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Operation Melt Down, Part III
Monday, 9/08/2008 10:16
"My God, this is the time. If everyone wants Gold we're all going to be ruined..."
ONCE UPON A TIME money meant gold (and ever less silver), freely exchanged between private individuals looking to buy and sell, invest and spend.
But then came the 20th century.
There had been experiments with "fiat money" before, of course – most famously in 13th century China, 18th century France and Civil War America. Paper was issued as currency without gold (or silver) to back it. There was just a promise – dictated by emperors, kings and army commanders – that other people would accept it in payment. The foot-soldiers would make sure of that.
So you'd better accept it, or else. Hence the name "fiat" – from the Latin – meaning "Let it be done".
But the world refused to let paper money just be, however. Whenever fiat replaced gold by government diktat, things always seemed to end badly. Not even the gallows can support faith when confidence fails. And confidence in un-backed paper had always failed before.
Hence the complaint of many eloquent gold owners today: the 20th century saw politicians conspire to do the impossible, over-reaching mankind and replacing gold with the Dollar. It can't and won't last, runs the theory, based as it is on every previous attempt to keep gold from acting as cash. So any bounce in the Dollar out of its ultimate down-trend must signal dark forces at work...diabolical meddling in the free market for Gold.
The battle, these so-called "gold bugs" would claim, is between man's paper promise and nature's true money. And eternal truths will out in the end. That's what makes them eternal.
But it's worth bearing in mind – now the 20th century's ended, if not quite shuffled off – that the Dollar only became the world's No.1 money because the United States owned pretty much all of the gold. As the radio-active dust cleared at the end of the Second World War, Washington controlled well over two-thirds of the world's entire monetary gold stock. Gold crowned the Dollar, or rather, an odd new form of gold did.
It was kept in deep storage, safe and secure from private decisions and personal choice. Heaven forbid that voters should have control of this wealth! They'd only send it abroad to settle their debts...or acquire shiny new toys...or hold government debt to account by refusing to lend gold in the future. The White House was buggered, to apply that quaint English phrase, if it was going to let gold slip back into private control.
Better by far to give people paper to trade with, and hold all the gold – that final arbiter of value, used for over 5,000 years – against whatever Evil Days might soon return.
"The period of economic nationalism between the two world wars saw a rapid concentration of gold in official hands," explains the World Gold Council in its excellent history online. "Up to that point [meaning the mid-1920s], most gold had always been held privately, circulating as currency among citizens and across borders in commercial trade transactions."
But now Gold, "which had been the foundation of the first genuinely international monetary system during the period before WWI, came to be used as a weapon in economic competition and national rivalries."
Even after the Great War finally ground to a halt, a mile or two above Nagasaki (Churchill would call it "a new Thirty Years War"), those national rivalries still depended on gold being controlled by the state.
Peace in Europe – if not in Asia – didn't yet make those gold stocks redundant. World trade and cross-border loans were still regularly settled in gold, most especially between the "free West" and the Soviet bloc.
Spring 1964, for example, saw communist Russia fly a fleet of Aeroflot TU-114 airliners into London and Paris, packed full of gold bars – all stamped with the hammer and sickle and destined for North America.
The gold bought "huge purchases of Australian, Canadian and US wheat," as Time magazine reported. But a far greater flow of gold bullion was going in the other direction, shipped first from Fort Knox to New York before waving farewell to the United States and sailing East across the Atlantic to France, Britain and other apparent allies.
"My God, this is the time," President Kennedy had said to then-chair of the Federal Reserve, William McChesney Martin, two years before. J.F.K. paraphrased what the Europeans might be thinking – or rather, their elected leaders in power.
"If everyone wants gold we're all going to be ruined, because there is not enough gold to go around."
What was there was in abundance, however, were US dollars. Millions and then billions of the damn things, piling up at the Banque de France in Paris as well as in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo...
But then, this was always the plan under the Bretton Woods scheme. Aside from settling international debts between states, "the Dollar was demanded by foreign nations both a [central-bank] reserve asset and to finance much of the world's trade," writes Francis Gavin in Gold, Dollars & Power.
"This demand for American dollars," Gavin goes on – which the United States was only too happy to meet with freshly printed notes – "was in excess of the demand for American goods. In other words, some of the [balance of payments] deficit might not actually be a deficit at all, as those dollars were desired, at least for a time, by central banks and entities involved in financing trade."
Now roll forward to 2008, and the United States' deficits – still paid in that "exorbitant privilege" as President Charles de Gaulle of France called the Dollar – are once again piling up in central bank vaults. This time, however, there's no hope of flying to Washington and asking for gold in exchange. Richard Nixon got rid of that clause, killing the Bretton Woods deal and setting free the gold price in 1971.
The poor central banks now drowning in Dollars are different, too. Caught with no hope of swapping their paper for gold, might China, Japan, Russia and South Korea not move to Buy Gold in the market instead?
Let's hope not. Really. It wouldn't be fun...not even for "gold bugs".
"Countries facing particular volatility in their economic and/or political circumstances will want to consider the level of gold in their reserves," as the World Gold Council says. But equating strong gold reserves with a strong international position is to cast nationalized gold as a good thing in itself...rather than as a truly barbarous relic of 20th century nationalism, state control, and all the horrors they wrought.
Here in Europe, the over-blown state bureaucracies that seized control of privately-held gold between 1900 and 1965 now keep around one-half of their foreign currency reserves in gold bullion. The United States – outright winner of the 30 years "total war" in 1945 – holds fully three-quarters of its nationalized cash hoard as gold. The international average, thanks to the weight of these first-class gold bugs, sits nearer 10% on most analysts' math.
So "it's important to recognize," claims a story on Seeking Alpha, that if China, Japan and Russia took gold bullion to 10% of their central bank reserves, it "would require a purchase of approximately 9,300 tons of gold...or the [world's] entire gold [mining] production for the next 4 years."
Far more important to recognize, however, is the fact that such a move would presage a new total war...a shooting match requiring a much grander name than merely "World War Three".
Governments Buy Gold – and lock it away from private decisions and choice – when they fear other nations. Fear on that scale is never much fun, not even for gold bugs. It would prove less fun again if (or rather, when) the race to hoard government gold turned into an absolute ban on private ownership.
It happened to US gold-owners in 1933. Most citizens of the "free" world were barred from owning gold freely, within their domestic borders, until the late 20th century.
This driving fear, late in August this year, led the German Bundesbank – owner of the world's second-largest nationalized gold hoard – to reject calls from politicians and newspaper editors in Berlin to sell a portion of its 3,000-tonne stock. They wanted the sales to fund economic stimulus, but "national gold reserves have a confidence and stability-building function," the central-bank answered.
More tellingly, "this function has become even more important," the Bundesbank added as Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, "given the geopolitical situation and the risks present in financial market developments." And more telling again, the Gold Bullion held by the Russian central bank grew by more than 50 tonnes in the 12 months to July 2008 – a sudden and sharp increase in its reserves according to official data.
The previous half-decade saw Russia's gold reserves shrink by almost 16 tonnes. Even now, gold as proportion of forex reserves sits at just 2.7%. Former president (and current puppet-master) Vladimir Putin set a 10% target in 2006.
As it is outside the Caucasus, meantime, long-run bull markets in Gold rarely suffer when central banks sell. Between 1976 and 1980, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sold one-third of its total gold holdings – a massive 1,600 tonnes.
The price rose eight-fold regardless.
Again in 1999-2002, the United Kingdom and Switzerland sold another 1,600 tonnes between them. Yet all they achieved was to kick-start the current bull surge! So if they had hoped "to reduce the role of gold in the international monetary system" (as the IMF put it, twenty years earlier) then their failure should point even the most ardent gold bugs to a curious thought.
The Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA) – first signed in Sept. 1999 – marked the end of the 20th century for gold. Instead of nationalizing and hoarding the stuff, fifteen European states announced they would slowly drip-feed gold back into the market...releasing it into private hands after almost 100 years of the opposite policy.
Renewed in 2004, the current CBGA will see its fourth year expire three weeks from now (Friday, 26th Sept.). But the central-bank gold sellers are now way under quota...a full 170 tonnes short of their 500-tonne ceiling by the reckoning of our friend, Julian Phillips at GoldForecaster.com.
What if they got moving, and played catch up quick-smart? Genuine free-market believers the world over might wish that they would.
Adrian Ash is director of research at BullionVault, the physical gold and silver market for private investors online. Formerly head of editorial at London's top publisher of private-investment advice, he was City correspondent for The Daily Reckoning from 2003 to 2008, and is now a regular contributor to many leading analysis sites including Forbes and a regular guest on BBC national and international radio and television news. Adrian's views on the gold market have been sought by the Financial Times and Economist magazine in London; CNBC, Bloomberg and TheStreet.com in New York; Germany's Der Stern; Italy's Il Sole 24 Ore, and many other respected finance publications.
See the full archive of Adrian Ash articles on GoldNews.
Please Note: All articles published here are to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it. Please review our Terms & Conditions for accessing Gold News.
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Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii, a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, including cats and dogs. The infection results from inhalation of a spore-like small-cell variant, and from contact with the milk, urine, feces, vaginal mucus, or semen of infected animals. Rarely, the disease is tick-borne. The incubation period is 9–40 days. Humans are vulnerable to Q fever, and infection can result from even a few organisms. The bacterium is an obligate intracellular pathogenic parasite.

Signs and symptoms
Incubation period is usually two to three weeks. The most common manifestation is flu-like symptoms: abrupt onset of fever, malaise, profuse perspiration, severe headache, muscle pain, joint pain, loss of appetite, upper respiratory problems, dry cough, pleuritic pain, chills, confusion, and gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. About half of infected individuals exhibit no symptoms.

During its course, the disease can progress to an atypical pneumonia, which can result in a life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome, whereby such symptoms usually occur during the first four to five days of infection.

Less often, Q fever causes (granulomatous) hepatitis, which may be asymptomatic or become symptomatic with malaise, fever, liver enlargement, and pain in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. Whereas transaminase values are often elevated, jaundice is uncommon. Retinal vasculitis is a rare manifestation of Q fever.

The chronic form of Q fever is virtually identical to endocarditis (i.e. inflammation of the inner lining of the heart), which can occur months or decades following the infection. It is usually fatal if untreated. However, with appropriate treatment, the mortality falls to around 10%.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is usually based on serology (looking for an antibody response) rather than looking for the organism itself. Serology allows the detection of chronic infection by the appearance of high levels of the antibody against the virulent form of the bacterium. Molecular detection of bacterial DNA is increasingly used. Contrary to most obligate intracellular parasites, Coxiella burnetii can be grown in an axenic culture, but its culture is technically difficult and not routinely available in most microbiology laboratories.

Q fever can cause endocarditis (infection of the heart valves) which may require transoesophageal echocardiography to diagnose.  Q fever hepatitis manifests as an elevation of alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, but a definitive diagnosis is only possible on liver biopsy, which shows the characteristic fibrin ring granulomas.

Prevention
Research done in the 1960s1970s by French Canadian-American microbiologist and virologist Paul Fiset was instrumental in the development of the first successful Q fever vaccine.

Protection is offered by Q-Vax, a whole-cell, inactivated vaccine developed by an Australian vaccine manufacturing company, CSL Limited. The intradermal vaccination is composed of killed C. burnetii organisms. Skin and blood tests should be done before vaccination to identify pre-existing immunity, because vaccinating people who already have  immunity can result in a severe local reaction. After a single dose of vaccine, protective immunity lasts for many years. Revaccination is not generally required. Annual screening is typically recommended.

In 2001, Australia introduced a national Q fever vaccination program for people working in "at risk" occupations. Vaccinated or previously exposed people may have their status recorded on the Australian Q Fever Register, which may be a condition of employment in the meat processing industry or in veterinary research. An earlier killed vaccine had been developed in the Soviet Union, but its side effects prevented its licensing abroad.

Preliminary results suggest vaccination of animals may be a method of control. Published trials proved that use of a registered phase vaccine (Coxevac) on infected farms is a tool of major interest to manage or prevent early or late abortion, repeat breeding, anoestrus, silent oestrus, metritis, and decreases in milk yield when C. burnetii is the major cause of these problems.

Treatment
Treatment of acute Q fever with antibiotics is very effective. Commonly used antibiotics include doxycycline, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and hydroxychloroquine. Chronic Q fever is more difficult to treat and can require up to four years of treatment with doxycycline and quinolones or doxycycline with hydroxychloroquine. If a person has chronic Q fever, doxycycline and hydoxychloroquine will be prescribed for at least 18 months. Q fever in pregnancy is especially difficult to treat because doxycycline and ciprofloxacin are contraindicated in pregnancy. The preferred treatment for pregnancy and children under the age of eight is co-trimoxazole.

Epidemiology

The pathogenic agent is found worldwide, with the exception of New Zealand. The bacterium is extremely sustainable and virulent: a single organism is able to cause an infection. The common source of infection is the inhalation of contaminated dust, contact with contaminated milk, meat, or wool, and particularly birthing products. Ticks can transfer the pathogenic agent to other animals. Transfer between humans seems extremely rare and has so far been described in very few cases.

Some studies have shown more men to be affected than women, which may be attributed to different employment rates in typical professions.
"At risk" occupations include:
 Veterinary personnel;
 Stockyard workers;
 Farmers;
 Sheep shearers;
 Animal transporters;
 Laboratory workers handling potentially infected veterinary samples or visiting abattoirs;
 People who cull and process kangaroos; and
 Hide (tannery) workers.

History

Q fever was first described in 1935 by Edward Holbrook Derrick in slaughterhouse workers in Brisbane, Queensland. The "Q" stands for "query" and was applied at a time when the causative agent was unknown; it was chosen over suggestions of abattoir fever and Queensland rickettsial fever, to avoid directing negative connotations at either the cattle industry or the state of Queensland.

The pathogen of Q fever was discovered in 1937, when Frank Macfarlane Burnet and Mavis Freeman isolated the bacterium from one of Derrick's patients. It was originally identified as a species of Rickettsia. H.R. Cox and Gordon Davis elucidated the transmission when they isolated it from ticks found in the US state of Montana in 1938.  It is a zoonotic disease whose most common animal reservoirs are cattle, sheep, and goats. Coxiella burnetii – named for Cox and Burnet – is no longer regarded as closely related to the Rickettsiae, but as similar to Legionella and Francisella, and is a Gammaproteobacterium.

Society and culture
An early mention of Q fever was important in one of the early Dr. Kildare films (1939, Calling Dr. Kildare). Kildare's mentor Dr. Gillespie (Lionel Barrymore) tires of his protégé working fruitlessly on "exotic diagnoses" ("I think it's Q fever!") and sends him to work in a neighborhood clinic, instead.

Q fever was also highlighted in an episode of the U.S. television medical drama House ("The Dig", season seven, episode 18).

Biological warfare
C. burnetii has been used to develop biological weapons.

The United States investigated it as a potential biological warfare agent in the 1950s, with eventual standardization as agent OU. At Fort Detrick and Dugway Proving Ground, human trials were conducted on Whitecoat volunteers to determine the median infective dose (18 MICLD50/person i.h.) and course of infection. The Deseret Test Center dispensed biological Agent OU with ships and aircraft, during Project 112 and Project SHAD.  As a standardized biological, it was manufactured in large quantities at Pine Bluff Arsenal, with 5,098 gallons in the arsenal in bulk at the time of demilitarization in 1970.

C. burnetii is currently ranked as a "category B" bioterrorism agent by the CDC. It can be contagious, and is very stable in aerosols in a wide range of temperatures. Q fever microorganisms may survive on surfaces up to 60 days. It is considered a good agent in part because its ID50 (number of bacilli needed to infect 50% of individuals) is considered to be one, making it the lowest known.

In animals
Q fever can affect many species of domestic and wild animals, including ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, bison, deer species...), carnivores (dogs, cats, seals...), rodents, reptiles and birds. However, ruminants (cattle, goats, and sheep) are the most frequently affected animals, and can serve as a reservoir for the bacteria.

Clinical signs
In contrast to humans, though a respiratory and cardiac infection could be experimentally reproduced in cattle, the clinical signs mainly affect the reproductive system. Q fever in ruminants is, therefore, mainly responsible for abortions, metritis, retained placenta, and infertility.

The clinical signs vary between species. In small ruminants (sheep and goats), it is dominated by abortions, premature births, stillbirths, and the birth of weak lambs or kids. One of the characteristics of abortions in goats is that they are very frequent and clustered in the first year or two after contamination of the farm. This is known as an abortion storm.

In cattle, although abortions also occur, they are less frequent and more sporadic. The clinical picture is rather dominated by nonspecific signs such as placental retentions, metritis, and consequent fertility disorders.

Epidemiology
With the exception of New Zealand, which is currently free of Q fever, the disease is present throughout the world. Numerous epidemiological surveys have been carried out. They have shown that about one in three cattle farms and one in four sheep or goat farms are infected, but wide variations are seen between studies and countries. In China, Iran, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, the US, Belgium, Denmark, Croatia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovenia, and Jordan, for example, more than 50% of cattle herds were infected with Q fever.

Infected animals shed the bacteria by three routes - genital discharge, faeces, and milk.  Excretion is greatest at the time of parturition or abortion, and placentas and aborted fetuses are the main sources of bacteria, particularly in goats.

As C. burnetii is small and resistant in the environment, it is easily airborne and can be transmitted from one farm to another, even if several kilometres away.

Control

Biosecurity measures
Based on the epidemiological data, biosecurity measures can be derived:
 The spread of manure from infected farm should be avoided in windy conditions
 The level of hygiene must be very high during parturition and fetal annexes, and fetuses must be collected and destroyed as soon as possible

Medical measures
A vaccine for cattle and goats exists. It reduces clinical expression such as abortions and decreases excretion of the bacteria by the animals leading to control of Q fever in herds.

In addition, vaccination of herds against Q fever has been shown to reduce the risk of human infection.

References

External links

 Q fever at the CDC
 Coxiella burnetii genomes and related information at PATRIC, a Bioinformatics Resource Center funded by NIAID

Atypical pneumonias
Bacterial diseases
Bacterium-related cutaneous conditions
Biological weapons
Bovine diseases
Rare infectious diseases
Rodent-carried diseases
Sheep and goat diseases
Tick-borne diseases
Zoonoses
Zoonotic bacterial diseases

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Happy birthday William Loren Katz (Black Women of the Old West), Helen Oxenbury (We're Going on a Bear Hunt), Jack Gantos (Joey Pigza series), and Michael Emberley (It's Perfectly Normal).
It's the birth date of Paul Galdone (1914-1986), The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Martha Washington (1731-1802), the first First Lady of the United States, was born on this day. Read The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington's Slave Finds Freedom by Emily Arnold McCully.
Today I'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Helen Oxenbury, one of our most accomplished children's book illustrators. Helen turned to illustration as a second career when her own child was born. An accomplished set designer for theater, television, and film, she had already observed the pleasure her husband, John Burningham (whom she met at London's Central School of Art and Craft), took in crafting picture books.
Then, while Helen was in the hospital after the birth of their child, she received a visit from Sebastian Walker, the keen mastermind who set up Walker Books in England, parent company of Candlewick in the United States. They began to talk about the books that Helen might create herself. American editor May Massee was famous for nabbing illustrators at public lunch places and dinner parties, but Helen's story is the only one I know of someone being recruited for the field in a hospital.
As the mother of young children, she wasn't finding the kind of quality picture books that she admired. In 1967 she began working in this area, becoming a specialist in books for babies and toddlers in the 1980s. These titles, such as I Can, I See, and I Touch, all highlight the actions and objects of a young child's world.
On the Almanac, I've already presented one of Helen's finest creations for the younger set, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Today, on her birthday, let's look at another signature Oxenbury book, Martin Waddell's Farmer Duck. Poor Duck; he works tirelessly for a lazy, good-for-nothing farmer who spends all day in bed eating bonbons and reading the newspaper. Every now and then the man yells at duck, "How goes the work?" Duck takes care of the farm animals, washes dishes, irons. But no praise for duck. And then one day, his barnyard friends unite behind him—and the animals take over the farm. Ultimately the book explores the idea of fairness and can be paired with Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type to talk about power dynamics and taking control.
Above all, Helen Oxenbury's artwork has made this book so successful over the last twenty years. A master at creating character and landscape, she knows how to move a story along seamlessly. With fine draftsmanship, a controlled use of color, and energetic black line, each one of her drawings combines humor and heart. In concert with the text, Helen creates a hero readers can cheer for, and a picture book that young children beg for again and again.
So today on your birthday, Helen Oxenbury, we ask, "How goes the work?" And in honor of all you have done, we want to send a big cheer from your American fans for this book and all the others you've made over the years.
Originally posted June 2, 2014. Updated for .
It has fascinating reading the history of authors and illustrators, thanks so much for sharing!
I love new buried treasure (new to me anyways) when I find it!
Of the find and read this one ASAP!


text:
Audit: Former Oakdale Clerk Misappropriated $360,000
Ian Auzenne
Ian Auzenne Published: August 2, 2021
giorgio-trovato via unsplash
A newly-released audit says the former Oakdale city clerk transferred $360,000 in municipal funds into three different personal bank accounts.
The Legislative Auditor's office released that audit early Monday morning.
According to the auditor's findings, Melissa Schaefer misappropriated $248,563.58 in city money during the 2019-20 fiscal year and another $109,461.98 afterward. The audit says Schaefer had sole access to two electronic devices that allowed her to transfer the funds to her accounts and insert her own descriptions for those postings onto bank statements.
The investigation into the alleged misappropriation continues. Charges have not been and will not be filed against Schaefer. She died on March 11 after a battle with cancer. She was 58.
The audit says no restitution has been made, but the city did file fidelity bond insurance claims of $35,000 and $50,000. Furthermore, the audit of two city employees will have access to the electronic devices at the center of this case to prevent a situation like this from happening again. The audit report adds that the mayor will directly receive bank reports and bank statements detailing money transfers.
How Does Louisiana Rank in Key Categories When It Comes to Education?
Source: Audit: Former Oakdale Clerk Misappropriated $360,000
Filed Under: allen parish, oakdale, state news
Categories: Local News, State News

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Shang Chi 2: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Spoilers, And More!
Regal Tribune
'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' is a superhero movie produced by Destin Daniel Cretton ('Just Mercy') and is the franchise's 25th installment.
The film is based on the Marvel Comics superhero Shang-Chi. It follows the eponymous hero as he confronts the past he has been hiding after his involvement in a dispute with his father's Ten Rings organization.
Critics have appreciated the film's innovative approach to martial arts action and inversion of conventional Asian clichés in Hollywood blockbusters.
If you loved the film and couldn't get enough of Marvel's lovable new superhero, you're probably wondering when Shang-Chi will return to the big screen. Here are all updates about Shang Chi season 2.
Shang Chi 2: Release Date
Although not yet declared, Shang-Chi 2 is also about to happen. Marvel wants to make a major wager on Shang-Chi. Given the overwhelming support from fans and critics, particularly those praising the directing and performances of the film's stars, Shang-Chi 2 should be developed shortly.
Given the inflow of Phase 4 films in the following years, Shang-Chi 2 might arrive in late 2023 if the studio facilitates the sequel or in 2024 under normal conditions.
Must check: A Man Called Otto Release Date Set For Christmas 2022, Trailer, First Synopsis
Shang Chi 2: Plot
Shang-Chi faces his father, Wenwu, who is being possessed by the Dweller-in-Darkness, a soul-sucking monster, during the finale of 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.'
After The Dweller swallows Wenwu's soul, Shang-Chi takes up the Ten Rings and defeats the demon with Katy, the Great Protector, and Xialing.
Wong presented Shang-Chi and Katy to Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers in the mid-and post-credits sequences, and Xialing took over the Ten Rings organization.
We will almost certainly discover more about the Ten Rings' mystery and presumably otherworldly origins in 'Shang-Chi 2.' Additionally, we may learn where or to whom the Ten Rings are transmitting a signal.
The signal may herald the coming of a new adversary. Fortunately, Shang-Chi is aware of the appropriate contacts if he needs assistance. Shang-Chi may also have to battle with Moving Shadow, his half-brother.
After all, 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' is a family drama at its foundation, and we would anticipate the sequel to be the same.
Shang Chi 2: Cast
Simu Liu will, of course, reprise his role as Xu Shang-Chi due to the events of the previous film, which established his legendary stature and saw him face his demons.
Seeing as how the film's end credits scene featured him with best friend Katy Chen (Awkwafina), we can probably expect to see her return as well.
Other possible comebacks include Meng'er Zhang, who played Xu Xialing, the new chief of the Ten Rings, alongside Razor Fist (Florian Munteanu) and Jon Jon (Ronny Chieng).
Meanwhile, the first picture introduced us to Shang-maternal Chi's aunt, Ying Nan, portrayed by Michelle Yeoh so that we may see her return as well.
Other MCU veterans who might return include Benedict Wong as Wong and Sir Ben Kingsley being Trevor Slattery from the first film.
Finally, although both characters are dead, Tony Leung and Fala Chen may reprise their roles as Wenwu and Ying Li in flashback scenes.
Must read: Rhugt Season 2 Release Date And Renewal Status On Peacock
Shang Chi 2: Trailer
Sadly, there is no footage of the sequel film yet, as Shang Chi's 2nd film appearance was just recently announced. We will add the trailer here when we get the official trailer.
Where To Watch Shang Chi 2?
If you're interested in watching the original Shang-Chi, you can subscribe to Disney Plus, where it's currently streaming. The film is presently available on Amazon also. When Shang-Chi 2 will release, you will stream it on Disney Plus.
That's all about Shang Chi 2 that you should know. I hope you find this post helpful. When we get any info, we will update this post. Please stay tuned with us for more updates!
Must read: Venom 3 Is In Production! Here Is What We Know So Far!
Killing Eve Season 4 Confirmed Release Date And Where To Watch Online
A Man Called Otto Release Date Set For Christmas 2022, Trailer, First Synopsis


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Next Week in Munich
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What's on in Munich: food, culture and events
Arts in Munich is dedicated to culture in Munich, in its broadest sense. From gigs, exhibitions and performances to restaurants, bars and hotels, the digital magazine provides an independent guide as to what's on and where to go in Munich and the rest of Bavaria.
© FILMFEST MÜNCHEN 2017
Munich's annual international film festival is larger than ever. This year, the festival will host 45 premieres, visiting stars include Sofia Coppola, Bill Nighy and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, and will show a total of 180 movies from 60 countries.
The festival will open with Claire Denis' Un Beau Soleil Intérieur (Let the Sunshine In), a film about a single woman (Juliette Binoche) living alone in Paris. The Guardian has described it as an "unexpectedly delightful" movie from the director of 35 Shots of Rum, and it was widely praised at Cannes, where the movie opened the Directors' Fortnight.
Coppola is in Munich showing her new film The Beguiled, for which she won a Palme D'Or at Cannes this year (she's only the second woman to win the Best Director award at the festival). The Beguiled stars Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning, and takes place in a girls' boarding school during the American Civil War.
I'm particularly looking forward to Buster's Mal Heart, starring Rami Malek, which is showing this coming Friday and Saturday at Münchner Freiheit (the director Sarah Adina Smith will be present for a Q&A after the screening). I think Malek's performance in Mr. Robot is incredible, and it sounds weirdly wonderful.
Bryan Cranston will be awarded the CineMerit Award at the Gasteig this coming Friday, honouring his contribution to film over the past two decades. His current film Wakefield, based on E. L. Doctorow's short story of a man in the midst of a mid-life crisis (read it in The New Yorker), is showing four times over the course of the festival.
Bill Nighy's WWII movie Their Finest (also starring Gemma Arteton) is rounding things off at the FILMFEST, and the actor will be discussing the movie before its screening on July 1st. Unsurprisingly, tickets have already sold-out.
Running parallel to the FILMFEST is the Kinderfilmfest, which is showing some brilliant films this year – including Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes.
The full program is available as a not-very-user-friendly PDF online – it's easier to flick through the magazine (in German only) and pick out your movies.
Tickets can be ordered online and picked up from the Gasteig (or from Friday onwards, at a variety of venues across the city).
Categories Culture
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AboutRachel
I'm Rachel, the author behind Arts in Munich. I moved to Munich in the summer of 2008, and work as an editor in the city. I also do freelance work for the BBC, MONOCLE, Singapore Airlines and Kaltblut, among others, and previously wrote for the Huffington Post and Electronic Beats.
www.artsinmunich.com/ RachelinMunich
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English: Stratford station is a London Underground and National Rail station at Stratford in Newham, east London. The station is served by the Central Line, Jubilee Line, the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, Abellio Greater Anglia, TfL Rail and c2c. The station consists of Low Level and High Level parts. The Low Level part of the stations presently consists of the three Jubilee line platforms (platforms 13-15); Stratford is the line's eastern terminus. New low-level DLR platforms will open in 2010 on the Stratford International branch.
See also: Category:Stratford International station.
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Thanks you for booking with Techcamp.ie. We will email you a receipt to the email address you provided.
As a local Clonmel enterprise we would very much appreciate you helping us promote our camps by sharing our webpage on your facebook timeline. To do so simply click here.


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The friendly and professional team at Price's Transmission is waiting and willing to take your call. We understand that car repair and maintenance can be unexpected and stressful. We are here to help you. For more information on Price's Transmission services, please call us at 757-497-6644 and one of our technician specialists can assist you with all your vehicle's needs.
Price's Automatic Transmission, is home for top-quality transmission services in southeast Virginia. Unlike the other guys, we spend the time and energy it truly takes to treat your transmission right.


Russia will have a virtual mobile operator for the military "Voentelekom"
Virtual mobile operator "Voentelekom" will appear in Russia in the near future. Such information was reported this morning media.
The new operator will be created on the infrastructure of Tele2 plans to use its frequency and towers. However, everything else is designed from scratch – including spacetime information protection and encryption. How many billions of budget money will be spent on it – not specified.
"Voentelekom" created exclusively for the military. First and foremost it will be to connect residents of military camps, and then all the people with shoulder straps. Given the fact that since March 6 they are forbidden to use smartphones and use social networks (for pushbutton phones there are no restrictions), a new mobile operator for the military should be a kind of outlet.
It is assumed that depsosit will be implemented using cryptography. In addition, the operator can restrict access to individual sites specifically for the military and set up a system of monitoring all transmitted data.
Expect if after the creation of "Voentelekoma" closed mobile networks for officials and deputies – "Kirovtelecom" or "Datatelekom" is still unknown.


These are the business stories moving the market as futures suggest a flattish start for Wall Street.
When you get no instant retaliation from China and instead get the companies trying to crack into China see their stocks rallying, it emboldens you to think, wow, I don't want to be cross-wise with this one.
The insurgent investor behind Elliott Management by far has the most campaigns outstanding in the most countries and the most offices of any activist fund, plus transformative wins at Hyunda and Telecom Italia.
TheStreet's founder and Action Alerts PLUS Portfolio Manager Jim Cramer said Texas Instruments has repositioned itself into a company that's involved in "industrial and auto."
Vincent Bollore, the controversial French billionaire, is reportedly being questioned by police just days after installing his son Yannick as chairman of the media group.
Italian government officials will meet on Monday to weigh whether Vivendi should face the penalties on the premise that it failed to live up to legal requirements or inform the prime minister's office that it obtained de facto control of TIM.
Cattaneo would be the second CEO to leave the company in just over a year.
Vivendi is Telecom Italia's largest shareholder with a 24% stake.
Political turmoil is throwing up some European bargains for brave investors.
Telecom Italia, Marine Harvest and Ambac should be in your portfolio. Here's why.
The market may be making new highs this winter, but nearly a third of its components are down in 2016. These 5 stocks still look toxic this week.
Qualcomm's CEO compares today's cars to where mobile handsets were in 2000 -- a market with huge potential.
The EU's 5G action plan could bring new regulatory hurdles for U.S. tech giants.
Growing sales and customers boost first-half profit for France's No. 3 and No. 4 telecoms despite their recent failures to secure deals.
Look beyond the economic and political struggles to see the world's eighth-largest economy.
Volkswagen gains 2.36% ahead of earnings release tomorrow.
Oil and the pending Fed meeting are keeping investors from celebrating an impressive earnings season.
The Finnish crane maker tears up one deal and strikes another with its Westport, Conn., peer.


Our first images of the project with IBB in Kunsthal Rotterdam.
Currently we are working in Rotterdam to initiate and produce the interactive design workshops to create an Xtra large artwork on wheels, to be part of the carribean summercarnival in Rotterdam end of July. Tonight is the openingnight of this energetic group show, celebrating 10 years of IBB in kunsthal Rotterdam.
Come and join this free course on how to demonstrate effectively.
Eind mei is er een actieweekend in het centrum van Amsterdam.
Wij strijden voor een betaalbare en tolerante stad.
De stad is geen bedrijf/ geef haar terug!
End of may there wil be an Actionweekend in and about the citycentre of Amsterdam. we will protest against the neoliberal tendencies of the citycouncil. We will strive for a liveable FAIR city.
Check it out on the website!!
Look at the one minute sculptures, a concept launched by artist Erwin Wurm in 1994, re-made and made new by the IBB students. Definitely worth your time!
What a place is, is closely connected to what is was meant to be. Curacao is only recently a country. It was a trading post privately governed by a company called the West India Company. Does this still show?
If an island not a hub it is a prison...We look into the complexities of this island.
Right now the seminar for students of art institute I.B.B. and guests is in full swing. The seminar is on 'we, Curacao" and introduces the students to public space as a place for expression of collectivity.


There are 3 home internet options and 3 business internet options in Allen. 69.6% of homes can get fixed-line service. Competition in Allen is less competitive than the average US city. There are 3 home internet providers in the entire city, which is about average, but the majority of Allen, KS residents have zero to two options for wired internet service at their homes.
43.5% of residents in this area can get TAB2 fiber. The fastest internet service this ISP offers here is 25 Mbps, which is the fastest available speed for Allen, KS residential internet providers. 100% of local customers can get the fastest download speed offered by TAB2.
For other cities, see TAB2 coverage and availability maps. TV service service is not available through TAB2 fiber in Allen, KS. You may either call and see what bundling options are available or call for internet-only service with satellite TV.
65.8% of residents in this area can get TAB2 DSL. The fastest internet service this ISP offers here is 10 Mbps, which is below-average speed for Allen, KS residential internet providers. 100% of local customers can get the fastest download speed offered by TAB2.
For other cities, see TAB2 coverage and availability maps. TV service service is not available through TAB2 DSL in Allen, KS. You may either call and see what bundling options are available or call for internet-only service with satellite TV.
10.7% of residents in this area can get Consolidated Communications DSL. The fastest internet service this ISP offers here is 25 Mbps, which is the fastest available speed for Allen, KS residential internet providers. 100% of local customers can get the fastest download speed offered by Consolidated Communications.
For other cities, see Consolidated Communications coverage and availability maps. TV service service is not available through Consolidated Communications DSL in Allen, KS. You may either call and see what bundling options are available or call for internet-only service with satellite TV.
65.8% of residents in this area can get TAB2 DSL. The fastest internet service this ISP offers here is 10 Mbps, which is below-average speed for Allen, KS business internet providers. 100% of local customers can get the fastest download speed offered by TAB2.
43.5% of residents in this area can get TAB2 fiber. The fastest internet service this ISP offers here is 25 Mbps, which is the fastest available speed for Allen, KS business internet providers. 100% of local customers can get the fastest download speed offered by TAB2.
10.7% of residents in this area can get Consolidated Communications DSL. The fastest internet service this ISP offers here is 25 Mbps, which is the fastest available speed for Allen, KS business internet providers. 100% of local customers can get the fastest download speed offered by Consolidated Communications.
As mentioned, competition in Allen is less competitive than the average area. The table below shows how many options you have in each speed range.


India today summoned the Italian Ambassador here and lodged a strong protest over killing of its two fishermen allegedly by security guards of an Italian ship off Kollam coast on suspicion of being pirates.
However, Italian Ambassador Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte, who was summoned by Ministry of External Affairs by Secretary (West) M Ganapathi, said his country's Navy followed the international protocol.
Two fishermen in a boat were killed after guards onboard the Italian merchant vessel fired at them off Alapuzha coast last evening, suspecting them to be pirates.
After the meeting here, the envoy said the facts of the case are yet to be clarified.
Official sources said there were 11 fishermen in the boat at the time of the incident out of which 9 were sleeping and the driver and another person who were awake were shot dead.
"There was no prior warning as reported by the crew," the sources said, adding the matter was now being investigated by the Navy, Coast Guard and local police.
Asked about the firing, the envoy said: "The Italian Navy followed the international protocol as it was approached by a vessel which did not stop when flash lights were sent."


LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood won't be returning to Los Angeles next season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have traded outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, pitcher Alex Woods, and catcher Kyle Farmer, as well as cash considerations to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Homer Bailey and two prospects, according to ESPN.
Shortstop Jeter Downs and right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray will make their way from Cincinnati to Los Angeles.


These flyers are a very small selection of events featuring DJ Drew Diggle from 2007 to the present. Most flyers before 2007 have not been archived and were lost into the mists of time! More will be added as they are located!


Brochures are an excellent instalment in lobbies and waiting areas. Not only does it keep people from getting bored, they also help you transmit information or promote new products or services. However, many seem to be having problems in getting people to pick them up. Here are some tips to make your brochures more appealing.
Brochures often have a lot of content, and that in itself turns people off. Readable font makes it easier for people to look at your brochure and will increase the chances of them reading it longer, enough to make them notice something that interests them. Ensure that font colors don't clash with the background and that they're neither too big nor small. It also helps to emphasise main points using boldface or larger fonts.
The first thing people will look at is your main point, and this is typically summarised by your titles or headlines. Use catchy words that easily express what that portion of the article is all about to improve the initial impression.
Too little, too excessive, or badly laid out images and fonts can make your brochures look messy. Remember, it has to be pleasing to the eye to encourage people to read them. Review your layout and make sure everything is clear and relevant. Don't be afraid of removing unnecessary content either.
There are several fold types to choose from, and it could affect response more than you think. For quick and concise details, try a simple fold like the half fold to avoid turning people off and wasting space. If you have a lot of content, the more complex folds can be used to add interaction and effectively layout text and images. Consider as well convenience if you're giving them out. People will prefer taking brochures that are easy to store and don't take up too much space.
Finishes will help add value to your brochure and make them look more attractive and eye-catching. For example, gloss finishes catch light and look appealing. They also feel smooth to the touch. Gloss also enhances the colors in your brochure, making them look more deep or vibrant.
Print Valley offers many brochure fold types to choose from, as well as other product offerings. Visit a nearby branch now!


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Gloria Vanderbilt's will leaves almost everything to her son Anderson Cooper
July 2, 2019 Dianne Reeves US News
Gloria Vanderbilt's will leaves most of the late socialite's estate in the hands of her youngest son, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, according to a news report.
The will was filed in Manhattan surrogate court on Monday.
It gives Cooper all of his late mother's property except for 210 shares in a co-op in which she lived at 30 Beekman Place in Manhattan.
That will be left to her eldest son, Leopold Stokowski, according to Page Six.
Vanderbilt's middle son, Chris Stokowski, was left with nothing.
Chris, whose father was conductor Leopold Stokowski, has been estranged from his mother for 40 years.
Anderson Cooper (left) will inherit most of the possessions left behind by his late mother, Gloria Vanderbilt (right). Her eldest son, Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski (center), will receive shares of a co-op she owned in Manhattan. They are seen above in New York in April 2016
Christopher Stokowski (left), Vanderbilt's middle son from her marriage to famed conductor Leopold Stokowski (right), cut off all contact with his family in 1978 after accusing heiress Gloria's therapist of meddling in his love life
Christopher Stokowski cut off all contact with his family in 1978 after accusing heiress Gloria's therapist of meddling in his love life.
Anderson was very close with his half-brother, who was 15 years his junior.
'He adored Chris, who spoiled him rotten,' Christopher's former fiance April Sandmeyer told MailOnline in April 2014.
'Anderson was only 10 when his daddy died and his adored older half-brother disappeared. It's heart breaking'.
Gloria, a member of the legendary Vanderbilt family, died at the age of 95 this month after suffering from stomach cancer.
Even though she was born into the Vanderbilt family, whose fortune grew thanks to the success of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt in the late 1700s, Gloria made millions on her own as a fashion designer and businesswoman.
But she also spent lavishly and made poor business decisions, which is why she did not leave a trust fund for her sons.
'I don't believe in inheriting money. I think it's an initiative sucker. I think it's a curse,' Cooper told Howard Stern in 2014.
'Who has inherited a lot of money that has gone on to do things in their own life?
'From the time I was growing up, if I felt that there was some pot of gold waiting for me, I don't know that I would've been so motivated.'
Vanderbilt's inheritance was a point of interest from the time she was born, which is when she came into a $2.5million trust.
That trust could not be touched however until she was 21, a matter that quickly became an issue when her father Reginald passed away just months after her birth.
Reginald had squandered all of his $25million inheritance, and Vanderbilt's mother seemed intent to do the same with her daughter's money.
Mrs. Gloria Vanderbilt was a minor herself when Reginald died, ultimately received a sum of $4,000 a week for the care of her daughter.
That allowance was used not for Vanderbilt though, but rather for her mother as she dragged the youngster across Europe.
This promptly stopped when Vanderbilt's aunt Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney petitioned for custody and won, though Vanderbilt did pay out an allowance to both her mother and grandmother for the rest of their lives.
Vanderbilt was provided for by her aunt, and in the annual report of her spending for 1939 it was noted that she had used just $10 of the $25,750 she was able to access.
The teenager was set to inherit millions more as well until she went to live with her mother at age 17 in Los Angeles.
It was not that decision so much as the one that followed that upset her aunt, whose estate was worth an estimated $78 million and would go on to fund the famed New York City museum that was named in her honor.
Diamonds and pearls: Gloria Vanderbilt (above) was born with a $2.5 million trust the had grown to $4.3 million by the time she was 21, but will not leave a trust behind for her sons
Blue jean baby: In her fifties and sixties it was her line of jeans and clothing that made her a millionaire many times over
Vanderbilt married Pat DiCicco, an alleged mobster who was 15 years her senior, and in response was taken out of her aunt's will.
It is unclear if that changed however when she left DiCicco in January of 1945.
That was one month before she came into her Vanderbilt money, which thanks to wise investments over the course of 21 years and the death of her half-sister Cathleen two years prior, had grown to over $5 million.
Once all necessary payments and taxes were taken care of, the total was just shy of $4.3 million.
Her next two husbands had money of their own, starting with Leopold Stokowski, who was 58 when he married the 21-year-old heiress.
Self-made millionaire: 'I don't believe in inheriting money. I think it's an initiative sucker. I think it's a curse,' Cooper told Howard Stern in 2014 (Cooper with his mother in 2006)
Entrepreneurs: She lost millions when her lawyer and a psychiatrist she made part of her company, GV Ltd, stole millions from her that was never recovered (Vanderbilt and friend Helen Gurley brown above)
Third husband Sidney Lumet was a relative unknown when the two married, but that all changed during the years they were together as he directed 12 Angry Men, Long Day's Journey Into Night and A View from the Bridge.
It was during these marriages that Vanderbilt began purchasing large properties with an individual identified as Herman Phillips.
In 1959, the pair paid $2.5 million for the Ivanhoe Hotel in Bal Harbor, Florida, making that investment well before it had become the tourist destination that it is today.
The two also bought an 11,335-square-foot property on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street.
In character: In her twenties and thirties she made money by purchasing large investment properties while also acting (above in The Swan in 1953)
It was Vanderbilt's next venture that would be her most profitable – jeans.
Her paintings had been commissioned by Glentex in 1976 for a line of scarves, and soon after she paired up with Murjani Worldwide Ltd. to launch a line of denim.
Between 1978 and 1984, Vanderbilt made close to $20 million according to financial reports, and made jeans a staple of every woman's wardrobe.
In 1988, Vanderbilt and Murjani sold the rights to her trademarks for $15 million, and that is when her troubles began.
A lawyer and psychiatrist who Vanderbilt had made part of the business stole millions from her, and after a lengthy court battle she won a judgment of $1.7 million.
The money was never recovered however and the lawyer died, leaving Vanderbilt financially strained.
Things the got worse when she received a $2.7 million federal tax lien in addition to a $1.2 million lien from the city of New York, forcing her to sell her Upper East Side townhouse and Hamptons estate to cover the bills.
It also forced her to move into the modest-sized apartment where she spent her final days writing and painting.
It has been reported that Vanderbilt was often helped by some of her generous and deep-pocketed friends in the wake of her business woes, most notably designer Bill Blass.
She also continued to work, releasing six memoirs and three novels since 1979, as well as over 100 paintings.
Her final memoir, which she wrote with her son, was what she hoped to leave behind more than any trust.
In an excerpt from the memoir, Cooper writes that he and his team were heading off on assignment back in 2015 when he called his mother right before he departed to let her know he would be away and working overseas.
'When she picked up the phone, immediately I knew something was wrong. Her breath was short, and she could barely speak,' writes Cooper.
Vanderbilt was sick for the next few months, battling a respiratory infection, and told Cooper at one point; 'I'd like to have several more years left. There are still things I'd like to create, and I'm very curious to see how it all turns out. What's going to happen next?'
Shortly after they started work on the memoir, which they composed in a series of email exchanges over the course of a year.
'I didn't want there to be anything left unsaid between my mother and me, so on her ninety-first birthday I decided to start a new kind of conversation with her, a conversation about her life,' writes Cooper.
'Not the mundane details, but the things that really matter, her experiences that I didn't know about or fully understand.'
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The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging was initially established in 1961 as a temporary committee; it became a permanent Senate committee in 1977. As a special committee, it has no legislative authority, but it studies issues related to older Americans, particularly Medicare and Social Security. Prior to the passage of Medicare, the committee was studying health care insurance coverage for elderly American citizens. The committee conducts oversight of the Medicare program, Social Security and the Older Americans Act. Some of the issues that have been examined by the committee include unacceptable conditions in nursing homes, protection from age discrimination, and pricing practices for prescription drugs.
Dan Stewart
The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding appropriations for various governmental agencies, programs, and activities, as defined by House rules. The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of all matters relating to the nation's agriculture industry, farming programs, forestry and logging, and legislation relating to nutrition, home economics, and rural development.
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Committee regulate expenditures of money by the government of the United States. As such, it is one of the most powerful of the committees, and its members are seen as influential. They make the key decisions about the work of their committees—when their committees meet, which bills they will consider, and for how long. The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committee in the U.S. Senate, with 30 members in the 117th Congress. Its role is defined by the U.S. Constitution, which requires "appropriations made by law" prior to the expenditure of any money from the Treasury, and the committee is therefore one of the most powerful committees in the Senate.
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Armed Forces, as well as substantial portions of the Department of Energy. Its regular legislative product is the National Defense Authorization Act, which has been passed by Congress and signed into law each year since 1962. The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for Senate Armed Services Committee) is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and other matters related to defense policy.
The United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (formerly the Committee on Banking and Currency), also known as the Senate Banking Committee, has jurisdiction over matters related to banks and banking, price controls, deposit insurance, export promotion and controls, federal monetary policy, financial aid to commerce and industry, issuance of redemption of notes, currency and coinage, public and private housing, urban development, mass transit and government contracts.
The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, reviewing all bills and resolutions on the budget, and monitoring agencies and programs funded outside of the budgetary process. The committee briefly operated as a select committee in 1919 and 1921, during the 66th and 67th United States Congresses, before being made a standing committee in 1974. The United States Senate Committee on the Budget was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. The committee has jurisdiction over the Congressional Budget Office. The committee briefly operated as a special committee from 1919 to 1920 during the 66th Congress, before being made a standing committee in 1974.
The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate.[1] Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, and transportation, the Senate Commerce Committee is one of the largest of the Senate's standing committees, with 26 members in the 117th Congress. The Commerce Committee has six subcommittees. It is chaired by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) as Ranking Member. The majority office is housed in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and the minority office is located in the Hart Senate Office Building.
The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is one of four standing joint committees of the U.S. Congress. The committee was established as a part of the Employment Act of 1946, which deemed the committee responsible for reporting the current economic condition of the United States and for making suggestions for improvement to the economy. The JEC is currently chaired by Representative Don Beyer of Virginia.
Education and Labor
The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia.
Energy and Commerce
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than 200 years. The two other House standing committees with such continuous operation are the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Rules Committee. The Committee has served as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public's health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them.
The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and reclamation, territorial possessions of the United States, trust lands appertaining to America's indigenous peoples, and the conservation, use, and disposition of federal lands. Its roots go back to the Committee on Interior and Insulars Affairs. In 1977, it became the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and most matters regarding Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians were removed from its jurisdiction and transferred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources or Natural Resources Committee (often referred to as simply Resources) is a Congressional committee of the United States House of Representatives. Originally called the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (1951), the name was changed to the Committee on Natural Resources in 1991. The name was shortened to the Committee on Resources in 1995 by the new Chairman, Don Young (at the same time, the committee took over the duties of the now-defunct Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee). Following the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives in 2006, the name of the committee was changed back to its title used between 1991 and 1995.
The United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is responsible for legislation and oversight of the natural and built environment and for studying matters concerning environmental protection and resource conservation and utilitization.
The Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to the 112th Congress it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The House Ethics Committee has often received criticism. In response to criticism, the House created the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent non-partisan entity established to monitor ethical conduct in the House. The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics is a select committee of the United States Senate charged with dealing with matters related to senatorial ethics. It is also commonly referred to as the Senate Ethics Committee. Senate rules require the Ethics Committee to be evenly divided between the Democrats and the Republicans, no matter who controls the Senate, although the chairman always comes from the majority party. The leading committee member of the minority party is referred to as Vice Chairman rather than the more common Ranking Member.
Finance and Financial Services
The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking and housing industries. The Financial Services Committee also oversees the work of the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other financial services regulators. The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generally, and those relating to the insular possessions; bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery; deposit of public moneys; general revenue sharing; health programs under the Social Security Act (notably Medicare and Medicaid) and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund; national social security; reciprocal trade agreements; tariff and import quotas, and related matters thereto; and the transportation of dutiable goods.[1] It is considered to be one of the most powerful committees in Congress.
Foreign Affairs and Relations
The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs of the United States. Since 2021, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee has been Gregory Meeks of New York. The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs; funding arms sales and training for national allies; and holding confirmation hearings for high-level positions in the Department of State. Its sister committee in the House of Representatives is the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Senate rules.
There is no Senate or House Committee dedicated solely to healthcare. This forum is for discussing issues and solutions specifically regarding healthcare.
The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include U.S. security legislation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland security concerns, as well as the functioning of the government itself, including the National Archives, budget and accounting measures other than appropriations, the Census, the federal civil service, the affairs of the District of Columbia and the United States Postal Service. It was called the United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs before homeland security was added to its responsibilities in 2004.[3] It serves as the Senate's chief investigative and oversight committee. Its chair is the only Senate committee chair who can issue subpoenas without a committee vote.
House Administration
The United States House Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives. This forum is for discussing matters regarding operations of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), also known as the House Intelligence Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Adam Schiff. It is the primary committee in the U.S. House of Representatives charged with the oversight of the United States Intelligence Community, though it does share some jurisdiction with other committees in the House, including the Armed Services Committee for some matters dealing with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the U.S. military. The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of the United States that provide information and analysis for leaders of the executive and legislative branches. The Committee was established in 1976 by the 94th Congress.
The United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control (also known as the Senate Narcotics Caucus) is a U.S. congressional caucus created to monitor and encourage the U.S. government and private programs seeking to expand international cooperation against drug abuse and narcotics trafficking, and promote international compliance with narcotics control treaties, including eradication. As a formal organization of the United States Senate, the Caucus has the status of a standing committee. It has subpoena power and is authorized to take testimony of witnesses and to produce books, records, papers, and documents that it deems necessary. In the past it has dealt with international cooperation, eradication, trafficking, interdiction, border control, drug strategies, assessments of Federal programs, and money laundering issues.
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is also the committee responsible for impeachments of federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, as well as review pending legislation. In addition, the Standing Rules of the Senate confer jurisdiction to the Senate Judiciary Committee in certain areas, such as considering proposed constitutional amendments and legislation related to federal criminal law, human rights law, immigration, intellectual property, antitrust law, and internet privacy.
The Joint Committee on the Library is a Joint Committee of the United States Congress devoted to the affairs and administration of the Library of Congress, which is the library of the federal legislature. There are five members of each house on the committee. It has no subcommittees.
Native Affairs
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1947, after which it was folded into the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. A new Native Affairs Committee was created in 1977, initially as a select committee, as a result of the detachment of indigenous affairs from the new Committee on Energy and National Resources, which had succeeded the old Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The committee was initially intended to be temporary, but was made permanent in 1984. The committee tends to include senators from Western and Plains states, who have more Native American constituents.
Oversight and Reform
The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the House. Its chairman is one of only three in the House with the authority to issue subpoenas without a committee vote or consultation with the ranking member. However, in recent history, it has become practice to refrain from unilateral subpoenas.
The Joint Committee on Printing is a joint committee of the United States Congress devoted to overseeing the functions of the Government Publishing Office and general printing procedures of the federal government of the United States. The authority vested in the Committee is derived from 44 U.S.C. § 101 and the Committee is thereby responsible for ensuring compliance by federal entities to these laws and the Government Printing and Binding Regulations. The current joint committee was created by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 and combined the functions of the United States House Committee on Printing and the United States Senate Committee on Printing.
The Committee on Rules, or more commonly, the Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other committees, which often deal with a specific area of policy. The committee is often considered one of the most powerful committees as it influences the introduction and process of legislation through the House. Thus it has garnered the nickname the "traffic cop of Congress." A rule is a simple resolution of the House of Representatives, usually reported by the Committee on Rules, to permit the immediate consideration of a legislative measure, notwithstanding the usual order of business, and to prescribe conditions for its debate and amendment. The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, also called the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for contested elections. The committee is not as powerful as its House counterpart, the House Committee on Rules, as it does not set the terms of debate for individual legislative proposals, since the Senate has a tradition of open debate. Some members of the committee are also ex officio members of the Joint Committee on the Library and the Joint Committee on Printing.
Science, Space, and Technology
The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete jurisdiction over the following federal agencies: NASA, NSF, NIST, and the OSTP. The Committee also has authority over R&D activities at the Department of Energy, the EPA, FAA, NOAA, the DOT, the NWS, the DHS and the U.S. Fire Administration.
The United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It was established in 1941 as the House Select Committee on Small Business. The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems of American small business enterprises.
The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is a Committee of the U.S. Congress established under the Internal Revenue Code at 26 U.S.C. § 8001 - The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code (USC).[1] It is organized topically, into subtitles and sections, covering income tax in the United States, payroll taxes, estate taxes, gift taxes, and excise taxes; as well as procedure and administration. The Code's implementing federal agency is the Internal Revenue Service.
The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.
The standing Committee on Veterans' Affairs in the United States House of Representatives oversees agencies, reviews current legislation, and recommends new bills or amendments concerning U.S. military veterans. Jurisdiction includes retiring and disability pensions, life insurance, education (including the G.I. Bill), vocational training, medical care, and home loan guarantees. The committee oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans' hospitals, and veterans' cemeteries, except cemeteries under the Secretary of the Interior. The United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs deals with oversight of United States veterans problems and issues.
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including Social Security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, the enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, foster care, and adoption programs. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committee unless they are granted a waiver from their party's congressional leadership. It has long been regarded as the most prestigious committee of the House of Representatives.
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IAMERS Member: Diagnostix Plus, INC.
Member Description: Diagnostix Plus is a supplier of high value, affordable refurbished nuclear medicine imaging equipment leading the market with pre-owned SPECT, SPECT/CT, PET and PET/CT for nuclear cardiology and general nuclear medicine in fixed and mobile configurations. Using experience built over more than 30-years the company offers turnkey systems, individual components, service and accessories priced affordably for practices or hospitals allowing them to focus on clinical imaging excellence, throughput, profitability and gaining an edge in a fast changing and highly competitive marketplace.


Palas is a Piedmontese word meaning "Luxurious Palace". Indeed the hotel is a true haven of peace, in the middle of world famous vineyards, ideal for relaxing and revitalizing stays. The rooms are in harmony with the general atmosphere of the place, well equipped and decorated with elegant furnishings. A swimming pool, a gastronomic restaurant and a charming terrace will ensure an unforgettable holiday.
In the heart of the Barolo region, Palas Cerequio is marvellous place to stay. The hotel is surrounded by vineyards and ideally located in the picturesque village of La Morra which will give guests the opportunity to enjoy the Barolo countryside. Bra is only 30 minutes away and the great city of Turin can be reached in a bit more than an hour by car.
The wine is the main protagonist of the Palas Cerequio which is composed of a wine shop and a historical cellar. Other facilities include a stunning outdoor swimming pool and a breath-taking panoramic terrace. The restaurant of the Palas offers a wide range of delicious gastronomic dishes cooked with fresh local products. Cooking classes are also available on site.
Ten suites are available in the Palas, including two junior suites and a VIP Suite. They are divided into two different themes, "the past" and "the future". "The past" comprises of the Cerequio Suite, the Cannubi Suite, the Villero Junior Suite and the Rocche Junior Suite. These rooms are designed in a baroque style. The other suites, Rionda, Bussia, Arborina, Ginestra and Brunate are all part of "the future" and offer a minimalist relaxing atmosphere. Each room has individual climate control, Satellite TV, WI-FI, bathrobes, slippers and toiletries.


But she has to go nonetheless, not because she's unlucky but because she has a tin ear; why else would she choose to raise such issues as racial discrimination in mental health, sores that can't be healed but which invariably paint the Tories as the 'Nasty Party' – a Ratnerism she coined. Ditto with tuition fees. As for her plan to build more council houses – only an extra 5,000 a year, as it turned out – and dealing with housing inflation with further cash for 'Help to Buy', these are woeful non-solutions, when we desperately need Right to Build.
House-building, along with 'Our NHS', is pretty much the only thing the young and old can actually agree on, the youth vote otherwise being a total lost cause for the Tories. Not that homes will be the silver bullet – as long as we have an economy filled with low-skilled temporary jobs then new properties will continue to get taken up by migrants doing skivvy jobs for London's middle class and young Britons will still find themselves locked out of the sought-after zones 2 and 3 properties their parents and grandparents could afford. But, since the young cannot see the contradiction between their desire for an affordable home and their belief in free movement as a global citizen, there's little that can be done about that.
The real question is whether the young will change as they get older. Maybe not. I sometimes feel we're the equivalent of the last pagan generation of Rome and what we're witnessing is the start of a new culture entirely, as conservatism among the under-40s is genuinely a dying creed. It's not that younger people are actively left-wing but that being left-wing (as in progressive, rather than actually socialist) is the default state; in effect it has replaced Christianity as people's moral anchor.
That partly explains why, whatever the Tories ineptly throw in Corbyn's direction, it just doesn't stick, because people still believe that Labour's intentions are good, and in the absence of any strong economic argument to vote Conservative (see Referendum, Brexit) people wish to be virtuous.
Can anything be done to stop this? I'm not entirely sure. Conservatives certainly missed a trick after the fall of Communism in blackening the name of that ideology in the same way that Fascism was; the wider effect of deNazification was to damage by association the wider conservative hinterland around that strain of pathological nationalism, giving a somewhat toxic air to all forms of social conservatism. The same thing might have happened to socialism had Communism's crimes become imbedded in the consciousness.
But nothing was really done to convey the idea that taking people's property and freedom in the name of an arbitrary, unworkable goal doesn't mean you have good intentions, especially when it has been tried a number of times and failed before.
And so young people generally don't care. They don't care about Venezuela because it's too far away, or the 1970s because it was too long ago, and they still hate the Conservatives. So maybe the only way they'll learn first-hand; maybe in the long term the best thing is that Corbyn does win. I'm obsessed with history but I'm a great believer in the idea that people never learn from it, or at least learn all the wrong lessons; Europe's entire post-war history has been an attempt to escape communal violence but, like Oedipus running away from Corinth to prevent prophesied disaster, we are only ensuring that it happens.
The problem here is not just Brexit, but that Brexit and the economic uncertainty it has brought has exposed how intellectually exhausted conservatism is in Britain; the Tories have simply relied too much on their USP of being the people who can sensibly run the economy, without any real vision of the future, no intellectual hinterland, no heroic narrative to inspire, no confidence in its ideas, and also little interest in using actual empirical arguments to back up its beliefs – all this while faced with a youthful movement filled with passionate intensity. I feel sorry for Mrs May, but a coughing, grey-faced woman in front of a collapsing backdrop just about sums up the state conservatism finds itself in.


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Every January, millions of people commit to making a fresh start with regards to physical health. It's a noble goal, and one anyone can reach, but it often means walking into the maw of an industry worth billions, and potentially hitting a fad more interested in slimming your wallet than your waist. So how do you spot a diet fad?
First, look at the structure of any diet — what you'll be doing day to day. Any diet engineered to help you lose weight is generally built to instill a set of basic habits. If a diet promotes an unsustainable habit, like eating nothing but one food or a strictly limited set of foods, or requires you to basically eat the brand's processed food from now until the end of time, it's not going to work in the long term.
Changing your habits is the only way to really lose weight and keep it off. Those habits are: Eat fewer calories than you burn; eat low calorie, high-nutrient foods like vegetables and lean proteins; and follow a basic exercise program (not just for weight loss, but to promote optimal body functioning!). Do those things and, barring metabolic issues or other concerns, you'll likely lose weight.
That said, what the books, the apps, or the meetings offer is motivation, guidance, and accountability. It's a lot easier to stay on track for changing any habit if you've got some sort of structure. Different people need different types of structure, which is why there are so many diets out there. Some thrive with everything planned down to the last detail, others like more flexibility. Maybe you need to have friends over three times a week for kale salads. Pick the structure that appeals to you, and make sure it holds you accountable in some way.
Scientifically, if we're accountable to a friend, we're more likely to stick with it.
Your friends and family will have plenty of opinions about the best diets, but do some Googling and see if the claims hold up on a scientific level. While what we know about diet is constantly changing, one thing that hasn't changed is how science works. At root, science is all about getting some test subjects together, having them try something while a control group commits to not trying it, and measuring what happens. So, if a diet is claiming it's "scientifically proven," find those studies and put them to the scientific smell test. If they don't hold up, or you can't find any studies, then there's likely nothing there.
Don't just take Google's word for it, though. Before you go on any diet, go see your doctor. One of the biggest problems people have is they don't listen to their doctors — so book a checkup, tell your doctor about your concerns (don't be afraid! They've heard it all), and ask what makes sense for you, medically. When the answers come back, make a point of listening! It's your doctor's job to tell you what you don't want to hear, and, sorry, the Chipotle diet is not a long-term weight loss solution. If you think you have some sort of allergy or problem, ask for a test and confirm it. Letting nebulous undiagnosed medical problems set your diet is a good way to get an actual medical problem on your chart.