text:
'We couldn't have our lifestyle here in Ireland. It would cost us too much'
If you're feeling in a new year state of mind, then a new home - and a new business - could be the change you're looking for
Dan and Annie Flavin own a holiday gîtes and B&B business in a 200-year-old property in France
Caroline Madden
Sat Jan 14 2023 - 05:00
The new year brings the possibility of a fresh start, so what better time to think about making exciting life changes? Here we take a look at businesspeople who are moving on to pastures new, thus opening up opportunities for those willing to take the plunge and pursue the chance not only to be their own boss, but to live the good life while they're at it.
'We'd like to enjoy life a bit more'
Back in the 80s, the course of Daniel Flavin's life changed forever when a young French woman, Annie, arrived to work on a neighbour's dairy farm in the village of Carrignavar, Co Cork. Annie, from the Gers region, was taking part in an Irish-French exchange programme for young people from farming backgrounds.
Daniel and Annie went on to get married and start a family, and in 1990, they decided to move to France. "Everybody said it was the place to go," Flavin recalls. "Financially in Ireland it was very, very difficult to make a living, so we sold the house in Ireland and we moved."
The couple opened a holiday gîtes and B&B business in a 200-year-old property in Clisson on the banks of the river Sèvre, in the Loire region just 40km from Nantes. The property, Gîtes La Sauzaie, lies in the heart of the Muscadet wine district, meaning that guests can sample wine at surrounding vineyards, while also being able to visit the coast, which is just an hour away.
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Gîtes La Sauzaie
While the Flavins have loved running it, the business is busy year-round, and they're now planning on taking a step back. "I'm 71 this year. My wife is younger than me, but we just said we'd like to enjoy life a bit more."
They're hoping to find someone to take over some or all of the business. "If we get somebody interested, we would help them for the first year with all the ins and outs," he says. "Like any business, you've got to… learn how to cope.
"If it was an Irish couple, one of the couple would need to speak French. When dealing with the public, you have to have the language." Daniel himself began picking up vocabulary by reading bedtime stories to their children, and worked his way from there to fluency.
The property, which includes the main house (five bedrooms), a two-bed flat, a swimming pool and a "garçonnière", or an additional flat, in a separate building, is on the market for €975,000.
With retirement now on the horizon, would they consider returning to Daniel's native country? That's a definite non. While they enjoy coming back to Ireland on holidays to meet friends, their children are all based in France, and are now married with their own children.
"Our ties are in France. We enjoy the lifestyle here, especially the weather," he adds. "We have our friends here. I'm a member of the local choral society. We get out and about, we meet people." Another important factor in France's favour is that the cost of living – including healthcare – is cheaper than in Ireland. "We couldn't have our lifestyle here in Ireland. It would cost us too much."
'One is for my heart. The other is for my pocket'
In 2016, businesswoman Lisa Wilkinson decided to buy a remote mountain adventure venue in the Glen of Imaal, Co Wicklow, as it made a "nice marriage" with The elbowroom, her wellbeing centre in Dublin's Stoneybatter. She succeeded in transforming the venue into The Wicklow Escape, a gorgeous Blue Book approved woodland lodge, and for the past six years, she's been a "country mouse and city mouse", travelling to and fro between her two businesses.
Lisa Wilkinson decided to buy a remote mountain adventure venue in the Glen of Imaal, Co Wicklow, in 2016
She has done everything from private rental to corporate retreats, weddings, "posh hens", fine dining experiences and back to private rental again at The Wicklow Escape, but now the time has come to let someone else take over the reins.
"At the moment my staff are trying to persuade me not to sell it by running it really well themselves," she laughs. "If I'm truly honest, it's on the market (for €750,000 through JP & M Doyle) but I'm really loath to part with it. It's just a beautiful oasis, but I've other plans. If someone can take it off my hands and run it really well, I'll be open to not selling it. If that's not the case, then it's going."
The gardens at The Wicklow Escape
Seven guest suites at The Wicklow Escape
The Wicklow Escape outdoor kitchen
The business comes with an adjoining cottage, extensive gardens and panoramic forest views. "It would really be ideal for somebody if they have the capital to come down, move into the cottage and run the business."
The Wicklow Escape cottage
Cottage at The Wicklow Escape
The lounge area in the old cottage
One part of the old cottage is a large indoor dining space
The sitting room in cottage
Running two businesses isn't easy, particularly as Wilkinson lost the lease of her Stoneybatter premises during the summer and had to find an alternative location. Fortunately, she discovered a beautiful old art deco cinema and converted it into a wellbeing centre with a co-working space and creche, now up and running as Manor Picture House.
As if that wasn't enough of a challenge, Wilkinson, who has two teenage children, is pursuing another ambition very close to her heart: studying full-time at King's Inns to become a barrister so she can stand up for women's rights in the maternity care system. "The whole system, it's broken."
The businesswoman has been involved in advocacy for perinatal health for many years. She trained as a doula, gave birth education classes to couples, trained midwives as yoga teachers and worked in the area of home and hospital births.
As a barrister, she intends to tackle serious problems in maternity care and hold people accountable for issues such lack of informed consent. "I can hold my own against an obstetrician when it comes to evidence-based practice, having worked in that field for 20 years."
She's also interested in construction, having renovated several large industrial spaces, so as a barrister she hopes to focus on medical negligence and construction. "One is for my heart. The other is for my pocket."
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The administration of the Oxford Public Schools asks that each staff member view the slides on Physical Restraint Requirements as well as the District Policy which includes a reporting form.
Please note: "The training requirements contained in 603 CMR 46.00 shall not preclude a teacher, employee or agent of a public education program from using reasonable force to protect students, other persons, or themselves from assault or imminent, serious, physical harm." - Taken from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.


text:
Q: Is Starting a Service fix for ANR at Broadcast receiver I analysed the Android tutorial, which says to start service on receive for long running operation >10sec, but isn't service running from main thread?
http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/responsiveness.html#avoiding
Service (http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html)
It also says don't do long time operation; which one is more appropriate then?

A:
but isn't service running from main thread?

The lifecycle methods of a Service (e.g., onStartCommand()) are called on the main application thread. However, a Service, unlike a manifest-registered BroadcastReceiver, can safely fork background threads. An IntentService does this automatically, which is why it is ideal for pairing with a manifest-registered BroadcastReceiver in many scenarios.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Parliamentary approval has always been necessary for the construction of public railway lines in the UK, and is more easily obtained with the support of an influential MP. This cup was presented by the Directors of the Northern & Eastern Railway to John Bagshaw MP on 5 August 1836, in appreciation of his support in gaining his approval for their line. This was a 53 mile route, at 5 foot gauge, from Islington to Cambridge. The NER was soon in financial trouble and the line was leased to the Eastern Counties Railway in 1844. The ECR completed the line, at standard gauge, from Shoreditch to Cambridge in 1845.


In addition to instructing courses for WMA, Josh is the Owner and Lead Guide for Kling Mountain Guides. He guides all types of activities, including rock climbing, alpine climbing, and backcountry skiing Throughout the year Josh instructor close to 30 American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE) avalanche courses, as well as American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Single Pitch Instructor programs. When not guiding, he is an adjunct faculty member for San Juan College Outdoor Leadership degree track, and also instructs courses at Fort Lewis College for their Outdoor Pursuits program. He has completed rock, alpine and ski guide training from the AMGA. He also helps coordinate the Flight For Life Avalanche Deployment team in the San Juan Mountains of CO, and is a Technical Team Member, Training Instructor, and Winter Response Team Coordinator with La Plata County Search and Rescue in Colorado.


The Albion Park Board meets the Second Monday of each month beginning at 6:00 pm. Meetings are held at the Albion Municipal Building 211 E. Park Drive, Albion in the Council Room.
This Year's Schedule of Family Events.
Bring your family and have a great time.
Donations, Rental Fee Payments and Field Reservations.
Albion Town Hall, 211 E. Park Drive.
Owen Park is located at 510 East Main Street, in Albion across from the Albion Elementary Building.
and October for NASA Soccer.
Hidden Diamonds Park is 89 acres of rolling hills and located just off of Weber Road at the signs, in Albion.
Valleyview Park is located at 411 West Main Street, in Albion.
The Parks Department Sponsors: NASA, Little League, Coed Softball, Saturday Morning Winter Basketball, Christmas Decorations and Fireworks.


text:
Q: How to return two values in a C++ function I am trying to write a function in c++ to calculate the sum and product
so my code is like that:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int Product_Sum(int x, int y, int z)
{
int sum, product;
sum = x + y + z;
product = x * y * z;

return sum, product;
}

int main() {
int result;
int x = 5, y = 10, z = 15;
result = Product_Sum(x, y, z);

cout << result;
enter code here

}

as a result I am just getting the sum of the numbers, how I can return both values together ?
I tried writing it with retrurning 0 but I think it's not the right way


text:
To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigations, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society.
Investigation report
Hot Cases
"Self-Immolation" Incident
Rape and Persecution of Wei XingYan
Zhe Jiang Beggar Murder Case
Concentration camp and Organ Harvesting
Torture & Murder
Key Criminals
Key Culprits of Organ Harvesting
Hospital of Organ Harvesting
CCP Committees & 610 Offices
State-Run Media
Labor Camps
Psychiatric Facilities
Abroad/Embassy
Internet Blockade
Indictment Articles
Book of WOIPFG Reports
Report via internet
Other reporting methods
Fax:(001347)402-1444
Mail address: PO BOX 84 New York,
New Report from WOIPFG: Overseas Chinese Student Groups Actively Spying for the Chinese Consulate
A4 format download
174-174-en_report.pdf219.14 KB
NEW YORK (June 29, 2007)—The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) released an investigative report today, providing strong evidence that the Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSAs) in many overseas schools are directly controlled by Chinese consulates to suppress independent groups and extend communist control overseas.
The report, titled Investigation into the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the U.S. Controlling CSSAs to Export the Communist Party's Policy of Human Rights Violation, lists specific cases showing where these student groups received their funding and how they were controlled by Chinese consulates.
A recent case happened at New York University, where the Chinese Culture Club (NYUCCC, which is also called NYU Chinese Student and Scholar Association in Chinese) began a campaign in early June by posting a letter on their website, aiming to halt New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV's) International Chinese Classical Dance Competition, to be held July 6-8 at NYU.
"The NYUCCC's public letter is about the same as a document issued by the Department of Propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party," cited Chen Yonglin, the former First Secretary at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney Australia who now advises governments on Chinese espionage. The WOIPFG report further points out that, "Due to the independent and outspoken nature of NTDTV, as well as its long-term focus on the human rights issue in China, including the persecution of Falun Gong, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) again has spared no effort to suppress an NTDTV event."
According to the report, there are at least 109 CSSAs in the U.S. In nearly all the CSSAs that have been investigated across the country, they are found to have ties to the CCP. Examples in the report include the CSSA at Columbia University (CUCSSA), whose Advisory Board includes two officials from the Chinese Consulate General in New York. Chinese consulates also provide direct funding to CSSAs. For instance: The Year 2005 Financial Statement of CSSA at the University of Tennessee stated the following: Three quarters of the budget came from funds disbursed by the Chinese consulate; the other 25% came from excess funds carried over from 2004.
According to Chen Yonglin, "Such groups are in fact controlled by the Chinese mission and are an extension of the Chinese communist regime overseas." Chen explains,"Often, it is not convenient for the Chinese mission to do certain things. So to use student organizations, with a neutral name, is more effective."
For a copy of the full report, please visit: http://www.upholdjustice.org
Press Inquiry: (347) 920-0131 (Howard Wang)
About WOIPFG
WOIPFG was established to investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong This organization openly invites and seeks support from individuals and institutions of global social conscience, and plays a coordinating role in the effort to investigate - broadly, thoroughly, and systematically - all instances of criminal conduct on the part of individuals, institutions, and organizations involved in the persecution of Falun Gong.
Tel:1-347-448-5790;Fax:1-347-402-1444;
Mail Address:P.O. Box 84, New york, NY 10116
Website: http://www.upholdjustice.org/, http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/
Information by Area
Central Gov
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Whole country
Falun Dafa Info Center
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Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
TeleVue.com: Telescopes > Tele Vue-76 > Reviews
From Birder's World roundup of fifteen birding scopes (including Swarovski, Zeiss, Nikon, Kowa, Pentax, Leica and Questar) by Stephen Ingraham
"[Tele Vue-76] offers the sharpest view of any field scope I have ever used, effortlessly reaching powers and distances that are well beyond the capability of any conventional scope. When I am out in the field with it, I always gather a long line of people waiting to see what the bird really looks like."
— Ingraham, S. "Sizing Up Scopes". Birder's World (Feb. 2004).
Excerpts from David Healy's Astronomy review of September 2002
When used as a rich-field scope for deep-sky viewing, the TV 76 excels. With a long focus eyepiece in the 2-inch diagonal, the scope offers impressive views of "showpiece" objects that are too large in angular diameter to fit into the smaller fields of view of larger telescopes. Under a dark Arizona sky, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) shows its full 3° extent, including its central dust lanes and two companion galaxies — M32 and NGC 205. Dozens of stars in the Pleiades cluster look like sparkling diamonds scattered on black velvet.
— Healy, D. "Have Scope Will Travel". Astronomy (Sept. 2002). Full Review.
Birding review excerpt from Better View Desired / Reference Standard Tele Vue 76mm APO article
[T]he view through it puts all the standard scopes in the shade. It is as bright, as sharp, as detailed as we have come to expect from Tele Vue products. I have had it out in field on a regular basis over the past few months and in never fails to provide an impressive view of the bird.
— "Tele Vue 76 mm APO". Better View Desired (March 2002). Full Review.


Trying to find that one restaurant or favorite hotel? Access your saved places on-the-go with mobile and never forget a place.
Discover interesting places along your route.
Want to find historic, scenic points on your drive? How about hotels near breweries? Layer multiple categories onto your trip and find the perfect place.
Save, share, get directions, and more.
When you find a special place, you can save it, tell your friends, or get directions and visit right away.
This app is beautiful. It isn't enough that it helps you find amazing places—you can also plan a trip to all of them. I see many more weekend trips in my future!
I love the method of finding hidden treasures along my route. Makes the journey fun! Glad to have this app along for the drive!
Fantastic! Really useful with road trips and with finding things in my city I didn't know existed. Seriously I recommend it to everyone, I love it!


text:
Cambodia: Muslims among many 'smashed' by Khmer Rouge
Court hearing second phase of mammoth case against Khmer Rouge Brother Number 2 and former head of state
By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AA) - Kaing Guek Eav, chairman of the Khmer Rouge's most notorious prison, told the Khmer Rouge tribunal Wednesday of a group of Muslims who were "smashed" at the site in the Cambodian capital in the 1970s.
The 73-year-old jailer, better known by his alias Duch, is serving life in prison for his role as a deputy, then as chairman, of S-21 -- where tens of thousands of people were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
The court is hearing the second phase of a mammoth case against co-defendants Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan -- the "Brother Number 2" and former head of state, respectively, for the Khmer Rouge.
This phase is focusing on charges of genocide and internal purges, for which S-21 is considered to have been a key crime site.
Wednesday marked Duch's second day on the witness stand and questioning continued by senior assistant prosecutor Dale Lysak -- who sought to gain answers about the systematic executions of men, women and children who ended up in the prison.
Duch told the court of one group of people who had been written down in one of the thousands of execution lists, and whose nationalities included people from Pakistan.
"If I'm not mistaken, those Muslim people were finally smashed at S-21 -- a former high school -- after they had been evacuated to various locations," Duch said.
"By that time I wasn't yet chief. They were held at Takhmao prison and later smashed."
Smashing was a term often used by the Khmer Rouge to describe the practice of executing undesirables or its own cadre who were believed to have betrayed the cause.
Dale Lysak was keen to press the issue of the extermination of children, which documents show were taken to the prison along with their parents.
"I believe they applied the same principles [with the Muslim prisoners]. When the parents were considered traitors, the children would be smashed as well."
He added that exterminating entire families was "a practice in principle regarding policy of the [Communist Party of Kampuchea] toward Muslim people."
Duch recalled this action having been taken after a telegram was sent to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot about Muslim people in Cambodia in November 1975 -- just seven months after the ultra-Maoist leader took hold of the country.
The exhaustive lists that show the extent of the killing are the best indicators as to how little the regime's leaders cared for human life, no matter the age.
At Wednesday's hearing, people were told about lists of pregnant women -- eight of them nearly full-term -- who were executed.
Lists of families were included: In one case, a young girl hung herself after her other sisters were taken away to Choeung Ek, otherwise known as The Killing Fields.
Other siblings and her mother were killed shortly after that, while her father was interrogated for the next nine months at the prison before he too was murdered.
The purges included some of the most high-ranking people in the regime; Central Committee members Vorn Vet and his family were wiped out. Duch said Vet's arrest made him scared that he could be next.
"After the instruction to smash everyone at S-21, I became so desperate and fatigued that I couldn't do anything," he alleged. "The screening… had an impact on everyone, including myself."
Duch's testimony continues Thursday.
Tags: Cambodia, Khmer Rouge, Muslim


text:
The Final Blow to Venezuela's Democracy
What Latin America Can Do About It
By Christopher Sabatini
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks to the media in Caracas, October 2016.
MARCO BELLO / REUTERS
For months, most Venezuelans (not to mention the country's neighbors and the international community) held out hope that there would be a popular vote on President Nicolás Maduro's mandate this year. It seemed possible that the Venezuelan government would abide by the opposition's request for a referendum that would put Maduro to a popular vote of confidence and perhaps lead to a change in government. But on October 20, Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) indefinitely suspended the process that could lead to such a referendum, closing off the last constitutional option to resolve the political crisis that has convulsed the petro-state.
Foreign observers have long debated how to best characterize Venezuela's political system: it has been described as a participatory democracy, an illiberal democracy, and a competitive authoritarian state. Today, none of those labels hold. By repeatedly violating the constitution and denying citizens the right to express themselves electorally, the Maduro government has shown that it has become a full-on dictatorship. The deeply unpopular president governs by decree, the opposition-dominated National Assembly has been shut out of the decision-making process, the judicial system is under the control of the president, opposition media outlets have been harassed and shut down, and—as the recent declaration on the referendum showed—even the electoral council is in the pocket of the government.
This state of affairs is the result of a long process that began in 1999, when former President Hugo Chávez took office. Over the years that followed, Chávez, Maduro (who Chávez tapped as his successor before his death in 2013), and their party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), systematically extended their control over the Venezuelan state, crushing the checks and balances enshrined in the constitution that their own movement introduced a year after taking power.
Some members of Venezuela's opposition have decried the government's suspension of the referendum process as a coup. The opposition is correct to do so: it is only on the surface that recent events do not conform with that label. One third of Maduro's cabinet ministers are active duty or retired military officers, and 12 of Venezuela's 23 governors, all of them pro-government, are former military officers. In late July, Maduro promoted General Vladimir Padrino López, Venezuela's defense minister, to a newly created position overseeing the production and distribution of Venezuela's foodstuffs, granting him a crucial role in trying to address food shortages. The loyalties of Padrino and the rest of the military are clear: just last week, Padrino issued a statement denouncing the opposition's calls for peaceful protests as an effort to create "chaos and anarchy" and overthrow Maduro and reiterated the military's "unconditional loyalty and unbreakable commitment" to the embattled president. This was a coup with a civilian mask—but a very thin one. It is time for Venezuela's neighbors to step in to resolve the crisis.
At a pro-referendum protest in San Cristóbal, October 2016.
Carlos Eduardo Ramirez / REUTERS
TWISTING IN THE WIND
Venezuela's opposition faced two hurdles in attempting to unseat Maduro through constitutional means. The first was the timing of the referendum. According to Venezuela's constitution, if a referendum is held after the first half of a president's six-year mandate, twenty percent of registered voters back a recall, and a majority of Venezuelans then vote against the sitting president, the government is required to hold an election for a new leader. Given the level of social and economic stress in Venezuela and Maduro's dismal approval ratings, which have dropped to around 20 percent, there is little doubt that he would lose such a referendum and that the opposition would win the election to replace him. On the other hand, if a president loses such a referendum during the last two years of his mandate, the vice president takes his place for the rest of the term. For Maduro, the crucial date is January 10, 2017: if there is a vote of no confidence after that, Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz will assume the presidency.
The second hurdle was the CNE. Although the council's performance in past elections—including the 2013 contest that elected Maduro—left few doubts about the electoral body's ties to the PSUV, until this month, there was still hope that it would abide by the constitution's terms. Instead, it hewed to the government's political calculations and alleged that the opposition had committed fraud in its effort to collect the signatures necessary to initiate a referendum.
The government's tactic is to delay a referendum as long as possible in the hope that it can hold out until the price of oil, which accounts for 95 percent of Venezuela's exports, climbs higher. Officials are betting that they will be able to use the funds that result from higher prices to buy popular support, much as they did shortly after Chávez's election, when oil prices soared. This plan is less reflective of PSUV officials' unrealistic sense of optimism than it is of their desperate calculations to maintain power for as long as possible. Facing credible allegations of ties to drug trafficking, illegal mining, and massive corruption (one conservative estimate holds that graft has cost the country some $70 billion), many PSUV leaders fear what will confront them should they leave office and lose state immunity. They need only look to Argentina and Brazil's trials of former officials—many of whom were charged with far lighter crimes—to see what could await them should the opposition come to power.
PSUV leaders fear what will confront them should they leave office and lose state immunity.
Given the state of Venezuela's economy, the hope that the country will somehow improve is a long shot. This year, inflation is expected to reach at least 700 percent, and the economy will shrink by around ten percent; in 2017, it will likely go through its fourth straight year of contraction. Around 20 percent of Venezuela's workers are unemployed; food shortages have sown widespread malnutrition; and medical shortages in overcrowded, under-equipped hospitals have left sick people and newborn babies untreated.
Making matters worse, the country faces a looming default on its debt. According to Forbes, at the end of September, the Central Bank had only $12 billion in reserves, $7.7 billion of which was in gold. This month, the state oil company, PDVSA, tried to refinance its outstanding debt through a $7 billion bond swap on 40 percent of its debt. But investors agreed to only $2.8 billion worth, leaving the government and PDVSA struggling to pay off nearly $10 billion of debt in 2016 and 2017—with close to $4 billion due before the end of this year. As for oil prices, although they have risen this year, Maduro's attempts to convince other exporters to boost them further by cutting output have not yet had much success. Even China, which has loaned Venezuela around $50 billion and which the chavistas once saw as a comrade in arms, has refused to bail out the government, leaving it to twist in the winds of its misguided and profligate policies.
The CNE's suspension of the referendum process sparked immediate protest from the political opposition. Yet again, the government had pulled the rug from under its opponents, even after the international community, the former presidents of Colombia and Spain, and the Organization of American States (OAS) had voiced their support for a referendum. In response, on October 25, the opposition coalition in the National Assembly voted to begin impeachment proceedings against Maduro. Their efforts, however, were only symbolic: the constitution charges the Supreme Court with trying the executive for alleged misdeeds, and the court stands firmly behind Maduro.
The next day, protesters responded to the opposition's call to take to one of the few spaces that remains open to popular politics: the street. Demonstrators filled cities across the country to demand Maduro's ouster. "Democracy yes; dictatorship no," they chanted. According to local reports, at least 20 people were injured and more than 200 detained; one policeman was killed. Street protests have been a favored tactic for the opposition since the early years of Chávez's presidency. Yet the recent demonstrations were different. Because some 80 percent of Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro, the opposition now extends far beyond the leaders that the government has dismissed as oligarchs and protectors of Venezuela's ancien régime.
Soldiers and shoppers argue at a state-run market in Caracas, January 2015.
Carlos Garcia Rawlins / REUTERS
Even as the opposition was calling Venezuelans to the streets, it was dealing with its own internal problems. A few days after the electoral council's decision, the Vatican, together with Maduro and Jesús Torrealba, an opposition leader, announced that they would hold a round of mediation talks on October 30. But it appeared that Torrealba had agreed to the talks without consulting the other members of the opposition: many of them denounced the effort at mediation and Torrealba's claim to represent them. Even Leopoldo López, an opposition figure jailed in 2014 for organizing peaceful demonstrations, tweeted his opposition to the talks from prison. The competing positions threatened to divide the opposition at a critical time and become a public-relations disaster. On the one hand, the National Assembly and demonstrators were protesting the government's antidemocratic putsch and demanding that the president step down; on the other, a member of the same opposition had agreed to talks with the president.
When the parties first met for talks on October 30, two of the opposition's main leaders—Torrealba, the head of the opposition coalition, and Henri Falcón, an opposition governor—sat down with the government and mediators. The opposition leaders in attendance were wary of the negotiations, making clear that they considered them "exploratory." Nor did their attendance represent a consensus within the opposition: other opposition leaders were planning another demonstration for later in the week.
There is good reason for skepticism about the talks. At every stage of Venezuela's political and economic meltdown, the international community, including the OAS, Spain, the United States, and neighboring countries such as Brazil, have touted mediation as a way to resolve the country's polarization. Yet nothing has ever come of such negotiations, and even when the opposition has participated in them, the government has not been held responsible for its abuses. Past attempts at dialogue have failed to secure even minimal concessions, such as the release of political prisoners, from Maduro's government. In the spring of 2014, after Maduro and the opposition sat down for Vatican-mediated talks, the police and the army continued to crack down on protesters in Venezuelan cities, refusing to address credible allegations of torture and other human rights abuses that had arisen earlier that year.
The latest talks hold the same dismal promise. In yet another repetition of a failed formula, the Vatican and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) have convened the talks with no preconditions on the government. As a result, the opposition, which has been thwarted at several turns—most recently its pursuit of a referendum, with the endorsement of the international community—is once again being asked to sit down with a government that has consistently shut down any efforts at democratic opposition. In the two and a half years since the initial efforts at dialogue, the international community has failed to place real pressure on the Venezuelan government or hold it accountable for its repeated violations of its stated wishes for improvement in human rights and—now—a constitutional recall referendum.
For the past decade, Venezuela's neighbors have sat on the sidelines as the chavista government made its anti-democratic ambitions clear.
Much of the blame lies with UNASUR, the institution in charge of the mediations. UNASUR has become the go-to forum for autocrats seeking either a platform upon which to denounce the United States or a way to avoid accountability for rights abuses. Formed in 2004 as a counterbalance to the OAS and that organization's commitment to representative democracy, UNASUR lacks the power to bring negotiating parties to the table or to sanction noncompliant parties, such as the Maduro government. The result is an implicit bias that favors the state over the people.
For the past decade, Venezuela's neighbors have sat on the sidelines as the chavista government made its anti-democratic ambitions clear. Now that more conservative governments have taken power in Argentina, Brazil, and Peru, the question is whether Venezuela's neighbors—many of which came out of their own dark dictatorships a few decades ago—will finally step up. Some have started to raise their voices, as when presidents Mauricio Macri of Argentina and Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay suggested in mid-October that Venezuela should be removed from Mercosur, a regional trade bloc. The failed vote on Colombia's peace accord with the FARC may make that country's leaders more willing to pressure Maduro, too, since the success of the peace process now depends more on appeasing Colombian conservatives than on maintaining the support of the Venezuelan government and its partners in the guerrilla group.
But Venezuela's neighbors need to do more. The first step should be to call for another discussion and even vote on the democratic situation in Venezuela at the OAS. By invoking the OAS' 2001 Democratic Charter, the organization's members would collectively call out the brazen violations of democratic and human rights in Venezuela and give license to individual members to voluntarily impose sanctions on the government. Although such a vote would surely encourage the Maduro government to denounce it as a foreign intervention, it would likely initiate the first serious talks between the PSUV and the opposition. The second should be to follow the lead of the United States and selectively deny visas to Venezuelan officials tied to human rights abuses and corruption. That would send a strong, regional signal that public officials who have taken part in human rights violations would not be able to travel to select countries and could have their assets frozen—a sign that Venezuela's neighbors will not tolerate official impunity and an incentive for PSUV officials to consider options beyond clinging to a sinking government. The third should be to drop the farcical belief that UNASUR or the Vatican can convene a serious mediation effort without the will or power to either recognize the Maduro government's responsibility to protect its citizens and respect human rights or sanction his government's noncompliance. For too long, Venezuelan opposition leaders have had their constitutional rights trampled on, despite the exhortations of the international community. Future talks need to begin with accountability for the government's violations of human and democratic rights. For its part, the international community needs to reinforce its commitment to a democratic recall referendum, which so far it has been willing to promote but not to enforce. It is time for neighboring countries, the OAS, Canada, the United States, and even UNASUR to demand accountability for the Venezuelan government's refusal to abide by their repeated and unanswered calls for greater respect for human rights and a recall referendum.
The threat of broad social conflict or collapse in Venezuela is real. Seventeen years of chavista government have hollowed out and corrupted the state, sent the economy into a downward spiral, brought food shortages and malnutrition, and turned Venezuelans against each other. With no other means left for Venezuelans to express their frustrations and demand accountability for the humanitarian disaster they now face, citizens will increasingly take to the streets, but they have no clear end goal. At some point, the standoff between the government and its citizens could explode. Until now, Venezuela's neighbors have been largely silent bystanders, hoping that the crisis will somehow resolve itself. As the electoral council's announcement and the failed mediation that followed showed, it will not.
CHRISTOPHER SABATINI is a lecturer on international and public policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and Executive Director of Global Americans. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisSabatini.
More By Christopher Sabatini
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Q: Transformar una string a una cadena de bytes en python Hola bueno mi duda es simple pero quiero poder adjuntar un int a una 2 string y para eso las quiero trasformar a una cadena de valores hexadecimales para que quedara algo asi
// int = 1 | string1 = 'AAAA' | string2 = 'BBBB'
data = '/x01/x41/x41/x41/x41/x42/x42/x42/x42/'

Para eso estoy usando python 2.7 y quiero usar la librería de struct con la funcion struct.pack pero e intentado de muchas maneras y obviamente ni una funciona por ejemplo esta
data = struct.pack_into('I cccc cccc', 5, 'AAAA', 'BBBB' )

pero no funciona porque dice que espera 9 valores y recibe 3 porque obviamente una string cuanta solo como una varible, en fin alguien me podría ayudar con este problema, gracias de antemano

A: En vez de usar c usa s en el formato del struct para denotar las cadenas, (array de char, char[] en C).
Por otro lado struct.pack_into sirve para escribir en un buffer, necesita dos parámetros posicionales extra que siguen al formato, buffer y offset (indica la posición a partir de la cual escribir).
Si no vas a escribir los datos en un buffer, usa struct.pack:
import struct

i = 1
string1 = 'AAAA'
string2 = 'BBBB'

a = struct.pack("!I4s4s", i, string1.encode(), string2.encode())

Ten en cuenta que un entero (I (unsigned) e i (signed)) tiene un tamaño de 4 char. Si char ocupa un byte (generalmente), el entero ocupa siempre cuatro bytes y no uno como muestras en tu salida esperada y su valor máximo depende de este tamaño.


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Vacant possession: Court of Appeal restores status quo
break right
Our previous discussion of the High Court decision in Capitol Park Leeds Plc v Global Radio Services examined the Court's surprising interpretation of vacant possession in the context of a tenant's break right. The Court of Appeal has now given its ruling and has reverted to what many will consider to be the conventional meaning of vacant possession.
The tenant of commercial premises sought to exercise a break right. One of the conditions of the exercise of the break right was that the tenant should give back "vacant possession of the premises" to the landlord. The tenant had, in fact, removed a number of landlord's fixtures and elements of the landlord's original build. The landlord argued that the tenant had not delivered vacant possession of the premises, as it had removed elements of the premises themselves.
The High Court decision
The High Court accepted the landlord's argument:
The inclusion within the definition of "Premises" of "all fixtures and fittings at the Premises whenever fixed (except Tenant's fixtures)" and "all additions and improvements" meant that a tenant could not exercise its break option by handing back an empty shell of a building which was "dysfunctional and unoccupiable".
The Court of Appeal decision
On appeal, the Court decided that the requirement to give back vacant possession of the premises did not relate to the physical condition of the premises. Rather, the question was the traditional one of possession of the premises: vacant possession requires giving back a property free from "people chattels and interests". Even though elements of the premises had been removed in this case, this did not impact on the tenant's ability to deliver vacant possession of them. If the parties had intended the tenant to have been prevented from exercising the break right due to defects in condition of the premises, they could have expressed this as a separate condition. Many leases do require tenants to comply with tenant covenants, including repair, as a prerequisite to a break right being exercised. In this case, the parties had chosen not to include such a requirement.
Tenants will be reassured that an obligation to give vacant possession has the orthodox meaning of returning the premises to the landlord free of people, chattels and legal interests. A tenant will not be in breach of this particular requirement if parts of the premises have been removed.
Whilst tenants must comply strictly with the terms of a break right, the Court will not necessarily construe these terms strictly against a tenant. In other words, a tenant seeking to exercise a break right must strictly comply with any preconditions to the exercise of that break right. But it will not follow that those conditions will be interpreted in the landlord's favour.
From a tenant's perspective, it is of course preferable to avoid agreeing at the outset any conditions to the exercise of a break right, other than paying the basic rent and giving up occupation. Even though the Court has now restored the traditional meaning of vacant possession, there is still plenty of room for disagreement as to whether or not chattels have been left behind so as to prevent or interfere with the landlord's right of possession of the premises.
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Chris Daughtry Shares Daughter Hannah Price's Cause of Death
Migrants Say Belarusians Took Them to E.U. Border and Supplied Wire Cutters
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq — The sudden surge of migrants to Belarus from the Middle East that is now the focus of a political crisis in Europe was hardly an accident.
The government of Belarus loosened its visa rules in August, Iraqi travel agents said, making a flight to the country a more palatable journey to Europe than the dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece.
It increased flights by the state-owned airline, and then actively helped funnel migrants from the capital, Minsk, to the frontiers with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
And Belarusian security forces gave them directions on how to cross into the European Union countries, even handing out wire cutters and axes to cut through border fences.
These moves, which European leaders have characterized as a cynical ploy to "weaponize" migrants in an effort to punish Europe, opened the gates to people desperate to flee a region plagued by instability and high unemployment.
Now, thousands of people are stranded or hiding along the border in freezing conditions, not wanted by the European Union countries or, circumstances are making clear, by the country that lured them there in the first place.
The human tide has turned cities like Sulaimaniya, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, into bustling ports of departure for migrants eager to take an expensive and risky journey for the chance of a better life in Europe.
As word went viral on social media that Belarus offered a route into Europe, the number of migrants snowballed.
Mala Rawaz, a travel agent in Sulaimaniya, said he had been selling about 100 packages a week for trips to Belarus. The packages included airfare through a third country, transit accommodation and a Belarusian visa.
At the city's bazaar, Bryar Muhammad, 25, was doing a brisk business on Thursday selling warm clothes.
"Good clothes for Belarus!" he shouted, holding up thick acrylic sweaters and winter jackets pulled from a cardboard box. "For the snow of Belarus!"
Even as young families in Iraq were putting up their homes as collateral to raise money for the journey, evidence mounted that Belarus's autocratic leader, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, was orchestrating the migration to manufacture a crisis for the European Union.
The Belarusian state-owned airline, Belavia, had increased flights from the Middle East to Minsk, European officials said. The Belarusian authorities eased the issuance of visas through the state-owned travel agency Tsentrkurort, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
Migrants who reached Minsk were put up in at least three government-owned hotels, according to Latvia's defense minister, Artis Pabriks, and Franak Viacorka, a senior adviser to a Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Mr. Pabriks said that Belarusian intelligence agents had been involved in transferring migrants to the borders, and that military buses were used.
Several Iraqi migrants said that the Belarusian security forces provided them with tools to break through the Polish border fence.
Bayar Awat, an Iraqi Kurd stranded on the Belarusian side of the Polish border, said that Belarusian guards had helped his group reach the border by pointing out a route that bypassed the official border crossing and emerged near a gap cut in the border fence.
"The Belarus police guided us to the forest, then pointed directions to lead us inside the forest to keep us away from the official border crossing," he said.
On Thursday, a Belarusian soldier was overheard on the phone ordering an Iraqi Kurd to direct a group of 400 to 500 migrants from the Lithuanian border toward the Polish border.
"All the people who move here go to Brest," the soldier told him in broken English, referring to the Belarusian city on the Polish border, because there were too many migrants on the Lithuanian border.
When some migrants have tried to leave the frigid forest to return to Minsk, many have been pushed back by Belarusian guards, leaving the migrants stuck at the border, they said.
European officials say that these measures are part of Mr. Lukashenko's effort to retaliate against the European Union for imposing sanctions after he claimed victory in a disputed 2020 election.
"Lukashenko's rhetoric, the visa policy and the sudden influx of migrants this summer all point to the involvement of the Belarusian state and travel agencies," said Gustav Gressel, a Berlin-based senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
On Friday, in an effort to stem the crisis, several airlines took steps to limit the number of people flying to Belarus from the Middle East. Travel agents in Iraq said that Turkey and Iran had begun canceling tickets to Minsk for Iraqi, Syrian and Yemeni passengers on Thursday, and that the government had stopped travel agents from selling even transit tickets to Belarus earlier in the week.
But that mattered little to desperate Iraqis, who were already finding alternate routes through Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
"I have heard that the situation is not good in Belarus, but I have to go because there is no life here, no job opportunities, no human rights, no equality and justice, no joy at all," said Amer Karwan, a carpenter who went with three friends to a travel agency in Sulaimaniya on Thursday to pick up tickets they hoped would get them to Belarus.
Mr. Karwan, who turned 20 on Thursday, had borrowed $3,500 from a relative for the trip. He said the group was undeterred by the travel agent's warning that the tickets through Iran and Turkey were nonrefundable and that there was no guarantee they would make it to Belarus.
Understand the Belarus-Poland Border Crisis
Card 1 of 6
A migrant crisis. Gatherings of migrants along the European Union's eastern border have led to an escalating standoff between Belarus and the E.U. Here's what to know:
European accusations against Belarus. E.U. leaders claim that Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the autocratic leader of Belarus, has engineered the crisis to punish European countries for harboring his opponents and imposing sanctions.
Fears of a humanitarian crisis. The migrants are stranded in the thick forests that straddle the border, facing bitter cold and an approaching winter. They are unable to enter the European Union or go back into Belarus. Several have already died from hypothermia.
Ironically, the biggest source of migrants, the semiautonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, is considered the most stable and secure region of the country.
Unlike many of their parents who became refugees during Saddam Hussein's era, this time the Iraqi Kurds are not fleeing war or genocide. They are seeking a future that even the country's relative peace has not provided them.
Despite Iraqi Kurdistan's outward prosperity, young people especially despair over the lack of jobs, and over the corruption, repression and tribal conflicts that often override the legal system.
They are taking out loans and borrowing from family members to make the trip.
The crisis has raised the price of visas to Belarus, which used to cost about $90 and now cost about $1,200. Most migrants said they were paying about $3,000 for packages including the visa, airfare and a few days' accommodation.
Many migrants also leave thousands of dollars on deposit with currency transfer shops to send to smugglers who promise to get them to the border. Several said the smuggling fee was about $3,000. But often, the migrants said, the smugglers do nothing more than point out which direction to walk through the dense forest.
That is to say nothing of the emotional costs a migrant faces leaving home and family behind.
On Friday, Mr. Karwan, dressed in a new olive-green winter jacket and gloves, left home to take a taxi to the airport in Erbil, four hours away.
Seeing him off in Sulaimaniya, Mr. Karwan's mother and two sisters stood at the gate sobbing. His father thrust Iraqi dinars into his hand and waited until the taxi door closed before wiping away tears.
"I feel terrible," said his mother, Bayan Omar. "He is my only son. If I stop him from leaving, what would he do? He tells me, 'Can you guarantee me a house, a car, a life, the chance to get married?' I cannot stop him."
Later that day, Mr. Karwan's flights through Tehran and Istanbul were canceled. He was waiting in Erbil to be rebooked through Dubai.
For those who have already made it to Belarus, the situation is grim. At the border with Lithuania, several thousand migrants were pushed up against razor-wire fences, prevented from moving forward or going back.
Young men and families with small children who had walked for days through the deep forest were huddled around makeshift camps, burning wood to try to keep warm, according to videos sent by the migrants. Some had small pop-up tents, others buried themselves in sleeping bags on the freezing ground.
At least nine migrants have died in Belarus over the past two weeks, most from exposure.
"We have food and water but not enough," said one Iraqi Kurd, who asked to be called by his nickname, Bahadino. He sent videos showing pregnant women and small children, some of them disabled.
He also sent a video of himself and a small group of migrants politely holding a cardboard sign reading, "Poland — Sorry."
"Today we apologized to the European Union and to Poland," he said. "You know because we came to the border and we broke the fence at the border. We apologize for that."
But he had no apologies about trying to get into Europe. He said he had no plans to return to Iraq.
Jane Arraf reported from Sulaimaniya, Iraq, and Elian Peltier from Brussels. Sangar Khaleel and Barzan Jabar contributed reporting from Sulaimaniya.
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Our Lady of Ransom set to merge with Resurrection Parish
The sanctuary of Resurrection of Our Lord Church in Northeast Philadelphia is seen at the conclusion of Mass on May 6 before the May 20-21 announcement of the merger of Resurrection and Our Lady of Ransom Parishes at Resurrection in Rhawnhurst. (Photo by Truc Tram)
By Lou Baldwin • Posted May 30, 2017
Resurrection of Our Lord Parish and Our Lady of Ransom Parish, both in Northeast Philadelphia, will merge effective June 19 at Resurrection in Rhawnhurst, it was announced on the weekend of May 20-21.
The merged parish will retain the name of Resurrection of Our Lord while Our Lady of Ransom will become a worship site for the new parish. The two churches are located about a mile and a half from one another. Any assets or debts of Our Lay of Ransom will pass to Resurrection.
As background, representatives of the two parishes, both in Pastoral Planning Area 520, met for several months to discuss how their parishes could collaborate in the coming years with an eye on sustainability, whether by merger or partnership.
A committee consisting of parishioners of the two parishes and their pastors, along with representatives of the Portuguese Apostolate, which celebrates Mass at Resurrection, and also a representative of the Deaf Apostolate, which gathers at Our Lady of Ransom, met to discuss parish collaboration.
The report prepared by the Area Pastoral Planning Committee was reviewed by the archdiocesan Strategic Planning Committee and the archdiocesan Council of Priests, and the recommendation that the parishes be merged was reviewed and approved by Archbishop Charles Chaput.
With the merger, Father James DeGrassa who has been parochial administrator of St. Cornelius Parish, Chadds Ford, will become pastor of Resurrection of Our Lord Parish.
Father Joseph Howarth, who has been pastor of Resurrection, has been appointed pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Jenkintown and Father Thomas Nasta, who has been pastor of Our Lady of Ransom, has been appointed pastor of Sacred Heart, Swedesburg.
It will be Father DeGrassa's task to form a transitional team made up of lay leaders of the two merging parishes in moving forward.
As with most parishes within the city of Philadelphia both Resurrection of Our Lord, founded in 1928, and Our Lady of Ransom, founded in 1954, have experienced a loss in membership due in part to the migration of families to the suburbs.
According to archdiocesan figures for the parishes comparing 2012 to 2016, at Resurrection baptisms declined from 97 to 77; marriages rose from 24 to 29; weekend Mass attendance rose slightly from 1,421 to 1,485; but registered population dropped from 8,476 to 5,691 and registered households fell from 2,967 to 1,982.
At Our Lady of Ransom the change was more dramatic. Baptisms declined from 34 to 16, marriages declined from seven to four, Mass attendance declined from 556 to 399, registered population declined from 3,550 to 1,296 and registered household declined from 1,097 to 534.
The declines, however, go back much further than five years. Figures from 1995, when the archdiocese began the October Counts of Mass attendance at each of that month's Sunday Masses in every parish, show that Resurrection had a weekly Mass attendance of 3,252 and Our Lady of Ransom had 1,542.
One of the contributing factors for a larger recent decline at Our Lady of Ransom may be the closing of the parish school in 2012 with children now attending Resurrection Regional School at Resurrection.
Our Lady of Ransom may be closing as a formal parish but its facilities are still in use. The convent is still home to Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, according to Father Nasta.
The former school is in the process of being transformed into the new home for the Archives of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, currently housed in the basement of St. Martin's Chapel at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
The church with a capacity of 1,200 has been a favored venue for special Catholic events in Northeast Philadelphia, for example, an upcoming baccalaureate Mass for St. Hubert High School students, according to Father Nasta.
While both parishes are impacted by the merger, clearly Our Lady of Ransom is most affected.
"The people are sad," said Father Nasta, who believes the main reason for the merger is people have moved and there are changing demographics. The more recent baptismal names do reflect a more multicultural dimension.
Father Nasta's pastorship was for only three years, but enough time to recognize his flock for having "a great sense of community, spiritually uplifting and very prayerful."
"I'm heartbroken," said Tony DiCicco, a lifelong parishioner, who over the years did just about everything at Our Lady Ransom but celebrate Mass. "I went to school there, my son was in kindergarten when the school closed. My whole life has been there. I was an altar server, a lector, on the pastoral council, on the liturgy committee, I taught PREP for five years. I remember my dad saying I ought to move into the rectory."
The parish, DiCicco remembers, "Always had a friendliness and openness and welcoming feeling. My wife, Mary, was on the committee and I understand the dynamics for what has happened," he said.
But times change, and DiCicco conceded, "I have a wait-and-see attitude."
Father Joseph Howarth, former pastor of Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia, preaches the homily at the Mass where children of the parish made their first holy Communion on Saturday, May 6. (Truc Tram)
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Fran Odyniec says:
I grew up in Resurrection parish, graduating from the grade school in 1962. At one point in the late '50s early '60s, as plans were being formulated for Our Lady of Ransom, students from that area attended Resurrection school. I remember the chartered buses in the school parking lot to transport those Ransom-area kids to and from Resurrection. Amazing how in 2017 a reverse history takes place.
Natalie Garner says:
So sorry for all of you going through these changes. We here. In Jenkintown at Immaculate conception have lost our pastor Msgr. Diamond to Chadd's Ford . Father Howarth will be our new pastor. Hopefully we will all adjust to these changes with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It won't be easy and it will take time .God bless all of us.
While there were demographic changes in the neighborhood, it was only one of a multitude of reason OLOR closed: several short-term pastors in quick succession (some of whom should not have been pastors), uninspiring liturgy and worship, lack of outreach to the community, low attendance and contributions, etc. There are many parishes that do not have a school and every parish does not need a school. But it does need priests and parishioners who care – OLOR didn't have enough of these to survive, much less thrive. Frankly, there are way too many churches in close proximity in this area, and maybe OLOR didn't need to get built in the first place, even with area growth in the 50s and 60s.
Stanley A Ianieri says:
Evangelization is so necessary. Why have the 80% stopped going to church? We need to have answers from the people not going to church. I know the Archbishop sent a letter to the parishes, an insert was in our parish bulletin. I volunteered and he told me he would get back to me when things got started. As of this writing there has been no action on evangelization.
The Church needs to change how She thinks and acts towards those who no longer participate in the Community. Jesus is the model of what we are to do. Jesus didn't wait for people to come to Him, He went out to them.
Amy Cassidy says:
Mergers are always difficult as the dynamics of the parish change, favorite pastors move on and new ones arrive. Your community is so blessed to be receiving Fr. DeGrassa as pastor. I believe your parish will flourish with his leadership. Many blessings to your community during this transition.
Joe Danella says:
The Editor speaks the truth. Ransom closed because the neighborhood declined and people moved. That's just a fact. It also closed because too many failed to practice their faith. Probably about 80% of the parish. Ransom is not alone in that and other parishes will face similar fates if things don't change. It was a great parish but the 20 percent can't keep the parish going forever. Many of the faithful died and others moved for various reasons. Those who moved in did not pick up where others left off. There were and still are enough Catholics in the parish boundaries to have kept the school and church going but they chose not to. I know, I was there and for several years as a member of the Parish Pastoral Council we dealt with this challenge.
Thomas Kohler says:
It is not a Demographic Change, but a loss of Catholics after the Second Vatican Council. The Church keeps on telling fake news.
CatholicPhilly MG says:
There is nothing fake about demographic changes. That term, by definition, means changes in a given population. As we reported, the biggest factors of the changes resulting in the parish merger are people — Catholics included — moving from the city to the suburbs and the decline in Mass attendance. These are quantifiable and objective. If you want to make a subjective judgment regarding changes in the Catholic Church after Vatican II, go ahead, but it is not accurate to call our reporting fake. Churchgoing people move away, non-churchgoing people move in and fewer people go to church than they did 20 years ago, at least in many city neighborhoods. This is reality; we are not making this up. We must look at the world as it is, not as we would wish it to be, and adjust accordingly. Find blame for the facts if you wish, but don't blame CatholicPhilly for reporting facts. — Editor
Mr./Mrs. Editor – That "fake news" comment didn't deserve the dignity of your response…
A member of this community – when the school was closed on us, many families didn't bother continuing in Catholic education or even the faith.
The "demographic changes" were clear, except without a Spanish-speaking priest, the new residents of the neighborhood never found a spiritual home. Sending them to St Martin when they have no transportation is easier said than done.
Many who moved stayed in the parish until poor pastoral leadership took over. By the time Father Nasta arrived it was if he end in knowing had to minimize the financial damage until they closed the place.
My wife and I were parishioners from 1987 – 2016 at Our Lady of Ransom. Our children were educated there, made their sacraments there, my wife taught there and my oldest daughter was married there last year. It was a wonderful parish full of good people and a true blessing for our family. The parish clergy, the religious sisters and the faculty were second to none. The closing brings great sadness to us but our memories will stay with us forever and in our hearts, we will always be members of Ransom.


← Live In Venlo EP out now.
On January 12th I performed at Optimus Prime Noisefest IV in Tilburg.
It was a great show where I had loads of fun and I was very honored to finally perform live for my two nephews Iker (8) and Ryuu (6).
Today Vatican Analog released the whole bunch of recordings from this afternoon, almost all shows were recorded including mine, which you can now download.


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Q: Can not import scrypt from hashlib I try to use import scrypt from the standard libary.
Both on my local machine (ubuntu 16.04) and the server (heroku/heroku stack) the import fails.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ImportError: cannot import name 'scrypt'

On both systems openssl 1.0.2g is installed. Is this a know problem or how can I fix it?

A: As far as I understand it, a requirement to use scrypt is that you have OpenSSL 1.1+ installed. If you have a look at the hashlib.py:
try:
    # OpenSSL's scrypt requires OpenSSL 1.1+
    from _hashlib import scrypt
except ImportError:
    pass

you see that the import to make scrypt available for you just passes without any message if you don't have OpenSSL in the right version installed and of course you can't use it if that happens. Maybe the scrypt package from pypi (https://pypi.python.org/pypi/scrypt/) is an alternative for you?


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Brightree Report is now available for the second quarter 2017 Audit Key data submissions.
For the second time, the American Association for Homecare has extended the deadline to enter data into the second quarter Second Quarter Audit Key survey, after more providers have asked for more time. The deadline has been pushed to Sept. 11, after first being moved to Aug. 26.
"Additional participation will allow us to better demonstrate the effects of overly burdensome HME audits to regulatory agencies and Capitol Hill as we advocate for better audit policies," a statement from AAHomcare read.
Also, as part of an effort to make Audit Key participation easy, providers using Brightree can print a report from their My Files folder to answer many of the operational questions on the quarterly survey. Users can retrieve the report named AAH_Output.csv from the Inbox for the My Files page within Brightree, and then open the report in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel. More details on that process are available at http://bit.ly/2tgsdKF.
Registration and participation in Audit Key are free and open to all suppliers, not just AAHomecare members. Also, providers that haven't yet participated in Audit key, or that have skipped rounds can still submit data.
Also, the survey doesn't require individual claims data, but rather needs cumulative counts of pre- and post-payment audits and appeal claim outcomes under DME MAC, RAC and SMRC reviews. The data is only used in aggregate form, and a provider's unique data will not be shared, the association stressed.
To register and submit information, visit HMEAuditKey.org. Additional information is available at http://bit.ly/1k18xAv.


text:
TechPointCloud
Google's Secret Plan to Catch Up to Amazon and Microsoft in Cloud
Barb Darrow
Over the past few months, while Amazon, Microsoft and IBM took turns unveiling new cloud computing data centers in China, India, Germany, the U.K., South Korea, and elsewhere, one public cloud provider remained eerily silent: Google.
This is odd because, when it comes to delivering cloud services to customers—especially business customers—location matters. The further away the computer servers and storage are, the longer the lag time, or latency, in operations. And slow is definitely no good in this context.
But two sources close to Google (GOOG) said the company is considering an interesting plan.
Google's cloud services operate out of four data center regions worldwide compared with 20 for Microsoft Azure and 11 for Amazon Web Services (AWS) with five more due in the next year. But Google also has 70 data caching stations around the world that store copies (or caches) of video, audio and popular web pages close to their likely audiences to speed their delivery.
Those endpoints are key pieces of what Google calls its "peering and content delivery network." The idea, which both sources said is under discussion, calls for these Google outposts to be outfitted with additional computing capacity so they would become sort of mini data centers.
Both sources requested anonymity because their companies work with Google. A Google spokeswoman would not comment on what she called rumor and speculation.
One source noted that the Google Compute Engine (GCE) team—basically the cloud group—is working with the company's broader internal infrastructure groups to see if it can put small pods or clusters of computing power into these regional endpoints.
There could be wrinkles. For one thing this could end up being a tiered system, with big jobs running on Google's own massive data centers which run hundreds of thousands (millions?) of servers that could outstrip the capabilities of the smaller end-point nodes of the CDN. If they were to do that, there's more limited capacity than for the stuff running in GCE's own data centers, he said.
"Users might be given a cap and it would be more expensive to run" in these smaller clusters, the source said.
That scenario flies in the face of the expectation of public cloud users—customers who rent out computing, storage and bandwidth run by Google, Amazon, Microsoft etc.—who think they can add nearly unlimited computing and storage capacity as needed. So this scenario could set up a two sets of infrastructure with two pricing models.
But it is clear Google needs to do something about global coverage soon. Amazon (AMZN) is the leader in public cloud infrastructure, running what Gartner last year estimated to be 10 times more computing capacity than the next 14 cloud competitors combined. Microsoft (MSFT) is making a play especially with business customers.
To help speed traffic flow into and out of its cloud, Google and Akamai [Fortune-stock symbol="AKAM"], the CDN market leader recently announced a partnership to directly link to Google's own CDN interconnect with Akamai's CDN. In September it announced a similar deal with four other CDN providers: Cloudflare, Fastly, Level 3 Communications and Highwinds. But those deals are just a piece of the overall puzzle.
Google has great technical smarts, and entered the fray with a bang last year with a series of price cuts on key storage and computing services in a move that seemed to flummox Amazon, which is not used to other companies driving the price agenda. But it has struggled to sell its cloud to business users, many of whom are not totally sure that Google, the online search and ad giant, really cares about cloud services. (For the record, it always said it does.)
To counter that perception, Google recently put former VMware(VMW) CEO Diane Greene in charge of its cloud unit. She brings added credibility to the push with business customers. (Of course, this week's snafu with Google App Engine, anohter of Google's cloud offerings, probably won't help its case with prospective business users, but then again AWS and Azure have also had hiccups.)
Adrian Cockcroft, technology fellow at Battery Ventures, and former cloud guru at Netflix(NFLX), said he has not heard about this Google plan but he that it would make sense given businesses needs for lots of geographical coverage and fast performance.
If the Google cloud team has figured out how to convert those CDN nodes into far-flung mini-data center pods, it means they have listened to what enterprise customers have requested, Cockcroft told Fortune via email.
"From a technology point of view, it also means they have figured out how to scale down and package their cloud for small regional deployments," Cockcroft said. That is something Microsoft and Digital Ocean, another public cloud company, have already done and something he thinks AWS will get better with over time.
For more from Barb, follow her on Twitter at @gigabarb, read her coverage at fortune.com/barb-darrow or subscribe via this RSS feed.
Make sure to subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune's daily newsletter on the business of technology.


text:
Temples 29-32
(Thu., Oct. 25, 2001)
Temple #29 Kokubunji (国分寺)
Temple #30 Zenrakuji (善楽寺)
Temple #31 Chikurinji (竹林寺)
Temple #32 Zenjibuji (禅師峰寺)
Slept at: (Business) Hotel Itcho, Kochi
This almost never happens: I actually exceeded my goal for today. I planned on seeing three temples, and prepared accordingly. But I had time to make it to a fourth! In addition, today I passed the one-third point in terms of temples. (Number 29 is one-third of 87; Number 30 is one-third of 90. Since the pilgrimage has 88 temples, I passed the one-third point between Number 29 and Number 30.)
So tonight I celebrated. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
For the first time since I came to Kochi City last Monday, I took a train today. Three times.
First, I took the train from Kochi to Gomen. (Japanese speakers: make your own joke here. The rest of you, gomen means "I'm sorry.") From the station, it's a 3-kilometer walk to the temple.
Temple #29: Tosa Kokubun-ji (土佐国分寺)
Meaning: The Official State Temple for Tosa Province
Location: Nankoku, Kochi; 33.598694,133.640417 (map)
Honzon: Senju Kannon Bosatsu
Mantra: On-ba-sa-ra-ta-ra-ma-ki-ri-ku!
KU-NI-O-WA-KE
TA-KA-RA-O-TSU-MI-TE
TA-TSU-TE-RA-NO
SU-HE-NO-YO-MA-DE-NO
RI-YA-KU-NO-KO-SE-RI
You can read about the "Kokubunji concept" back at Number 15, the Kokubunji for the former Awa-no-kuni, now Tokushima prefecture. This one is for Tosa-no-kuni, now called Kochi prefecture.
Ed Readicker-Henderson was lamenting that this old temple was going to be renovated, and lose some of its charm. I saw no evidence of this work, or of the excavation he described in front of the hondo. I don't know if this mean plans have changed, or if they're just moving slowly.
There's not much else to say. This temple has no "founding legend" because, like every Kokubunji, it is founded on historical fact!
I returned to the station and took the train three stations back toward Kochi, to Tosa-Ikku station. From there it's about one-and-a-half kilometers to Number 30.
Temple #30: Zenraku-ji (善楽寺)
Meaning: The Temple of True Joy
Location: Kochi, Kochi; 33.591917,133.577556 (map)
Sect: Buzan-ha Shingon Buddhism
Honzon: Amida Nyorai
Mantra: On-a-mi-ri-ta-tei-sei-ka-ra-un!
HI-TO-O-O-KU
TA-RA-O-TSU-MA-RE-RU
I-CHI-NO-MI-YA
MU-KA-SHI-MO-I-MA-MO
CHI-KA-E-NE-RU-KA-NA
Where do I begin?
There are two "big deals" about this temple, which are closely related.
The first "big deal" is reflected in these pictures. The figures in the Niomon are NOT two kings. Instead they are a couple of characters generally associated with Shinto. Hmmm... strange.
The next strange thing here is the avenue leading from the gate. It's an unusual feature at a temple.
And even more unusual is the fact that it culminates in this torii gate, a signally Shinto feature.
Well, it turns out that Number 30 is on the grounds of Tosa Shrine, the "Ikku" (Number 1 Shrine) of the nearest station's name. The temple had always been on the grounds of the shrine. When the Meiji decree went out separating Buddhism and Shinto, pilgrims were prohibited from entering the shrine's grounds, and Temple Number 30 was effectively shut down; the buildings were destroyed.
This leads us to "big deal" number 2. The temple is not the buildings, or the site. Essentially, the temple is the honzon. In chasing down the 33 Temple Circuit on Kyushu, I once spent hours trying to find a temple--Number 12, I think it was--near Mt. Aso. It turns out that the temple is long gone, but the honzon is in a room over someone's garage--making it in effect the temple!
So, when pilgrims were prohibited from worshiping at Zenrakuji, the honzon was moved to another temple in Kochi called Anrakuji. And it became Number 30.
When accommodation to Buddhism was renewed, Zenrakuji was rebuilt, and they politely asked for their statue back. Anrakuji--perhaps enjoying both the prestige and the income as a pilgrimage temple--said no way. A battle ensued. The upshot is that Anrakuji has been declared an okunoin--an inner sanctuary--of Zenrakuji, so it can still be "part of" Number 30.
It's rumored that Anrakuji is not satisfied with this arrangement (which has prevailed since 1952). The reasons are obvious: I didn't make it to Anrakuji today, and I doubt that many have. I was under the impression that the temples were near each other; when I asked in the office of Zenrakuji, I was told that it was "about an hour" away on foot. No map was offered, or advice given beyond a very brief answer to my question. The dispute may be active still.
There was a similar story about two churches in New Mexico disputing a statue. As I recall, the problem was solved easily enough when the statue got up and walked to the church of its choice!
Returning to Kochi by train, I caught a bus out to Number 31. But between the train and the bus--although it's a short walk, and I had plenty of time--I opted to do something I haven't done in almost a year: I took a streetcar.
I have worked four separate weeks in the Kyushu city of Kumamoto, where I commuted by streetcar. I did the same for one week in Hiroshima. I have also taken streetcars in Nagasaki and other Japanese cities. I love them. When I was a kid, there were streetcars in L.A. (imagine!) and my mom used to take my brothers and me for a ride sometimes. Not to get anywhere, mind you, but just to ride the streetcar. That's what I did today.
Temple #31: Chikurin-ji (竹林寺)
Meaning: The Temple of the Bamboo Forest
Honzon: Monju Bosatsu
Mantra: On-a-ra-ha-sha-no!
NA-MU-MO-N-JU
MI-YO-NO-HO-TO-KE-NO
HA-HA-TO-KI-KU
WA-RE-MO-KO-NA-RE-BA
CHI-KO-SO-HO-SHI-KE-RE
Anyway, I took the bus to Number 31. This place is a real delight. It's kind of the "Griffith Park" of Kochi City. It's a mountainous area with city views, plenty of wild places, and a botanical garden. The buildings are gorgeous, including the modern five-story pagoda which the Bishop says cost five million dollars--that's a million per story! But it's a real landmark, sitting as it does at such a great height so close to the city.
Behind the pagoda is a beautiful old cemetery. Despite this newness of the pagoda, this place is old and even a little rundown--some of the stones have fallen over.
Be sure to look at the images of the buildings in the Gallery below.
The pilgrim path from Number 31 to Number 32 is about 6 kilometers. Transportation out here is iffy, so I decided to walk it.
The path down the mountain is cobbled, and washed out in places. When I got to the bottom and looked back, I discovered that I had walked over the top of a new tunnel--a strange juxtaposition of old and new. If you look closely, you can clearly see the pagoda up on the hill above and to the left of the tunnel.
I was also charmed by this sight: little buddies walking home from school.
Nearing Number 32, I was surprised to discover this mammoth pond. I'd call it a lake, except that it acts like a pond--full of lily pads, and afloat with ducks.
Nothing in my guidebooks prepared me for this. What is it, I wonder?
Yes, those brown spots in the picture above ARE ducks. You can see them here.
Do you know this riddle? What does it say?
CD ED BD DUCKS?
MR NOT DUCKS!
OSAR, CDEDBD WINGS?
LILB MR DUCKS!
Past the pond it's a bit of a climb to...
Temple #32: Zenjibu-ji (禅師峰寺)
Meaning: The Temple of the Ch'an Master's Peak
SHI-ZU-KA-NA-RU
WA-GA-MI-NA-MO-TO-NO
ZE-N-JI-BU-JI
U-KA-BU-KO-KO-RO-WA
NO-RI-NO-HA-YA-FU-NE
GOD I love the name of this place. I could say it all day. Zenjibuji Zenjibuji Zenjibuji Zenjibuji. It cracks me up.
The temple is beautiful. Like the "mystery pond" located below it, this mountain is covered with "mystery rocks"--that is, nothing in the guidebooks talks about the beautiful formations that cover the mountaintop.
Fudo Myoo in front of the rocks
Jizo in front of the rocks
Statler follows--at length--the career of one of the first Americans to study and promote Japan after her opening to the West. Frederick Starr was a professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago (from which Statler--long after Starr's time--graduated). Starr spent a considerable amount of time on Shikoku (as well as elsewhere in Japan), and Statler believes he was the first foreigner to do the pilgrimage--or at least the first documented one.
This temple--as well as a few others--had examples of Starr's calligraphy. I tried to get something about it out of the priest; the best I got was a look at a "dream catcher" his wife brought back from Canada! Perhaps the priest who hung up Starr's writing for display at Number 32 is gone; after all, Statler preceded me by nearly 30 years.
I did get something worth keeping from this priest, though. He told me something two walking henro have said before. When he asked if I was walking, I answered--as usual--"half." Meaning I take some trains and buses, and I walk some. He adamantly corrected me: If I am not using maikaa--my car (a personal vehicle) or a taxi or tour bus, I am a walking henro. I don't know where these rules are written down, but it seems that I have been treated as a walker. After all, the buses only get so close. Several times I have encountered other walkers as I head up a mountain--and cars zip past us to the top. I have certainly felt like a member of the walking fraternity, so it's nice to get this validation from an "official" source.
A few more things from Number 32:
First, this long view from the mountain to the sea below. Like Number 25, this temple is dedicated to the safety of sailors. The Kannon up here certainly has a good vantage point to watch them from.
Next: We haven't seen our old friend Mr. Tanuki from the Tokaido walk for quite awhile. Now I know why: He's become a monk! Actually, there are stories of tanuki dressed as monks in order to seduce women. So what's he doing in a temple garden?
I really admired this statue's rag, and thought I'd show it to you. He's near the parking lot.
Finally, a little study in selective seeing.
Sometimes I can't avoid showing you phone lines, etc. But whenever possible, I try to leave these things out, presenting as "pure" a picture of "Old Japan" as possible. But I want you to know what I'm up against.
This picture shows a pleasant enough scene of a roadside statue with a pine behind this statue of Jizo.
In fact, though, as you can see here, he's between a traffic mirror and a light post!
I will continue to "edit" what I see, but you should know it's not all antiquities.
The bus back to the city stops right below the temple. I returned to "my neighborhood" and checked on tomorrow's buses.
Walking home, I spotted an Italian restaurant. I haven't had a sit-down-in-a-restaurant meal since I hit Shikoku a week and a half ago, so I thought "Why not?" And that's how I celebrated the completion of one-third of the pilgrimage. Tomato and basil pasta, an amazing hot vegetable salad, and a Perrier at Pappagallo--just what I needed.
A postscript: Today as I waited for a bus, a lady handed my two mikan (a citrus fruit) and said, "They're small but sweet."
Tonight, I was walking through a dark neighborhood after dinner on the way to my hotel. Now, I don't scare easily; I'm not a jumpy type. But I whirled into a major defensive position when someone silently tapped my right elbow! I was crouched and ready to tag this guy with my left when I realized that he was handing me two more mikan with the words, "Eat these, please."
He should have made some noise or spoken or something before he touched me!
Anyway, I have added all the fruit-givers to my prayer list; it's becoming lengthy.


I love to travel and learn about different cultures. I am well educated and enjoy business. I am financially independent enjoy working very hard most of the time:) I am seeking someone nice. I do not wear body jewellery and I do not have any tattoos.


This easy Sweetheart Bark recipe is sure to capture the heart of your Valentine. You can't go wrong with a sweet snack filled with popcorn, pretzels and melted chocolate.
I like to think of bark as the kitchen sink of candy. You can basically through whatever ingredients you want into it – dried fruit, assorted candy, nuts – you name it. For some reason, I had an overabundance of Valentine M&M's® . Don't ask me how that happened, but I just had to use them up. If not, I would slowly devour each bag, one by one. So, I used them in the recipe…along with some kettle corn, and Valentine Sprinkles .
This recipe really takes very little effort, even if you are not a fan of baking or cooking. Start by spreading out some pretzels on a parchment-lined baking sheet . I then melted white chocolate, pink candy melts and red candy melts . Pour the white chocolate over the pretzels.
Add some popcorn , candy and sprinkles over the bark. I press slightly just so everything sticks to the chocolate. Then, drizzle the melted pink and red candy melts over the entire pan. You can either refrigerate the bark for about one hour or let it set out on the counter to cool.
Once cooled, break into pieces. Store in an air-tight container . You can make the pieces as big or small as you like.
Save this Sweetheart Bark recipe for later. Pin the image below to your favorite Pinterest board.
This looks amazing, great for a valentine's party!!
What a fun Valentine's Day treat! Love the sweet and salty combination!
This bark is gorgeous Melissa! Love all the festive colors. I would not have thought to add kettle corn. Salty and sweet is such a great combo.
Sweet and salty treats get me every single time!!! Love this fun bark!!!


text:
volatile sig_atomic_t done = 0;
void sig_handler(int signum) {
    done = 1;
}

// Helper function for grabbing all offset values
void getOffsets(HMC6343* compass, int16_t* xoffset, int16_t* yoffset, int16_t* zoffset) {
    *xoffset = compass->readEEPROM(XOFFSET_MSB) << 8;
    *xoffset |= compass->readEEPROM(XOFFSET_LSB);
    *yoffset = compass->readEEPROM(YOFFSET_MSB) << 8;
    *yoffset |= compass->readEEPROM(XOFFSET_LSB);
    *zoffset = compass->readEEPROM(ZOFFSET_MSB) << 8;
    *zoffset |= compass->readEEPROM(ZOFFSET_LSB);
}

int main() {
    // Set up signal handler
    struct sigaction action;
    memset(&action, 0, sizeof(struct sigaction));
    action.sa_handler = sig_handler;
    sigaction(SIGTERM, &action, NULL);
    sigaction(SIGINT, &action, NULL);

    // Initialize I2C and the compass itself
    I2Cdev::initialize();
    HMC6343 compass;
    if (!compass.init()) {
      // Report failure, is the sensor wiring correct?
      printf("Sensor Initialization Failed\n");
    }

    // Initialize time
    struct timeval start_time, current_time;

    // Print calibration values
    int16_t xoffset, yoffset, zoffset;
    bcm2835_delay(1000);
    getOffsets(&compass, &xoffset, &yoffset, &zoffset);
    printf("Prior offset values: %d, %d, %d\n", xoffset, yoffset, zoffset);

    compass.writeEEPROM(XOFFSET_MSB, 0); bcm2835_delay(200);
    compass.writeEEPROM(XOFFSET_LSB, 0); bcm2835_delay(200);
    compass.writeEEPROM(YOFFSET_MSB, 0); bcm2835_delay(200);
    compass.writeEEPROM(YOFFSET_LSB, 0); bcm2835_delay(200);
    compass.writeEEPROM(ZOFFSET_MSB, 0); bcm2835_delay(200);
    compass.writeEEPROM(ZOFFSET_LSB, 0); bcm2835_delay(200);

    // Print calibration values
    getOffsets(&compass, &xoffset, &yoffset, &zoffset);
    printf("Final offset values: %d, %d, %d\n", xoffset, yoffset, zoffset);
    compass.reset();
    return 0;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
As far as blasphemous movies go, it doesn't get much funnier than Bruce Almighty, the message-free version of modern deux ex machina showcasing the comedic talent of Jim Carrey.
Hollywood has a long history of personifying the almighty. Who could forget George Burns' doddering deity? Or Mel Blanc, Tim Curry, or certainly Alanis Morissette? Now you can add Morgan Freeman. He's got a sense of humor -- it's a comedy after all -- as well as such a cavalier disregard for the universe he created that he decides to give all his powers to an unemployed T.V. reporter named Bruce Nolan (Carrey). Comedy ensues.
Bruce doesn't use his infinite powers to answer ANY of life's mysteries or solve mankind's eternal conflicts. Instead, he gives himself a new sports car, a new job, an expanded chest for his already hot girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) and career advancement over the bodies of his destroyed peers. If it sounds a little like self-indulgent narcissism with no negative consequences, I think three year olds the world over would agree. The "good news" this time around, apparently, is to increase your consumer spending.
It starts when Nolan is fired and not at all having a good day, and bizarrely begins criticizing god's management of the world and his life. Through a series of odd incidents, the almighty eventually invites Nolan to a all but deserted building, where he does some magic tricks and offers him (Nolan) the god job. Over time, the disbelieving reporter begins to accept that he has virtually unlimited power over time and matter but not over "love." This is quickly exploited by his girlfriend (Aniston) who -- despite the fact that her boyfriend has unlimited, universal power -- busts him for kissing another woman.
Nevertheless, Nolan's career explodes as he wields absolute power to become a much more effective local T.V. reporter that just happens to be "on the scene" of such spectacular news events as a meteor smashing into earth and Jimmy Hoffa's body being discovered. You can imagine god would do the same thing, provided he wanted to break into the glamorous world of local news reporting.
This is no "Paradise Lost," but Carrey keeps the energy high and Aniston gives an admirable supporting performance. However it must be said that Freeman is an *extremely* disturbing God. In fairness, unlike the figure he's playing, Freeman wasn't given much to work with in Bruce Almighty. The idea that "god takes a holiday" and hands the universe over to a random self-centered dope is a pretty scary idea.
But it would explain a lot wouldn't it?


text:
This Film Soars
'The Aviator' is an incredible movie--now, would someone please give Scorsese an Oscar?
Playing at Century El Con 20 (202-3343), Century Park 16 (620-0750), Century Park Place 20 (747-7200) and Foothills (Loews Cineplex) (742-6174).
Anybody out there thinking that The Aviator might be nothing more than a whitewashed depiction of Howard Hughes' more glamorous years would be seriously underestimating its director, Martin Scorsese. Yes, the film examines Hughes' life when movie starlets were on his arms and his new jet designs were taking to the air, but it doesn't shy away from the uglier stuff. Hughes died an insane germaphobe holed up in a room he didn't leave for years, and Scorsese takes plenty of time to show the seeds of that descent into madness.
Scorsese has been turning out some of the best movies ever made for nearly 40 years, and The Aviator is just another chapter in his incredible history. It's his most ambitious and successful product since Goodfellas, and it would seem that nothing could keep him from taking home that elusive, well-deserved Oscar. Then again, we've been saying that every time he's been nominated since Kevin Costner stole his Goodfellas Oscar for that dopey buffalo movie.
As Howard Hughes in his 20s through early 40s, Leonardo DiCaprio provides yet another reason for his detractors to shut the hell up. Looking a little like Hughes (he's got the forehead for it), DiCaprio manages to convey the genius of the innovator, as well as all of the insecurities and phobias that brought him down.
There's equal parts fearlessness and vulnerability in DiCaprio's characterization, a courageous man who took to the skies and changed air travel, yet was terrified to touch a doorknob when exiting a bathroom. DiCaprio depicts all aspects of Hughes flawlessly, a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination.
Scorsese starts the story with Hughes directing and producing Hell's Angels (1930), the most expensive film of its time and the first of many obsessions The Aviator will depict. Hughes is sort of a reluctant Los Angeles jetsetter, making time with the likes of Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani) and eventually having a relationship with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). After Hell's Angels, Hughes' obsession with flying takes over as he buys an airline, designs and test-flies his own aircraft, and occasionally crashes in fields and neighborhoods. (The depiction of a plane crash in Beverly Hills is vintage Scorsese.)
Blanchett's excellent performance is a little hard to handle at first. Initially, her characterization seems fit for a Saturday Night Live skit and not a Scorsese movie. Truth is, Hepburn was probably as quirky as this portrayal. Hughes and Hepburn's first verbal sparring on a golf course feels like a Hepburn screwball comedy with Cary Grant. As their relationship becomes more personal, so too does Blanchett's performance. In supporting roles, Alec Baldwin, John C. Reilly and Kate Beckinsale all shine.
While the movie doesn't make it all the way to Hughes' long hair and fingernails phase, it does reach the man's early 40s, when his obsessive compulsive disorder was beginning to get the best of him. A sequence in which he's holed up in a hotel room, storing containers of his own urine and talking to himself, acts as quite the indicator of his descent into madness. A brief respite from the room, during which he testifies before a congressional hearing and flies the famed Spruce Goose for a few seconds, is followed by an ominous hint at the sadness that lay ahead for the man.
This is 2004's best movie, and should result in Oscars for both Scorsese and DiCaprio. My feeling is that Scorsese will get his, but DiCaprio will be shunned in favor of Jamie Foxx for Ray. Still, Titanic boy has proven that This Boy's Life and What's Eating Gilbert Grape were no flukes, with The Aviator being the highlight of a promising career.
Bob Grimm
More by Bob Grimm
Chef's Kiss: Feast your eyes on the new Julia Child documentary
Spirit of the '60s: Edgar Wright creates a fun if schizophrenic film with Last Night in Soho
Spice of Life: Dune is a sumptuous sci-fi epic
The Aviator is not showing in any theaters in the area.
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