Refinancing is preferred to twenty percent of equity. APR is a measure of the cost of borrowing, expressed as an annual percentage of profit. What should be used to evaluate a loan? When you are buying for a small commercial loan, you may be baffled by all the terminology that is put in your way. Using fact rates, P&L, leverage plans, APY (annual percentage return ), actual vs.
face interest rates, all your commercial credit needs come with a Fair Percentage of Disorder. There are two often mistaken formulations: APR (annual interest rate) and interest rates.
Just kind sensing the variation between a fast charge security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security interest security. When you are not sure how to set the annual percentage point of charge against the interest you are not alone. Yet, once you learnt the variation between these two lottery, you are superior equipped to point for purchase a debt.
APPR vs. interest rate: The APR and interest rates are two similar but very different things. The interest you charge is the price you have to owe to lend a loan. If you are looking for a home loan, you can obtain a fixed-rate or floating interest loan. Interest only represents the interest charge you will have to make to lend the funds, and does not represent any additional fee you will have to incur for the lending fee, transaction fee, filing fee and other financing costs.
At the same time, the interest represents the effective interest year. A loan annuity gives you a more complete view of how much you will be paying when you lend for a loan. Essentially, it is the overall amount of funds raised, in the form of an interest rat. This means that it contains the interest costs plus extra charges.
This means that these closure costs, origination costs, documentary costs or other financing costs are included in an APR. Since your interest only shows the basic costs of raising funds and your annual percentage point shows the overall costs of raising funds, your annual percentage point will usually be a fourth to even half a point higher than your interest that is.
Do not confuse this with APY, which is your percentage return per year. What can I do to determine the interest on the APR? Often your creditor will give you the APR when you request a loan. However, in some cases you will only be granted one interest only. If you only have one interest because you know you are going to pay more in the fee, you should get a feel for what your interest will be.
And if you want to find out for yourself, you can use spreadsheets and on-line credit processors to include the numbers you already know. In order to compute the annual percentage rate of charge, find out what you need to know here: However, how do you put this information together to turn your interest into your annual percentage point effective interest to?
You' re gonna lend yourself $10,000 and have been given a 12% interest on it. Annual interest on your 2-year loan would be approximately 16.92%. Using a credit computer or calculation table is the easiest way for you to determine the annual percentage rate of charge for each loan. In Google Spreadsheets, for example, you can include built-in formula calculations to determine the cost of payments and terminations per month for the above mentioned scenarios.
Enter the following equation in any of the cells to find out the amount of the loan payment: $494.27 would be your $494.27 per month payout.
They have an interest of 0.1692 per annum - not in percent. Eventually, multipolate by 100 to translate from one digit to one percentage: If you eventually work through your annuity percentage point interest charge, you will realize that your model charge of 12% placental not really represent the curiosity charge you faculty be deed to get on your debt if you are alert of the interest you are deed to commerce.
Rather than a 12% interest payment, you receive a 16.92% annual percentage point effective interest payment. What makes your annual interest the percentage it is? What does a creditor do to get the annual percentage point of charge on your loan? Now, creditors will use several things to ascertain your annual percentage rate of charge on a loan, such as the kind of loan you are seeking, your loan histories and your actual lending rates (which means how much indebtedness your company currently owes).
Assuming your credit is a low-risk venture, the most likely scenario is that the banks will provide you with a lower annual percentage rate of charge to help you gain your deal. So, in the event that you cannot pay back your loan, the lender has already compensated most of the money that they have lost to you by charging to you a steep annual interest rate on the sums.
It is also important to know that some credits simply costs more than others. Think, for example, of a home loan. 15-year loan usually has a lower interest than 30-year loan because it is disbursed faster. If you have a home loan for a short period of notice, the creditor assumes a lower level of credit risks - your funds are lent for a short period of inactivity.
They can also see how interest rates differ when you are comparing two different loan options such as home loan and corporate card. Guarantees help the lenders that they can get their cash back in case you cannot repay what you have lent. If there is a failure, the creditor can simply confiscate the securities to compensate for his loss.
Being a small businessman, your own and your own commercial loan histories influence the annual percentage of charge you get on your loan. APPR vs. interest rate: What should I use to evaluate my loan? Valuing different lenders' mortgages is much simpler when you are comparing the interest rates and the annual percentage rates. It is important to know the base interest rates you are given for a fast loan to loan ratio compared.
But APR is what reveals the real expense of the loan (especially if you are looking at short-term loans). The APR will take into account the other charges and charges associated with raising funds and your refund policy. Evaluating the APR allows you to better understand the overall price of each loan offering and select the one that is best for you.
When you want to liken apple to apple for trade credit, you need to know the annual percentage point charge on each loan. It is important when it comes to the distinction between annual interest and interest rates that you know what makes them different. The most important thing is that you don't just ask for the interest then. Ask a creditor what the interest rates and APR are before you commit to a loan.
And use a credit processor to charge it along with the actual interest if necessary. Don't get caught in a high-priced commercial loan by just looking for the smallest amount of money to pay each month or the best interest for you. In order to be sure that you are getting the most cost-effective corporate finance, use APR to evaluate your commercial loan - it is the most predictable way to show how much you will repay your creditor.


text:
Q: Custom wp.media with arguments support How to setup a [add media] button, with:

*

*proper wordpress [media] UI

*has size and alignments UI in popup right hand side

*can custom popup title and button

*size and alignments arguments can send back to be use

A: I would like to add to ZAC's option 4 because when I used his code, the image src="" was missing.
Here is the fix
                if ( 'image' === obj_attachment.type ) {
                html = wp.media.string.image( display );
                _.each({
                align: 'align',
                size:  'image-size',
                alt:   'image_alt'
                }, function( option, prop ) {
                if ( display[ prop ] )
                    options[ option ] = display[ prop ];
                });
                html = wp.media.string.image( display, obj_attachment );
            }

A: This way you can call the new media uploader with custom title and button and right side bar.
var custom_uploader;
jQuery('#fileform').on('click','.select-files', function(e) {
    var button = jQuery(this);
    custom_uploader = wp.media.frames.file_frame = wp.media({
        title: 'Choose File',
        library: {
            author: userSettings.uid // specific user-posted attachment
        },
        button: {
            text: 'Choose File'
        },
        multiple: false
    });

    //When a file is selected, grab the URL and set it as the text field's value
    custom_uploader.on('select', function() {
        attachment = custom_uploader.state().get('selection').first().toJSON();
        console.log(attachment.url);
        console.log(attachment.id); // use them the way you want
    });

    //Open the uploader dialog
    // Set post id
    wp.media.model.settings.post.id = jQuery('#post_ID').val();
    custom_uploader.open();
});

A: Just try to cover most solutions:

*

*use tb_show("", "media-upload.php?type=image&TB_iframe=true"); and window.send_to_editor

*

*problem: has no standard wp.media UI

*in js code:
jQuery("#my_button").click(function() {
    tb_show("", "media-upload.php?type=image&TB_iframe=true");
    return false;
});
window.send_to_editor = function(html) {
    console.log(html);
    tb_remove();
}

*use wp.media({frame: 'post'})

*

*problem: cannot custom UI elements, such as: title, button

*in js code:
function clearField(){
    #remove file nodes
    #...
}

var frame = wp.media({frame: 'post'});

frame.on('close',function() {
    var selection = frame.state().get('selection');
    if(!selection.length){
        clearField();
    }
});

frame.on( 'select',function() {
    var state = frame.state();
    var selection = state.get('selection');
    if ( ! selection ) return;

    clearField();

    selection.each(function(attachment) {
        console.log(attachment.attributes);
    });
});

frame.open();

*use wp.media.editor with wp.media.editor.open( editor_id )

*

*problem: cannot custom UI elements, such as: title, button

*in js code: https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/75808/using-wordpress-3-5-media-uploader-in-meta-box#75823

*use wp.media with rewrite wp.media.controller.Library and retrieve attachment in select

*

*problem: complicated ..., but once you understand it, it all make sense, and it is my finial solution

*in js code:
/**
 * Please attach all the code below to a button click event
 **/

//create a new Library, base on defaults
//you can put your attributes in
var insertImage = wp.media.controller.Library.extend({
    defaults :  _.defaults({
            id:        'insert-image',
            title:      'Insert Image Url',
            allowLocalEdits: true,
            displaySettings: true,
            displayUserSettings: true,
            multiple : true,
            type : 'image'//audio, video, application/pdf, ... etc
      }, wp.media.controller.Library.prototype.defaults )
});

//Setup media frame
var frame = wp.media({
    button : { text : 'Select' },
    state : 'insert-image',
    states : [
        new insertImage()
    ]
});

//on close, if there is no select files, remove all the files already selected in your main frame
frame.on('close',function() {
    var selection = frame.state('insert-image').get('selection');
    if(!selection.length){
        #remove file nodes
        #such as: jq("#my_file_group_field").children('div.image_group_row').remove();
        #...
    }
});

frame.on( 'select',function() {
    var state = frame.state('insert-image');
    var selection = state.get('selection');
    var imageArray = [];

    if ( ! selection ) return;

    #remove file nodes
    #such as: jq("#my_file_group_field").children('div.image_group_row').remove();
    #...

    //to get right side attachment UI info, such as: size and alignments
    //org code from /wp-includes/js/media-editor.js, arround `line 603 -- send: { ... attachment: function( props, attachment ) { ... `
    selection.each(function(attachment) {
        var display = state.display( attachment ).toJSON();
        var obj_attachment = attachment.toJSON()
        var caption = obj_attachment.caption, options, html;

        // If captions are disabled, clear the caption.
        if ( ! wp.media.view.settings.captions )
            delete obj_attachment.caption;

        display = wp.media.string.props( display, obj_attachment );

        options = {
            id:        obj_attachment.id,
            post_content: obj_attachment.description,
            post_excerpt: caption
        };

        if ( display.linkUrl )
            options.url = display.linkUrl;

        if ( 'image' === obj_attachment.type ) {
            html = wp.media.string.image( display );
            _.each({
            align: 'align',
            size:  'image-size',
            alt:   'image_alt'
            }, function( option, prop ) {
            if ( display[ prop ] )
                options[ option ] = display[ prop ];
            });
        } else if ( 'video' === obj_attachment.type ) {
            html = wp.media.string.video( display, obj_attachment );
        } else if ( 'audio' === obj_attachment.type ) {
            html = wp.media.string.audio( display, obj_attachment );
        } else {
            html = wp.media.string.link( display );
            options.post_title = display.title;
        }

        //attach info to attachment.attributes object
        attachment.attributes['nonce'] = wp.media.view.settings.nonce.sendToEditor;
        attachment.attributes['attachment'] = options;
        attachment.attributes['html'] = html;
        attachment.attributes['post_id'] = wp.media.view.settings.post.id;

        //do what ever you like to use it
        console.log(attachment.attributes);
        console.log(attachment.attributes['attachment']);
        console.log(attachment.attributes['html']);
    });
});

//reset selection in popup, when open the popup
frame.on('open',function() {
    var selection = frame.state('insert-image').get('selection');

    //remove all the selection first
    selection.each(function(image) {
        var attachment = wp.media.attachment( image.attributes.id );
        attachment.fetch();
        selection.remove( attachment ? [ attachment ] : [] );
    });

    //add back current selection, in here let us assume you attach all the [id] to <div id="my_file_group_field">...<input type="hidden" id="file_1" .../>...<input type="hidden" id="file_2" .../>
    jq("#my_file_group_field").find('input[type="hidden"]').each(function(){
         var input_id = jq(this);
        if( input_id.val() ){
            attachment = wp.media.attachment( input_id.val() );
            attachment.fetch();
            selection.add( attachment ? [ attachment ] : [] );
        }
    });
});

//now open the popup
frame.open();

A: Check this link -> https://github.com/phpcodingmaster/WordPress-Media-Modal-Image-Uploads
It will show you how to:

*

*Open the admin media modal

*Get single image info

*Get multiple images info

Tested with WordPress Version 6.0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Split Strings Into Rows For The Whole Google Worksheet I have the following script to help me split strings from Column A - Column E into rows. How can I modify this script so that it can also manipulate all my other strings in the rest of the worksheet? My worksheet extends all the way to Column CG.
From: This is the data input
To: I would like the intended result to be like this
Here's a link to the sample worksheet
Below is the script that I would like to modify.

const result = range =>
  range.flatMap(([a, ...v]) => {
    const { vv, len } = v.reduce((o, c) => {
      const t = c.split(",");
      o.vv.push(t);
      o.len = o.len < t.length ? t.length : o.len;
      return o;
    }, { vv: [], len: 0 });
    const temp = vv.map(e => e.concat(Array(len - e.length).fill("")));
    return temp[0].map((_, c) => [a, ...temp.map(r => r[c])]);
  });

A: When I saw your sample Spreadsheet, I understood that the column "F" is the number value. By this, I think that an error occurs at c.split(). The reason for your issue is this. And, when I saw your sample Spreadsheet and your expected output situation, it seems that the logic for retrieving the column "A" is the same as the column "F". In this case, how about the following modification?
Modified script 1:
const result = range =>
  range.flatMap(([a, ...v]) => {
    const { vv, len } = v.reduce((o, c) => {
      const t = typeof c != "string" ? c.toString().split(",") : c.split(",");
      o.vv.push(t);
      o.len = o.len < t.length ? t.length : o.len;
      return o;
    }, { vv: [], len: 0 });
    const temp = vv.map(e => e.concat(Array(len - e.length).fill("")));
    return temp[0].map((_, c) => [a, ...temp.map(r => r[c].trim())]);
  });

*

*In this modification, the same logic as your current script is used. So, when you use this script, please put the formulas of =RESULT(Data!A2:E) and =RESULT(Data!F2:I) to the cells "A1" and "F1", respectively. By this, your expected result is obtained.

Modified script 2:
When do you want to achieve your expected goal by one script, how about the following script?
const result = range =>
  range.flatMap(([a, ...v]) => {
    const { vv, len } = v.reduce((o, c) => {
      const t = typeof c != "string" ? c.toString().split(",") : c.split(",");
      o.vv.push(t);
      o.len = o.len < t.length ? t.length : o.len;
      return o;
    }, { vv: [], len: 0 });
    const temp = vv.map(e => e.concat(Array(len - e.length).fill("")));
    return temp[0].map((_, c) => [a, ...temp.map(r => r[c].trim())]);
  });

const sample = values => {
  const { v1, v2 } = values.reduce((o, [a, b, c, d, e, f, ...v]) => {
    o.v1.push([a, b, c, d, e]);
    o.v2.push([f, ...v]);
    return o;
  }, { v1: [], v2: [] });
  const t = result(v2);
  return result(v1).map((r, i) => [...r, ...t[i]]);
}

*

*In this script, please put a formula of =sample(Data!A2:I) to a cell. By this, your expected result can be obtained with your sample Spreadsheet.

Result:
When this script is run, the following result is obtained.
From:

To:

Note:

*

*In this script, your sample Spreadsheet is used. So when your actual Spreadsheet is different from your sample one, the script might not be able to be used. Please be careful about this.

Reference:

*

*map()

*reduce()


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The 53-year-old has been widely expected to succeed Ole Gunnar Solksjaer at the Cardiff City Stadium since resigning from his post at Leyton Orient on September 24.
Slade, who spent four years at Orient, has reportedly been working for Cardiff on a consultancy basis since leaving Brisbane Road.
And the former Yeovil Town boss has now formally put pen to paper on an undisclosed deal in south Wales.
"I'm grateful to Vincent [Tan, Cardiff's owner] for giving me this opportunity as Cardiff City is a fantastic football club," Slade told Cardiff's official website.
"We have a large squad and it's [about] more than putting out the best 11 players on paper.
"We need the best group of players out there with the right balance and chemistry.
"It's now about building a relationship with the players and installing a strong ethos and work ethic.
"That's what I want us to take onto the pitch every week."
Tan also expressed his delight at the appointment, while also taking a swipe at former Cardiff boss Malky Mackay - who was sacked after a period of acrimony last December.
"Look at Russell's record - he certainly deserves to be given a chance. After all, Cardiff gave a chance to a mediocre manager from Watford and he took the club to the Premier League. I did however give him a lot of money to spend for that - in fact, too much money," said the owner.
Cardiff have made an underwhelming start to the Championship season following their relegation from the Premier League, sitting 15th after taking just 13 points from their 11 fixtures so far this term.
Slade's first game in charge comes at home to second-placed Nottingham Forest on October 18.


Ireland's Ardnacrusha hydro-electric power station – a clean-tech exemplar?
This year marks the 83rd anniversary of the opening of the hydro-electric power station Ardnacrusha, a civil engineering feat that took four years to complete before it opened in 1929. The new power station was regarded as a symbol of risk-taking in terms of the newly independent Irish Free State for harnessing natural resources, such as water, to generate part of Ireland's future energy supply.
Work on Ardnacrusha, which formed part of the Shannon hydro-electric scheme, started in 1925. The German company Siemens was behind the build and around 1,000 German and 4,000 Irish workers were involved in the construction phase between 1925 and 1929. What was also significant is that Ardnacrusha cost more than IR£5m to construct – almost one-fifth of the entire annual budget that had been available to the-then government, led by WT Cosgrave (president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, 1922-1932). Thus Ardnacrusha became a symbol of forward thinking in relation to harnessing Ireland's natural resources, as well as being indicative of the country's future economic and industrial development.
As well as the station, canals were constructed along the River Shannon, spanned by four new bridges. Plus, a system of culverts and sluices were also constructed to increase the fall in water levels between Lough Derg and the Shannon.
The waters of the River Shannon were harnessed at the Ardnacrusha dam. Then, workers on the project built a network to electricity across the country from the new power station.
In tandem, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) was also set up in 1927 as the first of Ireland's semi-state bodies and it has managed Ardnacrusha since its opening in 1929.
Since then, Ardnacrusha has been regarded as a major civil engineering achievement, winning the 'International Landmark' prize in 2002 from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Other recipients of the prize in the past have included the Eiffel Tower, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and the Panama Canal. The power station has also won an 'International Milestone' award that was presented by the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers.
As well as this, other projects around the world looked to Ardnacrusha when building their own power stations – it was a reference site for the Tennessee Valley project in the US.
But can we look to Ardnacrusha as a symbol of forward thinking for the Ireland of today in terms of harnessing more of the country's natural resources, such as wind, to create a cleaner energy supply?
Back in late July, the current Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, TD, was at Ardnacrusha to mark the 85th anniversary of the setting up of ESB.
Another former taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, was also at Ardnacrusha on that day. It was significant as he was at the official opening of the station by his father WT Cosgrave on 29 July 1929 as a young boy.
Kenny spoke this July about how Ardnacrusha remains a "powerful symbol of bold thinking" as new reforms are introduced in the State-owned energy sector.
So where is Ardnacrusha at right now in terms of Ireland's electricity supply? According to ESB, the station can provide a rapidly available source of electricity during hours of peak demand and can also act as a back up, such as when another plant breaks down.
Catherine Halpin is plant manager at Ardnacrusha, which now employs 53 people. She said that in the Nineties, a big overhaul was carried out at the station to maximise its output.
"This means the station now has the capacity to achieve up to 92 megawatts of electricity instead of the previous maximum 85/86 megawatt output at any point in tim," she explained.
According to Halpin, Ardnacrusha, when it provides intermittent electricity, powers 2pc of Ireland's current maximum requirements. And when it first started running all those years ago the station provided 96pc of Ireland's electricity requirements.
But what can Ireland take from Ardnacrusha now, especially as the Government looks to integrate more renewable into the electricity grid? In June, for instance, Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte, TD, met with the UK's Energy Minister Charles Hendry, MP, in London, where the duo agreed to develop a formal memorandum of understanding (MoU) on renewable energy trading between the two countries.
Right now, ESB has four main hydro stations in Ireland and Halpin argued that it is tapping into 70pc of the estimated available hydro resources in the country.
"Ardnacrusha has paid off and ESB would like to think of it as an example of how Ireland can harness its clean energy resources in the future, especially around wind, wave and tidal," she said.


WASHINGTON, DC December 17, 2014– This week the National Labor Relations Board issued a long-awaited decision on the use of company email in organizing drives. They reversed a previous NLRB decision, and now say that employees may use company email accounts to help organize their co-workers– as long as the emails aren't sent on company time.
Consistent with the purposes and policies of the [A]ct our obligation to accommodate the competing rights of employers and employees, we decide today that employee use of email for statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted by employers who have chosen to give employees access to their email systems.
There is little dispute that email has become a critical means of communication, about both work-related and other issues, in a wide range of employment settings.
CWA pursued the case after Purple Communications in Rocklin, Calif., refused to allow workers to use company email accounts in a union organizing drive.
This ruling only applies to private-sector workers.
The NLRB is an independent federal agency established to protect workers' rights to organize, and police unfair labor practices.
This entry was posted on December 17, 2014 by WMALC in Organizing news and tagged Barack Obama, CWA, Democrats, NLRB, organizing.


text:
Q: How to remove duplicate data in crystal report? Question: How to remove duplicated data in crystal report and what are the causes of it?
Here's my codes
    Dim rpt As New PendingRequest
    Dim con As New MySqlConnection
    Dim cmd As New MySqlCommand
    Dim da As New MySqlDataAdapter
    Dim ds As New DataSet("DataSet1")

    Try
        con = New MySqlConnection("server=localhost;userid=root;password=123456;database=asset_db")
        cmd.Connection = con
        cmd.CommandText = "SELECT  request_number,asset_name, asset_type, asset_price, asset_quantity, tbl_asset_maintenance.supplier_code, supplier_name , reason_to_buy from tbl_asset_request join tbl_asset_maintenance on tbl_asset_request.asset_number = tbl_asset_maintenance.asset_number  left join tbl_supplier on tbl_asset_maintenance.supplier_code = tbl_supplier.supplier_code  left join tbl_account_group on tbl_asset_maintenance.group_code = tbl_account_group.group_code where asset_request_num = " & account_payable_form.req_num & " order by request_number"
        con.Open()
        cmd.CommandType = CommandType.Text
        da.SelectCommand = cmd
        da.Fill(ds, "tbl_asset_request")
        da.Fill(ds, "tbl_asset_maintenance")
        da.Fill(ds, "tbl_supplier")
        da.Fill(ds, "tbl_account_group")
        rpt.SetDatabaseLogon("root", "123456")
        rpt.Database.Tables(0).SetDataSource(ds)
        CrystalReportViewer1.ReportSource = rpt
        con.Close()

    Catch ex As Exception
        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
        con.Dispose()
    End Try

A: I have read Your Question the causes of this is in Your Join in Your commant text ,
You want to sure about each and every table that here LEFT join required or inner join requires...

A:
SELECT request_number,asset_name, asset_type, asset_price, asset_quantity, tbl_asset_maintenance.supplier_code, supplier_name , reason_to_buy from tbl_asset_request tas,tbl_asset_maintenance tam,tbl_supplier ts,tbl_asset_maintenance tam,tbl_account_group
  tag WHERE tas.asset_number = tam.asset_number and tam.supplier_code = ts.supplier_code and tam.group_code = tag.group_code where asset_request_num = " & account_payable_form.req_num & " order by request_number"

Try this in your command text and view result.


Business owners often fail to implement their plans because they set too big a challenge in a short period of time and become disillusioned when they don't meet their targets.
So it's much better to plan for incremental change which allows you business to adapt more easily. What small thing can you change to make you business better – set that for the first month and then have another small resolution for the following month and so on.
As you make changes to your business measure the impact as this will encourage you to keep going. If you decide to improve your marketing by being more active say on social media, measure the impact that this has on your sales figures or the number of new customers you take on board.
We would recommend that you use a One Page Plan to measure the impact of your changes; this is a simple A4 piece of paper that tracks all of the important numbers in your business.
The best way to put this plan into action is to sit down with a piece of paper and note down where you would like your business to be at the end of 2018; then put together a monthly plan setting out all of the small changes that you are going to make in order to achieve your goals.


What would you think of someone who gives up a successful career to make Bourbon for a living? If you said they should seek professional help, Dr. Kaveh Zamanian might not disagree with you. Then again, that's just what this highly trained psychoanalyst did, setting aside his practice to form Rabbit Hole Distilling in Louisville. We'll talk with him on this week's WhiskyCast In-Depth and get an update from Sweden with Mackmyra's Angela Forsgren D'Orazio. In the news, the saga of Australia's Nant Distillery is headed for court again, Tullibardine gets a new master blender, and John Glaser revives Compass Box's Double Single blend with a new edition.


The wine-growing region around the southern German city of Trier crowns a Syrian refugee this year's 'wine queen,' an ambassador for local vineyards.
TRIER, GERMANY (Reuters) - A festive gathering in a wine growing region in southern Germany.
It's also time for an annual tradition - picking the area's "wine queen."
It's an event filled with fanfare - and of course a time for the passing of the crown.
This year's winner is Ninorta Bahno - a 26-year-old Christian who fled war in Syria three years ago.
It's a time for music and a time for wine dining.
And when the formal announcement comes, it is a chance to toast the region and the opportunities.
And what would be a crowning without a formal ceremony.
And of course a toast.
Ms Bahno said, "Please raise your glasses with me and drink to a successful 68th Trier wine festival. Cheers!"
She says she wanted to make good use of her new position to encourage other refugees to integrate into German society - and of course promote the regions wine.


Basionym : Loranthus lugardii N.E. Br.
Loranthus lugardii var. hirtellus Weim.
Biology : Shrub to c. 1 m; branchlets terete, hispidulous; leaves alternate, clustered at older nodes; corolla rather short, green or grey; lobes yellow-green, ± erect, long.
Ecology : In the Limpopo drainage basin and coastal region; generally on Acacia.
120-1220 m alt. (S. Africa).
List South. African Succ. Pl. : 87 (1997).
Mistletoes Afr. : 152 (1998).


One of the main attractions at Passport to Taiwan was the booth for Fang Tea. Of course, for an event of this size, they brought in the heavy hitters - Kyle was brewing up tea under one of their green tents.
He served us Fo Shou and a nice Gao Shan before we moved on, allowing the gathering crowd to have a seat.
Competition TGY from Brandon on Vimeo. A work in progress - I'd like to look this cool!


Hair care needs for residents in Horizon West will continue to be easier, as Great Clips has listed a new location in Hamlin Plaza on their website as "Coming Soon". Based on the description listed on GreatClips.com, the store will be located in the Walmart Plaza. Hamlin has not yet announced Great Clips on their social media channels and it has not yet been listed on their online map.
Great Clips is popular for many consumers due to their high quality hair cuts at reasonable prices, along with an easy-to-use online check-in feature, which shortens or eliminates the wait upon arriving at the store. There is no word on when construction will begin or on an opening date.


text:
Hands On Train Sim World 2 Is Transformed by PS5 Backwards Compatibility
A smooth ride
When we put together our PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility test, we focused on the biggest and most popular games. While we were extremely impressed with the results posted by Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima, the other titles left us a little bit dismayed; Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us: Part II enjoyed no real gains, while
Sun 8th Nov 2020
Train Sim World 2
Rollercoaster of love
For many of our American readers, this will be your last weekend before your PlayStation 5 arrives, which is insanely exciting news. Of course, there's still absolutely tons to play on the PlayStation 4, so we're sure you'll find a way to pass the time. Shall we WAYP? Sammy Barker, Editor: I've been busy with the PS5...
Sat 7th Nov 2020
Hands On PS5 Backwards Compatibility - The Good, the Not Bad, and the Ugly
Loading times! Performance! Resolution! More!
PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility has been a big point of discussion in the build-up to the next-gen system's launch – in fact, at times, it's been the only point of conversation. Ever since Mark Cerny's misjudged hardware deep dive in March – feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? –...
Fri 6th Nov 2020
Round Up Yakuza: Like a Dragon PS4 Reviews Justify a New Direction
That's rad
The PlayStation 4 release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon is just around the corner, which means it's time for reviews to hit and share their verdict on this new, turn-based direction for the franchise. These verdicts cover the current-gen release rather than the PlayStation 5 version, which is scheduled to hit next March. And, from what we can...
Wed 4th Nov 2020
Feature Best PS4 Music of October 2020
One step from a whole new world
Halloween has come and gone, and now there's a political election ongoing over in the USA, which means it's time to talk about the important issues. That's right, video game music! This is likely to be the final issue where the lead platform we talk about is PlayStation 4, as a certain PlayStation 5 is out and...
Hands On Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition on PS5 Is a Stylish Upgrade
Devil May Cry 5 is a frontrunner in the race for PlayStation 4's flashiest game, so it's no surprise that Capcom's turning up the style for its PlayStation 5 upgrade. Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition – unlike so many next-gen re-releases – is a premium remaster, so there's no free PS4 to PS5 path here. Fortunately, the Japanese...
Tue 3rd Nov 2020
Poll What PS5 Launch Games Will You Buy?
Building the list
At the time of writing, we are exactly 10 days away from the launch of the PlayStation 5 (add an extra week on if you're unlucky like us). We're all incredibly excited to get our hands on the hardware itself, mess about with the user-interface, and discover the features Sony hasn't detailed just yet. However, what's the release of...
Mon 2nd Nov 2020
Talking Point What Do You Want to Know About PS5?
No question is too small
It's been a busy week at Push Square Towers as we begin to assemble our PlayStation 5 coverage. You may have already read our recent hands on impressions with Astro's Playroom and the DualSense controller; do give it a read through here if you haven't already, we've been pretty impressed with what we've experienced...
Sun 1st Nov 2020
Poll Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Games for November 2020?
November 2020's PlayStation Plus games have been announced, and it's a bit of a bumper month for the subscription service. Not only are we getting two highly rated PS4 titles — Sony's also thrown our very first PS5 game into the mix. That's right, the one and only Bugsnax debuts alongside Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Hollow...
Soapbox I Don't Like Playing Scary Games, But I Do Like Watching Them
Push Square's resident wuss confesses all
As Halloween draws near, we all start thinking about our favourite spooky-scary games and movies. The holiday is a perfect excuse to revisit some horror favourites or discover new ones. That is, unless you're like me, who goes as far as carving pumpkins but would rather eat a sickening amount of sweets and...
Sat 31st Oct 2020
Guide Upcoming PS5 and PS4 Games and Accessories for November and December 2020
PS5 launch! Call of Duty! Cyberpunk!
Well, everyone, we've made it. It's November, which means we're now just days away from the arrival of PlayStation 5. A brand new console means a whole bunch of games, but even just on PS4, there are still some exciting releases before the year is up. November in particular is ridiculously packed, but we're going...
Happy Halloween, everyone! It's not going to be the same this year given the current climate, but we reckon it's important to make the most of what you can right now, so whether it's enjoying a spooky movie or huddling around a scary game – make the most of what you can! Sammy Barker, Editor: There'll be no spooky games...
Hands On Astro's Playroom Is an Extraordinary Demonstration of DualSense
The problem with these pre-release previews for next-gen technologies like the DualSense is that they can dampen some of the discovery for those who must wait until 12th November to experience it themselves. In this particular instance, though, it's impossible to spoil the sensation because it's difficult to even describe how...
Fri 30th Oct 2020
Astros Playroom
Hands On The New PS App Is a Humongous Upgrade
Hands up if you use the PlayStation App? It was pretty rubbish, right? We had it installed on our iPhone, but we barely used it because it was slow and functionally quite poor. All of the messaging features were contained in a separate app, and the PS Store effectively booted a Safari page. Yeah, you could see what your...
Thu 29th Oct 2020
PS App
Talking Point Happy 20th Birthday, PlayStation 2
A toast to the most popular console ever
There's no other way to describe it: PlayStation 2 was an absolute beast. Sony followed up the popular (and industry-changing) PlayStation with a more capable console in the year 2000, and little did we know it would go on to become the best-selling gaming machine ever. It's a record the PS2 holds to this...
Wed 28th Oct 2020
Round Up Watch Dogs Legion Reviews Show Mixed Reception to Ubisoft's Latest
The first batch of reviews for Watch Dogs Legion are coming online right now, and they make for interesting reading. The open world hack-'em-up seems to have divided opinion to an extent, with some singing the praises of the everyone-is-a-playable-character formula, while others are far more critical. We've gathered a handful of...
Hands On The Watch Dogs Legion Gimmick Can't Hide Tired Gameplay
Three hackers on the shirt
After an entire generation of Ubisoft open-world titles, Watch Dogs Legion looks and feels bland. That descriptor is the word we kept coming back to following 10 hours with the PlayStation 4 experience launching on 29th October 2020, and we could never truly shake it off. There are high points here and there where you...
Site News We Have a PS5
Next-gen starts when we say so
We're happy to confirm that this morning we received a PlayStation 5 from Sony, meaning that you can expect tons of coverage over the coming weeks. It's been a year unlike any other really, meaning that this morning was our first opportunity to touch the next-gen console and its controller. We've obviously got...
Tue 27th Oct 2020
Hands On Touring the Isle of Wight by Train Is the Most Relaxing Gaming of 2020
Train Sim World 2's latest expansion offers some escapism
You can't travel many places at the minute, for reasons we don't need to repeat. To be honest, it's all a bit depressing, isn't it? We feel you. That's why we had such a fantastic time travelling across the Isle of Wight by train this weekend. It's a new addition to the evolving...
Mon 26th Oct 2020
Talking Point What Free November 2020 PS Plus Games Are You Hoping For?
When will November 2020's PlayStation Plus games be announced?
What's the November 2020 PlayStation Plus lineup? When will the free November 2020 PS Plus games be announced? October 2020's PS Plus lineup brought two relatively big names to the subscription service, between Need for Speed: Payback and Vampyr. However, all eyes will be on the...
Guide Best PS4 Horror Games
The scariest PlayStation 4 games
What are the best PS4 horror games? The good news (or the terrifying news for the scaredy-cats among you) is that the PlayStation 4 is home to a wealth of creepy releases, from blockbuster franchises like Resident Evil through to psychological indie adventures such as Inside. We've put together a list of the best...
One weekend closer
Another week comes to a conclusion, and you know what that means? PlayStation 5 is now one week closer to release! Of course, only a select few will be playing the next-gen console this weekend, so let's talk about which PlayStation 4 games we'll all be enjoying to pass the time. Sammy Barker, Editor: Having successfully...
Sat 24th Oct 2020
Hands On Ghost of Tsushima New Game+ Is a Great Addition That's Well Worth Playing
Thanks to update 1.12, Ghost of Tsushima now boasts New Game+ — a way to replay Jin's epic adventure with all of your skills, equipment, and cosmetics from a previous playthrough intact. New Game+ was pretty much the community's most requested feature, and we're happy to report that Sucker Punch has done a brilliant job of...
Fri 23rd Oct 2020
Interview Transforming with Metamorphosis Composers Mikolai Stroinski and Garry Schyman
Spaceball One has now become Mega Maid
Recently, we got the chance to sit down with the composing duo responsible for the soundtrack in Ovid Works' latest curiosity; Metamorphosis. A fascinating puzzle-adventure title inspired by the Franz Kafka novella of the same name. So buckle up as we do a deep dive with composers Mikolai Stroinski (The Witcher...
Thu 22nd Oct 2020
Guide Best PSVR Games
Every must have PSVR game
What are the best PSVR games? PlayStation VR has been going strong for a good while now, and it's amassed an incredibly impressive selection of software in that time. Of course, with new fans entering the virtual reality realm for the first time every single day, we figured that we'd compile a list of the best PSVR...
Wed 21st Oct 2020
Guide Best PS4 Open World Games
The best sandbox experiences on PS4
What are the best PS4 open world games? There are a lot of good sandbox games on the PlayStation 4. The genre may not be universally praised these days, but a great open world game can really pull you into an experience like few other genres can. Typically boasting huge free-roaming environments for you to...
Guide Best PS4 Co-Op Games
The best couch co-op or online co-op on PlayStation 4
What are the best PS4 co-op games? Which co-op games should you play with your friends? If you're reading this article, we're guessing that one of your preferred pastimes is playing the PlayStation 4 with pals. Working together in couch co-op or online can be one of the most rewarding ways to...
Guide All PS5 and PS4 Crossplay Games
Every PS5 and PS4 game you can play with other consoles
Which PS5 and PS4 games support crossplay with rival consoles Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch? Sony was under fire for a long time regarding its reluctance to support crossplay, but following an open beta featuring a handful of tentpole titles, the company now allows developers...
Guide Best PS4 Online Multiplayer Games
PlayStation 4's best online multiplayer games
What are the best PS4 online multiplayer games? If you're a PS Plus member, then you'll want to make the most of your subscription by playing with friends and strangers from around the globe. Whether it's football with cars to constantly changing shooters, it can be tough to decide what to play with so...
Guide Best PS4 Remakes and Remasters
What are the best PS4 remakes and remasters? For years now, we've seen games ported, remastered, and remade so that they can be introduced to new audiences. And rose-tinted 'nostalgia vision' is no bad thing, especially when your old favourites look this good on Sony's system. We've compiled a list of what we think are the...
Hands On Ghost of Tsushima's Free Co-Op Update Defies All Expectations
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends has arrived courtesy of Ghost of Tsushima's free 1.12 update, and it's shockingly good. We had reasonably high expectations for this co-op excursion, but Sucker Punch's efforts have still blown us away. This isn't some throwaway multiplayer mode — the kind that we used to see bolted onto everything back in the...
Quiz How Much Do You Know About the PS5 UI?
Interface intelligence
Earlier this week, Sony finally unveiled one of the most important PlayStation 5 elements: the user interface. We had been waiting a seriously long time to get a glimpse of the UI, so when it did arrive, it set the internet ablaze with excitement all over again. Having digested all it has to offer though, how much do you...
Another weekend closer to PS5
As another week concludes, we've learned a bunch more about the PlayStation 5 and its various features. Gone are the days where Sony kept us in the dark, because it's had quite a rhythm these past few weeks, and we now know all of the essentials about Sony's console. Good stuff! Sammy Barker, Editor: I dived...
Reaction PS5's User Experience Is Made for Modern Games
The way we play
Sony occasionally gets criticised for being a bit out of touch with the wants and needs of gamers, but we don't think you could lobby that criticism at the company when it comes to the PlayStation 5's user experience. Announced today after months of enthusiastic speculation, it's alarming that we're still learning new things...
Live Watch the Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire (15th October) Livestream Right Here
Still feel like you need to know more about Cyberpunk 2077? CD Projekt RED has one more Night City Wire episode scheduled before launch, and you can enjoy it live right here. The digital event starts at 9AM PDT / 5PM BST, so hop into the live chat and let's see what unfolds. Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire Livestream: <liveblog...
Poll What Do You Think of the PS5 UI?
What's your favourite feature?
Sony has revealed the PS5 user interface, with an in-depth video demonstration giving us a pretty good idea of how the next-gen system will operate. Obviously we all need to go hands on with the PS5 before jumping to any complete conclusions, but in our humble opinion, the UI is looking impressively slick. But of...
Poll How Often Will You Use PS5 Backwards Compatibility?
Flashback or flashforward
Now that Sony has confirmed virtually every single PlayStation 4 title will be playable on PlayStation 5 except for a list shorter than 10, we can start to work out how often we'll take advantage of the feature. Select current-gen games, such as Ghost of Tsushima, will run even better on the next-gen console with
Quiz How Closely Were You Watching the PS5 Teardown Video?
Get your head in the tech game
Sony took us one step closer to knowing anything and everything about the upcoming PlayStation 5 with a full teardown video earlier this week. While there wasn't a long, long list of new next-gen details to unpack, we still learned a couple of interesting pieces of information. So, as all of that was digested, how...
The week after all the PS5 news
That concludes an absolutely colossal week of PlayStation 5 news. Are you feeling more knowledgeable than you were this time last weekend? We hope so! There's almost a month until the system launches now, so let's WAYP. Sammy Barker, Editor: I'm playing Mortal Kombat 11 and FIFA 21. Unfortunately, I keep...
Poll What's Your New PlayStation Trophy Level?
Sony's made the first meaningful change to Trophies since the system was introduced on the PlayStation 3, altering the way level progress is calculated in order to make it feel more rewarding. Previously, you could spend months – sometimes even years – on the same level, but now the math has been altered in order to give you a greater...
Thu 8th Oct 2020
Interview What Does a Professional Trophy Hunter Think of the New Levelling System?
"I'm genuinely excited for this"
If it hasn't already done so, your PlayStation Trophy level is about to dramatically increase. That's because Sony is deploying an update to the ranking system that sees the former maximum grade of 100 escalate to 999. New Trophy icons will be associated with them and your original level will be modified to fit the...
Feature Best PS4 Music of September 2020
Another corker
What's one more month but another excuse to talk about game music? And in what's becoming one of the only happy trends of 2020, we have another month absolutely crammed full of great game music! This is a particularly unique month in that we have three games to talk about, each of which has released in some form before these...
Tue 6th Oct 2020
Guide Vampyr: Tips, Tricks, and All Collectibles
Your ultimate Vampyr resource
Vampyr is a PlayStation 4 game released in June 2018 by developer DONTNOD Entertainment. Best known for the Life Is Strange series, this is a new IP that has just hit PS Plus as one of October 2020's free PS4 titles. We awarded the game a 6/10 in our Vampyr PS4 review, describing it as an experience with "a ton of...
Poll Are You Happy With Your PS Plus Games for October 2020?
October's PlayStation Plus games have been announced, and, well... The reaction hasn't been brilliant. For starters, we've got Vampyr. By most accounts it's a decent game (we gave it a 6/10), but it's the kind of semi-forgotten title that you'd expect alongside a blockbuster. Except there is no blockbuster — there's only Need for...
Sun 4th Oct 2020
It's been a much quieter week in the PlayStation Nation after the theatrics of the Bethesda buyout last time around, so there's no real need for escapism this time around. Nevertheless, with the weather turning bad, we're looking forward to some time inside with our favourite games. Sammy Barker, Editor: I can't seem to...
Sat 3rd Oct 2020
Guide Best Free PS4 Games
The best free to play games on PlayStation 4
What are the best free PS4 games? There are hundreds of excellent games on Sony's console, but almost all of them require you to cough up some dough. If you're feeling the pinch, there are a number of great free-to-play titles on PlayStation 4 that you can play without spending a penny. These free games...
Thu 1st Oct 2020
Round Up Crash Bandicoot 4 Reviews Show the Mascot Marsupial Is Back on Form
Woah!
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is the first totally new game in the series in over a decade, following the success of the N. Sane Trilogy. Like that collection of remakes, this new game is sounding very good indeed — that's according to the first batch of reviews, which have just gone live. The general consensus from critics is that...
Guide Upcoming PS5 and PS4 Games and Accessories for October and November 2020
Crash Bandicoot! Assassin's Creed! PS5 launch!
We're entering the final quarter of 2020, and man, there's a lot happening. Not only does PlayStation 4 have plenty of exciting software lined up in October and November, but the PS5 is due out in a matter of weeks. There's so much to pack into the next couple of months, so we'll keep this brief. If...
Guide PlayStation Studios: All Sony First-Party Developers and What They're Working On
Every PlayStation exclusive project
What first-party studios does Sony own? And what exclusive games are PlayStation's developers working on? In this Worldwide Studios guide, we're going to list all of the Japanese giant's subsidiary game makers, along with their current projects. We'll be updating this article regularly, as new titles are...
First-Party
Poll Which Peter Parker Face Do You Prefer in Marvel's Spider-Man?
Original, or Remastered?
When Insomniac Games said that Peter Parker's model would be updated in Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered on PS5, we didn't think that the nerdy protagonist would be getting an entirely new face — but here we are. A quick and easy poll for you, then: which Peter Parker face do you prefer? There's no doubt that the new face...
Wed 30th Sep 2020
Hands On Genshin Impact Is a Very Impressive Free-to-Play Action RPG
Straight to the point: Genshin Impact has pretty much ripped our expectations to shreds. The game that many have been calling a Breath of the Wild clone is actually really, really good — and it doesn't have to cost you a penny. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play, open world action RPG. It has a story, interesting characters, quests,...
Talking Point Are You Worried About the Future of Western RPGs on PS5?
With Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, and therefore Bethesda Game Studios, the PS5 has potentially lost out on a Western RPG powerhouse. Now that Bethesda joins inXile and Obsidian Entertainment under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella, the team in green has established something of a genre monopoly. Granted, it's going to be a while...
Soapbox The Week After PS5's Showcase, Sony Told Us Nothing About Its Next-Gen Console
And it's getting boring now
Sony's big PlayStation 5 Showcase Event was an entertaining watch from a software perspective last week, but we said at the time that it'd need to kickstart a flow of constant communication from the Japanese giant. I'd expected it to take the momentum from its livestream into this week, as it utilised the remaining...
And breathe
It's been a pretty – how shall we put this? – tense week, hasn't it? Between the whole Bethesda buyout, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered mishaps, and general mood online, we're all due a bit of downtime. What are you playing this weekend? Sammy Barker, Editor: I wanted to finally beat Grand Theft Auto V over the next week or...
Talking Point What Free October 2020 PS Plus Games Are You Hoping For?
Subscriber hype
What's the October 2020 PlayStation Plus lineup? When will the free October 2020 PS Plus games be announced? September 2020's PS Plus lineup was met with a mixed response, as many felt there was too much of an emphasis on multiplayer with the addition of both Street Fighter V and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Regardless, it added...
Interview Talking About the Operatic Soundtrack of Mafia: Definitive Edition with Composer Jesse Harlin
A dish best served remastered
We had the chance to sit down and have a chat with composer Jesse Harlin recently about his work on the upcoming ground-up remake of Mafia, Mafia: Definitive Edition. We got to chatting about how an infamous car chase turned into a confidence bolstering music track, what influenced the operatic framing of the...
Interview Crytek Talks Crysis Remastered and PS5 Ray Tracing
"The most important" PS5 feature
Crytek has always been at the forefront of pushing gaming technology to its very limit, no matter whether that's all the way back in 2007 with the classic Crysis or today with the remaster of the very same game. Crysis Remastered is the first PlayStation 4 title to support ray tracing, a feature that is talking a big...
Reaction Spider-Man PS5 Debacle Shows Sony Is Out of Touch
Read the room
You know you've done goofed when you'd get a better response by not doing anything at all. Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, the PlayStation 5 re-release of 2018's open world smash hit, has been handled atrociously by Sony – and it's emblematic of a disastrous week for the Japanese giant, that's seen it scramble from one...
Guide All PS5 First-Party Exclusives
Every PlayStation 5 exclusive announced
Looking for a full list of all PS5 first-party exclusives? PlayStation 5 will once again see Sony's pool of talented Worldwide Studios and external partners tasked with creating unique experiences exclusively for the next-gen console. As part of our PS5 guide, we're going to list all PS5 first-party...
Wed 23rd Sep 2020
Interview How PS5 Makes Planet Coaster Better Than Ever
From the DualSense to the UI
While it hasn't been confirmed for launch just yet, Planet Coaster: Console Edition is a PlayStation 5 game you can look forward to playing this year. The console release of this 2016 PC title has received a full overhaul to accommodate for the DualSense controller soon to sit in our very hands, meaning developer...
Poll Has Xbox's Bethesda Buyout Made You Reconsider a PS5 Purchase?
Fus Ro Damn
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of days, you'll know that Microsoft has purchased Zenimax Media and all of its studios for a whopping $7.5 billion. They now belong under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella and so the release of future Bethesda titles on PlayStation 5 is no longer a sure-fire thing. Microsoft suit...
Interview Asking After The Procession to Calvary, One of the Strangest Games on PS4
Classical conversation
The Procession to Calvary is easily one of the most unique games we've seen in some time. When it was announced for a PS4 release last month, we simply had to know more, and so we got in touch with Joe Richardson, the game's developer. We asked Joe about the game itself, how it was developed, and the inspiration behind it...
Tue 22nd Sep 2020
Joe Richardson
The Procession to Calvary
Guide When Is Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online?
Dates and times for various streams
The annual Tokyo Game Show is still happening this year — it's just gone digital. Like most other events in 2020, TGS has no physical venue, meaning you'll have to tune in online if you want the scoop on Eastern gaming news. But when is Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online? Which publishers are taking part? Let's go...
Reaction Bethesda Acquisition Is a Kick in the Balls for PS5, But Sony's Goals Won't Change
Xbox has acquired Bethesda for a frightening sum of money, putting that oft-referenced Microsoft warchest to use at last. The purchase price, an eye-watering $7.5 billion, eclipses the sum Disney spent on Marvel and Star Wars combined – it's a frankly flabbergasting figure. It's also potentially a giant blow for the PlayStation...
Hands On Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Couldn't Be More Different
A step back from Modern Warfare?
Despite the fact that some will undoubtedly scoff at the idea, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War might be the biggest deviation the franchise has made in quite some time. That's in terms of both feel and gunplay inside its multiplayer suite, and we don't think the change is for the better. Last year's Call of Duty:...
Mon 21st Sep 2020
The weekend after the PS5 showcase
We go into this weekend knowing the PS5's price and release date, which was information we had no idea about last time out. As such, we can't help but feel some sense of relaxation, as we settle down for our Saturday and Sunday gaming sessions. Sammy Barker, Editor: I don't expect to be doing much gaming...
Soapbox Screw Sony's PS5 Game Pricing, I'll Just Wait for Sales
For the payers
The price of games is going up. Sony, along with 2K Sports, may be an outlier right now, but make no mistake: other publishers will follow. It means the widely accepted price point of $59.99 in the United States is coming to an end; in Europe, you're looking at price points of up to €79.99 for blockbuster PlayStation 5 gam
Live Watch the Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire (18th September) Livestream Right Here
Are you RED E?
Want to learn the latest about Cyberpunk 2077? CD Projekt RED has an all-new Night City Wire episode scheduled, and you can enjoy it live right here. The digital event starts at 9AM PDT / 5PM BST, so join in the live chat and let's see what unfolds. Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire Livestream: <liveblog id="1809_Cyberpunk_2077"...
Poll Will You Buy a PS5?
We have a price. We have a release date. We know what the launch lineup looks like. And so we have to ask: are you buying a PS5? Sony's latest PS5 showcase has been very well received, but the su
Reaction The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Today's PS5 News
What Sony's doing right and wrong
Sony peeled back the PlayStation 5 curtain a fraction more today, confirming the PS5 price and PS5 release date, as well as its selection of launch games and more. It was a strong showcase overall,
Round Up What Was Announced at the PS5 Showcase Event?
All the latest PlayStation 5 news
Sony's been dreadfully quiet in the build-up to the PlayStation 5, but with its PS5 Showcase Event it gave us all the information we need to know about its next-gen system. The manufacturer started with games like Final Fantasy XVI and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and also confirmed the
Talking Point Did the PS5 Showcase Event Deliver?
Happy or not?
Sony's just closed the curtain on its PS5 Showcase Event, where it confirmed that the console will launch on 12th November from $399.99 in the United States. The showcase also included full gameplay demonstrations of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon's Souls, and confirmed Final Fantasy XVI. There were also surprise...
Live Watch the PS5 Showcase Event Livestream Right Here
All aboard the hype plane
Sony's long awaited PS5 Showcase Event will give us our next glimpse into the future, promising a look at launch PlayStation 5 games – and some from beyond. There'll be a mixture of first-party and third-party titles from a variety of different developers, and presumably that all-important PS5 price and PS5 release...
Talking Point What Will Be Announced at PS5 Showcase Event?
Our predictions
Sony will pull back the curtain on the PlayStation 5 this week, after an agonising wait. Outside of some minor driblets of information, the PS5 Showcase Event will grant us our first in-depth look at the next-gen system's launch titles – and, presumably, that all-important price and release date reveal. It's going to be a big...
Guide When Is the PS5 Showcase Event?
When is Sony's PS5 Showcase Event livestream? Out of seemingly nowhere, the platform holder finally announced a new PS5 event, set to take place very soon indeed. So, what are all the details? When can you watch the PS5 showcase? In this guide, we're going to give you all the info you need. When is the PS5...
Mini Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Comple...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
James Buchanan by Jean Baker
June 5, 2009 June 7, 2009 Bob Timmermann17 Comments
President #15, C-SPAN Historians Ranking #42
You know my successor and I average a ranking of 21.5!
As I careen through the roster of American presidents, I knew that eventually I would hit bottom. There had to be someone whom historians considered to be THE WORST President ever. Historian Jean H. Baker of Goucher College lays out the case for why James Buchanan is as bad as they get. And it's not a pretty sight.
Baker not only believes that Buchanan was just guilty of violating his oath of office by failing to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. She also believes that he may have committed treason against the United States.
Why did America's only bachelor (and the only Pennsylvanian) President end up as such a colossal failure? Was Buchanan incompetent? Was he in over his head? According to Baker, Buchanan's main sin was that he was so pro-Southern and pro-slavery that he would do whatever it took to appease that section of the Democratic Party. Buchanan said he believed in the Constitution; but, he only believed in his very narrow interpretation of it. Buchanan would rather have been right, than to have done right.
But, even more than Buchanan's belief that he was right, his biggest problem, according to Baker, was his pro-Southern attitude. Buchanan may have grown up in Pennsylvania, but his closest friends and advisers were Southerners. He also believed that slavery was an institution that the Federal government had a duty to protect. His ideas on how to patch up the deepening sectional divide over the expansion of slavery served only to make matters worse.
Baker explains in an introduction that not many people want to examine the life of Buchanan. People want to believe that Presidents are heroes. And almost everyone thinks that Buchanan's successor was the greatest President ever. But, Baker explains, there is value in learning about how someone like Buchanan, who had one of the most distinguished resumes of any person elected President, could be so bad.
Buchanan was born into a well-to-do family in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. His father sent him to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Buchanan wasn't a great student, and was briefly expelled from school for bad behavior, but managed to graduate. He never spoke well of his alma mater. (The school website's history section doesn't mention that Buchanan attended. Baker did speak about this book at Dickinson.)
Upon graduation, Buchanan moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to study law as an apprentice. Buchanan felt that working in Pennsylvania's capital would be beneficial to his practice. He passed the bar in 1812, the same year Pennsylvania moved its capital to Harrisburg. (I once got lost in Harrisburg after pulling off the highway too early. Don't ever do that. Take my word for it. No one needs to see that much of Harrisburg.)
However, Buchanan kept his practice in Lancaster, which still was one of Pennsylvania's largest cities. Apparently, he did a good job because he earned a sizable income and was pulling in what would be a six figure income today by the time he was 30.
Buchanan also became involved with a woman name Ann Coleman. They became engaged in 1819. But, the marriage was called off. No one knows for sure why it happened. Baker believes that Coleman tired of Buchanan's lack of affection for her. Also, Buchanan was seen in the company of another woman while they were engaged. Coleman died soon after (of an unknown cause, although she was extremely distraught) the engagement ended. Coleman's father refused to let Buchanan come to his daughter's funeral. Buchanan would never marry.
The bachelorhood of Buchanan has often been shown as "proof" that Buchanan was homosexual. Baker doesn't believe there is any proof of it. First of all, Baker points out, no one in Buchanan's time would have identified himself as homosexual. There were just men who sometimes had sex with other men. Denial was prevalent. Buchanan likely was involved in criminal cases as a lawyer where men were accused of homosexual acts that were deemed illegal at that time.
Also, Buchanan may have just been not interested in sex. Baker tells us that Buchanan never had to shave in his life. He couldn't grow facial hair. She posits the idea that Buchanan may have suffered from a hormonal imbalance that left him generally uninterested in sex with anyone.
In his writings, Buchanan would mention his desire to get married, but only for career reasons. Buchanan liked the idea of a woman who would cook for him and take care of him, but he certainly didn't want to have to be affectionate or caring or chatty.
According to Baker, Buchanan's lack of a spouse was an important part of his Presidency. Because Buchanan had no wife and family to rely on for support, his closest friends became other government officials. And the people who tended to be the friendliest toward Buchanan were Southerners. Buchanan would, for a time, share a room (and a bed) with Alabama Senator William King. The two men were very close and Andrew Jackson dubbed them "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy." (Buchanan was actually a big supporter of Jackson.)
Despite his personal setbacks, Buchanan's political career moved along well. He worked his way through Pennsylvania state government and on to the House of Representatives, and later a position as Minister to Russia.
Upon his return from Russia, Buchanan set his sights on the Senate. He lost in his first try, but the Pennsylvania Legislature elected him in 1834 to fill a vacant term. Buchanan worked his way up to the Chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee.
In 1844, Buchanan felt that his time had come to run for President. However, James Polk took the nomination and won the election. Polk showed his appreciation for Buchanan's work in the campaign by naming him Secretary of State. However, Buchanan thought that he might want to serve on the Supreme Court. He vacillated between the two. Polk decided to leave Buchanan at State, tiring of Buchanan's indecision.
Buchanan served as Secretary of State during the Mexican War, an early demonstration of America's desire to acquire territory by any means necessary. The new territory added by the Mexican War would almost prove to be the nation's undoing as heated debates sprung up over whether the new territory would be free or slave. Buchanan sided with pro-slavery forces; but, the matter was not decided before Polk's term had ended.
Denied the nomination again in 1848 by the Democrats (Lewis Cass was the nominee and he lost to Whig party candidate Zachary Taylor), Buchanan found himself without a position in government. He spent time back at his Lancaster estate, Wheatland, where he kept an eye on the political scene with hope for a run for the White House again in 1852.
Buchanan was certain that 1852 was his year. But, the Democratic Convention was deadlocked for 49 ballots until Franklin Pierce, a man who would later look great compared to Buchanan, won the nomination and the election. Buchanan was given a post as Minister to the Court of St. James in London.
While it may have seemed like political exile for Buchanan to serve in London, it actually worked out to his benefit. The debate over the expansion of slavery into the new territories became even more heated. The flash point was in Kansas, which was believed to be the last part of the country that could operate with a slave-based economy. Congress, behind the efforts of Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This allowed the residents of each of those territories to decide for themselves whether or not slavery would be allowed in their borders.
Instead of this turning out to be a peaceful triumph of popular democracy, "popular sovereignity" (as Douglas' plan was called) led to pro- and antislavery forces flooding into Kansas. Eventually, two governments were established in Kansas. Deciding which one was legitimate proved to be Pierce's undoing. Pierce backed the proslavery Lecompton government, and disavowed the antislavery Topeka government. (The relative locations of the two Kansas cities can be seen at this link.) By the end of Pierce's term, the matter still had not been settled. Pierce was denied renomination by the Democrats because of the uproar.
So, who did the Democrats turn to in 1856? They turned to a man who hadn't been in the country while the debate over Kansas inflamed the people. Buchanan would finally get his chance to run for President.
Buchanan had spent his time concentrating on European affairs; although, he did participate in crafting a memorandum along with two other Southern diplomats serving in Europe called the Ostend Manifesto. This manifesto stated that the United States should use whatever means necessary to acquire Cuba from Spain. Buchanan saw Cuba as crucial to American interests, as well as a place where a slave-based economy could be put in place. The Ostend Manifesto was widely denounced in the North by antislavery forces. These antislavery politicians had formed a new political party: the Republicans.
The Republicans first nominee for President was John C. Fremont, an explorer and military hero (of sorts) from the Mexican War. Although born in Georgia and married to the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, Fremont had actually served in the Senate representing California.
In a modern day campaign, the 65-year old Buchanan, a bachelor as well as a man who had to always tilt his head at an angle because his eyes didn't always point the same direction along with being farsighted and nearsighted in different eyes, would have been no match against the dashing Fremont. But, this was 1856. Few people saw the candidates in person. And the South dominated the Electoral College. Buchanan won election fairly easily. It also helped that the Republicans weren't even on the ballot in Southern states.
James Buchanan now had won the job that he had sought since 1844. He filled his Cabinet with Southerners, with the exception of Lewis Cass, who was the Secretary of State. Buchanan didn't have much use for Cass and intended to carry out foreign policy on his own, with the goal of acquiring Cuba.
In his inaugural address, Buchanan spoke of how the issue of the expansion of slavery in the territories would soon be decided by the Supreme Court. The famous case of Dred Scott v. Sandford would be decided soon after the inauguration. Scott, a slave, was suing for his freedom in Federal court on the basis that he gained his freedom when his owner moved with him to a free territory.
Buchanan had made inquiries before the March 4 inaugural to determine the status of the case. One of the justices, John Catron of Tennessee told Buchanan that the Court would rule against Scott, but only on narrow grounds.
Catron suggested that Buchanan speak with the court's Pennsylvanian justice, Robert Grier, to get him to go along with Chief Justice Roger Taney's broader opinion. Buchanan did so, and Taney handed down an opinion, with Grier's concurrence, that stated that Congress had no power whatsoever to regulate slavery in the territories.
Furthermore, Taney ruled that a slaveowner held on to his slaves as his personal property in perpetuity. It was not a right that could be infringed upon by Congress. Buchanan thought that the decision settled the matter, which was naive. The Dred Scott decision only served to draw more people over to the antislavery side. Increasingly, Northerners believed that the Federal government was nothing but a tool for Southern slave owners.
More bad news came for Buchanan in the form of a financial panic. The Panic of 1857 hit the United States soon after Buchanan took office. There had been much land speculation in the West in the years prior to 1857. That market collapsed and set off a financial downturn. Buchanan, in his message to Congress about the Panic, stated that the Federal government was not empowered to give individuals any relief. Buchanan just waited for the problem to fix itself. It didn't bother Buchanan much that Northern states were more affected by the Panic than Southern states.
But, Buchanan had more ways to screw up. And with the Kansas situation, Buchanan displayed his inability to lead in many different ways.
The problem of the two competing governments in Kansas had not been resolved when Buchanan took office. Buchanan decided to accept the proslavery Lecompton government as the legitimate one in the territory, even though it represented a minority of the residents. The Lecompton government submitted a proposed constitution to Congress. If Congress approved it, statehood would follow.
The Senate, with enough pro-slavery Southerners in office, approved the constitution. But, the House would be a different matter. The population of the free states greatly outnumbered the slave states. (Baker says it was about 80% to 20%; although, Buchanan insisted in public that it was closer to 50-50.)
Buchanan undertook an aggressive lobbying effort of House members to get them to vote in favor of the Lecompton pact. Baker writes of how Buchanan promised to use his patronage power to reward compliant House members. There was even talk that some members of the House were bribed (through intermediaries) either with money or prostitutes.
Despite Buchanan's efforts, the House voted down the Lecompton constitution. But, Buchanan would not give up. He suggested a new bill that would have granted Kansas immediate statehood (instead of waiting to reach the recommended minimum population of 93,000) if it adopted the Lecompton constitution. Congress passed the bill, but the voters of Kansas (all of them this time as there had been earlier disputed elections), voted to not accept the pro-slavery constitution. It was rejected by a margin of 11,000 to 1,800.
In the wake of this political fiasco, the Republicans took control of Congress in the 1858 elections. An investigation was started to examine Buchanan's actions during the Kansas constitution votes. Buchanan refused to cooperate with the investigation. He believed that Congress had no right to investigate any wrongdoing by him. (If Congress had kept looking, evidence that Buchanan's Secretary of War received kickbacks from contractors would have turned up also.)
Buchanan had promised to serve only one term. The Democrats were happy to be rid of him. However, the Democrats split into two over the slavery issue, nominating two candidates: Stephen Douglas (whom Buchanan hated) and John Breckinridge (whom Buchanan disliked also and he was the Vice President.) John Bell of Tennessee ran as the candidate of the Constitutional Union Party, a nativist faction. And, there was a fourth candidate: a Republican from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln won easily despite not appearing on the ballot in any Southern state.
Faced with the prospect of an antislavery President, the state of South Carolina held a special convention and voted to secede from the United States. During the final four months of Buchanan's administration, Buchanan showed himself to be unable to deal with the problem of secession.
Buchanan believed that: 1) no state had the right to secede and 2) the Federal government had no authority to force a state to stay in the Union. So Buchanan did very little to stop the secession movement, which soon spread to other states.
Baker, and other historians of this time period, believed that Buchanan, at least, could have tried to politically isolate the more radical secessionists. This could have isolated the problem to South Carolina or a few neighboring states. But, left unchecked, almost the entire South had seceded by the time Lincoln was inaugurated. And, the Confederate States of America had become organized.
Buchanan compounded the problems by having so many Southerners in his administration. This gave the Confederate states intimate knowledge of the strengths of the U.S. Army, as well as Federal properties throughout the South. Baker goes as far as to accuse Buchanan of treason in the amount of assistance he gave to the Confederacy.
Eventually, Buchanan would take a stand at an Army fort in Charleston called Fort Sumter. The state of South Carolina wanted the fort surrendered. Buchanan could not accept "surrendering" a Federal facility to a state. This didn't prevent Buchanan from entering into negotiations with South Carolina officials about the fort, granting the secessionists an air of legitimacy.
In the final two months of his Presidency, Buchanan's Southern cabinet members resigned. Northerners were appointed to take their place. Buchanan was starting to stay up late hours and asking Cabinet members to sleep over at the White House to keep him company.
Buchanan decided that he would try to send supplies to Fort Sumter to help defend it. However, the supply ship was never able to get to the fort and offload its cargo. Eventually, Fort Sumter's supplies would run out, but that would be after March 4, 1861. That would be Abraham Lincoln's problem.
Of all the presidential biographies I've read so far, this is the first one where the author had absolutely no regard for the subject. Jean Baker found nothing redeeming in Buchanan's life. Nevertheless, the book is worth reading, if only to see just what Lincoln had to follow. No President ever took office in more trying circumstances than Lincoln. It's quite possible that James Buchanan would be second in that category. But, only one of them succeeded at his job.
Other stuff: James Buchanan's estate, Wheatland, is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and is operated by the James Buchanan Foundation. The bibliography of suggested readings about Buchanan on the estate's website includes Baker's book.
James Buchanan's birthplace is a Pennsylvania state park called, Buchanan's Birthplace State Park. It is near Cove Gap, Pennsylvania. Or Fort Loudon. Or Cowan's Gap. Or Mercersburg. Here's a map.
There is also a memorial to James Buchanan in Meridian Hill Park (part of Rock Creek Park) in Washington, DC.
Buchanan's Vice President, John C. Breckinridge, was just 36 years old when inaugurated. He remains the youngest Vice President ever. Breckenridge was the SECOND Vice President to be indicted for treason (the other being Aaron Burr). Breckenridge, who served in the Confederate government, was not tried.
Antebellum presidentsAmbassador, Bachelors, Childless presidents, Democrats, Pennsylvania, Representative, Secretary of State, Senator


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Home » Entertainment » Cult Croatian concert venue celebrating 20th birthday
Cult Croatian concert venue celebrating 20th birthday
New refurbished Tvornica Kulture
Zagreb, 26 September 2019 – Cult Croatian concert venue – Tvornica Kulture (Culture Factory) in Zagreb celebrates its 20th birthday.
Tvornica Kulture opened in September 1999 as place for new ideas and movements ranging from theatre & dance performances to movie screenings and concerts. The venue quickly turned into a popular spot for artists on the Zagreb scene.
Although over the years it has become known mostly for concerts and music events, it has hosted a lot of theatre performances, fairs, quizzes, conferences, commercials and other events.
Tvornica Kulture has hosted more than 600 different performers and more than 2,000 events with 1.5 million visitors to the club until now.
Some famous names to grace the stage at Tvornica Kulture over the last 20 years include Patti Smith, Noel Gallagher, Davida Byrn, John Lydon, Mick Jones, John Cale, Jane Birkin, Joe Satriani, Jessie Ware, Femija Kutija, Roisin Murphy, Ryana Adams, Macy Gray, DJ Shadow, Courtney Barnett, Kurta Vile, Tom Odell, as well as groups like Slayer, Faithless, Offspring, Eagles Of Death Metal, Fun Lovin Criminals, Editors, White Lies, Morcheeba, Mastodon, Down, Death Grips, Fleet Foxes, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Gaslight Anthem, Dropkick Murphys, Apocalyptica, Sepultura, Human League, M83, Groove Armada, Warpaint, Ministry, Machine Head, Enter Shikari, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Rollins Band, Buena Vista Social Club.
Ester Segarra
When it comes to local artists, popular names like Josipa Lisac, Arsen Dedić, Hladno pivo, Darko Rundek, Urban, Leta 3, Elemental, Vojka V, Jura Stubić, Zoran Predin, Goran Bare & Majke, Kojoti, and Pips Chips & Videoclips have all played at the venue.
LET3 at Tvornica (Photo: Filip Busic)
The 20-year celebration starts tonight with a concert from Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra and continues in December with concerts from Kawasaki 3P, Let3, Kojoti, Repetitor, My Baby, Urban & 4, U pol' 9 kod Sabe, Brand New Heavies, Jura Stublić & Film, Psihomodo Pop, At The Gates, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Acid Arab, De Staat, 30Zona, Retfatlanta & Numero, Mark Lanegan and Olafur Arnalds.
Village of Pupnat on Korcula island readies for its big day
Sinead O'Connor to perform in Zagreb for the first time
Tasty memories of life in Slavonia revived at 'Gatherings of Stanari' next weekend
Marin Cilic to start Zagreb Advent Run – 3,000 runners from 34 countries to take part
Talented Croatian designer debuts at Milan Fashion Week
5 reasons to check out Advent on European Square in Zagreb
Traditional 'Sweet Istria' set to take place for 23rd time
Fešta – The Croatian Food & Wine Festival in Adelaide in November


text:
from django.db import migrations, models

class Migration(migrations.Migration):

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    operations = [
        migrations.AddField(
            model_name='member',
            name='receive_reminder_emails',
            field=models.BooleanField(default=True, help_text='User receives emails reminding them about their do good hours', verbose_name='Receive reminder emails'),
        ),
    ]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Three individuals have received lengthy bans, in addition to jail terms, for "criminal conduct at the expense of their customers".
A new law has made it mandatory for all financial firms to fully cooperate with AFCA to resolve consumer and small business disputes.
A consultation proposes the creation of a nomination committee comprising external experts to recommend a self regulatory organisation for mutual fund distributors and advisers to curb mis-selling.