I'm Diarra Bousso, the founder of Dakar Boutique Group, a luxury holding company that houses my three brands; Diarra Bousso, Diarrablu, and Mint. I was born and raised in Senegal but spent most of my teenage years in Norway and subsequently in the United States where I did my higher education. I actually started my career trading bonds on Wall Street before pursuing my passion for fashion and development.
I find inspiration from revisiting works of the great masters of modern art. I'm especially inspired by the precursors of the cubism movement, Pablo Picasso and George Braque. Aside from visual arts, I also find a lot of inspiration from my travels and my academic background. The strong geometric focus in DIARRABLU line is influenced by my mathematics background.
Ethical fashion is core to our brands. All garments and accessories produced through our three brands leave minimal environmental footprints, we provide good working conditions and fair wage for our artisans. Our luxury brand Diarra Bousso for example, is handcrafted by our artisans using recycled exotic leather from the Karoo region in South Africa. Our Mint and Diarrablu brands are also ethically produced in our workshop in Dakar, Senegal.
Persistence is key. My advice to anyone who wants to be successful would be, knock on as many doors as possible and leave a positive impression. You need to know the why for what you are doing, understand your mission and be able to clearly articulate this to the different people you'll encounter. I think having a great team is also very important. I wouldn't have survived without my amazing team in Dakar, New York, Paris and Beijing.
The main challenges I would say are but not limited to (i) the lack of understanding of the various roles within the industry – many people in the continent call themselves designers without really understanding what being a designer entails. (ii) The lack of organization of the industry itself – the fashion industry is very complex with distinct branches such as design, manufacturing, PR, marketing and sales which all require thorough training and investment.Though the continent has strong talents within the different parts of the industry, the lack of organization hinders us. iii) The lack of support from our governments for the creative sector and creative entrepreneurs is stymying the industry's development.
I launched the GEM (Global Education Movement) foundation before leaving Wall Street to empower women and children through educational opportunities. In terms of projects, we have succesfully provided training opportunities to women tailors in Senegal to improve the quality and efficiency of their productions. We are currently working on both formal and vocational training opportunities for young mothers and street children.
Diarra Bousso, our premium leather accessories start at US$1000. DIARRABLU, our contemporary womenswear inspired by geometry range between US$130 and US$380. Our affordable brand MINT, which targets a younger demographic and is priced from US$40 to US$120.


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Have you heard of the Portuguese speaking community in Maharashtra?
The story of Korlai Creole, a language that is a combination of Portuguese and Marathi.
Abhishek Sandikar
7 Oct, 2021, 12:05 pm
According to the 2018 census, India has over 19,500 languages or dialects as mother tongues. But the Indian Government recognises a language as official only if over 10,000 people speak it. This regulation has caused countless languages to be endangered and even extinct in the country. According to the renowned literary critic and activist, Ganesh Devy, India has around 600 languages that are endangered. But in the last 60 years, India has lost about 250 languages.
Korlai Creole is one such endangered language spoken in the tiny village of Korlai in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. The population of Korlai is just 2864, out of which less than 1000 people speak Korlai Creole.
Let us delve deep into the origins of Korlai Creole and understand why it is crucial to preserve endangered languages.
Birth of Korlai Creole
A creole is a language that has developed from a mixture of different languages and has become the primary language in a particular place. The Korlai creole was a mixture of Portuguese and Marathi. The locals referred to this language as 'Christi'.
This blending of languages was caused when the Portuguese first arrived in Chaul, a port town near Korlai. In 1505, Portuguese Commander Don Lorenzo de Almeda (Dom Lourenco de Almeida), accompanied by 10 ships, attacked the Chaul port and inflicted huge losses on the locals. But it wasn't until 1580, the Portuguese emerged as the major trading and political force.
St. Barbara's Church in Chaul which is now Revdanda. Russian Information Centre
As the Portuguese grew dominant, the influence of their culture was seen on the locals. There was a sudden growth of Christianity in the region. A Catholic Church was built in Korlai which symbolises the Portuguese-Christan Legacy in Maharashtra. The Portuguese language also started infiltrating the local culture.
The then Portuguese Government created policies that pushed locals to convert to Christianity. Some people were forced but few individuals from the lower castes chose to convert in the hope of a better social status. Hence the Marathi-speaking population that converted to Christianity, were exposed to Portuguese which invariably led to the birth of Korlai Creole.
Another theory for the creation of Korlai Creole comes from Professor J. Clancy Clements' research on Korlai. He talks about how the new language came into being abruptly and was forced on the locals. As the Portuguese dominated the social structure of the region, they created fortified settlements in India, leading to large scale domestic slavery.
The Portuguese soldiers started engaging in multi-partner relations with lower-caste Hindu women. These soldiers then settled in India and were married to Indian women. These marriages gave birth to a new generation of the Indo-Portuguese Catholic community. Hence, Creole emerged as a lingua franca between the Portuguese men and the native Marathi speakers in Korlai.
The Chruch which established Christianity in Korlai.Korlai Fort/Facebook
Future of Korlai Creole
Korlai Creole is an informal dialect like Malvani or Ahirani used in the Kokan region of Maharashtra. Unlike Malvani or Ahirani which is spoken by around 4,10,631 people; Korlai Creole is used by around 800 people which makes the preservation of the language difficult.
Dialects like Malvani or Ahirani are in close contact with their language of origin, Marathi and are impacted by the growth of the Marathi language and community. Similarly, efforts are being made for preserving these dialects. But for Korlai Creole, with its distance from its language of origin (Portuguese), it has been dominated by Marathi. No formal body or authority has made efforts to preserve the language by publishing, recording or creating any literary material.
Another concern for Korlai Creole is its disassociation with the future generation. Students are now studying English and Marathi which pushes them away from the language of their elders. They use languages like Marathi, Hindi for communicating outside their home. These reasons will lead to the extinction of Korlai Creole.
Why is language preservation important?
Language preservation is of utmost importance, especially in the Indian context. What had heavily distinguished India with everyone else is its distinct cultural diversity and an undying multiplication of pluralities; there are cultures new and old, with glorious history, that is still prospering and changing.
However, some cultures and communities are obviously smaller in comparison to others and their social status also acts as an inhibitor in establishing and maintaining a prominent cultural identity.
Languages contain literature and traditions that are not only reflective of struggles and histories of entire tribes and types of people but also have great literary importance. Maintaining and improving the presence of these languages would also mean reforming the tribal groups in a social sense.
Otherwise, if the languages go extinct then they will lead to the identity loss of a great number of people and more than that it would also make many such groups feel unwanted and neglected on the Indian land.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Peter and Grant welcome Steve Jarjoura from Postcards from the Dungeon as a guest host! We talk about our fundraiser for The Bodhana Group and the 2013 RPG Podcasters Charity Drive, as well as Josh Jordan's Actual Play Festival. Then we get down to business and talk about organized charities and their storytelling value in tabletop roleplaying games.
It's fundraiser time! We're raising money this year for The Bodhana Group as part of the 2013 RPG Podcasters Charity Drive!
In this episode, Grant, Peter, and Branden plug a couple of things, including Atomacon, before getting down to the main topic: Playing evil characters in roleplaying games. We look at the topic from both the players' and the GM's perspectives, examining why you want to or need to be able to play evil characters and how to do so effectively without ruining play or giving in to that character's evil yourself.


The purpose of this article, and the series to follow, is to offer principles and treatment protocols for the use of light and low-level electrostimulation (microcurrents) in the acupuncture practice.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most enduring systems of vibrational medicine. It is clear that acupuncture is based on some universal truths, as the principles of meridian diagnosis and therapy have been related and applied successfully to a myriad of modern international healing systems. Examples of such systems are auriculotherapy and auriculomedicine; German electroacupuncture (EAV); ryodoraku; kinesiology; and color therapy. The common thread running through many of these systems is the understanding of the body as a sensitive energetic organism in constant relationship and correspondence with microcosmic and macrocosmic energy fields. Ancient Chinese texts relate how pain, illness and disharmony arise in the body when its sensitive relationships with internal (emotional) and external (environmental) influences are disturbed. Treatment is administered with needles, moxa and herbs to balance the body's dysfunctional reactions and adaptations to disharmony. While there is no question that these ancient methods continue to be highly effective, electrical and color therapies can, in many cases, facilitate access to deeper "core" causes of physical pain and disorders rooted in emotional-spiritual blockages and imbalances.
Scientists such as Nordenstrom of Sweden, Ionescu-Tirgoviste of Romania and Manaka of Japan measured the ways bioelectricity polarizes in the body, and how acupuncture can correct excessive polarization that leads to pain and disease. Mussat of France measured the specific electrical characteristics of acupuncture needles, made of various metals, when inserted into the body. Voll and his German colleagues charted the extra-low electrical frequencies that resonate with specific acupuncture points and meridians, and how these frequencies can correct a host of pain and disease states.5 Practitioners of the modern American art of microcurrent electroacupuncture apply subsensational, frequency and polarity-specific currents to acupuncture points for pain relief, balancing and beautifying effects.
Subtle electrical signals are transported long distances throughout the body without losing signal strength, an activity called semiconduction. The eastern European researcher Szent-Gyorgyi was the first to point out that the human body semiconducts bioelectricity by passing information along chains of protein molecules.7 The fascial network, which interconnects all parts of the body, has strong semiconductive properties, and is likely the primary substrate of the acupuncture meridian system. As we will soon see, light also communicates through this network.
This is only a brief overview of the electrical nature of the acupuncture phenomenon. Further information is available through the references listed below.
Light is also what flows through our meridian system. In a striking experiment, a group of researchers led by Professor Kaznachejew in Novosibirsk, Russia focused a beam of light on various areas of skin to determine how the body reacts to light radiation.11 Using a photomultiplier device, they discovered light emanating from distant, unradiated points. After studying this phenomenon further, they found that light beamed into certain acupuncture points will propagate through known meridian pathways, but that this phenomenon does not occur between areas not connected by meridians. It appears the meridian system acts in the same way as fiberoptic communication systems. It is likely that the physical substrate for this system is also the body's fascial network. Therefore, both light energy and subtle electrical energy appear to be transported throughout the body via chains of protein molecules.
Based on available evidence, it appears electrical currents work more on a physiologic level, while light currents work more on an informational level. These two forms of energy stimulation may be administered together, and can enhance each other's effects.
The specific therapeutic effects of each color of light have been rigorously documented by researchers such as Dinshah Ghadiali12 and Peter Mandel. Mandel's colorpuncture system13 borrows many diagnostic and treatment principles from acupuncture, including meridian theory, Five-Element color correspondences and "as above, so below" cosmology. Mandel uses the word "information" to describe the input of light on the body. In his view, external trauma, toxicity and psychological stresses create incoherent information in our bodies. Delivering appropriate colored light stimulation is a way to introduce pure information to restore coherence. For example, orange-colored light brings the information of activation, joy and release of new ideas to the meridians and body areas it is applied to, and possesses many specific medical benefits such as relieving spasm and congestion; aiding calcium metabolism; and stimulating milk production after childbirth.
Most contemporary researchers who have examined the electrophysiology of acupuncture have concluded that much of acupuncture's visceral effects take place through the autonomic nervous system. This includes the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches that excite and sedate organ and glandular functions. This system interfaces with the endocrine hormonal system in regulating most life functions.
Auricular master points. Dots are on surface; square marks are hidden points. 1. Stimulation of master auricular points with colored light. In this case, a microcurrent device with a small (2-3mm) tip may be used to stimulate ear points with the addition of colored light. Either modality also may be used alone. When microcurrent is used, the counter (grounding) electrode may be held against a major facial acupoint such as yintang or Ren 24 to complete the circuit, while the trigger probe stimulates the ear points. Alternatively, the client can hold a hand mass to complete the circuit. Stimulate each ear master point for about 20 seconds. Master points can be stimulated bilaterally. Stimulation of the ear master points has a beneficial, general "tune-up" effect on the autonomic nervous system and endocrine gland systems of the body.
Colors are selected by palpating the right and left back-shu points. Hot or painful points receive the yin color of the indicated pair; the other side receives the yang color. If both sides are painful, the yin color may be applied to both sides. Alarm points can be stimulated with the same color as the back-shu, or as indicated by muscle testing. Mandel recommended treating affected mu-shu combinations from the top of the body down.
This method is also excellent for balancing the electromagnetic aspect of the chakras. This will be discussed in a future article.
This brief article is merely an introduction to a vast subject. Further information can be found through the references following this article; questions and comments about this article can be directed to the author at the e-mail address listed below.
Edited from definitions in Meriam-Webster's Online Dictionary.
Vibrational medicine is the application of vibratory frequencies in the form of light; sound; electricity; magnetism; or subtle energy to the body for healing and regeneration. An excellent treatment is Vibrational Medicine, Bear & Co., 1988, by Richard Gerber.
An Introduction to Esogetic Colorpuncture. Seminar notes.
Microcurrent Electro-Acupuncture, chapter one, by Darren Starwynn. Desert Heart Press, 2002.
Ibid, chapter two. Much valuable information can also be found by plugging these researchers' names into Google search engine.
See The Body Electric by Robert Becker, Bear and Sons, 1985.
Details are available in the book Light Years Ahead, Celestial Arts, 1996, available through Amazon.com.
See chapter two of Colour Me Healing by Jack Allanach. Available from Amazon.com. Most of Popp's writings are only in German.
Oschman J. Exploring the biology of phototherapy. Journal of Optometric Phototherapy 2001;1-9.
Colour Me Healing, chapter 6. Information also derived from Google search under "Kaznachejew."
Dinshah D. Let There Be Light. Dinshah Health Society (book available through their Web site).
Peter Mandel is a German pioneer in the field of color therapies. See his Web site for available books and articles (www.colorpuncture.com/articles.html).
Information on therapeutic effects of colors, and methods of application, can be found at www.eastwestmed.com.
Adapted from Mandel's book Practical Compendium of Colorpuncture, Edition Energetik, 1986, available from Colorpuncture Institute, USA.


Scott J. Menaul had a long-standing interest in math, science, art, and photography. In his youth, he built pinhole cameras with shoe boxes and aluminum foil to create dreamy black-and-white images.
He went on to study electrical and computer engineering in college, but still maintained an interest in art. It was during his studies that he discovered the work of Joan Miró. The combination of abstraction and surrealism provoked an epiphany that there are limitless possibilities expressed in art. This realization inspired a shift in his point of view. He came to recognize the limitless possibilities in life.
After a short career in electrical engineering, Scott moved into advertising photography and graphic design. He began creating fine art using 3D and illustration programs. He debuted his artwork at the Boston Cyberarts Festival in 1999.
Scott's artwork is spiritual in nature. It is influenced by diverse forms of art, improvisational jazz, Eastern philosophy, and spiritual studies. Much of his artwork contains glass-like objects which reflect, refract, and seemingly transmit light and color. Scott likened these objects – sometimes spheres, cubes, pyramids, or other shapes – to the human spirit. Like them, the human spirit reflects, refracts, transmits, and adds to the world around it.
To view more of Scott's collection, click here.


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Kořeny (v anglickém originále Roots) je americký dramatický televizní seriál. V roce 1977 byl vysílán na stanici ABC. Má osm dílů a je natočen na motivy knihy Alexe Haleyho Kořeny: Sága americké rodiny (Roots: The Saga of an American Family). Seriál získal devět cen Emmy a Zlatý glóbus za nejlepší seriál. Měl později dvě volná pokračování (Kořeny a Roots: The Gift) a jeden remake (Kořeny). Seriál zobrazuje život černocha Kunta Kinteho, který je v roce 1750 zavlečen z Gambie do USA jako otrok. Tuto hlavní roli v mladém věku ztvárnil LeVar Burton, ve starším věku John Amos. Kunta Kinte se v seriálu vyskytuje do pátého dílu, pak děj popisuje osudy jeho potomků a je doveden až za americkou občanskou válku (do roku 1870). Hudbu k seriálu vytvořil Quincy Jones a dostal za ni i Emmy. Seriál měl mimořádnou sledovanost (neklesla pod 40 milionů na premiérový díl) a závěrečný díl pak dosáhl sledovanosti 51 milionů diváků, což z něj činí druhé nejsledovanější seriálové finále v dějinách americké televize. Seriál se stal také důležitým prvkem v budování afroamerické identity a sehrál roli v reflexi otrokářství v americké historii.

Reference

Externí odkazy

Americké dramatické televizní seriály
Americké historické televizní seriály
Televizní seriály podle knih
Televizní seriály ABC
Televizní seriály vysílané od roku 1977
Televizní seriály vysílané do roku 1977

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


With each passing year, I find myself growing more cognizant of how I treat my body – what I feed it, how I use it, and what I put on it. I'm really disciplined about wearing SPF, I try my best to choose healthy options when it comes to food, and I listen to my body when it needs rest or otherwise. I'm always looking for ways to improve and make better choices – one of those being deodorant. Once I learned about how much junk was in the regular deodorant I had used for years, I quickly started doing research about the best natural deodorant on the market. Native was the clear front-runner in the research I did, so I ordered one of their classic scents, Coconut & Vanilla.
I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived on my doorstep – it smells amazing and goes on smooth. I had read that there is typically a two-week "detox" period once you start using the deodorant. Your body needs to rid itself of the harmful aluminum and chemicals from the former product, so I was prepared for that. I gave it about a month's trial, to see if it really would work. To my delight, it does! My underarms feel smoother (thanks to the coconut oil in Native!), cleaner and I'm still odorless and wet-free!
I apply my deodorant every day or after every shower. It lasts through tough workouts, stressful work days and everything in between. I love that I can feel good about what I'm using and that it smells great, too! I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything for a better, healthier product.
Native Deodorant is made without aluminum, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and more! I've been using the Coconut & Vanilla scent for months now and love it, but am going to give the Lavender & Rose scent a try, too. Their other classic scents include Cucumber & Mint and an Unscented version. After Mike saw that I made the switch to natural, he wanted to, also! I got him the Citrus & Herbal Musk scent, which is amazing.
If you've considered making the switch to natural deodorant, give Native a try! It's a simple, but important shift to make in order to take just a little better care of your body.
Thanks to Native for partnering on this post!
Hi Lauren! I gave Native a try recently. Like you I was looking for a natural deodorant without chemicals. While I loved the smell (coconut & vanilla!) and the feel, it left marks all over my clothes. I even had one top where the underarm area looked greasy due to the deodorant and it didn't wash out. Did you encounter this problem? I wanted to love Native so much, but I just can't have my deodorant all over my clothes! This is why I use a clear gel currently. I guess I am back to trying to find a natural deodorant that helps with smell, sweat, and leaves no marks on clothes!
Oh man! I haven't had that issue — I've been using it since the spring and have worn all kinds of clothes, but no marks have been left. Sorry that happened to you!
Leigh, I recently read that the marks could be from over-using the deodorant. I know most people swipe several times, but I think the instructions say maybe 4 swipes and then to rub in the remaining? Also, I used a small amount of blue Dawn dish soap to remove any oily/greasy spots. Hope this helps!
I love Native. I've been using it for about 8 ish months now. At first I wanted to stop using it before I knew about the 2 week "detox" period but I continued. Love it now! Only apply once a day, even with working out.
Also I recently read its now available at Target! yay.
Agreed! Love that it's at Target!
Thanks for sharing! I have been interested in the deodorant but I'm so nervous to try it! I have a really bad sweating problem no matter what type I use and something suggested this. When you say detox period, what exactly does that involve? I worry about stinking as if I wasn't wearing any deodorant lol. Can you give a little more information about that process, what to expect and how you got through it?
My detox wasn't bad – a little bit more wetness than usual and occasional odor, but nothing I couldn't hide with perfume or a non-sleeveless top. Everyone has a different experience, but that was mine! I know there are ways to help the detox process – a quick google search should turn back some good options to try, if you're interested!
I started using it a couple months ago per your recommendation, and I love it!
I've been looking to switch to a natural deodorant and got one from Whole Foods that had good reviews. The one I tried was really rough and painful to put on. Is Native like this?
I switched to Native a year ago and love it! It took me a few trials at the detox period to finally commit but it's great now. The scents are so fresh and I definitely feel better about using a more natural product. I sometimes alternate with Schmidt's for a change. They have a Charcoal Magnesium I like for days I expect to perspire more.
I actually made a Target run today to specifically look for Native deodorant. Unfortunately, I went to the one store that didn't have it in stock yet. I'm curious how it compares to Schmidt's or other natural deodorants. I switch between Schmidt's in the stick and pot formulas and Lavanila, but Native continues to grab my attention! I definitely notice a difference between natural deodorants and traditional ones (or antiperspirants). I can certainly still sweat, but it's different. And my armpits don't itch or become irritated after shaving them!


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Navi Mumbai airport plan tweaked on green concerns
Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) The Maharashtra government Friday made minor changes in the design of the proposed international airport at Navi Mumbai, keeping in view the objections raised by the environment ministry that had raised concerns about possible loss of mangrove forests.
This was conveyed to the central government appointed 13-member Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), headed by Naresh Dayal, which visited the proposed site near Panvel and later called on Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
'Instead of making any construction in the mangrove forest present at the site, it will be converted into an international mangrove park,' a statement by the state-run City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) said.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had earlier expressed concern that the airport would result in the loss of 400 acres of mangrove forests.
CIDCO has also reduced the distance between the two runways at the proposed airport by 300 metres to ensure that the two small rivers at the site are not diverted.
However, the government has kept silent on Ramesh's final objection to the project – that it would lead to the blasting of a 80 metre-high hill which falls in the path of the runway.
Chavan said that the Navi Mumbai site was selected by the state government due to its proximity to Mumbai, the congestion at the existing airport and phenomenal increase in passenger traffic.
Chavan also pointed out that it was imperative that the environment ministry not delay clearances any further, keeping in view escalating costs and absence of an alternative site.
Not just match, Goa rains queer pitch for mining too
Mothers prefer part-time jobs: Survey


Germany's biggest construction company, Hochtief, said Wednesday that sales this year should surpass the record reached in 2007 and that net profit would also be higher than the previous year.
Hochtief confirmed the 2007 net profit figure of €140.7 million first released in February, and said sales had grown by 6.4 percent to €16.45 billion.
This year, "Hochtief anticipates that it will even surpass its record set in 2007," a statement said.
Chairman Herbert Luetkestratkoetter was quoted as saying that "we now span the whole project life cycle and are raising profitability as a result." The group took on a real estate unit last year to add to existing property management and development activities, along with an energy contracting division which it bought from the power group Vattenfall.
In Asia, Hochtief expanded via its Australian-based Leighton subsidiary, which acquired a 45 percent stake in Al Habtoor Engineering in the Gulf. The new Al Habtoor Leighton Group has launched a joint venture in the United Arab Emirates with a unit of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority to provide construction management services for projects there.


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81% - Family Functions: You want your first date to be a relaxing opportunity to get to know a little more about each other. Introducing the family at a first date may be a little intimidating to the other person so save this for after you both are comfortable with each other.
34% - Dance Clubs: Those dance moves you think are so cool may not come off as well as you hoped. Plus its loud, crowded, and getting sweaty before the first kiss may not be the best move.
31% - Movies: It seems like such a no pressure first date and it is. For two hours your focus is on something other than the person you are supposed to be getting to know. Plus what if the movie is a "Dud". Do you really want to start things off like this?
24% - Sporting Events: You love your team and that's great. But like the movie first date, do you really want the first date to be more about the event then your date?
15% - The Beach: Beautiful scenery, relaxing atmosphere, and lots of time to talk. Sounds like a perfect date, yet getting half naked may be a better idea down the road.
15% - Comedy Shows: It was all going great until your date tried to engage in some conversation and instead was heckled by the comedian for daring to talk during his best stuff. This is another one like the movie or sporting event date that you spend significant time focused on something other than your date. Save it for date number five.
13% - Mini-golf: With the right person this could actually be fun. Just be sure that this is something your date would enjoy. Obviously 13% of people would not appreciate this as a first date.
11% - Theme Restaurants. 'I think I'll have ye olde steak' can get old after a while.
9% - Museums: This is another one that with the right person could be fun. But there is a wide range of appreciation for art so be sure your know what might interest your date.
9% - Coffee Houses: This first date would provide you ample opportunity to chat, but it probably won't do much to impress the other person.
Note: Percentages add up to more than 100% because some respondents made multiple selections.
One of the advantages of working with a matchmaker is that they will have taken the time to ask a lot of questions of each person. They will be able to give you some guidance about what might be some potential date options. Its like having the inside scoop so that you can plan a first date that both people will be comfortable and enjoy.


text:
module YammerClient
  require_dependency 'yammer_client/user'
  require_dependency 'yammer_client/oauth_login_response'

  def client
    @client ||= Yammer::OAuth2Client.new(ENV.fetch('YAMMER_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID'), ENV.fetch('YAMMER_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET'))
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Converting a structure to byte array, converting to big endian and sending over UDP I'm trying to send a mixture of ints, uints and floats, all 32bit, over UDP.
My problem is I seem to be sending rubbish in the floats. Everything I send has to be in the Big Endian Format.
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
I have a message definition:
message.param1         = 0x6666BBBB;     //uint
message.param2         = 0x6666BBBB;     //uint
message.param3         = 5;             //uint
message.param4         = 112;           //uint
message.param5         = 0x6666BBBB;     //uint
message.param6         = 0x6666BBBB;     //uint
message.param7         = 0x6666BBBB;     //uint
message.param7         = Convert.ToInt32(textbox.Text);  //int, holds 1
message.param8         = float.Parse(textbox.Text);    //float, holds 138.2
message.param9         = float.Parse(textbox.Text);    //float, holds 20.0

I then convert to a byte array using:
byte[] packet = convert.StructureToByteArray(message);

public byte[] StructureToByteArray(object obj)
    {
        int len = Marshal.SizeOf(obj);
        byte[] arr = new byte[len];

        IntPtr ptr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(len);
        Marshal.StructureToPtr(obj, ptr, true);
        Marshal.Copy(ptr, arr, 0, len);
        Marshal.FreeHGlobal(ptr);

        return arr;
    }

then I swap the bytes around to Big Endian, this seems a bit long winded but it seems to work for the ints and uints. It iterates through the byte array, copying each byte, reversing it and then puts back into a new array:
byte[] ConvertedPacket = convert.StructureToBigEndien(packet);

public byte[] StructureToBigEndien(byte[] packet)
    {

         // create newarray to hold converted data in;
        byte[] newArray = new byte[packet.Length];

         // number of bytes in 32 bits
        int NumberOfBytes = 4;

        // swap the endianess around to big endian
        for (int counter1 = 0; counter1 <= packet.Length - NumberOfBytes; counter1++)
        {
            // create new byte to hold converted byte
            byte[] bits = new byte[4];

            // count to 4, each time copying one byte at a time
            for (int counter2 = 0; counter2 <= 3; counter2++)
            {
                Array.Copy(packet, counter1, bits, counter2, 1);

                // increment the counter so it remembers where to start the next copy
                counter1++;
            }

            // now for the copying
                // take one away as the counter hits again before hitting this statement
                counter1 = counter1 - 1;

                // reverse the bytes in our new array, now this holds the correct endianness
                Array.Reverse(bits);

                // now take 3 away, this is because we need to
                // insert the byte at the beginning of the new byte
                // array
                counter1 = counter1 - 3;

                // coppy data across
                bits.CopyTo(newArray, counter1);

                // reset counter to what it was so it knows how many bytes are left to go in the packet
                counter1 = counter1 + 3;
        }

        return newArray;
    }

And then I send
socket.SendTo(ConvertedPacket, endPoint);

When I check wireshark, the uints and ints are sent in the correct endianness but the floats hold garbage. 43:0a:33:33 for the value 138.2

A: 0x430A3333 is 138.2 under IEEE754. Why do you say its garbage?

A: Thanks for the clarification, I had to reverse the bytes in the float to get the correct endianness.
float ReverseFloat(const float inFloat)
{
    float retVal;
    char *floatToConvert = (char*)& inFloat;
    char *returnFloat = (char*)& retVal;

    //swap the bytes into a temporary buffer
    returnFloat[0] = floatToConvert[3];
    returnFloat[1] = floatToConvert[2];
    returnFloat[2] = floatToConvert[1];
    returnFloat[3] = floatToConvert[0];

return retVal;

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Introducing Nicole and Chris. This beautiful couple said "I do" in a intimate ceremony in Edith Wharton's Walled Italian Garden. The couple chose to get married on an summer afternoon and they could not have chosen a better time or place.
Thank you Angie from A Brilliant Photo for capturing this beautiful day.
The Mount wishes Nicole and Chris the very best as they begin this new chapter of their lives.


Amy & Gary Wixtrom are making a difference in the lives of thousands of people through their unique style of music, but also through their involvement with persecuted Christians around the globe. They lead worship at many of the Voice of the Martyrs conferences around the US and bring a unique perspective on how you can make a difference in the lives of others.
Question: How can you use your gifting for the mission of God? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
In this episode, I sit down with Amy & Gary Wixtrom. We had a great time during the 2014 Voice of the Martyrs conference talking about topics from raising awareness for persecuted Christians, Amy's job in Heaven (I think it will be a harp teacher), how their music reaches people, and a lot more. "Beautiful Scars" is a powerful song written for the faithful brothers and sisters who are being harmed for their faith in Jesus. They have 16 records ranging from harp instrumental to worship music. Gary is a really fun guy, and I think you are going to enjoy this episode.
The post Episode 10: Recording Artists Amy & Gary Wixtrom appeared first on Pastor Matt Shaw.


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What a TikTok ban means for your social media marketing strategy
Hannah Coen-Salamanca
Although we've seen the rise and fall of social media applications and platforms before and we've even weighed the pros and cons of new social media tools like Snapchat for businesses, the current state of TikTok is a bit different. However, we can share a few facts and tips for your marketing strategy.
What Is TikTok?
Before diving into the current situation, let me backtrack. TikTok is a short-form video-sharing app that has quickly amassed a huge following, mostly in the age range of 15-34.
Earlier this year, our Chief Creative Officer, Meredith shared her first-hand experiment as a creator on TikTok. A few things she learned was that hopping on trends is a big contributor to growing one's followership on the app and the other was to, well, fit unrealistic beauty standards. A colleague recently backed this up, noting that her blog views for recent posts are at about 250 without a TikTok video and over 10,000 with TikTok.
A Change in Ownership vs. TikTok Alternatives
On August 6, 2020, the President signed an executive order addressing the threat posed by TikTok, a Chinese-based mobile app. The app's owner, ByteDance, must sell its service in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand within 45 days of the order. Over the next few weeks, companies ranging from Microsoft to Oracle were rumored to be putting in a bid to purchase the app. Microsoft said it would continue the discussion on the potential purchase, "building on the experience TikTok users love while also adding world-class security, privacy and digital safety protections." For now, the ban is delayed until at least September 27 as Oracle negotiates with the app's owner on oversight of user data in the United States.
In addition to tech giants starting a bidding war, other social media players are trying to knock down the app's foothold with Gen-Z by launching TikTok alternatives. One notable is Instagram (owned by Facebook), which launched its cluttered, TikTok knock-off app "Reels," and another is "byte," the new venture from the creators of Vine, the app TikTok wished it were.
I foresee two options.
What a TikTok Ban Will Mean for Businesses Already Using the App:
If the current administration bans TikTok, what will it mean for creators who've already amassed a huge following or businesses who've perfected their 60-second video strategy?
It means that you need to start pushing your followers to another channel. Now.
When Vine shut down in 2017, Vine stars moved to YouTube (if you're interested, you can read all about what Vine stars are up to now).
What a TikTok Ban Will Mean for Everyone Else:
Here's the thing, for those who haven't started using TikTok (or at least haven't had much success), you're not off the hook either.
Now is the time for you to re-evaluate your social media strategy and how your audience consumes information.
For example, Gen Z streams video roughly 23 hours each week, and 62% of Gen Z visits YouTube every day. And, in 2019, they outnumbered millennials (Bloomberg). Whether it will be Instagram "Reels" or "byte," only time will tell, but it's imperative that you're planning now.
What Social Media Marketing Will Look Like in the Future
Why do my kids like to watch livestreams of other gamers? Why does my husband enjoy fantasy football?
Because it's fun.
It's distracting, and it's easy.
Last month, agency president, Matt Cookson wrote in a column for NH Business Review, "Imagining How We'll Do Business in New Hampshire after Labor Day," in which he anticipated how businesses would continue to work together and do business in the future in the world post-COVID:
"We'll continue to do business with those who stood by us in the hard times."
And, that is true for social media, too.
People will continue following and engaging with the brands that made them laugh, that they learned from – and most of all – that they connected with. If what you're creating doesn't do those things, your social media marketing strategy will look more like a virtual bulletin board – and that, friends, is what we call anti "social."
Hannah Coen-Salamanca is a PR Account Executive at Cookson Communications. From her early roots as an intern for her hometown Kansas newspaper, Hannah has dipped her toe in a variety of industries including nonprofits, higher education and financial technology.
More posts from our blog
What will you do differently? Communicating in 2021
Reaching out to a remote workforce
Imagining how we'll do business in New Hampshire after Labor Day
Got plans?
Tell us everything.
Hightail it to our inbox
© 2020 Cookson Communications. All Rights Reserved.


text:
int tmpfile_prefix_out(const char *prefix, char **const fname);

#endif


Edward Philipp Psy-Tap Certified Practitioner, #DrainThatPain Practitioner, Kinetic Shift Practitioner.
Service Offered at the Free Trauma Healing Day: Ed will be offering rapid, effective methods in the form of Psy-Tap, #DrainThatPain, and Kinetic shift. He believes that your problem is his entire focus when working together. Using the proper technique to achieve the rapid change you desire is his entire goal. All three of these techniques are content free. You never tell him what the issue is and you will gain rapid change.
Psy-TaP was born from a need to change the way we approach therapy to fit in with today's time poor society and with a solution focused, rather than problem focused approach.
Kevin Laye, it's founder, has taken an engineer's mindset to create a system where we look at the epistemology the 'how do we do that?' in regard to emotional problems, and then found a way to stop the process from happening, a kind of massive pattern interrupt, but with foundations based in Biomechanics and neuroscience.
Psy-TaP has been designed to fit in with whatever therapy system you currently use and compliment and enhance it. It draws on all Kevin's skills from NLP, Hypnosis, Psychotherapy and many Psychosensory based energy psychologies to create what he believes to be the fastest and most effective system available.
The training is a 2 day Practitioner training and that is it. You have the option of attending low cost Kaizen days twice a year where practitioners meet to exchange thoughts and ideas and ask questions.
We are a self-supporting community of what are remarkable Practitioners.
Oh yes… and we are all Jedi's too.
Psy-TaP is a set of techniques and the creation of it's founder Kevin Laye. It is a blending of proven techniques, many of them with strong neuroscience based processes. The techniques are rapid in their application from one second to a couple of minutes.
What if I learn and use Psy-TaP? … What if?
I have used this process with chronic pain, trauma, tinnitus, loss of smell, tremors, etc. I have had results that stun me. I love using this process because my clients are so happy pleased with the results.


People's National Party (PNP) President Dr Peter Phillips is too bright a man to seriously think he can befuddle us with his contrived excuses that the press, polls and payouts to East Portlanders caused his party's loss in the April 4, 2019 by-election.
He might try to console himself and PNP supporters thus, but he certainly isn't fooling anybody else. It is easier to do this than face the reality that the people in Portland Eastern held the party to account and found it badly wanting.
Mr Damion Crawford might still have lost, but any prospect of his winning the seat was blown up by Dr Phillips long before it was conceived that there would be a by-election, or that the popular politician would be the candidate.
The PNP's demise in Portland Eastern started with the party's neglect of the constituency, even when in government, over 30 years. But it got worse when Dr Phillips signalled there was a sort of intellectual bankruptcy in party thinking as seen in the vote against extending the states of emergency (SOEs) last December.
With crime literally 'murdering' Jamaica, the Opposition leader led his party to end the SOEs, which had been paying big dividends in cutting murders, declaring he was willing to pay the political price. And he certainly did, both nationally and in Portland Eastern.
In his January 21 to 24, 2019 poll, Bill Johnson found that 83 per cent of Jamaicans supported the SOEs, with a sizeable portion indicating they would punish the PNP for the vote against. Crime was one of the big issues for East Portlanders in the by-election campaign.
Since the end of the SOEs, crime has returned with a vengeance to the front pages. The year started with 20 murders in the first seven days of January and has not let up since. Yet, that does not factor among Dr Phillips' excuses.
"...When you calculate the political propaganda coming out of some sections of the media; when you calculate that poll seh we going lose by 20 points, some seh 10, some seh six, some seh it's climbing every day; and when you look at the result, you realise that it was just propaganda…pure, simple propaganda directed against the People's National Party and the candidate," he told party workers in the constituency last week.
He threw in that Mr Crawford had worked against several disadvantages, including time, money, and vote-buying by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), ignoring what former PNP General Secretary Mr Paul Burke said was a lack of political work on the ground and a gradual and systematic breaking down in its group structure.
Dr Phillips, in castigating the polls, was referring to the three that predicted a JLP win. No word about the PNP-commissioned poll that showed his party winning. He must rue the day he did not spend that money more wisely on the campaign.
For sure, he couldn't blame the candidate who, despite some fatal blunders which cost him dearly, was the right choice as measured by the Johnson polls, with 32 per cent of PNP supporters in the constituency preferring him against nine per cent for Ms Andrea Moore and one per cent for Dr Donald Rhodd.
It is hard to lose three consecutive by-elections but Dr Phillips should learn that if something is not broken, don't mess with it, as he did with the SOEs.


The Common Ground project aims to raise awareness of the environment and sustainable practices across the healthcare landscape. Staff have been working with members of the local community to grow fresh produce which is then prepared and served up in the Guild Lodge kitchen. As part of NHS Sustainability Day falls which takes place on 27 March this year, the team is looking for people to participate by creating a low maintenance edible growing space at home.
"Sustainability is so much more than simply planting trees and growing vegetables; it's about making real sustainable changes to benefit the environment and creating something that can be continually improved. Growing fruit and vegetables at home reduces emissions, pollution and food preparation waste.
The project works closely with mental health services, partnerships and members of the community to provide sustainable outcomes for service users and the wider environment. To find out more or to learn how easy it can be to grow some food in your garden or backyard please call 01772 773578 or email Elizabeth.Harrison@lancashirecare.nhs.uk.


It's Cyber My Pie Monday! (Which of course is no different from any other My Pie Monday since we've always got a great collection of special pies.) There are some new additions to our galleries, however. Please make welcome Kaz, who has a New York pie in the mix, emsey of the pesto and honey wheat pizza, Florida9, who is sporting a steel baked pie, and the man behind the steel, Mr. Andris Lagsdin! We love these new additions here on Slice! Keep 'em coming. Also adding to this week's fabulous line-up, Ev keeps the Detroit spirit alive, Norma427 assures us she is still making Detroit's too each week, but delivers us a Greek, and TXCraig1 includes a spicy chorizo...mmmm, chorizo. Imwalkin did his part to support the night before Thanksgiving pizza eating with a spicy little number of his own, and Amusebouche1 continued to break in his Baking Steel with a cherry and prosciutto topped pie. Finally, having an oven hasn't slowed down Spicedham—check out his toaster oven pizza!
It's easy to get your pie included in next week's slideshow. Just take one picture of a pie you made recently, describe your cooking method (in 80 words or less), and follow these instructions to get it to us by 8pm (EST) Thursday. Be sure to let us know your Slice screen name.


text:
You are here Polish Aid / Partner countries / Eastern Partnership / Ukraine
Actions in 2017
In 2016, Ukraine ranked 84th on the UNDP Human Development Index, which each year monitors the social and economic development of the world's countries.
In 2016, Ukraine continued its systemic reforms aimed at overcoming many years of political, economic, and social neglect. The reforms are also motivated by the signed EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Changes are introduced under difficult conditions of war and a deep economic crisis. Since the end of 2013, it is estimated that 10 thousand people have died as a result of the ongoing hostilities. The number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) has risen to around 1.5 million.
Ukraine is an important partner in the region for Poland and a country that has a chance to repeat the success of Poland's transformation. This fact significantly enhances the role played by Polish Official Development Assistance (ODA). In 2016, Ukraine received PLN 94.6 million worth of this assistance.
In 2017 Poland continued to provide support to Ukraine in areas (priorities) set out in the "2016-2020 Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme":
Entrepreneurship and the private sector
A total of 40 development projects were selected for implementation in 2017 amounting to PLN 13.34 million and four humanitarian projects amounting to PLN 4.9 million.
Good Governance" priority
As part of the good governance priority, initiatives were carried out to support key reforms, mainly the local government reform, the education system reform, and to fight corruption. Other tasks concerned improving the competencies of public administration staff in the scope provided for in the EU Association Agreement, as well as enhancing capabilities to prevent and reduce risk and to respond to emergencies.
Poland also became financially and substantially involved in the implementation of an EU project to improve decentralisation in Ukraine, Ukraine Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme - U-LEAD. The U-LEAD programme is a key instrument of support by foreign donors of the process of decentralisation in Ukraine that is carried out jointly by the EC, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, and Estonia. At the same time, at the local level, with support from experts of Polish non-governmental organisations, projects were carried out to build competencies of merged hromadas with regard to new or extended powers of local government administrations.
Poland also continued supporting the educational reform. As part of the "New Ukrainian School" programme, a Polish-Ukrainian group of experts worked on a comprehensive project of a core curriculum for general education in different types of schools.
As regards fighting corruption, another edition of a training course was organised for members of Ukrainian ministries and central government agencies in effective preparation and implementation of ministerial anti-corruption programmes. The training was conducted as part of the Eastern Partnership Public Administration Academy. In addition, the Polish Ministry of Finance continued its support for a Ukrainian Analytical Unit responsible for managing information about potential money laundering and proceeds from crimes. The unit plays an important role in identifying financial crimes, including corruption. The Ministry of Interior also established cooperation with Ukrainian Police for which it organises training combined with a study visit involving fighting corruption and economic crime.
Polish Aid also supports initiatives that develop the competencies of public administration staff in other areas provided for in the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. In 2017, representatives of the Secretariat of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the National Bank of Ukraine, the State Border Guard and the State Statistical Service of Ukraine took part in training courses and internships organised by Polish institutions.
With respect to enhancing capabilities to prevent and reduce risk and to respond to emergencies, initiatives were undertaken to create volunteer medical rescue units, to professionalise fire-fighting services, mountain rescuers and volunteer medical rescue teams.
Human Capital" priority
Due to the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, Poland continued to support initiatives for internally displaced persons. In addition to emergency humanitarian aid, lasting and long-term initiatives were also carried out. Their aim is to support the integration of internally displaced persons with the host community and to provide them with better access to psychological support. Assistance is not limited to Ukraine's eastern oblasts and is provided throughout the country. Centres of welfare and psychological support for displaced families are set up in seven cities and initiatives are carried out that facilitate sustainable local integration with the host communities. Moreover, the Polish Military Institute of Medicine organised internships and trainings for Ukrainian psychologists and psychiatrists in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Specialists were trained to work with persons who have suffered as a result of the armed conflict in Donbas.
Entrepreneurship and the Private Sector" priority
In 2017, the Ministry of Economic Development carried out a project that was a key initiative with respect to support of entrepreneurship development in Ukraine. The project was aimed at creating centres of entrepreneurship support in seven regional oblasts, preparing regional development strategies and supporting efforts to attract foreign investments. In addition, engagement in efforts to improve vocational education and projects promoting the use of innovative tools and technologies is being continued. In this respect, organisations that group Ukrainian entrepreneurs are provided with know-how about the specific nature of family firms and the possibilities created by purchasers' groups for increasing competitiveness. The MFA continued its support for a Youth Entrepreneurship Incubator in Lviv by co-financing the development of infrastructure and implementing new tools that support innovative business ventures.
Due to the war that is being waged in eastern Ukraine, needs regarding support for the development of entrepreneurship are being constantly identified among groups of internally displaced persons. For this reason Poland, as part of development cooperation, supports initiatives addressed to unemployed persons that are aimed at training and equipping them with tools that will enable them to take up independent activities with respect to employment in their new communities.
Since the start of the conflict, Poland has been supporting Ukraine by donating financial and in-kind humanitarian aid to persons who are most in need. The aid is provided through multilateral channels (contributions to the UNICEF Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross) and through a bilateral channel.
In 2017, projects were implemented in cooperation with Caritas Polska and Polish Humanitarian Action. The Caritas Polska project was aimed at improving medical benefits for internally displaced persons and the local community in eastern Ukraine. Caritas runs four medical and welfare offices in Kharkov, Berdyansk, Krivoy Rog and Mariupol. The offices provide services that include diagnosis (ultrasound tests), medical treatment, tests, preventive treatment, filling in prescriptions and the distribution of personal hygiene products. The Polish Humanitarian Action project in turn is aimed at providing assistance to families affected by the conflict in Ukraine, specifically to persons displaced to the Zaporizhia and Donetsk Oblasts, by addressing their basic financial and in-kind needs and by offering with welfare assistance.
In addition, thanks to projects implemented by the Polish Embassy in Kiev, broken windows were replaced in one of the schools in Avdiyivka, located in the conflict-zone and the disinfection of water is scheduled to take place in a number of towns located in the front zone near Donbas.
Poland finances scholarships for Ukrainians as part of Polish development cooperation's Banach Scholarship Programme (at the best universities across Poland) and together with the College of Europe in Natolin. Ukrainians make up the largest group of foreign scholarship holders in Poland.
2016 was the first year the "Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme for 2016-2020" was implemented. Under the Programme, the MFA focused its activities in Ukraine on the following thematic priorities:
Under the good governance priority, the Polish government administration continued to support key reforms, such as the local government reform, the educational system reform and combatting corruption.
The MFA coordinated support for a team of local government reform experts in Ukraine through an office opened in Kyiv. As part of the Poland-Canada Democracy Support Program a number of local-level civil society development projects and projects supporting united hromads (municipalities) were carried out.
Polish experts were engaged in developing the objectives of a new core curriculum for all types of Ukrainian schools. Expert support to train teachers and to align the status and professional career of teachers with European standards was continued. All these measures reflected the ongoing process of state decentralisation and the transfer of responsibility for schools to local authorities.
As part of the Eastern Partnership Academy of Public Administration, the MFA in cooperation with the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau organised another training module for Ukrainian civil servants and officers responsible for implementing anti-corruption programmes. In addition, in 2016 the Ministry of Finance, using Polish aid funds, supported the Ukrainian Analytical Unit in charge of managing information about money laundering and proceeds from crime. The unit plays an important role in identifying financial crime, including corruption.
Know-how was shared with Ukrainian ministries and bureaus regarding regional development, strengthening local entrepreneurship, telecommunications and postal services sector reforms, strengthening the potential of pharmaceutical inspection, combatting human trafficking and rescue services' response to crises.
Polish local governments and NGOs also supported central government's measures to develop crisis management systems by launching initiatives involving the creation of volunteer units of medical rescuers, the professionalization of firefighting services and mountain rescuers.
Due to the protracted crisis in Ukraine, in 2016 some of the development aid measures complemented and strengthened humanitarian actions addressed to persons displaced from eastern Ukraine as a result of hostilities. These activities were aimed at integrating Ukrainian refugees with the communities that received them and at developing ways to enable them to function on their own. Centres for support and integration of displaced families where set up in six Ukrainian cities. The centres provide welfare and psychological assistance. In addition, several dozen schools in the Kharkiv region, including a centre for displaced families "Romaszka" were renovated and provided with additional furnishings.
In 2016, Poland continued to be involved in in the area of entrepreneurship by carrying out measures to improve the quality of vocational training and to promote entrepreneurship among young people and in rural areas. Poland also provided know-how relating to motivating small and medium-sized companies to cooperate with each other by, among others, creating clusters and buyers' groups. Support for the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubator in L'viv was continued. In addition, the Ministry of Economic Development implemented the first module of a two-year project, the aim of which is to boost Ukraine's investment attractiveness and the competiveness of its regions. The project is being carried out in cooperation with Ukrainian ministries in charge of regional development and the economy. The project's measures are addressed to local governments and the central administration and are focused on seven regions in central and western Ukraine.
In response to the difficult situation of the civilian population that was resettled because of the ongoing hostilities in the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts, the MFA has continued to provide humanitarian aid in the area controlled by the Ukrainian government. Right now the key problem is access to basic welfare and medical services and medications. Responding to these needs, in 2016, funding was provided for three medical and welfare offices, information desks for internally displaced people, a pre-school centre, and a therapy room. The centres also provide consultancy and psychological services.
Involvement in international initiatives
Poland declared its participation in the funding and implementation of an EU programme to strengthen decentralisation in Ukraine (U-LEAD), the aim of which is to accelerate local government reform in Ukraine by providing wide-ranging support in a number of areas that are key to this reform. The programme is implemented as part of the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), and Poland declared to allocate euro 1 million as its financial share.
This year Poland has transferred additional support amounting to USD 0.5 mln to an UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) project that promotes self-employment and job creation among the population affected by the conflict in Ukraine. The beneficiaries of this project have participated in several entrepreneurship training sessions and later received financial support to start or reactive businesses. Grant recipients could also benefit from legal advice, accounting advice and assistance in marketing activities.
Funds for Ukraine are also transferred through contributions to the budgets of international institutions and organisations (such as the OECD, UNICEF, NATO, and UNDP).
In 2013, a total of 21 projects were undertaken, of which 13 were selected through the call for proposals Polish Development Aid 2013 (for the amount of PLN 3.7 mln), and 8 are carried out with the participation of Polish central administration units (PLN 1.9 mln). In the framework of the Small Grants System, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Kiev implemented 8 projects of total value amounting to PLN 0.8 mln (see full list).
In 2013 the Polish development cooperation activity in Ukraine is performed according to the following priorities (non-governmental organization projects, local governmental units, government administration units):
Public security and border management (4 projects – PLN 0.62 mln)
Actions aimed in particular at increasing the competences of subjects and services responsible for public safety, crisis management and environmental protection.
Regional development and public administration capacity building (9 projects – PLN 2.42 mln),
Actions servingthe strengthening of local government in modern public utility services management, real estate management and energy saving, as well as increasing the attractiveness of Ukrainian cities.
Small and medium enterprises and creation of new jobs (8 projects – PLN 2.56 mln)
Actions aimed at the development of innovative technologies based on renewable energy sources and water saving technologies for SMEs, facilitating the access to information for people starting or conducting business activities, encouraging the creation and supporting producer groups and cooperatives, support for the development of microenterprises and small firms as well as granting employment support to women.
Program Eastern Partnership Academy of Public Administration (EPAPA)
In 2013 Ukrainian officials were invited to take part in the next edition of the Eastern Partnership Academy of Public Administration, which aims at the strengthening of public administration in the Eastern Partnership countries through the organization of specialized courses for officials from partner states. The goal is to create a professional public administration personnel in the Eastern Partnership countries, which shall serve as a base of experts assisting in the implementation of the principles of a democratic state with the rule of law.
The academy was conducted in cooperation with the National School of Public Administration (KSAP) and devoted to the issue of civil service.
Read more about Polish assistance to Ukraine:
Ukraine - projects carried out in 2013
Descriptions of projects carried out in 2013
A total of 26 projects were implemented (see full list) amounting to PLN 6,691,251, including 19 projects selected as part of the 2012 Polish Development Assistance call for proposals, and 7 implemented with support from Polish central government agencies (amounting to PLN 1,514,594). As part of the small grants programme, the Polish Embassy in Kiev implemented 7 projects valued at 805 000 PLN. Furthermore, 21 projects amounting to PLN 2,398,994 were implemented in the framework of a call for proposals organized by the Solidarity Fund PL.
In 2012 Polish activities in the field of development cooperation in Ukraine was based on the following priorities:
public safety and border management (8 projects – PLN 1,922,513)
The measures concerned, in particular, support for entities responsible for public safety and environmental protection.
regional development and building the potential of public and local government administration (9 projects – PLN 2,294,780),
Measures focused on strengthening the dialogue between regional government administration offices and local government on the one hand, and NGOs on the other hand; boosting local government in the area of modern management of communal services, property management and energy efficiency; professionalization of the territorial management system; and support in establishing a regional development policy.
small and medium enterprises and creating jobs (9 projects – PLN 2,473,958)
Measures were aimed, among others, at developing innovative technologies based on alternative sources of energy and energy efficient technologies in SMEs, facilitating access to information supporting people setting up and operating businesses, initiating the setting up of producers' groups and cooperatives and supporting existing ones, and supporting the development of microenterprises and the professional activation of women.
In 2012, 14 Ukrainian civil servants took part in the second edition of a programme of the Eastern Partnership Academy of Public Administration whose aim was to strengthen government administration in the Eastern Partnership countries through the organisation of specialist training courses for civil servants from the EaP partnership countries. The programme trains professional civil servants in the EaP countries who then provide the necessary expertise needed to implement the rule of law. The training courses, organised in collaboration with the National School of Public Administration involved value-based management, the economics of public finance and security and defence policies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the National School of Public Administration, organised a SENSE (Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise) training, attended by 10 representatives of the Ukrainian government administration and the private sector. SENSE is a training programme that uses computer simulation to run a market-economy country. The main objective of the programme is to strengthen the government administration of the beneficiary countries, promoting reforms and rules of good governance at the national and local levels.
ECO-OPERATION – recycling in the Vinnytsia and Khmelnytskyi Oblasts
Support for the Ukrainian property management market
Ukrainian fire-fighters trained by Polish counterparts
Ukrainian students on their path to a professional career
In the framework of Poland's 2011 development cooperation programme, 37 projects were implemented in Ukraine (including 4 projects implemented jointly in several countries, i.e. Moldova, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine). The total financing amounted to PLN 8 734 636, expended by NGOs, government administration and local self-government bodies, as well as 8 small grants projects implemented by the Polish Embassy in Kiev, amounting to PLN 330 625.05. The projects were implemented in the framework of the following priorities:
Good governance, in particular: preventing and combating corruption, initiatives to approximate Ukrainian law to meet EU standards (judiciary, customs and border services, real estate trade and cadastre legislation), pension reform, urban management in the field of municipal services, and EaP initiatives (25 projects worth a total of PLN 5 927 939);
Rural development and agriculture, in particular: support for agriculture advocacy, activation of local communities to help raise rural living conditions (9 projects worth a total of PLN 2 019 647);
SMEs, in particular: energy efficiency and waste disposal projects, activation of SME umbrella organizations (3 projects worth a total of PLN 787 050).
Projects implemented in the framework of the 2010 foreign aid programme corresponded to the principal support areas for Ukraine, as defined in the Polish foreign aid programme, and consisted of institutional development and promotion of good governance, local government cooperation, European and Euro-Atlantic integration (including reforms of the judiciary system, customs and border services, as well as rural development) and energy efficiency.
In 2010, 44 aid projects were implemented in Ukraine by NGOs, government administration, local government bodies and research-and-development entities. Moreover, the Polish Embassy in Kiev, in cooperation with the German-Polish-Ukrainian Association, implemented a project entitled, "Give the Children a Home - Reconstruction of Building No. 2 in the 'Our Children' Centre." The aim of the project was to create and popularize an alternative childcare model in Ukraine. The project budget amounted to PLN 649 850.
The total cost of activities implemented in Ukraine in the framework of the 2010 Polish foreign aid programmed amounted to ca. PLN 11.9 million.
In 2009, Polish development aid for Ukraine focused on the following areas:
local government and territorial reform;
strengthening central government bodies and supporting processes of alignment with EU standards (in the area of the judiciary system, customs and border services);
economic reform (esp. aid in drafting laws on land sale and cadastre, implementing energy efficiency projects, support in FTA and Association Agreement negotiations);
supporting agriculture (including phytosanitary issues, specialized trainings and internships for employees of agricultural organizations);
supporting European and Euro-Atlantic integration activities.
In 2009, 75 projects were implemented in Ukraine, with appropriations of over PLN 9 million. Additional funds were transferred towards OECD and NATO-led projects.
More information on all 2009 projects can be found in the Annual Report on "Poland's Development Co-operation Programme" (see Documents and Publications).
Priority development aid sectors in 2008 included:
local government and territorial reform (including regional and transborder cooperation);
strengthening central government bodies;
systemic economic reforms;
social reform (education system reform, youth exchanges, pension system and health care reform, aid for homeless people and people with disabilities);
rural and agricultural development;
building civil society;
obtaining EU funds.
In 2008, 96 projects were implemented in Ukraine, with appropriations of over PLN 17 million. Additional support for Ukraine was provided in the framework of humanitarian aid (victims of flooding - PLN 1.5 million) and transfers towards the financing of projects implemented by UNIDO, OECD, OSCE and NATO.
Sources of statistical data
0.734, ranked 83 (2014)
UNDP, Human Development Reports
Country's development:
Ukrainian Statistics Service
CIA, The World Factbook


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CCP Stifles Faith in the Cradle, Closes Religious Schools
China strictly prohibits education by religious bodies, despite education being a pillar of Christian activity around the world. Numerous schools closed.
Sacred Heart Seminary in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Handan.
Sacred Heart Seminary was founded in 1988 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Handan (also named the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yongnian) in Hebei Province near Beijing. In China, "seminary" is a term also used for Catholic schools, not only for institutions preparing candidates for the priesthood.
In October 2018, the authorities ordered the seminary's closure, scattering its 300 students.
According to insiders, throughout October 2018, religious and education officials from central, provincial, and municipal governments visited the seminary frequently, and ordered the principal to dissolve Sacred Heart on the grounds that "churches are not allowed to participate in education." Under such pressure from the government, the seminary was forced to close. Some of the school's 300 students were relocated to "Hebei Daming Middle School," but most of them were sent back to schools in their respective birthplaces.
One female student at Sacred Heart said with tears in her eyes, "We don't want to separate from each other, nor do we want to leave the seminary."
China's new Regulations on Religious Affairs prohibit institutions not recognized by the government from giving religious education or training. Since these Regulations came into force in February 2018, the authorities have ordered the closure of several church schools throughout China.
The parents of many students at the closed down schools are distraught that their children will not be able to receive a church education from an early age. Some said that such education lays a foundation for the faith of their children and helps to protect them from the ills of society, enabling them to grow up in a healthier environment. One parent characterized the closure of schools as an effort to cut off people's faith completely, starting with children.
Since its founding 30 years ago, Sacred Heart Seminary has enjoyed a good reputation in the local area and has sent large numbers of its talented students to study at major seminaries throughout China, including the National Seminary of the Catholic Church in China and those in the provinces of Hebei and Shaanxi. In the 16 years between 1988 and 2004, 100 Sacred Heart Seminary students went on to study at major seminaries. Among them, 50 have been ordained.
Not only Catholic seminaries are facing closure. Various schools run by Protestant house churches have also been shuttered.
One day in late October, a music school founded by a house church in Harbin city, the capital of China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang, was raided by the authorities. More than 30 students were attending classes when ten personnel from five departments (including the city's National Security Brigade and the Religious Affairs Bureau) stormed in. The church's leader, Zhou Ming (a pseudonym), and two South Korean teachers were taken to the local police station. The South Korean teachers were deported, and the music school was shut down.
Authorities have repeatedly raided and harassed the church to which Zhou Ming belongs on the grounds that the church "does not have a religious activity permit and the gatherings are illegal." Zhou Ming himself has also been summoned for questioning numerous times.
"Now, there are no laws that can protect our freedom of belief, because they [the CCP] are the law," said Mr. Zhou. "We're not resisting the government. We just want to maintain a pure faith in line with the Bible."
Bitter Winter has already reported that in October 2018, the Rehoboth School, located in Shenyang city of Liaoning Province, was closed by the authorities because of religious affiliation. Three of its foreign instructors had been deported from China earlier in July.
The seminary, humanities college, and Reformed Academy founded by the prominent Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, have also been forced to close down after the authorities' clampdown on the church.
In the first half of 2018, a kindergarten independently operated by Beijing Agape Church and a kindergarten founded by Xunsiding Church in the port city of Xiamen in Fujian Province (both house churches) were forcibly closed down by the authorities.
One 15-year-old student at Sacred Heart Seminary said: "They [the CCP] are afraid that all of us will become rooted in our faith. If they separate us and don't let us read the scriptures, our minds will slowly slacken. We might not believe anymore, and our faith will be cut off. That is their goal."
Source: Bitter Winter / Feng Gang
Do They Still Exist? Investigating the Three Grades of Servants
CCP Goes After Church Venues in Disrepair
Persecution of The Church of Almighty God Was Unveiled at UN. Why CCP Persecutes Religious Beliefs?
U.S. Department of State's Religious Freedom Report: The CCP Routinely Abuses, Tortures, and Kills Members of All Religions


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How to buy infection control products (eBook)
Anaphylaxis kits: Easy epinephrine deployment for first on scene
One county in Texas found a cost-effective way to get epinephrine in the hands of those first to arrive to allow them to treat patients quicker
By Kevin Crocker, LP; Ashton Herring, EMT-P; Dickson Robert, M.D.
Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening disease process that is commonly encountered and treated in the pre-hospital environment. The front line treatment for anaphylaxis of all causes is epinephrine. Without the quick administration of epinephrine, the patient could further deteriorate into respiratory arrest or cardiovascular collapse.
However, the numbers for deployment of the drug are grim.
The front line treatment for anaphylaxis of all causes is epinephrine. (Courtesy photo)
Beyond auto-injectors: New kit expands BLS treatment options for severe allergic reactions
Is draw-up epinephrine the new norm for EMTs, EMRs?
Anaphylaxis treatment: An evidence-based guideline for EMS
One study found that of all the anaphylaxis fatalities within their study group, only 20 percent of them received epinephrine during the course of their treatment. The good news is that with appropriate treatment, the fatality rates drop significantly. An emergency department case review from 2006 to 2009 within the United States revealed that the fatality rate of patients treated in the ED was only 0.3 percent.
How should pre-hospital systems deploy epinephrine to get this lifesaving drug into the right hands?
Making epinephrine available to first responders in Montgomery County, Texas
Montgomery County Hospital District (MCHD) is the sole 911 ambulance provider for Montgomery County, Texas. It is a suburb county of Houston and, according to the 2016 census, is the 17th fastest growing county in the country. Montgomery County spans more than 1,100 square miles and is a mix of urban, suburban and rural populations. MCHD is an MICU-capable ambulance service which uses a strategic deployment of ambulances throughout the county to meet the needs of the community, based on population and historical data. MCHD also partners with eleven fire departments within Montgomery County that provide BLS first response to high priority calls based off the EMD determinates.
Typical to other agencies around the country that use a deployment model similar to this, the first responder fire departments often arrive on scene before the ALS providers. A retrospective look at MCHD's pre-hospital ambulance care showed that epinephrine is administered up to 40 times for anaphylaxis each year. Given the rapid onset and severity of anaphylaxis, MCHD decided that placing epinephrine in the hands of fire department first responders was more beneficial than waiting on an ALS provider to arrive on scene. By providing this lifesaving drug to those first on the scene, it was found that first responders could effectively decrease the time to treatment for patients suffering from anaphylaxis.
Creating cost-effective epinephrine kits
After the decision was made to deploy epinephrine to the first responders, there were several obstacles to overcome regarding cost and training. With the price of epinephrine auto injectors increasing to an average of $450 each, it was cost prohibitive to deploy them across an entire county. MCHD decided to build their own anaphylaxis kits (Figures 1 and 2). These kits consisted of 2 ampules of epinephrine 1:1,000, 4- 1cc syringes, 4-22g 1-inch needles, alcohol wipes and adhesive bandages. Each of these kits were built for under $30.
In addition to the actual supplies in the kit, there is a quick reference card secured to the inside of the lid. This reference guide provides information about anaphylaxis, indications for treatment, adult and pediatric dose references and an image of what the syringe should look like with the proper dose (Figure 3). The contents of the kits, the reference guide and the doses were all approved by the Medical Director, Robert L. Dickson, M.D. For this deployment, 130 units were needed to place one in each medical bag of participating departments. The cost savings between the MCHD anaphylaxis kits and epinephrine auto injectors was over $100,000 to get the same amount of epinephrine on each apparatus.
Each fire department in Montgomery County has a different shift schedule, which makes scheduling training a unique process that took several months. Anaphylaxis and Epinephrine Administration CE is two hours long and includes background information of anaphylaxis, proper treatment, epinephrine pharmacology and hands on practice. Each firefighter was supplied with ample practice time to learn the basics of withdrawing and administering the proper doses of epinephrine. At the end of the class, it was verified by the instructor that all students could successfully draw up the proper dose of epinephrine and administer using appropriate technique for intramuscular injection.
Successful epinephrine deployment leads to better patient care
Since the deployment of the new anaphylaxis kits, first responders administered epinephrine four times in the first two months. Each of these cases were reviewed through the MCHD quality review process and the treatment was found to be appropriate in each case. These patients were exhibiting signs of anaphylactic shock prior to the epinephrine administration and showed signs of improvement in their condition prior to arrival of ALS providers. There have been no inappropriate uses thus far, and no complications to date.
The deployment of epinephrine into the hands of those first to make patient contact in these fragile and rapidly deteriorating patients has already improved patient outcomes. The development of the anaphylaxis kits proved to be simple to build and economical to deploy. The training for the first responders was well received and we feel sufficient for these first responders to successfully treat anaphylaxis. Ultimately, we feel that by putting epinephrine where it belongs, in the hands of those first on scene, will prove to be a lifesaving choice for our community.
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A variable annuity is different from a fixed annuity in that it does not guarantee an interest yield from investments. The variable annuity's value is based on the performance of underlying investment portfolios. However, some variable annuities also offer a fixed-rate account which is guaranteed by the issuing insurance company.
The benefits that variable annuities provide are professional management of funding, tax-deferred earnings without limits on contributions, and a guaranteed income and death benefit.
With the variety of funding options available, variable annuities may be attractive options to people at many stages of life. Like a fixed annuity, variable annuities may be set up on an immediate or deferred basis. The investor either begins receiving income from the annuity immediately or some time in the future.
There is a tendency to compare variable annuities with mutual funds because of the varying values of the underlying portfolios in the variable annuities, but they are very different and may each have its own reason for being in your retirement savings program.
One of these differences is that a variable annuity may provide payout for a lifetime while mutual funds may be depleted by withdrawals on the account. Another important difference is that variable annuities have insurance-related costs and mutual funds do not.
With all of the major and minor differences in fixed annuities, variable annuities, and mutual funds, it is important to consult with your financial advisor to ensure that you are making smart money decisions.