY: NEW YORK TIMES SHOULD TELL FULL STORY IN TERROR BLAST Hamas Leader Was in Palestinian Prison Until Freed by Israeli Attack – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1592
Powell's Speech – Promise and Doubt – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1585
Uri Avnery on the Holy Alliance, Past and Present – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1579
Appeal to Boycott Israeli Goods and Leisure Travel – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1293
Assassinations and the West's Collective Short Memory – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1529
34 Palestinians killed since recent "ceasefire" – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1511
Assassination of Palestinian Leader – Another Step Towards War – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1461
Israel Bombs Palestinian Civilians to "Deter Terrorism" – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1442
Collective Punishment Leaves 500 Palestinians Homeless – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1432
Al Khader Today: the True Face of the Israeli Occupation in a Nutshell – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1426
Israel Targets Palestinian Infrastructure, Using U.S. Weapons – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1027
Palestine 101: Palestinian Refugees & Washington's Role In Mass Expulsions – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=965
Israel/Palestine: A Recent Chronology – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1016
Palestine 102: "Barak's Generous Offers" A Political Map of Israel's Proposed Borders with Palestine – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=1404
How It Came to This: A Palestinian's View – http://www.theexperiment.org/articles.php?news_id=860 ]
Author: IPA
News Service: Institute for Public Accuracy
URL: http://www.accuracy.org/press_releases/PR012502.htm


In 2016, retailers in the United States spend almost $5 billion on affiliate marketing. In the next few years, that number will grow to almost 7 billion dollars. You heard all of these incredible numbers and you dreamed of how a piece of that pie could be yours.
It's months later and you've made absolutely zilch. Hours of work to make less than a beggar on skid row.
You're probably looking for someone to shame you, right? Tell you all the things you did wrong?
Great! So let's get to it! Here is a guide on how to fail miserably at affiliate marketing.
Really, you should just skip the research phase of this business because you can make money online without lifting a finger, right? All you have to do is look up the "Top Ten Most Lucrative Affiliate Networks," sign up and put the links on your website.
Nothing else in life works this way, so why shouldn't affiliate marketing. Doesn't sound like a scam at all. *waves hands like a magician* …here's my e-book on why what you just read is guaranteed true.
Affiliate marketing is work. You work 60 hours a week to avoid working 40. But the end result, a fairly passive income stream, is worth the hours of research.
Eventually, the research will end and your job will mostly be maintenance. But until then it's easy and fairly cheap to get started on your education. You don't have to pass any tests and you don't have to hole up in some dorm with the weird kid who plays WOW all day.
As with all great visions, there is nothing substantive about what you do in affiliate marketing. You just flitter away some words online, plug in a few links, and wait for the money to roll in. That's what the research will tell you, right?
Once you've done all of that research, it's a cake walk. You don't need to actually sell anything, especially not that pesky e-book. All that writing and formatting, it's just not worth it.
Said no affiliate marketer ever.
While, yes, affiliate marketing is basically about promoting products, you don't want all your income to roll in from one direction. What if someone decides to shut off one of your affiliate streams? All that work will have been for nothing.
If you haven't heard of a marketing funnel, Google is your friend. An e-book or e-course is an incredible way to get people to fall into your marketing fly trap. This is why you need several "free" products and several paid products.
The free products are the bait you place near the top of your funnel and the paid products you place near the bottom (your landing page.) Yes, this takes work. But if you provide a product of worth and you know how to market it, you'll quickly have several income streams and more traffic than you need.
Just start a blog, they said. It would be easy, they said. And so you did. You even spent $2000 on a web designer to make it look all fancy while telling your wife that such and such expert said you could make ten times that.
Now you're months down the road, you've written a blog about everything under the sun, and you're attending marriage counseling classes. What have you done to yourself?
You bought into the "if you build it, they will come" fallacy. Too many people just build something without a vision or a direction. This is the main reason why so many marketers fail.
You'll hear this from every affiliate blogger out there. Niche down. Find a subject you're interested in and then find a small corner where few people are camped out and make your mark.
If you create a running blog, don't do a general running advice blog. Every runner has "great advice." Ask yourself, what brought you to the sport? Do you look up to anyone in the sport? What do you think others will be interested in reading?
Use the tools available. Ahrefs.com and moz.com have wonderful tools to help you understand how much traffic various niches and topics are generating.
Fail early and fail often. The best entrepreneurs aren't always brilliant but they are always stubborn. They learn from their failures and correct their mistakes.
If you've already fallen into the failure wagon, then it's time to hop up to the reigns and do it right this time.
If you're looking for more affiliate marketing advice, check out more of it here on Shoemoney.com.


Rmarkdown seems to be ignoring the figure position float placement specifier argument, fig.pos, in code chunks for LaTeX/PDF output. Minimal working example: clancy the courageous cow pdf The Problem. I have been attempting to use RMarkdown rather than LaTeX to produce R examples. One issue that has slowed my conversion has been my struggles with how to reference figures and tables.
Using captioner. captioner is a lightweight R package that allows you to store figure and table captions and print them later. It also automatically numbers the captions so that you don't have to renumber each time you rearrange them. edgar allan poe philosophy of composition pdf Markdown is thought as a "lightweight" markup language, hence the name markdown. That's why formatting options are scarce. However, there are some extensions, for instance brought by RMarkdown.
The Problem. I have been attempting to use RMarkdown rather than LaTeX to produce R examples. One issue that has slowed my conversion has been my struggles with how to reference figures and tables.
These functions can be used to create on object that holds a tag, caption, and number for figures or tables, respectively. Initially, these functions are called with two arguments – the figure or table tag and the figure or table caption.


Published: Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 29, 2009 at 5:20 p.m.
Florida and its counties spent millions of dollars to eradicate the Brazilian pepper tree after it spread through the state -- even though this invasive species doesn't eating birds, wildlife ranging from rabbits to alligators, or cats and dogs.
Burmese pythons can and do consume animals -- small and large, domestic and wild -- in large quantities. Python populations also multiply like rabbits, or faster, and can quickly expand their range.
Pythons, in particular, can ravage native bird and wildlife populations. The impact on ecosystems is reason enough to invest in preventive efforts to contain the python.
But, as Lowman warns, an exponential surge in the number of pythons and the expansion of their range also pose risks to state and local parks, which attract tourists and visitors. We agree with her that park attendance could quickly be diminished if python sightings become routine.
Published: Monday, August 10, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 7, 2009 at 5:40 p.m.
Tourists and other money-spending travelers are welcome in Florida -- especially now, during this debilitating economic recession.
But some visitors -- such as Burmese pythons, iguanas and Nile monitors -- need to be stopped at the border.
Unlike snowbirds, who contribute to our state and local economies in the winter and return to their roosts up North, exotic reptiles stay here -- and multiply.
Invasive species harm the environment, native wildlife and, in some cases, people. They offer no economic benefit, except to a few importers, sellers and zoo keepers.
A ban on importing pythons, as proposed in federal legislation, is warranted. Sponsored by two Florida Democrats -- Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Kendrick Meek -- S 373 and HR 2811 would add pythons to the list of "injurious species" prohibited from being imported into the United States.
Florida wildlife officials have announced that the state-sanctioned hunting of Burmese pythons will be resumed in January and will be a year-round effort.
The four-month pilot hunting program ended in October, with 39 of the invasive species captured.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will issue permits for capturing reptiles of concern on state-managed lands in South Florida, beginning January 2010. These permits will expire Dec. 31, 2010. Applications are available at MyFWC.com; click on "Burmese pythons" from the "Quick Clicks" menu. Only qualified applicants will be issued the permits.
The permit period beginning Jan. 1 requires potential permit holders to be Florida residents and to have a reptile of concern permit, digital camera and a GPS unit. They also must have experience in capturing wild snakes, handling large constrictors, euthanizing reptiles and working in remote areas.
The permit holders are required to photograph and mark GPS locations, photograph and describe stomach contents of euthanized snakes, file reports with the FWC within 36 hours of capture, and euthanize pythons onsite or transport live pythons to be euthanized at a location with veterinary facilities. Permit holders will be required to make at least five trips each calendar quarter. They also must visit each WMA at least twice during the year.
Florida officials are stepping up efforts to deal with the python population in the Everglades, measures that include a special hunting season that begins on state lands on Monday. But wildlife officials say that the big snakes, which prey on a number of threatened and endangered species from wading birds to wood rats, have reproduced faster than hunters can kill them.
Ken Salazar, the Interior secretary, recently announced efforts to ban the import or interstate transport of nine non-native snakes: four types of pythons, including the Burmese python, as well as boa constrictors and four kinds of anacondas.
What should be done to control the pythons' spread, both in Everglades National Park and other Florida wild areas? What is the most effective way to kill them?
The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : First, They Came for the Pythons . . .
UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Andrew Wyatt, president of the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers, who says that the H.R. 669 ban isn't just about snakes, but will also affect other species of exotic pets.
"There's all kinds of animals involved in it," said Wyatt. "It's an attempt to ban almost every animal that's not native to the United States."
Wyatt certainly can't be accused of being "anti-environment." A lifetime outdoorsman, he runs Outer Banks Wild, an eco-tourism and education enterprise based in North Carolina's Outer Banks. "I love my environment -- I live in the outdoors," Wyatt says.
So far this year, more pythons have been caught in Collier County than in all of 2009. The invasive snake is reproducing faster than it is being killed and state wildlife and conservation agencies say something needs to be done about it.
The Invasive Species Task Force held their first meeting last week where the group outlined plans for an educational campaign geared toward the public as well as plans to create a python 911 hotline.
PIJAC expects long battle over proposed python ban S373.
The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) urged members to respond, but remain "calm" and "professional," to recent Federal legislation that would ban the importation and interstate commerce of the entire Python genera.
PIJAC estimates that millions of pythons from nearly one dozen species have been imported into the United States over the past 50 years, and only the Burmese python has established a feral population. Moreover, PIJAC contends that several factors combined to help establish that population, including a "mass" escape of pythons from holding facilities destroyed during Hurricane Andrew in 1992, additional but isolated escapes from pet owners and commercial facilities; misguided release by pet owners; the subtropical climate and large area of swampy habitat with relatively little human activity, and ample prey availability in the Everglades region.


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text:
require_relative './vista_exception'
require_relative './rpc_parameter'
require_relative './vista_rpc'
require_relative './vista_connection'

class VistaUser

  attr_reader :access_code, :verify_code, :context, :duz

  def login(cxn, access_code, verify_code, context=nil)
    rpc = VistaRpc.prepare 'XUS SIGNON SETUP'
    response = cxn.exec rpc
    if response.nil?
      raise VistaException.new 'Unable to setup login'
    end
    param = [RpcParameter.new(RpcParameter::ENCRYPTED, access_code + ';' + verify_code)]
    rpc = VistaRpc.prepare 'XUS AV CODE', param
    response = cxn.exec rpc
    if response.nil?
      raise VistaException.new 'No response to login request'
    end

    greeting = load response
    @access_code = access_code
    @verify_code = verify_code

    unless context.nil?
      set_context cxn, context
    end

    greeting
  end

  def load(response)
    parts = response.split("\r\n")
    if parts[0] == '0'
      raise VistaException.new parts[3]
    end
    @duz = parts[0]
    if parts.length > 7
      parts[7]
    else
      'OK'
    end
  end
  private :load

  def set_context(cxn, context)
    param = [RpcParameter.new(RpcParameter::ENCRYPTED, context)]
    rpc = VistaRpc.prepare 'XWB CREATE CONTEXT', param
    response = cxn.exec rpc
    if response != '1'
      raise VistaException.new response
    end
    @context = context
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
// Header guard and namespace names follow TBB conventions.

#ifndef __TBB_rml_tbb_H
#define __TBB_rml_tbb_H

#include "tbb/tbb_config.h"
#include "rml_base.h"

namespace tbb {
namespace internal {
namespace rml {

class tbb_client;

//------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Classes instantiated by the server
//------------------------------------------------------------------------

//! Represents a set of tbb worker threads provided by the server.
class tbb_server: public ::rml::server {
public:
    //! Inform server of adjustments in the number of workers that the client can profitably use.
    virtual void adjust_job_count_estimate( int delta ) = 0;

#if _WIN32||_WIN64
    //! Inform server of a tbb master thread.
    virtual void register_master( execution_resource_t& v ) = 0;

    //! Inform server that the tbb master thread is done with its work.
    virtual void unregister_master( execution_resource_t v ) = 0;
#endif /* _WIN32||_WIN64 */
};

//------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Classes instantiated by the client
//------------------------------------------------------------------------

class tbb_client: public ::rml::client {
public:
    //! Defined by TBB to steal a task and execute it.
    /** Called by server when it wants an execution context to do some TBB work.
        The method should return when it is okay for the thread to yield indefinitely. */
    virtual void process( job& ) RML_PURE(void)
};

/** Client must ensure that instance is zero-inited, typically by being a file-scope object. */
class tbb_factory: public ::rml::factory {

    //! Pointer to routine that creates an RML server.
    status_type (*my_make_server_routine)( tbb_factory&, tbb_server*&, tbb_client& );

    //! Pointer to routine that calls callback function with server version info.
    void (*my_call_with_server_info_routine)( ::rml::server_info_callback_t cb, void* arg );

public:
    typedef ::rml::versioned_object::version_type version_type;
    typedef tbb_client client_type;
    typedef tbb_server server_type;

    //! Open factory.
    /** Dynamically links against RML library.
        Returns st_success, st_incompatible, or st_not_found. */
    status_type open();

    //! Factory method to be called by client to create a server object.
    /** Factory must be open.
        Returns st_success, or st_incompatible . */
    status_type make_server( server_type*&, client_type& );

    //! Close factory
    void close();

    //! Call the callback with the server build info
    void call_with_server_info( ::rml::server_info_callback_t cb, void* arg ) const;
};

} // namespace rml
} // namespace internal
} // namespace tbb

#endif /*__TBB_rml_tbb_H */


There are two ways to make water safe to drink. One is to physically filter out all of the bad stuff in the water, so that you are left with clean water. Another is to purify the water, or kill off everything bad in the water so that you are left with clean water. As long as the water isn't too cloudy, purifying is a good option.
What to look for when you are looking for a water purifier for camping.
Timeframe - Some water purifiers work faster than others. If you can plan ahead then waiting for your water to become purified isn't so much of a problem, but when you need your water right away, waiting is never much fun.
Light - There are several different options for purifying your water, and some are lighter than others. If you have to carry your camping gear, if you're not just car camping, then the lighter option is likely going to be the more attractive option.
The very best in camping water purifiers.
SteriPEN Adventurer Opti - The Adventurer Opti is the perfect example of technology being integrated in to backpacking and camping equipment. It uses UV light to instantly kill all of the bad stuff in the water. A quick blast of UV light and your water is ready for drinking. It also only weighs 3.6 ounces, or 103 grams, so it's a lightweight solution to drinkable water as well. The only thing to remember is that you will need batteries, and they will need to be replaced every 50 liters or so.
MSR SweetWater - The SweetWater is a combination filter and purifier, so you get the best of both worlds, and can be absolutely sure that your water is safe for drinking. A .2 micron filter gets rid of most organisms, and the chlorine purification process takes care of the rest. It weighs 11.3 ounces, or 320 grams, but if you need to be sure with questionable, the SweetWater is a great choice.
Katadyn Micropur Tablets - The Micropur tablets are chlorine dioxide tablets ideal for killing a wide range of organisms found in water. The main advantage of using tablets is that, first, there is no hard work involved. You just pop the tablet in to your water bottle and you're done. Second, they weigh next to nothing. A 30 tablet pack, good for 30 quarts, or 28 liters, weighs just .9 ounces, or 25 grams. The downside to tablets, however, is that they take time to work their magic. More specifically, you have to wait 15 minutes for the tablets to kill viruses and bacteria, 30 minutes for Giardia and 4 hours for Cryptosporidium.
If you have a purifier, you may sometimes notice that your drinking water is a little cloudy. This cloudy material is all the material that would normally be filtered out by a physical filter. If your purifier has worked you shouldn't have anything to worry about from this material, but just in case, there are cheap and light prefilters you can get to filter out that material.
And if you're in a pinch, or just don't want to bother with a prefilter, a reasonably clean bandana or T-Shirt does a good job of prefiltering too.
Find more water filter and water purifiers over at the compare water filters page.


text:
The Most Recent Golden Bear – California Golden Bears Athletics
Lisa C. Deen	Posted on December 20, 2021
Michelle Minahen / Cal Athletics
Eloise Rilely leads Quinn through a team tunnel during Friday's signing ceremony.
WWIM20/12/2021 13:30 | By: Cal Athletics
Team IMPACT's Quinn Joins Cal's Women's Swim Team
BERKELEY – Women's swim and diving program Cal, defending Pac-12 champion and owner of four NCAA tag team titles, added a rising star to their roster on Friday with the signing of Quinn Bywater from the IMPACT team .
Quinn, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019, is a 6-year-old from northern California who enjoys swimming, surfing and scooter. She also enjoys reading books and watching her favorite cartoons with her younger sister, Camryn.
"All this is possible thanks to Team IMPACT", junior Eloise Riley noted. "It's an organization that works to match chronically ill children with college teams. The goal of the IMPACT team is to help them on their healing journey and to form friendships and bonds. We're lucky Quinn is joining us. "
On Friday, Quinn, Camryn and their parents, Drew and Christine, arrived at the Legends Aquatic Center for the ceremony. And because they arrived early, Quinn and Cam got a special treat: swimming in the hot tub with several Golden Bears.
Quinn signs his letter of intent to swim for the Bears.
With Quinn and Camryn out of the water, the official signing day press conference began with Cal's entire team in attendance to welcome Quinn to the program. The Bears first met Quinn last season when she and the Bears got to know each other. Due to the pandemic, all meetings were virtual on Zoom, but that didn't seem to hold anyone back.
"We enjoyed getting to know both Quinn and Cam," junior Ayla Spitz said to the sisters. "Last year it was a bummer that we weren't able to spend some time together in person. But we were able to do these super fun Zoom activities and these would make my week. I would always hang out those with great fun. like a big smile, draw with you, learn more about you and play games. "
The Bears sent in photos and videos, along with a slew of Golden Bear gear, such as swim caps, t-shirts, pins, tote bags and stickers. In return, Quinn made lucky videos and posters for Cal's team.
"We've had a lot of fun with you over the past year or so," Riley said. "We are especially delighted to see you in person. You have been our biggest supporters."
At the press conference, Quinn signed his Letter of Intent to officially become a member of the Golden Bears. She added Camryn's signature, and her parents and head coach Teri mckeever added their signatures to formalize everything.
"The cool thing is you gotta do it before they all do it," McKeever said, referring to all the other bears around. "You're younger. I think you must be a really, really special swimmer that's going to be our secret weapon."
Quinn then answered several probing questions from Cal's team and explained why she loves being a Golden Bear. She noted that her favorite part of the team was "eating donuts in the locker room" when she wanted to travel to Hawaii and have fun at the beach. Perhaps her most enthusiastic response came at the end when Spitz asked her what she would like to do next. "Swim in the hot tub!" Quinn cried.
Once the press conference was over, the Bears, Quinn and Cam tossed a big "1-2-3 Go Bears!" well done, then it was time for cupcakes and games.
Quinn and her family learned of Quinn's disease in the fall of 2019. After a visit to her pediatrician due to dark bruises on her shins and subsequent blood tests, Quinn was diagnosed with Acute B-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Quinn was admitted to hospital, where she stayed for 14 days to begin treatment. She continued to receive intensive treatment, including chemotherapy, for the next eight months.
Quinn and her sister Camryn with the Bears
During this time, Quinn lost a lot of energy, and due to the treatment, she was not allowed to participate in many physical activities. The only doctor approved was swimming, although she had to remain isolated to protect her immune system. Prior to her diagnosis, Quinn was taking swimming lessons at Anderson's Swimming School in Pacifica. When the school heard about Quinn, she opened the pool as many times as Quinn wanted to allow her to swim on her own before class started. She started a weekly swimming routine 2-3 times a week, and it quickly became her favorite activity.
Now she can continue to swim as a California Golden Bear.
About the IMPACT team
Team IMPACT is the only non-profit organization in the United States that tackles the emotional trauma and social isolation experienced by children facing serious and chronic medical diagnoses by matching them with a varsity sports team. Our two-year therapy program complements a child's medical treatments, allowing the child to develop relationships and skills that help them complete the full circle of healing.
By participating in Team IMPACT's clinically informed program, children experience a true sense of belonging, which results in increased empowerment, normalization, health promotion and resilience. Families feel connected and supported as their child achieves individualized goals, while experiencing the joy of team camaraderie and inclusion; and student-athletes gain perspective and inspiration, as well as lessons in adversity and resilience.
Founded in 2011, the IMPACT team has matched more than 2,300 children with more than 700 colleges and universities in 49 states, affecting more than 65,000 student-athletes. The IMPACT team has over 1,200 teams across the country waiting to be matched with children, ages 5 to 16, who have been diagnosed with severe illness or disability and may benefit from becoming a member of the team. To find out more, or if you know of a kid who might be interested, jump in on teamimpact.org and @goteamimpact.
College tool displays degree costs, post-graduation salaries and more
Tencent WE Summit Celebrates the Power of Scientific Innovation with Nobel Prize Winners
Free speech under attack at MIT, Williams must stand up for free speech – The Williams Record
How "science" woke up
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The bay area omicron wave is underway. Here's what to expect in the coming weeks
Lisa C. Deen December 26, 2021
Four years of math hurts students of color – Berkeley High Jacket
Counterpoint: Skip Foreign Languages at Your Peril | Chroniclers


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Q: How to stick two UITableView section headers to the top of UITableView one above another while scrolling UITableView can have section headers and by default when you scroll the table view then the section header will stick to the top. In my table view I will have sections/cells with years and months and I want to stick both year section/cell and month section/cell to the top together. For example tableview will have rows:
2010
 january
  something1
  something2
 february
  something1
  something2
2009
 feb
  something1
  something2
 march
  something1
  something2
  ...

and when I scroll down I want both cells:
2009
 march

to stick to the top of the table view one above the other. How to solve this problem?

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Tobacco is generally known by public as a harmful plant (if consumed, like tobacco found in cigarettes). Some adverse effects that may result from the use of tobacco in cigarettes is irritation of the eyes and nose, headache, hoarse throat, cough, headache and respiratory problems and can lead to heart disease, even lung cancer. Did you know that besides giving bad effects, the tobacco has also good effects for human health? This fact is rarely known, and in this article, I will explain about the good effects of tobacco for human health.
One of the functions of tobacco is as producer of antimicrobials. These antimicrobials can be obtained from extracts of non-cigarette tobacco plants. Based on various studies that have been conducted, it turns out that tobacco extracts can be identified as antimicrobial compounds against some classes of microbes such as E. coli, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Tobacco extract has a potential to inhibit the growth of bacteria E. coli and S. aureus. The content of ethanol extract essential oils from tobacco has the most effective role for inhibiting the growth of bacteria in the human body.
Tobacco may also be useful as anti-inflammatory drug manufacturers. Scientists from several European research institutions participate in the project entitled "Pharma-Planta" led by Professor Mario Pezzotti of the University of Verona. They created transgenic tobacco producing interleukin-10 (IL-10), which is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine. Cytokines are proteins that stimulate immune cells to be active. The genetic code (DNA) encoding IL-10 was planted in tobacco and tobacco would produce the protein. They tried two different versions of IL-10. One was taken from a virus, the other one taken from the mice. The researchers found that tobacco can produce two forms of IL-10. Huge active cytokine production may be taken by a process of extraction and purification.
Now let's talk about positive effects of tobacco for agriculture. The tobacco extract can also be used to control agricultural pests and as a deterrent to termites in various wooden furniture. Tobacco extract will diffuse so as to kill the termites inside a dry wood. The nicotine content of tobacco extract is powerful toxic for insects. So the use of the extracts on wood furniture can kill termites effectively.
Tobacco leaves also contain bioactive compounds such as flavonoids and phenols. Both compounds have an antioxidant activity preventing the occurrence of cancer (anti-carcinogenic), as anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory and giving protective effects against cardiovascular problems. Tobacco also contains vitamin C, which acts as an antioxidant reacting with the free antiradical and giving the cell protective effects. The tobacco leaves contain Zinc (Zn), useful in the formation of enzymes in the human body structure. You should not forget that all the advantages described above can be transformed into losses if you consume tobacco in the form of cigarettes.
The tobacco has many advantages but it can also result in losses. The positive side and the negative side of tobacco depend on the steps we use in consuming tobacco in everyday life.


The Boren Scholarships offers a special initiative to entice STEM undergraduate majors to study abroad over the summer. Students must study abroad for at least eight weeks over the summer and in exchange, the program provides up to $8,000 in funding. This funding is especially useful as it aims to enhance the foreign language study of STEM majors. Students can opt to find a program that focuses solely on language instruction or one that teaches language in conjunction with other coursework. Additionally, students can apply for funding to complete a STEM internship abroad. More information about eligibility criteria can be found at the Boren Awards website, which is located at: https://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship/stem.html.
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, or the NSF GRFP, provides up to three years of funding for graduate students. Only students intending to major in a research-based graduate degree in STEM are eligible. Students who meet the criteria for underrepresented populations within the STEM field (women, students with disabilities, veterans, and minority students) are especially encouraged to apply for the grant. Each year, this award provides funding for approximately 2,000 students. In order to be eligible for this award, students be a U.S. citizen, have not yet received an award from NSF GRFP, not employed by NSF, and not have completed more than two years of graduate coursework yet. Applications are chosen based on academic merit and for the societal impact of their work. More information can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15597/nsf15597.htm.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Antibody Scholarship Program provides two $10,000 scholarships and four $5,000 scholarships annually to students in a STEM field. This scholarship is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students must have above a 3.0 grade point average in order to be considered. This program requires completion of an application, which can be found on their website, and official transcripts. In addition, recommendations, resume, and a copy or posters of projects may be included if desired. Additionally, the website offers students helpful checklists to ensure that their application is complete (there are separate checklists depending on the student's level in school). More information can be found at: http://www.pierce-antibodies.com/PierceScholarship/.
STEM students should also consider checking with their financial aid office to see whether there are STEM related scholarships available through either their university or academic department. In addition, students may want to consider checking out STEM scholarships at the state level.


March 14 is Pi Day. On March 14, 1988, a physicist, Larry Shaw, organized the first Pi Day at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California.
They continue to hold Pi Day celebrations today, marching around a circular space and eating fruit pies.
Now many schools across the country celebrate Pi Day, its date fixed by the closest and most common representation of the number Pi, 3.14, or the Friday before.
Activities shared range from cutting out circles, to bringing in fruit or pizza pies or cookies, to assigning the numbers 0 through 9 a color and stringing beads or paper chains representing the colors of pi, without repeating a pattern.
Teachpi.org has assembled some of the activities teachers have shared.
Write numbers on index cards and have students string them, in order, down a string in the hallway.
Hold a contest for the most number of digits of pi students can recite from memory.
MIT posts its decisions, privately, about applicants for the next year's class on Pi Day. Princeton combines its celebration of Pi Day with Albert Einstein's birthday, also March 14. Pizone.org, a family-funded non-profit, posts pi-related activities and news, such as their photo of the sky on September 12, 2012, when five sky-writing planes coordinated to write 1,000 digits of pi. They include a banana measurement activity to illustrate pi.
Cut off the bottom of a banana.
It should be wide enough for three slices, side by side, with a little left over. That's pi, the ratio of the diameter of the banana, represented by the slices, to the circumference, represented by the laid-open flat banana peel.
Did you ever wonder what pi was, besides a formula you had to memorize? Did you know your grandchildren might now be celebrating Pi Day? What was your favorite school holiday?
To you and celebrating the wonder of the world with your grandchildren.
I love the scene in the movie The Life of Pi where the main character takes ownership of his name. The math teacher at my hold high school would get more than a few pies on Pi day. Students really love her…. she makes math fun.
I clearly went to school too soon. Pies at school for math! Love it!
I love this. I would have had a blast with this as a first grade teacher.
I only recently learned of Pi day a couple years ago. Of course the people I heard about it from were both math geeks (one of them just got his PHD in math theory or some such).
I always loved math because it was so clean. Not messy, like science. But, now, I like finding activities that help you visualize the underlying math principle.


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I was 12 years old when I first heard of the Peace Corps. In 1970, a year of civil disruption and personal epiphanies, I became aware of just how large the globe is and how different its people. Reports on TV, newspaper headlines, Mrs Hart's 8th grade US History class, my older cousin Bobby joining the Marines to fight in "Nam," my grandparents returning home from yet another corner of the globe, replete with photographs and stories of their exotic travels. Somewhere along the line, I heard a now-long-forgotten reference to "President Kennedy's Peace Corps" where young people volunteer to live and work in developing the countries, learning their languages, eating their food, teaching and helping.
The world is coming alive. New countries are bursting with activity. In Latin America and the Middle East, in Africa and Asia, there is an urgent desire to leap into the twentieth century.
The Peace Corps is part of our effort to help make that leap forward a success. It is part of our effort to help in the world-wide assault against poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease – a grass roots, rice roots volunteer effort of free men.
As we see it, the Peace Corps is a trained group of skilled workers – and I emphasize trained and skilled – a trained group of skilled workers, young in years, mature in judgment, dedicated in purpose, voluntary in character, ready to go and work anywhere in the world at the discretion of the President of the United States.
All of this will be an effort on our part to encourage the development of newly emerging nations – and to develop with them. Every Peace Corps volunteer who goes abroad will have something to offer to the people with whom he lives and works – and to learn from them.
I have been talking about what Americans can give working as members of the Peace Corps. It is important to emphasize that they will receive as much as they give, and perhaps more. I want to make it clear that when our Peace Corps volunteers go to other countries they will go to learn, not just to teach.
In our shrinking world all peoples of the world are neighbors. It is the responsibility of all of us to understand our neighbors and to learn from one another. Because the members of the Peace Corps are eager to have a better understanding of their neighbors in other countries, they are asking for the opportunity to live abroad and to work with people of different cultures so that they may understand and learn their way of life.


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Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Ocean Sciences
INVITATION TO CONTRIBUTE ARTICLES
In December 2023, The Oceanography Society (TOS) plans to publish a special issue of Oceanography on "Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Ocean Sciences." As guest editors, we are seeking initial community interest in contributing articles to this special issue. Details on specific topics are provided below. We ask that you forward this invitation to other individuals who might be interested in participating.
Letters of interest should be emailed to Oceanography editor Ellen Kappel ([email protected]) by November 1, 2022, and should contain the following:
A summary of the content of the proposed paper (no more than 200 words)
Potential authorship and affiliations
Identify which topic your article would fit under (see below)
Proposed length (see below for specific words counts for different articles)
Notice of whether you will be invited to contribute an article will be sent by December 15, 2022. Further information on deadlines is provided at the end of this invitation.
PURPOSE OF THE SPECIAL ISSUE
The special issue has three main goals: (1) to serve as a resource for building diversity, equity, and inclusion in the ocean sciences; (2) to inspire people and institutions to earnestly review practices and commit to meaningful positive changes to achieve a truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse ocean sciences field; and (3) to encourage scholars from underrepresented and marginalized groups to become and remain ocean scientists.
We aspire to publish a compendium that includes manuscripts written by individuals and groups that showcase the perspectives of diverse scientists, students, program managers, cultural practitioners, and educators who are engaged in initiatives and programs with diverse communities in a variety of areas of ocean science. An important discussion will be the structural and cultural barriers to entry, participation, success, and retention in the field. Successful strategies to engage, recruit, retain, support, and advance individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds will be highlighted with the goal of assembling a critical resource for changing the dominant academic and workforce culture.
As an open-access journal, all articles will be openly available to the public on the Oceanography website at the time of publication. Paper copies will be mailed to TOS members, and a limited number of copies will be available for non-TOS members to order.
There will be no cost to authors for publishing articles in this special issue. Copy editing, design, and print and web distribution is supported by grants from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Office of Naval Research (ONR), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
We are seeking letters of interest within the following specific topical areas:
TOPIC 1. Numbers and Trends: What Do the Data Tell Us?
One or more articles will provide an evaluation of NSF and other data that show the ethnic breakdown of master's and doctoral degrees awarded in the ocean sciences over the past few decades. It will include NOAA data on the diversity in their programs, as well as data from NASA, if available. The article will discuss the trends, illustrating demographic shifts in society that are not reflected in the ocean and ocean-related sciences. We welcome the inclusion of diversity data from non-US countries. Note that the journal has already published two special issues devoted to women and gender issues, one in 2005 and another in 2014, and that this new effort is focused on ethnic diversity. However, data on intersectionality would also be of interest.
Word count: No more than 6000 words and six figures
TOPIC 2. Barriers to Entry, Persistence, Advancement, and Success
We are seeking one to two multiple-author articles that discuss the barriers to entry, persistence, advancement, and success for underrepresented and marginalized groups at the institutional, programmatic, departmental, and/or procedural level. As barriers can be ubiquitous and pervasive at all levels, starting with academic experiences through workforce career trajectories, please include effective strategies that institutions, programs, and individuals can employ to identify and mitigate these barriers. Include examples that showcase successes in academia and/or the workforce (i.e., all ocean science sectors, including government, private, and/or nonprofit).
Word count: No more than 6000 words and six figures.
We are seeking a full-length article that discusses how to build an effective support structure internally and externally across institutions and programs for scholars and employees from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. The article will cover why diversity efforts cannot begin and end with recruitment, and will include a discussion of the need for long-term support structures and systems that catalyze retention efforts (such as inclusive onboarding practices, mentoring involving faculty and peer-to-peer relationships, building professional networks, providing professional learning, development, and advancement opportunities). Effective strategies for leadership development and advancement within the ocean science workforce are of interest as well. We anticipate the authors will invite a sidebar in this article that tackles the issue of how to become an effective ally.
Full article word count: No more than 6000 words and six figures. Sidebar word count: No more than 1000 words and one figure.
We are seeking to publish several sidebars or spotlights that cover a range of topics related to barriers to inclusion. Example topics include, but are not limited to:
Why language matters and continues to evolve: who is setting the language (and driving the conversations) and the role words and language play in shaping our identities, building upon the TOS JEDI column on inclusive language by Craig and Bhatt (2021).
The professional, societal, and organizational benefits of choosing to work on diversity, equity, and inclusion-specific issues
The need to shift value structures in ocean science so that JEDI work is valued equitably with the science, as well as all other aspects of our academic/work portfolio (i.e., inclusion of JEDI efforts in tenure and promotion requirements, workforce performance plans, and/or grant awards and funding announcements)
The compounding impacts of intersectionality
Intellectual, emotional, and health "cost" of underrepresented and marginalized scholars at predominantly white institutions and in the workforce
The role of family/culture in shaping the course of diverse individuals in the profession
Racial/gender/sexual harassment and assault, from unconscious microagressions to intentional attacks
Ways in which underrepresented and marginalized scholars learn about ocean science careers before entering college and while they are enrolled; identify the gaps in awareness of careers in ocean sciences for students, faculty, and administrators and offer solutions to fill the gaps
Sidebar or spotlight word count: No more than 1000 words and one figure. Extensions to the word and figure count will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
TOPIC 3. A Look at Some Federally Funded Programs
We anticipate an opening article by federal program managers who discuss agency motivations and goals in funding programs aimed at increasing diversity in the ocean sciences. What types of programs are they funding? What are examples of new trends and innovations they are seeing? Which goals have been met? Can they speculate about the reasons for successes or failures to meet program objectives? Are there new programs on the horizon? How has their thinking about their programs evolved, and what has been done internally at the agencies to address needs?
We anticipate including six short articles plus several one- and two-page sidebars and spotlights that showcase the range of federally funded programs aimed at increasing diversity in the ocean sciences, including the workforce. These articles will address the external facing side of their program as well as the internal culture of running their particular type of program. Below are some examples of information that the articles might include.
For student programs:
What are the program motivations, grade level of students targeted, and length of program?
How are students and mentors recruited?
Are training and support provided for mentors and mentees?
Are the students fully funded (e.g., stipend, travel, housing, meals)?
What types of activities do the students engage in?
Are course credits offered?
How are the program outcomes evaluated?
Lessons learned. What would you do differently next time to increase success? What was successful?
Programs that aim to diversify the workforce and faculty/staff in academia:
How are faculty, staff, and additional members of the ocean science workforce recruited and retained within a program or workplace? Discuss new hiring mechanisms and effectiveness of "cohort hires" and other best practices.
How are you diversifying reviewer pools and hiring/selection panels?
Provide examples of effective strategies you have used to mitigate barriers to entry, persistence, advancement, and leadership.
Describe any education programs you have employed with built-in "'bridge to employment/faculty" components.
Demonstrate the importance of mentorship, sponsorship, and allyship.
Has your department reimagined the promotion/tenure process and advancement potential in the workforce? What does it look like now?
What programs do you have for Inclusive faculty/workforce/leadership development?
Short article word count: No more than 3000 words and three figures. Sidebar word count: No more than 1000 words and one figure.
TOPIC 4. Other Initiatives
We anticipate that this chapter will open with a collaborative article contributed by societies (e.g., TOS, AGU, ASLO) that discusses what they have done in the past, are doing now, and plan to do in the future to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the ocean sciences. The article will provide examples of successes and identify ways in which individuals can get involved in their programs.
We are seeking a second article that reviews place-based culturally relevant strategies in oceanography and more broadly in geoscience. We are also interested in considering articles that explore how place-based education has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, how have groups integrated place-based education into distance and online learning, whether that's created more flexibility for different audiences, and what examples/experiences have been successful.
In this chapter, we would like to include several one- or two-page articles that describe the motivations and accomplishments of, and lessons learned by, grassroots programs and affinity groups in promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the ocean sciences. We are interested in programs started by people at all stages of their careers, including students, and in all types of work environments (e.g., academia, government, industry, nonprofit).
Sidebar word count: No more than 1000 words and one figure. Extensions to the word and figure count will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
TOPIC 5. Your Ideas
We may not have captured all of the important issues and efforts in the four major categories listed above. If you have a topic that might be an important contribution to this special issue, please send us a short (no more than 200 words) description.
If you have questions about this supplement, please contact Oceanography editor Ellen Kappel ([email protected]).
Expression of interest: November 1, 2022
Confirmation of contribution: December 15, 2022
First draft: July 1, 2023
Expected publication date: December 2023
Special Issue Guest Editors
Ben Cuker, Corey Garza, Deidre Gibson, Catalina Martinez, Wendy F. Todd (Smythe), and Cassie Xu


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India.Arie Praises The Art Of Protest In Powerful New Music Video For 'What If'
"What if Martin didn't stand up? What if Rosa didn't sit down?"
Photo credit:A good soldier is always ready whether serious or sharing a good a laugh.
| January 18 2019,
Grammy-winning artist India.Arie is known for producing soulful classics accompanied by an emphatic message. Her 2005 single "I Am Not My Hair" was a joyful declaration of the diversity of Black women's tresses. Her latest single, "What If," is an influential anthem praising civil rights pioneers who spoke out against injustice and paved the way for modern-day activism.
The black-and-white visuals begin with an outside shot of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s home in Atlanta, Georgia. Several images of the pastor and civil rights activist appear rapidly, from his famed "I Have a Dream" speech to images of his march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Arie's soulful voice sings, "What if Martin didn't stand up?" Questioning the positive actions of prominent Black influencers becomes the general theme of the video, as the lyrics follow with "What if Rosa didn't sit down?"
As the video continues, Arie highlights the efforts made by other Black history makers, but not before pondering, "Where would we be now?"
The chorus of "What If" functions as a call to action. The Denver native sings, "We are the ones we've been waiting for. We can change the world."
A clear theme of "What If" is the never-ending fight for minority rights, as the chilling images of Black Lives Matter activists and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick are a sobering reminder that social justice and racial equality is still at the center of the everyday struggle of Black people.
However, the video is also an ode to Black excellence and enthusiastically showcases prominent Black figures of today who have found significant success in their crafts. In addition to tennis legend Serena Williams and Oscar winner Viola Davis, possible 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris also flashes across the screen.
Watch the touching music video for "What If" below.
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