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The Next Fight: The commandant is pushing the Corps to be ready for a 'violent, violent fight'
By: Jeff Schogol September 18, 2017
"People ask me, 'What are you worried about?'" Commandant Gen. Robert Neller said. "I'm worried that we're going too slow and that we're afraid of change." (Lance Cpl. Brianna Gaudi/Marine Corps)
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has repeatedly offered sobering — and at times ominous — warnings about the next war the Corps will face.
He says the next fight will be far more complex and deadly than the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan that have shaped the force and its leadership over the past 16 years.
"I don't think the next fight is going to be a stability op/counterinsurgency: It's going to be a violent, violent fight," Neller said in May, while speaking at the 2017 Innovation Symposium awards ceremony.
In June, Neller told Congress that, right now, the Marine Corps is "not currently organized, trained and equipped to face a peer adversary in the year 2025."
The commandant has good reason to worry. Military planners expect future enemies to have advanced air and shore defenses. They will have effective aircraft and indirect fire. They will use cyber and electronic warfare to jam or confuse Marines' networks, communications systems and global positioning systems.
The opening salvos of future wars will likely be fired in space, Neller believes.
"In my view, the recon/counterrecon fight is going to start not by taking out recon teams and shooting down surveillance aircraft. It's going to start in cyber and space — to blind the enemy, or to blind us," Neller said in May.
"The center of gravity that we have to protect is the network, and the network is dependent on space. We lose space, we're back to [high frequency] radio and yellow stickies on the map."
Those concerns are shaping the way the Corps is investing in the future — boosting cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, psychological operations, air defenses and other nontraditional combat power that will be needed to prevail on future battlefields.
But Neller fears those new capabilities might not come fast enough.
"People ask me, 'What are you worried about?'" Neller said at the awards ceremony. "I'm worried that we're going too slow and that we're afraid of change."
NO MORE LOW-TECH ENEMIES
As the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan got underway in November 2001, Marines led by then-Brig. Gen. James Mattis flew more than 375 nautical miles from the amphibious assault ship Peleliu to secure an airstrip in southern Afghanistan — the deepest insertion of amphibious Marines to capture an airfield in the Corps' history.
"It's a perfect illustration of what the Corps had envisioned accomplishing: It deploys a force from the sea from long distance by air … and catches an enemy by surprise," said Peter Singer, a strategist and senior fellow at the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C.
The Marine Corps wants to provide infantry units with better access to cyber warfare and electronic warfare capabilities. (Lance Cpl. Jose Villalobosrocha/Marine Corps)
"Part of what allowed them to do that is the amphibious force itself wasn't under threat. It was a mobile base that could go anywhere the U.S. essentially wanted it to."
Moreover, the Marines flying into Afghanistan in 2001 could be completely confident in the Corps' communications networks, which essentially faced no major risk of disruption or cyberattack. Upon arrival in Afghanistan, the Marines enjoyed complete air superiority and the enemy there had no drone capabilities.
But the evolution of warfare has moved light-years since then. The advantages that the U.S. military has enjoyed in the decades following the 1991 Operation Desert Storm may simply not exist in the next battlespace. Future adversaries will be armed with deadlier technology — some of which may be better than what U.S. troops are armed with.
For the past 20 years, U.S. adversaries — from low-tech Iraqi insurgents to sophisticated military planners in Russia and China — have honed their own combat capabilities to undermine the American military and how it operates.
Many "attacks" that the Marines must prepare for will not be traditional kinetic strikes, Singer said. For example, the Chinese strategy calls for mounting a cyberattack on logistical support structures so that Marines in combat can't get needed supplies. That could include hacking into the supply system to change bar codes so that Marines get toilet paper instead of ammunition.
"The idea is: I'm going to turn your strengths into weaknesses," Singer told Marine Corps Times. "For the U.S. as a nation, they've looked at what are our unique strengths are: globalized, instantaneous information sharing and command and control; the second is a global basing and logistics structure."
New gear for squad-level Marines will help adapt for new enemies
The Corps is testing new equipment that could revolutionize small-tactics and vastly expand the firepower of a squad and platoon.
By: Todd South
FINDING A 'BUBBLE'
The Marines historic mission of amphibious operations projecting power from the sea is now facing new threats not seen since August 1942, when the Japanese defeated the U.S. Navy at Savo Island, leaving Marines on Guadalcanal hung out to dry.
The range of enemy cruise and ballistic missiles is becoming greater than the distances that ship-based Marine aircraft can fly.
Both China and Russia are developing sophisticated air and coastal defenses known as anti-access area denial systems, which include carrier-killing cruise missiles, advanced air surface-to-air missiles and the latest fighter aircraft.
And some of those weapons and technology are spreading to the most low-tech enemies. For example, last year, the Houthi rebels in Yemen fired a cruise missile at a Navy destroyer in the Red Sea. The missile came within a minute of striking the ship and forced the destroyer to fire an interceptor missile. It's widely believed that Iran provided the missiles to the Yemeni rebels.
The Marines are trying to avoid a strategy that requires the total destruction of those surface and air defense systems. Instead, the Marines' plan is to use its own manned and unmanned systems to create temporary bubbles in enemy defenses, where amphibious landings can take place, according to the Marine Operating Concept.
"You're going to have to set the conditions to where you can land the landing force, or you're going have to find a place where you can land, where that threat may be nonexistent," Neller said in 2016.
The Marine Corps is looking at how to use unmanned aircraft, submarines and vehicles to create diversions while Marines land elsewhere, according to the Ellis Group, the Corps' internal think tank.
Another tactic the Corps is looking at is using swarms of unmanned aircraft to create a protective bubble around Marines as they come ashore, said Ellis Group Director Doug King.
"As soon as [an enemy] radiates, gives off a signature, that swarm is just going right after them," King said in March.
From the Pacific to Europe: Where the next fight may happen
China has conducted patrols near the Senkaku islands, claimed by Japan.
By: Jeff Schogol
THE DRONE THREAT
Over the next 10 years, the greatest threat to U.S. Marines and other troops will be small, cheap drones, which even low-budget adversaries could potentially produce by the tens of thousands using 3-D printing.
"What you will have will be drones that are rounds of ammunition that fly to a specific area and then circle and look for a target — and use optical recognition out of something as simple as a cell phone camera to go after things," said retired Marine Col. T. X. Hammes, a distinguished research fellow at the U.S. National Defense University.
China already has a drone based on an Israeli design that can reportedly fly 1,000 miles — almost twice the range of the F-35 — without refueling, he said. It comes in an 18-round launcher, so a company can launch 54 and a battalion can launch 162 of them.
Such drones are not just available to near-peer competitors, Hammes told Marine Corps Times. He noted that he was expressing his personal views, not those of the NDU or the Defense Department.
Nonstate extremist groups like al-Qaida or Hezbollah can purchase commercially available drones that can fly 2,000 miles, which can threaten both commercial and military aircraft.
Marines flying into combat zones can no longer be completely confident in the Corps' communications networks, which skilled adversaries can threaten with disruption or cyberattack. (Cpl. Reece Lodder/Marine Corps)
Earlier this year, U.S. troops in Iraq reported that the Islamic State group was launching 10 to 15 drones a day against the Iraqi security forces fighting in Mosul, significantly slowing down the operation led by Iraqi troops. Combined with the threats posed by advanced Russian and Chinese cruise and ballistic missiles, enemy drones will pose a major threat to F-35 bases, Hammes said.
"The key question is whether DoD can shift from buying very, very expensive systems, like the F-35, to more useful systems, like inexpensive drones."
"The danger with the F-35, of course, is it operates from a fixed airfield. Even the Marine version has to go back somewhere for maintenance. So we are investing heavily in the F-35, which is going to be extraordinarily vulnerable inside the decade."
Small drones typically do not have large warheads, so Marines in hardened positions will be able to dig in and ride out a swarm attack by drones like an artillery barrage, he said.
But it will be harder for Marines who are on the move to defend against such attacks. While the Marine Corps is looking for ways to defeat enemy drones, the Defense Department's procurement system is notoriously slow.
The U.S. can also use drones to great effect in defending Poland, the Baltic states, as well as treaty allies in the Pacific, such as Japan and the Philippines, Hammes said. The Polish military is already committed to buying 1,000 drones per year, which can carry high-explosive anti-tank and thermobaric warheads up to 20 kilometers, he said.
The U.S. Navy has developed a swarm drone launcher that can fit inside a 20-foot container, he said. If such systems were deployed in containers hauled by commercial trucks, they would be very hard for the Russians and Chinese to detect.
"We're a status quo power, so we're inherently on the defensive, and that's good for us then because we're defending the first island chain [off China's coast] and we're defending Eastern Europe," Hammes said. "This stuff all works in our favor, if we use it."
CYBERWARRIORS
There is growing concern inside the Marine Corps about ensuring the force has sufficient cyber capabilities, both offensive and defensive. Last year when Neller first began talking about the Trump campaign's call for a larger Marine Corps, he specifically said he wanted more cyberwarriors rather than simply more infantry units.
Top-level officers have floated the idea of changing the Corps' traditional standards and career paths to allow civilians with cyber skills to skip the junior ranks and enter the force from Day One as a staff sergeant.
The Marine Expeditionary Forces are reorganizing their headquarters groups to integrate offensive and defensive cyber operations into the fight, starting with I MEF Information Group, which officially stood up on July 6 at Camp Pendleton, California.
Over the next two to three years, the new group will add Marines to defend a Marine Air-Ground Task Force from cyberattacks and collect intelligence from the battlefield and space, said Col. Bobbi Shea, who led I MEF's headquarters group when it became the information group.
Most of the new Marines will be assigned to the group's information warfare and coordination center, which will function similar to a division's combat operations center, said Shea, who has been frocked to brigadier general.
Ultimately, the new group is designed to give infantry Marines the tools they need to protect the network and go after the enemy's communications, she said.
"It's not just about growing a larger staff to coordinate and synchronize these capabilities," she said. "It is about growing capacity so that we can more effectively attach these capabilities down at the infantry battalion — or even the combat logistics battalion level."
The Marine Corps is also beginning to stand up electronic warfare support teams that will be "push[ed] down to our lowest level of formation that we provide to combat forces," Brig. Gen. Dimitri Henry, Director of Intelligence for the Marine Corps, said in August.
"What they're going to do is be able to employ those fires; electronic fires whether they be information operations or they be cyber operations, electronic warfare and the like," Henry said.
Marine Corps officials said the decision to stand up these teams stems from the commandant's decision to reshape the force for the "future operating environment." He believes having a robust EW capability is a key component to fighting and winning future wars.
ENEMIES WITH BETTER GEAR
For the first time in decades, there's a growing fear that U.S. troops could be outgunned on the battlefield by adversaries who have better and more effective weapons and gear.
Both Russia and China have already fielded battlefield technology that is better than U.S. troops' kit, said Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican and retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel.
"Many of our near-peer competitors have better rifles, better sniper rifles than we do," Ernst told Marine Corps Times. "China has a better sniper rifle. Russia has body armor that will stop our bullets.
Body armor that can stop 5.56 mm rounds fired by Marines and soldiers is available on the internet for as little as $250, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told lawmakers in May.
One of the most effective ways to tackle that problem is to change the way the Defense Department purchases and fields weapons.
The Marine Corps is preparing for future adversaries to have advanced surface-to-air missile capabilities, which would limit U.S. control of the skies. (Staff Sgt. John Jackson/Marine Corps)
The way the military buys its gear should be faster, less complex and more open to off-the-shelf commercial technology, Ernst said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is being "almost outpaced" in cyber technology by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, Ernst said. The military needs to determine what is an appropriate response to the type of cyber subterfuge tactics that Russia is known for, she said.
The Defense Department should also look at new applications for drones, such as using unmanned aircraft as defensive weapons, she said.
"You have incoming smart rounds that could be diverted by drones — that's something that we need to look at," Ernst said. "Anything that will enable us to protect our men and women in uniform in a combat zone or elsewhere — we need to be doing that, and it doesn't have to be expensive in order to work."
One way to make sure U.S. troops aren't outgunned is by fielding commercially available technology that is available now instead of waiting years for the Defense Department to test and purchase new weapons systems through the traditional bureaucracy, Ernst said.
Terrorists and other bad guys do not have to go through the same cumbersome procurement process as the Defense Department, which typically takes years to produce weapons that may be out of date by the time they are fielded, she said.
"You have folks out there that can go buy [drones] off of Amazon or wherever inexpensively, and here we are as the United States dropping $1 million bombs from a $100 million aircraft onto a little pickup truck somewhere," Ernst said. "We have to be smarter about the way we utilize technology."
The Marine Corps is watching an array of potential flashpoints around the globe.
The obvious potential adversaries in a future war include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, but it is also possible that the U.S. could be caught completely by surprise, said retired Marine Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, now a military expert with the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.
"U.S. forces must maintain general competency in basic warfighting skills and the force maintained in sufficient general readiness that it can deploy when and where required," Wood said.
"It also means the U.S. military must maintain a rather broad set of equipment and capabilities such that it can operate in environments from arctic, to forest, to deserts and mountains, to jungles. Beyond that, the force will adjust to the specifics of a crisis when and where it occurs."
It is impossible to say exactly where the next war will happen, and military experts are not always good at predictions.
About 17 years ago, Wood had a discussion with his colleagues at the Marine Corps' Strategic Initiatives Group about where Marines might fight in the future and what sort of combat would be involved, recalled Wood, who was part of President Trump's defense transition team.
"One of my colleagues stood in front of a large wall map of the world and confidently said: 'Well, one thing's for certain … we'll never be going to someplace like this …' stabbing his finger at Afghanistan," Wood said.


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/ Windows Developer Blog
Developing for Windows 11
Kevin Gallo
Windows 11 was built to unlock the full power of the PC. This new operating system empowers you to deliver new and innovative apps, grow your business how you choose, and makes developing on Windows easier by allowing you to use the tools and frameworks you already use and know. Windows 11 is our most open platform yet and it gives you the ability to build and run the widest range of apps. We can't wait to see what you build for your users to learn, create, and play. Here are the key updates you should know about:
The new Microsoft Store;
Advancements and updates for web and native development; and
Updates to our Fluent design system
Grow your business with the new Microsoft Store
Image 1: The new Microsoft Store
The new Microsoft Store is more open and allows you and your customers to be more productive and easily find the best apps. The new Store focuses on openness, fairness, and innovation. This means more apps are available in the store without having to update business models or re-write apps; more apps are discoverable due to updated policies that allow standalone digital storefront apps to be found via search, and to encourage innovation we're enabling you to bring your own browser engine so you can innovate how you chose. This is the start of our journey, and we hope you'll continue to engage with us so we can continue to provide access to broader markets and opportunities.
Streamline your Web and native app development
Windows 11 was built with developers in mind – to create a platform that provides a seamless development experience no matter what app you are building. We continue to learn from our past and understand the vision, innovation, and creativity can truly thrive when tools, features, and experiences are easy to use. That's why we've taken steps to make developing on Windows easier.
Image 2: Microsoft Edge DevTools in a variety of color themes.
WebView2 is now part of the operating system for everyone. We've significantly improved performance and reduced the disk footprint, memory usage, and launch time of your WebView2 apps by hard linking with the Edge browser. And, for those of you building Progressive Web Apps, we've improved the desktop integration and user experience with new standards-based and experimental capabilities. You can now integrate your apps more seamlessly with the desktop by customizing the titlebar, registering as a default handler for links or protocols, and even handling files on the user's filesystem. Of course, you can continue to use offerings like Windows Terminal and our Microsoft Edge DevTools themes to match the visual experience found throughout Windows 11.
The Windows App SDK and WinUI 3 represent the latest in native app development for Windows 11, and they empower you to build the most productive desktop apps in the world. The Windows App SDK 1.0 Preview 1 brings many new developments, including support for the MSAL library, AppInstance APIs for handling and redirecting activation, AppWindow APIs for managing your window regardless of what UI stack you're using, performance and reliability improvements, and much more.
With Windows 11, we've made it easier for you to run your apps on Windows on ARM. You can run your unmodified x64 apps using emulation, or you can compile your apps natively for ARM64 for the best possible performance on these devices. Windows 11 on ARM also introduces the new ARM64 Emulation Compatible ABI which enables you to build apps that can contain or load both ARM64EC and x64 code, allowing you to incrementally migrate existing x64 apps to run natively on ARM64 over time.
Refresh your apps and experiences
Windows 11 is the first major redesign of Windows and we did it to bring the operating system closer to the ecosystem of products that are being created at Microsoft.
Image 3: Microsoft Fluent Design showing examples of rounded geometry, acrylic, mica, and our new typography and iconography.
Windows 11 feels more modern and beautiful. The subtle change of rounding our geometry across all of the UI surfaces makes Windows feel more approachable and your apps easier to scan, which helps your customers stay more engaged. Some of the visual updates in Windows 11 will be inherited by apps with no additional code changes, but to benefit from all these visual updates, some work will be required. We recommend you focus on three areas:
Use UI with rounded geometry. This can be applied to both the non-client area and to the client area of the app.
Apply the refreshed color palette and materials. The new color palette is applied automatically to our latest WinUI controls (WinUI 2.6 or greater required), apps that use acrylic can switch to the latest brush, and our new material Mica lets the wallpaper image shine through the frame of your app.
Update to our typography and iconography. Windows 11 delivers two new system icons. To incorporate the evolved Segoe UI, you need WinUI 2.6 (or greater), and your controls will automatically inherit the latest font family. To use the Segoe Variable UI, you should point to "Segoe UI Variable" in any instance that references "Segoe UI".
Windows 11 is the next generation of Windows, and the entire experience was reimagined with you and your users in mind. We wanted a platform that would feel like home – centered on you but with more openness and security. We can't wait to see what you build.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Come celebrate the life and fast times of motorsports legend Mickey Thompson with the people who knew him best: his son, Danny Thompson; his first wife and Danny's mother, Judy Thompson Creach; fellow hot-rod hero Alex Xydias; drag racer Tom Jobe, and turbocharger mad scientist Gale Banks.
The event will come in the form of a panel discussion at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif., on May 15 at 2 p.m. The incomparable silver-tongued Dave McClellan will serve as moderator.
The panel will take place amidst the museum's all-new Mickey Thompson display, which features the greatest and best collection of Thompson race cars ever assembled, lead by the magnificent, four-engined, 32-cylinder Challenger 1 in which Thompson became the first American to go 400 mph.
The panel discussion costs only $20, all of which goes directly to the museum. If you can think of a better cause than that--well, maybe there are a few, but this one goes to the museum, and we all ought to support that, and where else are you going to hear all these great tales for only a double sawbuck?
The best thing about these panel discussions is that they usually draw a host of other great names from motorsports history. Who knows who will show up this time?
Visit www.museum.nhra.com or call (909) 622-2133 for more information.


It's Learning TV for Kids with Songs, Chants, Lessons & Nursery Rhymes hosted by the Hilarious Busy Beavers Characters. Try this Video on your Phone, Tablet or TV with your Children & watch them Sing "I Love the Busy Beavers TV Show!"
Episode 1 - "Mommy Loves You"
Episode 2 - "Halloween Special"


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Recap: Marvel's Jessica Jones Season 3, First Half
Is Jessica Jones a hero?
Anyone who asks her that would get a scowl and a lot of eye-rolling, if he's lucky.
She thinks about the next job and the next swallow of bourbon. This time, though, she'll have to deal with a clever and deadly psychopath who is out to ruin her image.
Meanwhile, Trish Walker wants to be a super-powered vigilante, and Jessica is really against it. However, this new threat convinces them to work together again.
However, the real villain in the first half of the season is someone else who causes a lot more damage.
It's been a year since Jessica's super-powered but homicidal mom Alisa was killed by Trish (although people think Jess did it). Jess had gotten a lot of business out of it, but also unwanted attention of her abilities. At least she has a new assistant named Gillian (Aneesh Sheth), but Jess' relationship with Oscar has ended quietly. Dating is always tough for a super-hero.
She's also followed by a cop named Costa (John Ventimiglia), who is making sure she stays clean. Actually, this relationship is pretty interesting, and should have started sooner in the series.
She winds up meeting a guy named Erik (Benjamin Walker), who thinks he's an expert on burgers. It's later revealed he has an ability to sense the level of evil in anyone. Unfortunately, he uses it to blackmail people to pay off gambling debts.
Malcolm (Eka Darville) has moved on, working as an investigator and fixer to Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) . At first, it's basically baby-sitting problematic clients, but it gets a little darker. More on that later.
Two things surprise Jessica in the first episode. First, Dorothy Walker (Rebecca De Mornay) wants Jess to look for Trish (Rachael Taylor). Considering how season two ended, Jessica doesn't want to, but she does. She's stunned to learn Trish is doing what Jess does: trying to stop crime with unusual powers. That experiment Trish did on herself helped her become more nimble, and she can also jump off a window and land on her feet. This doesn't mean she will become Hellcat, but she just wants to be the hero Jessica doesn't like to be.
Of course, Jess is furious over this, but Trish is gonna do this anyway.
In fact, the second episode, directed by Krysten Ritter, centers on Trish's heroic journey as she sees it. It's done very well, as an origin story. It also reveals her mistakes, and the fact she has to do a shift at a home shopping channel to pay the bills.
The other shock is Jessica gets stabbed by a masked man…
This puts her out of action for quite a while, mainly because her ability to recover is hampered without a spleen.
She eventually learns the would-be assailant is Gregory Sallinger (Jeremy Bobb), a wrestling coach who is smart and deadly. He considers Jess a fraud, and vows to destroy her. As the story continues, it's revealed he is very capable. His family life is dysfunctional, but he claims the pain made him strong. It's interesting the main nemesis is not super-powered, just scary (which can be even worse).
Before the season concentrates on Sallinger, it looks at Trish's efforts to catch a guy named Brant who allegedly stole a statue to sell it. She's able to stop him, but Jessica is also there. Their relationship gets really tense, and actually come to blows.
At this point, it's hard to sympathize with Trish when she tells Jess to get past Alisa's death. Even if the cops could have killed Jess and Alisa, and Trish thinks she saved Jess by killing Alisa, asking Jess to "just let it go" is too much. Maybe Trish wants to be a hero because she feels guilty for what she did, but it doesn't make her one. At one point, she saves Erik when he nearly gets killed by gangsters, but she almost kills one of them accidentally. Trish is no Jessica Jones, and she has to face that.
While this is all happening, someone emerges as the co-villain…Jeri Hogarth. She is reunited with Kith (Sarita Choudhury), a former lover who is now married. Jeri stops at nothing to get Kith back, and it may be related to her battle with ALS. Jeri doesn't like the fact her body is failing. She prefers to be in control, and thinks taking Kith away from her husband Peter will do just that. This is where Malcolm comes in. He does things he'd rather not do, like hacking into Peter's computer to see what he does between classes.
He gets dirt, but not enough for Jeri to win. Eventually, Peter is exposed as an embezzler, and kills himself on video. Before dying, he accuses Jeri of protecting "supers" like Jessica, Daredevil and Luke Cage, and insists she be investigated for what she does for them. Kith also rejects Jeri. This will play a big part in what happens for much of the season. Jeri thinks she has to save her firm and preserve some control before her body fails her.
Later, Jessica finds some proof that Sallinger may be responsible for the deaths of several people, even finding body parts in a train car. However, she is almost killed when some poisonous chemicals are dropped in the train car. Trish, luckily, is there to save her. That's when Trish wishes she didn't kill Jess' mom and Jess wishes her mom didn't wind up being a killer. It's a great scene, and reunites two women with a common purpose: taking Sallinger down.
Then things heat up. Sallinger kidnaps Erik because he was being blackmailed. He spends a lot of time saying what a fraud Erik is, but Erik manages to get himself free and hit him. Jess and Trish get there to save Erik, and he files kidnapping charges against Sallinger.
Guess who gets him out of jail? Yep, Jeri Hogarth, who's just doing this for her image.
That doesn't stop Jessica. In episode seven, she heads to Sallinger's home town to see if there's some dirt. She and Trish learn a wrestling teammate of Sallinger's been missing for years. They find the body….under a gazebo at the backyard of his parents. That is COLD.
This emboldens Jessica, as she has a very interesting confrontation with Sallinger in the middle of his wrestling coaching session with some kids.
However, she and Trish may be in trouble. Jeri is interested in finding a "second female super" who attacked Sallinger, and Trish barely escapes being identified. However, Malcolm knows, and doesn't know what to do.
Even though the overall plotline is more complicated than last year, it's much better than the "mother issues" that dominated last year. It raises question on who is a hero, and who gets to define one. Jess never wanted this, but she is doing the best she can. Trish thinks being a hero will repair her past, but it threatens her future. Erik just made the wrong choice with his not-quite "spider-sense". Also, Malcolm wonders if the price he pays for doing Jeri's dirty work is worth it, or if can afford it.
Also, Jessica gets to play narrator on the show. It's a great way to learn her inner conflicts and this whole "reluctant hero" thing. Even Trish gets to do it for an episode.
The second half, though, may include some major conflicts and a shocking tragedy. Let's just hope Jessica will have the last word, and that it won't be last we see of her.
P.S. io9.com has an interesting article about Aneesh Sheth, and why her presence is a big step for the TV side of the MCU.
Categories:	Movies & TV	/ No Responses / by David Mello


In the case of McQuillan v HMRC, the FTT allowed the McQuillans' appeal on the ground that shares that do not carry any right to dividends carry a right to a 'dividend at a fixed rate' (of zero).
The terms of the FTT's decision in McQuillan suggest that the tribunal considered that the definition of ordinary share capital might differ in different cases.
Tax advisers should be constantly alert to the risk that their entrepreneurial clients might somehow be denied entrepreneurs' relief simply because of a quirk in the rules.
Advisers will know that for entrepreneurs' relief to apply on the disposal of company shares, other than EMI shares, the rules require (inter alia) the relevant shareholders to hold at least 5% of the company's ordinary share capital (and voting rights) throughout the final year before the disposal (or, if applicable, before the company ceases to be a trading company or a member of a trading group) (Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, sections 169I(6), (7) and 169S(3)).
This 5% rule is rigidly adhered to as the recent case of Castledine v HMRC  UKFTT 0145 (TC) will testify. In that case, Mr Castledine was denied entrepreneurs' relief because of the existence of some practically worthless deferred shares held by some former employees which took Mr Castledine's percentage shareholding down from precisely 5% to 4.995%.
'ordinary share capital', in relation to a company, means all the company's issued share capital (however described), other than capital the holders of which have a right to a dividend at a fixed rate but have no other right to share in the company's profits.
Given the deferred shares fell within this definition, the tribunal had to conclude that Mr Castledine's shareholding was too small to qualify for relief.
The definition has arisen again in yet another entrepreneurs' relief case – McQuillan v HMRC  UKFTT 305 (TC).
There were two appellants, a husband and wife, Mr and Mrs McQuillan. They incorporated a trading company in 2004, each taking 33 ordinary shares. The company's remaining 34 shares were held 17 each by another married couple, Mr and Mrs Pennick. (Mrs Pennick is Mr McQuillan's sister.) Mr and Mrs Pennick were invited to subscribe for their shares because they had skills that Mr and Mrs McQuillan believed would be of use to grow the company's business. Furthermore, at some point in time, Mr and Mrs Pennick advanced £30,000 to the company which was accounted for as a directors' loan.
As the company continued to prosper, in 2006 it sought a grant from Invest Northern Ireland. A grant was duly offered but only on condition that the directors' loan be converted to shares (to give Invest Northern Ireland the confidence that the proceeds from the grant would not simply be used to repay the loan to Mr and Mrs Pennick). A further condition was that the loan would not be repaid before March 2009.
In consequence, the company converted the loan to redeemable ordinary shares of £1, leaving the original shareholders with their 33 (for each of Mr and Mrs McQuillan) and 17 (for each of Mr and Mrs Pennick) voting shares and Mr and Mrs Pennick with 30,000 non-voting shares between them. The documentation made it clear that the non-voting shares were redeemable at par at the directors' sole discretion but was silent as to any dividend rights attaching to them.
In late 2009, the shareholders received an offer to sell their shares in the company. As a result, the redeemable shares were immediately redeemed at par. A few days later, the company resolved to pay a dividend of £700 per share – being the only dividend ever paid by the company prior to the subsequent sale. The sale was completed on 1 January 2010 and Mr and Mrs McQuillan ceased any ongoing connection with the company.
They claimed entrepreneurs' relief in respect of the gains arising on the disposal of their shares. Their claims were challenged by HMRC on the basis that the 5% rule was not satisfied during most of the 12 months immediately before the disposal. Mr and Mrs McQuillan appealed against HMRC's decision to the First-tier.
The case came before Judge Christopher Staker.
The tribunal made a finding of fact that the shareholders did not consider the redeemable shares to confer any rights other than that of repayment of the £30,000 loan. This understanding was confirmed by the parties' actions when the purchase offer was received.
The tribunal then stated that the case boiled down to a single point – whether the redeemable shares fell within the meaning of 'ordinary share capital'. That the shares were described as ordinary (albeit redeemable) is beside the point. The definition catches all shares except those that confer a right to a dividend at a fixed rate and have no other right to share in the company's profits. Furthermore, since the redeemable shares gave the shareholders no stake in the company's profits (besides the repayment of the original loan capital), the question was whether the lack of any right to a dividend was equivalent to a right to a dividend at a fixed rate of zero.
Having recognised that the shares would have been excluded from the meaning of ordinary share capital had they carried a minuscule right to a dividend (the tribunal suggested 1/15,000 of a penny), the tribunal concluded that the Pennicks' redeemable shares, which carried no dividend rights, should similarly fall outside the definition. As a result, they could be ignored when determining Mr and Mrs McQuillan's entitlement to entrepreneurs' relief. Therefore, the latter's shareholdings each represented 33% of the company's ordinary share capital.
Consequently, the appeals were allowed.
The result is clearly very sensible in the circumstances and one would hope that HMRC will decide not to appeal against it.
However, one should note a number of issues that led to the tribunal's conclusion and could lead to a different result in other cases.
First, the terms of the decision suggest that the tribunal considered the definition of ordinary share capital might differ depending on the case. If that is what the Tribunal meant, then that must be wrong. The tax code contains a single definition of the term (in s 989) to be used in many circumstances. It cannot exclude the redeemable shares held by Mr and Mrs Pennick in one situation but include them in another. Of course, it might be appropriate for different definitions to apply in different cases, but that is something that only Parliament can effect. Equally, it should be stressed that that particular comment does not in itself invalidate the rest of the decision given that the tribunal felt that it was not departing from any binding precedent and the comment was more a throwaway remark. On that point, it is of course worth noting that the tribunal's own decision is not binding.
It is also worth noting that, as part of its submissions, HMRC referred to its guidance in its own manuals which the tribunal (correctly) noted was not of legal authority. Nevertheless, the tribunal remarked on the fact that ESSUM43230 stated that HMRC 'may accept as ordinary share capital shares with no dividend rights' and that HMRC 'do not contend that they carry the right to a fixed dividend of 0%'. The phrasing used in the manuals could suggest that HMRC generally accepts that such shares are not properly ordinary shares in that they do in fact carry the right to a fixed dividend of 0% and that it just happens to be the case that HMRC does not usually press the point. Of course, it could be simply that the manuals are clumsily worded.
The second point is more specific to the facts of the case. The tribunal noted that the documented agreement reached by the shareholders when the redeemable shares were created 'was silent' in respect of any dividend rights attaching to the various classes of share.
Arguably, therefore, the written documents when considered alone do not even justify the conclusion that the redeemable shares qualified for a fixed dividend of 0%. Nevertheless, the tribunal (correctly in my view) took a more holistic approach and determined the reality of the agreement of the parties, which goes wider than those terms as formally recorded.
Given the history of the loan, the circumstances in which it was converted to share capital and the corroborative evidence of what happened when the loan was subsequently redeemed, the tribunal was entitled to conclude that the shares did indeed carry no entitlement to dividend.
Readers should of course be aware that such a conclusion might not be so readily available in another case and, so, it is always advisable to ensure that written records of shareholder agreements are as comprehensive as possible.
In McQuillan, the conversion of the loan to redeemable shares took place long before entrepreneurs' relief was ever conceived and therefore the parties cannot be criticised for creating a potential elephant trap. There again, although the use of harmonised definitions should often be commended, there is also much to be said for thought being applied before existing definitions are recycled without proper consideration of the potential consequences. Entrepreneurs' relief was enacted in rather a hurry (which is a symptom of a further problem in the tax system) and there is every possibility that the policy was devised by individuals who had no real experience of how companies are capitalised in the real world. Perhaps the OTS could add the question of the suitability of a standard definition of ordinary share capital to each case where the definition is currently applied to its ever increasing list of matters where the tax system is spiralling out of control.
Of course, tax advisers should not simply leave everything to government and Parliament. They should also be constantly alert to the risk that their entrepreneurial clients might somehow be denied entrepreneurs' relief simply because of a quirk in the rules. And, given that the conditions must be satisfied throughout the year before the relevant disposal, it will usually be too late if matters are not reviewed until a sale is in the offing.
Even if the McQuillan case goes no further – or should an HMRC appeal prove unsuccessful – the cost and worry of the entire process suffered by Mr and Mrs McQuillan might well have been avoided had the matter been considered proactively. To misquote Shakespeare, 'Cupid kills with arrows, Parliamentary Counsel with traps'.


Risk factors for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are difficult to firmly establish due to the uncertain nature of the condition. A great deal of controversy exists related to its biological cause and diagnosis (1). Without the knowledge of its etiology or objective tests for diagnosis, it is difficult to properly design a study to determine risk factors. Consequently all evidence relating to risk factors are primarily observational in nature and must be evaluated on that basis.
Cormier E. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a review and update. J Pediatr Nurs 2008 Oct;23(5):345-57.
Zimmerman FJ, Christakis DA. Associations between content types of early media exposure and subsequent attentional problems. Pediatrics 2007 Nov;120(5):986-92.
St Sauver JL, Barbaresi WJ, Katusic SK, Colligan RC, Weaver AL, Jacobsen SJ. Early life risk factors for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a population-based cohort study. Mayo Clin Proc 2004 Sep;79(9):1124-31.
Connor DF, Edwards G, Fletcher KE, Baird J, Barkley RA, Steingard RJ. Correlates of comorbid psychopathology in children with ADHD. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2003 Feb;42(2):193-200.
Van den Bergh BR, Marcoen A. High antenatal maternal anxiety is related to ADHD symptoms, externalizing problems, and anxiety in 8- and 9-year-olds. Child Dev 2004 Jul;75(4):1085-97.
Braun JM, Kahn RS, Froehlich T, Auinger P, Lanphear BP. Exposures to environmental toxicants and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in U.S. children. Environ Health Perspect 2006 Dec;114(12):1904-9.
Day NL, Richardson GA, Goldschmidt L, Cornelius MD. Effects of prenatal tobacco exposure on preschoolers' behavior. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2000 Jun;21(3):180-8.
Fergusson DM, Horwood LJ, Lynskey MT. Early dentine lead levels and subsequent cognitive and behavioural development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1993 Feb;34(2):215-27.
Huizink AC, Mulder EJ. Maternal smoking, drinking or cannabis use during pregnancy and neurobehavioral and cognitive functioning in human offspring. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2006;30(1):24-41.
Williams JH, Ross L. Consequences of prenatal toxin exposure for mental health in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2007 Jun;16(4):243-53.
Linnet KM, Dalsgaard S, Obel C, Wisborg K, Henriksen TB, Rodriguez A, et al. Maternal lifestyle factors in pregnancy risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and associated behaviors: review of the current evidence. Am J Psychiatry 2003 Jun;160(6):1028-40.
Nigg JT, Knottnerus GM, Martel MM, Nikolas M, Cavanagh K, Karmaus W, et al. Low Blood Lead Levels Associated with Clinically Diagnosed Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Mediated by Weak Cognitive Control. Biological Psychiatry 2008 Feb 1;63(3):325-31.
Thomson GO, Raab GM, Hepburn WS, Hunter R, Fulton M, Laxen DP. Blood-lead levels and children's behaviour--results from the Edinburgh Lead Study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1989 Jul;30(4):515-28.
Ha M, Kwon HJ, Lim MH, Jee YK, Hong YC, Leem JH, et al. Low blood levels of lead and mercury and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity in children: a report of the children's health and environment research (CHEER). Neurotoxicology 2009 Jan;30(1):31-6.
Cheuk DK, Wong V. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and blood mercury level: a case-control study in chinese children. Neuropediatrics 2006 Aug;37(4):234-40.
Lee DH, Jacobs DR, Porta M. Association of serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants with the prevalence of learning disability and attention deficit disorder. J Epidemiol Community Health 2007 Jul;61(7):591-6.
Bouchard M, Laforest F, Vandelac L, Bellinger D, Mergler D. Hair manganese and hyperactive behaviors: pilot study of school-age children exposed through tap water. Environ Health Perspect 2007 Jan;115(1):122-7.
Jacobson JL, Jacobson SW. Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and attention at school age. J Pediatr 2003 Dec;143(6):780-8.
Joshi K, Lad S, Kale M, Patwardhan B, Mahadik SP, Patni B, et al. Supplementation with flax oil and vitamin C improves the outcome of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2006 Jan;74(1):17-21.
Antalis CJ, Stevens LJ, Campbell M, Pazdro R, Ericson K, Burgess JR. Omega-3 fatty acid status in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2006 Oct;75(4-5):299-308.
McCann JC, Ames BN. Is there convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction? FASEB J 2008 Apr;22(4):982-1001.
Curtis LT, Patel K. Nutritional and environmental approaches to preventing and treating autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a review. J Altern Complement Med 2008 Jan;14(1):79-85.
Rojas NL, Chan E. Old and new controversies in the alternative treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev 2005;11(2):116-30.
Schab DW, Trinh NH. Do artificial food colors promote hyperactivity in children with hyperactive syndromes? A meta-analysis of double-blind placebo-controlled trials. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2004 Dec;25(6):423-34.
Kanarek RB. Does sucrose or aspartame cause hyperactivity in children? Nutr Rev 1994 May;52(5):173-5.
van der MJ, Borger NA, Potgieter ST, Pirila S, De CP. Very Low Birth Weight and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Child Neuropsychol 2009 Jun 18;1-14.
Hayes B, Sharif F. Behavioural and emotional outcome of very low birth weight infants - literature review. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2009 Jun 10;1-8.
Millichap JG. Etiologic classification of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics 2008 Feb;121(2):e358-e365.
Geirsson RT. Birth trauma and brain damage. Baillieres Clin Obstet Gynaecol 1988 Mar;2(1):195-212.
McKinlay A, Grace RC, Horwood LJ, Fergusson DM, Macfarlane MR. Long-term behavioural outcomes of pre-school mild traumatic brain injury. Child Care Health Dev 2009 Feb 12.
Heron J, Golding J. Thimerosal exposure in infants and developmental disorders: a prospective cohort study in the United kingdom does not support a causal association. Pediatrics 2004 Sep;114(3):577-83.


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Home > News > Students, Faculty Aid Guatemalan Nationals
Students, Faculty Aid Guatemalan Nationals
McGeorge hosted an on-campus Guatemalan Consul Mobile on February 20, 2010, and students involved in the Inter-American Program and Community Legal Services offered a variety of programs to the 120 participants.
"The nearest Guatemalan Consulate is in San Francisco, and most Guatemalan nationals have a very difficult time making the trip there to receive consular services such as the processing of passports or consular ID cards," said Professor Raquel Aldana, who organized the event.
"Consulate mobiles are often held in less than perfect conditions with most participants having to endure long lines, usually while waiting standing outside of a building. We not only provided a dignified space to the participants but offered them the professionalism, talent and commitment from our students who are striving to become bilingual and inter-culturally competent lawyers," she added.
Nick Anderson, '10, Laurel Berzanskis, '10, Joanna Duenas, '10, Nubia Lemus, '10, Lilka Martinez, '10, Deirdre Elizabeth Abele, '11, Diana Alvarado,'11, Katie Oldham,'11, Diana Perez, '11, Matt Fleming, '11, and Danielle Flores, '11, conducted a series of right-to-know sessions in Spanish to attendees, many who came with their families. The workshops covered topics related to immigrant rights, including family-based immigration, social security and health benefits, and choosing legal representation.
"The students were exceptional, and provided great legal content lectures and materials, in addition to assisting the group with logistics and registration," Aldana said.
Professors Blake Nordahl, Melissa Brown and Hector De Avila, along with clinics director Dorothy Landsberg, worked with the students to facilitate the event. Luis Mogollon directed the pre-event outreach and several local businesses helped in its promotion.
Tags: immigration, legal-clinics, 2010, student-life, business-community


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All Indian Citizens Received Free Vaccination For COVID-19? No, Claim Is Misleading!
Writer: Jakir Hassan
Jakir Hassan
Digital Journalist
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
See article by Jakir Hassan
India, 18 Sep 2021 12:37 PM GMT
Editor : Bharat Nayak |
Bharat Nayak
Founding Editor - Special Project
As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
See article by Bharat Nayak
Creatives : Jakir Hassan
The claim is misleading because the private sector is currently procuring 25% of the total vaccines and selling at a price fixed by the government.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated his 71st birthday on 17 September and garnered birthday wishes from all across the nation.
Mansukh Mandaviya, the Minister of Health & Family Welfare, wrote a pre-birthday wish for the PM on Twitter. He acclaimed that all Indian citizens received free vaccination for COVID-19. A part of his Tweet in Hindi reads, "'सबको वैक्सीन, मुफ़्त वैक्सीन' की PM @NarendraModi जी ने देश को सौग़ात दी है! (Narendra Modi has given a gift to the country in the form of 'Free vaccine for all').
'सबको वैक्सीन, मुफ़्त वैक्सीन' की PM @NarendraModi जी ने देश को सौग़ात दी है!
कल हम सबके प्रिय प्रधानमंत्री जी का जन्मदिन है, चलो #VaccineSeva कर जिन्होंने वैक्सीन नहीं ली है, ऐसे अपनों को, परिजनों को और समाज के सभी तबकों को टीका लगवाकर, उनको जन्मदिन का उपहार देते हैं।
— Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 16, 2021
On the same day, India crossed the milestone of vaccinating as many as 2.5 crore citizens, exceeding three times the average daily total of the last month.
Later, Mansukh Mandaviya wrote on Twitter that India had created history on PM Narendra Modi's birthday by vaccinating the highest number of citizens in a single day.
Congratulations india!
PM @NarendraModi जी के जन्मदिवस पर भारत ने आज इतिहास रच दिया है।
2.50 करोड़ से अधिक टीके लगा कर देश और विश्व के इतिहास में स्वर्णिम अध्याय लिखा है।
आज का दिन हेल्थकर्मियों के नाम रहा। #HealthArmyZindabad pic.twitter.com/F2EC5byMdt
'सबको वैक्सीन, मुफ़्त वैक्सीन' was a slogan given by the PM during the initiation of the vaccination drive for all adults between 18-44 age. PM Modi calls it the world's largest and fastest vaccination drive.
The claim that the Indian government is providing free vaccines to all Indian citizens has been doing rounds on social media for forever now.
Mansukh Mandaviya claimed that PM had given a gift to Indian citizens in the form of a 'free vaccine for all' drive.
Fact Check:
During the initiation of the vaccination drive in India, the Ministry of Health & family welfare (MOHFW) informed that the centre would acquire 50% of the vaccines. The rest, 50%, was supposed to be allocated among the states, union territories and private firms. Information on the same is available on the website of MOHFW. (The information can be accessed on page 2)
Image Credits: Screenshot/MOHFW
In June, PM addressed the nation on COVID-19 and announced that 75% of the total vaccine manufactured would be acquired by the centre and allocated to the states for free. The rest, 25%, would be acquired by private firms.
Though the Indian government has acclaimed to provide free vaccines for all, it has also let private firms be a part of the vaccination drive in the country. Currently, there are three vaccines available in Indian private hospitals. The government has fixed charges for all three vaccines: Covishield ₹780, Covaxin ₹1410, and Sputnik V ₹1145 for a walk-in vaccination in private hospitals.
The data relating to COVID-19 vaccination is still uncertain, and the government has not released the actual figures of total vaccines administered by both public and private sectors. Rajesh Bhushan, the health secretary, informed that the ministry of health & family welfare would release the data in the subsequent press conference likely to be held on 23 September.
To sum up, the claim by Mansukh Mandaviya that PM had given a gift to Indian citizens in the form of a 'free vaccine for all' drive is misleading because the private sector procures some parts of the total vaccine manufactured in the country. The data relating to COVID-19 vaccination is yet to be released by the government.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Old Photo Of Raid In Hookah Bar In Bhopal Shared With False Communal Claim
Writer : Jakir Hassan
Editor : Bharat Nayak


0283116671 who called from (02) 8311 6671?
I have a trading account and began trading again recently, so it's one of the CFD, Forex, or stock trading companies giving my number away.
Mike called telling me I needed to listen to him, said it very angry sooooo first of all - mate - don't call me and tell me what I need to do you rude arrogant prick!!! I would their punch you in the street a**hole!!!
Want my password for online trading. Tell me I am not registered. I can login no problems with my account. and everything seems in order.
Do you have a comment about (02) 8311 6671?


Park Board. A petition was circulated to change the structure of the Park Board, and 578 valid signatures were received (481 were required). At least week's Township Board meeting, the Board approved ballot language to be included on the November election. Voters will have the final say on whether the elected Park Board will be dissolved, and a new Park Board of three or four members be appointed by the Township Board. OMP resident Dave Murphy, who helped circulate the petitions, says this is not a reflection on any individual Park Board member, but rather simply allows greater flexibility and more efficient decision-making relating to the parks.
New Planning Director. Randy Mielnik has been hired as the new Peninsula Township Planning Director. He will begin his new job on July 30, 2018. Randy comes to the township with a long list of credentials and experience. Read more here.
Peninsula Community Library. The library has officially accepted Cornwell Architects' architectural documents for the construction of a new library on the corner of Center Road and Island View Road. While they have raised about $2 million of their capital campaign fundraising goal, they are still seeking the remaining $500,000 in funding before construction may begin. For more information on how to donate, visit the library's website, call the library, (231) 223-7700, or call Library Trustee John Bercini, (630) 235-1475. He is happy to answer any questions you might have.
Fire Department Chaplain. The Peninsula Fire Department has appointed Pastor Melody Olin as the Fire Department Chaplain. Olin is the pastor at Old Mission Peninsula United Methodist Church.
Farm Processing Facility. A committee of the Planning Commission will draft a proposal about this issue (Section 6.7.2(19) of the Township Zoning Ordinance), which involves allowing 10,000 square feet of above-ground processing and storage building area for each 20 acres of active agriculture.
Short-Term Rentals. After discussion at the July 16 Planning Commission meeting, Township Trustee Isaiah Wunsch (board rep to the Planning Commission) recommended to the Township Board that no action be taken regarding short-term rentals until a community survey is completed (by or during 2019). There are currently several short-term rentals (less than 30 days) operating on the Old Mission Peninsula, although they are not technically allowed in the ordinance.
Can you identify these several short-term rentals (less than 30 days) operating on the Old Mission Peninsula, although they are not technically allowed in the ordinance.?
If you google "AirBnB, Old Mission Peninsula," you'll see some of them come up.


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De Petten is een natuurgebied ten zuiden van Den Hoorn op Texel. Het natuurgebied maakt deel uit van de natuurterreinen in het Lage Land van Texel van Natuurmonumenten en bestaat uit brakke plassen met eilandjes. Elk jaar broeden honderden vogels in De Petten.

In het natuurgebied wordt elke winter de vegetatie verwijderd en elke vier jaar worden er schelpen gestrooid om een goede plaats te creëren voor broedvogels.

Bron
 Natuurmonumenten

Geografie van Texel
Natuurgebied in Noord-Holland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Fight on a big map against everybody. The more kills in a row you score, the stronger you become.
Challenge other player and try to win specified amount of rounds before him.
Capture all of the enemy flags before opponents capture yours.


Sitting across from her was the book's author, a peaceful, goateed, somewhat mysterious man in a beige sweater named Eckhart Tolle. And if you haven't heard of him, you haven't spent much time in the self-help section of a bookstore in the last decade or so.
Mr. Tolle, 60, is the German-born spiritual speaker and author of "The Power of Now." With a seemingly limitless pool of middle-class discontent to tap into — and a major push from Ms. Winfrey — he has become the most popular spiritual author in the nation. His books hold the top two spots on the New York Times best-seller list for paperback advice books. Since March 3, he has been host to a weekly online seminar series alongside Ms. Winfrey in support of his 2005 book, "A New Earth," which is her latest book club selection and No. 1 on the list.
Mr. Tolle, who declined to be interviewed for this article, describes his message as both simple to learn and potentially world changing. In short, he believes that followers should turn off the mind's chatter, embrace the present and drop the ego, which he sees as a manipulative and divisive force.
IT is a message that resonates with baby boomers like Rachelle Quimby, 54, who lives in San Anselmo, Calif., and attended two sold-out speeches by Mr. Tolle in Marin County in early March. Ms. Quimby, who said she belonged to two Eckhart Tolle groups devoted to meditation and watching his videos, said she worried about the world at large as much as she fretted about the ride home.
Mr. Tolle is hardly the first writer to tap into the American longing for meaning and success.
Dale Carnegie made a bundle on "How to Win Friends and Influence People" during the Depression, and in the 1950s came Norman Vincent Peale's best-selling "Power of Positive Thinking," which shared Mr. Tolle's aversion to negativity in life. A generation later, Ram Dass brought Buddhism to the masses, while recent self-help stars like Deepak Chopra have taught very Tollean messages — like embracing silence and living in the moment — on television and on tour.
Mr. Tolle suggests that by living in the moment and in touch with what he calls "the totality," good things may start happening to you. "The totality tells you what it wants from you," Mr. Tolle told the Marin County crowd.
For all his fame, many details of Mr. Tolle's personal history are murky. A biography provided by his American paperback publisher, Plume, offered few hints beyond his educational background, including a stint at Cambridge and his current hometown, Vancouver, British Columbia, where he lives with his business partner and girlfriend, Kim Eng. A spokesman for the university confirmed Mr. Tolle began work on a doctorate degree there in 1977, but did not finish.
In the introduction to "The Power of Now," Mr. Tolle said he suffered from "a state of almost continuous anxiety interspersed with periods of suicidal depression" until he was 29, when he had a personal epiphany.
But what happened for the next 15 years is unclear; Mr. Tolle writes that he spent time wandering and sitting in London's parks, with "no relationships, no job, no home, no socially defined identity," but a sense of "intense joy." At some point, he changed his name to Eckhart in deference to the famous 13th-century German theologian, Meister Eckhart, and started teaching around England as a spiritual coach. He mentions studying with "small groups of spiritual seekers," but offers no names.
In Vancouver in the mid-1990s, Mr. Tolle met Ms. Kellough, a marketing executive who held casual meditation sessions in her office waiting area.
Shortly after, Ms. Kellough published "The Power of Now" on her start-up imprint, Namaste, in 1997. Two years later, the book was picked up by New World Library, a larger New Age publisher in Novato, Calif. A year after that, Ms. Winfrey made a small mention of the book, which she said Meg Ryan had told her about, in an early issue of O: The Oprah Magazine.
In 2002, Ms. Winfrey told her television audience that the book was "essential spiritual teaching." The book has sold about five million copies worldwide, according to New World Library.
Sara Nelson, the editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, said that Mr. Tolle was just part of a surging market which includes "The Secret," by Rhonda Byrne and "Eat, Pray, Love," by Elizabeth Gilbert, two other spiritually minded, mass-appeal best sellers backed by Ms. Winfrey.
FANS maintain that Mr. Tolle has other winning traits besides Ms. Winfrey's seal of approval. He's gifted with good comedic timing, rolling his eyes and cocking his eyebrows while he imitates everyone from his oft-disappointed mother to his growling "pain-body," a collection of past hurts that Mr. Tolle says each of us carries around.
Mr. Tolle, who usually speaks alone and in an accented whisper, sidestepped a question from an audience member about what it was like to share the stage with Ms. Winfrey.
And Ms. Winfrey seemed surprised on March 10 when Mr. Tolle asked for 10 seconds of silence to start the Webcast.
The two sat and listened to their breath. When they resumed speaking, Ms. Winfrey looked relieved.


text:
Q: Simplifying Quotient Expression using sum of Cubes
Possible Duplicate:
Applying difference of cubes to cube roots

I am a little confused with this question, as I am trying to rationalize the denominator, I realize that I would want to use the sum of cubes formula.
$ (x^3+y^3)= (x+y)(x^2-xy+y^2) $
The question being,
$$ \frac{1}{\sqrt[3] x + \sqrt[3] y} $$
When I apply the above sum of cubes formula, knowing that I have $ (x + y) $ portion already there as $ \sqrt[3] x + \sqrt[3] y $, my denominator still does not rationalize.
What is the best method for rationalizing this denominator?

A: The problem is confusing because there are two distinct $x$ and $y$.  Rewrite the first part as $u^3+v^3 = (u+v)(u^2-uv+v^2)$.
Then let $u=\sqrt[3] x$ and $v=\sqrt[3] y$, we see that $x + y = (\sqrt[3] x + \sqrt[3] y) (u^2-uv+v^2)$, or $$\frac{1}{\sqrt[3] x + \sqrt[3] y} = \frac{u^2-uv+v^2}{x+y} = \frac{x^{2/3} - (xy)^{1/3} + y^{2/3}}{x+y}$$

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text:
Meica Danielle Magnani
Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy and Computer Science
Meica Magnani is an assistant teaching professor at Northeastern University, holding a joint appointment with the College of Social Sciences and Humanities and Khoury College of Computer Sciences. Her main line of research spans the areas of moral, social and political, and feminist philosophy. Magnani is concerned with the relationship between rational agency, autonomy, and the social and technological structures that organize human activity. In her work, she uses Kantian practical philosophy, informed by feminist, political, and social thought, to examine moral and political problems, such as social injustice and oppression, that arise from our embedded nature.
Before joining Northeastern, Magnani was a postdoctoral fellow in the philosophy department at Harvard University, where she worked with Embedded EthiCS @ Harvard–a team of philosophers and computer scientists who integrate ethical reasoning into computer science curriculum. She received her doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University in 2019.
Ph.D., 2019, Philosophy, Stanford University
430 Renaissance Park
360 Huntington Ave
Tuesdays 3:30-5 and by appointment (Zoom)
Science, Technology, and Society
Meica Danielle's Colleagues
John Basl
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Elizabeth Bucar
Professor of Religion; Dean's Leadership Fellow
Patricia Illingworth
Professor of Philosophy and Business; Lecturer, Law and Public Policy
M. Whitney Kelting
Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Jung Lee
Associate Professor of Religious Studies; Undergraduate Program Director (Religious Studies)
Stephen Nathanson
Serena Parekh
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy; Chair, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Ronald Sandler
Professor of Philosophy; Director, Ethics Institute
Rory Smead
Associate Professor of Philosophy; Ronald L. and Linda A. Rossetti Professor for the Humanities; Undergraduate Program Director (Philosophy)
Michael Lipton
Joseph Wellbank
Sheila Winborne
Associate Teaching Professor of Religion
Candice Delmas
Associate Professor of Philosophy and Political Science
Branden Fitelson
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
Benjamin Yelle
Associate Teaching Professor of Philosophy


text:
RSA Issues Customer Guidelines After SecurID Hack
By William Jackson
RSA, after its SecurID was hacked, temporarily halted distribution of the token used for two-factor authentication and warned customers to take addition precautions.
In a new online SecureCare note to customers, RSA, the Security Division of EMC, said that the SecurID continues to be an effective tool for authentication of end users accessing sensitive resources, but apparently only if customer data remains secure.
"Whoever attacked RSA has certain information" about the product, "but not enough to complete a successful attack without obtaining additional information that is only held by our customers," the company said.
The note goes on to advise customers to lock down SecurID Authentication Manager databases, review recent logs for unusually high rates of failed authentication attempts, establish strong PIN and lockout policies, and educate help desks and users about avoiding social engineering attempts to gain information.
RSA still is holding details about the breach and what information was compromised close to the vest, but analysts and researchers said the exploit by an Advanced Persistent Threat should not come as a surprise and that it probably does not significantly change the security equation of SecurID.
"Certainly these types of attacks are pretty pervasive" against high-value targets, said Jon Oltsik, an analyst with the Enterprise Strategy Group. "Someone wanted access to SecurID source code and they got it."
It has been rumored that the source code or the seed numbers used with the SecurID algorithm to generate one-time passcodes was compromised in the breach. But even the worst-case scenario for the breach does not enable a direct attack against the product, said Russ Cooper, senior researcher with Verizon's RISK security analysis team.
"The ability to perform a brute force attack may become slightly easier," by removing some of the entropy or degree of randomness from the process, Cooper said. "We're taking a couple of trailing 9s off of the 99.999" percent of reliability for SecurID. "They would still have to compromise a user in some significant way," which is what the RSA recommendations is intended to prevent or mitigate.
RSA announced March 17 that it had been the victim of an "extremely sophisticated" ongoing attack that had obtained information about SecurID.
"Our investigation has led us to believe that the attack is in the category of an Advanced Persistent Threat," RSA executive chairman Art Coviello said in announcing the breach.
Advanced Persistent Threats, or APTs, are a broad class of computer attacks that typically use sophisticated and often multiple exploits to quietly breach system defenses. The goal of such an attack usually is not to disrupt the system's operations, but to remain hidden and quietly gather information for as long as possible without attracting attention.
Although APTs are not new, they have gained a high profile in the past year with the revelation of their use against Google and other companies to obtain proprietary source code, and Coviello warned about the danger of these threats at last month's RSA Security Conference.
RSA has been briefing customers under nondisclosure agreements on the incident, but has not released any details of the breach itself. A company spokesperson said it will share appropriate information at the appropriate time with appropriate parties, but details of the breach might never become public.
"Providing additional specific information about the nature of the attack . . . could enable others to try to compromise our customers' RSA SecurID implementations," the company said in its most recent advisory.
The security of SecurID relies on the complete operation of the scheme to generate a new passcode for a user every 60 seconds, which must be used in conjunction with a Personal Identity Number, and not on the secrecy of any one piece of information. To compromise a SecurID deployment an attacker would need information about the token, the corporate customer, the individual user and the user's PIN, the company said.
Although a direct attack using all of this information is unlikely, indirect attacks leveraging some exposed information are possible. Such an attack would most likely use some combination of techniques against back-end servers, networks and user machines, and social engineering techniques against the customer's help desk and end users.
Best practices to secure against such attacks include restricting remote access and physical access to the Authentication Manager, isolating the server with firewalls and encrypting offline copies of data contained on the server.
PINs should be randomly generated alphanumeric codes if the token supports both letters and numerals and should be eight digits if possible. Users should be instructed never to give out the PIN, that it will never be asked for in an e-mail or phone call, and that it should never be entered on a site that was accessed by clicking on an e-mail link.
The Authentication Manager should be configured to lock out a user after three failed authentication attempts, and server logs should be reviewed for abnormally high numbers of failed attempts or attempts that result in a notification to the user that the token's next code is required. These could be signs of an attempt to attack the system.
Some RSA operations have been interrupted while the company hardens its IT environment, it said in the most recent note. "We expect to resume distribution" of SecurID tokens "soon and will share information on this when available."
William Jackson is the senior writer for Government Computer News (GCN.com).


Hey my name is Mary. I'm looking for a House Sitting professional placement in Topeka, Kansas. Consistently, I work to be a qualified candidate. My availability is flexible.
I have experience with plant watering, pet and animal care, and bird feeding. I have personal transportation available. With respect to prior experience, I have extensive prior history in the role.
Experienced House Sitter. Animal Loving. Non-Smoking. No Dependents.


Those of you who follow my wife's blog know that we had Sophia this past weekend. She is so adorable, and I am so thankful that she is healthy.
I was in Pittsburgh for closing on our new home but with Shayna headed to the OR our friend Julie stepped in for me. Totally above and beyond the call of duty.
Saturday night Sophia was inconsolable. We tried feeding her but she just wasn't eating and we were at the ends of our rope. I took Sophie back to the nursery while she was crying hoping that they would take her. While dropping her off I met a nurse who was very no nonsense and told me at the next feeding she would be coming down to make sure it got done. 30 minutes later she showed up and Sophia ate heartily for the first time.
Thank you God for all these things and more that you have done in my life.


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deborah.heisley@csun.edu
PhD, Northwestern University
BS, University of Arizona
BA, University of Arizona
Consumer Behavior from a consumer culture theory perspective
Meaning structures created by culture, the symbolic meaning of goods, and the consumption experience
Context of culture, community, gender, status groups, relationships, and the family
Deborah Heisley earned her PhD at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She is a Professor of Marketing in the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics at California State University Northridge. Professor Heisley's research specialty is consumer behavior from a consumer culture theory perspective. She studies meaning structures created by cultures, the symbolic meaning of goods, and the consumption experience. She examines these meanings and experiences in the contexts of culture, community, gender, status groups, relationships, and the family. She typically, but not exclusively, uses qualitative methodologies. She is an expert in in-depth interviewing, visual research, and analysis of qualitative data. She publishes in and reviews for major journals in her field. Her teaching specialties include marketing, consumer behavior and client-based projects. Professor Heisley serves the community of people with special needs.
Beruchashvili, Mariam, Risto Moisio, and Deborah D. Heisley (2014). "What Are You Dieting For? The Role of Lay Theories in Dieters' Goal Setting," Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 13(1), 50-59.
Pechmann, Cornelia (Connie), Elizabeth S. Moore, Alan R. Andreasen, Paul M. Connell, Dan Freeman, Meryl P. Gardner, Deborah D. Heisley, R. Craig Lefebvre, Dante M. Pirouz, Robin L. Soster (2011). "Navigating the Central Tensions in Research on At-Risk Consumers: Challenges and Opportunities," Journal of Public Policy & Marketing/American Marketing Association, 30(1), 23-30.
Heisley, Deborah D. and Deborah Cours (2007), "Connectedness and Worthiness for the Embedded Self: A Material Culture Perspective," Consumption, Markets and Culture, 10:4, 425-450. Online publication date: December 01, 2007. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10253860701566424
Heisley, Deborah D., Mary T. Curren, Deborah Cours, Judith E. Hennessey (2007), "Client-based Projects in Business Education," Academic Exchange Quarterly, Vol. 11, Issue 3 (Fall), Stuyvesant Fall, NY: Rapid Intellect Group, Inc. 221-228. http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb
McGrath, Mary Ann, John F. Sherry, Jr. and Deborah D. Heisley (1993), "An Ethnographic Study of an Urban Periodic Marketplace: Lessons from the Midville Farmers' Market," Journal of Retailing, Vol. 63, No. 3 (fall), 280-319. (Cited 37 times according to Google Scholar)
Heisley, Deborah D. and Sidney J. Levy (1991), "Autodriving: A Photoelicitation Technique," Journal of Consumer Research, 18 (December), 257-272. (Cited 122 times according to Google Scholar)
Reprinted in Brands, Consumers, Symbols, and Research: Sidney J. Levy on Marketing,(1999), ed. Dennis W.Rook, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc, 549-574.
Heisley, Deborah D., Mary Ann McGrath and John F. Sherry, Jr. (1991), "'To Everything There is A Season:' A Photoessay of a Farmers' Market," Journal of American Culture, 14 (fall), 53-79. (Cited 5 times according to Google Scholar)
Reprinted in Highways and Buyways: Naturalistic Research from the Consumer Behavior Odyssey (1991), ed. Russell W. Belk, Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 141-166. (Cited 2 times according to Google Scholar)


The G&G Sports Blog features articles written by the G&G staff including stories, analysis and insights into the best sports has to offer. Our posts aim to provide fresh and relatable perspectives on the sports we love.
To see more from each author, click on their name: Aaron Gillette, Peter Gumas, Mickey Katz, David Schwartz and G&G Crossovers.


Converting a single Word document to PDF is quite easy within Microsoft Word, but it's a totally different situation when it comes to convert Word docs to PDF in bulk, or even merge multiple documents into a single PDF file, this requires a good converter software to get the job done smoothly, in this article, I will walk you through the top eight doc to PDF converters for Windows 7/8/10 with offline version available for free download, and give you the explanations why they are being chosen.
PDFMate is handy Word to PDF conversion software that is widely used by both beginners and experienced users, with its intuitive user interface, users can easily and quickly choose the source documents or folder that multiple docs are located, and proceed with the batch conversion by hitting a single button, the entire conversion process may take a little while to finish depends how large the doc/docx file(s) is. PDFMate has an offline version for Windows desktop, you can click the underlying "Free Download" button to get it.
Foxitsoftware's PhantomPDF is one of best Word to PDF Converter for Windows, it provides most comprehensive features and functionalities that you may need to use in doc to PDF conversion, you can choose to combine the source Microsoft documents into a single editable PDF file, or an imaged based PDF file, this doc to PDF converting software carries out task very fast even if when you turn over 100 word docs into a PDF file, PhantomPDF opens an offline trial version for Windows users for 14 days without any features limitations.
WPS Word to PDF converter contains advanced features to make the Word to PDF conversion smoothly and to make possible inserting extra information to the PDF afterward, this program supports both WPS format and Microsoft Word Doc Format as the format of source file, with a built-in PDF viewer, you can review the output PDF file directly in the software, this good conversion program is compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10, and provide a free download link of offline full version once you sign up an account with your email.
Icecream DOC to PDF converter another great program to batch convert your files from Microsoft Word Doc to PDF, there are only four easy steps involved to get the batch processing done before you convert Word to PDF format, verify the added Word files, the sequence and other settings, then initialize the conversion process. A progress bar will appear showing the current status of batch conversion with details of how many Word files being converted and the elapsed time. You can suspend/resume the conversion process by clicking "Pause/Resume" button or click "Cancel" button to terminate the entire conversion, to get an offline version of Icecream Word to PDF Converter for Windows, please click the underlying "Free Download" button.
As the leading word to PDF converter, TalkHelper offers the most flexible options used for turning doc files to PDF, you can either import or drag and drop the Microsoft Word documents to the list, adjust the sequence, specify certain numbers of doc page being converted, choose to combine multiple word docs to a single PDF, or even schedule the conversion at preferred time, the output PDF retains the exact look of the original Word document, the entire process takes only a few seconds even in the case of batch conversion. This doc to PDF converter provides an offline version for free download on Windows platforms.
If you need to do some serious file management, Adobe Word to PDF Converting program is the best tool that provides the straightforward way to turn docx into PDF files in a few clicks, with a well-designed surface, you can easily import one or a bunch of Word documents in the source file list, change the sequence as you want, choose to combine a set of specific files, then trigger the "convert" button to start the docx to PDF conversion process, this software is very effective and fast even if you use it to convert a bunch of Word files, and works flawlessly on Windows 7/8/10.
SmallPDF provides you both online and offline version to convert doc files to PDF, it's super easy to get started with the small program after you download a Windows desktop version from its official website, unlike other Word to PDF conversion software, SmallPDF doesn't require you to adjust any settings before conversion, all you need to do is drag-and-drop the doc or docx files into the drop area on the main interface, and click "start" button to proceed, however, the disadvantages in this software is you might encounter performance issue when you start the batch conversion from a bunch of Word files to PDF, in such a case, it takes much more time than you can wait, nevertheless, it's still one of best Word to PDF converter on the market.
PDFCandy is a lightweight online doc to PDF converter suitable for both beginners and more experienced users, the software provides a simple way to create PDF from exported doc/docx files without losing the user privacy, based on our test, the whole conversion process works flawlessly and smoothly regardless you use single conversion mode or batch conversion mode, all the original formats, texts, layouts, and images of the Word doc will be retained in the converted PDF, the only drawback in this program is that it limits you up to 10 documents for each conversion unless you pay a yearly subscription.


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United Democratic Club
The SFMTA Board Debacle, in 5 GIFs
You've seen the headlines about the San Francisco Board of Supervisors rejecting the Mayor's appointees to the SFMTA board, but you probably haven't followed every twist and turn. We get it — it's wonky. Most San Franciscans don't even know what the SFMTA Board does. United Dems is here to help.
We'll let GIFs do the talking.
May 2020: Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Aaron Peskin remove the lone disability advocate from the SFMTA board.
What Does the SFMTA Board Do? The SFMTA Board of Directors oversees MUNI, and also shapes policy for cars, taxis, cyclists, and pedestrians. The SFMTA board has 7 seats, but delays in appointing new directors has decimated the board: It was knocked down to 4 members this May when supervisors rejected Cristina Rubke, a respected attorney, wheelchair user and transit rider, for reappointment.
Why? Supervisor Hillary Ronen said she just couldn't get over the fact that the MTA board approved the agency's two-year budget with fare hikes, when the Board of Supervisors had urged no fare hikes. Supervisor Aaron Peskin agreed that the vote was intended to "send a message." To paraphrase: Who needs balanced budgets and transportation service during a pandemic? Pay attention to me and do what I want you to do.
Supervisors Ronen, Peskin, Haney, Preston, Walton and Fewer — all self-described "progressives" who claim to care about transit — blocked Rubke's reappointment.
April — August 2020: Mayor Breed and the people of San Francisco wait for the Board of Supervisors to evaluate additional nominees.
At this point, the SFMTA Board is under serious pressure.
Without Cristina, the Board was down to 4 out of 7 SFMTA members, impairing its ability to vote. Because of the pandemic, the SFMTA Board is grappling with the future of Caltrain, Muni, and alternative modes of transportation to ease car congestion — all at once. So how do we get more qualified leaders on the SFMTA Board? It's the mayor's job to nominate candidates, but nominees also have to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
On April 16, Mayor London Breed nominated Jane Natoli to be appointed to the SFMTA Board.
The Board made Natoli wait for over 100 days just to have a hearing. While Committee Chair Ronen blamed the delay on a schedule packed with ballot initiatives, many speculated that the delay was political. The SFMTA Board could barely make a quorum at a time when the agency was facing countless difficult decisions as a result of COVID-19.
August 2020: Six members of the SF Board of Supervisors reject a qualified, respected transit advocate — again. That's just petty.
On August 10, Jane Natoli finally received a hearing by the SF Board of Supervisors Rules Committee. Public comment was packed with neighbors and fellow advocates detailing Natoli's qualifications for the role: She is a former board member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, current board member at SF LGBT Center and YIMBY Action, and a Mayoral appointee on the Citizen's General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee. She would also be the first transgender woman to serve on the SFMTA board.
On August 18, the Board of Supervisors voted 6–4 to reject Natoli's nomination. Supervisors cited comments by community organizations opposed to her appointment. The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Latino Young Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America — the opposing Supervisors' political allies — wrote in to complain about Jane's support of bus lanes, e-scooters, and e-bikes. One even called such modes, without evidence, "instruments of gentrification."
While opposing Supervisors claim they were swayed by their arguments, the Mayor's office wasn't having it: "The message that the Board of Supervisors continues to send is that it does not matter if you are qualified, in order to serve San Francisco you must be aligned with them politically," wrote Mayor Breed.
About Face: Supervisor Gordon Mar initially recommended Jane Natoli's appointment, but changed his mind for the confirmation vote.
Supervisor Mar, who voted to recommend Jane at the Rules Committee, said he just couldn't ignore the organizations that wrote in opposition of her nomination, asserting that their "needs should be centered at SFMTA."
Elected officials are certainly allowed to change their minds, especially when presented with new or compelling evidence. And yet the letters that attacked Jane's candidacy did not make a case that her qualifications or experience made her unfit for the role. Instead, they made vague, fact-free generalizations, such as that she lacks "merit on the issues that matter."
Pet·ti·fog·ging — adjective. Placing undue emphasis on petty details. As in, Pettifogging supervisors put politics over constituent needs during a pandemic.
Imagine if the school board only had 5 people instead of the full 7 to make decisions about reopening schools.
Imagine if the Supreme Court had only 7 of the 9 to make decisions about disputes over the coronavirus pandemic.
While the Board of Supervisors voted to reject Cristina Rubke and Jane Natoli, they subsequently approved Sharon Lai to the SFMTA board. That means SFMTA now has 5 of 7 board members to make decisions that affect transportation policy across the city and region — decisions about which bus lines reopen and when, how to implement the Slow Streets program, and how to keep transit viable in a health and climate crisis.
700,000 people depend on Muni daily under typical circumstances, and thousands more rely on bike lanes and safe streets every day. Transit is essential.
In the words of Brian Wiedenmeier, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition, "SFMTA needs a functioning board in order for our transportation system to have any hope of recovering."
We agree.
Take Action with United Dems to Elect Pro-Transit Candidates to the Board of Supervisors.
Now is not the time for pettifogging. Find this series of events divisive and frustrating? Help our Club elect pro-transit, bridge-building candidates to the Board of Supervisors. Vote for our endorsed Supervisor candidates and sign up to volunteer for them in the coming weeks. We all need to #dothework to ensure we have a functioning and productive Board of Supervisors.
We are an inclusive and progressive group of Democrats who believe that everyone should have a place in San Francisco.
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Hemel Hempstead Seventh-day Adventist Church is part of a global church of 18 million believers worldwide.
These include celebrating our origin with the Creator God, in our observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath, and the beauty of the world as intended. Throughout our lives, we anticipate in hope, the return of Jesus Christ (the advent) as promised throughout the gospels. This is summarised in our name: 'Seventh-day Adventist'.
If you want to know more you are welcome to contact us.
The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to proclaim to all peoples the everlasting gospel in the context of the three angel's messages of Revelation 14:6-12, leading them to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour, and unite with His church, nurturing them in preparation for His soon return.