text:
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President Barack Obama tapes the Weekly Address, White House Photo, Sonya Herbert, 10/6/12
Middle Class Tax Cuts
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President Barack calls on Congress to extend tax cuts for middle class families, White House Photo, Lawrence Jackson, 7/9/12
U.N. General Assembly
Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama remembers Ambassador Chris Stevens and delivers a defense of both free speech and the spirit of tolerance.
White House Photo, Sonya Hebert, 9/26/12
Education in Focus
Education Secretary Arne Duncan travels coast-to-coast to discuss school reform, college affordability, and the link between education and jobs.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan talks with students in Limon, Colo., White House Photo, Chuck Kennedy, 9/17/12
Since his first day in office, President Obama has focused on laying the foundation for an economy built to last. Explore the progress that President Obama has made on the issues that matter most to you, and find out what's next.
Resources for Americans Affected by the Drought
The Obama Administration is taking all-hands-on-deck approach to one of the worst droughts in more than fifty years. Learn where you can find help.
White House Releases New Mobile Apps
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Health Care Reform and You
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Watch the Video Learn More
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First Lady Michelle Obama announces that 2,000 companies have hired or trained an amazing 125,000 veterans and military spouses in the past year through Joining Forces.
Making College Affordable
New action from President Obama will make it easier for millions of students with federal loans to afford their payments.
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October 6, 2012 at 5:30 AM EDT
Weekly Address: Congress Should Keep America Moving Forward
In this week's address, President Obama says that Congress should act to keep our nation moving forward four years after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Includes Video
October 5, 2012 at 5:46 PM EDT
What You Missed: WH Office Hours on Empowering Women & Girls Through the Equal Futures Partnership
Samantha Power and Valerie Jarrett take to Twitter for a Q&A about Equal Futures, a new partnership to advance the rights and opportunities of women and girls.
Includes Photo Gallery
Weekly Wrap Up: Operation Educate the Educators
Here's a quick glimpse at what happened this week on WhiteHouse.gov.
The Employment Situation in September
Private sector establishments added 104,000 jobs last month, and overall non-farm payroll employment rose by 114,000. The economy has now added private sector jobs for 31 straight months.
October 5, 2012 at 12:00 AM EDT
West Wing Week: 10/05/12 or "Operation Educate the Educators"
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Office Hours on Equal Futures: Empowering Women and Girls at Home and Abroad
On Friday, October 5th at 2:30 p.m. EDT join Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs on Twitter for a live Q&A on the Equal Futures Partnership.
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Featured Legislation
Veteran Skills to Jobs Act
Signed: Monday, July 23, 2012
The Temporary Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012
Signed: Friday, June 29, 2012
Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012
Signed: Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act
Signed: Thursday, April 5, 2012
Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012
Signed: Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012
Signed: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011
Signed: Friday, December 23, 2011
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act
Signed: Friday, October 21, 2011
United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act
United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
Signed: Friday, September 16, 2011
Budget Control Act of 2011
Signed: Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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Dr. Jill Biden and General Ray Odierno, Chief of Staff of the Army, make a toast with sparkling cider before the "Operation Educate the Educators" event at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Oct. 3, 2012. The event celebrated the 100 colleges and universities that have signed on to the Joining Forces commitment to help prepare educators and develop school cultures that are more responsive to the needs of children in military families. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
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In today's highly competitive business world, there is only one chance to make a great first impression. That's where our personal branding keynote presentation comes in.
We all have a personal brand but it is probably in default mode. Most of us haven't thought much about our brand. This personal branding keynote will help you fine tune and take control of the impression you make, both in person and digitally. Advice to use your personal branding to support your organization's brand.
In Elevate Your Brand, Joanne Blake, corporate image consultant and personal branding expert provides her top tips for achieving a dynamic personal brand. She'll help you avoid the most common branding mistakes through the A B C D's of appearance, behaviour and communication and digital/social media presence.
Contact us for an engaging & timely personal branding keynote or presentation.
No matter how dry your conference is, our business focused soft skills sessions will inform and enliven.
How Important is Business Dress to Your successful Personal Brand?
How to Shake Hands with Someone with a Disability?


text: Q: Resource ID in url I am developing enterprise application in angularjs. I am using ui-router plugin for routing. To get the particular resource (For example, get the customer with id "2401"), the URL would be like "www.mydomain.com/customer/profile/2401". It seems to be insecure, user can change the id directly in URL and access the resource. what is the best practice to make a secure URL in angularjs? Is there anyway to give encrypted value to secure?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package net.java.sip.communicator.impl.protocol.sip.xcap.model.commonpolicy;

import java.util.*;

import org.w3c.dom.*;

/**
 * The Authorization Rules many element.
 * <p/>
 * Compliant with rfc5025
 *
 * @author Grigorii Balutsel
 */
public class ManyType
{
    /**
     * The domain attribute.
     */
    private String domain;

    /**
     * The list of excepts element.
     */
    private List<ExceptType> excepts;

    /**
     * The list of any element.
     */
    private List<Element> any;

    /**
     * Gets the value of the domain property.
     *
     * @return the domain property.
     */
    public String getDomain()
    {
        return domain;
    }

    /**
     * Sets the value of the domain property.
     *
     * @param domain the domain to set.
     */
    public void setDomain(String domain)
    {
        this.domain = domain;
    }

    /**
     * Gets the value of the excepts property.
     *
     * @return the any property.
     */
    public List<ExceptType> getExcepts()
    {
        if (this.excepts == null)
        {
            this.excepts = new ArrayList<ExceptType>();
        }
        return excepts;
    }

    /**
     * Gets the value of the any property.
     *
     * @return the any property.
     */
    public List<Element> getAny()
    {
        if (this.any == null)
        {
            this.any = new ArrayList<Element>();
        }
        return any;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Porsche Taycan: Bestseller in Norway – but some buy many more
Porsche has put another solid year in Norway behind it. A total of 2,043 registered cars ended up. An beyond high number for Porsche. And also an increase of almost 19 percent, compared to last year – which also entered the history books.
Not unexpectedly, it is the electric cars that pull a lot of the load. Taycan accounts for 1,723 of the registered cars. Last year, Taycan also introduced a station wagon, Cross Turismo, which suits Norwegian buyers perfectly.
But when have customers in the US also really opened their eyes to electric cars. Not least the Porsche Taycan.
Porsche's electric car share increased to 13.5 percent in one of the world's largest car markets last year. Taycan contributed 9,419 of these. This is historic. Panamera, which comes with about the same body choice (sedan / station wagon) but with fossil and hybrid driveline – it is "only" sold 4,257 of.
At least as startling is the fact that Taycan sales almost surpassed 911 in 2021. The two changed order back and forth during the year – but in the end, 911 ended at the top. With 10,042 delivered cars.
However, the most popular Porsche among American buyers was the SUV Cayenne. It was sold in 17,299 copies.
So funny is Norway's most expensive electric car
Soon, Porsche's SUV Macan will also come as an electric car. It becomes highly relevant in both Norway and the USA.
New model this year
The Taycan family will have a new addition in 2022. That is when the station wagon Sport Turismo arrives. Compared to Cross Turismo, this has lower ground clearance, lacks off-road styling and does not have its own off-road program.
On the other hand, it is more sporty to drive – something we have checked during the launch in Los Angeles, already.
Both Taycan and Taycan Sport Turismo are available in the GTS version – which gets 598 horsepower with the overboost function.
Of course, it will be at least as interesting that the SUV Macan will be electric. But it is not expected to hit the market until 2023.
However, Porsche will probably notice this in its sales, when the taxes on the more expensive electric cars are introduced. It is expected to happen as early as 2023.
The guidelines so far indicate that in the first instance there will be VAT on the part of the price that exceeds NOK 600,000. This still applies to all Porsche electric models. The entry-level model is the Taycan with rear-wheel drive – for 777,000 kroner.
The model people traditionally most associate with the Porsche – is of course the sports car 911.
In other words, it is not unlikely that many will use 2022 to secure an electric Porsche – before the taxes come.
Read the first test of the Taycan GTS here
Most to earn on …
Those who have a lot of money to spend on a car, of course, "save" the most by buying as expensive a model as possible, before the taxes are introduced.
The top model Taycan Turbo S, for example, has a starting price of NOK 1,689,900. You can easily make it two million kroner with extra equipment.
If you imagine that there will be VAT (25 percent) of 1.4 million kroner of this (ie the part of the price that is over 600,000 kroner) – such a car could be around 350,000 kroner more expensive in 2023.
Video: Here you can our video test of the new Taycan Sport Turismo:
Porsche Cayenne Now the luxury SUV is starting to get cheap
PrevMany frozen to death in snow chaos in Pakistan – thousands still trapped – News (Echo)
NextOlsbu Røiseland superior again – took this weekend's third victory
Students are also ordinary people
NIPH to abolish the quarantine obligation: – Logical and sensible

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Sleigh Read Tour and a Delicious Coffee-Fueled Contest!
What is it about winter time that turns me in to a hopeless romantic?
It certainly isn't the temperature. I detest it. When the first cold snap hits in mid-October I swear I won't be warm again until May. Then I spend the rest of the season bundled up in layers of clothing and wear my electric blanket as a cape, moving from room to room with the little electrical cord dragging behind me.
Yet here I am, ready to launch another romantic winter tale, Next Left.
Categories: Blog, Uncategorized | Tags: buzz books, christmas, gps, holiday, jane austen, new year's eve, Next Left, no place like home, romance, sleigh ride, starbucks, winter | Permalink.


Free local community event. Join us for the screening of Resilience: Biology of Stress and Science of Hope.
How do Adverse Childhood Experiences affect us into adulthood and what it means for our society.


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzz7sbRC9X0] A friend of mine asked about how to become more fluid in playing runs so I sent him a video about it. He said that it was very helpful and I hope it is helpful to you as well!!


text:
On the planet Cybertron, a war was waged between the Autobots and the Decepticons for control of the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. The Allspark is smuggled off the planet, but Megatron goes in search of it. He tracks it to Earth and his desire for power sends him into the Arctic Ocean. The sheer cold forces him into a paralyzed state. His body is later recovered, and before going into a comatose state he uses the last of his energy to engrave a map, showing the location of the Allspark, into the Captain's glasses. A century later, Spike buys his first car. To his shock, he discovers it is an Autobot in disguise. He is to protect Spike, who bears the Captain's glasses. Other Transformers have arrived In the desert of Qatar and the Decepticons attack a U.S. military base. Spike and his girlfriend Mikaela find themselves in the middle of a grand battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Meanwhile, within the depths of Hoover Dam, the cryogenically stored form of Megatron awakens.
Publisher: Hollywood, Calif. : Paramount, c2007.
Edition: Widescreen version.
Branch Call Number: DVD MOVIE SCIENCE FICTION TRANSFOR
Characteristics: 1 videodisc (143 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Alternative Title: Transformers (Motion picture)
Read more reviews of Transformers at iDreamBooks.com
brambleclaw_06 Jun 07, 2018
this movie is not worth watching.
Not bad, but not great either.
reypotter06 Jan 29, 2018
This move was a waste of time, it has no morals or positive roll models.
Gwen904 Jan 04, 2018
The Transformers are super cool to see, but the main characters are so STUPID. As stupid as main characters in action movies can get. Like, what the heck? So stereotypical. The nerdy and idiotic boy is thrown together with the beautiful and shallow girl and they save the world and fall in love while they're at it and all that yadda yadda yadda. Ugh.
Twix_1 Nov 27, 2017
Loved this movie. Others might have their own bad opinions about it. But for me the movie was very entertaining. I enjoyed it. I mostly like what most people hate anyway. And I hate what everyone else likes. Because most people wouldn't know a good movie it slapped them in the face.
ADragonInTheLibrary Sep 05, 2017
It's not a terrible movie, but there should definently be more screen time for the transformers. I mean, it's their movie.
TEENREVIEWBOARD Jan 07, 2017
Transformers is a 2007 science-fiction action film based on the Hasbro toy of the same name. Directed by Michael Bay, with steven spielberg acting as producer, this movie sparked the 6 film, multi billion dollar Transformers film franchise. While I find the later transformer movies unbearably mind numbing and unenjoyable, there is something charming about this first installment. While the characters are often exaggerated tropes, I found many of the performances to be hilarious, including the (surprisingly) likeable Shia Labeouf as Sam Witwicky. If you came for an intellectual experience, this is not the film for you, and I think this film is self aware. It doesn't take itself too seriously, a trait not shared by some of its recent imitations. This is a film where you brain can take a backseat, and your eyes can indulge on excellent CGI rendered action, your ears on the corny jokes, and your heart on the relatable Witwicky. The plot is flimsy, but the action is sturdy. Go into this film without expectations, treat is as a rollercoaster instead of art, and you will come out having enjoyed the experience. 4/5 stars
- @Joaquin of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library
This is the only good Transformers movie made, the second one is alright, the rest are horrible and boring. This movie has a certain touch that just makes it so enjoyable. The cast worked together amazingly and the cinematography was beautifully done. I loved that there wasn't just one storyline happening, but multiple ones that all came face to face in the end. Shia Labeouf really did an amazing job with the character of Sam, as did Megan Fox with Mikaela. Even the music in the movie was perfect, it fit each scene and only made the movie better. There really is nothing bad to say about this movie other than I wish it never ended. 5/5 stars
- @sideswipefirefight of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library
Being the first Transformers movie, it was definitely something new. When I first saw a car transforming, I was perplexed. I had never seen anything like it. The CGI is incredible and looks ridiculously real. It is almost as if there were real robots used. The story was built up well and I was very interested throughout. However, it was probably because of the amazing CGI that I found the movie all the more entertaining. For someone who likes action, there isn't too much, which is a con of the movie. The big fight happens at the end and it's somewhat unsatisfactory. 3/5
- @JuiceboxZ of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library
minE_0 Jul 05, 2016
There is some s**t in the annimations this MOVIE TOTALLY FRICKING SUCKS
TheUltimateReviewer Jul 05, 2016
Did anyone notice the John Wayne line in the scene where we first see him transform?
lukasevansherman Nov 18, 2015
"Transformers, more than meets the eye. Transformers, robots in disguise." The jerks don't even use the theme song. Does it ever feel like all the comics/toys/cartoons from your childhood are being made into loud, bloated movies? Michael 'Pear Harbor' Bay directs with his usual bombastic touch, but no one expects subtlety here. Do you want to see big, sleek robots knocking the crap out of each other? Me too. Too bad this movie had to have a plot and characters though. It also could've done with some more transforming.
reypotter06 thinks this title is suitable for 11 years and over
Twix_1 thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
gumball12 Jun 17, 2017
gumball12 thinks this title is suitable for 12 years and over
damyonthecool Jan 26, 2014
damyonthecool thinks this title is suitable for 12 years and over
droctogonopus123 Jul 10, 2013
droctogonopus123 thinks this title is suitable for 9 years and over
kyeary Feb 21, 2012
kyeary thinks this title is suitable for 8 years and over
lindonspence Oct 13, 2011
lindonspence thinks this title is suitable for All Ages
EuSei Sep 09, 2011
EuSei thinks this title is suitable for 16 years and over
bdls206 Aug 05, 2011
bdls206 thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
jgrnlees Jul 22, 2011
jgrnlees thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Optimus Prime: With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting.
clever insect, give me the allspark!
smaugthestupendous Nov 26, 2011
Optimus Prime: "I am Optimus Prime. I am sending this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. And we are waiting."
Ironhide: You have a rodent infestation.
Sam Witwicky: A what?
Ironhide: [aiming cannons at Mojo] Shall I terminate?
Sam Witwicky: No! No! This is a chihuahua. We love chihuahuas.
Ironhide: He's leaked lubricants all over my foot! Hmmph!
Sam Witwicky: He peed on you? Bad Mojo! Bad!
Ironhide: Bad Mojo! Ugh, my foot's gonna rust...
Captain Lennox: So why Earth?
Sam Witwicky: It's the All Spark.
Keller: All Spark? What is that?
Sam Witwicky: Well, they came here looking for some sort of cube-looking thing. Anyway, Mr. NBE-1 here, aka MEGATRON...
[glares at Simmons]
Sam Witwicky: That's what they call HIM... who's pretty much the harbinger of death, wants to use the cube to transform human technology to take over the universe. That's their plan.
Optimus Prime: It's you and me, Megatron...
Megatron: No, it's just ME, Prime!
Optimus Prime: At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall!
Megatron: You still fight for the weak! That is why you lose!
Sam Witwicky: No, no, no, no, no, no... Hey! That's my car!
[Sam grabs a cellphone and cycle and chases after his car]
Sam Witwicky: Hello? 911 emergency! My car's been stolen! I'm in pursuit! I need the whole squadron, bring everyone! No, no don't ask any questions, my father's the head of the neighborhood watch!
Batman Mar 12, 2008
you have failed me for the last time
autobots... roll out
Sexual Content: brief sexual humor.
gumball12 Aug 26, 2017
Violence: Of course this has violence
Violence: This title contains Violence.
Coarse Language: Not a lot, but some swearing does take place.
Violence: Transformers fight to the death. Cities are destroyed; many people killed, though none of these deaths are graphically shown.
lms Mar 22, 2008
Violence: robot violence. some guys die
An ancient struggle re-erupts on Earth between two extraterrestrial clans, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a young teenager.
Science Fiction Films.


text:
> Resources > Newsroom > ABHMS' 'Space for Grace' to offer engagement with Philadelphia ministries
ABHMS' 'Space for Grace' to offer engagement with Philadelphia ministries
VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 10/18/18)—Participants in hands-on optional experiences on opening day of American Baptist Home Mission Societies' (ABHMS) "Space for Grace: Thy Will Be Done" national conference will engage with cutting-edge mission that makes a difference in the lives of Philadelphians and offers take-home learnings applicable to other contexts. The four optional morning and afternoon experiences will be offered Wednesday, Nov. 14, at various sites in and near the conference center at Loews Hotel, Philadelphia. The conference will run through Friday, Nov. 16.
Participants will "Discover Exciting Ministry in Philadelphia's Latino Community" when they tour the state-of-the-art campus and 36 townhomes at Esperanza on Philadelphia's Fifth Street. They'll meet with staff to learn how the organization empowers individuals through education, economic development and immigration advocacy in partnership with the New Sanctuary Movement.
Attendees will "Engage and Partner with ABHMS Social Justice Outreach Ministries" by dialoguing at Loews Hotel with members of Community Outreach Ministries, a growing network of organizations committed to addressing addiction; homelessness; food insecurity; violence; children, youth and family challenges; and aging and veteran needs.
Over lunch in Chinatown, participants will meet with Asian American pastors and community organizers to "Explore Challenges and Opportunities in Philadelphia's Asian American Community." An educational visit to Chinese Christian Church and Center will include an opportunity to observe or volunteer at the after-school tutoring program.
Those who "Volunteer with Broad Street Ministry's Hospitality Collaborative" will serve as the hands and feet of Jesus among the "least of these" in the organization's indoor dining ministry.
Cost for each optional experience is $35, which includes lunch.
More specifically, "Engage and Partner with ABHMS Social Justice Outreach Ministries" will include "Breaking the Chains of Addiction: An Effective Christ-centered Approach to Recovery" and "[email protected] en el mismo bote/All in the Same Boat." The former will share the ways in which Greater New Life Christian Center, Springfield, Mass., provides a ministry of recovery that offers hope, healing and help—liberating the addicted to live abundant lives in Christ. The latter will use the recent hardship in Puerto Rico as an example of transforming hurt, fear, tears and pain with compassion, solidarity and hope.
Also included in the outreach ministries offering will be "Understanding Poverty and Moving Toward Wholeness," "From Volunteer to Ministry Leader: Engaging Youth for Leadership," "Getting Started: Learning as You Grow," "Making a Difference in the Lives of Immigrant Communities" and "Ministering to those Who are Infected with HIV."
In addition, "Space for Grace" will offer more than two dozen intellectually engaging, culturally competent workshops; faith-influenced art and performances; inspiring worship services; access to world-class speakers; and the opportunity to engage in compelling conversation with faith leaders, community service leaders and social justice advocates about tackling mission, developing leaders and disciples, and transforming churches and communities. Time will be built in for reflection, refreshment and renewal.
The $299 registration fee for the 2½-day urban retreat in the heart of a top-10 largest U.S. city includes three evening receptions, two lunches and two breakfasts.
For more details, call 800.222.3872, x2452, or find out more online and register today!
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God's mission around the world.
Positivity, reading emphasized at Rizpah's Children partner Freedom School
Collaborating to provide mattresses to clients of ABHMS partnering organization
ABHMS Rizpah's Children partner to establish CDF Freedom School this summer
Faculty chair honors director of ABHMS partnering ministry
New Judson Press book calls for action responding to children in poverty


text:
New Simulation on Negotiating the Future of Dams
By Lara SanPietro — on September 14th, 2021 / Teaching Negotiation
Pearl River is a seven party, facilitated, multi-issue negotiation over the management of dams in a coastal basin.
Pearl River is a facilitated, multi-issue negotiation simulation for eight or nine participants about the management of five dams in the hypothetical Pearl River basin. This science-based negotiation simulation provides an opportunity for learning about and discussing larger-scale management of ecosystems, use of scientific data and modeling in environmental decision-making under uncertainty, and consensus-based negotiations over water resources. This simulation includes the Pearl River system dynamics model application, which simulates environmental and economic outcomes under different dam management alternatives.
The Pearl River basin is a coastal basin that includes the Pearl River and its tributary, the Mill Creek. Multiple stakeholders with diverse interests and concerns are interested in the dam-related issues in the basin. There are three hydropower dams on the Pearl River and two non-hydropower dams on Mill Creek. All dams have varying levels of fish passage, ranging from no passage to adequate passage. Dam A on Mill Creek is owned by the Town of Allen and has recently received a Notice of Public Safety from the State Water Resources Division (State WRD). The town must decide how to address the Notice and whether it makes sense to consider the future of other dams in the Pearl River basin as it makes its decision.
State WRD invited representatives from six other stakeholder groups to participate in a Working Group (for a total of seven stakeholder groups): the Federal Agency of Natural Resources (Federal ANR), the Historic Preservation Agency of the State (State Historic), Rivers-R-Us (an environmental nongovernmental, non-profit organization), the Allen Pond Homeowners Association (representing property owners along Allen Pond, the impoundment created by Dam A), HydroEnergy, LLC. (the hydropower developer which owns the three hydropower dams on the Pearl River), and the Town of Allen (which owns two non-hydropower dams on Mill Creek). The Working Group also includes one or two facilitators who will help manage the meeting. The main goal of the meeting is to develop a "Work Plan" for the future of Dam A and possibly for the other dams in the Pearl River basin. To support the Group's efforts, a local university developed and shared a novel system dynamics model, which simulates the impacts of different decisions on fish populations, hydropower generation, and project cost. Negotiators can access the model during the negotiation via a web-user interface. The Working Group looks forward to using the model to find agreement on the following three decisions:
Which dams should be included in the Work Plan and what dam management alternatives should be considered?
Who is responsible for implementing the Work Plan?
Who pays to implement the Work Plan?
The municipal, state, and federal officials have indicated they aim to act on the Work Plan if at least six out of the seven stakeholders support the agreement. If fewer than six stakeholders support the recommendations, the Town of Allen will decide on its own about next steps to respond to Dam A's notice of deficiency.
Key lessons of this simulation include:
Sustainable solutions to conflicts over dams meet multiple stakeholders' interests and receive broad political, community, and financial support for implementation.
Dam decisions are multi-issue negotiations that involve linked social and ecological systems, feedbacks over spatial and temporal scales, many stakeholders, overlapping legal and procedural frameworks, and scientific uncertainty.
The most successful dam decisions pay careful attention to preparation, including ensuring the right parties participate, are prepared, and interact throughout to bring both expert and local/experiential knowledge to bear on the decision.
A negotiation agenda should include opportunities for stakeholders to share information about quantifiable interests and non-quantifiable interests, time to brainstorm multiple alternatives and develop new alternatives, and time to agree on performance criteria for deciding between alternatives.
Linking decisions across multiple dams within a river system can expand the range of alternatives available to meet multiple interests and optimize across social, economic, and environmental tradeoffs, as compared to making decisions about a single dam at a time.
Dam decisions should be informed by credible scientific data about the likely impacts of decisions. A system dynamics model can provide information about the likely impacts of choices, such as how the decision to focus on one dam or a series of dams will affect outcomes for fish, cost, and hydropower generation.
A neutral party can provide critical process management services before, during, and after decisions.
Download a free preview copy of the Pearl River Teacher's Package to learn more about this simulation.
Tags: dispute resolution, environmental conflict resolution, environmental dispute resolution, environmental mediation, environmental negotiations, negotiation, negotiation agenda, negotiation and dispute resolution, negotiation exercises, negotiation simulation, negotiation skills, negotiators, Social, teaching materials, teaching mediation, teaching negotiation, teaching negotiation online, teaching negotiation resource center, teaching negotiation skills


The American Sable Rabbit was first noted in early 20th century, when it was developed by Otto Brock in California. The Sable coloration is caused by a gene called "chinchilla light" . This gene is incompletely dominant over the two below it . When a rabbit has two copies of cchl, it looks so dark brown as to be almost black. This color is called seal. The non-showable colors are useful to a breeding program. Some breeders have crossed Californians into their American Sables to improve type and add some genetic diversity. As is the case with any crossbreeding project, you will find some people for and others strongly against this practice.
An American Sable's diet is like any other rabbits in that it should consist mainly of hay (70 percent), while the rest should be a healthy mix of pellets, vegetables, fruits, and leafy greens. Hay is the most important part of your rabbit's diet. Pellets should only make up a small amount of your rabbit's diet. They are high calorie and low fibre which leads to obesity and overgrown teeth. Fresh vegetables keep your rabbit's intestines well hydrated, which helps with overall digestion. Rabbits have a sweet tooth and would probably love to eat a lot of fruit. However, because of the high sugar content, fruits should be fed only as treats. In order for your rabbit's personality to flourish, American Sables need to have plenty of time outside of their enclosures.
The American Sable Rabbit has an average-sized, commercial type of body with some weight difference between the male and female rabbits.These rabbits have a rounded head with vertical, upright ears.
American Sables have soft, fine, dense coat that requires more grooming that the average short-haired rabbit.
American Sables are energetic rabbits who will happily run round inside or out, and once they've been tuckered out, will enjoy the company of their human. American Sable Rabbit can be great as pet.


Should my dog wear a muzzle?
This is a question I get a lot. And it usually comes from people who really, deep down, know the answer. They just can't bring themselves to take this step.
So first off - if your dog has bitten anyone or anything, or you fear he may bite - have sense and muzzle-train him. This is not only for safety, but also for the health of your heart-rate and possibly your bank balance, if things go badly wrong.
There are many useful occasions for a muzzle - a vet or groomer visit for an anxious dog is one. Far better for your dog to be used to his muzzle and arrive already wearing it, rather than be man-handled by staff putting a strange one on him.
Then there's the slug-muncher and stone-eater - and harvesters of other unmentionable stuff that some dogs take a fancy to! Rather than try and catch him and nag the whole time, just prevent it.
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Some dogs can cope with people outside the house, but visitors inside the house terrify him. Give yourself and your dog a break by muzzling him before your guests arrive. Once you relax a bit because you know your friends and family aren't going to be shredded and spat out on the carpet, your dog will have a better chance of relaxing too. Of course the dog must be happy to be there - not just forced in on the basis that he's no longer dangerous!
But people will think my dog is nasty!
Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. (Maybe they do already.) If they're strangers, do you really care? And if they're friends, you can explain to them.
One surefire thing about a muzzle is that it tends to keep people away - which is just what you want! They think your dog must be dangerous and therefore move their dogs and children aside, as well as themselves. It doesn't seem to occur to them that your dog is actually the safest of all now! But this is a good outcome. Your anxious dog doesn't need people/children/dogs in her face.
If you feel anxious yourself about muzzling your dog, think how you'll feel if you relax your vigilance for a moment and your dog bites someone! Would that be worse? Definitely. Bite the bullet and just do it.
What sort of muzzle should I get?
There's quite a variety of muzzles available.
• Cloth muzzle: this is the sort that vets may put on a dog for a few moments while they treat her. It should never be on for long - or be put on an unsupervised dog - as it prevents the dog from panting or drinking, and is therefore dangerous. It's also not advised for brachycephalic dogs (squashed-nose dogs, so popular at the moment) as they already struggle to breathe and these cloth muzzles have proved fatal in some cases for these dogs. So on no account get this one!
• Basket muzzle: what you need is a basket muzzle that allows your dog to open her mouth fully, to eat, drink, pant, and not feel constrained. But these vary hugely, and you need to get the right one for your dog.
• Baskerville muzzles: perhaps the commonest. They don't allow full opening of the mouth. The inability to pant could have serious consequences for a dog who needs to lower her body temperature.
• Baskerville Ultra muzzle: is often the go-to muzzle as it's widely available. But this doesn't mean it's the right one for your dog! They have an optional head-strap which can be useful for keeping the thing on, but they are really designed for brachycephalic dogs and are too short for longer-nosed dogs. See Lacy in hers. She hated it - you can see that in the photo. Any larger and it would have fallen off her face.
• Leather custom-made colourful muzzles: very expensive and they look pretty constricting to me. It looks hard to get treats in at the right moment (essential if you're working on counterconditioning an anxious or fearful dog). But I know some people like them.
• Racing greyhound muzzle: my favourite, and the one Lacy is wearing in the other pictures. Made to measure, available in loads of colours, incredibly lightweight, it allows full opening of the mouth for even a gasping racing dog, treats are easy to administer, and most important - Lacy is very happy to wear it. She comes forward and puts her face in, as opposed to running and hiding as she did when she saw the Baskerville Ultra.
Bottom line: your dog should find the muzzle comfortable, it should be easy to slip on, secure, and allow your dog to drink, pant, eat treats, and possibly play.
They don't need to be! You can decorate your dog's muzzle any way you like. You can see I "girlified" Lacy's black muzzle, and I've added a little fleece to the top of her pink racing muzzle in case it chafed. It never did, but I felt it was kinder to cushion it as sometimes she will be wearing it for a couple of hours at a time.
You can use paint, stickers, ribbons, sparkly stuff (make sure it can't flake into your dog's eyes or nose) - anything that shows that your dog is loved.
I tried a muzzle once and my dog hated it and kept scrabbling at her face!
Wouldn't you? If someone slapped a cage on your face without asking?
Just as with any bit of dog gear - harness, collar, coat - you have to acclimatise your dog to this slowly. The idea is to associate the new thing with a steady flow of treats until your dog can't wait to put her nose in!
Start by treating her for just looking at it; then for sniffing it, then for touching it with her nose … and so on. Those three steps alone may take you three days or more! Go at your dog's speed, don't try to rush.
The key is that your dog should always have the choice to move forward to interact with the muzzle. You're not grabbing her and whamming it on!
There is an excellent how-to video in the Resources below. Do watch it then work through it step-by-step. Once you're at the stage of putting the muzzle on before a walk, your dog will associate it with treats and a walk.
This is the perfect ending - as long as your dog likes walks! If not, then have a look at some of the other Growly Dog posts here.
There is no stigma in being a responsible dog-owner!
Don't think you are appearing a bad owner if your dog is wearing a muzzle! You are being a responsible owner! You are acknowledging that your dog has difficulties in certain areas of her life and you are aiming for the best possible outcome. Never be ashamed of this.
Muzzling your dog may allow him valuable off-lead time. This does depend on the level of his anxiety and the amount of behaviour modification training you've put in place. You must always think safety first.
As you can see in the photo, a group walk can be made possible for a muzzle-trained dog. Ensure your dog is happy with the space between her and the other dogs so she doesn't feel trapped.
And it doesn't mean the end of fun for your dog! I know dogs who wear the same muzzle as Lacy who can still play with their beloved toys as they can press down on the ground and get a grip on its "handle". So a ball on a rope is the ideal solution for the toy-mad dog who needs to wear a muzzle.
Store your dog's muzzle in a prominent place near your leads and harnesses. Put it on your dog proudly! Be glad of how much relief it brings you. And know you're doing the right thing.
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Tagged: dog muzzle, dangerous dog, dog biting, dog bites, dog eating stones, dog scavenging, muzzle for dog, reactive dog, shy dog, dog afraid of people, dog barks and lunges at other dogs, decorating a dog muzzle, what type of muzzle?, which muzzle is best?


text:
Wow! Mohanlal's Odiyan to have a simultaneous Telugu release
Actor Saiju Kurup's father dies in an accident today
Queen scriptwriters are back with a Biju Menon movie
Queen, a Malayalam movie starring a bunch of newcomers in lead roles, is one of the surprise superhits of the year. Now, Sharis Mohammed and Jebin Joseph Antony, writers of the movie are all set to pen a script for a Biju Menon movie. The comedy entertainer titled as Adyarathri, will be directed by cinematographer turned filmmaker Jibu Jacob. This will be the second movie from Biju Menon – Jibu Jacob team after the blockbuster Vellimoonga.
Biju Menon will be seen playing the role of a marriage broker in the film. It will have music composed by Bijibal and camera cranked by Sreejith Nair. More details regarding the star cast of the movie are expected to be revealed soon. The movie will be shot at various locations in Alappuzha.
Tags: Queen scriptwriters Biju Menon Jibu Jacob adhyarathri


text:
Felix Tijerina (1905–1965) was a Mexican-American restaurateur, activist, and philanthropist in Houston, Texas. He served as the 25th president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

History

Tijerina was born in General Escobedo, Nuevo León, Mexico; He had claimed to have been born in Sugar Land, Texas. In 1918 he became a busboy at the Original Mexican Restaurant, the first Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston. Tijerina taught himself English and became a friend and associate of the owner of the restaurant. Tijerina became the manager of the restaurant, located in what is now downtown Houston.

Tijerina opened his own restaurant in 1929. In a fashion similar to his mentors, Tijerina described his restaurant's food as authentic, but catered the food to the tastes of white Americans. The Great Depression forced the closure of his first restaurant. Tijerina became a beer truck driver. His wife, Janie, gambled on a horse and won, allowing the family to start the restaurant a second time. Tijerina started another restaurant in 1937 in what is now the Neartown area of Houston. Tijerina opened other restaurants in other locations. In addition Tijerina became prominent in Houston politics. He became friends with many politicians, including Lewis Wesley Cutrer, Roy Hofheinz, and R.E. "Bob" Smith, and was the first Mexican American to serve on the board of the Houston Housing Authority. In 1956 Tijerina became the national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and served four consecutive annual terms. He started LULAC's Little School of the 400 program, intended to teach English to non-English speaking children before they entered school.

Robb Walsh of the Houston Press said that "Tijerina's story is a study in assimilation. His mission was to help Mexican-Americans merge into the American mainstream as successfully as he had" and that "Early Mexican restaurants like Felix's were among the first institutions where urban Anglos and Hispanics rubbed elbows. Tijerina's Americanized version of Mexican cooking was what brought the races together. And it was a triumph of diplomacy." Walsh added that Tijerina's style of cooking "was not about bringing authentic Mexican flavors to Texas; it was about putting Anglos at ease with things Mexican." Walsh stated that "His floury chili gravy and fluffy chili con queso were not far from brown gravy and cheese dip, and the spicing of his sauces was nonconfrontational to the delicate Anglo palate."

Tijerina died in 1965. Janie took over the operations of the restaurant chain, Felix Mexican Restaurants. In 1971 the chain had six restaurants in Houston and one in Beaumont. The last Felix's restaurant, located in Montrose, closed in 2008. After the closure, Scott Sullivan, an owner of the El Patio Mexican Restaurant chain, reached an agreement with Felix Tijerina Jr. to license Felix's name and recipes, which led to Felix's chile con queso becoming a permanent addition to El Patio's menu.

Walsh compared Felix's food to "scratchy recordings of the Delta blues", as in it was an illustration of the history of an evolving cuisine.

Legacy
Felix Tijerina Elementary School, a Houston Independent School District campus which opened in 1979 to serve the Central Park community, was named after Tijerina.

See also

 History of the Mexican-Americans in Houston
 Tex-Mex cuisine in Houston
 Molina's Cantina
 Ninfa's
 Mario Gallegos, Jr.
 Ninfa Laurenzo
 Rick Noriega
 Ben Reyes
 South Park Mexican
 Jim Goode
 Percy Creuzot

Notes

References
 Kreneck, Thomas H. Mexican American Odyssey: Felix Tijerina, Entrepreneur and Civic Leader, 1905-1965. Texas A&M University Press, 2001. , . Link at Google Books.

Further reading
 "Felix Tijerina and an Expanding Civic Elite." The Houston Review 1, no. 2 (2004): 34.

External links
 Gonzales, J. R. "Felix Mexican Restaurant." Houston Chronicle. April 9, 2010.

Businesspeople from Houston
American restaurateurs
American activists
1905 births
1965 deaths
Mexican emigrants to the United States
People from Escobedo, Nuevo León
20th-century American businesspeople
League of United Latin American Citizens activists

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In developing Simile, we have been guided first and foremost by our vision of what it is possible to achieve — what computer modelling within the research community could be like, given the right tools.
In particular, Simile has been developed in response to a wide range of serious problems with the current state of simulation modelling in the areas of earth, environmental and life science research. These problems result in the duplication of efforts between different research groups, and in a widespread perception of the failure of modelling to deliver on its promises as part of the scientific process.
Our approach is based on the principle of declarative modelling : that a model should be seen as being primarily a specification rather than as a piece of computer programming. Adoption of this principle makes many things possible that are simply not possible with the conventional, programming-based approach.
In Simile, we have implemented a number of key features to bring our vision to reality. Although we are still some way off achieving all the potential benefits of the declarative modeling approach, Simile does already address the problems we have identified with current modelling practice.
One key aspect is that we have achieved considerable generality in the types of models that can be constructed with a small number of model-design elements. These have a graphical representation in the model diagram, but also relate to the declarative specification of the model design.
One particular model-design element that gives Simile much of its power is the submodel. This enables the modeller to represent multiple objects, and to handle plug-and-play modularity.
Simile's set of model-design elements make it possible for a wide range of modelling approaches, normally considered to be quite different types of model, to be supported within a single modelling environment. For example, one model may contain components that variously have characteristics of differential-equation, matrix-algebra, cellular-automaton and object-based models, all integrated in a single model.


I am getting a problem while writting the procing procedure. The conditions are as follow.
Price = MRP - Discount1 - Discount2.
The pricing procedure is calculating the values correctly, but it is not showing the proce value in NET field of sales order. Can you suggest me for getting the proce value in NET field.
Go to V/06, select your condition type and execute. There ensure that for the field "Cond.Class", you have maintained "B".
Net Value should reflect as 93 and Tax as 5.
Please correct my understanding of the requirement, if the above example is different from your requirement.
Is there any entry in the sub total field in V/08 procedure? Net values are stored in sub totals. Check what setting you have there.
Use the alternative calc type and ensure that A is input in the subtotal field . This will transfer it to the nett value. If you want nett value only then ensure that 2 is input in the alt calc type. If its nett value +tax then use 4.


text:
Q: tidy_repair_string removes end line break (\n or \r) $HTMLcodeOutput = tidy_repair_string($HTMLcode, array('show-body-only' => true, 'indent' => true));

will remove $HTMLcode' end of line.
Ex :
that's in the main box

##What does it do ?

it does everything

##Output:

Will output
that's in the main box ##What does it do ? it does everything
##Output: I will giv ea a grat output

This wouldn't be a problem if this string wasn't echoed into a < pre > tag thereafter. Thus, the \n or \r character IS important.
I had a look at the documentation, but couldn't find anything obvious.
Is there any way to keep these line return characters ?
(Adding  tags before using tidy string repair is a bad idea, as it will result in echoing the <pre> tags visible in the browser, as string (decoded), and not as tags.)

A: If I've understood correctly, you are trying to format html for human readability, and you don't want to use "pre" tags to force tidy to preserve whitespace because you will be running the output of tidy through htmlspecialchars before outputting it to the browser.
Why don't you just remove those "pre" tags after cleaning?  It would look like this:
$config = array('show-body-only' => true, 'indent' => true);
$HTMLcodeOutput = tidy_repair_string('<pre>'.$HTMLcode.'</pre>', $config);
$HTMLcodeOutput = substr($HTMLcodeOutput, 5, -6);


Will small charities be squeezed out of Transforming Rehabilitation plans?
Paul Goggins MP welcomed everyone to the meeting, and introduced himself as joint chair of the group. He explained to newcomers how the meeting went about its business, and went on to mention a few practical matters. The next meeting would take place on Tuesday 4th February 2014, and the speaker would be Sir David Calvert-Smith, Chairman of the Parole Board. The meeting will combine with the annual Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Rehabilitation.
He then introduced the two speakers for the evening's meeting: Clive Martin, Director of Clinks, and Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance.
Clive Martin: 'Good evening everyone, thank you for inviting me, I'm Clive Martin, the director of Clinks, and Clinks is the umbrella body that supports the voluntary sector working with offenders and their families. So the question for tonight is- will small charities be squeezed out of transforming rehabilitation plans? Well, we certainly don't think that that is the ambition but there's certainly a lot of detail in the transforming revolution that is yet to come and unless we are quite vigilant I think it might be the consequence. I thought I might explain a bit about the scope then canter through some of the process. So, the number of voluntary sector organisations working with offenders and their families- the Third Sector Research Council puts it at 1,400- organisations who badge themselves as criminal justice organisations, so their main and only focus would be offenders and/or their families if of course you spread that only slightly and count organisations for whom offenders are a key part of their client group, for example Citizens Advice Bureau, you would get a much larger number.
So this is a sector that's full of small local organisations working across a range of need. I think also you could count on one hand those organisations in the sector that are known to you who have a national profile, NACRO and Catch 22, and so on. So you can see that this question is really pertinent to the future of this sector. Secondly, I think whatever your view about what the voluntary sector has done in the past or should do- by that I mean whether you think the voluntary sector should be service delivery, or whether you think it should be campaigning or whether you think it should be advice and advocacy- doesn't really matter, because inevitably all of these organisations will be caught up in the same process of commissioning. What are the plans for that commissioning process so far? Well, you'll know that the big plan is for probation services to be now provided by what are called Tier 1 organisations. Tier 1 organisations will have responsibility for 21 different contract package areas across England and Wales, with the National Probation Service working with only high risk offenders. So you will have 21 different Tier 1 organisations, by and large those are expected to come from the private sector, with some hope, of course, that a mutual will emerge or a large voluntary sector consortium will develop but that remains an aspiration rather than a reality at the moment. So under Tier 1, (who will be these large providers), you will then have Tier 2 and Tier 3 organisations and its quite difficult to tell the difference between a Tier 2 and Tier 3 organisation. Tier 2 may, for example, be a housing provider, it may, for example, be a drug rehabilitation provider or it may be involved in collaboration of women's centres, it's unclear. Tier 3 are likely to be much smaller local organisations doing maybe occasional delivery or working with small groups of people and so on, but no one is clear as to the difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3.
What is clear is that they will depend on their finances, the means by which they exisft, to Tier 1 organisations.
So these will be new Tier 1 organisations who don't particularly have any real history of a relationship with the voluntary sector, who generally commission to scale because that's what makes it easier, and who will be operating a large contract package area so the system design doesn't necessarily meet the way in which the services are currently structured. This is very significant because it places small voluntary sector organisations who previously had a relationship with the Probation Trust, (a statutory body), it places them now accountable to a private sector organisation, or a large organisation at Tier 1, and it's unclear as to how that will work. So whether, for example, if you're a Tier 3 organisation whether you'll be contracted to a Tier 1 or Tier 2, and in addition to that the complication around the funding mechanisms.
So previously you'll know that the voluntary sector has moved over the years from grant funding to contract funding. There is some experience of contract funding but what will be new is any sort of payment by results mechanism and what will also be new is any sort of handing down of risk as payment by results of course means part of your income depends on your ability to reduce the offending and that's quite a risky business. So there will be an element of money which will be put at risk and the small and local voluntary sector means that that presents some severe problems in terms of cash flow and so on. The largest organisations in the sector, for example Catch 22, you look on the charities website or Companies House website and you'll see their free reserves are around £13 million. £13 million in terms of cash flow is not a substantial amount of money and if you move down to smaller organisations the figures of free reserves, the amount of money you can access, becomes smaller and smaller. So although we think the Ministry of Justice has gone out of its way to try to ensure smaller voluntary sector organisations are included in the consultancy, and have their voice heard, we know the challenges of large scale commissioning and procurement sometimes are at odds with the rhetoric and ambition of the commissioners. And so we are really waiting to see the detail, that finer detail.
Some of it appears, to be frank, fairly fanciful, so for example one of the ideas around is that Tier 1 organisations from the private sector will grant fund Tier 3 voluntary sector organisations. Why does this seem fanciful? First of all, this is a cost saving exercise. There will be the orders of court that need to be implemented and so on, secondly government has not done grant funding itself for quite some time so it seems unrealistic to ask a private sector organisation, and grant funding itself is a skilled job, not just throwing money out of the window. So there are a number of complicated detailed issues that we need to work through. I'm very conscious of time and wanting to open the discussion so I won't say any more now but hopefully that's enough to generate some questions'.
Vicki Helyar-Cardwell: 'Clive has laid out very clearly the issues facing small voluntary organisations in the commissioning framework. I thought it might be useful to compliment that- to cover two or three issues that really impact on the types of organisations we're talking about and how that fits with what's already been shared.
So I thought it might be interesting to talk about innovation and quality work (which is a key strength of the voluntary sector), and localism, how lots of the organisations we are talking about are very embedded in their local communities, have strong local ties, with civic society, wider institutions, and I thought the third issue that's pertinent to this group is the creation of resettlement prisons, which is part of the package, and how that will impact on the work of charities who we already know do a lot of work in prisons.
So as we've said, it's a major piece of reform, we're talking about more than 300,000 offenders who will be impacted by these changes. The vast majority will be those serving short community sentences and a much smaller number will be those coming out of short prison sentences but it also impacts those people in the last three months of their sentence currently in prison whose access to rehabilitation services will now be determined by the 21 contract package areas. We're pleased by some of the progress that's been made since the start of the initial consultation. We think it's important and significant that short sentence prisoners are getting some support, we have some reservations about how that support will be delivered, which I'll come on to, and we're pleased that government have moved away from the binary measure of reoffending to get your payment. So if someone completely stops offending then you get paid but if you do a lot of intensive work with someone, and reduce the seriousness and frequency of their offending over time, which is often the pattern of moving away from crime, then you wouldn't get paid and there's been some movement on that.
We think the new proposals are more sophisticated than they were, but there's potential to go further on that. First, talking about innovative work done by the voluntary sector, it's worth saying we think perhaps some false expectations are being set about how much of this money will filter down and through and out into some of the specialist local charities we are talking about. There will be limited funds for the work, and the vast majority of those funds will have to be spent on delivering the order of the court, so if the court mandates perhaps community payback, perhaps mental health treatment requirement, the vast majority of the money available will be spent delivering what the court has ordered and there's a big question mark about how much money will be left to commission small specialist charities to do some of that wrap- around rehabilitation work. There's also a risk that trusts and foundations who currently provide money for ' through the gate' resettlement support may well pull out of funding some work. We know that trusts and foundations are quite good at funding work that's not been tried before, innovative work. They're quite good at providing things that do perhaps cost a bit more but they provide quality and there's a risk that they may pull out of that- a) because it's now a statutory duty so why should they fund it? and b) they may- and I don't speak on behalf of trusts- but they may feel they don't want to put their money into supporting a private organisations profit margin so there are real risks about some innovation being lost.
In terms of localism there is great potential for some more innovative, better, structure of services around offenders. As we know, the group that are now being brought into the proposals, short sentenced prisoners, often have the most complex needs, they're in and out of prison, they may have mental health issues, drug dependency, complex needs, they're mothers, they're carers, they're people with lots of other needs, and will absolutely be reliant on access to non- criminal justice services. Therefore partnerships between these big prime provider and organisations delivering these contracts and local non criminal justice service will be absolutely critical to ensuring this group get the support they need. And building partnerships as we know takes time, so in local areas there may already be strong partnerships between probation, local authorities, local agencies, housing providers, and I think there's just a note of caution about how long it might take to ensure those partnerships are strong and working for the benefit of the community.
The target operating model is a slightly fanciful term, but is just what government has said is what they expect organisations to agree local protocols in relation to engagement with non-statutory partnerships where they support the management of offenders and the reduction of reoffending, but there wasn't any detail around that so I think it will be interesting to see what bits come forward and how that works but I think there are some concerns around how small voluntary organisations will link up with key agencies like local authorities and will local authorities continue to put in the resources, the effort, the time, the people into these arrangements as they need to for it to work?
And then the third area where I think there is potential risk to small and medium organisations, (although I do want to put this context that there is scope for much more involvement of the voluntary sector and some of the bigger charities are up for the changes and will probably form a consortium bid as Tier 1), but the other potential area is the changes to the prison regime and the prison estate. The intention of the government is a very good one, and it is to house people as close as possible to their home and their community, which we all support, close to their family and close to resettlement services they'll need on release, however the backdrop as we know is a prison service that has undergone significant cuts in the last couple of years.
If people have read the Chief Inspector of Prisons last annual report- although he's quite positive about reductions in self harm, although he's reasonably positive about issues around safety-he's extremely critical about the level of purposeful activity in prisons for which he uses the word 'plummeted' , in the last year, so we are seeing a reduction in purposeful activity and good resettlement activity in prisons already, so there's a huge problem with the financing of this, and we know the government's impact assessment that accompanies the Offender Rehabilitation Bill estimates around 13,000 people will breach these new arrangements so they'll be an additional 13,000 people who are in breach and will be recalled to prison for a couple of weeks, which will need 600 prison places, so the prison service which is in a difficult situation as it is will have to accommodate these additional prisoners . And there's a question about the voluntary sector who already work in prisons, who deliver resettlement services-government has said we don't want any good work to stop but how will this work in practise, will the small organisations who already work in prisons still get access and still be able to do the work they're doing if they're not part of this new community? If they're not in the structured supply chain can they keep doing the work they're doing or will they get squeezed out just because of the day to day demands of running a prison and the resources, the staff, that are needed to resource the voluntary sector coming into prisons and doing the work they do.
I just wanted to take one example which is work with families, as an example of something the voluntary sector do well, they don't have a monopoly on it, but have done very well and have a good track record in providing and it's intensive work, it may often be holistic and might need to be individual, and it may cost money if it's done really well. There's a question about family work and where it fits in. Does it fit in the decent core regime that every prison should provide and we think yes it absolutely should and that should be protected but it also contributes to people's rehabilitation and resettlement so where does it fit and how will it be funded and how do we make sure that we maintain in every prison, whether it's a resettlement prison or not, very good core family services that the voluntary sector would often be involved in providing alongside ensuring that families work that contributes to resettlement and rehabilitation is properly funded through community rehabilitation companies and isn't squeezed out if it's found to be a costly added extra rather than core work.


The Meadow Creek BX25 Box Smoker is efficient, maintains temperature like nobody's business, and has a compact footprint. Check out these tantalizing photos of ribs, sausage, tenderloin, and beans from my first cook on the BX25!
The BX25 has a sleek and tight design with just the right capacity for personal use. I couldn't help but fall in love with it from the first cook!
Here's a sneak peek of the ribs and beans.
The BX25 Box Smoker ready to fire for the first time!
Meadow Creek's box smokers work well with or without the water. Some prefer to cook with water and others prefer to use it dry. It's really a matter of preference, but the water keeps the humidity very high in the smoker, which steams the meat and creates a softer bark than it would in a dry smoker.
The water pan slides into the side of the smoker and is secured with postive-lock latches. The 5-gallon water jug rests on the port on top of the water pan.
The BX25 Box Smoker comes with three T304 food-grade stainless steel grates and can hold a total of six grates. The smoker and grates are nothing short of handsome.
I opened the vents all the way, put roughly 8 pounds of charcoal briquettes into the charcoal basket, and lit them with my propane torch. You can add more briquettes for longer cooks as long as you leave enough room for a log split or several wood chunks.
Once the coals are lit, the smoker should be getting close to 200 degrees F. From there you can start dialing in the temperature by closing down the bottom vents.
I coated the ribs with Meat Glue and then a mixture of Meadow Creek Brisket Rub and Meadow Creek Gourmet Seasoning.
The sausage links were the Weis brand. Their recipe is a favorite of mine. The pork tenderloins were Swift Premium, same as the ribs.
The beans were BUSH'S Original Baked Beans. I added some barbecue seasoning and a handful of rib trimmings.
The biggest challenge with this first cook was getting the smoker up to 225 degrees F after I added the meat. It wanted to hover around 210 degrees. Part of the problem was that I had the door open a lot to take photos, so it's a bit hard to tell exactly how it would have handled under normal operation. Having said that, I felt like it did an incredible job of holding a steady temperature for a long time. I look forward to mastering the firing process for my target temperature.
The ribs were in the smoke for 3 hours and then we wrapped them in aluminum foil.
After 75 minutes in the foil, we sauced the top side of the racks with Sweet Baby Ray's sauce and set them back in the smoker.
After 30-45 minutes back on the grate unwrapped, the ribs were ready to slice and eat!
These ribs were tender and delicious with a nice smoke ring.
Served with fries and smoked beans, this was a meal to remember.
The sausages disappeared quickly. These are delicious sliced into chunks or on bread with a little sauce and a slice of cheese.
Pork tenderloin is a lean cut so these are best cooked to only 145 degrees. The tenderloins got a little too hot by mistake and because of that, some of them were a bit dry. But they were still edible and the rest of my success made up for it.
Would you like to cook amazing barbecue in your backyard? Click the button below to get prices and more information about the BX25 smoker.
You can also contact us or visit us during business hours to discuss which type of smoker would be best for you.
Previous post: The Simple Secret to Tender, Mouth-Watering Grilled Chicken Every Time—From the Skin to the Bone!
Jesse at Meadow Creek indicated that the 10 CFM fan I have with my BBQ Guru Digi-Q would be adequate for my BX25 but I have been having trouble keeping a steady temperature with the fan as the only draft. Instead I have to keep the manual drafts open about a quarter of an inch to maintain temperature with lump charcoal. Do you have any recommendations to make the draft work with the Digi-Q fan only? Also, I see a big difference (40 degrees F) in pit temperature between my Digi-Q and the dial thermometer that came with the unit. What could I do to make them agree with each other? I have the Digi-Q probe at the same height as the dial probe.
Can you please call the store at (717) 355-0779 and Jesse or Matt can walk you through it.


What Do You Look for in a Self-Help Book?
At one point when I returned to my childhood home, I found I still had vivid memories of past events, even though buildings had decayed and schools were closed. I had a chance to catch up with those I hadn't seen since I was a teenager: What were they doing with their lives? Were they fulfilling their dreams and achieving the purposes they had outlined years ago? How did they see themselves?
Each had a unique story – family, profession, children, marriage, all told with a sense of pride. No one mentioned age, only what seeds they had sown in life and how those seeds had grown and blossomed. Catching up with my friends, I found myself wondering how they could have achieved their goals there in that small town.
But what I realized is that people are unique in what drives them. And apparently researchers and psychologists agree: "What your purpose is does not matter, just to feel there is one could be enough." Their conclusions from a 14-year study involving 6,000 people substantiate what you probably suspected all along: health and longevity correlate with keeping busy and living a life of purpose.
There is a broad pathway for health and longevity through keeping busy and having a meaningful purpose in life. And an important, added benefit to a life of purpose is that quality of life also increases. It is never too late to find your purpose in life. It doesn't matter where you live. Living with meaningful purpose, many have gained direction, greater happiness, and increased longevity. You can, too.
Article first published in Blogcritics.
Do You Identify Yourself as a Disease?
Find out more about prayer and healing. Come to a talk about healing prayer, join in an informal chat or Bible study fellowship, attend Christian Science church services or listen to an inspiring radio program with testimonials of healing.
Choose which talks might be right for you. The members of the Board of Lectureship are practitioners and teachers of Christian Science healing. They have varied backgrounds and come from all over the world. Find out more.
I shall not want for divine ideas.
He leads me to the inner stillness.
He guides me in the right use of my powers and abilities.
Thy power and thy presence, they comfort me.
My whole being is filled with the light of thy understanding.
And I shall dwell in this perfect awareness forever.
Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love — the kingdom of heaven — reign within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until they finally disappear.
It is heart rending to read about the thousands of refugees fleeing the ravages of war in the Mid-East in search of a safe place to live. The image of the dead boy found on a beach in Turkey captured the world's attention and accentuated just how desperate these people are. The refugees certainly need our prayers and open hearts to help find their way to a resting place they can trust.


"Fahrenheit 11/9" continues Michael Moore's bumbling tirade against the American right.
Home /Culture/Reviews/Films/"Fahrenheit 11/9" continues Michael Moore's bumbling tirade against the American right.
Michael Moore is back this fall, as morally right and as journalistically corrupt as he's ever been. "Fahrenheit 11/9" is his newest venture, delving into the atrocities committed by politicians over the last 30 years, tying them to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Moore is more heavy-handed in "11/9's" critiques of the United States than I have ever seen in films by the documentarian/propagandist. The film opens with a jubilant showing of the days and weeks leading up to Nov. 8, 2016. Shots of Hillary Clinton's supporters dancing and cheering at her election night party in New York City, accompanied by Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" dominate the first 10 minutes. Moore also cuts to melancholic views of Trump's election night party.
He rolls his version of the montage we've all seen: pundits and talk show hosts predicting a landslide victory for Clinton, progressing to announcements of Trump's building lead in battleground states, and ending in the bone-chilling proclamation that Trump would be our next President.
My assessments of this project, positive or negative, do not lie in my political alignments with Moore. I feel I should make clear that we do subscribe to nearly identical ideologies. I found myself becoming emotional at times throughout "11/9." I sympathize and identify with Moore's target audience. I felt the same pain in my heart that I did on that day almost two years ago.
My argument is in his method. I believe that Moore is a major contributor to, if not a cause of, the widening divide between American political parties. Under the guise of a voice for America's unheard working class, Moore promotes his ideas without recognition of an opposing view. He uses the assumption of near-unanimity among America's constituents to thrust his unsourced arguments upon anyone willing, or unwilling, to listen.
There was a noteworthy mirror between one of Moore's performances in "11/9" and one in his 2002 installment, "Bowling for Columbine." In "Bowling for Columbine," Moore presents himself at the home of Charlton Heston, then-president of the National Rifle Association. Moore asked Heston to apologize for holding an NRA event in Columbine, Colorado after the deadly shooting at Columbine High School. When Heston declined and excused himself from the interview, Moore began following him around his mansion, needling him to react. Heston was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease the same year and retired from the NRA presidency.
During a segment of "11/9" focused on the national neglect of the water crisis in Flint Michigan, Moore procured a sizable tanker truck with the words "Flint Water" painted on the side. He introduced himself at Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's home (through the intercom) and upon getting no response, proceeded to empty the tanker truck with what was supposedly lead-poisoned water from Flint's public water supply onto Snyder's lawn. This was after Moore attempted to place a citizen's arrest on Governor Snyder in Snyder's office, unsuccessfully.
These acts are meant to affirm that Moore is willing to throw himself into the fray for the betterment of his product, but come off as desperate, final measures to provoke a reaction from unwilling subjects.
Moore spends little time actually covering the Trump presidency, no more than a third of the film's running time. A majority of that coverage is spent drawing parallels between the Trump administration and Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. This approach to critiquing the Trump presidency, regardless of appeared truth, is especially counterproductive to repairing the rifts that have appeared in our society. I don't believe that many conservative minds have been changed by comparing the American far right to the Nazi movement.
At best, "Fahrenheit 11/9" can serve as a galvanizing agent for America's left. At worst, and far more likely, it will push conservatives further from understanding the left's driving dissatisfaction.


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On Writing: The Anti-Narrative
on March 19, 2013 March 19, 2013 By Ashley Bethard
I've been working on an essay lately, and it's doing all the things that working on an essay should: making me think, making me dig, making me research. More importantly, it's forcing me to ask questions of myself, to reexamine my opinions on literary trends and traditions — narrative, to be specific. I'm the first to admit I've had a rather fraught, complicated relationship with this term and all of its requisite weight. On one hand, we use it to describe the telling of anything. On the other, it can become somewhat of a confining suggestion that ends up reading more like a mandate, especially when our own personal ideas of narrative are a radical departure from the historical tradition.
I have a lot of respect for tradition and rules. I've spent a lot of time learning them. So while I think that they do work and will continue to work for a majority of writers, I don't feel that my work — or at least, my idea of my work — fits into what I consider a rather small and tidy box. The surging popularity of the lyric essay is one example that seems to argue in my favor, suggesting that a loosening of traditional essay rules gives way to a freer, more poetic form. That's not to say, though, that this new emerging form and its departure from tradition is a guarantor of success: I've seen plenty of lyric essays, or at least, pieces titled as such, that do not work. We should experiment and depart from rules, but we can't assume that departure equals automated privilege, or success.
For a long time, I have written to write: to get things out (catharsis), to figure out how I feel (clarity), to better understand what I see in relation to the world (context). But I've largely ignored how I do it. I'm coming to a point in my life as a writer where I am thinking more and writing less, and I don't think this is a bad thing. I am more mindful of what I'm putting down, and beyond that, I'm increasingly interested in locating my own place in a larger literary tradition. The last time I thought about something like this was when I was writing the precis for my thesis: I was prompted by my professors and the MFA director to "chart the literary lineage" of my work, of the overall project. I mainly focused on the text itself, rather than me as a complex, evolving writer. It was a useful exercise, because it was the first time I tried to identify where this particular thing lived in terms of tradition.
I did the things you'd expect an MFA candidate to do: draw on the writers that had, up until that point, resonated most with me, whose work I mirrored and often imitated. Now (and being more well-read has a lot to do with this) I am examining my writer self, the things I've written and the things I will/want to write. I'm discovering that I have internally rebelled — or at the very least, desperately, desperately wanted to — against the confines of traditional narrative for the majority of my writing life. But let's go beyond the personal, beyond the "I feel" — the traditional narrative that I had been taught to buy into was not serving my story. In fact, it rendered a whole host of my observations and experiences obsolete, or unwritable.
There is a lot written already about this departure from narrative, or from traditional narrative, as it were. It's not anything new or buzzy as far as the literary world is concerned. Experimental (such a vague, often unwelcome term) work did not just appear within the last couple years, though one could argue that the Internet explosion may have had a role in cementing its visibility. As a young writer, I felt isolated when I looked at what I was writing and what I wanted to be writing, realizing how different the idea and the actuality were. I also feel like I lacked the personal resources — discipline, focus, dedication — to seek out the answers. I did so passionately in some regards, starting with a literary awakening in high school when I read Kerouac, Ginsberg and Joyce Johnson for the first time. Their stories subverted the traditional stories I was used to, and I was radically inspired, seeing what language was capable of when a writer deviated from the norm and really harnessed the power of words.
Part of what I find the most frustrating about narrative — specifically classic narrative, the move from one moment to the next in a straight line — is the inaccuracy with which it represents experience. A huge part of writing nonfiction, whether of the essay, journalistic or memoir variety, is remembering: looking back at an experience, attempting to glean some meaning from it. The very nature of remembrance isn't conducive to straight-line narrative; in fact, it's completely at odds with it. In some ways this is where talented writers can step in, take the reins and write the story straight. I've seen it done very well time and again. But as both a reader and a writer, I want something that is closer to reality, something that not only mirrors the messiness, the chaos and the process of remembering, but thoroughly embraces it. Segmented, fragmented and braided prose has the most malleability, the most potential. And I think it is the vessel built to hold the most truth.
(A note: I'm writing an essay that blends personal experience, philosophy, history, etymology and lyricism. This post is a byproduct of that.)
Published by Ashley Bethard
Posted InOn Writing
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Home » Business » 'A pillar and stalwart': Hester Ford, the oldest person in US, dies at 115 (or maybe 116)
'A pillar and stalwart': Hester Ford, the oldest person in US, dies at 115 (or maybe 116)
A North Carolina woman who lived through the Spanish flu, World Wars I and II and the civil rights movement died Sunday, according to her family.
Hester Ford was either 115 or 116. Her family said U.S. Census Bureau documents suggest she was born in 1905, but another set of Census Bureau documents point to 1904, CBS reported. At either 115 or 116, Ford was the oldest person on record from the United States as of July 30, according to data compiled by the Gerontology Research Group.
Ford was born on a farm in Lancaster County, South Carolina. She grew up picking cotton and married her husband John at 14. They moved to Charlotte in 1960, where her husband died three years later and where Ford lived for the rest of her life.
"She was a pillar and stalwart to our family and provided much needed love, support and understanding to us all," said her great-granddaughter, Tanisha Patterson-Powe, in a statement emailed to the Charlotte Observer.
Ford lived at home on her own, without assistance, until the age of 108, when she bruised her ribs in a bathtub fall. Family members then moved into her home to assist the supercentenarian.
This Aug. 13, 2016, file photo shows Roosevelt Patterson greeting his grandmother Hester "Granny" Ford during Ford's 111th birthday party (Photo: Diedra Laird, The Charlotte Observer via AP)
In addition to her 12 children, Ford had 68 grandchildren, 125 great-grandchildren and at least 120 great-great-grandchildren.
"She not only represented the advancement of our family but of the Black African American race and culture in our country. She was a reminder of how far we have come as people on this earth," Patterson-Powe said.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, relatives and friends drove by Ford's house in North Carolina to celebrate her birthday in August, leaving presents on the driveway.
"I just live right, all I know," she told her granddaughter at the time.
The oldest person in the world is 117-year-old Kane Tanaka of Japan.
The longest a human has ever lived is 122 years. Jeanne Calment, a French woman, died in August 1997.
Contributing: Wyatte Grantham-Phillips; The Associated Press
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After working in the broadcast industry for more than a decade Mark McCarthy set up SPARKY FILM, a production company producing a range of dynamic and affordable video content around the world.
Most camera people swear by the trusty old tripod, but Mark McCarthy from Sparky Film takes a look at The Steadicam Air, a device that is certain to change your view on monopods for video.
RedShark Review: Obtaining the ideal balance between ergonomic comfort and practical control of a camera is something that wer are constantly refining. The Master Grip handle system from Arri is an attempt at offering the ultimate in control over camera functions, with all major functions available at your fingertips. Mark McCarthy from Sparky Film gives us his view from a practical perspective.
In the third of our exclusive ARRI AMIRA video diaries, Mark McCarthy and Sparky Film decide to really test its capabilities out and make a short film.
In the second of our exclusive ARRI AMIRA video diaries, Mark McCarthy uses the camera in a field he knows inside out and is rather delighted with the results.
A documentary camera with the same image quality as an ARRI ALEXA? Here's what it's like to live with one. Part 1 of a series of video diaries.
Using radio mics instead of booms: Sparky Film recently tested out the newly released RødeLink Cinema radio mic kit and was rather pleased with the results.
Sony's PXW X70 is picking up a reputation as a fairly remarkable small camera that produces big pictures. More to the point, as I found out recently in Mumbai, you can take it places where you could never take a bigger camera.
The Canon 17-120mm zoom may be the only lens you ever need!
SPARKY FILM road tests the Canon CN7x17 KAS in 4k. This lens isn't cheap - but it may be the only one you ever need to buy!
Here's a review of the Samyang 35mm T1.5 cine lens with a Sony F5 camera. This is some of the sharpest footage we've ever seen on Vimeo!