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Posts Tagged 'Shah'
Indian Newsreader Ponders the Coming Collapse of American Democracy
I found this grimly fascinating video on the YouTube channel for Gravitas, which I think is the news programme of the Indian WION – World Is One – network. The anchor woman considers the prediction by a Canadian academic that American democracy is in crisis and that the country will have a right-wing dictator by 2030. This will follow a period of civil disturbances in 2025. America is becoming more polarised. 64 per cent of Americans believe democracy is in crisis, according to polls, and 66 per cent of Republicans that the last election was rigged. 70 per cent of Americans also believe that democracy is failing. And 66 per cent believe that violence against the government is justified. These views explains the attack on Congress by Trump's supporters last year, and there's a prediction that the Orange Buffoon will return in 2024. At the same time, White nationalism is on the rise. She states that democracies dies through a deeply polarised society and distrust of government. She also claims that White supremacy is rising in the US army, aided by legislation that does not forbid squaddies from joining Fascist organisations like the Klan. She is careful to say, however, that she is not claiming soldiers are joining these organisations.
She also notes that last year America was put on a list of different nations as a 'backsliding democracy'. If the attempted invasion of congress that occurred precisely a year ago, on 6th January 2021, had happened in west Asia (the Middle East) or Latin America, the US would, she claims, have sent in the CIA and a couple of thousand marines 'to restore democracy'. She goes on to say that for decades, democracy has been whatever America says it is. There are many examples of this American arrogance. One report says that the US tried to topple Latin American regimes 41 times in the 20th century. The US funded juntas and plotted assassinations,. Another example is the CIA-funded overthrow of the last democratically elected prime minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadeq, in 1953, backing the Shah. No-one asked them to do it, certainly not the Iranian people, 'but that's what America is for you'. America interferes because it can. It overthrew the Taliban in 2001, which was great, but their next step was to impose their presidential system on a country with more than a hundred ethnicities taking no account of tribal loyalties. The problem is the attitude that the American system suits all peoples 'but democracy doesn't work that way'. She concludes 'So this prophecy of American collapse is karma, plain and simple.'
It's a blistering attack on post-Trump division and the emerging far right in America, as well as American imperialism from the perspective of the Developing World. And she is absolutely correct. The late, long-term critic of American imperialism, William Blum, lists all the countries, whose governments the US has overthrown and in whose elections they have interfered in his books. The list and its brief descriptions of American meddling, take up two whole chapters each. America, and also Britain, did overthrow Iran's prime minister, Mossedeq in the 1953 because he nationalised the oil industry. This was then owned and controlled by foreign companies, like BP, which employed Iranian workers on much lower wages and with poorer conditions than westerners. As for Afghanistan, the country, like others in the region, is a mosaic of different tribal and ethnic groups. It has no tradition of western-style democracy, and the president the Americans and the west back, Hamid Karzai, was massively corrupt. And the corruption reached all the way down through his regime and the new state to exploit and alienate ordinary Afghans. The result was the rapid collapse of Karzai's government and the seizure of power by the Taliban almost as soon as American troops departed. In Iraq too George W. Bush and the other Neo-Cons had absolutely no idea about the society they had invaded and were trying to remodel. They believed the lies of Ahmed Chalabi, that he led a massive resistance movement against Hussein and that he and the American troops would be welcomed with flowers as liberators. Worse, the Neo-Cons actively resented and removed officials and senior military leaders, who attempted to tell them they were wrong. General Zilli, the head of the Middle East section of the Pentagon, was given the boot because he dared to do so.
As for the type of democracy the Americans wanted to introduce into Iraq, this was a very narrow version governed by Neo-Con doctrine. The government was to be democratic, but it was to be constitutionally prevented from interfering in business or private industry. It was democracy, but only as far as big business and American corporate interests allowed it.
As for the assertion that the collapse of American democracy and the emergence of a right-wing dictator is karma, I think left-wing political commenters like Noam Chomsky and the peeps at the radical magazine and website, Counterpunch, have said that America is suffering from imperial blowback. The tactics it has used to destabilise foreign regimes are now coming back to be used against America's own citizens. And because of the powerful corporate influence on American politics, Harvard University several years ago described America, not as a democracy, but as an oligarchy.
There are deep divisions in current American politics between Trump's supporters on the right, who include White supremacists, and the radical left, as shown in the rise of Black Lives Matter. Some of the BLM protests and demonstrations have degenerated into destruction and rioting, and in the most extreme example an anarchist community rejecting the American state emerged, only to collapse into violent anarchy in the pejorative sense and be retaken by local law enforcement. This has created a sense of crisis on the American right, while the invasion of congress looks very much like an attempted coup, comparable to Mussolini's March on Rome. I am not surprised that many Americans feel their democracy is failing.
I don't want American democracy to collapse. I believe that Fascism and dictatorship has to be fought everywhere in the world, and an America dominated by a dictator would be horrific, not just for the country but also for the rest of the world. American democracy needs to be supported.
It just shouldn't impose dictatorships or its very contrived version of democracy on everyone else.
Tags:Ahmed Chalabi, Armed Forces, Assassinations, Benito Mussolini, Big Business, Black Lives Matter, BP, CIA, Congress, Corporativism, Corruption, Counterpunch, Coups, Demonstrations, Developing World, Dictatorship, Donald Trump, General Zilli, George W. Bush, Hamid Karzai, Harvard University, Middle East, Mohammed Mossadeq, Neo-Conservatives, Oil Industry, Protests, Republican Party, Riots, Shah, Taliban, White Nationalism, William Blum, WIOn
Posted in Afghanistan, America, Anarchism, Canada, Central America, Crime, Democracy, Economics, Fascism, History, India, Industry, Iran, Iraq, LIterature, OIl, Persecution, Politics, South America | 1 Comment »
Afghanistan: US Supported Islamist Fighters in order to Provoke Russian Invasion
Here's another piece of US myth-making that William Blum skewers, the story that America only started funding the Islamist fighters, the Mujahideen, after the Russians invaded. America supported them as a resistance movement against Soviet occupation. In fact, the truth is almost the direct opposite. The Russians invaded the country because the US was conspiring with the Mujahideen to overthrow its secular, but pro-Russian, government. Blum writes in America's Deadliest Export: Democracy
The Russians were not in Afghanistan to conquer it. The Soviet Union had lived next door to the country for more than sixty years without any kind of invasion. It was only when the United States intervened in Afghanistan to replace a government friendly to Moscow with one militantly anti-communist that the Russians invaded to do battle with the US-supported Islamic jihadists; precisely what the US would have done to prevent a communist government in Canada or Mexico. (p. 83).
In fact America supported the Islamist insurgency against the Afghan government in order to provoke the Soviets to invade. In his book Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower (London: Zed Books 2014), Blum states
Consider Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor to Jimmy Carter. In a 1998 interview he admitted that the official story that the US gave military aid to the Afghanistan opposition only after the Soviet invasion in 1979 was a lie. The truth was, he said, that the US began aiding the Islamic fundamentalist moujahedeen six months before the Russians made their move, even though he believed-and told this to Carter, who acted on it-that "this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention."
Brzezinski was asked whether he regretted this decision.
"Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving the USSR its Vietnam War. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire."
Besides the fact that there's no demonstrable connection between the Afghanistan war and the breakup of the Soviet empire, we are faced with the consequences of that war: the defeat of a government committed to bringing the extraordinarily backward nation into the 20th century; the breathtaking carnage; moujahideen torture that even US government officials called "indescribable horror"; half the population either dead, disabled or refugees; the spawning of thousands of Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, who have unleashed atrocities in numerous countries and the astounding repression of women in Afghanistan, instituted by America's wartime allies. (pp.5-6).
It's ironic that one of the countries that became a victim to Islamist terror was America itself. The Soviet withdrawal convinced the terrorists that they could defeat America, just as they had defeat its rival superpower. And so they plotted the attack launched on 9/11.
Blum also makes it very clear that the subsequent American invasion of Afghanistan also wasn't in reprisal for the attack, which was the overwhelmingly the work of Saudi nationals with deep connections to the Saudi secret services. It wasn't done to free the Afghan people from the repressive Islamist government that the Americans had actually helped to install. No, the Americans had been on good terms with the Taliban. When the Taliban was willing to cooperate with them over the construction of an oil pipeline. When talks stalled over that, the Americans threatened them with military action and then invaded six months later.
America's wars in Afghanistan are all about geopolitics and protecting American oil interests, nothing more. And the Afghan people, not to mention everyone else killed and maimed by the Islamist terror groups those wars have produced, are the real victims. And that includes our brave boys and girls, who have been sent in kill and die for the profits of western multinationals.
And America's legacy of terror in the Middle East naturally worries people from the region. I've spoken to people from those countries, who told me they were worried about Joe Biden. They weren't impressed with Trump, but they were worried about Biden, because of his connection to Carter. Carter was the US president at the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. I don't think you can blame him for that, as you can the mujahideen in Afghanistan. The Americans really didn't see the Iranian revolution coming, and when the Ayatollah Khomeini did arrive, they completely failed to realize what would happen. The CIA believed that he would lead a peaceful revolution like Gandhi. If only. However, America did support the Shah, who by the time of the Islamic revolution was a bitterly hated absolute monarch who ruled through terror.
It seems everything we've been told about Afghanistan is a lie, a lie that is continually told by the lamestream media and the western political-industrial establishment.
And the broader message is that just as you can't believe what you've been told about Afghanistan, so you shouldn't believe anything else about the supposed benign actions of the American empire and its allies either.
Tags:'America's Deadliest Export: Democracy', 'Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower', 9/ 11, Atrocities, Ayatollah Khomeini, CIA, Donald Trump, Gandhi, Islamism, Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden, Mujahideen, Oil Industry, Oil Pipeline, Secret Services, Shah, Taliban, Torture, Vietnam, Vietnam War, William Blum, Women, Zbnigniew Brzezinski
Posted in Afghanistan, America, communism, Industry, Iran, Islam, LIterature, OIl, Persecution, Politics, Radio, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Secularism, Television, Terrorism, The Press | Leave a Comment »
Corbyn Is Quite Right to Demand Evidence against Trump's and Tories' Warmongering Accusations against Iran
A further two oil tankers have been destroyed by mysterious explosions in the Persian Gulf in addition to those that were blown up a week or so ago. As I write nobody has come forward to claim responsibility. But Trump and the Tories already know who's responsible: Iran. According to Mike's account of this, the evidence for this is that the Iranians removed a mine that had attached itself to a tanker. Oh yes, and the United Arab Emirates claimed that the explosions were the work of a 'sophisticated state actor'. And that's it. Now it seems contrary to commonsense to me that the Iranians would be responsible for the bombings, if they had helped get rid of an explosive device. But as the saying goes, 'no good deed goes unpunished'. Against this monumental lack of evidence, Corbyn has been one of the few voices of sanity against Trump and the Tories screaming that the Iranians must be responsible. He's asked for more evidence and for Britain to ease tensions, rather than join the military escalation after Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran. So the usual right-wing loudmouths, hypocrites and warmongers, like former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, have immediately denounced him as siding with the Iranians. According to them, he's some kind of traitor working for them against us, because he appeared several times on Iran's Press TV.
Well, as Mike pointed out in his article about this, Corbyn did appear on Press TV. But as various people on Twitter have pointed out, he stopped going on it and taking their money in opposition to its 'anti-West bias'. And far from turning a blind eye or worse to Iran's atrocious record on human rights, he called 51 early day motions against the Iranian government on this issue. He is the seventh in the number of MPs, who have made the most condemnations of Iranian human rights abuses, ahead of 648 other members of the House. See the tweets reproduced in Mike's piece by Tory Fibs. And the peeps on Twitter have also supported Corbyn's call for more evidence by pointing out how their previous accusations of responsibility for attacks by various countries have also been false. Jewish Voice for Labour reminded people about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, in which the Americans claimed that the Viet Cong had attacked an American warship as a pretext for entering the Vietnam War. The truth was that they hadn't. It was an outright lie. Chuka Umunna's Flip-Flops pertinently tweeted
The people slagging off Jeremy Corbyn for this tweet are the same people who cheered for the Iraq War when Tony Blair, George W Bush and John Bolton insisted Saddam Hussein had WMDs. Don't be fooled again.
A war with Iran will make the war with Iraq look like a pillow fight.
And Nadeem Ahmad tweeted
Jeremy Corbyn was right about Iraq, Libya, Syria, Palestine and he is right about Iran.
Britain needs Corbyn to be our Prime Minister. #Iran
They're absolutely right. As Greg Palast pointed out in his book, Armed Madhouse, the Gulf War and the invasions of Iraq have had precious little to do with protecting democracy or advancing human rights. Saddam Hussein had zero weapons of mass destruction. It was purely about advancing western multinational corporate interests. The Neocons wanted to seize Iraq's state industries and remove its tariff barriers, in order to create the kind of low tax, free trade economy based on absolute private industry they want for America. And the Americans and Saudis both wanted to seize Iraq's oil reserves. The Neocons also wanted him gone because he supported the Palestinians against the Israelis.
The result of this has been absolute chaos and carnage. Before Hussein's overthrow, Iraq was one of the most prosperous and secular states with the highest standard of living in the Middle East. Christians and other religious minorities were tolerated and had a higher degree of equality than in other Arab states. Healthcare and education were free, and women were also free to pursue careers outside the home. After the invasion, Iranian industry was comprehensively devastated as the state enterprises were privatised and sold to the multinationals and the Americans and Saudis seized the oil industry. They had it written into the country's constitution that the oil industry could not be renationalised. The removal of the tariff barriers meant that the country's domestic industry was deluged by cheap foreign products dumped on their markets. Their businesses could not compete, and there was a wave of bankruptcies. Unemployment shot up to over 60 per cent.
The secular state collapsed, so that women once again found it difficult and dangerous to pursue a career. Healthcare has been privatised. And there was civil war between Sunni and Shi'a to the point where Peace Walls of the type used to separate Loyalist and Republican communities in Northern Ireland had to be put up for the first time in Baghdad. The American army and mercenary companies ran amok. The mercenaries ran prostitution rings and shot Iraqi civilians for sport. The American army collaborated with Shi'a death squads in killing Sunnis. The invasion created the conditions for the rise of Daesh and their creation of an extreme theocracy. They destroyed precious archaeological and cultural monuments and treasures, including historic mosques and churches. This is apart from the destruction caused by the American forces, including Babylon when they occupied it. In Mosul Daesh filmed themselves destroying the pre-Islamic artifacts in the museum. They also went on a reign of terror killing Sufis, Shi'a and oppressing Christians and Yezidis, as well as executing gays and ordinary Muslims, who wanted to live in peace with those of different faiths. The Yezidi women were seized and sold as sex slaves. At least a quarter of a million people were killed as a result of the allied invasion, and seven million displaced.
And this is all set to repeat again in Iran. Only it may very well be worse, as Chuka Umunna's Flip-Flips has pointed out.
Iran is a mosaic of different peoples. The majority religion is Twelver Shi'a, and 51 per cent of the population speak Farsi, the country's official language. But there are also Kurds, Baluchis and Arabs, as well as other ethnic groups speaking languages relating to Turkish. Three per cent of the population are Christian Armenians, and there are also Zoroastrians, who practise the ancient monotheist religion of the Persian Empire, and Jews. There are also Baha'is, a religion founded in the 19th century, but which is regarded as a heresy by many Muslims and viciously persecuted by the regime. There is also an Anglican church in Tehran, whose clergy and congregation are indigenous Iranians.
Now I have absolutely no illusions about the Iranian regime. It is a theocracy, which limits women's roles and rights. There is massive corruption, and trade unions, strikes and political opposition are all banned. The oil workers in the Arab-speaking part of the country are kept in conditions described as those of concentration camps, and kept docile by drugs supplied and distributed by the Pasdaran, the Revolutionary Guards.
But the country does have a democratic component. Four seats in the country's parliament, the majlis, are reserved for the non-Muslim minorities, and women possess some rights. Below the Supreme Leader, the religious head of state, is an elected president. Before the Islamic Revolution, Iran was the most industrialised and advanced economy in the region, and I have no doubt that it is still one of the leading nations in the region today. And there is growing popular discontent against the theocrats and their corruption.
And the American Neocons would dearly loved to invade the country. Some of this doubtless comes from the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the overthrow of the Shah, who was the West's ally in the Middle East. The Shah had gradually become an absolute monarch after the overthrow of the country's democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammed Mossadeq, in the 1950 in a CIA and British backed coup. He was overthrown because he dared to nationalise Anglo-Persian Oil, which later became BP. I don't doubt that the Americans, Saudis and general western oil interests want to seize the Iranian oil industry, just like they wanted Iraq's. I also don't doubt that they'd like to get their mitts on the 51 per cent of the Persian economy controlled by the state and the bonyads, the Islamic charitable foundations. They and the Israelis also wanted to topple the Iranian state because they are vehemently hostile to Israel and support the Palestinians.
And you can't trust anything the Israelis says about Iran either.
A few years ago, Netanyahu was jumping up and down in front of the UN and anybody else, telling them that the Iranians were close to creating nuclear weapons to be used against them. It was all a lie, as even the head of one of Israel's spy agencies, the Shin Bet, and several of their generals said. And despite the propaganda, Iran actually treats its Jewish citizens quite well.
And the American Neocons very definitely want to invade Iran.
In the 1990s the Neocons drew up a list of seven nations they wanted to overthrow, including Libya, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, and Iran. It's a plan that's been carried out by successive American leaders, including Barack Obama and the 'Queen of Chaos' herself, Hillary 'Killary' Clinton.
If the West invades, the result will be exactly the same as the invasion of Iraq. There will be massive economic dislocation, the state and bonyad sector will be privatised and seized by multinationals. The oil industry, once again, will be looted and seized by the Americans and Saudis. The economy will collapse and there will be massive unemployment. And the country will also descend into a massive civil war between the various ethnic groups. The Kurds in the north have been fighting a war of independence in the north since before the Islamic Revolution. And some of the nomadic, Turkic-speaking peoples have also fought similar wars after their ancestral lands were seized for Farsi colonization. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, will die or be forced out of their homes. Jews, Christians and other religious minorities will also be persecuted in the religious backlash.
And the country's immense archaeological and cultural heritage will be placed in danger.
Iran is an ancient country with a history going back almost to the origins of civilisation itself. This was shown in the 1950s with the excavation of Hasanlu, a settlement that dated back to the 9th century BC.
The ancient settlement of Hasanlu.
For centuries the Persian Empire was one of the superpowers of the ancient Near East, conquering the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires and challenging Egypt. The conquests of the Persian emperor, Cyrus, including Babylonia and Jerusalem, are recorded in the Cyrus Cylinder. This is in the British Museum, but was loaned to the Iranians a few years ago.
The Cyrus Cylinder
Among other monuments are a series of reliefs celebrating the exploits of the ancient Persian emperors at Behistun. These include a depiction of Darius receiving foreign dignitaries.
Iranian Relief showing the Emperor Darius
Other reliefs show the symbols of Zoroastrianism, the country's ancient, indigenous religion, and its god, Ahura Mazda.
Persia continued to be a major centre of culture, art, science and literature after the Islamic conquests. Great literary works include the Shah-Nama of Firdawsi, his epic of the country's mythic history, the poetry of Sa'adi and the Rubaiyyat of Omar Khaiyam. But Khaiyam was also a leading mathematicians and scientist. Persian artists also excelled in the miniature and book illustration, as the illustration below shows. It's of the Prophet Mohammed attended by angels. Islamic law forbids the depiction of the Prophet, so Persian artists showed him with his face veiled.
Iran also has some of the most spectacular and holiest mosques in Shi'a Islam, which include similar depictions of Mohammed and Ali, the First Imam. Iranian art was also major influence on the Moghul art of India, and for centuries Farsi was also the language of diplomacy in parts of India.
It's possible to go on and on about Iran's rich culture and heritage, which is threatened by Trump's and the Tories accusations, accusations which seem to be leading up to a pretext for war.
The Iranian state is perfectly capable of terrorism. In the 1990s they bombed a cafe used by Kurdish nationalists in Berlin. And more recently they attacked a British warship, and captured its crew before releasing them.
But there is no evidence they're behind these attacks. It looks like the Americans and the British Neocon right in the Tories are trying to foment a war fever against Iran. But every opportunity should be taken to prevent a war, which will lead to further, massive carnage and bloodshed in the Middle East, the destruction of the Iranian economy and industry, and what democratic freedoms the Iranian people do possess. As well as the destruction of priceless archaeological monuments and treasures of art, literature and architecture, which will not only impoverish Iran, but also human culture globally.
Against these horrors, Corbyn is quite right to demand further evidence.
For further information, see:
Voxpoliticalonline.com/2019/06/15/hypocrites-challenge-corbyns-call-for-evidence-in-tanker-controversy/
All the illustrations with the exception of the Cyrus cylinder come from Royal Persia: Tales and Art of Iran, Carella Alden (New York: Parents Magazine Press 1972).
Tags:'Armed Madhouse', 'Chuka Umunna's Flip-Flops', 'Rubaiyyat of Omar Khaiyam', 'Shah-Nama', American Army, Armenians, Babylon, Babylonian Empire, Baha'is, Benjamin Netanyahu, Berlin, Bombings, BP, Churches, CIA, Conservatives, Coups, Cyrus, Darius, Death Squads, Donald Trump, Drugs, Farsi, Firdawsi, Free Trade, Gays, George W. Bush, Greg Palast, Human Rights, Imam Ali, Iraq Invasion, ISIS, Jeremy Hunt, Jerusalem, Jewish Voice for Labour, Jews, John Bolton, Labour Party, Mercenaries, Moghuls, Mohammed Mossadeq, Mosques, Mosul, Murder, Nadeem Ahmed, Neocons, Nuclear Weapons, Omar Khaiyam, Persian Empire, Persian Gulf, Privatisation, Prophet Mohammed, Saadi, Saddam Hussein, Shah, Shi'a, Somalia, Sunnis, Tax, tony blair, Turkic Languages, Twitter, Vietnam, Vietnam War, Vox Political, War, Women, Yezidis, Zoroastrians
Posted in America, Arabs, Archaeology, Armenia, Art, Crime, Democracy, Economics, Education, Egypt, Health Service, History, Industry, Iraq, Islam, Israel, Judaism, Languages, Libya, LIterature, Mathematics, Medicine, OIl, Saudi Arabia, Science, Secularism, Slavery, Syria, Television, Terrorism, Unemployment, United Nations | 3 Comments »
The Young Turks on the CIA Backed 1953 Iran Coup
This video comes from 2013. It's a report by The Young Turks on the release of declassified papers, revealing that the CIA was responsible for the coup, which overthrew the democratically elected prime minister, Mossadeq, and placed the Shah in absolute control of the country. The video discusses the way the CIA orchestrated the coup through bribes to elected members of the Iranian parliament, and staged mass demonstrations against Moddadeq and his National Front. The ostensible purpose of the coup was to prevent Iran becoming vulnerable to Soviet aggression. The reality was that the CIA acted to take over the Iranian oil industry and give it to American companies. It was given away very cheaply by the Shah, who was grateful for them assisting him into power.
This another video I'm posting because it is also relevant to Britain. Mossadeq was overthrown because his government nationalised the Iranian oil industry. One of the companies affected was Anglo-Persian Oil, which in the aftermath of the coup was renamed British Petroleum. As well as American secret service personnel like Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf's father, the British government was also involved. The British Prime Minister at the time was Winston Churchill, who described it as 'a great venture'. For further information on British involvement, see Mark Curtis' article 'A 'Great Venture': Overthrowing the Government of Iran' in Lobster 30, pp. 1-5. The article is an abridged version of chapter 4 of Curtis' book The Ambiguities of Power: British Foreign Policy Since 1945 (Zed Press 1995).
Tags:'Anglo-Persian Oil, 'The 1953 Iran Coup', 'The Ambiguities of Power', British Petroleum, CIA, Espionage, Lobster, Mark Curtis, Mossadeq, Norman Schwarzkopf, Secret Services, Shah, The Young Turks, Winston Churchill
Posted in America, Democracy, History, Industry, Iran, LIterature, OIl, Politics, The Press | Leave a Comment »
The Young Turks on Fox Lies over Obama Nuclear Deal with Iran
I've put up a number of videos recently of The Young Turks internet news programme reporting the negotiations between Obama and Iran about stopping the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. The Americans are understandably worried about the Iranian nuclear programme, which is currently directed towards generating domestic electricity, being turned to developing nuclear weapons instead.
These talks, which are intended to guarantee peace and prevent another nuclear arms race in the Middle East, are extremely unpopular with the Republicans. Several of the Turks' videos I've posted on this report the Repugs stubborn opposition to the talks and their attempts to undermine them with a letter to the Iranian president himself.
In the video below, the Turks' anchor Cenk Uyghur, explains how the talks have been successful for America. In return for lifting the sanctions, the Iranians have promised to scale back massively their nuclear programme. The plutonium stocks, which could be used to develop bombs, have been removed. The number of centrifuges have been reduced from 19,000 to 6,000. They have also agreed to give up 97 per cent of their stockpile of enriched uranium. The International Energy Authority has also been given full rights of access and inspection.
This is a very, very good deal. And as you'd expect, the Republicans are resolutely against it.
Uyghur here goes on to comment on Fox News' report on the talks by their expert, Katie MacFarlane. She claims this is merely a paper agreement, and talks about how the Iranians still chant 'Death to America' and demand the annihilation of Israel.
Now Uyghur points out that this is far more than 'a pinkie agreement'. It's backed by a number of other countries, apart from America and Iran.
But the Repugs don't want a negotiated peace. They want war, and an invasion of Iran.
There are several reasons why the Repugs want to invade Iran. The country is deeply hostile to both American and Israel. The Iranians, as a Shi'a nation, are backing the Shi'a population in Iraq and aiming to gain influence there through them. There are also reports that they are backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen, though this is unconfirmed.
However, as the Sisters of Mercy sang, 'The real truth is never spoken'. I think a major reason why the Repugs want to invade Iran is the self-same one that motivated their invasion of Iraq: Iran is an oil-rich country, which won't allow outsiders to own its industries. The oil industry was nationalised in Iran after the 1979 Revolution. The mullahs involved have massively enriched themselves. The regime has also passed laws preventing foreigners from owning Iranian companies. Forbes have placed Iran at the top of their list of countries that don't allow free trade.
When Mossadeq, the then prime minister, attempted to nationalise the oil industry in the 1950s, he was overthrown in a CIA backed coup that inaugurated the Shah's White Revolution. This led to eventual proscription of all opposition parties and autocratic rule by the Shah himself. The Iranian oil industry was dominated by Anglo-Persian Oil, or British Petroleum, now BP. The Iranians themselves received little in return for Britain's exploitation of their oil wealth, and the Iranian workers were paid much less than their British counterparts.
British domination of the oil industry was massively resented, and Britain's interference in the country's affairs since the 19th century has been and continues to be a source of bitterness. There's an Iranian saying, 'If you find a stone in your path, it was put there by an Englishman'. Mossadeq's administration and his nationalisation of the oil companies was extremely popular. His fall, and the political repression that followed, was one of the major factors leading to the Islamic Revolution.
It looks to me very much like Iran's oil wealth is still coveted by Big Oil, who would like to invade the country and grab it for themselves. All under the guise of safeguarding international peace and bringing the country democracy. Just like they did in Iraq.
And look how successful that was.
The last thing the Middle East, Iran, Britain and America need is another war. The chaos and bloodshed in the region is bad enough as it is, without extending the war into Iran.
Far too many lives have already been lost, and there have been too many coffins going past Royal Wotton Bassett draped with flags, let alone the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, killed and left homeless by the war.
It's time any talk about war with Iran was shown up as the dangerous nonsense it is.
Tags:'Anglo-Persian Oil, 'White Revolution, BP, British Petroleum, Cenk Uyghur, Centrifuges, CIA, Deaths, Forbes, Fox News, Houthi Rebels, International Energy Authority, Katie MacFarlane, Middle East, Mossadeq, Mullahs, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, Obama, Plutonium, Republican Party, Royal Wotton Bassett, Shah, Shi'a, Sisters of Mercy, The Young Turks, Uranium Stocks, War
Posted in America, Democracy, Electricity, History, Industry, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Law, OIl, Politics, Television, Y:emen | 1 Comment »
Mass Sleep-Outs Against the Bedroom Tax in Cheltenham and Bristol 2013
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The first few years of a child's life are critically important to growth and development, and New Jersey's youngest residents are poorer and face greater challenges than older children, particularly if they are members of a minority race, a new report shows.
The first ever Babies Count report from Advocates for Children of New Jersey, which produces annual Kids Count reports, indicates that 57 percent of children under age 3 in the state are either Hispanic, black, Asian or multiracial and some of these groups are more vulnerable than older children to health and safety problems. The goals of the report, released today, are to highlight data on New Jersey's 310,000 infants and toddlers, who are often lost among figures describing general child statistics, and inform public officials so they can address these issues.
With so many outcomes often tied to income, it is troubling that infants and toddlers are more likely to live in relative poverty than the state as a whole. Some 35 percent of the youngest children live in families with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or roughly $49,000, while just a quarter of all New Jerseyans have low incomes.
A major problem that low-income families face is finding affordable child care for their infants and toddlers. New Jersey's child care subsidies cover a weekly rate of $167 per infant and $165 per toddler for qualifying low-income working families. But at that low rate, only 12 percent of licensed child care centers had prices that met the subsidy rate for infant care and 19 percent for center-based toddler care.
"The subsidy reimbursement rate for licensed child care providers is especially low for babies 17 months and younger because of the higher costs for providing care," according to the report.
It can be tough for even families with higher incomes to find good care for young children. Fewer than half of the state's 4,025 child care centers are licensed to serve infants and toddlers. Almost 70 percent of children under age 3 — some 190,000 — had working mothers, leading to a shortage of center-based care for this age group, according to the report.
Having good child care available is particularly important for children living in single-parent households. Fully a third of infants and toddlers, or nearly 90,000, are living with just one parent. For close to 14,000 children under age 3, a grandparent is the primary caregiver.
New Jersey's youngest children are more diverse than the state as a whole. Just 43 percent are non-Hispanic white, compared to 58 percent of adults, and 41 percent were born to women who immigrated to the United States. African-American children, who comprise 14 percent of all infants and toddlers, can face additional challenges.
Additionally, black children are overrepresented in the state's child protection system, comprising some 36 percent of all children under the supervision of the state's Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
Regardless of race, infants and toddlers are also more likely to be victims of abuse and neglect than children as a whole, according to the report. They make up 26 percent of the state's total out-of-home foster care population and 10 of the 17 children who died in 2016 due to abuse or neglect were under age 3.
Participation in home visitation programs, particularly for at-risk families, has been proven to help new parents build healthy environments for their young children. But little more than 7,000 families benefitted from these programs offered through the state Department of Children and Families last year, according to the report. Programs are available in every county.
Another underutilized state program is paid family leave. New Jersey is one of only four states with paid family leave, but fewer than 27,000 employees filed claims to receive paid time off to spend time with a newborn or adopted child in 2016. The law gives workers at companies with at least 50 employees six weeks off at up to two-thirds of their pay to a maximum of $633 a week. Advocates cite several reasons why relatively few new parents use the leave, including that they don't know about it, the weekly benefit is not great enough, and they fear they will lose their jobs if they take paid leave.
Lawmakers are moving to fix those issues. A-3975/S-2528, currently moving through both houses of the Legislature, would double the amount of time a person could take off, increase the maximum weekly benefit by almost 90 percent, expand eligibility for workers at smaller businesses and provide some job protection. It would also spend $1.2 million to increase awareness of the program.
Only 3 percent of children under age 3 were without health insurance.
Births to teens continue to decline, with New Jersey's teen birth rate of 4.4 births per 1,000 teens half of the national rate of 8.8.
Nearly all parents participating in a survey of new parents reported taking their infant to at least one well-baby checkup and there was little difference among parents of different races and ethnicities.


Here is another quick post for you. This comes up pretty often and is a simple task to do using php. here is a snipet of code that will display a viewers IP address to them. You can build on it from here.


text:
<?php
namespace DreamFactory\Core\OAuth\Components;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use SocialiteProviders\Manager\OAuth1\AbstractProvider;
use SocialiteProviders\Manager\OAuth1\User;

/**
 * Class BitbucketProvider
 *
 * @package DreamFactory\Core\OAuth\Components
 */
class BitbucketProvider extends AbstractProvider
{
    use DfOAuthOneProvider;

    /**
     * Unique Provider Identifier.
     */
    const IDENTIFIER = 'BITBUCKET';

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     */
    protected function mapUserToObject(array $user)
    {
        return (new User())->setRaw($user['extra'])->map([
            'id'       => $user['uid'],
            'nickname' => $user['nickname'],
            'name'     => $user['name'],
            'email'    => $user['email'],
            'avatar'   => $user['imageUrl'],
        ]);
    }

    /**
     * @param string $clientId
     * @param string $clientSecret
     * @param string $redirectUrl
     */
    public function __construct($clientId, $clientSecret, $redirectUrl)
    {
        /** @var Request $request */
        $request = \Request::instance();
        $serverConfig = [
            'identifier'   => $clientId,
            'secret'       => $clientSecret,
            'callback_uri' => $redirectUrl
        ];
        parent::__construct($request, new BitbucketServer($serverConfig));
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


One of the accusations launched at Topps during its years as a monopoly card maker is that many of its set designs are pedestrian and generic. While that may have been true some of the time, there was the occasional set that came out whose design was exceptional. 1971-72 Topps Hockey is one of them.
1971-72 Topps Hockey card fronts have a player picture superimposed in front of a solid-colored background and inset into a circular frame. His team name appears in a wilder font than Topps usually featured, with a curved effect that had the letters get larger on each end. Below the picture was a team logo, the player's name and position. 1971-72 Topps Hockey card backs are laid out in a vertical format. The card number appears in an orange-colored box, with the player's name, team city and position in a green area beside it. Two boxes appear blow that, with vital stats on the left and a cartoon to the right. A biography follows, as well as a year-by-year statistical review, the first time a Topps hockey set ever used those.
The first six cards in 1971-72 Topps Hockey feature the previous season's three league leaders in several statistical categories. Also, one checklist card appears in the set.
Interestingly, the leaders cards are not featured in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee Hockey set. This is an unusual occurrence where Topps featured its own subset.
One key card of the set features Gordie Howe, who has a base card in the Topps set but not in OPC. The only notable rookie card in 1971-72 Topps Hockey features Ken Dryden.


text:
Name	Points	Solves	Actions

{{challenge.name}}
      {{challenge.points}}
      {{challenge.solves}}

        Locked
        Unlocked
        Edit
        Delete
        ▲
        ▼

      NewSave Order


text:
Q: Get data from mongoDB using node.js, connection works but no data is showing So i have made an application using node.js and connected it to mongoDB, but no data is showing, it is simply showing and empty json data file []. The database name is sample_geospatial and the collection is named shipwrecks and all ip addresses are OK to connect with.
Why am i not succeeding with my task to show the data in the browser?

This is my app.js

var createError = require('http-errors');
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var logger = require('morgan');

var indexRouter = require('./routes/index');
var shipwrecksRouter = require('./routes/shipwrecks');

var app = express();

// Database connect with moongoose
var mongoose = require('mongoose');
mongoose.connect('mongodb+srv://gockzor:***********@cluster0-boypg.azure.mongodb.net/test?retryWrites=true&w=majority');
var db = mongoose.connection;
db.on('error', console.error.bind(console, 'connection error:'));
db.once('open', function (callback) {
    console.log("Kopplingen lyckades!");
});

// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'jade');

app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({
    extended: false
}));

app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

app.use('/', indexRouter);
app.use('/shipwrecks', shipwrecksRouter);

// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function (req, res, next) {
    next(createError(404));
});
module.exports = app;

This is my model

var mongoose = require('mongoose');

var WrecksSched = new mongoose.Schema({
    recrd: String,
    vesslterms: String,
    feature_type: String,
    chart: String,
    latdec: Number,
    londec: Number,
    gp_quality: String,
    depth: String,
    sounding_type: String,
    history: String,
    quasou: String,
    watlev: String,
    coordinates: Array,
}, {
    collection: 'shipwrecks'
});
module.exports = mongoose.model('ShipwrecksModel', WrecksSched);

This is my routes file

var express = require('express');
var router = express.Router();

var mongoose = require('mongoose');
var ShipwrecksModel = require('../models/ShipwrecksModel.js');

router.get('/', function (req, res, next) {
    ShipwrecksModel.find(function (err, wrecks) {
        if (err) return next(err);
        else {
            res.json(wrecks);
        }
    });
});
module.exports = router;

A: Putting it as an answer :
If you're seeing [] in the api response rather than an error -

then the issue could either be you're not able to connect to proper
  collection name(if you're sure collection has data in it) or correct db where your collection exists.

So from your DB url :
'mongodb+srv://gockzor:***********@cluster0-boypg.azure.mongodb.net/test?retryWrites=true&w=majority'

You've got connected to test DB, So is that your DB where your collection shipwrecks exists ? If not the try to switch to actual DB after getting connected or replace test in url with actual DB name.
So by default you'll get an url w.r.t. to test db when you get it from Atlas mongoDB. So replace it on url once in all or you can switch it over the code after connecting to DB, using useDb function. Ex. :-
From code a basic way to switch DB ::
 async function myDbConnection() {

    const url = mongodb+srv://gockzor:***********@cluster0-boypg.azure.mongodb.net/test?retryWrites=true&w=majority';

    try {
        await mongoose.connect(url, { useNewUrlParser: true });
        console.log('Connected Successfully')
        mongoose.connection.useDb('myDB'); // Switching happens here..
        /**
         * Do some DB transaction with mongoose models as by now models has already been registered to created DB connection
         */
    } catch (error) {
        console.log('Error connecting to DB ::', error);
    }
}

Or you can have something like this directly in url ::
const dbUrl = mongodb+srv://gockzor:***********@cluster0-boypg.azure.mongodb.net/myDB?retryWrites=true&w=majority'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › District Courts › Alabama › Middle District of Alabama › 1974 › United Artists Corporation v. Wright
United Artists Corporation v. Wright, 368 F. Supp. 1034 (M.D. Ala. 1974)
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama - 368 F. Supp. 1034 (M.D. Ala. 1974)
368 F. Supp. 1034 (1974)
UNITED ARTISTS CORPORATION, a corporation, Plaintiff,
E. L. WRIGHT, Jr., Individually, and as Chief of Police, City of Montgomery, Alabama, Defendant,
James H. Evans, as District Attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of the State of Alabama, et al., Defendants-Intervenors.
Civ. A. No. 4208-N.
United States District Court, M. D. Alabama, N. D.
January 5, 1974.
*1035 *1036 Thomas S. Lawson, Jr., and Champ Lyons, Jr., Capell, Howard, Knabe & Cobbs, Montgomery, Ala., for plaintiff.
J. Douglas Harris, Harris & Harris, Drayton N. Hamilton, and Joseph D. Phelps, Hill, Robison, Belser, Brewer & Phelps, Montgomery, Ala., for defendant.
William P. Haney, Jr., and John D. Cates, Deputy Dist. Attys., Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama, Montgomery, Ala., for defendant-intervenor James H. Evans; James H. Evans, pro se.
Richard H. Dorrough, Jones, Murray, Stewart & Yarbrough, Montgomery, Ala., for defendants-intervenors Robert L. Dorrough and Ardith C. Dorrough.
Before RIVES, Circuit Judge, and JOHNSON and VARNER, District Judges.
JOHNSON, District Judge:
Plaintiff, United Artists Corporation, brings suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 2201, seeking to have Chapter 64C of the Alabama obscenity statute, Ala.Code tit. 14, §§ 374(16j)-374(16o) (Supp.1971), declared unconstitutional on its face and as applied. The constitutionality of a statute of statewide application being brought into question, a three-judge district court was convened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2284. The case is submitted upon the pleadings, affidavits, briefs and depositions filed in this cause.
Plaintiff, a film distributor operating nationally, is the owner and distributor of the motion picture "Last Tango in Paris." Defendant E. L. Wright, Jr., is the Chief of Police of the City of Montgomery, Alabama, and is sued in his capacity as such and also individually. Intervening defendant James H. Evans is District Attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of the State of Alabama. Intervening defendants Robert L. and Ardith C. Dorrough are citizens of Montgomery, Alabama.
Plaintiff entered into an agreement with a local movie theater for the exhibition of the film "Last Tango in Paris." On October 11, 1973, without any *1037 prior administrative or judicial proceeding before a neutral party, the exhibitor received a written notice from defendant Wright that there was reasonable cause to believe that the exhibition of that film would constitute a violation of the Alabama laws regulating obscenity. The written notice pointed out that the exhibitor could seek a declaratory judgment in the proper state circuit court on the obscenity vel non of the film. Defendant Wright, in his written notice, informed the exhibitor that "the exhibition of this movie prior to obtaining the declaratory judgment might result in prosecution." The exhibitor then declined to show "Last Tango in Paris" in his theater. Thereafter plaintiff brought this action, in which he alleges the unconstitutionality of Ala.Code tit. 14, §§ 374(16j)-374(16o) (Supp.1971) on its face and as applied.
II. Standing
Defendants contend that plaintiff lacks standing to prosecute this action because it has not been harassed, arrested, indicted or prosecuted in connection with the subject matter of this action. Plaintiff, however, is in privity of contract with its local exhibitor. Plaintiff's exhibitor has received an explicit threat or warning that, if it proceeds to show the film in question here, prosecution might well ensue. The exhibitor, on account of the threat of prosecution, declines to exhibit the film. Plaintiff alleges that as a direct and proximate result of this written threat, pursuant to the statute alleged to be unconstitutional, it stands to lose approximately $20,000 in anticipated revenues. Whatever value might be put upon First Amendment rights in this case, it is clear that plaintiff alleges financial injury in fact sufficient to confer standing. The alleged financial injury is proximately caused by the action of defendant Wright acting pursuant to the challenged statute. In such cases as this, it is necessary that distributors as well as exhibitors have standing. Interstate Circuit, Inc., v. Dallas, 390 U.S. 676, 691 n. 22, 88 S. Ct. 1298, 20 L. Ed. 2d 225 (1968).
Furthermore, the threat of arrest in this case is not "imaginary and speculative." Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 42, 91 S. Ct. 746, 27 L. Ed. 2d 669 (1971). The existence of a genuine threat of arrest suffices to confer standing. While it is true that defenses premised upon the First Amendment could be raised in a criminal prosecution resulting from an exhibition of "Last Tango in Paris," there is no requirement that citizens must "await and undergo a criminal prosecution as the sole means of seeking relief." Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 188, 93 S. Ct. 739, 745, 35 L. Ed. 2d 201 (1973). Accord, Wulp v. Corcoran, 454 F.2d 826, 830 (1st Cir. 1972); Thoms v. Smith, 334 F. Supp. 1203, 1207 (D.Conn.1971) (3-judge court), aff'd sub nom. Thoms v. Heffernan, 473 F.2d 478 (2d Cir. 1973); Anderson v. Vaughn, 327 F. Supp. 101, 103 (D.Conn.1971) (3-judge court). Plaintiff clearly has standing in this cause, and its claim is otherwise justiciable.
III. Comity The Younger Doctrine
Defendants contend that this Court is precluded by the policy of comity from deciding this case on the merits. Certainly if there were a pending state criminal prosecution against plaintiff, this Court would possibly be precluded from reaching the merits. Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 54, 91 S. Ct. 746, 27 L. Ed. 2d 669 (1971); Samuels v. Mackell, 401 U.S. 66, 72-73, 91 S. Ct. 764, 27 L. Ed. 2d 688 (1971); Perez v. Ledesma, 401 U.S. 82, 83, 91 S. Ct. 674, 27 L. Ed. 2d 701 (1971). A similar result could obtain if there were a pending civil process which leads to, or is a part of, a criminal prosecution. Palaio v. McAuliffe, 466 F.2d 1230, 1231-1232 (5th Cir. 1972).
In this case, the letter from defendant cannot be said to constitute a pending criminal prosecution; nor can it be characterized as a pending civil process which leads to, or is a part of, a criminal prosecution. The notice letter here *1038 involved is, quite simply, a threat of prosecution. When a state criminal prosecution is only threatened, and not pending, many cases hold that the Younger doctrine does not bar a consideration on the merits of a cause. Courts recognize two reasons for so holding. First is the language in Younger noting that
[t]here may, of course, be extraordinary circumstances in which the necessary irreparable injury can be shown even in the absence of the usual prerequisites of bad faith and harassment.
Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 53, 91 S. Ct. 746, 755, 27 L. Ed. 2d 669 (1971). Applying this language, some courts have held that the absence of a pending prosecution, the imminence of a threatened prosecution, and a First Amendment challenge combine to form "extraordinary circumstances" within the meaning of Younger. Wulp v. Corcoran, 454 F.2d 826, 831 n. 6 (1st Cir. 1972); Anderson v. Vaughn, 327 F. Supp. 101, 103 (D.Conn.1971) (3-judge court).
Second, some courts have applied in cases like this what is termed a "pending/threatened" distinction, in holding that the Younger doctrine is inapplicable to situations in which a state prosecution is merely threatened. Thoms v. Heffernan, 473 F.2d 478, 483 (2d Cir. 1973); Lewis v. Kugler, 446 F.2d 1343, 1347 (3rd Cir. 1971); Hull v. Petrillo, 439 F.2d 1184, 1186 n. 1 (2d Cir. 1971). The United States Court of Appeals for this circuit has adopted a further refinement of the pending/threatened distinction. If a state statute is attacked upon grounds of its unconstitutionality as applied, and no prosecution is pending, plaintiff must allege and prove bad faith prosecution or harassment. Becker v. Thompson, 459 F.2d 919, 923 (5th Cir. 1972), cert. granted sub nom. Steffel v. Thompson, 410 U.S. 953, 93 S. Ct. 1424, 35 L. Ed. 2d 686 (1973). Accord, Milner v. Burson, 470 F.2d 870, 874 (5th Cir. 1972). However, when a plaintiff attacks the facial constitutionality of a state statute, and there is no pending state criminal prosecution, a three-judge court is not foreclosed by Younger from a decision on the merits, even absent an allegation of bad faith or harassing official conduct. Jones v. Wade, 479 F.2d 1176, 1182 (5th Cir. 1973).
Applying these principles to this case, this Court holds that plaintiff's claim is not barred by the doctrine of comity, since a prosecution is merely threatened and since plaintiff alleges the unconstitutionality of the obscenity statute upon its face. Since it is not necessary for this Court to consider the unconstitutionality of the statute as applied (i. e., the obscenity vel non of the movie), we do not need to consider whether there was in this case bad faith or harassing conduct by defendants. And, since we recognize and apply the "pending/threatened" distinction as declared by the Fifth Circuit, it is not necessary to consider the applicability of the "extraordinary circumstances" exception to Younger.
IV. Abstention
Defendants also contend that this Court should, by reason of the abstention doctrine, decline to decide this case upon the merits. The doctrine of abstention, first espoused in Railroad Comm'n v. Pullman Co., 312 U.S. 496, 61 S. Ct. 643, 85 L. Ed. 971 (1941), is a judge-made doctrine to be used only in very limited circumstances. Congress has endowed the federal judiciary with power to render declaratory judgments. When a plaintiff chooses a federal forum for the adjudication of his case, the federal court is not obliged to dismiss the case merely because plaintiff could have brought his action in a state court. Kusper v. Pontikes, 414 U.S. 51, 94 S. Ct. 303, 38 L. Ed. 2d 260 (1973); Lake Carriers' Ass'n v. MacMullan, 406 U.S. 498, 510, 92 S. Ct. 1749, 32 L. Ed. 2d 257 (1972). To dismiss this case at this point, and to send plaintiff into state court, would cause a delay which would "itself effect the impermissible chilling of the very constitutional right [plaintiff] seeks to protect." Zwickler v. Koota, *1039 389 U.S. 241, 252, 88 S. Ct. 391, 397, 19 L. Ed. 2d 444 (1967).
The strongest case for abstention exists when there is a possible limiting construction which could be given a state statute by a state court, in order to avoid most or all of the constitutional problem. Lake Carriers' Ass'n v. MacMullan, 406 U.S. 498, 510, 92 S. Ct. 1749, 32 L. Ed. 2d 257 (1972); Wulp v. Corcoran, 454 F.2d 826, 833 (1st Cir. 1972); Lewis v. Kugler, 446 F.2d 1343, 1346 (3rd Cir. 1971). In this case, there is no possibility of such a construction. The procedural portions of the statute here under attack contain defects which could not be eliminated by a narrow construction. That being so, there appears to be no reason for the application of the doctrine of abstention. This Court is mindful of the pendency in the Alabama Supreme Court of several cases in which there are, inter alia, challenges to the constitutionality of the Alabama obscenity statutes. However, in those cases defendants were prosecuted criminally. Since criminal prosecutions present issues altogether different from instances of prior restraint, the pendency of the cases in the Alabama Supreme Court does not have sufficient bearing upon this case to warrant abstention. Plaintiff's choice of a federal forum will be honored, and this case will be decided upon its merits.
V. Procedure under the Alabama Obscenity Statute
Plaintiff asserts that the statute in question sets up a system of prior restraints upon First Amendment freedoms and that the statute fails to provide the safeguards which are constitutionally required under a system of prior restraint.
Chapter 64C of the Alabama obscenity statute, under attack here, provides that, prior to the commencement of a prosecution, one of several governmental officials must serve upon an exhibitor "prior written notice that there is reasonable cause to believe the material" in question is in violation of the obscenity statute. Ala.Code tit. 14, § 374(16m) (a) (Supp.1971). Then, the person receiving notice has 30 days within which "to file an appropriate action for declaratory judgment to determine the validity of such written notice." Ala.Code tit. 14, § 374(16m) (c) (Supp. 1971).
Central to a decision in this case is the issue of whether or not this statutory "warning" constitutes a prior restraint. Clearly the warning scheme is not an absolute prohibition against the showing of movies, as an injunction would operate in similar circumstances. However, a statutory scheme need not be published under the rubric "Censorship Statute" before it is considered an effective prior restraint. Courts must not be blind to the effect of a statute. One clear effect of this particular scheme is that the notice operates almost as effectively to bar movie exhibitions as an injunction would operate. Without such a notice exhibitors might well be willing to show movies which are arguably protected by the Constitution. However, when the government goes to the trouble to warn an exhibitor that criminal prosecution might ensue upon exhibition of a movie, few would dare ignore the warning. "People do not lightly disregard public officers' thinly veiled threats to institute criminal proceedings against them if they do not come around . . .." Bantam Books, Inc., v. Sullivan, 372 U.S. 58, 68, 83 S. Ct. 631, 638, 9 L. Ed. 2d 584 (1963). Such a system of threatened prosecution "can constitute an all too effective prior restraint." Poulos v. Rucker, 288 F. Supp. 305, 310 (M.D.Ala.1968). Therefore, this Court holds that Chapter 64C of the Alabama obscenity statute, Ala.Code tit. 14, §§ 374(16j)-374(16o) (Supp.1971), is in legal effect a system of prior restraints.
But that holding does not end our inquiry. A system of prior restraints is not necessarily invalid. Times Film Corp. v. Chicago, 365 U.S. 43, 81 S. Ct. 391, 5 L. Ed. 2d 403 (1961). However, "[a]ny system of prior restraints *1040 of expression comes to . . . Court bearing a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity." Bantam Books, Inc., v. Sullivan, 372 U.S. 58, 70, 83 S. Ct. 631, 639, 9 L. Ed. 2d 584 (1963). Because of the dangers inherent in the use of prior restraints, courts have established rigorous procedures which must be provided before a prior restraint may be held valid. These procedural safeguards are three in number.
A. Burden of Proof. When a system of prior restraints is used by the government to control speech or the press, the burden of proving that the material is unprotected must rest upon the censor. Blount v. Rizzi, 400 U.S. 410, 417-418, 91 S. Ct. 423, 27 L. Ed. 2d 498 (1971); Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51, 58-59, 85 S. Ct. 734, 13 L. Ed. 2d 649 (1965); Cinema Classics v. Busch, 339 F. Supp. 43, 50 (C.D.Cal.1972) (3-judge court); Studio III, Inc., v. Smith, 326 F. Supp. 1166, 1169 (S.D.Iowa 1971); Embassy Pictures Corp. v. Hudson, 242 F. Supp. 975, 978 (W.D.Tenn. 1965).
Under the Alabama statute, the burden is clearly upon the individual and not the government; when the statutory warning is given, the state need have only "reasonable cause" to believe that the material is obscene. Thereafter, if the exhibitor wishes to obtain a definitive ruling from a court, he himself must bring suit and carry the burden of proof. Ala.Code tit. 14, § 374(16m) (c) (Supp.1971). Since the statute clearly provides that the burden of bringing suit is upon the exhibitor, there is no reason to abstain in this case to hope for a narrowing construction from the state courts. Such a construction on this issue would have to disregard the plain language of the statute.
B. Air of Finality to Censor. The procedures of censorship may not constitutionally lend an air of finality to the action of the censor.
To this end, the exhibitor must be assured, by statute or authoritative judicial construction, that the censor will, within a specified brief period, either . . . [allow exhibition] or go to court to restrain showing the film.
Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51, 58-59, 85 S. Ct. 734, 739, 13 L. Ed. 2d 649 (1965).
Under the procedural system of this statute, the decision of the official giving notice is for all practical purposes a final decision. The issuance of the warning effectively stops the showing of the film. The state is not required under the Alabama statute to go to court to obtain an injunction after adjudication. The warning is for all intents and purposes a "final" act of censorship and is, therefore, invalid.
C. Prompt and Final Judicial Determination. In order to provide a valid prior restraint system, a statutory scheme must provide a prompt final judicial decision. Teitel Film Corp. v. Cusack, 390 U.S. 139, 142, 88 S. Ct. 754, 19 L. Ed. 2d 966 (1968); Grove Press v. City of Philadelphia, 418 F.2d 82, 90 (3rd Cir. 1969); Cinema Classics v. Busch, 339 F. Supp. 43, 50 (C.D.Cal. 1972) (3-judge court); National Ass'n of Theater Owners v. Motion Picture Comm'n of Milwaukee, 328 F. Supp. 6, 12 (E.D.Wis.1971); Studio III, Inc., v. Smith, 326 F. Supp. 1166, 1169 (S.D.Iowa 1971); Gundlach v. Rauhauser, 304 F. Supp. 962, 965-966 (M.D.Pa.1969); United States v. A Motion Picture Film Entitled "Pattern of Evil," 304 F. Supp. 197, 200 (S.D.N.Y.1965).
Nowhere in the Alabama statute is there a provision for expedited judicial consideration, either at trial or on appeal, of the issue of obscenity. This Court has not been made aware of any authoritative judicial decision of the State of Alabama providing for expedited consideration of civil adjudications of obscenity vel non under this statute. Such an adjudication is, therefore, liable to all of the delays which are incident to the bringing of an ordinary civil action. This failing renders the Alabama statute invalid in that respect.
*1041 This Court, therefore, finds that the statutory system under which notice or warning is given pursuant to Ala.Code tit. 14, § 374(16m) (Supp.1971) is unconstitutional because of its procedural defects.
VI. Unconstitutionality as Applied
Since the statute is unconstitutional on its face, there is no necessity of determining whether it is unconstitutional as applied, i. e., whether this particular film is obscene. Furthermore, it appears that the Younger doctrine as applied in this circuit might preclude such an inquiry, at least absent bad faith prosecution. Becker v. Thompson, 459 F.2d 919, 923 (5th Cir. 1972), cert. granted sub nom. Steffel v. Thompson, 410 U.S. 953, 93 S. Ct. 1424, 35 L. Ed. 2d 686 (1973).
VII. Separability
If the "notice" provisions in Chapter 64C of the Alabama obscenity statute are unconstitutional, as we today declare, this Court must determine whether the remainder of the statute must fall also. Principally this means that we must decide whether exhibitors may still be criminally prosecuted despite the invalidity of the notice provisions of Chapter 64C.
If a statute constitutes one inseparable whole, rather than several distinct and separable parts, a declaration of the unconstitutionality of one part must result in the failure of the entire statutory scheme. This "presents a question of statutory construction and of legislative intent . . .." Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238, 313, 56 S. Ct. 855, 873, 80 L. Ed. 1160 (1936).
There are two indicia in this case by which this Court is obliged to hold that Chapter 64C was intended to constitute one entire, indivisible statute, and not a series of independent parts. First, the legislature provided that no criminal prosecution could be commenced under this statute without first giving the required warning. Ala.Code tit. 14, § 374(16m) (a) (Supp.1971). Apparently the legislature viewed the warning and the prosecution as inseparable acts and expressly forbade prosecution in the absence of the required warning.
Second, the statute contains no separability clause.
In the absence of such a provision, the presumption is that the Legislature intends an act to be effective as an entirety that is to say, the rule is against mutilation of a statute; and if any provisions be unconstitutional, the presumption is that the remaining provisions fall with it.
Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238, 312, 56 S. Ct. 855, 873, 80 L. Ed. 1160 (1936). Under Alabama law, the absence of a separability clause means that the statute is to be considered as an indivisible whole. San Ann Tobacco Co. v. Hamm, 283 Ala. 397, 406, 217 So. 2d 803 (1969).
This Court can only conclude that the Alabama legislature intended Chapter 64C to stand or fall as a whole, both notice provision and criminal provision. Accordingly, the entire statute must fall upon the declaration of unconstitutionality of the notice provision.
This Court, therefore, holds that Ala. Code tit. 14, §§ 374(16j)-374(16o) (Supp.1971), is in its entirety unconstitutional and void. An injunction will issue against its enforcement.
RIVES, Circuit Judge:
I concur in the foregoing opinion of my colleagues and adhere to similar views expressed in my dissenting opinion in Grove Press, Inc. v. Bailey, N.D. Ala.1970, 318 F. Supp. 244 at 257-262, vacated and remanded, 1973, 413 U.S. 904, 93 S. Ct. 3027, 37 L. Ed. 2d 1015.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Fisher Price recalls popular sleep aid sold to 4.7m families after 'eight more deaths'
The toy company has re-announced a recall of its Rock 'n Play sleepers telling parents to stop using the product.
(Image credit: Getty / Getty)
Fisher Price has re-issued a recall on 4.7million of it's Rock 'n Play sleepers after eight reported deaths following the first recall.
The toy maker first issued a product recall back in April 2019 after its 2009 release Rock 'n Play sleeper was reported unsafe with approximately 4.7 million units affected by the recall.
But since then the US organisation CPSC [Consumer Product Safety Commissioner] claims the sleeper is linked to more than 100 fatalities - 70 of which were reported since its first recall.
In response to this allegation, in both of it's recall announcements - the first back in 2019 and the second earlier this week - Fisher Price states, "Fisher-Price notes that in some of the reports, it has been unable to confirm the circumstances of the incidents or that the product was a Rock 'n Play Sleeper."
It's not the first baby-related product to be recalled, last year baby formula was recalled after sepsis and meningitis fears (opens in new tab). Meanwhile Tesco, Morrisons and Iceland recall popular food items over safety fears (opens in new tab).
A government investigation reported back in 2021 found that following a two-year investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, carried out in the US, found Fisher Price executives "ignored studies saying the product was unsafe" and claimed it "didn't properly test the product" before its 2009 release and it is claimed it later "ignored repeated warnings".
DailyMail.com (opens in new tab) reports Fisher Price were not planning to recall the Rock 'n Play until Consumer Reports said they were going to publish the data and "within days, the product was taken off the market."
For anyone unfamiliar with the features of the Rock 'n Play - it holds the infant on its back at a thirty-degree angle, such that the infant's feet are at a downward slope from the infant's head.
A report by US organisation the Consumer Product Safety Commission claims there was "no independent research - or even internal company research - showing that it was safe for babies to sleep at an angle".
"On the contrary, research showed that sleeping on an angle was unsafe," the Commission added.
Since the recalls by @FisherPrice and @Kids2Co three years ago, at least 8 additional babies have died in Fisher-Price's Rock 'n Play Sleepers and four in the Kids2 sleepers. https://t.co/54AQvjGXTIJanuary 9, 2023
The newspaper also reports that between February 2018 and the product's 2019 recall, the CPSC hired a medical expert to "evaluate the risk of infants rolling over and suffocating in induced sleep products" and found the Rock 'n Play was "unsafe".
During the investigation laws prevented the CPSC from disclosing information provided by manufacturers, so it stopped them from publicising the deaths or injuries associated with Rock 'n Play or set up a product recall "without engaging in a costly and drawn out litigation administrative proceedings," according to the report.
Consumer Reports were notified in early 2019 by the CPSC about the deaths associated with the product and inadvertently released supporting data and the product was taken off the market.
Meanwhile, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, head of the Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee, based in the US, claimed, 'When product reports came in saying the product was linked to babies' deaths, Fisher Price ignored those reports. Only when media outlets like Consumer Reports publicised the danger of their product did Fisher Price take them off the market.
"Fisher Price and (parent company) Mattel have showed that they cannot police themselves,' Krishnamoorthi added during the 2021 hearing.
Ynon Kreiz, Mattel's CEO, who joined the company in 2018, apologised for everything that happened during his hearing testimony in 2021. At the time he said, "On behalf of myself and everyone at Mattel, I want to convey my deep and sincere condolences to parents and anyone affected by the heartbreaking tragedies.
"I am a father of four children, and I can only imagine that there cannot be a more terrible loss than that of a child," he added.
A Fisher Price spokesperson emailed a statement to DailyMail.com which reads, "There is nothing more important to Fisher-Price than the safety of our products and the trust consumers place in us. Our hearts go out to every family who has suffered a loss.
"The Rock 'n Play Sleeper was designed and developed following extensive research, medical advice, safety analysis, and more than a year of testing and review. It met or exceeded all applicable regulatory standards.
"As recently as 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) proposed to adopt the ASTM voluntary standard for a 30-degree angled inclined sleeper as federal law."
It continued, "After the product launched, different independent medical and other expert analyses verified that it was safe when used in accordance with its instructions and warnings. Two studies confirmed that the Rock 'n Play Sleeper was as safe or safer than other sleep environments such as cribs and bassinets, and one of the studies found that the product had far fewer incidents than the SUID rates in cribs, bassinets, and playpens. In addition, we reported significant incidents to the CPSC beyond the requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act.
"Though the facts show the Rock 'n Play Sleeper was safe when used in accordance with its instructions and warnings, we voluntarily recalled it in 2019 and have continued to work diligently to remove all recalled product from the market. We reaffirm our commitment to parents that we will always put their children's safety first."
Meanwhile, Mattel, which has issued the recall states on its website, "Infant fatalities have occurred in Rock 'n Play Sleepers, after the infants rolled from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, or under other circumstances.
"If you own a Rock 'n Play Sleeper, discontinue use of the item immediately.
"We will be sending you a prepaid shipping label and detailed instructions on how to disassemble your Rock 'n Play Sleeper and return the two hubs. Keep the remainder of your product, a copy of the receipt (if you have it), and the shipping receipt until you receive your recall resolution."
Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement, "We are issuing this announcement because, despite their removal from the marketplace and a prohibition on their sale, babies continue to die in these products." And he warned families who still have the sleepers to stop using them immediately before adding, "We now know of approximately 100 infant deaths in the Rock n' Play, including eight that happened after the recall was announced."
But Fisher-Price notes that in some cases it has been unable to confirm the circumstances of the incidents or if the product was a Rock 'n Play Sleeper.
Mattel advised consumers, "Your recall resolution will be based on the following:
Once you have shipped both product hubs to us, we ask that you please allow 12 to 16 weeks for processing. At that time, you will be notified of your recall resolution.
For more details visit Mattel or Fisher Price (opens in new tab) online.


text:
REVIEWS: Recordings
Newcomer Courtney Barnett Rocks
by Steven Mirkin
Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
(Mom + Pop)
In A Word: Rawk!
On her impressively assured debut album, the 27-year-old Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett grabs you by the lapels and insists you hear what she has to say.
Not that you mind, because why would anyone want to resist an album this honest and tuneful? The ragged guitars and conversational singing will remind listeners of a certain age of Pavement, but so have plenty of now-forgotten albums. What makes the young Australian singer-songwriter worth your attention where she deviates from the '90s indie template.
There's none of the arch, oblique stratagems that Malkmus, et al, were so fond of; Barnett favors the rush of stream of consciousness, with stories, observations and jokes jostling for position.
It's hard not to be pulled along in the excitement. She catalogs lovelorn nights in a strange towns, road trips (with time to wonder if an allergy caused sneeze could send her out of control), the daily minutiae of small town living, dull parties, accompanied by pounding drums, squalling guitars and her matter-of-fact vocals. By turns confident, knowing and self-deprecating, Sometimes I Sit And Think… proves that straight ahead guitar-based rock still has plenty of life left.
Steven Mirkin
Steven Mirkin is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer. His work has appeared in the New York Rocker, Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, Billboard, Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Salon.com, and many others. He contributed to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia, The Trouser Press Guide to 90s Rock, and the Rolling Stone Jazz and Blues Record Guide. Given the current economy, he is available to write for any outlet that pays on time and whose checks won't bounce.
Latest posts by Steven Mirkin (see all)
The Clash's 'London Calling': Cathartic & Exciting - 08/25/2018
Creedence Clearwater Revisited Saying Farewell - 08/21/2015
10 Times the Beatles Used Pseudonyms on Records - 08/19/2015
australian singer songwriter courtney barnett sometimes i sit and think album


In Swindon town centre, Menzies Hotel features a restaurant and modern rooms with free Wi-Fi. The rooms at Swindon Menzies feature a TV with Sky Sports 1,2, 3 and 4. Tea and coffee making facilities are also included.


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The State Argues That Because A Judge Has Already Ruled Against DAPA, He Should Invalidate DACA, Too
A district court in Houston is hearing arguments for and against the repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
By Jill AmentAugust 9, 2018 7:35 amBorder & Immigration, Crime & Justice, Houston Public Media, Partner Organizations, Texas Station Collaborative
Martin Do Nascimento/KUT
Josefina Castro at a rally in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy led by DACA-recipient students, teachers and other education and community members.
DACA, the Obama-era program allowing immigrants who were brought to the U.S. Illegally as children to remain here, is currently in federal court in Houston. Texas and nine other states sued the federal government to end DACA. Arguments in the case began this week.
Elizabeth Trovall from partner station Houston Public Media, has been following this case. She says the State of Texas argued that DACA's creation by President Barack Obama was illegal. The state says DACA has caused "irreparable harm to Texas." On the opposing side, MALDEF, the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, argued that DACA's 120,000 recipients benefit the state, and that the program is legal.
Trovall says the state is also arguing that because District Judge Andrew Hanen has already ruled against the Deferred Action for Parents of Childhood Arrivals program, or DAPA, he should find for the state, and invalidate DACA.
Trovall says DACA remains in place until legal challenges have been exhausted, thanks to several rulings by other courts that the program is legal. She says DACA recipients are in limbo, unsure whether to file for continued protection under the program.
"Of course, DACA was a program that was really meant to be temporary," Trovall says. "A real fix should come from Congress, but they still haven't passed legislation that would protect this group of people."
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
Texas Standard For August 9, 2018
Conflicting Court Rulings Leave Constitutional Protections For Foreign Nationals Uncertain
What's The Safest Way To Protect Texas Cattle From Fever Ticks?
San Antonio Researcher Gets $2 Million To Fight Valley Fever
Is It Time To Bail On MoviePass?
News Roundup: Low Pay Means More Texas Teachers Are Taking Second Jobs
San Antonio Offers History And Hospitality To Visitors From Around The World
Irving Students Design Award-Winning Space Colonies In Global NASA Contest
What Will AMLO's Presidency Mean For Mexico And The US?


All students at Laremont School have group music therapy sessions at least twice weekly. The program is staffed by Joel Kay and Beth McQuaid. Both are board-certified music therapists as well as K-12 licensed music teachers. Music therapy sessions incorporate classroom curriculum, seasonal activities, and also address communication, social, academic, motor and music skills. The music therapy program includes a chime choir whose members give several performances a year. Guitar and piano classes have recently been added to the music therapy schedule for select students. Some classes are also involved in the SAMIS performance and awards show in the spring.


Tina Watkins Quaye – Page 34 – From one person to another.
Continue reading "Silly quotes: Jul-Oct 2010"
Ok. So I listed out the fifty fab actions ladies should expect from their Ken Doll friends, or even special edition mates... https://tinawatkins.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/ken-doll-product-specifications/Now we'll look at what should be expected of us ladies. Men, know that a real woman does these things.
Ken Doll Product Specifications: Should your Ken Doll malfunction, or fail to perform the following Fifty Fab actions, please return to the manufacturer with proof of purchase.
Never forget none of us can do a goshdarned thing to make each other happy. I said it, and practically sneeze rainbows. People choose to be happy or not. You have nothing to do with it.
Thank them for everything. You are WRONG if you ever claim that they are EXPECTED to do anything for you. If you're in a healthy, reciprocal relationship...They have done just as much as or more, than you have. Probably more than you know.


An absolute must see at Brindisi is the Aragon Castle, a "sea fort" built to defend the town in 1491 on the island facing the harbour. The Castle is in two distinct parts: the "Red Castle", built out of red stone, and the Fort, used to house the garrisons. The town's second fort is theSwabian Castle or "Large Castle", built on the order of Frederick II as a fortified residence for the garrisons and with material obtained from demolishing part of the old town walls and several of the town's monuments. Places definitely not to be missed in the town centre are thePorticato dei De Cateniano that once belonged to the Hospital order of the Jerusalem Knights, the Provincial Archaeology Museum, the Loggia of Palazzo Balsamo and the Diocesan Museum. In the San Pietro degli Schiavoni district, it is worth visiting thearchaeological area with its Roman zone, comprising a thermal spa, houses and road. Nearby are also five lime baths for filtering potable water. Beside road San Vito is the Tancredi Fountain erected on the order of Emperor Tancredi in 1192 to celebrate the marriage of his son Ruggero to Irene, the daughter of the Emperor of Constantinople.
Traditional rites worth attending include the sea Procession of Patron Saints during the first week in September, the Adorned Horse of Corpus Domini and Osanna, a religious rite of Greek origin that has taken place ever since the mid 10th century.


Today I am back again with a review post on a monthly subscription box namely, Mystery Box. Truly speaking I've always loved the idea of subscription boxes. They have the best and most unique way to pamper your own selves!!
So Mystery Box is monthly subscription box that offers fashion, beauty, lifestyle and quirky stuff. In brief, absolutely anything in the universe! Each month they have different themes and according to that they try to curate the products based on the theme of the month. Please check out their blog section on the website to get some idea of what they have offered in the past boxes. You can head over to www.mystery-box.in to order your box of happiness now!
Also if there are any b'days / anniversaries or special occasion they can send the box as a gift with a personalized message in it but currently only for women. Also if you plan a little bit in advance they can also try to deliver it on a particular date without any additional cost.
1. Coffee Scrub (Body Scrub) from Skin Yoga: The caffeine enhances fat metabolism and removes liquid and fat from the skin ultimately reducing the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks. The natural oils moisturizes and nourishes the skin as well. This scrub also treats inflammation and protects the skin from sun damage.
2. Sunglass cover from ThathingCo: Well we all know that sunglasses are a must during summers, so we need to protect our favorite shades from scratches and easy falls as well. The funky cover not just protects the shades but also makes it look way cooler.
3. 7-IN-1 Brightening Essence Mask: The 7 top skin brightening extracts effectively enhance skin metabolism and restore skin brightness to release a natural glow on skin from inside out with a fairer & smoother skin.
4. Pink mud POPS : It consists a pack of 2 EDT s of 20ml each. Both of them smell absolutely divine.
5. Paperboat Aampanna: This is one of best flavors from Papaerboat drinks I've had so far, and is definitely my favorite out of all of them. With the goodness of mangoes and natural ingredients, Paperboat surely stands out to be one of the best drinks ever.
Here are the pictures of the products inside the April edition of Mystery Box.
So that's all for today guys! Hope you all loved today's blog!! Don't forget to follow Mystery Box on all the social medias!
Connect to me through my social networks.
For any collaborations, suggestions or queries you can e-mail me at nivritydas@gmail.com.
What do Like to read about mostly?


Let's get together on 9/23/2018 for the final 2018 Sunday Parkways at Khunamokwst Park in the Cully neighborhood.
Khunamokwst Park (pronounced KAHN-ah-mockst) is a Chinook wawa name meaning, "together". The Portland in the Streets Program is all about getting together to build community and strong neighborhoods, and the Portland in the Streets team would like to invite you to our booth to learn more about getting together on your neighborhood street.
Look for our pink canopies and famous Pink Barricades at the intersection of NE 52nd Ave and NE Alberta Ct as you make your way through the NE Sunday Parkways Loop.
We will have games, activities and our world-famous Portland in the Streets PLINKO game -- win prizes as we test your knowledge on our Portland in the Streets programs.
Want to learn more about how to have your own Block Party this fall? Come by and we will gladly help you get prepared on applying for your FREE Block Party permit.


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Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a very important figure in wastewater treatment. Many measurement methods have been developed to measure its value. This thesis presents the design and development of a fully automated COD sensor built up on an embedded system with RISK 1610C processor. The sensor adopts chemical method which takes ozone as the reagent. The change in concentration of ozone monitored to predict the COD value.


text:
package com.squareup.dagger.americano.app;

import android.content.Intent;

public interface Navigator {
  void setConfig(Config config);
  void setSession(Session session);
  Session getSession();
  Intent newHomeIntent(int flags);
}


text:
Get Going…Get Rowing Limerick School makes history
April 27th, 2017 / Michelle Carpenter
The biggest two day rowing event in Ireland took place last weekend in O'Brien's Bridge. This weekend of rowing saw a record breaking 904 crews compete in 400 races for the historic Limerick Regatta on Saturday and the 12th annual Schools Regatta on Sunday. With entries from both North and South Ireland counties, this event was just a dozen crews smaller than the National Rowing Championships of 2016 in the National Rowing Centre, Cork.
The noise on the banks of the Shannon River was deafening when Laurel Hill (with crew from both Laurel Hill Secondary School and Colaisté) were announced joint winners of the Irish Schools Regatta 2017 with a very worthy St. Colman's College of Fermoy, Co. Cork. This is the first time a Limerick School has achieved maximum points and won the schools regatta prized Victor Ludlum Trophy.
The girls themselves deserve huge praise for a great days rowing which came down to the very last race of the day to win. The Laurel Hill crews were strong and showed such determination that they won the hearts of the crowd.
There are over forty girls involved in rowing between the two Laurel Hill schools; and over thirty of these girls competed for their school on Sunday. They rowed in all categories from Junior 14 up to Under 23. The early morning rows and late night gym sessions all paid off for these girls with their fantastic win. As Laurel Hill is a non rowing school they depend completely on the local clubs for boats and coaches on the day. Without the support of Castleconnell Boat Club, St. Michael's Rowing Club and Shannon Rowing Club coaches and volunteers this day would not have been possible for Laurel Hill. The principals of Laurel Hill Secondary School and Colaisté have been hugely supportive of their girls, paying for the fees for boat entry and most importantly being there on the day to support their students all the way.
Of the seventy schools represented, three Limerick schools were in the Top 10.
Laurel Hill joint 1st,
Castletroy College was 4th , and
Ard Scoil Ris was 10th.
The large entry into the Schools Regatta saw an increase of over 100 crews from last year and is a reflection of the work being done by Rowing Ireland in their Get Going..Get Rowing programme which is being rolled out to schools across Ireland and linking in with local Rowing Clubs.
The O'Donovan brothers Olympic Silver Medal in 2016 also resulted in hundreds of secondary school students discovering the benefits of the sport of rowing.
Well rowed Laurel Hill, Colaisté Abú


intransitive verb To reveal the plans or activities of another, especially ones that are secret or improper.
intransitive verb To chatter; prate.
intransitive verb To reveal (something about someone) to another, as through gossiping.
noun Idle talk; chatter; prattle.
noun Prate; idle talk or chat; trifling talk.
noun Synonyms Chatter, Babble, etc. See prattle.
To prate; talk idly; use many words with little meaning; prattle; chatter; chat.
To gossip; carry tales. See tattling, p. a.
intransitive verb To prate; to talk idly; to use many words with little meaning; to chat.
intransitive verb To tell tales; to communicate secrets; to be a talebearer.
noun Idle talk or chat; trifling talk; prate.
verb intransitive, pejorative To report others' wrongdoings or violations; to tell on somebody; to gossip or to disclose incriminating information.
Middle English tatelen, to stammer, probably from Middle Dutch, of imitative origin.
However, it's easy to imagine lots of non-murderous people will be subject to them as an arse covering measure by supernintendos on the basis of nothing more than title tattle and unproven allegations.
So Louise now confides in Julianne some of Helen's newer gossip, it's more scandalous tittle-tattle, which is Harvey's cue to make his sweet little exit, hisbe right back, and walk along the Chattahoochee, where he can kneel by the rocks, check for wriggling bodies under the stones along the river.
After much consternation (come on – who, even years after kindergarten, wants to be known as a tattle tale?), she decided to SAY something, just as the slogan plastered all over NYC since 9-11 suggests.
Of course, I just took it because I didn't want to be called a tattle tale and get harassed even more.
Do you have any phobias or fears that would disqualify you from torture, such as: drowning, bugs, Christmas Carols, being called a tattle-tale, etc.?
Paul's fear didn't subside there, as his interviewer can be heard asking him about "tattle" crews who were supposedly dispatched to report instances of people badmouthing President Obama.
I DO hope both candidates will get better control of their campaign staff ..... most of the hostility occurs between the staffs, who go running to the media to "tattle," and the media whips that nonsense into a frenzy, on purpose.
About 20 minutes later, the mom says the neighbor ` s child came by and said, "Hey, Nevaeh is playing on her scooter on the street," kind of tattle-taling.
He did not wish to "tattle" on anybody, and, besides, not having a forward nature, he shrank from the exposure.


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Conserving money is an essential part of your project. At the same time, you require the very best and highest quality of services for Basement Systems in Careywood, ID. Our efforts to save a little money are not going to compromise the quality of our work. Any time you do business with our team, you get the advantages of our own expertise and excellent products guaranteeing that the project will last even while saving your time and funds. We will achieve this by supplying you with the very best bargains available and eliminating costly blunders. Save time and resources by calling Swift Basement Systems today. You will contact our team by dialing 800-630-5750 to learn more.
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If you find yourself organizing a task for Basement Systems in Careywood, ID, you'll find good reasons to consider Swift Basement Systems. Our supplies are of the highest quality, our money saving solutions are helpful and powerful, and our customer satisfaction ratings will not be topped. We've got the expertise you need to fulfill your ambitions. When you require Basement Systems in Careywood, get in touch with Swift Basement Systems at 800-630-5750, and we'll be beyond happy to help.