text:
Shelterforce considers "community development" to be an extremely broad term. But there are still many conversations about the ways in which that broad work happens. Comprehensively or in coalitions of specialized organizations? Locally or regionally? Place or people? While the answers to all of these are usually "both," there are many conversations to be had about "how."
The Tenants Movement and Housers
Community Development Field Woody Widrow - November 1, 2005
Much has changed in the last 30 years about both Shelterforce magazine and the housing movement. Shelterforce, which began as a tenants' rights and...
In Memoriam: Cushing Dolbeare
Community Development Field Shelterforce Staff - March 1, 2005
Cushing N. Dolbeare, founder and chair emeritus of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, died March 17 of cancer at her home in Mitchellville,...
Making Progress in the Preservation of Affordable Housing
Housing Tracy Kaufman and Michael Bodaken - January 1, 2004
During the last six months of 2003, one could easily make the case that the nation's entire domestic priorities were summed up in five...
Anatomy of a Merger
Community Development Field - May 1, 2003
The merger of two nonprofit housing development corporations in Nashua, New Hampshire, provides an opportunity to examine one path these organizations can take to increase the odds of survival.
East Harlem's Bottom Line: Hope Community Development Corporation
Community Development Field Matt Pacenza - September 1, 2002
Mark Alexander has a plan. At 46, he isn't content with having more than tripled the number of apartments that Hope Community manages in...
Between Eminence & Notoriety: Four Decades of Radical Urban Planning
Community Development Field Kenneth M. Reardon - May 1, 2002
Between Eminence & Notoriety: Four Decades of Radical Urban Planning, by Chester Hartman, Center for Urban Policy Research, 2002. 405 pp. $29.95 (Paperback), $39.95...
So You Want to Be a Developer: Community Organizing Groups Consider Housing Development
Community Development Field Bob Brehm - January 1, 2002
The second week of October 2001 was a busy one for Nobel Neighbors, a community organizing group in Chicago's West Humboldt Park neighborhood. It...
Going the Other Way: Adding Organizing to Development
Some groups move in the opposite direction from Nobel Neighbors, starting out with a development focus and adding in organizing for the same reasons...
Arts and Culture Donald C. Kelly - January 1, 2000
CDCs now recognize that art and cultural activities can be useful tools toward building a community's identity, meaning, and spirit. But bank regulators have not yet reached a sufficient level of comfort with this new strategy.
CRA Survives Its Toughest Challenge
Community Development Field Michael Rubinger and Benson F. Roberts - November 1, 1999
There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result. –Winston Churchill The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has survived the most serious attack in...
Expanding the Scope of Community Development
Community Development Field Jeremy Nowak - January 1, 1998
More than four decades of suburban growth have moved demographic, political, and economic power from central cities toward their suburban counties. The change can...
Redefining Community Development
Community Development Field Winton Pitcoff - January 1, 1998
Part II: Collaborating for Change (Click here for Part 1: New Partnerships) Willie Mae Gaskin can't walk through the halls of the Warren/Conner Development Coalition (WCDC)...
Preparing for Change
Community Development Field William Traynor - January 1, 1998
CBOs, particularly those involved in comprehensive community building efforts, need to do a better job of involving residents and other constituents in planning and...
Comprehensive Community Initiatives: Words Not Whacks
Community Development Field Bill Link and Rennie Saunders - January 1, 1998
You've had it! You've tried your best to remain calm and reasonable in a conflict, but your last nerve has been plucked. What now? WAIT....
Housing Advocate, Minnesota State Representative Karen Clark
Housing Kirsten Bansen - November 1, 1997
Mention the word "housing" in the Minnesota state legislature, and you're likely to be referred to the office of Representative Karen Clark. Clark, a...
Comprehensive Community Initiatives: Redefining Community Development
Community Development Field Winton Pitcoff - November 1, 1997
Part I: New Partnerships Driving through the Germantown neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia is a study in contrasts. Huge stone mansions stand side-by-side with boarded and...
Interview with Melvin L. Oliver of the Ford Foundation
Interviews John Atlas and Harold Simon - January 1, 1997
Melvin Oliver, vice president for asset building and community development at the Ford Foundation, talks about community development, black and white wealth, and racial inequality.
Getting the Lead Out: Controlling Lead Paint Hazards in Housing
Health Cushing N. Dolbeare and Don Ryan - January 1, 1997
Lead poisoning remains the foremost environmental health risk to American children, with just under one million children with elevated lead levels. While the average...
The Soul of the Neighborhood
Community Development Field Alice Shabecoff and Paul Brophy - May 1, 1996
Why do we call community-based development an "industry" rather than a "movement" these days? "Industry" is such a satisfyingly hard-nosed word. It says, 'we...
Blog John Atlas - November 1, 1995
It was during 1973 that I first began thinking about a national publication for the housing movement. I was a legal services lawyer helping...


In this episode of Anna Gare's Cab Fare, I meet Hameed, a cab driver for over 20 years. I try my hand at making his succulent lamb soup and create some perfectly poached pears. Later, I call in to Hameed's impressive family home and serve up a Middle Eastern-inspired menu.


text:
Q: How to replicate all resources/stack to another aws account? I am trying to clone my aws account(prod) to another account(test) with all resources and configuration I have set up on prod. Is there any best practice to replicate the aws account to another?

A: This is not possible.
Nor is there an easy way to list all resources in an AWS account.
Each AWS Service (eg EC2, S3, Lambda) have their own API calls to list resources and describe configurations. There is no universal way to request this information.
Best Practice is to only create resources using AWS CloudFormation templates, thereby having full documentation of resources created and the ability to deploy similar infrastructure in other AWS accounts or regions.
Some third-party services (eg https://www.hava.io/) can extract configuration information and automatically create AWS CloudFormation templates. However, these templates only record the configuration of AWS resources -- they do not replicate the content of storage on disks, Amazon S3 or databases.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
This section is pretty geeky stuff, but it may help you understand how themes operate. Feel free to skip down to the next heading if this sort of thing isn't fun for you.
The modern file formats in Office applications (2007 and higher) are based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML). XML is a markup language, like HTML, but it's more database-friendly because you can define your own tags. Some of these XML tags within an Office document define the theme settings for the document.
Each Office document file is actually a compressed archive (a zip file) with a different extension that causes Windows to identify the file as an Office application file and not a zip file. You can make a copy of a document file and then rename the copy to use a .zip extension. Then you can double-click to open the zip file as if it were a folder and browse its component parts.
Follow these steps to check out the theme settings in a Word document:
Create a new Word document. Type a few line of text in it, and save it in the default Word format (.docx).
In Windows Explorer (or File Explorer, depending on your Windows version), rename the file so that it has a .zip extension instead of .docx.
Double-click the file. Windows opens it like it would open any other compressed ZIP archive. In the archive are several folders, including _rels, cutomXml, docProps, and word.
Double-click the word folder. Within it are two folders: _rels and theme.
Double-click the theme folder. Within it is a theme1.xml file.
Double-click the theme1.xml file. It open in whatever program is the default for XML files (probably IE).
7.	Scroll through the file to see the theme settings. They probably won't make a lot of sense to you--just a bunch of HTML-like tags and numeric codes. Figure 1 shows an example.
Close the browser window.
Either delete the file or rename it back to having a .docx extension so you can use it in Word.
Figure 1: The stored themes from a Word document in XML format.
Notice in Figure 1 that there are numeric codes for values such as dk1, lt1, and so on. Later in this article you'll learn about the color placeholders in themes, which have names like Dark 1, Light 1, and o on. Not a coincidence. The numeric codes are hexadecimal numbers representing RGB values. For example, 44546A is 44 red, 54 green, 6A blue.
Now, if you are feeling extra curious, try the above steps on a theme file:
Browse to Program Files\Microsoft Office\Document Themes 15. Here's where the built-in themes in Office applications are stored. You may recognize names that you've seen within the applications, such as Facet, Ion, and Slice.
Copy one of the theme files (Ctrl+C and then Ctrl+V) and rename the copy, changing the extension to .zip, the same as you did in the previous steps.
Double-click the zip file to browse it, and then inside it, navigate to theme/theme/theme1.xml.
Double-click theme1.xml and scroll through it to see the settings. It' s the same basic stuff you saw in Figure 1, which was embedded in a Word document, but this time it's a free agent.
Close the browser window and delete the copy you made.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
BIRMINGHAM: LETHAL ELECTRIC FENCE ALARMS HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP
17 May 2002, 12:00am
The 'Electro-Guard 5000' fence, distributed by New York-based company DeTekion Security Systems, Inc., has been advertised for sale at the International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) 2002, held in Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.
The free-standing fence, designed to 'deter, detect and delay intruder activity', is advertised as being capable of operating in 'full time lethal mode' or alternating between lethal and non-lethal modes. The company lists Egypt, Korea, Mexico and countries in the Middle East amongst its clients.
Scotland Yard says the device would be illegal for use in the UK and Amnesty International is urging the UK government to immediately investigate the matter and to take concrete steps to prevent companies promoting and marketing products that would inherently facilitate arbitrary killing or torture.
'Even in the current security climate the penalty for trespass is not execution,' said Director of Amnesty International UK Kate Allen. 'The UK Government should not be allowing companies to promote equipment that would violate international human rights standards.'
Amnesty International is pointing out that a device capable of killing someone with an electric shock upon arbitrary application of a switch or timer is contrary to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms. These state that lethal force should not be used except when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. The use of force must also be to the minimum extent required under the circumstances.
According to the DeTekion's sales material, 'on alarm detection, the system can switch to lethal mode instantly or after a programmable short time delay.'
The conference – which ran from May 13-16 - was supported by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA).
Please click here for more Amnesty International information on electro-shock technologies


The primary prospectus benchmark for the fund is the MSCI All-Country World Index ex USA Index. One of the accessible implementations of this index is the iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF (ACWX). Alpholio™ calculations indicate that from inception inception through February 2017, the fund returned more than the ETF in approximately 70% of all rolling 36-month periods, 71% of 24-month periods and 51% of 12-month periods. The mean and median cumulative (not annualized) outperformance over a rolling 36-period was about 9.7% and 11%, respectively.
While a comparison of rolling returns assesses average relative performance over typical holding periods, it does not take the fund's volatility or exposures into account. To gain a more comprehensive insight, let's employ the Alpholio™ patented methodology. In its simplest variant, this approach constructs a reference ETF portfolio with fixed membership and weights, so that periodic returns of the portfolio most closely track those of the analyzed fund. In all of the following analyses, the membership of the reference portfolio was restricted to no more than six ETFs.
Over its lifetime, the fund failed to add value on a truly risk-adjusted basis. Its cumulative return was lower and the volatility (measured as a standard deviation of monthly returns) higher than those of its reference ETF portfolio. After a long downward trend, the cumulative RealAlpha™ curve flattened out toward the end of the analysis interval. This suggests that the fund's performance may have lately improved. The fund's RealBeta™ was slightly below that of the a broad-based domestic equity ETF.
The fund had major equivalent positions in the WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFE), PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP), SPDR® S&P® Bank ETF (KBE), WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFJ), PowerShares NASDAQ Internet Portfolio (PNQI), and iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF (IAI).
Relative to its reference ETF portfolio, the fund significantly improved its performance beginning in the second quarter of 2016. However, the fund's volatility was still elevated, mostly likely due to its concentrated holdings.
The fund had major equivalent positions in the PowerShares DWA Industrials Momentum Portfolio (PRN), iShares MSCI Italy Capped ETF (EWI), and WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ), as well as the aforementioned DFE, UUP and DFJ.
In the fact sheet, Evermore Global Value emphasizes its unique strategy: difficult to replicate, special-situations focused investments, typically concentrated in 30-40 positions with an active share near 100. However, in itself an unconventional approach is not a guarantee of success – it was only over the past year that this strategy added any significant value after adjustment for volatility and exposures. As usual, investors are advised to analyze a fund's performance year by year, instead of just looking at the annualized returns over the industry's standard one-, three- and five-year periods.
To learn more about the Evermore Global Value and other mutual funds, please register on our website.


Peter Pan Flies: Is it officially Spring or not yet?
Could you imagine Peter Pan flying through sleet? Would he be drenched or will the water simply slip through his slithe body? These questions preoccupied me as I struggled through my third day in London and asked -- is it officially Spring?
The day began cold and gray (sounds like a song!) but sunlight peeked occasionally particularly at lunchtime. Then I noticed that the plants were alive as well. Weren't these indications of Spring. It was cold all right (hovering between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius) but folks were out some even showing signs of not bothering whether they were clad properly or not.
To show as much courage, I set out tonight to undetake dinner alone. There was this lovely Spanish restaurant on Great Portland Street. It is called Iberica - how apt! Tapas were exceptional and attention from the receptionist and servers extraordinary. Wine would have been wonderful but I decided not to take any alcohol fearing that my jet lag might set in. As if the place which has an art gallery as well had a reputation because the restaurant quickly filled up just past 7pm.
Is it Spring - who knows or cares. As long as people treat the weather as a friend and enjoy each other's company in a tapas bar/restaurant, it shouldn't matter. Peter Pan himself would not have bothered with the weather. . . . because his nemesis won't.


text:
Follow Along

Go To presentations.uglymongrel.com/path-to-2.0

OR http://bit.ly/1up8SxL

and click the follow along button to auto sync with the projector

<--Notes-->

Before i go any further just a little bit about the slides your seeing

You can view this presentation and see extra content i wont show in this presentation by going to one of the links on the screen now

If you go there now and check the follow along button in the bottom right ( assuming the Internet connection holds out ) you will be able to follow along automatically as I change slides.

Simply un-check the box at any time to stop following. re check at any time to catch back up

The entire slide deck is Built using the current stable version jQuery Mobile and the source code is available on github

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Alamofire error Code=-1000 "The URL does not point to a file URL" Having issues uploading images to my server from the iOS application I'm developing. I'm using Alamofire, and a UIImagePickerController.
Inside the didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo delegate method I'm saving the file the user selects as a NSURL from info[UIImagePickerControllerReferenceURL] in a variable named self.imageNSURL.
Passing this along to Alamofires upload multipartFormData method as such (pretty much a standard copy and paste from their docs)
Alamofire.upload(
    .POST,
    URLString: "http://app.staging.acme.com/api/users/\(id)/picture",
    multipartFormData: { multipartFormData in
        multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(fileURL: self.imageNSURL, name: "image")
    },
    encodingCompletion: { encodingResult in
        switch encodingResult {
        case .Success(let upload, _, _):
            upload.responseJSON { request, response, JSON, error in
                println(JSON)
            }
        case .Failure(let encodingError):
            println(encodingError)
        }
    }
)

The error in return I am getting is
Error Domain=com.alamofire.error Code=-1000 "The operation couldn't be completed. The URL does not point to a file URL: assets-library://asset/asset.JPG?id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&ext=JPG" UserInfo=0x00000000000 {NSLocalizedFailureReason=The URL does not point to a file URL: assets-library://asset/asset.JPG?id=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&ext=JPG}

Please note, I've nerfed the ID's in the response for this post, the actual error message contains valid ones.

A: Well this is due to the URL returned from info[UIImagePickerControllerReferenceURL] this URL points to assets-library/asset, this due to sandboxing. So you cannot access the file using this URL thats why alamofire complains that your URL is not a file URL. To solve this problem you can use multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: data, name: name) this method takes the data to be sent directly as NSData. Full code example:
let imagePicked = info[UIImagePickerControllerOriginalImage]
let imageExtenstion = info[UIImagePickerControllerReferenceURL]
// imageExtenstion will be "asset.JPG"/"asset.JPEG"/"asset.PNG"
// so we have to remove the asset. part
var imagePickedData : NSData
switch imageExtenstion {
    case "PNG": imagePickedData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(imagePicked)!
   // compressionQuality is a float between 0.0 and 1.0 with 0.0 being most compressed with lower quality and 1.0 least compressed with higher quality
    case "JPG", "JPEG": imagePickedData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(image, compressionQuality)!
}
Alamofire.upload(.POST, YOUR_URL, multipartFormData: { multipartFormData in
     multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: imagePickedData, name: imageName)
 }, encodingCompletion: { encodingResult in
    switch encodingResult {
    case .Success(let upload, _, _):
        upload.responseJSON { request, response, JSON, error in
            print(JSON)
        }
    case .Failure(let encodingError):
        print(encodingError)
    }
})

A: I ran into this same issue before. Fortunately Alamofire has a way around having to explicitly upload a .jpeg file to your server, which is beneficial since it avoids the time required to write the your image NSData to disk. This is accomplished with multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: imageData, name: "image", fileName: "image.jpeg", mimeType: "image/jpeg").
Below is a more detailed example:
Alamofire.upload(.POST, "path/to/resource/to/receive/image/", multipartFormData: { multipartFormData -> Void in
        /**
        - parameter imageData: NSData representation of your image
        - parameter name: String of the name to associated with the data in the Content-Disposition HTTP header. To use an HTML example, "image" in the following code: <input type="file" name="image">
        - parameter fileName: String of the name that you are giving the image file, an example being image.jpeg
        - parameter mimeType: String of the type of file you are uploading (image/jpeg, image/png, etc)
        **/
        multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: imageData, name: "image", fileName: "image.jpeg", mimeType: "image/jpeg")
        }, encodingCompletion: { encodingResult in
            switch encodingResult {
            case .Success(let upload, _, _):
                upload.responseJSON { response in
                    debugPrint(response)
                }
            case .Failure(let encodingError):
                print(encodingError)
            }
})

A:
i had same issue with local image path & which resolved by setting correct path

Utility Functions
var TimestampJPGImageName :String {
    var stringTimeStamp =  "\(NSDate().timeIntervalSince1970 * 1000)"
    stringTimeStamp = stringTimeStamp.stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfString(".", withString: "_")
    stringTimeStamp = stringTimeStamp.stringByAppendingString(".jpg")
    stringTimeStamp = stringTimeStamp.stringByAddingPercentEncodingWithAllowedCharacters( NSCharacterSet.URLQueryAllowedCharacterSet())!

    return stringTimeStamp
}

func fileUrlForPathComponent(pathComponent: String) -> NSURL?{

    let pathDocumentDirectory = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(.DocumentDirectory, .UserDomainMask, true)[0] as String
    let filePath = "\(pathDocumentDirectory)/\(pathComponent)"
    let fileUrl = NSURL(fileURLWithPath: filePath)

    return fileUrl
}

func fileSaveToDirectory(image: UIImage, name: String?) -> NSURL? {

    //let fileManager = NSFileManager.defaultManager()
    //fileManager.createFileAtPath(fileUrlToWrite!.path, contents: imageData, attributes: nil)

    var fileUrlToWrite : NSURL? = nil
    if let fileName : String = name {
        fileUrlToWrite = fileUrlForPathComponent(fileName)//.stringByAppendingString(".png")
    }else{
        fileUrlToWrite = fileUrlForPathComponent(TimestampJPGImageName)//.stringByAppendingString(".png")
    }

    assert(fileUrlToWrite != nil, "please check filePath")
    if (fileUrlToWrite != nil){
        let imageData: NSData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(image, 0.6)!

        imageData.writeToFile(fileUrlToWrite!.path!, atomically: false)

        return fileUrlToWrite!
    }
    else{
        return nil
    }
}

func fileRemoveAtURL(URL : NSURL) ->(success : Bool?, message : String?){

    if let path : String = URL.path{

        let fileManager = NSFileManager.defaultManager()

        do {
            try fileManager.removeItemAtPath(path)
        }
        catch let error as NSError {
            return (false, error.localizedDescription)
        }
        return (true, "file removed!")
    }else{
        return (false, "invalid path!")
    }
}

Make Request

func requestCreateEvent(){

    if (canMakeAPIRequest() == false){
        return
    }

    let imageJPEGname = TimestampJPGImageName
    var parameters : Dictionary<String, AnyObject> =
        ["event[eventName]" : configuration.stringEventName,
         "event[images][0][image][imageFile]" : self.imageTaken!,
         "event[images][0][image][imageName]" : imageJPEGname,
    ]
    var headers = [String:String]()
    headers["Content-Type"] = "multipart/form-data"

    let urlpath = URL_CreateEvent.stringByAppendingString("?access_token=\(gblConfiguration!.AppToken!.accessToken)")

    var arrayImageURL : Array<NSURL> = []

    self.view.showLoader()
    Alamofire.upload(.POST, urlpath, headers: headers, multipartFormData: { (multipartFormData) -> Void in

        if let dictUpload : Dictionary<String, AnyObject> = parameters {

            for (key , value) in dictUpload {

                if value.isKindOfClass(UIImage) {

                    if let image = value as? UIImage{

                        /*
                         //Upload Image with Data

                         if let imageData = UIImageJPEGRepresentation(image, 0.8) {
                            multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: imageData, name: key, fileName: imageJPEGname, mimeType: "image/jpg")
                        }else if let imageData = UIImagePNGRepresentation(image) {
                            multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: imageData, name: key, fileName: "myImage.png", mimeType: "image/png")
                        }*/

                        //Upload Image with URL PATH
                        if let fileURL : NSURL = fileSaveToDirectory(image, name: imageJPEGname)
                        {
                            multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(fileURL: fileURL , name: key)
                            arrayImageURL.append(fileURL)
                        }
                        else {
                            assert(false, "Unable to save file-name \(imageJPEGname)")
                        }
                    }
                }
                else {
                    multipartFormData.appendBodyPart(data: "\(value)".dataUsingEncoding(NSUTF8StringEncoding, allowLossyConversion: false)!, name: key)
                }
            }
        }

        }, encodingMemoryThreshold: Manager.MultipartFormDataEncodingMemoryThreshold, encodingCompletion:{
            encodingResult in

            switch encodingResult {
            case .Success(let request, let _, let _):

                request.responseJSON { response in

                    //debugPrint(response)
                    self.view.hideLoader()

                    if let objResponse : NSHTTPURLResponse = response.response {

                        if objResponse.statusCode == 201 { //SUCCESS STATUS

                            for url : NSURL in arrayImageURL {
                                fileRemoveAtURL(url)
                            }

                            let alert = UIAlertView.init(title: AppName, message: "Event Created!", delegate: nil
                                , cancelButtonTitle: "OK")
                            alert.show()
                            self.navigationController?.popToRootViewControllerAnimated(true)
                        }
                        else if objResponse.statusCode == 500 {
                            let alert = UIAlertView.init(title: AppName, message: "Bad access", delegate: nil
                                , cancelButtonTitle: "OK")
                            alert.show()
                        }
                    }

                    switch response.result {
                    case .Success(let JSON): // Error Handling

                        if let responseDictionary = JSON as? NSDictionary {

                            if let errors = responseDictionary["errors"] {

                                if let _ = errors["errors"] as? Array<String>
                                {
                                    showErrorMessageAlertView(errors, viewdelegate: self)
                                }
                            }
                            else if let error = responseDictionary["error"] as? String,
                                let errorDescription = responseDictionary["error_description"] as? String
                            {
                                let alert = UIAlertView.init(title: error, message: errorDescription, delegate: nil
                                    , cancelButtonTitle: "OK")
                                alert.show()
                            }
                        }
                    case .Failure(let error):
                        print("Request failed with error: \(error)")
                    }
                }
                break

            case .Failure(let encodingError as NSError):
                print(encodingError)
                self.view.hideLoader()

                showErrorMessageAlertView(encodingError, viewdelegate: nil)
                break

            default :
                self.view.hideLoader()
                break

            }
        }
    )
}


The Smash Ultimate tier list is still being refined, but it seems as though princesses and two yellow rodents are taking the cake. Here's how to fight back.
Melee is the name of the game here, as all but the third spot in the Smash Ultimate tier list consists of fighters introduced in the second of Nintendo's brawler series.
Why are these characters the ones that are so high up on the tier list? It may just be that the Melee competitive scene trends toward the characters that they feel most comfortable with. After all, Melee continues to be the most popular scene in the Smash Bros. meta.
It's true that all top five characters are very good, with each having attributes that give them just a tiny leg up on the high-mid and mid-tier characters. Honestly, almost every Smash Ultimate character is viable, if you know how to tool around with them.
While these are technically the fighters that are performing the best in Smash Ultimate, I would highly suggest you pick a character that fits your playstyle the best.
For instance, I have played as the infamously low-tier Zelda ever since Melee, and now that she sits comfortably mid-tier, I have a lot more tools at my disposal to throw off players that are only used to playing top-tier characters.
It's tough to find a balance when it comes to approaching the top five on the Smash Ultimate tier list. It's often dependent on the playstyle of the person behind the character, as at the end of the day, these fighters are only code that is applied in a strategic manner by professionals that train endlessly on developing their craft.
I don't exactly agree with all of the list, simply because the Smash Ultimate tier list majorly takes into consideration the winrates of popular characters. There are others, such as Ness, that in my opinion belong much higher on the tier list, but they are not as popular as the top five, and therefore they sit lower down on the tiers.
It takes a lot of research and time to get good at Smash Ultimate, but with a little help, you may just find that the top five aren't so scary after all.
The Hero-King and his doppelgänger have a slight difference: Marth has a tipper, and Lucina does not. Other than that, they perform similarly and have roughly the same hitbox and character model. Choose either depending on whether or not you depend on a tipper or a more consistent damage output. I lean toward Lucina from that perspective, but take your own personal approach there.
Marth has always been a top-tier character ever since his introduction in 2001's Game Cube Smash title Melee. While in that game he relied on chain grabs, he still maintains his long sword (only to be topped by Cloud's buster sword) that does a great job of zoning most characters out.
He can space you out with this range, making him a tough character to approach. Don't be intimidated, though, because as he approaches you, counter with a shield grab or a counter. He still has his shield breaker, so be careful with how long you leave out your shield.
His up-b is spammable off-stage, so don't try to approach him often, unless you have a counter that can eat through it, and send him flying away from the magnet-hands range for the ledge.
The best characters to combat this aggressive playstyle are Palutena, another Marth, Roy, Incineroar Ike, Chrom, and Peach/Daisy.
Roy's our boy! This Smash mainstay hasn't seen as many buffs as the top three on this Smash Ultimate tier list, but that's okay, because at the end of the day, he majorly benefits from the physics of Ultimate due to his fast falling airspeed and aggressive ground approaches.
Much like Marth and Lucina, his side-b combo was one of the biggest boosts to this character's killpower in Ultimate. While Roy can be gimped offstage a little bit easier than the more floaty Marth/Lucina, he is a bit harder to get off stage due to his heavy armor/bodyweight.
If you're unfamiliar with Roy, he has an inverted tipper toward the hilt of his sword. Meaning, unlike Marth, the inside of Roy's sword will deal a very significant amount of knockback, while the rest of his sword (as it has been affectionately referenced by the Smash meta), will hit like a wet noodle.
Keep this reverse tipper in mind when watching a Roy standing still. He isn't going to approach you often, because he needs you to be lured into the trap of his reverse hitbox. If you don't get too close, he will be left with the only option of approaching you with a weak upair or nair. They combo, but are a bit predictable.
The two other buffs Roy saw in Ultimate are the improved semi-superarmor for his out of shield up-b, along with the ability to switch directions while he is charging his neutral-b. He can be thrown off stage if you find a safe way to approach him while he is standing still, so projectile spam him to annoy him enough into approaching. Ness, Lucas, Young Link, Palutena, and Olimar may be your best choices to counter this Fire Emblem protag.
Pikachu, much like his pre-evolution Pichu, are known for their extended combo abilities. They both have great recoveries, and are able to gimp a lot of opponents off stage much quicker than they would have been able to in the air-dodge heavy Smash 4.
The best advice I can give you for facing off against a Pikachu is to avoid most of his aggressive attacks. Forward tilt is a surprising kill move, and nair strings together to create a pretty impressive combo loop that's hard for big bodies to get out of.
Pikachu might try to go offstage to stage spike you with a back air, or to even properly spike you with the down-air. See, in Smash Ultimate, spikes operate differently than they did in any other iteration of Smash Bros.. The unique thing here is that the blastzone comes even closer than it usually does when you've been spiked, making recovering from them more difficult than ever before. Watch out for thunder spikes all the same.
I'm not gonna lie, you're fighting an uphill battle against any good Pikachu. Remember to not get flustered, and to consider using a character with a decent reflector, such as Fox, Wolf, or Palutena to stop the thunderjolts in their tracks.
The meta considers Pichu and Pikachu different enough to categorize them as two separate characters. If anything, that would make one think that Pichu, the Pokémon known for hurting itself from its usage of electric attacks out of its tiny, underdeveloped body, would be lower in the Smash Ultimate tier list than high-tier mainstay Pikachu.
Wrong. WRONG, wrong, wrong. Pichu is just that much better than Pikachu, even with it doing damage to itself upon using electrical attacks. Why? Its tiny body, speed, and extended juggle abilities make it a better fighter than Pikachu.
Pichu is quicker than Pikachu, which gives it the upper hand in nearly every advantage or disadvantage situation against any fighter. The way to approach a Pichu is to not. You need to be defensive here, and you need to find a way to get past all of the thunderjolts and quick attacks.
When a Pichu takes a breath and isn't harassing you, you need to take your opportunity to either grab it or use a quick aerial on it. It's the lightest fighter in the whole game, so keep that in mind when you're looking on in horror as it racks up an incredibly damaging combo on you. It can't survive a higher percent, evening out the playing field against the mid-weight characters.
Do not use a heavy or big-body against Pichu. It will shield poke and apply shield stun to you for days, and if you get caught in a combo, expect it to end in a nasty thunder spike kill much sooner than you would have preferred. Rather, go for a floatier character, such as Peach, Falco, or Marth to combat Pichu's gimping and long combo abilities.
Before we jump into this duo, it should be noted that the only difference between the two are their Turnip knockbacks. Their turnips scale differently in terms of knockback at certain ranges, and if I had to nitpick here, I'd say that the higher knockback on Peach gives her a slight advantage over Daisy's turnips, although it could be said that the lower knockback of Daisy's turnips allows for longer combo strings.
But I digress because other than their aesthetics, picking either character is definitively the best choice of top-tier character. They can float cancel, consistently tripping up opponents with their varied approaches and quick aerials. Their aerials are safe on shield, making them incredibly difficult to punish.
The first thing you want to do when facing off against a Peach/Daisy is to desperately avoid her downtilt. It leads into a nearly 100% true 0-to-death, and is not the way you want to lose a stock. There are few that can even tank her repeated downtilt into nair/forward air combo strings, and honestly, it's not worth taking the risk.
Much like with Luigi's down-throw 0-to-kill, you want to make sure you're only approaching from the ground once you've gotten up to around 25% on your own character. This percent will allow you to SDI (Smash directional influence) away from the 0-to-kill, giving you a fighting chance against the princesses of the Mushroom Kingdom.
For the rest of the match, proceed with caution. Between the random item draws of Mr. Saturn, the Stitch Face turnip, and Bomb-omb, there is just too much going for Peach/Daisy to give them a leg up. They're almost always going to be approaching with an aerial, so when in doubt, choose a character, such as Ness, Palutena, or Zelda, that is able to stop aerial approaches with defense projectiles and defensive walls.
What are your tips on how to defeat the top characters in the 'Smash Ultimate' tier list?


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Q: haproxy stickiness: cookie vs stick-table I have an haproxy (1.6.3) balancing between to rails servers.  I implemented stickiness with a cookie:
backend railswebapp-backend
    balance roundrobin
    mode http
    redirect scheme code 301 https if !{ ssl_fc }
    cookie SERVER_NAME insert
{% for backend_fqdn in backend_fqdns %}
    server {{ backend_fqdn }} {{ backend_fqdn }}:443 ssl cookie {{ backend_fqdn }} check
{% endfor %}

(I'm copy/pasting from a salt template: that last line just means that each server's FQDN is used as the server name and the cookie value.)
This seems to be working.  But I've read that cookie (and appsession, which I'm not using) are deprecated in favour of stick-table.
Aside from the future-compatibility of using current feature sets, is there a performance reason to prioritise changing this?  Or did I miss somethign in testing?  Or is this merely that it makes more sense from a development standpoint for haproxy to move in this direction, and so I should follow before I arrive at an haproxy version that no longer supports cookie, but otherwise all is well?

A: It looks like you're using the cookie keyword for proxies and servers.  For these contexts, I don't see anything that indicates that the cookie keyword will be deprecated.  I also can't find any discussion online about it, so if you can link the article discussing this it would be very helpful.  The only context I could find where the keyword has been deprecated is that it was made less ambiguous for fetching samples; cookie was deprecated in favor of req.cook and res.cook.
For appsession, the reason for it being removed is that the use case was too narrow, and sticktables could do the same thing but in a more flexible and robust way.  From the docs:
As of version 1.6, appsessions was removed. It is more flexible and more
convenient to use stick-tables instead, and stick-tables support multi-master
replication and data conservation across reloads, which appsessions did not.


text:
In August 2012, Travelers sued the National Football League for forcing the company and its subsidiaries to pay to defend the league for failing to protect players from brain injury, in a case filed in the New York State Supreme Court called Discover Property & Casualty Co. et al. vs. National Football League et al., New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 652933/2012. The league had sued over three dozen insurance companies the week before in an attempt to cover the claims that players made against the league.[41][42][43]
This German town lays claim to not one but two of the world's greatest opera houses. Most music lovers know about the acoustically perfect Bayreuth Festspielhaus, built in 1876 by composer Richard Wagner as the home for his summer music festival. But the city also contains the grandest Baroque theater in the world, the Margravial Opera House, built between 1744 and 1748 by Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia. Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2012, the theater has been closed for repairs for the past six years. It reopens in April 2018 with a performance of Artaserse by the 18th-century German composer Johann Adolph Hasse (tickets go on sale in February). Bayreuth also makes an excellent starting point from which to explore the rest of the region, famous for its hundreds of Bavarian biergartens and vineyards producing internationally renowned Franconian wines. —Christopher Tkaczyk
The Big Easy turns the Big 3-0-0 this year, and in this city where the good times roll, the parties will be epic — think citywide art shows, supersized Mardi Gras parades, and a festival of lights using landmark buildings as backdrops. Thirteen years after Hurricane Katrina, there is much to celebrate: The Central Business District, once a dead zone after dark, now crackles at all hours thanks to four new hotels (the Ace, Troubadour, Catahoula, and NOPSI), each with its own rooftop bar. The neighborhood is also home to new restaurants like Maypop — a Vietnamese-Creole joint from acclaimed chef Michael Gulotta. Another area coming to life is the three-mile riverfront, where a renovated Spanish Plaza will reopen this spring. More riverfront updates, including a new Four Seasons Hotel, will roll out in the next few years. Toast the tricentennial at the Sazerac House, a French Quarter museum dedicated to the official cocktail of New Orleans, opening later this year. —Allison Entrekin
The logo of the red umbrella was created in 1870 when it appeared in a newspaper ad for the young insurance company. It was revived in the early 1960s, when it was given its signature red color by Harry W. Knettell, then the account executive for The Travelers and Vice President at the Charles Brunelle advertising agency. During the late 1960s Charles Brunelle was the largest advertising agency in Hartford, a city known as "the insurance capital of the world" due to the many insurance companies in that town. The Travelers was one of their many insurance company clients.[44][better source needed]
The team is given a mission to collect and safeguard the original power source of the Director, as it will likely be the remaining Faction members' next target. The mission is going smoothly, but the team is ambushed and killed by the Faction. With its very existence in danger, the Director initiates Protocol Alpha – and sends back a Traveler to save the team before they are killed, but the remote location, small time window, and only two host candidates within geographic range makes the probability of success low.
Three months after the events with the Quantum Frame, Mac and Kat are working through their issues during her first trimester. Marcy has moved out of David's apartment and has taken a job as an X-ray technician at a local hospital. Philip has traded one addiction for another, but is in denial about it. Trevor is growing concerned with the lack of communication from the Director. The discovery of a murdered Traveler team puts Mac on the trail of Vincent.
Kathryn confronts MacLaren about an affair she believes he is having, leading him to end his relationship with Carly. Charlotte, the misfire historian, is overwritten and murders her team. She attempts to assassinate Grace, but Trevor stops her. Grace reveals that the anti-Director faction was responsible for the team's abduction. Charlotte is shot by Jeff while attempting to kill Carly. Ellis reveals that he has built a quantum frame that the Director, an advanced AI, can use to travel to the present to escape the faction. David is held at gunpoint by another assassin but is saved by Marcy. The team arrives at the farm where Trevor has received a text to destroy the frame. Boyd reveals she received an order to kill MacLaren and holds him at gunpoint; Carly later reveals having been given the same mission. Assassins surround the farm as Ellis shoots Trevor to keep him from harming the frame. Grace jumps in front of Trevor and is shot as well. Ellis shuts down the perimeter shield in the hope that the Director will help them and delivers a message to destroy the frame shortly before he dies. It is revealed that the people surrounding them are not anti-Director assassins, but FBI agents led by Forbes.
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Travelers was founded in 1864 in Hartford. It was founded to provide travel insurance to railroad travelers at a time when travel was far more risky and dangerous than today, hence the name. Along the way it had many industry firsts, including the first automobile policy, the first commercial airline policy, and the first policy for space travel.[9] In 1954 it established the world's first privately owned weather research facility, the Travelers Weather Research Center, the first organization to make weather predictions using probabilities ("20% chance of rain"). By the early 1990s, Travelers was predominantly a general property and casualty insurer that also happened to do some travel insurance on the side, and it quietly exited its original business in 1994. What was left of Travelers' travel insurance business was acquired by three former employees and is now known as Travel Insured International, a Crum and Forster Company.
In 2018, four unconnected people suddenly undergo personality changes at what would have been their moments of death: Marcy, a young, intellectually disabled woman, is assaulted but fights off her attackers and is no longer impaired; high-schooler Trevor concedes a mixed martial arts fight after being overmatched; heroin-addicted college student Philip drops his syringe just as his roommate injects a fatal overdose; and young mother Carly stares down her baby's abusive father. FBI agent MacLaren tracks their subsequent communication and confronts them; they reveal that they are among thousands of time travelers sent from the future to avert a global crisis, and that MacLaren was to die that night while pursuing a murderer they have already killed; MacLaren is taken over by a fifth traveler, who happens to be the team's leader.
Philip, while under the influence of drugs, commits to memory an anti-viral formula sent via messenger. The information is passed on to fellow Traveler Derek via Jenny so it can be synthesized and distributed to other Traveler teams as well as people targeted to be saved in order to minimize the spread and mutation of a flu like virus that historically killed 70,000 people. However, two weeks after dissemination, people around the world start getting sick with a virus even more dangerous than the original one. With no contact from the Director, and the death toll rising, Marcy and the team rush to find a solution before it's too late.
Thai tourism is as robust as ever: more than 21 million international visitors poured into the capital in 2016, making it the world's most visited city. To accommodate all those arrivals, the metropolis is welcoming a bevy of posh new hotels in the coming year. The Waldorf Astoria Bangkok will have a spa, rooftop bar, and outdoor infinity pool overlooking the Royal Bangkok Sports Club, while the 155-room Bangkok Edition will open this summer in MahaNakhon, a towering skyscraper with a swirl of cubical cutouts wrapping around the building. Four Seasons and Capella both have properties in the works on the Chao Phraya Estate, a lush riverfront development that's part shopping and dining destination, part tropical escape. The Michelin Guide will make its long-awaited debut here this year, drawing attention to one of the world's most dynamic culinary scenes. And for art lovers, there's a flock of brand-new multipurpose creative spaces to explore, including the Thailand Creative & Design Center, which just relocated to a former General Post Office on historic Charoen Krung Road; Warehouse 30, a series of World War II-era warehouses revamped by starchitect Duangrit Bunnag; and ChangChui, an immense complex of bars, shops, and restaurants constructed out of upcycled materials, including an airplane salvaged from the scrap pile. —Diana Hubbell
Exposure to the great outdoors comes with immeasurable health benefits, but as our lives continue to get busier, it becomes harder to spend time outdoors. Humana and NPF are celebrating the significant benefits of spending time outdoors in our new Owners Guide by offering tips on how to start replenishing and refreshing your mind, body, and spirit in a national park.
Of all the islands that make up Italy's Aeolian archipelago, Salina is arguably the most alluring: it is not yet a celebrity haven like its neighbor Stromboli, where Giorgio Armani, Domenico Dolce, and Stefano Gabbana have homes; and it's not yet overrun with the luxury yachts of affluent soccer players like nearby Panarea. That the isle has stayed blissfully unspoiled for this long eludes those who know of its imposing natural beauty — steep mountains blanketed in blossoming trees and wildflowers, small villages speckled with olive and lemon groves, fig trees, and miles of terraced Malvasia vineyards. The Relais & Châteaux property Capofaro Malvasia & Resort is one of Salina's finest places to check in to, thanks to its secluded location, private beach, Tasca d'Almerita wines, and restaurant spotlighting local flavors (think wild fennel, orange, and caper leaves). Once you've settled in, skip on over to the town of Lingua to watch the sun set on the Marina Garibaldi, and order the best almond granita of your life at the Da Alfredo waterfront café. —Rocky Casale
Flight Chicago - New York (ORD - LGA) $91+ Flight Atlanta - Newark (ATL - EWR) $99+ Flight Orlando - Newark (MCO - EWR) $105+ Flight Fort Lauderdale - Newark (FLL - EWR) $114+ Flight Fort Lauderdale - New York (FLL - LGA) $127+ Flight Houston - Newark (HOU - EWR) $138+ Flight Houston - Newark (IAH - EWR) $138+ Flight Chicago - New York (ORD - JFK) $140+ Flight Los Angeles - New York (LAX - LGA) $140+ Flight Dallas - New York (DFW - LGA) $153+ Flight Miami - New York (MIA - LGA) $167+ Flight Atlanta - New York (ATL - JFK) $182+ Flight Chicago - Newark (ORD - EWR) $188+ Flight Los Angeles - Newark (LAX - EWR) $191+ Flight Oakland - Newark (OAK - EWR) $193+ Flight Houston - New York (HOU - LGA) $201+ Flight Dallas - Newark (DFW - EWR) $209+ Flight San Francisco - New York (SFO - LGA) $210+ Flight Oakland - New York (OAK - LGA) $213+ Flight Seattle - New York (SEA - JFK) $217+ Flight Los Angeles - New York (LAX - JFK) $231+ Flight San Francisco - Newark (SFO - EWR) $231+ Flight Ontario - New York (ONT - JFK) $237+ Flight San Francisco - New York (SFO - JFK) $237+
Visitors may want to return to the Belgian capital in 2018 to visit two cutting-edge museums. The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art opened in the once-infamous Molenbeek district's old Belle-Vue brewery this past spring, to showcase contemporary art from around the world. There's also the Citroën Cultural Centre, a new collaboration with Paris's Centre Pompidou, which will launch its first exhibition in May. The edgy JAM Hotel, an industrial-chic property with exposed brickwork and concrete beams housed in a former art school, is the perfect place for culture-lovers to stay. Don't leave town without paying homage to Belgium's UNESCO-recognized beer culture at youthful breweries like Brasserie de la Senne or Brussels Beer Project, both of which are shirking brewing traditions in favor of more experimental microbrewery techniques. —Meredith Bethune
The Faction sets off nuclear blasts that destroy all of the Travelers' archives outside the US. David, left for dead by the Faction in the last surviving archive, is the only person who can disarm the nuclear device. He succeeds but is exposed to lethal radiation. Kat's suspicions about MacLaren, temporarily allayed, surge again and she throws him out – for her the marriage is over as she feels he is no longer the man she first met. Jeff tries to escape from interrogation by 001; he is eventually found having been walled up. Marcy hopes the Director will send a Traveler medical team to save David but no help arrives. In the moment before he dies, David conveys a message from the Director: "Protocol Omega."
Saint Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. was founded March 5, 1853, in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving local customers who were having a difficult time getting claim payments in a timely manner from insurance companies on the east coast of the United States. It barely survived the Panic of 1857 by dramatically paring down its operations and later reorganizing itself into a stock company (as opposed to a mutual company). It soon spread its operations across the country. In 1998 it acquired USF&G, known formerly as United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, an insurance company based in Baltimore, Maryland, for $3.9 billion in stock and assumed debt.[5][6] By buying USF&G, they went from the 13th to the eighth largest property and casualty insurance company in the United States. Through economies of scale between the two companies, and a difficult business environment, they downsized the company substantially over the coming years by selling certain business units to focus on more profitable business units.[7][8]
Once a sleepy second fiddle to Southern culinary powerhouses like Charleston and Nashville, Greenville is stepping into the limelight with hot new restaurants. The town will soon be home to an outpost of Sean Brock's heirloom-crop-focused Husk and a food-centric market hall called the Commons. Other recent additions include modern Italian spot Jianna from Michael Kramer (the opening executive chef of McCrady's in Charleston, pre-Brock) and the moody speakeasy lounge Vault & Vator. It's an impressive collection of quality restaurants for a city of just over 67,000.
Knights Inn – Toronto C$ 89+ Hotel Carlingview Toronto Airport C$ 99+ Travelodge by Wyndham Toronto East C$ 99+ Bond Place Hotel C$ 109+ Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport C$ 112+ Toronto Don Valley Hotel and Suites C$ 119+ Chelsea Hotel, Toronto C$ 129+ Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto Airport & Conference Centre C$ 131+ Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport C$ 132+ Comfort Hotel Airport North C$ 139+ Best Western Plus Travel Hotel Toronto Airport C$ 139+ Strathcona Hotel C$ 143+ DoubleTree by Hilton Toronto Airport C$ 151+ Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre C$ 153+ Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto East C$ 155+
Vincent asks the team to stand down and let him finish what he has been planning. When the team refuses to comply, Vincent holds the lives of Kat, David, Jeffery, Ray, and Grace over them, and forces them to reveal themselves as Travelers to the world. The team must make the choice between breaking protocol and thus risking being overwritten by the Director, or doing what they must to save the ones they've grown to care about since their arrival in the 21st.
Last summer, the museum expanded its artistic footprint by over 130,000 square feet, making it the largest contemporary art space in the country. The new Building 6 houses long-term installations by artists like James Turrell, Louise Bourgeois, and Jenny Holzer. Two new museums are still in the works for North Adams, both spearheaded by former Guggenheim director Thomas Krens. At the Global Contemporary Art Museum, curators will work directly with artists to acquire and commission site-specific pieces, while the Extreme Model Railroad & Contemporary Architecture Museum will showcase works by the likes of Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid, all built in miniature as part of an elaborate model train system. Design is also top-of-mind at Tourists, a modern take on the roadside motel that's set to open this summer. The resort — situated on 55 acres at the convergence of the Appalachian and Mohawk Trails — will have 48 rooms, each with floor-to-ceiling windows that put the focus on surrounding vistas. —Fiorella Valdesolo


This en-suite guest room is equipped with a TV full DSTV channels available , a small Bar Fridge Wi-fi, Kettle, Hospitality Tray and Bathroom Essentials. Linen is excellent quality and service top notch home away from home..
If cancelling 7 days before arrival, forfeit 100% of the booking total. If cancelling 14 days before arrival, forfeit 50% of the booking total. If cancelling 999 days before arrival, forfeit 20% of the deposit.
We charge 20% of the deposit for a cancellation made well in advance / a period of 30 days or more to cover Bank Charges and Administration work. We do not offer refunds if departure date is brought forward.


The Victorian Poisons Information Centre does not recommend the use of naphthalene (mothballs or flakes) as a moth repellent in baby clothes or bedding. Babies, particularly those less than six weeks of age, should not wear baby clothes or sleep in bedding stored with naphthalene.
Naphthalene is absorbed well through the skin, especially in young babies. Babies less than six weeks of age are very sensitive to small amounts of naphthalene. They may be poisoned if they have prolonged skin contact with clothes or bedding stored with naphthalene.
Washing the baby's skin or fabrics such as wool with soap or detergent and water does not remove all of the naphthalene.
For further information about naphthalene used in the storage of baby clothes or bedding, or other questions about poisons, ring the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 - 24 hours a day, seven days a week.


Are IR35 Enquiries on the up?
The controversy created by the introduction of the public sector rules in April this year, could have understandably led many to believe that IR35 enquiries in the private sector had taken a bit of a back seat. This however seems not to be the case at all, and Qdos Contractor have been notified of a number of new IR35 enquiries over the last few weeks.
It's important to remember that contractors who work in the private sector are unaffected by the changes to IR35 within the public sector and may operate in the same way as they always have. The new rules will only affect contractors working for public sector organisations who fall under the Freedom of Information Act. Rumour has it that the public sector rules will eventually be introduced into the private sector too, but right now, this has not been officially confirmed.
In addition to the number of IR35 enquiries we're being notified of, what is also interesting is that there seems to be a move back to old ways of encountering difficult status inspectors, combined with an unwillingness to accept evidence provided.
We are currently defending a client who has an extremely strong case, where crucial supporting evidence has been provided by the end client, which confirms the existence of a lack of control by the end client over the provision of the services, that the contract has a genuine right of substitution and a clear lack of mutuality of obligation. The evidence provided by the end client is supported by case law and we would expect that based on this evidence (in addition to other more minor supporting evidence) the case would be closed in favour of the contractor.
However, the Inspector dealing with the enquiry has refused to accept the evidence, instead needlessly submitting further questions to both the end client and agency, seemingly in an attempt to seek out contradictory information. The case is now going down the route of an internal review, despite the evidence, which clearly demonstrates that IR35 does not apply to the contract in question.
In the early days of IR35, such practice was fairly common with the length of time defending an IR35 enquiry in part being down to which HMRC Inspector would be dealing with the case. The 'IR35 Forum' was introduced in 2011, which followed the publication of the Office of Tax Simplification's (OTS) review of Small Business Tax, and in 2012 a new approach for the administration of IR35 was to be piloted, one of the aims of which was to close enquiries much quicker – particularly where there was a low risk of IR35 applying.
IR35 Forum meetings were held every quarter but interestingly enough, the forum has gone particularly quiet and there do not appear to have been any forum meetings held since September 2016….
IR35 enquiries are still very much present despite the focus on IR35 in the Public Sector and implementing the new rules. The changes along with constant rumours regarding IR35 in the private sector, seem to have reawakened HMRC's campaign, certainly with some Status Inspectors at least.


Hum Se Puchho is an initiative by Global Education Trust undertaken with knowledge partner MT Educare, established with an objective of solving problems faced by the students appearing for their standard 10th board examinations. This 24 x 7 helpline intends to aid students with their last minute queries and to boost their confidence during their board examinations.
This initiative started in 2006, has helped students who are stressed and aims to interact with them and reduce their stress, ultimately encouraging them to score well. This initiative now caters to students of Standard 10 of the CBSE, ICSE, and Maharashtra State Boards; students of Standard 12 Commerce of the Maharashtra State Board; and students of 4 mediums of BMC Schools—English, Marathi, Hindi, and Urdu.
The team of dedicated teachers is swamped with non-stop calls from over-anxious, nervous students and parents. We have a counsellor who attends to the students' needs round-the-clock, giving them expert advice.
The call volumes have been increasing every year since this initiative was started. In the year 2014-15, the no.of calls for each subject ranged from 300 to 800.